Airborne Toxic Event Doing Acoustic Tour with Calder Quartet in September, Releasing Show Documentary Film

The Airborne Toxic Event is currently at work on their second record, set for a release in early 2011, but they announced yesterday that they will be heading back out this fall to do a series of acoustic dates with The Calder Quartet. This includes a DC date at the Sixth and I Synagogue. Probably be a bit tight on that stage with all of them but if you've been there, you know it's a great place to see a show.

For many of the dates, there is a presale going on now with various packages, including VIP (here). The public onsale for most dates is this weekend (starting tomorrow).



Fall tour dates for The Airborne Toxic Event w/ the Calder Quartet
Sept. 7: Sixth and I Synagogue, Washington, DC
Onsale: Friday, 7/16, 10 AM (here)

Sept. 8: Somerville Theatre, Somerville, MA
Public Onsale: Friday 7/16, 10 AM (here)

Sept. 10: Keswick Theatre, Philadelphia, PA
Public Onsale: Friday 7/16, noon, (here)

Sept. 11: Town Hall, New York, NY
Publilc Onsale: Friday 7/16, 11 AM, (here)
Presale Amex Card Members: Wed 7/14-Fri 7/16, 10 AM (here)

Sept. 13: Trinity St. Paul's Church, Toronto, ON
Public Onsale: Friday 7/16, 10 AM (here)
Presale: Thurs 7/15, 10AM-10PM (here)

Sept. 15: Park West, Chicago, IL
Public Onsale: Saturday, 7/17, 10 AM (here)

Sept. 18: Town Hall, Seattle, WA
Public Onsale: Unsure, not even on the Town Hall calendar yet.
Presale: Tickets can be purchased right now (here)

Sept. 19: Regency Ballroom, San Francisco, CA
Public Onsale: Sunday 7/18, 10 AM (here)

Sept. 22: John Anson Ford Ampitheatre, Los Angeles, CA
Public Onsale: Unsure, not even on the venue calendar yet.
Presale: Tickets can be purchased right now (here)

Fun fact: This tour out will also be a family affair for them as Calder violinist Andrew Bulbrook is, in fact, the brother of ATE's violinist Anna Bulbrook. The Calder Quartet has played with ATE often over the past couple of years, including their sold-out show last December at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. That show was filmed and made into a documentary film being released on DVD.

The DVD, titled "All I Ever Wanted: Live from the Walt Disney Concert Hall," is out 9/7. The show features selections from that album, as well as new songs and never-before-recorded cover versions of the Ramones' "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" (with the Belmont High School Marching Band), the Magnet Fields' "The Book of Love," and Q Lazzarus's "Goodbye Horses."

The Airborne Toxic Event Contribute New Song for The Neda Project, Proceeds to Benefit Amnesty International

Moved by the tragic story of Neda Agha-Soltan, the young Iranian woman who was murdered by government militia last year on 6/20, while participating in a peaceful protest against the disputed election on 6/12 of Mahoud Ahmadenijad, The Airborne Toxic Event partnered with Amnesty International USA for The Neda Project. The band wrote a brand-new song, entitled "Neda," to commemorate her highly-publicized death. All proceeds from sales of the song, which is available now on iTunes, will go to Amnesty International USA.

Nazanin Boniadi, an actress and spokesperson for Amnesty International USA, said that the organization is "honored to be partnering with The Airborne Toxic Event on The Neda Project... It is our hope that this project, which was spearheaded by Airborne, turns into a global movement of likeminded people standing hand-in-hand against tyranny and injustice with a single goal in mind- freedom." The band said their goal for their continued involvement with The Neda Project was "to make a statement of solidarity with the Iranian people in favor of the human rights that Neda has come to represent, and to remind people across the globe of their power to affect change in this modern, inter-connected world."

Seen Your Video: The Airborne Toxic Event's "Gasoline"

"Gasoline" has been one of my favorites from The Airborne Toxic Event since the very first time I saw them at SXSW in 2008. (So much so in fact that I found myself asking for even the roughest demo of it to go with the big interview we did with them less than a month later.) It's got such energy, and that combination of Daren Taylor's drum beats and Mikel Jollett/Steven Chen's guitar riffs creates the hookiest of hooks.

The video for it came out a few weeks ago and it's charming. Both a band video and homage to their stomping ground of East Los Angeles, it shows the landscape and the streetscape on which ATE thrives.

Six Degrees of Separation: Bono and...The Airborne Toxic Event?

Weird...

Awhile back, I posted about how I'd been hearing The Airborne Toxic Event songs in the strangest places: Buick commercials, over the din in a loud Starbucks....

Today, I was doing some digging around for some recent footage to add to a quick post on U2's 25th anniversary release of The Unforgettable Fire and came across a snippet of an interview with Bono on French tv. And what did I hear in it? Yup, you got it.

Weird. But also pretty damn cool.

Seen Your Video: Airborne Toxic Event Covers "People Who Died" (with Henry Clay People and Red Cortez)

I saw the awesomeness that was the "East LA Rock n Roll Revue" with The Airborne Toxic Event, The Henry Clay People, Red Cortez twice last week, once here in DC and back home in upstate NY (the latter show also included the beautiful and ethereal harmonies of The Parson Red Heads, the main reason I wanted to see the show). But the job-that-pays-the-bills exploded with deadlines upon my return so I am a bit behind with posting the reviews/photos. I did, however, want to share one of the shining moments of the DC show, which was when Airborne's lead singer, Mikel Jollett, brought both his opening bands back out during Airborne's set for a rousing rendition of Jim Carroll's "People Who Died." Carroll, who died back in September, was the male embodiment (to me anyway) of the poetry and grit that was New York's Lower East Side in the 70s, and I'm always thrilled when he's given recognition. "People Who Died" is a great song normally, and Jollett, obviously a Carroll fan, does it serious justice.

Preview Notes on the Lucero Show @ 930 Club (10-15-09)

I'm catching a flight home in a few hours to catch a ultra rare appearance on the other coast by The Parson Red Heads. With Red Cortez, The Henry Clay People, and The Airborne Toxic at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY. Short of being at Spaceland in LA a few years ago, I'm pleasantly shocked that I'm getting to see a lineup like that.

But I wanted to just drop a note and say...the 500+ photos and review of the Red Cortez, The Henry Clay People, and The Airborne Toxic's DC stop should be up this weekend, as will the photos/review from last night's Lucero show at the 930. A few quick notes on the latter:

-Ben's Nichols voice is pretty ragged out. I thought it might have been due to a cold or something but I found out after that they'd been practicing like 6-8 hours a day for like a week prior to the tour to get the horns up to speed. And Nichols, "who doesn't take care of himself anyway" (says Brian Venable), shot his voice. Anyone seeing them this show, seeing them earlier than later might be better.

-Nichols was drinking water (I know, shocking) but there was whiskey shots being brought up around all sides of me that he was drinking.

-Stand in the back of whatever venue you go to see them in order to hear the horns the best. I commented to their steel pedal player Todd Beene after about how hard it was to hear the horns where I was up front and he said, 'Yeah, the horns were put through the mains so the sound carries. If you're up front, it's not as much." He said he had a hard time hearing them in his monitor, and he was right in front of them.

-FYI: horns were worked into their older tracks and boy, are they niiiiice. They aren't onstage for the entire show though.

Oh and speaking of Lucero, if you're in Baltimore, MD tonight, be sure to catch The Revival Tour 2009 at Sonar. Lucero's buddy Chuck Ragan and the awesome Jim Ward are among the large group of performers.

Doh!

No post today kids...Having a small computer crisis here today at BL&L central headquarters, and an owner who's still learning how not to be a spaz when it comes to her touchphone.

But if you're in DC, be sure to go to the 930 club tonight for the fab La-La Land Trifecta of The Airborne Toxic Event, The Henry Clay People, and Red Cortez. Red Cortez hits the stage at 8 pm, HCP at 8:50 pm, Airborne at 10 pm. That's a whole bunch of awesome for only $20.

Airborne Toxic Event's "Sometime Around Midnight" is Everywhere!

Wanna hear something cool?

When I first talked to The Airborne Toxic Event some 18 months ago, before they signed with a record label, before they played across multiple continents, before their record played in a Starbucks some 3,000 miles from their Los Angeles home, lead singer/guitarist Mikel Jolet told me this is how he defined success:

It's weird, you start getting ahead of yourself in your head and thinking like "Wow here's how much money I'm gonna make," and "I'm gonna be rich in 2years and do this and that," whatever...And then other times you think nobody gives a fuck, like nobody cares about my music or my band or anything. And I guess success is if you're a guy who needs 100 dollars and someone gives you 101, where as failure is a guy who needs 101, and someone only gives him 100. So we're always trying to be the band that only has 20 bucks to their name because we're all really broke. (laughs) And we love that fact that people even know who we are because, you know, we're just an unsigned band from Los Feliz.

Last week, I was absorbed in something but had the television on as background noise. Suddenly, I heard the opening chords of the Airborne song, "Wishing Well" on a Buick commercial. This morning, I'm in a Starbucks and it's a really loud mob scene (tourists). But somehow, I can hear the strains of a viola start to play over the soundsystem and I think to myself, "Weird, that kind of sounds like the beginning of Airborne's "Sometime Around Midnight." I wait for the vocals to kick in and, lo and behold, Jolet's voice begins to waft over the din.

I couldn't help but smile. Five people came together and made a collective dream happen in an incredibly unstable business, against a multitude of odds. Don't ya just love it when good things happen for good people?

The Henry Clay People Start Fall US Tour

We have long loved the Henry Clay People around here (even if we've never been entirely sure if the name is in honor of the cigars or the man) and their brand of indie rock that smacks of a Cheap Trick-powered car with a California license plate. Bringing passionate playing, big meaty guitar hoooks, and a pogo-inducing sound across the mountains and prairies of the US this fall, HCP kicked off an extensive six week tour last night as openers for The Airborne Toxic Event. As we said about Henry Clay when they opened for Ben Harper here in DC this past May, Their recent opening slot for Ben Harper at the 930 Club...showing that not all opening bands are created equal. The Ben Harper audience never knew what hit them.

For many of the shows, they will share opener duties with another great LA band, Red Cortez. This trifecta on one bill is quite a coup, so get there early to see some of the absolute best of what the Los Angeles indie music scene has to offer.

Give a Listen:Switch Kids-The Henry Clay People (unreleased)

Henry Clay People Fall 09 Tour
September
* Thu Sep 17, 2009 - Pomona CA Fox Theater #
* Sat Sep 19, 2009 - San Pedro CA Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival ^
* Wed Sep 23, 2009 - Denver CO Ogden Theatre &
* Thu Sep 24, 2009 - Boulder CO Boulder Theater #
* Fri Sep 25, 2009 - Omaha NE Slowdown #
* Sat Sep 26, 2009 - Des Moines IA People’s Court #
* Mon Sep 28, 2009 - Lawrence KS The Granada #
* Tue Sep 29, 2009 - Tulsa OK Cain’s #
* Wed Sep 30, 2009 - Dallas TX House of Blues #

October
* Thu Oct 01, 2009 - Houston TX House of Blues #
* Fri Oct 02, 2009 - Austin TX Emo’s **
* Sat Oct 03, 2009 - Austin TX Austin City Limits Festival $
* Sat Oct 03, 2009 - Emo's (ACL after party)**
* Sun Oct 04 and 05, 2009 - New Orleans LA Circle Bar %
* Tue Oct 06, 2009 - St. Petersburg FL The State Theatre #
* Wed Oct 07, 2009 - Atlanta GA Variety Playhouse #
* Thu Oct 08, 2009 - Columbia SC Headliners #
* Fri Oct 09, 2009 - Norfolk VA The NorVa #
* Sat Oct 10, 2009 - Philadelphia PA Trocadero Theatre #
* Mon Oct 12, 2009 - Washington DC 9:30 Club #
* Tue Oct 13, 2009 - Boston MA House of Blues #
* Thu Oct 15, 2009 - New York NY Webster Hall #
* Fri Oct 16, 2009 - New York NY Webster Hall #
* Sat Oct 17, 2009 - Clifton Park NY Northern Lights #
* Sun Oct 18, 2009 - Montreal QC La Tulipe #
* Mon Oct 19, 2009 - Toronto ON Phoenix Concert Theatre #
* Wed Oct 21, 2009 - Columbus OH Newport Music Hall #
* Thu Oct 22, 2009 - Pontiac MI The Crofoot Ballroom #
* Fri Oct 23, 2009 - Chicago IL Metro #
* Sat Oct 24, 2009 - Minneapolis MN Fine Line Music Cafe #
* Wed Oct 28, 2009 - Vancouver BC The Commodore Ballroom #
* Thu Oct 29, 2009 - Seattle WA The Showbox #
* Fri Oct 30, 2009 - Boise ID Knitting Factory #
* Sat Oct 31, 2009 - Portland OR Roseland Theater #

November
* Mon Nov 02, 2009 - San Francisco CA The Fillmore #
* Tue Nov 03, 2009 - San Diego CA House of Blues #

# - w/ The Airborne Toxic Event and Red Cortez
^ - w/ Dios, Oliver Future, and lots of Lobsters
& - w/ Arctic Monkeys and the Airborne Toxic Event
% - w/ Red Cortez
** - w/ Deer Tick and Alberta Cross

The Airborne Toxic Event Announce World Tour

It can never be said that the The Airborne Toxic Event aren't some hardworking cats. They've been touring a ton in Europe and the US since their debut record was released last August, but from the looks of things, they're just getting started. World tour dates were announced yesterday and between July and November, they'll be doing dates in 11 countries on four continents. Whew! Let's hope they all have friends willing to water their plants.

Other shows will be announced soon including New Zealand, Australia, more North American and European dates and a "very special show in Los Angeles in December."

Check out our big long interview with them from back in April 2008 here (there are four parts total).

The Airborne Toxic Event's World Tour

Sun Jun 28 - Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest

Europe
Sat Jul 11 - Dublin, Ireland - Oxygen Festival
Sun Jul 12 - Balado, Kinross-Shire, Scotland - T in The Park
Tue Jul 14 - Sheffield, UK - Leadmill - Make Up From Power Outage of May 6
Fri Jul 17 - Letisko Trenčín, Slovakia - Pohoda Festival
Sat Jul 18 - Suffolk, UK - Latitude Festival

Asia
Sat Jul 25 - Seoul, Korea - Valley Rock Festival
Sun Jul 26 - Niigata, Japan - Fuji Rock Festival

US
Tue Aug 4 - Cleveland, OH - House Of Blues
Wed Aug 5 - Cincinnati, OH - Mad Hatter
Sun Aug 9 - Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza

Europe
Fri Aug 14 - Gampel, Switzerland - OpenAir Gampel
Sat Aug 15 - Leicester, UK - Summer Sundae
Wed Aug 19 - Munich, Germany - 59:1
Fri Aug 21 - Hasselt, Belgium - Pukkelpop Festival
Sat Aug 22 - Biddinghuizen, Netherlands - Lowlands Festival
Mon Aug 24 - Koln, Germany - Gebaeude 9
Tue Aug 25 - Berlin, Germany - Frannz
Wed Aug 26 - Hamburg, Germany - Knust
Fri Aug 28 - Reading, UK - Reading Festival
Sun Aug 30 - Leeds, UK - Leeds Festival

Australia
(Full Tour To Be Announced Soon in Australia & New Zealand)
Sat Sep 12 - Gosford, Australia - Coaster Festival

North American Fall Tour
Thu Sep 17 - Pomona, CA - The Fox Theatre
Sun Sep 20 - Tempe, AZ - Tempe Beach Park - Arizona Fall Frenzy
Thu Sep 24 - Boulder, CO - Boulder Theatre
Fri Sep 25 - Omaha, NB - The Slowdown
Sat Sep 26 - Des Moines, IA - People's Court
Mon Sep 28 - Lawrence, KS - Granada
Tue Sep 29 - Tulsa, OK - Cain's
Wed Sep 30 - Dallas, TX - House Of Blues
Thu Oct 1 - Houston, TX - House Of Blues
Sat Oct 3 - Austin, TX - Zilker Park - Austin City Limits
Tue Oct 6 - St. Petersburg, FL - State Theatre
Wed Oct 7 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Loft
Thu Oct 8 - Columbia, SC - Headliners
Fri Oct 9 - Norfolk, VA - Norva
Sat Oct 10 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
Mon Oct 12 - Washington, DC - 930 Club
Thu Oct 15 - New York, NY - Webster
Sat Oct 17 - Albany, NY - Northern Lights
Sun Oct 18 - Montreal, QC - Le Tulipe
Mon Oct 19 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix
Wed Oct 21 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
Thu Oct 22 - Detroit MI - Crofoot
Sat Oct 24 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line
Wed Oct 28 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore
Thu Oct 29 - Seattle, WA - Showbox Market
Fri Oct 30 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
Sat Oct 31 - Portland, OR - Roseland
Mon Nov 2 - San Francisco, CA - Fillmore

European Fall Tour
Fri Nov 6 - London, UK - Shepherds Bush Empire
Sat Nov 7 - Birmingham, UK - Academy
Sun Nov 8 - Bristol, UK - Anson Rooms
Tue Nov 10 - Glasgow, SCO - ABC
Wed Nov 11 - Dublin, IRE - Olympia
Thu Nov 12 - Manchester, UK - Ritz
Sat Nov 14 - Oxford, UK - Academy
(Main Land Europe will be announced soon)

Monolith Festival 2009 Announced

Seems they're still working up the list of artists but it's great to see that the Monolith Festival at Red Rocks in Denver, CO is on again this year. There was talk last year that it wouldn't return as it wasn't a high-dollar generating venture, so it's great to see they made it work.

As many of you may know, this year we booked many of the artists directly from your suggestions and comments via the Monolith Facebook Group, making the 2009 MONOLITH Festival a true festival for the fans. We'd like to thank everyone for being part of the process, and we are confident that you will be excited by many of our acts -- as you actually helped pick them!

Look for the new festival website in early June, complete with ticket information and on-sale dates.

The first act announced today was Starfucker (meh), but it's still early. Last year, they had awesome bigger acts like TVOTR, and many smaller more indie acts like ATE and A Place to Bury Strangers, among others. (You can read my coverage here: VIP Party, Day 1, Day 2.)

I have a special place in my heart for Monolith as that's where I met a bizillion great fellow writerly types last year (MOKB, Mr. Picasso, Heather B, Ryan, J and his rock mayhem, DDE, among others), and started my little photography addiction, so I'm definitely hoping to return. You coming with?

Songs, Sun, and Lone Star Beer: SXSW 2009, Day 2 PM

Start with Day 2 Day Parties

I had exactly 12 seconds to hit my room, clear the day's photos off the camera, and run back across to the faaar west side of town. Night Two in Austin was going to start with a one-two shot of Silver Lake, CA.

1. Eulogies
Eulogies was a band I'd heard a ton of good things about from reviewers outta Silver Lake. Makes sense as the reviewers I know gotta thing for fuzzy shoegazey stuff with chimey guitars (but who doesn't right?)


The band was playing upstairs on The Ranch's semi-enclosed deck. On the second song of the set, all their mikes suddenly went out. But it didn't frazzle these guys, they merely continued playing, finishing the song as an instrumental. Says a lot about a band that can seamlessly do that without missing a beat.


They had some rather unique things about them. One was their drummer's playing style. He didn't play a typical 1, 2, 3 beat, it was more....scattered. But it made the songs way more interesting and made you pay attention. The second was the ingenuity of using a Fosters beer can filled with...something (pebbles maybe?)..that they used as a maraca. Gotta love a band that jams econo. The third was the happy realization that this is a band of brainy types-how many bands do you know that would freely use the word "sycophant" in a rock song?



The lead singer's voice was a cool delicate fake out. It's one of those great voices that goes along and kind of lulls you into a state of calm. And then he lets loose, throwing melodious rocks in that pool of calm, and you think "WHAT the hell was that wonderful thing??" They did a song that was possibly called "I Won't Lie" like this, and was just tremendous...truly goosebump inspiring.

(See the rest of the photos from their set here)

My only wish? That the band had moved around a little more (I know shoegazey music is a bit on the maudlin side and somewhat mopey, but movement in a live band is what separates live from Memorex you know?). And better lighting (with the sun slowly making its decent on that side of town, many of the photos look like the band was playing under large boom lights). Hopefully both things will be different when they play with Great Northern and The Dears at the Black Cat on May 7.

Give a Listen: If I Knew You-Eulogies

I had to leave before Eulogies finished their set to cover the great number of blocks for my 8 pm slot back on the east side of town. But, as it was on the way, I also planned to catch the first few songs of The Airborne Toxic Event's set at the Austin Convention Center's "Bat Bar." Upon arrival though, I realized that was going to be impossible as the line for Airborne's venue was enormous. But it was still great to see. Airborne went from playing the tiny Cedar Street Courtyard, a place the size of a bowling alley lane at last year's SX, to a huge room like the Bat Bar in 12 months...pretty commendable. I texted Airborne's drummer, Daren Taylor, and said, "Wow the line out here is huge!! What a difference a year makes eh? Go you!"

2. Castledoor
I moved on to continue my "taste of Silver Lake" with Castledoor, a band that played a lot with Airborne early on. Another band of many (six in this case), they had two keyboardists, three guitarists, and a drummer.


They were also, by far, the most colorful band I would see all weekend. No somber hipster-black for these kids...


Their music reflected that celebratory spirit too. I'm not saying the lyrics were all shiny happy people-esque, but more that introspective lyrics were paired with harmonic music that moved, jumped, and swayed.


The lead singer's mannerisms and soaring ring of a voice put me in mind of Bono (which I found positive cause I like Bono). And yes, while Bono can be over the top, he always achieves what a good frontman is supposed to do: connect to his audience. Castledoor's frontman had that same talent, perfectly bonding and whipping up his crowd to level 5 of adoration.


There was only a handful of people at the Independent, and while some bands might have phoned it in with that small a crowd, Castledoor wasn't having that. Clearly this is that sort of band who plays their hearts out for a crowd of two just as much as they would for a crowd of 2,000. Those Silver Lake kids, they don't mess around.

(See the rest of the photos from their set here)

Give a Listen:: Skipping Stepping Stones-Castledoor

3. One Day International
I took my first pedi-cab trip (cool but bumpy) from Castledoor's set to the band I had high on my list for seeing at SX, One Day International.

Another group of multiples (5...what was it with many-membered bands this year?), they hail from Dublin, Ireland.

I pretty much cringed when I saw they were playing The Rio venue, a Mexican restaurant with god-awful lighting and mediocre sound. But I found that if anyone can handle such a place, it was a band like ODI.

Their members have been musicians for some time before coming together about a year ago, hailing from backgrounds that include classical and jazz styles, and the theater. All of these aspects fittingly find their way into ODI songs.





Influenced by musicians like Nick Cave and Tom Waits, The Band, and Sigur Ros, ODI weaves intricate and lush melodies into songs that sit on that interesting border between indie rock and the jazz/folk/classical tangents. There is a loveliness and depth in their music, one that's as warm and inviting as a favorite childhood memory.

The band practically lives the songs onstage. The lead singer sways like a metronome as he sings, eyes closed, most of the time...


...with the bassist, keyboardist, and drummer nodding along in time. The cellist is a lithe female, but you'd never know it. She rocks the cello and makes it keen, and holds the cello while beating the bejesus out of a drum at the same time. (Turns out she's a stunt car driver in Europe too!)


All in all, I think they won over more than one person with this SX performance. Here's hoping they make it back to this side of the pond again soon.

ODI was gracious enough to give me a few minutes of their time before their set to talk about their band and favorite Irish writers, and we'll be posting that here shortly.

(See the rest of the photos from their set here)
Give a Listen: Little Death-One Day International

As always at SXSW, when planning out your viewing schedule location is an important consideration. If you're at x location and y venue is 10 blocks away, you're going to miss quite a bit of a set just getting to y. Then, probably, quite a bit of your z choice if you have to walk 10 blocks back. (Though Austin is pretty flush with pedi-cabs during SX, which is really neat.)

As my z, aa, bb, and cc locations for the rest of the evening were all in the same area, and z was starting at an odd time of quarter past the hour, I hopped over to Emos for two seconds of one of the current buzz bands, Cut Off Your Hands, knowing I’d probably miss them at the SPIN day party on Friday.

(See the rest of the photos from their set here)

This band definitely does not have any issues with being “lax.” The lead singer leapt into the crowd to surf atop its hands, and flailed himself around the stage in wild abandon. The way he moved to their power pop from Down Under, I wondered if he actually possessed a spine. (More on their live show in Day 4.)

4. Monte Negro
It turned out that Maggie Maes, the site of my 12:15 AM-1 AM was...running behind schedule-wise. As I said earlier, it's typically a pain but sometimes it allows you to discover a band you didn’t expect to find. This is what I found in the form of a Spainish/English band from LaLa Land (Los Angeles) named Monte Negro. I only saw the last half of their last song so I don’t think I can fairly comment on their sound or songs, but the lead singer was definitely something to see.


He’s one of those that Muzak could be playing in back of him, and with all that energy and passion, you’d still be riveted. By the end, he was wiped out, lying on the stage and panting for breath.

(See the rest of the photos from their set here)

Give a Listen: Pena Collective-Monte Negro

5. Val Emmich
Val Emmich is, apparently, the love interest on a tv show called "Ugly Betty." I say "apparently" because I've never it. His SX mp3 was really good, like A- good. And I can see why he's a show's love interest: hipster-boy skinny, great dimples, pretty cute overall. But by this point in the evening, your fair narrator had been standing/walking/race-walking for over 12 hours straight. She had also not eaten all day. Had plenty of water and Lone Star beer, but no food. I don't know about you, but in instances like this, my patience level becomes pretty translucent. So things like standing around for 30 minutes past an appointed start time, waiting for someone to get his butt onstage, made the annoyance scale leap from 2 to 403. And no amount of cute would make up for it. He was going to have to wow me.

I want to say I was bewitched, bothered, and bewildered but....nope.

Ok, part of it was due to sound issues, but honestly? Drying paint moves around more than this guy. The music was reasonably good power pop, much like the single I liked so much. But the combination was not enough to "wow" for me, so I left after a couple of songs.

The man does photograph well though, I will give him that.



(See the rest of the photos from their set here)
Give a Listen: Get On With It-Val Emmich

5 and 6. Kevin Seconds and Peter, Bjorn, and John
I never connected the dots that Kevin Seconds, my 1 am slot, was THE Kevin Seconds, of 7 Seconds

I'd really liked his SX mp3. "Backaches and Bad Dreams" was noted on my list as "an early 60s sound with a Paul McCartney-like voice." So walking in expecting that from a guy who's known for hardcore punk, I was all sorts of confused to find he was playing just an acoustic. In a church, that was a seated venue. Sure it was quiet and really rather lovely, but hearing quiet and lovely while seated and exhausted at 1 AM, I was pretty sure I would be passed out cold by his second song. And Kevin Seconds doesn't look like the type of guy you'd want to piss off.

Give a Listen: Backaches and Bad Dreams: Kevin Seconds

So instead, I went to meet the guys who were ending their evening with those three-non-blondes from Sweden, Peter, Bjorn, and John.



They were good, but Val Emmich was more animated. Based on their dance-floor staples like "Young Folks" and "Nothing to Worry About," I totally expected them to be way more upbeat live. Plus, their guitarist was kinda, well, creepy. Creepy stuff before bed is never a good idea. And then, I hit the proverbial wall.



Give a Listen: Young Folks: Peter, Bjorn, and John

Many beers, no food, and being in constant motion all day had found me. I fell asleep fully clothed and face down on my bed in the hotel that night. SX had caught up with me...for now.

Day 1 review here

Show Review: Airborne Toxic Event, Henry Clay People, and Alberta Cross @ Black Cat, Washington, DC (3-12-09)

I have to admit, I felt kinda bad for Alberta Cross when they played at the Black Cat recently with The Henry Clay People and The Airborne Toxic Event. To be the blues-rock middle band that is sandwiched between the straight ahead indie power of Henry Clay and the indie power emotion that is Airborne, they were sorta the odd man out. They were good, in their own way, very focused, and all were very capable musicians. But they were of a vein that was Jethro Tull to Henry Clay's Cheap Trick, Rush to Airborne's Orange Juice. Guitars and drums and keyboards may have been the lowest common denominators amidst these three, but that's like saying Elvis and Morrisey's music and audiences are similar because they both wore pompadours and made young girls scream.

See, Alberta Cross had to follow 40 minutes of Henry Clay’s brand of hook-filled, drive-real-fast, throw-down-till-you-are-down rock and roll, the poor lads. People maybe got there early for a good spot for Airborne, but they left fans of Henry Clay that night as well.





Like a bespectacled four-headed hydra, Joey Siara and his younger brother Andy, drummer Mike Hopkins, and bassist Jonathan Price beat the audience about the eardrums from the start with new tracks like the musical whiplash of "Something in the Water," and tracks like the so-good-it's-criminal "Andy Sings" from their record, “For Cheap or For Free." Siara got people to "save rock and roll music by putting your fist in the air like Bruce Springsteen" during "You Can't Bring it Back," and played the fabulous “You Can Be Timeless” because the Siara’s mother had requested it (mom and dad were in the audience that night, having flown over from CA to see their sons play. Thanks Mom, I was hoping they’d play that one.) They’d pretty much sealed the deal with the crowd at that point, and then they brought out a couple of friends from their hood back home: ATE lead guitarist Steven Chen to play guitar on the bombastic barrel roll of hooks that is "Working Part Time"...




...and ATE bassist Noah Harmon who sat in for a raucous and bluesy set-ending rendition of “Honky Tonk Woman.”




Based on the ear-splitting roar that went up at the song's end, it was obvious those west coast boys had wooed and won this east coast crowd. And Alberta Cross had to follow that. Kinda like The Who opening for Hermans Hermits, it just didn't seem fair you know?



As for Airborne’s set, it was so great to see them sell out the Black Cat when a mere six months ago there was, maybe, 30 people at DC9. Originally, they were to be playing Black Cat's Backstage, but someone at the Cat must have been paying attention to the buzz about them because the show was moved upstairs to the main room (something the bands didn’t know until they arrived, I heard later).







Airborne’s playing was cohesive a year ago when I first saw them in a courtyard at SXSW, and a year of continuous playing on the road in support of their self-titled debut album has only improved on that.






Lead singer Mikel Jollet recently had a nasty bout with laryngitis that caused them to cancel some shows before the DC appearance and he was still trying to ramp back up.



But good things can come out of bad situations, and laryngitis made Airborne change up the songs some, including adding Harmon on backup vocals, which I liked.




Having seen them a few times now, I can say that this is a band that’s really growing as more of a "team," rather than “just” a band that Mikel Jollet and Daren Taylor decided to start a couple years back. This is a band branching out and exploring other avenues from necessity but in doing so, they're also producing some amazing results. That adage is true I guess, necessity really is the mother of invention.

(See the rest of the photos from the show here)

Oh, and to give you an idea of a hometown Henry Clay/Airborne mashup, this is video from a homecoming show they did last week.