On Monday night Diet Cig and Bully rolled into Gasa Gasa to help keep the Mardi Gras party going between parade weekends. I’ve been hyping this show for a while now and am pleased to say that it exceeded my lofty expectations. Sometimes an evening of music comes together perfectly and this was the case on Monday night. I managed to hit the club just as Diet Cig were set to begin. It has only been four months since the duo of Alex Luciano and Noah Bowman have visited us, but the intervening time has been good to them. While Alex has always seemed to have a nearly limitless energy, she has begun to channel that energy not just into the performance but into the crowd as well. Bully is fortunate to have them as an opener on this tour. As soon as the performance started, they were able to draw the bystanders away from the wall and back from the patio into a focused whole. Toward the end of the set we were treated to a brief preview of material from their upcoming debut LP. Based on the strength of their initial EP and the strength that an intense touring schedule has added to their sound, we should be in for more excellent music from this duo quite soon. By the time Diet Cig left the stage they had more than prepared us for the intensity of Bully.
It’s hard to find a new compliment for Alicia Bognanno’s presence on stage. For me the strength and timbre of her voice belong to fond memories of the late 90s alternative scene, but there is much more to it than that. The rough brashness of her style is perfectly complimented by the frenetic nature of her guitar playing. Bognanno sets a breathless pace throughout the performance. It would seem that her time interning with Steve Albini gave her a firm idea about where her voice sits between rhythm and her guitar. Live, this sound emerges from behind a cascade of frazzled blond hair which often completely obscures her face. Taken all together the boiling frustrations that are expressed lyrically and sonically manifest physically on stage. Bognanno runs her hands through her hair while emitting a pitch perfect scream, the catharsis is palpable for both the performers and the audience (which for their part managed to scrape together a fairly polite mosh pit). Something about Bognanno is so compelling even the dancers couldn’t look away. I can’t wait to see where we all end up next.
To Do This Week
On Friday Morning 40 Federation will be at Tipitina’s and Sweet Crude will be at One Eyed Jacks. On Saturday legendary punks Agent Orange will be at Siberia while slowcore pioneers Low will be at One Eyed Jacks. On Sunday Trombone Shorty will be at Tipitina’s. Monday go back to Tips for Galactic’s Lundi Gras show.
To Listen this Week
The Eagulls have dropped a new track and teased a new record via Youtube
Howard have released a song from their new EP reimagining parts of their outstanding debut record Religion via Soundcloud
Alpenglow have released a new single via CoS
