So this is Sarah Pedinotti of Railbird. They performed at Reggies Music Joint, the side with the tables Last Saturday 12 March. I'm gonna take my time writing the whole review of them performing, they are hard to describe but are easy to like. Every show of theirs is different from the last. Well, I've only been to this one, but they play with the energy like it's the last show they will do. They just seem to be that kind of band. They play like they've been together for years. I was especially impressed with their drummer.....anyway. Railbird is awesome, and their CD No One is awesome. I've read somewhere that they kind of call themselves (in part) roots music of some kind. I'll go with it. It's a matter of figuring out which roots, because in this original creation there are derivatives of other styles that they fuse organically with beats and electronics.

Railbird at Reggies

What is it about Brooklyn? A lot of really cool bands are from there. It's almost routine to hear that now. I did not expect the weirdness out of a name like Railbird. They were here at Reggies to promote the CD No One. Right off I'm gonna have this really hard time describing the sound of these guys. But I have seen more and more of their peers, if I may call them that, like Ryat (who has played Reggies), Phantogram,..they combine organically guitar, electronics, and percussion, beats. They're all kind of hard to describe. They are all different animals from each other but they combine instruments and styles that previously seemed like water and electricity.

Live, they were on! The accordion player was coked-out energetic, I don't know if he is in the recording, he was all over the tables with his accordion. And you can't play like that if the rest of the band does not have that natural craziness, and oneness with their instruments. They covered a Cab Calloway song. The one that he played in Blues Brothers. I also noticed the drummer of the band Jeremy Gustin is also the producer. I'm not an expert on drums but he seemed to me very skilled and sharp. They all got it. On the CD, besides Hushaby, I like Strange, it has this sweetness that reminds me of Ditty Bops, only Railbird is far more electronic and far more urban. It has this 50's thing, very slight but there, oh yeah I guess those are the roots I was looking for. The song has some personal resonance for me. I suspect this resonance can be more wide spread with this song, and I think it is indicative of how well received they can be. This hmm weirdness as intangible as it is can appeal to a wide audience without being pop music.

Zig

Esben And The Witch

Thursday 11 March 2011. Empty Bottle. Before even the band starts, there are the clues that tell you at once how well this gig will imprint. I see Sarah and William, then Aimee, Ruben. Musicians, DJs and friends of that I (presume to) share a kind of short-hand with. These are goths that I see at death-rock and shoe-gaze themed nights, industrial nights, and vegan restaurant. We like the same music and the specific web of culture it attracts. Some thing at Empty Bottle got described as "haunting and eerie" and I had to go and investigate like the stoners at Ghost Adventures.....Travel Channel? No? Never mind. Seeing my fellow investigators inclined me to like further Esben And The Witch. What gets so many goths in one place? EATW has the dark trip-hop atmosphere with the random post-punk sprint and the casual, lazy psychedelic delivery of Rachel Davies. Hell I could go on. So I do the usual ritual of not over-loading on researching the band. I want the live experience to be the principal means of imprint. I see half a video of whatever band before and that kind of decides it. So they set up and I notice the one drum thing in the front. To me that means hmm, crazy tribal drumming. And yeah, that's what I got.

Esben And The Witch are from Brighton, UK. They were in Chicago to promote the CD Violet Cries. Eerie and Haunting are but a beginning. This is Warpaint tripping on acid in The Lake District of England. You are gonna have some cool trips and some scary trips in the land of Coleridge and Wordsworth. Rachel Davies sounds just like Warpaint, all chill and lazy. Only she trips on a different world, and can take her sweet time describing it. E&Th W are great at creating this dangerous, faerie land sound scape. Each song has it's own sonic atmosphere that is used for various means. In Argyria, you are held in wonder of it as you jog along the shore. Before Rachel says a word you are OK to follow her pace to a sprint. And after you spent this cardio exploring this world pretty and quaint, that's when they stop trying to startle the tourist. That's when they draw blood. This world, the sound of it is often chill, repetitive until familiar, that is one way they hook you, with shallow water then plunge! You can almost tune out exactly what Rachel says in Light Streams if instead you focus on that lazy delivery. The dread comes when Rachel's voice corners you alone. The coolness of Rachel's voice is that she can sweet talk you with sound, empower you with it and scare with the meaning later when you are reading the words. Or she can deliver the chill with her voice alone. Dancing to Chorea and Warpath in Procession at Late Bar is different from reading, or really listening.

The full empowerment of Marching Song you feel later when you read the lyrics. This is the song that sold me the whole album and set me up for the rest. It sold me the band, everything. But the moment has me right by the stage, when Marching Song was second. Hair covers her face. Rachel Davies beats this drum with ritual shamanic passion, and holds your short attention span hostage. I mean no one that was in there was looking up their messages on their cell phones. It was that brilliant. Rachel drifts to the back of the stage and beats the drum sticks together like she's imposing a rhythm on her heartbeat. It's three pulses Rachel hits the last the hardest. You feel empowered to see her perform. You feel empowered and familiar with the mystery invoked. So, I found myself stomping to the song as well. Most of the memory of the concert is locked into that song. Everything else is just fragments that a narrative pieces together later. Just to see this singular drum in front of the stage is dramatic, tribal. They don't put it out for nothing. And so Rachel hits those drums, the cymbals in just the right way that I will discover later when I'm hearing it. I think if you like bands like Telepathe, Bat For Lashes, School Of Seven Bells, and yes Warpaint, this band deserves a look. And do it before they do on The Vampire Diaries,or some damn show like that. I could not stay for their entire set. An urgent matter I had to take care of. But I felt not as if I missed out on the band. I was fortunate to have the chance to see them at all.

ZIg

Ami Saraiya is performing this Thursday 10 March at Schubas. It's her CD release as Ami Saraiya And The Outcome. Get the CDs, all of them because these are songs that you want to hear again in your daily life. Ami's music has this way of weaving itself into your mental routine. Her music has always reminded me of 1920's, 40's. It's in the pace of her songs, the instruments in her band. There is something that screams "period-nostalgic" about this band. At the very least there is a style about this band that is consistent, and identifiable. And so you look forward to hear it, to see it. The ep that Ami is releasing will be available for $1 at the show. Julie Meckler is opening!

Bone And Bell

I was expecting her in that blue makeup she has in her pictures.

Bone And Bell caught me with the chilling sweetness of "Flying, Falling, Crawling". That song is straight out of Twin Peaks. And the song is so minimal; voice and a ukulele, and your every day is veiled in some mystery, and sadness. It's on her free ep L*O*O*M. I looked her up after seeing her scheduled for Schubas. Then they featured her on NPR. The very song that hooked me is playing on the radio and they interview her, Heather Smith of B & B. I missed the Schubas show, but I saw her last Wednesday 2 March at Quenchers. After NPR I thought there would be more people. I felt a greater urgency to see her live, to see her first. Before I feel crowded out by so many trendy assholes, I want to see her first. Well, at least that's what the id urges with. And for once it worked well enough to arrive at Quenchers on time. Something I did not know until the show was that Ms Heather is also in a psychedelic rock band, Seek Dark, Seek Flesh. I was a fan of Bone And Bell well before walking into Quenchers. Still not knowing a lot about the band, but in wonder of what little I did, I jumped at the chance to see it live in such a small venue. And there was a lot I did not know until after that show, like how absolutely new the band is. Q's was I think the third or fourth show. Heather seemed to know everyone in the room, all but me. Once Bone And Bell started, the room filled some more. Under the B&B moniker Ms Heather plays the ukulele and keyboard. For some songs including "Flying, Falling, Crawling" there were two backing singers. And with these instruments a foggy mystery world is delicately woven. The uke' brings you back to your innocence, while Heather's haunting voice uses that to draw you into the mist, and deeper meaning. This is something other artists that I have featured here do effectively and deserve mention with B&B, like Eliza Rickman with her toy piano, and Uni And Her Ukulele. They know how to keep your attention with the humblest of instruments, and make them sound, cool. So Ms Heather played the sweet and otherworldly "Flying, Falling, Crawling" second to last. I've gone on about the song as if it's the only one, but it's not. It's a faerie world Bone & Bell sing about, and I think this is an artist that can tell a lot about the culture we inhabit. Ms Heather Smith is someone to watch.

Zig

Asobi Seksu, in Late February 2011

After buying the shirt for BRAHMS I was too broke to buy Asobi Seksu's latest. The shirt was to keep BRAHMS in mind for when they come back. It was my first time seeing them. This was my third time seeing AS. All three times the world changed on me. I think I took a vacation day from work to see them the first time. My friends Killer Moon was still just Jesse and Amaris. I felt such great urgency to see Asobi Seksu, like it was the only time. The world was different around me when I first was made aware of Asobi Seksu. Citrus was the CD that first hooked me to the band, with "Thursday", "Strawberries". There are just so many songs. They have that sweet feminine voice driving these aggressive guitars and drums. Fearless, power-shoe gaze, that gives you this instant feeling of nostalgia with the songs even without actually taking you back. You're still driving forward, just in an old muscle car. My routines were different then at the point of discovery. We were all at the beginning of the Great Recession. Yeah, I'm gonna capitalize that. It was urgent for me to see AS live and fill the nostalgia cup. It's fascinating to feel like you have an old relationship with a new song. And now it's March 2011. The third time seeing AS is now behind me. Seeing them this time was a much more casual thing, and I actually do have that long term relationship with AS. I have a real history with the music now. The unsigned BRAHMS hooked me with their song "Repeat It", for which they have a video. They played that song second to last. They were awesome, dancey like Depeche Mode/Golden Filter. The audience was big but hard to read. They seemed kind of luke warm to them. They were not being ignored but I was probably one of three people dancing to them. Then Asobi Seksu played to that same casual familiar audience. It was nice to see old friends that you know like the band, like Scary Lady Sarah and William Faith. They create and promote the music that I have identified with for years. They played and appreciated shoe-gaze when the rest of the world sneered at it. Oh, yeah. AS played from their new CD as well as all those songs that have played in my head for the last few years. It's nice to have a few constants even as the local and indeed the entire economy crumbles under your step.

Kaspar-Zig

White Mystery, Fabulous Miss Wendy 14 Feb Monday

So I managed to see both acts in one night; The Fabulous Miss Wendy and then White Mystery. They are two completely different animals that throw themselves into their performances and have this mastery with the guitar. Ms Wendy is from LA, I think, and White Mystery is local. Ms Wendy did an acoustic set with no backing band at Reggies. She's insanely skilled on the electric guitar and so I was curious as to how her songs translate. Some worked, but I was already a fan walking in. So even when they don't work. Miss Wendy could do no wrong. You remember her set as much for what she says in between songs. The "jailbait" song she says is true. The song about Miami she said was true. Wendy just attacked her acoustic guitar. It was hard to guess what the audience at Reggies thought. She clearly had fans, but that was apparent after her show. I don't believe she was the headliner of that night. Wendy was there as part of this Valentine's Day thing. She has this punk rock attitude, not angry but mostly happy, and in love with her prowess on the guitar. You can't blame her. With the experience of Miss Wendy still the toast of my short-term memory, I went to Empty Bottle to catch White Mystery, the local brother/sister garage rock duo. Alex White sings and plays electric guitar and Francis hits the drums. I've seen them before. They have this raw electric, bluesy energy that resonates with everyone. Once you've seen the hair throw itself, you're sold on this garage rock that puts you on a Harley. Ok, I've never been on one myself, but White Mystery has you riding this forward abrasive blues, and you're taken back to the set of "That 70's Show". Each new song, ignites with singular energy. Well, I got friends that tell me the songs sound the same. So White Mystery will not be for everyone. What sounds like the mastery of a convention, an ownership of a style to one, resonant and still original, to another may not take at all. There can indeed be deep fault line between those that are sold, and those that refuse.

All the venues have that moment when for that one night they have all local music and everyone seems to be there to support it. A scene, or a culture looks inward and discovers how good we have had it. That Free Monday Night at Empty Bottle felt that way. I made it just after Dark Fog finished. It would have been nice to see the Dark Fog set....some of it. They can really test your attention span. Their songs are long and psychedelic, slow burns. I've seen them play twice before. I walked into the 'Bottle and a friend told me "you just missed the best band", meaning Dark Fog. I'm not trashing them at all. They certainly have a devoted, and passionate fan base. But I went to see White Mystery. I went to jam and dance to them. I went to see Alex White play her guitar in the crowd. That was awesome. And you can only do that when you know the audience is yours. This crowd she indeed has earned over year of playing locally. I saw them play Whistler, Sub T's. That's just within the last two, three years. They have a history that goes longer than that. So, here are some pictures from both two events in one night.