Bleeding Rainbow at Music Hall of Williamsburg

The last time I saw these guys they were a two-piece with a name which must have gotten them sued or something. Now they're called Bleeding Rainbow (who wants to guess the old name?) and play as a four-piece, apparently with a rotating cast of drummers.

I have no clue why they were on the bill with one of those modern folk-rock bands. Bleeding Rainbow are an more of an... actual rock band? As a two-piece they were pretty clearly a garage rock band which was notable for their vocal harmonizing. Adding two members brought up their intensity level, though they have also started showing some shoegaze influences. They may be somewhere between Dum Dum Girls and Xray Eyeballs, but definitely not somewhere between folk and rock!

Posted: 4/7/2013 at 2:37pm     Tags: Bleeding Rainbow  Music Hall of Williamsburg 

Boring Portals at Death By Audio

Another band which fails to live up to its name. Boring Portals are not in fact the least bit boring. Nor are they portals, though fortunately I had no need for that as I brought an aperture or two of my own. They did however bring a rag doll (wtf?!)

Boring Portals are a garage rock band from Charleston. That may seem like a safe thing to say about them but it's actually a bit of a loaded claim. Bands have been known to start out as "garage" and end up going in a totally different direction. A band like this which is less than a year old just might sound totally different a year from now. Sure enough towards the end of their set (when everyone switched up instruments) the songs got a bit more experimental, maybe bringing out their VU influences a bit.

So perhaps I should say that Boring Portals are currently a garage rock band who have all of the energy and attitude and the occasional sloppiness which goes along being a good garage rock band. Here's hoping they play another gig in town soon! And that they don't sound like Kraftwerk by the time they get around to it.

Posted: 4/2/2013 at 10:51pm     Tags: Boring Portals  Death By Audio 

Monogold at The Knitting Factory

You know how some bands name themselves after a song by a more famous band? For some reason I thought Monogold were actually named "Mongoloid", like the Devo song. Not that Monogold sound like Devo, but they use electronic samples and are a bit experimental so I figured it was a possibility.

The most distinctive quality of Monogold's music is the falsetto singing on almost every song. This along with their treble-heavy choice of samples add an airy quality to the music. They might not be a synthpop band but they could at least play on the same bill. The beats are a bit heavier due to the presence of a bassist and drummer but hey, all the better to dance to, right?

Despite this you may notice from the photos above there is no keyboard player in the band. There is no laptop running iBandMember. Instead they look just like a rock band: guitar, bass and drums with the guitarist singing lead. Even better, they actually put on a show like a rock band. In particular bassist Mike Falotico flung his hair around, played on the lip of the stage, and even poured a drink for the drummer (the show was sponsored by Jameson so they had plenty of that!) It seems like they aren't trying to be a dance band but somehow the pop music they make just happens to be good dance music too.

Posted: 3/31/2013 at 6:42pm     Tags: Monogold  The Knitting Factory 

The Vandelles at The Knitting Factory

Funny, the last time I shot The Vandelles it was at the same venue. Same venue, same band name, different band (sorta). Two old members left, one new one joined, and as a result their sound changed. With only one guitarist the songs are a bit simpler and there is more emphasis on the vocals. They still play the hell out of those instruments though the sound is not quite as overwhelmingly intense as before. So yeah, they sound different now, but just a little bit different.

The biggest change is that while they still do some of the classics (notably "Swell To Heaven" on this occasion) they mostly play material from their latest album ("Strange Girls Don't Cry"). The new songs would not have been out of place on their previous albums but the emphasis seems to have shifted towards their pop (or perhaps girl group?) influences. The music is more melodic and there is less psychedelia (e.g. fuzzy guitar solos). Which is to say that now they sound more like their more recent Summer Fling EP than their older Del Black Aloha album. But not every song is like that. Songs such as All Aloha or their cover of You Turn Me On sound more like their earliest work. So I guess The Vandelles have made a subtle change, a tonal shift, but not a complete break from the past. Interesting. I guess we shall see how that works out for them.

Oh, and they have a new lightshow too. It's very, very bright. Love the colors, but I do wish that there was a light or two in front of the band.

Posted: 3/28/2013 at 10:33pm     Tags: The Knitting Factory  The Vandelles 

Daddy Long Legs at The Bell House

Daddy Long Legs have an incredible impact for a band with such a stripped-down sound. Sometimes it's just vocals over rhythm (guitar, drums, and usually some stompin') but even those songs are surprisingly intense and chock full of attitude. When they let their guitarist loose the energy just floods out of these guys.

Needless to say catching them live is a blast. As for their recordings... I don't know because they only just released something on CD after unpteen vinyl singles. Dangit, not every music lover cares about vinyl!

Posted: 3/24/2013 at 9:39pm     Tags: Daddy Long Legs  Norton Records Benefit  The Bell House