Last Night... Or What I Remember of It

I saw a good number of bands this weekend, two on purpose and about five others collaterally. Not all of them were good, but some of them impressed.

First off, as I wrote earlier in the week, The Divorced came down from Boston Saturday to play the Annex. Definitely a good show and it was great to see the continued evolution of the band. The last time I saw them, their lineup was a bit different and original member Juliet Nelson was not with them. Her presence, as it turns out, was sorely missed. Her cello adds a nice texture to the songs, but it's her singing that really makes the difference. Her clean delivery offers a nice counterpoint to JR Gallagher's impassioned, grizzled vocals. I liked some of their songs more than others, but some really hit their mark, most notably "I Miss My Home." Good stuff. Hopefully a longer set, next time.

The other bands I saw Saturday night were all solid. Red Datson, despite a great name and some real talent on stage, wasn't quite my style. Their frat-punk sound was polished, if uninteresting to me. Still, many thanks to their Timothy Hutton lookalike lead singer for the drink ticket. The final band, Bella Noir, was much more my speed. Very spacey, atmospheric music and the lead singer has a great voice. She really owned the stage. I wasn't totally focused on their set, but I will be next time.

On Friday, I had a very different musical experience. I went out to Goodbye Blue Monday in Bushwick to see Nattahnam. Nattahnam is an "experiment in avant-garde," according to their website. Basically, it was four guys playing deliberately unpracticed free jazz that hit more often than missed, but had plenty of moments of each.

I saw three other bands that night, of which I only remember the name of the last: Hollow Jones. Hollow Jones is a jam band that plays a fantasy-based rock opera. They clearly have backgrounds in theatre and weren't tremendously courteous to the other bands. Now, I'll fully admit that they can play their instruments and do a decent job of incorporating the familiar sounds of Phish, the Dead and other like-minded bands of that scene. The problem is, they have no soul. They stripped out the bluesy roots of the genre and replaced it with D&D inspired cheese. I suppose I can respect their efforts at invention, but the invention itself we could do without.

All told, good musical weekend, despite getting shut out of Phish tickets. If anyone has an extra, send it my way! And don't forget, Bruce's new disc comes out on Tuesday.

(Full disclosure: JR Gallagher of The Divorced and Bjorn Roche of Nattahnam are friends.)

Update: 1/29/08 12:47pm

In fact, JR and Bjorn are both friends of mine. However, although they have never met, I suspect they would be fast friends should that occasion arise.

Happy Returns: The Ting Tings, Animal Collective & the Divorced

Hoooooooooome... Home Agaaaaaaiiiiin...

Well, sadly God Street Wine is not making a New York City return anytime soon. Still, three more bands found their way onto my concert calendar today and I couldn't be more excited. (Even if none of the three actually call New York their home, yet.)

First off, Saturday night The Divorced drive down from Boston to warm up for Tiswas at The Annex. I've only seen them once before, but I liked what I saw. JR Gallagher's voice is an acquired taste, but it's easier to find a pretty, practiced vocalist than an honest one. When he sings, you feel it, and it doesn't take long to hear his songs' introspective beauty. Think M. Ward.

(Full disclosure: I know JR. Hell of a guy.)

Next up, March 16, the Ting Tings are coming back to town! Last time, you'll remember, I saw their abbreviated set as part of WRXP's Matt Pinfield Holiday Extravaganza. They weren't the only good band that night, but they completely stole the show. They're a British band, so if they read this they'll probably be offended that I think they performed with spunk. But honestly, that's more for jargon reasons than anything else. The Ting Tings are fun, talented and write outstanding pop songs. I have no doubt they're going to own Webster Hall.

Finally, Animal Collective returns to the city May 13 at Terminal 5. These tickets don't go on sale until Friday, so hopefully Pitchfork's 9.6 rating of their new disc Merriweather Post Pavilion won't spark a sellout. If it does, of course, I hope Roger gets me my tickets in time! I can't say a whole lot about AC because I haven't heard them yet. I'm about to grab their disc and it will be my next review, though. So keep reading...