by Andrew Sacher

Title Fight at Bowery Ballroom - 11/29/12 (via BrooklynVegan Instagram)

Kingston, PA punks Title Fight came to NYC for a sold out Bowery Ballroom show last night (11/29), the second to last night of their tour with Pianos Become the Teeth, SIngle Mothers, and Tigers Jaw, which wraps up in Philly tonight. The band have done some branching out from the straight ahead punk of their early days on their new record, Floral Green, and that was immediately evident last night, having opened the show with the Hum-esque "Head in the Ceiling Fan." The results of that new album have been great -- they've gained new audiences and if you ask me, Floral Green is by far the best thing the band has done to date.

But new levels of success and a growth in sound haven't tainted the band's young punk spirit a bit. They put every ounce of blood in their body into last night's show and the crowd reciprocated. They churned out rockers like "Secret Society," "Frown," and "Leaf" to raised fists, shout-alongs, and flocks of people rushing the stage. And though I mentioned that I think the new songs are their best yet, when they played older cuts "Symmetry" and "27," the floor opened up and people went apeshit. Naysayers may argue that Title Fight just sound like Hot Water Music and Braid (and they do sound like those bands), but when your music is as genuine and emotionally charged as theirs, it's too hard to ignore.

Baltimore screamo band Pianos Become the Teeth delivered a solid set as usual too, but the openers that impressed me the most were Ontario's Single Mothers. The band have been getting a bit of hype lately for their recently released self titled EP, but despite that, they bashed around on stage without any sense of entitlement. Their frontman (who sounds like a mix of Craig Finn and A-B Life-era Aaron Weiss) kept encouraging the crowd to go as nuts as he and the rest of the band were on stage. And to back his abrasive/flamboyant charisma, the rest of the band packed a huge punch of Dischord/SST post-hardcore n' roll, not unlike another hot new band, METZ.

Videos of Title Fight, Single Mothers, and Pianos Become the Teeth's full sets at their California shows, (via Cavis Tapes) are below.

Continue reading "Title Fight, Single Mothers, Pianos Become the Teeth and more played Bowery Ballroom (review + videos from CA)"

Assuming this isn't a joke, this copy of Title Fight's Floral Green currently has bids of $50k with less than 12 hours to go. The record was one of a run of 150 (#45 to be exact) and dropped less than two weeks ago at the band's record release party on 10/19 in Warrior Run. PA. If that sounds like a lot, please keep in mind there's free shipping on this item.

The band is currently on tour with Pianos Become the Teeth and Single Mothers, and have a clear tour pressing of the Secret Society 7" available at the merch table. 400 copies made, so pick one up and maybe you can get that Porsche you always wanted. NYCers can get their copy at Bowery Ballroom on November 29 (tickets).

by Andrew Sacher

Title Fight

Title Fight, Pianos Become the Teeth, and Canada's Single Mothers (who we first wrote about HERE) all pull from different aspects of the post-hardcore genre, and the three bands will be bringing their individual stylings on tour together this fall. From Title Fight, expect it of the raspy-voiced Hot Water Music-esque variety, where Pianos Become the Teeth will bring soaring, post-rock-infused hardcore, and Single Mothers' Americana punk isn't too far removed from a heavier Hold Steady. You can catch the three bands in NYC when the tour hits Bowery Ballroom on November 29. Tickets are not on sale yet but check ticketmaster for updates. Tigers Jaw is also on the bill. A list of all dates and the tour flier are below.

Title Fight are also set to release their new album, Floral Green, on September 18 via SideOneDummy. You can check out the video for the album's single, "Head In The Ceiling Fan," below, where you can also download the song in exchange for your email.

A list of all dates, tour flier, that video and widget are below.

Continue reading "Title Fight releasing new LP, touring w/ Pianos Become the Teeth & Single Mothers (dates & video)"

photos by Johnathan McPhail, words by BBG

There's this awkwardness that I love at a hardcore show, the moment when a beloved band plays a new song. It's clear that the crowd wants to dance and go nuts (especially, in the case of Converge who have a rather large hit rate), but no one knows what to do. I can see the Converge-fan's thought process now:

Do I swing my arms now?
Is it time to make the pizzas?
Should I start pacing in circles?
Is this the break?
Is this the end of the song?

That awkwardness happened a few times at Music Hall of Williamsburg on April 14th, when the Massachusetts band played with Pianos Become The Teeth, Git Some and Birds in Row. Converge's new tracks, not suprisingly, sounded exactly like you would expect (no left turns on these) and had names like "Aimless Arrow", "No Light Escapes" and "Empty on The Inside". Check out a video of the band performing "No Light Escapes" below. Of course it wasn't all about testing the waters; Converge also broke out the requisite favorites like "Eagles Become Vultures", "Concubine" and "Jane Doe" among many others (setlist below).

The confused Converge-fan will have the ability to get more familiar with the new tracks when the band teams with Rorschach, Indecision & Xaddax at Le Poisson Rouge on May 26th (!). Tickets are still on sale.

Though we unfortunately missed sets by Birds in Row (who just played another NYC show) and Git Some (them too), pictures from the Music Hall show continue below...

Continue reading "Converge played new songs @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (pics, video, setlist), added to Rorschach at LPR!"

by BBG

Git Some (ex-Planes Mistaken for Stars)

As discussed, Converge will hit the road for a string of dates with Loma Prieta and Git Some. Loma Prieta (who recently released the great I.V.) isn't on board for the 4/14 date at Music Hall of Williamsburg (that slot goes to Pianos Become The Teeth - tickets), but the band has scheduled a date with Birds in Row (who we recently profiled) at Acheron on March 24th.

In addition, Git Some (ex-Planes Mistaken For Stars) have some additional dates as well, including the previously discussed Morne/Swan King show at St Vitus on March 30th which they were recently added to along with NYC favorites Gang Signs. Tickets are still available.

In the meantime, Gang Signs have a few dates of their own in the coming weeks, including February 26th at Grand Victory with Sannhet, Tournament & Gentlemen and on March 9th at Saint Vitus with Hate Eternal (tickets).

All tour dates and some streams are below.

Continue reading "Git Some (ex-Planes Mistaken for Stars) and Loma Prieta add dates around Converge tour"

by Andrew Sacher

La Dispute at the Acheron in 2010 (more by Andrew St. Clair)

La Dispute's album Wildlife was one of my favorite post-hardcore albums of 2011. You can stream it in its entirety below and pick up the album at the No Sleep webstore.

La Dispute will be going on a headlining tour of the US and Canada in support of it this spring. The tour will be supported by Sainthood Reps, All Get Out, and Balance and Composure. All dates and the tour flier are below.

The tour hits NYC on April 29 at Bowery Ballroom. Artist presale tickets are available now for all dates. Presale tickets come with a poster (pictured below) designed by the band's bassist, Adam Vass. Ticketmaster tickets for the Bowery show go on sale Friday (2/10) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (2/8) at noon.

In somewhat related news, La Dispute's friends Pianos Become The Teeth have a few upcoming shows including two in NYC. They open for post-rockers Caspian at The Studio at Webster Hall on February 24 with Tidal Arms and also open for Converge at MHOW on April 14 with Git Some. Tickets for the Studio show are on sale now and tickets for the MHOW show go on sale Friday (2/10) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (2/8) at noon.

All dates, album stream, flier, and poster below...

Continue reading "La Dispute announce tour dates; Pianos Become The Teeth opening for Converge & Caspian "

by BBG

Converge at House of Vans (more by BBG)


Converge have been grinding away on a new record, but will head out of their caves to play a string of mostly-Northeastern US dates with Loma Prieta (who we recently profiled) and Git Some (ex-Planes Mistaken For Stars). That includes a stop in Brooklyn at Music Hall of Williamsburg on April 14th with Pianos Become The Teeth. Loma Prieta is unfortunately sitting out the MHoW date, but we'll let you know if they add another area show instead. Ticketing info for MHoW is forthcoming.

Meanwhile, Converge drummer Ben Koller will spend the days leading up to the tour as drummer for the mighty All Pigs Must Die. The band recently played Acheron with Seven Sisters of Sleep (who went on to play A389 Anniversary) and will hit Knitting Factory on March 9th as part of a round of dates with Narrows. Tickets are still available.

All tour dates and some video below...

Continue reading "Converge announce tour, including Music Hall of Williamsburg (dates w/ Loma Prieta & Git Some)"