I wasn't sure that I would be around the 'Burgh this week (spring break for me, woo) but as it turns out I didn't really feel like traveling so here I am in town. Lucky for me, too, because there are a number of shows this week to which I'm planning on going (huzzah, grammar). You should consider checking them out, as well.
Tonight, Monday March 7, we have Laura Stevenson & the Cans at 222 Ormsby in Mount Oliver. I saw this band play with Maps & Atlases and Cults at the Brillobox last August and was really impressed with their sound. They squeezed a lot of people on stage (five or six, I think) and put together a lovely folk/rock hybrid sound. Lead singer Laura had an endearingly playful stage persona, but between the giggly banter she put on some serious displays of singing and songwriting talent. The band, too, did well weaving between stripped-down folk arrangements and some loud-and-proud rock riffs. They have a new album coming out next month entitled Sit Resist and have already released a single track, "Master of Art", an mp3 of which you can download here for free (huzzah, grammar). So I've never actually been to this venue, but it is apparently a popular DIY/donations-only/house-show spot, and it's a short walk from a stop on the 54C, which is how I'll be getting there. A Facebook event says they're asking for a $5 donation with doors at 6:00 and show at 6:30. Also playing are Brightside, WifeBeater, and Fuck yeah, dinosaurs!. I don't know anything about these bands, so I won't pretend to here. In any event, see yinz at the show, and in the meantime, here's their music video for "Holy Ghost" (from their previous debut record, A Record).
Laura Stevenson & the Cans on the web: Website, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Bandcamp, Artist page on Quote Unquote Records, Wikipedia, Last.fm
Tomorrow night, Tuesday March 8, we have Eureka Birds at the Commonplace Coffeehouse in Squirrel Hill. I didn't know anything about this band until they emailed me out of the blue last week, but I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the songs they had recently posted on Bandcamp. It's tough to even pick a few genre labels that apply to them, so you should just head over there and listen for yourself and enjoy the lovely indie pop with some folksy/bluesy arrangements. Aw shucks, I couldn't help but name some genres, but don't let that dissuade you. They're on a short midwest tour on the way to Austin for SXSW, so they'll just be a duo at this particular show, with singer/keyboardist Justin and bassist/drummer Kevin, although they're usually a four/five-piece with guitar, bass, drums and cello. I've been to Commonplace once before for a caffeinated beverage and it was scrumdiddlyumptious, but I had no idea they put on shows. It's not exactly a big place so, if you're planning on going, be sure to get there on time to grab a seat and order your cappuccino before the espresso machine presents itself as a noisy distraction. See yinz at the show, and in the meantime, here's a video of them playing "Oh! My Dear", from their debut self-titled album, live on WTMD radio in Towson, MD.
(And here's an (unintentionally?) hilarious promo video they made.)
Eureka Birds on the web: Website, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Bandcamp, Last.fm
On Friday night, March 11, we have Low Water and Harlan Twins and Nik & the Central Plains at the Brillobox in Bloomfield/Lawrenceville. Low Water will be releasing their new CD The Taste You Know And Enjoy (the name comes from Squirrel Hill's Aiello's Pizza, hah). I have yet to see Low Water and Harlan Twins play live, so I'm looking forward to that, while Nik & the Central Plains are becoming one of my fave local bands. Should be a fun night of local music (well, Low Water are based in Brooklyn, but a few of them are Pittsburghers). See yinz at the show, and in the meantime, here's a music video for Low Water's tune "Go" from their 2008 album Twisting the Neck of the Swan.
Low Water on the web: Facebook, MySpace
Harlan Twins on the web: Facebook, MySpace, Last.fm
Nik & the Central Plains on the web: Facebook, MySpace, Last.fm
On Saturday night, March 12, we have Magik Markers and Sic Alps playing at The Shop in Bloomfield/Lawrenceville. I saw Magik Markers play to a small crowd at Garfield Artworks about a year ago and was really blown away (it made my Top 10 live shows of the year list). Meandering drum/bass jams with scattered guitar shredding and spoken-word weirdness... it was truly a spectacle to behold, and I can only imagine the vibe will be even better at The Shop. I don't know anything about Sic Alps but I just gave a listen to a couple of free tracks I found online, and they have an excellent noisy garage rock/pop sound. Should be a great combination. See yinz at the show, and in the meantime, here's a video of Magik Markers playing live at a club in Brooklyn in 2007. It is definitely a "free jam". Enjoy.
And here's a fan-made music video for one of my fave songs of theirs, "Taste".
Magik Markers on the web: Website, Facebook, Blog, MySpace, Wikipedia, Last.fm
Sic Alps on the web: Website, Facebook, MySpace, Last.fm
Showing posts with label Magik Markers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Magik Markers. Show all posts
Monday, March 7, 2011
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Concert Review: Magik Markers, Tusk Lord, Mike Tamburo
Magik Markers, Tusk Lord, Mike Tamburo
Monday March 22, 2010 at Garfield Artworks
with Paul, Chris. L
I have yet to see a show at Garfield Artworks that I did not thoroughly enjoy, and I'm impressed by the array of local openers that Manny manages to find. This time, I biked over to Garfield from campus after a 3-on-3 IM basketball game that knocked us out of the bracket in the first round (Deepak: “Shortest season ever!”). Paul and Chris were there already, and a handful of other concertgoers, and there was a large bearded guy onstage tuning a dulcimer on his lap with a gong hanging behind him. It turned out to be Mike Tamburo, the opening act. He eventually played two “songs”, one on the gong and one on the dulcimer, after setting up some incense and candles onstage. The gong song (hah), or “ecstatic” as he called it, was interesting to watch; he alternated between pounding the gong with a mallet and then rubbing a smaller mallet on the surface to modulate the sound, sometimes shaking the strings from which the gong hung to scatter the sound waves across the room. At times it was almost quiet, with just the reverberations hanging in the air, at times it was loud, and at times it was deafeningly loud. Towards the end, a particularly loud hit even knocked the gong off its hangers! Mike just laughed and apologized and reattached it before moving on. He introduced the dulcimer solo by mentioning a band that he plays in with his girlfriend and his friend (who was seated next to me and doing meditation/breathing exercises the whole time) and saying that this song is a version of a traditional Bulgarian anthem that is sung/played in certain seasons to chase away the demons and secure a good harvest. He sat cross-legged on a rug at the front of the stage, set the dulcimer on his lap, and played the strings with two wooden spoon-like implements. The song itself featured a lot of rising arpeggios and scales, the “spoons” bouncing around one section of the strings then descending to the lower strings and exploring them for a while. He managed to play quite fast, and I could see the spoons doing that thing you did with a pencil in middle school when you were bored where it looks like its wobbly even though its not. Yeah, that phenomenon. I'd only ever seen the dulcimer played by strumming, so this was really cool to watch. It was a strange opening act given the music that followed it, but I was entranced the whole time.
The next act was Tusk Lord, but I had to check the poster again to catch their name since I had trouble understanding the singer, due to both the lo-fi acoustics and the speed of their set. They played fast and noisy rock with a sloppy (in a good way) guitar heavy sound. There was a keyboard player but I couldn't quite make out what he was contributing, which is too bad. At the end of their second to last song, there was a very quiet moment where the guitars stopped playing and the keyboardist played a few notes solo, and it sounded like a perfect break in the clouds; they really need to do more of that. After each song, they just jumped right into the next one, and the singer even counted down their last 3 songs. Paul likened each song to the whole set, saying that in each case, just when he was getting into it, it abruptly ended. I liked their live sound; it was perfect for the venue.
The Magik Markers played last and absolutely nailed it. Over the course of a 40 minute set, they paused for only 2 applause breaks; the rest was a meandering showcase of reverb-drenched guitar shredding and rhythmic, no-frills drumming. A lot of it seemed improvised, with the female singer/guitarist (playing left-handed, too!) extracting all sorts of sounds from her guitar using pedals and effects and strumming; it was fascinating to watch her create these sounds and wonder whether she has some internal vision of what she wants to play or if she just plucks away and sees what happens. Meanwhile, the drummer was keeping time during these long solo sections and sometimes playing a keyboard line. I noticed the drummer was wearing an orange t-shirt with images of the Velvet Underground members on it, too. They had a bassist, as well, and he really rounded out their sound. Overall, it was a real “show” in the true sense of the word; a veritable spectacle of straight-up rock music. Be sure to watch the live videos I linked to below. Afterwards, I bought their LP “Boss” on vinyl, as did Chris, and Paul bought a different vinyl album. I've been playing it fairly frequently this past week, and don't see myself stopping anytime soon.
Mike Tamburo:
on MySpace
feature article from the Pittsburgh City Paper
Live in State College, PA
Tusk Lord:
Live
on MySpace
Live in Pittsburgh, February 2010
Live in Ithaca, NY
Magik Markers:
on MySpace
music video for "Taste"
Live at SXSW 2007
12 minute long free jam
EDIT: Just found this link for a free download of the Magik Markers live at Brooklyn's Union Pool on March 19, 2010
Monday March 22, 2010 at Garfield Artworks
with Paul, Chris. L
I have yet to see a show at Garfield Artworks that I did not thoroughly enjoy, and I'm impressed by the array of local openers that Manny manages to find. This time, I biked over to Garfield from campus after a 3-on-3 IM basketball game that knocked us out of the bracket in the first round (Deepak: “Shortest season ever!”). Paul and Chris were there already, and a handful of other concertgoers, and there was a large bearded guy onstage tuning a dulcimer on his lap with a gong hanging behind him. It turned out to be Mike Tamburo, the opening act. He eventually played two “songs”, one on the gong and one on the dulcimer, after setting up some incense and candles onstage. The gong song (hah), or “ecstatic” as he called it, was interesting to watch; he alternated between pounding the gong with a mallet and then rubbing a smaller mallet on the surface to modulate the sound, sometimes shaking the strings from which the gong hung to scatter the sound waves across the room. At times it was almost quiet, with just the reverberations hanging in the air, at times it was loud, and at times it was deafeningly loud. Towards the end, a particularly loud hit even knocked the gong off its hangers! Mike just laughed and apologized and reattached it before moving on. He introduced the dulcimer solo by mentioning a band that he plays in with his girlfriend and his friend (who was seated next to me and doing meditation/breathing exercises the whole time) and saying that this song is a version of a traditional Bulgarian anthem that is sung/played in certain seasons to chase away the demons and secure a good harvest. He sat cross-legged on a rug at the front of the stage, set the dulcimer on his lap, and played the strings with two wooden spoon-like implements. The song itself featured a lot of rising arpeggios and scales, the “spoons” bouncing around one section of the strings then descending to the lower strings and exploring them for a while. He managed to play quite fast, and I could see the spoons doing that thing you did with a pencil in middle school when you were bored where it looks like its wobbly even though its not. Yeah, that phenomenon. I'd only ever seen the dulcimer played by strumming, so this was really cool to watch. It was a strange opening act given the music that followed it, but I was entranced the whole time.
The next act was Tusk Lord, but I had to check the poster again to catch their name since I had trouble understanding the singer, due to both the lo-fi acoustics and the speed of their set. They played fast and noisy rock with a sloppy (in a good way) guitar heavy sound. There was a keyboard player but I couldn't quite make out what he was contributing, which is too bad. At the end of their second to last song, there was a very quiet moment where the guitars stopped playing and the keyboardist played a few notes solo, and it sounded like a perfect break in the clouds; they really need to do more of that. After each song, they just jumped right into the next one, and the singer even counted down their last 3 songs. Paul likened each song to the whole set, saying that in each case, just when he was getting into it, it abruptly ended. I liked their live sound; it was perfect for the venue.
The Magik Markers played last and absolutely nailed it. Over the course of a 40 minute set, they paused for only 2 applause breaks; the rest was a meandering showcase of reverb-drenched guitar shredding and rhythmic, no-frills drumming. A lot of it seemed improvised, with the female singer/guitarist (playing left-handed, too!) extracting all sorts of sounds from her guitar using pedals and effects and strumming; it was fascinating to watch her create these sounds and wonder whether she has some internal vision of what she wants to play or if she just plucks away and sees what happens. Meanwhile, the drummer was keeping time during these long solo sections and sometimes playing a keyboard line. I noticed the drummer was wearing an orange t-shirt with images of the Velvet Underground members on it, too. They had a bassist, as well, and he really rounded out their sound. Overall, it was a real “show” in the true sense of the word; a veritable spectacle of straight-up rock music. Be sure to watch the live videos I linked to below. Afterwards, I bought their LP “Boss” on vinyl, as did Chris, and Paul bought a different vinyl album. I've been playing it fairly frequently this past week, and don't see myself stopping anytime soon.
Mike Tamburo:
on MySpace
feature article from the Pittsburgh City Paper
Live in State College, PA
Tusk Lord:
Live
on MySpace
Live in Pittsburgh, February 2010
Live in Ithaca, NY
Magik Markers:
on MySpace
music video for "Taste"
Live at SXSW 2007
12 minute long free jam
EDIT: Just found this link for a free download of the Magik Markers live at Brooklyn's Union Pool on March 19, 2010
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