THIS WEEK IN SHOWS

Hey…so we’ve been out of the show listing game for the past two weeks, partly because there just haven’t been too many shows going on due to the holidays, but mostly because the editors have been out of town, assessing our life goals and watching old movies in bed. Anyway, it’s a new year, so time to get back in it:

TUES, JAN. 5

Real Estate, Babies
Brooklyn Bowl
8:00 PM, FREE, 21+
I think our reviewer Kyle McGovern described the evocations of Real Estate better than I can. He said they call to mind “the kinds of scorched summers that seem tedious while they’re happening and glorious when they’re not.” I know I talk about the weather a hell of a lot on this, a music blog, but man, when the heat’s out (again) and you’re duct-taping your windows shut, sometimes sunshiney music is exactly what you need to remind you that it won’t be long till you’re once again dropping ice cubes down your shirt and sticking to the subway seats. Do all the imagining you can at this free show on Tuesday.

WEDS, JAN. 6

Babies, Total Slacker, Beach Fossils, True Womanhood, The Sundelles
Glasslands
7:30 PM, $7, 21+
Ever since we found out that Kevin from Woods and Cassie from Vivian Girls were getting together to make Babies, we were like, “Yeah, let’s cover that, man, that’s gonna be the hot new shit.” But we’ve yet to see them, so one of our New Years resolutions is to get on it – might as well plan to see them twice in one week in case we flake out again. Votes for Glasslands versus Brooklyn Bowl? Well, Max, the more sophisticated JM.com editor (if you ignore his taste in beer) truly loves him some Beach Fossils, and Erin, the editor with the more impressive collection of go-go boots, is a big proponent of The Sundelles.
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THIS WEEK IN SHOWS

Our top picks…

MON, DEC. 7

dubknowdub, Long Distance Poison, K Holes, Behavior
Matchless
8:00, FREE, 21+
Casey from Eat Records curates a night of experimental music…
You might have heard of K Holes, the Golden Triangle/Georgiana Starlington offshoot. If Golden Triangle is some disorienting typhoon of noise, K Holes is more of a slow-rolling haze, kinda like that fog on “The Simpsons” that turns people inside out. Ultimately they’re sorta woozy and fun.  Listening to Long Distance Poison, on the other hand, is like falling witness to an unending procession of ogres trudging toward some ritualistic beheading. It might make you a little scared, or at least uncomfortable, but it’s totally entrancing, and when the thing ends and you blink once or twice you’ll be like, “whoa, that was really cool!” Doomed out droney noise, twenty-minute songs and a Minimoog. Get with it!

WEDS, DEC. 9

The Santamaria Collective Presents: Dynasty Electric, Zigmat, Terry Poison, Rebel Diaz, Jani “Bomba” Rose, DJ Ron Zilla
The Studio @ Webster Hall
8:00 PM, $10adv/$15do, 19+

Seriously, doesn’t donating things make you feel really good? At the Santamaria Collective show this Wednesday, audience members are asked to bring new, unwrapped toys, which will be given to the children at Harlem Hospital & several homeless shelters in New York City. I know money’s tight, but even picking up a small gift means a lot. Or hell, why not splurge and give yourself an excuse to go play on the big piano at FAO Shwarz? (Is that thing even still there?) This’ll be an eclectic mix of bands, but if you’re going to check out any of them, look up Rebel Diaz, who’ve been using their group as a platform for serious social activism in the South Bronx. They call themselves “periodistas de la esquina,” or “street journalists,” which I sorta like…
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THIS WEEK IN SHOWS

It’s time for CMJ again, which means the same New York bands you can see all the time in will be playing alongside some touring bands – who would’ve all come to New York at some point anyway – in marathon-length shows full of semi-interested badge-holders and grumpy photographers who get angry when you accidentally bump into them while rocking out in the front row. (Except our photographers, who are very cool and friendly.) We tend to complain about CMJ, but since it’s here, we might as well embrace it. It IS really fun to see ten of your favorite bands in one night, and, exhausting as it may be, it’s fun to do that five nights in a row! As usual, these are my totally subjective and incomplete recommendations for the coming week. You can flesh this out by telling us who you’re going to see… Send us some photos if you go. Or boycott CMJ; that’s totally respectable too. As for us, we’re just excited for a reason to shirk our other responsibilities for a week and rock out in the name of journalism.

TUES, OCT. 20

PANACHE/NEW YORK NIGHT TRAIN CMJ SHOWCASE
Upstairs: Heavy Trash, Golden Triangle, Lovvers, Harlem, Surfer Blood, K-Holes
Downstairs: The Stalkers, Unnatural Helpers, Flexions Dinowalrus, Julianna Barwick, SCREENS
Santos Party House
7:00 PM, $10/$12, 18+
It seems that every other show I get excited about is somehow connected to Panache Booking or New York Night Train (or both), and Tuesday night’s bigass blowout is no exception – just check out the lineup!!! I just need to figure out how to be upstairs and downstairs at the same time. I’ve yet to see Heavy Trash, though I’ve heard good things about their show, but Stalkers deserve some props too. They don’t seem to get much press, but they’re one of my favorite live bands: their songs are totally fun and anthemic, and besides, I’ve seen them throw cymbals, get naked, dribble vomit, and last time I caught their show, lead singer Andy Animal was tossing firecrackers into the crowd with a menacing glee. Alright!
More on This Week In Shows: CMJ EDITION!

LIVE JOURNAL
JezebelMusic.com @ The Northside Festival
June 20 - 21, 2009 | These Are Powers, Tiger! Tiger!, K Holes, The Coathangers

Photo by Erin Sheehy

By the time Sunday night stumbled into Monday morning at the close of The L Magazine’s Northside Festival, I’d developed the symptoms of a successful festival weekend: my neck was stiff, my sweat was viscous, and my only regret was that I hadn’t been rocking out in a band of my own. That “wish I could be onstage” feeling was especially strong because I’d checked out a gang of bands fronted by compelling female performers who made their positions look extra enticing.

It wasn’t just the bone-rattling, bottom-heavy sound system at Death By Audio or the clackity clack beats of These Are Powers that worked the jam-packed crowd into a frenzy on Friday night. Frontwoman Anna Barie, sequin-clad and vibrant, certainly did her part to lure the audience into the fray of the stormy dance party. “Take off your clothes!” she yelled, and the guy in front of me immediately ripped off his t-shirt and threw it onstage. These Are Powers is the kind of band that you don’t have to see to enjoy: I could have just put my head down and let the careening noise jerk my limbs around. But it was fun to watch Barie, smirking as she squawked and bopped around the stage. She seemed well-aware that these party-starting shrieks and snarls are her powers.
More on Northside Ladies: JezebelMusic.com @ the Northside Festival