words & photos by Keith Marlowe

Tandoori Knights @ the Bell House

I started the night, the fourth and final night of the the Norton Records 25th Anniversary celebration at the Bell House, watching Andy Shernoff from the Dictators playing an acoustic set in the front room. He ended with his hilarious zombie Jew song, based on Jesus's return to Earth.

The Figures of Light, who originally formed in 1970, played their classic proto-punk songs as well as tracks off their new album, Drop Dead, which was recorded this July in Brooklyn by the Gories' Mick Collins, who plays guitar in the band along with original members Wheeler Winston Dixon and Michael Downey, as well as Mark Natale and Miriam Linna from the A-Bones.

The Real Kids had to cancel due to illness, so another New Jersey band, the Swinging Neckbreakers filled in for them.

After them came the A-Bones, who feature vocalist Billy Miller and his wife, drummer Miriam Linna from Norton Records. They were joined at the end of their set Cyril Jordan and Roy Loney of the Flaming Groovies, who also played with the Daddy Long Legs the night before, and who played 'Teenage Head,' which was inspired by Kim Fowley when he was recording their record. Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan, who played the celebration on Friday night as part of the Condo Fucks, was also playing guitar in the A-Bones. as he often does.

Tandoori Knights, a take-off on the British show Tandoori Nights were next. They are fronted by King Khan and Bloodshot Bill, and the band is a slightly slower, more melodic sound than the two are known for in their other projects, but they still kept the crowd moving until after 1 am, when Norton founders Billy and Miriam came out to thank everyone who had made the sold-out four day event such a success. Billy, Miriam, and King Khan also all made late night appearances on the first night of the fest.

The Sonics @ The Bell House

After they finished the thank-you's at nearly 1:45, the band everyone was waiting to see, The Sonics, took the stage. They had headlined a show Saturday afternoon at Maxwell's too. I didn't see that, but Sunday night they took the Bell House stage and just completely laid it down. I was really impressed. They played an hour and a half set that just kept picking up energy the entire time, hitting all their well-knows songs, like Strychnine, the Hustler, Boss Hoss, Psycho and climaxed with their first and best-known hit, the Witch, and tore right into a cover of Louie Louie they totally owned, probably playing it better and with more authority than any other band in the world is capable of doing. The biggest surprise to me was how good their new songs are. Usually a band reforms knowing that they have a catalogue that people celebrate and will pay to hear, and they can tour on that nostalgia factor, or write some songs that completely lack the chemistry that the original members once had. I've definitely groaned when a reunion band announces, "we're gonna play some of our new songs tonight." but the Sonics have hit the studio hard. The new songs, Cheap Shades, Bad Attitude, Don't Back Down, and Vampire Kiss were really tight, and would sound right at home on both Here Are the Sonics and BOOM. Their new record, 8, was recorded by legendary Seattle producer Jack Endino and was released in 2010. It's great to see such an important band still touring and recording great songs......

More photos from the Sunday night show below...

Continue reading "Norton Records @ 25 -- the conclusion w/ the Sonics, Tandoori Knights aka King Khan & Bloodshot Bill & more (pics & review)"

photos by Jason House

After a kick off night on Thursday, another party Friday, and a daytime show with the Sonics in Hoboken on Saturday (11/12), the third night of the Norton Records 25th Anniversary went down at the Bell House on Saturday night with a lineup that included Question Mark & The Mysterians, Randy Fuller Four, Untamed Youth, The Nor-Tones (third night in a row), Daddy Long Legs (with appearances from Ron Loney and Cyril Jordan of the Flamin' Groovies), Hentchmen, Luis and the Wildfires, and South Bay Surfers. And the fun lasted into the wee hours of the morning.

Pictures from most of the night (none of South Bay Surfers or Untamed Youth), continue below...

Continue reading "Norton Records 25th Anniversary in Brooklyn ---- the rest of the night 3 pics (Daddy Long Legs & more!)"

"The Sonics? Wow!" - Anonymous | May 15, 2009 9:52 AM

Classic NYC garage rock label Norton Records will celebrate their 25th Anniversary over the course of four nights at The Bell House (Nov 10-13). The shows feature some pretty incredible artists, including most notably The Sonics, whose 1965 garage rock classic Here Are The Sonics is regarded by some as the first punk rock album. Norton Records reissued the album in 1999. The Sonics headline the last night (11/13) of the run. Tickets are on sale now for all four nights.

Tickets are also on sale for a daytime Sonics show happening November 12th at Maxwell's. You can hit this show and still not miss the show later that night at the Bell House. Sunday during the day is the Brooklyn Record Riot at Warsaw.

The Sonics need no introduction, but those not familiar should consider that Kurt Cobain said in a Nardwuar interview that "They got the most amazing drum sound I've ever heard. Still to this day, it's still my favorite drum sound. It sounds like he's hitting harder than anyone I've ever known." The White Stripes call them the "epitome of '60s punk," "harder than The Kinks," and say that "life becomes better after buying a Sonics record." Newer band Japandroids love them too, and say, "When you listen to it, even at low volumes, it sounds like it's blasting. And I like how you can feel they would melt your face if you saw them live." Don't sleep on catching them live. Last time they were in NYC was 2007. Who saw them at Warsaw? How was it? Check out videos from a December 2010 KEXP appearance below.

Fellow '60s garage rock vets ? and the Mysterians, best known for their 1966 single "96 Tears," headline the night before them. Other noteworthy bands include The Real Kids, led by John Felice of the The Modern Lovers, and The Randy Fuller Four. Randy Fuller was part of his brother's group The Bobby Fuller Four in the 1960s, who recorded the first successful version of the single "I Fought the Law," popularly covered by The Clash. Folllowing Bobby's untimely death in 1966 at age 23, Randy took over the group, which he renamed The Randy Fuller Four.

Reigning Sound, Mark Sultan (BBQ), The Condo Fucks, A-Bones, Flamin Groovies.... there are so many people on these bills, it's too much to list. Full lineup and some videos, below...

Continue reading "Norton Records anniversary shows happening at the Bell House, two Sonics shows too!"

words & photos by Jacob Blickenstaff

The Relatives

The Ponderosa Stomp is now in its 9th year and has grown steadily since its origins as a backyard wedding party for festival founder Ira 'Dr. Ike' Padnos. The 2-day, New Orleans-based festival (that took place on Sept 24 and 25th this year) brings to the stage an amazing line-up of 'unsung heroes' and originators in the intermingled genres of country, blues, garage, rock n' roll, soul, swamp pop, rhythm & blues, and funk. Attendees experienced artists who actively recorded in the 1940's through the 1970's and 1980's delivering profoundly moving and authentic performances, providing a vivid glimpse into a world of music that might seem long-gone.

The Stomp is musically successful because it encourages artists to perform their original music and brings in talented and dedicated bands to support them. This year included many of the usual suspects (check out the review and pictures from 2009): New Orleans soul-blues veterans Lil Buck and the Top Cats, Western Music masters Deke Dickerson and the Eccophonics, Michael Hurtt and the Haunted Hearts, The A-Bones, and Eve and the Exiles. Jenny Dee and the Deelinquents debuted with La La Brooks of the Crystals who will be in NYC on October 20th when she plays a CMJ show at BB King Blues Club & Grill with Paula Valstein. Tickets are on sale if you don't have a CMJ badge.

The Stomp attracts a core audience of baby boomer soul and blues fanatics, rock-a-billies, Zoot-suiters, music writers, radio hosts, DJ's, record collectors, historians, WFMU-types, and a sprinkling of open-minded music lovers of varied backgrounds and ages. During the day, there are panel discussions between artists and respected historians, screenings of rare music documentaries and a record show. Even for the most die-hard, the sum total is a bit overwhelming. But Dr. Ike, an anesthesiologist by trade, seems to revel in the dazed and delirious look on people's faces at the end of 2 non-stop days. If you can keep your bloodshot eyes open, you'll see him floating from stage to stage with his airbrushed T-shirt that reads "Dr. Ike Stomped My Ass".

Pictures from both nights of the 2010 festval continue below...

Continue reading "the 2010 New Orleans Ponderosa Stomp (in pics)"

photos by Jacob Blickenstaff

Condo Fucks (aka Yo La Tengo) in NOLA

The above and below photos are from a show the Condo Fucks played with the A-Bones at One Eyed Jacks in New Orleans on April 27th.

At that gig, the A-Bones were joined by Roy Loney of the Flamin' Groovies. The next night, at the Ponderosa Stomp Festival, the A-Bones played as the backing band for Loney and Cyril Jordan (also of The Flamin' Groovies). That reunited combo comes to Maxwell's in Hoboken on July 23rd and Southpaw in Brooklyn on July 24th. Tickets for the Southpaw show and tickets for the Maxwell's gig are both on sale.

Coming up even sooner, A-Bones will celebrate the release of their record, Not Now! on Norton Records, with a boat cruise show around NYC on July 10th. Tickets are still available for that show.

Yo La Tengo currently have three shows booked. The band plays Primavera Sound Festival tonight (May 29th) in Barcelona. The band opens for Wilco at Brooklyn's Keyspan Park on Monday, July 13th (tickets still on sale for that) and plays Pitchfork Music Festival's "Set List by Request" night on July 17th.

More pictures from New Orleans and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "Roy Loney & Cyril Jordan (Flamin' Groovies) backed by the A-Bones (2 NYC shows) + New Orleans Condo Fucks pics"

photos by Jacob Blickenstaff

Ira Kaplan, The A-Bones + Flamin' Groovies

Among the resurrected bluesmen, rockabilly cats, garage rockers and soul shouters at the eighth annual Ponderosa Stomp were various "Littles," including Little Willie Littlefield, Little Joe Washington, Lil' Buck Sinegal -- not to mention Long John Hunter and Lazy Lester. Though each of these acts that held court at the festival (held April 28 and 29 at the House of Blues in New Orleans), and several others -- including a master's class given by newly inducted Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Wanda Jackson -- demonstrated the breadth and width of American music, one undisputed highlight was the Wednesday reunion of the two prime forces in the Flamin' Groovies, who played a set together for the first time since 1971.

Groovies frontman Roy Loney and guitarist Cyril Jordan, who co-founded the Bay Area rock band in 1965, tore through selections from the three critically heralded LPs released before Loney's departure, with backing by Brooklyn combo the A-Bones (which featured Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan on keyboards and guitar, and, appropriately, former Flamin' Groovies Fan Club president Miriam Linna behind the drum kit). As Loney explains, "Cyril and I rehearsed in San Francisco and the A-Bones rehearsed in New York" -- yet this bicoastal convergence showed no signs of disconnect, jelling as if they were a long-estabished unit. [Spinner]

Continue reading "the 2009 Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans - Day 2 in pics (the A-Bones / Ira Kaplan / Flamin' Groovies reunion included)"