Rebelmatic has the reputation of being one of the hardest working bands in NYC and it’s for good reason, this quartet is always staying busy and on top of their game. They almost single handedly kept the punk scene alive and thriving during the darker days of 2020 with their series of outdoor popup shows featuring some of the best and brightest local talents in NYC, giving a much needed outlet to a community of punks that was lost without shows and spaces to gather. They’ve kept their momentum up as the live music world has stabilized and also put out an excellent EP in 2022, Mourning Dove.
Listen to their latest single “Amnesia” below (read our thoughts) and scroll down for tour flyer and all dates.
5/1- Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
5/2- Dayton, OH @ Blind Rage Records
5/3- Newport, KY @ Southgate House
5/4- Bloomington, IN @ Nightshop
5/6- Green Bay, WI @ Lyric Room
5/7- Chicago, IL @ Moonrunners
5/8- Detroit, MI @ Smalls
5/9- Morgantown, WV @ 123 Pleasant St
5/10- Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
5/11- Washington, DC @ Quarry House
5/12- Pittsburgh, PA @ Cattivo
Raucous Bayonne NJ based indie-punks Crazy & the Brains made a name for themselves with their energetic live shows and a catchy sound that was built around the inclusion of xylophone. This was a major focus for them and gave them a sound unlike any other band I can think of. But now the band is entering into a new phase and will be retiring the xylophone as well as singer Christoph Jesus’ captain’s hat in triumphant fashion with the release of the brand new video for “Open Eyes.”
“Open Eyes” was released last fall and was produced by Pete Steinkopf (Bouncing Souls) at his Little Eden recording studio in Asbury Park, NJ. Today the circle is complete with the brand new video, shot by Jak Kerley at Shibby Pictures, and the band calls is “the last piece of business [they] will ever release featuring the instrument that was once the centerpiece of the entire band.”
They also share that the “shift away from the once-signature pieces of iconography is to show the band’s commitment to an ever-changing style that can’t be defined by any accessory or instrument. The band, which is often noted for their zany antics and frontman Christoph Jesus’s irreverent personality, is looking to veer off into a more serious style” and have plans for an upcoming as-of-yet untitled full length due out later this year.
The video stars Jesus and features a co-starring role from Ratas En Zelo vocalist, Yadee (Jesus also recently co-starred in a Ratas video to keep the punk love going strong), and you’ll just have to watch for all the action and the shocking conclusion!
The perfect bill for a show doesn’t exi….wait a minute….Beeyotch, Perennial and Frida Kill all on one night?! Think I need to reassess that statement! As it turns out, punk rock dreams do come true and a bill pretty damn near perfection is possible; I got the proof on a recent Sunday night. I stepped out of the annoying cold (I hate being cold more than just about anything) and into the warm embrace of Purgatory, a queer bar located on a dead end street that is devoid of asphalt and still sports the worn, bare bricks of the NYC of ye olden times aka the 1800s. (As a person who loves history in general and NYC history in particular, big perk for me.) Despite having listed many shows in the pages of FTA at the venue, it was my actual first time getting to go there, work and such always coming up otherwise. The space felt welcoming and inviting from the moment I stepped in and from there on out, things just kept getting better and better.
Beeyotch kicked off the night and while I’d heard their name, I didn’t know what to expect because particularly with locals, I often like to go in without having heard them first, so I admit I had not listened to their recordings prior to the show. I like to form my first impression live whenever I can (which is not always possible but….ya know) so even if I had seen the “shitbird” and “surveillance core” tags on their Bandcamp, I’m not sure I would have known what that meant! Turns out that means that they have a catchy and intense garage punk sound with trippy, intentionally warped and distorted vocals and loads of killer stage presence to tie it all together. This quintet made a solid first impression and I will now be digging into the their 2020 album, Right Behind You, while I look forward to seeing them play again.
Perennial, who hit the middle slot, is a band I did listen to quite a bit before I saw them (since they are not local) and thus was very much looking forward to their set. I recently did a Q & A with them (read here) and remarked there on the influence of Black Eyes, the late great—but recently re-united—Dischord art punks, their label mates Q And Not U, and the frantic jazz-core punks, The Plot To Blow Up the Eiffel Tower. I never got to see any of those bands which has always been a bummer for me (but I will soon see the re-united Black Eyes) because they are among my favorite artists.
But a lot of that disappointment is soothed when I see and hear bands like Perennial who are carrying on their legacy. They definitely have the same spirit of those bands, being arty and weird and smashing genres together, not giving a fuck as long as it sounds good, making something entirely their own in the process. Their live set is top notch and like a chaotic burst of energy flying out towards the audience. They are definitely a band that I am going to be making sure I’m keeping my eyes and ears on. And in exciting news, they’re releasing new music later this year and will soon be back in NYC, hitting Bushwick Public House on 3/25.
Perennial at Purgatory
Closing the night out was Frida Kill, and having been there at their very first show and many shows in between now, I formed my impression of them in the live setting a few years back and they have long since cemented themselves as one of my favorites. They’ve been working on new tunes and introduced one which featured Maria Lina with her giant, belting voice reminiscent of the legendary VH1 Divas—run through a punk lens of course—for stirring effect. (If you never saw her Tina Turner cover band, I feel sad for you.) This was one of the best sets I’ve seen the band deliver and that’s saying something because I’ve seen them a lot! Absolutely killer from start to finish, I still can’t get enough. They also have a new release in the works for later in the year and more local shows, 4/2 at Purgatory again and 4/8 at Main Drag, before hitting the road for Stoop Fest at the end of April.
Up the punx! Catch ya on the flip…
Scroll down for pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
No one quite does it like Otoboke Beaver, the whipsmart punk quartet from Kyoto. Their intense and frenetic music infuses elements of punk, disco, hardcore and a healthy heaping of riot grrrl attitude along with lyrics delivered in a similar way to the rapid fire Japanese comedy syle, Manzai, for a unique and wildly originally blend of styles and sarcastic swagger. And on top of it, I’m hard pressed to think of many other bands that have such technical prowess paired with the level of stage presence they have. Whether you’re jumping up and down and watching them run wild on the stage, zeroing in on Yoyoyoshie’s fingers fly across the fret board in complex arpeggiated phrases, grooving to one of Hiro-chan’s sublime basslines or, like me, staring in awe while Kahohiss attacks her drum kit with the speed and force of three drummers combined, this is one helluva band to watch.
I was thrilled they came back to the US so soon after their fall 2022 tour (see pics from their Music Hall of Williamsburg show) and was ready for all the action one of their live shows entails. Much like last time, the room immediately sprang into a frenzy— dancing, moshing, and plenty of fans angling to capture the moment in videos on their phones. The crowd definitely got rowdier than last time, perhaps a bit too rowdy, as my twisted elbow and knocked off glasses can attest, but fortunately my specs didn’t get trampled and my elbow was nothing a few hours with a bag of frozen vegan chicken wings didn’t mend after the show. It’s hard not to get swept up in the electric buzz in the air at an Otoboke Beaver show so I get it. And like I said last time, you better hold on for dear life!
Otoboke Beaver at LPR
Like most of their recent live shows, they kicked off the night with “Yakitori,” the killer groove punk rager from their excellent 2022 album, Super Champon (one of my favorites of 2022). I was delighted to hear many more favorites over the evening from that album especially “PARDON?” the brilliant fuck off dis track to Anglo-douche fans/YouTube commenters who cruelly make fun of the band’s English skills, and the equally as brilliant, equally as fuck right off ode to men on the internet (or otherwise) “Dirty old fart is waiting for my reaction” (a song that was, unsurprisingly, definitely lost on some of those in attendance at the show). Other highlights were “I won’t dish out salads,” “I don’t want to die alone” along with “S’il Vous Plait” and “Don’t light my fire,” both from 2019’s Itekoma Hits.
And the absolute highlight of highlights to beat all other highlights was “I am not maternal,” a song that, as a childless-by-very-conscious-choice middle aged woman, is my goddamn anthem. The disco breakdown whipping the already fired up crowd into total abandon and getting deep inside my heart. Middle finger raised throughout, vocalist Accorinrin let everyone know just what the fuck was up. It’s not hard to see why this band has resonated with so many, even earning accolades from rock luminaries like Dave Grohl.
They once again had local band, Ratas En Zelo, open the show, playing their signature bouncy accordion fueled punk tunes which kept the crowd bopping for their entire set. They have been working on a new album and debuted a few new songs including “Cheesus” and “Punk Polizza” about jerks who tell them they “aren’t punk enough” because they are women or use an accordion in their band. I for one think that’s r i d i c u l o u s and this band is punker than any band of bros any day. I’m really looking forward to the album which the band is hoping to release later this year.
All you need is love, as the saying goes. But a band like Otoboke Beaver also reminds me that you also need some rage in this life, or rather the outlet to express that rage, and even better, to dish it out like a sarcastic cannonball. Middle fingers up and hearts full <3
The Super Champon tour finishes in North America on 3/14 before they make a stop in Hawaii and take a break. They will hit their home country, Japan, for a pair of dates in April before heading off to the UK and Europe in May.
Read this interview which features Otoboke Beaver talking about Super Champon, getting real on their feelings on a range of topics.
Tami Hart has always had a knack for writing plaintive songs that pull at your heartstrings. The queer singer songwriter started writing songs as a teenager in the 90s “as a means of survival and escape from the trappings of a very conservative upbringing in South Carolina.” I long ago became familiar with her work via Mr. Lady Records, a now defunct lesbian run label that released some crucial albums in my life (and countless other queers I’m sure) between 1996 and 2004. Hart and I are a similar age so I was a baby queer back in those days too, and her two albums, No Light In August (2000) and What Passed Between Us (2002), were formative releases for me, an expression of youth and longing that I found much comfort in and a safe place to hold my feelings in, knowing that they were okay.
Hart spent the very beginning of the early aughts touring behind those excellent albums with the likes of Sleater-Kinney, The Butchies and the Indigo Girls and winning praise from luminaries like Kathleen Hanna who shared that No Light In August is “One of my all-time favorite albums. Written by a teenaged Tami Hart in the 90’s, her guitar playing is like a stripped-down Nirvana, filtered through a big-hearted gay kid with an absolutely massive unforgettable voice, trying to find herself in a hateful world. Tami’s technically perfect singing is heightened by her vulnerability and gorgeous lyrics. Once you hear just one song, you’ll want to play it over and over again. This is a record that should’ve gotten 10 Grammy awards, but barely anyone knows about it. Absolutely gorgeous and essential.”
Those two early albums were the only solo albums she ever released though, and I always wondered if there might be more someday. The wondering is thankfully over because now, after many years of playing in bands like Winning Looks, MEN and Teen Vice, Hart is back making the Southern, country folk inspired music of her youth, full of sweet harmonies and twang. She released some early demos in 2022 and has an EP of brand new music coming soon, Thanks for Saying Hi (4/7 Cruisin Records). Today she has released the brand new single “Sorry For Your Heart,” a gentle country rock ballad that features a full band arrangement with Kate Ryan (Flown) on drums and Adrienne Lloyd (Hunter Valentine) on bass. She shares that the EP as a whole is “a game of country mouse and city mouse, as both love letter to New York City with twinges of post punk as well as a deep bow to her Southern upbringing with heart on sleeve echoing of country melodies.”
When I asked why now felt like the right time to return to her solo work, she said it felt like “the timing was right to peak my head out and say hi again. I noticed such a powerful surge of queer and feminist voices in music with artists like Palehound, Hand Habits and Big Thief and especially folk and country-tinged post-punk. It felt like a calling.” The cover art on the EP reflects this peaking out to say hi again, with Hart peering out over a bouquet of flowers, as if to playfully say, “here I am!”
Indeed, this moment of Hart’s return feels like going full circle. In middle age I’ve found that longing and the desires of youth haven’t really ever faded, I’ve just gotten better at expressing them. And in this new EP, I have found the perfect soundtrack, yet again, to be a warm companion to the big feelings and gentle moments in between them that an artist like Tami Hart has always so deftly given voice to.
