popwreckoning

There are few venues in the Midwest more fitting for a rock show than the Lawrence, Kansas dive Jackpot Music Hall. On January 29, 2010, A. A. Bondy brings his southern grace to the Kansas streets, alongside Willie Mason and the stunning Katlyn Conroy, a local to the area.

PopWreckoning is offering you the chance to check out these artists free of charge. Two tickets for admission could be yours simply by commenting on this post. All you have to do is finish the following statement, “Seeing A. A. Bondy and company on PopWreckoning‘s penny is WAY better than (YOUR ANSWER HERE) on a Friday night.”

Simple enough right? Winner will be chosen at 7 p.m. Central Standard Time.

Meanwhile, go read our interview with Bondy here.

Danish experimental pop quintet Oh No Ono is making their US debut on Brooklyn-based Friendly Fire Recordings with their latest collection of audio intricacies and oddities, Eggs. The band formed in 2003 and released their first EP, Now You Know Oh No Ono, in February 2005. Since then, they have become one of the most influential bands in Denmark; band members include Aske Zidore (guitar, vocals, samples), Kristoffer Rom (drums), Nis Svoldgaard (bass), Kristian Olsen (keyboards) and Malthe Fischer (guitar and vocals).

To record their latest album, the band locked themselves away in a small country home for nine months to create a trippy, instrumental-filled, highly-textured bag of enjoyable odd. Each of the ten songs seems to get stranger and more unique as you travel alongside their drums, bass, guitar, vocals and animal noise-filled journey to a place far off this planet. Their sound is inherently their own. It is a compelling mixture of bizarre and catchy tunes that border on the verge of “what were we listening to?”

Oh No Ono is a pop band that mixes electro, new wave and psychedelic styles to become an alternative sound similar to that of Animal Collective and Brooklyn-based band Grizzly Bear. Personal stand-out songs include “Swim,” which emanates an eerie and peaceful sound that is entirely mutually exclusive, “Icicles,” a song with an on-again, off-again haunting operatic feel and my personal favorite, “Helplessly Young,” which is a fast-paced, poppy rock song.

Oh No Oho – “Helplessly Young”

Watch “Swim”

This band definitely has a voice, a knack for the weird and the desire to create a new sound in every song. After listening to Eggs, I started to wonder how these songs came about. Were they on acid? Meth? And then I remember they spent nine months in a country home together. Whatever Oh No Ono did, it worked.

Watch out for the US debut of Oh No Ono’s latest release, Eggs, on January 26, 2010.

Tracklisting:
01. Eleanor Speaks
02. Swim
03. Internet Warrior
04. Icicles
05. Helplessly Young
06. The Wave Ballet
07. The Tea Party
08. Miss Miss Moss
09. Eve
10. Beelitz

Oh No Ono: website | myspace

Portastatic’s new digital EP of Merge covers, Make It Sound In Tune, is available now exclusively in the Merge store.

All of the proceeds benefit the charities chosen by the SCORE! curators.

Track Listing:
1. Where’s Your Patience, Dear? (Matt Suggs)
2. Anything You Want (Spoon)
3. Old Orchard Beach (The Magnetic Fields)
4. West (Spent)
5. The Saturday Option (Lambchop)
6. Foam Hands (Destroyer)
7. A Million Lights (The Renderers)

John Nolan, formerly of Straylight Run and Taking Back Sunday, has been busy touring and coming up with new works for his solo project.

Between touring with Mansions, working to put his album out on vinyl and preparing a digital EP, Nolan still found extra time to treat his fans. To kick off the New Year, he has a free live EP that you can download here.

Tour Dates:
Jan 22 – Moe’s / Englewood, Colorado
Jan 23 – Kilby Court / Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan 25 – The Vera Project /  Seattle, Washington
Jan 26 – Backspace / Portland, Oregon
Jan 28 – The Wire / Upland, California
Jan 29 – Chain Reaction / Anaheim, California
Feb 2 – Chyro Arts / Scottsdale, Arizona
Feb 4 – Emo’s / Austin, Texas
Feb 5 – Art Ambush / Waco, Texas
Feb 6 – Rock Bottom / San Antonio, Texas
Feb 7 – Prophet Bar / Dallas, Texas

Rooney‘s Rob Schwartzman has a new solo project known as Solo Bob. Solo Bob just released a video for first single “The Victim” and the tune can also be downloaded at Solo Bob’s web site here.

Here’s a tip for all of you would-be concert goers: SHOW UP EARLY. For those who come just to see the headlining act, you’re missing half the fun of going to a show: discovering new music. Besides, if you’re not enjoying the opener, sit down at the bar, imbibe an adult beverage or three, and get stage-front before all the stragglers arrive. This advice was rarely more salient than on the evening in question, and if you were one of the few that showed up to Visulite early, you understand completely.

Happy Chichester kicked off the event. As awkward and shy with the crowd as the late Mitch Hedberg, Happy transformed as soon as he began to play. To call him a singer/songwriter would be a great disservice as his versatility and multi-instrumental prowess cannot be overstated. Most of his songs began with him beat-boxing and then looping the beat (and sometimes two beats), then playing guitar or keyboards over the beat(s) while singing (or even rapping). Happy played and sang with energy and confidence, and his songs were instantly infectious. His style was constantly shifting, bouncing from Jack Johnson-esque quiet acoustic jams to raucous piano chops behind tongue-in-cheek lyrics. “This serves as a get-well card to a country at war” was the way he chose to introduce his final song, and unlike many other artists, he was able to be pseudo-political without climbing on his soapbox.  Thus ended act one of three.

Next up was an Atlanta octet named The Constellations. To see this band live and not dance should be a punishable offense; all eight members work as a well-oiled machine, churning out funky, groove-filled tunes with both precision and soul. The bass player is funky as can be (complete with afro), the drummer was tireless and frenetic, and the chemistry of the band was unmistakable. With influences that seem to range from Motown to Harlem to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, The Constellations’ set can only be described as an ass-shaking, tambourine-slapping, hand-clapping, rhythmic, seeped-in-sex, sweat-stained, alcohol-soaked party. Do not miss this act if you know what’s good for you.

The final and headlining act was the chameleonic RJD2, touring to promote his upcoming record The Colossus. A producer/DJ/electronics geek, RJ started his set with a frantic mix of instrumental hip-hop and sample-heavy DJ artistry. Literally running between his Mac and three different turntables, RJ never missed a beat and kept a constant look of intense concentration on his face, scratching and switching records with calm precision. A few minutes into the set, RJ ran off the stage and quickly returned wearing a belt with a drum machine buckle and a welding hood covering his face. In the strangest and possibly most entertaining portion of the show, he performed in this enigmatic manner as the crowd was both amused and completely transfixed. After another quick costume change offstage (but not before declaring that “the weird part of the show is over”), he returned again, but this time with an accompanying band in the form of a drummer, bass player, and keyboard player (Happy Chichester again). RJ donned an electric guitar, and the band thrashed and grooved their way through several minutes of intrumental psychedelica. Switching gears yet again, he abandoned his guitar for his DJ stand but kept the band on stage. Mixing drum machine with real drums, sampled keys with real ones, and a screen displaying strange documenteries behind them, the group hit their stride and gelled beautifully, carrying the appreciate crowd with them all the way to the end of the set. As if he hadn’t displayed enough facets of his musicianship, RJ ended the night with a solo acoustic song that gently lowered the energy of the building. The Colossus drops on January 19th, and you would be remiss not to show support for this innovative and entertaining artist.

Warning: Mayday Parade and The Dangerous Summer are two of my favorite bands. This story is about Mayday Parade’s headlining tour with opener *drum roll* The Dangerous Summer. I will try my best to remain unbiased. Keyword: “try.” That might explain why I drove eight hours round trip to see this show. To be completely honest though, the lineup was full of fun, upbeat bands that kept the crowd jumping and singing the whole night: City Lights, The Dangerous Summer, There for Tomorrow and Mayday Parade.

Openers City Lights had a short but solid set with songs reminiscent of fellow pop-punkers Every Avenue.

Next up was The Dangerous Summer, who’s 45 minute set was the standout performance of my night. In my opinion, The Dangerous Summer is one of the most underrated bands in the music industry today. They have some big shoes to fill, being compared to the likes of Jimmy Eat World and The Starting Line, and they fill them extremely well. The roughness of lead singer AJ Perdomo’s voice gives this epic band just enough edge to stand out from the crowd. With a strong debut EP entitled If You Could Only Keep Me Alive, the boys of The Dangerous Summer give listeners a fresh new sound that cause them to fall in love with music again. Their lyrics are so easily relatable that it’s easy to identify with each song individually. I still listen to at least one song from that EP everyday.

Needless to say, I was extremely excited to see them live for the first time and they did not disappoint. They are one of those bands that sound exactly the same live as they do on their albums. Unfortunately, the band stayed away from older territory and mainly stuck to songs from their newest release Where I Want to Be. It would have been nice to hear a few songs from the band’s beginning, but with a set list full of strong, catchy songs such as “Weathered,” title track “Where I Want To Be,” and my personal favorite “Northern Lights,” The Dangerous Summer got the crowd ready for the final two heavy hitters of the night, There for Tomorrow and Mayday Parade.

This might be a little hasty of me to say, but the crowd seemed to have been the most amped to hear There for Tomorrow over any of the other bands on the lineup. The energy in the room immediately exploded when they hit the stage. Playing favorites “Pages” and “Remember When,” the crowd energy was measurably heightened. The highlight of their set was a cover of “Ice Box,” originally performed by Omarion. It was such a great cover with all of their personal elements incorporated perfectly. Easily compared to My Chemical Romance’s style, There for Tomorrow took the audience through a whirlwind of rock with a hint of punk mixed in to prep the crowd for Mayday Parade to take the stage.

When Mayday started their set, the energy of lead singer Derek Sanders immediately matched the explosive energy of the crowd. It was hard not to dance and sing along with the band. Their set list included songs from each part of their musical history including “Jamie All Over,” “Kids In Love,” and always the crowd preferred ode to heartbreak, “Miserable at Best.” What really surprised me was that they played “You Be The Anchor…” To me that song has always been Mayday’s version of Something Corporate’s “Konstantine” because it has always been revered as an epic song, but never got the outward exposure. Hearing that was definitely the highlight of the night for me.

It was great to hear that Mayday had kept the same style and vibe that they had always had in the past. They delivered a great set of pop-punk, catchy tunes that has proven to remain constant over the years. I remember reading an interview Mayday did awhile back about the production of their newest full length album, Anywhere but Here. The one thing that stuck out to me the most was their statement that this album would not really be too different than their highly popular full length debut, A Lesson in Romantics. I was extremely excited about this, as I am a huge fan of that album. I was a little worried that with the departure of Jason Lancaster the band’s style would change as well. For anyone that has listened to Anywhere But Here, it is apparent that the band still has the same fun/catchy/pop-punk sound. For once, a band held true to the music they love to play and didn’t get caught up in all the politics of fame. I have never really understood why a band feels that they need to change their image/sound on every album. Why try and fix something that isn’t broken, right? Mayday displayed their talent on A Lesson in Romantics and continue to do so on Anywhere But Here.

With such a diverse and solid group of bands on this tour, the crowd enjoyed a night of catchy, dance-worthy music. It was definitely one of my favorite shows of 2009 and I can’t wait to see what these awesome bands have in store for 2010.

End Times, the latest album from Eels, the project of Mark Oliver Everett, better known as E, and current members Koool G Murder and Knuckles (the group could be called a collective of sorts, with a revolving lineup and E at the helm) is a salty, sinuous tale of melancholy pop, sobering lyrics, plucky lullabies, and troubled, bluesy guitar scratch. Mostly recorded on a four track, End Times panders to the notion of form meets content, where busted hearts express themselves through a long forgotten transmission source. The songs, raw and unadorned, have the kind of great range that movie stars aspire to, the ability to be many things at once and to completely transform with each performance or in this case song. 

From the disquieting whispers on “The Beginning” to the jangling roadhouse rock n’ romp of “Paradise Blues,” End Times is inspiration for something simpler. On “Nowadays,” E is accompanied by a thick as molasses, heavy-handed strum and sings, “the truth is something no one really wants to hear you say…just how do you do and have a nice day…” There’s certainly a familiar kind of denial or “wash it down” sentiment that needles through all of the songs on this beautiful and tragic album. E punctuates his grizzly gulps, so to speak, with the eerie, ambient “High and Lonesome,” a decoupage of noise: pouring rain and passing cars, a knock at the door, a buzzing dial tone, and even plays with some spoken word on “Apple Trees,” all of which set the dark and stormy stage where E’s misery unfolds.

Despite the greatly satisfying gloom on the bulk of the album, there are poppier hints throughout, like the campy la-la-la on “Mansions of Los Feliz,” or the tinny 60s beat on “Unhinged,” one that’s offset by a kind of Cobain gruff that reaches for a girl with “crazy eyes.” You know the kind. I guess that’s the thing about this album that has me so swept; it’s a pulling familiarity – one that’s easily recognized. You too have tried to make sense of it all. You’ve been bruised, you’ve thrown a few punches and you’ve opted to shoot down the truth at a bar instead of dealing with it. End Times is that feeling: that burning, cold, lonely feeling. And in the end, just like the album closer “Little Bird” delicately reveals, we all just want to be loved.

Track Listing:

1. The Beginning
2. Gone man
3. Mansions Of Los Feliz
4. A Line In The Dirt
5. End Times
6. Apple trees
7. Paradise Blues
8. Nowadays
9. Unhinged
10. High and Lonesome
11. I Need A Mother
12. On My Feet
13. Little Bird

We’ve got two copies of Red‘s Grammy-nominated Innocence and Instinct to give away.

To win, correctly answer the following from guitarist Anthony Armstrong‘s recent interview with PopWreckoning’s Andrew Dunlap: what was another movie soundtrack that was tossed around as a possibility for the band aside from “The Blind Side”?

Answers must be in before Monday, January 18 at noon CDT. We’ll choose two winners then.

While waiting for the new album from Butch Walker this coming February, fans can check out two of the new songs now.

“Trash Day” and “She Likes Hair Bands” from I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart are available on ITunes and other online retailers now. They can also be streamed in advance.

Butch is performing a residence in Atlanta from now until Saturday at the 7 States Theater.

His new album comes out February 9 on vinyl and the February 23 on CD and digital. Butch’s new album can be pre-ordered here.