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2 years ago
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It was a warm Spring evening in the East Village as we approached the legendary nightclub Webster Hall. It brought me back to 1996 when Webster Hall was the cool club (weekdays). After many years of transformations and re-openings, Webster Hall seems to have re-established itself as a live music institution. On this night, we've come to hear some local NYC talent, and we did not leave disappointed.
Upon arriving, Mannequin Pussy was deep in their set of indie, psychedelia rock which caught our attention. They've recently become a three piece band, but you wouldn't know it. Their sound was full and strong for the few songs we heard to close their set. Up next, the headline act and NYC based, Sunflower Bean.
We were eager to hear Sunflower Bean and their quite diverse catalog of music including songs from their recently released album, "Headful of Sugar," which has received high praise from critics. The band opened the show with the powerful title track from the album which gave the room a lift with its driving yet rhythmic pumping beat. It definitely set the tone for the show. The second song, "In Flight" was a bit more pop leaning with somewhat of a 90's vibe. I heard some Sheryl Crow and Wallflowers similarities. The band was not afraid to show their diversity early in the set which I could appreciate. There's nothing worse than a flat set of music that all sounds the same! The next song, "twentytwo," which lead singer Julia Cumming explained is a very special son[...]
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What year is it? Everyone is playing Pokemon and blink-182 is back. We discussed the latter in the last installment of AFP Music. Going off the first half of the band’s comeback album California, blink may be back, but they’re not the same. Although despite a slow start to a lengthy record, all hope isn’t lost. The last half a dozen or so songs prove that the band is still as good as you remember.
The first bonafide slow song on the record, "Home Is Such a Lonely Place" finds the band exploring newer territory. It has a little bit more of an electronic element compared to what blink usually puts out, but not so much as to earn a comparison to DeLonge's other band Angels and Airwaves. Another notable characteristic of the song is it's pace. Despite having written close to a dozen records over the course of their career, blink has rarely included a slower, acoustic song. Most bands have at least one per an album. This is the closest blink has come, the only comparisons being either “All of This” or “I’m Lost Without You” or “Miss You” all off of the blink-182. Despite this being their first stab at writing something so stripped back, the song is a success. It isn’t staggeringly special, but it’s touching and Hoppus sound great behind the mic. However, when Skiba takes his turn at vocals, it’s hard to not hear DeLonge in his repeated "without yew"s. The band knew DeLonge's departure would be felt on the record and they replaced him with someone who can sing their old songs,[...]
