Live Review: Pujol @ Comet Ping Pong, 2/4/2011

It was, for all intents and purposes, the week that wouldn't die, perhaps because I was so super stoked to see Pujol once again at Comet Ping Pong (touring with Monotonix). Once I arrived at the pizza/rock joint, I was amazed/pleased/impressed to see the concert room bursting at the seams. It was so packed that people were actually being turned away at the door, something I haven't seen at any venue around DC in quite a while. I could hardly see the stage for the heaving mass of people, but that was quite alright. I didn't need to see Pujol to get blown away once again.

With one of his band sporting a Bob Dylan circa Nashville Skyline hat, the band was ready to begin. "Fuckin' own that shit!" someone slurred drunkenly behind me, and own that shit they did. "We're all from Tennessee and we're gonna play some songs for you," Daniel Pujol proclaimed before the band ripped into their fantastic set. As I expected, based on my last live Pujol experience, the band was rougher and more raw live, though the poppy undertones remain amongst all that rowdy rock and rolling. The band was loud, raucous, and fearless. "We're gonna slow it down and be serious, Daniel said in his intro to "Butterflyknife," garnering loud cheers with the cool, easygoing slowdown with just a hint of bombast it presented among all the sweaty shimmying.

The set was over way, way too fast for my liking. But what a set it was. If you're in need of some sweet little rock and rollers, you can't do much better than the catchy as all hell song stylings of Pujol.

mp3: Too Safe (Pujol from Black Rabbit)

100 Shows of 2010 - #98: Coasting @ Comet Ping Pong, 12/15/10

You know what happens when you assume, no? You make an ass of you and me. Well, friends, this is doubly true when it comes to going to shows. Don't ever, ever assume that you're right about the timing of a show, because sometimes you might just be wrong. Why the lecture on timeliness, you might wonder? It's because, sadly, yours truly had an unfortunate incident with timing lately. And I can say now with certainty that working late is sometimes not the best way to make timeliness happen for a show. I missed a whole lotta Coasting because of this itty bitty timing debacle, and I'm still bummed about it. However, what I saw was pretty daggum awesome. I suppose that serves as some small modicum of solace.

MINI RECAP: Coasting = Super Swell! Overall Score: B+

So like I said, I kinda missed a hefty portion of the Coasting set. Which is really too bad, because what I was hearing was totally making my night. They rock somethin' fierce, and it only takes two of 'em to make that killer noise of theirs. Fiona and Madison definitely have some skills. I was way digging on their smoky, sexy brand of surf rock meets film noir meets big bastard rock and roll. The vocals can be girl group sweet or bitchingly biting, and the guitars and drums follow suit. This, my little sweethearts, is one badass band. It was a whole lotta glorious noise, and I was black and blue from kicking myself about not witnessing the whole set. I shall clear my schedule for the next time, dangit.

Here's hoping the New Year sees Coasting getting back out there on the road. Once they've dug out from under all that snow, that is.

mp3: What You Want (Coasting - buy Coasting music HERE) (thanks to the radness of Neu Magazine for the songness)

100 Shows of 2010 - #90: Liturgy @ Comet Ping Pong, 11/19/10

It is amazing sometimes what a change of scenery can do to the way one thinks about music. During my two and a half relatively awesome years living down in Richmond, capital city of the Commonwealth of Virginia, my musical parameters were expanded more than perhaps any other time in my music-loving life. While my time in Richmond was full of goodness, that one thing seems to take precedence over anything else: The Major Expansion of My Musical Sensibilities (yeah, it warrants all those caps, believe you me). Not only did I develop a deeper love and appreciation for important musical geniuses of the past, but so too did my cold black heart take a liking to a rather unexpected genre: Metal. After all, Richmond is a very metal city. Any given night of any given metal show, throngs of people will emerge to nod their heads and suck down can after can of PBR. The love that city has for that scene pulled me in, and while I'm still not ready to pledge full-on allegiance to the metal gods just yet, this proclivity towards warm fuzzy metal love meant I was way excited to see the much-buzzed about black metal glory of Liturgy as they ventured down from Gotham and played DC. My friends, it was hell on wheels. Which, as you might suspect, is a very, very good thing indeed.

MINI RECAP: Liturgy = Unholy Hellions! Overall Score: A

I knew, from the very first note, that this would be quite possibly one of the loudest sets I'd seen this year. I was equally excited by and horrified by this idea. The Richmond in me immediately loved them to pieces, full as they are of sonic abuses. They quite amusingly sent some kids fleeing from the room, whereas the litany of noise drew in others. "Fuck yeah," someone yelled after harrowingly heavy opening song "High Gold", and really, he got it in one.

I stood there, friends, totally enthralled, letting wave after vicious wave of fury and ferocity wash over me. During second song "Sun of Light" I decided this is a very, very good band. The way they can express acute agony and darkness through the furious slaughter of guitar riffs, or an anguished howl, is second to none. They were nothing short of overpowering. Unlike a lot of metal I've seen, though, there was a certain sense of control in their performance, and a definite sense of beauty somewhere there amongst the crushing blows of their musical assault. I'll liken it to, say, staring at a work of art you don't necessarily get. Jackson Pollock comes to mind. Some folks just don't see the beauty there in those splatters, but some of us do. And believe me when I say to you, friends, there is something very beautiful in the tortuous racket made by Liturgy.

The band seemed consumed by the task at hand at all times, stopping for only the briefest interaction with the crowd before resuming their mission. The songs were brutal, each and every one, but damned if I didn't love 'em all. In a way, I think they've raised the stakes. It's no longer just about how insanely, wake-the-dead loud you can be, or how you toss your long, flowing locks. These songs have purpose, drive and they made a delicate gal like me feel all a-twitter with fury. They killed their set seven ways to Sunday, and converted me in just six songs.

If you're even slightly intrigued by the dark arts of black metal, you owe it to yourself to check out a live Liturgy show. Hell, even if you hate metal, go see 'em. Just because.

mp3: Ecstatic Rite (WFMU Session) (Liturgy from Renihilation)

100 Shows of 2010 - #81: Turbo Fruits/Pujol @ Comet Ping Pong, 10/22/10

I don't know about y'all, but when Friday night rolls around, I either want to throw on pajamas right after work and be in bed by 10, or I wanna rock the fuck out and get my face melted off by seriously amazing music, preferably with a cocktail or five in hand. On this particular Friday I went for the latter, venturing out to Comet Ping Pong for the first time ever, and in doing so made the musical acquaintance of two bands from Tennessee who all sorts of rocked my world. Behold, my compadres, the live musical wonder that is Pujol and Turbo Fruits.

MINI RECAP: Pujol = Lewd & Rude! Turbo Fruits = Lewder & Ruder! Overall Score: A

Full discosure, it'd been a long time since I went anywhere on the Rock Creek Parkway. I kinda sorta got a little lost on the way, which meant I missed a few Pujol songs. Which I was, and still am, really bummed about. Because friends, this set, or what I saw of it, was killer. The music of Daniel Lucca Pujol, otherwise known as Pujol, is short, sweet, and simple. More than anything, it fucking rocks. Those little tunes, as knocked out by Pujol along with some help from his friends, were easy and freewheelin', not to mention nice and loud. The attitude was all right, feisty and seriously sassy. The crowd was way into it, which includes the opinion of yours truly. This band grooved and rocked and shimmy-shaked all over the damn place. Hot damn indeed. Unless you happen to be a St. Louis Cardinals fan, this is the best damn Pujol around (or Pujols, as the case may be).

The venue was perfect for these bands. Comet Ping Pong has no true "stage," meaning the bands are on the same level as the paying punters. The in-your-face thing is perfect for bands like Pujol and Turbo Fruits, who drawlingly snarl and sneer their way into your grill as it is. And so it was that, the flag of the state of Tennessee draped behind the drumkit and Enya's "Sail Away" blaring out of the speakers, Turbo Fruits picked up their instruments and unleashed the rock. From opening song "Trouble", I knew it was in for a treat. The song, the set, and the band was utterly infectious. I'd place them as in the vein of Kings of Leon (WAY before the MOR suckage, folks, keep your pants on, I'm talkin' about first EP stuff) with hearty doses of the bratty snarl of Atlanta boys The Black Lips, with an overall swagger and presence impressive for a new band. These boys alone were worth getting lost on that damn Parkway for. Sweet mercy, brothers and sisters. Sweet Mercy. Turbo Fruits is a little bit country and a WHOLE lotta rock&roll. The sound swelled into the small room, turning my brain into sludge with their rocking out. I got the sense that this is a band that could go from zero to Pete Townshend (i.e mass instrument destruction) in six seconds flat. Hair tossin', drum poundin', and brutal guitar riffin'. And melodiousness too? Bonus. Can't beat that with a stick. No sirree. "Thanks for havin' us," said they, "We love your women." And Turbo Fruits, we women of DC love you (well, this one sure does).

Both of these bands ruled the roost with their sweaty, raw rock&roll, and subsequently my love for them is off the charts. This, friends, is music to be heard in close quarters. So step on it, cuz I suspect you won't get a chance to see them in small environs for too much longer.

mp3: Butterflyknife (Pujol from the All At the Same Time EP)

mp3: Mama's Mad Cos I Fried My Brain (Turbo Fruits from Echo Kid)