After spending the better part of two years on the road (including festival stops at Lollapalooza, Glastonbury (UK), Sasquatch, Monolith and tours with The Walkmen, Spoon, Richard Swift, The Cribs, White Denim and Tokyo Police Club) White Rabbits hunkered down in their Brooklyn practice space to set about re-envisioning the dark pop of their debut Fort Nightly, while adding new sounds and influences to achieve an original work. The result is It's Frightening, their second full-length album.
It's Frightening plays like a classic reel of tape from start to finish. Opening with the visceral drums of "Percussion Gun," it is clear that time-off from the road has served the band well. The many highlights include the emotional centerpiece "Company I Keep," the new sonic territory of "Lionesse" and the macabre lyrics of "Right Where They Left." Fans of Fort Nightly will find much to go weak in the knees over and new listeners are in for an awakening as White Rabbits flip the switch on an already impressive beginning. It's Frightening is a journey into the playfully dark musings of Everyman.
This is a MUST SEE show. These guys are incredibly talented and will remind you of what youth, focus and patience for songwriting get you.With Here We Go Magic! Tuesday, April 6, 2010. 9pm. $10 advance /$12 day of show.
Lucero's sixth studio album and major label debut, 1372 Overton Park, is due October 6 on Universal/Republic Records. Produced by Ted Hutt (The Gaslight Anthem) and featuring horn arrangements by legendary Memphis session player Jim Spake (Al Green, John Hiatt, Solomon Burke, Cat Power), the record marks a decided turn toward the Memphis soul sound that has long informed the band's records from afar. 1372 Overton Park follows the band's 2006 release, Rebels, Rogues & Sworn Brothers, hailed by Pitchfork as "the best showcase for the band's taut dynamic yet."
The new album's name comes from the address of the Memphis loft in which all four band members lived, practiced and even recorded portions of their 2003 release That Much Further West (the history of the space itself is even more colorful—in the '70s, 1372 Overton Park was a karate dojo where local resident Elvis Presley, among others, took lessons). Over recent years band members have gradually moved out leaving lead singer and guitarist Ben Nichols the sole resident of the space until word finally came down that the building would be sold and demolished. Almost as if marking the end of an era not only for the building but for the band as well, this record turns the page and signals a strong move toward the Memphis soul sound that has long served as an influence for the group. Nichols explains, "When [saxophonist] Jim Spake put that first horn track down, we began thinking of the record as having a certain sound. We heard pieces of Memphis history being played over our songs and it floored us and we just went with it."
TICKETS ARE GOING FAST, GET YOURS NOW! With opener Glossary, 9pm. $14 advance/$16 day of show.
The story begins with a classic musical travel adventure: an ad in the music section of New York City's Village Voice. In the mid-'90s Elana James was looking to join a "gigging band" when Whit Smith answered her ad. Though he had no shows on the books, Whit somehow convinced Elana to come down to his East Village apartment and rock out for an evening just to see what would happen. When she arrived, he opened the door in big furry slippers and the rest is history.
More than a decade later, the Hot Club of Cowtown has grown to be the most globe-trotting, hard-swinging Western Swing trio on the planet. From early days busking for tips in San Diego's Balboa Park, the band has grown and developed into a formidable international sensation. The Hot Club's ever-growing presence on the international festival scene has grown with its relentless touring over the years alongside the release of five critically acclaimed CDs on American Roots label HighTone Records. In August 2008 the Hot Club's sixth CD, "The Best of the Hot Club of Cowtown," a hand-picked, band-picked, twenty-song retrospective, was released by Shout!Factory.
Sunday, March 21, 2010. 8pm. $10 advance / $12 day of show.
After more than 15 years making music, it's obvious Ohio duo Over The Rhine is in it for the long haul, and for keeps. Their commitment is underscored by their latest, The Trumpet Child, and its opening track, "I Don't Wanna Waste Your Time," a manifesto of sorts for the artists recently named to Paste magazine's list of 100 Best Living Songwriters. Look no further than the lyrics to this track for what animates Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist, the married couple at the heart of Over The Rhine: "I hope this night puts down deep roots / I hope we plant a seed / 'Cause I don't wanna waste your time / With music you don't need."
Over The Rhine may not be a household name, but to call the act's followers "fanatical" would understate the point, and they're not shy about converting the curious. Why? For starters, there's Bergquist's torchy, devil-may-care voice, brimming with Midwestern soul, unafraid to lay bare every emotional resonance. And again, there's the life-and-death commitment dripping from her every word. "I'm either into it or I'm not, because there's no faking it with me," Bergquist notes. "Life's way too short for that."
Thursday, March 11, 2010. 8:30pm. $18 advance / $20 day of show.
As with many artists, these extracurricular activities are just window dressing compared to his main focus: performing live. Typically traveling as duo (w/ acoustic piano), Redbone's musical repertoire can hover between Dylan's "Living the Blues," Jelly Roll Morton's "I Hate a Man Like You," Eddy Arnold's "Bouquet of Roses" and the childhood folk favorite "Polly Wolly Doodle." Known more for covering other artists' songs, the musician admits he comes up with a few tunes of his own every decade, but counters with a grin, "I think that they're all mine to begin with."
If there is one common element to Redbone's diverse music it's his mastery of his acoustic guitar. It is easy to get lost in his stage exploits (which often gravitate between vaudeville and performance art) and overlook what a truly fine player he is -- fingerpicking with a ragtime bounce or jumping between chords with the grace of a hurdler. (Maybe the analogy should be with the grace of a card shark, because he makes it look so effortless it can often be deceiving.)
Wednesday, March 3, 2010. 8pm. $20 advance / $25 day of show.
