Two reunions well worth celebrating:
Unrest
Jul 8
TTs, Cambridge, MA
26 years after singer/songwriter Mark E Robinson founded his record label Teenbeat, it’s still going strong. On Thursday, July 8, come celebrate the label’s bon anniversaire at TTs with the reunited Unrest, introspective pop crooner Robert Schipul, former Flying Saucer-ite Yasmin Kuhn and jaunty disco Canadians Bossanova.
When Unrest broke up in 1994, I mourned their passing with a few long moments of silence (0 BPM). They started out a thrashy, unkempt basement hardcore and matured into a charmingly fizzy pop band of the first (new?) order. Hopefully they’ll play some songs from their undisputed masteriece,Imperial f.f.r.r., as well as my personal favorite, “Cath Carroll.”
UT
July 1, 2010
The Luminaire, Kilburn
I may have alluded to some “special guests” at last Thursday’s Dial show in London. Ut — ambassadors of abstract, gritty, often beautiful NY noise — played an all-too brief reunion set of four songs: “Big Wing,” “Hotel,” “Swallow” and “Confidential.”
For those of us who weren’t able to be there, Simon Phillips had this to say on his Myspace blog:
Not really knowing anything about Dial or Blowhole other than the Luminaire’s weekly email pitch which was as follows: “On Thursday [we have] a treat for no-wave fans: DIAL headline with Blowhole supporting. Jacqui Ham – a guiding force in legendary no wavers UT assembled Dial in the ’90s with Rob Smith (ex-God), Dom Weeks (Furious Pig, Het) and Lou Ciccotelli (Eardrum). They sound pretty much like no one. Expect a night of chaos and dischord.”Well, any band containing a member of UT and one of God has to be worth walking ‘round the corner to check out… The email also promised a special guest opener. …I had no idea how special till I walked in to find UT on stage and already playing!
Damn. I hadn’t walked in on them playing in over 20 years as they used to be one of the most regular opening acts at the gigs I was going to in the mid to late 80’s when I saw them open for (among others) Nico, Sonic Youth, Band of Susans and These Immortal Souls. …The chance to see them again was incredible and they still sound great — a swirling hurricane of repetitive guitar patterns and obtuse lyrics that sound like the bastard offspring of the Velvets … and crossed with any of the bands on Homestead in the 80s.
Thankfully, this won’t be a one-off: the band is planning more dates now, including November 5 at Brooklyn’s Issue Project Room.
More info soon.
Ut, “Fire in Philly” (from Nothing Short of Total War, 1989)
Unrest, “Bavarian Mods (Remix)” (from BPM)
UNREST, 1993