Friday, October 24, 2008

The Area Weekend

With everyone going to or coming from CMJ in New York, the IA region has a ton of shows coming through the area. Not many multiple city stops to tell you about, but plenty of local and one-off shows.


Toronto's Born Ruffians is one of the bands making multiple stops. They are on tour with fellow Canadians Plants & Animals. Friday, they take on DC at the Rock & Roll Hotel. For the remainder of the weekend, sBach joins the fray for shows at Talking Head Saturday and Johnny Brenda's Sunday.

mp3: Born Ruffians - Hummingbird
mp3: Plants & Animals - Faerie Dance
mp3: sBach - 1

Some of Billy Bragg's best music came from his time collaborating with Wilco. The Watson Twins have teamed with Jenny Lewis for some great music. Both are now doing their own thing and sharing the stage at the Keswick Theater in Glenside Friday. DC and Baltimore gets them Monday at 9:30 and Tuesday at Ram's Head Live.

mp3: The Watson Twins - Sky Open Up

San Francisco's Deerhoof is back with a new album and is playing Philly for the first time in almost 3 years. You can catch them at the First Unitarian Church Saturday and the 9:30 Club Sunday with fellow bay-area residents Experimental Dental School and Brooklyn's Flying.

mp3: Deerhoof - Offend Maggie

The Magnetic Fields are out on tour in support of Distortion, their highly regarded release from earlier this year. Saturday they are in Philly at the Merriam Theater, then head to Lisner Auditorium on the GW campus in DC.

mp3: Magnetic Fields - Please Stop Dancing

It's a homecoming of sorts for K records artist Mirah. Born in Philly, she moved and began her music career in the Pacific Northwest. She is playing the First Unitarian Church on Friday and the Black Cat Saturday. Joining her are Vancouver's No Kids.

mp3: Mirah - Cold Cold Water
mp3: No Kids - Old Iron Gate

Friday

The loudest band in New York is coming back to Philly for a show at Johnny Brenda's. Bring your earplugs as A Place to Bury Strangers takes the stage. Joining them is Philly's own psychedelic garage rock artists The Cobbs. Take the pop sensibilties of The Kinks and throw in Brian Jonestown Massacre with some psyche guitar and viola, The Cobbs. And a new album is in the works, so expect some fresh material.

New material is also forthcoming from Philly's Canadian Invasion. Expect a new album sometime in February. You can catch them at The Fire.

John Wesley Harding's (Wesley Stace is his born name) music is obviously heavily influenced by Bob Dylan. Why else would he take his perfomance name from a Dylan album. But he also draws comparisons to Elvis Costello. Now also a published novelist, he is set to release a new album in March (a digital release through his website will be available for Christmas). He is playing the Tin Angel in Philly.

Rounding out Friday is Le Concorde from Chicago at the M-Room and singer-songwriter Andy Laird at Milkboy Acoustic.

mp3: A Place to Bury Strangers - My Weakness
mp3: The Cobbs - Say You Never Knew Me
mp3: Canadian Invasion - Standing on the Shoulders of John Mayer
mp3: Le Concorde - Parallel Lives

Saturday

Low Red Land, our friends from the San Francisco Bay, is in the area at The Red & The Black. Head on over and see why we like these guys so much.

Over at Dahlak, you can catch another Bay area act Michael Zapruder and New York's Porter Block.

DC9 is showcasing Mother Mother from Vancouver.

mp3: Low Red Land - Better Angels
mp3: Michael Zapruder - Ads for Feelings

Sunday

Known for their satirical and mostly stupid punk songs, Dead Milkmen are Philly originals. Now they are officially reuniting and playing a sold out show at First Unitarian. They are then heading down to Austin for the Fun Fun Fun Fest the first weekend of November. Anyone going with an extra ticket? I really want to see this.

More Philly originals are also performing Sunday. Hoots & Hellmouth are in Phoenixville at The Colonial Theater as part of the Flower Power Music Festival. At the M-Room The Swimmers are joined by New Yorkers The Figgs.

Baltimore darlings Wye Oak and Caleb Stine are playing a hometown show at Metro Gallery.

Over at the Ottobar, The XYZ Affair shares the stage with E Joseph and the Phantom Heart, who sound hauntingly like Echo & The Bunnymen and locals FFHH and Person Parcel (members of Gary B & The Notions).

Down at DC9, Norwegians The Royalties and Professor Pez perform.

mp3: Dead Milkmen - Punk Rock Girl
mp3: Hoots & Hellmoth - Rattle These Bones
mp3: The Swimmers - St. Cecilia
mp3: The Figgs - Breaking Through These Gates
mp3: Wye Oak - Warning
mp3: Caleb Stine - Devil
mp3: The XYZ Affair - Little Fool
mp3: FFHH - The Body

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