the finest kiss

The entire day was a blast, but for me this was worth the price of admission…

Long Winters, the Cops and Boat at Showbox, Seattle | 5 July 2008

The Cops singer Mike Jaworski was ribbing John Roderick throughout their set, and in between songs he says, “John Roderick, I’ve got three words: Off the Grid” He did kind of look a bit mountain man like with his fully fuzzy beard, long hair, and erm…horn rimmed glasses? On second thought, he’s more part the Dude from the Big Lebowski and part tenured college professor. Roderick is kind of the tenured indie rock prof around town and something of a renaissance man, as evidenced in the column he writes for the Seattle Weekly, but music is his strong suite. He’s been around, put his time in with Harvey Danger and fronting a number of his own bands. He’s finally come into his own with the Long Winters and now he and his band are reaping the rewards. After the Long Winters‘ 2006 release Putting the Days to Bed, they seem to be on the verge of something big. The only problem is recording a new record, something they are about to do. But before going into the studio, the band have scheduled a handful of dates on the West Coast and one in New York. Saturday night’s show was a stellar Seattle line up featuring Boat and the Cops opening for them.

The night started off with Boat, and their first time ever playing the Showbox. It’s likely the biggest room they’ve ever played, and they seemed pretty chuffed to be playing. The regular four piece Boat were augmented by a fifth member this night who provided a third guitar and saxophone. The additional fifth guy really seemed to flesh out their sound. It gave them a little more polish, and I don’t think they’ve ever sounded better. They plucked songs from both albums, played all three songs from their new single Topps and even threw in a brand spankin’ new song at the end of their set that seemed like it was written especially for the night, name checking the afore mentioned man of the evening.

Second of this Seattle trilogy line up were the Cops. I wasn’t sure what to expect from these tightly wound post punkers. Their second album Free Electricity which came out last year is good. It’s Gang of Four crossed with Jawbox, loads of attitude and lots of hooks, if a bit same-y sounding at times. After seeing them I can tell you that the Cops totally bring it, and they leave nothing. From the first chord, these guys where whirling, jumping, posing and just totally rocking out for their entire set. I thought there was now way they would be able to keep up their energy for the entire set, but I was wrong. Guitarist John Randolph made me dizzy with his constant whirling and jumping, and singer Mike Jaworski punished the mic with his intense delivery. Their showmanship was made easy buy the super tight rhythm section of David Weeks and Drew Church. This band have the songs and the chops to go beyond their obvious post punk roots and to the next level, I’m looking forward to what comes next from them.
mp3: The Cops - N. 99 (from Free Electricity)

The Long Winters are Roderick’s show, this is very clear when you see them live. Roderick is the guy everyone is there to see. Numerous women around me could be heard squealing such things as he’s soo cute, and I just want to squeeze him, and I’m in love with him. That’s not to say his band are just session guys. Even though there seems to be a revolving door with band members, the Long Winters are truly a band who tour and play on the records. The band seemed to be having as good a time as the rest of the Showbox, laughing at Roderick’s banter. And why not, he is a gregarious fellow, engaging the audience between every song with bon mots a la Billy Bragg. In fact like Bragg, I would say he enjoys the between song part of shows just as much as playing the songs. He had some funny one liners like, ‘look at all these beards. What, is Ballard closed tonight?’ And he wasn’t afraid to put his hair into pony tails or break into classic rock songs from Pink Floyd and Van Halen. He had the place singing Wish You Were Here without even trying. As for the songs, I was expecting to hear some new ones, but they stuck mostly with stuff from the last two albums. There were many shouted requests, that didn’t get played, but I was happy to hear the hits from the last two albums, since it was my inaugural Long Winters show.

mp3: Long Winters - Fire Island, AK (from Putting the Days to Bed)

Three Imaginary Girls were there and have a set list, though somewhat out of order, and I have more pictures from the evening over at my flickr.

The Purrs at Neumos, Seattle | 21 June 2008
Green Pajamas at King Cobra, Seattle | 21 June 2005

Saturday night up on Capitol Hill the Paisley Underground came to life again for a brief fantastic moment. Not that any of those seminal Los Angeles bands like the Rain Parade, Three O’Clock, or the Long Ryders had reformed and were visiting, it was in fact two of Seattle’s very own in the Purrs and Green Pajamas. They weren’t playing together, that would have been nice, but they were playing across the street from one another. Both band’s websites said that they were on at 10:00 pm, poetentially making for a logistical impossibility to see them both. As I walked by King Cobra I spied on the door that the Green Pajamas wouldn’t be on until 11, so I hurried across the street to Neumos to see the Purrs who were in an opening slot for Tacoma’s Mono in VCF.

I walked in to the jangling buzz of She’s Got Chemicals from their latest self-released album the Chemistry That Keeps Us Together. The Purrs have a new rhythm guitarist who goes by Dr. Robert, and they seem all the better for it. Their short set really popped with ripping bass and vocals from Jima and shimmering beautiful lead guitar from Jason Milne. Go Cindy go and Miles Away were both just about perfect and hit that soft spot between Rain Parade and early Church, but it was the inclusion of a couple new songs especially the Fear of Flying, that have me anxiously awaiting a new release from one of Seattle’s best kept secrets.

The Purrs set was over in plenty of time to make it back across the street for the Green Pajamas who I had never seen before. They don’t play out too much and their website states that this date and one later this summer at the West Seattle Fair will likely be the only two live dates for them this year. The Green Pajamas are a band that for a newcomer, seem a bit daunting to get into. It’s not that their albums are spotty, on the contrary, most of them are pretty strong, it’s that they have so many of them. It’s like discovering the Fall or Robyn Hitchcock, where the hell do you start when you go to buy one of their albums? They have two best of cds, Indian Winter that focuses on their early career of releasing singles and cassettes and Through Glass Colored Roses which focuses on their later career, both are worth getting. If you want to start with an album I would recommend All Clues Lead to Meagan’s Bed. It’s from the late 90’s after they reformed, and is a solid album with good songs slathered in garagey psychedlia any of which would fit in nicely on the Children of Nuggets box set.

Since I am one of those newcomers. I wasn’t sure if I’d be familiar with everything they would play. At least I was pretty sure that I would like whatever they decided on, because of the quality of their albums. They ended up playing a good cross section of their later career. It seem like they picked something from nearly every one of their albums from the late 90’s and 00’s. She’s Still Bewitching Me from Seven Fathoms Down and Falling was a real highlight of the set with it’s Byrds sounding chorus and jangly guitar lead from Jeff Kelly. Joe Ross took his only lead vocal of the night on his song Dying to Love You from Strung Behind the Sun. Their wasn’t much dialog between songs, with the band preferring to play. They brought up a friend to play clarinet for Graduation Day which seemed to add a livelier dynamic to the stage. The biggest surprise of the night was Kim the Waitress as their final song. I figured that they’d never play it, since I’m use to jaded bands shying away from their old hit (especially since it was Material Issue that made it a hit). But that was certainly not the case with the band playing it without any irony whatsoever, and the small crowd totally lit instantly recognizing within it’s first chords. It was icing on the cake, especially for this newcomer to this prolific unsung Seattle band.

mp3: Green Pajamas - The Secret of Her Smile (from All Clues Lead to Meagan’s Closet)

mp3: Green Pajamas - Peppermint Stick (from Indian Winter)

Green Pajamas Set list:

Lightspeed Champion @ Chop Suey, Seattle | 17 June 2008

I walked into Chop Suey last night expecting to hear the summery beach (boys) sounds of South Carolina’s Explorers Club, but instead it was the unknown sounds of the Train Chronicles. Apparently the Explorers Club were exploring Billings, Montana where they were awaiting the repair of their van after hitting a deer. The Train Chronicles is the endeavor of Lightspeed Champion bassist Martin and he was accompanied by Lightspeed violinist Mike Siddell. He only played a very short 15 minutes, but it was one of those times where you walk into a place and even though you have no idea who’s up on stage playing, you stop in your tracks because it’s so good. His songs reminded me a little of the Wave Pictures but Martin’s voice is not as reedy as David Tattersall’s. In talking to him in between sets I found out he plans on recording some songs with a full band and putting out an ep when he gets back from touring with Lightspeed Champion. It’s not often that I’m so blown away by the random opening act, what a pleasant surprise.

mySpace: Train Chronicles
mp3: Lightspeed Champion - Devil Inside Your Soul (Train Chronicles cover)

Dev Hynes, who is the mastermind behind Lightspeed Champion, is an interesting character, with his big black rimmed glasses, furry Russian hats, and love of Star Wars. He’s come up with a winner of album in his debut Falling Off the Lavender Bridge. It’s got gorgeous country-esque pedal steel guitar, beautiful harmonies from Emmy the Great and best of all, songs that are tinged in country and folk styles meshed with a theatrical flair. The album is subtle and often sublime, so I was curious how the sound would get rendered in a live setting. For starters there was no Emmy the Great, no surprise there, but drummer Anna Prior ably provided backing vocals. Vocals aside, this incarnation Lightspeed Champion is much different from the album, it rocks out a bit more with a more straightforward guitar-bass-drums complemented by violin. So I was a tad disappointed by the delivery, but the songs and Dev’s gregariousness more than made up for it.

A talkative fellow, he had something to say between each song, covering the Euro football tournament, and asking where the ‘original’ Starbuck’s was and then telling everyone to meet him there in the morning. Humor wasn’t only in his stage banter, the Star Wars theme was tacked on to the beginning of No Surprise/Midnight Surprise as kind of a send up. Though with the Star Wars sticker on his acoustic it could have been serious. He also played a handfull of new songs which sounded just as good as the stuff they did from Lavender Bridge, but like everything else a bit more rocking. The highlight of the set for me was the the rendition of Devil Tricks for a Bitch, with it’s plucked guitar and violin accompaniement. It started out with just Dev and his acoustic guitar, but built up with the violin and then slowly adding bass and finally the full ensemble for the finale. It was the perfect combination of the subtle that is indicative of the record and the more rock direction he seems to be taking on this tour.

mp3: Lightspeed Champion - Devil Tricks for a Bitch (from Falling Off Lavender Bridge)

And because I need very little excuse to bring up Jason Falkner, how much does Devil Tricks sound like this Jason Falkner song from his first album Author Unknown?
mp3: Jason Falkner - Before My Heart Attacks (from Author Unknown)

As for Flowers Forever, the second band of the night, I endured their set. I’m not a Bright Eyes fan to begin with, and so their unimaginative immitation of that band didn’t do much for me.

Times New Viking with Psychedelic Horseshit & the Annuals at Neumos, Seattle | 10 June 2008

I think the number one reason I went to this show last night was to see if one of the band would catch fire from the sparks that surely must come off of their guitars and amps when they play. I had this crazy image of Times New Viking playing as sparks fly everywhere from the sheets of white noise that result from playing their insturements, like sharpening axes on a grindstone. On record, the songs seem to be recorded in an blatantly unproduced, treble heavy way. They probably have this super elaborate production thing going on to get that sound, or maybe not. It could be as simple as not having a bass player.

Live, they come across less white noise and more pop. The singing and the melodies normally buried under the noise show thier faces. The songs were only dressed down with a little noise instead of nearly being obliterated. With Beth’s keyboards more prominent, their sound was more nuanced, like an early Stereolab with choruses that have a Superchunk feel to them, instead of straight Boyracer, Flying Saucer Attack or Guided by Voices. I don’t think the band would argue with that assessment, drummer and songwriter Adam Elliot introducing all of the songs as ‘This is pop song #4′, ‘Here is pop song #27″. They still kept the songs short and they came one after the other in at a quick pace, only briefly conferring around the drums to hear what the next song would be. Since they didn’t play off a setlist, the band would kind of conference around the drums between songs to hear what the next song Adam wanted to play. Guitarist, Jared Phillips played most of the set with his back to the audience, more to keep in time with the drums than a shyness thing. It was his guitar playing that surprised me the most, because it wasn’t so covered up in effects or distortion, you could actually hear chords.

Times New Viking is probably not for everyone and the small turnout Tuesday night was evidence of that. Their songs don’t immediately reveal themselves, but the pop is under there, and live it’s a little more obvious…a little.

I got there for the end of Psychedlic Horseshit’s set. They are fellow Ohioians and friends with Times New Viking, and their sound is bassed in the same love of noise but Psychelic Horseshit like to go off on tangeants in their songs making them into long jams. They like to kneel down and play with buttons and knobs, and nearly every song digressed into one or more of them on their knees. After Psychedlic Horseshit, came the Annuals. I’m not sure who’s bright idea it was to book the Annuals with TNV, but it made for a very strange bill. It seemed like both bands brought totally different audiences. It seemed likd people there for the Annuals left after their set, and the TNV fans came in from drinking over at the Mo Bar after the Annuals set. I hung out for half of the Annuals, but their bombastic pop just didn’t really do much for me.

How pop are TNV? Well check out TNV’s reworking of the riff to Billy Bragg’s This Guitar Says Sorry.
mp3: Times New Viking - Come Together (from Rip it Off)

mp3: Billy Bragg - This Guitar Says Sorry (from Back to Basics)

Box Elders at the Funhouse, Seattle | 9 June 2008

The Box Elders‘ have one single to their name. It’s a four song 7″ that contains three originals and a cover of the Redd Kross song S&M Party. They’ve posted the best two from the single over at their MySpace page, and it was on the strength of those two songs that got me to head over to the Funhouse on a Monday night. In fact, Hole In My Head is such a beguiling slice of lo-fi pop goodness that it alone would have gotten me to their show. It has a distinct Kiwi feel to it, so much so that you could mistake this Omaha, Nebraska band for the Clean. The Box Elders are a trio fronted by brothers Clayton McIntyre, Jeremiah McIntyre they share writing and the vocals. Drummer-keyboardist Dave Goldberg is a force of his own, harness this guy and he could solve our energy problems. They guy is a master of multi-tasking shooting fire, making funny faces, drumming and playing keyboards all at the same time. Their charming lo-fi pop, was nearly overshadowed in their live show by pyrotechnics, chest bumps, and lots of jokes.

When the guitar amp blew out of the band on before them Jeremiah jumped up on stage and told a few jokes while they switched out amps. He also had some funny intros to their own songs like prefacing one saying this is the saddest song ever written, it’s about loving someone that can’t love you back. It’s called Necrophilia. Another one was introduced as being a song about being engaged to an undersea princess from Atlantis. The jokes were interspersed with the band shooting fire from their guitars and drums. Luckily the place wasn’t crowded, so I had a straight shot to exit if the place went up in flames. The two songs I knew sounded really good, but the others kind of ran together, mostly because the bass was turned up way too loud and overpowered the guitar and the melodies. They kept it fun with their goofiness, but it could have been better if they had turned down the bass, a little. After the show Jeremiah said that his brother always wants to turn his bass up too high. The band is young, with one single to their name, but the songs are the real deal so I’m looking forward to what they’ve got in store. In the meantime, here’s the song that hooked me on the Box Elders:
mp3: Box Elders - Hole In My Head

And Here’s one from the Clean just because they’re so damn good:
mp3: The Clean - Diamond Shine (from Vehicle)

You can buy the Box Elders single from the band at their MySpace page, or directly from them on their tour. Here are the dates:

Jun 12 Bricka Braka Sacramento, CA
Jun 13 Hemlock Tavern San Francisco, CA
Jun 14 Mr. T Bowl Los Angeles, CA
Jun 15 Pink Elephant San Deigo, CA
Jun 19 Beerland Austin, TX
Jun 20 Saturn Bar New Orleans, LA
Jun 21 Murphy’s Memphis, TN
Jun 22 Fred P. Otts Kansas City, MS
Jun 26 Waiting Room Omaha, NE
Jul 18 Beat Kitchen Chicago, IL
Jul 19 Frank’s Power Plant Milwaukee, WI

Vivian Girls at the Funhouse, Seattle | 31 May 2008

I’m not sure what’s going on over in Brooklyn these days, but with the Crystal Stilts,the Vivian Girls and Pains of Being Pure at Heart it seems like a full on C-86 revival over there in New Amsterdam. The Vivian Girls who seem like the perfect combination of Shop Assistants indie pop, Lush attitude and guitar chops, and Undertones pop sensibilities brought their brand of blissed out pop to Seattle on Sunday night. The Vivian Girls have caught my fancy with a punk ethos, cool name (Go rent In the Realms of the Unreal) and even better songs, so I had been looking forward to this show for quite a while. With a couple seven inch singles and a sold out debut album under their belts, they seem to gaining momentum and following. Not to worry for those of us late to the party, that sold out album will get reissued this fall on In The Red on both vinyl and cd. Mark your calendars.

Even though the album is sold out (only 500 pressed), these girls are pretty much unknown at this point. They seem like an unassuming bunch and kept a positive outlook when the sound guy was having a little trouble getting the reverb just right on the vocals, so the trio stood around on stage made nervous small talk while the sound guy looked for the right button. With the reverb finally worked out they dove into their quick and too short eight song set. They seemed a bit nervous and in a hurry, but it was completely unwarranted. Their sharp harmonies and and catchy melodies won me and everyone else over with ease. The lead vocals were all handled by Cassie who also plays guitar, with most of the harmonies sung by drummer Frankie though Katy (bassist) did get her share as well. Eight songs in about 20 minutes, it was short but really, really good. Hopefully they’ll be back again once the album get reissued, and play a little longer.

mp3: Vivian Girls - Tell the World

mp3: Vivian Girls - Damaged

mp3: Shop Assistants - I Don’t Want to be Friends With You (from Anything Will Happen)

mp3: Lush - Bitter (from Gala)

Also check out this Pink Couch Session of the Vivian Girls doing an acoustic version of I Can’t Stay. You can also download an mp3 of the track: Pink Couch

More photos and set list over at my flickr.

Los Campesinos + Parenthetical Girls at Neumo’s, Seattle | 31 May 2008

All ages shows at Neumo’s usually consist of the youngsters up on the balcony safely tucked away from the main floor and all of the action. That was not the case for the Los Campesinos show on Saturday night, it was all ages on the main floor and even though you couldn’t have a drink, the energy from where I was standing on the floor was hyper-dancing- fun. We jaded older folks take being able to see bands for granted, but the kids I was standing next to were totally excited and having a time. And for good reason, Los Campesinos are a blast to see live. You could tell it was going to be a hyper, energy-packed show when they started the evening with that alternating count off to Broken HeartBeats Sound Like Breakbeats. It was kind of startling, to hear them alternately shouting out these numbers to start the song. And we were off, all seven of the band as well aseveryone around me, bouncing around, singing along and smiling. It’s hard not to smile while watching these guys play, the music is infectious, and you can tell the band love playing it. Evidenced in Gareth the singer beating the hell out of his glockenspiel and both guitarists sharing a mic for the choruses like an 80’s metal band and a shirtless drummer!

They played nearly everything they’ve put out, even doing their version of Pavement’s Frontwords. There were lots of calls for their cover of Heavenly’s C is the Heavenly Option, but Gareth pointed out that the song needs a banjo and they didn’t have one. No matter, their originals even though they sometimes sound like they’re all the same song, were more than enough to satiate the place. You! Me! Dancing! came near the end of the set, with the first chords of the song immediately bringing cheers. They kind of threw a curve ball before starting it, with their second Pavement cover of the night, a verse of Box Elder before striking into their best song. It was surely no disappointment, the only problem was that the rest of the set kind of struggled to match the intensity and eurphoria of that song.

Gareth noted that he and the band were excited to finally make it too Seattle, a place that many of their favorite bands call home, it was cool to see Seattle just as excited to see them here.

Openers Parenthetical Girls, who are from Portland via Everett, WA were entertaining to say the least. Front guy Zac Pennington likes to spend time off the stage and in the crowd. They started their set with Zac sauntering out into the audience with his mic and drum stick. He’s got a very theatrical flair that makes the band interesting to watch…more interesting than the music, but he and the band had my full attention for the set. There were a few songs that stood out, but their cover of OMD’s Joan of Arc was the highlight. Their distinctive take on that classic had all four of them huddled around the drum set beating on whatever they could reach with a stick. They certainly have the delivery down.

mp3: Parenthetical Girls - Joan of Arc (OMD cover)

Swervedriver at Neumo’s, Seattle | 26 May 2008

Depending on you perspective, ten years is either a long time or a merely a blip. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long since Swervedriver hung it up after the release of their fourth album 99th Dream. Although it’s been ten years I certainly don’t remember this many people packing into see them back in DC at the Black Cat or 9:30. Neumo’s last night was full of Swervedriver faithful, packing the main floor, pumped up and excited. Yelling out for their favorite songs, and pretty much just yelling and cheering for every song. Between songs there were constant shouts for songs, one woman in front of me yelled, ‘Just play everything!’ They didn’t play everything, but the set left no one disappointed, pulling from all four albums as well as a few surprise b-sides like The Hitcher and Planes over the Skyline.

Filing on stage to the sounds of the instrumental interlude at the end of Ejector Seat Reservation, and bringing down the gauntlet right off the bat with For Seeking Heat and then into Sandblasted. They didn’t let up either, barely pausing between songs for a thank you, Adam Franklin was a man of few words, though none were needed when you’ve got songs that Swervedriver have. The band just seem to exude an effortless cool, but you could tell they were having a good time playing these songs. Franklin’s laid back hazy croon hasn’t changed a bit and it was great to hear it front and center, just about perfectly mixed over the onslaught of guitars. Drummer Jez counted off the songs with the angst and energy the they deserve, bassist Steve George was mouthing the words even to the parts where he wasn’t singing backing vocals, and guitarist Jimmy Hartridge handled his Gibson guitar and myriad of pedals with ease and playing off of Franklin’s guitar that makes it seem like they’re connected telepathically. They seemed to really kick into sixth gear near the end of the set with Rave Down and then returning for an encore of the spacey The Hitcher and then ending the night with two more from their first album Raise, Son of Mustang Ford and Deep Seat. If I could change anything about the set, I would have asked for a few more songs from Ejector Seat, but really any Swervedriver set list would not have disappointed me. This band has not lost a single thing in their ten years off, really the only thing that was different or missing was Franklin’s dreads.

First two songs obscured: For Seeking Heat, Sandblasted
Encore: The Hitcher, Son of Mustang Ford, Deep Seat

Go see them if they’re anywhere near you:
May 27 Wonder Ballroom Portland OR
May 29 The Fillmore San Francisco CA
May 30 Casbah San Diego CA
May 31 Henry Fonda Theatre Los Angeles CA
Jun 3 Emo’s Alternative Lounging Austin TX
Jun 4 One Eyed Jacks New Orleans LA
Jun 5 The Masquerade Atlanta GA
Jun 6 Cat’s Cradle Carrboro NC
Jun 7 Theatre of Living Arts Philadelphia PA
Jun 8 930 Club Washington DC
Jun 10 Paradise Boston MA
Jun 11 Bowery Ballroom New York NY
Jun 12 Music Hall of Williamsburg Brooklyn NY
Jun 13 Lees Palace Toronto ON
Jun 14 Metro Chicago IL

More photos from the show over at my flickr.

For those of us that were less than enamored with the Sasquatch festival this year there is some consolation this week here in Seattle. I thought that the Sasquatch line up was less than imaginative, I know that it’s a NW festival, but I just didn’t have much motivation to make the drive over the mountains to the Columbia River Gorge to see a bunch of bands that play here on a regular basis. With hardly any bands from outside the US , and heavy on the Seattle scene, it just didn’t feel like it was living up to the big event that it’s supposed to be. It’s not like there weren’t a bunch of UK bands on tour that could have played Sasquatch as is evidenced by this week’s line up of bands coming through Seattle. Not that I’m complaining, now I don’t have to drive a few hours to see some bands I like, only a few minutes. Hey this is a carbon neutral blog don’t you know!

Starting off the week with a bang, tomorrow sees the reunited Swervedriver at Neumo’s. They don’t have a new album, so they’ll be playing all of the classics like Duel, Last Train to Satansville, Rave Down, Kill the Superheroes, and the Other Jesus. Seattle doesn’t get My Bloody Valentine, but this is a pretty good consolation.
mp3: Swervedriver - Duel (from Mezcal Head)

On Wednesday, Sheffield’s Long Blondes are at Neumo’s. While I’m not as enthusiastic about their new more electronic, Abba-esque second album Couples as I was about their first more angular guitar driven Someone to Drive You Home, I’m still looking forward to seeing Kate Jackson and band strut their stuff.
mp3: Long Blondes - Guilt (from Couples)

Friday the Foals are in town. Earlier this year the Foals put on a pretty kick-ass (free) show at the smaller Chop Suey. They’re back this time at Neumos. The Foals album is quite good and even though a lot of their songs sound similar, it’s a good song.
mp3: Foals - Mathletics (from Antidotes)

Competing with the Foals this Friday is one Peter Murphy over at El Corazon. Yeah, he’s best known for being the singer of Bauhaus, but he’s had a respectable solo career as well. I think Deep is my favorite Peter Murphy album, but who knows he could even throw in a Bauhaus song. Plus it gives you an excuse to bust out those old goth clothes and make-up that have been gathering cobwebs in your closet.
mp3: Peter Murphy - Shy (from Deep)

Finally, Saturday sees Welsh band Los Campesinos over at Neumo’s (Are you beginnig to see a pattern here, hint, Neumos?). Their rammshackle, hyper, everything and the kitchen sink songs are bound to put you in a party it up mood. If for no other reason show up to hear You! Me! Dancing!
mp3: Los Campesinos - You!Me!Dancing! (from Hold on Now, Youngster…)