Photos/Review: Codeine @ The Bell House

Codeine @ The Bell House – June 29, 2012
Photos: Jennifer Harmon & Chris / Review: Chris

On Friday night, slow-core progenitors Codeine played their first NYC-area show in nearly two decades to one of the most focused and dedicated crowds of recent memories at the Bell House in Brooklyn. That is to say, during the band’s hypnotizing hour long set you could hear a pin drop during their most quite parts, and you could feel the energy utterly immerse you as they hit their most powerful moments. Many audience members in the front row stood with their heads bowed down and eyes closed, but make no mistake… no one was sleeping. Deeply concentrating on every strum of John Engle’s guitar, every whisper of Stephen Immerwahr’s lyrics, and every crash hit of Chris Brokaw’s drum parts just may be the best way to experience a live Codeine show. The set was absolutely beautiful.

The band’s reunion is somewhat of a celebration of the reissuing of the band’s discography, which includes two LP’s, an EP, and a smattering of demos and Peel Sessions--all of which are included on the deluxe box set which is finally on sale--earning the distinction of Pitchfork’s “Best New Reissues” title. Having seen the box set myself, it’s a beautifully packaged and comprehensive set. The band performed songs from all of their releases, even though current drummer Chris Brokaw (a singer/songwriter in his own rite) only played drums on the band’s debut Frigid Stars (I myself didn’t know if Brokaw or other drummer Doug Scharin would be playing that night until I saw Brokaw behind the merchandise table).

Opener Stephen Brodsky, openly a huge Codeine fan himself, seemed to have his greatest dream come true when he was invited onstage to perform “Cave-in” with the band towards the end of the set. It was a cathartic moment for the guitarist, who thrashed his head around on stage to the song a he played, making it one of the most exciting moments of the night. After the band’s set, which included a two-song encore, Immerwahr and Engle stuck around onstage and chatted with excited fans (myself included). When I asked Engle why they decided to put cats on their most recent tour t-shirt, he just grinned at me and said, “…that’s my cat.”

Codeine will return to New York City on July 15 when they play our other favorite venue, Le Poisson Rouge. Tickets are still on sale. In the meantime, check out the band’s reissues over at the Numero Group, and take a look at a set of photos Jen and I took on Friday below…

Photos/Review: ATP I'll Be Your Mirror (London, UK) Day Two

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

All Tomorrow's Parties I'll Be Your Mirror (London UK) Day Two - May 26, 2012
Photos/Review: Rhona "Wiglet Bill" Aquilina

Arriving at London’s Alexandra Palace for day two of IBYM 2012, it is immediately apparent that it is much quieter than day one. Obviously there aren’t many things louder than Slayer yesterday, but there are many fewer people around today. As I gaze at the time card for today’s shows I notice that the Great Hall where Melvins, Sleep and Slayer played yesterday isn’t being used today. Rather, yesterday’s ‘B venue’ The West Hall is now the main stage and a second stage has been set up in the Panorama Room.
As there is a small wait before the bands begin, we decided to locate the Panorama Room since we had no idea where it was. When we found the room we were relieved that no one we really wanted to see was playing in there. The clue is most definitely in the title “Panorama Room”: It was a long narrow room, with one long side made up almost entirely of windows, looking out over the park. Whilst it was a lovely view, it was incredibly bright in there, especially since London was undergoing a heat-wave.

We left the Panorama room and crossed over into West Hall to check out Umberto, billed as ‘horror score creep-scapes for the digital age’. I must admit it didn’t float my boat, perhaps I just wasn’t in the mood. Aware that there were extra curricular activities to be enjoyed in the park we decided to take a look at the boating lake (which was lovely) and vowed to return for Floor.

Codeine announces US tour dates (playing LPR and The Bell House this Summer)

We've previously reported on the reunion of Codeine for a performance at ATP I'll Be Your Mirror London in May, and now we have US dates to look forward to as well. For New Yorkers, the band will be performing on June 29 at The Bell House and July 15 at Le Poisson Rouge. Tickets for both shows go on general sale this Friday (2/24).

Below, check out Codeine's current tour schedule, as well as some videos of the legendary slowcore band live in their heyday (including a lengthy performance at Boston venue TT The Bear's)...

All Tomorrow's Parties Announces I'll Be Your Mirror London 2012 Festival

What the WHAT?!

Oh, All Tomorrow's Parties. Your I'll Be Your Mirror Festival in Asbury Park, NJ feels like just yester(day 1, day 2, day 3). And today the venerable festival promoters have confirmed the second UK I'll Be Your Mirror event, to be held in London's Alexandra Palace from May 25-27, 2012.

And have they got some cool stuff planned for you Londoners. Not only is the festival curated by Mogwai (who we're still waiting to see in NYC...), but it'll be headlined by Guided By Voices (with new material!) and will feature Slayer performing Reign In Blood in its entirety on the first night of the festival. Other acts confirmed so far include Sleep, Melvins, the reunited Codeine (!!!!!), Mudhoney (!!), and easy Future Nostalgia contenders Yuck. Damn, you guys.

Tickets go on sale this Friday (11/11) at 10am GMT - check out ATP's page for a breakdown of single day and weekend pass prices. Oh, and did we mention there's a trailer for the Slayer portion of the event? Because there is, and you can check it out after the jump.