The Mystery Twins released EP “The Politics of Being Alone” as a taste of their upcoming album “Ghost in the Ground.” The EP is comprised of simple vocals, drums, and guitar from Stephanie Brush and Doug Lehman, reacting to the audio clips from Charles Bukowski, Henry Miller, and old films interspersed in the tracks. The duo leans on a 60’s pop sentiment as they magically make the whole jumble coherent. The official release of their full length album will be marked by a show at the Stone Fox on November 8th, with Bully and Wooden Wand. -Terra James-Jura
Nashville
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Them Vibes Host “The Hang” Tuesday 11.5
Looking for something to ease the post-weekend malaise? Them Vibes is hosting “The Hang” at the Performing Artists Co-op at 5 Points in East Nashville. “Cryin’ Shame” is a little taste of what you will be in for. The evening will include special guest, teenaged savant and current artist of the month contender Guthrie Brown. $5 is all you need to go and get hung. –Terra James-Jura
New England
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Fax Holiday Fall 2013 Tour Announcement
One of my favorite Boston-area acts, Fax Holiday, are hitting the road with fellow rockers Radiator King for a string of east coast dates. The tour kicks off November 9 in Brooklyn, ending on November 16 in Willimantic, CT. I first saw Fax Holiday a few months ago at Great Scott in Allston, and I’m excited that these guys are continuing to spread the word about their music. They’ll be bringing their tunes to Radio in Somerville on November 15, so if you’re in the area, stop in and check them out.
For more info about the band (and to get more details about the tour), check out their tour Facebook page.
-Dan McMahon (@dmcmhn)
NYC
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Show recap: Apocalypse Meow 6
On any given night in KC or Lawrence, there are bands playing to groups of varying sizes and intensity levels. Some of the audience is on its feet dancing. Some of them have their noses stuck in their electronic habitats. People order a few drinks at the bar during a quiet song, maybe smoke a cigarette between songs. The Friday night kick-off party of Apocalypse Meow 6 was one of those rare nights when the audience unified to experience and be captivated by the music.
This is the first Apocalypse Meow show since the death of Abigail Henderson, who—along with friends and husband Chris Meck—founded Midwest Music Foundation after friends held a benefit for Henderson when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. On Friday, Meck debuted his trio The Guilty Birds (pictured above), the first project without his wife since they began 10 years ago in Trouble Junction, and his very first project as primary singer/songwriter.
The trio (including Tiny Horse members Zach Phillips and Matt Richey) played a short but poignant rock/soul-infused set, while a packed crowd locked eyes and ears to draw in each note; to admire the musicianship, the ability, the fire, the obstacles and the affirming end result; to feel the anguish of a noticeable absence, but to honor and celebrate its legacy. The Silver Maggies kept the audience at attention with dark Americana propelled by intelligent songwriting. Hundreds of raffle tickets for Meck’s custom-built (with assistance from Phillips, Chris Wagner, and Paul Marchman) Fender Telecaster were purchased on Friday alone, and that spirit of generosity graciously carried into Saturday evening.
With a larger-capacity venue at Knuckleheads, eleven bands/solo performers commandeered the indoor and outdoor stages on night two. She’s A Keeper began by grabbing and enveloping the filtering-in crowd with its brand of colossal folk rock. The entrancing, aggressive outlaw blues of the duo Freight Train & Rabbit Killer (pictured below) demanded attention with its minimalistic setup, menacing costumes, and otherworldly presence. Meanwhile, the acoustic stage was occupied by a few KC music legends, all of whom were dear friends of Henderson’s. This connection translated into each musician’s cathartic sound, beginning with heartstring-pulling stories from Tony Ladesich (pictured below). Betse Ellis followed (and guest starred with the other acoustic stage performers later) with a fierce fiddle that could have sliced through any act on the main stage.
As the evening grew colder, warm bodies migrated toward the front and moved their hips to power trio Not A Planet (pictured below), pushed by the dynamic rhythm section of Liam Sumnicht and Bill Surges and steered by Nathan Corsi’s steady, pitch-perfect vocals. And no matter which stage you chose or floated to and from, each remaining act performed with no shortage of moxie. Howard Iceberg—KC’s answer to Bob Dylan—played a quiet but potent, storied set that included a duet performance with Michelle Sanders, a dulcet complement to Iceberg’s earnestly gruff voice. Federation of Horsepower frontman Gregg Todt (pictured below with Ellis) traded in his distorted axe for to round out the acoustic stage with a bluesy soul tone.
The second half of main stage featured three acts with female powerhouses at the forefront. The Latenight Callers’ Julie Berndsen allured the crowd with a coy sensuality that developed into a fiery, lascivious character, enhanced by the band’s electrifying, mammoth noir sounds. The Philistines continued in that same vein of ferocity from Kimberely Queen, whose appropriately unbridled theatrics amplified the band’s barbaric psychedelic rock sounds. The musical climax came when Sister Mary Rotten Crotch (pictured below) was welcomed to the stage right after Meck’s guitar was raffled off and subsequently auctioned (Artie Scholes, the raffle winner and also owner of The 403 Club, gave the guitar back to MMF for this purpose) to the highest bidder. But outside of this positive gesture and outside of the fact that many fans had been waiting for Sister Mary to take the stage again (the band’s last performance before taking a five-year hiatus was Apocalypse Meow 1 in ’08, and they only recently reunited to play a couple weeks before), frontwoman Liz Spillman Nord injected the hungry audience with an acrimonious punk vitriol. The veteran band showed old and new fans alike that they still pack a mean, purposeful rock punch and they still don’t give a fuck what you think.
Midwest Music Foundation and Abby’s Fund for Musicians’ Health Care made $12,000 at Apocalypse Meow this year, thanks to the efforts of all that were in attendance or made a donation of time, money, and/or resources. And though it was impossible for each moment of Meow weekend to have been as uninterrupted and uplifting as its inaugural set was, a sense of community was felt by each attendee and volunteer/staff member, each auction bid, each raffle ticket that fell into each bucket, each embrace or tear shed, each note or beat played.
On behalf of Midwest Music Foundation and The Deli Magazine—Kansas City, we thank you for your support of local music and those who work to make it happen. We thank you for honoring Abigail and helping us continue to carry on her legacy.
–Michelle Bacon
Michelle is editor of The Deli Magazine – Kansas City, and also plays drums Drew Black & Dirty Electric and bass in Dolls on Fire and The Philistines. Thanks to everyone who made this weekend beautiful. #shinealight
San Francisco
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Congratulations to French Cassettes for Winning The Deli Magazine SF’s Artist of the Month + The Deli Magazine’s OVERALL Fave Artist of the Month
Congratulations to The Deli Magazine San Francisco‘s Artist of the Month Poll Winners, French Cassettes! The readers and fans have spoken, and this polished indie pop rock band has come out on top! On top of winning the Deli SF’s Poll, our editor in chief chose French Cassettes as the best band out of all the The Deli city’s poll winners to reign as the The Deli’s National Artist of the Month! We’re very excited for them and wish this hardworking band the best of luck and success in every endeavor they pursue.
You can catch the French Cassettes LIVE playing a residency every Tuesday at Amnesia with Black Cobra Vipers!
The Deli SF Editor,
jordannah
NYC
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A supergroup is born: LOLAWOLF, live at Mercury on 11.07
Speaking of James Levy (see previous post)… he is also involved in a new NYC electro-soul project that can definitely be labeled with the "supergroup" tag. The band is led by Zoe Kravitz, i.e. Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet’s daughter, which is something that by itself gives it a buzz status. Curious music lovers can see them live later this week on 11.07 at Mercury, when they’ll be playing with Reputante (read post below about them). Check out the band’s only track available so far, entitled "Drive" below.
We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best electronic songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!
San Francisco
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Upstairs Downstairs Album Release Event w/ Social Studies and Tartufi at Brick & Mortar Music Hall – 11/4
Stop in and celebrate the release of Upstairs Downstairs‘ new self-titled LP, as well as the start of Social Studies’ November residency at Brick & Mortar Music Hall, TONIGHT!
Upstairs Downstairs creates dreamy and dark sounds that leaves listeners and spectators trapped and entranced within their deep shoegaze compositional style. Social Studies, who will be taking over the venue for the next few Mondays to promote the recording of their new album, play some indie dance tunes to get you on the floor and moving. Tartufi brings a whole new meaning to the noise rock genre, and rely heavily on eloquent and carefully crafted use of instruments and enthralling vocals.
This show will be extremely diverse in sounds and emotions. It’ll be different, but absolutely interesting to check out! – Victor Casillas Valle
NYC
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Reputante releases debut EP on 11.11, plays Mercury on 11.07
We did see James Levy (ex Levy and J. Levy & the Blood Rose) at Pianos the night of our CMJ show and were wondering what he was up to musically. His new band Reputante a few weeks back signed with Julian Casablanca’s Cult Records and is releasing their debut EP on November 11. The preview singles "Safe’n’Sound" (streaming) and "Lock Me Up" confirm James Levi’s elegant songwriting, and a dark and rather mellow aura that was also evident in The Blood Rose’s material. What’s new here is a rather lo fi bedroom pop approach in the arrangement department, in conjunction with uptempo chilled songs slightly reminiscent of The Strokes and Magnetic Fields at once. See Reputante live at Mercury on 11.07. More news about James Levy in the next post.
We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best NYC songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!
New England
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ANDRÉ OBIN The Arsonist Remixes EP Release Show – Middle East Upstairs 11/15
Boston’s popular emerging electronic artist and producer André Obin truly values the seductive nature of synth-pop. With euphoric transgressions and catchy hooks he creates a world of amplified power for your eardrums. His forthcoming EP titled ‘The Arsonist Remixes’ consists of intelligent remixes by talented electro-minded producers of some of the best tracks off of his debut LP ‘The Arsonist’.
‘The Arsonist Remixes’ (a prelude for his sophomore LP due out next year) will drop on 11/12 via Sky Council Recordings. You can premiere a personal favorite off of the EP below, titled “Gazelle (Artisan Loyalist Remix) which seems to take after LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy in sound, style and execution – Michael Haskoor (@Tweetskoor)
Philadelphia
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New Music Video: “Ego Death” – Harsh Vibes
Harsh Vibes recently shared a new music video for their rad track "Ego Death," off 2012 cassette Psychedelic Gin Blossoms. It was directed by Candace Price. Special thanks to Kate Bracaglia for bringing it to our attention.
NYC
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KNTRLR unveils new video for “CCA”
Aggressively edgy bands like KNTRLR are desperately needed today, in a Brooklyn scene that – after the big orgy of sound led by Animal Collective – appears to be progressively mellowing down. KNTRLR’s noir, electro post-punk, with its pop openings and epic moments, develops art-rock tendencies in new directions. The band just unveilied the video for new single CCA – check it out below.
Philadelphia
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New Videos: “Broken Heart” & “Too Weak To Ramble” + Interview (Flying Dog Sessions) – Dr. Dog
Here are a couple of new videos of Dr. Dog performing stripped-down, mostly acoustic versions of "Broken Heart" and "Too Weak To Ramble" and doing a Q&A for Flying Dog Sessions. It was recorded at their relatively new studio, which was converted from an old silversmith mill, in the suburbs of Philly by Out Of Town Films.