The final Swirlies show of their brief Northeast tour brought perfect NYC summer weather and a sold-out crowd to Le Poisson Rouge on 7/23/23. Swirlies have absorbed different genre labels since the band started—shoegaze, electronica, indie pop, lo-fi, etc—which is a testament to the different music stylings of band members past and present.
NYC-based W0rmh0les, led by former Swirlies member Christina Files (active 1994-1997), opened the show with a charging electronica set. Supporting her on synth was Josh Elrod. She also joined the band on stage at the end of the show to sing on a song from her era.
Frankie Rose performed songs from her 2023 release Love as Projection in front of—you guessed it—a projection screen. The direction of this album is a more melodic electronic pop, which translated well to a live performance as the crowd was swaying along to the music paired with curated visuals.
If you looked at the first few rows of the Swirlies show, you would’ve seen that most of those fans were Gen Z and many had the underage X’s on their hands. If I had to make a guess about the Gen Z fan bridging to Gen X, I’d bet on the lasting influence of recently deceased member Rob Laakso. In brief, Rob played with Kurt Vile & The Violators, Mice Parade, and the Wicked Farleys; Mike Cory and Kenny Bernard from the Wicked Farleys joined guitarist Damon Tutunjian on stage to perform the encore song “Route 2.”
The show was more than just a tribute to Rob Laakso. The bandmates played songs spanning the decades along with deep cuts as a tight unit. The takeaway from fans after the show was the hope that some sort of new material would surface since it’s been 20 years since the last album and the band chemistry is absolutely still there.
Scroll down for setlist, pics of the show (photos by Taryn Alper)
Setlist: Bell, Vigilante Always, Tall Ships, Jeremy Parker, The Vehicle Is Invisible, In Harmony New Found Freedom, Two Girls Kissing, Sounds of Sebring, Wrong Tube, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Sunn (with Christina Files), Chris R., Route 2 (Wicked Farleys cover)
The day of the Chickfactor 30 show New York City finally saw the sun after way too many days— this would happen for a fanzine party! The long walk from the subway to Hudson River Park was worth it when I saw The Frying Pan, a permanently docked lightship, lit up and ready for a night of indie pop.
The scene was mostly a Gen X reunion, which I happened to love as an elder millennial onlooker. If you scanned the crowd you could easily spot musicians of zine-featured bands there to support Chickfactor and co-founder/boat captain Gail O’Hara.
Fans at Chickfactor 30
FTA contributing photographer Edwina Hay and Chickfactor founder Gail O’Hara
First up was a group of Brooklyn middle and high school students aged 12-14 called Girl Scout Handbook led by Trixie Madell. Madell proudly wore her Girl Scout cardigan on stage. They performed a set of specially curated covers from Lois, Belle & Sebastian, The Spinanes, The Zombies, Sleater-Kinney, and Heavenly. Girl Scout Handbook is currently writing original songs in between being super students.
DJ sets were split between Stephin Merritt (The Magnetic Fields) and Gaylord Fields (WFMU DJ on “indefinite hiatus” after 30 years of marevelous service). What a treat to see DJs use physical media; Merritt had his CDs and Fields cued up his 45s. Fun fact: both brought Doris Day to play.
Stephin Merritt DJ set
Gaylord Fields DJ set
Dump was a solo James McNew (Yo La Tengo) with his guitar, no backing band. A crowd favorite was his adaptation of GG Allin’s “NYC Tonight.” Only about two months as of writing this piece until Hanukkah and YLT’s annual Bowery Ballroom residency!
Jim Ruiz Set brought endearing pop from the Twin Cities. This was a bucket list band to see, as you can’t easily find physical or digital copies of music from Jim Ruiz Set/Legendary Jim Ruiz Group. Jim Ruiz Set’s most current album is from 2012, so hopefully this recent performance influences them to put out more material.
Detroit’s The Aluminum Group closed out the night playing their latest album in 14 years, which earned the right to be self-titled. Brothers John and Frank Navin even let the audience know when the album sides started and ended. I hadn’t listened to this new album before the show, and now the song “Color My Lips Hot Pink” is on repeat in my brain.
Looking forward to Chickfactor 35!
Scroll down for pics of the show (photos by Taryn Alper)
