Dec 20 : "Memorytraces" - Dead Leaf Echo (Brooklyn)

Headlining at Ortlieb's on December 3 was Brooklyn band "Dead Leaf Echo". I've been watching them for several years. I've seen them do shows in both New York and Philly.

They did a good show at Dec 3. Ortlieb's is well-suited to them. They were also well-matched with Aster More, which played right before them. (See previous blog past). Although Dead Leaf Echo seems to have had its own genre, originally called "nouveau wave" when I first started watching them, they have shown more shoegaze stylings in recent years.

Here is "Memorytraces" from their album "Thought & Language", released in 2013.

Dead Leaf Echo doesn't have any more shows on their calendar in our area, although their page shows that they do have plans to head to SXSW. ... If you would like to follow Dead Leaf Echo, here is the click to their Facebook page ::: Dead Leaf Echo (CLICK HERE)

Dec 13 : "Stuck" - Aster More (Philly)

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (last week!)

Philly Music!

I wasn't on time getting to the venue; had to work a little later than expected. It was the first time I saw Philly band "Aster More" do a show. This was at Ortlieb's on December 3. Unfortunately I got there just as they were playing their last couple songs, so I missed most of their show. But I liked what I did hear and want to go back to hear them again.

It's not expected to see many shoegaze outfits in evening lineups, and it's even more rare to see a women's shoegaze band. (To be specific Aster More has 5 women and 1 man). While the music on the band's web page did venture off into some punk, it seems to stay grounded pretty much in the shoegaze genre as did the music I heard at Ortlieb's back on the 3rd.

Here is "Stuck", the second track of the band's album, also named "Aster More", which was released on December 6. :::

Aster More's web pages don't show any additional concerts at the moment, but here is the click to their Facebook page, so you can follow what they're doing ::: Aster More on Facebook"

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Dec 06 : "How A Mouse Could" - Spenser Colmbs (Philly)

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (Sept 2016)

Philly Music!

Lots of non-sequiturs in the lyrics of Philly musician Spenser Colmbs. A rich carpet of unrelated and non-sequiturs. In his performance last week at Kung Fu Necktie he managed to work in "sharp provolone", "chopped garlic", and "antifreeze" all into the same piece. Unrelated? Maybe or maybe not. They were all imagery in defining a personality. No apparent connection at first, but, a few lines later, it may all come together.

Spenser opened up the night with his solo act, playing guitar with some background help by electronics. On some songs he would start to play by recording a rhythm which would then be played back as he layered on a melody over the previously-recorded portion. He did this with a few songs; I counted up to about three or four layers in one of the songs! Very smooth and agile in putting it all together in front of our ears and eyes.

Most of the pieces were musical, although he did put down the guitar at one point, picked up a book, and read some of his poetry. He had the whole house with him, bringing us all along. Very good stage presence and interaction with the audience.

Spenser writes about many every-day topics and struggles as well as some more macro issues. A lot of the writing is done standing at a little distance and making observations usually with humor that's immediate, or delivered two or three lines later. One song that touches on several topics is "How A Mouse Could", the seventh track on his cd "Spider Kingdom", recently released just this past September.

He writes about roommates, girlfriends, credit cards from parents, not fitting in, and running out of money. While he appears to find or tries to find the humor in many of life's situations, there are some moments of poignancy that sneak through to show some underlying struggles or feelings that much could be better. In the song "Highway Life", he says "I don't think we should all be happy to be born." In "Gas + Cigarettes", he chillingly lets us wonder "I know what to do with gas and cigarettes." Here is "Nine Dollars" that talks about getting to the end of the credit :::

And some of his songs are quite whimsical. Here is "Philadelphia Drive (feat. @1chillboy)" :::

Spenser Colmbs is a versatile artist and tomorrow night, December 7, will be doing a reading of his work at The Hatchery. Four other writers will be presenting their work as well. Here is the click to hat event ::: Spenser Colmbs at The Hatchery.

If you would like to visit Spenser Colmbs on line, here is the click to his Facebook page ::: Spenser Colmbs on Facebook.

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7/5/20 ::: OOPS. Facebook page seems to be deactivated.

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Nov 04 : "Every Night" - Walker Lukens (Austin)

When I was checking what music I would be going out to see this week, a couple things attracted me to Walker Lukens' music that made me want to go hear him.

Song structures and arrangements were what caught my attention. Songs not necessarily smooth all the way through, but choppy in the right places, where the instrumentals or vocals would stop with other components kicking in for a dramatic burst. While you can hear some of this on his web page's music, these were much more pronounced in the great show he did at Milkboy last night. The best way I could describe it is that I felt like I was riding along in a car that did some quick stops and starts, with some dramatic spins and then go off on a surprising unexpected road. I like the unexpected in my music.

The band has a lineup of five people, consisting of Walker Lukens front center stage, drums to the rear, two guitars to our right as we watch, and keys to our left. The keys player did a good amount of backup vocals with the other members joining in at various points.

Walker Lukens himself played an additional set of keys for most of the show, while he occasionally switched over to a guitar. A lot of the music played last night had arrangements where Lukens' set of keys played sharp beats which simultaneously reinforced the drums' rhythm and the bass' melodic line. A very interesting effect. I liked it.

Here is "Every Night", by Austin artist Walker Lukens and his band :::

You've got to go out to see these people. While the band is from Texas and is on a national tour, they will be doing a show at Sunnyvale tonight and Berlin tomorrow night. In the meantime, if you would like to check out his Facebook page, here is the click ::: Walker Lukens on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

Nov 01 : "West End Supermarket" - The Above (Brooklyn)

6-packs of PBR for only $3.49? Well, at our west end supermarket, not until Gov. Wolf, the legislature in Harrisburg, and PLCB say it's ok. And even then I'm not sure we'd be able to get it for $3.49! This song was written several years ago, and they haven't updated the price of PBR. I want to live in that world! haha.lol.

I first saw The Above live sometime around 2007; I don't remember exactly. I remember seeing them do a couple shows including a really great one at Bell House. At that time I picked up a copy of their then-current EP, "Act Your Age". An older version of "West End Supermarket" is on that EP. I just checked the date: 2003!

I was hoping to be writing this post saying what a wonderful time I had at The Above's show at The Gateway last Friday. However, a change in work schedule meant that I was not going to be up in New York on Friday night, so I missed the show. (Wah!) ... BTW most of my concert attendance is determined by my work schedule and transit schedules, so I do miss some shows that I otherwise really want to see. The Above does not do a large number of shows in the area. That plus my work schedule have meant that I haven't caught any of their shows in way too long!

So here is the newer 2010 version of "West End Supermarket".

The Above has several albums on their Bandcamp page. Here is the click ::: The Above on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE). And here is the click to their Facebook page ::: The Above on Facebook (CLICK HERE). And the band has another show coming up next week at Monty Hall, where they're opening for The Long Ryders.

Oct 31 : "Crazy" (Cover) - Cat Clyde (London, ON)

Yet another good music outfit I saw at Pianos in the last couple weeks was London, ON, singer Cat Clyde. She did a nice set of songs, beautiful and richly textured. She has several videos uploaded to YouTube; they include a number of covers. Here is a Patsy Cline cover, "Crazy" :::

Her song "Chimes in the Night" was featured on an episode of YouTube program Local Band Smokeout - Canada. This is great to watch :::

Cat Clyde is heading out to the midwest right now to do shows in Milwaukee and Louisville. While she doesn't have any more shows listed for our area, here is the click to her Facebook page where you can keep an eye on what she's doing next :::: Cat Clyde on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

Oct 30 : "Cartoons" - Planet Moon (New York)

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (last month)

Another good band I heard at Pianos recently is New York based "Planet Moon". As with The Bits, the stage presence is way more animated than what you'd imagine by listening to the web music. Here is "Cartoons" from their album "Dos", which was released on September 4.

Planet Moon doesn't show any upcoming concerts on their own page, but both Songkick and Sunnyvale show the band to be playing on Monday, November 14. Here is the click to the show at Sunnyvale ::: Planet Moon at Sunnyvale (CLICK HERE). To visit the band on Facebook, here is the click ::: Planet Moon on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

Oct 29 : "So Won Me Over" - The Bits (Brooklyn)

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (July)

I recently did a stop at Pianos after work and heard Brooklyn band "The Bits" do a live show. I enjoyed it. My first time seeing them. The performance is much more animated than the impression the web music creates.

Here is "So Won Me Over", from a demo released by the band in July :::

The Bits will be doing another show this coming Saturday, November 5th, at The Biter End. If you would like to visit their Facebook page in the meantime, here is the click ::: The Bits on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

Oct 22 : "I Will Do (Anything)" - Dead Leaf Echo (Brooklyn)

New Music / Freshly Written & About to be Released

Today I'm featuring what is actually a "teaser" of a "teaser" by Brooklyn band, Dead Leaf Echo. Teaser of a Teaser? The full album looks like it's not going to come out for another couple months, but, in the meantime, there is a teaser cassette of the song "I Will Do (Anything)". But the cassette isn't actually going to come out until November 4. It will be a two-song cassette, and the other song is by Vancouver band "Did You Die". So here is a preview of the preview!

I've been listening to Dead Leaf Echo and going to their shows for a few years. The new song has a little more shoegaze in it than some of their previous work, but the sound including the vocals and some of the chords are unmistakably "Dead Leaf Echo". Here is "I Will Do (Anything)" :::

Dead Leaf Echo is embarking on an ambitious concert schedule. Here are a few shows close by: Berlin (Nov 6, tape release party), Pete's Candy Store (Nov 19), and Ortlieb's (Dec 3). Here is the click to their Facebook page ::: Dead Leaf Echo on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

Oct 21 : "100K" - Sun Hat (Philly)

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Posted (11 days ago)

Philly Music!

A few weeks ago I went to Kung Fu "Upstairs" and heard Philly band Sun Hat for the first time. They did a good show and have been working on an album, "Pet Shapes", which is due to be released on November 5! They've released one teaser, "100K", which is right here :::

Here is the click to their Bandcamp page, so you can hear the full album when it comes out in a couple weeks ::: Sun Hat on Bandcamp (click here). They'll be doing their album release show at Pharmacy on November 5. Here is the click to their Facebook page ::: Sun Hat on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

Oct 03 : "Better Rest" - Repelican (Philly - Baltimore)

Philly Music!

It's been a hectic month. I'm just catching up today writing about a great show I saw back on August 28. Yikes! It was my second time seeing Repelican, which is getting to be a favorite. Repelican did everything. And More!

Repelican is the solo effort of Philly (ex=Baltimore) artist, Jon Ehrens. His performances include a combination of live and pre=recorded elements. Some songs have vocals and guitar live with rhythm coming through as pre=recorded.

But don't believe the songs are too formulaic and set in their format. In reality, the music's styling as well as the show's format are all over the map. In fact, Jon said before the show started that a lot of it would be impromptu, he hadn't planned it out.

With Repelican shows, you absolutely don't know what to expect next. This dynamic was enhanced by the show's being at Ortlieb's, which has a low stage. About halfway through the show, Jon hopped off the stage while still singing and walked around, mingling with the audience as he sang. He did a couple songs mixed in with us and then returned back to the stage. Ortlieb's is a way better match for his shows than Johnny Brenda's where I saw him previously.

Repelican has several albums on its page, but I guess I'm obsessing over my favorite, the 2014 "Pall Mall Blues". From that album and towards the end, the ninth track, is "Better Rest". An interesting quality of this song is that the vocals are sort of half-spoken and half-sung :::

Repelican has been mounting a lot more music on line since the beginning of the year, including new work as well as albums previously released. Here is "I Don't Know What She Wants [And I Don't Wanna Care (But I Do)]" which is the last track on the 2008 album "Repelican Presents: Fuk You! It's The Revoltn Developments!" :::

The last track on "Pall Mall Blues" is "In the Mystery". I like the instrumentals on this :::

Repelican doesn't have any upcoming shows listed at the moment, but here is the click to the Facebook page where you can follow what's going on ::: Repelican on Facebook (CLICK HERE). And if you'd like to hear more music, here's the click to Bandcamp ::: Repelican on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE)

Aug 28 : Kyle & The Silkboys

I really liked the opener at Silk City on Wednesday and want to see them again, but this appears to be another band of "secret agents", where they don't have any website and they don't even have a Facebook page! The mystery was deepened when the powers that be had the show listings separately as "Kurt & The Silkboys" and "Kyle & The Silkboys". But no Facebook page for either. (I'm doing a duplicate writeup of this on an adjacent "Kurt & The Silkboys" posting, because I'm not sure which they are.)

I got to the venue a little late and was able to hear the last three songs the band did. I was impressed. Interesting covers, including a Beatles track. Nice instrumentals, well-defined and fairly crisp, but with some engaging fuzz around the edges. I'm going back and would recommend you check them out as well. However, with no Facebook or web presence, their whereabouts are for them to know and for us to guess!

Aug 28 : Kurt & The Silkboys

I really liked the opener at Silk City on Wednesday and want to see them again, but this appears to be another band of "secret agents", where they don't have any website and they don't even have a Facebook page! The mystery was deepened when the powers that be had the show listings separately as "Kurt & The Silkboys" and "Kyle & The Silkboys". But no Facebook page for either. (I'm doing a duplicate writeup of this on an adjacent "Kyle & The Silkboys" posting, because I'm not sure which they are.)

I got to the venue a little late and was able to hear the last three songs the band did. I was impressed. Interesting covers, including a Beatles track. Nice instrumentals, well-defined and fairly crisp, but with some engaging fuzz around the edges. I'm going back and would recommend you check them out as well. However, with no Facebook or web presence, their whereabouts are for them to know and for us to guess!

Aug 21 : "'Freak Scene' Live @ Arlene's Grocery" - Red Datsun (New York)

Off the charts! Tuesday night I saw New York punk rock outfit Red Datsun do a show at Pianos. This was my first time seeing them. On a scale from zero to ten their stage presence is somewhere around eleven. Front man and vocalist Dave Miller is a powerhouse who keeps the show fired up every minute the band is on stage.

Red Datsun has been around for about ten years. They've played mostly in Manhattan and at many famous as well as infamous spots. They have a loyal following; the show Tuesday night brought an enthusiastic crowd. And that crowd was introduced to some of the band's newest work.

So when it comes to the part where I tell you to go out and see this band, even though the band is busy writing, I don't have a lot of recent music to show you as samples. The band has some videos on You Tube, but they were recorded several years ago. As a sample below, I'm featuring "'Freak Scene' Live @ Arlene's Grocery". This was recorded at a show in 2011, almost five years ago, but, for a band that is ten years old, that could be considered the halfway point from its inception to where they've arrived today.

So what is the band like today compared to then? ... There have been changes. The sound of the instrumentals Tuesday night was more cohesive than what we see in the videos from years' back. And Miller's performance front center, while way more polished, still retains some nice over the top. :)

Here is "'Freak Scene' Live @ Arlene's Grocery" from "back then" :::

So if you want to have the real Red Datsun experience, you'll just have to go out and actually see them live! Here is the click to their Facebook page where you can find out about their next shows ::: Red Datsun on Facebook (CLICK HERE)

Jul 31 : "Glasgow" - Milan to Minsk (Brooklyn)

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released

A third exciting band I heard on my Alphaville trip was Brooklyn band "Milan to Minsk". As with the previous two bands I talked about, the web music bears little resemblance to what they did live at their show, so there's not much I can play as a sample. Again, the music on their page is quite a bit more mellow than what they did live. Another example of two different bands! :) Milan to Minsk's live performance was a lot more raucous with both a trumpet and a sax as part of their lineup. And even a "ewi", which I had never heard before! What a great wind section! Yes, I'm gonna go back!

An interesting song on their Soundcloud page is "Glasgow". This is track #3 of their "Milan to Minsk" EP, which was released in January ::::

Milan to Minsk put on a great show, but unfortunately they don't have any upcoming shows in our area. However, here is the click to their Facebook page so you can keep up with them and not miss them the next time they play: Milan to Minsk on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

Jul 29 : "Yoga Video Music for Alicja" - Ann Driscoll (Brooklyn)

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Posted

One of the qualities that all the bands playing that night at Alphaville seemed to have was that there was not a whole lot of resemblance between their music on the web and what they would present to listeners at the live show.

I was a little shocked when Brooklyn artist Ann Driscoll got up on stage with her band and started to play. The music was quite different from the web music; I felt like I was hearing a completely different outfit. While the music on the web page is a little more laid back and mellow in its expression, the live band was full-force rock with pounding and heavy drums. Ann Driscoll herself not only did the forceful vocals but also alternated between playing keys and guitar.

One of the songs I like on the web page is "Yoga Video Music for Alicja". It's an unusual title. After the show I asked Ann "Who's Alicja?" She said that Alicja is a close friend who lives in Germany and who is passionate about yoga. So here is "Yoga Video Music for Alicja". :::

A number of the artist's songs are written around themes or concepts. Here is "Woman (Instrumental)". Some interesting chords in this!

I've listened to all the music on the web page several times, and I think the track that comes closest to what I heard at the Alphaville show (maybe the only track) is "Breed". It has the heavy and fast beat of a lot of the work I heard at the show, but vocals way more powerful at the show. :::

I recommend that you try to catch one of Ann Driscoll's shows. Actually Songkick lists another show coming up for her in the next few weeks. She'll be playing on August 17 at Rough Trade. In the meantime, if you'd like to follow her on the internets, here is the click to her Facebook page ::: Ann Driscoll on Facebook (CLICK HERE). ================================

7/5/20 ::: OOPS. Ann's new name is "Stunt Casting".

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9/26/21 ::: OOPS. Looks like Yoga Video Music for Alicja is history. But looks like Ann is back being Ann again! :)

Jul 15 : "Dogs (Live)" - Aloha Machine (Harrison + SUNY Purchase)

After work last Wednesday I went to Bushwick to hear some good music. Bushwick is getting to be the new pattern! This time I went to Alphaville, my first time there. Up first was Harrison NY ("SUNY Purchase is our home") band "Aloha Machine". This loud surf-rock psych-rock three-piece was a good way to start the night. It was my first time seeing them and I'm putting them on the list to see them again. ... Not quite the same in real life as they are on the web, but their music is good both ways.

The band has a couple albums out. Their December 2015 album is titled "Live! at the Destructo Disc". In this album I like some of the juxtaposition of lush guitar work with scrappy lyrics. The first song on the album is "Dogs (Live)" :::

The Aloha Machine is going to be doing a show tonight at Bushwick Public House, so stop what you're doing right now and go there! If you can't make it, you can always keep tabs on the band by following them on Facebook. Here is the click to their Facebook page ::: Aloha Machine on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

Jul 03 : "Follow Me Home" - The Mystery Lights (Brooklyn)

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (June 24)

The Mystery Lights always do a good show. I've heard The Mystery Lights play all over, both in Philly and New York, and I think their show at Kung Fu Necktie last week was one that was right up there at the top. They were the reason I headed to Kung Fu on June 22. I have new developments to report.

Getting ahead of myself, the bands biggest news is that, with their collaboration with Wick Records, a subsidiary of Dapstone records, they just released their debut full-length album, "The Mystery Lights". The release date, party, and show was actually on June 24 at Mercury Lounge, two days after the Kung Fu show.

The sound work was great at Kung Fu last week. I could hear all the components, vocals and instruments, all individually as well as all together as one. The sound work allowed for more texture and nuance (which was also a big plus for "The Snails", which I wrote about in my previous posting).

And this was the right time for the better sound work at Kung Fu because The Mystery Lights has a lot of new songs and a number of new arrangements of some of their standards, and this venue was the ideal showcase for such an effort. A lot of the music the band played at Kung Fu is the music that's on the new album. Some of the songs had appeared before, either on ep or just streaming on the band's online platforms, but some of the songs are completely new.

So what's new in the new arrangements? Maybe a little more organ, for one thing. (The band calls it an "organ", not "keys". This is probably the true garage terminology). We can hear that at the beginning of the updated and revised "What Happens When You Turn the Devil Down?" as well as a very pronounced organ intro in the new "Follow Me Home". While the band's music as a whole is a rock explosion, there have also some changes in tempo, including a little slowing down of "Before My Own". In this song, there's also a unique guitar tonality.

So the music in the new album has more songs with pronounced individual stylings and characteristics, and at the same time, the arrangements are done in a way so that each component, the vocals and each instrument, have a chance to individually shine. This was a perfect match with the excellent sound work at Kung Fu last Wednesday night.

Their new album marks a big step forward in their writing, their arrangements, and their performance. You should listen to this album. Here is a sample. This is "Follow Me Home", which is the album's second track :::

If you like what you hear and you want to see them live, you're in luck. The Mystery Lights is coming back a week from Friday (July 15) to do another show at Kung Fu. In the meantime, you can go hear this album on their Bandcamp page ::: The Mystery Lights on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE) and you can keep up with their tour dates on Facebook ::: The Mystery Lights on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

Jun 30 : "Strong Foundation" - The Snails (Philly)

Philly Music!

TENUOUS POSITIONS

Last week I went to Kung Fu Necktie and this was the first time I heard Philly band "The Snails" perform. I liked their sound. What stood out was the different textures in the music. They describe themselves as "an eclectic act specializing in various forms of Jamaican music, blended with ragged 50's rock "n" roll and the sweet sounds of American soul." This comes across in their performance as always refreshing always unexpected in what comes next.

They have a sizeable amount of music on their web page, and when I started to look and listen more closely to their lyrics, I thought more about the tenuous positions in life in which we frequently find ourselves; a large undercurrent in the band's lyrics is about life's uncertainties and the decision about which way to go, to keep moving along the same path or try something new and what kind of foundation do you need to make that move.

Perhaps the most explicit description occurs in their song "Walking Down Broad Street" where we seem to have started walking as if we have some purpose but realize we can or should do it for only "so long", which is repeated multiple times. Maybe this is a metaphor for doing something over and over again until the action that once had meaning no longer does.

"Liberty Street Lights" talks about the changes that occur through the span of one's life and where to go from here:

"Give me the bricks and the mortar
I'll build this wall around my heart
And as I'm growing up older
I'll watch this wall fall apart
...
"I've been climbing up this mountain for years
And I still haven't reached the top
Should I struggle to find all my fears
Or look for something I have not got"

And probably the song that has the most uncertainty as well as the most choices is "Many Roads", which appears shortly after the middle of the album "Songs From The Hydrogen Jukebox Vol 1 & 2 ".

But all this leads up to their album's final song, "Strong Foundation", which tells the broad brush strokes ways of dealing with the tenuous positions previously described. Here is "Strong Foundation":

If you would like to hear The Snails live, they will be back doing a show at Kung Fu on Aug 18. Here is the click to their Facebook page so you can keep track ::: The Snails on Facebook (CLICK HERE). And if you want to check out more of these songs along with their lyrics, here is the click to their Bandcamp page ::: The Snails on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE)

p.s.... I like it when bands print the lyrics.

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8/2/16 - - - UPDATE : The band took down that whole album from their page. Strange! So there is now no link to the featured song.

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7/5/20 ::: UPDATE : The band seems to have deactivated all its pages that I can see.

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Jun 28 : Gold Sounds Pink Mexico ?

Earlier this month after work one night I stopped off at Gold Sounds, a new venue in Bushwick. (They've only been open a few months.) A nice place, friendly bartender ("Chris", if I remember), who has friends in West Philly along one of the green lines, and good drinks (He was "inventing" a new drink to feature as a special and I got to be one of the lucky test subjects).

And the venue has quite good sound.

The night I visited was not going to be an all-nighter, but I was just staying out to see however much music I could squeeze in til the 10:38p / last cheap NJTransit / SEPTA connection back home.

The night didn't go exactly as planned because the bands arrived late. First in the lineup was supposed to be the band "Pink Mexico". But the outfit turned out to be a solo act. Was this actually Pink Mexico? It didn't sound like either Pink Mexico or any of the web music of the other acts that were scheduled in the lineup that night. However, I REALLY liked this artist's sound. He was talented and quite creative. I might have liked to have seen him perform again. The only problem was that he never bothered to tell the audience who he was. WHOA! That's weird. ... My musician friends tell me how hard it is to sometimes land gigs, so why on earth would you play at a good venue and not tell people who you are? Are you thinking that only people who've previously heard you and know you count? And, any listener new, well, they'll have to go and like some other band because you're a secret agent band whose identity is on a need-to-know basis? This happens from time to time and it's so weird and so incomprehensible.

The next act to play also didn't bother to identify themselves at least by the second song, which was when I wound up having to leave for Njt. (It might actually have been Pink Mexico, but I can't be sure.).

So, in short, it wasn't a bad night. Good drinks, good conversation, nice venue, great sound, great music, .... except I didn't know who was playing. ... :)

Jun 21 : "brOKen" - 185668232 (Philly)

New Sounds / Freshly Written & Recently Released

Philly Music!

I knew my friend, Iam, would not have the strongest turnout at his recent Lava Space show as soon as I heard the weather report. Rain! And not only rain but Wind! And not only rain and wind, but a Midweek night! That's a recipe for crowds staying home. But it's also a recipe for a more personalized show with more of a back and forth with the artists and other concert-goers.

This evening at Lava Space was a release party for 185668232's new album, "!​*​%​^​^​*​@​#@". In addition to Iam's performance doing his music and noise, there were two video artists projecting their work on screens to either side of him, while Iam's own video work was projected behind. All coordinated. Surround sound and surround video! This was a very unique event. It was easy to see a huge amount of work went into this.

Here is 185668232's own description of the night, pre-event on their page ::: : "185668232 has been working tirelessly on the 11th album !*%^^*@#@ for 3 years and will be officially releasing it on May 30th with the videos made specifically for the album with the help of some earthlings when it seemed impossible to accomplish DiY. (This album has been tested on many crowds and will be toured in June around the perimeter of the USA then in Europe in September as well as already sent out to university radio stations.) -//- This live performance will be part of the DVD/file.

Dynamic-Noise Music + Glitch Video Projections + Avant Activism (designed by 185668232).

We are creating 3 walls of motion images together!"

One of the tracks on the new album is titled "brOKen". And "brOKen" refers to the damage in people's individual lives as well as in society as a whole. The piece touches dynamics of personal relationships, saying that we should act like we're all in this together, as well as taking a broad-brush-stroke swipe at some of our country's larger problems, e.g., prisons and exorbitant tuition.

It projects an attitude of making the best of things now but has a more hesitant amount of hope for humanity's long-term existence. "There's no need to compete because we would have to collaborate to survive". "School is for everyone who is breathing". But the most jarring statement that occurs both towards the beginning and towards the end is "Trust others as best you can while preparing for the end of the world". Iam has great compassion. The spelling of the title reminds us that it's "OK" to be "brOKen".

This is the outfit's 11th album, and there is a lot more complexity and versatility when compared to some of the work just a few years back. In this piece alone, Iam shows off quite a range of talent in riffs from various genres. You should take a listen. Here is "brOKen", one of the tracks on 185668232's new album "!​*​%​^​^​*​@​#@".

185668232 is on a cross-country tour right now and who knows when he'll be back. Here is the click to more music on Bandcamp including the new release: 185668232 music on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE)

And here is the link to the interview we did a few years back. 185668232 The Interview (CLICK HERE).

Jun 20 : "Stay Away From Me" - Stellarscope (Clifton Heights)

A few years back, Tom Lugo, mastermind of local band Stellarscope, used to advertise his shows with the tag line that when you came to hear his music, "Your ears will bleed." Well, when I went to his recent show at Kung Fu Necktie, I found that, even though he no longer says it, MY EARS STILL BLED.

It's been a little while since our schedules clicked. They've been a strong part of the Philly music scene and I was happy to see them again. They played a variety of music in a fairly long set. While they played mostly shoeagaze when I first heard them, they've more recently added some post punk and some indie stylings onto their playlist.

Here's one of their post punk tracks, "Stay Away From Me" :::

Stellarscope has another show coming up on July 14 at the Cobra Club in Brooklyn. To visit them on line in the meantime, here is the click to their Soundcloud page ::: Stellarscope on Soundcloud (CLICK HERE).

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6/27/20 ::: OOPS! ::: The band appears to have removed this song from their page!

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Jun 02 : "Bleeding Blues" - Vamanos (Brooklyn)

When I plan a BIG music night, I've gotta make sure that there's lots of music, that it starts early, and that it goes late. Don't want to get stuck spending half the night in Penn Station or Port Authority waiting for the 3am trip coming back home.

One band that did more than its share to keep my Sunnyvale night going strong was Brooklyn band Vamanos. Definitely the highest highest energy of any of the acts that night. Vamanos just has two members, Alex Knoche on the guitar and Tyler Bower on the drums, both do vocals, but they sound like they've got more guys on the stage than just the two of them. I like new music; if you want to hear some new music, they just came out with a new album on "beer-colored" 10-inch vinyl. Check out the Bandcamp link listed below.

But they've also got an "official music video" that came out a few years ago. Here is "Bleeding Blues", published in 2013.

More noise, more energy, more crazy, more loud, more rock, Vamanos! Check them out. They'll be doing a show at Shea Stadium on July 1. In the meantime here is the click to their Bandcamp page: Vamanos on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE)

May 26 : "Melt" - Spritzer (Brooklyn)

I kept going back and checking the web pages because I didn't believe it! I didn't believe that the band "Spritzer" I saw on the web was the same one that I saw at Sunnyvale. But it's true. Spritzer's Facebook page does have references to the Sunnyvale show, and Matt Meade, the band's mastermind, appears on the Facebook page as well as the music page. So it must be the same. But the band sounded a world apart on stage as compared to on the web.

There are two segues from my last posting to this. First of all, the chronological: Spritzer followed def.GRLS on stage at the show. But the second segue is that both bands (on stage) work with different genres. In the Spritzer show there were a couple points where the music paused, and then resumed going down a completely different road.

The music had a vibrancy and a lot of action, there was a lot going on. The band was a five-piece on stage, and, unlike the web music, had a saxophone as part of the mix! The sax seemed to go off on its own path a few times, but it was all brought back together. Here is a diagram, the best I could do in the dark, of the lineup of the actual musicians in the band. There were drums in the back, two guitars up front center and right, with keys over at the front left and the sax standing a little to the right of the keys. It was interesting that the sax and the keys were next to each other, because there were a couple interludes where the sax had some rests and he reached over and became a third hand on the keys! Wow!

So here is a sample of the Spritzer's online presence, which, while good music, has nothing to do with what you would hear if you were to see them live. Here is "Melt":

I enjoyed Spritzer and want to go back and hear them again, especially if they're a five-piece with the sax. But I don't see upcoming shows posted at the moment. In the meantime, here is the click to their Soundcloud page: Spritzer on Soundcloud (CLICK HERE).

May 18 : "GRL" - Def.GRLS (Brooklyn)

A couple weeks ago I was looking for a full evening of good bands, and I came across listings for a new venue that I hadn't visited before. The venue is "Sunnyvale", and it's located in East Williamsburg, almost bordering on Bushwick. It was an interesting space: new fixtures in an older building. They had chalk in the unisex bathrooms so customers could get a head start on doing the requisite bathroom graffiti that every decent venue should have.

First up for the evening was Brooklyn outfit "Def.GRLS". From their Facebook page: "Def.GRLS is the love child of boyhood friends Mark Brickman and Craig Martinson and the surrogate mother to their rock n’ roll spawn, Hannah Teeter. Perpetually oscillating between the irreverent, macabre, hilarious and heartfelt, the gender and genre bending trio is impossible to pigeon hole."

Yes, they were impossible to pigeon hole except to say they were consistently fun to listen to. There wasn't any one genre, the music jumped around style to style. The music on their web page is smoother than what they played at Sunnyvale; the Sunnyvale music had a more solid bass and underpinning, and yes it did jump.

Here is the opening track of the bands album, titled "GRLS EP" that was released last Fall. The track is titled, "GRL". :::

If you would like to visit Def.GRLS, here is the click to their Facebook page ::: Def.GRLS on Facebook (CLICK HERE)

As to my visit to Sunnyvale Brooklyn, even though I was there on a busy Friday night, I didn't feel jammed in. I like the layout of the place; I know I'll be going back.

May 10 : "And West Is West" - Ron Childress

Definitely the best fiction I've read in a year! I recommend this to everybody.

While browsing for books I generally try to go against the old adage, "Don't judge a book by its cover", for if the art department at the publishing house is doing its job properly, then the cover of a book should be a good representation of the consciousness of the writing inside.

A couple months ago I was browsing at my favorite, the Independence Library, and I came across a brilliant cover that begged me to pick it up. The book is titled, "And West Is West", and this is blurb I found on the inside of the jacket cover: "When Jessica, a young Air Force drone pilot in Nevada, is tasked with launching a missile attack against a suspected terrorist halfway across the world, she realizes that though women and children are in the crosshairs of her screen, she has no choice but to follow orders. Ethan, a young Wall Street quant, is involved in a more bloodless connection to war when he develops an algorithm that enables his company's clients to profit by exploiting the international financial instability caused by exactly this kind of antiterrorist strike. These two are only minor players, but their actions have global implications that tear lives apart-including their own." Through various circumstances, both characters wind up losing their jobs and being forced to take the blame for decisions that they did not make (Was one of them "set up"?). A lot of the book concentrates on what they do next. These characters "learn the hard way about the devastating power of new technology to isolate us from the consequences of our actions."

I do recommend "And West Is West" to everybody. It is a good suspense novel, and it also has a wide range of diverse and interesting characters who are dealing (or not) with vital and intertwining issues, personal, political, and societal. While the theme of the book is disturbing, I did enjoy spending time with the characters. Here is the click if you'd like to check the book yourself ::: "And West Is West" at FLP

May 04 : "Me and Mrs. Jones" - Billy Paul (R.I.P.)

Philly Music!

Back in the day I used to listen to radio. Back in the day I even had a radio! I even listened to national acts as well as the major am and fm stations. My writeup today is to pay respect to the passing of a musician whose work I listened to back then. His name was Billy Paul, and in 1972 his music was all over the airwaves. He had a hit single, "Me and Mrs. Jones", which won him the Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. Billy Paul died last week.

Here is a video of Billy Paul performing "Me and Mrs. Jones" on a segment of "Soul Train" :::

Billy Paul was one of the artists who worked with Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff at Philadelphia International Records (right here on Broad Street). Read their tribute to him Gamble and Huff tribute to Billy Paul

R.I.P., Billy Paul!

Apr 28 : "Chernobyl" - Windsor Park Walkers (Cherry Hill)

Friday night I went out to hear Windsor Park Walkers headline at Boot and Saddle. This was the first time I had heard them in several years.

I originally started listening to them back in 2006 when they did a lot of shows locally, several at Grape and Khyber, and for years. Then they seemed to vanish, only to reappear once in a while to do an isolated show.

The last time I heard them prior to Friday was a show at Johnny Brenda's in 2013. Back then I observed a slight mellowing of style compared to how they played in 2006, but I didn't know whether the change would be a trend.

Well, it wasn't. At the show this past Friday, the band was back to a presentation that was even more power-packed than when I had seen them originally. This is power-packed in the arrangements, the volume, and the physical movements of their stage presence.

It's been a while since WPW released a new album, so I wasn't sure which song I should feature with this writeup. But I got my answer in a lot of news stories appearing this week regarding the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. Here is "Chernobyl", the fifth track on the band's 2008 cd, "50-Watt City" :::

While the band doesn't have a Facebook page, they do have a lot of their music on Bandcamp. Here is the click to that page ::: Windsor Park Walkers (CLICK HERE)

Apr 22 : "Save Your Love for Me" - Alessandro Fadini (New York)

Last week after work one night I was able to catch an early show at Pianos where I saw Alessandro Fadini. This was the first time I had seen him play. In checking out samples of music before I went out that night, I saw that the artist's online presence features him as "Alessandro Fadini", while the Pianos website listed his show as the "Alex Fadini Quintet". Well, it turned out to be a "quartet", but still an excellent show.

I got the impression that this was a project or ensemble that had just come together for that evening's show. The lead in most of the songs was played by NY / Cali musician, Brandon Sherman on trumpet, with Allesandro Fadini playing accompaniment on the keys. Fadini is very versatile, playing the lead in a lot of his work that can be heard on line, but then switching over to accompaniment at other times.

It seemed a little like a jam session, yet they all had music stands with sheet music! As they were about to start each song, they would shuffle the papers and then begin, BUT they would play some long pieces without ever turning one page! I'm not knowledgeable enough about jazz to know what that's all about, what the proportion of written music can be to the whole piece. But I don't remember ever seeing that before.

He points out that even though the venue is named "Pianos", they oddly enough don't have one. So he had to bring his own keys. There's a lot of work on his Soundcloud page that shows off his expertise. Here is one song where he plays with an ensemble and vocalist, "Save Your Love for Me". Vocals on this piece are by Yana Bibb :::

Here is the click to his main web page Alessandro Fadini main web page (CLICK HERE), and here is the click to his Soundcloud page Alessandro Fadini on Soundcloud (CLICK HERE)

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If you like what you hear and would like to see him live, you're in luck. He will be doing a show tonight at Club Bonafide on East 52nd Street. Here is the click to that event : Alessandro Fadini live at Club Bonafide. You'll note that here his effort is known by yet a third name, "Aleks Fadini Group".

Mar 27 : "Trouble Again" - Curtis Cooper (Philly)

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released

Philly Music!

Friday night I heard Curtis Cooper for the first time. He was part of the "Bernie Show", a benefit for Bernie Sanders. This was held at "Big Cakes" close by in Francisville. Kudos to Curtis Cooper and the others for doing this benefit. There was a large turnout and the organizers were pleased with the $ response. While I was there for only a small portion of the evening and didn't get to hear all the acts, I especially liked Curtis Cooper's music.

Curtis Cooper just came out with a new album in January. Plenty of interesting lyrics and unique instrumentals. The album is "Laughing In Line", and, from the album, here is one of my favorite tracks, "Trouble Again" :::

Curtis Cooper has another show coming up on May 1, where he'll be headlining at Boot and Saddle. In the meantime, if you would like to check out his Facebook page, here is the click ::: Curtis Cooper on Facebook (CLICK HERE)

Feb 28 : "Every Day Is An Odyssey" - Drama Section (Brooklyn)

BEATING THE ODDS

Friday night I went to Palisades, one of my favorite venues, and heard "populist zombie jazz band" Drama Section do a live show. While their genre could generally be described as jazz and their style generally described as free-form, they venture into some noise and electronics as well, making their sound unique.

One of the first songs they played was "Every Day is An Odyssey", which was an excellent demonstration of the band's versatility. It starts out with a single four note phrase that's played by itself and then repeated. Gradually the other instruments join in one by one. The tempo increases gradually, the volume increases gradually until we've got a frenzy. As the "day" comes to a close, the music quiets down and the last thing we hear are those original four notes which we heard at the odyssey's beginning.

The band is a four-piece, having a saxophone, guitar, "big bass", and drums.

Here is "Every Day is An Odyssey" played by Brooklyn band Drama Section. This is the second track from their 2014 album, "Things Are Great Right Now: Live Selections Vol. 1".

I had a chance to talk for a few minutes with Nate Mendelsohn, the group's sax player. He told me that the band is newly arrived in Brooklyn, having come here from Oberlin, where the four first met and studied. They originally came from places as geographically diverse as Boston and Portland, OR, to name two. After graduation, they all decided to keep the band and move to Brooklyn together.

What they've done is something unusual; they've beat the odds. There are too many stories of excellent bands of college musicians that end tragically when the bandmembers go separate ways after graduation. Drama Section isn't succumbing to those patterns; these guys are keeping their band together and vibrant and moving forward. In fact they're coming out with a new tape, releasing the album on March 15th when they headline at Trans-Pecos. In the meantime, if you would like to visit Drama Section on line, here is the click to their Facebook page: Drams Section on Facebook (CLICK HERE)

Feb 19 : "Red Dress" - Sleepy Hahas (Buffalo)

Another band I heard at Pianos last week for the first time was Buffalo garage band "Sleepy Hahas". They did a powerful high-energy show. I liked it and am ready to see them again!

There's a lot going on in their music, and you've got to listen to the songs a few times in order to catch everything. Not only to catch all the instrumental nuances, but I would say you've got to read the lyrics as well (which happen to be printed on their Bandcamp page). Here again is some intense writing, but also with some subtleties that only come through after a few reads. Intense, passionate, and raw.

The way the music was mixed last Thursday at the Pianos show, the keys really stood out, maybe more than in the recorded versions. One of the songs that appears on both their Soundcloud and Bandcamp page is "Red Dress", which is the seventh track on their 2014 album "Dull Days".

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6/27/20 ::: UPDATE! ::: OOPS! Sleepy Hahas appears to have removed the song from their page, and they seem to have removed their entire Facebook page!

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Here is the click to the band's Bandcamp page showing the lyrics to "Red Dress". From there you can find links to the other songs in the "Dull Days" album ::: "Red Dress" music and lyrics on Bandcamp. And here is the click to the band's Facebook page ::: Sleepy Hahas on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

Feb 11 : "Dance (Get Off Your Ass)" - Queen of Jeans (Philly)

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released

Philly Music!

I thought I would make last Thursday "music night", so I went to Pianos after work, and, coincidentally enough, heard a band from Philly!

"Queen of Jeans" is a women-fronted rock group from Philly. They've been busy working on a new album which they released just a few weeks ago, and they played a lot of the new work at the Pianos show on Thursday. There were beautiful vocal harmonies which were much more pronounced in the live performance than on the recorded versions. Also interesting guitar work and instrumental arrangements.

Here is a sample song, "Dance (Get Off Your Ass)", which they played at the show and which is the lead song on their Soundcloud page :::

If you would like to hear them live, you're in luck! They're doing two live shows next week, one at Johnny Brenda's on Feb 19th and the other at Cake Shop on Feb 20th. Here is a list of their upcoming shows on Songkick. And here is the click to their Facebook page ::: Queen of Jeans on Facebook (CLICK HERE)

Feb 01 : "Keep Myself to Myself" - Repelican (Baltimore - Philly)

Back to the music. January 22 I went to Johnny Brenda's. This was my first full night out since last Spring, having had foot surgery with an unexpectedly long recovery.

First up for the evening was Baltimore & Philly - based artist, "Repelican". If there ever was an example to illustrate my suspicion that "Openers steal the Night", this was it. I was drawn into the performance right away. Even though this was a "solo" act, the sound was full and textured. At times the vocals would be live with a background of recorded percussion, or maybe a live onstage guitar with other instrumental backup, or maybe spoken word, or maybe rock, or maybe noise, or maybe jazz, or maybe a news recording. And how about if all this was in just one song? There were some shorter standard-length songs as well as a couple long pieces that included a little bit of just about everything.

In listening to Repelican, I never knew where we were going to go next. The instrumental arrangements were different in each piece, as were the tempos and stylings. Yet, pulling it all together, there was a "Replican" sensibility throughout. He also had some very engaging melodic lines.

I really enjoyed this show and am clicking in all the right places to find out about the next one. Can't be in two places at once? It seems he just might be. On Bandcamp he's based in Baltimore, but on Soundcloud he's based in Philly.

Here's a sample of some of the newer work he has posted. On Bandcamp his most recent album is "Pall Mall Blues". This is the second track, "Keep Myself to Myself". It starts out with a long intro, and the vocals join in at the 1:14 point :::

Repelican doesn't have any upcoming shows listed at the current time, but here is the click to the Facebook page, where you can find out more ::: Repelican on Facebook (CLICK HERE)

Jan 31 : "Lovely" - Melanie Marie (NJ)

"Valentine's Day, it's not just one day a year," says NJ artist Melanie Marie at the end of her video, titled "Lovely". Recorded previously, here it is as we get close to Valentine's Day 2016.

Last Summer and Fall I was unable to go to live shows because I had to limit being up and around after foot surgery. I was pretty much restricted to just going to work. But one night on my way home from work I did happen to hear Melanie Marie doing a live show at Hoboken Terminal as part of New Jersey Transit's "Music In Motion Concert Series". The way my schedule worked out, her show was the only one I caught this season.

Here's the video of Melanie Marie's original song, "Lovely" :::

At the present time, Melanie Marie doesn't have any upcoming shows listed on her page, but if you would like to keep an eye out for her next performance, here is the click to her Facebook page ::: Melanie Marie on Facebook (CLICK HERE)

Melanie Marie ends her video by saying "Valentine's Day, it's not just one day a year; make sure you always show how much you love your special people in your life."

Jan 17 : "Sun Goes Down [Remastered]" - The Once Was (Moorestown)

New Music / Recently Uploaded

This is my first post in a very long time. I had foot surgery over the summer and have had an unexpectedly long period of recovery. I haven't been out to a night of music since May! May 28 to be exact.

The last band I saw before I went into surgery was Moorestown band "The Once Was". On May 28 they did a good show to a packed room at Bourbon and Branch. Still don't know whether it was advisable to go out to hear music when my foot was in pain (Dr. won't catch me now hahaha), but I hadn't heard The Once Was in quite a while, and I wanted to hear some good music before I entered what I knew would be a long period of uncomfortable music "withdrawal". :)

Frank Cervantes is the mastermind of The Once Was as well as City Music Project. I've been following both bands for a few years, but hadn't heard either in a while. So May 28 was almost like hearing a new band because it was the first time I had heard most of those songs live.

The Once Was has a huge amount of work posted on their website. Their lead song on their Soundcloud page is "Sun Goes Down [Remastered]" :::

If you like what you hear and want to see them live, you're in luck, because The Once Was is doing a show at Silk City tonight at 9pm! If you can't get there but want to listen to more of their music on line, here is the click to their Soundcloud page: The Once Was (on Soundcloud)