The Men Played The Saint with Purling Hiss, Pampers, and Ruby The Hatchet, 10/23/13

Wishes Can Come True

Two bands from Brooklyn and two bands from Philly converged on Asbury Park last night, bringing a wild evening of Wednesday rock and roll to The Saint. Speak Into My Good Eye, along with The Saint, put together another one of those shows that seemed designed to tick off a few boxes on my own personal wish list. Last night's installment featured Brooklyn's The Men, Philadelphia's Purling Hiss, Philadelphia's Ruby The Hatchet, and Brooklyn's Pampers.

My OCD always has me arriving at shows earlier than I should, and last night was no different. It gave me a chance, though, to enjoy a beverage at the bar and to speak with The Men's Ben Greenberg a bit about the evolution of the band's sound over the course of their last few records. They've gone from noise punk to incorporating a good deal of classic, and even country, rock into their sound; and I was interested to see what the band would do live.

Pampers started things off and impressed with a set of devastatingly loud, left-of-center punk. For most of the set, Pampers' two guitarists only had 11 strings between them; but that didn't seem to slow the band down at all. The crowd was still pretty sparse at this point, but I'm sure the band moved a few LP's as a result of their performance.

Ruby The Hatchet were up next. They're a Philly band that plays our area often. They had quite a few fans in the crowd, but last night was my first chance to see them live. They play a style of blues rock heavily influenced by Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath that had me thinking about my recent outing to see California's Deap Vally.

Next up were Purling Hiss. Following the band's performance as an opener for DEATH at (le) poisson rouge in July, I briefly said hello to frontman / guitarist Mike Polizze and told him that we had to get his band to Asbury Park. The universe (and Speak Into My Good Eye) must have been listening, and I could not have been happier that Purling Hiss were on this bill.

The band did a set heavy on tracks from this year's excellent Water On Mars. Purling Hiss do something similar to bands like Dinosaur Jr. or Screaming Females -- and now even The Men -- bringing some of the hallmarks of classic rock, like the extended guitar solo, to a noisier, more punk-influenced sound. I, obviously, love this and ate it up.

The Men are another one of those bands that I've said I'd love to see play our area. When they took the stage, I have to admit that I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The band have released everything from near-hardcore, gut punch assaults to their recent, all-acoustic Campfire Songs. Last night, they went with a good deal of their harder stuff, saving the acoustic numbers for another day. The crowd seemed happy with the choice.

They ran through a relentless, non-stop set, devoid of any real stage banter, that featured songs from their last two LPs like Open Your Heart's "Turn It Around" and "Open Your Heart" and New Moon's "Electric" and "I Saw Her Face." Following the band's template of not really having a single frontman, bassist Ben Greenberg and guitarists Mike Perro and Nick Chierricozzi each took a turn singing lead. The current version of The Men also features Kevin Faulkner on that most traditional of punk instruments, the lap steel.

In all, it was a great way to spend a chilly, rainy Wednesday evening. Thanks to Speak Into My Good Eye, The Saint, and the universe for granting my wish.

Here are some pictures from last night.

The Men / Purling Hiss at The Saint TOMORROW

Wednesday Night Rawk

I've been waiting for this one for a while. Our friends at Speak Into My Good Eye are bringing yet another show that seems like it was put together just for little, me to Asbury Park. Tomorrow night, Brooklyn's The Men and Philly's Purling Hiss will be taking over The Saint with help from Ruby The Hatchet and Pampers; and I will be there front and center.

I've talked quite a bit about The Men here, but Purling Hiss are not to be underestimated. Anyone who's spent any time around this blog can tell immediately what I like about their sound.

So get a good night's sleep tonight, and come find me at The Saint tomorrow. I'll buy you a beverage.

Latest EP from The Men Streaming via Pitchfork Advance

Photo: wearethemen.blogspot.com

Campfire Songs

The Men have been one of my obsessions over the last year or two. I've enjoyed watching their evolution from droning, noise punk to something more classic and garage-y. The band continue changing things up with their fifth release in the last four years, Campfire Songs.

The Men recorded the all-acoustic EP around a campfire in Upstate New York. This all happened during the time they spent up there recording New Moon. We get acoustic versions of New Moon album tracks "I Saw Her Face" and "The Seeds." Totally new tracks "Patience" and "Turn Your Color" serve to showcase the beautiful noise this band can make with a whole bunch of acoustic guitars.

Speak Into My Good Eye are bringing The Men (along with Purling Hiss in a show that seems almost tailor made for me) to the very cozy space at The Saint on October 23rd. Given the diversity of the band's catalog over the last few years, it promises to be an evening potentially full of interesting twists and turns.

Head over to Pitchfork to check out Campfire Songs, and I'll see you at The Saint.

Campfire Songs is out next week on Sacred Bones Records.

Here Comes Asbury Park Edition

No More Skipping Us Friday

Our friends over at Speak Into My Good Eye have been on a roll lately, announcing some really great shows that they've managed to bring to everybody's favorite urban music mecca by the sea.

Their latest announcement is that Brooklyn's The Men will be playing The Saint on October 23rd (CoolUncle's birthday, BTW) with Philly's Purling Hiss. I love these bands. This is cool.

New Jersey is just days away from losing its most prized music venue. While Asbury Park doesn't offer the same proximity to New York City as Hoboken; maybe if we all pack out these shows by Screaming Females / Waxahatchee, The So So Glos / Diarrhea Planet, and The Men / Purling Hiss, some of these bands that drive right by us on their way between New York and Philly may think about making a stop.

And just think of all the great local bands that will be tapped as openers for these shows.

So start finding some babysitters if you have to and...

Rock on.

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."