IF THEY DON'T WRITE ABOUT IT DID IT EVEN HAPPEN?

ok, so we went to the //tense// show saturday night at the meridian and it was fantastic. yes, its a shame it wasn't louder but i guess that is what happens when you play large places like that and open for a famous band. remember when sonic youth quit the neil young tour? but despite the sound issues (which admittedly seemed to improve as the evening went on) it was a great show and its awesome to see a band like //tense// getting recognized.

all that aside, what is up with the HOUSTON PRESS? they previewed the show the other day (without naming //tense//), and today they posted a review of the show. while the writer of the review admitted he didn't get to the venue until 10:30, likely missing the performance by //tense//, he mentioned the opening act VERTIGO BLUE in the review but didn't even bother naming //tense//.

and for the record, the headliner was nitzer ebb and they did their thing quite well and they sounded really good. nice and loud. but hey, we're trying to write about local stuff so no need for me to review nitzer ebb. if you want to read about them go check houston press.

-sharpe james

LIVE REVIEW:JERRY FALWELL'S ON TV

MYDOLLS

PERSEPH ONE

GTRS

@ rudyards houston tx 10-1-09

an early show to benefit girls rock camp houston. show started about 6:30 pm and was opened by GTRS. i had never seen gtrs play before, i recall they played last winter when the maryland group wilderness came to town but i missed that show. after a sloppy opening song they pretty much killed with a great set of psychedelic pop that owed as much to the velvet underground as it did the zombies. the thing that made this band for me was their use of backing vocals. it reminded me that not many bands are using them these days. it seems like forever (and in punk time its like 6 - 8 generations later) since bands like adam & the ants, the clash, the newtown neurotics and others were making a living based on awesome backing vocals. dead roses has this working for them as well. dead roses get this. as do gtrs. more bands need to understand this. drop the ego and let someone else sing. the surprising highlight of their set was a great cover of the dream syndicate song tell me when its over. it reminded me of how much i miss that early dream syndicate sound. where are you karl precoda? i was told this was gtrs next to last show in houston as they are moving to north carolina. a real shame for this town. but as i've seen in the relatively short time i've lived here - houston does not support their own.

PERSEPH ONE followed. she is a rapper who looks like she just stepped off the set of degrassi high and took the stage to a chattering audience that pretty much ignored her introducing herself and i was a bit worried for her - but only for a moment - because when the music hit she exploded out of the gates with these spiraling lyrics shooting mysticism and truths in all directions. there is a big problem in american music these days - it exists in rap, it exists in rock and punk.. wherever you look... people going on stage and performing yet they've got nothing to say. at least nothing worth hearing. what has happened? is this why the experience of the north american babylon has trapped us in our house of dread? perseph one has alot to say and i really look forward to hearing more. musically, it reminded me of stuff we used to hear from the on-u sound label. does anyone even remember that moment in time when the punks met the rastas at adrian sherwood's house and recorded those paranoid claustrophobic reggae sound system clashes during the downtime of public image ltd's metal box sessions? i found it most interesting when she finished her set rapping a cappella about venus and mars and the void and everything under and over and beyond the sun. oh, and regarding the degrassi high comment - she blows drake away.

we concluded the evening with MYDOLLS. this was a legendary houston post-punk band that existed from 1978-1986. the space upstairs at rudyards where the bands play used to be mydolls apartment. i wasn't really aware of mydolls in their time. i probably heard their name now and then in nj but i just didn't know. kirsten O has been playing their records on his post-punk show on KTRU (every tuesday at 7 pm CT - you should check it out) and that's where i first heard them. on tuesday this week he interviewed them and that is what led me out to this show. although the band ended in 1986 they get together every now and then to play benefit shows. their set consisted of an almost tribal post-punk that reminded me of the slits and gang of four and late period proletariat, although i doubt those bands were hearing each other at the time. lyrically they were very political (again - they actually had something to say!) but it was their next to last song that flashed me back 25 years and over 1600 miles away back to my high school basement bedroom in cranford nj. it was christmastime 1985 and i was listening to pat duncan's hardcore show on a thursday night on WFMU. he was playing nothing but hardcore and punk christmas music. there is a long tradition in punk of christmas songs and adopting christmas songs, this goes back to the politics inherent in punk. if you think of christmas carols as the original protest music i.e. the shepherds were sick and tired of being oppressed and paying taxes to the king and fighting the king's pointless wars. all they could do was hope and pray for a saviour to overthrow the system and lead them out of this babylon. that my friends, is what christmas carols are all about - ah, but i digress... so back to my story - i'm listening to this radio show and taping songs. i made a great 90 minute cassette of punk rock christmas songs. i still listen to this tape every year. for the most part i don't know who the artists on the tape are. but there was one song on this tape that still comes into my head on a semi-random basis. it was a song called christmas day and i've loved it for almost 24 years never knowing who sang it - UNTIL MYDOLLS PERFORMED IT! and it was an incredible punk rock moment. it was a feeling i've only experienced one other time in my life, that had something to do with the mekons and their 'new york' cassette. i'll save that story for another time. mydolls followed christmas day with a great cover of the fall classic totally wired. the good sized crowd singing the backing vocals.

-rich kimball

LIVE REVIEW: SORRY, THE BATTERY IN MY PEDAL JUST DIED

HOW I QUIT CRACK

//TENSE//

VOIDMATE

live at the mink, houston tx 9-26-09

how i quit crack formerly

houston, now austin at $220/month

liquid sky beats cribbed from the normal

(it all goes back to the normal, look them

up i say)

drones and song

song and feedback

this korg synth says freedom

the make up glows like shiva

this is how we do that dance

tense did their thing

and first just me and jon read up front

then dom then dom then d...

sin realite

if you don't get this - i mean,

why the hell houston press?

why aren't you covering this?

why some post-punk transplants

from jersey need to scoop you?

tense is awesome once again

this is how we do that dance

voidmate - apologies..

its been a tough week.

hung a bit with ralf dead roses after party

dom future somethings did don rickles bit

said hello to jon the wiggins

met people we never before knew

(the importance of living)

missed voidmate. we really

wanted to hear voidmates cover

of 'ouija board, ouija board'

but alas, drove home in mad fog

288 to the city of enchantment

signpost.

this is how we do that dance.

-sharpe james

LIVE REVIEW: PIPELINES

FISKADORO

IN THE POURING RAIN

@423 gallery, lake jackson tx 9-10-09

it was a special occasion last night as friend of the 423 gallery drew j. returned to visit south texas. drew is currently living and working in ohio and has not had the opportunity to see the functioning synth punk of FISKADORO. but not only did he see the duo in fine form on their (literal) home carpet. he got to see them perform a set heavy with new songs (including penelope and back from j.a.)

since it was a party, IN THE POURING RAIN gave a dj set (they are thinking of maybe playing live in band form in the future) that included spins of 423 gallery faves like tortoise, singers & players, bauhaus, wire, split enz, black flag, and even the beatles.

-sharpe james

LIVE REVIEW: DEAR GOD

MUTATING MELTDOWN

//TENSE//

COP WARMTH

HOW I QUIT CRACK

@ mangos houston tx 8-14-09

it has been said this has been the hottest summer south texas has ever seen and this was another hot night. my usual parking space was taken so i had to find another spot. i went to half-priced books and bought a copy of jack kerouac's long lost and recently issued wake up: a life of the buddha which includes an introduction by preeminent religious scholar robert a.f. thurman who is the father of the actress uma thurman. this relates to the 423 gallery as jen FSKD went to boarding school in massachusetts with uma. also, professor thurman's wife is judith thurman who writes fashion articles for the new yorker. the 423 gallery/FISKADORO prides itself on being fashion forward.

i walked over to mangos and officially met bobby from //TENSE//, a band that has been captivating our living/working space in the past couple weeks. also spent some time with jon read from THE WIGGINS who were originally scheduled to play this show until he broke his arm. i hope he gets better soon since i was really looking forward to seeing him perform.

HOW I QUIT CRACK opened the proceedings with a short, woozy, epic (yes short and epic can go together if the performance is that good) and utterly mesmerizing set. tina kneeled on the stage, sang, played a korg synth, used a guitar for feedback and a drum machine played simple beats that stayed out of the way. it was really interesting watching the audience gather around as well, it was as if tina was leading a chorus of delay pedals that drew everyone to her. it was like she was playing sigils or something. the chaos is the magick. i spoke to her afterwards and apparently she's doing a lot of recording lately (check her youtube account for evidence of this - you won't be sorry). the 423 gallery looks forward to a record from her soon.

after HIQC performed, i spent time with phil of A THOUSAND CRANES talking about australia and being shocked at his unfamiliarity with legendary australian punk bands CELIBATE RIFLES & THE SAINTS. i'll need to correct that for him one of these days (note to self). as we were talking the next band - COP WARMTH - were setting up/tuning up off of the stage and on the dance floor and we kept moving back and back.. as they were setting up they kept playing (and we marveled at the number of guitar pedals they had. kevin shields would be envious) and making all sorts of noise and walking back and forth and around marking their territory.. finally they were all set up and as the drummer kicked into their first song the rest of the band went flying into the drum kit knocking it all over the floor - the drummer chased drums and hit everything in sight - people held the drums for him and this san diego gravity records style hardcore raged for the length of the set finally ending in a long section of bass feedback and more pounding on scattered broken drums... i heard someone wonder if they buy a new drum kit for each show. the music was raw and uncompromising and i enjoyed it immensely.

next up was the mighty //TENSE// filling in for THE WIGGINS. we've been obsessing over //TENSE// lately and they did not disappoint. they took back the stage and turned it into a dance party for the last days until the end of the world. the wax traxisms seemed more apparent now that i know the songs well but they are no mere copyists either. they have their own thing going and seem to be living in their own world (and you can say the same for HOW I QUIT CRACK) which is so important if you're going to be doing art. there is that old gospel song that washington dc's BEEFEATER covered on their house burning down album that goes "i'm going to live the life that i'm singing about in my song". this really seems to apply in the songs/presentations of //TENSE// & HOW I QUIT CRACK. this is the place every artist needs to be if they take their art seriously. this is what is meant by 'not selling out'. this is punk rock.

the last band was a trio from austin called MUTATING MELTDOWN. they consisted of a boy keyboard player, and girls on bass & drums. they played a innocent sort of new wave that would fit in well on k records (back when i lived in nj we referred to this as puppycore). they were really good and had an awesome stage presence. what was most fascinating about them is their tour schedule. they played thursday in mexico, friday in houston, tomorrow in little rock arkansas and sunday in iowa city ia before continuing on in minnesota and wisconsin.. it sounds like quite the adventure.

hey jon - get well soon!

-rich kimball

LIVE REVIEW: A MOMENT OF FEEDBACK FOR LES PAUL

DEAD ROSES

@ rudyards houston tx 8-13-09

we last witnessed DEAD ROSES a couple months back at their 7" record release show at rudyards. since then, DEAD ROSES side project AFTER PARTY has toured in an el camino and it seems DEAD ROSES has switched drummers, replacing matt with shane. while the show a couple months back was the best performance i've seen from anybody in years, this wasn't as life changing but will probably go down in houston annals as the most memorable show we will see in a long time.

DEAD ROSES rocked the house in their manner, but it was the moment when bronwyn wailed on ralf, knocking the tuning pegs on his bass and banging them off of his left eyebrow, leaving him dripping blood like a glam punk chuck wepner. it was the moment that changed this from a nice performance into a punk rock epic.

blood pouring down his face ralf took over the show never stopping to even wipe it away. "i'm crying tears of blood" he said and the set raged on, beautifully illustrating the tragedy that is DEAD ROSES. an uplifting bloody mess. glorious!

-sharpe james

LIVE REVIEW: CAN YOU HEAR AN EXPLOSION IN SPACE?

A THOUSAND CRANES

FISKADORO

@ notsuoh houston tx 8-6-09

a hot texas evening began with a video projection of dancing cranes and recordings of A THOUSAND CRANES soundtracking the piece. the images were washed out and mesmerizing. and occasionally playful or threatening. the same video then played while the bands played later in the night, adding an appropriate apocalyptic edge (given the respective histories of the names of the 2 bands) to the proceedings.

423 gallery house band FISKADORO took the stage and performed a sloppy but very well received 6 song set of synth informed dance punk. there was much dancing in the crowd and afterwards many kind words were given to the duo - some of the show goers found them reminiscent of the human league. and considering the band covered the human league song seconds this seemed appropriate. the bartenders said they sucked. you just can't please everyone.

A THOUSAND CRANES followed up FSKD with an incredible set of their sacred music. this had quite a different feel than the show a couple weeks ago at mango's. i really can't place why - but the mood was shifted in some way. it was just as awesome and inspiring but in another way that i cannot even articulate. jen kimball of FSKD suggested the music of ATC to be like trance music but only with the opposite effect. it was an inclusive, galvanizing performance that suggested a future of beauty and peace. ATC guitar player phil deserves a special mention for his tasteful use of guitar feedback which adds so much to the presentation.

after seeing A THOUSAND CRANES a couple of times in the past couple of weeks we wonder why the local media doesn't talk more about this band. i guess that is why this blog exists, to fix things that are being overlooked.

-sharpe james

LIVE REVIEW: GROUND CONTROL TO MAJOR TOM

//TENSE//

FUTURE BLONDES

AFTER PARTY

A THOUSAND CRANES

DJ CEEPLUS BAD KNIVES

@ mango's houston tx 7-24-09

A THOUSAND CRANES opened up with a brave set of burning incense, sacred drones, guitar feedback and travis kerschen expressing complete and total love for all humanity & animals.. and forgiveness of all abusers and enemies. his vocal style is somewhat reminiscent of jon vance of the legendary late 80s/early 90s hardcore band moss icon. his stage presence is undeniably intense, just staring at the audience through dark glasses while beats and noise envelop us. one of these days they will release an album, and based on the cdr's i've heard, it will be tremendous.

AFTER PARTY is a side project of ralf armin's amazing band dead roses. this was drum machine driven and made me think of the music wire may have made in that 7 1/2 year period between '154' and 'the ideal copy'. they just came back from a short tour and were really strong. this is totally a dance band and i hope to hear more from them soon.

FUTURE BLONDES is based around houston legend domokos. when i started hanging out a few months ago dom was the first person i met. meeting him has opened doors. name dropping him has gotten us bank loans. name dropping him has gotten us better drugs. name dropping him has gotten us locked in an infamous mexican prison. right after i met him he left town for a few months, but he's returned and last night was his first show since coming back. as he chanted like jah shaka in an echo chamber, a guy alternating between a moog liberation and a fucked up spray painted guitar played with drum sticks, and tina from how i quit crack niced up the dance.. it was scary and awesome (in the original sense of the word). this was the band that should've played that scene in 'fire walk with me' where the dialogue had to be subtitled. i felt wasted afterwards. and it was a good feeling.

i had never seen //TENSE// perform but they were really great. a boy girl duo, playing behind programmed rhythms attacking drum pads.. i originally started thinking heaven 17, but ralf armin corrected me saying it was more german than that. think some kraftwerk offshoot i missed out on, the beats were motorik.. maybe a touch of soft cell but way more aggro then marc almond ever got. even when almond was fucked up on drugs. afterwards, the gentlemen half of //tense// gave me a cdr that i'm listening to as i write and its really good. will discuss this in the future.

also, i don't want to neglect mentioning DJ CEEPLUS BAD KNIVES who did a dj set between bands. for some reason this reminded me of the time brandon pkH and i saw sonic boom do a solo spectrum set in nyc w the long lost philly noise band un & a duo of alan licht & loren mazzacane-conners opening. in between those acts dj spooky spun an awesome set. dj ceeplus's set was nothing like (never seen spooky scratch) that but it worked in the same way. i don't believe i'm explaining it well... i'd suggest you see him dj. i mean, that fucked up intro to 'oh bondage up yours' would've been worth the price of admission even if the show wasn't free.

ok. yeah...

-sharpe james