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June 11, 2009
The Mummies, originally from San Francisco, played with The Back C.C.s (think Japanese greasers- amazing!) at Southpaw in Brooklyn last night, June 10th, 2009. This show, and 2 others in Hoboken had been SOLD OUT for months. The Mummies official website touts:
“Remember that show in Spain last year, the one and only show we were gonna do? Yeah, well we lied. And if you don’t like it, put yer ear buds in and go listen to yer Bob F*ckin’ Dylan again.”
It is disheartening to read the comments section on one popular music blog (brooklyn vegan) where trend-followers who are hooked on Wavves and Crystal Stilts deem this band a “schtick” act or just some old guys doing another reunion. Do your homework punks, this is the REAL DEAL. Don’t front just because you couldn’t get a ticket. Between 1988 and 1996, The Mummies were putting out garage records before all this revivalism took effect. They covered standards from the 50s and 60s with unmatched lo-fi authenticity, and also put out their own stompers gaining a cult following of punks, rockabilly types and vinyl nerds from around the globe. And yes, they do dress like mummies, wrapped head-to-toe in bandages, and Converse sneakers.
Trent Ruane (vocals, organ) as well as Russell Quan (drummer) have both done time in one of the greatest surf/instro outfits, The Phantom Surfers, which immediately puts these guys a cut above the rest. While the fuzz guitar work and surf-drumming are notable, the highlight of the show is definitely Ruane. His performance makes you believe that he is actually a mummy, risen from a tomb somewhere and tearing up the stage with splits and kicks, literally throwing his Farfisa organ about the stage and over his head. At that point, I was halfway crushed beneath a crowd surfer, screaming the lyrics to “Stronger Than Dirt”, drinks were flying through the air, I look up and peering down at me through tattered bandages with a fierce look in his eye, was a Mummy! Terrifying! Secretly, we all wish we were Mummies too.
Filed under: partied my face off, rock n roll shows |
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June 8, 2009
On May 16th, Tough Shits played at Lake Johnson along with a lot of other fun bands (stalkers, the jadewalkers, sorceress). I will give a high-five to the first person who can tell me the name of the band that wore red stockings with golf balls in them, over their faces. I actually enjoyed them, but didnt get their name.
**UPDATE** That band is called “Robber Masks”. Thanks to Ian from Sorceress! Your high-five is in the mail. ( :
Meanwhile, above you will see a hilarious photo of Philadelphia’s Tough Shits in the backyard of Lake Johnson. Summer BBQ season has officially commenced. More photos on FLICKR.
Filed under: partied my face off, rock n roll shows |
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June 6, 2009
The latest installment of Death or Glory at The Bowery Electric featured Brooklyn’s own plaid-clad americana dream boys, The Weight. We also saw a stellar dance performance from Hip-Notica, the ladies of Cabaret Exotique! There’s loads more photos from this party on my Flickr stream, so check em out. Lots of alcoholic beverages and merriments were had in the DJ booth as me and Emma Vikingskull tag-teamed it until the vodka ran out.
Be sure to check out the flyer below for the rest of my upcoming parties at The Bowery Electric! All of the bands and DJs are hand-selected by yours truly for a guaranteed wild time. Every Thursday, Free Vodka 10-11pm, bands, dancers and DJs. What else could you ask for? The Bowery Electric is located at 327 Bowery @ E. 2nd (Joey Ramone Pace), NYC.
Filed under: Death or Glory, partied my face off, rock n roll shows |
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April 30, 2009
It had been a while since I last rocked out at Trash Bar in Brooklyn. This show was on my calendar for a while, as a DO NOT MISS event. The lineup was incredible; The Netherlands, Ex-Humans, Golden Error and Valient Thorr! I started out the evening nice and early to get my ticket, and later ended up accompanying Valient Himself for pizza. Delicious. We took some great photos in front of Trash in the daylight, and ran into some friendly faces on the street. I missed most of The Netherlands’ set, (but have booked them another show on May 7th @ The Bowery Electric), then our favorite punks Ex-Humans took the stage, a pre-cursor to the shirt that Golden Erick was wearing “Kill A Punk For Rock & Roll”. Hilarious since the broad spectrum of rock music was well covered that night, from punk, post-punk and hard rock/metal. My favorite photo of Josh Martin (Ex-Humans) was when he was running down the street to the gig with his guitar case, and he licked it! As if this night could get any better, Golden Error were joined by their old drummer Jeff. Classic Lineup! Valient Thorr packed a huge amount of rock into that small room, and KILLED IT!
Here’s a few of my favorites, but be sure to check out the rest of the wild photos on my flickr page.
(Simulcast at The Limewire Music Blog)
Filed under: Limewire, partied my face off, rock n roll shows |
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April 27, 2009
One thing I’d never thought I’d see was Lou Reed live playing nothing but a pedal board. But there I was in front at the Blender Theater, catching his new Metal Machine Trio, a nod to his notoriously noisy early-70s double LP Metal Machine Music. In the spirit of that controversial work, Lou and his cohorts used electronics and sax to create building-shaking walls of sound. “Sweet Jane” it was most definitely not. Spin accurately caught the mood of the whole evening with their “It Happened Last Night” article, and you can find more photos there as well.
Filed under: Spin, rock n roll shows |
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April 27, 2009
Last week I photographed the Of Montreal show at The Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Janelle Monae and Inkwell opened. I was participating in this fantastic new documentary series on photographers called Viewfinders. (Check back there for my episode!!!) They were shooting me shooting Of Montreal, and I got to talk about the business of rock ‘n’ roll photography. I’m so glad I came away with images that are exemplary of how concert photographs should be. Kevin Barnes really puts on a theatrical performance; I counted more than eight costume changes.
Kevin Barnes, Of Montreal
More under the cut…
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Filed under: Limewire, News, Portraits, rock n roll shows |
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April 27, 2009
Tuesday nights at Black Betty are back! But you better enjoy them while you can, because Black Betty is sadly closing by June. The final editions should prove to be exciting though, if last week’s Daddy Long Legs’ set with Sorceress is any indication.
Who is Daddy Long Legs? They are a bluesy rave-up act, led by Brian from Electric Shadows on harmonica and vocals. Brian is a WICKED harmonica player (he brings 15 harmonicas to his gigs!) and belts out classic blues and garage stompers with the best of them. Each show is different too, featuring a rotating cast of guitarists, slide players and percussionists. On this night, his fellow Electric Shadow, Murat, joined him on guitar and Josh Styles - fresh off the road from Stalkers’ month long tour - added snare and maracas, Bo Diddley-style. This group definitely gets a crowd jumping! It was Josh’s birthday too, so the party was in full swing with familiar faces having a great time.
Also, how awesome are Sheri Barclay’s hand-painted backdrops?
Filed under: partied my face off, rock n roll shows |
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April 27, 2009
Only rock and roll can pull me away from a backyard barbecue at my place, especially with such unusually summery weather. On Saturday night, after getting several recommendations, I ran over to The Shank to catch Crystal Stilts. It was the first time I’d been to The Shank before 5 in the morning! I was pleasantly surprised to see Mishka Shubaly doing security, who has recently joined Freshkills. His now-bandmate Tim Murray was there as well.
The room was hot, dark, sweaty … it had a speakeasy vibe. The crowd was energetic despite the stuffiness, feeding off the manic, awkward energy from singer Brad Hargett, whose stage presence reminds me of Ian Curtis. The room was so humid, my 24-70mm Canon lens got fogged up. I think I got a sneak preview of what my summer is going to be like. An electro-rock duo took the stage afterward and kept the night clicking, so I took a quick shot or two of them as well, but never caught their name
Filed under: rock n roll shows |
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April 21, 2009
Oh Land is from Denmark, she is super cute and has some amazing backup singers. I snapped a bunch of photos at their show. I’m so glad Sarah Mary turned me onto this Danish delight! Click on the photo below to view the whole post on The Limewire Music Blog.
Filed under: Limewire, rock n roll shows |
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April 21, 2009
There are not enough bands in the universe like this one. These photos are from when Ex-Humans played at Lit on March 28th. I know, it’s a little late, but better than never.
Filed under: rock n roll shows |
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