New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Last week Daytrotter released four free downloads from San Francisco’s Social Studies. The collection in includes an exclusive track, "Mad Decent", a cover of The Grass Roots song "Lets Live for Today" as well as tracks from their upcoming album, Wind-Up Wooden Heart and their previous album This Is The World’s Biggest Hammer.
Scientific studies show that a small weekly dose of power pop is good for you – in particular if you suffer from SAD syndrome. Your third week of February should be covered by Paperdoll, who are playing Mercury on 02.19. – Paperdoll’s efficacy is not verified by the Food and Drug Administration, side effects include jumping uncontrollably, heavy drinking, loss of sexual inhibitions.
Starting the set was a cat out of Lowell, MA: D-Tension. I’ll admit that beforehand, I had very little faith in this man’s ability to rap (and, even more so, his ability to perform) based the silliness of his name and his hometown. It would only be after his set was over that I’d realize how mistaken I’d been; how pseudonyms are rarely ever indicative of ability, no matter how bizarre or obnoxious they might seem (cf. Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Jay Electronica) and how where a performer comes from doesn’t really matter. Even if not many MCs have come from there before.
Admittedly, the fact that he didn’t do much but stand at center stage, wireless mic in hand, annoyed me somewhat. But, for the first time in a while, I really didn’t care. He was just too damn nice. Spitting 92-era lyrics over productions which seemed like they had spawned from Ali Shaheed Muhammad’s twenty-year-old fingertips (though this is very unlikely, I understand), D-Tension had me laughing. And not in a condescending way; it might be easy for some to mock this acknowledged self-deprecator with beats like a school kid and raps like “Ya Mama”, but if you were paying attention at all to D-Tension’s set you would’ve realized how genuinely happy the guy was to be there, spitting his rhymes, opening for People Under the Stairs. He never once broke stride: two-and-a-half-minute song, banter, two-and-a-half-minute song ad infinitum. In a rap world where self-propagation often leads to straight up falsehood, it’s nice to see someone not care if he’s not on top of the world and have some fun with hip hop.
I don’t have much to say about Budo and Grieves’ . Honestly, the only thing that struck me about this set was how UN-struck I was, which was strange, because Budo’s music still attracts me to the point of repeat-playing. I guess I’ll just have to see them again.
On a track, Kenan Bell sports deft lyrical control with a voice so high up in his sinuses sometimes it sounds like the guy could use a good nose-blowin’. I really didn’t know what to expect from Kenan Bell, beyond several well-produced songs and a quick tongue on the mic. What followed was a set that I can say was the best I’ve seen at the Middle East Downstairs, hip-hop-wise. And, lest I forget, his band played some damn funky music right from the get-go ( opened with “Joy and Pain”) and didn’t let up ‘till the half hour was done. The bass was pulsing so hard I swear I felt like I was getting a defibrillator shock four times per measure.
People Under the Stairs played a magnificent set which I doubt will be topped by any I see for a long time. They used the audience, encouraging participation but without resorting to those old-pony tricks ("Everybody say yeah" was as close as it got to being 1987, and only for a minute) and they made the people at the ME get down. Jam.
–Daniel Schneider
In an effort to brainwash babies into liking my music, based on a study that shows infants to have a stylistic preference for music they were exposed to prenatally, Piano-popper Joe Raciti is offering his latest album "Romantic Shark Attack" for free to any pregnant woman or expecting father. "I know this sounds crazy but I feel really good about it," said Raciti. "Babies are wonderful and outright fascinating and I want my music to have something to do with the development of their brains. Must be the mad scientist in me." If you would like to take advantage of this offer, you need to go here, fill out the form below and mark “pregnant” or “yeah I’m preggers” or something like that after your name in the name field. (Joe guarantees that this album will ensure that your child grows up smarter and happier than he or she would have otherwise or he’ll give you a %100 refund, no questions asked.) This offer only last’s about 9 months… unless you get pregnant again: *Warning: Side effects of this promotion may include an explosion of the world’s population and occurrences of the first name Joe. (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).
Look What I Did hit you without mercy like a professional boxer – but they do it in a very sophisticated way, they’re no thugs, they are like… artsy fighters. The band somehow manages to mix math rock with post punk energy and grandiose melodies sometime reminiscent of Enon and/or the later Faith No More. The band (that placed 17th in our Best of Nashville’s Poll for emerging artists recently released this new video – a low budget thing that works perfectly in showcasing their spazzy charm. The band will be playing live at The End on February 5. Highly recommended!
Last week the Chicago Underground Duo released their fifth album Boca Negra and completely blew me away. Like many of you I went through a jazz and swing period in my listening history, I dug through the old crates and even found some modern classics, but I thought those days were behind me. However, Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor have brought me back in time. The album, their first not recorded in Chicago, was recorded in Sao Paulo, Brazil at Rocha Studios. It has some Brazilian elements, but at its core is pure jazz. Well, more than jazz it is the art of creating jazz that makes this album so special, and after twelve years still a vibrant contribution to their catalog.
Chicago Underground Duo will be performing at Chicago Cultural Center on Feb. 3rd and at The Hideout on Feb. 20th.
To celebrate the release of the all-Austin Matador comp Casual Victim Pile – and the accompanying shows at Beerland this weekend – we’ve nominated five bands from that comp for the current poll. Check ’em out, cast your vote. That ethereal presence pictured above is one of the Distant Seconds at work in Echo Lab. They move fast.
Semi Precious Weapons might not be a band for NYC hipsters, but it’s definitely one of the few local acts that seems to "incarnate" the good old rock’n’roll lifestyle – with a good dose of irony thrown in the mix. Plus, front man Justin Tranter’s entertaining ability is precisely what most self-conscious NYC hipsters bands lack. The sexy and campy quartet (featured on the cover of our 16th issue in 2008) has been working around the clock: wrapping up a nationwide tour with Lady Gaga, sold out at many major venues, including four nights at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, the quartet found time to record and release a self-titled EP as a follow-up to their full-length 2008 “We Love You.” The three-song teaser features polished revisions of two favorites, “Semi Precious Weapons” and “Magnetic Baby.” Smoother around the production edges, the tracks maintain the gorgeous filth of the originals, while they showcase augmented guitar solos and diamond-cut precision. Until now, the stomping “Put a Diamond in It” was available only for live enjoyment, but now listeners can indulge in Justin Tranter’s shouting, “WHO!? WHO!? WHO WANTS MY BABY?” in the privacy of their own homes. Semi Precious Weapons are not slowing down any time soon, as they deploy to Europe for more Monster Ball stops. – Meijin Bruttomesso