Tonight was a sleepy Sunday night out in the LES, but Cake Shop was moderately full for a night of solid, diverse bands. After a late start and what seemed like (and later sounded like) some sound issues, German Measles took the stage. I really like this band’s songs, and I’d seen them before in a different permutation as Beachniks. But the whole thing was an absolute joke. They utterly, unenthusiastically plodded their way through kind of good lo-fi tunes, acting as if they couldn’t care less. It was completely boring, and not ironically interesting. This is a band that seems to care way more about hanging out before and after shows looking cool than actually playing music. I think that’s sort of their schtick, but it’s one that I’m just not interested in. You get to play at Cake Shop in New York City. Try and do something new and original, or at least vaguely exciting. It was too bad, because their actual songs are pretty good. An off night? Who knows.
City Center impressed me as much as I was hoping they would. They’re Fred Thomas’ of Saturday Looks Good To Me more electronic project. I normally don’t care too much for button-pushing, but this duo did a good job of making it interesting, combining their electronic soundscapes with guitar, cymbal, and floor tom. Completely different from the sunshiney pop tunes of SLGTM, City Center plays songs that evoke nostalgic moods and memories past. What the music retains from his previous bands is Thomas’ excellent, dreamy songwriting. As to be expected, a very good performance from a truly solid songwriter.
Desolation Wilderness is a trio from Olympia, Washington. I really liked some things about them. Their combination of bass, rhythm, and lead guitar was refreshing. They each had their clearly delineated job, and it worked out well in their dreamy tunes. The layers of bass, chordsy washed out rhythm, and constantly arpeggiating lead guitar makes a very appealing indie-rock sound. The second guitarist was very fun to watch. There were also things I didn’t like. I wish they had a drummer instead of a drum machine (there were a few distracting tempo problems). I wish the singer’s vocals were a little more present and a little less dreamy. They need something to ground their creative guitar-work a bit more. Overall, good performance from a good band.
German Measles:
City Center:
Desolation Wilderness:
[...] last time I wrote about City Center was back in September, when I caught them at Cake Shop and thoroughly enjoyed their mix of loops, [...]