Jan 07 : "The Inauguration of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani"

"The Inauguration of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani" is Democracy Now's full-length video of their live broadcast of the New York City inauguration. The event was beautiful and inspiring. The link to the video is below.

Mamdani had a message of hope, offering big plans and big ideas which were all drawn from interactions he and his team had with average citizens. What a breath of fresh air compared to so many politicians on both sides of the aisle. Many offer little more than to tweak the status quo. Many offer little if no inspiration to follow or support them. Many don't have well thought-out platforms and offer little more than "we're not as bad as our opponents". And too many try to divide and demonize others.

The excitement in this event is electric. You can see it in the faces of those in the audience as well as those on stage. Good speakers. Good music. People react positively to someone offering bold new ideas, and, in our current political climate, someone who does not try to divide the members of the populace against each other.

Aginst all odds, Mamdani and tens of thousands of his supporters achieved one of the biggest political upsets in recent times, beating well-funded opponents who also had the support of the political machine.I truly hope that Mamdani will be successful and that more candidates will emulate his style. If Mamdani is as successful in governing as he was in campaigning, he might well turn out to be the standard by which all future candidates are measured.

So here is the link to the full ceremony. Check it out; I'm sure you will both enjoy it and be inspired by it. This was a special broadcast from "Democracy Now". "The Inauguration of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani" (CLICK HERE).

(pic at top is from broadcast)

Dec 17 : "Panglossian Mannequin" - Guerilla Toss (New York)

New Music / Freshly Written and Recently Released

ROUGH TERRAIN

It's rough terrain riding over the song structures of New York band Guerilla Toss. Lots of bumps in the road, quick changes in tempo, volume, vocal styles, as Guerilla Toss is pulling us along at a rapid speed. We can't imagine what will happen next.

I went to hear Guerilla Toss at Johnny Brenda's back in October (not up-to-date in my writeups). They were headlining the evening. They gave a strong performance, although a lot of the nuances and subtleties of the stylistic changes found in the recordings did not carry over to the live show.

The band released a new album in September, "You're Weird Now". Here is "Panglossian Mannequin", which I think best exemplifies the fast changes. It's the sixth track on the album :::

To hear the rest of the songs in their album, here is the click to their Bandcamp page ::: Guerilla Toss on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE). And here is the click to their Facebook page ::: Guerilla Toss on Facebook (CLICK HERE). (pic above is from band's Bandcamp page)

Dec 03 : "Desertenko" - Special World (Philly)

Philly Music

Maybe it's time to start looking at Philly band "Special World" as being TWO bands. There's the "original" (at least from my perspective) Special World that lives on Bandcamp. A lot of this music, while in different styles, could be considered to be more laid back.

Then there's what's emerging at the live shows which is more forceful and intense. They've even upped this since their Cambridge Hall show back in August. I most recently saw them at Johnny Brenda's in October (yes, I'm way behind in my music posts). They had expanded to five members. In the Bandcamp world, the vocals are largely leading the way. But at the Johnny Brenda's show, there were not only the more powerful drums which I had heard at Cambridge Hall, but along with a focus on the bass, a foundation of powerful chords that carried the songs and almost became the songs, and then providing the support for the vocals. Even though they performed a lot of the same music that is on Bandcamp, the Johnny Brenda's presentation brought forward a feeling of strength or confidence that doesn't appear in the laid-back Bandcamp stylings.

But here, going back to a sample from the Bandcamp stylings, is "Desertenko", which is the fifth track on their album "Special World" :::

Special World has another show coming up on December 20 at Living Rune". And they've got a new website ::: SPECIAL WORLD NEW WEBSITE (Click here). In the meantime, here is the click to their Facebook page ::: Special World on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

(Pic at top is from band's Bandcamp page.)

Sep 17 : "The Future" - Sh'Bang (Philly)

Philly Music!

Another band I saw for the first time on my trip to The Pouch a couple weeks ago was Philly alt-punk band "Sh'Bang". I liked their show. They topped off the evening's great music with the most powerful show of the night.

Their July 2024 EP, "Explosive Personality", is aptly named. The song "The Future" shows a piercing introspection on life now but leaves us unsure as to whether life will be better in the future. And they ask when is the future. "The Future" is the third track on "Explosive Personality". Still powerful, but more textured than at the show. Great guitar work throughout this track; I like the guitar solo starting around 2:29 on the clock and listen as it becomes more intense up through 2:52 :::

Sh'Bang doesn't have any more shows coming up soon in Philly, but you can get more info on their Facebook page ::: Sh'Bang on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

(Pic is from band's Facebook page)

Sep 10 : "Hungry Mutt" - Slitopia - (Galway, IE)

New Music / Freshly Written and Recently Released (Sep 5)

Had a great evening at The Pouch on Friday night, a full night of music. One outfit playing was "Slitopia", originally from New Zealand and now from Galway, Ireland. This night was partly a release party for their new album, "Volume One".

The band, saying they make "alternative dance music", is an elecronic music duo, Evelyn Fletcher-Jenkins and Sophie Sutherland. The show also happened to coincide with Evie's birthday, so she was given a cake! Here is "Hungry Mutt", the third track on that newly-released album :::

I liked their show. Here is the click to their Bandcamp page: Slitopia on Bancamp (CLICK HERE) and their Facebook page Slieopia on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

(pic is from band's Facebook page)