Singer-Songwriter Rachel Brown made her appearance in a weekly residency at the Darby in NYC last Thursday night and if you’re looking for a slam-dunk date spot idea, look no further. Never having been to the Darby before, I was very impressed at what I found: a chill, elegant spot with a modern, more youthful jazz club atmosphere . Brown, a native New Yorker, is making a name for herself with a voice that’s evocative of Norah Jones but a unique style combining disparate world influences. She’s only been performing publicly since her junior year at Harvard in 2009 but since that time she’s amassed an impressive array of gigs and recognition, opening for people like Mary J Blige and John Legend and also obtaining a pretty notable fan in Wyclef Jean, who has joined her onstage in some of her past performances at the Darby.Brown’s Thursday and Friday night shows at the Darby are multiple set affairs, combining different arrangements of musicians she plays with on a regular basis. She herself switches instrumentally between acoustic guitar and ukulele and stylistically from Girl from Ipanema to the most original cover of R Kelly’s Ignition I’ve ever heard.  Her voice and phrasing display a natural talent for jazz but her world-music influences based partly on her Ethiopian and Bermudian roots give her the ability to cross several different genres. Brown will be at the Darby this Thursday, June 6th, Friday, June 14th, including a few more dates through the end of June, check her out for a sophisticated yet relaxed evening of a young singer-songwriter on the rise.Upcoming NYC Dates:Thursday, June 6thFriday, June 14Saturday, June 15Saturday, June 22Friday, June 28 

One obvious advantage to living in New York City is how spoiled we are musically. Every major musical act plays shows here, small acts you might not get the chance to see elsewhere, week long residencies, combinations of musicians you won’t ever see play together again.  The sheer amount of great music any given night is staggering. You can’t be everywhere at once and it’s inevitable that you hear about something the next day that you kick yourself for missing.  I was fortunate enough to catch Kenny Endo on Taiko and Hiromitsu Agatsuma on Shamisen (basically a Japanese musical pairing equivalent to seeing Eric Clapton and John Bonham*) as they performed a show, together for the first time, in a small intimate venue, the Japan Society auditorium, right across the street from the UN. The instruments they play may be unfamiliar to most Westerners but anyone who enjoys seeing mind-blowing virtuosity would have appreciated this show.

Endo, one of the world’s leading taiko artists (taiko is a Japanese word that generically refers to percussive instruments performed with hands or sticks) opened the performance with four solo pieces, one traditional and three of his own compositions. The pieces were captivating and aggressively nuanced, varying from what seemed to my uneducated ears as highly traditional to extremely modern and complex. Interestingly enough, considering his mastery of the instrument and the difficulty of permeating Japan’s notoriously rigid culture, Endo does not come from a traditional Japanese background. Born in California to Japanese parents, he began playing the drums at age 9, taking on the taiko when he was 22 after seeing an ensemble in Los Angeles. A jazz drummer at the time, he eventually needed to make a choice between being a working jazz drummer and immersing himself in mastering the taiko if he wanted to continue down that path. He made the decision to move to Japan and study taiko, a one year plan decision that turned into ten. This ten year immersion provided him with a level of mastery that earned him a unique honor, being awarded a natori (stage name) in hogaku hayashi, Japanese classical drumming, the only foreigner ever to receive this honor.

His ability to interweave this skill at the traditional taiko style of playing with his facility for jazz drumming has enabled him to create an incredibly dynamic style of performing that captivated the audience and was literally breathtaking. It comes as no surprise to read in his bio that he’s performed with Michael Jackson, Prince and opened for the Who. This was world class musicianship at its finest.  At one point, before they began their joint performance, the two musicians were interviewed on stage. Endo was asked about coming to Japan and attempting to master taiko as a foreigner, both in a musical and cultural sense. While freely admitting that this was no easy task, his comment that “the love of music transcends all borders” struck me as being particularly appropriate for the occasion.

His counterpart on shamisen, Hiromitsu Agatsuma, was an equally brilliant performer. Shamisen, a three-stringed banjo-type instrument, is another extremely important instrument in traditional Japanese music. The style of shamisen performing that Agatsuma has mastered is called tsugaru-shamisen, which originated in the far north of Japan. A cold and rural part of Japan, this passionate, rhythmic and more improvisation friendly style of shamisen evolved from poor farmers exiled from their homes for being physically unable to work and forced to earn their living as wandering shamisen players. (Anything about this remind you about another form of music, more familiar to us here in the US?) Agatsuma grew up in Japan taking up the shamisen at six and winning first prize in the national competition for tsugaru-shamisen at 14. Similarly to Endo, Shamisen chose to master the traditional form and aspects of the instrument and style of playing before taking this expertise and beginning to experiment with it, combining aspects of other types of music that held his interest. Asked about the renewed popularity of the shamisen as an instrument for young people to learn in Japan, he said that when young shamisen students tell him they want to avoid the time-consuming difficulty of truly mastering the instrument in every historical aspect of its form, he tells them “you can’t break tradition until you’ve learned it”. His three piece solo set included both traditional tsugaru-shamisen folk songs as well as his own, more modern-sounding compositions and  his performing was fiery and percussive with torrential, Steve Vai style licks, “speed shamisen”, if you will.

Both performers were brilliant in their solo sets but when they combined for three songs in the final set (the first time ever doing so), the show went to another level. They performed one Traditional Japanese song and one each of their own compositions and even though there was an element of the dueling solos (not a bad thing!), I was most impressed by the way they fed off each other while playing together. Seeing two of the best musicians in the world at their instruments is always a very special experience and it was made even more so for feeling truly fortunate to be present at a show even most music savvy New Yorkers were not aware of. Check out the Japan Society, they have a lot of cool cultural programming year round, and you would not want to miss an opportunity like this again.

*comparison meant to illustrate the virtuosity of the performers and the unique rarity of seeing them perform together (obviously John Bonham would need to still be alive).

It’s all too easy and lazy to be dismissive of cultural phenomenon especially when they become ubiquitous. For all I know Daft Punk might be my favorite band, but the fact that they’re referenced 500 times a day in my Twitter feed makes the likelihood of me ever listening to them extremely low. Also, when I walk into a bar or restaurant and there are low lit gas laps, $15 cocktails and bounteous amounts of creative facial hair worn by men in suspenders, I generally turn around and walk out before the door shuts behind me. However, while adhering to personal rules like this may make the process of decision making easier, it also prevents you from finding diamonds in the hipster rough, like the great restaurant I ate at recently that had all of those clichés and more.

So it was with Silent Comedy. I went into the show with a relatively open mind, having read their bio and listened to one song. Silent Comedy is a five-piece band founded by brothers Jeremiah and Joshua Zimmerman from San Diego who grew up with a preacher father in the Pentecostal faith, which, as far as religions go tends to the more, shall we say, dramatic extremes (snake handling, anyone?). The family travelled around the world preaching, playing music and presumably being exposed to a myriad of influences that have impacted their sound today. There is a lot of facial hair on display among the members of Silent Comedy, suspenders and bowler hats as well. There is also one of the most energetic, bombastically in your face, party down live shows I have seen in a really long time. They are definitely one of those bands that if I was trying to get my friend the music snob to check them out, playing a studio track or even showing them a youtube video, would not do them justice. Their live show is where it’s at and that needs to be experienced in the flesh.

Their sound is difficult to describe, a loud, wild mashup of old-timey bluegrass, Dixieland jazz, down and dirty swamp blues, gypsy-klezmer, straight up hard rock swagger and a healthy dose of Irish punk (Pogues and Flogging Molly comparisons kept popping up in my mind throughout the show). There’s a variety of stringed instruments (Justin Buchanan impressed on both banjo and mandolin) being played at any given time on stage, all anchored by a steady, driving Wartsila-Sulzer RTA96-C turbocharged two-stroke diesel engine beat courtesy of drummer Chad Lee.

Their lyrics tend towards the dark side of religious fervor (“oh children lost in the night, waitin for the light of day”). I’ve read that the brothers themselves are not religious but there was definitely an element of the show when I felt like I could be at the coolest most rocking tent revival experience of all time, one where the focus is less on embracing Jesus and the angels in heaven and more on eternal damnation heading straight into the fiery flames of hell. Cool!!!

The Silent Comedy does a few things very well, they’re great musicians, their voices and harmonies are extremely strong (and having seen a few older videos of their performances I can say they’ve definitely improved in this aspect), they’re consummate entertainers and they’re pros at tension and release style song structure. Tunes like “Impossible Name” open up raw and stripped down before exploding into a floor and ear-drum shaking wall of sound. “God Neon”, the single off of their new EP Friends Divide, and the one song that I’d checked out prior to the show was probably the “poppiest” tune of the evening and gave good credence to the adage “don’t judge a band by its singles”.  It was a strong nine song set that showcased each member’s musical talent as well as their cohesion as a band. Even though they’re already well known for their high energy performances, I felt like they really brought it for this pumped up Webster Hall crowd and songs like “Light of Day” and “Blood on the Rails” threatened to blow the roof off. I highly recommend you go see them and prepare to rock out, facial hair and whiskey optional, but suggested.

You know what the world really needs? Another music festival. Just kidding of course, I’m very happy to be living in a day and age where this summer I have an outstanding choice of festivals with phenomenal lineups, plus the annual jump on the bus summer tours to choose from, all within easy drives from the NYC area. My only complaint festival wise is how uniform most of the lineups are. There’s a lot to be said for diversity, and with that in mind I have the perfect suggestion. All I could think of during last Wednesday night as I watched The Get Right Band, at the little known gem of a club Zirzamin, is how they are tailor-made for summer music festivals. The band’s slogan is “an ass-shaking good time” and they bring it as advertised: three extremely skilled musicians playing a fun, jammed out show of funk, reggae, blues, and two excellently chosen covers: Talking Head’s “Life During Wartime (This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco)” and Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back”.Guitarist Silas Durocher, bassist Jesse Gentry and drummer Chris Pyle use the hotbed of musical talent Asheville NC as their home base and, having lived in that area myself for several years, there’s a laid back, good time vibe going on with the Get Right Band that’s something I feel is endemic to Asheville’s music scene. Durocher and Gentry have been playing together since their high school days in Maryland and reunited in the Asheville band, Soulgrass Rebellion which included Pyle on drums, before venturing off on their own to start Get Right Band. Their experience playing together is obvious, there’s an easy rapport among them, listening and feeding off each other, using their prodigious individual talent for the greater good.There are a lot of influences in their music, without any of them feeling derivative. The show opened with a funked out bang, “Devil On My Shoulder” tips a hat at The Meters and featured a ripping guitar solo by Derocher.  They definitely have the chops to be a great straight up instrumental band but songs like “If I Was Prettier” a raw stripped down blues with bitter, jilted lover lines like “you don’t like the songs I write/but I sold a hundred records so far/but somebody does even if you don’t/I bet you really won’t like this one at all” show a dark lyrical humor that I really enjoyed. “Dancin’ Shoes” another funked out jam, put the spotlight on bassist Gentry both vocally and instrumentally, but also featured the jam of the evening (watch the You Tube clip), a jawdropper that made you realize this band came out to do more than just make you shake your ass.Chris Pyle is a seriously great drummer who switched musical genres with impressive adeptness. His powerful yet fluent style drove every song but also interplayed with the other instruments in a way that reminded me more of a drummer in a jazz trio. His playing on “Life During Wartime” really stood out to me, taking that beloved Talking Heads tune with Chris Frantz’s more straight-ahead style and putting his own unique, dynamic spin on it. The other cover of the evening “Sexy Back” was a hilariously awesome way to get your typical NYC “not gonna dance till someone else starts” crowd out on the floor. It’s probably too late for this summer, but 2014 festival bookers, put these guys on your radar, they’re undeniably talented and they know how to throw a party.

Whoever did the booking for the Village Voice 4Knots Festival at South Street Seaport knocked it out of the park. It was a fantastic, eclectic mix of bands and genres, both local and far-flung, performing on two stages, all of whom were immensely talented and put on great, highly entertaining sets. Luckily Mother Nature cooperated as well, a day that had been forecast for intermittent thunderstorms turned out to be clear blue skies with a great breeze off the East River. The crowd was an eclectic mix as well of hipsters there for the music and tourists down to check out the Seaport or take a Circle Cruise around the city and the fact that it was free allowed for a great intermingling of both groups.

Things kicked off early at 1:30 with a last minute addition set by Steve Gunn, the guitarist in Kurt Vile’s band. He’s an excellent singer-songwriter in his own right and although the vibe of the music had the same wistful, laconic feel as Vile’s, I really enjoyed the stark, atmospheric nature of Gunn’s performance, it had a very stripped down, driving through the desert feel to it. All in all, it was a great mellow set to kick off the day, trance-like, acoustic guitar, people rolling in, still hungover from the night before (or maybe it was just me) and ready for a long day of tunes in the sun.

Next up was Brooklyn band Heliotropes, an all-female four-piece that kicked off the overriding musical theme for the rest of the day, rocking out and plenty of it. 90’s influences abounded in their set, from Smashing Pumpkins to the Pixies to Dinosaur Jr. Their pretty vocal harmonies did not detract from the head banging quality of their playing and the appreciative crowd loved every minute.  It was a great, high energy performance from a band that I look forward to seeing again, but they’re NYC based and the performer on the second stage is someone I don’t have the chance to see every day. Fat Tony is a (not-fat) Houston based rapper and the lone hip-hop artist of the day. Charming and funny, he and his DJ/fellow rapper Tom Cruz dished out some smooth danceable beats behind a captivating rhyming style that made me scratch my head and wonder why this guy isn’t huge in the hip-hop scene. He certainly deserves to be and I’ll be happy to say that I saw him back in the day. The crowd seemed to be equal parts people both familiar and not with him, but everybody in the crowd had huge smiles on their faces, nodding along with his flow.

Unfortunately, with the dual stages I had to miss most of the set by the Babies, from Brooklyn, but I caught the last few songs of the four piece indie-rock band and they had a crowd of enthused fans dancing along to their catchy high-energy set. High energy doesn’t even begin to describe the next performance by fellow Brooklyners, Hunters. Punk is definitely having a moment in the sun right now, which, having a soft spot for punk myself, I have mixed emotions about. If there’s one genre you don’t want to see co-opted and turned into something commercial and watered down, it’s punk rock. Unfortunately, every punk fan has seen this happen throughout the years and I’d like to give my personal stamp of approval to Hunters. There’s nothing watered down here: pink haired lead singer Isabel Almeida threw herself around stage with a complete lack of regard for her own safety (like any true punk singer) while the rest of the band rocked furiously through a raucous set of numbers that were equal parts melody and cacophony. This was punk rock as seen through John Lennon’s glasses (the Beatles are an acknowledged influence) and the crowd they drew to their set loved every minute of it.

Punk made another appearance with a set by White Lung and, two great punk bands with female singers aside, White Lung is the band whose show I’d be more scared of getting caught in a mosh pit and breaking a limb at. They were the dark speed-metal yang to Hunters’ lighter, Ramones-style yin, and their lead singer, Mish Way, embodies the snarling punk attitude better than anyone I’ve seen in recent memory. This was fast, loud, angry music that had a passionate group of fans in the front row shaking their fists and screaming along with every word. I’m happy to report that if Hunters and White Lung are taking the mantle of punk rock and running with it, I no longer need to be afraid of a Mohawk-wearing  Sarah Jessica Parker at a Vogue Magazine tribute to punk as being a sign of end days.

While the main stage was showing unaware tourists that punk rock in NYC is alive and kicking, the second stage had Marnie Stern showcasing both her unique style of guitar and dense, undefinable style of music. After some initial hiccups with getting the sound right, she proceeded to put on a set that demonstrated why the hype surrounding her is well-deserved. “Shredding” is an adjective that gets thrown around a lot in describing her playing but to me that descriptor is too simplistic. Sure, her fast finger-tapping style of playing gives her distinctive sound, but it’s her overall lush, layered sound, which at times evokes bands like Dead Can Dance and Cocteau Twins, with complex time-signatures that makes her performance truly memorable. She’s got a great voice as well that ranges from a child-like sweetness to a low and husky PJ Harvey growl.

I’d heard lots of positive reports about Brooklyn’s (does Brooklyn have any residents who AREN’T in a band?) Parquet Courts, and if they were the only band I saw all day, they alone would have been worth the brutal price of watching music on the East River with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background. Besides their catchy single “Stoned and Starving” being my new self-appointed theme song, their guitar hook heavy and distortion laden brand of “indie-rock” hit the mark on all levels. They struck me as a cross between Sonic Youth and Rival Schools, great song-writing and straight up rock and roll with a punk edge to it.

The next set proved to be my personal favorite performance of the day. The Men, from, you guessed it, Brooklyn, were five guys who played like it was the last show of their lives. I’ve heard them described alternatively as noise-rock, post-hardcore, garage-punk and alt-country so apparently nobody knows how to describe their sound. One guy was playing slide guitar which I guess is where the country reference came in but other than that it was five guys playing their asses off, a vocalist who sounded like Lemmy and a sick cover of I Wanna Be Your Dog that whipped the crowd into a frenzy and included a guest saxophonist. I’m not crazy about the name but I will definitely be at their next New York show, they are one hell of a band.

Reigning Sound from Asheville by way of Memphis, composed of former members of Memphis garage-punk legends Compulsive Gamblers and the Oblivians, came up next and were the perfect next-to-last act for a crowd that had been drinking beer in the sun all day. With a retro sound that hearkens back to 50’s rock-n-roll and soul, frontman Greg Cartwright and company gave the already raucous crowd the perfect drinking and dancing music to rock out to before the relatively more staid headliner of the day.

The majority of the large crowd were obviously there to see Kurt Vile, his reputation deservedly keeps growing, with every New York performance he does selling out almost immediately. His new album Wakin’ on a Pretty Daze is on every music critic’s best of list, and he seems to have hit a stride of making beautiful psychedelic folk that you can make out to or get drunk mourning the person you used to make out with, in equal parts. I always envisioned him as being a gloomy sort of guy based on his music, but seeing him walking around during the day, smile on his face, toddler daughter on his shoulder, he looked like he’s at a happy place in his life. He’s assembled a terrific backing band in the Violators and his set included both songs from the new album as a well as fan favorites from previous albums. His set was a great way to end a gorgeous NYC day, and a festival that showcased an outstanding range of talent. Bravo to the Village Voice for pulling it off and proving what a relevant arbiter of culture they still are in NYC.