Valentine’s Day 2024 may have come and gone already, but love was in the air at Main Drag this past Friday night. Celebrating new releases and friendship alike, four bands of pals and BK music community stalwarts—A Very Special Episode, Nihiloceros, Desert Sharks and Leathered—took the stage with a festive spirit and a hard rock edge which sounds like the perfect Friday night to me!
Leathered kicked off the night and while not currently with a new release, they played plenty of bangers from their 2022 full length, A Reckoning, which was one of my favorite releases of that year. Nihiloceros brought their high energy punk pop fuzz to the room next, shredding through their brand new song “Skipper” which is part of their forthcoming album, Dark Ice Balloons, due out in May. While I did roll my eyes at their NOFX cover (sorry boys, but I’m just never going to get down with that, ha!) it was great catching up with their sound after several months of the work grind keeping me away from their shows. They also took a moment to raffle off a test pressing of the as of yet unreleased album which was won by fellow local musician, Roni.
Desert Sharks and A Very Special Episode recently teamed up for a split EP, DS+AVSE, a compact and concise offering with two songs from each band (read our review) themed around the four elements—earth, water, air and fire—and showcasing what makes each of them special. While I thoroughly enjoyed the recordings, hearing the songs played live always takes things to the next level for me, particularly when they are on the heavier end of the spectrum. Both bands put on power house sets, with “Siren Song” by Desert Sharks being a particular standout of the EP and the show. A Very Special Episode never fails to put on a wildly fun and intense set and they aren’t shy to spill right out into the crowd, always to the delight of their fans. The sonic pairing of these two bands both on record and live really, really works and I hope to see more joint shows and perhaps releases from them in the future.
The Brooklyn music community proves it over and over again that all you need is love. And rock n roll. And friends.
Scroll down for pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
Desert Sharks with A Very Special Episode (photo by Jeanette D. Moses)
Desert Sharks, Brooklyn’s favorite gloomy grunge punks released a stellar EP last year, The Tower, and ahead of an impending tour to SXSW are releasing a split DS+ AVSE with fellow grungey BK band, A Very Special Episode. Having already released a video for the first single, “Deeper,” today they release a video for the companion track, “Siren Song,” and FTA is pleased to give you the exclusive first look!
The track finds the band in some of their darkest waters yet, leaning in to a slower, gloomgaze sound reminiscent of titans of that genre like Hum or Cloakroom, easily standing shoulder to shoulder with them. The guitars circle around and envelop the listener in a thick wall of sound while vocalist Stephanie Gunther hauntingly declares “I want to drown under the waves of your gaze.”
The companion video was directed by Brendan McKnight and offers a chilly glimpse into the forbidding world of “Siren Song,” a place you might not make it back from if you aren’t careful. Watch the video in full below.
Brooklyn’s own “surf-rock-on-Neptune grooves” art punk extraordinaires, Tea Eater, had a BIG 2023: gigging all around town, releasing their excellent debut album, Obsession, and embarking on their first European tour, spreading their special brand of noise that filters through the anxiety of modern life while “inviting you to shed your baggage and transmute your neurosis into something worth dancing about.” Wasting no time and keeping busy, they are heading right into the action in 2024, hitting us with a brand new video from one of the stand out tracks from the album, “Has Been,” which was shot, directed and edited by their past collaborator, Emily Hughston Hoffman.
Frontwoman Tarra Thiessen had this to share about the song/video:
The song is based on the movie Ladies & Gentlemen the Fabulous Stains and some of the verse lyrics are taken from lines from the movie— ‘Who get s a cut when there is no pie,’ and ‘Who do you trust when in line to die,’ and the ‘suckers’ bridge is inspired by this scene. Basically relating that picture of being a new band in the music industry in the early 80s to today and seeing how not much has changed (with how the industry is still set up to exploit artists, the pressure to have growing numbers on social media/Spotify, and stay ‘buzzy’ even if it feels like they’re only there for surface level internet points and don’t always have the utility value to get people out to shows or support you financially). The song is also a play on the word ‘has been’ since the internet content machine makes everything you create feel so disposable and makes you feel like a ‘has been’ faster than ever.
She further elaborated:
But it’s also totally fine! Brooklyn really has been fine, fun, and has a very special and supportive community. There are also so many positive ways to connect with people more directly these days on other platforms like Twitch/Discord/E-mail lists. So even though the lyrics of this song lean towards the snarky side, I am very grateful!
This is a sentiment many (or most of us) can certainly relate to and Thiessen and co perfectly capture the uncomfortable reality of sitting with those feelings and wondering what the hell we’re gonna do next while still acknowledging the good we can find amongst the static, too. Take an exclusive first look at the brand new video below:
UK post-punkers Shame hit NYC in support of their latest album, Food for Worms this past Monday night, bringing their rowdy rock show swagger to the stage at Irving Plaza. But if anyone thought this was going to be a docile Monday night though, they were sorely mistaken. From the moment they took the stage and kicked off with “Fingers of Steel” from Worms, it was non stop chaos and catharsis, with the crowd singing along word for word with frontman Charlie Steen who got the party kicked off immediately, greeting the audience triumphantly and with perhaps a bit of a challenge, raising his arms and pulling a smirk that silently said: let’s fucking GO!
Steen then proceeded to spend a good portion of the set in and on top of the crowd (making his first launch over the barricade by the second song) and had everyone riled up to a fever pitch, frequently and lovingly calling those assembled at the altar of mayhem “motherfuckers.” He kept things dialed all the way up, up and UP, asking the crowd to go big “let me see how BIG the Big Apple can go!” and declaring that in New York, it may be a Monday, but “you motherfuckers go hard any day of the week” before asking everyone to “bring it up to a thousand fucking degrees.”
As for his bandmates, they rocked out furiously behind Steen, bassist Josh Finerty ran all over the stage and frequently leaped into the air with the energy of a pro athlete playing a championship game. Guitarists Eddie Green and Sean Coyle-Smith played with crisp, slick precision and drummer Charlie Forbes held the rock solid beat down. This was a performance by a band firing on all cylinders in peak form, song after song, they were locked in seamlessly and on point all night long. Steen also took time to light up a smoke between songs when offered a pack of cigarettes by a fan (“you can’t say no to a New Yorker”) and gave a shout out to Baby’s All Right, the place where they (and many international bands) played their first show in New York back in 2017.
Shame at Irving Plaza
They played six of the songs from the new album (though curiously omitting “Yankees” in perhaps the most fitting city to play it in) and touched on material across their catalog, devoting five songs of the set to 2021’s Drunk Tank Pink and hitting a few from Songs of Praise, including my absolute favorite Shame song, “Tasteless,” before closing with “Gold Hole” also from Praise. Steen climbed up to the balcony during this and launched himself into the writhing masses who joyously caught him and carried him back up front for one last wild hurrah before the band staggered off the stage in glorious exhaustion and the audience followed suit into the cool spring night, sweaty and happy as can be.
The night was opened by dancey hyper pop duo Tony or Tony and direct support came from Brooklyn based band Been Stellar, who is supporting Shame for the duration of the tour and are a great sonic match; they’ll be sure to make many new fans along the way. A number of local fans also came out to support the band and were rocking out just as hard to them as they later did to Shame. The tour will continue through the end of the month into the beginning of June, winding its way through the Midwest and Canada then into the South to conclude in New Orleans. Shame will return to the US for West Coast dates in September and October. And you know us motherfuckers in the Big Apple and especially here at FTA will be counting down the days until we get to experience their wonderful havoc in our gritty city once more.
Scroll down for setlist, fan shot videos, pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
Setlist: Fingers of Steel, Alibis, Alphabet, Concrete, Six Pack, Tasteless, Burning By Design, 6/1, Born in Luton, Lampoon, The Fall of Paul, Adderall, Orchid, Water in the Well, One Rizla, Snow Day, Gold Hole
The indie pop group Muna has been on tour since March of this year, hitting dates Down Under before taking the stage at Coachella and around the US, weaving their own headline dates in between opening slots on Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. If the trio—lead singer Katie Gavin, lead guitarist Josette Maskin, and guitarist/producer Naomi McPherson—or their backing band is at all tired from this intense schedule (or the acoustic rehearsals each day after soundcheck for a soon to come Tiny Desk appearance) they didn’t show it for even an instant when they took the stage for two nights at Terminal 5 last week, putting on highly energetic sets with plenty of punk rock swagger and stadium show charisma to spare.
I’ve worked a few of their shows in the past (and indeed, was also working merch for this one and took a break to shoot the first three songs on night two) but this was my first time actually getting to see part of the show; I was totally blown away by the caliber of their stage performances. Aside from that, the vibes throughout the night were awesome, a packed house of LGBTQ family singing their hearts out and basking in the queer joy emanating from stage. Queer joy is something we all need now more than ever as even the most basic of our rights are under attack and are being stripped away on what seems like an almost daily basis. Muna more than filled everyone’s hearts with a healthy dose of happiness and pride. And I’ll tell you for sure, these are always the most fun nights for anyone who works in a venue, the excitement was palpably buzzing in the air from the moment doors opened.
Their set hit a blend of songs from their three albums, pulling most heavily from 2022’s Muna and song after song, this was a night filled with highlights. From the opening electro party romp “What I Want” to the country twang of “Kind of Girl,” the EDM-esque “Runner’s High” and the closer, their latest single, the infectious “One That Got Away,” and every song in between, fans sang along word for word, lost in each moment. They saved their now classic song of hope, “I Know A Place” from their 2017 album About U for the encore and before the festivities were over, the band had just a little bit more to wow the audience with. Fans who waited it out (and were lucky enough to have tickets for day two) were treated to an extra special guest at the very end when Lorde came out to sing with the band on their smash hit queer anthem “Silk Chiffon” (performing Phoebe Bridgers’ verse), the entire venue erupting into screams of absolute delighted abandon.
Support on night one came from UK rockers Nova Twins and from indie pop singer songwriter Lou Roy on night two.
While I listen to many genres of music, I most often attend/shoot punk shows because of the rush and the high of experiencing bands going all out. It takes a lot for me to be wowed by artists of other genres live because they often don’t match the energy and stage presence I crave as a fan and photographer. Muna smashed every expectation I had, owning the stage in a larger than life way, giving 110% to each and every fan in that room, the love mutual and tangible. This was genuinely the most fun show I’ve seen in a long time and they made me work harder as a photographer than most of said punk bands that I spend so much time with. (I’ve shot IDLES five times, a band that always make you work for it, and Muna matched them pace for pace without question.) When I returned to the merch booth afterwards, I was happily bopping on my toes the rest of the night, a punk nerd pleased as punch at the pop show as smiling fans came to purchase their tees and signed records, fully invested in a band that definitely means the world to them. Not one person there could have asked for a better night.
Scroll down for setlist, fan shot videos, pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
Setlist: What I Want, Number One Fan, Solid, Stayaway, Runner’s High, So Special, No Idea, Loose Garment, Winterbreak, Kind of Girl (with Lou Roy), Taken, Around U, Pink Light, Crying on the Bathroom Floor, Home by Now, Anything but Me, One That Got Away Encore: I Know a Place, Silk Chiffon (with Lorde)
