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.

CMJ 2007, Night 3: Dirtbombs, Jay Reatard, Intelligence, Miss Alex White, Cheap Time, Turbo Fruits

The Dirtbombs; Jay Reatard; The Intelligence; Miss Alex White and the Red Orchestra; Cheap Time; Turbo Fruits
@ Mercury Lounge
New York, NY - October 18, 2007

Yadda yadda Dirtbombs yadda yadda nothing better live than this yadda yadda new material sounds great yadda yadda particularly "Wreck My Flow" yadda yadda special cover of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" yadda yadda "Candy Ass" was reworked into a gloriously sexed up, funkified version that made the band sound as fresh as ever yadda yadda gabba gabba hey yadda yadda Dirtbombs forever.



Hardcore garage punk is not really this blog's thing, but let's not mince words. Jay Reatard is f-ing great. He's the best at what he does. The raw power and energy behind the thrashy, trashy rock n' roll could give you an apoplectic fit if you weren't careful. And again, the best part: Beneath that gruff exterior lies a sucker for 3-chord rock n' roll melody. This Memphis boy could be just at home in an arena as a small club, but that's something a lot of people probably don't want to hear.



The Intelligence certainly sounded different, at least at first, from every other band of the night. But what started as a potentially provocative experimental hybrid of a few types of rock n' roll sort of devolved into basic, pound-away attempts at punk. They were not bad though.

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Miss Alex White has enough charisma, presence, and authenticity to be Chicago's only prized export, but even though she has to share the burden, she's still got it all. In The Red is lucky to have her.



Cheap Time was really hyped for this blog. So it's not their fault that it then became impossible for them to live up to the hype. But with hard work and good direction, they'll get there. But wasn't Jemma Pearl supposed to be in this band?

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Turbo Fruits did not sound quite as good as they did at the Bowery this past summer but these kids have such gumption and spirit, they can't be denied. The wellspring of Tennessee rock does have its cup flowing over. Or something like that.

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SPTV: CMJ Music Marathon 2007
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