Tuesday, July 23, at Maxwell's, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Ume, Red Paintings, $15
We're not going to beat a dead horse here. We'll just point out that Maxwell's is closing soon, and you're running out of time to see shows there, and this would be a fine show to see, as …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead destroy every club they play, often literally. After a few years of overlooking the "punk" part of their signature prog-punk cocktail, last year Trail Of Dead released Lost Songs, their most focused and blistering album in years; you'll probably hear a few songs from it, in between various outbursts of extra furious stage and amp destruction.
Wednesday, July 24 at Williamsburg Waterfront, New Order, Holy Ghost!, $50
Pro: It's freaking New Order. Con: They're playing without Peter Hook, the genius who provided the morose, propulsive basslines that anchored their best songs. Pro: They'll still play "Confusion" and "Blue Monday." Con: Yeah, with some fake Peter Hook. Pro: Yeah, but everyone else will be there, including keyboard player Gillian Gilbert, who quit touring with the band about a decade go. Pro: They'll do some Joy Division songs. Con: Anyone besides Hook playing "Atmosphere" is sacrilege. Pro: It's an out door show by the water. Maybe the weather will be nice? Con: Uh, have you seen Bernard Sumner's dancing lately? Pro: When they play "True Faith," everyone will be dancing, and none of these cons will matter.
Friday, July 26-Sunday, July 28, at Pier 26 (July 26, July 28) and Irving Plaza (July 27), The Gaslight Anthem, Bouncing Souls (July 26), Dave Hause (July 27), The Hold Steady (July 28), $35 (July 26, July 28), Free with RSVP (July 27)
Three shows by The Gaslight Anthem, two for the very reasonable price of $35, one for free if you RSVP'd. One show has The Hold Steady opening, which is the best possible double bill of beer-soaked working class storytelling imaginable. All three will feature plenty of songs that will make you feel like you are flying down the highway with pomade in your hair and the roof down on your Corvette, desperately trying to escape the forces of darkness that want to eat your dreams. Even if you mainly take the subway and are generally able to hold onto your dreams, it's good to occasionally connect with music that dramatizes internal struggles with the reality of adulthood through widescreen Americana punk, because we all occasionally like to feel like we just stepped outside of The Outsiders. Stay gold, Gaslight Anthem.
