Forgot a little cultured reviewing for you; you know you've made it when The New Yorker mentions your work. On The Rapture: "The work of this quartet from New York, which borrows liberally from Public Image Ltd., Gang of Four, and the Cure, is so close to the danceable post-punk of the early eighties that it borders of parody. The group's latest album, "Echoes", recalls sweaty nights at the Mudd Club during the waning days of the Carter Administration. On BRMC: "Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, which swaps dance grooves for post-punk's darker, grittier side, opens the evening." On The Polyphonic Spree: "Led by the former Tripping Daisy singer Tim DeLaughter, the Spree is a twenty-plus-member outfit from Austin that favors relentlessly positive harmonizing and long white robes. On The Sleepy Jackson: "The Sleepy Jackson, the brainchild of the Australian musician Luke Steele, serves up a diverse cross section of pop. Everything from lush strings to country-inflected vocals shows up on the band's album "Lovers". And finally, on the man who inspired LARS to begin with, the man who I forgot to mention is playing a sold out show at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN tonight, VAN MORRISON: "The Caledonian soul man's latest album 'What's Wrong With This Picture?', is his first for Blue Note and one of his strongest collections in years." LARS adds, "The man, the myth, the legend, and the only rock star who can pull off leaving a grunge-y Brit-pop group and then bringing together a bunch of jazz musicians to jam, thus producing one of the finest albums of the 20th century, Astral Weeks." I ain't nothing but a stranger in this world-S.

Hey hey, my my/Rock and roll will never die. But my computer sure as hell did. Lucky for all of you, I've got a reseach paper to do, and have therefore been the library the past couple of days posting little bits of information on the shows. However, today I just couldn't say nothing. It's just too much of an amazing listing of bills to deny. Check the Events Calendar for details and LARS Links for, what else, the band and venue links. For now, I'm just going to name names. Let's hope that by the weekend, the damned machine will be up and running. THE KILLERS, STELLARSTAR*, AMBULANCE LTD, play Irving Plaza. THE RAPTURE, BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB play the Roseland Ballroom. THE POLYPHONIC SPREE play Angel Orensanz Foundation. THE SLEEPY JACKSON, ROBBERS ON HIGH STREET play the Mercury Lounge. MATTY CHARLES AND THE VALENTINES play Pete's Candy Store. TWO GALLANTS, CRIMSON SWEET play the Lit Lounge. Hell yes. I saw my head laughing/rolling on the ground/And now/I'm set free-S.

Well, it had to happen sometime. My computer has officially gone bust. However, as Bob Marley said, albeit about a very different topic, Everything is gonna be alright. And I trust that Bob is correct in this thinking. So surprisingly, I'm doing just fine. And seeing as how I love you all and equally love these two bands playing tonight, I figured a little trip to the library to post on this show would be sensible. So here it is, all for you: LOOKER and THE HONG KONG are playing Southpaw tonight beginning at 7:30pm. There's a birthday celebration for Stella going down as well, so if any of you are looking for a good time on a Monday night, this is the spot. Looker and The Hong Kong both registered on the Top-Of-The-Pops Ten, and for good reason. These two are uber-talented and quite fun to listen to. I highly recommend it, but if you need proof, here's the skinny: Looker's URL: http://lookernyc.com The Hong Kong's URL: http://www.etherdrag.com/hongkong And hey, in the Dionne Warwick-sense of the word, please say a little prayer for my computer. Thanks. I get my loving on the run-S.

Oh my. Quick before I jet to Pianos for the MiG/El Jezel gig:

I just discovered this band while updating the calendar, and all I have to say is that the UK always has their heads on straight when it comes to great rrrock. This band is sooo sweet and carries both an interesting name and strange looks. Listen to the art-school vocals (dude, Franz Ferdinand's love of the Talking Heads has officially infiltrated all of Europe. David Byrne would be proud), the offbeat syncopation, and those whizzing, lightening-quick and jarringly amazing guitar lines.  LARS guarantees you will be blown to the back of your chair with the most exciting, dynamic and just plain crazy guitars to come out of the UK in a long while. Ladies and gents, I bring you SLUTS OF TRUST:

Website: http://www.slutsoftrust.co.uk/

Pics:       

 

And song: Brace yourself......

"Piece of You" http://server1.sxsw.com/audio/sxsw04/mp3hi/Sluts_Of_Trust-Piece_O_You.mp3

All Hail Rock N Roll.

Don't touch me I'm a real live wire-S.

My sincere apologies for the sabbatical yesterday, but to make up for it, I'm going to list off some mp3s from the great bands that played last night before I go on to list the equally good shows tonight:

Banana Fish Zero played Sin-E last night with The Heroine Sheiks, Bantam, Benny Sizzler, and, one of my favorite band names, Shirley Temple of Doom. Hope the crowd was boss, the beer was flowing, and the bar closed extra late.

BFZ: "Sons of Bitches" http://www.bananafishzero.com/mp3/sons_of_bitches.mp3

The Heroine Sheiks: "Nuclear Jeannie" http://www.heroinesheiks.com/music/mp3/nuclear_jeannie.mp3

Bantam: "Come Undone" http://www.bantamnyc.com/comeundone.mp3

Benny Sizzler Website: http://www.bennysizzler.com/main.html

Shirley Temple of Doom Website: http://www.shirleytempleofdoom.com

And now, tonight's lineup, which I guarantee won't let you down on a Saturday night:

Not only is MAN IN GRAY playing Pianos tonight beginning at 8pm, it's lead singer Tina DaCosta's birthday! Wish this sexy femme fatale well and then rock out hard to the stellar band's material. Other bands include the groovy El Jezel, the kickass Tom-Petty-and-The-Heartbreakers-meets-Pixies Poor Harvey, the female-driven-Urge-Overkill-esque Boobytrap, and the Black-Sabbath-meets-The-Cars The William Academy. And yeah, that was pretty cheesy pseudo-rock-journalist shite to describe all those bands by hyphenating other bands. But sue me, I'm in a bit of a rush and it's a beautiful day. I'll buy you a drink tonight to make up for it, eh? Anyways, bring at least $8 to 158 Ludlow at Stanton Sts. for a damn good time.

Man In Gray: "Everyone's Wearing Red" (Thought I was going to give you the kick ass "Incommunicado"? Well, say hello to the KICKASS "Everyone's Wearing Red" clip:) http://www.truthflies.com/sound/maningray_everyones.rm

And, of course, a little "Incommunicado"- http://maningray.com/nodaynonight/05_Incommunicado.mp3

El Jezel: "Je Devenir" http://www.eljezel.com/JeDevenir.mp3

Poor Harvey: "Antimatter" http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/talentfiles/audio_59071.mp3

Boobytrap Streamer: http://www.boobytraptheband.com/itrap.html

The William Academy: "Erase Me" http://www.williamacademy.com/music/erase_me.mp3

 

 

Think it can't get better? Think you've got an easy decision ahead of you? Think again:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't think Asobi Seksu can get any more hype than they have in the past two months (including a certain Top of The Pops Ten from LARS).The band is finally getting some due for their stellar, delicately crafted and slambang-ingly executed songs. Catch 'em while they're still patronizing the likes of little old you. They shall be joined by Bettie Serveert, Dear Leader, and Blake Hazard. Be there by 8pm with $12. Yeah, a band like AS can even get the Mercury to hike the bill a little. They're that boss people.

Asobi Seksu: "Let Them Wait" http://www.asobiseksu.com/mp3/lp1/05_asobi_seksu_letthemwait.mp3

"Walk On the Moon" http://www.asobiseksu.com/mp3/lp1/04_asobi_seksu_walkonthemoon.mp3

Bettie Serveert: "Kid's Allright" http://www.bettieserveert.com/multimedia/kidsallright.mp3

Dear Leader: "My Life As A Wrestler" clip http://www.lunchrecords.com/Wrestler.ram

Blake Hazard Website: http://www.blakehazard.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting better all the time? Well actually Sgt. Pepper, it is. OTHER PASSENGERS, formerly known as Medicine Hat and still known as a kickass and a Runner-And-The-Thermodynamics-Up off of the TOTP Ten from LARS as well, shall be playing Southpaw tonight with the muted-trumpet-favoring NERVOUS CABARET (125 5th Ave., Bklyn). Accompanying these two otherworldly rockers shall be Spicy Rizzacks and Shorstack. Bring $8 by 8:30pm and prepare to be stoned to your soul, in the Van Morrison sense.

Other Passengers: "Invitation to the City" http://medicinehatband.com/mp3/Medicine_Hat-Invitation_to_the_City.mp3

Nervous Cabaret: "Gravity" http://www.nervouscabaret.com/mp3/nervous_cabaret_gravity.mp3

Spicy Rizzacks: "Crack The Whip" http://audio.cdbaby.com/ramj/spicyrizzaks2-01.ram

Shortstack: "Jealous Man" http://alkem.org/ftuarchive/mp3/ftua_mp3_ss/Jealous%20man.mp3

For other shows and more info on these babies, hit up the Events Calendar on the links. Other shows include The Giraffes, The GoStation and Sons and Daughters. Hells yes. Happy Saturday people. Don't let it down.

Rock Photo/AKA Lessons In Hypocrisy:

Iggy Pop, before he teamed up with Sum 41 and after he shat all over his amazing rock legacy with some good old fashioned selling out. Way to be Iggy my dear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You gave me the word/I finally heard/Me doing the best that I can-S.