7th Level Music

Live: Reverend Horton Heat, Dave Alvin, New Bomb Turks, and Voodoo Glow Skulls – House of Blues – Chicago, IL – November 28, 2019

It had been well over a decade since I’d seen Reverend Horton Heat, New Bomb Turks, or Voodoo Glow Skulls live, so buying a ticket to their show at Chicago’s House of Blues was a no-brainer. New Bomb Turks are one of my favorite punk bands of all time, and Reverend Horton Heat is an unstoppable touring machine. VGS are bonkers ska punks whose blood is probably the formula for Red Bull. The icing on the cake was learning that punk / psychobilly legend Dave Alvin was going to be playing a half-hour set with Reverend Horton Heat during the show (which was called the “Holiday Hayride”).

Voodoo Glow Skulls opened the show, getting the crowd jumping and moshing and bouncing. They played new and older tracks, including a fun cover of “Charlie Brown” and their blistering new song, “Generation Genocide.”

New Bomb Turks were up next and threw down a fiery, raucous set that left a lot of people dumbfounded. Lead singer Eric Davidson did his best to keep the crowd fired up, including trying to pull people onstage. Only four people, me included, took him up on the offer (Me during their classic “Dress Up the Naked Truth,” which resulted in Mr. Davidson violating my mouth with his microphone while I knelt before him). The set was so quick and furious that the crowd seemed stunned into silence by the time they were done.

Reverend Horton Heat opened with an instrumental version of “We Three Kings” and then switched back and forth between fan-favorites like “400 Bucks” and “Bales of Cocaine” and Christmas tunes like “Silver and Gold” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” The whole band are top-notch musicians. A nice addition for the home crowd was the pianist, a Texan by birth, but a Chicago theatre veteran who played Jerry Lee Lewis in the local production of Million Dollar Quartet.

The whipped cream on the holiday pumpkin pie was a half-hour set by Dave Alvin (singer-songwriter, founding member of The Blasters and The Flesh Eaters) with the Reverend Horton Heat band backing him. Alvin commanded the stage as soon as he set foot on it and put on a guitar clinic, often leaving Jim Heath (AKA Rev. Heat) grinning and saying, “Well, I guess we have to follow that.” after Alvin exited stage left.

It’s a fun tour and was a jolly way to start the holiday season. It might be the last show I see in 2019, and it’s a good way to end my year of live music if that’s the case.

Keep your mind open.

Wrecka Stow: Feels So Good Records – Austin, TX

Located at 609 East 7th Street in Austin, Texas (right next door to the Barracuda live music venue), Feels So Good Records is a cool little shop that sells vinyl, vintage clothing, and other neat stuff. They also have their own print shop and support local bands and artists with art sales and music events they sponsor around town.

They have plenty of fine vinyl, as you can see. The woman working there, Tate, was spinning an old Spooky Tooth record while I was in the store. Those are vintage Easy Rider magazines near that crate of records, and dig that retro nude painting!

Need more cool stuff? How about cassettes, rare singles, Roky Erickson shirts, vintage jeans, and Richie Rich comics? They have a lot of fun stuff in a little space. Be sure to stop by there the next time you’re in Austin.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: The Donkeys – Sun Damaged Youth (2018)

“It’s the year 2025, California has been banished from the United States for water theft.” That’s the first line of The Donkeys‘ futuristic surf-psych concept album Sun Damaged Youth. It’s about a “pack of teenaged misfits armed with skateboards” doing what they can to survive in a radioactive, yet still lovely, desolate landscape. Not only has California been abandoned, but so has most of Earth. The elite have fled to Mars and left the rest of us amid the toxic slime and tortuous heat they helped create.

The opening cut, “S.D.Y.,” is full of lovely Beach Boys melodies mixed with shoegaze surf guitars. 60’s retro organ sounds dominate “Radiation,” as they sing, “On the beach, you’re never out of reach.” Part of the story of this concept album is that the teenage wastelanders are kept sane by radio transmissions from a DJ known as “Cherry Cheetah” on KTOX Radio broadcast from somewhere deep underground. She presents songs like the dream-poppy “Candy Foam” and fictional bands like the Coffin Nails doing a surf instrumental called “Space Slip,” the Savage Detectives performing “Pier Rat” (a bit of a spooky tune with that vintage organ in it), the Santa Anas playing “Pink Seaweed” (an early 1960’s soul instrumental), and The Divine Invasions playing a dreamwave tune called “Weed Wacker.”

“Kool Kids” is shoegaze bliss with bright vocals that still have that distant sound that only shoegaze bands seem to know how to create. “We Are All So Young” is a salute to the point in life where one realizes youth is ending and adulthood is looming. “It’s time to leave the streets behind. I hear the mountains are doing fine,” they say. “Summer’s Dream” is like a long lost Beck cut with its languid beats and vocals as the SDY remember when summer days were spent playing games and surfing instead of scrounging for food and dealing with, as evidenced in the next track, “Green Gunk” that ruins everything it touches. “Unusual” is a short track that floats by you like a feather on the wind. “Sticky Sand” is an upbeat surf rocker that hides a warning about ocean pollution.

“All In the Eyes” brings in Eastern rhythms and guitar sounds (as well as chirping birds, perhaps the first ones seen by the SDY in years) as they sing about idyllic fields and how there’s “no need for disguise when everything’s real.” This is true. When “all the worth is gone, nothing is real,” as they say. This world is illusion. The world of the SDY is illusion, yet its lessons are important. The characters in the Donkeys’ fiction learn that what others see as a wasteland is truly a beautiful, present reality. We’d all be better off if we could see this.

Keep your mind open.

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Mush encourages us to “Eat the Etiquette” ahead of their February album release.

Leeds, England’s Mush, are set to release their 3D Routine, in February on Memphis Industries. It was produced by Andy Savours (who has worked with bands like My Bloody Valentine, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and Dream Wife) and the first single “Eat The Etiquette” is out now.

Mush specialize in playing weirdo, angular, observational guitar pop, both energetic and abrasive while also having a ton of fun. They’ve played shows with bands like Shame, Girl Band, Stereloab and more, and have been supported by sites like DIY and Loud and Quiet, as well as BBC 6Music.

They released a single through the legendary Too Pure Singles Club, and followed that with Induction Party earlier this year, which was a relentless burst of an EP (also released on Memphis Industries). “Eat The Etiquette” continues where the EP left off and is a total earworm of a track with a super catchy chorus that’ll get stuck in your head all day.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Jacques Greene – Dawn Chorus

Dawn Chorus, the excellent new house music album from Jacques Greene, is music for an afterparty or what comes after the afterparty. It’s the sound of what’s buzzing in your head as the lights in the club are turned on to move you onto the streets, the sounds of those streets, or the sounds coming from your car stereo or in your earbuds as you head home from a long night of raving.

The opener, “Serenity,” is warm and still danceable. You’ve achieved a fuzzy bliss from all the dancing and making out that’s been going on all night. The drums on the track have you dancing and the bright synths are almost like alarm clock klaxons reminding you it’s time to start thinking about what comes next. “Drop Location” thumps along with you as you cruise home in your car stuffed with friends or on the train with just a few bleary eyed party-goers and early morning workers.

“Do It Without You” is empowering house that builds to a slick beat and begs you to come back to the dance floor. “Night Service” is Greene’s testament to how nights at the club are like church for many. They’re a community gathering where love is expressed and a place where transcendence can be found among beats, lights, and sweaty bodies. “Sel” touches on some psychedelic elements that flow nicely into “Let Go” – a song that tells us, “Love isn’t lust, unless you say it.”

The words “Girls, ’cause I’m too hot for love” are looped throughout the instant hit floor-filler “For Love.” The tribal beats alone are worth the purchase price. “Sibling” and “Whenever” add synthwave elements to house beats for excellent effect. “Understand” starts off with a cool, warped sound that reminds me on sunlight bouncing off a skipping record.

The last two tracks, “Distance” and “Stars,” invoke images of dawn breaking as you shuffle into your place after the long night of fun, drop your keys in the bowl next to the front door, and put on some house music as you undress and then brush your teeth. You’re not quite ready to lose the beats running through your head just yet, but the moment you’re in calls for a wind-down, and you’re happy for it.

This is one of the best house music albums I’ve heard in a long while, and it should be high among lists of such. It will be on mine.

Keep your mind open.

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The Beths announce 2020 spring U.S. tour.

The Beths will tour the U.S. in Spring 2020 to preview new music from their forthcoming album out next year on Carpark Records. After selling out shows at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg, Washington, DC’s Union Stage and Chicago’s Lincoln Hall on previous tours, the band will play more intimate venues on this run. They recently sat down with Paste while in the studio to discuss the forthcoming album and tour. Read the feature here.

The Beths earned praise from critics and fans alike for their debut full length, Future Me Hates Me. In addition to being ranked #42 in Paste’s “50 Best Indie Rock Albums of the 2010s,” the album received glowing reviews from NPR Music, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The A.V. Club, Stereogum, and more. The band recently won Best Alternative Artist and Best Group at the 2019 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards while also being nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Single of the Year.

Tickets for the band’s Spring 2020 U.S. tour are on sale now.
The Beths Tour Dates:
Sat. March 7 – Auckland, NZ @ Villa Maria*
Thu. March 12 – Marlborough, NZ @ Framingham Harvest Concert
Wed. April 15 – Seattle, WA @ Laserdome
Thu. April 16 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge (tickets)
Fri. April 17 – Bend, OR @ Volcanic Theatre Pub (tickets)
Sat. April 18 – Oakland, CA @ The New Parish (tickets)
Sun. April 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon (tickets)
Mon. April 20 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar (tickets)
Wed. April 22 – Austin, TX @ The Parish (tickets)
Thu. April 23 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links (tickets)
Fri. April 24 – Houston, TX @ Satellite Bar (tickets)
Sat. April 25 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa (tickets)
Sun. April 26 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement (tickets)
Tue. April 28 – Washington, DC @ Pearl Street Warehouse (tickets)
Wed. April 29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie (tickets)
Thu. April 30 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade NYC (tickets)
Fri. May 1 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Smiling Moose (tickets)
Tue. May 2 – Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop (tickets)
Wed. May 3 – Chicago, IL @ Cobra Lounge (tickets)

*w/ A-Ha & Rick Astley

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Bleached – Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough?

I love the title of Bleached‘s new record – Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough? Ostensibly, it refers to sisters Jessica and Jennifer Clavin‘s take on bad relationships. Bleached has always excelled at writing songs about love, break-ups, drawing a line in the emotional sand, and embracing female empowerment. The album’s title can also refer to a host of other things, though – the political atmosphere, junk food, money for billionaires, your smartphone, etc. It’s a question we should all often ask ourselves because it keeps us in the now.

The solid rock groove of the opener, “Heartbeat Away,” has the Clavin sisters singing about how dangerously close addiction and heartbreak can be if you’re not careful (“I could go back to the way it was. All it would take is a slip in the mud.”). It’s no secret that Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough? is the first album they’ve written while clean and sober, and this new clarity is all over the record. As evidence of this, look no further than the second track, “Hard to Kill,” which brings in a great disco guitar riff and is one of my favorite singles of the year.

“Daydream” is a garage rock song about longing after someone who might’ve been “the one,” but is now lost to time and vague memories. “I Get What I Need” has a cool swing to it that is difficult to describe (Early Kaiser Chiefs tunes?) but great to hear. “Somebody Dial 911” is easier to describe, because it sounds like a lost 1980’s alternative rock love song that cracked the Billboard Top 40. The guitar riffs resemble Cure riffs and the slightly echoed vocals remind one of Brit-pop from the era.

“Kiss You Goodbye” (also in the running for one of my top 20 singles of the year) is such a great tune that you might miss the fact that it’s a middle finger to a former lover and how Bleached feels “so alive” afterwards. It’s a track that isn’t afraid to explore and embrace the many genres that inspire the Clavin sisters (disco, pop, and post-punk in this track, in particular). “I don’t want what I can’t have,” Jennifer Clavin sings on “Rebound City.” “I just want to make you say, ‘I’m sorry. I never meant to break your heart.’ It’s a one-way boulevard.” Ouch. You’re tempted to feel bad for the dude she’s left, but you quickly realize he was a dickweed and Clavin is better off walking away with her middle finger raised.

“I don’t know if I’m cut out for this,” they sing at the beginning of “Silly Girl” – a song that’s a look-back to their past reliance on drugs and booze. Trust me, Sisters Clavin, you are. The slick production of this toe-tapper is proof. The California sun comes through on “Valley to LA,” which even has a west coast country vibe to it. Jennifer Clavin admits to her faults on “Real Life” (“That one time when I was such a piece of shit and made you sad…”). “Awkward Phase” is a down-tuned, but still lively, track about our teenage years and the attachments we have related to them that are hard to release (Haven’t we had enough of them?). The closer, “Shitty Ballet,” is a sharp take on a bad relationship and heartbreak. So often we dance around the things that make us uncomfortable or get lost in the illusion of comfort that is actually bad for us (again, without realizing we’ve had enough of it).

Bleached keep getting better with each record. Hearing them create art from a place of inner peace is a joy, and I couldn’t be happier for them. Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough? might be the one of the most uplifting albums of 2019.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin 2019 recap – Day Four

We began our fourth and final day of Levitation Austin 2019 by attending the downtown record show at the Palmer Event Center. The show was a gold mine for vinyl record collectors. I managed to score three CD’s there – a live Goblin bootleg of a show from 1975, a copy of Husker Du‘s Zen Arcade, and a copy of Duran Duran‘s Arena (the cassette of which I wore out years ago).

We had a nice dinner at one of our yearly stops – Daruma Ramen – and then headed back to Barracuda for the Death by Audio showcase. This was one of the first tickets I bought for the festival when I saw one of my favorite bands, A Place to Bury Strangers, was playing along with The KVB, who I’ve wanted to see live for a while now. APTBS were selling earplugs at their merchandise table for $2.00 a pair. I had brought my own, but in case you’ve never seen them before, this is $2.00 well spent. Trust me on this. First up for us at the DBA showcase was Numb.er, who put on a cool set of shoegaze noise.

Up next, and outside were The KVB, who were excited to finally be playing in Austin and to a welcoming crowd. They sounded great and showed how much evocative music two people can make with the right chemistry, guitar pedals, and synth / drum machine set-up.

We went back inside to catch most of the set by Austin’s own Ringo Deathstarr. They played a mix of new (some played for the first time that night) and older material and filled the inside stage area with fuzzy rock.

I then went back outside for APTBS’ set. My wife stayed inside to wait for Christian Bland and the Revelators and to avoid the sonic assault provided by an APTBS show. This isn’t a crack on my wife. Not everyone can handle their shows. I’ve seen metal heads, screamo fanatics, and hardcore goths wither under their power. Sure enough, they unleashed fury on the outdoor stage, with Oliver Ackermann’s guitar and Dion Lunadon’s bass both being hammered onto the stage within two songs (and multiple times thereafter).

APTBS with members of Ringo Deathstarr and Cryogeyser

Every band from the Death By Audio showcase came out to play with them during the set, which included members of Cryogeyser, the KVB, Numb.er, and Ringo Deathstarr. Their was so much fog machine fog rolling off the stage at one point that the band, bathed in strobe lights as well, took on the appearance of ghosts. I was near the front of the stage and facing Dion Lunadon for most of the set and he went through two bass guitars, and all of the strings on the second were broken by the end. In other words, it was another great APTBS show and a great finish to the festival.

Christian Bland and the Revelators, meanwhile, were putting on a cool show of early Pink Floyd-influenced blues-psych inside Barracuda, and it was a nice way to send our latest Levitation Austin Festival out on a groovy note with one of its curators.

Christian Bland (left) and the Revelators

Levitation weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year. It’s always a good time, the crowds are always cool (I’ve yet to have run-ins with jerks at the festival.), and the music (and food) is always great. Thanks again to the Reverb Appreciation Society for making it happen. See you next year, Austin.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin 2019 recap – Day Three

We would spend about twelve hours in downtown Austin on the third day of Levitation Austin 2019. We had tickets to see a lot of bands, and it was the busiest day of the festival for everyone involved.

We began at, once again, Barracuda, where the RidingEasy Records showcase started off the afternoon. We missed the opening of Warish‘s set due to having to eat lunch beforehand at a nearby Thai restaurant. We knew we’d need fuel for the day. Warish was blaring on the inside stage, making my wife say, “There’s nothing ‘ish’ about it!” Their cover of Nirvana‘s “Negative Creep” was solid and much-appreciated.

Next up, and outside, were Here Lies Man, whose last two albums have been in the top ten of their respective years for me. They put on a groovy set to a crowd that was loving their heavy “Black Sabbath plays Afrobeat” sound and the warmer weather.

My wife became a fan of Blackwater Holylight after we went back inside to see their set. It was a cool, trippy, and sexy mix of psychedelia.

She also appreciated the killer set by The Well, who were among the band’s I was most excited to see at the festival. They threw down one of the best sets I’ve seen all year. It was hard-hitting, solid groove stoner-doom metal and a great mid-day lift.

We kept that theme going with Acid King, who flattened what little was left of the outside stage by now. It was great to see and hear these legends live. They still shred.

It was a quick walk to Stubb’s BBQ to see the Black Angels and John Cale. The Black Angels put on another fine set. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen them live now, and they never put on a bad show.

“I think we’re more excited than you are,” said the Black Angels’ lead singer, Alex Maas, before John Cale took the stage to play tracks that ranged from fun to creepy and covered his solo work and Velvet Underground cuts. The Black Angels joined him and his band onstage for an encore performance of “Sister Ray” that was a thrill for everyone on stage and in front of it.

The Black Angels (left) and John Cale and his band perform “Sister Ray.”

As cool as that was to see and hear, we still had more sets to catch. We zipped back to Barracuda to see Night Beats and Cosmonauts. Night Beats were first, with Danny Blackwell rocking his awesome hat as usual, and they put on a great show on the outdoor stage. Blackwell is a gunslinger with his guitar. I’d almost forgotten how much he shreds.

I’d heard good things about Cosmonauts’ live sets, mostly that they were guitar onslaughts. That description wasn’t far off, because they shook the walls of the building and were a great end cap to a long, wild day.

We were exhausted by the time we got back to the garage apartment we were renting in Austin, but it was a fun day. The next would bring death by audio.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin 2019 recap – Day Two

We started off the second night of Levitation Austin 2019 at Stubb’s BBQ, where the Flaming Lips were playing the outdoor stage along with Holy Wave and Mercury Rev. We got there in time for the last two songs of Mercury Rev’s set, which sounded good. The night was cold, but not as cold as the first. Plus, there were more bodies around to block the wind when it would whip through the outdoor stage area.

The Flaming Lips, as always, put on a fun show to an enthusiastic crowd reveling in balloons, confetti, and Jell-O shots being shot from a slingshot wielded by a man on a surfboard that took him through the crowd. Lead singer Wayne Coyne was in a playful mood and frequently chatted with the crowd. The Flaming Lips are my wife’s new favorite band after seeing them live twice. “I always feel happy,” she said about seeing their shows. That’s one of the best reviews you can get.

We zipped back over to Barracuda to catch Death Valley Girls and Elephant Stone. We hadn’t seen Elephant Stone in a long while and were eager to hear some of their new material. I’d also heard good things about Death Valley Girls’ live sets. They were first and as fun as we’d hoped.

“Hell’s house band” – Death Valley Girls

We then walked over to Elysium to catch David J‘s intimate acoustic set. He was accompanied by a pianist and played tracks from his new solo record as well as a Love and Rockets track (“Shelf Life”). It was a mellow way to end the night. My wife rested her head on my shoulder and a bouncer told her, “You can’t fall asleep here.” like it was a dire warning against the dangers of the goth club’s vampires devouring her if she did.

The set might be the closest I ever get to seeing Bauhaus or Love and Rockets live, so it was nice to see and hear.

The next day would be a marathon, but it would be worth it.

Keep your mind open.

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