Crumb played some of their classic songs and sold out the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday. The show opened with sets from the groups of Shormey and Divino Niño. Both had a similar wavy, indie sound similar to Crumb. Divino Niño delivered a spectacle of a performance with an excess of dancing and tossing roses; their showmanship rivaled that of the headliner.
Crumb donned the stage to “Sweet Escape” and kicked off the show with “Cracking,” the opening song to their full length album Jinx. Lila Ramani delivered her signature sweet vocals and dreamy guitar licks. At some point, she brought balloons to the front of the stage and emptied a water bottle on the crowd. For their encore, Crumb played one of their most popular hits, “So Tired.” When the song picked up, everyone from the opening acts burst on stage to play and dance together.
Brooklyn-based family band New Kingston continues to be one of the most prolific and relatable bands in the U.S. reggae community. Their rock2roots showcases the many styles and vibrations New Kingston brings both on the road and in the studio. Their latest single, “Bring Your Rays,” released via Easy Star Records, gives listeners a taste of their trademark sound.
Comprised of a trio of brothers – Tahir Panton (keys/vocals), Courtney Panton Jr. (drums/vocals), and Stephen Suckarie (guitar/vocals) – New Kingston first came together as a band performing for friends and neighbors under the watchful eye of their father (and bassist) Courtney Panton Sr. Dubbing themselves New Kingston to reflect upon both their Jamaican heritage and their home in New York City, the fusion of these two identities, both cultural roots and Brooklyn roots, guides their musical and stylistic direction.
They’ll perform at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday, October 31, after a summer of putting a focus on singles for their rock2roots series. Tahir Panton states, “The rock2roots series will showcase the wide range of our musical styles that we’ve been crafting for over a decade.”
According to the band, “Bring Your Rays” was inspired by humanity’s collective soul, adding, “In this changing world, love is something we need more of. It will solve more than we know. So be the sunlight in the darkness and “bring your rays”!” It’s the perfect follow up to their fiery last single release “Fyah Nuh Hot Like You,” which dropped in March.
Marco Benevento at Music Hall of Williamsburg – Photo: Joseph Buscarello
Marco Benevento brought his trio to Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday night to showcase their new album Let It Slide. Marco has been a long time fixture in the New York music scene, and that was evident by the packed house and friends engaging with and cheering Marco on from the crowd. Earlier this month, the trio was at Cohoes Music Hall, just north of Troy, NY and the album itself was recorded in Queens.
The show began with a jam packed 45 minute set from The Mattson 2 – consisting of twin brothers Jonathon and Jared Mattson. The duo’s psychedelic jazz is so energetic and dense that if you were not looking you would think there was a four-piece band on stage. Guitarist Jared Mattson loops bass lines and other melodies through a large pedal board while playing a fast-paced, jazz-rock guitar on top of it all. The chemistry between the brothers is palatable, and the banter just as comical. Even as Jared was bouncing all over the stage, the two were able to stay locked in key the whole set.
The Mattson 2 at Music Hall of Williamsburg – Photo: Joseph BuscarelloThe Mattson 2 at Music Hall of Williamsburg – Photo: Joseph Buscarello
A hometown show is always special, and a look of pure joy could be seen on Marco and the band’s faces throughout the night. The crowd was singing and dancing along to every song of the nearly two hour set. The connection between the fans and the group was obvious. Climactic parts of songs would send bassist Karina Rykman leaping into the air with her bass and Marco took every chance he could to jump up from his piano bench.
Karina Rykman at Music Hall of Williamsburg – Photo: Joseph Buscarello
The band was electric from start to finish, even when they went on extended jams, it was always captivating. The musicianship from the trio was top-notch, so good their shows are not to be missed!
Marco Benevento at Music Hall of Williamsburg – Photo: Joseph Buscarello
The tour continues across North America through February, with a quick flyover to Japan for the Festival De Frue in early November.
London-based trio The Comet is Coming present a dark and earthshaking sound with their blend of jazz, electronica and psychedelia. Shabaka Hutchings (also of Sons of Kemet and Shabaka and the Ancestors) plays a frenetic and chaotic saxophone over haunting and pulsing percussion from drummer Max Hallett. Swirling, psychedelic synths by Dan Leavers drown the mix, making the listener feel as if they are trapped in a jazz apocalypse dream.
Fresh off their new LP, The Afterlife, released in September on Impulse! Records, the band began a short October tour on Tuesday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. A simple stage set-up, with a lone, dim red light illuminating the drum kit center-stage awaited fans as the doors opened. With no opener, Comet quietly took the stage and began playing some lighter jazz progressions as the band was seemingly just loosening up. Then, with a loud crescendo, the band dove right into their heavy jazz rock.
The sound of The Comet is Coming stands distinctly apart from Shabaka’s other projects, and most of the modern jazz scene. The Afterlife can easily be the soundtrack for any number of cosmic apocalypse movies. It’s a raw mix of Sun Ra’s spacey sound with dance-floor ready techno percussions.
For roughly an hour and a half, the band flew in and out of tracks from all of their releases, but relying heavily on The Afterlife. There was no lull to speak of – as one song was coming to an end, one of the musicians was already looping the next track to keep a continuous flow. Each band member took their turn with a solo, which seamlessly integrated into the setlist. A simple back-lit stage cast the band in silhouette – giving the music that extra bit of ominous mystery.
Shabaka Hutchings of The Comet is Coming. Photo by Buscar Photo
The Comet is Coming have cemented their status as one of the more exciting and intriguing modern jazz bands out there. Their live show is a visceral, cathartic experience and each new release sees the band pushing their music further down the rabbit hole of underground jazz. They continue on a short run of dates in early October, ending with a stop at Austin City Limits on October 11 before heading over to Europe.
Adrianne Lenker took to music from childhood, learning the craft of songwriting from her musician father and other teachers. Her path eventually led her to pull on the hearts of the audience at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Febraury 14.” Mostly drawing from 2018’s abysskiss, Lenker brought her personal, imaginative and often complex world to life during her sold out performance.
Taking a break from leading Big Thief, Lenker opted for a smaller stage. Starting off with “Not,” a relatively new track debuted in France, she then followed with the rarely played “Spud Infinity.” The lyrical wit and sing-a-long pace of the song belied Adrianne’s heartfelt recurring theme of acceptance; to not be so harsh to exorcise the frightening unknown within us, and learn to embrace it as part of who we are.
Lenker’s childhood is filled with material that she draws on for her songs. In multiple conversations with Pitchfork, she explains being raised in a religious cult in Indianapolis until she was four. She moved about 14 times before she was eight, bearing witness to her family’s fallout from religion and constant identity shifts. These years inspired a disposition to begin writing songs from different perspectives; a spectator looking from the outside, in.
Lenker’s songs are examinations of identity, steeped in metaphors and themes of love, family, trauma, femininity and sex. Her words are descriptive and visceral, so delicately accented by her clear, expressive voice that they pierce straight through your core. Thematically, Lenker’s lyrics are reminiscent of artists like Laura Marling, showing a strength in moving through the pain.
Playing “Pretty Things,” a song which Lenker describes as a mantra in a Stereogum interview, she struck a tone that was equally arresting and soothing. Singing about penetrating the facade of her lover’s toxic behavior and coaxing him into embracing the power of his feminine qualities, she repeated: Don’t take me for a fool, there’s a woman inside of me, there’s one inside of you, too.
As the line lulled the men in the audience into embracing their Valentine’s dates a bit tighter, it was followed by a graphic representation of the power in feminine energy to wash away the sins of damaging masculinity: There is a meeting in my thighs where, in thunder and lightning, men are baptized in their anger and fighting their deceit and lies.
Amongst the more raw, vulnerable songs, “Hours Were the Birds”, from the 2014 album of the same name, represented the romance of traveling with no destination. The song included hints of a poetic Springsteen-esque sehnsucht, a feeling of yearning for an idealised experience somewhere in the distance, reflecting on what you’ve gained and the traces of yourself you’ve left behind.
Lenker’s sage storytelling was matched by her guitar skills. Her training at Berklee College of Music began when she filled a scholarship sponsored by Susan Tedeschi, and was accepted as one of only two women in the guitar program. Changing to an open tuning, she sang “Kerina,” filling the spaces between words with melodic guitar phrases which harmonized with her voice.
Experimental indie folk artist Luke Temple opened the show, and joined Lenker on stage for a number of songs. The two explored various moods as Temple provided atmospheric accompaniment and effects from the mystical, peaceful declarations of love in “womb” to the darker and grungy “symbol.”
Adrianne Lenker is a special kind of artist who can make you feel just as exposed as she feels on stage, and yet help you find immense strength in that vulnerability. At only 27 years old, hers is a talent that’ll be heard for years to come.
