OK..FEBRUARY IS ALMOST DONE... LETS GET SOME MUSIC REVIEWS IN

F Me…. I really wanted to make sure I posted something of significance, grammatical competence and mental stimulus every week when I started this blog. Turns out yeah, I admit, it is actually a bit of work to maintain. And pumping out any more than a few paragraphs worth reading? Turns out that can get tedious as well. So I decided I wont try to brain-bomb anyone and I’m not gonna put posts up just to say I put ‘em  up. But I’m gonna try to work as the beat writer and editor of my own brain, that said, this week’s live show review is little late and ended a bit more rushed and scattered than I meant for it to sound. I had high hopes of an epic piece edifying the New Deal and decrying the sorry state of live music from a regional and national touring act standpoint. You’ll just have to take my word for it and assume as I write more about the music I love the voice of my inner journalist will become more and more clear… without further adue

The New Deal Keep it Deep and Live – Pearl St. February 5^th

the New Deal Footwear..Uggs and AF1's..dancin' shoes?

The night of February 5^th was a dark and stormy one. January 2011 was a record-setting month for snowfall in the northeast, and the beginning of February wasn’t proving to be any prettier, although now we had moved to such treachery as ice-rain. Storm drains all across the valley were backing up making even car travel difficult in low-lying areas. I had it in my mind to take this Saturday and make sure I got a chance to see some good live music, but nature and “real jobs” had been conspiring against me for days; I was exhausted after hours of corporate restaurant gruel and the locals who weren’t working didn’t have the stomach to brave the outdoor elements. I had almost resigned myself to the couch with the dog. Luckily for myself a few souls wanted to press their luck and drag me along with them. The phone call came in and it featured a free ticket to Pearl St. to see the New Deal. I couldn’t very well pass up such an opportunity.

            An extra 15 minutes of creep-driving later had me established in the Strong Ave. parking lot and waiting to meet Brendan of IHEG fame at the door to Pearl St. It became immediately clear that we were walking into a hot zone, as an overly intoxicated (and likely underage) patron was being escorted none-too-politely from the premises as we opened the door. This would prove to be the only unpleasant part of the evening as we were to be treated to one of the New Deal’s traditional throwdowns.

Mike Hannigan and Andrea Scobi get down to the sound..

            Before getting too far into describing the nights festivities I need to provide some back story. I’ve been watching the New Deal make their rounds in the North East during the winter months and across the festival circuit during the summer for a solid 8 years. What amazes me about the trio is their ability to come so hard so consistently. I would be hard pressed to recall a performance of theirs that wasn’t a standout excellent show, to say nothing of an unimpressive performance, and more often than not their sets are the most memorable of any given evening or event. During the course of their decade-long tenure, the fully-live and mostly analog electronic-style group has managed to stay under the national radar while remaining at the top of the class of “techno bands” that have sprung up in the wake of groups like the Disco Biscuits (who personally leave a dirty taste in my mouth as pretenders to some sort of crown left in what is generally the vaccum of Phish’s absence.)

            For the uninitiated it is difficult to explain in a way that conveys something as truly excellent as the New Deal’s live performance really is. Suffice to say this. The trio kept Pearl St.’s 650-plus  (very nearly capacity) rocking from jump. There were two extra length sets from the high-powered performers and they even came back for an encore. As previously stated I’ve seen these guys perform already in many venues under different circumstances and to be honest Northampton, MA just isn’t their biggest stage. But they treat the crowd properly and play every song like it just might be their last, taking a full-on dancehall audience from the top of 5^th gear to deeper more introspective house moments but never letting the bet falter and never seeming to forget where they came from.

            I spent the second set observing with a friend of mine whom’s musical tastes run a diverse gamut and who’s girlfriend is no stranger to the Biscuit scene and the dance-band circuit in general. I knew my friend to be open to exploring new genres of music but the New Deal seemed a bit outside of his relatively deep box. After a few songs I could tell that he was an eager new fan, digesting each new hit and tempo change as I watched and bobbed my own head. His quote, which for the layman really could sum up the night: “I’m definitely a fan.”

            Sidenote: I’m too old for festy-games, glowsticks, crystals and the like. Said friend’s date and her crew of rabble-rousers were all for the traditional wardrobe modifications and dancing accessories. Just not my thing. I was amused, however, when a cute young dancing mistress likely from UMass campus 8 or 9 miles away approached me and handed me a note. I was a bit taken aback immediately since I hadn’t been handed a note in this fashion since around 8^th grade. When I opened the paper the hand-scrawl, in red pencil, read,” Keep it Going…”

Andrea Scobi and PNC...

            I complied and continued to get lost in auditory hallucinogen of the Jamie Shield’s weirdly animalistic and alive-sounding manipulations of the Moog Prodigy… This is music I can get behind and on a winter night in February when rain, sleet, flooding and darkness threaten to engulf existence it is a good feeling knowing that somewhere out there in the darkness the New Deal are getting people warm and hopefully helping them to pump their fists in unison and dance just a little bit longer.

    the New Deal (lower case "the" intentional) do not tour continuously. Hailing from Toronto they have a tendency to string 6-8 dates together 4 or 5 times a year the have a northeast-centric route map. If you are in Boston or New York you can usually catch them and they often mix in places like Providence, Burlington, Hartford and Philadelphia for these runs. In the summer months they stay busy as previously stated, occupying space on the festival circuits. I think it is somewhat extraordinary that they have maintained such an exact science and placement within the touring act hieracrchy for such a long period of time....never quite hitting that benchmark that forces them into 5,000 seat rooms but having no problems hitting a place like Pearl St. in Northampton 4 or 5 times a year and selling 600 plus tickets each time. Bands of that caliber with such a  strong stage presence and seemingly unlimited desire and ability to keep the energy of the crowd up (not to mention their own) night after night are few and far between in this day and age. Whether you dip your toes in the "jam band" end of the pool (dirty words in some circles, I know) or subscribe to a more beat-oriented philosophy I highly recommend checking out the New Deal the next time they stop through your hood. It will instantly become the story of the "last time you had this much fun" likely holding you down until you inevitably check them out again...

Next up reports on Alan Evans, Alecia Chakour, Darby Wolf and how that nonsense all ties together...

-Bob

crumby DROID photos are 5 megapixel but I was having difficulties with the flash... I actually think for the scenario they could be worse. I really just wanted to make sure I included the Keep it Going shot, but what the heck..

Self-Portrait

Desert Island? I dunno yet. The Social Network, for me, lived up to every hyperbole so it could be, as a stand-alone explanation for how you got to the point of wanting to read something like this, the defining moment. The Wolverine trade paperback, a collection of the Chris Claremont penned/ Frank Miller penciled original stand-alone miniseries, is probably the second-most important tale of Logan's backstory second only to the Weapon X storyline originally printed in the now-defunct Marvel Comics Presents bi-weekly mag.. For the record, who wan' come tes' meh?? I murder x-men historians for fun!
My nearly deadPod is still an important part of my self portrait as it is literally riddled with left-of-gangster rap and four-on-the-floor rock riffs that got swallowed by the commercial success of Franz Ferdinand and Modest Mouse.

The slim-line jewel ca$e houses one of an extremely limited NBFB edition of our second studio length with an alternate, time-sensative cover (the inside shows summer tour dates for '03, immediately following BerkFest...
The coffee table volume is a collection of rockband poster prints ive never even thumbed through, but which represents the future of chronicling the past..

The past, as we know, is prologue...

Stingo,


-B

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LETS GET WITH IT - WoMass is in the Building.. Introducing MOKE N TONE

I swore to get down to these brass tacks so here goes. I grew up West a' Worchester and I've been repping the 413 for quite some time. At one point I like to think I was right in the heart of a movement. The Pioneer valley, while certainly steeped in a rich tradition of musical output and forefathers, had something of a groundswell in the late 90's which led to the arise of several musical acts that got a chance to see things farther down the career path than many ever get a chance to. Stardom, I suppose, is really measured in the eye of the prospective star. But for my money it was a special time. I got to be part of, and many of my friends got to experience, something really special and I think we raised a bar. I'm definitely nostalgic for the early 2000's. It was livin' on top of the world time. That being said as we enter 2011 there are some artists arising (and many that have been working on that rise for awhile) that need to catch some love. My tastes run the gamut, so I'm gonna throw a bit of an eclectic mix at yinz and see what sticks...


Western Mass Hip Hop
Honestly this is a tough road to travel. Hip-Hop is a much maligned medium on its best day. So much of the qualifications for greatness also seem to stem from pedigree, or specifically, origin (City, Block, etc.). Realism and credibility are constantly a question and rationale for quality. There is really no other genre of music where your background is so closely scrutinized. This has, of course, been equally Hip-Hop's bar-setting beauty and fatal flaw. I've long grown out of caring who and where good music is made, I just care if its good. I'm happy to report that Hip-Hop does in fact live and even thrive in Western Mass.
     First up in a class of emerging Western Mass's true sounds is a not-too-little dude by the name of Mokeout. Moke as he is knonw round the way is an MC is the real tradition. In a world of hooks and disappointing synth-horns, Moke has made a point of RAPPING. Can he do the "make it rain" thing? Yah, if thats what you're into. But believe if thats extent of your interest then in Moke's eyes you probably have a lot to learn about this thing of his.

Who's up for a quick game of cricket? Reeeal quick.

     Visiting Moke at home the first thing you notice is that the main feature of his domicile is an absurd collection of composition notebooks and legal pads. Unfortunately if I had needed to borrow a page to jot down some notes there would be no sheets available. Moke literally spends every waking moment with a pen in his hand and a notebook within arms length at the absolute furthest. There a several bookshelves. They're all filled with his own work. Spending an afternoon with Moke gives me a chance to hear him rap in several different timbres at several speeds and with a multitude of concepts and subjects. Again, in the truest and oldest of traditions, the man draws from his own experiences. His words run off the page with stories of raising his son as a single parent and figuring out how to get over to that end. He writes constantly and actively tries to capture exact sensations of the moment. So it's no surprise that the man who is living through the same political upheaval and financial crisis that Americans are now experiencing every day has a sense of honesty and self about his words that I find easy to identify with. Knowing that Moke is doing this not just for himself but for his future and the future of his family is visceral and it comes across immediately in his delivery. He can easily relaxes into party joints where his flow melts over the edges of his closest cohorts, two producers with very different styles by the name of Live and Tone, and reverses into extreme angst, agitation and palpable emotion when his subject matter changes to life, love and easily his most important asset, his son.

Moke (right) with producer Tone of Problemaddicts Fame

     Hearing Moke's flow makes me shiver. It's good to know that in the depths of the western mass winter some flames can't be doused. His hunger for affirmation leads one to believe that the only thing that can keep this MC from widespread recognition is himself. In 2011 we will find out exactly how far that ambition will take him.

Video for "False Flags" featuring Moke and Tone as well as frequent collaborator Tools.

Alright thats it for this edition. Bobby got tired fingers.

ROBOT'S ATTACK!! Robot Trinity's first cohesive effort..

Stepping out of the shadows Robot Trinity lands on the scene dropping "Robot Attack!", a WORLD WIDE EXCLUSIVE!! Oh Hecks, yeah baby! Me and Dan and Darby did this in 2 sessions in Dan's basement. I played drums, for real, Darby played Clavinet, Dan played Bass and pulled the intro Facemelter. We all contributed to the clap track but I soloed on Cowbell..although it may need a bit more..

So here it is, ROBOT ATTACK from our new supergroup, ROBOT TRINITY. Our second track scheduled for release is way more ethereal, entitled "Quint's Madness" with a loosely JAWS-themed lyrical stylization...

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What I'm Doing This For....

Well I started off this blog with a few snarky remarks about intelligence and my own self-worth and immaculate taste. That's just how I roll. At the time I put this blog up I hadn't really thought through what I wanted to say. That's another fairly typical example of my behavior; Speaking before I think it all the way through. I suspect that over the next couple weeks and months I'll become, in various intervals, even more or less certain about what is important to talk about. But for now at least I'm gonna try to focus.

"The Robot Trinity" Project

So. I was in a couple of bands for a while. One of them was called NBFB. We spent most of the early 00's cruising the greater North East (New England +) and trying to convince people that our brand of prog-jam was gonna herald in a new era of record deals and rich musicians that didn't dress up, wear make-up or perform song written for us by other people. It was a lot of fun. Not incredibly lucrative but certainly a TON of fun. We still play a few times a year, usually at Bishop's Lounge in Northampton, MA.

In the aftermath of this musical idealogy Darby Wolf, Dan Rehm and myself have been concocting some new hotness in Dan's lab in Brookfield, MA.