First up are a great pop/rock group that go by the name NIGHT MOVES. I first caught on to their talent earlier this year with their single “Angor Wat”. It’s quite hard not to fall in love with a single as catchy as this one, with its great guitar melody and signature nasal vocals. The music is full of angularities, stop/starts, and garage-rock spirit. It’s taken them awhile to catch on fire, but I wholeheartedly believe that by the end of this year, Night Moves will be New York’s latest darlings. At the very least, they’re a band with song-writing talent and a strong sense of Kinks-inspired rock who could definitely give The Unicorns a run for their money (and yes, as much as rock journalists love to throw Kinks references around, it’s both appropriate and complimentary in this instance). At the very most, they have more in common with Bob Seger than you or I could ever hope for. And that alone is priceless.
Night Moves play Pianos tonight beginning at 7:30pm (158 Ludlow at Stanton Sts., $7). They’ll be supported by Port, Mystic Underground, and the amazingly-named Kids Against Combs.
Night Moves – Real Talent
Port – Head On Tight
The Mystic Underground – Mary’s Dead
Kids Against Combs – Fuck This, I’m Moving To Canada
And then we’ve got the cream of the crop, the soup du jour, the Fonz of all shows. That’s right, everyone’s favorite New Wave/rock group is playing the Bowery Ballroom tonight. They’ve got the style, the talent, the good-times-roll stage presence, and quite the ability to get your snobby New York ass dancing. And oh yes, The Killers are playing with them too. Tonight, the Bowery Ballroom welcomes one of the best bills this summer, the pairing of THE KILLERS with one of my all-time favorite groups, THE HONG KONG. The band’s EP Rock The Faces just got released at the end of July, and they are now on cruise-control after setting several different clubs on fire. The Hong Kong are just great musicians who love to play, a combination that comes forward both on their EP and live. Songs like “Mazerati” and “It’s On” bring the party in spades, while synth jams like “Super Collider” and “Birds” display the beauty of lead singer Catherine Culpepper’s voice. Will they finally play the wickedly great title track live tonight? Will the Bowery be swarmed with hyperventilating Killers fans swathed in leg warmers and glitter? Will the bloggerati turn out in full force? Answers to these burning questions and more tonight at 9pm over at 6 Delancey and Bowery Sts. How do I know? Well, somebody told me. (Too easy, I’m sorry for that one).
The Hong Kong – Mazerati
The Hong Kong – It’s On Clip
The Killers Jukebox
How does it feel to be/One of the beautiful/People?
Rock Photos of the Bowery Beauties:
The Killers.
The Hong Kong (Taken by myself at the Elle Girl party).
Lastly, some old news to address. I had a wonderful birthday weekend, no doubt about it. But one of the best presents was the satisfaction of having one of the summer’s best concerts occur on my day of birth. Little Steven’s was, by all accounts, a rocking success. The best part for me though is the fact that one of my favorite bands, a group that has the rare ability to actually make me scream in joy at their concerts, had a wickedly great time as well. True, THE SEXY MAGAZINES took the stage at Randall’s at the ungodly hour of 11am. But not only did they probably pack a serious punch on that one, their very own Marc E. Guitarplayer subsequently kicked it with their good friends and tourmates, THE MOONEY SUZUKI. Good times + great exposure for a talented underground NYC band = boss. Proof now comes in the form of CORBIS.com images featuring that darling curly-haired virtuoso. Well done boys, LARS salutes you.
Mark E. of The Sexy Magazines. All images taken by Katy Winn on 8/14/04 at Randall’s Island for CORBIS.
The Mooney Suzuki f/t Mark E.
David Johansen of The New York Dolls.
Iggy Pop and The Stooges.
Out in the back seat of my ’60 Chevy/Workin’ on mysteries without any clues-S.
