The Tris McCall Report

Calendar, April 30 - May 3

Wednesday, April 30

Grand Mal @ Luxx, 9 PM (with Hopewell and The Silent League)

After an Easter week of cotton candy and bubblegum rock, we're diving back into the rough stuff with Grand Mal, a gang of traditionalist-revivalists with chips on their shoulders, an enjoyably snotty attitude, and a sleazy sense of humor. There's too much distorto guitar here for me to be entirely comfortable with what they do, but I never say no to stories of scumbags, whiskey, and unrealistic aspirations. (Besides, the rhythm section is so swingin' that I forgive them any treble instrument excess, and sometimes, you've just got to plug in and rock.) Aiming for Exile On Main Street territory, Grand Mal evokes Britrock roughnecks like Primal Scream and the Charlatans both in sound and stance, but the narratives are pure Brooklyn. An obvious Luxx act, they'll look and sound great on that stage.

Miracle Of '86 @ Northsix, 9 PM (with Recouper and Armor For Sleep)

The Miracles, on the other hand, require a larger room -- one big enough to accomodate both their growing teenybopper fanbase and Kevin Devine's immense exuberance and running starts. I fear for the hyperkinetic Devine at Northsix, too, but I'd wager there'll be enough kids in the audience willing to catch him should he pitch himself over the lip of the stage during one of his tempestuous, near-athletic performances. But a Miracle Of '86 show means rewarded risk and an emotional tightrope walk, one nothing if not physically galvanizing, and what's a sprained ankle or two among artists giving everything they have to the cause? And while Devine is extremely generous, he's also got the capacity to be subtle; with luck, the group will splice in a few of the more ruminative songs amongst the rave-ups. My current fave? The straight-off-I'm The Man mid-tempo "I Think You Meant To Say No". But the inspirational verse I'm moved to quote comes courtesy of the howler "Dance Dance Revolution": "you make me want to forget what other people look like", sings Devine, "at least for tonight." Yes, yes, they do that.

 

Thursday, May 1

The Realistics @ The Mercury Lounge, 7:30 PM (with Mockingbird, The Hong Kong, and Moonraker)

They're in Scandinavia, they're in Hong Kong; one day rocking Los Angeles, the next back home on the Lower East Side. The much-travelled Realistics kick off an evening of excellent shows clustered within a one-block radius of the Melody Lanes Recording Complex on Stanton and Ludlow Streets with a very early gig at a club that's become awfully familiar to the S.I. four-piece. I'm not sure how much tighter and ferocious these guys' brand of seventies-inspired pub rock can get, but after all the relentless touring, they're sure to be a perfectly calibrated unit on Thursday night. Plus, I'm sure they'll be glad to be home, much as they've become accustomed to hotel rooms and per diems. One of the great ironies of local popular success is that, more often than not, it pushes you out of the neighborhood and onto an endless road. There's not much chance anybody around here has forgotten about the Realistics and their explosive and entertaining stage show, though, so if you want tickets, better act fast. Then, after you've whistled, hooted, sung yourself hoarse and you're grinning from ear to ear, walk half a block west and half a block south for something completely different...

The Vitamen @ Luna Lounge, 9:30 (with Company and The Problem)

A can't-miss record release event for the funniest, most trenchant, and most painfully honest chroniclers of the urban male experience working in NYC indie rock. Frighteningly, the new album is titled Mujer (I tremble), but I can't imagine the trio has blasted off into territory too different than that which they explored on the wildly successful Fun. And if you're expecting The Vitamen to have toned down their outrageousness, you clearly haven't heard "Black Babies", which I won't deign to describe to you tonight. You're just going to have to show up and find out for yourself. The group's evident classic rock aspirations never undermine their willingness to lob lyrical grenades at the audience, and I doubt Jesse Blockton would have the capacity to rein himself in even if he tried. He'll be up there with that slightly embarrassed look on his face, a big smile, eyes half closed, supported by inventive harmonies from Dave Rozner and Matt Hyams, singing some of the most outrageously neurotic (and frequently moving) things you've ever heard from a pop band. Cross your fingers and hope they do the anthemic "Fun".

Girl Harbor @ Pianos, midnght

The open secret of both the Mercury Lounge and Luna is that the shows are listed as beginning a half-hour before they actually start. The Realistics won't be on until eight, and The Vitamen ought to be wrapping up their hourlong set at eleven. That gives you about an hour to grab a grilled cheese sandwich across the street, cross Stanton, and hurry into Pianos in time for the nightcap. Girl Harbor, veteran sideline reporters from the Battle of Rock And Roll, ought to prove the perfect commentators at the culmination of a long night out, spinning out tales of drunken rock mayhem with characteristic audaciousness and a wry wink at the audience. Too intellectual to be fully debauched, the boys of Girl Harbor stand with a loaded pistol just aching to pull the trigger, but feel too silly to go through with it. It's that self-consciousness and detachment that creates the drama. The big riffs and pop sensibilities provide the rest.

 

Friday, May 2

Bastards Of Melody @ Uncle Joe's, 10 PM (with The Charms and Joss)

It's easy to space on the Bastards and temporarily forget they're there; they'll spend short periods completely under the radar. But invariably they come roaring back, and this time, they've brought a new record with them. Break Up epitomizes the virtues of Jersey rock, and if you're a Jersey rocker yourself, you ignore it at your own peril. All the songs are instantly recognizable, winning, proudly traditional and chum-on-the-corner likeable, and if you've followed the group for the past few years, you'll be thrilled at the sonic fidelity, attention to detail, and compositional consistency. Singer and rock and roll lifer Paul Crane delivers the songs with two-fisted integrity and a rough charm, and performs with great command and capability. I'm pleased to hear an emotionally affecting read on longtime fan favorite "Erin's 25th", and good-humored versions of "Cheat" and "Fuck Wakin' Up". This is urban music, discharged with rust-belt sincerity and working class integrity. Boston's Charms are quite a bit more stylized, but I wouldn't hold that against them -- they've coped with the challenges of Uncle Joe's before and emerged more or less unscathed, and it's a pleasure to watch organist Kat Kina operate.

The Beauty Supply @ Luxx, 9 PM (with Grafton and The Libertines).

Another Friday night at Luxx, another chance to be roughed to a pulp by brass-knuckled revivalists. The Libertines are a British attempt to cultivate their own "Brooklyn" band under scrupulously circumscribed lab conditions. You might remember their 2002 single "What A Waster" -- it shared some of the jump of the Strokes and also some of their monotony. But hell, you know what they say about imitation, so the Beauty Supply -- the genuine article and referent -- ought to be flattered. Former Candy Darlings lightning-catcher Josh Taggart fronts the crew, playing alternately muscular and transparent Williamsburg riff rock over sturdy grooves provided by the rhythm section from The Hissyfits. Others scream for the balls-out rockers, the guys in the bands dig the guitar showcases; me, my favorite is the pop-infused "A Thousand Sounds". They'll do them all.

 

Saturday, May 3

Chris Pierson @ The Court Tavern, 10 PM (with Skyline Rodeo, Sux, and SSRI)

A homecoming of sorts for one of Hub City's most amiable performers. If there seems to be a curious coldness at the heart of so many of the projects that have emerged from the Court Tavern over the past five years or so, Pierson's tenures in Velour 44 and the Angry Monsters marked him as a different kind of New Brunswick artist: invariably friendly, identifiable, and sympathetic even in the midst of rock and roll fury. He's listed on the bill as a solo artist, and I don't know if that means you should expect a band or if he's going to go the acoustic route. I halfway hope it's the latter, because it'll give everybody a chance to fully engage with Pearson's personable lyricism and deft melodic sensibility. The requisite Hub City sturm-und-drang can always be added later. Skyline Rodeo have already distinguished themselves as the latest heir to New Brunswick's difficult, angular post-punk legacy, and isn't it fun watching Morgan Chen sing? Sux are veteran punks who most definitely sound like a veteran punk band; SSRI gig around all the time and are a well-respected Jersey name, but I don't know anything about them. So much for my local authority, huh? -- guess I know where my head's been at.

Just for the goon of it, check out last week's (more amusing) previews:

 

It's all right, it's OK, cause we really never talk, oh, we never talk about it