Norton Records' 25th Anniversary looked like a great time. Lots of great rock and soul acts, all over the course of a single weekend in NYC.
However, for a variety of reasons, the weekend didn't pan out for me, and I had to pass - with the exception of the Sonics Saturday matinee show at Maxwell's in Hoboken.
I saw the Sonics in 2007 at Warsaw in Brooklyn, where they appeared at part of the Cavestomp! festival. It was the first show they had done in over 30 years, and it was quite the event to their cult following. Thankfully, unlike many reunited bands, the Sonics delivered a good performance, even though they were without their original rhythm section.
Now, four years later, here they are at Maxwell's, with another new bass player. Don Wilhelm (of 60's Northwest band the Daily Flash) had been replaced by Freddy Dennis. No matter - they sounded as good as, if not better than, they did at Warsaw.
Dennis took the lead vocal on a few songs, including "Cinderella." He did a fine job - on "Dirty Robber," he sounded eerily like late Wailers keyboardist/vocalist Kent Morrill - but I really wish Sonics mainman Gerry Roslie had tackled at least "Cinderella." (He hadn't sung it at Warsaw, either - Wilhelm did.)
Speaking of Roslie, he sang great when he did sing, and the band as whole seemed relaxed and confident.
They also did four new songs, which they played well, but none of them were a match for the old classics, and they definitely sounded more like 70's hard rock than 60's garage-punk. My friend Matt Berlyant liked them more than I did, so I'd recommend his Big Takeover write-up if you want to find out more about them. Still, all and all, well worth the trip to Hoboken.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
None More Blacklight, or, How I Spent My Friday
I'm actually still stunned by this...
I received an e-mail from Ben Brower a couple of weeks ago. In it, I was asked if I wanted to play keyboards on a few songs for a Spinal Tap tribute on 11/11/11.
I was surprised to say the least. My last gig where I played keyboards in any capacity was with the Three 4 Tens in London in 2002. I didn't even have a gig-worthy keyboard - however, a friend was thankfully willing to loan me one.
I got to work. I learned every song from the "This Is Spinal Tap" album, plus "Bitch School" from their comeback "Break Like The Wind" CD.
I quickly noticed that Spinal Tap songs are not easy to play. I had to work harder than I would have ever imagined. Every song has at least one tricky muso-part that's somehow essential.
The whole gig was quite an undertaking. There were over a dozen players. I ended up playing on every song with the exception of Wastoid's one-off performance (and the only non-Spinal Tap tune) of "Get On Top," which was played by a conglomeration of two Wastoid lineups.
Anyway... It was an absolute blast. The place was packed and the crowd absolutely dug it. I realized right before we started playing that, 27 years into my musical performance "career" that this was the first gig I had ever played where the only instrument I played was keyboards. I also sang - I belted a lead vocal on "Sex Farm" and covered the David St. Hubbins parts on "Stonehenge", "Hell Hole" and "America."
This was the first time I had played with my former Three 4 Tens bandmate Jon Kois in 10 years. He was always a good drummer - but he's even better now.
I knew going into this gig that it was going to be my last gig of any sort for a while. I need some time off to rest, recover, and figure out my next move. I was able to play with a lot of talented, amazing people - really, I couldn't ask for a better one before a hiatus.
I received an e-mail from Ben Brower a couple of weeks ago. In it, I was asked if I wanted to play keyboards on a few songs for a Spinal Tap tribute on 11/11/11.
I was surprised to say the least. My last gig where I played keyboards in any capacity was with the Three 4 Tens in London in 2002. I didn't even have a gig-worthy keyboard - however, a friend was thankfully willing to loan me one.
I got to work. I learned every song from the "This Is Spinal Tap" album, plus "Bitch School" from their comeback "Break Like The Wind" CD.
I quickly noticed that Spinal Tap songs are not easy to play. I had to work harder than I would have ever imagined. Every song has at least one tricky muso-part that's somehow essential.
The whole gig was quite an undertaking. There were over a dozen players. I ended up playing on every song with the exception of Wastoid's one-off performance (and the only non-Spinal Tap tune) of "Get On Top," which was played by a conglomeration of two Wastoid lineups.
Anyway... It was an absolute blast. The place was packed and the crowd absolutely dug it. I realized right before we started playing that, 27 years into my musical performance "career" that this was the first gig I had ever played where the only instrument I played was keyboards. I also sang - I belted a lead vocal on "Sex Farm" and covered the David St. Hubbins parts on "Stonehenge", "Hell Hole" and "America."
This was the first time I had played with my former Three 4 Tens bandmate Jon Kois in 10 years. He was always a good drummer - but he's even better now.
I knew going into this gig that it was going to be my last gig of any sort for a while. I need some time off to rest, recover, and figure out my next move. I was able to play with a lot of talented, amazing people - really, I couldn't ask for a better one before a hiatus.
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