Thursday, March 30, 2006
TLP March 30, 2006
Hey, peeps.
Here's the new issue. Thanks to Robert Beatty, Chris Bush, and Eli Riveire for help with the Picks.
Ross
:::::::::::::::::::::::: Announcements :::::::::::::::::::::::::::
** Thurs/March 30 - Anne Feeney and Jack Erdie concert at Natasha’s Café
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth invites you to a fundraiser/performance by Anne Feeney and Jack Erdie, Thurday, March 30th at Natasha’s Café,112 Esplanade (just off Main, across from the Kentucky Theatre). Come out and celebrate the struggle for economic and social justice while enjoying great music, food, and company! Based in Pittsburgh, PA, Anne Feeney is the granddaughter of an intrepid mineworkers' organizer, who also used music to carry the message of solidarity to working people. After two decades of community activism and regional performances at rallies, Anne took her message on the road. Since 1991 Anne has traveled to the frontlines in 40 states, Canada, Mexico, Ireland and Sweden. Her anthem “Have You Been to Jail for Justice?” is being performed by Peter, Paul and Mary. Dubbed the "minister of culture" to the movements for economic and social justice and human rights, Anne is "the best labor singer in North_America" according to Utah Phillips. "Jack stands apart from the crowd. His songwriting transcends the merely personal to a place of common experience that will make his songs relevant and meaningful to most listeners" - The Folk and Music_Exchange COST: $10 sliding scale donation suggested to continue Kentuckians For The Commonwealth's work for economic justice. No donation is too small (or too large). For more information, contact Dave Newton at Dave_HN@yahoo.com or (859) 420-8919.
** Fri/March 31 - Critical Mass
Grab your bike and join Critical Mass this Friday, March 31st at 5pm. Peeps will gather at Woodland Park (corner of Kentucky and High Sts) and head out from there. It’s all in the spirit of promoting bike awareness, safety, and alternative transportation. This month’s ride heads to a special destination – the 1st annual ‘Pedal the Planet’ bike film festival at the Thomas Hunt Morgan House, 210 North Broadway St., Lexington, KY. The film festival starts at 6pm and will be followed by a concert at 10pm. $10 donation at the door gets you into both events. As the flyer suggests, you can expect “food, beer, bike movies, and people in spandex.” For more info, contact politicalhero@hotmail.com.
** Fri+Sat/March 31+April 1 - UKon
On Friday March 31st the Miskatonic Student Union invites you to join them for fund raising and two days of gaming fun - the 9th annual UKon, located at the UK Student Center third floor ballroom. The action runs from 6pm til midnight on Friday, March 31st and 10am til midnight on Saturday, April 1st. It’s a chance to share your love of games with the fellowship of Lexington area gamers. Enjoy tabletop role-playing games, collectable card games and Live Action Role Playing. There will be live action demonstrations by the gaming group NERO, seminars on the Role Playing Game Association and the Living Arcanis campaign, as well as a Dance, Dance Revolution contest (!) in the Cats Den on Saturday starting at 2 PM. Admission is $5 a day. All ages welcome. For further information contact Edward Kopp at ejkopp@msn.com or call 859/225-8245.
** Sat/April 1 – Beaux Arts Ball
The architecture department’s annual exercise in excess goes down this Saturday, April 1 at The Red Mile. Tickets are available at CD Central, 377 S. Limestone, for $20 ($21 with credit or debit card). While supplies last, they'll also throw in a free t-shirt from last year's event with each ticket purchase.
** Mon/April 3 - Middle Eastern Hand Drumming with Tobias Roberson
Monday, April 3rd, Mecca: Live Studio and Gallery, 451 Chair Avenue (just off S. Broadway near Bolivar), will host two workshops by acclaimed musician and drum instructor Tobias Roberson. From 6-7:30pm, Tobias will teach Middle Eastern Hand Drumming. From 7:30-9pm, he’ll teach Finger Cymbal technique. Fee for each workshop is $30 in advance, $40 at the door. For more info, call 254-9790 or email info@meccadance.com.
** Thurs/April 6 - Student Installation Exhibition at Georgetown College
All are invited to the Student Installation Exhibition gallery opening and reception Thursday, April 6th from 5-7pm at Georgetown College (corner of College and Mulberry Sts, Georgetown, KY). Free eats and free admission! For more info contact Elissa Morley at 502.863.8399 or Elissa_Morley@georgetowncollege.edu.
** Sat/April 8 and Sat/April 15 – Upcoming In-Store performances at CD Central
CD Central continues its anniversary celebration with two in-store performances. Saturday, April 8th, it’s an acoustic performance by The Sixth Floor. Saturday, April 15, it’s our friends Scourge of the Sea and as-yet-unamed special guests. Both shows kick-off at 3pm and are FREE. All ages welcome. For more info, call the store at 233-3472.
** Elmwood CSA
Our good friends Mac and Ambi of Georgetown’s Elmwood Stock Farm are currently registering members for their CSA. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members participate in their own food supply by committing to share in the harvest of a local farm. Members purchase shares in the spring, and each week we harvest and distribute the vegetable shares. This is a way to be a part of something positive and guarantees your access to the best of each week's harvest. For the full scoop and registration info, check out http://www.elmwoodstockfarm.com/csa.htm. (NOTE: It’s less than a month until the Farmers’ Market heads back outside! Look for Mac and Ambi and all the other great farms to be back on Vine Street on Saturday, April 8th.)
** Beginner Yoga Classes @ The Massage Center
Cindy Reed is teaching a new beginner yoga class designed for brand new beginners looking to explore the fundamentals of yoga in a safe and nurturing environment. An excellent way to start your practice or a good review for anyone who has been away, this series starts with the basics and progresses through a growing range of poses linked by breath. Classes are Thursdays from 7–8:15pm at The Massage Center in Dudley Square, 380 S. Mill Street. Class fee is $45 for 5 classes or $12 for drop-ins. For more info, contact Cindy at 231-1782.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: THE PICKS :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::: Wednesday, March 29 through Wednesday, April 12 :::::::::::
:: Thursday, March 30 ::
EXTREME ANIMALS w/FERRIS WHEEL, FORTRESS OF AMPLITUDE, and more @ The Frowny Bear, 208 Forest Park Rd
9pm, all ages, donations for touring bands, BYOB
A show this Thursday evening at the Frowny Bear (208 Forest Park Rd. in Lexington). Some members of Paperrad.org present their musical side and some multimedia hijinks from all over.
--=Extreme Animals=-- (http://www.paperrad.org/extreme/) Members of the PaperRad collective playing MIDI powered psychedelic disco dance rock. It sounds more like a broken video game with live drums than anything ‘hip’ or ‘cool’ or ‘smart’ though. Last time they played in Lexington they shaved and jammed it half ’stache stylee. Weird.
--=Ferris Wheel=-- (http://www.ferriswheelvideo.org/) Video with live improvisation. Check their website for videos and mp3’s.
--=Fortress of Amplitude=-- (http://www.paperrad.org/fortress/) More PaperRad insanity, this time possibly involving guitars?
--=An as of yet unnamed local band will play some triple synthesizer psychedelic goo for you to kick things off.
Also there will be some PaperRad videos shown throughout the night. Check some of them out at http://www.paperrad.org
- Robert Beatty
:: Friday, March 31 ::
THE TOIDS w/RAKADU GYPSY DANCE @ The Dame
early show – 7pm, ages 21+, $7
Balkan jazz from the Bay Area and our homegrown bellydance icons. Sounds pretty good. Recommended to fans of Devotchka, Gogol Bordello, and Roberto Rodriguez. Look for Trevor Tremaine from Hair Police and Eyes and Arms of Smoke sitting in with the musicians for Rakadu’s set. More info at http://www.thetoids.com and http://meccadance.com.
:: Friday, March 31 ::
KRS-ONE @ The Dame
late show – 10pm, ages 21+, $15
Hip hop legend returns to Lexington.
:: Tuesday, April 4 ::
HALF HANDED CLOUD w/LIZ JANES & CREATE(!) and THE ARCHITECTS @ Underlying Themes, 110 S. Upper
8pm, all ages, $3
Fresh off tour as part of Sufjan Stevens' Illinoise-makers, the nicest man in the world, John Ringhofer, assumes his alter-ego, HALF HANDED CLOUD, for a tour of his own. Expect joyous, short-attention span psychedelic-pop. Recommended strongly to fans of Of Montreal (circa Coquelicot Asleep In The Poppies), the Danielson Famile, Olivia Tremor Control, and Page France. Joining HHC is another Asthmatic Kitty recording artist Liz Janes & Create(!). Soulful bedroom pop that touches on country folk and jazz – recommended to fans of Jolie Holland and Sufjan Stevens. Janes' performance at High on Rose was awe-inspiring. (Hopefully, she’ll have more homemade coloring books for sale.) The show also represents the debut of The Architects, a collaboration between two of my favorite songwriters - the Elephants' Jason Zavala and Jeremy Midkiff of Big Fresh and Gaudi. For more info and FREE sounds, check out AsthmaticKitty.com. [FULL DISCLOSURE: I helped organize this show.]
:: Wednesday, April 5 ::
THE BRUNETTES w/CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH! @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
8pm doors, 9pm show, ages 18+, $14
A double shot of short picks from Ross and Eli …
New Zealand is sending her cutest and cuddliest ambassadors, new Sub Pop signees The Brunettes, over to win our hearts. Don’t bother putting up a fight – they’ll win. Don’t believe me? Go to http://www.lilchiefrecords.co.nz/brunettes/listen2_hhfd.html, click on ‘Dancefloor’ and try to resist the charm. It’s impossible. - Ross
Looking for some of the sweetest pop from New Zealand? Well sure, we all are, right? Look no further than Newport next week, as it plays host to the magnificent Brunettes! Join in on the fun that's sure to promise dancing, smiling, and a general sense of happiness. Some of my favorite Brunettes songs include everday topics like that falling in love with a best friend takes time (like learning the clarinet!), cute girls at record stores, and height differences being relationship issues - but in a really cute way. Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity for fun in the (feels like) sun. New Zealand's pretty far away, dude - who knows when they'll be back!
Oh yeah, I guess they're opening for that band from Brooklyn, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! Whatever. They'll steal the show for sure.
All kinds of fun Brunettes activities can be found here: http://www.lilchiefrecords.com/brunettes/
This website has pretty wallpaper: http://clapyourhandssayyeah.com/news.php
- Eli Riveire
:: Friday, April 7 ::
JACK ROSE w/FURSAXA and KEENAN LAWLER @ Mecca, 451 Chair Avenue
8pm, all ages, $5
On Friday April 7th WRFL will host Jack Rose, Fursaxa, and Keenan Lawler at Mecca Studio and Gallery for a show garnering so much mystic appeal that even the holy Vishnu is amped.
Jack Rose has been known for quite sometime as a leading disciple of the twelve-stringed guitar, the most popular reference point to his musical style being John Fahey. Though, Jack Rose’s particular reunion of traditional Eastern ragas and primitive American guitar are all his own. As his approach alternates from well-structured finger plucking guitar to trance ridden strums Rose’s music reconciles the familiar and profound.
Fursaxa is the solo project of Philadelphia’s own acid-folk chanteuse Tara Burke. The Fursaxa sound is birthed from a combination of choral chanting, trance guitar, and the occasional organ. Like that of Rose, the Fursaxa cry seems both a personal hymn and an outward challenge to meditation. They are the unassuming and ruminative songs that are striking for their humility and inspiring for their beauty.
Keenan Lawler comes to town as Louisville’s emissary of experimental guitar. He has worked with everyone from avant guitar heavy weight Rhys Chatham to the electronic duo Matmos, and his musical philosophy comes not just from the likes of Fahey and Rose, but from the work of 20th century minimalist composers Terry Riley and Tony Conrad.
It’s eerily fitting that a line up drawing so heavily from Eastern mysticism and backwoods simplicity has found its way to Kentucky’s Rakadu Gypsy Dance temple. Though, dwelling on such matters is missing the point. Just throw your thankful fists up to Krishna or Johnny Appleseed and find solace in the fact that this show was meant to be.
– Chris Bush
http://www.vhfrecords.com/jackrose/, http://www.fursaxa.net, http://www.konstant.com/
:: Tuesday, April 11 ::
THE EASTERN SEABOARD @ Buster’s
10pm, ages 21+, FREE (donations accepted for the band)
The Eastern Seaboard = three young dudes playing ‘classic’ (read: energetic and extremely melodic) free jazz ala Ornette Coleman and Archie Shepp. FREE sounds and more info at http://theeasternseaboard.com. [FULL DISCLOSURE: I helped organize this show.]
:: Also worthwhile in the March 29 – April 12 timeframe ::
Every Friday RAKADU GYPSY DANCE @ Nema’s Grille (Frankfort) – meccadance.com
Wed/Mar 29 THE LEGENDARY SHACKSHAKERS w/SCOTT H. BIRAM @ The Dame
Fri/Mar 31 EMILY HAGIHARA @ Underlying Themes – all ages
Fri/Mar 31 BOB MOULD @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Sat/Apr 1 SCOTT MILLER AND THE COMMONWEALTH @ The Dame
Sat/Apr 1 MAZARIN w/THE DOUBLE and LAB PARTNERS @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Sun/Apr 2 VERY EMERGENCY w/HEARTHROB, DUST FROM A THOUSAND YEARS, and BRANDON HARROD @ 129 Clay Avenue – FREE, all ages, 6:30pm
Mon/Apr 3 HIMSA w/FULL BLOWN CHAOS, MANNTIS, THE CLASSIC STRUGGLE, PHLEGETHON, and CADAVER IN DRAG @ Downtown Arts Center, 141 E. Main – http://www.counterfiction.com
Mon/Apr 3 “First Monday” Mecca Open Stage @ Natasha’s Café, 112 Esplanade – FREE, 9:30pm
Tues/Apr 4 HANK III @ The Dame
Tues/Apr 4 SCOUT NIBLETT @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Wed/Apr 5 PETTICOAT, PETTICOAT @ The Dame
Thurs/Apr 6 JACKIE-O-MOTHERFUCKER @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Fri/Apr 7 PARLOUR BOYS w/NANA AND THE BOY NOISE @ The Dame
Sat/Apr 8 SEXUAL DISASTER QUARTET w/THE CINEMATIC UNDERGROUND @ The Dame
Sun/Apr 9 THE CLOUD ROOM @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Tues/Apr 11 NO THINGS (ex-Liars) @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Wed/Apr 12 DEAD MEADOW @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
:: Soon Soon ::
Thurs/Apr 13 JOSEPHINE FOSTER AND THE SUPPOSED w/DAVE REMPIS PERCUSSION QUARTET @ Mecca – all ages
Fri/Apr 14 SCOURGE OF THE SEA w/KITTYHAWK @ The Dame
Sat/Apr 15 COUSIN w/THE MELODY FUNCTION and COL. KNOWLEDGE AND THE LICKITY-SPLITS @ Underlying Themes – all ages
Sat/Apr 15 RHETT MILLER AND THE BELIEVERS @ Headliners (Louisville) – ages 18+
Sun/Apr 16 ROSIE THOMAS @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Wed/Apr 19 AB BAARS QUARTET presents “Kinda Dukish” @ Underlying Themes – all ages
Thurs/Apr 20 RC PRO AM record release party w/THE SMACKS! and more @ The Dame
Thurs/Apr 20 ENON @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Sun/Apr 23 JOSH RITTER w/HEM @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Thurs/Apr 27 JOSH BERMAN/KEEFE JACKSON duo @ Underlying Themes – all ages
Thurs/Apr 27 ESSEX GREEN w/HIGH WATER MARKS @ The Dame
Fri/Apr 28 MASTERS OF THE HEMISPHERE w/THE ELEPHANTS, JE SUIS FRANCE, BUGS EAT BOOKS, and THE WEE TURTLES @ Underlying Themes – all ages
Sun/Apr 30 THE PUNKS @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Fri/May 5 THE QUEERS w/CITY MOUSE @ The Dame
Fri/May 5 FRUIT BATS w/SAM JAYNE @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Wed/May 10 MANDARIN MOVIE (members of Chicago Underground Duo and Triage) w/BLASTOCYST and SHARKS WITH WINGS @ Mecca, 451 Chair Ave
Sun/May 14 JOSEPHINE FOSTER @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Tues/May 16 THE JOGGERS @ The Dame
:: Pertinent resources ::
__Lexington__
THE DAME, 156 W.Main St, Lexington - http://www.dameky.com
MECCA dance studio/gallery, 451 Chair Avenue, off S.Broadway near Bolivar - http://www.meccadance.com
UNDERLYING THEMES LOFT SPACE, 110 S. Upper (above Busters) – http://www.underlyingthemes.com
CHARLES MANSION – http://www.charlesmansion.org
FIREBIRD STUDIO, 359 W. Short St – http://firebirdlexington.com
HIGH LIFE LOUNGE, University Plaza (corner of Rose and Euclid) – ph. 859/455-8890
NATASHA'S CAFE, 112 Esplanade - http://www.beetnik.com/
FAUNTLEROY’S CAFÉ, 640 W. Maxwell – ph. 859/455-8188
THE ICEHOUSE, 412 Cross St (off W.Maxwell), Lexington
DOWNTOWN ARTS CENTER, 141 E. Main St, Lexington – http://www.lexarts.org
ARTSPLACE, 161 N.Mill St, Lexington
LEXINGTONSHOWS.com (all ages show listings) - http://www.lexingtonshows.com
COUNTER FICTION (metal/punk/hardcore all ages show listings) – http://www.counterfiction.com
CRICKET PRESS (amazing local poster art) - http://www.cricket-press.com
WRFL 88.1FM (UK's student-run radio station) - http://wrfl.uky.edu
YOU AIN’T NO PICASSO (great locally-produced music blog) – http://www.youaintnopicasoo.com
__Louisville__
LAVA (Louisville Assembly of Vanguard Artists) HOUSE - 927 Shelby Parkway, Louisville - http://www.lavahouse.org
HEADLINERS MUSIC HALL, Louisville - 1386 Lexington Road, ph. 502/584-8088 - www.headlinerslouisville.com
UNCLE PLEASANTS, 2126 S. Preston, Louisville - p.502/634-4147
THE RUDYARD KIPLING, 422 West Oak Street, Louisville -
http://www.therudyardkipling.com/pages/206999/index.htm
OLD LOUISVILLE COFFEHOUSE, 1489 S. Fourth St, Louisville - ph. 502/635-6660
PRODUCTION SIMPLE (produce many of the events at Headliners and Uncle Pleasants) – http://www.productionsimple.com
__Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky__
THE SOUTHGATE HOUSE, Newport, KY - http://www.southgatehouse.com
ALCHEMIZE, 1122 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, OH – http://www.alchemizebar.com
THE COMET, 4579 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.cometbar.com
BOGART'S, 2621 Vine St, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.bogarts.com
THE MOCKBEE (formerly SS NOVA), 2260 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.ssnova.org
NORTHSIDE TAVERN, 4163 Hamilton Ave, Cincinnati, OH – http://www.northside-tavern.com
Know of an upcoming event that others should get hip to? Let us know - email informationactivists@yahoo.com
All Picks by Ross Compton unless otherwise noted.
:::::::::::::: QUESTIONS/COMMENTS/SUBMISSIONS ::::::::::::::::::::::::
email thelexingtonproject@yahoo.com
Here's the new issue. Thanks to Robert Beatty, Chris Bush, and Eli Riveire for help with the Picks.
Ross
:::::::::::::::::::::::: Announcements :::::::::::::::::::::::::::
** Thurs/March 30 - Anne Feeney and Jack Erdie concert at Natasha’s Café
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth invites you to a fundraiser/performance by Anne Feeney and Jack Erdie, Thurday, March 30th at Natasha’s Café,112 Esplanade (just off Main, across from the Kentucky Theatre). Come out and celebrate the struggle for economic and social justice while enjoying great music, food, and company! Based in Pittsburgh, PA, Anne Feeney is the granddaughter of an intrepid mineworkers' organizer, who also used music to carry the message of solidarity to working people. After two decades of community activism and regional performances at rallies, Anne took her message on the road. Since 1991 Anne has traveled to the frontlines in 40 states, Canada, Mexico, Ireland and Sweden. Her anthem “Have You Been to Jail for Justice?” is being performed by Peter, Paul and Mary. Dubbed the "minister of culture" to the movements for economic and social justice and human rights, Anne is "the best labor singer in North_America" according to Utah Phillips. "Jack stands apart from the crowd. His songwriting transcends the merely personal to a place of common experience that will make his songs relevant and meaningful to most listeners" - The Folk and Music_Exchange COST: $10 sliding scale donation suggested to continue Kentuckians For The Commonwealth's work for economic justice. No donation is too small (or too large). For more information, contact Dave Newton at Dave_HN@yahoo.com or (859) 420-8919.
** Fri/March 31 - Critical Mass
Grab your bike and join Critical Mass this Friday, March 31st at 5pm. Peeps will gather at Woodland Park (corner of Kentucky and High Sts) and head out from there. It’s all in the spirit of promoting bike awareness, safety, and alternative transportation. This month’s ride heads to a special destination – the 1st annual ‘Pedal the Planet’ bike film festival at the Thomas Hunt Morgan House, 210 North Broadway St., Lexington, KY. The film festival starts at 6pm and will be followed by a concert at 10pm. $10 donation at the door gets you into both events. As the flyer suggests, you can expect “food, beer, bike movies, and people in spandex.” For more info, contact politicalhero@hotmail.com.
** Fri+Sat/March 31+April 1 - UKon
On Friday March 31st the Miskatonic Student Union invites you to join them for fund raising and two days of gaming fun - the 9th annual UKon, located at the UK Student Center third floor ballroom. The action runs from 6pm til midnight on Friday, March 31st and 10am til midnight on Saturday, April 1st. It’s a chance to share your love of games with the fellowship of Lexington area gamers. Enjoy tabletop role-playing games, collectable card games and Live Action Role Playing. There will be live action demonstrations by the gaming group NERO, seminars on the Role Playing Game Association and the Living Arcanis campaign, as well as a Dance, Dance Revolution contest (!) in the Cats Den on Saturday starting at 2 PM. Admission is $5 a day. All ages welcome. For further information contact Edward Kopp at ejkopp@msn.com or call 859/225-8245.
** Sat/April 1 – Beaux Arts Ball
The architecture department’s annual exercise in excess goes down this Saturday, April 1 at The Red Mile. Tickets are available at CD Central, 377 S. Limestone, for $20 ($21 with credit or debit card). While supplies last, they'll also throw in a free t-shirt from last year's event with each ticket purchase.
** Mon/April 3 - Middle Eastern Hand Drumming with Tobias Roberson
Monday, April 3rd, Mecca: Live Studio and Gallery, 451 Chair Avenue (just off S. Broadway near Bolivar), will host two workshops by acclaimed musician and drum instructor Tobias Roberson. From 6-7:30pm, Tobias will teach Middle Eastern Hand Drumming. From 7:30-9pm, he’ll teach Finger Cymbal technique. Fee for each workshop is $30 in advance, $40 at the door. For more info, call 254-9790 or email info@meccadance.com.
** Thurs/April 6 - Student Installation Exhibition at Georgetown College
All are invited to the Student Installation Exhibition gallery opening and reception Thursday, April 6th from 5-7pm at Georgetown College (corner of College and Mulberry Sts, Georgetown, KY). Free eats and free admission! For more info contact Elissa Morley at 502.863.8399 or Elissa_Morley@georgetowncollege.edu.
** Sat/April 8 and Sat/April 15 – Upcoming In-Store performances at CD Central
CD Central continues its anniversary celebration with two in-store performances. Saturday, April 8th, it’s an acoustic performance by The Sixth Floor. Saturday, April 15, it’s our friends Scourge of the Sea and as-yet-unamed special guests. Both shows kick-off at 3pm and are FREE. All ages welcome. For more info, call the store at 233-3472.
** Elmwood CSA
Our good friends Mac and Ambi of Georgetown’s Elmwood Stock Farm are currently registering members for their CSA. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members participate in their own food supply by committing to share in the harvest of a local farm. Members purchase shares in the spring, and each week we harvest and distribute the vegetable shares. This is a way to be a part of something positive and guarantees your access to the best of each week's harvest. For the full scoop and registration info, check out http://www.elmwoodstockfarm.com/csa.htm. (NOTE: It’s less than a month until the Farmers’ Market heads back outside! Look for Mac and Ambi and all the other great farms to be back on Vine Street on Saturday, April 8th.)
** Beginner Yoga Classes @ The Massage Center
Cindy Reed is teaching a new beginner yoga class designed for brand new beginners looking to explore the fundamentals of yoga in a safe and nurturing environment. An excellent way to start your practice or a good review for anyone who has been away, this series starts with the basics and progresses through a growing range of poses linked by breath. Classes are Thursdays from 7–8:15pm at The Massage Center in Dudley Square, 380 S. Mill Street. Class fee is $45 for 5 classes or $12 for drop-ins. For more info, contact Cindy at 231-1782.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: THE PICKS :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::: Wednesday, March 29 through Wednesday, April 12 :::::::::::
:: Thursday, March 30 ::
EXTREME ANIMALS w/FERRIS WHEEL, FORTRESS OF AMPLITUDE, and more @ The Frowny Bear, 208 Forest Park Rd
9pm, all ages, donations for touring bands, BYOB
A show this Thursday evening at the Frowny Bear (208 Forest Park Rd. in Lexington). Some members of Paperrad.org present their musical side and some multimedia hijinks from all over.
--=Extreme Animals=-- (http://www.paperrad.org/extreme/) Members of the PaperRad collective playing MIDI powered psychedelic disco dance rock. It sounds more like a broken video game with live drums than anything ‘hip’ or ‘cool’ or ‘smart’ though. Last time they played in Lexington they shaved and jammed it half ’stache stylee. Weird.
--=Ferris Wheel=-- (http://www.ferriswheelvideo.org/) Video with live improvisation. Check their website for videos and mp3’s.
--=Fortress of Amplitude=-- (http://www.paperrad.org/fortress/) More PaperRad insanity, this time possibly involving guitars?
--=An as of yet unnamed local band will play some triple synthesizer psychedelic goo for you to kick things off.
Also there will be some PaperRad videos shown throughout the night. Check some of them out at http://www.paperrad.org
- Robert Beatty
:: Friday, March 31 ::
THE TOIDS w/RAKADU GYPSY DANCE @ The Dame
early show – 7pm, ages 21+, $7
Balkan jazz from the Bay Area and our homegrown bellydance icons. Sounds pretty good. Recommended to fans of Devotchka, Gogol Bordello, and Roberto Rodriguez. Look for Trevor Tremaine from Hair Police and Eyes and Arms of Smoke sitting in with the musicians for Rakadu’s set. More info at http://www.thetoids.com and http://meccadance.com.
:: Friday, March 31 ::
KRS-ONE @ The Dame
late show – 10pm, ages 21+, $15
Hip hop legend returns to Lexington.
:: Tuesday, April 4 ::
HALF HANDED CLOUD w/LIZ JANES & CREATE(!) and THE ARCHITECTS @ Underlying Themes, 110 S. Upper
8pm, all ages, $3
Fresh off tour as part of Sufjan Stevens' Illinoise-makers, the nicest man in the world, John Ringhofer, assumes his alter-ego, HALF HANDED CLOUD, for a tour of his own. Expect joyous, short-attention span psychedelic-pop. Recommended strongly to fans of Of Montreal (circa Coquelicot Asleep In The Poppies), the Danielson Famile, Olivia Tremor Control, and Page France. Joining HHC is another Asthmatic Kitty recording artist Liz Janes & Create(!). Soulful bedroom pop that touches on country folk and jazz – recommended to fans of Jolie Holland and Sufjan Stevens. Janes' performance at High on Rose was awe-inspiring. (Hopefully, she’ll have more homemade coloring books for sale.) The show also represents the debut of The Architects, a collaboration between two of my favorite songwriters - the Elephants' Jason Zavala and Jeremy Midkiff of Big Fresh and Gaudi. For more info and FREE sounds, check out AsthmaticKitty.com. [FULL DISCLOSURE: I helped organize this show.]
:: Wednesday, April 5 ::
THE BRUNETTES w/CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH! @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
8pm doors, 9pm show, ages 18+, $14
A double shot of short picks from Ross and Eli …
New Zealand is sending her cutest and cuddliest ambassadors, new Sub Pop signees The Brunettes, over to win our hearts. Don’t bother putting up a fight – they’ll win. Don’t believe me? Go to http://www.lilchiefrecords.co.nz/brunettes/listen2_hhfd.html, click on ‘Dancefloor’ and try to resist the charm. It’s impossible. - Ross
Looking for some of the sweetest pop from New Zealand? Well sure, we all are, right? Look no further than Newport next week, as it plays host to the magnificent Brunettes! Join in on the fun that's sure to promise dancing, smiling, and a general sense of happiness. Some of my favorite Brunettes songs include everday topics like that falling in love with a best friend takes time (like learning the clarinet!), cute girls at record stores, and height differences being relationship issues - but in a really cute way. Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity for fun in the (feels like) sun. New Zealand's pretty far away, dude - who knows when they'll be back!
Oh yeah, I guess they're opening for that band from Brooklyn, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! Whatever. They'll steal the show for sure.
All kinds of fun Brunettes activities can be found here: http://www.lilchiefrecords.com/brunettes/
This website has pretty wallpaper: http://clapyourhandssayyeah.com/news.php
- Eli Riveire
:: Friday, April 7 ::
JACK ROSE w/FURSAXA and KEENAN LAWLER @ Mecca, 451 Chair Avenue
8pm, all ages, $5
On Friday April 7th WRFL will host Jack Rose, Fursaxa, and Keenan Lawler at Mecca Studio and Gallery for a show garnering so much mystic appeal that even the holy Vishnu is amped.
Jack Rose has been known for quite sometime as a leading disciple of the twelve-stringed guitar, the most popular reference point to his musical style being John Fahey. Though, Jack Rose’s particular reunion of traditional Eastern ragas and primitive American guitar are all his own. As his approach alternates from well-structured finger plucking guitar to trance ridden strums Rose’s music reconciles the familiar and profound.
Fursaxa is the solo project of Philadelphia’s own acid-folk chanteuse Tara Burke. The Fursaxa sound is birthed from a combination of choral chanting, trance guitar, and the occasional organ. Like that of Rose, the Fursaxa cry seems both a personal hymn and an outward challenge to meditation. They are the unassuming and ruminative songs that are striking for their humility and inspiring for their beauty.
Keenan Lawler comes to town as Louisville’s emissary of experimental guitar. He has worked with everyone from avant guitar heavy weight Rhys Chatham to the electronic duo Matmos, and his musical philosophy comes not just from the likes of Fahey and Rose, but from the work of 20th century minimalist composers Terry Riley and Tony Conrad.
It’s eerily fitting that a line up drawing so heavily from Eastern mysticism and backwoods simplicity has found its way to Kentucky’s Rakadu Gypsy Dance temple. Though, dwelling on such matters is missing the point. Just throw your thankful fists up to Krishna or Johnny Appleseed and find solace in the fact that this show was meant to be.
– Chris Bush
http://www.vhfrecords.com/jackrose/, http://www.fursaxa.net, http://www.konstant.com/
:: Tuesday, April 11 ::
THE EASTERN SEABOARD @ Buster’s
10pm, ages 21+, FREE (donations accepted for the band)
The Eastern Seaboard = three young dudes playing ‘classic’ (read: energetic and extremely melodic) free jazz ala Ornette Coleman and Archie Shepp. FREE sounds and more info at http://theeasternseaboard.com. [FULL DISCLOSURE: I helped organize this show.]
:: Also worthwhile in the March 29 – April 12 timeframe ::
Every Friday RAKADU GYPSY DANCE @ Nema’s Grille (Frankfort) – meccadance.com
Wed/Mar 29 THE LEGENDARY SHACKSHAKERS w/SCOTT H. BIRAM @ The Dame
Fri/Mar 31 EMILY HAGIHARA @ Underlying Themes – all ages
Fri/Mar 31 BOB MOULD @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Sat/Apr 1 SCOTT MILLER AND THE COMMONWEALTH @ The Dame
Sat/Apr 1 MAZARIN w/THE DOUBLE and LAB PARTNERS @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Sun/Apr 2 VERY EMERGENCY w/HEARTHROB, DUST FROM A THOUSAND YEARS, and BRANDON HARROD @ 129 Clay Avenue – FREE, all ages, 6:30pm
Mon/Apr 3 HIMSA w/FULL BLOWN CHAOS, MANNTIS, THE CLASSIC STRUGGLE, PHLEGETHON, and CADAVER IN DRAG @ Downtown Arts Center, 141 E. Main – http://www.counterfiction.com
Mon/Apr 3 “First Monday” Mecca Open Stage @ Natasha’s Café, 112 Esplanade – FREE, 9:30pm
Tues/Apr 4 HANK III @ The Dame
Tues/Apr 4 SCOUT NIBLETT @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Wed/Apr 5 PETTICOAT, PETTICOAT @ The Dame
Thurs/Apr 6 JACKIE-O-MOTHERFUCKER @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Fri/Apr 7 PARLOUR BOYS w/NANA AND THE BOY NOISE @ The Dame
Sat/Apr 8 SEXUAL DISASTER QUARTET w/THE CINEMATIC UNDERGROUND @ The Dame
Sun/Apr 9 THE CLOUD ROOM @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Tues/Apr 11 NO THINGS (ex-Liars) @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Wed/Apr 12 DEAD MEADOW @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
:: Soon Soon ::
Thurs/Apr 13 JOSEPHINE FOSTER AND THE SUPPOSED w/DAVE REMPIS PERCUSSION QUARTET @ Mecca – all ages
Fri/Apr 14 SCOURGE OF THE SEA w/KITTYHAWK @ The Dame
Sat/Apr 15 COUSIN w/THE MELODY FUNCTION and COL. KNOWLEDGE AND THE LICKITY-SPLITS @ Underlying Themes – all ages
Sat/Apr 15 RHETT MILLER AND THE BELIEVERS @ Headliners (Louisville) – ages 18+
Sun/Apr 16 ROSIE THOMAS @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Wed/Apr 19 AB BAARS QUARTET presents “Kinda Dukish” @ Underlying Themes – all ages
Thurs/Apr 20 RC PRO AM record release party w/THE SMACKS! and more @ The Dame
Thurs/Apr 20 ENON @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Sun/Apr 23 JOSH RITTER w/HEM @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Thurs/Apr 27 JOSH BERMAN/KEEFE JACKSON duo @ Underlying Themes – all ages
Thurs/Apr 27 ESSEX GREEN w/HIGH WATER MARKS @ The Dame
Fri/Apr 28 MASTERS OF THE HEMISPHERE w/THE ELEPHANTS, JE SUIS FRANCE, BUGS EAT BOOKS, and THE WEE TURTLES @ Underlying Themes – all ages
Sun/Apr 30 THE PUNKS @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Fri/May 5 THE QUEERS w/CITY MOUSE @ The Dame
Fri/May 5 FRUIT BATS w/SAM JAYNE @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Wed/May 10 MANDARIN MOVIE (members of Chicago Underground Duo and Triage) w/BLASTOCYST and SHARKS WITH WINGS @ Mecca, 451 Chair Ave
Sun/May 14 JOSEPHINE FOSTER @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Tues/May 16 THE JOGGERS @ The Dame
:: Pertinent resources ::
__Lexington__
THE DAME, 156 W.Main St, Lexington - http://www.dameky.com
MECCA dance studio/gallery, 451 Chair Avenue, off S.Broadway near Bolivar - http://www.meccadance.com
UNDERLYING THEMES LOFT SPACE, 110 S. Upper (above Busters) – http://www.underlyingthemes.com
CHARLES MANSION – http://www.charlesmansion.org
FIREBIRD STUDIO, 359 W. Short St – http://firebirdlexington.com
HIGH LIFE LOUNGE, University Plaza (corner of Rose and Euclid) – ph. 859/455-8890
NATASHA'S CAFE, 112 Esplanade - http://www.beetnik.com/
FAUNTLEROY’S CAFÉ, 640 W. Maxwell – ph. 859/455-8188
THE ICEHOUSE, 412 Cross St (off W.Maxwell), Lexington
DOWNTOWN ARTS CENTER, 141 E. Main St, Lexington – http://www.lexarts.org
ARTSPLACE, 161 N.Mill St, Lexington
LEXINGTONSHOWS.com (all ages show listings) - http://www.lexingtonshows.com
COUNTER FICTION (metal/punk/hardcore all ages show listings) – http://www.counterfiction.com
CRICKET PRESS (amazing local poster art) - http://www.cricket-press.com
WRFL 88.1FM (UK's student-run radio station) - http://wrfl.uky.edu
YOU AIN’T NO PICASSO (great locally-produced music blog) – http://www.youaintnopicasoo.com
__Louisville__
LAVA (Louisville Assembly of Vanguard Artists) HOUSE - 927 Shelby Parkway, Louisville - http://www.lavahouse.org
HEADLINERS MUSIC HALL, Louisville - 1386 Lexington Road, ph. 502/584-8088 - www.headlinerslouisville.com
UNCLE PLEASANTS, 2126 S. Preston, Louisville - p.502/634-4147
THE RUDYARD KIPLING, 422 West Oak Street, Louisville -
http://www.therudyardkipling.com/pages/206999/index.htm
OLD LOUISVILLE COFFEHOUSE, 1489 S. Fourth St, Louisville - ph. 502/635-6660
PRODUCTION SIMPLE (produce many of the events at Headliners and Uncle Pleasants) – http://www.productionsimple.com
__Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky__
THE SOUTHGATE HOUSE, Newport, KY - http://www.southgatehouse.com
ALCHEMIZE, 1122 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, OH – http://www.alchemizebar.com
THE COMET, 4579 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.cometbar.com
BOGART'S, 2621 Vine St, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.bogarts.com
THE MOCKBEE (formerly SS NOVA), 2260 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.ssnova.org
NORTHSIDE TAVERN, 4163 Hamilton Ave, Cincinnati, OH – http://www.northside-tavern.com
Know of an upcoming event that others should get hip to? Let us know - email informationactivists@yahoo.com
All Picks by Ross Compton unless otherwise noted.
:::::::::::::: QUESTIONS/COMMENTS/SUBMISSIONS ::::::::::::::::::::::::
email thelexingtonproject@yahoo.com
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
TLP March 15, 2006
Here's the slim new issue. Thanks to J.Todd Dockery for the help with the Picks. (Don't miss the second "Know Your Own" release party this Friday.)
Hope all are well.
Ross
:::::::::::::::::::::::: Announcements :::::::::::::::::::::::::::
** Fri/March 17 - “Know Your Own” vol. 2 release party #2
Still haven’t gotten your copy of the new local music comp “Know Your Own” vol. 2? Friday’s your chance to grab your FREE copy and catch five of the bands – Eyes and Arms of Smoke, Warmer Milks, The Oxford Farm Report, Ideal Free Distribution, and City Mouse - live. Check out J.Todd Dockery’s preview in the Picks for full details. (If you’re looking to snag a copy of the comp but can’t make it to the show, stop by CD Central or Third Street Stuff. Those are the spots that get restocked most often. And, you can download the entire disc at http://wrfl881.org.)
** Elmwood CSA
Our good friends Mac and Ambi of Georgetown’s Elmwood Stock Farm are currently registering members for their CSA. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members participate in their own food supply by committing to share in the harvest of a local farm. Members purchase shares in the spring, and each week we harvest and distribute the vegetable shares. This is a way to be a part of something positive and guarantees your access to the best of each week's harvest. For the full scoop and registration info, check out http://www.elmwoodstockfarm.com/csa.htm. (NOTE: It’s less than a month until the Farmers’ Market heads back outside! Look for Mac and Ambi and all the other great farms to be back on Vine Street on Saturday, April 8th.)
** Wed-Fri, March 22-24 - Surprise Theatre at Natasha’s Cafe
Lookout for another round of “Surprise Theatre” next weekend at Natasha’s, 112 Esplanade (across from the Kentucky Theatre. Here’s the description from the Natasha’s website – “‘Surprise Theatre’ is the culmination of the ‘intimate theatre’ idea that developed over these three years of doing theatre at Natasha’s. One-act plays hidden in restaurant service with no advertisement of story or cast, intending to ‘spring up’ suddenly during an evening of dining taking their audience off guard first occurred in July 2005.” For reservations call the restaurant at 259-2754. Cover is $5. All ages welcome.
** Fri+Sat/March 31+April 1 - UKon
On Friday March 31st the Miskatonic Student Union invites you to join them for fund raising and two days of gaming fun - the 9th annual UKon, located at the UK Student Center third floor ballroom. The action runs from 6pm til midnight on Friday, March 31st and 10am til midnight on Saturday, April 1st. It’s a chance to share your love of games with the fellowship of Lexington area gamers. Enjoy tabletop role-playing games, collectable card games and Live Action Role Playing. There will be live action demonstrations by the gaming group NERO, seminars on the Role Playing Game Association and the Living Arcanis campaign, as well as a Dance, Dance Revolution contest (!) in the Cats Den on Saturday starting at 2 PM. Admission is $5 a day. All ages welcome. For further information contact Edward Kopp at ejkopp@msn.com or call 859/225-8245.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: THE PICKS :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::: Wednesday, March 15 through Wednesday, March 29 :::::::::::
:: Friday, March 17 ::
“Know Your Own” vol.2 release party with CITY MOUSE, IDEAL FREE DISTRIBUTION, THE OXFORD FARM REPORT, WARMER MILKS, and EYES AND ARMS OF SMOKE @ The Dame
9pm, ages 21+, $3
"And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel, thy brother? And he said, I know not: am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground."
Genesis 4:9-10
"Lot's wife...you remember this Bible story? She looked behind her and turned into a pillar of salt. Well, I was down on Main street today...saw a chick turn into the alley..."
--Redd Foxx
I like to see shows with seemingly incongruous line ups. It's not something one sees all that often, whether it's due to the buy-sell mentality of corporate marketability (if we're looking way up the skirt of the "free" market food chain), or it's due to more basic, localized, grass-roots divisions of musical taste and social circulations, the divisions of which can be but are not always even conscious ones by the musicians, venues (be it a house or a club/bar with a liquor license instead of, ya know, byob), and/or promoters. It's much easier to sell and be seen and to be known thru the glass of superficial affiliation, but it ain't good for the soul, brothers and sisters.
But, as I said, I like shows with SEEMINGLY incongruous lineups, and that is the tradition that this second Know Your Own compilation release celebration continues from the first release show. As is often revealed with any actual process of learning and experience (as, opposed, to ya know, watching the Fox news channel, for example), the differences between people, and the sounds that people make, are simply superficial differences; the more one knows, ideally, the more one sould discern that ye olde fundamental truths arise from the basic fundamental similarities between people, even those similarities that turn us against one another. Also, some people are just shits, but that's a common fact, too. The human DNA contains less diversity than any other mammal on the planet. Outside of probably proving that, as a species, we're all some sort of forgotten science experiment left by a more advanced intelligence (an E.T. or the gods (or Thee God, if mono-theism is your thing)...pick one according to your personal preference), I would postulate that we are forever much more alike, as people, than we are different, and always and continually have and will be, if you'll forgive my fancy-pants redundant babble.
I like the phrase Ross Compton has invoked to describe these two collections, "Know your own." This second compilation, as the first, suggests, to my ears, by the sound of its title, I think, that it's our own arrogance that would keep us from recognizing our own community, our own people, our own sounds, how else could one NOT know one's own? It's a sudden and interesting awareness that one doesn't know one's "own". Happens to me all the time. Any chance/platform, and Compton has twicely provided Lexington the medium of a free compilation, to know our own, to know ourselves, it's a good thing...knowing...gnosis...
City Mouse, to me, is about the craft of writing songs. We could apply labels to them: punk, pop-punk, alternative, but I believe the only labels that the voice of these songs would trust would be the labels on the chosen adult bottled beverage that sits next to the lyric sheet aside the ashtray with the cigarette burning down as the molecules converge from the atomsphere and give form to heart-ache, dissillusion, and other grim realities of experience. That is what song-writing, the craft of it, is about, giving form to make accessible and recognizable these silent, internal processes we all experience, and all these bands that I will survey have this, albeit in remarkably differing, remarkably similar ways. City Mouse is the voice of seemingly unadorned reality. Seemingly, because it's a type of adornment to make something appear unadorned. They rock. They make you feel. Spunky, intelligent stuff.
Ideal Free Distribution refer to themselves as psychedelic, but rather than actually sounding like a more primitive, abstracted version of this term in popular music (and when I use the word popular, I don't just mean top of the pops, I mean, as in not of the classical tradition), they lean more towards legibility. In other words, the translation (if not transmigration) of the psychedelic experience into the form of song writing, expression in song. In other words, these guys are catchy, and, thusly, you can catch on to their pschyedelic inferences through their songs. More like the Lemon Pipers or the Kinks than the inscrutability of an actual auidtory hallucination, this band is able to tell us about it, blissfully. You can sing along.
The Oxford Farm Report are more enthusiastically brash and savage in their approach than either City Mouse or Ideal Free Distribution. Their prog rock/post-punk/no wave slip is showing (that means they may very well be wearing three slips at once). With angular, shuddering stops, starts, and an exuberant willingness to apparently change their minds about what song they are playing when they are playing it collectively as a streamlined band is not an easy collection of contradictions to manage at the same time. That could be genius if you go by F. Scott Fitzgerald's definition, or it could be genus, or it could be Genesis, either with or without Phil Collins and/or with or without the gods (if you're properly translating).
As we hurtle, turning in space towards what will reveal themselves to be the final paragraphs of this prose missive, we enter into what Stan Lee and Jack Kirby might have depicted as the Negative Zone in the classic run of the Fantastic Four comic, or for that matter, straight into what Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick revealed in the flickering light and shadow of the cinema in 2001.
We enter further AND farther into the realm of the Eyes and Arms of Smoke. Smoke is the operative word here, 'cause these lasses and lads are directly involved in expeditions into the ineffable ... alternately transparent, opaque, possibly acidic or possibly pleasant, one can see it right in front of one's face one moment, it is gone the next, and forever ungraspable; this is their collective groupings of sounds, and the method of their grouping is a ritualistic excercise, a reaction to loudness that asks the audience/listener to move in closer (figuratively AND literally), a band that mediates between the fragmenting volume of the modern world and the moment of entering into a sustained meditation apart from that world. Avant-garde is perhaps a useless term here because ultimately these are the means and ends of all enlightenment; these impulses are ancient, but evidence of them unlikely in the post-Industrial age. Commerce and mechanization has rendered philosophy and the spirit as enemies to its belching need for reality control, and this band is fighting fire with smoke.
Warmer Milks are just as engaged directly with the enigma of sound itself as Eyes and Arms of Smoke. In the recordings of Warmer Milks, those that I am familiar with, the lyrical ponderings themselves often are kept just slightly out of the range of direct perception, submerged and merging with the haunting strains of musical instruments just around the corner from expected harmony, opening up vistas of the reality inside of immediately perceptible reality. This is alchemy, and it can even be blasphemy if not just plainly befuddl(ed)ing, but often at its best, all these elements combine in Warmer Milks to put to work a process of distillation, and at the end of that process, we find ourselves engaged with a poetry not of language and of song, but a poetry of what happens when a band makes use of the material in lapses in language and sound, and then makes that itself a song. It's the kind of thing Jack Kerouac seemed to fumble towards with poetry, and these following lines from Mexico City Blues seem to be the kind of language that would be right at home and of sound logic in the Warmer Milks universe, "Praised be man, he is existing in milk/and living in lillies/And his violin music takes place in milk/and creamy emptiness."
As Gene Simmons of Kiss once said, "Why can't I like steak and cheese cake?" The connective tissue between all of these bands are the connections I like to make. As an audience member/listener, I'm interested in various aspects of abstraction, of expression, of human (or inhuman) experience translated into sound, and even into the spectacle of theatrics. I like songs, too. And all of these groups have them. Not only that, in their own individual ways, they are all quite good at them. I want to get to know all these groups better and get to know their live performances better. This particular night I'll be in Louisville, obligated to spread my own musical gospel and glad to take in the experience of our musical peers appearing with us up and over there...to steal a phrase from a writer who poo-pooed the aforementioned Kerouac, Truman Capote: other voices, other rooms.
So I ask of you, for you, dear reader, to go explore, get to know yourself, and others; know your own. Let's fill up rooms with our intact bodies and minds, not solitary, isolated ego. The solitary, isolated ego eats itself.
- J. Todd Dockery
band (comp track – website)
CITY MOUSE (track 8 - http://myspace.com/citymouse)
IDEAL FREE DISTRIBUTION (track 2 - http://myspace.com/idealfreedistribution)
THE OXFORD FARM REPORT (track 3 - http://myspace.com/theoxfordfarmreport)
WARMER MILKS (track 12 - http://www.warmermilks.com)
EYES AND ARMS OF SMOKE (track 28 - http://www.cenotaph.org/eyesandarms)
:: Tuesday, March 21 ::
ALOHA w/SWEARING AT MOTORISTS and ATTEMPT @ The Dame
9pm, ages 21+, $5
Aloha = intensely rhythmic post-post-rock (think, equally groove obsessed, but less lethargic) from Ohio. The new sound is less vibe oriented. I’ve heard they’re a great live band. Swearing At Motorists = stripped down rock from two Dayton dudes who love to get stoned. (Might be time to check the air in the tires). Attempt = new Lex group led by Hair PoPo/Eyes and Arms of Smoke member Trevor Tremaine and featuring members of Warmer Milks and The High Water Marks. Prog-pop for the new generation. Recommended to fans of Big Fresh and Von Hemmling. FREE sounds all ‘round at http://www.musicofaloha.com, http://myspace.com/swearingatmotorists, http://swearingatmotorists.com/, and http://myspace.com/attempt.
:: Thursday, March 23 ::
MARISSA NADLER w/J. GLENN @ Lisa’s Oak Street Lounge, 1004 E. Oak Street (Louisville)
A recommendation from our friend Brian Ronk who describes Nadler as “hauntingly beautiful Josephine (Foster) folk … but somewhat darker.” Check out http://www.myspace.com/songsoftheend and http://www.marissanadler.com for FREE downloads.
:: Saturday, March 25 ::
THE FEATURES w/THE APPARITIONS and J.RODDY WALSTON AND THE BUSINESS @ The Dame
9pm, ages 21+, $5
Three sharp, energetic pop bands. The Features = “a curious mix of new wave, Strokes style backbeats, and a classic rock sound” (Bullit). They’re one of my all-time favorite live bands. If you haven’t heard them before, do not pass go – go straight to http://features.echoconnect.com/exhibit.php for a FREE download. Then, backtrack to http://myspace.com/thefeatures and http://www.thefeatures.com for the full scoop. The Apparitions = “guitar-based power pop that's jangly, fuzzy, and full of infectious energy” (The Onion). J-Roddy Walston and the Business = “equal parts ragtime, southern trash rock and McCartney-esque classic rock, with some gospel and barbershop thrown in,” or so says the Washington Post. http://www.theapparitions.net, http://myspace.com/theapparitions, http://www.jroddy.com, http://myspace.com/jroddy.
:: Sunday, March 26 ::
MY WAY MY LOVE w/THE OXFORD FARM REPORT @ The Dame
7pm, ages 18+, $5
My Way My Love = stylish Japanese (the lyrics are in English) noise punk. Check out the FREE sounds at http://www.mywaymylove.com. The Oxford Farm Report = grand Lexington weirdness. If you’re playing along with your copy of “Know Your Own” 2, click to track 3. If you don’t have the comp handy, head to http://myspace.com/theoxfordfarmreport for a taste.
:: Also worthwhile in the March 1-March 15 timeframe ::
Every Friday RAKADU GYPSY DANCE @ Nema’s Grille (Frankfort) – meccadance.com
Fri/Mar 17 “Know Your Own” vol.2 release party featuring EYES AND ARMS OF SMOKE, WARMER MILKS, OXFORD FARM REPORT, IDEAL FREE DISTRIBUTION, and CITY MOUSE @ The Dame
Sat/Mar 18 MySpace Meetup @ The Dame
Tues/Mar 21 ALOHA w/SWEARING AT MOTORISTS and ATTEMPT @ The Dame
Thurs/Mar 23 ROBINELLA @ The Dame
Fri/Mar 24 G-FUNK @ The Dame
Fri/Mar 24 ERIN McKEOWN TRIO w/MELISSA FERRICK @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Sat/Mar 25 THE FEATURES w/THE APPARITIONS and J.RODDY WALSTON AND THE BUSINESS @ The Dame
Sun/Mar 26 MY WAY MY LOVE w/OXFORD FARM REPORT @ The Dame – ages 18+
Mon/Mar 27 Open Mic w/CHARLIE WHITTINGTON @ The Dame – FREE
Tues/Mar 28 THE OPEN HANDS w/LOWBROW NOBILITY @ The Dame
Wed/Mar 29 THE LEGENDARY SHACKSHAKERS w/SCOTT H. BIRAM @ The Dame
:: Soon Soon ::
Fri/Mar 31 RAKADU GYPSY DANCE w/EYES AND ARMS OF SMOKE and THE TOIDS @ The Dame – early show
Fri/Mar 31 KRS-ONE @ The Dame – late show
Fri/Mar 31 BOB MOULD @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Sat/Apr 1 SCOTT MILLER AND THE COMMONWEALTH @ The Dame
Sat/Apr 1 MAZARIN w/THE DOUBLE @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Mon/Apr 3 HIMSA w/FULL BLOWN CHAOS, MANNTIS, THE CLASSIC STRUGGLE, PHLEGETHON, and CADAVER IN DRAG @ Downtown Arts Center, 141 E. Main – http://www.counterfiction.com
Tues/Apr 4 HALF HANDED CLOUD w/LIZ JANES + CREATE! and THE ARCHITECTS (members of Big Fresh and the Elephants) @ Underlying Themes, 110 S. Upper – all ages
Tues/Apr 4 HANK III @ The Dame
Wed/Apr 5 THE BRUNETTES w/CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Thurs/Apr 6 JACKIE-O-MOTHERFUCKER @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Sun/Apr 9 THE CLOUD ROOM @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Tues/Apr 11 THE EASTERN SEABOARD @ Buster’s – FREE
Tues/Apr 11 NO THINGS (ex-Liars) @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Wed/Apr 12 DEAD MEADOW @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Thurs/Apr 13 JOSEPHINE FOSTER AND THE SUPPOSED w/DAVE REMPIS PERCUSSION QUARTET @ Mecca – all ages
Sat/Apr 15 RHETT MILLER AND THE BELIEVERS @ Headliners (Louisville) – ages 18+
Sun/Apr 16 ROSIE THOMAS @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Wed/Apr 19 AB BAARS QUARTET @ Underlying Themes – all ages
Thurs/Apr 20 ENON @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Sun/Apr 23 JOSH RITTER w/HEM @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Wed/May 10 MANDARIN MOVIE (members of Chicago Underground Duo and Triage) w/BLASTOCYST and SHARKS WITH WINGS @ Mecca, 451 Chair Ave
:: Pertinent resources ::
__Lexington__
THE DAME, 156 W.Main St, Lexington - http://www.dameky.com
MECCA dance studio/gallery, 451 Chair Avenue, off S.Broadway near Bolivar - http://www.meccadance.com
UNDERLYING THEMES LOFT SPACE, 110 S. Upper (above Busters) – http://www.underlyingthemes.com
CHARLES MANSION – http://www.charlesmansion.org
FIREBIRD STUDIO, 359 W. Short St – http://firebirdlexington.com
HIGH LIFE LOUNGE, University Plaza (corner of Rose and Euclid) – ph. 859/455-8890
NATASHA'S CAFE, 112 Esplanade - http://www.beetnik.com/
FAUNTLEROY’S CAFÉ, 640 W. Maxwell – ph. 859/455-8188
THE ICEHOUSE, 412 Cross St (off W.Maxwell), Lexington
DOWNTOWN ARTS CENTER, 141 E. Main St, Lexington – http://www.lexarts.org
ARTSPLACE, 161 N.Mill St, Lexington
LEXINGTONSHOWS.com (all ages show listings) - http://www.lexingtonshows.com
COUNTER FICTION (metal/punk/hardcore all ages show listings) – http://www.counterfiction.com
CRICKET PRESS (amazing local poster art) - http://www.cricket-press.com
WRFL 88.1FM (UK's student-run radio station) - http://wrfl.uky.edu
YOU AIN’T NO PICASSO (great locally-produced music blog) – http://www.youaintnopicasoo.com
__Louisville__
LAVA (Louisville Assembly of Vanguard Artists) HOUSE - 927 Shelby Parkway, Louisville - http://www.lavahouse.org
HEADLINERS MUSIC HALL, Louisville - 1386 Lexington Road, ph. 502/584-8088 - www.headlinerslouisville.com
UNCLE PLEASANTS, 2126 S. Preston, Louisville - p.502/634-4147
THE RUDYARD KIPLING, 422 West Oak Street, Louisville -
http://www.therudyardkipling.com/pages/206999/index.htm
OLD LOUISVILLE COFFEHOUSE, 1489 S. Fourth St, Louisville - ph. 502/635-6660
PRODUCTION SIMPLE (produce many of the events at Headliners and Uncle Pleasants) – http://www.productionsimple.com
__Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky__
THE SOUTHGATE HOUSE, Newport, KY - http://www.southgatehouse.com
ALCHEMIZE, 1122 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, OH – http://www.alchemizebar.com
THE COMET, 4579 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.cometbar.com
BOGART'S, 2621 Vine St, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.bogarts.com
THE MOCKBEE (formerly SS NOVA), 2260 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.ssnova.org
NORTHSIDE TAVERN, 4163 Hamilton Ave, Cincinnati, OH – http://www.northside-tavern.com
Know of an upcoming event that others should get hip to? Let us know - email informationactivists@yahoo.com
All Picks by Ross Compton unless otherwise noted.
:::::::::::::: QUESTIONS/COMMENTS/SUBMISSIONS ::::::::::::::::::::::::
email thelexingtonproject@yahoo.com
Hope all are well.
Ross
:::::::::::::::::::::::: Announcements :::::::::::::::::::::::::::
** Fri/March 17 - “Know Your Own” vol. 2 release party #2
Still haven’t gotten your copy of the new local music comp “Know Your Own” vol. 2? Friday’s your chance to grab your FREE copy and catch five of the bands – Eyes and Arms of Smoke, Warmer Milks, The Oxford Farm Report, Ideal Free Distribution, and City Mouse - live. Check out J.Todd Dockery’s preview in the Picks for full details. (If you’re looking to snag a copy of the comp but can’t make it to the show, stop by CD Central or Third Street Stuff. Those are the spots that get restocked most often. And, you can download the entire disc at http://wrfl881.org.)
** Elmwood CSA
Our good friends Mac and Ambi of Georgetown’s Elmwood Stock Farm are currently registering members for their CSA. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members participate in their own food supply by committing to share in the harvest of a local farm. Members purchase shares in the spring, and each week we harvest and distribute the vegetable shares. This is a way to be a part of something positive and guarantees your access to the best of each week's harvest. For the full scoop and registration info, check out http://www.elmwoodstockfarm.com/csa.htm. (NOTE: It’s less than a month until the Farmers’ Market heads back outside! Look for Mac and Ambi and all the other great farms to be back on Vine Street on Saturday, April 8th.)
** Wed-Fri, March 22-24 - Surprise Theatre at Natasha’s Cafe
Lookout for another round of “Surprise Theatre” next weekend at Natasha’s, 112 Esplanade (across from the Kentucky Theatre. Here’s the description from the Natasha’s website – “‘Surprise Theatre’ is the culmination of the ‘intimate theatre’ idea that developed over these three years of doing theatre at Natasha’s. One-act plays hidden in restaurant service with no advertisement of story or cast, intending to ‘spring up’ suddenly during an evening of dining taking their audience off guard first occurred in July 2005.” For reservations call the restaurant at 259-2754. Cover is $5. All ages welcome.
** Fri+Sat/March 31+April 1 - UKon
On Friday March 31st the Miskatonic Student Union invites you to join them for fund raising and two days of gaming fun - the 9th annual UKon, located at the UK Student Center third floor ballroom. The action runs from 6pm til midnight on Friday, March 31st and 10am til midnight on Saturday, April 1st. It’s a chance to share your love of games with the fellowship of Lexington area gamers. Enjoy tabletop role-playing games, collectable card games and Live Action Role Playing. There will be live action demonstrations by the gaming group NERO, seminars on the Role Playing Game Association and the Living Arcanis campaign, as well as a Dance, Dance Revolution contest (!) in the Cats Den on Saturday starting at 2 PM. Admission is $5 a day. All ages welcome. For further information contact Edward Kopp at ejkopp@msn.com or call 859/225-8245.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: THE PICKS :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::: Wednesday, March 15 through Wednesday, March 29 :::::::::::
:: Friday, March 17 ::
“Know Your Own” vol.2 release party with CITY MOUSE, IDEAL FREE DISTRIBUTION, THE OXFORD FARM REPORT, WARMER MILKS, and EYES AND ARMS OF SMOKE @ The Dame
9pm, ages 21+, $3
"And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel, thy brother? And he said, I know not: am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground."
Genesis 4:9-10
"Lot's wife...you remember this Bible story? She looked behind her and turned into a pillar of salt. Well, I was down on Main street today...saw a chick turn into the alley..."
--Redd Foxx
I like to see shows with seemingly incongruous line ups. It's not something one sees all that often, whether it's due to the buy-sell mentality of corporate marketability (if we're looking way up the skirt of the "free" market food chain), or it's due to more basic, localized, grass-roots divisions of musical taste and social circulations, the divisions of which can be but are not always even conscious ones by the musicians, venues (be it a house or a club/bar with a liquor license instead of, ya know, byob), and/or promoters. It's much easier to sell and be seen and to be known thru the glass of superficial affiliation, but it ain't good for the soul, brothers and sisters.
But, as I said, I like shows with SEEMINGLY incongruous lineups, and that is the tradition that this second Know Your Own compilation release celebration continues from the first release show. As is often revealed with any actual process of learning and experience (as, opposed, to ya know, watching the Fox news channel, for example), the differences between people, and the sounds that people make, are simply superficial differences; the more one knows, ideally, the more one sould discern that ye olde fundamental truths arise from the basic fundamental similarities between people, even those similarities that turn us against one another. Also, some people are just shits, but that's a common fact, too. The human DNA contains less diversity than any other mammal on the planet. Outside of probably proving that, as a species, we're all some sort of forgotten science experiment left by a more advanced intelligence (an E.T. or the gods (or Thee God, if mono-theism is your thing)...pick one according to your personal preference), I would postulate that we are forever much more alike, as people, than we are different, and always and continually have and will be, if you'll forgive my fancy-pants redundant babble.
I like the phrase Ross Compton has invoked to describe these two collections, "Know your own." This second compilation, as the first, suggests, to my ears, by the sound of its title, I think, that it's our own arrogance that would keep us from recognizing our own community, our own people, our own sounds, how else could one NOT know one's own? It's a sudden and interesting awareness that one doesn't know one's "own". Happens to me all the time. Any chance/platform, and Compton has twicely provided Lexington the medium of a free compilation, to know our own, to know ourselves, it's a good thing...knowing...gnosis...
City Mouse, to me, is about the craft of writing songs. We could apply labels to them: punk, pop-punk, alternative, but I believe the only labels that the voice of these songs would trust would be the labels on the chosen adult bottled beverage that sits next to the lyric sheet aside the ashtray with the cigarette burning down as the molecules converge from the atomsphere and give form to heart-ache, dissillusion, and other grim realities of experience. That is what song-writing, the craft of it, is about, giving form to make accessible and recognizable these silent, internal processes we all experience, and all these bands that I will survey have this, albeit in remarkably differing, remarkably similar ways. City Mouse is the voice of seemingly unadorned reality. Seemingly, because it's a type of adornment to make something appear unadorned. They rock. They make you feel. Spunky, intelligent stuff.
Ideal Free Distribution refer to themselves as psychedelic, but rather than actually sounding like a more primitive, abstracted version of this term in popular music (and when I use the word popular, I don't just mean top of the pops, I mean, as in not of the classical tradition), they lean more towards legibility. In other words, the translation (if not transmigration) of the psychedelic experience into the form of song writing, expression in song. In other words, these guys are catchy, and, thusly, you can catch on to their pschyedelic inferences through their songs. More like the Lemon Pipers or the Kinks than the inscrutability of an actual auidtory hallucination, this band is able to tell us about it, blissfully. You can sing along.
The Oxford Farm Report are more enthusiastically brash and savage in their approach than either City Mouse or Ideal Free Distribution. Their prog rock/post-punk/no wave slip is showing (that means they may very well be wearing three slips at once). With angular, shuddering stops, starts, and an exuberant willingness to apparently change their minds about what song they are playing when they are playing it collectively as a streamlined band is not an easy collection of contradictions to manage at the same time. That could be genius if you go by F. Scott Fitzgerald's definition, or it could be genus, or it could be Genesis, either with or without Phil Collins and/or with or without the gods (if you're properly translating).
As we hurtle, turning in space towards what will reveal themselves to be the final paragraphs of this prose missive, we enter into what Stan Lee and Jack Kirby might have depicted as the Negative Zone in the classic run of the Fantastic Four comic, or for that matter, straight into what Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick revealed in the flickering light and shadow of the cinema in 2001.
We enter further AND farther into the realm of the Eyes and Arms of Smoke. Smoke is the operative word here, 'cause these lasses and lads are directly involved in expeditions into the ineffable ... alternately transparent, opaque, possibly acidic or possibly pleasant, one can see it right in front of one's face one moment, it is gone the next, and forever ungraspable; this is their collective groupings of sounds, and the method of their grouping is a ritualistic excercise, a reaction to loudness that asks the audience/listener to move in closer (figuratively AND literally), a band that mediates between the fragmenting volume of the modern world and the moment of entering into a sustained meditation apart from that world. Avant-garde is perhaps a useless term here because ultimately these are the means and ends of all enlightenment; these impulses are ancient, but evidence of them unlikely in the post-Industrial age. Commerce and mechanization has rendered philosophy and the spirit as enemies to its belching need for reality control, and this band is fighting fire with smoke.
Warmer Milks are just as engaged directly with the enigma of sound itself as Eyes and Arms of Smoke. In the recordings of Warmer Milks, those that I am familiar with, the lyrical ponderings themselves often are kept just slightly out of the range of direct perception, submerged and merging with the haunting strains of musical instruments just around the corner from expected harmony, opening up vistas of the reality inside of immediately perceptible reality. This is alchemy, and it can even be blasphemy if not just plainly befuddl(ed)ing, but often at its best, all these elements combine in Warmer Milks to put to work a process of distillation, and at the end of that process, we find ourselves engaged with a poetry not of language and of song, but a poetry of what happens when a band makes use of the material in lapses in language and sound, and then makes that itself a song. It's the kind of thing Jack Kerouac seemed to fumble towards with poetry, and these following lines from Mexico City Blues seem to be the kind of language that would be right at home and of sound logic in the Warmer Milks universe, "Praised be man, he is existing in milk/and living in lillies/And his violin music takes place in milk/and creamy emptiness."
As Gene Simmons of Kiss once said, "Why can't I like steak and cheese cake?" The connective tissue between all of these bands are the connections I like to make. As an audience member/listener, I'm interested in various aspects of abstraction, of expression, of human (or inhuman) experience translated into sound, and even into the spectacle of theatrics. I like songs, too. And all of these groups have them. Not only that, in their own individual ways, they are all quite good at them. I want to get to know all these groups better and get to know their live performances better. This particular night I'll be in Louisville, obligated to spread my own musical gospel and glad to take in the experience of our musical peers appearing with us up and over there...to steal a phrase from a writer who poo-pooed the aforementioned Kerouac, Truman Capote: other voices, other rooms.
So I ask of you, for you, dear reader, to go explore, get to know yourself, and others; know your own. Let's fill up rooms with our intact bodies and minds, not solitary, isolated ego. The solitary, isolated ego eats itself.
- J. Todd Dockery
band (comp track – website)
CITY MOUSE (track 8 - http://myspace.com/citymouse)
IDEAL FREE DISTRIBUTION (track 2 - http://myspace.com/idealfreedistribution)
THE OXFORD FARM REPORT (track 3 - http://myspace.com/theoxfordfarmreport)
WARMER MILKS (track 12 - http://www.warmermilks.com)
EYES AND ARMS OF SMOKE (track 28 - http://www.cenotaph.org/eyesandarms)
:: Tuesday, March 21 ::
ALOHA w/SWEARING AT MOTORISTS and ATTEMPT @ The Dame
9pm, ages 21+, $5
Aloha = intensely rhythmic post-post-rock (think, equally groove obsessed, but less lethargic) from Ohio. The new sound is less vibe oriented. I’ve heard they’re a great live band. Swearing At Motorists = stripped down rock from two Dayton dudes who love to get stoned. (Might be time to check the air in the tires). Attempt = new Lex group led by Hair PoPo/Eyes and Arms of Smoke member Trevor Tremaine and featuring members of Warmer Milks and The High Water Marks. Prog-pop for the new generation. Recommended to fans of Big Fresh and Von Hemmling. FREE sounds all ‘round at http://www.musicofaloha.com, http://myspace.com/swearingatmotorists, http://swearingatmotorists.com/, and http://myspace.com/attempt.
:: Thursday, March 23 ::
MARISSA NADLER w/J. GLENN @ Lisa’s Oak Street Lounge, 1004 E. Oak Street (Louisville)
A recommendation from our friend Brian Ronk who describes Nadler as “hauntingly beautiful Josephine (Foster) folk … but somewhat darker.” Check out http://www.myspace.com/songsoftheend and http://www.marissanadler.com for FREE downloads.
:: Saturday, March 25 ::
THE FEATURES w/THE APPARITIONS and J.RODDY WALSTON AND THE BUSINESS @ The Dame
9pm, ages 21+, $5
Three sharp, energetic pop bands. The Features = “a curious mix of new wave, Strokes style backbeats, and a classic rock sound” (Bullit). They’re one of my all-time favorite live bands. If you haven’t heard them before, do not pass go – go straight to http://features.echoconnect.com/exhibit.php for a FREE download. Then, backtrack to http://myspace.com/thefeatures and http://www.thefeatures.com for the full scoop. The Apparitions = “guitar-based power pop that's jangly, fuzzy, and full of infectious energy” (The Onion). J-Roddy Walston and the Business = “equal parts ragtime, southern trash rock and McCartney-esque classic rock, with some gospel and barbershop thrown in,” or so says the Washington Post. http://www.theapparitions.net, http://myspace.com/theapparitions, http://www.jroddy.com, http://myspace.com/jroddy.
:: Sunday, March 26 ::
MY WAY MY LOVE w/THE OXFORD FARM REPORT @ The Dame
7pm, ages 18+, $5
My Way My Love = stylish Japanese (the lyrics are in English) noise punk. Check out the FREE sounds at http://www.mywaymylove.com. The Oxford Farm Report = grand Lexington weirdness. If you’re playing along with your copy of “Know Your Own” 2, click to track 3. If you don’t have the comp handy, head to http://myspace.com/theoxfordfarmreport for a taste.
:: Also worthwhile in the March 1-March 15 timeframe ::
Every Friday RAKADU GYPSY DANCE @ Nema’s Grille (Frankfort) – meccadance.com
Fri/Mar 17 “Know Your Own” vol.2 release party featuring EYES AND ARMS OF SMOKE, WARMER MILKS, OXFORD FARM REPORT, IDEAL FREE DISTRIBUTION, and CITY MOUSE @ The Dame
Sat/Mar 18 MySpace Meetup @ The Dame
Tues/Mar 21 ALOHA w/SWEARING AT MOTORISTS and ATTEMPT @ The Dame
Thurs/Mar 23 ROBINELLA @ The Dame
Fri/Mar 24 G-FUNK @ The Dame
Fri/Mar 24 ERIN McKEOWN TRIO w/MELISSA FERRICK @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Sat/Mar 25 THE FEATURES w/THE APPARITIONS and J.RODDY WALSTON AND THE BUSINESS @ The Dame
Sun/Mar 26 MY WAY MY LOVE w/OXFORD FARM REPORT @ The Dame – ages 18+
Mon/Mar 27 Open Mic w/CHARLIE WHITTINGTON @ The Dame – FREE
Tues/Mar 28 THE OPEN HANDS w/LOWBROW NOBILITY @ The Dame
Wed/Mar 29 THE LEGENDARY SHACKSHAKERS w/SCOTT H. BIRAM @ The Dame
:: Soon Soon ::
Fri/Mar 31 RAKADU GYPSY DANCE w/EYES AND ARMS OF SMOKE and THE TOIDS @ The Dame – early show
Fri/Mar 31 KRS-ONE @ The Dame – late show
Fri/Mar 31 BOB MOULD @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Sat/Apr 1 SCOTT MILLER AND THE COMMONWEALTH @ The Dame
Sat/Apr 1 MAZARIN w/THE DOUBLE @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Mon/Apr 3 HIMSA w/FULL BLOWN CHAOS, MANNTIS, THE CLASSIC STRUGGLE, PHLEGETHON, and CADAVER IN DRAG @ Downtown Arts Center, 141 E. Main – http://www.counterfiction.com
Tues/Apr 4 HALF HANDED CLOUD w/LIZ JANES + CREATE! and THE ARCHITECTS (members of Big Fresh and the Elephants) @ Underlying Themes, 110 S. Upper – all ages
Tues/Apr 4 HANK III @ The Dame
Wed/Apr 5 THE BRUNETTES w/CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Thurs/Apr 6 JACKIE-O-MOTHERFUCKER @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Sun/Apr 9 THE CLOUD ROOM @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Tues/Apr 11 THE EASTERN SEABOARD @ Buster’s – FREE
Tues/Apr 11 NO THINGS (ex-Liars) @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Wed/Apr 12 DEAD MEADOW @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Thurs/Apr 13 JOSEPHINE FOSTER AND THE SUPPOSED w/DAVE REMPIS PERCUSSION QUARTET @ Mecca – all ages
Sat/Apr 15 RHETT MILLER AND THE BELIEVERS @ Headliners (Louisville) – ages 18+
Sun/Apr 16 ROSIE THOMAS @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Wed/Apr 19 AB BAARS QUARTET @ Underlying Themes – all ages
Thurs/Apr 20 ENON @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Sun/Apr 23 JOSH RITTER w/HEM @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Wed/May 10 MANDARIN MOVIE (members of Chicago Underground Duo and Triage) w/BLASTOCYST and SHARKS WITH WINGS @ Mecca, 451 Chair Ave
:: Pertinent resources ::
__Lexington__
THE DAME, 156 W.Main St, Lexington - http://www.dameky.com
MECCA dance studio/gallery, 451 Chair Avenue, off S.Broadway near Bolivar - http://www.meccadance.com
UNDERLYING THEMES LOFT SPACE, 110 S. Upper (above Busters) – http://www.underlyingthemes.com
CHARLES MANSION – http://www.charlesmansion.org
FIREBIRD STUDIO, 359 W. Short St – http://firebirdlexington.com
HIGH LIFE LOUNGE, University Plaza (corner of Rose and Euclid) – ph. 859/455-8890
NATASHA'S CAFE, 112 Esplanade - http://www.beetnik.com/
FAUNTLEROY’S CAFÉ, 640 W. Maxwell – ph. 859/455-8188
THE ICEHOUSE, 412 Cross St (off W.Maxwell), Lexington
DOWNTOWN ARTS CENTER, 141 E. Main St, Lexington – http://www.lexarts.org
ARTSPLACE, 161 N.Mill St, Lexington
LEXINGTONSHOWS.com (all ages show listings) - http://www.lexingtonshows.com
COUNTER FICTION (metal/punk/hardcore all ages show listings) – http://www.counterfiction.com
CRICKET PRESS (amazing local poster art) - http://www.cricket-press.com
WRFL 88.1FM (UK's student-run radio station) - http://wrfl.uky.edu
YOU AIN’T NO PICASSO (great locally-produced music blog) – http://www.youaintnopicasoo.com
__Louisville__
LAVA (Louisville Assembly of Vanguard Artists) HOUSE - 927 Shelby Parkway, Louisville - http://www.lavahouse.org
HEADLINERS MUSIC HALL, Louisville - 1386 Lexington Road, ph. 502/584-8088 - www.headlinerslouisville.com
UNCLE PLEASANTS, 2126 S. Preston, Louisville - p.502/634-4147
THE RUDYARD KIPLING, 422 West Oak Street, Louisville -
http://www.therudyardkipling.com/pages/206999/index.htm
OLD LOUISVILLE COFFEHOUSE, 1489 S. Fourth St, Louisville - ph. 502/635-6660
PRODUCTION SIMPLE (produce many of the events at Headliners and Uncle Pleasants) – http://www.productionsimple.com
__Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky__
THE SOUTHGATE HOUSE, Newport, KY - http://www.southgatehouse.com
ALCHEMIZE, 1122 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, OH – http://www.alchemizebar.com
THE COMET, 4579 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.cometbar.com
BOGART'S, 2621 Vine St, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.bogarts.com
THE MOCKBEE (formerly SS NOVA), 2260 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.ssnova.org
NORTHSIDE TAVERN, 4163 Hamilton Ave, Cincinnati, OH – http://www.northside-tavern.com
Know of an upcoming event that others should get hip to? Let us know - email informationactivists@yahoo.com
All Picks by Ross Compton unless otherwise noted.
:::::::::::::: QUESTIONS/COMMENTS/SUBMISSIONS ::::::::::::::::::::::::
email thelexingtonproject@yahoo.com
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
TLP March 7, 2006
Hey, peeps.
The listserv was down for a couple weeks, thus a late and abbreviated Lex Pro. Thanks to Brian Connors Manke, Matt Jordan, Walter Carson for their contributions. (My apologies to Mikey Powell and Matt - the listserv being down rendered their previews for last weekend's Mogwai and Page France/Petticoat, Petticoat shows obselete. Sorry, guys.)
Well be back on schedule with the next issue - look for it next Wednesday, March 15.
Hope all are well.
Ross
:::::::::::::::::::::::: Announcements :::::::::::::::::::::::::::
** Tues/March 14 - film screening - “Waging A Living”
The Lexington Living Wage Campaign presents the award winning film “Waging A Living” for 3 showing at the Kentucky on March 14th. This acclaimed documentary shows the struggles & triumphs of the growing number of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck. Screenings will begin at 3pm, 5:30pm, and 7:15pm. Tickets are $5. All ages welcome. For more information or to buy advance tickets,
contact Janet Tucker at 859/389-8575 or jlynjenks@qx.net. Details: http://justicelist.typepad.com/jl/2006/03/314_film_waging.html.
:::::: An Open Letter To Cheap Trick ::::::
Dear, Rick, Robin, Tom and Bun E.,
Your band, Cheap Trick, has certainly had a long and successful career. The usual ups and downs greeted you, but you’ve continued to persevere. It’s hard to argue the brilliance of your early work, and, conversely, the fairly horrid stretch you had the in the mid-80s.
There was the big comeback in 1988 when you went to #1 with “The Flame” (sorry, not a big fan of that), not to mention, that cover you did of Elvis’ “Don’t Be Cruel” – which was one of the more insultingly wretched covers I can think of. I’m not some Elvis fanatic pining for the original, but wasn’t there someone in the studio with you that could have deterred things from crumbling like warm cornbread? Although, it was 1988, and if we were to look back at some of my hair/fashion choices in that grand year of my high school graduation – well, I guess, I should mindfully shut the hell up, and you should be cut some slack.
But, to the real matter at hand. I wanted to write you this letter to properly thank you for one specific thing. It would seem, that mere thanks is hardly enough for this truly monumental accomplishment, but that is all I have to offer you – my sincerest and most heartfelt thanks. Of course, I am referring to “I Want You To Want Me” as heard on the At Budokan album, which, at the time of this publication, I will crown “The Greatest Pop/Rock Song Ever - As Determined and Opined By Me.”
It’s flawless.
From the opening moment, in which Robin Zander playfully declares “I Want You…To Want…ME!” the ensuing screams establish the song as a unique experience. Rarely, do live songs become hit singles, let alone the single that breaks the band into the mainstream. But, this is no ordinary song.
You guys had this song lying around for years. I don’t know exactly when Rick Nielsen wrote it, but it was long before you even recorded your first album. I know that you actually cut a kickin’ version for your self-titled debut, but you decided not to include it. It subsequently first appeared on your sophomore release, In Color, but frankly, that version kinda sucked.
At Budokan is a wonderful album, filled with great performances, but “I Want You To Want Me” is the only definitive version. I mean, you can always listen to the studio version of “Surrender” and be completely satisfied.
Thanks Bun E. Carlos, for your crackling snare drum rhythm that propels the beginning. Thanks Rick, for when that first chord is ripped you can tell the tune is gonna have some balls to it. I don’t mean it’s going to run Black Sabbath off the stage, but for a pop song, it’s gotta lot of gusto, and the fact that it rocks is an essential part of the equation. A good rockin’ tune gives your gut a shot of adrenaline to make you want to drive a little faster, nod your head with a little more attitude and stir up emotions of youthful invincibility.
More importantly though, when the song settles into the infectious bounce of the verses and the melody starts to reveal itself is when you transcend space, time, and all other forms of measured science. Every chord change – perfect! Every note Robin sings – it all makes unequivocal sense. It even makes perfect sense when you can’t understand what he’s saying!
I’ll shine up the old brown shoes, put on a brand-new shirt. I’ll get home early from work…I don’t know if it was because I was 10, blaring the radio too loud or if Robin was somewhat slurring his speech, but I never sang anything even remotely close to that stanza. And I don’t want to start now. Live rock n roll isn’t supposed to be delivered in a procured and thought out manner – and amazingly, you took the time, to not take the time, to even consider that!
Which is to say, there was a lot of cosmic energy on hand that fateful night in Tokyo. It’s hard for me to thank all the unseen forces behind the culmination of the performance of “I Want You To Want Me.” What beer were you drinking? What shoes were you wearing? I bet the right or wrong shoes could easily alter your performance. Did you call home to Rockford, Illinois that evening to talk to your mom, your girlfriend, your barber, who also did your taxes? It’s all beyond my comprehension, yet it all needs to be thanked somehow.
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank the people of Japan as a whole, for they had already embraced you as superstars, and hence, you were playing a sold-out arena of screaming fans. And those screams, those high-pitched screams of joy, never seem out of place. Is that possible?
It is. And I know it to be true, because I can still get light-headed when all those elements come together to converge on my ears, flow to my brain and still place the biggest smile imaginable on my face.
Thanks again,
Brian Connors Manke
Cheap Trick plays Rupp Arena with Aerosmith tonight (Tuesday March 7th).
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: THE PICKS :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::: Tuesday, March 7 through Wednesday, March 15 :::::::::::
:: Thursday, March 9 ::
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN w/THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS @ Brown Theatre (Louisville)
doors 7pm, show 7:30pm, all ages, $30
Don’t have $30 for the show? (I don’t.) Do yourself a favor and scrape together the $10 or $15 to get the new Belle and Sebastian disc. It’s had me bouncing around my house for the last two weeks.
:: Friday, March 10 ::
MAN MAN w/THE SCOURGE OF THE SEA, MARGOT AND THE NUCLEAR SO AND SO’S, and JEREMY FRESH
@ The Dame - 9pm, ages 21+, $5
Imagine if Wolf Parade and Animal Collective teamed up to write drunken, erratic pop tunes. Got it? Okay, now imagine that that group just released one of 2006's best albums. Man Man have just put out their second album, Six Demon Bag, and are touring in support of it. The crazy thing is, as wild as they are on record, they're supposed to be ten times more so in person. My advice to you is that you drop what you're doing on Friday the 10th and make your way to the Dame for what could be one of the best shows you'll see all year. – Matt Jordan
:: Sunday, March 12 ::
TONY CONRAD w/RHYS CHATHAM and JONATHAN KANE @ The Dame
7pm, ages 18+, $10
If you enjoy going to shows at the Charles Mansion, or thrill to the farthest out sounds emanating from the Outside the Spotlight jazz series, then you'll definitely want to waltz on down the Dame on Sunday, March the 12th for an evening of Avant Garde music with Tony Conrad, Rhys Chatham & Jonathan Kane's February. Since the early 1960's, Tony Conrad has utilized intense amplification, long duration & precise pitch to forge an aggresively mesmerizing "dream music". Cohorts in these endeavors have included such luminaries as John Cale, La Monte Young, Jim O'Rourke & Kevin Drumm. In the 1970's, Rhys Chatham altered the DNA of rock, marshalling massed guitar armies (guitarmies!) & fusing overtone drenched minimalism with the fury of punk rock. His work prefigured No Wave & cast a huge shadow over the work of his proteges, including Glenn Branca & Sonic Youth. Jonathan Kane is a downtown NYC legend - as co-founder of the No Wave behemoth Swans & the rhythmic thunder behind the massed guitar armies of Rhys Chatham & the rock excursions of La Monte Young - and one of the hardest hitting drummers on the planet. All of these add up to an evening of musical thrills not to be missed. – Walter Carson
[Full Disclosure: I copped much of the text from the Table of the Elements website. - WC)
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/rhys.chatham/, http://media.hyperreal.org/zines/est/intervs/conrad.html, http://www.garylucas.com/www/gdmn/gdmKANE.shtml
:: Sunday, March 12 ::
ILL EASE w/PARTS & LABOR, ELEPHANTS, and DJ TODD P @ Underlying Themes, 110 S. Upper
10pm (or whenever the show at the Dame is done), all ages, $5 or $3 w/handstamp from the Dame
The post-Conrad party. Here’s a description from a recent email from Mikey T – “This show is gonna be nuts!!! Total party with Parts and Labor brand of stretched out spazz rock and the peculiar pop stylings of one Ill Ease. We all know and love The Elephants for their brand of manic depressive pop symphonies (currently in the studio!!!). DJ Todd P is a notorious Brooklyn area promoter/hypeman so you can only imagine what massive record collection he must have up his sleeve for us!
http://www.partsandlabor.net/, http://www.illease.com/, http://www.myspace.com/theelephants
:: Monday, March 13 ::
THE MENDOZA LINE w/GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS and ELLIOT BROOD @ The Dame
9pm, ages 21+, $5
A wonderful lineup of literate, country-tinged indie pop. Check out http://www.mendozaline.com, http://myspace.com/mendozaline, http://greatlakeswimmers.com/, http://www.elliottbrood.ca/ for more info and free sounds.
:: Also worthwhile in the March 1-March 15 timeframe ::
Every Friday RAKADU GYPSY DANCE @ Nema’s Grille (Frankfort) – meccadance.com
Sat/Mar 11 TED LEO & THE PHARMACISTS @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
:: Soon Soon ::
Fri/Mar 17 “Know Your Own” vol.2 release party featuring EYES AND ARMS OF SMOKE, WARMER MILKS, OXFORD FARM REPORT, IDEAL FREE DISTRIBUTION, and CITY MOUSE @ The Dame
Tues/Mar 21 ALOHA w/SWEARING AT MOTORISTS and ATTEMPT @ The Dame
Fri/Mar 24 ERIN McKEOWN TRIO w/MELISSA FERRICK @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Sat/Mar 25 THE FEATURES w/THE APPARITIONS and J.RODDY WALSTON AND THE BUSINESS @ The Dame
Sun/Mar 26 MY WAY MY LOVE w/OXFORD FARM REPORT @ The Dame – ages 18+
Fri/Mar 31 BOB MOULD @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Tues/Apr 4 HALF HANDED CLOUD w/LIZ JANES + CREATE! and THE ARCHITECTS (members of Big Fresh and the Elephants) @ Underlying Themes, 110 S. Upper – all ages
Wed/Apr 5 THE BRUNETTES w/CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Thurs/Apr 13 JOSEPHINE FOSTER AND THE SUPPOSED w/DAVE REMPIS PERCUSSION QUARTET @ Mecca – all ages
Sat/Apr 15 RHETT MILLER AND THE BELIEVERS @ Headliners (Louisville) – ages 18+
Wed/Apr 19 AB BAARS QUARTET @ Underlying Themes – all ages
Thurs/Apr 20 ENON @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
:: Pertinent resources ::
__Lexington__
THE DAME, 156 W.Main St, Lexington - http://www.dameky.com
MECCA dance studio/gallery, 451 Chair Avenue, off S.Broadway near Bolivar - http://www.meccadance.com
UNDERLYING THEMES LOFT SPACE, 110 S. Upper (above Busters) – http://www.underlyingthemes.com
CHARLES MANSION – http://www.charlesmansion.org
FIREBIRD STUDIO, 359 W. Short St – http://firebirdlexington.com
HIGH LIFE LOUNGE, University Plaza (corner of Rose and Euclid) – ph. 859/455-8890
NATASHA'S CAFE, 112 Esplanade - http://www.beetnik.com/
FAUNTLEROY’S CAFÉ, 640 W. Maxwell – ph. 859/455-8188
THE ICEHOUSE, 412 Cross St (off W.Maxwell), Lexington
DOWNTOWN ARTS CENTER, 141 E. Main St, Lexington – http://www.lexarts.org
ARTSPLACE, 161 N.Mill St, Lexington
LEXINGTONSHOWS.com (all ages show listings) - http://www.lexingtonshows.com
COUNTER FICTION (metal/punk/hardcore all ages show listings) – http://www.counterfiction.com
CRICKET PRESS (amazing local poster art) - http://www.cricket-press.com
WRFL 88.1FM (UK's student-run radio station) - http://wrfl.uky.edu
YOU AIN’T NO PICASSO (great locally-produced music blog) – http://www.youaintnopicasoo.com
__Louisville__
LAVA (Louisville Assembly of Vanguard Artists) HOUSE - 927 Shelby Parkway, Louisville - http://www.lavahouse.org
HEADLINERS MUSIC HALL, Louisville - 1386 Lexington Road, ph. 502/584-8088 - www.headlinerslouisville.com
UNCLE PLEASANTS, 2126 S. Preston, Louisville - p.502/634-4147
THE RUDYARD KIPLING, 422 West Oak Street, Louisville -
http://www.therudyardkipling.com/pages/206999/index.htm
OLD LOUISVILLE COFFEHOUSE, 1489 S. Fourth St, Louisville - ph. 502/635-6660
PRODUCTION SIMPLE (produce many of the events at Headliners and Uncle Pleasants) – http://www.productionsimple.com
__Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky__
THE SOUTHGATE HOUSE, Newport, KY - http://www.southgatehouse.com
ALCHEMIZE, 1122 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, OH – http://www.alchemizebar.com
THE COMET, 4579 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.cometbar.com
BOGART'S, 2621 Vine St, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.bogarts.com
THE MOCKBEE (formerly SS NOVA), 2260 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.ssnova.org
NORTHSIDE TAVERN, 4163 Hamilton Ave, Cincinnati, OH – http://www.northside-tavern.com
Know of an upcoming event that others should get hip to? Let us know - email informationactivists@yahoo.com
All Picks by Ross Compton unless otherwise noted.
:::::::::::::: QUESTIONS/COMMENTS/SUBMISSIONS ::::::::::::::::::::::::
email thelexingtonproject@yahoo.com
The listserv was down for a couple weeks, thus a late and abbreviated Lex Pro. Thanks to Brian Connors Manke, Matt Jordan, Walter Carson for their contributions. (My apologies to Mikey Powell and Matt - the listserv being down rendered their previews for last weekend's Mogwai and Page France/Petticoat, Petticoat shows obselete. Sorry, guys.)
Well be back on schedule with the next issue - look for it next Wednesday, March 15.
Hope all are well.
Ross
:::::::::::::::::::::::: Announcements :::::::::::::::::::::::::::
** Tues/March 14 - film screening - “Waging A Living”
The Lexington Living Wage Campaign presents the award winning film “Waging A Living” for 3 showing at the Kentucky on March 14th. This acclaimed documentary shows the struggles & triumphs of the growing number of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck. Screenings will begin at 3pm, 5:30pm, and 7:15pm. Tickets are $5. All ages welcome. For more information or to buy advance tickets,
contact Janet Tucker at 859/389-8575 or jlynjenks@qx.net. Details: http://justicelist.typepad.com/jl/2006/03/314_film_waging.html.
:::::: An Open Letter To Cheap Trick ::::::
Dear, Rick, Robin, Tom and Bun E.,
Your band, Cheap Trick, has certainly had a long and successful career. The usual ups and downs greeted you, but you’ve continued to persevere. It’s hard to argue the brilliance of your early work, and, conversely, the fairly horrid stretch you had the in the mid-80s.
There was the big comeback in 1988 when you went to #1 with “The Flame” (sorry, not a big fan of that), not to mention, that cover you did of Elvis’ “Don’t Be Cruel” – which was one of the more insultingly wretched covers I can think of. I’m not some Elvis fanatic pining for the original, but wasn’t there someone in the studio with you that could have deterred things from crumbling like warm cornbread? Although, it was 1988, and if we were to look back at some of my hair/fashion choices in that grand year of my high school graduation – well, I guess, I should mindfully shut the hell up, and you should be cut some slack.
But, to the real matter at hand. I wanted to write you this letter to properly thank you for one specific thing. It would seem, that mere thanks is hardly enough for this truly monumental accomplishment, but that is all I have to offer you – my sincerest and most heartfelt thanks. Of course, I am referring to “I Want You To Want Me” as heard on the At Budokan album, which, at the time of this publication, I will crown “The Greatest Pop/Rock Song Ever - As Determined and Opined By Me.”
It’s flawless.
From the opening moment, in which Robin Zander playfully declares “I Want You…To Want…ME!” the ensuing screams establish the song as a unique experience. Rarely, do live songs become hit singles, let alone the single that breaks the band into the mainstream. But, this is no ordinary song.
You guys had this song lying around for years. I don’t know exactly when Rick Nielsen wrote it, but it was long before you even recorded your first album. I know that you actually cut a kickin’ version for your self-titled debut, but you decided not to include it. It subsequently first appeared on your sophomore release, In Color, but frankly, that version kinda sucked.
At Budokan is a wonderful album, filled with great performances, but “I Want You To Want Me” is the only definitive version. I mean, you can always listen to the studio version of “Surrender” and be completely satisfied.
Thanks Bun E. Carlos, for your crackling snare drum rhythm that propels the beginning. Thanks Rick, for when that first chord is ripped you can tell the tune is gonna have some balls to it. I don’t mean it’s going to run Black Sabbath off the stage, but for a pop song, it’s gotta lot of gusto, and the fact that it rocks is an essential part of the equation. A good rockin’ tune gives your gut a shot of adrenaline to make you want to drive a little faster, nod your head with a little more attitude and stir up emotions of youthful invincibility.
More importantly though, when the song settles into the infectious bounce of the verses and the melody starts to reveal itself is when you transcend space, time, and all other forms of measured science. Every chord change – perfect! Every note Robin sings – it all makes unequivocal sense. It even makes perfect sense when you can’t understand what he’s saying!
I’ll shine up the old brown shoes, put on a brand-new shirt. I’ll get home early from work…I don’t know if it was because I was 10, blaring the radio too loud or if Robin was somewhat slurring his speech, but I never sang anything even remotely close to that stanza. And I don’t want to start now. Live rock n roll isn’t supposed to be delivered in a procured and thought out manner – and amazingly, you took the time, to not take the time, to even consider that!
Which is to say, there was a lot of cosmic energy on hand that fateful night in Tokyo. It’s hard for me to thank all the unseen forces behind the culmination of the performance of “I Want You To Want Me.” What beer were you drinking? What shoes were you wearing? I bet the right or wrong shoes could easily alter your performance. Did you call home to Rockford, Illinois that evening to talk to your mom, your girlfriend, your barber, who also did your taxes? It’s all beyond my comprehension, yet it all needs to be thanked somehow.
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank the people of Japan as a whole, for they had already embraced you as superstars, and hence, you were playing a sold-out arena of screaming fans. And those screams, those high-pitched screams of joy, never seem out of place. Is that possible?
It is. And I know it to be true, because I can still get light-headed when all those elements come together to converge on my ears, flow to my brain and still place the biggest smile imaginable on my face.
Thanks again,
Brian Connors Manke
Cheap Trick plays Rupp Arena with Aerosmith tonight (Tuesday March 7th).
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: THE PICKS :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::: Tuesday, March 7 through Wednesday, March 15 :::::::::::
:: Thursday, March 9 ::
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN w/THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS @ Brown Theatre (Louisville)
doors 7pm, show 7:30pm, all ages, $30
Don’t have $30 for the show? (I don’t.) Do yourself a favor and scrape together the $10 or $15 to get the new Belle and Sebastian disc. It’s had me bouncing around my house for the last two weeks.
:: Friday, March 10 ::
MAN MAN w/THE SCOURGE OF THE SEA, MARGOT AND THE NUCLEAR SO AND SO’S, and JEREMY FRESH
@ The Dame - 9pm, ages 21+, $5
Imagine if Wolf Parade and Animal Collective teamed up to write drunken, erratic pop tunes. Got it? Okay, now imagine that that group just released one of 2006's best albums. Man Man have just put out their second album, Six Demon Bag, and are touring in support of it. The crazy thing is, as wild as they are on record, they're supposed to be ten times more so in person. My advice to you is that you drop what you're doing on Friday the 10th and make your way to the Dame for what could be one of the best shows you'll see all year. – Matt Jordan
:: Sunday, March 12 ::
TONY CONRAD w/RHYS CHATHAM and JONATHAN KANE @ The Dame
7pm, ages 18+, $10
If you enjoy going to shows at the Charles Mansion, or thrill to the farthest out sounds emanating from the Outside the Spotlight jazz series, then you'll definitely want to waltz on down the Dame on Sunday, March the 12th for an evening of Avant Garde music with Tony Conrad, Rhys Chatham & Jonathan Kane's February. Since the early 1960's, Tony Conrad has utilized intense amplification, long duration & precise pitch to forge an aggresively mesmerizing "dream music". Cohorts in these endeavors have included such luminaries as John Cale, La Monte Young, Jim O'Rourke & Kevin Drumm. In the 1970's, Rhys Chatham altered the DNA of rock, marshalling massed guitar armies (guitarmies!) & fusing overtone drenched minimalism with the fury of punk rock. His work prefigured No Wave & cast a huge shadow over the work of his proteges, including Glenn Branca & Sonic Youth. Jonathan Kane is a downtown NYC legend - as co-founder of the No Wave behemoth Swans & the rhythmic thunder behind the massed guitar armies of Rhys Chatham & the rock excursions of La Monte Young - and one of the hardest hitting drummers on the planet. All of these add up to an evening of musical thrills not to be missed. – Walter Carson
[Full Disclosure: I copped much of the text from the Table of the Elements website. - WC)
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/rhys.chatham/, http://media.hyperreal.org/zines/est/intervs/conrad.html, http://www.garylucas.com/www/gdmn/gdmKANE.shtml
:: Sunday, March 12 ::
ILL EASE w/PARTS & LABOR, ELEPHANTS, and DJ TODD P @ Underlying Themes, 110 S. Upper
10pm (or whenever the show at the Dame is done), all ages, $5 or $3 w/handstamp from the Dame
The post-Conrad party. Here’s a description from a recent email from Mikey T – “This show is gonna be nuts!!! Total party with Parts and Labor brand of stretched out spazz rock and the peculiar pop stylings of one Ill Ease. We all know and love The Elephants for their brand of manic depressive pop symphonies (currently in the studio!!!). DJ Todd P is a notorious Brooklyn area promoter/hypeman so you can only imagine what massive record collection he must have up his sleeve for us!
http://www.partsandlabor.net/, http://www.illease.com/, http://www.myspace.com/theelephants
:: Monday, March 13 ::
THE MENDOZA LINE w/GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS and ELLIOT BROOD @ The Dame
9pm, ages 21+, $5
A wonderful lineup of literate, country-tinged indie pop. Check out http://www.mendozaline.com, http://myspace.com/mendozaline, http://greatlakeswimmers.com/, http://www.elliottbrood.ca/ for more info and free sounds.
:: Also worthwhile in the March 1-March 15 timeframe ::
Every Friday RAKADU GYPSY DANCE @ Nema’s Grille (Frankfort) – meccadance.com
Sat/Mar 11 TED LEO & THE PHARMACISTS @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
:: Soon Soon ::
Fri/Mar 17 “Know Your Own” vol.2 release party featuring EYES AND ARMS OF SMOKE, WARMER MILKS, OXFORD FARM REPORT, IDEAL FREE DISTRIBUTION, and CITY MOUSE @ The Dame
Tues/Mar 21 ALOHA w/SWEARING AT MOTORISTS and ATTEMPT @ The Dame
Fri/Mar 24 ERIN McKEOWN TRIO w/MELISSA FERRICK @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Sat/Mar 25 THE FEATURES w/THE APPARITIONS and J.RODDY WALSTON AND THE BUSINESS @ The Dame
Sun/Mar 26 MY WAY MY LOVE w/OXFORD FARM REPORT @ The Dame – ages 18+
Fri/Mar 31 BOB MOULD @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Tues/Apr 4 HALF HANDED CLOUD w/LIZ JANES + CREATE! and THE ARCHITECTS (members of Big Fresh and the Elephants) @ Underlying Themes, 110 S. Upper – all ages
Wed/Apr 5 THE BRUNETTES w/CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
Thurs/Apr 13 JOSEPHINE FOSTER AND THE SUPPOSED w/DAVE REMPIS PERCUSSION QUARTET @ Mecca – all ages
Sat/Apr 15 RHETT MILLER AND THE BELIEVERS @ Headliners (Louisville) – ages 18+
Wed/Apr 19 AB BAARS QUARTET @ Underlying Themes – all ages
Thurs/Apr 20 ENON @ Southgate House (Newport, KY)
:: Pertinent resources ::
__Lexington__
THE DAME, 156 W.Main St, Lexington - http://www.dameky.com
MECCA dance studio/gallery, 451 Chair Avenue, off S.Broadway near Bolivar - http://www.meccadance.com
UNDERLYING THEMES LOFT SPACE, 110 S. Upper (above Busters) – http://www.underlyingthemes.com
CHARLES MANSION – http://www.charlesmansion.org
FIREBIRD STUDIO, 359 W. Short St – http://firebirdlexington.com
HIGH LIFE LOUNGE, University Plaza (corner of Rose and Euclid) – ph. 859/455-8890
NATASHA'S CAFE, 112 Esplanade - http://www.beetnik.com/
FAUNTLEROY’S CAFÉ, 640 W. Maxwell – ph. 859/455-8188
THE ICEHOUSE, 412 Cross St (off W.Maxwell), Lexington
DOWNTOWN ARTS CENTER, 141 E. Main St, Lexington – http://www.lexarts.org
ARTSPLACE, 161 N.Mill St, Lexington
LEXINGTONSHOWS.com (all ages show listings) - http://www.lexingtonshows.com
COUNTER FICTION (metal/punk/hardcore all ages show listings) – http://www.counterfiction.com
CRICKET PRESS (amazing local poster art) - http://www.cricket-press.com
WRFL 88.1FM (UK's student-run radio station) - http://wrfl.uky.edu
YOU AIN’T NO PICASSO (great locally-produced music blog) – http://www.youaintnopicasoo.com
__Louisville__
LAVA (Louisville Assembly of Vanguard Artists) HOUSE - 927 Shelby Parkway, Louisville - http://www.lavahouse.org
HEADLINERS MUSIC HALL, Louisville - 1386 Lexington Road, ph. 502/584-8088 - www.headlinerslouisville.com
UNCLE PLEASANTS, 2126 S. Preston, Louisville - p.502/634-4147
THE RUDYARD KIPLING, 422 West Oak Street, Louisville -
http://www.therudyardkipling.com/pages/206999/index.htm
OLD LOUISVILLE COFFEHOUSE, 1489 S. Fourth St, Louisville - ph. 502/635-6660
PRODUCTION SIMPLE (produce many of the events at Headliners and Uncle Pleasants) – http://www.productionsimple.com
__Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky__
THE SOUTHGATE HOUSE, Newport, KY - http://www.southgatehouse.com
ALCHEMIZE, 1122 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, OH – http://www.alchemizebar.com
THE COMET, 4579 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.cometbar.com
BOGART'S, 2621 Vine St, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.bogarts.com
THE MOCKBEE (formerly SS NOVA), 2260 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.ssnova.org
NORTHSIDE TAVERN, 4163 Hamilton Ave, Cincinnati, OH – http://www.northside-tavern.com
Know of an upcoming event that others should get hip to? Let us know - email informationactivists@yahoo.com
All Picks by Ross Compton unless otherwise noted.
:::::::::::::: QUESTIONS/COMMENTS/SUBMISSIONS ::::::::::::::::::::::::
email thelexingtonproject@yahoo.com
