U.B.R.S. Presents; The Very Best of 2011.

James and I decided that we would do a top ten lists for 2011 because we are super cool and know more about good music than you do (insert sarcasm). Dave G.

Well, Here is my 2011 best of list (Dave)…

• Void - Sessions LP (Dischord)
• Video - Leather Leather (Play Pinball Records)
• Night Fever - New Blood (released in 09 but new to me in 11)
• The Nolan Gate - Alchemy (self released)
• Night Birds - The Other Side of Darkness (Grave Mistake)
• Deep Sleep - Turn Me Off (Grave Mistake)
• Dark Ages - Can America Survive ( Sorry State Records)
• Omegas - Blasts of Lunacy ( Parts Unknown Records)
• Iroha - "End of an Era" (2011) Denovali Records
• Bad Influence - Wars No Fun 7" (reissue of 1983 demo on Who Cares Records)
• New Breed Tape Compilation Lp - (Wardance Records) 
• Double Negative - Hardcore Confusion Volume 1 and 2 - Sorry State Records 2011 
• American Dream - s/t Lp - (America Records 1984 - new to me in 2011 - reissue coming in 2012) 
• Foo Fighters - Wasting Light (good solid record all the way through - true professionals) 
• Blessed Offal ( best unsolicted demo submitted for review on my blog) 
• Bazillion Points Books for bringing us a steady stream of incredible books. 
• Hot Snakes - Live @ Maxwells Hoboken NJ ( Reiss and Fork what else could I ask for) 
• Chronic Sick Reissues on No Way Records - yeah they came out towards the end of 2010 but so what this is my list. 
• Killing Horse Records and Dromedary Records for supporting our local bands and releasing some damn fine records in 2011.

Label to soon celebrate its second anniversary.

Here's my shot at the title. James D.

Best releases of 2011

• Night Birds - The Other Side of Darkness (Grave Mistake)
• Double Negative - Hardcore Confusion Volume 1&2 (Sorry State Records)
• Those Mockingbirds - Fa Sol La (Star Beat Music)
• The Foo Fighters - Wasting Light (Nirvana who?)
• The Horrible Crowes - Elsie (SideOneDummy Records)
• ¡No Pasaran! - Porter in the Making (KillingHorse Records)
• The 65's - Strike Hard (Dromedary Records)
• Stuyvesant - Fret Sounds (Dromedary Records)
• My Rifle - S/T EP (Wardance Records)
• Invisible Lines - Wise Up (KillingHorse Records) (Released in 2010 but new to my ears.)
• Rival Schools - Pedals (Photo Finish Records)
• Holy City Zoo - S/T EP
• Ben Franklin - Urgency (KillingHorse Records)

Strike Hard!

Re-issues/Discography's

• New Breed Tape Compilation LP - 2X LP (Wardance Records)
• Void - Sessions (Dischord Records)
• Faith - Subject to Change (Dischord Records)
• Archers of Loaf - Icky Mettle (Merge Records)
• Resurrection - I am Not Discography (Deathwish Records)

New Breed's 1989 tape comp. Re-issued on Vinyl 

Shows;

• The Rye Coalition at Maxwells 02/19/11
• Seaweed at the Belle House 04/22/11
• Night Birds @ Kearny Irish 07/21/11
• Brick City Sound Riot Music Festival 09/16/11 - 09/18/11

The Rye Coalition at Brick City Sound Riot Music Fest 

Notables:

• The return of Wardance Records.
• The support of labels such as Killing Horse, Dromedary and Wardance.
• Working with Jim Testa and Jersey Beat.
• The Rise of the Tiny Giants Artist Collective.
• Double Decker Records (nuff said).

Night Birds, Give, Devotion, Wet Witch @ The Acheron in Brooklyn.

It has been a stressful couple of weeks filled with tension and angst due largely to the round the clock coverage of Hurricane Irene and the tenth anniversary of 9/11. A combination of houses floating down the river and footage of the Towers going down in the midst of smoke and  flames have put me in one of my shitiest moods ever.
So the idea of seeing on of our favorite bands the Night Birds play in Brooklyn seemed to be just the tonic to cure the mopes. As Friday approached and the day wore on I found myself constantly gasping for air as if I was going to have an anxiety attack of something. The humidity didn't seem to help  either.

I managed to get to Dave to drive in with the promise of him parking in Hoboken while we drove my car to Brooklyn. As I made my way downstairs he was standing outside the car on the passengers side. Something completely foreign to me. "Dude I hate fucking Hoboken." "I couldn't find a spot." Then came the question that turned my tension to panic "Do you mind driving my car there." Shit, I've come to terms with the fact that I'm a bad driver. I get lost or side tracked whenever I go somewhere new and often scare the Bejeezus out of my wife when we go out anywhere. I can handle that. Endangering myself, my vehicle or my spouse doesn't unnerve me in the least.
Taking a friends car and putting his destiny in the crosshairs is a different animal all together.
As I pulled out and adjusted the seat I felt a jolt and took a deep breath. Then, with the turn of the corner, all the tension and anxiety was gone and we were on out. I was psyched to see the Night Birds final show before their European tour and I was finally going to get to see DC's Hardcore outfit Give.
As we rolled into Brooklyn and finally onto Waterbury Street
I felt comfortable amongst the industrial surroundings.
I seem to going to a lot of spots in these less than suburban settings these days. As we pulled in to our spot, Dave turned his head anxiously, "Are you sure we can park here dude?" I let him out to check the signs and even circled the block to look for a more welcoming atmosphere. Only to park in the same exact spot only minutes later.

Acheron's music space is wedged between a small cafe and the bar and makes any basement event look like a trip to the Hilton. I went into the cafe for a coke but all they had was the birch beer shit. I asked Dave if he wanted a beer but it seemed to be the furthest thing from his mind. A crowd was forming outside and it just felt like one of those bad cliche's unfolding. There were a ton of skinny white guys with long, stringy hair, Buffalo Bill mustaches and cut of dungaree jackets. They could have passed as bikers if they had a little meat on their bones. The scene was just old and smelly. The thought of waiting for two bands we had no interest in seeing out in the humid air only to go into a dirty sweat box for the bands we did want to catch just didn't seem like a good idea. Dave was also becoming more and more disconnected. Having no one to talk to while waiting for such misery was enough for me to persuade him to cut our losses and head out of Dodge. As we got back onto the bridge Dave returned to normal and realized it was a good idea. "We'll see the Night Birds when they return from Europe." I said. I'm sure it will be at a cool spot with a better vibe than tonight.

To put an end to my first "No Show" review I want to admit that writing this was just my way of posting some more of my favorite shots of Night Birds. Enjoy. James Damion

Night Birds My Space

Night Birds  Band Camp