Rx Bandits Bring "The Resignation" to Best Buy Theater

Two years ago, Rx Bandits went on an indefinite hiatus, and fans weren't sure when they would return, but we all had a sneaking suspicion they would.  The tenth anniversary of The Resignation, the album where they solidified their progressive sound, turned out to be enough of a catalyst to make them pack up the van and hit the road once more.  Last night, the tour stopped at New York's Best Buy Theater.

The opening act was Northern Faces, a band I wasn't expecting to enjoy based on the samples I'd heard of their debut EP, Southern Places.  However, in accordance with my maxim to see music performed live, I was pleasantly surprised by the quartet from Albany.  I still feel they have plenty of room to grow vocally, but their stage presence and musicianship were both beyond their years.  Bassist Matt Ippolito wiggled around the stage joyously as "Dark Days" packed its Crazy Horse punch.  Revving up new song "Strange Places," Marco Testa's guitar sounded like a helicopter taking off underwater.  Testa attempted to sing some lyrics off-mic, but the room not being as intimate as Mercury Lounge, or having the legendary acoustics of Carnegie Hall, his voice was completely swallowed up.  Before their final number, Bryan Shortell thanked the crowd, saying, "There's an energy in this city that just isn't anywhere else in the country."

Truer words were never spoken as the lights went down for Rx Bandits, the large screen behind the stage displaying The Resignation's cover art.  The boys dove right in with "Sell You Beautiful," generating a tsunami on the floor that was perpetuated by the spinning vortex of a moshpit on the left side of the room.  Not a casual fan in the crowd, everyone sang along at the top of their lungs, forging a blistering energy that only intensified with "Prophetic."  Chris Tsagakis rode the wave, accelerating the already-fast "Newsstand Rock" to a breakneck speed that actually got a little sloppy.  The opening chant of "Overcome (the Recapitulation)" gave everyone a chance to breathe (Well, maybe not the folks in the front, packed so tightly that security emptied water bottle after water bottle onto them in hopes of preventing any blackouts.) before it eventually found its way to its normal pace.  Slipping into the next tune, the horns caressed the groove of my favorite performance of the night, "Never Slept So Soundly," which reached its pinnacle as the crowd sang, "Together!"  After "Republic," Matt Embree took a moment to address the audience briefly: "We missed you guys. How ya doin'?"  He didn't wait for an answer though, as the band crunched into "Mastering the List."  There was a noticeable dip in the energy level around this point, a combination of both the predictability of the setlist and the fact that the songs on the album stretch out in this section.  "Mastering" wrapped up as it does on the record, with a spaced-out dub jam, this time visually accompanied by the opening dream sequence from 8½.  In a night that seemed slim on jamming, it was a welcome treat.  "Falling Down the Mountain" featured a Coltrane-esque sax solo that felt a little out of place thematically, but I appreciated the effort.  After "Dinna-Dawg," C-Gak played a drum solo that came to an abrupt end right before the stabbing beat of "Decrescendo" would've kicked in.  The audience had been waiting for it all night, and the delay made it that much sweeter.  The energy back on par with the set's beginning, the moshpit took over the entire center of the floor as Embree repeatedly sang, "Did you get what you wanted?"  I don't think there was a soul in the room who didn't.

As fans cheered for four minutes, a bizarre video was projected of man who had been shot in the stomach, crawling around and smearing his blood as he inched along a wall.  The images switched to the chest of a female exotic dancer, who removed her top, issuing an audible cheer of "Yeah!" from some in the encore-hungry audience.  So much for not objectifying women, Bandits.  The band returned, and Embree admitted, "It means so much to us that we were gone for so long, and you all came back."  The screen illuminated with the four-armed woman on the cover of ...And the Battle Begun as they eased into the title track.  Would they play all of that (superior) record too?  It actually seemed like they might when they transitioned into "In Her Drawer."  There were no complaints though, only a collective roar, when the Native American face from Progress appeared to ring in "Infection."  Midway through "Only for the Night" Embree stepped to the edge of the stage and said, "We could play all night for you.  We could play all night for you."  Though he didn't make good on that, he sang a few lines from "Bring It on Home to Me," which I'd seen him perform in full last year, before bringing "Only for the Night" on home to its rousing conclusion.  There isn't any word yet on if the Bandits are back for good, but I hope they don't make us wait three more years for the ...And the Battle Begun anniversary, even though that's a show I definitely wouldn't miss.

NORTHERN FACES - 07.20.13 - BEST BUY THEATER (39 minutes)

SET -
Poor Moonlight / Dark Days / You Not Me / Side of the Road / Woke Up in the Morning* / Strange Places* / Under My Skin / Finding Hope

RX BANDITS - 07.20.13 - BEST BUY THEATER (1 hour, 42 minutes)

SET -

Sell You Beautiful / Prophetic > Newsstand Rock (Exposition) / Overcome (the Recapitulation) > Never Slept So Soundly > Taking Chase as the Serpent Slithers / Republic / Mastering the List > Falling Down the Mountain > Dinna-Dawg (and the Inevitable Onset of Lunacy) > Pal-Treaux / Decrescendo

ENCORE -

...And the Battle Begun > In Her Drawer / Infection / Apparition / Only for the Night > Bring It on Home to Me (tease) > Only for the Night

Top 15 Concerts of 2012

These were the top 15 concerts I attended in 2012.  Feel free to make your own list in the comments.

15. Diamond Rugs - 06.24, Rumsey Playfield, New York, NY
"Totally Lonely" was exponentially better live than recorded, with all the members joining producer Justin Collins on the final refrain. For the set-closing "Christmas in a Chinese Restaurant," the group thinned its ranks to a duo of McCauley and Los Lobos' Steve Berlin. The fact that it was merely days after the summer solstice only amplified the beautiful sadness of the song." (Read full review)

14. Deer Tick - 12.19, Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY

"With a loud "Kick it!" they crunched into "Fight for Your Right." Matt Vasquez of Delta Spirit now had the oft-traded Mustang, but his most memorable contribution to the song was throwing pitcher after pitcher of beer onto the crowd. This insane final display was the ultimate example of why we go to Deer Tick shows: Because anything can happen because it's a goddam party." (Read full review)

13. Alabama Shakes - 10.06, Merriweather Post Pavilion (Virgin Mobile Freefest), Columbia, MD

"While bassist Zac Cockrell still only moved slightly more than a well-timed bobblehead, Brittany Howard was absolutely magnetic.  She was wearing a blue dress with red dots and sporting a straightened hairdo, but you couldn't take your eyes off her face.  If you were a deaf person, you could've learned all the vowel sounds just by the way her mouth moved, soulful howls bursting out of the gaping hole." (Read full review)

12. Mayer Hawthorne - 04.16, Webster Hall, New York, NY
"This isn't a concert; it's a show," Hawthorne announced at the onset.  Backed by his band, the County, MH dazzled fans with a set of soulful originals from both of his albums, and even a few Hall & Oates covers.  For final song "Henny & Gingerale," Hawthorne played bartender and made drinks for those in the front row as he sang.

11. Matt Embree - 09.11, The Acheron, Brooklyn, NY

"The banter became downright ridiculous, Embree claiming he knew half the people in the room, even their "drunken-ass aliases, like when you get so drunk you're another person." While he may have seemed like another person between songs, his drunkenness had no effect on his musicianship. His guitar solo in "Taking Chase as the Serpent Slithers" was absolutely ferocious, and he proved his vocal prowess on a soulful cover of Hendrix's "Castles Made of Sand." (Read full review)

10. 10 Ft. Ganja Plant - 04.20, The Middle East, Cambridge, MA

This was the third ever live performance for the secretive reggae band.  The sweaty night of dub in the basement of the club was a night to remember... though due to obvious reasons, somewhat forgotten. 

9. Phish - 12.30, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

"Disarmed by the first set, we were all ready for Phish to drop the real jams on us.  Kicking things off with "Down with Disease," the boys made it through the main part, and then unearthed a subterranean monster toward its end.  Knowing glances around the room as we lapped up the amazingly funked-out puzzle where all the pieces fit properly." (Read full review)

8. Ben Harper - 10.10, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
"That was only the start of what would be the 54-minute encore, where Harper reached back into his catalog to revive old favorites like "Not Fire Not Ice," "Power of the Gospel," and "Welcome to the Cruel World."  The show could have bookended with the instrumental "Exhale," but surprisingly, Ben brought his chair downstage, even in front of the suspended stage mic, to play "Suzie Blue" on ukulele." (Read full review)

7. Kishi Bashi - 05.16, Le Poisson Rouge, New York, NY

It's hard to upstage the Barr Brothers, but with a violin, a microphone, and some looping pedals, he did it.  Everyone stared silently in awe as he magically constructed his songs piece by piece.  Best of the three times I saw him.

6. The Heavy - 08.30, Irving Plaza, New York, NY

A live staple for years, "The Big Bad Wolf" followed it like Little Red Riding Hood, but this wasn't the sneaky trickster from the children's tale.  This was a fucking monster.  With the crowd howling and screaming, "What you say!" it was incredible to realize that I was in a room full of adults singing along, "I'm gonna huff and puff, and blow your house down!" (Read full review)

5. Ben Taylor - 05.17, City Winery, New York, NYBen and band unveiled several new songs from his upcoming album Listening in the sonically sweet space.  Audience member John Forté sat in for a few tunes, including the fan-suggested encore "Digest."

4. Animal Liberation Orchestra - 07.23, Rocks Off Boat Cruise, New York, NY
"You guys are yelling out some really old ones," noted Dan.  "Should we do 'Sexo y Drogas?'"  And they did.  For the first time in over a year.  It was like watching 2004-era ALO all over again.  Before launching into the singalong "Walls of Jericho," I heard Lebo tuning a little ghost of "They Love Each Other."  My ears didn't deceive me, the Garcia ditty exhuming itself from the remains of "Walls." (Read full review)

3. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals - 06.14, Irving Plaza, New York, NY

"At 9:37, the band took the stage to the tribal drums of the title track off their newest  album, The Lion the Beast the Beat. Having released the LP on Tuesday, the set was heaped with fresh tunes, and Grace wasn't ashamed of it. "If you don't know it, just fucking pretend you do." (Read full review)

 

2. Band of Horses - 09.18, House of Vans, Brooklyn, NY

"What was evident was that these boys love playing music. Ben sang with such gusto, you could witness the veins bulging in his tattooed neck. Every member had a wide grin for the show's duration; even the typically stoic Ramsey sneaking out a smirk from somewhere in the center of his beard." (Read full review)

 

1. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - 09.29, Central Park Great Lawn (Global Festival), New York, NY

"Neil Young and Crazy Horse played a blistering mix of new songs from the upcoming Psychedelic Pill, and classics like the 15-minute opener "Love & Only Love." Young, Poncho, and Billy Talbot huddled together in the center of the stage, churning out waves of distortion into the crisp night air." (Read full review)

Matt Embree's Tour Ends with a Drunken Tell-All on 9/11

Matt Embree and Vinnie Caruana finished up their acoustic tour last night at the Acheron in Bushwick.  While Vinnie had been the talkative one at Mercury Lounge, a slew of shots loosened up Matt thoroughly, resulting in a very fun, very interesting show in a super-small venue.

A duo called Sad & French opened the show.  One guy sang, played guitar, and occasionally kicked a kickdrum, while the other played upright bass and occasionally sang backup.  Under the lights, the singer looked like Nicolas Cage in Con Air, and he had a good punk growl.  Unfortunately, the accompanying music was too simplistic to add much, so most of the songs felt incomplete.

Vinnie's I Am the Avalanche bandmate, Mike Ireland, also known as Spirit Houses, came next.  I am a fan of the tracks on his album, I Don't Do Drugs Anymore Again, but in the studio, he kept his vocals in check.  Live, he had trouble with restraint, singing and screaming his words at top volume, making the songs seem "emo," which is never a good direction.  If he can hone his live performance to be as nuanced as his record, he'll go a lot further.

Vinnie Caruana began his set with the same trio he started with at Mercury Lounge: "Symphony," "This One's on Me," and "To Be Dead & in Love."  His throaty bellow on full display, he launched into "The Gravedigger's Argument" from Avalanche United.  "It's important that you write songs about killing your ex-wife.  It's important so you don't do that," he said, extolling the medicinal properties of music.  He followed it with "Clean Up" from IATA's first album.  "Brooklyn Dodgers" ended with a singalong from a crowd that sounded much better than those at Mercury Lounge.

At 10:45, Matt Embree climbed onto a stool on the stage, drink in hand.  He began by thanking everyone for coming to the show because it was essentially unpublicized (Well, aside from yours truly.).  He also described Vinnie's flat-faced cat as looking like it had been hit in the head with a spatula made of concrete.  "I don't have to worry about my nose getting in my water anymore; just my whiskers," he imitated.  "Overcome (the Recapitulation)," which had ended the show on Friday, moved up to the front of the set.  After revving up the crowd with the Rx tune, Embree shared, "I feel so very blessed to have so many good friends in New York City, and it's a wonderful place.  I have to have at least a $600 hangover or that's how much I lose if I miss my flight tomorrow."  "Bring Our Children Home" followed, with "oh-oh-oh" chants supplied in full force by the crowd.  After a reprise of Friday's "The King of Carrot Flowers," Matt jumped into the first medley of the night, which included "Scarlet Begonias," "54-46 That's My Number," and "I Second That Emotion."  "Just so you know, none of those songs are Sublime songs.  They ripped all those songs off," he clarified, despite having sung lyrics from the Sublime versions.

Shots piled up stageside to assist in the hangover.  "I look so ungrateful with all these shots sitting up here.  How 'bout I finish some of 'dem and I won't look so damn ungrateful?" he suggested in a sing-sing tone.  As the evening progressed, Matt became more and more inebriated.  Out of nowhere, he questioned, "You guys ever seen Big Momma's House?" which led to a tangent about playing acoustic in a South American jungle, to going to Montreal with a Canada-hating Vinnie, to the advice: "If you're so pissed off that you need to kill someone, just kill yourself."  A little later in the show, he went on a riff about California's Prop 8, and divulged how he had once made out with his gay friend to see what it was like.  "I think everyone should go home tonight and make out with one of their gay friends and see what happens," he suggested. (Check out video of the banter below.)

"You are all very lovely and attractive people," he complimented the audience.  "So are you!" called someone. "You should see me in the morning without my makeup... I look great!" he joked.  The banter became downright ridiculous, Embree claiming he knew half the people in the room, even their "drunken-ass aliases, like when you get so drunk you're another person."  While he may have seemed like another person between songs, his drunkenness had no effect on his musicianship.  His guitar solo in "Taking Chase as the Serpent Slithers" was absolutely ferocious, and he proved his vocal prowess on a soulful cover of Hendrix's "Castles Made of Sand."  After fulfilling a request for Manu Chao's "Clandestino," Matt snuck in a cover of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" before segueing into "Apparition."  He announced what would be his last song, and started playing "March of the Caterpillar."  When he reached the jam, he declared, "Are you ready for it to get weird?" and transitioned into "S.T.P." by Sublime.  But it didn't stop there.  He seamlessly delved into "Only for the Night," which had the entire crowd throwing their heads back to shout to the sky.  With the amount of alcohol consumed and the probability of additional security at the airport, hopefully Matt is able to make his flight on time tomorrow.  And if he doesn't, he's certainly welcome to stay in Brooklyn.

SPIRIT HOUSES – 09.11.12 – THE ACHERON (19 minutes)

SET –

That Ship Has Sailed / Seasick / Holy Eraser / January Wedding / Piles of Dirt / Just Don’t See*

VINNIE CARUANA – 09.11.12 – THE ACHERON (28 minutes)

SET –

Symphony / This One’s on Me / To Be Dead & in Love / The Gravedigger’s Argument / Clean Up / Hey / Brooklyn Dodgers

MATT EMBREE – 09.11.12 – THE ACHERON (1 hour, 27 minutes)

SET –

Overcome (the Recapitulation) / Bring Our Children Home or Everything is Nothing / The King of Carrot flowers (pt. I) / Scarlet Begonias > 54-46 That’s My Number > I Second That Emotion / Taking Chase as the Serpent Slithers / David’s Birthday / Master of Puppets (tease) / Castles Made of Sand / White Lies / Clandestino / I Heard It Through the Grapevine > Apparition / March of the Caterpillar > S.T.P. > Only for the Night

Matt Embree Covers Neutral Milk Hotel & Announces Brooklyn Show

Matt Embree (of Rx Bandits) and Vinnie Caruana (of I Am the Avalanche) sold out Mercury Lounge for one of the last stops on their summer acoustic tour.  Each frontman played a solo set of songs from their various projects, and announced a secret Brooklyn show for next week.

Those who arrived early were treated to a short set by Lauren Coleman, singer for Pebaluna, a new band that features Embree (Album Carny Life drops 9/18.).  Accompanied only by her ukulele, her sultry voice sang songs of becoming rich and an island where parrots open your beercans.  Coleman's tunes, with her jazzy delivery, playful lyrics, and gentle strums, recalled those in movies from the '50s where everyone stops to watch a musical number.  I was trying to think of who her voice reminded me of, but I couldn't quite place it.  When I got home, I discovered she's the female character in one of my favorite songs: Gavin Castleton's "Coffeelocks."  Mystery solved.

Vinnie Caruana (rhymes with marijuana) put down his beer and picked up his six-string to open with "Symphony."  His voice has improved so much over the years, his guttural growls awed the crowd into silence.  When the song ended, he launched into the first of what would be several extended railleries: "That song's a downer.  'Why did he start with that?'  There's more where that came from."  "I'm from Long Island and I'm in a band called I Am the Avalanche."  Cheers from the crowd.  "You guys know that island and that band?  Sick."  After another IATA classic, we got Vinnie solo staple "To Be Dead & in Love," which he said would be on a solo release to be recorded during the winter months.  "I was in a band called the Movielife."  More cheers from the crowd.  "The magazines say we were an influence to the young'uns.  And we made way less money than them."  Movielife tunes "Hey" and "Sailor Tattoos" had most of the crowd singing, and one drunk guy on the right side of the room yelling.  Caruana took time to thank Lauren Coleman, revealing, "My father already likes her music more than mine."  Vinnie's parents were in the crowd, which made the father-themed closer "Brooklyn Dodgers" all the more poignant.

Matt Embree took his place on a stool center stage a little after 9pm.  He kicked things off with "Bring Our Children Home," the first of five Rx Bandits songs for the evening.  The crowd joined in for the triumphant chorus, and for a moment, things were great.  But as the night progressed, the drunk on the right shouted more and more, and audience members came together to shush him.  After the incendiary Love You Moon track "To Kill for You," Embree eased his way into Sublime's "Pool Shark."  A surprising cover of Neutral Milk Hotel's "The King of Carrot Flowers (pt. I)" came next, and was promptly followed by the highlight of the night, "Taking Chase as the Serpent Slithers."  Everyone in the crowd seemed to know the words, and helped Matt through the song's bridge.  He admitted afterwards, "Whenever I play with Rx, I just make shit up."  A faithful cover of Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary" came later, the inebriate on the right barking, "Mary!" throughout.  A bluesy interpretation of Sam Cooke's "Bring It on Home to Me" was similarly marred by the asshole.

When punk musicians go acoustic, their fans generally don't know how to adapt (Well, at least no one moshed.).  It's fine to scream at the top of your lungs when it's drowned out by distortion and drums, but it's a completely different story when the artist is alone and unplugged, even if they're encouraging you to sing along.  Add in the fact that most punk fans can't carry a tune and you've got yourself one nasty situation.  This culminated when Lauren Coleman stepped on the stage to duet "A New World" with Matt sans microphones.  Please please please let the band sing when they're not using mics.  RXB standard "Overcome (the Recapitulation)" finished it out, along with the announcement that Vinnie and Matt have added a special final tour stop: Tuesday 9/11 at the Acheron in Bushwick.  Tickets are $10 at the door, and the guys promised to change up the setlists.  I'll be there if you shut the fuck up, and if I can figure out how to get home.

VINNIE CARUANA – 09.07.12 – MERCURY LOUNGE (33 minutes)

SET –

Symphony / This One’s on Me / To Be Dead & in Love / Hey / Sailor Tattoos / Green Eyes / Brooklyn Dodgers

MATT EMBREE – 09.07.12 – MERCURY LOUNGE (56 minutes)

SET –

Bring Our Children Home or Everything is Nothing / To Kill for You / Pool Shark / The King of Carrot flowers (pt. I) / Taking Chase as the Serpent Slithers / David’s Birthday / March of the Caterpillar / The Wind Cries Mary / White Lies / Bring It on Home to Me / A New World (feat. Lauren Coleman) / Overcome (the Recapitulation)