The build up for his debut album has been warranted for Andrew Belle really does have a magical voice. The Ladder, is out February 23rd, but he is playing a release show for the album this Saturday (Jan.23rd) at Schubas. Belle splits time between Chicago and Nashville and that mixture of musical cultures is vibrantly demonstrated in his music. If you go and pre-order The Ladder here you will receive a live acoustic album for free.
Let’s Get Hypnotized – Bloc 11 – Union Sq. Somerville 1/20 TONIGHT!

Wednesday night, in the heart of Somerville’s Union Square, local songwriters Dan Blakeslee, Tim Riordan, and James Houlahan will be performing from 7-9 at Bloc 11 Cafe. Dubbing themselves as “The Folk Hynoptists,” each of their sets will feature original songs covering a wide range of styles and feeling. Blakeslee sings of late night wanderings, fascinating characters, and enduring love. Riordan’s tunes evoke strong connections to the listener, drawing one in with detailed, powerful emotions. Houlahan combines simple, sometimes traditional melodies with his own twist of folk magic and inventive language. Hypnotic trances are encouraged. Regardless, Bloc 11 is at 11 Bow Street, and they feature a variety of beverages and good eats.
— The Deli Staff
BREAKING NEWS: Housefire at White Eagle Saloon TONIGHT!

If you have ever gone through the multimedia program at the University of Oregon, you would have no doubt taken an electronic music class. The class I took consisted of learning about sampling, sequencing and memorizing a bunch of terminology that I forgot the minute after taking the final. By the end of the term we were supposed to have created this three-minute-long mixed masterpiece, and even though I completed the task, I made nothing you could ever call music. In fact, listening to the electro, experimental band Housefire, I see just how far off I was.
Unlike myself, who should just stick to spelling synthesizer, the members of Housefire actually know how to use a synthesizer and are damn good at it. The band is so beloved by Portland that they won The Deli’s Portland’s recent Open Poll and came in second place for our Reader’s Poll. There is something very ethereal and, for lack of a better word, space-y about Housefire’s music.
If you are looking for something upbeat and shimmery, this is not the band for you. But if you are into the type of music you can sit down and relax to while you drink a copious amount of beer, than Housefire will become your new best friend. Luckily for you, your new best friends just happen to be playing at White Eagle Saloon on Wednesday, January 20th at 8:00 p.m. with fellow Portlanders Ocean Age, and billygoat. It is a free show, so you’ll have more money to spend on your other best friend, Mr. Pabst.
Say hello to him for me!
– Deanna Uutela
Last Minute Plans: Inchworm @ Schubas

Inchworm has taken a bit of a hiatus from the show scene the last few months, but lucky for us, they’re back and ready to rock. More specifically, they’re ready to rock Schubas, Wednesday night, as part of Amplify’s New Music Series. The band plans to unveil the new material they’ve been working on over the past few months, in a glimpse at what will inevitably become the follow-up to their ’08 EP, Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing.
Inchworm has also recently taken to Bandcamp.com, uploading their previous EPs to music’s newest publishing platform. Following suit to recent preferred methods of music purchasing, Bandcamp promotes a name-your-own-price doctrine, allowing customers to donate as much (or as little) as they see fit. Visit Inchworms’ catalog on bandcamp.
Tonight’s show at Schubas begins at 9pm, with openers Sissy Mena and fellow locals, Save the Clocktower. Sponsored by Amplify, Beer Nuts, and UR Chicago, the show is 21+ and tickets are $5 at schubas.com. – Neph Basedow
Brighton MA Session

The Deli is sponsoring the upcoming two-night stay at Schubas with Brighton MA. We are excited to be working with such a great Chicago band. The other sponsor for the show is Coach House Sounds and they recently posted their live session with the band. Through out the week we will be featuring a different band playing at Schubas on Jan. 22nd and 23rd.
Talk Normal Win Deli Best of NYC Poll + Cover of Deli’s Spring Issue!
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Noise is back with a bang in the NYC music scene! Brooklyn turbolent Talk Normal are the winners of our Year End Best of NYC poll (the full chart, including 67 emerging artist, can be found here). The band gathered 8 jury and one Deli writers’ votes which allowed them to seal the poll’s 1st position – even if they obviously didn’t promote the readers’ poll (only 5 votes were cast in their favor in that department). Hey, we are cool with that! The fans’ vote, though, was instrumental in assigning positions from #2 to #7 – as these 6 artists all received 7 votes between the jury and the Deli writers. Freelance Whales and Bear in Heaven will therefore need to thank their fanbase for appearing on the smaller cover pictures of the Spring 2010 issue of The Deli. We’d like to bring to everybody’s attention that any of these 6 bands could have won the overall contest if they had placed 1st or 2nd in our readers’ poll – we are saying this because often readers and bands complain about the fact that in our system the readers’ votes don’t bear enough weight.
Curiously enough, Freelance Whales‘ 2nd place seems like a symbolic testament to how wide the NYC scene’s sonic spectrum is: where Talk Normal’s music literally couldn’t exist without electricity, the guys in Freelance Whales pride themselves of being able to play live shows without any amplification – not even microphones (that’s what they did during our packed CMJ party in October – although sure enough some people in the back couldn’t hear much…)

Bear in Heaven (in third place) complete our virtual podium with their texturally rich psych rock. In a rock scene as fragmented as ever (in which attitude more than genre has become the aggregating component) the psych rock and shoegazer community of artists represents an exception; they are part of probably the only genre-defined rock scene in NYC, developing a very defined sonic legacy. Bear in Heaven – an incredibly talented and hard working band – is definitely one of the best expressions of the current NYC psychedelic sound.
64 more bands are listed in our charts, from the world conquering, exotic experimentations of Dirty Projectors to the beautifully sparse and intimate songs of Callers (the two bands coincidentially share the same record label, together with our current cover band Glass Ghost). We will cover all these bands in the spring issue of The Deli and on our NYC site in the following months.
The Deli’s Staff
Best of NYC 2009 – Composite Chart Final Results

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The winner of the Composite Chart (the one including votes from Jury, Deli Writers and Deli Readers) will get the cover of The Deli’s Spring issue + various prizes including free studio and mastering time, audio plug ins, music store vouchers, musical instrument insurance, all courtesy of our sponsors.