Doppelgänger Unleash A Torrant Of Raw Power

Doppelgänger: January 6 @ Mercury Lounge, New York, NY

New York rock duo Doppelgänger were the third act to take the stage at Mercury Lounge last night. While there were two other bands playing after them, I chose to end my night after their set. And, I couldn't ask for a better closer.

First things first, why am I just now hearing these guys?! Holy cannoli Batman! My mind was on the verge of being completely blown. Doppelgänger, for lack of a better description, tore it up!

How would I describe the band? Doppelgänger are minimal in instruments, guitar and drums, yet colossal in sound. They're full of raw primal goodness that demands you move your body. Going by the incredible amount of blurry photos I took of them, move my body did!

New York, they'll be in Brooklyn on Monday, February 22 at Cameo Gallery. You need to hear Doppelgänger live. When you do, don't be surprised when you find yourself in lust with them.

www.myspace.com/Doppelgangerisyourfriend

Still Life Still Take Root At Mercury Lounge

Still Life Still: January 6 @ Mercury Lounge, New York, NY

The second band to take the stage over at Mercury Lounge last night was Canadian rock band Still Life Still. Since I went to the club without having a clue as to who any of the bands were, I was curious to hear what they'd be about. In the event you missed my previous post about the band that played before them, I dropped by just to hear some live music, not to hear anyone specific.

So, how would I describe Still Life Still? Hm, well, I'd say they're dance rock with some well crafted catchy pop melodies laced in. They're a cohesive unit that seem to have perfected the loose, jammy, laid back, so what vibe without looking bored or being boring or seeming arrogant.

They have a record out, Girls Come Too which I neglected to pick up at the show. What's that? Sounds like an excuse to go see them again! And check it out New York; Mercury Lounge has your back on this one. They've got Still Life Still booked for a residency this month so you still have 3 more opportunities to see them or see them again! They're a fun band. Go find out for yourselves and show 'em some love, Wednesday, January 13; Wednesday, January 20 and Friday, January 29.

stilllifestill.com
www.myspace.com/stilllifestill

Zlam Dunk Score Big In NYC

Zlam Dunk: January 6 @ Mercury Lounge, New York, NY

I decided to swing 'round to the LES' Mercury Lounge to take in my first show of the new year. What better way to ward off the cold than by rockin' out? I went in blind. What's that you ask? Quirky to English translation ... I went to check out bands I was completely unfamiliar with. That's the great thing about clubs, you can randomly drop in and hear music. Sometimes it's good, sometimes not so much.

Well, I was lucky last night. There were five bands on the bill and I checked out three of them. I was tickled pink that I enjoyed all three. The first band to take the stage was Zlam Dunk. They're from Texas. Some of them wore shorts ... it was 30F though it felt considerably colder. But, they were talented so, I'll forgive their fashion choices.

Anyway, I arrived early because I arrive everywhere one year earlier than all start times. I was loitering and being nerdy by the merchandise area, I mean causally hanging out looking cool, yeah let's go with that. That's where I met Zlam Dunk drummer Daniel Vega and keyboardist Ross Bennett. I also added their 5-song EP, We Are All Dead, to my ever growing music collection while I was socializing.

I was curious to hear what the band sounded like. I'd asked Vega if they were good and he said he thought they were. Yeah, I know, silly question to ask. It's not like he was going to say they sucked!

The band took to the stage to play their first NYC show and put on a fun set that was dripping with energy. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Zlam Dunk as I was, they play punk with moments of 80's dance rock mixed in. It was a good set and I can honestly say I enjoyed it.

If you missed Zlam Dunk last night, you still have a chance to catch them New Yorkers. They're going to be at Pianos on Monday, January 11. Drop by and show the Texas boys some NY love.

www.myspace.com/zlamband

Nada Surf To Tour & Release Covers Record

Nada Surf have announced that they're releasing their first album of covers. The 12-song if i had a hi-fi features a intriguing mix of songs from the likes of Kate Bush, Moody Blues, Depeche Mode, Go-Betweens, The Soft Pack and more.

The record will initially be available exclusively at shows in physical form. But, fear not friends, Nada Surf are embarking on a tour beginning March 25 so you'll be able to head out to a show, rock out and grab a copy. The tour kicks off with three shows in New York ... hey now. These three shows will be album shows where they will perform their three most recent records in their entirety along with songs from if i had a hi-fi, some fan favorites and b-sides.

The NYC album shows deets ... March 25 at Bowery Ballroom featuring the album Let Go; March 26 at Bell House featuring the album The Weight is a Gift and March 27 at Music Hall of Williamsburg featuring the album Lucky. That sounds like a little slice of Nada Surf fan heaven. Check out their website for tour dates in other parts.

www.nadasurf.com
www.myspace.com/nadasurf

Ash Releases Video For "Space Shot"

January 18 will mark the release of the next single from Ash. The song, Single: H in their A-Z series is titled "Space Shot." You can check out the video below. It was directed by Daniel Garcia and has a Star Wars vibe going on. "Space Shot" has officially become my favorite of the singles so far.

www.ash-official.com

On Sale Dates For The Week of January 3

Tickets go on sale this week for upcoming shows in the New York Area.

On Sale Wednesday, January 6

February 11 -- Citizen Cope at Music Hall of Williamsburg
www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com

On Sale Friday, January 8

January 18 -- Dinosaur Jr. at Brooklyn Bowl
www.brooklynbowl.com
January 26, February 2 & 9 -- The London Souls at Mercury Lounge
www.mercuryloungenyc.com
February 21 -- Dum Dum Girls at Mercury Lounge
www.mercuryloungenyc.com
March 25 -- Nada Surf at Bowery Ballroom
www.boweryballroom.com
March 27 -- Nada Surf at Music Hall of Williamsburg
www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com
April 1 -- Japandroids (pictured) at Bowery Ballroom
www.boweryballroom.com

Happy 2010!

I would like to wish everyone a happy, safe and prosperous 2010. We're kicking off a new decade! Where the heck did time fly off to? Here's to another year of great music and quirky musings!

Cheers,

QNYC

Year End Review: Langhorne Slim - Be Set Free

Back around late September/early October, Langhorne Slim released his third album, Be Set Free. Slim was one of the few artists whose performance I missed entirely at this years Folk Festival 50 in Newport. I was a bit disappointed as I'd heard he puts on a good show. Ah, perhaps another time.

When I first put Be Set Free on, my initial reaction to the record was "eh." It just didn't do anything for me really. I didn't think it was a bad record. It just didn't grab me. But, I put it on again a week or so later and thought to myself, "hm, this really isn't as "eh" as I remember it being. Maybe I should give this a closer listen." After that revelation and another week or so, I gave the record that closer listen.

Guess what folks? I like Be Set Free! It's records like this that support my "listen to it again even if it didn't do anything for you" theory. Yes, I have a theory. It being, just because something doesn't grab you on initial listen, doesn't mean you won't appreciate it later on down the line. This has happened on several occasions in my life. The theory also has something to do with loving a record and then down the line not being able to tolerate it. But, that's a discussion for another time!

Back to Langhorne and his record. The record kicks off with "Back to the Wild" which is one of the five songs on this 13 track effort that I find myself diggin' the most. The other songs that usually end up having me hit the repeat button on my nifty little media player of choice are, "I Love You, But Goodbye," "Cinderella" which ironically was my least favorite song on the album when I first heard it, the title track, "Be Set Free" and the one that I like the most, "For A Little While." Of course, the whole record is well worth listening too. Give Be Set Free a listen if you haven't already especially, if you're a fan of the modern day semi-alternative folk troubadours. It's an excellent piece of work; one of which I'm glad I gave another chance.

Track Listing

• Back to the Wild
• Say Yes
• I Love You, But Goodbye
• Land Of Dreams
• Cinderella
• Be Set Free
• For A Little While
• Sunday By the Sea
• Leaving My Love
• Yer Wrong
• Blow Your Mind
• So Glad That I'm Coming Home
• Boots Boy

www.langhorneslim.com
www.myspace.com/langhorneslim
www.facebook.com/langhorneslim
twitter.com/langhorneslim

Year End Review: George Harrison - Let It Roll

2009 was a great year from fans of The Beatles. Their entire catalog was digitally re-mastered, they are now a Rock Band video game, former Beatle Paul McCartney released a big ol' honkin' live set and a compilation disc from fellow former bandmate, George Harrison was released. Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison was released back in June, the 16th to be exact. This is the first collection that covers Harrison's entire solo career.

I have a love/hate relationship with best of's, greatest hits, retrospectives, collections or whatever you want to call them. They're great when you're being introduced to an artist or you don't feel like pulling out your whole collection. But, inevitably, there's always something I feel should have been included or left off but, wasn't. Everyone feels that way about these types of productions. There are some glaring omissions on this Harrison compilation but, those omissions have made appearances on some of his other compilations. It still would have been nice to see "Crackerbox Palace," "I Dig Love" and "Cloud Nine" on the collection as well as some of his work with The Traveling Wilburys. But, in all fairness, The Traveling Wilburys records weren't solo efforts. I know, someone will point out that songs he recorded with The Beatles are on here but they're not those versions. The versions that appear on this album come from Harrison's Concert For Bangladesh record thus, a part of his solo career.

What we get with Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison is a very nice look into Harrison's solo career. So many people tend to focus on the Lennon/McCartney songwriting machine that Harrison's songwriting is often overlooked and not as lauded as the solo efforts of Lennon and McCartney. The quiet one wrote his own fair share of classic songs and from beginning to end, you're reminded of that with this record.

How do you review a compilation? Heck, I don't know! Well, lets see, it has a good selection of songs. It covers most of the bases with the casual fan, fan friendly, well known songs. It has some not as well known songs to make the more serious fans happy. I haven't given it a spin on a big fancy stereo system but it sounds great on my media player of choice. There's nothing new or radical here, just 19 songs of good ol' George. If you haven't updated your Harrison collection from vinyl or cassette or for some odd reason need to be introduced to the solo music of George Harrison, this is a good overall place to start.

Track Listing

• Got My Mind Set On You
• Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)
• Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)
• My Sweet Lord
• While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Live At Madison Square Garden)
• All Things Must Pass
• Any Road
• This Is Love
• All Those Years Ago
• Marwa Blues
• What Is Life
• Rising Sun
• When We Was Fab
• Something (Live At Madison Square Garden)
• Blow Away
• Cheer Down
• Here Comes The Sun (Live At Madison Square Garden )
• I Don't Want To Do It
• Isn't It A Pity

www.georgeharrison.com

Arc Angels Release Long Awaited Live Album

Texas blues rock band Arc Angels have released their long awaited live album Living In A Dream. It's a work that has been what, 5 years in the making?! The live portion of the CD/DVD combo was recorded primarily at Stubb's in Austin and is document of that which is, Arc Angels live.

Earlier this year, Doyle Bramhall II (lead guitar/lead vocals), Charlie Sexton (lead guitar/lead vocals) and Chris Layton (drums) reunited and hit the road minus original member Tommy Shannon (bass) whose work is documented on this effort. If you've seen any of these guys be it together or working with other artists or even solo, you know these cats are first rate musicians. They individually and collectively have a strong and loyal base of fans who have been eager to get their hands on this package. I myself was excited.

I got Living In A Dream in my quirky little hands and tossed it in my player. I sat back and I listened. The first time I listened to it I couldn't quite figure out why I couldn't fully wrap my head around the record. This puzzled me greatly. After all, these are high caliber musicians and the music and vocals are all very solid. Why wasn't it giving me some sort of guitar based musical orgasm?! So, I listened a second and third time. That's when it hit me. It was missing some fire. Ooh, did I just hear a round of boo hiss boo from my fellow Arc Angels fans?

Well, before I get hunted down and strung up by a bunch of pitchfork toting fellow fans I should point out something. I'm not so sure it's the recording so much as it's the fact that my memory of seeing them back in May is still reasonably fresh in my mind. When you've stood in front of Bramhall and his guitar listening to him blow your friggin' mind, anything less than standing right there in front him (and the rest of the Angels) just doesn't measure up. It wasn't until eight songs in when they got to "Crave and Wonder" that things kick in and made me say to myself, "yeah, these are the guys that blew my mind at Irving Plaza."

The package, in addition to containing both the audio and video of the concert at Stubb's, comes with a documentary and a bonus disc that includes three studio tracks, one each by Sexton and Bramhall ("Crave and Wonder" & "What I'm Looking For" respectively) as well as a cover of Paul McCartney's "Too Many People." Overall, this is a good record, one that fans I'm sure already have in their possession. No, I don't think it fully captures their fire. Would I recommend Living In A Dream? Yes. I'd recommend it for the casual fan and I'd recommend it to people who like good old fashioned blues based rock played by top notch musicians.

Track Listing

• Paradise Cafe
• Carry Me On
• The Famous Jane
• Good Time
• She's Alright
• Always Believed In You
• Sent By Angels
• Crave and Wonder
• Nadine
• See What Tomorrow Brings
• Shape I'm In
• Living In A Dream
• Too Many Ways To Fall

Bonus Disc Track Listing

• Crave and Wonder
• What I'm Looking For
• Too Many People
• Spanish Moon (Live At Antone's)

arcangelsmusic.com/index_2.html
www.myspace.com/arcangelsmusic