Sonic Parthenon's The Year In Music 2008: Part 5

Magnetic Fields
"Nun's Littany" and "California Girls" - two examples of Stephen Merritt channeling the Jesus and Mary Chain and running away with it. Remember when the Raveonettes sounded like this? I wish they still did.

Maps of Norway
One song - "The Runout" and not much more is known about this Minnesota band. Just one compelling song, recalling the best of Blondie, New Wave, and the early 2000's revival. A beautiful female voice leading a crackerjack band. Thanks to MPR's Song of the Day for this.

Metric
Metric technically put out nothing in 2008 but that mattered none. With a late 2007 release of their Live at Metropolis DVD, and working on their new record for most of this year, the band didn't lose a step. The August concert at the Highline Ballroom may have been the show of the year for its consistency, for its absolute perfection. A month later, Emily and Jimmy showed up at Union Pool to play an acoustic set of the upcoming record, sans the much loved "Stadium Love". Late in the year, they gave Canadian radio "Help I'm Alive", a hopeful signature of a stellar album to come. If 2009 isn't going to be dominated by Metric, I'll be very surprised.

Murder by Death
With the stunningly good Red of Tooth & Claw, Bloomington's Murder by Death ended its long New York drought with a killer show at the Bowery Ballroom. They returned with an opening slot for Gogol Bordello at McCarren Park, and they'll be back again soon, making up for all the lost time. Considering how great Red of Tooth & Claw is, it should keep them going for a good couple of years.

MGMT
MGMT owned 2008 in both the mainstream and Indie circles. And though their shows are impossible to get into their music is not. "Time to Pretend" became a real hit in 2008, while "Kids" backed it up with an even catchier melody. "Electric Feel" had both of those songs beat plus the rest of the record and most of the music of the year. In fact, one of the best songs of the decade and one of the best party songs of all time.

My Teenage Stride
On the strength of the exceptional "To Live & Die in the Airport Lounge", one of the great local bands kept the spirit of pop alive. Their show at Don Hill's was fun and they promise to keep making good music but it will be hard to top that instant classic.

The National
Unlike most years, in which a Best Album of the Year loses its title to something from the same year heard in the ensuing 12-24 months, the National are looking good to hold onto 2007's title with Boxer. They didn't need to do much in 2008 so they put out The Virginia EP, a pleasant collection of Boxer excess plus some other tidbits. Ignoring the pretentious and poorly-directed documentary made about them, and considering their exquisite show at the BAM Opera House, as well as their fine opening for R.E.M., the National are heading into 2009 with the signature of a band with one foot in the door of all time greatness.

O’Death
Like a grimy snowball, the O'Death boys took their 2007 shenanigans and turned it into a full-on scuzzy hoedown in 2008, with extremely good opening slots for Murder by Death and Flogging Molly. And now they have the money to buy shirts so they have no excuses.

Obama
He may not play an instrument, he may not be able to sing, but Barack Obama either was part of or inspired a church of music that energized and emboldened a couple of generations to get together and elect the man President. With Stevie Wonder's "Sign, Sealed, Delivered" leading the charge, with Jay-Z and Will.I.Am keeping the youth involved and Will in particular making poetry of the man's words, with a couple of fellows named Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel playing TOGETHER for him, and a host of DIY tunes in the man's name spanning genres and continents, music never played such a big role in an election. Best moment: The use of U2's "City of Blinding Light" for his stage entrance at the Convention, capturing a slice of American history we will never forget and inspiring a re-evaluation of a forgotten gem from the band's last record.

The Okmoniks
Sexy, sexy, sexy. Oh and rock n' roll.

The Orion Experience
From their Luna Lounge performance early in the year to their CMJ jamboree at Public Assembly, the Orion Experience essentially introduced themselves in 2008 and aim to be sticking around. The band's album is a bevy of sexually charged bubblegum delight, led by "Sexy Dynamite", "The Queen of White Lies", and "Obsessed with You".

2009 Sneak-Peak (Airborne Toxic Event, Action Painters, Orion Experience, X, Black Keys, more)

2008 isn't quite over yet - the Year in Music review has yet to be compiled (though anyone who reads this page can gather it'll be a little slimmer this year than last) but we're already getting a taste of what's coming in the pipeline for 2009, at least in terms of some early gigs (see the concert calendar for details):

• The Rosebuds and the Raveonettes are playing on January 16th, separately but hey.
• If you can't go more than a few months without your Hold Steady fix, Franz Nicolay is playing with World Inferno Friendship Society on the 9th and a solo show on the 11th
• Frightened Rabbit made a good mark in '08 with "The Greys" and they'll be at the Bowery B on Jan 17th.
• SP faves Action Painters and the Orion Experience team up again at the Mercury Lounge on Jan 22nd...with Billy Joel's daughter opening. Yep.
• Devotchka. Webster Hall. Saturday, January 24th. I may have an excuse but you won't.
• In Feb, the Black Keys return to Terminal 5. In case you didn't hear, they are one of the biggest bands in the world.
• On March 11 - the Airborne Toxic Event headline the Bowery Ballroom, going from playing Pianos to the Bowery in 13 months. That's not Vampire Weekend-fast but that is still pretty fast.
  

CMJ 2008: The Hard Lessons; Great Lakes; The Teenage Prayers; The Box Social; The Orion Experience; The Gay Blades; Action Painters

The Hard Lessons; Great Lakes; The Teenage Prayers; The Box Social
@ 92 Y Tribeca Makor Center
New York, NY - October 25, 2008

The Orion Experience; The Gay Blades; Action Painters
@ Public Assembly
Brooklyn, NY - October 24, 2008

With the economy in the tank, and everyone hurting, and questions and nervousness and a "too good to be true" attitude abounding among the believers of the big presidential campaign, who really wanted to spend their CMJ trolling the venues for fresh new talent? Besides how much room for new blood could there be when practically every show featured a Reatard or a Vivian Girl or a Muslim (not THAT kind of Muslim you fearful Republicans you)? So alas, the call was made, the die was cast - this CMJ was going to be about old friends, a few of the kids from the Sonic Parthenon family of bands - a one-two weekend punch of reliable favorites. And it was a decision well worth making.

It was a time for fun but polite frontmen, wickedly good guitar heroes, and dames on keyboards. The Hard Lessons are a ven diagram in this scenario: Augie is the chops-heavy, mad-dash man of the ax with a penchant for solid vocals while Ko Ko Louise tickles the electric ivories and herself delivered just about the best damn vocal performance this CMJ. The Michigan kids (recently married by the way - YAY!) brought a touch of that Lower Peninsula rough-and-ready to the swank decor of the Makor Center - a Kosher performance space that is as sleek and fancy as things go these days. It proved a great juxtaposition between the haves and the have-nots: the society with the riches hosting the band that needs gas money. And yet, it worked.

Meanwhile back at Public Assembly (once the site of Galapagos - and itself a volatile mix of yuppies, hipsters, artists and people who just like to rock a bit), Tom of Action Painters and Orion of...Orion anchored their respective bands with a little panache, a lot of gumption, and good old fashioned talent. The bands themselves delivered the goods as they have been known to do. Their divergent sounds offered a great little yin-yang of New York rock - the 70's Partridge-Family-From-Hell grooves of the Experience and the New Wave power-pop anthems of Action Painters. With feisty, punky Linda offering shake-it-if-you-got-it keys for the Orion Experience, and Alison charming vast swaths of the electorate with thoroughly tingling pop constructions for Action Painters, a woman's touch was also never far away.

In these days of Joe the Plumber, and Joe the this and Joe the that, let's not forget Joe the Guitar Player. Specifically, Joe the Action Painters guitar player. With much stealth, this Joe may be the best unknown guitarist in the city - and he doesn't need a license to prove it. So let's make him known.

It was also a weekend for duos. The Great Lakes are a soft-spoken country duo, almost draining in their takes on things. But they were far from bad. Conversely, the Gay Blades are hard, in-your-face, blues rock. In fact, except for a little dance beat thrown in, they are pretty much a rip-off of the early White Stripes. Copying isn't necessarily a bad thing if it wasn't so damn obvious. The lead singer even copies Jack White's squirrley live voice circa 2003. On top of that, he's also rather obnoxious, thinking quite highly of himself as a true rock n' roll badass who is too cool for CMJ - to go along with other "I'm an outsider" shtick. It was all quite a turn off - except damn if those riffs aren't catchy as hell and the foot-stomping stage-slamming dancing isn't smile inducing.

The Teenage Prayers continue to channel the Grateful Dead but I wish they would perk up a bit and show some vigor.

The Box Social are nerd-punks from Wisconsin. They play their semi-sleek riffs hard and fast, making for a pretty fun time. Reminds me of the sunny 90's. Remember those days? The economy was good, we knew our place in the world...memories. Thanks guys.

CMJ Update: What Update? Well...Go See Action Painters and the Orion Experience

In a perfect storm of election, work, and personal affairs, yours truly has been MIA from CMJ. But hopefully you, dear reader, have not been.

Look at the concert calendar and see all the old friends of the blog making the rounds. Looker have done their part but tomorrow, the Orion Experience and Action Painters will own the night at Public Assembly while the Hard Lessons tear it up at Union Hall. Where will I be? Probably another night cancelled - or actually, as of right now - at a third gig entirely but I would be remiss if I didn't encourage you to go out there and catch these bands. This blog has been a little under the weather in its bread and butter lately but don't be discouraged - these bands are still making it happen out there.

Looker; Orion Experience; Other Local Faves' Upcoming Shows

We're slipping here at the SPHQ because Looker and the Orion Experience are playing Maxwell's tonight and yours truly had no idea till just now. Booooo.

You can catch also Looker tomorrow night at Public Assembly (the rock n' roll venue that was once Galapagos Art Space, which itself has officially moved into DUMBO and will no longer host rock shows). They will also be playing the Mercury Lounge on the 25th and Union Hall on August 22nd.

The Orion Experience will be at the Knitting Factory on July 24th and the Highline in October.

Action Painters are playing the Bowery Ballroom on Saturday night, opening for TigerCity, making for a nice alternative Siren festival after-party.

The Teenage Prayers have joined Eli "Paperboy" Reed for his show at Union Hall on August 1.

NYC's other Teenage band of note, My Teenage Stride, is also playing Union Hall in August...the 20th to be exact.

Psst...Joan Wasser is playing the Bowery Ballroom on September 25th. Don't tell anyone till I have a ticket.

In another slip-up, Wormburner played the Merc last night and now you'll have to wait till the Fall to see them again. Drats.

Foxes! Foxes! Foxes! Oh and Jesse Malin @ Bowery Ballroom

Jesse Malin; De Novo Dahl; Holly Brook; Pop Girls Etc.; The Orion Experience
@ Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY - April 26, 2008

Jesse Malin started out with an acoustic set through much of which he ranted on and on about the state of the music industry and technology. When he didn't do covers of Jim Croce ("Operator") and the Hold Steady ("You Can Make Him Like You"), he did his own material, stuff full of simple 90's radio pop hooks that are easy to like but also easy to get annoyed with rather quickly. The ranting, however, went on so long that after 45 minutes it didn't seem clear when the whole band would take the stage, so - with time being a major factor - I left.
Jesse wasn't alone on stage though, he had a fox keyboard player with him and that sort of turned out to be the theme of the night. Georg and Yortuk would have had a wild and crazy time.
Nashville's De Novo Dahl are more erratic than eclectic, the latter of which they appeared to try to be. The songs don't all add up and they had more luck with their one dance number than the garage rockers they tried to muster up. The nudie suits were an annoying distraction but the fox in the band was not.
Holly Brook is a one fox band, a torch song singer of sorts who will be helping Jesse out on his European tour. She has a decent voice and the mood was fine...but for some other night. All the Degeneration folks in the crowd were a bit thrown off.
Pop Girls Etc. were the only band sans foxes. Four dudes with hit and miss offerings, the faster stuff worked a whole lot, the ballads blew the big one. They look like they wished they graduated high school circa 1970 but with a bit of 80's Breakfast Club longing one way and Potsie the other. The lead singer (who really did look like Potsie) has awful mic banter. Is the forgetting to finish the thought thing a gimmick?
Unfortunately, I was only able to catch the last two songs of the Orion Experience but they sounded as great as they did at the Luna Lounge awhile back. Their concept of dirty, filthy, raunchy sex songs performed in a spirit of sweet, sugary candy-rock may have a longer shelf life than one may think. It helps that they really know what they are doing up on stage. And of course, they have a fox in their band too (with a dynamite voice). And the leader of the gang, Orion himself, isn't such a bad looking chap either.

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
  

Rock n Roll's Future in Williamsburg: Looker; The Orion Experience; The Red Romance @ Luna Lounge

Looker; The Orion Experience; The Red Romance; Prabir & The Substitutes
@ Luna Lounge
Brooklyn, NY – March 7, 2008

I finally figured out the secret to Looker’s success. Primarily playing in a rock genre that is mostly populated these days by young kids emo-ing and screamo-ing their insincerity, Looker brings pop-punk (and similar genres) back to a more mature, substantive level. Whether singing about personal affairs in songs like “After My Divorce” and the show-stopping “Gregory” (by all rights, it should be a radio smash hit) or broader subjects in songs like “Born in the Desert”, “Radio”, or the super stellar “Gates of the Old City” (number 1 on this week’s Top 20 Countdown on the Pennypacker-pod), this band has a wiser and more authentic perspective than many of their peers. Musically, Boshra and Nicole trade flawless harmonies when they aren’t trading guitar licks while A.J. and Robbie bring up the solid rhythm section. Always a good time with this band.
The Orion Experience is a rocking, explosive bit of sunshine and happiness. Similar in energy to Les Sans Culottes, but far from that band’s 60’s au-go-go style, this band relishes in 70’s and 80’s anthem-style pop songs, backed by smashing power chord riffs and a raw attitude. They make me want to play pac-man and watch Different Strokes. A whole hell of a lot of fun.
The Red Romance are reviewed just at a time when this is a blossoming of bands really focused on 80’s New Wave pop-rock. These guys fall in line but in many of their songs they have a clear love for the Smiths and the Cure, adding a little post-New Wave darkness to the mix. They put together well-crafted hooks and riffs, with a deeper, somewhat darker subtext to the proceedings. Another great new band making the rounds.
I only caught the last couple songs of Prabir & the Substitutes but it was pretty impressive. Loud but catchy, with their brand of Virginia stomp-rock, these guys probably put on a heck of a show, too bad I missed most of it.