Totally Feelies'd!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Depression Entertainment: Free Park & Bar Shows

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

So Who Wants to Live in Florida?

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

2 Hours of Mass with The Church

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

JC & Anphibius go to the Movies

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

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...

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!

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!"