JR/SR kicks off tonight/Bonnaroo Schedule revealed
May 21, 2010
Those Darlins at Bonnaroo 2009
In case you haven’t paid any attention to the interwebs the past day or two, the Bonnaroo schedule is now up. Check it out and make your own customized schedule. The Road to Bonnaroo winners are mostly on the Troo Music Lounge stage (where they were last year) except for How I Became the Bomb, who are playing at Cafe Where?. I’m unfamiliar with this… venue… as I never went there in my past 2 years of covering Bonnaroo. It’s a little lame that HIBTB, Non Comms, and Space Capone are all 3 on Sunday, while Caitlin Rose is on Thursday, but whatevs.
Tonight boasts a pretty good offering of good shows in Nashville. There’s the all-ages Nobunny/Pujol show at Third Man Records, but get there early- shit starts at 6pm. Then there’s Tristen/The Goldroom/Hammertorch/Hands Down Eugene at The End. The thing I’m most looking forward to 
tonight, however, is the new monthly (I think) party called JR/SR at the multi-purpose/art space Open Lot. It’s being organized by some of the same folks who brought you the La Paz dance parties a few months back. After the La Paz owners were assholes to said people, I suggested Open Lot as a possible venue for future parties/shows/etc… after reading about it in The Rabbit. Looks like it worked out, as tonight’s party boasts a killer lineup of DJs- Justin Kase, Potamus, and Secret Name, as well as full sets from Majestico and Fly Golden Eagle. Check out the facebook event page for more details.
Saturday’s show offerings look good as well- the biggest being the Those Darlins/Natural Child/Pujol/So Jazzy show at Mercy Lounge. Nikki Darlin recently took a spill and broke her arm after a show due to a dangerous combination of booze, cowboy boots, and a grassy field. Being a traveling musician/performer, she of course has no health insurance and thus faces overwhelming medical expenses, thus this show will feature some notable other local musicians filling in for her on banjolele. I’m assuming she’ll still be able to sing. The money from the show will go towards her medical expenses. Then there’s the Kelly Kerr & the Distractions album release show at FooBar… I wrote up a little review of his album last week.
The party doesn’t stop there, as local publicity stunt-whiz Brandon Jazz of the Armed Forces will be following the Westboro Baptist Church assholes around on their mini-tour of Nashville churches sunday morning, playing his song “Radical Luv” over and over in hopes of drowning them out. If I can force myself out of bed early enough Sunday morning I’ll be with them taking some pics. Read more about it at Nashville Cream.
I also find it hilarious that every music blog has been all “OMG!!! 20 SECONDS OF THE NEW ARCADE FIRE ALBUM!!! AAAHHHEEEEE!!!”
Have a great weekend!
New sElf song!
May 19, 2010
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the band sElf, and the mastermind behind the project, Matt Mahaffey. That’s why I’m jumping up and down with joy that he’s finally released a new track, “Could You Love Me Now?”. Matt announced the update through the sElf myspace, facebook, and twitter today. This song is a light, fun, minimal production and bring to mind warm summer mornings. In other words, perfect for right now, so go buy it on Amazon NOW. (Screw iTunes and their DRM files!) Seriously, this is the most exciting day in many, many years for sElf fans. Somewhere down the road, hopefully sooner than later, there will be a new album as well. Matt also did a video for this new song, which will premier on MTVU on June 10th.
Another thing that made me very happy today was hearing that one of our favorite New Zealand pop culture imports, Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords, is working on not one, but TWO new movies. The first is a comedy in which he co-stars with Steve Carell called Dinner for Schmucks. The other is… drum roll…. Men In Black III. Yes, Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, and Jemaine Clement all together on the screen, and Clement plays the villian, nonetheless! Sign me up! (Via Kottke.org)
DJ A-Trak’s Dirty South Dance 2 mixtape is officially available for free download today via his Bandcamp. This mix follows up his 2007 release Dirty South Dance, and continues his style of blending popular hip hop vocal lines with more electro/dance beats. Personally I’m a fan just about everything he does, but then again who isn’t? Dude is one of the most well-respected DJs in the world right now. Just go grab the mix and enjoy. (Via A-Trak’s blog)
Speaking of DJs and dancing, Justin Kase is apparently planning a revival of the post-Buddytown/pre-Happy Valley era Youth Group parties at a yet-to-be-disclosed new location. Kase is planning to move to L.A. this September, thus the emphasis on making the most of this summer. More info will posted here as soon as I know it, but I’m sure it’ll be well-publicized.
Tonight is the final Road to Bonnaroo 8 off 8th at Mercy Lounge. Come early and stay late, and cast your vote not based on who you’re friends with, but who fucking rocks your face off. I’ll be there shooting pics as usual. Lineup is: Heartbeater, My Tyger, Pico Vs. Island Trees, Delta Saints, Space Capone, Cheer Up Charlie Daniels, And The Relatives, and Deep Fried Five.
On a side note- if you’re in Nashville, please check your property for standing/stagnant water. The recent floods combined with the typical hot/humid summer weather will make the mosquito population explode this year, so if we don’t take measures to prevent them from breeding, we may be in for one very itchy, West-Nile virus-ridden summer. Mosquitoes breed in even the smallest areas of standing water- empty flower pots, buckets, old tires, etc… All you have to do is simply empty them out after it rains, or put them in a place where they won’t collect rainwater. If you (like Megan and me) use a rain barrel to water your lawn/garden/flowers, you can get tablets at any gardening store that when dissolved in said rain barrel, will prevent mosquitoes from breeding in the water. I like summer for the most part, but I absolutely dread dealing with mosquitoes every year. I’m cursed with a pretty significant reaction to their bites, and they usually leave me with a quarter-size whelp that lasts a couple of weeks. So, for your own sanity and the sake of everyone else’s, PLEASE take measures to minimize the mosquito population this summer! For more info read this article from WKRN.
First of all, I was very happy to hear that Nashville’s own Arnold Myint, head chef and owner of P.M., Cha Cha, and Suzy Wong’s House of Yum, has made it to the next season of Top Chef, which will begin airing on Bravo on June 16th. More info on that at the Tennessean. (Via Nashvillest twitter)
Now for what to do this weekend:
Friday there’s a helluva one-two punch at the Cannery/Mercy Lounge. Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings will be soulin’ it up downstairs while My So-Called Band will be igniting your 90’s nostalgia upstairs. I’ll be shooting the Sharon Jones show, then DJing some 90’s jock jams after MSCB. So please do head over to Mercy and keep on dancin’ after the show.
Saturday is all about the rockabilly as Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers, Pine Hill Haints, and The Clutters invade Mercy Lounge.
This Nashvillest post also has several flood benefits going on this weekend. Be sure to check one of those out.
I’ll go ahead and mention that this coming Monday is the final installment of the Road to Bonnaroo series, featuring Space Capone, My Tyger, Heartbeater, Deep Fried Five, And The Relatives, Delta Saints, Pico Vs. Island Trees, and Cheer Up Charlie Daniels. This one should be interesting.
Also worthy of mention, the Nashville’s Dead kids did a pretty cool video interview segment with Pujol and friends, complete with guitar amps in the middle of the road… and lots of luv. Check it below:
Kelly Kerr is what most would call a “veteran” of the Murfreesboro music scene. This guy has been around for years, played in tons of bands, was involved with the now-defunct Vacant Cage Records, and had a steady stream of solo projects. He even started a small brewing company called Bucket City Brew (which is part of the reason I started brewing). His latest project is called Kelly Kerr & The Distractions, and it’s easily his most notable endeavor. They are about to release their 2nd album, titled Chronological Disorder: How to Pass History in 13 Easy Steps, next week on May 11th. The album is comprised of songs all about various topics in US history, and is his best work to date. The recording quality is better than anything I’ve heard from him before, and the songs are all well-produced. Snag the track “Eli Whitney” below, and go to their Bandcamp page to get two other free tracks. Also check out their official website for some clever video commercials, show listings, etc… The album release show is May 22nd at Foobar, and will feature supporting acts Superstar Machine (Seth Graves’ official new chillwave project), and Streetlight Allstars.
Kelly Kerr & The Distractions- Eli Whitney
This weekend has a lot of good shows, most of which are benefits for victims of the recent flood disaste:
First of all, I have to plug my own band’s show this Saturday at the End. It’s Powerbrrrd’s first show in many months and while I’d like to say that we’ve been holed-up recording all this time, that is not the case. We’ve just been lazy, and getting a new drummer (I moved to bass and guitar), Jesse Baker. This show also serves as Diarrhea Planet’s EP release. Also playing- Frank the Fuck Out, Spanish Candles, and Bad Cop. Seriously, this one y’all don’t want to miss! Of course, it IS a flood benefit, so that $5 you pay at the door all goes to Hands on Nashville.
Tonight: The art space/zine shop/venue collective known as Little Hamilton is having some money woes, and are thus having a benefit show tonight to help raise $$$ so they can pay their rent. It’s a dance party featuring DJ Jade Payne and others, and starts at 9pm. 1318 Little Hamilton St.
Also tonight- Space Capone’s CD release party w/ Mikky Ekko @ Mercy Lounge.
Sunday there’s another great flood benefit show happening at Rocketown. This one will feature a shitload of bands, including Heavy Cream, Daniel Pujol, So Jazzy, Ben Steine’s Money, Big Surr, and many more. Important: this one is at Rocketown’s NEW LOCATION of 522 5th Ave South.
If you missed the awesome flood benefit show this past Wed. night at Mercy Lounge as I did, check out Nashville Cream’s Spin review of it. They also have some nice footage of it there, too.
Have a great weekend!
Nashville Flood photos/volunteer info
May 4, 2010
The flood waters that have turned Nashville into “Nashlantis” came close to our house but thankfully spared us. There are many, MANY who were not so lucky, so first and foremost I want to direct you to this post on Nashvillest, where they are continuously and tirelessly updating info about where volunteers are needeed, where they’re not, where supplies are needed, where they’re not, and just about anything else about how to help. Seriously, those girls deserve a medal of honor for their awesome work aggregating information and putting it all in one easy place. Morgan/Christy- I’m buying you both a drink next time I see you out. If manual labor is not your thing, the best thing you can do right now is CONSERVE WATER. As of now the water supply is perfectly fine and safe to drink, however officials are concerned that with one water treatment plant flooded and another threatened, Nashville may end up with a clean water shortage. LIMIT YOUR WATER USAGE TO ONLY THE ABSOLUTE NECESSITIES. WHEN YOU TAKE SHOWERS, LIMIT THEM TO 3 MINUTES OR LESS, AND DON’T USE DISHWASHERS OR LAUNDRY WASHING MACHINES. DON’T EVEN WADE THROUGH FLOOD WATER UNLESS YOU HAVE TO, BECAUSE IT IS LIKELY CONTAMINATED WITH RAW SEWAGE.
Relating this to the local music scene: there will be many benefit shows in the next few weeks, the first of which is happening at Mercy Lounge tomorrow (Wed.) night. They have turned their Cinco De Mayo party into a benefit show, and it will feature Paper Route, How I Became the Bomb, the Dozen Dimes, Hillbilly Casino, and possibly more. Please come out and donate some $$$ to help out. Also, my band Powerbrrrd had our first show in many months booked this Sat. May 8th at the End, and we’ve all decided to turn it into a benefit show as well. Other bands are Diarrhea Planet, Frank the Fuck Out, and Bad Cop, and Spanish Candles. We’re gonna try to start right at 9 since we’ve got 5 bands. It’s Diarrhea Planet’s EP release show as well.
If you’re interested in some of the statistics on this event, check out this public information statement from the National Weather Service containing most of the records that were set/broken this past weekend.
In dire times like these, it’s good to lighten the load on your mind for a minute and just laugh at something. So in case you haven’t already seen it, I give you the Great Nashville Weather Penis.
Here are a few select photos I took Sunday and Monday at the Farmer’s Market and in my neighborhood in north Nashville. The full set is on my flickr.
New Silver Seas/weekend shows
April 30, 2010
First of all, I apologize for a lack of posts this week. The first half of the week I was just being lazy, and the latter half I’ve been stricken with a wicked cold. But I’m doing much better today.
A few years ago when I had a radio show on 88.3 WMTS Murfreesboro, I did an interview with Daniel Tashian of The Silver Seas (who were then known as The Bees U.S.). They had just released a wonderful album called High Society, but since the release of that album they’ve kept a somewhat low profile. Now they’re finally gearing up the release of their next album Chateau Revenge, and you can actually order the album now in digital version only. The CD version will release July 6th. Though I haven’t heard the full album yet, you can stream snippets of the songs on their official website for the release. They’ve also released one track, called The Best Things In Life, for free. This song is simply pop perfection… I don’t know what else to say. In my humble opinion, it’s a perfectly executed, perfectly produced pop song. It was stuck in my head literally after the very first time I listened to it. The polished production fits perfectly with the songwriting style, and never crosses into “over-produced” territory. A full review of this record may come in a later post, but for now snag the mp3 below and put it on repeat. (Via We Own This Town)
The Silver Seas-The Best Things In Life
There are lots of good shows happening in Nashville this weekend, here are a few that stuck out to me:
Friday: Local Natives and Sucker @ The Basement; Treasure Fingers w/ Coach, Hands Off Sam, and Potamus @ Mai. (Treasure Fingers is effing amazing, if you into electronic/dance music at all, don’t miss this show!)
Saturday: Pretty Lights @ Limelight
Sunday: Avid Gardener, How Cozy!, Day Kids, Pharmacy Spirits, Conestyle, and Deluxin’ @ Little Hamilton.
Have great weekend!
sElf on iTunes/some funny shit
April 28, 2010
I’m allowed to be a lazy blogger every once-in-a-while, right? Yea, sorry for the lack of posts this week.
The music news item of the day is actually nothing new at all… but still very important to me. For some bizarre reason I have missed out on the fact that sElf’s masterpiece Gizmodgery is on iTunes! Furthermore, their somewhat-rare Half-Baked Serenade is on there as well! I already have both of these albums, but for quite some time they were difficult to come by. sElf/Matt Mahaffey are/is among my top favorite bands/artists of all time. Quite simply, if you aren’t familiar with the band or the man, then you have a massive hole in your music collection/knowledge and you must remedy that problem immediately by going to self-centered.org. There’s actually a ton of his music for free download there, and just about everything you need to fill that hole. I feel compelled to also point out that Gizmodgery was recorded using ALL toy instruments. Keep that in mind when listening to it and allow that fact to further the extent to which your mind gets blown. Ok, stepping down off my sElf soapbox.
My only other offerings to you right now are these two amusing images:
Via Davis
Via Kelly via The Oatmeal
Weekend shows & weather
April 23, 2010
This weekend is actually pretty good in terms of live music in Nashville. Here’s what’s on my radar:
The biggest story tonight and tomorrow is probably Rites of Spring at Vanderbilt, featuring the awesome one-two punch of Phoenix and Passion Pit. The full lineup is at the RoS website, but the only bands I’m even remotely interested in seeing are those two, and maybe Two Door Cinema Club. I will be there taking pics for the Scene as usual.
Friday: If outdoors festivals aren’t your thing, Chicken Ranch Records out of Austin, TX is doing a badass showcase at the Basement featuring The Clutters, We Were The States, Tiger Tiger, and Jimmy Duke & the Riot.
Saturday: If outdoor festivals aren’t your thing and afterparties are, you’ll want to head to 12th & Porter where the weekly Y2K DJs Coach and Hands off Sam will be joined by none other than members of Passion Pit, who will have (or not, depending on the weather) played Rites of Spring earlier that evening. DJ Potamus is also on the bill. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Passion Pit’s DJ sets- they did at least a few of them at SXSW this year.
Sunday: Peelander-Z w/ Tim Chad and Sherry & The Man Power at Exit/In. I saw Peelander-Z there a couple years ago and it was a blast. The bass player was literally hanging upside-down from the balcony. Just be prepared for some major crowd participation if you go.
Another big story this weekend is the weather. As you can see from the NWS severe weather outlook to the right, we’re in the “moderate risk” category for severe storms on saturday. The current thinking is that some storms will beigin to roll in very late tonight, sometime between 11pm and 3am, and hopefully not drenching tonight’s Rites of Spring festivities. Then the real action will start up saturday morning and basically be a threat all day long, into the evening. This is not just a few storms with a little hail and some wind, there is also a good possibility of tornadoes, and that’s why I have a strong feeling much of saturday’s Rites activities will end up getting canceled altogether. I can only hope for their sake that the threat passes by the evening AND that no damage is done to the stage/equipment so that the headliners can at least still play.
Important weather things to remember for saturday: The Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma issues severe weather watches. A watch is for a large area of land and means that conditions are favorable for severe weather to occur, but it is not an immediate threat. Our local National Weather Service office issues severe weather warnings. A warning is usually for a county or even just a city area and means that severe weather is actually occurring and will hit your area soon, so take cover. There’s always confusion on Vanderbilt’s campus regarding the on-campus vs. the downtown Nashville tornado sirens as well. Here’s how it works: the downtown Nashville siren goes off if there is a tornado warning issued for anywhere in Davidson County. The Vandy campus siren only goes off if a tornado warning is issued that specifically includes downtown Nashville. Thus, sometimes the downtown siren will go off and the Vandy campus one won’t (example: a warning issued for SE Davidson Co./LaVergne), and frankly it confuses the hell out of people on the Vandy campus. But that’s how it works.
Please be safe and heed all warnings this weekend!
Many congrats to Ms. Caitlin Rose on her victory at last night’s Road to Bonnaroo: part 3 at Mercy Lounge. She will join the Non-Commissioned Officers, How I Became the Bomb, and the winner of round 4 at Bonnaroo this summer. I was honestly a little bit surprised by the outcome, because anyone who’s attended these events before knows that flashy stage shows and crazy outfits often win the night, and both Dozen Dimes and Majestico had their fair share of stage flair. Mikky Ekko had some face paint but I call bullshit on that one- because it looks almost exactly like that of Man Man. However, Caitlin’s sheer talent and musicianship carried her to the top. Even more surprising was that she won the crowd vote, but came in 2nd in the judge vote. Usually the crowd is more easily swayed by the stage flair. It just goes to show the virtue of pure talent and musicianship. My pics from the event are on the Nashville Cream.
The main music tidbit today comes from De Novo Dahl. They spontaneously have decided to offer their new album Tigerlion for free download on their bandcamp today only. Get it while it’s hot!
steve cross loves music and science 