Big D and the Kid’s Table are an energetic group of musicians who really know how to put on a good show and everyone knows that good music and a good presence go hand in hand to create a good show. On Saturday, Big D and the Kid’s Table did just that- put on a good Ska show at Starland Ballroom in Sayerville, NJ. Brian Klemm from Suburban Legends has been sitting in on guitar for the tour and did a great job at the kid’s table, along with the backing female voices, the Doped Up Dollies.
The band opened with ‘Little Bitch’ off their album How It Goes. The song was super energetic and got the crowd going for the rest of the set. The night’s set list was based around How It Goes, Strictly Rude, and Fluent In Stroll. The next tune off How It Goes that showed up was ‘Bender,’ introduced by a definition of a bender and an invitation for the crowd to play along with the lyrics every time Big D said ‘drunk’ in the chorus. How It Goes wouldn’t show up again until the encore.
Strictly Rude got a lot of play at the show, including ‘Steady Riot,’ ‘Noise Complaint,’ ‘Shining On,’ ‘Hell On Earth’ ‘Raw Revolution’ and ‘Strictly Rude.’ ‘Noise Complaint’ was out of control with the crowd singing along and going crazy. But then again, playing a song about a noise complaint is destined to be nothing other than rowdy fun, especially when the crowd can yell along to the lyrics: “NOISE COMPLAINT!” ‘Raw Revolution’ rocked the crowd even more than noise complaint, getting everyone to put on their skanking shoes and dig into the pit. ‘Strictly Rude’ was another notable moment when Big D himself busted out the melodica to blow along with this serious reggae infused number
Fluent in Stroll, Bid D and the Kids Table’s most recent album release featured the Doped Up Dollies who were also along for the show. ‘Not Fucking Around,’ ‘Kiss A Week,’ ‘Known To Be Blue,’ and ‘I,I,I’ are all songs off the album that were played. ‘Known To Be Blue’ is a slow number and featured one of the Doped Up Dollies on vocals while Big D took a break. The rest of the songs also featured backing vocals by the Doped Up Dollies. The Dollies also served as backup singers and dancers for most of the rest of the show. ‘Kiss A Week’ also featured Big D taking on an instrument other than his voice, a guitar to fill in the song.
The show ended, but anyone who’s ever been to a show before knows that isn’t the end. After the ever-present “one more song” chant the band came back out to the delight of the crowd with some more tunes off How It Goes. They started off playing ‘My Girlfriend’s On Drugs’ with The Dollies singing along and acting out all sorts of illicit drug use on stage, quite a site to behold. After that the band played ‘LAX,’ a true punk ballad and an awesome way to end the show.
After all the glory of Big D and the Kids Table is said and done, the local openers all deserve honorable mention. The Explosive Sheep are a young, local Ska band doing their thing well. The Waffle Stompers tore it up with their originals and a sweet version of "Proud Mary." The Avon Junkies were also an interesting Ska group, doing something a little different.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Johnny Cash - American VI: Ain't No Grave
Johnny Cash is a legend. So legendary in fact, that he is still releasing music even years after his death. His most recent release, American VI: Ain’t No Grave, is a slow, refined work that is clearly late Cash, in touch with his spiritual and religious side. The works contained on American VI were recorded only months before Cash’s death in late 2003 in the same session as American V: A Hundred Highways.
American VI: Ain’t No Grave is a perfectly organized compilation of songs for Cash to have recorded so close to the end. Each and every song echoes the impending big sleep with an air of confidence and satisfaction. Especially known for his cover of Nine Inch Nail’s ‘Hurt,’ Cash is well versed in making the music of other’s work with is talents. All of the songs on American IV, one original and nine covers, are perfectly carried by the wise country singer.
‘Ain’t No Grave (Gonna Hold This Body Down)’ is a song written by Claude Ely. The song guests Avett Brothers Scott on Banjo and Seth doing footsteps. The song is a cover of an old religious tune, an eerie piece featuring dragging chains and church bells behind Cash’s voice and the light instrumentals. Cash sings in the song “Ain’t no grave can hold my body down.” He surely predicted the future.
‘Redemption Day’ is a Cheryl Crow song. The light guitar and organ provide a vehicle for Cash’s voice to carry Sheryl Crow’s lyrics on, lyrics that feel so natural coming from Cash that it may as well have been his own song.
‘For the Good Times’ written by Kris Kristofferson, is a song about enjoying life. Cash’s finely aged voice and his proximity to the big sleep really give this song a lot of power. ‘Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound’ is a song written by Tom Paxton. It is yet another song that can’t help but be applied to the end of Cash’s life, wondering where he’s bound at the end.
‘Satisfied Mind’ is a Red Hayes/Jack Rhodes original. The lyrics “How many times have you heard someone say, if I had his money I could do things my way, but little they know that its so hard to find, one rich man in ten, with a satisfied mind” are a bit of advice from a rich man to enjoy life regardless of your financial situation. ‘I Don’t Hurt Anymore’ is a Don Roberston/Walter E. Rollins tune and is yet another celebration of happiness. While the previous song was used to offer advice for happiness, this song is an exclamation of happiness.
‘Cool Water’ is a Bob Nolan song. The song is a conversation between the narrator and Dan, two men who just want water, in a desert. To put the song into the context of Cash’s life, a good old God loving man, would be to make it a metaphor for the afterlife.
‘Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream’ an Ed McCurdy piece, is truly a dream sequence musically. The most instrumentally rich song on the album, filled with guitars, piano, light percussion and organ, is truly a soothing piece.
‘Aloha Oe’ is a song written by Queen Lili’uokalani, and is easily recognized as ‘that cliché Hawaiian dancing song’ from movies. Despite this setback, the song is truly gorgeous. The ever heartbreaking slide guitar and Cash’s deep, old voice singing in a Hawaiian tongue are a true delight to the ears.
‘1 Corinthians 15:55’ is the only Cash original on the album. It’s an upbeat, religious ode to what the Man sees coming. “Hope springs eternal, just over the rise, when I see my redeemer beckoning me” is the chorus of the song. Cash, through all his trials and tribulations was still hopeful even in the end. “1 Corinthians 15:55’ is an impressive finale for the Man in Black.
John R. Cash will have been 78 years old tomorrow, February 26. Don’t forget the Man in Black.
American VI: Ain’t No Grave is a perfectly organized compilation of songs for Cash to have recorded so close to the end. Each and every song echoes the impending big sleep with an air of confidence and satisfaction. Especially known for his cover of Nine Inch Nail’s ‘Hurt,’ Cash is well versed in making the music of other’s work with is talents. All of the songs on American IV, one original and nine covers, are perfectly carried by the wise country singer.
‘Ain’t No Grave (Gonna Hold This Body Down)’ is a song written by Claude Ely. The song guests Avett Brothers Scott on Banjo and Seth doing footsteps. The song is a cover of an old religious tune, an eerie piece featuring dragging chains and church bells behind Cash’s voice and the light instrumentals. Cash sings in the song “Ain’t no grave can hold my body down.” He surely predicted the future.
‘Redemption Day’ is a Cheryl Crow song. The light guitar and organ provide a vehicle for Cash’s voice to carry Sheryl Crow’s lyrics on, lyrics that feel so natural coming from Cash that it may as well have been his own song.
‘For the Good Times’ written by Kris Kristofferson, is a song about enjoying life. Cash’s finely aged voice and his proximity to the big sleep really give this song a lot of power. ‘Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound’ is a song written by Tom Paxton. It is yet another song that can’t help but be applied to the end of Cash’s life, wondering where he’s bound at the end.
‘Satisfied Mind’ is a Red Hayes/Jack Rhodes original. The lyrics “How many times have you heard someone say, if I had his money I could do things my way, but little they know that its so hard to find, one rich man in ten, with a satisfied mind” are a bit of advice from a rich man to enjoy life regardless of your financial situation. ‘I Don’t Hurt Anymore’ is a Don Roberston/Walter E. Rollins tune and is yet another celebration of happiness. While the previous song was used to offer advice for happiness, this song is an exclamation of happiness.
‘Cool Water’ is a Bob Nolan song. The song is a conversation between the narrator and Dan, two men who just want water, in a desert. To put the song into the context of Cash’s life, a good old God loving man, would be to make it a metaphor for the afterlife.
‘Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream’ an Ed McCurdy piece, is truly a dream sequence musically. The most instrumentally rich song on the album, filled with guitars, piano, light percussion and organ, is truly a soothing piece.
‘Aloha Oe’ is a song written by Queen Lili’uokalani, and is easily recognized as ‘that cliché Hawaiian dancing song’ from movies. Despite this setback, the song is truly gorgeous. The ever heartbreaking slide guitar and Cash’s deep, old voice singing in a Hawaiian tongue are a true delight to the ears.
‘1 Corinthians 15:55’ is the only Cash original on the album. It’s an upbeat, religious ode to what the Man sees coming. “Hope springs eternal, just over the rise, when I see my redeemer beckoning me” is the chorus of the song. Cash, through all his trials and tribulations was still hopeful even in the end. “1 Corinthians 15:55’ is an impressive finale for the Man in Black.
John R. Cash will have been 78 years old tomorrow, February 26. Don’t forget the Man in Black.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Galactic - Ya-Ka-May
Galactic are a bunch of talented musicians from good old New Orleans, Louisiana. The band totally defies any sort of classification. The only words that can even begin to pin them down are crunch and funky. Your going to want to dance when you listen to their news release, Ya-Ka-May, and if you don’t want to dance, your not going to be able to stop your body from sharing in the groove without you. It has a lot of fantastic guest artist collaborations, in fact almost every song on the album does. There is so much New Orleans flavor within the confines of Ya-Ka-May that listening may actually incite a riotous dance party on the spot.
‘Boe Money’ (featuring The Rebirth Brass Band) is an awesome instrumental jam combining a lot of funky elements with a grand horn section to create a really solid groove. The Rebirth Brass Band does a great job adding a lot of New Orleans funk and jazz and really livens the track up to another level. The Rhythm section keeps it solid, not a second for your feet to stop for the duration of the track. Background gang vocals throughout the song give you the feeling of being in New Orleans at a street festival listening to a rockin’ band.
‘Heart of Steel’ (featuring Irma Thomas) draws on a light hip-hop feel in the drum beat while infusing the rhythm and blues in the sweet vocals and a little old school blues-rock in the harmonica and guerilla guitar riffs. That is a lot to chew on for one song, but Galactic was born for it and make it happen with a little help from Irma Thomas. This song is a powerhouse with a really catchy chorus, lyrically and instrumentally: you can feel the instrumentals meshing with Irma’s vocals for the chorus to really drive it home, while staying in the pocket during the verse. “Tight” is the word that comes to mind and you can surely feel the New Orleans again in this track.
‘Dark Water’ (featuring John Boutte) is a really low down funky, bluesy, soul track with some smooth lyrics from John Boutte. The song starts off leading each individual instrument in and you know its taken form once the guitar riff cuts through the speakers and shakes your soul alive. The breakdown is so crunchy that trying to resist it would be futile: every song on this album was made to move to.
‘Liquor Pang’ (featuring Josh Cohen & Ryan Scully from the Morning 40 Federation) is a heavy blues-rock tune with a bit of electronic thrown in right next to all the hard alcohol streaming through its sound waves. This song reeks of whiskey, especially in the lyrics: “Finger on the trigger / take your liquor in the fast lane.” The song moves along at a sluggish pace, slowly injecting it’s awesome instrumentals into your skull via a solid rhythm section, and a grungy, bluesy infusion of horns, guitar and electric organ.
‘You Don’t Know’ (featuring Glen David Andrews & The Rebirth Brass Band) may be the most powerful song on Ya-Ka-May. The Rebirth Brass Band comes back for another round to lay it down with Glen David Andrews. The heavy, raspy, blues lyrics come from the soul and the brass is just phenomenal. Galactic lay down a gorgeous foundation and work so smoothly with their collaborators you would never know it was a track featuring artists who are not a part of the band.
These are only a few of the songs off Galactic’s newest release, Ya-Ka-May. To try and describe any of the tracks on this album in only one or two sentences would have been a serious injustice. This is one of those albums you must give at least one listen to this year, because you WILL be hearing about it.
‘Boe Money’ (featuring The Rebirth Brass Band) is an awesome instrumental jam combining a lot of funky elements with a grand horn section to create a really solid groove. The Rebirth Brass Band does a great job adding a lot of New Orleans funk and jazz and really livens the track up to another level. The Rhythm section keeps it solid, not a second for your feet to stop for the duration of the track. Background gang vocals throughout the song give you the feeling of being in New Orleans at a street festival listening to a rockin’ band.
‘Heart of Steel’ (featuring Irma Thomas) draws on a light hip-hop feel in the drum beat while infusing the rhythm and blues in the sweet vocals and a little old school blues-rock in the harmonica and guerilla guitar riffs. That is a lot to chew on for one song, but Galactic was born for it and make it happen with a little help from Irma Thomas. This song is a powerhouse with a really catchy chorus, lyrically and instrumentally: you can feel the instrumentals meshing with Irma’s vocals for the chorus to really drive it home, while staying in the pocket during the verse. “Tight” is the word that comes to mind and you can surely feel the New Orleans again in this track.
‘Dark Water’ (featuring John Boutte) is a really low down funky, bluesy, soul track with some smooth lyrics from John Boutte. The song starts off leading each individual instrument in and you know its taken form once the guitar riff cuts through the speakers and shakes your soul alive. The breakdown is so crunchy that trying to resist it would be futile: every song on this album was made to move to.
‘Liquor Pang’ (featuring Josh Cohen & Ryan Scully from the Morning 40 Federation) is a heavy blues-rock tune with a bit of electronic thrown in right next to all the hard alcohol streaming through its sound waves. This song reeks of whiskey, especially in the lyrics: “Finger on the trigger / take your liquor in the fast lane.” The song moves along at a sluggish pace, slowly injecting it’s awesome instrumentals into your skull via a solid rhythm section, and a grungy, bluesy infusion of horns, guitar and electric organ.
‘You Don’t Know’ (featuring Glen David Andrews & The Rebirth Brass Band) may be the most powerful song on Ya-Ka-May. The Rebirth Brass Band comes back for another round to lay it down with Glen David Andrews. The heavy, raspy, blues lyrics come from the soul and the brass is just phenomenal. Galactic lay down a gorgeous foundation and work so smoothly with their collaborators you would never know it was a track featuring artists who are not a part of the band.
These are only a few of the songs off Galactic’s newest release, Ya-Ka-May. To try and describe any of the tracks on this album in only one or two sentences would have been a serious injustice. This is one of those albums you must give at least one listen to this year, because you WILL be hearing about it.
Monday, February 8, 2010
The Album Leaf - A Chorus of Storytellers
The Album Leaf is an experiment ambient post-rock group from San Diego, California. Their latest release, A Chorus of Storytellers, is the effort’s first release featuring a full band.
Perro, the first track on the album, fades in with a light static overpowered by a synth using a simple progression and gradually adding more and more body. Behind all of this are some sort of announcements by human voices that are barely audible and seem to be an adult teaching a child to speak or read. The track is otherwise instrumental.
Perro bleeds into Blank Pages adding a drum machine’s beat to the ever evolving synthesizer piece. Slowly throughout the song strings come and go giving way to a very post-rock sounding guitar and bells to compliment the drum machine.
There is a Wind picks up again heavily with the synthesizer but with real drums this time, and harmonized vocals. This song conjures a very dreamlike state, and the lyrics fit the instrumentals perfectly: “There’s a wind behind everyone that takes us through our lives.” After a moment with lyrics, the song breaks into instrumentals and slowly begins to incorporate background, chant like lyrics.
Within Dreams starts off with more drums machine beats and a slowly building chorus of instrumentals that gains momentum and by the middle of the song becomes a progressive ambience of strings, guitar, bass and a beautiful backing synth. This is another fully instrumental track.
Falling from the Sun seems to be a more vocally based song but still incorporates the symphony of instrumentals from previous tracks. Continuing on with the dream sequence that is A Chorus of Storytellers, the song’s lyrics again invoke a very dreamy state with harmonized, repetitive, chanting vocals: “We’ll find a way, yes we’ll find a way, yes we’ll find a way to fall.”
Stand Still is yet another beautiful, ambient, instrumental piece. This type of track is truly the essence of bands that create music like this. The intricate drum beats paired with the eloquent strings is enough but the guitar and backing synthesizer continue to add to the experience.
The end of Stand Still fades into Summer Fog. If the rest of the album is slow and ambient, this piece is certainly one step away from moving backward, not to say it is a bad song in the least. Another instrumental only track, it truly does illustrate a ‘summer fog’ and a lighthouse and steamboat, among other things. Until the Last follows in the wake of Stand Still as yet another awesome instrumental track.
We Are and Almost There revive again the use of lyrics and harmonized chants which compliments what the band is doing perfectly. Tied Knots creeps up with the same static that Perro came in with, creating a musical sandwich. The song takes it very slowly and casts off the album with more elaborate instrumentals than it came in with. Finally the song slowly fades the album out back into the static from whence it came.
Perro, the first track on the album, fades in with a light static overpowered by a synth using a simple progression and gradually adding more and more body. Behind all of this are some sort of announcements by human voices that are barely audible and seem to be an adult teaching a child to speak or read. The track is otherwise instrumental.
Perro bleeds into Blank Pages adding a drum machine’s beat to the ever evolving synthesizer piece. Slowly throughout the song strings come and go giving way to a very post-rock sounding guitar and bells to compliment the drum machine.
There is a Wind picks up again heavily with the synthesizer but with real drums this time, and harmonized vocals. This song conjures a very dreamlike state, and the lyrics fit the instrumentals perfectly: “There’s a wind behind everyone that takes us through our lives.” After a moment with lyrics, the song breaks into instrumentals and slowly begins to incorporate background, chant like lyrics.
Within Dreams starts off with more drums machine beats and a slowly building chorus of instrumentals that gains momentum and by the middle of the song becomes a progressive ambience of strings, guitar, bass and a beautiful backing synth. This is another fully instrumental track.
Falling from the Sun seems to be a more vocally based song but still incorporates the symphony of instrumentals from previous tracks. Continuing on with the dream sequence that is A Chorus of Storytellers, the song’s lyrics again invoke a very dreamy state with harmonized, repetitive, chanting vocals: “We’ll find a way, yes we’ll find a way, yes we’ll find a way to fall.”
Stand Still is yet another beautiful, ambient, instrumental piece. This type of track is truly the essence of bands that create music like this. The intricate drum beats paired with the eloquent strings is enough but the guitar and backing synthesizer continue to add to the experience.
The end of Stand Still fades into Summer Fog. If the rest of the album is slow and ambient, this piece is certainly one step away from moving backward, not to say it is a bad song in the least. Another instrumental only track, it truly does illustrate a ‘summer fog’ and a lighthouse and steamboat, among other things. Until the Last follows in the wake of Stand Still as yet another awesome instrumental track.
We Are and Almost There revive again the use of lyrics and harmonized chants which compliments what the band is doing perfectly. Tied Knots creeps up with the same static that Perro came in with, creating a musical sandwich. The song takes it very slowly and casts off the album with more elaborate instrumentals than it came in with. Finally the song slowly fades the album out back into the static from whence it came.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Faber
Faber is a punk rock band from somewhere in between Carteret and South Amboy, NJ. These guys are not your average ‘punk’ band though; in their music is some intense amalgamation of punk, ska, metal and a touch of ‘It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.’
The band consists of Alex Heyer on the bass and backing vocals, Mike Fritz on the drums, Joe Porta playing rhythm guitar and singing lead vocals and Tim Rager on lead guitar. Travis Novack is also a part of the band, and is currently rockin’ it from the Middle East with the Marines.
On Saturday, November 7th, Faber played an intimate, invite only, basement show in South Amboy, NJ. The set consisted of seven of the band’s finest songs. To start, the band rocked out J+H(Jekyll and Hyde). This is a really fantastic song, and a perfect way to start a set. It started off with Joe and Tim both hammering on and pulling off notes on the high and low E strings on their guitars. Mike slowly increased the tempo with quicker and quicker drums hits and then Alex slid it on up the neck and brought us into the song. The lyrics of the song are also quite entertaining, as inverse as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Next up the band rocked one of their most intense love ballads of all time: ‘Lagoda’s.’ A little background: Lagoda’s is the most fantastic bar in all of New Jersey, possibly the entire universe. It is located in South Amboy, home (kind of) of Faber. The song features a call to arms to all who appreciate Lagoda’s: “GO! GO! GO! GO! / Let’s all go to Lagoda’s!”
After ‘Lagoda’s’ the band started up with the masterful ska/hard punk fusion song, ‘Living Tragedy.’ The song started up with some ska style up-strumming on the guitar, a solid drum beat and a fancy bass line to get everyone moving, then switched into distortion to get everyone’s heads banging. By the end of the song nobody is quite sure how to dance to it, but they know they enjoyed it.
‘Dismemberment’ poked its head out after ‘Living Tragedy.’ The intro of this song displayed an obvious metal/hard punk influence, but flowed into a more ska/hard punk feel afterward. The lyrics in the song have a fantastically evil feel and growling vocals to put them to the test: “Break out the scalpels, / Break out the chains, / Break out the intricate cutting of blades!” If the name of the song didn’t give away the idea here, the lyrics sure will.
The next song Faber broke out is a cover that should be on the list of ‘Most Awesome Songs a Band Could Ever Cover,’ is a crowd favorite, and it’s where the band gets that little touch of ‘Always Sunny;’ Ladies and Gentelmen, Faber then performed the epic tale that is: ‘Dayman.’ Faber has taken this song and created a slow starting version that speeds up verse after verse and eventually explodes into awesome at the end. Although a short song, and one with simple lyrics, it really brings out the best in the crowd with a lot of ‘Ohhh OHHHH’ing.
The second to last song the band played is called ‘No Void To Fill.’ This is a solid, ska/punk rock song anybody could enjoy; with Mike and Alex, a real solid rhythm section, providing a sweet, skankable, groove, Joe belting out the lyrics with Alex on backup and, and Tim coming through on the breakdown with a sweet lead riff, who could not like it? The final song in Faber’s set was a fantastic number called Carteret City Limits/South Amboy Rock City, or C-Town for short. Essentially the song is about why Carteret sucks as opposed to South Amboy, which rocks.
Faber played a fantastic show on Saturday, Friday also, but that’s another story altogether. These guys really push it to the limit, and put a lot of love into their craft. For more info on them, and to hear some songs including ‘No Void to Fill’ and ‘Dayman’ you can visit their MySpace at www.myspace.com/faber. Also, supporting Faber is supporting the Marines, since one of their band members is over in the Middle East, so check these guys out!
The band consists of Alex Heyer on the bass and backing vocals, Mike Fritz on the drums, Joe Porta playing rhythm guitar and singing lead vocals and Tim Rager on lead guitar. Travis Novack is also a part of the band, and is currently rockin’ it from the Middle East with the Marines.
On Saturday, November 7th, Faber played an intimate, invite only, basement show in South Amboy, NJ. The set consisted of seven of the band’s finest songs. To start, the band rocked out J+H(Jekyll and Hyde). This is a really fantastic song, and a perfect way to start a set. It started off with Joe and Tim both hammering on and pulling off notes on the high and low E strings on their guitars. Mike slowly increased the tempo with quicker and quicker drums hits and then Alex slid it on up the neck and brought us into the song. The lyrics of the song are also quite entertaining, as inverse as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Next up the band rocked one of their most intense love ballads of all time: ‘Lagoda’s.’ A little background: Lagoda’s is the most fantastic bar in all of New Jersey, possibly the entire universe. It is located in South Amboy, home (kind of) of Faber. The song features a call to arms to all who appreciate Lagoda’s: “GO! GO! GO! GO! / Let’s all go to Lagoda’s!”
After ‘Lagoda’s’ the band started up with the masterful ska/hard punk fusion song, ‘Living Tragedy.’ The song started up with some ska style up-strumming on the guitar, a solid drum beat and a fancy bass line to get everyone moving, then switched into distortion to get everyone’s heads banging. By the end of the song nobody is quite sure how to dance to it, but they know they enjoyed it.
‘Dismemberment’ poked its head out after ‘Living Tragedy.’ The intro of this song displayed an obvious metal/hard punk influence, but flowed into a more ska/hard punk feel afterward. The lyrics in the song have a fantastically evil feel and growling vocals to put them to the test: “Break out the scalpels, / Break out the chains, / Break out the intricate cutting of blades!” If the name of the song didn’t give away the idea here, the lyrics sure will.
The next song Faber broke out is a cover that should be on the list of ‘Most Awesome Songs a Band Could Ever Cover,’ is a crowd favorite, and it’s where the band gets that little touch of ‘Always Sunny;’ Ladies and Gentelmen, Faber then performed the epic tale that is: ‘Dayman.’ Faber has taken this song and created a slow starting version that speeds up verse after verse and eventually explodes into awesome at the end. Although a short song, and one with simple lyrics, it really brings out the best in the crowd with a lot of ‘Ohhh OHHHH’ing.
The second to last song the band played is called ‘No Void To Fill.’ This is a solid, ska/punk rock song anybody could enjoy; with Mike and Alex, a real solid rhythm section, providing a sweet, skankable, groove, Joe belting out the lyrics with Alex on backup and, and Tim coming through on the breakdown with a sweet lead riff, who could not like it? The final song in Faber’s set was a fantastic number called Carteret City Limits/South Amboy Rock City, or C-Town for short. Essentially the song is about why Carteret sucks as opposed to South Amboy, which rocks.
Faber played a fantastic show on Saturday, Friday also, but that’s another story altogether. These guys really push it to the limit, and put a lot of love into their craft. For more info on them, and to hear some songs including ‘No Void to Fill’ and ‘Dayman’ you can visit their MySpace at www.myspace.com/faber. Also, supporting Faber is supporting the Marines, since one of their band members is over in the Middle East, so check these guys out!
The Swimmers - People Are Soft
The Swimmers are an Indie synth-pop band from Philadelphia. Their recently released ‘People Are Soft’ is a sophomore effort, recorded in the band’s newly built studio.
‘People Are Soft’ is a relaxing, soft, entrancing album. It starts off with ‘Shelter’ and ‘A Hundred Hearts.’ These two are both heavy on the synthesizer riffs. The Swimmers have essentially taken the guitar out for synthesizer in many places on this album. That’s not to say it doesn’t work however. The rhythm section, drums and bass, does a great job for support and keeps it real, while the synthesizer just multiplies.
‘What This World is Coming To’ is a nice mellow piece. The guitar and synthesizer share beautifully in this song, with some simple drumming and bass playing to even everything out. The song slowly builds in the end with more and more synth layering on to drop off back to just the guitar. After a false ending, the track explodes with sound to fade out once more.
‘Give Me the Sun’ starts off with some vocal harmonies running through a vocoder: “Gimme gimme the sun,” over and over again, sticking around even for the verse. A steady drumbeat accompanies the bass which is running through some fun filter/overdrive effects.
‘Save Me From The Brightness’ sacrifices some of over-abundant synthesizer for real pinao, half of the time. Guitar is also popping its head back into the mix. The song brings about some sort of nostalgia in its lyrical content, a longing for a time when hanging out at the park late at night was the thing to do on a school night: “Hiding out late at night / at the edge of the park.”
‘Nervous Wreck’ is a ballad for the nervous musician. The lyrics reflect the trials and tribulations of performing: “The lights go down and I’m a nervous wreck / crashing on the cymbals and the hiding in the shadows.” This is one of the songs on the album that breaks away from the over-use of synthesizer and instead keeps it in the background to back everything else up.
‘To The Bells’ includes one of the more interesting drum pieces on the album, going beyond just keeping time like a metronome. ‘Dress Don’t Fit’ starts again with the simple rhythm section backing some guitar and really low volume, backing synthesizer riffs in the background.
‘Anything Together’ and ‘Try To Settle In’ continue on with a lot of synthesizer, harmonized vocals and simple rhythm section droning. ‘People Are Soft’ is fun to listen to, and very accessible and easy to enjoy, but it lacks a lot of ‘meat.’ For anyone who is a fan of the sound of Eighties pop-rock’s heavy use of corny synthesizer sounds(think ‘The Final Countdown’), this is something to be treasured. All together the album is a solid listen, and very relaxing, but leaves one wanting more.
‘People Are Soft’ is a relaxing, soft, entrancing album. It starts off with ‘Shelter’ and ‘A Hundred Hearts.’ These two are both heavy on the synthesizer riffs. The Swimmers have essentially taken the guitar out for synthesizer in many places on this album. That’s not to say it doesn’t work however. The rhythm section, drums and bass, does a great job for support and keeps it real, while the synthesizer just multiplies.
‘What This World is Coming To’ is a nice mellow piece. The guitar and synthesizer share beautifully in this song, with some simple drumming and bass playing to even everything out. The song slowly builds in the end with more and more synth layering on to drop off back to just the guitar. After a false ending, the track explodes with sound to fade out once more.
‘Give Me the Sun’ starts off with some vocal harmonies running through a vocoder: “Gimme gimme the sun,” over and over again, sticking around even for the verse. A steady drumbeat accompanies the bass which is running through some fun filter/overdrive effects.
‘Save Me From The Brightness’ sacrifices some of over-abundant synthesizer for real pinao, half of the time. Guitar is also popping its head back into the mix. The song brings about some sort of nostalgia in its lyrical content, a longing for a time when hanging out at the park late at night was the thing to do on a school night: “Hiding out late at night / at the edge of the park.”
‘Nervous Wreck’ is a ballad for the nervous musician. The lyrics reflect the trials and tribulations of performing: “The lights go down and I’m a nervous wreck / crashing on the cymbals and the hiding in the shadows.” This is one of the songs on the album that breaks away from the over-use of synthesizer and instead keeps it in the background to back everything else up.
‘To The Bells’ includes one of the more interesting drum pieces on the album, going beyond just keeping time like a metronome. ‘Dress Don’t Fit’ starts again with the simple rhythm section backing some guitar and really low volume, backing synthesizer riffs in the background.
‘Anything Together’ and ‘Try To Settle In’ continue on with a lot of synthesizer, harmonized vocals and simple rhythm section droning. ‘People Are Soft’ is fun to listen to, and very accessible and easy to enjoy, but it lacks a lot of ‘meat.’ For anyone who is a fan of the sound of Eighties pop-rock’s heavy use of corny synthesizer sounds(think ‘The Final Countdown’), this is something to be treasured. All together the album is a solid listen, and very relaxing, but leaves one wanting more.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
By a Thread - Gov't Mule
Gov’t Mule blow it out again with their new release ‘By a Thread.’ Spanning all sorts of fantastic rock amalgamations such as blues , country , and classic(even the acoustic ballad), By a Thread adds a wonderful mix of tunes to Mule’s repertoire.
‘Broke Down on the Brazos’ features a special guest, Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top. You can feel Mule’s bluesy rock-out clashing with Billy’s awesome playing and creating some wonderful music. The song chugs along, with intermittent solos and jamming, to fade out in the end, giving way to Steppin’ Lightly, another high powered number. ‘Steppin’ Lightly’ starts out pretty loudly, but proceeds to get a little funky through the verse. The chorus also totally blows it out in an unexpected chord progression that varies so much from the rest of the song it could be a totally different track, but Mule is skilled and creative enough to pull it off brilliantly. ‘Steppin’ Lightly’ is also equipped with a false ending about two minutes out, that gives way to a fantastic guitar solo.
‘Railroad Boy’ tones it down a bit to start, but after the introduction regains massive energy. The guitar bit in the beginning accompanied by Warren Haynes’ vocals is hauntingly perfect for this traditional folk song, but when the whole band comes in, the flavor of Gov’t Mule takes effect and does a fine job. The middle of the song gives way to a powerful jam, including awesome slide guitar and keyboards, taking total advantage of the space these traditional folk songs provide for a fun jam. The song drags out with some eerie keyboard sounds and gives way to a delayed and highly effects driven guitar to start ‘Monday Mourning Meltdown.’
‘Monday Mourning Meltdown’ really does seem to illustrate its namesake in the music. The soul and emotion contained in this song are oozing over the top. The entire song escalates to the keyboard and guitar solo at the end, which is followed by a yet again haunting Warren chanting ‘How do you like me now that I’m not around.’
‘Gordon James’ goes into a totally different direction than the previous songs, with a light organ piece in the intro followed by some acoustic guitar and lyrics. The acoustic guitar continues until the entire band explodes onto the scene, working their magic. The slide guitar is superb and heartfelt, perfect for the song’s feel. ‘Gordon James’ falls out the same way it came in with some acoustic guitar and organ.
‘Any Open Window’ rocks it out right away, almost too high powered to follow ‘Gordon James,’ but still perfectly placed. The song has some lyrics but focuses heavily on guitar solos. Warren does a fantastic job (expect nothing less), and the rest of the band backs him like a brick wall.
‘Frozen Fear’ is really toned down and mellow, definitely an element of reggae music mixed in with the bluesy-rock which produces something beautiful. The song is just so positive, musically and lyrically. Warren gives some good advice in the song: “Don’t be afraid, to live your life my dear.”
‘Forevermore’ is a gorgeous love ballad. It starts out as only acoustic guitar and lyrics, and escalates into an amazing piece. Mule comes together on this one to create a fantastic love song. The lyrics totally take the foreground at points in the song, which is hard to do with the instrumentals these guys produce: “Can’t ya see, my whole world is nothing without you / I can feel the rain fall down / like tears upon my shoulders / but I can’t feel my love / she’s gone forevermore.”
‘Inside Outside Woman Blues #3’ is the heavy weight on the album, coming to nine minutes and three seconds, not a moment of which is wasted. Both musically and lyrically this song gets to the heart of the blues. The lyrics are brilliant throughout the whole composition, even hilarious at times: “At the end of the day want someone to keep him warm / somebody to keep him warm and somebody to set him on fire / Ya know what I’m talking about!?”
‘Scenes from a Troubled Mind’ is a highly structured track, a suite even, comparable to maybe an ‘Achilles Last Stand’ or ‘Terrapin Station.’ You can tell the band put a lot of work into this song. The instrumentals are key, and while it is set up very tightly, there are still fills and riffs around every corner.
‘World Wake Up’ is the final track on By a Thread. It ends the album perfectly, and inversely to how it began. The song is very mellow and has a lot of beautiful keyboard in it; Danny Louis is masterful in the creation of his tone and use of it. The song ends on an eerie note, all instruments ringing out while the song fades out.
‘Broke Down on the Brazos’ features a special guest, Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top. You can feel Mule’s bluesy rock-out clashing with Billy’s awesome playing and creating some wonderful music. The song chugs along, with intermittent solos and jamming, to fade out in the end, giving way to Steppin’ Lightly, another high powered number. ‘Steppin’ Lightly’ starts out pretty loudly, but proceeds to get a little funky through the verse. The chorus also totally blows it out in an unexpected chord progression that varies so much from the rest of the song it could be a totally different track, but Mule is skilled and creative enough to pull it off brilliantly. ‘Steppin’ Lightly’ is also equipped with a false ending about two minutes out, that gives way to a fantastic guitar solo.
‘Railroad Boy’ tones it down a bit to start, but after the introduction regains massive energy. The guitar bit in the beginning accompanied by Warren Haynes’ vocals is hauntingly perfect for this traditional folk song, but when the whole band comes in, the flavor of Gov’t Mule takes effect and does a fine job. The middle of the song gives way to a powerful jam, including awesome slide guitar and keyboards, taking total advantage of the space these traditional folk songs provide for a fun jam. The song drags out with some eerie keyboard sounds and gives way to a delayed and highly effects driven guitar to start ‘Monday Mourning Meltdown.’
‘Monday Mourning Meltdown’ really does seem to illustrate its namesake in the music. The soul and emotion contained in this song are oozing over the top. The entire song escalates to the keyboard and guitar solo at the end, which is followed by a yet again haunting Warren chanting ‘How do you like me now that I’m not around.’
‘Gordon James’ goes into a totally different direction than the previous songs, with a light organ piece in the intro followed by some acoustic guitar and lyrics. The acoustic guitar continues until the entire band explodes onto the scene, working their magic. The slide guitar is superb and heartfelt, perfect for the song’s feel. ‘Gordon James’ falls out the same way it came in with some acoustic guitar and organ.
‘Any Open Window’ rocks it out right away, almost too high powered to follow ‘Gordon James,’ but still perfectly placed. The song has some lyrics but focuses heavily on guitar solos. Warren does a fantastic job (expect nothing less), and the rest of the band backs him like a brick wall.
‘Frozen Fear’ is really toned down and mellow, definitely an element of reggae music mixed in with the bluesy-rock which produces something beautiful. The song is just so positive, musically and lyrically. Warren gives some good advice in the song: “Don’t be afraid, to live your life my dear.”
‘Forevermore’ is a gorgeous love ballad. It starts out as only acoustic guitar and lyrics, and escalates into an amazing piece. Mule comes together on this one to create a fantastic love song. The lyrics totally take the foreground at points in the song, which is hard to do with the instrumentals these guys produce: “Can’t ya see, my whole world is nothing without you / I can feel the rain fall down / like tears upon my shoulders / but I can’t feel my love / she’s gone forevermore.”
‘Inside Outside Woman Blues #3’ is the heavy weight on the album, coming to nine minutes and three seconds, not a moment of which is wasted. Both musically and lyrically this song gets to the heart of the blues. The lyrics are brilliant throughout the whole composition, even hilarious at times: “At the end of the day want someone to keep him warm / somebody to keep him warm and somebody to set him on fire / Ya know what I’m talking about!?”
‘Scenes from a Troubled Mind’ is a highly structured track, a suite even, comparable to maybe an ‘Achilles Last Stand’ or ‘Terrapin Station.’ You can tell the band put a lot of work into this song. The instrumentals are key, and while it is set up very tightly, there are still fills and riffs around every corner.
‘World Wake Up’ is the final track on By a Thread. It ends the album perfectly, and inversely to how it began. The song is very mellow and has a lot of beautiful keyboard in it; Danny Louis is masterful in the creation of his tone and use of it. The song ends on an eerie note, all instruments ringing out while the song fades out.
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