Nick's hair says it all right there. If your hair didn't stand-up straight from the Black Hollies set on Saturday during the 2nd annual Northside Festival, then you might as well just stick your tongue in an electrical outlet to get the same effect.
Thank you brooklynites and bridge and tunnelers for coming to both my shows. I know you have many options at your disposal, and I'm glad you chose my shindigs. You filled Spike Hill to capacity, and that's just sweet as hell. Thanks again to the bands, the venues and the Northside folks for having this space as part of your programming.
As I said on stage, Black Hollies are one the most consistently on their game bands in the local scene. It truly make you thankful that New York is the center of the music universe. You owe it to yourself to catch a set from them, and you too will be besides yourself. They play loud and focused, making you fell that it is 1967 Los Angeles, San Francisco or swinging London. Make no mistake, they are not a novelty act, they have a deep love for that sound and are just extending the tradition. Justin, who celebrated his birthday at the show, dedicated the set to Kinks original bassist Pete Quaife, who died last Wednesday.
I try to catch a set every six months from the Hollies, probably just to see if they literally set something on fire. Not this time, just a lot of orgasmic shouts, screams and good times.
Their next gig is July 14 at Knitting Factory.
Having Nouvellas and Black Hollies on the bill is the perfect package deal. You get to dance, shimmy and shake with the Nouvellas and then rock your socks off to the Black Hollies.
I've known the ladies before I started this contraption back when they were the Dansettes and they were throwing down at Magnetic Field on Atlantic Ave when it was functioning. By coincidence, I played the Mamas & Papa's "Somebody Groovy" between sets, a song they use to cover.
Now, Leah and Jamie have got their own thing and its making the good-looking party people of NYC happy customers. They treated the Spike Hill crowd with fresh tunes that might make their next album. They are thinking of Google friendly titles like, Rolling Stones Unreleased Tunes or something in the pornographic vein. I suggested Topless or Coupon Code.
They will also play before the Black Hollies on July 14 at Knitting Factory.
Bad Girlfriend survived Spike Hill, and Spike Hill survived Bad Girlfriend. For me, they just filled my vision for my showcase -- different facets of the retro 60s rock sound. They're a little bit Shocking Blue, and a little bit Shangri-Las, but a mostly a whole lot of good-nature misbehavin'. I've got my fingers crossed for them because they are too much fun not to be seen.
Just look at the pictures, they've got that nuclear glow. That's a sign of top notch rocking. It was probably from their cover of The Monks' Pretty Suzanne.
Now, I turn my attention to the daytime showcase over at Bar Matchless. Yes, it started at the same time as the U.S. vs. Ghana match. Believe me, I was gutted that the game was on in the other room. We would hear shouts and screams and I would send Dyn-O-Wright to see what the hub-bub. At 4:30, he gave me the thumbs down sign. Waaahhhhh.
In any event, Matchless opened up the garage door so that it can be an somewhat outdoors show. I'm just glad people showed up.
My good friends Gold Lake ended the showcase. I may be biased, but DAMN their new tunes are impressive. I told them, "somebody's been listening to Broken Social Scene." They've been at work on an EP, and I hope some of the new tunes like "Piano Song" get on there. The four of them were at NXNW and also played some dates with Nada Surf.
Their next gig is July 17 at Littlefield.
Somebody needs to make an IPhone/Droid app that takes the She Keeps Bees live show and transports the experience to your phone. You can type in a question like, "What does Jessica think of As Seen on TV ads?" and Jessica will give you three minutes on the subject, then ended with a killer tune. I wanted to set them up on the sidewalk and see people gather around them like some blues musicians in New Orleans.
Jess and Andy are my favorite beings. They are funny, positive and kind folk who rock really hard. Like so hard your hair tingles from their shows. It's no wonder Rough Trade but Nests on their Top 50 albums of 2009.
Next up for the couple is a tour of the south with Naked Hearts and This Frontier Needs Heroes. The south in the summer in a tour van -- that's going to be funky.
The Shivers made the afternoon nice and mellow. Jo and Keith might as well be the same person because they are so in-tune with each other. As I've said before, they are the sound of a particular side of New York -- that sort of nighttime lonely vibe.
They too will be touring the south, with the headliner of my next MS.com Presents Show, Kelli Scarr. You see, everybody is interconnected in my blog universe. As for a local gig, they'll hit up Pete's Candy Store on July 5.
Oh that Cat Martino, always got something in her bag of tricks. She started off the day with her enchanting songs, which featured her on-the-spot samples and loops. She's rub two pieces of sandpaper together, record that live and then have it repeat for the beat. Add some vocals and she becomes her own back-up singer. She did this for her Michael Jackson mash-up of "Billy Jean" and "Don't Stop Until You Get Enough".
Thanks again to Northside and The L Magazine for organizing the festival. It's getting there, and I was impressed with the big names they were able to snag this year. Hope you were able to check out some of the events.
