Friday, September 30, 2011
Druglord rhapsodies at the Discount Mall
Posted by Kyle Long on Fri, Sep 30, 2011 at 2:30 PM
- Artur Silva
- Music booth at Indiana Discount Mall
My constant search for new music takes me to a lot of places in Indianapolis. One of my favorite spots is the Indiana Discount Mall. Located next to Saraga International Grocery on the city's Westside, it's home to Indy's largest marketplace for Mexican and Latin American goods.
In addition to the wide assortment of soccer jerseys, cowboy boots, religious icons and quinceañera dresses, the mall also houses a massive selection of music. On any given weekend, you can find half a dozen music vendors peddling their wares in tiny booths overflowing with CDs.
The mall is a veritable treasure trove of Latin music. Whatever style you're looking for you can find it in abundance here, from traditional Mexican music like ranchera and banda, to the latest reggaeton and cumbia hits, to niche genres hyphy norteño and Chicano rap.
- Artur Silva
- Religous icons for sale
Lately I've been hitting the Discount Mall in search of tribal guarachero, a hot new electronic dance music emerging from the club scenes of Mexico City and Monterrey. Tribal guarachero, or just tribal (pronounced tree-VAL), combines elements of traditional Mexican music with banging, synth-heavy house and electro beats. The genre's biggest star, Erick Rincon, a 17-year-old prodigy from Monterrey, has described tribal as a mix of "pre-Hispanic and African sounds with cumbia basslines."
Listen to a mini-mix of tribal guarachero music I made using CDs I purchased at the Indiana Discount Mall:
Tribal Guarachero mini mix - DJ Kyle Long by CulturaCanibal
Tribal has been getting great press from taste makers like Mad Decent, Vice and Fader, but has yet to make its way into mainstream Mexican culture. My first few attempts at finding tribal CDs in Indianapolis were unsuccessful, but the sound has slowly started to make its way north. This summer, tribal albums began popping up on the racks of Indy's Latin music dealers.
- Artur Silva
- A labyrinth of CDs
I recently paid a visit to one of my favorite music booths at the mall in hopes of scoring some new tribal beats. The shop has no name, but it's easily identified by its bright blue walls and distinctive multicolored, handmade divider cards. I got lucky: two new tribal CDs had just arrived — Best of Tribal 2010 and Tribaleando en Texas, a comp focusing on productions from the very active Texas tribal scene.
I asked the shop's owner how tribal is selling in Indy. He requested that I not use his real name in this article. Considering the troubling wave of anti-immigrant sentiment at play in the U.S., I understood and complied. For the sake of this piece, I'll just refer to him as "Javier."
Javier told me that tribal is selling slowly, noting that it's just beginning to find an audience here. What is selling at his shop? Cumbia always moves briskly, according to Javier, but narcocorrido is by far his biggest seller, adding that he has trouble keeping albums by genre stars Gerardo Ortiz and Larry Hernandez in stock.
- Artur Silva
- Tribal CDs
Narcocorrido (literally translated as "drug ballad") emerged from the combination of two distinct Mexican traditions: the accordion-heavy, polka-based sound of norteño and the narrative folk ballads of corrido. Known for its lyrics detailing the true stories of Mexico's drug cartels, narcocorrido has been blamed for romanticizing criminal activities like murder, torture and drug smuggling.
Not overly familiar with the genre, I asked Javier to recommend a narcocorrido album. Without pause, he handed me a copy of Ortiz's latest release Entre Dios Y El Diablo.
It was a good pick. At 22 years old, Ortiz brings a youthful exuberance to the corrido tradition, and I responded to the singer's charismatic and artful sound. Standouts include the infectious, anthemic opener "Aquiles Afirmo" which mixes jazzy accordion breaks with the sound of shotgun blasts; an epic ballad, "Angeles O Demonios," based on the story of infamous drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes; and "Este Amor," an inventive ranchera version of Bob Marley's "Is This Love."
I frequent Javier's booth because he knows music, has good taste and is happy to talk shop, despite his broken English and my nonexistent Spanish. I also appreciate his deep crates. Javier stocks a musical variety you won't find at in his competitor's booths; for example, digging through Javier's CDs, I found albums by Austin, Texas, ranchera-rockers Chingon (a favorite of director Quentin Tarantino) and Mexico City's funk-rock-rappers Molotov — records far more interesting than the typical pop fodder offered elsewhere at the mall.
The Indiana Discount Mall is open 12-8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. through the weekend. On a typical Sunday afternoon, it's probably the liveliest place in Indianapolis. Aside from the music, the mall also houses a full-service restaurant, a tattoo parlor, and a barber and beauty salon.
- Artur Silva
- Indiana Discount Mall
Rock Introducing: Hidden Ritual
Posted by Grant Catton on Fri, Sep 30, 2011 at 2:30 PM
Zuverza, who spent time as a guitarist in Callahan’s band before founding Hidden Ritual, was cool enough to give me a copy of his band’s self-titled album, recorded earlier this year in Austin. Since then, the album has found its way onto my CD player again and again, so much so that I felt it necessary to finally give these guys a shout-out.
What makes this album distinct is that it creates its own mood. Zuverza’s graveyard reference stuck in my mind as particularly apt; there is something distinctly eerie about each one of these tracks. Hidden Ritual accomplishes this by using driving beats and echoing just about everything, including Zuverza’s haunting vocals.
The song “In a Room” is the best expression of this. The song opens with a rudimentary, plodding snare beat, with a low and undetectable bass line. Then comes the echoing guitar riff, while Zuverza moans as though he’s speaking from the bottom of a grave. Then the tension builds as the beat picks up, a werewolf growls, and Zuverza goes into a quick, marching guitar solo, making it feel like the chase has begun.
But there is another side to this album. Aside from the graveyard motif, Hidden Ritual create an even more dramatic effect with tracks like “To the Cave.” With its marching bass line and sparing rhythm guitar riff, this song evokes the open space, the loneliness and the drama of the great Spaghetti Westerns. And yet somehow there’s nothing trite or nostalgic about this sound; on the contrary, it sounds highly futuristic, as though the film it scores is set on the moon — a Spaceghetti Western, perhaps?
TO THE CAVE by HiddenRitualQuite simply, it’s rare that one comes across a debut, independently recorded album with such complexity and coherence. These are the kinds of songs that bear listening again and again precisely because there are so many layered effects in each song, making you listen for sounds you might’ve missed the first or second or third go-round.
BARBARIANS by HiddenRitualFurthermore, Hidden Ritual just released a new song last month called "Barbarians," in which they seem to be casting off a bit of the graveyard feel, playing around percussion and the tempo of the piece while the fat, high-pitched guitar solos and jangly chords heard on the album. Once again, there’s evidence of some interesting innovation and musical growth.
Hear: six tracks by Hidden Ritual (via Bandcamp)
Rock Beat Jab reviews Jens Lekman, Girls
Posted by Micah Ling on Fri, Sep 30, 2011 at 1:30 PM
An Argument with Myself (EP)
Secretly Canadian
3.5 Stars
Think The Magnetic Fields and Beirut and Beck. This guy, from Sweden, is certainly charming and silly. He’s been around the world; he’s worked in a bingo hall. His EP is a little poppy (almost reggae in style) compared to some of the ballads from previous albums.
And much like The Magnetic Fields, even the goofy songs are rooted in something that stings a bit. They're easy to sort of laugh off on first listen, but they echo beyond their first impression. Something that proves he knows what he’s doing.
"A Promise" has a little lounge singer going on, in a way that will make you move your hips. Sometimes it's almost like he's mocking himself. It's fun to listen to: he's telling stories — exaggerated real-life. Small talk, gossip, inner monologues: "I'm sorry I'm babbling, hey how was your day?" A short commute EP, a getting-ready-for-a-night-of-goofing-around thing to play. -Micah Ling
Hear: a full-EP stream of An Argument with Myself (via New York Magazine)
Father, Son, Holy Ghost
True Panther
Four stars
If Marty McFly had been a strung-out street kid — instead of a suburban dweeb playing “Johnny B. Goode” at his mom’s senior prom — he might have made the music Girls make. Stressed-out and fiending for a fix, Girls is a band fit for a black-eyeshadow “Under the Sea” dance.
These co-eds smoke and drink. They’re ambiguous — socially, sexually, meaningfully. Clever turns of phrase abound, but you get the idea whoever this guy’s talking to — they aren’t listening. He rambles and raves, pounding his chest for emphasis.
There are some serious jams here. Songs last near ten minutes — way beyond the 2:50 allowed at Sun Records. For those of us who are listening, though, this album is an overwhelming ode to never-found love.
The musicality is stunning. Hints of Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, Queen, and (yes) The Grateful Dead are peppered among lyrics pining for, well, just about everything. Mostly girls. Boys too. “Deep, down, real down, crying, how I love that girl.” It's teenage, but it’s too knowing to be made by teenagers. “If you would only stay — don’t you know I want you?” We want it, we just don’t know it yet. -Jay Cullis
Roots Review: Andrew Morris, 'Great Corn Detasseling'
Posted by Rob Nichols on Fri, Sep 30, 2011 at 7:30 AM
Andrew Morris and Friends
The Great Corn Detassling Album
2.5 stars
The Great Corn Detassling Album from Warsaw, Ind.'s Andrew Morris & Friends, reminds me of Illinois musician Jack Logan, who released a 1995 album, Bulk, containing way-too-many (42) songs. Most were recorded in less-than-steller sounding studios. One was called "15 Years in Indiana."
I listened to that album a lot. Some of it was great, and some was crap. Partially-completed ideas made it to the record, and some songs were so poorly recorded that it was an effort to find the hook of a song, buried in the recording mud.
The same is true of Detassling. There's a lot to hear, much of it probably recorded with one, or just a couple, microphones. It's another in a string of lo-fi Americana albums that have come my direction in the past few months. Though I usually love the feel of the playing, I nearly always wish they would have paid an engineer a couple hundred bucks to get a better-sounding recording.
Is Detassling Morris's Nebraska? Kind of. There is a "I had this cassette of my music in my back pocket" rumble, though the addition of trombones and horns give it a vague falsely-polished tone.
Morris is 22 years old. His family has been in Warsaw for more than 5 generations. His bloodline runs through the album, making it one to consider, if only because you might be a fan of Hoosier-based music that mentions locations and names we know.
The band comes out whooping with "Indiana O Indiana," a lo-fi blugrass rocker complete with background hollering. I'm a sucker for a song about Indiana, be it by The Elms or Bill WIlson, and it's fun as shit, with lyrics that speed up like Dylan and slow down like Nirvana ("Indiana O Indiana, you'll always be home to me").
A terrific "Coyote Hunt" rushes through lyrics that call out Hank Williams, Jr. hunting and cigs ("But I accept the offer out of respect. Light her up, like a man, and puff her"). "The Brown River" is steadied by a thumping bass line, choral harmonies and subtle Woody Guthrie nods. "Keep Your Feet on the Carpet," which introduces a french horn (like the Rolling Stones on "You Can't Always Get What You Want"), ventures as close to full orchestration as anything on the album.
"When I was Five" recalls Beach Boys harmonies and arrangements, while "Meth Head" is a winner with its title alone and gets better when Morris sings of reading about another "meth head in the Times-Union." It's possibly the best song on the album; love the banjo.
But not everything succeeds; far from it, really. "The Trite Call to Arms Song" borders on parody that you'd hear on a radio morning show. "Bar Stool Prophets" can't overcome a dead-sounding track. "Curse" is a lukewarm attempt at Cab Calloway-ish, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy scary New Orleans R&B.
This is homemade Indiana music. Dive in and see what feels good. Ignore what you don't like.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Roots Local journal: Gypsy Revival, Ladymoon
Posted by Grant Catton on Thu, Sep 29, 2011 at 7:19 PM
Topping the bill was Gypsy Revival, who play that blend of blues, country, and straight-up rock and roll that people like to call Americana these days. With lead singer Davey Allen on bass, they have a smooth, blues-rock sound a little bit reminiscent of bands like the Black Crowes and Blues Traveler, using hard beats, plentiful guitar solos and a big fat organ to fill in nicely on the gaps. GR played a few tracks from their 2010 self-titled EP, such as “Abigail,” in my opinion their most notable performance of the evening. On that song, GR seem to take a more interpretive turn, slowing down and letting Allen’s voice really take over as he wails out the name of a lost love. Another interesting track was “Two Bottles,” on which, again, they sound more remarkable when they break out of the straight-up blues/rock mold and get a bit funkier.
Before them was Indy-based Ladymoon, a trio that seems to cover so much musical ground it’s hard to put them into a genre category. They describe themselves (loosely paraphrased from their website) as the classic rock of the 60s and 70s filtered through a 90s childhood. Indeed, their opening song seemed to have the quick guitar and bass work of Phish combined with late-60s psychedelica — which of course, was helped by the trippy light work of Don Lefler, who was on hand at the Rabbit for all three sets. Later on Lady Moon transmogrified into something a little more alternative, somewhat like early Stone Temple Pilots, on the song “Is This Really Happening,” and then, just a song later, drawing comparisons to Bela Fleck with a funky, quick, walking bassline and emphasis on the band’s talented guitar work.
Opening the night was Lafayette-based Root Hog, a foursome which, like the other bands on Saturday, seems to be an amalgamation of the great classic rock sounds of the 60s and 70s but with their own touches thrown in. In Root Hog’s case, that extra touch is a smooth, reflective, almost country-ish vibe with good accompaniment on the organ. At the risk of sounding too cliched, listening to their music felt kind of like taking a long bus ride across America, looking out the window and thinking about one’s life, all the things one has done and the good times that remain. Using the organ on songs like “Personal Poison,” their sound recalled Steppenwolf for a moment, as they used a shuffling beat to create one of their most unique cuts of the night.
Rock Review: Shellac at Radio Radio
Posted by Grant Catton on Thu, Sep 29, 2011 at 4:33 PM
Shellac, Helen Money
Sept. 27, Radio Radio
Five stars
Honestly, my introduction to Steve Albini’s infamous post-hardcore band Shellac came at approximately 10 p.m. on Monday night when the trio took the stage at Radio Radio. Seeing a band for the first time, with absolutely no expectations and no prior frame of reference, can be an exciting experience. But if I’d had any expectations, Shellac would’ve exceeded them.
Albini is somewhat of a legendary character on the music scene. A former member of underground punk bands Big Black and Rapeman, Albini has worked as a producer and sound engineer since the mid-80s. He's encountered a staggering catalogue of bands and musicians during the past 25-or-so years, most notably Nirvana, and has — by his own estimate — had a hand in producing or engineering nearly 2,000 rock albums.
He and his band also happen to be incredible performers. Walking on stage, Albini and his bassist Bob Weston stood, backs to the crowd, at a pair of 60s-looking “computer” sound mixers for a few pregnant moments, before turning simultaneously to their microphones to open up with the song “Canada,” from their 1998 album Terraform. They moved onto “My Black Ass,” from their 1994 album At Action Park, with Albini jerking and quaking as he played the guitar, as though being electrocuted by every chopping strum. Oddly enough, that’s what it felt like to be in the audience; it felt like being zapped with an electric current, over and over, by Albini’s relentless, middle-finger-in-the-air kind of wit, by the band’s sharp, angular riffs, and by the sheer noise Shellac was able to generate with their aluminum guitars.
Next Albini paused and took a moment to explain the mysteries of sex as though he were a squirming parent trying to talk to an overly-curious seven-year-old child (“Sometimes…when two people love each other very much…”), before breaking into the song “You Came in Me” (“What did you think I’z gonna do?/That’s why I’m [expletive deleted]-ing you!”).
One of the undoubted highlights of the show was Albini’s question-and-answer period in which he answered questions such as “What are your favorite Brick Layer Cake [drummer Todd Trainer’s solo project] songs?” “Stars” or “Call It a Day”. “What are your favorite rocks and minerals?” “I don’t know, we’re not really mineral guys.” Albini then turned to an audience member at the front of the stage and asked him to “blow it up” with a fist pound. “You know how I knew that was gonna be douchey?” he asked the audience member. “Cause you have your hat turned backwards.” But far from being sinister or nasty, Albini’s antics were clearly all in good fun. One recognizes Albini is a highly intelligent musician who takes his music seriously while remembering not to take himself too seriously.
The distinction is key, and made for a really fun show. Things got perhaps a little too fun when, during the next song, a fight broke out between two rather large dudes and cleared a swath from the front of the stage all the way back to the table seats at Radio Radio in a matter of seconds before being broken up. Albini and Co. didn’t seem to miss a beat, following with a track from their most recent album Excellent Italian Greyhound (2007) called “Steady As She Goes.”
Another highlight of the show was Albini’s 15-minute rendition of the bizarre, thumping, impressionistic spoken-word song “The End of Radio,” also from their 2007 album. During this extended, plodding bass- and snare-punctuated jag, drummer Todd Trainer carried the snare drum aloft like a sacred talisman, playing with one stick most of the time as he loomed all over the stage, slinking interpretively to Albini’s lyrics. The song is a highly modernist piece about the death of radio, including all sorts of meaningless, hackneyed radio expressions that recall alienation and isolation of a technological age (“Can you hear me now?/Is it really broadcasting if there’s no one there to receive?”).
Chicago- and L.A.-based cellist Helen Money opened up for Shellac. Trapping her electric cello riffs on a synth and looping them back, Money created jolting and industrial soundscapes which she referred to as “songs” but almost cannot be classified as such for they obeyed none of the constructs of that form. Evocative and sometimes unnerving, one audience member referred to her as a sort of “cello Hendrix,” for the depth and emotional content of her solo explorations.
Rock Review: tUnE-yArDs in Bloomington
Posted by Daniel Brown on Thu, Sep 29, 2011 at 2:00 PM
- Daniel Brown
- Merill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs at Rhinos.
Sept. 28, Rhino's (Bloomington)
5 stars
Merill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs was met by a roar when she walked onto the Rhino's stage last night, a signature pink feather boa snug around her shoulders, a string of festive colorful beads dangling around her neck and her trademark face paint streaking across her right cheek. She met the crowd with a smile, closed her eyes and began the set with a stirring a cappella melody, soulfully emoting falsetto syllables and tribal, lower register grunts as an improvised introduction to "My Country." It was a captivating start to one of the best shows to come through Bloomington this year.
Garbus, who began tUne-yArDs as a one-woman band, commanded the stage. Her vocals echoed through the club even more strongly in person than they do on record, which is not an easy feat. And when she wasn’t masterfully strumming her ukulele, she was building African-inspired rhythms with a floor tom and snare drum.
Even with Garbus playing three instruments at a time, the band didn’t miss a beat all night. Her shoeless feet, covered by neon orange socks, conducted the timing of the bands melodic structures with six floor pedals, recreating every note of their recordings live on stage.
W H O K I L L, tUne-yArDs' second LP, comprised most of the set. “Gangsta,” “Bizness,” and the set closer, “You Yes You,” earned the biggest applause of the evening. Garbus also included a few songs from her first LP, BiRd-BRaIns, including a full-band, fiery version (no pun intended) of “Fiya.”
tUne-yArDs bassist Nate Brenner’s bass was more authoritative and more distinct in a live setting than it is on record. As Garbus took the melodic lines of each song, Brenner’s bass conquered the low ends, pulsating through the audience like a steady barrage of well-timed punches thrown by a heavyweight boxer. When his bass wasn’t thumping, Brenner helped Garbus build drum patterns with auxiliary percussion, employing his own floor tom and snare and a handmade kit comprised of three beer bottles and plastic pans.
When called upon, the sax section also played with high energy, adding colorful flavor when needed and filling in with miscellaneous percussion on cue. The performance was a full-team effort.
As the band jumped up and down during the final chorus of the closer, “You Yes You,” I turned to see euphoric expressions wash over the painted faces in the audience. I turned back around to see Garbus, pink boa and all, screaming at the top of her lungs and I realized I was watching one of the most entertaining performances of my life.
Bloomington rock trio Sleeping Bag kicked off the show with a high-energy set of tunes from their debut, self-titled LP, released on Joyful Nois this summer. They won the crowd over with their single “Slime,” but with sound issues on stage, lead singer/drummer Dave Segedy’s monotone vocals hit a few too many flat notes throughout the set.
Montreal’s Pat Jordache followed, but not before a painful 50-minute soundcheck/intermission. Lead singer Patrick Gregoire, who played alongside Garbus years back with her first band Sister Suvi, apologized to the heckling crowd as they called for the band to start the show. But after the “shitshow” of a soundcheck (Gregoire’s, words not mine) they too won the crowd over with their Canadian, '80s-inspired rock n’ roll.
Soundcheck: Weekend edition
Posted by Scott Shoger on Thu, Sep 29, 2011 at 10:00 AM
We're just about through with festival season — hope you made it out in one piece — but there are still some must-see event-type shows on the calendar this week. For instance, Punk Rock Night's Award Show, a typically well-attended affair, will be insanely packed this time around because Greg Brenner, Mr. Punk Rock Night, will say farewell at the show to his regular hosting and organizing duties. A benefit show for stagehands affected by the State Fair stage collapse is also a must-see (or a must-donate if you can't make it in person; the stagehand benefit fund is currently open for donations at local Fifth Third Bank branches). Take a gander at the rest of your options; also, check out Go & Do tomorrow to find more options, including a film screening featuring live music by Brendan Canty (Fugazi) and others.
Thursday
The Vibrators, Dan Glenzig, Frankie Camaro, The Circle City Deacons at The Melody Inn
The Vibrators were once mentioned in the same breath as The Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Buzzcocks, all bands with whom they played at the historic 100 Club Punk Special festival. The first-wave punk band didn't score as many hits as those groups, but they’ve stuck around for longer, and will be in town Thursday for a gig featuring top-notch local support. 9 p.m., $10, 21+.
Friday
ISIS Femmes Blu Festival at Indiana Landmarks Center
ISIS of Indiana, an affinity group for female musicians, has been plenty busy this year, hosting a series of events at The Cabaret at the Columbia Club. This weekend will see their second annual Femmes Blu Festival, a combination trade show and concert, with the concert element being, as you might have guessed, blues-themed. Performers will include vocalists Nancy Moore, Debra Mullins and Heather Ramsey with bassist Jennifer Kirk, pianist Monika Herzig and drummer Jordan West. 8 p.m., $15 advance (isisofindy.com), $18 door, all-ages
Cross Pollination feat. T.J. Reynolds & the Freehand Orchestra, Hinx Jones, John Kaufman and the Frequency at White Rabbit Cabaret
T.J. Reynolds’s band The Freehand Orchestra is pretty well cross-pollinated in and of itself — think vintage soul/funk instrumentation — so this show is eclectic on both a meta and micro level. You’ve got Reynolds’s hip-hop and soul hybrid (with horns), the slightly-more conventional emcee duo Hinx Jones and the jazz-inflected neo-soul project Josh Kaufman and the Frequency. Wear a bee suit to get in the mood. 9 p.m., $6, 21+.
Saturday
The Avett Brothers at The Lawn at White River State Park
Roots-rock band The Avett Brothers got a pretty big push earlier this year at the Grammys, when they played alongside Mumford and Sons as part of a weirdly-conceived showcase. Their stuff isn't made for that big a stage; part
of its charm comes from its front-porch feel, where not everything’s perfect (these guys aren’t virtuosic bluegrass dudes, after all), but the energy, enthusiasm and soul come through in spades. 7:30 p.m., $32.50-39.50 (plus
fees), all-ages
Pierce Pettis, Ari Hest at Wheeler Community Art Center
A Fast Folk dude who made his name alongside Suzanne Vega and Shawn Colvin, the Alabama-born Pettis has been writing thoughtful, clever work for the about 30 years now. Pettis broke into the scene when Joan Baez covered his “Song at the End of the Movie” in 1979; in the year’s since, he’s tried out several sonic worlds, including a slightly dated New-Agey sound and more conventional acoustic territory. Part of the Indy Acoustic Café Series. 7:30 p.m., $17 advance (indyacousticcafeseries.com), $20 door, all-ages.
Yuck at Radio Radio
Fuzzy guitar rock from London, in the vein of My Bloody Valentine and user-friendly Sonic Youth. Just about everyone dates Yuck back to the early ‘90s — hell, even the cover for their self-titled debut looks like it could’ve been slapped on a Dinosaur Jr. or Sebadoh record. Expect loud, slow guitars, a little feedback (but not too much) and sweet, languid vocals. And expect it all to be done quite well. 8 p.m., $12 advance (mokbpresents.com), 21+.
10th Annual Punk Rock Night Awards at The Melody Inn
Punk Rock Night’s award show is always a big deal, but this year, it’s even more significant. Greg Brenner will officially step down from his founding role as host and organizer of Punk Rock Night effective Saturday. He’s passing on the baton to Rich Barker, who’s been more actively handling booking, promotion and the like in recent years. Featuring Livermortis, Riverbottom Nightmare, Belligerent Bendajos and Mr. Clit & The Pink Cigarette; hosted by Brenner and Barker. 9 p.m., $10, 21+.
Sunday
Bands for Hands at 8 Seconds Saloon
Several stagehands were seriously injured or killed during the State Fair collapse, particularly those readying to work spotlights above the stage. Sunday’s Bands for Hands benefit is an attempt to raise money for those injured, as well as the family of one stagehand killed in the incident. Plenty of big names (Elton John, Tom Morello) have donated signed items for an auction, and local bands (including Healing Sixes) will play throughout the day. 2 p.m., $10 suggested donation, 21+.
Anderson & Roe Piano Duo at Talbott Street
So we might’ve passed up the opportunity to pick this piano duo gig — too cheesy and whatnot — if not for the fact that it was booked by the American Pianists Association. They know their pianos after all. The program is broken into classical and pop components: the first act will feature Schubert, Bach, Stravinsky and Piazzolla; the second, Coldplay, the Bee Gees, Radiohead and Bizet. 3:30 p.m., $30 public, $25 APA members, $10 students, 21+.
Freddie Gibbs, 9th Wonder, Kid Daytona at The Vogue
Freddie Gibbs tends to drop by Indy on the weekend of Circle City Classic…and this year is no different. The Gary-born gangster rapper, who spent a fallow period on Interscope before launching a successful indie career, released an EP this year — a collab with producer Statik Selektah called Lord Giveth, Lord Taketh Away — and is at work on a mixtape with the Young Jeezy camp. With Little Brother producer 9th Wonder and Bronx emcee Kid Daytona. 8 p.m., $10 advance (plus fees), $15 door, 21+.
Monday
Arctic Monkeys, Smith Westerns at Egyptian Room at Old National Centre
Well, I just have to quote from a New York Times interview with Alex Turner, the frontman for Arctic Monkeys, who’s been having to explain the meaning of the title to his band’s latest album, Suck It and See. “It’s an old Britishism, like a bit Dick van Dyke-y, like ‘give it a try’ almost — it’d be a slogan for some candy,” he said. “That’s not really traveled very well.” So there you have it. 7:30 p.m., $27.50 advance, $30 door (plus fees), all-ages.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Punk & Metal Greg Brenner to leave Punk Rock Night
Posted by Paul F. P. Pogue on Tue, Sep 27, 2011 at 3:30 PM
This Saturday’s Punk Rock Night awards marks the end of an era. After 11 years organizing the long-running event, founder, host and general maven-about-town Greg Brenner is retiring from his day-to-day role in favor of expanding the idea elsewhere and producing for individual bands.
“I’ve been doing this for so long, I don’t think I can add anything more to the night in the role I am now,” he says. “I want to get back to the roots of the night and see if I can propagate it in other cities — and create a circuit, which was one of the original ideas back in the beginning. And as far as producing, I’ve probably seen close to 10,000 bands in my life, so I think I could add some value to a band by championing their work.”
However, this is far from the end for a weekly event that taught half of Indianapolis how to complete the phrase “Every Saturday night is …” Brenner is handing over the managing and hosting to Rich Barker, who’s been heavily involved in PRN organization for quite some time now.
“This thing has really stood the test of time,” he says. “I’m glad that I can turn it back over to the community, and I have strong faith in Rich and everyone else involved that it’s going to continue to be great.”
Punk Rock Night thus remains one of the longest-running, if not the longest-running, live music events in the city.
“I really thought it was going to be one of those six-month things, but I just persevered and made it work,” he says. “There wasn’t a lot out there when it started, and now there’s a lot of choices every night, which is the way a city should be. I just wanted to go to a show, and I said, ‘Nothing’s out there, so I guess I’ll do it myself.’”
Check out details of the 10th Annual Punk Rock Night Music Awards.
Review: Lotus Fest 2011 in Bloomington
Posted by Kyle Long on Tue, Sep 27, 2011 at 1:45 PM
Slideshow
Lotus Fest
Sept. 23-24, downtown Bloomington
5 stars
Despite the lousy weather and a last-minute cancellation by headliners Staff Benda Bilili (visa troubles), this year's Lotus Fest was nothing short of perfect. A full day has passed since the 18th edition of Bloomington's beloved global music festival ended and I'm still buzzing off the musically induced high.
It's hard to imagine a more exhilarating evening of music than the one I witnessed Friday during my first night at Lotus. I started off seeing a performance by sultry Sao Paulo sambista Luisa Maita, who was in great form as she led her band through a smoldering set of bossa nova rockers from her debut LP Lero-Lero, introducing a couple new English language songs along the way.
Up next was an emotionally wrenching performance from the Creole Choir of Cuba. Alternating between vibrant, uplifting celebrations and sorrowful laments, the Choir enthralled a capacity crowd at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater with their repertoire of songs drawn from both Haitian and Cuban traditions.
My first Lotus night ended with an almost apocalyptic performance from Bogota, Colombia's Bomba Estereo at the Indiana University Tent. Playing a high-energy mix of cumbia, champeta with a variety of electronic sounds, Bomba had the entire audience jumping spastically for the complete duration of their set.
Having only caught 3 of the 15 scheduled performances on Friday, I spent Saturday night at Lotus bouncing frantically from venue to venue, in a mad dash to catch as many acts as possible.
My first stop was Orchid Ensemble, a group who blend traditional Chinese art music with contemporary Werstern composition. Lan Tung, a master of the erhu (a 2-stringed Chinese violin), was far and away the most impressive single musician I saw during my weekend at Lotus. Tung's solos on the erhu combined the proficiency of great jazz improvisation with the fire and soul of a rock guitarist.
Up next was Nawal, a singer from Comoros, a small archipelago just off the eastern coast of Africa near Mozambique. Nawal's music is deeply spiritual, and her performance, which at times seemed like a prayer-filled ritual, held the audience spellbound.
I left Nawal and quickly headed to The Bluebird in hopes of seeing Joaquin Diaz. I caught the last few minutes of the Dominican accordionist's set, when he wowed the dancefloor with a merengue version of the Super Mario Bros. theme.
My next stop was Movits!, the self-described Swedish hip-hop swing band. Movits! were the surprise hit of the 2011 Lotus Fest, and their Friday night performance had created quite a buzz. Curious, I made it a point to check them out on Saturday. Brothers Johan and Anders traded rhymes in Swedish over a backdrop of trombone, saxophone and hip-hop beats. Not really my cup of tea, but a spirited performance that really resonated with the crowd.
For the nights last round of acts I made my way to the First United Methoodist Church for a captivating performance from Malian 'blues' singer and guitarist Sidi Toure. Backed by Jambala Maïga on kuntigui (mono-chord traditional guitar) and Douma Maïga on kurbu (three-string traditional guitar), the trio traded licks, becoming more audacious with each new round, finally culminating with Douma Maïga playing a solo with his teeth, Jimi Hendrix style.
