Bosco Delrey at Brooklyn Bowl

Rock music backed by electronic, almost dance beats. There's a lot of that going around these days. I usually skip it. The lack of pretentiousness from these guys is much appreciated, though. There were no long stories about the deeper meaning of the songs, no homages to bands I've never heard of, just some bouncy fun music. Mr. Delrey punned a bit about "bowlers" and "ballers" but mostly just got down to the business of rocking. See I like that.

Posted: 2/3/2012 at 7:53pm     Tags: Bosco Delrey  Brooklyn Bowl 

Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra at Brooklyn Bowl

BACK from vacation with something more than a little different. The Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra plays the smooth and sultry dance numbers you'd expect... but about half of them are salsa arrangements of indie rock "hits". Among others they cover Arcade Fire, Fucked Up, and TV on the Radio. Yep their Salsa is in our Willamsburg (bi-monthly at the Bowl) and apparently our Williamsburg is in their Salsa. Of course the result was great fun.

Posted: 1/9/2012 at 7:40pm     Tags: Brooklyn Bowl  Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra 

Parquet Courts at Brooklyn Bowl

Technically this is just three-fourths of Parquet Courts (pronounced like "parquet floors"). Although I do like their music, especially "Stoned and Starving", I think their rhythm-centric songs would probably have benefited from the presence of a bass. Apparently it was a last-minute gig and their bassist couldn't make it.

Posted: 12/10/2011 at 7:18pm     Tags: Brooklyn Bowl  Parquet Courts 

Habibi at Brooklyn Bowl

The lights behind the stage were unusually intense at this show. I assume that is why the crowd stood ten feet back -- to avoid being blinded! It certainly wasn't the volume. Habibi have a rather clean sound with no show-offy solos or any of that. All of the parts just flow together beautifully to form catchy pop songs. Great for singing or humming or whistling along to. Now they just need to write more of them. Having to decline an encore because you ran out of songs is kind of sad!

Posted: 12/7/2011 at 2:18pm     Tags: Brooklyn Bowl  Habibi 

Exitmusic at Brooklyn Bowl

After all that low-light shooting taking photos at the Brooklyn Bowl is a snap. Yes they do turn the lights down a bit for your more introspective bands such as Exitmusic, but it is amazing how much better even that is compared to most bars. Somebody remind me to send the lighting guy at Brooklyn Bowl a Christmas card this year.

Posted: 11/28/2011 at 7:57pm     Tags: Brooklyn Bowl  Exitmusic 

The London Souls at Brooklyn Bowl

The lighting at Brooklyn Bowl is infinitely better than Saint Vitus. And the bands! The London Souls play a brilliant mix of rock and funk and blues. It's rock-n-roll you can dance to just like this evening's audience did. This particular show was the last night of a month-long residency. I'm kicking myself for missing their other three nights.

Posted: 10/25/2011 at 8:40pm     Tags: Brooklyn Bowl  The London Souls 

The Coup at Brooklyn Bowl

If you have noticed a certain lack of rap and hip-hop photos on my site, that's because I don't usually go for that type of music. It doesn't speak to me (big surprise, eh?) Now, The Coup are real funky (and I mean _real_ funky) and I can go for that. They also have something to say. Now whether or not you agree with their politics, surely one must admit that this more than most musicians have going for them. Something for my mind and something for my hips -- that's a good combination.

Posted: 9/26/2011 at 9:57pm     Tags: Brooklyn Bowl  superfunky  The Coup