Four Shows & A Wedding (No Funerals)

There are three shows that I went to in Brooklyn within the past two weeks. Actually, that number was almost four but I was too tired and lazy after a friend’s daylong wedding to drunkenly walk twenty minutes to see a band called The New Bums. The thought of watching two dudes noodle on acoustic guitars for over an hour didn’t hold the same allure after watching two like minded and aged people take adult steps in their lives toward eternal domestic bliss. Granted, one of those noodlin' dudes was Ben Chasney from Six Organs, Comets On Fire, Northampton, MA, etc but day drinking has an effect on you that makes activity very unappealing while also making things like pizza delivery and sleep paramount in your mind. Did I miss a good show? I don’t know. Did I have Best Pizza and watch the Walking Dead before falling asleep at a decent hour? Yes, I did.

Chronologically, the first and last shows of the three that I actually made it to were at the same venue, Baby’s All Right. A kinda new venue that opened during CMJ this past fall (don’t quote me on that but I think so… if I’m right, Merge Records did a showcase there debuting Ex-Hex to NYC) in a moneyed part of Williamsburg. About one block away from the old school, world renowned Peter Luger’s steakhouse (ask your grandparents) and across the street from newer places known for housing Busta Rhymes or selling overpriced oysters and expensive cocktails to fucking pricks and douche bags. Honestly, an odd block to be trying to squeeze a music venue with indie to avant bookings but that’s what’s happening. It would seem they’re going full bore with happening, having a huge blue neon sign that belts out “All Right” to the world which can be seen while walking over the Williamsburg bridge. (Maybe from a car too but I can only independently verify the walking part.) Basically, it’s not hiding and it’s not embarrassed to be seen. Which is good, because it’s a big space that needs to pay rent each month with a huge bar in the front section with a small but decent menu and a full liquor license. The club part of this place is actually about a third of the total space sealed off from the other two thirds by a closed door with a security detail and ticket seller. As a judgment based on my two experiences here, the crowds separated by this door are worlds apart. Given its location, the non-club portion of Baby’s All Right seems to be very welcoming to the cocktail crowds it finds itself adrift in. A large bar with top shelf liquor and a lux interior is a recipe for success in a land of disposable incomed lost souls with no real opinions on culture or life. Williamsburg is a real life Field of Dreams- if you build it, they will come. Except in this version, it’s not ball fields and Shoeless Joe Jackson but high-rise condos and legendary assholes. Not exactly a Field of Dreams this time but a City of Nightmares, perhaps?

On the other side of that door, on the club side, appeared to be the area’s other half. The beer drinking crowd that is drawn there by Baby’s All Right eclectic range of shows on their schedule. Definitely a less well-dressed and lighter in the pocket crowd, they were however an example of the now "scoliosised" backbone of the community that made Williamsburg an interesting place to live in before the sky rocketing condos and rents. As stated Ben Chasney’s New Bums played there, Mark McGuire formerly of Emeralds had a show not too long ago, Merge Records was convinced to play a showcase there and I had the pleasure of seeing both Gary Higgins and Stephen O’Malley on their stage within the last fortnight.

Gary Higgins, a picked out of obscurity artist from the 1970s whose one and only epic lp Red Hash was reissued by the venerable Drag City Records in the aughts. This plucking seemingly out of the same tradition that saw 1960s folk artists seeking out and rediscovering Mississippi Delta blues singers of the 1920s/30s. Interest in the reissue (championed by both the aforementioned Ben Chasney and Jim O’Rourke) started with the intense and dark lp itself but was also aided by Higgins legendary drug and prison addled past. This momentum building up to finding the man, getting him back on stage and having him write and record another album. Now, almost ten years after this initial resurgence, Gary Higgins set out on a string of dates that promised the playing of Red Hash in it’s entirety. In Brooklyn, he did just that. Surprisingly, with the help of two of his friends, the three-man team of acoustic guitarist played an adequate version of the record. While definitely glad to see Gary Higgins on stage as a personal triumph for him and as a feel good story, it didn’t elicit any personal feelings of “this was worth the trip out here” or “better than the record”. His two friends on stage (notice I did not say fellow musicians) seemed to either be his AA sponsors or just some friends of his that had played guitar at some point in their lives. Most of the time, it seemed like Gary Higgins was taking the rhythm guitar lines and letting his stage companions take the more elaborate parts. Which is fine, he was singing after all (very well at that) but it was still a little disappointing to not just see the singer/songwriter doing it all himself onstage. Overall, it was an experience where I was happy to have supported the man but could’ve lived without the show as the record Red Hash on its own is a certifiable classic that doesn’t need any further embellishment.

Stephen O’Malley, on the other hand, is an artist that you should see whenever you have the chance. This has nothing to do with his stage presence or any live theatrics; it is solely based on his musical output. His fuzzy, droning, Marshall-stacked riffs are a physical presence that need to be both heard and felt. While playing a solo show, Mr. O’Malley is better known as one half of the Southern Lord doom collective Sunn (or Sunn O)))) ). This is heavy amplifier worship made by the sound of one guitar through a series of pedals and electronic paths bleeding out of stacks and stacks of vintage amps. Massive rumblings that go through the audience out into the ether and directly into the ground to the molten core of this planet and any others in the near vicinity. It’s almost too much power for one man to hold but Stephen O’Malley seems to take it all in stride. If this show also included his doom partner Greg Anderson, it would have been billed as a Sunn show and the venue would have been bigger, the tickets would have been sold out and hooded figures in monk’s robes would have been part of the theatrics. Instead, this was billed as Stephen O’Malley solo, tickets were still available after the show ended and the only costume on stage was jeans and a NEU! t-shirt. It is truly a rare treat to experience the meditative powers of guitar and amp through a skilled musician’s hands in a room smaller than the sound created. It was with great satisfaction that I knew that someone’s Kettle One martini was vibrating to the point of movement on their table just through that door into the non-club portion of Baby’s All Right. As not even a bank vault lined with mattresses could have kept the O’Malley from escaping that room, there was most likely a lot of precious drinks left un-sipped on tables as unaccustomed ears headed for less distorted air elsewhere in a hurry. Without question, a full 100% recommendation can be given to anyone who is considering seeing any part of the Sunn team on their own, it’s not an experience to be missed.

The third show of this past half month was at the long running Glasslands venue on Kent Ave near South 2^nd street in Williamsburg. While it has changed hands from it’s original owners, it has been in the neighborhood for a long while, it remains open and is still going strong. The new band of veteran musician John Schmersal, Vertical Scratchers, brought me to once again cross the threshold of the Glasslands door. Schmersal, now 40 as he proclaimed to the 50-person crowd, is a veteran to the indie circuit having been in both Brainiac and Enon for the better part of the past twenty years. Touch n’ Go’s Brainiac being almost a mythical band at this point as they were ripped apart in their prime by the accidental death of frontman, Tim Taylor, in 1997. Enon was formed a couple years later, which kept Schmersal occupied but never reached the heights that Brainiac could/would have reached. Regardless, Schmersal has remained a professional musician and, after a few years touring with Caribou, he is now a signed artist on Merge records as the guitarist/vocalist half of the band Vertical Scratchers along with drummer Chris Beaulieu.

Their debut record Daughter of Everything just came out last month and it contains 15 blasts of pop chunks that mostly end before a third minute of existence. Songs with a strong strum and beat that create spaces for both stop and start jumps and explosive choruses with inventive lyrics that easily get stuck in your head. A lot of reviews mention a Guided By Voices approach to songwriting which seems reinforced by the appearance of Robert Pollard and Todd Tobias on one track, and I am not going to disagree. Just keep in mind that this is something different, Guided By Voices don’t own the rights to short lively pop songs (yet they are the definition of it done almost perfectly). With this record, Vertical Scratchers has cut it’s own niche into the belt of pop, centered around Schmersal’s guitar sound and Beaulieu’s excited drumming.

As a live band, the music is only enhanced by two obviously comfortable (and most likely somewhat jaded) musicians owning their instruments, songs and space on stage. A grizzled veteran, Schmersal handled the surprisingly small crowd, hecklers, between song banter, an obviously raw and raspy voice and guitar heroics perfectly. Displaying a confidence, charm and aggressiveness that is the right of any 40 year old indie-level career musicians. In my opinion, he carried a noticeably similar stage presence to that of Mike Donovan of the Sic Alps.  Donovan is another careerist who oozes comfort on stage while simultaneously demanding your attention and respect. The huge payday and stadium crowds may never come but their years up on the stage shine through like a diamond in the rough. As Vertical Scratchers only have about thirty something minutes of material, the set was short but memorable. If they can keep it together, this might be Schmersal’s best chance at success since the demise of Brainiac.

That’s three great to decent shows in a short period of time. Still, I somehow can’t help but feel like I might have missed a really good show in the New Bums. I guess it’s the ones that you let get away that stick with you the longest. No matter, more shows to come- there always are.

What's Left Of The Dial? WFMU

WFMU is a Jersey City, New Jersey based radio station that is a rarity in this day and age, it’s on the radio and actually worth listening to- a station that is both independent and free form. Originally part of an academic institution, it went rouge when the college closed around it and morphed into a non-profit, listener-supported example of how to do things right.

As is the case with all non-corporate, fully independent companies, it keeps just a few salaried employees with volunteers to flesh out the humanity needed to run a business of its size. Also, like all other similar companies, they need to conduct PBS-like pledge drives to force the funds for it’s annual budget out of the pockets of the very people who feel WFMU's existence is a necessity- the listener. After over 20 years of doing just that, WFMU has it down to a science. As opposed to slowly doling out the pain and continuously and consistently asking for money throughout the year, ‘FMU has reduced this guilt making pleading to just a two week window in late winter for it’s annual fundraising marathon. Sure, they have other revenue producing events throughout the year like the Manhattan based record fair and a silent fundraiser that keeps it exactly that- quiet and off the air- but this annual marathon is exactly what keeps them on the air. Without a successful marathon, there would cease to be a WFMU.

When the mighty ‘FMU finds itself on its knees begging for its existence, Jersey locals and Hoboken legends- Yo La Tengo- seem to always be around to lend them a hand. For a good long while now, YLT have given their time and encyclopedic knowledge of music over to WFMU’s airwaves for a one night only, unique performance. A full setlist of nearly on-the-spot listener requested covers sent into the station by any means necessary and for any price as long as it’s at least $100. Essentially, WFMU is given the power to transform Yo La Tengo for one night into a jukebox that only takes $100 bills or higher.

This arrangement has become an expected and highly anticipated tradition of the marathon, so much so that listeners know that their minimum $100 pledge/song request doesn’t come with any guarantees it will get on the air. Having been in the room this year, I can confirm that having your song played is definitely like winning the lottery. (Well, maybe the odds are more in the ballpark of winning $50 off a scratch off and not the whole millions fantasy thing.) This year, it all went down on a Wednesday night instead of the usual TGIF night spot, to accommodate YLT’s jaunt through Australia starting later that week. As last year's version of this night was a “live from Germany” over the phone situation, 2014 was a glorious return to the ‘FMU studios for YLT. From the tight quarters of the studio made even tighter with the overflowing mass of humanity vying for a view of the band, it appeared the ‘FMU staff missed having them in the studio last year too.

Joined for this performance by band-friend Bruce Bennett who supplied more guitar, vocals and musical brain power to the core trio of bassist/vocalist James McNew, drummer/vocalist Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan mastermind/vocalist, they had set up in a corner of the studio near a window looking over a snowy parking lot. They huddled together going over a multitude of white paper slips with song titles written on them by volunteers manning the phones. The night consisted of mini-sets of four to five songs each with more of those white papers being handed to the band after each one. As the DJs that night continued their plea for more pledges to roll in between mini-sets, the sounds of the band trying to remember the right chords, melodies and bass lines for the next batch of songs become the distant soundtrack to the pleading for more cash.

It was a rare treat to be in a small room as a professional band scrambled to identify, remember and assemble a song or even memory of a song in their heads. While there were many examples of this throughout the night, some of the more memorable were watching Georgia take vocal cues from Ira and James while trying her best to put together the lyrics to “Thirteen” by Big Star, watching James teach Ira the chords to Poison’s “Talk Dirty To Me” and the effort to make Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die” anywhere near what it should be without a string section. Also a highlight in itself was Georgia’s ability to get out from behind her drums after a mini-set, discuss the upcoming songs and be good to go live on the air without even once taking a practice beat on her actual set. Simply put, just the gained insight into their band dynamics was worth the trip to New Jersey alone. While not surprising at all, it was interesting to see each member take the lead an equal amount of times during the many band discussions with no friction or bullshit between them during a somewhat stressful time- mostly smiles, laughs and good vibes all around.

Honestly, how could anyone in that room or through the radio not feel the same positive atmosphere? A sense of community was being built right through the airwaves combining the efforts of Yo La Tengo, WFMU and the listeners themselves. WFMU’s best and brightest’s requests were being filtered through YLT’s mind to create a varied, fun and eclectic setlist. Roughly 30 songs were played in total followed by a 10 minute medley referencing multiple song requests that might have been gotten to had the band been able to play on throughout the night until the morning sun. Highlights of the night included stellar takes on “David Watts” by The Kinks, Velvet Underground’s “What Goes On”, Pere Ubu’s “Heart Of Darkness”, The dB’s “Black & White” and a Crazy Horse-like extended jam on Neil Young’s “Hey Hey My My”.

A completely unique experience thanks to WFMU- an institution that many of your favorite bands and best friends probably endorse wholeheartedly already. (If not, maybe it’s time to reassess your friends and favorite bands.) The best part is you still have time to make a difference and donate. The website WFMU.org lays it all out for you and makes it really easy to pledge your allegiance. The WFMU marathon continues through Sunday, 3/9, so be sure to listen via the dial (91.1 in NJ/NY) or stream it online at WFMU.org.