Sep 10 : "In My Way". - White Lighters (Brooklyn)

Wow even better than the web page was my reaction when White Lighters began to play at their recent Alphaville show. I went out to Alphaville in Bushwick last week and saw White Lighters for the first time. They opened up the evening doing what seemed to be more complex instrumentals than what we hear on Bandcamp.

When I was in my pre-concert venues and bands cross-checking mode, I was drawn to the band's music because I liked its laid-back rock sound including some scraggly bumps-in-the-road in some of their song structures. However, when I got to the show, I was surprised to see what was almost a different band! While they played some of the same songs as on the web page, there was no more laid-back at this show! Very strong instrumentals with powerful drums as well as a tambourine along with two guitars.

One of the qualities I liked about the band's performance was listening to the guitars, at times each going its own way. Yet each combined into a cohesive presentation.

Here is a sample of their music. This is "In My Way", which is the opening track on their December, 2016 album, "White Heaters".

The music above is quite different from what you'll experience if you hear the band live. And, to do that, perfect timing, the band is returning to Alphaville tomorrow night!. If you'd like to visit the band's Facebook page, here is the click ::: White Lighters on Facebook.

Aug 22 : "Lemon Pie" - Bel Heir (Philly)

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (June)

Philly Music!

Another sensational show I saw Saturday night at Boot and Saddle was by Philly band "Bel Heir". Some great melodic lines; I've been listening to their Soundcloud a lot. Actually there is a stronger bass and rhythm in the Soundcloud version than there was at the show. Also some very vibrant changes in texture come through much better on Soundcloud. They just came out with some new music in June; it's on an ep, titled "Washed Up". Here is "Lemon Pie" (on Soundcloud) from that album. Stylistically this song represents what I like most about the band's music :::

I know I'm going to go back to hear them again, but right now Bel Heir doesn't have any other shows lined up. In the meantime, here is the click to their Facebook page where you can keep an eye on what they'll be doing next ::: Bel Heir on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

Aug 20 : "Toxic Boy" - Blame Candy (Mystery Town)

Last night I went to Boot and Saddle and saw glam rock outfit "Blame Candy" open up the evening. Good music and an over-the-top stage presence. This was my first time seeing them,; hope to see them again. ... None of their web pages indicates where they're from, so they could be from Mars or outer space. I'm just listing their location as "Mystery Town".

Here is a sample of their recent music from the past year. The song is "Toxic Boy":

Blame Candy is doing another show on September 20 at Knitting Factory. Here is the click to their Facebook page so you can keep an eye out: Blame Candy on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

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5/16/20 ::: Update ::: Looks like the band removed music from their site!

Aug 02 : Blues (Live at Q) - Nemes (Boston)

A violin in a rock band. Wow! That's part of the lineup of Boston band, "Nemes".

So here's one of those bands that sounds different in real life as compared to what they've got on the web. The music on Bandcamp sounds good, but no audio can possibly record anything near the high-energy raucous show that the band did at Pianos a few weeks ago, including, what the band calls "fiddle action glory".

The composition and structure of Nemes' music is different from that of the last two outfits I wrote about here. While the last two showed a tighter style in their composition, Nemes shows a far more free-form style of writing. In fact, the personality of a song can change multiple times in one track. Here is "Blues", which is the seventh and final track of their 2016 album, "Live in Studio - Q Divison"

Listen as the violin comes in and starts to become prominent near the 2.13 marker. And listen for major surprise structural changes at (approximately) 3.33, 4.35, and 7.57.

Nemes doesn't have other shows coming up in the NY or Philly areas, but here is the click to their Facebook page, where you can keep tabs on what they're doing. Nemes on Facebook (CLICK HERE)

Jul 30 : "Baby Making Music". - Don't Upset the Bear (NJ)

From "New Jersey" (don't know where in NJ) is the band "Don't Upset the Bear", who did a good show at Pianos a few weeks ago. Heard them for the first time. As I was checking out their web presence I was impressed by the music they had on line. Their most recent full-length album is "The Ghosts That Haunt Us", which was released last October. Each track on the album has its own personality, while each still bears the band's stylistic stamp. The album has a stylistic cohesiveness, yet is a good collection of individual songs. Something you don't always see. Here is "Baby Making Music", the fourth track on the album :::

Check out their whole album. Here is the click ::: "The Ghosts That Haunt Us" (CLICK HERE).