Mr & Mrs Tennessee

A Night at the Music Hall of Williamsburg with Silver Jews -- and who could forget opening riot act Monotonix. These two bands make quite the odd couple, but for my first (and their 71st) Silver Jews show-- I couldn't of asked for anything more:

A steadily intriguing buzz increased amongst the extended Music Hall Happy Hour crowd ($3 drinks, y'all) about the Israeli punk-metal trio Monotonix who, quite honestly, I had never really heard of before. But some guy who lit my smoke outside the venue was told he 'had to show up for the opening band because they are fucking NUTS. Apparently, they throw beer bottles at their fans'. My confusion about a Gwar resembling prelude to bluntly somber melodies snapped to a crisp clarity when I was informed that these curly haired boys were Mr. Berman's favorite band.

Monotonix was captivating, to say the least. And as their clanging musical cartwheels unraveled, the first thing I thought was 'I shouldn't have worn my grandmother's ring to this'. Garbage, beer, and the banging of cymbals passed all too near my face-- and I agreed that 'if we were in Indianapolis, we would've gotten our asses kicked'... Kudos to any band that can make a Williamsburg crowd move!

The energy in the room plateaued at high when the cloud lining Jews took the stage, kicking off with 'Smith & Jones Forever'-- a smart move after the opening testosterone party. The setlist was true precision transitioning at its best. Berman's perfectly sullen Cohen delivery backlit with subtle surf guitar on 'My Pillow is a Threshold' was followed with darkly foot-tapping tunes such as 'K-Hole'. A truly satisfying mix of new material and even some late 90s throwbacks.

The slightly sweeter Nico-esque voice compliments of Cassie Berman, wife of the brilliantly awkward frontman, return on Silver Jews recently released sixth album Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea. Her live rendition of the we've-all-been-there lyrics on my new personal favorite track, 'We Could be Looking for the Same Thing', are still streaming delicately in my head.

Oh, and for the Berman wannabes out there... I hear the Lookout album cover includes guitar chord cards. You know, like Guitar Hero, but for real musicians. Not to mention some adorable Babaar doppelgangers:

But who buys hard copy albums anymore, anyway?