photo: Church Show with Mountain Man, Alex Bleeker, ETC

It's been a few weeks since the show at the Church in McGolrick Park. Nevertheless, it's an event that I'm more than happy to take a look back at. It helps even more when you've got photographers like Rez Avissar to remind you how special of an evening it was. His shots in this phenomenal set that truly captures the cozy, communal spirit of the evening. Hats off to Rez.

No Demons Here







Lux Perpetua








Liam the Younger







Alex Bleeker and the Mountain Man Singers









Mountain Man

mp3: No Demons Here "Cradles"

"So Pretty, Pretty Dumb"
While I've mentioned a few highlights from the Chocolate Bobka Church show a few weeks back, I've failed to mention No Demons Here's opening set, which set the tone for an amazing evening of acoustic slumber punk and hymnal folk. Luka Usmiani, the guy behind the moniker, has been crafting slow burning songs more akin to chemical fires than pop songs under the name No Demons Here for a while, all while playing bass in the live incarnations of Fluffy Lumbers and Big Troubles. His tape Boy Eaten By Thing In Water is one of three that I picked up this summer at the UP Showcase, and has been in consistently high rotation on the night stand cassette deck ever since. "Ten songs of not knowing what to do" and a side long sound collage find NDH dwelling in a burnt out bedroom in the bunker of an old fallout shelter. (Picture a charcoaled version of the home from the Brendan Frasier/ Christopher Walken movie Blast from the Past.)

No Demons Here has been busy lately, releasing a new EP on his blog while also playing in the new noise project Maids with Sam from Fluffy Lumbers. "Cradles", a standout on Boy Eaten By Thing in Water, is one of those tunes you hum for months without knowing where it came from, as if he plucked its chorus from a balloon charting its way toward the heavens. While the lo-fi fragility of the version on Boy Eaten By Thing in Water sounds like a bemoaning transmission from a submarine lost at sea, the live acoustic version is a sheer revelation. It's so brittle you just want to save it before it crumbles into dust.

You can pick up No Demons Here releases from Luka directly, or download them for free at his blog. Highly recommended for cassette enthusiasts. This is music made for the tape deck. It just doesn't sound as good on shitty computer speakers.

No Demons Here- Cradles
No Demons Here set at the Church 12/11/09 (Courtesy of Goddamn Cobras)

show: Mountain Man, Bleeker, Liam the Younger

"Sewee Sewee"
Going to be a special evening. Bring blankets, yoga mats to sit on. Baked goods will be sold on the premises. BYOB. Click here to see a large scale, beautiful rendering of the work, done by Mike Mahon.

live: Mountain Man, Alex Bleeker, Liam the Younger

"Who Walked the Dog"

A month from today Chocolate Bobka will host another show in our concert series, and this one, in all honesty, may be the best yet. On Friday December 11th, Mountain Man, Alex Bleeker (accompanied by the Mountain Man singers), Liam the Younger and Luka (No Demons Here) will descend upon the majestic Lutheran Church of the Messiah in sleepy Greenpoint, Brooklyn for a night of quiet, unamplified ballads and hymns. It's a real pleasure to host this show in the amazing Church, which has previously been host to performances by Mt. Eerie, Marissa Nadler, Calvin Johnson, and Kria Brekkan, among others. The intimate venue, along with a heaping of blankets, should make the Church basement feel more like a coffee house, or house show, which, in my opinion, is the only way to absorb real, honest to god Folk music. Details will trickle out in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled. Also, if anyone is interested in volunteering at the show, shoot me an email at mcgregor [at] me.com. See ya in a month.