Drumadics - Merengue

A beautiful NYC weekend shortly after winter will always be a very musical one. People burst out of their caves and flood the city to enjoy the warm sunlight. And it's then the musicians take the opportunity to grace us with their presence.
I don't usually traverse into Manhattan from my comfortable little spot in Queens. (I should more often, though.) But today, a friend and her quest for cheesecake compelled me to.

The former part of the afternoon was spent wandering around Washington Square Park soaking in the music. There was a man playing bagpipes, a guy playing Philip Glass on piano, a woman playing I-don't-know-what-but-it-was-tear-jearkingly-beautiful on the same piano, a jazz quartet, a woman playing banjo, several acoustic guitarists... it was like a little music festival. As the day progressed, after delicious pizza, cheesecake, and deep conversation, it was time to part ways with my friend. It was then we stumbled upon these guys in the Union Square subway station. Upon entering the station sounds of brass came blaring out—baritone sax, tenor sax, trombone, trumpet, with bucket drums. Oooh, I love my brass. And I love those moments when a street or subway musician stops me in my tracks and makes me forget about where I need to be for that fleeting moment. We stayed long enough to experience one song before hopping on the train. However, that song stuck with us through the train ride before we split.


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(Their single, The Musical Adventure Begins, can be purchased through iTunes.)

No Grave Like The Sea - One For Lyman (feat. Paul "Watty" Watson on cornet)

One of my favourite concert-going experiences is attending a concert for the headlining band just to find out that the opening band is equally as amazing. Two days ago I attended the If These Trees Could Talk concert. No Grave Like The Sea opened, and they blew me away. That night I don't see it as two openers (with Signal Hill) and a headliner, to me it was three headliners.

I had a great conversation with Benjamin (keyboards) after their soundcheck and prior to the show. We both agreed, there should be more brass... or generally more brass in instrumental rock. (Oooh, I just gave myself goosebumps imagining trombone in instrumental rock.)

Both Signal Hill and If These Trees Could Talk were superb. But I think my highlight of that evening was discovering a great band I didn't know about prior to the show.


Their EP currently only can be streamed or purchased at their concerts (it's in a really cool tin case with a parchment paper insert). The physical copy has the addition of this song, One For Lyman. Though, the trumpet cornet was just featured in the live show and the recording features non-lyrical vocals. I do hope their next album has some brass.
Edit: "Yes, brother there will be cornet on the record, that you can count on." -NGLTS Nicccccccce!


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La Bicicleta - Sombras Azules

As of late, I've been heavily into tango. Classic musicians like Carlos Di Sarli, Juan D'Arienzo, and Osvaldo Pugilese are the known greats. But my appetite is never satisfied even as great as the classics are. So, as usual, I have to do some tango exploration. There are some modern musicians that are sprouting with such vibrance and passion.

La Bicicleta is a tango trio from Berlin. Out of the modern tango musicians I've heard, these guys have struck me the most. The peaks and the valleys of their music has created some intense emotion. And while this music would most likely be considered undanceable due to the lack of discernable rhythm, I can't not dance to this. I dance to tango I feel. And oooh, do I feel this.


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(Their album, Tango Progresivo, is available on Bandcamp for purchase.)