Tweet [Photos by acidjack] Luke Rathborne is young, has an LP and two EPs under his belt, and he's just getting started. Rathborne's 2011 record, After Dark, was recorded when he was a young man of 17; he came here at 18. We found him at Glasslands less than two years later celebrating the release of a new album, SOFT, that refines the sound of those rawer earlier experiments. Styling the performing band simply Rathborne , the [...]
Tweet Follow @acidjacknyc [Photos by acidjack - the band and recording are much better than these photos] Last time we saw Seattle's Night Beats they blew us away with their energy and ability to delivery a set of straight-ahead garage rock full of songs you'd remember the next day. This show at Glasslands found them in the familiar spot of opening for another critically acclaimed band - in this case, Iceland's Dead Skeletons - and Night [...]
[photos by Dominic Mastrangelo ] It was three years ago that we saw what I believe to have been one of the first Lady Lamb the Beekeeper shows in New York, a solo set at the opening night of the Rock Shop. That was back in the days when Skippy was still in NYC and billed a show for the ages that night - Sharon Van Etten and TuneYards headlined the bill. Aly Spaltro was still a teenager at that point, but it was obvious that she was abundantly talented with [...]
It was six years ago today, May 11, 2007 that I opened NYCTaper as an experiment in a new way to distribute live recordings in the context of a music blog. Today I can say that the site has exceeded my expectations in every imaginable way. Thanks for our faithful readers, the addition of three other excellent editors and multiple other contributors, the site is now a mainstay and something for which we can all be proud. So thanks for six great years! Last year we had a big party for our [...]
Tweet [Photos courtesy of Dominick Mastrangelo Photography ] We were captivated by Lucius when they joined us for a Backyard Brunch Session last year, and since that time, their buzz has only grown. After being hailed as a "band to watch" by multiple outlets leading up to and after this year's SXSW, the band landed a slot opening for Caveman on their headlining tour. This homecoming show at Webster Hall gave Lucius a chance to give it [...]
Tweet Follow @acidjacknyc [Photos by acidjack] Chicago's Disappears distinguish themselves by being both consistent and prolific. Since their 2010 full-length debut, Lux , they've cranked out one consistent release after another, from 20112s Guider EP to 20122s Pre-Language plus a live album. This year has already seen two more releases, the 123 EP Kone and single-sided and limited 123 EP A New House In A New Town. Each of these releases has offered [...]
[photos by PSquared Photography ] If you're the opening act and at the end of your set the crowd is literally chanting the name of your band, you're doing something right. A couple of weeks back, the Brooklyn What opened for Dead Milkmen at Bowery Ballroom and their set was so damned entertaining that there was a mosh pit, stage diving and yes indeed, as you can hear at the end of the recording, the crowd chanting their name. The Brooklyn What are an amalgam of styles, with influences as wide at the [...]
Tweet [Photos by Jill Harrison at For the Love of Brooklyn] Paul Damian Hogan The Third (if you wonder why the full name, Google "Paul Hogan" - he's Crocodile Dundee, in case you're wondering) is one of those artists that doesn't slow down. Visit his website and you'll find links to no less than eight albums, film scores, compositions, production (Friend Roulette's EP, strings on Passion Pit's Manners ), and a few TV commercials - oh, and he's also in the [...]
[photo by Chris Casciano of PlaceNameHere blog] We're big fans of Crutchfields here at NYCTaper. First, there was Katie's band Waxahatchee , from the Don Giovanni showcase earlier this year. Today its Swearin , the Brooklyn/Philly quartet co-fronted by Allison Crutchfield with Kyle Gilbride. Swearin were the third of the five band bill assembled at Maxwell's to celebrate the new CD release by Shellshag on Saturday last. I was initially unfamiliar with the band, but immediately perked up my ears as their set contained instant catchy hooks and an energy [...]
[Photos by PSquared Photography ] To paraphrase the Beatles, I thought I knew Akron/Family , what did I know. A band that I had returned to see live ten or so times were "must-see" because their shows have always been immensely enjoyable - celebratory and tribal, the material has alternated between melodic and hypnotic jamming and sweet (and sometimes very quiet) ballads. The current tour for the new album Sub Verses (officially released today April 30) is a very different affair indeed. As I tweeted [...]
Tweet Follow @acidjacknyc [Photos courtesy of P Squared Photography ] The impenetrable Swedish collective Goat became a lot better known in the gap between when PopGun Booking announced their U.S. debut at Glasslands and when the show finally happened - by then at a sold-out Music Hall of Williamsburg . Their first proper release World Music is exactly that - European psych-rock mated to the sounds of the Western Sahara. Shocking Blue [...]
[photo by Chris Casciano of PlaceNameHere blog] Last Saturday at Maxwell's , Screaming Females came out in support of their friends. The night was a special one, a party to celebrate the new Shellshag CD and to salute the DIY veterans. The Don Giovanni Records roster seem to all be friends and supporters of each other and this night was solid proof of that. Screaming Females played fourth of five bands, allowing the stars of the night to headline. And the band kept their set relatively short, eight songs in thirty [...]
Tweet [Photos courtesy of David Andrako ] The Men are one of those bands that have earned their critical darling status, not only by being a great live act, but by never standing still. Their 2012 effort on Sacred Bones Records , Open Your Heart , deservedly earned " Best New Music " status, softening some of the hard edges of the previous year's dirge-y (if solid) effort Leave Home. With 20132s [...]
[photos by PSquared Photography ] The old corporate music industry used to do this band-kill all the time - label a legitimate band the "next big thing", turn their career upside down and ultimately cause them to crash and burn. The most extreme example is the Bangles, who went from LA paisley-folkies to glamor girls to defunct in about two years. After several excellent albums and a few breakthrough songs, in 1991 the Dead Milkmen went through the music industry meat grinder, and did not survive. The band broke up in the mid-90s and [...]
Tweet Follow @acidjacknyc [Photos by acidjack] It's possible to forget the point of why people go to concerts. We have music at our fingertips at all times - studio releases, live stuff (sites like this don't hurt), comps, outtakes - it's all out there. We don't really need to go to concerts to hear what a band sounds like live, anymore. YouTube and LiveStream and other streaming services promise to beam The Concert Experience right to your laptop. Enter Frank Turner [...]
Tweet Follow @acidjacknyc [Photos by acidjack - sorry they aren't very good] Seeing Acid Mothers Temple has become a bit of a yearly tradition for me, and it's one worth keeping. No two shows by the legendary Japanese psych-rock band are alike, and this one at the Mercury Lounge on Friday night was extra-special due to the introduction of two as-yet-untitled songs from the band's forthcoming album. The rest of the set was the usual dazzling display of the [...]
Tweet Follow @acidjacknyc [Photos by acidjack] METZ lead singer/guitarist Alex Edkins introduced their new song "Can't Understand" as being about "all the totally messed up people in the world". They left the spoken statement at that and then let the music do the talking. Over and over, the screamed refrain of those two words over the incessant backbeat and howling guitars framed, in simplest terms, the way people may have been feeling about recent events. Sometimes the best [...]
[photo by Joe Madonna ] There was a brief time in my life when the Old 97s were one of my top 3 favorite bands. 19992s Fight Songs is a perfect album and one that I played on rotation an infinite number of times. I've always felt that Fight Songs was a more consistently excellent album even than Wilco's Summerteeth , also released in '99 - a more truly realized blend of alt-country and pop that both albums sought to achieve. Although Satellite Rides was a worthy follow-up, [...]
[uncredited photo from last.fm - will credit if info provided] The band Spacin' began as the solo project of Jason Killinger, who was also a member of Birds of Maya . Philadelphia has produced a plethora of superb gargage-influenced music over the last several years and Killinger's contribution is no less impressive than others such as Kurt Vile, The War on Drugs, and Purling Hiss. In fact, Killinger teamed with Purling Hiss' Mike Polizze in Birds of Maya, and their solo bands just completed a tour together. On Thursday last, we caught [...]
[Photos by acidjack] Little is known to date about the Brooklyn band Zoned Out, though they have quietly been building a following around town. Featuring current and former members of La Otracina , Grateful Dead cover band Dead Tape , Titan , Polygamist and Mirror Queen , they serve up deep multi-part psych meditations grounded in the rock aesthetic. For this Union Pool show, the band played under the swirling light show of Planetary Projections , adding to the otherworldly vibe of the night. Expect to see a new album from [...]
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