REV 25/INTO ANOTHER NYC

Why do I continue to allow myself to do these things?  They always go the same way.  But I guess it's how I get my adventure on.  And going through with it on my own keeps the pressure off, because if I were to bring anyone else they would just suffer, and curse me for my ridiculous lack of formal planning.  But regardless of the insanity of my plans it always makes for a good story later on.

I hopped a bus to NYC on Friday morning.  I sat next to this young lady who was a recent college graduate and clearly having trouble in the employment field of her choice (art history is never an easy market to land a career gig in).  She was clearly struggling with a cold of some kind, yet couldn't wait for the bus to make a pit stop so she could smoke.  I'm not so sure a cigarette is a good remedy for bronchitis though.  She was a nice enough person, and the conversation made the time go by quick... until we got caught in Friday afternoon traffic for a good half an hour while an accident was cleared out of the Holland Tunnel.  Once we made it into the tunnel it was so smoggy that I had visions of everyone dying from the fumes if we had been stuck in the tunnel during this accident.

Once in the city I immediately headed down to Union Square and found Irving Plaza after taking a few wrong turns (I don't have a GPS or smart phone, and I did not bring a map.  Where would the adventure be in that?).  Since I had nothing going on the rest of the evening I decided to plop down the $40 for the Rev show that night.  It really was too much money, but I hadn't seen Sick Of It All in nearly 10 years.  Everytime they have played remotely close to me in that time something has always come up and I really had no excuse to miss them this time, aside from the cost of the ticket.

Met up with an old friend for dinner before the show.  In all my years of going to NYC I've never eaten at Angelicas Kitchen and it's one of the old school vegetarian spots in town.  Well, it was bland.  And too expensive for blandness.  I guess staying away from there all these years was a good idea.

Made my way over to the Rev show. Popeye from Farside was doing solo acoustic covers of Farside songs.  I guess that's the closest I'll get these days to hearing anything off of "Rigged".  What I saw was OK I guess.  I really enjoyed that band when they were a band.  In retrospect they played super commercial rock songs, but at the time it came out it just sounded like good skate rock to me.  And when you're 16 that sort of thing sticks with you.
Damnation AD played next.  I've seen them here and there over the years as they play out a sort of never-ending reunion thing, playing a couple shows a year, and always doing the same 5 songs.  Regardless, they're 5 really fucking good songs, so I'm OK with it.  And they certainly did help sway me into justifying the ticket price, except that they only played two songs.  That's it.  Someone was late and their set was cut short.  Really?  That's it?  As much as I love Damnation ("No More Dreams" is definitely in my top 10 records of all time) they are a band of diminishing returns each time I see them.
Mouthpiece were next.  For older dudes they still have a lot of energy, but they're just kind of dull to me.  At least they can still claim to be a straight edge band.

Which leads me to Chain Of Strength, who played after that.  I never really got into this band.  In fact, most of the late 80s/early 90s SoCal hardcore kind of went under my radar- NFAA, 411, Headfirst, Chain, etc- I missed the boat on all of them.  So I have to say that they were really energetic for a bunch of dudes who made a band based around straight edge, even though probably none of them are anymore (cough- Strife- cough)...  but boy could they swing some merch.  Numerous shirts and hoodies and stupid 'chain X crew' watches for $35 a pop.  Really?  I don't get that youth crew reunion merch whoring bullshit.  It's just a t-shirt factory with some music to go along with it.  Nonsense.  Now I'll be the first to admit that I get psyched on a lot of reunions, seeing as a lot of bands I enjoyed when I was younger are doing some shows here and there again.  But I appreciate the reunions more when the bands do it because they have fun and like the music (or do it for a good cause), not when they're just seeing how many hoodie designs they can come up with.  The Chain Of Strength thing just seemed like a sham.

Aside from all that, Sick Of It All came out and proceeded to show everyone (except the idiots who decided to leave early) why they are still, 25 years later, the best hardcore band on the planet.  No one does it better.  Seriously, when I'm in my late 40s I'll be psyched if I have half the energy the Koller brothers bring each time they play.  It's unbelievable how good they still are.  plus, this set (with the exception of "Built To Last", "Step Down", "Us Vs. Them", and "Scratch the Surface") was all pre- '92 stuff.  Basically, just about everything from the 7", "Blood, Sweat, and No Tears", and some "Just Look Around" material.  Hearing songs like "We Stand Alone", "Injustice System", and "World Full Of Hate" live after so many years of not seeing them in all their intensity was nothing short of exhilarating.  Nothing like multiple stage dives and sing-alongs with one of the best bands around to make for a great night.  The $40 was indeed a bit much, and if they had pulled out "What's Going On" and "No Cure" it would have been completely justified.  as it stands though, it was still pretty fucking great.
I left feeling both exhausted and energized and sauntered back to Brooklyn where I stayed with a couple friends.

In the AM I wandered off with my friends to a coffee place and got some tea.  It was pricey, but good.  They went to work in Manhatten, I stuck around Brooklyn for the rest of the day.  Made my way over to Dunwell Donuts and grabbed myself a blueberry and a maple frosted sugary-as-fuck breakfast perfection.
It was brisk, but sunny day, and to me that makes for good walking around the city.  Checked out Desert Island Comics.  Indie comics are still my favorites these days, but there seems to be too much emphasis in this arena in making them look as if a six year old with violent tendencies drew them.  I don't get this trend.  I did, though, find an issue of Mome with an Al Columbia section I hadn't yet seen and paid $4 for it.  Score.  Plenty of wandering followed, through McCarren Park, McGolrick Park, up and down Bedford Ave., checking out Earwax and Academy Records.  I think the only thing that kept me from dropping $50 or $60 at Academy was knowing that I'd have to carry all that stuff around with me the rest of the night and my legs were already sore from walking, and my backpack aching on my shoulders.  Next time though...
That night an extraordinarily long walk up to St. Vitus followed and I finally got there around 10 PM.  Why does this show not start until 11PM?  Fuck.  I decided to go to the smaller Into Another show instead of the Rev show tomorrow night because I work on Sundays and I couldn't afford dropping another $40 for another show.  But $20 for Into Another at a small venue?  That I'm OK with.  Soon I saw the band start setting up, which was a good sign, and at 11 they let people into the room where the show was.  I couldn't help but notice that everything except the cymbals and snare had been set up.  Who doesn't finish that last bit before playing?  Why keep us waiting?  Oh yeah, I forgot...  Drew is also in Bold and they were playing the Rev show in Manhattan tonight.  Jeez, yet another reason why Bold sucks.  11:30 and the drummer shows up.  Good, we can start!  He sets up, and then...  nothing.  They finally started at 12:30.  What the fuck?  Apparently, they were waiting for guest list people from the Rev show to get there.  These same douches get to see them tomorrow night too, why wait for them?!  People were anxious/pissed.  I definitely feel like I would have been ore into the set if I didn't have to wait so long for it to start.  But, they opened with "Drowning", "Mutate Me", "Running Into Walls", and "Poison Fingers" and that's a pretty good way to start.  They sounded perfect.  Everyone was raging.  It was hot and gross.  But it was great.  A little heavy on "Seemless" stuff for my taste, and I would have been more stoked to hear more "Ignaurus" material, but they did offer up "The Other" and "I'll Be Damned" from the "Creepy Eepy".  So it evened out.
A lot of people don't get Into Another and I totally understand it.  They came around at a time when hardcore sounded chuggy, metallic, and violent.  They played music that was progressive, weird, a bit psychedelic, and with vocals out of a fantasy metal band..  yet still heavy.  It was such a strange thing to see in the time they came around and that was the appeal. It's definitely a time and place thing for sure.  There's no denying how musically talented they are, or that they could get really heavy when they wanted to.  And now that I'm far more musically cultured their sound, to me, is like a slow version of "Quickness"-era Bad Brains.  You can tell Richie Birkenhead looks to HR for vocal inspiration, as opposed to Dio.  It's an easy mistake.  Despite all this their music sounds better than ever to me and they still play it incredibly well.

Well after 2AM  and a couple transfers on the subway to Port Authority, and I was still wide awake.  3AM and resting on a bench at a subway stop beneath the Port Authority, waiting for them to open at 5:30 AM.  Somehow it was not as much of a pain in the ass as I imagined.  7AM and I'm on the bus home.  Escape from NYC.  Barely any sleep and I got back an hour late for work so I just went straight there.  These are the stupid plans I make for myself.  But it makes for a good story.

* PS- I took none of these photos or video.  Just putting that out there.

ROCTOBER REVIEWS

Finally getting around to posting up some new review stuff.  Why?  I don't know.  But I do know that I have even more reviews to follow soon, including some show reviews.  So there.  It's not like I've been sitting around doing nothing though.  Recorded vocals for a new project band, put on a few shows, did a bit of traveling, the usual...  so that all being said, here's a handful of things that were floating my boner in the last month or two.

“BAREFOOT AND IN THE KITCHEN”, by Ashley Rowe

At this point I’ve seen a whole lot of DIY cook zines (usually turned into books), so it’s not so unique to have another one arrive at my doorstep.  But I’ll take what I can get and see what comes out the other end.  “Barefoot…” doesn’t really differentiate itself from others I’ve seen, and follows a similar course:  goofy little sketches with a punk bent accompany numerous vegan recipes.  There’s no real theme, as the recipes tend to jump around over various breakfasts, lunches, dinners, various nationalities, desserts…  I guess a little bit of everything and never too bland.  So yeah, most everything in here is worth a try.  Though I must admit that I have, over the years, given many of similar recipes a shot in the kitchen so this is not too new to me.  Yet I did learn to make a killer hollandaise sauce for tofu Benedict!  (Microcosm)

FIGGS, THE, “The Day Gravity Stopped” 2xLP

On one hand I applaud a band that has been making music together for around 25 years and is still inspired enough to come up with a double LP worth of material.  On the other hand, there’s a lot of this material that really just doesn’t need to exist. 

The last time I checked in with The Figgs they were doing an 80’s power pop thing that, at it’s best, fell somewhere in-between old Elvis Costello and the Attractions, the Kinks, The Jam, and a bit of Neil & Tim Finn Split Enz/Crowded House love.  And I was perfectly OK with all of that.  On this record you still find a number of songs that carry that style.  And then you get an entire side that sounds like 70’s Peter Frampton bad radio pop…  and a near disco song opening another side.  My parents might have been kicking it to stuff like this when I was conceived.  But in 2012 it’s a boner deflator.  Additionally, I don’t know if The Figgs aim was to give out boners.

All that being said, this would have worked as a short LP.  Kudos to not giving a rats’ ass over what’s expected and doing whatever the heck they feel like.  Bt the results are not favorable to this listener.  (PeterwalkeeRecords)

GAZA, “No Absolutes In Human Suffering”

Gaza is a frightening band.  They have a rabid attack that makes no sense.  Their brand of discordant metal and noise swirls in odd patterns, jumps around from part to part in ways that defy logic.  It’s like a good horror movie- it doesn’t necessarily explain the source of the terror.  It keeps some part of it that doesn’t add up, or make sense, and the mystery of it all is what is scary.  And Gaza can do that with their mind-bending (as well as riff bending) noise metal.  Obviously they have taken many cues from the likes of Coalesce over the years so that might be a start for their sound.  And while this is a damn fine record there’s not a whole lot to differentiate it from their previous two full lengths.  Consistent, yes.  Evolving, not necessarily.  Overall badass, most certainly.  (Black Market Activities)

“MARK TWAIN WAS RIGHT”, by Dan P. Moore

I’d like to think I’m fairly up on my current, and not so current events.  I like to check the news, read the paper, divulge into wild conspiracy theories, and so forth.  But I honestly had no idea that for a week back in 2001 Cincinnati was embroiled in some intense race riots over excessive (and repeated) abuse from the police there.  I mean, the city was nearly under martial law while thousands protested in the streets, busted into city hall, demanded justice, and basically got all socially aware on the powers that be.  This book documents it all in comic book form, and it’s a good read I gotta say.  History is always way more fun when it’s in comic book form.  It’s a fact.  As far as the actual art goes there’s some learning to be done, but it gets the job done.  The story tends to play out in more of an oral biography, taking the stories and experiences of a wide range of citizens involved in some way or another with what happened.  It’s a good way to tell the story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  (Microcosm)

SALVATION, “House Of the Beating Hell” 7”

Spooky punk that recalls something like Bauhaus butting skulls with Samhain and a dude screaming in a cave, as opposed to belting it out from the top of a mountain.  To me it sounds like The VSS minus synths, which is pretty cool.  But to most it’s too obscure a reference, so nix that.  A lot of bands on the Youth Attack vibe are into that whole echo-y shitty sound, which I don’t really get.  Thankfully Salvation is tasteful about it and use it to their advantage, and have the chops to back it up.  Four songs in a snazzy package that will give economically minded (read, cheapos) punks something to scoff at.  I admit, I was turned off by the price at first, but it’s a pretty good 7” so, ya know, I got over it.  (Youth Attack)

SICK FIX, “Vexed” LP

After a few years and one 7” it’s high time Baltimore/DC hardcore crew Sick Fix drop a proper LP…  even if it goes by fast enough to qualify as maybe an EP?  Nevertheless, their low-tuned raging hardcore/powerviolence hybrid sure makes for angry music.  And when they play fast it goes by at such a dizzying speed it’s hard to discern what’s actually happening, other than blind rage.  I actually prefer it when they play slow (like the record’s intro) or mid-tempo because they conjure up some great riffs at that speed.  In all, one ought to know what to expect- tune down, play fast, yell like you’re being thrown into scalding lava, get pissed, and repeat.  (A389 Records)

TITLE FIGHT, “Floral Green”

Some bands just go through changes and the fans can’t keep up.  It seems the people who liked Title Fight in the past have gone with them, which surprises me a great deal.  They started out as your typical bad pop-punk with breakdowns shit, the fans of which tend to gravitate towards lowest common denominator music that requires little thinking or engagement, and are turned off when a band decides to try something that requires a bit of thought.

But with each release Title Fight have made big strides towards something more involved and I dig it more with each release.  This is still pretty darn catchy music for the most part, and I feel part of my adoration of this particular release has more to do with the band fully embracing (and having an excellent grasp of) 90’s alternative rock.  There are so many moments of Superchunk’s loose rocking, Sonic Youth’s clever noise play, Nirvana’s ugly beauty, and some straight-up Hum rip-offs.  I fully appreciate it as they do it all so well.  The strongest tracks on here, in my opinion, are “Leaf”, “Sympathy”, “In-Between”, and “Secret Society” might be my favorite song of the year.  (SideOneDummy)

VINYL SALE THIS WEEKEND!

Why have a vinyl sale?  Why the heck not!
This weekend we're doing two for one on LPs!  Buy one LP, get a second one for free of your choosing.
At checkout just note within your order what the other LP is that you want.  Easy-peasy.
Here's the catch- US orders only please.  I can't afford to ship overseas at these prices buddy.
Now go get some stuff:

HEX STORE

E BAY STUFF!

We don't do this all that much, but we have some stuff up on E Bay.  There are a few Hex records test presses on there.  But also a handful of other LPs we no longer need around the house.  A few gems in there too, so take a look.

CHECK 'EM HERE!


Thanks!

IT'S BEEN AWHILE... REVIEWS FOR YOU!

I am now in a new house, all moved in, getting settled, arranging my records just right, already dealing with dumb college student neighbors who pee off their second floor porch and listen to crappy dance music...  yup.  It's already getting real.
Anyway, now that I am a bit settled I can get back to this reviewing stuff.  So here's some records that piqued my interest lately.

BRIDGE UNDER FIRE, "Why Wait?"

Upbeat dude rock as played by dudes with beards.  I can't really put it any other way, and it ought to be as apt description as one can get.  After all, having gone to Gainesville Fest several times now and hearing about 1000 bands that do a very similar sort of style it does tend to blend together.  It's nothing against these locals though because there is a soft spot for bands that do what they love just because they love it and don't really give two shits about what other bands they may sound like.  Nothing deep or philosophical (thought I would be intrigued to know the lyrical plot line for what the song "Jaws 8: Mr. Holland's Opus" was were it actually about that), and a bunch of silly song titles back up the gruff rock being set forth here.  Just some friends hanging out playing rock music with other dudes.  Nothing wrong with that.  (self-released)

BURNING LOVE, "Rotten Thing To Say"

One of the tops of the year, no doubt.  The second full length from the Toronto wrecking machine slays on a more realized level than their last outing, which seemed like they were still getting used to being a band (and also re-recording a lot of their 7" output).  On here, amps sonically get pounded until they spray blood from the speakers and riffs laying down a path for solos to ride the red wave of violence through your face.  Get fuckin' killed with these rippers.  I'm a bit more partial to the B-side overall as it leads off with the bitchinest riff barrage this side of a Motorhead record on "Hateful Comforts".  It is soon followed up with the one-minute -and-change blitzkrieg of "Tremors".  But it's a tough call when you have the very gruesome and detailed exploits of a serial killer on "Karla" from the A-side of this LP, as well as the wonderfully titled "Made Out Of Apes".  Tough call indeed.  I'm going to have to just say this entire thing rules front to back.  Just stop reading and get it now.  (Southern Lord)

BURNING LOVE/ FIGHT AMP split 7"

This split is in a series that a European label I'm unfamiliar with is doing featuring similar awesome artwork and a bevy of great bands like Thou, Kowloon Walled City, Great Falls, and more are a part of.  So whatever the theme may be is beyond me.  All I know is that these two bands on this record will sonically punch a hole through your skull.  Burning Love toss an alternate take of a song off their most recent full length (which would be a lot better if they gave up an exclusive song) and it's a total ripper.  Fast, aggressive, nods to stuff like Turbonegro's bitchin' rock attitude hanging with Tragedy's mean-ass demeanor.  Fight Amp deliver their own brand of noisy destruction, giving high fives to Tad's ballsy noise rock, and sharing a beer with Black Flag's negative attitude.  Exclusive songs or not, these two bands were meant to team up and that's a good enough reason to seek this out.  Good luck finding it in America though.  (Hell Comes Home)

DRUG CHURCH 7"

While a lot of people find Pat Kindlon's vocals in End Of a Year/Self-Defense Family to be either a clever use of dichotomy, or just downright irritating there's no question they fit well with his other band Drug Church.   He posed the question to me about this band, asking if I thought it was more 'fun' or 'art'.  I feel like it's a good mixture of both.  They are clearly not re-inventing the wheel.  In fact, they're stealing riffs left and right from Quicksand and Seaweed and melding the two together into an awesome post-hardcore/skate rock kind of mish-mash.  So that's definitely the 'fun' part, and hardcore dudes approaching (or already there) 30 who still enjoy this style will really love it.  Insofar as 'art' goes I have to say the following- not many bands who are younger and into this style necessarily get it as they were not there to experience it firsthand.  But I'm pretty sure most of these guys were and they do it really fucking awesome.  It's well-written, the lyrics are witty and funny, and the band does not waste your time.  They clearly give a shit about what they're doing, but having enough fun to know that this isn't the second coming.  So take that as you will.  If the cover art doesn't get you the music will.  Highly enjoyable.  (No Sleep)

LADDER DEVILS, "Nowhere Plans"

It pains me to say this, but this record is OK.  In an effort to be completely honest I gotta remove the friend goggles and call this for what it is.  And that would be a firm, "it's decent".  Half of this record was released digitally last year as an EP and those songs remain pretty good.  "Pyramids" has a heavy Young Widows vibe to it and I think is my favorite of the old set.  The A-side is three new songs, and one very effects-heavy experimental kind of song recorded a year later.  So there's a disparity among the entire recording, as well as the sound of a band that hasn't completely come into their own just yet (even though the members have been playing together for years in various incarnations).  The opening track kills and the rest is pretty good.  But for all the neat gear and cool effects pedals I feel that it is lacking something bringing it all together as a cohesive whole.  Maybe with a little time and a proper full length that isn't two EPs slapped together they will really come to fruition.  (Brutal Panda)

LUNGFISH, "ACR Sessions 1999"

Here's a band that I wish would drop another record, as well as play some live shows.  But that's pretty much a pipe dream at this point as I'm somewhat sure they're more or less done with.  You never know though.  They are a very strange band.  But I must say, it took me quite awhile to really get Lungfish.  Yes, they make a nice song, and the vocals are really strange, and if you're not listening carefully enough you'd think they made 10 records of the same song over and over again.  But once you take the time you notice how bizarrely beautiful Dan Higgs lyrics and voice can be in a sort of poetic stream-of-conscious HR in slow motion sort of way.  And the way in which the songs have a fascinating repetition that draws you into a trance until it opens up and reveals itself in a carefully thought-out loop.  Every album amazes me in its intricate simplicity and this record, demos culled from 2000's "Necrophones" full length is no exception.  And seeing that "Necrophones" was really my first experience with Lungfish it's the one I listen to least as it was at a time when I didn't really understand them.  And in retrospect, it's one of their more 'rocking' records, right behind "Talking Songs For Walking".  "ACR Sessions" contains half songs that ended up on "Necrophones", including a much wilder and rocking version of "Sex War", and other upbeat songs such as "Shapes In Space" and "Occult Vibrations".  More plaintive instrumentals such as "Eternal Nightfall" and "Infinite Daybreak" make up the other already-released tracks.  But then you get a handful of songs never released.  A couple I guess I can see why, as they are decent, but don't really hold up to the rest of the Lungfish canon.  Others, though, are just as good as anything else they've released, so it was a real treat to get some 'new' material out of this truly interesting and engaging band.  (Dischord)

MISSION OF BURMA, "Unsound"

At this point Mission Of Burma have been around longer, and released way more music, in their second run as a band than they did when they first emerged in '79.  And for a band that was split up for a good 18 years or so before reuniting their output has been consistently good.  but I gotta admit, for as much of a superfan I am of this band this new record feels a bit lacking.  I'd say about half the record is great, especially the second half, with strong tracks like "7s", "ADD In Unison", and "What They Tell Me".  But a few tracks fall a bit flat, which bums me out as this is a group that I've always found to be very influential and creative.  Bob Weston brings some freshness to the group as the only non-original member, and contributes some tasteful trumpet to a couple of songs.  And the Clint Conley penned songs tend to be my favorites here as I appreciate his flair for melody that complements Roger Millers more raucous, eclectic side ("Second Television", "7s").  It's still a decent record overall, but some of it is a bit weak compared to the overwhelming steamroller of awesomeness the rest of their catalog has.  (Fire)

HEX RECORDS BIG ASS MOVING SALE!

So after being in the same house for 7 years myself and the wife are moving into some new digs across town.  And that means a whole shitload of stuff to haul over.  But seeing as I'm entering old age my bones just ain't what they used to be and I can't be bothered to be moving so many things that are heavy (like boxes of records).  Essentially, what I'm saying is, instead of moving all that heavy stuff I'd rather sell it to you at a discounted price.
So I've come up with 4 awesome packages of sale stuff.
This will be going on for one week, so now's the time to get a lot of stuff.
Most of these sales are only applicable to US residents though as it's just too damn expensive to be shipping all this stuff out overseas when the prices are this cheap.
Check it:

Hex Records store

Furthermore, DISTROS- now is the time to get in touch about some discounted rates to pick up some stuff.  If you have an interest in carrying some titles I'll be doing some deals for all of you as well.  hanginghex@hotmail.com

BLACK THROAT WIND, "Between White Worlds" PRE-ORDER UP!

So we feel confident enough at this point to put up a pre-order for the BLACK THROAT WIND full length CD.  I suggest you go and get it.  Order it HERE.
This is a limited pressing (out of 200) CDs for Syracuse's BLACK THROAT WIND's debut full length "Between White Worlds".
Comprised of members from Oak & Bone, White Picket Fence, Current, and more they drop an epic long player full of heavy vibes, stoner rock, psychedelia, and pop melodies backed by lush piano. Imagine the Beach Boys smokin' a load of dope, going on slow mo, and getting some distortion pedals. Yeah, I'm releasing this.
Comes in a neat silkscreened arigato pack, as well as a wax-sealed wraparound cover and hand-numbered out of 200. Dig it.

This jammer officially comes out next week, and there's a CD release show happening.  Check the event page for it:   https://www.facebook.com/events/316790308405747/

So just to repeat...  order the CD HERE.

Thanks!