The Marjorleans Knitting Factory Brooklyn Setlist

Review to come.

THE MAJORLEANS - 06.01.16 - KNITTING FACTORY BROOKLYN (41 minutes, 30 seconds)

SET -

Give It All to Me / Mr. Magic / Set to Receive / Never Had Enough / Under the Spell / Sunrise Mary / Real Bad / What I Mean / Tattoo

FRANCES CONE - 06.01.16 - KNITTING FACTORY BROOKLYN (38 minutes)

SET -

Over Now / Waterline / Keep It Moving / Shake You Out / Heartland > Arizona / Late Riser / Soon / Leave Without You

Glasvegas Build Their Wall of Sound in Williamsburg

"We are the Ceremonies.  Welcome to our ceremony."  With an intro like that and Matthew Cook's Robert Smith-y coiffure, I wanted to hate the L.A. band so badly.  But I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  You see, Matthew is not the band's only singer.  He shared the stage with his younger twin brothers, Mark and Michael, and the three harmonized as only brothers can.  While the doo wop stylings of "Straw Hat" succeeded more than the falsetto "Ballroom Bones," the brothers' vocals and constant instrument-swapping were winsome enough to not immediately write them off as a Depeche Mode tribute act.  I'm not running out to buy their EP or anything, but if I were casting an '80s college movie, they'd be a shoe-in for the band at the frat party.

I was there to see Glasvegas anyway.  Although their Phil Spector-meets-darkwave sound is capable of filling arenas, I was convinced there would be no better venue for it than the tiny 200-capacity Knitting Factory Brooklyn.  The melodic wall of noise began with the title track from their most recent LP, Later... When the TV Turns to Static, and didn't let up for over an hour.  Cloaked in darkness, the band was only lit with a few backlights, save for the occasional strobe illuminating the wrinkled sheet of a backdrop.  "It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry" was an early standout, with Jonna Löfrgen pummeling away on her drumkit without a stool in sight.  Ghostly figures spun in a waltz on the screen behind them, and James Allan set aside his thick brogue for a significant portion of the song to allow the crowd to sing the words.  And we pretty much nailed it.  Once the generous applause had a chance to dissipate, Allan revealed the origins of "Lonesome Swan."  Before he'd started Glasvegas, every day he'd walk by the water, where customers would rent pedal boats.  Well, except for the one shaped like a swan.  Eventually he felt so sorry for it that he took it for an embarrassing ride of his own.

The guitar tones in "If" and "Secret Truth" exemplified the slightly more hopeful outlook found on the new record, while Löfrgen's skilled cymbalwork shined in "The World is Yours."  James took some time in between tunes to nag on bassist Paul Donoghue for being "unprofessional."  Mocking Paul's inability to read the setlist in the dark, James badgered, "What song's next?"  The audience seized the opportunity to shout requests.  "No, I wasn't asking you," clarified Allan with a smirk.  Not that anyone had reason to complain, with classic tracks from their 2008 debut comprising half of the show.  Unfortunately, "Geraldine" was too rushed, but they made up for it with the slow burn of "Ice Cream Van," Jonna going ballistic on the soaring denouement.  "Ice Cream" melted into "Go Square Go," and the entire room was chanting the anti-bullying rally by its end, when the band departed in a shower of feedback.

We cheered non-stop for a minute and a half before James Allan returned for a solo "Flowers & Football Tops."  Unlike the father in the song, the other members returned for "Daddy's Gone," Allan's cousin Rab providing the wishfully sunny backup vocals.  Building steadily into an impassioned frenzy of James' shouts, "Lots Sometimes" wrapped up my favorite show of the year... so far.

THE CEREMONIES - 02.20.14 - KNITTING FACTORY BROOKLYN (30 minutes)

SET -
Wolfdance / Nightlight / Straw Hat / Ballroom Bones / Backbone Shakes* / Land of Gathering 

GLASVEGAS - 02.20.14 - KNITTING FACTORY BROOKLYN (1 hour, 14 minutes)

SET -
Later... When the TV Turns to Static / Youngblood / It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry / Lonesome Swan / If / Secret Truth / The World is Yours / Dream Dream Dreaming / Geraldine / Ice Cream Van > Love is Strange (tease) > Ice Cream Van > Go Square Go

ENCORE -

Flowers & Football Tops / Daddy's Gone / Lots Sometimes

Cookies at the Knitting Factory

When I moved back from California in 2010 and found out that the Knitting Factory had moved to Brooklyn, I was appalled.  Fortunately, the venue has redeemed itself over the years by housing Hannibal Buress' free comedy show every Sunday and continuing to open its doors to lesser known and unsigned bands like the original Knit.  Good acoustics don't hurt either.


Last night's show consisted of Dead Leaf Echo and Work Drugs, with Cookies in the middle, like a reverse ice cream sandwich.  Can you guess the genre of opening band Dead Leaf Echo just from their name?  If you guessed shoegaze, you're correct.  I don't usually listen to the ambient rock music unless I'm depressed or doing my taxes (like I said, depressed), so I really wasn't in the mood last night.  Dressed mostly in white, they projected inky black and white images onto themselves, as they played songs that felt too confined by their genre.  Had I not seen the funk revival band, the Stepkids, do the projection bit to its fullest (We're talking all white clothes and all white instruments!) earlier this year, it probably would've been a little cooler.  The blasts of color on the Stepkids were admittedly more thrilling to watch than the static on Dead Leaf Echo, where only a few reds and yellows found their way onto the palette.


Work Drugs hail from either the Florida Keys (like they claimed) or Philadelphia (like their website claims).  They categorize themselves as "sedative-wave/smooth-fi," which I suppose means "pleasant enough, but all the songs sound the same and don't go anywhere."  They have released something like 5 albums in the past two years (When I say released, it means burning a CD, putting it in a slim jewel case, and calling it a limited edition.), but they should really slow down and try to experiment a little more on their next one.  You're not really being prolific if you make the same song fifty times.  Good name, though.


I went to the show to see Cookies hopefully tear it up and buy their two 10" singles.  I got both.  If Cookies are just a dessert to you, here's some backstory.  When Mobius Band disbanded in 2010, they split into three groups.  Noam Schatz went the full-blown electronic route with LOLFM.  Peter Sax enlisted his wife to make baroque pop as Ladies & Gentlemen.  Ben Sterling put weird guitar sounds, synthesized drums, hard-hitting keys, and female vocals into the oven and baked up Cookies.  (Click any of the links to listen and download for free!  I'll even put the video for "Boycrazy" below.)

As the opening sirens of "Boycrazy" transitioned into Sterling's happy strumming, I knew I was in for a treat.  Even though he was slightly annoyed he didn't get the chance to soundcheck, Sterling pulled out the stops with his guitar, at times banging on its strings with a drumstick.  But how would the live vocals of Melissa Metrick, formerly of Reina del Camino, compare to her sexy legs?  They complemented each other nicely, especially on new songs "Piano Jam" and "Go-Getter," where she proved her range, belting out the lyrics like a soul singer, in sharp contrast to her usual breathy parts.  The playful interplay between Sterling and Metrick was fun to watch, especially when trading barbs on "Wilderness Tips" like "Little girl, you're mean; it took you 6 months just to fit in those jeans."  I long for the day when I can go to a Cookies show and the crowd yells the "yeah"s of the chorus.  When the propulsive bass of "Crybaby" punched itself into the song's end, I smiled, knowing that if they continue to get out there and play, the band's following will swell to at least that of Ben's previous band.  Then we'll get to have our Cookies at the end, like mom always said.

COOKIES – 08.03.12 – KNITTING FACTORY BROOKLYN (34 minutes)

SET –

Boycrazy / Face Down / Wilderness Tips > Crybaby (A) / Piano Jam / Go-Getter / 1,000 Breakfasts with You / Summer Jam