Author Archives: Danny Meza

More jams from Tennessee this week, as Those Darlins stop by Le Poisson Rouge Thursday, June 16.

Some fans may have crossed the Hudson last Saturday as Jessi, Nikki, and Kelley Darlin, along with drummer Linwood Regensburg, rocked Maxwell’s in Hoboken. Others possibly bellied-up to the Big Apple BBQ Block Party on Sunday and caught Those Darlins play to a shuffling afternoon crowd. The quartet looks to make it three successful sets in less than week, opening this time for Best Coast.

Buoyed by several years of buzzing live performances and recent praise of their second record, Screws Get Loose, Those Darlins now stand out among the throng of Tennessee country rock and cowpunk acts. The band currently resides in Murfreesboro, just outside of Nashville.

Screws Get Loose energetically skates the historic and regional line between rock and country. All four members trade vocals on cuts ranging from mischievous to melancholy. “Be Your Bro,” “Hives” and “Fatty Needs a Fix” demonstrates the group’s subversive pop acumen, while “BUMD” shows a heavier and “Waste Away” a more sullen quality.

Expect Those Darlins to continue a week of great country rock at Le Poisson Rouge in a show to benefit Planned Parenthood NYC.

On the heels of his first solo release, Daniel Pujol rocks Cake Shop Wednesday night, June 15, on New York’s Lower East Side.

Pujol emerged from the red hot Nashville rock scene in recent years, playing in numerous groups, including the punk band MEEMAW. After releasing 7” records for various labels such as Infinity Cat, Third Man, and Turbo Time Records, he’s stashed enough cuts away for his first full-length, out today, X File on Main St.

Pujol’s sound is somewhat consistent with much of the country-infused garage rock coming out of Nashville these days. Speaking on that scene, Pujol himself told New York Press earlier this year, “a lot of the acts in Nashville have worked together or been in each other’s bands…so we all tend to write within these certain aesthetic boundaries and borrow from each other.”

Pujol, however, seems more preoccupied with pop structures than simply ringing out the thick distortion commonly ascribed to lo-fi rock ‘n’ roll. His recent work often benefits from an R & B or pop backbeat, topped off with fiery guitar and a voice to match. Singles “How High” and “Black Rabbit” show that Pujol is as much a songwriter as he is an axe wielder.

Unsurprisingly, X File, features many of Pujol’s Nashville musical associates. Wez Taylor, who played in MEEMAW with Pujol and now in Natural Dead, picks up the bass on this record. D. Watusi frontman Dillon Watson and the man behind the Nashville’s Dead blog (and Freakin’ Weekend festival), Ben Todd, also make appearances.

Catch Pujol Wednesday at Cake Shop, sandwiched between sets with opener Secret Cities and Ava Luna.

New York City rockers Chris Cubeta and The Liars Club bring their stirring energy to the stage this Saturday, June 11 at Mercury Lounge to celebrate the release of their new eponymous record.

Chris Cubeta and The Liars Club drops as the band’s third studio release and comes five years after their last effort, Faithful. The album touches on Cubeta’s emotionally direct lyrical quality in tracks like “All We Are” and “Approach,” while also allowing the band to stretch out to darker, heavier tones. “Truth Be Told” typifies the band’s vulnerable sensibility, but is driven by grittier sounds. The band also experiments in psychedelic territory with “I’m Sorry,” beautifully blending the cut’s hovering tone with tambourine and echoing vocals.

Chris Cubeta recorded the LP at his own studio in Brooklyn, and CCLC reflects excellent production work, oscillating from more personal songs to those featuring louder interludes of Cubeta jamming with bandmates Jeff Berner and John Passineau. Cubeta also recently recorded another NYC band, Wakey! Wakey! .

Chris Cubeta and The Liars Club plays this Saturday after a string of several fine years punctuated by dates at The Bowery Ballroom and a sold-out Mercury Lounge. The band also performs at Littlefield in Brooklyn on July 16 and plans to tour Germany this fall.

If you don’t have any upcoming vacation plans and suspect you might be stuck in the city this summer, don’t fret, because so will Reggie Watts.

After completing a month-long residency at the East Village’s P.S. 122 in May, Watts scheduled a few appearances in Gotham for the summer months. Watts performs June 22 with comedian Natasha Leggero at Central Park’s SummerStage and June 24 at Red Hook Park in Brooklyn with DJ Stormin’ Norman, in what is initially being called “spoken word.” In addition, audiences at the Afro-Punk Festival 2011 (see Pavla’s post below) get to see Watts take the stage at Commodore Barry Park August 27 or 28 (yet to be determined by the festival’s schedule). All of these performances are free to the public.

For Radio Play, the focus of his theatrical residency at P.S. 122, Watts again teamed up with director Tommy Smith. Watts employed his amazing versatility at this show, combining his acclaimed live beat-looping and singing with surreal radio-style segments. Watts, and the several other cast performers, created live commercials, theme songs, game shows, and strange late-night talk show rants. Radio Play touched on music, comedy, philosophy, sociology, and pop culture, the many elements comprising American radio. The hour of improvisational brilliance featured a rarely-lit set, dense with record players, speakers, sound boards, equalizers, a wardrobe rack, and even a fog machine.

Watts and Smith collaborated on several other multimedia acts such Disinformation, Dutch A/V, and Transition, which featured at The Public’s Under the Radar and several other festivals. Before establishing himself as a staple of New York’s comedy and performance-art scene, Watts also lent his beautiful vocals as the lead singer for Maktub, a Seattle-area group that, unsurprisingly, fused several musical elements, most notably jazz, hip-hop, funk, and R & B.

Given Watt’s history of and proclivity to improvisation and versatility, there is no telling what will come of his summer performances. If you suspect that you will be hanging around New York City this summer, though, be sure that Reggie Watts will keep you in good company.