Live Music Report: 9.Nov -> 15.Nov // Les Savy Fav, Electro, Free Jazz, Detroit Cobras & a Guy in a Dress

It's been a busy live music month for me, here's a quick report on a few shows I've managed to catch:

9.November.06 -- Les Savy Fav @ E&L Auditorium (NYU), Manhattan -- I was a bit wary about going to this one with all the college students and no beer in sight, but I couldn't make the (more expensive and more trendy) show at Moma earlier in the week, and a friend from LA was in town, so this seemed OK. The place is what is sounds like-- an auditorium. We caught the last 20 minutes of The Big Sleep, who were a bit longwinded for our taste-- some interesting grooves but they didn't end up going anywhere too different.

LSF came on, with Tim Harrington in Professor of Egyptology mode, making the most of the location, pretending that he was showing slides to the "class" and then launching himself into the crowd over the frenetic punkier moments of LSF's music. Soon enough, Harrington was off playing a video game while singing, throwing a rope up the balcony and being pulled up, changing getups on stage, and even crawling along the floor (and surprising my friend who was digging in her purse, by making her drink some water from a bottle).

I *do* eat this kind of buffoonery/performance art/leftover remnants of providence background up, but at a certain point, you wonder if the show is way more important than the music ? Frequently his vocals are lost as he's clambering through the crowd, with the band left on stage. On the other hand, the "new" guitarist makes amazing u2 with authenticity like guitar noises on stage that are really something. Is there a new album coming, or is this finally a party band ? I'm not sure... stay tuned!

10.November - Services @ The Cake Shop, Manhattan -- we meant to catch some providence (again!) bands but we only caught the headliners on this weird night-- brooklyn electro, the whole 2 men and a sampler/keyboard/noisemaker kind of thing. But they had lights! And a sense of humor. This was actually good!

11.November -- BAD (of course!) Free Jazz @ The Cake Shop -- we thought we could catch random greatness at the Cake Shop two times in one week. We were wrong, of course. These guys go for the "No. Let's sit IN the audience, man!" method of free jazz. And they sat right in front of us. Challenge accepted, dummies.
(above: my friends accepting the free jazz challenge)

14.November - Detroit Cobras, Greg Cartwright, Death Machine @ Mercury Lounge, Manhattan -- This one promised to be great but turned out so-so in the end. "Death Machine" was one of these underage bands with the dads in the audience and acting as roadies. The guy can play guitar, OK, I get the 70's rock mixed with garage references, but there's something lacking as yet. Cartwright on the other hand, frontman for the Reigning Sound and ex-Oblivians, performed some of the RS material solo acoustic and it was interesting, but showed us what we were missing when he picked up his electric for one last song and it was great.

Finally, the Cobras took the stage after 30 minutes of waiting. And then we (and the band) waited another 15 minutes for the singer, Rachel, to finally come to the stage (drink in hand as always). Maybe there was a good reason for this, but the place was pretty packed by this point and it was somewhat maddening. This feeling grew as it became obvious that the singer (not the band) was phoning it in during the first few songs. Thankfully a rowdy (and odd) crowd woke her up a bit for better renditions of a few classics. Still, I haven't seen the definitive show from this band that I've been looking for...

15.November - King Khan & BBQ Show @ Don Pedro's, Bushwick/Brooklyn -- This one was in such a weird place it just had to be good. After pulling out of a few dates with the Detroit Cobras (including the show I went to on Tuesday!), they played this one, set up by Crypt Records, newly relocated to Brooklyn. Don Pedro's is a (frankly rundown) Ecuadoran restaurant in a (somewhat scary) area of Brooklyn. The show was run old school-- we got free beer for being there early, by walking over to the Crypt Records store, where there was a keg and a bunch of people. Then the band played a set at the restaurant. Then there was a DJ, and then another set. That's the way it should be, doncha think ? The band is a duo, garage for sure, but somewhat disjointed, definitely spirited and good party music. And the singer changed into a dress and wig on stage. All this for $6, what more can you ask for ?! whew! no wonder i've been sleeping like 10 or 11 hours each night...