The Dirtbombs; Dennis Coffey @ The Bell House

The Dirtbombs; Dennis Coffey; the Step Kids
@ The Bell House
Brooklyn, NY - June 4, 2011

Remember when the Dirtbombs played New York every few months? Yes those were indeed the days. Certainly those were the days for this particular publication. But nowadays the Dirtbombs come around only ever so often. Here came that sound again, but affixed to a new record, a techno-covers LP called Party Store and a new bass player, Chris Sutton, thereby creating Line-Up Number 20.
The first half hour of the set was devoted to the new, and admittedly challenging, record. The conversion of digital music to analog instrumentation is an impressive feat to pull off but if this isn't your thing then it can wear on you. The second half of the show was, at Mick called it to the crowd, "the hits". A quick mix of songs from the other LP's and their treasure trove of singles - driven forcefully by both the change-up from playing Party Store and the long time since the last time playing live - felt very, very right.


Mick smiling about something as the Dirtbombs return to Brooklyn (maybe it was being subject of the first Sonic Parthenon-taken photo at a concert in several years).

Motor City session man Dennis Coffey played some very cruising funk, soul, and jam Jazz with his large band. Made for driving a big car down a big avenue and cool all the way. This is not a style of music I hear live very often but it's certainly something to love each time.

The Step Kids out of Connecticut play some tripped-out psych soul and funk, aided by visual effects. The more sludgey stuff wasn't for me but the faster and more pop stuff reminded me of a good night on the old Soul Train with Don Cornelius.

The Dirtbombs; Davila 666 @ Knitting Factory

The Dirtbombs; Davila 666
@ Knitting Factory
Brooklyn, NY - February 25, 2010

After a relatively lengthy gap since their last New York performance (15 months), the Dirtbombs made what I think was their Williamsburg debut on a late, snowy, Thursday night at the recently relocated Knitting Factory. In a much more important first, yours truly saw a changed Dirtbombs line-up for the first time in his fandom as Zach Whedon now patrols bass to Mick's left. The kid is a Dirtbombs natural, following and anchoring in all the right parts, and he can take a solid leap off a drum kit. The band went to the well for this special free show that had a couple of corporate sponsors - delivering a "this is how we do" set in their more rollicking, stuck-in-thee-garage mode of things that they change up with the more towering, rock-your-world mode they were in on the last major tour. The appearance of "What You Got" was the highlight of the night, and this ought to be a future set-list standard, especially considering the extra stompy opening. A cover of the ol' "Daddy Rolling Stone" was on the bill too which made for a pleasant surprise.

Davila 666 are Puerto Ricans from Puerto Rico who play garage rock. The sloppier Black Lips-esque stuff went on a bit too long, but the more tight, chord-focused purer punk songs were borderline excellent. I can't tell if they are singing in English or Spanish. It's all "awargahawarhaha". Which, when you think about it, is the universal language of garage punk anyway.

Sonic Parthenon's The Year In Music 2008: Part 2

Carbon/Silicon
The pie-eyed idealistic lyrics may have been dopey even in our cynical-smashing Obama age, but "The News" and "Why Do Men Fight?" summoned the heart and spirit of Mick Jones' and Tony James' old bands, and served as anthems in this volatile election year.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Did the title track of Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! sound corny at first? Yes. Did it grow on you? Of course it did. Did the album turn out to be a smashing success, maybe the best of Cave's illustrious career? Seems like it. Did last year's turn as Grinderman have an effect on the Bad Seeds? One would guess so. Is not "More News From Nowhere" one of the best long songs ever made? Damn right it is. And you knew the live show was going to be good, no questions needed to be asked.

Chairlift
"Bruises" is certainly what this Colorado-based, naturally-Brooklyn-situated Ipod band is known for, but beneath the quick hype and sold out shows is a solid, little sweet natured pop band. Listen to "Planet Health" if you don't believe me, yah.

Celebration
Based on one single performance at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in July, and nothing more, Celebration made their mark on 2008. Truly mesmerizing and intoxicating, Katrina Ford and company should be coming back very strong very soon.

Clare & The Reasons
The Movie came out in 2007 but no matter, Clare Muldaur is one of New York's signature songstresses, an ambassador of shameless, authentic love and love of sweet, elegant pop music, and the live set at Joe's Pub in June proved it.

Elvis Costello
"Stella Hurt" was the near-gem off of Momofuku, a record inspired by Costello's duet with Jenny Lewis on the fun and fancy free "Carpetbagger" from her Acid Tongue LP. And then Elvis went ahead and became the new great American talk-show host. Another good year for our man Elvis.

DeVotchKa
With A Mad and Faithful Telling, DeVotchKa returned to the scene but it was their sparkling live show at Terminal 5 that sealed the deal. With a strangely easy mix of showmanship and stealth, Nick and the gang will continue their run in support of the record well into 2009 and we're all better off for that.

The Dirtbombs
The Dirtbombs never really take time off, and they've had their slight share of attention in the past, but in 2008 there was a very strong sense that the band finally arrived. Thanks to We Have You Surrounded, there was a definite uptick in the number of people at shows, with a whiff of significant new fandom in the air. And deservedly so - some of Mick's best ever work now comes from We Have You Surrounded, an album that was too long in coming.
First going on their own triumphant tour before hitching rides with Spiritualized and TV on the Radio and finding time to do not one but two tours of duty in Europe as well as a run Down Under, the Dirtbombs never let up. They even found time to play extra shows in New York (FYI in case you didn't figure it out - despite whatever you may officially be told, New York is the home base for all intents and purposes). The Philly and Bowery shows during the April tour were two of the best nights in a history of amazing nights. Troy Gregory left the band marking the one sad spot in a year of full of highs. It hurt but as with all things Dirtbombs, things keep moving.

Drug Rug
Drug Rug kept popping up in unexpected places in various incarnations but the one thing that was consistent was their incorrigibility. Good for them.

Dream Tickets: TV on the Radio & The Dirtbombs; The Hold Steady & The Drive-By Truckers

Regionally and Sonic Parthenon-speaking:
TVOTR and the Dirtbombs:
Fri Oct 10 at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia
Tues Oct 14 at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple in Brooklyn (sold out)
(TVOTR is also playing another show at the Temple the next night, while the Dirtbombs play Maxwell's and Southpaw the next night and night after, respectively)

THS and DBT:
Thu Nov 6 and Fri Nov 7 at Terminal 5 in NYC
Sat Nov 8 at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia
Tue Nov 11 at the Phoenix in Toronto

Both tickets are full-blown tours, check the band sites for details

Troy Gregory Leaves The Dirtbombs

His last show with the band will be on September 5th at the Magic Stick in Detroit.

It's the end of an era in a way. The Dirtbombs are/were notorious for their line-up changes (only Pat has been with Mick since the beginning of the band over a decade ago) but this line-up has been the longest lasting, 4 years and a couple months. It's also kind of sad because Troy is a real gem of a person, a wonderful guy to know and to speak to. To think that he won't be the guy relaxing in the corner, then screaming his head off, being the "1, 2, 3, 4, 1!" guy, being the Down-to-Earth-Badass that he is, is just a real loss. But he has a lot of plans and we'll be hearing from him again soon.

His greatest moment in the band has to be July 2005, at the infamous Knitting Factory show in New York. When Ko slashed her fingers on her broken string a couple songs into an already tense and raucous set and blood started pouring out, Troy ran to the rescue, dashing across the stage, lifting up his in-shock band-mate over his shoulder and taking her to get help before returning to the stage and improvising with Mick for the remainder of the show. That was the night it was revealed he was Batman all along.

But in terms of being caught on camera, this past April in Toronto was a definite career highlight:

Here's to you Troy.

Recent Radio Highlights

• Lonnie Mack was profiled on Fresh Air last week. This is the guy who did everything you heard but didn't know the name of, and he's the guy who made the one truly great song by the Doors ("Roadhouse Blues") sound good.
• James Hunter was interviewed on Weekend Edition Sunday.
• Sound Opinions had a discussion about the state of rock clubs and promotion. Pennypacker has been wanting to get into the promotion business for some time but right now, it just ain't gonna happen. If someone has any good ideas, let me know.
• Tom Waits' concert in Atlanta has been archived at NPR.
• Leadbelly profiled on Soundcheck.
  
• Bon Iver on Soundcheck.
  
• Mick, Pat, and Ben of the Dirtbombs were on WNYU last week (check the 5:00 marker).
• The Hold Steady did WFUV.
  

The Dirtbombs @ The AfroPunk Festival in Brooklyn

The Dirtbombs
@ Fort Greene Park
Brooklyn, NY - 7/12/08

On a beautiful, humid-free Saturday summer late afternoon, the Dirtbombs closed out a day of Afro Punk rock n roll with a very basic but very strong set, the minimal version (meaning no "Leopard Man" intro, just right into "Start The Party"). "Stop" and "I Can't Stop Thinking About It" were brought in from the bench for some mix-up in the set and the show concluded with Ben moving his drum kit down to the grass, and playing it up with Mick. There was also a puppy running around!

Photos


The opening

The finale:

Part 2

The Dirtbombs; The Fleshtones; Titus Andronicus @ Maxwell's

The Dirtbombs; The Fleshtones; Titus Andronicus
@ Maxwell's
Hoboken, NJ - July 11, 2008

Back from their fantabulous tour of Europe, the Dirtbombs returned to their NYC-area stomping grounds only to have a Frenchman bum rush the show twice. Other than that, it was an all-Hoboken affair, with lots of sauciness up front and great sound in the back. With the use of "Leopard Man" as their opening number this tour, the Dirtbombs may not have just perfected their own way of opening a show, they may have instituted the best show opener in rock history. The goosebumps that arise when Ben starts the pounding and the crescendo to the opening chord is about as thrilling as this band has ever been. Going through this tour's standard set list, the band settled on sticking around on stage for the encore and unleashing a 35-minute version of "Kung Fu" that included a couple of extra songs thrown in and Ben's best monologue on the mic in his career. He even handled the moshers well.

The Fleshtones - the only Brooklyn band to actually be from Brooklyn - make their Sonic Parthenon debut by doing what they've been doing for the last 25 years - fun, friendly garage rock. The look of the band is, as one friend of mine put it last night, a "bit long in the tooth", but the spirit is there, the songs are fine, and any band that walks off stage and goes right to the bar is alright by me. Also, they are the second opening band I've seen in a month have their own encore. But of course that was going to happen. They're the Fleshtones.

Titus Andronicus is the next big thing in the garage rock/punk world. They play everywhere and their fan base is rabid and growing by the day. Pop music has never sounded so vociferous. The keyboards are other worldly, and the style of the band's sound transcends the hardcore genre they would seem to revel in. This could very easily be very bad but the guys make it work. Also, they come off a bit evil, which kind of helps for some reason.

Dream Ticket: The Dirtbombs; The Fleshtones; Titus Andronicus; The Mighty Fine

Maxwell's on July 11th went from your typical mostly annual Dirtbombs thing to a full blown major event with the addition of the Fleshtones and the late breaking add of Titus Andronicus and the Mighty Fine.

The Dirtbombs are in Europe now and returning to play the NYC area that weekend (Fort Greene Park the day after Hoboken, and Asbury Lanes the day after that). Then they are off on that tour with Spiritualized (which includes New York and Philly dates).
Titus Andronicus is about to kick off a ton of shows in the area with their show at at the Knitting Factory tomorrow night. They are also going on a big cross-country tour.

Dirtbombs to Tour With Spiritualized

But before they do, they'll return from Europe with dates at Maxwell's on Friday July 11, Fort Greene Park on July 12 (as part of the Afro-Punk festival on a bill that also features the Noisettes and Michelle N'degeocello), and Asbury Lanes on July 13.

Then they tour, making stops in Indianapolis, Atlanta, Nashville, Washington D.C., Cleveland, and Buffalo. In the midst of all that, the Dirtbombs will make their Terminal 5 debut on July 27th.
Live at the Troubador on May 17th:

Dirtbombs at Golden Plains; Black Lips at Other Music

Performance of "Underdog"



The Dirtbombs' session at Other Music will premiere on June 27th.
Past recorded sessions include:
White Williams
Richard Hawley
Celebration
No Age
St. Vincent

Pennypacker in Toronto: The Dirtbombs, Kelley Stoltz @ the Horseshoe

The Dirtbombs, Kelley Stoltz
@ The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
Toronto, ONT - April 16, 2008

The focal point of this show wasn't even the band. It was the crowd. Apparently a bunch of scenesters (I even heard one announce "I hope this band is good") thinking they were being cool, these morons broke the sacred rule of a Dirtbombs show: they moshed. They moshed with unauthorized drafting of innocent folks around them. They stage crashed and dived. They practically ruined the show, except that the Dirtbombs are so good, it's impossible to ruin a Dirtbombs show. Pat Pantano took it upon himself to question the heterosexuality of the troublemakers, knowing that such tactics usually disarm the meatheads who conduct such behavior. And as a band member, and not a priss in the crowd, he has some immunity from a backlash. And it worked. It also helped that the show ended with an AMAZING collaboration with the Kelley Stoltz band:

Speaking of Kelley Stoltz, third time was the charm. The band was tight, rockin', and full of pep and vigor. Everything was solid. They also sounded more pop than country on this night. Good work.

The Dirtbombs @ Bowery Ballroom

The Dirtbombs; Kelley Stoltz
@ Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY - April 11, 2008

At this point, after so many feeble attempts at being something akin to a rock critic, why bother? You all know how I feel about the music itself and about how they play live. All you need to know about tonight is that it was a much cooler, calmer performance than last night's explosion in Philadelphia. It was a straight, maybe even scaled back, performance - probably because the band was exhausted and also because the Bowery Ballroom just isn't conducive to Blackwell's shenanigans.
So let's just personalize it, in the spirit of a true blog, and not some half-assed hipster "mag" deal:

It was a night of accomplishment. After all these years, I was finally able to get a number of friends of mine to see the Dirtbombs live. It had only happened once before a couple years ago with my most notoriously stubborn and curmudgeonly rock classicist friend. The last two nights I was able to bring various sets of friends, from different walks of life, to see this unifying band. And it was a major success. Everyone was converted to a fan. Every single one. The non-rock guys loved the funky beats and the jams. The rock guys - one coming from the perspective of a musician, the other a casual fan whose personal tastes run along the lines of the Cure and the Smiths - each cited the same thing in their praise: professionalism. The casual fan even noted that having never seen either the Dirtbombs or Kelley Stoltz live before - and being a general fan of the Grateful Dead/Band style the latter works with - he was struck by how he was convinced he had just seen the highlight of the night until the Dirtbombs came on and made the whole thing look effortless (that's no slight at Stoltz, there is something admirable in what he's doing up on stage every night).
As a side bonus, 2 of the friends who did not previously know each other shared a fondness for comic books, which led to a nice discussion of the Alan Moore-infused "Leopard Man at C & A" with Mick Collins after the show (that song, by the way, as a live lead-off, is just phenomenal).

A lot of other bands have been filling the "pages" of this blog for a good while now and they are great bands all, but at the end of the night - by the power of their own performance, the warmth of the community they foster, and their ability to make true believers out of anyone - it is always satisfying to come home to the Dirtbombs.

Mondo Dirtbombs @ Johnny Brenda's

The Dirtbombs; Kelley Stoltz; Mondo Topless
@ Johnny Brenda's
Philadelphia, PA - April 10, 2008

After an intense, pitch perfect, textbook, sensational set by the Dirtbombs, sheer, utter madness ensued. Perhaps enthused by Mick Collins' declaration that this was the best Philly crowd the Dirtbombs have ever had, Ben Blackwell just about went absolutely mental. He climbed up to and then off of the balcony, making like Spiderman across the ceiling track lights, then dropping onto the stage, not breaking or spraining a bone in his body, nearly falling on Sonic Parthenon's own Jack T. Conqueror (who in turn nearly stumbled into Elwood D. Pennypacker who was busy trying to stop Troy Gregory's mic stand from falling onto drinking glasses). Eventually, JTC - the musician at heart that he is - put Troy's mic set up back in place, while Ben resumed the madness on stage leading the gang (minus Mick) in a looooong (and I mean looooooooooong) noise jam that included a couple members of the Stoltz band. Never seen anything like it.

Do you like the Grateful Dead? If so then you'll like San Franciscan-based Kelley Stoltz and his good time hearty country-ish stompy, boogie thing. A lot of it works, some of it gets a bit old.

Mondo Topless were their usual rocking self but the native Philadelphians were subjected to a surprisingly empty hall, populated by a handful of Williamsburg-wannabe hipsters and some normal rock n' roll blokes too self-concious to lead a party.

Pics

SPTV:


The great Corwin also has these clips up:
Ever Lovin' Man
Need You Tonight

A Record Setting Friday? (With Bookends)

Friday April 11 has to be one of the most packed non-festival days in NYC recent rock history. And it is bookended by some pretty impressive shows on either side of it.

Tonight, Thursday, April 10:

Gnarls Barkley @ Highline Ballroom

M.O.T.O. @ Knitting Factory

David Dondero & The Entire State of Florida @ Knitting Factory

Friday, April 11:

The Dirtbombs; Kelley Stoltz; Care Bears on Fire @ Bowery Ballroom

Pissed Jeans @ Knitting Factory

Nada Surf @ Terminal 5

The Sadies @ Luna Lounge

The Nouvelas @ Maxwell's

Man Man; Yeasayer @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple

David Dondero & The Entire State of Florida @ Union Hall

Ambulance Ltd @ Mercury Lounge

NYC Smoke @ Lucky Cat

Disco Biscuits @ Nokia Theater

Saturday, April 12:

Hot Chip @ Terminal 5

The Giraffes; Wormburner @ Mercury Lounge

Disco Biscuits @ Nokia Theater

Dirtbombs Nearly Destroy Other Music

The Dirtbombs
@ Other Music
New York, NY - April 7, 2008

Ahhhhhhhhhhh all is right with this very wrong world. The Dirtbombs returned to the island of Manhattan for the first time in a very long time, playing on solid ground at the epicenter of the Hipsterverse, the Other Music record shop on East 4th St. Rather than cater to the arms-crossed, chuck-taylor mode of music loving that emanates from the store, the band brought their loud, raw, distorted, yet gripping hooks to bear, tearing up (almost literally) the site. Playing We Have You Surrounded from front to back, the gang have the riffs down on most of it ("I Hear The Sirens" has arguably surged past "Wreck My Flow" as the standout of standouts), they are jamming the hell out of all of it, and they are getting a little rage out too - Ben nearly literally bringing down the house with his upside down drumming and throwing, Pat climbing the walls and tapping on the record shelves. In case you didn't know it before, you know it now: The Dirtbombs are back.

Dream Ticket: The Dirtbombs and Mondo Topless

Philadelphia, Johnny Brenda's, Thu April 10th. Classic.

SP-tone News!

• The new video for Black Kids' "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You" features a reworked version of the song for a new single release, and it sounds awful, especially the lead singer's voice (I could care less what his name is right now, he stole my friend's image).
• Well the secret's out. Zooey is playing Glasslands on Monday night. DON'T COME.
  
• Langhorne Slim is going to be on David Letterman on March 26th!
• After a recent ranting about children's punk acts, Pennypacker was disturbed to learn the opening slot for the Dirtbombs Bowery show has gone to local kid-punks Care Bears on Fire. On the one hand, it's not good. On the other hand, they are called Care Bears on Fire!!!
  
• De Novo Dahl and the Orion Experience are now opening for Jesse Malin at the Bowery Ballroom on April 26th.
  
• Drug Rug has been added to the Long Blondes' shows in May.
• The R.E.M./Modest Mouse/National June 19th NYC venue has been announced: MSG
  

Other Music Loses Points

The very center of the Hipsterverse, the beacon from which all Indie snobbery and coolness emanates - that has exploded into a multimedia powerhouse (along with Pitchfork and Stereogum now) just lost some brownie points.

Dirtbombs drummer Ben Blackwell, keeping a diary of the band's current Aussie and New Zealand tour on his blog, just reported that Other Music is following Jay Reatard and his band around on their own Down Under tour. Jay, as most of you know by now, is - along with the Black Lips and Be Your Own Pet - one of the garage punk successes that have been adopted by the tastemaker set. Other Music, which should be a standard bearer of quality, earnest, authentic rock n roll, is apparently as shallow as the scene it covers scenesters who suddenly flocked to these bands (I did not mean that original bit at all, that must have been what they call a Freudian slip):

There was some cameraman following Jay around for a documentary that Other Music is working on and the dude was totally clueless. He provided for a few good laughs, asking people what their tattoos meant, not knowing which band member was Jay and generally acting annoying to the nth degree.

Sad.

Hopefully, the mothership will have its act together and know who the Dirtbombs are when the band plays the NYC store on April 7.

Classic Clip: The Gories at the Bank in New YorkCity - July 1993