Event Preview: Wisteria February 2024 Monday Residency @ Zebulon

 Wisteria February 2024 Monday Residency @ Zebulon

NIGHT ONE 2/5/24

TOTAL PLEASURE 

GAMMAWORLD

NIGHT TWO 2/12/24

CD GHOST

ACTIVE DECAY

NIGHT THREE 2/19/24

ESTRADA
PRIMER

NIGHT FOUR 2/26/24

CLOSED TEAR

B S C

CRISTO

   I haven't seen Wisteria yet but they are adjacent to everything on Dream Recordings- I regularly see them in the "Similar" tab of artist profiles I'm looking at on Spotify.  They are doing this cool Monday night residency at Zebulon in Los Angeles- which is basically a local for me.  Night Two looks particularly promising since CD GHOST is popular and good live.  

    Besides CD GHOST both Estrada and Closed Tear look promising.  Schedule permitting I could go to all four nights.  Back before COVID the time between November and March was the height of local music season because so few touring bands came through in that period.   The nationa touring season starts with the week before SXSW as bands land at LAX and otherwise start making there way there, then tour out here after the play SXSW.  After that we're talking the prime months- April/May/June/July.  It's cool that the local music scene is finally coming back.  It has been a rough few years in that category. 

Event Preview: Soft Vein/MVTANT/Llora- Texas Tour

 Event Preview

Soft Vein

MVTANT

Llora

January 2024 Texas (& New Orleans) Tour

1/20 El Paso - Living Room

1/21 San Antonio - Paper Tigers

1/23  Austin - Hotel Vegas

1/24  Dallas - Texas Theater

1/25 Houston - Etro Nightclub

1/26 New Orleans - The Goat

  I saw Soft Vein with Secret Attraction last year and I was like, "Mario- let's sign this guy!" and he went back and looked through his email and sure enough the guy had written in, like, 2022 about putting a record out- so Mario wrote him back and then he signed with another label.  Good for him!  I have no issues with his decision.  The record came out last year and he's still at like 6k monthly listeners, but here he is touring Texas in January with MVTANT, who are on Dream Recordings and these shows are going to be great.  If you are trying to decide whether to go to one of these nights- do it- because both Soft Vein and MVTANT put on a great live show and you will not be disappointed, unless the sound at the venues sucks, in which case, it's not their fault.

  I should also note that Soft Vein guy is in HARSH SYMMETRY (44k monthly listeners) so I think it's tough for him to do the solo touring thing.  Really he should open for Harsh Symmetry on a national tour.  I'm glad DIY acts are getting out on the road again! It's heartening!

Lost Lake (1998) by Mark Slouka

 1,001 Novels: A Library of America

Lost Lake (1998)

by Mark Slouka

Lost Lake, New York

New York: 7/105

Upstate: 6/23

    There are five books from the Syracuse area, three from Buffalo/Rochester, three that are in between Syracuse and the Hudson River Valley (one of those is mismapped) and then the remaining half span the north to south length of the Hudson River- from the suburbs north of the city to Albany, with only two of those books coming from north of Albany.  That's upstate!  This means I'm halfway through the non-Hudson's River Valley portion of upstate.  What would that portion of America be without at least one book about fishing immigrants?   

  Honestly, I'm expecting more than one book on fishing, since it is an avowedly "literary" pursuit according to many (not me).  Also, there are large swaths of the country where fishing is the most exciting subject in the area that doesn't involve detective fiction.   This is a collection that blends equal parts fishing and the experience of Czech immigrants- including one story that partially takes place inside post-war Czechoslovakia.   The New York Times reviewer gave it a great review but it doesn't seem to hand landed with any kind of audience.   His Wikipedia page lists eight books, all on major publishers, the last from 2018.   No hits.   I wonder what he is up to these days. 

America's Dream (1975) by Esmeralda Santiago

 1,001 Novels: A Library of America

America's Dream (1975)

by Esmeralda Santiago

Westchester County, New York

New York: 6/105

Upstate: 5/23 *

* this book is mismapped. 

   This title is mis-mapped on the actual map- they have it as the most far-northern book in New York state period when it is actually set in the close in suburb of Westchester County.  It's labelled properly but simply mapped onto the long Westchester I suspect. Obviously no one checked this chapter or this is a mistake that would have been caught.

    America's Dream is very much exactly the sort of book I had in mind when I started reading the 1,001 Novels: A Library of America.  It's a novel about the experience of a Puerto Rican woman who escapes a violent abuser on Vieques island (where the US Army tests bombs) for a job as a house keeper/nanny in Westchester County circa 1970.   I get the sense that it's a minor classic on the grounds that Santiago is a pioneer in the field of Puerto Rican representation- it's still in print, though the last editions looks like it was published in 2009.  

  The frank depiction of domestic violence circa 1970's Puerto Rico is what the kids call "triggering," as a hardened criminal defense attorney who has tried twenty domestic violence case and represented defendants in dozens more, I was shocked, even allowing for the culture of "Machismo."   If I understood the plot correctly, the protagonist was the third generation of single mothers who gave birth at 14.  That is shocking to me but I've been exposed to enough of the world to know that it happens.   Here, her babydaddy would have gone to prison for twenty years, there, he doesn't even get arrested.  

  I'm not sure whether Puerto Rico is even covered by the 1,001 Novels project, but certainly it's right to expect more than one title from New York from the Puerto Rican community of that state- actually I know it's at least three because I'm listening to an Audiobook of a Puerto Rican Police investigator and a book by National Book Award winner Justin Torres, who also identifies as Puerto Rican.

   Like many books depicting characters with limited formal education the range of observations are limited- we are talking about the life experience of a woman who got pregnant at 14 and has literally never left her home island before the events of the book- but that's the same reason everyone needs to read books like America's Dream, it's an empathy generator for someone you might not have thought in detail about before reading. 

A Man With Two Faces (2022) by Viet Thanh Nguyen

 Book Review

A Man With Two Faces (2023)

by Viet Thanh Nguyen

   I was late to The Sympathizer (2015), which was Nguyen's debut novel AND the 2016 Pulitzer Prize winner.  I didn't actually read it until 2021, just after its sequel, The Committed, was released.  Unsurprisingly I loved The Sympathizer- which is like, the perfect work of literary fiction- combining an interesting point of view (Vietnamese immigrants in Southern California) with an interesting plot (immigrant sent to spy on anti-Vietnamese government activists) and plenty of action, set pieces and dynamic plot mechanics.  You put all those elements together and you have a winner!

  Similarly with the The Committed, which is just as good as The Sympathizer, which is rare/unheard of for a sequel in the world of literary fiction.  But what, one might reasonably ask, does Viet Thanh Nguyen REALLY think about the immigrant experience in America?  A Man With Two Faces is his answer to that question- containing the kinds of truths that only Pulitzer Prize/MacArthur Genius grant winning types get to share over the platform of a major publishing house.   Unfortunately, Nguyen's publicity campaign was derailed by his pre and post 10/7 support of the Palestinian people.  As a supporter of Israel and a Jew, I have to say I didn't find anything offense in his comments, revolving around the general issues with bombing children and abject treatment of the non-Hamas Palestinian people. I mean, don't we all kinda feel that way?  Not, I guess, the people who book literary appearances. 

  A Man With Two Faces is what you call real talk- Nguyen coming to terms with his complicated relationship with his immigrant parents and the white supremacy he believes lurks in the heart of the American Dream.  Nguyen is only a few years older than me and he also grew up in the Bay Area, which is not considered to be a racist part of the US, but, as Nguyen and other writers have shown, can be just as racist as the rest of the US and often in shockingly casual fashion. 

   I found A Man With Two Faces to be a thought-provoking read, certainly not as fun as his two novels, but a great book for those grappling with the role or racism in American society.

The Bait (1968) by Dorothy Uhnak

 1001 Novels: A Library of America

The Bait (1968)

by Dorothy Unhak

The Bronx, New York City

New York: 5/105

The Bronx, New York City: 1/6

    As you'd expect from a state with 108 titles, there are states within states for New York.  Upstate, with its 22 titles qualifies as the third biggest state thus far (Massachussets, Maine) and The Bronx equals a smaller state like Vermont or Rhode Island. Pioneering female writer of police/detective fiction Dorothy Unhak is not a stranger to this blog- I read Policewoman memoir on the recommendation of a genre afficionado.  The Bait was her hit debut writing fiction- it won the Edgar Award the year it was released.  

  It certainly qualifies as a good novel about The Bronx- I believe all the action takes place there.  The story hasn't aged well- I'm not sure how many mentally defective serial murderers the 1001 Novels project is going to encompass but I think we are already at a half dozen 10 percent of the way through.  Are serially killers ever not mentally ill?  There are parts of The Bait that don't age particularly well- an incipient romance between the plucky girl detective and her District Attorney boss is cringe inducing, but the inter-cop banter is less racist than what you would expect from a more period accurate book.  Unhak, of course, was a cop, so she is clearly writing from that perspective.  A book like this, you half expect the N word to pop out at many minute, but thankfully there was no racial angle to the plot.

Event Preview: Topographies, Secret Attraction & Trit95 @ Genghis Cohen

 

Event Preview

Topographies

Secret Attraction &
Trit95

@ Genghis Cohen

February 18th, 2024

DICE FM TICKET BUY LINK

   This promises to be a very fun show in Los Angeles on February 18th.  Dream Recordings has done business with all three artists- we've got some kind of tape coming out with the headliner and a couple records from Trit95 in the future.  I'm looking forward to checking out Genghis Cohen for the first time in any capacity.  All three bands are great live.  There's a cool poster out there but I couldn't find a copy on the internet.

Show Review: ZZZahara & Cold Gawd @ ElCid

 

Zzzahara

Show Review

Zzzahara &

Cold Gawd

@ El Cid

Goldenvoice promoting

  I know this sounds totally nuts for a blog that averages under 100 page views a post, but sometimes I feel like promoters book shows specifically for me to go, and if I don't go, and if I don't write up a little review, someone, somewhere will be disappointed.  I'm not saying that's true, in fact, I'm sure it's not, but it just feels that way, which is how I found myself at an early show (Doors 7! Headliner at 8!) at El Cid featuring Zzzahara and Cold Gawd.

  I simply had to see Zzzahara (Pronouns: They/Them)- Mario, my partner in Dream Recordings, has been booking her for a while now down in San Diego and her manager, Gary Walker, works with Amy (my girlfriend) at Monotone.  I genuinely like Gary and his wife Chantal- who is a force in her own right, and Gary has genuine deep roots in the DIY scene in London.  This show was, I found later, sold out- it felt sold out during Zzzahara's set.  So anyway I've been hearing about Zzzahara for months and I was anxious to see the live show.  I was also interested in seeing Cold Gawd (Dais Records), they of the "ABOLISH WHITE SHOEGAZE" t-shirt.

   Both bands were fun to watch- Cold Gawd put out quite a vibe and I was impressed at their professionalism, cranking out a hot set at 730 PM on a Friday.   They are obviously part of the Shoegaze revival that Pitchfork saw fit to comment upon last month.  Cold Gawd also has a dude who does nothing by plays tambourine (the meanest tambourine I ever did hear- clearly audible in an already noisy mix) and scream which made the overall sound more of a shoegazemo (copyright me 2024)- and I was struck, more than once, that this band is one gig away from getting signed to a major label- that's not a good or bad thing, I'm just saying, based on my prior experience, that this is the kind of band that gets signed to a major label when a trend resurfaces (shoegaze) because they have a good vibe, an interesting look and a definite sound.   I'm interested to now go back and listen to their records. 

   Zzzahara is a genuine phenomenon-  an artist Pitchfork has managed to ignore while she is signed to a cool label (Lex Records UK), has close to a million monthly listeners.  She's Eyedress adjacent- another international phenomenon that Pitchfork ignores- with 16 million monthly listeners- I surmise that they may have grown up together. Anyway- she put on a great set- her fans love her- she plays the kind of goth inflected bedroom pop that is super scalable- an artist like her could go from 800k monthly listeners to 8 million overnight if I understand the dynamic properly, because she sings about topics that young people can easily relate to.    And let me tell you, Lex Records knows exactly what they are doing.   As a 45 year old dude I don't exactly relate to the life is tough here in my bedroom lyrics like I used to when I was a kid, but the appeal is easy to understand, and I saw plenty of their fans and I can see them having tons more fans.  They both sound like winners to me, well poised to take off in the revival of the indie scene post-covid.

   I'd never been to El Cid before in 20 years of going to shows in LA and close to a decade of living less than 20 minutes from the venue.  I was intrigued that Goldenvoice was promoting this show, and that was part of the reason I came- to see the venue.  I loved the early start time though I understand it's not typical- El Cid has early and late shows, I was told.  I though the sound was great but the vibe was a little strange- the preshow music was a 2019 dubstep compilation which is fine but not in keeping with the sounds of the artists.  The staff was just the regular El Cid staff- they obviously were flummoxed by these sort of bands and it showed on their sour faces.  Which, you know, is fine- it didn't bother me or anyone else, but I noticed.  I would come back- though dress warm- this is basically an outdoor venue.

A Northern Light (2013) by Jennifer Donnelly

 1001 Novels: A Library of America

A Northern Light (2003)

by Jennifer Donnelly 

Big Moose Lake, New York

New York: 4/105

Upstate: 4/23

    I'm breaking off the up-state portion of New York as a separate "state"- everything north of Scarsdale, New York.  I might also divide up the borough's- really, though most of NYC is Manhattan.  I know that Manhattan is going to turn out to be the single biggest location in the 1001 Novels: A Library of America project, but I can't but feel an incipient dread.  After all, do we not already know the great (and not so great) novels of Manhattan?  No single place is depicted more in American literature and if you account for the fascination of writers themselves with New York, particularly with downtown New York, and the fact that the publishing industry for fiction is largely based in New York, well, it's the kind of overwhelming advantage the 1001 Novels: A Library of America project should be working to counter.

   So far upstate New York feels a lot like upstate New Hampshire and Vermont.   More industry, perhaps, but lots of lakes and over-intelligent daughters yearning to be free.  With A Northern Light the 1001 Novels project is back within the well-worn precincts of YA fiction.  Credit to the book, while it was obviously narrated by a teen girl, it wasn't entirely clear to me that this was marketed as YA fiction until I got prepared to write it up.  The plot is classic YA Lit:  A smart girl wants to get out of the middle of nowhere via college but she faces impediments to her plans.  She is influenced by a  sophisticated outsider of some sort.  Meanwhile, there is some kind of b-plot that invokes a mystery or current-event. 

  Here, the location is Big Moose Lake, New York.  The b-plot is the murder of a mistress at the hands of her big city paramour- the same story that forms the basis of An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser.   As this genre of book goes within the 1,001 Novels: A Library of America, it is less insufferable, perhaps because of the historical setting and the able handling of the issues of woman's rights that were nascent in that era.