Live Review: Make Do & Mend @ Santos Party House NYC 5/19/11

Five years ago I was heavily into bands like The Sleeping, Thursday, Alexisonfire, and Bayside. These bands made music that would keep me happy and going to shows. These bands were passionate, catchy, and had a driving, vibrant force with strong vocals and honest lyrics. In 2011, one of those bands offering me the same pleasing show-going experience is Make Do and Mend, a Connecticut band that you can call post-hardcore or melodic punk. The nuisanced difference between the two can be put up for argument, but their deliver is passionate. You can see this when watching the band perform. One things for sure though this band is driving.

At Santos Party House the band played a tight 25-minute set that included songs from their EP Bodies of Water and their latest LP End Measured Mile. Over a steady guitar line the band starts with "Shambles," as the James sings: 

I don't believe in anything worth fighting for, worth dying for.

I don't believe the clouds are hiding much more than a reason to downpour.

So what would you do if you were me? Give up, forget, go back to sleep.

My ears are quickly glued to his voice before the song gets into," Winter Wasteland," my favorite song of their set. It caught me off guard, but the back and fourth drum action was pumping. My head grooves back and fourth until th chorus hits:

Where were your arms when the wind was so cold?

Where were your hands when the time was so hard to hold?

I'm coming undone thirty-five miles from home, on this winter-campus wasteland all-alone

Free Hardrock Show in NYC 5/25

This Tuesday, May 25 Scion and GreenShoeLace present a free hardrock show in NYC. The event features The Dirty Pearls, Killcode, Diablo Royale, and a DJ set by Tim No 37. Doors 8pm. 18+. Again, no cover. How sweet is that?

Santos Party House

96 Lafayette Street

New York, NY 10013

RSVP @ Greenshoelace.com/scion

Yula and the Extended Family - new album (MP3), NYC CD release show w/ Gato Loco 4/23

DOWNLOAD: Yula and the Extended Family – Kriss (MP3)

Yula and the Extended Family have released their second album, Dark Side of the Bee on Woodland Records. The album was written and recorded in just 24 hours. "It's an experiment with time, simplicity and limited means that went terribly GREAT!" explains Beeri. You can download it, along with the band's first album Victor, here. 

They'll return to NYC next week after a March tour which brought them to Harvest of Hope and SXSW. Yula & Family perform at Santos Party House on Friday, April 23 for their CD release show. Also on the bill is Brooklyn based perform Vic Thrill and the Latin-infused instrumental 9-piece Gato Loco. Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at the door. Doors at 7pm. Advance tickets available here. The band will have some homemade CD copies of the new album. This is sure to be a good time.

Update: The set times are 7:30pm Gato Loco, 8:30pm Yula & The Extended Family, 9:30pm Vic Thrill. An afterparty will be held at B-Side Bar at 204 Ave B.

Live Review: Outernational / The London Souls / Uzuhi @ Santos Party House 4-2-10

“1-2-3-smile,” said singer Gosha of Uzuhi. I couldn't help but follow his words and be mesmerized by the joyous nature of the band. From that point on I was hooked. The way he paid attention to and interacted with the crowd was pretty amazing. His energy simply lit up the room. The band was wild, sweet, and fun. Keyboardist Tsubasa had a stuffed animal rabbit in front of her. She said that she was sick but the crowd made her feel better. “I love you,” she said. At one point Gosha grabbed the rabbit and danced around with it. This band was a raucous rock 'n roll Japanese punk band. I never saw a band, especially a punk band, be so happy and lively. The audience loved it. Heads were turning and it was overall a great time. When the band finished they told the crowd to come close to the stage so they could take a photo. We all gathered and, of course, smiled. That moment was pretty priceless.

The London Souls switched things up a bit. The New York rock 'n roll band, who recently opened for Joe Perry (of Aerosmith's) new project last November, were in full form here. Shades on, hair poofy, the singer had a smooth vibe, dressed to impressed, and to my memory hardly spoke to the crowd. I got a Hendrix meets Kravitz with some soul vibe from them. The music was compelling, driving, and all the goodness of rock-and-roll. However, it wasn't particularly original. What stuck in my head me was the line “Are you gonna let your man push your around?” In other words, women don't let you're man push you around. Right on. Original or not, it's great to hear the spirit of rock-and-roll come alive and capture an audience. 

Outernational, The London Souls, Uzuhi @ Santos NYC tonight

Tonight Outernational take their gypsy, punk, ska, politically infused jams to the stage when they perform at Santos Party House in NYC. The show comes after a 5 week tour. Leo said:

2010 is the year to break out and we are doing it.  If you look out the world, you still see everything you hated about Bush and where is the movement to upturn it?  There can be no movement without the cultural side and if you come to an Outernational concert you can catch a glimpse of this - young women and men dancing and rocking out together, different cultures nationalities and sounds, a spirit of defiance but also optimism... 

The band performs with The London Souls and Uzuhi.

Santo's Party House, 96 Lafayette Street, NYC (upstairs)
$8 adv / $10 door
doors open 7pm  (16+)
UZUHI 7:30pm THE LONDON SOULS 8:30 OUTERNATIONAL 9:30pm
11pm afterparty at Mehanata Bulgarian Bar  (21+) 113 Ludlow (free with concert ticket or wristband!)