January 2009

tomorrow-never-knows

After a long frigid weekend, I ventured downtown to Schubas to catch quite a trifecta of acts. While the other lineups at Schuba’s Tomorrow Never Knows series didn’t inspire me, it was quite convenient for them to line up the three bands I wanted to see on the same night – Tulsa, The Donkeys and Bishop Allen

First up was Tulsa led by Carter Tanton. Their last EP, I Was Submerged, has been in steady rotation for quite some time. They have been busy recording the debut LP in Chicago and I was hoping to hear some new tunes sprinkled with some of old favorites. Other than “Breathe Thin,” the rest of the set was all new stuff and it did nothing to defuse my anticipation for the upcoming release. Unfortunately it isn’t coming out until August, but we’re working on getting the band in for a session sometime soon.

Next up were San Diego’s The Donkeys. I picked up their Dead Oceans debut last year and that album has become quite the creeper. At first I thought it to be a good listen; solid but unspectacular. I’ve since found myself consistently reaching for it and it’ll be the perfect album for my trip to Cabo this week. In spite of having a drummer that sings (its an unfair prejudice, but I am up front about it), it was good set.

Finally, it was Bishop Allen who made barely made it after a 12 hour trek from Toronto. Due to the late arrival, the transition was a bit delayed and led to me leaving before the end of the set. I’m old. It was a school night. Before I split, they banged out “Castanets,” “Click and Monitor”and several new tunes that immediately shot their new LP high up on my ’09 anticipated releases.

Tulsa – #2

The Donkeys – Walk Through a Cloud

The Donkeys – Nice Train

Bishop Allen – Rain

Bishop Allen – Click Click Click

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leopold and his fiction

Daniel Toccalino looks a bit out of place in San Francisco’s music scene. The city has its share of alt-country rockers, jam bandish rock, experimental pop, singer-songwriter and straight-forward pop rock. Leopold and His Fiction are a threesome set apart with a brash, bluesy garage rock sound that draws influence from a plethora of artists.

Turns out that Daniel is originally from Detroit, which explains the workingman’s sound and blue collar work ethic. Ain’t No Surprise kicks off with a slow rolling throwback-country blues track called “One For Me To Find.” From there, you’ll hear a bit of the Black Keys (Broke), Bob Dylan’s “Tombstone Blues” (Ain’t No Surprise), M. Ward (Tiger Lily) and then the album winds down with some more country-infused tracks (Pretty Neat and Katie Mae).

We shared a few cold ones with Daniel at SXSW 2007 and he’s one helluva guy. They’ve been playing shows mostly in the Bay area so if you find yourself in San Fran, check them out.

Website | MySpace

Leopold and His Fiction – Ain’t No Surprise

Leopold and His Fiction – Come Back (Now That I’m Here)

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Shows We Recommend in Chicago [February]

by oz on January 29, 2009

Some readers (Vanessa) have asked several times for Chicago concert recommendations. I’ll try to squeeze one of these out at the end of each month for our Chi-town readers (even though I’m in California). For those going to Blitzen Trapper, get there early enough to catch Alela Diane and tell me all about it. I’m a big fan of her debut album.

Heartless Bastards and Alberta Cross will both be in the studio for HearYa Live Sessions as well!

In addition to Musikanto at The Darkroom tomorrow night, here are a few more upcoming shows to consider.

1/31 Heartless Bastards @ Martyrs

Heartless Bastards – Mountain

2/6 The Record Low @ Double Door

The Record Low – Southern State (from the HearYa Live Session)

2/13 Marah @ Schubas

Marah – My Heart Is The Bums On The Street

2/13 Radio Moscow @ Bottom Lounge

Radio Moscow – Whatever Happened (from the HearYa Live Session)

2/14 Delta Spirit @ Double Door

The Delta Spirit – Give Me Some Motivation

2/17 The Submarines and The Morning Benders @ Schubas

The Morning Benders – Waiting On A War (from the HearYa Live Session)

2/19 Blitzen Trapper and Alela Diane @ Empty Bottle

Blitzen Trapper – Furr

Alela Diane – The Rifle

2/20 Deer Tick @ Empty Bottle

Deer Tick – Art Isn’t Real (City of Sin)

2/20 Mark Olson and Gary Louris (formely the Jayhawks) @ Park West

2/21 Bobby Bare Jr. and David Vandervelde @ Schubas

Bobby Bare Jr. – I’ll Be Around

Bobby Bare Jr. – Let’s Rock and Roll

2/28 The Airborne Toxic Event and Henry Clay People @ Schubas

Henry Clay People – Something In The Water

2/28 The Airborne Toxic Event and Alberta Cross @ Schubas

Alberta Cross – Known For Long (acoustic)

What did I miss?

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Musikanto

We’ve got some Chicago love for you this week. We had upstart Mike Musikanto and his badass band in the studio a couple weeks ago on a freezing cold night. It was the kind of night that made you want to punch Mother Nature right in the base of the neck with the side of your fist like Steven Segal used to do. Fortunately my rage was immediately calmed upon entering Shirk’s studio and hearing the smooth sounds of Musikanto.

I’d only had a chance to peruse their MySpace page for a few minutes before the session, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. But the guys got things off on the right foot by cracking some pre-game Miller High Lifes (High Lives?) – the champagne of beer always gets things moving.

They came out of the gate strong with “Misty Morning,” a catchy-as-hell tune with some great guitar work, heady lyrics like “She stole my clothes and left me with a heart of desire,” and some absolutely fantastic drum fills by Russ Mallard. “I Ain’t Your Rock” followed and was probably my favorite track of the night. Mike and lead guitarist JJ Evans complement each other extremely well and are both a pleasure to watch play – I particularly liked the guitar interplay about two-thirds of the way through “Take It On Will.” Scott Schaffsma keeps things moving while handling the bass duties, and even drops a little upright bass on the album.

Musikanto solo

After laying down several tracks with the full band, JJ had to take off for another gig, so Mike decided to cozy up behind the microphone with just his acoustic guitar. He sang a couple more songs and showed off his ability to write Americana rockers and slow burning acoustic tunes alike.

Musikanto may be relatively new on the indie music scene, but they’ve got the chops and the songwriting sensibility to be venerable mainstays. They’re a great group of guys who demand perfection from themselves – a quality that’s sure to pay dividends. I strongly recommend their hot-off-the-presses album, Ghost Pain, and I also recommend you give Mother Nature a dropkick to the groin and brave the elements to see them live. They’ve got a show this Friday, January 30th at the Darkroom in Chicago. See their MySpace page for more dates.

In the meantime, check out the live tracks below and some HD footage from the studio, courtesy of our boy Shirk.

Exclusive: Musikanto – I Ain’t Your Rock

Exclusive: Musikanto – Take It On Will

Exclusive: Musikanto – Howl

Exclusive: Musikanto – To See You One More Time

Exclusive: Musikanto – Atomic Walls

Download ‘em all as a zip.

Video: Musikanto – To See You One More Time

Musikanto – To See You One More Time from HearYa.com on Vimeo.

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Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit release Seven Mile Island [new mp3, SXSW 2009]

January 28, 2009

Jason Isbell’s new self-titled album will be released on February 17th on Lightning Rod Records. . The label is also offering a free download of the single “Seven-Mile Island.” He’s also got some new tour dates announced on MySpace and a stop in Austin for SXSW 2009. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Seven [...]

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The Deep Dark Woods – Winter Hours [Album Review, SXSW 2009]

January 28, 2009

Is it just me, or is 2009 already the best year for music ever? We’ve got some serious gems headed our way very soon and February 17th is poised to be this year’s Indie Music Super Tuesday. Both M. Ward and The Deep Dark Woods are releasing albums and the fine folks at Black Hen [...]

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Ferraby Lionheart – Corrine [new mp3, SXSW 2009]

January 27, 2009

Ferraby Lionheart parted ways with Nettwerk Records, took a long vacation, and is now recording a new album in his home studio. He also left Los Angeles for New York and will be playing Monday nights at Piano’s on the Lower East Side before making a trip to Austin for SXSW 2009. No word on [...]

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Justin Townes Earle – Midnight At The Movies [Album Review]

January 27, 2009

Justin Townes Earle will be a star. Writing anything about Midnight At The Movies is intimidating because I know I can’t do this album justice.‚  I guess Justin would say carving a name for himself in the music industry is a little intimidating, being the namesake of Townes Van Zandt and the son of Steve [...]

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Frightened Rabbit at The Empty Bottle, Chicago, 1/24/2009 [Concert Review]

January 26, 2009

I first listened to Frightened Rabbit’s 2008 release, Midnight Organ Fight, in the summer and was struck by the immediacy and lack of pretension in their music. Raw with threadbare emotion, the lyrical themes seemingly hold meaning in these tumultuous times, with topics centering on relationship and human warmth, literally and metaphorically. The Glasgow, Scotland [...]

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Justin Townes Earle – Mama’s Eyes [new mp3, SXSW 2009]

January 26, 2009

Justin Townes Earle just released this “Mama’s Eyes” from his sophomore album, Midnight At The Movies, due out March 9th. For those of you that liked The Good Life, get ready. This is even better. I’ll save my commentary because I’m trying hard to write a worthy review, but I will say that Justin Townes [...]

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