Jay Reatard, No Age and Mika Miko do loud D.I.Y. - Oh My Rockness

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Jay Reatard, No Age and Mika Miko do loud D.I.Y.

November 13, 2007
Three great punks! One low price! Go to The Smell on Sunday, November 18th and see Jay Reatard, No Age and Mika Miko get all loud and crazy.

Memphis' Jay Reatard (former teenage founder of The Reatards and current member of Lost Sounds) plays furiously fun lo-fi no-wave punk (with a dash of rockabilly and garage thrown in, too). Phew! A whole mess of different past musical genres are covered when this guy takes the stage. But Reatard's sampling of these varied sounds really only leads to one singular goal; to make music you can thrash and dance to.

He plays and sings his short songs in a hurry, and it takes the savvy dancer/thrasher to keep up with his time signatures. Call it breathless-core. Jay Reatard will sure appeal to fans of The Ponys, Wire, Black Lips and Brian Eno.

Los Angeles' lo-fi-garage-noise duo No Age has been compared to everyone from Lightning Bolt to Deerhunter to Built to Spill. And you can throw in some of the rudimentary recording elements of The Ramones into the mix, too.

This exceptional band is comprised of Dean Spunt and Randy Randall, both formerly of the LA beloved punk band, Wives. These two guys throw out all sorts of musical fastballs, curves and changes from the stage. Sometimes No Age engage in full-on rock feak-outs (Lightning Bolt), and at other times they get a little spacey, slow and hazy (Deerhunter). They also employ melodic guitar solos throughout (Built to Spill). There's no predictability here, other than a definite D.I.Y. vibe.

L.A.'s all-female five piece, Mika Miko, play aggressive new wave pre-punk rock that is influenced by Bad Brains, Red Cross and Black Flag, and obviously inspired by the riot grrrl movement. Their debut album, C.Y.S.L.A.B.F. on Kill Rock Stars is raw, snotty, and entirely in-your face. It also sounds like it was recorded in a basement bathroom stall. But the D.I.Y. ethos is a large part of Mika Miko's charm.

Their bombastic live shows are also serving to further their cult following in California and beyond; their concerts have been described as "pony thrash." Not sure what that means, but it sure sounds cool. If you like it rough, check out Mika Miko. Jay Reatard, No Age and Mika Miko play The Smell, on Sunday, November 18th.

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