Back in the 90s I don’t think New Wet Kojak played all that often, but whenever they played in NYC it was 21+ and I was left—literally, in one instance—standing outside. Fortunately for their reunion after fifteen or so years of dormancy (theirs, not mine) I’m well past drinking age so here we are with the first of three dates the band did in December. In case you’re not familiar, New Wet Kojak is the louche-rock side-project/supergroup of Girls Against Boys‘ Scott McCloud (vocals/guitar) and Johnny Temple (bass) with Geoff Turner of Gray Matter (guitar), Nick Pellicciotto of Edsel (drums), and Charles Bennington of High Back Chairs (sax/keyboards). If you recognize all those bands, you probably own a bunch of Dischord CDs and we should hang out sometime. Anyway, before they (thought they) were cool, Pitchfork really liked New Wet Kojak’s Nasty International, their second album on Touch & Go, and gave it a nine-point-something before later scrubbing that from their site.
Now, 25+ years later, with McCloud and Temple also having revived their 80s post-hardcore band Soulside in addition to sporadic tours with Girls Against Boys, it seems most appropriate to reactivate New Wet Kojak. (Side note: it’s not too late for Little Baby to play their third show!) Never as high profile as their main act, a nice size, enthusiastic crowd at Tubby’s made it clear New Wet Kojak weren’t forgotten. Most of the songs played at Tubby’s are off the band’s two Touch & Go records with a couple from the later Do Things on Beggar’s Banquet. No songs here from their final album This is the Glamorous which I can only guess is a strategy to leave us wanting more—let’s not wait so long for next time.
I recorded this from our usual location at Tubby’s with a board feed from FOH engineer Will. The sound is excellent. Enjoy!
New Wet Kojak 2023-12-01 Tubby's Kingston, NY Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com Soundboard (engineer: Will) + MBHO KA200N/603A > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 2.4.2 > FLAC Tracks [54:59] 01. Code Windham 02. Sticky 2 Me 03. Stereo Explosive 04. Kick Some Life 05. You Got Some Dog 06. Thought You Were 07. Sophia Loren 08. Shake You Down 09. Freak Now 10. Unbuckled 11. Stick Out Your Tongue 12. Punx Not Dead 13. Sexy Postcard
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