Noise/Racket and Sitcom Serf Present:
OFF THE RECORD, a notxsw showcase
FREE SHOW! Open to the Public
Saturday, March 19th, 2011 Noon - 9pm
FADO Irish Pub
214 West 4th Street (between Lavaca & Colorado)
Austin, TX 78701 Google Map
I can't believe it has been a year. I have ended up in Texas, strangely, far from Manhattan and the Brooklyn nights, after a year in Mexico and other places. There is a local radio station, I have been itching to blog again, and I can't wait for SXSW. Sitcom Serf will be doing a show again this year with Noise Racket, Saturday the 19th of March, at night. It will be at FADO, my favorite small Austin bar stage. The lineup is looking better than ever. Details above.
Noise Racket is an agency that places indie rock and other genres into television commercials, films and other well paying outlets. They make money for bands, and that makes them alright with me. I am very happy to have them along, and hopefully we can get some bands noticed, perhaps even paid.
After dipping into the US for SXSW, I have decided to continue my adventures, rather than returning permanently to the city. 2010 will be a year of wandering. Apart from the Northside fest, I have nothing planned for the rest of the year. That means no posts until Northside, and then 2011. Until then.
I ♥ BROOKLYN+AUSTIN at FADO on Thursday night was an absolute blast. Thank you to all the bands who dedicated their time and energy to playing. It is so encouraging when artists are willing to share what they have worked so hard on essentially for free (two drinks a person) for music-loving festival-goers. Festivals really do seem like the only time art and money take a break from the tug-of-war.
In terms of talent, crowd and overall energy, this was the best show I think I have ever been involved with. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. The crowd was rowdy, I was slurring a little at the end, and the FLIP camera's microphone proved to be a complete piece of shit at close range, which is why the video is mostly scrapped. I am absolutely gutted, because the performances were so good and the sound is so bad on the FLIP. I salvaged what I could, but please don't judge the bands too harshly for my tiny microphone.
Savoir Adore was the FLIP's first victim. They put on a blinder. I just can't get the video to be watchable. Sorry. I plan on attending their Houston show this Monday to try and remedy the problem. They do have a great acoustic video from last year's house show, which you can check out in the meantime.
Wakey!Wakey! played a beautiful set, then proceeded to hang out for the entire evening. I actually liked the set so much that I went to see these guys again the next day. Together with The Pearl and The Beard on Family Records, these two go so well together - a duo and a label worth watching.
Sleep Whale. We all know how I feel about Sleep Whale - one of my favorites. The video clips terribly, but I had to post it. I lost sleep over it, seriously.
ARMS
ARMS was thrilling to have. Showing up right on time, starting early (what!) and then just making the crowd swoon. I saw Todd play last year with his old band, but ARMS is something completely different. Amazing. I can't wait to hear records and records, and see them play over and over in New York.
Drink Up Buttercup
My second DUB show of the Fest, and the 4th time I have seen them. The only non Austin / Brooklyn band on the bill, but they are honorary Brooklynites to me. If you haven't heard Drink Up Buttercup, then I can't do anything for you. Go listen to their Daytrotter session. It was awesome.
We managed to find a dusty old projector in the basement of FADO, just in time for Home Video. The Kippenberger photo mural didn't provide the best screen, and again the microphone on my camera clipped, but I felt this video had to go up.
Paul Banks and The Carousels. Thank God the video of Paul Banks was OK!! The first clip is a cover in honor of the late Big Star mastermind, Alex Chilton. Chilton's death was a big blow for me. The only time I ever saw Big Star play was at SXSW some 5 years or so ago. I was glad to see Paul do this song - it was epic. The rest of Paul Banks' live show is epic also, as you can see.
So that was SXSW 2010. I was badge-less this year for the first time, and I didn't really even notice. The bands I wanted see, I saw. Some of the bands I missed, I would have missed with or without a badge (Broken Bells). I am not telling anyone not to buy a badge, but this year I decided to skip it and sleep at a friends South Austin house instead of the Omni (the Omni is loud!). After putting some of that cash into the sound and backline of this show, I still came out almost 1,500 USD ahead of last year. I did spend more on parking though, I guess.
Wow, so in 10 years of going to SXSW, I can't remember a day as cold as Saturday was. The "Coffee, No Pants" party, in its second year, had just as good a lineup as before. For you SXSW veterans, this is the new Little Radio party, right down to the venue. The Red Eyed Fly provided protection from the cold (sort of) and a slew of awesome bands. I arrived late, just in time to catch the indie-dance-pop sounds of Jukebox The Ghost. Armed with a new album (not yet released), they robbed the audience of its duct tape and then made them dance.
Free Energy were next on the outside stage, and with all the stuff I had heard about them on Sirius all week, I was expecting it to be pretty great. Think Lizzy comparisons and all of that are definitely valid, but they have such a great front-man. No one mentioned that! For me, it's almost like when Julian Casablancas sobers up half way through a set and spends some of his energy on the crowd, rather than on balancing. Multiply that by 20.
"Freelance Whales" are words I hear about 20 times a day (don't ask). The record these guys have is beautiful, but seeing them in a circle, doing an old fashioned sing-song is their real appeal. I struggled to hear a little bit, but the camera picked it up quite well. The guy I was staying with in Austin had them on this morning when I woke up, so clearly they made at least one additional fan.
I heard it was the first time in the US for The Middle East. That would explain the crowd. "The Middle East" is my new Pandora channel, and I had to favorite almost everyone on it. They brought the most gear, btu they sounded amazing.
So that was SXSW 2010. More crowded, more out of place celebrities sponsoring parties, more wankers in the streets, more lines, but still an awesome time. Stand by for my sum-up post with pics and video from our Thursday night show At FADO, I (heart) Brooklyn+Austin!
Alyson Greenfield caught me by doing a cover of Coolio on the Glockenspiel. Not something I can say I have ever seen before. I hung out at Kung Fu Saloon for most of the afternoon.
The Pearl and The Beard were just as good as everyone had said. Probably one of the unique and entertaining performances of the fest, combined with some fantastic songwriting, of course.
Wakey!Wakey! played at our showcase the previous evening, but I didn't get a great video, so I thought I would re-shoot a couple of songs. These guys are the loveliest people, and seeing them a second time just confirmed to me how much I enjoy their music.
Grammatics were the very first band on the very first day of the Hype Machine Part "Lose Control 2" at VICE. I had actually been hoping to see them, but with no schedule at the Hype Machine until very late, I was just lucky.
Class Actress were another that I was hoping to see. I managed to get under I-35 to see them at teh music Gym, a strange little venue. It's more of a shack really, but Drink Up Buttercup were playing inside, and Class Actress outside. Not too crowded, a good line up and free beer. It was like an old-school SXSW day show!
The Terrorbird / Force Field PR party at Red 7 was rammed. This was one of the most packed SXSW day parties I have ever been to. Only 2 port-a-potties, hundreds of people outside in the line, unbearable, like the night shows used to be (before I stopped going). Neon Indian rocked though - probably the best band I saw, making it all well worth it.
Unfortunately I missed Those Darlins again, who were set to go on next. That band is my unicorn. I just couldn't hold on any longer. I headed back to the Hype Machine for some air and a civilized bathroom.
Woodhands rocked it at the Hype Machine party. Standing near the front, right speaker though during that 7 hz interlude nearly made me drop the camera. The video is a bit sub-par actually in the sound department, so I am pulling it until I get a better one.
I am looking forwar to our showcase tonight!! DJ Earthian is providing music between bands, though remotely, as he cant make it in person. More on him in a later post.
A description of the Gogol Bordello show can for me be summed up by two facts: as a result of people jumping, by the end of the show the floor was moving up and down 2 to 3 inches, and more importantly, we saw a guy heave his bass drum into the crowd and then surf on it.
The video above is my first FLIP video, so bear with me until I get used to it.
I will be traveling the world until March 2010. That means no posts until SXSW. We will still be doing our SXSW showcase for New York bands in Austin. Stay tuned. Stay warm.
I have featured Cocktails and Counterpoints on the blog before, but I really dig what its organizers are doing. Bringing back salon culture (i.e. house shows) is important for all genres of music. We had an interesting discussion about how the live show has become newly significant in the age where you can see and listen to whoever you want essentially on demand. Records were always a substitute for what you couldn't see or hear. Now you can steal the record and watch 50 live shows on youtube. A concert that you actually attend is almost sacred, and what better experience than an intimate show, where you can really be moved by the music and the performers themselves.
Cocktails and Counterpoints is held monthly to bi-monthly, and you will need to swing an invite (not open to the public). If you are interested in attending one, you can email me and I will try and help you out. The theme for last nights concert was Etudes (Liszt vs Chopin). Pianists Michael Shinn and Kimball Gallagher tore it up.
This is from a set I saw last night at Banjo Jim's on Ave C. I hurried to turn on my camera when I realized the band was covering one of the best Elliot Smith songs ever. I only captured the second half, comprising the jam and then a final recognizable play on the melody. I kept it rolling then also for a Crowded House cover. THE Crowded House cover, I guess.
At the Brazos show last Thursday, after My Mind opened for a relatively empty room of 25 people, blasting sufficient volume to force me into the cave bar below, I found I was extremely impatient for the show to start. I wasn't in a particularly good mood; The weather was awful. But I still couldn't help but be excited. I have been listening to Phosphorescent Blues with a giddy smirk all week long on the subway, drawing fear from normally hard faces. Live, that feeling of friendship and kinship that you get from the record made for such a warm interaction between the band and the audience. A solemn solo beginning to the set with "Downtown Boys" was followed in rapid succession by new realizations and recognitions. When "The Observer" was performed, singer Martin Crane prefaced it with what has become its introduction, and the creation myth of the band, formed around the musical adaptation of the poem by Adrienne Rich. Phosphorescent Blues will be on my top 10 list for 2009, unless of course 9 fuckin' awesome records come out in the next 6 weeks. Listen to and love "Day Glo" below. Thanks to Shastasheen for turning me on to these guys.
"Day Glo" by Brazos download mp3 (with permission)
** And BTW, Crane sounds exactly like Russell Huie. I know, but he does. I think it's the same vocal influences (Wainwright, C. Martin, T. Yorke, and J. Buckley).
Here is a clip from Bill Whitten of Grand Mal and Mike Bones (of Mike Bones) paired up in one of those "project" bands. They played last night at the HOME box set release party at Bruar Falls.
This week Philadelphia quartet The Swimmers release their second record, entitled "People Are Soft" on Mad Dragon Records. If you liked 2007's Fighting Trees, then you will love this record. I say that because what I loved about FT was primarily the songwriting of Steve Yutzy-Burkey, which is just as Eels-Depeche-Mode-love-child as before, but I think with a few more "hits" than last time. Though not a noticeable departure sonically, the process behind creating this group of songs was quite different. Here's what Steve had to say about it:
"This was our first shot at tracking and mixing a full record. I had previously always felt like I tried to do too much, and we needed someone else to do basic tracks and mix the record so there was a buffer there to make sure it sounded good. But this one we did PURELY to sound interesting to OURSELVES."
Not only that, but the work was all done in The Swimmers' own studio. When I asked him why he went that route, he answered thus: "Money, control and no time limits. Mostly I wanted to get set up in a sustainable way to keep making records in the coming years, so I built a studio at our house."
The production is definitely as strong if not stronger than 2007's Fighting Trees; you can definitely hear that more attention has been paid to the tracks, that the band was willing to try new things. While my favorite track on the record reminds me a little of classic Wilco (What This World Is Coming To - below), the single "A Hundred Hearts" rests on a beautiful, delayed synth xylophone part that could be The Cure or Depeche Mode. Of course, almost no one agrees with me on either of these comparisons. But I think it is interesting.
Steve: "We always push to have each song and each record be its own thing and not limit ourselves to a specific sound or approach that has worked in the past."
The CD Release in Philly is tonight (November 6th) at Kung Fu Necktie [a new venue near Front & Girard, Fishtown/N. Liberties] with The Capitol Years. They will be here in the city tomorrow, November 7th at Piano's. Get Tickets!!
"Shelter" by The Swimmers download mp3 (from The Swimmers)
Over the weekend I saw The Get Up Kids at the Blender Theater. I think my first college girlfriend put "I'll Catch You" on a mix tape for me as sort of a resume builder. I had no idea who they were then, so the effort was lost on me. I liked it though - a bit of sweet sentiment over quite a simple piano part. I still play it occasionally, when no one is around. None of that intimacy was preserved however on Saturday night. I felt whatever small connection I had with the music wrung out of me by the greedy consciousnesses all around, battling in a competitive sing-a-long.
A friend told me that The Get Up Kids blew up circa 1998, selling something like 100,000 records. That seems hard to believe now, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was even more than that. Our being colored by the present probably forces us to underestimate retroactively to prevent ourselves from getting depressed. On a brighter note, selling out 700 cap venues is not a bad substitute for records sales, and if Something To Write Home About is being re-released as a 10 year anniversary edition simply to justify a tour, then I think the whole thing is probably a big success.
"Holiday" by The Get Up kids download mp3 (from Vagrant)
The night started slowly, PBR and whiskey tends to make things move in slow motion. Pedals, cymbals and wires were laying lifeless on the stage floor. The band before had not been kind. Telltale seemed almost like a trauma unit, moving in after a strike. I slipped into the bar to grab one last beer and then slinked back to the show room at Cameo somewhat ambivalent. The lights never went up, the room was as dark as I'd left it, but when I returned Telltale had taken the stage and were screeching out the first seconds of their brutally honest set. I was floored. Jesus & Mary Chain +The Pixies + some ethereal noise is the only way I could properly describe the assault on my senses. The drummer didn't miss a beat while switching from shaker to stick and back, while the bassist sang Kim Deal-like harmonies with the lead singer. Feedback was ringing and rain was coming down in New York. The only thing I could think was... this is a band. A real band. It's so rare today that you go to a show and see an actual living and breathing incarnation of a true band. A group that not only plays music with each other, but is a group of people that believes in their music. Telltale is just that. I watched a group of four musicians who could not only play their instruments well together, but could feed off each others' energy to create a show that was worth the time and money invested. The bassist's vocals, while precariously under-volume, never missed a step with the lead, while the rhythm section carried out a syncopated current for the lead guitar to sink wave upon wave of feedback and distorted harmony into every song. When the last note was played and the last whale of distortion was finally sated, I walked out the carwash style door into the hallway to let my ears rest. While my eyes and ears throbbed and rang I thought to myself "this is what a rockshow was supposed to sound like." I said goodbye to the band and told them that I needed to rush home to write a review. they laughed in disbelief and said they'd played better shows... I believe them. But sitting at my computer right now, I don't think I wanted a better show. Seeing this band play in real time was more than enough for my senses, and now that CMJ is just at it's onset I find myself searching for just one more band that can do what Telltale just did. Perform.
"Magazines" (live on WUSC) by Telltale download mp3 (with permission)
CMJ Saturday is the day you can really pull the trigger, and the last two years we have had This Side Up Sounds to make it even easier for us. With The Deli magazine and a crazy-ass food website (www.TheYoungandHungry.com), who I am sure helped out, The Delancey's Saturday party was even better than last year's, and more heavily attended. Apart from free beer (which we all forgive during a W recession) this day show has everything: awesome bands from the Deli's "Best 1 trillion bands of NYC" list, free food from fancy gastro-shacks, and it's great exercise, going from the upstairs to downstairs bar at each set change. Grease me and put me in the cannon. I just parked at The Delancey all day.
Drink Up Buttercup are a huge favorite everywhere I go. Everyone claims to love them, few are lying. I think they have one of the truly unique sounds of the current New York / Brooklyn scene; and they're fun to watch. If you want some free mp3's, there is a great Drink Up Buttercup Daytrotter session that you should check out.
I can't possibly write about all the bands with any sort of depth. Mostly because I am wrecked, but also because I haven't had a chance to listen enough for my opinions to crystallize. I have been trying to see We Are Country Mice for months, so I was really pleased that they were on the bill:
Annie & The Beekeepers played a show last March at one of our SXSW shows, but this was the first time I have seen her. It's sort of Allison Kraussy with sentimental lyrics. I am more of an ironic guy, but no one can argue her voice.
Cale Parks are sort of electronic and percussive, with swooning vocals over the top. Very mellow, but a nice change of pace. I am listening to their record right now, and I think it holds up.
Elizabeth & the Catapult's crowd was huge and a little loud, but I loved the song she played so much, I am going to post it anyway. It's hard to hear at times, but whatever. Normally I don't really get to enjoy a song as I am filming it, for obvious reasons, but this was an exception.
I ran out of tape for Freelance Whales (free downloads at RCRD LBL) and Local Natives, but both were fantastic, despite the sound failing to overpower the crowd noise towards the end of the show. I highly recommend them both.
After dinner I went to Local 269 for a band I was quite excited to hear called Sugar Plum Ferry. I met these guys earlier in the Festival, and I was impressed at how far they had come. If you like Explosions In The Sky, then you will love these guys. Despite playing in a somewhat smaller cap venue than they are used to back home, Local 269 was packed with an enthusiastic and appreciative crowd of local New York fans. Each of their songs is about quarter of an hour long, which proved too much for my remaining tape. I managed to get one though in its entirety. The whole set was entrancing.
Friday started off well. Really well. And then it went south. First the good: As I was on my way to Trash Bar for The Loom, I saw Sean Lennon on the phone outside Bruar Falls. I had a little time to kill, and I love all the new Chimera Music stuff, so I just went for it. The Ladybug Transistor where about 2 songs from the end of their set. Though I didn't have time to film, I was very impressed by them. Once the set change was underway, I met a lovely guy from WRSU Rutger's Radio who filled in the gaps. Mi-Gu was the band to see. No, he didn't know how many bands Sean Lennon is actually in (we counted 3). And yes, getting a beer at Bruar Falls is difficult once hey close that iron curtain. During "Spiders," MI-GU'S normal two piece format was beefed up with Lennon and Yuka Honda sitting in.
When the band had finished, I was too late for The Loom. I was nearly late for Peasant, who slowed things down a little bit at the Paste Magazine party. As a venue name, "The Living Room" is perhaps a double entendre. I like it there, but I have never experienced less life from an audience. I know they are concentrating, but the people seem afraid to breathe. Damien himself was unaffected, but forlorn over what he considered a lackluster string of jokes between songs. When told that writing cheat-sheet lyrics on his hand was too obvious and that he should instead opt for his shoes, he replied "I've gotta find some paper shoes." For the next moment or two, he thought he had triumphed, only to realize directly that the shell was too think. Peasant is sweet, slight music, like a whisper, and Damien has a beautiful timbre. He's sort of a perfect troubadour, really. The audience was loving it quietly.
After the rain and the temperature began to fall, we had to get inside. Brooklyn Bowl had a line like the Vatican, so we were relieved when we were spared the indignity of having to queue up. Once inside, we used up our drink tickets and got ready for Solid Gold to start.
The Green Label Sound party itself was heaving, with most of the people neither bowling nor at the stage. All indications were that we were going to wait a long time for drinks and facilities, with very little return. Therefore we only stayed to see a Solid Gold's first few songs. I wanted to see some smaller bands, but the vibe of Brooklyn Bowl would follow us. First, we saw 2 unmentionably bad bands at a very crowded Public Assembly - so bad that we left our drinks. Then we were denied at Music Hall of Williamsburg (where School of Seven Bells were playing). After that we cabbed it to Cake Shop. In the dungeon we did manage to catch a few songs of Crystal Antlers, who all jumped the bathroom line and then gave everyone drink tickets (sort of classy, I thought). Cake shop was so crowded that I couldn't get my arm around my own person. An itch went unscratched, which was sort of poignant.
The NYCTaper 2009 CMJ Day Party was exactly what I wanted: reasonable crowd, bar stool, great bands. Bruar Falls is a festival venue for me, having been exactly twice since it opened. I have no idea what it is like on a regular weekend, but so far at Northside and now CMJ, I think it might be one of my favorites.
Dan from NYCTAPER put on a great show. My only complaint is that it started at noon! C'mon Dan! I wrote it in my schedule, with a couple of underlines, but no amount of will was going to get me to Unicycle Loves You at 12:30. I came directly from bed to Brooklyn, just in time for Blood Warrior at 3:30.
I see the guy from Blood Warrior everywhere. I had a nap just now, and I saw him in my dream. I don't know what to make of it, but I can't call anything "haunting" anymore without being punished for my past imprecision. Blood Warrior is classified cruelly as "indie folk." I loved it.
Emanuel and The Fear was on my radar when the fest started - I had heard their S/T EP while I was previewing bands. I also think Emanuel looks exactly like Gustavo Dudamel, a gross misconception made more poignant by the fact that he does indeed conduct his own mini-orchestra. "Mini" by Dudamel standards is still a whopping 11 indie rock players by any other measure; 11 distinct instruments, all kept together extremely well. A very impressive and movable wall of sound, with no mud at all. The Bruar Falls sound guys did a great job. I was discussing the pros and cons of old schoolbuses (rather than "old-school" buses) with their label rep; I am sure ours wasn't the first conversation he'd had about that.
As Emanuel finished up, I contemplated leaving Bruar Falls. Quickly, I realized that what I was doing / saying was no longer valid. I was in no condition to make any decisions. Luckily pure laziness kept me in my seat; I had no idea that Motel Motel were playing at all, let alone next. Hearing murmurs of this sparked me to squint the schedule (rather, I asked someone else to get up and look at if for me). Realizing that a sendentary afternoon at the same bar stool was all that was in the cards for me, I relaxed and felt good about being the sort of person who is always keen to accept the undebatable.
Kittens Ablaze. Fine. It's one of those band names. Everyone goes to at least one show based on a name that you want to add to the list purely for dimension. "I saw Sponge, Cake, Ebb, Hole, Kittens Ablaze, and Johnny Diamond." Confronted with this, your detractors cannot help but acknowledge indeed, what a well rounded human being you are. Kittens Ablaze also happens to be really good - I thought they were extremely good - so go and see them for that too.
Manhattan. The last place music goes before it goes off.
Don't get excited. Close that other tab. There will be no need to go to insound.com right after this. Just relax. Most of the stuff I write about here will be safe and sound, away from the cutting edge. The frightful edge. I am going to write about music, in Manhattan. By the time it gets to me here, you can rest assured that the band responsible will already have toured your borough, perhaps on a multi-borough tour. They'll be big local stars in the Red Hook used-car warehouse district by now. I am sure banana vs lucmo has a 2 pager in the archives, images exclusive for 3 weeks. Their mp3's are abundant, in need of thinning-out. Even the amateur iso-hunter should have no trouble bagging a few. About this blog: nepotism, favoritism, narcissism, all the tools required to do something this self-indulgent.
Rod el Penguino
Disclaimer
I might occasionally post some content from naughty sources. As very few people read this blog, I can theoretically get away with almost anything. Most of the time I DO get permission from the copyright holders of all of these MP3s, but just to avoid conflict, I will remove anything that anyone doesn't like. Although I hate the term, Sitcom Serf is an "MP3 blog" and as such exists solely to promote the artists on its pages. If for any reason there is an issue with posted content, please email hater@sitcomserf.com and the content will be removed from the site.
I used to do album reviews for a different blog, one that promised to review everything. What a soul-killing promise to make. An eternal deadline hangs over you and makes you despise records you would otherwise not mind. We have a different policy: I will not review anything unless I like it - that is A MUST. Negative reviews just bring the whole world down. So email us for the mailing address, and include some mp3's or a link to some for us to preview (myspace is fine). Then I will send you the address if one of our reviewers likes it (right now there are only two). If you send in a record, and we don't review it for some reason, I will mail it to a blog that guarantees to review everything on your behalf.
stuff (at) sitcomserf dizz com
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