American Babies, 5/13 & 5/14, Albany, NY & Wilkes-Barre, PA

American Babies
5/13/11, Red Square, Albany, NY
5/14/11, River Street Jazz Cafe, Wilkes-Barre/Plains, PA


FRIDAY, 5/13/11

An added perk of American Babies fandom (besides being the envy of all your friends because you clearly have impeccable taste in music) is that they are incredibly easy to find on the iPod-- very close to the top, you see. Though, this wouldn't help on Friday 5/13, as I have a rule of not listening to the band I am going to see on the day of (especially on the drive to) a show. The same thing goes for the ride back, but that is more lenient, as sometimes I need to hear a specific song the band did not play, and in rare cases must appease that craving on a song-by-song basis. Anyways, in the days leading up to the Albany show, I was pondering what my soundtrack for the ride would be, because over the past couple of weeks I have been listening to the Babies excellent new album, Flawed Logic, & the 4/29 Mercury Lounge show constantly. The Yanks/BoSox game got me through most of the ride, but when things went sour, I turned to the Bad Livers. Seemed appropriate.

Grape Drink is awesome and American Babies are my Grape Drink. I was psyched to see 'em again so soon. Live Music OCD actually had me really worried that if I didn't see their Burlington Metronome show the previous night, I would miss something spectacular. Like David Bowie materializing out of thin air, Knighting Tom Hamilton, and presenting him with the Royal Goldfish for Outstanding Achievements in Rock Music. Which didn't happen, but still-- what if it did and I had missed it? Yes, Albany would do just fine.

Upon arrival, I chilled outside for Turbine's set. Sure, it was a beautiful night & there was plenty of good company out front. But additionally, I am still ever-so-slightly mad at Turbine after the 3-5AMish moe.down xi RV lot set, in which their PA system was set up about 50 feet from our heads, resulting in us wanting to gut their souls for depriving us of at least 2 really important hours of sleep. Moving on.

American Babies called everyone inside with Dance All Night, which began a 2+ hour set of rock awesomeness. The show was mainly comprised of Tom Hamilton's sickeningly sweet originals, but also sprinkled with phatty covers like Dark End of the Street (Percy Sledge), Fa Fa Fa (Otis Redding), Further On Up the Road (made famous by Eric Clapton), & a sweet You Really Got A Hold On Me (Smokey Robinson & the Miracles). Unconventional selections. Original covers, if you will.



But back to the Original Originals. At the core of American Babies are Rock songs that sound so right, they may have been floating around in the collective unconscious since the Dawn of Time until finally someone (Hamilton) was able to recall them. (Putting the bag of chips down.) If you are a fan of Bruce Springsteen, Elvis, The Beatles, Brian Setzer, Johnny Cash--- if you are a fan of GREAT ROCK MUSIC, you will quickly fall in love with this band.



The whole show rocked. Highlights of the highlights: Streets of Brooklyn, Desperate Times, Joeline, Rocker, Swimming at Night, Brooklyn Bridge, Fa Fa Fa, The Sin, Baby Don't Cry, Winter War Games, and both encores-- Restless Heart and a dirty/sick/gritty version of Dylan's Tonight I'll Be Staying Here w/ You. Shit yeah.




New bass player, Mark Karwan^ is fresh off the National Tour of the Broadway musical, In The Heights. This was his 2nd show with the Babies and he's quickly finding his spot in The Beat-Down Equation, which during show #2 was him pointing and laughing at you. What I mean by that is: Adam Flicker's keys will throw sand in your face before Dave Butler's drums kick your ass and Tom Hamilton's Zazz puts a cigarette (or two) out in your eye. And you'll fucking beg for more.

As always, thanks to promoter Greg Bell, for all that he does to keep the Live Music scene thriving in Albany.

5/13/11, Red Square, Albany, NY
Dance All Night
Streets of Brooklyn
Desperate Times
I Want A Girl
Dark End of the Street
Joeline
Telephone
You Really Got a Hold On Me
Rocker
Swimming At Night
Brooklyn Bridge
Fa Fa Fa
The Sin
Night Has Fallen
Invite Your Friends
Baby, Don't Cry
American Babies
Weight of the World
Further On Up The Road
California's Calling
Winter War Games

E:
Restless Heart
Tonight I'll Be Staying Here w/ You

SATURDAY, 5/14/11


I was awoken around 7AM by the faint aroma of Cheetos that seemed to be emanating from the carpet of a shitty hotel. Since there were no Cheetos to be found in the vicinity, my only guess as to it's origin was that this carpet was haunted by the ghost of a murdered Cub Scout trying to make contact from the afterlife in order to avenge his death. That, or Britney Spears had recently stayed there.

No matter. I had said "why the fuck not?" the night before and decided to see American Babies at the River Street Jazz Cafe in Wilkes-Barre, PA on Saturday too. It was kiiiind of on my way home anyway. So-- fuck it. I was already psyched to hit a Pilot Truckstop (of course there'd be one). It's the little things.

The River Street Jazz Cafe is a cool little venue in a little office-type complex & when I arrived, some locals (it's a safe assumption) were ATV'ing around the parking lot. Welcome to Pennsylvania.

This video covers some bloggy ground, so watch the damn thing.
This is why the kids call it "interactive multi-media".

What was most bizarro to me on this day was that American Babies were opening for a Jeff Beck tribute band. Mad respeck to Jeff Beck, but my head asplode. After drenching the room in bourbon-honey-bacony goodness with a delicious Streets of Brooklyn soundcheck, at showtime the Babies took the stage and blew the crowd away straight out of the gates. There was a great energy in the room and all eyes & ears were on the band... Except for in my peripheral vision, where I was trying to stop watching the Yankees have their asses handed to them... again^^.

Eventually, I turned my back to the total shit-show on the bar's TV and took comfort in the music I had traveled to witness. Annd focus: American Babies. Sweet Rock. They had the crowd eating out of their palms by the end of these 90 minutes. Winter War Games, pushed it way over the edge. Holy fuck. The audience was excited and the room was abuzz.

In Bassist Mark's 3rd show with the band, he sounded more relaxed and confident in exploring the material. He and Dave were laying the rhythm down thick. It's a great combo. Perhaps he is beginning to pour salt into the burnt eyes of your sorry ass. Adam Flicker was again, a shit-ton of fun on keys. Tom Hamilton shredded on Lead Guitar while simultaneously wearing the fuck out of some suspenders. The chemistry up there is magic. More, please!


I skipped out on the Jeff Beck tribute band to get a head-start on my 2 hour drive, which went swimmingly-- and I even saw my very first coyote!! Freakin' bonus!!

A giant thank you to Tom, the owner of River Street Jazz Cafe, who was super awesome, hospitable, and I couldn't find to thank in-person on my way out. Another huge thanks to the American Babies who kept me entertained while on mini-Grape-Drink-Tour. Totes awesome. Can't wait for the next show, but come on back to NYC, willya?

No tapirs. You'll just have to go see American Babies for yourself! Check their website for the most updated Tour Dates!

American Babies, 5/13/11, Red Square, Albany, NY & 5/14/11, River Street Jazz Cafe, Wilkes-Barre/Plains, PA: 9 HUZZAHS!!! If you don't love American Babies, the Terrorists have already won.

5/14/11, River Street Jazz Cafe, Wilkes-Barre/Plains, PA
Dance All Night
Streets of Brooklyn
Desperate Times
I Want A Girl
Dark End of the Street
Joeline
Telephone
You Really Got a Hold On Me
Rocker
Swimming At Night
Night Has Fallen
Fa Fa Fa
Invite Your Friends
Weight of the World
California's Calling
Winter War Games

SLIDESHOW & HI-RES GALLERY


^ Jim Hamilton is currently way too busy serving his family, City, and/or Country full-time, to hit the road even part-time. Understandable.
^^ As a total aside, I'd like to add here how completely doomed my fantasy baseball team is and that a head-to-head league format this year may actually destroy me. Last week Kendry Morales was sentenced to season-ending surgery (before his season even began), Jason Heyward lost all feeling in his right hand (awesome), Cano has dropped into a slump like it's '08, Ian Desmond and Mitch Moreland (who I picked up to replace Kendry) are suddenly sidelined with tight hammies. Hughes was a bust from the start, Bailey's been on the DL since opening day, CC just blew another game, and then a few songs into this set I got a news alert that KC had spotted a flaw in my elite closer Soria's delivery-- I don't even know if that's good or bad news anymore. *breathes* (picks up bag of chips.)

Lo Faber & Aaron Maxwell, 5/7/11, Colony Cafe, Woodstock, NY

Lo Faber & Aaron Maxwell, 5/7/11, Colony Cafe, Woodstock, NY


Woodstock, NY. Hippies, crystals, tourists, and tie dyes in every store front. The Colony Cafe, a block off the main drag, is a giant, gorgeous, charming building, and smells exactly how you'd expect a random cavernous Upstate NY building to smell. It smells like character. Also, it's DEFINITELY haunted.

It was a casual affair. I showed up early and spent nearly as much time looking around the venue (which was decorated with fantastic artwork) as I did soaking in soundcheck. Yep, definitely a Woodstockian vibe going on.




Aaron finds an offering in the credenza...

that's been in there since February.


A little Billy Joel.

One snag during soundcheck- something mysterious had been shoved into the input jack of Lo's acoustic guitar and the plug wouldn't stay locked in. The main suspect? One Lolo, aka Lil' Lo, aka Lo's youngest Guitar Tech. After some time trying to pry the foreign object out, an easier solution was reached: a 90 degree plug and a strategic amount of duct tape.


Showtime! K, so I missed the opening act because I was otherwise occupied, cursing Kendrys Morales name into the Upstate Night's Sky-- "KENNNNDRYYYYYYYYS!!!!!!!!" Eventually Lo & Aaron took the stage and rocked out a solid set, including the Dos Heteros debuts of Light My Candles and the Meters' Hey Pocky Way ( -> RU 4 Real?). Freakin' awesome.




Other highlights: Epilog, a beautiful Don't Speak of These Things, Big Papa, Tide (w/ Alex Mazur, of Maaze, on keys), Over the Rainbow, Angeline (there is something so crystal clear about Aaron's voice on this tune, he hits a pitch that leaves me with goose bumps and makes me say "wow" out loud, involuntarily, to no one in particular-- EVERY SINGLE TIME), and a positively stellar Nightingale to close out the set. Which was too bad, cuz they definitely could have kept that momentum going.

There was some interesting shit going on in with the crowd as well. A huge crew of Albany Maaze fans had made the trek down for the show (Maaze went on after Dos). These Children of the Corn included but were not limited to at least one Dee Snider lookalike and none other than Albany's very own Wookie Snooki. Weiss said they must have been on "The Jersey Tour". Spec-fucking-tacular! The whole lot of them spent the Lo/Aaron set dancing their butts off and a'hootin'hollerin'. Glad they dug it, cuz that could have gotten ugly! Strange Scenes from Upstate New York, indeed.




Maaze pulled in a good crowd, hit the stage, and the aforementioned Children of the Corn noodled their balls off from note one. The set started off strong, the lead singer has a great voice, horn section, groove, keys, funk. Our boys hopped on stage for a few Dead tunes which was cool/cute, despite not really being my thang, was still fun to watch.



It smelled like wet dog near the fireplace, but I don't think it was the fireplace. Quickly, that aroma became fused into the walls of my sinuses. You know what that means: time to hit the road! Couldn't wait to get home and Neti like there was no tomorrow. Ohhh, the Neti'ing that was Neti'd!

Psyched I headed up to Woodstock for Lo & Aaron. Am soooooo looking forward to the Almost GSW show at Joe's Pub on the 20th. Extra special thanks to the boys for keeping me entertained with preshow shenanigans. Great time had by all!

Lo & Aaron, 5/7/11, Colony Cafe, Woodstock, NY: 8.5 HUZZAHS! Deductions for the 2 mysterious bug bites to my face. Totes lame.

SETLIST
Poor Boy Long Way Home
Epilog
Light My Candles
Don't Speak of These Things
Get On The Train
Straight Line
Big Papa
Molly
Northern Sky*
Tide*
Borderline*
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Hey Pocky Way ->
RU 4 Real?
Wendy
Angeline
Nightingale

** Budke taped & when the link to DL the show from the archive goes up, it will HERE **

SLIDESHOW & HI-RES GALLERY

American Babies, 4/29/11, Mercury Lounge, NYC

American Babies, 4/29/11, Mercury Lounge, NYC


(Please note: this is bloggy #211 which is supercool, cuz it's an important one.)

*NOW WITH SETLIST & ARCHIVE LINK*

After the Tres Heteros crowd cleared out of Mexicali back in January, American Babies got onstage and played a late night set of relentless balls-out Rock music that left me hooked. I've been super pumped to see them again since that last note hit my eardrums. Very rarely does a band immediately grab me like that. The same thing happened the first time I saw God Street Wine, roughly 18 years ago. It's like being captured, in a good way.

American Babies have an Old Soul. The songwriting is smart & seductive, with brilliant hooks at every turn, and hints of Elvis, Johnny Cash, The Beatles, (classic) Elton John, David Bowie. Rock. Gritty & shredding guitars, ripping keys, a powerful driving rhythm section, and Tom Hamilton's howling vocals delivering the package. They're fucking awesome.

Who's in?

Anyways-- it's exciting. I get excited about getting excited about music.

Their new album, Flawed Logic, came out a couple of weeks ago-- it's very excellent (get it here). Last week, I bugged The Babies' brainchild, Tom Hamilton, with some questions & got some answers. And I fiiiinally got to see them live again last Friday at the Mercury Lounge, for one of their star-studded cd release parties. Totes sweet.

Core lineup: Tom Hamilton (guitar, swagger), Jim Hamilton (bass), Dave Butler (drums), Adam Flicker (Holy keys, though no light in his corner = no pics!). This night, Nick Bockrath sat in on guitar for all but one song.

The Babies kicked off the show with a romping Dance All Night and worked through songs both new and old. After a handful of songs, Joe Russo (played on the albums) came up to play a 2nd drumset next to Dave Butler for the duration. Yes!







Highlights (in no particular order):
- Joeline. Gorgeous, raw, honest. "When they knock your dick in the dirt, will you get right up?" ... "Oh Joeline / I think we got dealt the shit hand."
- Rocker. Who doesn't love Badass Rockabilly?
- Desperate Times. "I got a girl in mind and she knows that it can be such a drag, it can be such a drag."
- Streets of Brooklyn. It's *all* true.
- Weight of the World. Catchier than the catchiest song you know.
- Brooklyn Bridge. Solid. Vivid.
- Winter War Games. There are so many things going on in this song and holy shit, it is absolutely beautiful.
- Dark End of the Street. Great freakin' cover!


Oh, and then you know, almost the entire B-side of Abbey Road, featuring Dave Dreiwitz from Ween on additional bass & Ryan Thornton on percussion (both guests on American Babies albums). Yah. Just that. Jebus. They were having a blast and the place was raging.






They capped it all off with a loud and lively Winter War Games for an Encore (see above, re: Highlights). Beautiful.

What a Scorching Rock Show. Hot damn, I love this band.

To those who haven't yet heard these guys yet--- I've run out of ways to describe how great American Babies are, because I can still only barely comprehend it myself. It's time you take the next step and listen to them (this very post contains linked options). And/or, since their tour just started- go see them!!! Until you do, I've got no choice left but to brazenly insult you (I have a hard time expressing my feelings) for being so fucking ignorant, you Ignorant Fuck. GO SEE THEM.

American Babies^, 4/29/11, Mercury Lounge, NYC: 9.8 HUZZAHS^^!!!


Salvo ran a matrix mix. The second it goes up on the archive, Das Salvo Signal will flood the night's sky, blinding migrating birds, spooking carriage horses, upsetting the ISS Crew, and alerting you. It's shaped like a Tapir. You'll know. Or you could just check back here in a few days.. It sounds great & the archive link is below! DO IT!

SETLIST
Dance All Night
Desperate Times
I Want a Girl
The Sin
Invite Your Friends#
Joeline#
Baby, Don't Cry#
Dark End of the Street# (Percy Sledge... but you have to say "Percy Sledge" like Joey from the Commitments... "Perrrcy sLEHdge.")
Brooklyn Bridge#
Rocker#
Restless Heart#
Streets of Brooklyn#
Night Has Fallen#
Weight of the World#
Hey Bulldog#%
You Never Give Me Your Money#%
Sun King#%
Mean Mr. Mustard#%
Polythene Pam#%
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window#%
Golden Slumbers#%
Carry That Weight#%
The End#%

ENCORE
Winter War Games#

# w/ Joe Russo on 2nd drum kit
% w/ Dave Dreiwitz (Ween) on 2nd bass & Ryan Thornton on percussion

DOWNLOAD THE SHOW! Thanks to Salvo! http://www.archive.org/details/ab2011-04-29.salvo

Marc Whitman over at livemusicblog.com posted some video in his review, so you can check that out too. Though I'll warn you right now, he doesn't seem to use the word "fuck" nearly as often as I do. Brace yourself.

SLIDESHOW & HI-RES GALLERY!



^ Let's just leave Jounce out of this, shall we?
^^ Gotta give wiggle room for flexibility.

Vice President Seeks To Cut Tension In Situation Room With Cheap Knockoff of Princess Beatrice's Wedding Hat

While this may be in poor taste, you should realize by now that I'm a whore for your laughter.


President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, along with members of the national security team, receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House, May 1, 2011. Photo Courtesy of White House Flickr Page.

A Quick Fix with Tom Hamilton of American Babies

A Quick Fix with Tom Hamilton of American Babies
It's ribbon cutting time on a brand new feature here at lynnguppy.blogspot.com, where we will focus on getting to better know some of our favorite musicians by asking them the hard-hitting, dirt-digging questions most other blogs don't have the balls to ask. Still trying to think of a permanent title for this (yes, have considered "The Balls"). At least for now, it's A Quick Fix-- so, enjoy it while it lasts.

In our very first installment of A Quick Fix, the fabulous Tom Hamilton of the wonderful American Babies sits down to discuss their beautiful new album, Flawed Logic & answer some of these other impossibly mind-bending questions!


LG: TOM, YOU WORK WITH MANY OBSCENELY TALENTED MUSICIANS. CAN YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT'S UP WITH THE MUSICAL POLYGAMY IN AMERICAN BABIES? WHY/HOW DID IT START, AND HOW DO YOU KEEP THESE GUYS IN LINE? DO THEY EVER FIGHT OVER THEIR TOM-TIME?

TH: The polygamy, along with everything else about the band, comes from necessity. When I started this whole thing I had written a bunch of tunes and needed a band to record them. So I asked my friends if they would be into coming into the studio and tracking. Fortunately, my friends happen to be really talented people.

For this new album I embraced the revolving door aspect of players and had different bands for different songs, which definitely helped vary the songs and bring them to where they needed to be.

The live band these days is pretty set with Dave Butler on drums, my brother Jim on bass, and Keyboard wiz Adam Flicker on keys. It’s a funny group of dudes, for sure.

PLEASE DESCRIBE THE MAIN THEME OF "PRESSURE" RUNNING THROUGH FLAWED LOGIC. THE WEBSITE DESCRIBES IT AS "TEN SHORT STORIES". THE ALBUM SEEMS TO BE WRITTEN FOR A SPECIFIC MOMENT IN TIME, BUT THE TALES WITHIN IT ARE ALSO KIND OF TIMELESS AND COMPLETELY RELATABLE.

At the time when I hunkered down to put the album together there was a lot of turmoil on every level. My personal life (a failed engagement), my family life (my older brother’s impending military deployment), the cities I was living in (the music scenes in Philly and Brooklyn), our country (financial meltdown), and in the world in general (war, war, war). It was too much to ignore.

Most of my songwriting up until this point was looking inward and usually dealt with love in one way or another. It’s a common place to write from that I feel very comfortable in. But I couldn’t, in good conscience, take that easy street again.

I was filled with passion about the subject matter, was feeling overtly self-righteous, and this is where the problem began. I had no idea how to handle these feelings. I had no voice for this type of material and don’t really enjoy heavy-handed, preachy songs. My solution was to observe how other people were dealing with the current state of things. Single men and women, young couples, married couples, professionals, stoners. Whomever would talk to me I would engage.

My records all have a common thread, which was usually the narrator. Where things ended up on “Flawed Logic” was having the common thread be the circumstances in which every character lived.

WEIGHT OF THE WORLD INSTANTLY PUTS ME IN A GOOD MOOD AND INCLUDES ONE OF THE GREATEST LYRICAL OBSERVATIONS EVER: "YOU WALK LIKE YOU'RE MARRIED". FUCKING BRILLIANT! WAS THAT DIVINE INSPIRATION?

Ha! I’m glad that line hit you with some force but I wouldn’t go as far as saying “divine inspiration”. Just casual observation :)

WHEN DID YOU KNOW THE ALBUM WAS COMPLETE? WAS IT A FEELING YOU GOT?

We (my producer, Bill Moriarty and I) were about half way through “Weight of the World” when I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. It was the last song written and it fought me the whole way. I had a verse and one line of the chorus down when I brought it in to the studio and we weren’t sure if it was going to make the record. Once I finished the lyrics to the chorus I felt that the record was finally written. The rest of the verses wrote themselves and the only track left to record at that point was the closer “Great Expectations”, which was already finished.

YOU'RE HEADING OUT ON THE ROAD FOR (AT LEAST) A MONTH, ON A TOUR THAT TAKES YOU FROM BURLINGTON, VT TO CHARLESTON, SC. WHAT'S ROMANTIC ABOUT BEING ON THE ROAD LIKE THAT?

Everything. The camaraderie within a band on the road is magical. Like minds that are all focused on one goal, it’s beautiful.

Then there is the traveling. Where you get to truly see the regional differences in this great country. Different trees, smells, markets, weather. Meeting different people and hearing their views and accents. It’s wonderful and inspiring.

HAVE YOU MISSED BEING ON THE ROAD?

Very much so.

BRINGING ANY BOOKS WITH YOU?

I have a few David Sedaris books I’ve been meaning to go to that I will surely be bringing with me.

WHO PICKS THE SOUNDTRACK?

Definitely a group effort here.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ROADSIDE ATTRACTION?

I love the enormous truck stops in the Midwest. The ones with an entire country-western clothing store inside of them are my fav. One of these days I’m gonna walk onstage wearing only items purchased at one of those places. A Harley leather vest with a Bolo tie is a great look :)

FAVORITE EXOTIC FOOD DISCOVERY? (IE: BOILED PEANUTS, ETC.)

I do love me some boiled peanuts. Being vegetarian (a bad one) makes it so I cant really enjoy those types of things because meat is usually a big part of it. ie: Pulled pork and the like.

JERKY OR NO JERKY? *THIS IS STILL A FOOD QUESTION.

When I still ate red meat, damn right!!! I LOVED that stuff.

HAS THE RISING COST OF GAS EFFECTED YOUR TOUR PLANS? HOW/WHY?

Not as of yet, but it is definitely something I keep my eye on.

ARE THERE ANY NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOUR FANS HERE IN THE NORTHEAST AND THE ONES IN THE SOUTH?

Southern fans are really great. It’s a very relaxed vibe and I think our leanings towards old-school country music goes over very well there.

NEW FANS ARE EVERYWHERE/ANYWHERE-- WHAT CAN YOU SAY TO THE ONES READING THIS, TO CONVINCE THEM THAT THEY SHOULD COME CHECK OUT AMERICAN BABIES IN THEIR CITY?

I can assure anyone that comes to an American Babies show that you will see four guys giving everything they have and more on the stage that night. Any fan of live music knows that energy like that is contagious in a music hall and can be a very powerful thing.

IF THEY MENTION THIS INTERVIEW, CAN THEY HAVE 5% OFF ANY 1 ITEM AT MERCH?

Of course!!

IN THE PAST, I'VE COMPARED YOU TO "HONEY DRENCHED IN BOURBON AND WRAPPED IN BACON." IS THAT ACCURATE? DOES THAT SOUND LIKE SOMETHING YOU WOULD ENJOY?

Yes, that sounds fantastic. I would probably have to not be a vegetarian for at least a day for that :)

EXCLUDING THE MUSICIANS YOU'VE ALREADY WORKED WITH IN AMERICAN BABIES, IF YOU COULD PICK ANOTHER AMERICAN BABIES LINEUP CONSISTING OF ANY MUSICIANS (BOTH LIVING & DEAD), WHO WOULD THEY BE? WHY?

I would take the rhythm section from the Funk Brothers (Motown session band) with Crosby, Stills and Nash as my backing singers. Gregg Allman on organ, and John Lennon on piano (he could do it).

FIN

Many thanks to Tom Hamilton for busting the cherry on this new bloggy feature!! I look forward to seeing him in spurs and a bolo, but I look even more forward to the Friday 4/29 American Babies show at the Mercury Lounge in NYC! HUZZAH!!

Flawed Logic, their very excellent new album, dropped last Tuesday and is available: on itunes, through Engine Room Recordings, and of course at every single one of their upcoming shows (see below for dates).


American Babies are hitting the road TODAY! GO SEE THEM AND GET YOUR FACE MELTED! Please check their website for the most updated list of stops!

04.27 American Babies @ The Downtown (Red Bank, NJ)
04.28 American Babies @ World Cafe Live (Philadelphia, PA)
04.29 American Babies @ Mercury Lounge (New York, NY)
04.30 American Babies @ Great Scott (Boston, MA)
05.12 American Babies, 11pm @ Club Metronome (Burlington, VT)
05.13 American Babies, 8pm @ Red Square (Albany, NY)
05.14 American Babies, 8:30pm @ River Street Jazz Cafe (Wilkes-Barre, PA)
05.19 American Babies, 8pm @ The Pour House Music Hall (Raleigh, NC)
05.20 American Babies, 9pm @ Mo Daddy's (Asheville, NC)
05.21 American Babies @ The White Mule (Columbia, SC)
05.22 American Babies @ The Pourhouse (Charleston, SC)
06.25 American Babies @ Majestic Theater/The Magic Stick (Detroit, MI)
08.06 American Babies @ Flood City Music Festival (Johnstown, PA)

Ryan Montbleau Band, 4/15/11, Brooklyn Bowl, NYC

Ryan Montbleau Band, w/ Dwight & Nicole, 4/15/11, Brooklyn Bowl, NYC


Over the past couple of years I've seen the Ryan Montbleau Band open for both moe. (thrice, including moe.down) and JJ Grey & Mofro. Their particular brand of upbeat feel-good jam rock always leaves me happy, so I was totes psyched to finally be able to see a headliner show (though this turned out to be 1 long set instead of 2 to make way for a DJ, wah waaah). Recently, RMB had a lineup change. Violist, Laurence Scudder left, and his spot was filled by Guitarist, Lyle "New Guy" Brewer. While Scudder does have really nice hair, Brewer totally shreds-- so it's cool. It also seems to have increased the Bluesy Guitar Rock vibe while simultaneously decreasing any sort of lineup similarity to The Dave Matthews Band^ -> Instantly More Street Cred, so it's really a win-win-win.

Dwight & Nicole opened the show. Their backup band were actually the Ryan Montbleau Band, minus Ryan Montbleau (this made the set change pretty easy). D&N were fun, funky, had tons of soul- the room was definitely getting down. However, I spent most of this time slightly freaked out because none other than the infamous LUCY (yes) was there (what are the odds?), recognized me (how??), and (seemingly) came over for... a hug?!? (whaaaat??!?) Luckily, I actually had no idea who she was^^ and stayed back while I inquired, so there was never an opportunity for any surprise ice pick stabbies to the kidneys. But, ooohhh, awwwkwaaard! Who's walking me to the car later?

The place was pretty packed and by the time RMB hit the stage, there wasn't much elbow room on the floor. I immediately noticed that more than half of the room was female, which felt totally bizarro cuz the shows I'm at are typically Sausage Fests. No joke, though-- Ryan Montbleau is like The Pied Piper of chicks. For good reason-- his music radiates some sort of contagious YOU GO GIRL feeling that's even better than a really good episode of Oprah. Ladies-- you know.


HOT DAMN, it was a great show! A spectacularly rockin' set with a ton of energy and good vibes. As a noob, I can't dissect everything that went on cuz I don't really know song names, but RMB blew the back walls off of Brooklyn Bowl. They were JAMMING and it was AWESOME!! John and Scott Aruda sat in on horns for a few songs scattered throughout, which was super funky. As were Dwight & Nicole on backup vocals (and tambourine) for a couple at the end of the night.




There's a reason I always refer to Ryan Montbleau Band as feel-good. You could be in an epically shitty mood and I'd still Double Dog Dare you to refrain from smiling and dancing by halfway through their first song. They're uplifting and carefree. The room was full of happy. It's always amazing how a night of music and dancing can cure what ails you.

Honestly, I don't know them well enough for the Violist/Guitarist switch to be an issue (I may even like it better), but lineup switches always create heated arguments amongst the fans. Max Verna -> Todd Pasternack. Tomo & Bevo -> Aubrey & Pete. David -> Sammy -> the guy from Extreme -> David (- Michael, + Wolfgang). I'm interested in hearing what old skoolers have to say about it.

Obligatory rip on Brooklyn Bowl's sound: If only the sound was as good as the Fried Chicken! I would have stayed all the way up front for most of the show, but the bass was so painfully loud up against the al.side stage that it was hurting my skeleton (again). WHY WON'T THEY FIX THIS?? It's a live music venue, sound should be waaay up there on the Priority List. Brooklyn Bowl strikes again!

Ryan Montbleau Band, (w/ Dwight & Nicole), 4/15/11, Brooklyn Bowl: 8.8 HUZZAHS!! If you haven't heard them yet, check them out-- you'll be all, "Ohh, so that's why all my friends love these guys and keep telling me to see them!"


SETLIST
Grain Of Sand
Here et al
75 And Sunny
Songbird
Head Above Water*
Maybe Today
Glad
Driving Wheel*
Honeymoon Eyes
Inspired By No One
Quickie+
This
A Way With Women
You Haven't Done Nothin'@
Dead Set*
Any Blues@>
Love Songs@
I Can't Wait*

*John Aruda Saxophone & Scott Aruda Trumpet
+Scott Aruda Trumpet
@ Dwight & Nicole / John & Scott

** Waiting on a few recordings to go up on the archive before choosing a favorite one, when I do- the link will be HERE **

SLIDESHOW & HI-RES GALLERY



^ Dave Matthews Band wishes their fans were as cool as Ryan Montbleau Band fans. They're not. I'm sure they sob themselves to sleep every night atop their giant piles of money.
^^ Didn't recognize her with shoes and socks.

Dos Heteros, 4/9/11, Mexicali, Teaneck, NJ

Dos Heteros, 4/9/11, Mexicali, Teaneck, NY


The snoe.down Wook Flu left in it's wake, a monumentally wretched and terrible mood that only lifted with a Magical Curse-Breaking Hug from one Lo Faber.

And that's how this review is gonna start. Instant better. There was some pre-show shmoozing and eventually Lo Faber & Aaron Maxwell hit the stage to thunderous applause. The same I imagine, as Charlie Sheen received at Radio City. Dos Heteros started off with the beautiful Blues standard Poor Boy Long Way Home to warm up the room. Then came the sparks. A comforting Weird Dream (niiice!). Gretchen, Electrocute, Ballroom- awesome. It was good to hear the boys again. It's been too long (February). Northern Sky (debut of a Nick Drake song) was sweet and moody. Run To You was oozing with goodness. Edgar's Back In Town was cute.



At some point around now, they wanted to know if anyone had requests and there were numerous shouts from around the room. I've been fruitlessly requesting something for 15+ years, but yelling it at that particular moment was more about having a response to bug them with. "New Eyes!" It's one of my very favorite (and unfortunately incredibly rare) God Street Wine tunes. There's always been a faded hope, but it didn't seem realistic until they broke out Edgar's back at Joe's Pub. I caught at least 1 smirk before someone else screamed for Fortress. Their ears perked, they repeated in unison, "Fortress...", like they had yet to even consider it.

This may have been when they played a wonderful Strange As It Seems (or was all the screaming before Edgar's?). No matter.

The intro for the next song was kept slightly cryptic, but it all added up quickly to me. A song they haven't played in over 15 years. A song they never really learned how to play in the first place. No. It couldn't be. They wouldn't---- as a duo?? A song they were playing for me? My jaw dropped. I believe this is what The Britains refer to as being "gobsmacked". Rendered speechless because Lo & Aaron were about to play NEW EYES. I just stood there in shock. They were gonna play New Eyes. THEY FUCKING PLAYED NEW EYES. They fucking played New Eyes and I stood there smiling like a fool, while actually holding back tears. And it was SO SO GOOD!!!!! It's such a fast moving song, with so many changes- and they fucking nailed it with amazing energy and precision. Like they had even practiced! When the song peaked and they hit the chorus, there was a table full of cheers from the House Right side of the room. It was spectacular.

I'd say that they have no idea how much hearing that meant to me, but the only reason they would ever finally pull that nugget out was because they knew exactly how much it meant to me. So if you're reading this, guys (and Weiss too, cuz I'm sure he had something to do with it) -- again-- thank you. It meant the world to me. I really needed that.

Those bastards. 15+ years of harassment ends in success. What the hell am I supposed to request now? Eh, who are we kidding, I'll keep requesting New Eyes^. In fact, I'd love to hear it at Joe's Pub in May. All quartet-like (though Jason Crosby could shred on it too).

You'd think it'd be a blur from that point on. There was definitely a Post New Eyes Buzz happening, but I was still mentally at the show. Dos Heteros totally ripped through a beautiful Waiting For the Tide and completely tore up a high-energy Nightingale. The dueling guitar section towards the end was absolutely wild and inspired. Crazy good Madness.



They premiered Pancho + Lefty (Lo on vocals), a howling cowboy ballad, written by Townes Van Zandt, but covered by the likes of Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, & Emmylou Harris. It's really freakin' cool to see what covers they pepper into their sets. It's both a peak into Dos Heteros psyche and a music history lesson. My Babe (Aaron on vocals) as well, was fun, bouncy, and spectacular.

Wendy rocked. Molly grooved. Thirsty cleansed the palate.

Lizzy Loves from the band Reflections (who were playing the late set) sang backup for the last 3 songs: Dead Flowers (how can you lose?), Dark Hollow (reeeeaaaaally nice to hear Lo sing this again), and Swing Low (mmhmmm).


A round of thank you's, goodbyes, more hugs, and I went back to my sister's Bachelorette Party, which I had very mysteriously snuck out of a few hours earlier. Don't judge me, you won't win.

Aaron's iPad/teleprompter was strapped to his mic stand for the whole set-- it gets closer to his face with every show. However, it seems that the closer it gets, the more they actually "get creative" with the lyrics. So, perhaps leave it at the bar and see what happens?

In totally random Jersey News, Snooki Lohan's mom was there, doing what looked to be a photo shoot for the cover of Steppin' Out.

Budke's kids were sick (way to go, Budke) and he couldn't go, so there's currently no archive DL link to direct you to. There is rumored to be a single recording of this show, but I haven't seen or heard anything yet. It would be a damn shame if it doesn't exist, but this show could then become the Stuff of Legend. Or I could totally be lying about the whole fucking thing-- you'd have no idea, YOU FOOLS!

The boys were totally busting to play, I think the 6 weeks off was too much for them. You could tell they felt great up there. Seeing them on a regular basis is like eating really good pudding. When was the last time you had great pudding? WTF do you have against pudding anyways? Get over it.

Lo Faber & Aaron Maxwell (aka Dos Heteros), 4/9/11, Mexicali, Teaneck, NJ: 10 HUZZAHS!!!! NEW EYES, MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

SETLIST
Poor Boy Long Way Home
Weird Dream
Gretchen
Electrocute
Ballroom
Northern Sky
Run To You
Edgar's Back In Town
Strange As It Seems
New Eyes
Tide
Nightingale
Pancho + Lefty
My Babe
Wendy
Molly
Thirsty
Dead Flowers*
Dark Hollow*
Swing Low*

* w/ Lizzy Loves on vocals

Thank you to Weiss for the setlist and for whatever he had to do with the New Eyes.

UPDATE: DOWNLOAD THE SHOW!! WOOOOOT! Thanks for securing this, Weiss, etc.!
http://www.archive.org/details/lfam2011-04-09

SLIDESHOW & HI-RES GALLERY!



^ and 6:15, and Dirty Little Secret, and Watcha Gonna Do About It?, and Miss Leonardo.