Start your Friday off right by checking out this video featuring a new track from Brahms called “Make Me Do Right,” from their performance on January 22, 2010 at Glasslands with Boy Crisis and Apache Beat. Brahms just posted a couple hot new tracks on their myspace page (especially check out “Subtext Is Deadly”), or you can download all 4 demo tracks from their website for the low price of your email address.
Brahms – Make Me Do Right (live):
Oh and what the hell, here’s another video of “Toward the Ghost” from the same show.
Brahms – Toward the Ghost (live):
In fact, we have a bunch more of these videos that we’ll be posting from that show over the next couple weeks, so be on the lookout for that. All the videos were shot in HD by our friend Jovan Todorovic from Belgrade. Check out his commercials for MTV Adria, they’re hilarious!
Red Wire Black Wire has been playing a bunch of shows in NYC/Brooklyn recently since taking a bit of a breather after their tour last fall, and I think that’s probably a good thing for the band, since they seem to be playing really well if their show at Glasslands a couple weeks back with Bridges & Powerlines (perfect! these guys should book shows together all the time!) and Beat Radio was any indication. The audience was jumping around and singing along, and even Doug had to admit that he thought it was one of the best shows they’d played in a while when I caught up with him at their early show last night at Cake Shop.
Here are some photos of the show last night, and also a video of the band performing “Tentacles” from the same Cake Shop show. Keep up the good work dudes.
We checked out the Julian Casablancas show on January 15th at Terminal 5 and it was really great, one of the best shows we’ve seen in a while. His songs were tight, the energy was high, and the cavernous venue was packed. Although the show was pretty dark for the most part, we did manage to take a few videos and photos:
The best video is below, when he finished his set with his cover of Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz‘s forgotten SNL gem, “I Wish it Was Christmas Today.” You can also watch this and others on the EV2BK Youtube channel.
Julian Casablancas – I Wish it Was Christmas Today (live at Terminal 5)
Earlier tonight we attended what was essentially a live listening party for Bear Hands’ new single “What a Drag” at the Cantora Records studios in Brooklyn. “What A Drag” will be released in the U.S. by Cantora on February 16th, and will feature “Can’t Stick Em” as the b-side, available as a limited edition white 7″ vinyl and digitally via iTunes and the like. Bear Hands have been working on a new LP for a while now, and from what we hear it’s pretty much finished at this point, so this single release will serve as an entree to the LP at some point later this year (fingers crossed).
In any case, Bear Hands played a nice little six song set in a room built up with paper flowers and huge hanging lamps, ending with this nice rendition of the soon-to-be-major “What a Drag.” Have a listen! And if you want to download the tracks or buy the 7″, check out the newly redesigned Bear Hands website.
Recently, we asked Jupiter One, who we’ve written about a number of times, some questions. Zac Colwell chats about their name, touring with Regina Spektor, some of the records they listened to while recording their recent effort Sunshower, and where they like to go drinking around here.
EV2BK: I read online that your band’s name is derived from the spaceship in the ’60s TV show Lost in Space. And your album is titled Sunshower. Do you guys study outer space in your spare time or something? What’s the significance of the TV show to your band?
J1: K came up with the name of the band. He claims it came to him one day as a compelling set of words. I’ve never seen Lost In Space and I don’t think K has either. It is handy to say that’s where the name comes from though. As far as our album title, we just love the experience of the Sunshower. We tour all around the country in a van and those little natural wonders can take on a sort of mystical air sometimes when you’re living the gypsy lifestyle. The title’s a tribute to our bittersweet lives, maybe. EV2BK: Yours comments about the van’s natural wonders taking on a mystical air really reminds me of that pretty hilarious new video you guys released earlier this month called “Van Pilates.” If we didn’t already have a few videos in this post, I’d just link to it directly here.
EV2BK: I also love the concept of the video for “Made in a Day” that you posted on your site, which could have been, well, made in a day I guess. Do you guys hang out a lot and shoot videos when you’re not on tour? Speaking of which, touring with Regina Spektor must be pretty rad.
J1: Thanks! Dave Heilman (our drummer) directed that. We made it in one day to specifically reflect one typical day in our touring lives. One hotel room, pilates [see above], booze, showers (separate), girls (if we’re lucky), and lots of dorkyness. The tour [was] incredibly interesting and quite a blessing from the lovely-magical-beautiful Regina Spektor. We’re VERY grateful she brought us along and that her fans have been extremely receptive to us.
EV2BK: Not sure if you’ve had a chance to check out Pitchfork’s Top 200 Albums of the 2000s at all, but I was wondering if you guys wouldn’t mind putting together your own top 10? Top 5? Or at least the top 5 records you listened to while recording Sunshower?
J1: Hm… Well, I hate to speak for the other guys, but we definitely listened a lot while putting together Sunshower:
1. Tom Petty – Full Moon Fever and Wildflowers
2. Beatles – All of ’em
3. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
4. Spoon – All of ’em
5. Apes and Androids – Blood Moon
EV2BK: What’s your favorite venue to watch a show (or play a show) in Brooklyn? In Manhattan?
J1: I think Music Hall of Williamsburg sounds real good. Webster Hall in Manhattan, I guess.
EV2BK: What are a few fun places where you like to hang out when you’re back in BK and/or the city?
J1: The Levee in BK and No Malice in the East Village are popular ones with Pat, our bass player. I just go wherever there’s cheap booze. My house is really fun to hang out at.
As an added bonus, right before Thanksgiving I walked over to the Mercury Lounge for their so-called “homecoming” show after their multi-city North American tour. They sounded pretty fantastic live: clear, balanced, tight, really comfortable. I think this video of an extended version of their song “Unglued,” which closed the night, really served as en exclamation point for Jupiter One.
Jupiter One – Unglued:
You can also check out a couple other live tracks from their Mercury Lounge show on our YouTube Channel:
For the last installment of our CMJ Wrap up series, we bring you this live partial version of “This New Technology” from Midnight Juggernauts‘ set at the Fader Fort CMJ Showcase at the Ace Hotel on Saturday.
East Village to Brooklyn 