I guess 3-D music videos are the big thing right now. Here is the latest video from Rhymefest. The video features Phonte and was directed again by Konee Rok. The track comes from El Che which was finally (and I mean finally) released this week.
Philadelphia
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The Fleeting Ends Don’t Have Split Ends at M Room June 10
The lamenting, textured indie rockers The Fleeting Ends are performing tonight at the M Room. Apparently battle of the bands are still relevant/hip/in existence(?), and these guys recently won one which has been getting them some more airtime on local stations. They are also hitting the local festival circuit this summer making stops at Philly Folk Fest and Bethlehem Musikfest (hehe – headliners include Lynyrd Skynyrd and Styx). Their songs wallow in jagged guitars and yearning vocals that reach wavering tenor notes and brooding baritones the likes of The Smiths. They float comfortably in the sea of retro that is consuming the Philly scene. We’ll see how that goes. M Room, 15 W. Girard Ave., 9pm, $8, 21+ – Adam G.
Philadelphia
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Mongrel Mix Mixin’ It Up at North Star Bar June 10
Mongrel Mix strive to be a separate beast as they fuse Blues, Rock, Latin, Jazz, and Funk with Afro-Cuban rhythms. You’ll find tracks that take you on journeys through music history with their own twist as you can be dancing to Talking Heads influenced funk one moment and contemplating Springsteen-ish working man folk the next. Their influences maybe “either old or dead”, but Mongrel Mix are working hard to keep their memories alive. North Star Bar, 2639 Poplar St., 9pm, $8, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman
NYC
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NYC Artists on the rise: Baby Alpaca, live at Pianos, June 10
Baby Alpaca arrive as yet-another Brooklyn based band attempting to make some kind of mark on the musical landscape. They are introduced by way of their first single “Vodka Lemonade.” “Let’s live our Marilyn dreams and dance away,” and “waste away in the sun,” is how the lyrics go. The vocals are deep and reverbed and the overall feel is lazy, lolling, relaxed and hazy. Musically, there is a 1950’s feel present, but by way of David Lynch’s filter. It is post punk, psychedelic, folk and a crooner feel to it as well. Like a male Nicole Atkins who’s chosen to sit on the sidelines and watch the world drift by in front of them. “This was our dream but it didn’t mean a thing ‘cause now you’re gone” is the cause to become “sunken in the vodka lemonade.” Heartbreak can do that to you. “Let’s live our heroin dreams, dance with coke fiends.” It’s like a gothic reply to MGMT’s “Time To Pretend.” “True Heart” continues the slow crooning aspects and again one wouldn’t be off base thinking of Ms. Atkins and the more eerily side of her catalogue (“Neptune City” “The Way It Is”). Vocalist Chris Kittrell modifies this style somewhat on “Driving To See You” which wouldn’t be out of place on, say a Cowboy Junkies album. The instrumental accompaniment is understated and sparse. Mostly consisting of a tambourine, single drum thump, mysterious organ line and a zither-like device. It all adds up to something quite unique. – Dave Cromwell
New England
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Other Music Festival Day 3: Mohanty/Mallon Duet, Jazz Rehab, Chambers and more
Burlington’s Other Music Festival moves into day 3, which seems to be a more jazz focused night. Anthony Coleman will be making another appearance, collaborating with Chambers. Representing Burlington are long time residential jazz improv group, Jazz Rehab, and the fiery saxophone and xylophone free jazz attack of the Mohanty/Mallon Duet. Other performers include Toilet Phone, Dr. Thing, and a colab between Steve Goldberg and R. Bill Gangon. Everything kicks of at 8pm at North End Studios.
–The Deli Staff
New England
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Mixtape:1993 – 6/12 – Rosebud Diner, Somerville, MA
1993: Kurt Cobain and Bradley Nowell were still with us. The Alt-Rock Seattle scene was finally making it to national radio. Music videos were reaching awesome heights. When I was a teenager I jumped up to record "Possum Kingdom" by the Toadies (came out in 1994 though, but you’ll get my point) on the radio on to a blank tape and cut my leg with a pair of scissors I was using to cut out pictures of famous people to paste on my wall and needed to receive eight stitches. It is the biggest scar on my body and it reminds me of that time when I was desperate for the angsty awesome of 90’s rock. 1993 was the year music changed from the poppy-WTF 80’s cheese into something solid, new and powerful. The kids of the 90’s were lucky to have had such a creative bunch of kick-ass musicians on the radio and on a radio who didn’t entirely care about corporate sponsors.
This Saturday a group of Boston bands are getting together at the Rosebud Diner in Somerville to celebrate the fateful year. Promising to play songs by: Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Counting Crows, Nirvana, Belly, REM, Cracker, Morphine, James, New Order and The Breeders.
The following Boston Bands will be there:
The Luxury
The Rationales
Exile in Somerville (members of Apple Betty, Kingsley Flood, Dark Martini & the Dirty Olives, The So-So’s)
St Helena
381 Summer St Somerville, MA- Rosebud Diner
–Meghan Chiampa
Philadelphia
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Orbit to Leslie Touch Down at KFN June 9
Chris Wood is, and always has been, unstoppable. He’s an essential part of a few different local bands, all of which are worth checking out, but Orbit to Leslie is arguably his best project. Elements of surf, afro-beat, and everything else under the sun stew in a pop confection that never fails to impress. If you’ve listened to their debut album The World Was Saved With Chocolate Cake, which came out late last year, you’d already know just how much creativity is felt in the nuances songs like "Elephant Fist", with its Caribbean-sounding shuffle or the elegant psych-rock of "Soul Survivors". And as a bonus treat, they’re joined by those polyrhythmic wonders Grandchildren, whom you can also catch at The 2nd Annual Dock Street Music Festival and at Pterodactyl (with Oh! Pears and Cheers Elephant) this week if you are a rabid fan who just can’t get enough. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front Street, 8pm, $8, 21+ – Joe Poteracki
Philadelphia
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Troubadour for the Common Man – Peasant at JB’s June 9
Sounding part California surfer part guitar-strumming folk-grass traveler, Peasant, a.k.a. Damien Nicholas De Rose delivers songs that make you feel like it’s his music that you hear playing in the background of a montage of your life, right there with your first kiss and college graduation. And it’s his latest album, Shady Retreat (Paper Garden Records), that categorizes him with the likes of Melpo Mene and Andrew Bird. With his gentle voice exalting honest and vulnerable lyrics, you can almost feel him holding your hand as you amble down the back roads sipping cola with those butterflies in your stomach. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+ – Katie Bennett
San Francisco
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TONIGHT: The Deli SF presents The Dashing Suns, Tokyo Raid and Meta at the Hemlock!
It’s Wednesday and work blows. What better way to stick it to the "man" (…man) then to go see some of that rocking and rolling music? Well just for you, and the mid-week blues, the Deli SF has put together a wonderful show tonight, 9pm, at the Hemlock. Come join us for the awesome sounds of The Dashing Suns, Tokyo Raid, and Meta. You have no excuse!
–Ada Lann
NYC
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Starring play “prog-orgy-rock” + release CD at Death by Audio, June 10th
Considering that Starring features members of Pterodactyl, Talibam! and Skeleton$, it could not possibly be a non noisy project. The band’s tunes are dominated by chanting vocals, tense and staccato organ sounds, frantic drumming, and clangy guitar tones – perhaps inspired by Arto Lindsay’s atonal style which he pioneered in his glorious "no wave" days. All the instruments are played in some sort of "maximalistic" way here – no room for space or subtleties. The result is some kind of weird, crowded, explosive party music with a prog rock flavor… here comes a new genre: prog-orgy-rock?! Quoting Pere Ubu, we could really call this "The New Modern Dance (for the horny post punk hipster)". The band is releasing their debut CD "The Wife of God" with a show at Death by Audio on June 10. After that they will embark on a East Coast tour that will keep them busy until the end of June, when they will play Brooklyn again (Union Pool on June 25).
Chicago
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Moritat @ Double Door
The debut ep from Moritat, One Minute Fade, is being released tomorrow, June 10th, at Double Door. The trio of Venus Laurel (vocals, piano), Konstantin Jace (bass), and Corey McCafferty (drums) create a sound that creative and rather wide-reaching. There are strong traces of early nineties bands like Belly, Throwing Muses, and even a touch of Sonic Youth, but there is also a compelling instrumental stretches that show they have absorbed many of the current Chicago sounds. Their album was recorded at home, but has a great sound.
All fans attending the release show on June 10th at Double Door will receive a free copy of the ep. The album will be also be available through the band’s website both digitally and physically.
Chicago
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CD Review: Big Science
I’ll let you in on a little secret: lazy journalists love when a band wears its influences on its sleeve. Hipper-than-thou critics savor any opportunity to dismiss a group as unoriginal, and if anything, it makes the band easy to categorize.
You can safely assume that the members of Big Science have listened their fair share of INXS and Joy Division, but it’d be too easy for me to write off their Skyscraper Sound EP as a piece of New Wave nostalgia. There are no faux-British accents here, and the band has managed to wave their post-punk flag proudly without beating you over the head with it. Sure, “Burn All Night” would fit in quite nicely on thePretty in Pink soundtrack, but it still manages to sound contemporary.
On Skyscraper Sound, Jason Hendrix, Jeremy Peña, Jason Richards and Jason Clark create an interesting balance, combining lush, complex sounds with simple hooks. “Stairs Up Stairs Down” kicks things off with an extremely danceable groove before shifting to some big harmonies.
The real gem of the EP is “Flags,” a soaring track that leaves the listener torn between rocking out or standing still and taking it all in. Each member of the band is on the top of his game here, and the vocals from Hendrix and Richards shine.
A good EP should encapsulate a group’s sound and leave people wanting more, and with its unique twists on a classic genre, Skyscraper Sound does just that.
Skyscraper Sound will be released on June 29th and you can catch Big Science at Metronome Festival on “The Punk Stage” on June 13th. – Bonnie Stiernberg