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Download “You Could Be“ | Canada’s instrumental three-piece Torngat is returning to New York on April 2nd for a Wordless show at Le Poisson Rouge with the International Contemporary Ensemble. I was really taken with them when they opened for Múm’s Wordless show at St. Apostle Church in the fall of 2007. I was disappointed with the choices Múm made for their set list in response to the gorgeous venue–they thought it would suit to be pallid and ghastly–but Torngat did something that chilled me completely, and I was to remain impressed with them forever for having done such a perfect thing in response to where they were…
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Download “Honor Amongst Thieves” | I’m heading out to DC for the inauguration this weekend, for what’s sure to be stressful, cheerful, overwhelming, magical times. The Obamas are walking at the parade even!, which scares the shit out of me, but everything will be fine and Michelle Obama will be divine. What’s more, on Saturday night These United States will play their special opening set at the Songs for Presidents show at Six and I Historic Synagogue, and it will be so good because they’ll squeeze their hearts out for their reinvigorated DC. I was so sure that Jesse Elliott was already fully immersed in reinvigoration that I asked him to have a one-word conversation with me this morning:
Will you be playing new songs? Maybe. Is Mark Charles of Vandaveer playing with you? Maybe. Are you playing a full-length opening set? ish. Just how are you feeling about the reinvigorated DC? Wow! When should we expect a new album? Summer.
A host of other bands are playing, of course: Nellie McKay, Denison Witmer, Jukebox The Ghost, J. Matthew Gerken, Christian Kiefer, Tim Fite, Jefferson Pitcher, Laura Burhenn, Joe Pug, Hiss Golden Messenger, Silver Darling, plus more. And the 44th song for the 44th President will be unleashed as well. Details.
Call the box office for no-fee tickets ($16 advance, $20 day-of): 202-408-3100
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Download “Oceanic” by Imaad Wasif | After listening to Jeff Buckley’s Grace and Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk hundreds of times, you realize the dead does not grow old; it will let you indulge in its immortality that comes from having died, but it will not give you continuation, it will not give you a whiff of the present, and it will not get into deeper crevices with you. So the throne I would’ve sat Buckely on, had he continued to live, I’ve assigned to Imaad Wasif. He with his Two Part Beast promises to fill the void. I hope he lives up to my expectations when he is in town:
July 17 Brooklyn, NY Shangri-La
July 18 New York NY Cake Shop
ps. Jeff lives on another throne, but that one’s reserved for the dead.
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Download “Wheelpusher” by Anni Rossi | Everyone seems to love the Ting Tings, but it’s opener Anni Rossi I’ve my eyes on while the two acts are in town for a date at Bowery Ballroom and Southpaw this week – though unfortunately for latecomers like me, both shows are sold out. Regina Spektor and Joanna Newsom comparisons are afloat, and to the extent that these comparisons are useful, they are true for violist/singer/songwriter Rossi, if only owing to the tradition of a stringed instrument (when the arrangement is viola-based), the temperament of some songs I’ve heard so far, and a singing style that can be considered whimsical. The degree of similarities are insignificant, however, but the description on Rossi’s myspace applies: “Great music for Family and Friends! Gather around the table.”
When I picked up Black Mountain’sIn the Future and asked my friend Lev if he’d heard of the band, his eyes popped in such diameters of familiarity and glee that I had to ask him to write up the review. Says he:
Whether intentionally sarcastic, or accidentally honey-tongued, the title of Black Mountain’s second full-length “In The Future” is a perfectly unfitting title to describe the music contained therein. The opening chords of “Stormy High” teleport you back to the smoke-filled seventies, doused in all of the psychedelic fervor, debauchery, and flower-power that gleamed so bright some-forty-odd years ago. Large doses of whirling organ, fuzzed out Gibson SG’s, and dual vocal harmonies drowned in reverb, undoubtably, and comfortably, place this record alongside some of the dusty vinyl in your dad’s record collection. The album’s song structures stick to such a relentlessly precise formula of combing abrupt moments of energy and drudging meditative breaks that the schizophrenic rhythm of the album sometimes begs for a shorter, more impactive musical delivery. Ultimately, this album will appeal to people either attempting to relive their youth under the guise of the seventies, or those assuming the seventies never ended.
New York’s brass outfit Zlatne Uste hosts the annual Golden Festival this weekend, bringing over 50 bands to upper Manhattan in celebration of Balkan brass. The festival starts modestly tonight at The Good Shepherd School from 7:30 PM, resuming the festivities there at 6:00 PM tomorrow, when bands will play three stages till 4 AM. See full schedule.
One of them is Providence’s What Cheer Brigade, who I saw at the center of an enchanted crowd gathered outside the McCarren Pool during last summer’s Man Man show. They will be playing the Auditorium at 3AM. Pictures from that first encounter:
hooves on the turf is a mostly-music blog based out of brooklyn. i can be reached at hoovesontheturf [at] gmail [dot] com - please send me your lovely music as an attached mp3 or an mp3 link. if i like what you send, i'll be sure to ask for more.
ECGroom in Charlotte Gainsbourg at Bell House, Jan 19. Photos.: “Nice photos. I was there on the 20th (my short post: http://ecgroom.tumblr.com/post /345476631/charlotte-gainsbour g-at-bellhouseny-she-was ). I think you’ve got that right...”
