Odds and Ends. Catching Up.

Twin Peaks at Wonder Bar

Quiet But Busy

I'm starting to sound like a broken record here, but I've really had a hard time sitting down and focusing on writing for the blog lately. The last 12 months have been stressful, to say the least; and I'm sure anyone who's been dealing with some heavy issues in their life can relate to the exhaustion and loss of focus that can come with just getting through every day. That said, I have maintained a pretty rigorous show-going schedule. I've been taking pictures and trying to keep the CoolDad Music Instagram account active. One of the things that I used to pride myself on here at CoolDad Music, though, was sharing the details of my live music experiences. With that in mind, here are some of the highlights from the past week or so.

Thursday, 9/27. Alvvays, Snail Mail, Hatchie at Warsaw

No camera for Alvvays, so phone pics will have to do.

It feels like I had tickets to this one for months. Turns out that was a good idea because Alvvays sold out three consecutive nights at Warsaw in Brooklyn. Thursday was their second night at the venue headlining an absolutely amazing bill that also featured Snail Mail and Australia's Hatchie.

A few weeks ago, it became clear that CoolMom wasn't gonna make this one, so I reached out to my fellow Alvvays fans, the Bornemanns, to see if anyone wanted to join me. Emily already had plans to see one of the shows, so Justin and I made the trip up to Brooklyn together. This was the second time that I wasn't able to obtain photo credentials to shoot Alvvays in Brooklyn; so it was just enjoy the show with my buddy, which is always cool. Oh, also, pierogies.

Opener Hatchie, whose Sugar & Spice EP came out this past spring, opened with her ethereal and accessible dream pop. I heard a lot of 80s alternative pop influence in her sound -- at one point turning to Justin and mentioning that I was getting a John Hughes movie vibe. I also kept thinking of The Sundays.

Hatchie

Snail Mail have been relentless road dogs since the release of Lush back in June. I felt like they changed up the tempo on a couple of the songs like "Heat Wave" and "Pristine" from the recorded versions, slowing things down just a bit. Even so, the set flew by and I was surprised and slightly bummed when it ended. Always leave 'em wanting more isn't a bad thing, though. There was a healthy portion of the sold-out crowd that was there specifically to see Lindsey Jordan and company, and they ate it up.

Snail Mail

A couple of random notes from Snail Mail's set: Drummer Ray Brown carried his snare on stage in a case adorned with a RockNRoll HiFives sticker. Lindsey Jordan's referring to Alvvays as a "no mistakes core" band was spot on.

Alvvays blew me away. As Jordan pointed out, they were amazingly tight and on-point. Molly Rankin's vocals were so perfect that I had to look and listen closely a couple of times just to see whether or not the band were playing to tracks. They weren't. The set was everything I, as a big fan of the band, could have wanted. It featured my favorite songs ("In Undertow," "Lollipop," "Plimsoll Punks," "Adult Diversion," "Next of Kin," and stone classic "Archie, Marry Me," among others) from both of Alvvays's stunning albums. Understandably, the set was heavier on the band's sophomore record, Antisocialites; but that was fine by me.

This ranks as one of the best bills / shows, top-to-bottom, that I've seen.

Saturday, 9/29. Twin Peaks, Lowlight at Wonder Bar for Sea. Hear. Now Late Show

Twin Peaks

I didn't make it to any of the Sea. Hear. Now festival this weekend in Asbury Park. From what I saw on Instagram and Facebook, it looked absolutely packed. When Chris Dickman and I got to Asbury Park on Saturday night for this show, the place was hopping.

The cooldaughters had their first swim meet of the season this weekend, and heading out to an all-day festival for two days just wasn't in the cards for me. When Lowlight announced they'd be opening this after-show for Twin Peaks, though. I immediately made plans to attend.

As I waited on the ID line to get into the venue, multiple groups of festival-goers in front of me opted to leave rather than pay the $23 cover at the door. I guess I understand that given that they'd already paid for a two-day festival pass and would be able to catch Twin Peaks on the Park Stage the following night. But I can just about guarantee that seeing the band on the big festival stage was nothing compared to seeing them in what ended up being a rowdy, sweaty, and packed-out Wonder Bar.

First things first, though. I did my usual thing (which is, admittedly, getting kind of old) of getting inside and walking up front to stake out a spot to shoot the photo-pitless show. [Aside: Yes, the "three songs and out" rule in the photo pit is arbitrary and annoying; but give me a photo pit and its forced limitations over fighting the crowd every day of the week.] Twin Peaks' fans seem pretty dedicated, and the crowd was already filling in an hour or more before the band was set to take the stage. I was pretty much stuck with one vantage point for the entire show, but that's life.

Lowlight

Lowlight kicked things off and really connected with the Twin Peaks crowd. Lowlight's synth-soaked, expansive sound may not seem like an obvious pairing with Twin Peaks' garage rock leanings; but everyone around me up front was pretty much going nuts for them. That's a testament right there to the fact that good songs always win out. This was another case where the opening set was just a little too short for me, but something tells me I'll catch Lowlight again.

Twin Peaks fans

By the time Twin Peaks hit the stage, Wonder Bar was either sold out or damn close to it. The Chicago band put on a great live show, and their fans love them. I stuck it out up front to get a few shots, but I started to feel like I should let some of these people get up close to their heroes and bailed after a few songs. I kept watching from different points in the venue, and the guys had the crowd going apeshit. Again, if you opted to wait until you saw this band on the big stage outside (where I'm sure they were great, but still...), you done blew it.

Sunday, 9/30. The RockNRoll HiFives at Hoboken Fall Arts & Music Festival

The RockNRoll HiFives

The Centenos have relocated their base of operations to North Carolina, but yesterday they returned to New Jersey to play an afternoon set at the Hoboken Fall Arts & Music Festival. They played the big stage; and, at one point, Joe commented on how cool it was to be playing that stage in Hoboken after all the years he and Gloree had spent walking up and down Washington Street together.

I made the trip up to my early-90s home to catch and catch-up with my friends. They had a good crowd of supporters as well as, I'm sure, people seeing them for the first time. It was a beautiful day; and, as always, The RockNRoll HiFives gave it everything they had in a high-energy, ultra-positive set. Joe flew threw the air. Eilee wildly tossed her hair. Gloree and Evren held everything together with precision.

Not all heroes wear capes, but some do.

When they were done, it was hugs and a little bit of chit-chat before I headed back home for dinner with the CoolFamily. It was a quick hit, but totally worth it.
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So that's that. I'm really going to make a concerted effort to get some reviews and stuff posted on the site this week, especially with the North Jersey Indie Rock Festival -- which I'm co-sponsoring again -- coming up this Saturday at White Eagle Hall. No promises, but you can always stay up to date with my comings and goings by keeping an eye on the Flickr galleries and Instagram.