Scene Report: Braid with A Great Big Pile of Leaves & Marietta @ Asbury Lanes! 7/23/2014

HEY, YOU KIDS! GET OFF MY LAWN!!!

I think I've been crossing more things off of my unknown bucket list. Last night, I saw Braid in a bowling alley. Way, way back in the 90s, I wanted to see bands play at the Fireside Bowl in Chicago. I romanticized the idea quite a bit as the touring bands I worked with of that era played there on the regular. The Midwest indie rockers of the mid 90s mixed with John Hughes movies of the 80s and a dash of fanzines and word of mouth made it seem like Fireside Bowl was a little slice of punk rock heaven. In my 20s, that was enough to go on. Never made it to Chicago; but I do get to live that dream, living in close proximity to just that sort of venue: Asbury Lanes. I started pestering Jim just after this show was announced. I wanted him to love Braid the way I did then, and now.

Marietta are a Philly band that I was unfamiliar with before the show. On first listen, they reminded me a bit of American Football and Modern Baseball. I wish I had a hockey related band name to include; but this was my first impression, kids. They drew a great early crowd who sang along from the get-go, but I needed to retreat to the steps for a little cool breeze. The Lanes can be downright tropical at times. I'm sure we'll cross paths again.

Next up was A Great Big Pile Of Leaves or AGBPOL, for short. Kids and their acronyms. LOL, WTF. I heard their 2013 LP You're Always On My Mind (not a Willie Nelson reference) sometime last year. It didn't stick at the time, but I'm going to go back and give it another chance. They were solid live; and, although I can't name a tune, I was engaged. The kids dug it, too. Sing along choruses and they packed them kids tight into the tiny spot at the foot of the stage. They all pogoed and swayed and threw in a little crowd surfing for good measure. Great set and definitely worth checking in on again.

Jim worked his way in and out the crowd taking pictures and sweating. My buddy Joey made it out. He's an old indie rock vet from back in the day so our old guy duo was now a power trio. Braid hit the stage with the energy and passion of bands half their age. They still love what they do, and it shows. Their new LP No Coast is great and shows how they've grown as musicians during their absence from the grind of writing and touring.

Braid were a touring machine once upon a time. I'm pretty sure I saw them at CBGBs and Brownies on more than one occasion. Toss in a few VFWs for good measure. No bowling alleys though. That problem is now solved.

The combination of dancing and humidity made Asbury Lanes feel like Kuala Lumpur. I was drowning during "New Nathan Detroits." That's my jam.

There are plenty of bands with two singers that do call and response vocals, but none quite like Bob and Chris. They work separately and in unison, layering different lyrics. Not harmonizing, but separation and interplay. Think The Beatles' “I've Got A Feeling.”

The rhythm section was a well-oiled machine not counting one bass breakdown. Once we got a replacement bass in, we were back up and running at a breakneck pace. The set was tight and held down the classics. There was a brief break for an encore. I'm not gonna run down a set list. Past and present were all represented, and the closing number was a deep cut from The Age Of Octeen. I'm not going to spoil the set list just in case you'll be heading out during the rest of these dates. And you should.

With all this discussion of revival -- and it has been quite the topic online as of late -- get out and go see bands like Braid, Frontier(s), and Mineral. See where it came from. See what your favorite bands are emulating. Go back to go forward. And buy their records. Then go start your own band. That's my final answer. Now get off my lawn, you screaming kids!

Pics by CoolDad. More at Flickr.

Show Preview: Braid, A Great Big Pile of Leaves, Marietta at Asbury Lanes TONIGHT 7/23/14

Get Yer Emo On

I don't know if you've heard, but we're going through a bit of an emo revival right now. Well, tonight, Asbury Lanes hosts Braid, the influential early-to-mid 90s post-hardcore pioneers who returned just this month with their first proper album in almost 16 years. You don't have any number of bands on the current indie / emo / pop punk scene without Braid.

Our own Scotch LaRock gave us his real-time impressions of Braid's No Coast a little while back. He's a student of the genre and has been talking Braid up to all of us here since the show announcement. I trust the man's taste, so we'll both be at Asbury Lanes tonight with bells on. You should come by and say hi.

Also on the bill will be Brooklyn's A Great Big Pile Of Leaves, one of the standard bearers for the current revival who come down on the more-pop-than-post-hardcore side of things. Philly's Marietta round things out, making for a solid midweek slate of melodic riffs and confessional songwriting. How better to spend a Wednesday?

Doors for the all ages show open at 7pm, and $18 gets you through the doors.

Braid, No Coast, 2014

Real-Time First Impression

First listen via NPR

Sixteen years in the making. Well not really, but it has been that long since one of my all time fave albums, Frame & Canvas, came out. Braid are streaming their latest; and I'm stream of consciousnessing it, track by track.

1. "Bang" – Classic Braid. Solid opener. All Bob Nanna. Chris Broach, where you at?
2. "East End Hollows" - “Take these dreams and throw them out the window”
3. "No Coast" – Has been on repeat for a bit. I imagine the Fireside Bowl.
4. "Damages!" - “I can't collect!” Total rocker. Chris Broach pounding through.
5. "Many Enemies" – Another rocker. CB blistering energy. From the 2013 split with Balance and Composure
6. "Pre-Evergreen" – BN back, sweet and introspective.
7. "Put Some Wings On The Kid" – A return to some of the Midwest sound they helped foster and many have tried to duplicate. “That's what we did.”
8. "Lux" – Another tune I've played a bunch from the B&C split. BN gets a rocker.
9. "Doing Yourself In" - “she knows the business, she knows you're in this”
10. "Climber New Entry" – Finally a rockin' CB. “Yeah!” This is a throwback to the early years.
11. "Light Crisis" – Dig that sample to open. BN: “For Chicago I get shy (Chi?)”
12. "This Is Not A Revolution" – Dreamy and mature. I love the vocal interplay.

One listen, straight through. So solid. I don't have a stars or points system for this sort of thing. All you get is I really like it.

Years later, Braid and I continue to grow together. I'm not the same person I was in 1998, and they shouldn't be either. Grown up isn't so bad. The only thing that is consistent is change... Yeah, I know you know... I'm glad Braid are back. Go see them later this month in Asbury at Asbury Lanes. This record is all heart. Remember, our songs are sing along songs.

No Coast is due on July 8th from Top Shelf Records.

Looking Forward to Look Back or Transistors, Man

A Workforce Block and a Twofer from Scotch LaRock

It's The Little Things

I know we don't chat up the movies much around here, but every time the Guardians Of The Galaxy trailer comes on and I hear Norman Greenbaum's “Spirit In The Sky” backed with Blue Swede's “Hooked On A Feeling,” I go back. Well-played tugging at my childhood heart strings, Marvel.

Imagine I was a wee lad navigating the AM dial during the age of transistor radios when I stumbled upon 66WNBC. My world changed. Soon I discovered what you know today as AM Gold and Howard Stern. I heard the Monkees on the radio after seeing them on TV and thought that was the craziest thing ever. I do vaguely remember a WNBC tag line calling Stern How-weird Stern, but that could all be a foggy dream. Over time, I graduated to a new FM radio and WNEW. WNEW had Scott Muni, TwoFer Tuesday, and Workforce Blocks. The second or third track in a Workforce Block set could net you a deep cut. I loved it. Then, there was Get The Led Out with Carol Miller. Side note: I had a big crush on her and imagined we went to concerts together. Clearly, I had the radio on all day; and it was strange times for me. I lived in my headphones.

Eventually I swung around to where the Replacements wanted you to join them on the “Left of the Dial." Don't even get me started on the part where I found Kool DJ Red Alert on KISS-FM, 'cause that's a whole other universe and includes the story of how I acquired this nickname.

So today in the spirit of radio days gone by, here's my Workforce Block. I'm gonna call it: “They're Back."

Over the past couple of weeks there's been news of interesting new releases and some tracks “dropped." Is that what kids say now? "Dropped." Anyway, there are some tunes that I'm excited about for some bands that I've been missing. I've written about Frontier(s) before, and the track "Bare Hands" is great. It mixes everything that I've enjoyed about the history of the members of this band, right through to the now. I don't want to rush summer, but seeing them live can't come soon enough.

Braid's Frame & Canvas is one of my favorites of the 90s. I saw them a bunch of times. You know the story. Well the kids are back with a classic. "No Coast" is like an old friend that dropped by and you picked right up where you left off the last time you were together.

I'm glad Spoon are back. It's been a minute or two. And what a return. I can't wait to spend time with this record when it comes out. Girls Can Tell, Kill The Moonlight, Gimme Fiction and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga all feel like classics to me. Oh, "The Underdog," man that is a tune. "Fitted Shirt." Britt Daniel you songsmith, you. "Rent I Pay" is the first single and it flat out rocks. It's been on a loop for the last twenty minutes. Yeah belt it out, Britt.

Another in the welcome back category are The New Pornographers. A little AC Newman here, a little Neko Case there and a lot of me waiting around for the magical mist to whip it all together. I always leave Dan Bejar out, and that's just rude of me (CoolDad: Dan Bejar's songs are my personal favorites: "Jackie," "Chump Change," "Ballad of a Comeback Kid," "Myriad Harbour." ). They, too, are touring. I will have to wait 'til November, but that is just fine. It will give me enough time to learn the words and imagine I'm one of their 68 members. Maybe I can shake a tambourine...

And now here's a twofer... featuring members of The Bouncing Souls.

Take it waaaaay back there. "Joe Lies." Vintage. The Souls are playing the Pony Summer Stage this summer and my boy T.Slice is going. I'm going to try and hit the House of Vans show with Gorilla Biscuits as well. Our songs, they're sing along songs here, too.

The Pete plays guitar in Smalltalk. Jim had a killer review. You should read it. I've been playing this on repeat as well. So back when I was spending time caught in the middle of two very weak radio signals, I'd flip from WDRE/LIR over to WHTG and back again in an attempt to catch a something that I couldn't find elsewhere. Smalltalk kicks back to those times. Go see them.

Keep up with the CoolDad while he looks forward at the Northside Festival. I'm going to man the fort here with headphones on and look back, keeping tabs on some of my past faves making music today. If you're out, say hi; and, as always, see you 'round the schoolyard.