There comes a time in every young New Yorker's life where an upcoming weekend of live music feels so legendary, so mythic, you have to tell everyone and their mother, and possibly their mother's mother, about what's going on because “it's going to be the best show of the year and you just can't afford to miss it.”
This time is almost every weekend.
Here are the things I am going to check out.
HOAX / SEWN LEATHER / HANK AND THE HAMMERHEADS/ 2 TON BUG
Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 285 Kent. All Ages / 10pm / $7
Many reasons for this.
A.) I haven’t been to a punk show in seven days and I'm starting to experience withdrawal symptoms.
B.) The last time I saw Hoax, (last month) they played here
And now they are not playing in the “living room” of a friend's house.
C.) The drummer in Crazy Spirit's other band, Hank Wood and the Hammerheads, once killed a chicken for no reason during their live set, offending people of the internet everywhere. The video has since been taken down, but gives you a sense of what may (or may not) be expected at the show tomorrow.
BIG TROUBLES / PUNKS ON MARS / THE HAIRS
Friday, May 18, 2012 at Glasslands Gallery. 21 + / 8:30pm / $10
Last year, the gents in Big Troubles released “Romantic Comedy” on Slumberland Records. Easily one of my favorite albums of the year, I vowed to never miss the guys live if the opportunity arose. BT's Alex Craig and Ian Drennan share vocal duties, an intimate relationship not unlike that of Teenage Fanclub's Gerard Love and Norman Blake. Joined by the fantastic Punks on Mars and one of my favorite new Brooklyn bands The Hairs, put this on your pop music to-do list.
NYC POP FEST!: COMET GAIN / THE POOH STICKS / SEAPONY / THE ELECTRIC POP GROUP / PUSHY PARENTS/INDIEPOP DANCE PARTY featuring DJ: Roque (Cloudberry Records)
Saturday, May 19, 2012 at Public Assembly. 21 + / 8:00pm / $15/$18
For us living on the East Coast, we sadly live in a post-Chickfactor anniversary show world. We saw Black Tambourine play for what might very well be their last live performance ever, the Softies reunited after twelve years, breaking everyone's heart while simultaneously piecing them back together again, and Belle & Sebastian's Stevie Jackson covered Orange Juice with HoneyBunch, succeeding in creating the tweest moment of all time.
Never fear, pop believers, it's NYC POP FEST! And Saturday's lineup is something for the history books. Recently reformed Welsh band The Pooh Sticks, large players in the late-80s C86 scene will take the stage before indie pop lifers Comet Gain headline in a performance that is sure to result in tears and hugging strangers. The band's last album, Howl of the Lonely Crowd, was released on Fortuna Pop! and What's Your Rupture? (Is it just me, or can those labels do no wrong?)
