Two reviews have been sent to us covering last weeks Knitting Factory show in Brooklyn. It was great to be back in NYC again and it was great to be sharing the stage again with Ceremony and Outpost and meeting All Nines.

Sentamentalist Magazine

Fans of punk, Goth and shoegaze who were not in Brooklyn on Thursday missed out on one sweet treat with the impressive bill of Ceremony, Screen Vinyl Image, Outpost and 999999999 at the Knitting Factory.

The show opened with New York’s 999999999 (pronounced “All nines”), which features guitarist Tony Banana Chow Mein, drummer Ted McGrath and songs with early Pixies and Ramones influences.

Next was Washington, D.C.-area band Screen Vinyl Image — Jake Reid and Kim Reid, aka J. Sequential and Kim K. The band’s sound lies somewhere between 1980s new wave and 1990s shoegaze. Think Visage (or early Berlin) meets Ride, synths and electronic beats with a heavy dose of reverb. The band has even been known to cover Ride in live sets, but not this night. Opening with the hard-driving “Cathode Ray,” from the 2009’s Interceptors, the band played only six songs, including two new ones that will be released as 7-inch singles in the coming months.

Outpost, who veers more on the synth-driven Goth side of things, reminded me of the dark soundscapes of Tones on Tail and Bauhaus, with fluid bass lines and haunting vocals and guitars. Though Outpost has two vocalists, the set included a surprising amount of instrumentals. The band is fairly recent on the scene, having played together for nine months now. Band members include Stuart Argabright, Mark C., and Kent Heine, former members of such bands as Ike Yard, Live Skull and The Holy Ghost. Outpost has just wrapped up recording on the debut album, which the band is hoping to release later this year.

Headlining the night was Ceremony, another two-piece band, from Fredericksburg, Virginia (not to be confused with the West Coast hardcore band by the same name). These guys rocked, rather loudly, with songs that recall the Creation Records heyday (pre-Oasis) with the Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and early Ride but are more up-tempo. The set included “Our Last Goodbye” and “For Her Smile,” as well as a few new songs. Ceremony does not tour often, and lately has not played much outside of the Virginia-Maryland-D.C. area, so this was a rare chance for fans outside that region to see the band live. Ceremony — vocalist/guitarist Paul Baker and bassist/vocalist John Fedowitz – have a new album due out in Spring 2010.

Spotted in the audience were members of local heroes A Place To Bury Strangers (with whom Ceremony and Screen Vinyl Image have shared the stage), as well as Dead Leaf Echo.

With new releases expected from Screen Vinyl Image, Outpost and Ceremony in 2010, one would hope to see them on the same bill again at some point in the future – it would definitely be something to look forward to. –Teresa Sampson, Photos by Teresa Sampson

Will Trade Bike for Women

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I finally had the time to trek Brooklyn, had to put em Red Wing jawnz, left NJ and took the L train to Bedford Ave. It's been ages since I took the L train, what a weird feeling. Anyway, I was so excited to finally see Ceremony. It seems I'm terrible at keeping up with calendar dates, luckily I didn't miss them this time. What better way to see them with fellow shoegazer and Virginia natives, Screen Vinyl Image. This is the second time I've seen SVI. Playing with the original line up, Jake and Kim kept strumming those airy dissonant sounds with a loop of discotheque electro beats. What else impresses me about SVI, besides their upbeat yet dark sound is the enormous selection of effect and pedals they use. Clearly I wrote "use" and not just a big rig of stompers for show. Anyway, how fun it would be to play all those crazy sounds, right? I feel like button smashing or rather pedal stomping some right now. Continuing the pedal stomping and shoegaze-esque sounds, Ceremony, 2/3 of former band Skywave, played dreamy noise songs that without doubt reminds you that JAMC is somehow still alive. I do think that Ceremony have more a distinct pop sound on their record and that is something that made me play their records the whole night. Having seen both great shoegaze bands it reminds me that people should not end their ears at MBV. Big thanks to John for giving me a free copy of Disappear. Never Love Again and Cold Cold Night are awesome tracks. Please do watch out for their new record coming out soon.