Not many bands can brag that Mudhoney covered one of their songs on record. But Cheater Slicks, who have been no-so-quietly slinging garage-sludge tunes since the late 80s, reached immortality in 1998 when Mudhoney covered “Ghost” on Tomorrow Hit Today. Now approaching 40 years as a band, they’re still going at it full-throttle. I confess they’ve only recently come on my radar and I was excited to catch them at Tubby’s a couple weeks back. Of course, “Ghost” was played as were some newer tunes like last year’s “I Am Low.” Show-opener “Apocalypse” hails from the late 90’s (a Y2K premonition perhaps) but is all too punishingly relevant. The band just wrapped up touring, but follow them on Instagram for notice of future action.
Tracks [56:33] 01. Apocalypse 02. No 4 03. Erotic Woman 04. Refried Dreams 05. Ghost 06. Feel Free 07. I Am Low 08. Think I'm Coming Down 09. My Little Red Book 10. Stop Breeding 11. Mystery Ship 12. Crackin' Up 13. Murder
Our coverage of Sunburned Hand of the Man shows now spans almost twelve years—a small fraction of the band’s thirty-plus years spent freaking out anyone who may have wandered into a show unprepared. In that time, we’ve seen many iterations of the band, the personnel being as mutable at the performances themselves. Sunburned Hand of the Man are like Theseus’ ship, whatever pieces you exchange it’s always different and always the same (paging John Peel). This latest stop at Tubby’s features Shannon Ketch (vocals/sax/keyboards), Rob Thomas (bass), Mark Perretta (guitar), Matt Krefting (keyboards/vocals), and Ian St George (drums). Band mainstays or newcomers, the group draws deep from the Sunburned well for this performance of acid-psych free verse, dispatches from inner-space. Listen close enough and you may fall in.
One of my least favorite things about being the “music guy” in various circles is when I have to try to explain what something sounds like. When you talk with other obsessives, it’s easier; you can talk about specific moments on obscure records or eras of labels to evoke an idea or feeling. But for people without that vocabulary, I generally find myself trying to lean on broad terms or genres, and it always feels like I’m short-changing someone’s vision. Portland’s Silver Triplets of the Rio Hondo seem to recognize this problem and have saved me the hassle by referring to themselves as “ranch house exotica” or “Sci-fi roadhouse for dissociatives.” Both of which feel accurate.
I was unfamiliar with this band prior to looking over Tubby’s schedule for June. It took all of about 45 seconds of previewing their 2022 record, “Luminous Dial” to know I wanted to catch this show. The listener is immediately dropped into a very stylized and psychedelic version of a western film score. The recordings have the required drench of reverb but are made all the more interesting with curious samples and found sounds that seem to come from nowhere and everywhere and make for a very enjoyable headphone ride.
The live show was similar. Reverb-soaked vocals courtesy of William Slater that invoke the spookiest version of Mexican poncho-wearing Clint Eastwood backed with Christopher Cook’s superb Tele playing. Big shout out to drummer Haven Multz Matthews for keeping the train on the tracks; there is a lot going on in these songs, and with no traditional rhythm section he is solely responsible for keeping it organized. It’s not easy to have things sound equally appropriate for Bakersfield or a basement avant-garde show.
The Triplets mentioned they have new studio material on the horizon. You can get a taste via the lead single “Your Love” at their Bandcamp, as well as a version played this evening below. And while you’re over at their Bandcamp, why not grab their 2022 debut, “Luminous Dial? Keep an eye on their instagram for updates on the new record!
I recorded this front eh usual spot in the back with the Scheops MK22’s and board feed from FOH engineer Wil. I had to make some decisions while mixing to feature the room mic or the samples which came from the board feed more heavily. My default is always to lean towards the room sound which I did here. The result is a stronger presence of vocals, drums and telecaster over some of the sampling but overall I think the sound is very good. Enjoy
M. Geddes Gengras is a musical polymath. Maybe you know him from his time with Akron/Family. Or maybe from his work with The Congos. Or maybe you’ve seen him DJing. Or maybe…you get the idea. He is always around doing something. But tonight we got to see him just be Ged.
This show was the release party for his excellent new record “Guest List” which was just released on the also excellent Hausu Mountain records. This album finds Ged accepting the role of “leader” in as much as anything this cosmic can be led. A stacked line up of musicians take Ged’s compositions and filter it through their own lens before being fully assembled, and synthesized, by Ged himself. The result is a deeply personal excursion through all realms of psychedelic music.
For the live show he assembled a serious wrecking crew of Hudson Valley regulars. Nick Malken and Ben Seretan on guitar, Jared Ashdown on sax, Otto Hauser and John Thayer on Drums. This ensemble was given extreme freedom to take these compositions to the headiest places possible. You can find traces of the psychedelic tonal perfection of Tortoise living inside the deep weirdness of a ‘73 “Darkstar” giving way to something that could have been a B side on “ The Orb’s Adventures beyond the Ultraworld”. Like I said, heady shit. I dare you to make it through “Motore” while maintaining a firm grasp on space and time.
This was recorded from my usual spot by the soundboard with Scheops MK22s and a really great mix by FOH engineer Wil. The separation on the synths is a pretty wild ride with headphones. Highly recommended. However you listen to it, do it loud!
The Messthetics are, in theory, a jazz band. The center of the band consists of Joe Lally on Bass and Brendan Canty on drums. I’m not going to lean too heavily into the whole Fugazi thing; that’s on you to already know, but I will say that any rhythm section that has operated together for 40 years is serious shit. Rounding out the band, a quintet in this incantation, are Anthony Pirog on guitar and James Brandon Lewis on Sax, both capable of simultaneously summoning Angels and Demons on every note. So while this is, in theory, a jazz band, in reality, it is an absolute monster musical force that you can not avoid.
After some brief housekeeping by Brendan, the set started with “Deface The Currency,” the title track on their new LP (Impulse), where this band’s terrifying force and precision is immediately put on display. Over the course of the evening, we were treated to all the songs from Deface The Currency and several from their previous outing with Lewis, 2024’s aptly titled The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis.
This was not a show that lacked for highlights, but if I had to point out a couple, I’d point out the transition out of “Asthenia” and its build into “Fourth Wall”. By the time Pirog’s guitar solo started, it seemed very plausible that Tubby’s tiny live room might explode. The energy in the room hit genuine nuclear meltdown levels when we were treated with the second face-melting version of Sonny Sharrock’s “Many Manions” of the night. Two bands, two versions of “Many Mansions.” JFC!
I recorded this from the usual spot in the back with the Schoeps MK22s and an excellent board feed from Tubby’s house engineer, Wil. The sound quality is excellent. Play loud!
I first met Doug Shaw on May 13, 2022, when he played Tubby’s on a bill with Prison and Weak Signal. It takes something special to play solo, introspective acoustic guitar music in a room full of people there to see massive, overdriven, electric guitar music from the likes of Paul Major and Mike Bones. But that’s what this set was, captivating and transporting. He came up to me after the show and asked about getting a copy of the recording. He said he had felt really good on stage and was really happy with the performance, and that he might want to do something with it, so I gave him my email address and never heard from him again.
Eight months later, Doug was back at Tubby’s. This time, he was opening for Garcia Peoples. Tom introduced us, and he immediately started talking about the recording from back in May, and I promised to reach out to him again. From that point on, for the rest of the night, Doug was basically my best friend. It was like we had spent decades hanging out in bars and venues together.
After the show, I gave him my cell phone number. I had a feeling email wasn’t present enough for him, and that the immediacy of text might be more effective. And for the next four months, we exchanged texts – a lot of texts. They were alternatively hilarious, sweet, and frustrating. He was hesitant about releasing it for reasons I didn’t fully understand. I had mixed the set back in May and found it incredibly powerful. There were vague concerns about the amount of reverb on the vocal, whether anyone would listen, and whether it was worth it.
Somewhere in here, I recognized a pattern I’ve known in other artist friends. Undeniable talent that had a hard time getting out of its own way to let people see it. I stuck with it and kept texting him. I even remixed it at least 3 different times and, full disclosure, one of the mixes had no changes, just to see if it mattered. I don’t remember which version of what mix finally stuck, but on May 5, 2023, he released it as “Sleepy At Tubby’s”.
And then I never heard from Doug again.
In the past few days, as memories of Doug have poured in, I have come to realize that in similar situations with friends I’ve known a long time, I wouldn’t have been as persistent about seeing this recording released. I would have prompted them a couple of times, then moved on, assuming they were “just not into it”. It saddens me to think of the things the world has been denied just because a friend didn’t try a little harder.
It’s clear that Doug didn’t lack for people who loved him. But no one is immune to wanting to feel loved. Maybe I should have sent a random text to say hi or see if he was going to be coming back up to Kingston to play. Maybe I should do that now, with all the people I love who I haven’t spoken to in a while. Maybe we all should.
The recording below is the set Doug played on January 14, 2023, opening for Garcia Peoples. This is the first time anyone not in the room that night will have heard it. I present it to all of Doug’s friends and family with love and gratitude for the art he shared with the world, and as a lasting document for future generations to discover.
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