Topaz/Roger That!/Ashtray Angel @ Berlin, New York, NY 6/25/26
Bill: Topaz/Roger That!/Ashtray Angel
Venue: Berlin, 25 Avenue A, New York, NY
Date: Thursday 6/25/26
Door: $15 (went in early helping load in, didn't get to "list")
9pm Topaz
Active: 2026 (New York, NY)
8pm Roger That!
Active: 2017 (Brooklyn, NY)
Latest Release: Flashback Fever (Tee Pee, 2024)
Facebook Instagram Discogs YouTube Spotify
7:15 Ashtray Angel
Active: 2018 (New Haven, CT)
One of those epic nights for Roger That! We loaded up Kenny's car and his bandmate Steve drove since Kenny was still recovering from the Breeders night at Pier 17 which I couldn't make. This meant I was in the Berlin basement by like 6 or something. After all the soundchecks, Chloe seemingly from Connecticut did her acoustic set under the moniker Ashtray Angel. Well played guitar with warbley vocals in that current trend, occasionally devolving into a screaming rant, but not too often. I guess that's about right. Anyway, she was likeable enough. Roger That! had the middle set and did their thing with some newer songs. I've written about them enough that you can see links from the last couple years below.
I had been looking forward to seeing Gina Rodriguez new band Topaz and was expecting something good considering she plays in Peri Masco's current band Tough Darling that I played with at the Gowanus loft party last year. I hadn't seen her sing or front anything before, but when you have a feeling someone is going to be good, it doesn't surprise you very much when they are. This is like their 6th or 7th gig and Kenny added them to the bill when someone else canceled. This band has great atmospheric guitarist with Jody Hayford. Drummer John Ilmo rounds it out. Good original sounding stuff, not noodley and the songs strike me as conceptually well thought out even though they are the sort of thing you don't really remember live on the first pass hearing.
Steve ended up taking the car back so we didn't have to leave early to load the practice space. That meant we could hang at the tables outside for a bit then go upstairs and sneak into the former 2A treehouse now rebranded as Old Flings. I don't know how long this has been the case, but I just noticed today. Apparently Thursdays they have a Jazz group advertised going 10-2 (they cut off at 1am). I can't find who it was but there is a clip of them below. This particular ensemble comes back in two weeks so I guess July 9th. After that we rolled into The Library which was crowded so the night was closed out at Double Down where there were plenty of seats.
FOR FURTHER REVIEW:
Roger That! @ Cowgirl Seahorse, New York, NY 4/7/25
Roger That! @ Sleepwalk, Brooklyn, NY 2/10/25
Roger That! @ Sleepwalk, Brooklyn, NY 10/25/24
Tough Darling @ Tom Fruin's Studio, Brooklyn, NY 10/11/25
Comments
Post a Comment