Goodnight Loving is on tour now and hitting stops all over the East Coast and the Midwest throughout the month of April and into May. This weekend they will be performing in New York, appearing Friday night at the Knickerbocker House in Brooklyn and Saturday at the Market Hotel. Saturday's show has a mind-blowing line up, as well. Starting off with Pink Reason, who have recently planted their digs in New York, leaving rural Wisconsin, for the trash-blown streets of Brooklyn where his music echoes in a context that somehow makes more sense to their fans. Over the past year, Kevin Failure, the man behind the mysterious veil that's driven Pink Reason from wistful obscurity to the glorious status of an introverted underground hero, has been busy pumping out records for Woodsist, Columbus Discount Records, and Floridas Dying. Though his live sets are a stretch from his recorded material, his murky, self-aware, songwriting style truly stands on a plane of its own, and missing a set is almost inexcusable.
Up next are the New Jersey outfit Liquor Store, who feature Ethan "Camero Werewolf" from LiveFastDie, who are also performing on Saturday's showcase. Playing tunage that falls to swill level by boasting the razor's edge of the wonderfully ugly side of Americana, they have perfectly nasally vocals, muffled production, and the sort of drunkenly sloppy stage antics that makes for a perfect set. Liquor Store will more than likely live up to their namesake.
One of tonight's real treats is an appearance from Kurt Vile. This Philadelphian blasted the doors to the underground wide open with his debut album Constant Hitmaker, this past year on Gulcher Records, and raked in accolades from all corners of the Internet. Heralding the flag of a modern singer/songwriter, Kurt Vile songs simultaneously eerie, self-reflective, and disjointed. Playing with a vibe of airy, stomach-turning solicitude, Kurt Vile cranks out his inward-pointing guitar aria that's speckled with all sorts of disenchanting dins and nuances that adds a beautifully detached layer to his music.
LiveFastDie has a slot on this gig, too. The release of their excellent Shit Amplified/By The Time These Flowers Die LP on Dusty Medical Records shows the playful breadth of what sort music these guys can throw down, which is everything from bedroom retardo rock to country-fried tunes in a vat of nose grease.
OK, I have to say this. The fact that Goodnight Loving is skipping Chicago this time around on their tour is a great disappointment to me. I feel like locking myself in the bathroom, sitting on the floor and sobbing into my sweaty palms. I mean, I am a complete mess over here because this is one of those bands who seem to be doing everything right. Their sound is nostalgic and new altogether, it rings with the lofty feeling of coming-of-age in a tight-knit gaggle of cronies. They're banging out perfect tunes that at times may seem a little southern, but more often than not fall into that perfect void where genre is an afterthought and playing great songs that ring with some sort of personal truth, is what it's all about. Be sure to pick-up their new LP on Dusty Medical right now, right HERE.
cheack out video clip of Kurt Vile performing at his records release party at Johnny Brenda's last year, courtesy of OESBEE, right here:
