Seven-piece San Francisco indie-Americana band Or, The Whale sticks to the softer side of country-rock but don’t shy away from intricate vocal harmonies, pedal steel parts, or washboard percussion.
Or, The Whale - Shasta
Or, The Whale - Rusty Gold
Or, The Whale - No Love Blues
Or, The Whale - Never Coming Out
Or, The Whale - Datura
Or, The Whale - Black Rabbit
Also featuring noisy New York pop trio Grooms.
K Records projects both, the occasionally long-winded but mostly experimental Curious Mystery give Americana a psychedelic kick in the pants using junkyard-improv instruments, while LAKE’s most recent set of upbeat indie-pop clumps was wrapped up in a title derived from a Dr. Seuss book.
The Curious Mystery - Black Sand
The Curious Mystery - Strong Swimmers
Lake - Madagascar
Here we have one of the most formidable indie lineups the Tea Bazaar has had in a long time — and if you’ve been following their schedule, you know that’s really saying something. tUnE-yArDs is the minimalist recording/maximalist caps-lock alter ego of former puppeteer Merrill Garbus, whose hissy uke-and-loop folk tunes as documented on the DIY LP Bird-Brains recently landed her a slot opening for this week’s reigning kings of indie rock, the Dirty Projectors.
Flanking, Princeton, a band fronted by twins Matt and and Jesse Kivel which serves as a sort of rebirth of Vampire Weekend circa 2007, before they allegedly jumped the shark due to overexposure, then more heavily layers pop atop the exotic influences in an attempt to ensure that they’ll never overstay their welcome.
And finally, songwriter Nelly Kate, who writes her tunes using unorthodox tools like a Casio and a typewriter.
Nelly Kate - Sounding3
Nelly Kate - Soft Things
Nelly Kate - Often To Cry Yourself
Nelly Kate - Compassion
Nelly Kate - Found Sounds
Nelly Kate - Dink
Jesse Dukes, the guitarist and singer behind fledgling local folk-rock quartet The Raquellos, spent some of his formative years in Maine, both along the coast and in the shadow of early American history. That is, in part, why their new album “Teeth To The Wind” relies as heavily on historically-oriented naval narratives as on the accordion; after this show, he’ll promptly set off to tour New England with his mates. Grab your free copy through local digital music hotspot Record Theory.
The Raquellos - The Grey Crew
The Raquellos - The Bitch That Is The Sea
Yale students and former blackjack dealers united to play upbeat retro melodies in an indie-pop quintet? Why, that’d be DC-based opener Bellman Barker, of course.
Bellman Barker - Wyoming
Bellman Barker - No Lions
Bellman Barker - Love Is Fine
Bellman Barker - Last Name
Boston folk fusion quartet The David Wax Museum puts American and Mexican traditional music on display in the same case, all with a Japanese dude on picking away on dobro and mandolin.
The David Wax Museum - Colas
The David Wax Museum - Beekeeper
The David Wax Museum - Jalopy Heart
Also featuring Hunter Gatherer.
Lush, multi-layered, keyboard-heavy indie-pop that blends acoustic and electric elements and dreams big (somewhat warranted, since they’re the first act signed to the new Chop Shop label founded by primetime placement powerhouse Alexandra Patsavas). With Chicago rockers Yourself And The Air.
Yourself And The Air - So You’ve Come To Mingle
Charley Patton enthusiasts Eden Brower and John Heneghan’s NYC-based East River String Band is an acoustic duo which plays old country blues from the 20’s and 30’s. One member member on ukulele and the other plays kazoo (but, regrettably, both also play other more conventional instruments as well).
Eden and John’s East River String Band - Drunken Barrel House Blues
Eden and John’s East River String Band - Ain’t No Tellin’
Alt-country songwriter Carlton James opens.
Carlton James - St. Augy
Carlton James - Smile Boys
Carlton James - Dig A Hole
Carlton James - Blue Moon Please
Emerging local indie rockers.
Drunk Tigers - Overland [live]
Drunk Tigers - Long Bored [live]
Drunk Tigers - Outer Banks Inner Peace [live]
Drunk Tigers - Winter Party [live]
Drunk Tigers - Sirens [live]
Energetic New England indie-pop quartet Hands And Knees opens alongside Drink Up Buttercup, the latter with plenty of auxiliary percussion (read: shakers, trash can lids) in tow.
Drink Up Buttercup - Mr Pie Eyes
Drink Up Buttercup - Gods And Gentlemen
Another dark folk and bluegrass project from Greg Jamie, guitarist and lead singer of New York hybrid folk band O Death. Sacred Harp opens.
Glam rock youngsters with a love of 70’s Bowie. With indie rockers Your Spirit Animal In The Unreal City and Dangerósa.
Athens, GA alt-folkie and Phosphorescent centerpiece Mathew Houck is worth a Will Oldham comparison or two, but he also loves Willie Nelson so dearly that he put out a tribute album in February and was promptly invited to perform at this year’s installment of Farm Aid.
Phosphorescent - A Picture Of Our Torn Up Praise
Seriously up-and-coming Red Light indie folk rockers Alberta Cross open.
Loping K Records indie-pop trio Desolation Wilderness mixes the requisite electronic elements of a college audio nerd with the sorta-requisite lo-fi recordings of current indie rock. C-ville resident and former Titus Andronicus guitarist Andrew Cedermark opens.
This dance-friendly (and quite vocally gay-friendly) Philadelphia indie-pop act has a) two tambourine-wielding “hype girls” and b) a serious love affair with sing-alongs. Pompadour opens.
Songwriter Stratton Salidis’ improvisational EMT gigs have long been the stuff of local legend thanks to the improvised tunes and audience participation, and at this “No Parkway Yes Transit” show, he’ll direct all that energy toward attempts to shut down the Meadowcreek Parkway projects. All proceeds donated, etc.
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For their new record Aptos, Greg and Thom Moore’s jerky acoustic indie-pop duo project bulked up the retro-folkish California vibe with a rhythm section and recruited indie-rock queen harpist Joanna Newsom as a guest. Also featuring local retro pop-rock trio The Hilarious Posters.
The Hilarious Posters - That Thing You Don’t
The Hilarious Posters - Sugarbread Falls
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Experimental Latin folk sanctioned by Sufjan’s Asthmatic Kitty. With local folk duo Birdlips and avant-garde Chicago composer Jason Ajemian.
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Portland singer-songwriter Shelley Short kicks things off, after which her guitar player Alexis Gideon will deliver a set of the loops and laptop-tweaking oddities that landed him opening slots with Dan Deacon. Local dance-rockers Bear War round out the night.
Shelley Short - Time Machine Submarine
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Owl City opener-to-be Brooke Waggoner is one of the up-and-coming artists to watch, if you ask Entertainment Weekly — but even more impressive is the fact that the notoriously snobby NME agrees, calling Waggoner “a farrago of Southern gothic charm with Cat Power-meets-Rachmaninov explosions of power on her piano.” Also featuring singer-songwriter Denison Witmer.
Brooke Waggoner - Hush If You Must
Brooke Waggoner - Wonder-Dummied
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Synth-driven electro-pop duo who dance about at the point where disco meets twee-pop, a combo which probably has even less mopey emotional weight than you’re imagining right now.
Rhythm Bandit and local dance-rockers Bear War open.
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Indie rock and folk
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Self-proclaimed “dad rock” from local legend Tyler Magill and piano-driven indie pop from Ocean Versus Daughter (who apparently had a pretty crappy dad).
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Says Brooklyn indie-rock mag The Deli regarding Philly quintet Conversations With Enemies: “Feel good indie pop for the hipster who might tend to be unlucky in love.” Oh, and they also have a zombie fetish.
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Commonwealth’s Attorney Dave Chapman and Deputy CA Claude Worrell man a different kind of prosecutor’s table on Government Services Day, when city departments set up tables on the Downtown Mall and give away candy, pens and refrigerator magnets. The event runs from 10am to 2pm Friday. (5)
Under the Hook’s recent post about the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority discussing the idea of adopting a flow-control ordinance, one disgruntled commenter suggested the idea of creating “Dump RSWA” yard signs. That slogan seems to have caught the attention of conservative radio show host Rob Schilling, who is now offering “Dump RSWA” bumper stickers for sale on his blog. (8)
Aerial photographer Skip Degan was scanning the skies over Charlottesville around 5:30pm on Thursday, October 1 in advance of the U2 concert. He found Scott Stadium filling only in the close-up floor sections, but I-64 from Richmond was slammed. (2)
If the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority doesn’t win its $20 million lawsuit against Peter van der Linde, area tax payers may be doing more to support lawyers than recycling efforts. A recent financial summary from the Authority for the first two months of the 2010 fiscal year, July and August 2009, shows that $118,900 was spent on legal fees, compared to $69,673 spent on recycling operations and $61,752 on running the Ivy transfer station. Overall, the Authority rang up a loss of $214,911 during the two month period. (7)
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