Tonight Vice-subsidized living legends PIERCED ARROWS play Headliners, with OLD BABY and DON’T (who have some sort of WIPERS connection). PIERCED ARROWS consist, of course, of Fred and Toody Cole from the amazing DEAD MOON, who we never got to see because they never played Louisville back in the day. Let’s hope tonight makes up for that. 8 PM doors, 18+, $10.
On Saturday, SONIC YOUTH‘s LEE RANALDO plays Zanzabar with his new band, which also features SY‘s drummer Steve Shelley as well as guitar slinger Alan Licht (one of our favorites). Opening is another favorite of ours, the ever-quotable WOODEN WAND. James Toth is a certifiable genius, or at least he’s married to one. Some other band called SEA HERO plays too. 9 PM, 21-and-over, $16 advance tickets (here), or $18 day of show.
So we’re gonna tell you about a few things going on in Louisville over the next few days that are worth your attention. First, on Saturday night at Harley’s Main Street Tavern, Michigan’s Child Bite performs with locals Opposable Thumbs and Friends & Relatives. Here’s the flier:
Harley’s is located at 122 W. Main between 1st and 2nd Streets. Music gets underway around 10 PM and costs five bucks.
On Sunday our favorites PARLOUR play at the Chestnut House (714 East Chestnut Street, between Clay and Shelby) with Dischord recording artists Edie Sedgwick, Julie of the Wolves (a new band consisting of members of Venus Trap, Second Story Man, Minnow, The Frequent Sea, and Madame Machine) and Life at Home (Don’t know anything about them, unfortunately). Here’s another flier:
Also on Sunday at RYE (900 E. Market at the corner of Market and Campbell), Bro. Stephen plays with JoanShelley. Cost for that one is $15, which includes food, and it starts at 7 PM.
Last but not least, on Monday Brooklyn noise merchants VAZ play Cahoot’s with Trophy Wives, Alcohol Party, and Neighbor. We’re seriously considering breaking our no-Cahoot’s rule for this one. Maybe we’ll see you there?
UPDATE: We knew we forgot something! There’s also another show on Sunday at Zanzabar with SOFTCHEQUE, Y/Y, and the Ecstatic GirthSurvival Sextet. Or something. Info on the flier:
Rumor has it one band is TROPICAL TRASH-related, who killed it last Tuesday at Harley’s. So there’s that. Enjoy!
Sunday, January 29th
at NACHBAR 969 Charles Street (at the corner of Charles and Krieger)
First set at 9 PM, second set at 10:30 PM — 21 and over FREE!
Since 2005 DARIN GRAY (upright bass) and CHRIS CORSANO (drums) have performed side by side as CHIKAMORACHI. Working either in a trio with saxophonist Akira Sakata or a quartet that adds Jim O’Rourke on guitar, they’ve released six albums to date, including 2011′s And That’s the Story of Jazz double CD and Live at Hungry Brain LP. The high-speed empathy that Gray and Corsano have developed over the years will be brought to the fore in 2012, when the duo strike out on their own for a tour of the Midwest. Neither member is a stranger to the possibilities afforded when the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic duties are left to an upright bass and drum duo. Gray‘s group On Fillmore with Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche has been going strong for the past ten years. For his part, Corsano has gigged and recorded as a duo with double bassists John Edwards and Matt Heyner.
Darin Gray is best known as Jim O’Rourke’s go-to bassist for nearly 20 years, as half of the duo On Fillmore, and as the bassist for Grand Ulena, Dazzling Killmen, and Brise-Glace. As an improviser he has performed and recorded with among others: Loren Connors, Masami Akita (Merzbow), Josh Abrams, Jason Roebke, Axel Dorner, Kevin Drumm, Alan Licht, Thollem Mcdonas, and Jim O’Rourke. As a session bassist he has played on recordings by Will Oldham, Cheer-Accident, Rope, Bobby Conn, Daneilson Family, Early Day Miners, Bunnygrunt, Jim O’Rourke, etc… He has toured extensively in the United States, Japan, Brazil, Canada, and Europe.
Chris Corsano began a long-standing, high-energy partnership with saxophonist Paul Flaherty in 1998. A move from western Massachusetts, USA to the UK in 2005 led Chris to develop a solo music of his own, incorporating sax reeds, violin strings, pot lids, adhesive tape and other household devices into his drum kit. 2007 and ’08 were spent as the drummer on Björk’s Volta world tour. Returning back to the U.S. in 2009, Corsano shifted focus back to his own projects, most notably a duo with Michael Flower, Rangda (with Sir Richard Bishop and Ben Chasny) and solo work. In addition to the those mentioned above, he’s also worked with, among others: Evan Parker, Paul Dunmall, Nels Cline, Thurston Moore, Jessica Rylan, Jandek, Sunburned Hand Of Man, and Joe McPhee.
Watch a video of Chikamorachi with Akira Sakata here:
During the second set of the performance, CHIKAMORACHI will be joined by the addition of STEVE GOOD (saxophones, clarinet) and TIM BARNES (percussion). A vital natural resource in the Louisville music scene for multiple decades, Steve Good‘s musical vocabulary orbits lightly through a vast expansive local history: doing time with The Web, E-Or, Juanita, Ut Gret, Sapat, Crappy Nightmareville, Parlour, The Liberation Prophecy and many, many others. He has documented via audio recording many thousands of local shows. Slint played in his basement, he recorded the first Will Oldham single, he ran sound and documented the weekly experimental music series at Artswatch through the 1990s, and yes, he shared a stage in Switzerland with Donovan back in the 1970s. Louisville resident and drummer extraordinaire, the list of Tim Barnes‘s collaborators is too long to list here, but it includes Jim O’Rourke, Silver Jews, Neil Michael Hagerty and the Howling Hex, The Tower Recordings, and countless others. Most recently, Tim Barnes played drums with the newly resurrected lineup of The For Carnation, as well as with MV+EE at Cropped Out in November, 2011.
Given the recent collaboration between Bela Fleck and Malian kora player Toumani Diabate, it’s possible that there’s been no greater spotlight on the West African nation at any other time than right now. Fortunately, all the attention on Mali is casting some light on other worthwhile players as well. Countryman Bassekou Kouyate plays the ngoni, a six-stringed instrument, which is arguably less complex than Tiabate’s 21-stringed kora, but still retains a beautiful melodicism. Kouyate’s 2007 album Segu Blue, issued in the United States this year, contains all the beauty one has come to expect from acoustic music from Mali. And on the blue “Lament for Ali Farka,” a requiem for the departed guitarist Ali Farka Toure, Kouyate and his group Ngoni Ba emerge from the shadows cast by their better-known comrades.
Land of Tomorrow (LOT) is pleased to present the Expanded Music Project, a showcase of work illustrating the intersection between art and music. The opening reception will be held at our Louisville location on November 18th from 7pm, and the show will run through the 3rd of January. Included in this exhibition will be work by Heather Cantrell, Aurora Childs, Saiman Chow, Hirsuta, Geneva Jacuzzi, Leslie Lyons, Andrea Stanislav, Thieves Like Us, as well as Raurouw with Shedding, Peaking Lights with artist Letitia Quesenberry, and musician EMA with artist Jacob Heustis.
The premise of this show is to highlight the fluidity between creative forms and artistic practices. The influence of album art, video production, stage design, graffiti, and the appropriation tactics of remixing have established an ongoing conversation between artists and musicians. This dialogue between visual artist and musician continues to play a major role, and creative forces as diverse as Elvis, The Velvet Underground, Talking Heads, Pink Floyd, and Afrika Bambaataa have delved into the realms of the visual and the auditory to produce work that both fields accept and champion.
The show will be up through January 3rd, but tomorrow night is a great chance to see it first. And it’s free! LAND OF TOMORROW is located at 233 W. Broadway, in the St. Francis High School Building.
Hey Louisville, if you weren’t at CROPPED OUT at some point during this past weekend, you really missed something quite special. It wasn’t just that there were a buncha noisy, arty bands and rock n’ roll and whatnot. There was actually a quite palpable community spirit, evidenced by the smiles, high-fives, and general fun it seemed that most everybody had. Didn’t hurt that some of the best weather of the fall made it possible for lots of bands to play outside, too. So here’s a quick rundown of best parts of the festival, complete with crappy pictures from my cellphone.
DAY 1 — FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11th: Though it got started way early on Friday afternoon, and there was some noise issues early on, Friday was a good start, especially for the Louisville bands on the bill. SAVAGES played immediately after LEARNER DANCER, both of which brought forceful, guitar-heavy rock (the former more in a pop vein, while the latter mined some heavy Sonic Youth-style dissonant territory).
One of the early Friday highlights was, of course, Louisville’s SHEDDING (disclaimer: Connor and I are buds, but even if we weren’t, I’d still love his music). Despite his talk of being influenced by RUSH, Connor really brought more of a CURRENT 93 vibe, perfectly mellow yet eerie.
Another Friday highlight was Austin, Texas’s SHIT & SHINE, which featured none other than the BUTTHOLE SURFERS’ KING COFFEY on percussion. Tribal, BOREDOMS-esque throb with synth squiggles and CB radio nonsense. Totally fun.
Other Friday night highlights included (in no particular order):
1. apologizing to KING COFFEY for talking his ear off at SxSW ’07
2. MOUNT CARMEL — and the revelation afterwards that KING has never seen ZZ TOP!
3. bonfires (more on them later)
4. hangin’ with MV + EE‘s dog Zuma
5. SHIT & SHINE‘s bunny suits
6. MV + EE singing “Fire on the Mountain” at the end of a fantastic set backed by TIM BARNES and CHRIS from the CHERRY BLOSSOMS (thanks for the beers!)
7. Locals ALCOHOL PARTY, NATIVES, ANWAR SADAT, and AXEL COOPER showing how it’s done
8. Chorizo taco from the Holy Mole Taco Truck
9. Good times with friends old and new
10. Beer
DAY 2 — SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12th: Saturday started inauspiciously as I showed up to the venue, the CRUMMY DEN, way early, so I wandered over to the FLEA OFF MARKET (where I bought an excellent book of photography from Louisville Hardcore’s poet laureate, Mr. BRETT EUGENE RALPH), then had lunch at the Blind Pig. Missed most of the early sets due to some errands I had to run, but caught a little bit of VIDEO DAUGHTER, who were okay.
To be honest, we’re not huge fans of Halloween cover band shows. With the exception of the fantastic Jesus Lizard cover band show from a couple years back (R.I.P. Tony Bailey), usually it seems like most bands take the easy route and just do the same Misfits set or whatever. Yawn.
However, an exception to that rule is Louisville’s WAX FANG, which apparently pulled off Prince’s Purple Rain like it was no big deal. This year, they’re paying tribute to the Velvet Underground, one of our faves of all time! No word on which eras of VU will be represented, but I’m assuming it’s not gonna be just Doug Yule stuff from Squeeze or somethin’.
Another highlight of that same show will be THE BAD REEDS as the Plastic Ono Band (though again, it’s not clear entirely if they’ll be playing Yoko or John material). The show’s at ZANZABAR, which of course is at 2100 S. Preston. 9 PM, 21+, $10.
Also tomorrow night brings NYC post-hardcore chugga-chugg purveyors HELMET. If you’re like me, Meantime was one of your favorite albums at 16, mainly because it sounded like Sabbath played at 45 (with Ozzy’s vocals pitched down to 16 RPM)! TROPHY WIVES are the only opener we know of, but they pretty much rule, so that’s that. At the ridiculously still-chooglin’ PHOENIX HILL TAVERN, 7 PM, 21+ $15.
Our friends at CROPPED OUT are bringin’ it tomorrow night! Three great bands at Club 21 (formerly the Pour Haus, where you saw Pere Ubu, remember?). Here’s the details:
Cropped Out Presents
A very special evening of rock’n'roll music with:
This week’s LEO Weekly features my review of the new album by James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg, Avos:
Louisville resident Nathan Salsburg is an archivist for the Alan Lomax Archive and a music columnist for LEO Weekly. (Disclaimer: I’ve been friends with Nathan since middle school, and we occasionally collaborate on promoting musical events in town). What is perhaps less known by the public at large is Salsburg’s prowess at the finger-picking guitar style established in the 1960s and ’70s by John Fahey and others, as he’s previously only released one song, on the Tompkins Square label’s Imaginational Anthems compilation series. His new collaboration, Avos, with Chicago-based guitarist James Elkington, as well as his upcoming solo debut Affirmed, should definitely garner Salsburg some well-deserved praise as a guitarist. Avos is intricately composed, yet has a fresh, contemporary sound without feeling too gimmicky or of-the-moment. Salsburg and Elkington tastefully show enough dexterity to make the listener wonder, “How’d they do that?” without being too flashy. Rather, Avos is a slightly melancholy affair, with plenty of melodic, serene moments to match the six-string sleight-of-hand.
GLENN JONES has been called “the best guitarist you never heard of” by the Boston Globe. A 30+-year devotee of the so-called American Primitive school of acoustic steel string guitarists, GLENN JONES has been playing guitar since the age of 14. He formed Boston pysch-rock band, CUL DE SAC, in 1989 and led it on its 20 year journey to nowhere, leaving nine albums in its wake, including collaborations with guitarist John Fahey and Can’s Damo Suzuki. The Wantingis JONES’ first album for the esteemed Chicago-based Thrill Jockey label, and features his beautiful guitar and banjo compositions, as well as a collaboration with percussionist Chris Corsano. The Utne Reader calls JONES “an incredibly adept fingerstyle guitarist whose technique always remains in service of the song… His vigorous leaps are daring but never reckless, and nearly always sublime.”
NATHAN SALSBURG is an archivist, producer, guitarist and writer based in Louisville, Kentucky. He has worked for the Alan Lomax Archive since 2000, for which he currently serves in the capacities of production manager, photo and video archivist, and general digital catalog editor. Since 2006 he has produced and hosted “Root Hog Or Die,” a vernacular/traditional music program on East Village Radio, and is curator of the Twos & Fews recording imprint, also a vernacular music entity, and a collaboration with Chicago’s Drag City label. SALSBURG maintains an index of on-line vernacular music resources at his blog, roothogordie.wordpress.com, and contributes occasional music writing to the Louisville Eccentric Observer and the Other Music weekly update. This past August, the Tompkins Square label released Avos, a collaboration between SALSBURG and Chicago guitarist James Elkington (formerly of the Zincs), and SALSBURG’s first solo album, Affirmed, is due November 15th on No Quarter.
