February 13, 2006
The Delancey is another one of the newer venues in the Lower East Side to pop up to take the places of venues like the Village Underground and Brownies, pushed out of the East and West Villages by the Yuppie rents. Located right by the Williamsburg Bridge, I walked down the steps to see The Cunt Rock Revolution, led by The Countess. The band was standing on stage, the guitarist a male Mother Superior, the bassist a virgin nun, a backup showgirl singer, and one of the two drummers in drag. Waiting, the music started to play and the crowd began to break up as young slaves carrying a giant cross walked towards the stage. On the cross lay the British singer, naked, bearing her sins for the world to see. As she was lifted on stage, the Countess began to sing, and her voice began to steal the show from the religious circle behind her. After donning a robe, the Countess showed her discontent with songs like, “Razor Blade Smile,” driven by haunting guitar notes, and attacked the media’s interpretation of beauty with the song “Magazines Will Kill You.” The show takes performance art music from the likes of Fischerspooner, and the Countess manages to infuse the show with heartfelt notes of hope, as she sings, “Lift Up Your Skirt and Fly,” and still give it the rock n’ roll and punk edge. Dancing in out and out the crowd, engaging the crowd, (I think I saw Freddy Mercury there) I’d like to see the Countess in a more cozy venue more suitable for her royal audiences, Joe’s Pub perhaps. Check out The Cunt Rock Revolution as she spreads her gospel. Be prepared to be surprised!
Tags:
cunt rock revolution, the delancey
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Posted on 2/13/2006
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February 08, 2006
In a city where clubs open and close constantly, Rothko has emerged as a great place to see up and coming bands on their required stopover in New York. You can find Rothko in the Lower East Side, complete with chain ropes outside to keep out the rifraf. My brother Mick Lewis (photo credit), another music editor around town, had gotten me on a tight list to check out The Editors, a new band that is really big in England right now. You know the pattern, they’re big in England, then they come over here and get really big, (i.e. Oasis, Radiohead, Cold Play.) The Editors, hailing from Birmingham, have been compared to Joy Division and have admitted that, while they have influences as all bands do, they are making their own music. Their album, “The Back Room” was 13 on the charts and they have three singles released already, but I rarely listen to albums of bands before checking out the shows live. There’s something about a live show that either has the rock n’ roll feeling or it doesn’t. The room was tightly packed with music lovers, photographers, and writers. The band was tight and the lead singer, Tom Smith, was entertaining, although at times a bit theatrical. There was not enough alcoholic rock n’ roll that I’m addicted to. I never really got into Cold Play and I don’t know if The Editors are my ticket either, but you will be hearing them and they’ll be coming to a city near you. Check them out.
Tags:
rothko, the editors
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Posted on 2/8/2006
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February 05, 2006
I was standing outside Joe’s Pub on a cold night in January. A line formed outside the venue, souls waiting to hear the songs of Haale, a unique vocalist, I wondered where my friend could be? Lost? I waited a few more minutes and watched my breath as I inhaled and exhaled. The show about to begin, I left the ticket at the door and entered the intimate space. An intimate place to watch a performance, I managed to find the last seat at the bar. This man started to talk to me about Sufi music, how he used to be a Zen Monk; why he was unhappy his half-Taiwanese daughter is dating someone who lives in Europe and has a kid; that I should take his kid out sometime to hear some music in the city sometime and how she goes to NYU and used to be a competitive figure skater. He gave me his card that said he’s the President of the Bank Of Utica, interestingly enough the only New York State Bank to not borrow from the Federal Bank. The music finally began and the recently signed Haale, a native New Yorker, began to sing in Persian. With a solid band behind her, complete with multiple drummers, she sang from her tiptoes to her knees. Closing my eyes, the music took me on a magic carpet ride through the deserts of Iran. I forgot about being stood up, I forgot the banker next to me, I forget about what else I forgot.
Tags:
haale, joes pub
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Posted on 2/5/2006
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February 02, 2006
So I went to a MotherFucker party the other night, the night before New Years. Is it February already? It seems like I’ve lost this last month in New York in the nexus of the black hole that was my move to Manhattan. My cords, cameras, computers tangled and lost in cardboard boxes, not connected to the internet, no memberships to Apple Clubs (I heard he’s founding his own country) It’s been amazing! But don’t worry I’ve been going to rock shows in the meantime, hitting up new restaurants, seeing the new movies and art that makes New York City move through time at record speeds. Old adventures are still stored in my memory and I’ll have them up for you to enjoy, my cable guy just came today and hooked up the Internet. I remember heading out to Avalon to check out The Juan Maclean who fronts an electronic band. Formerly of Six Finger Satellite, Maclean quit in the late eighties after years of drug addiction and lack of creativity. He put his life back together in New Hampshire and has released a few records off DFA Records in the recent years, the newest being ‘Less Then Human.’ He was playing at Avalon, formerly known as the club Limelight, originally a great old church. Located in Chelsea it is still a space for old and new rituals. The cathedral was packed and I was looking down from one of the balconies above, a complimentary drink on hand. The band is a mix between electronic and assorted live drummers along with Maclean, often with fist in the sky and an assortment of musical gadgets to play with with, pumped the dancing crowd throughout the night. The party itself was a bit contrived in the other lower rooms with plenty of young girls aching to participate in the debauchery that Michael T. and the boys bring to their parties, but girls still lacking that New York Gritty, hailing from the suburbs of the city. An ideal acoustical situation to hear music and the place comes complete with stained glass windows, ghosts, and an outside smoking area in the graveyard, I mean backyard. So if you’re in town looking for a space to dance, check out Avalon for a devout experience. The Juan Mclean is playing this Saturday at the Bowery Ballroom with DJ Tim Sweeney. It’s a new year and I have information from reliable sources that winter is never coming again!
Tags:
avalon, the juan maclean
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Posted on 2/2/2006
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