Jesse Malin has enjoyed critical acclaim and an adoring following during his "second act" as a musician, albeit without anyone really remembering his first act, D Generation (I know I don't). He was brought to my attention by some fine publicist back in my professional journalism days. I was quite taken with his album The Heat, and I interviewed him and wrote flattering things about him for the newspaper at that time. My friends and I checked him out live, and were quite charmed by his performance. So was Northampton apparently, because he kept coming back to the Iron Horse and so did we for the next few years. Malin is a great between song banter artist and engaging storyteller (I've mentioned before that I would totally go for an all banter set by certain of music's sharper wits). Malin's onstage persona is all about nostalgia for New York city's grittier times and the heydays of punk and glam, and his lyrics often reflect a jadedness about the rock n roll life and rock n roll casualties. Malin's hipster cred includes being BFFs with my boyfriend Ryan Adams and past collabs with The Boss (who is inexplicably hipster credible in recent years... look I don't make the rules, I just observe. Let's just be glad indie rock got over that Eagles derivative business that was going around, I mean, WTF).
Check out one of my favorite Malin songs with a typically wordy introduction:
We love getting email at CT Scenic. Because it almost never happens, it's always special, as most people seem to think Facebook invites are an acceptable excuse for communication these days... The latest/only thing to rock our inbox this week is Happy Body Slow Brain, a proggy/electronica outfit featuring former members (Matt Fazzi and Isaac Boliver) of Taking Back Sunday, a band we're too old to know much about - which made this e-contact all the more special for us. We like what we hear (quickie first impression: mellow and spacey), and admire Matt's rectangular glasses.
Here's some interview footage with Fazzi about the band, which was going by the term "side project" at the time, but seems to have since become his main dealie:
Hey look, it's our old friends, Bobbie Peru, or the new American edition of the band, which is ever-so-slightly less exotic now that they are based in CT instead of the UK, and yet much, much more accessible. It's all a give and take, isn't it? We've told you all about these guys before. Catch Bobbie Peru this Thursday at The Space, along with The Poison Control Center, Fan-Tan, and After Three Seconds.
Bobbie Peru will be hitting downtown Hartford next Friday, June 25 with a gig at Up or on The Rocks. You'd have to drag us kicking and screaming (or bound and gagged) to a club downtown, but we understand many people like that sort of thing. Whoa, that sentence could be interpreted a couple different ways. You decide.
The best bands have "murder" in their name. Last month Jackie Scenic and I were lucky enough to catch Murder City Devils, reunited in NYC, which was tremendous. This week we have a chance to see equally - but differently - awesome murder band, Murder By Death, play at Quinnipiac University in Hamden this Saturday. Boy, that's a strange venue choice. We hope it won't be too polite and formal for such musical badassery as this band has to offer.
For the uninitiated, Murder By Death are one of the pioneers of the indie/Americana thing that's been trendy lately (I called ithipstercana, and some other names), and they do it better than anyone else, thanks in particular to frontman Adam Turla's sexy Johnny Cash-esque voice and epic lyrics, and cellist Sarah Balliet's sexy cello playing.
Oh! How exciting is this? MBD will return to our area for a show at New Haven's Cafe 9 on May 1. These are both Saturday night shows, so no excuses!
Check out this fun video for "Brother," which should help you get all excited about the show:
P.S. if you're really into my opinions (you are, obvs), you can find my previously published articles & reviews from paying publications in MBD's press section.
Posts
