Music with Jameson & Lone Star: Sleeping in The Aviary, Dizzy Pilot, Hearts of Animals at Walters 12/13/2009

It wasn’t until I got to Walter’s on Saturday that I realized I’d forgotten to charge my camera’s batteries and to bring my handy dandy notebook so this will be a somewhat brief review and without the usual number of snapshots. Still, it was a nice night of music. Opening was Hearts of Animals who I haven’t seen perform live since the release of her new Cave Lights CD so it was wonderful to hear new songs like the heart melting Sister Stories performed alongside the older songs. Sleeping in The Aviary’s set was driving and solid with singer Elliott Kozel belting the songs out like his life depended on it. The night closed with Dizzy Pilot plowing through its songs with more muscle than I’d ever heard them lay out before (as impossible as that sounds) with the looser more improvisational aspects really shining. The three sets were made all the better by the Terry’s great work behind the sound board; he, along with Joe over at Rudz, are the kind of sound guys bands should thank every time they work with them. Seriously, those guys make the bands that work with them shine.

A few quick asides...

I spoke with Cley (who was backing up HOA on the first song) before the set and he told me the new Young Mammals album is slated for release this spring. So add that to your already heavy schedule of highly anticipated releases for 2009.

I also spoke with Sleeping In The Aviary who were horribly nice people. Celeste and Elliot went on at length about a show they recently played in Little Rock where they found themselves suddenly burdened with a three hour set. Not knowing what else to do, they started taking requests for covers from the audience and the requests eventually evolved into an impromptu 90’s set where someone in the audience would call-out something like Oasis which would be met with like a third of the audience booing the request then that very same third of the audience would be singing along and cheering to Wonderwall. The whole thing sounded pretty hilarious and fun especially since the band was figuring out the songs on the fly. But that’s the impression you got from SITA, that for them it’s just a whole lot of fun. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing them return next summer.

Hearts of Animal's Mlee Suprean
(with Cley Miller of Young Mammals)

Links:
A few more pics over at my flickr (link)

Sleeping In The Aviary on Myspace (link)
Dizzy Pilot on Myspace (Link)
Hearts of Animals on Myspace (Link)

Music with Jameson & Lone Star Part I: Dannzig, Monocles, News on The March, & Young Mammals at Walter's 10/31/2008

OK folks, let's get one thing out of the way here. If you go to a hardcore show there is this thing called a circle pit. People run in a circle that's very much like the running of the bulls where, if you jump in, you may get hurt but, if you stay out, you will likely be less likely to be hurt. I say less likely because, of course, you'll sometimes get pushed, shoved, or even elbowed but that's not done on purpose but is the result of a simple accident that goes with the territory. Let's face it, generally speaking, Hardcore kids are about community and not about banging heads. So why the fuck is it at a JonBenet show like Friday's Dannzig performance do you occasionally get a small group of mentally deficient meatheads who probably just drove in from the suburbs to play a game of hardcore for a night? I'm not saying this is reflective of all the JonBenet fans in any way but all it takes is like 3 or 5 morons to be a bother. Seriously, this same shit happened at the Hallow Men show last year where the band (as they did Friday) had to tell some morons to chill. Sorry, I know you THINK this is how hardcore is supposed to be but what you are engaging in isn't a circle pit - it's a circle jerk; put your tiny dick back in your pants, go home, and play in your little boy's only clubhouse. Not cool, not punk, not hardcore, just self-absorbed poseur bullshit from a bunch of thick necked apes.

Ahhh OK now that I've addressed that idiocy can I get to the rest of the evening? It was actually a pretty good evening and, mind you, the morons I speak of couldn't ruin it.

I missed the always fun the Wild Moccasins but got there in time to see Young Mammals who were looking to bat 300 with this - their third - performance as The Pixies. Jeff of Bowel/Brian's Johnston filled in on the drums dressed as The Hulk (pretty hilarious as he'd grimace like Lou Ferrigno while holding his sticks). But his stage presence and antics aside, my one small quibble for their performance was that his drumming style is a better fit for some plodding sludgy metal than the upbeat driving pop of the Pixies. Again that's quibbling as, despite that "Is my turntable running just slightly slow?" feeling at times, the band hit the songs solidly and had the crowd singing and dancing. I mean you can't fail with Cley Miller's guitar work and guest Mlee Suprean handling Kim Deal's parts.

News On the March followed with a good performance but not their best. They had a blast on stage with some silly Halloween bit where this was supposed to be a News On The March reunion twenty years in the future where we got to see see what will have happened to all the members . It was funny and cute to be sure but, in hindsight (and having seen the band at Walter's before with impeccable sound), the antics got in the way of the music and the performance. The humorous asides and silliness simply seemed to stall any momentum the band had built up. That's not to say that people weren't amused and having a good time, but I'd wonder what, if any, impression News on the March would have made to those not already familiar with their work. Is that quibbling? Maybe it is, as the songs were played well, but there is a reason why bands dread things like breaking strings and that's because building momentum and keeping a flow is so crucial. Still it's Halloween the important question is was it fun and that was a resounding "Yes!" so let's not over analyze.

The Monocles meanwhile didn't bother with skits (though Jeoaf was sporting a dashing police uniform). No, fuck that, just start her up, grab the wheel, and put the pedal to the floor. Damn straight, you don't need any frills, just straight up garage with the pop pop pop of drums, an overdriven guitar, a driving bass and a whole lot of sweat. Not just any sweat - rock and roll sweat - the kind that has you dancing and shouting "Monocles! Monocles! Monocles!" Well done lads.

Dannzig (the always brilliant Jonbenet) closed the night with a pitch-perfect tribute to Glen Danzig. For my taste, I'd have liked to have heard a bit more Misfits material in the mix but, again, I'm in a quibbling mood this morning. You know the score - shirtless blood-soaked men playing loud - and that's exactly what you got. People were packed at the front of the stage with their fists up in the air and singing along. Sure there were the handful of meatheads I mentioned in the beginning of this review but even their idiocy couldn't mar the performance and the audience's revelling in all things Danzig. I'll bet you any amount of money that if you saw the real Glenn Danzig on Wednesday at the House of Blues, you probably got a shittier show for more money. Ironically, this was the real deal.

Young Mammals Going 3 for 3 as the Pixies

Cley Miller
(insert Rod Stewart's Hot Legs Here)

Mlee Suprean reprising her role as Kim Deal

Nobody had the guts to tell Jeff Bowel
that the Hulk was never in the Pixies

Cris Cascio crashes the party

News on the March were all smiles

Austin in his finest Hugh Hefner

"Hey Joe, I got a Snickers and M&Ms. What did you get?"
"I got Rocks!"

Don't ask. Really, you really don't want to know.

Say it Say it!
Monocles! Monocles! Monocles!

That's not sweat...

...That's Rock Juice!

Dannzig playing the soft feel-good hits

Nothing will get the boys more excited than
a shirtless dude flexing on stage.

Bow to my rock!

Dude, Warren Buffett is so into Danzig!

Links:
More Pictures on my Flickr (Link)

Young Mammals (Link)
News On The March (Link)
The Monocles (Link)
The Jonbenet (Link)

Hearts Of Animals (Link)
Bowel (Link)
Bryan's Johnston (Link)

Music with Jameson & Lone Star: The Young Mammals & Hard Place @ Artstorm 12 July 2008

As if to counter the John Lomax's "our scene sucks" mantra, Saturday's Creature Comforts art opening at Art Storm (located within Caroline Collective) was a raving success. Unfortunately, the traffic from Galveston resulted in my arriving just in time to hear Wicked Poseur's last notes ring but, judging from the wild applause, they did pretty alright indeed.

I wish Wicked Poseur had traded slots with Hard Place because I honestly could have done without them. You know that Spongebob Squarepants episode where Squidward is assigned to lead the half-time ceremonies at a football game and the orchestra plays this terrible painful parody of an 80's song? Sure, the bit is mildly funny for its minute or so run-time but picture that for 30 minutes - that's Hard Place! Yeah, exactly! It's annoying as fuck. It's like a band that looked up every hipster cliche and decided to make that caricature real. Of course I know it's supposed to be tongue in cheek but to pull that off requires some wit and Hard Place displayed none though they clearly seemed to think they possessed it in spades.

The crowd may have dug Hard Place's set but, my irony meter reading in the red, I merely took the time to check out the art which was a much better use of my time. For a show like this, I like to just look at the art first then go back with a program and see who created what. The funny thing was that when I made the second pass with the program the same name came up again and again without fail - Eli Sebastian Brumbaugh (Link). On the right is Ezekiel 44:31, one of his paintings on display and it, like the rest of Brumbaugh's work, displayed wit, playfulness, and joy without a hint of smugness - a perfect antidote to Hard Place's set. Thank you.

The Young Mammals closed the night with their typical verve. The band is one of Houston's best and a perfect example of why those who decry Houston bands as mediocre need to get out more. Their songs and performances spring with energy and the band engages in the kind of jocular repartee during their set that is simply endearing. This was one of the band's last shows with their drummer Iram and I hope you savored his performance if you were there. Very few drummers can upstage their bandmates but Iram, though seated throughout, plays with the energy of a crazed trucker careening his 18-wheeler just to the edge of the cliff - sticks fly, he falls off his stool, and collapses on his kit as he drips in sweat from hurling every ounce of energy into his performance. Is it any wonder he'll be missed? Not to under-sell the rest of the band: they are just as much fun as they hop and jump like stand-ins for The Beatles in HELP! So, of course, people ate-up their performance. Be it alone or with guest Mlee Suprean (Hearts of Animals) on one new song, the band radiated everything that is so great about a summer evening in Houston.

Culture is alive and well in Houston folks so leave the wide-screen TVs and Wiis at home.

"Houston's drawbacks: mediocre bands,
terrible radio, second-rate venues,
poor public transportation, killer
sprawl and a diverse populace
of mildly paranoid, cynical souls. "
- John Lomax

"Sure, our local bands, venues and sound men
are not the greatest, true enough, and cliques
can be off-putting to newcomers and less trendy
music fans." - John Lomax

Iram's drum kit sums up my reaction to Lomax's
obsession with the Two Gallants show from
two years ago. Any guesses as to how many
people stayed home or even thought of that
show Saturday night?
If you guessed one, that's too high.

"The minute people stop trying to figure
out what's wrong, they'll start to get it right."*
- Mlee Suprean

Yet another poorly attended Houston show.
Why was nobody there?
Just ask John Lomax and he'll tell you:
mediocre bands, a substandard venue, and a cynical populace.
Oh yeah and Two Gallants.

Links

Wicked Poseur (Link)
Young Mammals (Link)
Hard Place (Link)
Art Storm (Link)

More Pictures on my Flickr (Link)

* regarding Lomax's article and the resulting Hands Up Houston discussion.

Exodus: Movement of Jah People!

Is it me or is this a year of exodus for great musicians from Houston? Earlier Danny Mee of the Jonx moved to Austin and Jenny Westbury also announced her imminent departure to Seattle. Now word comes down the line of a continued talent drain.

First Iram Guerrero of Young Mammals (aka The Dimes) is down to his last three shows before he leaves Houston. That's a huge blow given that he's one of the premier drummers in Houston and a defining part of the band's sound. Then, Papermoons announced that after their upcoming tour, they too will also be leaving Houston. Oh wait, but it gets worse because Sabra Laval has also announced her departure from Houston. Man, that's a rough year and we're just past the halfway mark.

So, just so you know, here may be the last few times for you to see these artists in the near future as they will be seen a lot less frequently 'round these parts.


Papermoons

Friday July 11
CD Release/Tour Kick-off w/ B./The Sour Notes /Phillip Forshee
@ The Backroom (behind the Mink)

Young Mammals

Saturday July 12
W/ Wicked Poseur, News On The March& Hard Place
@ Artstorm/Caroline Collective

Sunday July 13
W/ Hard Place & Wicked Poseur!!!
@ The Backroom (behind the Mink)

Sunday July 27
The Houston Press Music Awards

Sabra Laval

Monday July 28
w/ Warren Jackson Hearne & Admiral David
@ Notsuoh

The Jonx

Friday August 1
w/ Sharks and Sailors (CD Release Party) & UME
@ Walters

Music with Jameson & Lone Star: French Kicks, Young Mammals, & Hearts of Animals @ Walter's 06 June 2008

Well, that's quite the news to get in the afternoon. Hands Up Houston announced that Frightened Rabbit had canceled their performance due to their van breaking down. That was a shame as I really love this Scottish band's droll and energetic Sing The Grays album and it sounded like they might translate pretty well live and possibly give the Dimes a run for their money. The upside though was that the always solid Hearts of Animals was called-in to pinch-hit at the last minute - you couldn't have ask for a better resolution.

Now, I don't know about you but when I drove up I was immediately overwhelmed by a swarm of headlights ahead of me and behind me! I thought, "What the fuck is with the traffic on Washington Avenue?" Then, when I turned the corner, I saw the unspeakable. A sight as frightening and improbable as turning that same corner and seeing Big Foot and Fulad-zereh fucking on the street while Abraham Lincoln stood watching and smoking a fattie. There, running back towards Washington Avenue with slicked hair and a pristine white shirt, was a valet! Yes, you got that - a fucking valet on Washington Avenue! I then rounded the block and it turned out everyone was just as confused as I because the carpark in front of Walters had open spots. Incredible! Then as I got out of my car some dude on his cellphone asked, "Is this valet parking here?" Somehow, between thinking "Are you fucking with me?!!" and "If you have to ask...", I mustered a cranky "If you're looking for valet parking you want douche-central across the street." I'm sure the bouge motherfuckers who constantly harass Walters with noise complaints are more than happy with the new desirable clientèle at the Pearl but, for the rest of us, all we can do is shake our heads and think poor poor Washington Avenue.

Thankfully, inside the doors, Hearts of Animals had already taken the stage. Over the PA, beats and backing tracks from Mlee's Powerbook pumped while her guitar layered lovely finger-picked notes above them and suddenly the gentrification convention outside didn't matter anymore. The familiar melodies of her older songs (as well as that new one that I love with Cley of the Young Mammals) are always welcome sounds and the performance was exactly what you'd expect - inspiring. The excited voices of some new-to-HOA women standing in line to the bathroom seemed to confirm that summation. The Superunison folks couldn't have been smarter in picking her to fill-in.

The Dimes followed and after a few "Let's go team!" hand slapping they proceeded to slash and hack through their set in that fashion we're so used to seeing and likely take for granted here in Houston. It's the Dimes: Iram pounding the drums while stealing the spotlight from behind the kit with his charming impish performance, Cley dancing with his guitar in a manner suggesting he'd do a good job of wrestling a giant rubber snake in some crazy B movie, and Carlos (all smiles) leading the charge with his voice while his rhythm guitar, along with Jose's bass, keep it all from sprawling into chaos. They are a world-class live band and the new songs just show great and unique they are as a band. This is one Houston band that - high gas prices or not - needs to get on the road, take it to the people, and show them how it's done.

Closing it all was Brooklyn's French Kicks. The performance was sharp, the sound was crisp, and the harmonies and instrumentation were gorgeous. And while some songs are wonderful and will make you break-out in an uncontrolled admiring smile, the simple fact remains that the French Kicks are a very good band. I have been spinning their new album and enjoying some of its songs quite a bit but, here is the rub, both the Young Mammals and Hearts of Animals are better and more consistent songwriters and, when it comes to a live show, the electrifying Young Mammals energy is unbeatable. The latter may not be particularly fair to French Kicks given what they do but, honestly, as their performance continued, I did get that "OK got it!" feeling by the last third. God, that sounds awful because it makes them sound as if they were bad but they weren't; the bar had simply been raised so high that even a band of their talents simply couldn't overshadow what had preceded. But that was just me as everyone else in the packed crowd clearly loved it from the first note to the last. So, ne vous inquiétez pas French Kicks - it's not about who doesn't salute, it's about who does.

Hearts Of Animals
Pinch-hitting for the Scots

The Young Mammals
Breakin' out in a Cold Sweat The French Kicks

Basculez la maison

Links:
Frightened Rabbit (Link)
Hearts of Animals (Link)
Young Mammals (Link)
French Kicks (Link)

More pictures on my Flickr (Link)

Music with Jameson & Lone Star: How Metal are you? (Golden Axe, Jonx, Hearts of Animals, Young Mammals, & Wicked Poseur)

Yes Houston Indie kids, this week we will discuss your lack of Metal worthiness but first let's have a recap of this weekend's shows eh?

Friday Evening

Wicked Poseur, Young Mammals, & Hearts of Animals
at the Orange Show

Ahhhh, did you smell that too? The animal may have been an unrecognizable blob of fur but the smell was not - that was the smell of fresh roadkill. So, as I walked my way over to the Orange Show, I kissed away any appetite I might have had earlier. Mercifully, I wasn't really coming down for the loose meat sandwiches or even the fabulous art cars for that matter (don't get me wrong the art cars were a hoot especially the one that shot the flames 30 yards into the air) but I was here for the music - the cool evening and the art cars were simply a bonus.

Hearts of Animals opened with an excellent set - no surprise there. I hadn't heard these songs live since the Casiotone show so Friday it was as welcome as the cool breeze blowing that evening. The big kick was hearing that new song that Mlee performed two shows ago enhanced by Cley Miller's guitar work. The song had previously used that Trio Da Da Da Casio beat but this night Cley took Mlee's pre-written parts and added his unique style that gave the song this additional level of interplay and warmth that wasn't there in the previous performance. Cley may not be a shredder but he has a feel for the instrument that is enviable. His contribution here was a testament to that and a great compliment to Mlee's skills as a writer.

Young Mammals followed with their first set since the Block Party and the band was at its most playful and energetic. They ripped through familiar songs with all the verve you'd expect then, out of nowhere, they threw in two new songs. Both songs were great but the first had an added treat - Mlee Suprean guesting on guitar and lead vocals. The song was great and it was funny how well Mlee and YM meshed. While the music was clearly classic YM, the vocal melody was all Mlee which only highlighted how gifted she is with pulling melodies out of the air. I couldn't make out her lyrics but it didn't matter, her voice and phrasing are always a kick. To hear her writing new material is always thrilling and collaborating with YM shows just how nimble she can be. The other new song was also a blast with Iram leading the charge. If a band is defined by their drummer then Iram certainly sets the tone for the band with a scrappy playfulness that is irresistible. At one point, Carlos leaned over to Iram to say something along the lines of "This feels weird." Iram smiled, leaned over, touched the tip of his drumstick to Carlo's teeth, gave him a quick flick, and laughed. That jovial gesture pretty much summed up their set.

Wicked Poseur closed the evening and their set also delivered in spades. Arthur Bates was in fine form; he's the sweetest drunken smart-ass you'll ever meet. Earlier in the evening, Arthur was rambling and riffing on anything and everything and during the set he was no different causing Chris Cascio to start begging Arthur to "Just Play!" even as he was laughing. All Tom foolery aside, the songs and the two guitar attack was a blast. Earlier this month, Ben Murphy made a point about solid state amps and how tubes may get all the love but anyone with a good ear who knows how to put it to good use can make any amp sing. Even as a devoted fan of tubes, I had to concede his point; he not only won the discussion, he won it decisively. As if to rub my nose in it, Chris, with my most reviled solid state amp (a freaking Peavy), was ripping it up with sounds that couldn't have been more perfect for the material. It's funny but for all the electronic aspects of Wicked Poseur, the guitar work is what makes it rip like Led Zeppelin doing Can. Arthur' vocals were at their brattiest while Chris' danced, swayed, and moved like his life depended on it. Great band, great songs, and a great performance - pretty par for the evening.

Saturday Night
The Jonx, Golden Axe, & Awake
at The Mink Backroom
I have to apologize for missing Awake. Last time I saw them, they played an inspiring set. I wish I could say that I had a damn good reason for shirking my journalistic duties but the truth of the matter is I was drinking whiskey and chilling at a friend's house and time just kind of got away from me. Chris Gray would later comment that I seemed in good spirits. Yeah, after three glasses of whiskey, I'd better be!

When I arrived, Golden Axe had just started and the crowd was eating it up...well eating it up in the way Houston Indie rock kids do. If you were looking for heavy metal parking lot - this wasn't that crowd. [See epilogue for a fuller discussion of what I mean.] But all teasing the crowd aside, my favorite thing about Golden Axe is how they take something that is so riddled with clinches and make it work. If you don't think Metal is capable of intelligence and wit, you clearly have never heard Golden Axe. There is no other band in Houston that can make me laugh out loud without uttering a word. Warren Hatfield and James Love make Metal that's droll without a hint of a nudge nudge or a wink wink - theirs is a metal guitar led assault that makes no apologies. I grew up with so many amazing metal guitarists who could run circles around most mortals but their Achilles heel was that their compositional skills were never on the same level. Warren has such a sharp sense of composition atop of his fretwork skills that it should make people like Yngwie Malmsteen and their followers hand their heads in shame. Long live the The Axe!

The Jonx closed the night and reminded me just how wonderful a trio they are. The trio plays music like a drunken mathematician raving about a favorite theorem. Yet, for all its mathrock qualities, the Jonx music is never cold - it drips with feeling. Stuart Smith's guitar is as capable of crunching out dissonance as it is capable of throwing out a lovely melody, Trey Levigne's bass work is always aggressive and muscular, while Danny Mee's drumming is ever nimble and powerful. Together they interact in the same manner as one of those Japanese animae robots where various robots combine their powers into one super-robot. Appropriately, all before them were crushed into submission. I'm so glad that Danny Mee's move to Austin didn't mean the end of the Jonx.

EPILOGUE
(Due to the limits of our template's layout - please, click on image)




PICTURES

Hearts of Animals' Mlee Suprean
Miss coolness herself

The Dimes
They is On Fire!!

Wicked Poseur's Chris Cascio
gets his Jimmy Page on.

Golden Axe's Warren Hatfield
Wow! Tough crowd!

The Jonx's Trey Levigne
as the Hulk

LINKS & CREDITS:

Bloodstock photo by John Ashby
(Check out his flickr page - amazing stuff)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnashby/

More pictures on my Flickr Page:
Hearts Of Animals, Young Mammals, and Wicked Poseur (Link)
The Jonx and Golden Axe (Link)

Band Links
Hearts of Animals

Young Mammals

Wicked Poseur

Awake

Golden Axe

The Jonx