Conor Oberst @ Battery Park

Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band
@ Battery Park
New York, NY - July 4, 2009

Let's not dance around it. I missed Jenny Lewis. As unpatriotic a thing one can do on Independence Day, I missed America's second finest redheaded alt-country singer (y'all know who's number 1). I did, however, catch a decent chunk of the set by the pride of Omaha, Conor Oberst. Bright Eyes never truly became my thing until "Four Winds" came out a couple years ago. When Oberst put Bright Eyes on the backburner to work on something called the Mystic Valley Band, I thought "Oh know what hippie dippie mess is this going to be?" But alas, the Mystic Valley Band project is an alt-country-with-a-twist-of-rock machine. The ballads are pure country, but a lot of the more swingin' songs can be real barn burners. Perhaps best of all, Oberst has tamed his voice, a voice once so shrill that many dubbed Bright Eyes to be an emo thing. But Oberst has come a long way, playing very digestible music and having an easy-going presence on stage.

I still can't believe I missed Jenny Lewis.

Phosphorescent; These United States @ Prospect Park

Phosphorescent; These United States
@ Prospect Park
Brooklyn, NY - June 27, 2009

From what little I heard of Phosphorescent, it sounded like nice Indie folk sure to please all the parents and their little kids in the crowd.

These United States are a pretty fun, pretty consistent stompin' post-hippie band. Not too much jam, which was a good thing.

The Sonic Parthenon Playlist: Mid-June 2009

Action Painters
The kids put out a self-titled collection of new and old and new-old stuff, including a snappy cover of "Money Changes Everything" and a revamped, smashing version of their own "456".

Zee Avi - "Bitter Heart"
She sounds like the Ditty Bops and Norah Jones all rolled into one.

Death - For All The World to See
This actually belongs in one of the earlier playlist posts but the day I stop playing "Keep on Knocking" is the day I concede to being wrong about something, anything.

Fanfarlo - "The Walls Are Coming Down"
Like Beirut but happy.

Finding Fiction - "Them or Me"
Another good anthem rocker for the year.

The Pains at Being Pure at Heart - The Pains at Being Pure at Heart
This could have been posted anytime this year but it is really in the last month or so that I have come to fully appreciate this remarkable debut record, particularly songs like "Young Adult Friction" and "Everything With You". Along with the Metric and Camera Obscura records, this may very well complete the soundtrack to the summer.

Suckers - "Easy Chairs"
I saw these guys many moons ago when they were nothing. They made a fine impression. But who knew they would become such raves?

Honorable Mentions: The Evening Rig, Miike Snow, Peaches, Viva Voce,

The Sonic Parthenon Playlist: May 2009

Oops we skipped over May! Meaning we missed:

Brakesbrakesbrakes - "Crush on You"
Maybe the 90's are coming back afterall - a grungey sound with those semi-sweet mid-90's pop lyrics. Figures they're English...they just must be now getting into it.

Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
Right now, Metric's Fantasies is the best record of the year. This is number 2.

Elks - "Collide"
They just could be just another one of the many bands with an animal for their name, but instead Elks choose to copy the anthemic indie rock the likes of Longwave and Parts & Labor. Tis a fine choice. Besides, there has to be someone out there not listening to Grizzly Bear.

Great Northern - "Houses"
Excellent new track from the not-a-fluke dark rockers out of Southern California. Eat it Silversun Pickups!

Ben Harper & Relentless 7- "Shimmer and Shine"
Harper dropped the Innocent Criminals and the pot-head friendliness in exchange for Relentless 7 and just rocking the hell out. Good call. He's still a sap in the lyrics department though. Actually this isn't too different from "Crush on You".

The Hold Steady - A Positive Rage
Yeah I don't know who these guys are or why they have a live record or why I play it almost every day...

I Was A King - "Norman Bleik"
Picking up where "Saints" by Army Navy hasn't really left off yet, this is a strong power pop number from Scandinavia. How do they keep doing that over there?!

King Khan & The Shrines - "Land of the Freak"
All thanks to that gig in early May, I can't stop playing this James Brown meets Greg Cartwright escapade.

St. Vincent - tracks from Actor
I haven't heard much of the new record but "The Strangers" satiated me for a spell.

Honorable Mentions: Jarvis Cocker, Passion Pit

Lucero; Howard Tate & The Sweet Divines @ Madison Square Park

Leave it to the nature of the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party to bring about an eclectic afternoon of free music, headlined by the Memphis band Lucero who are Social Distortion-gone country. Lucero have a bi-polar image: they're an older group of guys (well...they LOOK older but it may just be the beards and the premature gray hair) who appeal to a young crowd, and they, like their crowd, look menacing until they turn out to be a bunch of softies. They have the cred of a respected country-punk band but there is more than a whiff of suburban-esque, trashy (in a bad way) blase about them. Nevertheless, it is a solid time - especially when the keyboards and pedal steel fire up. Ben Nichols is a country punk in every sense of the word, and any guy who writes a record inspired by a Cormac McCarthy novel is alright by me.

Howard Tate would be a legend if more people knew who he was. The original soul singer of a couple of hits (including the superior cut of "Get It While You Can"), Tate's voice is a stirring, stark reminder of what may have arguably been the most consistent genre in any stretch in any period of American popular music. His talent may only be outmatched by his personal story, wracked by the worst of musical career downfalls. In his recovery over the last few years, he's taken on new challenges (weight gain in exchange stopping drugs), but his voice is still crisp and heart-rendering. Backed by the Sweet Divines (one of the two spin-offs of the late, great Dansettes) and their relaxed, able backing band (some of the unsung heroes of garage soul, lost in the spotlight of the Dap-Kings and the Shrines), Howard captured the hearts of the bbq-stuffed, rain-soaked crowd.

On the bbq - I had some whole hog on a bun with slaw from Martin's of Nashville - mmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. That is some tangy spice right there on some succulent meat. Yowsers.

The Hold Steady @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

The Hold Steady
@ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY - June 10, 2009

They started off - surprisingly - with "First Night". They played all of Boys and Girls America. They played "Knuckles". They played "How A Resurrection Really Feels". They sounded absolutely perfect. The crowd was packed with total fans - everyone singing along to everything, including all the b-sides (like "Arms and Hearts" and "Girls Go For Status"). No real mosh pit problems, no stage crashing, no crowd surfing, just intensity. In summation, after seeing this band many, many times - this was the best yet. And that's saying a lot.

Action Painters; The Brunettes @ Mercury Lounge

Action Painters; Sean Bones; The Brunettes
@ Mercury Lounge
New York, NY - May 28, 2009

Action Painters and the Brunettes came to the rescue after original headliners, those Scottish lads the 1990s, had to cancel. Action Painters showed off some of their New Wave chops with covers of Television's "See No Evil" and The Brains' "Money Changes Everything" (the latter of which can be found on the band's new digital EP). The rest of the set featured the exact kind of rock n' roll and power pop this band has been perfecting for a few years now. When I first got into them, "Absolutely Clear" and "Sooner or Later" were the two towering achievements but slowly but surely, "456" has become this heavy hitter, an immensely strong number. Though they remain a relative secret on the cusp of makin' it, these WOXY stars already display the fine mix of raw rock n' roll grit and professional panache that the greats need to possess. Also, any band that does this is alright by me.

Sean Bones is a tribute to vintage ska and reggae. Straight up. There's a lot of rock n roll oomph in his work but a lot of that oomph stems from when ska and reggae are done right live. A very fun set from beginning to end, and the kid seems to already have a solid fan base.

The Brunettes moved to Brownsville and now use backing tracks. At least that's the story as it seemed to be as the band played for the first time in a year, and were a little tense and nervous. Correspondingly, the music was a little darker and more timid than it had been when they opened for Sons & Daughters last year at MHOW. They acknowledged missing their horns, which provide a lot of the sprightliness this band excels at. Nevertheless, the new material is able enough and the kids have still got it.

Fuzzy Fuzzies: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (from Eclectic Six)

Another piece over at Eclectic Six - this one about the Pains, or POBPAH if you prefer. The band's Tuesday night show at the Bowery Ballroom is sold out. Amazing. Their free show at the Seaport this summer is going to be massive.

King Khan & The Shrines; Mark Sultan @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

King Khan & The Shrines; Mark Sultan; Georgiana Starlington
@ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY - May 1, 2009

I had always hesitated to see Khan with the Shrines because as much as I loved the pulse-pounding soul I heard on record, I resisted the gimmicky antics I heard about, not to mention the obnoxious sudden hipness of the act and the later scenester embracing of that nice little secret called King Khan & BBQ. But putting aside the snobbery for a night, I finally took in King Khan & The Shrines and Holy Moly what a show. Yes it was a little gimmicky - the fat man in the speedo spitting glitter, who came out of the crowd, appeared to be a plant. But Khan kept his notorious wang in his pants and kept his spit and other bodily fluids to himself (maybe it was because of the swine flu), and instead focused on his amazing music. The thrilling, heart-stopping soul churned out by Khan's seemingly endless number of musicians is up there with the greats. In fact, I officially shun the notion of exclusivity, and declare that King Khan & The Shrines go beyond their crass scenester popularity, and come to be a top-rated popular act among the soul circuit. Don't lose any of that garage grease, and just take it to the polished confines of the soul music world. They won't know what hit 'em (Hopefully it won't be Khan's wang).

"Mark Sultan" was in fact "BBQ" as he was in Toronto at Rancho Relaxo two weeks prior. It was him on guitar and snare drum with 2 pals helping out on either side of him. It was a fine reminder of his stellar voice and songwriting but there was no "Shake Real Low" and again ol' Montreal Mark felt the need to mess around with his songs - speed 'em up, slow 'em down, stop 'em halfway - as if he's either tired already of his old catalog or wants to mess around with his tight little fan base. Also the contrast of seeing this act from a place like Rancho to a place like MHOW was noticeable: despite MHOW's fantastic acoustics, it was a little too large to absorb Sultan's pocket-full-of-energy.

And why was there some apparent of rule of no King Khan & BBQ during the night? Come on boys, you're in the same room.

Georgiana Starlington is a country-punk act. The front gal looks like a 60's/70's Nashville star and is drunk like one too and her band is deliberately sloppy. I suppose I can look up where this is from (and I will) but I'll just go ahead and say Atlanta and lob this shtick in with that crude garage scene down south that was fun for about 10 minutes before every mustache-and-big-sunglasses scenester made it as uncool as the sloppy music. Looking it up...hmm...they appear to be locals. And it appears this is a band name, not the name of the chick. I better go re-edit this paragraph. OK, done. Well I'm glad that's settled.

"You've Got To Make Them Move": Metric and the History of Dance-Rock (from Eclectic Six)

As a favor to friends, I wrote a piece over at The Eclectic Six that gives a once-over to the new Metric record and putting it, and the band's entire discography, in the context of rock music and dancing. The historical scope of the piece makes it a little different than what I write here obviously but it's still worth posting about here on the ol' blog.

Meanwhile, Metric released a video to go along with "Help I'm Alive":

The Sonic Parthenon Playlist: Late April 2009

Army Navy - "Saints"
It's really come to be that today's Indie rock was yesterday's radio hit. In another time and place, this easy California power pop number would have stood atop rock radio. Today, it's an Indie cut. Go figure. Macho men may not dig it, but it's a sweet sound to be passed around, that's for sure.

Metric - Fantasies
The first big candidate for album of the year, Fantasies proves that Metric is indeed making its mark as one of THE bands of this decade. It's one of those fine tuned affairs, well-crafted mixes of rock and dance, and it provides endless loops of melodies to treasure. "Help, I'm Alive", "Sick Muse", "Satellite Mind", and "Gimme Sympathy" are hits tried and true, "Collect Call" is the slick, sensual pop ballad to think about, and it all culminates in the anthem-ready "Stadium Love". This one will be on all year.

Knight School - "Pregnant Again"
If BBQ or Biram were into the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, this is what it would sound like. Thanks to Oh My Rockness for alerting me to this one, it's been a frequent diddy to hum these last couple months.

The National - "So Far Around The Bend"
Dark Was The Night - the AIDS charity comp produced by the Dessner brothers in the National is a large box of contemplative, impressive Indie sounds (especially the Justin Vernon tracks) but the Dessners and their bandmates run roughshod over their friends with this one amazing single that is as good as just about anything this band has produced and that is a high mark to follow.

Bob Dylan - songs from Together Through Life
"Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" is really all it takes to prove that the old man is still living high off his Time Out of Mind rebirth as a bluesman.

Funeral Party - "Car Wars"
Remember a band called the Music? This band sounds just like that band. You'd have thought the 80's dance-pop revival of the last couple years would have kept the Music in the scene but they turned rock with "Freedom Fighters" and then disappeared. These guys also sound like the Rapture. Remember the Rapture? I miss those guys.

The Redwood Plan - "Something to Prove"
A deliberately cheesy anthem song made special by an oddly-voiced female who enunciates every word so succinctly, she sounds like a quaint woman not really involved in the rock scene but discovering the inner Joan Jett inside her.

Sonic Parthenon in Toronto: Quintron & Miss Pussycat @ The Horseshoe Tavern

Quintron & Miss Pussycat; Psychedelic Horseshit; CATL
@ The Horseshoe Tavern
Toronto, ONT - April 18, 2009

The Louisiana machine that is Quintron & Miss Pussycat is part art house spectacle, part dance/garage madness. Imagine some junk yard greaser with a penchant for mad scientist gizmo-theatrics and a taste for some hot beats and that's Quintron in a nutshell. Halfway to steampunk with his assortment of contraptions on stage (which doesn't even include Miss Pusscat's getup), the focus would be all visual if it wasn't for the solid, booty-shaking beats crossed with bluesy roars. While I could personally do without the long trippy puppet-show at the beginning, it was certainly one hell of a good time. I just wish I had brought my dancing shoes.

Too bad you can't see Quintron's lightbulb, rotating, record player electro-device to the left.

Psychedelic Horseshit has an apt name. Which wouldn't be entirely true except that each song began with a lot of rock n roll promise before devolving into a god-awful mess.

CATL were THE band of this Toronto trip. Straight-up hard rocking garage blues, this trio belted it out equally on the vicious slide guitar and the 60's organ. Playing on the crowd floor lent a juke joint vibe, and this band proved that no matter how many times this genre can exhaust itself, there's always someone to come around and give it a good, swift, needed kick in the ass.

CATL!

Sonic Parthenon in Toronto: BBQ; The Box Elders @ Rancho Relaxo

BBQ; The Box Elders; Pirate Rock; City Sweethearts
@ Rancho Relaxo
Toronto, ONT - April 17, 2009

Mark Sultan modified his one-man band moniker by adding a couple band members to his routine but he is still the heart and soul of his own music. By adding a little extra juice though, the ol' Montreal salty dog brought out the oomph in his compositions, and sort of secretly reminded all those in the know about the truth regarding that duo he's in (the secret being: he's the better songwriter, but don't tell the hipsters).

BBQ @ Rancho Relaxo
Photo by Christina Wozniak

The Box Elders sounded to me like another rehash of the Black Lips, but with better vocals and more refined devotion to the 60's garage they are culling from. But don't listen to me: this Omaha trio had the crowd in the palms of their hands.
Pirate Rock are not good. Next.
City Sweethearts are a typical Toronto garage punk scene band. No more, no less.


The scene at Rancho Relaxo
Photo by Ivy Lovell

Neko Case; Joan as Police Woman @ Nokia Theater

Neko Case; Joan as Police Woman
@ Nokia Theater Times Square
New York, NY - April 14, 2009

Neko Case's voice trumps every single word used for positive description. No word that currently exists in the English language (and possibly any other language for that matter) would adequately describe the woman's voice. And for her to maintain that voice live, as she does on record, only amplifies the measure. That being said, this isn't entirely her show. Neko essentially co-hosts the set with background singer Kelly Hogan, whose own pipes just about match the star's. Though perhaps this sharing of the spotlight isn't too surprising. After all, Neko used to have her backing band's name in the sales pitch (the Boyfriends), and she continues to team up with the New Pornographers. But even with all the spotlight sharing, Neko's captivating songwriting and that voice...oh that voice...radiate more brilliantly than the woman's red hair.

Not to be outdone however is Joan Wasser. Unlike her Bowery Ballroom headlining show last fall, Joan as Police Woman shrunk her band to a trio of fine gentlemen, stripping her songs to the bare essentials. This especially worked on the soul and R&B numbers, showcasing Joan's deceptively fun voice as it frolicked amidst the smooth yet titilating vibe of the music.

Bishop Allen @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Bishop Allen; Team B; Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
@ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY - April 4, 2009

Bishop Allen began their show with a 60's pop vibe, slightly California-ish via the Byrds, and slightly Herman's Hermits. The middle of the set felt a little broader in scope, with dashes of Britpop sprinkled about. In total, it felt like what a quintessential Indie pop band should sound like. The band's level of professionalism is something to behold, as they hit all their marks with relative ease. Whether it was "Click Click Click Click Click" or "Like Castanets" or new winners like "The Ancient Sense of Common Things", there was a great sense of polish to the whole affair. But it was far from sterile, as the band's purity shun through.

Team B did themselves a great deal of service with their horns and eclicetism but a lot of their set ran a bit dry.

Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band were a little loud for the enviorns and some of the pounding became a bit weary, but at other times they hit their stride. Nice matching vests too. The drummer is 14?! Crazy.

The Hold Steady @ Irving Plaza

The Hold Steady; The Rosewood Thieves
@ Irving Plaza
New York, NY - March 30, 2009

It was fitting that the 1-year anniversary concert of New York's very revivalist rock station, WRXP, would feature the most revivalist band around - the Hold Steady. If there is one thing that this band displays over and over and over again, is what a picture perfect portrait they are of bar band/classic rock/punk. At least in terms of the sounds they are suckers for (those Tad Kubler solos are sicker than ever). On the other hand, I've come to the conclusion that if Craig Finn sang about Ingmar Bergman and sex instead of John Cassavettes and drugs, he'd really just be Woody Allen - and that's not exactly following the rock n' roll playbook. The mere fact that after 7 or 8 Hold Steady experiences I can still find this stuff relevatory, is a testament to this band's depth.
From the set list, the appearance of "Don't Let me Explode" was a nice surprise - one of these embedded Separation Sunday tracks that grow on you and bloom some years after you first heard it. And after a year on the bench, "Killer Parties" was brought onto the field (or the ice if you prefer) to resume its rightful spot as the finale - and the band brought it back in its most intense form yet, the resounding flourish ricocheting off the crowd and around Irving Plaza, a swelling of the joy that Craig also felt the need to remind us of, something he hasn't done in quite awhile.

Rosewood Thieves sound like Bob Dylan 1965-1976. That's it. That's exactly what they sound like. They're good at it. But that's what they sound like. No room for anything to else say about them. That's it. Quite a box if you ask me. But a very good box all the same.