It wasn’t a happy coincidence that Dam-Funk, California boogie-funk filthmaster extraordinaire, was jamming out in front of a background of lazers, stars streaking into the cosmos and other items of ’80s haze. As he hopped around, jauntily doing some version of a funkified jig, it also occurred to me that other fitting elements surrounded Damon Riddick. Or more specifically, his head; the last time New York City experienced the funk as Dam-Funk knows it, it was one of his first solo live appearances. He was solid enough, but also a little stilted, hair tied back so not to get in the way of his intricate keytar work. This time however the mane was out in all its electro-shocked glory, proudly cascading sideways as well as down. And when Dam-Funk’s hair speaks, you’ve just gotta know that the funk is about to be thrown down.
Rev. Moose caught up with the Cribs’ Gary Jarman when his band of brothers (plus Johnny Marr) was in town a few weeks back. Gary thought that Moose’s name was Brian. Fancy that.
Since its formation nearly three years ago in Athens, Georgia’s Twin Tigers has toured with The Antlers, undergone several line-up changes, opened for Les Savy Fav and released an EP, 2008’s Curious Faces / Violet Future to critical acclaim. Now, the musical creation of guitarist and vocalist Matthew Rain and bassist Aimee Morris recently released its debut full-length, Gray Waves via Old Flame Records.
Front man Matthew Rain spoke with CMJ about the band’s November tour with The Antlers and Minus The Bear saying “it was the best experience that we’ve had so far as a band,” and about the Tiger’s pre-band time working at restaurants his-favorite dishes being “big mama blue cake and steamed broccoli with lemon dijon butter.” Rain also spoke about the band’s musical influences, the inspiration behind the name Twin Tigers and the meanings behind some of Gray Waves’s tracks, the single “Red Fox Run” is “about sex in cars,” while “Sexless Love” is a love song inspired by a beautiful summer day.
In the spring you guys will play SXSW, supporting Gray Waves. Are there any surprises in store, and what bands are you looking forward to seeing there?
We are going to play songs off the album, but we will definitely be debuting a couple of new songs at SXSW. As far as bands that are hoping to see, we want to see the Liars, No Age, Bear in Heaven and Ume.
Gray Waves combines elements of psychedelic, indie rock with heavier instrumentals, like the blaring electric guitars that can be heard on several tracks. How did you come up with this unique fusion?
We wanted to capture the elements of noise-heavy music with the melodies and vocal styles of pop music we have always listened to. You don’t really plan out your sound, you just bring like minded people together and it just happens.
The title track, “Gray Waves,” is also quite unique. What was the motivation behind this song? And when the chorus asks “Do you wanna know?,” what is this in reference to?
I’ve heard it said that you never really know anybody. Sometimes there are things that you can’t explain. These words are about that feeling and this song really captures the overall feeling of the record.
Your sound is reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth. But who are your real influences? And if you could tour with any band living or dead, who would it be and why?
Both of those bands are influences. I really love the Beatles more than anyone. I think Velvet Underground, Bowie, Fleetwood Mac and R.E.M. are some of the defining influences to our sound. I would probably like to have toured with the Stones at their peak.
I read that Matthew and Aimee were in separate bands when they formed Twin Tigers, later adding Doug and Forrest. What made you guys decide to come together?
I had written a batch of songs that I hadn’t played for my band at the time. Aimee and I were living in the same house at that time and I was just playing around on songs with her for fun. Long story short, things were falling apart with our other bands and we had more fun playing together. We recorded those songs and released it as an EP, Curious Faces/Violet Future. Twin Tigers went through several lineup changes around that time, but was completed about a year ago with the addition of Forrest hall and Doug Crump.
There seems to be this trend of indie bands naming themselves after animals (eg: Grizzly Bear, Bear Hands, The Republic Tigers, etc). How did you guys come up with the name Twin Tigers?
I guess this trend was started in the ‘60 by the Monkees and the Byrds and continued by the Scorpions in the ’70s. Maybe it’s secret tribute to those bands. The name was just based on the idea of two wild animals with the same heart. I don’t think that anyone names their band with another band in mind.
Wild Beasts @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg, Feb 28, 2009
The Wild Beasts show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg left me with even more respect, surprisingly enough, than I already had for this quartet from Kendal, England. When last I saw the Wild Beast it was at Union Pool last September, and they were amazing. Yet, it seemed like they carried themselves like guys that had won the stage by happenstance; some kind of across the pond battle of the band. Last Sunday, however, showed a band that knew exactly what they were capable of.
Owning their presence with a deftness and cool certainty that belies their relative young ages, the Wild Beasts delivered with aplomb. Vocalists Hayden Thorpe and Tom Fleming awed the crowd with their dueling falsettos and scientifically improbable counter tenors. They opened their set with “The Fun Powder Plot”; it was soaring and operatic, setting the tone for the rest of the show. I was swaying along with the rest, a sucker for that gauzy atmospheric keyboard and bass combination. Another major difference between this show and the last was the sheer size of the audience. It was good to see a band this young getting the kind of respect and turnout that they were due.
Witnessing what seemed like a Druid procession hoping to channel the long dead ghosts of felled forests of myth, the Wild Beasts held the audience in thrall. Ending their set with “Hooting And Howling,” extolling the merits of good natured larceny and arson. The Wild Beasts seem to be operating from a place that more established bands would do well to take note of. Hyper literate, non-pretentious lyrics that are justified by Thorpe’s and Fleming’s range and abilities as vocalists abound and make this band the draw that they are.
More than 20 musicians from all corners of the music sphere shared the stage on Tuesday at the hallowed Carnegie Hall to pay tribute to rock ‘n’ roll’s original equipment smashers, The Who. The concert was organized my Michael Dorf (a la Knitting Factory and City Winery), and the net proceeds were split between 6 organization all geared towards children and the arts/music.
It was a night of pure entertainment, a turning pinwheel of performers playing a selection of The Who’s best tunes, covering songs that span the band’s twenty some odd year career (with a slight emphasis on Tommy and Who’s Next). Asaf Avidan belted out an eerie rendition of “Naked Eye”, Bob Mould owned “I Can’t Reach You” (reminding everyone what it means to be a front man), and Willie Nile (accompanied by a lone crutch?) laid out an amped up version of “The Kids Are Alright”, but in a night filled with stars, the major standouts were ALL surprises.
The first jaw dropper of the show was the Fab Faux playing “We’re Not Going To Take It”. Yes, The Beatles cover band, covering The Who in Carnegie Hall, whaaatttt. These guys were the only act to received unanimous standing ovations, and they weren’t even performing the most well known song of the night. I guess playing Beatles songs as often as these guys do, you get pretty damn good at those “ahhhhh-ing” harmonies, and when they went into the “See me, feel me, touch me” bit, the audience went crazy.
For the majority of the show, the younger performers were definitely overshadowed by their more seasoned counterparts, which makes sense, no harm done, some of them just couldn’t own that Roger Daltrey narcissistic swagger. That’s why, by the end of the night, when The Gaslight Anthem announced they would be playing “Baba O’Rielly” I was skeptical. Then out of nowhere, that Springsteen lover opened his mouth and belted out the timeless teenage battle cry.
But the real highlight/ surprise of the evening was the secret guest star, PATTI SMITH. She calmly wondered up to the mic and said, “Forgive me Carnegie Hall for what I am about to do”. She then proceeded to scream/spit/ crash her way through “My Generation” and ended her set by ripping off her guitar strings yelling “Rise, up rise up, rise up”. For a band that blew up a drum set on national television, I think it was a thoughtful tribute.
Set List
“Overture” from “Tommy,” Steve Bernstein and the Music Unites Choir “Eminence Front,” Living Colour
“I’m a Boy,” Sondre Lerche
“Pinball Wizard,” Kaki King
“I Can’t Explain,” the Postelles
“Naked Eye,” Asaf Avidan “
Young Man Blues”/”Old Man Blues,” Mose Allison
“I Can’t Reach You,” Bob Mould
“The Song Is Over,” Nicole Atkins
“Love Ain’t For Keeping,” Rich Pagano and the SugarCane Cups
“I Can See For Miles,” Raul Midón
“My Generation,” Bobby McFerrin
“The Seeker”/”Sparks,” the Smithereens
“The Real Me,” Matt Nathanson
“Love, Reign O’er Me,” Bettye LaVette
“Behind Blue Eyes,” Jason Isbell
“We’re Not Gonna Take It!”, the Fab Faux
“The Kids Are Alright,” Willie Nile
“Her Man’s Been Gone”/”Substitute,” Robyn Hitchcock
“Baba O’Riley,” the Gaslight Anthem
“My Generation,” Patti Smith
“Won’t Get Fooled Again,” Ensemble
Rev. Moose visited Yeasayer in their practice space a few weeks back. While we decided that it was best to take out the part where Anand uttered the words “pubic mane,” here’s the best of the rest in just under 3:30.
“Say ‘love,’ ‘love,’ ‘love,’ ‘love,’ until you fall asleep,” said Dudley Perkins a.k.a Declaime, with one arm wrapped around his first lady, Georgia Anne Muldrow. “When you wake up, what do you think you’ll be?” The main themes of tonight were no different from what G and D declare on record. “Say ‘no more war,’” Declaime (the name Muldrow used to refer to him all night, so we’ll stick with that one too) commanded. “Say ‘peace to the world.’”
Last week I had the good fortune to attend the by:Larm conference and showcase festival in Oslo. Much like our own Music Marathon, the focus is on up-and-coming artists, whether they’re brand new acts just breaking into the local scene or vets looking to break out internationally. Over 200 Scandinavian acts performed at least once (and usually twice, which is a blessing for those of us who wanted to be in several places simultaneously) over the three nights. When I went in 2008, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Lykke Li, Shining and Ida Maria were among the standouts. Below are several highlights of the 2010 incarnation.
Altaar’s candlelit stage gave the room an appropriately gloomy ambience; their deliberate, sludgy metal generally foregrounded the drums, with concrete blocks of squiggly guitar lines and minimal vocals emanating from that core. A hypnotizing, deeply satisfying experience.
That microphone stand was as annoying in real life as it is here.
To work backwards:
Daedelus works on only one setting – xxxtreme high energy. He pressed buttons of his ol’ monome (tilted forward towards the crowd so that we could see, what a gentleman) with such furious precision that the tails of his, uh, tailcoat would skip up happily, echoing what seemed to be his own delight. The LA producer oft dazes the crowd by creating live music so frenzied and/or intriguing that it is impossible to dance to other than by shuffling, and so most of us just stood and watched Alfred Darlington transport us to his own brutally happy place.
They’re not actually this washed out in real life.
Rev. Moose was finally met by a man of his own (physical) stature when he sat down for a session with pianist extraordinaire and self-proclaimed “musical genius,” Chilly Gonzales, last week at KMA Music in Times Square.
As well as learning about musical forms (that’s A-A-B-A to you), Gonzales told us why there is a direct connection between the history of potato chips and working with Jamie Lidell, as well as playing us “Chariots of Fire” (Gonzales serious-in-a- minor- key acoustic remix) and various other tunes on KMA’s fine grand piano.
On February 18, the New Found Glory 10th Anniversary tour came through NYC playing to a sold out crowd at The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza. Supporting NFG were Fireworks, Hellogoodbye and Saves the Day – more aptly referred to in recent years as “essentially the Chris Conley show,” which makes sense considering that Conley is the only remaining original member of the band and has been for quite some time.
I’m Sorry I’m Leaving, Through Being Cool and Stay What You Are all came out while I was attending high school in New Jersey. Needless to say, when I got a text from a friend at the show in Philadelphia saying that Saves the Day would be in NYC the next day, I knew I had to go.
If you want proof that Fucked Up have truly crossed over, look no further than their opening act. Actually, look no further than how said act was received. Back when they were solely the province of the violent and maladjusted (or at least the obsessed), Fucked Up’s audience would have mercilessly booed Kurt Vile out of existence. Instead, the hipster heavy crowd did what it normally does to openers it doesn’t care about; talked during his set with closed arms. (In fairness Vile, whose songs are lovely when performed acoustically but aren’t arresting enough to command the attention of the inattentive, he had his share of politely applauding fans as well.)
Fucked Up has always straddled the line between classic punk fealty and indie-leaning experimentation; with their three guitar line-up they can switch between epic, psychedelic tinted art-punk or extra brutal hardcore spasms. Both were on display on Friday. In addition to crowd-pleasing singles from their beloved breakthrough The Chemistry Of Common Life (“Crooked Head,” “Black Ebony Bones”), the sextet offered rarities like “Black Hats” for “the one guy that knows this song” and plenty of other singles from the recent compilation Couple Tracks, as well as a cover of The Sex Pistol’s “Bodies.”
But as always, you come for the tunes and you stay for the wisdom of the endlessly charming Damian “Pink Eyes” Abraham. In addition to pontificating on becoming a father as well as the future presidency of Madame Palin and the ensuing invasion of Canada, Abraham explained to the crowd that although some people have called it a gimmick, he only removed his shirt because “I’m 300 pounds. If I didn’t, I’d melt up here.” He then gestured to his tattooed, sweaty belly and glorious man-tits. “Do you think I’d give this away for free?” A consummate cr0wd-leaser, by the end of the set he thanked both the fans singing in the front of the stage as well as “the cool people in the back.”
Bear In Heaven braved the cold, snowy streets and took to the stage at a crowded Glasslands in Brooklyn Friday night. Amidst some audio problems (at one point the lead singer was singing but nothing was heard), and standing before a room of mostly motionless, cross-armed hipsters, the psychedelic rockers animatedly recreated the sound of their album Beast Rest Forth Mouth. Generating cheers from the popular trippy single “Lovesick Teenagers,” Bear In Heaven was the highlight of the five-act night, playing a solid set which included the tracks “Beast In Peace,” “Wholehearted Mess” and “Fake Out,” to name a few.
Up and comers PAPA opened the show, sticking to the psychedelic theme of the night with a killer set of percussion and guitar heavy songs, while The Secret Machines closed the show, deafening the entire room. Opening with the new single “Like I Can,” the performance (or at least the first three songs) was commendable, but left a large chunk of the crowd scattered outside trying to amend their newly-broken ears.
Continued their month long Wednesday night residency at the Brooklyn Venue Union Pool, Midnight Masses leader Autry Fulbright proved that he is an intriguing talent, if still in need of some further seasoning. (Nothing a year of tours couldn’t fix.) At the start of the show, Fulbright’s voice sounded too meek and shaky to properly own and project the warm melodies found on his recordings, and at times his band sounded more shambling than loose. But as the set continued, things got tighter and Fulbright found his voice, both literally and metaphorically. Slotted somewhere between Joy Division echo-chill and Neil Young country harmonics, Midnight Masses ran hot and cold at the same time, but won the crowd over by the end, even before guest appearances from a Zooey Deschanel look-alike and Thursday singer Geoff Rickley.
