review & photos by Chris Gersbeck

Mission of Burma @ Maxwell's

I don't think I've missed more than a couple of New York City area Mission of Burma shows since I accidentally caught them at the Stillwell Stage at Siren Fest in '04. At that point in the band's history, they were still a somewhat recently reunited group, but clearly devoted to something more than just a few reunion performances. This was a group that was not so much reunited as they were picking up where they left off in 1983, anxious to write and record groundbreaking music yet again. Seven years and three (fantastic) full-length albums later, Mission of Burma have even further embedded their place in music history, a sort of indie music myth for our times.

So it goes without saying that these two shows, at Maxwell's on 1/28 and Bell House on 1/29 (both of which sold out) were met with excitement from the most devoted of Burma's fans. The band has become known for hand picking their opening acts, and in the case of these shows, they did an excellent job with both. New York City's Grandfather (not to be confused with Grandchildren) opened the Maxwell's show on Friday, a threesome with clear inspiration from Mission of Burma's unique timing and song structure. Their songs were dark, but meticulously written, with a heavy emphasis on rhythm. Grandfather's drummer, a highly energetic and precise musician, took on lead vocal duties as their guitarist and bassist flung themselves around on stage throughout their set. In hindsight, it made perfect sense when their guitarist told me before the show that Bob Weston and Steve Albini were behind their debut record. Check this band out (their next show is at Party Expo in Brooklyn 2/7/11).

Though I missed most of Buke & Gass's set at the Bell House on Saturday due to problems at the door, what I heard was great. A male-female duo from Brooklyn, both played seated, the percussion coming from a single kick drum stuffed with tambourines and a set of bells wrapped around the guitarist's ankle. Though highly melodic in contrast to Grandfather's set, you could tell why MoB tapped them to open, and they definitely had their share of fans in the crowd. Their next show is opening for Deerhoof at Europa, and then for Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson at the Stone.

Due to MoB's practice of choosing their setlists by committee just before hitting the stage meant getting two completely different sets between the two nights. The intimate (yet utterly explosive) Maxwell's performance initially consisted of later period Burma songs, opening with the Obliterati's "Donna Sumeria" and eventually hitting the Sound, the Speed, the Light's "1, 2, 3 Party!" and ONoffON's "the Setup". Smattered among the set was a slew of new material too, which is shaping to be yet another great set of songs from the band.

But their encore at Maxwell's is what made the crowd just completely lose themselves. As soon as Roger Miller began strumming the opening chords of "This Is Not A Photograph", the entire front of the stage became a group of pogo-ing lunatics. I don't think I've ever seen crowd surfing at a Burma show, and if you know the small space at Maxwell's you know there isn't much room to surf, but as soon as Clint Conley said, "That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate" a rather enthusiastic fan catapulted from the stage into the crowd and somehow remained elevated for much longer than gravity should have allowed. Following with B-side "Max Ernst" and closing with the anthemic "Academy Fight Song" left everyone wanting more; in fact most people refused to leave until the house lights came on.

Luckily another Burma performance was just around the corner. Their set at the Bell House on Saturday was filled with just as much energy as the night before, but relied more heavily on material from their 1981 EP Signals, Calls & Marches and their only proper full length before their breakup, Vs. Pete Prescott's shouts from behind the drumkit sounded just as aggressive as ever, while Clint Conley's overdriven bass made older songs like "Mica" and "Fame & Fortune" sound even more furious than their studio counterparts. As much as I believe "underrated" describes Mission of Burma on a number of levels, one of the greatest aspects of MoB that goes unnoticed may be Roger Miller's unique slide guitar technique, particularly when soloing on songs like "Spider's Web". Bob Weston on tape loops provided those iconic swirls of noise during and between songs, reminding you that the band's fourth member is just as important to the Burma sound as any of the members on stage. And how great is it that when they launched into their most well known song, "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" during the first encore, I hadn't even considered that it wasn't played in the set yet, or at all the night before. Overwhelming response demanded a second encore, which consisted of the opening track from Vs., "Secrets", and again ending with "Academy Fight Song". Something tells me that if Roger Miller hadn't jokingly said, "Thanks, please go home, now," the crowd would have stuck around for even more.

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For more Roger, check out Chris's recent interview and check out Alloy Orchestra in NYC on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. For more Bob, don't miss Shellac at ATP's I'll Be Your Mirror in Asbury Park. For more Mission of Burma, check out NYC Taper's recording of the Brooklyn show, and the rest of our pictures from both NYC-area shows with setlists, below...

Continue reading "Mission of Burma played Maxwell's w/ Grandfather, and the Bell House w/ Buke & Gass (pics, setlists & a live recording)"

words and photos by Chris Gersbeck

Last night was night six, and Yo La Tengo played their fifth night of Hanukkah shows on Sunday (12/5), with their eight night stay at Maxwell's quickly coming to an end. I can only imagine the amount of exhaustion that comes from planning and rehearsing these shows, though you'd never know it thanks to consistently great performances from Ira, James and Georgia.

The legendary Mission of Burma, who just may be the greatest long-running live act of all time, were tapped to open the night. Playing almost entirely new material, along with a slew of covers including the Buzzcocks' "I Don't Mind" and the Wipers' "Youth of America", Burma continue to prove that they're one of the few, if not only bands to reunite and still produce material as innovative as in their heyday. And maybe I just haven't seen them live in a while, but Roger Miller's new hairdo is fantastic. I'm looking forward to seeing them again in January.

Daily Show correspondent Wyatt Cenac was the comedian guest of the night and his act was well received by the crowd. Cenac's stories were at times a bit convoluted, but the payoffs were definitely worth it. Apparently he and fellow correspondent John Oliver have a show coming in 2011 to follow the Colbert Report, which makes perfect sense.

It's kind of amusing that Yo La Tengo opened with the somber and mesmeric "Green Arrow", considering how intense their set would later become. Tearing through "The Room Got Heavy", Richard Hell's "I'm Your Man", and ending with "Mushroom Cloud of Hiss", Yo La's songs often collapsed into long, droning swells of feedback. Adding to the noise collage was Burma's tape-looper (and Shellac bassist) Bob Weston, who was sitting in with the band for the night, albeit from the soundboard. Manipulating YLT's vocals, guitars and percussion throughout, Weston added that unique quality that has become synonymous with Mission of Burma's sound.

All of this lent itself well to the encore, first with Roger Miller returning on organ to perform Jonathan Richman's "Astral Plane" with WFMU auction winner Jason Kaufman on vocals (who did a great job), then with MoB drummer Pete Prescott singing one of his and Weston's Volcano Suns songs (Weston came out to play bass on this one). Before long, Clint Conley also returned to the stage on guitar to perform as the supergroup I personally have dubbed "Yo La Burma". To say it was incredible to watch is an understatement. It's not too often you get to see things like this happen in such an intimate venue, so if you get the chance to check out any of the remaining shows, definitely do so.

More pictures from the fifth of eight crazy nights at Maxwell's are below.

Continue reading "Yo La Tengo, Mission of Burma & Wyatt Cenac @ Maxwell's (pics from the fifth night of Chanukah)"

Martha's Vineyard Ferries

"Martha's Vineyard Ferries is a summer fun punk band, created by Elisha Wiesner (Kahoots), Bob Weston (Shellac, Volcano Suns, Mission of Burma), and Chris Brokaw (Come, Codeine, The New Year), when they got together for a few days in 2009. Their new EP, In The Pond, is a 4 song 12" with music on one side, and a sweet little etching by Rosemary Hoeft on the other. It is a very nice record.

Elisha describes their process thusly:

the band started as a fake joke band name bob and I were using with some vague intention of maybe playing some music. we asked Chris to be the drummer in the fake band. A while after that we decided to actually do it, sent demos back and forth and got together at bobs house in Chicago for a couple days of recording and eating hot dogs. Basically it's just 3 friends playing punk rock. all of us have larger musical commitments outside of the ferries but, for me at least, it was fun to just kind of come up with a silly idea see it turn into something really cool. I am certainly looking forward to playing some shows and future recording. It's fun to be in a band with no pressure, no expectations and no real time frame."

Sick Room Records is proud to be able to deliver this one of a kind, limited edition 12" for your listening pleasure" [Listen to a song at the band's Bandcamp page]

The MARTHA'S VINEYARD FERRIES are on a very short tour promoting their release, and that includes the show happening at Death By Audio tonight (8/26) with Tre Orsi who are one of the Austin bands on 'Casual Victim Pile' --- "Matador's first city-specific compilation since 1991's 'New York Eye & Ear Control'".

Speaking of Matador, their 21st anniversary festival is where Chris's band Come is reuniting to play, but not before they play a reunion show at TT the Bears in Cambridge, MA on September 26th with Wussy. Tickets are on sale.

Bob's band Shellac is playing ATP NY as part of a tour that hits the Bell House in Brooklyn (sold out).

Chris also has a European tour coming up with another one of his collaborators, Geoff Farina. Tour dates below...

Continue reading "Come playing Mass, Martha's Vineyard Ferries (Chris Brokaw, Bob Weston & Elisha Weisner) playing shows (NYC tonight) "