The Voodoo Fix at the Bitter End 12/15/11

(The Voodoo Fix logo, taken from their webpage) 

The name The Voodoo Fix itself is attention grabbing, but the powerful voice of singer Abe Rivers is what can grab the attention of a room.  When I saw the group play on Thursday night, as they were recording a live album in front of a late night crowd at The Bitter End on Bleecker Street, I couldn’t ignore their cool demeanor.  Perhaps it was because of their hair styles and overall attire, or maybe it was just their bar side manner, but this was a very likable group of guys.


Abe was sharply dressed with his usual attire of a suit and tie, and kept his shades on beneath his long curls in the true spirit of the blues.  The bass player, known as Captain Willy, wore a white Captain’s hat as he walked around the stage barefoot, guiding the music with his guitar.  The attire of the rest of the band was a mix of class and the look of rock n’ roll; seemingly a tribute to their blended sound of rock and blues.  Of course, the image of a band would be meaningless without a good sound to accompany it. 


Before I get to their actual performance though, a bit of background on the Voodoo Fix.  Coming from the Los Angeles area, the five-piece group has only been together since 2007, but has already released the full length LP “Not For Nothing” (available on iTunes or www.thevoodoofix.com/store) and two EPs (available on the website).  They recorded “Not For Nothing” in one month in a remote mountain cabin, and have been thoroughly touring since. 


After initially playing around California, including gigs on several college campuses, the band set its sites on becoming nationally recognized, and has since played shows in cities such as Austin, Burlington, New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and New Orleans among others. 


However, they have also done many “tour-ganic” shows playing free for gatherings on farms.  According to the band’s website, tour-ganic is “the act of bringing people together through music, art, and grass-roots, usually on a farm” and “is an independently financed, grassroots traveling festival that [the Voodoo Fix] started to help spread [their] music, but more importantly to support and raise funds for Independent Organic Farmers nation-wide.”  This intriguing concept has allowed them to play on farms in places like North Carolina, Connecticut, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and of course, California to connect with a broader range of people than you would typically find at a city venue. 


In contrast to their tour-ganic performances, the Voodoo Fix was the headlining band at the Bitter End on Thursday, coming on stage around 10:45 pm for their live recording.  The venue was crowded as people filled up all the seats around the serving tables, and others stood in packs wherever they could find room.  The group began playing confidently, proving they were no strangers to the stage.  They started on an upbeat note, which lasted through their entire set of original songs.  As I previously mentioned, Abe has a very powerful voice, but it also really compliments the band’s style of bluesy rock.  The songs were rapid, with short waves of sound bursting through the air.  While Abe belted out the lead vocals, the other members of the band also contributed with vocals of their own, adding a surrounding sense of fullness. Each member of the band was on fire, contributing different styles to define the Voodoo Fix sound.  The full performance was the sort of high-energy funky music that you want to stomp your foot, clap your hands, and nod your head to.


While currently basing their operations out of New Haven for their East Coast sting, The Voodoo Fix has been playing shows from Philadelphia through Vermont.  They still have several more shows in the area over the next few months, and more will surely be added (http://www.thevoodoofix.com/shows).  I am already looking forward to going back and seeing them, as the Voodoo Fix has my full support.

 

-JKS

(Original photographs taken by JKS, video found on youtube) 



^^Watch them play from a previous show in Austin^^

The National play the Beacon 12/13/12

(an original photograph by RTM)



The lights suddenly dimmed inside of the beautifully decorated three-tiered Beacon Theater.  The house music turned up a few notches catching people’s attention with Duran Duran’s “Wild Boys,” and the backdrop of the stage went purple and flaunted the words “The National.”  The band was getting ready to come on stage. 

Over the past several years The National has become a nationally prominent band.  They have released five albums since 2001, but their fourth album The Boxer (2007) has received the most acclaim.  However, since their fifth release, High Violet (2010), the band has continued to thrive, especially in the New York area as they are based out of Brooklyn.  Known for frontman Matt Berninger’s monotone voice, I was curious to see how the band’s music would translate live.

Tuesday night was their second of six consecutive shows at the Beacon Theatre, with each of the shows selling out shortly after tickets went on sale.  Every single person in the theater stood up and applauded the guys when they came on stage. 

Slowly, people began to sit back down, but by the end of the band’s third song, the recent upbeat hit “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” the entire crowd on the floor level was on their feet, and would remain that way until the end of the show. 

During the next song, “Squalor Victoria,” Matt made it clear to the crowd that he wasn’t going to stay monotone through the whole show.  During the height of the song, he was screaming into the microphone. 

Listening to The National’s studio music, it seems like they have a lot of mellower songs, with some faster paced songs mixed in.  However, their live performance proved to be the opposite with mostly rockin’ songs and just a few mellower songs mixed in.  The National’s greatest strength as a band is how they build towards a climax—mellow or upbeat—each of their songs proves to be a crescendo.  As their songs picked up intensity, the light-work accompanying the music began pulsating, which culminated in high-energy performances. 

At the end of the nineteen song set though, The National ended on a much more intimate note.  They ditched their drums, amps, and microphones, and called out guests (including St. Vincent, Annie Clark, and opener Sharon Van Etten) to help them sing an A cappella version of “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks.”  I have seen other bands try to end shows on a similar note in the past, but have failed at doing so.  The National did a wonderful job with it, as the crowd watched with admiration and sang along as the night came to an end.

-JKS


(an original photograph by RTM)

Fifth Nation @ Paulies in Pleasantville, NY 12/9/11

   It was at Chris Bro's monthly "All Things NEXT" Charity Concert in Pleasantville, NY (Dec. 9th edition) where I stumbled upon Fifth Nation. I was there on the bill playing drums with the Steven Wright-Mark band, and F.N. happened to be the headlining act. (Check out more of the bands that Chris brings to his concert series- http://allthingsnext.com/ for more on NEXT)

   

   We had done a little homework before the show to see who we were sharing the bill with- (See one of the music videos that Fifth Nation recently put out below this review). Singer/Guitarist, King Julia and Drummer, Musik Read are originally from Austin, TX, now based out of Brooklyn, NY. They're a rock duo in the same vein of The White Stripes, Black Keys, Matt and Kim, or The Ting Tings; but their sound and look stand alone. 

  I thought they had started their set , but it was only a quick sound check when KJ was singing a rhyme into the mic, making it up on the spot. She playfully turned the mic-check into a greeting to the audience and a "let's get this show started" kinda thing that turned everyone's head towards the stage. Her vocal style is rhythmic, mid-register, raspy and technically strong but soulful. Her guitar technique while she's singing stood out to me, using jazzy chords and finger picking most of the time with a "gritty-reverb-ish" tone coming from the guitar amp. The combination of elements in her playing only adds to the originality of the sound. Musik Read's drumming is tasteful and complementary to the music. He plays an un-conventional set-up and style of drums, incorporating broken-up snare pattern hybrids of traditional Latin grooves, Rock and Hip-hop. 

  Right away, you notice something intriguing and unique about this band. Fifth Nation definitely has an appealing presence. The band dons the color white, and the hair is especially big. KJ wears tribal or battle-like lines and shaved hair on the side of her head, surrounded by her long brown and blue locks. Musik's mohawk is huge and would probably take anyone five years to grow, but it demands attention. Their recipe for elements is fresh, and their stage presence is natural, KJ especially demands attention with the combination of her voice, guitar playing, moves and looks. Her conversation with the audience (or "stage banter" if you will) is a message of peace and connection, thanking the audience at one point and calling everyone family. Songs like "Fight a War" and "I'm in Love" suggest that Fifth Nation is about fighting for something; that thing the world can never have too much of. 

  Doing some post-show fact-finding on the band, I found that they've evolved a bit into who they are now since 2009, and have definitely honed in on a sound of their own. They have quite a bit of shows under their belt as well. Talking to drummer Musik after the show, he mentioned that they have played over five hundred shows as a band. And sure enough, checking out their website here (see biography) you'll find a huge list of dates that they've played over the past two years. 

  You can probably catch Fifth Nation in NYC this month or the next, they're constantly playing live. Musik mentioned that sometimes they'll play one or two last minute pick-up shows on a given day, so head towards The LES, The Village, or W.B., Brooklyn and maybe you'll stumble upon this great band, as I did. 

-RTM

The Lesser Ghost at Pianos (12/3/2011)

In the past I have gone to Pianos (on Ludlow street) to check out what sort of bands might be playing on a random night.  On any given night at Pianos you usually can find live music either upstairs or in the back room there, but this past Saturday was the first time I went there to seek out a specific band.  The Lesser Ghost is based out of New York.  They have played NYC venues such as The Studio @ Webster Hall, The Living Room, The Delancey, and Spike Hill (among others) over the past year.  The group has one EP to date that was released last April, but is halfway to completing a full-length debut album.  They give the EP away for free at their shows, but it can also be found on iTunes.  After the show, lead singer Ben said that the EP was a bunch of guys getting together as a band and recording to see what they could do, and then they would grow from there.  The way they played on Saturday night though, sounded less like a group working on their first full length album, and more like a veteran group that had been on the scene for much longer.  

 During the ten-song set, the Lesser Ghost brought a packed room of spectators through the highs and lows of rock n’ roll.  The five-piece band had great dynamics, with complementary components and riveting guitar solos.  They are influenced by traditional garage rock groups of the past few decades, which was evident when they finished their set with a pulsating cover of the Foo Fighters’ “This is a Call” from their first album.  Aside from that cover, the rest of the band’s set list was full of originals.  The drummer Ryan mentioned that they haven’t played a cover more than once; which is good for a band that is evolving their own songs with every performance.  Additionally, it keeps the shows fresh, so fans won’t know what to expect.

While all the songs that the Lesser Ghost played were quite enjoyable, the group’s personality was equally enjoyable.  Fans cheered as each band member was introduced, and in return, the band was very personable.  Despite never meeting him before, I found Ben to give off the vibe like he was an old friend.  His brief monologues were both witty and natural sounding.  Other members of the band calmly added in jokes of their own, and at one point, Ryan stood up from his drum set, took off his vest and threw it to a member of the audience who proudly put it on to generate a cheer. 

Towards the end of the set, Ben said into the microphone that he saw a bunch of new faces that night.  However, by the way the group interacted with the fans, I got the impression that they also had a devoted following of fans that comes to every show.  I imagine more and more audience members decide to stay loyal to the group with each show the band plays. 

The Lesser Ghost plays again on Sunday January 8^th at Rockwell Music Hall (stage one for an acoustic show).  I regret that I will be out of town for that performance, but I hope to see them after that when they play at Arlene’s Grocery on February 9th.  It only took me one show to become one of those loyal fans of The Lesser Ghost.  They are currently unsigned, but I can see that changing as they continue to play shows and with the release of their debut album, which they are funding themselves with ticket sales.  Some of the better music coming through New York City comes from unsigned bands.  It’s just a matter of seeking out the right bands and the right places to see them.  The Lesser Ghost is a prime example of what New York has hiding beneath the mainstream music scene.  Stay tuned later in 2012 for news of their completed album.  You will be able to find out information here, or on their website, Thelesserghost.com, or from their Facebook page.
-JKS

(an original photograph)

(an original photograph)

(an original photograph)
 
Listen to "In Time" by The Lesser Ghost:
In Time by TheLesserGhost

News for February

The Kills have announced that they will play a special 10th anniversary show at Terminal 5 on February 11th, 2012.  Jeff the Brotherhood will open for them.  Both are bands that we have enjoyed and covered in the past.  Get your tickets before they're gone.