Monthly Archives: October 2011

TVD Recommends: Moonface at RnR, 10/29

By Charles Gray | Published: October 28, 2011

Spencer Krug is a busy man. Apart from being the singer / songwriter / keyboardist / etc. for his mainstay of Wolf Parade, he also performs with several different canadian acts the likes of Fifth’s of Sevens, Frog Eyes, Swan Lake and others. Oh, and did I mention he finds the time to be able to nourish a healthy solo project? If you’re unfamiliar with this work, then I’m proud to introduce you to Moonface.

Moonface | Fast Peter

Contrasting his more poppy works in other bands, Moonface tends to gravitate towards electronic soundscapes that generally range from 6 to 10 minutes at a time. The tone bank he has equipped for the project may not be the most extensive, but it’s sure to get the job done, filling ears with soft sounds and heartfelt sentiments.

Posted in TVD Washington, DC | Leave a comment

TVD Recommends:
The Black Angels Three Night Stand at MHoW

By Mike Newman | Published: October 28, 2011

Well, there’s gonna be some serious psych-rockin’ in Williamsburg this Halloween weekend. Psych-rock darlings, The Black Angels will take over the Music Hall of Williamsburg for 3 nights starting on Saturday.

The openers vary from night to night, but I would highly recommend checking out any one of these shows, as all the openers kick serious psych-ass too!

Posted in TVD New York City | Leave a comment

Weekend Shots!

By Amber Patrick | Published: October 28, 2011

Here’s where to tip ’em back this weekend in Cleveland. Which show will you choose for your Halloween weekend?

TVD-Cleveland’s pick? We’re torn. Either way, our two featured shows occur at the Beachland, 10/29. First, let’s talk Hugh Cornwell (from the Stranglers). Cornwell is touring with drummer Clem Burke (Blondie) and Steve Fishman. If you’re looking for a throwback rock sound this weekend, check this out. This show will also be a good time because it’s the album release show for locals, Rainy Day Saints.

Posted in TVD Cleveland | Leave a comment

TVD Previews:
Rock, Paper, Zombies!

By Special to TVD | Published: October 28, 2011

Rock, Paper, Zombies! – a Halloween-themed, 62 poster retrospective of our friend Rich Bernett’s gig poster work over the past year will haunt the Strathmore Mansion this coming Friday night (10/28) as will performances from some of the bands for whom Rich has designed posters. I’d go on a bit about what to anticipate, but Rich himself has this covered:

As the video attests, Rich is also bringing with him a number of regional poster designers to display their work on Friday and it’s these artists who Rich will be chatting up here at TVD over the coming days in anticipation of Friday night’s RPZ! event.

Wednesday Rich chatted with John Foster of Bad People Good Things, yesterday Anthony Dihle of Fire Studio shared his thoughts, and today Brianna Bevan and Jay Frank from Itty Bitty Press are in the hot seat before tonight’s event.

Please state your name for the record, as well as any name you wish you had instead.

Brianna Bevan and Jay Frank. I’m not sure we covet any names—if we did I think we could just change them—but I guess it wouldn’t be so bad to be “Melinda and Bill Gates.”

Posted in TVD Washington, DC | Leave a comment

Matthew Sweet,
what’s in your
record collection?

By Special to TVD | Published: October 28, 2011

Matthew Sweet’s latest release, the stellar Modern Art, hit store shelves this month and in tandem with its release and Matthew’s 20th Anniversary Tour where he’s playing his classic LP Girlfriend in full, he’s spent the week with TVD for a rummage through his records.

The window to win a vinyl copy of Modern Art is still wide open—and we’ve got one last gem from his collection before we get the keys to TVD HQ back from Matthew.

Neil Young, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere | Neil is a kingpin of rock and this classic foray into rock jamming bliss is not to be missed. One of the few great artists who have lived to see his influence across the generations, Neil had simple, personal songs with cool guitars—and set about rocking the free world!

This was Young’s first record to feature Crazy Horse, a band of neanderthal musicians who could dumb it down to Neil’s satisfaction. The album was a slap in the face to the hippy dippy singer-songwriters that were soon cluttering the airwaves.

Young’s raw “Cinnamon Girl” could be considered a precursor to the punk movement which Young himself would later champion.

Neil brought truth, guts, and grace to the world of music with an unflinching courage to do his own thing, regardless of what others thought.

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

Moogfest returns
this weekend!

By Dylan White | Published: October 28, 2011

For those who don’t know, Robert Moog was a pioneer of electronic music. His best known invention, the moog synthesizer, was popularized by Wendy Carlos in 1968 when she painstakingly re-assembled entire Bach compositions, released one of the best-selling classical albums at the time and won three Grammy awards for her efforts. Today Moog’s memory is honored with an annual festival in Asheville, NC, where he lived for the last 30 years of his life.

Downtown Asheville will host the main venues for the festival such as the Orange Peel (named one of the best rock clubs in the country by Rolling Stone), and the Asheville Civic Center.

This year Moogfest is also moving outdoors! The Animog Playground at the Renaissance will provide open space, fresh air, interactive art installations, and great performances.

Highlights of this year’s festival will surely include The Flaming Lips, Moby, STS9, Passion Pit, Dan Deacon, and Atlas Sound, along with many others.

Check out Moogfest here and be sure to follow the action on Twitter and Facebook.

Posted in TVD Chapel Hill | Leave a comment

Voodoo Music Experience: The
Weekend Preview

By Jay Mazza | Published: October 28, 2011

The music starts early on Saturday and Sunday in City Park and goes late. Here are some of the shows that I think are worth checking out.

There’s nothing like seeing a band that prefers to play in dark bars late at night with a good buzz on hitting the stage at 11:30 in the morning. So head out early to catch R Scully and the Rough 7. They bring energy to the stage at any time of day and in my mind have a Rolling Stones kind of vibe.

Immediately following their set, Iris May Tango reunites to perform on the Bud Light/WWOZ stage. Music lovers with long memories will recall that the band was one of the sensations of the Frenchmen Street scene back in the 1990s. Though the members of the group have aged like the rest of us, their sound remains fresh. I caught their first reunion gig at the French Quarter Festival back in April and was blown away and blown back in time.

Posted in TVD New Orleans | Leave a comment

Wilco is here!

By Laurence | Published: October 28, 2011

We love Wilco here at The Vinyl District, and always have. Our love affair with this most singular and innovative band goes back to the time when they came to the UK and supported The Jayhawks, wowing the audience and winning hearts which pointed us in the direction of their debut album A.M.

Sixteen years later after many memorable gigs, and a catalogue of work unparalleled in the past twenty years, they are here again! It’s been a year since their dazzling show at the Royal Festival Hall, and tonight and tomorrow evening they play the Roundhouse. Not our favourite venue, but we’ll put up with it in order to see America’s finest.

See you there, and to whet your appetite here’s the video for “Born Alone” from their latest masterpiece, The Whole Love.

Posted in TVD UK | Leave a comment

TVD Vinyl Giveaway: Matthew Sweet’s
Modern Art

By Jon Meyers | Published: October 27, 2011

We’re heavily addicted to Matthew Sweet’s latest LP Modern Art over here at TVD HQ, and along the lines of “the first taste is free,” we’ve got a vinyl copy to award one of you.

Glide magazine condenses my thoughts quite accurately with yesterday’s review, “With a dozen cuts comprising the forty-two plus minutes of this album, none meander but instead strictly follow their structure, as on “When Love Comes Falling.” The resolution of such tracks isn’t the rousing epiphany of pop but slower more dramatic climaxes such as the one that caps “A Little Death,” the likes of which works equally potently on the mind as well as the body. Having already experimented with his chosen style to his heart’s content (see his earliest albums and Blue Sky on Mars), tracks including ”Late Nights with the Power Pop” and “Baltimore” exhibit the clarity of ideas honed to their essence.”

American Songwriter noted, “On Modern Art, his first album since 2008, Sweet does not change things much from his previous solo albums, and why should he? Sweet still wears his love of ’60s pop on his sleeve. The first three tracks quickly establish the musical setting. “Oh, Oldendaze!” has a pre-Tommy-era Who feel; “Ivory Tower,” with drums supplied by Fred Armisen, recalls Revolver-era Beatles; and “She Walks The Night” shimmers with the jingle-jangle 12-string sound of The Byrds.

Posted in The TVD Storefront | 6 Comments

TVD Live: Star Slinger with Shlohmo at U St. Music Hall, 10/25

By Jenn Bress | Published: October 27, 2011

Since 2010, Star Slinger has been widely blogged about, which is how I discovered his chilling Elizabeth Fraser (Cocteau Twins) rework.

When I noticed the striking flier arrangement on U Street Music Hall’s wall advertising that Star Slinger was coming to DC and playing this past Tuesday, I hightailed my ass straight for a ticket. Joining him for the evening was a long list of acts, including Shlohmo, upon whom I was lucky enough to stumble.

Shlohmo seriously primed the crowd for Star Slinger, utilizing Uhall’s brilliant sound system. The crowd chanted excitedly for Star Slinger to take the stage. and as Darren Williams appeared in ’90s red checkered flannel, his hair remained in his face for the duration of the night. I found it particularly funny when I noticed a table next to him with a bottle of wine and two bottles of water. The lighting shone a pink haze over the stage, illuminating it with a rosé hue. This christened the thug beats of his set with ironic feminine overtones, immediately erased by the genre-defying mix of beats and samples rising from his mixer.

Posted in TVD Washington, DC | Leave a comment

Show of the Week: Robert Randolph &
the Family Band at
The New Daisy, 10/28

By Mike Jackson | Published: October 27, 2011

So, the SOTW is a little different this week. Less indie, more badass musicians. Less Pitchfork, more undeniable feel-good music. Less bull butter, more real-deal cats leaving it all on the stage.

I present to you, o’ readers, Robert Randolph & the Family Band at The New Daisy this Friday night, the 28th. The band is out in support of their new record, Live In Concert, that came out last month.

Posted in TVD Memphis | Leave a comment

TVD Previews:
Rock, Paper, Zombies!

By Special to TVD | Published: October 27, 2011

Yesterday Rich chatted with John Foster of Bad People Good Things, and today he corners Anthony Dihle of Fire Studio:

Please state your name for the record, as well as any name you wish you had instead.

Anthony Dihle of Fire Studio. Formerly of Dirty Pictures. Aka A-Train, Ad-man, Anfernee, Antonio, Hony, Deal Pickle, Ant, vitamin A.

Where do you currently work? What is your role there?

My company is Fire Studio. I do everything from client relations, design, printmaking, poster pasting, janitorial duties. I also am senior graphic designer at an architecture firm and am VP of the DC chapter of AIGA, the professional association for design. I keep pretty busy but at heart I’m a lazy moo.

Posted in TVD Washington, DC | Leave a comment

Colorado Top Shelf: Boom Chick at Moe’s Original Bar B Que, 10/29

By Emily Bress | Published: October 27, 2011

Colorado and I are finally on the same wavelength. At least when it comes to music. Specifically, bringing in the music of Frank Hoier and Moselle Spiller of Boom Chick.

Fresh-faced old souls Frank Hoier (Guitar/ Vocals) and Moselle Spiller (Drums) bring a contemporary elegance to their early American-rock inspired sound. The duo is giving a complimentary touch to the Colorado music scene this weekend in one extremely stylish and talented package.

Posted in TVD Denver | Leave a comment

TVD Vinyl Giveaway: Monument Music Festival, Suckers, and Rewards Prize Pack

By Jenn Bress | Published: October 27, 2011

Monument Music Festival is quickly becoming synonymous with awesome shows to benefit awesome causes, and tonight’s DC9 show featuring Frenchkiss/IAMSOUND/Spunk’s Suckers and DFA’s Rewards to benefit Common Good City Farm is certainly no exception.

If you’ve already purchased tickets for tonight’s show, you’ve scored the biggest pre-halloween treat imaginable, but if you’re still on the fence for tonight, not only does your ticket benefit Common Good City Farm, whose mission is to to grow food, educate, and help low-income DC community members meet their food needs, but you’ll get to see two of Brooklyn’s finest bands, and there’s no pressure to wear a costume (although I always encourage it).

If you need any further convincing, let’s let Suckers convince you:

Posted in TVD Washington, DC | 11 Comments

Brush Prairie
Can you dig this?

By Laurence | Published: October 27, 2011

While we wait impatiently for the new Dandy Warhols album, (hey guys, how about a little focus this time around) the members of the band have been keeping themselves busy: Courtney and Brent, in the guise of Dutch Masters, have contributed a version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” to the Nirvana Nevermind 20th Anniversary tribute album; Peter Holmstrom launched his Pete International Airport project, and perhaps most interestingly of all, and certainly most surprisingly, is the Zia McCabe side-project, an authentic country band Brush Prairie, who have just released their debut EP Carry Yourself Back To Me.

Inspired by the Deborah Reed novel of the same name, here’s the video for the title track: