Well the title says it all folks, OK Go is touring for their new album, Off The Blue Colour of The Sky, and they’ll hit the Metro on April 17th. There are still tickets left, darlins! Get them here (Metro is one of the wonderful places here in Chicago that doesn’t use the evil Ticketmaster/LiveNation company, thankfully!) As soon as I get my paws on a copy of this album I’ll be telling you how great it is, everything I’ve heard so far points in that direction. I never remember to watch TV, but those of you who are Jimmy Kimmel fans, make sure to tune in on Thursday night and catch them. The video below is awesome and I’m sure you’ve seen it already. I’ve heard some wild stories about the live show. I’m going to check it out, you know I can’t resist! xoxo
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This is an online music fan zine. Please support music and musicians by going to shows, purchasing CDs, buying a damn T-shirt! All mp3s are posted here with permission from the artists/labels/PR folks, and for a very brief time. If you have any issues with content on this zine please email me; atartytart@gmail.com I'm addicted to my Iphone, darlins'... I'll get back to you. If you like what's up here, it'd be nice to know about it, so leave me some comments, eh? You can always post me love notes and CDs and such at: Love Shack, Baby, PO Box 221235 Chicago, IL 60622 (note new addy) Tart on Twitter And you can find PuppetShow at enjoy.the.puppet.show@gmail.com
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As you know, Black Atlantic came through town Saturday night, and they simply wow’d us! The Empty Bottle was filled, and treated to a stellar lineup, ending with the Cave Singers, who had them stomping and clapping so much that Geert of Black Atlantic, saw ceiling plaster dust falling in the room below, during his interview! I was fortunate to be able to hang out with the band that day and I sat in on their sound check. As soon as they took the stage, Black Atlantic proved to be the band that I had suspected they were all along. I know I shouldn’t say this, but I will anyway. That night they sounded even better than they do on Reverence For Fallen Trees, as beautiful as that recording is. The harmonies were light without being sappy, the instrumentation was simply gorgeous and I heard more nuances in it than I remembered from the album. I sat at the merch table for a bit before and after their set as people came by to buy their stuff and more than once I heard “Is this the band that just played? They were so good, I never heard of them!” before getting out their money. Many fans were made right then and there, you just can’t ask for a better night than that. We drove home late, and even though it was nearly 2 a.m., they could not stop talking about what a great show it had been, what a great crowd it was to play for. Thanks Chicago! I can’t stop smiling thinking about how happy this band from Holland was and what a great send off we gave them for the rest of their tour. xoxo (make sure you check out Dedicated Ears YouTube channel for more footage of Black Atlantic’s Chicago show)
Earl Greyhound came to my attention yesterday as I rummaged through my inbox. They stuck out for two reasons: excellent guitar solos that don’t take up too much space and are integrated into the rest of the song (god, I hate pushy solos, don’t you?) and a sexy, bluesy, funky vocal track that grabbed me much in the way that White Denim did a few months back. This band is hot! Get in on this, darlings. I’m gonna beg, borrow, or steal my way into the Metro on April 17 to see this band! xoxo Suspicious Package US Tour 4/13 – Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room* 6/4 – Ozark, Arkansas – Wakarusa Festival w/ Coheed and Cambria #  Oliver at Bowery Ballroom 12.21.07 by RedBoy (from their MySpace) In Your Heart mp3 Exploding Head A Place To Bury Strangers …. buy it This band excels at creating a mood of desperate introspection. The hollow, hard beat accompanied by Oliver’s sawing guitar that fills all aural space around it, is just so dark and heavy that there’s no amount of lyrical tinkering that will lighten it. There are no obvious love songs; “In Your Heart” where higher notes and faster rhythms take over, is a tale of heartache and bitterness, brilliantly delivered in a call and response style, (“Don’t say that you’ll be with me again… (You’re Lying.)”) Oliver’s vocals definitely take backseat to the music although comparisons will inevitably be made to the Cure; (inappropriately made, in this blogger’s opinion) he is a reluctant frontman at best. The guitar seems to be his love, not the microphone. But that does not damage the show in any way. We wait for the vocals because they are so seemingly reluctantly done. I would have liked them to have had them mixed more prominently up front that night, but after listening to the album so many times with headphones that is what a fan would think, now isn’t it? When the part of the evening came where we all felt them revving up for the winding down, there was a pause. Oliver stood at the edge of the stage, looking out over the crowd with a hawkish gaze; I mean over every level of the crowd, every section, sizing it up as if to calculate just how far to throw something out to see if it would come back. Jono* continued to prod his bass along with the more than capable (actually thrilling) JSpace on drums and the house lights went dark again. What followed can not be written about as it was a visceral experience lasting 10 minutes or more that I have rarely had at a live music show and which must be felt first hand to truly appreciate. The kids in front of me, who were directly against the barriers, facing the security guards, were writhing and twirling and falling on us – one in particular, dangerously threatening to hurl on me throughout. Thankfully I survived the mayhem without stain or injury. I did shamelessly shield my face more than once as a Fender Jazzmaster swung over our heads. Strobe lights are proof of the existence of faeries, I’m quite certain. For pictures of the show here in Chicago go over here to Loud Loop Press to see Drew Reynolds’ shots. There’s still a long tour ahead, you have time to catch this band live, do it. *And I’ve heard they’ve replaced their bass player, Jono. Do let me know who’s playing now and how they do? xoxo Tour Dates
Yes, you read that right, Barbarella Girl God. It’s another influx of Aussies to Chicago as the SXSW tsunami ripples keep hitting our scene. The Chevelles, a quartet that’s celebrating their 20th Anniversary, are bringing some hard-hitting power pop to the Bottom Lounge Wednesday night along with Love Shack favorites, Gidgets Ga Ga, local band Perfo, and We Repel Each Other. This album of theirs, Barbarella Girl God is impressively concise. Sixteen songs, all about 3 minutes in length, each a perfect little capsule of strong vocals, grinding guitar chords, and a driving beat make this record a repeat listen. I’m very eager to see them play this live. The few slower songs are still compelling, of course. The Chevelles make it all work, making me remember why rock and roll grabs us in the first place. Come out Chicago; you’ll not regret it, xoxo I’ve Got Friends mp3 ….. buy it
With SXSW just finished, so many bands are making their way across the country and March has become the month (or so it seems) when there is a great show every night of the week. This week I could see something wonderful every night! So, I’m begging you, please…. go see Manchester Orchestra for me tomorrow, eh? This promises to be a really great time. Their performance at Lolla last year was something I also regret missing and the promise of it was one of the few things that almost convinced me to brave the crowd… almost. It just seems that I’ll never see this band, damnit! …. well, I don’t know if I can resist this one, I’ll let ya know Now don’t go groaning about the borderline mainstream sound of Manchester Orchestra. They play some awesome, big, verging on “arena rock” or “stadium rock” music. And I’m not opposed to that, not one little bit. Sometimes you just need to rock. the. fuck. out. And Manchester Orchestra brings it, hooks grabbing you hard. Hearing a band like this at the Metro, one of Chicago’s finest venues where you can get up close and personal and still enjoy excellent, loud sound will be a fantastic experience. Go! Read the wonderful Kata Rokkar’s review of the live show from the Bay Area’s Great American Music Hall, March 15, 2010 Tour Dates ** co-headlining dates with Thrice
The Love Life Of The Octopus mp3 The Sounds of The Sounds of Science Yo La Tengo …. buy it So I was nosing around the ‘net last night and kinda sorta wishing I had gone to SXSW to see some cool music. But there is more than music there, did you realize that? Every year I get requests from blogger buddies for ideas and votes for panels. Yeah, people sit around and talk. And in the frenzy of music reporting, it’s often not until weeks later that we hear anything about these panels. Well Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun Times did some good reporting on a very interesting panel… a panel that we as supporters of independent music should take GREAT INTEREST in. Scoot over to his blog and read the run down of the panel “Creative Capitol: Music, Culture and Policy under Obama,” with Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney, of the Obama administration Justice Department. She was the key player in the merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation back in January. This panel shed no light on the matter, of course. The same story was trotted out. Basically these politicos pretend their hands are tied due to our hallowed American values of “free enterprise” and the importance of maintaining an unhindered, competitive market. So just because Ticketmaster/Live Nation “will manage artists, book their concerts, own the concert venues, sell the tickets, sell the merchandise and concessions and in some cases act as the record company,” that is of little concern to Ms. Varney. All the Justice Department can do is hope to peek from time to time at their ticketing practices. (!) Oh, there’s more to it. Jim’s blog gives you the deeper story about the connections between members of the boards of directors of Ticketmaster and Live Nation and the White House, and details on what exactly how the Administration plans to support the music industry. Seriously, go read it. Are there alternatives? Hell yes. Regular readers, you know I don’t personally give a penny to Ticketmaster or Live Nation. If a show is booked at the Vic Theater here in Chicago, I buy at the box office. If it’s somewhere that I cannot do that, I don’t go, end of story. I will not pay the 20-35% of the price of my ticket that is tacked on in fees, to see a live show. That, to my way of thinking, is immoral and insulting to my efforts to support live music, musicianship and especially the culture of independent music. I came of age when this incarnation of independent music was just beginning. I was 15 in 1979 and later, when I learned about the bands I had heard and sought out, I appreciated the effort they made to create and distribute their own work, outside the labels. By the time I was 20, in 1984, I was going to those shows and giving them my money too, buying those homemade cassettes and hand inked zines. So no, don’t ask me to pay your corporation 25% more for the pleasure of purchasing my ticket over the telephone. No thank fuck you. Now, readers, I won’t ask you to do the same. Artists need to be paid and labels do still need to exist. Even independent labels now use venues that Ticketmaster and Live Nation control. The world is not so simple, I know this. My choice is, as is so often, emotionally based. And perhaps not best if enacted en masse. But I do want you to know that there are people and labels and plenty of venues who do take a stand against these rapist corporations. (and they are rapists, I don’t use that word lightly.) Todd Martens from the LA Times music blog, spoke with Matador’s Gerard Cosloy and Domino’s Kris Gillespie, he reports: “Concert tickets for artists on Matador and Domino cost far less than the multi-hundred dollar seats for the Eagles, but they’re still greater than the cost of a digital album download. Additionally, Cosloy noted that recent albums from Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo failed “to sell as many copies as we would have liked,” but ticket sales were strong. Tickets, he added, weren’t exactly cheap, and then were saddled with service charges that ranged between $10 and $20. It caused the band and label to change its approach, opting to hit venues that aren’t locked-in with Ticketmaster deals to avoid surcharges. Said Cosloy, “This spring, they only played shows if there was no ticket charge…. It completely changed the complexion as to what kind of venues they were going to play. It worked out all right, but they had to make a great sacrifice to make it affordable.” Now go buy yourself and your brother the latest Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo records!! Martens goes on to say, “Gillespie chimed in, saying the label would rather see fans paying for a $6.99 download than a $10 service charge.” Doesn’t that make sense? Yes, it’s awesome to love bands that nobody’s heard of yet. But when they explode on the scene we could be even happier for them knowing that they could sign to a label that had this philosophy. Go buy a record from Domino Records!!
Chris Bradley is a musician from Edinburgh; he lives right down the street from a reader of this blog, Shongah, as I’m told. It’s always nice to have a personal connection to music and to know that someone out there knows someone who knows someone …. Anyway, Chris Bradley’s album At The Outpost, is an easy-going affair. His voice croons and coos and slides through the melodies without seeming to care if they will ever end. His guitar steadily keeps pace, jutting out for short bursts of solo notes when it wishes, showing off only ever so slightly. His piano gives off little trills whenever his voice trails off. It rumbles in the buildup and jingles when his voice goes high and light. Each song differs from the rest enough to show the talent of this young man. There’s a nice bluesy sound to much of this but not too much so as to pigeon hole Chris Bradley into being a blues singer, afterall he is Scottish. But yes, I hear a bit of John Martyn in him and that is to say I hear the influence, not the parroting of the great man in this music. It’s quite nice to see a song like “Bored Little Rosie” come out of a music scene like Edinburgh, a song that is such a call back to 70s style blues-rock. I listened to this album quite a lot a few months ago and then left it for all this time. This morning as I have it on again it feels like I’m seeing an old friend again, and gladly! As singer-songwriters go, Chris Bradley is versatile as the day is long – I get the feeling that just walking down the street with him would result in hearing him hum up a new tune. And that is the joy of hanging out around musicians. They are indeed creative folk, often rewarding friends, and the kind of people you want living right down the street from you, xoxo  photo by Romorosso http://www.flickr.com/photos/romorosso/ Can’t Stay Awake mp3 Turning On Cloud Nothings ….. buy it I stumbled into the Empty Bottle last Monday night to catch one of my favorite dastardly duos, My Gold Mask and I just got there early enough to catch this wonderful little band from Cleveland. I have to tell you, right from the first beat, I was completely mesmerized by their drummer. This guy’s sticks were a blur but not because he drums so incredibly fast… his arms are just so fluid; I’ve rarely seen anyone so loose and yet not sloppy. His skills perfectly match the sound Dylan Baldi crafted on his debut album Turing On. Dylan, if you read this, consider my advice: hang on to that drummer if at all possible. But, Cloud Nothings has more going for it than just that. Baldi’s delivery hovers in the apex of lo-fi, garage rock stardom if such an oxymoron could exist. With his guitar worn high on his lean, lanky frame, this front man belts it out into the mic, leaning back between words to seemingly shake off any semblance of normalcy that singing required of him with the full body spasms that indie punk pop demands. All the while his fellow guitarists back him up with equal fervor. Color me wildly entranced by the entire set. The album opens with this killer pop track, continues with more finely crafted tunes. The title track, “Turning On” is slightly repetitive at first listen, but after hearing it live, I cannot listen to it the same way again. It is beautiful evolving into FUN; just a total let loose affair. Baldi has the knack for writing lyrics as well as memorable melodies. Time was well spent in recording good, solid harmonies and layers that don’t muck up the not-quite-finished-yet sound that I love about lo-fi. It’s not as raw as Phil and the Osophers, not as rowdy as anything approaching noise, there’s a very clear melodic quality to everything and a real pop appreciation to where Baldi is going here. Thankfully it’s not as slick as Surfer Blood, it’s frankly right in the spot where I thought some bands who got a lot of press last year were going to be and just weren’t. Sure, there’s room to move forward, it’s a debut album and this is a new, new, new project. It shows immense promise. (Do I really need to tell you that Dylan Baldi is 18 years old?) More than one to watch, Cloud Nothings is one you’d best focus on my darlings, xoxo Read this awesome interview in Lodown Magazine Did you catch them at SXSW? Let me know what you thought. |
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