What’s up this weekend?
May 20, 2011
There is not shortage of good music to see this weekend in Nashville. Here’s what made a blip on my radar.
FRIDAY:
Social Distortion w/ Chuck Ragan and Sharks @ the Ryman. 8pm. $35
John Vanderslice w/ Damien Jurado @ the Basement. 9pm $12
SATURDAY:
Bad Cop, The Growlers, Majestico, Mom & Dad @ The End. 9pm $5 (Certain out-of-town media will be there filming, so… you know, it’ll be the place to be.)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. w/ Generationals @ the Basement. 9pm $10
Mogwai w/ Errors @ Exit/In. 9pm $18 adv/$20 DoS
Another few things to note:
–Musician’s Corner in Centennial Park is off to a good start for its second year of existence.
-fEASTival is a new FREE food/music/art festival being held this Saturday the 21st in the 5 Points area of East Nashville. Check out their website for a list of yummy food vendors, beer vendors, and stage lineup which includes such notables as Majestico, Cheer Up Charlie Daniels, the Grayces, and Tiffany. Yes, THAT Tiffany… who a) apparently lives in Nashville now? b) recently starred alongside Debbie Gibson in Megan Python Vs. Gatoroid c) is now doing country music. Whoa.
Have a great weekend!
What’s going on this weekend
May 13, 2011
Jonathan Richman @ the 5 Spot in 2010/Photo by Steve Cross
FRIDAY:
Jonathan Richman (night 1 of 2) @ The 5 Spot. 9pm $12
Naked Without Us presents: Kink Ador, The Ettes, Hans Condor, Baby Daggers, and DJ Jane Dupree @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $10
SATURDAY:
Jonathan Richman (night 2 of 2) @ The 5 Spot. 9pm $12
Naked Without Us presents: Vicious Guns, Hollywood Kills, Blacklist Royals, Details Details, and DJ Cornelainaire @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $10
Across Tundras CD release show w/ Campaign, Red Forest Hunter, and Endamori. 8pm $5. (Across Tundras are some awesome dudes who play heavy-but-not-quite-metal-rock and have an organic farm in Goodlettsville. I recently took some photos of them at their farm for Sean Maloney’s article on them, which will be in either the June or July edition of Cowbell magazine, so look for that.)
SUNDAY:
Vintage motorcycle show at Drifter’s (1008 Woodland St., East Nashville) featuring free music from Heavy Cream, Turbo Fruits, Hans Condor, Useless Eaters, and Double Barrel. 12-8pm
Also worth mentioning, The Exit/In FINALLY FINALLY got themselves a snazzy new website. It was a good 5 years overdue, but better late than never.
Have a great weekend!
The Summer of The Features
May 11, 2011
As reported today on the Nashville Cream, Nashville/Murfreesboro’s hometown heroes The Features are prepping for the release of their 3rd full length album Wilderness on July 26. Their last album Some Kind of Salvation was simply fantastic, but this next one seems as though it will be the “perfect” Features record. I’ve heard absolute rave reviews from the first few local folks who got a promo copy to review, and hopefully *ahem, Rory/Rollum/somebody* I’ll have one to review soon as well. I can remember having a somewhat drunken conversation with producer/vacuum tube wizard Brian Carter one night at Mercy Lounge late last year in which he excitedly said something like “this is the record the guys and I have always wanted to make.” Basically I get the feeling this album was done the way the band wanted to do it, where they wanted to do it, and with whom they wanted to do it. Mad props to the Kings Of Leon for signing them to their own 429 Records and allowing the band to do what they want, when they want, and how they want.
Building up to the release, the first of probably many promotional items to whet our appetite is a 7″ single with the track “Rambo” b/w “This Much I Know.” The video above it a promo for that release, set for May 31st.
Yelp’s “Band of Boozers” this week
May 10, 2011
If you haven’t heard about The Daily Beast’s preposterous proclamation that Nashville is the nation’s most sober city, then you must be utterly disconnected from the internet, as it’s gotten a lot of local blog/media coverage. So much that Yelp, along with the Nashville Scene and many local alcohol-serving establishments have teamed up to dispel such a hideous myth. (BTW, I highly recommend their iPhone/Android app if you’re the type to “check-in” to local hotspots.) There are tons of bars with tons of drink specials all week long, but the main event called “Band of Boozers” is tonight, starting at the Yazoo taproom. Show up at Yazoo at 5pm, drink some of the finest local suds around, then join the 1/2 mile march (gotta burn off those beer calories!) to Mercy Lounge for even more drink deals and entertainment from BETA and the Neon Panthers, plus DJ sets by my pal Vitalic Noise and Wild Cub. I, along with Yelp and everyone actually involved with this, encourage passionate but responsible drinking. Let’s prove these Daily Beasts wrong! If you need more encrouragement, just watch this expert commercial filmed and produced by my pal Seth Graves:
Stuff to do and see this weekend
May 6, 2011
First the music.
FRIDAY:
Shoot the Mountain, Gentlemen Divers, Church of Cleanliness @ the 5 Spot. 9pm $5. Shoot the Mountain has a new drummer- Patrick Rodgers of And The Relatives- and new batch of songs.
Twilight Singers, and Margot & The Nuclear So & So’s @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $15
SATURDAY:
Heartbeater (supporting acts???) @ Brown’s Diner. 8pm $???
Jasmin Kaset w/ Delicate Cutters and Spiderfriends @ the Basement. 9pm $5
The Bohannons w/ Tiger Blood and Sunday Valley @ FooBar. 9pm $???
If you happen to enjoy planes and/or aviation even a little bit, you might want to consider the Great Tennessee Air Show this Sat. and Sun. in Smyrna. When I was a kid, there used to be an airshow every summer at the Tri-Cities Regional Airport and my folks took me every year. I wouldn’t call myself a military enthusiast by any means, but to me the appeal of seeing fighter jets perform highly skilled and intricately choreographed maneuvers is undeniable. These are planes doing stuff you simply will never get to see anywhere else. The main attraction is the Air Force’s Thunderbirds- a team of six F-16s that do some pretty amazing aerobatics. The show is both Sat. and Sun. and only costs $15 if you get your tix today. Conveniently, the tix are good for either day, so if it’s looking a little rainy on Sat. as it may be, you can just wait and go Sun.
JEFF the Brotherhood really are the champions
May 3, 2011
Jake and Jamin of JEFF the Brotherhood are pretty much the luckiest dudes in the world right now, at least in terms of their musical career. The Nashville Cream broke the story just this morning that they and their own label Infinity Cat have struck a deal from heaven with Warner Music Group. Read that Cream post for the deets, but in short, they (both the band and their label) get the $$$ and muscle of WMG while not sacrificing their creative freedom. They can still do what they want, how they want, but with this deal they reach a MUCH wider audience. Not only do they have all this going for them, but they have basically the greatest dad ever- Robert Ellis Orrall. He uses his years of experience in the music industry to help J&J run Infinity Cat, and he’s supported them in every way possible through their various musical endeavours. (Vice Magazine ran a cool little story on that recently.) Way to go, bros. You really are the champions right now. I can personally attest to the fact that these are some of nicest, coolest dudes you’ll ever meet and they couldn’t be more deserving. #Winning all around.
It may take many more days before NWS survey teams can finish their assessment of the damage from the April 27th tornado outbreak, but being the weather nerd that I am, I want to go ahead and share a collection of links where you can find preliminary reports on the tracks and intensities of some of the many twisters that touched down. Note that there is at least one EF-5 (the highest intensity with winds over 200 mph) tornado confirmed, and there could be more upgraded to that status as more damaged is inspected. NWS Memphis survey– covering parts of northern Mississippi. NWS Jackson, MS survey. NWS Hunstville, AL survey. NWS Morristown, TN survey. And finally, this graphic from the NWS Birmingham, AL survey. The most complete graphic I’ve seen:
So that’s the bad. Please make a donation to the American Red Cross or any other legitimate organization providing relief for those devastated by this natural disaster. Now for some good things to lighten the mood.
I will call the news of Osama bin Laden’s assassination good, but I certainly will never rejoice the death of any human being. While I am relieved somewhat, and do feel that justice has been done, I’m quite certain that the assassination itself as well as the celebrations will only give the rest of al-Qaeda even more reason to attack the US and its allies.
In even better and much much much lighter news, Moustache May has begun its final year of activity. I participated back in 2008 and am doing so again this year. Due to some very important meetings happening last week at my work, I was unable to start my stache until Friday, so I’m basically starting with a clean slate. Right now I look utterly creepy but hopefully we’ll get past that stage very soon as it fills in.
I came across this absolutely amazing new music video for the Supermen Lovers’ track “Take A Chance” and decided that it was the best thing to end this post with. Enjoy. (Via Too Many Sebastians)
Shows to see this weekend
April 29, 2011
Here’s what I personally think is worth seeing this weekend:
FRIDAY:
The Pink Spiders, Evan P. Donohue, Devin Robinson, Denny & the Jets @ The End. 9pm $5. Yep, TPS are back, and for more on that check out Adam Gold’s feature on them in this week’s Scene.
SATURDAY:
Those Darlins Screws Get Loose album release party w/ Heavy Cream and Trophy Wife @ Mercy Lounge. $10 (half price tix available at Grimey’s!) Doors 8pm.
The Clutters Breaking Bones album release party w/ Big Surr and DJ Ben Swank of Third Man Records @ The Basement. 9pm
$5.
This is a really tough choice as both shows going to be utterly awesome. Might as well flip a coin?
In other news, the Cream’s “Conference Call” series continues with Evan P. Donohue. Definitely worth a watch or three.
In other other news, the Country Music Marathon is tomorrow and there are a ton of road closures around downtown. As usual, the Nashvillest gals are kickin’ ass and takin’ names by compiling all the info you’ll ever need to avoid crossing paths with the CMM.
Have a great weekend!
Sammy Bananas tonight at Mai/thoughts on the A-Trak show
April 28, 2011
Vitalic Noise is at it again, bringing Fool’s Gold’s own Sammy Bananas to Mai tonight. Mr. Bananas is quite the expert remixer, and made a splash last year with his own original track “Move Your Body.” He’s also one half of Telephoned, though I’ve never been much of a fan of the duo. Other DJ’s are Vitalic Noise and Coach, and Cherub will be performing live on VN’s trademark mobile stage setup. It all goes down tonight at Mai at 10pm and will run you $5 if you’re 21+ or $8 if you’re 18-20.
Speaking of Fool’s Gold, it should be common knowledge that FG is run by the one and only Alain Macklovitch, A.K.A. A-Trak, who played with Kid Sister and Glasslamp Killer at Limelight last Saturday here in Nashville. As far as I know, it was his first visit to Nashville, and I sure hope he doesn’t think the only dance music crowd in town is the glowstick-raver-bro crowd. The outdoor Dayglow festival which was originally scheduled for the previous Friday (4/15) got postponed due to the nasty weather, and the promoter ended up combining that event with the A-Trak/Kid Sister/Glasslamp Killer show. A-Trak killed it, but I can’t help but get the feeling he threw in more hard/ravey-er material than he normally would have, just to appease the crowd of neon glowpaint covered bros in front of him. When the events were combined the ticket prices of the Dayglow event took precedence and thus the ticket price to see A-Trak went from $10 (roughly) to $35. I’m quite sure a lot people who wanted to see the A-Trak show ended up not going, and thus A-Trak ended up playing for a crowd of people who, for the most part, weren’t really fans of his. They still clearly enjoyed it, and hopefully he made a few new fans in the process, but I’m sure he felt a bit… awkward. But honestly this was probably the best possible solution to the problems at hand, and I commend Ultimo for making it all come together. We still got to hear all the staples one would expect in an A-Trak set- the Duck Sauce tunes (including their brand new remix of Chromeo’s “Hot Mess”), some A-Trak remixes such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Heads Will Roll, and some furious scratch work sprinkled here and there.
Back tomorrow with the usual Friday rundown of what to see this weekend.
Shows worth seeing this weekend
April 22, 2011
This weekend is almost as crazy as last weekend in terms of good shows in Nashville. If you don’t get out and see something awesome then there’s just no hope for you.
FRIDAY:
Peelander-Z, Anamanaguchi, Cheap Time, and Diarrhea Planet @ The End. 9pm $5?? Seriously, you should arrive early for this one- it WILL reach capacity. The last few times Peelander-Z has played Nashville it’s been at Exit/In and they filled it up pretty nicely, and with such an awesome cast of supporting acts… this show is going to be beyond insane.
The Kills, Cold Cave, The Entrance Band @ the Cannery. 9pm $15 but it’s SOLD OUT.
SATURDAY:
A-Trak, Kid Sister, Glasslamp Killer @ Limelight. 9pm. This show is now a part of the Dayglow festival, which I don’t know much about, but A-Trak is a living legend. Dude is at the top of his game. He won the DMC World DJ competition at age 15 for heaven’s sake.
Promocalypse ft. DJ Wick-It @ the Cannery/Reagan Rock Prom ft. Yacht Rock Revue @ Mercy Lounge. Cannery row is just prom-tastic this weekend apparently…
Have a great weekend!
steve cross loves music and science 