Oh No! Oh My! 12 August 2007 @ Studio B





My Sunday didn't end with the pool...No, no, no...a quick stop for some nourishment, and then it was off to see my indie rock pals, Oh No! Oh My! I spent most of the night rehashing memories with the boys and playing catch up and managed to miss both acts before them. ONOM still have it, jangly bouncy pop music. The new line up is tight, even with everyone switching instruments almost every song.

They have a new EP Between The Devil and the Sea out on Dim Mak Records and will be on tour:

08/23/07	Potland, OR	Holocene	w/ Au Revoir Simone
08/29/07	Denton, TX	Rubber Gloves	w/ Au Revoir Simone
08/29/07	Austin, TX	Emo's	w/ Au Revoir Simone
08/29/07	Houston, TX	TBA	w/ Au Revoir Simone
09/01/07	Baton Rouge, LA	Spanish Moon	w/ Au Revoir Simone
09/02/07	Birmingham, AL	The Bottletree	w/ Au Revoir Simone	TIX!
09/03/07	Atlanta, GA	Drunken Unicorn	w/ Au Revoir Simone	TIX!
09/04/07	Chapel Hill, NC	Local 506	w/ Au Revoir Simone	TIX!
09/05/07	Washington, DC	Rock and Roll Hotel	w/ Au Revoir Simone	TIX!
09/06/07	Baltimore, MD	The Ottobar	w/ Au Revoir Simone	TIX!
09/07/07	Philadelphia, PA	The Vacuum	w/ Au Revoir Simone
09/08/07	New York, NY	The Mercury Lounge	w/ Au Revoir Simone	TIX!
09/10/07	Ottawa, ON	Babylon	w/ Au Revoir Simone

Past Shows...

Party Punch - Oh No! Oh My!

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists/ The Thermals - McCarren Pool 12 August 2007





It was the Pool Party that everyone was talking about...New Jersey's own Ted Leo & The Pharmacists with Portland's The Thermals.

The people of JellyNYC seemed to have developed a method for keeping the lines outside moving at a pretty consistent pace, and hopefully everyone there got into the show.




The Thermals kicked off my day with a quality set. They were crisp and tight. I couldn't ask for a better sounding set from them, and their cover of Built toSpill's Big Dipper was really just the cherry on top.

Now it was just a matter of time before the masses lurched forward to the front of the stage to catch a glimpse of the days headliners...

For anyone who knows me, knows that I have a "history" with the indie pop icon. No, there is no bad blood. Quite the opposite, I love the music, but hearing the name mentioned and listening to his voice reminds me of one of the most annoying moments in my life...but I digress.




The pool, filled to capacity, echoed back every line to every song. Mr. Leo and crew never missed a beat, only taking the occasional break to thank their fans and everyone involved in putting the show together.





The show ended on a slight down when it was announced that longtime friend and bassist, Dave Lerner, was leaving the Pharmacist....

Man in Gray - News, Tour, mp3s





One of my favorite local bands, Man in Gray, are finally back to playing shows after the triumphant return of their lead singer from the west coast. They'll be kicking off a short east coast jaunt Wednesday at Union Hall with Gold Streets and She Keeps Bees. From there its south for the boys and girl. Wednesday night's details are below, along with a mp3 courtesy of Man in Gray from their New LP "I Can't Sleep Unless I Hear You Breathing".


Wed. August 15 - Brooklyn, NY
8pm @ Union Hall w/ Gold Streets + She Keeps Bees
DJ Nora K (I Rock I Roll)
$8, 21+


They have more dates, and more to come on their website and/or myspace.

Hope to see some of you Wednesday.



Man in Gray - Last Nights Party

Purchase I Can't Sleep Unless I Hear You Breathing @ Insound

Band Du Jour - Apes and Androids




(photo credit Sean Donnola)


I rarely come across a band on myspace that I've never heard of, and that I like. There are a few, but they're more like passing fancies, but I stumbled across this amazing operatic like space rock streaming from my old roommates profile. I was hooked. It was like every piece of progressive 70's and 80's rock that I love, mixed with that good old indie DIY aesthics.

Apes and Androids aren't playing any shows at the moment, but I wish I could of seen them when I had the chance. If I had only known about them earlier. The band is currently recording, and I can''t wait to hear it.


Go to their myspace, and stream the four demos they have posted. Hot Kathy is the one the got me hooked, but they're all awesome and each one makes me love this band all the more.

Hot Rocks Party 10 August 2007


(introducing....)

Last night was another stellar night at The Delancey, where the Hot Rocks gang threw another successful party. I arrived to hear North Carolina's Maple Stave tearing it up. I was shocked and surprised as I rushed downstairs. Not surprised at the band sounding great, well that's always a "surprise" when you don't know anything about the band playing. Aside from the early start everything else about the Stave's set was amazing. They basically just churned rhythmically intense punk meets Broken Social Scene instrumental music from my arrival til the end of there set. I snagged a copy of one of their EPs, and I wish I could of gotten the other one, I have EP Two, because just 5 songs aren't enough of these guys.


(Maple Stave)


Next up were Brooklyn's Career Club. This power pop trio had the best stage banter of the night, between themselves and the crowd. And the music...ah the music....Oh so sweet. An animated burst into the night. The set was short and sweet, but I was able to snag their new record, The New Record, from bassist Jens. It truly is a little pristine pop album, and I recommend seeing them and then buying The New Record


(Career Club)


The Creaky Boards once again crooned their way into the crowds heart. The definitely have the sounds that fits the Hot Rocks feel. Singer Andrew Hoepfner, reminds me of a cross between Dean Martin and an early Talking Heads era David Byrne. The Boards are sort of a potluck band. Last time I saw them they had an accordion and a small horn section, this time they went with the basic rock band format. Regardless of who was their, or what instruments were being played, the soul of Creaky Boards lies in the songs themselves.



(Creaky Boards)


The night ended with locals The Affair. I was surprised that I had never heard of them before the show, especially with such an energetic live show, fronted by enthusiastic singer Kali Holloway. The entire band has the stored energy of an unwatched three year old, but the only complaint was from Kali when she realized her microphone would only reach so far off the stage. The Affair blew me away, finishing the night out as strong as when they started playing.


(The Affair)





More photos @ my Flickr

CRACKED.com has an article on Election '08: The 12 Worst Candidate Websites. I being the model American hasn't paid one iota of attention to any of the candidates, unless you count when RZA aka Bobby Digital of Wu Tang Clan, showed up at a Hillary Clinton rally and the Media gave a shit when he donated money to her campaign. I still have problems adjusting to this new approach to campaigning geared towards the youth of America, since my own parents can't even check their email with a hour long consultation with me over the phone. I guess its effective. The thing that I really enjoyed though over everything else were the candidates Myspace pages. I wonder if any part of the "myspace vote" will have an effect on next years election...who knows?

The National – Boxer
Beggars – 22 May 2007

I've been a bit of put by the lack of great releases so far this year. I love Spoon's new record, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga , and Battles latest release is another blessing, but really its been slow and well kind of depressing. That's why I was happy to have snagged The National's second LP on Beggars when I did.

Boxer starts off in a hallowed dream-like hall of forgotten memories, and swirls thoughts of love, god and home around throughout the record. Lead singer Matt Berninger, takes us on a personal journey, sharing with us the highs and lows of his memories. While guitarists, Scott Devendorf and Bryce Dessner, drummer Bryan Devendorf, and bassist Aaron Dessner weave a a dark tapestry, together, filling in the silence. By far the most consistent record for me this year. Boxer will strike a chord with anyone who gives it a sincere listen.

The first track of the album sets the stage for the album's maturation. An ideal of not being real, almost too homely, warms our hearts with promises of nothingness.

The National - Fake Empire

The entire album gives me such a calmed peace of mind. There are no fatal flaws, it just progresses. Just like great record should do.

Purchase Boxer at Insound

Joan as Police Woman @ Bowery Ballroom (7 August 2007)



I've been sitting on Joan Wasser's Debut LP, Real Life, for almost 5 months now. I need to give it a listen...I quite liked her self-titled EP, Joan as Police Woman, but its hard to find enough time in the day to appropriately enjoy certain things. The lack of me being up to date on Joan's latest release did not stop me from checking out her, full band, show tonight at Bowery.

The nights performance started off slower then I would of liked. Some technical problems broke up all the spontaneity produced by Joan's witty banter. It wasn't until her band left the stage mid-set and Joan went solo that everything fell into place. Joan displayed a quiet mastery over her purple piano, perched atop a New York City phone book as her slightlynasally voice brought onlookers up and down from song to song. She had already won over the audience when the rest of the band rejoined her on stage to finish out the set. With a renewed energy, Joan as Police Woman closed out the night on a strong note. The crowd was treated to a 2 song encore as well, which was really just the icing on the cake.

The Octopus Project reveals title, artwork from upcoming third album

Austin’s The Octopus Project has announced the title of their third album, ‘Hello, Avalanche’, along with art work (see below). The band will start a nation wide tour in mid August, with Athens, Georgia rockers Cinemechanica, French-German electronic group Stereo Total and Def Jux recording artist Aesop Rock.


The Octopus Project - Hello, Avalanche
Release Date; October 9th, 2007

Tracklisting:
1. Snow Tip Cap Mountain
2. Truck
3. Bees Bein' Strugglin'
4. An Evening With Rthrtha
5. Black Blizzard/Red Umbrella
6. Upmann
7. Mmaj
8. I Saw The Bright Shinies
9. Ghost Moves
10. Vanishing Lessons
11. Exploding Snowhorse
12. Loud Murmuring
13. Queen


The Octopus Project On Tour:

* = w/ Cinemechanica
+ = w/ Stereo Total
# = w/ Aesop Rock

08/17 Huntsville, AL Bottle Tree *
08/18 Athens, GA 40 Watt *
08/19 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506 *
08/20 Greensboro, NC WUAG
08/21 Washington DC Rock and Roll Hotel +
08/22 Baltimore, MD Ottobar +
08/23 Philadelphia, PA TLA +
08/24 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom +
08/25 Boston, MA Middle East +
08/26 Ottawa, ONT Babylon +
08/27 Montreal, QC La Tulipe +
08/28 Toronto, ON Lee's Palace +
08/29 Pittsburgh, PA Andy Warhol Museum +
08/30 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom +
08/31 Chicago, IL The Abbey Theater +
09/01 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry +
09/03 Seattle, WA Chop Suey +
09/04 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom +
09/06 San Francisco, CA Bimbo's +
09/07 Los Angeles, CA El Rey +
09/08 San Diego, CA Beauty Bar
09/13 Chicago, IL Metro #
09/14 Madison, WI Barrymore Theater #
09/15 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theatre #
09/16 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue #
09/18 Detroit, MI Magic Stick #
09/19 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop #
09/21 Baltimore, MD Ottobar #
09/22 Providence, RI Living Room #
09/23 Boston, MA Middle East #
09/25 Northampton, MA Iron Horse #
09/26 Burlington, VT Higher Ground #

Red Orange Morning & Action Set
Union Hall, 5 August 2007


5 hours stuck in a motor vehicle is not how I wanted to spend my Sunday morning, band practice called...and there I went. The calls I got from friends told me the the line for the I'm from Barcelona and Blonde Redhead was already wrapping around the block by the time I arrived back into the city. So I decided to relax for a few hours before I head down to Union Hall to support some of my hometown bands.

Red Orange Morning kicked the show off with an acoustic set. Guitarist Ryan and keyboardist Cyndi's crisp set seemed to manipulate time itself with the songs tempo changes. Starting out slow and then picking up speed and finally tapering off at the end to leave us listeners in a slight daze.

Before the endorphins wore off from the music and the free EP, NJ/Brooklyn band Action Set took the stage and for the second time this week I got to witness their quaint mix of pop, blues and a little bit of country fused songs. Its hard to decide on which singer is my favorite. Patrick Hipp, the rock and roll voice barking out verses over top a lead-rhythm guitar, or Sam Smith, a softer more singer songwriter fingering his way through sickly sweet chord progression on an acoustic and or electric. Both of them work well apart, but somehow they manage to combine all their styles and make a seemingly new one that fits Action Set's persona.