Uncle Monk and The Two Man Gentleman Band

Tommy Ramone plays bluegrass now? Weird! Crazy! Cool! Although it's not really punk folk as you'd expect. His duo is called Uncle Monk, they play traditional bluegrass, and they'll be headed to Cafe Nine tonight. The NYT says it nicely below:

There is life after the Ramones, but who knew that its sound would be bluegrass? Tom Erdelyi, better known as Tommy Ramone, the band's first drummer (and only surviving original member), plays a mean mandolin in this new acoustic duo, singing tautly written songs much like Ramones songs, but with tenderness about the comforts and subtle politics of home life. –The New York Times

Also playing will be The Two Man Gentleman Band. We ran a promo about these guys last year when they played Cafe Nine. They're excellent. Vaudeville revivalists both, with classy lyrics about having a good time in the modern age. Check out their website, hilarity will ensue.

June 4th, 2010
Cafe Nine
9:00 PM, $8, 21+

MS Benefit at Heirloom Arts

Tonight, (June 4th) there is an MS Benefit at Heirloom Arts in Danbury. All proceeds will go to benefit the Connecticut chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society! It's for a good cause, and there's some pretty great bands that will be playing, including:

Arms & Legs
Total Dick feat. Cee Reed & Pruven
The Field Recordings
Zelazowa
Euri & Dave Ross
Boss Derby

All Ages
$5 suggested donation
7:30pm doors
8pm-2am music

B.O.M.B. Fest Photos!

Check out Andrew Jeon's full BOMB Fest photo coverage!

B.O.M.B. Fest Review

May 30, 2010

As regular readers of this blog know, Sunday was the ever talked about B.O.M.B. Fest in Durham. The lead up has been nothing short of epic. Word of B.O.M.B. Fest graced the

pages of all the states major newspapers, most of which had representatives attending. Never one to let our readers down, we too sent three intrepid reporters to cover the festival, and we all arrived late. Sorry, but I work on Sundays. We walked in not knowing what to expect, but were very impressed. B.O.M.B., as you may know, in an acronym: Bring Our Music Back.

To me, B.O.M.B. has one purpose, to bring a big music festival, with bands everyone likes, and local bands, to CT. So let's address it point by point.

#1) Was it big? Yes. As a native of Valley Shore, seeing the Durham Fair grounds used for anything other than the Durham Fair threw me for a loop. Where there is usually carnival games and

rides, there were two main stages and tour buses. The streets lined with food vendors was still lined with food vendors but with the added benefit of two additional stages. It was like the Durham fair if everyone at it got high and invited Girl Talk over and got rid of the arts and crafts. But the crowds of the Durham Fair were there, too. I don't know the official numbers, but I'd venture to say over 9,000! So, it was big.

#2) Were there bands there that everyone liked? Yes and no. It would be a real challenge to get a band there that everyone likes. Simon and Garfunkel would charge too much, and there would still be some people upset with the lineup. B.O.M.B. Fest threw a large net, there was something for everyone. I'm not a huge fan of 30 Seconds to Mars, but some people there loved them. Look at the lineup again. There is something there you'd pay 50 bucks for. And it's there that B.O.M.B. succeeded. There was something that anyone would pay 50 bucks to see.

#3) Were there local bands? Yes. Local bands with national acts. That's what we'd all like to see at any fest, and I did see it at B.O.M.B. Fest. As a matter of a fact MT Bearington was probably the best act I saw there, and there were a lot of acts there. Lets take a moment to think of other music festivals. The Gathering of the Vibes is in Bridgeport this year, like it always is, and they have no local acts. There are a few acts from NY City, but that's not Connecticut. For shame if you think it is.

#4) Was it in CT? Yes. When I first arrived, I questioned if this would all work. Could a major music festival work in Connecticut? Then Of Montreal took the stage and played “Rapture Rapes the Muses” and all my doubts were cast aside.

During the Girl Talk set Greg Gillis asked a general question to the crowd. Who is from here? About three quarters of the audience raised their hands. He said that it felt like a show in someone's backyard, and that we were lucky to be from Connecticut. He's right.

Show Review: Mono & The Twilight Sad at Daniel St.

May 29, 2010

It's always a good sign when the entire crowd rushes the stage as soon as the opening band walks on. Such was the case at Daniel St. for the The Twilight Sad and Mono show. I was new to The Twilight Sad, though I seemed to be entirely alone in this regard--at least half the crowd came to see the Scottish shoegaze outfit and they didn't disappoint. To begin with, I'm just a sucker for that guitar sound--you know the one--that defines shoegaze almost as much as that annoying doomp de doomp de doomp defines reggaeton. But there's something about The Twilight Sad that sets them apart from other bands of their ilk. There's a sincerity and an earnestness to their music. James Graham serves as the group's dedicated vocalist and his stage antics sold me on the band almost as soon as I heard his voice. There's a life to him that spills out immediately into the audience. At the end of each song he lets out a faint smile, as though to say "Man, that was fun, let's do another." This is the kind of band you see live with the hope that they'll be sticking around after the show for a drink, just so you can buy them a round or twelve. Plus, it doesn't hurt that they all sound like Groundskeeper Willie. 

That said, there were moments in their set when I was less than impressed. Though I've never seen them live, I get the sense that they were catering to the Mono crowd and opening songs up a bit. The resulting soundscape was complete (aaah, I love that guitar distortion...), but I often lost a coherent sense of song structure during these bits. If you're a band that writes phenomenal songs, sometimes it's best just to do your thing and not worry too much about what the next guy's up to. But it hardly detracted from the show at large, and by the time The Twilight Sad were winding up their set, the dude next to me was yelling "Birdhouse! Play fucking Birdhouse!" so insistently that they had no option but to play the damn song. And it was good, real good. The song's actually called "Cold Days from the Birdhouse," and it's a good place to start if you're not too familiar with The Twilight Sad. It opens with an ambient build, and a traditional vocal melody that gives way to the band's typical blend of earsplitting guitars and charmingly Scottish accents. For people who hate Coldplay on principle but need a band to love that satisfies that same itch, check out The Twilight Sad. But if you're doing a web search for the band, I'd recommend putting quotes around their name, as Google likes to correct "Sad" to "Saga," and that leads down a dark and scary path. You've been warned.

Those of you who missed the show on Saturday should pick a city on this list and fly/drive there immediately. I've seen many good concerts in my life; I've even seen a good number of great concerts; but I've only seen a handful of truly-spectacular-once-in-a-lifetime-blow-your-mind concerts. This was one of them. In fact, I'm fairly sure that every single Mono show is a truly-spectacular-once-in-a-lifetime-blow-your-mind concert. Imagine if you did nothing but go to Mono concerts! You'd never be able to see live music again! But I digress. Mono is a Japanese instrumental post-rock band, renowned for the emotional intensity and musical complexity of their extended compositions. They played for 90 minutes with only the smallest breaks for instrument changes. Their set is a careful study in tension and release. At its quietest points, Mono's music was soft enough that I could hear people talking on the opposite side of the bar. At its loudest points, my ears could no longer process sound in certain registers, and the resulting distortion created an abiding level of (surprisingly) musical static that served as a de facto backdrop to the piece's overarching musical themes. On certain wind instruments if you play a note and hum a second note at the right frequency, the subsequent vibrations create a third, "ghosted," note--a sound that's not actually played but is nevertheless produced as a result of a previous harmony. It's easy to hear whole choirs in Mono's music, teams of a dozen drummers each, even orchestral string sections. But really, it's just two sweat-soaked guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer, communicating so intently that sounds layer upon sounds to create these imagined symphonies. A Mono show is a journey, and it's an intensely personal experience. Where I go during shows like this is my business, and where you go is yours, but the genius of Mono is that they take you anywhere at all. The show becomes about whatever you were thinking during the performance. Like sitting in the back row during an opera in another language, it frees your brain to mull over its nagging neuroses, fond memories, and unrealized desires. It's at once pleasant and entirely uncomfortable, and when it's all over, you feel as though a weight's been lifted from some hereto hidden part of your subconscious. I've never had a formal exorcism (I feel like you kinda have to know someone in the business), but I imagine it has much the same effect as a Mono show. I saw them play on Saturday. Today's Wednesday and I've done absolutely zero work other than writing this review. I feel...unburdened, and I blame/thank Mono. So go see them, whenever you can, wherever you can. Bring your troubles to the show, and Mono will whisk them away on a silver cloud--it's cheaper than therapy, but you might end up paying for hearing aids shortly thereafter. There's a reason the band sells their own brand of earplugs. Anyways, it's worth it. Go see them. Now. 

Photos by John Kritzman

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnkphoto/ |  http://johnkphoto.tumblr.com/ | http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnkphoto/sets/72157624049284763/

TONIGHT: Deadlights & Don't Say I Won't Split 7" Release @ The Temple (Stratford)

Come out tonight (Tuesday, June 2nd) around 6PM or so for a record release show for locals Don't Say I Won't and Deadlights. This release has been a long time coming off of the young Audubon Records label. It is a split 7" record with two songs from each act on either side.

WHERE: The Temple - 275 Huntington Rd, Stratford, CT 06614
WHEN: 6:00PM
HOW MUCH: $5
WHO:

Every band has their own take on the same foundation of poppier punk, but give them a listen on their myspaces to get a better feel for each.

Deadlights(CT)
Don't Say I Won't (CT)
Tomahawk Chop (LI)
Fumblerooski (LI)
Fire First (CT)



In an interview for Inkwell Press back in October, Matt Banta (Don't Say I Won't, vox/guitar) said "This entire community is built off of friendships as much as it is the music." He sees the split as “a continuation of the things we’ve been doing all along. You hear a lot of bands give speeches about how one band is the only reason they have accomplished what they have; Deadlights have helped us since day one and we haven’t even begun yet."

WHERE: The Temple - 275 Huntington Rd, Stratford, CT 06614
WHEN: 6:00PM
HOW MUCH: $5
WHO:

Every band has their own take on the same foundation of poppier punk, but give them a listen on their myspaces to get a better feel for each.

Deadlights(CT)
Don't Say I Won't (CT)
Tomahawk Chop (LI)
Fumblerooski (LI)
Fire First (CT)



In an interview for Inkwell Press back in October, Matt Banta (Don't Say I Won't, vox/guitar) said "This entire community is built off of friendships as much as it is the music." He sees the split as “a continuation of the things we’ve been doing all along. You hear a lot of bands give speeches about how one band is the only reason they have accomplished what they have; Deadlights have helped us since day one and we haven’t even begun yet."

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Sufer Blood, Hooray for Earth

Thursday, June 3, 2010, Manic Productions brings you:



Location:
Daniel Street
21 Daniel Street
Milford CT

$15 ($13 adv) - 7:00PM - All Ages

Directions

Tickets or for grabs at Redscroll

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is a noise pop band which formed in 2007 in NYC. They consist of Kip Berman (vocals, guitar), Peggy Wang (vocals, keyboards), Alex Naidus (bass) and Kurt Feldman (drums). If you are into dreamy ’80s-sounding indie pop then this band is for you! For fans of The Smiths, My Bloody Valentine, Black Tambourine, Jesus and Mary Chain, etc.
Slumberland Records

Meet Surfer Blood: they call West Palm Beach home and, while still in their early 20s, have penned an album worth of catchy, summery indie songs that even the most hook-laden power pop band would rightfully be jealous of. Their sound has been compared to Weezer, Pavement and Built to Spill.
Kanine Records

Hooray for Earth's Momo EP ends the way Brian Eno's Taking Tiger Mountain begins: with a charging bass drum, a flare of distorted guitar and stacked, soaring vocals. Like that record, Momo handily navigates the middle ground between rock and electronic music, layering spaced-out synths over highwire guitars, creating songs that conjure both the past and the future at the same time. Largely the brainchild of primary songwriters Noel Heroux and Chris Principe, Hooray for Earth are masters at swaddling irresistible pop hooks in layers of sinewave electronics.