When The Lights Go Down In The City
It's another music giveaway bonanza this week! First up is a prize pack from Sea Wolf. They've been touring with Silversun Pickups (see a few SSPU members in the video for "You're A Wolf"), but they're a far more mellow outfit: Alex Church's vocals and melodies are gentle, strummy and soothing. Sea Wolf open for Devotchka on Friday night at the Grand Ballroom Bimbo's, and we have a pair of tickets for the winner plus a copy of their new EP Get To The River Before It Runs Too Low. Watch the video and download the mp3 for "You're A Wolf" and enter to win (Contest ends at 11am tomorrow! Winner will be notified via email.)
Our second offering of prizes comes from two great bands playing on Tuesday night at the Independent: Great Northern and Loney, Dear. For a long time we had an irrational aversion to the name "Loney, Dear" because our internal copy editor (who never shuts off) kept recoiling at the misspelling of "lonely". Once we accepted the strange stage name of Swedish singer-songwriter Emil Svanängen, we listened to the record with an open mind and really liked it. The music on Loney, Noir is upbeat, dreamy and moody and Emil has an exuberant falsetto that reminds us a little of Sigur Rós. Opening the show is Great Northern, a band that mixes things up from grandiose and glum to cheery and bright, first the boys singing and then the girls. Two winners will receive Loney, Dear's Loney, Noir album, and one winner gets a Great Northern T-shirt and a copy of their brand new album Trading Twilight For Daylight. Enter to win below (Contest ends 5/30; winner will be notified via email.):
We saw several great shows last week. On Thursday night we headed to Hotel Utah to see Birds & Batteries for the first time, and thankfully they lived up to our hopes that they could pull things off live. The digital/analog, organic/synthetic (birds/batteries) themes made total sense as the guitar, bass and drums were enveloped in samples and synths. Saturday night we saw The Knitters once again at Great American where the packed audience danced and hooted all night. We wrapped up the weekend at the Mission Creek Music Festival closing party at Thee Parkside on Sunday afternoon. Things started off slowly, perhaps because the afternoon show competed with the aftermath of Bay to Breakers. We came to see Birds & Batteries again, but stayed to hang out with our friends Dan from the Rickshaw Stop and Will from New & Used Records, and some new friends including the guys behind The Bay Bridged. Check out The Bay Bridged's massive coverage of the Mission Creek Fest.
On to this week's show recommendations! Tonight Popscene presents a special performance by the one and only Spoon at 330 Ritch. The longstanding show series rarely lands such seasoned artists - usually it's up and comers or buzz bands - but Spoon seem to be on a warmup west coast jaunt leading up to the Sasquatch Festival this weekend. And of course any buzz on their forthcoming record, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga out July 10th, can't hurt.
On Friday, see Sea Wolf open for Devotchka at the Grand Ballroom Bimbo's. If you feel like making a drive on Saturday, Joanna Newsom is playing a benefit concert in Grass Valley, CA, along with Aaron Ross and Madame and the Mustache. They're raising support for St. Joseph's Cultural Center which provides locals with artist studios, music practice spaces, a performance hall, a thrift shop and a place for area Tibetan monks to come together.
On Sunday the Hotel Utah is hosting the intriguingly-named San Siern Holyoake & Wood Festival curated by Michael Hilde and featuring Almaden, Barn Owl, Adam Snider, Misty Mountain, Mass at Dawn and Messes. The festival's billed as "A Holy Sunday Gathering of the Brightest in New Folk Music from the Length of California". We tried listening to a few of the bands' MySpace pages and found mostly mellow stuff. For instance, Barn Owl craft fantastical, hypnotic acoustic instrumentals that you'd want to get a massage or meditate to. We mean that in the best possible way, because there's a lot of really bad music made for massages and meditation.
On Tuesday, the locals in Magic Bullets celebrate a CD release for their debut a CHILD but in life yet a Doctor in love at Cafe Du Nord. We're sending out a big recommendation for this show because we like the band a lot, and also because our friend Ted at BAGeL Radio is presenting the show. Also on the bill are The Morning Benders and Rescue Me with special-guest DJ, The Bastard Prince (of The Lovemakers). Over at the Independent, check out Great Northern as they open for Loney, Dear.
On Wednesday, catch Austinites Voxtrot and Sound Team along with Au Revoir Simone at Great American. Over at Slim's, rock out to The Hold Steady, Illinois and Blitzen Trapper.
Watch Au Revoir Simone's video for "Fallen Snow":