Live Reviews
Longwave Rocks Bowery with Unreleased Tunes
Amelia Kreminski :: Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 2:30 pm
I’ve lived in New York City for almost a year, and before last Saturday, I’d never been to a show at the Bowery Ballroom. I also work for a music magazine. I know, I know-it’s terrible. So on Saturday night, I thought I’d check out the indie rock group Longwave and their friends A Million Years.
The show marked the grand finale of a year of heavy touring for Longwave, and in celebration they played what was most likely the longest Longwave show to date, an expansive near two-hour set, with tunes spanning from their first album to their most recent output, Secrets are Sinister. The band also performed many previously unreleased songs and b-side tracks.
But do not fear! If you didn’t make it to the show, you can still hear the songs on their Myspace. From the electro-infused, rollicking indie pop tune “Razor on My Skin” to the mellow acoustic ballad “Everywhere You Turn,” these tracks aren’t something to be missed.
Find out more about Longwave’s upcoming projects, free downloads from their Franz Ferdinand-esque opening band A Million Years, and how to steal The Strokes’ old music gear after the jump.
The year has been busy for lead singer Steve Schiltz of Longwave, as he just released the debut album for his solo project Hurricane Bells last week. Shannon Ferguson, guitarist for Longwave, will also be taking part in a new project starting in December: helping A Million Years record their debut album, hopefully to be released in spring of 2010. Go to the band’s Myspace now to download their free EP.
A Million Years rocked the Bowery stage Saturday night with an energetic, driving set reminiscent of gritty NYC rockers like The Strokes and the power and force of bands like Queens of the Stone Age.
Incidentally, the band practices in the same studio as The Strokes, and one day after practice happened upon a giant heap of discarded cords and miscellaneous music gear the band was getting rid of. In the grand NYC tradition of stealing couches from the sidewalk or televisions from dumpsters, A Million Years quietly began dismantling the pile and relocating it to their own studio space. The Strokes caught them and were more than happy to let the band take their old stuff, so now they get to rock out with a bunch of equipment plastered with Strokes stickers. And it’s a badge of honor well-deserved, as the band showed all the promise of NYC indie stars during their show at the Bowery.
