I’ve been reading a lot about Lucero shows lately. (It’s kind of my job.) It seems they’ve been particularly rowdy lately, and it seems people have been really diggin’ ’em that way.
This got me thinking, “Where have I seen the rowdiest Lucero shows?” to which I answered myself (because geniuses answer themselves, ya know), “Easy: Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and New York City.”
If you’re one of those folks who digs being covered in beer and bruises when you leave a show, then you’re in luck. It just so happens we’re giving away two tickets to the April 25th Lucero show (with J. Roddy Walston & the Business as the opener!) at the 9:30 Club right here in Washington, DC.
‘Twas a rainy and dismal Saturday in Washington, DC when NME nominee for Best New Band, London’s Tribes tour bus rolled into town. What better way then to spend a gloomy afternoon than at one of our favorite stops in this fair city—DC’s Som Records.
Looking for some live music in Chicago this weekend? We’ve got you covered. Check out this weekend’s featured show along with a more extensive weekend list below!
Straight from the University of Illinois, Chicago’s indie-pop quintet, Santah, released their debut record White Noise Bed. The powerful album takes you through emotional highs and lows all under the influence of the ‘70s best power pop. Santah is moving quickly, and have already shared stages with the likes of Cults, Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s, and Young the Giant. Check out the official music video for the track “No Other Women”, below.
Normally, this is where I would tell you that you can pick up a copy of White Noise Bed on vinyl for just $12 from No Sleep Records. Unfortunately, it seems to be out of stock for the time being, but there is a handy little box where you can enter your e-mail to be notified when it’s available.
There are two festivals this weekend that I know of (besides Record Store Day celebrations all over town on Saturday) to get you in shape for the next ten days of hardcore Jazz Festing. There are also plenty of shows happening at night. Here’s where you’ll be.
Tulane University used to celebrate the WTUL Rock On Survival Marathon fundraiser with three days of music on the main quad. Neighborhood concerns eventually doomed the concerts. But for some reason, the college is able to put on Craw Fest every spring in the same place. Maybe the neighbors are able to tolerate one day.
Craw Fest is tomorrow and there are some fine bands playing all afternoon. The headliner is Galactic. Ivan Neville is on the bill as are the Soul Rebels and some lesser-known acts. Last year, we got to see a couple of buzz bands for the first time and I expect the same in 2012. Read More »
Opener Tiger High has been getting some significant press the last several months and their debut Myth Is This was officially released in special edition form earlier this month on Trashy Creatures Records. A new record is to follow sometime this Summer.
Can it really be a year when I spent a good 12 hours feverishly searching the racks of Rough Trade for the limited edition Big Star box set, in addition to myriad other vinyl delights, which were essential purchases on this most singular occasion?
I have attended, financially supported, and been excited by all of the RSD’s these past three years, and Saturday will be no exception. However, I do find myself asking the question: who is this for? Originally, it seemed to be a day to put a spotlight on those treasured institutions the length and breadth of the country, (and other countries) enabling all those “real” record shops to get some exclusive titles, and make some money on collector’s editions, limited pressings, and the coolest of one off releases.
The day is still a cherished occasion for any record collectors, especially those who value the unbeatable experience of entering into a shop with only a vague notion of what you will be buying. It has to be said though, that the major labels now see it as a marketing opportunity, and as such have missed the point and given us some turgid releases. A repress of Eric Clapton Unplugged anyone?
I sort of winced inside when I heard cassettes are making a comeback. If there’s ever a medium short of the 8-track tape that could quietly fade into the ether, it’s cassettes for me. I literally became a skilled surgeon way back when the tape would spool out and wrap around the gears in the tape deck. Never again, I swore.
So, lo and behold, imagine my surprise upon hearing Domino Records has a flexidisc set paired with its own zine on shelves for Record Store Day 2012. The flexidisc too is a relic of that past, but if I can lay it flat on a turntable and drop a needle on it—all the better. And did I mention the superb design and packaging that accompanies Domino’s RSD2012 flexi set? No? Take a gander:
Some background: Smugglers Way is Domino and Ribbon’s first ever limited edition zine made exclusively for Record Store Day (April 21st) featuring FIVE individual, multi-colored flexi discs of EXCLUSIVE, UNRELEASED songs from Dirty Projectors, Real Estate, Cass McCombs, John Maus, andVillagers. The zine comprises 24 pages of original art and prose from Domino and Ribbon artists.
Considered by lovers of vinyl to be the greatest day of the year, New Orleans newest purveyors of wax have a incredible day of positive vibrations and aural excitement scheduled for Saturday.
The owners of the shop, which is located in the Bywater at 3401 Chartres Street, are promising “hundreds of crazy and cool exclusive records” to be released when the doors open at 11 AM. There will be bands all day and food and booze courtesy of Reginelli’s Pizza.
Since they are expecting die-hards to be lined up prior to the actual opening, St. Coffee will be on hand to provide sustenance for the serious collectors queuing at the door. DJ Matty will be spinning from 11 AM until 12:30 PM when trombonist Charlie Halloran of Meschiya Lake & the Li’l Big Horns takes over with his solo project.
…and what better way to spend meaningful time together than record shopping, right? —Ed.
“For years I was in a band that operated like a 5-headed monster. That definitely has its perks especially when now as a solo artist I’m covering all band duties on a day-to-day basis.”
“One of the downfalls though for me at least, was that I hid in the middle of the pack and didn’t really extend myself as much as I could have. Oh sure, I was the lead singer, and the songs for the most part were written by me. But I think I believed if you knew my music, then you knew Cassidy. Which couldn’t be further from the truth.
So, this time around I’m busy on Facebook and Tweeting my little head off. And on suggestion of my crack team, I decided to take you vinyl shopping with me at Amoeba Music in Hollywood California while I discuss some of my favorite artists and the motivations for making my first solo album Follow The Freedom. Amoeba is an awesome place for music, you could get lost in there…and I have!
Check it out…maybe we can get to know each other a little better.”
—Bohème
With Record Store Day 2012 just a few short days away, I finally sat down and cracked open the massive list of official releases. If you haven’t had a chance to peruse it yet, you can download the nine page PDF right here. The impressive list of releases and re-releases are all available in various limited edition runs, and most will be waiting for you in some of Chicago’s best record stores.
Along with all of the RSD releases and standard stock, a number of shops in Chicago are hosting in-store performances throughout the day. Check out the lineups for a handful of stores below, and support the Chicago vinyl scene on Saturday. See you out there!
Dusty Groove will be bringing the legendary Otis Clay to the shop to perform a rare show in their intimate space. The free performance will begin at 4:00 PM on the third floor of 1120 N Ashland Ave.
If the vocalist of the Northern California country gold supergroup Brokedown in Bakersfield looks and sounds familiar, it’s probably because you saw her and her band The Gramblers playing a remarkably great stripped down version of the Hall & Oates classic “I Can’t Go For That.” Her name is Nicki Bluhm and the video clip of her Van Sessions take on the soulful classic, has taken the social world by storm and become a viral hit.
The video has received over 1 million views and Bluhm even received a personal email from John Oates himself. I would like to think the next step is an open invitation to jam with the duo Live at Daryl’s House but that remains to be seen.
Nicki Bluhm sings along side her husband Tim Bluhm, of The Mother Hips fame backed by some of the best musicians in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. Their setlist features a brilliant selection of often forgotten ’60s and ’70s country classics that fall somewhere between honky tonk and sweet country soul breathing new life into classics from Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and Gram Parsons just to name a few.
Nicki and Tim Bluhm are both big fans of vinyl records.”We pretty much exclusively listen to vinyl and most of our collection is thrift store finds”, says Nicki Bluhm. She continues,”When I met Tim our vinyl collection meshed together. Some of the best records I found in his collection are old Bee Gees records. I was really appreciative that he opened my eyes to those.”
Hey NYC, there’s some cool shit going down at one of our favorite record shops on Saturday, which is of course Record Store Day! That’s right, Kim’s Video & Music (even though I’d rename it Kim’s Music & Video) will be offering a ton of Record Store Day exclusive vinyl releases.
Actually, the list is enormous! You can check out all of them by downloading the PDF at Kim’s website, but I’ll rattle off some that stick out to me, for some kind of personal gratification, at the end of this post.
There’s gonna be some live action shaking at Kim’s too from some very cool artists and DJs. Here’s the schedule:
This week we’re taking a look at a few select reissues slated for Record Store Day 2012. —Ed.
It might not be a tantalizingly obscure or doggedly underrated record, but it’s great to see Patti Smith’s debut LP Horses getting a fresh vinyl reissue for Record Store Day. If she’s not a “lost” artist or even one needing a boost in retroactive esteem, there’s always room for additional assessment. For when the supreme deity of musical affairs gave us this post-Beat proto-punk rocker-poet, well they simply broke the mold.
For those born too late, it’s a reliably interesting experience to hear the works of groundbreaking artists. Being all of four years old when Patti Smith’s Horses was released is a prime example. Initially, I had to contend with hearing and holding dear a whole gaggle of stuff that was obviously influenced by Smith’s massive precedent. For just a few like-gendered examples, I’d already been knocked sideways by Poly Styrene, Exene Cervenka, and Kim Gordon, so when I finally spent some of my hard-earned part-time hash-slingin’ cash on a beat up copy of Horses circa 11th grade, I was very much impressed, but the chaotic disorder of time caused my introduction to lack the rarefied status of epiphany.
And it was surely similar for others from my age group. But her Dream of Life album was making some comeback waves around this time, with her single “People Have the Power” getting a good bit of MTV play and even some commercial radio airtime. That tune pairs up well with Lou Reed’s “Dirty Blvd” from his ’89 New York album (also something of a creative comeback), with both songs making the case for younger listeners that there was far more to Smith’s career and Reed’s solo work than her “Because the Night” and his “Walk on the Wild Side.”
New Yorkers get to celebrate Record Store Day early this Saturday, as Greenpoint’s Co-Op 87 Records will open at exactly midnight on April 21st and will close at exactly 11:59 pm that night.
WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!
I had the pleasure of visiting said establishment over the weekend, and the cozy shop houses an excellent selection of new and used LPs, expertly curated by Mike Sniper (whom you may also know as Blank Dogs), Benjamin Steidel (currently on tour with his band Lemonade), and Mike Catalano.
Between the three, their credits include “running the local record label Captured Tracks, as well as formerly operating shops like Academy Records in Brooklyn. . . Using taste and experience they’ve warped the space into a true record buying destination. Co-Op 87 is a sweet addition to an ever growing neighborhood, filled with an oasis of handpicked vinyl ranging from all genres and time.”
