Shows to see this weekend
July 15, 2011
My life is being dominated by Tennessee Teens Rock & Roll Camp, for which I’ve been volunteering all week, so this will be a quick one:
FRIDAY:
The Greatest Decade Vol. III: A Tribute to 70’s Glam Rock @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $5. This will be one glam-tastic evening featuring several allstar/one-off collaborations between members of Superdrag, the Shazam, Matt Friction and more.
PUJOL, Demon Beat, Ranch Ghost, Leather Nightmare @ Mt. Swag. 7pm $3 All-ages.
SATURDAY:
Toro Y Moi, Coma Cinema, Tallest Trees @ The End. 9pm $12
Nobunny, Useless Eaters, Slammers, (insert random local band that always gets added to Springwater shows last-minute) @ Springwater. 10pm 21+ $??
Johnny Corndawg, Andrew Combs, Nikki Lane @ The Basement. 9pm 21+ $5
And of course: Tennessee Teens Rock & Roll Camp showcase @ Mercy Lounge. DOORS @ 2:30pm SHOW @ 3pm. I know that’s insanely early for most of you, but trust me when I say it’s worth the effort! I’ve been working with these kids all week long and they have some very impressive talent. We also have an amazing array of raffle prizes including 2 VIP passes to NBN’s Soundland, a Daisy Rock electric guitar, signed posters & CDs from Those Darlins, OK Go, Old 97’s, and Black Joe Lewis, a prize pack from Antique Archeology (aka American Pickers) and so much more.
SUNDAY:
Spongebath Records Night @ The Basement, Ft. Self (acoustic Matt Mahaffey), Seth Timbs Thing, Jason Moore + special guests. Now that Matt Mahaffey is living in Franklin hopefully awesome things like this will happen more often. This will be blissful nostalgia for possibly the greatest era of Murfreesboro’s music scene.
Have a great weekend!
I’d heard rumors of Chromeo returning to the Nashville this year. They loved it here and were pleasantly surprised by the sellout last August, so it came as no surprise to learn they were probably coming back sometime this year. I waited around for the official announcement and it finally came, but with an extra-special added bonus: Mayer Hawthorne and none other than the legendary BREAKBOT are billed to open the show on Oct. 25th at the Cannery. I can’t even describe how awesome this billing is. It’s going be a looooong summer in anticipation of this show. The announcement came at the same time as Breakbot announced his new remix of Chromeo’s track “When The Night Falls” which you can preview below:
Meanwhile, Nashville’s own electro duo Jensen Sportag did a very sexy and very danceable remix of Memory Tapes’ “Wait In The Dark” which got them some serious love from The Fader. Good job, fellas. I can’t be happier to see Nashville artists seeing success making such traditionally “un-Nashville” music. Stream it below:
Rock shows/etc… this 4th of July weekend
July 1, 2011
It’s that time of year again- when we use our nation’s birthdate as an excuse to drink in excess, eat lots of unhealthy food, and blow shit up. What could possibly be more American than that? In addition to all your weekend plans that my involve any combination of those activities, here are some good shows you might consider checking in out if you’re around Nashville.
FRIDAY:
We Were the States, Heartbeater, Mom & Dad, The Grayces @ The End. 9pm $5
My So-Called Band: The Ultimate 90’s Summer Jam @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $10 ($12 DOS)
SATURDAY:
Hanni El Khatib w/ Sex Bombs and Rebel Surfers @ The End. 9pm $8
SUNDAY:
The Coathangers, Feral Beat, Denny & The Jets @ The Basement. 9pm 21+ $5 (It’s the Basement’s pre July 4th weenie roast with FREE hotdogs till they run out!)
JULY FUCKING 4TH!
Brandon Jazz presents: 8 off 8th, AMERICA STYLE ft. BJ & His Armed Forces, Bravo Max, Tesla Rossa, The Billy Goats, Dungeon Honey, Tex Rambunctious, Uncle Sam @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm FREE 21+ (This will be the debut of Brandon Jazz’s new music video for “Deal With It.”
That’s it. Have a great weekend, blow some stuff up (not yourself!), party hard, and don’t get arrested.
New BURGERS mixtape: Summer 2011
June 23, 2011
A little late for the technical first day of summer, but it’s finally here: the BURGERS summer 2011 mixtape. Grab it or stream it below. I’ve been assembling this mix over the past week or so and decided to make it flow like most dance parties do- kinda chill at first then ramping up to a few full-on bangers toward the end. Yes I know I include Bit Funk and Breakbot in just about every mix I make, but they’re two of my faves and they’re constantly coming out with awesome new shit; I just can’t help myself. Listen and love.
New Bad Cop video from Seth Graves/Chrome Pony is good
June 20, 2011
My friend and former bandmate Seth Graves just keeps crankin’ out rad music videos. His latest is probably his best work to date, and it’s for local garage-punkers Bad Cop. This is a music video as it should be- its own work of art. (Make sure you watch in full HD!)
In other Nashville music news, I recommend checking out the two demos from a brand new band called Chrome Pony. All I know about them is that drummer extraordinaire Jerry Pentecost is involved (I’m assuming on drums, but he’s a talented dude and might play something else). These two songs are both quite infectious, and dare I say “Rock N Roll” is capable of being the anthem of the summer for Nashville indie rock. They’re playing a surprise last-minute house show this Wednesday at a new-ish house venue called The Parsonage with Diarrhea Planet, Big Surr, and ri¢hie. ri¢hie is a new project from Richie Kirkpatrick of Ghostfinger. Details can be found at the facebook event here.
Happy Monday.
Weekend shows/New Breakbot video
June 17, 2011
Here’s a quick rundown of good shows I recommend seeing this weekend in Nashville.
FRIDAY:
The Spits, TV Ghost, Cy Barkley, Diarrhea Planet, Hans Condor @ The End. 9pm $8.
Chubby & The Dots w/ Brown Chicken Brown Cow String Band @ The Basement. 9pm 21+ $5. I’ve no idea about the latter, but the C & the D’s feature members of the Non-Commissioned Officers playing the swingin’ sounds of the 30’s and 40’s.
SATURDAY:
White Denim w/ Ghostfinger and ??? @ The Basement. 9pm 21+ $8
Shoot the Mountain w/ Chrome Pony @ the 5 Spot. 9pm 21+ $5
KORT in-store performance @ Grimey’s. 5pm- FREE
Breakbot is a DJ/producer from France and is signed to Ed Banger Records. It should come as no surprise that I’m an avid fan, since his tracks or remixes have appeared in just about every mix I’ve made as DJ Burgers over the past couple years. His latest track “Fantasy ft. Ruckazoid” is an instant floor-filler and the video for it just hit the interwebs. Scope it out below. Dare I say it’s not quite as awesome as the one for last year’s jam “Baby I’m Yours,” but it’s entertaining and fits the song perfectly.
Have a great weekend!
Miami Horror tomorrow night at Mercy Lounge
June 15, 2011
Miami Horror at Beauty Bar Backyard, SXSW '11. Photo by Steve Cross
Tomorrow night (6/16) Miami Horror makes their first Nashville appearance at Mercy Lounge, with How I Became the Bomb and Cherub opening. I’ve been hoping for at least a year that Miami Horror would come through Nashville, and it’s finally happening. They come from the land down under, but I’ve heard rumors that they’re making a move to the states. Their debut album Illumination was one of my favorites of 2010, and I caught their live show at the Beauty Bar Backyard at SXSW this year. It was easily one of the best shows I saw the whole festival. They have impressive stage energy and showmanship which easily brought the crowd into a sweaty dance-frenzy in no time.
This show at Mercy will be easily as good, if not better, than the SXSW show because they can flesh out their set and do it “their way” instead of having to setup quickly and rush through their set like bands usually have to do at SXSW. The openers are perfect for the bill, and at a mere $12, this is a really good deal. The band is also doing a DJ set later that night at MAI for the official afterparty. Seriously, get your tix now! Why pay more at the door or risk missing it entirely because of a sellout?
Download:
Miami Horror-Holidays (ft. Alan Palomo)
Listen:
Miami Horror-Holidays (DCUP Remix)
Next Big Nashville becomes Soundland- my thoughts
June 7, 2011
If you’re a Nashvillian and even remotely connected to the music scene, you’ve probably heard by now that the annual Next Big Nashville festival/conference has changed their name to Soundland. Or at least Next Big Nashville Presents: Soundland. Click that link to visit their website, and you’ll notice that most everything still includes “Next Big Nashville” in the name, and the old logo is on the banner in the new logo. The event will become somewhat more focused on one area of the city- 8th Ave South. That means Mercy Lounge/Cannery/Third Man Records/The Basement/Grimey’s, but also 12th & Porter, MAI, Station Inn, Public Square Park, and others, with “fieldtrips” and artist-led workshops/seminars. There will also be a larger-than-ever outdoor main stage. All that and more can be found on the website’s FAQ.
All of what they’re doing sounds great- it’s exactly where the festival needs to go IMO. But I’m not sold on the name. Soundland sounds like a game to me. More specifically, a board game. I guess that’s because of Candyland. It just doesn’t sit right with me. Don’t get me wrong, I love this festival and city/music scene and will support them/work with them however I can. And I hope I’m wrong about the name… but I just can’t say “Yes, Soundland is a good name for this event” at this point in time. I look forward to the announcement of more details, especially the lineup. Make sure you follow them on twitter and Facebook for the latest updates.
Oh, and apparently Jay-Z is a fan of JEFF the Brotherhood.
As usual, I will be photographing this year at Bonnaroo for the Scene/Cream, so I will not be posting this Thur.-Sun. I may or may not have something worth blogging about tomorrow, so we’ll see. If not, I bid you adieu until next week.
Shows to see this weekend
June 3, 2011
Here’s a quick rundown of shows I recommend this weekend in Nashville:
FRIDAY:
Lambchop at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. This is strange but awesome juxtaposition of outdoor fun, art, food, and music. The event starts at 5pm, but Lambchop plays at 9pm. For more info checkout Cheekwood’s website.
Quichenight, A Country Gentleman, Rock City Birdhouse @ the 5 Spot. 9pm $5
SATURDAY:
Times New Viking, D. Watusi, Big Surr @ The End. 9pm $10
… That’s about it for stuff that piques my interest.
I simply can’t go without posting this awesome video created by director Chris Abbas that combines a plethora of amazing imagery from the Cassini spacecraft (which has been orbiting Saturn for many years now) with the track “2 Ghosts I” from the album Ghosts I-IV by Nine Inch Nails. As the name of this blog implies, I’m obviously a huge fan of both music and science, and when they come together to create something beautiful like this I’m a happy man. If you can’t enjoy this there is something wrong with you. *HINT: If you’re viewing this post in an RSS reader, the Vimeo video below doesn’t show up, click through to actually view the blog page to see it!*
Have a great weekend!
steve cross loves music and science 