THIS WEEK IN SHOWS

Our top picks…

MON, DEC. 7

dubknowdub, Long Distance Poison, K Holes, Behavior
Matchless
8:00, FREE, 21+
Casey from Eat Records curates a night of experimental music…
You might have heard of K Holes, the Golden Triangle/Georgiana Starlington offshoot. If Golden Triangle is some disorienting typhoon of noise, K Holes is more of a slow-rolling haze, kinda like that fog on “The Simpsons” that turns people inside out. Ultimately they’re sorta woozy and fun.  Listening to Long Distance Poison, on the other hand, is like falling witness to an unending procession of ogres trudging toward some ritualistic beheading. It might make you a little scared, or at least uncomfortable, but it’s totally entrancing, and when the thing ends and you blink once or twice you’ll be like, “whoa, that was really cool!” Doomed out droney noise, twenty-minute songs and a Minimoog. Get with it!

WEDS, DEC. 9

The Santamaria Collective Presents: Dynasty Electric, Zigmat, Terry Poison, Rebel Diaz, Jani “Bomba” Rose, DJ Ron Zilla
The Studio @ Webster Hall
8:00 PM, $10adv/$15do, 19+

Seriously, doesn’t donating things make you feel really good? At the Santamaria Collective show this Wednesday, audience members are asked to bring new, unwrapped toys, which will be given to the children at Harlem Hospital & several homeless shelters in New York City. I know money’s tight, but even picking up a small gift means a lot. Or hell, why not splurge and give yourself an excuse to go play on the big piano at FAO Shwarz? (Is that thing even still there?) This’ll be an eclectic mix of bands, but if you’re going to check out any of them, look up Rebel Diaz, who’ve been using their group as a platform for serious social activism in the South Bronx. They call themselves “periodistas de la esquina,” or “street journalists,” which I sorta like…
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LIVE JOURNAL
JezebelMusic.com @ Mercury Lounge
October 4, 2009 | Chain and the Gang, Silk Flowers, Julianna Barwick

Last Sunday night at Mercury Lounge, Brooklyn-based solo artist Julianna Barwick played the eye of the world’s sweetest, mellowest hurricane, standing almost perfectly still in front of an effects pedal with her own voice expanding and mutating around her, drifting over lilting beach-house ukulele and a warm bed of soft-plucked harp. She fed the machine her vocals and layered them, one loop stacked neatly atop another, angelic harmonies growing to tower over the human figure on stage, with a sweetness that wobbled a bit, but to its credit did not fall over the edge into the realm of the saccharine. It was at times a difficult act to watch, mostly because there was so little happening visually that the slightest audience movement or commotion looked explosive in comparison, but Barwick provided a pleasant ethereal soundtrack to whatever utopia listeners were able to project on the inside of their own eyelids.

More on Chain and the Gang, Silk Flowers, Julianna Barwick @ Mercury Lounge | 10.4.09

THIS WEEK IN SHOWS

WEDS, OCT. 14

No Age, Woods, Silk Flowers
(le) poisson rouge
10:00 PM, $15, 18+
I am pretty jealous of our photographer, who’s headed to see No Age at (le) poisson rouge this Wednesday. They’ll be in town all week, but why not hit a mid-week show with solid openers, in a smallish venue? Maybe you will remember, or realize, how much you love No Age, and you’ll go catch them again when they perform The Bear at the New Museum on Friday.

Tayisha Busay and Guests
Glasslands
8:00 PM, $3/$5, 21+
From what I can tell, there’s always a lot of Spandex and a lot of dancing at Tayisha Busay shows. In fact, there tends to be a decent amount of dancing and Spandex at Glasslands, period. Then of course you have a guest performance from Cherie Lily, aerobics-musician (and Andrew W.K.’s wife), and you’re looking at a shiny, stretchy, sparkly (?), sweaty good time. It’s called the “Nasty Ass” dance party, but you could probably also name it the “Cheap Ass” dance party: $3 before 10:00 PM, open bar from 8:00 – 9:00.
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