Martin Bisi and Roman Game Taking On The Beast

For half a year now, the indefatigable Paul Wallfisch has built his Small Beast at the Delancey into a true show of strength of the New York Underground Rock scene - as proven last Monday by Anton Sword and the We Ours' intimate performance, then refortified by the returning beast master Kerry Kennedy and in the end tastefully executed by Blasco. Carrying on the torch next Monday will be the unique New York phenomenon Martin Bisi. Should you be new to this blog or ignorant of Martin's merits, google the man and you will enter truly legendary territory. I'm honored to be on the same bill with the man. Luckily, I'll be getting a little help from the unwavering Quentin Thor Luther Jennings, the eternally Burning Finger, backboned by Dave the Spine... we'll see. Considering the economic crisis, I'll mostly play songs about possible job opportunities - from the Fish Cutter over the Hand Model to the Parachute Tester. Here's one for the Librarian:

Depression Entertainment: Free Park & Bar Shows

The crowd at the Raveonettes show in Coney Island.
Blonde Redhead a couple of weeks ago brought it back - the feeling of good live music on a summer eve in an open air park, and all for free (or three, if you're not too cheap to pay the suggested donation). Since then, I'm taking every opportunity I can: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart at South Street Seaport, the Kronos Quartet at Prospect Park, the Philharmonics with Mahler in Central Park, Built to Spill and the Raveonettes at the Siren festival in Coney Island, the Dirty Projectors at Williamsburg Waterfront Concerts. While there are still not enough opportunities to go for a swim in Brooklyn (watch the video with surprise appearance by KW), you can at least go crowd surfing here pretty easily... Enjoy.

So Who Wants to Live in Florida?

Right...what did i miss: Wilco. Yo La Tengo. Mission of Burma. Nathan Halpern. Heather Wagner. Soccer. Where was I? Miami! Beach! Godammit, what is wrong with this american people. Florida reminds me of Schwarzeneggers classic "Total Recall": People take vacations in a protected environment, air-conditioned and pre-prepared, over-priced and make-believe. It is rumored that the court building i had to go sit in, because the swiss still protect tax offenders, was partially built on money from the Florida mob to acquiesce local justice... Anyway. Glad to be back. My young swiss friends Marco und Niklaus have returned back to Rorschach by the time i get back to NYC. I think they got the idea. The apartment looks immaculate and there is beer in the fridge. If you care to visit, Painhead is my offcial travel agency, ask judge Martin.

2 Hours of Mass with The Church

The Theatre and its Double: The Church at Irving Plaza
The Church have their most prolific six months behind them: A proper new studio album, Untitled #23, two EPs, and a soundtrack to a book and movie called Shriek. And as if that wasn't enough, singer Klibey has another three albums worth of material out, his solo album Painkiller, a collaboration with Martin Kennedy called "Unseen Music, Unheard Words" and last not least his great idea with The Esoteric Music Club Website, where you can download tracks for free as Kilbey puts them up when enough in donations has trickled in.
You would think that some of this flood of material must be either low fi or jam sessions or otherwise not top level - and you'd be wrong: Most of it is outstanding, none of it sucks. Moreover proved the band last night at Irving Plaza in New York that they are in a top form live and that the musical universe of the Church has never been bigger. Now, their fanbase desrves to grow, too - hey, them old dudes played for two and a half hours, celebrating the psychedelic and progressive like only Pink Floyd before. Like a football team that's on the way to win the championship, you ask yourself how long can they sustain such form?