cheaptime1

Cheap Time, Thomas Function, The Soft Pack, Fluffy Lumbers & more in This Week in Indie (part 1)

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Fluffy Lumbers – Cruisers (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Thomas Function – Belly of the Beast (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cheap Time – Woodland Drive (MP3)

Cheap Time
Cheap Time

As you may have heard, Jay Reatard‘s Shattered Tour blows into town tonight (10/1) at Le Poisson Rougue, having seen every band on tonight’s bill except for Useless Eaters, I can say this sounds like a whole lot of fun. Except for the part that it’s a five band bill where doors don’t open till 11pm, which seems super late for a 21+ show. So if you don’t have to get up and go to work on Friday, or you’ve evolved beyond the need for sleep, definitely check it out. (The scheduled set times for the night is below.) Expect nudity, maybe some blood, and a whole lot of catchy garage punk pop from Box Elders, Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Useless Eaters, and your host for the night, Mr. Reatard (who is also performing with Useless Eaters). You can download a free sampler featuring all the artsits on the tour at the bottom of our just-posted interview with Jay.

A band that are on some of the Shattered Tour dates, though not tonight’s, are Cheap Time who are gonna be in town this weekend playing Friday (10/2) and Saturday (10/3) at Silent Barn. This Tennessee trio leans more on the catchy punk and less on blown-out levels and reverb than many of the bands lumped in the garage universe, with their new single “Woodland Drive” being a big leap forward sonically and songwriting-ly.

Friday’s show also has Fluffy Lumbers on the bill. Their song “Cruisers” has gotten a lot of play on my stereo over the last two months. You can download it at the top of this post. The band’s line-up is in flux at the moment, so I’m not sure how many Fluffy Lumbers there are at this point, but they’re worth listening to. Also playing: art-punks White Diamonds and Beachniks which includes members of German Measels and Crystal Stilts.

The Saturday show also features New Orleans piano-based trio The Pharmacy, plus Columbus, OH’s Guinea Worms, Brooklyn’s Uzi Rash and The Sediment Club.

Thomas Function
Thomas Function

Speaking of Silent Barn, Alabama’s Thomas Function played there last night (9/30), their first NYC show since January. You’ve got two more chances to see them: tonight (10/1) at The Studio at Webster Hall and tomorrow (10/2) at Bruar Falls. Thomas Function have a new album, In the Valley of Sickness, which is out October 13 but I’m pretty sure they’ve got it to buy at their merch tables this weekend. I’ve only heard a few songs from it (you can download one at the top of this post). What I’ve heard sounds a just slightly less raucous than last year’s Celebration, but I have a feeling the songs will be a bit wilder when played live. Both NYC shows (and all upcoming dates with TF) are with mysterious French dude Yussuf Jerusalem whose MySpace page and artwork might lead you to believe he makes some sort of scary black metal but in fact it’s catchy, slightly gothy psych-rock not that far off from Ohio greats My Dad is Dead.

The Soft Pack @ Bowery Ballroom in March (more by Chris La Putt)
Soft Pack

The Soft Pack are also back in town this weekend, playing their first shows since being odd men out on that NME tour that had them sharing the bill with UK acts Friendly Fires and White Lies. Their show at Bowery Ballroom on Friday (10/2) makes a lot more sense, with onetime 1928 labelmates The Sundelles, plus Right on Dynamite and The Dig. The band did spend part of their summer in Brooklyn, recording their debut for Kemado Records which should be out in early 2010. I haven’t seen them since their Union Pool show back in January with Those Darlins which is one of the best times I’ve had all year, and I’m anxious to hear some new tracks, like “C’mon” which you can watch a live performance of at the bottom of this post.

There’ll be more This Week In Indie later, including The Dø, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Besnard Lakes, the return of Frank Sidebottom and more. Stay tuned. In the meantime, check out videos, flyers and tour dates after the jump.

Shattered Tour at Le Poisson Rouge 10/1 Set Times
11:00pm Useless Eaters (with Jay)
11:45am Box Elders
12:30am Jay Reatard
1:30am Hunx & HIs Punx
2:15am Nobunny

Jay Reatard – 2009 Tour Dates
SHATTERED RECORDS TOUR
Mon Sep 28 – Chicago – Empty Bottle with Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Useless Eaters
Tue Sep 29 – Toronto – The Reverb with Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Useless Eaters
Wed Sep 30 – Montreal – La Sala Rossa with Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Useless Eaters
Thu Oct 1 – New York City – Le Poisson Rouge with Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Useless Eaters
Fri Oct 2 – Boston – Harpers Ferry with Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Useless Eaters
Sat Oct 3 – Baltimore – Ottobar with Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Useless Eaters
Thu Oct 15 – Seattle – Crocodile Cafe with Box Elders and Cheap Time
Sat Oct 17 – Portland – Scion Garage Rock Fest
Mon Oct 19 – San Francisco – Great American Music Hall with Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Digital Leather
Tue Oct 20 – San Diego – The Casbah with Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Digital Leather
Wed Oct 21 – Los Angeles – El Rey Theater with Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Digital Leather

EUROPEAN TOUR
Wed Oct 28 Paris – Maroquinerie
Thu Oct 29 Cologne – Luxor
Fri Oct 30 Munich – 59 to 1
Sat Oct 31 Berlin – Lido
Sun Nov 1 Copenhagen – Loppen
Mon Nov 2 Oslo – Parkteatret
Tue Nov 3 Malmo – Mejeriet
Wed Nov 4 Hamburg – Logo
Thu Nov 5 Prague – Matrix
Fri Nov 6 Vienna – B72
Sat Nov 7 Bologna – Covo
Sun Nov 8 Clermont Ferrand – Coop de Mai
Mon Nov 9 Brussels – Botanique Rotonde
Tue Nov 10 Birmingham – Bar Academy
Wed Nov 11 Glasgow – King Tuts
Thu Nov 12 Manchester – Roadhouse
Fri Nov 13 London – Underworld
Sat Nov 14 Bristol – Croft
Sun Nov 15 Liverpool – Masque
Mon Nov 16 Dublin – Whelans

Cheap Time – 2009 Tour Dates
Oct 1 JR’s Bar w/ Tough Shits Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Oct 2 Silent Barn Brooklyn, New York
Oct 3 Silent Barn Brooklyn, New York
Oct 4 Gooski’s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Oct 5 Beachland Ballroom ***Cleveland, Ohio
Oct 6 Vic Theater ***Chicago, Illinois
Oct 7 First Ave. ***Minneapolis, Minnesota
Oct 8 Replay Lounge Lawrence, Kansas
Oct 9 Slowdown ***Omaha, Nebraska
Oct 10 Odgen ***Denver, Colorado
Oct 11 Belly Up ***Aspen, Colorado
Oct 12 Urban Lounge ***Salt Lake City, Utah
Oct 14 The Lion’s Lair w/ Ze Krau Spokane, Washington
Oct 15 Crocodile w/ Jay Reatard and Box Elders Seattle, Washington
Oct 17 VICE/SCION Fest @ Someday Lounge w/ Box Elders Porland, Oregon
Oct 18 Ground Kontrol w/ Welcome Home Walker Portland, Oregon
Oct 20 The Hub w/ Slippery Slopes Sacramento, California
Oct 21 Eli’s Mile High Club w/ Buzzer and Apache Oakland, California
Oct 22 Eagle Tavern/Budget Rock Fest 8 San Francisco, California
Oct 25 Five Star Bar w/ The Spits, and Davila 666 Los Angeles, California
Oct 30 Five Star Bar w/ Black Time, Le Face, and Audacity Los Angeles, California
Nov 5 Soda Bar w/ Christmas Island, Beaters, and Brains San Diego, California
Nov 6 TBA Las Vegas, Nevada
Nov 7 Hollywood Alley Mesa, Arizona
Nov 8 Bacon House Las Cruces, New Mexico
Nov 10 Beerland Austin, Texas
Nov 11 TBA Denton, Texas
Nov 13 Buccaneer Memphis, Tennessee
Nov 14 Glenn Danzig’s House w/ Symptoms and Heavy Cream Nashville, Tennessee
*** w/ Yo La Tengo

Thomas Function

Thomas Function – 2009 Tour Dates
10.01.09 Thu NYC, New York Webster Hall *
10.02.09 Fri Brooklyn, New York Bruar Falls *
10.03.09 Sat Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Garfield Artworks *
10.04.09 Sun Columbus, Ohio The Summit *
10.05.09 Mon Detroit, Michigan Lager House *
10.06.09 Tue Ft. Wayne, Indiana Brass Rail *
10.07.09 Wed Rock Island, Illinois Daytrotter Session
10.07.09 Wed Chicago, Illinois Ronny’s Bar *
10.08.09 Thu Milwaukee, Wisconsin Garibaldi’s *
10.09.09 Fri Des Moines, Iowa Vaudeville Mews *
10.10.09 Sat Lawrence, Kansas Replay Lounge *
10.11.09 Sun Denver, Colorado Larimer Lounge *
10.12.09 Mon Provo, Utah House Show in Provo *
10.14.09 Wed Seattle, Washington Funhouse *
10.15.09 Thu Tacoma, Washington The Den *
10.17.09 Sat Portland, Oregon VICE Scion Garage Festival [@ Dante’s]
10.19.09 Mon Oakland, California Stork Club *
10.20.09 Tue San Francisco, California Hemlock Tavern *
10.23.09 Fri Los Angeles, California 5 Star Bar *
10.25.09 Sun San Diego, California Bar Pink Elephant *
10.26.09 Mon Phoenix, Arizona Modified Arts *
10.27.09 Tue Las Cruces, Arizona Train Yard *
10.29.09 Thu Lubbock, Texas Bash Riprocks *
10.30.09 Fri Dallas, Texas The Lounge on Elm Street *
10.31.09 Sat Austin, Texas Beerland *
11.01.09 Sun Austin, Texas Beerland *
11.02.09 Mon Houston, Texas Mango’s *
11.03.09 Tue New Orleans, Louisiana Saturn Bar *
11.04.09 Wed Mobile, Alabama Alabama Music Box *
* w/ Yussuf Jerusalem

The Soft Pack – “C’mon”

The Soft Pack – 2009 Tour Dates
Oct 1 Johnny Brenda’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Oct 2 Bowery Ballroom New York, New York
Oct 3 Middle East (upstairs) Boston, Massachusetts
Oct 6 The End Nashville, Tennessee
Oct 8 The Cavern Dallas, Texas
Oct 9 Walter’s on Washington Houston, Texas
Oct 10 Emo’s Jnr w/ WAVVES Austin, Texas
Oct 16 Casbah w/ WAVVES San Diego, California
Oct 17 Echoplex w/ WAVVES Los Angeles, California
Nov 3 King Tuts Glasgow, UK
Nov 4 Ruby Lounge Manchester, UK
Nov 5 Barfly London, UK
Nov 6 La Cigale Paris, France