Cosmonauts at Black Cat

Hmm, these guys seem to have mellowed out a bit since the last time I saw them. Their sound is a little more epic now, a little more like a normal rock band, honestly. But they have enough of an edge to keep things interesting. Once a Burger band, always a Burger band.

Posted: 4/14/2014 at 8:32am     Tags: Backstage  Black Cat  Cosmonauts 

The Pack A.D. at DC9

The Pack AD are two ladies from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada who have played drum-n-bass garage rock together for almost ten years.  Apparrently they kinda crossed over up there when a couple of singles off their last album slipped into the Top 50. It seems that sort of music still hits the charts in Canada. Yet more proof that Canada is simply better than the USA.

Anyway, I figure this makes them the Canadian equivalent of Kurt Vile except that The Pack AD are not boring. Far from it, the are total badasses live, though strangely enamoured of the 80s (rather than the 60s like most other garage rock bands). Consider this: They made a video which homaged Gary Neuman's video for the song "Cars". Personally I suggest you check out their video for Haunt You instead. It is quite awesome.

Posted: 4/6/2014 at 3:13pm     Tags: DC9  The Pack A.D. 

Black Clouds at Black Cat

I suppose it would be too simple to just call Black Clouds DC's answer to A Place To Bury Strangers. However I am very, very lazy so there it is.

Now of course there are differences, the most obvious being that Black Clouds have no vocalist. They're all about creating soundscapes, and not nice psych-y "let's all get stoned and be happy" stuff either. For example they show some strong metal influences the disturbing "Everything Is Not Going To Be Okay". Their live show in general seems to be harder edged than their album, which is now two years old. Bands like Disappears like Nothing have been popularising the nihilistic psych thing lately. Perhaps Black Clouds decided to move further in that direction as well?

Posted: 3/30/2014 at 3:36am     Tags: Backstage  Black Cat  Black Clouds  We Were Black Clouds 

Beach Week at Black Cat

As far as I can tell Beach Week normally perform as a trio. This performance was as a duo, and I'm guessing the result was more rock-n-roll than usual. I say that because the one recording I can get my hands on seems more focused on the vocals, more girl-group-ish, more "clean". This show was more like garage rock, more aggressive, rougher around the edges, and kind of fun that way. Still, a bassist wouldn't hurt.

Posted: 3/18/2014 at 10:06am     Tags: Backstage  Beach Week  Black Cat 

Throwback at The Velvet Lounge

The Velvet Lounge in DC seems to be the equivalent of NYC's Trash Bar, or perhaps the showroom of Bar Matchless sitting on top of the Trash Bar.  Either way a hardcore show, yep, makes perfect sense.  The surprising thing is how narrow the stage gets in front.  It's not that wide to begin with plus the subwoofers are on the ground in front of the stage.  So of course who pushes their way up to the front of every show?  That's right, the most violently energetic fans!  When Throwback really got going there was this tight little mosh pit in front where serious brutality was taking place while in back people leaned against the (unmanned) bar and just sorta chilled.  Something for everyone I guess, except for people who want paper towels in the bathrooms.

Posted: 3/16/2014 at 4:09pm     Tags: The Velvet Lounge  Throwback