Tag: tour

Murder by O’Death @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Some background before I begin this one: I work at a music venue and have a musician boyfriend. This means that my entire life is spent getting paid to go to shows (oh no, my life is so hard!). Seriously though, it’s a blessing and a curse because since the above fact is true it means I rarely go to shows that I’m not working or my boyfriend is playing. Which is why this past Sunday was such a treat for me.

This was the first big show I went to in forever where I got to go back to being just a person going to a show. I remember walking into the room with the feeling of excitement at seeing two big acts and having no responsibilities other than to have a good time. The band started playing almost immediately after I arrived. I slowly weaved through the crowd towards the front of the room, where I found a friend of mine who was also attending that evening’s performance. I stayed firmly planted in that same spot up front for the entire night, only moving when Murder by Death’s crowd started to get slightly rambunctious up front and to my right. I was so engrossed in the performance that I barely noticed it happen. All of a sudden I was getting pushed to the left. I didn’t care; it was all in fun. It was all part of the experience.

And what an experience it was! O’Death I have seen before several times and they have never disappointed me. The first time was opening for one of my favorite bands of all time, The World/Inferno Friendship Society. I remember not knowing what to expect that night, and being absolutely in awe of them by the time their set was over. This time I was there mostly to see them, and barely knew any of Murder by Death’s music. Obviously I’ve listened to them before, but I’ve never been to see them live and had no idea what to expect. Despite not knowing all the words to the songs like what seemed true for the rest of the kids in the front, I still had a fantastic time. The band held a captivating performance, to the point where I had forgotten how long I had been standing and had fun trying to get my legs to move again at the end of the night. It was a great show, and I highly encourage you to catch them either during this tour or in the future. Bonus points if you can get both bands to play on the same bill again. Individually they are both great, but the pairing makes it even better.

Both bands are at Union Transfer tonight, which is a fun coincidence since I will be in Philly seeing World/Inferno. (I love it when life comes full circle like that). The rest of the dates are as follows:

  • March 7 – Black Cat – Washington DC
  • March 8 – Kings Barcade – Raleigh, NC
  • March 10 – The Orpheum – Tampa, FL
  • March 11 – The Social – Orlando, FL
  • March 12 – Terminal West – Atlanta, GA
  • March 13 – Mercy Lounge – Nashville, TN
  • March 14 – The Bluebird – Bloomington, IN

All dates are with O’Death

Pandemics Take Philly

As I mentioned in my most recent post, I plan on adding a lot more content to this site. I also mentioned a certain band I’m associated with called “The Pandemics,” and that I would be writing about a recent trip to Philly they took. The show itself was nothing special, but it was still a worthwhile trip. For one thing it was their first show since November, so it was good practice for a bigger show they have coming up later this month with Mephiskapheles and Inspector 7. For another, it was the first time the band had gotten together for 2 or 3 weeks, since holidays got in the way of their rehearsing schedule. So, even though they were competing against the Eagles game and didn’t have many people in attendance, it was still a great trip out for everyone. That’s an important lesson for touring bands to learn. When you first get out on the road, you don’t always make money on tour. In fact, your first couple times out you should expect to lose (or at best break even). But it’s still great for you to get your name out there and also get some bonding time with your bandmates. If you play your cards right, eventually the money will follow.

Thanks for waiting patiently while we dust ourselves off from a rough year. Here’s some picks from the road to hold you over until next time:

 

 

PS – If you’re interested in the Meph/Inspector 7 show I mentioned, it’s Jan 24th at Revolution Bar & Music Hall in Amytville, NY. Message me on the Facebook page and I’ll tell you how to get reduced price tickets from the band. Support your local ska scene!

 

Jukebox the Ghost – Half Crazy Video

The guys from Jukebox the Ghost have been quite busy lately. They’re fresh off a tour from Europe and have another one coming soon in the U.S. In between all of that they added a new music video to the internet. This one is for the song “Half Crazy,” which is off of their last album, Everything Under the Sun. It has been posted below for your viewing pleasure.

Their December tour starts on the first in DC and continues the next day to Brooklyn Bowl in NY. Full list of dates are:

12/1 – Washington, DC – 930 Club %
12/2 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl (21+)%
12/3 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer &
12/4 – Pittsburgh, PA – Brillobox %
12/8 – Providence, RI – The Spot
12/9 – Hamden, CT – The Space

% = w/ Spinto Band, Deleted Scenes
& = w/ Spinto Band, White Birds

You can be sure I will be attending the Brooklyn Bowl gig and taking a gratuitous amount of photos.

Rachael Yamagata – Chesapeake

Rachael Yamagata has one of the smoothest, most soulful voices of just about anyone I’ve heard. From the first notes of “Saturday Morning” you know you are in for an experience that will both sooth and awaken you. “I Don’t Want To Be Your Mother” is a beautiful ballad that hits you in places you didn’t know you had, while “Even If I Don’t” has a more driving force behind it that will make you want to get up and face whatever life has in store for you. I have always been impressed with the voice quality Yamagata brings to the table, and this album did not disappoint my expectations in the least.

Chesapeake will be released Oct 11th on Yamagata’s own Frankenfish Records. Tour dates start Oct 24th at Port City Music Hall in Portland, ME and run through December, ending with two nights in NYC at City Winery Dec 21st & 22nd. She will also be at Maxwells in Hoboken on Dec 19th and 20th. Full list of tour dates is as follows:

OCTOBER
10/24 Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall
10/25 Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
10/27 Ithaca, NY @ Delilah’s on Cayuga
10/28 North Hampton, MA @ Iron Horse
10/30 Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
10/31 Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live

NOVEMBER
11/1 Alexandria, VA @ Birchmere
11/2 Baltimore, MD @ Sound Stage
11/4 Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory
11/5 Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Café
11/6 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
11/7 Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall
11/8 Chicago, IL @ Logan Square

11/10 Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Ballroom
11/11 Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
11/12 Davenport, IA @ Redstone Room
11/14 Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar
11/16 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
11/18 Salt Lake City, UT @ State Room
11/20 Spokane, WA @ A Club
11/21 Vancouver, Canada @ Media Club
11/22 Seattle, WA @ Crocodile
11/23 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
11/25 San Francisco, CA @ Slims
11/27 San Diego, CA @ Casbah
11/29 Los Angeles, CA @ Troubador
11/30 Tuscon, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom

DECEMBER
12/2 Austin, TX @ The Parish
12/3 Houston, TX @ Fitzgeralds (Upstairs)
12/4 Dallas, TX @ The Loft
12/5 Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom (2nd Stage)
12/7 St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill
12/8 Nashville, TN @ 12th and Porter
12/9 Birmingham, AL @ Work Play
12/10 Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl
12/12 Charleston, SC @ New Brookland
12/13 Charlotte, NC @ Local 508
12/15 Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
12/16 Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern
12/17 Louisville, KY @Headliners
12/18 Columbus, OH @ The Basement
12/19 Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwells
12/20 Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwells
12/21 New York, NY @ City Winery
12/22 New York, NY @ City Winery

You can find more information on her website, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Jim Jones Revue – Dishonest John

I already wrote a review of Jim Jones’ album, so I’m just going to leave this video here

Jim Jones are set to appear on The Late Show with David Letterman on Monday, August 29th at 11:35pm EST. Tour starts September 1st with local dates Sept 10th at Music Hall of Williamsburg and Sept 18th at Maxwell’s in Hoboken. Complete list of dates can be found in my previous post.

The Amplify Peace Tour

The Amplify Peace Tour starts Friday, June 17th in Delaware. Here is the press release from Property Of Zack:

PropertyOfZack could not be more stoked to exclusively announce The Amplify Peace Tour featuring Koji and Jeff Pianki. In March of 2011, Koji and Colormake partnered with the advocacy group Resolve to share the stories of communities in central Africa that have been affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA. The Resolve Tour urged audiences across the entire United States to call on their members of Congress to pay attention to the LRA, and to take action on it. Koji is now taking it one step further with The Amplify Peace Tour. Inspired by the stories of Ugandan women using songs to let their abducted children know that they are forgiven and will be welcomed back home, Koji and Colormake will be partnering with The Voice Project, an organization that is using the power of music and the radio to call these abducted soldiers home. Attendees of The Amplify Peace Tour will have the opportunity to lend their voices to a Voice Project/Colormake recording project that will be broadcasted to abducted LRA soldiers in the Congo, encouraging them to lay down their weapons and come home.

This tour will prove to be a night of good music for an important cause. Koji is a fantastic performer and person, always engaging the audience with his music and stories.

Dates for the tour are as follows:

6/17 – Limestone Presbyterian – Wilmington, DE – Event – Tickets

6/26 – Archway Center – Altoona, PA – Event – Tickets

7/19 – Midtown Scholar – Harrisburg, PA – Event– Tickets

7/21 – Musica – Akron, OH – Event – Tickets

7/22 – The Crofoot Ballroom – Pontiac, MI – Event – Tickets

7/23 – Beat Kitchen – Chicago, IL (17+) – Event – Tickets

7/27 – The Studio at Webster Hall – New York, NY (19+) – Event – Tickets

7/28 – Treehouse Books – Philadelphia, PA – Event – Tickets

7/29 – TBA

7/30 – Bull Run Unitarian Universalist Church – Manassas, VA – Event – Tickets

Jukebox the Ghost/Wakey Wakey Tour

Last week I was lucky enough to make it to both the Brooklyn and NYC dates of Jukebox the Ghost tour with Wakey Wakey. The Brooklyn show was at Rock Shop, and the other was at Bowery Ballroom. This was my first time at Rock Shop, and it might be one of my new favorite venues. It was a nice space with good sound and just enough room to dance. Highlights from this tour included a very memorable fan at this venue and three new songs performed by the band (two new songs + a tasteless cover). The cover was of Huey Lewis’ “The Power of Love,” which fans seemed to respond well to. The two new songs sound great, and have me very excited for future new material and hopefully a new record. There’s eight videos from the Rock Shop on my YouTube page, but I will post the new stuff below.

Here are the two new songs:

and the tasteless cover:

Like I said, I love the new stuff, and I even caught myself singing them after two nights in a row of seeing them performed live. The complete set list was as follows:

Mistletoe
Half Crazy
Hold It In
Interlude/The Stars
Empire
Summer Sun
new song
Nobody
new song
Good Day
Static
Power of Love (Huey Lewis cover)
Schizophrenia

Be sure to check out the other videos I took, as well as a few pictures from the two shows.

April Smith and the Great Picture Show – New Tour Dates

Fans of April Smith and the Great Picture Show have something to get excited about today, as they have announced new tour dates for March and April:

03/20: Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl
03/25: New York, NY – Apple Store (14th Street)
04/10: Cincinnati, OH – 20th Century Theatre
04/11: Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
04/12: Charleston, SC – The Music Farm
04/14: Atlanta, GA – The Loft at Center Stage Atlanta
04/17: Mobile, AL – Soul Kitchen
04/18: Houston, TX – House of Blues – Bronze Peacock
04/19: Austin, TX – La Zona Rosa
04/20: Dallas, TX – House of Blues – Cambridge Room
04/22: Santa Fe, NM – Santa Fe Brewing Co.

Personally I’m very excited about this because 1) I missed the recent Mercury Lounge show due to illness, and 2) Brooklyn Bowl is a fantastic venue that I think will serve them well. Look for a review of the Brooklyn show here after it happens.

Jukebox the Ghost pre-order + tour

Lots of exciting things happening in the world of Jukebox the Ghost. First of all, they are going to be at Lollapalooza this weekend. (Knock ’em dead, boys!) This is just the start of what will be their “Yay our album has finally been released” tour. They’re probably calling it the “Everything Under the Sun” tour, but my title is what all the fans are likely saying. Full list of dates follows:

AUGUST
6 – Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza BMI Stage
7 – Chicago, IL – Official Lollapalooza After-Party at Bottom Lounge (12:30am)

SEPTEMBER
15 – Boston, MA – Great Scott *
16 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg *
17 – Baltimore, MD – Sonar *
18 – Charlottesville, VA- The Southern Cafe & Music Hall *
20 – Louisville, KY – The Vernon Club *#
21 – St Louis, MO – Cicero’s *#
22 – Little Rock, AR – Juanita’s Cantina Ballroom *#
23 – Houston, TX – House of Blues *#
24 – Austin, TX – The ND at 501 Studios *#
25 – Frisco, TX – Oysterfest *#^
28 – San Diego, CA – The Loft UCSD #&
30 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo #&

OCTOBER
2 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill #&
4 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios #&
5 – Seattle, WA – High Dive #&
7 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court #&
8 – Denver, CO – Hi Dive #&
9 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown Jr #
11 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry %
12 – Milwaukee, WI – The Cactus Club %
14 – Indianapolis, IN – MOKB Presents @ Radio Radio %
15 – Pittsburgh, PA – The Brillobox %
16 – Washington, DC – The Black Cat %

* = w/ Via Audio
# = w/ Hooray for Earth
& = w/ AB & the Sea
% = w/ Elizabeth & the Catapult
^ = w/ Rhett Miller, Ekterklang, Bowerbirds, and more

Also, don’t forget to pre-order your copy of “Everything Under the Sun” while there’s still time. The album will be available to the public on Sept 7.

Arcade Fire – The Suburbs (A Review)

Arcade Fire’s new album, “The Suburbs” is an experience that is powerful both musically and lyrically. The songs are upbeat and energetic at times, mellow and thoughtful at others. “Half Life” has pounding music that feels ready to burst any minute. It resolves to “Half Life II”, which starts slow and builds back up again.

Another word to describe the album is “eclectic”. “Suburban War” has war-like drum beats followed by the next track “Month of May” which is more of a dance number. The whole album goes through waves with different levels and emotional tones to them. With such a variety of flavors to experience, I’m sure you will find a song for you.

Arcade Fire are currently on tour, and will be in NYC August 4th & 5th. The Aug 4th date is sold out, but tickets are still available for Aug 5th, according to Bowery’s website.Full list of dates can be found on the Arcade Fire MySpace. If you can’t make it to any of the shows, fear not! The Madison Square Garden show will be broadcast on the Internets (see Bowery site for details). The event will be an historic one, so you’re not going to want to miss out.