Also of note, according Nashville Cream’s post on this same topic, HP Witchcraft is former Wooden Wand frontman James Jackson Toth’s new project with Bingham Barnes of Glossary and Tyler Coppage of We Were The States.
Check out this unreleased demo track from The Whole Fantastic World:
The Whole Fantastic World-Colussus
According to Stereogum, Pavement will be headlining the Pitchfork music festival this coming July. I can’t imagine that they’d be willing to do that and then pass up on opportunities such as Coachella and Bonnaroo. Of course I sincerely hope the latter becomes reality. Unless something drastic changes between now and then, I’ll probably be there again this year covering for the Scene, and since I’ve never seen the band live, I really hope they end up at Bonnaroo. An actual Nashville appearance wouldn’t hurt, either.
Kings of Leon NOT opening for The Features/New Morning Benders
January 11, 2010
I don’t know where these rumors get started, but don’t get your hopes about Kings of Leon opening for The Features at Exit/In Feb. 5th. My inside sources say the rumor isn’t true, and that the probable openers will be Majestico and Cortney Tidwell. So chill out, people! It would be rather hilarious if it were true, as most Nashville rock scene purists have said for years that the roles of The Features and Kings of Leon should be swapped. Also if it were true, Elliston Place would be a total clusterfuck that night. Who knows, though, maybe a Followill or two will be hanging out backstage? Oddly enough, Hipster Runoff mentioned KOL in a weekend post about the future of Bro music and Bro fashion. He has a point.
Update: apparently the Nashville Cream did some digging at the exact same time I did, because just as I was about to hit “publish” they posted an update saying the same thing.
One of my favorite recent/new-ish bands for the past year or so has been The Morning Benders. I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend their full-length Talking Through Tin Cans from last year, and am happy to see them prepping a new LP for release this spring. It will be called Big Echo and will hit the market on March 9th. They were kind enough to release a new track from it called Promises and you can grab it for the price of your email address at their website, or just go grab it at You Ain’t No Picasso.
Goodbye aughts: stuff to do tonight
December 31, 2009
So it’s New Year’s Eve. Inevitably everything in this post is somehow related to that fact. First of all, what to do tonight. Since I’m working the Generation Domination photobooth at Mercy Lounge’s “Happy Endings” party tonight, I must plug that first. But plugging is kinda pointless at this point, because if you haven’t already gotten tix, you’re pretty much SOL. According to a facebook message from 1:10am last night (this morning), there is only 1 VIP package left. The VIP package is for four people. Email drew@mercylounge.com for details. But honestly, it’s probably already gone by the time you read this. For a very visual representation of what else to do this NYE, check out the Nashville Scene’s official NYE flow chart:
Click through to see the bigger version at Nashville Cream
Nashville Is Dead has some details on a few select shows as well, most notably the (unofficial) Infinity Cat NYE show at the End.
Also of interest, i09 gives you ten reasons to live through the next decade. Among my favs: Ridley Scott’s return to sci-fi filmmaking, green development and progress toward 100% renewable energy, the LHC and possibility of finding the Higgs-Boson particle, and I totally agree with their #1 choice being the Mars Science Laboratory. I would, however, add to that the joint Mars program between NASA and ESA that I mentioned yesterday.
Now here’s the video to George Harrison’s “Got My Mind Set On You” just for kicks, via Yewknee’d.
Happy New Year, and we’ll see you next week!
BFF tonight/weekend stuff/Battle Pod 4
December 18, 2009
Obviously the big story today is that the 4th BFF (featuring myself and Fan Fiction DJing) is happening tonight at Mad Donna’s! This month we’ve decided to add beer specials to the mix, but the bar hasn’t told me what they’ll be yet. But get there before midnight to take advantage of that. Oh, and this time we have a fog machine to enhance your dancing experience. Mad Donna’s is on the east side, just a blog past 5-points on Woodland. It’s at the corner of Woodland & 14th St. across from Lipstick Lounge. In case you missed my last post, be sure to download my latest mix- the Burgers Winter 09 MIXXXX. For a tracklisting see my last post. And for a sampling of Fan Fiction’s style, just check his awesome music blog Nashville Nights. For even more info on this and more BFF’s in the future, join our Facebook group!
If you’re not feeling the east side, or not feeling the dancing vibe, my band Powerbrrrd is also playing Matt Friction’s Christmas on the Block show at Exit/In tonight. We’ll be on 2nd in a pretty awesome lineup of your favorite local bands playing Christmas tunes. But obviously I’ll be speeding over to Mad Donna’s right after we play to do BFF.
It should also be noted that Jeremy Ferguson, who runs the Battletapes recording studio, has posted his 4th “Battle Pod” podcast. It features some lovely Christmas covers by Lylas, Tristen, Jonas Stein (from Turbo Fruits), and others. Go grab it now.
Other weekend stuff:
Saturday: Holly House Winter Formal @ Mercy Lounge. This show will feature Tristen, Caitlin Rose, Eureka Gold, Shoot the Mountain, Non-Commissioned Officers, and more, all playing in each other’s bands covering various Christmas songs and whatnot. I’ll be doing a photobooth, and it’s part of Mercy’s 2nd annual “Winter of Dreamz” sponsored by Sweetwater. Oh, and there’s an indoor snow machine…
By then I’ll be so tired I won’t care anymore, so that’s it for this weekend.
Burgers winter 09 mixxxx/Morning Benders album due in 2010
December 16, 2009
The official DJ Burgers Winter 09 Mixxxx is here! Download it now and get ready to party down with Fan Fiction & Me this Friday at the 4th installment of BFF at Mad Donna’s! (Mad Donna’s is at 1313 Woodland St. in East Nashville, just a block past 5 points and across from Lipstick Lounge.) There will FOG MACHINES. There will be CRAZY LIGHTS. And most importantly, there will be BEER SPECIALS UNTIL MIDNIGHT! (More on the beer specials soon…)
Tracklisting:
Bag Raiders- Shooting Stars (Shazam Dub mix)
Lindstrom & Christabelle- Baby Can’t Stop (Aeroplane RMX)
Yolanda Be Cool- Afro Nuts (DCUP RMX)
Little Boots- Earthquake (Treasure Fingers RMX)
Ke$ha- Tik Tok (Fred Falke Radio RMX)
A-Trak & Arman Van Helden present Duck Sauce- Anyway
Busta Rhymes Ft. T-Pain- Hustler’s Anthem (Bit Funk RMX)
Fukkk Offf- More Than Friends (Markus Lange & Stereofunk RMX)
The Cataracs- Club Love (Nick Catchdubs & Proper Villains RMX)
Dan the Automator-Rapper’s Delight (TEPR Remix)
Golden Bug- Assassin
Bloody Beetroots ft. Cool Kids- Awesome
Some other random tidbits for today:
Ridley Scott directed a remake of Robin Hood that’s due to hit theaters sometime next year. It stars Russel Crowe and Cate Blanchett…. and judging from the trailer I think I’ll end up preferring the Kevin Costner version… See it at Apple movie trailers. (Via Kottke)
One of the few “new” bands that I’ve been head-over-heels for is the Morning Benders. I LOVED their 2008 album Talking Through Tin Cans, and I just found via You Ain’t No Picasso that they’re prepping their next LP Big Echo for release on March 9, 2010 through Rough Trade. Next year is going to be FULL of good releases….
R.I.P. Flight of the Conchords/Private Dancer
December 14, 2009
Credit: John Behm via Private Dancer's myspace
Last friday night at the 5 Spot was the first Apollo Up! show in many years, and I showed up ready for some serious mid-aughts nostalgia. My enthusiasm was somewhat stifled by the first band which had a name too long to remember and sounded like Warped Tour circa 1999. Thank goodness Minneapolis’ Private Dancer was up next. As I enthusiastically told the band after their show, it’s been a LONG-ASS time since I’ve seen a band that I knew nothing about and was totally amazed. Try as I might, I find it very hard to describe exactly why I liked them so much… I just did. It’s true, their overall sound is pretty similar to a lot of garage-y 60’s and 70’s revivalists currently flooding the market, but something about them just really clicked with me. I strongly suggest checking them out. No, seriously… CHECK THESE GUYS OUT. To whet your appetite, here’s She’s A Company Man from their debut album Trouble Eyes.
Private Dancer-She’s A Company Man
Of course, Apollo Up! was awesome and Jay Leo Phillips’ guitar tone peeled my scalp as always. For a better review of the show, check out the Cream.
Some sad news came from Stereogum and Pitchfork today. Flight of the Conchords is officially dead. There will be no 3rd season. I’m quite sure we haven’t seen the last of Jemaine and Brett, however, and I look forward to seeing what they do next.
Lilith Fair is making a comeback next year and the lineup is rather interesting. It includes a few names that seem a little out-of-place at first glance: the Submarines, Metric, Janell Monae, Chairlift and Ke$ha…. yes, Ke$ha- the Nashville-L.A. transplant who has our own Justin Kase as her DJ. (Via Music Photographers forum)
Weekend stuff/DAAS/Turbo Fruits get p-forked/beer
December 11, 2009
The A.V. Club takes a look at some of 2009’s strangest/craziest/most ridiculous band names. Some of my favs- Bitches With Instruments, the Whore Moans, Pabst Smear, Gay for Johnny Depp, the Christopher Walk-Ins, OMG! Check it out.
Turbo Fruits’ latest album Echo Kid got a 6.4 on Pitchfork today. I’m a little surprised at how late they reviewed this record considering that it’s a Be Your Own Pet-related project, and that Pitchfork lost their shit over both BYOP and the first Turbo Fruits record… (Echo Kid has been out for at least a few months now…) It’s a damn good record though, and I suggest it.
One of my favorite electronic music artists is actually from right here in Nashville- Makeup & Vanity Set, aka Matt Pusti. He’s recently started a side project called DAAS, and the debut album RASLP is available on Bandcamp for free. Go grab it for a blippy, experimental, atmospheric good time. My bandmate and friend Seth Graves has been doing some fantastic video production work recently, and since the two share some influences Pusti asked Seth to do a video for a song from RASLP. The result is a 4 1/2 miutes of data-moshing AWESOMENESS:
That holiday porter I was telling you about a few posts back is now officially ready for consumption. I tried it for the first time last night and while the spices didn’t come through quite as much as I wanted, it’s still by far the best batch of beer I’ve made thus far. You can buy a 6-pack for 6 bucks, just email/facebook/call/come up to me at a show and I’ll hook you up.
As for this weekend, I’m really stoked to be seeing Apollo Up! tonight at the 5 Spot for the first time in several years. They took a hiatus back around 2007 and I’ve missed their awesome live shows ever since. So that’s where we’ll be tonight.
Saturday we’ll be in Murfreesboro to check out the big YEAH benefit show featuring Those Darlins, Six Gun Lullaby, and special VIP storyteller performance from Caitlin Rose. YEAH is pretty much the best thing to happen to youth in middle TN. EVER. So they are more than worth your monetary support, therefore I highly suggest going.
Sunday night I’ll be taking pics and having a total nerd-gasm at the Star Wars interactive/orchestral event Star Wars: In Concert, which is at the Sommet Center (soon-to-be-Nashville Arena).
Other shows of interest:
Friday- La Paz Late Night w/ DJs Potamus and Hippo @ La Paz. Shoot the Mountain, Hands Down Eugene, & Hammertorch @ The End.
Saturday- Brendan Benson & Cory Chisel @ Exit/In (I wish this were on a different night so I could go!).
Have a great weekend!
First and foremost, for my Nashville readers, I must plug my DJ gig tonight at the new La Paz location on Elliston. It’s where Ombi Bar used to be. My friend DJ Potamus is going to be hosting a weekly friday night dance party there, and he’ll be having different guest DJ’s each week. This debut week, it’s me (Burgers). So come out and DANCE BETCHES! Seriously, if not for the hot jamz, come for the drink specials! (FYI- the next BFF is going to be Friday Dec. 18th in case you were wondering…)
It’s been a minute since I mentioned Hipster Runoff. In case you don’t follow Carles on a regular basis, he recently “retired” (aka wrote under the faux names of mike and becca and inevitably made some gullible people think he’d actually retired). But he’s back. Because he was ‘born 2 blog‘.
This has already circulated widely by now but it’s worth mentioning because it’s kinda cute and endearing… David Bowie’s giddy response to his first American fan-letter in 1967. (Via Flux-Rad)
Pitchfork has a pretty interesting reader’s poll going on right now. My favorite part is the “trend you wish would go away” category:
- 90s revivalism (No Age, Japandroids, Cymbals Eat Guitars)
- Afropop indie (Dirty Projectors, Fool’s Gold, Abe Vigoda)
- Animal Collective acolytes (Blind Man’s Colour, Our Brother the Native, USF)
- Balearic (jj, John Talabot, Windsurf/Hatchback)
- Chillwave/glo-fi (Washed Out, Neon Indian, Nite Jewel)
- Dubstep and its offshoots (wonky, funky, bassline)
- Post-Lily Allen UK pop (La Roux, Little Boots, Florence and the Machine)
- Prim, buttoned-up indie (Grizzly Bear, Andrew Bird, St. Vincent)
- Shitgaze/lo-fi aesthetics (Times New Viking, Wavves, Vivian Girls)
I had a pretty hard time with that one… as most of them are actually trends I wish would go away. Except for the 90’s revivalism one… but that’s mostly just me being a) nostalgic and b) in a band doing just that… kinda. (List via Brooklyn Vegan)
Speaking of 90’s nostalgia… My So-Called Band returns to the stage this Saturday at the Exit/In. I may or may not be DJing some 90’s jock jams in between/after sets…
See you tonight at La Paz!
New She & Him due in 2010/photo exhibit update
December 1, 2009
I totally drank the She & Him koolaid in 2008 and I don’t regret it for a minute. I love everything about that album, and not just because Zooey Deschanel… AHEM… Gibbard… is the singer. Good news came today via Stereogum and TwentyFourBit that S&H have a new record done and ready for release in early 2010. Kinda surprising that Stereogum didn’t mention S&H in their most anticipated albums of 2010. Seriously though… new shit from MGMT? The Avalanches? LCD Soundsystem? Spoon? HELL YES 2010 is gonna kick 2009’s ass.
Just a quick note: just confirmed last night that I’ll be guest DJing at La Paz‘s new location this friday night with DJ Potamus. The new location is where Ombi Bar used to be. (2214 Elliston Pl.) Please do come out and have blast with us. I’m bringin’ some hot new jamz, and Potamus always kills it.
Also, my photography exhibit at Vanderbilt is coming down soon (Dec. 11th), so if you want to see it, I’d suggest coming one night this week or next. Night is best because Vanderbilt parking is slightly less of a nightmare then. It’s in the Sarratt Student Center. Google map here. Rather than wandering around trying to find the Rand Promenade, just ask the front desk attendant for directions. If you’ve ever been to WRVU, it’s in the same building.
I have a batch of winter ale in the bottles now. It’ll be ready in a couple of weeks… I’m pretty sure it’s going to be my best batch yet because it smells really good. I basically took a pre-made Porter recipe and added some winter spices to it.
My birthday bash/3rd BFF tonight!
November 20, 2009
Only one thing worth mentioning today:
Come to the 3rd BFF tonight at Mad Donna’s! It’s doubling as my birthday bash (yes, I’ve been alive 28 years), and our special guest DJ is Makeup & Vanity Set (aka Matt Pusti, aka one of my all-time favorite electronic music artists). This is definitely one you don’t want to miss! Fan Fiction has returned to the lineup and will kick things off, with me (Burgers) in the middle, and MAVS closing things out. We’ll be going till last call so if you’re going to the Mountain Goats show, by all means, make BFF your official afterparty!
As it was last month, it’s FREE if you’re 21+, and $3 if you’re 18-20. Please do come.
steve cross loves music and science 