The Tris McCall Report

Calendar, April 9 - April 14

Wednesday, April 9

Palomar @ Southpaw, 8:30 PM (with the Washdowns & Sahara Hotnights)

Back from a national tour that included a triumphant turn at SXSW, the formidable four-piece continue their stealth takeover of NYC indie rock with an opening slot at Park Slope's mid-sized Southpaw. Their set has evolved quite a bit since the release of Palomar II -- the high tide of spastic and frazzled pop-punk has receded, and the latest material is heavy with brilliant-stately mid-tempo numbers that recall the best of the Association as much as Heavenly or Whistler. All the press about their "cuteness" is funny, but it doesn't begin to account for their popularity -- Palomar continues to write songs at the highest level of accomplishment, and it's exciting to be in the presence of that kind of mastery. I don't know anything about the Washdowns, and Sahara Hotnights are the latest in a string of overrated international touring acts from Scandinavia, beginning with ABBA and running through Bjork and The Cardigans to stuff like The Hives. They aren't the attraction on this bill.

Sasha Alcott & The Possibilities & Mishka (w/the Vitamen) @ Luxx, 8 PM (with the Gnomes)

When Sasha Alcott left Palomar, she did so to make music that was grittier, coarser, more explosive, more straightforward, less beholden to complicated narrative strategies. A year later, The Possibilities have largely achieved that vision, performing her songs with a pub-rock ferocity that frequently borders on the psychotic. Bassist Mike Dos Santos doubles as a member of the Realistics, which means he's out of town more often than he's in -- catch this act before he departs again for points unknown. Now, Mishka Shubaly isn't likely to stray too far from Luxx as long as he's the booking agent there, but his shows have become few and far between. That may change once his incendiary To Hell With You catches on with trad-rock audiences, but then again, it may not. At his first show backed by the Vitamen, Mishka reimagined himself (again) as Neil Young, with guitarist Jesse Blockton supplying most of the Crazy Horse vibe himself. Vitamen fans who don't think of Blockton as a soloist ought to show up just to hear him tear into "Drooping The Boom" -- turns out the inveterate ironist can throw down with the best of them. I, for one, was not surprised. I've never heard the Gnomes, but J Braun tells me Parker Kindred plays drums for them, and any band with Parker in it is a band to watch. This show will start at eight o' clock sharp; Mishka "Shipwreck" Shubaly is now "Tight Ship" Shubaly, and he brooks no tardiness -- certainly not on nights when he's on the bill personally.

 

Thursday, April 10

Benjamin Cartel & The Kowalskis @ Siberia Bar, 9 PM

Most acts that play Siberia don't contribute much more than heavy amplification and seediness to the club's weird decor, but Benjamin Cartel -- with their urban imagery and rueful, roots-rock heartbreakers -- ought to feel right at home in a bar located within a subway station. The Kowalskis are an immensely enjoyable, rolling pop-punk fiesta, with songs that sound like they they could slot in effortlessly on the first Echobelly album. The two dissimilar groups will probably encourage each other to turn up and make a racket, which, in a setting like Siberia, will be both welcome and gratifying. I can't find a website for the club, so I can't verify the start time or who else is on the bill. It shouldn't matter -- there's enough in those two acts to keep you jumping on a cold, rainy Thursday night.

 

Friday, April 11

Instant Death, The Brokedowns, The Anderson Council, & Skyline Rodeo @ Maxwell's, 9 PM

Yes, Instant Death do joke rock, and yes, they're tangentially affiliated with Ween. They're also a legitimate scream, and their often brilliant songs hold up to repeated listens and close examination. But the big story here is the return to the main stage of The Brokedowns -- Cropduster after getting an armor-plating treatment and exchanging the country-punk for brawny, big-shouldered rock stompers. The new material manages to preserve most of what was great about Cropduster (the elliptical lyrics, the spot-on song construction, the force of musicianship, the off-the-wall absurdist humor) while substituting awe-inspiring, thunderous choruses for the call-and-response familiarity of the jettisoned Drunk Uncle classics. The exception -- and an early highlight -- is the nine minute "Don't You Want To Know Why", another example of Marc Maurizi's master balladry, and a hallucinatory fable worthy of its Dylanesque aspirations. The Anderson Council know a thing or two about generating a late-sixties vibe, playing originals that sound like they've been waiting at a Carnaby Street bus stop since 1966. But what distinguishes the New Brunswick combo from their retro-rocking peers is their ferocious tightness, the respectful detail with which they discharge their tributes, and Peter Horvath's acid-twinkle delivery. Their upcoming full-length should be outstanding. Skyline Rodeo is an anticipated new project from Dewey Defeated alums. I'm showing up early and catching everything; you should, too.

Brian Dewan @ Luxx, 9:30 PM

I'd take that start-time seriously -- Armen Ra is supposed to be on at nine, and the Flaming Fire CD release party begins an hour later. But twenty minutes of Dewan is still more potentially earth-shattering and life-changing than a full bill of any other musician in town, and if you don't have a copy of 2001's best album The Operating Theater, this'll be your chance to get a copy from the source. Me, I walked into a Dewan show at a Jersey City diner in the summer of 1997 and came out with all my assumptions about music and performance turned inside-out. Dewan, a sit-down zitherist with the most theologically sophisticated songbook this side of Prince Be's, is as likely to perform hymns or school songs from 1923 as he is to do his "greatest hits", so be prepared to have your expectations upended. In the best way imaginable, of course.

 

Saturday, April 12

The Giraffes @ Luna Lounge, 10:30 PM

With the New York DOJ temporarily through with harassing guitar titan Damien Paris, the Giraffes can return to doing what they do best -- blasting the indie rock edifice to pieces with a sonic attack best compared to interplanetary phenomena like spaceship battles or meteor showers. Word has it that the upcoming Giraffes EP (quickly to be followed by the long-playing Black Night White Castle, about which I am already frightened half to death) is a surf-rock piece, which isn't surprising, since Paris has proven he can do just about anything he wants with a twelve-string in his hands. Luna is best known as a light indiepop stage, but it's got the balls to handle the Giraffes if you do. Expect the velvet curtain behind the drum kit to be shredded to ribbons after a song or two.

 

Just for the hell of it, check out last week's calendar.

 

I'm a man, I'm a million dollar man, I'm a player with a plan.