Bearded Gentlemen Music
Nathan Jones
Dirty Projectors / Delicate Steve / Ryan Power – 4/18/2013, Higher Ground, Burlington VT
I’ve been listening to the entire Yo La Tengo discography, and while working through their mid-80s records like Ride the Tiger and New Wave Hot Dogs, I got to thinking about the shift I made in musical tastes during that decade. Right about 1986, my listening inclinations began to change amidst the full onslaught of … Continue reading
The Mast: Talkin’ Bodies, Cell Biology, and James Joyce
The Mast represents one of the more exiting young bands working the Brooklyn indie scene these days with their unique brand of moody, percussive, electronic pop reminiscent yet distinct from acts like School of Seven Bells, Nite Jewel, and A Hundred in the Hands. I have seen the Mast live a couple of times in … Continue reading
Wild Adriatic / Mirk @ Bayou Café, Albany NY (2/15/13)
Disclaimer: this post represents a shameless promo for some cool bands local to my current residence, so please don’t expect the kind of hard biting criticism that customarily adorns the pages of this prestigious and serious blog. Having lived in close proximity to the capital of the great state of New York for almost three … Continue reading
Passion Pit / Matt & Kim @ RPI Fieldhouse, Troy NY (2/11/13)
Troy, New York – the birthplace of Uncle Sam and the historical center of Dutch, New Netherlands. I had never been on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy before, but the place is hotbed for collegiate ice hockey (apparently RPI has a top-notch program). I had also never seen a concert in a … Continue reading
Dragons of Zynth/Ava Luna/The Mast – December 20, 2012, Glasslands Gallery, Brooklyn New York
I recently read about an interview with David Sitek from TV on the Radio, who griped that a lot of indie bands come to Brooklyn simply to attract media attention and obtain recording contracts rather than cultivate a musical aesthetic relative to the influences present in the scene. There are certainly several bands that have … Continue reading
Witch Mountain / Castle / Serpent Crown – November 16, 2012 – Thee Parkside, San Francisco, CA
From fans to performers, metal has been primarily a masculine genre with little space for women to assert themselves or be taken seriously. Although I confess I took acts such as Lita Ford, Madame X, and Vixen seriously as a teenager in the 80s, but not necessarily due to their prowess as musicians. My friends … Continue reading
Top 10 Summertime Albums for 2012 (that probably won’t save rock)
I know it’s a tired medium, but I love writing these “best of” lists because they force me to intensively focus on some of the music I have admired over the stretch of a few months.I listened to a boatload of awesome tunes this past summer that grabbed my attention, but most of my music … Continue reading
Silversun Pickups / Cloud Nothings / Atlas Genius – 10/20/2012 – Clifton Park, NY
I would argue most music arising from the genres often characterized as alternative and indie rock and metal (as well as their various sub-genres) sounds the way it does because of the musical styles and influences of two 1970s super groups – Black Sabbath and Roxy Music. In fact, I would say that most rock … Continue reading
Halestorm – Upstate Concert Hall, Clifton Park NY (August 31, 2012)
When I was fifteen years old back in the early 80s, I played drums in a goofy rock band called White Raven. We sucked (and I stood out as the suckiest of the bunch) and performed mostly tired covers of familiar rock FM radio tunes (“Living after Midnight” / Judas Priest, “Rock and Roll” / … Continue reading
Record Review: Bloc Party – Four
Bloc Party Four Shortly before Bloc Party released Intimacy I read an article where Kele Okereke stated that during his music-infatuated school days after the release of an anticipated rock album he and his mates would lounge around campus discussing its merits (or weaknesses). I love the image he painted because it reminds me of … Continue reading
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