Fishpork’s 10 Favorite Shows of 2009
It was another full year of remarkable live shows in 2009, which was also not immune to a few train wrecks (Enon, Dan Deacon). Whether it was a cold and rainy night in Philly to see White Lies overcome a historically shitty venue to play a show for the ages or a late night train ride to the East Village to see Karin Dreijer Andersson’s Fever Ray outfit put on a visually stunning performance, this past year reinforced our music fandom. Here’s a list of our favorite shows of 2009:
- White Lies @ First Unitarian Church
- Grizzly Bear @ Trocadero
- Fever Ray @ Webster Hall
- Tapes N’ Tapes @ Johnny Brenda’s
- Animal Collective @ Bowery Ballroom
- Morrissey @ Carnegie Hall
- Vic Chestnutt & Elf Power @ Bowery Ballroom
- Autolux @ Johnny Brenda’s
- Built to Spill @ SIREN Festival
- Monsters of Folk @ United Palace
Least Favorite:
Album Review: 25 Years [EP] by Middle Class Rut
Before reading Kerrang! magazine describe Middle Class Rut as a cross between the “swagger of Jane’s Addiction” and the “fury of Rage Against The Machine,” a similar comparison was apparent. It’s actually more like Perry Farrell singing lead for Rage (it’d be blasphemy to compare a two-piece band without a bass player to Eric Avery’s Jane’s Addiction). Even as a two-piece, Middle Classs Rut pull off an epic sound. Lead singer/guitarist Zach Lopez and drummer Sean Stockham experienced early career success when they were signed to a major label in their teens as Leisure. Since then, all versions of a band attempting to add additional players haven’t panned out. The latest incarnation, also known as MC Rut (the name comes from a Shel Silverstein poem), removes all extraneous components to focus on the pieces that were never broken.
The band releases their 25 Years EP on Bright Antenna, and the record is nothing short of spectacular. From the opening riffs of the title track, the EP features six punches to the face. “25 Years” serves well as an opener, complete with visceral guitars and Richard Patrick screams. “Dead Set” features an impressive interplay between Lopez’s delayed guitar and Stockham’s relentless percussion. “I Guess You Could Say” lightens up just a bit, with an addictive guitar melody and lyrical wordplay. “All Walks of Life,” a standout track on the EP, finds the band turning up the intensity with Lopez’s squelching guitars and best screamo impersonation. “Tied Up” is an anthemic dose of collected rage with a catchy chorus. The band saves the best track in “I Don’t Really Know” as the closer. It’s highlighted by Lopez’s impeccable guitar solos and his strongest lyrics on the record, as he sings an angst-ridden duet against his alter ego (I’m assuming this is Stockham helping out on vocals): “I don’t really know what I believe; I never really know, I can’t agree.”
The album is one of our favorites of the year and will likely end up on Fishpork’s end-of-year lists. MC Rut has recently gained increasing popularity in the UK, and the buzz continues in the US. Download the title track from the EP here or stream it below:
Watch the video for “Busy Bein’ Born” off their MC Rut EP below. If you like what you hear, check out our contest for a Middle Class Rut prizepack, which features a copy of the 25 Years EP and a limited addition 7″ of the “Busy Bein’ Born” single signed by the band.
http://mcrut.com
http://www.myspace.com/middleclassrut
NIN/JA @ PNC Arts Center
For a tour that is supposed to present the last performances for Nine Inch Nails as we know them (him), it seemed awkward for Trent Reznor and company to play a set before Jane’s Addiction (a band that hasn’t been relevant in 15 years). As it turns out, the outdoor venue ended up sucking a lot of the life from their performance, and Jane’s Addiction proved they deserved to headline. Gone were the breathtaking lighting rigs from last year’s “Lights In The Sky” shows and the sporadic small venue shows. Instead, we get $80 seats that practically require binoculars. I avoid the PNC Bank Arts Center at all costs, as there is very little to get excited about. However, an exception needed o be made when NIN is playing their last area show after twenty years. Unfortunately, it was the least memorable performance I’ve seen by the band.
Yes, it’s great that Trent Reznor has sobered up and defeated his inner demons. And I suppose this is why we are now saying “goodbye” to this part of his musical career. Hopefully, he will continue to share his unique abilities with the world in another capacity. With that said, the watered down versions of tracks that served as therapy for all of Trent’s past emotional instability were awkwardly out of context and should have not been included in the set list. I do appreciate the gesture that he is playing the deep and rare tracks that longtime fans want to see performed for the last (first and last in some cases) time. However, ingenuously transforming these tracks from soul searching catharsis into stadium anthems with unscripted “heys,” “woohoos” and handclaps seemed marred by pretense. “Mr. Self-Destruct,” “Last,” “March of the Pigs,” “Reptile,” and “Gave Up” need to be sealed up to serve only as the abrasive, self-loathing, and genre defying classics they are.
In all fairness, twenty years is a long time to share your self-hatred with the world without following the road paved by Ian Curtis or Kurt Cobain. We saw a glimpse of what could happen when Trent’s self-loathing is redirected toward political apocalypse with the impressive Year Zero project. Trent promises there is more to come. We didn’t see much reason to get to the show early enough to see Tom Morello’s new band, Street Sweeper Social Club (Audioslave and The Nightwatchmen were achingly diluted and bland). The “Wave Goodbye” tour had a lax camera policy, and we captured some of the performance. Unfortunately, tripods and additional audio gear were not allowed, so the shaky cam and overmodulation of the sound were unavoidable.
(Mark)
After NIN finished their encore with a whimper by playing “Hurt,” the lights went on and stage change began. After 15 minutes Jane’s took the stage and immediately went into one of the best songs ever written, “Three Days.” The last and only time I heard this song live was at the Hammerstein Ballroom for the ”Relapse Tour” in 1997 with Flea replacing Eric Avery on bass. It was immediately clear just how much Avery’s style and execution is irreplaceable.
I’ve been a hardcore fan of more than 15 years, yet my expectations were not high. I anticipated to find the show nostalgically entertaining at best. However, even after an 18 year layoff their sound was unbelievably tight thanks to the return of Avery’s precise bass playing.
As the band continued through classics such as ”Ocean Size” and “Pigs in Zen,” the highlight was a powerful delivery of “Then She Did.” Avery’s infectious bass lines and Navarro’s shifting guitar rhythms brought chills, and Perry’s voice sounded stronger than it had during the last semi-reunion shows. Jane’s Addiction put forth a solid live performance and filled a void that was 15 years overdue. Better late than never.
(Pete)
“Gave Up”
“Mr. Self-Destruct”
Relaxed Camera Policy Announced For NIN/JA Tour
The recently announced NIN/JA tour, which finds Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction sharing the stage for the first time since 1991, threatens to be the last wave of performances for Trent Reznor under the moniker of NIN. Trent recently tweeted about an official announcement for a relaxed camera policy he devised and provides details in a forum on the band’s web site. Here is an excerpt from the message:
In an effort to allow you to document your experience at the upcoming NIN/JA performances, we will be relaxing our photo/video policy (5/7/09 - 6/12/09 only). Fans will be permitted to bring in their personal cameras, video and audio recorders. This is not not an open door policy for any and all recording devices. Please try to use common sense as we are trying to ensure this experience is great for everyone attending. Don’t show up with a television crew and a recording studio.
To be clear: this applies only to the North American NIN/JA tour.
In other NIN/JA tour news, Trent has also announced set times for each band (including Street Sweeper Social Club). In a surprising move, NIN will play before Jane’s Addiction at each show. This may backfire, as hoards of NIN fans are already announcing they will either not attend or leave early. This is no surprise to me since NIN fans are notoriously closed-minded.
SexTapes: Free Mars Pt. 2?
Chris Pitman, who recently finished co-writing and co-producing Chinese Democracy, has finally released his first new music since Lusk’s Free Mars, a 1997 collaboration with current Autolux mastermind Greg Edwards and ex-Tool bassist Paul D’Amour. Pitman also played synth guitars on Tool’s Aenima. Fans of Lusk, hoping for Pitman to revisit the futuristic pop sounds of Free Mars, may be a bit disappointed. Although SexTapes does contain several tracks that have a similar sound to that record, most similarities begin and end with Pitman’s vocals.
Although Pitman has added texture to the song arrangements, creating a more layered sound that was present in Lusk, lead guitarist Kelly Wheeler and bassist Marko Fox have composed most of the music. Wheeler is noted for playing bass in pre-Jane’s Addiction bands with Perry Ferrell in the 80s, while Fox supplied the vocals for Tool’s “Die Eier Von Satan.” While most of the new music is an acceptable alternative to what you find on today’s rock radio, there are too many bland guitar riffs that scream 80s hair band. It’s there that SexTapes lost me a bit, as I couldn’t help but reach for my out-of-print Free Mars disc.
The album is not a complete waste of time. The opening track, “Medicine Man,” does contain one of the coolest guitar riffs of recent memory. And Pitman’s vocals sound as good as ever. He just has one of those voices that sends chills down your spine. “Trainwreck” contains some heavy bass lines, reminiscence of Tool, and the guitar play is equally interesting. The chorus on “Worklords” is the closest the album gets to Lusk. It all just sounds like it was done before. I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy “Paranoid Freak.” Although the guitars are rather bland on the track, the vocals are pretty entertaining, as Pitman rips some poor schmuck a new one:
MAN.. YOUR.. JUST A..
JUST A PARANOID FREAK
NO ONES OUT TO GET YOU MAN
NO ONE FUCKING CARESI MEAN…. YOU AIN’T GOT SHIT DUDE
YOUR JUST AN IDIOT.. AND YOU SMELL LIKE SHIT
YOU DRINK YOURSELF INTO OBLIVION
AND YOUR A FUCKING DUNCE
I have to call out the band on the track “Crawlspace,” which sounds too similar to Tool during the first minute and does so each time the chorus ends, which wanders off into some kind of Twisted Sister rant. There is no surprise these guys hang out with Tool on regular basis. Although it’s nice to see Pitman deliver his best impersonation of Mayard, I never get the sense that the band has found its own identity. Overall, I was disappointed with what was a highly anticipated release for me. However, I don’t intend to stop listening to the record’s first two tracks anytime soon. Earth to Greg Edwards: release the new Autolux album before I lose my mind!
Eric Avery’s Revolution
There has been a recent buzz surrounding Eric Avery’s decision to rejoin Jane’s Addiction on stage for a NME Awards show in L.A. earlier this year. This has lead to the possibility of an original lineup reunion, and these events unfortunately overshadowed Avery’s solo release Help Wanted on Dangerbird Records this past April. Even though this is Avery’s first formal release under his own name, he previously released his solo work under the Polarbear moniker in the years after Jane’s broke up in 1991. Under Polarbear, Avery released 1996’s Self-titled 12″ ice blue vinyl and then 1997’s Chewing Gum EP, before releasing the brilliant LP Why Something Instead of Nothing? in 1999. Ahead of its time, Avery’s Polarbear was a brilliant experimental noise machine that featured complicated song textures and was notable by the early integration of a laptop when playing live shows. However, this project went virtually unnoticed outside of L.A. and WSION was limited to 2,000 copies before the label stopped pressing records. Luckily for fans, it was reissued in 2004, when, perhaps, audiences were more ready for the groundbreaking LP.
The keyboards and guitar on the opening track “Belly of an Insect” lays the groundwork for the listener for an experience in ever-changing experimental melodies and bass lines that bring you into the unknown. As Avery chants the chorus “carry my blood away,” it is obvious that you are in for a fresh ride on this record. The drum machine pattern from the second track, “Beside the Fire” will sound familiar to Polarbear fans and creates a unique ladder to Avery’s past, while creating novel guitar sounds behind the brainy mantra of “I don’t know why sometimes I lose my mind when everything seems just fine.” These lyrics merge with the dark dirge of Avery’s melodies perfectly.
Where many artists fall short in taking musical risks, Avery excels. “All Remote and No Control” is the first single and continues Avery’s lyrical theme of paradoxical juxtapositions. Ever dynamic, Avery takes vocal chances with spoken word verses on as “Revolution” and on a classic duet with former Garbage singer Shirley Manson on “Maybe.” Other songs, such as “Philo Beddoe,” bring the listener into a different musical realm with the crushing guitar behind jarring, distorted strings. Avery’s range shines bright on “Porchlight,” with unique guitar rhythms and poetic keyboards.
Avery reaches into the depths of despair and depression in his lyrics and profound vocals, reminiscent of Peter Murphy. As with Polarbear, Avery plays most of the instruments but in addition to Manson, he enlists contributions from other notables, including Foo Fighter’s drummer Taylor Hawkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea (who plays trumpet) and Chris Channy, who ironically played bass in the last incarnation of the Jane’s Addition.
Help Wanted picks up were Polarbear left off and gives us one of the best and most overlooked releases so far in 2008. I can only hope that Avery disbands the idea of reuniting with Jane’s and tours in support of his best work to date. With Help Wanted Eric Avery has created a exceptional and necessary album in a time when many musical artists from the 90s–including present members of Jane’s-continue to generate music unnecessarily.