The Best Shows in NYC This Week: Future Islands + Louis C.K. + !!! (chk chk chk) + Andrew W.K. + Rustie + Dr. Dog + Gates + Crying + Lydia Lunch + lots more musical goodness - Oh My Rockness

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The Best Shows in NYC This Week: Future Islands + Louis C.K. + !!! (chk chk chk) + Andrew W.K. + Rustie + Dr. Dog + Gates + Crying + Lydia Lunch + lots more musical goodness

January 4, 2015

Written by Patrick McNamara

Alright. That’s it. No more Happy New Year wishing. After January 5th (at the LATEST) we say goodbye to all that. Because who has time to go around exchanging such pleasantries day after day? We all have important resolutions to resolve, goddamn it.

If you have resolved to 1.) procrastinate more and 2.) go to more shows - you’re really going to LOVE this week’s Best Shows This Week feature. This one’s dedicated to you.

If you resolved to 1.) be a better version of you - please note that you’re perfectly fine the way you already are and loving your current self should free up plenty of time to do things like procrastinate and go to more shows. You can’t lose.

Let’s get the goodness started. Happy New Year!

Shit. I forgot my own rule. Good thing rules were meant to be broken.

Monday - January 5th, 2014 A.D.

Operators play Baby’s All Right. Dan Boeckner is in this band. Past bands by Dan include Wolf Parade + Handsome Furs. I saw Wolf Parade at Pianos once. And while of course I can’t see or hear you, I’ll assume you are now clapping vigorously at your screen for me.

Vomitface play Cake Shop. File Under: Vomitface. RIYL: Vomitface. See Also: Fartbarf.

Other notable shows = let’s ease into the goodness after a long layoff…. let’s ease into it... life’s not a sprint it’s a marathon, man.

SEE ALL OF OUR MONDAY PICKS

Tuesday - January 6th, 2014 A.D.

Luke Jenner of The Rapture plays Silent Barn with a bunch of other bands (such impressive display of research this week). It’s too bad The Rapture aren’t still with us. That was one goddamn good band. Why did LCD Soundsystem take over the world but not The Rapture? It’s a real head scratcher and one I’m hell bent on solving one day. Murphy!

Other notable shows = ease into it now…. ease into it.

SEE ALL OF OUR TUESDAY PICKS

Wednesday - January 7th, 2014 A.D.

Speaking of The Rapture, their electro (tee hee) contemporaries !!! (chk chk chk) start their four night run at Union Pool tonight. In general I’m not a big fan of bands who are big fans of punctuation but !!! are an excitable exception. Here’s a classic NYC cut circa 2003.

Musical instrumentologist (sic, I know) Mark McGuire (formerly of Emeralds) brings the cosmically warm vibrations to Baby’s All Right. I’m glad to see he’s knocking it out of the park again after finally putting all this crazy steroyd* business behind him.

*no, man - sic YOU

Louis C.K. plays Madison Square Garden (and next week too). He is a very funny man. And often I find that his whip smart humorous observations regarding intimate everyday life translate extremely well to huge, cavernous arenas. They work especially well up in the 300 level section. Louis’ golden bits about his kids get real hysterical up there.

Other notable shows = shh….. it’s a marathon, man.

SEE ALL OF OUR WEDNESDAY PICKS

Thursday - January 8th, 2014 A.D.

Baltimore’s Future Islands play Terminal 5 (and tomorrow too). Perhaps you’ve heard of them from The David Letterman Show and/or The Pitch Fart and/or this five-year-old band profile I wrote? This band is pretty popular in 2015. And happily, they are the rare popular band that doesn’t play poop. Future Islands is excellent.

Gates play Saint Vitus (with Young Statues and Bob Nanna’s The City on Film). Careful Rockness readers might recall that I sweat this #postrock #emo #good band pretty hard. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the flawless melodies. Maybe it’s the solid songwriting. Maybe it’s because whenever I listen to their new album (“Bloom & Breathe”) I can’t tell if I’m indescribably happy or tremendously sad. There’s nothing down about their live show though. They step up and bring the heat. This is going to be a #good one.

Rustie plays Music Hall of Williamsburg. He brings the beats. 'Cuz that’s how Scotland do............... when they're not doing shoegaze/indiepop.

Other notable shows = !!! at Union Pool + Joakim at Cameo Gallery for FIXED + Such Hounds at Pianos

SEE ALL OF OUR THURSDAY PICKS

Friday - January 9th, 2014 A.D.

Vasudeva play Palisades and Vasudeva are a really good band. This is instrumental post-rock tapping math rock madness of the finest order, I tell you. THE FINEST ORDER. You should get into these guys. And I should mind my own business. But no. I won’t. Not this time. No way. No how.

Crying play Silent Barn. I recently wrote some kind words about Crying. Nobody even pitched me to do so either. I just wrote those words because I genuinely like them. I do that for all the bands I write about. I don’t even use press releases to help steer me in the “right” direction before I start. Wow! Rare! Mint! LAST MUSIC BLOBBER STANDING. But yeah, Crying are a good band.

Tijuana Panthers play The Studio at Webster Hall. Good punk jingle-jangle straight outta Long Beach (the California kind). If our calculations are correct, they haven’t played NYC in two years. And that show two years ago was their first NYC show in two years. So if you miss this one, it’s cool, there’s always 2017 and the commute should be fairly chill in your flying car.

Other notable shows = Future Islands at Terminal 5 + Dr. Dog at Music Hall of Williamsburg + !!! at Union Pool + Zula at Shea Stadium + High on Fire (twice) at Saint Vitus Bar + Sinkane at Highline Ballroom + Peanut Butter Wolf at Brooklyn Bowl (early) + Slick Rick at Brooklyn Bowl (late)

SEE ALL OF OUR FRIDAY PICKS

Saturday - January 10th, 2014 A.D.

Good “post-something” lo-fi punk crunch lineup at Shea Stadium. And I’d like to take a couple of lines and tell you about it if that’s alright? Great! Pile + Krill + Baked + Swings play and I encourage you to attend this show if you like guitars and/or pizza.

Multi-talented poet, performer, and No Wave legend Lydia Lunch performs her album “Retrovirus” with shred help from members of Sonic Youth + Pussy Galore + Child Abuse at Rough Trade. She’s a good one to know if you want to better know the modern narrative of NYC punk and all the noise that came after.

Slingshot Dakota (courtesy of Topshelf Records Inc. - or maybe they’re an LLC - I don’t really know) play Baby’s All Right. This duo has been slinging the synth + drums indiepop goodness for over a decade now. Time, please stop slipping by. There’s too much music left to hear.

Other notable shows = Oneida at Palisades + Dr. Dog at Music Hall of Williamsburg + !!! at Union Pool + Such Hounds at Baby’s All Right.

SEE ALL OF OUR SATURDAY PICKS

Sunday - January 11th, 2014 A.D.

Comic Greg Barris and kind Buddha Andrew W.K. team up to talk “Mind Warriors” stuff at Union Hall. Not sure what will be discussed but if the last time I saw Andrew W.K. speak is any indication, it will probably be engaging, worth your time, and 100% chill.

Dr. Dog play Music Hall of Williamsburg. They’ve been playing there all week, actually. Wow That’s one smart pooch. Elvis Perkins (have fun munching on that 8 year old band profile) is opening and if our calculations are correct the last time this fine songwriter played NYC was almost four years ago after being everywhere in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. Those were the days.

Other notable shows = ease out of the goodness…. ease out.

SEE ALL OF OUR SUNDAY PICKS

Happy New Year!

Shit. Forgot again.

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