Caveman is having a great year so far. They spent much of last year building up a big buzz in their home base of Brooklyn and beyond, and this year shows them continuing to live up to that buzz. They recently received a wide release of their debut album, CoCo Beware, via Fat Possum Records, and have announced their own national headlining Spring tour.  They’ve already sold out many of their shows, including their first sold out show at Bowery Ballroom in January, and it’s a safe bet they’ll sell out many more on their currant tour. They’ve also released a new video for “Thankful,” featuring amateur pro wrestlers Stockade and Nikki Styxx who live in Long Island, NY and are engaged.

You can also check out Caveman’s full set from their performance at Route du Rock Festival in France over at ARTE Live Web.

The national tour ends with the band back in Brooklyn for a homecoming show with Beirut and Atlas Sound at the prestigious Brooklyn Academy of Music theater, a venue where Caveman’s front man Matt Iwanusa used to sing at New York’s Metropolitan Opera for about 6 years.

Caveman Tour Dates:

3/29: Syracuse, NY @ Syracuse University

3/30: Bethlehem, PA @ Nowadays Festival

4/9: Washington, D.C. @ Red Palace

4/10: Columbus, OH @ The Basement

4/11: Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig

4/12: Chicago, IL @ Schubas

4/13: Madison, WI @ UW Madison
4/14: Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry

4/16: Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room

4/17: Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge

4/18: Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge

4/20: Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore

4/21: Seattle, WA @ Barboza (Neumos)

4/22: Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios

4/24: San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar

4/25: Los Angeles, CA @ Echo

4/27: San Diego, CA @ Casbah

4/28: Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress

5/1: Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar
5/2: Columbia, MO @ Mojos
5/3: Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub
5/4: Philadelphia, PA @ MilkBoy
5/5: Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) w/ Beirut

When Caveman headlines (and sells out) Bowery Ballroom, the stage becomes a cave. Before playing a single note they set the mood with a fog machine, spooky lighting, and a projection screen with the band’s name in Misfits typeface against a skull. It was a bit Halloween-esque, but when they began their set with “Easy Water,” looking like shadowy figures with instruments in a cave, the scene was set.

They created noise and bent notes through the fog, and then launch into a new jam. The Brooklyn-based five-piece have managed to create sounds that reflect their city. They’ve largely been labeled as chamber-pop, but there are plenty of post-punk and post-rock elements in there as well, with varying levels of intensity and complexity. They succeed in balancing it all with a strong melody and ambiance, and they look completely natural the whole way through. Their sound may also be helped by the fact that guitarist Jimmy Carbonetti, who runs Cobra Guitars in Manhattan, custom created the axe and bass that he, singer Matt Iwanusa, and bassist Jeff Berrall play. Works of art unto themselves, it’s like the craftsmanship of the instruments boosts the musicianship translating through them that much more.

Matthew Iwanusa of Caveman

Caveman ended on another new jam, before the inevitable encore. The band came back on stage with a whole drumline of percussionists to resounding applause, and really let it rip on the dreamy “Great Life.” Being that these guys are Brooklyn boys, Iwanusa had to ask the crowd if anyone knew if The Knicks had won that night. They hadn’t, but Caveman did.

Elise Commathe of Au Palais

Before the stage became a cave, the electronic London via Toronto duo Au Palais tried to make it a dance floor. Their songs gradually unfolded with beats and layered rhythms, with Elise Commathe’s smooth vocals floating on top. Their initial cold, aloof vibe gradually warmed up as well, but it never felt like they really hit their stride. Their cover of Nancy Sinatra’s “Some Velvet Morning” came off a bit awkward, when the harmonizing vocals sounded slightly out of tune. Au Palais’ original material was much better, and their performance was more about soaking in the beats than commanding focused attention.

Heaven

The intro to this whole night was started off with Heaven, who, if it weren’t for the fact that the members have some credible history, might come off as your average indie garage band who makes you feel like you could form a band just as easily and be up on stage too. Their cover of The Kinks’ “See My Friends,” was nice to walk in on, with a slightly grungier touch to it. The members are all in or have been in other bands like Ambulance LTD, Swervedriver, and Fan-Tan, so this is being touted as their “shiny new collaboration.”

Caveman

Caveman heads to London and France for a handful of dates; track their upcoming shows on Facebook. Au Palais are back to London, so as they put it, you can either go there to see them or wait a few months. Heaven will be back at Bowery Ballroom on February 18^th, opening for Young Magic. You can listen to a bunch of their tunes on their Facebook.

Photos (c) by Kelly Knapp

 

If you live around the Chicago area, you know how brutal the winter season can be. We feel for you. But, you probably also know about Tomorrow Never Knows Fest, treating mid-westerners to 5 days of some of the best up-and-coming local and national indie music from January 11-15^th. The mix of talent is well varied, too. The lineup includes artists like northwest electro post-punkers Glass Candy, the quirky Herman Dune, and the new hottest Brooklyn band Caveman, alongside widely acclaimed acts like Theophilus London, and The Walkmen, who are playing their 10^th Anniversary show at the fest. All these shows and many more will span across five different venues in this frigid but vibrantly cultural city.

Get a feeling for the the atmosphere of the freshly acclaimed Caveman with their latest video, “Easy Water."

 

View the full lineup on their website, and keep up with new developments on their Facebook page. You can also enter to win a pair of 5-Day passes, or to a number of individual shows here.

(Image by Billy Pavone)

Picked By: Kelly Knapp

Who: Air Waves album release w/ Amy (Titus Andronicus), Soft Landing, Inoculist

Where: Glasslands, Brooklyn, NY

When: Tuesday, February 22nd at 8pm

Cost: $8 in advance, $10 at the door

Age Restrictions: 21+