Red Hook Ramblers at Brooklyn Bowl
Personally I'm still baffled by the rubber chicken. Everything else about the Red Hook Ramblers is pretty straightforward. They look like they play Hot Jazz, which is Jazz for people to dance to, and when they get going then sure enough both of those things happen. So they have the look, they have the chops, and they also have a dozen different instruments including a siren and a little tin piano. But why do they have a rubber chicken? Is it their mascot or something? So curious...
Man or Astro-Man? at Brooklyn Bowl
Is it just me or has surf-rock turned into performance art? Bands like Man or Astro-Man? and Daikaiju seem to put as much effort into their look and stage show as the music. Fortunately that's lots of effort. You can probably imagine what Man or Astro-Man? sound like. Their music is nothing new. They just do it in the most entertaining way possible. Check out the Moogatron vs. Theremin battle. Silly and awesome.
Jacuzzi Boys at Brooklyn Bowl
I'm not sure whether to call the Jacuzzi Boys' music a slightly cleaned up take on garage rock or a more furious take on indie pop. They do have a bit of that modern indie sound a la DIIV but wilder, less predictable. Either way I definitely see the appeal.
As for their stage presence, well, I get the feeling they're used to smaller stages. These guys just sort of do their thing, which in the case of singer/guitarist Gabriel Alcala involves whipping his hair around a lot. Catch them for the music, perhaps at a smaller, darker venue where the crowd won't be afraid to follow Mr. Alcala's lead.
Liquor Store at Brooklyn Bowl
The last time I shot Liquor Store at the Brooklyn Bowl the photos weren't all that great. I don't know exactly what went wrong, though the fact that they only got to play three songs didn't help. I'm much happier with these photos, and with the fact that they got to play a full set this time.
Haybaby at Brooklyn Bowl
Haybaby are a band with a number of female fans apparently. I'm not sure what all the bra-tossing was about but they certainly make lousy pairs of frisbees.
Many of Haybaby's songs start with quiet lyrics sung over a drone or hum, then switch to much heavier rocking out, then back again. It's too intense to be shoegaze, more like grunge, and very cool. On the other hand they have peppier songs like Babies and Storm King (?) which are almost... silly? Not ridiculous, but more of an "I understand what you said but why in the world did you say it" sort of thing. More like The Pixies both lyrically and musically. You might think of Haybaby as a good quiet-loud rock band with a few weird but cute songs thrown in for variety. Or perhaps they just love the early 90s.
I wonder about bands like this where their songs have distinct styles and everyone sings lead at times. Is there more than one songwriter in the band? Is there some actual competition between the different styles, an open question about what the band wants to be? It will be interesting to see how Haybaby evolves.
Titus Andronicus at Brooklyn Bowl
Titus Andronicus is not exactly a traditional punk band. They do quite a few songs about relationships (not exactly a major punk topic) and also a few about real ships, mostly on their Civil War themed album called "The Monitor". Their mosh pit, however, is exactly like a traditional punk mosh pit. Either a bunch of exactly 21-year-old kids tried to murder me or there were dozens of people there who really didn't understand how to bowl. Apparently I look way to much like a bowling pin (this is true, sadly).
For a better writeup of the show may I recommend Speak Into My Good Eye. They have a great write-up of the show and ran a few of my pictures.
The Everymen at Brooklyn Bowl
Most of the audience at this show seemed to be punk kids who were waiting restlessly for the headliners, a well known local punk band. The Everymen aren't a punk band. Uh oh, this could end badly...
The Everymen are a rock band who range from heavy-ish, Smithereens-like rock to bluesy stuff more reminiscent of Morphine, though most of their songs are upbeat, anthemic rock-n-roll. Oh, and they are from New Jersey. They really want you to know that they're from New Jersey. They covered a Springsteen song for chrissakes! An obscure song at that. Springsteen with the E Street Band is also obviously among their influences.
That punk crowd was a bit tepid at first but warmed up to them over the course of the set. These guys (and gal) are so enthusiastic it's hard not to! And I have to say, they may have the single wildest keyboardist I've ever seen in a band. How did this guy manange to be all over the stage while playing keyboards? Anyway, they finished off the set with some of their louder rock-n-roll numbers, the big finale. By then they were getting plenty of applause.