Simply put, this is the best show I’ve seen all year so far. I’d wait another twenty seven years to see them hit these shores again, though it looks like I won’t have to since they’re doing another U.S. tour in the spring!
I picked this up at their show here last week. It starts off with four alternate versions of songs from their original ‘70s incarnation (including the the title track, played in such a way that you can make out singer PENELOPE HOUSTON’s lyrics easier) and the rest of it is dedicated to a live set at the Old Waldorf from 1979. Among the selections are unrecorded songs “Zero Hour,” “Release Me” and “Misery (Finger on the Trigger)”, which make this disc worthwhile for hardcore fans. The recording suffers from a bit of scratchiness, but it does capture The Avengers at their rawest and most primal.
The excellently funny title aside, this is one of my favorite new records of the year so far. Forgoing the “quiet is the new loud” approach of their last two long-players, Hoboken’s finest return with a disc that’s truly all over the place, ranging from a CAN meets “Sister Ray” ish noise-freakout on the opening “Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind” to “Mr. Tough”, an ‘60s r’n’b-flavored song sung by bassist JAMES MCNEW in his pretty falsetto. Also included are two garage-rock rave-ups and the closing, perhaps autobiographical “The Story of Yo La Tengo”, but in between we also get several beautiful instrumentals (including the eight-minute plus “Daphnia”) and several ‘60s psych -influenced numbers as well. For such a diverse and sprawling record, though, it flows amazingly well. I listened to it three times in a row on the first day that I got it and I’ve been listening to it at least once a day since. I can’t recommend it enough.
I picked up this 7” EP at their show here last week because it has an exclusive B-side that’s not on their new album Zeno Beach. The A-side is a shorter version of one of Zeno Beach’s best songs with the intro cut out. This is a good choice, as it’s punchier and spikier on 45 than on the album. The B-side is the good but not essential “Rock Bottom”, which nonetheless would have fit in nicely on Zeno Beach. It’s on cherry red colored vinyl, too.
Like the RADIO BIRDMAN show at the same venue a mere four days later, I hope that I don’t have to wait another twenty-seven years for them to come back here. While they weren’t as jaw-dropping as Radio Birdman, it was still incredible to hear all of those old songs played live by Penelope, original guitarist GREG INGRAHAM and two very enthusiastic members of THE PLUS ONES.
Despite its lack of any kind of ventilation other than some barely-working fans, this is fast becoming one of my favorite venues in town. Less than a week after the incredible Avengers and Radio Birdman reunion shows, this awesome double bill came to town. The Gossip’s dance-punk, led by singer BETH DITTO’s unbelievable soul-influenced vocals, fared much better here than at the larger and more impersonal Starlight Ballroom, where they opened for MATES OF STATE back in March. Furthermore, openers Erase Errata played a similarly excellent set that recalled the finest moments of female-led post-punk acts like AU PAIRS, DELTA 5 and BUSH TETRAS.
When I saw them at the Terrastock festival back in April, I liked this band, but I felt that their new lineup (this album finds them with a new singer and rhythm section along with bassist TOM LEONARD adding even more guitar assault) hadn’t quite gelled yet. On this, their fifth full-length album, however, they completely smoke. Do you like late ‘60s-inspired noisy-psych freakouts? Does the thought of seeing BLUE CHEER back in 1968 fill you with joy? Do you “wake and bake” to HAWKWIND’s Space Ritual on a daily basis? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you need this album.
Recorded several years before their commercial breakthrough Agents of Fortune (featuring the hit “Don’t Fear the Reaper”), Blue Oyster Cult’s third album found them ever so slightly toning down the metal leanings of their first two albums into a poppier, more cohesive statement. Fortunately, though, they hadn’t lost their absurdist sense of humor or their songwriting knack. This record is a monster from start to finish, opening with “Career of Evil” (with lyrics penned by PATTI SMITH) and also including the excellent “Dominance and Submission”, the song which gave RADIO BIRDMAN the title of their landmark first album Radios Appear.
I was pleasantly surprised to see The Dears featured in a side blurb in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, which profiled several upcoming indie releases including this one. If they do achieve more success on this album than with their previous efforts, it couldn’t happen to a better band as their unpretentious, heart-on-sleeve songwriting (which is in direct contrast to so much image-conscious indie-rock) and jaw-dropping live performances made me a fan from the first time I saw them at Maxwells, when they played to twenty people on a Wednesday night. Either way, I hope they come play here soon as I’m really looking forward to hearing these excellent new songs live.
This solo album is decidedly different from her day job as the singer of the raucous, high-energy METRIC. Instead, this is a meditative, mellow mood piece featuring Emily on piano. As I’ve just started listening to it, I don’t know how much the songs will stick, but I have a feeling that this will be a grower.
