words and photos by BBG

Keelhaul

It was billed as an for the Boris/Torche/Russian Circles beatdown, but Keelhaul and My America at Acheron was more of a party all its own on Friday (8/6). After playing a brutal set the night before at Santos with Unsane to a much larger room, Keelhaul brought it again with a flurry of wildly complex riffs that had the smart-ass crowd screaming "more technical!". Another great set from this fantastically killer band and from the young but pummeling My America, who delivered another powerful set of Louisville-informed noise rock.

If you haven't seen either band, please, right that wrong. Pics and some video from Acheron are below...

Continue reading "Keelhaul & My America played the Acheron (pics, video) "

words by BBG, photos by Meghan McInnis

Keelhaul

Keelhaul played Santos last night (8/5), and damn if they weren't dizzying, jaw-dropping, amazing, [insert superlative here]. Good news: Keelhaul will play a late show at The Acheron TONIGHT. It kicks off at 12 with My America. $8 gets you in. The show is the official afterparty for The Blackened Music extravaganza at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Boris/Torche/Russian Circles (get yer tix, almost sold out).

As stated in the previous gushing paragraph, Keelhaul metled faces and ruled places (specifically, Santos) last night with headliner Unsane, Pigs, and Disappearer. Pics of of the support bands are below, Unsane is on the way...

Continue reading "Keelhaul played Santos w/ (Unsane and) Disappearer & Pigs (pics), playing the Acheron TONIGHT (after Boris)"

words by BBG, photos by Brian Reilly

The unreal KEN Mode at Union Pool

Rosetta, KEN Mode, Engineer, and My America did their damnedest to destroy Union Pool on Friday (5/28) as part of a BV/1000Knives production.

My America opened the show at the stroke of 8:45 with their Louisville take on Am-Rep punk. It was my third time seeing the band as of late. Each time I left as impressed with the band's tone and intensity. And dudes have tunes!

As a fan of Engineer, it was fascinating to hear the band's set of mostly new material. With a greater focus on songcraft and melody, the songs seemed to have more light and shade and less pedal-to-the-floor bombast that could be found on earlier releases like 2008's The Dregs. That's not to say this band was anything but pummeling, it's just that the new material varies in it's assault.

I defy any fan of Unsane, Today Is The Day, Am-Rep, and/or noisy, thundering punk to not absolutely love KEN Mode. The Canadian band's high-energy performance was my highlight of my evening. Their take on noise rock filtered through a hardcore lens was furious, energetic, menacing and ultimately, very impressive. I already can't wait for their NYC return. Word is that the band will do their next NYC date surrounding the recording of their new LP at GodCity with Kurt Ballou! That LP will see the light of day on Profound Lore, though an official date is still TBD.

Rosetta headlined the evening, and as usual, the Philadelphia band played a swelling, but ultimately muscular set culled from their recent A Determinism of Morality LP (out NOW on Translation Loss). Less than 24 hours later, the band would play ABC No Rio (a different set, by the way) with Starkweather.

More pics and some video from the Union Pool show are below...

Continue reading "KEN Mode, Rosetta, Engineer & My America played Union Pool - pics & video "

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Rosetta - "Ayil" (MP3)

Rosetta at Public Assembly (more by Brian Reilly)

In the age of the post-post-sub-subgenre, it can be a bit tough to carve a niche for your band, let alone make compelling and forward-thinking tunage. Rosetta know how to keep it fresh; the Philadelphia band has continually revamped their approach from LP to LP, drawing from the dreaded "Neur-Isis" gene pool, yet also delving into atmospherics, post-rock, and an amalgam of influences to create their own stew that is as effective on record as it is live (very effective).

Now Rosetta has a new LP, Determinism of Morality, that flexes a bit more of a slimmed down approach, and the results are great. Check out the track "Ayil" available for download above, and pick up a copy of the album on Translation Loss.

Rosetta is scheduled to play FRIDAY (5/28) alongside new Profound Lore signees Ken Mode, the unstoppable Engineer, and Am-Rep-by-way-of-Louisville faves My America as part of a BV/1000Knives production at Union Pool. You can also catch them at an all ages show at ABC No Rio in the afternoon one day later.

All Rosetta tour dates, and some video (including the band performing "Ayil" at Public Assembly) are below...

Continue reading "new Rosetta LP out now (MP3), NYC Friday & more tour dates "

words by BBG, photos by Samantha Marble, BBG

Jesse of Tiger Flowers sings a lovely duet (pic by BBG)

I was already beyond excited about the NYC return of Premonitions of War at Public Assembly with the unreal Tiger Flowers and Descender. That lineup alone is worth a Sunday night (4/25). But NOW, BrooklynVegan and 1000Knives present our latest addition to the show.... THE RED CHORD! Blame it on Volcanofail 2010. The Red Chord was scheduled to be in Europe with Rotten Sound, Aborted and Those who Lie Beneath but are obviously stranded(?) in the US for the time being. Their loss, our GAIN.

For Tiger Flowers it will be their second NYC show in six days. The Tiger Flowers/Khann tour hit Lit Lounge on 4/19, teaming with My America and Pharoah (ex-The Banner) for a well rounded night of dissonant hardcore, ebullition style spazzy screamo, and am-rep punk bludgeoning. Jarboe was also supposed to play the show, but she got stuck in Italy (tonight's show at Union Pool is also now cancelled).

Even though 2/3 of My America reside two states away from NYC (in Delaware), the band always seems well rehearsed and fantastic live. Start-stops are done on a dime, and My America's take on noise rock is absolutely essential for fans of Young Widows, Shellac, Black Cross, Lords, and many others. Check them out on 5/28 when the band plays Union Pool with Ken Mode, Engineer, and the newly added Rosetta (!!!) as part of a BV/1000 Knives Presentation.

Khann from Orlando have a new record on the way via Black Market Activities, and the band had some serious riffs to back their spazzy ebullition-style screamo. Vocalist Ben zigged-and-zagged around the basement, spazzing out and landing smack on the floor quite a few times - when he wasn't barreling his way through the crowd. Tons of intensity from these guys.

Tiger Flowers delivered their most brutal performance ever at Lit, absolutely pummeling the crowd with their dissonant, noise-ridden take on hardcore. Vocalist Jesse was a maniac: bleeding all over the basement, attempting to crowdsurf (Lit has some low ceilings - not a good look), swinging from ceiling pipes, screaming in audience members' faces, jumping off of tables/chairs/the kick drum, all while belting it out and not missing a beat. Behind Jesse, the instrumental portion of the band was tight as ever, showing that their recent stints on the road have made them a machine. Make sure and catch them on SUNDAY at Public Assembly (with The Red Chord - see above!).

Unfortunately, Samantha and I both missed Pharaoh, so no pictures of them, but more pictures of the other bands at LIT (warning, not for the faint of heart), below...

Continue reading "The Red Chord added to Sunday NYC show (!) w/ Premonitions of War & Tiger Flowers (who just played Lit - pics) "

by BBG

Jarboe at Santos Party House (more by Justina Villanueva)

Kudos to Curran Reynolds and Precious Metal, as this is a simply unmissable night at Lit Lounge. Precious Metal will host the great Jarboe (!) with killer support from the unstoppable Tiger Flowers, Khann, and My America on April 19th! $10 gets you in the door.

Tiger Flowers are also scheduled to play on Friday night (3/26) with Shai Hulud at The Party Expo as well as May 7th at The Production Lounge with Hung.

My America is scheduled to tear down Union Pool along with Ken Mode & Engineer as part of a BV/1000 Knives Production on May 28th.

Jarboe's ex bandmate Michael Gira is getting Swans back together, though apparently without Jarboe. Full Jarboe dates are below, as well as a few videos.

Continue reading "Jarboe playing Lit Lounge & other shows (dates) "

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: KEN Mode - "The Romanticist" (MP3)

The unfucwitable KEN Mode!

BrooklynVegan and 1000 Knives are proud to announce Ken Mode with My America and Engineer at Union Pool on May 28th! For the unfamiliar, Winnipeg's Ken Mode play a particular blistering brand of metal/noise rock/hardcore that recalls Today Is The Day, Unsane, and early Mastodon. The band is prepping to release a new album, the follow-up to the badass Mennonite which dropped in 2008.

My America recently wowed me at The Charleston when they played with Tiger Flowers. Fans of AmRep, Young Widows, and noisecore take note. Ruling!

The great Engineer have completed recording of their new album, and are working on artwork and additional tour dates in May and August (stay tuned!). Engineer's last album, The Dregs, was named one of Decibel's Top 40 albums of 2007. I concur.

Continue reading "Ken Mode playing NYC w/ My America & Engineer, tour TBA "