We Were Promised Jetpacks concert review and interview Webster Hall 3/8/14

3/9/14 16:32

I just woke up from a nap.  There has to be a good reason for me to take a nap.  Exhaustion or sickness, I’d give into the boredom nap once in a while.   This morning we came home close to 1 AM.  I made a tea and slurped it in our dark bedroom while Ali snored.  I kept an eye on the clock with a strange anticipation sort of like waiting for the New Year’s Eve ball to drop.  I assumed at 1:00 the clocks would magically jump to 2:00.  I am here to tell you - it did not happen.  Not sure when the magic happens, but I put my head down and slept on my side facing my wife, even as she had her back turned towards me.  I knew in a few hours I’d be up and drive Emma to church, dropping her off to watch the kids in the nursery.  I thought I was deacon for the 11:00 which I was not.  In a delirious state of mind I attended church and for the life of me I’m trying to recall what Reverend Diane said in the morning message.  You’re not reading this to hear about my naps or the message anyway.  I understand.  Talk about the concert.  First, we picked up Amanda in the city and spent a couple of hours in the city…Strand Books…OK to the concert.  Well to start, did I tell you about the time when I was kicked out at The Cramps concert when Webster Hall was known as The Ritz?  True story, but for another time…Opening up for We Were Promised Jetpacks were a strong Scottish two piece all-girl band, Honeyblood whose songs varied, sort of power pop with a snarl.  They are Stina Tweeddale (vocals, guitar), Shona McVicar (vocals, drums) who with full blonde hair and fists pumped pounded on the drums, ala Moe Tucker from Velvet Underground.  They don’t have an album out as yet, but come the fall Fat-Cat- Records will release their debut.  I’d like to see them back in the area headlining.  Both musicians were hanging out at the merch table and were very grateful for the recognition as well as the opportunity to open for We Were Promised Jetpacks.  Promoting their live album EREY (live in Philadelphia) At 21:00 We Were Promised Jetpacks were on the stage, opening with a new song for their forthcoming album.  In all their set consisted of five new songs from their forthcoming album.  Quiet Little Voices was next and the set was scattered with the new songs mixed with their staples like Roll Up Your Sleeves, It’s Thunder and Lightning, Ships With Holes Will Sink, Boy in The Back Seat.  From our perspective on the balcony, the crowd swelled from the sides to the back of the venue, including those of us in the safe distance on the balcony.  I don’t recall as many crowd surfers or even an all-out assault of slam dancing at any of the previous shows.  Last night was the seventh time I’ve seen the band.  I saw one kid whip his elbow across the head of someone he crashed into.  There were only a few in the mist of the hits and the pent up male macho aggression, but their antics I have to say - distracted from the performance.  I'm all for slam dancing at a punk show.  I get it.  It's part of the show - at a punk concert.  Even Adam Thompson, singer for WWPJP made a comment the wanna-be punks were stealing some of their thunder.  The surfers lasted till eventually slipping and crash landing onto their bony shoulders and soft heads once the crowd got tired from keeping them up. There were no bodies left on the floor when the show was over.  To their credit, the band played throughout their set - not taking breaks and kicking last night’s performance to a new extreme.  Adam said thank you a few times and how the band looked forward to coming back to Webster Hall after a couple of years.  The band is playing with an additional musician, Stuart McGachan, who is an old friend, he plays keyboards, guitar and backed up on the vocals.  After the show, what else, but we waited to see who from the band would come out. Stuart was at the merch table soon after the show ended, and told Amanda and Emma the rest are still back stage.  The band now has roadies who take down their instruments and equipment which was different from the previous shows; normally it was Mike and Sean and one roadie breaking it down.  Let’s face it, they are getting bigger, more popular and will be playing in larger venues.  So, after waiting for quite a bit, eventually Mike and Sean came out.  I spoke to Mike for a couple of minutes, but only after Ali left me to retrieve her coat from the check.  You see I was not allowed to talk to the guys from the band.  I was told to let Amanda be in her element.   Anyway, Mike said the show was close to a sell-out.  Webster Hall holds 1,400 and they sold 1,200.  Most of this tour has been sell outs…and yet Webster Hall was the biggest venue so they were very pleased with the turnout.  I sensed there was some concern about the ticket sales there since they were a little slow.  They were surprised how empty it was at 20:00 and yet knew most wait for the headliners to come on.  I told him there was a different energy, they came out and kicked ass.  It was true he said, they were not stopping for anything and wanted to give New York everything they had.  Look out for the shows in Austin which they’re going into with a storm.  I asked how long the band has been together, 11-years…has it ever got tired?  Any in- fighting?  No…Mike said they’re all good friends.  And if you were there last night, you witnessed the bond which only friends can have when they are having a great time; the way they looked at one another with smiles and bumped into each other a few times…they were in the element…maybe I will get them to play at my fifty-year old party - which I discussed with Mike and Sean.  I’m not sure Amanda or Ali would allow it to happen.

Thank you for reading this.

Steve Earle exposes his heart & soul in Westbury

2/9/14

                Westbury has a new venue for concerts.  The Space is another concert venue for Long Island, which has Huntington’s Paramount, Amityville’s Revolution Bar, Rocky Point’s Suffolk Theater, the Bolton Center in Bay Shore and while we are at it, NYCB Westbury theater, Landmark, Port Washington, and some others which means all of us on Long Island can see a decent show almost every weekend.  Last night was the first show I saw at The Space which I understand is a converted movie theater.  It’s an odd theater

, seems like you’re walking into a store front and soon corralled in a sparse lobby.  We went out onto the main floor and were shown our seats. The aisles were narrow and difficult to squeeze through while holding a couple of beers and a glass of wine.  The venue reminded me of The Paramount, with a bar off to one side and seats in a balcony in the back, the tall ceilings with exposed industrial air vents, and a cozy stage. It was warm in the theater and seemed to be sparsely attended.   I was not sure if Earle was popular to the Long Islanders since I’m a late bloomer to Earle who later performed a two hour solo set to what was then close to a sellout. 

Before Mr. Earle, was Brooklyn based Dawn Landes who had a pitch perfect voice which reverberated between the walls.  I’m not that familiar with her work, but am kicking myself for not buying a copy of her new album, Blue.  Her last song was Blue which was different from her other standard country folk jangles.   She also had the crowd singing Pete Seeger’s Turn, Turn, Turn which surprised her – the response from the audience.

After a brief intermission and without an introduction Earle slowly walked onto the stage, wearing a baggy shirt, chains dangled from a wallet in his back pocket, a red bandanna wrapped around his right wrist and his thinning greyish hair and long disheveled beard gave the illusion this man was a pondering soul who was lost.  He picked up a guitar and started playing, actually didn’t really stop till he described having an 8^th grade education and researching by reading different topics.  “If I didn’t know why something was happening, I’d read.  I’m always reading.”  Mr. Earle did not sound like a man with a limited education.   At times in the first half of the show I felt he was tapping in Tom Wait territory.  His ability to write songs which kept tapping at scars and exposing their pains which is what Mr. Earle has had a lot of pain in his life, battled addictions, broken marriages, time in jail, the tortured soul, his youngest son diagnosed with autism...rehab...the sound of his lone boot thumping in cadence echoed from hollow stage floor, an isolated performance from a dim stage.  One song which resonated was his take on God.  God is God, “We can learn to play the songs the angels play.”  I believe in God and God ain’t me…” The Devil’s Right Hand is an anti-gun song although he denied it when it was first recorded, since he was raised with guns.  When an ex-wife told him that he need to raise his rebellious son, Justin Townes Earle found a 9 mm which his father kept under the mattress, but Justin denied finding it.  Steve described getting him in the truck, like tackling a deer and dragging him in, and took his son to a labor camp for juveniles.  After one day at the camp; Justin called and told him where he could find the gun.  There were other stories like playing and recording with Pete Seeger and close the end of the show an obnoxious woman, maybe she was drunk and frustrated, but she demanded he play a certain song, I think it was Copperhead Road.  He told her he had a plan and, “Hold onto to your knickers.”  She went back at him, the audience started booing her and Earle went back to his songs and the show continued. 

      Steve is passionate about his progressive causes and he was clear, he will always be passionate and not give up the hope for peace and social justice in the world.  He saw the change take place in Northern Ireland, from when he first toured there and saw tanks in the roads to these days which is a peaceful place without barbed wires the roving tanks.  He hopes the same can take place in Jerusalem.  He described recording with an Israeli musician which took place is a studio owned by a Palestinian, a Muslim engineers the controls in the studio and he said as long as he can, he will always play his song Jerusalem.

We Were Promised Jetpacks play Ollie's Point on Long Island

Last night, the Scottish band We Were Promised Jetpacks played in Amityville at Ollie’s Point or if you want to be more ashamed of being a Long Islander search for the place on Google which will lead you to Club Loaded. What kind of name is this? Sort of the title one would strive for when one is begging to convey a violent atmosphere or a Heavy Metal in your face - sexual connotation. It also has another alias, Revolution - another hint at the potential angst that some frustrated promoter has. I have to confess we did not pass through the doors of this darkened establishment till WWPJP’s were into their third song. In fact I heard their music as we drove past the dark place with my car windows rolled down. Shit, we’re late. You can easily pass the place. There are times when I was to kick my GPS down a flight of stairs and jump on top of the beast. Revolution your Club Loaded GPS. Anyway, saw Chris and Kathryn and bought a beer for me and a Coke for Ali. There must have been approximately fifty cool mofo’s who decided to witness an incredible act. The stage is set back into a corner, a flimsy curtain covers a wall and a shabby window and in another corner is where the band would walk down and into the backstage. The sound was not over powering which can be problem is a small venue. The band were dressed very casually, shorts/ T-shirt/ basketball sneakers - Adam Thompson (guitar,vocals) Michael Palmer (lead guitar) Sean Smith (bass) and Darren Lackie (drums and vocals) Last October they released their second album, In the Pit of The Stomach on Fat Cat Records, which was a strong follow up to their freshman release, These Four Walls. This group plays very tight. They have been friends from high school who have travelled the world. Yes, the mood last night was sort of semi professional. I felt like I was at a practice more than a show; although they did not stop and repeat any of the songs. Not sure what triggered the mood. Maybe it was the scarce crowd, the dark somber settings in the room? The band had serious trance like faces as if they were going through the motions of the music. This is the third time I saw them. The first was last fall at Webster Hall in NYC and last May in Philadelphia …Last night the show ended with Thunder and Lightening a sweaty red faced Adam turned his back on the gathering, looking at the drums, with mic in place he screamed the last lines in a fierce rage which shook our bones. In an hour - I’ll head into Brooklyn to see them play their last night in the US before heading back home. If you get an opportunity to see them – you need to do yourself a favor and go. They will blow you away. Either at Club Loaded or Revolution or any place other than Ollie’s in Amityville. After the performance, we had a chance to meet Sean and Michael and I asked them a huge favor to wish Amanda a happy birthday. Not a problem…went outside, called her on our cell and handed the phone to Sean. There you have it. Making another claim so my daughter thinks I’m the best Dad ever…