A Few Good Shows: 12/21/12 (Doomsday edition)
December 21, 2012
Twas the weekend before Christmas, and all through Nashville good rock shows were happening.
Seriously, there are plenty of good shows to see this weekend, many of which are “end of the world” parties tonight. Personally I’m already very sick of this end of the world bullshit but whatever. Here are my picks: (FYI, this will probably be my last post of the year, as I’m beginning my official holiday break tomorrow.)
FRIDAY:
QDP’s End of the World Party @ The 5 Spot. 9pm $1 21+
End of the World Party ft. DJ sets from Coach, Jim, Jacob Jones (Electric Western), DJ Rate (Boom Bap), and Keegan Dewitt @ The East Room. 9pm $10
Forget Cassettes, Tower Defense, CHARGES (new band from Jay Leo Phillips of Apollo Up!) @ The High Watt 9pm $7
Night 1 of the 4th Annual Beatles Vs. Stones Christmas charity show Ft. The Weeks, Mayhem, Buffalo Clover, Tim Easton, Megan Palmer and more @ The Basement. 9pm $7 Suggested donation benefitting Second Harvest Food Bank. 21+
The Protomen w/ Uncle Skeleton @ 12th & Porter 9pm $15 (Makeup & Vanity Set was originally on the bill as well, but had to cancel.)
SATURDAY:
Night 2 of the 4th Annual Beatles Vs. Stones Christmas charity show Ft. Derek Hoke, Grimey & Friends, Courtney Jaye, Langhorne Slim, Anchor Thieves, Matt Friction, Magnolia Sons, and more @ The Basement. 9pm $7 Suggested donation benefitting Second Harvest Food Bank. 21+
Yacht Rock Revue Holiday Special @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $12 GA/$20 VIP
The Paperhead @ The Stone Fox. 9pm $5
A Very Sleazy Christmas Ft. Thelma & The Sleaze, Fuckshow, Dave Cloud, and Vacation Bible School @ Exit/In. 9pm $5
That’s it! Have a happy holiday break and I will see you here in the new year! (Unless something crazy happens and I decide to blog before then.)
NASA does “Gangnam Style” parody and a Grammy nominee plays a Nashville chicken wing joint
December 17, 2012
It’s not every day you see a Grammy-nominated musician play a sweaty set of throaty, in-your-face rock ‘n roll jams at a tiny hot wing joint, but that’s just what happened Saturday night here in Nashville. Singer Brittany Howard of the Grammy-nominated Alabama Shakes fronted a Nashville supergroup called Thunderbitch, featuring members of Fly Golden Eagle and Clear Plastic Masks, last Saturday night at East Nashville hot chicken joint Ghot Wingz. I was there snapping photos of this bizarre show, all of which can be seen over at the Cream, along with The Spin’s more thorough review of the happenings. In short, I had to mention it because it’s one of those shows that will go down in history, and I’m proud that it happened in the music town I call home!
In other news, though NASA’s Johnson Space Center Students create fun promotional videos for NASA every year, this year’s is quite impressive. Behold “NASA Johnson Style,” their parody of “Gangnam Style.” :
A Few Good Shows: 12/14/12
December 14, 2012
First off, a huge apology for the lack of posts this week. I’ve been in the process of buying a new car all week and between that & work & everything else I’ve just been overwhelmed. But A Few Good Shows will never fail! Here are my picks for shows to check out this weekend in Nashville:
FRIDAY:
Hanzelle, Scale Model, and Anchor Thieves @ The End. 9pm $5 I really hope you can come to this show not only because my band is playing, but also because it’s a very solid lineup of fantastic, hard-working local bands. We’ll also have Jeff Leet on hand selling limited edition copies of the awesome linocut poster he designed and printed for us!
Wild Cub w/ The Non-Commissioned Officers and Glass Anchor @ The Stone Fox. 9pm $5
Father Figures, DOME, and The Maloneys w/ DJ Linwood Kirk @ FooBar. 9pm $5
Warren Pash & Friends @ The Family Wash. 9pm $???
SATURDAY:
Thunderbitch (members of Alabama Shakes, Fly Golden Eagle, and Clear Plastic Masks), Natural Child, Promised Land, Fly Golden Eagle, and James Wallace & The Naked Light @ Ghot Wingz. 8:30pm $10 *This show is supposedly limited to about 100 people or so, and it’s in a place that’s never done shows before. This is the perfect recipe for chaos and mayhem of the best kind possible, so if you’re going, hang on tight- it’ll be a wild one.*
Ponychase, Bows and Arrows, Money Cannot Be Eaten, and Grandfather Child @ The Basement. 9pm $5 21+
The Most Amazing Century of Science, No!, and Call Me Savage @ Boheme Collectif. 9pm $???
Christmas Village and Holiday Party Music Night @ The Stone Fox. FREE- A wide array of local artisans and mobile shops will be present all day for your holiday shopping needs, and later in the evening there will be performances from Heypenny, Tyler Family Band, Promised Land, Birdcloud, JP5, and more. For full details see the Stone Fox website.
SUNDAY:
Winter Sounds, Milktooth, Dr. Jungle Cat, and Yumi & The System @ The Basement. 8pm $5
That’s it! Have a great weekend!
Promised Land’s debut EP, a new venue on music row, and collaborative TN craft beer
November 29, 2012
Promised Land. Photo by Alysse Gafkjen
A random assortment of good local music and beer news for you Thursday afternoon!
- Promised Land is a new local “supergroup” comprised of Joey Scala (Denny & The Jets, Turkeys, PUJOL), Sean “To the Wall” Thompson (Nikki Lane, PUJOL), Richard Alessio, Luke Schneider (Cortney Tidwell, Lylas), and Evan Scala. The best way I can describe them is if The Rolling Stones, The Allman Brothers, and The Carter Family all had a big threesome together. I caught them live a couple months ago on the back porch of Nikki Lane’s house, and thoroughly enjoyed their boozy, twangy set. With all the members heavily involved in other projects, I didn’t know just how serious Promised Land would be, or how soon they’d be releasing material. Thankfully this seems to be more than just an whim side project. They just released their debut EP Stoned Eagle on bandcamp, so go over and check it out! Also, as The Scene reported, the ‘Land opened for Seasick Steve at Third Man Records a while back. The show was recorded and will be released as a 45 early next year.
- New venue alert: A new intimate singer/songwriter coffeeshop/cafe has opened on music row. Benton’s Cafe is owned by veteran songwriter Benton Stokes and will give up-and-coming songwriters a chance to perform in an intimate setting right in the heart of Nashville’s music industry hub. Check out their facebook and twitter for more info.
- I was delighted to see the news that Yazoo and Calfkiller, two of my favorite TN craft breweries, have joined forces for a special collaborative beer! The brew is called The Beacon is an official “Tennessee High-Tax Ale.” This style was conjured up by the owners of Yazoo and Calfkiller to help bring attention to the fact that Tennessee has the highest beer tax in whole nation, which is structured to favor high-volume commercial beer brands over smaller craft breweries. This is one reason TN has a depressing lack of craft breweries. But with the formation of the TN Craft Brewer’s Guild, hopefully that will all change sooner rather than later. Check out the Yazoo blog for full details on the beer itself and how to get your hands on it!
A Few Good Shows: 11/16/12
November 16, 2012
We have a nice offering of shows featuring local and touring acts this weekend in Nashville. Here are my quick picks:
FRIDAY:
QDP @ the 5 Spot. 9pm $1 (Come by and say hi- I’ll be running the photobooth.)
Chubby & The Dots, Faux Ferocious and Graham Colton @ The Basement. 9pm $5 21+
Pinback w/ Solos @ Exit/In. 8pm. $16
Space Capone w/ Magnolia Sons @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $10
SATURDAY:
Simon Joyner, Altered Statesmen, Stephen Molyneux @ The Stone Fox. 9pm $7
Same As It Ever Was: A Talking Heads Tribute @ Exit/In. 9pm $10
Dr. Dog w/ Cotton Jones and Ri¢hie @ Marathon Music Works. 7pm $15-$22
Kansas Bible Company free in-store @ Grimeys. 5pm FREE
PAUSE FOR THE CAUSE: A Benefit for Brett Whitacre of The Legendary Shack Shakers ft. The Legendary Shack Shakers (final show), The Dirt Daubers, and Pine Hill Haints @ Mercy Lounge. 8pm $12 min. donation
SUNDAY:
Two Bit Charlie CD release w/ Mystery Twins and Waterfall Wash @ The Basement. 8pm $5 21+
Awesome Shirt, Gnarwhal, Sunglasses, Knightmare @ The End 9pm $5
Have a great weekend!
Caitlin Rose announces new album/Self new music teaser/Echo Group’s new EP/Forget Cassettes & more
November 15, 2012
Several bits of good Nashville local music news hit me today:
The most exciting one is related to the Self show I mentioned last week! Matt posted a teaser compilation track today on the Self facebook, consisting of snippets of several BRAND SPANKING NEW Self songs. My mind is already blown just hearing this the first time. CHECK IT YO:
Also, Matt answered a few questions related to the Dec. 29th show- Yes this will be a full band show, and yes it will be the only Self show for the foreseeable future. I’ve also heard unconfirmed rumors that this will be the original Self lineup, except of course for guitarist Mike Mahaffey, who passed away in 2005.
Echo Group released the third in their Challtalk Record Collection series via Bandcamp. Each EP they’ve released thus far has been nothing short of phenomenal, even if they do draw excessive comparisons to the Walkmen. I would submit to those people that wearing your influences on your sleeve and being overtly derivative are two different things. EG walks that fine line quite well in my opinion. Check it out below:
Forget Cassettes released the second in their series of O Cursa EPs. This second offering of songs is a little meaner/grittier than the first, with the 3rd track “Tearin’ Up A House” reminding me a lot of the old Forget Cassettes. Check it out below:
Last, but most certainly not least, Caitlin Rose has announced her second full length album, to be titled The Stand-In. It’s due out Feb. 25th, 2013 in the UK via Names Records, and March 5th in the US via ATO Records. She worked with producers Jordan Lehning (of the Non-Commissioned Officers) and Skylar Wilson this time around, and the songs were a much more collaborative effort than ever before. Looking forward to it! Check out the lead track “No One to Call” below:
Self to reunite for benefit show on Dec. 29th!
November 8, 2012
I knew the day would eventually come- the day that Matt Mahaffey, one of my all-time musical heroes, would get his defunct band/project Self back together on a stage. That day has finally arrived! It was announced today that Self will indeed finally return to the stage on Dec. 29th to play a benefit show at the Exit/In with Forget Cassettes. The show benefits the Music for Life Alliance, an organization that supports music education for kids who might not otherwise have access to it. I’m very curious as to who Matt will enlist for the band. I’ve no doubt Seth Timbs of Fluid Ounces/Seth Timbs Thing/Hot New Singles will be involved, but other than it’s anybody’s guess as to how many of the original members will be down for it.
Tickets go on sale 11/15 via the Exit/In website.
Zombies Unite! Undead Underground party tomorrow night!
October 25, 2012
Tomorrow night there will be an epic Halloween party, and you’re invited! Yes, Erica of 615 Design has opened her awesome theatrical set design studio for the second year in row to host the Zombie Unite! Undead Underground party! This year the party’s entertainment features my band Scale Model, Girls & Money, and DJs Burgers and Sex Gravy. We also have the Latin Wagon food truck, FREE BEER (with a donation to Hike for the Homeless Team Hotsteppers), and a professional zombie makeup artist onsite! Trust me- this is the coolest space you can imagine for a Halloween party, complete with a huge creepy-ass fake tree from one of Erica’s past set designs. Did I mention it’s totally FREE to get in? Yeah, it’s free. Here’s the full rundown:
Zombies Unite! Undead Underground
at 615 Design: 1015 W. Kirkland Ave, Suite 310
Bands: Scale Model and Girls & Money
DJs: Burgers and Sex Gravy
Latin Wagon food truck, FREE BEER w/ charitable donation
Professional makeup artist onsite
Starts at 9pm, NO COVER
Forget Cassettes: O Cursa I out now
October 17, 2012
Yesterday marked the release of the first of three new EPs from Forget Cassettes. It’s very exciting to see EG Cameron getting this long-awaited new material out there. You can get via the official Forget Cassettes website. These songs are a stark departure from the guitar and heavy rhythm-driven material of the last two FC albums. Dark, moody, atmospheric and spacious, this new material still showcases Beth’s tender and sometimes even fragile voice, even though it’s sometimes buried in a wash of delay and reverb. The effects and electronic sounds work well with overall mood of the songs, and though it’s a departure from her previous material, it’s a departure that makes sense. Be sure to check out the EP release show this Saturday Oct. 20th at Exit/In, where they’ll be joined by By Lightning! and Poly.
Those Darlins are back w/ a new song, Spilt 7″ w/ Heavy Cream
October 2, 2012
Those Darlins are returning to the spotlight with their first new song since founding member Kelley Anderson left the group. Jessi Darlin sings lead on the new track, which has a strong, driving backbeat with tons of hand claps a gang vocals. The single is available digitally now on iTunes, and the split 7″ with Heavy Cream will only be available on vinyl at their upcoming tour dates:
10-06 Dallas, TX – Bryan Street Tavern’s Anniversary %
10-07 Austin, TX – The Mohawk:Indoors^ *Summer’s Dead Tour begins*
10-25 Washington, DC – DC9*
10-26 Brooklyn, NY – Glasslands Gallery*
10-27 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s*#
10-28 Allston, MA – Great Scott*
10-30 Toronto, ON – The Garrison*
10-31 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern*@
11-01 Chicago, IL – Schuba’s Tavern*
11-02 Grinnell, IA – Grinnell College: Gardner Lounge*
11-03 Minneapolis, MN – 7th St. Entry*
11-06 Seattle, WA – Sunset*
11-07 Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios*
11-09 San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Shop*+
11-10 West Hollywood, CA – Troubador*+
11-11 San Diego, CA – Soda Shop*
11-13 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge*
* w/ Heavy Cream
^ w/Bobby Jealousy
# w/Slutever
@ w/The Very Knees
+ w/Pangea
% w/Turbo Fruits, White Mystery, and Royal Bangs
Check out the new track “Summer’s Dead” below:
steve cross loves music and science 