Music with Jameson & Lone Star: Jon Benet, Sharks and Sailors, Oh Pioneers, and Closet City @ Walters Dead Roses and The Wiggins @ River Oaks

Let me just say that doing yardwork and getting covered in a blanket of pollen before heading out to see a Jon Benet show may not be the smartest idea. Nevertheless, a short nap, some Mountain Dew, some Claratin, and I was pretty good to go...well at least for most of the night.

Over at Walters, I got in early enough to catch the opening band, Closet City, who played a short but pretty solid set. Given the heavy riffing, the vocalist screaming, and the loud-ass drummer you'd have thought these guys would move a bit more but no. The guitarist, for example, would run through these great riffs and aside from his fretting hand nothing moved. But performance aside, the music was pretty solid straight-up hardcore with metal tinges. PS guys, you don't have to ask people meekly to come on up closer to the stage, just rock and they will come.

Oh Pioneers were, for me, the biggest kick of the evening. Eric was, as usual, busting his lungs with his vocals and squeezing every ounce of emotion he could out of each song. That was no surprise but with Papermoons filling in as Eric's rhythm section, the songs played as they've never done before. The bass was a revelation as it filled out the sound from the more thin sound and almost Big Black-like crunch of the Chris Ryan era. That's no complaint on those shows (which were great) but the songs clearly needed that low end to give them some color and warmth. Nice surprise guys.

Sharks and Sailors followed with another solid set. I stood in front of Mike's amps and got the full dose of the stereo Marshall/Mesa amp set-up which is really sweet. [ I always wonder how it would sound if those cabinets were more spread out. Would it have any effect? Just wonderin'. ] Phil and Melissa proved why they are such a formidable rhythm section with their great bass lines and powerful drums. The best moment was the closing song (Condor?), which plays it smart enough to hold back and play-up the dynamics for all it's worth. The song swings into this shimmering atmospheric part near the end then roars into a a full force coda that simply kills. When is that new album coming out?

The Jon Benet closed the evening and proved why they have it so tough as a band. Here is the Jon Benet's problem. How the hell do you get what they do onto a recording? Their shows are simply incredible. Micahel Murland is a great frontman. He howls, screams, spits, and flings his body about getting all the boys up in front of the stage in a frenzy of fists in the air and screaming. The guitars are loud. The drums unstoppable. That force that hits you live is why, no matter how great they are as a band, their albums leave me cold. It's like that first MC5 record. Imagine if they'd recorded that in the studio? No way! It's impossible and they knew they couldn't do that! The Jon Benet should maybe consider the same - get the sweat, spit, and bruising of their live shows on a release. That would be incredible. Oh the curse of being TOO good live!

At Midnight, I headed off to the River Oaks Theatre as I heard The Wiggins and Dead Roses were playing upstairs. Mind you, by this time, I was pretty beat but it was on the way home - why not? I got there and found a small wedding party, the Young Mammals, and the Wild Moccasins hanging out. It was pretty low-key affair as the next hour consisted of the bands setting up and, if I was beat when I arrived at midnight, by 1 am (when things started) I was furiously nodding off. The Wiggins' set was, to be honest, a disappointment but it was still an honorable try. His hand, wrist, or arm (I'm not sure which) was injured and he clearly was having trouble playing guitar as his set went on. Finally, after about four songs, he just couldn't physically do it. He apologized, gave it one more failed attempt, apologized again, and sadly ended his set. Well, at least he gets points for a valiant effort.

While I was really dead, I stuck around for most of the Dead Roses set. (Hey, I actually liked them with a drum machine.) Ralph's vocals were outstanding and the guitars sounded great. It was probably the quietest Dead Roses show I'd seen but still solid. Bonus were the Betty Page films running behind them which (along with my fatigue) added a surreal quality. Lovely set but after about 2am I had to turn-in before I fell asleep on the road. Still, it was worth sticking around to see.

One last thing, the 2am departure meant I didn't make it to Dunnock's birthday shindig at the Mink so, hey Dunnock, Happy Birthday.

Closet City: we rock but we don't move much

Oh Pioneers, Your rhythm section kills!!!

Sharks & Sailors: Yes, they has a Tambourine!

The JonBenet: Inciting a riot!

The Wiggins: ...and JEM!!!

Dead Roses rock with Betty Page!

Links:

The Jonbenet
Sharks and Sailors
O Pioneers!!!
Closet City

Dead Roses
The Wiggins

More Pics:

Dead Roses & the Wiggins (Flickr Link)
Jon Benet, Sharks and sailors, Oh Pioneers, Closet city (Flickr Link)

BORN LIARS

Photography by Rosa Guerrero
(L to R: Shane, Bill, Jimmy, Scott)

A Friday night at Rudyard’s and the audience is being sucked into the vortex of chaos on stage that is Born Liars. Bodies are crushed at the front of the stage in an orgy of sweat and dancing. One woman is dancing and so engrossed in the music that she doesn’t realize she’s knocked my beer out of my hand and sent it crashing onto the floor where it is helplessly kicked around by the crowd until it’s finally trampled into tragic shards of glass and beer. Behind the microphone, guitarist Jimmy Sanchez taunts the audience as a barrage of feedback, notes, and noise surround him. Bassist Bill Fool, ass-crack exposed with his low cut jeans, eggs Jimmy on while some overzealous drunk pulls Guitarist Scott “Snot” McNeil’s microphone into the audience. All the while, drummer Shane Lauder just sits back and laughs at it all. “When we walked out after that set,” recalls Bill, “If I hadn’t had boots, I’d been cut up; there was broken glass everywhere! I’d never seen so many broken bottles! Hell, we had girls fighting! Lemme say that again - GIRLS FIGHTING!“

Houston audiences may have a reputation for being stoic but not at a Born Liars show. “I don’t want to hear [complaints] about Houston. That’s all those bands that don’t move [on stage]! ” vents Bill who clearly thinks a band has to incite its audience out of passivity, ”We’re not waiting for an audience to react; a band has to give the audience permission to move otherwise they’ll sit there.” Yet, the band doesn’t merely move on stage, as Bill explains it, they scoff in the face of failure with every performance. “Our songs aren’t played the same way twice. We’ll play three songs that’ll crumble but then the next three will work. This isn’t paint by number’s stuff. We’re the kid with the crayon [manically scribbling outside the lines]. It’s all feel. If a band feels it, the audience will recognize it.”

“There’s chemistry.” says Scott, “We’re all friends. We hang out together. We drink together – it’s an alchy band.”

“It sounds cliché but we don’t get on stage without drinks.” says Bill ”A few drinks and that’s when the vulgar put down jokes start flying.”

“And if we don’t have anything to talk about [on stage], we make fun of Shane.” laughs Scott. “Shane once said we need to be more PC and not make people uncomfortable.”

“So, of course,” Bill interjects “ at our next show, we get up and immediately it’s ‘Great to be back at this fag bar!’ We taunt the audience for being white and then take it out on Shane.” Then he says, almost acknowledging Shane’s concerns that this could all be misconstrued, “But it’s all a joke – there’s no hate.”

“Now word’s getting out and people hear rumors we’re a party band and people get expectations.” says Scott.

This sets Bill off on a tangent, “Shit, the hipsters get word of a good time! Fucks with beards! They’re 22 and think they are alcoholics with their clothes from American Apparel talking about their stupid record collections! They’re the 2K version of Preppies! Years ago they’d have been listening to Bananarama and drinking coronas!”

When I ask why Garage doesn’t seem to get much respect around certain circles, Jimmy objects “Garage is a chicken-shit way of not saying Rock and Roll! Garage? That’s all Rock and Roll - The Sonics, the Standells…. We’re really more so punk rock – Dictators, Johnny Thunders, Ramones…real American Punk Rock.”

“I’m not into music to be into art.” says Bill “This is all about late nights and shitty mornings. I’m in it to rock! We’re not trendy. This isn’t intellectual – it’s the opposite of intellectual. We don’t expect to make a dent in history…but then did Richard Hell or the Ramones? It all comes down to the songs. I’ve seen horseshit half-assed punk bands and they have no songs to save their lives. I love what Jimmy writes and if I didn’t, you’d know it. I’d be leaning by my by amp and after…I’d let Jimmy know!”

“Jimmy brings in bare bones songs and we’re given free reign.” says Scott, “Not once has he said ‘don’t do that.’”

“We add a lot.” says Bill, “We’re not Jimmy Fucking Sanchez’s backing band! We’re all individuals and what you hear on that new 7” is us.”

That new Born Liars 7” on Cutthroat Records was recorded in the practice space by Jimmy and Shane then mixed my Joe Omelchuck at RBI. “Cassidy put that out.” says Jimmy, ”No record release, no promotion and we’ve already sold really well – all word of mouth. Everything we’ve done has been word of mouth.”

Talk of the 7” leads to discussion of Low-Fi which the band abhors as an aesthetic. “It’s cool and hip to be Low-Fi,“ says Bill “but [the bands they are trying to emulate] weren’t trying to be low-fi. The New Bomb Turk’s first album is one of my favorites but then Billy Childish gets his hands on them and all the energy is lost.”

Before we finish our beers at Lola’s, I ask if Rock is irrelevant and Bill retorts, “Rock isn’t relevant because it’s not relevant to the major labels and so it’s dead to the public and I could give a shit. Relevant? Rock and Roll will always be relevant as long as there is booze and dive bars!”

Born Liars are recording their next album at Chris Ryan’s Dead City Sound. The CD will be released on Pat Todd’s Rank Outsider Records and the LP will be released on Cuthroat Records.

The Music Crumudgeon's preview for the Week of May 1st 2008

THIS WEEKS SPOTLIGHT
LORD JONBENET AND HEAVY FRIENDS

Saturday, May 3 -
The Jonbenet /
Sharks and Sailors /
O Pioneers!!! /
Closet City
@ Walter's on Washington

Oh Jimminy Christmas, I'll admit it, it's a slow week- REALLY SLOW - thankfully Saturday will be anything but thanks to this excellent line-up. The Jonbenet are as heavy as a Higgs Boson. But don't just go off the myspace stuff, I mean sure it's heavy and hard but you have to have experience it live to truly get what they do. Beyond just the raw power of the amps and the riffs, lead singer Michael Murland proves to be just as droll and he is loud. Sharks and Sailors ain't no small shakes either. Their new album, Chinese Democracy, has been rumored for years about a possible release and this may be the year! The three piece has one of the most brutally precise sonics out there - one that drills though your skull, drops a charge of TNT, then runs away as your head explodes. Er... or something like that. Listen to Rickshaw live and you'll know what I mean. Oh Pioneers!!! is one I'm, stoked to see as Erick I Heart U will be backed up by members of the Papermoons which should be pretty sweet. Finally, Closet City is just straight up hardcore. Ahhh, yeah this is where you want to be Saturday Night!


ALSO THIS WEEK

Friday, May 2

The Texas Sapphires (in-store)
@ Cactus Music (6PM Free!)
Austin's Texas Sapphires bring their pedal steel fueled Country Bluegrass down to Houston and it's free.

Wicked Poseur
on KTRU's Revelry report
http://bang.rice.edu/ (6PM Free!)
Ian and Matt have been doing a great job of broadcasting live local bands on Friday's Revelry Report. The always awesome sauce Wicked Poseur are playing tomorrow which should continue the shows amazing winning streak! Tune in brothas and sistahs.


Saturday, May 3

Arthur Yoria / Southern Backtones / Pale
@ Rudyard's
Arthur Yoria has a new single coming ou.t I'm gonna take a wild stab that he might be doing a pop song.


Doyle Bramhall
@ McGonigel's Mucky Duck
FYI - for all you Arc Angel's fans. I'd link to his myspace or his pages but his publicity shots are just too frightening for words. Attention Stacey and Clinton you know what you need to do!!

Saturday Secret Show
@The Shady Tavern
Who is playing? Jeez I don't know why are you asking me?

Sunday, May 4

Roger Waters
@ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Hi I'm Roger Waters. I was in this band called Pink Floyd. You may remember us. We made a lot of great albums. I went solo after that and made some really overwrought and histrionic solo albums that quite simply sucked ass. So I'm just giving up and serving up nostalgia.


Monday, May 5

B. / Elaine Greer / Foxhole /Interstate
@ Notsuoh
Yay B. and their math rockin' energetic shows! Yay Elaine Greer, her sharp as nails songwriting, and her lovely voice! Yay Bowling Green Kentucky's Foxhole in all it's instrumental goodness. Yay Interstate ... er ... IDon'tKnowWhoTheFuckYouAre... but sure why not? Ride those coattails my brothers. And I was complaining about it being a slow week. This and the JonBenet show look pretty awesome to me! [Oh damn it's on Monday! Grrrr!]


Uh Huh Her/Angie Mattson
@ Walter's on Washington
U.H.H., 20 words or less? OK? Go! "Femme 80's styled electro pop that would surely have found it's way onto a John Hughes film."

Tuesday, May 6

Mike Ness/Jesse Dayton
@ The Meridian
Another State of Mind has to be my favorite Punk tour documentary. The part with Minor Threat and that part with the guy showing you how to skank is pretty awesome. Yeah Mike Ness is still at it. Opener Jesse Dayton is from Austin and does that (stop the presses!!) Texas Singer Songwriter thing.

Wednesday, May 7

The Breeders/Colour Revolt
@ The Meridian
The Deal sisters return. Need I say more?

The Whigs/What Made Milwaukee Famous/The Dead Trees
@ Warehouse Live
Pop Rocks via Athens, Ga.'s (The Whigs), Austin TX (What Made Milwaukee Famous), and Portland, OR (The Dead Trees).

Music with Jameson & Lone Star: Peter Brotzmann & Han Bennink (Sunday) and The Defenestration Unit (Friday)

[Han Bennink disciplines his drum kit]

This weekend was all about the Jazz and less so about whiskey and beer. Friday I hit Brazil - a land where the beer and wine may flow but not so much the harder stuff. No worries, this was more of a pit stop in my evening on my way to some more serious boozing. The reason for the stop was I'd been jonesin' to see The Defenestration Unit (which has quite a few members with whom I've played music over the years) and Brazil's intimate space is a perfect venue for the ensemble. The band plays with no set list, or as Jim Otterson explains, "Jeff [Miller] just throws us a key and we go from there." Improvisation and horns sure, but this isn't what I'd call straight Jazz. They definitely have a huge bit of Krautrock running through their veins and Mike Switzer pretty much admitted this when I mentioned it but added "Well, I've been listening to a lot of James Brown so I'd hope it's a very funky Krautrock." Which isn't too far off as Bassist Jeff Miller, plays with the kind of detached funkiness you'd associate with say Berlin era Bowie. But overall they played a lovely first set that was a nice kickoff to my evening, I particularly love the sounds from that little Korg Charlie has been employing. Most importantly, the one thing I learned from watching this performance is that the best way to upstage your bandmates is to whip out a rubber chicken and actually play it for a few measures as Mike Switzer did (left). Sure you may point out that Jeff hit some sweet wah driven bass lines but, dude, Mike was just playing a chicken - that trumps all! So, appropriately, the band ended its first set not long after and I bid farewell and headed for the land of whiskey and hangovers.

Sunday found Diverse Works no better in the hard booze department but that was hardly a drawback as Peter Brotzmann and Han Bennink were in town thanks to Nameless Sound. Happily the show was well attended to the point where they had to add a few folding chairs at the last minute to accommodate the overflow. This was a boon for slack-asses like me as I got to sit not 5 feet from Brotzmann and, let me tell you, when you are close enough at a jazz show where you can feel the breath coming out of the horn, that's as good as it gets.

The show itself was droll, playful, and full of energy. Bennink and Brotzmann have played together for so long that their performance was like listening to two people complete each others sentences. That kind of playfulness and levity is something that many people miss by simply listening to recordings while never experiencing this stuff live. This is music of the moment; it is sound begin pulled out of the ether and being molded, beat, and shaped right in front of you with a full joy of creativity that acknowledges that it's supposed to be fun. Brotzmann is a Jazzman who plays with an ferocious intensity that reminds me of Hardcore - a blur of notes, volume, and energy. He can make the horn squeal for mercy yet can also whisper with great emotion. Bennink, for his part, is just as masterful but he is as much a joker as he is a musician. His sense of humor and childishness permeates his performances (likely why my 6-year-old son is a fan - "Aww dad, why couldn't I come?" "It was past your bedtime." "Awww!!!"). His performance style is not far off from that of Cop Warmth's Zlatan and his antics. For example, Bennink entered the stage with a huge hunk of wood, laid it across his lap, and began playing it, then, discarding it, fell back, and, laying flat on his back, played the floor while Brotzmann played over him. Later Bennink would play with his foot, chide his drum kit, drag chairs, throw things, and all sorts of shenanigans as a kind of comedic foil to Brotzmann's straight man. But here is the thing, as playful and even goofy as Bennink was, it never overshadowed the music or talked down to the audience. He and Brotzmann were simply having a discussion on stage like two enthralling dinner guests. Their chatter would range from loud arguments of notes and beats to quiet and thoughtful discourse and their manner had this wonderful way of engaging you and bringing you into the conversation. That, my friends, is a level of enganement with an audience to which every musician should asipre.

Special Note:

Some props are in order by the way for Nameless Sound who have for years not only been bringing Houston some of the finest in improvisational jazz,experimental, and any other genre that gets good coverage in say Signal to Noise Magazine but also have been doing excellent work with music education for kids. It's simply a great organization. So, if you've not checked them out see the link below.

More snapshots on Flickr:

Brotzman/Bennink (Link)
TDU (Link)

Links:

The Defenestration Unit (On Myspace)
Peter Brotzmann (Wikipedia)
Han Bennink (HanBennink.com)
Nameless Sound (website)
Diverse Works (Website)

Review - Papermoons-Lazy Bones

My obsession for this last week has been the song Lazy Bones - a teaser Papermoons posted for their upcoming album on their Myspace. If there have been cries of 2008 being a rough year for Houston music (Proletariat's closing, the ongoing travails of SHFL, etc. ), let me just say that Papermoons are prepared to clean the slate and raise the bar. Papermoons show how you can accomplish more with understatement and simplicity than any overdriven Marshall, screaming rawk vocalist, or histrionic Xiu Xiu emoting song could ever dream of.

There are no gimmicks in this song. In fact, if you break it down, what do we have? Most of the song is just straight C to F with a bridge that rises to G - a straight 1-4-5. That's pretty basic stuff. But the band makes it work because they start with a strong melody and back it up with brilliant harmonies and enviable phrasing in which there are, on occasion, words you cannot make out simply because the phrasing chooses emotion over articulation. That kind of instinct is priceless.

Consider the transition between the opening and the first verse. The opening starts with a simple waltz where the chords ring each measure, the drums ride softly off the cymbals, and the vocals let the notes hover, then, with a short melodic run, the song plows into the first verse. The meter hasn't changed, the chords are still C to F, but there is this lovely momentum in that change and they do this by simply having the guitars, drums, and vocal melody emphasize the beat. In other words, they simply hang back then hit the beat. It's subtle but horribly effective and the reason it works is because it's all so organic and natural in feel.

It's gorgeous music performed with singular confidence and emotion that reaches in and grabs your heart and stops all the noise and clutter around you! It's 3:53 of pure beauty and if that isn't good enough for you then you have no soul!

I can't wait for the album this summer!

Link: http://www.myspace.com/thepapermoonsband

Rating System

David Thomas (Pere Ubu): So good my head is going to explode!



Dave Thomas (Wendy's): Pretty tasty.



Dave Thomas (SCTV): Oh My fucking God! What happened to these guys!
*Reserved for bands that at one time were great.



Celine Dion: Hey, more power to the artist and the fans but leave me out of it.



Nickelback Dude: So bad that I'm only reserving it for the worst of the worst; I mean, come on, we're talking sucking worse than Celine Dion.