NYC

Best of NYC #59: Naam – Live at the Knit, May 14

Posted on:

We continue our "Best of NYC Countdown", covering every day one of the artists that made our Year End Best of NYC list (a chart compiled by a jury comprised of local bloggers, music writers, promoters, record sotre personnel and DJs). Many of the bands in this list will play The Deli’s Best of NYC Fest in Williamsburg in May (6 shows in 3 different venues between the 13 and the 15).

The trip-laden tactics and garishly galactic effects dispersed by Brooklyn’s very own psychedelic delight Naam require either a lot of patience or a handful of hallucinogens in order to fully absorb the fertile flow laid down on this group’s self-titled 10-track Tee Pee Records debut. Containing an abundance of blues-soaked swirls of mystical hard rock with its fair share of acid-induced reflective moments strewn in, Naam’s presentation is dipped in distortion and drenched in reverb, blending lengthy tribal doom movements with periods of sedated and meditative drone elements that encompass your entire headspace long after the final note is played. Secure with a sense of spirituality that propels Naam’s rocket ride towards the outer limits, this trio’s righteously sprawling musical projections showcase the lush qualities typical of praise songs from Eastern philosophies with a barrage of sinewy rock darting around the extreme spectrum without landing in one place for too long to create a head-spinning and soul-reaching array of transcendental goodness. – Mike SOS

Philadelphia

Smoke ‘em If Ya Got ‘em!

Posted on:

OK, it’s 4/20, and there are plenty of college students getting blazed all day. While I think the whole 420 thing is pretty lame, I do love me some good herb. So here’s my (cough, cough) 4/20 rundown. NORML has been making friends with Philly’s music community lately, which makes sense because they probably know where the high-quality shit is at. They’ll be holding a fundraiser for their staffs’ trust funds (just kidding, you know that I’m down with the cause) tonight at The Blockley Pourhouse with jazzy, jammy Agent Mooshead and WXPN darlings The Hustle. If smokin’ Ls are more your scene, then 100.3 The Beat is sponsoring a sweet hip hop lineup at The Troc featuring Gillie da Kid and Freeway, who was recently featured on Pitchfork.tv (above). But if you happen to get kicked out of The Troc because they tend to be hard asses about puffin’, then you can finish your blunt on your way to Silk City for Beats and Watson (members of Philadelphia Slick). I’m interested in the Paki not Indie Sunny Ali & The Kid and The Chickens at KFN, but for some reason, I feel like more whiskey will be getting kicked back there. That’s cool. Mixing works for me. Cheers! – H.M. Kauffman

Portland

Boy Eats Drum Machine Releases Video for New Single, Hoop + Wire

Posted on:

The video for Boy Eats Drum Machine‘s first single, and title track, off his new record Hoop + Wire is a quick-stop animation joint, which chronicles the mischievous blue cassette tape featured on the album’s cover art, which is just as quirky and playful as the music itself.

CHECK THE VIDEO OUT HERE

If you have yet to feast your eyes on a Boy Eats Drum Machine live show, have no fear, for Jon Ragel will be performing at a venue near you (if you live in Washington, Montana or Oregon).

Upcoming Shows:

4/24 sat-Portland,OR: Aladdin / LEP benefit ALL AGES/12pm

4/24 sat-Molalla,OR: Clark Park 5pm

5/01 sat-Portland,OR: CAP Art Auction w/ Cirque du Soleil and Linda Hornbuckle

5/06 thr-Portland,OR: TLE grand opening

5/07 fri-Bozeman,MT: Zebra Cocktail Lounge

5/08 sat-Missoula,MT: The Palace w/ That 1 Guy

5/09 sun-Spokane,WA: Empyrean

5/11 tue-Bellingham,WA: Wild Buffalo w/ That 1 Guy

5/13 thr-Seattle,WA: Tractor Tavern w/ That 1 Guy

5/14 fri-Portland,OR: Doug Fir w/ That 1 Guy

5/15 sat-Eugene,OR: WOW Hall w/ That 1 Guy 6

/05 sat-Portland,OR: Backspace TLE b-day party

-Katrina Nattress

Nashville

Record Store Day! 4/17/10

Posted on:

There were about six thousand different things to attend in Nashville on Saturday. First, there was the Record Store Day at The Groove, where I caught the tail end of a seemingly sassy, oh-so-glam performance by dance-rock/garage-pop girl group Illnana. Since this was only their second show, the Deli will likely be covering them more extensively in the future, but for now, check out the song "Sweat You."

Next, seven-piece bluegrass outfit Danger And The Steel Cut Oats played some carefree tunes that were perfect for breezy weather. The combination of the lead singer’s (Caylin Cervetti’s) voice and the feel and variety of the band’s material was particularly interesting – somewhere between Allison Krauss/Robert Plant, Neko Case’s ingenuity and the youthfulness of our beloved Taylor Swift.

By that point, the gravel parking lot was flooded with listeners awaiting Emmylou Harris‘ performance, which was more than anyone could have asked for (considering she sat in a lawn chair in the sun for two hours before it was time for her set). She sound checked with her song "Jupiter Rising," and then took some time to talk about her animal shelter Bonaparte’s Retreat before playing "Big Black Dog" which she wrote in honor of one of the dogs that benefitted from her organization.

After some record browsing and a brief timeout at 3 Crow, I wandered over to Third Man Studios, hoping to catch a go-kart auction and spontaneous performance by "The Racontwoers." Sadly I missed all of the action, so I accepted my fate, and my consolation prize: Record Store Day Pt. 2 at Grimey’s.

When I arrived, things were firing on all cylinders. Even the parking lot crowd was bumping and grinding to some transitional music (Genuwine’s "My Pony" being the crowd favorite), provided by the boys from Nashville’s Dead.

Daniel Pujol played afterwards, which brought the energy level to an all-day high – excluding, of course, the powers of Madame Emmylou – with his sentiment of celebration over the release of his new 7" vinyl album. (I listened to this a few weeks ago and hot damn! it’s goooood.) This was one of the highlights of my day, considering I found a chair in the shade behind the Southern Girls Rock ‘n Roll Camp table, which meant there was good listenin’ and a fine view. It was tempting to catch Bela Fleck at Centennial Park in honor of Earth Day, but I had to make my way over to the theater for the Nashville Film Festival. More details on both of those events are coming soon. –Erin Manning

Chicago

My My My @ CRC

Posted on:

Once a month CRC (Chicago Recording Company), 232 East Ohio, hosts a small happy hour get together at the studio with beer and wine and a band, and this month they have My My My. The event is this Thursday (April 22nd) at 6pm and it is FREE!

L.A.

Watch out, fat cats

Posted on:











Pinch me, I must be dreaming. A cool indie band of young creatives achieving socio-political relevance through music video with a classically styled send-up of film-noir police dramas might be too good to be true. Maybe I’m reaching, but the their video Ponzi Scheme is definitely worth checking out. White Lights plays live at the Hotel Café this Saturday, April 24.