The Roman Games Diary

Happy 2012 with Charles, Kerry, Tom and Roman

2012-01-20T00:54:00.001-05:00

Happy new year and please come to my first Small Beast in 2012! There is a very special bunch of artist performing this night and they're all in it for the music's sake, cause it's all free for you. Also, we plan to make this year the Beast's Biggest yet and need your help - special Beast awards to be won!

8 pm Model Kite

Tom Keidel aka Model Kite has been performing for almost 10 years. After graduating from Tufts University he taught music at a high school for 4 years before deciding that he was better suited for life on the road. He recently produced the debut album for the Brooklyn-based band AJJA, on which he played drums. He also plays guitar two other Brooklyn bands, Lou-is and Ghostwise. He is currently working on an EP, to be released in early 2012.

http://soundcloud.com/tom-keidel

9 pm Charles Wallace

Charles Wallace is one of New York's too rarely sung heroes, a Weller, Lennon and Rotten rolled into one, a man of impeccable taste with the songs to back it up. He was the leader of popular New York neo psychedelic band HeadQuarters, playing shows with bands like The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Soundtrack Of Our Lives, Dead Meadow and The Black Angels. Wallace produced the by now canonized short film „American Mod“. Since 2007, he splits his time between New York and Zurich, recording here and there. Brand new amazing rock CD in his bag!

http://cwallacesongs.com/

10 pm Ghostwise

Kerry Kennedy takes center stage at the Small Beast again, and it looks like it's going to be only the first in a big year. The Ghostwise album is finally ready to be released, the songs sound bigger yet closer than ever, soft, yet edgy. From her punky days in the unforgettable Blue Sparks to her dark folky Patti Smith days, Kennedy has never lost her unique skill to strip a song to its core, rid it of all fake and present it in all its honest fragility. Come watch this before she's on HBO.

http://www.myspace.com/kerrykennedynyc

11pm The Roman Games

After 8 years of writing material for the band Room, Roman last year turned to more personal, often quiet songs. On his new album "In Medias Res" he is taking a look at politics, the economy, society, words and the media, while experimenting with keyboards and loops. With a little help from his friends, he'll let you hear more tonight.

http://www.myspace.com/theromangames

It's the Holiday Beast Flyer Competition!

2011-12-02T01:58:00.001-05:00

You all gotta come out for this Small Beast: It's free anyway plus you can win 20 bucks and 2 minutes in the spotlight if you come up with the best lines of what these dear deer are saying to each other! Winner announced on stage when you join the feast of sounds, melodies, words and inspiration. What a line-up to get into the spirit: First, the Bay Leaves, then see Gibbs, then Hilary, Pierre and Elisabeth and finally jam with he Roman Games.

Small Beast with John Watts, Roman Game, Lost in Sound, Blackfriars Bridge, Andrew Keoghan

2011-10-17T18:02:00.001-04:00

If you have no plans for tonight, come on down and hear songs of protest, love and meaning: The great John Watts who with his distinct voice and songwriting lead the New Wave supergroup Fischer-Z, is in town for the CMJ Festival and treats us with a free show at the Delancey at 10pm. He will be joined for a very special performance by Michael "Lost in Sound" Lawson. Andrew Keoghan, Blackfriars Bridge and Roman Games from 8pm to 10pm.

Curated by Roman Game

8pm Andrew Keoghan

8:45pm Blackfriars Bridge

9:30pm The Roman Games

10:15pm John Watts of Fischer-Z

11pm John Watts with Lost In Sound

11:30pm Lost In Sound

John Watts playing the Small Beast, Monday, July 18th!

2011-07-15T17:24:00.007-04:00

We are happy to welcome our dear friend John Watts of Fischer-Z in New York again - he's one of my favorite songwriters, from the early New Wave Days back in the late Seventies and Eighties up to his most recent work - check out the link, the man's seen the world! Don't miss the experience of the hauntingly beautiful voice and guitar of Alfonso Velez, the witty yet warning words of Chris Pan, and the astounding sonic ride Lost in Sound is going to take you on. Free! Two for one drinks!

8:30PM PINKY SWEARZ

The members of Pinky Swearz recently pulled a drowning boy from the steep waves in Long Island and we don't expect to be on the cover of the paper or anything. A great way to show appreciation for the fragile and terrifying beauty of life and our intangible need for one another would be simply to darken the door of Delancey, buy a drink, and let us take you to the beach, where you will be well looked after while shapely lifeguards flirt through a hangover. We are, B Jams on guitar, Ben and Jessica sing.

http://www.pinkyswearz.bandcamp.com

9PM CHRIS PAN

Inspired by Morrison, Johnny Cash and honest gamblers, Chris Pan is playing melodic solo songs, crafted from romantic moments of love, death, danger, defiance, performed in the spirit of "taking chances" - in the pursuit of love, liberty and a life lived fully.

http://www.thePan.com

9:30PM ROMAN GAME

Roman Game arrived in New York from Switzerland more than 15 years ago and over time found the perfect musicians who share his love for melodic punk and edgy pop. A prolific songwriter and lyricist, Roman has been influenced by The Church, The Clash and, of course, John Lennon was his favorite Beatle. In his most convincing compositions for example the intriguing - “The Parachute Tester” - he manages to combine melody and text into one beautiful story. Saxmaster Dave Spinley adds a fine touch of jazz.
http://www.myspace.com/theromangames

10PM ALFONSO VELEZ

When Alfonso Velez first played the Small Beast a couple of months ago, you could hear a gasp of surprise run through the audience. Everybody then fell instantly silent, as not to miss a single note played or sung by this unique musician from Spain. This is how it must have felt for those who heard Elvis’s voice for the first time. Or Chuck Berry’s guitar. But we write the year 2011 now, and it’s a hundred times harder to pull this off with just one guitar and a voice. But Alfonso Velez does it easily. Mark our words: This man will be a superstar very soon.

http://alfonsovelez.bandcamp.com/

10:30PM JOHN WATTS OF FISCHER-Z

John Watts has been described by a fellow artist as “a force of nature”. He was the mastermind of Fischer-Z, contemporaries of the Police and Talking Heads, with just as big a fan base as those groups in Europe. John easily commands a variety of musical forms encompassing written word, poetry and humor. He has a distinguished catalogue of seventeen original albums with sales in excess of two million. The Small Beast performance is his first show in New York in 5 years – expect new compelling songs like “The Heart of New York” as well as older hits from the Fischer-Z days and be prepared for John's decidedly British humor!

www.johnwatts.co.uk

11:30PM LOST IN SOUND

After fronting his own band In Cat State, and then experimenting with Beast guest curators Anton Sword and Roman Game as well as other musicians, Mike Lawson grew comfortably into leading his grand solo project “Lost in Sound”: An highly adventurous trip through the full range of noises, melodies, walls, valleys and mountains a guitar can conjure. You’ll be asking yourself what just happened when Michael’s last note rings out.

http://lostinsoundaudio.blogspot.com/

168 Delancey Street (between Clinton and Attorney), F train to Delancey Stop
Call 212-254-9920 for information.

ROOM and SWORD & SLAVE at Fat Baby July 7th

2011-07-06T16:11:00.003-04:00

On Thursday, July 7th, we are playing a set of classic Room songs as a quartet, with Jesko Stahl on bass, Dave Spinely on saxophone, Martial Vivot on drums and Roman Game on guitar and vocals. We start at 10pm sharp... Our friends Sword & Slave play after us: Anton Sword on keys and voc with Gina Marie on bass. Be sure to catch their new hit "Hurricane" with guitar hero Michael Lawson (Lost in Sound) on guitar! It's seven bucks, but we'll make it up to you with a drink or a free CD! Fat Baby is at 112 Rivington, between Essex and Ludlow Streets. Take the F train to Delancey and Essex.

Lloyd Cole at City Winery

2011-06-17T15:32:00.006-04:00

So Lloyd Cole, huh, he spots a moustache now and looks a lot like my uncle Bernie. Bernie has a lot of jokes to tell, Lloyd's still not very good at that, but my uncle to my knowledge never wrote anything that comes near the pristine songs of Lloyd Cole, be they from his days in the Commotions back in Glasgow or from his various records in New York. The best pieces though come from his newest album, "Broken Record", on which Mark Schwaber and Matt Cullen, the two brillant guitar players Lloyd brought to his left and right, made the songs sparkle and shine. Lloyd still lives in Conneticut, but his son moved to New York. We suggested a collaboration between Lloyd and Will with Neil Finn and his son Liam. Generations of Beatles fans would be delighted. As long as that doesn't happen, this songsmith deserves your full attention, he still says it better than most poets can.

The Lloyd Cole Small Acoustic Ensemble with a big warm sound.

Come Perform at the Small Beast - Mon, June 13th

2011-06-06T15:29:00.004-04:00

Monday by now is not the dreaded day of the week it was during The Boomtown Rats' time, but the day of the glorious Small Beast at the Delancey, a free showcase for musicians from all walks of life.

The next MONDAY JUNE 13th, also happens to be my birthday... So i hope all of you could come out and sing a song, or play a piece of music, or stage a presentation... Every performance will be rewarded with a free drink!

Let me know, if you plan to perform... a few people have already signed up for it, and it promises to have a few must-hear/see surprises.

If you don't want to perform, join us as a guest, it's free!

Those of you who have been to Pierre's legendary Arty Party know the concept and the comedic skills of some of our friends... Also, see this as a rehearsal for the grand revival of the real Arty Party, which will be launched by Pierre, Heather and me on June 25th at Tip Top Lounge, but more about that soon.

Moreover: There is also a proper birthday rock show coming up, on WEDNESDAY JUNE 15th at MATCHLESS in Greenpoint, with ANTON SWORD AND THE WE OURS and PSXO and THE ROMAN GAMES. It's the night before the Northside Festival begins, and unfortunately that one is not free, but we all rehearsed for this hard and will sound good... More about that one soon, too!

Missed Ed Ball, won't miss Jowe Head

2011-04-22T19:06:00.002-04:00

Mr. Head comes to New York.
How could I have missed Ed Ball and the Times at Union Hall in Mid April! Was anybody there? Video? Photos? The Times, man, I would have given everything to see them when I was young! Ed Ball is one of the best songwriters imo, up there with Weller and Lennon and Davies. To see him live has been one of the few remaining names on my list of artists yet to see live, like Julian Cope.

So I defintely won't miss Jowe Head with the Mad Scene + The Surprisers + Cuffs at Bruar Falls, tonight at 8pm. 245 Grand St (between Driggs Ave and Roebling St) Jowe Head spent time in two of the U.K.'s coolest underground bands: Swell Maps and Television Personalities. Nuff said.

Small Beats Number 110 This Monday!

2011-04-14T14:51:00.007-04:00

Hey Small Beast Fighters - come see and hear an d be part of the 110th edition, this Monday, April 18th, tax day, yay! Enjoy spring at the unique Delancey lounge with..

8.30pm
Mollie King
http://www.myspace.com/mollieking

Singer, guitarist, songwriter. Moving from Fairyland on top of Lookout Mountain, Georgia to New York at the age of 17, she soon became the singer and lyricist for many different bands back in the day on the Lower East Side, including the jazz/hip-hop/metal of Kingstone and was the first lead singer in the psych/blues/improv of Elliot Sharp’s band Terraplane. If you’ve never seen and heard Mollie before, you’re either not interested in contemporary music at all or you’re not a New Yorker.

9.15PM
Swoon
http://www.swoontheband.com

Quite a few sites and stations have been swooning about Swoon’s new, just released record “Backwards & Forwards”. This is their first show after the record release, one with all the pressure off of the fine band’s chest, ready to lose themselves in their music. Be prepared for heartfelt, deep pop-rock with an easily accessible big sound and remarkable lyrics.

10.00PM
The Roman Games
http://www.myspace.com/theromangames

Roman Game is a Swiss Troubadour chronicling New York since the Nineties, an observer of everyday life with an eye for the unexpected, a knack for raising questions and taking wrong turns, but finding a way home in the end. He is also the singer in Room, a multinational collective of alternative musicians who find their way to New York every so often. He will bring friends and guests to the stage.

10.45PM
Dying in Motion
http://www.myspace.com/dyinginmotion

Dying in Motion are a Swiss punk band who are touring the U.S. this month. Their stop at the Delancey is an experiment for them, too: The quartet will do without their fifth member, Extreme Loudness, at the Small Beast. In their own words: “We are four friends from Zurich, Switzerland. We play screamo hardcore. We are into DIY. We are here to share the love and passion we put into our music with other nice people.” Let’s find out.

11.30PM
DJ Pablo Martin
Pablo Martin spins his no wave /post punk 25 cent vinyl collection

The Sword and the Bear Cross Paths

2011-04-14T14:34:00.006-04:00

Anton Sword leading the We Ours into prime time

Double duty for drummer beauty Kristin Mueller again: At Union Hall, Anton Sword and the We Ours shared a bill with Lucinda Black Bear. Sword is in finest form these days, the ladies from the rhythm section really click. Julian's guitar could have been a bit louder and harder, in my poor punky opinion. Why Christian Gibbs and his bear comrades are not filling stadiums yet will remain a mystery to me to the day they do fill stadiums.

Lucinda Black Bear at Union Hall, with a little help from their frANT.

The Feelies Doing Wire

2011-04-10T01:43:00.002-04:00

With the upcoming Feelies shows and new album and the amazing Wire gig past week, who knew this connection?

Williamsburg Totally Wire'd!

2011-04-07T14:15:00.005-04:00

Colin Newman charming Williamsburg. Picture by Edwina Hay

Proof is here: It is possible to make sharp, edgy, intelligent, relevant rock music even when you're older than fifty. British punk pioneers Wire were all that and harmonious, original and graceful on top of that at the Williamsburg Hall of Music on Tuesday night. While they played almost all the songs from their new album, the exquisite Red Barked Tree, there were few highlights from other periods of the band, most notably 'Map Ref' and 'Two People' from 154 and 'Kidney Bingos' and 'Drill' from their 80's incarnation, back when Bruce Gilbert was in the band. He is now replaced by a quite younger, but talented and decent left-handed guitar player.
General Graham Lewis attacking the bass. Pic. E. Hay.

Follow me, no explanation, as Graham Lewis sings on "Bad Worn Things"? Seems to me, these gentlemen well deserve the "over-crowded nature of things" at their fan base at the moment. Their new material is as strong as anything they put out over their influential career of almost 35 years, their songwriting rivaled by nobody. Well maybe by Weller, Cornwell, Kilbey and a few select others.

Robert Gotobed looking exactly like that's where he wants to go. Pic by E. Hay
I attach the setlist (with thanx for the picture below to the Brooklyn Vegan) below, so people in Europe can compare if they play the same songs over here. I would expect so. Many thanks to Edwina Hay, whose concert photography I recommend: www.thisisnotaphotograph.com.

Of Dorit, Robot, Falcon & Young Julian Cope

2011-03-26T17:26:00.008-04:00

Dorit Chrysler dueling Bob Kitlyar on the theremin

Yes, the live scene in New York is still humming all across the boros. A recent weekend brought acts from all generations and genres in most different places. Kick off was the 100th birthday commemoration for the world's foremost theremin player Clara Rockmore at a gallery in the high hallways of Soho, most notably with a rare performance by Dorit Chrysler, who in collaboration with young russian Bob Kitlyar brought the theremin into a fresh, techno-y place.

Lady Robot and the Lust Brigade take it up a notch

We then traveled to the trodden shores of Williamsburg to Glasslands Gallery, a good place for the crazy soul rockers from Lady Robot and the Lust Brigade to go overboard, we hoped, but then truly where blown away by the young, brutal, angular energy of NT, whose music you can hear here. This is what Julian Cope and the Teardrop Explodes must have been like back in the days.

NT - Raw power, angelic looks and Julian Cope haircut

The next day brought Falcon in East Williamsburg and we were pleasantly surprised not only by the proximity of this new hotspot for the youngblooded, but also by the casual coolness that Falcon after a long break showed onstage, leaving the music air to breathe and the players room for endearing little adventures. Upclose and personal.

Falcon are back!

Tender Small Beast, Great Sounds and Songs

2011-03-14T13:34:00.003-04:00

Last Monday at the Delancey showcased a beautifully tame beast, let's call it a pet beast. E. Ryan Goodman opened the evning with delicate sounds from his acoustic guitar, a modern version of the old blues, haunting and wonderful at the same time. He had the audience completely on his side, when he announced a next song as "very quiet": The listeners already didn't make a sound, you could have heard a pin drop. All the mightier was the applause Goodman garnered.

Next up were Jessica and Ben, or Pinky Swearz with their contemporary folk tunes about the hood in Williamsburg and life in Brooklyn. Ben and Jess manage to conjure a unique atmosphere with only one guitar and two voices - plus a lot of honest passion and love for the music.

Dina Rudeen and her trusty axemen Tim Bright and Christian Bongers were the highlight of the night, the guitars gelling, supporting the strong, yet warm voice of Dina, who in songs and lyrics comes close to a female, black Bob Dylan. A five star job, lady Dina!

Mike Lawson's music takes you to other places... wild flights through echoey valleys and steep abysses of sounds, sometimes he himself gets Lost in Sound and transported to dark places - as a grim Michael pounded his guitar, the soundscape grew and grew...

Room played their debut without Burnt Finger and Quentin Jennings, and especially Jean-Cosme on bass did an admirable job. A memorable gig for the ever changing landscape in the growing conglomerate of musicians in the Room. Since I was on stage, I couldn't take a photo and instead attach one from the show we played at the Delancey this Saturday, for the first time with new roomie Jesko Stahl on bass and the amazing Kristin Mueller sitting in on drums without even knowing some of the songs. Dave Spinley on genius sax, as always. Before us, Kristin also played a solo set on guitar, then really rocked with the newly improved Anton Sword, with Gina on bass and Julian on a beautifully T-Rex-sounding 70s guitar. Always a pleasure to see and hear our favorite New York Elvis, Nathan Halpern and the Lusty Men.

Saturday Night, er, Live at the Delancey

2011-03-11T13:58:00.003-05:00

Anton Sword put together this great bill for Saturday night. Here's what he writes:
First, let me mention there will be free whiskey shots from 12:15-12:45. Ok, moving on: This Saturday night, the Anton Sword band (Anton, Kristin Mueller on drums and Julian Maile on guitar) are being joined by the bright & shiny new Gina Rodriguez on bass. We feel lucky, punk. No excuses for you this time. The basement at the Delancey will start filling with sound at 8:30 sharp and we need you to come lick it up with your ear-tongues to keep us from drowning.

1. Fulton Lights * "Imagine if Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock produced a few songs on Beck’s Sea Change and then Tom Waits and Brian Eno stepped in to add some texture—and it all worked." -- The Onion AV Club
8:30 sharp
http://www.fultonlights.com/

2. Kristin Mueller * is known around NYC as the Most Excellent Drummer for several great bands, including (but not limited to) Anton Sword, Lucinda Black Bear, and Clare Burson. In addition to her fantastic drumming, Mueller is a unique singer-songwriter and guitarist, with a fascinating fingerpicking style and a mesmerizing voice. Those of you who’ve seen her know what she’s about, and those of you who haven’t should check out her beautiful, intimate, and original tunes and presentation. 9:15 sharp
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kristinmueller

3. Nathan Halpern & The Lusty Men * 'Halpern sings in the rough, urgent, powerful baritone of a 1950s crooner, a voice at once vulnerable and masculine…his hooks and melodies and climaxes evoke the popular songs of forty and fifty years ago and yet amount to something unmistakably new.' (MTV.com). He's also the splendidly dark sonic signature of Ghostwise, the Kerry Kennedy-led band (that Anton also plays piano with). 9:45 sharp
http://www.myspace.com/nathanhalpern

4. Anton Sword * is still doing something that people like to compare to Brits like Lennon, Bowie, & Morrissey, or NYCers like Lou Reed & LCD Soundsystem, depending on the song, but he's not always sure what it is. Anyway, never mind him: with Kristin Mueller on drums, Julian Maile on guitar, and Gina Rodriguez on bass, it's an actual band you don't want to miss. And they'll be playing some new songs from the upcoming new EP - rough mixes are audible here: www.myspace.com/antonsword and the older stuff is still here: www.antonsword.com 10:45 sharp

5. Roman Games * is perhaps known to you all as a gadfly, a bard of special occasions, a master of the night ceremonies, or a punk rocker from another continent. We don't need to know what form he'll take to know it will be very stimulating, and probably involve a good mixture of whiskey and bardic poetry in a cute swiss accent. 11:45 sharp
http://www.myspace.com/theromangames

12:30 djs - AND
free whisky shots from 12:15- 12:45 am
and a $4.00 beer special all night

Tubular Bells by the Brooklyn Organ Synth Orchestra

2011-03-11T13:54:00.004-05:00

Another little project produced by the ever busy Joe McGinty - a beautiful short movie in its own right and great musical performances by these ladies. Enjoy!

Room to take on the Beast Monday March 7th

2011-03-01T13:17:00.011-05:00

Another exciting roster to take on the Small Beast! Come down to the fancy Delancey to enjoy the cozy, intimate performances that distinguish this institution founded by Paul Wallfisch and continued during his extended stay in Europe. These performers will entertain you:

E. Ryan Goodman 8.30 PM

"Using nothing but a guitar, his imagination and his fingertips, Goodman embarks on a journey towards the heart of the blues, the essence of folk and the gold of the moment... Much like photography, his music brings back a very particular moment in all of its tactile sensations rather than describing a storyline, delineating a narrative or devising a plot. This, of course, is exactly what lends to his music the unmistakable air of intrigue: You can literally loose yourself in these short but never miniaturist pieces...It may be dealing with nostalgia, but the heartbeat of New York City is always pulsing through his oeuvre, too, imbuing it with an uplifting, life-affirming energy. The worlds of E. Ryan Goodman may be suspended in time – but they are always suspended in the here and now, not in some faraway dreamland."

http://www.eryangoodman.com

9.15 PM Pinky Swearz

Pinky Swearz plucks your heartstrings with duet covers and originals mostly dealing with the Williamsburg area, and the dreadful beauty of life.
One such track, Bedford Avenue, can be found at their site on Bandcamp:

http://pinkyswearz.bandcamp.com

10.00 PM Room

The multicultural euro trash combination that makes up the combo Room takes its toll: One left for Amsterdam, one is in Berlin, another one now lives in Puerto Rico. But keeping up the five corners of their punk jazz jam, this is Room's first show without Burnt Finger. The perfomances of this band are never boring, sometimes resulting in singer Roman Game jumping into drums or breaking antique lamps, drummer Martial Vivot breaking sticks and fingers, and bass player Jean-Cosme Delaloye breaking hearts. Dave Spinley messes with your mind on the Sax. Quentin Jennings on keyboards behaves. He's British.

http://www.myspace.com/roomtheband

10.45 PM Dina Rudeen

Dina Rudeen was overcome with an all consuming obsession with music at a very early age, declaring one day in 8th grade while skipping school, “this IS the devil’s music - it’s totally ruining my grades!”. Still, she honed her chops and has over the years grown into a fine songwriter using her witty way with words and her warm, fresh voice. Her new record "The Common Splendor" is out now and shows the wide range of Dina's musical and lyrical talent. Her band is simply excellent, including guitar expert Tim Bright and bass wonder Christian Bongers.

http://www.myspace.com/dinarudean

11.30 PM Lost in Sound

Come with Mike Lawson on this trip into soundland, twangy echo guitars, walls of sound and rivers, stunning fields of notes and melodies. With just a guitar and an assortment of wild effects, Lost in Sound creates a unique, dense atmosphere that opens ways to the core of music itself. Mike is working on a brand new set of tunes, never before performed live.

http://www.myspace.com/incatstate

The Hardest Working Band in the Universe: The Church live in New York

2011-02-28T19:59:00.005-05:00

The Church performing their new record Untitled #23, Priest=Aura and Starfish (from top to bottom).
More than impressive, monumental, a Byzantin mass, a feast for all senses: The Church played their THREE albums Unitled 23, Priest=Aura and Starfish in one evening, taking short breaks between sets, to come back in new outfits and with even grander verve and melodies, with stunning stamina and everlasting power. As if they would have to prove that they are not just the best, but also the hardest working band in the world. Now guys, go back to Australia and relax a little in the studio... a new record before Christmas, please?

We Loyal Royally Received in New York

2011-02-22T13:43:00.005-05:00

Only a handful Swiss bands have the guts to pack their instruments and cross the ocean to come and play in New York. We Loyal from Basel are one of the brave exceptions. They traded the mostly posh swiss concert spaces, where rock music is still often limited to weekends, with the dingy back rooms and cellars of bars in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and found an attentive audience in a vibrant new wave scene. We went to their show at Cameo, the lovely space behind the Lovin Cup Cafe in Williamsburg. We Loyal fitted the white, spheric sculpture of the decoration with their mystic pop, reminiscent of New Order, sad Depeche Mode, Gary Numan. Titillating synthesizers and pulsating bass lines embrace the cooly understated vocals. Great sound to cruise under the lights of an urban landscape at night, played with verve and passion. The three boys are back in Basel now, but promise to return soon for a longer period. Bitten by the Big Apple Bug, i guess.

Monday, Jan 24th: The 100th Small Beast!

2011-01-21T10:53:00.012-05:00

Come out and celebrate the 100th Small Beast and Two Year Anniversary with our SB favorites and guests, special drinks and surprises! And let's raise our cups to Paul Wallfisch's great invention...

8:30pm Thomas Simon
9:15pm The Roman Games
10:00pm Pierre de Gaillande and Bad Reputation play Brassens
10:45pm Fuckintosh
11:30pm Bit-Tuner

8:30PM THOMAS SIMON
"Haunting and hypnotic, Thomas Simon performs a suite of eerie soundscapes evoking both Syd Barrett and David Gilmour-era Pink Floyd as well as Bauhaus and, when the ghostly melody begins to take a recognizable shape, Australian psychedelic legends the Church. Incorporating elements of minimalism, sci-fi and horror film scores as well as goth music and oldschool art-rock, it's an ominous treat for the ears." -Lucid Culture
http://www.myspace.com/thomasfilmscore
http://www.endorphinrecords.com

9:15PM THE ROMAN GAMES
Swiss punk poet Roman is back from winter in Europe and brings a bunch of new songs and rumors from the underground. This time in a jazzy setting with Dave Spinley on sax, Martial Vivot on drums and Quentin Jennings on the rest.
"Very, very good. Nice mix of styles, no testosterone metal crap. I hope they go far!" - Captain Sensible, The Damned
"Fantastic songs...I really enjoy listening to their music!" - Karl Wallinger, World Party

http://romangame.blogspot.com
http://youtube.com/romangame

10.00 PM PIERRE DE GAILLANDE AND BAD REPUTATION PLAY BRASSENS
Composer Pierre de Gaillande grew up listening to his father's recordings of renowned singer-songwriter Georges Brassens. He took on the challenge of translating his hero's songs and brings the message to American shores now: "It's so warm and so human," de Gaillande says of Brassens' music. "It's not about money, it's not that God told me to do this, it's not about 'I'm stronger than you.' We're all in it together; let's eat a great meal and have a bottle of wine."

http://www.barbesrecords.com/brassens.html

10:45PM FUCKINTOSH
The first Beast appearance by the elusive mash up artist last year was hilarious and highly enjoyable. Now the pressure is on... What will the artist who has paired exotic couples like Nirvana with Elvis, the Beatles with Kraftwerk and Edith Piaf with Dolly Parton, come up with this time? Special guests? You bet, cause you're one.
"Stealing things is a glorious occupation, particularly in the art world." -Malcom McLaren

http://www.killingmusicathome.com/

11:30PM BIT-TUNER
Producing low-speed detonations from Switzerland since he got to New York, Bit has been a regular player on many dance floors with overwhelming repsonse. Experience his fine-tuned 'in your face' electronic approach with acid sounds and melodies to let this night ring out sweet and loud.

http://bit-tuner.net

Small Beast Finds Itself Lost In Sound

2010-12-20T17:23:00.006-05:00

Lost in Sound Mike (right) and Carl.
One Year After in the dark
The highlights at last Mondays Small Beast at the Delancey were many, but foremost the long awaited return to stage of Mike Lawson and his Lost In Sound Project. His short set took the listeners on an all encompassing trip through the depths and heights of guitar rock and ambient beats. Can't wait to see him back soon with more, and next time, Carl, turn up that bass!

Anton Sword Solo in Red

The One Year After band opened up the evening with a very classy mix of jazzy, yet dark and mysterious sounds, getting the night into a good gear. Anton Sword paraded birthday child Dana solo and did it in style and with passion. The new songs rock. Dave and I enjoyed our duo set, the combination of sax and acoustic guitar mostly worked, even if my playing at times was a little, erm, fragile. Mike joined us on "Macabre Danse".

Roman Game, with Dave in the shadows

Tony G closed out the night with a tasty short set of interesting beats and sounds. Thank for coming out on this snowy cold night - especially to Gina and Caroline, all the way from Amsterdam!

This Small Beast Is For Dana!

2010-12-07T12:56:00.002-05:00

Our last show this year is the 96th installment of The Small Beast at the Delancey, and it's a very special birthday show for Dana Austin who will be celebrating her big 4-0 this coming Monday, December 13th. I'm very excited with the line-up for this show, don't miss Karen Geyer and her One Year Band, she's only in town for a couple of weeks! Also, Mike, who is behind Lost in Sound, hasn't been playing live for ages - we've heard a rehearsal, and it sounds magnificent. As usual, 2 for 1 drinks, and the show is free... can't get much better for a Monday, no?

Small Beast #96 at the Delancey

8:30PM THE ONE YEAR BAND (ONE YEARS AFTER)

The One Year Band started when German-Swiss artist/musician Karen Geyer crossed the Atlantic with her double bass in summer 2008 for a yearlong artist residency, during which she planned to bring together a band for one year. „My intention was to getting to know musicians, getting to know each other through playing the instruments, America and Europe, pure improvisation.“ It worked, and every time Karen visits New York again, the One Year Band is one year older. Now in it’s third installment, the band consists of Karen on double bass, the unique, Indian-American guitar player Kunal Prakash (Maury and Moosh Moosh), the Japanese trumpet player Eiju Kawasaki (Walkfunk), also tap dancer extraordinaire, Cindy Lou Gooden (Very Fresh) on electric bass, and drummer Nick Ray (Viva l American Death Ray Music, Golden Triangles). According to Karen, the pieces are based on mental states. “Is That All I Can Do” and “Makes Me Nervous” are losely structured through rules. “We know the changing mood of each piece but the improvisational parts give us freedom, so that every concert is unique and every “song” is a new experience, also for the musicians. You never know what will happen.”
http://www.myspace.com/theoneyearband

9:15PM ANTON SWORD

“Interesting, musically subtle, tasteful, original, witty
music...infectiously rhythmic and impossibly memorable. “

One day when he was a child in New York City, Anton put his ear against a speaker in a dark apartment on the Upper West Side and went into a trance. He had a long dream. When he woke up twenty years later, his heart was permanently broken, but in a good way. Trying to make a movie out of the turbulence in his mind, he found himself writing songs at the piano instead, blending melancholy romance, psychedelic art-prog, soul, and sing-in-the-shower 70s pop.

10:00PM THE ROMAN GAMES

Roman Game is a songwriter and storyteller from Switzerland, who moved to New York 15 years ago. Worshipping at the church of Rock'n'Roll, he creates punk ballads about unusual and outrageous professions with a touch of jazz. Roman Games perform an intimate live show that will remind you of why you love live rock and roll. The prolific songwriter has been influenced by British bands such as the Jam and the Clash and, of course, John Lennon was his favorite Beatle. For this special Beast show, Roman teams up with Saxophone artist Dave Spinley, presenting the songs as a duo, giving the stories room to breathe.

Very, very good. Nice mix of styles, no testosterone metal crap. I hope they go far!" -Captain Sensible, The Damned
"Fantastic songs...I really enjoy listening to their music!" - Karl Wallinger, World Party

10:45PM LOST IN SOUND

Imagine driving through the desert with Nick Cave on acid and Massive Attack blasting from the stereo, the golden sunlight fading into the black abyss of night, twangy echo guitars rising like shiny stars and pulsating beats carrying you through the trip. Six years after his last show with the intriguing In Cat State, the uniquely talented, Mike Lawson presents his new music to a live audience for the first time, exclusively at the Small Beast.

11:30PM DJ TONY G OF ECHOSTREAM

Tony Grund is an American musician, a singer-songwriter, who plays keyboards in the successful electronic band Echostream. While Echostream is working on new music, Tony spins and plays with music that will get you dancing into Tuesday morning.
“Echostream is undoubtedly distinct, but the big name influences are definitely there: Just imagine Nine Inch Nails, Björk, Radiohead and Miho Hatori had a child, the product would be something like this post-goth phenomenon.” – perpetualtoxins.com

168 Delancey Street (between Clinton and Attorney), F train to Delancey Stop
Call 212-254-9920 for information.

Three Hours and Plenty of Wishes with TVP

2010-11-26T12:38:00.014-05:00

Soundcheck for The Roman Games at Palace

It is the day after thanxgiving, and I have many thanks to give indeed. Had an intense and most gratifying trip in Europe, saw the shores of Portugal, an admirable collection of animated short movies at the Cinanima Festival in Espinhp and, oh, Miramare!

Frank on monster bass

Back in Switzerland after two nights of rehearsal, The Roman Games version 5.1. with
Charles Wallace on guitar, Frank Heer on bass and Jan Haux on drums were ready to take stage before the Television Personalities at Palace in St. Gallen. After soundcheck, we had dinner at Baratela and shortly met Dan Treacy and his band, Texas Bob, Mike and Arnau, they were looking forward to the show and Daniel explained to his mates that St. Gallen is the rock city of Switzerland. There you go.

Charles Wallace, authentic rocker

We played a reasonably tight 40 minute set and enjoyed ourselves, although we all felt we were better the night before at rehearsal... it was just amazing to walk in to Vinnie's little cellar in Zurich's red light district, plug in, and rock away with these great musicians, who had the ten songs down in no time, plus brought them to life like never before.

Straight from Berlin, Jan Haux
Thanks, guys, foremost to Michi Gallusser for the sound, also to Dani Stieger for photography and video. To Marcel and Damian from Palace for making it happen and Hampi Schlumpf for the Times!

Pics by Dani Stieger

They got rewarded by Television Personalities with a performance of well over three hours which is termed by the local media already as "legendary". The Palace Newsletter writes: "What made the concert stand out was that it worked far from any product logic. Maybe that's exactly why it turned out a piece of art."

Daniel Treacy playing Wü's '62 Hoefner guitar

Through the often bombastic sound, there shimmered a few gems, long echo trips to hell were followed by shining little highlights, nobody ever knew where Dan would turn to next, all were lost in sound or the crowd of familiar faces, in the hands of Mr. Treacy. They managed to blow out Franks solid little bass amp, but it was almost worth it. Or as they say over there: Certain losses have to be accepted. We had a nice talk after the mammoth show with Texas Bob, who is always everywhere and always amicable. Mike and Arnau are most modest and friendly and very level-headed. The band arrived Friday afternoon and had to catch a train back to the airport at 7am... We said goodbye at 5.30...

The view from behind the drums

Supporting Television Personalities!

2010-11-18T08:28:00.002-05:00

...And don't the kids just love it! I remember their first LP, the black and white cover with the cut-outs and the two-minute pop gems, one more original than the rest, the fine cast of characters... Geoffrey Ingram, Dorian Grey, Pauline Lewis, Syd Barrett... IT made me want to play guitar, too, and write songs just like Dan Treacy... We called our band after a song by TVP, The Perfumed Garden. We covered Silly Girl and If I Could Write Poetry. We bought the black floppy hat. We wore Paisely Shirts. Then the 90s came and then the 00s... and now TVP are back and The Roman Games are opening for the tomrrow, Friday, November 19th at Palace in St. Gallen, Switzerland... a young boy's dream come true 25 years later. Honored to play with a cast of great friends and musicians: 'Former' Frank Heer on bass, Charles 'HeadQuarters' Wallace on guitar and bvox, Jan 'Room' Haux on drums and percussion. Looking very much forward to playing and meeting a lot of friends from back in the days!

Doing the Jam at the Monster Mash

2010-11-04T20:44:00.014-04:00

It was Monster Mash number 5 this year on Sunday night and we got our act together and played The Jam, with Heather "Rick" Wagner on drums, Jesko "Bruce" Stahl on bass and me doin Paulie, Start!, That's Entertainment and Down in the Tube, of course.

Minor Threat, who played before us, were a though act to follow and definite winner of the battle of bands. The Only Ones featured one of the best guitar players i've seen in a long time, Ana B. The Clash were supercute young boys who did an honorable job. Gary Glitter's vocals were lost in sound.

A highlight were the white Bad Brains, who made no attempt at hiding their white skin and did without long afro wigs, instead chose to play in boring white men business suits...but then proceeded to rock the house as if they were the real thing. Kudos to Alana 'Suzie Q" Amram, who not only played in three of the bands but also held the whole evening together despite repeated ugly cat fights and pizza throwing contests.

Just what you expect from a Halloween party. Search monster "Monster Mash" on this blog to hear from earlier years of this best NYC Halloween party. We can't wait for the next one and are aiming to be the Stranglers. All together now: No More Heroes Anymore!

Pics by Thilo Hoffmann

New Lucinda Black Bear Album Out: Knives

2010-11-02T22:15:00.003-04:00

Uh...should have told you about this some time ago: There is a new Lucinda Black Bear album out, the long-anticipated follow-up to 2006's "Capo My Heart", and it was worth every day of waiting: 11 Songs, intricate melodies, catchy lines and a voice that embraces, seduces and tempts you, while keeping you safe and sound. Get your mind off of politics and the drab of everyday living and take an hour long walk in the sound universe of Christian Gibbs - still in pain, but definitely seeing the light. They are rocking the 92YTribeca downtown, at 200 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10013, Telephone: 212.601.1000, this Friday. Here's what Christian says about the new album and the upcoming show: "It sounds epic. Babies were born. People got engaged. There were mild flirtations with musical theater. All life's changes for a spell delayed but enhanced the completion of this record. Now it is here to be celebrated and we invite you to take part in this evening of catharsis and reverie. Our drummer Kristin Mueller unfortunately is on tour in Europe and we will miss her. Our friend and co-conspirator Russell Simins from Jon Spencer Blues Explosion will guest on drums."
Tickets are few so buy them now below. Go to itunes and buy the record on Nov. 2nd or buy it at the show. Listen to the exclusive preview song "Percival" on the podcast in the right sidebar on this blog!

ROOM and THE PIONEERS OF SEDUCTION at FONTANAs Tonight Wed Sept 29th

2010-09-29T02:01:00.001-04:00

Hey Friends of Room and Space and Pioneering!
It's been a while and a long hot summer...
Don't you feel like the time is right for a dose of unfiltered Punk Rock?
This Wednesday should be your night, then!

Come see New York's freshest and tightest, Steve Albini produced outfit The Pioneers of Seduction.
Maybe you've had a the pleasure of seeing Max and Rachel as The Sad Little Stars, my favorite NY band in the early 2000s. Their new project with drummer Ian is a whole different pair of shoes, and what a blast to your energy levels! They start at ten, and you better be there!

Room in the meantime has said goodbye to mean noise and hello to meaning. This will be one of the last shows with the Burnt Finger on guitar, before he becomes a professor in the Netherlands. This show, though, is dedicated to George Walter Q, the wildest new addition in the Room family. And to Josephine, and Violet, as always.
Bring your friends and cameras, we'll make it worth the while.

WED
Sept. 29th
THE PIONEERS OF SEDUCTION 10PM
http://www.thepioneersofseduction.com
ROOM 11PM
http://www.myspace.com/roomtheband

FONTANA's
105 Eldridge Street
New York NY
Phone: 212-334-6740

Hope to see you,
Roman

The Roman Games at the Knitting Factory this Saturday!

2010-08-17T23:05:00.004-04:00

Give it to Leane to get me to play one of the places heroes like Dan Treacy, Robyn Hitchcock or Mark E. Smith performed at... and on a Saturday night! Ok, so the KF is in Brooklyn now, but if you're spooked about that, you don't belong here anyway. I'll be sharing the bill with the amazing Alana Amram, who has been a guest on this blog since it's inception. Also, Kerry Kennedy and the Ghostwise band will play something like a pre-comeback show that promises to feature not just new material but also a quite happy, sassy KK...ask Dave about that, and his favorite books, too.
Under the old The Roman Games moniker I get to play with truly excellent musicians - Kristin Mueller on drums, Christian Bongers on bass, Burnt Finger on guitar and Dave Spinley on Sax.
More info and tickets here.

ROOM live Tomorrow Thursday May 13th

2010-05-12T13:28:00.003-04:00

I know we've played out quite a bit lately, but come see the last ROOM show before we redecorate! This Thrusday, May 13th, will be our last show till fall, since some of us go to Europe for the summer and many new songs need to be rehearsed.

Fat Baby is at 112 Rivington Street on the Lower East Side. We play in the basement. There will be giveaways and singalongs, quizzes and riddles. Music and stories, too. And yes, Quentin is back, newly inspired by the UK. We play at 11PM, $5, our favorite hour of the day.

Thursday at Zebulon: Room and One Year After

2010-05-04T13:04:00.004-04:00

We've had so much fun playing the Small Beast acoustic, so we readily accepted the invitation from Karen Geyer and her One Year After project, to open for them this Thursday at the famous and friendly french place Zebulon in Williamsburg. We start at 9pm, One Year after will take the stage at 10pm. The show is free, so come on down to the river. We will be missing Quentin for this show, but Bernd and Dave promised to cover for him... Hope to see you there!

Free ROOM at the Small Beast This Monday!

2010-04-16T13:16:00.005-04:00

Room, the band, is honored to play Paul Wallfisch's eclectic music night "The Small Beast" at the Delancey Lounge, 168 Delancey Street. The setting at the Small Beast calls for rather quiet music, so we rearranged and toned down some of our songs for your listening pleasure. There's NO COVER and special 2 for 1 drinks... so come on out and bring your friends! It starts at 8.30, we are on at 10.30pm, but come early and check out these other great artists:

MONDAY 4/19
8:30 ELISA FLYNN
Elisa Flynn's songs, full of wit and off-kilter, hypnotic rhythms, on topics including love gone wrong in the 1800's, dead birds that are reborn, and the Donner Party, and are delivered in a low-fi, old school punk manner using just her big voice and a hopped-up guitar attached to a pile of effects pedals. Her first solo EP, Dimestore Mary, was called “an addicting collection of music, both raw and rigid in its execution” by womenfolk.net. Elisa played previously with The Happy Ending, Jargon Society, Freak Baby, and the Bunny Brains (well, hasn't everyone been in the Bunny Brains at one time or another?) Her first full length album called "Songs about Birds and Ghosts" was recorded at Emandee Studio by Mark Ospovat, and is now out on her own Cat in a Dress Records.

9:15 ERIN & HER 'CELLO
...pulls from her favorite influences– Peggy Lee, Cole Porter, and Serge Gainsbourg to name a few. In any performance, Erin and Her Cello will light up your night and leave you laughing out loud. (That’s right—laughing out loud.)
“…the standout of the night is clearly Erin and her Cello – an NYC babe with a spunky personality and crystal clear voice who can rock a cello like it’s a Stratocaster guitar.
“Hall is using her experiences and distinctive sense of humor to create a type of performance art that almost defies description.”- Anna Bengel, Backstage.com
Here's her first video: http://www.vimeo.com/7927019

9:45 DAVID NAGLER (+ surprise guests...)
...is a low-fi pop maestro who moonlights as a purveyor of beats with Nova Social and has played with Chris Mills, John Wesley Harding & The English UK, Jon Langford's Skull Orchard, DC Watts, Chris Lee, The Inner Banks, The Ne'er Do Evers, Camphor, Peacock's Arcade, Mascott, Longshoremen and others...

10:30 THE ROOM
A rare New York appearance from the Swiss-American pop craftsman and bon-vivant Roman Game and his international soul gang, Room, rounds out a most eclectic night of music at the Small Beast! "Very, very good. Nice mix of styles, no testosterone metal crap. I hope they go far!"
Captain Sensible, The Damned
http://romangame.blogspot.com

11:30 PAUL WALLFISCH
"...Paul Wallfisch ist und bleibt einer der brillantesten Songschreiber unsere Tage..."~Eclipsed Magazine 3/'1

The City of Oblivion: Anton Sword in the light

2010-04-10T19:33:00.004-04:00

Rocking out in the light: Anton Sword

The Anton Sword Trio will take on the Small Beast again on Monday night, so it’s high time to tell you about the City of Oblivion, the new CD and easily his best work so far, aided by the creative craftsmanship of his band, the We Ours. Let’s take it track by track, and then you come out Monday and enjoy the songs live.

Jar of Gin: A mellow opener, setting the mood: Get out of the basement and step into the light. Sword did himself the favor and moved from the basement to one of the nicest roofs in Williamsburg, his album does the same for his music. It tenderly sparkles and shines and reflects all the love Anton puts into it.

City of Oblivion: I like the voice on this, reminds me of Marc Bolan with just a little bit more melancholy. Great dark noises towards the end. A fitting title track that somehow represents the mood for the whole album: The lonely fighter has found his inner strength to face the demons. Great backing vocals, and look who it is: the unique Kerry Kennedy making a guest appearance.

Like Your Mind: Powerful tune, a melody that sticks in your head and should be picked up for a TV spot for computers, smart phones, or broadcasters, anything. Again, very T-Rexy, easily the radio hit, too, so you should probably make this into a video.

The Lawn: Great intro and an interesting composition. Don’t like the sexy imagery – swan and lawn and magic wand…huh? Would like this more as an instrumental with just the late beach boys-y chorus “the lawn…”

Contaminated: Interesting production, somehow the synth brings out the contamination…the infection. The singing is great on this, the build up towards the end fascinatingly crazy.

Listening: Nice ballad, great atmosphere, story and music go well together.

Sandwich: Love the powerful wall of guitars and droning echoes and sounds, sonically very impressive, with nicely understated singing in the verses.

Anybody (The Glove): Another one for the radio, waiting for the big break through, which is beautifully accomplished by the great guitar duel halfway through the song.

Nowhere: Funky outdoor soft porn music from the 70’s or the 80’s. I can see them shagging in the cornfield, until our singer enters through the back room and spoils it by lamenting loneliness and the tragic loss of dreams…again.

Gone: A great song, which sounds amazing even through the speakers of my computer. I don’t get the lyrics, though, no idea what will be gone, but I like the melody and structure.

The Astronomer’s Lullaby: Beautiful harmonies, bowiesque, romantic, psychedelic glam – all of Anton’s best ingredients. Best vocal performance, in my opinion. The voice is placed very close to the ears, like it should be in a true lullaby.

Room: La Salle ou La Piece?

2010-04-02T19:11:00.003-04:00

Thanks to a very international crowd, the evening with Room and the Epicures at Fat Baby became a nicely diverse mix of music, philosophy, stories and friendships. Even the soundman was amazed at how good it sounded - especially considering Burnt is using that little silvery lunch box you see on the floor in the photos as his only amp. Pic by Tobias Klutke - thanx!

Room at Fat Baby: The Winning Flyer

2010-03-29T15:39:00.000-04:00

"No contest, flyer one wins," wrote Anton Sword, one of the over 30 people who took part in our flyer contest. He was right in the end, but for a long time, flyer 3, the one with the fire was leading. The ladies made the difference: Only two voted for 3, all the others agreed on 1.

So Anton and all the nice people who voted for flyer 1 will get a free drink, if they come to the show... The band, by the way, was split: 3 for 1, 3 for 3. But you know, in the end it's all for one, one for...

And as the flyer dictates, we'll do our best to play some colorful light music with orange overtones. Thank you all for voting, we are looking forward to seeing a lot of you on Thursday! And stay for the Epicures, listen to some of their smart compositions here.

What other people you might know said about ROOM:

"Very, very good. Nice mix of styles, no testosterone metal crap. I hope they go far!"
Captain Sensible, The Damned

"Fantastic songs...I really enjoy listening to their music!"
Karl Wallinger, World Party

"Room? I love their atmoshperes, the eeriness, the arpeggiated motions... I'm glad I'm Room's friend!"
Ed Ball, Television Personalities

We'll start on time at 10PM. Fat Baby is at 112 Rivington, close to the corner of Essex Street. Oh, and we played our first show for kids last Saturday, so now we know how to behave...

ROOM Flyer Contest!

2010-03-24T11:50:00.005-04:00

We have this show coming up at 10PM on April 1st at Fat Baby, no joke what with April's Fools Day and all. But we can't decide on which flyer we should use. Help us make up our minds and tell us which one you like best. It will also tell us what kind of musical mood you want us to be in. please Comment below...

A free drink for those who pick the right flyer and come to the show Thursday in a week... We'll start on time at 10PM. Fat Baby is at 112 Rivington, close to the corner of Essex Street.

The Epicures are friends of Martial's and are quite an experience. We like the Clash and the Beatles. They like the Smashing Pumpkins and David Bowie. So Stay a little longer if you can. Remember Your Room loves you.

a) roomfatbabyposter

b) ruinroom

c) fireroom

Bear Fighting With Bare Hands

2010-02-17T12:24:00.007-05:00

Fought the Bear with their bare hands: Lucinda Black Bear
I know... C. Gibbs again, but sorry, the man is just rising to incredible musical heights with his band Lucinda Black Bear as witnessed Friday night at the Knitting Factory, now in Williamsburg, two blocks from Union Pool (take a walk with street view here. And anyway, there's more. The songs mix the legacy of the Byrds with the Beatles and then come back to haunt you with a powerful orchestral punk - with cello, violin, acoustic guitar and bass. And not only C. Gibbs is a great showman, drummer Kristin Müller is such an entertaining performer, her antics alone are worth the money. Plus: Have you ever seen a cello player standing, holding his instrument like a guitar god over his head before launching into the finish? - That's Chad Hammer for you. Mike, thanx!

And all the girls went wow: Botanica

Fired up by the set of their forerunner, Botanica played their last stateside show before heading to Europe, where a quite extensive tour with Nikko Weidemann follows (Switzerland: Go see them in Winterthur, Basel, Berne, St. Gall and Lucerne!). Most impressive was not Dresden Dolls drummer Brian Viglione who even took of his shirt off to top Kristin Mueller's show, but despite trying hard, did not succeed. No, it was the songs with Dana Schechter of Bee And Flower fame who, for once without the bass, belted out to songs with a contagious energy. And a supreme Paul Wallfisch with absolutely no sound problems. Do we need to mention that, of course, John Andrews' guitar playing was impeccable?

There's Room in the New Decade - Live!

2010-01-28T12:58:00.004-05:00

Life is Grand and then it's cruel, minds change and then they are set, feelings fly and then they die, but there is always the music, that dome of warmth, that cathedral of sound, that welcoming ROOM. So we hope you come down to Fat Baby at 112 Rivington Street btw. Essex and Ludlow on the Lower East Side and revel with us in tunes and harmonies. The more, the merrier - bring your friends, wealth managers, agents, parachute testers and fish cutters. Don't worry, the music will not be as heady as these words, it's only Rock'n'Roll...

Early Spring With Kerry Kennedy - Rise, Ghostwise!

2010-01-26T14:43:00.006-05:00

It's here. In my arms. Kerry Kennedy's album. There's no graphic artwork yet, but the work of art is revealed when I put the CD in the stereo: A stunning, sophisticated, mature, yet fresh long player, an aural pleasure from start to finish, with each song embedded into a unique sound, fitting Kerry's distinct voice that at times seems to almost caress you. The songs are yearning, soulful tunes, mixing folk with pop, think Portishead crossed with Morricone or PJ Harvey sleeping with the Carter Family.
Live at Small Beast, Kennedy was in the best of moods, obviously proud of the record and her great band, that now features Paul Wallfisch on keys and Heather Wagner on drums. The Ghostwise band with Nathan Halpern and Jason Binnick on guitar and bass, sounded warm and full of energy. The set included most of the album, with "More from the Mountain", "Son of Sons" and "As You Are" standing out, but don't let me be the judge, you gotta get that record as soon as its out!

Mr. Paul Wallfisch in good spirits, celebrating one year of free weekly "Small Beast" events at the Delancey. More about his new amazing record with Botanica on this blog soon!

Welcome 2010 With Enormous Painhead

2010-01-13T15:46:00.003-05:00

There's a small town at the Eastern end of Switzerland with a big name - Rorschach. And it's testing, let me tell you. Each year the little town's very own cult band Painhead invites friends' bands to play a show with them - two nights in a row. All you gotta do to get in is bring a can of beer for the band, and that alone guarantees a full house. Check out the series of cool classic punk groups that are putting the sound to the eastern swiss valleys: Enjoy Violet & The Pony's raw energy on "Shall I" or the gothic anthem "Spinning Room" by Herr Bitteror watch the fun punk rock party of Sullen Crook. Made me feel proud of my hometown, but also old... Anyway, The Roman Games played on Saturday. I had the honor to make music with rhine valley drum legend Carlo Lorenzi and the bass wonder Sandro Heule who both learned the whole set in one afternoon's session. And the guy who made the most mistakes on stage, of course, turned out to be me. Still, it was a lot of fun and one can't say it often enough: Painhead is Rorschach's first true supergroup.

Punk Sunday at Glasslands: Pretendo, The Walking Hellos

2009-11-23T17:43:00.005-05:00

Seems they are making this a habit: Sunday night intelligent indie punk at Glasslands with Pretendo and the Walking Hellos. Itäs not much for when you are a sucker for PAs, but a lot of fun if you like to see how a band makes the best of it and just goes for the soul of the rock, the mesmerizing moments of rhythm and harmony, as exemplified again by New York's most unpretentious trio, Pretendo.

A wake up call for this reporter from the Walking Hellos who in fine moods and energetic playing made a lot of bands of boys look like sissies. The ladies harmonize great togehter, and oh those bass lines remind us very much of Mr. Macho himself, JJ Burnel of the Stranglers. And watch out, Kristin Müller, Heather Wagner is a strong contender for best female drummer this year!

The Unfinished History of The Stranglers

2009-11-20T16:37:00.002-05:00

Finally, there's a relatively fair look back on the Stranglers and their achievements on the newly improved YouTube. It's produced by BBC and though the quality is pretty low, there is some stuff you probably never new of the most underrated of the successful punk bands. The documentary ends before the publication of the Strangler's latest and best in decades album, Suite XVI (see review in the sidebar below).

The Merry Macabre Danse

2009-11-16T13:39:00.006-05:00

Here's a peak at the first collaboration between Mike "Morricone" Lawson (Git and Production) and Roman Game (Song, Vid). A raunchier version of "Macabre Danse" can sometimes be heard live, played by the band Room. Though we are never sure if the fourth chord is an F# or an F#m. You tell us.

There's Room At Fat Baby This Thursday!

2009-11-09T13:55:00.003-05:00

After the delightful evening we shared at Fat Baby with Anton Sword and the We Ours and Brett's band Too Many Zebras, we were invited back to the nice club on the LES. So ROOM will play there this Thursday, November 12th, downstairs. Fat Baby is at 112 Rivington St. (Between Ludlow & Essex). This time, we will play more than six songs and make it worth your time, promised! And you'll get to sing one, if you want, in our brand new Karaoke part of the set. Come early and see Safe Pair Of Hands at 10PM!

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

2009-11-06T13:28:00.001-05:00

Machu Picchu, I'm back from Peru! 10 days in a country that is most colorful, friendly, proud of it's history and a place where a lot of people don't worry about money. Who says you are poor if you make less than two bucks a day? Climb a mountain near Cusco and look down on the majestic place of Machu Picchu. See the rain move in and then the clouds part, the sun comes out and you're literally standing somewhere over the rainbow. I'm not really a hippie but this region is mystical. Not much in terms of rock music, though. Here's a picture of the only show I saw - traditional Peruvian and Inca Folk dances. Smitten.

Room, Anton Sword and Too Many Zebras

2009-10-06T12:56:00.005-04:00

FAT BABY is at 112 Rivington Street, btw. Essex and Ludlow. Room team up again with Anton Sword and the We Ours as well as Too Many Zebras, Brett Hammond's new exciting vehicle. Expectations? Let's put it in Anton's words: "We feel like you, our audience, is as much a creator of our music as we are. None of it would be possible --well, sort of possible, but not very enjoyable -- without you. So we hope some of you come by so we can play for you and with you. Sappy, eh? Yet true. We are not deluded. Sure, we make the music, but making a night is a team effort between us all." You in?

ROOM 11PM

Eurotrash outfit ROOM have gained a reputation for giving quite riotous shows in the past five years, but with recently added keyboard wizard Quentin Jennings (Melomane, The Dylans, C. Gibbs Review) and saxophone master Dave Spinely (The Snow, Morricone Youth) they have polished their rock and discovered some gems among their songs. Martial Vivot ist not just the best hair stylist in town, he's also known as French Keith Moon. Jean-Cosme Delaloye has a shiny white new bass that rivals his looks. Burnt Finger sets the guitar on fire. Singer Roman Game added a few new pieces to his series of songs about professions. Come hear the story of the Wealth Manager 2008 or the one about the Parachute Tester, packed in Room's tight psychedelic pop punk.

"No testosterone metal crap. I hope these guys go far!" - Captain Sensible, The Damned
"It's a wonder nobody gets hurt!" - Bob, Owner of Bar On A, Manhattan
"I'm glad I'm Room's friend." - Ed Ball of Television Personalities
"Great songs!" - Karl Wallinger, World Party

www.myspace.com/roomtheband

TOO MANY ZEBRAS 10 PM

Too Many Zebras got their name from an audition gone wrong! Brett and Martin hailing from the UK but now NYC transplants made their American debut on tour with the reggae band UB40. At that time they were in the Brit rock band Bigmouth (V2 artist Chris Hicken aka 'Cantinero'). Bigmouth were signed to Stu Fine's Wild Pitch Record label in NYC and worked with 2x Grammy award winning producer Neil Dorfsman (Sting, Paul McCartney) on their self titled release Bigmouth which picked up airplay nationally. Touring the Wild Pitch release they shared the stage with Presidents Of The United States, Spacehog, Tracey Bonham, The Buzzcocks and many more.

Brett and Martin went on to develop their skills with another underground band from NYC called Sunshine Club and ended up touring in the UK in 2007. Steve Williams is a seasoned drummer who has worked and toured with David Byrne (Talking Heads), Keith Richards (Rolling Stones) Sade, Ivan Neville, PM Dawn and De La Soul amongst many more. The trio got together when Brett and Martin felt they needed to re-discover their early UK roots and find a sound that incorporated all the best of post-punk UK bands that influenced them. They reached out to the NYC music community and found Steve who was drawn to the band as he has worked extensively with British music artists and felt an affinity with the sound Brett and Martin were making, so was formed Too Many Zebras. They are currently recording and performing in NYC.

http://www.myspace.com/2manyzebras

ANTON SWORD AND THE WE OURS 9PM

“Interesting, musically subtle, tasteful, original, witty music...infectiously rhythmic and impossibly memorable. “
--neverlearnedtoswim.com

“Dark and scintillating and full of texture...Anton Sword is a storyteller with an artist's ear for music, constructing these vast musical landscapes against which his bard’s tales are told...The musicianship is outstanding. “
--wildysworld.blogspot.com

One day when he was a child in New York City Anton put his ear against a speaker in a dark apartment on the Upper West Side and went into a trance. He had a long dream. When he woke up twenty years later his heart was permanently broken, but in a good way. Trying to make a movie out of the turbulence in his mind, he found himself writing songs at the piano instead, blending Roxy Music's weird romance, John Lennon's plangent sincerity, Radiohead's art-prog, and Elliott Smith’s melancholy with jazzier and more indie-rock influences. Over the past two years the songs have been brought to full pop power by Sword’s amazing band The We Ours, which showcases thrilling drummer Kristin Mueller (also of Lucinda Black Bear), and great group vocals by savory guitarist Kristofer Widholm (Morex Optimo), sweet guitarist Julian Maile (Spray Paint Star, Losers Lounge) and bassist/cellist Jessica Hallman.

www.antonsword.com

Totally Feelies'd!

2009-09-14T12:39:00.004-04:00

They might look like dentists and farmers, but rock like mighty gods

So we missed All Tomorrow's Parties in Monticello, but then again, the best band of that line-up - The Feelies - came to town on Sunday and gave an impressive three hour show of hi-speed pop that simply no other band comes close to. These guys are close to their 50s, but itäs the pure energy of fresh straight forward rock music, brain, belly and all. They played three new songs, all the classic stuff, lots off of Crazy Rhythm. And - possibly a New York record - 12 encores, including not only covers of the Doors, the Stones (Paint it Black) and two turbo Beatles songs (Everybody's Got Something to Hide, She said), but also the beautiful Wire song "Outdoor Miner" which totally made my day. Had a chance to talk shortly talk to Bill Million after the set. They have not yet recorded a new album, but Bill said they eventually will. The purpose of the Feelies getting back together, he said, was not to cash in on reunion gigs with the old stuff, but to write new songs. So have patience!

Room, Anton Sword and The Proclivities

2009-09-04T16:53:00.002-04:00

The most philosophical tunesmith Anton Fine and his superb We Ours have invited us to play The National Underground this Wednesday.
Opening the festivities at 8pm will be The Proclivities, a charming band from North Carolina who will make you smile with their folk/pop/rock hybrid and their lovely singing, says Anton, who met them on tour.
Up next at 9pm, the We Ours will make us rethink Bowie and the Beach Boys, with just a hint of Queen. The band's recent gigs have shown them in splendid form!
Room's on Fire at 10pm, we promise we'll turn it up to the full energy level this time again. Come help us!

The Sad Little Stars Are Back As We Intersect

2009-08-26T12:12:00.003-04:00

And how! Paul Wallfisch and his Small Beast made it possible: After what seems like more than a year of absence from the stage, Rachel and Max of this bloggers favorite New York band The Sad Little Stars performed a splendid set of songs on Monday night as We Intersect. Don Paul - brimming with energy and playful as ever -opened the evening. Later he joined the great Alice Texas and her band through dark, but warm numbers, before Rachel and Max took the stage, him on piano, her on just the right amount of synth. They played not only old faves from the Sad Little Stars Record - yes, Don't Fuck With Love - but also an interesting choice of covers: Ramones, Big Star and the Smiths, among them. Most captivating though were the new songs. At times, I thought I hear a new song by John Lennon that Lennon didn't write, then I heard a new hit by Depeche Mode that they had nothing to do with. But not only the songs are great pieces, the duo's vocal delivery is impeccable, pitch perfect, the harmonies soothing the soul, the mind wandering. This is music at its purest.

Spike Lee's "Passing Strange" with C.Gibbs

2009-08-20T15:01:00.003-04:00

This is the trailer for Spike Lee's new movie "Passing Strange". It's a kind of a wild concert film about the musical that was shown last year on Broadway and featured Christian Gibbs. If you couldn't make it to the real thing, now you get a taste of what you missed. The film's opening tomorrow, Friday, Aug 20th at IFC cinema in the West Village. Meet Christian at the 6:15 showing. And yes, they were kind enough to keep the musicians in the movie.

The One Year Band and the The Clean Room

2009-08-18T18:16:00.003-04:00

Room and The One Year Band live at Fontana's. Pic by Rozenn Nicolle

Fontana's the Third: Quite an overbooked evening, six or seven bands in one night, not quite the room we hoped for. You do with what you can, so we cut the sets down, which is especially sad in the case of the One Year Band with the fantastic Karen Geyer in the somber spotlight teasing the microphone but not using it. The sound reminding here of Velvet Underground, sonic landscapes, flurries of Pink Floyd and probably a vast universe of jazz and classical stuff, but what do I know about that.
Room came in black for a change, a little introspective yet overloaded, cruising on autu-control through a set of too many slow songs. Living in the fast lane on the wrong track? Nah, just break before the curves. Room will be back with Anton and the We Ours at National Underground on September 9th, and who knows what to expect then.

Room and the One Year Band at Fontana's

2009-08-07T17:29:00.004-04:00

Your lovely Euro Wave outfit ROOM is back after a little summer break with new songs, new form, a new guitar for Burnt and a new bass for Jean-Cosme. While Martial is vacationing in France, the great Tim Kuhl is going to be drumming with us his grooves bind the band into a pretty tight, powerful unit. Come on down and hear the story of the Parachute Tester, the Development Aid Worker and the Fish Cutter, among others.

Opening at 10PM is the ONE YEAR BAND, a fantastic project by Swiss-german artist Karen Geyer who arrived in New York about a year ago with the plan to form a band, rehearse for a year, give a hand full of shows and then disband... This is their FIRST GIG EVER and from what we hear from the rehearsal space, it will be grand.

It's 5 bucks at the door, but if you can't afford this, drop me a line and I'll put you on the guest list - we wanna have your ear, not your money. Bring your friends and spread the word! We hope to see you!

Room live at Fontana's on May 7th with veteran Roomie Jan Haux

The Beast and the Flash in the Frying Pan

2009-08-04T22:13:00.006-04:00

Quentin, Roman and Daria playing at Eveline and Roger's wedding. Picture by Rita Emch, thanx.

The first of August, Swiss National Day, as you all know by now, brought another nice party on the roof of 230 5th Avenue and then Roger and Eveline's very musical wedding on the Frying Pan at Pier 66. And mark this date: They had a combo of great musicians there and honestly, it was the first time ever that jazz really got me: Warm, compelling, tight and light. We danced. Daria and quentin joined me for a song for the wedding couple. We took in the evening breeze at the reeling of the old lighthouse boat and looked at the lights of the city.

The week had started with the Small Beast at Delancey, where we were on the same bill as Paul Wallfisch from Botanica, the unique Martin Bisi, who once again proved that nobody really knows what's going on inside the heads of genius producers. Excentric barely describes Martin's Music! Then the sweet Cherie Lily was on and played cute bubblegum pop songs with backing tracks, a 20 minute dose of happiness. We took the stage after eleven, Dave Spinely joined on most of the set adding great but subtle power to some hooks. Burnt lit up his new nashville guitar. I felt i had a nice reverb on my voice, and the acoustic was not too much out of tune. Looks like people could follow the lyrics and seemed to like the song about fish cutter and the one abut the parachute tester most. Karen geyer, who showed up to play double bass on two songs by the late troubadour Mani Matter and had never rehearsed with us, ended up playing almost the whole set after a quick look at the song sheets. Amazing - wait till you hear her with her own material, for example on August 13th at Fontana's. More about that show with Room soon. For the finale at the beat, swiss artist Regula Kueffer joined on flute and the extraordinary chef rocker Tobi Joi played his selfmade alphorn called 'alprose', at which point even the bartender noticed there was a live band.

Ne personne ici joue comme Martin Bisi

Martin Bisi and Roman Game Taking On The Beast

2009-07-23T22:48:00.007-04:00

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

2009-07-22T15:08:00.005-04:00

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?

2009-07-14T21:12:00.003-04:00

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

2009-07-09T21:21:00.003-04:00

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?

JC & Anphibius go to the Movies

2009-06-29T12:25:00.004-04:00

Maggots & Men from John O'Rourke on Vimeo features music by JC and Anphibius.

A new moving yet humorous documentary called "Lemcek Veci Vano" made by Alexandra Indaco just had it's premiere at the splendid Tuschinski Cinema in Amsterdam and will shortly be broadcast on AT5 in The Netherlands. It features music by JC and Anphibius. JC writes from Amsterdam: "The documentary is about the life of two inhabitants with schizophrenia in a Dutch Psychiatric Institution. They picked up the camera and showed us their view of the outside world. Jan just came out of prison and works on a care-farm, while the talented Anita tries to find her way out of the clinic and become more independent. Her jump off a diving-board reminds her of forgotten times..."

See the trailer here

But not enough of the two troubadours and their new romance with cinema. Here's a link to another film using their music: "Maggots & Men" by John O'Rourke, Trevor Whelan and Kit Teeling, being broadcast on national TV in Ireland.

Kristofers Second Coming and Snow in Summer

2009-06-27T20:40:00.008-04:00

Kristofer Widholm taming the Small Beast with "Pharmacy and Gardens"

The Snow: Hillary Downes, Pierre de Gaillande, Christian Bongers, and below Dave Spinley and the invisible drummer on the dance floor

Oh it's good to be back in the city, alright, especially on nights when special people like Kerry Kennedy turn, erm, 25, with a big birthday bash where Pierre de Gaillande, Ben Parish, Paul Wallfisch and yours truly hit the piano respectively the guitar and we end up singing outside in the garden at Union Pool. That's how you imagine life in Williamsburg, dontcha? And then the very next day our favorite bohemian/philosopher Kristofer Widholm comes out of hiding and plays his first solo show since 2001, before this blog even started. KW, along with PdG were the first to give me a musicl break in this city, way back before the turn of the millennium. The times have changed, the ears are more open for the clever, twisted and fascinating ruminants of Kristofer's "Pharmacy & Gardens," probably the only solo artist to have a plural in his name, as he self-deprecatingly notes. As a lead guitar player for Anton Sword's Wee Ours, he moreover has explored his skills beyond the amazing work he did with the unforgotten Morex Optimo. But as this photo shows: His performance works even without the guitar. More!!
Trying to tame Wallfisch's Small Beast - that btw moved to Monday nights now! - before KW were The Snow, who on the small stage - the drummer below on the dance floor - managed to create a warm sound, all members clicking and creating a magic carpet on which especially Hillary's voice beautifully floated between songs that remind us of great jazz standards and pop songs, just classics, somehow, although brand new.
This week also brought a free acoustic show by the Feelies at the Whitney Museum that I missed because the Financial Crisis played the United Nations. And then we celebrate Brooklyn like every summer at the bandshell in Prospect Park, last night with the usually superb Blonde Redhead. Made me think of old times, back when we played soccer with those guys.

In My Mind, I Take You with Me...

2009-05-18T15:19:00.001-04:00

It's been a great couple of weeks with nice shows, great music, lovely people during an NYC spring that finally made it - you just can't help falling in love with New York City all over again, right when you're about to go on vacation...It's like that every year, isn't it. Anyway, before I touch Swiss ground tomorrow, let me take you through a quick photographical tour of what happened in the musical life of the Gamester recently...Good quality pics by Tobias Klutke.

Jan came to town and Room played two nice shows, starting to earn themselves a reputation as the Madness of New York...

...thanks largely, of course, to the glorious contributions of Quentin Jennings and Dave Spinely. What a fine room now!

I then had the chance to sing my song Beaches Apart with the wonderful Kerry Kennedy and her Ghostwise band. Leane shot great video of KK and Ghostwise, which I will post here as soon as I get the chance!

Also, the American Troubadour Charles Wallace was in town, dishing out his folk and protest songs in dark New York clubs instead of Switzerland's neat stages. Aided masterfully by Mollie Kings and - yes, it's him again - Quentin Jennings.

And not enough of the fine Dave Spine, here with his band The Snow who played a great set of fine chamber pop at Union Hall before Room.

More of the brave Dave, here in C. Gibbs newest outfit at their splendid performance at the Small Beast at Delancey, Paul Wallfischs ever growing Thursday event.

I leave you with a picture of Anton Fine and the We Ours, whom I have the pleasure to see live again in Switzerland, where they are currently touring. Also haunting Swiss clubs will be above mentioned Christian Gibbs with the esteemed Mr. Privateman Frank. Looking forward to breathe swiss air!

More Room at Union Hall ...Now!

2009-05-09T16:31:00.007-04:00

Couldn't make it on Thursday, but want to see and hear Brooklyn's new power outfit Room? Or been there Thursday but just didn't have enough Room? We are playing live again tonight, Saturday May 9th at Union Hall, Corner of 5th Avenue and Union Street, Brooklyn. It is a beautiful big bar with indoors boccia and a nice concert space downstairs.We are playing after the magic The Snow, who play modern pop music with great stories. Lucid Culture writes about the band: “The Snow’s name is somewhat ironic: this is very warm, accessible, emotionally vivid music.”. Captain Sensible of The Damned says of Room: "Nice mix of styles, no testosterone metal crap - I hope these guys go far!"

ROOM & KERRY KENNEDY & CHARLES WALLACE

2009-05-05T15:57:00.003-04:00

This Thursday, May 7th, come see one of the rare Room performances, enhanced by Jan Haux from Berlin on vocals and shenanigans, Quentin Jennings of Melomane and Dylans fame and Dave Spinely of The Snow who brings the legendary roar of a Psychedelic Furs sax. We play at 10.30m.

Then Kerry Kennedy will take the stage with her Ghostwise band - again including Jan, the original drummer for Ghostwise - and you will all be stunned by how soft and touching and smooth music can be.

Last but not least, Charles Wallace of the infamous American Mod band HeadQuarters is in town and presents new acoustic songs from the new folky CD "Amerikanischer Troubadour" that he produced in Switzerland. He first plays Public Assembly in Williamsburg (fromer Galapagos), then comes down to Fontanas. Last chance before he returns to Europe!

Singer/Songwriter vs. Rockstar

2009-04-21T16:59:00.005-04:00

Not so Small Beast: Paul Wallfisch and Kerry Kennedy.
Walking into the Delancey on Thursday night I was pleasantly surprised: Paul Wallfisch's "Small Beast" night had rarely seen such a big crowd, among them celebrities like Peter Buck of R.E.M and Steve Wynn, formerly of Dream Syndicate. This promised to be a great night, Sally Norvell had just finished an inspired show, and a lot of friends of Kerry Kennedy's turned up to support her.

Then it turned out Ken Stringfellow of the Posies wanted to play before Kerry, breaking the common rule that the more famous act play last, so younger, lesser known artists get a chance to play in front of a larger audience. Not very gentlemanly, Mr. Stringfellow. Then he turned out to be a hyper sensitive diva who couldn't even handle a couple of loud college kids.

Peter Buck left during the first song. Then he turned out to be playing really boring, whimsical songs of heartache and pain. Steve Wynn left after the second song. Still there were some girls who seemed to love it and ate every word. Fair enough. I didn't even bother taking a photo of the former Posies singer, despite the fact that I really, really dig their first three LPs. I am more interested in good songwriting than in rockstars.

When Kerry finally took the stage it was way past midnight and the vibrant urgency of earlier in the night gone. Still Kerry and her band - Nathan on guitar, Jason on Bass, no drummer, but a creative Paul Wallfisch on piano - played a wonderful set of indie folk pop that fits the unique, fragile yet confident voice of the singer just perfect. It's a pity Buck and Wynn didn't get to hear it. But there will be other opportunities and no pos(i)er in the house.

Punk For A Sunday Night - Pretendo

2009-04-07T21:41:00.002-04:00

Sunday nights my legs are heavy from Soccer and as long as HBOs Flight of the Conchords is on, there's a good chance, I won't leave the house. But, alas, the Conchord's season is over and Heather called and asked if i wanted to come out see Pretendo, Devon's band Room played with live a couple of years ago... It turned out to be well worth going out: This is pure punk rock energy, high level power, combined with great singing and good lyrics. Watch out you hipsters and wanna-be A&Rs: Here's New York's best kept secret music trio. Dont miss them next time!

The Navel of Switzerland in New York

2009-03-23T11:57:00.003-04:00

Here's a bit of Swiss culture you don't want to miss if you like Sonic Youth, Queens of the Stone Age or The Young Gods (whom they all supported): Navel from Basel is coming to town with their unique punk folk, tonight at the Annex on the Lower East Side at 9pm, Wednesday at Vanishing Point in Williamsburg. As you can see in the NME quote on the poster, modest, they are not. Energetic, driven and punching, yes. The band just comes from SXSW in Austin - probably the first Swiss band ever to play that festival. Come hear their music and stories from the South and the East. Who knows, maybe Pete Doherty is in town, too.

Lucinda Black Bear & Botanica Team Up

2009-03-22T14:38:00.004-04:00

A packed and enthusiastic audience witnessed some of New York's finest rock music Saturday evening when Christian Gibbs and Paul Wallfisch got the best out of their bands Lucinda Black Bear and Botanica. Gibbs sounded richer than ever and included some fine new songs which the band are currently recording, before Christian is touring Switzerland again in May. Paul joined Lucinda for one track on piano, the delicate keys of Quentin Jennings were heard on two others, Anton Fine guested on one piece. After the almost traditional little starting problems with his equipment, Wallfisch and Botanica took the audience on a increasingly intensive trip through the darker soundscapes of rock, a wild play between the hauntingly beautiful morricone-guitars of John Andrews and Pauls mighty voice. How strange to watch the show not with one, but two ex-Botanica bass players: Dana Schechter and Christian Bongers enjoyed observing their mates!

The Soundtrack Of Our Lives In All Its Glory

2009-03-13T18:13:00.004-04:00

There are fabled super studios somewhere in Sweden, legendary places with the best gear in the world, all hand made quality work from neutral European countries, where million sellers as Abba, Roxette and the ghastly songwriter trio Stock Aitken Waterman recorded...it's the big Sweden sound, and nobody does with such ease. Latest example: The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, a band that's been around for some 15 years and has seen and done about everything by now. The six Swedes at the Bowery Ballroom dish out all kinds of styles, ideas, genres, soli: There's a bit of Oasis, a dose of Hüsker Dü, a cover of Nick Drake, all the while being a spinal tapish mix between 70's Stones and the Sir Douglas Quintet. Even the strong swedish vodka singer Lundberg must have enjoyed were no challenge to the band's seemingly effortless precision. A pleasure to enjoy the show with Kenny from Kreisor who's also a fan and knows what to say during shows and when to shut up!

Room/The We Ours: A Cold Night Turned Hot

2009-03-07T21:27:00.010-05:00

Room live again, Fontana's NYC, Photos by Tobias Klutke

Despite a freezing cold Tuesday night, a friendly 70 people showed up to see the first live show of Room without Jan (who sends his regards from Berlin and was there in spirit), but with the gracious help of Quentin Jennings, who is also working on the new record by Roman and Room, an EP that should come out with the Easter bunny. The audience seemed to appreciate the new, redecorated and more orderly room and their new songs about jobs. Someone said Room sounded like the Buzzcocks, another compared it to the Jam, the third heard the Cure shining through. All very well with me. Denise shot these videos, Leane shot more footage, the combined edited version here soon.

Antons band - Kristofer on guitar and back voc, Jessica on bass and voc and Kristin covering their backs have grown into a tight combo. There are smiles onstage and a general feeling of everybody being at ease is transported to the audience, the melodies abducting us into a land of soothing, sunny weekend afternoons.

Fontana's has a nice sound system, friendly people working, the live area downstairs is a great space for a crowd of about 100+ people - Room as well as The We Ours will be back there soon!

Anton and the We Ours live at Fontanas

2009-02-27T13:13:00.001-05:00

After a year of retreat, regrouping and - yes! - rehearsing, we give you the new ROOM. Live for the first time as a four-piece at Fontana's NYC (www.fontanasnyc.com), with the help of Mr. Quentin Jennings (of The Dylans, Melomane and C. Gibbs Review fame) on keyboards for a couple of songs. We have a lot of new songs we'd love to play to you and are not as loud and obnoxious as we used to be (Old age set in? - You'll be the judge.)

ROOM (www.myspace.com/roomtheband) take the stage at 10pm and are followed immediately by ANTON SWORD & THE WE OURS (www.antonsword.com). With the help of his band, Anton has "rocked up" his set and they've become a tight group with - dare i say it? - catchy melodies.

Come on down - Tuesdays are the new Thursdays since Paul Wallfisch made Thursdays the new Saturdays with his Small Beast!

Map of Fontana's Location

First the Sword, then the Beast

2009-02-11T11:40:00.005-05:00

Take it easy on Thursday cause you will have a busy evening - there are two shows you should not miss. First go to Rehab to see the refortified Mr. Anton Sword. Not only is he married now to the lovely Yael Marmon, his band has got a name, and a good one, too: the We Ours. Moreover, Jessica traded the cello for a rocking bass, Kristofer's addition get sharper and more daring with every show and drums are helmed by New York's female Ringo Starr, Kristin Mueller. We hope that spells 'goodbye flowery poetry and hello sardonic edge". It is eight bucks, but we hear that Rehab is in the process of being sold and who knows what will become of that place then. Anton and the We Ours are going on an extened European tour in May. The show starts at 9pm, followed by the Interpol-esque Get Help.

Then - it's the new Thursday thing to do - head down to the Delancey where Paul Wallfisch is letting loose his Small Beast, this time with a habitué on this blog, Pierre De Gaillande. The Paris-born singer/songwriter has translated the chansons of the great Georges Brassens into English - painstakingly precise - and will present the witty words and tunes with Christian Bongers on bass and Dave Spinley on Clarinet. Pierre has grown a mustache for this occasion while Christian has shaved off his Father Christmas beard. They will start at 11.15pm, preceeded by Cherie Lily, former lead singer and songwriter for New York City bands SPANK and FLuRT, who recently sang on Lee Scratch Perry's Grammy nominated new album and Barma Ljova who has been arranging music for the likes of Yo-Yo Ma, the Kronos Quartet, Matmos and Jay-Z.

I'll Be Damned...it's C. Gibbs Again!

2009-02-07T20:30:00.004-05:00

So, reading up on the Damned while listening to their great new record "So, who's paranoid?" (see review in the right sidebar below) I followed up on singer Dave Vanian's side project "The Phantom Chords" and came across this little live video of the band performing at Hootenanny 2003 - and guess who is playing bass? Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Christian Gibbs here, on stage with Vampire Dave! Meanwhile, do check out the new Damned CD, it shows both Vanian and the good ole Captain in top form, with a bunch of proper, finished and vital songs.

Small Beast Quite Big, Kennedy taking off

2009-01-26T17:01:00.007-05:00

Paul Wallfisch's new music event "Small Beast", is taking off nicely and the songsmith and piano player is all smiles and seems to have found the right ambiance on the main floor at the Delancey for his eclectic mix. Paul has the show solidly booked for every Thrusday night till the end of March and we're in for some treats like Pierre De Gaillande's excellent translations of Georges Brassens songs and Posies Frontman Ken Stringfellow and, of course, C. Gibbs when he's back from touring. Pictured above is the spirited Abby Travis which tamed the Small Beast last Thursday with witty songs on piano and bass. Might the fine lady be a secret daughter of Paul McCartney, we wondered?

Meanwhile Kerry Kennedy got an amazing review of her show at Rose. "I'm still pinching myself," says Kerry of the raving article. "I have no idea who this guy is, but I am going to bake him cookies." More than cookies also deserves her guitar player Nathan Halpern, who played an amazing set of souled Americana with his band at a packed Zebulon on Friday. We'd have included a picture, but it's just too damn dark to photograph in there. I'm not complaining.

Rose in Bloom: Kerry Kennedy and Anton Sword

2009-01-19T20:55:00.003-05:00

Kerry Kennedy is back in town and will be performing a short set with the new version of her Ghostwise band, this coming Wednesday, January 21, at Rose Live Music in Williamsburg. If you are in town and miss this, this blog can't help you anymore. We told you about Kerry's excellence years ago, and we hear that they will be trying out some new material after spending the time in the studio. They'll be on at 9pm sharp. The Ghostwise band this time round - missing Jan - is:
Jason Binnick-bass
Nathan Halpern- guitar
Kerry Kennedy- vocals, guitar
Brain Wolfe- drum
We don't need to tell you anything more about favorite our poet laureate, Anton Sword and his all-star band who play at 10pm. If you haven't seen Anton, you probably think Williamsburg is in Virginia. So wrong. He's getting married, too. Not enuff? well, this is a recession special! The show is FREE! They will, however, pass the hat around for the folks who can afford to donate a few bucks to support the, erm, biz.

No Small Beast For A Wallfisch!

2009-01-12T13:35:00.003-05:00

Do fishes sleep? The Wallfisch doesn't: Botanica-Leader and Little Annie collaborator Paul Wallfisch is curating a new music event, Small Beast. Premiering this Thursday in the intimate and elegant environment of the Delancey's main-floor back room, Small Beast will present an eclectic mix of creative performers and songwriters. The Beast aims to become the New York vortex of an ephemeral, international scene where artists and listeners alike can come together for a song, an evening, a residency, and all forms of creative experimentation. The Beast is not a jam night but does encourage spontaneous performance and artistic co-operation. Small Beast will be a place where artists accustomed to doing one thing might try another; where a small space becomes a welcome antidote to a bigger club or hall. The host of this minimalist, hard cabaret, Paul Wallfisch, erstwhile co-conspirator with Firewater, Congo Norvell, Love and Rockets and many others, currently leads the band Botanica and functions as Alt/Dub/CabaDiva Little Annie’s sidekick. Paul will do a short set of his own each week--solo and with different collaborators-- followed by at least one guest artist's set. (And whoever else might show up...) Good luck - we'll be there.

Gibbs'n'Grace - the Debut

2009-01-12T13:15:00.003-05:00

Forget G'n'R - we give you G'n'G: Southpaw saw the birth of a new supergroup of country rock last Friday when Jack and Daria Grace teamed up with Christian Gibbs, expertly helped by members of their respective bands. Highlight were fantastic cover versions of Lee Hazlewood's "Summer Wine" and Gibbs' very own rendition of Springsteens "Born to run". I am still convinced we are going to witness the comeback of Techno, but til then, try to get as much of these earthy rocks.

The United Enkels ask: Where is Zurich?

2009-01-12T12:45:00.002-05:00

Sometimes you have to go far away, to a winter wonderland, take the musical express waiting on track 13, hook up with the United Enkels and let the good old times roll...I had the honor and pleasure of playing with four former members of Die Letzte Uebung, Switzerland's first New Wave band, with the impressive growl of Mark E. Fennelman, Mr. Fred "Dub" Stieger, the crazy rhythms of D-J Stieger, the blasting horns of Beat Weibel, the unique Wolfman Peter on guitar and the helping hands of Michael Gallusser. A very ambitious set list couldn't scare us..but the audience kind of did: At Palace in St. Gallen, they get to see pretty much the best acts on tour all year round. Not easily impressed, I tell you. Shout outs go to the Rodney Park Rangers, Brooklyn was in the house. So Was Zagreb, and, to some extent Zueri! Thanks to Raphael for the video, there should be more soon on www.entercontainer.com

The True Sex Pistols Revealed in Williamsburg!

2008-11-11T12:43:00.003-05:00

The beast is alive, and punk's not dead. Alana Amram and her ever growing gang pulled it off again with the Monster Mash this Halloween, at Don Pedro's in Williamsburg. Some bands were missing, the schedule was almost as messed up as the audience, but none of that mattered: We got to see a great and worthy performance of "Hüsker Dü", a hilarious comic version of "The Beatles", and a great female Roger Daltrey of "The Who". Most impressive, though, were "The Sex Pistols". Not only did it sound grand in the tiny place all of a sudden, Johnny Rotten materialized (as you can see in this great pic by Tobias Klutke) and sang and sneered better than ever. We saw the real Pistols reunited at some festival show, and mind you, the copy in this case might be just a bit better than the original.

Take The Halloween Highway!

2008-10-31T14:19:00.002-04:00

If you don't know yet where to go on Halloween this year, I recommend this Punk Music Festival, organized by the imperturbable Alana Amram. It's been a lot of fun the last two years. All the cool imposter bands play only three to four songs and dress up as the famous originals. And it's only a dollar, dressed up or not. Now, that's the right spirit, driving on the left side of slow down the Halloween highway...Don Pedro's at 90 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11206.

C. Gibbs Finally Back in Switzerland

2008-10-27T20:22:00.003-04:00

This is the new video of C. Gibbs with the band he will be touring Switzerland with the next two weeks. On Cello, Keys and Bass we have the unique Frank Heer, on drums the female incarnation of Ringo Star's better brother, Kristin Mueller.

Rarely are tours of Rockbands truly anticipated in Switzerland. Musicians just pass thru, and folks go and see them, since they have enuff money in their pockets over there. Either the stars come for a show or two, on their way through Europe to Asia (expensive tickkets). Or they live there for a while as singer-songwriter-model daters for a while because the country is simply so amazing (buy the guy a beer). Not so Mr Christian Gibbs. Over the course of a couple of well-received small, but excellent managed and executed tours, C. Gibbs has built himself a strong and ardent following in Switzerland. The upcoming 15 gig tour through every corner of the country, which starts tomorrow in Basel, might just help him to take Europe like Crowded House did in '90 or Pink Floyd in '69. Switzerland, this is probably the last time zou see this guy for little money and up close, dont miss your chance - we hear some of the shows are almost sold out already,

For all of you in Switzerland who speak german and haven't heard about c. Gibbs, here's Frank's short update for newcomers:

Und nun noch etwas Rock-Trivia für Neuaufsteiger: C. GIBBS erprobte bei Foetus, Modern English und Cpt. Sensible das Bühnen-Handwerk, bei den Morning Glories brüllte er sich den Bourbon aus der Seele und mit Lucinda Black Bear entdeckte er die wohlorchestrierte Langsamkeit. Auf seiner aktuellen Tournee bedient sich der New Yorker aus seinem tiefen Repertoir von Songs am Randes des Abgrunds.

Show dates:
29.10. Kuppel, Basel
30.10. Gare de Lyon, Wil
31.10. Dampfschiff, Brugg
01.11. Café Kairo, Bern
03.11. Helsinki Klub, Zürich*
05.11. LeBourg, Lausanne
06.11. TapTab, Schaffhausen
07.11. Mariaberg, Rorschach
08.11. Café Kairo, Bern
09.11. Club Stereo, Nürnberg, D
10.11. Centre Fries, Fribourg
13.11. Chrämerhuus, Langenthal
14.11. Helsinki Klub, Zürich*
15.11. Gaswerk, Winterthur

Happy 50th Birthday, Phil Daniels!

2008-10-17T13:59:00.004-04:00

Daniels and his partner on Strictly Come Dancing

You have a week left to send your best wishes to Mr. Phil Daniels. You might not remember him, but he played Jimmy in the Who's movie "Quadrophenia", gave his signature Cockney slang to Blur's hit "Parklife" and was just recently kicked from a British celebrities dancing TV show. But that's not why Daniels is high on our list of icons of British culture. In 1980 (can you believe that's almost 30 years ago?) Phil Daniels + the Cross released an Album called "To King Cross Main Line & Suburban" which is pure gold. If you can get your hands on a copy, we guarantee your satisfaction.

Wire Just A Bit Too Wired

2008-10-14T13:54:00.005-04:00

In blue: Lewis, Newman and Spigel, in black and white: Robert Gray (formerly Gotobed) at Irving Plaza
Some of you may like the crunching pulsing Wire of the late Eighties, I prefer the first three albums. Of course, I respect a band's right to move on and not look back, developing its own brand. But why, when you have hits like "Outdoor Miner", "Marooned" or "I am the Fly" at hand, not show us who actually the heroes of New Wave are, just here and there? Okay, I'm a nostalgic sucker and yeah, Wire gave us "The 15th" (famous here because of the Fischerspooner cover version), "Lowdown" and "12XU" in a one minute hi-speed version, but where are the glorious harmonies and choruses of the early compositions? Their new record "Object 47" has some interesting new material, but with an indistinct booming bass and harsh guitars, a lot of it was lost on the audience. Colin Newman and Graham Lewis, formerly famous for not giving a toss, at times seemed to try just a little too hard, instead of facing the music with a wink and a smile. I'll go again, of course. I should have known better?
And with a nod to Enkel 154: Made it to Wire, as you can see, but missed one of these rare Residents shows. From what I heard it must have been great. Are you reporting about the Bunny Boy, too?

No More From The Jam, All the More Feelies

2008-10-14T13:12:00.002-04:00

The Feelies at Bowery Ballroom
So Bruce and Rock & Co. cancelled on me and my fellow New Yorkers - From the Jam for no obvious reasons cancelled most of their U.S. tour, just to announce gigs in Vienna, Austria, a few days later. Hm. Didn't they say they want to have a new record out by the new year, anyway? Maybe Paul Weller has some songs he can spare?
Enough already, now for one of the greatest reunions ever: The Feelies played two well packed shows at the Bowery Ballroom in the original line-up, Bill Million rejoining the gang for the first time in 15 years. And boy, were they good! My friends and I saw them decades ago in Zurich and were blown away, but honestly, i think this was even better. Glenn Mercer is by now one of the best and most precise guitar players i have ever seen, Million is the glue that bindes the band together. Looks like only the two drummers ever smile - the strings work and sing like a manic machine, strumming and pumping ahead, spinning melancholy and melody. Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo in the front lines with an open mouth. A frenetic audience, but where were you Brooklyn hipsters? These are the masters you could learn so much from!

More From The Jam!

2008-09-19T14:51:00.007-04:00

We told you about it in February and we tell you again: Go see Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler with their new band, simply called From the Jam. They play fired-up, precise versions of the tunes that made the Jam famous back in the late Seventies and sound as fresh (and probably better) than when Paul Weller was with them. Foxton and Buckler replaced the Modfather with two guitars, and Russell Hastings does a good job, not imitating Weller but never veering too far away from the original performance. The video should put any fears that you will not be getting the real thing at rest!
From the Jam are at the Blender Thyeatre in Manhattan on Friday, Sept 26th.

Don't Miss Your Chance to See the Feelies!

2008-09-19T14:51:00.004-04:00

A little older, but looking good - Mercer (2nd from left) and Million (2nd from right) reunited with the original line-up. The band that had the first "New Wave!" sticker on its debut album is back, 30 years later and after a 15 year break: this weekend, the Feelies are in town, Saturday at Williamsburg Hall of Music, Sunday at the Bowery Ballroom. In case you haven't heard of this extraordinary and most influential group (cited by Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo among others), we recommend you go to both shows to get a grasp on how to combine pop, punk and melancholy. If you know them, we know you'll go to both shows anyway. See you there!

New York Ain't Sleepwalking, I Am

2008-08-19T19:18:00.006-04:00

Full Tank at Cooco 66 by Tobias Klutke

There's live shows worth blogging out there, sure! It's just that my computer gets so hot after all the typing, I need to get away from it, from time to time, say to Fire Island to inspect the ticks situation and play Kadima. Or to the catskills to swim in forbidden lakes and inspect suspicious alien activities in hundred year old cellars. And then, my trusty help and videographer Schmiani just went and got married and all, and now she ain't blogging now more.

Still, we managed to see some great shows. First off, the taking off of Falcon at Rehab, after their much reviewed EP hit the stores. As you can see in the sidebar, we recommend you both the live as well as the packaged version. The photo is by Geoff Northrop, you give him shit for playing around with those nasty Adobe fonts.

Then, we caught the revitalized Overlord at the Cake Shop and were given the excellent new single "My Mechanical Heart". George tells me that they will release a new track at every show till the new CD is complete - a nice idea of concept rock in a digitally confusing age. Third, Sword was the word, again at Rehab, which is the coolest place in Manhattan these days anyway, if you still have to go to (or live on) the money infested island. The new quartet with the amazing bass/drums duo of Kristin Mueller and Jessica Hallman harmonized beautifully with the eccentric fantasies of Anton Sword and Kristofer Widholm and give the sword a new bite. Now, tell these stories, Antony!

Last not least we saw the also reinvigorated riot grrrls from Full Tank at hip hip Coco 66 and were positively surprised with new additions Joe Jameson and Ness Newcastle on drums respectively bass, who trim the ladies' bubbliness into a tight punky unit. Now we strongly suggest Simone changes her last name to Smirnov and Halona to Heineken. Gail Grappa, meanwhile should have a drink with Ennio Moriccone.

But now I'm off to Glasslands, another show I forgot to mention on the liver calendar, the Walking Hellos, just to find out what Heather has been up to and talk to hear about my plan for an new NGO that fights for animals' rights to their names. So go, Falcon, the Overlord may grant you a Full Tank, so you escape a ton of Swords.

Falcon at Rehab by Geoff Northtrop

Fuckintosh vs Yanni

2008-08-14T17:49:00.007-04:00

Here is a hilarious review from The Phoenix of Fa's show in Boston. He insists he doesn't "toss back his hair" (it's the headphones, silly.) And he's genuinely upset about the Yanni comparison! We like the "Higbrow Sound Collage" and the plaintchant dirges. We looked for a picture of Yanni staring down the acropolis in his white suit, but then leave it up to you to compare the synthi sinfonist with the mashmaster Fa:

Reporter Matt Parish has his take on the events and writes:
"Some guests shuffled back through a closet door to the small special-exhibition gallery for a look at Luisa Rabbia’s new video piece, a wall-sized montage of Mrs. Gardner’s photos from China spliced with rippling water and animated plant roots growing from beige landscapes like a Windows 95 screensaver. The small klatch sipped and listened to critic Mario Diacono parse the playfully trippy work with parlor-game nonchalance.
DJ Fa Ventilato stood in the courtyard garden mixing plainchant dirges with harps and ritualistic drum loops, tossing back his long hair, the Ronnie James Dio of highbrow sound collage. A young graphic designer and her social-worker friend gazed past him to the fountain. “We should do shrooms in here and run away from the fish that would fly out of that thing,” she said. Another guest wondered aloud how soon everything would turn into Eyes Wide Shut. Ventilato ended his set and raised his bottle up like Yanni staring down the Acropolis, which was in the general direction of the coat check. No secret-society masks appeared, but the night still managed to tweak reality into a few exotic kinks."

The World Thru the Eyes of Paul Weller

2008-07-31T21:40:00.004-04:00

Forget TV, give it to YouTube and a guy called JBtheManchesterMod to give us the first complete historic overview of the works of Paul Weller and the Jam. Here, in a good hour you can watch six ten minute pieces about Weller and his songs, commented in a nicely understated way by PW himself, but also giving Foxton, former wife DC Lee and Paul's father and manager John deserved screen time, as well as Style Council collaborator Mick Talbot and Steve White. The Pistols had their film(s), the Clash their visual hommages, now here's the Jam. Enjoy!

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
And now, go out and buy Paul Weller's new CDE 22 Dreams - it might take a while for it to fell home at your place at first, but it will stay with you forever. And if you're in New York, I'll see you probably on the ominous 9/11 at the Highline Ballroom. Here's for the Modfather's rehabilitation!

The Greatest Hits as Many Matters on Swiss Day 08

2008-07-31T21:29:00.002-04:00

This gig will go down in my New York memories as entirely enjoyable, in company of great friends and minds, musically and visually magnificent experience. I'm exaggerating? You weren't in our shoes! The sound's fake, of course - it's from Steve's trusty mini digi stick, during the one and only rehearsal. We're only getting started. Leane took all of these - and even more - amazing photographs. The Empire State Building appears courtesy of NYC.

Falcon flies, Lucinda Black Bear at Garden Party

2008-07-28T21:18:00.007-04:00

The animal named bands come out to play again, and not the least of them: First, the Falcon really takes off with getting a big nod not only in NY Time Out, with above classic understated photo of the band, the stylish Mr. Bongers far left, as ever. Check out the TONY story here. Then read the Village Voice article, jump to the one from radio NPR, on to the one in ther Daily Herald and if you didnt realize that the guys are about to make it, read it in Chartnet. Then ask the guys about that strange Jared story yourself, we're sworn to silence.

Then our favorite teddy LUCINDA BLACK BEAR (minus Mike) will be playing a downsized acoustic set in an outside garden in Brooklyn this Thursday. Christian, at the moment playing the Boradway show Passing Strange to the film cameras of Spike lee, tells us it's the first ever party hosted by LIVE FEED and takes place at Bar Reis, 375 5th Ave at 6th St., Park Slope. According to him, there will be indeterminate chaos brought to you by the cast of Black Eye Fixer. Plus Dancing! Booze! Garden Flirtations! (what happens in the garden stays in the garden?) Come help them celebrate the concrete condo tidal wave that's taking Brooklyn by storm! $10 cover (to benefit the renegade theatrical tactics of the one-and-only LiveFeed). C. Gibbs and Lucinda Black Bear will play Joe's Pub August 6th before heading West on a US tour from until September 2nd, then head to Europe in October. And finally and occasion to post the beautiful video for the Bear's "You got it blue" video:

The Greatest Hits Starring as the Many Matters

2008-07-25T13:54:00.006-04:00

Swiss National Day is the 1st of August, but here in New York we celebrate it early, so that most of us sweaty Swiss can get a plane on time for the real thing back home. The Swiss Benevolent Society who organize this event have found a great spot: The roof garden on top of the high rise building 230 Fifth Avenue. It's ten dollars to get in, but you will be rewarded with a great view, nice people, swiss food, and music: There's a live rock band, called Radon Love, and a DJ. With Jan and Bernd being out of town, I found fantastic friends to help me out for my part as "THE MANY MATTERS" - we play three songs by the greatest Swiss songwriter ever, Mr. Mani Matter. Since I was told that these songs don't work with my horrible St. Gallen accent, I translated them into English, where, being in NYC the accent don't matter much. The superb band, also dishing out a few 80ies Pop Songs in Cowpunk versions, is also known as The Greatest Hits with the wonderful Kerry Kennedy on vocals and guitar, the inimitable Quentin Jennings on vocals and all sorts of string instruments, NYs top ten bassman Christian Bongers, not to speak of the american Brassens, Pierre de Gaillande of Melomane and Steve Schiltz of Longwave. We had a blast rehearsing, and hope it comes across just as well as intended... Come help us out and sing along! It starts at 12 noon, Radon Love are on at 2pm, there's some short speeches and stuff, we're on after 3.30pm.

Jarvis, Rockstar Like You And I, or Mick Jagger

2008-07-23T14:33:00.004-04:00

So, Jarvis Cocker, leader of Brit-Pop's Pulp, came to town for two nights, first at the Williamsburg Hall of Music, next at Terminal 5, the new big space in midtown west. After seeing him last time at Webster Hall, it was clear that it will probably not be as cool as Pulp in 99 at the Hammerstein Ballroom, but Jarvis is an excellent showman and quite a British gentleman, too. With his long speeches and spastic dances, he's the kind of manly intellectual every girl wants to cuddle with, but then again, the wiry frame and the rock moves exude just as much sex as the (not so young) Mick Jagger. And then he lectures about the white man and the Blues. And then he says, there's only three things to write songs about: Sex, Death and Cars. And then he rants about American politics. And then everybody loves him. And then, him and his band look and sound just like The Rolling Stones. But beware: He has at least one new hit at hand: "Big Stuff" will be coming, oh yeah.

Andy White Pays Us A Visit From Australia!

2008-07-23T14:23:00.003-04:00

He's Irish, but he's been living in Melbourne for about as long as I've been in New York: Old friend Andy White played a short notice gig last night at the Living Room and showed in a short 45 minute set that he hasn't lost his knack for melodic songwriting and witty lyrics. The highlight came when he unpacked his tiny 12-string "Aubergine" and per effect box added nice guitar loops to his acoustic strumming. Andy's new CD "Garageband" will be out in the U.S. in the next few weeks. He says it's a rock record and after giving it a first listening, we say he's right! Review to follow on this blog!

Only Chrysler Stays Cool at PS1

2008-07-23T14:11:00.002-04:00

It's time for the PS1 dance fests again, no matter how high the temperatures out there rise. So we treked to Long Island City despite the blistering sun to hear the cooling soothing sounds of Theremin Queen Dorit Chrysler, who finally is back in town and working feverishly on a new record. There's one or two new pieces in the current set, I think, and judging by those, Dorit listened to a lot of Gary Numan, OMD and Young Marble Giants, lately - which, imo, is a good thing: Will there be a chart hit for the Austrian-American indie star?

Hello New York, Goodbye Jan

2008-07-09T17:30:00.002-04:00

Jan on stage with Room at East River Bar.

Summer is here and I am back, what a bad combination. Luckily, the snow are playing on Thursday, so I'll ice my cake there. Otherwise, of course, I miss the alps and the lakes, the cool climate and cool people. Seems a lot of people are either out of town or leaving town soon. On returning, we had to detect serious damage in the Room: Our dear omnitalent Jan is moving back to Berlin, today. We'll try to take it with stoic equanimity, but believe us, it's difficult. Anybody who's had the pleasure in seeing Jan either on stage or on a soccer pitch will agree. Best of luck meanwhile to Verena and Jan in Berlin, where publishers of beautiful books better hurry up to seek his advice. He'll stay loyal to the excellent New York publishing house of PA Press, I'm sure. To say goodbye, we have a little track with Jan doing the Stingster on a classic Poleez track, please don't tell em.

Open Air St. Gallen: From Kravitz to Kooks

2008-06-25T14:39:00.002-04:00

So my stay in Switzerland comes to an end befitting: Writing for the Swiss newspaper Tagblatt I will get a chance to see quite a few interesting young bands: The Enemy, who won Paul Weller's praise and have been mentioned on this blog before, then the Wombats (with the sweetest greets to their biggest NYC fan Martial Vivot of Room: how was the show?) and the Kooks. Me, I am looking forward to see my friends Stahlberger & Band: The wittiest lyrics over the freshest music, in swiss german, though. Then again, you Americans dont know whatcha missing anyway: The combo Zueri West has been around for 25 years and beats Lenny Kravitz in one single bar.

We miss you Roman, do you miss us?

2008-06-17T01:20:00.001-04:00

It Is Not About Winning, Is it?

2008-06-12T06:54:00.003-04:00

So, Switzerland lost against Turkey in the Euro 2008 and can focus on what the Swiss do best: Hosting. Finally, done with the drama, the supersized star posters, the bread rolls with Swiss flags in it and every car seller giving away free soccer balls etc. Back to quaint quiet non-euphoric Swissness, watching others play and commenting dryly on their mistakes instead of keeping our own porch clean. Who's gonna win? The Germans, probably. Or the Italians (I hope). But it's not about winning - it's about playing the king of games, Football. So forgive me for taking a break from all that Rock'n'Roll and focusing on the round leather. But, just so you know that there are good concerts in the alps, let me give you a rundwon of what I've seen so far: Palace SG hosted the first Silver Jews show ever in Switzerland and fans came from hundred of miles away to be treated to an intense and beautful set of alt country with a bitter twist. Switzerland's own Guz played Palace, too and he is so real and true, even you Americans would be impressed - i'll have to get him to come to NYC one of these days. Then there was the unique Jeffrey Lewis and his brother Jack, who don't get enough out of supporting Steven Malkmus on his tour and use their days off to play strangely beautiful squat places such as the Binz in Zurich, where hundreds of alt folkies managed to transform old factory spaces into a Swiss Mini-Bushwick. The Lewis brothers, you could tell, felt like home and rewarded us with two hours of music and history lessons. Grand. More to come, I am looking very much forward to reporting from the Open Air St. Gallen, where we will have a chance to see acts such as Beck, Bad Religion, The Enemy and, erm, Lenny Kravitz. No Witz.

Out and About in Zurich

2008-05-21T18:59:00.005-04:00

Here, for you Roman, is a list of some clubs and music venues in Zurich, to help you find a place to go hear some music. You might try the Helsinki Klub, it's pretty cool, I've been there a couple of times. Hope this helps!
http://www.outandabout.ch/clubs.html

Roman Is Having A Dream Time In Switzerland

2008-05-21T17:51:00.005-04:00

Ah Now I Understand The Style Guide For This Blog. Thanks, Roman For Helping Me. I Have Included A Picture That Helps Illustrate My Post While Providing Some Visual Stimulation For Your Readers. Now I Realize That Roman Is Not Updating His Blog Because He Is Extremely Busy Staring At This Clock. It's For His Job, Honest. He Is Working Hard!

Heather Peng Looking for Green Pastures!

2008-05-20T19:17:00.002-04:00

Thanks, Heather for taking care of the blog while I am gone, and not just that, as the post below demonstrates you do it tactfully and tastefully! I adore your use of the language, the depth and insight you manage to pack into your few lines, and the creativity you put into your esteemed writing! Just some minor reminders on how we want the blog to look: 1. Main words in headlines start with capitals. 2. Make sure the headline ist not too short and not leaving a lot of empty space (f. e. "Roman is Gay" is way too short, "Roman Is Having A Dream Time in Switzerland" would have been much better. 3. Try to find a picture that fits the story - but no vulgar or offensive material, kids love the blog, too.
Looking forward to your next blog, Heather, and do not fear: I won't sue you before I'm back!

roman is gay

2008-05-16T01:30:00.002-04:00

roman moved to switzerland and decided he didn't have to update his blog anymore, oh i guess there is no music in switzerland, how convenient for roman who has decided to turn GAY or LAZY! denise is going to hear about this, do you think she is not going to notice that you turned GAY! and NO LONGER CARE ABOUT MUSIC? don't get me wrong, i am not HOMOFOBIC i love the gays but this is lameness, not love! come on! how busy can you be?