Man Exposes Himself to Underage Girls: The Black Lips and Be Your Own Pet

Be Your Own Pet; The Black Lips; Imaginary Icons
@Southpaw
Brooklyn, NY - September 29, 2006

A night of hard rock n roll. BYOP's lead singer, Jemina Pearl, seemed quite disinterested in performing, and gimmick or not, I don't like that. Especially considering that when I saw this band in February, Jemina was rocking out on stage, having a great time. The boys in the band are getting quite good at their instruments and show potential to expand their musical horizons should they ever choose to do so.
The Black Lips have really defined themselves by now as a band that plays good songs badly. Songs like "Oh Katrina" really showcase the band's talents as a pure rock n roll band but their insistance on playing most of their songs out of tune and to distract everyone with gimmicks continues to hinder them. That being said though, if they have fun with it and their fans love it then so what. I could personally do without the smoke machine, the flashing lights, the spitting, the vomiting, the peeing, and the penis exposure but their fans seem to dig it. The underage girls who populated the crowd really seemed to love all that kind of stuff but considering that the leader of the underage girls in the crowd was Jemina Pearl, I guess it doesn't matter or mean anything.
Opening act Imaginary Icons are a straight up garage punk band with the successful ability to have all their songs stand out from each other. Led by Tom Dash, would you expect anything without substance? I think not.

AYE CAPTAIN! The Dirtbombs Take A Short Sea Voyage

The Dirtbombs; The Dansettes; The Demands
@ Maxwell's
Hoboken, NJ - July 29, 2006

The night before the Dirtbombs set sail on a cruise off the island of Manhattan, they played at the old Maxwell's stomping grounds and dusted off old chestnuts like "Little Miss Chocolate Syrup", "Stuck Under My Shoe", and "I Can't Stop Thinking About It". It couldn't have been better (except for the confusion that led to no encore but this was made up for, the next night).
Openers The Dansettes were a straight-up Motown soul revival party band. But you should have known that by now. The Demands were another straight-up band, this time pure punk rock n roll. Excellent opener.

The Dirtbombs
@ Rocks Off Concert Cruise
New York, NY - July 30, 2006

Two full sets. That's right - two full sets. With food on board. And the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline around us. Highlights included "Shake Shivaree", "If You Want", "I Want Need Love You ", all the usual, and covers "Missionary Man", "War Pigs", and "Oh Katrina" (the new great song from the Black Lips). They also did Brian Eno's "Baby's on Fire". Also per usual, they just about entirely trashed their instruments. All that was missing was a couple of captain's hats and some pirate talk.

This Week's Gigs And The Rest of the Month Preview

Alexi Murdoch @ Mercury Lounge - Wed 7/5

Mates of State @ Castle Clinton - Thu 7/6

Broken Social Scene @ Prospect Park - Thu 7/6

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Les Sans Culottes @ Magnetic Field - Fri 7/7

Tony Gilkyson @ Joe's Pub - Sat 7/8

X's second guitarist returns to New York.

Elvis Costello with Allan Toussaint @ Beacon Theater - Mon 7/10, Tue 7/11

The latest project for one of the all-time greats, this time benefitting the people of New Orleans.

Jolie Holland @ Canal Room - Tue 7/11

In the tradition of retro chanteuses, take a walk down the folk-country-jazz path with this lovely young woman. She's Blanche meets Norah Jones.

The Buzzcocks @ Warsaw - Tue 7/11

The legends returns for the second month in a row.

Beth Orton @ Webster Hall - Wed 7/12

Ani DiFranco @ Central Park Summerstage - Thu 7/13

Two folk queens in two nights.

Yo La Tengo @ Prospect Park - Thu 7/13

Electric Six;Les Sans Culottes @ Warsaw - Thu 7/13

Mission of Burma @ Warsaw - Fri 7/14

Dave Alvin @ South Street Seaport - Fri 7/14

So let's recap: The Buzzcocks, Yo La Tengo, Mission of Burma, and Dave Alvin all in one week. To say nothing of a trifecta of female folkies and an E6/LSC show to boot.

Village Voice Siren Music Festival (Art Brut, Scissor Sisters,She Wants Revenge, Tapes N Tapes, The Stills) @ Coney Island - Sat 7/15

The big festival on a packed Saturday that also features:

The Black Hollies;The Insomniacs @ Magnetic Field - Sat 7/15

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin @ Mercury Lounge - Sat 7/15

Tapes N Tapes; Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin @ Maxwell's - Sun 7/16

Rooney @ Maxwell's - Mon 7/17

John Hiatt @ Nokia Theater - Tue 7/18

Miss Alex White @ Knitting Factory - Tue 7/18

The Handsome Family @ Mercury Lounge - Thu 7/20

The Dansettes @ Magnetic Field - Mo Pitkin's - Fri 7/21

Peaches;Eagles of Death Metal @ Roseland Ballroom - Sat 7/22

The Giraffes @ Mercury Lounge - Sat 7/22

Fiona Apple;Damien Rice @ Central Park Summerstage - Wed 7/26

The Hold Steady @ Castle Clinton - Thu 7/27

The Pretenders @ Roseland Ballroom - Thu 7/27

Reigning Sound @ Union Pool - Thu 7/27

A pretty big band playing a pretty small club.

Editors @ Irving Plaza - Fri 7/28

Dot Dash (The Hentchmen, Turpentine Brothers) @ Southpaw - Fri 7/28

Bloc Party;Secret Machines @ McCarren Park Pool - Sat 7/29

The Dirtbombs;The Black Hollies;The Dansettes @ Maxwell's - Sat 7/29

The Dirtbombs @ Rocks Off Concert Cruise(Aboard the Temptress) - Sun 7/30

That's right - Dirtbombs on a boat.

Of Montral @ McCarren Park Pool - Sun 7/30

Hurricane Relief Benefit

Theresa Kereakes, underground rock n roll authority, is putting together a benefit here in New York for Monday.
For those in the area, come on down or up, rather, as it's on the Upper West Side:

Hurricane Katrina Benefit
Monday September 5th, 4pm to 8pm
Ding Dong Lounge
929 Columbus Ave (bet 105th and 106th)

DJ's rack fight
Raffle
Bake Sale
Rock n Roll Yard Sale/Record Swap

Bring stuff to donate for sale, bring $$ to buy stuff, come hungry!
All proceeds of bake sale, raffle and rock n roll yard sale go to the dispossessed.