I Am the Avalanche Marlin Room Setlist

Review to come.

I AM THE AVALANCHE - 03.28.14 - THE MARLIN ROOM AT WEBSTER HALL (55 minutes)

SET -
Two Runaways / Holy Fuck / Amsterdam / I Took a Beating > 177 / I'll Be Back Around / New Disaster / Green Eyes / The Gravedigger's Argument / Anna Lee / This is Dungeon Music / This One's on Me / The Shape I'm In / Gratitude / Brooklyn Dodgers

Frances Cone Brings June to Mercury Lounge

It was an absolutely bone-chilling March night.  So cold that the doorman for Mercury Lounge was standing inside.  And he never stands inside.  "It's a different season onstage," announced Frances Cone, ready for summer in a short-sleeved blouse and Daisy Dukes.  Bathed in pink light, the Brooklyn band kicked things off with "Better Man," now sporting a fresh intro that didn't immediately bring to mind "Come on Eileen."  As they made their way through "Come Back" and new tune "Wiser," the band displayed a confidence that wasn't there when I'd first seen them perform.  (Granted, they had previously been booked between two neo-soul singers, and now they were headlining.)  Cone admitted her trepidation before the debut of "June," but it turned out to be the best of the set.  Based around a droning loop, the song built gradually into a soaring, shimmering slice of indie pop.  They literally hopped into "Soon," bringing a taste of country into the mix.  Part of the appeal of Cone is her unique voice, which sounds like the battle between a dulcet ingénue and a raspy femme fatale.  You're never quite sure who's gonna come out on top, and that makes it interesting, especially when she tackles a cover like the Black Keys' "These Days."  The brief, eight-song set came to its close with "Rattles Your Heart."  After a quick "band meeting" at the side of the stage, they returned for an encore of Paul Simon's "Rene & Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War."  And we all felt a little warmer inside as we stepped out into the freezing air.

FRANCES CONE - 03.26.14 - MERCURY LOUNGE (38 minutes, 30 seconds)

SET -

Better Man / Come Back / Wiser / June > Soon / These Days / 85 / Rattles Your Heart

ENCORE -

Rene & Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War

Mike Gordon Experiments on "Spock's Brain" at Webster Hall

"Yo," Mike Gordon said simply into his microphone.  It was only a few minutes after the announced set time of 7:30, and the sold-out crowd had yet to arrive at Webster Hall.  Phans used to showing up 90 minutes after doors for Phish shows may have been surprised to find the set already in motion, but the important thing to remember was this wasn't a Phish show.  This was Mike's event, hot on the heels of the release of his fourth solo record, Overstep.  He kicked things off with "Tiny Little World," a pop/rock number that exists at the crossroads of They Might Be Giants and Spin Doctors.  He got a little nasty towards its end, but pulled out before things got too funky.  "Yarmouth Road" came next, and was met with a hearty cheer of recognition from the growing crowd.  From its start, the reggae ditty was more fully realized than its early Phish interpretations, with percussionist Craig Myers clip-clopping on the blocks as Scott Murawski turned out some Al Anderson-style licks.  A few minutes in, however, the tune hit a lull.  Mike and Scott turned their backs to the crowd.  It was a fake-out.  The two spun around, revealing their glowing light-up guitars, and breathed new life into the song.  When it was actually nearing its end, Todd Isler began to drum an outro.  Mike looked at him and shook it off, preferring to segue into "Caught Up."  Following the brief number, Gordon made an odd comment about moray eels, and generously thanked ATO Records.  In "Radar Blip," he unveiled a new bass effect that sounded like screaming, which wore off its welcome pretty quickly.  He switched to a resonator guitar for "Loon," with Murawski taking the bottom on acoustic bass.  Too much talking made the song hard to hear, especially when Mike's mic wasn't super-loud to begin with.  He picked up the bass again for "Are You a Hypnotist??," putting a late '80s spin on the futuristic Flaming Lips song.  Gordon closed with "Another Door," one of his Phishiest-sounding solo tunes, so it only made sense that this was the one they'd open up.  The jam kept blooming into different upbeat sections, eventually reaching its apex, which had the whole band hopping in unison (aside from Isler, obviously).  The Phans showed their appreciation with a brief precipitation of glowsticks.  

Gordon admitted that he was in "kid in a candy store mode" during the first set, as he tried out different instruments, pedals, and tunes.  The only issue with such an analogy is a kid in a candy store should have appeared to be having more fun.  But as just the third set of his 2014 tour, jitters and experimentation were to be expected.  He was more sure of himself in set two, and it showed.  Keyboardist Tom Cleary took lead vocals on "Pretty Boy Floyd," and tossed things back to Gordon for Phish rarity "Spock's Brain.  "Morphing Again" was a strange choice for a jam springboard, so its venture into improv felt more forced than organic, but it found its groove fairly quickly, with Mike revisiting the resonator for a bit.  It transformed quite nicely into the progressive calypso of "Mrs. Peel," which got a little dreamy towards its conclusion.  In Phish, Mike usually spearheads the most danceable moments, and the groove-hungry crowd were finally sated with the cheery "Face," with the projected video imagery evoking the Millennium Falcon going into hyperspace.  A darker, dirtier complement to the happy "Face," "555" followed, and really got the crowd moving.  "Long Black Line" was announced as the final song, and while it began with an earthy classic rock vibe, things got weirder and weirder as it progressed into alien territory.

It may have been the sense relief of completing his second show of the Overstep tour, but Gordon seemed the most comfortable during the encore.  He was almost a different person for "Voices," doing a silly sort of t'ai chi with Scott, and pointing in all directions at people in the crowd.  He may have been "uneasy in his skin" in the song's lyrics and for some of the show, but the encore served as his assertion that he's perfectly capable of having fun without his three Phriends.

MIKE GORDON - 03.01.14 - WEBSTER HALL

SET ONE (1 hour, 6 minutes) -
Tiny Little World / Yarmouth Road > Caught Up / Surface / Radar Blip / Loon / Are You a Hypnotist?? / Another Door

SET TWO (53 minutes) -
Pretty Boy Floyd / Spock's Brain / Morphing Again > Mrs. Peel / Face / 555 / Long Black Line

ENCORE (13 minutes) -
Voices

The Wood Brothers & Chris Kasper Captivate the Folk Out of Irving Plaza

If you're a folk fan who lives in New York and you weren't at Irving Plaza last night, you fucked up.  Chris Kasper welcomed the audience in with his metaphor-soaked lyrics set to simple acoustic accompaniment, and the Wood Brothers brought the house down with their jazzy twist on American folk music. 

Fortunately I was able to catch Kasper's soundcheck, where he tested the levels on six tunes, including a pair that didn't make it into the night's proceedings: "When the Mountains Cry" and a cover of "When I Paint My Masterpiece."  With the mix to his liking, Chris and I dashed around the corner to Little Town to tape an episode of The Next Round, where we chatted about everything from burgers to magnets.  Make sure to look out for that.

"It's a thrill to be here on this legendary stage," revealed Kasper at the start of his set.  "Most of all, it's a thrill to have some people out there," he laughed, and dipped into "Ancient - Lo."  He was joined on violin by Kiley Ryan, who added just the right touches to the songs, from eerie wails on "Raven & the Rose" to antique washes of warmth on "Don't Want to Lose Your Way."  In addition to playing together on his most recent album Bagabones, Kasper and Ryan released a record as a duo under the name Foxhound, so they offered up that group's "Bask in the Light."  Prior to trucker-anthem "Belly," Chris announced, "I'mma sing it through my walkie-talkie here," motioning to his bullet microphone.  It gave his vocals the befitting quality of a CB radio, while Kiley supplied her own seductive backup vox and tambourine hits.  Chris went solo for "Blessed Little Secrets," an incredibly well-written love song about more than just ice cream and thrift stores, but also those too.  Kiley returned for Springsteen's "State Trooper," performed in honor of the turnpike they took to get to NYC, and her fiddling at the end of "Oh, Carolina" was absolutely hypnotic.

Halfway through the set break, Chris Wood appeared to drop the needle on a Little Walter LP, spinning on a small turntable atop a cabinet of unfinished wood.  With beams of light peeking through the slats, the stage was set for the trio to enchant.  The Brothers took their positions, Chris stopped the record player, and Jano Rix breathed some spooky notes into his melodica.  Oliver chopped gently at his guitar and began singing, "I see the backbone of a thin man."  And then Chris hit the crowd with that big double bass sound.  "Neon Tombstone" was the perfect choice for an opener, allowing the crowd to observe the parts as they tallied up to their glorious sum.  With his long blond tresses, Oliver gave off the appearance of a lovable, floppy-eared dog.  Although he kept his eyes closed most of the time, you could tell he was fully aware there was a crowd in front of him when he'd dig into his guitar, biting his lower lip with a shit-eating grin on his face.  After "Wastin' My Mind," Chris dropped in a bopping bass solo, which allowed Rix the time to migrate to the center of the stage with his "shuitar" (Say it out loud.), a busted guitar outfitted with finger cymbals, tuna cans, and other junk to transform it into a percussive instrument.  They decided to "Sing About It," and did so in wondrous harmony.  They followed with "The Muse," not ashamed to load the set with numbers from their latest LP.  "We got your cards and letters.  We're gonna get to all of that stuff," remarked Oliver.

And they did.  "When I Was Young" shined, featuring not one, but two bass solos from Chris.  "Postcards from Hell" was specifically dedicated to music lovers.  "There's a big difference between music lovers and music likers," Oliver delineated, explaining that lovers are either musicians or concertgoers who really pay attention and experience it, not those "in the back tweeting, texting, and twerking."  A didgeridoo-ish bass solo linked "Twisted" with a spunky "Who the Devil" that had the crowd roaring for more.  The Brothers decided to shift the energy a bit, inviting Kasper and Ryan to the stage to sing with them around a center microphone.  Oliver warned the audience that the mic was very sensitive, adding, "It's only Thursday. Let's just chill out for a minute."  The five sang the traditional "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" with fiddle accents from Kiley.  Foxhound departed and the trio turned out a mesmerizing one-mic "Firewater."  Chris took lead vocals on "Losin' Streak" and even inserted the riff from "Low Rider" into his harmonica part.  "Honey Jar" was a fun one, its Meters-style strut giving way to a chorus as sticky as the title.  Anyone who follows the Wood Brothers knows that angels are a recurring theme, and they delivered a medley beginning with the soft "That's What Angels Can Do" before blossoming into the exuberant "Angel."  They wrapped up the triumphant set with a singalong of "Make Me Down a Pallet on Your Floor."

Of course, that wasn't the end.  Once he'd reclaimed the stage, Chris expressed his distaste for categorizing music by genre: "People say we're Americana, whatever that means."  Readying his upright, he continued, "Here's a song that's as American as any," and they launched into Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)."  Chris finally released his bass for "One More Day," wiggling excitedly around the stage.  In the rest before the song's last note, Oliver yelped, "Weeeee!  God dang it, this is fun!"  For all parties involved.  However, I did really want to hear "I Got Loaded."  I'll send a card next time.

CHRIS KASPER - 02.27.14 - IRVING PLAZA

SOUNDCHECK -

When the Mountains Cry / Where Did You Sleep Last Night / State Trooper / Ancient - Lo / State Trooper / When I Paint My Masterpiece / Oh, Carolina

SET (40 minutes) -
Ancient - Lo / Raven & the Rose / Don't Want to Lose Your Way / Bask in the Light / Belly / Blessed Little Secrets / State Trooper / Oh, Carolina / The Waterline

THE WOOD BROTHERS - 02.27.14 - IRVING PLAZA (1 hour, 41 minutes)

SET -
Neon Tombstone / Wastin' My Mind / Bass Solo / Sing About It / The Muse / When I Was Young / Fall Too Fast / Postcards from Hell / Twisted > Who the Devil / Where Did You Sleep Last Night (feat. Foxhound) / Firewater / Luckiest Man / Losin' Streak > Low Rider (tease) > Losin' Streak / Honey Jar / That's What Angels Can Do > Angel / Make Me Down a Pallet on Your Floor

ENCORE -

P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) / One More Day

Black Joe Lewis Sweats It Out at Irving Plaza

I hadn't planned on going to a concert yesterday, so I was happily surprised when I looked in my inbox and discovered two tickets to see Black Joe Lewis at Irving Plaza.  Thanks to DoNYC, who were also presenting the show, I wouldn't be spending my evening shopping for Ziploc bags and clothes hangers.

Seattle band Pickwick took the stage first, beginning with the eerie "Myths," which merged into the soulful "Brother Roland."  Frontman Galen Disston had a good voice, but something was off with the mix or his mic because he could have been a lot clearer.  They proceeded with a new tune cut from the same (Terri)cloth as World/Inferno Friendship Society.  Aside from the vocal issues, that was Pickwick's biggest downfall: While they did a good job paying tribute to their various influences, they had some difficulty finding their own sound.  They were most successful when they'd dig into an upbeat bass-led jam like on "I Don't Wanna Go Out" or "Hacienda Motel."  The latter segued into "The Ostrich," a song Lou Reed recorded with the Primitives for the Pickwick label in 1964.  For those of you who've never heard the record, just imagine your 45 of the Crystals' "Then He Kissed Me" skipping, and then people shouting weird bird noises over it.  They funneled that punk energy into their final number "Window Sill," with guitarist Michael Parker jumping down onto the barricade to scream into the crowd's faces.

From behind Irving's setbreak projection screen came a deep monster voice, welcoming the audience to the show.  The screen slowly lifted, revealing Black Joe Lewis, who eased into "Vampire," the first of ten Electric Slave songs that would be played.  The Texan lovechild of James Brown and Jimi Hendrix, Lewis specializes in distortion-heavy, take-no-prisoners, funk rock.  At the end of the first song, he lifted his arms to reveal damp splotches in the pits of his light grey t-shirt.  I made a prediction: By the end of the night, the shirt would be three shades darker, drenched in sweat.  And although a recent foot injury may have limited Lewis' dancing abilities, his showmanship never faltered.  By the second song "Black Snake," he was playing guitar with his teeth.  A few tunes deeper, and he was hanging the instrument from his head, churning out a wake of feedback as he stumbled around like a zombie.  By the time he reached "Guilty" halfway through the set, Lewis admitted, "I think I used up all my tricks for the night, so you all might see some of the same shit."

While many of the gritty ditties shared a similar structure, the repetitiveness was excused by the band's enthusiastic playing, which was nothing short of intoxicating.  The swampy hard rock of "Skulldiggin" ignited the audience, as well as saxophonist Jason Frey, who grabbed a tambourine and leapt back and forth off of Eduardo Torres' drum riser.  Fans were definitely getting their money's worth, with one even tossing a crumpled bill at Lewis.  "You can keep your money, girl. I'm not a gigolo," Joe said, unraveling the greenback to reveal Washington's face.  Funnily enough, he followed the proclamation with "Make Dat Money."  The moment I'd been waiting for finally came when they revved up "Sugarfoot," the first BJL song I had ever heard.  When they weren't firing off their signature blasts, the hornsmen stepped out with some choreographed moves á la the Temptations.  Then Joseph Woullard completely blew the lid off the room with an astonishing bari sax solo, simultaneously playing both low and high parts.  They completed the set with a pair of Electric Slave tracks, "Young Girls" and "Mammas Queen."  Two minutes later, the band reclaimed the stage.  "Y'all knew we were comin' back," smiled Joe, and he pounded out two more rockers, his shirt now charcoal in color.

(If anyone knows the name of the encore songs, please inform me.)

BLACK JOE LEWIS - 02.19.14 - IRVING PLAZA (1 hour, 27 minutes)

SET -
Vampire / Black Snake / Dar es Salaam / Booty City / I'm Gonna Leave You / The Hipster / You Been Lyin' / Golem / Guilty > Skulldiggin / Make Dat Money / Come to My Party / I'm Broke / Sugarfoot / Young Girls / Mammas Queen

ENCORE -
Waste* / Won't You Call Me on the Telephone*

Robert Ellis & Ian O'Neil Unload a Heap of New Music at Mercury Lounge

"I haven't even played anything and we're having technical difficulties," Ian O'Neil said sheepishly, as he realized the mic pointed at his guitar's sound hole wasn't on.  Creedence's "Green River" seeped out over the PA, and O'Neil's Deer Tick comrade Dennis Ryan started shuffling.  Ian mimed playing the song for a laugh.  With the mic reinstated, it was time to begin.  The duo managed to get through one verse of "Bury Deep" before some atrocious feedback forced them to stop.  O'Neil borrowed headliner Robert Ellis' electric, and started over from the top.  The two followed that with "Walkin Out the Door," one of Ian's Deer Tick numbers.  Ryan moved aside for "I Got Nothing Left to Give to the Toilet," which O'Neil revealed to be a tune by Happiness, the duo's new side project.  Curiously, Dennis was silent for both songs identified as Happiness tracks.  "Oh Lord, Your Fire is with Me" was a slower one, but Ian's gentle "ooh"s had a melody fit for an anthemic pop song.  After covering Neil Young's "Don't Cry No Tears," he played "On the Beach," a Happiness original not to be confused with another song by Young.  Dennis returned to the mic again for "She's Not Spanish" and "The Dream's in the Ditch," a song so catchy that Robert Ellis was onstage singing along by verse two.  Before finishing his set with "Maybellene," O'Neil thanked the crowd for showing up for his first NYC solo gig.  I guess he doesn't count Brooklyn Bowl, where I saw him open for Deer Tick three times.

Robert Ellis kicked things off with "Westbound Train," which grew steadily into a full-on country romp, accented by the wonderful pedal steel of Will Van Horn.  It was the night's only offering from 2011's Photographs, as a week ago, Robert dropped his third album, The Lights from the Chemical Plant.  Refusing to be pigeonholed as just a country artist, Ellis used the new tunes to exemplify his stylistic diversity.  "Pride" wrapped up with a section that verged on prog, and "Steady as the Rising Sun" had a smooth R&B flavor.  "I always tell people they might want to get a pregnancy test after that guitar solo," Robert laughed, commending the talents of Kelly Doyle.  While "Rising Sun" may be the only love song on the record, that distinction only extends to animate objects, with Ellis' affair with television cleverly expressed in "TV Song."  "Not to be confused with the 'TV Song' by Ministry.  We have a lot of crossover fans," he joked.  The band dropped out for the song's Walt Disney verse, allowing Robert to captivate the room solely with his sweet, southern voice.  Ellis went it alone for the somber "Tour Song," and then invited the band back for the propulsive jazz-rock of the brand new "Elephant."  Ellis offered up some time for a Doyle instrumental, and then he put his guitar down.  Grabbing the mic from its stand, Robert dove into "Still Crazy After All These Years," which he covers on Chemical Plant.  It's clearly one of his favorite songs, evident in his enthusiasm whilst singing, but his excitement got the best of him, and it sort of felt like karaoke.  He fared better when he grabbed a Telecaster for a countrified spin on Richard Thompson's "Tear-Stained Letter," assisted on vocals by Dennis Ryan back at the drumkit.  "They have a curfew here, so this is the encore," Ellis remarked as the band embarked on a jam that contained all the creaks and shrieks of a haunted house before it melted into the burning bluegrass of "Sing Along."  Robert has claimed that he wants to avoid gigs at honky-tonk bars because they may not be as receptive to his genre-jumping.  It was obvious that the hip NYC crowd at Mercury Lounge loved it all, especially the country stompers.

IAN O'NEIL - 02.18.14 - MERCURY LOUNGE (36 minutes)

SET -
Bury Deep (aborted) / Bury Deep / Walkin Out the Door / I Got Nothing Left to Give to the Toilet* / Oh Lord, Your Fire is with Me* / Don't Cry No Tears / On the Beach* / She's Not Spanish / The Dream's in the Ditch (feat. Robert Ellis) / Maybellene

ROBERT ELLIS - 02.18.14 - MERCURY LOUNGE (1 hour, 14 minutes)

SET -

Westbound Train / Good Intentions / Pride / Steady as the Rising Sun / TV Song / Only Lies / Houston / Tour Song / Elephant / A Robot Named Pitchy* / Still Crazy After All These Years / Tear-Stained Letter / Sing Along

Hollis Brown Play Their Longest Gig at Front Row Cube

Over the past year, the South Street Seaport has been aiming to reinvent itself from a mall near boats into an urban fun zone.  In the summer, they turned a shipping container into a bar, screened family-friendly films on an astroturf lawn, and had bands perform on an outdoor stage.  With the weather now in the 20s, it was only fitting that they open a pop-up indoor music venue to continue the party.  If you've ever wondered what a concert inside an upside-down bounce castle would be like, check out the Front Row Cube.  The inflatable cuboid with color-changing walls was a heated respite from the bitter breeze off the East River, but unfortunately, it attracted more chattering bargoers than music fans.  The talking bounced off the Cube's high ceiling, providing some stiff competition for the band.  Thankfully, Queens' premier neo-classic rock act, Hollis Brown, brought more than their A game, playing their longest concert, chock full of old favorites, covers from Otis Redding to the Rolling Stones, and brand new songs.

Hollis Brown started with "Highway One," a relatively new number, but definitely worthy of the opening slot.  It was a move of confidence, a trait that has increased every time I've seen them play.  Two of their best-loved tunes, "Ride on the Train" and "Gypsy Black Cat," came next, the latter with frontman Mike Montali and bassist Dillon DeVito singing the last round together into one mic.  It was nice to see keyboardist Michael Hesslein in a more permanent position, and new drummer Andrew Zehnal offered a jazzier take than his predecessor, Mike Graves.  As always, they absolutely nailed the harmonies on "Faith & Love."  They followed it with "Train Round the Bend," the first of four Loaded Velvet Underground tunes to make an appearance.  (The band is releasing a VU tribute in April.)  Sadly, the cocktail-drinkers yapped right over the quieter "If It Ain't Me."  "Alright, we're gonna rock out a little bit for you," announced Montali, diving into "Green River."  The Creedence cover grabbed a few more listeners, and then the band embarked on a dark jam before "Doghouse Blues."  "This is like the longest we've played this year.  We're putting a lot of shit out there," Mike informed.  Dillon sang "Carolina, Carolina," the only tune from their debut that was played, but his microphone wasn't loud enough to make a real impression.  Then the group stripped down to a trio of Montali, DeVito, and Zehnal for a new number with a chorus in Spanish (Hey, every band has to try it, right?).  Bonilla and Hesslein returned for "Sweet Jane," but I mainly heard the drunk guy in front of me debating his friends as to whether or not he'd heard the song before.  It was Neil Young's "On the Beach" that unquestionably proved the shortcomings of the audience.  The lyric "I need a crowd of people" should've been met with a roar, but alas, the babbling at the bar prevailed.  Jon Bonilla took lead vocals on "Lonesome Cowboy Bill," and injected a bit of chaos into the vibe before Montali slowed things down with a solo performance of the Stones' "No Expectations."  The road trip of a set that began on "Highway One" ended with another new song, "Wait for Me, Virginia."  With its singalong chorus perfect for a summertime drive with the windows rolled down, I have no doubt this is going to become a setlist staple for years to come.

I was truly surprised that the audience made enough of an effort to request an encore, but I was even more surprised by the song choice.  Montali said they'd be doing a "rock and roll staple," so I readied myself for "Rockin' in the Free World," which they've performed in the past.  When they catapulted into the Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog," I smiled that I'd stuck it out despite my surroundings.  Hollis Brown weren't going to let a disrespectful crowd affect their performance, and that, my friends, is what truly takes confidence.

HOLLIS BROWN - 02.08.14 - FRONT ROW CUBE (1 hour, 49 minutes)

SET -

Highway One / Ride on the Train / Gypsy Black Cat / Faith & Love / Train Round the Bend / When the Weather's Warm / Outlaw Blues / Down on Your Luck / If It Ain't Me / Green River / Jam* > Doghouse Blues / Cool It Down / Hey Baby / That's How Strong My Love Is / Carolina, Carolina / Nothing & the Famous No One / Siempre Mi Amor* / Sweet Jane / On the Beach / Lonesome Cowboy Bill / Nightfall / No Expectations / Wait for Me, Virginia

ENCORE -

I Wanna Be Your Dog

Jeremy Messersmith Gives Heart Murmurs at Mercury Lounge

"Hi, everybody.  Thank you for coming.  I have a new record out today.  That's mildly exciting," said the humble Jeremy Messersmith.  The critically lauded Minneapolis troubadour didn't have to be so modest.  Heart Murmurs, his fourth album, and first on Glassnote Records, was released yesterday, and has already garnered buzz from NPR to Time Magazine.  Messersmith celebrated with a sold-out show at Mercury Lounge, performing 9/11 of the LP's tracks (Conspiracy, anyone?), along with a sprinkling of tunes from 2010's The Reluctant Graveyard.

Jeremy and his band hit the ground running with propulsive first single "Tourniquet," followed promptly by "Lazy Bones."  And just because the majority of musicians on the stage were wearing eyeglasses, that didn't mean they couldn't rock.  Peter Sieve's guitar helped to forge a wailing wall of sound on "Heidi," pushing it all the way into noise pop territory.  "Dillinger Eyes" had a plucky early '70s vibe to it, and "It's Only Dancing" chugged along nicely in the capable hands of drummer Andy Thompson.  "Okay, I can't rock anymore without doing a couple singery-songwriter ones," announced Jeremy, picking up an acoustic and dismissing his bandmates, save for Sieve.  The duo performed "I Want to Be Your One Night Stand," a wishful love song where JM imagines drinking boxed wine in a cheap motel room with his minivan parked outside.  By lacing the song with humor, Messersmith deftly avoided the maudlinness often found in the folk genre.  Peter left Jeremy alone to perform "Steve" and "A Girl, a Boy, & a Graveyard," the latter of which was met with knowing claps from the audience.  J-Mess was even assisted on the song's final chorus by a faint whistling from the front of the room.

The band reconvened with Jeremy for a few of the night's finest numbers, including "Ghost," where comely keyboardist Sarah Perbix and bassist Ian Allison joined forces in a Western shuffle.  It was truly powerful as everyone in the band sang the last few refrains in unison.  In lieu of faking an encore break, Messersmith chose to remain onstage to lead the band through the Beatles-meets-Beach Boys pop of "Violet!"  The band retreated to the side of the stage once more to allow for a final solo song.  "I always like to end my records with like a little after-dinner mint," Jeremy explained prior to "Someday, Someone."  Inspired by a post found during a stoned, late-night Reddit session, the tune proved JM's unique voice as a songsmith yet again, containing the line "Someday, someone will love the fuck out of you / I will if you want me to."  While you probably won't be seeing that on a Hallmark card anytime soon, you will likely be hearing a lot more of Jeremy Messersmith.

JEREMY MESSERSMITH - 02.04.14 - MERCURY LOUNGE (54 minutes)

SET - 

Tourniquet / Lazy Bones / Heidi / Bridges / Dillinger Eyes / It's Only Dancing / I Want to Be Your One Night Stand / Steve / A Girl, a Boy, & a Graveyard / Organ Donor / Hitman / Ghost / Violet! / Someday, Someone

Self Celebrates 20 Years at Gramercy Theatre

Before the word selfie entered the lexicon as a term for a photographed self-portrait, it had a different meaning: an obsessive fan of the Tennessee alternative band Self.  And last night at Gramercy Theatre, the selfies were out in full force.  It was the most crowded I've ever seen the venue; crowded enough that the coat check no longer had room for coats.  You see, it had been ten years since the band performed in the city, and ten more since they'd begun recording their debut album, Subliminal Plastic Motives.  The night was a celebration of SPM, both performed in its entirety and released on vinyl for the first time.

An instrumental version of Prince's "1999" welcomed the band to the stage, and the ageless Matt Mahaffey started singing, modifying the song to "1995" with lines like "The music was all grungy / There were Big Muff pedals everywhere."  After a chorus of two, it was finally time to to party like it was '95, and Self crunched into "Borateen."  Following a swell "Sophomore Jinx," Matt conducted the crowd on a singalong of the compass rose in "Stewardess."  "Where you been?!" yelled a crowdmember after the tune.  Matt responded, "In the words of Woody Harrelson: Drinking... a lot."  The Kingpin reference kicked off an ongoing game of Mahaffey's banter including film quotes from Groundhog Day to Toy Story.  "So Low" and "Marathon Shirt" both gave Chris James the chance to go off on the synthesizer, an essential ingredient to the Self sound.  "You guys are killing it!" shouted a selfie.  "Oh, good," said Mahaffey cheerily.  After "Cannon," he remarked, "You know, you guys are a little rusty too," pointing out that many had botched the last chorus by singing "unnecessary" instead of "unwanted."  "Next time!" he added with a smile.  He singled out a man in the crowd who had been singing along to every song.  "Why don't you come up here and sing this next one?" he asked.  The dude and his date were escorted onto the stage, and Matt handed him the microphone.  The guy revealed that he'd rewritten some of the words.  Something was up.  As he genuflected, we all knew what was coming.  "Will you marry me?" he questioned.  His genuinely confused and embarrassed girlfriend replied, "Uh... yeah," followed by an unamplified "What the fuck?"  She didn't put the ring on her finger though, so hopefully she was just still in shock.  But the show had to go on.  Following "Superstar" and "Mother Nature's Fault," Mahaffey confessed, "New York City, you're unstoppable!  Maybe I'll just have to stay up here all night."  He took the mic out of its stand, and danced around as he sang over the jazzy beat of "Big Important Nothing."  They wrapped up Subliminal Plastic Motives with a feedback-drenched "Lost My Senses," Mahaffey nodding knowingly to the crowd as he left.  "It's obligatory," he explained.

The selfies cheered for over a minute straight before Matt returned alone.  "The guys are going to the bathroom," he smirked.  Whether or not he was joking, he did take the opportunity to treat us to the chorus of the ultra-rare "Brooklyn" before his bandmates reappeared for "Dielya Downtown."  Then the whole group got their chance to tackle a deep cut with "Glued to the Girl."  Taking off his guitar, Mahaffey turned to the omnichord beside him and fired up "Trunk Fulla Amps."  It was the highlight of the night, the crowd taking the reins on each "Mother!"  The band even threw in a tease of "Empire State of Mind" for good measure.  "Meg Ryan" with its Sleepless in Seattle third act-referencing refrain was the obvious closer for an NYC show.

The house lights and music popped on, but I was unconvinced.  Sure enough, within a minute, Jason Rawlings emerged and took a seat the the drums.  As he kicked into the beat, the remaining members returned, along with opening act I Fight Dragons.  The newly enlarged band finished with a jubilant "Titanic," Mahaffey's Pixes/Weezer mashup/parody.  "I swear to you guys it won't be ten more years," Matt declared over the cheers.  There's going to be a lot of disappointed selfies if he doesn't keep his word.

SELF - 01.10.14 - GRAMERCY THEATRE (1 hour, 18 minutes)

SET -
1999 / Borateen / Sophomore Jinx / Stewardess / So Low / Marathon Shirt / Lucid Anne / Cannon / Missed the Friction / Superstar / Mother Nature's Fault / Big Important Nothing / Lost My Senses

ENCORE I -
Brooklyn (tease) / Dielya Downtown / Glued to the Girl / Trunk Fulla Amps > Empire State of Mind (tease) > Trunk Fulla Amps / Meg Ryan

ENCORE II - 
Titanic (feat. I Fight Dragons)

Phish 12/31 Review: Phans Get Their Cake & Eat It Too

After three nights of escalating energy, the audience inside MSG was literally buzzing with anticipation for the final installment of Phish's 2013 New Year's run.  Walking out to thunderous applause, the band members took their positions and ripped into "AC/DC Bag."  The fairly standard version unraveled at its end, and the boys plunged into "A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing."  The first Undermind track of the run, Trey opened it up a little with some shimmery licks.  Then those whose mouths had been watering since Saturday's fakeout finally got their "Wilson."  Page's gurgling organ was the high point of "The Divided Sky," but the mid-song pause went on a little too long and damaged the flow.  Towards the end, Trey was visibly laughing at some of his flubs.  They followed with "Ocelot," letting it breathe a little to nice results.  They took longer than normal to figure out what would be next, and "Sugar Shack," with some notably warbling vocals from Gordon, was not the best choice.  It was chased with the piano-based "Halfway to the Moon."  I'd never heard the song before, and judging from the tepid crowd response, neither had most of the audience.  Everyone, however, knew the song that came next: "Fluffhead."  It wasn't exactly a saving grace; more of a pretty ribbon to wrap up the weakest set of the run.  But as was evident the previous night, it's not about the first set.  The band carried a keyboard onto the stage as an homage to the photo on the cover of Colorado '88.  "We made everyone a cake," announced Trey as he began divvying up the 30th birthday treat. "We're gonna hand out some cake for the set break."  They passed out maybe three pieces, and left the stage.  Did anyone get a slice?  How did it taste?

The time to get a beer to wash it down wasn't yet.  The screen on the new scoreboard flickered, and a video began.  Dilapidated remnants of past New Year's gags were all collected in a rural junkyard.  Set to a "2001" jam, a bearded Fishman resurrected a box truck from the ruins, and started driving it south.  Aside from one major accident that scarred the truck's roof, he eventually made it to New York City and up the halls of MSG until the physical truck pulled into the corner of the arena.  As the truck made its way to the center of the floor, tunes from 1983 like "Let's Dance," "Rockit," and "Rock the Casbah" played out over the PA.  It was amusing to hear what the musical climate was like at the time of Phish's inception.

The band climbed out of the hatch in the truck's cab, and took their places on their new, much smaller stage.  With hockey sticks serving as mic stands and Page sitting on a cushion atop two milk crates, this was going to be interesting.  They began with "Glide," last played at MSG on 12.28.11, the only show I missed that run.  The rumble of Fish's opening salvo to "Llama" was met with cheers, and then they delved even further into Gamehendge with "Colonel Forbin's Ascent."  The mere mention of Icculus' name in "Forbin's" elicited a roar from the phans, so you can only imagine how nuts they went for the actual "Icculus."  Anastasio was convinced that some in the masses of people surrounding him were not getting the message, so he recommended that they read the Helping Friendly Book ("You can't get it at Barnes & Noble's").  Trey admitted at its end, "We used to play that song every Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday down at Nectar's in our little hometown, and I did not think, 'Hey, someday I'll be playing that at Madison Square Garden.'"  "I actually thought that we'd be playing it right here, tonight, thirty years later.  I had a premonition," jested Page.  Having barely spoken to the crowd in the last three days, it was great to finally hear them engaging on this level.  While I completely understand why this set was so significant for the long-time diehards, I started listening to Phish when Farmhouse came out in 2000.  Aside from the jaunty calypso of "The Lizards," I found a lot of their early work to be too proggy.  That's not to say I didn't enjoy it.  Quite the contrary, it made me want to hear some of the songs I was more familiar with performed in this stripped down setup.  "Reba" with its sweet jazz jam and "Split Open & Melt" were my favorites of the bunch, if only because I knew them better.  They climbed down off the truck, which backed out of the building during the final set break.

With just eight minutes to go before midnight, the band returned with a joyous "Character Zero."  The Madison Square Garden and Chase logos may have been glowing proprietarily at the top of the scoreboard the whole night, but make no mistake, at that moment, Phish owned that arena.  The countdown on the screen began at 30 (obviously), with the crowd counting down from ten.  As 2014 hit, balloons and confetti drenched the room, with Phish shifting into "Auld Lang Syne," the first and only cover of the entire run.  They transitioned into "Fuego" as roadies furiously used razors to pop balloons and leafblowers to clear pedalboards.  Anastasio forced the segue into "Light," but that became a distant memory once the song went off on a funky tangent that quickly smoothed out into a melodic summery groove.  His lighting options limited during the truck set, Chris Kuroda unleashed a rainbow of effects from his arsenal as the jam morphed again into a propulsive rock beat.  By the time it reached its dolphins-in-space resolution, the crowd was squealing with approval.  "Twenty Years Later" was a little choppy at the start, but it recovered with a balls-out, rocking finish.  A nicely layered "Bouncing Around the Room" rounded out the six-song continuous part of the set.  What now?  A little "YEMSG" anyone?  Maybe Michael Gordon should pronounce the G in his name differently 'cause he slam-dunked this one.  And they all nailed the a cappella finale.

They departed, and center screen illuminated once more.  Beginning with animated versions of the band's first college flyers, a montage of classic Phish photos and moments played out for all to reminisce.  Even me, as it included the three latest MSG NYE stunts.  (Watch it below.)

For the encore, the fellas gathered around to sing "Grind," though Trey made a slight modification: "When I come here for my 60th anniversary with these guys, thirty years from now, we'll have lived for..." with each adding an extra 10,957 days to their ages.  Adorable.  They picked up their instruments and capped off the run with "Show of Life."  A "Save the Date" for their 60th anniversary on December 31, 2044, complete with a Photoshopped pic of the guys in their 80s, appeared on the scoreboard.  Even though the Garden likely won't be there then, I can't wait 30 more years to see them.  Looks like I'm gonna have to go to an outdoor concert.

PHISH - 12.31.13 - MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

SET ONE -
AC/DC Bag > A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing > Wilson > The Divided Sky / Ocelot / Sugar Shack / Halfway to the Moon > Fluffhead

SET TWO -
Glide / Llama / Colonel Forbin's Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird / Fuck Your Face / Reba / Icculus / The Lizards > Split Open & Melt

SET THREE -
Character Zero > Auld Lang Syne > Fuego > Light > Twenty Years Later > Bouncing Around the Room / You Enjoy Myself

ENCORE -
Grind / Show of Life

Phish 12/30 Review: The One Where I Surrendered to the Flow

Just a few days ago, I still didn't have tickets for the 12/30 Phish show.  Thanks to CashOrTrade.org, I was able to trade two of my 12/29 extras for a pair of 30ths... behind the stage.  I was slightly worried that it'd be too frustrating a position to really enjoy the concert, but now it pains me to think of not being there for last night's second set.

Phish began the night with "Kill Devil Falls."  It's not my favorite song, and the sound was reverberating a tad off the back wall.  I was also experiencing a certain sort of disconnect.  I'm tall, so I typically don't have a lot of trouble seeing at concerts.  My eyes are usually on the musicians: their faces and their hands on their instruments.  And I couldn't really do that from my vantage point.  In fact, I could see Mike Gordon only when his left hand ventured close enough to the headstock to hit the lowest notes.  It did, however, offer me a better view of Jon Fishman, who is usually fairly hidden behind his cymbals.  Now over his shoulder, the complexity of what my ears were hearing didn't match the simplicity of what I was seeing.  A total sensorial trick that could only be pulled off by such a talented drummer.  "Bathtub Gin" was a fun follow-up, especially the "shave and a haircut" tag at the end.  Having been stuck in my head for the whole run, "Wombat" finally reared its funky head next.  Personal desire withstanding, it was the most inspired performance in a predominantly straightforward set.  The reggae of "Yarmouth Road" was a refreshing genre change before the rocking "46 Days," which got the floor quaking beneath my sneakers.  "Lawn Boy" saw Page visiting Mike on stage left (Weirdly, also my left.), and Fishman even came out from behind his kit to join them.

When Phish returned to the stage after that song-focused first set, Mike had a yellow scarf wrapped around his neck.  I was secretly hoping it was there to keep his head from floating away in the middle of a particularly spacey trip.  Anastasio revved up the rollicking "Chalk Dust Torture," and an arsenal of cow-patterned balloons exploded from the center of the crowd.  Trey's guitar evolved into a humpback whale, searching for mates across a swirling sea.  Then Mike dropped "the brown noise," clearing the air for a short, gentle section prior to the final uptempo groove.  By this point, I had accepted my view of the stage.  I was listening to the music.  Surrendering to the flow.  "Mike's Song" developed into a funk rock piece that just begged to be made into a "Frankenstein" monster.  But they resisted, and a clunky transition into "Devotion to a Dream" kept the no-covers streak going.  I like the Wingsuit ditty, but as the newcomer, it was the obvious weakest link.  "Ghost" followed, and it was incredible to hear the arena fully singing along to a song, not just a single line or wooing in unison.  Once it reached the breakout, you could call this one Casper, because this was a friendly "Ghost."  The radiant jam took on more and more positive vibes until it couldn't contain them anymore, and ruptured into the fat bass intro of "Weekapaug Groove."  The song continued along the established sunny path until it too had to burst, this time into "Simple."  After the silly lyrical part, the band pushed forth, eventually taking the song inward.  The hive mind of these guys just astounds me; the way they rarely even look at each other (generally only for the endings of songs), but are so telepathically aligned, they can improvise a song that constantly evolves.  Bouncing along on Mike's trampoline bassline, Page and Trey twinkled on until the whole thing sounded like blissed out electronica.  Scraping some of the resin leftover from "Yarmouth," they dropped into "Harry Hood."  I think I preferred last year's version, but then again, last year I wasn't right in front of a girl screaming like Miss Piggy right before a karate chop.  Eventually it wound down to a feedback-y denouement, which most assumed would be the set's finish (My brother even left to go to the bathroom.), but Fishman crashed right into "Cavern."  "They faked me out!" yelled my brother once he returned for the singalong.  Then they faked everyone out again by descending into "First Tube" for a victory lap.  The guys took a bow, and Trey collected what appeared to be books and a framed photograph from the front row.

At that point, Page could've returned, played only the fart sound he finished last night's "Gumbo" with, and I would've been happy.  Instead they chose "Slave to the Traffic Light."  After such a euphoric second set, it seemed even more relaxed than usual.  It was the satisfied exhale, the cigarette after sex.  And it was my favorite Phish show.

PHISH - 12.30.13 - MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

SET ONE -

Kill Devil Falls / Bathtub Gin / Wombat / Yarmouth Road / 46 Days / Lawn Boy / Heavy Things / Punch You in the Eye > Sample in a Jar / Gotta Jibboo

SET TWO -

Chalk Dust Torture > Mike's Song > Devotion to a Dream / Ghost > Weekapaug Groove > Simple > Harry Hood > Cavern > First Tube

ENCORE -

Slave to the Traffic Light

Phish 12/29 Review: Stepping Up Their Game

After a scattered first night, which found the band struggling to find setlist slots for their new Wingsuit tunes, Phish turned in a much more cohesive second show at the Garden.  "The Moma Dance" kicked things off, and the middle-aged woman next to me began the mommy dance.  Phish never got too funky with it, taking a laid-back approach that they extended well into the set.  "Roggae" had its moments, and the band found the perfect spot for possible radio single "The Line," tucked snugly between "Sparkle" and "Stash."  The latter served as the framework for the first true jam of the night, a major-key journey signaled by a CK5 projection behind the stage that resembled maybe snow, maybe not, as my brother swore it looked like "maggots and bacteria."  The Gordon-led "555" followed nicely.  Trey's guitar and Page's organ both got a little too shrill by the end of the improvised section, but the transition back into the vocal was on point.  Then they busted out the dankest funk since the previous night's "Wolfman" with "It's Ice."  Gordon made meatballs while McConnell poured on the clavinet sauce.  With the arena pre-heated, it was time for the cooks to serve up some steaming "Gumbo."  Page simmered on the organ for a bit, but he really brought things to a boil once he returned to the clav.  Sous-chef Gordon snuck in some well-timed notes, but he dropped back and let Page continue his ride, all the way to the final farty flourish: a single staccato note to end the song with a laugh.  Closer "Walls of the Cave" suffered from a little too much guitar grandiosity from Anastasio, but it wasn't a total misfire.

Set two began with a tiny bit of ambient experimentation.  Trey mumbled something incoherent into the mic, and then Gordon's flange bass triggered "Down with Disease."  The band oozed confidence on the lyric start to the song, and then it came time for the jam.  Last year's 12/30 "DWD" was my favorite performance of the entire year from any band, so my hopes were probably too high.  Though it was never dull, it jumped around a little too much, Trey steering it from a gentle guitar melody to crunchy riff rock to an uptempo blues.  Emerging on the other side, Anastasio finished out the chorus center stage, and then charged into "Carini."  Unlike the sinister cave creature they uncovered last year, this version let in more light, sonically represented by simultaneous death ray whooshes by all members.  The spaceflight continued, and then Page let loose some keyboard noises that sounded like the sweetest dial-up modem.  It was enough to cement his status as the night's MVP.  "Waves" flowed into a "Twist" that at times recalled Bill Withers' "Use Me."  They closed out the set with well-executed, well-lit renditions of "Golgi Apparatus" and "David Bowie."  As they came forward to take a bow, someone in the crowd threw a bouquet of roses at Trey.  He tossed the flowers to Fish, who held them for a photo op before flinging them over the drums to Mike.  Sadly, Mike's cross-stage pass to Page went wild, and landed on top of the piano.

When they emerged for the encore, Page was holding the bouquet.  Hell, he earned it.  "Possum" was a pleasant last dance, albeit a tad overlong.  "Thanks, everybody.  We'll see you tomorrow night," offered Trey.  Tonight's show is Phish's 30th at MSG, in their 30th year, so expectations are colossal.  Should they continue on this trajectory, though, there's going to be an arena's worth of satisfied Phans pouring out of MSG at 11:40.

PHISH - 12.29.13 - MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

SET ONE -

The Moma Dance > Rift / Roggae / Sparkle / The Line / Stash / 555 / It's Ice / Gumbo / Walls of the Cave

SET TWO -

Jam / Down with Disease > Carini / Waves > Twist / Golgi Apparatus / David Bowie

ENCORE -

Possum