Thursday Shows

It's almost the weekend and there are some good shows to check out Thursday. In addition to shows that I have already mentioned this week, here is what is going on.

For the big show of the night, its M.I.A. vs. Holy Fuck at The Armory (University City near Drexel) in Philly. Be ready for a great show. Check out the videos below.



Holy Fuck - Milkshake



M.I.A. - Jimmy

Down at DC9, These New Puritans and Imperial China take the stage. You can also catch TNP at Pure in Philly on Friday.

mp3: These New Puritans - Elvis
mp3: Imperial China - There Is No Translation

Junior League is at IOTA in Arlington.

mp3: Junior League - Puppeteers

Weekend Regional Concert Highlights

I know, it has been rather quiet around here lately. I have had a rather awful November on the personal side of things and that has kept me away for most of the month. Those of you who have spoken to me, know how ridiculous it has been. Between bizarre illnesses, strange accidents and other random events, I haven't been in a state to write much. Anyway, I promise that December will be better. We have a lot of things coming up, including the return of one of our most popular features of '06 and our various best of lists. In the meantime, I'll leave you with the weekend regional show highlights.

These United States - credit
Washington, DC
Friday
Ra Ra Riot/Jukebox The Ghost/These United States @ Rock 'N Roll Hotel

Baltimore, MD
Friday
M.I.A. @ Sonar

Philadelphia, PA
Friday
The Teeth/The High Strung/Via Audio @ North Star Bar
The Caribbean @ Tritone

Saturday
M.I.A. @ Electric Factory
Celebration/Dragons of Zynth @ Johnny Brendas

Sunday
The Clean @ Johnny Brendas

Ra Ra Riot - Can You Tell
Jukebox The Ghost - Good Day
These United States - Burn This Bridge
M.I.A. - Paper Planes
The Teeth - It's Not Funny
The High Strung - The Baddest Ship
Via Audio - We Can Be Good
The Caribbean - The Go From Tactical
Celebration - Heartbreak
Dragons of Zynth - Get Off
The Clean - Tally Ho

This Week's New Releases

After being subjected to several slow weeks of new releases, we are rewarded greatly. This week is absolutely loaded.

Possibly the biggest release this week is by The New Pornographers. Their new CD Challengers is the band's forth full length release, but a slightly different sound than all the others. Instead of being crazy and fun, this release tries to be a bit more serious with its sound. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is up to the listener. You can check out the full review over on Pitchfork and they will be playing 9:30 Club on October 27.

My personal personal pick of the week is by Minus the Bear. Planet of Ice is a great mix of their different sounds from the previous albums, but with an intensity that has yet to be found. It is my favorite release from them so far and cannot be missed. The release is supported by a countrywide tour and finds them in DC on October 10 at Black Cat.

Rilo Kiley has finally released their newest, Under The Blacklight. They are supporting the new release with a country wide tour that includes two stops in DC at the 9:30 Club on September 26 and 27 .

Another great release comes from Architecture in Helsinki who are dropping their new album Places Like This. Already out in Europe and Japan, this Austrialian band has released another good album that keeps in tune with the sound of their previous releases. This synth, electronic, experimental band always has a unique sound to everything thing they put out and may not appeal to most listeners, but are a real treat for the rest of us.

A few weeks ago, we told you about M.I.A.'s previous single for her new album. Now you need to wait no longer, as the full length has finally been released. This rapper from Sri Lanka has taken the world by storm and now you can listen to what everyone has been talking about. She is currently hosting the album on her MySpace page and Pitchfork has a review of the album so be sure to head over there to check it out.

Josh Ritter has a new highly recommended album out for everyone to listen to. The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter has hints of Bob Dylan with a little southern tilt to it. The full band that helps out on the album, greatly increases the sound and helps with the listening experience. Be sure to check him out October 9 at 9:30 Club.

Jeremy Enigk's The Missing Link is probably the mellowest release on this list, but has a beautiful subtly to it. That said, this is only recommended for his biggest fans. Many of these songs are alternate versions of tracks off of last year's excellent World Waits. Whole good, there are only 4 new ones on here.

Two other releases this week are the indie glam pop of Imperial Teen's the hair the tv the baby & the band and the indie psychedelic rock of Caribou's Andorra. You can catch Caribou October 9 at Rock and Roll Hotel.

The New Pornographers - My Rights Versus Yours
Minus the Bear - Knights
Rilo Kiley - Silver Lining
Architecture in Helsinki - Hold Music
M.I.A. - Boyz (Kimono Kops Remix)
Josh Ritter - To the Dogs or Whoever
Jeremy Enigk - Oh John
Imperial Teen - Shim Sham
Caribou - Melody Day

This Week's Releases

Editor's Note: This is the first post from our new DC reporter, Chris. He will be covering anything and everything. Live shows, CD reviews, mixes... they are all in play. You will definitely be seeing him around town. Please join me in welcoming him to IA.

Some huge releases dropped last week. We saw new offerings from Interpol, Spoon, BOAT, Justice, Ra Ra Riot and The Smashing Pumpkins. The one thing that I noticed, was that the list was very US heavy. This week also saw several big name releases and this time, the UK flexed some muscle.


The first big release is from Editors, with their sophomore disc An End Has A Start. I have listened to this CD a couple of times so far and I highly recommend it. They built upon all that they learned from the first release and this one sounds like a more upbeat Boxer from The National, with the same amount of emotion and great lyrics packed into it.

For those of you who like to dance, The Chemical Brothers finally dropped their new album We Are The Night. I haven't heard the whole CD yet, but the few songs that I have listened to have been amazing.

Our third UK band may not have as big of a following as the other two, but definitely brings it in their new release. The Cribs break out with Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever. The first single "Men's Needs", is a hard hitting, energy packed song that will have you rocking out after the first verse. I also had a chance to listen to "Women's Needs" today and although not as fast paced, the song also has great hit potential.

For our hip-hop fans out there, M.I.A. releases her first single off of her newest CD KALA, called "Boyz." M.I.A. is from Sri Lanka and takes a different approach to hip-hop than most artists from here in the states, in that she mixes a good amount of dance beats into her music. She draws her beats from all around the world, making her songs some of the most invigorating and unique experiences you have heard from a hip-hop artist.

For a full list of all of the notable releases out there, check out this list. There should be something for everyone this week and a lot of things for those of you that are like me and like music from all genres.

I also want to recommend a CD that I discovered yesterday, called How It Ends from DeVotchKa. Check out "Enemy Guns" to get a good idea of what they are like. Their music and vocals are simply amazing and like M.I.A,. they take their musical inspirations from many different places, yet have huge ties to Eastern Europe and gypsy type music.

That should do it for my first post, but you will see much more from me in the coming weeks. For now, I will leave you with some mp3s.

Editors - Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors
Editors - An End Has A Start
The Chemical Brothers - All Rights Reserved (ft. Klaxons)
The Cribs - Men's Needs
The Cribs - Women's Needs
M.I.A. - Boyz (Kimino Kops Mix)
DeVotchKa - The Enemy Guns
DeVotchKa - How It Ends