Just a heads-up to any space/science nerds, in case you didn’t already know about this: Space X, the private company widely considered to be frontrunner in the race to become the official provider of low-earth orbit spaceflight to NASA’s astronauts after the space shuttle is retired, will be executing the first test launch of their Falcon 9 rocket today at 11am EDT. If all goes as planned, the rocket will liftoff carrying a mock payload. This is the first full scale test of the rocket, so they don’t expect everything to be perfect, and the vehicle may not even reach orbital velocity. Even if it does not, the test will be a success, because the primary goal of this flight is to gather flight data. You can watch the webcast starting at 10:40am EDT (that’s 9:40am for us Nashvillians) on the Space X website.
If Space X keeps up their current pace, they will be on track to have the capability to safely ferry astronauts to and from the ISS long before NASA’s Constellation program would’ve been able to. This is why Obama and the Augustine Commission were correct to recommend the termination of the Constellation program and allow the budding commercial spaceflight industry to takeover the task of getting our astronauts to low-earth orbit.
Tonight Murfreesboro/Nashville will get a rare musical treat. sElf frontman/genius Matt Mahaffey is in town and will be joining his long-time friend Seth Timbs (of Fluid Ounces and Hot New Singles) on the stage of The Boro Bar & Grill in Murfreesboro. This week is the Boro’s 25th Anniversary celebration, and this is one helluva way to cap it off. From Seth Timbs’ Facebook:
Tomorrow night at the Boro Matt Mahaffey and myself will be performing our songs in a manner befitting the venue and it’s[sic] proud history on it’s[sic] anniversary.
While I’m not as big of a fan of the Boro as I used to be (how can they take a cut of the door money from a band when they don’t even have a PA system or house sound guy?), that place will always hold a special place in my heart as it’s where I was introduced to the local music scene when I first came to MTSU 10 years ago. If a bar/venue can hold its own for 25 years, they must be doing something right. As for Matt, I’ve also confirmed via a few Facebook comments that he’s indeed planning to move back to TN soon (yea yea I know, they’ve been saying that for years, but this time they’re looking at houses!).
Sorry to any other shows happening tonight, but in my eyes seeing Matt and Seth together on the same stage pretty much trumps EVERYTHING.
As for the rest of the weekend, here’s a little rundown:
Saturday night Jesco White “The Dancing Outlaw” invades Mercy Lounge, along with Les Honky More Tonkies and Pick Up The Snake. If that’s not your bag, check out Imogen Heap at the Ryman, or The Alcohol Stuntband at the 5 Spot.
Sunday has a couple of good options as well- Twilight Sad/Mono at the Exit/In, and Shellshag/Pujol/Deluxin’ at the End.
Have a great weekend!
The Comfies Present: Benjamin A. Harper’s Fantôme
June 2, 2010
After a long, liver-abusing Memorial Day weekend, I’m back.
Last year Benjamin A. Harper (not that Ben Harper) of the Comfies released The Comfies Present: Benjamin A. Harper in This Ship Is Going Down. It was the first of a planned 3-EP series, and he’s just released the second of that series, The Comfies Present: Benjamin A. Harper’s Fantôme. As all smart artists do, he’s using Bandcamp to distribute his music, so go grab the new EP there. It’s on the name-your-own-price plan, so it can be free if you want it to be. The EP has a full range of song tempo and mood. From the toe-tapping straightforward power pop of “Shake It Like You Mean It” to the soft instrumental melancholy of “Christmas Eve Eve,” this EP covers a lot of ground in 6 short tracks. Harper is at his best in the higher-energy tracks of the collection, but one that is quickly growing on me is “Chemicals,” which features some very nice string arrangements. Ben actually played almost every instrument on these recordings, which is probably the main reason for the 10-month lag between releases. Or maybe I just had it my head that the releases were all set for a quick-succession release schedule for some reason… either way, I hope the next and final one comes soon!
The official EP release show is July 2nd at the End with Tristen. Be there.
steve cross loves music and science 