Portland

Second Annual Old Town Block Party: Saturday, August, 28

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Hey babes, come a little closer, I have some information you might find useful. There’s a place between SW 4th, 5th, Couch and Davis where you can go for completely free of charge to pick up a few thrills. Whatever poison fits your palate, they’ve got it. If you’re jonesin for a jolt, you can pick up some action starting at noon, Saturday, August 28 for the Second Annual Old Town Block Party. The party won’t be shut down till 10 p.m.

A cornucopia of delectable dishes can be acquired from local food carts mongering their eatables that might just pair perfectly with a (readily available) icy cold beer. The musical line-up is far beyond copacetic, featuring Deelay Ceelay, The Joggers, Mean Jeans and Lovers outside of DJs manning the faders all the live-long day. Ace Hotel will be featuring a rummage sale that just might yield the perfect artifact you were searching for all summer. And while you might start to feel like all this stimulation is border-line hedonistic indulgement, the whole block party is to benefit a list of local charities, including Sisters of the Road, Transition Projects, P:ear and Rosehaven. Live guilt free!

If you happened to attend last year, this year promises to be an even bigger and better way than before to close out that golden month of August (which is more like the month that summer began).

– Joel Sommer

L.A.

Downtown/Union shakes your brain with new EP Astral Turf

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Downtown/Union

Gritty garage rockers with pop sensibilities, Downtown/Union just released their latest EP, Astral Turf, on 12" vinyl and digital download. They’ve been awesome enough to share two tracks for free on Sound Cloud.

The band has grown from their two-man roots in 2006 to a fully blossomed four piece reminiscent of acts like Dinosaur Jr and Piebald. Ernest and honest, their music conjures up images of suburban backyard parties with loud amps and plenty of beer. If you don’t appreciate their stripped down, straight ballsy rock ‘n’ roll style, chances are you’re deaf.

Catch Downtown/Union on Friday, August 27th @ The Echo for their record release party.

Philadelphia

The Fallen Troubadours on the Rise at Fergie’s Aug. 21

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I miss the days when I used to hang out at Fergie’s all the time. There were many drunken nights with plenty of great music. It’s a most excellent place to grab a pint and catch a show for FREE, well, if you don’t mind helping out with the sound once in a while. Tonight will bring folk rockers The Fallen Troubadours whom I believe you’ll see popping up around town more and more, but Fergie’s should be a good place for you to get your drunk on and check them out. XPN should be rockin’ their shit sooner or later. Fergie’s, 1214 Sansom St., 10pm, Free, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman
 
Philadelphia

Weekend Warrior, August 20 – 22

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While camping out and meeting good folks as you listen to some laid-back tunes sounds like a good time, we’re more city dwellers at The Deli so it isn’t necessarily our first option (even though trippin’ out in the woods might be fun). Since you know that we’ll be roaming the venues of Philly, we think that you should meet us Saturday night for Conversations with Enemies’ CD Release Party at JB’s, where you’ll be treated to a guest lecture by the mad professor himself Jay Purdy (The Extraordinaires) on "How to Survive a Zombie Attack" as well as the traveling blues-folk party of Toy Soldiers and the raucous Brit-pop of Cheers Elephant. And of course, there’ll be a live performance by Conversations with Enemies who will be unveiling their ambitious venture Nowhere, OK, a delightfully fun album full of monster tales and jangly, upbeat indie pop that comes with a comic providing plenty visual and aural stimulation. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+
 
For those who want more…
 
Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) FRI Bells Bells Bells, Lo Power Plane, Giant Mind, Acres of Diamonds
 
North Star Bar (2639 Poplar St.) FRI New Motels, SAT Alright Junior, SUN The Scenic and Gennero
 
The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Infinien
 
Tritone (1508 South St.) SAT The Absolute Zeros, Pistolia, New Pony
 
Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) SAT The Fallen Troubadours
 
Millcreek Tavern (4200 Chester Ave.) FRI Dangerbird and Ugh, God
 
JR’s Bar (2327 S. Croskey St.) FRI Women & Smoker and the Rollers
 
Greenline Café (4239 Locust St.) SAT Gypsy Death and You
 
World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) FRI – SUN Beta Hi-Fi Festival 2010
 
The Blockley Pourhouse (3801 Chestnut St.) SAT E-Funk
 
Uke Club (847 N. Franklin St.) SUN 2nd Annual Black Landlord BBQ w/BC Camplight, Ben and Drew from Blood Feathers, Gildon Works, Bardo Pond and many more.
 
Philadelphia

Philly Folk Fest Is Back at Old Pool Farm This Weekend

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So, the 49th Annual Philly Folk Festival begins today, and it’s looking to be better than ever. Of course, there’ll be some Deli favorites showing off their talents over the weekend like the romantic charm of The Spinning Leaves and psych-folksters/Brit-popsters Cheers Elephant. But what is even more exciting is the amount of national and international talent flooding in! Bonnie "Prince" Billy, with all his dark ruminations, will be performing. Blues veterans Taj Mahal. British music biz legend Richard Thompson. Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy (you read correctly) will be making a rather rare solo appearance . . . and the list goes on. Long story short, there’s quite the overwhelming variety of acts at this thing so even if you’re not a die-hard folkie, you’ll most likely still find something to get all giddy about. So gather round the fire and camp out at the farm. Old Pool Farm, 1323 Salford Station Road, Schwenksville, PA, Fri – Sun, Ticket Costs Vary, All Ages – Joe Poteracki
 
NYC

Weekly Feature #215b: The Shivers – Live at Rockwood, 08.26

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When I first heard The Shivers I knew instantly how important they would become to me, how they would challenge my perception of rock music, of what is regarded as innovative, new and original. This band can cross genres, have classic love songs, bitter angry ballads, mix experimental electronic sounds with Velvet Underground/Bruce Springsteen references and still possess a clear and iconic identity. Their identity and sound is direct and attacking, although delivered through the most subtle and at times gentle love songs. The vocals of their lead singer Keith give them that unforgettable identity. His voice, character and on stage performance is a striking combination that has won the hearts of the small amount of fans that have been lucky enough to catch one of the bands as of yet infrequent shows. – Read Ed Lovelace Q7A with the bands here.

Philadelphia

New Motels Headline at North Star Bar Aug. 20

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With an upbeat, quirky sound parallel to Bishop Allen’s and a dress code including flannel button downs, ties, and cardigan sweaters, New Motels have been charming the Philly powerpop scene since 2003. They don’t really have a dress code. These guys are pretty laid-back fellas. There’s not much pretention from this band that  reps Jenkintown. I’ve really enjoying their debut full length Tidbury Sweat, which they worked on with Bill Moriarty. But I still can’t help gravitating towards their jangly older tunes too like crowd pleaser, “Drama of the Hollywood Scene”, which sounds like a cross between of Montreal’s electro indie hit “Suffer For Fashion” and The Who’s classic, “You Better You Bet”- bands four decades apart, but both party-starters. North Star Bar, 2639 Poplar St., 9pm, $8, 21+ – Katie Bennett
 
Chicago

Brent Puls @ Schubas

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Brent Puls (Bumpus, Grammar) is releasing a new solo ep next week, and it is essentially a love letter to Chicago. The first single from the album is the album’s title track “West of the Lake”, and perfectly captures the feeling of being young and in love with a city. You can also sense that there is an underlying feeling of growing older and reflecting back. It is a beautiful concept and is topped off with cover art that was painted by Brent himself. 

Brent will be celebrating the release of the ep at Schubas on Aug. 27th with Death Ships and The Glory Singers.

New England

One Night Band 2010 is Saturday, 8/21

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Boston Band Crush‘s One Night Band 2010 is this Saturday, 8/21!  Boston Band Crush, a Boston-based music blog, launched its first One Night Band in August of last year to great success.  

The event is fashioned after the Rock Lottery, which had happened in Seattle and Denton, Texas.  The idea:  Take a bunch of local musicians, throw them into randomly selected groups, and give them a day to write music as a band.  

It’s only fitting that Boston Band Crush, a blog highly reflective of the collaborative, social and fun elements of Boston music, should bring it home.  "I loved the idea and wanted to bring it to Boston," says Ashley Willard of BBC.  "I think the coolest thing is that it brings musicians together who wouldn’t normally cross paths."

BBC’s version features forty Boston musicians grouped into eight bands of five.  They have about six hours to complete four songs – three originals and one cover.  Then they hit the Middle East Downstairs in the evening to showcase their day’s work – the good, the bad, and, if last year is any indication, the improbably amazing.

As with last year’s, your ticket will not only grant you access to this incredible event, but it will also support Zumix, a local organization working for music education.  "We were worried we wouldn’t draw enough to pay for the room," Willard reflects.  "But we ended up almost selling it out and raising $1600 for Zumix."  And if that isn’t enough of a bonus, if you’re one of the first three hundred one night fans to enter the Middle East Downstairs, you’ll get a gift bag full of local music cd’s, stickers, and other swag from bands all over the Boston music map.

Check out the official One Night Band website for a list of participants (complete with biographies) and more.

8pm / $10 adv, $12 door / 18+ unless with parent or guardian

– The Deli Staff

NYC

Weekly Feature #215a: Shayna Zaid – Live at Rockwook, 08.21

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With recent participation in the SXSW festival and the Deli’s Best of NYC Fest, Shayna Zaid and The Catch are a hunble bunch with a welcoming stage presence.  Having only played together a short while prior to their first show as a band (Yan had joined only a week before), Shayna Zaid and The Catch describe their first live performance as a phase when they “were still trying to find our individual place in the big picture, yet, there was a certain magic there, and we all felt it, like we were somehow meant to meet and play together.”  Upbeat and fun, the ambitious band keeps upcoming projects top secret but shared some inside details about performing in New York City and the meaning behind their poetic lyrics. – Read Gina Alioto’s Q&A with Shayna here.

Philadelphia

Bells Bells Bells at JB’s Aug. 20

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Resident psych/freak-folk outfit Bells Bells Bells ring out the summer at JB’s. Gorgeously gloomy with chilling reverb, their latest release A Ghost Could Live Here mixes guitar shreds with organ and opera with rock. Aided by frontwoman Amandah Romick’s haunting vocals, tracks like “Prophet on the Horizon” are driving, dramatic, and fierce. The cosmic riffs of “Laika, An Astronaut” are melodic amidst distortion. Notes bend, sounding much like shrieks. In “Little Hours”, Romick resembles Siouxsie Sioux with a pinch of Kate Bush as her hypnotic voice eases into a near instrumental end. She’ll be paired with the polished pop of Acres of Diamonds and freak out jams of Lo Power Plane. Johnny Brenda’s. 1201 Frankford Ave., 8pm, $10, 21+ – Dianca Potts
 
Philadelphia

Women, What More Can You Ask For? at JR’s Aug. 20

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When it comes to brash in your face hardcore punk with churning guitar chords and a dervish of vocals, Women are the band that has the Jim Beam flowing. And with their latest outing No Reasons (you can listen to on their website), which was tag team released by FDH and Resurrection Records, they might’ve just tipped the scales of unapologetic crudeness with songs like “Got No Brains”, “Someone Else”, and “KGB” tossing drunken lullabies at the night and then quickly fading out in a fervor of venom. When they play JR’s tonight, it’s going to be a sloppy mess that stays true to the punk of old! Also staying true to that direction will be hard hitters Smoker and the Rollers, who are getting ready to release a debut album sometime this fall. JR’s, 2327 S. Croskey St., 9pm, $5, 21+ – Bill McThrill