Live music listings: May 2008Roll the mouse over the dates on the calendar below to see who's playing, then click on the date for the full listing and ticket info. We think it's more intuitive than the old way of clicking five times through months and years to find a show.Click on the mailing list link to your left there and enter your email address and we'll let you know, at the start of every week, who's playing in the next seven days and for how much, and leave you to peruse the full listings here at your liberty and leisure.
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Tue 6th Twisted Robot and End of the Road presents HOWLIN' RAIN + Monotonix
Howlin' Rain's Ethan Miller sprang into the underground rock world with his band Comets On Fire. Comets quickly came to the forefront of what would come to be defined as “The New Weird America”, a movement that darkly combined elements of Folk, heavy psychedelia, free formed existentialism, and atonality. A joyful noise comprises a Comets show, with Miller’s vocals being driven through an echoplex and re-shaped at will by fellow member Noel Von Harmonson. While Comet’s chaotic wall of sound is a feat of architecture and a beloved aspect by the fans, Miller had another voice and musical path calling through the sonic maelstrom. In 2004, he formed Howlin Rain with fellow New Weird America icon John Maloney, leader of Sunburned Hand Of The Man. The vision was a type of music originally defined in the free and easy era of the early 70s; organic, melodic groove oriented rock (Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead) combined with sensational songwriting but re-invigorated with a sonic bite and controlled chaos that hurls it into the modern times. Together, with fellow Humboldt County native Ian Gradek on bass, the band recorded what became the first self-titled Howlin Rain record. After the dissolve of the first Howlin Rain Miller began to write a new album and put together a new group. Gradek stayed, along with Humboldt guitarist Mike Jackson, who had already joined the Rain for their U.S. tour. The new line-up was rounded off by drummer Garrett “Turtle” Goddard (Cuts, Colossal Yes), who brought an essential flow and driving, rolling groove to the new sound, and Joel Robinow (Drunk Horse) on keys, horn, piano, guitar, organ and backing vocals, who added a new level of chops and firepower to the Howlin Rain sound. Be prepared for the Magnificent Fiend revolution. Monotonix are a punk trio from Tel Aviv, featuring guitar (Yonatan), drums (Ran) and vocals (Ami). They formed in November 2005, set up on the floor of the club with the audience, and the party began. But the party usually got too wild, the power got cut, the cops were called and Monotonix were banned from playing again almost everywhere. Before long, they were looking for good places to play outside of Israel — and they were delighted to find that there are more rock and roll party places outside than inside! Today, Monotonix are the hardest working rock band in the world. Sure, lots of other bands work up a sweat, but Monotonix are definitely the only band who puts in the kind of miles they do, and they rock rings around pretty much the rest of us too. These guys do two different shows in two different towns on the same day whenever they can manage it. But that’s only the tip of the hard-working iceberg. “Body Language” sounds almost like a Monotonix show. The only thing you can’t hear is the sound of your heart beating in your ears after having been chased around the room by a vocalist with his pants literally on fire, then getting doused with beer and dancing your ass off to the guitar riffage, then ending it all by carrying the drummer around on your shoulders while a few other guys hold his kit up so he can keep drumming. You don’t end up quite as out of breath when listening “Body Language,” but you do get a ton of excitement anyway, courtesy of a killer guitar sound, precision power drumming and lusty lead vocals (with just a few little overdub touches, to add even more excitement). Yeah, Monotonix tour a lot — not like there’s no tomorrow, but like there’s a tomorrow in which they have another few gigs. And they play shows balls-out (not literally – that would take a perverse motherfucker – and Ami isn’t perverse, he’s just a populist). Taking a bit of a rest after 250 or so shows last year, they recorded “Body Language” with Tim Green (of The Fucking Champs) at Louder Studios in San Francisco. Even then, they didn’t rest, taking frequent day trips to play a rock show and then drive back to the studio. The hard work has paid off – “Body Language” twists and grooves with all the fun and fervor of great rock and roll. The music is for the good times, and for asking yourself if you can learn a new language – “Body Language,” player! |
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Doors 8.00