Rockwood Music Hall in Manhattan’s Lower East Side was packed to the brim on September 1st. Darryl Rahn took the stage to support the release of his latest album entitled Making Strangers. Darryl’s personality and demeanor lend him a unconscious honesty, and his stage show is saturated in it. From the heartfelt opener “The Grey” it was an almost effortless captivation.
Darryl switched between playing with a full band behind him and going it alone with just an acoustic guitar. The standout from the unaccompanied portion seemed to “Reason To Run”. The crowd hung on the emotion of the lyrics and finger picked melody. It isn’t often that a palpable room-wide reaction to a performer can be spotted, especially on the Lower East Side where everyone is seemingly already over the next big thing. Darryl finds a way to connect through his songwriting its just folk enough to mean something more than a pop song, and its just pop enough to get put on a subconscious loop the following day. You can check out all the songs mentioned and keep up with Darryl’s socials via the links below.
SemiAutomatix ripped through a set at El Cortez in Bushwick Brooklyn. The five piece group led by Tim “TC” Cribben on vocals played the punk set with a charm and charisma thats hard to match in the genre. Bassist Matt Gevaza and drummer JR Jensen synced and throbbed through a set that almost shivered with energy. Guitarists Mike Gevaza and Greg Odette traded lead harmonies seamlessly across the stage. SemiAutomatix is a punk band by definition, the set however showed more depth and emotion in the songs than we have come to expect from the genre. If you can imagine the mid 90’s Long Island Punk sound and meld it with soaring classic rock solos from the 60’s and 70’s you might have an idea what SemiAutomatix sound like. The set was a beautiful mix of punk energy and Marc Bolan-esque tenderness that just worked. You can check out the latest single “Never Fading” below.
Last night in New York City on a balmy 70 degree February evening Storytown played a stripped down acoustic set at Manhattan venue The Bowery Electric. The group who usually plays with a full four piece set up reduced the size without reducing the sound, performing an intimate set with only an acoustic guitar and acoustic bass. The set felt honest and personal. Guy Story – the guitarist and vocalist – led us into the songs with a memory, anecdote, or a frame of reference about how the music came to be.
The band have a unique sound in the modern Indie Rock climate. Picture David Byrne and Michael Stipe recording an album together with modern day world issues and modern production technology. If you can mentally piece that together you might have a good idea where Storytown’s sound begins. Storytown will be releasing an album later this year.
UprightMan showed us how emotional rock music can be on January 30th at Brooklyn Bowl. The band plays with enough energy to compel you to dance,while also playing with enough empathetic despondency to force listeners to reflect upon every decision that has guided them to this point. UprightMan‘s songs seem to move forward at the same time as staying still. Notes hang in soupy reverb. Unexpected distortion jaggedly cuts through the shimmer. UprightMan would be as comfortable opening for Steely Dan as they would sharing a stage with Royal Blood. The set helped me find myself only to lose myself time after time. The band deserves your attention, last night they certainly had mine.
Deathbeat owned the stage and the crowds attention last night at Pianos. The band hails from Melbourne Australia, they played with power and enthusiasm despite the foreign arctic blast engulfing the city for much of their time here. They kicked off with “Dust The Book” a song which hinges on a hypnotic rhythm from drummer Steve Tyssen. The drum trance coupled with the hazy but precise guitar from Julian Schweitzer foreshadowed the rest of the set. Track after track the duo powered through with distorted guitar and booming percussion.
The fourth track in “Vibe Police” seemed like a tongue in cheek statement about youth and authority. Julian’s presentation of lyrics let the listener know to swallow with a grain of salt. The group next played “Heartbreaks”. This track is reminiscent of “Sabotage” era Beastie Boys. “Heartbreaks” has an accompanying video you can watch with the link below.
The band finished the set with “ZAP 5”. The song has giant Tom Morello – esque guitars that provided emotional closure on a carefully placed and muscular set list. The band will head back home to Australia next week you can keep up with them on social media via the links below.
On Dec 7th Hardworker of Durham, NC took the stage at Rockwood Music Hall in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. The band has a sound that is deeply rooted in American folk but breaks out and finds its home in todays indie singer/songwriter pool of talent. Lead singer and guitarist Sus Long lead the band through a set of songs off their latest release Go Alone as well as a few tracks from albums past.
By the second song they had to crowds undivided by playing the folk rock turned garage rock anthem “Look More Like A Girl”. The vocal harmonies divided between Long and Alex Treyz on “Lazarus” really filled the room with a Gospel vibe. Mid set the track “Kate” brought the energy with sharp guitars from Daniel Nowell and a distorted four string banjo played by Mike Connor. Wrapping up the already heartfelt show with all out folk song “Kansas City” we were left knowing the band can channel the North Carolinian roots. Elizabeth Cotton would have even probably approved of the bands ode to home.
Hardworker fits into and breaks out of the folk rock mold and they put on a great show in the meantime. Keep up with them here.
