Photos: Video Hippos, Air Waves, Screaming Females, Double Dagger, and The So-So Glos at Market Hotel

The show at Market Hotel last night was easily, by far, the most fun night of music I’ve had so far this year.  In the words that I used to attempt to lure my friends out to Bushwick, the line-up was sick nasty awesome.  The bands were all uniformly great.  But more than that, the general feeling in the air last night was perfect.  Unlike my Wavves experience at Market Hotel, the place wasn’t filled to the brim with drunk sixteen year olds.  Sure, there were drunk sixteen year olds, but there was also an incredibly fun, respectful, and diverse crowd (including the Ninjasonik guys crowd surfing the So So Glos’ set).  The fans that these bands drew out seemed like they were really and truly there for the great music, not for the indie posturing or to see and be seen.  

Now on to the bands.  Video Hippos are a video art-rock band from Baltimore.  Unfortunately, we walked in towards the end of their set.  I’d booked them as the openers for Dan Deacon at Swarthmore, and they were just as cool as I remembered them being.  Schizophrenic guitar rock with really cool projections to go along with them.  A cool concept, and a very fun band to watch.  

Air Waves were up next, and the only band of the night I was not familiar with.  This is one of the most adorable bands I’ve ever seen.  Nicole Schneit seems to be an unlikely indie rocker upon first look, but she writes simple, beautiful songs that are simultaneously rocking and sweet.  Her shy, laid-back stage presence was refreshing.  Ultimately, this band struck me as incredibly honest.  Check out this mp3.  I’m sure you’ll like it.

Screaming Females played next, and they were the main reason I came out.  I’ve been enjoying their new album, Power Move, for a few weeks now and was eager to see if they sounded as badass live.  They do.  Marissa Paternoster is a ridiculously cool guitarist, and her “fuck it all” attitude makes this band seem like they’d fit in well in the 70s both musically and attitudinally.  They’re not doing anything groundbreaking, but it’s really nice to hear a band from New Jersey who just really effing rocks.  Please check out their new album, it’s really good.  Download the song below.

I was also really pumped to check out Double Dagger.  I’d heard one of their tracks off of rcrdlbl and fell in love with it immediately (it sounded like Pavement- no seriously, listen to the mp3 at the end of this post).  They didn’t really sound like that live, but in a good way.  They just sounded totally rocking.  It was that kind of night.  The lead singer is really wacky (yeah, I did say wacky), bursting with stage presence and super-friendly vibes.  The combination of just drums and bass took up a lot more space than I was expecting.  Another excellent band. 

And they just kept coming.  The So So Glos ended the night.  I loved them.  If any band represents The Market Hotel, it’s them (I believe the venue is their practice space and sometimes home).  You could tell that they were so glad to be playing at a place they clearly love so deeply, to an adoring crowd who reciprocated their good-times ethos.  Their guitar sound was thick, huge, and triumphant.  The lead singer’s whiny snarl carried the band happily along, all the way through their celebratory set.  To me, it felt and sounded like a cross between Andrew W.K. and Titus Andronicus.  I’m listening to the band’s tracks right now, and they don’t really do the band’s expansive live sound justice.  Try to get out and see this band soon; they’re actually playing Music Hall of Williamsburg with Titus.  While I don’t think that will be quite the same, if last night was any indication, it should be a great show.  

Video Hippos:

Air Waves:

Screaming Females:

Double Dagger:

So So Glos:

MP3: “Bell” – Screaming Females    

MP3: “The Lie/The Truth” – Double Dagger  

MP3: “Isn’t It A Shame” – So So Glos