FIGHT LIKE APES - AMERICA WAKE UP

I received this picture from Ryan Suffern today from SXSW of May Kay of Dublin's FIGHT LIKE APES and it's so amazing that I felt I had to post about this band based on this photo alone. The second coming of Siouxsie? FLA have been climbing the ladder in Ireland and the UK, recently headlining the NME Tour with The Ting Tings, and I'm still waiting for this act to get traction in America. Of all the places that seem like they'd get this Punk Rock meets PAVEMENT band, I'd think Uncle Sam would, but so far it's just been some flirts. What I love about this picture is that Ryan actually captured the madness and the brilliance of May when she's on stage. We've been banging on about them since May 2007, and it's nice to see them making their way, but come on, enough already America, get on this.

Download "Lend Me Your Face" (mp3)

TONIGHT IN NEW YORK: THE BROTHERS MOVEMENT @ PIANOS

Before you jump off to Austin for SXSW, catch THE BROTHERS MOVEMENT from Ireland, as well as our friends, FIGHT LIKE APES tonight ~ industry stage times ~ at Pianos.

HARD WORKING CLASS HEROES FEST RECAP

I'm still recovering from the Guinness and jetlag from last weekend's HARD WORKING CLASS HEROES FEST in Dublin, Ireland, but as promised, here's a short recap on the unsigned bands and young artists that were featured.

I finally got some hang time with a band I've blogged about previously, CLASS OF 1984. Team hairdo have returned from London, back home to Cork to lock themselves away in the chicken shack again to write more demos and focus on the song craft. Their set had people talking.

Saturday night brought a run of bands from PILOTLIGHT, THE KINETIKS, and A LAZARUS SOUL before finally seeing a band we featured on FS31, GRAND POCKET ORCHESTRA. Where the recordings were good-time indie rock, a la SPINTO BAND or MODEST MOUSE, the live show was more like THE MAE SHI or anything going on in the Baltimore scene these days. The PAVEMENT references are also very present, and this band could do very well in the US with the Fuck Yeah Fest crowd.

Next stop was Eamonn Dorans for Belfast's SPARKS FLY. I'm told this was their first show ever in Dublin but it made little difference to those in the building as they brought their HOLLIES meets THEM era-Van Mo. Singer Rory has an incredible voice, and even though they haven't written their hit yet, this band has raw talent in excess. The right producer working with the songwriting duo in the band could make sparks fly.

The panel train headed over to see our old friends, former STARS OF THE CITY, now THE MINUTES (FS30) playing a blistering 5 song set to the outdoor crowd at M.H. Square. A quick run over to Andrews Lane for CRAYONSMITH, a band we've been spinning on the radio show proved rewarding before running back to the square for the incredible FIGHT LIKE APES. We're so proud of this band, seeing them evolve from something quirky and punk to being able to own the outdoor stage as they did that night. They just secured THE TING TINGS European tour, and its only a matter of time before America gets hip to May and her crew. We also caught half the FRIGHTENED RABBIT set before going off festival to Whelan's for a secret show for DARK ROOM NOTES who played earlier that night with KRAFTWERK and who delivered a barn-burner of a set upstairs to a sweaty room. Lots of Guiness was consumed in a town where people were puking every fifth step on the cobblestone steps - this was like the Mardi Gras for drunks.

Sunday brought not just a hangover and more panels, but more good music. The rainy night slowed our pace some, but kicking things off with ROBOTNIK, the kid that is a mix between BECK and THE BETA BAND, but part Twin Peaks, made us all realize we were in for some interesting music.


The biggest surprise of the weekend was the next act, HEATHERS! I blogged about them this week already, but holy shit! Voices so big and clean and genuine that this act, I guarantee, will be HUGE! The rain forced us to drink and get lost and then wind up at the SONS & DAUGHTERS show back at Andrews Lane, where the Scotish band delivered the kind of set they are known for - absolutely solid and badass.

What I love about festivals like HARD WORKING CLASS HEROES is the fact that all the bands that played actually cared to be playing there. It wasn't a hype-festival, it wasn't one of straight fashion and 'cool-kid parties', it was straight up bands playing to industry and to a local music community that supports them. Hats off to Angela for putting on such a festival, where the focus is on actually helping bands and educating them and putting them in contact with people of all walks of the industry to get their questions answered. Sadly, many of the big music conferences have lost this goal and need to get the spark back and the priority back where it should be - helping the bands that DON'T have deals.

WORD'S OUT ON DUBLIN'S FIGHT LIKE APES

Music Quarterly in Ireland just featured the band I go ape over, FIGHT LIKE APES, on the cover of their recent issue. For anyone that loves the thought of mixing THE SLITS with LIFE WITHOUT BUILDINGS, FLA is for you. It's a great article on a band on the rise. Looks like they just landed a UK tour with THE VON BONDIES.

CMJ RECAP

I've been a real sad sack on the blogging tip the past few weeks since I went on the road, it's been one show after another and it's kept me far from my laptop. CMJ is CMJ, an overload of industry and bands and industry talking about bands and sheep chasing other sheep, all waiting for the next Arcade Fire/Arctic Monkeys/Clap Your Hands/Etc. No one wants to miss the boat on saying they were at one of their shows before they blew up, so that double edge sword of hype can really hurt artists that get the buzz label too early. Festivals such as these show the full spectrum of the music industry in all it's glory and shallowness. You get those bands from places like Ireland that are thrilled just to be here and play in a distant place with the glimmer of hope that their big chance is waiting, and you get bands that ooze ambition and well-healed business teams behind them that deliver all fashion and very little substance. It's a weasel-fest of A&R and industry chums at one sponsored party, and little labels showcasing their proud signings at another dark, dank bar around the corner. Again, you end up seeing it all and hearing it all, and hopefully you can keep your wits about you and maintain your own perspective about the music that moves you for the right reasons.

I do my best to avoid slagging other bands or wading too far into negative posts, but I have to say that I'm disappointed in a couple of bands that had HUGE expectations on them coming into CMJ. The first one and arguably the band with the biggest buzz surrounding them at the festival that are unsigned, the FS30 tipped BLACK KIDS were that such band. Sure they had some sort of technical difficulties, but the build up for this band didn't even come close to living up to the line to get into The Annex. Ok, CURE sounding vocals, Arcade Fire-like stage energy (I hear they now share management), and maybe a song and a half. Early days, but there is no time for development or early days in times like these, someone will jump on it, and hype will drill it home. Other letdowns were bands like DARK VEINS and WILD LIGHT, lots of pre-show gush, lots of post-show grumble. If I see another band with a megaphone or described like a "new Flaming Lips", and I still go to the show to see it, then I only have myself to blame. I also had a real let down from an act I've been waiting to see for ages, WE ARE WOLVES, who are really LCD Soundsystem JR.

So let's move on to some of the high points. WHITE DENIM at Galapagos were every bit the band I had hoped they'd be, with that rough-around-the-edges sound of a band that has everything still in front of them, but riding enthusiasm and a "love for the game" that every hipster band around will never find. I also thought MGMT lived up to my expectations and then some with that big sound to them - real muscle. A young band from Brighton called THE LATE GREATS played like classic indie rock/90's alt rock heroes like MISSION OF BURMA, THE PIXIES and even DINO JR at Fat Baby. Talking with them after their set, I felt like I had stepped back to those college days when you caught bands in great clubs, drank lots of beer and watched bands that played their brains out with little regard for looking so cool. The band's drummer played the entire set with the biggest smile on his face, playing in New York City with his band with not one thought past that moment in time. Perfection.

I was 'gutted' to just miss Dublin's FIGHT LIKE APES at the Irish showcase 205 Chrystie, but singer May Kay was a delight just to talk with in any event. VOXHAUL BROADCAST delivered their usual classic set, BANG CAMARO set the TF sponsored Skewer Party off at Pianos on Friday.

I mostly saw average bands playing average music or knockoff music, but hell, it's New York, it's still live music for free, so it still beats an office job.