Instrumental Analysis

I thought I would never say this, but the weekend is finally coming to an end. Fortunately (for me), Sunday is much lighter in action than the past two nights. Don’t forget to check out Friday and Saturday for bands that are playing multiple dates.

The M-Room is hosting a great line-up featuring indie-popsters Golden Bloom and Philly’s own Canadian Invasion. Rounding out the show is Jersey City’s Sudden Ensemble, who have gotten the attention of famed radio personality John Peel. That’s pretty high praise. I highly recommend this show.

Pree just had a CD release party for their new disc A Chopping Block, now they are back for another show, this time at The Loft in Fredericksburg with locals Hot Lava, Kana Zink and His Royal Shyness. This is part of the all ages series, so all of you can experience the best of local music.

To finish off the weekend, check out one of these two shows. Indie-rock masters We Are Scientists are set to concoct something musical at the Hard Rock in DC, while beat heavy Futurecop! shakes up DC9.

mp3: Canadian Invasion – One Hand Claps the Other (via greenlightgo.com)
mp3: Golden Bloom – Doomsday Devices (via greenlightgo.com)
mp3: Pree – In The Parlor (via The Kora Records)

Hope you all had fun last night. Tonight and Sunday are just as loaded, so without further delay, here’s what to check out:

Some bands are starting their multiple city stops on Saturday. The one I recommend is Eulogies joining up with our friends Middle Distance Runner, set to drop a new album very soon, and The Payola Reserve, who already had a show on Friday. Catch them at IOTA in Arlington tonight for a nice up-close and personal show. Those in Baltimore can get them Sunday at Metro Gallery.

mp3: Eulogies – Two Can Play (via rcrdlbl.com)
mp3: Middle Distance Runner – Brother John (via band)
mp3: The Payola Reserve – Music Is Not Music (via band)

The dirty, bluesy Southern Rock of J-Roddy Walston & The Business is at Baltimore’s Ottobar Saturday before opening for The Hold Steady Sunday at the Recher. And that is a free show.

mp3: J Roddy Walston & The Business – Used to Did (via daytrotter.com)
mp3: The Hold Steady – Chips Ahoy (via vagrant records)

TK Webb & The Visions are joined by Appomattox for a double city stop. Saturday’s DC9 show also features Gods & Queens, while the Sunday Talking Head show in Baltimore has David Heumann of Arbouretum fame set to open.

mp3: TK Webb & The Visions – Teen is Still Shaking (via kemado records)

Baltimore’s own Ponytail is also hitting two cities this weekend. First stop is at American University in DC with Mittenfields. The next stop is a slot on the Los Campesinos! show at the TLA in Philly Sunday night.

mp3: Ponytail – Celebrate the Body Electric (via nowwearefree.com)

Time for those that are playing just one venue this weekend. Still quite a bit to go.

Saturday

Big show at the Warner Theater as comedian-musician Stephen Lynch takes the stage. This is going to be very entertaining.

Another huge show is at The Troc, featuring Jersey’s The Gaslight Anthem and Ohioans Heartless Bastards. Also on the bill is local group Good Old War. This show is already sold out! Enjoy if you have tix. If not, find a way to get in.

Philly’s M-Room is featuring an electronic show with Arms and Sleepers, The Circadian Rhythms and Anni Rossi. Baltimore and DC have some to chose from as locals Squaaks (you may know Elena from Ace of Cakes…Yummy!) and …So I Had To are joined by The Minneapolis Henrys at Metro Gallery. Black Cat has a great line up with The Drones from Australia sharing the stage with Deleted Scenes and Pretty & Nice.

mp3: Stephen Lynch – 3 Balloons (via whatarerecords.com)
mp3: Heartless Bastards – The Mountain (via Sneak Attack Media)
mp3: Arms and Sleepers – A Mission To Prague (via Expectcandy.com)
mp3: Anni Rossi – Wheelpusher (via beggarsgroupusa.com)
mp3: Squaaks – Be Dry My Bleeding Heart(via band)
mp3: Deleted Scenes – Turn To Sand (via band website)
mp3: Pretty & Nice – Tora Tora Tora (via Hardly Art Records)

Ok, so this massive weekend ended up becoming three parts. Sunday will posted soon!

When I saw the calendar for the weekend, I initially thought that Joe was out of his skull and put down shows for the wrong dates. Then after some quick fact checking, I found the truth. Every band and their mothers, uncles and 3rd cousins once removed are either coming back home from Austin or making the IA area the next stop on their East Coast swing. With so much to tell you about, it is best to break it up into two (or more) posts). Part One (this post) will focus on those performing on Friday as a single show or making a double (or triple) stop sometime from now til Sunday. Part two comes later (obviously).

So many acts are pulling double duty this weekend. Where do I even begin? The obvious choice is the band kicking off the weekend at XPNs Free at Noon. Gomez is set to drop a new album, A New Tide. This show is already sold out, but you can catch them 3 more times in the IA area. After the lunch show, they head west to Lancaster and The Chameleon Club. Killer soul/funk band from Austin Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears are set to open. Saturday they head back to Philly and the TLA for a show with Blind Pilot. They then head to the 9:30 Club Sunday and rejoin Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears to close out the weekend. All still have tickets available, but they may go fast. And to make this a little more confusing, before heading to Philly, Blind Pilot has a solo show at IOTA Friday night.

mp3: Gomez – Mix (via RCRDLBL.com)

Another triple city set of shows is in the works for Asobi Seksu, with their mix of sugary late ’80s pop and early ’90s shoegaze and support from the lo-fi band from Michigan, Tyvek. Start in Baltimore Friday at the Ottobar, featuring local favorites Thrushes, then follow them to DC and the Rock & Roll Hotel and finish Sunday in Philly at Johnny Brenda’s. Worth the road trip.

mp3: Asobi Seksu – Familiar Light (via r5productions.com)
mp3: Thrushes – Loyalty

Yet another band is hitting three cities in three days. DD/MM/YYYY are starting their journey at The Red & The Black in DC with Chambersburg’s The Shackeltons. Also on the bill for this show is locals Surprise! Arizona and Brooklyn’s Cinema Cinema. I would make every attempt to go to this show. They then head to Baltimore for one more show with The Shackeltons, this time joined by Magic Missile. Finally, Philly get the finishing act at Kung Fu Necktie with Reading Rainbow.

mp3: DD/MM/YYYY – Infinity Skull Cube (via killbeatmusic.com)
mp3: The Shackeltons – Your Movement (via band)
mp3: Cinema Cinema – I Don’t Wanna Be Yr Boyfriend (via band’s website)
mp3: Reading Rainbow – Be Who I See (via band’s myspace)

A little more reserved are Phosphorescent and Deer Tick as they hit only two cities this weekend. The G-Spot is the venue for Friday, while Johnny Brenda’s hosts Saturday’s show. As an added treat, local troubadour Peasant is also set to perform for the Philly show.

mp3: Phosphorescent – A Picture of Our Torn Up Praise (via scjag.com/Dead Ocean)
mp3: Deer Tick – Long Time (via partisanrecords.com)
mp3: Peasant – We’re Good (via Paper Garden records)

Brooklyn’s The Jaguar Club is also performing in two cities this weekend. First stop is the Metro Gallery in Baltimore with an all-local supporting cast. E. Joseph and the Phantom Heart are set to perform as they channel the Bunnymen and The Church, as are FFHH and The Jennifers. TJC then head to The Red & The Black Saturday. Joining them are Loose Lips, Paperhaus and Mary Bragg.

mp3: The Jaguar Club – World Gone By (via band)
mp3: E. Joseph & The Phantom Heart – Pulling Me Under (via band)
mp3: FFHH – From the Shadows (via band)
mp3: Loose Lips – Heels Under Head (via band’s website)

Not quite done yet. Still some bands playing only Friday night. Here’s what else to consider.

As previously mentioned in an earlier post, Death By Sexy is dropping a new disc and they are having a party at the Black Cat to prove it. Join them with locals Cobra Collective and Blackjacks for what is going to be a hell of a show.

mp3: Death By Sexy – I Ain’t Gonna Chase You Down (via band)
mp3: Cobra Collective – Hannibal at the Gates (via band)

At the Zodiac in Baltimore, locals Arbouretum perform some new tracks off their latest release Song of the Pearl, as well as your favorites. Get their early for The Existencils and Happy Salmon.

Johnny Brendas is hosting a great show for all of you in Philly. Say Hi is joined by local favorites East Hundred and Seattle’s and Merge artist Telekinesis. I may have to make my way to Fish Town for this one.

mp3: Say Hi – Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh (via band’s website)
mp3: East Hundred – Slow Burning Crimes (via band’s website)

The Danes are coming to the First Unitarian Church in Philly in the form of 10 member strong Efterklang. Fellow countryman and sometimes band member Peter Broderick is also set to perform.

mp3: Efterklang – Step Aside (via r5productions.com)

Glasvegas has a huge following. West Chester, PA is a small college town. The Note is a small venue in said town. This Friday night should be interesting. For those interested, the show is obviously sold out.

mp3: Glasvegas – Geraldine (via RCRDLBL.com)

The North Star gets sultry and soulful as Eli “Paperboy” Reed hits the stage. Set to open is Baltimore’s The Payola Reserve. And for those up in the Harrisburg area, head to Messiah College for two great singer-songwriters, Josh Ritter and John Francis

Part 2 coming soon.

There’s only one way I can truly describe Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears - they take it to church…  As in catching the holy ghost, shout it out loud, hands in the air soulful funk the likes of which Sam and Dave, James Brown and Booker T. would be proud to call their own.

Fronted by the-way-more-soulful-sounding-than-anyone-his-age-should Joe Lewis, and backed by the tightest rhythm and horn section this side of the Soul Generals, the Austin, TX band is taking its party nationwide, stopping in the region this weekend for a couple of dates with Gomez.

Just listen to that nasty funk organ groove bubbling underneath “Sugarfoot,” the first single off their debut release Tell Em’ What Your Name Is! Can you really keep that booty from shaking just a little? I think not.

3/27/09: Chameleon CLub, Lancaster, PA
3/29/09: 9:30 Club, Washington, DC

mp3: Sugarfoot (stream)

Let’s take a trip in the way back machine (Sherman and Peabody? Rocky and Bullwinkle? Anyone?… Bueller? God, I’m old). Anyway, we’ve arrived in 1986 and for some strange reason, Peter Gabriel, Adam Yauch and Mike Diamond are hanging out at some crappy post-modernist art exhibit in SoHo. Imagine, if you will, that instead of releasing So and Licensed to Ill, they bail on that scene, jump in that crazy old time machine, pick up Pharrell Williams somewhere along the way and land in Austin, Texas in 2009. Assuming you’re still with me, I have just attempted to describe the electro-funk oddity that is Honey Claws.

Although they occasionally veer into art school b-boy overkill, Honey Claws’ big boom bap and willingness to f-around with the mixing board, to ear-pleasing effect, cannot be denied. Have a listen to “Pemporer” off of their new EP, Healer.

mp3: Pemporer (Provided By Sneak Attack)

Death by Sexy. Let that honeyed phrase roll off your tongue a few times. Yes, it’s the punchline to a really bad joke that you’ve probably heard a million times, as well as the title of an Eagles of Death Metal album, but forget all that. What you really need to know about Death by Sexy (or DXS to groupies and bloggers), is that it’s the given name of the DC-based purveyors of some of the nastiest, smokin’est guitar noise around.

Having just given a few spins to their debut full-length, Curse the Curse, I can best describe this as a mix of the Ramones, Bleach-era Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age, the Burning Brides, and Chuck Berry. If that doesn’t melt your brain a little bit, then kudos. But if more brain melting is required, be sure to swing by the DXS CD release party at Black Cat this Friday, March 27th.

For a preview, take a listen to “I Ain’t Gonna Chase You Down,” the album’s grinding opener.

mp3: I Ain’t Gonna Chase You Down

Photo From band’s Myspace
A little crunchy, a little, salty and a little sweet, like Crunch n’ Munch for your ears. That’s Alligators in one pop-culture referencing, brand-name approved nutshell. “Where Does it Hide?,” the first single off of their debut Piggy and Cups, is such a mind-bendingly catchy tune that it almost toes the line of guilty pleasure throwaway pop a la the Fountains of Wayne and Cheap Trick (with harmonies that would make Brian Wilson himself cry). At the same time, fans of The Bends era Radiohead and the Shins will get their dose of shimmery, wailing guitar and sweet melancholy.

This track has been stuck in heavy rotation on my iPod for weeks now, so I’m looking forward to the full-length CD dropping on April 7. Stay tuned for Alligators tour information. They are bound to come east soon.

mp3: Where Does it Hide? (Provided By Fanatic Promotion)

Photo By Ron Krisel
You know what too much self-proclaimed “rock music” is missing these days? Swagger. Sure, some acts out there can talk the talk, and some can walk the walk, but few, if any, seem to be able to accomplish both at the same time anymore. Now, hey, I have problems rubbing my tummy and patting my head consecutively, so I get that doing multiple things at once is not easy. However, that excuse simply doesn’t cut it when I’m looking for some good, old fashioned rock ‘n roll.

San Francisco’s Leopold and His Fiction must have received my memo, because they bring the full package on their sophomore release, Ain’t No Surprise. The band does not so much create new ground as they do revere what is holy and good about your ’60s-era rock ‘n roll. I’m not talking about psych-pop, or acid rock or heavy metal–I’m talking what the Rolling Stones were pumping out back when they were worth a damn. That’s what Leopold is putting down and, quite frankly, you should pick it up, my friends.

mp3: Ain’t No Surprise (Provided By Green Light Go)

DC’s own New Rock Church of Fire is having a little party at DC9 Wednesday night celebrating their induction into the menu. I’m talking about The New Rock Church of Fire Burger. Having entertained numerous fans all of the District and beyond for the past three years, some would say it’s about time they got their due. And the burger looks like it will please them yet again. It is topped with things that should remind one of the band: beer, whiskey, smoke and mushrooms (thats beer-battered onion rings, John Powers Whiskey BBQ Sauce, smoked Gouda and of course, mushrooms). Sounds pretty darn good to me. And the music that will go with it makes it an evening that will have you grabbing for plenty of napkins. Make sure to get their early to grab a burger of your own and catch the openers Daimera, Man Without Wax and Meow vs. Meow.

mp3: New Rock Church of Fire – Europa (via band)

note: like the artwork for the poster? check out Barf Comics

Tuesday is usually a bland day. Not quite hump day and just beyond Monday. Luckily, the IA area has quite the line-up to choose from to make this Tuesday a little bit better.

If you happened to see Morrissey Sunday night at the Academy of Music in Philly and got there early enough, you caught the next big thing out of Manchester. If you didn’t, you get another shot to catch them. The North Star Bar and Philly Girl About Town bring The Courteeners back to the City of Brotherly Love for an encore performance. They have won the Guardian’s debut album of the year for 2008 and are on the most recent cover of NME. I highly recommend getting out to see this band in this kind of setting. You may be only able to see them at larger venues from now on. Opening are locals Toy Soldiers and Kettle Pot Black.

Elsewhere in Philly, The Fire in Northern Liberties has Boston’s The Motion Sick. You may have caught the dance remix of “30 Lives” on the latest Dance Dance Revolution. Garnering Spin’s Band of the Month for their first release Her Brilliant Fifteen, they have since released their second offering The Truth Will Catch You, Just Wait… Their music is tinged with social commentary, but the band keeps it simple and never too serious.

mp3: The Motion Sick – 30 Lives (via greenlightgopublicity.com)

Canada and locals meet at the First Unitarian Church after a night in the District, as one of our favorites Cotton Jones (former Page France) share the stage with The Magic, best described as a weird lo-fi band and a collaboration of two beloved Canadian troubadors, Jim Guthrie (of Royal City) and Nick Thorburn (of Unicorns and Islands), known as Human Highway. Great setting for a great show.

mp3: Cotton Jones – Had Not A Body (via band)
mp3: Human Highway – The Sound (via r5productions.com)

The Lone show in DC is at the Black Cat, but it features a lineup that should not be missed. Big in the UK really doesn’t mean much across the Atlantic, but in the case of White Lies and Friendly Fires, it should. Throw in SoCal’s blog buzz band and new Kemado Record artist The Soft Pack (formerly The Muslims) and you are in for one hell of a night. Don’t worry Philly crowd, no need to make a trip down I-95 (unless you want to), all hit the First Unitarian Wednesday.

mp3: White Lies – To Lose My Life (via r5productions.com) Filthy Dukes Remix (imeem stream)
mp3: Friendly Fires – Jump in The Pool (via r5productions.com)
mp3: The Soft Pack – Extinction (via r5productions.com)