Fam-Lay

Impossibly Hot.....

Dappled Cities

I absolutely love being thrilled by opening bands that I know nothing about.This was the case last week when I was working the Fratellis show. The first band on that night was Dappled Cities and they really brought it. Their are a pretty straight forward jangley, indie-rock band with dashes of Grizzly Bear-esque falsetto thrown in. The Aussie boys latest record "Granddance" on Dangerbird records last year, and while it doesn't exactly blow me away from start to finish, there are some real gems in it, starting with Holy Chord.

MP3: Dappled Cities-Holy Chord

Dappled Cities Myspace

*edit* The band stopped by the Current Studios to play some songs and chat.

Ghostface Killah

We had the legend himself, Ghostface Killah come through the Varsity Theater on thursday night. He brought his Wu-Tang legacy and swagger with him. Seeing him rule the stage like the gorilla that he is made me revisit one of his stellar solo records, "Fishscale" and thought ya'll might want a taste. You can't go wrong with this track, if it doesn't get your head bobbing, go see a doctor.

MP3: Ghostface Killah-The Champ

Ghostface Killah Myspace

Peep the City Pages feature on the Ghostface show.

Cool Kids

Alright, last Pitchfork fest post. Ever. I Promise. The next thing to blow up in hip hop will be the Cool Kids when they put out their full length record later this year.

It didn’t take long for the Cool Kids to have the thrilled hometown crowd eating out of the palms of their hands. The emcee duo bring an old school (skool), non-threatening flavor to the stage and spin rhymes about ice cream and still wearing a pager, rather than bling and drugs. Baby-face “Mikey” is the star of the group, his flow and wit are outstanding, especially when you take into account that he is only 19 years old. The Cool Kids pride themselves on writing entirely original material using no samples. With hip-hop heavyweights such as Flostradomous and Kanye West on board with the Cool Kids, make sure you keep your eyes out for them in the future.

Check out more from that day at MoreCowbell.net

Mp3: Cool Kids-Mikey Rocks

Cool Kids Myspace

The Twilight Sad

I would feel bad if I left town for a weekend to see a ton of bands and didn't come back with anything for ya'll so.....

Glasow Scotland’s “The Twilight Sad” was the first band of the day to take the stage. While it might seem lame to play first, they actually had a solid crowd due to being the first thing that everybody saw entering the gates. The band looked like they had just crawled out of bed. 1pm IS pretty early to play for a band on the road. Despite all of this, the band played well. It was something else to see that amount of sound being created from only three instruments. Although the band had probably the shortest set of the day (25 minutes), they were grateful, and used their time well. The Twilight Sounds’ dark, swirling sound was a supurb way to kick off the day

Check out more from that day at MoreCowbell.net

MP3: The Twilight Sad-That Summer At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy

The Twilight Sad Myspace

Deerhunter

So I am back from a whirlwind weekend in Chicago. Thanks to scott for holding it down while I was away, hope you enjoyed his posts.

You can read my full review of the weekend over at MoreCowbell.net but I want to post a few times on some of the standouts from Pitchfork. Up first is Deerhunter who pulled out one of the best sets of the weekend and the bigs agree.

Deerhunter started the day off with a bang. Fronted by the errierly pale, slender, Bradford Cox, he preformed wearing two shimmering dresses, lipstick and rosary beads. Each of the members of the band looked like somebody who belonged in attendance at Pitchfork. Deerhunter’s stage presence is subtlely perverse, but in a way that works. With powerful, agressive choruses and ghostly vocals, the crowd, which was surprisingly large for 1pm, was instantly into it. Their billowing, noisy, psych-rock was a stellar, inspiring way to kick off the final day of the festival.

MP3: Deerhunter-Cryptograms

Deerhunter Myspace

Harry and the Potters

This is what happens when you hand the reins over to me for a weekend.

Between the recent premiere of the fifth movie and the upcoming release of the final book, Harry Potter fever is at an all-time high. And because not even this blog is above capitalizing on that hysteria, I give you Harry and the Potters. The group is a pair of brothers who refer to themselves as Harry Year 7 and Harry Year 4. While their songs are mainly amateruish music with lyrics inspired directly by the books, these muggles put on a great live show. I had the opportunity to see their free show at the Minneapolis Public Library during their American library tour last summer, and their unyielding energy more than made up for any lack of musical talent. If you have a large circle around July 21st on your calendar, then I have no doubt that you'll love passing the remaining days with Harry and the Potters.

MP3 - Cornelius Fudge is an Ass
MP3 - Stick It To Dolores

http://www.myspace.com/harryandthepotters

For the illiterate few that don't like Harry Potter, you can check out what Neil has been doing this weekend at the Pitchfork Music Festival over at www.morecowbell.net. I'm sure there are pictures for you?

:o:

Architecture in Helsinki

Hey kids, it's Scott. Neil's too busy listening to good music to help you do the same, so I'm here to lend a hand again.

During my time apprenticing at WNUR last year, the DJs I worked under taught me the ins and outs of playing music on the radio. While they always stressed variety in our playlists to ensure the listener is constantly hearing new music, one album seemed to get played every week. I wasn't complaining however, because Architecture in Helsinki's second release In Case We Die has enough good tracks to play a different song every week of the quarter and not need to repeat once. Now that we've reached the halfway point of summer, I've found myself listening to their bright and sunny sound again. These Aussies have a new album releasing in the States in August, and I couldn't be more excited. If it's anything like their last one, I'll have no reservations about playing it every week when I get back to the station.

MP3: Architecture in Helsinki - The Cemetery

Architecture in Helsinki Myspace

:o: