The Ron-A-Thon at the Poplar Lounge (2586 Poplar):
This is happening from August 31-September 2. Go out and support a good dude who runs an amazing local business…Cheapskates (1576 Getwell Rd.)! Check the Facebook event here for a full line-up! This one is $10 a night, or you can pay $25 for a three day pass. Music, comedy, fun…fun..fun and bid on some awesome stuff on the silent auction!
At 10:30 tonight the Hosoi Bros wanna play a free show for you at the Hi-tone (1913 Poplar Ave.), but if you want to throw some cash their way, I’m sure they’d accept. The Hi-tone is an 18 and up venue.
Also…
September 1. The Lamplighter Lounge (1702 Madison Ave.) Puffy Areolas, Limes, Dbl BBQ (Chicago, members of Jerusalem and the Starbaskets). $5, 10pm, 21 and up.
September 1, Shangri-La Records (1916 Madison Ave.), celebrate 901 Day with a free show from 3-5 featuring Jeff Hulett, Chad Nixon, and Caleb Sweazy. Hear some great tunes from three of Memphis best songwriters, and pick up some new records!
Sunday, September 2, St. Louis’ Hope and Therapy will be playing The Buccaneer Lounge (1368 Monroe Ave.). They’ll be joined by locals Woodenmouth and Victor and the Spoils! $5, 10pm, 21 and up! Be there!
So…a few things for you to consider for the next couple of days…..
Tonight (8/14)
David Cousar’s mostly weekly residency at The Buccaneer Lounge (1368 Monroe Ave.) is happening tonight. If you’ve never seen Cousar perform, then you will certainly be in for a treat if you pop by tonight. No two songs from him sound the same. I feel like he is sort of Memphis’ Tom Waits. There is no cover, but The Buccaneer is a 21 and up venue. Things should kick off around 10:00pm.
Tomorrow (8/15)
Normal Love, Aster, Collard Girls
Tomorrow night(8/15), head to The Lamplighter (1702 Madison Ave.) for Brooklyn’s Normal Love. To call these guys experimental will be taking the easy way out, but I’m really not sure what to say other than it seems they’ve had a healthy dose of prog, jazz, and death metal in their day…also they have a violin! Given the size of the room in The Lamplighter, I can pretty much guarantee you that things are going to get weird! They’ll be joined by locals Paw Paw (members of Aster), Collard Girls. Things should kick off at 10:00pm and The Lamplighter is a 21 and up venue. A $4 donation is suggested for tonight’s show.
Write It Down, Blessed By A Broken Heart, Children 18:3
Write This Down have certainly had a busy summer, making several festival stops including Cornerstone and Joshua Fest, where they have played with the likes of MxPx, The O.C. Supertones, and Five Iron Frenzy. Tomorrow night, they will be stopping by the 1884 Lounge inside of Minglewood Hall (1555 Madison Ave.) with Blessed By A Broken Heart and Children 18:3.
Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door and can be purchased by clicking here. This show is an all ages event and will kick off at 6:30pm.
Later in the evening, float over to the Hi-tone (1913 Poplar Ave.), where Star & Micey will be playing with Carolina Story and Dillon Hodges. Somehow, whenever Star & Micey plays, I tend to overlook them, which is unfortunate because they are probably one of Memphis’ solidest band with an ever growing fan base both locally and nationally. It seems they are just pretty good about hitting non-conventional venues (like the show they played Saturday at the Visible School) and I just often don’t hear about them until after the fact. It’s not like they need my endorsement anyways, after getting called out by Paste Magazine as one of the top 10 Tennessee bands to look out for. I think if you find your way to their show tomorrow night, you will have a guaranteed good time. Cover is $7, doors open at 8:00pm, and the Hi-tone is an 18 and up venue.
Ingram Hill
It was probably more than a decade ago, that I walked into the now closed Cat’s Records on Union Ave. to visit a friend of mine who was working there at the time. While popping in to say hello, I noticed that they had an in store performance happening, and with the picture above, you have probably already deduced that the performance was from Ingram Hill. I’ll go ahead and fess up now that Ingram Hill’s sound is not quite to my taste. Still, these guys have been at it since 2000, which well exceeds the life expectancy of most Memphis bands. They appeared alongside The Flaming Lips, Jason Mraz, Shinedown, and Sum 41 on the 2005 Queen tribute record Killer Queen doing “39” and have hit the road with the likes of Hootie & The Blowfish, Better Than Ezra, and Maroon 5. Honestly, if their touring mates are your bag, then you are really going to dig their upcoming self-titled record which will be available on August 28th from Rock Ridge Music. I have to admit…while they might be a bit too radio friendly for my tastes both “Those Three Words” and “Behind My Guitar” actually kind of had me tapping my feet a bit. Thursday, August 16 they will be playing the Peabody Hotel’s Rooftop Party (149 Union Ave.) with Boys Like Girls to gear up for the release of their new album! This will kick off at 6:00pm, and cover is $15 which includes your first drink.
As regular readers of this blog already know, I’ve been bitching since some time in late April about how busy I have been. That being said, I am still kicking myself in the ass for not getting around to posting reviews for two of Trashy Creatures Records most recent releases, a reissue of The Late Show’s 1980 album Portable Pop and Hot Freak Nation’s Lifetime to Lifetime. Both records showcase the talent of a songwriter that the man behind Trashy Creatures Records was already aware of Don Main.
Portable Pop was the only official release from The Late Show. The record is certainly indicative of its time period, but in a good way. You could easily hear these songs being nestled between cuts from The Knack, Cheap Trick, and even Big Star. The opening line of the second track, “Stop” (“Girl, you are the sweetest thing, since American radio”) is just absolutely brilliant, and I can certainly see from this project why Don Main and Greg Roberson work together so well in Her Majesty’s Buzz and Hot Freak Nation. These songs are hard and fast, and reintroduce audiences to the care free spirit and youthful optimism of 1970s power pop. Despite the age of this record, the songs have held up well over time. Check out: “Hey Sue”, “I Won’t Play the Clown”, and “Judy”.
Hot Freak Nation is not the first time that Greg Roberson and Don Main have collaborated. Over the years, the two songwriters have worked together as Her Majesty’s Buzz, but it is with this project that Roberson’s bandmates in Tiger High have been brought into the fold. Upon listening to this record, the thought that kept entering my mind was how I hoped that this band does not exist simply as a studio project. There is a certain aesthetic that The Late Show and all of Roberson’s project embody that I think needs more of a live presence in this city. “Nothing Stays The Same” makes me imagine what might have happened if John Lennon had ever decided to collaborate with Cheap Trick. “(You Are) The Best Kind of Poison” reminds me of a 1990s college rock love ballad, while “Friday Night Is Killing Me” makes me want to get staggeringly drunk and party. The songwriting experience put in over the years by Main and Roberson makes for a beautiful chemistry in these songs, and serves alongside Tiger High as the songwriting craft that the we will be able to come to expect from records released by Trashy Creatures.
More exciting shows happening this week to come! If you want your show listed on this site, contact me at memphisrockcity@gmail.com!
Coming soon…photos of Wanda Jackson and The Sultana from their show Sunday night at The Hi-tone, and photos of Daikaju and Tanks from last Tuesday’s show at Murphy’s! Also, a review of Harry Koniditsiotis’ newest project The Switchblade Kid’s record and I think I will be mostly caught up on blog business!
This is happening from August 31-September 2. Go out and support a good dude who runs an amazing local business…Cheapskates (1576 Getwell Rd.)! Check the Facebook event here for a full line-up! This one is $10 a night, or you can pay $25 for a three day pass. Music, comedy, fun…fun..fun and bid on some awesome stuff on the silent auction!
At 10:30 tonight the Hosoi Bros wanna play a free show for you at the Hi-tone (1913 Poplar Ave.), but if you want to throw some cash their way, I’m sure they’d accept. The Hi-tone is an 18 and up venue.
Sunday, September 2, St. Louis’ Hope and Therapy will be playing The Buccaneer Lounge (1368 Monroe Ave.). They’ll be joined by locals Woodenmouth and Victor and the Spoils! $5, 10pm, 21 and up! Be there!
Also, don’t forget that the good folks at Trashy Creatures Records has a sale going on until September 4. CDs and t-shirts are $6 and cassettes are $3! Show your local pride by buying music from Tiger High, Hot Freak Nation, and The Late Show!
Memphis Rock City! 