It’s a well known music maxim: to have a great band, you must have a great drummer. The literal heartbeat of the entire enterprise, the drummer can truly make or break one’s sound. True, there are other ways to carve your name into the annals of rock and roll fame, but for budding artists, latching onto a talented drummer can be your ticket to success.
Hey Battlefield has heeded this advice and will surely reap the rewards. With percussive gusto, jazz-drummer Michael Scheideler delivers the tempo from behind the Beat Pulpit, launching the band’s blues/rock sound. The combination of jazzy fills and nuanced flare accents lead singer Jason Rossi’s lyrical style, and blends well with Tyler Krupsky’s driving bass lines. Hey Battlefield, though still new on the scene, should turn some heads.
In an era of music increasingly dominated by electronic sounds and effeminate lyricists, Hey Battlefield provides a sigh of relief for music purists. The three piece band, a staple of the music industry, cuts down the excess, providing the music, and more importantly, the heart behind the music. Rossi’s singing style, reminiscent of a young Tom Waits, and even a little Dylan at times, is a welcomed departure from overly harmonized and auto-tuned whippersnappers.With a bit of polishing, the simplicity of the trio will carry a long way.
The following act however, exemplified the ultimate garage band trio, with undignified sound blasting; the battle-cries of emotional youth. The Demon Beat, who were celebrating their CD Release “Shit, We’re 23″, says it all with their album title. Normally you listen to songs at a concert, but here, the music was merely tolerated. I lasted about 3 songs, before the swooshing hair, slip-ons, and guitar solo’s via teeth got the best of me.
It seems the relative ages of these bands created an incongruous pairing. Though they probably did not choose to play on the same night, the Demon Beat drew the short end of the stick following the act of Hey Battlefield. Their age showed, undoubtedly they had talent, but the show seemed like one big overcompensation. The guitarist using multi-distortion effects to play louder than his bandmates, the bassist swinging his bass all over the stage, the drummer pounding the snare as hard as possible. With age comes a certain refinement, purportedly not found at 23. (Refinement was obviously not their goal).
Advice: Simpler is better. Quieter is louder.
You can catch Hey Battlefield at Joe’s Pub on February 21, 2010.
Demon Beat will be playing SXSW, proving that SXSW is both eclectic, and can be hit or miss.
Piano’s – 158 Ludlow Street, New York, NY 10002-2377
(212) 505-3733
http://www.pianosnyc.com/
If you know anything about Sam Mendes, then you know he is the Academy Award winning director of American Beauty (And: Jarhead, Revolutionary Road, and Away We Go). If you know anything else about him, you know he is married to Kate Winslet (Titanic, obviously). However, if all you know are Mendes’ film projects and his love life, you will be in for a pleasant surprise to see his genius at work with Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Now playing at the BAM Harvey Theater in Brooklyn, NY, As You Like It is running as a part of this year’s Bridge Project. The Bridge Project is a traveling theater group combining the forces of powerful actors from the UK and the US.
Visually, the Harvey Theater is a great space for this (and any) performance. The stage management and set design combine to create a subtly simple yet, aesthetically elaborate backdrop. Additionally, the play’s incorporation of live music creates a sonic element so often lost with pre-recorded audio tracks. From sing-alongs, to stage combat, the stage is set with jovial moments, and heated scenes of passionate emotion. It is clear that the people behind the scenes are doing their jobs. However, along with great direction comes great performance.
The Bridge Project is a great way to see solid performers without being on Broadway, and without downgrading too far to the sketchy off-off-off Broadway gambles. The actors are believable, (by this I mean, their accents are not distracting) and the pseudo-contemporary approach to Shakespeare is an all around success. Though last year’s Bridge Project showcased Ethan Hawke, this year’s cast is equally impressive, including…
Michelle Beck (Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Twelfth Night, Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Cyrano de Bergerac)
Christian Camargo (Broadway’s All My Sons, the film The Hurt Locker)
Tony Award-winner Stephen Dillane (Broadway’s The Real Thing, HBO’s John Adams)
Obie Award-winner Alvin Epstein (Broadway’s The Three Penny Opera, BAM’s Endgame)
Obie Award-winner Ron Cephas Jones (Broadway’s Gem of the Ocean, Donmar’s Jesus Hopped the A-Train)
Juliet Rylance (Theatre for a New Audience’s Othello, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre’s The Winter’s Tale)
Thomas Sadoski (Broadway’s reasons to be pretty and Reckless)
more info at http://www.bam.org/view.aspx?pid=1672
If you are in the mood for some Old English drama, skip the liquor store, and head to the Harvey Theater. As You Like It runs until March 13.
I have begun a quest to visit every museum in New York City. Head on over to the Art[sin] Crafts page to periodically check my progress.
Putting my B.A. to use one snobby look at a time.
Happy Holidays all, and welcome to 2010. I am currently basking in the California sun, enjoying a last respite of Winter Break, tasting some of Los Angeles’ bounty before heading East again. For as many reasons as there are to hate LA, there are reasons to love it. Maybe it’s the weather, the ocean, the Lakers, or Hollywood, but LA has a lot of things New York doesn’t have. Where New York has Brooklyn, LA has Silverlake/Echo Park. Amidst skinny jean toting, beer guzzling whipsters, a local indie scene has emerged. And like most poor concert goers, everyone is looking for a free show.
For all you bargain concert shoppers, alt-country rockers, Olin and the Moon are putting the “Southern” in Southern California rock, delivering free shows at the Echo every Tuesday this January. The music will be accompanied by beer, pizza, and bingo. The mind blowingly simple idea of a free rock show should get just about anyone a bit tingly, but Olin and his Moon brigade do come with a warning sign. Be aware of missed harmonies, awkward stage presence, low self-esteem, and general drunkenness. There are bright points to these young rockers though, and they have a generally fun sound. With a bit of polishing, Olin and the Moon could be a reputable house band, and are certainly worth a shot, if only to do something other than get stoned and watch re-runs of Planet Earth on a Tuesday night.
Multi-part harmonies have awed crowds throughout the ages. The Beatles, the Beach Boys, and recently Fleet Foxes, have all showed us how mesmerizing harmonies can be. Olin and the Moon on the other hand, showed us why bands with flat singers never make any real moves. I applaud the effort, but simply putting 4 mics on stage and letting all your members drone in is not the answer. Brian Wilson is ashamed.
Additionally, no band ever got anywhere by chronically stating self-deprecating phrases between songs. No one in the crowd wants to hear “don’t worry, we’re almost done”, or “sorry, we always play this song”. Confidence is key, and for an alt-country band playing to a crowd of hipsters, guzzling Miller Lite between every riff will not solve the problem of off-key ballads and low self-esteem.
For their first of four performances, Olin and the Moon missed the mark. But to their name, they have 3 more shows in LA, and all of them are free. I can only imagine with a rocky start under their belt, these boys will return next week with more confidence, sobriety, and hopefully will have ditched the tin ear.
This week’s opener was Marnie Herald, who charmed the hushed crowd with a solo-acoustic performance of sad, slow, dreamy tunes. Not exactly the pump-up opener Olin and the Moon might have wanted, but still a young talent nonetheless.
Here are the Tuesday line-ups for January, 2010.
Jan. 5 – w/Marnie Herald
Jan. 12 – w/ Eleni Mandell
Jan. 19 – w/ Dusty Rhodes & the River Band
Jan. 26 – w/ The Henry Clay People
The Echo
1822 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026-3227
(213) 413-8200
One of my favorite musical discoveries last year was a band called Delta Spirit. Their bluesy/soulful/acoustic style helped many a glass of red wine settle into my eager stomach and willing liver. Now on break, lead singer/songwriter Matt Vasquez came to NYC last month and played a solo set as a headliner for a small festival called Hex Fest. Playing with two other musicians, Vasquez ran through a mix of Delta Spirit, and solo songs, to the Manhattan crowd full of Delta Spirit groupies. The show was intimate, as it started at 1 AM, and it was full of Matt’s personal friends. I felt like a privileged elite amongst the musician’s inner circle.
Delta Spirit’s album “Ode to Sunshine” has been in my top shelf since my first listen, and has arguably the best album cover I have ever seen. They will be back on tour as a band in the next months, hitting New York in February and heading out to the West Coast in March.
Delta Spirit – Trashcan from La Blogotheque
Live music has a way of captivating an audience in a way that no recorded sound can. It also has a way of inviting some of the most uncomfortable atmospheres known to man. We pay endless amounts of money to stand with the most obtrusively annoying people, sharing in the splendor of the great American rock concert. Hence people’s obsession with “performance” enhancing drugs. I am convinced that no one drinks at concerts because it makes the show better; they drink so that they don’t have to pay attention to the buffoon next to them.
Indie music has taken the world by storm, providing people with an extra excuse to crack open PBR’s and grow unabashed facial hair. It has also created an open door policy on doing, and wearing whatever you want to a concert. Last Thursday, Neon Indian played one of their 3 sold out New York shows, to a…well, a circus of debauchery.
Musically, the openers A & R (I think it stood for “Awesome and” something, but they had such bad stage presence, that no one got their real name, so, A & R is what they get), and Tigercity, paved the awkward poppy way, leaving a large hole for Neon Indian to dig us out of. A & R is a Florida based group, with a “Killers-meets-Modest-Mouse” kind of sound, starring dancy beats and Mika-esque falsettos. They were followed by Tigercity, a 4 piece amalgam of the most confused band I have ever seen. Their music sounded fine, but I couldn’t get over the incongruities within the members of the band. The singer was a bearded bald man, and could have fronted a 90’s alternative rock group, the bassist donned a cutoff tee with long straight hair, and could have plucked for a death metal band. The guitarist with his frizzled hair belonged in a Zeppelin cover band, while the afro’d drummer could have fit in just about anywhere. Yet somehow, this foursome came together to deliver some funky riffs, but unfortunately they sounded more like a great High School Prom band, than a band I would actually enjoy listening to.
Here is “Fake Gold” from Tigercity’s new album.
Finally, after purgatorial hours of waiting, Neon Indian came to the rescue, entrancing the crowd in indie-pop synth beats and wild video animations. The unimpressed indie-kid crowd had no choice but to get their dancing shoes on. The crowd swayed and sang along, praising the headliner for at least lifting our sights from the goon infested crowd of junior high-like amateurs spattered throughout the venue. It was like it was people’s first time to a concert. Incessant chatter, dropped glasses, invading personal boundaries, just all around faux pas left and right.
All these things to the sober viewer were stumbling blocks for the overall enjoyment of the concert. My sights were distracted by the flat-billed wangster in front of me wearing a Rose Petal-floral designed Men’s Hoodie, making up his own raps to the instrumental breakdowns of the band. The crowd owes a sincere apology to the bands for acting like circus sideshows with no regard for humanity. The band’s owe us an apology for being generally boring.
I am ok with Indie-tape-pop becoming semi-popular, but I still find it relatively uninspiring. When you have a band that just stands and doesn’t really play instruments because you have everything prerecorded, I’m just not going to stand around and clap. I may sip my drink, and cynically judge the people around me, and I may even dignify you with a semi-review in the online world, but I certainly won’t buy your albums.
Here is some live footage, for your listening pleasure, like I said, imagine the live show, not very exciting. But, you could probably do some drugs and listen to this music and maybe think about abstract ideas for a while.
On a brighter note, Brooklyn Bowl is a phenomenal venue, with bowling lanes, 2 bars, a restaurant, and a large space for music viewing. Located in Williamsburg amongst former warehouses, this converted industrial site is a great place to see up-and-comers throughout the New York scene.
Tom’s Restaurant. Who would have known it was real? For the rest of you Seinfeld nerds, you can sympathize with the joy I felt entering this veritable sanctuary. Buried in law books, I often find the only respite from my studies is a healthy dose of Seinfeld. (I have watched all 9 seasons since moving to New York.) But this respite was too good to pass up. There it sits on the corner of 112th and Broadway. A hole-in-the-wall, run-of-the-mill diner, skyrocketed into infamy due to one little television show. Inside, it is adorned with pictures of the castmembers and memorabilia from the show, but it is nothing like the set seen on TV. For those of you who know the show well, you know that it is called Monk’s, not Tom’s, but they never show the full title, they always cut it so it just says “Restaurant”. I was quite surprised to see that it was actually called Tom’s, and to be honest, a little scared to enter. If I was ever invited to a place called “Tom’s Restaurant”, assuredly I would have said no.
Upon entrance, I realized that the patronage was decidedly normal. Not flash-wielding, iphone toting tourists, but just regular upper Manhattanites. It was I who was the fraudulent new comer. But another dream had come true for me (by now you have realized I have very simple dreams). Ironically, they sat me at the bar. I suppose I belonged there, but the characters hate the bar in the show, and I felt a little short-changed. Nonetheless, I enjoyed a cup of coffee and a sandwich, and held back every instinct to order a “big salad”.
Next Quest: To see if I can get inside Jerry’s Apartment. 129 w. 81st St. Apt. 5A.
Christmas came early this year. Creed’s back.
There’s a new reason to celebrate December 7. That’s right, some jokes are just ahead of their time.
Most people have discounted December 7, forgetting that it marks an extremely important day for our country’s history. This December 7, more meaning than ever will be given to this historic day. Yes, Creed, will be screening their live concert from 9/25/09 from Houston, Texas. Select theatre’s throughout the country, and the world, will be screening this concert, which is notable because it made it into the Guinness Book of World records for the most cameras used in footage of a live concert (239). Honestly, tears come to my eyes as I reflect on how absurd this is. We are talking about a band that I have actually seen live. That statement alone belongs in a frame, hung over a fireplace. That’s the kind of ghost story I can’t wait to tell my grandkids.
This my friends, is truly one of the most enjoyable things I have discovered in a long time. Sorry that the sound is not synched up perfectly, they managed to get the HD video right, but sometimes music is just so painfully bad, it refuses to come out right visually.
Oh heavenly host, thank you for this god-send of an event. It’s as if they made a the Passion of the Christ: Part 2.
Oh my word it’s finally here. The Christmas Cheer, the advent season, that wonderful time of the year. I just got the whiff of sitting on the couch, lazying around, waking up after 1pm each day, gaining 6-7 pounds and loving every minute of it. But I also got a more extreme whiff of awesome, in the form of all the Christmas music that I have been drowning my study sorrows in.
And…well…who’s ready for some face melting Christmas solos?
Phew. Sorry, almost got carried away in the Christmas spirit. But, seriously, I know some nesters and festers already posted about Mannheim, but these guys deserve as much as they can get.
And for the record, I have never sat through “A Christmas Story” from start to finish, I have never seen “Miracle on 34th Street”, and I have never seen “Scrooged”. So, you can guess what I will be doing this Christmas.
Here is a list of someone’s top 25 Christmas movies. Not really sure if I agree, some picks (Like Die Hard, are a bit humorous). But it gives you a general idea of how I will be spending December 18-15.
http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2009/11/04/best-christmas-movies/
Happy December.
Happy Thanksgiving. 
While most of you were sleeping, I checked off another one of my life goals today and attended this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. For the past however many years that I have been alive, I have never been up to see the start of the Parade (live or on tape delay). But the conviction of my heart led me to decide, this will be the year. The plan, to wake up and get to 7th Ave. at 5am. My body just cringed a bit just thinking about it; that would mean getting maybe 2 hours of sleep, then zombying my way to the subway? Not a chance.
But then, an angel from heaven descended and gave me a treat: a friend of a friend works at Carnegie Hall (7th Ave.) and has an office window overlooking the parade. Jack pot.
Oh hey, suckers on the street. “Sir, the street’s closed, they aren’t letting anyone through.” Is that right, old lady? Watch this. Boom. 7 floors up. Goodbye crying children, hello balloons.
The echoes of the marching bands, bouncing off the buildings, the wafting smell of churro carts, the clean air, unpolluted by strollers, snobby UWS (upper west side) families or shoulder to shoulder germ transmissions. Carnegie Hall, one of the most famous and beloved musical venues in New York City, and here I am, in an office upstairs watching Kermit and Company float on by.
The least I could do was bring a thermos and some hot cocoa (check).
So folks, you may be cozy in your homes watching football, stuffing yourself with loads of home cooked delectables, but just remember, I got to see the Macy’s Parade live, from an office in Carnegie Hall. Ah.
Now, let the football begin and let us consume food and drink to our heart’s content. Be merry, for we have many things to be thankful for. I am thankful for Mickey, Snoopy, Buzz Lightyear, Spongebob, and of course Spiderman.
I am thankful for all my readers, you are all dear to me. Gobble gobble, friends, gobble gobble.
incontinentalbreakfast
