2006, Oct-Dec

Electric Six; The Dansettes
@ Maxwell's
Hoboken, NJ – December 31, 2006

The year 2006 went out in a rollicking good fashion as I saw two very different for the third time each this year, on the same bill. The Dansettes were helped out on bass by the leader of the Black Hollies and the soulful Motown revival sounds kept the crowd joyous and happy. Electric Six seemed revitalized after the sluggish performance in September and despite the same jerkoff moshers causing trouble, Valentine and the boys proved to be the best kind of New Year’s Eve party band you could wish for (as was suspected all along). Though as a hardened political junkie and passionate member of the Rational and Reasoned People of the World, I have message for Dick Valentine: Try to get over the last 6 years. Yes, we still have two more to go but you can’t go bringing down the New Year’s Eve crowd by lamenting how stupid the American electorate were in 2000 and 2004. Oh heck…go right ahead.

Les Sans Culottes; Tide
@ Arlene's Grocery
New York, NY - December 8, 2006

First hearing of them and seeing them last Februrary, The Without Pants (this is America dammit!) made a cute first impression but I didn't investigate further. On December 8, the anniversary of the death of the man who - lookwise - was reincarnated in the form of the lead singer of Les Sans, the band played at Arlene's Grocery - the LAST venue I had yet to see a show at since I moved back to New York several years ago. So it was a night of a few points to remember, to say the least.
Anyway, Les Sans Culottes were fantastic. And while I still don't get the idea of a John Lennon-look alike being French and singing garage rock, I like the results. The band's range of organ-based garage to X-like punk is loads of fun and the French facade for a helping of sillyness and nonsensical lyrics certainly makes the band distinct. One of the shows of the year.
Tide was the act that came on before Les Sans Culottes and while I don't care for efforts that try to wax poetic about Williamsburg (I still can't get over that many people now first associate Brooklyn with hipsters and not...you know...BROOKLYN), the band had decent pop hooks. They appear to be one of the better chill bands playing the local scene. And 5-dollar t-shirts are a good populist way to keep people interested.

Bob Dylan; The Raconteurs
@ Wachovia Spectrum
Philadelphia, PA - November 18, 2006

I saw Bob Dylan three times, three years a row (1999, 2000, 2001), each in the third week of November. Fast forward 4 years later and I am again seeing Zim in the third week of November and for the second time at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. My one complaint for all three of those Dylan shows was his Dylan himself - his insistence on wailing and whining his lyrics instead of singing the way he had sang on Time Out of Mind and Love & Theft: that of an aged, gruff, learned bluesman. I don't know when he changed, but 4 years later, with his excellent Modern Times completing his latest trifecta, Bob is finally singing the way he should. This now translates to a complete, perfect, performance package.
And what's up with the logo? After all these decades, Bob Dylan has a logo?
And while Dylan is currently sporting the look of a Spanish lover, a gentleman known for dressing close to that look last year, took the stage with his bandmates before the headlining act. Jack White and co., known very well on this blog as the Raconteurs, continue to sound better with every gig. Taking more elaborate chances, though a little stifled by the mellowed and large confines of the Spectrum, the Racs are more full of soul, rock n roll, and good times than they were at the very beginning of their run. Jack and Brendan Benson in particular seem to never have been happier (and opening for Bob Dylan surely plays a role in that), and it really affects the band's performance. The Raconteurs have broken the record for most gigs reviewed in a single year (the record was five, set last year by the Dirtbombs) and this will (most likely) be the last review of the year for the band. So take heart, readers, you won't be reading the Raconteurs name again for awhile. Haha.

The Mooney Suzuki; Margaret & The Nuclear So & So's; The Willowz; The Dansettes; The Changes
@Rebel
New York, NY - November 4, 2006

I remember three years ago when the Mooney Suzuki sold out the Bowery Ballroom on a Monday night. Now they 3/4's filled the new (and great looking) club Rebel, which is about a fifth or a sixth of the size of the Bowery, on a Saturday night. Take that for what you will. I've seen the Suzuki three times this year now. The first time, very early in the year, had them testing out new songs, and it wasn't THAT bad, but it wasn't great. The second time, not quite at the halfway point of the year, was a super-short set with a brand new bass player and they were still feeling out their new ways. Last night, however, the Suzuki were back in form. Playing mostly their established stuff, they were solid through-and-through. The new songs sounded a lot better, but it will be interesting to see how they turn out on the new record.
Margaret & The Nuclear So & So's were stale indie pop.
The Willowz came on stage looking like Southern Mountain folk, so I expected either hippy dippy music or something like metal. Instead, it turns out they're from California and they play garage rock with a high-pitched singer. Lots of promise but still working on it.
Them nice goils and boys in the Dansettes stunned the hipster crowd with their Motown/soul revival and that's a good thing.
The Changes started off the night and very nearly stole the whole night. Recalling equally The Smiths as well as a bit of the Jam and a tiny bit of the Replacements, these Chicago pop-rockers mixed dance-beat background with solid pop-hooks. But the last time I heard a band sound this good with this kind of music, The Golden Republic, the record turned out to be a completely different story. So there's a caveat for you.

The Decemberists; Alasdair Roberts
@ Hammerstein Ballroom
New York, NY - November 3, 2006

The Decemberists returned to New York with a sold out show at the Hammerstein as part of the CMJ Music Marathon and while the band concentrated too much on the new uneven album, Colin Meloy kept things moving along with his mandatory audience participation, including a band-led reenactment of the Charge of the Light Brigade in the crowd. This provided ample cover from the direct (but ok) lifts of Pink Floyd, ELP, and Talking Heads that the new songs are populated with (though my favorite new tune is "O Valencia" since it is directly lifted from the Decemberists).
This ain't your daddy's educating, edifying, and entertaining indie pop band...but then again, maybe it is, college boy.

Opener Alasdair Roberts is a Scottish act that is so soft, subtle, mellow, and melancholy, he's almost too much of all that even for a Decemberists gig.

Jolie Holland; David Dondero
Maxwell's
Hoboken, NJ - October 20, 2006

A very chill, relaxed night in Hoboken and a rare early show at Maxwell's. Jolie Holland's mystically chanteuse-style sounds, mixing country, blues, and Jazz, make for a real trip. Opener David Dondero is in the classic solo acoustic-man vein and his songs have a lot of weight. Particularly check out "South of the South".