Friday, May 27, 2011
concert review: White Denim at Bottom of the Hill (26 May)
What's better than putting on a Hendrix album? Going to a White Denim gig and hearing Jimi's eternal spirit channeled through the raw power of the Austin band. Mesmerizing the audience with five-plus minute solos dripping with psychedelic goodness, White Denim had the crowd movin and shakin like it was 1969. Weaving song into song with hardly any breaks, White Denim rocked hard as if prog rock never faded into obscurity. Lead singer James Petralli showed off his impressive range by fluctuating between a soft, sultry hybrid of Devendra Banhart and Wayne Coyne and his rock-your-balls off a la Black Sabbath state of mind.
I always find is very difficult to describe this band's sound, as they draw influences from a vast spectrum of genres. You can hear bits and pieces of southern rock, grunge, jazz, psychedelia among a myriad of other things but the best way to describe this band is that they’re incredibly loud.
White Denim turned to crowd pleaser "I Start to Run" in the middle of the set and it incinerated the dance floor. Guitarist Austin Jenkins continuously pointed his instrument at various bandmates and audience members as if it were a ray gun and the band had a ton of fun on stage, grinning and really letting the music wash over them as they sunk into a veritable state of grunge indebted nirvana. White Denim obliged the crowd’s desperate and loud pleads for an encore, and ended the night triumphantly with a level of noisy distortion which would put Husker Du to shame.
photos:
Go out and see this band. You’ll thank me later.
5/27 - Visalia, CA at Cellar Door
5/29 - Portland, OR at Bunk Bar
5/30 - Quincy, WA at Sasquatch Festival
6/01 - Salt Lake City, UT at Urban Lounge
6/02 - Denver, CO at Larimer Lounge
6/03 - Lawrence, KS at Jackpot Music Hall
6/16 - Memphis, TN at Hi Tone
6/17 - Atlanta, GA at Drunken Unicorn
6/18 - Nashville, TN at The Basement
6/19 - Louisville, KY at Uncle Slayton's
6/21 - Washington D.C. at Rock N Roll Hotel
6/22 - Philadelphia, PA at Johnny Brendas
6/23 - Northampton, MA at Pearl ST
6/24 - Boston, MA at Brighton Music Hall
6/25 - New York, NY at Bowery Ballroom
6/27 - Montreal, QC at Il Motore
6/28 - Toronto, ON at El Mocambo
6/29 - Indianapolis, IN at Rock Lobster
6/30 - Chicago, IL at Schubas
7/1 - Columbia, MO at Mojo's
7/2 - Norman, OK at Opolis
Thursday, May 26, 2011
acoustic videos: Alex Turner does "Suck it and See" and "Love Is a Laserquest"
White Denim play Bottom of the Hill tomorrow night (Thursday, 26 May)
the Austin based noise/grunge/psychedelic band is currently supporting their newest album, D
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
The National will rerelease the Cherry Tree EP in June
2. "All the Wine"
3. "All Dolled-Up in Straps"
4. "Cherry Tree"
5. "About Today"
6. "Murder Me Rachael" (Live)
7. "Reasonable Man (I Don't Mind)" (feat. Padma Newsome of Clogs)
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
new music from Arcade Fire - "Speaking in Tongues" and "Culture War"
The music video for "The Suburbs" was taken from a film which Spike Jonze made for Arcade Fire entitled “Scenes From The Suburbs”. It includes these two new songs which very much fit with the general feeling of the band's third record. "Speaking in Tongues" features David Byrne (of Talking Heads). The songs were played for the first time today on Zane Lowe's radio show, listen below:
Explosions in the Sky announce fall tour
09/1 -- Tucson, AZ -- Rialto Theatre
09/2 -- San Diego, CA -- SOMA
09/5 -- Big Sur, CA -- Henry Miller Library
09/8 -- Spokane, WA -- Bing Crosby Theater
09/9 -- Vancouver, BC -- The Vogue Theatre
09/11 -- Boise, ID -- Egyptian Theatre
09/13 -- Denver, CO -- The Fillmore Auditorium
09/14 -- Albuquerque, NM -- Sunshine Theatre
09/16 -- Dallas, TX -- AT&T Performing Arts Center - Strauss Square
09/28 -- New Orleans, LA -- Tipitina's *
09/29 -- Atlanta, GA -- Tabernacle *
09/30 -- Asheville, NC -- Orange Peel *
10/1 -- Baltimore, MD -- Ram's Head Live
10/2 -- Philadelphia, PA -- Tower Theater
10/3 -- Montclair, NJ -- Wellmont Theatre
10/5 -- Boston, MA -- Orpheum Theatre
10/6 -- Montreal, QC -- Metropolis Theatre *
10/7 -- Toronto, ON -- Sound Academy *
10/8 -- Royal Oak, MI -- Royal Oak Music Theatre *
10/10 -- Minneapolis, MN -- First Avenue *
10/11 -- Des Moines, IA -- Val Air Ballroom *
10/12 -- Kansas City, MO -- Uptown Theatre *
10/13 -- Oklahoma City, OK -- Diamond Ballroom *
*Wye Oak supports
Chain Gang of 1974 will play Rickshaw Stop this Thursday
Born in San Jose and raised in Hawaii, Kamtin Mohager is the shape-shifting singer/multi-instrumentalist behind the Chain Gang of 1974. According to Mohager, his first proper release was “all over the place, from a piano ballad to songs that sound like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Primal Scream or Justice.”
Now he sounds like this:
must watch video: The Strokes: "You're So Right" on Jools Holland
Sunday, May 22, 2011
must watch video: The Strokes perform "Gratisfaction" at Cannes
band of the week: The Leafs
The Leafs - Space Elevator from Gus Kemp on Vimeo.