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 Cronies Hang Out, October 25, 2004 Ok, before we start there is something I HAVE to say. As a DJ, and most importantly as the house DJ as Cronies, I know that running sound can be tough. That being said, this was the worst work I have ever heard at the soundboard. If you listen to the feed, keep in mind that I do not adjust the volumes at all once I set them. All the flux and squeal you hear is live from the board/stage. That being said, I want to say I had a GREAT time at this show. Normally, when a band comes on, I grab my Pabst Blue Ribbon and head to the corner to talk with friends or drink my self silly. Tonight, I did not move. I was pretty much glued to my booth. Not only did the Jellybricks rock me with originals, they played some great covers that you just do not hear out much. Plus I am a huge fan of "Teenage Wasteland" so that helped. The bricks have a great blend of talent, humor, stage presence, and energy. One of the best things was how LONG they played. I am not sure of the exact time, but it was a long ass set. Hopefully we will see them back soon. I am working on getting a CD from them so I can throw songs on the feed, but make sure you check out the live feed from Cronies. There is not too much I could or would change about this band or show. I guess since I believe you have to pick one thing, I would say sometimes they got lost in the idle chatter between the band members, forgetting that people are watching. But again, that is the smallest of small points I could make. Great shows, and hopefully we will get some interviews soon. That's it for now…SHAME ON YOU FOR MISSING THIS SHOW! Dewey Beach Music Conference Proving how loud good pop can be played, The Jellybricks took over a weird little corner/walkway in a busy club and pretty much caused their own downtown rush hour traffic jam. There are basically only two ways to go when a band is given too much volume; either folks avoid it as "noise" or they hear it from far away and flock towards it. With The Jellybricks, folks were flocking. Trying to avoid permanent ear damage, I set up in a near empty room in sight of The Jellybricks during their set. By the end of it the room was akin to an undersized sardine can with folks craning and pushing to see the band. I don't think the band knew the buzz they were getting out on the fringe or the reason folks were pressing in and jamming up traffic in front of them. To all appearances it must have looked like a disinterested clashing mob from the stage because all the listeners were pushing from the rear. And the more chaotic the audience got, the more interesting The Jellybricks performed. With four vocals, you could hear solid pop harmonies but they still maintained a distinct dynamic of full on rock 'n' roll screamer vocals. Each of the 'bricks had plenty of team-player and virtuoso time. Effortlessly they played off each other as they banged out originals (lots of tunes from their current release, "Power This" making the setlist) that, alternately, would make a professional Nashville songwriter jealous or a clever Fountains of Wayne fan feel duped. The Jellybricks have mastered the art of storytelling and also maintained the ability to inject some unexpected wit. That makes for some fine non-fluffy pop. Jimmy Eat World/ Promise Ring / Desparecidos - Roseland, NYC July 25, 2002 Is there a worse venue in the world than Roseland for seeing live music? The place has the acoustics of an airplane hangar and security that insists on opening the doors late, so it's next to impossible to catch the opening band unless you get there three hours early and wait outside on a line around the block, jostling for space with 2,000 fidgety teenagers. Thanks to a dinner date that ran a bit long and a 20-minute wait at the Will Call window, I missed Desparecidos, although from what I heard, an abominable opening-band mix rendered Conor Oberst's high-strung rock into an indecipherably bassy blare. Promise Ring sounded all right, although the band sleepwalked through its set like they were all on Prozac. Way too many mellow ballads and far too few of the band's older catchier material made for a set that was just plain boring - and I used to love these guys. But give Davey van Bohlen a little credit; at least he managed to exude a smidgen of personality from the massive Roseland stage. That couldn't be said for Jim Adkins, the portly frontman of Jimmy Eat World, who only managed to mumble a few words of thanks about three-quarters of the way through the band's pedantic, passionless set. It tells you something when the band's stage backdrop (a glittery curtain of stars) gets a bigger rise from the audience than any of the songs, but these guys have all the stage presence of a wet bagel and a setlist that's about as exciting. They closed with "The Middle" and saved "Sweetness" for the encore, and how totally predictable was that? Remember when being "indie" and "alternative" (not to mention, God forbid, "punk") meant being UNpredictable and unconventional? Whatever happened to throwing a cool cover into the set to pay homage to one of your heroes, or just to entertain the crowd? There was nothing very entertaining about Jimmy Eat World's set, nothing to engage the crowd, challenge expectations, get anyone excited... nothing that suggested they were there to do anything but sell their latest major-label CD and as many $20 t-shirts as they could. Pfui! Normally, the only good thing about Roseland is that it's a short walk back to the Port Authority and my bus home, but tonight, I had to make another stop, since some friends from Cleveland, Ivet, were doing a showcase at Downtime down on W. 30th Street. I was happy to discover that Ivet were sharing the stage with the Jellybricks from Harrisburg, PA, whom I had met at the last IMF festival in Hoboken. The Jellybricks had just started their set when I arrived, but it was immediately apparent that these power-popsters (who haven't been able to release a new CD in three years) were having a hundred times more fun on stage than the overpaid poseurs in J.E.W. and the Promise Ring. Attacking every song with energy and enthusiasm and big broad smiles, frontman Larry engaged the crowd and made everyone in the room very happy that there were there. And when they ended their set with a knock-out cover of "Teenage Wasteland," I couldn't have been happier. Ivet, who had suffered a van accident the day before, had to play without a lot of their gear, but they still sounded better than I've heard them in a while (including a set earlier this summer that I caught on vacation in their hometown of Youngstown, Ohio.) Ivet don't really fit into the nu-metal mold, since they don't have an emcee, a deejay, or any rapping in their sound. They're what used to be called heavy alternative - just powerful songs with strong, imaginative guitar work. New bassist Scott - a tall, lanky kid who seems about seven feet tall - was a ball of fire at this show, stomping and executing beautiful four-foot jumps all over the stage. Lead singer Frank - whose presence and self-confidence manage to make arrogance seem both charming and sexy - didn't let technical problems with his amp distract him from a powerful, commanding performance, and his sidekick, guitarist Mike Roberts, seemed similarly driven. Ivet has a song called "Soldier" that's easily the most powerful in their set; it starts with both guitarists tapping out a mesmerizing, intricate melody that had me starting with gape-jawed amazement. I don't know if any of the A&R people who were supposed to be there showed up, but if they did and they saw the same set that I did, Ivet won't be the best unsigned band in Ohio much longer. - Jim Testa |
