Livening Up Your Tuesday

Tuesday is usually a bland day. Not quite hump day and just beyond Monday. Luckily, the IA area has quite the line-up to choose from to make this Tuesday a little bit better.

The Courteeners
(via bands myspace)

If you happened to see Morrissey Sunday night at the Academy of Music in Philly and got there early enough, you caught the next big thing out of Manchester. If you didn't, you get another shot to catch them. The North Star Bar and Philly Girl About Town bring The Courteeners back to the City of Brotherly Love for an encore performance. They have won the Guardian's debut album of the year for 2008 and are on the most recent cover of NME. I highly recommend getting out to see this band in this kind of setting. You may be only able to see them at larger venues from now on. Opening are locals Toy Soldiers and Kettle Pot Black.



Elsewhere in Philly, The Fire in Northern Liberties has Boston's The Motion Sick. You may have caught the dance remix of "30 Lives" on the latest Dance Dance Revolution. Garnering Spin's Band of the Month for their first release Her Brilliant Fifteen, they have since released their second offering The Truth Will Catch You, Just Wait... Their music is tinged with social commentary, but the band keeps it simple and never too serious.

mp3: The Motion Sick - 30 Lives (via greenlightgopublicity.com)

Canada and locals meet at the First Unitarian Church after a night in the District, as one of our favorites Cotton Jones (former Page France) share the stage with The Magic, best described as a weird lo-fi band and a collaboration of two beloved Canadian troubadors, Jim Guthrie (of Royal City) and Nick Thorburn (of Unicorns and Islands), known as Human Highway. Great setting for a great show.

mp3: Cotton Jones - Had Not A Body (via band)
mp3: Human Highway - The Sound (via r5productions.com)

The Lone show in DC is at the Black Cat, but it features a lineup that should not be missed. Big in the UK really doesn't mean much across the Atlantic, but in the case of White Lies and Friendly Fires, it should. Throw in SoCal's blog buzz band and new Kemado Record artist The Soft Pack (formerly The Muslims) and you are in for one hell of a night. Don't worry Philly crowd, no need to make a trip down I-95 (unless you want to), all hit the First Unitarian Wednesday.

mp3: White Lies - To Lose My Life (via r5productions.com) Filthy Dukes Remix (imeem stream)
mp3: Friendly Fires - Jump in The Pool (via r5productions.com)
mp3: The Soft Pack - Extinction (via r5productions.com)