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Bits: The Black Keys, Andrew Bird, Neil Young, Sweet By and By, the Felice Brothers

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  • With the proceeds from a benefit concert played in Akron, Ohio, last autumn to honor Alfred McMoore – the artist who inadvertently named the band – the Black Keys Alfred McMoore Memorial Endowment Fund has been established to support community services for Akron residents like McMoore who suffered from schizophrenia.

  • Andrew Bird will reprise his popular Gezelligheid concerts in December with dates in DC, Boston and Chicago.

  • Neil Young’s highly-anticipated, Daniel Lanois-produced album Le Noise is up on NPR’s First Listen.

  • A reminder for those in Northern California: The Yolo Throwdown Car and Music Festival is coming up this weekend, featuring the Sweet By and By, who are slated to hit the stage around 3:15 P.M.

  • Our good friend Digger has been counting down the top ten Felice Brothers songs of their career so far, which includes the brilliant “Marie”.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izAAG1QEX_k?fs=1]

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A Place to Bury Strangers Coming to Cleveland

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“Fucked up” is a phrase Oliver Ackermann likes to use to describe music, especially the music made by his band A Place to Bury Strangers. “Loud” is a word that critics like to use for APtBS’ music. This could drive some listeners away, but as any connoisseur of the seedier side of life can tell you, the loud and fucked up can also be beautiful.

A Place to Bury Strangers pull from a range of influence that includes, most obviously bands from the gothier end of the spectrum, like the Jesus and Mary Chain, Bauhaus and even Sisters of Mercy. But influences like the Ramones, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and ‘60s rock and pop also surface. And surfacing is an appropriate word for many aspects of APtBS’ sound as Ackermann and bandmates create an ocean of sound, often augmented via pedals created by Ackermann’s own guitar effects company Deathy by Audio, wherein bass lines and guitar riffs can seem to surface like jagged rocks on the coast.

A Place to Bury Strangers will be returning to the Grog Shop on September 27 (Freedom and rad Cleveland quartet HotChaCha will be opening), and I am looking forward to be awash in sound, happy for the throbbing in my head that will drive the rest of the world away for a while. For a taste of what you can expect from the Brooklyn-based trio, checkout this live in-studio version of the gorgeous “Ocean” that APtBS created for KEXP.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egGglMAPpVA?fs=1]

A Place to Bury Strangers Official Website
The Grog Shop
Death by Audio

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Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

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Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

  • Fri, Sep 17| 8 PM (7 PM door)
    Beachland Barn Dance III – Rape Crisis Center Benefit
    Mark Haas | 8 PM
    Paul Kovac & Mark Olitsky w/ guest Laura Lewis | 8:40 PM
    One Dollar Hat | 9:20 PM
    Waxwings | 10:10 PM
    Silver String Band | 11 PM
    Hiram Rapids Stumblers | 11:50 PM
    Louise Keller Square Dance between acts
    $7
    Ballroom | All Ages

  • Sat, Sep 18| 8 PM (7 PM door)
    Ramblin’ Jack Elliott
    Tom Evanchuck
    $18 adv / $20 dos
    Tavern | All Ages

  • Mon, Sep 20| 8:30 PM (8 PM door)
    Koffin Kats
    The Give & Go’s
    Wolfboy Slim & His Dirty Feets
    $10
    Tavern | All Ages

  • Tue, Sep 21| 9 PM (8:30 PM door)
    Those Darlins
    Turbo Fruits
    Henry Wagons
    $8
    Tavern | All Ages

  • Wed, Sep 22| 9 PM (8:30 PM door)
    David Dondero
    Darren Hanlon
    Matt Scarbrough
    $8 adv / $10 dos
    Tavern | All Ages

Grog Shop

  • Wed, Sep 22 | 7:30 PM
    Van Dyke Parks
    Clare & The Reasons
    $20

  • Wed, Sep 22 | 8 PM
    El Ten Eleven
    Dosh
    Baths
    $8 adv / $10 dos

Now That’s Class

  • Sat, Sep 18 | 9 PM
    Weasel Walter Trio
    Flat Can Co.
    Swindlella
    Gothcock
    $5

  • Sun, Sep 19 | 9 PM
    Gelatinous Cube
    Sam Goodwill
    Fillmore Jive
    Zapano
    Discount Tents
    Summit Trio
    $5 donation

  • Mon, Sep 20 | 9 PM
    Marianne Dissard
    William H. Michael
    Corissa Bragg
    $7 suggested donation

  • Thu, Sep 23 | 9 PM
    HOTCHACHA (record release party)
    We Are Hex
    Fangs Out
    (Mad Dog wine tasting party presented by the band)
    $5

Musica

  • Sat, Sep 18 | 9 PM
    Joseph Arthur
    $15

  • Thu, Sep 23 | 7:30 PM
    Dead Confederate
    Mt. St. Helen’s Vietnam Band
    Clemens
    The Big Sweet
    $10

Nighttown

  • Mon, Sep 20 | 7:30 PM
    Stan Ridgway
    $20

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Liars: Her Sounds Were Close to Paradise

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Right around 2001, I lost touch with the music scene. I still listened to music daily, and a few new bands got through, but my favorite bands had broken up (The Afghan Whigs, Shudder to Think) or had key members die off (Mark Sandman) and life was overtaking me in a big, uncomfortable way, so I grew increasingly distanced from new music throughout most of the first decade of the 2000s. It was a long time to be away from a world where hundreds of beings (bands/solo artists) are born and die every day. A lot of things happened in that time. Liars happened.

When I heard the Liars for the first time a few months ago with “Scissor”, the first song from Sisterworld, I began the process of mentally kicking myself for not knowing about this three-piece before. As is the way with any band who are a little bit interesting these days, Liars have had numerous genres appended to them or created for them, most having words like “art”, “noise” or “experimental” in them. To me, they sound like good punk. Really good punk. The kind made by smart, but angry people who have an interest in moving beyond three chords and lots of screaming.

Don’t worry: there’s still plenty of screaming.

On October 19, Liars will release an EP for their single “Proud Evolution”, which will include a Thom Yorke remix and a live recording of the song, along with three new B-sides: “Come Now”, “Total Frown” and “Strangers”. Beginning September 29, they’ll play a four-date Canadian tour, playing Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Hamilton.

Liars Official Website

Liars Daytrotter Session

Liars’ full set from La Route du Rock

Noisemakers: Liars (interview and performance)

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Rock ‘n’ Roll Photog: A Few of My Favorite Things: Nerds and Novelty Songs

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This is Jonathan Coulton performing at the High Line this past April. He is the uncrowned king of the nerdy novelty song. My iTunes informs me that his genre is “Unclassifiable” which I think is an unusual misspelling of “Awesome.” My personal favorites are Code Monkey, a love song for J. Alfred Programmer; Skullcrusher Mountain, in which a lovelorn mad scientist asks isn’t it enough that I ruined a pony, making a gift for you?; and Shop Vac, a tale of suburban disaffection and despair with a catchy sing-along chorus. I’m also really very fond of his cover of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s Baby Got Back. Those last two might not be all that nerdy but they are a whole lot of fun.

The next song on my list of favorites, MMO RPG by Alex Greenwald (Mark Ronson and the Business Intl., Phantom Planet) – truly a piece of digital ephemera, as it is, for now, only available on YouTube – explores some of the philosophical complexities of on-line gaming:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv8HJ_mB2Nw?fs=1]

I will confess I’m not actually all that into computer games – the graphics tend to give me vertigo, and I prefer the low-tech joys of running around in the woods with capes and fake swords and the adrenaline rush when the elves come out of hiding in the middle of an otherwise routine trade conversation – but the song still fills me with glee. I am only sad that the “P” in the middle defeats my attempts to chair-dance to it YMCA-style.

Finally, there’s the song made by a band full of nerds that, on first hearing, I thought was a novelty song, but wasn’t: Teenagers , by My Chemical Romance. The video won’t embed, but you can listen to it here:

http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F2936031%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-v5nxZ&secret_url=false My Chemical Romance – Teenagers by spatzkiersten

A breather amid the heavier themes of the The Black Parade, this one is for anyone who has ever been baffled or a little scared by their high-schooler, or had the urge to tell anyone to shut up, get off their lawn, and pull up their pants. I enjoy it tremendously, and all y’all should check it out.

— Jennifer

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Bits: Infantree, Justin Townes Earle, Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power, Neil Young, A Place to Bury Strangers

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  • Infantree’s first full-length album, Would Work, is out today, and you can take a preview listen at Spinner (also up: Watchmen, Black Angels and Grinderman, among others).

  • No Depression wants you to interview Justin Townes Earle, and they want to compensate you for it. Submit a question for JTE, and you could win an autographed copy of his new album, Harlem River Blues

  • Pitchfork‘s One Week Only feature is currently running a documentary of Vic Chesnutt’s 2009 European Tour with Elf Power.

  • For those excited about the new Daniel Lanois-produced Neil Young album, Le Noise, Stereogum has a preview for you in the form a video for “Angry World”.

  • A Place to Bury Strangers has a five-song EP – “I Lived My Life To Stand In The Shadow Of Your Heart”, “Girlfriend” and three remixes of “I Lived” – and you can download the Secret Machines remix from Mute. APtBS will be kicking off a fall tour with a free show at Thirteenth Floor in Massillon, Ohio, on September 24 and swinging through Cleveland on September 27 (more on that next week).

They Shoot Music Don’t They talked Oliver Ackermann of A Place to Bury Strangers, tagged “the loudest band in New York”, into going acoustic for an evening stroll in Yppenplatz, Vienna. Sweet results.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG-VGMT0R8Q?fs=1]

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Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

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Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

  • Fri, Sep 10| 9 PM (8 PM door)
    The Floorwalkers
    Winslow
    Psychotech & Supply Co.
    $7
    Ballroom | All Ages

  • Fri, Sep 10| 9 PM (9 PM door)
    San Goodee
    GORK
    DJ Eso
    DJ Tuggle
    Presented by Cleveland Tapes, Coventry Kids, & Musikbox.com
    $5
    Tavern | All Ages

  • Wed, Sep 15| 8:30 PM (8 PM door)
    Breathe Owl Breathe
    Lowly The Tree Ghost
    Leah Lou
    $8
    Tavern | All Ages

  • Thu, Sep 16| 9 PM (8 PM door)
    Matt & Kim
    So So Glos
    Very Knees
    In Association with The Grog Shop
    $15 adv / $17 dos
    Ballroom | all ages

Grog Shop

  • Fri, Sep 10 | 9 PM
    Jamie Lidell
    Tony Castles
    DJ Charles McGaw
    $15 adv / $17 dos

Now That’s Class

  • Fri, Sep 10 | 9 PM
    The Chop Tops
    Lords of the Highway
    Wolfboy Slim and His Dirty Feets
    Scoliosis Jones
    $8

  • Sun, Sep 12 | 9 PM
    Main Street Gospel
    Mondo Drag (alive records)
    Blacklight Betty
    $5 donation

  • Tues, Sep 14 | 9 PM
    Animal Lover
    South Reach
    Blood Alcohol Content
    free

Case Western Reserve

  • Sat, Sep 11 | 1 PM
    The Black Angels
    Fawn
    Afternoon Naps
    Sun God
    Self Destruct Button
    Prisoners
    Nick Riff
    Teenage Grandpa
    Ethiopians
    Sloth
    free – more info here

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Rebirth of the Cool: Yeh Yeh

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The many paths that can lead to the discovery of good music can be interesting… and they can also be a little embarrassing. Back in the 1980s, when everything was shiny with clean edges and far too much hair product, I was plopped down in front of the television with my parents watching The Tonight Show when a British singer named Matt Bianco performed. Though far too pretty and polished, Bianco was, in a way, a little ahead of his time, mining a retro vibe that wasn’t all that popular in that era. He played a song called “Yeh Yeh” that managed to lodge itself in my head forever.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8NKWHDQzX8?fs=1]

“Yeh Yeh” was originally a Latin-flavored instrumental recorded by Mongo Santamaria (what a name) in 1963. It was a more languid affair back then, with inexplicably jarring vocal interjections, but still a wonderfully infectious groove.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D40_b7kHmIo?fs=1]

The same year, Lambert, Hendricks and Bavan took the song and added some speed, some shimmy and some lyrics.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZFKniXXEjg?fs=1]

The more digging that is done on this jazzy tune, the more interpretations pop up. The perhaps ironically-named group Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames did a passable version in 1965. Paul Anka covered the song in the late 1950s/early 1960s, and it was predictably un-groovy. And in 2001, They Might Be Giants put their characteristic twist on it for their Mink Car album.

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Rock ‘n’ Roll Photog: Stone Temple Pilots/Cage the Elephant, Jones Beach, 9/4/2010

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Jennifer bids adieu to summer by spending some time with former Ohio boy Scott Weiland and crew.

I have some thoughts about Stone Temple Pilots, but we’ll get to them in a minute. First I would like y’all to meet Cage the Elephant:

IMG_2577
Matt Schultz, Jared Champion (drums) and one of their guitarists

They were the second opening band – I missed the first one, TAB the band – and the best description I can give you is: high-energy blues-punk fusion. One of my favorites from their set was Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked, which sounded like it had just rolled in from the Delta. Meanwhile the lead singer was busy shimmy-shaking himself all over the stage and into the audience (three times!) like Iggy Pop. I was worn out just watching him. I also concluded I’d like to see them at their own show with their fans in the pit because I suspect it would be the best kind of epic rock and roll madness. (Translation: Please, please come back and play at Irving so I can stand in the balcony and really feel the bass rattle my bones while the kids go berserk on the floor. :D?)

IMG_2588
Matt Schultz

I can also tell you that whoever decided to send them out with Stone Temple Pilots gets a gold star, because it was another moment of beautiful musical congruency between new and old(er) acts. Anyway, yes, Stone Temple Pilots, let’s talk about them!

IMG_2602
Stone Temple Pilots, megaphone in full effect!

This was another band I never, ever expected to be able to see live. (I think we all know why.) And while it might have been a little strange watching Scott Weiland dance around in chinos and a tie (?!), my adult self was glad to see him alive and well and in one piece and making music, and my inner 17-year-old was really happy to hear that big grunge roar come out of the speakers. It turns out I had really missed those guitars.

IMG_2612

When not dancing awkwardly and trying not to flail into my neighbors, I contemplated the ways in which one imprints on things like music, how the sounds I loved, age 18, are still the sounds I love now. I was also contemplating how some acts grab the gold ring of a round two with both hands, and some have to learn the hard way that it isn’t 1991 anymore. STP has had their share of difficulties, but last Saturday night they came out and rocked it, no fuss, no muss, no diva shenanigans.

IMG_2621

All of that aside, I am also pleased to report that Weiland’s voice is still intact, and that their new stuff sounds great. I don’t have any fancy music critic terms to describe it for you, but I can say this: there was kick in the reverb and shimmy in the bass, and it was delicious. The next time I update my music library, I’m definitely getting their new record. If you ever cranked up Plush or Sex Type Thing and sang along, you might enjoy it too.

— Jennifer

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Bits: Conrad Plymouth, Americana Music Fest, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Plastic Ono Band, The Afghan Whigs, Ohio Hip Hop Awards, The Black Keys-ish

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  • Conrad Plymouth has another beautiful song, a demo called “They Keep Everything So Clean”, up at their Tumblr.

  • The Americana Music Festival starts up tomorrow, and if you can’t make it to Nashville for the festivities in person, npr.org will be simulcasting the awards and honors show Thursday evening, according to the Carolina Chocolate Drops Twitter account (though I have yet to find any information about it on npr.org).

  • Speaking of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, here’s a nifty mini-lesson from Dom Flemons on playing the bones.

  • The Plastic Ono Band has a pair of all-star gigs coming up in NYC on October 1 and 2. Special guests include RZA, Mike Watt, Iggy Pop, Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and Perry Farrell, among others.

  • Cincinnati, Ohio’s Midpoint Music Fest on September 23-25 will include a couple of Afghan Whigs-related highlights in the form of photographs by John Curley and a documentary entitled Ladies and Gentlemen: The Afghan Whigs. Details here.

  • The Ohio Hip Hop Awards and Music Conference will be hitting downtown Cleveland September 17-19. Details here.

  • And because I’m trying to get used to being a self-promoting hooer blogger, I invite you all to check out the guest post I wrote for the lovely Brucini over at the Black Keys Fan Lounge. It was an honor to be asked and a pleasure to do it.

  • I wanted to close this out with the new Flaming Lips Black Cab Session, but the embed is inoperable, so follow the link for a little delight.