Ticket + CD Giveaway: Little Joy @ TT the Bears
Posted on November 11, 2008 at 9:20 am | No Comments
So, Little Joy is Strokes drummer Fab Moretti’s new band with girlfriend Binki Shapiro and Rodrigo Amarante of Los Hermanos, and their self-titled debut disc arrived last week via Rough Trade. Given how much I dug Albert Hammond Jr.‘s two solo albums, I was curious to hear what Moretti and co. had to offer as well. And while it hasn’t immediately struck as catchy a chord as Hammond Jr.’s stuff did, what’s remarkable is how much more it has in common sonically with the Strokes. You wouldn’t think a drummer’s side-project would resemble his other band as much as a guitarist’s, but there it is. I do need to spend more time with it, but after the first few listens, it feels like the post-“First Impressions Of Earth” offshoot albums are 3 for 3 so far. We’ll see if bassist Nikolai Fraiture’s Nickel Eye project makes it a perfect 4 come January, but our ears have been well served by the Strokes’ time off so far.
The LA-based Little Joy kicked off a month-long tour last week in Minnesota, and they’ll hit TT the Bears this coming Sunday night, November 16th. I’ve been given a pair of guest list spots for the show, as well as a copy of that debut disc, to dole out to a couple of ‘Nac readers, so if you’re interested in either seeing the show or hearing the album, drop an email to giveaways [at] bradleysalmanac [dot] com before 9AM this Friday the 14th. Make the subject “Give Me Joy” and be sure to include the city you live in (anyone in the continental U.S. can take part). I’ll pick and notify two winners Friday morning: One in the Boston area for those two Sunday spots on the TT’s guest list, and another (local or non-local) for that copy of the album. If you live near here and would prefer the disc to the show, just let me know when you enter.
While you pull together that email, listen to some Little Joy at their MySpace page, and check out the other bands on the bill that night as well: Boston’s own Buttercup and former locals The Dead Trees, who picked up and moved to Portland, Oregon last year. To grab tickets of your own, hit up Ticketweb.
The Monday Fiver
Posted on November 10, 2008 at 3:54 pm | No Comments
Trying something new this week, a little posting experiment to see how it feels: A slight twist on my random Music Miscellany missives that limits myself to sharing five bullet-pointed items that have struck me. Short sharp shocks, rather than the rambling collections that end up taking me forever. Here goes…
To mark 10 years since they released “Clarity“, Jimmy Eat World will perform the album in its entirety on February 26th, 2009 at the under-construction House of Blues on Landsdowne Street here in Boston. It’s one of just 10 dates the band has scheduled for the “Clarity x 10” tour, and despite the fact that I soured on the band after they sacrificed depth for radio-ready riffs on “Bleed American”, I don’t think I can resist being in attendance for this one. “Clarity” is still a fave, and there are more than a few tracks on there I never thought I’d get a chance to see live. Besides, I’ll need an excuse to check out that new House of Blues location, which is still on track for a February opening. Considering it will stand on the site of so many of my best concert memories (Axis, Avalon, and Venus R.I.P), I’ll need to see if any of the old ghosts still linger.
No word on when tickets will go on sale, but given the propensity of Boston-area construction projects to run over schedule, I’d put the odds of a venue change at about 50/50.
This coming weekend brings the official cd release celebration for Scarce‘s new downloadable 5-song EP, “Tattoos and Parades”, at TT the Bears in Cambridge. The Saturday night show teams the reunited trio up with the wonderful Wheat, who are themselves set to release a new record titled “White Ink, Blank Ink” (the word in September was “soon”), so hopefully we’ll be served up some tracks from that. Opening up the night is Cambridge’s own Triple Thick.
While Scarce’s “Tattoos and Parades” is a digital release, the band did pull together a cd compilation titled “Tattoos and Parades and Yesterdays” that includes the EP along with 10 old and rare tracks, so I’d imagine copies of that will be for sale at the show.
For a preview, check out Scarce’s appearance on WMBR‘s esteemed Pipeline! program last Tuesday, where they performed an in-studio live set…
Subscribe to the Pipeline podcast, or check out this massive list of directly downloadable live sets. Gold lies within. (thanks to Drew for the heads up)
Also this coming weekend, Will Johnson pulls double duty on Sunday night with his two bands: Both Centro-matic and South San Gabriel are playing at the Middle East Upstairs with Chris Flemmons of The Baptist Generals. Assuming I can muster the weekend-ending energy for that, I’m prepared for another rough Monday.
Brushfire Records, home to Neil Halstead and Rogue Wave, is releasing a new holiday compilation called “This Warm December” tomorrow, and you can stream the whole thing over on iLike. Halstead contributes “The Man In The Santa Suit“, and Rogue Wave offers up a song simply titled “Christmas“, alongside many other exclusive tracks.
A new episode of Blog Fresh Radio came out last week, in which I make an appearance babbling about the excellent new +/- {Plus/Minus} album. The overly-kind BFR crew let me play my favorite track from it, “Unsung“, and if they keep asking me back, I’ll keep sharing words and songs. Go have a listen.
More self-promo: In case you hadn’t noticed the new box on the right, I’ve just added Bradley’s Almanac to the Facebook Blog Network, so join up if you’re so inclined. And thanks to those who have so far.