Austin

Octopus Project Immerse You in Expensive Organic Food

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Picking amongst the eight zillion happenings upcoming for SXSW, this one stands out right away: The Octopus Project will debut their "immersion experience" Hexadecagon for FREE on the Whole Foods rooftop, Friday, March 19th, 7:30 and 9:00 PM. Three of the best SXSW words apply here: No wristband necessary. What in the sweet beyond is Hexadecagon? In their own words: "The eight speakers will be set up in a circle surrounding the audience, who will in turn be surrounding us (the band), set up in the middle of the whole shebang with eight images projected overhead. With this setup in mind, we can send all or part of the music spinning around in a circle or jumping from point to point across the space, or put completely different elements in each speaker, putting you and us in the middle of a crazy array of sounds." There you have it; all I can say is I plan to be there.  

NYC

From our Open Blog: Blackbells

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After spending two short weeks holed up and snowed in in the Studio, Blackbells emerged from the depths of Brooklyn with their debut self-titled EP. Their sound calls upon influences ranging from Echo and the Bunneymen to Oasis and contemporaries Band of Skulls — with whom they have shared the stage. The band has a run of post-release dates planned, including a stop at SXSW. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

 

Chicago

Dot Dot Dot @ Schubas

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Here is the first line of the bio for Dot Dot Dot, “Dot Dot Dot’s music is a thrilling union of rock elements cloaked in dance beats with synthy frills; it’s a wonder they didn’t call themselves Duran Duran Duran. “ That bio really says it all. The music of Dot Dot Dot sounds very much like classic Duran Duran, but the fact is this is still fun danceable party rock. For a band that doesn’t seem to take themselves too seriously they have managed to amass quit a following for their LP and EP, both self-released. The first track on their new EP 1, is called “Don’t Move” and is a fun synth-driven romp that makes no attempts to be anything more.

The band will be performing at Schubas on March 4th for a rare all ages show before hitting the road for most of March.

New England

Abbie Barrett – Thursday Residency at Precinct

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–Photo by Andrew Wallach

Thursdays at Precinct in March belong to velvet-voiced singer/songwriter Abbie Barrett. Her newest album, Dying Day is heavy with emotional lyrics and boasts vivacious beats. Most of the songs on the album are fast-paced and energetic and show a gentle and creative desperation (in a c’est la vie sort of way) that you hear in modern French and Irish folk. Her voice is unique and deep and leads the action-packed rhythms of the album. The title track "Dying Day" and "Bide My Time" are softer and sparkle with American-Country undertones but still contain the slow build and strong punch in the gut (in a butterflies in the stomach sort of way) that the other tracks have. Plus it is good to have something different once in a while. Barrett has the cautious heart of Joni Mitchell and/or Nick Drake and the thick-skinned creativity of Tori Amos.

At Precinct Barrett will be playing with many local bands such as, Dan Blakesee and Jenee Halstead (who will be also playing at the Deli Showcase on the 19th at the Armory – more to come on this soon)The Doctors Fox, Dave Alpert and many more.

Precinct is in Union Sq. Somerville, MA. Every Thursday in March. Abbie Barrett.

–Meghan Chiampa

Chicago

Lead You Through the Misty Fog of Milwaukee Ave

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This April, Netherfriends (aka Shawn Rosenblatt) will find himself homeless and he will be embarking on a 50 Songs 50 States tour. You will be able to follow his progress here. Shawn is also close to completing his first full-length LP called Barry and Sherry (named after his parents) and today premiered a video for the project. The song is called "Lead You Through the Misty Fog of Milwaukee Ave".

Before he leaves in April, Netherfriends will be performing two shows here, Mar 15 at Lincoln Hall with Woods and Real Estate and Mar 18 at Empty Bottle with Deakin (Animal Collective).

Chicago

CD Of The Month: Judson Claiborne

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On the inside cover of the sophomore album, Time and Temperature, from Judson Claiborne you will find a quote from Daphne Rose Kingma. “We tend to think of relationships as static, as if we could just get into them, assume a position inside them and then continue to hold it, essentially without changing forever, world without end. But in fact our relationships are fluid, vivid, mercurial, and constantly changing.” It perfectly sets the stage for the plucked strings, melodies, and heartfelt lyrics that follow. These ten tracks crave a graceful notch into the static image of love. The instrument Judson uses to crave is the fable as he tells tales of a CIA worker struggles to keep a relationship with his wife, or a student falling a little to deeply in love. The tale keeps changing as the type of relationship changes. Musically, there are element indie folk, country, and just plain Americana, but Claiborne’s web is complex and refreshing. This album is beautifully put together by La Societe Expeditionnaire, and topped of by incredible photos from New York’s Sarah Wilmer. The album will be released on April 6th and will become one of the top Chicago albums of the year.

The record release show will take place on March 5th at The Hideout with Sonoi and Eiren Cafall. Judson Claiborne will also perform at Reckless Records in Wicker Park on March 6th at 4:00pm for free.

Nashville

Kiddo and Others at Rocketown’s 7th Anniversary show: Saturday, Feb. 27th

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The Seventh Anniversary Party at Rocketown was definitely a cultural eye opener, especially for a 20-something who doesn’t know much about teens, skateboarding or Nashville’s metal community. All of the kids were dressed way cooler than the kids most of us remember from our middle/high school days, and they also seemed unusually comfortable around violent dancing/moshing/diving, and listening to music they weren’t familiar with, or that wasn’t "cool" to be listening to.

As far as the music was concerned, Social Jetlag, Gnarwal and some other big name metal bands seemed to get the most hype for the evening shows, but the two standout performances were from Kiddo (above photo – formerly known as Out of Order) and Coloroado band Flashbulb Fires. Kiddo is a punk trio that put on an unexpectedly awesome show, considering, as you could probably deduce, all the boys are in middle school. Their setup was extremely tight, blending sounds from the likes of The Ramones, Alice Cooper and The Clash. It was obvious that they had been playing together for a few years. Kiddo was a double whammy. Frontman (boy?)/guitarist Greyson Anderson looked like a mix between the prepubescent Scotty Farkus from "A Christmas Story" and Sid Vicious, what with his coon-skin cap and erratic stage energy. The bassist, Jimmy Grogan, was the doppelganger of Wailin’ Canes’ member Kyle Whalum. This performance also served as the release show of their first EP "Roadkill Whiskey," and while they don’t have any upcoming performances, Kiddo is definitely a band to be on the lookout for in the next few years. Unless they all get fake IDs and start playing shows at The End. – Erin Manning

NYC

From The Epochs, Bluebrain is born – Live Review

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Ryan and Hays Holladay (formerly of the Brooklyn pop/rock band The Epochs ) played their "goodbye NYC" show at Pianos this past Monday under the new moniker Bluebrain. The two brothers – who are moving to Washington DC – had residency at the Lower East Side venue; performing every Monday this month to showcase their electronic rock songs off of their newly-released LP, “Soft Power.” Bluebrain smoothly transitioned from mellow, melodic songs like “Each Time I Think” to downright body-jolting jams like “Ten by Ten”. Athough there are only two of them onstage, the brothers managed to achieve an impressive, almost majestic sound weaving their voices with looped instruments like drums and violin and other electronics. With each song, they cranked out more and more energy and showcased some serious musical skill. When the set was over, one person in the audience yelled, “Three more songs!!” – there’s a fan who knows how to make a bargain…

Philadelphia

March CD of the Month: Born and Thrown on a Hook – Drink Up Buttercup

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It’s all too common these days (and all too easy) to throw out descriptors like “60’s” or “Beatles-esque” or “psychedelic”, buzzwords that tend to say so much and so little at the same time. Drink Up Buttercup do fall pretty neatly into the 60’s psych-pop tradition in Philly that’s been prevalent over the past decade, so perhaps these buzzwords are practically unavoidable. But what’s also unavoidable is just how well these guys do what they do. The band has always made it quite clear that if a lot of people are doing the same thing, they’ll do it better, stronger, and with way more energy and gusto than most are capable of, and their debut full-length Born and Thrown on a Hook only cements this idea.
 
The opening track “Seasickness Pills” is the perfect introduction in the way that it offers a small taste of pretty much everything the album is going for. It’s alternately loud and soft, triumphant and spooky, and it culminates in those “carnival keyboards” that have become somewhat of a signature. The rest of the album follows suit somewhat, all of the tracks filled with bouncy, memorable pop hooks and awesome crescendos. No track just “sits there”, and the arrangements never dive into the “kitchen-sink” aesthetic that many bands of this type tend to indulge in (Horns! Strings!).
 
There are some highlights here, like the infectious lead single “Even Think” and the gypsy stomp of “Sosey and Dosey”, but it’s more accurate to say that every song is a highlight. The greatest accomplishment of Born and Thrown on a Hook is that it works well as an album, with a definite flow and even some little instrumental tracks to divide it like chapters, but every song also works splendidly on its own. So while some might find the McCartney accent of the vocals a little forced or just not their style, one thing is obvious: this is a solid, well-crafted piece of work that will hold up to repeated listens. These boys have been blowing up recently, and my guess is they’ll continue to do so. Born and Thrown on a Hook is scheduled for release on March 23rd, 2010. myspace/drinkupbuttercupband – Joe Poteracki
 
San Francisco

Dispatches from Noise Pop: Saturday 2/27

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With the last of this weeks free happy hour show starting much later than advertised, That Ghost took the stage with the most blasé of attitudes. From the Kinks’ tradition of pre-psychedelic 60s garage rock, though minus their raw energy, That Ghost doled out their songs like it was punishment. Their front man, seemingly unable to match the key, stood nonchalantly moaning the songs while chewing gum. He couldn’t have seemed less interested in his own music. On the other side of the stage there was another guitarist who didn’t seem to be contributing anything to the overall sound. He appeared to be playing but I couldn’t hear it. To their credit their bassist was very talented and held together a strong backbone for their songs. Inject some life into their members and I may be back to check them out.

Following That Ghost The Baths took to the stage, with a front man sporting his best Ringo Starr handle bar mustache, and continued with the theme of 60s garage rock. Fairly conventional sounding they were enjoyable but nothing terribly innovative.

Heading downtown to the Mezzanine, a place I would normally avoid like the bubonic plague for fear of catching an Ed Hardy disease, I geared up for the dance party to come. First up were the cute and quirky band My First Earthquake. With an air of 50s girl pop sans lyrics about “be my baby” and more about tits and wet dreams, filtered through 80s synth rock like The Cars, My First Earthquake did nerd rockers of the world proud. They were as if a group of theatre kids from your high school formed a band to endear their way into your ears.

Sugar and Gold followed and really hammed it up for the crowd. Imploring his best Prince performance (right down to his diminutive stature) their front man strutted around stage licking his guitar and shaking his ass for a dedicated crowd. I’ve never been much of a fan of their disco-revival sound but it certainly was a show to watch. The music is catchy and serves as a perfect background for a dance party, but as far as depth there isn’t much to it.

After several months as recluses, Maus Haus are back and could not have sounded better. Playing tracks from their debut album and a few from their forthcoming 7-inch (available for download on Tuesday), and weaving together their fascinating and intricate sound. Hearing the new tracks was quite exciting and I wait with great anticipation to give them an in depth listen latter on. Additionally, as a performance it was quite nice to see Josh, one of their front man, really come out of his performance shell getting into the groove and almost rapping one of my favorite songs of their initial album “Reaction.”

!!! closed the evening, laying down their fantastic groove, to a thoroughly devoted crowd. Truly living up to their reputation of assaulting your hips with their rhythm and groove, !!! put out as much energy as they demanded from the crowd. Though I would greatly loved to hear a few tracks from Louden Up Now, I can understand why they would choose not to play them. The downside to writing directly political tracks somewhat dates them. It’s hard to tell a different President, that you may or may not support, to “suck your dick” with the same meaning behind it. All that aside, they certainly did their job energizing the crowd, so much so that during their encore the stage was bum rushed by overly zealous dancers who were swiftly shut down by the bouncers. It was wild to see.

Nearing its end, I head out to my final Noise Pop show tonight, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros at Bimbo’s.

 

–Words and Photos by Ada Lann