After a long lead-in with lots of really short singles, we’re thrilled to release Frater Set, the latest EP by Vancouver, BC’s Night Court.
We do love this band.
FraterSet is a five-song EP that rings in at just over seven minutes in total, yet each song is a song, with a start, middle and end, fully-formed and chock full of hooks. The EP has a Halloween theme, but each spooky song also stands alone on its own.
If you like Marked Men, the Steve Adamyk Band, Connections, Exploding Hearts, or Sonic Avenues, then Marked Men will be up your alley. If you don’t, well, the record is short.
Available on limited-edition lathe-cut 7″ or high-resolution digital download. Visit our store to grab your copy before it’s too late – as is the case with all our lathe-cut releases, they are available only on our site or through the band, and once we run out, that’s it – no re-presses.
A few weeks into the rearview mirror, I thought I’d take some time to reflect on the amazing experience Drom30 turned out to be.
The vibes were amazing, and each and every performance was special. The venues were great, the weather was perfect, and the smiles – I’ve never seen people so happy, for so long. Years of watching jaded indie folks standing still with their arms folded at shows really left me unprepared for the joy I saw – dancing, laughing, people with their eyes filled with tears as they watched bands they thought they might never see again, mingling with bands that are putting out vital, relevant music today.
There were so many highlights, I know I’m going to miss some, but I’ll try and note some of my favorites:
• Original Speed the Plough guitarist Marc Francia leading off the band’s set with a few songs. We’ve been friends with STP for more than a decade, but I’ve never seen Marc perform live with the band. It was the perfect way to kick off a weekend of reunions.
Marc Francia of Speed the Plough (all photos on this page by Jessica Giacobbe
• Yung Wu playing Neil Young’s “Powderfinger,” a staple in their set. In 2011 at our first Camelfest show at Maxwell’s, Yung Wu played the song, and it was fitting to hear these Maxwell’s veterans ripping into the song at Tubby’s, the venue that’s come the closest to capturing the Maxwell’s vibe that I know.
Glenn Mercer (Yung Wu, The Feelies)
• Civic Mimic, originally a pandemic project of Glazer’s Jeff Hersch, erupting into a fully-formed band, young guys bashing out punk with shades of Superchunk, their new guitar player (who’s name I missed) blasting out one melodic lead after another.
• The joy on the face of our pal Jack Rabid of The Big Takeover as French began their set – the first time he’d seen them in decades.
• Dancing to ’70s disco spun by DJ JC of the death metal band Rigorous and the punk-pop band King Mike Entertainment System. JC also happens to be my son.
• Flower, playing “Beauty, Pt. II,” the song that introduced me to their music so long ago.
Flower
• Guy Capecelatro III and Carrie Bradley performing together. We were introduced to both of their music by Ron of Sunburned Hand of the Man almost 30 years ago (long before Sunburned was a thing), and have been in love with their songwriting ever since. What a treat to see them perform together.
• Meeting Sleepyhead, and watching Rachael and Chris perform with their son Flynn on guitar for a few songs. Also, hearing their new material! Wait til you hear it!
Rachel from Sleepyhead
• Tara Key. Jesus. Antietam have always been a great band, and Tara is one of our favorite guitar players, but she was on FIRE.
Tim and Tara from Antietam
• Tommy from Cathedral Ceilings’ bass strap pops off mid-song. Completely. Sean from Stuyvesant jumps onstage, grabs the strap, and reattaches it while Tommy keeps playing. Tommy doesn’t miss a note. Crowd goes wild.
• Das Damen ripping into their cover of the Pretenders’ “The Wait,” as they performed on the Tannis Root compilation “Freedom of Choice” way back in 1992.
Das Damen – first performances in more than 30 years!
• Mark Shue of Guided by Voices and Betsy Wright of Ex-Hex spinning late 70s power pop records at the afterparty
Betsy Wright (Ex-Hex) & Mark Shue (Guided by Voices) DJ the afterparty
• DJ Metal Mark of Worldsucks with a metal DJ set, waking us all up on Sunday morning.
• Jenny Toomey, Jean Cook and Franklin Bruno, playing a stunning set. Franklin went so far above and beyond the call of duty by playing this show, it’s not possible to describe how thrilled we were. EVERYONE was.
Jenny Toomey, Jean Cook & Franklin Bruno
• The crowd reaction to Kingston, New York’s Overheard. We can’t wait to play you more music from Overheard (hint, hint).
• Brian Musikoff joining Stuyvesant on bass for a few songs. Last time Brian played with Stuyvesant was in 2016.
• Madder Rose. MADDER ROSE! So much dancing!
• Lotion. First show in 11 years, and it seemed like in that time, they’d gotten BETTER. What an amazing, amazing performance. People were CRYING. And they played “A Quick One While He’s Away!”
Lotion
Thanks to everyone who joined us, everyone who tuned into the simulcast on WGXC, all the venues, the staff who kept us comfortable, fed, well-lubricated and happy for three days, and of course every band who traveled to the Hudson Valley – some of which hadn’t played together in years and years – for next to no money, just to have a big party and a lot of fun.
See you next year? Maybe!
MORE PHOTOS!
The crowd at Tubby’s for Yung Wu FridayOutside Left Bank Ciders Saturday afternoonGlenn Mercer, Stan Demeski and Dave Weckerman of Yung WuSaturday afternoon at the AvalonAntietamRalphie and Tommy of Cathedral CeilingsMC “Hoboken Jack” Silbert introduces Civic Mimic to kick off SaturdayJim of Das DamenDiego Ramirez of Das DamenStill rock starsIan James of FlowerRichard Baluyut of FlowerAndrew Bordwin of FrenchCarrie Bradley (The Breeders, Ed’s Redeeming Qualities)Guy Capecelatro III and Carrie BradleyJoy Cleaner at Left Bank CidersLysa (Aeon Station) and Nick (Cathedral Ceilings) with a DJ set that paid homage to the jukeboxes at Maxwell’s and the Court TavernDJ JC spinning discoChris of SleepyheadSleepyheadMatt Ford of Dippers, all the way from AustraliaInnez Tulloch of DippersDJ Metal MarkEven the dogs dug itJean Cook, Jenny Toomey, Franklin BrunoJean CookTony and Bill of LotionRob Youngberg of LotionTony of LotionJim of LotionMadder RoseMary Lorson of Madder RoseErin Barth-Dwyer of OverheardOverheardStuyvesantStuyvesantAdam Elk of the MommyheadsThe MommyheadsEven rockers need to eat – outside the AvalonDJ Jeff Economy spinning records Friday nightSwagMC Jack Silbert at Tubby’s Friday nightToni Baumgartner (Speed the Plough)Dan Francia (Speed the Plough)
We’re stoked to announce the forthcoming release of Frater Set, a new EP by the Vancouver, BC band Night Court.
We first heard Night Court last year when we stumbled upon their excellent Greatest Hits cassette, released by the equally excellent Discos Peroquebien label of Valencia. Featuring 25 songs culled from two prior releases, just one song clocked in at longer than 2 minutes, each delivered at a blistering pace, loaded with hooks. It was one of our favorite releases of last year.
Their latest release, Humans! (released in the US by the Snappy Little Numbers label) is another favorite, and true to form, just three of the album’s 16 tracks last longer than 2 minutes, but each is laden with hooks and energy, another punk masterpiece for fans of Marked Men, Connections, Sonic Avenues, or dare we say, Cathedral Ceilings?
Frater Set is a five-song EP that will be released digitally as well as a limited-edition lathe-cut 7″ on Halloween. Today we’re releasing the EP’s first single, “Little Darkness,” a power punk masterpiece that lasts just 20 seconds from beginning to end but with more hooks per second than you can imagine.
Today is the long-awaited release day of the expanded reissue of Das Damen’s debut EP. Originally self-titled, the expanded version has been titled 1986: Keeps Me Wild, a statement on the gritty, grimy NYC proto-grunge the band became known for as the 80s turned into 90s. Subsequent records with SST, Twin/Tone and Sub Pop established the band’s indie cred; shows with the likes of Nirvana, Soundgarden, Black Flag and Sonic Youth added fuel to the fire.
When the band conceived the idea for this record, they reached out to friends to help augment their work. Damen drummer Lyle Hysen recruited Brad Cohan to create an oral history of the band, which was combined with liner notes from Tom Scharpling, Thurston Moore, and others to form a brand-new issue of Damaged Goods, Hysen’s long-lost zine. The band then recruited pals Thalia Zedek (Come, E, Uzi), Gary Lee Conner (Screaming Trees), Dez Cadena (Black Flag), John Robinson (The Fluid), and A Girl Called Eddy to add vocals and instruments to long-lost demo tracks from the album. Ace recording engineer Tom Beaujour (Nada Surf, Aeon Station) mixed it all together. The result is a staggering slab of influential indie rock from before its halcyon days.
The digital version of the LP is available now, and comes with a PDF copy of Damaged Goods Issue 10. The deluxe vinyl version is in production now, on target for a late October finish, and includes a printed copy of the zine, some killer images of old gig flyers, and of course, the entire original EP plus all the outtakes, demos, and reimagined tracks. If you buy the vinyl LP from our Bandcamp site, you get the music and digital zine via high-resolution download, and we’ll ship you the vinyl LP just as soon as we’ve got it.
Late last week we received a phone call we were dreading: our pals in Monsterland had to drop off the lineup for the Drom30 festival. Nothing serious, but some last-minute, uncancelable obligations came up and they had to drop.
Coordinating an event that spans three days with 19 performers, a bunch of DJs and five different locations, I sort of anticipated that there would be some sort of snag – somewhere – but losing Monsterland really bummed me out. Suffice to say they were the second band I asked (Stuyvesant was the first), and the first to confirm, and I was really looking forward to hearing them blast out some of my favorite songs ever, as they’re truly one of my favorite bands.
Regrouping, I was reminded that just the week before, I became aware that NYC indie rockers Madder Rose had just dropped a brand-new album. No One Gets Hurt Ever was released on August 4, their first record since 2019’s To Be Beautiful. I searched around, looking for any sign of a tour or a release party and found nothing.
So I held my breath and fired off an instant message via social media.
Within a few hours I’d received a response from guitarist Billy Cote’, asking a few questions. And while I slowly fell in love with No One Gets Hurt Ever, we worked out the details and Madder Rose officially agreed to join the bill! They’ll appear in Monsterland’s slot at the Avalon on Sunday night.
Billy told me this week that it’ll be Madder Rose’s first show in 24 years with this original lineup. That’s pretty exciting, and I am beyond thrilled to be able to add a band of this caliber to our little party.
OLD, CRANKY AND LOUD – Noisy pop music for weirdos like you.
