by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk - I'm Not a Nintendo (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bandit Teeth - Encouragement (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Wetdog - Lower Leg (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Rondelles - Please Shut Up (MP3)

Unrest @ The Bell House

Doing anything besides swimming or laying in front of a powerful A/C unit hasn't been appealing this week, let alone going into some club or DIY venue with poor ventilation, but temperatures are dropping and there are a lot of fun things to do this weekend, so it's time to buck up, camper, and go see some rock.

As you may have previously read, tonight is the first show at new Park Slope club The Rock Shop. Curiosity is enough to get me there but for those who didn't get tickets to the TeenBeat 26th Anniversary show tomorrow can see The Rondelles play tonight for free. If you liked Elastica or Veruca Salt or fellow TeenBeat band Tuscadero, you should definitely clear some time to check out The Rondelles who sit nicely amongst their '90s peers. Broken up for nearly a decade, this might be your only chance to see them again (apart from tomorrow night). Also playing are The Love Loves. Did I mention it's free? The Rock Shop is supposed to have a very nice rooftop deck as well.

Tuscadero @ The Bell House

While I'm on the subject, I went to the first of the TeenBeat 26th Anniversary shows at the Bell House this past Monday (7/5) and it was a good time. Unrest were a little rusty at first but the muscle memory kicked in around "Makeout Club" and the crowd got into it, and the parade of classics ("Isabelle," "Cherry Cream On," "Cath Carrol") undeniable. But I'm pretty certain Tuscadero stole the night, with a lot of fans there just for them, psyched to hear "Dime a Dozen," "Dr. Doom" and others. Too bad they're not also on the bill for Friday's sold-out show. They've still got it.

True Love Always, who I'd never seen before, were good too. There's video at the bottom of this post from Monday's show. Must add that the merch table is pretty sweet too. I picked up a reissue of Unrest's Imperial F.f.r.r. on clear vinyl for only $10, and got a new version of an old Unrest t-shirt I used to own back in the day.

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We've got two bands from Lawrence, KS in town -- Bandit Teeth and Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk -- playing three shows together: Friday night (7/9) at Cake Shop, a free show Saturday (7/10) afternoon at Union Pool and then Saturday night at Death By Audio. Both bands are worth checking out.

Bandit Teeth

Bandit Teeth got their start in the late '90s but went on hiatus while singer Brad Shanks moved to NYC with his sister Courtney when their band Blood on the Wall took off. Brad moved back to Kansas a few years ago and reactivated Bandit Teeth with Zach Campbell of Rooftop Vigilantes. They're sort of sloppy, snotty and nasally -- not unlike the Jacuzzi Boys -- and you can check out "Encouragement" at the top of this post.

BBDDM

Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk features another Rooftop Vigilante, Oscar Allen, and put out records and cassettes at an alarming rate. Their hazy miasma of sound falls within the Altered Zones demographic but there is poppy song structures under the hiss and reverb. You can check out one of their more straightforward recordings, "I'm Not a Nintendo," at the top of this post.

Friday's Cake Shop show also has Blissed Out and Ana Lola Roman on the bill; the free day Saturday day show at Union Pool also features Violent Bullshit.

Rooftop Vigilantes new album, Real Pony Glue, is due out hopefully before the end of the year. Closer on the horizon is a 7" single that should hit shops in late August or September.

Wetdog

UK band Wetdog are gracing us with another visit, playing Monster Island Basement Friday (7/9) with fellow Captured Tracks band MINKS (who I profiled last week), plus YellowFever (who are out of jail!), and Larkin Grimm. I caught Wetdog back in April at Glasslands and they are definitely worth seeing, definitely within that 1979 postpunk milleiu without sounding exactly like any band of that era. The drummer's minimalist playing style, one leg propped on top of the kick, was something else. The band are playing a few East Coast shows, and all tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

And some day-by-day picks

THURSDAY, JULY 8 (TONIGHT)

In addition to tomorrow night's show, YellowFever are also playing Cake Shop tonight with Dream Diary (who have gotten really good), The Numerators,  and Pterodactyl. Has anyone been to Cake Shop this week? Wondering if they've got their A/C working.

Ann Arbor, MI's Secret Twins and Bad Indians spice up a Death By Audio bill that includes local TWII faves My Teenage Stride and Knight School.

continued below...

Continue reading "Unrest, Tuscadero, Bandit Teeth, Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk, Wetdog & more in This Week in Indie "

by Bill Pearis

Diamond Nights

For those who miss the hedonistic days of Williamsburg 2004, this show's for you: Diamond Nights and Cheeseburger play Brooklyn Bowl on February 13. $5.00 tickets are on sale.

Diamond Nights, who also play Coco 66 the night before (2/12), haven't played together since 2007. For a while it seemed like they were going to be the next big thing with their mix of Thin Lizzy and The Cars and a song -- "The Girl's Attractive" -- that was everywhere for a while. They were also a fun, super-tight live band. But Diamond Nights dissolved soon after the release of their debut album, Popsicle, and singer Morgan Phalen moved to California and guitarist Rob Laakso joined Amazing Baby. Pretty sure these two shows are for the fun of it, but as someone who thought they ended too soon, maybe playing live again will rekindle things.

Cheeseburger

Meanwhile Cheeseburger (who played at least a few shows in 2009) have just put the finishing touches on their second album and have grown from a bassless trio to having two guitarists and a full rhythm section and one of our premier party-rock bands. I've heard some of the new record and while it would be incorrect to say they've grown up, they've definitely matured as songwriters and musicians. Live shows are still mayhem, though more from the fans than on-stage shenanigans these days. I hope shiny Brooklyn Bowl knows what it's in for.

However, this won't be your typical Cheeseburger show. Singer Joe Bradley is due to be a new father any minute and won't be there. Instead, the band is getting a different guest vocalist for every song, including comedian Jon Glaser (Adult Swim's Delocated), Les Savy Fav's Tim Harrington and Andy Reuland, Jason Green of Violent Bullshit, Diamond Nights' Morgan Phalen, and some surprise guests. Personally, I think they should rename themselves Cheeseburger Deluxe for this gig but that's just me.

A couple Diamond Nights and Cheeseburger videos after the jump...

Continue reading "Diamond Nights return for 2 shows, Cheeseburger playing w/ guest vocalists (Jon Glaser, Tim Harrington, more)"

photos by Chloe Rice, words by Black Bubblegum

These Arms Are Snakes @ Shea Stadium

The wildmen of These Arms Are Snakes were back at it on Friday 9/25 at Shea Stadium, when the band teamed up with Violent Bullshit (mems Panthers, Orchid, Black Army Jacket, Half Man, etc) and DD/MM/YY.

The Shea Stadium gig was one of two in NYC for the band. The second was Mercury Lounge the next day (9/27). How were they?

Brian Cook of TAAS does time in another band, Russian Circles, who are scheduled to take on Bowery Ballroom with Young Widows and Phantom Family Halo. Tickets are on sale.

Meanwhile, some bad news out of the Young Widows camp that will force them to cancel all remaining dates with Thursday, though their Russian Circles tour is mostly unaffected for now.

Unfortunately, due to circumstances completely out of our control, we have had to drop of of our tour with Thursday. Apologies to all but our attention is needed at home right now.
A big thanks to the Thursday crew for taking us out and being extremely supportive of what we do; it means a lot.
You can look for us to make up the dates in the next 2 months with our friends Russian Circles. We'll also be playing a bunch of new material, so we hope to see you on the road.
-Nick

All affected Thursday dates, with more pics of TAAS & Violent Bullshit from Shea Stadium (Chloe was at Santos shooting Rorschach reunion just before this show, so she missed DD/MM/YY and the other openers), below...

Continue reading "These Arms Are Snakes played Mercury & Shea Stadium (pics), Young Widows drop off Thursday tour"