Photos by Justin Makler
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The Black Lips Every punk rock show I go to these days I question myself, is this going to be my last punk rock show? For god sakes I’m in my mid 30’s now and I’m no longer old school, I’m just old. We’ll I do have to say that if this is my last punk rock show, what a show it was. See these guys before they self-destruct and make it your last punk rock show or better yet, your first punk rock show. | 12/10/05 Maxwells, NJ |
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The Deadly Snakes Five summers back, five Toronto kids picked up instruments to play a friend's birthday party. Raw, primeval rhythm and blues and rock & roll splattered out their battered amps and dripped down the walls as their gathered friends shook themselves stupid in puddles of beer. That July night was the birth and baptism of a band called The Deadly Snakes. | 12/10/05 Maxwells, NJ |
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The Tough and Lovelies From Columbus, Ohio. See these guys, you will love them. I promise. Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye. | 12/10/05 Maxwells, NJ |
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Patterson Hood: Patterson Hood laid out his music-making motivation in "Do It Yourself", the accusatory suicide anthem from the Drive-By Truckers' most recent album, Decoration Day: When "the dead-end life just drags you down/ [You] turn those demons into walls of goddamned noise and sound." For more than a decade, Hood has been transforming all that preys on him into songs that are loud, rowdy, and angry, but also humorous, intelligent, and compassionate. His demons are both personal and regional: He's been scarred by the racial, cultural and economic double standards that pervade the South and outsiders' perceptions of it, as well as by the tragedies of his own life, which include divorce, deaths, desertions, and Drive-By Truckers. | 10/25/05 Mercury Lounge |
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Hayes Carll: Flowers & Liquor. Your ways nice, but my way quicker. Hayes Carll is, by his own admission, a bit of a gambler. And judging from the 28 year-old singer-songwriter’s stage presence, he must have one hell of a good poker face. Whether he’s facing an intimate listening room audience or a packed dance hall of noisy, potentially hostile patrons hungry for the headliner, it’s always the same Hayes: shambling more than walking on stage like a guy who’s just woken from a restless sleep with a horrible hangover, reaching for an acoustic guitar when a pot of black coffee seems more in order. “This guy,” you invariably think, “is a mess.” That’s when he shows his hand, and you find you’ve been hustled. | 10/25/05 Mercury Lounge |
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Marah: Philadelphia's eclectic, rootsy rock quartet Marah consists of singer/songwriter/guitarist/banjoist Dave Bielanko, guitarist/vocalist/harmonica player Serge Bielanko, bassist Danny Metz and drummer Ronnie Vance. Dave Bielanko, Metz and Vance formed the group in 1993; brother Serge was so impressed with their sound that he wanted to join Marah, which he did in 1995. Marah found an unofficial fifth member in producer/engineer Paul Smith, who was similarly taken with the band's Replacements-meets-Springsteen style when he engineered their sound at some of their shows. | 10/21/05 Maxwells, NJ |
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The Drams: A thick nebula of blue-gray cigarette smoke hangs in the air, as heavy and acrid as the exhaust from a Pinto with blown piston rings. The Drams Brent Best slouches behind the mike, looking a little drunk, a little tired -- like that Guild guitar weighs 50 pounds and he's already on the hangover side of a gullet full of bourbon. Guitarist Jess Barr lays down fluid, squiggly guitar lines, embroidering the song's melody without resorting to hackneyed, hair-in-the-breeze, flap-yer-flares guitar heroics, all the while nonchalantly dangling a cigarette from his lips. These guys make me want to pack my things, grab a bottle of beam and head on down to Denton Texas. The Drams are 3 members of the late Sloberbone. |
10/21/05 Maxwells, NJ |
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Bif Naked - Before I say anything about the band I have to admit I was sold at the door. Free show, open bar and the band went on by 9:00. Did I mention the open bar, yup one hour of free drinking before the band even went on. From what I remember, I liked it but than again it could have been the Osmonds up there after four shots of Southern Comfort and a handful of beers. Truth be told, I liked Bif Naked for a while, not sure if it’s her tattoo riddle look , her Betty Boop eyes or her soulful lyrics that she belts from the gut. Watch for her tour or at least look up her album, Superbeautifulmonster. | 10/19/05 Knitting Factory |
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Helmet: Page Hamilton, of Helmet rocks the Troc one last time. Well let’s hope it’s not the last time, but who knows. It’s been over ten years since I’ve seen these guys play and it might have been the draft beer but I felt like it was the first time. The red color is from the shooting at ISO 1600 but made for a cool effect. | 10/02/05 Philly, TheTroc |
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The River Boat Gamblers: The Denton, Texas tradition of proving fertile turf for music is solidified with The Riverboat Gamblers. Rock, punk, garage, whatever you want to call it, is all swirled into an intense ball or thermonuclear energy ready to explode. Whenever the Gamblers take the stage, make sure you have a retrol blast shield. Like two lines of blow and three red bulls, these guys bust out the gate at full speed. Next stop, who cares. Tonight’s about the here and now. | Knitting Factory 08/16/05 |
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AKA's and the Ghetto Ways: New Yorks own came back after a long stint with the Warp Tour to open a show at the knitting factory for the beloved River Boat Gamblers. I've never seen these guys because I often overlook NYC bands but damn, these guys rocked. | Knitting Factory 08/16/05 |
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Immortal Lee County Killers III: Immortal Lee County Killers III. Now a three–piece from Auburn-Opelika in Lee County AL. Sweat, energy, volume, and desperation cling in the air at every one of their shows. If there is one thing that you can expect is that they will play their asses off for a couple free beers and a few measly dollars that they will make off the door/merchandise. | North Six, Brooklyn, NY 07/07/05 |
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Team Sleep: Chino Moreno (the front man of the DEFTONES) and Todd Wilkinson, DJ Crook, Drummer Zach Hill and Bass Player, Rick Verrett completes Team Sleep. Sunday we caught the sold out show in the historic Maxwell's. It's amazing how small that place can be when you bring in a band that has been playing much larger venues for way too long. My ears are still ringing from the arena sized speakers and the wall of sound that was produced in a space the size of a small 711. The band finds itself on Madonna's Maverick records, not a surprise since it's the same label footing the Deftones. However what was a surprise was the energy soaked/deftones like show Team Sleep put on since their album is much more dreamy and ambient than hard (kick you in the face) rock. The music surprisingly enjoyable but the underage crowd of rowdy dumb Jersey kids chanting Primus Sucks all night was not. | Maxwell's NJ 07/03/05 |
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Idiot Scene: Blah blah, blah two idiots and a 12" ibook. | Maxwell's NJ 07/03/05 |
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Mr Quintron and Miss Pussycat: New Orleans, Louisiana's own Mr. Quintron played Maxwell's Saturday Night/Sunday Morning. He plays music on a custom made Hammond / Rhodes combo synthesizer / organ (which he's got all built up to look like a car with real working headlights) backed by raw simple drum machine beats (think 808 boom chika boom through one BIG speaker with all the treble turned down) and his own patented invention THE DRUM BUDDY - a rotating, light-activated analog synthesizer which is played much in the same way that a DJ spins and scratches records. | Maxwells NJ 06/18/05 |
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Heavy Trash: Heavy Trash marks the official union of soul-mates Matt Verta-Ray and Jon Spencer. Both artists have shaken and rattled America's holiest spirits with their respective bands: Verta-Ray with the revved up roots of his aptly-named Speedball Baby; and Spencer with the beat-knocking (Jon Spencer) Blues Explosion. The two have collaborated in the past, but within the realm of a preexisting band. For Heavy Trash, the two shed the skins of their groups, and re-explore their favorite aspects of the foundation of American music: the strut, the sleaze, the sorry. | Maxwells NJ 06/18/05 |
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The Blood Brothers: Sold out show at Philly's Trocadors. With songs louder, the rhythms heavier and onstage energy higher, the crowd responds. "Is anybody listening..." | Trocderos in Philly 05/26/05 |
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The Fatals & Shop Fronts: Thank the gods for people like Tom Dash, without him NYC wouldn't be the same. At least they might not have had a night with the Fatals. Trash, sleaze rock-n-roll meets hi-octane punk rock. The Fatals are an honest-to-goodness punk outfit from la bella France. Yup, Punk Rock band from France and this was their first ever US show. | Ace of Clubs 05/13/05 |
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Modular People Records Showcase: Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi, Oi, Oi. A fuzz-blues freakout hit New York tonight as Bumblebeez 81 and Wolfmother played a label showcase for Modular People alongside their sample-slinging labelmate Cut Copy. The 'Beez and Wolfmother both mine a similar vein of danceable roots rock reinterpretation, heavy on feedback and Cream-style disciplined jamming, while Cut Copy's beat-heavy, synth-happy take on guitar pop has blurred genre lines enough to garner him invites to both the indie rock mecca SXSW and the clubgoer Xanadu of Miami's Winter Music Conference. | Crash Mansion 03/12/05 |
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Guitar Wolf The frenzied, guttural shrieking stands to prove that unintelligible punk-rock shouting is the Esperanto of rock & roll. The raging guitars sound like they're in a race with the drums to see which can reach the end of the song first. Guitar Wolf is pure, unadulterated punk rock at its manic best. The trio -- which consists of guitarist Seiji, bassist Billy, and drummer Toru -- formed in the late '80s. Though the group's first two albums were released only in Japan, imports of the records and word of mouth about Guitar Wolf's incendiary live shows secured U.S. distribution for all upcoming release. | Maxwells NJ 02/27/05 |
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Hank III and Ass Jack Not your father's country...The coolest thing about seeing Hank III is that mixed into the loud, thrashy tunes he does his grandfather's "aaa-yeeeeeee" yoddle-y wail occasionally and it just gives you chills. He looks a lot like Sr, sounds a lot like Sr, but with a major twist. He's dynamic, totally entertaining, and doesn't mind telling any misguided, vocal pure-country fans where to go. It's an awesome show, whether you are more into the hard stuff or Hank Sr., you can't deny his talent and the almost eerie resemblance to his namesake.... | Knitting Factory 02/26/05 |
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2004 - Gallery name and description |
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Blues Explosion: Talkin about the blues... While Jon Spencer isn't quite as iconic as the blues greats that he emulates -- tongue in cheek or sincerely -- he's certainly achieved the status of an indie-rock elder, thanks to the punked-up live show. Perfecting a sound and an attitude that is influencing younger bands ranging from the North Mississippi Allstars to the White Stripes. You can't talk about the Blues Explosion without paying tribute to the legendary Judah Bauer and drummer Russell Simins. All hale the Bloooose eXploSion! | Maxwells NJ 11/29/04 |
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The Gossip: brought the blues and gospel to New Jersey, with their roots to Olympia, WA, hotbed of punk, riot grrrl and queercore. Beth Ditto's mournful, bluesy howl filled up ever eardrum with her incredibly rich, Elvis-from-hell yowl. | Maxwells NJ 11/29/04 |
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The Dwarves: Stayed out too late on a work night in order to see the last living true punk rock band, the Dwarves. Now the rest of the story: The car broke down, cost me $280 bucks to have it towed home, the Yankees lost to the Red Socks. I think god wrote about this is Exodus, the end of the world as we know it… | Continental 10/17/04 |
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The River Boat Gamblers: The Denton, Texas tradition of proving fertile turf for music is solidified with The Riverboat Gamblers. Rock, punk, garage, whatever you want to call it, is all swirled into an intense ball or thermonuclear energy ready to explode. Whenever the Gamblers take the stage, make sure you have a retrol blast shield. Like two lines of blow and three red bulls, these guys bust out the gate at full speed. Next stop, who cares. Tonight’s about the here and now. | Plaid (CMJ Music Fest 10/16/04 |
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The Little Killers: Downright uninspired, contrived, forced, boring, incredibly predictable, flatly-produced midtempo poppy rock with recycled harmonies, unaffecting and practically-monotone vocals, guitars devoid of any creativity whatsoever, dragged-out parts missing climactic points, and lyrics worse than the shit I scribbled in my eighth grade algebra notebook is exactly how I would NOT describe these guys. True rock 'n' roll that lives and breaths just beyond simplicity and inevitability is how I WOULD describe them. |
Plaid (CMJ Music Fest 10/16/04 |
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The Makers:"Are you on the inside or the outside of your pants?" I have a hard time with super glam rockers but I'll be damned if these guys didn't rock. Now that I've said that outloud, I may just have to kill myself. Do you know what ridding a moped and going to a Makers show has in common? - It's only fun until your friends find out. |
Maxwells NJ - CMJ Music Fest 10/13/04 |
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The Coachwhips: See these guys now! Jump on a bus, steal a car, I don't give a shit; see these guys now! My guess is that they will self destruct anyday. You just can't keep doing shows like this before human combustion happens. Mark my words. | Maxwells NJ 10/13/04 |
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The Spits:Thank god for guys like Tom Hyland for bringing great shows back to NYC. About fucking time someone picked up the task and ran with it. The Spits, I haven't seen chaos like this since the Dwarves. Broken bottles, fireworks, flying mic stands and even some blood. Punk for the people. | Siberia 10/08/04 |
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The Black Lips: Stripped down and dirty punk rock and roll that will suffice for the perfect soundtrack to a whiskey filled night of mischief. youthful and deep dyed garage rock taken to the next level! | Siberia 10/08/04 |
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Bob Log III with the Town Bikes (an Australian burlesque dance troupe). When Bob Log III was a child, he lost his left hand in a boating accident. It was soon replaced with a monkey paw, and a new guitar style was born.
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The Knitting Factory 10/6/2004 |
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Dead Moon: Legendary Northwest kings of No-Fi Dead Moon manage to convey the aural portion of their gritty, visceral recorded sound to their live show. The real deal, does the jaded heart good: the sight of Fred and Toody bustin' ass and strings on stage - these two are grandparents, fer chrissakes - makes the Stones and their floundering tour look like a day at the old folks' home. | Mercury Lounge 10/2/2004 |
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The Bloody Hollies: Your new favorite band. From Buffalo, NY, the Bloody Hollies have stood apart from the pissy pant pansy garage rock bands and are now your new favorite band. The band has a sound that many words have been used to describe: punk, blues, garage, and rockabilly. Better still their debut album "Fire at Will" proves the New Rock Revolution started before most of us were born, and won't be over for a good while yet. Hey-ho, let's go! | Tap Room at the Knitting Factory 09/19/2004 |
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Sweet J.A.P. Minneapolis-based punk band and Big Neck Records Sweet J.A.P. whipped the Siberia crowd to a sweaty frenzy. Just another Dot-Dash show. | Siberia 07/10/04 |
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The Reigning Sound: Memphis, TN comes to Jersey by way of big tour van. Greg Cartwright (Oblivian) whose previous bands include The Oblivians & Compulsive Gamblers. R&B, gospel or country songs with absolutely no regard for any 60's aesthetic or sound would sum up the show. I advise you see them before greg moves onto his next proect. | The Reigning Sound at Maxwells 07/19/04 |
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Vue: Distilling the spirit of a young Rolling Stones, The Vue with an instinctive punk sound mixed with an occasional r&b derived rhythm' pleases the sun soaked drinking crowed every time. Maybe it's because of their ragged bluesy sound that could be plucked right out of the '60s, or that the band hurls their songs at the crowd with reckless energy. Singer Rex Shelverton (note other band members names include Jeremy Bringetto, Rafael Orlin, and Jonah Buffa!), howls songs such as 'Pictures of Me' and 'Hitchhiking', with such vigour that makes it hard not to like the Vue. |
Coney Island Siren Music Festival 07/17/04 |