RSVP HERE: Automatic stream via Bandcamp + MORE

Automatic are an LA post-punk three piece composed of Izzy Glaudini on synths/vocals, Lola Dompé on drums/vocals, and Halle Saxon on bass/vocals. Their 2019 debut record Signal sounds like Suicide and Broadcast formed a supergroup to play at the end of a David Lynch film.

I spent a month in LA last February and my only regret is not catching their minimal synth soaked vibes live. Luckily they’re playing a few Bandcamp livestreams – the first being tonight at 7pm ET! – leading up to the release of their remix album out March 26, featuring new versions of Signal tracks from artists like Sudan Archives, Peaking Lights, John Dwyer, and Peanut Butter Wolf. We chatted with Automatic about records they will never get tired of, watching The Parent Trap 500 times, and custom fretless bass magic.

AF: How was the writing and recording process of your debut record?

HS: It was such a blast. We recorded with my boyfriend Joo-Joo Ashworth at Studio 22 and it was just so fun that we’re doing it again for album #2.

IG: It’s interesting to write so collaboratively because ideas evolve quickly and change as they’re passed between members of the band. You learn to be open to songs evolving. And we’re all pretty close so it’s fun. 

LD: Recording is my favorite part of the whole process because you get to really hear your song for the first time and add all the fun details. Writing with Halle and Izzy is amazing.  We’ve always made an effort to create a safe and fun space for writing. I think we work really well together, and songwriting pretty much happens very naturally. 

AF: How did your upcoming remix album come together?

IG: Peanut Butter Wolf, who runs [our] label [Stones Throw], suggested it as something to release during these unholy Corona Times.  We contacted artists we knew and loved and had them rework the songs however they wanted. Remixes are fun because other people do all the work. 

AF: What are your favorite pieces of gear? 

HS: My favorite piece of gear is my old Egmond bass that someone manually ripped the frets out of. I don’t play it anymore cuz I changed its magic strings and now it sounds terrible. But it’s a relic that I’ll keep forever and has nothing but also everything to do with my current bass sound.

IG: Maracas, the Holy Grail reverb, and my Moog Sub25 synth.

LD: I just superglued a Roland trigger to my kick drum and I love it! You can make it trigger any sound you like. 

AF: What non-musical things inspire you?

IG: My boyfriend has a cat named Pepe, and he’s got such a lust for life. Prowling animals in general.

LD: Fashion, movies and nature.

AF: What movies would you watch over and over again?

HS: Izzy and I both watch the LOTR trilogy on a regular basis.

IG: The sweet inner child in me likes LOTR and anything with magic. The dark demon inside wants to watch American Psycho or Repulsion

LD: I watched The Parent Trap probably 500 times from age 9 to 11. These days I like to watch a movie once… unless it’s Love Actually around Christmas time. 

AF: What’s a record that you’ll never get sick of?

HS: I’ll never get sick of Neu! or Suicide self-titled albums.

IG: David Bowie’s LOW.

LG: David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust.

AF: What are your favorite bands to play with and/or see live?

HS: I think we all agree: Bauhaus. But I also loved watching Black Marble every night, one of my favorite bands.

IG: Yeah! Also, hmm. John Dwyer is always a maniac. He practices in the room across from us at our rehearsal space so we get to hear free Oh Sees shows.

LD: Oh Sees are always fun, and I definitely never thought I would get to open for Bauhaus! I got to play with my friend’s band, Body Double, and I was super impressed by their music and show. 

AF: What was your last show before COVID?

HS: Opening for Shopping at 1720 in Los Angeles! We had just circled back to LA and were about to pass it again when shit hit the fan. So we were extremely lucky in that scenario! I know a lot of people that were caught in terrible tour situations that day that basically everything shut down. 

AF: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned in the past year? 

HS: That capitalism is killing the earth and humans (duh, but I didn’t really get it before).

IG: I second that. I got pretty heavy into social/political theory. Chomsky, Marx, Foucault, Zizek. On a ‘chiller’ level, I got into yoga and meditation. 

LD: Staying open and curious and learning to love myself more. 

AF: What are your hopes for the next year? Next 5 years? 

HS: That everyone stops using Amazon.

LD: That people respect the earth and each other way more, so that humans, nature and animals can get their basic needs met. 

IG: Yeah it would be great if humanity stopped cannibalizing itself. But I’m down to make the soundtrack to whatever unfolds. 

RSVP HERE for Automatic via Bandcamp on 2/12 at 7pm ET.

More great livestreams this week…

2/12 Teeburr, Kola Champagne, Survivor Guilt (DJ Set)  via Elsewhere TV. 6pm Et, RSVP HERE 

2/12 Hyphenate with No Age’s Randy Randall, DJ sets by Action Bronson, Japanese Breakfast, Laura Jane Grace & more via Vans Channel 66 “On The Air.” 11am ET RSVP HERE

2/13 Proper, Eli¡ via BABY.tv. 6pm ET, $5, RSVP HERE

2/13 Mogwai via their website. 3pm ET, £15.00, RSVP HERE

2/13 Yeek, Jay Som, Ginger Root, Sosupersam via YouTube (88rising Lunar New Year). 9pm ET, RSVP HERE

2/14 Smashing Pumpkins, AWOLNATION, Portugal. The Man, Twin Peaks & more via JBTV Revolution Television Virtual Music Festival. 3pm ET, RSVP HERE

2/15 Shelter Dogs via FLTV. 8pm ET, RSVP HERE

2/16 Talib Kweli book launch via MURMRR. 7:30pm ET, $33, RSVP HERE

2/18 GZA, Scott Bolton, Sudan Archives, Quintron’s Weather Warlock, Via Imara via Atlas Obscura Rogue Routes. 8pm ET, RSVP HERE

RSVP HERE: Mamalarky Play Bootleg Theater + MORE

Welcome to our weekly show recommendation column RSVP HERE: LA Edition– your source for the best shows and interviews with some of our favorite local live bands. For the month of February we will be featuring LA shows!

Mamalarky are fuzzy jazzy indie darlings who relocated from Austin to Los Angeles a few years ago. The nostalgic feelings their psych pop evokes can be attributed to how far back their band roots stem. Singer/guitarist Livvy Bennet met drummer Dylan Hill on the first day of middle school and soon became musical soul mates. Their keyboardist, Michael Hunter, was only a grade older than them, and found his way into the project after reconnecting with Livvy and having her play bass in his band Hip Modus. After relocating to LA, their lineup was rounded out by bassist Noor Kahn. Last month they released a new music video for their song “Fury” and will be making the rounds in their hometown of Austin for this year’s SXSW festival in March. Your next chance to catch them in LA will be at The Bootleg Theater on 2/23 with Girl Friday and Eyeshadow! We chatted with them about what they were listening to in Middle School, how SXSW has changed over the years, and their band B.O.

AF: What were your favorite records in middle school?

I really liked The Unicorns’ Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone, Proof Of Youth by The Go! Team, and Hello Avalanche by The Octopus Project! Big mix of loud jangly guitars and distorted highly compressed synth hooks!

AF: What’s the story behind your latest music video for “Fury?”

The story is it’s the quickest we’ve ever written, recorded, and filmed a video song haha. It felt like an exercise in spontaneity really. It’s pretty funny watching back and remembering how sweltering it was this summer bouncing on the trampoline!

AF: Why did you relocate from Austin to LA? What are your favorite venues and bands to play with in Austin and in LA?

I got a job at a now defunct record label right out of college, and wanted to try a new place after growing up in Austin. The weather was a big pull too, the beach…it’s a very busy place which I appreciate! In Austin, we love playing Cheer Up Charlies, Barracuda, and Mohawk, ideally with bands like Being Dead, Smiile, or Hey Cowboy!
As far as LA goes I feel like we’re still learning the scene here but we love playing The Bootleg! Local bands we really love are Guppy, Healing Gems, Rosie Tucker, and Jerry Paper! There’s a billion bands here, we’re always discovering more.

AF: If your live set was a perfume, what would it be?

No perfume, no deodorant, straight B.O. <3

AF: Are you going to SXSW this year? What’s been your most interesting time at SXSW and how do you think it’s changed over the years?

Yes! We are SXSW veterans and we’re really excited to be going back again this year. SXSW has changed a lot… the whole interactive/film side grew a lot which has been pretty hectic. The city has grown, so there’s lime scooters everywhere which is a blessing and a curse for South by haha. I think in general it’s a cool place for new artists to play a million shows in front of different audiences for a week. I’m really hoping we never grow out of it. Probably some of our most ‘interesting’ SXs were in the first year or two of us being a band, playing a bunch of house shows. That’s where the true fans are born :)

RSVP HERE for Mamalarky with Girl Friday and Eyeshadow on 2/23 at Bootleg Theatre. 21+ / $10

More great shows this week:

2/21 NO AGE, Wurm 2020, Milo Gonzalez @ The Smell. All Ages RSVP HERE

2/22 Metronomy, BODEGA, Faux Real @ Fonda Theatre. $32.50 RSVP HERE

2/23 Zig Zags, The Well @ Permanent Records Roadhouse. RSVP HERE

2/24 Hnry Flwr, Cardioid, Chazzy L. @ Moroccan Lounge. 21+ / $12 RSVP HERE

 2/24 Hit Bargain, A Deer A Horse, Enemy @ Permanent Records Roadhouse. 21+ / RSVP HERE

 2/26 Soccer Mommy @ Amoeba Records. Free RSVP HERE

2/26 Neil Hamburger, Special Guests @ The Satellite. 21+ / $8 RSVP HERE

2/27 Flor de Toloache @ Lodge Room Highland Park. 21+ RSVP HERE

2/27 Bundy, Bloody Death Skull, Fellow Robot @ The Hi Hat. 21+ / $12-15 RSVP HERE

ONLY NOISE: Winter Preview

We’ve all been a bit preoccupied thinking about the musical headlines of 2017, but I’m here to do a little forward-thinking this week. The temperatures have finally dropped to seasonally appropriate lows, Uber is hiking its carfare, and I’m craving soup. That’s right: It’s winter. And while this isn’t the most wonderful season in New York (see: snow of every color but white), there is still a hell of a lot of great music coming out in the next three months.

Whether it’s a long-awaited record by Nils Frahm or a New Year’s Eve gig by Hot Chip, musicians sure ain’t hibernating this winter, and neither should you.  Here are my top picks for upcoming album releases and New York concerts to keep you warm on frosty nights. Don’t forget your puffy coat.

01/19:

First Aid Kit, Ruins

Swedish sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg will follow-up their 2014 debut Stay Gold with the much-anticipated Ruins. The folk duo recently released the single, “Postcard” and will headline New York’s Beacon Theatre on February 19th.

Porches, The House

Porches mastermind Aaron Maine worked on his third LP The House for a solid 18 months. That’s no surprise given the record’s colorful list of contributors, including Dev Hynes, (Sandy) Alex G, and Maine’s own father. The album will be a follow-up to Porches’ 2016 Pool and Water EP. Check out the video for the first single, “Find Me” below.

01/26:

Nils Frahm, All Melody

There is no album I am more excited about in 2018 than All Melody, Nils Frahm’s follow-up to 2015’s Solo. Recorded in Frahm’s brand new, custom built studio, All Melody ventures into sonic territory untraveled by the artist so far – namely his new use of the human voice. The composer, instrument designer, and all-around piano philosopher is supporting the record with a worldwide tour, playing New York’s Knockdown Center on March 15th. I’ll be in the front row, weeping at every keystroke.

No Age, Snares Like A Haircut

Drag City and Sub-Pop alums No Age are hitting extra heavy on their fourth full-length Snares Like A Haircut. The Los Angeles duo comprising drummer/vocalist Dean Spunt and guitarist Randy Randall kicked off the record’s promo with killer single “Soft Collar Fad.” Perhaps the upcoming record is best described by Drag City’s website, which calls it, “Rock and roll for the black hole.”

02/02:

Field Music, Open Here

2018 will be a great year for siblings. Peter and David Brewis of Field Music certainly ensure this fate (along with First Aid Kit). Their delightfully ‘80s lead single “Count It Up” from forthcoming LP Open Here sounds like a happy marriage between Crowded House (another sibling set), Gary Numan, and Phil Collins at his hit-making best. Not too shabby for a pair of penniless Sunderland brothers.

Hookworms, Microshift

Leeds’ electro/psych rockers Hookworms will follow up their 2014 studio LP The Hum with Microshift, which is rumored to be far more dance-driven than their previous krautrock influenced work. By the sound of lead single “Negative Space” it seems that rumors are true.

02/16

Ought, Room Inside the World

Montreal’s beloved post-punks Ought released the fantastic single “These 3 Things” last month, and I’ve been chomping at the bit for their new record ever since. Room Inside the World is the band’s first record since 2015’s Sun Coming Down, and it’s sure to be a highlight of 2018.

U.S. Girls, In A Poem Unlimited

Something tells me 2018 is going be U.S. Girls’ Meghan Remy’s breakout year. It’s already apparent on Remy’s most recent single “Velvet 4 Sale” that she has grown as a composer – the track feels more fleshed out, in-depth, and powerful than some of her previous lo-fi recordings. I’m looking forward to what the entire album has in store.

02/23:

Fever Ray, Plunge

Fortunately, Fever Ray’s Karin Dreijer already dropped the digital release of Plunge in October. But for all of you vinyl collectors out there, the physical LP will be available come February 23rd via Mute and Rabid Records.

12/22:

Ovlov @Alphaville

Felix Da Housecat, Logic @Output

Spectre Folk @Union Pool

12/23:

LCD Soundsystem @Brooklyn Steel

Ovlov @Mercury Lounge

12/28:

Martin Rev (of Suicide) @Bowery Electric

12/30:

Television @Bowery Ballroom

Handsome Dick Manitoba @Bowery Electric

12/31:

DIIV @Baby’s All Right

Rich Medina @C’mon Everybody

Hot Chip @Elsewhere

Cardi B @Knockdown Center

01/04:

Moor Mother @Brooklyn Bazaar

01/10:

Giles Peterson @(le) Poisson Rouge 

01/12:

Audiofemme Presents: Wax Idols, Future Punx, Desert Sharks @Elsewhere

Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog @Bowery Ballroom

01/13:

Drugdealer, PC Worship @Baby’s All Right

01/17:

Deerhoof @(le) Poisson Rouge

Neko Case @The Capitol Theatre

01/18:

Bonobo @Output

01/20:

Royal Trux, Shilpa Ray @Market Hotel

01/22:

Dream Wife @Elsewhere

01/23:

Tennis @Brooklyn Steel

01/25:

Martin Rev, Ric Ocasek @Bowery Electric

01/26:

James Chance & The Contortions @El Cortez

01/27:

Destroyer @Brooklyn Steel

02/08:

SOPHIE @Elsewhere

02/13:

First Aid Kit @Beacon Theatre

02/19:

Jlin @AMC Empire 25 Movie Theater

02/20:

Lightning Bolt @AMC Empire 25 Movie Theater

02/21:

The Sun Ra Arkestra @AMC Empire 25 Movie Theater

Lightning Bolt @Elsewhere

02/23:

Tyler, the Creator, Vince Staples @Theater at Madison Square Garden

Twin Peaks @White Eagle Hall

02/26:

Joan As Police Woman @Rough Trade

02/27:

Jonathan Richman @The Bell House

03/01:

Arone Dyer’s Dronechoir @Merkin Concert Hall

03/03:

David Byrne @Count Basie Theatre

Shopping @Market Hotel

03/06:

Adrianne Lenker, Nick Hakim @Murmrr Theatre

03/07:

Ezra Furman @Bowery Ballroom

03/12:

Godspeed You! Black Emperor @Brooklyn Steel

03/15:

Nils Frahm @Knockdown Center

AudioFemme’s Best of 2013

Best of 2013 Graphic

From elaborate roll-outs to surprise releases, 2013 was a banner year for comebacks, break-outs, break-ups, and overnight sensations.  The fact that the most oblique content could cause rampant controversy to reverberate through the blogosphere turned every song into a story and made every story seem epic.  At the heart of it all are the sounds that defined this particular calendar year, from electronic pop to punk rock  to hip-hop to hardcore and everything in between.

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_testimonial company=”AudioFemme Staff” author=”Top 50 Albums of 2013″ image=”http://www.audiofemme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/01MBVmbv-300×298.jpg”]

After much debate, we’re proud of our little list and believe it represents releases that are among the best and most important of the year.  Here are our top 50 LPs in two parts: 50-26 // 25-1

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And check out our Top Albums of 2013 Playlist on Spotify.
[/fusion_testimonial]

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_testimonial company=”AudioFemme Staff” author=”Top 50 Tracks of 2013″ image=”http://www.audiofemme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/05HaimDays.jpg”]
In a given year, thousands of records are released, many of them having upwards of ten tracks apiece.  So it’s actually physically impossible to hear them all, and can be downright daunting to wrangle them into some kind of intelligible countdown.  But we certainly have done our best, here cataloging the tunes we just couldn’t stop playing, and stuck fast in our heads when we finally managed to turn them off.

Here’s our Top Tracks of 2013 Playlist on Spotify.

[/fusion_testimonial]

Staff Lists:

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_testimonial company=”Lindsey Rhoades” author=”RiotGrrl’s Influence in 2013″ image=”http://www.audiofemme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/kimkathleen.jpg”]
Not only are we as a culture stepping up to finally examine sexism and exploitation and appropriation within the industry, there are more acts than ever completely unafraid to do their own thing – be it overtly political (see: Priests) or revolutionary in its emotional candidness (looking at you, Waxahatchee).
[/fusion_testimonial]

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_testimonial company=”Carena Liptak” author=”Best Album Art” image=”http://www.audiofemme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/sunbather.jpg”]
Let’s all just agree to agree that hip hop as a genre won the album cover contest this year, okay?
[/fusion_testimonial]

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_testimonial company=”Rebecca Kunin” author=”2013’s Best Soundtracks” image=”http://www.audiofemme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Soundtrack.jpg”]
Music has the ability to make or break a cinematic moment.  Would Jaws be as scary if it weren’t for the theme song? Or would we cry as hard when Leo Dicaprio sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean if Celine Dion didn’t belt “My Heart Will Go On” every five minutes? Probably not.
[/fusion_testimonial]

 

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_testimonial company=”Lindsey Rhoades” author=”2013: The Year in Music Controversies” image=”http://www.audiofemme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/musicthoughts.jpg”]In the age of the ubiquitous think-piece, here’s another, and this time, it’s about think-pieces.  In 2013 what think-pieces mean is that no one is about to get away with anything.[/fusion_testimonial]

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_testimonial company=”Kelly Tunney” author=”Top 10 Unexplainable Kanye Moments” image=”http://www.audiofemme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Kanye.jpg”]
Mr. West has built up quite a reputation for himself. His musical talent has remained impressive throughout his 6-album career (Yeezus easily made several of this year’s “best of” lists, including our own) but Kanye’s persona has been the subject of parody and scandal for a long time now. This year, though, held several moments of Kanye-crazy that stood out among the plethora of examples from his memorable past.
[/fusion_testimonial]

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_testimonial company=”Carena Liptak” author=”Notes From The Road” image=”http://www.audiofemme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/BTHEHc8IgAAESY0.jpg-large.jpeg”]
At the beginning of 2013, adventure felt overdue — something about going to new places, with no routine or expectations, opens you up to hear music you’d never think to listen to otherwise.
[/fusion_testimonial]

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_testimonial company=”Raquel Dalarossa” author=”Top 7 to Anticipate in 2014″ image=”http://www.audiofemme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/outkast-reunion-big-boi-andre-3000.jpg”]
Between the exciting festival rumors and anticipated album releases, 2014 is already shaping up to be a pretty amazing year (at least musically speaking).
[/fusion_testimonial]
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ROADTRIP: Moonface and My Bloody Valentine in Philly

Part mix-tape, part choose-your-own-adventure, AudioFemme leaves the confines of NYC to bring you long-form accounts of the crazy things we do for the love of live-music.  In this installment, Lindsey travels to Philly for Moonface and My Bloody Valentine, with plenty of pit-stops along the way. – Eds.

In February I lay on my couch with headphones on, slow tears streaming from the corners of my eyes and into my hair.  I was listening to m b v, the first record by Dublin shoegazers My Bloody Valentine to be released in over twenty years and I felt as though my blood was running backwards.  I’d discovered them long after their seminal Loveless had been released, unearthing the quintessential record as a high schooler at the dawn of digital downloading.  In college, I dated a guy who introduced me to their earlier releases, and I fell in love with those songs as hard as I fell for him.  They were a band that I considered mostly inactive, even as Kevin Shields involved himself in side projects here and there, even as Lost In Translation brought the band’s music to larger masses.  Even when they “reunited” for shows in far-off places like Indio and London and Niigata (places it seemed impossible to get to) I thought of My Bloody Valentine as a completed project from which new music would never really come.  And I’d pretty much given up hope of ever seeing them live.  But then out of nowhere came m b v, with its gliding, grinding guitar on “who sees you” which felt like an extension of Loveless, its punishing flanger on “wonder 2” sounding not just like the end of the record, but the end of the fucking world…

My pulse quickened not only to hear these new compositions, but also because I knew there’d be a tour behind them.  And I could already picture myself in the audience with more tears streaming down my face.

*     *     *

Months later when My Bloody Valentine tour dates were announced, I could already see that the NY dates at Hammerstein would be prohibitively expensive.  But they were playing Philly, too – at The Electric Factory – and ticket prices were literally half the cost of those here.  A good friend of mine who’d been begging me to come down all summer offered to host me for the weekend and the decision was made.  So last Friday, I stood shivering on 6th Avenue, waiting for a Bolt bus.

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My Bloody Valentine tickets
seeing these made my heart leap.

I felt almost melancholy; it had been a strange week.  I’d lost my wallet after getting wasted at my ex boyfriend’s birthday bash on Tuesday, gone home with him, and burst into tears mid-makeout.  It was no secret that I’d had flings with this Philly friend off and on for the last eight years of my life, and my ex didn’t really want me to go, sometimes saying it was only because he felt left out, other times admitting that he didn’t want things to be over between us.  Philly friend had come down with strep throat and though he claimed to no longer be contagious that pretty much ruled out any hook-ups anyway.  So my weekend of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll seemed doomed from the get-go.  But the thought of missing My Bloody Valentine filled me with a dread so excruciating that all I could do was shuffle onto that bus, find a seat, and watch the skyline fade behind me.

On the way down I listened to She’s Gone, the debut of supergroup Upset.  Vocalist Ali Koehler and guitarist Jenn Prince are contemporaries of what can be described most simply as the Vivian Girls scene (both played in the band at one time or another, as well as several of its satellite projects) but what blew my mind most was that Patty Schemel (as in, Patty Schemel of fucking HOLE) was drummer of the band.  My anxieties started to fade in a wash of bubblegum-snapping, toe-tapping pop punk.  The little details took me back to my youth, from the disaffected chuckle at the beginning of semi-snotty “About Me” through the brazen “I just want to take you under the covers” coo on “Game Over”.  All the songs stay short and sweet and two minutes at a time, my heart lightened.

And then “Let It Go” summed up my exact position in the universe at that moment:

i kissed the bottle when i coulda been kissin you / i know that i shouldn’t be missin you / so i’ll try / but how will i let this one go / i wish the subtle things i say to you / would read the way i want them to / but i know i should try and / just let this one go / you can call this an obsession or an indiscretion but i just dunno if / i can let this one go / you wanted romance well here it is / i just wanna love you from afar / and keep you just the way you are / safely distant from my heart / but close enough still / to keep that spark

…caught geographically and emotionally between two boys, neither really a viable option at this point.

I was so nostalgic for the days I’d spend driving around with my high-school punk rock partner-in-crime Patti that I actually sent her a facebook message though we haven’t spoken in two years.

There are so many albums coming out lately that I really wish I could listen to driving around Northeast Ohio with you. You have to check out Swearin’ and Upset and Perfect Pussy and Priests and Joanna Gruesome and Waxahatchee and Hunters and Tweens!!!! It’s a golden age of girl-fronted pop punk and a GREAT time to start up our band 73 Cents (or the Vanities as I wanted to call us). Hope you’re well!

No response yet.  I tweeted:

Then I actually put on that dog. and melted into wistful reverie until my phone warned me my battery was at 20%.  So not punk.

*     *     *

Philly friend fed me grilled cheeses and spicy tomato soup and meatloaf sandwiches and tater tots from his favorite bar as soon as I got in.  We dropped my things off at his house and I met his cats and his roommate and her pug who has a licking-things compulsion.  Spencer Krug was playing at Underground Arts that night under his solo moniker Moonface to support his new record Julia With Blue Jeans On and I insisted we go; I’d been lucky enough to see him at Littlefield in Brooklyn the spring prior when he’d debuted a lot of the material that wound up on the record and the set was just gorgeous.  In the bar earlier while I was shoving food in my face they were playing Wolf Parade’s flawless 2005 record Apologies to the Queen Mary so I was already primed for Krug’s crooning.

Underground Arts is a new venue in Philly with a lot of big plans. After Moonface they were hosting an Afrobeat dance party in the back room, which was actually larger than the one where Krug was set to play.  I glanced at a poster on the column we’d committed to lean against and noticed that Thee Oh Sees had played there at the end of October and if I’d known how great this venue was I would’ve come down for that, too.  Their beers on tap were legit, the sound was perfect, the floor plan pretty open (they’d set up chairs in clusters around the stage for the night’s performance that could easily be reconfigured or removed depending on the performer).

Saltland, a.k.a. musician Rebecca Foon, was already playing when we arrived.  Foon is best known for stints in Esmerine and A Silver Mt. Zion and her solo project, while hinging on her very skilled cello compositions, also features some loops, backing tracks, and powerful if occasional vocals.  She gave shout-outs to her mother’s charity organization, repped Montreal, thanked Krug and called his audiences “beautiful” and kicked her right leg like a marionette with a charley horse as she sawed her bow across the cello’s strings in more urgent passages.  The songs took turns as dramatic and expansive as the imagery inherent in Foon’s nom-de-plume would suggest.

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Krug and Foon have been friends for a while, coming from the same city and sharing a music scene, and they both display the trademark humility Canadians are stereotypically known for.  Krug’s long hair obscured his face anytime he leaned over to play piano, but he would conscientiously tuck it behind his ear when he turned to address the audience with anecdote or gratitude, casually flashing a million-watt smile.  He explained that he’d mainly planned to play through the material from his latest record before opening with album stunner “Love The House You’re In” .  Even from the get-go, his voice was emotive and intense, needing no build-up or practice to slip into its full-bodied range.  His piano playing was deliberate and complex and though he complained of some broken keys and out-of-tune-ness it sounded perfect with or without the supposed flaws.

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Spencer Krug Moonface live Philly Underground Arts
Spencer Krug, a.k.a. Moonface @ Underground Arts, Philly

True to his word, he stuck to material from Julia, moving through powerful renditions of the title track, singles “Barbarians” and “Everyone is Noah, Everyone Is The Ark”, as well as “Black Is Back In Style”, “First Violin” and “Your Chariot Awaits”.  There was one song with the line we both know that we’re both crazy that had really stuck with me from the show I caught in May and was particularly delighted to find on the record.  Krug introduced this song, “November 2011”, as his most straightforward love song.  “If you’re thinking of proposing to someone now would be the time” he laughed.  Someone in the back of the audience shouted “Marry ME!” but Krug politely declined before launching into the relatively bright, sweet melody.

It’s hard to know how personal to get here, how much to reveal.  I can tell you that the first time I heard that song I was standing next to my ex and we were in the midst of a doomed reconciliation, but he looked down at me and took my arm and held my hand and I’ll never not think of that moment when I hear the song.  I can also tell you that in 2005, a few months after I met Philly friend, I invited him to come visit me in Ohio and we had a time that very closely follows the narrative of the song.  I can tell you that when Krug was one verse in, a lady near the bar fell off of a table she was sitting on and it clattered and it broke some of the gravity of all those memories, just a little.  I don’t know how many details it’s appropriate to share, ever.

*    *    *

phillywhiskey

We went to a whiskey and go-go bar after the show that made me wish New York didn’t have weird cabaret laws.  I drank Willet on the rocks and an elderberry cider and I can’t remember any music we might have heard in the bar or otherwise discussed.  We went to another bar and got late night snacks (duck confit potato skins and pineapple habanero chicken wings) and he confessed he was kind of involved with another girl who sort of wanted to get serious and I confessed that I had no idea what was even going on with my love life and we laughed all the way to his place where I immediately fell asleep under an electric blanket trying to watch movie trailers on the Carnosaur DVD I’d found on his shelf earlier that day and had been making fun of him for owning since.

*     *     *

The next morning we drove to a Tex-Mex brunch place where I got a breakfast quesadilla filled with eggs and smokey pulled pork and something called a Cowboy Coffee which had Kahlúa and Bulleit in it.  They were playing a pretty decent punk mix which is so different from the Michael Bublé bullshit I’m used to hearing at brunch that I got really wound up when Thee Oh Sees came on.  We checked out a couple junk stores and I insisted on listening to the new Swearin’ record as we drove around because they’re from Philly and I’m an obsessed creep.

When I lived in the Midwest the place I listened to music most was in my car.  Now I’m on a bike constantly (at least before the winter winds turn me into a wimp) or taking public transportation from Point A to Point B either lacking headphones or with my only mechanism for playing mp3s threatening a swift death if I open Spotify.  So these days, it’s a bit weird to find myself in the front seat of a car cruising down highways and side streets and everything in between.  Swearin’s first single from Surfing Strange puts me right back in the driver’s seat, if not literally.

We picked up my friend’s roommate and headed to the Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market.  She has this wry sense of humor, not wholly unblemished by the bitterness that goes along with sticking close to the same music scene your whole life.  Having grown up in the Trenton area, it seemed like she knew everyone.  The flea was filled with hand-made jewelry and record crates almost too overwhelming to dig through and the softest thrifted tees in bins labeled 4 for 10$ and lots of horror-movie paraphernalia and vintagey goodness.  We drove back to Jersey with No Age blasting and the sun setting against Philly’s approaching skyline.  We refueled with food and beer flights at Johnny Brenda’s where Tim Kasher was playing later that night.  But we’d be at My Bloody Valentine, of course.

*     *     *

As showtime drew nearer I felt an excitement growing that I rarely feel about shows anymore.  Most of the time I’m attending shows to check a new band out, or sometimes just because it’s something to do instead of staying home.  Even with bigger bands whose catalogues I cherish I don’t feel jittery and I knew it was more than the Cowboy Coffee.  I really felt poised to have a moment with Kevin Shields & Co., to be cleansed by intense volume and lose myself in guitar haze.

We got to the venue after Dumb Numbers had played.  It took almost an hour for My Bloody Valentine to set up, a ring of monitors and amps poised to surround Shields like a sonic Stonehenge.  I’m normally pretty good about weaving my tiny self politely toward the front of a crowd  but the way Electric Factory was set up it bottlenecked between the impenetrable bar and the sound booth and a wall of the tallest people I’ve ever encountered had already posted up shoulder-to-shoulder between the two.  I thought the crowd might shift a little and open up but nothing moved so we decamped to a balcony.  The sightlines were great but it certainly wasn’t as excruciatingly loud as I’d wanted it to be, and the psychedelic light show couldn’t quite penetrate the darkness up there in the rafters in any retina-scorching way.  Still, I was pretty pumped for things to get started.

They opened with “Sometimes” before I even felt prepared for it and it oddly felt like they were just trying to get it out of the way.  As the show went on it felt more and more like the band didn’t even want to play with each other.  Like chewing pot roast in silence at an awkward family dinner after mom and dad have been fighting, the quartet plodded through “I Only Said” and “When You Sleep” before appropriately introducing their most recent material with “new you”.  By then, some worrisome sound issues were cropping up.  I’d expected the mix to be a little muddy, especially as they visited works from Isn’t Anything, Tremelo, and You Made Me Realise – that is, after all, part of the allure of My Bloody Valentine’s oeuvre.  But it wasn’t that the vocals were buried under fuzz – it was like the fuzz was flat.  It all felt sloppily executed; the layers of distortion feeling disparate instead of layering gracefully on top of one another.  Several times, Shields stopped songs a few bars in and restarted them.  It was unclear whether these technical difficulties were occurring due to fault of the venue, but even from so far away I could see Shields point an accusatory finger at the audio engineer present on stage.  Worried techs rushed out here and there in a desperate attempt to try to alleviate some of the problems but the whole thing seemed like a train wreck.

In the purest, most unsullied moments I felt a sort of dizziness, and though part of that was true exhilaration, I think it also happened because I had to hold my breath lest the magic dissolve in some tragic technical difficulty.  “To Here Knows When” went off without a hitch and exuded an incredible warmth, “wonder 2” was almost as assaulting as I’d wanted it to be but I couldn’t help feeling like it should have been bumped way up in the set instead of buried near the end.  The squall of closer “You Made Me Realise” almost approached bliss but the so-called “Holocaust” section felt like little more than an “Off-handed Anti-Semitic Remark” section.  Which, referring to the jam session you tack on the end of your set as one of the most tragic genocides in human history probably is.  And then Shields, who said little all night in terms of between-song banter except to apologize here and there for the technical difficulties, said what I could have sworn was “Fuck” but I guess could have been “Thanks” in heavy Brogue.  Either way, he stomped offstage like a petulant child, the lights came up, and there was no encore.

The roughly 80-minute set was about as long as it had been in other cities, other venues, and the list pretty much identical.  But I felt so jilted by the experience it was all I could do to not immediately buy tickets to the $70 Hammerstein shows I had been trying to avoid in the first place.  I was stunned and crushed and not in the way I had expected to be at all.  I didn’t want to believe that it had gone so badly, that what would likely be my only experience with a band so beloved would be utter rubbish.  And almost everyone tweeting about the show had only glowing remarks with almost no mention of the sound issues, which made me feel as if I was going crazy.  Other attendees were saying it was the best show they’d ever seen (do you even go to any shows ever actually?) and using pretentious phrases about “angelic drone” and all I could feel was total jealousy of their ability to suspend disbelief and make delusional snap judgments.  I wanted to love that show more than anything and instead it was one of the hugest let-downs in terms of concert-going that I’ve experienced  in my life.

*     *     *

I get that sometimes things aren’t the way you expect them to be.  That often, disappointment goes hand-in-hand with any expectation at all.  That you might imagine one scenario and have the reality end up completely opposite from the fantasy.

I spent the rest of my evening stress-eating cheesesteaks (from Pat’s – far superior to Geno’s in my opinion) and decompressing in front of a pinball machine.  In the morning over cream-cheese filled Pumpkin French Toast and Chicken N’ Waffles Benedict I apologized to Philly friend for being so emotionally detached and physically hands-off, citing weird feelings I was having about my ex in NYC and my resent lack of self-esteem as factors contributing to why I’d been less than present.  He shrugged and said he’d just assumed I was worried about catching Strep.  Then he asked me why I’d been feeling so bad about myself.  “I’m just tired and I feel old” I said, “and I haven’t been going to yoga.”

I am searching for a balance right now, but the ease I long for has been elusive.  Weighty memories and distorted renderings are fine when it comes to a live music experience but there’s been too much of both in my personal life lately and it’s really complicating my ability to make decisions about the future of my relationships.

Back on a Bolt bus and headed home, I listened through Static, the newest from Brooklyn-based dream-poppers Cults.  Vocalist Madeline Follin and guitarist Brian Oblivion had formed the band as couple but split up after a grueling tour in support of their critically acclaimed self-titled debut.  No one wanted to make a big deal about the break-up, worried that the focus would shift from the music to the personal lives of the duo behind it.

For what it’s worth, the record stands alone without that back-story; it’s a bit grittier and fuzzier than the last collection of songs we heard from the group but is still akin to that material in its updated 60’s girl-group pop vibe.  Follin and Oblivion are joined by members of the touring band they enlisted to help flesh out the material live, and that synergy and practice shows on Static.  While there aren’t as many standout singles on the record, the dark undertones that the band typically bury in sunny melody here have their moments in the forefront, allowing for greater depth.  Cults has grown up.

That being said, the fact that Static was written and recorded by former lovers lends another kind of weight to tracks more outwardly breezy.  Follin is known for her impish vocals but lyrically she displays a no-nonsense bravado.  She comes across as disappointed in the turn of events despite knowing that things are over and is determined to move on, castigating her former lover and her former self  on “Were Before” and then delivering healthy doses of inspiration in the soaring “Keep Your Head Up”.

Follin and Oblivion could have chosen to break up the band when their relationship ended, of course.  Instead, we have Static, because there was too much there to walk away entirely.  The force behind their creative collaboration was all the glue that was needed to pull everything back together, and it’s a permanent fixture in the group’s trajectory.  “Always and Forever” highlights and celebrates the remnants of that relationship and the form that it’s now taken on, with Follin unleashing her sky-high falsetto.

I suppose there are just feelings that endure no matter the circumstance, no matter the disappointment involved as time marches forward.  I’m not going to throw my copy of Loveless in the trash based on one lackluster live performance.  And even though I wish I possessed the strength to whip my personal life into shape, I’m more in a position to be bandied by unpredictable whims than I am to take control.  At the root of all it is true sentiment unraveling endlessly from my sensitive heart, drowning out everything else like so much noise.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]