Three Match Breeze

On a frigid Thursday night, all-girl country act Puss n Boots played the last of three January shows at the Bell House, Brooklyn. Though ostensibly a three-piece band made up of Norah Jones, Sash Dobson, Catherine Popper– all talented musicians and singers– it was fairly clear early on that the main reason most people braved temperatures in the low teens and headed to the Gowanus section of Brooklyn was to catch a bit of Norah Jones in a much smaller venue than the multiple-Grammy winner usually plays. The band kicked things of with Sasha Dobson taking the lead on vocals, to a warm ovation. But once Jones chimed in on a verse, the crowd let loose a rousing cheer, eliciting a smiling “Fuck you guys,” from Dobson.

The setlist was comprised mostly of covers, the highlight of which might have been a cover of Wilco’s “Jesus, Etc.” with Jones on vocals. The three ladies switched up instruments and vocal duties throughout the show, with Dobson switching to drums for long stretches, and Jones and Popper trying out some new instruments. Popper, who’s previous credits include playing bass for Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, took up the guitar, while Jones tried her hand at the violin. Though she reported only playing the violin for a short time (and said the show was her first time playing it in public), she nonetheless had a violin with “Norah Jones” branded into it, which one would assume would be something Jones could afford on a whim after selling over 50 millions albums.

Swedish garage-rock revivalists the Hives played a not-surprisingly sold-out show at the tiny Studio at Webster Hall in New York City, in advance of the release of their upcoming album, Lex Hives. Full of their usual bluster and bravado and decked out in tails and top hats, the Swedish five-piece tore through some of their greatest hits like “Walk Idiot Walk,” and “Hate to Say I Told You So,” and sprinkled in a handful of new tunes. Though Lex Hivesdoesn’t drop until early June, frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist assured the crowd that they already loved the record.

The Hives certainly lived up to their reputation as a great live band, a fact they continually reminded the audience of. Guitarist Nicholaus Arson admonished the crowd early in the set for not matching the group’s enthusiasm, saying “Never trust a crowd that isn’t sweating,” but also “Never trust a band that isn’t sweating, either.” By the end of the show in the tiny, hot room, both band and crowd were adequately trustworthy.

Indie-girl-rock supergroup Wild Flag played their first New York show since the release of their self-titled album on Saturday, October 15, at Brooklyn’s Bell House. After playing a series of sold-out shows beginning in the spring, the band finally have a proper record to peddle. But as good as that album is—and it’s pretty good—there’s no replacing their live show. Maybe it’s just a natural result of debuting as a live band with no catalog to speak of. But the excitement generated when the band was announced last year and then when they played their first shows and improbably lived up to the hype—that’s tough to capture on record.

It’s possible that the reason the live shows are so energetic is because the band’s Sleater-Kinney half—drummer Janet Weiss and guitarist/singer Carrie Brownstein— were so used to playing huge venues (Weiss with a host of other bands besides SK), and just forgot to tone it down for these smaller clubs. But that would be ignoring the contributions of keyboardist Rebecca Cole and guitarist/singer Mary Timony, who for my money is one of the best female rock guitarist around, period.

On Saturday night, they tore through their album at a blistering pace (though delving into meandering jamming periodically), then threw in a few covers for good measure, one of which was Television’s “See No Evil.” And it really can’t be overstated how well Brownstein and Timony compliment each other. I’d give Timony the nod as far as axe chops go (can’t beat the jagged, Medieval guitar lines and two-finger tapping!) but Brownstein is by far the better showman. But you can definitely see the influence they’re having on each other,  especially in Timony’s attempts at keeping up with Brownstein’s master class of Pete Townshend guitar kicks and jumps. They may be the most endearingly dorky guitar histrionics ever, like if Napoleon Dynamite was a girl who was awesome at guitar.

It should be also mentioned that the opener was Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Renaldo + Band—a four-piece that also included SY drummer Steve Shelley—in their first performance as a band, according to Renaldo. “It’s a strange night to be starting a new project,” Renaldo said, referencing the fact that his Sonic Youth bandmates—wife/husband Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore— had just announced their split. He actually made quite a few references to the divorce, introducing one song saying “This goes out to a couple of friends of mine who are having a tough time,” and after introducing Shelley on the drums, “We’re still playing together.”

Musically, Renaldo’s sound didn’t veer too far from Sonic Youth’s musical palette. You could easily imagine Gordon or Moore speak-singing his lyrics, which may be a backhanded way of saying that the tunes sounded like decent facsimiles of Sonic Youth songs.

The Tennessee country/punk outfit Those Darlins hit New York City on Friday, October 14th, playing Brooklyn’s Bell House. The three-girls-and-a-guy group got the crowd going by opening with their “let’s just be friends” anthem “Be Your Bro,” and neither the band nor the crowd (which I’m pretty sure included Best Coast baritone guitarist Bobb Bruno) let up the rest of the night. The band oozed attitude and desire (though in the case of “Fatty Needs a Fix,” the desire is for a lover—to get some food, stat!), rolling through most of their second album Screws Get Loose, adding in a generous dose of songs from their more-countrified first record.

Lead singer Jessi Darlin came out in what’s becoming her standard sequined gold leotard, which she totally pulled off despite the fact that it looked absolutely ridiculous. Her look was helped out by a serious dosage of crazy eyes, and a few forays offstage into the crowd, which added to the whole “screws get loose” concept. And while Jessi is center stage most of the time —and it’s hard not to be the center of attention when you look like Amélie in a sparkling unitard—Nikki and Kelley Darlin, along with drummer Linwood Regensburg, all chipped in their fair share of lead vocals. Standouts included Kelley Darlin’s “Boys,” an ode to the men she encounters on tour, and Nikki Darlin’s matter of fact, back-the-fuck-up-mister declaration, “Wild One.”

Philly’s Kurt Vile played New York’s Bowery Ballroom on Saturday, 6/11. Backed by his band, the Violators, Vile sold out his first headlining gig at the Bowery, and did not disappoint. Vile played nearly every song on his new record, Smoke Ring for My Halo, but that didn’t even make up half of the the hour-and-a-half set. The headlining spot really gave Vile a chance to stretch his legs and show his stuff, alternating between heavy, full-band psyche-rock numbers, solo acoustic tunes, and a few half-band songs thrown in for good measure.

Setlist:
Society Is My Friend
Smoke Ring For My Halo
Jesus Fever
On Tour
Hunchback
Monkey
Overnite Religion
Freeway
Peeping Tomboy
He’s Alright
Ghost Town
Freak Train
Downbound Train (Springsteen cover)
Runner Ups
Baby’s Arms
In My Time
Breathin Out
Dead Alive
Blackberry Song

Seattle band, “Poppy Slop All-Starrs,” and Rock the House, Not the Neighbors favorites BOAT played the Rock Shop in Brooklyn on Saturday, the first of two scheduled NYC shows. With three opening bands, BOAT didn’t go on till after midnight, but the wait was well worth it. Sporting five members on stage, the band tore through a set of raucous, 90′s-minded rock, heavily loaded with tracks from their excellent new record, Dress Like Your Idols, and ended with a cover of T. Rex’s “Children of the Revolution.”

BOAT wrap up a short East Coast tour on Saturday, April 9, at Manhattan’s Mercury Lounge. Go check ‘em out. If you know their songs, there’s a good chance they’ll invite you on stage to sing.