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Titus Andronicus, Parts & Labor, The Babies & Cloud Nothings played Bowery Ballroom - pics & more dates

DOWNLOAD: Titus Andronicus – A More Perfect Union (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Titus Andronicus – Four Score And Seven (part one) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Titus Andronicus – Four Score And Seven (part two) (MP3)

by Andrew Frisicano

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus celebrated the release of their new record, The Monitor, with a headlining show at Bowery Ballroom on Saturday, March 6th. The album’s raucus, conceptual layers peeled back on stage to reveal the taut five-piece underneath. For two members of the band, keyboardist David Robbins and violinist/guitarist Amy Klein, it was only their third show with the group. The warm reception to the new-album tunes – with sing-alongs from the amazing, stand-out album opener (above) to its amazingly-depressing closer – no doubt set the bar high for the band’s upcoming slew of album-supporting shows (including BrooklynVegan Emo’s day party on Wednesday, March 17th in Austin).

On stage, frontman Patrick Stickles brought along an American Flag, but left out the LP’s guests and Lincoln quoting transitions. He did a bit to humanize the record’s kitch, sending a song out to his brother in the Navy, who he credited for getting the band on their whole nautical kick (a bit more personal than the Ken Burns doc and other sources often mentioned). He also did his part to play den mother to the young crowd – it was the first time I’ve ever heard anyone in a band tell an audience, “It’s time to start to thinking about winding down.”

In a lot of ways the 1.5+ hour show seemed like the opening of a new book for the band. The melding of History and personal history is something that The Monitor does without shame, and with both those arcs closed, the Bowery show felt like a new beginning. As part of the encore, Patrick treated us to a solo cover of the Replacements’ “Treatment Bound” (which you can get from NYCTaper).

The openers were all great: Cloud Nothings played rough-around-the-edges power pop; Vivian Girls/Woods side-project The Babies are quickly becoming one of my favorites with popppy mid-set combos like “All Things Come to Pass” and “Meet Me in the City;” and Parts & Labor‘s effects/synth-laden sound added some eclecticism to the show. Cloud Nothings and Parts & Labor both have shows in NYC and elsewhere coming up, which are laid out below along with more pictures from the show…

Cloud Nothings

Cloud Nothings

Cloud Nothings

Cloud Nothings

Cloud Nothings

Cloud Nothings

Babies

Babies

Babies

Babies

Babies

Babies

Babies

Babies

Babies

Babies

Babies

Babies

Babies

Babies

Babies

Babies

Babies

Parts and Labor

Parts and Labor

Parts and Labor

Parts and Labor

Parts and Labor

Parts and Labor

Parts and Labor

Parts and Labor

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Cloud Nothings – 2010 Tour Dates
Mar 09 DC9 w/ FREE KISSES DC, Washington DC
Mar 10 MONSTER ISLAND w/ FREE KISSES Brooklyn, New York
Mar 11 THE OX w/ COASTING and SISTERS Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 12 TBA w/ FREE KISSES Columbus, Ohio
Mar 13 BLACK SPARROW PUB w/ SPLENDID TREND Lafayette, Indiana
Mar 14 TBA Bloomington, Indiana
Mar 15 EMPTY BOTTLE w/ MY GOLD MASK and COMMON LOON Chicago, Illinois
Mar 16 JACKPOT MUSIC HALL w/ WOODS and REAL ESTATE Lawrence, Kansas
Mar 17 GROUP TIGHTENER SHOWCASE @ CHEER UP CHARLIE’S Austin, Texas
Mar 18 MICROPHONE MEMORY EMOTION SHOWCASE @ 1809 W. 10th St. Austin, Texas
Mar 19 WEEKLY TAPE DECK/TRANSPARENT SHOWCASE @ KARIBU RESTAURANT Austin, Texas
Mar 20 SXSW Austin, Texas
Mar 21 MTYMX FESTIVAL Monterrey, México
Mar 31 MERCURY LOUNGE w/ ABE VIGODA and EFFI BRIEST New York, New York
Apr 01 RANDOM ROW BOOKS w/ INVISIBLE HAND and DRUNK TIGERS Charlottesville, Virginia
Apr 02 MACROCK Harrisonburg, Virginia
Apr 04 GROG SHOP w/ LOVE IS ALL Cleveland, Ohio
Apr 17 MUSIC SAVES (RECORD STORE DAY!) Cleveland, Ohio

Parts & Labor – 2010 Tour Dates
May 13 Black Cat Washington, Washington DC #
May 14 Kung Fu Necktie Philadelphia, PA #
May 15 Knitting Factory Brooklyn Brooklyn, NY $ (tickets)
# w/ Soft Power
$ w/ Soft Power, Talk Normal, Guts For Garters