A Friday Night in NYC – May 25, 2007
Been awhile since I posted here, but have found my way back! Also it has been awhile since I wandered down to NYC to check out some music and all. Last night though made it down and checked out two bands that are routinely on my radar, Mad Juana, and Do You See the Dark. Both have wandered up and played on Wild West bills. Mad Juana was awhile back but we still did get them up here. Really, just need to get them both back up to Westchester!
So it was very cool checking them both out, saying hello, promising them that the wild west will be doing something sometime soon (we hope)! Two very different bands both regarding where they are in their careers, in the type of music. No doubt a range of differences, but at the end of the day, they are both two very listenable bands.
Mad Juana, featuring Sammi Yaffa (Hanoi Rocks/ New York Dolls) on acoustic guitar and Karmen on vocals with a trumpet and sax player supporting them along with an accordionist, bass and drummer doing a range of styles from folk to dixie, to gypsy to who knows what else. Do you see the dark is a Three piece, again all great musicians, but doing this dark melodic metal that somehow has some pop mixed in.
Two interesting bands. The thing that kind of irked me thru the evening is that in both cases, (They were in two different venues down in the east village) is that both of them, and bands in general, were and are today delegated to the basement. Both were nice lounge bars with some space upstairs. But the bands are delegated to the basements.
Factor in the loss of CBGBs, and the continental, throw in the Delancey, another place where there is a clean cut distinction between the rockers downstairs and the others upstairs. One has to wonder about the strength of the NY music scene considering the trend.
I look at what Austin TX has done, pulling so many NY rockers down to it this past March or April and wonder has NY lost whatever it had. Not sure what you call it. It is a worry. Here I am wanting to latch on to that vibe and bring it up to Westchester. And yet I am sitting here, wondering how alive and well the NY music scene is.
I guess as Roger Daltrey said, Rock is dead – Long live Rock. A more current song to quote and closer to my heart of course is Bernie Torme – you can’t beat Rock’n’Roll. You can beat the rap, you can beat the wife, but you cannot beat Rock’n’Roll.
And in the meantime do support both of those bands – Mad Juana and Do You See The Dark!
Bob Schaffer
