Catch The Street Wave

The Invincible Gods

Street Wave is a catchphrase cooked up by a couple of bands that met along the East Williamsburg/Bushwick border, where the rents are cheap, the beer comes in kegs, and the L Train is your only link to civilization. The Atomic Missiles and Plastic East are gone now but new bands have emerged to take their place, and the current Street Wave scene threw a rock n roll part last night at the Lion's Den in NYC.

The Lion's Den is one of those clubs that's been around forever but totally slips under the hipster radar; a company called CegMusic books the place and usually fills it with cover bands, jam bands, reggae and other Third World acts, and a lot of drunken NYU students. The place actually enjoyed a vogue back in the early Nineties when NYC was in the throes of the funk revival; I'd often go to packed shows there. But it's long by supplanted by Arlene Grocery, Piano's, Sin-E, and the other Lower East Side clubs favored by the hipoisie and right now it's reputation hovers around the same level of lowbrow disapproval as the Baggott Inn and Kenny's Castaways.

That said, it's not a bad space; in fact, it's like a cleaner, brighter CBGB, a long narrow wood-paneled room with a big stage at the far end. The dressing room was a lot nicer when the club was a lot hipper back in the early Nineties but at least they give the bands drink tickets (that's more hospitality that you get at a lot of NYC clubs.) And the sound was great - you could hear every vocal and instrument clearly without running for ear plugs because of ear-bleeding volume, like at so many NY clubs.

Eisenhower

The night started off with Eisenhower, who used to be part of the Charleston Bar's streetwave scene in Williamsburg; in fact, these guys played as my backup band there a few times. The band has been spending most of the last year growing facial hair and tweaking its repertoire in preparation for finally recording a real CD (they've had some demos floating around but no real record yet.) So I didn't hear many new songs but the old ones are sounding really tight, an interesting mix of Brooklyn rawk with a Cajun twist.


The Invincible Gods

The Invincible Gods feature two staples of the Street Wave scene, guitarist Sean Korman and drummer Nick Fury of the late, lamented Atomic Missiles, along with singer Candace. Sean runs his guitar through some pedals and both a guitar and bass amp, creating cool bottom tones under his leads which take the place of a bassist. The male/female vocals showcase the deadpan wit and cultural insights that made the Missiles so much fun. There's a definite White Stripes vibe to what they're doing, but Nick is a much better drummer than Meg and the combo of Sean and Candace add a unique presence to the mix. Good stuff.


The One And Only Typicals

The One And Only Typicals feature Matt Garappolo and Eddie Garza, two L.A. transplants (guys who had befriended Nick and Sean during the Missiles' California odyssey) and Joe Borges, a drummer who grew up with the guys from Plastic East, so they're already very much part of the Street Wave collective. The two front guys on guitar and bass share vocals and have a preppy collegiate vibe, balanced by the sweaty shirtless maniac behind the drums, playing indie-pop that references everything from the Replacements to the Jam. They've got a couple of killer pop singles in their set already and should just keep getting better.



The Screaming Females

The token NJ band turned out to be The Screaming Females, who came up from New Brunswick to add their insane pounding dronecore to the proceedings. If you haven't encountered them before, the band consists of Marissa, a diminutive dynamo on guitar and vocals who shreds like Slash and wails like the bastard daughter of Poly Styrene and Lydia Lunch. All that would be captivating enough but then throw in a rhythm section that's as tight as bonded steel and you've got a No Wave classic-rock gumbo that combines the incancatory intensity of classic Patti Smith with the zombie-chill groove of the Doors. In short, they're amazing and you need to check this band out.


The Imperialists

The last night of the act was The Imperialists, in which Plastic East bassist Mike East takes the lead on vocals, abetted by two of the guys from TOAOT's (including that crazy drummer, yeah!) Like Mike's songs with Plastic East, the Imperialists play the rock 'n' roll card for all it's worth, giving Mike's Elvis-caliber charisma a forum in which to shake, rattle, and roll.

You could book this night's lineup into the bow of the Titanic and it'd still be killer entertainment. It just goes to prove that even with CBGB and the Continental gone, you don't need a marquee to have a fun night. Anyplace with a p.a. and a liquor license will do just fine if you have the right bands.