LimeWire Music Blog

For only ten dollars you can experience a perfect microcosm of post-Giuliani New York City. Venture to beautiful Bushwick, Brooklyn, to the Market Hotel, for an amusement park ride of “gritty old New York.” Hipsters and regs mingle in a post-apocalyptic loft where door frames have no doors, graffiti stains the walls (that is, where there isn’t merely exposed beams), and you pee in a tiny stall with your head and shoulders exposed to onlookers. There’s also air conditioning, a brand-new sound system, and a bouncer to draw attention to the unmarked door. If you want to go outside, don’t linger out front because Market Hotel doesn’t want the attention, but don’t stray too far because, y’know, it’s Bushwick. Don’t worry, though, they’ve got a room in the back where you can smoke freely.

Market Hotel also books some of the best bands in the city. Any indie or punk band passing through or residing in New York needs to play the space. It has, for all intents and purposes, replaced the Knitting Factory and North Six (now the much larger Music Hall of Williamsburg), as the small venue of choice for bands that can’t fill Bowery Ballroom, but are probably too big for Death By Audio, which held true for Friday’s show.

The Bitters are a Toronto-based duo comprised of Ben Cook, who’s also in Fucked Up, and Aerin Fogel. They had Fucked Up’s drummer Jonah Falco and a bass player round out their live lineup. The Bitters are a lo-fi garage-punk band, but they set themselves apart with mid-tempo songs, and noise is reduced in favor of male/female vocal duets. Fogel is, in fact, the real star of The Bitters. Her assured stage presence betrays her band’s punk rock aesthetic, and her voice soars. She kind of eclipses Ben Cook, but never quite overshadows him. The strength of his songwriting is undeniable, having written the perfect guitar parts to buttress Fogel’s vocal style.

Grass Widow, an all-girl punk band from San Francisco, were a real treat. Yes, they harmonize their vocals, but don’t compare Grass Widow to Vivian Girls. Grass Widow’s music is less punk, pulling influences from softer indie-pop bands like Dolly Mixture, and UK rhythm acts like Au Pairs and Delta 5. They’re also extremely tight, performing intricate guitar and bass interplays to galloping drum beats. It’s the girls’ vocals, though, that drive their songs. The harmonies of “Celebrate The Mundane” are carried by a huge rhythmic wave, washing up on the beach of the audience. In point of fact, Grass Widow are seriously fun, and their positivity infectious; they completely betrayed the grime of their surroundings.

images by Ben Gold