Hi, not sure if you’ve heard, but a blizzard happened this week. Doomsday prophecies aside, it’s actually been a pretty chill affair. We have no clue what you’ve been up to, but we’ve spent most of the day lounging horizontal on the couch listening to reggae and sipping Modelos. While working of course! But we’re well aware you can’t get away with living the island life all week long, so when you’re ready to strap on your snow booties and mush out onto the frozen hell-tundra our beloved borough has become, you know where to go.
Baby Needs His Bottle
Flagland, Unstoppable Death Machines, Dead Tenants, @bbigpigg, Husbandry
Friday January 30th, 7 pm at Palisades, $7 at the door
This should be a big boy whine-fest, i.e. a vaguely punk / garage rock show. Queens-based band Dead Tenants, are the biggest draw here. Every landlord’s dream, this brotherly band (Doug and Alex Capraro on guitar and bass and sharing vocals, with some other Alex on drums) sounds like Big Black with a real drummer and more stamina. Lonesome boy croons brought to you by Flagland. Other comrades include Unstoppable Death Machines (we already made fun of these handsome garage rock devils for their hair, we won’t do it again), BbigPigg (Arab on Radar meets The Jesus Lizard? Yes, please), and Husbandry (sounds like the mic-man in this band swallowed the frontman from prog rock relics the Mars Volta).
Gals Night Out
Ramleh, JFK, Alberich, Theologian, York Factory Complaints
Thursday January 29th, 8 pm at Saint Vitus, $15
Old as fug, the howling-into-the-void-experimental-nihilists of Ramleh were doing their thing in the London industrial underground way back in 1982. The band is also scheduled to play an electronic set at Nothing Changes on Wednesday. But the Brooklyn show is your chance to see Alberich, aka Kris Lapke dressed up as a fascist-chic noise enigma doing power electronics stuff, who rarely makes it to the stage. Joining these fellows are Theologian (spooky goth vibes!) and York Factory Complaint (wacky horror noise voms, get em while they’re hot).
Mixed Bag O’ Goodies
New England Patriots, Caethua, Great Valley’s Grape Room, the Lentils, CE Schneider Topical
Thursday January 29th, 8 pm at Silent Barn, $8
Funny these guys are called New England Patriots, because they have that Midwest punk vibe some of us from the frozen hellhole of a region so dearly miss. And they’re from where you ask? Freaking Boston of all godforsaken places. Whenever someone makes some snide remark about how we’re from the Midwest, we always, always, always respond with: “At least we’re not from Boston!” But forgive these guys for their trespasses, we promise you won’t regret it. Clare Hubbard aka Caethua will also be joining the show, this lady for real puts the “freak” in freak folk. No daisy chains, Kombucha-sips, or sun dresses, this is pure psychedelic folk noise. Great Valley‘s Grape Room will soften things up with warm psych vibes that sound something like a Donovan 45″ slowed to 33, and The Lentils‘ ironic pop are the cherry on top.
Late Night Pop Thrills
Big Muff Radio Album Release Party with Slonk Donkerson, Sofa Club, Kitten DJ Set
Saturday January 31st, 11:59 pm at Baby’s All Right, $8
If experimental pop sound collages are your thing, head to BB’s this weekend for Big Muff Radio’s late-night album release party. Slonk Donkerson‘s 90’s radio rock will ground all that experimentalism in something tangible, and Sofa Club brings synth-pop from the wilderness that is Staten Island.
Better Scoot to it, LA Babes on the Move
Girl Pool, Told Slant, Fraternal Twin
Wednesday January 28th, 8 pm at Silent Barn, $8
Girl Pool is a drum-less bedroom pop duo from LA, they’re pure like sunshine, but scummy in all the right way, just like the City of Angels. Apparently, they’ve moved to the East Coast, abandoning warm weather and Carl’s Jr. for grey days and generally shitty attitudes. But we thank them for that because it just means we’ll be seeing more of them.
Srsly Hot RN
Viet Cong, Honey, PC Worship
Wednesday January 28th, 9 pm at Union Pool, $10 (note: the show is sold out, but the venue says they might release some tickets at the door/ day of)
These guys are relentless, their debut EP made our top 20 albums of 2014 list and hot on the heels a full-length new self-titled album which dropped last week, Viet Cong are headlining what will most certainly be a show worthy of trudging through he snow for. Joining them are the idgaf whatever punks of PC Worship who are, like, so hot right now. Pulling up the rear is Honey, a psych-garage punk band including members from Amen Dunes and Psychic Ills. This show can’t not be amazing.
The Wild Card
Second Still, Autodrone, Weep, Gabriela Chavez
Sunday February 1st, 6:30 pm at Mercury Lounge, $10
Jumping on the cold wave, post-punk train are Second Still, but this band offers a female lead which, hey, let’s be honest is something of a rarity in these neo-goth outfits dominating the scene right now. Also on the bill for this Sunday evening show is shoegaze guitar-heavy Autodrone, whose moniker is a pretty literal description of their sounds– you get the idea. We hope. Weep tend to vacillate between radio butt rock and vaguely goth anthems. Wild card is all we can say! And if you can’t catch Second Still this week, they’ll be playing a Flat Box Recordings showcase along with Pawns and Bootblacks the following week.
Music Nerds Take Note
Seaven Teares, Norbert Rodenkirchen, Peter Evans & Nate Wooley
Wednesday January 28th, 8 pm at Trans-Pecos, $10
If you slept on this year’s Renaissance Faire, you can get your Old Thyme chamber music on at Trans-Pecos tomorrow. Seaven Teares pummel out some Princess Bride-worthy beats while “one of the world’s few specialists in Medieval flute music,” Norbert Rodenkirchen, toots away on a rather under appreciated instrument. And Pete Evans and Nate Wooley, whom the venue describes as “modern trumpet wizards,” will seal the deal on this ultimate dork fest.