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November 6
Voxtrot, Annuals, Finally Punk - Bowery Ballroom $15 I’ve already tried to find this band each of the last three days but, as they played exclusively in the greater Bushwick/Bed-Stye area, a bit earlier than I’m able to get it together, and during all of the other crap going on, I haven’t been even close to successful. Despite my organizational failures, I’ll be the first to tell ya that they would've been well worth the trip. Finally Punk are four instrument-changing ladies from Austin TX that dish out electrifying blasts of pure abrasive adventure. Though they seem to have no problem with press that’s eager to throw ‘em into a Riot Grrrrl revival bin, this classification is as boring as it is careless. While the vocals definitely tend to reach the pitch that defined Kathleen Hannah and her legions of imitators, and the energy level is equally high, Finally Punk’s music, contrary to their name, isn’t so easy to pin down – unusual harmonies, structural variation, strong enough aesthetics to somehow pull all of that together into “a sound.” For a brief second I thought they sounded like the early Germs taking a stab at ESG but then they were already tearing into something else that sounded like the Slits on 45. They possess too much character and creativity and, moreover, restlessness, to fit in… anywhere. And what the world needs now isn’t love sweet love but a bit more uncompromising originality and raw power. Tonight they play in Bed-Stye’s polar opposite the banal but beautiful Bowery Ballroom. While it’s difficult to recommend handing Voxtrot fifteen bones that will no doubt encourage them to further pursue their career in the music business, like the long voyage to Skillman on public transportation yesterday, it’d still be worth it for a short fix of FP.
THE LIST: Dave Soldier
& Jonathan Kane's 100 Years of Music: Dave Soldier's the Spinozas
plus Jonathan Kane's February plus The Kropotkins – Tonic
$10
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