words//stephanie cafarella
Monday nights aren’t always the most hip. Though, on this particularly warm-weathered May 3rd, a glimmer of hope for my routine evening unveiled in the form of a show at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, New York. Hosted by Bushwick based, Newtown Radio, the undeniably sweet bill included 5 Brooklyn based bands, each offering something totally different in regards to their sound.
Conveniently located a 5 minute walk away from the Lorimer St subway stop, The Knitting Factory is one of those understated gems, nestled right in with the rest of Metropolitan Ave. There are no fancy signs or attention-grabbing distinguishing details visible on the street, the type of place you almost have to frequent to recognize. This night was no different than any other, or so I initially thought. The show was to begin at 8:00pm so I ended up getting there around then. When I walked past the front bar to open the doors of the venue, I was a little bit underwhelmed by the unimpressive turn out that I could tally up on one hand.
Gray Goods were the first act to perform. Self proclaimed as “Western Swing / Regional Mexican / Lounge” but sounding more similar to the soundtrack to a late ‘90s movie, Gray Goods were a three piece comprised of Ryan Brown, Austin Davila and Trevor McLoughlin. I’m unsure as to who’s who, but I dug their sound as a whole. Taking into consideration that there were literally 5 of us there, not including the other acts hanging out before their sets, I was definitely amused. Monotonic vocals might otherwise be considered a bad thing, but not in this case. Along with the upbeat guitar tunes, Gray Goods’ sound took me back to the careless summery nuances of the ‘90s when flannel tied around the waist was cool and everything was easy. A track to check out is “Francis” on their Francis/Give it a Name 7” released on 1928 Recordings.
The next band to play were called, Total Slacker, though they weren’t doing any sort of slacking on stage during their set. This quirky trio, all originally southwestern natives and conjured up by way of Brooklyn, are something else. What that ‘something’ is is hard to put your finger on, but I think that’s the point. Fronted (guitar and vocals) by the adorably soft spoken, bowl-haircut donning Tucker and backed up by Emily on bass and Ross on drums, the three’s collaboration resulted in an auditory explosion of unruly goodness. Their laid back, backbeat sound supplemented by harmonious vocals really didn’t compare easily with any other band but that’s just another reason why I like them. The thing I appreciated most was the rawness of the set. It seemed as though they were playing for a group of old friends in a basement somewhere instead of some stuffy, restrained performance. After each and every blink of an eye, it wasn’t uncommon to spot Tucker in a new position, either head thrown back, spinning around while keeping his mouth towards the microphone, or standing atop the bass drum, shredding with guitar overhead. There was never a dull moment nor song I wasn’t completely into. I just wish the sad excuse of a ‘crowd’ of people in the audience would have seen what I did. Total Slacker were way better than they gave them credit for at this show, and a band that I will definitely come out to see again. Look for their 7” out on Impose Records due to be released by this summer.
Naked Hearts were up next. They’re a pop/alt duo also from Brooklyn consisting of Amy Cooper on guitar and Noah Wheeler on drums, both contributing to the vocals. More frequently female than male vocals, their sound is a somewhat lighter version of indie rock, but a little more pop-y and romantically plaintive. I would loosely compare their sound to an eclectic mix of Ra Ra Riot, Sonic Youth, Stars and Lemuria. So maybe they weren’t my favorite band, but they weren’t bad either. Naked Hearts does have one easy listening track that I’m really into called, “No One Nothing” that I suggest everyone takes a listen to, and their new album, Mass Hysteria, will be released on May 11th.
We Are Country Mice were the next act to grace the stage. Not really my cup of tea from the start, but I won’t deny their evident talent. By the time they started playing, it was three hours into the night, I was tired, and I was definitely not feeling their heard-it-all-before Kings of Leon-esque vibe. Ben, Jason and Kurt delivered some good tunes, but nothing that blew me away, frankly. I didn’t understand their relevance to the other bands on the bill, but I suppose it was just not was I was expecting.
George Lewis Jr., more commonly known as Twin Shadow, was the last but definitely not least act to hit the stage. As a crowd seemingly appeared from nowhere, Twin Shadow got busy throwing down some catchy tracks with a little bit of a vintage sound mixed with synth and sweet beats. Everyone began dancing almost instantaneously, but honestly it would be hard to stay in one place while listening to Lewis and his band. “Castles in the Snow”, a danceable, mildly trippy tune really got my attention, among most of the others in their set. While not as visually entertaining as Total Slacker, Twin Shadow had no problem belting out lyrics while shredding on his guitar. Their collective ‘60s/’70s undertones built up by soft, twinkling synthesizer was a combination I’ve never heard before, but definitely enjoyed. My only criticism would be that all of their tracks sounded strangely similar to one another. Regardless, Twin Shadow’s set was the victory of the evening, drawing the largest crowd and leaving everyone with a morning-after case of sore feet to accompany the possible hangovers that go along with a long night of dancing and drinking at a Brooklyn bar.