Happy Monday everyone! Here is some action for you to get into tonight!
Names Divine, Warm Girls, Aster
There is a house show tonight (8/13) at 3093 Spottswood, featuring Chicago, Illinois indie rock outfit Names Divine. Their sound reminds me a lot of 1990’s era Modest Mouse. Check out their Bandcamp page and listen to some songs. They’ll be joined by locals Warm Girls and Aster. This is a free show, but do some bring some cash to donate to Names Divine since they are far from home.
Kool A.D., Fat Tony, Preauxx
Das Racist fans take note…Kool A.D. will be bringing his solo tour to the Hi-tone (1913 Poplar Ave.) tonight! His new mixtape, 51, is available as a free download via his Bandcamp page, so give it a listen! He’ll be joined by local rappers Fat Tony X Tom Cruz and Preauxx with a DJ set from Cities Aviv. Doors open at 9:00pm and this show is $5. The Hi-tone is an 18 and up venue. Oh yeah….and it’s all you can eat hot wing night at the Hi-tone!
Also…if you’re looking for a much more chill scene then head to Side Street Grill (35 S. Florence) where Witnesse and Handsome Mark have taken up a new Monday night residency. Things will kick off at 10:00pm with no cover!
Vicenza, Italy’s Sultan Bathery will be playing the Lamplighter (1702 Madison Ave.) tonight!!!! These guys have a perfect blend of garage, punk, and psychedelic that I think will highly appeal to fans of Thee Oh Sees. Check out their Bandcamp page to get a listen to their new 7″ Fireworks which was recently released on Slovenly Records. They will be joined by Memphis’ own Warm Girls. Things should kick off around 10:00pm and the Lamplighter is a 21 and up venue. And remember that Sultan Bathery is from Italy, so by all means buy merchandise or donate to them as they are a long way from home (I’m sure there will be a cover for this show as well).
So here it is….a post for your Thursday evening! And some good shows are happening!!!
Tonight (July 19) at The Lamplighter Lounge Baltimore’s Ed Schrader’s Music Beat will be performing! Check out their song “Sermon” on the Load Records page! They have a experimental punk sound that in a weird way reminds me a lot of Jeff The Brotherhood, both in the power of their songs and the simplicity. They’ll be joined by locals Warm Girls and Kings Dominion. The cover is $4 and The Lamplighter is a 21 and up venue. Expect things to start heating up in the 10:00 hour.
Good Luck Dark Star
Good Luck Dark Star will be playing the Hi-tone (1913 Poplar Ave.) tonight (July 19) with touring bands The Growlers and Kingston Springs. Doors open at 9:00pm and cover is $12! The Hi-tone is 18 and up.
I’ll have another post for you tomorrow about weekend happenings! Peppermint Sun, Cory Branam, and El Karaoke Grande could all be making your weekend an amazing one! Contact me if you want your show listed here memphisrockcity@gmail.com.
Hive Dwellers, Nots, and Micheal Peery Tonight at Otherlands
Sometimes, being a one man operation, I tend to drop the ball and forget to list some very important local shows. I almost did it again this week. Tonight at 8:00pm, I highly suggest that you head to Otherlands (641 S. Cooper St.) for Hive Dwellers!
Hive Dwellers is the current project from K Records founder and ex-Beat Happening singer and guitarist Calvin Johnson. Locals Nots (ex-Bake Sale) and Micheal Peery’s Hail Maria will be opening this show. Unfortunately, the man (or my job) will prevent me from attending this one, but if you have the evening free,I highly recommend this show! The cover is only $5 (way cheap for an artists of Calvin Johnson’s caliber) and will start at 8:00. Also, since this show is at Otherlands, it will be all ages. I’ll certainly be kicking myself in the ass all night for not being able to see this one, but you don’t have to suffer my fate. Get thee to Otherlands!
The Angel Sluts Record Reviews
Last Friday, local dive bar favorites The Angel Sluts celebrated two new releases: a 7″ titled Love Sweet Love on Brooklyn based Chickpea Records and a CD/cassette of their previous singles, B-sides, and unreleased tracks titled Singles Staring At The Steady on Memphis’s own Fat Sandwich Records!
Love Sweet Love consists of three new Angel Sluts tunes. Even the band’s singer Harry Koniditsiotis admits the record’s lead track “Love” is a bit poppier than than the Angel Sluts typical ware. Where the Angel Sluts’ sound typical falls somewhere closer to 1970’s punk, this song almost seems to be leaning in a more 1980’s New wave direction. That being said, this song still has a lot of the broken bottle swagger that The Angel Sluts are known for (if you’re looking for a song that sounds more akin to Koniditsiotis’ shoe gaze project Twin Pilot, this ain’t the one, though it’s dance remix available on the Singles collection isn’t far off). “Love” might fill in that gap needed by punk rockers who can’t stomach soul music, but need a punk rock equivalent to “Let’s Get It On” to woo their ladies with. Fear not, you won’t feel out of place if you are shaking your beer around during a live performance of “Love.” Don’t worry: The Angel Sluts haven’t gone soft. If you are more into The Angel Slut’s fuzzed out punk sound, well the B-sides for this record will certainly meet that craving. “So Dull” and “Don’t Have Time” both clock in under two minutes, and have that loud intensity that Angel Sluts listeners have come to expect. Love Sweet Love is available for $6 on Chickpea Records website or you can digitally download it for $4 directly from the Angel Sluts Bandcamp page.
Singles Staring At The Steady is a collection of all the songs featured on The Angel Sluts’ previous 7″s (Hot Teen Action, the split with The Six String Jets, Susie Was A Nihilist, and Love Sweet Love) along with other B-sides and outtakes including the above mentioned dance remix of “Love”. The only thing not represented on this collection is the band’s 2009 full length Designer Heat. Since many of these songs were part of 7″s that are now out of print, this is a great way for newer fans of The Angel Sluts to catch up on the band’s discography. Older fans of the Angel Sluts will find this a worthy purchase due to its inclusion of “Time To Go,” “Final Days,” “Gina,” and “Elevator Love.” Not sure, The Angel Sluts would have ever thought that they might be releasing what is, in some ways, a greatest hits album when they started this project back in 2003, but I think that hearing all of these songs collected together onto one album, shows listeners just how ambitious this band really is. Besides, it’s long overdue for you to add a new cassette to that Case Logic you’ve had hidden under your the seat in your car since 1997. This release is available on both CD and cassette. CD Baby has a downloadable version of this record available for $9.99, though I’m sure hard copies will available online soon through Fat Sandwich’s website.
Booyah!Dad
Every time that Booyah!Dad comes to town, I get excited. This is because these guys have yet to show me a bad time. This Friday (March 30th), the band will be playing the Hi-tone (1913 Poplar Ave.) with one of my absolute favorite local bands Tiger High! This will be a late show starting at 10:30pm, and the cover is only $5. I highly recommend checking these guys out!
Sock It To Me Burlesque
Also on Friday, Memphis’ newest burlesque troupe Sock It To Me Burlesque will be making their debut at the Brass Door (152 Madison Ave.). This troupe consists of local burlesque veterans and newbies including Lady Doo Moi, Madonna Putana, Blackjack Kat, Kissame Suga, Chloe Dubois, Aenya Little Fyre. Expect singing, fire eating, and of course, scantily clad ladies! Doors open at 9:00pm, and there will be a $10 cover. Go to Sock It To Me’s Facebook page and like them, and then head out to the Brass Door Friday night to support Memphis’ newest burlesque troupe! This event is 21 and up!
Other happenings:
I’ll update some more shows later this week, but whether you check out Hive Dwellers at Otherlands or Eisley at the Hi-tone tonight, you may want to find your way to Mollie Fontaine Lounge (679 Adams Ave.) where Richard James of Richard James and the Special Riders and Travis Cantrell of Youniverse will be playing solo sets. Richard also has a new 7″ coming soon that I will be reviewing on this site in the next couple of days. This will lead up to a 7″ release party at The Cove (2559 Broad Ave.) with Gasoline Grace and Fresh Flesh on April 7th!
Also, Blake from Warm Girls sent me an e-mail letting me know that they will be playing The Lamplighter Lounge (1702 Madison Ave.) this Sunday April 1! It’s and April Fool’s Day show and they will be joined by Sun Hotel from New Orleans, Zigtebra from Chicago, and El Cantador from Mobile. Cover is $3 and things will kick off at 10:00. 21 and up.
While walking around Cooper Young Festival, be on the lookout for David Johnson. We interviewed him during our Rock for Love coverage, and he will have a booth set up today selling his pottery. (Perhaps his ceramic flasks).
After Cooper Young Festival ends, you have several options:
Memphis Rock City! 