Month of October , 2006

So I had been hearing about shows at some house on Comstock St but always managed to forget the number and/or date of the show. Finally on Oct 21 I made it to a show there. What was the occasion? Well, this show happened to be packed with one of the most diverse, interesting, and fun lineups I could imagine for a basement show. And it just so happened that the house was christened with a name on this night: The World Trade Slayer!

First up were The Yets, who I missed. Damn! Well even though I didn’t see them this time I will give them a write up anyway, from the last time I saw them. The band is a guitar and drum duo consisting of two guys I associate with New Brunswick noise. Jaime’s drumming is unique and a perfect fit for the band. Actually I can’t quite decide whether his playing is a perfect fit or if his playing defines the band. Either way… James plays guitar and looks pretty nervous the whole time. Jaime lays down driving and complex beats that are regularly speckled with subtle changes. The music is immediately catchy. The songs are marked with childish melodies; lead lines that you feel as though you have heard a thousand times before. Something Mother sang to you at night. Both players are good musicians, especially Jaime, but accuracy is definitely not a priority in The Yets. This just adds to their youthful charm.

Next up was Car Commercials. I was excited to hear this project as it involves David Sutton. When meeting David personally, it is easy to get the impression that he just doesn’t really give a shit. He appears to be a nice enough guy but the level of cynicism he gives off makes it hard to believe that he cares about his art. But whenever I get a chance to hear his performances they always bubble over with a sincerity that is nothing, if not infectious. Noise is the new punk rock… anyone can do it. It pisses people off. Standing there watching you are guaranteed to hear the good old, “That’s not art. I could do that.” Noise states a challenge in the same way that punk did in the late 70s and early 80s. “Oh yeah? Lets see you do it then!” But no matter how easy it is to start a noise project it doesn’t make it any easier to have a good one. Car Commercials is a good one (and seemingly anything David S has his name on). This project is song oriented. David stands up in front of the audience singing and playing guitar. The songs give off a sense of melancholy which is matched by drums and another guitar that fill out the group. Everything about the performance is haphazard. The drummer looks completely bored as he plays a drumset that is both broken and only one step above a toy. But the beat is there. David’s guitar is in some sort of tuning most likely only used by himself and Sonic Youth on some obscure 80s recording. Yet these ‘chords’ still set the background. The second guitarist often plays lead lines that have no musical relation to David’s. But this does add a sense of melody and fullness to the pieces. In the end, the whole thing caves in on itself and turns to a pure noise jam. Its as if for a moment the noises believe they can really be harmonious “music” but in the end realize that they are better off as harsh fragments of sound.

With another quick genre shift we have Vehm. New Brunswick has no lack of hardcore bands, each trying to convince you of their power by the size of their amps. Vehm are immediately different. This is no hardcore/post hardcore/metalcore/etc/etc band. This is grind. This is metal. But don’t get me wrong. The guitarist was running a sizable stack complete with Orange head, the lead vocalist sports an NJHC (New Jersey HardCore) tattoo, and the drummer never misses the chance for an ear popping rim shot. These guys are loud and have a connection to NJ hardcore. The difference is that they don’t use volume as the means to an end. This band is powerful because they are tight; because the vocalist exhibits extreme, animalistic expression that bypasses thought as it strikes right into your spine; because this shit fucking rocks! Not for the faint of heart but if you are up for something powerful and sonically different Vehm is no joke.

Last to take the room for the night were The Fun Ghouls. The Fun Ghouls are more then just a Misfits cover band… they play Nirvana and Black Flag too! If punk rock says that you don’t have to be able to play an instrument, to be in a band, then The Fun Ghouls are punk to the extreme. Not only do they lack complete control of their instruments, they don’t write there own songs, don’t really bother learning other peoples songs, rarely finish a song, and aren’t in tune most of the time. It is awesome! The central figure of The Fun Ghouls is The Cheeseman, known to most as “that huge guy that knocks people around at The Ergs! shows.” Cheese spends more time in the crowd then behind his drums. To get into the crowd he regularly climbs over the drumset, effectively knocking the whole damn thing over. Sometimes he brings a snare drum with him to try to keep some sort of beat going. And he regularly yells, “Eh Fungouli!!!” We ARE in New Jersey.

Tiniest basement I have seen a show at in a LONG time. Also the most fun I’ve had at a show in a long time. Watch for more good experimental/ noise/ extreme/ strange shows at The World Trade Slayer.
-Jarrett D
PS - Want to send me something?
Jarrett Dougherty
PO Box 1561
New Brunswick, NJ
08903
or
jarrett_d_(at)hotmail.com

Nouvelle Vague
Bande a Part
Luaka Bop

Timing can sometimes be everything. Amidst the sudden euphoria for everything 80's several years ago, a new appreciation for the lounge scene among mature cosmopolitans simultaneously sprung up. The French act Nouvelle Vague brilliantly combined the two styles and came across with a fresh and sultry take on a catalog of 80's songs that were being rediscovered by a new generation. Critics were hesitant to allow Nouvelle Vague the opportunity to extend beyond a mere novelty act, but the audiences disagreed. Now in 2006, after touring the world, the band has released Bande a Part under Luaka Bop, David Byrne's world music label. The record is a strong musical offering that continues to challenge conventional musical tastes and further explores the possibilities of the cover band.

For Example- ever wondered what the memorable Bauhaus track "Bela Lugosi's Dead" would sound like played by a smoking Brazilian lounge act? Or what Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself" would come across reincarnated as a zydeco/bossanova shuffle? These fantastic musical meanderings, and many more, are explored with an international perspective by this funky French collective. Back on their self-titled debut, leader Marc Colin put together a group of musicians to, as he says, "arrang the greatest, but rarely covered early '80s post-punk numbers in an original and personal way". The group continues the experiment on their new album with sounds that are a musical nod to the styles of the Caribbean between 1940 and 1970.

Nouvelle Vague successfully transplants these selected post-punk gems out of the wet and overcast milieu of Britain and the claustrophobic pretentiousness of the early 80's downtown New York scene where they were created. The band then brings the songs into the hot and sweaty atmosphere of the Caribbean and the move does wonders for the songs. Hearing New Order's "Blue Monday" sung in a sexy French accent in the middle of a hot Spanish-speaking club by Melanie Pain to the beat of maracas, shakers and funky mallets is a bit, well, cool. The breathing room that is injected into these tracks allows for them to be enjoyed in environments that they originally would have seemed out of place in. Can you imagine before making out to the Cramps track "Human Fly"? You can now. A new lease on life has been given to these classic, yet aged tracks.

Any 80's enthusiast will undoubtedly find loads to like on this record. And someone that can't stand the datedness of 80's songs will find these new versions fresh and funky. It just goes to show that a well written song, like the Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen in Love" or Echo and Bunneyman's "Killing Moon", possess a timelessness that can translate into any musical language. Anyone that can't get down, or least nod their head, to the Nouvelle Vague's take on "Dance with Me" by Lords of the New Church, or any of the other tracks on Bande a Part, has a serious rhythm deficiency.

Akron/Family - Meek Warrior
2006| Young God Records

What happens when four country kids relocate to Brooklyn, NY in the hope of making the next great American record? What you get instead is three rather interesting releases by a band called Akron/Family on ex-Swan Michael Gira's label Young God Records. Their latest release, Meek Warrior, is pure art school-gospel that is as confounding as it is exhilarating. Just when you thought the Brooklyn scene hit its creative peak with Return to Cookie Mountain earlier this year, Akron/Family has added another chapter to the ever evolving musical scene that is Brooklyn, NY.

A serious reconsideration of the musical possibilities that lay ahead in the 21st century is a damned near unavoidable after the initial hearing of "Blessing Force", the opening track to Meek Warrior. It is staggering to the mind to hear four dudes unabashedly banging out their deepest darkest musical desires. How does it come across? Well, I think it's safe to say that Meek Warrior is THAT album that on a dark and stormy night your stoner friend or weirdo roommate will corner you and insist "Dude! You gotta hear this!" All the while hurriedly pulling up the album on iTunes and then stopping suddenly, he gives you a serious look and says, "wait...smoke this first, trust me!"

The transition from the closing jazz freak out of "Blessing Force" to the delicate hay-danglin-from-the-mouth hymn "Gone Beyond" finds the band reveling in its wide array of musical abilities and tastes. Freak-folk, noise-rock, alt-country, whatever...the musical borders in this band were stripped away along time ago. What comes out is a beautiful noise that holds more sway over the mind with each ensuing listen. The unpredictability of the musical directions within the record is what will probably garner most of the attention from critics. However, beneath the chaotic juxtaposition of musical elements lays a subtle, yet masterful song-writing ability. This contrast perfectly informs the listener of what it must be like for a group of artists to transition out of a rural setting and into some Brooklyn loft, channeling the maelstrom of artistic urbanity that is proliferating out of the borough across the bridge.

LJ Battaglia

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Ed: one of the tracks, "Gone Beyond" is available as a free MP3.

Ganeesha by Pete Toumey

On Friday night, October 20th, I went down to Red Saw in Newark, NJ to catch an opening that my friend Pete Toumey had some work in. Pete is famous around here for making many many steel vaginas and taking them to some lesbian convention. He's quite a character.

Red Saw (which has four galleries) -- located at 585 Broad Street -- is among a number of art galleries that are making their way in the Downtown Newark area. My friends and I showed up about half an hour after the show had ended, but Pete let us in anyway, and I got to see a number of startling works, including Pete's own metal work (see the picture). Pieces made of delicately woven human hair. A tall structure made out of houses with a Dodo-looking-bird at the top -- was it standing or suspended? That's part of the piece, you have to guess....

I wish I had more info on the other artists on display, but I was in and out so as not to impose. Red Saw and a number of the other galleries have gallery tours in the area every Sunday, so do stop by their website to learn more. Click the image above to see some photos I took while we checking everything out.

Channels - Waiting For The Next End Of The World
August 2006 | Dischord Records

Released at the end of August, the first full-length record from Channels is the stomping, triumphant, beautiful and blasting follow through to the Open EP that the band released on DeSoto Records (ah, desoto, how i miss the dismemberment plan. *sniff*).

Channels, J. Robbins's new post- Burning Airlines and Jawbox project, seems like the natural progression of his compositional and performance abilities, but the project has a sense of shimmering beauty and lurking pop that you didn't often see in the former bands. His wife Janet Morgan plays bass and handles a good portion of the vocals, her Kim Deal-esque delivery takes tracks like Lucky Lamb and Chivaree into a place that Robbins could never do on his own. Darren Zentek's drumming couldn't be a better match for Robbin's and Morgan's truly strange and adept riffing, dynamic changes, swells, drives, and dives.

This record is intense. So much complex but catchy music for a trio to be cranking out while delivering some really touching lyrics, ranging from the anthem catchy "I love my friends and all my friends are in love" of Chivaree to "This fucking century puts Bombs in my dreams," of the very same song. The lyrics of The New Mandarins (featured recently in a Jersey Beat podcast), which kicks off the record, are a smart and personal indictment of the direction of our culture since the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks. The whole record is pre-occupied with the invasion of popular fear into the personal life.

Chivaree originally appeared on Open, and is available for download on the DeSoto site right here. Put that on your ipod and play it for all your friends.

Channels is the inheritor of the DC post punk sound, forging ahead, expanding the sound, adding a hyperactive twang, aaah-aaah vocals, blistering guitar solos and a feminine beauty that just isn't so very present in the music from that scene. It's weird to hear something that almost could almost be called prog-something except for the fact that it doesn't come off as nerdy and mathematically obsessed, more about hitting just that right sound to invoke just that right emotion. Channels delivers their pop with a vicious density and beauty where most post-hardcore-punk groups can only muster up the formula that Green Day patented back in '94.

The recording and production quality of this record is fantastic, and was mostly recorded and mixed by J. Robbins himself (although early recordings of "Lucky Lamb" were done with good ol' Don Zientara).

Definitely worth your $10. Order your copy from Dischord online if it's not in your local store.

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An unrelated aside: a little-known but awesome record store here in New Jersey is in Somerset - Curmudgeon Records. They often pack that place for shows, too. Worth checking out if your in the more central or western Jersey and you need a decent place to hunt down your crushes. Definitely a place where you could find this record if you want to buy local. Tunes in Hoboken comes to mind as far as stores in North Jers.

We seem to be having a bit of difficult with the database. It will be fixed soon. Fear not.

People like to broadcast, but not everybody realizes what's out there for them to listen to, to hear new and independent music. So, here's some stuff that's got my ear, mostly local:

Jim Testa's Jersey Beat Podcast is still in full effect, pretty regularly, actually, and it contains HEAPS of neat stuff, new and old. You could subscribe to the podcast using a pile of things, but the most accessible means to you are probably iTunes, or Google Reader (which, btw, kicks ass for following any feed, if you have Gmail account).

I think it's specifically important to point out that making these amounts to mixtaping, an artform unto itself, and it's a pain in the ass to then go and link to each band, too. He does it for the loves. Give Jim a listen. Each week he has a neat theme for you, too.

Also, Lazlo is still kicking BlowUpRadio.com ("Where Jeeeeerzee Rock LIVES!"), an online stream, a continuous, relentless doom bot of local music. You can listen via iTunes, winamp, whatever.

Jared Migden of WRSU in New Brunswick, NJ hosts a show every Sunday night called Overnight Sensations, featuring local indie artists that's really excellent. Jared tends to have his finger on the pulse of who's kicking out the jams around here. Listen to WRSU over here.

In other news, I'm finally moved into my new place, and listening to new music again. Also made it to a show Saturday. Hopefully I'll have some time this evening to write up some reviews.

What have you fine folks been listening to?

A day in the life of Jasamine White-Gluz, fashionable, attractive, Montreal singer-songwriter:

Yawn!
Omigod, it's 11am already? Time to go to work I guess. Nah, my desk is on the other side of the loft. Too far away. The magazine will just have to wait another week for that Coheed and Cambria review. I'll just write another song on my acoustic. What should it be about... um... boys. Yeah that's good. Boys are fun.

*Ring Ring Ring*

Hello?

Jasamine, it's your sister, Alissa. This singer-songwriter coffee house thing is just not going to work. If you are totally going to Be Big you need to get an electric guitar, three more handsome people, and make a real band.

Can I keep writing about boys?

Yes yes yes. In fact, that's probably the best thing. I'll take pictures of you in your underwear for the CD cover and we'll call it something bad and flirty so all the boys get bent out of shape. So bent out of shape that they won't even notice that the songs are like PJ Harvey's band on quaaludes fronted by that girl from The Cranes after a night of dirty sex. Even the name-dropping asshole music writers will be fooled.

Something bad and flirty? I know I know I know!

Don't say...

BAD!

Oh no..

FLIRT!! Omigod! *takka takka takka* The domain name is available. See see see bad flirt dot com. It's perfect.

*Sigh* Ok. Well I must admit it does scream "slutty". People like that.

Weee

I'll be at the loft in 2 hours with the models.

One sunny Sunday suave Sceneless editor Billy Gray hands me a promo copy of the new solo disc by Roger O'Donnell, The Truth in Me.

I scan the press sheet. "An album made entirely on the Minimoog Voyager synthesizer". Oh dear, this sounds like it's going to be a laborious investigation into myriad sounds rather than an album with songs. Worse yet, the Voyager is monophonic. I'm not sure my brain can handle an album without chords.

"Former member of the Cure and Thompson Twins". Aren't there about 30 former members of the Cure? Who really gives a crap about the Thompson Twins?

Fast forward a couple of days. I'm at work, I have yet to listen to the album, but I am doing a little research:

A little prodding reveals O'Donnell helped record Disintegration, Bloodflowers and a couple others, but only helped write any material on one album. He was unceremoniously ejected from the band by Robert Smith in 2004 when Smith decided (again) that his philosophy wasn't jiving with people not named Simon [Gallup].

My phone rings. It's Shannon. It seems our dog Simon (really) thought it would be a good idea to taste the Roger O'Donnell promo disc. Apparently, he didn't like it too much. A pile of disc shards and paper were left in the middle of my living room, all topped off with a rhinoceros sized bowel movement. Absorb that for a moment: My dog hated O'Donnell's disc so much he destroyed it and took a shit on it.

Not being one to resign myself to any notion of fate, I decided to check out O'Donnell's MySpace page. Clearly my dog does not prefer 9 minute long explorations of the same basic musical theme on one instrument. Nor does he like the Moog. I'll keep that Wendy Carlos record on the high shelf from now on, I guess.

The Screaming Females aren't the sort of band that needs to use nudity as a gimmick; only together for less then a year and a half, they've been packing New Brunswick basements for most of that time. No, one can only assume that drummer Jarrett was overcome by the moment, his bands funked out power trio assault, or perhaps the drunken, sweaty, exuberant, packed like sardines Parlor crowd.

Nudity was only a footnote to yet another night of Scremales basement insanity at 233 Hamilton St. Gigging regularly here over the past few months and bringing along for the ride a handful of great bands, some local, some not, the Females have established themselves as THEE New Brunswick band of the moment. Never disappointing, this band refuses to stand still and continues to bring it forward riding a wave of musical inertia that shows no signs of slackening.

Mixing in several new songs and a couple reworked faves, the Females enraptured the crowd with what may not have been their tightest set ever, but certainly one of the most fun. Not a band afraid to take chances they opened with newer song Real Mothers featuring an intense full on screaming Marissa P. chorus, really letting it belt. A funked up Dinosaurs followed, and from there the band mixed in a few staples from their self-made debut Baby Teeth, the B-side of their new amazing sounding 7'inch Zoo of Death featuring random kids rapping over the bridge was unique, but perhaps a bit much, a couple more newbies, their own Freebird the unstoppably hummable Jonah, and encoring with a cover of Body Drop by the legendary Atomic Missles.

Brooklyn's Man In Gray were second from the top and eagerly awaited by many, already hipped to their propulsive daring sound. The word was this band is shit hot, and god damn, they didn't disappoint! A rhythm section like a cement mixer, charismatic front woman, and some bad ass scratchy Brooklyn guitars. These folks took it to the Brunz and the HubCitians responded in kind, no straggler too cool for the room kids hanging outside for this band! A great set, and hopefully they'll be back in a Brunswick basement near you real soon, and if not, well worth a trip anywhere in the metro area to go see, trust me.

Also on the bill where fellow Brooklyners, drum and guitar duo The Volunteers who banged out some solid Back in Black style damage complete with shout along choruses, seemed to go over well.

Openers Pineapple Island Tribesman confounded some with their mix of jarring zig zag guitar noise and somewhat proggy raga chants, but I'd be curious to see them again.

All in all another great night of fun and musical adventure at the Parlor, we do this around twice a month, come see us sometime!

So here I am packing to move on Saturday. Or maybe I'm on the Internets and done with that. It seems like a good moment to point out, despite the fact that I probably can't make any of these shows, that there are some sick shows coming up this weekend, all of them on Saturday, October the 14th. An inadvertant collective conciousness expression of love for excellent pop, rock, punk and dance? It's a whole lot of Jersey rock, that's for sure:

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The Chilling Details and Meets West
w/ Screamin Preemies and Ground to Machine
Oak Lounge of the Berkeley-Carteret Hotel
Ocean Ave, Asbury Park, NJ 07712 $4

Meltdowns got invited to play the first show these crazy kids put on at the Oak Lounge down in Asbury, and what a freakin hoot it was. There will be house of people in attendance for this, especially with Meets West playing, a band that just gets better and better every time I see them. The Chilling Details have a monstrous, stripped down brit-pop sound, and Meets West are the shore's thundering heirs to DC post punk / hardcore.

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Screaming Females and The One And Only Typicals

Trash Bar
256 Grand St. between Driggs and Roebling
Brooklyn, NY
Arckid @ 12am
Lions and Tigers @ 11pm
Bear Hands @ 10pm
The One and Only Typicals @ 9pm
Screaming Females @ 8pm
OPEN BAR FROM 8-9PM!
$6

Looks like the kids from Brunswick are bringing it back to Brooklyn, where they are sure to make a dent in the way that cruise missles affect ice cream trucks. Tear it up, people. I am told that I really ought to give the OAOTs another shot (and looking back, maybe they just didn't present well as far as PA and volume/eq vs. room size goes in the basement of 233 Hamilton Street). And fuck, if I can get all moved in by the evening on Saturday, I may still try to make this one.

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Sick Sick Birds
w/The Shemps, Dead Mechanical
1041 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222

The band's notes about the show: "I am told Tommy's Tavern sells PBR for $2 -- it's like being in Baltimore."

Okay, so Sick Sick Birds aren't from NJ, they're from MD, but it's another band that came through Bruns that obviously has a LOT of talent, but I found myself going "eh" and not being able to really get into what they were doing (vocally or intricate guitar-wise as well). Totally up for giving them another shot. Kicking it in Greenpoint, down the street from my Grandmother's house. I wonder what time they go on? Maybe show hopping?

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Heatsleeve!
449 Room w/ the Velvet Crayon
S. Broad Street, Trenton, NJ 08601
Cost: $5

Heatsleeve is an hot and jangly pop band with Neil Youngish vocals, a touch of country twang, and excellent bittersweet turns that hails from Mount Holly, NJ. I really can't wait to see them play north of the Raritan River or NYC. If you're in the west or south of Jersey and looking for a good show Saturday night, you won't be disappointed by the sleeve, or by The Velvet Crayon, a one-man band in a wheelchair who plays a miniature guitar! Absolutely tearing. I do not lie about this.

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Days Awake
Last Show? Paul's Tavern and Cabin, Lake Como, NJ
"Days Awake headlines PhanPhest Entertainment's 'Phantasma'. Doors open at 7. Also on the bill are Water at 7:30, and Keith Kenny at 9:00. Days Awake closes it all out with two big sets."

If you're into jam rock, Days Awake is bad ass live band. An old friend of mine is their drummer. While I really didn't like their recordings, I was blown away when I saw them live a few weeks ago. If you like to go to a show and dance? Don't miss this, the other Big Show happening this Saturday at the jersey shore (it doesn't just die when all the bennies go home, the real bands keep playing, imagine that). Rumour has it that the band's singer is leaving and that this is their last show with him (or altogether, because, well, it's a rumour). A lot of my friends from Back Home will be at this show, and I hope they have a blast.

This is the start of a long overdue recap of some of the shows that have gone on in New Brunswick over the last month. In the future I will try to get these up quicker. A month is a bit long, don’t ya think? More up soon.

September 15th (I think?) - Pony Pants
So I had run across this band a few times. They seemed have a pretty cool thing going on. I had thought of them as kind of a Le Tigre dance-y electronic punk project. Their pictures showed a slightly androgynous front woman and two guitarist that looked like they could be playing for Lynyrd Skynyrd. Sounds strange? Well if you take into account that they are from Philly it makes perfect sense. I was delighted to notice flyers around town announcing they would be playing their fall tour kick off in New Brunswick at a house on the corner of Louis St and Hamilton St.

The pre-show environment at the house was very pleasant. Everyone was hanging out in the kitchen, eating food that the house had prepared for the crowd and the bands. Beers seemed easily available and one wonderful young man insisted on asking everyone if they needed a mojito. The show would take place in the attic which had been setup with couches and lights, making a great show setting. There were sure signs that this house was not experienced at putting on shows. Attics shoot sound out onto the street, the 9:00 pm start time for a three act bill, the open windows to the street for the sound to blast out of. Oh well, just had to cross the fingers and hope for the best.

First on was Mincemeat or Tenspeed. This guy had at least 20 effects pedals on a table through which he was running some fun dance beats. Knob twiddling galore! He had obviously learned to work the setup really well and the performance was fun. A good way to start the night and get some bodies moving. Next up was Foxy Lady and The Pretty LA Women. There set went on a long time. It consisted of a lot of cheesy, factory settings Casio beats and yelling and some badly replicated Biggy Smalls verses. During this set I had a great conversation with Pony Pants’ front women Emily. It was during this conversation that I realized that I had placed Pony Pants into that section of music that is fun but not serious about the art. Speaking with Emily made me reassess my preconceptions. The set that followed totally erased them!

The Lynyrd Skynyrd looking dudes flanked Emily, each having an Gibson SG and a sweet half stack to fill out the look. The play button of the backup beats Ipod was pushed and the set was on! The room immediately started rocking as the attic turned into a proper dance party. The guitarists ripped dual harmonizing lead lines that would make the metal gods proud. One of the guys even put his foot up on a prop where his monitor would be. God, these guys know how to rock an image, it was great! Emily bounced around belting out truly emotional lyrics that I had managed to overlook in my pre-show evaluation of the band. Aside from a few battles with the soundman (aren’t soundmen supposed to make things easier?), the set was going along real well. The show was building steam for both the band and the crowd with each song. Too bad the set ended at six songs with that, oh so lovely, announcement, “Get the hell out. The cops are here!”

Often when people decide to put a band together they come up with some plan as to what the sound will be. It usually goes something like, “How about Black Sabbath guitars over Black Flag drums and vocals with lyrics all about a Martian alien colony!?” or “Maybe some Dick Dale surf guitar over Dr. Dre beats with just a little bit of psychedelica?” These projects can be fun but are usually not more than the sum of their parts. Unconsciously I had pegged Pont Pants as on of these bands. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this band is much more than the sum of its parts. This is a band with catchy songs, emotional and provocative lyrics, and a killer live show. Hope the rest of their tour goes well. I bet we will see them back in New Brunswick soon enough.

September 22nd - Human Host, We Are The Seahorses
Last year Screaming Females inadvertently hung Human Host out to dry on a New Brunswick show. Two bills were combined and then us and Human Host were booted off at the last minute. We probably could have found another venue but at that point it was a god damned mess. So when We Are The Seahorses get in touch with me yelling, “Help! We were supposed to run a show for Human Host on Sept 22 but our rib shack basement venue was bought out and is now pay-to-play. Can you find us a place to play in New Brunswick?” I felt as though I had to do something.

Screaming Females wouldn’t be able to play (as we try our best not to play the Bruns more than once a month) but I would run the show at my house as a Avant Garde dance party. I bought beer, we tin foiled my basement (700 feet of foil looks pretty awesome), Reid Bingham produced a slightly disturbing video installation, and the bands played.

Human Host (Baltimore) are a band consisting of anywhere from one to about twenty members. They play most types of music as long as it is strange. On this day they played as a duo. The set opened with one of the guys on a beat up, cheap, incomplete drumset and the other guy running a didgeridoo through pedals. Out of this ambient noise the two broke into a bit more of a beat and song (with didgeridoo man now on guitar). Next up they played a song with true sections, words and maybe even a chorus. The progression from total noise to a rockin, yet strange, song was quick but seamless. This was the end of the live instrumentation. To fit with the dance party theme Human Host tapped an Ipod and went into their electronic, dance, craziness. The two guys went running around the room producing all kinds of interesting yells and woops and notes and vibrato from their voices. I believe some mistakenly self-inflected physical injury was sustained. Whole microphones were fit into mouths. There could have also been some James Brown type dance moves and splits involved.

We Are The Seahorse have a reputation that proceeds them. Rumor has it that they have been banned from most of New Jersey’s all ages venues. Needless to say I was psyched to have them play! Of course it was under one condition, “Don’t fuck my shit up!” Talk to the band and they will tell you that their reputation and bannings are largely exaggerated. Purely on a conversation with them you would get the impression that We Are The Seahorse are ready to play Sesame St. Well… its not quite like that.

The band lived up to the hype. When the Butthole Surfers are a number one influence you know there is going to be a crazy live show. To try to sum it up: tin foil dildo, nakedness, sweat, confetti, high powered light show, videos of robot sex and naked babies, sweat, spit, yelling at the crowd, thong, loud ass dance beats, sweat, homosexual love songs, ending with a noise set. Words will never do this band justice. See them before George Bush bans them from the country.

In an age were selling music is becoming a thing of the past, live shows are becoming the wave of the future. Human Host and We Are The Seahorses are two bands that will have no problem with that transition.

-Jarrett D

Jarrett D reports in on the Screamales's blog about the Show last night at 233 Hamilton Street:

So last night's show was a blast. I rocked out with my cock out. For real. Anyone who wasn't there missed a sight. Aside from my beads, my hat, some hiked up socks, and a pair of pumas I was as fresh as the moment I entered this world. Man in Gray totally lived up to their hype. I love NYC bands that can rock a basement show. No questions of "Where's my monitor?" or, like, "How much are you getting paid?" or "So how many drink tickets do I get?" (Ha). They saw The Parlor (the basement), said "Sweet," went and got some ice cream, and came back and rocked the fucking house. I believe this to be the beginning of a beautiful partnership....

A Brooklyn "buzz" band comes to play a show here and they are floored! With all the magic of NYC, our little New Brunswick basement shows leave a huge god damn impression. It is not something to take for granted.

Agreed. Wish I could have been there for this one. Anybody else catch this show?

I like how flyers have lived on, if not seen a rebirth on the internets and myspace. Some samples from upcoming events follow (below the cut). Note that in addition to the 233 hamilton show tonight in New Brunswick, NJ, there's also an art opening for Mike Die done by the Albus Cavus group who totally rock, a big art show in brooklyn coming soon, and One True Thing is playing the bowery, which is excellent to see.

There is another Hub City Productions show going on this very Saturday night in New Brunswick, at 233 Hamilton Street! As I've written here before, these shows have been consistently an awesome and fun time with good bands. It doesn't happen THAT often, so hit it up while it's happening.

This show features Screaming Females and Man In Gray, another excellent band that appears to be hailing from Brooklyn, NY (way to bring the brooklyn bands in town, Jarrett!). Man In Gray is a blistering punk-ass five piece with a female vocalist and one of the dudes in the band sharing some vocal duties. This band is pretty freaking tearin'.

For my part, I have to take my best homey out Saturday night because he's gettin hitched soon, so I will not be at this show. So I expect to your report! I know you lurkers want to write about these shows! Anybody can write for Sceneless. Send me an e-mail and I'll flip the author bit on your account (billy@tankcrash.com).

Next week, a band called Beat Radio is coming to Asbury Lanes from NYC. GREAT STUFF. 'Lectro fuzzy super guitar pop. Go to their myspace page, listen to Treetops, and fall in love. I think I will be attending this event if I can make it down to the shore. That's happening Friday the 13th of October.

What else is going on these next couple of weeks? What shows are you going to? I've had my head up my ass looking for a new place to live, so I need your help to bring this punk. To the comments!

And lastly, some out of town news from Dischord Record's October newsletter, the All Our Power conference, something that perhaps we jersey-ites might draw some inspiration from:

After 21 years of promoting radical social change and youth
empowerment in the nation’s capital, Positive Force DC is preparing
what is arguably its most ambitious project so far: The All Our Power
conference, scheduled from Oct. 6-8, 2006, in Washington DC at St.
Stephens Church, 16th and Newton Streets NW, and other venues. A
mixture of free workshops, music, films, and community outreach, the
conference aims to educate, mobilize and connect people of all ages
from the punk community and give participants the tools needed to
become activists in their larger communities in order to build a
broad grassroots movement for fundamental change.

Joe Lally of Fugazi will be releasing his solo CD as part of All Our
Power at the Saturday, October 7th "Affordable Housing" benefit for
One DC and We Are Family/Northwest Settlement House. Joe will be
sharing the bill with Travis Morrison’s Hellfighters, Head-Roc, and
Pash. Admission is $5, all ages, doors at 6pm, music 7pm-10pm, @ St.
Stephens Church. For more information, please see
www.allourpower.org or call Mark Andersen at 202-487-8698.

----
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7th
@ The PARLOR
233 Hamilton St. New Brunswick, NJ 08901.
6:00 pm

SCREAMING FEMALES
MAN IN GRAY
THE VOLUNTEERS

---
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13th @ Asbury Lanes
Beat Radio

I received this e-mail earlier today and I'm dutifully reposting it. I love Big Art Show, and I think you should, too. I think maybe we should agree to meet at one of the next ones. Make it the thing to do. Get off the internets and into meat space.

--

BIG ART SHOW has become many things over the years. We are a gallery, a performance space, an open market, a forum of ideas, and in it’s heart, a place were art can always just be that, art. There are few places where art can just exist for art’s sake, and we hope to always maintain that.

BIG ART SHOW is something different, and we need your help in order to keep that difference. I’d really like people to feel like BIG ART SHOW is their show. It’s one of those things that we get out of what we put in.

BIG ART SHOW is free for artists and we make our operating costs by charging as small of a cover as possible, $5. In order to keep this up we really need help getting people out. That’s really why I’m writing this note to all of you. We need help getting the word out about what we’re doing and your involvement toward that goal is invaluable. We need people to come check us out to keep us breathing and alive, audience and artist. Every person you tell about us, every post you make on the internet, every poster you put up, helps us a lot. This whole thing is really just a huge word of mouth campaign. Unfortunately, to stay viable to venues (so we have places to have shows) we need to show that we attract a crowd and have a following. Also, to be able to stay organized and semi-professional we need the money that crowds bring in. We have all sorts of costs, like flyers, gas, bands, venues, repairs, etc. There’s also lots of stuff we’d like to do, like update our equipment (new grid wall, projectors, sound), and cool stuff, like put out CD’s and get stickers made.

We’re working hard on this and we’re patient, but we really need to get BIG ART SHOW stable so it can at least pay for its self on a show to show basis. This isn’t an impossible goal, really we only need about 180 – 200 paying people per show to stabilize us and keep the shows on an even keel.

So if you’re interested, if you’ve been to a BIG ART SHOW, if you’ve been in a BIG ART SHOW and love us for what we stand for, please, please, please help us out!
Post on the internet, write to a newspaper, stick up a flyer, tell a friend. It’s really simple stuff that we can all do with 5 minutes of our time.

Thanks everyone, the last 4 years have been awesome and I wish more than anything that we’re still doing this far into the future.

-Paul
www.bigartshow.com

Today I picked up Henry Rollins's "See A Grown Man Cry". It's like Hank: intense, dark, viciously funny, totally heart breaking. Go get yourself some Henry. The opening poem ends with these lines:

Falling short
Falling in love
Falling asleep
Falling in line
Falling into the hole for good reason
For no reason
For real
Forever
Bullshit
Bull's Eye

I love this one:

You don't make me feel like you used to
That's why I'm leaving
That's why people leave each other
They come to their senses and get selfish again

To be sure, I can't say I love every poem that I've read so far. They're not all works of genius. Some of Henry's stanzas are repetitive, dark tortured venting into a journal night after night. But the good moments by far outshine any of the tedium.

So far I'm finding that I need to take it in chunks. Each poem comes right after the next, like any poetry book, and I find that I prefer to bite off a piece and think about it and chew on it for a bit before letting the barrage continue obliterating what i just read and replacing it immediately with other sensory input. I'm sure the fact that Henry is so INTENSE has a lot to do with it.

His publishing company, 2.31.61, has their catalogue online. Some pretty damn interesting stuff on that website, like Dispatches from Henry.

I'm curious, anybody out there reading anything right now? Bukowski? =P