The Totally RT-able Day-and-a-half of Radfest recap

Radfest was this past weekend in Wilmington, NC. I saw some bands.

Not every band I saw is mentioned below, and unfortunately I had to leave early Saturday before most of the headliners.

Instead of trying to describe every show, here's the Totally RT-able day-and-a-half of Radfest recap.

Every entry in 140 characters or less. Oh yeah, follow me on Twitter: @deckfight.

Friday

Greenland is Melting: Punx do bluegrass right. If they changed their name to "Fickle Meek" they would blow up Americana.

Blacklist Royals: Never knew you, but I wanted to. Had to walk my dog. Will keep Night Owl apparel in mind though.


PJ Bond

PJ Bond: "I think it's okay to call off work on a sunny day." Me too.

The Measure (SA): Packed venue & not a bad set to boot.

White Tiger and The Bed of Roses: More long hair in the crowd than anywhere else.


One Win Choice

One Win Choice: Energetic is an understatement.

Captain We're Sinking: Punchy and wall-to-wall nonstop. Most impressive performance from a band I didn't know.

Red City Radio: A standout. Sucker for gang vox. Best (and only?) rendition of "You've lost that loving feeling" at Radfest.

Spanish Gamble: Good to see the wolfpack reunited.

Fin Fang Foom: NC faves. Sometimes punk doesn't sound like punk.

Saturday


Red Collar

Red Collar: The light in the tunnel speech, pumped fists, and sing-a-longs by Mike. They give everything, every time. Best 4pm show ever.

Lemuria: I'm now a fan, but little bit of a letdown after Red Collar madness.


O Pioneers!!!

O Pioneers!!!: Thought they were the same as Junior Battles. They're not. They're better. Oh, yeah "shirts off, dudes on!" & on & on & on.


Cheap Girls

Cheap Girls: The band all the other bands came to see. Crowd built from a few into a mass, complete with Chason crowd surf.

RVIVR: Actually punk in music and lyrics. Thought this no longer existed.

(>>>And that's it...I had to leave early<<<) More after the jump...

RadFest Preview Wilmington, NC May 14-15

Wow, this is amazing. I live in this silly little coastal town--it took one Chason Huggins to put this sucker together.

Really, it's kind of beyond words that a lot of the punk community will be in Wilmington, NC for a weekend of Rad Fest radness.

The breakdown is: 2-day passes this wknd May 14-15 only $25 over 5 venues. Tix available here. Snazzy.

Whole thing is highlighted by a New Mexican Disaster Squad reunion show on Saturday night.

Bands I want to see:

Friday:
Greenland is Melting--3:40pm @ Charley Brownz
Beard of Antlers------5:40pm @ The Whiskey (I've never heard this band, but that's a cool name)
Coffee Project--------6:10 pm @ Charley Brownz
Blacklist Royals------6:20 pm @ 16 Taps
PJ Bond---------------7:00 pm @ Charley Brownz
We Are The Union------7:20 pm @ The Soapbox Lounge
White Tiger &
The Bed of Roses------8:10pm @ The Whiskey
One Win Choice--------9:00pm @ The Soapbox Lounge
Colossus--------------10:40pm @ The Whiskey
Landmines-------------12:10pm @ 16 Taps
Fin Fang Foom---------12:20pm @ The Whiskey

Saturday:
Junior Battles--------3:30pm @ 16 Taps
Red Collar-------------4:00pm @ The Soapbox Upstairs
Lemuria---------------5:00pm @ The Soapbox Upstairs
O Pioneers-------------5:20pm @ 16 Taps
Cheap Girls------------6:20pm @ 16 Taps
Annabel---------------7:50pm @ Charley Brownz
Cloak/Dagger----------8:00pm @ The Soapbox Lounge
Museum Mouth-------8:40pm @ Charley Brownz
New Mexican
Disaster Squad--------9:00pm @ The Soapbox Upstairs
Monikers--------------10:30pm @ The Soapbox Lounge


The Full Schedule after the jump....



Friday

THE SOAPBOX-UPSTAIRS
None More Black 12:00 ‐ 1:00
The Sainte Catherines 10:40 ‐ 11:40
Toys That Kill 9:35 ‐ 10:20
Rehasher 8:30 ‐ 9:15
The Measure (SA) 7:30 ‐ 8:10
Nothington 6:30 ‐ 7:10
$20 (for both floors) or FREE w/ RAD FEST PASS! ALL AGES!
Doors: 6pm

THE SOAPBOX-LOUNGE
The Emotron 1:10 ‐ 1:40
Dirty Tactics 12:20 ‐ 12:50
The Shaking Hands 11:30 ‐ 12:00
Virgins 10:40 ‐ 11:10
After The Fall 9:50 ‐ 10:20
One Win Choice 9:00 ‐ 9:30
Mose Giganticus 8:10 ‐ 8:40
We Are The Union 7:20 ‐ 7:50
How Dare You 6:30 ‐ 7:00
Gatorface 5:40 ‐ 6:10
The Anchor 4:50 ‐ 5:20
$20 (for both floors) or FREE w/ RAD FEST PASS! ALL AGES!
Doors: 4:20pm

16 taps
The Riot Before 1:00 ‐ 1:40
Landmines 12: 10 ‐ 12:40
Spanish Gamble 11: 20 ‐ 11:50
Red City Radio 10:30 ‐ 11:00
Captain, We’re Sinking! 9:40 ‐ 10:10
The Snips 8:50 ‐ 9:20
Criminal Culture 8:00 ‐ 8:30
Freeman 7:10 ‐ 7:40
Blacklist Royals 6:20 ‐ 6:50
GDP 5:30 ‐ 6:00
Assassinate The Scientist 4:40 ‐ 5:10
The Holy Mess 3:50 ‐ 4:20
$10 or FREE w/ RAD FEST PASS! 18+
Doors: 3:20pm

The Whiskey
The Future Now 1:10 ‐ 1:40
Fin Fang Foom 12:20 ‐ 12:50
Worn In Red 11:30 ‐ 12:00
Colossus 10:40 ‐ 11:10
Lighten Up 9:50 ‐ 10:20
Mouthbreather 9:00 ‐ 9:30
White Tiger &
The Bed Of Roses 8:10 ‐ 8:40
Liquid Limbs 7:20 ‐ 7:50
Constrictor 6:30 ‐ 7:00
Beard of Antlers 5:40 ‐ 6:10
Vegan Coke 4:50 ‐ 5:20
Battle! 4:00 ‐ 4:30
FREE w/ RAD FEST PASS! 21+
Doors: 3:30pm

Charley Brownz
The Takers 10:20 ‐ 11:00
Rob Huddleston 9:30 ‐ 10:00
Red Clay River 8:40 ‐ 9:10
Todd Congelliere 7:50 ‐ 8:20
PJ Bond 7:00 ‐ 7:30
Coffee Project 6:10 ‐ 6:40
Jon Gaunt 5:20 ‐ 5:50
Mourning Is For Suckers 4:30 ‐ 5:00
Greenland Is Melting 3:40 ‐ 4:10
Fossil Arm 2:50 ‐ 3:20
$10 or FREE w/ RAD FEST PASS! 18+
Doors: 2:20pm


Saturday

THE SOAPBOX-UPSTAIRS
Leatherface 11:40 ‐ 1:00
Ann Beretta 10:20 ‐ 11:20
New Mexican
Disaster Squad 9:00 ‐ 10:00
Young Livers 8:00 ‐ 8:40
RVIVR 7:00 ‐ 7:40
New Bruises 6:00 ‐ 6:40
Lemuria 5:00 ‐ 5:40
Red Collar 4:00 ‐ 4:40
$20 (for both floors) or FREE w/ RAD FEST PASS! ALL AGES!
Doors: 3:30pm

THE SOAPBOX-LOUNGE
Ninja Gun 1:00 ‐ 1:40
Panthro UK United 13 12:10 ‐ 12:40
The Cardinal Health 11:20 ‐ 11:50
Monikers 10:30 ‐ 11:00
Sharks Come Cruisin 9:40 ‐ 10:10
Underground Railroad
To Candyland 8:50 ‐ 9:20
Cloak/Dagger 8:00 ‐ 8:30
Protagonist 7:10 ‐ 7:40
NoMore 6:20 ‐ 6:50
Barnaby Jones 5:30 ‐ 6:00
Photoclub 4:50 ‐ 5:10
Anchor Arms 4:00 ‐ 4:30
$20 (for both floors) or FREE w/ RAD FEST PASS! ALL AGES!
Doors: 3:30pm

16 taps
Army of Ponch 7:20 ‐ 8:00
Cheap Girls 6:20 ‐ 7:00
O Pioneers!!! 5:20 ‐ 6:00
Grabass Charlestons 4:20 ‐ 5:00
Junior Battles 3:30 ‐ 4:00
The Slow Death 2:40 ‐ 3:10
Senders 1:50 ‐ 2:20
Reverse The Curse 1:00 ‐ 1:30
$10 or FREE w/ RAD FEST PASS! 18+
Doors: 12:30pm

The whiskey
Madison Bloodbath 1:00 ‐ 1:40
Nothing In The Dark 12:10 ‐ 12:40
The Dopamines 11:20 ‐ 11:50
Something Fierce 10:30 ‐ 11:00
Mockingbird Wish Me Luck 9:40 ‐ 10:10
American Armada 8:50 ‐ 9:20
Black Wine 8:00 ‐ 8:30
Dude Jams 7:10 ‐ 7:40
Homemade Handgrenade 6:20 ‐ 6:50
Prevenge 5:30 ‐ 6:00
Too Many Daves 4:40 ‐ 5:10
Night Birds 3:50 ‐ 4:20
10‐4 Eleanor 3:00 ‐ 3:30
FREE w/ RAD FEST PASS! 21+
Doors: 2:30pm

Charley Brownz
P.S. Eliot 10:20 ‐ 10:50
Tin Armor 9:30 ‐ 10:00
Museum Mouth 8:40 ‐ 9:10
Annabel 7:50 ‐ 8:20
Sleepies 7:00 ‐ 7:30
Little League 6:10 ‐ 6:40
Imadethismistake 5:20 ‐ 5:50
Polygon 4:30 ‐ 5:00
Two Hand Fools 3:40 ‐ 4:10
Very Magic 2:50 ‐ 3:20
Over Stars and Gutters 2:00 ‐ 2:30
$10 or FREE w/ RAD



More after the jump...

Everyone Everywhere MP3 blog tour

Philly's Everyone Everywhere is putting on a blog tour for its upcoming album--each blog gets a track, and YOU THE FAITHFUL READER can download a track each day until May 4, then Punk News (you probably know them...) will start streaming.

I'm due next Monday, but The Ripple Effect kicks it off today (Monday) and then moves from there. The blogs and track listing is after the jump...

01. Tiny Planet @ The Ripple Effect - Monday (04/19)
02. Raw Bar OBX 2002 @ Can You See The Sunset? - Tuesday (04/20)
03. From The Beginning To The Tail @ Built On A Weak Spot - Wednesday (04/21)
04. Tiny Town @ Dryvetyme Onlyne - Thursday (04/22)
05. Tiny Boat @ Battle Of The Midwestern Housewives - Friday (04/23)

Side B
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

06. Music Work Paper Work @ Deckfight - Monday (04/26)
07. Blown Up Grown Up @ The Album Project - Tuesday (04/27)
08. Fld Ovr @ Familiarize Yourself - Wednesday (04/28)
09. I Feel Fine by Everyone Everywhere @ Reviewsic - Thursday (04/29)
10. Obama House, Fukui Prefecture @ Clicky Clicky Music - Friday (04/30)

More after the jump...

Swing South: Dear Landlord / Off With Their Heads

Dear Landlord: "I Live In Hell"
Dear Landlord: "Heartbroken Handshakes"

Need to order this album, because according to respected sources, it is the greatest since sliced bread. Late 90s punk reinvented and reinvigorated. Dear Landlord is from Illinois but on Gainesville's No Idea Records. They end their trip at the Harvest of Hope Fest in St. Augustine, FL which I need to do a bigger write-up on.

Also on the tour is Off With Their Heads from Minnesota. Deeper and darker.

Off With Their Heads - "Keep Falling Down" from Mario Framingheddu on Vimeo.

Both bands hit Atlanta tomorrow. The rest of the southern tour dates are listed below...


Mar 3 2010
8:00P
The Drunken Unicorn w/Off With Their Heads Atlanta, Georgia

Mar 4 2010
8:00P
Transistions Art Gallery w/ Off With Their Heads Tampa, Florida

Mar 5 2010
8:00P
The Atlantic w/ Off With Their Heads Gainesville, Florida

Mar 6 2010
8:00P
Churchills w/ off with their heads Miami, Florida

Mar 7 2010
4:30P
Backbooth w/ Off With Their Heads (early show) Orlando, Florida

Mar 8 2010
8:00P
Filthy McNasty’s w/ off with their heads vero beach, Florida

Mar 12 2010
8:00P
Harvest of Hope Fest St. Augustine, Florida

Mar 13 2010
8:00P
Harvest of Hope Fest St. Augustine, Florida

Mar 14 2010
8:00P
Harvest of Hope Fest St. Augustine, Florida
More after the jump...

review: Pianos Become The Teeth Old Pride

Pianos Become The Teeth
Old Pride
Topshelf Records, 2010

Pianos Become The Teeth: "Filial"

Surprised at this release, like the time I went to the mall and the pretzels weren't stale. Like that time. I say "stale" because that's my new fear in this genre--the screamo genre, essentially. It catapulted up the ranks (did it not?) of popularity for the young set, a steady fad of the early 2000s, bands spreading from each and every way like unwanted crabgrass.

Notice, though, I said "surprised" and the words "weren't stale." Because Baltimore's Pianos Become The Teeth isn't stale, yes familiar, but fresh, fresh. What they do differently, than say Emery or even Thursday's last release, is they actually know how to play their instruments, how to craft their favorite sounds into a unified organism, to maintain their post-rock-emo-hardcore influences but expand on them.

For sure there is a heavy Fear Before The March of Flames emphasis, older Alexisonfire, but also a significant dose of more math and post-rock blends. What's downplayed are the pop-punk-rock elements, really it glides from nice math rock proclivities into hardcore very quickly, eschewing some of the typical rote elements that would bog down lesser bands.

Pianos excels with the opener "Filial," an all-encompassing post-rock number, but then moves into the screamo category with "Quit Benefit" and "Sleepshaker," the latter song being something that Thursday needs to look at to freshen their sound a bit--the intro is all-on percussion, the guitar melody line and bass lines mostly found in the instrumental set like Explosions in the Sky. Pianos Becomes the Teeth combines these two methods in a sound not usually heard, but it should satisfy the intensity of even the hardcore fans. "Pensive" does the same thing, except gentler and more alluring with loud vocals, like playing a game of paintball in Wal-Mart. In the end it's harmless, but still is messy.

Songs like "Cripples Can't Shiver" capturing downbeats like a frozen snow shovel. Rock hard, but steady and ready. Ok, "Jess and Charlie" kind of throws all that out, it's very energetic. And this album is only 8 songs? No matter, it's all fully formed.

Really, Pianos Becomes The Teeth excels on all levels, maybe the choruses could be a bit more defined, more "memorable" (dare I say 'catchy' or does that invalidate everything above?), but don't worry this avoids any of that territory, Pianos doesn't pander. Finally, the screamo genre has moved forward again.
More after the jump...

Swing South: Brand New

Brand New: "Sink"

Wasn't going to let this one slip by. One of my favorite bands, one of my top albums of the decade. If you're still unfamiliar with Brand New, strip away whatever prejudices you have about Alt Press cover bands, scenesters and even punk rock in general. After their first album, all generalities have morphed into persistent questioning. Punk rock made into solid rock. Their devolution is an evolution. Though Daisy is alright, it is a letdown after The Devil and God, but I think the best is still to come.

Oh yeah, Thrice is on this tour too. The were (are?) one of my fav. bands, though all their new stuff has left me less than enthused.

Southern tour dates & "At The Bottom" studio session video after the jump...

WATCH :: Brand New – "At the Bottom" [Daisy Sessions] - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Nov 1 2009 8:00P
Voodoo Experience New Orleans, Louisiana

Nov 3 2009 8:00P
The Tabernacle w/ Thrice, Crime In Stereo Atlanta, Georgia

Nov 4 2009 8:00P
House of Blues w/ Thrice, Crime In Stereo Orlando, Florida

Nov 5 2009 8:00P
The Ritz Ybor w/ Thrice, Crime In Stereo Tampa, Florida

Nov 6 2009 7:00P
House of Blues w/ Thrice, Crime In Stereo Orlando, Florida

Nov 7 2009 8:00P
House of Blues w/ Thrice, Crime In Stereo Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Nov 9 2009 4:00P
Manifest Disc (acoustic mini-set) Charlotte, North Carolina

Nov 9 2009 8:00P
The Fillmore w/ Thrice, Crime In Stereo Charlotte, North Carolina

Nov 10 2009 8:00P
The National w/ Thrice, Crime In Stereo Richmond, Virginia

Nov 11 2009 8:00P
Sonar w/ Thrice, Crime In Stereo *SOLD OUT* Baltimore, Maryland

Nov 13 2009 8:00P
The NorVa w/ Thrice, Crime In Stereo Norfolk, Virginia


More after the jump...

review: Heavy Days Jeff the Brotherhood

Jeff the Brotherhood is currently rocking it at CMJ in Brooklyn, so here’s a CMJ shout and a review at the same time.



Jeff the Brotherhood
Heavy Days
Infinity Cat Recordings, 2009

Jeff The Brotherhood: "Heavy Damage"

Figure if punk rock can be divided into different restaurant styles, then Jeff the Brotherhood is classic Italian. I thought of this while making a pasta dish of course, but that quick, copycat punk rock on the radio is fast food, and I’m not sure what would be Mexican or a sub shop (a band from New Jersey=Jersey Mike’s?) but “classic Italian” because this is good, consistent, and recalls the “punk” of old, I’m sure The Ramones would listen to this on their way to CBGB’s or to see Riff Randle with no clue what to do with the screamo barreling out of the radio.

But Heavy Days seems a bit slower (maybe because it’s heavier?) than the previous Castle Storm, with some instrumental dashes, this is The Ramones meets The Beach Boys. “The Tropics” has this slow mellow trot, “Heavy Krishna” has like this “Wipeout” vibe that I really like, and “Bone Jam” has that “ooooh” opener. But “U Got The Look” and “Heavy Damage” carries the weight, "Mind Ride" is the new classic rock-punk song and all of them have typical young adulthood meandering lyrics, like Jeff the Brotherhood got lost in their own neighborhood. At only nine songs, well, that kind of sucks but I heard the ‘bros’ rock it hard at their live shows.

Can’t remember if Jake and Jamin Orrall (the brothers in BROTHERHOOD) were in Be Your Own Pet, but they’re kind of incestuous with the Turbo Fruits which possess a very similar straight-forward punk sound, so maybe they were. All of this seems to be chronicled at Nashville's Dead which is my new favorite website.

I’m just glad this stuff is dropping out of Nashville, finally some cool crap going down over there beyond Taylor Swift and Kings of Leon and whatever is at Tootsie’s.

I’m tempted to blend Jeff The Brotherhood in with No Age, The Black Lips and The Thermals, all bands that are punk but are outside that Warped Tour/Alternative Press scene, whatever that is called now, I don’t know, maybe the Hot Topic Bands of Fakeness That Sometimes Put Out One or Two Good Albums. That’s kind of a long name so we’ll shorten it to: HTBFTSPOOTGA, or maybe the SPOOTGA for short. Yeah, SPOOTGA. Alright kids, there’s a new ‘meme’ so run with it and find a copy of Heavy Days when you get out the door.

Vid of “Bone Jam” after the jump...





More after the jump...

review: Daisy Brand New

Welcoming a new album from an established band is like meeting your sister's new boyfriend for the first time. You know she's serious about this one and you want to support her, but you just don't know how he's going to fit, only that he has too. Sure the family will remain the same, but it will be different. Sure, your sister is still the same, and you can see why she likes this guy, but still how does he fit? Will he fit? He must fit.

It's the same with Brand New. Daisy is their new boyfriend. The one they've been seeing for months and now want to introduce to the whole extended family. They've been developing and working and making and creating and finding themselves in this process to come up with something both brand new and Brand New. Eventually, we'll learn to accept their new offering.



There's no way any album can immediately be welcomed with open arms, we as listeners have to find the common ground, the creative leaps, a trace of the old in the new that has comforts.

I'm still sussing out that similarities and the differences with Brand New. A song like "Bed" is comforting...I know that rhythm, that cadence from a song like "Sowing Season" or "Jesus." That nice distant backbeat with tender guitar melodies and unbalanced lyrical insights has become the bread and butter of Brand New.

But so has interrupting those quiet moments. It used to come in the form of passionate scream or a voice that keeps rising and rising to a fever pitch of fury.



In many instances, Daisy loses those moments for a roughshod edge. "Vices" is a metal song, in the sense that it replicates the experience of getting hit in the back of a head by a jagged steel pipe while minding your business on the carousel and is probably a song At The Drive-In would have eventually developed. "Gasoline" is also structured differently, with its punked White Stripes/garage rock structure and its screeching feedback ending. To still call Brand New punk or god-forbid emo is to disparage all of rock's brethren, especially the grunge forebears.

Brand New is trying to find the next leap for the band, and the single "At The Bottom" and "Gasoline" portends that future as a night of the living Kurt Cobain or as Pearl Jam tribute band. Those influences aren't as obvious in the context of Brand New, only when taken as singles. Then you get a fuzzed-out classic almost country pick with "Be Gone" and the electric white noise exploration in "Noro." "In a Jar" is striking not so much for its intense off the wall chorus, but for its harmonious verses. Brand New now freaks us out not by its intensity and screams, but for its tasteful pop (don't worry, the 'pop' doesn't last that long).

But,this album is too lean for its own good. I'm hesitant to focus on the eccentricities of the album, but really that's what's here. Another song could have changed the whole debate. Daisy is slim and compact and so every nuance has an intense focus.
With such a limited offering, a song like "Be Gone" would probably be a throwaway, but with this thin album, I'm want to dissect it for all of its absurdity. And perhaps that's the point. It's not the length of the goodness, but the intensity of what is good.

The center of all this is essentially what we heard on Devil and God and they may have chosen the devil. Overall, this album is more intense, more tedious, brimming at the edges of experimental audio (not the wandering, ambient type, but the odd, noise type) juxtaposed with Jesse Lacey's now trademark introspective lyrics on himself and the music industry. Though I don't think this album is as strong as Deja Entendu or even the last one, but I really think the band saw the dark side and decided to leap into it. This is not the Deja Entendu to Your Favorite Weapon, but is still a shift.

Daisy is the sound of Brand New's descent into madness, and I don't think they've reached the bottom yet.
More after the jump...

review: O'Brother--Death of Day w/ tour dates & vid

O'Brother, The Death of Day
Favorite Gentlemen, 2009
www.myspace.com/obrothermusic
www.favoritegentlemen.com

Part of the Favorite Gentlemen Recordings circle of friends in Atlanta led by Manchester Orchestra, O'Brother is a solid find in that in-between niche of indie rock versus punk. Drifting between an aura of transcendent scary escapism ("The Great Release") and rock rowdiness ("Division of Man"), O'Brother has post-rock emo feel similar to what Jason Gleason-era Further Seems Forever laid out six or seven years ago. With the lead "Providence," the song displays what O'Brother does quite well--endearing punk meditations that follow the blueprints that Brand New designed.
[Tour dates/vid after the jump...]

There's the straight ahead punk rock (two words, not the same sound) enhanced by carefully crafted intriguing, haunting intros as in "The Great Release." Tanner Merritt knows the difference between when to let out his screaming self and when to rein it in a bit, depending on the mood and structure. Mostly what he settles for are hoarse whispers that give it all a dash of mystery. Excellent decision making on several fronts, really.

Thankfully O'Brother leaves out all the whininess of where similar and possibly lesser talents may often stray, instead they keep a serious focus, rather than just trying to nab a quick pop-punk hit. O'Brother obviously likes the punk, the harder stuff, but it seems like they've forced themselves to go beyond their natural inclinations to craft a work, maybe above themselves, maybe right where they need to be. Whatever they did, they knocked it out of the park.




Tour dates:
Jul 15 The Drunken Unicorn (w/ Dignan and Timbre) Atlanta, Georgia
Jul 31 The Alamo (w/ Besides Daniel) Newnan, Georgia
Aug 2 1982 Bar (w/ John Nolan of Straylight Run) Gainseville, Florida
Aug 3 Big Daddy’s (w/ John Nolan of Straylight Run) Tallahassee, Florida
Aug 4 Jack Rabbits (w/ John Nolan of Straylight Run) Jacksonville, Florida
Aug 5 The Talent Farm (w/ John Nolan of Straylight Run) w/ John Nolan Pembroke Pines, Florida
Aug 6 Transitions Art Gallery (w/ John Nolan of Straylight Run) Tampa, Florida
Aug 7 Alabama Music Box (w/ John Nolan of Straylight Run) Mobile, Alabama
Aug 8 Mellow Mushroom (w/ John Nolan of Straylight Run) Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Aug 9 HiTone Cafe (w/ John Nolan of Straylight Run) Memphis, TN

More after the jump...

Winning Prize: Title Fight on tour

Straight outta Kingston, PA comes Title Fight, full of original screamo angst on par with Texas is The Reason, early Taking Back Sunday and Hot Water Music. For breaks, sometime they'll just play it straight up punk then rotate over to the hardcore side of things before mashing it all up into the sound of their forefathers of a decade ago. Nothing vibrantly from the sound perspective, but what is refreshing is the energy, the drive, the passion. Glad to know it still exists for real punk rock. Their new record is The Last Thing You Forget off of Run for Cover. Touring in a whole bunch of cities on probably the longest freakin' tour of their lives. Vid below from some basement show for a song I don't know.


A photo I think is Title Fight (from http://titlefight.tumblr.com)

Tour dates:
JUN 16 - Columbia, SC @ New Brookland Tavern
JUN 17 - Wilmington, NC @ Soapbox Laundrolounge w/ Bracewar, The Wonder Years
JUN 18 - Jacksonville, FL @ The Pit
JUN 19 - Miami, FL @ Goo
JUN 20 - Orlando, FL @ Uncle Lou's
JUN 22 - Tampa, FL @ Transitions
JUN 23 - Pensacola, FL @ Sluggos
JUN 24 - Atlanta, GA @ PS Warehouse
JUN 25 - Chattanooga, TN @ The Warehouse
JUN 26 - Nashville, TN @ The Anchor
JUN 28 - Johnson City, TN @ The Hideaway
JUN 29 - Raleigh, NC @ Brewery
JUN 30 - Richmond, VA @ Nara Sushi

(Then they go on all the way out of west for another month, I swear. Hopefully they only break like 2 vans on the way).

Title Fight @ Quinn's Pub 4/10/09 from Chris Albin on Vimeo.

More after the jump...

Very Dynamic: Static Radio NJ in FL, MS, AR & mp3's

The scene in NJ is popping with some clueless MSM press and heavy hitters like Thursday still making the rounds and more recently The Gaslight Anthem. Static Radio NJ wear their Jersey roots on their sleeves in a good way reveling in some straight-up punk madness with some rowdy vocals and the musical intensity to match. Their latest album, An Evening of Bad Decisions is out now on vinyl from Black Numbers and is worth the pick-up at the next show. Also showing up with them is No Harm Done. Here's some mp3's, southern tour dates, and in the best punk rock way possible, a grainy video.

MP3: "Green Hoody" by Static Radio NJ

MP3: "Places" by Static Radio NJ

MAY 29 - Tallahassee, FL @ Castlemania
MAY 30 - Fulton, MS @ Carries Coffee House
MAY 31 - Mountain Home, AR @ The Brick Yard

Static Radio - At Springs Theater
More after the jump...

lit randomness: eggers, punk fiction intro, greg ames, poets' beards and more

We try to do Lit Randomness every Mon and Wed.


Dave Eggers, of McSweeney's notoriety, and his brother Toph (yeah, that brother from that book) do their first interview together to promote their new book on Cold Fusion: At Paste. BTW, help save Paste.


Intro by Johnny Marr to new punk fiction anthology: At 3am.


Interview w/ Greg Ames, author of Buffalo Lockjaw: At Maud Newton.

All-time 10 ten best and worst mothers in comics: From Newsrama (h/t Fangirls Attack)

Poets ranked by beard weight: At Journey Round My Skull (h/t Bookslut blog)

The Millions' Staff must-have subscrip list: At The Millions.









More after the jump...

Those Ataris? For real?

Glancing through my local event listings and noticed that the Ataris (yes, the boys of freakin' summer) are still playing shows, still going on tour, with...wait for it...a new album this summer. Who likes The Ataris anymore? Aren't they stuck in the dreaded no man's land? The mainstream doesn't know they exist anymore after their flavor of the week status has ended, yet they're original fans remember the betrayal. No place for the Ataris to go. Maybe they should bank on whole new level of nostalgia and call themselves The N64s.

Tour dates (in case you're interested) and the "Boys of Summer" vid for (old time's sake) after the jump.

More after the jump...