LIVE JOURNAL
JezebelMusic.com @ Union Pool
April 20, 2010 | Ava Luna, Air Waves, Total Slacker, Your Nature

Aside from Ava Luna, who’d sparked my interest in the first place, I’d purposefully gone into Tuesday night’s Union Pool show blind so as to keep myself from harshly prejudging bands based on the first ten seconds of the first song on their Myspace page, as we are all wont to do in this internet age. So, while openers Your Nature set up a forest of guitar pedals and tweaked their vocal mic echo effects, I eyed their tie-dye and wide open collars (like, wisps-of-chest-hair open) and began to worry about the next 40 minutes of my life. After a minute of guitar-pedal noises and nearly inaudible, reverb-soaked vocals I was ready to call it a loss, and then they blindsided me with an entire set of fantastic, well-written 1970s-heavy rock songs, loaded with buoyant high vocal harmonies, agile guitar leads, and even some prog rock touches like long forms, odd meters and non-diatonic harmony, which they pulled off effortlessly. The tightness and skill with which they executed their songs was a perfect contrast to their low-key, silly stage presence (they looked like your little brother’s high school band circa 1973 and had stage banter to match, complete with 4/20 jokes and a Hawkwind mention), and the room warmed up instantly in their capable hands.

More on Ava Luna, Air Waves, Total Slacker, Your Nature @ Union Pool | 4.20.10

THIS WEEK IN SHOWS

WEDS, DEC. 2

Jaguar Love, The King Left, Yes Giantess, Violent Soho
Mercury Lounge
8:00 PM, $10 adv/$12 do, 21+
People have said that Johnny Whitney of Jaguar Love sounds like “Robert Plant on steroids.” I was gonna say he sort of reminds me of Jay Reatard in a higher register. Either way, we’re talking shrieky, jolting energy. These guys make some catchy, noisy, uptempo pop with y’know, canned beats. Enjoy!

Werewolves, Strange Rivals, Heliotropes
Glasslands
8:00, $5, 21+
Never underestimate the power of the keys to take something dramatic and make it cinematic. I’m using the term “cinematic” very liberally to mean that you might find yourself playing out long scenes in your head while listening to Werewolves. Or maybe it’s their sneering vocals that do it, I don’t know yet. What I do know is that they’re dynamic performers and they’re playing Glasslands this Wedsnesday…

SAT, DEC. 5

Bowerbirds
Union Pool
8:00, $10, 21+
Did you know that the male bowerbird hops around with a flower in his beak in an attempt to woo a mate? How sweet! On the other hand, the male angler fish sniffs out the female, bites her, releases an enzyme that fuses the two at the blood-vessel level, and then atrophies until he is no more than a pair of parasitic gonads. The world is ugly, but if you want to linger on the more poignant aspects of life, why not get all acoustic and snuggly with Bowerbirds for the night? They’re also playing Bowery Ballroom with Elvis Perkins on Thursday, but I like to promote the more intimate, boozier, cheaper shows…

Or you can just head towards Kent Ave. and then decide…
More on This Week In Shows

THIS WEEK IN SHOWS

WEDS, OCT. 14

No Age, Woods, Silk Flowers
(le) poisson rouge
10:00 PM, $15, 18+
I am pretty jealous of our photographer, who’s headed to see No Age at (le) poisson rouge this Wednesday. They’ll be in town all week, but why not hit a mid-week show with solid openers, in a smallish venue? Maybe you will remember, or realize, how much you love No Age, and you’ll go catch them again when they perform The Bear at the New Museum on Friday.

Tayisha Busay and Guests
Glasslands
8:00 PM, $3/$5, 21+
From what I can tell, there’s always a lot of Spandex and a lot of dancing at Tayisha Busay shows. In fact, there tends to be a decent amount of dancing and Spandex at Glasslands, period. Then of course you have a guest performance from Cherie Lily, aerobics-musician (and Andrew W.K.’s wife), and you’re looking at a shiny, stretchy, sparkly (?), sweaty good time. It’s called the “Nasty Ass” dance party, but you could probably also name it the “Cheap Ass” dance party: $3 before 10:00 PM, open bar from 8:00 – 9:00.
More on This Week In Shows

LOCAL SPOTLIGHT NYC

photo by Aubrey Stallard

The Beets are a Jackson Heights-based band currently pumping out some of the most charming and loveable 60s-inspired garage rock we’ve heard in a while. Their new 12 song 12” LP, The Beets Spit in the Face of People Who Don’t Want to Be Cool was hot off the vinyl press in March. And now they’ve packed up their hand-drawn banners and are touring the Ole U.S. of A. with Vivian Girls and Air Waves. JezebelMusic.com’s Tricia Patterson spoke with bassist/vocalist Jose Garcia about the New York scene, touring and Nickelodeon.

JM.com: So your name, “The Beets,” any relation to that fictional band from the Nickelodeon cartoon “Doug”?

Jose Garcia: Absolutely not. Juan named the band The Beets cause he was in his kitchen and saw a can of beets. Juan is from Uruguay, so I don’t think he watched Nickelodeon. None of us had cable, so we never watched.

JM.com: How did the band form?

Jose: I met Juan at LaGuardia Community College about five years ago in art class. We formed two bands, but they didn’t really go anywhere. Then we decided to try again and it was called The Beets. It was just me and him. We didn’t have a drummer, but then we met Jacob at a show, and we asked if he wanted to play with us. We’ve been playing together for a year and that’s the history of the Beets.

JM.com: I saw on one of your stage banners you said “We are the Beets and we are from Jackson Heights”. It seems like you have a lot of New York pride.

Jose: Yeah definitely. I think anyone should be proud of where they’re from. Once we started playing the Brooklyn music scene especially, we just wanted to let everyone know that we’re representing Queens. I grew up in Jackson Heights. And its Juan’s and Jacob’s home away from home.
More on Jose Garcia, The Beets

SEE IT LIVE
JezebelMusic.com @ Bruar Falls
July 3, 2009 | Grooms, The Beets, Air Waves, Real Estate

[All images copyright 2009 Rachel Oakes]

Real Estate

More on Grooms, The Beets, Air Waves, Real Estate @ Bruar Falls 7.3.09

LIVE JOURNAL
JezebelMusic.com @ Bruar Falls
June 14, 2009 | The Browns, Air Waves, & Sundelles

Photo by Erin Sheehy

“Whew, it’s early!” laughed Air Waves drummer Daoud durin the 1928 Recordings showcase at Bruar Falls on Sunday afternoon. Bright sunlight streamed through the back door and a few children drank sodas at the bar. While some folks sipped beers, others idled with coffee and pastries in hand.

But there was no fatigue in the droopy, droning vocals and detached stare of Ryan McReynolds, singer and guitarist for The Browns and owner of 1928 Records. Browns play it straight: garage rock without much distortion, and no crazy stage antics. The most excitement of the set came from drummer Santos Montana, who battered the hell out of the snares. They set the mood for what was a day of jeans-and-t-shirt, no-pretense music. The Browns really do sound like a twangier, daytime version of The Soft Pack, the big fish on 1928 Records, which made them a good choice for a set during Williamsburg’s brunching hour.

Air Waves also fit the daytime setting – they’re the kind of band I’d play on a slow morning at home. I’ve read reviews of Air Waves that describe them as a folk-punk band that avoids delicacy. But there’s a real gentleness to their music and a resounding sadness in their songs. Nicole Schneit’s voice squeezes and rustles through her throat until she finds the clear open space of her upper register, and the whole experience of hearing her get there is really lovely. I was most struck by “Gems,” one of those songs where, by the end, I realized that I’d been staring through the band.

The only act that suffered from playing an early show was the Sundelles’, but that’s really a compliment to them. They were enthusiastic, sweaty, loud. They played San Diego sunny, fuzzy rock ‘n roll that grabbed at punk and even doo-wop; music for those who got the brunch beer instead of a latte. But I guess the crowd was still waking up. They kept their distance from the stage (some folks plugged their ears) while bassist Francis McLoughlin lurched around, grimacing, his glasses sliding down his nose, while singer/guitarist Sam Sundos swayed on the balls of his feet. I wanted to jump around and shake my hair too, but I felt inhibited by the unresponsive crowd. Still, I found Sundelles’ most upbeat songs, like “Dead Youth,” to be their most successful. I only wish they’d played their shout-along cover of The Undertones’ “Teenage Kicks.” Maybe next time. I’d gladly see Air Waves and Browns at another matinee, but I’ll have to check out Sundelles once more at night, so I can really let loose.

by Erin Sheehy

Weekly Review
To be frank, I am less concerned at the moment with what happened in music this past week, across the land, than what is happening today (right now actually!), right here in Brooklyn. The Northside Festival goes out with a kick-drum-boom bang today with a whole bunch of awesome shows – including, my pick, a daytime fiesta at Studio B with Phil and the Osophers, Laura Gibson, and The Dodos, which will then transform into darktime fiesta with more evening-centric bands Cool Dads, Thank You, Ponytail, and Crystal Stilts. There’s an afternoon show going on at Bruar Falls with Browns, Air Waves, and The Sundelles, which should also be pretty great and a slew of other evening bills that are going to be difficult to choose between (though for many, the Callahan choice – playing at 10:40pm at Music Hall of Williamsburg – will be clear). Anyway, I’m late (or right on time given the requisite 20-minute-late start time for these shows), so gotta get going. And so do you.

by Elana Jacobs