The lovely, teensy-bit-twee A Sunny Day In Glasgow (note: not actually from Glasgow; their home is in Philadelphia) have got that '90s college rock sound going on, but never fear, it's not too nostalgic. This is a band that is still moving forward. Check out a special presentation from Pitchfork, above, to see and hear for yourself.
You can see the band in person on their upcoming tour, which stops at DC9 in Washington, D.C. on March 28. Tickets are now on sale at Ticket Alternative.
This fantastic Japanese band has managed to combine two of my favorite things - crazy garage rock and food! OK, so the whole video isn't full of food, but it's entertaining enough to be an instant fave over here.
Polysics are playing Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C. on February 16. Tickets are on sale now at Ticket Alternative.
Atlanta's nutty Black Lips are about to go on a looooong tour, and they'll be stopping by Black Cat in Washington, D.C. on March 19. Check out the very special episode of "We Have Signal" from Alabama Public Television above, which follows the band through a mad-as-usual show and gets them talking about their experiences in India. Get your tickets at Ticket Alternative when they go on sale January 15 at noon.
It's the first Three Picks of the Week ... of the year. Hurrah! And to celebrate, here's a delightful trio of videos to put you in a chipper mood, ready to take on 2010.
The Guillemots are already a name that brightens my mood, and now Fyfe Dangerfield (another amazing name) is embarking on a solo career. This beautiful bit of orchestral pop sweeps and swoons with a shining light just like the best of British pop music does. And from the sound of the other songs from the album, the whole thing is going to put an entire country in a better mood. Could this floppy-haired young man be the next Robbie Williams for the Brits?
With an odd mix of bebop jazz and hip psychedlic indie rock. The Fiery Furnaces melt away the icy moods of any listener. They're also playing Little Rock's Revolution Music Room January 26. Tickets are on sale at Ticket Alternative.
Sondre Lerche isn't only a Norwegain dreamboat, but he also lights up a room with his nuggets of indie pop sunshine. He'll be touring the U.S. in the next few months, stopping at The EARL in Atlanta on February 11 and Rock and Roll Hotel in D.C. on March 5. Tickets for both shows are on sale at Ticket Alternative.
Seminal post-rock band Tortoise is about to go on tour, and we thought to get you in the mood for their shows we'd post a video for "Prepare Your Coffin," from their last album, Beacons of Ancestorship, released June last year. They'll be stopping at The EARL on February 14 (tickets) and Black Cat February 16 (tickets).
The ICCA (International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella) finals are fast approaching! Quarterfinals and semifinals will be taking place all over the country, so get your tickets now to support your school, alma mater, or just favorite group. With all the attention on "Glee," this year's shows are sure to have packed crowds!
I'm a bit partial to some Queen myself, so we've put the video from The SoCal VoCals, from the University of Southern California, performing "Somebody To Love" at the Western Semifinals in 2008 to get you in the mood before buying your tickets at Ticket Alternative.
ICCA Mid-Atlantic Quarterfinal at Rutgers University in Brunswick, NJ TICKETS
ICCA Mid-Atlantic Quarterfinal at Nazareth College in Rochester, NY TICKETS
ICCA Mid-Atlantic Quarterfinal at University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Penn.TICKETS
ICCA Mid-Atlantic Semifinal at Rutgers University in New Brunswick NJ TICKETS
ICCA Northeast Quarterfinal at Brown University in Providence, RI TICKETS
ICCA Northeast Semifinal at MIT in Cambridge, Mass. TICKETS
ICCA South Quarterfinal at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla. TICKETS
ICCA Midwest Quarterfinal at Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. TICKETS
ICCA West Quarterfinal at University of California, Berkeley TICKETS
Little Tybee recently played one of our monthly showcases, which we hosted with our sister site Atlanta Music Guide, called DRINKSHOP Live at the W Atlanta Downtown hotel. I'd hate to classify them as just indie folk, because they bring so much more to their music creating delightful vignettes that are just waiting to be eaten up by the masses of hipsters and middle school kids alike. Think of a mellow Dave Matthews Band being led by Badly Drawn Boy. Beautiful stuff. They're playing at The EARL January 14 with Adron, and tickets are available at Ticket Alternative.
Sweden's Soundtrack of Our Lives have always thrilled me both live and on disc with their somehow modern take on pure '60s sweet psychedelic garage rock. Hugely excited that they're coming back stateside, but massively disappointed that they're not playing my hometown of Atlanta. Still, they will be playing the Black Cat in Washington, D.C. on February 18 with Nico Vega. Tickets are on sale at Ticket Alternative.
Bobby Birdman fits wonderfully in that quirky world of keyboard and blips looped together by a smooth voice and adorable melodies. More mellow than Hot Chip and MGMT but just as charming, he's one of my favorite new finds.
Amazing Atlanta indie kids Manchester Orchestra never seem to stop touring. Somehow they had enough time to make this brilliant video, which our sister site Atlanta Music Guide featured last month. Spinner also featured the video, as well as an interview with the band. Here's a sample:
"I couldn't lift my hand past my waist after doing that video," Hull
told Spinner. "I was definitely arm wrestling those guys. They were
just letting me win. That was pretty funny. My arm so, so bad. So no, I
do not enjoy it."
Check out more at Spinner and watch the video above, then buy the tickets for the band's Little Rock show at Juanita's on February 3 at Ticket Alternative.
Bowerbirds - North Carolina's Bowerbirds may seem like pretty sleepy music but they put on a stellar show. They're coming to Washington D.C.'s Rock and Roll Hotel on December 2 and Atlanta's EARL allll the way into next year on February 12. Tickets are available at Ticket Alternative.
Groove Armada - They're back with an incredible video "I Won't Kneel," with the stunning voice of Saint Savour. We can't wait for the new record to drop in February.
Robbie Williams - We're pretty Brit-centric around here, and are pretty excited to see that Robbie is finally making that big comeback, at least over in the UK. Let's see if we can make a bit of a wave for him over here too...
Here's what I'd be checking out this weekend for Halloween if I were you. We're gonna pop up some videos this time around so you get a chance to hear the band's I'm gushing about right off the bat.
Atlanta's own Constellations just got signed to Virgin Records and are surely headed on to much greatness with their hip, indie-funk sound. They'll be playing the bawdy event "The Most Legendary Halloween Party You Will Ever Attend" this Saturday in Atlanta so catch them then if you can - tickets are available here.
The Modern Skirts have been making all kinds of good music up in Athens, from glorious indie pop to tribal drumming madness. They play Smith's Olde Bar - tickets are here.
Travelers of their own funky galaxy, Noot D' Noot play The EARL with rock 'n' rollers Gentleman Jesse and His Men. Get your tickets here.
Ahead of the release of their first 'Best Of' CD, Snow Patrol have released the video for their latest single Just Say Yes. The CD Up To Now is released on November 10th
Did you miss the feature last week? We had an office outing, complete with massive quantities of Mexican food, so had to cut the day short, which meant this poor little feature got cut. But now it's back and better than ever! Or, at least, hopefully just as good as it usually is.
Karen O & the Kids - Don't tell me you haven't heard the delightful song Karen O and various other uber-cool musicians have recorded for Where The Wild Things Are? Well then listen to "All Is Love" via the video at the top of the post and get your cheerful on.
The Whiskey Gentry - The Atlanta music scene was pretty bummed out when Missy Gossip and the Secret Keepers, a rockin' indie band with a hefty dose of tradional country, broke up just as they were getting started. For many of us, they could do no wrong. But thankfully, there's a new band that has risen out of those ashes to heal our hurt, and that band is The Whiskey Gentry. The band's debut EP was reviewed on our sister site Atlanta Music Guide, and we proclaimed it was "how music ought to be," with banjos, mandolins and fiddles filling out the group's country-fried curves nicely. They'll be playing The EARL on September 9 with Mike LaSage and the Stumbling Troubadours, and tickets are available at Ticket Alternative.
Slaraffenland - I've been keen on this hard-to-spell, impossible-to-pronounce Danish band since I saw them at SXSW. Over at Atlanta Music Guide, their debut record was reviewed to high praise, with a sound that we've never heard before yet is not in the beyond-bizarro category. It's glorious, soaring and deep with layer upon layer of vocals and looped sounds. Though it might be tough to categorize it sure ain't difficult to love, so even the most intimidated of music fans should check them out.
Hello campers! It's been a pretty crazy week over here at the Ticket Alternative offices - and summer is supposed to be our downtime! Guess all those ticket orders didn't get the memo. Not that we're complaining...
Anyway, onwards and upwards to my three picks of the week, most of which have to do with some pretty awesome concert announcements.
The Selmanaires - Always nice to start with some local boys, this Atlanta band manages to stride multitudes of genres, from post punk to world beats to esoteric jazz, while still keeping their sound hip and sharp. They're touring with Broadcast and Atlas Sound, who will be stopping in D.C. and Atlanta (tickets at Ticket Alternative now).
Heavy Trash - We all need some good, solid, raw rock 'n' rawl every once in a while, and Heavy Trash - made up of Jon Spencer (of Blues Explosion fame) and Matt Verta-Ray (Madder Rose and Speedball Baby) - deliver in spades. They'll be at The EARL in Atlanta on November 19 (tickets at Ticket Alternative).
ChipMunk - And lastly, a little taste of what's been on the buds of folks overseas in the Mother Country. ChipMunk is that perfect summer blend that Lily Allen also serves up - cheeky, charming and cheerful. There's a lil' bit of ska here, a good dash of hip-hop there, and a fab stock of solid pop cool to hold it all together. The kid's only just got his A Level results (yesterday in fact) and he's got a record deal and a hit record. And he was still fretting over his grades! Good lad we say - study hard, kids! Check out his video for the new single, "Diamond Rings," above.
We've got two wicked concerts to announce for DC venue Black Cat. First up are German krautrockers Faust, who will be joined by Health to play the Sonic Circuits Festival on September 27. Tickets are on sale now at Ticket Alternative.
Also just announced are those psychedelic indie rockers Thee Oh Sees, who are playing on October 12. Check out the video of their performance of the garage rockin' "Ghost in the Tree" from last year's SXSW if you want a taste of what to expect. Then buy your tickets for the gig at Ticket Alternative.
Arctic Monkeys at the Apollo DVD & Live in Texas bonus
CD
Warp Films / Domino Records / Bang Bang Films
EMI Music Publishing
By Samantha Parvin
If you are looking for fresh, jump-around Britpop for your
ears, you have come to the right place.Arctic Monkeys’ double live disc is truly for the fans.As digital downloading becomes the “norm” in
audio sales, more and more artists are releasing box sets, special editions
and vinyl albums.The band did make
public a special edition box set, only 5,000 ever made, which boasts a vinyl
version of the Texas 2006 live album and portrait postcard art of the band
members.In addition, Arctic Monkeys has
fashioned a recession-friendly alternative package, which packs a 19-track performance
DVD from the last gig on their 2007 world tour at the Apollo in Manchester, England,
and a 10-track live bonus CD.
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