LIVE: Positive Force PA Fundraiser @ St. Stephen's Church (Part 2)

Before I get back to the music from Saturday's show at St. Stephen's, an anecdote. A brief glimpse into a mind suffering "scene neurosis."

It's a good logo, right. Striking. Clearly meant to convey the rebellious spirit for which the DC punk scene is known. I can't be the only one that suspects a straight edge X to be found on the other side of that fist, right?  The significant role that the DC hardcore scene played in establishing (and naming) the poison-free movement is pretty well known. So despite owning Minor Threat records and having been straight edge for 15 minutes in high school (I forgot about the gateway drug, caffeine), what do I wear under my hoodie this night? A Guinness t-shirt. Upon arrival at St. Stephen's, I'm faced with a table full of books on clean living and vegan eating. Shit. My cool is my everything--the hoodie must stay on. I began to sweat literally and figuratively. Thankfully, when I stepped outside after Laughing Man finished up (see last post), I noticed folks passing a container around. As per usual, whiskey set my mind at ease.

So that takes us to the third band of the evening, Title Tracks. This is John Davis' group; he used to play drums in DC's much loved Q and Not U. Title Tracks are a helluva a lot of fun and they don't let up. What immediately made an impression was how clear his vocals were above the rock n' roll bluster that poured out of the speakers. I found myself singing along to the second or third choruses of songs I had never heard before because I could actually understand the words. As far as the music goes, though saying so is sacrilege to my wife, Davis' songs remind me of Elvis Costello in a big way. Especially if he was backed by the Thermals. With the exception of one song, their jumpy, power-pop songs start fast, stay fast, and end abruptly. He warned us about the stylistic change prior to playing the song that fades out rather than stopping on a dime. I wonder if he thought we'd get bored? On record the band is more varied in pace and sound, but on Saturday night they were on the attack, hooky and tight.

From It Was Easy (Ernest Jenning, 2010)
Title Tracks - Every Little Bit Hurts
Title Tracks - Found Out

Ra Ra Rasputin was the name I heard mentioned most by folks as I wandered around the church between bands. People seemed psyched to get their dance on and when a guy poked his head outside and said in a monotone voice, "Uhhhh, Ra Ra is going on so you probably want to come in now," conversations ceased, cigarettes were squashed, and the packed picnic table and benches were vacated in seconds. Sensing a degree of enthusiasm that generally makes me wary, I kept my distance at first. Appreciating them from the back of the room, I thought they had a great dance-rock sound going on; mixing electronic beats and keyboards with rock instrumentation. From the first notes, people up front were dancing like crazy! I was surprised. Slowly, the layered beats and synths got to me too. I found a safe spot for the two records I had purchased and made my way up closer to the front. What began with a vigorous head nod, escalated to a rhythmic hip shake, and finally to an arm-waving, hopping thing I do. At one point all four members of the band had a drumstick in their hand and were hitting something. Bongos, drum kit, a timbale-like thing, cowbell. It was almost dizzying how many beats were being thrown out during one song. It's weird, the older I get the more I dance. Hope to do it again with these guys soon.  

From Ra Ra Rasputin (self-released, 2010)
Ra Ra Rasputin - Neon Scythe
Ra Ra Rasputin - Electricity Through the Heart

More terrible pictures after the jump.

LIVE: Positive Force PA Fundraiser @ St. Stephen's Church (Part 1)

I'm not a protester or activist. I'm just a dude who likes music. I respect those folks though. It's nice to believe in something strongly and to work with others to make a difference. I'm a gray area guy which makes me a little too wishy-washy. (I still haven't completely figured out how I feel about PM Dawn.) Positive Force DC has heart and they've been putting on shows and raising money for local and national charities since 1985. Take a look at their online flier collection. Jawbox, Fugazi, and Shudder to Think... playing the same show! At a church! Politics and moral codes aside, that would have been a great damn show to be at! Saturday's show at St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church was a fundraiser for a new PA system to keep the tradition alive. Hey, even punks have overhead.

(By the way, if you clicked the PM Dawn link, that song is now stuck in your head. Question your assumptions, man!) 

Now, I wish I could say that I was cool enough to have heard about this show on my own. I can't. My friend Celina texted me on Friday about this sucker. She is a Californian. Progressive is in her blood. The underground heard she moved to town and sent her a membership card. I grew up in CT. If there was DIY scene, they didn't invite Advanced Placement students. Assholes. It wasn't until college that I found out a pile of card tables could be used for a stage as well as a Canasta tournament. So anyway, major thanks to Celina for pointing me toward a great four-band line-up.

What was truly great about the show was that the bands were really different from each other. The event was representative of an eclectic and talent-filled DC local scene that I don't take advantage of enough anymore. First up were The Cheniers, a talented trio who reminded me of early punk bands with some striking guitar rave-ups. In particular, I dug "Here Comes Trouble," a look back at the days when you used to stir it up way more than you do now. Cuz you old and bored. "Sad City" was another winner whose distorted guitar jabs and warm bass line gradually build in pace and distortion. By the way, this band's drummer was the singer in Metropolitan, who my wife and I loved dearly and used to check out regularly when we first moved to the area. They don't seem to be playing anymore, but The Cheniers are a more than sufficient substitute. Check their link above for a free download of their debut seven-inch.

From Trouble 7-inch (Windian, 2010)

The Cheniers - Sad City (Version)

Next up was Laughing Man, another trio, that was described by a musician I met outside the church as "annoyingly proficient" at their instruments. For me, these guys were blasting the most exciting music of the night. The talent certainly came through as they blended a ton of sounds into each song. What starts off as blues groove shuffle can end up as piercing, artsy ruckus. In a really good way. And then it all changes again with the next song. Tempo and volume changes keep it interesting. Their EP, The Lovings ('63-'69), hints at this, but it really really comes through live. I dig that these guys vary it. They warned the crowd that the last song was their most difficult and marked new territory for them; a kind of Southern-rock sound with a growl. I don't know. Check out the song below, knowing it doesn't do the live act justice.

From  The Lovings ('63-'69) (Sockets, 2010)

Laughing Man - Already Always

Hate to say it, but there is going to have to be a Part 2 to this installment. Thanks for not whining like sissy about it.

Next time: Title Tracks bring da powah-pop and Ra Ra Rasputin synth-pop has me dancing alone among the young and secretly drunk. Terrible, terrible pics after the jump.

LIVE: P.S. I Love You/Diamond Rings @ Red Palace 2/22/11 - Part 2



If you read my last post, you'll know that I went to this show to see P.S. I Love You.  That said, I had definitely heard about Diamond Rings (real name John O'Regan). He received quite a bit of love from Pitchfork  last year and was asked to open for Robyn on her recent, large venue tour of North America. I visited his Myspace page once or twice a few months back and categorized him into the generally never revisited "save for later" part of my brain. Nothing about it was bad. I think it just sorta blended in with a lot of the synthy bands that have come out lately. I regret that now.  

Benjamin, the drummer from P.S., told me that I should stick around for what would be a great solo performance. I'm happy I did. What was clear even before he took the stage was that he wasn't going to be a singer with just a laptop stocked with beats and samples. There was a drum machine, a keyboard, and a guitar leaning against an amp. And, yeah, a laptop. I'd already found out he could sing when he took the stage with P.S. to close out their set. Things were promising. 

Then out he comes! Blue leather(ette?) jacket, a red "STAY FIERCE" t-shirt (which were for sale at the merch booth in a rainbow of colors. Alas, no cash on me), and blazing white jeans. So white that if his music career begins to falter, he can do ads for Clorox. Old-school Expos baseball hat and shutter shades. Now, at first I was kind of like, "Seriously?"  But then I thought, "This guy must have the chops to pull this outfit off." And he does. Dude layers up his beats, adds in a heavily strummed guitar, and deep vocals. The music is truly fun but never over the top. By the end of his set, a third of the crowd was drunk and dancing. On a Tuesday. In DC. In winter.

Equally appealing was his stage presence. He came out to "Play by Heart," the lead track from his Special Affections record. The song starts pretty airy; ghostly synth washes, echoing drum beats, and piano. But then he starts singing and the drama heightens. It punches through everything. It really hits you. While he sings, his body twists through  a series of choreographed dance moves that, while not MJ-worthy, are pretty brave for a DC indie club.  Fist pumps, high-kneed steppin', arm-waving, creeping, dancing spectacle. The performance was as much him as it was the music he creates. 

And that's how it went for the next 45 minutes. Alternating between dancey glories and guitar-laced pop songs, you could tell this guy loved it through and through.  He wanted you to love it as much as he did. To help ensure that, he didn't hold anything back. The glitter, the dancing, the sass, it never got old.

From Special Affections (Secret City, 2010)

Play By Heart
Wait and See

From Show Me Your Stuff single (One Big Silence, 2010)
Show Me Your Stuff

Take the jump for an awesomely athletic music video and some really bad photography.

LIVE: P.S. I Love You/Diamond Rings @ Red Palace 2/22/11 - Part 1

P.S. I Love You made my favorite record of 2010. No contest. Meet Me at the Muster Station combines basically everything I love about rock music. Great melodies with awesome J. Mascis-style guitar solos all wrapped in a warm layer of fuzz. I know, right! What could make this better? An unusual instrument! In this case it’s called a Pedal Bass. (Well I've never heard of it!) It's a small, organ-like keyboard that gets played with your feet. I currently believe this to be the best instrument on the planet. I wish my parents had insisted on Pedal Bass lessons instead of piano. Then there are the yelping, frantic vocals that slowly reveal interesting stories and thoughts upon repeated listens. There's a song about a bank robber. Always nice. All of this combines into a fantastic collection of ten essential rock songs. Not one lame duck in the bunch. When I first downloaded it from eMusic, I listened to nothing else for three days, which in today’s no-attention-span, click-your-mouse-for-10-new-records world is a long time. Then I bought the CD. I still do that. It makes it feel more real somehow. (Vinyl collectors are laughing at me right now!)

In a CBC radio interview (they're from Ontario), Paul Saulnier described his guitar playing as really "digging in," playing notes really fast, breaking strings, and turning up the amps. In the same interview, Benjamin Nelson says he likes to drum fast and tight. And that Pedal Bass I mentioned, "gnarly, kinda nasty, and good." Sounds pretty rad, right? It is and they brought all of that to the Red Palace on Tuesday night.

This was my first trip to the Red Palace. Based on this single show, I have to say I'm a fan. Raised stage, great sound, no frills. Just you and the band. I got there ten minutes before the show was supposed start and, to my amazement, I was alone. The bands were there, a couple of their friends, and the bartender. I was worried that the show would get cancelled. Thankfully, more people showed up and the show started about 30 minutes "late."

Despite the smallish crowd, the band put on a great show with plenty of energy. Benjamin told me later on that DC was the first night of their tour. If there was any rust, I couldn’t tell. It's amazing to see these guys in action. With hair in the eyes, Paul never hit a sour note and somehow found the right pedal every time. Benjamin keeps a wicked fast pace, but the two of them were always together. It was loud, but not for the sake of being loud. These songs are meant for volume. Neck hairs stood on end and I turned into a bobble-head. Their ability and creativity come through both in sound and technique on stage. String break? No problem, Paul adapts. Why hit the skins when going to town on the rims would sound so much better? Damn skippy, dudes.

Some people seem surprised I like the record as much as I do. It just hits a sweet spot for me. It pleases both sides of my brain. I can say the same for their live show now. I bought the guys beers after they were finished. It was the least I could do.

Here's a few tracks.  If ya dig, check out their myspace page for more. Then buy the mp3s. Then buy the CD.

From Meet Me at the Muster Station (Paper Bag, 2010)
Breadends
2012
Facelove

Next time, Diamond Rings - a pleasant surprise.  More pictures after the jump.

Marnie Stern

Marnie Stern is one of the best things that ever happend to my music collection. If my CDs came to life in the middle of the night a la the Toy Story movies, she would smoke Camel Lights, tell outlandish stories of the road, and spin her music until just before I awoke, making all the other discs very nervous. She would make a racket. Edgy but totally sweet. Slightly unpredictable and ready to kick you in the face with a designer shoe if you deserve it. All the guy discs (even a very confident, post-Grammy The Suburbs) would be intimidated but drawn in by her.

I love that Stern has a blog called The Vagina Monoblog. I love her videos. I love that she named her second record This Is It & I Am It & You Are It & So Is That & He Is It & She Is It & It Is It & That Is That and then says she doesn't know the name of the album. She interviews well and is cute as hell. Sorry, but she is. It doesn't matter or anything. But its true.

Much ink has been spilled about Stern's guitar-playing abilities. Does finger-tapping equal guitar mastery? Does she, in fact, "shred" or does she just repeat little guitar lines over and over again? Where's the improvisation during live performances?

I don't give a shit.

Stern makes music of which anyone should be proud. No one says you need to be indie-rock Clapton to be a great rock song-writer. No one should ever say that... that would just be awful. Seriously. You heard what that guy tried to do to reggae, right? I digress. In short, Stern kills it on guitar. It's fast and has bounce thanks to her preferred tapping technique. It provides melody and rhythm simultaneously. It's insane and catchy and I don't care if it is difficult or ground-breaking. It makes me walk faster and makes me smile every time.

A more understandable debate concerns the merits of her singing. A lot of people don't dig on her high-pitched vocals. I get that, but I like her voice nearly all of the time. Truth be told, I'm not a huge appreciator of great singers. Even still, there is something kind of awesomely quirky about her delivery that is spot on for her music. Also, Stern's vocals totally soar for choruses which makes these songs exciting rather than just cool sounding guitar runs. One last, huge point; the rhythm section is awesome. Zach Hill, known for his crazy Hella beats, is a perfect foil to Stern.

Here are a few songs from Stern's records that just scratch the surface. Enjoy.

From Marnie Stern (Kill Rock Stars, 2010)
For Ash
Transparency Is the New Mystery

From This Is It... (Kill Rock Stars, 2008)
Shea Stadium

From In Advance of the Broken Arm (Kill Rock Stars, 2007)
Every Single Line Means Something

Stern will be appearing at the Red Palace on March 2 with Tera Melos.

Bottomless Pit - Blood Under the Bridge (Comedy Minus One; 2010)

First post. Here we go.

I think I heard about Bottomless Pit on a music blog a couple of years back when they realeased their first record. What caught my interest was that it features members of two great bands from the 90's: Silkworm and Seam. Both put out some seriously great guitar-driven, rock records on Touch and Go and Matador.  Thanks to Napster (gasp!), I got into both of them in college and have since purchased (wha?) many of their CDs (double wha?). Unfortunately, Silkworm met a tragic end when their drummer was killed by a suicidal motorist in 2005. Thankfully, Bottomless Pit formed and the brilliance of these musicians continues in a new form.

So, yeah, this record has a kinda depressed vibe at times. But there is an important distinction between this and the whiny, "life's so cruel" music churned out by a lot of other bands. A maturity comes through in its delivery, tone, and lyrics. In the opener, "Winterwind," we're told that "waiting on deliverance is just like waiting on a tree you can't get out from under." That ain't emo. It sounds like something that guy's thought over and over again when the bed is spinning in the middle of the night. And now, after several drinks at the Black Cat, he's dropping some science on you just because you happen to be there. I don't know what it means, but I want to think about it. The record has a lot of these moments.

These songs aren't funeral dirges, either. The record has a pretty constant momentum and its songs build but never go over the top. The volume and density vary between quiet, slow-burning, relatively sparse meditations (“Rhinelander”, "Kiss Them All”) to driving, countrified rockers with thick chords and pounding drums (“Summerwind,” “Is It a Ditch”). Guitars bob and weave around each other but never get in the way; solos (check the end of “38 Souls”) and fills abound, adding and releasing tension. The band's precision and restraint keep it from ever sounding muddled even though there is a lot going on at times. The record seems to know exactly when I've had enough, tells me I'm wrong, proves it, and I'm all the happier for it. Below are the first and last songs on the record.  See if you agree.


Bottomless Pit - Winterwind

Bottomless Pit - 38 Souls

Mission Statement

As much as I hate it, this mission statement is about to get sappy and sentimental.  I can accept that.  I mean, who starts a blog in his thirties who doesn't have some deep-seated, though often carefully veiled, emotion-based motive. So tough; here's my agenda.

Music has been my prime interest for about 22 years. In August 1988, my brother bought me the Top Gun soundtrack for my birthday and the rest is history. What started on that tape with Kenny Loggins and Cheap Trick expanded to varying degrees in all musical directions. I wore a wallet chain for a time. I bought band t-shirts that were (and, unfortunately, still are) slightly too small. I memorized lyrics without trying and it all meant something. Conversation centered around music with friends, family, strangers on planes. 

The conversation continues today at happy hour.  It was here where a colleague recently asked me to make a mix CD  (yeah I still do that) for her.  The catch was that rather than compile songs I was into, as was the custom, she specifically asked for songs that she would like.  Rather than shove my taste down someone else's throat, this upstart made me listen to my music through her ears. There was unexpected challenge in this. It took weeks (okay, months, but I had a lot going on, alright). What I realized was that somewhere along the way I had kind of stopped listening. I know the names of new bands--even though they are often not as new as I think--and I can kind of tell you what they sound like. However, I got the feeling that, unwittingly, what was once a passion had become a pastime.

So, as you can guess, this is my attempt to connect again with my music collection.  I warn you; I'm not a great writer or speller.  My posts will be irregular and take different forms. Be patient with me. Comment if ya like.

I get at least 90 minutes each day during rush hour, and the Washington Post sucks anyway.  Let the listening commence.