The Secret Machines Rock NYC
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Artist:
When the Secret Machines released their first album Now Here is Nowhere back in 2004 fans of psychedelic music finally had something else to listen to other than Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of the Moon. The trio compromised of bassist Brandon Curtis, guitarist (and brother) Benjamin Curtis and drummer Josh Garza stood out from NYC bands creating music and a debut, that could be played continuously, with no interruptions from beginning to end (It’s why we love the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street or Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks). The album served as a story, with no particular storyline really, just that it got the listener from beginning to end while they zoned out to lyrics that hinted at life’s burgeoning torments (And it feels like those around want you to die/ sometimes does it feel like just crying...).
The Secret Machines at the Highline Ballroom Saturday night. Photo by Mike McNamara (PhotoByMac.com)Thus, the Pink Floyd references. The band were handed the golden opportunity to become kings of a neo-psych movement, something no one else tapped into until then and the band were still remarkably edgy enough to be part of that NYC garage rock sound. But shit happens. The second album gets more pop-y because you need to sell singles, expectations aren’t met and your guitarist drops out. But instead of quitting the Secret Machines saddled up and purveyed as a duo of founding members bassist Brandon Curtis and drummer Josh Garza. After Thursday’s secret gig at the NYC’s Lower East Side venue The Annex it seemed the new reconstruction was er, ummmm... The new songs sounded sloppy and dark, lacking the band’s trademark ironic melancholy that left a happy feeling at the end of a Secret Machines song. Even Al Hammond Jr. spent the whole night punching away on his BlackBerry up in VIP. But if the Secret Machines haven’t give up, why should fans like us or say, David Bowie, who booked the duo for their next performance two days later at Saturday’s Highline Music Festival at NYC’s new Highline Ballroom?The sold out Highline Ballroom show schooled the exclusive warm-up gig. The previous night’s special guests keyboardist/guitarist Fredrick Blasco (former touring keyboardist for Interpol) and another guitarist joined Garza and Curtis on stage again. A complete-180 from the prior night, the Highline Ballroom show proved that the previous warm-up gig was just that, a warm-up. The Highline Ballroom set began with a numbing Radiohead-like intro of the first song, Gillian Welch’s “Everything Is Free.” The Secret Machines have a knack for taking folk songs and cryptically remorphing them until they are unrecognizable and very much their own (i.e. Bob Dylan’s “Girl From North Country” and Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks”.) The band would do it again that night with Bowie’s “Up the Hill Backwards,” with the Thin White Duke watching from the rafters above. The audience began moving as soon as the first kick drum hit despite the bulk of the set being new songs, seven to be exact. The Secret Machines channeled Black Sabbath with the new “Atomic Heels,” sounding metal while their shooting star psychadelics still soared in the background. The lights were visual eye candy, setting the mood of the darker new tracks and mirroring the cascading riffs. Along with “Atomic Heels” the new recognizably darker tracks included “Like I Can,” “Dreaming of Dreaming,” “The Fire is Waiting,” “Now Your Gone,” “Last Believer Drop Dead,” and “Daylight.”“Last Believer Drop Dead”:The new material steered in a different direction than the Secret Machines last album Ten Silver Drops, sounding more like the evil step child of their debut, Now Here is Nowhere the vinyl most fans held in their hands for autographs after the show. The band start a new chapter Monday, May 21st, when they begin recording their third studio album at David Sitek's (of TV On The Radio) Stay Gold Studios in Brooklyn. The Secret Machines Highline Ballroom Setlist:Everything is Free (Gillian Welch)Like I CanDreaming of DreamingThe Fire is WaitingUp the Hill Backwards (David Bowie)Now Your GoneLast Believer Drop DeadAtomic HeelsDaylightLightning Blue EyesEncoreSad & LonelyNowhere Again
The Secret Machines at the Highline Ballroom Saturday night. Photo by Mike McNamara (PhotoByMac.com)Thus, the Pink Floyd references. The band were handed the golden opportunity to become kings of a neo-psych movement, something no one else tapped into until then and the band were still remarkably edgy enough to be part of that NYC garage rock sound. But shit happens. The second album gets more pop-y because you need to sell singles, expectations aren’t met and your guitarist drops out. But instead of quitting the Secret Machines saddled up and purveyed as a duo of founding members bassist Brandon Curtis and drummer Josh Garza. After Thursday’s secret gig at the NYC’s Lower East Side venue The Annex it seemed the new reconstruction was er, ummmm... The new songs sounded sloppy and dark, lacking the band’s trademark ironic melancholy that left a happy feeling at the end of a Secret Machines song. Even Al Hammond Jr. spent the whole night punching away on his BlackBerry up in VIP. But if the Secret Machines haven’t give up, why should fans like us or say, David Bowie, who booked the duo for their next performance two days later at Saturday’s Highline Music Festival at NYC’s new Highline Ballroom?The sold out Highline Ballroom show schooled the exclusive warm-up gig. The previous night’s special guests keyboardist/guitarist Fredrick Blasco (former touring keyboardist for Interpol) and another guitarist joined Garza and Curtis on stage again. A complete-180 from the prior night, the Highline Ballroom show proved that the previous warm-up gig was just that, a warm-up. The Highline Ballroom set began with a numbing Radiohead-like intro of the first song, Gillian Welch’s “Everything Is Free.” The Secret Machines have a knack for taking folk songs and cryptically remorphing them until they are unrecognizable and very much their own (i.e. Bob Dylan’s “Girl From North Country” and Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks”.) The band would do it again that night with Bowie’s “Up the Hill Backwards,” with the Thin White Duke watching from the rafters above. The audience began moving as soon as the first kick drum hit despite the bulk of the set being new songs, seven to be exact. The Secret Machines channeled Black Sabbath with the new “Atomic Heels,” sounding metal while their shooting star psychadelics still soared in the background. The lights were visual eye candy, setting the mood of the darker new tracks and mirroring the cascading riffs. Along with “Atomic Heels” the new recognizably darker tracks included “Like I Can,” “Dreaming of Dreaming,” “The Fire is Waiting,” “Now Your Gone,” “Last Believer Drop Dead,” and “Daylight.”“Last Believer Drop Dead”:The new material steered in a different direction than the Secret Machines last album Ten Silver Drops, sounding more like the evil step child of their debut, Now Here is Nowhere the vinyl most fans held in their hands for autographs after the show. The band start a new chapter Monday, May 21st, when they begin recording their third studio album at David Sitek's (of TV On The Radio) Stay Gold Studios in Brooklyn. The Secret Machines Highline Ballroom Setlist:Everything is Free (Gillian Welch)Like I CanDreaming of DreamingThe Fire is WaitingUp the Hill Backwards (David Bowie)Now Your GoneLast Believer Drop DeadAtomic HeelsDaylightLightning Blue EyesEncoreSad & LonelyNowhere Again
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