Spin Doctors Album Release Party at Brooklyn Bowl

Last night, I went to my third Spin Doctors concert in three years.  When I told my coworkers where I was going, they asked, "For real?"  "Yeah, it's an album release show," I replied.  "They have a new album?"  Yes, folks, Spin Doctors have finally delivered on their word and unleashed a blues record, If the River Was Whiskey.  To celebrate their first album since 2005's Nice Talking to Me, the Doctors treated fans to an almost two-hour concert at Brooklyn Bowl.

The show was opened by James Maddock, who looks like Lt. Dan (but with legs) and sings like Joe Strummer.  With such a great voice, I expected less generic lyrics.  When he started singing about "wrapping his coat around you" in the already sticky sweet "Beautiful Now," I rolled my eyes a little. I was impressed, however, by bespectacled drummer Doug Yowell, and how he was able to create a whole kit's worth of noise with just a cajon, a cymbal, a snare with brushes, and some bells strapped to his ankle.  Maddock dedicated "Step Into the Water" to Willie Manning, the Mississippi Death Row inmate who was granted a stay yesterday, hours before his scheduled execution.  After Counting Crows' guitarist David Immerglück led the band to a crescendoing climax on mandolin, James laughed and said, "We are not fucking Mumford & Sons, so just get that out of your head."  Maddock was selling advance copies of his upcoming album, Another Life, but there was another new LP we were itching for.

"This is a record release party.  This is not so much a concert as a party.  I hope you feel that way too," announced Chris Barron as Eric Schenkman strapped on his Flying V for "Scotch & Water Blues."  When he wasn't singing, Barron stood to the side intently watching Schenkman play.  The smile on his face revealed a musician genuinely impressed by his bandmate, a refreshing attitude in rock and roll.  When Barron felt the crowd wasn't cheering loudly enough for the solo, he yelled off-mic, "Come on, you motherfuckers! What the fuck?!"  Bassist Mark White was so tickled with his bandmates that he spent part of "About a Train" snapping their photos with his iPad.  It was great to see a band playing together so joyously after so many years.  "We're the original Spin Doctors," informed Chris.  "If you have any doubts to the veracity of that statement, I ask you who else could do this?"  Three quick hits from Aaron Comess, and Schenkman revved up the famous riff to "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong."  The crowd devoured it, proving Barron correct.

But even if most of the audience was there to hear their favorites from Pocket Full of Kryptonite, the Spin Doctors weren't there for that reason.  They were pushing If the River Was Whiskey, playing nine of the album's ten songs, and shooting the music video for the title track.  The record is currently number one on iTunes blues album charts, leaving Chris glowing, "We're fucking relevant."  Spin Doctors have always incorporated several styles into their songs, so the Whiskey tunes fit into the set swimmingly, ranging from the funky "Traction Blues" to barroom stompers like "Some Other Man Instead" to that archetypal, slow song about the devil, "So Bad."

However, it was the blues of one Jimmy Olsen that really ignited the fans.  The call-and-response section was easily the loudest I've ever heard a crowd sing at Brooklyn Bowl.  That is, until the band played a damn near perfect "Two Princes" that had everyone belting, "Just go ahead now!"  There's typically some sort of exodus after "Two Princes" (Why you would leave right after they bring the house down is beyond me.), but those who departed missed some of the night's best moments, including an extended jam in "Lady Kerosene" and an 18-minute encore that ended with rarity "Yo Baby."  Unfortunately, some people will only ever remember Spin Doctors as the band who did "Two Princes."  I know them as a band that always puts on a solid live show.  

Previous Spin Doctors review:

12.04.12 Irving Plaza

JAMES MADDOCK - 05.07.13 - BROOKLYN BOWL (42 minutes, 18 seconds)

SET -

Another Life / Chance / Beautiful Now / Happening To* / Keep Your Dream / Step Into the Water / Living a Lie / When the Sun's Out

SPIN DOCTORS - 05.07.13 - BROOKLYN BOWL (1 hour, 55 minutes)

SET -

What Time is It? > Nice Talking to Me / Traction Blues / More Than She Knows / Scotch & Water Blues / Little Miss Can't Be Wrong / Some Other Man Instead / If the River Was Whiskey / Charge (tease) / Yo Mama's a Pajama > About a Train / The Drop / Sweetest Portion / Jimmy Olsen's Blues / Refrigerator Car > Genuine / Two Princes > Lady Kerosene

ENCORE -
Happy Birthday / Ben's Looking Out the Window Blues > So Bad / Yo Baby

Shuggie Otis Takes His Hat Off, Stays a Funky While at Music Hall of Williamsburg

Even if you don't know Shuggie Otis, you know "Strawberry Letter 23."  Though popularized by the Brothers Johnson in 1977, the song debuted on Otis' Freedom Flight album, released when he was only 17.  It's a brilliant song.  There are three different parts in it that could have each made a hit on their own.  But there they are, all in the same tune, all instantly recognizable: the xylophone intro, the "oooh ooh ooh ooh ooh oooh"'s of the chorus, the looping psychedelic guitar solo.  Though Otis' records are revered by many, he hasn't put out a whole lot.  That is, until last week, when he paired a reissue of his 1974 LP Inspiration Information with Wings of Love, a second disc of unreleased material recorded over the years.  He's currently touring in support of the double-album, and last night's show at Music Hall of Williamsburg was the second in a trio of NYC dates.

Anti-folk artist Jesca Hoop may have seemed an odd choice for the opener, even admitting it herself: "As you see, we are not funk R&B.  We'll try to put a little bit of soul in there for you."  Introducing each of her tunes with a little story in a voice similar to Molly Shannon's in SNL's "Delicious Dish" sketch, Jesca sang in a vibrato not unlike Regina Spektor or Björk, accompanying herself with her clean electric guitar.  Her vocal pitch wasn't the only thing constantly shifting though.  The lyrics in "Murder of Birds" went from referencing birds to brown recluses to homemade bread to love, but this wasn't just stream of consciousness; each item came to play its particular role in the theme.  She brought out Australian singer Emma Dean to join her for four songs, beginning with "Hospital (Win Your Love)."  She even name-checked each Beastie Boy in "Four Dreams."  I was captivated, as was the majority of the crowd.  After presenting us with the option of a quiet song or a more upbeat one, a very vocal audience member yelled, "Whatever you want!"  "Well, I'll play you a song that is contrary to the upbeatness," she said dryly, before starting "The House That Jack Built," the title track from her latest album.  A fan's request of "Seed of Wonder" was honored as the final number, and I bought her CD after the show.

"Brooklyn, beware of what you asked for.  If you have never been dominated, you have three minutes to exit," warned trumpet player Larry Douglas as Shuggie Otis tuned his guitar.  "Ladies and gentlemen, you made the right choice tonight," assured Larry as the band kicked into "Inspiration Information."  Unfortunately, the mix was off in the room.  The keyboards were too loud, the trumpet mic was ear-piercingly hot, and Shuggie's guitar and vox were too low.  But maybe his vocals should've been even lower on "Aht Uh Mi Hed."  Otis was definitely out of tune, and the song was only saved by James Manning's funky bass and the horn part at its end.  I began to worry.  Shuggie was a musical prodigy, but what if his talent had subsided?  "Island Letter" wasn't anything special, and "Me & My Woman" had its moments, but I didn't come here to see a has-been.  After a medley of "Sparkle City" and "Miss Pretty," Shuggie removed the hat and overcoat he'd been wearing.  Turns out he literally just had to warm up.  Digging into "Sweetest Thang" with a heart-wrenching blues guitar solo, Otis didn't let up from that point onward.  His voice was well-suited for the blues, and the sound team had finally fixed the levels.  New song "Wings of Love" built slowly until Shuggie's ferocious shredding urged the band to join him on a psychedelic funk odyssey.  Things got loud.  Things got chaotic.  Things got awesome.  Would they be able to top it?

Yes.  For the encore, the band returned with "Ice Cold Daydream."  Over the course of nearly nineteen minutes, they chugged through the beast, Shuggie ripping into solo after solo, his eyes closed, top row of teeth bared.  Larry pulled out a cowbell to add a little spice, and pretty soon, every member was throwing his best ingredient into the pot.  Otis even picked up his whammy bar to take his solo further over the edge.  The deafening noise coming out of the speakers was a thick tangle of funky sounds being hacked at by the sharp edge of an erratically screaming guitar.  It's my favorite type of jam.  It's the reason I go to P-Funk concerts.  Once Shuggie felt it had peaked, he retreated backstage.  Still playing, Larry introduced the members of the band one by one, each taking a solo.  It turns out the Otis legacy continues with Shuggie's younger brother Nick on drums and his son Eric on rhythm guitar.  "You made the right choice tonight," Douglas repeated as they left the stage once more.

The house music came on and the crowd began to clear out.  Are you fucking kidding me?    "Straw-berr-y!  Straw-berr-y!" began the chants.  Two minutes later, the band returned.  "Psych!" yelled Manning into the microphone.  "What were you saying?  Strawberry?  I forgot to play it," teased Shuggie.  Even though I would've been super let-down if they'd skipped it, compared to that "Daydream," it was just dessert.  And as Shuggie played that classic solo with his son, I knew that I had made the right choice that night.

JESCA HOOP - 04.19.13 - MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG (37 minutes)

SET -
Murder of Birds / Hospital (Win Your Love) / Four Dreams / Born To / The House That Jack Built / Seed of Wonder

SHUGGIE OTIS - 04.19.13 - MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG (1 hour, 37 minutes)

SET -
Inspiration Information / Tryin' to Get Close to You / Aht Uh Mi Hed / Island Letter / Me & My Woman / Sparkle City > Miss Pretty / Sweetest Thang / Picture of Love / Wings of Love / Doin' What's Right / Instrumental*

ENCORE I -

Ice Cold Daydream

ENCORE II -

Strawberry Letter 23

They Might Be Giants Contemplate Amputation at Acoustic Brooklyn Instore

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Both Brians of Beat Radio Back in Brooklyn

I walked into Muchmore's about five minutes before 9 to find a tiny bar that only had Abita on tap (What?).  I quickly discovered there was much more to Muchmore's (Well, not exactly.) when I looked through a doorway to my right to see a stage in a room about the size of a studio apartment.  Couches lined the muraled walls, decorated with grotesque characters like this angel.

Why was I in this unfamiliar place?  Beat Radio were making their return to Williamsburg after last month's gig at Pete's Candy Store.  And this time, Brian Sendrowitz would be accompanied by his sole bandmate, Brian Ver Straten, on drums.  The duo opened with "Elegy," and transported the room into a what resembled a mid-'90s grungy house party.  While Sendrowitz himself has described his music as "bedroom pop," Beat Radio's latest effort, Hard Times, Go!, was recorded in his basement, and it sounds like it.  Just listen to the screeches of guitar on "Hurricanes, XO" or Ver Straten's cymbal crashes on "Never Let You Down."  You can't make that kind of noise in your bedroom.  Bringing that basement-sized sound into the demented living room-vibe of Muchmore's paid off in a big way.  Every song sounded fuller than it did at Pete's or on the record.  The distortion in "East Coast" could've curdled milk, and it contrasted wonderfully against Brian's tender singing.  When he hit a wrong chord in "Stars Collided in Our Hearts," Sendrowitz apologized, "Sorry," with a bashful smile.  He was immediately excused because it was so genuine, it was like he was among friends.  Even his pitch for merchandise was affable, if silly: "We're like Kiss.  We have action figures, beer koozies, Hot Pockets.  Some of those are true."  And while Hard Times songs made up the bulk of the set, it was a nice surprise to hear older tune, "Everything is Temporary."

Because the show started a half-hour late, I wasn't able to run over to Brooklyn Bowl to watch Everything Everything as I'd planned, so I stuck around for the next two bands on the bill.  The Pine Hollows came next, playing most of their new album, Something My Heart Understands.  Led by Gianni Napolitano, who looks and sounds like he could've been a member of the Beatles circa 1963, the Pine Hollows make music in the mold of those early Beatles singles.  Perhaps too tightly in the mold.  There are worse bands to emulate, for sure, but the strongest moments came in a three-song sequence towards the end of the set that rocked harder than the rest, ending with the creepy cadence of "After Dark."  Hopefully they will continue to expand their sound, and not just in the way the Beatles did.

The final band of the evening was Hey Anna, an indie pop outfit consisting of the three Rauch-Sasseen sisters and two of their friends.  The band incorporated several trendy styles into each song to create music that is both catchy and substantial.  While the sisters often swapped lead vocal duties, I preferred the configuration with Erin at the helm, as it seems the band does, just based on the number of songs she fronted.  Things got moody and literal when guitarist Andrew Smolin requested, "Can we turn all of the lights off?" for "Blackout," and new song "Dancin' 'Til 3" recalled a female version of Vampire Weekend.  I'm gonna keep them on my radar, as should you.  Download their EP for free here.

BEAT RADIO - 03.22.13 - MUCHMORE'S (37 minutes)

SET -

Elegy / Golden Age / East Coast / Hard Times, Go! / Stars Collided in Our Hearts / Teenage Anthem for the Drunken Boat / Everything is Temporary / Days Like Diamonds / Hurricanes, XO

Jim James Flies Solo at Music Hall of Williamsburg

The last time I saw Jim James, he was playing to a sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd with his band, My Morning Jacket.  But that was 2011.  This is 2013.  Now touring behind his recently released debut solo LP, Regions of Light & Sound of God, James captivated a sold-out Music Hall of Williamsburg crowd with a straight-through album set and a few surprises for the encore.

The gig was opened by Dean Wareham, who you may know from Galaxie 500, Luna, or Dean & Britta, the indie pop duo he shares with his wife, Britta Phillips.  I'd heard of all these bands, but never listened before, so Wareham was uncharted territory for me.  Backed by a band that included Phillips, who looks fucking amazing for 49, Wareham doled out a short set heavy on Galaxie 500 tunes, including "Strange."  "That was an old song.  As you can tell because I mentioned Twinkies," Dean joked.  You'd suspect that being billed as a solo act, Wareham wouldn't be relying so much on the "Twinkie songs" of yesteryear (1989), but that wasn't the case.  Because he's been playing guitar so long, I also wanted more than the simple, slowed-down jangle pop instrumentation, with a solo at the end of "When Will You Come Home" serving as the lone moment of prowess.  He brought things to a close with a cover of New Order's "Ceremony."

After a lengthy set change that included the mounting of James' Gibson Flying V on a stand that made it appear as a literal Flying V, the lights finally dimmed for the show.  James began with album opener "State of the Art," an excellent choice, considering the slow build as each instrument was added one by one.  James sauntered around the stage in his suit, fist-bumped a crowdmember, and led fans on the chorus of vowels.  On the right-stage stairs sat ?uestlove, who dubbed James' "A New Life" the "most beautiful song he ever played on Late Night."  Once the song had gained full momentum, James came to the line "The power's goin' out," and the room abruptly went black.  The lights popped on again as the music returned, and the grinning audience immediately adapted to cheering "Woo!" on the return beat.  Those who listened to Regions of Light and were let down by the lack of guitar solos didn't have to worry about the Flying V going to waste, with James shredding a killer one here, and on two later tunes.  The album's single, "Know Til Now" shuffled out next, coming to its end with a mimed sax solo (I didn't see a mic.) from James.

The album unfolded in sequence, and you could tell by the look on his face that James was just happy to be up there singing these songs.  The record's instrumental filler track "Exploding" took on a little more weight as a live number, and "Of the Mother Again" actually got the crowd dancing.  Set-ender "God's Love to Deliver" was the obvious highlight, however.  The song wound down to what would be the record's last grooves, but this wasn't the record, and it evolved into a bass-led jam that conjured some of the same dark magic found in Phish's 12.30.12 "Carini."  Five minutes later, James topped it all off with a real sax solo (He played into a center-stage mic.).  The solos and jams effectively doubled the album's runtime, and James and company retreated backstage.

Having not spoken at all during the set, when he returned to the stage, he thanked us genuinely, "This is our fourth show ever.  It's been a real pleasure.  You've been beautiful."  James then played his first actual solo number of the night, an acoustic "Wonderful," which culminated in some sighs that sounded like a Muppet version of Elvis.  Realizing how silly it sounded, James remarked, "Do that when you go home and get in the shower tonight.  Just let it all out.  Let the day out."  The band joined him for some more My Morning Jacket tunes, "Wordless Chorus" and "It Beats 4 U," with James touching fans in the front fingertip-to-fingertip like E.T.  "Touch Me I'm Gong to Scream pt. 2" had fans screaming when MMJ bassist Two-Tone Tommy appeared to play electric guitar.  The song segued nicely into a joyous "Victory Dance" to finish out the memorable evening.

(Help is appreciated with Dean Wareham setlist.  Thanks.)

DEAN WAREHAM - 02.19.13 - MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG (31 minutes, 22 seconds)

SET -

Star Shine* / When Will You Come Home / Blue Thunder / Strange / Somebody Tell Me Which Way* / Ceremony

JIM JAMES - 02.19.13 - MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG (1 hour, 38 minutes)

SET -
State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.) / Know Til Now / Dear One / A New Life / Exploding / Of the Mother Again / Actress / All is Forgiven / God's Love to Deliver

ENCORE -
Wonderful (The Way I Feel) / Wordless Chorus / It Beats 4 U / Touch Me I'm Going to Scream pt. 2 > Victory Dance

Beat Radio Covers Robyn at Pete's Candy Store

Beat Radio's new album Hard Times, Go! drops on the 19th (though you can buy it now on Bandcamp), and last night at Pete's Candy Store, fans were treated to batch of the new tunes, some old favorites, and a cover of Robyn's "With Every Heartbeat."  When I arrived at Pete's, the bar was bustling.  I squeezed my way into the train car-styled back room, and found myself in the midst of a poetry reading.  The final poet was reading from his book of verses from the point of view of a schizophrenic man, but I found it vapid, considering the author didn't know his character well enough to know where he was or what he was doing.

The poets cleared out after hawking their books, but they should've stuck around.  After soundchecking with a bit of "Golden Age," Brian Sendrowitz a.k.a. Beat Radio took the stage with his guitar.  Beginning with "Days Like Diamonds" from the new album, he moved onto a cover of Robyn's "With Every Heartbeat."  Sendrowitz has admitted that the new album was directly inspired by the Swedish pop singer's Body Talk, so this was more of a loving tribute than a hipster joke.  He then revealed "Chasing a Phantom" was written after watching an episode of Mad Men.

"So my drummer Brian's gonna have a baby.  Well, his wife's gonna have a baby momentarily, so he's not here," Sendrowitz said before inviting Pete Oberg to join him on synth for the single, "Hurricanes, XO."  "This one's kinda sad and depressing," Brian offered, teasing Hank Williams' "There's a Tear in My Beer" preceding one of my favorites, "Stars Collided in Our Heart."  To introduce "Dreaming Wide Awake," he began telling the story of its germination in helping to move his sister-in-law upstate, but was interrupted from a yell in the back.  "Incest!" the guy shouted.  Confused, Sendrowitz asked, "What?"  "You guys need a drummer?" the intruder proposed.  Brian shrugged it off, continuing, "I'm dedicating it to my sister-in-law because it would be a nice thing to do, until things got weird."  Laughs from the crowd.  "Awkward for life. That's our motto," he said, starting into a more subdued version of the song than on the album.  Sendrowitz has been busy recording an acoustic companion to the album for its Kickstarter sponsors, which has been somewhat of a surreal experience for him.  "It's like in 2004, if I'd decided to go in the alternate direction. It feels like I'm living that now," he remarked.  Expecting another HTG track, I was pleasantly surprised to hear heartfelt oldie "Teenage Anthem for the Drunken Boat."  The song references both "Don't Stop Believin'" and "More Than a Feeling" in its lyrics, and with a smile, Brian repeated the "More than a feeling" line in the style of Boston.

There is a definite poetry in Beat Radio's words.  I first saw them perform at the Bell House in 2009 when they opened for the Mugs.  I had slept only an hour the previous night, and was nodding in and out of sleep throughout the performance, but some of those words found their way into my sleepyhead.  I gained even more respect for Sendrowitz after the show, when he stopped chatting with the pretty girls surrounding him in order to get a CD for me.  (I realize now that he was probably married at the time, so it wasn't that big of a deal.)  That concert was my last in New York before I moved to California that year.  It was actually in California, on the lawn of the Brand Library in Glendale, where I really connected to Beat Radio, listening to The Great Big Sea on my iPod, the theme of a romanticized past striking a chord.  Though I don't listen to the album often, I pull it out during the emotional times when I need it.

Hard Times, Go! is a darker album than the previous Beat Radio records.  In earlier efforts, the blips, bloops, and loops of the instrumentation helped to uplift Brian's musings on failed relationships and nostalgia to a point where they never seemed permanent.  He'd learn to love again and lose again, a vicious cycle, but a cycle with some optimism.  Despite the Robyn influence, the new LP is decidedly less electronic, and the lyrics are decidedly more adult, infused with the complications brought on by both the dissolution of the band and money problems.   Sendrowitz, unlike the ambitious, yet spurious poet, knows where his POV is coming from.

So what prevents the album from being a complete dirge?  The hope in Brian's vocals.  Sendrowitz is not technically a great singer, but he's an honest singer.  When his voice wavers, you excuse him because of the excellent songwriting, sort of like Bob Dylan.  Maybe that's not an accurate analogy because Dylan is obviously a better lyricist, and Brian is a better singer.  Jeff Mangum might be a better comparison.  Be that as it may, I think he should have started the show with Pete on keys.  The guitar and synth harmonized to complement Brian's vocals nicely, so if he had put that portion upfront, he could've then stripped it down to be even more honest and intimate.  It might've even kept around some poets who could've initially been turned off by another warbling guy with an acoustic guitar.

BEAT RADIO - 02.01.13 - PETE'S CANDY STORE (33 minutes, 18 seconds)

SOUNDCHECK -
Golden Age (incomplete)

SET -
Days Like Diamonds / With Every Heartbeat / Chasing a Phantom / Hurricanes, XO / Golden Age / There's a Tear in My Beer (tease) > Stars Collided in Our Hearts / Dreaming Wide Awake / Teenage Anthem for the Drunken Boat

The Wailers Almost Play "Survival" at Brooklyn Bowl

With temperatures in the teens, the Wailers stopped by Brooklyn Bowl on Thursday to heat things up by playing Survival in its entirety.  But like Snoop Dogg, Arrested Development, Band of Horses, and Deer Tick before them, they missed a song.  Even though the record was played in order, the Wailers neglected its fourth track, "Babylon System."  Survival is my favorite Bob Marley & the Wailers LP, so that was disappointing, but the show was redeemed by an encore that went over 20 minutes longer than the set.

We arrived just in time for the opening act, the Flatbush-based Top Shotta Band featuring Screechy Dan on vocals.  His voice was similar to Half Pint's, and the four-piece horn section were dressed in suits and driving caps, looking like former members of a failed third-wave ska band.  Surely enough, online research confirmed the trumpet player and bandleader as DJ Mush 1 of the Slackers.  They were a decent appetizer, with highlights being "Million Tons of Music" despite a sloppy trumpet solo, and the tune that followed.  The set was probably one song too long, however, with Screechy Dan's out-of-tune warbling during closer "There's a Moon Out Tonight" identifying the source of the adjective in his moniker.

The Wailers started things off around 9:35 with an instrumental intro before getting into Survival with "So Much Trouble in the World."  After the live brass of Top Shotta, it was a little sad to see no horns onstage.  Thankfully, to compensate on keys was Keith Sterling of Peter Tosh's Word, Sound, & Power.  Aston "Family Man" Barrett is the only original Wailer still in the band, and was honored last year with Bass Player magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award.  Barrett is not a flashy player, but an excellent composer.  The bass is the backbone of the songs, so he performed the tunes without much deviation from the originals, and the band took his lead.  This is understandable because they are in fact, the Wailers' songs, but without Peter, Bunny, or Bob, the current lineup seems more like a really solid cover band.

I don't envy lead singer Danglin, who has the biggest shoes to fill.  He has a good voice, but it's not Marley's.  That wasn't necessarily to be expected though, considering the only people I've heard capable of approximating it are Bob's sons, Ziggy and Stephen, and strangely enough, Xavier Rudd.  More than the vocals though, is the task of substituting for perhaps the most electrifying frontman of all time.  He had the hopping from foot to foot down, and he at least had dreads, but just inserting "Brooklyn" into the lyrics didn't cut it.

The highlights were the unexpected moments: the live fade out in "Ride Natty Ride" or the addition of a new keyboard sound in "Ambush in the Night."  At the completion of "Wake Up & Live," Danglin incorrectly announced, "Everybody, that was the Survival album in its entirety."  Just 44 minutes after taking the stage, they retreated up the staircase to the right.  The show was billed as "Playing Survival and More," so we clapped until we got more.

Danglin and guitarist Audley Chisholm returned to the stage first.  Leading the encore off with "Redemption Song."  How predictable, right?  Wrong.  They started with a bit of "Time Will Tell" first, and that's how the encore went: I'd think they were on the last song, and then they'd pull another tune out.  Damn, Bob Marley had some great songs.  The hits kept coming, and you could tell the band was having more fun outside the constraints of an album.  Danglin took some liberties with the lyrics on "Stir It Up," drawing attention to all the ladies in the crowd, and having them sing back to him, even the girl behind me who quite possibly had the worst singing voice ever.  Chisholm played a stylish solo in "Jamming," and we all waved our hands from side to side for "Three Little Birds," and did the same with one finger for "One Love."  As Family Man removed his bass from his neck, I figured that was the end of the show.  But he was just swapping it with his son to take the reins at the organ for "Exodus."  As the band jammed along, Danglin started a chant of "Party on!" which was cheesy, but was absolved when it led into "Punky Reggae Party" and back into "Exodus."  Oddly enough, it was this medley, the only one Barrett didn't play bass on, that was my favorite performance of the night.

Within seconds of the show's end, the DJ at the back of the room started spinning.  It was none other than Biz Markie, selecting singles like "Pass the Dutchie," "Fly Like an Eagle," and what seemed a silly choice considering we'd just seen it performed live, "Three Little Birds."  I realized it was a masterstroke, however, when I entered the restroom to hear every person in the line of urinals singing along.  Damn, Bob Marley had some great songs.

There's no denying album shows are in vogue in the live music world.  They're a way to sell tickets to a fan base content to stay at home and listen to their mp3s, where they can always count on hearing their favorite song.  What I like about them is the enforcement of the idea as an album as a collective piece of art.  There are two downsides to this format of show, however:

1. When a song is accidentally or intentionally left out, it embraces the iPod shuffle/Pandora/ADD culture we subsist in, leaving us to wonder, "Why did that song not make the cut?"  Even if you go to a concert for the guarantee of hearing that song, there is no guarantee.  When something is advertised as one thing and you get another, there is an inherent disappointment.

2. The element of surprise is lost.  We know what's coming next, so we can only get that excited about it.  How great is it when you're at a show and you're wondering what they'll play, and then they spring your favorite tune on you?  To counter this, some bands are performing full albums, but folding them into their sets like Dave Matthews Band or Jimmie's Chicken Shack, with mixed results.

My point: If album shows continue to be a popular feature of the live music scene, you might want to have a fact-checker on hand, whether you play the album in order or not. "Babylon System" isn't my favorite song on Survival, "Lodi Dodi" isn't my favorite on Doggystyle, and "U" isn't my favorite on 3 Years, 5 Months, & 2 Days in the Life Of..., but they are all great songs that I had expected to hear.

THE WAILERS - 01.24.13 - BROOKLYN BOWL (1 hour, 52 minutes)

SET -
Intro* / So Much Trouble in the World / Zimbabwe / Top Rankin' / Survival / Africa Unite / One Drop / Ride Natty Ride / Ambush in the Night / Wake Up & Live

ENCORE -
Time Will Tell > Redemption Song / Roots, Rock, Reggae / I Shot the Sheriff / Is This Love / Stir It Up / Jamming / Could You Be Loved / Three Little Birds / One Love / Exodus > Punky Reggae Party > Exodus

Deer Tick Finale Ends with Horns, Beastie Boys, and Lots of Beer

I was too exhausted after last night's Deer Tick Brooklyn Bowl finale to stay up and write, but now that I've had some sleep and a shower to wash off the beer, it's time to share.

"We're gonna play a bunch of songs," announced Ian O'Neil, fronting a band of Jeff Bailey, Chris Murray, and Julian Veronesi. Six is not exactly a bunch, but it was anyone's guess as to which songs they'd be playing because so many of Ian's songs are on Divine Providence and the Tim EP, which Deer Tick would be performing later. "The Dream is in the Ditch" started things off right, and the second time hearing it, I was already singing along. Ian revealed that they had stayed up until 5am when he heard Julian playing a new tune that he liked so much, he said, "We've gotta play that tomorrow." And they did, Ian handing over the reins to his former Titus Andronicus bandmate. "Hope is Big" made its third appearance of the residency, making it one of only three songs played every night. For the last tune, the band left O'Neil and Veronesi behind to do "a song we've been playing together for a long time," Chuck Berry's "Maybelline."

Alex Bleeker & the Freaks were next, and they sucked. Jangling between the same two chords on John McCauley's Mustang, Bleeker attempted jams that went nowhere, and sang in a boring, whiny voice. Drinking from a bottle of Jameson, he offered, "Thanks again for hanging out with us," but it's not like we had a choice. All the doors had "NO RE-ENTRY" signs on them.

Shirtless and gripping a pint, comedian Dave Hill had the honor of introducing the band. Although he was told he'd be prefacing Danzig, he chose the same intro: "They're gonna fuck you in the face with hot rock!" Deer Tick took the stage, and McCauley stated, "Ladies and gentlemen, Divine Providence." Within the first notes of "The Bump," the energy was palpable, with the crowd shouting back the lyrics. For "Funny Word," the boys were joined by a three-piece horn section that included Cochemea Gastelum (The Electric Sound of Johnny Arrow), Jordan McLean (Antibalas), and Dave Smith (TV on the Radio). The fullness of the horns brought so much to the table that they would appear on eleven more numbers throughout the night. After the rowdy punk dash "Let's All Go to the Bar," McCauley remarked, "That's the stupidest song I've ever written, and that was the hardest song to write." "Clownin Around" lacked its circus outro, which was strange, given the horns. Viking Moses played keys on "Chevy Express," though the song was muddled by a disruptive hair-pulling scuffle in the crowd. A surprising twist to the end of the album, "Miss K." transitioned smoothly into "Summertime Blues" before the band departed.

Personally, I feel that Divine Providence contains some of the band's best-written songs, but the album's sequencing doesn't serve them well. It blows its load right at the beginning with three ragers and never gets that mometum rolling again. "Let's All Go to the Bar" should end the album, as it often does their shows, sending the listener out to get wasted as a reward. Using the rest of the album as the soundtrack for the journey to the saloon doesn't work quite as well, namely because if you were just trying to get drunk, you wouldn't spend 30 minutes getting there; you'd just go around the corner. Regardless, the horns livened things up enough that it didn't get boring, though their delicate shading on "Electric" was overpowered by McCauley's wails.

A minute later, Deer Tick and the horn section returned for "Mr. Cigarette." "I mean we made you wait on the album too," said McCauley, though thankfully it wasn't the thirty minutes of silence before the hidden track as it is on the CD. This time the horns were louder than McC, obscuring Paul Westerberg's clever lyrics. I'd never heard "Born at Zero" before, which was decent, but the medley of the Nirvana-esque "Walls" and the previously-unplayed "Virginia Gal" was thrilling. McCauley took the microphone out of its stand and walked around, pretending to solo on Rob Crowell's sax and patting Ian on the shoulder. You could tell they were having a blast. "That's the first time we've ever performed that song. We've been doing a lot of firsts with this residency. It's been really nice," McCauley admitted. "She's Not Spanish" made its third residency appearance, though the first for the band, making me realize that I like O'Neil's DT songs more when he actually plays them with Deer Tick. A cover of Elliott Smith's "Between the Bars" was just okay, but it segued into a version of "Ashamed" that knocked 12/5's off of the map. Taking it at a slower tempo to start, the song built into a vehicle for each horn and guitarist to solo. The horn blasts combined with the crowd chants made this quite possibly the best performance I'd seen in the three shows. "Cake & Eggs," a song in the key of D and "sort of about oral sex," cooled things down a bit after the epic "Ashamed." "We'd like to end this by celebrating a very bad man," said McCauley, and they launched into Jim Croce's "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," playing it so well you'd have thought they wrote it.

The band ascended the backstage stairs, but John remained on the side of the stage. Gesturing us to keep up the applause, he returned to sing "Diamond Rings" with Dennis Ryan on harmony. "No So Dense" was the crowd-pleaser it always is, and as it wound down, the horns and others made their way into the lights. "This one goes out to the people of Brooklyn," and 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.

Deer Tick, like Band of Horses at Manhattan Center, missed one song from their repertoire: War Elephant's "Long Time," but no one cared. Fully rocked, slightly sore, and reeking of booze, I made my way out onto Wythe to get back to the train. John McCauley was standing outside the back door, and I had to congratulate him on the best show of the three.

Reviews of previous Deer Tick shows:
12.12.12 Brooklyn Bowl
12.05.12 Brooklyn Bowl
10.03.11 Death by Audio
08.11.11 Pier 54


IAN O'NEIL - 12.19.12 - BROOKLYN BOWL (21 minutes, 10 seconds)

SET -
The Dream is in the Ditch / Funky Song (I Will Forget)* / Grow Tired of You in Time* / Be Kind to Me / Hope is Big / Maybelline

DEER TICK - 12.19.12 - BROOKLYN BOWL (1 hour, 43 minutes)

 

SET -

The Bump / Funny Word / Let's All Go to the Bar / Clownin Around / Main Street / Chevy Express / Something to Brag About / Walkin Out the Door / Make Believe / Now It's Your Turn / Electric / Miss K. > Summertime Blues

 

ENCORE I -

Mr. Cigarette / Born at Zero / Walls > Virginia Gal / She's Not Spanish / Between the Bars > Ashamed / Cake & Eggs / Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

 

ENCORE II -

Diamond Rings / Not So Dense > Fight for Your Right