New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Over the last six years, under the handle of [Post-Foetus], LA-beatmaker Will Wiesenfeld has gainfully explored the intersections and outer reaches of both electronic and acoustic music. With Baths, his eclecticism finds its greatest focus yet, in a hail of lush melodies, ghostly choirs, playful instrumentation and stuttering beats. Saturday night 7-3 at the Troubadour, Daedelus joins Baths to show us the way of the future, way of the future, way of the future…
Well it’s the July Fourth weekend and surely a tough one for those playing shows. So, for those of you sticking around this three day weekend, and interested in some live music, here are few suggestions.
For what is sure to be a fuzz-tastic show, head down to The Bottom of the Hill, Wednesday the 30th for White Cloud playing with Dum Dum Girls and Crocodiles, 9pm.
Head out into the Mission on Thursday for a double release party at El Rio. The visual-heavy Red Blue Yellow will be celebrating the release of an EP along side Business 80 (celebrating the release of their debut album Strangers with Me) and Spiro Agnew, 9pm.
Friday night Strange Dogs, the bi-monthly all-ages noise/shoegaze show curated by the boys from Weekend, will be featuring Honey, Dadfag and Wax Idols at The Widowmaker Warehouse, 8pm.
Head down to Serra Bowl in Daly City this Saturday, where our friends at The Bay Bridged will be presenting Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Thee Oh Sees, Sic Alps and The Fresh & Onlys. Free and all-ages, what can be better then bowling and live-music?
That about covers us for this week. Enjoy your Fourth of July weekend, and try to avoid blowing yourself up should you choose to play with fireworks.
–Ada Lann
After Glass Ghost, another band emerges from the ashes of Flying – a now defunct project we liked and occasionally covered. Woom shares with Flying a quirky sound that’s part industrial (although in some sort of "non-violent way) and part folk-pop. Even though the project is a few months old, the band, signed to BaDaBing Records, has already released a 7" and toured Europe. You can catch them at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on July 6 and 7 opening for Beirut
The Doctors Fox performance at the Lizard Lounge on June 19th showcased the band’s extraordinary talent as they played tracks from their debut album, Plural Non-Possessive, their as-yet-titled sophomore album and a sampling of soul covers with guest vocalist and Soul City alum Dave Hanft. From the opener “Dunga of my Dreams,” a playful back and forth between Americana and jazz, the band fluidly shifted from one influence to another without losing their hallmark feel. David Ladon’s playful vocals weave with melodic guitars and violin, soulful bass and gritty drums.
Ladon has a solid vocal range and excellent control. His lyrics, while socio-politically bent, never lose their sense of fun, from “Beached Whale” which features Ladon singing in the persona of said mammal to “Don Juan,” a song about a player who gets played that tackles the subject with playful Schadenfreude rather than heavy-handed morality and caution. Ryan Aylward’s violin lends an unexpected layer to the music, sometimes melding with Daniel Harris’s and Jon Dashkoff’s dynamic guitars and sometimes playing complimentary tones against guitars or bass, as in the ska and jazz-inspired “Olympic Sculpture Park.” Josh Kiggans’ drumming is near flawless, striking an expert balance between percussive grit and sharp, clean accentuation in every song.
Dave Hanft’s guest vocals with the band showcased the fusion of two talented musical forces. His voice on Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke” and Sam & Dave’s “Hold On” was strong, emotional and raw without being affected or sloppy. Likewise, the cover songs allowed the Doctors Fox to show their skills, with Harris, Dashkoff and Aylward filling in horn sections with creative arrangements of guitars and violin while Ladon’s bass and Kiggans’ drums drove the infectious grooves that bound the musical camps. Catch their next local show at Church on July 23rd.
–Meghan Guidry
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Check out the first official Blip Blip Bleep music video! Directed by Benjamin Ahr Harrison. It’s for "Freak You Out" off the forthcoming full-length album Like Track Stars – due out on June 29th at all major digital stores. Download the MP3 free here: http://bit.ly/freakyouout The band will play with Geographer at Pianos on july 3. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).
In an effort to showcase New York City based musicians and filmmakers, Silver Sound brought to the Big Apple its first Music Video Film Festival + Band Battle at Public Assembly on August 12th, 2009. Out of hundreds of entries from five different countries, directors Chris Piazza and the Moonmen, and the band Dinosaur Feathers (pictured) were chosen as the Grand Prize Winners by popular audience vote. For their prize the winners were given creative reign on music videos to be produced by Festival founder, Erica Harsch – these videos will premiered on Tuesday June 29th, 2010 at Brooklyn Bowl. The auxiliary live performances include Lowry, The Casey Shea Band, and Dinosaur Feathers, with a special short opening set by the comedy band Man Cub.
The inaugural Portland Folk Festival released its preliminary lineup last week, and if the preliminary nature of this information is any indication, the fully blossomed lineup is going to set your heart to twangin’.
Being held at various outdoor and indoor venues, as well as neighborhood outdoor spaces throughout Portland from August 19 to 22, the Portland Folk Festival will feature some familiar PDX folk firepower alongside national and international acts who hold only the most special places in our collective hearts (Sea of Bees!, ahem). We’re not talking indie-folk exclusivity here (as the term might most readily be attributed), but real, honest, gritty, goopy acoustic ruminations from the likes of Celso Machado, Jim Page and Earl White Band. Rounding out the younger set will be Portland’s own Loch Lomond, Freak Mountain Ramblers and Future Historians.
A fuller list of the preliminary lineup is available here.
Some additional schematics on this exciting, new Slim Moon-helmed music, art, craft, film, folk adventure:
"Portland Folk Festival will be held over four days, with a different neighborhood focus each day. Music venues, pubs, galleries and interesting spaces throughout Downtown Portland, Alberta Arts District, Mississippi Avenue and Southeast Portland will host events through the day and night all weekend.
The Portland Folk Festival is dedicated to the preservation and celebration of the world’s folk and traditional music, and to the vibrant community, forward-thinking quality of life, and spectacular natural beauty of our treasured home of Portland. With one foot firmly rooted in preserving and celebrating the lessons of the past, and one in working toward a sustainable future, we are dedicated to the study, evolution, expression and celebration of the music of the people.
This is a wonderful opportunity for the community of Portland to come together and discover a world of music that’s happening in their own backyard.
Tickets for Portland Folk Festival are being sold online for $45. You will receive a badge that will get you into every show and event during the festival. Tickets for individual concerts will be available through each venue’s online box office or at the door day of show."
The Festival has also been holding monthly showcases in anticipation of the August kick-off. The next one will be held at the Mississippi Street Fair on Saturday, July 10 noon – 8 p.m. at the Parlour on the Hill stage, and will feature the likes of Stefan Jecusco and the Godless Moravians, mbilly, and more.
– Ryan J. Prado
Psych rockers and good friends to the local music scene, The Armchairs, made their debut on Daytrotter.com. The session was recorded a few months back, and was just posted on the site last week. You can check it out and download it for FREE here. Look out for the drop of their debut album Science & Advice and their release party on Friday, August 13 at JB’s! – H.M. Kauffman
Formed just about one year ago from the ashes of Noah Stitelman’s previous band Jacksonknife, Brooklyn’s Neighbors play interestingly bare synth pop that’s also deprived of any trendy buzzy analog sounds and beeps’n’blips. The band will celebrate the digital release of their debut EP with a live show at Coco66 in Greenpoint on July 3.
International director and artist Noaz Deshe directed and drew IMA ROBOT’s video for ‘Ruthless’, the first single off their forthcoming album. With EDC and Warped Tour fresh in the minds of some of you, this may be what you need to wind down after a hectic weekend.
