Concerts Galore! / 05.12.2011 – 05.16.2011
Words by Brendan. Pittsburgh photo courtesy of Hugh Twyman
Summer concert season is getting underway, and this weekend is perfect evidence of that. There are plenty of options and we’re sure you’ll find a show you’ll want to see. You might even find too many! Stream some songs right here and read up on the bands hitting stages all over town in the next few days. And wish that you had a teleporter and a time machine to make it to all of them.
Nik & the Central Plains / Summerwings
Title Tracks / Turn Your Face
Big Snow Big Thaw / Oh Jules
Zachary Cale / Mourning Glory Kid
Donora / Shak’ida
Mr. Dream / Trash Hit
Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s / New York City Hotel Blues
Kimya Dawson (with Aesop Rock) / Walk Like Thunder
Thursday 05.12.2011
Nik & the Central Plains / Boca Chica / Smiling Moose / 9:30 / $5
Two of our favorite Pittsburgh folk-rock bands, Nik & the CPs and Boca Chica, are teaming up for a two-week-long tour of the Midwestern and Southern states, and what better place to start a tour than right at home? It only makes sense that they’d hit the road together, too; the Central Plains‘ bassist, Kraig Decker, is now playing keys with Boca Chica, and Boca Chica recently released a cover of “You’re The Blues”, a Nik & the CPs tune. Okay, I’ve used both band names a lot. Now you have to go to this show. It’s a rule. They’ll be on the South Side tonight, upstairs at the Smiling Moose, playing with Irish (as in, actually from Ireland) rockers STAND.
Facebook event
Nik & the Central Plains on the web: Website / Facebook
Boca Chica on the web: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Bandcamp
STAND on the web: Website / Facebook / Bandcamp
Title Tracks / Legs Like Tree Trunks / Brillobox / 9:30 / $8
Formerly of Q And Not U and Georgie James, John Davis (on the left, above) has been putting together solo material for a few years under the moniker Title Tracks. His indie rock experience has clearly helped to hone a serious song-crafting gift, as evidenced by his tracks (title or otherwise) bursting with power-pop hooks, clap-along choruses, and rollicking energy. The band’s latest album, It Was Easy, came out last month (jointly on Ernest Jenning and Windian Records). They hit the upstairs stage at Brillobox tonight, playing with local indie rock bands Legs Like Tree Trunks and Robin Vote. I caught LLTT for the first time a few weeks ago and was impressed by their Maps & Atlases-like guitar handiwork, and I have yet to see Robin Vote live but have been enjoying their latest record, Invest In Loss. See yinz there!
Facebook event / Buy tix online
Title Tracks on the web: Facebook / Blog / SoundCloud
Legs Like Tree Trunks on the web: Facebook / Bandcamp / Twitter
Robin Vote on the web: Facebook / SoundCloud / Reverb Nation
Friday 05.13.2011
Arlo Aldo / Big Snow Big Thaw / Club Cafe / 10:30 / $5
In Kadman, David Kadman channeled folk influences, like Nick Drake and Iron & Wine, through some modern minimalist/drone influences, like Low and Yo La Tengo, to create an interesting, modern take on some old folk stylings. Now, he’s continuing to craft intriguing songs with his new project, Arlo Aldo, feturing David on guitar and Ariel Nieland on keys. It’s mellow and beautiful, perfect for sitting around the fireplace and staring at the snow piling up outside the window. So just forget that it’s practically summer and enjoy these live tunes. They’ll play on the South Side at the lovely Club Cafe with Big Snow Big Thaw (pictured above), whose awesomely rockin’ newgrass/folk-rock tunes feature Draw Us Lines’ very own Jim on banjo and vocals. Be sure to show up and grab BSBT‘s latest EP, Spring on CD for FREE! Seriously, they’re fucking great.
Facebook event / Buy tix online
Arlo Aldo on the web: Website / Facebook
Big Snow Big Thaw on the web: Facebook / Bandcamp / Twitter
Zachary Cale / D. Charles Speer & the Helix / Howlers / 9:30 / $7
It’s tough to find a singer/songwriter type who isn’t somehow influenced by Bob Dylan, but it’s especially refreshing to find one who wears that on his sleeve without attempting sheer imitation. Zachary Cale‘s songs have a wonderful folksy sound, from the finger-picked acoustic guitar to his Dylan/Neil Young-esque vocals, and I imagine they’d sound pretty awesome at a smoky Howlers on a Friday night. He’s touring with a 5-piece backing band, The Rainband, in support of a new album, Noise of Welcome, officially released next Tuesday. Also on tour with him is D. Charles Speer and his band The Helix, who play a kind of twangy, experimental blues rock that is kinda hard to describe, which makes it all the more interesting, and they also have a recently-released album, Leaving the Commonwealth. Local rock bands Sports Metaphors, Secret Tombs, and Hot Garbage are also playing. Sounds like a full night of cool music.
Facebook event
Zachary Cale on the web: Website / Facebook / Bandcamp
D. Charles Speer on the web: Website / Facebook / Blog
Sports Metaphors on the web: Muxtape
Secret Tombs on the web: Last.fm
Hot Garbage on the web: Facebook / Bandcamp
Donora / Stage AE / 9:30 / FREE + ALL-AGES
To celebrate the weekend of the Pittsburgh Marathon, the race organizers are hosting a Kick-Off Concert at the outside venue of Stage AE, featuring the amazing Pittsburgh indie-pop band Donora. Doors open at 8:00 and Donora takes the stage around 9:30. There will be a cash bar and concession stands, as well. They have a new album in the works, so show up and catch some new tunes from a band that was once voted “Pittsburgh’s best pop/rock band that isn’t The Clarks“!
Facebook event
Donora on the web: Facebook / Twitter
Saturday 05.14.2011
Mr. Dream / Turning violet Violet / Brillobox / 10:00 / $8
The music of Mr. Dream is what you get when three intelligent and humorous fellows grow up on classic rock radio, dive into early 90s indie rock during their college years, and eventually become music critics and musicians themselves. I’ve fudged some details, but that’s roughly the back-story of this band, and boy have they put out some awesome hard rock tunes on their debut LP, Trash Hit. No trash here, just hits. They’ve just come off a string of shows with Sleigh Bells and CSS, and even sang backup vocals at the final LCD Soundsystem show! They hit the Brillobox stage with two other bands: Philly indie-pop band Turning violet Violet, whose songs feature some awesome vocals and jangly, upbeat guitar/keyboard riffs; and The Zou, who play a kind of artsy, pop/punk hybrid, certainly influenced by the fact that the band members claim at least five different nationalities yet all grew up in suburban Ohio. This will be an interesting show, for sure.
Buy tix online
Mr. Dream on the web: Website / Facebook / Twitter
Turning violet Violet on the web: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Blog
The Zou on the web: Website / Facebook / Twitter
Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s / The Twilight Singers / Mr. Small’s / 8:00 / $18 (all-ages)
A swirling mixture of chamber pop and indie rock, the songs of Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s are at times dense and intricate, with lush instrumentation and complex lyrics, but they’re always great and highly listenable. They’ve released 3.5 LPs (a debate with a major label over the track listing on one LP led to an independent release of the band’s preferred version) and have a fourth forthcoming, to be funded in part by a Pledge Music campaign (similar to Kickstarter). They played at the Brillobox last spring to a packed house, and now they’re at the larger Mr. Small’s, giving them plenty of room to have several instrumentalists onstage, and I’m sure they’ll take advantage of that opportunity. The band is on a national tour with indie-rockers The Twilight Singers, who signed with Sub Pop and released an LP, Dynamite Steps, earlier this year.
Buy tix online
Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s on the web: Website / Facebook / Twitter
The Twilight Singers on the web: Website / Facebook / Twitter
Monday 05.16.2011
Kimya Dawson / Aesop Rock / Altar Bar / 7:00 / $16 (all-ages)
I don’t know who coined the genre anti-folk, nor do I know exactly what it means, but somehow I recognize that The Moldy Peaches embody that ethos. You may know them, and female member Kimya Dawson, from some songs featured on the Juno soundtrack (one of our faves, too) that are pretty and fun but definitely lo-fi and lovingly amateurish with quirky lyrics. Since they went on hiatus in 2004, Kimya Dawson has gone on to release a handful of similarly quirky, lo-fi, anti-folk records, including an album of children’s songs and a potential appearance on Sesame Street (and I’m guessing that those last two are inspired by her young daughter, Panda, who she Tweets about sometimes, but in a funny way; seriously, follow her, she’s an entertaining Twitterer). Somehow, she has teamed up with rapper Aesop Rock (both pictured above) and he features on at least one song (see the mp3 above) from her upcoming album, Thunder Thighs. Meanwhile, Aesop Rock has formed a group with Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz called Hail Mary Mallon and they’re all touring with Kimya Dawson. I don’t know anything about any of that. Sorry. Seems like this show will be an interesting mélange, that’s for sure.
Buy tix online
Kimya Dawson on the web: Website / Facebook / Twitter
Aesop Rock on the web: Website / Facebook / Twitter
Hail Mary Mallon on the web: Facebook
Holy guacamole, that’s a lot of shit going down in the very near future. Where will yinz be? Give us a holler!
Filed under: Live Music
