INDY'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTING ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
Local scene 04/02/08
Arrah farewell show
Consider Wayne’s Barfly this week about Muncie’s Arrah and the Ferns a kind of post-mortem, and a kick in the butt to go see their very last show. The band announced Feb. 28 (via their Myspace) that they’re breaking up, and that two of the Ferns, the titular Arrah and Carl, will move to Philadelphia. The departure of drummer Dave Segedy hastened the break-up, but Arrah says that she and Carl had hoped to venture away from Muncie for some time.
Several dates were cancelled throughout March, but they plan a goodbye party/cookout Saturday, April 12 outside of Village Green Records (519 N. Martin Ave., Muncie). They’ll be joined for the shindig by Everthus the Deadbeats, Everything Now!, and plenty more folks. Read the farewell at http://www.myspace.com/arrahandtheferns.
This week: quite busy
If you read this in time: hailing from Chambersburg, Penn., post-punk quintet The Shackeltons are kicking off their tour at Luna Music Wednesday night at 6 p.m., playing a free in-store before they head out further west (well, Chicago) in support of their debut self-titled full-length. Take a listen at http://www.myspace.com/theshackeltons.
The four headlining bands (number one seeds, you might say) in the Indy Uprising! group will perform Thursday night in the Live and Local Showcase at Spin Nightclub (6308 Guilford Ave.) presented by 92.3 WTTS. Those four: cello-friendly hard-rock quintet Mardelay, acoustic guitar-happy balladeers Win with Willard, the rootsy and straight-ahead rockers Henry French and the Shameless and newcomers Frisbie. Plans are to make this an ongoing series or showcase. Doors at 9 p.m. and cover is a reasonable $3.
Friday night, a couple bands from the Independent Band Collective – Dorsey, Hey Hey Melodica – and two fine acoustic singer-songwriters – The Last Domino and Dorsey – will take the evening shift at The Historic Melody Inn (3826 N. Illinois St.) The show begins at 10 p.m. and $5 gets you in. The Last Domino will play some songs he’s working up for his new album, the neologically titled Diamond Days & Firenights.
There are other punk rock nights, including Punk Mania, which falls every first Friday of the month at Locals Only (2449 E. 56th St.). This month they’ve got Paducah, Ky. melodic hardcore quartet Middle Class Trash, the politically aware Dayton, Ohio band Seditious Libel, and out of St. Louis, hardcore punkers The Disappeared. $7 cover, music starts around 10 p.m., and more info available at www.myspace.com/indypunkmania.
Straight-forward rock quartet thesociety will release their new EP Gas with a Saturday night show at Local’s Only that also features the acoustic stylings of Adysen, Louisville’s The Fervor and Fort Wayne’s I, Wombat. The show gets underway at 8 p.m., cover is $5 and EPs are $3 (which, as the band points out, is a whole lot cheaper than an actual gallon of gas). More on thesociety at www.thesociety.us.
If you’re a TRUE metal fan (supercilious inflection implied), then you probably know about this show, but just in case: Rhode Island’s death metal darlings Vital Remains are headlining a metal omnibus Sunday night at Zanies Too (5914 E. 10th St.) that also includes Monstrosity, Demiricous, Forever in Terror, Legion and Summon the Destroyer. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door and doors open at 5 p.m.
And if you got the druthers and transportation, there’s a couple “alt.country” shows worth driving to our public university towns for: the Alejandro Escovedo Duo at Duncan Hall (619 Ferry St.) in Lafayette on April 6, and Okkervil River and Howlin’ Rain at the Buskirk Chumley Theatre (114 E. Kirkwood Ave.) in Bloomington on April 7.
Escovedo was born into a Mexican immigrant family in San Antonio, spent time in punk bands in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s and has now planted down roots in several musical styles (rock, folk, blues) as a singer-songwriter and storyteller. He was named “Artist of the Decade” by No Depression magazine (for the ‘90s, of course). While he’s showing up with a duo, Escovedo also works with an acoustic quintet, and a 13-piece orchestra. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door, and the all-ages show begins at 7:30 p.m.
What with the band’s relationship with Bloomington-based label Jagjaguwar, Okkervil River frequently plays down in Southern Indiana, and they’re worth seeing every time. Will Sheff is an moving songwriter with a strong voice (as good solo as with a band), and the band has a well-orchestrated and rootsy sound that makes good use of steel guitar and mandolin. The all-ages show begins at 8 p.m.; tickets are $13 advance, $15 day of.
Festivals aplenty
Make plans for a couple upcoming festivals (aside from the Indy Jazz Fest, detailed in Chuck’s column): Live from Bloomington, April 17-18 at five Bloomington venues, and the Circle City Ska Fest, all day April 19 at the Underground (1505 N. Delaware St.) Because this is going right to web, I’ve got the space to list the performers!
Circle City Ska Fest (April 19, $10, all-ages):
1 p.m., RedFlag (Indianapolis)
1:20 p.m., Bushwacked (Indianapolis)
1:40 p.m., Above The Garage (Indianapolis)
2 p.m., The Naptown Shockers (Indianapolis)
2:30 p.m., Loser Broadcast (Indianapolish [sic])
3 p.m., Lockstep (Indianapolis)
3:30 p.m., Cannon Law (New York City)
4 p.m., Coinslot (Bloomington)
4:30 p.m., SSCP(Cleveland)
5 p.m., Young Til We Die (northwest Indiana)
5:30 p.m., Dun Bin Had (Santa Cruz, Calif.)
6 p.m., Sixty Second Quickies (South Bend)
6:30 p.m., Detonate (Ft. Worth, Texas)
7 p.m., Soapbox Paradox (Detroit)
7:45 p.m., The Frankl Project (Covington, Ky.)
8:30 p.m., Lumberjack Death Squad (North Lewisburg, Ohio)
9:15 p.m., We Are The Union (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
10 p.m., The Pinstripes (Cincinnati)
10:45 p.m., Shot Baker(Chicago)
11:30 p.m., Bolth(Indianapolis)
Live from Bloomington Club Night(s):
Thursday, April 17:
Uncle Festers: Trio in Stereo, The Alarmists (Calm Down), Metal in the Microwave, Gravitas
Waldron Auditorium: The Impossible Shapes, Husband&Wife, Aviary Ghost, The Giggles
Max’s Place: The Country Death, The Bradleys, Vehicle Field
The Waldron (Rose-Firebay): Stella+Jane, Eric Radoux, Tammar, Nowlin-Muholland Quintet
Friday, April 18:
Rhinos: Prizzy Prizzy Please, Totally Michael, The Bradleys, The Method to my Medium, Green Room Rockers
Max’s Place: Slithering Beast, Good Luck, The Giggles, Metal in the Microwave
IMUG: Stella+Jane, Husband&Wife, Tammar, The Country Death
Collins: The Alarmists (Calm Down), Eric Radoux, Aviary Ghost, Gravitas, Nowlin-Muholland Quintet