Black Lips at TV Eye

The shock value of Black Lips may be in the past. At least in New York, the musicians  have not done the outrageous at recent performances. At Webster Hall in 2017, however, guitarist Cole Alexander and bassist Jared Swilley locked lips for several minutes while playing a song. Also towards the end of that show, Alexander exposed his penis to masturbate and later urinated on stage, pointing his penis upwards so he could catch the urine in his mouth. Maybe we do not need to see those stage antics anymore.

Aside from being a wild bunch of characters, Black Lips is a solid rock and roll band. Established in 2000, Black Lips released its ninth and most recent studio album, Sing in a World That's Falling Apart, on January 24, 2020. The band did not have the opportunity to tour it last year, though, because of the pandemic shutdown.

Renewed touring opportunities this year brought the Georgia-based quintet to TV Eye for a two-night engagement. Alexander, Swilley, pedal steel player and guitarist Jeff Clarke, saxophone player Zumi Rosow, and drummer Oakley Munson performed new and old catalogue as unpolished garage rock songs. They peppered many of these songs with country twang, some even leaning towards psycho-billy. The faster songs generated moshing; stage diving was impractical at this gig, however, due to TV Eye's low stage.

Most bands burnish their music over the years, as they grow more proficient on their instruments. Quite the opposite happened here. Even after 21 years, Black Lips has committed to a raw and primitive core and a punk DIY ethos. This formula has helped make Black Lips a terrific live band.

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The Manhattan Beat covers New York City's live music developments as they happen. All photographs are by Everynight Charley Crespo, except when noted otherwise. For a list of Manhattan venues that are presenting live music regularly, swing the desktop cursor to the right and click on the pop-up tab "Where to Find Live Music." For a listing of upcoming concerts for live audiences, visit The Manhattan Beat's July 2021 calendar.