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Contest: Lovvers, Deep Sleep, Rah Rah Replica (Bikini Kill Tribute), Darlings @ the Talking Head (2009.07.18)

lovvers

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MP3: Darlings – Teenage Girl

Giving away two tickets to the Lovvers / Deep Sleep / Rah Rah ReplicaDarlings show at the Talking Head this Saturday July 18th.

Let us know who you want to see most and why in the comments.  Winner will be chosen on Friday July 17th!

Photos / Live Review: Frodus, Sick Weapons, Caverns, Solar Powered Sun Destroyer @ the Talking Head (2009.05.08)

Flickrshow will appear here.

Also photographing that night: the inimitable Josh Sisk.  Peep his shots here.

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MP3: Frodus – The Earth Isn’t Humming

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MP3: Caverns – Dancing With the Scars

Solar Powered Sun Destroyer opened what was sure to be a memorable night. At first, I wasn’t sure if they were on the right bill or not.  Having not seen or heard them before, I didn’t know what to expect. They were good, don’t get me wrong, but they weren’t really what I was expecting. I guess seeing a show headlined by Frodus, I was expecting more of a scream-y band.

Now, I’m not making a case for bands that sound different not playing shows together. Their sound was post rock-ish, and compared to what I knew lay ahead, just didn’t really blow me away. Better suited to open a Mogwai show, I felt. I guess it was just the whole mood of their set which was much more hushed and restrained than everyone else who played this evening. The set started, ended and re-started abruptly because of a loss of sound, which I’m told was possibly due to their own lighting (awesome, by the way, pretty blues and whites in an otherwise completely dark Talking Head).

I missed Caverns at Aural States Fest. I had heard they were pretty active, and I wasn’t misled. It seems like Early Humans have been channelled by 2 of DC’s finest new bands: Imperial China and Caverns,  and I couldn’t be happier. What’s more, just like Early Humans, both bands are 3 pieces.  Coincidence?

Caverns play a form of instrumental and highly technical metal/punk augmented by piano. Guitarist Kevin Hilliard commanded attention, from the stage and the floor, for the duration of their set. Back and forth he runs like a madman. Into the crowd, back to the stage, hardly ever stopping except to heap praise on the night’s stars: a recently reformed Frodus. He utilized every inch of floor space he could find, and when he ran out he pushed his way into the crowd to open up an even larger hole. At one point he accompanied piano player Patrick Taylor with his foot (a welcomed display of histrionics). The band chugged along at breakneck speeds, propelled by Ross Hurt’s drumming. Several times throughout the show Hilliard paid homage to Frodus. “The best band ever from DC,” according to Hilliard. I don’t know if I’d go as far as to say “best band ever,” but definitely in the top ten. I reserve the best spot for Fugazi (speaking of bands reforming…).

Sick Weapons, I must admit I had never heard of, and I felt guilty because I got the feeling I’ve been a little behind the times. It was apparent that I may have been the only one there who hadn’t heard of them before. The crowd gathered much closer to the stage for their performance. Singer Ellie Beziat swigged from her bottle of Natty Boh, and even rapped a little, recalling a grade school project. It’s not the rap they’ll be remembered for, but the way in which they pumped everyone up for what was still to come: the gods of spazz, Frodus. Sick Weapons played sleazy Baltimore punk with no filler or frills, just the way we like it. Just like blue crab and Old Bay, that’s all we need.

Frodus is a band I that I’ve known about since their release Fireflies but had never seen live…until now. My expectations were high, and I was anxious to see them. Fortunately, they did not disappoint. I really never thought that I would ever see this band perform live, so the news that they were back together was so great to hear. The place really went apeshit for these guys and it’s easy to see why.

Drummer Jason Hamacher started things off with a little “deep tissue massage” on a willing member of the audience, just to loosen things up. Then on went his gloves, and for the next hour Frodus rocked the Talking Head. At one point someone asked Hamacher to try and kick him in the face. That never happened, but he did make his way from the stage mid-song, trading off drumming with guitarist Shelby Cinca.  Diving into the crowd, he was passed along the ceiling and then back to his kit to finish the song without missing a beat. This show may as well have been billed as “Frodus Karaoke” because I’m not sure who sung more, Cinca or the audience. It was clear that a lot of people in the audience knew this band, and knew them well. This was clearly who everyone was there for.

The evening ended with the  classic “Cha Chi” to which Cinca told the disappointed crowd, begging for more, “DC bands don’t do encores.” When it was all over I picked my jaw up off the floor and tried to clear the sound of sirens from Cinca’s bullhorn from my ears into the next morning. If Wall Street is reading this, your asses best be hiding right now because Frodus is back in a big way (and I think they’re gunning for you).

Live Audio: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart @ the Talking Head (2008.05.05)

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Thanks go to Shawn Breen for recording the set!  My review of the show (complete with Shantel’s wonderful pictures).

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
Talking Head Club
Baltimore, MD
May 5, 2009

Source: M-Audio Microtrack II @ 48/24 bit
Compression: wav > flac, wav > mp3
Taper: Shawn Breen

At the request of the band, we’ve posted only a few of the choicest cuts from the set.

Notes:
Lineup: Secret MountainsDeleted ScenesZazaThe Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
Sound: Chris Freeland
SUPPORT LOCAL MUSIC

02.

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 This Love Is Fucking Right!

04.

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 Come Saturday

07.

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 103

Photos / Live Review: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Zaza, Deleted Scenes, Secret Mountains @ the Talking Head (2009.05.05)

All photos: Shantel Mitchell

All words: Greg Szeto

Secret Mountains started off a bit unsteady, but really grew into a precious and nicely textured bit folk pop; in particular, lead-singer Kelly Laughlin’s vocals grew really warm and full (despite having a nasty cough between songs).  I’ll be on the look-out for their future work.

DC’s Deleted Scenes’ much-ballyhooed debut, Birdseed Shirt, didn’t really leave a lasting impression on me, or Alexa.  But as I suspected, things really opened up for their sound live, where I got the full sense of their grand range and the broad textures used in their sound.  In particular, the track “Ithaca” that I felt languished on the album, really expanded live into an appropriately grand gesture that swept you away.  I really got a better sense of their refined arrangements, and the myriad small touches that make them much greater and more diverse than the average guitar-bass-synths-drums rock outfit.  Add in their excellent stage energy, and I was duly impressed.

Deleted Scenes perform “Ithaca,” Live @ the Talking Head

Zaza cut the lights and seduced me like no other group on the bill.  The slinky bass grooves were motivating, and played well with the crushing weight of guitar.  A mere three-piece, they made effective use of loops, effects and a drum machine to amplify their sound to epic proportions, sounding more like an army than any 3 people should have a right to.  While their theatrics and music may have felt a bit over the top at times, their meticulous attention to atmospherics and every seeming detail of performance right down to the sultry, swaying bassist completely absorbed you in their performance.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart were almost exactly what I expected: good kids having a good time playing good tunes.  Their perfectly-pop compositions rang true, sugar-y and bouncey, hitting all the right nerves.  For all their shoegaze-y aspirations, I thought they were a bit timid and reserved, especially in contrast to the preceding lusciousness that was Zaza, and their precious and affected vocals turned just a bit too much out-of-tune, but overall, a respectable and satisfying set.

Thanks to Shawn Breen for catching the audio, and the band for being so kind as to grant us permission to post it.  You can find excerpts from the set here.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

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Live Review: Mahjongg @ the Talking Head (2009.04.28)

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Mahjongg, Live in Chicago

Four men approach the stage- setting up a drum set, keyboards and a sound machine, the lanky lead vocalist straps on an electric guitar behind a standing microphone, setting a loop that skips like a broken VHS tape. So starts the captivating metamorphosis of Mahjongg.

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Preview: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ the Talking Head

pains-flier

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MP3: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Young adult friction from TPOBPAH LP (2009)

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MP3: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Doing all the things that wouldn’t make your parents proud from TPOBPAH EP (2007)

Tonight at the Talking Head: shoegaze fanatics rejoice at the rescheduled appearance of the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, along with DC’s own wunderkinds Deleted Scenes.

8PM doors, $10 cover.

Check out some insightful words Zack exchanged with them in interview, and ink he spilled on their self-titled debut album.  Music videos and live footage after the jump.
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Aural States Fest 2009: Live Audio – Hollywood

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Photo credit: Josh Sisk

Hollywood brought the house down and ended the night just how I planned it.  Hard, dirty and thrashy.

Hollywood
Aural States Fest
Talking Head Club
Baltimore, MD
January 30, 2009

Source: mg sms2000/200 > tascam hd-p2 (oade – acm) @ 44.1/16 bit
Compression: cdwav > flac
Taper: Steve Sanford

Stream and download individual MP3s after the jump.

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Aural States Fest 2009: Live Audio – Andy Abelow feat. Caleb Stine, Bob Keal, John Varrone, Bethany Dinsick, Austin Stahl

img_3176This was sort of a Make A Wish foundation type moment.  Multi-instrumentalist and musical Swiss Army Knife Andy Abelow has always implied interest in having a band.  And he assembled a doozy of one for his first time, opening our little fest.  I’d like to think we catalyzed a little bit of a dream to come true.

While you’re heading out to the Zodiac this Friday the 13th for Beach House, make sure to stop by the Windup Space and catch Andy’s set, where he will again be backed by a band.  You won’t regret it.

Andy Abelow
Aural States Fest
Talking Head Club
Baltimore, MD
January 30, 2009

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Compression: cdwav > flac
Taper: Steve Sanford

Stream and download individual MP3s after the jump.  Also catch some nifty video from Zach Kaufmann from SpliceToday.

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Aural States Fest 2009: Live Audio – Caverns

img_9223Sick.  Heavy.  The sonic apocalypse (as tagged by the UK rag Metal Hammer).  It could only be Caverns.

Caverns
Aural States Fest
Talking Head Club
Baltimore, MD
January 30, 2009

Source: mg sms2000/200 > tascam hd-p2 (oade – acm) @ 44.1/16 bit
Compression: cdwav > flac
Taper: Steve Sanford

Download the full set formatted as: MP3 or FLAC

Stream and download individual MP3s after the jump.

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Aural States Fest 2009: Live Audio – Imperial China

img_9133Long have we sung the praises of DC’s Imperial China, and finally, Baltimore gave them the crowd (both in size and reception) they deserve.  Another gloriously kinetic and rhythmic punch to the gut as they bring their live show up a notch and down to the floor, Baltimore-style.

Imperial China
Aural States Fest
Talking Head Club
Baltimore, MD
January 30, 2009

Source: mg sms2000/200 > tascam hd-p2 (oade – acm) @ 44.1/16 bit
Compression: cdwav > flac
Taper: Steve Sanford

Download the full set formatted as: MP3 or FLAC

Stream and download individual MP3s after the jump.

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