METRONOMY IN L.A. SATURDAY JULY 30TH
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L.A.’s EchoPlex will be one of the only two North American stops (the other being New York) for U.K. band Metronomy, during a mostly European tour in support of their April release “The English Riviera.” This will be their first show in the states since the album’s release.
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased here.
Here is their video for their single “The Bay”
The band also offers a free download of their single “She Wants” on their official website
THREE FOR THE PRICE OF ONE
I make a point to support bands when they tour. Part of me feels like it’s out of torrential guilt (see what i did there?) and part of me says it’s simply good karma. I have my limits though. I will not drop $60 to go see Tears for Fears at the Wiltern like some people, but if the price is right I’ll go anywhere in LA to see some good young upstarts. I used to panic at the thought of traveling out of the West Side bubble for shows downtown but I’ve learned to put that past me with the help of google maps, my iphone, and my garmin. Yep I roll three deep when I’m behind the wheel. I’d be the worst teammate in the history of the Amazing Race. By the time you read this, I’ll have seen yesterday’s recommendation, Titus Andronicus @ The Bootleg for $10, and tonight I’ll be seeing three more bands which happen to be today’s recommended albums. For a mere $8 so can you. You won’t find a better music deal anywhere….besides on the drops where you get non-stop free stuff…but you know what I mean. Where else can you see three solid bands for roughly the cost of an Apple Pan burger and a coke?
….and this show is upstairs at the Echo…not down in the god forsaken sweat-box that is the Echoplex basement.
Freelance Whales - Weathervanes
I’d suggest listening to the album before you delve into the venomous Pitchfork review by the oft angry Ian Cohen. He manages to compare them to both Owl City (directly) and Nickelback (indirectly). As if that wasn’t bad enough he adds insult to injury by giving their genre of sound the most cutesy and condescending name that one jaded and cynical smug hipster can come up with: “Nick & Norah-core.” All this review made me want to do is get to the Echo on time for their set and hope that they can prove Cohen wrong.
Bear in Heaven – Beast Rest Forth Mouth
These Brooklyn synth rockers somehow manged to succeed where the Freelance Whales failed…at least in the eyes of Pitchfork. Beast Rest Forth Mouth, received the “Best New Music” award from Pitchfork Media, with the reviewer (not Ian Cohen) stating: “Beast Rest Forth Mouth is as familiar-feeling as it is difficult to pinpoint. BRFM is a welcome reminder that an album doesn’t have to be bombastic to feel huge and important. Take out the earbuds and let it fill a space: This is music that’s bigger than your iPod—music you’ll want to feel all around you. Though not quite coming out of nowhere, BRFM seems like a surprise gift—a striking consolidation of the spiky psych-prog tendencies of their debut into a pop framework.” Quite a change in tone from the previous smear job. I think they gave the band some handjobs to go along with that 8.4.
Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains
Another “Best New Music” winner according to Pitchfork. Maybe they aren’t as jaded and cynical as I previously thought. This album scored an 8.3…and that was coming from Ian Cohen!. An 8.3 from that guy is like a 10 from everyone else. This album is full of whammies, fuzz, and crashing crescendos. For a minute I felt like I was listening to a slightly less haphazard At the Drive In. Who knew Staten Island, or as I like to call it “Shaolin”, could rock so hard.
Go see all three acts together when they hit your neck of the woods
03-24 Los Angeles, CA – The Echo
03-25 San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill
03-27 Portland, OR – Berbati’s Pan
03-29 Vancouver, British Columbia – The Biltmore Cabaret
03-31 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
04-01 Denver, CO – Hi Dive
04-02 Lawrence, KS – Replay Lounge
04-03 Saint Paul, MN – Turf Club
04-04 Chicago, IL – Schubas Tavern
04-06 Toronto, Ontario – El Mocambo
04-07 Montreal, Quebec – Il Motore
04-08 Cambridge, MA – Middle East Downstairs
04-09 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
Notes from Vivace’s July Soundtrack
5 Days Dirty: “Sound of Revolution”
Gangi: “Waiting on the Line”
Saint Motel: “Dear Dictator”
The Shakers: “Distress Signal”
Neo Geo: “Can’t Catch Me”