Sounds of Summer 2012, Part 3

"There is someone here who laughs too hard at everything."  That might be the best lyric of 2012 so far. (as written/performed by Swedish alt top act Miike Snow from their precocious and toe tapping single "Paddling Out.")

This humble blog has a tendency to do that.  We giggled a bit when JLO and Steven Tyler both left American Idol this week.  Perhaps, we hoped, that God forsaken show will fade into our memories and folks can start recognizing the talent already out there.  You know, the kids who have been busting their asses touring 10 months a year.  The kids not worrying about their stylist or image.  Rather, they go about their business perfecting their craft.  They play small clubs to rabid fans in hopes of landing a commercial or soundtrack spot.  These days that is the best way to make coin in the music business.  Hell even the American Idol's fail to bring home big paychecks.

And don't give me Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood either.  They are supreme talents who deserve all the acclaim they receive.  But for every Clarkson and Underwood I raise you a Ruben Studdard or Taylor Hicks, Kris Allen, and Lee DeWyze.  Those guys are poster children for how the big talent shows FAIL as indicators of commercial success.  They may have had some flashing appeal and/or a few hits.  But you could argue their successes could have been achieved with or without Idol.  After all, we live in a World that helped Taco, Rockwell, Right Said Fred, Kajagoogoo, Baja Men, and many more 1 hit wonders grab their collective fifteen minutes.  There is no shortage of hits, and hit-makers, making music today.

Popular music is as much as about the image, timing and marketing behind the song/artist as it does with the song/artist him/herself.

It is the intention of this space to remind readers that there are options.  Strip away the packaging and focus group research and you might just find some hidden gems.  Allow me to take a look at today's Billboard Top 10 and offer some healthy alternatives.  Interested?  Scared?  It's ok, you can do it.

#10 Billboard track:   "Starships" by Nicky Minaj  Minaj has a certain something.  Her disastrous Grammy performance aside she has been chruning out catch dance tracks the past few years.  She runs the risk of becoming too gimmicky with the cartoon voice, wigs and overall wacky persona.  Take away all the goofiness and look here for another single lady doing weird stuff.  It's Canadian Clair Boucher, or alter ego Grimes.  Big synths, weird hair and a personality that won't quit.  Sound Familiar?  "Genesis" Grimes From Jools Holland show April, 2012  Probably more performance art than music/rock and roll.  Still pretty darn cool.

#9 Billboard Track:  "Titanium" David Guetta featuring Sia  Everyone likes a dj these days.  Mr Guetta  has done quite nicely mixing beats and bringing aboard super talent to sing.  Long before Sia became our latest Nelly Furtado she was the voice that fronted indie darlings Zero 7.  She also had some success as a solo act, notably the amazing track "Breathe Me" which you might remember from the series finale of Six Feet Under.  Give some of her other work a listen:

"In the Waiting Line" Zero 7  Their signature song and notable too for soundtrack work, this time in the Zach Braff vehicle Garden State.  As chill a song as you can make.

"Destiny" live from Top of The Pops.  A stirring live version from Zero 7.  A strong dose of R and B that makes for a great bar-b-q companion.
 
"Breathe Me" Sia  As sad and haunting a love song you will ever hear.  Aching and heartfelt vocals and a simple and elegant piano line.

#8 Billboard Track:  "What Makes You Beautiful" One Direction  These guys don't need any more press so let's move on.  Boy bands come and go.   Every 3 or 4 years guys like this capture a large amount of attention, like New Edition, Backstreet Boys, New Kids, NSync, you name it.  If it is male harmonies you like give Brooklyn's Tanlines a try.  It's just as queer to admit liking them as One Direction.  "All of Me" Tanlines  Fast forward through the first wasteful minute.  Also, "Brothers" Tanlines

#7 Billboard Track:  "Scream" Usher  Hmm, not really in my wheelhouse.  Does the alt/indie World have an equivalent?   Probably not.  In that case look here for some other tall guys singing songs.  "Away From You" Oberhofer or "Only The Horses" Scissor Sisters  This has more a David Guetta feel, but Usher has played with him too, right?  Good, clean, foot stomping goodness from this group of merrymakers.

#6 Billboard Track: "Wide Awake" Katy Perry  Ms Perry is a tough one to figure.  She has the whole conservative background and rebelling girl vibe.  She kissed a girl, and sang with Snoop.  She, like Gaga and Minaj, dons wigs and acts zany.  But somewhere in all the packaging is a singer/songwriter.  Why can't she just do that act, like say Ms Clarkson.  She can sing, right?  She doesn't have to dance or wear cupcake bras set on fire, right?  Why do we make her do it?  Or does she make herself do it?  Whatever the case may be there are several female singers and songwriters who are doing it sans wardrobe malfunctions and marketing teams.  Midwestern Eleanor Friedberger is one of them, and you should take a look/listen.  Think today's Rickie Lee Jones.   "My Mistakes" Eleanor Friedberger. Cheeky little video that only makes me like her more or "Roosevelt Island" Eleanor Friedberger  She absolutely killed this song last week at South St Seaport.  A jazzy and straight up funky little number spoken over with brashness by our heroine.  A hidden gem if there ever was one.

#5 Billboard Track:  "Lights" Ellie Goulding  Sometimes the masses are spot on.  This diddy is straight up addicting.  Got nothing to say except enjoy.

# 4 Billboard Track: "Somebody That I Used To Know" Gotye  Like, # 5 the masses are on the money.  This is a viral video (almost 300 million hits!!) and song.   But this Aussie is no one hit wonder.  Do yourself a favor and explore his entire LP.  It is well worth it.  He is also performing live in and around the NYC area in the coming months and his live act is most worthy.  Get the hell on board already.   His LP Making Mirrors is (understatement) brilliant.  "Easy Way Out" Gotye or "Eyes Wide Open" Gotye for further evidence.

#3 Billboard Track:  "Where Have You Been" Rhianna  There is plenty of synth and techno in the alt World.  There are also plenty of female voices.  And it is doubtful these artists have been assaulted by Chris Brown.  Let's celebrate that.  New Zealand's own "Girls Like You" Naked and The Famous or "You're Early" 2:54  Ok, these brit sisters are more rock than dance.  But they are still worth a listen. This is early Sarah McLachan if there ever was!!  Remember, Sarah was quite a performer before she became Ms Animal Abuse Downer.

#2 Billboard Track: "Call Me Maybe" Carly Rae Jepsen  Sugary sweet cut from the Justin Bieber talent factory.  Not offensive.  Not Earth shattering.  A classic summer pop song.  No harm in liking this track for sure.  But if you like female voices without the cheesy videos and overly sweet sentiment take a trip to Sweden, or Iceland.  Their chicks are a bit darker and sing with a bit of an edge as evidence suggests here:  Iceland's Of Monsters and Men "Mountain Sound" and Sweden's First Aid Kit "Emmylou"  Both live videos and both performed quite well.  Big futures await both youthful acts.  First Aid Kit are the second sister act listed here too.  Coolness.

#1 Billboard Track:  "Payphone" Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa  There are several things that defy logic here and they are not the songs success.  It is more of the same for Adam Levine and CO and that's all good.  However, why does he need to use Autotune on the track and why, oh why, does he cast himself as a gun wielding here in this video.  Sheer bloody fantasy for sure.  At least he isn't a boxer or something, what, wait?  He does that in the video for "One More Night"??  Oh Moses smell the Roses.  Oh, and Minka Kelly is his girl???  Boy oh boy he is living the dream.  Sour grapes much.  Yes indeed.   Give this some attention so you can forget all about Levine's amazing life:

New Killers track "Runaways"  Brandon Flowers' voice is as good as Levine's if not better.  No effect here either.  So glad they are coming out with a new record.  Their new single is a very promising sign.

Plenty of options out there folks.  Happy listening.

Penn State's System is Not Broken

Penn State's system is not broken. It's system works just the way it is supposed to work.

What is a "system"?* A system is an interconnected set of elements that are organized in such a way as to achieve a certain purpose or function.  Systems have flows of information, feedback loops, stocks, and outputs.

What is a system's function or purpose or output? Well, this is where it gets tricky -- the system's function or purpose is not always obvious, because you have to know where to look.

If you don't know where to look, you can misunderstand the system's function and purpose. The function and purpose of the system drives everything else in the system

I think it's more accurate to say that a system is not broken; rather, the system is not producing the output or results that we want. So if the system isn't providing the function or output we want or expect, we probably don't understand the system.

Here's a few common examples of systems that we either fail to understand, or forget what we knew about them:

Corporations - The Occupy Wall Street crowd is continually gnashing their teeth that corporations refuse to willingly act as a government jobs program or an environmental patrol agency. (Interestingly, they disagree with both the Supreme Court and Mitt Romney that corporations are people, but still expect them to act like actual people). Corporations are a system to increase the value of the investment made by the corporation's owners. Good jobs, great products, and cool commercials are all side effects of that purpose, and may act as inputs into it, but they are not the goal or function of the system.

Sex -  Sexual intercourse is a biological system to make a baby. This perpetuates the species, allowing genes to be transmitted to the next generation.  The fact that it can result in a deepening emotional bond between the participants, the fact that despite heaps of puritanical preaching and readily available contraception we still have unplanned pregnancies, the fact that we have, shall we say, discovered and developed a varied repertoire of engaging activities and options in the lead-up to the baby-making part, are side effects of this function or purpose, but not the goal.

Democracy - As practiced today, democracy is not a system for developing the best laws or policies. Its a system for the non-violent selection and replacement of political leaders. Those attempting to become, or remain, leaders in a democracy understand this system.  Laws and polices passed and proposed are done to keep leaders in power. If the policy that results is good and beneficial and popular, that is a side effect of the system, not its goal or purpose.

As for Penn State, we all had a grave misunderstanding of the function and purpose of this system.

We all thought this was a system, led by a humble and self-sacrificing coach,  set up to produce excellent athletes, encourage self discipline, respect for education, and personal responsibility, without the neanderthal behavior that plagues big time college football. And examples of these positive outputs are legion.

But it turns out these outputs were just side effects of the system's actual function and purpose.

Thanks to former FBI Director Louis Freeh's report- we now have a clearer understanding.

The actual function and purpose of Penn State was the perpetuation of a myth at a center of which was a hero figure whose incorruptibility and purity justified any and all actions. Additionally, growing out of the halo around this hero myth was a system that benefited not only those at the top like Paterno and Curley, but also professors, alumni, businesses, fans, and, of course, athletes. All had a stake in this system being perpetuated, and shared in its glory. Anything that threatened that purpose was processed in such a way as to align with the purpose of the system.

Sandusky, unfortunately for his victims, was one of the few who understood the function and purpose of this system perfectly.


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*They say to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. My latest hammer is derived from an excellent I book I am reading, Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows.

Quiet Please

There is a little art theatre not far from our hometown.  It houses literally one screen and hasn't been updated in about 40 years.  It does boast some very important modern movie going touche like frozen yogurt and coffee at the concession stand.  Also, and may be most importantly, they only show one trailer and ZERO commercials.   Oh, and the ticket prices are slightly lower than your local mega-plex.

But there is one thing this charming little theatre cannot prevent.  It is something far more damaging than a cell phone's unintended ring.  It is more troubling than your shoe sticking to the glue like floor.

Maybe you don't even realize it?  Maybe you're part of the problem?

Disregard all the stereotypes people. Start a new and more accurate one.  The real enemy at movies these days is baby boomers and their outright ignorance.  These folks can't keep their collective mouths closed!!!

We can give you all a pass during the trailers.  Brag all you want about Timmy teaching Kenyans how to play lacrosse.  Compliment one another on your new Talbots sweater.  Compare notes on the French- Moroccan fusion place you went to last week.

But hey, when the picture starts, keep your opinions, questions, observations, and any other piece of info you feel is so important EVERYONE needs to hear.

Remember, you are in a shared space.  The folks around you are not kin, or friends, or anything.  They are, more than likely, people who want to enjoy the film in quiet.  The director had a vision.  He or she was fortunate enough to have it produced, distributed and placed on this giant screen.

They did not intend to have their dialogue spoken over.  They were certainly not looking for plot reconstruction midway through.  And you can bet they didn't want to tell you "what that character just said?"

If remaining silent and letting others enjoy the picture uninterrupted is going to be an issue please do us all a favor and stay home.  You don't talk during a piano recital.  You don't talk during a Broadway show.

Aside: Oh, and this probably applies to you too so might as well fill you in since an opening arose.  You don't talk when you are in a golf gallery either.  No more "You da man!" or "Get in the hole!!" after every friggin swing.  Let the game breathe.  Bad enough every piece of down time has been replaced by arrogant sound bite or 80s hair metal song at arenas and stadiums Nationwide.  Do we really need it on golf courses too??  Why can't we just keep things still for a bit?  Depeche Mode said it best...  "Enjoy the Silence."

And, back to the point, never talk during a movie.   Ever!

Do whatever makes you happy when sitting in your easy chair at home.

Hearing aid failing?  Don't care.

Attention span falling behind?  Not my problem.

Missed a key scene due to frequent bladder interuptions?  Oh well.

It's simple manners really.  And when someone bitches about how rude today's kids are stop them for a moment and remind them they learned that behavior from someone.

Better yet, take them to a Woody Allen movie.  Rude is on full display. 

Party's Over

A deep melancholia hits me this afternoon.  It probably is rooted in my daughter being away for several weeks.  It is crazy how quiet a house can be without a 10 year old occupying it.  The weekends have been eerily wide open and frankly, odd.  Not that the time alone with my wife hasn't been amazing, it has.  But you forget, or more specifically don't realize, how much time and energy parenting occupies in your life.

But this was an important moment for the little one, and for her parents too.  4th grade presented a ton of social obstacles that neither she, nor we, were prepared to handle.  She needed to experience new things and meet new people.  Through a third party we are told she is enjoying "being herself."  "Whatever the hell that is" we asked.

Point is there were far too many hindrances and anxious moments navigating her schools' halls this year.

And as I look back one thing strikes me as the prime offender:  Birthday parties.

Don't get me wrong, we should all have some life affirming celebration time.  The day we were born is special and demands attention, even at (or especially!) our advanced ages.

How far should we be going at school age is another thing altogether.  Are parties that include entire classes and their siblings appropriate?  Probably not.  After all what message does it send that EVERYONE wants to know and admire you?  The wrong one undoubtably.  By the time you are working age most of us are lucky to have a handful of really close friends.

The same can be said for the intimate gathering, especially in the world of pre-teen girls.  If you invite 5 or 10 of your "besties" it is most certainly going to create tension.  Inevitably there are 1 or 2 girls who thought they were on the short list.  And telling your daughters to keep the party a secret is not a solution.  It still stings us that some school girls, fully aware our daughter was not included on an invite list, asked sarcastically what she had planned for the evening?  They 1) knew they were supposed to be discreet about the event and 2) knew our daughter was not on the list.  Essentially it provided fuel for malice.  Is that what the party was intended for?

Of course not.  So what then is the solution?  We cannot in good conscience put an end to birthday celebrations, right?

Or maybe we can.

Everyone knows middle school and/or adolescence can be quite challenging for kids.  These days it seems like it is far more complex than ever before.

With that this space is requesting birthday parties be discontinued from age 10 through age 15.

No more invites to a select few.  No more invites to the masses.

Nope.  From now on a simple "Happy Birthday" from peers and the shared acceptance that we are all grateful that he or she is alive and well.

However, we do not need to bowl with you, or ride ponies, or even eat cake to acknowledge the occassion.  It is far more important to co-exist and get along at an early age.  There is plenty of time to draw lines in the sand and exclude/include who we want to as we get older.

This was the first year our girl did not have a birthday party (big or small.)  There were mitigating factors, camp abroad chief amongst them.  My guess is when the dust settles and she looks back at the year that was this fact will not even register.

She is able to make plans with friends most any weekend.  She sees many of them during sports team practices and other shared events.

Moving forward she should have the flexibility to hang with jocks, or bookworms, or whomever.

Parties potentially disrupt social convention and seem more detrimental to the process.

Isn't adolescence hard enough?

Let the kids party all the time.  And act themselves, without our interference!

Social Darwinism need not include cake and balloons.  Let it happen organically with social media updates and cyber bullying.

Party people can have their cake and eat it too... alone.


* Apologies to bakers, party planners, and all those who make money on the massive events we call kids parties.  Find your money making opportunities elsewhere.  Perhaps we make parties for those 30-60 bigger events, since, after all, anyone over 30 these days could use a big party for making it this long.  You could argue the parties should be more vital as you age, not wasted on youth.  Sound like a massive justification?  Tough.

From Rome With Love? Hardly

Now I'm depressed.  And for all the wrong reasons!!  My only child is at camp in a foreign land.  A vacation day yesterday was spent, (gasp!!!) painting.  It's damn near 1000 degrees here in the Northeast.  Those things are all perfectly acceptable.  In fact, compared to the two hours spent watching Woody Allen's latest, To Rome With Love, painting restrooms on the Jersey Shore sounds more appealing.

A few years back Allen made the critically acclaimed Vicky Cristina Barcelona.  Folks adored it (myself not included) and it provided Allen new life.  It was similar to 2005 when he made the brilliant Match Point, set in London.  He has been out of NYC for a while now.  And like his time spent in New York, he is prone to miss the mark from time to time.   For every Hannah and Her Sisters there is Melinda and Melinda.  And likewise, for every Midnight in Paris, there is this colossal dud of a picture.

To be fair, Allen is downright prolific.  When in Rome marks his 48th directing credit.  He has also written 70 (including this one) feature films.  With that massive amount of material can we give the man a pass?

The answer is no.  And here is why.

This column wrote about Midnight in Paris a year ago.  Review here  Allen is guilty of questionable decisions both in his personal and professional life.  Why the insistence to churn this film out so quickly after the success (Paris is Allen's highest grossing film ever?)  In fact, why make 11 films in the last 11 years?  Look at his peers and their collective output from the previous decade.  Martin Scorsese has made 7 films over that time ( a few were documentaries.)  Oliver Stone has made 5 films (including 1 documentary.)  Francis Ford Coppola made 2, largely ignored films over the past decade.  Robert Altman, Ken Russell and Stanley Kubrick are all dead.  Speilberg is not really a peer, is he?  You get the point.  Allen puts out films like the Chris Christie puts down ice cream cones.  And much like the over indulgent NJ governor, Allen needs to show some restraint.  Less, can be a whole lot more.

Again, like Christie, Mr Allen should no longer appear on video, television and certainly not movie screens.  Here he plays Jerry,  the father of Hayley (the over-employed and pedestrian Allison Pill) and husband to Phyllis (the superb Judy Davis.)  A few things...  Davis looking 20 years Allen's junior is one thing.  Allen looking 80 years older than the cherubic Pill is another thing altogether.  And Allen's once unmistakable voice is due for a throat clear.  He sounds sick.  He sounds old.  And hiking his pants up to his neck aren't helping.  His one liners now feel more like the awkward old guy shouting out at old folks home (something his character fears in the movie) rather than witty musings from an intellectual.  Allen, without question, can craft a motion picture from script to every detail of production.  In 2012 it is beyond time he not appear in them.

Finally, casting others to play a younger Allen type (ya know, the neurotic anti-hero, quick with a quip and slow with the charisma) does not always work.  Owen Wilson somehow worked.  Will Ferrell epically failed.  John Cusack?  Yes.  Here, Jesse Eisenberg (one note and predictable) and Alessandro Tiberi both fail to recreate Allen's angst and charm.  Eisenberg is an American studying architect thrust into a romantic triangle with the under-utilized Greta Gerwig and over-used Ellen Page.  Tiberi finds himself in a similar mess with the radiant, and effective Penelope Cruz and charming Alessandra Mastronardi.  He is no match for either of them.  For the record, an Italian accent mimicking the famously New York Allen schtick is beyond odd.

There are moments, as in every Allen film, that bring a smile.  There are scenes of pure beauty as Allen captures the life and depth of Rome (not the main character Paris was in last years film.)   Let it be known Allen is not only smart with his prose, but with his camera too.  From Manhattan many years ago to Paris last year his cinematographic achievements are worthy.  There are even good roles, like Cruz's prostitute or Eisenberg's conscience (played winningly by Alec Baldwin) There are just too few of them.

Story lines about celebrity and Italy's (read: everyone's) fascination with it and Jerry's failed music career and effort to remedy it feel both forced, and cliche.  Not every idea is a great one.  Moreover, not every idea is a good one.

Casting is also a huge issue here.  Gerwig and Page should have played each others roles and who let Carol Alt on set??

The opening shot panned into a famous Italian traffic circle and one of the whistled guards directing the steel chaos.  "He stopped the viewers and told us Rome is a city of love, and stories from everywhere.  Here are just a few..."

Allen has spent several years abroad over the past decade or so.  He, like his other socially inept filmmaking friend Roman Polanski, have taking solace in Europe and its free spirit.  It has served as inspiration and muse.

That could be a good thing.  Maybe Woody can hang in Rome, drink the wine and start writing a love song for all things Roman.  Cause this one ain't it.

Like wine, he might need this one to breathe a while too.  How about a 2016 release date?

GUIDE TO SOMEWHERE: What’s with all the LeBron haters? - New Jersey Hills Newspaper: More Entertainment

GUIDE TO SOMEWHERE: What’s with all the LeBron haters? - New Jersey Hills Newspaper: More Entertainment: The NHL wrapped up its season with LA(!) winning its first-ever Stanley Cup.

Williamsburg on the Cheap... starring White Rabbits and We Barbarians

Folks here in Jersey think of Brooklyn as some sort of other-Worldly hipster planet.  They know Peter Luger's and Coney Island.  They know little else.  Watching Do the Right Thing does not count.

The Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, for instance, is super cool.  Shops and restaurants line Bedford St and 4th, 5th, 6th making for a hipper, mellower SoHo or West Village.  Pierced and disheveled kids walk hand in hand with mandel (or girly man sandals) wearing Euro's and their elegant eyewear donning beards, er "girlfriends."

Once abandoned warehouses and factories have been converted into chic clubs, American Apparel stores and record shops (yes, plural shops!!  rare and great!!)  New Hope, PA meets Christopher St.  Spring St meets Columbus, OH.  Oh, and the NYC skyline can be enjoyed on the abundant East River vistas mere footsteps away.

And perhaps the best kept secret of Williamsburg (at least for those willfully out of the game) is Bowery Presents wonderful music venue, un-ironically called Music Hall of Williamsburg.  Last night, Converse Rubber Tracks, the sneaker company's community-based music arm, put on a free showcase spotlighting two of Brooklyn's finest acts: We Barbarians and White Rabbits.

We Barbarians, Music Hall of Williamsburg 6.20.12

We Barbarians, a power trio made up of David Quon(vocals/guitar), Derek VanHeule (bass) and Nathan Warkentin(drums), began the night with a high-energy, hard-rocking set.  Quon is an absolute natural.  Not only does he play a mean guitar, but his voice and charisma are electric.  But you cannot simply thank the leading man.  Warkentin has the look of an angry woodsman as he relentlessly assaults his kit.  He is precise, but has enough tact to be jazzy when needed.  VanHeule has the chops to play lead, but also knows when to keep beat and stay efficiently in the background.

This is a rock and roll trio.  Go buy what they are selling.  Then do yourself a favor and check them out live.  They are an entirely different act studio to stage.  To date they have recorded a few EP's and one LP, 2009's There's This There's That.  A new record is forthcoming and the material is strong.  We came for the White Rabbits, but are now Barbarian devotees.

References:  "Headspace" official video.  The bass line for this track is downright filty. It also reminds me of the Vision Quest soundtrack.  Can't you just see Loudon Swain training to this???  Is it "Lunatic Fringe" worthy?   Or "Chambray" official video.  Tribal beats= Awesome.

There have been plenty of superlatives written about the grossly underrated and amazingly under-heard 6 piece rock act White Rabbits.  In fact this space has devoted two columns to them:  Webster Hall review from 4.13.12 and Bowery review from 2.11.

Last night, again supporting their 3rd LP Milk Famous, they breathed new life into their catalog and reminded all those in attendance why they are a formidable live act.

The new material, such as the groovy and hard charging "Danny Come Inside" and the trippy "It's Not Me," marry nicely with their more popular tunes, namely "Percussion Gun," 'The Plot," and last night's finale "Kid On My Shoulders."  "Kid" has been rearranged and outright re-imagined with a bass-heavy, disco feel.  The result is fresh and inspired.

It can be said with certainty that luck and timing have as much to do with a bands success as raw talent these days (like all the days before.)  For every Maroon 5 or Train (both great bands who have enjoyed longetivity and commercial success) there is a White Rabbits or We Barbarians.

Both acts last night packed a wallop and went about their business as professionals without the slightest hint of pretense.  White Rabbits are very much the workingman's rock outfit.  Thing Bruce Hornsby and the Range on steroids.  Each musician complements one another and each component stands out.  It is a team.  And the team is winning.

Yet America, for the most part, is not in on the secret.

You heard it here...  these guys need to be bigger.  You can help.  Get the hell on board.

After all Adam Levine and Pay Monahan are pretty set up.  They can afford to share the wealth.

White Rabbits, Music Hall of Williamsburg 6.30.12

For more knowledge please head here:

White Rabbits from Jimmy Kimmel perform "Danny Come Inside"  An absolutely epic track.  Big, bold bass and haunting guitars.  The kind of stuff David Lynch might use on his soundtrack.  The real standout from their latest LP Milk Famous.

"Percussion Gun"  Their breakthrough hit from 2009's It's Frightening.   Like the title says, this track is all about the drums.  If they are too have a signature song you can't do much better.

Live "Kid on My Shoulders"  They have the ability to use piano as lead...  or drums...  or guitar...  or bass.  So versatile!!  Here the piano and bass shine and shine brightly.  You can tell they love performing this song.  This version differs greatly from what was played last night.  Both are exceptional.  Just like the band.


POST SCRIPT:  


Free show. Check.  Free on street parking.  Check.  45 minutes from venue to home post show.  Check.

There have been 45 minutes delays at the Holland after a Webster Hall or Bowery show!!  Brooklyn is a viable player for those in and around Manhattan.  Believe it!!

The crowd was super respectful and well mannered too...  which is huge.  No talking during songs.  No back and forth for drinks or bathroom breaks.  It's a one hour set and the crowd was engaged.  The music was the star and they were more than aware.  Oh, and bravo to both bands for limiting the between song banter.  They were both humble, gracious and off the charts polite.  Then they knocked everyone off their feet with kick ass rock and roll.

And as noted earlier the Music Hall is an exceptional place to catch a show.  3 floors with ample lounge space and above average service/polite staff.  If you can do Lower Manhattan you can do Brooklyn.  Check out their coming attractions and make a day of it!!  Viva La Hipsters!!

http://www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com/