Chicken soup for the ears

Tonight, for the recovering infirm (i.e. me) the prescription is this:


Involves free PBR with admission. Also BRM nepotism via promoter TJ Olson. Wish Voyles were still around.

Followed by this:

(Photo courtesy of NYCTaper)

====| FRIDAY 9/25 @ MARKET HOTEL |====

:: WAVVES
:::: Ganglians
:::::: Beach Fossils

| MARKET HOTEL |
1142 Myrtle Ave @ Bdwy | Bushwick, Bklyn
JMZ-Myrtle, L-Jefferson, G-Myrtle/Willoughby | 8pm | all ages | $10

But first, this:

Beach Fossils and Fluffy Lumbers, Underwater Peoples showcase, Market Hotel, 8/22/09

No personal slight to the performances of the bands not pictured above; everyone who played last night contributed to the all around awesomeness of this show (and there were 12 of you, after all, and though I didn't catch everyone, I did witness Liam the Younger, Frat Dad and Andrew Cedermark, whose hard rock rasp of a voice I found particularly stunning). I just decided to shoot Beach Fossils and Fluffy Lumbers because I've previously covered them here (although Mp3 review for Fluffy Lumbers is still forthcoming).

Beach Fossils' Dustin Payseur is even littler in person than I might have expected, but like any celebrity (and he probably will be one someday) he looks bigger onstage. (As a side note, the Underwater Peoples lineup has to be the youngest I've seen for a local label, and if I didn't know they were bands, If I'd seen them all lined up probably would have mistaken them for most of the male members of the Hampshire College freshman class). He played with a bigger band than his records would indicate, farming out a lot of the heavy lifting; however the acoustics in Market Hotel served the bright, enormous guitar sound on "Vacation" well, it was quite thrilling.

Fluffy Lumbers, meanwhile, did NOT sound like Grandpa's ham radio (not that I ever said they did, but rather were several steps removed from it), and not only showcased Sam Franklin's classic songwriting skill, but provided the highlight of the night by playing "Dreams" by The Cranberries, as one of those blow-you-away choices for cover songs where everyone starts looking at each other, silently thinking "are they really playing this?" Then it starts to dawn on everybody that "Yeah, they're totally playing this." And then everyone goes nuts and is happy.

MP3 Review - Beach Fossils

I've been wanting to write about Dustin Payseur, for weeks now, but due to getting stuck in the kind of technological hell I won't drag you into, have been unable to, and now have likely missed the boat completely on him. For all I know, he's scheduled to be on "Last Call with Carson Daly" next week. But nevertheless, here we go! What's exciting about Payseur is his guitar playing -- both aesethetic and technique, both recalling the vintage jangle of 1960s folk rock, back when "folk rock" wasn't a laughable term -- one simple, tasty hook was all you needed to please, bumping up and down like a reconditioned merry-go-round horse. The vocals on "Vacation" aren't much more complicated, and boast a quavery, drowning-man quality, which recalls the lo-fi character of Wavves, but remains its own ingredient. Getting lost in this song, you might just think you forgot to turn off the AM radio.

For some reason I keep wanting to declare Payseur, who lives in Brooklyn, reclusive, although I may be just saying that because I haven't found myself standing next to him in line at the grocery store (yet). He's actually been playing a decent number of shows lately, one of which will take place tomorrow night at Market Hotel. It's a showcase for Underwater People (the label, not the people) and among a dozen or so up-and-coming bands, and, recluse or not, Payseur will undoubtedly be the best in his class.


MP3 - Beach Fossils - Vacation