Last week was super crazy with four sold out shows and a
giant punk rock crowd (aka mess) with the F-Yeah
Tour @ The Starlight on Friday. We GREATLY appreciate everyone’s support
and attendance over the last few days as it makes a big difference during the
slow summer days!
This week things are pretty quiet leading up to another
crazy week at the end of the month (more on that later).
Tonight Friday (july 18th) we have New York Hardcore Legends – KILLING TIME playing along side more
modern era bands HAVE HEART, VERSE and FOUNDATION.
We end things over the weekend with two all ages Barbary
shows back to back with BLACK DICE
& THE WAR ON DRUGS on Saturday
(July 19th) and THE MAE SHI
with a new O’Death / Rad Racket band - SKELETONBREATH
and THE POPO on Sunday (July 20th).
The Death Set unfortunately canceled . Sad!
We also have a bunch of big new shows for the likes of : THE SILVER JEWS, MOGWAI, STARS, WHY?, MOUNT
EERIE, THE WOMBATS, DEATH VESSEL and more! Check it out in the calendar
section below. Tickets are on sale for all of these newly added shows right
now!
Just a reminder that we have a new box office at DEEP SLEEP
located at 54 N 3rd Street (just below 3rd & Arch Streets).
Please note that tickets are CASH ONLY!
At The Barbary (951 Frankford Ave / Frankford and Columbus
Blvd In Philadelphia, PA)
All Ages ! / $10 / Tickets On Sale At R5Productions.com
& Deep Sleep (3rd & Arch)
BLACK DICE / WAR ON DRUGS / MINCEMEAT OR TENSPEED
While they've been moving in more of a groove-locked,
dare-we-say-danceable direction over the past couple years, Black Dice is still
one of the underground's most ear-numbing live acts. So much so that Time Out New York recently featured them
in a roundup of New York loudest bands. In the end, Black Dice was crowned the
city's loudest band, overloading a decibel reader with 121-126 dB readings and
beating everyone from A Place to Bury Strangers to Mouthus in the process.
Using that story as a jumping off point, R5 asked Aaron
Warren—one of B.D.'s longtime instrumentalists—a slew of amp-cranking
questions.
What was one of the loudest
shows you've ever played here—one where the noise was almost too much for you
to take?
We played an art opening for painter Richard Phillips at
Friedrich Petzel gallery in 2001 and that was probably our loudest show ever.
It was a tiny room and we got a loud PA and we had just started using power
heads for our amps. It was mega-loud as I remember.
Do you wear earplugs
during your shows/rehearsals or do you try not to because it dilutes/changes
how you'll perceive what you're playing?
Anyone who doesn't wear some kind of ear protection at shows
or practice is crazy. I always wear earplugs—usually during the DJs as well. I
like to do soundcheck plug-less to see what's happening in the room. But
overall, loudness is more about the physical feeling to me in the body than the
aural spectrum.
How would you compare
your shows today to the early days, which were notorious for being
confrontational and violent? We've heard some pretty incredible stories from
the late '90s/early '00s—ones involving thrown punches, broken bottles,
etc.—which is odd in retrospect because you guys seem somewhat grounded now.
Well, those shows were just different. The music was crude,
aggressive, short and simple. It was fun and exciting to have a really
physical, confrontational performance. But after a while it made sense to
refine the music and challenge the audience and ourselves in different ways.
The band's been around for a long time, so it makes sense to evolve.
When you joined the
group in 1999, were you already a fan of the group? Did you have a hard time
adjusting to how extreme the shows were in terms of pushing frequencies and
volume levels?
Naw—I had only heard about 'em. I moved to New York City
from LA and they were friends of friends. The shows weren't that loud then,
just chaotic. I had a hard time at first playing the fast, short tunes.
Would you describe
your sound then as more in tune with industrial music or even power violence
stuff?
I always related more to punk and hardcore of the '80s and
mid-'90s than that stuff.
What are some of your
favorite acts from that realm?
Born Against, Man is the Bastard, Slug, Angelhair, UOA,
Unwound.
Tell us a little bit
about the tour you did with Animal Collective in 2004. Your shows left a lot of
people feeling either confused or blown away. Did you see a mix of that
throughout the tour—people that were either intrigued or scared off by the
noise and experimental side of both bands? Is that still the case when you play
now or do you feel like it's usually hardcore Black Dice fans coming to your
shows?
That tour was good cuz a lot of people came to the shows. AC
were just starting to draw a lot of kids, so the shows were big. I think people
were generally always into them and sometimes people were stoked on us. But it hasn't been 'til the last couple years
that we have real hardcore fans that show up everywhere. For years it seemed
like people were sorta just checking us out, but weren't really stoked overall. Now that's a little better.
Here's an odd question:
Some of the frequencies you're hitting can't even be heard by humans right?
Have you guys ever had a friend's dog around or anything like that during a
rehearsal and noticed it freak the fuck out?
I don't think we make any frequencies that are audible to
animals. I notice my dog doesn't seem to like it when I'm workin' on sounds at
home, but he's a Chihuahua and sensitive.
What does the term
"noise" mean to you today? Has it lost some of its sense of danger
with time, or are artists like Merzbow and Wolf Eyes still pushing the
boundaries of what noise means?
I'm not really interested in the definition of noise right
now. It's like when people argue about what's 'punk' or what's 'psych.' I think
Wolf Eyes & Merzbow and tons of other people are making killer music, so I
guess it's a good time if you like a harsh sound. I listen to mostly '60s and
'70s music: Psych, bubblegum, prog, glam. I like hip -hop from the '90s and
some new stuff. Jazz, reggae & disco. I listen to some electronic stuff,
but not as much as in the early '00s. Basically anything that's good.
At The Barbary (951 Frankford Ave / Frankford and Columbus
Blvd In Philadelphia, PA)
All Ages ! / $10 / Tickets On Sale At R5Productions.com
& Deep Sleep (3rd & Arch)
THE MAE SHI / SKELETONBREATH / THE POPO (the death set canceled their tour)
The Mae Shi played one of the oddest, most entertaining
South by Southwest shows of 2008: a parking lot throwdown featuring No Age, Mika
Miko and other veterans of L.A.'s Church-like venue, The Smell. What made this
particular Mae Shi performance odd wasn't their choice of music—contagious
noise pop featuring a whole lotta' shrieking and instrument-swapping. It was
Jonathan Gray's decision to sing while sitting down … and getting his haircut.
No, really. Some photographic evidence is available at http://www.self-titledmag.com/home/2008/03/14/1mm-sxsw-so-far-lou-reed-trail-of-dead-nerd-justice-and-more/#more-72.
Anyway, Gray and company blew through their set without taking so much as a
breather. To make matters even more impressive, the Smell show was one of 18
Mae Shi gigs at SxSW.
Rounding out the bill is SKELETON BREATH a newi-ish band
featuring members of New York’s blog hyped - O’Death and Philadelphia’s own RAD
RACKET (formerly known as Red Rocket). THE POPO open up the show playing their
crazy person lo/fi hiphop rock punk electronics mess. They are great and weer
picked by NIN to open up for them on tour. Take that Man Man!
At The First Unitarian Church (2125 Chestnut Street,
Philadelphia, PA)
All Ages / $10 / Tickets On Sale At R5Productions.com &
Deep Sleep (3rd & Arch)
JOAN OF ARC / PONYTAIL / ÓLAFUR ARNALDS
Ask We Are Free—the new label of
Monitor Records' Jason Foster—why he recently signed Ponytail and he'll tell
you straight up:
"When we first witnessed
Ponytail live, it was impossible to restrain ourselves. Their music was total
spastic bliss. A complete sugar high freak out. Smiles, dimples, and grins
beamed from crowd to member, member to member, crowd to crowd. It was like kids
on Christmas morning. Riding roller coasters. Triple dips."
To capture that energy on tape, the
label enlisted the almighty J Robbins to produce Ice Cream Spiritual, a towering disc of monster jams that has
generated the following wave of praise:
"Energy crisis? Don't tell
Ponytail—the four Baltimoreans have discovered something cleaner than oil and
more powerful than nuclear, and they're using it to make wickedly fun,
blazingly melodic rock." - Time Out New York
"Molly Siegel's
tongues-speaking doggerrel and savant Yoko-isms are hard to forget...it's worth
seeing 'em do this stuff live, too..." - Stereogum
"Ponytail is the sound of
ecstasy; tall exclamation points of guitar, mad rambunctious percussion and
wild-eyed ululations, an enormous blast of shocking pink bouncing off the walls
and shooting up toward the sun. It's absolute happiness, a drill boring
straight down into the human id, recording everything it finds." - eMusic.com
"Known for its infectious
jams and barnyard noise lyrics, Ponytail is a Baltimore Art School four-piece
with the pomp and preposterousness to become the next buzzing indie
darling." - Impose Magazine
Oh by the way: you might have
heard of the band Ponytail's opening for: Joan of Arc, one of the ballsiest
indie rock outfits ever. Fronted by
Tim Kinsella of Cap'n Jazz fame—and featuring members of American Football,
Ghosts and Vodka, Owls and Make Believe from time to time— JOA plays everything
from straight-up guitar rock to experimental pop with flourishes of samples and
synth lines. We'd tell you what to expect this time around if we had the
faintest idea, but the best thing about Joan of Arc is expecting the
unexpected.
New Bands Added To Existing Shows Added This Week :
Sat July 19th – Mincemeat Or Tenspeed added to Black Dice
show @ Barbary
Sun July 20th – Skeletonbreath & The PoPo added to The
Mae-Shi show @ Barbary
Fri July 25th – Freakwater added to She & Him show @
Trocadero
Thu Aug 7th – Matt & Kim added to C.S.S & The Go Team
show @ Trocadero
Tue Aug 12th – Audrey Sessions added to Margot & The
Nuclear So & Sos show @ First Unit Church
New Shows & Additions Added Last Week :
Fri July 25th - Amazing Baby added to MGMT show @ Starlight
Ballroom
Wed July 30th - Emmure / A Life Once Lost / Tony Danza @
First Unit Church
Wed Aug 13th - Intergalactic Incense Burners added to
Weedeater show @ Johnny Brendas
Mon Aug 18th - Titus Andronicus @ The Barbary
Fri Aug 22nd to Sun Aug 24th - This Is Hardcore 2008 @ Starlight
Ballroom
Sat Aug 23rd - Nico Muhly / Doveman @ The Sanctuary Of The
First Unit Church
Tue Aug 26th - Shai Hulud / Full Blown Chaos / A Girl, A
Gun, A Ghost @ First Unit Church
Sun Aug 31st - August Burns Red / A Skylit Drive / Sky Eats
Airplane @ First Unit Church
Fri Sep 5th - The Slackers @ First Unit Church
Sat Sep 6th - Psychic Paramount / Arboretum / Pontiak @
Johnny Brendas
*TONIGHT* Tuesday July 15th 8:00pm
At The Chapel Of The First Unitarian Church (2125 Chestnut
Street, Philadelphia, PA)
A Small Seated Room That Only Holds 50 People ! Crazy Intimate !
All Ages / $10 / Tickets On Sale R5Productions.com & Deep Sleep (3rd &
Arch)
MEG BAIRD (singer and guitar lady from espers. playing a
rare solo show! drag city records)
NOAH BABAYOF (young Israeli singer/songwriter releasing a
new album on greg week’s new label)
SHARON VAN ETTEN (sad prairie folk music from brooklyn)
THINGUMA*JIGSAW (a splatter folk duo from norway. banjo, saw
and flute w/ crazy ethereal vocals)
Friday August 22nd 8:00pm – SEATED SANCTUARY SHOW At The First Unitarian Church Sanctuary (2125 Chestnut Street,
Philadelphia, PA)
All Ages / $20 / Tickets On Sale At R5Productions.com and The Relapse Store
NICO MUHLY (woah! our first real deal composer/classical
show – heralded as the future of new composers – already at age 25 he has
worked with bjork, phillip glass, anthony of anthony & the johnsons,
matthew barney, will oldham etc. really unique and different stuff – check out
our website to learn more about him)
Friday August 25th to Sunday August 27th
6:00pm / 1:00pm / 1:00pm
The Starlight Ballroom (460 N 9th Street - Just Below 9th
and Spring Garden)
All Ages / 21+ To Drink / $20 Each Day / $55 For The Entire
Weekend
Tickets On Sale At R5Productions.com & Deep Sleep (3rd
& Arch)
THIS IS HARDCORE 2008 with :
MADBALL / COMEBACK KID / TERROR / PAINT IT BLACK /
BLACKLISTED / CEREMONY / VISION / 100 DEMONS / JASTA (Jamie / Hatebreed) / COLD
WORLD / DEATHCYCLE / FARENEIT 451 / DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR / MAXIMUM PENALTY /
DOWN TO NOTHING / ENSIGN / CHEAP TRAGEDIES / LET DOWN / WISDOM IN CHAIN / CHEAP
TRAGEDIES / NO TURNING BACK / SFAR / KILLING THE DREAM / REIGN SUPREME /
MELTDOWN / MY TURN TO WIN / KNOW THE SCORE / VIOLATION / COLIN OF ARABIA /
BRAIN DEAD / HARD RESPONSE / LIGHTEN UP / ALPHA & OMEGA / LIVING HELL /
CONVICTED / KINGDOM / GIVING CHASE / MOTHER OF MERCY & Lots More !
At The First Unitarian Church (2125 Chestnut Street,
Philadelphia, PA)
All Ages / $12 adv - $14 dos / Tickets On Sale At
R5Productions.com
THE SILVER JEWS (woah! ultra rare live appearance from david
berman. drag city)
MONOTONIX (most insane live band playing rock music in 2008. from isreal. drag city
Update For Week of July 18, 2008