Sans Temps Morts is Nate Dorr’s weekly New York City events guide. This week with Death Set, Drunkdriver, Aa, Old Time Relijun, Apes, Big Bear, Golden Ghost, Alva Noto.

First off, two albums I’m really excited for came out yesterday, which I just noticed were hitting down even though I’m usually terrible at paying attention to release dates. 1. Ghost Town, the new solo album from Parts & Labor’s master synth-tweaker Dan Friel, who hasn’t announced when the release party will be yet, but whose recent shows have been so good as to suggest that this will be a great show when it hits. 2. Secession, the debut 6-track EP from Portland, OR’s eerie and wonderful Tu Fawning, knowledge of whom I owe entirely to my roommate, who somehow discovered them months ago when they’d only posted a couple demos to their myspace. I was going to say “before anyone had ever heard of them”, except I’m pretty sure that no one has heard of them still, unless they live in Portland and even then it’s iffy. In any event, you better hope the word isn’t out because there are only 200 copies of this getting released, probably ever, so you might have only a couple days to fall in love and snap up your copy before they disappear. Seriously, just listen to “I’m Gone” and tell me we’re wrong.

Lots going on this week, after the relative calm of last week. Thursday through Saturday, for instance, give new meaning to the phrase “options paralysis”. This weekend is the date of yearly noise expo No Fun Fest, this year hosted by the Knitting Factory and so enticingly packed with noise notables that Saturday night has already sold out. And there are something like three shows booked by entertainment4every1 in four days. E4e1 being the newly notable purveyors of cheap, chilled-out, and shockingly good bands you and I have typically never heard of until we see them (at an e4e1 show, naturally) and get hooked. It is entirely through these guys that I know anything about the likes of Lymbyc System and Ettrick, both of whom turned out excellent recent sets, at Death By Audio and the Lucky Cat respectively. Likewise, Sleep When Dead NYC, a longer-running but more intermittently active (or at least less manically busy than e4e1) supplier of much the same has a new offering this week. And two metal shows that actually seem really intriguing (a relative rarity with me, I admit). All this in addition to my own photography show opening on Saturday which, yes, I am shamelessly plugging right here.

AND SO:

Wednesday, 14 May ::

Baltimore electro-punks the Death Set have finally released their long-awaited debut album Worldwide via Ninjatune sublabel Counter, and will be playing two shows this Thursday and one on Wednesday. Wednesday’s will be with Brazilian baile-funk exports Bonde do Role and Holy Hail at Europa, 98 Meserole Avenue at Manhattan Ave, Greenpoint. 8pm doors, $12.

I can’t recall how Girls of the Gravitron came onto my radar, but a quick myspace visit cofirms them to be the sort of deliciously lo-fi mess that deserves a spot on here and Necking at Cakeshop. 152 Ludlow, LES. 8pm doors, $7.

+UnTapped at the Tank: Cornelius Dufallo, Jessica Schmitz, Rusty Limited Company. 279 Church St, Tribeca. 7:30pm, $7.
+Cut/Copy at Bowery. 8pm doors, $20.

Thursday, 15 May ::

I mentioned “options paralysis”. Check it:

Death Set show number one is early — 3pm — at 1087 Broadway, next to Goodbye Blue Monday (that’s the Kosciusko stop) with their old buddies Ninjasonik, and, get this, it’ll be limited to 60 people. And for only $5. This is gonna be crazy. I bet they’ll be shooting a video or something, if they’re capping it so small. Or the space is tiny. Or both. It’s going to be so good, I’m really sad I have a day job. Get there early, obviously.

The second Death Set show is with Bonde do Role again, at Bowery. 8pm doors, $15.

Surprisingly compelling metal tendencies on display at Death By Audio: Maw, Clan of the Cave Bear, Archaeopteryx, and Drunkdriver. I make no claim to knowing anything about metal, but these appeal to me by being low on typical metal barking voices (lots of instrumentals) and high on formidable skills applied to blistering melody developments. Besides Drunkdriver, who seem more high on sludgy messes of feedback. Or hard liquor and road rage. 49 S. 2nd St btwn Wythe and Kent, Williamsburg. 8pm doors, $tba.

Party Werewolf Andy D is soon moving out of state and out of the range of being able to conveniently bring the weekend. Or rock your show. So seize this chance to see him at Hugs with minimal new-wavers Macaque. 106 N 6th St between Bedford Ave & Berry St, Williamsburg.

FREE: Live glitched-up electronics for bass guitar, blinky lights, and various electronic devices from Elijah B Torn, who defies laptop musician norms by actually putting on a pretty stimulating show. At the Tea Lounge, 837 Union Street at 5th Ave, Park Slope. Two sets, 9pm and 10:30.

Keyboardist Olga Bell, who came to my attention via her cover of “It’s Oh So Quiet” for Stereogum, has a show at Mercury Lounge. She’s opening, the rest of the bill will be Snowden, Colour Revolt, and the Epochs. 9:30 doors, $12.

70s fore-runners of both no wave and industrial, Suicide’s place in music history is assured Less assured is whether our appreciation of them is in any way benefited by attending their current string of exhumations. It’s okay, guys, you deserve a break after all these years. Really. Regardless, there are a couple notable (and drastically more recent) openers: Aa and Child Abuse. At Europa, 98 Meserole Avenue at Manhattan Ave, Greenpoint. 8pm doors, $20.

R. Stevie Moore may have a Cakeshop residency this month, but he’s not gonna let that stop him from putting in a performance at Death By Audio, as well. With Girls of the Gravitron. 49 S. 2nd St btwn Wythe and Kent, Williamsburg. 8pm doors, $tba.

The High Places are playing a benefit for Rhizome at the New Museum. What is Rhizome? Well, it’s apparently a branch of the New Museum devoted “to the creation, presentation, preservation, and critique of emerging artistic practices that engage technology.” However, this is a benefit so, watch out unless you’re feeling extra philanthropic: tickets range from $35 to $500 depending on commitment and means.

Friday, 16 May ::

Jeremiah Cymerman is a clarinetist with a new album on John Zorn’s Tzadik imprint, and skills which place him deep in atonal/improvisational/extended-technique territory. This show he’ll be leading his Graphic Scores project, with Matt Welch on sax, Chris Hoffman on cello, Grey Gersten on guitar, and Tom Blancarte on bass. At Gowanus Arts, 295 Douglas btwn 3rd and 4th Aves, Brooklyn. 8pm.

No Fun Fest day 1: ASTRO (Hiroshi Hasegawa), Tony Conrad + MV Carbon, White Out, Burning Star Core, Thurston Moore + Nancy Garcia, Dinosaurs with Horns, Randy Yau, Sickness, Damion Romero, Handicapper Hornz, Greg Kelley, Jason Crumer, Failing Lights, Sewer Election, Black Quarter, and Workbench. Two stages at the Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St. at Church, Tribeca. 7pm, $18.

FREE: Purveyors of fine arcane Americana (American arcana?) Old Time Relijun will be playing with the Apes and New Jerk Times at a MyOpenBar party, 330 Ellery St at Broadway, Bushwick (J to Flushing). 10:30 doors, with free beer until it’s gone. Details and RSVP link here.

Boston-based math hardcore blasters Big Bear caught our ear with surprising precision and sheer sonic force last fall when they played as part of the Cardboard showcase at CMJ (Cardboard, showing usual taste, put out the vinyl of their debut). Now they’ve got a record on the way, and a show at Cakeshop with the well-matched We Versus The Shark and Hi Red Center. 152 Ludlow btwn Stanton and Rivington, LES. 8pm doors, $7.

The rhythmically mesmerizing Slow/Dynamite, who self-describe most efficiently as “tribal punk marches” are releasing their first full-length album, The Mountains Are Our People, combining the latests versions of older tracks with assorted new work. Join them, and the heavy drones of Say No! To Architecture at Tommy’s Tavern, 1041 Manhattan Ave, Greenpoint. 8pm doors, $tba.

e4e1 folk-ish show: Seattle’s esoterically charming, somehow barely saccharine-free Pwrfl Power, Ethan the Master of the Hawaiian Ukelele, who, via the local college radio station, helped Impose run our SXSW shows this year, Brilliant Sweaters, and more tba at Lucky Cat, 245 Grand St, Williamsburg. 8pm doors, $tba.

+The Mountain Goats AIDS benefit at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple. 7:30pm, $20.

Saturday, 17 May ::

Entertainment4every1 is holding their second show of the week and it looks like a typically varied affair with cacophonous jazz-punk (Chubby Behemoth), lilting, melodious indie-pop (Air Waves), and good old straight-up punk rock (Fiasco). Plus RG Todd and Mas y Mas. At Death By Audio, 49 S. 2nd St btwn Wythe and Kent, Williamsburg. 8pm doors, $tba.

Elaborately crafted bedroom folk project Golden Ghost is back from tour, and playing their first show in the city in ages. Last year’s self-released cdr ended up in my top 20 for the year, so I’m extremely curious to hear what they’ve been up to. Sometime, when I don’t have a photo opening to be at, of course. With Viking Moses at Union Pool, 484 Union Ave, Williamsburg. 8pm, $12.

Jazz: post-punk legend and pianist Steve Beresford, experimental trumpet player Peter Evans, and cellist Okkyung Lee are playing in their recurring improvisational ensemble at the Stone, Ave C and 2nd St, East Village. 10pm, $10.

No Fun Fest day 2 [sold out, oh well]: CLUSTER, Religious Knives, Demons, Carlos Giffoni, The Skaters, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Nautical Almanac, Nevari Butchers, Hair Police, Tovah Olson and The Jasons, Alvars Orkester, Emeralds, Cornucopia, Baby Cobra Headsz, Eskimo King, Pax Titania, and Afternoon Penis. Two stages at the Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St. at Church, Tribeca. 7pm, was $18.

Sleep When Dead NYC: Titus Andronicus, Spiderbags, Dinowalrus, and Golden Boys at the Silent Barn, 915 Wyckoff Ave, at Hancock, Ridgewood, L to Halsey. 8pm doors, $5.

+Mathew Welch’s Blarvuster at Issue Project Room, OA Can Factory, 232 3rd Street btwn 3rd and 4th Aves, 3rd Floor. 8pm, $10.

Sunday, 18 May ::

Raster Norton records at Issue Project Room: new material is being debuted by notable producers from the seminal experimental electronic label, including personal favorites Alva Noto, who has previously worked with Japanese pianist/composer Ryuichi Sakamoto to excellent result, and whose minimalist solo work somehow manages both to sound like electricity, and to make that highly compelling. Also featuring Byetone, Frank Bretschneider, and Signal. In the Old American Can Factory, 232 3rd Street btwn 3rd and 4th Aves, 3rd Floor. 8pm, $10.

No Fun Fest day 3: The Haters, Consumer Electronics, Illusion of Safety, Lee Ranaldo: Blind Piece #2, Lasse Marhaug + Dror Feiler, Sudden Infant, Edwige, Werewolf Jerusalem, John Wiese, Cleanse, James Plotkin, Alan Licht, FFH, Ahlzagailzehguh, Halflings, The Cathode Terror Secretion, and Shallow Waters. On two stages at the Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St. at Church, Tribeca. 7pm, was $18.

Drummer Kevin Shea and guitarist Mary Halvorson’s ever-excellent avant-pop project (now perhaps with a bassist as well), People, is playing Nat Baldwin’s cd release party. At Glasslands, Kent Ave btwn S. 1st and S. 2nd, Williamsburg. 9pm doors, $tba.

Monday, 19 May ::

e4e1 yet again, with more bands which are likely good, but which I lack the time to look up just now: Bedtime, Mark Denardo, Starscream, and The So So Glos at Lucky Cat, 245 Grand St, Williamsburg. 8pm doors, $tba.

Tuesday, 20 May ::

FREE: Let’s really hope Zebulon, currently renovating after an accidental fire, can be fixed in time for this, as it’ll be a fairly impressive line-up of avant impulses and subverted jazz: Little Women, People, and the Dead Science. Metropolitan and Wythe, Williamsburg. 9pm.

R. Stevie Moore Cakeshop Residency week III!

Avant-jazz clarinetist Jeremiah Cymerman once again, this time with Walter Thompson at the Bowery Poetry Club. 330 Bowery at Bleecker, Noho. 8pm.

Wednesday, 21 May ::

Three great shows, no time to discuss any of them until next week:

Extra Life with the Dead Science and Kyp Malone at the Knitting Factory

Drone-metal: KTL at the Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St. at Church, Tribeca.

FREE: Talibam! and Pesseye at Zebulon. Metropolitan and Wythe, Williamsburg. 9pm.

Thursday, 22 May ::

Composer Glenn Branca, whose last symphony incorporated 100 electric guitars, and whose past work was apparently disturbing to minimalist piano preparer John Cage of all people, will be at the Issue Project Room, performing “A Demonstration of The Harmonics Guitar”. I have no idea what a Harmonics Guitar is, but apparently it’s a Branca invention. He’ll be joined by his concertmaster and wife Reg Bloor in her no-wave band (a two-piece with drummer Libby Fab), Paranoid Critical Revolution, of which the likes of Thurston Moore and Mike Watt are apparently fans. As they should be. Few bands manage to create such precision dissonance with a full line-up, let alone just two members. In the Old American Can Factory, 232 3rd Street btwn 3rd and 4th Aves, 3rd Floor. 8pm, $10.

Two inventive takes on metal (perhaps for non-metal listeners like myself) and two imports from Oregon, but nothing links all three of these bands besides my lack of knowledge of them until compiling this message. And the fact that I will certainly remember all three henceforth: Thrones for their weirdly electronic take on evolving drone metal, Ocrilim for their oddly beautiful ambient guitar shriek and treble-heavy metal riffs, and Magick Daggers for their spectral gothpunk cabaret. At Death By Audio, 49 S. 2nd St btwn Wythe and Kent, Williamsburg. 8pm doors, $tba.

And another Slow/Dynamite show, this one on Office Ops roof, which I promise to find the location of by next week.

Next next next

23 May :: Lucky Dragons at the Whitney
24 May :: Islands at Webster Hall
24 May :: Lucky Dragons, The Skaters, Kemialliset Ystävät (Finland), G. Lucas Crane vs. NonHorse, James Ameoba, Javelin, and Rainbro at Silent Barn
24 May :: Cutter (ex-Fugue), Birthday Boyz, Mutators, and Modern Creatures at Dead Herring
24 May :: S-s-s Spectres and Lemonade at Death By Audio
26 May :: Pumice and dd/mm/yyyy at Cakeshop
27 May :: R. Stevie Moore residency at Cakeshop week IV, with Skaters
27 May :: Jim O’Rourke (remote form Japan) and Karen Waltuch at the Stone.
27 May :: New Bloods, Woods, Soft Circle, and Power Douglas at 234 Wythe Ave.
31 May :: Ponytail, Thank You, and Wzt Hearts at Knitting Factory
31 May :: Knyfe Hyts, the Carrots, and Hand Jobs at the Silent Barn
31 May :: Slow/Dynamite at Texas Firehouse (LIC)
31 May :: Bang on a Can 12hr marathon
31 May :: Little Women, Shearing Pinks, Worms in Dirt, and Necking at Dead Herring
31 May :: Drunkdriver at Cakeshop
02 Jun :: Talibam! at Club Rehab
03 Jun :: Drunkdriver at the Charleston
04 Jun :: Talibam! at Union Pool
04 Jun :: ICETANK! VIII: Low-Matic All-Stars
06 Jun :: Four Tet at Studio B
07 Jun :: Lucky Dragons at East River Music Project
08 or 09 Jun :: Jamie Lidell at Bowery
11 Jun :: FREE: Jeremiah Cymerman’s Silence & Solitude at Zebulon
12 Jun :: Extra Life and Liturgy at Death By Audio
12 Jun :: Slow/Dynamite at Fontana’s
13 Jun :: Oneida: The Wedding, at the Kitchen
13 Jun :: A Sunny Day in Glasgow at the Whitney
13 Jun :: Friday the 13th Zombie Party at DBA: Fiasco, Bat Attack, 2 Secret Headliners
14 Jun :: Oneida: The Wedding, at the Kitchen
14 Jun :: Extra Life and Evangelista at Mercury Lounge
14 Jun :: Love Is All and Vivian Girls at Market Hotel
14 Jun :: The Show is the Rainbow and UUVVWWZ tba
14 Jun :: Zs and Ocrilim at Monkeytown
15 Jun :: Jeremiah Cymerman at the Stone
19 Jun :: 65daysofstatic at Mercury Lounge
19 Jun :: Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog at the Prospect Park Bandshell
20 Jun :: Ecstatic Sunshine and Thank You TBA
20 Jun :: Prefuse 73 at the Whitney
20 Jun :: Child Abuse, Made in Mexico, and Curse of the Birthmark at Dead Herring
21 Jun :: Made in Mexico and Curse of the Birthmark TBA
22 Jun :: Child Abuse, Gay Beast, and Corima TBA
23 Jun :: People and Gay Beast at Cakeshop
23 Jun :: Pterodactyl and Daniel Francis Doyle TBA
25 Jun :: Andy D at Glasslands
25 Jun :: Paranoid Critical Revolution at Goodbye Blue Monday
27 Jun :: Religious Knives, Woods, Pocahaunted, Robedoors, and Car Commercials at 66 Hope St.
27 Jun :: Macaque at the Annex
28 Jun :: Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Vivian Girls, and Belaire at Market Hotel
03 Jul :: Puttin’ on the Ritz CD release w/ Mostly Other People Do the Killing at Dead Herring
05 Jul :: Blues Control, Psychedelic Horseshit, Fabulous Diamonds (AU)
10 Jul :: FREE: Shellshag at Goodbye Blue Monday
12 Jul :: Oneida TBA
18 Jul :: The Mae Shi and Imaad Wasif at Cakeshop
19 Jul :: Siren Music Festival, with These Are Powers and MORE
21 Jul :: The Mae Shi and Japanther at Market Hotel
01 Aug :: Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts, and Yellow Fever at Cake Shop
15 Aug :: Future Islands and EAR PWR tba

Until next week, live without dead time.