My concert pal Hewitt recently sent me a link to a video on YouTube of the Mexican band Son Rompe Pera, who did an at home pandemic performance for radio station KEXP. After watching this video, I was fully entranced by their blend of traditional Latin cumbia sounds with a punk aesthetic, and loved their high level of energy. My Spanish comprehension is muy poco, but when music is so good, it doesn’t really matter whether you understand all the words. Last weekend, the guys headlined the Barbès in the Woods festival up in Massachusetts. They followed up the festival appearance with a mini-tour of New York City. Last Monday, they played on the rooftop of Our Wicked Lady, and then scheduled a bunch of shows for this weekend. Unfortunately, their show for the Lincoln Center Restart Stages program on Friday night was canceled due to inclement weather. But lucky for me, they played the backyard of a house in Bed-Stuy on Saturday night as presented by Amanda’s Productions and Invitro Collective.
What an intimate and casual way to experience Son Rompe Pera’s music! They played a 45 minute set while crammed onto a stage about the size of a Range Rover in the corner of this backyard that even had an above ground pool! Kacho Gama on marimba and Mongo Gama on marimba and guitar led the way, joined by a third brother, Murfy, on percussion, and with Ritchie Lopez on drums and Raul Albarrán on bass. Their music kept the crowd buzzing and moving and I highly recommend catching them live if you can, or at least go binge on a few of their videos, including the clips I took at this show which are posted below. I had so much fun attending this random gig.
For my first visit to Mercury Lounge in over two years (!), I caught a nice double dose of local indie rock goodness – Groupie followed by Cafuné. These two bands played the early show at the venue, which suited this old lady just fine, especially since it meant I could grab a hot pastrami sandwich for dinner afterwards at Katz’s Delicatessen a block away.
Groupie, who our editor-in-chief Kate saw last week at 18th Ward in Williamsburg, played just their second set of the pandemic. Founding member and lead vocalist Ashley Kossakowski on bass led the way, with Aaron Silberstein on drums, and newer members Devin McKnight (whose solo project Maneka I photographed a few weeks ago) on lead guitar and Theadora Curtis on rhythm guitar and backing vocals. They ripped through a quick set of songs from Groupie’s latest album, the great-sounding Ephemeral, which came out earlier this year. I especially liked the track “Daleko,” which was written in Polish and a nod to Kossakowski’s parents’ immigrant roots.
Next up was Cafuné, who celebrated the release of their debut album, Running, which was released just over a month ago. The band is the project of Sedona Schat (vocals/guitar) and Noah Yoo (lead guitar), and last night they were accompanied by Johnny Shankman on bass and David James on drums. While Running might technically be the group’s first album, and last night was their first show in 17 months, the crowd was amped up for Cafuné’s music. The setlist focused largely on the new songs, but the band snuck in a few older favorites – “Little Broken” and the closer, “Friction.”
It was great to be back at Mercury Lounge, seeing some good live music once again. Incredibly, my phone remembered the Wifi password and connected without a hitch. It felt like coming home.
Oceanator at Trans-Pecos (photo by Ellen Qbertplaya)
Teenage Halloween at Trans-Pecos (photo by Ellen Qbertplaya)
Maneka at Trans-Pecos (photo by Ellen Qbertplaya)
This past Saturday, the Ridgewood, Queens, venueTrans-Pecosserved as the setting for a stacked lineup ofOceanator,Teenage Halloween, andManeka. The show was originally supposed to happen at theCity Reliquaryin Williamsburg, but for reasons unknown to me, the event was relocated a few days before. Proof of Covid vaccination or of a recent negative test had to be shown prior to entry, but once inside, the venue proved to be a well-ventilated, comfortable setting, with many people retreating to the spacious backyard for fresh air in between sets.
Elise Okusami, who performs as Oceanator, led off the evening with a solo set. She released a great album last year –Things I Never Said onPolyvinyl, and was in the midst of a weekend full of gigs in New York. Her set included a nice cover of Elliott Smith’s “Say Yes.”
Next up was New Jersey power pop band Teenage Halloween, whose music I admit I had little knowledge of before Saturday, but by the end of their set, I was a fan. With vocals by lead singer/rhythm guitarist Luk Henderiks, lead guitar antics by Eli Frank, bass by Tricia Marshall, and drums by Peter Gargano, the band played a very spirited set that had me and the crowd bouncing from start to finish.
Rounding out the bunch was Devin McKnight’s project, Maneka. Joining him were Nicola Leel on bass, Jordyn Blakely on drums, and Elise Okusami from earlier in the evening on additional guitar and keyboard. McKnight sardonically described his music as a bunch of songs which were never going to be released. The group also did a blistering cover of Nirvana’s “Breed.”
Scroll down for pics of the show including set lists from Teenage Halloween and Maneka (photos by Ellen Qbertplaya).
The New Colossus Festival has been hosting free shows just outside 18th Ward Brewing in East Williamsburg almost every Sunday since mid-April. This past weekend, I was tied up for most of the afternoon, but I was able to get to the corner of Richardson St. and Debevoise Ave. right before headliner Shilpa Ray performed just her second show in post-pandemic times (the first one being the day before as part of the Holy Fang TELESTAR REUNION Festival).
She and her new line up played for about 45 minutes, including the incendiary track, “EMT Police and the Fire Department,” my favorite song from her last album, Door Girl. It was a wonderful way to end the weekend, catching Shilpa and her energetic set on a beautiful summer day and running into a few familiar faces.
The festival continues on Sunday 7/18 with music kicking off at 1pm. Nick and the Old Sport, and Squirrels From Hell will play in the first two time slots, immediately followed at 3pm by SAVAK, Women of the Night, and Tuff Sunshine who are performing as part of a Declared Goods showcase.
Scroll down for pics of the show (photos by Ellen Qbertplaya)
Lucy Dacus’ new album, Home Video, invites listeners into her life with songs full of stories from her past. Musically speaking, for her third full album, she sings with the experience of someone already with two wonderful albums under her belt, but this time also proffering a greater sense of introspection.
The title of this album makes me think of how some people back in the day kept their memories in the form of VHS tapes, watching them over and over to relive significant moments. While nostalgia may propel a lot of repeat viewings, there might be feelings of regret, wistfulness…whatever. The viewer’s current state and baggage cannot be separated from the act of reliving the past. And after a while, those videotapes would oftentimes degrade and get fuzzy, becoming unwatchable.
Dacus examines themes of her religious upbringing, budding sexuality, friendship, and self-identity from a personal perspective and infuses them throughout the album. For this collection of eleven songs, she dug into her diaries that she started keeping at an early age. And though these stories are uniquely hers and beautifully sung in her voice, I could not help but relate to many of her situations causing me to recall my own awkward teenage and young adult years (and also making me wish in earnest I had chronicled my thoughts during those times). If I had had the stellar Home Video as a companion during those bumpy times, maybe I might not have felt so alone with my own struggles.
On the song “Christine,” Dacus talks about a friend who has a crummy boyfriend, and how if the friend were to marry him “…I’d object / Throw my shoe at the altar and lose your respect / I’d rather lose my dignity / Than lose you to somebody who won’t make you happy.” I’ve lost a few good friendships because of a friend pairing with someone less than ideal, and sometimes wonder if I should have said something early on.
The strongest song on the album is the climactic “Thumbs,” which Dacus has been performing as part of her live set for a while and has become a fan favorite. I heard her sing the song when she ended her set with it at Webster Hall in December 2019, and was totally knocked out by the lyrics. She describes accompanying a friend to a meeting with an estranged parent, and all the thoughts running through her mind during the meeting, including wanting to press her thumbs on her friend’s father’s eyeballs until they burst. The visual is certainly graphic, but effectively conveys her sense of loyalty and desire to protect that friend at all costs, even to the point of (symbolic) bodily harm.
Perhaps the most surprising track on Home Video is “Partner in Crime,” in which Dacus uncharacteristically employs auto-tune. In the song, she is unsure if her relationship with this person is deeper than just a friendship, or whether it is veering into romantic territory. She mentions drinking coffee and misrepresenting her age perhaps to appear more sophisticated. While the use of auto-tune initially caught me off guard, as I listen to the song more and more, it works well as the narrator is putting on a facade to mask her true self, of which we all are guilty at times.
There’s an old saying that goes something like, “You can never go home again.” I take it to mean that with hindsight at our disposal, we cannot return to the same state as when we went through something initially. That with time, subsequent experiences, and knowledge, it all shapes how we view something from the past. And with each repeat listening of Home Video, I’ve been replaying my own parallel memories of days gone by, revisiting some unresolved feelings, and contemplating some what ifs. Dacus’ strength lies in her ability to deftly draw in listeners with wry, relatable lyrics and vividly detailed storytelling, but in a completely natural and gorgeous way.
Home Video was released on June 25, 2021 on Matador Records.
