showreview

Beach Goons/Super Whatevr

/ Laila Abuelhawa / Leave a comment

Knitting Factory, Brooklyn

It was a perfect fall day in New York City. A perfect day to walk about Brooklyn and go to a show. Beach Goons, from San Diego, California, and Super Whatevr, from Costa Mesa, California blessed our ears with a fantastic show. It was Beach Goons first time here, and they did not fail to bring their Cali swag to Brooklyn. The three-piece band consists of guitar/vocalist Pablo Cervantez, bassist David Orozco, and drummer Chris Moran. If you’ve never heard of Beach Goons before, your earbuds are truly missing out. Their sound is a mixture of surf punk, with their latest album including more of their Hispanic roots. I first heard of them in 2017 and instantly was obsessed with them, playing their one album over and over again.

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The trio played a mixture of songs, old and new including Tar, Grimey, She’s Dead, Reservoir Dogs, and Anirak from their 2016 album, Boisad. From their new album that they released this August, they played hits like A.M., Hrsb, The End, and Miedo. Although the venue was small, the crowd was able to get very close to the stage with plenty of room to dance about. Beach goons were so pure in that they wanted everyone close and dancing and singing along with them, like with the song, The End, Pablo told us the lyrics so we could sing along with him. I highly recommend seeing them live, and you still can catch them on tour here.

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Super Whatevr is an emo-punk band also from California, so although they weren’t the same style as Beach Goons, they were sweet in personality and humble, yet packed a punch when it came to performing. Guitar/vocalist Skylar McKee has the voice of an angel, sounding so crisp, clean, and articulate during their set. He would stand on his tippy toes at some moments and it was awe inspiring. Skylar showed his spirit through the band’s performance and not many musicians show that vulnerability while on stage. Sure, you get great stage performance and sound, but not all musicians open up like Skylar did.

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Guitarist Nick Wickander and bassist Josiah Beason had great energy throughout their set as well, jumping around on stage and thrashing about at just the right times. Not to leave out drummer Josh Gomez, who also was full of high energy and throwing those arms at the drum set. They played songs like Benjamin Alphabet, Someone Somewhere Somehow, Bloomfield, and more from their latest album Never Nothing. What was beautiful about Super Whatevr’s set was that they were playing dark songs and embracing it completely. You would think that this would make the crowd feel sad, but the energy was not that at all. It was inspiring and moving, full with life. If you were somebody struggling with anything and saw Super Whatevr live, you would feel something within you awaken and make you want to battle your inner demons. Catch Super Whatever on tour here.

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Nana Grizol at Brooklyn Bazaar

/ Laila Abuelhawa / Leave a comment

 

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Kim Register of Loamlands

Loamlands, an alt-indie band from Durham, North Carolina opened the show last night at Brooklyn Bazaar. Kym Register, guitar and vocals, swooned the crowd with her velvety smooth yet powerful voice. She sounded like a modern Stevie Nicks. (The band gets compared to Fleetwood Mac all the time.) Register sang with so much power and soul, her songs with themes of being vulnerable, the LGBTQ community, and the general intolerance of being yourself. Register spoke of embracing being sad at the show, for it is very important to feel your feelings wholeheartedly.

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Will Hackney, Loamlands

With elements of country, classic rock, and folk, Loamlands has a unique sound of their own. Will Hackney, lead guitarist and sometimes vocals, played like a guitar god last night. He seamlessly finger-picked his guitar without the use of a pick and the skill level alone was impressive. Sliding to and fro with a slide as well as finger-picking was like hearing an angel play. Loamlands played songs off their 2016 album, Sweet High Rise like “Restless One”, “You the Mountain”, and “What Kind of Love”, a song about being in an abusive relationship and fantasizing about killing the abuser. DSC_0001.JPG

Check out Loamlands album, Sweet High Rise here.

Nana Grizol, originating from Athens, Georgia, is the headliner for this tour with Loamlands. They consist of Theo Hilton, lead vocals and guitar, Matt Cathcart on drums, Jared Gandy on bass, and Robbie Cucchiaro on trumpet, euphonium, and tambourine. Hilton had a powerful voice on him and accompanied with the brass by Cucchiaro, Nana Grizol put on a spectacular show. They played slow, sad songs as well as their upbeat tunes, all brought out more with the brass instruments flowing through each song, adding to the mood.

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Hilton spoke about how the gay community has been so supportive of him, but before that emergence, he grew up in a small town surrounded by straight people. At the show, he spoke of political justice and criticizing political leaders, followed by their popular song, “Mississippi Swells”, a song about oil refineries in the Mississippi watershed. Nana Grizol played songs from all three of their albums, including songs like “Tambourine N’ Thyme”, “Atoms”, “Cynicism”, and “Bright Cloud”. Both bands played an incredible show, and would highly recommend catching them on tour because nothing beats a live set! Get tickets here.

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To view my article on Stars & Scars, with video content, go here!

Moose Blood at Irving Plaza

/ Laila Abuelhawa / Leave a comment

Moose Blood, a British emo-punk band from Canterbury, England, sold out Irving Plaza last night. They played a lot of their new songs from the album, I Don’t Think I Can Do This Anymore, which most of the crowd didn’t seem to vibe with. One guy shouted, ‘Your new album sucks!’ during a pause of one of the songs they were playing. The people around him laughed in agreement. Unsure if vocalist/guitarist Eddy Brewerton heard him, but he seemed unphased of the comment. Musicians know when their albums do well or not, so he probably shook it off.

Nonetheless, the band played a lively show despite Eddy having lost his voice due to being sick. He sang as if there was nothing wrong, but when he would talk to the crowd, his voice would crack and die out. It was amazing to hear that weakness in his voice, to be powerful and on key when he was performing. Poor lad must be taking a beating on his vocal chords for having an entire tour to keep up with.

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Moose Blood played some of their old songs as well, which the crowd erupted for when they heard the familiar intro. From their 2014 album, I’ll Keep You In Mind From Time To Time, they played favorites like Gum, Cherry, Swim Down, and Bukowski. The band played for over an hour and covered songs from their last three albums.

The crowd was easy to navigate through, that is until you hit the one “mosh pit”. It was more of a push and shove pit. Consisting of mostly guys, this sad excuse for a mosh pit to a band that is known for their singing and melodies became a massive chaotic pushpit. People were getting shoved from front to back, with multiple people falling on the floor, and crowd surfers falling into the pit. Guys were being too aggressive and if you were anywhere near their pushpit, you were getting trampled on or pushed down to the ground. It was one of the most annoying crowds to be in for that reason. No dancing, no actual moshing, but an unnecessary shove-fest of bumbling idiots. Stay clear of the pushpit if you plan on catching Moose Blood for the rest of their tour. They’re playing in Philly tonight at the Theatre of the Living Arts and tomorrow in Asbury Park at the Stone Pony.

To see videos from this show go to Stars & Scars!

Tall Juan at Trans Pecos

/ Laila Abuelhawa / Leave a comment

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Originally advertised as a Surf Curse show at Trans Pecos, a frequent venue for the band, turned out to be a show for Surfbort. Regardless of the miscommunication, the show was sold out and the music did not disappoint.

Surfbort, a Brooklyn-based “freak music” band with lead singer Charlotte Wimberley, kicked ass with their high energy and punk presence. She belted out stronger than most males, danced around on stage and even in the crowd! In between songs, she and her bandmates spread little blurbs of positivity and love as well as anti-governmental messages. Everyone loved it.

The venue, as small as it was, was packed to full capacity and everyone was moving whether you wanted to or not. Moshing, pushpits, two-stepping, and skanking all around. You couldn’t keep your feet on the ground because the music and energy were so infectious, raging with the rest of the crowd was the only option.

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Their latest EP, Bort To Death came out September of last year with songs “Hippie Vomit Inhaler”, “Back to Reaction”, “Bed Bugs”, and “Hideaway”. Punk influence, catchy melodies, and organized chaotic instrumentals woven through every song. Hearing these songs live and becoming a part of the music was an epic experience. Other than one douchebag in the crowd throwing elbows, everyone was having a fun time in the pit. Surfbort is playing at Elsewhere Hall in Brooklyn, NY on April 12 if you want to have a good time listening to good live music with good people!

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Bort To Death

The headliner, Tall Juan seemed to have packed show even more than it already was once they hit the stage. Argentinian born and Queens-raised, the band’s sound stands out on its own. Tall Juan sounds like a cocktail of the Ramones and the Black Lips with a Latin twist. They started off the set with high energy songs, amidst people trying to crowd surf whenever they could from the front to the back of the venue, giving us a break with slower tempo songs everyone seemed to know the words to. Fans cussed in Spanish and English for people to dance and mosh, which was hilarious because the frontman, Juan Zaballa seemed like the purest soul. They covered “I Wanna Be Your Dog” by The Stooges and their rendition of it was killer!

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Joya Nedo, released in October 2017 soon after their previous album, Olden Goldies, Tall Juan has been producing a lot of new groovy tunes. Their new EP is a continuation of their growth as artists and quality of sound. Their next show is in Los Angeles, so unless you’re planning a trip to the west coast next week, keep an eye out for their return.

To see more of this review on Stars and Scars site, click here.