Dope Body at le Poisson Rouge
Once in a while you run into a band whose lead singer just dominates the stage. Screaming, contorting, jumping around and spraying sweat everywhere. Dope Body has one of those lead singers. The rest of the band sounds great, but I bet everyone there was staring at the Johnny Rotten/Iggy Pop type in front.
Posted: 9/29/2013 at 2:25pm Tags: Dope Body le Poisson Rouge
Cosmic Psychos at Cake Shop
Do I need to comment on a bunch of farmers from Australia who have been playing punk rock for thirty years and are touring the world? Sounds like the plot of the 70's childrens cartoon they were too scared to make, but in fact they are complete badasses. Speaking of which I decided not to post the photos of them mooning the audience. Yes, I am merciful.
Posted: 9/22/2013 at 4:01pm Tags: Cake Shop Cosmic Psychos
M.O.T.O. at Cake Shop
I do not know for a fact whether every M.O.T.O. song is in 4/4 time as suggested by lead singer Paul Caporino's "a 1-2-3-4" intro to most of their songs, but I can certainly believe it. M.O.T.O.'s music is about the most straightforward rock-n-roll ever. Their songs use lyrics and chords sparingly, just a few per song, but are chock full of bouncy, boisterous energy.
Their sound has been called "caveman rock" but I would say it is more like "neanderthal". Think about how early rock music evolved into punk rock. Can you imagine an alternate evolutionary path, one which led to something which is just as loud and just as simple, but somehow... different? M.O.T.O. is that other, the one which is just a little funny looking but is basically the same thing and can still pummel you senseless. The biggest difference between this and punk is that M.O.T.O. is rarely serious. They aren't protesting or dwelling on negativity, they're just trying to have some fun. And they succeeded yet again.
D.O.A. at Club Europa
D.O.A. played their "Final NYC Show" at Club Europa. Then an hour later they played a secret show at The Grand Victory. Sure, why not? Actually, that's the same thing The Dwarves did two weeks earlier. I think both shows were put on by Scenic Presents. Okay, I get the hint.
This was probably the tightest performance I've seen from D.O.A. While they did do one new song (about the Trayvon Martin case I believe) they mostly stuck to "The Classics". Maybe it is because they have played them so many times over the years but they nailed every single one and the audience loved it. Maybe it's because they were giving the audience exactly what they wanted, hmmm?
Posted: 9/15/2013 at 7:36pm Tags: Club Europa D.O.A. Scenic Presents
Barrence Whitfield and The Savages at The Bell House
Barrence Whitfield is one agile fellow considering that (how do I put this delicately?) he's been doing this for a while. Hell, I thought Ken Boothe was surprisingly agile, jumping around as he did. Barrence Whitfield was doing somersaults off the monitors. Dang.
Posted: 9/15/2013 at 12:34am Tags: Barrence Whitfield and The Savages The Bell House
