Life In A Bungalo

Mad Marge & The Stonecutters
“Liberated!”
People Like You

Mad Marge is back with a dozen blistering new tracks that are so good, they are only available in Europe (at least for now). Luckily import/export laws are lax and we managed to get our mitts on one of the best record of the year. Much like their last record, The Stonecutters play rip roaring psychobilly with tons of ghoulish melodies and guitar licks that sound like they were spawned by the devil himself.

“Dial Z. for Zombie” is classic monster track, name calling the “Dawn of the Dead” and featuring a solo so awesome, it should be owned by a punk band. “No Looking Back” is a mile-per-minute Social Distortion-style romp that ramps up faster and faster until it explodes. Same goes for the title track and the pounding “A Shadow.” Read more »

Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold
Warner Brothers

Wow. Avenged Sevenfold have officially gone off their rocker with their latest release. Taking a cue from their mascara-clad peers in My Chemical Romance, A7X have released some sort of concept monstrosity that borders on frightening.

The record pretty much begins and ends with the track number nine “A Little Piece of Heaven” that sounds less like a rock opera and more like an outtake from the soundtrack to “A Nightmare Before Christmas,” if Jack Skellingon could singer for close to nine minutes. That’s followed by a twangy country ditty. I swear I just said that. Read more »

M.I.A.
Terminal 5
October 19, 2007by Michael Dolan, Evil PR Guy

Seeing M.I.A.  at Terminal 5 is something like being caught in a riot, a bit like going to the Limelight circa 1992 and something like falling down the stairs of the Bedford L station. Terminal 5 is a monstrous space, and every inch of it was loaded with people from every strata of NYC nightlife ready to go bananas. Read more »

American Steel/Sundowner
Knitting Factory
October 18, 2007

It took me more than an hour to realize that the American Steel that was playing at CMJ was the same American Steel I grew up adoring, and occasionally confusing with then label mates Ann Baretta. Good thing I did, because this was hands down the best set of CMJ.

Way too many kids crammed into the tiny Tap Bar in New York’s Knitting Factory, which basically turned into a sauna. The first band I caught was Sundowner, a folksy acoustic rock band that played  traditional alt country style music, but without the lame tight jeans and perfectly unmanicured facial hair. They even had a keyboardist/cellist, which brought up their scenester point quota by four. I actually really liked these guys, they were fun and jangly like early Rilo Kiley, but without the overwrought lyrics and “woah is me, I’m so sensitive” whining. Read more »

Cut Off Your Hands
The Delancey
October 17, 2007

Not content to go home and be glum after getting shut out of The Nightwatchman show at Irving Plaza—excuse me—The Fillmore at Irving Plaza, I headed over to The Delancey to take in whatever the club might be offering. I lucked out, Cut Off Your Hands just hit stage and the brash, young New Zealand punks that play a thrashy pop style that recalls The Smiths and The Sex Pistols. Before you scream “whatever,” it should be noted that the bass player was playing so hard he snapped an E string. That’s enough for me to love a band.

Most of their music was in the mellower rock vein, but the singer strayed occasionally into pop punk vocals. The crowd seemed quite enthralled, as dozens of hipsters (mostly of the female persuasion) backed into the basement, which looked an awful lot like a cleaner Coney Island High. The singer and guitarist traded vocals on a few tracks and crashed into each other as a video crew (okay: guy with big camera) recorded their set. It should be stated, that 90 percent of the time, randomly picking a CMJ show to go to, means suffering through some singer/songwriter crap or a bad indie band. While not the most original sound, Cut Off Your Hands put a solid set and are definitely worth checking out.

Bouncing Souls/Lifetime
Webster Hall
October 16, 2007

Damn, I knew the Bouncing Souls had gotten big over the years, but I don’t think I was ever expecting to see a packed ballroom singing along to every word of every song–even their cheesier work.

Lifetime took the stage after a handful of opening acts. The Jersey boys cranked out most of their crowd favorites, but never seemed to ramp of the energy in their stage show. The singer paced back and forth singing along, and one of the guitar players did the obligatory punk rock jumping guitarist thing every few songs, but all in all, the legendary Lifetime came off stale and okay. It’s almost like all the watered down emocore bands that they spawned have overshadowed Jersey’s Best Dancers. Then again, I remember seeing them in their heyday and the were only kinda okay back then too.

The Bouncing Souls came on too roars of soccer chants. They merrily cranked out classics like “Quick Check Girl” and “Johnny X” as well as a few newer numbers. Greg jumped into the crowd a few times, passing his mic around during “Hopeless Romantic.” Sure, they played a few hoaky slow tunes, but the crowd did not seem to mind. Everyone in the band seemed to have a blast, and the songs I knew were note for note perfect. Sure, I could wax nostalgic and wish they played “Hardcore,” but it was fun watching a band that was always on the cusp, finally crack into the big time.

Bad Religion/The Gallows/The Briggs
Nokia Theater
October 15, 2007

The Gallows blew my mind. The singer played the whole set on the floor, in the middle of a mosh pit. I haven’t seen anyone do that since Converge at a VFW hall in 1994, and that doesn’t count since there wasn’t a stage. They played for what felt like ages, and the crowd ate up everything. Sucks to be the Jersey crowd, because it looks like it was The Gallows last night on the tour. I’m definitely looking forward to hearing more of their work.

The Briggs actually played before The Gallows and did a fair job warming up the crowd. They play your typical modern punk rock that all the kids seem to be into, but with a little more oompha a tad bit more balls.

After watching Bad Religion phone in a lackluster show at Starland Ballroom two years ago, I was wary going into last night’s set. I’m so glad I’m often wrong. The band played one of their best shows ever, cramming in nearly 30 song in an hour and a half. “God Song,” “Skyscraper,” “Looking In”—Hell, they played almost the whole “No Control” record. They weren’t kidding when they said the fans were in charge of the set lists. Never mind that they botched most of “We’re Only Going to Die,” last night was a night for true Bad Religion fans.

The band was completely on point—Greg Graffin sang his heart out, Brian Baker killed the crowd was killer solo after killer solo, and Jay Bentley was drunk and belligerent (just the way we like him). What made the night magical was the song selection. Sure there were hardly any songs from records post-Gray Race, but what did you really expect. The night was owned by old school fans, and they wanted to hear classic Bad Religion, played with the fire that brought the band to the big leagues. They delivered, and boy were we tired when the show was over. This is a must see tour if you can still catch it.

Last year, Life In A Bungalo spent most of CMJ hunting for punk and street rock bands—and failing miserably. This year there is no searching. With showcases from Fat Wreck Chords and a night of classic New Jersey punk rock, indie rock is finally faltering a bit to the crusty sounds of power chords. Here are our must see picks for the week. Don’t forget to bring popcorn and be prepared to veg out on Saturday, as CMJ will be screening every Joe Strummer movie to date. Not a bad way to end a rocking week. Read more »