The Both @ Great American Music Hall, 06.12.14

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Aimee Mann and Ted Leo brought their new collaboration project The Both back to San Francisco, where they’d played their first shows as a band last year, on June 12. Mann and Leo clearly have a pretty solid friendship and working relationship, as evidenced by the breadth and frequency of their stage banter, which took up more time than the actual songs. They played about 4 songs in the first 40 minutes of the show, between stories about backstage graffiti, talking out hypotheticals of Gallagher-brotheresque meltdowns, and Mann’s uncomfortableness at Charmin’s new marketing slogan, “Enjoy the Go.”

As far as the songs, the collaboration seems to be working quite well, and was mostly evident when The Both played Aimee Mann and Ted Leo songs. Leo provided decidedly un-Ted Leo-esque backing harmonies and solos to Mann’s “Save Me,” while Mann’s presence took some of the rougher edges off of Leo’s “Bottled in Cork.”

Nick Diamonds of Islands opened up the show, to a fairly enthusiastic and filled-out crowd.

 

Guided By Voices w/ Bobby Bare, Jr. @ The Regency Ballroom, 06.11.14

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The indestructible Guided By Voices hit San Francisco on June 11th, in support of Cool Planet, the sixth GBV album since the “classic lineup” reformed in 2010, and the 432nd Robert Pollard-related record (give or take). A small mid-week crowd didn’t seem to faze Pollard and Co., who live like they’re on a perpetual weekend anyway. Guitarist Mitch Mitchell had perhaps the most impressive display of the evening, managing to chain smoke hands free for the entire 2-hour set. Pollard displayed his usual mix of jumps, kicks, and beer swigging , claiming “We get better, drunker, and younger as we go along.” No one in the crowd raised any arguments.

PAWS, We Are Scientists @ The Independent, San Francisco, 05.07.14

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Scottish rock trio PAWS and NY/CA trio We Are Scientists played the Independent in San Francisco, as their months-long tour winds down. This was also the last show before the whole hullabaloo in Santa Ana the next night when Morrissey allegedly demanded that the bands cancel their show in an adjacent room in the same venue.

PAWS played an energetic, 90s-rockish set, showcasing songs from their new record, Youth Culture Forever. In between songs, the Scots kept talking about how Scottish people can’t stop talking. It was all very Scottish and charming. We Are Scientists were good too.

Perfect Pussy @ Mercury Lounge, 04.05.2014

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Hot band of the moment, noise-punk outfit Perfect Pussy played a few NYC shows in April, including a sold out late show at Mercury Lounge on April 5th. With many of the band members’ parents in attendance, singer Meredith Graves demurred a bit when introducing the band, instead saying “Hi, we’re Minor Threat.”

Perfect Pussy played a blistering set, about as long as their debut record. So about 20 minutes. And while the music and energy were loud and undeniably frenetic, the vocals were drowned out for the entire set, making it seem more like a a Meredith Graves performance art piece than a proper concert.  Still, the live show is a sight to behold, as long as you don’t mind almost getting kicked in the head by amateurish stage divers/crowd surfers. (Seriously, the kids these days do not know how to crowd surf/support a crowd surfer. It could be a function of the fact that everyone only has one free hand since there’s a phone in the other, but crowd surfers just drop like bricks.)

 

Dum Dum Girls @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, 03.26.2014

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Touring in support of their new record, Too True, Dum Dum Girls played the second of two sold-out New York City shows on the 26th, at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Opening band Young Boys seemed to have something going on musically, though no one in the band can sing, and not in a charming kind of way. Second band Blouse were impressive. My immediate reaction was that if either the Breeders or Camera Obscura–two bands with little in common–were shoegaze bands, they’d both sound a lot like Blouse. Speaking of shoegaze, Dum Dum Girls reminded me more than a little of your typical mid-90s dream-pop alt-rock band. I mean that in a good way. Like a slightly less-rocky, more sinister version of Belly.

Ex Hex @ Mercury Lounge, 03.21.2014

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Ex Hex, the new band from former Helium/Wild Flag/Autoclave guitarist/singer  Mary Timony, rolled into NYC for two shows on March 20th and 21st. Playing the late show at Mercury Lounge on the 21st, the band took the stage shortly after midnight, and ripped through about a 45 minute set. Timony clearly took something away with her time sharing Wild Flag ax duties with Carrie Brownstein, who’s no stranger to Pete Townsend-ish guitar windmills and kicks. A formidable guitarist who always veered toward prog rock with a somewhat Medieval twinge, Timony seems to be having more fun onstage than ever before, and Ex Hex is her most straight-up rock outfit in her 20+ year career. It’s nice to see Timony just let loose after all these years.

Warpaint @ Webster Hall, 03.21.2014

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LA quartet Warpaint played sold-out show at Manhattan’s Webster Hall on March 21st, in support of their new, self-titled sophomore record. The last time the all-girl group was in New York, they previewed the songs at the tiny, 100-person capacity Union Pool. It’s quite possible that the next time the band are in town, they’ll have to book the cavernous Terminal 5, which would be nice for a band but a blow for any fans that actually like pleasant music-watching experiences.

After a couple months of touring behind the new record, the group seemed a little looser and more confident playing the new songs. Their fans came prepared as well, with several roses and other flowers thrown onstage as the band came out.  This was Warpaint’s third NYC show in six months, and probably the best yet.

Drive-By Truckers @ Terminal 5, 03.20.2014

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Southern-rock mainstays Drive-By Truckers stormed into New York City on March 20th, touring behind their new album, English Oceans. The lineup now set as a five-piece, the set was more evenly split between both main singers/songwriters, Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, than in shows and records past. Given the less than amicable personnel changes of the past few years, the band seemed almost relieved to just be on stage rocking out, and it seemed like the Terminaly 5’s union labor rules were the only thing keeping DBT from playing a four-hour set.

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, 02.27.2014

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Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks played a sold-out show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on February 27th. Malkmus has basically settled into nice late-career groove, pumping out a record every couple years, touring, and repeating. He’s no longer running away from the Pavement years, having gotten all that out of his system during the reunion a few years ago, and he’s regularly playing a Pavement song or two during his sets now. And even though he’s been Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks longer than he’s been in Pavement now, there’s no doubt that it’s the Pavement songs that still get the most reaction, particularly when he’s playing deeper cuts and b-sides like “Harness Your Hopes,” as he did at MHOW.