Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – 7th Level Music

Pete International Airport release new single (featuring Robert Been from BRMC, no less) from “Flowers of Evil” album.

PETE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT SHARE NEW VIDEO FOR ‘FLOWERS OF EVIL’

(FEATURING ROBERT LEVON BEEN FROM BRMC)

TAKEN FROM THE ALBUM ‘SAFER WITH THE WOLVES‘

Pete International Airport is the brainchild of Peter G. Holmström. Its name is borrowed from a song title by his other band, The Dandy Warhols. Pete International Airport’s new album, Safer With The Wolves, is a meticulously crafted psych rock journey into the dark heart of electronica. The album’s 11 tracks feature guest singers from like-minded allies such as: The Black Angels, Daydream Machine, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Dark Horses, Hopewell and more, and is available now. The video was directed by Paul Dillon (Mercury Rev, Sparklehorse).

The live band consists of long-time collaborator Daniel Sparks, plus Tara Autovino and Jason Russo of Guiding Light. They will be heading out on the road later this month for select West Coast shows, followed by May dates with BRMC.

LIVE SHOWS:

4/24 – San Francisco – Elbo Room

4/25 – Los Angeles – Harvard And Stone

4/27 – Seattle – The High Dive

4/29 – Portland – Mississippi Studios (album release show)

with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club:

5/3 Nashville – Marathon Music Works

5/4 Carrboro – Cat’s Cradle

5/5 Atlanta – Terminal West (Shaky Knees After Show)

5/8 Orlando – The Beacham

5/9 Charlotte – The Underground

5/11 Jersey City – White Eagle Hall

5/12 Buffalo – Town Ballroom

5/13 Toronto – Phoenix Concert Theatre

5/15 Milwaukee – The Rave

5/16 Madison – Majestic Theatre

5/17 Omaha – Slowdown

5/19 Aspen – Belly Up

For more information please visit:

http://www.peteinternationalairport.com

https://www.facebook.com/PeteInternationalAirport

Keep your mind open.

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Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Wrong Creatures

I’ve been looking forward to Wrong Creatures, the new album from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, for a while. I was interested to hear how they’d follow up Spectre at the Feast – an album that dealt with loss and upheaval following the death of bassist / vocalist Robert Been‘s father, and how they’d bounce back after drummer Leah Shapiro was diagnosed with a brain disease and had to undergo surgery (from which, thankfully, she’s fully recovered).

The new album is mellower than some of their past material, but no less haunting. Most the tracks have names that evoke images of ghosts, shadows, dreams, or the unknown. After a brief instrumental opener (“DFF,” which almost sounds like a haunted train station), the first full track is “Spook.” It starts with that rough, almost spaghetti western soundtrack guitar (from co-vocalist and guitarist Peter Hayes) that BRMC does so well and I’m happy to say that Ms. Shapiro is still able to lay down serious beats. The lyrics mention dead cities falling into ruin. One of the first lyrics on “King of Bones” mentions living on borrowed time. Been’s fuzzed bass growls through the entire track.

“Haunt” comes after it, with Hayes taking lead vocals on what almost becomes a western-twinged ballad. “Echo” is aptly named. Sometimes it’s big and bold, other times it’s quiet and distant. “Ninth Configuration,” with its rainstorm-like guitar work (some of Hayes’ best on the record), lies somewhere between shoegaze and dream pop. “I’ll give you what you want if you promise you’ll keep walking away,” Been sings on the wicked “Question of Faith” – a song about obsession and heartbreak.

“Calling Them All Away” sprinkles in what sounds like a sitar with Hayes’ droning guitar and Been’s humming bass. The piano in it is another nice touch. “Little Thing Gone Wild” is a scorcher, with Hayes shredding harmonica and guitar and Shapiro sounding like she’s beating her kit to make up for the time she lost while recovering from surgery. Another aptly named track is “Circus Bazooko.” It has this slightly creepy circus sideshow organ riff throughout it while Hayes swaggers, Been grooves, and Shapiro puts on a precision clinic.

“Carried from the Start” brings back the wall of fuzz BRMC mastered a long time ago while Shapiro’s beats border on Native American pow-wow rhythms before hammering out solid rock riffs. The album ends with “All Rise,” a slow burn of a track that builds to stadium rock levels (and includes violin!).

It’s nice to hear BRMC stretching their muscles. Not counting the instrumental “DFF,” the shortest song on this album is 3:19. It’s also nice to hear them embracing the soft and the hard, which are found in all of the album’s themes (death, sex, love, etc.).

Keep your mind open.

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My top 25 live shows of 2016 – #’s 20-16

Let’s keep rollin’ with this countdown of great live shows from 2016!

#20 – Seal at Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, MI August 27th.

It was just him, a DJ / synth player, and a guitarist, and they knocked it out of the park. He even dabbled in some dark wave versions of some of his songs and he knows how to work a crowd.

#19 – Wolfmother at the Double Door in Chicago, IL July 10th

The whole show was this crazy. It was probably the sweatiest show I attended all year as well, and completely worth it.

#18 – Jeff the Brotherhood at Middle Waves Festival in Ft. Wayne, IN September 17th

That photo, taken by yours truly, pretty much says it all. They hammered out a loud set in the post-rain sunlight that won over many new fans. They played a lot of new material that was quite good. I need to get their new album soon.

#17 – Bully at Middle Waves Festival in Ft. Wayne, IN September 16th

They closed one of the Middle Waves stages on the first night of the festival and had everyone roaring by the end of their set. They were the best act that night.

#16 – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at the Chicago House of Blues October 13th

BRMC always puts on a good show, and this one was no exception. They played a shorter than normal set due to some equipment malfunction (I think it was a screwed-up monitor.), but they worked around it by playing songs they hadn’t planned on playing and altering some guitar parts. It was a great example of a band on top of their game and able to improvise if things get weird.

Who’s in the top 15? Check back tomorrow to see!

Keep your mind open.

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Live – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Death from Above 1979, Deap Vally – October 13, 2016 – Chicago, Illinois

I knew this was a triple bill I couldn’t miss. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Death from Above 1979, and Deap Vally were playing the Chicago House of Blues all in the same night. That’s a killer lineup. Any of the three are worth seeing alone, but all three on the same night. It’s a no-brainer.

First up were Deap Vally, who I’ve wanted to see since I missed their set at Levitation Austin in 2013. They came out to a large crowd and, no exaggeration, stole the show.

They opened with “Make My Own Money” and powered through prime cuts like “Gonnawanna,” “Walk of Shame,” and “Royal Jelly.” Guitarist Lindsey Troy and fill-in drummer Lia Simone (formerly of A Place to Bury Strangers and Les Bucherettes) rocked so hard that I felt bad for DFA 1979 who were to follow them. Ms. Simone played like she’d been playing the tracks for years. It turns out she’s longtime friends with Ms. Troy and full-time drummer Julie Edwards, so Ms. Simone practically knew the chops already when she jumped behind the kit. Everyone within earshot of me was talking about their set even after the end of BRMC’s, proclaiming Ms. Troy’s “bad ass” attitude and Ms. Simone’s excellent kit work.

Death from Above 1979 were no slouches, mind you. Their crazy light show was perfect for their loud fuzz-rock. How drummer Sebastien Granger can sing lead vocals while playing those insane drum licks is a mystery to me, but he makes it look easy. Jesse Keeler wanders the stage like an enraged Rasputin and plays as heavy as the mad monk’s legend. A crazy, aggressive mosh pit broke out during their set. I got in for one song, still happy to mix it up with the youngsters.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club closed out the night and, as usual, put on a great show. “Let the Day Begin,” “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo,” “Conscience Killer,” “Red Eyes and Tears,” “Cold Wind” (a personal favorite) and “Ain’t No Easy Way” were all crowd-favorites. Any worries anyone might’ve had about drummer Leah Shapiro’s health (who underwent brain surgery in 2014 for Chiari malformations) were dashed because she unloaded on her kit like a machine gunner.

The only bummer of the set was some sort of equipment malfunction on Peter Hayes’ side of the stage. The band had to alter some of their song selection, and the broken thing (my guess is a bad monitor) apparently was never properly fixed. They closed with a winner – “Whatever Happened to My Rock and Roll” – and had no encore due to the faulty gear.

BRMC’s appropriate lighting for “Red Eyes and Tears.”

It was a good rock show despite the early exit from BRMC – one of the best rock bills I’ve seen in a long while, in fact.

Keep your mind open.

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