Wha' Happened?
Not to keep harping on this subject (especially since I really don't have enough time to do it justice) but I'm getting more and more confused by the blogger buzz in NYC and who it is heaped upon. On Saturday I had the pleasure of seeing We Are Scientists open for Ambulance, LTD. at the Black Cat and they really blew me away. I left wondering why these guys have received so little blog love from the 212 and surrounding areas. I interviewed them prior to the gig (highlights on DCist tomorrow, audio on the forthcoming DCist podcast #2) and they told me they had played 150 gigs in NYC in the last four years. I had no idea.
By their own admission, the band doesn't exactly feel like part of "the scene" and they have spent the majority of 2005 in the UK due to some heavy airplay from Steve Lamacq. I went to a few of the major NYC music blogs and clicked around but none of them had done much of anything on the band. Not sure exactly where I'm going with this - "Wow, there are so many bands in NYC, some of them aren't getting the proper coverage!"...Just pointing it out I guess.
Anyways, the show was just awesome. The band sound like a punkier version of Blur if they tried to jump on the "dance rock" bandwagon. And I mean that in a good way. These guys have tunes for days, are super tight and have boundless energy on stage. I was impressed with their ferocity for being just a three piece. They are the total package. Super cute lead singer (no homo) that can belt out a tune, bass player with ultra ironic porn mustache and requisite geeky glasses and a drummer that rides the high hat like Reni. I walked out a believer. They are heading up the East Coast now and will be back in the States in mid to late November. Catch them if you can. I have some craptastic photos here. I'll save my rant on the stage lighting at the Black Cat for another time.
I stuck around for the first three or four songs of Ambulance and was less than impressed. The songs they were playing were quiet and droney and were putting me to sleep. So we went downstairs to Bliss to catch Will Eastman DJ. He played Mylo's "In My Arms" so I was a happy camper.
One band I really want to check out is
This is either going to be really cool or really, really bad. At least Coldplay aren't involved.
We Are Scientists will be in a Coolfer post tomorrow (I wrote it over the weekend). I saw them at CBGB a while back and thought they were pretty good. I recall reading a few bloggers' postitive comments on their recent CMJ show.
There's a lot of shoulder-shrugging about Ambulance LTD but I love those guys.
W.A.S.'s website has a cat face graphic on it. I haven't heard anything yet from them and I already like them. Oh, they're playing the Troubadour Sunday eve. Too soon to change plans? We shall see...if it's got the ILB endorsement, well..yeah!
because of the kitty-cat face.
I saw We Are Scientists at CBGB w/ Bishop Allen in January. Bishop Allen was, as always, great. WAS was so-so. I happened to be NYC that weekend.
poor chris martin can't even pour some lovin' on johnny cash without the backlash? damn, yo.
oh well, tiny violins and all that.....
yeah, i got them from a blog somewhere a while ago. I love their song "nobody move, nobody get hurt". since CMJ they have been getting considerably more coverage on the blog circuit, most recently by Utragurrrl and some others. Anyways, I will def be checking them out when they play in baltimore on nov 19th with hot hot heat.
If my burner worked, Kyle, I would have given you an advance copy of the W.A.S. record to check out. Yes, true that, right again leafblower, wise words, you come correct, props to you once again: where's the fingerbanging on behalf of these guys? She-yit. Where's the fingerbanging for Cedars, who can play and sing their own music. Someone's gotta do something about the system of rewards and punishments, man oh man. So preach on, blogga. Amen.
no chicago love from WAS. sigh.
Shameless self promotion: my SSH howto could save you from any potential evil, blog-hating bosses.
You should definitely check out Cut Copy, it's good to see the melbourne boys going somewhere and getting the press they deserve!
I've been playing my WAS mp3s constantly over the past couple of weeks but I couldn't make it to the show. Glad to hear they were good live. I may have to try to make the show at Sonar in November.
Hey, weren't you the guy I saw hanging out in the back of the Black Cat at the We Are Scientists/Ambluance Ltd. show? Yeah, I think that was you. You were wearing earplugs. What a great idea for a music reviewer. Is this a new thing I'm not aware of: handicapped reviews? (No wonder you hated Clap Your Hands.)
Well I think it's great. I'll spawn my own career of restaurant reviews with my nose plugged up. Or I'll critique paintings without my contact lenses in. Thanks for the great idea!
I wear earplugs at every show I go to, without exception. See, I like my hearing and want it when I turn 70. It's a novel approach, I know. Ask anyone that works in the music industry, they'll tell you they were earplugs whenever they go to shows. Let's see how many concerts you go to once the tinnitus kicks in.
Try wearing a good pair of earplugs sometime, Joey. A decent pair of earplugs (like the pair of Etymotic earplugs that I use) doesn't distort the sound of the concert, they just reduce the decibel level evenly across all frequencies. Yeah, wearing a cheap pair of foam earplugs distorts the sound and can make even the best band sound pretty crappy. After having my ears ring for 5 months after a show a few years ago (yes, 5 fucking months of audible ringing), I'll never go to a concert without my earplugs again.
You know I've only been reading good posts on them so far.