A Few Good Shows: 5/18/12
May 18, 2012
I can’t believe it’s already Friday! It’s been a busy week but it’s time to figure out what shows to catch, but before the listings I must mention that Mercy Lounge has a brand-spakin’ new website designed by the talented Michael Eades. He’s done some pretty impressive stuff with video clips in the background of the main page. If you have an older, slower system like I do, it may take a second to fully load, but overall it’s worth it.
Now for what’s shakin’…
FRIDAY:
Lee Ranaldo Band w/ PUJOL and Wooden Wand @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $15
Fool’s Gold w/ Fly Golden Eagle @ The High Watt. 9pm $10 adv/$12 DOS
Queer Dance Party (QDP) @ The 5 Spot. 10pm $1
SATURDAY:
Umbrella Tree album release party w/ Uncle Skeleton and Poly @ Exit/In. 9pm$5
MAYHEM Perform’s Prince’s album “Controversy,” ft. Dez Dickerson @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $7
Everyday Fest presents: Fox Fun, Reid Magette, Dirty Dreams @ Brick Factory. 8pm SHARP! Show should be over by 10pm-
THEN, Everyday Fest presents: No Regrets Coyote EP release w/ Oh Dang Lo Mein, MOM, and Linear Downfall @ Zombie Shop. 10pm SHARP!
SUNDAY:
Ranch Ghost, The Ultras S/C, King Karl, Double Barrel, and DJ David Bermudez @ Drifters. NOON DAY SHOW and it’s FREE Y’ALL. I believe this is the annual vintage bike show, so there’ll be tons of cool bikes too.
Have a great weekend!
A Few Good Shows: 5/11/12
May 11, 2012
Another busy weekend is getting started. Not much time today but here’s a quick rundown of what I find interesting.
FRIDAY:
Cherub, Ghosthouse, DWNTWN @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $10 adv/$15 DoS.
Honey Locust, Cuddle Magic, Paper Lantern @ The High Watt. 9pm $5
Heavy Cream album release show w/ Cheap Time and Fox Fun @ Zombie Shop. 8pm $7
Fancytramp and Kill Baby Kill @ Dino’s. 9pm Free
SATURDAY:
Natural Child, Birdcloud, Ri¢hie, King Karl @ Zombie Shop. 8pm $5
Rock for Kids Benefit & Art Show @ 12th & Porter ft. local art and 7 bands: Auto Defiance, Scale Model, Frances & the Foundation, Lazar Lazar, Static Revival, The Notion, and Tell Tale Nights. Proceeds go to Project Help MTSU and Pediatrics Division of Neonatology at The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Check out the facebook event page for more!
That’s all I’ve got- have a great weekend!
The Features present “Still Lost: Volume One”
May 10, 2012
This one kinda took me by surprise… I hadn’t a clue that The Features were about to release a compilation of b-sides, outtakes, and demos. Still Lost: Volume One is a fantastic collection of rare Features gems. If you’re a die-hard fan and have been since “the early days” you have probably at least heard all these songs at some point, but there are some alternate mixes and versions on here that you may not have heard. The best part of this is that it’s totally free. So go grab it now via NoiseTrade. You have no excuse!
(Via We Own This Town)
A Few Good Shows: 5/4/12
May 4, 2012
There are some amazing shows happening this weekend in Nashville. Seriously- get off your ass and go see some good bands. Here are my picks.
FRIDAY:
PUJOL, King Arthur, The Joy of Painting @ Wall Street (in Murfreesboro). 9pm $5
Courtney Jaye, Birdcloud, and Denny & The Jets @ The Basement. 9pm $8
Uncle Skeleton album release show w/ How I Became the Bomb and Nahnee Bori @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $5 gets you in, $15 gets you in + the album.
The Melvins w/ Unsane @ Exit/In. 9pm (Sold out but had to mention it!)
Quatro de Mayo Cancer Benefit Dance Party @ The Brick Factory. Straight from the horse’s mouth (aka Facebook): “Celebrate the release of Makeup and Vanity Set’s Vinyl while helping raise money for The American Brain Tumor Association’s Breakthrough for Brain Tumors 5K and possibly being the first person in Nashville to bust up a piñata at the stroke of midnight! Plenty of Dancing and Robots and Booze…what more could you ask for?” I also hear there might be a special guest appearance…
SATURDAY:
Royal Bangs w/ Fly Golden Eagle and ??? @ The End. 9pm $10 (There will be at least one more band on the bill but I can’t find it anywhere online…)
SUNDAY:
Screaming Females w/ PUJOL and Cry Baby @ The End. 9pm $7
The Biters, Diarrhea Planet, Stallion, and Rock City Birdhouse @ The High Watt (adjacent to Mercy Lounge). 9pm $7
Have a great weekend!
Doug and Steph (frontman and drummer from the Clutters) have a new side project called Mystery Twins. It’s just the two of them, stripping rough, unsophisticated garage-pop down its bare elements: rhythm and melody. Essentially it’s a different approach to songwriting than The Clutters’ material, but if you like The Clutters you’ll like Mystery Twins. Their debut EP “Love Is Strange” comes out May 8th, and you can stream it below. They’ll be celebrating the release with a show at the High Watt (adjacent to Mercy Lounge) on May 10th, along with Jasmin Kaset, The Ultras S/C, and Codaphonic.
You may be wondering, “are The Clutters on hiatus? What’s up with them?” A quick email to Doug revealed that The Clutters are in fact still quite active, have another record up their sleeve, and are planning a summer tour. So worry not, Clutters fans, this really is a side project in the most traditional sense- they just wanted to start something new and different. Stream the entire EP via a clever video put together by Doug below:
Buy the EP at their bancamp– if you pre-order you’ll get 2 of the tracks immediately, and the full package on May 8th.
Another local release I’ve mentioned a few times before is Uncle Skeleton’s new album All Too Human, which is out today via YK Records. Their official website is your one-stop shop to buy or stream the album. I promise the double LP will be worth it, as the talented Michael Eades is behind the artwork and design. His work never disappoints.
A Few Good Shows: 4/27/12
April 27, 2012
Busy weekend in store for Nashville- be sure to watch out for road closures this Saturday morning for the Country Music Marathon. Show-wise we have a good selection, as usual. Here are a few that I find worthy of mention.
FRIDAY:
Yacht Rock Revue @ Cannery Ballroom. 9:30pm $12 adv/$15 DoS
The Lumineers and Kopecky Family Band @ The Basement. 9pm $10 21+
SATURDAY:
Brendan Benson, Young Hines, and Howling Brothers @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $15
Lightning 100 presents: The Apache Relay, Colorfeels, and Nikki Lane @ Exit/In. 9pm $10
Y2K at the High Watt ft. special guest Sammy Bananas. 10pm $3 for 21+, $5 for 18-20. Sammy Bananas is on A-Trak’s famed label Fool’s Gold and is also one half of electro pop duo Telephoned. Props to Coach for scoring this one!
Have a great weekend!
I can’t get over this rad new video for Punks Jump Up’s new smokin’ boogie-funk jam “Mr. Overtime” featuring vocals from Dave 1 of Chromeo. Slick, sexy, and artfully animated. Directed by Maxime Bruneel, it’s the perfect fit for the song’s 80s italo-disco influence- an 80’s throwback vibe involving sports cars driving fast on the highway at night. But the animation style has a much more current feel- a very successful juxtaposition. If this track is totally new to you, fix that by heading over to the Moda Records Soundcloud and checking out the single and all the many awesome remixes. It’s out officially on April 30th.
A Few Good Shows: 4/20/12
April 20, 2012
Hey it’s 4/20! As I mentioned yesterday, this Saturday’s big deal is Record Store Day and the associated festivities. But if that’s just a slice of the action this weekend. Here are a few other things worth checking out:
FRIDAY:
Ranch Ghost, Dirty Dreams, T.Rust, Denny & The Jets @ The High Watt stage in Mercy Lounge. A benefit for Rob Wood and Paul Turek. $5 min. donation. 9pm
KDSML Review Vol. 5 featuring Sam & Tre, Peripheral, Ziggurat, Audeon, and Creative Control @ Exit/In. 9pm $5
Rwake, Look What I Did, Stallion, and Rintrah @ The End. 9pm $10 adv./$12 dos.
SATURDAY:
Anchor Thieves, Scale Model, Century Club, The GoldRoom @ The End. 9pm $5 Free RSD iPhone 4 cases and CD singles from Anchor Thieves.
Space Capone w/ special guest Alyssa Bonagura @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $10 adv./$12 dos.
Queer Dance Party @ the 5 Spot. $5 (I think…) 21+
Bear In Heaven, Blouse, and Doldrums @ Exit/In. 9pm $10
That about does it. Have a great weekend and buy some records!
As you should know, this Satuday is National Record Store Day. Record stores (you know, the places you can actually walk into and touch a real album and buy it… imagine that) across the nation will be having huge special sales, and labels and artists across the nation have pressed limited edition vinyl releases, usually 45s, that will only be available at a record store, on Record Store Day. There are tons of awesome happenings here in Nashville, the biggest being Grimey’s “big ass outdoor sale.” They have a killer lineup of live music slated for the parking lot, and they always have tons of used records and CDs on sale for super cheap. Check out grimeys.com for the full lineup and schedule. East Nashville’s The Groove also has a killer lineup of bands playing on their backyard stage, and you can get most if not all of the official RSD exclusive releases there as well. Check their website for the full lineup and schedule. Those are the only two doing performances that I know of, but The Great Escape might be doing some sort of sale. There’s no mention of it on their website, however. Third Man Records will of course have lots going on in the way of sales and limited releases, etc… however they do not have live performances this year. (How can they possibly top Jerry Lee Lewis last year?)
Secondly, the flyer above is for a show that includes my band, thus a bit of shameless self promotion:
Come see Scale Model, Anchor Thieves, Century Club, and The Goldroom at The End Saturday night after all your RSD shopping/festivities! Anchor Thieves are releasing a free CD single, and Nashville’s own Griffin Technology will be giving away free RSD themed iPhone 4 cases. Find out more about Scale Model, the Goldroom, and Century Club (ex-Carter Administration) at their respective bandcamp pages. RSVP on Facebook here. Cover is only $5, show starts at 9:30pm, and the beer is cheap. Come party with us!
Absurdly awesome videos
April 19, 2012
Two videos which share a common theme of absurdity and awesomeness. Absurdly awesome? Awesomely absurd? You decide.
Exhibit A: Ridiculous/dumb/terrible things happening in super slo-mo. As in, 2500 frames per second slo-mo. It never ceases to amaze me how super slow motion can turn just about anything, no matter how gross or messy, into a captivating and beautiful spectacle. My favorite is the rocket-powered clothes drying rack. Why didn’t I ever think of that? Seriously though, this is one that simply MUST be seen in full HD, so set that shit on 1080p, pop it on fullscreen, and sit back. (Via Devour)
Exhibit B: The new video for Diarrhea Planet’s “Warm Ridin’.” This is a band that is not afraid of over-the-top absurdity or awesomeness, and this video is all of the above. Complete with rooftops, bare chests, flaming guitars, American flags, and jumping jacks. These dudes know how to party. If you haven’t checked out their debut album on Infinity Cat yet, go fix that right now. And if you can’t get around the name, you’re just missing the point altogether.
steve cross loves music and science 