Tag: sinai vessel

RSVP HERE: Bethlehem Steel Play Trans Pecos + More

Welcome to our weekly show recommendation column RSVP HERE – your source for the best NYC shows and interviews with some of our favorite local live bands.

Bethlehem Steel released their sophomore self-titled record on Exploding in Sound Records September 13th and have been on tour since. They are set to return to Brooklyn this Sunday 11/24 with a show at Trans Pecos with Ben Seretan, Sinai Vessel, and Lightning Bug. Bethlehem Steel formed in 2012 as a trio consisting of Becca Ryskalczyk on guitar/vocals, Jon Gernhart on drums, and Zephyr Prusinski on bass. Their second record features singer/guitarist Christina Puerto, who toured with Bethlehem Steel around their debut record Party Naked Forever. She was asked to join the band full time and contributed to the songwriting process of their latest release, resulting in a more empowering record that lyrically grapples with “being taken advantage of, or abandoned or fucked over.” We chatted with Bethlehem Steel about their favorite tour stories, the challenges of long haul touring and why you need to watch out for pizza prices in California…

 

AF: You’re finishing a super long tour supporting your self titled record out now on Exploding in Sound. What was your best show, favorite city, and favorite animal you’ve met on the road?

BS: Our best show was in Seattle. It was good to cross paths with Pile mid-tour and we had a great time playing with them at Chop Suey. Favorite city would have to be Austin because we got to swim in a lake under the stars at our friend’s house after the show. Our favorite animal(s) we met on tour were Brody and Griz. Griz is a big friendly cat and Brody is a little blind chihuahua and they both live with our good friends Brian and Brenda in Minneapolis.

AF: What are the challenges and advantages of a seven week tour?

BS: Not getting sick is definitely a challenge, as is dealing with the very long drives, and being so far away from home for so long. But playing this many shows in a row is a really good opportunity to work on the live performance aspect of things, and visiting friends and making new ones all across the country is always a wonderful thing.

AF: What is your favorite thing to do on your days of? What do you listen to in the car?

BS: We usually end up going to a thrift store to look for nutcrackers. We also like to do movie scene re-enactments, and will almost always try to find any type body of water to swim in. As far as car listening, Pat puts on this playlist he made called “Pat the 80’s” a lot.

AF: When you get a flat tire, who’s the first person to try to fix it? When your van breaks down, who cries the most?

BS: We have a Tacoma and it does us good.

AF: Any other crazy stories?

BS: We each payed $9 for a slice of pizza in Sacramento. We didn’t see the prices until it was too late.

RSVP HERE for Bethlehem Steel with Ben Seretan, Sinai Vessel, and Lightning Bug @ Trans Pecos Sunday 11/24! ALL AGES / $10

More great shows this week:

11/22 Eaters (Armonica Set) with Greg Fox, David Watson, Michael Shea, Kate Mohanty @ Trans Pecos. All Ages / $10 RSVP HERE

11/22 88Palms, HRY FLWR, Safer (single release show) @ The Broadway. 21+ / $12 RSVP HERE

11/22 + 11/23 Crumb, Divino Niño, Shormey @ Music Hall of Williamsburg. 18+ / $26 RSVP HERE

11/23 Fraidycat (Reunion Show), True Dreams (Album Release), Wooing, PowerSnap, @ Alphaville. 21+ / $8-$10

11/23 NY Night Train Soul Clap & Dance Off, Nobunny, Gnarcissists @ Brooklyn Bazaar. All Ages / $15 RSVP HERE

11/25 Nicole Yun (of Eternal Summers), Coltura, Desert Sharks, Queue @ Baby’s All Right. 21+ / $10 RSVP HERE

11/26 Military Genius, P.E., A. Savage (of Parquet Courts), Strange Magic (DJ Set) @ Alphaville. 21+ / $10 RSVP HERE

11/27 M.A.K.U. (Record Release), Salt Cathedral @ Sultan Room. 21+ / $12 RSVP HERE

PLAYING COLUMBUS: Kizzy Hall & Diet Cig @ Ace of Cups

All photos by Kaiya Gordon

“Y’all Ohioans know how to do rock bands in a way the rest of the country is trying to catch up to,” said Caleb Cordes of Sinai Vessel on Sunday night at the Ace of Cups. The band was following Columbus’ own Kizzy Hall, who opened the show with a fast-paced set that, yes, did reek of rock-and-roll.

It was clear that the crowd took pride in their Ohioan roots, cheering as Cordes gave his shout-out, and dancing with vigor throughout the night. As the night opened, hometown fans crowded the stage to sing Kizzy Hall’s lyrics back to the band, taking selfies and, later, collecting set-lists.

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Kizzy Hall

When headliners Diet Cig finally took the stage, Ace of Cups was vibrating with enthusiasm.

“I feel like Ohio gets a bad rap,” said singer Alex Luciano, as she opened the set. “But every time we’re out here, I [/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][think] this is the best place in the world.” She continued: “We’ve played at the Ace of Cups a few times and each time has been dreamy…y’all are so nice and cool here, and good looking, and punk!”

Diet Cig is notorious for their high-powered live performances, and though Luciano was hindered by a torn ACL, the duo still played with force. On drums, Noah Bowman is unassuming but relentless, driving Luciano’s guitar riffs to their peaks. And Luciano, regardless of dancing ability, is magnetic onstage. As she sways, twists, winks, dips, and–of course–makes her signature high-kick, it’s hard not to look on with glee.

“Raise your hand if your crush is here,” said Alex, at the beginning of  “Maid of the Mist.” “During this quiet song you can look at them and wink. Or, if you can’t wink…blink twice.” Later in the set, during what Luciano called the “makeout interlude,” she said: “if you blinked at someone earlier, now is the time to kiss them.”

Though critics of Diet Cig find fault in the band’s saccharine qualities, I found it moving to be in a space where I could trust the musicians onstage to go to bat for each other, and for the crowd.

“A lot of times women, and queer folks, and trans folks, and non-binary folks get told that their voice doesn’t matter,” said Luciano at the end of their performance. “But it does matter. Thank you for coming and for taking up space here.”

Luciano also thanked survivors of sexual assault, saying, “It’s a radical act to be out at a show right now.”

Space, or lack of it, is a constant theme in Diet Cig’s work, and while I think it is all too easy to step on somebody else’s toes in the name of taking space, without considering the ways that one is structurally set-up to inhabit that space already, watching Luciano move freely around the stage is joyful. And I am grateful for the attention that the duo pays to creating a “safer space” at their shows.

Standing in the crowd, relieved to be done with the pressured social niceties that come with Thanksgiving, and thankful to be watching a band that is always so entirely themselves, I felt prepared to take on the world for the first time in a week.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]