Weekend Fun with Algebra II & Heart Bones

Algebra II at Asbury Park Brewery

AP to NYC

This past Friday night, I headed over to Asbury Park Brewery to catch the release show for Algebra II's debut album, Why Would Anyone Think This Goes Here? The album is the culmination of six years of making music together for Maggie Pakutka (guitar / vocals), Gabby Evergreen (cello), and Lewie D'Avanzo (drums, bass). I've dug Algebra II's combination of sweetness and noise for a while now.

Their vibe, I think, is best summed up by a little story. A couple of years ago, I booked Algebra II for a show at the Asbury Hotel. They went on last. There was this guy in a big, red MAGA cap hanging around the bar and making scrunched up faces at the other bands who played that night. When Algebra II was setting up, he noticed the cello and said something like, "Aah... Here we go. Finally, some good music." But once Maggie dug into her SG, Lewie started banging the drums, and Gabby started dragging her bow across the strings, the guy stuck his fingers in his ears and ran out. It really was good music, and the rest of us had a fantastic time.

On Friday, Algebra II put together a bill that included some of Jersey's finest bands. There were happy birthday balloons and tiny party hats. We got the shoegazy dream pop of New Brunswick's Resounding NO, the jangly power-pop of Bloomfield's Joy Cleaner, and the loud, folky, indie rock of Jersey City's Long Neck. The evening culminated with Algebra II playing their new record front to back. In addition to good music, the whole night was full of some really good feeling; and those are always the best shows.

Resounding NO

Joy Cleaner

Long Neck

Algebra II

Algebra II

On Sunday, Chris Dickman and I headed up to (le) Poisson Rouge in Manhattan to catch Heart Bones. Sunday afternoons on the Parkway headed towards NYC are never the best, so Chris and I decided to roll the dice with New Jersey Transit. Surprisingly, the train was only about 20 minutes late and we made it to the show in pleeeeeenty of time. I'm gonna say we were the first two people in the venue, which isn't unusual for me; but Chris -- justifiably -- thought I was nuts.

Anyway...

(le) Poisson Rouge is in the heart of my old NYU student stomping grounds, and I always love going back to Greenwich Village. When I went to school there, (le) Poisson Rouge was the legendary Village Gate, and I saw a few shows in the upstairs performance space. Shows at LPR take place downstairs, and Sunday's show was set up in-the-round, with the stage in the middle of the room.

Good Fuck (Tim Kinsella and Jenny Pulse) were the scheduled openers, but had to cancel because of an emergency. Simon O'Connor of Simon Doom filled in with a solo set backed by tracks from his iPhone. I saw O'Connor's other project, Spiral Heads, open for Sweet Spirit a few weeks back; and I've been digging his post-punk influenced songs.

Simon Doom

I caught Heart Bones when they came through on their Dirty Dancing tour at the end of last year and I had a blast. On Sunday, Sabrina Ellis and Har Mar Superstar took full advantage of the in-the-round setup by having the audience walk circles around the stage as they played to all corners. That highly-interactive aspect of the show, combined with the eminently danceable songs (check out singles "Little Dancer," "This Time It's Different," and "Disappearer"), made for another joyful evening.

Heart Bones

Heart Bones

Heart Bones

Afterwards, Chris and I stopped for pizza at the place I went to almost every day during my freshman and sophomore years of college and then headed back to Jersey like a couple of snails on NJT.

CoolMom was out of town on Sunday, so I stayed up super late editing pictures. That made Monday pretty much a lost day, and I couldn't really finish this up before heading to CoolDaughter 2's swim meet on Tuesday. But you've got it this morning, so now you can rejoice. All the pics will be at the Flickr account.

Death Played (le) poisson rouge with The Everymen and Purling Hiss, 7/1/2013

Relief! Rock-n-Roll!

It's always hard for me to come back from time off. I had three days off with the family last week. Even though I came back to work for two days, I hadn't yet really gotten into the groove. Then yesterday ended up being a stormy washout, and I'll admit it had me feeling a little sluggish. The idea of heading up to the City alone for a Monday night show just started to seem less appealing as the day progressed.

After making the kids their dinner and swigging a cup of coffee, though, I sucked it up and headed out. There was absolutely no traffic, and I basically flew into New York. Things were looking good. I got to (le) poisson rouge with about thirty minutes to spare, met some really great people, had a beer, and started to feel like I was good to go.

The Black Rock Coalition presented the show along with (le) poisson rouge. Militia of Swear on Your Life and Judas Priestess acted as the evening's emcee. She brought The Everymen to the stage at just about 8 o'clock. New Jersey state flags draped the amplifiers on either side of the stage, and the band had added a trumpet player.

I've seen The Everymen's set several times over the last few months. There's this amazing thing that happens every time. Whether they're playing to a crowd of indie rock kids in Brooklyn, at a cold Sunday night show in Hoboken, at the normally dance-free zone of The Saint, or towards the end of a 12-hour marathon, they get the crowd dancing like crazy. It starts at different times. Last night it seriously got started during their cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Ain't Good Enough for You," Mike V leaning over the edge of the stage to share the mic with a particularly enthusiastic fan.

After that warm-up (which is an understatement given the almost non-existent air conditioning at the venue), Philadelphia's Purling Hiss took the stage right on time at 9. The power trio is led by guitarist Mike Polizze; and they turned in a blistering performance, alternating between the heavy rock ("Lolita") and indie pop ("Mercury Retrograde") featured on the excellent Water on Mars.

At this point, I was a sweaty mess even after not having done much but my usual head-bobbing. Unsatisfied with most of the pictures I was getting (The Everymen usually put out way more kinetic energy than my little point and shoot can handle as it is), I moved front and center against the stage for Death's set.

Militia came back out and introduced the Detroit trio of Bobby Hackney (bass), Dannis Hackney (drums), and Bobbie Duncan (guitar) noting that, "Before there was a word for it..." Death were "punk pioneers." The band immediately lit into "Knockin' on the Door" from the rediscovered ...for the Whole World to See. All of the tracks from that record got huge reactions from the crowd. The biggest, wildest reactions, though, came for "Freakin' Out" and "Politicians In My Eyes."

During "Freakin' Out," the surge of the crowd behind me repeatedly thrust me against the stage. Stage-divers (many of whom probably should've made sure that someone was going to catch them), including Militia, started flying overhead. The whole crowd was a pulsing, sweaty mass. What must've been a whole pint of beer washed over all of us up front. It was fantastic.

At a few points during the set, a chant of "Death! Death! Death!" erupted from the crowd. It really was amazing to hear, given that the band's music had been shelved for almost forty years because record companies couldn't get past the name.

Bobby Hackney announced that Death had recorded a new album, and the band played two of those songs last night: "Playtime" and, as an encore, upcoming single "Relief" with its chorus of "Relief! Relief! Relief! Rock 'n Roll!" I don't think Death could've come up with anything else that better summed up my evening.

I got out to the street and stopped to take a breather in the relatively cool air. A man selling roses started to give me his pitch. I told him I didn't need a rose, but I gave him a buck anyway. "Why are you so sweaty, man? You been drinking?"

"No," I said. "Rock and roll."

My Old Stomping Grounds

Los Campesinos! at Le Poisson Rouge, New York, NY, June 22nd, 2012

Nearly a quarter-century ago, when I arrived as a freshman at NYU, the campus was in a bit of upheaval.  Along with the implementation of a new schedule, which meant that classes would be in session during the Jewish High Holy Days in early September, NYU’s administrative staff were on strike for my first week or two of classes.  Together, these situations meant that professors had some decisions to make.  Professors canceled classes that met on one or the other of the holidays.  Many professors also held classes off campus so they wouldn’t have to cross picket lines.

In my case, the strike meant that my first-ever class at NYU took place at the headquarters of some union local near campus.  Many of my friends had their first classes in more interesting places:  cafes, restaurants, The Bottom Line, and The Village Gate.  I always think of that when I hear or read about The Village Gate – how cool it was that I was going to school at a place where professors could just move a class there.  I thought about it again last night as CoolMom and I headed into Le Poisson Rouge, which sits on the old site of my friend Bob’s first class at NYU, to see Los Campesinos!.

This was going to be an early show.  I think there was a DJ set or something scheduled for later at night.  So CoolMom and I had to rush a bit for what I thought would be around an 8pm start for the headliners.  We walked past most of the Campesinos! sitting on a bench in front of the merch table as we entered, so we knew we were ok.  We arrived in time to catch the second half of the set from Yellow Ostrich, and watched from the rear of the crowd.  Tom Campesinos! was watching from the same location, as it turned out, and he seemed to be enjoying it.

I can understand why.  What we saw was very good.  Yellow Ostrich are a trio that play noisy pop, featuring lots of overdriven guitar and an occasional horn.  They did an excellent job getting the energy level of the crowd up in preparation for Los Campesinos!  Last night was my first exposure to Yellow Ostrich, and I’ll be spending some time today checking out their catalog.

Los Campesinos! took the stage at around 8:30.  I think there’s a difference between “pop punk” and “punk pop” if that makes any sense.  Los Campesinos! fall firmly into the latter category as far as I’m concerned.  What surprised (and delighted) me last night was that, during their live performance anyway, the “punk” component of their musical DNA becomes much more prominent.  Lyricist / lead singer / glockenspieler Gareth Campesinos! commits utterly to the songs, even some of the crowd-pleasing older material that he must be a little tired of by now.  The audience, which on this night included one of the tallest people I’ve ever seen, knows every lyric to every song and shouts right along with him.

The band opened with “By Your Hand” from last year’s Hello Sadness and continued with “Romance Is Boring.”  “Death to Los Campesinos!,” one of those songs that I and the rest of the crowd loved from their debut full-length, Hold on Now, Youngster…, followed.  By that time, the moshing and crowd surfing (including the super-tall guy) were in full swing.  I’ve got to admit that it surprised me a little as I’d never thought of Los Campesinos! as inspiring that.  CoolMom pointed out to me that she saw people doing it at the Real Estate show, though, so I guess it’s just what the kids do these days.  Gareth even commented from the stage, “Don’t want to be a killjoy or anything, but that circle pit down there, it’s kind of lame.  From here you just look like a bunch of dudes bumping into each other.”  CoolMom and I remained safe towards the back.

The rest of the set was fantastic and drew on material from the entire Los Campesinos! catalog, including my personal favorite "The Sea Is a Good Place to Think of the Future."  The energy of a seven-piece band combined with the clever – and numerous – lyrics, and the bits of "choreography" that accompany many of the songs make for an excellent live show.  For the final song of the encore, “Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks,” Gareth came down from the stage and sang and danced with the crowd.

At the end of the show, the whole band went directly from the stage to the merch table.  As CoolMom and I walked out we saw all of the Campesinos! chatting, signing and taking pictures with fans.

Le Poisson Rouge is a nice place for a show.  One side of the space has a nice, long bar where, last night, the servers were unusually friendly and attentive.  Unless you’re behind a post or the tallest Los Campesinos! fan on earth, visibility is good and you’re very close to the action on stage.  The way things were set up last night made it almost impossible to walk around the venue and not interact with the performers on some level.

One minor drawaback:  There’s virtually no AT&T reception in the below-street-level performance space, which makes for a small amount of stress for coolparents relying on a babysitter.

It was nice to get out with CoolMom to see an act that we both really love in an area that has a lot of memories for me.  We even got to enjoy a late Thai dinner before hopping the PATH back to the car.