New York – This was a special showcase, as it was a co-presented with MySocialList at the awesome DIY venue Shea Stadium, and also a certain BNB.com writer’s birthday. This was a showcase, a party, and a gathering of interesting and creative people. Not a bad way to spend a birthday, surrounded by friends and music. And by not bad, I mean the best. If you’re like me, anyway. The always engaging Shilpa Ray headlined the showcase with her magnetic set. Everyone in her band has strong character, but with a voice and personality like no other, it’s Shilpa herself – and that harmonium – that always seems to draw people in. The band was recently back from a midwest tour, so she was full of tales of other cities and experiences, heightening the more traveled songs off her latest EP, It’s All Self Fellatio. Back when she played the second BNB.com showcase ever, these songs were very new to me, but now they were also like familiar faces I was glad to have at the party.
Leading up to that was Bambara, who was one of the two bands of the night I was seeing for the first time. The intense noise rock three piece were also recently off tour, having played with METZ and A Place to Bury Strangers in Europe the end of 2013. They brought this dark rage that was more appealing than appalling, like a storm you want to go out and run around in just to be in the middle of the fire and brimstone to feel what it’s like. Bambara is a hell of a drug.
Good friends and great guys The Veda Rays had more new material for us, as usual. It doesn’t matter how many shows these guys play, the set is different every time. That’s what makes them worth seeing – it never gets old. Part of this is due to some lineup fluctuation changing the sound, but where they’ve currently settled as a trio of founding members guitarist/vocalist James Stark and drummer Jason Gates, along with mainstay bassist Greg Timmes is sounding really solid. New tune “It Led to Nothing and Nowhere” was a recent concoction they shared, and a great extension of the noir rock they’re known for, with machine-tight drums and soaring tremolo guitar that creates an otherworldly atmosphere.
Sludge pop slop rockers Haybaby has gone through some lineup changes too, but their songs have remained steady. “Nightmare Man” is still one of my favorites, but they also have a proper EP released last fall called Superpresent that has a handful of good tunes too. Of course they are best experienced live though, and their shows are always full of the kind of energy that makes your neck sore the next day from swangin’ those hairs.
Turnip King played early but they psych rocked out like it was late. With influences ranging from Charles Mingus to the more obscure Eric’s Trip, they have laconic guy/girl vocals with propulsive sounds that evoke imagery of nature, the future, and the Twitter generation. It’s lo-fi and transportive, the kind of music that gets into your subconscious and alters the scenery. Is it blue or is it green? It’s Turnip King.
Photo by William Helms
