by Kevin McGann | Aug 2, 2022
White Hills at Knitting Factory (photo by Kevin McGann)
It’s taken me the better part of 20 years to discover White Hills but I’m glad I finally did. I caught a show earlier this year at Saint Vitus and was left wondering how the hell two people create such an intense wall of sound. This past week’s show at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory left me feeling the same way as founding members Dave W and Ego Sensation slammed my head with their guitar and drum assault.
Their self-described sound is ‘industrial fuzz for art rockers’, and I’ve seen them more broadly described as psych rock. But the truth is that there’s so much genre bending style in their songs I don’t think any label would stick. It can be noisy, frenzied, rhythmic, experimental, trippy, electronic and guitar driven….and that’s in one song. I’ve just started digging into their catalog and it’s maybe even more impressive than their live shows as they’ve released an insane amount of music since 2003.
One of the other things I really appreciate about Dave and Ego is seeing them at their shows out in the crowd, watching and supporting the other bands. And not that it’s hard to spot them as they’re as style is as unique as their sound. Make sure to catch them on their current tour with Mississippi’s doom heavy Telekinetic Yeti.
Scroll down for pics of the show (photos by Kevin McGann)
WHITE HILLS
by Kate Hoos | Feb 24, 2022
Dog Date at Knitting Factory (photo by Kate Hoos)
We all need a midweek pick me up and I for one can’t think of anything better than a killer show to give me the boost I need in life. Forget sports or meeting up for brunch, this rock n roll shit is where it’s at. And so it’s no shocker that I found myself at a show like so many other times when I needed a boost to get through the week and this was a doozy of a lineup. Post punk, noise, psych, garage—this show had plenty of sounds that I love to perk me right up.
Frida Kill kicked off the night and as readers surely know, they are one of my favorites and dear friends of FTA who have been featured several times. Their effortless combination of garage and post punk makes for some killer tunes and my mood is instantly better after every show. Recently they’ve been working on some new stuff and streamlining their set and word also has it that they will have a music video and tape coming out soon, so keep your eyes open for that.
Pons is a band that had been on my list to check out but being that I work nights, I had thus far missed getting to one of their shows. They were worth the wait though and a band that hits lots of styles that I love. The most fitting way I can describe them is a frantic noise punk band that sounds like Brainiac and Hella had a baby that was raised by no wave wolves on acid…which of course I say with the highest compliments. There’s a lot to their sound and I can hear the influence of plenty of experimental elements and a healthy amount of grunge, punk, metal and even surf; it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what is going on, it’s many things all at once, and that is hardly a bad thing. I’ve seen them mentioned as a post punk band a few times as I was looking through their social media but I find that’s the least significant element of their sound (they also don’t have a bassist which I think is a crucial element of post punk) and that the other elements come through most strongly so I’d firmly classify them as noise punk. It’s how they blend those separate aspects together to make their own thing and their intense stage presence that makes them a really exciting band to watch.
Also, one the fastest ways to my heart is always through having two drummers in your band, I can always fuck with two drummers. One played a full kit while the other opted for a standing set up forgoing a bass drum; both ripping plenty of busy fills and heavy beats to compliment the spacey effects laden vocals and manic guitar playing. Pons is by far one of the best new to me bands I’ve seen in 2022 and I look forward to getting out to more shows.
Pons at Knitting Factory
Joudy (pronounced “howdy”) was a band I had never even heard of before the show I am sorry to say. And I say sorry because I wish I’d known about them way sooner because they ripped apart my mind in all the best ways with their heavy psych riffs. Originally from Venezuela and now based in NYC, this is a band that hits hard and shreds harder. I was already getting really into them when around 3/4 of the way through the set I did a double take and almost didn’t even believe I was hearing the opening throb of the bass line from “Angel” by Massive Attack (from the iconic 1998 album Mezzanine), but hearing it I was and I got VERY excited because I absolutely LOVE Massive Attack. I have to say I never envisioned it as a heavy psych song before this show, but it made absolute total sense in that moment and I just found myself entering into an otherworldly zone, lost in the acid guitar and mesmerizing bass.
I have always loved covers that change it up and flip the script, and while this one stayed close to the original song structure, hearing it played by a loud as fuck rock band and ripped away from its original trip hop frame work was incredible and really ticked a lot of boxes for me. The band mentions they are influenced by the British trip hop scene as well in their bio, and while it’s not a comparison I’d immediately think of when I think of a psych band, it lines up so perfectly with their other influences of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and 90s American grunge, these disparate sounds converging together into something greater than the sum of these parts. They are another fantastic new to me discovery and are a band I am FOR SURE going to be keeping my eyes on.
Joudy at Knitting Factory
Dog Date hit the stage in the headlining position to close out the night with a healthy dose of fervid garage punk. Did I already say I had a thing for bands with two drummers? And not only that but two left handed drummers? (One of whom plays full lefty, the other who plays open handed.) This show was quite the treat for the nerdy left handed drummers of this world (though as far as I’m aware, I was the only one in attendance on this night) and I loved watching the dual attack of the Dog Date drummers which was very reminiscent of the Osees stickmen. For song after song the band pummeled through a slew of high octane snappy ear worms and no member of the band spared a single ounce of energy, jumping around and all piling on top of each other at one point.
The band will soon be hitting the road for a few dates with Surfbort, including a stop at Market Hotel on March 3rd (you can count on yours truly to be there) which will make for a wild show every night. I am already envisioning dodging bodies between shots and have been pregaming with repeated listens to their excellent 2021 album, Child’s Play.
Rock n roll will never die. I got the conclusive proof at this show and you heard it here first.
Scroll down for pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
FRIDA KILL
PONS
JOUDY
DOG DATE
by Ray Rusinak | Oct 6, 2021
Joey Cape at Knitting Factory (photo by Ray Rusinak)
Joey Cape of Lagwagon is the artist that I’ll always buy an advance ticket for when he’s playing around town, and then something will come up (mostly work) and I invariably have to cancel. It almost happened again last Friday but my planned trip to Alabama was canceled and I was fortunate enough to get on over to The Knitting Factory for this relatively early show…I mean, not even a man of Joey’s reputation can slow the wheels of an emo dance party. But I digress.
Opening the evening’s festivities was Williamsburg’s very own Jose Prieto, whom you might know from his work with his punk band, Make War. I’ve been following Jose and his music dating back to the days when Make War was still know as Sad and French and I must say, I am almost never disappointed. On Friday, Jose unfortunately didn’t have much of a crowd in attendance largely due to the aforementioned early set time. Nonetheless, what the crowd lacked in numbers it more than made up for in knowledge and appreciation for his songs and music. Truth be told, the majority of those in attendance were friends of his, which made for an intimate and soul stirring set composed mostly of deep cuts going way back in his repertoire.
Jose Prieto at Knitting Factory
Next up after Jose, was Joe Sib. Over the years, Joe has had quite a career. He was vocalist and guitarist with the LA punk band, Wax back in the mid nineties. How many of you remember their epic video “California” (directed by Spike Jonez) from the days when MTV used to actually play music videos? After Wax, he was also a member of the punk “supergroup” 22 Jacks. And of course I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention that he is the cofounder of Side One Dummy Records. But now, he spends most of his time honing his comedic craft as a stand up comedian. His set was an amusing jaunt which had the crowd chuckling throughout as he shared vignettes which primarily made fun of himself and his misbegotten trials and tribulations opening up as a standup for mega stars such as Metallica and Foo Fighters.
Joe Sib at Knitting Factory
And then there was Joey Cape. Covid and the ensuing lock down has not been easy on any of us. It particularly was rough on Joey. But out of that wreckage, Cape managed to create what I feel is one of the best “covid” albums to have been released thus far. A Good Year To Forget was released in August and it is filled with pain and heartfelt suffering but not in a “woe is me” kind of way, but rather in a typical Joey Cape tongue in cheek “lets have fun with this,” way. In typical Cape fashion, he didn’t play anything from the new album until well into the set (the sixth song of the evening actually) when he kicked into “It Could Be Real” followed by “Saturday Night Fever” and title song “A Good Year To Forget” all in a row. And that was it from the new one. The rest of the evening consisted of a nice mix of earlier solo material, a solid selection of Lagwagon tunes, a couple of Bad Astronaut songs and one cover, No Use For A Name’s “International You Day.” Of course that one was written by Joey’s good/best friend Tony Sly who left us way too soon back in 2012. Joey dedicated the song to his beloved friend and shared a heartfelt story which had many in the crowd wiping the dust from their eyes.
Joey Cape at Knitting Factory
Joey is one hell of a storyteller and his shows are often as much about the between song banter as much as the songs themselves. Friday night was no exception, as he spun tales throughout the evening, oftentimes apologizing that his rambling verbiage was cutting into his playing time especially with the pending emo disco which was to follow. All told, it was a great evening of friends hanging out, enjoying tall tales, imbibing in adult refreshments, great stories, greater songs, laughs and maybe even some tears. Joey is an unsung hero (no pun intended) who deserves more attention. Do yourself a favor and give him a listen.
Scroll down for pics of the show (photos by Ray Rusinak)
JOSE PRIETO
JOEY CAPE
