SOTD: "Chapel Song" - We Are Augustines

When I first heard this track, I felt like I already knew this band even though I didn't recognize the name. Turns out I did.... kind of. Brooklyn-based We Are Augustines includes ex-Pela members Billy McCarthy and Eric Sanderson. I loved Pela and was disappointed to hear they were breaking up last year. HERE'S a review with a clip from one of their shows I caught at Mercury Lounge in 2009.

Anyways, happy these guys are back working on new material. They will release their debut album, "Rise Ye Sunken Ships", this summer. In the meantime, check out this great new tune, "Chapel Song".

A Birthday Party @ MHOW - 5/27/09

On Wednesday night a friend invited me to attend a birthday party at the Music Hall Of Williamsburg. Knowing that I love the club and that it was a free invite, it was pretty much automatic that I'd attend. The really enticing thing about the show was that there were five bands scheduled to perform: The Antlers, Dawes, Deer Tick, Pela, Tokyo Police Club. I didn't bring my camera because I wasn't sure if it would be cool to take pics & video since I was invited as a guest (and sometimes it's nice to sit back and just take a show in). Here's some general notes off the top of my head about each band:



THE ANTLERS

I had read a bit about these guys and listened to some of their clips a couple of weeks ago. They went on first and I'd say that there were only about 100 people in the crowd so it was easy to get close (actually, it was pretty spacious most of the night which is a nice contrast to the usual club shows). The Antlers were a 3-piece band: Guitar, Keyboard and Drums. I liked their sound and thought they did a nice job getting the show going. Solid opening band for sure. You can check out their website HERE and I'd recommend the song "Bear".



DAWES

This was the one band on the schedule that was completely new to me but my buddy Richard told me that he heard they were really good. Let me tell you, they stole the show in my opinion. It's pretty rare nowadays to be blown away by a band that you know absolutely nothing about but they did that and more. These guys are a four piece from California with guitar, bass, drums and keyboard. Even though they're from out west, they really remind me of a Southern rock band, their lead singer also reminded me a bit of Bruce Springsteen at times. They closed their set with the song "It's Gonna Be Alright" which also featured Matt Vazquez from Delta Spirit on backing vocals. Tremendous harmonies from the guys in the band and just a really tight group. As soon as I got home I looked them up and listened to some tracks online, but I don't think any of them do their live show justice.

Looks like they're headed out on a pretty extensive summer tour opening for Deer Tick. I can't wait until they come back to NYC in late July at the Bowery Ballroom. You've gotta check that tour out, it's going to be fantastic. You can check out their tour dates and listen to some tracks on their myspace page HERE. Also, I'd recommend listening to their Daytrotter session HERE........ especially the song "When My Time Comes".



DEER TICK

I've heard a lot about these guys but never really got around listening to them until about a month ago when my buddy Todd emailed me after seeing their show in Rhode Island. I've listened to them quite a bit over the last few weeks and really dig their sound. Their lead singer has a real raspy voice but it definitely fits in perfectly with their music. They're a pretty traditional band with two guitars, bass (electric and stand-up) and drums, but they also kind of remind me of a southern band.

They played a high-energy set with some really cool songs including a great cover of Tom Petty's "Breakdown". One of my favorite songs of the night was actually sung primarily by guitarist Andrew Tobiassen with lead singer John McCauley on harmonica and backing vocals (unfortunately I don't know the title). Deer Tick closed their set with a raucous version of "La Bamba", including fans holding up about 20+ sparklers and a busted pinata showered into the crowd, talk about going out with a bang! Check out their tour dates and music HERE, especially "Baltimore Blues No.1".



PELA

I just saw Pela last week and wrote about that experience HERE so I don't have a ton more to add. They put on another solid, high intensity show and didn't disappoint. Take a listen to their music HERE, "Waiting on the Stairs" is a great tune.



TOKYO POLICE CLUB

I gotta admit that I didn't make it long enough to see these guys. I must be getting old (or maybe I was just tired) but it was after midnight and Pela was still on so I took off before TPC hit the stage. I did hear that they were good and it doesn't surprise me since I've seen them a couple times before (Coachella, Theater at MSG). Anyways, if you want to take a listen to their music, you can do that HERE, I really like the song "Nature of the Experiment".

All in all a real fun night at a great venue. Thanks to my buddy Richard for the invite and thanks to "Bowery Presents" for a fun night out with some real good bands.

Pela & The Postelles @ Mercury Lounge 5/11/09

On Monday night, a friend invited me and my buddy Dan to the Mercury Lounge for "The Alternate Side" launch party featuring two bands, The Postelles and Pela. Mercury Lounge is such a great venue, it's tiny and only holds a couple hundred people (at the most) so there's really not a bad seat in the house.



The Postelles played first and even though I hadn't heard them before, I definitely dug their sound. They seem pretty young and kind of remind me of a poppier version of the Strokes, a little bit like the Kooks also. They rolled through 7 or 8 songs and their lead singer thanked the crowd and WFUV numerous times for letting them play, they were definitely gracious. After a little research, it looks like they've got an EP on Itunes and they're working on a new album. I took a video (below) that you can check out, not sure if "I Wanna Love You" is even the name of this song but it'll work until I find out. Check out their site HERE for more information, they're going to play the All Points West Festival in NJ this summer.

"I WANNA LOVE YOU"



Pela (rhymes with Layla) followed the Postelles and I was really excited to see these guys. My buddy Chris sent me one of their songs a couple weeks back and I've been listening to them quite a bit. I don't know who I'd compare them to currently but they kind of remind me of some of the bands I used to listen to in the 90s (that's a good thing to me). I had read some positive things about their live show, so I was looking forward to see if they delivered. They kicked off their set with the song "Waiting On The Stairs", a really good high-energy tune (video below). This was a great choice to come out firing, immediately got the crowd into them whether people knew their music or not. They followed that with "Lost To The Lonesome", another upbeat song that I featured as the SOTD a little while back. Pela absolutely ripped through another 5 or 6 songs and frontman Billy McCarthy left it all on stage and was covered in sweat at the end of their show.



I came away really impressed with these guys, definitely a band I'd recommend seeing. They just finished a tour with Gaslight Anthem and looks like they're heading to Seattle, you can check out their site HERE for more information.

"WAITING ON THE STAIRS"



All in all a fun night of music at a great club. Special thanks to Lindsay for hooking up the tix, much appreciated!

SOTD: "Lost to the Lonesome" - Pela

My buddy Chris sent me this clip a couple weeks back, really like the song......