words and photos by Keith Marlowe

Riverboat Gamblers @ The Studio

Brooklyn rock'n'roll wrecking ball Ex-Humans opened the show at the The Studio at Webster Hall on Septmeber 2nd with their fast, hard-hitting songs that blend punk and rock. Most of the songs they played can be found on their just released, self-titled album, on Rob's House Records. I asked Todd (bass) how it was to play with the Gamblers, "It's a blast. We're good friends with those guys, and it's always great to see them. We were all worried after Ian's accident, so it's awesome to see him back onstage again."

Ian's accident (he was hit by a car on his bike last October) had sidelined Riverboat Gamblers after the release of their latest album, "Underneath the Owl," on Volcom Entertainment, but as anyone at their show at Webster Hall Studio show last Thursday will attest, Ian and the band are back and stronger than ever. Their set included all the elements that make a classic Gamblers show: gang-vocal choruses, razor sharp hooks, drinks flying, and of course vocalist Mike Weibe jumping and climbing all over the stage and hanging from anything that looks like it might hold him. They played a wide range of songs from all their albums, and a new song, tentatively titled "What are you waiting for?" The show ended with Mike hanging from a light rack and dropping the mic into the crowd for them to sing along, before letting go and singing while being passed along on top of the audience.

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"The city cracks down on things, just to give bars fines--that's what kills the new businesses," said Joi Brozek, former co-owner of the Lucky Cat rock club in Williamsburg. "If you're barely making rent and then you're slapped with a $1,500 fine, you're almost doomed to fail, especially when you're dealing with music because then everyone comes out of the fucking cracks like cockroaches."....

...."The reality of it is, live music isn't much of a moneymaker," she said. "If it was up to me, and somebody said, 'What would be your ideal business?' I would say, a straight-up bar, and that's it, because, really, live music is a ton of headaches." [The NY Observer]