#p.stoops

[paranormalactivities]

Looking through old files while setting up my new time machine hard drive, and found flyers I’d never posted!

[plumcityjerks]

p.stoops, Max Stern, Fred Thomas @ The Lockerroom

Sort of a last minute “eh fuckit, every other show is another boring garage band” choice, but then again, most of these reviews are last minute only-show-thats-actually-interesting-tonight things that are total crapshoot decisions. The way you SHOULD decide which show to see.

Speaking of last minute things, this show was pretty last minute as mentioned by Max Stern during his set which explains why we’ve got turntablist p.stoops opening for two singer-songwriter dudes. In the Clevo hip-hop landscape its not hard to stand out, and yet somehow most folks find that really difficult to do. Theres dudes that are less interesting that p.stoops (a good chunk of Alloy-X for example) but also dudes that are making more interesting stuff, or at least more “””””contemporary””””” tunes. This dude is a semi-familiar mix of Dan the Automator and early 00′s alternative hip-hop but with a splash of vaporwave-y stuff. He’s definitely aware of whats hip and hot and happenin’ but he doesn’t cater to it, only sprinkling it on his tracks when it suits his tastes. Instead he focuses on making tuneful if slightly dated hip-hop with some really savvy turntable work. 

Max Stern is up next for a solo set, and its pretty much like seeing Meridian but only hearing him and his guitar, and since he’s basically already been reviewed, heres that review.

Headlining this basement show of literally 9 people is Michigan indie music legend Fred Thomas. His music is basically a love letter to every 90s and early 00s indie collective and cult favorites, which is to say he’s a mishmash of Elephant-6, K Recs, Life Without Buildings, and Guided By Voices. These are all things jerky music critics like a whole bunch, and in turn Fred was pretty dang good. Stripped down guitar and voice arrangements accompanied by a loop pedal made for some really tight guitar work and vocals that are a mishmash of Mark E. Smith, Sue Tompkins and Karl Blau. His presence is a deliberately nondescript guy-at-an-indie show, or to elaborate; a dirtyclean looking Brian Wilson who doesn’t look like he’s crazy yet. Getting back to the Tompkins/E. Smith comparison, his ultra dense and verbose lyrics give good momentum to relatively slow songs, and had a nice effect. Taking a more poetic vocal approach felt like he was embracing all the faults and idiosyncrasies of himself, which mirrors the lyrical content very well. Its a technically dated style but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t still sound fresh at least in relation to the other genres warmed over that are more popular these days.

https://soundcloud.com/pstoops

http://fredthomasmusic.com/