The sands of time aren’t kind to those of us hoping to stay youthful. With this in mind, I’ve recently curtailed the intake of certain herbal supplements. I’m approaching a fortnight without it, but there has been little improvement in my work ethic. Maybe this will change soon, but as long as we live at 186, my apartment will keep its revolving door policy. This being said, last night I was sitting in the kitchen doing some work when the door buzzed. Noah stopped for a post work hang as did Sean who had a hilarious story regarding his latest interview. If you see him, ask him about the crazy musician he met. A bit after 7pm Jacob came through 186 to hook me up with a pre-wedding cut. My hair was getting a bit out of control for my taste, and Jacob tamed the beast. A little later Dana joined the boys for a minute while we decided on a restaurant.Since we were looking for quick and delicious, Juanita’s Café was an obvious choice. We scored the picnic table in the back and were joined by Christie. The food was solid, but Dana talked me into splitting a pulled pork sandwich and shrimp tacos with her. Unfortunately, I was as unimpressed by the shrimp as our first visit to the Mexican / Cuban style joint. We quickly settled up thinking Black Lipstick would play on time. Sean and Noah broke off from the crew and the three of us headed toward the Mercury.
There were a number of solid monkeys in attendance for the Black Lipstick set. Unfortunately LP had yet to finish their set so Christie, Dana and I tucked ourselves in at the end of the bar while their lead singer belted out a few more songs. Eventually they finished up and the hippy / lesbian crowd cleared out considerably. We managed to score our spot in the back with Christina, Maggie, Beach, Daylen, Tumbledeadtome and Lucy. Black Lipstick took little time to set up and soon we were jamming to the Austin quartet.
Before I jump into how they sounded, let me say that this band has been one of my favorites for nearly five years. It all began in the fall of 2000 when they were in town playing a couple shows. I don’t know how we initially got turned on to them, but Little Chris, Erin and I saw them on a Thursday night. I couldn’t tell you where we saw them, but we found out they were playing a show at Hank’s Saloon in Brooklyn on Saturday night. The three of us took the trip out to Hank’s (I think its somewhere on Atlantic), for an evening of straight rowdiness. The bar had something like 20 people in it, and the opening band was dirty and sexy. It was the second time I’d seen The Fiery Furnaces, and in this setting it was near perfect. Once they finished, Black Lipstick quickly took the stage. At that point they were 50/50 with two girls and two boys. The set was amazing and we were a mess of drunken happiness. The night ended with me having to break up a fight between Chris and some drunken patron. Then he proceeded to puke all over the front of a Rite Aid or some drug store. Last night didn’t have the same renegade feel as that night in 2000, but it was great to finally see them again. The set began with their new bass player doing an impression of a cow on Jeopardy, “What is Moo?” This joke fell flat on its ass, but the set (minus some sound issues) was great. The problems with the sound may have stemmed from their lack of sound check, but either way, the vocal levels were definitely off and something was wrong with the kick drums mic. Besides that, it was the same Black Lipstick I saw years ago. They were out to have fun and draw you in with mesmerizing drum beats underlying the alt country riffs. Phillip (vocals/guitar) was bouncing around and throwing big smiles the entire set. When he traded places and instruments with the bass player, they jammed out a new song that was fueled by an old school New Order style bass line. This got me awfully revved up. To put the cherry on top; Elizabeth (drums) kept her cool the entire set even when her vocals nearly dropped off the map. She holds it down and looks dead sexy from behind the kit. As their set wound down, I was left wishing they had a date scheduled for tonight, but they are off to Europe for a tour.
A few of us stuck around for some songs by The Beeps. Besides the cute little Frenchman who played guitar, there wasn’t much to like about this band. The drama club lead singer had a blonde wig on (she was prettier without it) and there was tons of echo or reverb on her voice which made it so sleepy. The only musical saving grace was the bass player who furiously climbed all over his frets. By midnight I was passing out like I was in a post Thanksgiving coma.
Melancholy or Rage. You decide. Tonight you have a choice between these two emotions. If it’s the former, stop into the Mercury Lounge for the Winter Pageant show with Mono as the headliner. If you are looking to throw down, stop by The Delancey for a set by The Giraffes. The Witnesses will also play on this bill.
*** The NY2LON Series put together by +1 Music, The Barfly and The Fader gets its first crack at New York when it invades the Bowery Ballroom on May 20th. The show will feature sets by The Ordinary Boys, The Hong Kong and Amusement Parks on Fire. Tickets are on sale now. You should definitely consider picking these up because there is a super secret guest on the bill most of you will dig. In any case, The Ordinary Boys kick some major ass.*** So if you aren’t out of town like me this weekend, then you should get there. The Culture Shock Festival at SUNY Purchase is taking place on Friday and Saturday. Brooklyn Vegan posts the entire bill, but with Beck on Friday, your best bet is the Saturday portion featuring Lightning Bolt, The Walkmen, Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings and GZA (yes, of Wu-Tang).
*** In unsurprising news: The Kills are weird.
*** Ms. Modern Age was lucky enough to score a seat at last night’s White Stripes listening party at Splashlight Studios, (Natedog, how you gonna play me like that?). She was also kind enough to give us a track by track rundown of the new songs. Billboard was also present, but who cares about those slags.
*** Coolfer has the dish on the Kaiser Chiefs before they were Kaiser Chiefs. The band used to be called Parva. Besides having a terrible name, the music is quite a load of ass. Though I don’t know how they changed their style and image so quickly, (I’m sure NME helped) I welcome the new formation. It’s all a bit calculated, but who gives a shit if they continue to be a riot live. This post also has some links to Skabba the Hut songs who we all know housed media
*** The Sun is a band to watch on Filter, but I have one question for the newly added multi-instrumentalist; do you think that by adding an A to your last name gets you off the hook? Who wants to push?
*** In a final note, Charles Kennedy, the leader of the Liberal Democrats in Parliament, sides with Brandon Flowers and hates on The Bravery. Who doesn’t love this guy?
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