First post in awhile, although I have several nearly-finished posts sitting in my draft queue. Indeed, I plan to make good on my intentions to write at least a little something about every band I see live this year. As I expected, actually having an occupation/having stuff to do during the day has dramatically cut into the time I have available to waste on this blog. To boot, '09 has been jampacked with visitors from out of town wanting to get toxic, which I have kindly obliged, con gusto. Also there's been some drama on the homefront with a roomie moving out and having to find a suitable/non-psycho replacement. And I've been sick.
Anyway, Thalia Zedek needs a better publicist... if it hadn't been for me religiously scanning the pages of OhMyRockness I would have had no idea this show was going down at all. Which would have been a shame, since I really dig her music. I'm on record (somewhere) declaring Come's 11:11 as one of the most underrated albums of all time. Furthermore, her 2004 solo joint Trust Not Those in Whom Without a Touch of Madness is a fine record (not to mention an airtight aphorism), and 2008's Liars and Prayers ranked 30th on my year end Best Albums list. (Also, I bought her first album with Live Skull from about 20 years ago on eBay late last night, so I've got that going for me.)
I believe this was to be the fourth time overall I've seen the band, with the first coming on an opening slot with Dinosaur Jr. in December '06 at Rebel on 30th St. On that night, the band consisted of Zedek on vocals/guitar, backed up by drummer Daniel Coughlin and violist David Michael Curry, with Zedek's thick, morose chording and raspy croon perfectly framed by the expert musicianship of her bandmates: Coughlin's drumming managed to be both substantial and subtle, with Curry deftly switching between melodic leads and harrowing atonal embellishment. The second time I saw Zedek live I wrote the performance up here, almost two years ago to the day. Fine show, and the first time I had seen them with the new, full 5-piece lineup (adding Mel Lederman on keyboard and Winston Braman on bass).
Last year the band rolled through town in mid-June, and although family commitments precluded me from hitting the show down the block from me (at Union Pool), I enthusiastically attended their show at Mercury Lounge the following week. Not sure why I didn't post a review, but here's the setlist from said show and such. As you may or may not be able to tell, they focused very heavily on the newest album, skipping old faves like "Ship," "Bus Stop" and "Hell Is in Hello." Post-set I chatted with the keyboard player for awhile as he related some tragic tales of life on the road as a touring musician over the last decade-and-a-half-or-so.
So last night I got back to my apartment before 9 and immediately began hitting the dank. Hustled over to the J and made it inside Bowery Ballroom about 10 minutes into the set of the opening band, The Weight. As befitting a band named after a song by The Band, these guys were rootsy and twangy and tuneful. They also sort of had the kinder, friendlier country bar-band thing going, although they ripped off a few tasty guitar solos at times. The two-drummer setup crossed me up a bit at first, but by and large they kept their rhythms conventional. Similar to the evening's headliners, Deer Tick, but less angst-y.
Moved up to the left side of the stage for the Zedek Band set, and they actually started into their opening song, "Stars," while the house music was still going. Up next was "Lower Allston" (which incidentally came in at #51 on my '08 Year-End Best Songs list), with Curry momentarily putting aside his viola to perform the song's sad, solitary Mexican-influenced trumpet parts. After a doleful "Brother," "Body Memory" brought the tempo up a bit, even venturing out into a noisy, seemingly improvised section, a neat diversion while managing to avoid straying into self-indulgent jamminess. "Since Then" came next, followed by another new song ("Wind?" I can't remember) before the familiar driving waltz of personal favorite "Bus Stop" began. Awesome. And a couple of songs later, "Next Exit" closed the set, with the lengthy ensemble sections showcasing the both the band members' individual prowess and the band's tightness as a unit. Yes, the subject matter of Zedek's songs largely traverses the well-worn area between dreary and dismal, but one can't help but feel affirmed by a performance like this.
As I predicted pre-set, my back didn't allow me to make it too deep into Deer Tick's set, although I'd seen (and written about) them last year when they played the part of "special guest" on a bill with Death Vessel. Hopped back on the J and headed home.
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Got some shows coming up, including a few hours from now when I get to see Titus Andronicus open up for Los Campesinos. I was initially turned off to said Andronicus by the fact that practically everyone compared them to Bright Eyes, who I really don't like, but as it turns out if I had actually heard The Airing of Grievances before January '09 the album would have been Top 5 of '08 easily. Till next time, Tuddd out.
