Portugal. The Man is one of the most hard working bands right now. Don’t believe me? Look at their back catalog, they release a stellar album every year and tour like nomads. The kind of hard work can be rewarding for the listener and certainly is with their fifth studio album, American Ghetto. Those signature drum loops and neo-soul beach sound is back from last year’s Satanic Satanist, but more prevalent and noticeable. It’s almost like they took a poll of what people loved the most about their last few albums and created American Ghetto. A bit of tease for those of you wishing for warmer weather, but once it comes, this will be playing in your car stereo non-stop. Highly recommended.
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[mp3] Portugal. The Man – The Dead Dog from American Ghetto (2010)
So yeah I’m driving to LA this weekend and I threw together this little sample playlist of what I’m going to have playing on my stereo on the way down there. Much of this playlist is somewhat new and quite impressive so try to make it through, pass it around, and let me know your thoughts.
Enjoy!
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Jeremy and Claire were shooting Far yesterday for their new record and Jonah and Shaun sat down to play a song in between setups..super excited for the new record.
Our friends over at Noise Pop, Future Sounds, and The Owl Magare presenting a stellar line-up for free at Cafe Du Nord tonight. Headlining will be the electro-pop act Lilofee, followed by Athens, Georgia’s own Twin Tigers. For those of you who don’t know Twin Tigers’, their new record, Gray Waves is a dynamic and delightfully colorful album that should not be ignored. Throw in our own shoegazers Stripmall Architecture and you have yourself a dynomite line-up that is worth paying for. Lucky for you, all you have to do is RSVP herebefore 5pm today and show up. Don’t miss this.
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[mp3] Stripmall Architecture – Gladhander from We Were Flying Kites (2009)
Deer Tick
If you are planning on missing the Lilofee show, it better be because Rhode Island’s Deer Tick is playing a free show at The Independent tonight. If you send an RSVP email to mogshows.deertick@gmail.com and show up wicked early (doors open @8pm) you may be able to see one of the more unique folk-rock bands out there right now.
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[mp3] Deer Tick – Easy from Born on Flag Day (2009)
Believe it or not, this was my first Noise Pop Festival. Last year I worked through the whole thing and wasn’t really too happy about that. Weird hours will do that to you. Anyways, I kicked off my experience with the pre-party at the California Academy of Science. Not a huge fan of The Frail but a huge fan of science, so I got to geek out with some friends about both music and the Late Cretaceous period.
Har Mar Superstar
Tuesday, February 23rd: It was really neat meeting some fellow SF music bloggers as well as members of the Noise Pop crew who have been wicked supportive and professional throughout the whole festival. After taking advantage of the free drinks at the bar that night, I enjoyed a bizarre and entertaining set by Har Mar Superstar. All Ron Jeremy comparisons aside, he’s got a good ear for pop music. Really fun stuff. I skipped Yoko Ono because, let’s be honest, Lost was on. Pictures here.
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[mp3] Har Mar Superstar – Tall Boy from Dark Touches (2009)
Foreign Born
Wednesday, February 24th: While it was kind of hard to decide with either Gorilla vs Bear’s Harlem and Best Coast show or Foreign Born, all I had to do is look back at my Best of 09 list and figured Foreign Born was the wisest choice. Opening the night was the East Bay’s The Splinters and they were actually really charming and enjoyable. Good on-stage chemistry. Free Energy are getting a fair share of hype lately but I’d like to think that’s due to their live performances. They played like a low key punk band and seemed pretty happy to be there. The Fresh & Onlys just wasn’t my kind of music. Plain and simple. They have this psych-garage sound that, out of nowhere, switched to goth for one song. Foreign Born on the other hand, was amazing and sounded amazing. Their remarkable African high-life guitars mixed with the singer Matt Popieluch’s carefree vocals got everyone moving. Particularly the bizarrely dressed hippies in the front row. It was a short set, but most of the show consisted of their latest (and best as far as I’m concerned) album, Person To Person. It was a good time and I was convinced I made a wise choice. Pictures here.
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Thursday, February 25th: My day! I got the distinct honor to co-present the Far show at the Bottom of the Hill. This was particularly special due to the fact that Far is one of my favorite bands of all time. I wasn’t sure about the turnout due to the Dodos doing a set with the Magik*Magik Orchestra, but I was pleasantly surprised that the show sold out that night. The Trophy Fire kicked it off with their middle-ground rock music. Their style is nothing new or surprising, but a nice addition to the line-up nonetheless. Picture Atlantic really brought their game that night with a buttload of energy. You can tune your ear to the band’s obvious pop but they still keep the music edgy and slightly experimental which keeps the experience lively and unpredictable. Stomacher has been often compared to Muse and even (gulp) Radiohead, but I think the band is less grandeur and more modest than that. Stomacher creates a mesmerizing atmosphere (albeit somewhat dark) that you can ‘immerse’ yourself into from beginning to end. There is much potential in this band and hope to see more from this talented group. Now when it comes to Far shows, particularly these recent reunion shows they’re doing, the audience comprises of mid-late 20 year olds with definite knowledge of Sunny Day Real Estate, Promise Ring, and Texas is the Reason. More importantly, they are willing to let loose and just rock the fuck out. For the very beginning of the show, almost everybody (including this guy) was singing along to every word and hyped up on the sheer energy of Jonah’s impressive stage presence. No new material was played, but the show catered to the audience Far knows and loves. I can safely say that we all knew that and appreciated hearing our favorites from Water & Solutions and Tin Cans. After the show I heard so many people saying, “I felt like I was 18, it was like 1998 all over again.” I think that was Far’s intent and they displayed it perfectly. Pictures here.
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Friday, February 26th: I skipped the happy hour shows because I just gotten back from work and, well, I needed to take a nap. I made it over to Slim’s to catch our friends The Limousines and see Butterfly Bones wrap up their glossy and danceable set. The Limousines, as I’ve said, are maturing and becoming a tighter and more entertaining act. After The Limos, I tried to catch Atlas Sound…but no more room in the venue. Bummer. So then I remembered that Four Tet was at The Independent. I high tailed it over to Divisidaro and just made it for his first song. Review and pictures here.
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[mp3] Butterfly Bones – xoxo from Pretty Feelings (2009)
Thao Nguyen / Mirah
Saturday, February 27th: I am a huge Mark Kozelek fan. So imagine my face when I was told I couldn’t enter with my photo pass because Mr. Kozelek doesn’t want photographers at his show. Damn it! I had found an awesome parking spot too! So I shuffled back to the car and tried to decide on either !!! or Mirah. I figured that I had my fair share of dance rock last night, so it’s time to bring at down a notch and see a singer-songwriter. I am so glad I made that choice. Every performer displayed an ethereal and moving performance. Witnessing Mirah and Thao (who remains one of my favorite people to photograph) rock out together was as unique and entertaining as you’d imagine. A very very good night. Review and pictures here.
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[mp3] Thao Nguyen – Tallymarks from Like The Linen (2005)
Note: I skipped Sunday’s and Monday’s festivities due to some work I had to do and physical exhaustion. From what I hear, Edward Sharpe brought it that night. If it was half as good as his Treasure Island performance, I imagine it was another magical experience.
Conclusion: This was a nice training session for this month’s SXSW. I realized that sometimes you can’t make every show you want to and when you make a decision, it’s usually a pretty good one. Noise Pop selects some of the best in the current music scene and whatever you decide on, you’re guaranteed to enjoy yourself. Well done Noise Pop. See you next year.
With a name that is easily confused with the pop artist of the same name, Ladyhawk is a confident and devilishly amazing rock band formed in 2004. Their 2008 album, Shots has an “off the stage” feel and vigor that is reminiscent of the band’s powerful live performances. Rooted from the recording sessions, everything bred from and expanded from there. The record packs grit while allowing the bands infectious energy and vulnerability to flow freely. In 2008 the band was nominated for a CBC Award for Best Live Act, one of Canada’s highest honors in the national music scene.
While the band may not be touring or even hinting anything new as of late. With the Winter Games over, I thought I’d remind people of one of my favorite Vancouver bands.
So this week lead singer and guitarist Duffy Driediger takes a break from writing about horror movies on his blog to fill out the Kuestionnaire.
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1. Could you state your name and what you do in the band?
my name is duffy and i write songs and sing and play the guitar. i also whine and complain about everything, get too drunk to perform properly on occasion (on stage and elsewhere) and refuse to drive the van.
2. How would you describe your sound?
two guys playing electric guitars through amplifiers, one strumming crude rhythmic changes at a relatively loud volume while singing/bellowing into a microphone and the other playing high pitched lead lines at ear-shattering levels, while another guy plods along on an electric bass and behind him a guy crashes on the drums, squawking into a microphone periodically.
3. What is your favorite local band?
i really love this band called SCOUNDRELS, but they’ve never actually played a show, so maybe they don’t count. other than that, i like NO KIDS, SUN WIZARD, FEAR OF TOMORROW, BOGUS TOKUS… to be honest, i don’t really know that many local bands these days. i’m out of the loop, i guess.
4. Any concerts that blew your mind recently?
we just played a couple shows with THE CONSTANTINES to celebrate their 10th anniversary, those shows were pretty hot. i saw PIERCED ARROWS twice last year and both those shows were completely face-melting. THE PET SHOP BOYS were amazing.
5. Any non-musical influences you would like to mention?
horror movies, drugs and french cuisine.
6. If your music was to be the theme of a film/TV show, what would it be?
cancelled.
7. What musician/artist would you like to collaborate with for a day?
fred cole (dead moon, pierced arrows) or lindsey buckingham. both would be cool…
8. What is the album you listen to on a cold rainy day?
grateful dead- live dead
9. List four songs you would listen to on a roadtrip?
lindsey buckingham- “holiday road”
anything by creedence clearwater revival
misfits- “skulls”
neil young- “roll another number (for the road)”
10. Where do you see yourselves in 7 years?
who knows? fatter, older, probably not making anything close to decent, relevent music…
11. What is the last book you read?
anthony bourdain “kitchen confidential”
12. Is image a factor in music or is it a waste of time?
obviously. is it a waste of time? not if it’s working for you.
13. Any embarrassing moments on stage you would like to share?
isn’t it all kind of embarrassing? there are just too many moments to mention…
pretty much any time we’ve played in seattle or montreal.
14. Any favorite tour locations?
toronto, saskatoon, new orleans, madison, o.k. city, basically anywhere there are nice people that like our band.
15. Lastly, what is your present state of mind?
thirsty.
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[mp3] No Kids – For Halloween from Come Into My House (2008)
Kata Rokkar is a place where you can download free mp3 from artists and bands that I currently love and listen to. They are only for sampling purposes and to influence you to go out and support these artists by purchasing their records and going to their concerts. If you are a record company or an artist that is displeased with a song being displayed, feel free to contact me and I will remove it ASAP. Thank you and enjoy!
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