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1. MP3: Pfisters – She’s Mine
2. MP3: Pfisters – Cluck-U

Pfisters can be found in their native habitat, the live show, TWICE this weekend: the DNA Test Fest III pre-party at their home-base, Ruintown on Fri Apr 2nd, and the big show proper on Sat Apr 3rd at Sonar.

Punk for the musically capable is what crossed my mind on the first playthrough of Narcicity. That assessment certainly holds up when you break down Pfisters’ membership: the trio is comprised of Jason Donnells (The New Flesh), and Glenn Gentzke and Darren Bolk (both ex-Trash Camp), a veritable treasure-trove of local out-there rock talent.

Pfisters, (much like the New Flesh) forgo the mind-numbing and simplistic repetition of technically mundane elements, essentially eschewing the bricks and mortar for the majority of punk that takes off fast and hits hard. Guitar and bass on this album rip with startlingly proficient abandon and a garage-y twang; drums manage to attain accuracy both rhythmic and arrhythmic, whether flailing into anemic disintegration or propelling forward in tightly meted phrases. They also dabble in unpredictable tonal progressions and chords. However, their true hat-trick is that this release manages to pack so many elements that would normally be considered abrasive and challenging, into something effortlessly listenable. I attribute this partly to their uncanny ability to carve melodies out of madness.

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Despite a horrendously rainy evening, I made the trek up to Philadelphia to see two of my absolute favorite extant artists (Wye Oak and Shearwater) play impressive sets at Johnny Brenda’s. Though a bit oddly shaped, and accordingly awkward for sound, the venue is an absolute charmer. It feels like a back-room, private cabaret with some insane lighting rigs and luxuriously appointed design elements such as buttoned red velvet cushions on the walls. The venue shoots upwards two stories, but is shallow and intimate, making sure you are never more than 10 rows from the stage (which is well-elevated for a venue this size, giving everyone good sightlines).

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Photo & words: Greg Szeto

This was an interesting and unusual night. Billed moreso a night of spiritual cleansing as opposed to a night of live music, the theme was to usher in the transitioning seasons, notably the Spring equinox. Things started off with Secret Secrets delivering some dark and moody sounds. Alternating periods of gentle and pummeling percussion (courtesy of Melissa Moore), swelled amidst the melodic vocals, loops and synths of Beverly Shana Palmer (Childe Bride), and the guitar, feedback and throatsinging of Gerry Mak (recent Baltimore transplant and unwitting proxy for down-and-out hipster life and reflexive ire for it). This allowed us to check off the astral communication/seances portion of the night, and left you with that dark, inwardly reflective feeling that visits cold, black nights in front of a fire.

Then, the glorious and cathartic thawing and rejuvenation was led by a collaborative set between our very own Bethany Dinsick and out-of-towner Teaadora Nikolova. They split the second set of the evening in half, Bethany’s gentle and ascendant melodies, particularly her soprano-ranged vocals, slowly warmed us before Teaadora’s music (and an abrupt bit of performance art barbering) brought the show to a reservedly sunny close.

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1. Improvization
2. Bethany Dinsick – Oklahoma Alley
3. Bethany Dinsick – Bottle Tree
4. Bethany Dinsick – Love Vacation
5. Bethany Dinsick – Ecuador
6. Bethany Dinsick – Bad Lil’ Boy
Teaadora – Serial Dating (omitted at artist request)
7. Teaadora – On Conversations: On an On an On an On
8. Teaadora – Untitled
9. Teaadora – Don’t Expect a Stradivarius

Download entire set as MP3s

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1. MP3: The Work – Cain & Abel from Slow Crimes (1982)
2. MP3: Konk Pack – Off Leash Excerpt from Off Leash (2004)

Tentative plan for tonight: 930PM start, order (first to last) = Matmos > Leprechaun Catering > Konk Pack

Tonight, Baltimore is once again ground-zero for an atom-bomb of experimental improv talents. Firstly, there are few openers that hit harder than the one-two punch of local luminaries Leprechaun Catering and Matmos. The former’s ever-engrossing, stream of thought racket combines seamlessly with the latter’s deft compositions that somehow use unconventional tools to mine the deepest pits of experimentalism, and emerge with gleaming gold nuggets of pop.

But people around here already know that. So I’m going to take a second and introduce tonight’s special guests, British/German imrpov trio Konk Pack. Read the rest…

Photo credit: http:​/​/​www.​firkingood.​com

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1. MP3: Untitled

Download the entire set in FLAC.

Insect Factory

guitar – stereo DI’s
stage – apex 460 tube (c12 modded clone-set to omni)
stage – mxl 990 (angled at 45 deg in towards the middle of the stage)
mid room: Oktava 012 (x/y)
back room: AT871R Boundary

Recorded by Matthew Leffler-Schulman & Alex Champagne @ Windup Space
Mixed by Matthew Leffler-Schulman & Alex Champagne @ Mobtown Studios

Tracked with Logic 9.1

Photo credit: Tedd Henn

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1. MP3: Untitled
2. MP3: Five Fives
3. MP3: Cowboy Song
4. MP3: The Hyena and Other Men

Download the entire set in FLAC.

Yeveto

kick – shure beta 52
snare – shure sm57
overheads – shure sm81s
guitar amp – sennheiser 421
cello – DI
cello – oktava 012
keys – DI
moog – DI
stage – apex 460 tube (set to omni)
stage – mxl 990 (angled at 45 deg in towards the middle of the stage)
mid room – oktava 012 (x/y)
back room – AT boundary

Recorded by Matthew Leffler-Schulman & Alex Champagne @ Windup Space
Mixed by Matthew Leffler-Schulman @ Mobtown Studios

Tracked with Logic 9.1

Photo credit: Greg Szeto

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1. MP3: Untitled
2. MP3: Untitled
3. MP3: Untitled
4. MP3: Untitled

Download the entire set in FLAC.

Nathan Bell (feat. Ami Dang)

drum overheads – shure sm81s
banjo amp – sennheiser 421
banjo spot – oktava 012
sitar amp – sennheiser 421
acoustic guitar with pickup – shure sm57 on amp
stage – apex 460 tube (set to omni)
stage – mxl 990 (angled at 45 deg in towards the middle of the stage)
mid room – oktava 012 (x/y)
back room – AT boundary

Recorded by Matthew Leffler-Schulman & Alex Champagne @ Windup Space
Mixed by Matthew Leffler-Schulman @ Mobtown Studios

Photo credit: Tedd Henn

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1. MP3: They Will Seek to Poison You
2. MP3: Untitled Instrumental
3. MP3: Augusta
4. MP3: The Quivering Gyre of the Mid-Atlantic

Download the entire set in FLAC.

Gregory Rago

Acoustic guitar – Shure SM81 pointed at the 12th fret
Room Mics – Oktava 012 (x/y)

Recorded by Matthew Leffler-Schulman & Alex Champagne @ Windup Space
Mixed by Matthew Leffler-Schulman @ Mobtown Studios

Tracked with Logic 9.1

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MP3: Height With Friends – Cold Crush from the upcoming LP Bed of Seeds (2010) on Friends Records

Height With Friends plays the Windup Space with The Snails, Dope Body, and King Rhythm on Sat Mar 20. Doors @ 9PM, $7 cover.

Height is on a roll. Not only did he and his Friends drop some free knowledge on everyone earlier this week via the release of a free EP (Druid Hill Lake), but he also bids our fair city a temporary farewell with a tour send-off show this Saturday (the show is formerly known as a record release party). The crew hits the road on tour with Nuclear Power Pants.

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, the release of his next LP, Bed of Seeds, had to be delayed. Fortunately, the latest EP is culled from those tracks, so you get a good sense of what they have to offer. Let us add one more bell to that Pavlovian response as we premiere “Cold Crush.”

On Bed of Seeds, Dan and his cohorts’ impeccable ear for quality samples and beats has broadened to include a wider and more dynamic range, stretching from the expected territories of blues and soul, into the frontiers of gentle acoustic balladry and bubbly pop melodies. “Cold Crush” features a simple, smoldering sax line to back Height’s reflective narration on hip-hop pioneers The Cold Crush Brothers’ brush with wider fame and recognition. The track is as much celebration as lamentation, its descending lines underscoring the group’s fading hopes of eventually nailing down mainstream success and exposure.

While not quite a household name in hip-hop, the influence of the Cold Crush is undeniable, from their infamous live performances and tapes, to a number of moments where they seemed on the brink of blowing up. Their most high-profile run-in occurred with a donated verse on classic anthem “Rapper’s Delight.” Member Grandmaster Caz hoped to get some reciprocation for his goodwill to Hank of the Sugar Hill Gang, but got no such love. Down the line, he eventually spoke his peace on the matter with the retort “MC Delight.”

Tour dates for Height With Friends and Nuclear Power Pants after the jump.
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Photo credit: Tedd Henn

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1. MP3: The Dirge
2. MP3: Origami
3. MP3: Church & State
4. MP3: Interpretation of Dreams

Download the entire set in FLAC.

Expanding Man

Vibes – Shure SM81 (x/y)
Guitar – Shure SM57
Drum Machine – DI
stage – mxl 990 (angled at 45 deg in towards the middle of the stage)

Recorded by Matthew Leffler-Schulman & Alex Champagne @ Windup Space
Mixed by Alex Champagne & Matthew Leffler-Schulman @ Mobtown Studios