Thursday 2/2 at The Gutter and Friday 2/3 at Knitting Factory Brooklyn

Shellshag at Knitting Factory Brooklyn

Second Wind

I just wanted to say a few things about the shows I attended on Thursday and Friday nights last week.

On Thursday, I headed up to Brooklyn's Gutter Bar for Ex-Girlfriends' / Fruit & Flowers' tour kickoff show. The evening doubled as the release party for You're Next, Ex-Girlfriends' Little Dickman Records debut, and also featured Kino Kimino and The Off White. I'd been planning to attend ever since we had to cancel our Kino Kimino / Fruit & Flowers show at The Saint a couple of weeks ago; but, as the prospect of getting up to Brooklyn and coming home in the wee hours of the morning loomed, I began to lose my resolve. When Chris & Amy Dickman offered to handle driving duties, I bucked up and went for it.

The Off White

Kino Kimino

It was the right call. The Off White's loose and gritty charm has only been enhanced by their decision to bring Pat Brenner out from behind the drums to shepherd things as wild lead vocalist / ring master. Kino Kimino blew me away again with their off-center, 90s-inspired art rock. Ex-Girlfriends brought the riot grrrl punk as they slashed through the tracks on their burner of an EP. And Fruit & Flowers just mesmerized with their post-punk surf noir. More than all of that, though, the overall vibe of the evening was an uplift. Little Dickman, their bands, the friends of the label, everybody comes together in a beautiful, little community at all these shows; and it's a nice reminder of why I do all the stuff I do here at CoolDad Music.

Ex-Girlfriends

Fruit & Flowers

On Friday, I was beat. The second night of Don Giovanni Records' annual showcase was happening at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, and it was coming down to a game-time decision as to whether I was gonna make it or not. Vacation, Shellshag, Lee Bains III and The Glory Fires, California X, though, are all bands I love; and I wanted to finally catch Painted Zeros and Peter Stampfel. Off I went.

Painted Zeros

California X

Vacation

And -- I gotta say -- once again, the sets by each of the bands gave me a second wind. Vacation were relentless. One of the best punk bands going right now. Period. There's something very special about seeing Shellshag in a room full of people who know every song and adore the band. Lee Bains III and The Glory Fires leave everything on the stage, as they say; plus, they're this refreshing combination of straight-up southern rock and political awareness. Peter Stampfel is joyfully old-school, lefty, freak folk. California X bring the 90s fuzz I love so much, and Painted Zeros earned a new fan in me following their set of dream-, shoegaze-pop.

Peter Stampfel

Lee Bains III and The Glory Fires

Like Thursday, the music was only part of the experience. It's always fun catching up with the folks at Don Giovanni. The label has been super-supportive of CoolDad Music over the years; and, like Little Dickman, they've built a real sense of family and community. I felt it in the music and I felt it in all the time I spent chatting with people throughout the night.

I'm not the 42-year-old spring chicken that I was when I launched CoolDad Music back in 2012. Humping it into Brooklyn, standing at shows, and taking pictures for several hours can sometimes take a toll on me physically and mentally. So it's nice to spend a couple of days like I did last week singing along and chatting with people who are out there making art and giving it a chance to thrive for all the right reasons. It's the kind of thing that keeps me coming back... ...in a few days... ...after I've had a chance to rest up a bit...

Photos from both nights are up in the Flickr galleries.

Don Giovanni Records Showcase at The Knitting Factory Brooklyn, 2/7/15 (PHOTO LINKS)

Downtown Boys played. Craziness ensued.

Night 2

The dynamic duo of Allyson and me were back at Knitting Factory Brooklyn for the second installment of Don Giovanni's 2015 label showcase. After a bit of wrangling to ensure that I had a photo pass for the show, I was inside again and took up my spot front and center. Good thing I got that pass, too; because I went absolutely crazy taking photos on the second night.

Anyway, Chris Gethard was hosting again for Night 2. He'd noted the evening before that Don Giovanni are a label that think outside the box: Take the first two nights of the showcase and put them right next to each other. Then, hold Night 3 some number of weeks later. Even better, make that third night have two separate shows to confuse everyone even more.

Joe Steinhardt: "improv'er" / break dancer

Gethard again treated us to the comedy stylings of Don Giovanni executive Joe Steinhardt. This time Gethard and Steinhardt engaged in some long-form improv involving Ikea and break dancing. Both gamely attempted to execute spins on the stage. Gold.

Recent -- like really recent -- Don Giovanni signees Alice started things off with a short set. They seemed a little nervous which was pretty charming, and they definitely have a sound that touches on a lot of stuff I really like. Looking forward to the record.

brick mower produced one of my favorite records of 2014; and, while I missed them on Night 3 of last year's showcase, I've seen them several times locally since then. They had Chris Pierce on drums like they did when they opened for The Muffs at Asbury Lanes and sounded as tight as I've ever heard them.

Post-NSC stage.

Last year, Nuclear Santa Claust played the smaller Night 1 at Death By Audio. That was the most aggressive of the three nights with The Groucho Marxists, Vacation, Tenement, and Night Birds also on the bill. Just like last year, beers -- Beers. Not empty beer cans. -- hurtled toward the stage throughout the set. The band, which includes Don Giovanni "co-honcho" Zach Gajewski on bass, were soaked. Cans littered the stage when the set was done.

Pete Stampfel, Chris Gethard

Just before Worriers took the stage, New York underground legend Peter Stampfel joined Gethard onstage. He discussed some deeply personal experiences with vacuum cleaners and, when asked what advice he had for independent bands trying to make it, said simply, "Persevere." Chris Gethard called Stampfel a "perfect man."

I'd just seen Worriers at Asbury Lanes during one of the Home for the Holidays after-parties, and I'm really growing to love their sound and the content of Lauren Measure's songs. Saturday just solidified that for me.

The next two sets continued the surprise theme of the previous night. Philly's Pinkwash set up a stack of amps for guitarist Joey Doubeck. After some technical issues, Doubeck and drummer Ashley Arnwine delivered a short (Very short. Like 4 songs.) set of room-shaking guitar / drum rock.

As surprised as I was by the intensity of Pinkwash, nothing could have prepared me for Providence, RI's Downtown Boys. The band's politically charged, bi-lingual punk rock worked the crowd to the first real moshing, stage-diving frenzy of the weekend.

Downtown Boys and friends

Downtown Boys had guitar, bass, drums, saxophones, a guy jumping around hitting drumsticks together, and lead singer Victoria Ruiz. They had rage. As Ruiz made between song speeches about gender, race, and the police, her mother stood beaming at the front of the stage. Ruiz eventually climbed into the audience and ended up being hoisted aloft in what she claimed was her first-ever crowd surf. Drummer Norlan Olivo eventually followed Ruiz into the crowd and climbed atop his floor tom as the crowd held it over their heads. By the end of the set, people from the audience had joined the band onstage for a group sing and thrash. Totally crazy. Totally cathartic.

California X did a great job following the hardest act to follow of the night, closing things out with a wall of guitar noise. The band had a lot more room to move around than when I saw them a few weeks ago at Paradise Lost, and I could actually see them and take photos this time. I held my spot at the front of the stage and reveled in one of my favorite bands right now.

At the end of the night, I told Joe Steinhardt about my amazement with Downtown Boys, and he said, "We try to bring you the future here."

Don Giovanni bring more than that. It's obvious that Joe and Zach are signing and helping out bands that they really personally enjoy. The results of that approach are obvious when you feel the good vibes at one of these shows.

Two days. Two late, late nights. One traffic ticket. Thirteen bands. So worth it.

Links to all of the pics from Night 2 are below.

Chris Gethard, Joe Steinhardt, Peter Stampfel
Alice
Brick Mower
Nuclear Santa Claust
Worriers
Pinkwash
Downtown Boys
California X

California X, ROMP, Casual, American Lions Played Paradise Lost, 1/24/15

MA's California X finished their tour at Paradise Lost last night.

I Did the Basement Thing

I had the best time last night.

My complaining over the last week or so has been well-documented here. I've been kind of under the weather -- just enough to be annoying, but not enough to keep me laid up at home. I'd been looking forward to this show at Paradise Lost in New Brunswick since I got the invite a few weeks ago; but, when the day came, I wavered.

"It's all gross and snowy out. I'm gonna see ROMP next week, and I'm gonna see California X two weeks from now in Brooklyn."

I sucked it up, though. Went and grabbed Chris from Speak Into My Good Eye, and we drove up to Hub City together.

Paradise Lost is a dark, low-ceilinged basement somewhere in New Brunswick. Bands perform at one end, and the "green room" area is at the other, behind the furnace. Did I mention that the ceiling is super low?

New Brunswick's American Lions started things off with a wild set of pop punk. The tight quarters caused a few cables to get kicked out at points -- something that would happen throughout the night. It didn't slow anyone down. Things were pretty packed out from the beginning.

Casual, the Flemington band I'd seen open for Screaming Females, were next; and they seemed a lot more comfortable playing to the tightly-packed basement crowd than they did standing up on stage, playing to the early arrivals at The Lanes. I liked what I heard both times and put their self-titled cassette on again when I got home.

Chris and I decided to make our way forward for California X, a band whose latest LP came out on Don Giovanni on my birthday and who Chris and I have been enjoying since their self-titled debut two years ago. We slotted ourselves in at stage left, just next to the stairs. It was way too dark and crowded for any significant picture taking, but I think I managed a few shots of California X that capture the feel of the night.

For the band's part, they played a great set with all of the fuzz and riffage anyone could want; and it was kind of amazing to see them in that environment. I'll have the experience in the back of my mind during their set at The Knitting Factory on February 7th so that I can compare.

ROMP were just back from tour. Singer / keyboardist Madison Klarer had "won" a poll conducted by the band, receiving the most votes as the band member who would wear a bike helmet for the entire set. The helmet butted up against the ceiling joists a few times, but she was a trooper.

The audience turned out in force to welcome ROMP home and screamed along with every song, causing Klarer to stop a few times and declare her amazement. Picture-taking was out as our little area filled up with friends and fans of the band making any kind of movement extremely difficult. Guitarist Lucas Dalakian pogo'd throughout the set, stopping once to take a selfie with the section of the crowd on his side of the performance area.

Again, it will be interesting to see what the vibe is like when ROMP play the Court Tavern next week with Monterey, Semiotics, Deal Casino, and Dollys. The Court Tavern is in their hometown and "basement-y," but there's definitely more room to move around. I feel like the wild expressions of love and adoration may be a little bit less up-close and personal. We'll see.

There were definitely moments last night, as I wheezed and coughed in the tight space, when I wondered about my choice to head out to the show. But, by the time it was all over, I was feeling pretty good. As we left, I heard someone say, "Wow. That was the biggest, wildest show we've had here in a while."

I'm glad I didn't miss it.

Here are some pics of the set by California X. The rest are at Flickr.

Don Giovanni Records Showcase Starts Tonight. New Brick Mower.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

New Brunswick's Don Giovanni Records has grown into, quite simply, one of the most important independent record labels in the country. Nowhere is that more evident than at the label's annual showcase. Founded as kind of an alternative to the industry / corporate showcases at events like CMJ or SXSW, the Don Giovanni event features bands from the label, bands who are friends of the label, and a real sense of community.

This year's event spans three days in Brooklyn. Tonight's show is at Death By Audio and features Tenement, Vacation, Nuclear Santa Claust, The Groucho Marxists, and the Jersey Shore's Night Birds.

Nights Two and Three take place at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tomorrow night's lineup consists of Laura Stevenson, Shellshag, Upset, Worriers, and Nude Beach; while Saturday brings Screaming Females, California X, Brick Mower, Priests, and the currently Asbury-based Black Wine.

These are some great bands that I've written about often here and elsewhere (click the little tags at the bottom of this post or the "Speak Into My Good Eye" tab up above to see all of that). As of right now, it looks like tickets are still available for each night, including two-day passes to the MHOW shows. If you can't make it, watch for my coverage over at Speak Into My Good Eye.

Also, take a listen to the brand new "Shitty Parade" from New Jersey Pop Punks Brick Mower whose album Teenage Graceland comes out March 25th on Don Giovanni.

5 Albums from the Last 6 Months to Rock Your Summer

Rock Is Dead... Long Live Rock!

CoolDaughter #2 just got on the bus for what will be her last day of school. CoolDaughter #1 finishes up next Friday. Summer is upon us.

I thought about doing a mid-year list similar to the one I did last year, just listing my favorite records of the year so far. Instead, I thought I'd focus on something I've been noticing lately: It's been a good year for rock and roll.

It's easy to miss. If, like me, you spend much of your day listening to Sirius XMU, you may not have even noticed it. The National, Vampire Weekend, Ducktails, and Waxahatchee, to name a few, have all produced records this year that I love. None of them are really a rock record, though. The So So Glos and The Bronx definitely gave us some high energy, high octane sounds, but I'm calling those punk. mbv may be my favorite album of the year. Shoegaze.

What I'm talking about here is almost the sound of classic rock: guitar solos with lots of string bends, the hint of some country twang or maybe some 70s glam, heavy on pop sensibility. Sure, most of these records display some punk influence here, some grunge there. But each of them, I think, has roots in what we all used to hear on 102.7 WNEW or 92.3 KROCK back when I was a teenager biking to the beach.

So, in chronological order of release, here are 5 albums to keep you rocking all summer long.

California X, California X. The self-titled debut from this Amherst, MA band draws heavily on the sounds of the 1990s: Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur Jr. All of those bands, though, employed some tricks from Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix. Those earlier influences may come through most clearly on opener "Sucker," but you can hear them all through the record if you dig past the grunge. Almost every song here hides a radio-ready pop gem beneath all of the noise.



Wolf's Law, The Joy Formidable. Every great rock single needs a memorable guitar riff, and "Cholla" has, probably, the most memorable riff of the year so far. It's clear that this Welsh trio has arena aspirations, and don't be surprised if their proggy style, led by Ritzy Bryan's guitar, carries them all the way to that 20,000 seat arena show, broadcast live on the Internet by American Express.



New Moon, The Men. Sludgy, shoegazy, noise punk. That describes the sound of the early records from The Men. With New Moon, the band take what they started on Open Your Heart and expand upon it. "I Saw Her Face" is a twangy masterpiece reminiscent of Neil Young and The Rolling Stones. You'll get your Brooklyn punk here, but you'll also feel the space of the rural setting where the band recorded on many of the songs.



Cruise Your Illusion, Milk Music. Like California X, this band from Olympia, WA draws heavily from the same pool of influences that ended up producing much 1990s alternative rock. There are definitely similarities here to the sounds of many of Milk Music's Northwest forebears. You have to go back about 20 additional years, though, to find the Seattle artist who most heavily influences up-and-coming indie guitar hero Alex Coxen. Something about Coxen's tone gets fleeting images of Jimi Hendrix running through the mind for most of the record.



...Like Clockwork, Queens of the Stone Age. The band reached number 1 on the Billboard charts for the first time with ...Like Clockwork, their first record in six years. Leader Josh Homme combines all of his influences -- 1970s AOR like Bad Company, Bowie-style glam, Elton John (who appears on the record) -- with his distinctive personality to produce potential rock classics in songs like "If I Had a Tail" and "My God Is the Sun."



Sure, I enjoy my share of bleeps and bloops or jangle pop or surf pop or twee or punk. Sometimes, though, you just want to sit back in your chair, sunglasses on, watching the waves pound the shore with some rock and roll pumping in your headphones.

Have a safe, productive and rockin' summer.

1990's Indie Rock Is Alive and Well... ...In Paris -- Wonderflu

"Fine Now"

Seattle, Washington.  Amherst, Massachusetts.  Paris, France.  One of those cities doesn't necessarily qualify as an indie rock stronghold of the early to mid-1990's.

Well, Wonderflu are a Parisian quartet with a sound steeped in the power chords and guitar solos of post-Nevermind indie rock.  Like Amherst's California X, Wonderflu draw heavily on the sounds of Nirvana and Blue Album-era Weezer on their upcoming EP No End In Sight.

You can stream the first track from the EP over at the band's Soundcloud page.  If you happen to be in Paris on March 14th, you can head to the record release show over at Espace B.  Otherwise, you can just grab the EP from the band's website on that same day.

California X, California X

Review at SIMGE

I've been talking a lot about California X over the last week.  Their hometown and their focus on heavy, distorted guitars have generated more than a few comparisons to Dinosaur Jr.  Head over to Speak Into My Good Eye and read about how I think, even though they sound really good, they don't sound all that much like J, Lou, and Murph.  I also give a few shouts out to their great record label, Don Giovanni Records.

There's even a bonus mini-rant about early swim meets.

New California X Video

"Spider X"

California X have provided Pitchfork.tv with a video for "Spider X" off of their self-titled debut out now on New Jersey's Don Giovanni Records.

I think we're all pretty clear by now that big, fat guitar sounds from Amherst, MA are something that I quite enjoy.

So, here you go.

First, Big 2013 Release Day

So Many Things to Spend Money On

At the end of last year, I was wondering which records I was looking forward to in 2013.  Maybe it was a sluggishness of mind brought on by the holidays, but I honestly had trouble thinking of anything.  Then, today, a whole bunch of interesting stuff arrived at the record store.  Well, as usual, it didn't actually arrive at my local record store; but we knew that already.

California X, California X -- Guitar-heavy sludge punk from Amherst, MA.  How could I say no?

Christopher Owens, Lysandre -- First solo effort from the former Girls frontman.

Parquet Courts, Light Up Gold (really the second release for this record) -- Jangly pop post-punk.  Or is it post pop-punk?

Free Energy, Love Sign -- Power pop from The City of Brotherly Love.

And of course...

Yo La Tengo, Fade -- Pre-ordered this one from Matador and wrote it up for Speak Into My Good Eye.

Maybe you actually live near a record store that will have some or all of these.  If not, they should be available in all the usual places.  It's gonna be a good year.