Mon, 23 Feb


From the heart came the music of La Res on Monday night.  Drawing on all sorts of '70's grit, La Res genuinely arrive at something new, though this last fact is unfortunately not quite yet captured in their recordings.  Nonetheless, it was palpable during their live performance.

The audience picked up on the lead singer's energy right away during the first song, called "Dust Child," and likewise became somber when he announced in the middle of the set that "these next three songs were inspired by conversations I had with soldiers," specifically those suffering from PTSD.  Thus began what he called the "war" portion of their set, leading off with a cover of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War," the singer and guitarist wailing through the verse "all the money you make will never buy back your soul."  During the middle eight section of the dark song "Trapeze," the singer, moving his face away from the microphone, screamed savagely, with very disturbing results.  Continuing in this vein was "Valley of Nowhere": "When this guy gets to his darkest place, some crazy thoughts come into his mind." 

Moving out of the war section, the band played "Freedom Song," the lyrics for which were written after Obama won the election.  In a suprisingly catchy move, the chorus featured Bee Gees-esque harmonizing between the lead singer and the drummer on the lyrics "Can you see the light?"  Underscoring this line was a repeating "lament" bass line (4 notes moving downwards).  After singing happy birthday to their manager, La Res finished out their set with "Stand," which began with the guitarist live looping himself and grew into a rowdy, harder song, inspiring some of the male audience members to form a kind of mini-moshpit. 

Thurs, Jan 22


The Orion Experience positively delighted the crowd packed inside Mercury Lounge Thursday night, inspiring them all with sparkly, sonic élan.  The band had its visual sparkle too, particularly the two lead singers: one pulling shapes in a white cape and wearing her hair in a blond faux-hawk, and the other (also playing rhythm guitar) in his white suit looking like Donny Osmond as impersonated by Noel Fielding. 

The band’s songs were catchy and tightly-knit, a blend of rock guitar, agile bass lines, danceable drumbeats, and over-the-top pop singing.  Many of the songs brought together different and distinct styles, as in the rock verses and pop choruses of “Sugar,” and the disco verses and rock choruses of the newer song, “New York City Girl.”  This song was particularly danceable, with the bassist and lead guitarist singing backup, and definitely captured the attention of the audience.

 

Catch The Orion Experience at Santos Party House on Wednesday, Feb. 25th.

 

Wed, 31 Dec


Maudlin as Joy Division, loud as My Bloody Valentine, with the driving, relentless drum beats of an industrial band, A Place to Bury Strangers blasted right past the midnight hour at Mercury Lounge Wednesday night.  “We’re not only the loudest band in New York, we’re the band who f---ed up the new year’s eve countdown,” proclaimed the guitarist at about 12:05am, after their third song.  From start to finish, the set did indeed grow progressively louder with unflinching intensity, and even the video art being projected onto the band intensified from morphing shapes to flashing grids.  The fifth song dissolved into unbridled din from the musicians and unceasing strobe effects from the projector, holding captive a—by now—partially debilitated audience, curious to know how far the band would go.

Saturday, 2 August


The Mercury Lounge played host to an eclectic collection of bands on Saturday night.  It all started with North Carolina’s The Never, an earnest threesome with delicate and charming indie-rock songs crafted to show off their multi-instrumental talents.  Deleted Scenes (who claim both D.C. and Brooklyn as home) were up next, with a harder, rawer sound that came across as an odd and compelling mix of Pink Floyd and Do Make Say Think.     

Most odd and compelling of all, however, were NYC’s The Childballads, in their Cheekbone Hollows configuration (guitar/organ/drums).  The music was blues and rock-based, appropriately and effectively presented with maudlin ingenuousness on Saturday night.  The stage presence of the lead singer (no stranger to the NYC indie scene), and his banter with the organist/back-up singer bordered on theatrical, he presenting her with flowers in what came across as drunken flirtation, she humoring him in a benevolent manner and, at one point, asking him politely not to curse when he spoke to her.  The attractive combination of his throaty and her smoky voice managed to captivate an audience otherwise uncertain what to think of (and perhaps a little frightened by) the self-deprecating and glib-seeming front-man.