My friend Theo really likes Hope for a Golden Summer. I heard their CD and thought it was pretty good, spooky, haunting.
Monday March 19th
Hospital
1021 S. Walnut St.
Doors/Show 8:00pm
$5.00*Drakkar Sauna* (Lawrence, KS, Marriage Records) —
http://www.drakkarsauna.com/ and http://www.myspace.com/drakkansasauna
If you haven’t caught this band in Bloomington yet then you’re a bad
catcher. And not catching this band is as bad as not catching a
National League pitcher’s weak line drive to center field that will lose
the game for you. I’ve tried so many times to describe what these two
men do — the close harmonies, the Louvin Brothers melodies, the Talking
Heads-ish lyrics, the loneliness, the humor, the one-man-bandness, the
beards, the mustaches… but usually I just describe them as my favorite
band in America that sounds like classic country written by a crazy
street prophet, or acid-damaged Every Brothers with a one-man band
sitting in, or something. They will make you love life again — and if
you haven’t stopped loving life, you’ll love it more. Here is a great
Daytrotter article about them —
http://www.daytrotter.com/article/78/drakkar-sauna-to-fear-the-murder-ballad-is-to-not-know-the-murder-ballad*Dark Meat* (Athens, GA, Orange Twin Records) —
http://www.myspace.com/darkmeats
Dark Meat is a big band. “We call it a family band,” says bassist Ben
Clack. “It’s kind of a weird association with old psychedelic bands.
Every single person in our group, regardless of contribution, is equally
important. This is what we want to share with people. The aesthetic of
the ’60s, the whole environment is what we want to recreate. We don’t
want to make music that is reactionary; we want to make music that
expresses our love for each other. That’s the bottom line.” Dark Meat
started two years ago as a four-piece Neil Young cover band. But when
people kept coming over to listen when the group practiced, Clack says,
it felt really natural to have them join in. A month later, Dark Meat
had 12 people. Last month they had 18. Dark Meat is: Dr. Cal Barfton,
T.J. Onions, Richard “Cheese” Mangana, F. Dartanion Bougnier and The
Spirit Bird, with Turkles Embrochure, Melville Honeytoast, Roosevelt
“Chirps” Cantrell, Theodore “Tedd” Hep, Quebeque Dinero, Barbi
Barbituate, John Fernandes and Harley McIllvaine as the Vomit Lasers,
and O.C. Toshira as the Energy Center, and Duter “XXX” Anomie as He Who
Wears The Coat and Lil’ Tomato. There’s also Alice B. Tokas, and Hairy
Airy Ola as the Sub-Tweeters. Among the aforementioned, members of
Vicariously Through Cats, Hope for Agoldensummer and The Olivia Tremor
Control are in the band. Expect epics at every turn, and get there early
to find a place in the room.*Hope for Agoldensummer* (Athens, GA)
http://www.myspace.com/hopeforagoldensummer and
http://www.hopeforagoldensummer.com/
In trying to find some stock reviews for this band all I was
successfully able to drum up was an intense desire to see how great they
must be live. Three women making timeless, southern, creepy, beautiful
music, is the best I can describe what I’m hearing at their MySpace
page. Amazing harmonies, incredible instrumentation (they list slide
guitar, bowed guitar, saw, accordion, slide whistle, etc.), and
incredible songs. They will, most likely, open the show — so get there
early. This is from an old review, and despite a recent change (it
seems) in personnel, the review captures what I’m hearing. “Hope For
Agoldensummer have a stage set up that resembles a musty corner of a
time worn attic; it’s(a little)dark,quiet and stuffed with eclectic
items certain to entertain and amuse. A wooden crate full of
old-fashioned glass Coke bottles languishes at the drummer’s feet while
off to the right, a saw awaits its turn to sing. To the left,a dinner
bell beckons the listener to sit down for a musical stew hearty enough
to satisfy the ears and the soul,chockfull of throaty blues,
exhilarating familial harmonies and lilting cello accompaniment…
[V]ocals come primarily from [Claire] Campbell and her sister Page, by
day an independent film maker, whose voices weave together to complement
each other in a hauntingly resounding way that befits their shared
blood. …So, besides vox humana, how many instruments do they handle?
“Probably around 15 different ones”, says Claire, “but that’s not
counting the whistles and bells we just add, a lot of little toys we
travel with”. Will Taylor (formerly in Grace) is a classically trained
cellist who dabbles in pennywhistle, while Deb Davis (formerly in The
Josh Joplin Group) alternates between guitar, accordion, xylophone and
the aforementioned dinner bell. Percussionist Jamie Shepard plays a wide
variety of percussive instruments (including trap drums, bells, and
those Coke bottles) and occasionally banjo and concertina.”This show will be amazing. See you at 8pm on Monday.