March 27, 2006
The Silver Jews are surprisingly new to the traveling game, despite their wandering roots. Led by David Berman on the guitar and vocals and his wife Cassie on the bass, the band played two sold out nights at Webster Hall. So how does a group that has never toured garnish so much fanfare? The answer is love. Berman, Bob Nastanovich and Stephen Malkmus started the Silver Jews while they all were at college in Virginia and over the years their albums have made their homes in the hearts of the fans, wondering if they would ever hear them live. Malkmus eventually went on to be an indie rock legend with his band Pavement. Berman continued to keep a low profile after his friends success, considering himself more of a writer than a performer. He continued to put out albums and came out with a book of poetry, “Open Air.” A relationship with drugs and life took a bad turn recently and Berman decided to overdose in the same Nashville Presidential Suite that Al Gore took refuge in during the confusion of the 2000 elections. Luckily his wife followed the trail and after Berman was revived in the hospital, he decided it was time to tour. The concert was energetic and the crowd was just grateful for the opportunity to hear one of their favorite songwriters. At one point Berman announced that he knew some were dragged to the concert and dedicated a song to them dragged. Cassie took the microphone and sang a beautiful tune while her husband marveled behind her. They played such favorites as, “Random Rules,” “How Can I Love You If You Won’t Lie Down” and “Sometimes a Pony Gets Depressed.” The crowd roared for an encore and the band obliged. Check out the Silver Jews as they continue their first tour. (I think they’re going to the British Isles soon.)
Tags:
silver jews, webster hall
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Posted on 3/27/2006
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March 10, 2006
The New York Dolls are the original boys of punk. “What’s Punk?” you say. It is the sound of unrest, the music of political anger, the screams of joy and frenetic moving of the body. It is the pain of doing something cool and the realization not to care. The New York Dolls echoed their voices across the Atlantic Ocean to answer the call of The Clash coming from England. Influenced by the blues but glammed to the max, they dressed in absurd platforms and had crazy long hair and wore more glitter than your average eleven-year-old girl. While most glam and big hair bands went to seven-minute monster ballads in the eighties, the Dolls were the masters of the two to three minute electric punk song. They record companies didn’t know what to do with them, glam/queer junkies that put on the best show around, a combination of sound and flair that could not be ignored. The scene and music that they created influenced the likes of The Ramones, Kiss, Motley Crue and gave way to the CBGB that would see the likes of Blondie and Televesion make their starts. The Smiths’ Morrisey, once the president of the Dolls fan club, convinced to the surviving members David Johansen, Syl Sylvain, and Arthur Kane to reform to play the Meltdown Festival in 2003. I managed to see them play at Randall’s Island right after Kane passed away from Leukemia in 2005. A great show, playing among other greats, Iggy Pop, Bo Didley, (whose song “Pills” was covered by the Dolls on their first album) along with The Strokes and Big Star. This time they were playing the Motherfucker party at Avalon. Johansen, glistening in his studded shirt played a mixture of old songs, even cover “Piece of My Heart,” that Janis Joplin made famous. The two surviving members are said to be putting together a new album to for 2006. It was a night to give respect to the musical history of this city gritty; one can only imagine what it must have been like to have been in the Punk scene in the early ‘70’s.
Tags:
avalon, new york dolls, punk, randalls island
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Posted on 3/10/2006
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