Death Disco A31.05
Kickstart/S-s-s-pectres/Shellshocked/The Bluffs
Death Disco//The Delancey//8/31/05
I've never been to Death Disco before. Yeah it's free but there's something about a list of bands + DJs that has me running scared, free or not. (Strummertime in the City, anybody?) But when I saw a lineup and schedule with actual times listed, I reconsidered. It was also Shellshocked’s album release party. They were to on at 10:15 or so and if it was getting to be too annoying with the DJ-ing in between sets I can always leave. After all, it’s free. And The Delancey isn’t that far away from the F.
Kickstart sounded like they'd be good and they were going on “at 9” so I left at 8, realizing I’d forgotten to write out my rent check which I’d intended to mail before getting on the subway. Alzheimer’s, I’m telling you. I wrote it on the subway and instead of putting my apartment in the memo, I started writing my bank account. What did I tell you? (Rhetorically speaking; I know what I told you.) I got to Delancey Street at 8:50 to see the tail end of a car accident at the intersection; a cab parked across the intersection, facing a lamppost and the car that hit it with a huge dent in the fender like a dead fish with its mouth open. Inside the club are signs for Death Disco (Death Disco Loves You, Just Say Know, and You Are Here.) The place smells like BO as I make my way up front, past a guy holding a skateboard, and see flip flops on the stage and a band packing up. I forgot to put the rent check in the mail. Hopefully, there’s going to be a fast turnaround with the bands. It’s a Wednesday, it’s NYC, it’s a free show, so you’d think they’d make things snappy in order to encourage people to return on a weeknight. But with poverty creeping in, Death Disco and Continental’s coverless crapshoots are going to start becoming my only options and beggers can’t be choosers, as the saying goes.
Kickstart literally did kick start the night off right with their sweaty, greasy honky-skronk rock riffs and Anna Copacabanna as the Human Disco Ball dancing. There was a nice crowd and at some point during their set my mini Sharpie fell off the keychain. A little before "Top Of The Pops" ended I'd found the pen and there was another band onstage. So the DJ was on only during set changes; he wasn't a separate act that had to spin for an hour before the next act. This is good.
S-s-s-pectres (that's going to get annoying to write out) were described as having "mathy" hooks but "math" isn't really a descriptive when it comes to music (is "math" ever really a modifier?)--though that's an adequate description sometimes. Noise punk with chunky riffs built around a pounding drumbeat and a singer prone to breaking out into spoken word, making them a nice pairing for Shellshocked.
To me, Shellshocked was one of the house bands of the RNC protests, playing the Bands Against Bush room at the East Village Welcomes the RNC (at Webster Hall) and Siberia's Bands Against Bush free show last year on 9/1. So it seemed fitting that their album came out this A31, the anniversary of the date marked for one of the heaviest days of protest last year. "Soft Targets + Bargaining Chips"'s catchy, singalong refrain "we're still around" only hints at the band's political passion and defiance. "We're still around/no carpet bombing can bring us down/we keep our heads held high/and refuse to be the poster children." It's the closing line of "Co-opted City" that sums up the spirit of the city during those days: "From Madsion Square down to the World Trade/You ain't gettin' no parade." So even though it was a Wednesday and the bill could've turned into an all-nighter, it was important to me to get down to The Delancey for their rekkid release because I haven't been able to catch some of their previous shows.
We were making good time, it was around 10:45 when Shellshocked ended and I decided to see at least some of The Bluffs. Maybe next time I'll get to Death Disco early to catch as many bands as I can for free, regardless of whether or not they seem interesting. The Bluffs are two guys, one on guitar and one on samples/computer. The smoke machine is like sugar and they have a strobe and a rotating rainbow light behind them. They're happy, trippy pop psych. The sound of happy with their big, loopy beats. If the Teletubbies started a band it would be The Bluffs. You can't help bopping around and grooving to their sweet sounds though they got a little heavier when sampler guy picked up a guitar as well.
I left after midnight. Hey, at least I don't have to futz around with the L train. The F is 2, 3 blocks away. And there's no Uptown at Delancey. So it was down to Jay St. and the A came first, so I took that to W4 for the E home. Got in around 2. Well, beggers can't be choosers and if the only bands I can afford to see are those playing for free, I really have no choice here. Besides, Labor Day is right around the corner and Friday is a light day at work.
Death Disco//The Delancey//8/31/05
I've never been to Death Disco before. Yeah it's free but there's something about a list of bands + DJs that has me running scared, free or not. (Strummertime in the City, anybody?) But when I saw a lineup and schedule with actual times listed, I reconsidered. It was also Shellshocked’s album release party. They were to on at 10:15 or so and if it was getting to be too annoying with the DJ-ing in between sets I can always leave. After all, it’s free. And The Delancey isn’t that far away from the F.
Kickstart sounded like they'd be good and they were going on “at 9” so I left at 8, realizing I’d forgotten to write out my rent check which I’d intended to mail before getting on the subway. Alzheimer’s, I’m telling you. I wrote it on the subway and instead of putting my apartment in the memo, I started writing my bank account. What did I tell you? (Rhetorically speaking; I know what I told you.) I got to Delancey Street at 8:50 to see the tail end of a car accident at the intersection; a cab parked across the intersection, facing a lamppost and the car that hit it with a huge dent in the fender like a dead fish with its mouth open. Inside the club are signs for Death Disco (Death Disco Loves You, Just Say Know, and You Are Here.) The place smells like BO as I make my way up front, past a guy holding a skateboard, and see flip flops on the stage and a band packing up. I forgot to put the rent check in the mail. Hopefully, there’s going to be a fast turnaround with the bands. It’s a Wednesday, it’s NYC, it’s a free show, so you’d think they’d make things snappy in order to encourage people to return on a weeknight. But with poverty creeping in, Death Disco and Continental’s coverless crapshoots are going to start becoming my only options and beggers can’t be choosers, as the saying goes.
Kickstart literally did kick start the night off right with their sweaty, greasy honky-skronk rock riffs and Anna Copacabanna as the Human Disco Ball dancing. There was a nice crowd and at some point during their set my mini Sharpie fell off the keychain. A little before "Top Of The Pops" ended I'd found the pen and there was another band onstage. So the DJ was on only during set changes; he wasn't a separate act that had to spin for an hour before the next act. This is good.
S-s-s-pectres (that's going to get annoying to write out) were described as having "mathy" hooks but "math" isn't really a descriptive when it comes to music (is "math" ever really a modifier?)--though that's an adequate description sometimes. Noise punk with chunky riffs built around a pounding drumbeat and a singer prone to breaking out into spoken word, making them a nice pairing for Shellshocked.
To me, Shellshocked was one of the house bands of the RNC protests, playing the Bands Against Bush room at the East Village Welcomes the RNC (at Webster Hall) and Siberia's Bands Against Bush free show last year on 9/1. So it seemed fitting that their album came out this A31, the anniversary of the date marked for one of the heaviest days of protest last year. "Soft Targets + Bargaining Chips"'s catchy, singalong refrain "we're still around" only hints at the band's political passion and defiance. "We're still around/no carpet bombing can bring us down/we keep our heads held high/and refuse to be the poster children." It's the closing line of "Co-opted City" that sums up the spirit of the city during those days: "From Madsion Square down to the World Trade/You ain't gettin' no parade." So even though it was a Wednesday and the bill could've turned into an all-nighter, it was important to me to get down to The Delancey for their rekkid release because I haven't been able to catch some of their previous shows.
We were making good time, it was around 10:45 when Shellshocked ended and I decided to see at least some of The Bluffs. Maybe next time I'll get to Death Disco early to catch as many bands as I can for free, regardless of whether or not they seem interesting. The Bluffs are two guys, one on guitar and one on samples/computer. The smoke machine is like sugar and they have a strobe and a rotating rainbow light behind them. They're happy, trippy pop psych. The sound of happy with their big, loopy beats. If the Teletubbies started a band it would be The Bluffs. You can't help bopping around and grooving to their sweet sounds though they got a little heavier when sampler guy picked up a guitar as well.
I left after midnight. Hey, at least I don't have to futz around with the L train. The F is 2, 3 blocks away. And there's no Uptown at Delancey. So it was down to Jay St. and the A came first, so I took that to W4 for the E home. Got in around 2. Well, beggers can't be choosers and if the only bands I can afford to see are those playing for free, I really have no choice here. Besides, Labor Day is right around the corner and Friday is a light day at work.
posted by heather @ 4:13 PM
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