Video Tuesday (5/11/10)

LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls


New Pornographers - Your Hands


Robert Francis - Junebug

Deer Tick (5/8/10)

Wow.  I love having high expectations, and then having them just passed on by...  I thought Deer Tick would be a great show, but I didn't realize it would be such a party.

Unfortunately we missed the local openers The Guile (did you see them?).

Deer Tick was a lot more Rock & Roll than I was expecting.  I'm talkin' real, alcohol-infused, 70's inspired, God's honest, Rock & Roll - with touch of twang.  Pair that with their excellent songs and John McCauley's distinctly piercing voice - this show was unstoppable.

I'm already ready for their next performance.

Laura Marling Tonight... in Pittsburgh

Since tonight's Deer Tick show at the Beachland is SOLD OUT, I thought I'd point you to the Laura Marling show tonight at the Andy Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh).  Too bad she didn't make Cleveland this trip - but I'm hoping to see her someday soon.  Her new release, I Speak Because I Can was just released last month, and here's a gorgeous video and song to go along with it.

Feel like a road trip?

Marching in the Wolf Parade

It's a Wolf Parade bonanza!  These guys have been quiet for way too long - so all this new press is a real treat.

First off - download two new tracks here.

And how much fun does this new album sound?

Wolf Parade Shed Some Hats to Focus on New Album - Spinner:

When it came time to make a new record, Montreal's Wolf Parade decided to do it the old-fashioned way.

'We wanted to be a band in the room together and just make a record like we did it years ago,' drummer Arlen Thompson tells Spinner on the phone from his Mile End apartment, his baby daughter cooing in the background. While Thompson did double-duty as producer of the foursome's sophomore album, 2008's 'At Mount Zoomer,' and their debut, 'Apologies to the Queen Mary,' -- which was 'recorded in pieces and put together at the end' -- the upcoming 'Expo 86' (due June 29 on Sub Pop) sees the band getting back to basics.

'We started with nothing and came into the room together for the first time in a year, since the last showed we played, and we worked really hard on it every day for three months,' says Thompson, who's pleased with the new songs and arrangements. 'For myself, on the last record I did a lot of the engineering. It's fun, but I didn't want to wear both hats again. I wanted to focus on the playing and performance aspects.'"

Wolf Parade will be at the Beachland on Thursday, June 15th. Get your tickets ASAP.

Their new album, Expo 86 will be out on June 29th.  Pre-order it at Insound.

Frightened Rabbit (5/5/10)

Though I haven't spent much time with their new release (The Winter of Mixed Drinks), I truly loved their previous release (The Midnight Organ Fight).  So much so, this show had some extremely high expectations...  Very exciting.

Maps & Atlases opened.  They were quite enjoyable...  Their new album is coming out June 29th, and they'll be back at the Grog Shop on Friday, August 6th.  Will see them again.

Frightened Rabbit was good.  They rocked it a little harder than I was expecting (not a bad thing - at all) but they didn't quite live up to the expectations.  I can't really put my finger on it - as they did nothing wrong.  The sold-out crowd was also really into it.  Maybe it's just an off-week for me... (as representative of the quality of photos)

So long as I shake it before the Deer Tick show on Saturday!! (another high-expectation show).

Frightened Rabbit / Maps & Atlases Tonight!

Another great concert tonight - this time at the Grog Shop.  If you haven't checked out Scotland's Frightened Rabbit - do so now. Especially their previous release: The Midnight Organ Fight (one of my albums of 2008).

Chicago's own Maps & Atlases are opening.

 

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (5/3/10)

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone is a fun band - or should I say guy, since it's really just Owen Ashworth.  I'm not that well versed with his rather extensive catalog, but I like what I've heard and have had friends recommend him to me.

Opening was Magical Beautiful.  They had a similar sound and were somewhat enjoyable, but I can't say the vocals were all that great.  Nice background music though.  Casiotone took the stage, and it was a quick transition because it was the Magical Beautiful band that made this a "Full Band Show" for Casiotone.  Made sense, since they had similar sounds.

The show picked up a bit when Owen took the stage.  But unfortunately it was a blah Monday night and this show didn't really bust me out of it - so I didn't end up staying for the whole thing.  Not particularly Owen's fault.  I'll keep checking out his stuff...

Video Tuesday

So I joked around with this idea of a “Video Tuesday” schtick… Maybe I’ll just go with it.

Great OK Go Video, if you haven’t already seen it. (p.s. you can download this video version of the song for free by signing up on their newsletter)

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

This first Casiokids video just underscores how **awesome** this song is. Probably my most exciting release coming this year. Out June 8th.

I really liked Jason Collett’s last album… Hoping his new one is just as good

 

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone Tonight

Tonight, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (buy it at Insound) will be performing in the Beachland Tavern at 8:30pm! Tickets are $8. Opening is Magical Beautiful (Chicago) and Shiny Penny (Cleveland).

Robyn & Ellie Goulding...

Not together (unfortunately), but a couple delicious pop tracks.

ellie goulding - lights (dream dubstep remix) / From (Wongie)

The excitement for this new Robyn album continues to build... Body Talk Vol.1 out on June 14th (UK)