Archive for October, 2007

October 28th, 2007 Tour Dates No Comments »

Victory Records 2007 Tour

Victory Records is in the throes if its 5th annual Victory Tour. Headlines by the hardest working rock band on the planet, Bayside, other bands will include June, The Sleeping, A Day To Remember, and Driver Side Impact.

Past bands on this annual tour have blown the hell up and ruled radio for years. Any one of these cats has that potential. So check it. Besides, you shouldn’t someone to tell you to go see Bayside; that should be common knowledge by now.

NOVEMBER
1 – Orlando , FL @ THE SOCIAL
2 – Orlando , FL @ THE SOCIAL
3 – Ft. Lauderdale , FL @ REVOLUTION
4 – St. Petersburg , FL @ STATE THEATRE
6 – Houston, TX @ NUMBERS
7 – San Antonio , TX @ WHITE RABBIT
8 – McAllen , TX @ SOUTH TEXAS COLLEGE
9 – Dallas , TX @ THE DOOR
11 – Las Vegas , NV @ JILLIANS
12 – Tempe , AZ @ CLUBHOUSE
13 – San Diego , CA @ HOUSE OF BLUES
15 – Anaheim , CA @ HOUSE OF BLUES
16 – Los Angeles , CA @ HENRY FONDA THEATRE
17 – San Francisco, CA @ SLIM’S
18 – Orangevale , CA @ THE BOARDWALK
19 – Portland , OR @ HAWTHORNE THEATRE
20 – Seattle , WA @ EL CORAZON
23 – Salt Lake City , UT @ AVALON
24 – Denver , CO @ GOTHIC
26 – Papillion , NE @ THE ROCK
27 – St. Paul , MN @ STATION
28 – Milwaukee , WI @ TURNER HALL
29 – Chicago , IL @ HOUSE OF BLUES
30 – Cincinnati , OH @ THE MADHATTER

DECEMBER
1 – Detroit , MI @ ST. ANDREW’S HALL
2 – Cleveland , OH @ HOUSE OF BLUES
3 – Buffalo , NY @ XTREME WHEELS
4 – Pittsburgh , PA @ MR. SMALLS
6 – Cambridge , MA @ MIDDLE EAST
7 – Troy , NY @ REVOLUTION HALL
8 – Asbury Park , NJ @ STONE PONY

October 27th, 2007 Tour Dates No Comments »

Monster in the Machine :: Tour Dates

Monster In The Machine, the new project from former Cellophane frontman, Shannon Crawford, is hitting the road with Team Sleep (featuring Chino Moreno of Deftones), beginning November 29 in Orangevale, CA and concluding December 16 in San Francisco, CA.

Monster In The Machine’s critically acclaimed self-produced debut album, BUTTERFLY PINNED, was released August 21 on Emotional Syphon Recordings (ADA Distribution), the independent label owned by KoRn guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer.

Novemeber:
29 Orangevale, CA The Boardwalk
30 Portland, OR The Hawthorne Theatre

December
1 Seattle, WA El Corazon
2 Boise, ID The Venue
3 Salt Lake City, UT Avalon Theatre
4 Denver, CO Marquis Theatre
6 Oklahoma City, OK The Conservatory
7 Houston, TX Meridian
8 Austin, TX Mohawk
9 Dallas, TX Cambridge Room at House of Blues
10 San Antonio, TX White Rabbit
11 El Paso, TX Club 101
12 Tempe, AZ The Clubhouse
13 Hollywood, CA Henry Fonda Theatre
14 Pomona, CA The Glass House
15 San Diego, CA SOMA
16 San Francisco, CA Slims

October 27th, 2007 Tour Dates No Comments »

Portugal. The Man :: Tour Dates

In support of the critically-acclaimed release Church Mouth, Portugal. The Man announces will join up with the post-hardcore band Thursday in Worcester, MA on November 1 for about two week’s worth of shows.

Portugal. The Man is proving to be one of the hardest-working indie/rock bands on the planet; by the time they hunker down for the holidays, they will have played more than 160 shows around the globe, including two tours of Europe, in 2007 alone.

Remaining 2007 dates for Portugal. The Man:

(With Thursday)
November
1 Upstairs @ The Palladium, Worcester, MA
2 The Ottobar, Baltimore, MD
3 Revolution Hall, Troy, NY
4 Fillmore @ Theatre of Living Arts, Philly, PA
5 Agora Ballrom, Cleveland, OH (HEADLINE DATE)
6 Magic Stick, Detroit, MI
7 Metro, Chicago, IL
9 Bottleneck, Lawrence, KS
10 Bluebird Theatre, Denver, CO
12 Slim’s, San Francisco, CA
13 Glasshouse, Pomona, CA
14 Jillian’s, Las Vegas, NV
15 El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA

(Headline dates)
16 Tailgaters, Modesto, CA
17 Joe Crowley Student Union, Reno, NV
19 The Boardwalk, Sacramento, CA
20 Indigo District, Eugene, OR
29 Neumo’s Crystal Ball Reading Room, Seattle, WA

October 17th, 2007 Uncategorized 1 Comment »

St. Clair :: EP

Artist :: St. Clair
Album :: EP
Label :: DIY

Play This Cut First :: So Long

In a word :: Retrogressive

It’s amazing how an EP that clocks in at just about 17 minutes can make you think so much. St. Clair pulls it off, however. That alone should be a testament to the power of good songwriting.

Musically, EP follows a path that seems to have been all but abandoned near the end of the 1990s. As the melodic-pop-post-hardcore sounds of bands like Yellowcard rose to the surface, a booming alt-rock movement that blended lo-fi dream pop production with shoegazer songwriting quickly decayed.

When you listen to EP, however, you get the sense that, had that path continued to be worn, that it would lead to St. Clair. The lo-fi sensibilities and beautiful lush reverbs that accent reverse guitar lines and deep pads are the stuff that production values were built upon. Couple that with dynamic vocal approach of vocalist, Jeff Geady, and you get an inspiring piece of alt-rock that seems to occupy a lone place in time.

When I say dynamic vocal approach, I’m talking about styles. Some cuts, like the raw Angels of Downtown showcase melodic vocal harmonies reminiscent of Sunny Day Real Estate, while cuts like Stars Over Toronto and Nordheimer Ravine feature a softer, almost whispering delivery that fans of Iron and Wine will gravitate toward.


Now Playing :: Nordheimer Ravine

Thematically, all of the songs are based on events that actually happened in St. Clair’s hometown of Toronto. The city itself comes across as a character in these pieces, much like the city of Dublin effervesces in the works of James Joyce. And echo-drenched harmonica work gives each cut a sense of openness…of stars. In a some respects, it has mirrors shoegazing rock, but with an underlying feeling of peace fostered by solid songwriting and creative production values.

The Bottom Line :: Don’t let the relatively short length of EP fool you. While it might be short in duration, it’s long on impact. So much so that you’ll likely listen to it two are three times at a setting. And for the seven bones it goes for, you can’t beat that.

October 7th, 2007 Uncategorized No Comments »

scarecrow :: This House Has No Light

Artist :: scarecrow
Album :: This House Has No Light
Label :: DIY

Guest review provided by A. Gene Punckbowee.

This House Has No Light is a very moving album. It’s one of those albums that you must play from start to finish straight through to get the full effect. It gives you the feeling that someone is looking back on their life. Not with rose colored glasses, or feelings of happiness, but with a cold hard look at the harsh realities of life.

It tells this story without words, only the feelings you get from the music. Loneliness, fear, regret, sadness, isolation and despair. The things you should’ve said, but didn’t. The places you should’ve gone, but decided not to. Things you should’ve tried, but were too afraid to. The friends you made, but never see anymore. The love you had, but somehow lost. It tells this story without being melodramatic.

This House Has No Light is very impressive. It has a grandeur, a kind of cinematic feel like a Hollywood blockbuster soundtrack. Scarecrow does an excellent job of bringing the listener into the music – personalizing it in a way the listeners reflect on their own lives while they’re listening. When an artist has made that kind of connection with the listener, then the music has done what music was meant to do.

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