Star Spangles Live @ Northsix, Brooklyn, Nov. 24, 2006

It was Summer 2003 when the Star Spangles held their release party at CBGB for Bazooka, their first release on Columbia Records. At that time, critics either loved or hated the band (there was no middle ground) and it looked like the band was going to break big. For whatever reason, the band severed their ties with Capital, the long awaiting follow up to Bazooka was never released and the band faded from the scene.

The band has now regrouped with a new rhythm section (Nick and Joey are gone -- new members are Chris and Todd) and opened for Genesis P-Orridge's Thee Majesty at Northsix on Saturday night. The band is in great form and it is good to see them back in action. According to the band's MySpace page, the long delayed second record is "comin soon".

I was at the front of the stage when the band finished its set and picked up a copy of the setlist. The last song of the set, "I Don't Want to be Crazy Anymore", is the perfect power-pop song that ranks up there with anything by Cheap Track or The Plimsouls.

Star Spangles set list from show @ Northsix, Brooklyn 11/24/06

Eagles of Death Metal Booted Off Guns N Roses Tour

Picture from The Cleveland Leader









I caught one of the Guns N' Roses - Hammerstein Ballroom warmup shows earlier this year and thought the band was pretty good (not great). It is hard to take the band too seriously with Axl being the only original member and Chinese Democracy now being about 10 years behind schedule. (Can anyone say Boston - Third Stage?) Guns N' Roses still put on a pretty good rock show but they are nowhere near the caliber they were when they headlined stadiums in the early 90's.

I was quite amused to read that Axl is kicking the Eagles of Death Metal off the tour after just one show as the GnR audience didn't respond well to the band. Blabbermouth reports that Axl reportedly said something to the effect of, "So how'd you like THE PIGEONS OF SHIT METAL? Don't worry, that's the last show they're playing with us."

Let's compare...Josh Homme has been consistently building his chops by recording and touring with both the Eagles and Queens of the Stoneage. Sebastian Bach hasn't done much of anything (outside of the Rocky Horror Pipcture Show) since being kicked out of Skid Row and The Last Hard Men has to be one to the worst CDs that I have heard in the last few years. The Suicide Girls are just strippers who strip to punk tunes.

So...what is the lesson here? On a tour where punk strippers are one of the "opening acts" and are scheduled to go on right before the headliner, any opening band has to question whether the audience will be receptive anything they can't drunkenly sing along to.

OpEd: I saw the Eagles of Death Metal headline CBGB just about two years ago and the crowd couldn't get enough of the band. Hopefully the Eagles will find better acts to tour with.

Interview with Bad Flirt's Jasamine White-Gluz

This past week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jasamine from Bad Flirt and she graciously allowed me to record our conversation as a podcast.
For those non-iPod folks (like me), here is a direct link to the mp3 file.




The band had to cancel their show at Club Midway last weekend as the other dates on their mini-tour fell through at the last moment but hopefully the band will be back in New York soon.

When we spoke, Jasamine mentioned that the band is finishing pre-production on their first full length CD. I didn't think to ask her about producers but was reading online that the band is working with producer Ted Nicely. Nicely has done great work with bands such as Jawbox, Girls vs. Boys, and Ruth Ruth so the new Bad Flirt release should be a lot of fun and something to look forward to next year.

Lastly, I have two copies of Bad Flirt's current CD EP Head On to give away. Drop me an email at Mike.BrooklynRocks@Gmail.Com with the subject "Bad Flirt" if you are interested. I'll select winners at random on Thursday night.

The Growing @ Water Street Lounge, Brooklyn Nov. 11, 2006

The Growing were the final act to play last Sunday night. Every time I see the band, I am impressed with their live show and last week did not disappoint. There were also some humerous moments at the show. The first was that all of the band's electronics blew the power and it took a number of minutes to reset the circuit. The second was that after the band finished their set, they seemed completely shocked when the crowd started chanting for an encore (which the band played).

As it doesn't look like The Growing are currently touring, I would recommend checking out some of their studio releases. The band's first release on Kranky The Sky's Run Into the Sea along with His Return on Troubleman/Megablade are great starting points.

CHORD @ Water Street Lounge, Brooklyn Nov. 11, 2006

Chicago drone collective CHORD followed The Austerity Program and played one long instumental/drone piece. I don't know much about this band other than I think that is Trevor de Brauw from Pelican seated in the chair. There doesn't appear to be much information about the band online and the band's website is pretty sparse. Regardless, the band sounded great and I would make a point of seeing them next time they come through New York.

The Austerity Program @ Water Street Lounge, Brooklyn Nov. 11, 2006

Punk duo The Austerity Program opened the Red Cross Benefit show last Sunday night with a thirty minute set. While the band has been around for a number of years, Sunday night was the first time I had seen them live and I really enjoyed their set. Their sound is very basic and minimal -- just guitar, bass and a pounding drum machine. There were vocals on about half the songs.


The Austerity Program released a CD EP in 2003 on Hydra Head and is currently finalizing their next CD, which is also to be released on Hydra Head.

Martin Carr @ Sound Fix Records, Brooklyn, Nov. 11, 2006

Boo Radleys' guitarist/songwritter Martin Carr returned to New York after a 9 year absence to play Jack Rabid's Big Takeover Party at Sound Fix Records. Carr is still writing great songs and this show kicked off a short US tour. Most of Carr's 30+ minute set focused on his solo material but he did play the Boo Radley classic Lazarus.


Carr disbanded his band bravecaptain of the last few years in October and is now touring under his given name. The sixth and final bravecaptain CD, distractions, available as a free download on the bravecaptain site. Click on the CD cover below and that will bring you to the distractions download page.

Bad Brains Live at CBGB 1982 DVD Review

Bad Brains were one of the most influential punk bands on the scene in the early 80's and this DVD captures the band at its prime. It is compiled from a three night stand in December of 1982 at CBGB and features a number of songs from the then soon to be released Rock For Light LP.

The three shows are filmed in a semi-pro style with two cameras so this DVD really captures the feeling of what is was like at a Bad Brains show in the early days. My only complaint is that predominately only one camera angle is used during the final show so there seem to be equal number shots of the crowd (and the mosh pit) as there are of the band. There is some really great footage of HR, Earl and Dr. Know across all three shows. What is a little strange is that Daryl Jenifer is rarely, if ever, seen.

All complaints are minor as the band is on fire during these shows and lives up to their legend. It is somewhat amazing to watch the crowd sway in place as the band switches from hardcore to dub/reggae. The power, energy and aggression of the band make this DVD required watching. Watch the trailer below and see for yourself.



I was at the first of the Bad Brains reunion shows at CBGB last month and the biggest difference between the 1982 and the 2006 version of the band is HR. On this DVD, HR rules the stage and covers all corners of it. On both Riot Squad and Coptic Times, HR is all over the stage dancing and singing with the crowd. At the show last month, HR barely moved and it seems that he is in a "different place" now. In an interview last year, Daryl Jenifer said "It's hard for us to do shows...That's mainly on H.R., with his mental and emotional state. He's my man. He's a weird dude and I love it -- there's freedom right there. I've really come to that conclusion, that the dude is the [most free] person you'll ever meet."

Below is a YouTube clip of Pay to Cum , which was the encore from the first night of the reunion last month.

Valeze Headline @ Knitting Factory On Nov. 21st

Brooklyn glam-punk stars Valeze are headlining the main stage at the Knitting Factory on November 21st. Valeze is releasing their second CD on December 5th and will be showcasing tunes from this release at their show at the Knit.

Valeze's new CD is streaming on the band's MySpace page and they have released a couple advance tracks for downloading (links are below). My favorite of these is Go, Go, Go! which combines Clash-style riffs with Dale Bozio vocals.

Go, Go, Go!
Search and Destroy
High and Dry

Valeze have been getting a lot of good press for their live shows (see BrooklynVegan and Jenyk) so this looks like a show not to miss.

Tickets are $10 and Valeze is scheduled to hit the stage at 11PM.

Unsound @ The Lucky Cat, Sat., Nov. 25th

Unsound hosts its final event for the year at The Lucky Cat in Brooklyn on Saturday, November 25th.


Bands playing are:

MUSTARD GAS AND ROSES (solo guitar ruminations from Mike Gallagher of Isis)
in a special joint session with DESTRUCTO SWARMBOTS (the soundtrack to a suicide)

Also appearing:
MARCH BURCH member of Schloss Tegal
MUTUS LIBER drone electronics from upstate new york
RICARDO SHEETS member of DisassociateAudio

interludes by HEATHEN PANZER

Doors @ 10PM and Tickets are $5.00. Come early and join in on a vegetarian Thanksgiving Feast.

Bathtub Shitters & Navicon Torture Technologies Play NorthSix On Nov. 22

Japanese grind-core Bathtub Shitters are playing Northsix on Wed., Nov 22nd. along with ID, Navicon Torture Technologies, Defeatist and Negativehate.

Bathtub Shitters are one of those bands that has to be seen to be believed. As you would guess (or maybe not), most of their songs focus on an obsession about sh*t, toilets along with anything and everything else related to these items. The band's music has a good high-voltage energy and Masato Henmarer Morimoto can rival Butthole Surfers' Gibby Hayes for "the most demented vocalist" award.

It looks like a fun show and tickets are only $8.00.

Bad Flirt Returns to New York for Show at Midway on Nov. 18th

I have always had a weakness for good, well-played power pop and Bad Flirt is able to draw upon the best parts of this genre. The band is returning to the area for one last show this year before entering the the studio with Arcade Fire’s Howard Bilerman.

Bad Flirt has had a busy 2006. Besides having released a 7” and the Head On Maxi-Single, the band has embarked on multiple national tours.

Accoring to the band's publicist, the new record is an ode to a certain childhood sitcom, and will be featuring various celebrity guest vocalists. Bad Flirt will be offering a glimpse into these new recordings when they work this new material into their set at Club Midway.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 18
CLUB MIDWAY 25 Avenue B, New York, NY
(Between 2nd and 3rd st.)

WITH MONARK
9PM
$8

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/BADFLIRT
WWW.AUMSUPREME.COM/BADFLIRT.HTML

Unsound Presents a Night of Drone/Doom Metal @ Lucky Cat, Brooklyn Nov. 15, 2006

Unsound presents a night of Drone/ Doom Metal @ The Lucky Cat next Wednesday, Nov. 15th. Bands are:

TROUM transcendental guitar drone [drone/desolation house]
NADJA (Aidan Baker) monolithic electronic dirge/doom metal [conspiracy/alien8]
BLACK CENTIPEDE exercises in futile sound [annihilvs]

With Special Guest DJ: JAMES PLOTKIN

DOORS @ 7PM

Tokyo Dragons - Escapi Music Showcase, Snitch, NYC, Nov. 1, 2006

Tokyo Dragons headlined Escapi Music's CMJ showcase and I believe this was their first US show. The Dragons are a great live act and I can see why their live shows are getting great reviews in Europe and the band is invited to play some of the major festivals. The band is currently in the US to record their followup to their debut CD "Give Me the Fear" and hopefully a full US tour will follow.


Tokyo Dragons - Snitch, NYC, Nov. 1, 2006 


Mal Bruk/Tokyo Dragons - Snitch, NYC, Nov. 1, 2006
 


Steve Lomax/Tokyo Dragons - Snitch, NYC, Nov. 1, 2006 


Mathias Stady/Tokyo Dragons - Snitch, NYC, Nov. 1, 2006
 


Phil Martini/Tokyo Dragons - Snitch, NYC, Nov. 1, 2006
 

Dirty Rig @ Escapi Music Showcase, Snitch, NYC Nov. 1, 2006

Dirty Rig was the second act to play the Escapi Music showcase. Dirty Rig are rapidly becoming one of my favorite bands to see live and they did not disappoint last Wednesday night. They started with a sloppy (drunken?) version of "Drunk Again" but settled down after this for a great set.


Korey Clarke/Dirty Rig - Snitch, NYC Nov. 1, 2006


Buckshot/Dirty Rig - Snitch, NYC Nov. 1, 2006


Chas/Dirty Rig - Snitch, NYC, Nov. 1, 2006


Dirty Rig - Snitch, NYC Nov. 1, 2006

I have some additional pictures of Dirty Rig along with the other bands (Mahavatar & Tokyo Dragons) that played on Wednesday which I will post to Flickr in the next day or two.

Mahavatar @ Escapi Music Showcase, Snitch, NYC Nov. 1, 2006

Escapi Music had a label showcase party at Club Snitch last Wednesday. Mahavatar was the first band to take the stage. Mahavatar is a great live act and it was nice to see them in such a small venue. The band played about a six song set which included one new song, "Insane".


Mahavatar @ Escapi's CMJ Showcase, Nov. 1, 2006 


Lizza Hayson/Mahavatar @ Snitch, Nov. 1, 2006
 


Karla Williams/Mahavatar @ Snitch, NYC Nov. 1, 2006
 


Lizza Hayson & Shahar Mintz/Mahavatar @ Snitch, NYC, Nov. 1, 2006
 

Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness CD/DVD Review

Originally released in 1989, this reissue is particularly exciting due to the inclusion of a 45 minute live DVD from Morbid Angel's first UK tour. This concert has been floating around the bootleg circuit for a number of years in varying quality so it is great to see a high-quality version of this show officially released. This is also Morbid Angel's first live DVD. Filmed on Earache's Grindcore tour in Notingham, England on November 1989, this is a four camera mix that captures the band in all its intensity. The camera work is great and there are closeups of all the band members so you can really appreciate the blazing fast fretwork and solos by all of the band's guitarists along with Pete Sandoval's hyperkinetic drumming. The band runs through the entirety of the Altars of Madness disc and the sound on this disc is somewhat cleaner than the studio CD so that you can more clearly hear both the bass and drums in the mix.

Now for the CD...Altars of Madness is one of the classic US death metal CDs. Along with releases from Death and Obituary, this release helped define the death metal scene. This CD has held up well over the years continues to serve as a blueprint to bands just starting out. This CD has been expanded from the original 10 tracks to include three bonus remixes. The remixes are interesting (some different guitar parts) but not critical.

Necessary listening for any fan of speed/death metal. If you already have this, its worth buying again just for the live DVD.