LAST NIGHT'S PINES SHOW
chicago April 14
LOCAL LIVE REVIEW
by Stu Helm
Man, The Note has got to be the craziest bar I've ever been associated with, as a professional DJ, a licensed booze slinger, or even a common drunkard! It's, like, practically Deadsville until about 2AM, and then it suddenly fills with pant-loads of party people! And then it rocks hard until 4am. The PINES record release party last night was no exception this strange pattern.
There was a small, attractive, crowd of friends and fans hanging out, yelling at each other over the usual loud doom & stoner CDs for the first half of the night, and then BOOM, at the 2 O'Clock hour, the joint filled-up and the PINES took the stage.
Pines are one of our absolute best local bands. Three dudes kicking out a non-stop set of instrumental metal at it's best, my friends, and the crowd loved it. These guys are a band to keep an eye on for sure, as they build an audience to feed their killer set list to. Super nice guys as well, who are looking to play out at least once a month, so if you can book 'em, book 'em, and if you can see 'em, see 'em.
After Pines, there was a surprise performance by a crazy band called BLOOD COW. They were in town, with a cancelled show, and so, since they had a van-load of equipment and nowhere to play, we said, "Come on board!"
Why the fuck not, right?
And they were great! Fast. Angry. Mentally ill. (These are appropriate words.)
Again, the crowd appreciated them, and the bands both mentioned to me that they appreciated playing in front of an appreciative crowd.
See you next week for the Glasspack, Redneck Exorcist, and (most likely) High Plains Drifter show.
Another freebie for y'all!
-Stü
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Send Material for Review to:
Stu Helm
c/o ChicagoStonerRock.com
1573 N. Milwaukee Ave., PMB 488
Chicago, IL 60622 USA
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" JKL "
THE JESUS & MARY CHAIN
"Psycho Candy"
What's this? J & M Chain, Stoner Rock?? Have I gone in-sane??? Well, yes, and no. Psycho Candy is the only J & M Chain disk that I own, so I'm not completely nuts, but it's one of my top 10 records of ALL TIME so, maybe I am a little crazy about it. The songs are vague, cryptic, and might be about fucking, getting fucked over, being hung over, or admiring one's own sexy-ness on a motorcycle, I'm never quite sure. Nuseatingly catchy cords, riffs, & changes, comletely destroyed by feedback and distortion, sarcastic vocals, delivered with an "I'd rather be fucking" dettachment, Hell, even the drummer sounds bored. Listening to Psycho Candy is like hearing the Beach Boys drown in heroin.
"
LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR
"Demo"
Chicago's own Lair of the Minotaur regularly blow away audiences with their live assault, and now that this here 6-song demo has been picked up (and expanded on) by Southern Lord, I'm sure that the country is about to get the horns, full on. Somewhat faster than most of the other stuff I listen too, Lair of the Monotaur, is Metal with a big "M." I was first lured into The Lair by a song on this demo called "The Wolf" which totally rules, and I was made a fan by their live show, which is not only Metal-as-Fuck, but includes funny jokes by the singer in-between songs.
THE LEROY FIX
LOCAL
"A Redress of Grievances" CDR
These guys are a lot of fun to see live. They've got a real 1970's honky-tonk blues-rock thing going on. They kicked my ass with a cover of "Whole Lotta Rosie" the last time I saw them, and I'm not usually impressed by cover songs. The CDR, on the other hand, doesn't do much for me for some reason. Except for the final track, "The Nietzsche Song." which totally rules, and has a stoner-rock-anthem quality to it. You should see these guys live if you get a chance, you will be very entertained.
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LOW TON
"Dead Words"
Soulful, hard-driving stoner rock, in the style of Kyuss or Unida. Low Ton don;t throw as many hooks at you as those two legendary bands, but they pitch a solid game, and throw a couple of very interesting curve balls.
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LOFREQ
"If This is the best Ya Got... We Want Our Souls Back."
I bought this CD when I saw these guys open up for Smoke, and it's pretty great stuff. Very frantic & frenetic, and even a little bit crazy, but still in the Stoner Rock catagory. The vocals are nuts.
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LOWRIDER
"Ode to Io"
These guys sound like Kyuss never died, but instead moved to Sweden & changed their name to Lowrider. Needless to say, I love it.
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LE SEIGNEUR DIABOLIQUE
"Echoes" CDR
Not exactly "Stoner Rock" but definitely one of my favorite things to listen to while stoned. Layered tones & samples, with beats & loops & all kinds of crazy crap going on. Makes me feel all spacey & shit. Available HERE only.
" M "
MAGNIFIED EYE
"The Last Sun"
These guys sound like Tool, who I only kind of like, but, since these guys only kind of sound like Tool, I think I like them a little better than Tool.
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MAMMOTH VOLUME
"Noara Dance"
Even though it's intolerably mellow at times, this CD has some great moments. It's got some heaviness here & there, can be Led Zep-esque, & really Stonery sometimes too.
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MELEK-THA
"Astrum Argentinum"
This CD is a non-stop droning doom-fest & the potential sound track to your horrible on screen death. No recognizable instrumentation or intelligible lyrics to get in the way of the pure noise enjoyment.
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MIDNIGHT SNAKE
"S/T"
Yet another great psychedelic stoner rock instrumental 3 piece band, Midnight Snake contributes mightily to the Genre.Their self-titled CD is a non-stop WAH-attack, that starts out strong as hell and ends up insane and out of control (in a good way). My roommate compared them favorably to the Japanese psych-noise rock band, High Rise, while I thought they sounded sort of like Japanese instrumental guitar warriors, Sonic Flower. Either way, I guess they sound Japanese to us, even though they''re from LA. The final track is one of the greatest jams I've heard in a while.
MILLIGRAM
Self Titled
These guys are from Boston, so I automatically like them. The fact that this EP kicks ass from beginning to end doesn't hurt their case much either! I highly recommend this one for folks who like faster stuff, with some catchy lyrics, and a little pop sensibilty tossed in every once in a while. Plus, I want to go on record as saying that
"Nipplemountain Clampdown"
is maybe the greatest song title EVER.
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MIRROR OF DECEPTION
"Mirror Soil"
This effort is mostly too mellow-dramatic for my tastes, but these German Doomsters snagged me with one track, titled "Dreams of Misery," that has some cool vocals, & is a pretty darn catchy little tune.
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MISDEMEANOR
Self Titled & "Five Wheel Drive"
Not to be confused with America's rapping Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliot, these 5 chicks from Germany totally rock, with guitars & stuff. Comparisons to The Runaways would be too obvious, so I'm making one now: They remind me of The Runaways, only more stonery. The vocals hit the same note endlessly, making these guys a "one-to-three songs in a row only" band for me, but I'll listen to any one to three songs from either of these releases, because each song rules equally as much as the next. John Garcia from Kyuss sings background vocals on the track "Love Song," which amounts to a teeny tiny voice way in the distance wailing "woa woa woa" occasionally, but I'll take what I can get.
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MOTOCHRIST
"Greetings from the Bonneville Salt Flats"
This CD started out strong, but ultimately seemed lost between punk & metal to me, & not exactly kicking my ass as either, with the exception of a cool cover of "Something to Do," which is one of my all-time favorite Ramones songs. It's a pretty straight cover, just a little louder & raunchier than the original, but it's still really great to hear it.
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MUSHROOM RIVER BAND
"Music for the World Beyond"
&
"Simsalabim"
Mushroom River Band is one of those bands from Northern Europe that makes me imagine that Kyuss must have done a couple of HELLA GOOD tours over there that were very well attended by very good rock musicians. Both musically, & vocally, MRB is Kyuss-esque only a lot rougher, tougher, faster & meaner. Both titles contain sleeper hits galore, and if American rock radio was ANY GOOD AT ALL, Mushroom River Band would be a household name.
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" N "
NAMANAX
"Monstrous"
Sometimes I want to hear songs. At other times, I just want to hear sounds. This CD satisfies that 2nd craving. Especially the 4th track, which is just fifteen seconds short of being a half-hour in length, & is a churning, droning, slowly exploding battle to the death between giant sized monsters created by rogue atoms in a nuclear nightmare gone horribly wrong. I think the Earth survives though, so it's Okay.
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NAMSILAT
"Rapture"
Unfortunately these guys broke up & this CD doesn't even come close to revealing how awesome they were live. With nothing but vocals, one guitar, & drums -- no bass -- .these guys were one of the heaviest acts around for a the few seconds that they existed. The CD might still be available here & there, & is definitely worth having, even though it's much less heavy than the live shows. I heard a rumor that two of these guys were starting a new band called Weird Beard a few years ago, but I never heard anything else about it. Bummer.
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NATAS
"Ciudada de Brahman" & "Delmar"
Natas sounds a lot like Kyuss, only more mellow, but not too mellow, and in Spanish. The over all feel of both of these CDs is like a heavy version of Exotica music, only without the cheesy sound effects. The Natas sound is almost as if Arthur Lymon was alive, & cool, & in a really great stoner band, from Argentina. The first disc is slightly underproduced, but it still rules. Both discs, and probably anything by Natas, are must-have material.
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THE NAUT
"S/T"
I'm usually suspicious of any band with the word "The" in their name (except for punk bands) so when I got this disc by The Naut, I was naturally expecting it to suck. Boy was I wrong!!! This thing fucking rules! It's a 3 song EP, that clocks in at about 20 minutes, more than half of which is taken up by one killer song called "Leeches." The vocals -- when there are any -- sound kind of Weedeatery, and the music is slow, heavy, distorted, sludge-soaked, & occasionally psychedellic. Doom, just the way I like it! Great shit from a great band from Belfast, Ireland, despite the "The."
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NEBULA
"To The Center"
A stoner rock classic. Don't shame your entire family by not owning this CD.
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NICE CAT
"Self Titled"
Get out your label-gun and stick "Stoner-Chick Rock" to this one. I dug it on the very first listening. Obvious comparisons to Bottom & Acid King (two of my all-time favorite bands) must be made, but Nice Cat is slightly more punk at times than those guys. Good stuff!
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" O "
OPERATOR : GENERATOR
"Polar Fleet"
This is one of my favorite CDs, but I don't know why. Maybe it's the cryptic lyrics, or the boring guitars, or near total lack of personality to the vocals. Or even the CD packaging itself, which has no photos or info about the band. Maybe I like the mystery as much as the music, which despite what I just wrote, is really good.
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OTEP
"Sevastra" advanced sampler
I'm just going to come staight out and say it: Otep rules because she has the most insanely non-girlie vocals EVER. When she talks, & sometimes when she sings, she sounds like a regular girl, but then a change happens, and... holy shit... unleash the demons. The music is pretty slick, & not always my cup of tea, but when Otep rips into her voacl thing, my nuts start to vibrate, and it's ALL GOOD.
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" P "
PINES
"S/T EP"
Pines are one of my all-time favorite local bands to see live, and they always bust out an excellent set of all-instrumental metal, that's heavy, intelligent, & infectious all at the same time. This 4 song EP, recently released on Grey Flight records from California is almost as killer as their live set, only lacking the raw energy and booming sound that live shows will always have over studio work, but still conveying the complexity and force of what the Pines' sound is. I personally think these guys are the ultimate good time party band (but not in a frat boy/Hawaiian Shirt kind of way), because I've never seen a crowd that didn't have fun watching a Pines' set.
PLASTIC CRIMEWAVE & THE FAKE
LOCAL
"Live at the Hideout" CDR
These are our local garage, psych, rock gurus, who have been compared to Chrome, Twink, The Nomads, & even Sabbath! The liveness of this recording causes the quality of the sound to suffer, but if you can still find it, I'd still recommend it.
" Q "
THE QUILL
Self Titled
& "Voodoo Caravan"
Totally kick-ass rock & roll that sounds like Led Zep never died. Comes dangerously close to sounding like G 'n' F 'n' R at moments, but stays clearly in the realm of kicking ass most of the time. Highlights on disc one are "Sweetly," A Sinner's Fame," and "Lodestar." (Listen for the "splat" on that last tune!) Spotlights on the second disc include the title track & "Shapes of Afterlife."
" R "
RED GIANT
"Ultra-magnetic Glowing Sound"
This was my surprise favorite for a while, & sill ranks high on my list of CDs worth owning. It took me a while to figure out that the echo-plex is responsible for all the weird guitar noises, which made me respect it even more, because those things are hard to master, especially to the degree that this band has. There's a lot of stuff going on, & many changes on this record, & it does tend to noodle around at times, but it's got some future classics in there for sure.
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RED HARVEST
"Sick Transit Gloria Mundi"
A little more techno than I usually go for, but I fell in love with the bone crunching noises & hopeless outlook on humanity. The title track, along with "Dead" & "Dead men Don't Rape" are the highlights. WARNING: Press the "stop" button before the bonus tracks begin, or suffer in techno remix hell!!!
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