miltonlikesbands

[miltonlikesbands]

Lera Lynn & Joseph LeMay @ (le) Poisson Rouge - 2016-11-04

I had the most excellent opportunity to watch Ms. Lera Lynn at (le) Poisson Rouge earlier this month, with opener Joseph LeMay. Due to a work event earlier in the day, I also had my full camera rig with me as well! It is pretty rare to be able to get an full sized DSLR into music clubs here in the city, but LPR was very accommodating. I also managed to snag front row seats across from another gentleman who’s wife could also not make the show, despite both of our respective wives purchased the tickets, haha. 

Lera and her band played an amazing set - this was my second time seeing her as she passed through the city, and I remain completely impressed by how tight the band is, and how full of energy their show is despite most of the (great) songs being very moody and brooding. Just an incredibly fun band to catch live! While they are currently on break now from this tour, I would keep an eye out for the next time they pick back up on the road. 

The talented Brooklynite, Joseph LeMay, opened for Lera - and while you would not have guessed it, it was the second show that the band had ever played together. They played a very fun set of songs mostly revolving about love gone wrong, and in music, who doesn’t like the occasional self-loathing paired with heartache? Of note, the guitarist was somehow managing to play the bass with his feet, while still ripping leads. Kind of blew my mind actually. 

At the merch table, both Joseph LeMay and Lera Lynn were also very gracious in taking time to greet their fans who lined up to meet them after the show. Lera also took the time to say hi to my wife - who is a huge fan. I also picked up a bad ass “Amp” tee that I have been getting compliments on around the office :)

Check out the full photo set on my Flickr album for some bonus pics that were not posted here. Also, please check out and support the artists in this post at the links below: 

Lera Lynn

http://www.leralynn.com/

https://www.facebook.com/leralynn

https://twitter.com/leralynn

https://www.instagram.com/leralynn/

Joseph LeMay

http://josephlemaymusic.com/

https://twitter.com/JosephLeMay

https://www.instagram.com/josephlemay/

[miltonlikesbands]

Lera Lynn @ (le) Poisson Rouge - Sneak Peak

I had the privilege of seeing the wonderful and talented Lera Lynn with her fantastic band at (le) Poisson Rouge on Bleecker Street, in Greenwich Village this past Friday.  After sorting through my shots this past weekend, I have a lot of great ones to share with you all! Here’s a sneak peak of two that I was able to edit so far. More to come soon this week, along with a full write up of the show :) 

[miltonlikesbands]

Gojira & Tesseract - 2016-10-23 - Terminal 5

The technically amazing Brooklyn metal band (by way of France), Gojira, came through Terminal 5 this past week, and put on one hell of a show for their Magma tour. Opening for the mighty Gojira was the British progressive metal band, Tesseract, who played a very solid set - and also got a nice “Tesseract! Tesseract!” chant going from the crowd. If you’ve been to metal shows, you know the fans are quite stingy with their band name chants, unless you are the headliner. 

Gojira though... wow - I can’t say enough about them. The band played an incredible set, consisting of many songs from their latest release, as well as a bunch of old favorites, like Flying Whales. The guy standing next to us was very enthusiastic, to say the least, and head banging like a champion for 90% of the show: 

http://imgur.com/PnmXUk3

I was pretty much doing the same... All around kick ass performance, and I never thought Terminal 5 could sound so good. The light show and backing visuals were also superb. There were timelapses of nature scenes, beautifully shot, backing the melodic brutalness that Gojira was packing.

You know what - just go watch a recording of show from this tour yourself. Here is their performance from Strasbourg, France, back in September of this year: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWY-Obragek

And while you’re at it, go learn everything about Gojira that you can: 

http://www.gojira-music.com/

https://twitter.com/gojiramusic

http://instagram.com/gojiraofficial

[miltonlikesbands]

Metallica - 2016-09-27 - Webster Hall, NYC

So... no write-up necessary here. You all know who Metallica is. I was fortunate enough to win a lottery to see my favorite band of all time at Webster Hall - a small club in the city which could be sold out by a local band, let alone the mighty behemoth that is Metallica. Needless to say, I was incredibly excited, and the boys did not disappoint. By arriving early and printing the tickets before lining up at the venue, I was able to get in before anybody else, with literally 2-3 minutes before the next person came walking in. In other words, I was dead-front-and-center for the show, and it was friggin’ incredible. I’m pretty sure it was my 16th Metallica show (probably my 100th if you consider the shows that I’ve watched on YouTube, etc), but nothing could replicate the experience of seeing your favorite band since childhood this up-close. They even opened with Breadfan, which I don’t think I’ve seen them play live before. 

Enough people have written about how kick ass this show was, so I’ll spare you all the details. They sounded amazing, the set list was awesome, and everybody had a great time. While I didn’t have my DSLR with me, I was actually close enough to capture the photos above with my iPhone. Sooo... yah. It ruled. Thank you, Metallica!!

[miltonlikesbands]

2016-07-29 - Brazilian Girls - Baby’s All Right

The Brazilian Girls, neither Brazilian nor all girls, as described by the t-shirts they had on sale at the venue. I had the chance to see this awesome Electronic / Pop / Dance band, headed by Sabina Sciubba, at Baby’s All Right in Wiliamsburg, Brooklyn when they came through this past July. Despite having been around for a little over 10 years, I hadn’t heard much about the band. I was thankfully introduced to them by my fiance, who has been a fan for years. We had a date night where I luckily had my camera with me, and was able to snag a few shots of their set. 

The Brazilian Girls’ set kicked ass. The performances were spot on, and the whole band clicked like a group that’s been playing together forever. It is actually really hard to pull off electronica with live instrumentation - I know, I’ve seen a lot of shitty bands trying to do this right - but when it is done right there is more energy than a sequencer or DJ alone could ever pull off. They were fully engaged with the crowd as well, pulling people up from the stage for their main hit, “Pussy”, and both my fiance and I got pulled up on stage and had the opportunity to yell “Pussy! Pussy! Pussy!” in front of a sold out crowd. Sabina also made her way out into the crowd to perform one the songs, dancing with the crowd and handing the mic off at times for some of the fans who knew the lyrics. 

The TLDR version of this post is, go see this band whenever they come through your town. You’ll have an amazing time. Thank you, Brazilian Girls, for an incredible show :)

www.facebook.com/braziliangirls

https://twitter.com/braziliangirls

https://www.instagram.com/braziliangirlsnyc/

[miltonlikesbands]

2016-07-29 - Ela Minus - Baby’s All Right

I had the chance to see Ela Minus when she opened for the Brazilian Girls at Baby’s All Right in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She played a solo set to a sold out crowd, using only a microphone and an assortment of sequencers, vocal processors and samplers. Despite being a small woman, she created a big sound that everybody was vibing and enjoying. A great start for the night to prepare the crowd for the headliner - Check out more about Ela Minus at the links below:

https://www.facebook.com/ElaMinus

https://twitter.com/ela_minus

https://soundcloud.com/elaminus

https://www.instagram.com/elaminus/

[miltonlikesbands]

Last night I went to go check out a friend of mine, Jenna Kyle (whom I’ve blogged about here before) perform with “Baile”, an electronic music producer from Brooklyn. He was performing with Jenna, and another great singer named Felicia Douglass. The venue was the Black Bear in Wiliamsburg, which was a nice spot that I haven’t been to before to check out a show. If you’re in the neighborhood, you can’t miss the place as there is a mini skate-park at the entrance of the bar.

Baile’s set was great, and the ladies sounded amazing. I was able to grab two videos from the performance (linked below) - While there was next to no light in that venue, at least I had a nice mic to get some good sound.

Baile - Naturally, ft. Jenna Kyle

Baile - Holdin’, ft. Felicia Douglass on vox

In short - awesome show. Definitely go check out Baile’s stuff, and while you’re at it, give Felicia Douglass and Jenna Kyle’s stuff a spin as well! Links below:

Baile

http://www.bailemusic.com/

https://soundcloud.com/bailemusic

https://twitter.com/bailemusic

https://www.instagram.com/bailemusic/

Jenna Kyle

https://soundcloud.com/jennakyle

https://jennakyle.bandpage.com/

https://twitter.com/jennakkyle

Felicia Douglass

http://feliciadouglass.com/

https://www.facebook.com/feliciadouglass

https://twitter.com/feldou

Apologies to the drummer and guy with the Moog - I didn’t know where to find you, so please share and tag if you know them!

[miltonlikesbands]

Killcode - March 13, 2015 - Maxwell’s - Hoboken

Following The Battery Electric at Maxwell’s in Hoboken back in March, was the 5 piece rock band with some sweet Southern metal vibes - Killcode. Killcode ruled because they played Gibson Guitars, and Marshall Halfstacks, Ampeg Bass amps, and Orange Rockerverb heads, and what they were playing sounded like it should have been coming out of that glorious gear. They ruled so hard, I bought a t-shirt. I recently wore it to the gym, and I benched more as a result. They play the NJ/NYC area often, so follow the links below to go catch them in a neighborhood near you:

http://killcode.net/

https://www.facebook.com/KillcodeOfficial

Killcode Twitter (@_KillCode_)

http://www.reverbnation.com/killcode

Full Photoset on Flickr

[miltonlikesbands]

The Battery Electric - March 13, 2015 - Maxwell’s - Hoboken

I checked out a rock show with my buddy last month, not knowing much about any of the bands. I ended up seeing 3 bands from the area that I hadn’t heard of before - The Battery Electric, Kill Code, and Mother. Long story short, I rocked out, took pics, and ended up with albums and t-shirts. Because live rock music rules, especially when there is long hair, American guitars, British amps, and solos involved. The Battery Electric was the first set I walked into, and they got the mood set just right for the night. Go listen to their stuff at the links below:

https://www.facebook.com/TheBatteryElectric

https://thebatteryelectric.bandcamp.com/

[miltonlikesbands]

Let’s not forget hard rock and metal bands on this blog. More photos to come soon from a recent show at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, featuring Killcode and headlining act, Mother (pictured above). I have a bit of a back log of pics to post... you know how life gets in the way: Work, going to Jamaica, and stuff.

[miltonlikesbands]

Esmé Patterson - 2015-02-07 - Rockwood Music Hall

I had the fortunate pleasure of seeing the very lovely and talented Esmé Patterson last night at the Rockwood Music Hall on the Lower East Side in NYC. If you haven’t heard of Esmé yet, well then you should be excited to fix that problem as you head on over to the links I have listed below. If her amazing performance last night was any indication, I have a feeling that you may be hearing more of her in the near future. After 8 years with the band Paper Bird, Esmé recently split off to pursue a solo career, and has started releasing music under her name.

I first heard Esmé in a video from SXSW with Shaky Graves that my girlfriend introduced me to. Since then, I haven’t argued one bit when her songs creep into playlists for the night, and love getting to learn more of her tunes. I also feel very lucky to have seen her in an intimate show before she goes off and blows up with the masses. She’s quite the sweetheart as well, taking the time to greet all of her fans after the show and being very appreciative, indeed. Check out her stuff below!

http://esmepatterson.com/

https://www.facebook.com/EsmePattersonMusic

https://twitter.com/esmepatterson

https://soundcloud.com/esmecollins

http://greaterthancollective.tumblr.com/esme#Music

[miltonlikesbands]

St. Cinder - NOLA, 2014-12-30

I had the opportunity to travel to New Orleans with a few close friends to ring in 2015. Having been to Louisiana in the past, I was excited to be back again to walk the streets of this Southern city. I wanted to enjoy the street musicians of the French Quarter, listen to the jazz savants of Frenchman street, and partake in the general revelry / debauchery that NOLA has to offer. While the weather disappointed this trip, the musicians were out in full effect for the New Year, and I happened to cross past an excellent ragtime/folk band, St. Cinder, performing on the street. 

As I have said before on this blog, anytime a street performance can stop a large group of people, chances are that you should peek your head in as well to see what the buzz is all about. The two songs that I stuck around for were enough to convince me to purchase an album that I am enjoying thoroughly while writing this post. The all acoustic performance perfectly captured the spirit of old ragtime music, and the whole package fit perfectly in the French Quarter to enhance the night for everybody. Definitely check these guys out if they ever come by your town, and make sure to give their songs a listen online as well. You can find more info about them below! 

St. Cinder - Facebook Bandcamp

Hope to catch these guys in person again soon! Any trips to NYC soon, gentlemen? 

[miltonlikesbands]

Brand new track off of Upstate Escape's forthcoming album, Encore, Plus Fort. Words and music by John Norwood Arrangement by Upstate Escape Engi...

Today, Upstate Escape makes an appearance on my blog again. We are working on a new full length release for the band, "Encore, Plus Fort", and they decided to release a new single from the album today. Click on the link above, and treat yourself to the soothing sounds of "Carefully Crafted Bed Head". 

Funny story about the song... I was in another band, Confab, with John and Bryan from Upstate Escape. We used to rehearse at the Music Building, midtown in NYC, and there was a very hipster Williamsburg band that rehearsed directly after our time slot. Even if we had all of our gear packed up and ready to go, if we were still in the studio hanging out 30 seconds into their slot, they would pull us aside and ask us to not be present when they showed up because it interrupted their creative energies and process. Brooklyn bands. Sheesh.

In any case, this track was recorded at the Music Building in NYC, and Hot Pump (the alias for the studio that is my bedroom). Aside from mixing and engineering the track, I also scream "Hey" a few times. Enjoy! 

[miltonlikesbands]

2014-05-31 - Eve 6 - Inside Out (Princeton Reunions 2014)

Princeton Reunions are typically the most fun extended weekend that one can have in the state of NJ - and if you know me, you know that I love me some New Jersey.

I went back this past weekend for my 10th (yes, tenth) reunion at Princeton University. Aside from it being an absolutely amazing weekend, reunions are typically filled with no shortage of amazing bands. Our 10th reunion tent hosted a number of those bands, and Eve 6 graced our presence on Saturday night with an amazing performance. Here's their performance of Inside Out, complete with drunken Princeton alum appropriately bouncing after having been in a happy haze for the past 3 days. 

Thanks to everybody at reunions for making it such a great and memorable weekend! 

[miltonlikesbands]

2014-05-06 - Roland Ramos' Folk Music Extravaganza at the 479 Space - AKA, "Close to Home" 

So, while attending the Chili Festival in Jersey City referenced in my last post, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting another passionate music lover from my very own Jersey City... Mr. Roland Ramos. I was buying some tickets for Sangrias and beer - as one does at a chili festival - and Roland happened to be the one selling those tickets. He immediately commented on the camera I was carrying, as most DSLR's can have a fairly imposing presence. He asked if I was a photographer; long story short, by the end of a very short conversation, the guy had invited me to his house for a get together that he was happening with a bunch of musicians. Having been raised in Atlantic City, now living in Jersey City, and inherently suspicious of men that invite me to their house after 3 minutes of meeting them, I was fairly certain that this invitation was a plot to rob me of my goods and leave me tied up in Roland's basement, only to serve as either dinner or a strange sex toy before I started to really smell. Not that there was anything off about Roland at all; in fact he was one of the nicest guys I had met. One could understand the suspicion, however. Well soon after telling a few people that the man selling beer tickets at this chili festival had invited me to his house, they peeked around my shoulder to see who it was and immediately replied, "Who, Roland? Oh, yah, Roland is the man. He has get togethers at his apartment every Tuesday." Well okay, then.

So I found myself at Roland's place that Tuesday night after the Chili Festival, fresh from a cut at the very excellent Virile Barber Shop and after an amazing meal at my JC favorite, Thirty Acres... I was already having a very Jersey City night, so I figured I might as well stop by a local legendary get together that had somehow managed to escape my very inquisitive and social knowledge of the town that I have been living in for the past five and a half years. Well I'm very happy I stopped by. What I found was a candle lit room (homemade candles, mind you), a bunch of fun people that I have never met before, and PA system set and ready for a performance. The event was a great time... many like-minded and open artistic types filled Roland's apartment, along with a ton of good music played by local New Jersey musicians, and I couldn't have been happier to find something like this going on a short walk from my own apartment. I definitely plan on coming back for another Tuesday night at the 479 Space, if Roland happens to throw another shindig soon. Shout outs to the musicians playing:

Steven Donahue / Young Legs

Steve from Young Legs kicked the performances off, and immediately set the tone for the talent that would be following for the night. I honestly was really impressed with Steve's singing voice, playing, and song arrangements. A banjo even found its way into the performance for his second set. I couldn't help but think of Paul Simon when I was listening to Steve's performances, though I'm sure more folk oriented music fans will draw better comparisons. Wherever Steve draws his inspiration from, I thoroughly enjoyed his tunes, and you can judge for yourself at the links below, where he has much of his music posted up under the moniker, Young Legs. Definitely good for putting on a pair of headphones, sitting a chair and just kind of drifting into the tunes:

http://younglegs.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/younglegs

Also an interesting story; Steve schooled me on the fact that cassette tapes are apparently making a big come back in the acoustic folk music community, lol. Certainly an interesting medium to distribute music in 2014, but I was actually into the suggestion. People essentially rip music directly to MP3 when you give it to them in a digital format, then toss the physical manifestation of your music directly into the trash or lose it somewhere, whereas, tape forces you to hold on to that object. Just like a vinyl. But smaller. And in the shape of a cassette. 

The Dead Bums

Formed in June of 2011, Michael Browne and Steve Nurge were in the house to represent the Dead Bums, an Indie Folk Band out of Jersey City. When I saw what looked like a wah pedal come out of Steve's bag, I will admit I had definitely assumed that some acoustic metal was about to make its presence felt in this small apartment party... Then Steve pulled out this beautiful lap guitar, and then I realized the "wah" was a volume pedal, and that I was in for some folkie awesomeness. Definitely a very unique and eclectic sound with some awesome melodies; a sort of folk-waltz, if you will, like the singer/guitarist Mike had described during their performance.  I highly recommend checking them out, and their single "Loveless" that they have posted up on their ReverbNation account. I hope to catch these guys out in town again soon..

https://www.facebook.com/thedeadbums

https://twitter.com/theDeadBums

The Dead Bums on ReverbNation

Dave Valdivia

Dave was apparently making his first foray in the wonderful world of live music at Roland's 479 Space. I can't think of a better environment for him to have jumped head first into live performance than this venue; Just a really supportive scene for somebody who sounded great, regardless of the fact that he hadn't played out live before. Dave doesn't have any official recordings or public band material that I can link to, so unfortunately I don't have anything official of his to share on this post. I do, however, have videos of all the performances that I will be posting here soon. So, sit tight, sir Dave. I will give your time on May 6th of 2014 its due when I get around to posting my videos of the night. 

Roland Ramos

I can't forget the host of the night, Mr. Roland Ramos. I've already typed enough about Roland at the start of this article, but he's actually an accomplished musician on top of also being a very gregarious fellow. He also had a pretty bitching guitar that he had just acquired, as you can see in the last two pics of my set here. He also has a very active SoundCloud where you can check out his tunes:

https://soundcloud.com/thetempestjamsession

Roland, thanks for the fun night. You're the man. 

So, ladies and gentlemen, the moral of the story is - absolutely drink and speak to random people at neighborhood block parties, and accept invites to their homes only a few short minutes after meeting them. You may just find yourself in a really amazing music themed party making new friends. Or, you could end up dead. But you could also end up finding yourself in a really amazing music themed party making new friends.

[miltonlikesbands]

2014-05-03 - Jersey City Chili Festival

Earlier this month, I found myself at the Jersey City Chili Festival; a day that I started drinking at 1:00pm, broke my phone and possibly my foot. So, you can imagine that it was a great time! It involved stuffing myself with chili from different restaurants in Jersey City while listening to the bands you see above, followed by a trip to Taqueria for delicious tacos and margaritas, and then off to the Lamp Post to see more bands perform that night. 

The bands that I found at the chili festival included Jeremy Wallace; a heavily smokey voiced bluesie rock band with loads of talent that I thoroughly enjoyed. This is the kind of band that you get a regular Coors instead of a Coors Light for. If not the Banquet Beer, at least the Champagne of Beers. Take up smoking, have a seat and enjoy the soulful vibe coming through. Check them out for yourself at the band's website:

http://www.jeremywallace.com/

Jeremy Wallace Facebook

Also on the band lineup was "Big Wake", an Alt Rock/Jam-Bandish quartet out of my very own Jersey City, NJ. Gerry, the singer of the band, was nice enough to give me a copy of the band's latest album when I introduced myself. Definitely some positive tunes and energy coming from the band, mixed with some shreddy shred segments on the guitar - which I always appreciate. Give their latest record a listed on the band's website, below.

http://www.bigwakemusic.com

http://www.facebook.com/bigwakemusic

@bigwakemusic

All in all, I was just super pumped to have a Jersey City themed music day. I met some cool, like-minded music people at the Chili festival who invited me to other musical performances in Jersey City later in the week that I will be posting here soon!

[miltonlikesbands]

Some choice picks from a 2011 basement recording session with the band, Juggernaut Drunk, from Atlantic City, NJ.

Here's another cut off of Juggernaut Drunk's recording session back in February of 2011. The song, Same Old Ocean, was a track I first heard when the band played it live. They weren't completely sold on recording it, but in a way, this was the song that made me encourage the band to do an official recording session with me. The song stuck with me a long time after I heard it played live. Donny, the band lead, has a way of capturing a particular feeling better than most lyricists that I know. Usually, that feeling is malaise or drunken debauchery, but either way, he has a knack for nailing that emotion, that is for certain!

https://www.facebook.com/juggernautdrunk

http://juggernautdrunk.bandcamp.com

http://juggernautdrunk.wix.com/juggernautdrunk