Prince Rupert's Drops at Bowery Ballroom

It is about time I saw this band. About five years ago I helped out with a local music site called NYCSeen. One of its more positive reviews was of a local band called The Woods. Unfortunately another local band formed at the same time using the same name. These guys politely changed their name to The Frams, then almost immediately changed it again to Prince Rupert's Drops. Maybe there was another band called The Frams. Picking band names is hard.

As I recall they used to be a trio too. Now there are five of 'em.

So anyway after years of changes Prince Rupert's Drops have developed into a band whose songs change. Most of their songs start out cloyingly mellow or even folky, then build into psychedelic grooves. Three band members take turns singing lead and they all sound quite different. One thing every song has in common is some seriously kick-ass guitar. Unlike the singing it is not the least bit trippy but urgent, questing, half-mad. Really, some brilliant work which lights up their catchy tunes with some serious energy.

Posted: 2/8/2013 at 9:59pm     Tags: Bowery Ballroom  Prince Rupert's Drops 

Parquet Courts at 285 Kent

Is it just me or are Parquet Courts louder than they used to be? Their shows are wilder too, their audiences more crazy. I think they've become one of those bands where people know their shows will get nuts and that's half the reason they go. That's a good reputation for a band to have, 'cause bands like that are fun!

This is not to say that Parquet Courts are all about getting crazy. Granted, they did play one song which was is so chaotic I was reminded of "Drug Me" by the Dead Kennedys, but most of their songs are full of hooks and rhythm and most importantly, craft. There are tempo changes and whole-band pauses. The guitars trade solos and then the song goes off in a different direction entirely. These guys have style, not just loudness.

Pay attention to those lyrics too. Their best songs are serious poetry. You'll recognize those songs by the not quite natural rhythm of the vocals. Most of the rest of their songwriting has more of a stream of consciouness style which personally I find less distinctive. But of course it is hard to hear the lyrics when they are playing live. Perhaps it is actually the cadence of those more poetic songs is what makes them work so well, not the words themselves?

Posted: 2/3/2013 at 8:49pm     Tags: 285 Kent  Parquet Courts 

Purling Hiss at 285 Kent

I think I just found Philadelphia's answer to Ume. The lead singer of Purling Hiss is also the band's only guitarist and is easily its most energetic member. During his solos he thrashes away at that guitar like a product tester for Gibson. Perhaps he should grow his hair longer?

On their albums Purling Hiss play gritty but energetic hard rock with a vaguely stoner vibe. Strangely they have much cleaner live sound. Same songs, less fuzz. Normally you would expect the opposite, right? So many bands release overproduced albums but still rock live. Well, apparently these guys are the opposite of that. Honestly I was hoping for a fuzzed out noisefest so I guess I was a bit disappointed. Still, their live sound is pretty heavy has plenty of energy. It was enough to get the mosh pit going so it was good enough.

Posted: 2/3/2013 at 2:39pm     Tags: 285 Kent  Purling Hiss 

M Shanghai at Rockwood Music Hall

The Snake Oil Review evolved out of Traditions, a long-running (32+ years) radio show on WFMU which features the best of every kind of folk and traditional music. Of course the live version would feature M Shanghai! They are quite possibly the finest bluegrass band in New York City. Unfortunately they may also be the most unwieldy. Not every member of the band could make the show (which is perfectly normal for them) yet they still packed the Rockwood stage. The band which followed them actually joked about it. It was a wee bit awkward.

There are advantages to being such a large band. With four albums' worth of material (plus standards) of course their performances have variety, but the fact that most members of the band write songs takes their variety to another level. This is a band with a dozen different styles which all work. Their catalog includes everything from beautiful ballads to wild near-rock songs, from moody dirges to silly dittys, and furthermore Phillipa Thompson's ballads are distinctly different from Hilary Hawke's ballads which are distinctly different from Austin Hughes's and so on. On top of that the songs themselves are a bit flexible. Like most bluegrass bands anyone can step up and solo in certain parts of most songs. They mix up the vocals on some songs. This particular show featured a rare lead vocal performance by Glendon Jones on the song "Vivian Girls". I have heard at least four band members sing lead on that song.

Variety is the musical equivalent of a preservative: it keeps music from getting stale but does not make it enticing in the first place. Fortunately these guys know how to write tasty tunes. If fact the really impressive thing about M Shanghai is how they can put on two completely different sets of killers every month at Jalopy. The sheer number of their songs which have become "classics" is impressive. With all those songwriters in the band I imagine that each new song goes through quite a gauntlet before we get the chance to hear it. Do be sure to catch them sometime.

Posted: 1/21/2013 at 2:08pm     Tags: M Shanghai  Rockwood Music Hall  Snake Oil Review 

A-Bones at Brooklyn Bowl

Have you ever heard some random old song from the early days of rock-n-roll and said to yourself "Wow, that's really catchy?"  Then as a sense of deja vu sets in it occurs to you that every time you hear a song from back then it seems so fun, so energetic, that you wish you could hear that sort of thing more often? It seems that the A-Bones not only had this experience but really took it to heart. They play nothing but that great early rock-n-roll. Some songs are covers, some are originals, but all of them are great fun.

A-Bones singer Billy Miller and drummer Miriam Linna are also the head honchos of Norton Records, a record label which releases exactly that same kind of awesome early rock-n-roll plus newer stuff along the same lines. Their warehouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn was hit pretty hard by Hurricane Sandy. I see something in that article about "four feet of water". Yeah, that's not good. Apparently most of their stock (meaning "records" and so on) was either damaged or destroyed. The Norton Records website has more info. Anyway, folks from the musical community are helping out by throwing fundraiser shows such as this one (I think). Hopefully Norton will recover quickly.

Posted: 1/20/2013 at 6:41pm     Tags: A-Bones  Brooklyn Bowl  Norton Records Benefit