The state of the union may have been filled with bile and lies, but you’ll find none of that below (well, maybe a little bile). Here’s the State of New York this weekend…
5) Dysrhythmia, Cleric, Pyrrhon, Oldest at The Kingsland
I’m going to chance my arm and call Dysrhythmia the best instrumental-prog-metal band you can see this weekend. In fact, this might be the most relentless and technical show considering Cleric, Pyrrhon and Oldest are on the bill too. Don’t try and count all the time signatures at this one. Saturday 7pm
4) James Chance & The Contortions, Shilpa Ray at The Safari Room at El Cortez
Some things are as New York as the Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge, and any self-respecting music fan in the city should take a chance to see James Chance, who has been a mainstay for over 40 years now. This is a double-header with another excellent local artist, Shilpa Ray, whose 2017 album Door Girl, deserved to be a huge hit. Friday 7pm
3) Sharon Van Etten, Nilüfer Yanya, Surprise Guest at Beacon Theatre
A lot has happened in the five years since Sharon Van Etten released Are We There, including having a baby, appearing in a Netflix series, moving away from New York (moving away from my neighbourhood, Ditmas Park, no less), and oh yeah, releasing her fifth full length album, Remind Me Tomorrow, which came out last month. Saturday 8pm
2) TIOGA, Soccer Cousins at Mercury Lounge
Philadelphia quartet Tioga play treble-heavy pop-rock that wouldn’t be out of place in a John Hughes movie, and should sound particularly good at Mercury Lounge (this is a relatively early show, with doors at 5:30pm). Opening the show is Soccer Cousins, who released a three-song EP and a couple of singles last year that I liked a lot, so turn up early. Sunday 5:30pm
1) Eyelids, Brower, Hurry at Union Pool
Lovers of jangle-infused indie rock should make Union Pool priority on Saturday night. Eyelids‘ latest EP, Maybe More, was produced by none other than Peter Buck, and that’s not the only cred this Portland band have, who have worked with Decemberists, Elliott Smith, Stephen Malkmus and were also Robert Pollard‘s backing band as Boston Spaceships. If that wasn’t reason enough to go, openers Hurry are excellent and have been releasing beautifully crafted melodies without enough credit for years now. Saturday 8pm
