2007, Apr-Jun

The Go
@ Pianos
New York, NY - June 30, 2007

This one was for pure curious nostalgia. Who were/are the guys that had Jack White toiling around with them back in the late 90's, who were profiled in an early roughly designed Detroit doc but who never again seemed to perform, tour, or cavort with the other Motor City bands on a regular basis? And how fitting it is that they arrive in New York smacked right in between the 2 Stripes shows?
Essentially a bar band, the guys in the Go have a penchant for 60's psychadelic folk-pop, but of course put through a little bit of the Detroit garage ringer. If they had toured more often a couple years ago, coming through in 2003-2005 when a ton of D-town bands were frequenting the Big Apple, they'd have stood out and offered an alternative approach to the majority of 3-chord peers. But now they just seem a little off. Some songs are quite good, others are meandering, others have the right set-up but break-up on follow through. Nevertheless, it was pleasant taking one last non-Dirtbombs, non-Blanche meta-trip to the Detroit garage (it would have been a longer trip if I had seen the Paybacks open for Joan Jett on Thursday), which was fine considering the word "pleasant" isn't a word really associated with that city's music anymore, in good ways and bad.

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
@ Hiro Ballroom at the Maritime Hotel
New York, NY - June 26, 2007

Yo, son, as Ry-dawg himself likes to talk like this, I best be tryin' to write my review this way, yo. He came out, lookin' something like a Blues Brother, and said "let's play some music up in this peace", it was whack, yo. But then he played a set that - and I don't mean to sound like some soft-ass shorty - that was beautiful, yo. He mostly played his new album, Easy Tiger - "Goodnight Rose" and "The Sun Also Sets" were highlights - and he busted out classic trax like "Let It Ride", "Winding Wheel", "Dear John", and "Goodnight Hollywood Blvd". He even ended the night with Alice in Chains' "Down in a Hole", holmes! Now why a guy who writes about 25,000 songs a year needs to do any covers is beyond this G's ways of thinking, but Ryan did it anyway and it worked, son. It was off da hook. His band, the Flip Mode Squad Cardinals, are tight, yo! When Ry-money wasn't distracting the crowd with his warm and silly banter, his boyz were playing like they was at the Grand Ole Opry or somethin' - but not in that cornball cracker ass way. It's a good thing Ryan sang perfectly too, cuz otherwise his remarks - about the hotel looking like swiss cheese, about how he drank 16 diet cokes, peppering all of his shizznit with "right now, in New York City, right now" - would have been lame, dawg. But what was cool was when he got the dragon head above the stage to smoke. That smoke was smokin', son. But no special FX was needed as Ryan and the band were, as previously mentioned, off the hook, right now, in New York City, right now. Not bad for a thug who calls his songs "sad bullshit".

The Subjects; Black Tie Revue; Excellent
@ Cake Shop
New York, NY - June 23, 2007

The Cake Shop is one of the best venues in New York. A cafe upfront, a record store in the back (with a terrific collection of 7" records), and a bar/venue downstairs, the Ludlow LES site is one of those places that should, by all rights, be a New York staple, a future landmark.

The Subjects are very good at what they do but at the same time, there aren't a lot of ways to describe them except to call them indie rock/pop. They don't sound particularly special but they are a good Saturday night small venue band.
Pittsburgh's Black Tie Revue has stuck in my mind since I saw them several years ago at the Trash Bar in Williamsburg. I remembered the chorus from one song and never shook it. All these years later, it is easy to understand what made BTR memorable in the first place - a series of rockin' riffs and good time fun. Not goofy (except for their curious keyboardist) but not too cool for school either, BTR gives a little kick in the pants to the Rust Belt Rock that has been steadily fading away. They deserve to be bigger.
Excellent is a band that plays a little more power pop than the Subjects but suffer from two non-music problems: a lead singer that tries too hard to look like Robin Zander from Cheap Trick, and a horrible band name. Excellent is an atrocious choice for a band name. Their music is fine but not solid. Maybe if they work on the name, that will inspire them to put a little more oomph into their sound. Good kids, nice use of the sax, but seriously...Excellent?

The White Stripes; Citizens' Band
@ The Fillmore at Irving Plaza
New York, NY - June 19, 2007

Greatest Day Before My Birthday Present Ever, the most intimate New York White Stripes show since the Bowery Ballroom in 2002, five years in the making, Jack and Meg White return with Icky Thump and a sense of "back to basics" that every durable band goes through. Get Behind Me Satan indeed, the Stripes were in their early years red, the stage was bathed in red, there was very little white or black to be found, and only for this band could the aesthetic matter so much. It matters so much because it affects the intensity. The lavishness of GBMS went hand in hand with the bizarre and at times lounging sounds of that record but with this return to the original aesthetic, the Stripes unleashed a torrent, a fury, of hard blues and rock n roll. Even the rare ballad or shuffle-friendly ditty sounded full of tenacity.
Meg White has never been better at the drums, and while that doesn't mean she's doing more than she's ever done before, she's doing it with the most intensity she has ever had. Jack sang with his heart entirely in it, with no messing around, except for a few odd rambles about Spin Magazine, drinking a latte in different locations of New York, Yonkers, and an incident at a camp with a squirrel when he was a kid. But what's the brother supposed to do, he's Samoan somewhat insane.
The new songs, from what I could make out (I haven't listened to the album yet), are fine. Some sound a little uninspired but it's not even a detraction. The Stripes catalog was in full force, and the crowd loved every minute of it. Listening to the pre-show requests to stay calm, the crowd was as intense and excited a New York crowd I have seen that didn't go totally off their hinges. It may have just been my perception, but it seemed that the crowd elicited its biggest reactions to the 2 GBMS songs that were played...which is kind of disturbing. But nevertheless, the crowd was a wake-up call: the Stripes are big. Big big. And for all the notoriety of the online-centered community that follows the Stripes every step of the way, it is clear that there are thousands upon thousands of silent, unspoken mega fans who wait their turn till the band comes around again. This silent majority is the reason the Stripes have sneaked into the popular consciousness - as it can be defined for them in this kind of age. For such a fractured, diverse, society, for a rock n roll band to elicit this kind of intensity, this kind of loyalty, this kind of supremacy (and at the risk of hyperbole, yes "supremacy" is the right word), it is a testament to their craft, particularly to Jack who is writing songs and playing guitar at a rate and an accuracy that needs no sense of relative measurement, it is just monumentally on its own. But even more particularly to Meg, whose sole task is to make sure that Jack delivers the White Stripes to the people each time he decides to do so.

And yet I thought there were no words to describe it all.

Setlist:
01 "When I Hear My Name"
02 "Dead Leaves"
03 "Icky Thump"
04 "Cannon"
05 "John The Revelator"
06 "My Doorbell"
07 "I’m Slowly Turning Into You"
08 "Jolene" (cut short)
09 "Hotel Yorba"
10 "I Think I Smell A Rat" (Jack teases "Misirlou")
11 "Effect And Cause"
12 "Apple Blossom"
13 "Same Boy You’ve Always Known"
14 "Catch Hell Blues"
15 "St. James Infirmary Blues"
16 "Cold, Cold Night"
17 "I Want to be the Boy to Warm Your Mother’s Heart"
18 "You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket"
19 "Astro"
20 "Union Forever" (lyric tease to "Little Cream Soda")
++ Jack's caffeinated NYC sightseeing day*
21 "Blackjack Davey"
22 "Black Math"
23 "Let's Build A Home"
----
23 "Blue Orchid"
++ Jack's squirrely standup#
24 "A Martyr For My Love For You"
25 "I Don't Know What To Do With Myself"
26 "Ball And A Biscuit"
27 "Bo Weevil"

Citizens' Band are an extremely large collective (I counted about 15 or 16 on stage at their peak) who blend Moulin Rouge, Cabaret, and Broadway into their theatrics. It may not be a rock n roll opener, but it certainly set the tone for the night, that this is New York and - as cliche as it is to say it is cliche - anything can happen. The fact that Jack's wife Karen Elson is a singer in this thing should be noted. The fact that she is a good singer should also be noted.
I doubt they will be opening for the Stripes elsewhere, which made it all the more special.

Stephanie's Id
@ Sidewalk
New York, NY - June 9, 2007


From the blue-soaked oasis of Asheville, North Carolina (rising fast as a friendly rival to Athens & Atlanta, Georgia and seemingly the entire state of Tennessee), comes the sounds of Stephanie's Id. Led by a charming female singer (Stephanie Morgan of the band name), the Id back their chanteuse with a sound that is not yet completely polished but is certainly on its way there. The elements of smooth are so profound, in all its indie pop revelry, you can almost feel the silk emanating from the performance space. One of a flock of new bands (spread so throughout the US that it could be called an unknown diaspora) whose very sound is ripe for the phrase "thinking music", Stephanie's Id is yet another band that is rapidly recording the soundtrack to our lives.

Consider The Source
@ Fontana's
New York, NY - June 2, 2007

Consider the Source is a band that greatly experiments with Eastern, particularly South Asian, sounds but infuses it with a large signature of metal. A song or two even recall some Mexican strumming but the roots are clearly Hindu. The metal dosage is also clearly from the prog school of metal, and that means hints of Jazz. In fact the hints of Jazz were as strong as the incense burning from the stage, and in making the choice after the show to go buy the Kama Sutra and some pot, or go to Small's, this writer chose to go to Small's.
The double-necked guitar (used to sound like a violin or other acoustic instruments at times), and the ferocity of the trio make for a compelling case, but the overall atmosphere sometimes verges on jam band. Sensual exotica should prevail over a jam band 24/7/365.

The Love Me Nots; David Ahlen
@ Pianos
New York, NY - May 25, 2007

When you think about it, most sections of this country have at least one good garage rock band to represent them. The Bamboo Kids (among others) rule the Northeast. The Woggles represent the South. The Dirtbombs (among others) still hold dominion out of the Midwest. But what about the West? California and the West Coast in general is too loopy to have one, or even a handful, of signature garage bands to label as "THE" band. But now the Southwest has its band. THE band out of Phoenix, Arizona: the adorably feisty and punchy Love Me Nots.
Garage sounds of any stripe, and retro-looks to boot - have mostly worn thin over the last couple years but if you really mean it, and you mean it by supplying your look and panache with an earnest, authentic, and quality sound, then it pays off. And with the Love Me Nots it pays off in a big way. "Move In Tight" leads an array of numbers that re-invigorate, refresh, and re-energize the garage rock sound. With a spot-on lead female singer who terrorizes a Farfisa with abandon and a guitarist who recalls Dick Dale and Horton Heat in a single chord, the Love Me Nots are one of the bands of 2007, hands down.
And may I be so bold as to say I "discovered" this band before Little Steven did? May I? With no consequence or actual meaning? Thank you. Because I did.
David Ahlen is a moving, touching Stockholm guitarist who taps into the most sentimental but serious vein of acoustic pop. Chilling in that Nordic, Odin sort of way.

The Jesus and Mary Chain; Sam Roberts Band
@ Webster Hall
New York, NY - May 21, 2007

One of the great unsung bands of the 80's, the Scottish clan known as the Jesus and Mary Chain reunited this year. Armed with a melodic, melancholy taste for ethereal pop-rock, the boys began their return at Coachella and next found their way to the eclectic confines of New York's Webster Hall. A wide-ranging crowd of artisans and yuppies welcomed the JAMC with open arms and the band did not disappoint. At Coachella, Scarlett Johansson sang "Just Like Honey" with the band and from a distance, last night, it seemed it was her again but alas it was a member of the Comas (who are opening for the JAMC on night 2).
Openers the Sam Roberts Band, from Montreal (there was a "scene" that died off pretty quickly eh?), fit along the Oasis-Radiohead mold of driving, lumbering power-pop. That kind of sound can go either way in a big fashion but in this case, they hit the mark more often than they missed.

Elvis Costello & The Imposters
Nokia Theater Times Square
New York, NY - May 16, 2007


The balls on this man. 30 years ago this runt decides to co-opt the name of the King of Rock N Roll (who died the same year) and at the same time co-opt the look of a long deceased Rock N Roll icon, more or less. Then he has the nerve to sing jingle-jangle power pop with a punk attitude and sing his own complicated world play making it nearly impossible to sing along to despite the fact that by all other constructs, those songs should be as sing-able as they come.
Fast forward 30 years later, and the former Declan McManus is still tearing it up, breaking away from his many musical projects to reunite with his longtime working band to dish out a night of straight up Costello-brand Rock N Roll.
A guesstimate says that he relied on his first four stellar albums only about 50% of the time (though Armed Forces was sadly underused almost entirely), filling the rest of the night up with competent later tracks that ranged from the rockin' to balladry. Highlights include:

Welcome to the Working Week
The Beat
Watching The Detectives (a long jam with a "Let Him Dangle" middle)
Riot Act
Alison
No Action
I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea
High Fidelity
Radio, Radio
Hey Bulldog (a smashing cover of the greatest Beatles song of all time)
Pump It Up
What's So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding? (with a "Bring the Boys Home! Bring Them Home Alive!" improvisation)

The crowd did their best to sing along as much as Elvis would let them but when he came out for the third set ("encore" doesn't really do the night justice) and did an acoustic solo of "Alison", the crowd fell starkly silent and you could hear a pin drop - and you could also hear one drunk yuppie girl nearby who took the silence as an indication that she could sing along and then fight with anyone who told her to be quiet (these yuppie girls are becoming the new frat moshers).
Which brings me to the voice: Did Elvis' chords ever age in these last 30 years? I can't tell the difference between My Aim Is True and his live show tonight. I honestly can't.

It was all over too fast. After the first set, I swore they were only on for 40 minutes but the clock said they had been on for an hour and 15 minutes. And there was still over 45 minutes of show left to go as it turned out.

Side notes:
-I never got a good look at Steve Nieve as he was blocked from my view by a big amp.

-Little Steven was there, the first time I've seen him at a gig since CMJ 2004 (though he apparently was at the Racs' North American debut last year). Damn him. Just when I had grown tired of his show, and had also not really been all Elvis-crazy for a stretch, he goes ahead and plays "High Fidelity", getting me all into Get Happy!! and making me excited for this show all over again and making it nice to see him there and blah blah blah.

-Don't ever eat pizza in Times Square. I've lived here pretty much all my life and I never had pizza in the heart of Times Square before. Four dollars, ninety five cents for a slice with topping. You read that right.

The Changes; Takka Takka; The End of the World
@ Union Hall
Brooklyn, NY - May 12, 2007

There is that tingly feeling you get sometimes, watching a band. It's that sensation, that feeling, that you know something is going on. It's that moment when you realize that the live performance and the record are equal parts in the same equation and that equation is that the band you are watching is now up there as one of your favorites. I recently labeled Camera Obscura as my new favorite band, but let's amend it. Right up there are the Changes. And the Chicago boys are up there in a big way. They are familiar without being an uninspired hack. They are an homage to power pop sensibilities of the past without being just another retro revival band. They can be corny and goofy and too sugary for a diabetic, but they play it off solid, substantive, and sublime.
The last time I felt this good seeing a band live, and felt that sensation of "this band is going to be one of my bands for a long time to come" was in 2004 when the rock n roll soul fury of the Dirtbombs and the ethereal graininess of Blanche knocked me for a loop. So yes, I guess that means the Changes will be joining the pantheon of bands that will get heavy promotion on this page. Brace yourselves.

One last bit on the band, kudos to them for providing negative criticisms in their press section on the website. That takes something. I don't know what that something is...and I don't know if they know they got it, but they got it. Got it?

Takka Takka is in the tradition of Neil Young tried and true (there is definitely a Neil Young love affair going on right now, especially in the Northeast - it seems like every 10-15 years, someone's younger brother discovers Neil and a new revival is born). Though after a few songs, it felt like it could have been enough already. But as long as New York bands know the ways of Neil, what's to really complain about? (Don't ask me this again in a year or so, when I grow tired of Neil...again).

The End of the World were an excellent opening band that seemed to actually merge the power pop of the Changes with the folky-ness of Takka Takka. Their recorded stuff doesn't do them justice, so listen to the live track on their MySpace (which itself doesn't do justice). Lots of promise, lots of talent...heck, they could be the next Changes.

Wheat; The Yarrows; Verona Downs
@Mercury Lounge
New York, NY - April 29, 2007

Indeed, the Yarrows are sound better than ever. The songs have complete structure, the band can finesse it rather than meander, and as a unit, they are clicking as a complete, solid, whole. They are still hard to define and slap with a label, which is good. I'd stick 'em on a bill with the Volebeats or the Changes, if that would give some set of boundaries.
Wheat is an eclectic outfit, starting off with a hint of alt-country and taking it down various indie paths. They suffered from major sound tech problems but the goods are there.
Verona Downs are also somewhat hard to define, except under that big umbrella of "indie pop". Pretty good band but not much to say about them.

The Knitters; Chatham County Line
@ Luna Lounge
Brooklyn, NY - April 28, 2007

I'm not sure how it is going to be at the Gramercy during the week, but the Knitters in Brooklyn on a Saturday night should have been packed. Especially since the revamped Luna Lounge is now at a lot bigger (and well-constructed) diggs in Hipsterville East (Williamsburg). And if this was an X show, that it would be guaranteed to be sold out, packed to the rafters (if there were rafters). The marked drop-off in numbers from X to the Knitters really surprises me but hey that's more room for a hoe down.
For whatever reason, I did not truly appreciate the talent of Dave Alvin the last time I saw them. This time was completely different. Alvin, no surprise, is magnificent. The solo on "The New World" may be a highlight of my concert going life. The X songs done Knitter-style, as a whole, sound better than the non-X songs except of course for "Rock Island Line". What a beautifully intimate way to see one of the great unknown national treasures.

Openers Chatham County Line are pure - and I mean pure - bluegrass from North Carolina. You'd have no idea you were at a show headlined by members of one of the big mosh pit acts if you walked on these nice young men opening the night up. The bottom line is, you like bluegrass or you don't. If you do - and I certainly do - then this band gets the job done by far. Besides, it's not too often you get bluegrass in New York.

My only question of the night, were all the southern-accented women yuppies in attendance with their American Express tab at the bar, and some of whom were inexplicably dressed for a velvet-rope, guest-list club...are they there because they actually know about Knitters and Chatham? And if so, do they know X? These dames seemed a long way off from anything remotely related to X. But there they were, getting drunk and two-steppin'. Only in Brooklyn.

Les Sans Culottes
@Southpaw
Brooklyn, NY - April 14, 2007

It remains one of the oddest gimmicks in the local music scene (or any music scene) - a faux French pop-punk-garage rock octet led by a guy who tries (rather successfully) to be the doppelganger of John Lennon. I don't get it but I like it. Especially because the band is so much fun musically. Their CD release party at Southpaw was certainly something to party about as the new record provides a home for the song "Les Enfants Terribles", a song that in a just world would be this coming summer's big radio hit but alas that is not the world we live in.


The Hard Lessons; The Subway Band
@ Pianos
New York, NY - April 12, 2007

The Hard Lessons may have single handedly (or six handedly) brought me back from the grave, rock n roll wise. They give it their all and no foolin'. They started off their short set with a spate of hard rockin' numbers recalling classic rock greats spun through the garage. They polished off the set with a series of power pop songs that tingle under your skin. They finished off the night with "Milk and Sugar" (with some unexpected Raconteurs lyrics thrown in) one of the best songs you have probably never heard but should and their take on Neil Young's "Hey Hey My My". Having just rediscovered Neil myself a little (thanks to a friend), it was a fitting end to the night.

The Subway Band spin a series of well crafted tunes in the vein of what is the latest New York thing, ethnic/world music (think Devotchka, Golgol Bordello, Beirut, etc). In this particular case, it is accordion-led Spanish-style melody. It makes for interesting twists and turns and leaves the listener at times thinking of walking through some old Mexican one-horse town or in some spoken-word bohemian adventure involving some sort of spy. I'm not joking. And no I am not on crack either. It's good stuff.