LUNGFISH | GRIS GRIS | MOTO | DOWN THE LINE | THE WEDDING PRESENT | THE DEMON'S CLAWS | THE MOUNTAIN GOATS | THE CRACKPIPES | TRIAGE | BLANK ITS | PINBACK | TH' LEGENDARY SHACK SHAKERS | THE TOUGH AND LOVELY | THE PAYBACKS | UFODICTATOR | EASY ACTION | THE TEARJERKERS | THE SHOP FRONTS | CONSTANTINES | THE SPiTS | THE HARD LESSONS | 25 SUAVES | SMOG | THE RAVEN SOCIETY | THE OSCARS | THE BRIEFS | PORTASTATIC | THE PONYS | BRIAN VANDER ARK | JOHN VANDERSLICE | THE MOUNTAIN GOATS | EMBER SWIFT | DOWN THE LINE | MAKE/BELIEVE | ELF POWER | CROOKED FINGERS | DAVE DONDERO | THE WEDDING PRESENT | MONDALE! | ARAB STRAP | NOBODY'S FAVORITE | GRIS GRIS | REMPIS PERCUSSION QUARTET | JOHN VANDERSLICE | THE FATALS | BLACK SUNDAY | THE HUNCHES | THE BELL ORCHESTRE | FRUIT BATS | THE MIGHTY GO-GO PLAYERS | MISS ALEX WHITE | THE CRETEENS | BRIMSTONE HOWL | THE ANGEL SLUTS | THE SPITS | ARMY OF JESUS | DEVOTCHKA | THE SNEAKY PINKS | UFO DICTATOR.COM 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY SHOW | ANGRY ANGLES | THE GRIS GRIS | BRIDGE 61 | THE CARBONAS | SO MANY DYNAMOS | THE SINATRAS/THE SLEESTACKS | ROGUE WAVE | JEFF HANSON | WOLF PARADE | ERIC BACHMANN (Crooked Fingers) & RICHARD BUCKNER | THE MOUNTAIN GOATS | ELF POWER | THE KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW | THE DEMOLITION DOLLRODS | MICAH P. HINSON | THE MAGNETIX | THE HARD LESSONS | JOE LALLY | M.O.T.O. | BIRTHDAY SUITS } EVIL ARMY | EMBER SWIFT | THAT 1 GUY | THE HARD LESSONS
March 2nd 2007
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Monday February 12th, 2007 That 1 Guy: http://that1guy.com/pages/woodford.html http://www.flemingartists.com/artists/details.php?id=38 9pm doors - $10 |
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Friday February 9th, 2007 Ember Swift: www.emberswift.com Nervous But Excited: http://www.nervousbutexcited.com 9pm doors - $10 |
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EVIL ARMY/ THROBBIN URGES/ HARVYST/ @ Kraftbrau Brewery (Kalamazoo, MI)/February 4, 2007 BLACK JACK PRODUCTIONS presents EVIL ARMY (Memphis, TN) http://www.myspace.com/evilarmy THROBBIN URGES (Kalamazoo, MI) http://www.myspace.com/throbbinurges HARVYST http://www.myspace.com/harvyst http://www.harvyst.com/ plus...spinning the vinyl all night long: B MELLOW http://www.myspace.com/bmellowthafreshfellow THE DOCTOR (host of "Rock and/or Roll" on 89.1 WIDR FM) DJ CHUCK (host of "Down In Flames" on 89.1 WIDR FM) http://www.myspace.com/uselesseater Sunday, February 4, 2007 KRAFTBRAU BREWERY 402 E Kalamazoo Ave Kalamazoo, MI (269) 384-0288 http://www.kraftbraubrewery.com/ http://www.myspace.com/kraftbraubrewery http://www.myspace.com/kraftbrau 9PM Doors 10PM Show 18 & Over $6.00 http://www.myspace.com/blackjack_productions |
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THE WHORES OF BABYLON/ THE STRANGE BOYS |
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M.O.T.O./ |
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THE HARD LESSONS/ |
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THE MAGNETIX/ |
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9pm Micah P. Hinson With Special Guest Frank Fuzz All for only $6
Micah P. Hinson Hometown: Abilene, TX US Life has a strange habit of never exactly going according to plan; just when it seems even, life throws a curve ball to put things off balance. Some call it karma, while others call it luck. Life seems to right itself, in the end. Micah P. Hinson experienced a turbulent period in his late teens, involving narcotics, jail time for forging prescriptions and a tumultuous relationship with a Vogue cover model - all before the age of 20, Hinson was homeless, penniless and abandoned by his family. He was eventually forced to declare himself bankrupt and moved into a motel and acquired a mundane telemarketing job. During this period, Micah still managed to write around 30 songs on borrowed instruments and equipment. 2004 saw Micah Paul Hinson catapulted from being a skate kid down on his luck to making one of the year's finest and most critically acclaimed debut albums, Micah P. Hinson and the Gospel of Progress (which made numerous ‘Best of 2004' polls, especially in the UK including Uncut, The Independent, the BBC and Time Out UK) and traveling the world playing with the likes of Iron & Wine, Antony & the Johnsons, Devendra Banhart, The Arcade Fire and most recent being invited on tour with KT Tunstall and Richard Hawley. Frank Fuzz Hometown : Paw Paw, MI Frank needs someone to write him a bio, so we can just copy that and put it on this site. In lieu of a proper bio, let's just say that Frank is a hometown hero. He is one that inspires hope in and for the local Kalamazoo music scene. His songs are truly original and unique. Which is harder to come by than you would imagine. The Frank on Frank live show brings a third dimension to life. Really put a little faith in Frank. Links:
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THE DEMOLITION DOLLRODS/ |
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THE KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW/ |
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ELF POWER PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS: Geoff Reacher The Glowfriends THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2006 TICKETS $8 DOORS OPEN AT 9PM Tickets are available at Vertigo Music 129 S. Division Ave. Grand Rapids , MI Rocket Star Café- Kalamazoo ELF POWER Formed in Athens , GA in 1994, Elf Power was spawned from the legendary Elephant 6 collective that also produced Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, Of Montreal and Apples In Stereo. For the "Web" sessions, the band, whose founding members include Andrew Rieger on vocals, Laura Carter on accordion and keys and Brian Poole on bass, was joined by John Fernandes (of Olivia Tremor Control and Circulatory System) on violin and clarinet, Jimmy Hughes on guitar, Heather McIntosh on cello and new drummer Josh Lott. The band has spent the past twelve years making albums and touring the globe, sharing bills with the likes of R.E.M., Dinosaur Jr., Wilco and Guided By Voices. Elf Power also runs their own land conservation group/record label called Orange Twin. The group involves 150 acres of land on the outskirts of Athens , GA which is currently being turned into a self sustainable, low impact village and nature preserve.
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4 AD Recording Artist *Darn Nice Folks CHRISTINE FELLOWS From Toronto , Ont. *Finest Canadian Export Since Strange Brew. Really you should check out: MONDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2006 $12 Advance Tickets $14 at the Door (if there are any left) 8 pm doors (Please note early time, it will be this early, and we would hate for you to miss any of the show...) Tickets are available at Vertigo Music 129 S. Division Ave. Grand Rapids , MI Rocket Star Café- Kalamazoo THE MOUNTAIN GOATS Last year, The Mountain Goats released an album called The Sunset Tree, and something unusual happened. John Darnielle - long recognized by his fans as one of the most imaginative and downright thrilling lyricists of his generation - suddenly found the rest of the world starting to think the same way. The album, the most nakedly autobiographical in a Mountain Goats discography which spans 400 or more songs across scores of releases, was widely hailed as a masterpiece; it went on to become the most successful of Darnielle's career. But - as you might expect from a songwriter as creatively restless as he is prolific - Get Lonely is something else again. If The Sunset Tree (which chronicled the fraught, violent relationship between Darnielle and his stepfather) derived its power and energy from an unblinking exorcism of personal demons, Get Lonely is perhaps the quiet, haunted aftermath. It's a reflective, intimate record; the mood is one of bittersweet resignation rather than cathartic release. And it sees Darnielle modulating his perspective away from the unequivocally personal – these elegiac vignettes undoubtedly spring from emotion deeply felt, but emotion this time – as the poet once had it – "recollected in tranquility". And given Darnielle's gift for telling irony, it might not come as surprise to discover that, at least as far as the musical performances are concerned, Get Lonely doesn't quite follow the stark command of its title. In fact, these recordings are warmly collaborative affairs, with Darnielle and his long-term collaborators Peter Hughes and Franklin Bruno forming an ensemble captured playing live in the studio - the songs murmur with surefooted confidence, the product of intuitive, respectful mutual exploration. Their performances are augmented by the luminous cello playing of Erik Freidlander, the lithe, almost-jazz drumming of Corey Fogel and the multifarious instrumental touches supplied or inspired by producer Scott Solter. There's an endless array of gently inspirational flourishes - the radiant piano chords of " New Monster Avenue ", the rippling vibraphones and soaring guitar lines of "Half Dead", the perfect pizzicato cello in "Woke Up New", the cross-hatched brass and Hammond of "If You See Light". Darnielle's marvelous lyrics work in the same way – even at their most introspective, there's always something to surprise; a momentary splash of colour, an arresting image: "And these moments of lucid verbal drama rub up against the sombre mood of Get Lonely, disrupting the album's dazed beauty, casting light into its shady corners. These constant contrasts mean that, even at its most languid, the album is never merely pretty, and even at its most troubled, it is never merely dark. It is, however, a delicately nuanced triumph – an uncannily coherent and subtly redemptive record which should come to be seen as The Mountain Goats' most resonant, assured and magical collection of songs so far.” America 's best non-hip-hop lyricist" -The New Yorker *Personal Opinions. |
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**SPECAIL CO-HEADLINE** Saddle Creek Records RICHARD BUCKNER FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2006 9pm Doors Open $12 in Advance- $14 Day of Show Tickets are available at Vertigo Music 129 S. Division Ave. Grand Rapids , MI Rocket Star Café- Kalamazoo ONLY MICHIGAN PERFORMANCE! ERIC BACHMANN Eric Bachmann will release To The Races on August 22nd on Saddle Creek Records. The release marks the first time Bachmann has chosen to release an album under his own name. Recording under the moniker Crooked Fingers since 2000, Bachmann has released four albums of charmingly melancholic music that have earned him a reputation as arguably one of the finest singer songwriters to emerge in recent years. Markedly different than 2005's highly praised and most immediately accessible Crooked Fingers' release Dignity and Shame (Merge) - which received 4-star reviews from Details and Maxim, while "(giving the) stale singer-songwriter consortium a nice kick in the pants" (Alternative Press) - To The Races is as skeletally spare as it is insightful and restrained. It is fitting that Bachmann chose such an austere album as the first Eric Bachmann solo release: no pretenses, no pseudonyms, no ornamentation - qualities that also mirror the album's writing and recording process: To The Races was mainly written in the summer of 2005 while Bachmann voluntarily chose to live in the back of his touring van. After making the best of the hospitable Northwestern summer by setting up home and shop in his vehicle, Bachmann waited until December to record To The Races in only a week's time, self-recording its entirety in a hotel in the Outer Banks town of Buxton , NC. Joined on only a few songs by Devotchka's violinist Tom Hagerman and Austin , TX 's Miranda Brown on backing vocals, To The Races is a stunning collection of songs examining both self-imposed isolation and the search for human connection. RICHARD BUCKNER Meadow is the 8th full-length recording from Richard Buckner, and his second for Merge Records. The latest chapter in a story that began in San Francisco , back in the early 90's and has seen Buckner travel across the U.S. and Canada many times. Buckner's body of work has always seemed to be about motion vs. stillness, whether it be running away or toward something, or watching something or someone leave or approach: the restless energy of the heart, full speed ahead, the consequences taken and embraced, the good and the bad. The false starts, roadblocks and pitfalls along the way only add to the richness of the journey. “There are three kinds of American folk artist: those who sit, contented, on a back porch contemplating America 's landscape and ways; those for whom its landscape and ways are something to stand against or move boldly through; and those whose America is a shadowy, impressionistic place that moves inside of them. This [latter] is the area that the somber-voiced Richard Buckner has been exploring since 1984” -- Sylvie Simmons; The Guardian, 2004 |
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ROGUE WAVE Sub Pop Recording Artist THE GRATES From Austraila FOREIGN BORN 9pm- Doors 10pm- Show $9 in Advance- $11 at the Door Tickets are available at Vertigo Music 129 S. Division Ave. Grand Rapids , MI Rocket Star Café- Kalamazoo |
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Jeff Hanson & Southerly plus tba This is the exclusive East Coast tour for both Jeff Hanson and Southerly through fall/winter '06. They both will be/are performing on the Kill Rock Stars' The Sound The Hare Heard Tour in support of the compilation of same name which received great press (Motor Mouth Media ran PR) for both the tour and release. http://www.myspace.com/jeffhanson http://www.myspace.com/southerly $6 advance / $8 day of show 8pm doors / 9pm show More info and EPK's for both artists available at http://www.thecrowagency.com http://www.kraftbraubrewery.com |
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WOLF PARADE From Montreal , Quebec Sub Pop Recording Artists The Narrator Flameshovel Recording Artist Thursday August 31 2006 9 pm doors open There are a few tickets left, but buy soon at: Vertigo Music-129 S. Division Ave. Grand Rapids (best area independent record store) Rocket Star Café- Kalamazoo THE WOLF PARADE MEMBERS: Dan Boeckner Spencer Krug Hadji Bakara Arlen Thompson WHERE FROM: Montreal WHEN FORMED: March 2003 HOW FORMED: According to Arlen, this is how Wolf Parade formed: As far as I can remember the story, Spencer was called by Alex Megelas of Grenadine Records to play a show opening for Melon Galia and Arcade Fire. Spencer agreed, although he had no band, so Spencer called up Dan to get something together for the show. They wrote songs in Spencer's apartment playing with a drum machine through comupter speakers. I got a call about a week before the show from Spencer asking me if I wanted to play a show that Saturday. I agreed and we rehearsed as a full band with amps and PA the day before and the day of our first show. All of the gear was borrowed; I don't think we had any equipment of our own except for Spencer's Juno-4 keyboard. I am pretty sure that set the precedent of our band always being half-assed... |
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THE SINATRAS/ |
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So Many Dynamos Red Swan
http://www.myspace.com/kraftbraubrewery http://www.myspace.com/funender http://www.myspace.com/somanydynamos |
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THE CARBONAS/ |
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BRIDGE 61 @ Kraftbrau Brewery (Kalamazoo, MI)/July 29, 2006 BLACK JACK PRODUCTIONS presents BRIDGE 61 (Atavistic/Chicago, IL) http://www.kenvandermark.com http://www.atavistic.com/
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THE GRIS GRIS/ |
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ANGRY ANGLES/ |
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"UFO DICTATOR.com 2 Year Anniversary Show" |
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THE SNEAKY PINKS/ |
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Devotchka Norfolk & Western Wishek Doors open at 9pm $9 Advance/ $10 day of Show Buy tickets online or at Kraftbrau Devotchka may be the best band in America you've never heard of. This fascinating little quartet from Denver Colorado has made a wistful, beautifully-arranged something that isn't really an indie rock record, and isn't really a jazz record, and isn't really a mariachi/norteno (or Eastern European) folk record. It's the album Calexico should have been making all these years. It's the album you put on when you want to wallow, when you want to brood, when you want to shut your windows and close your blinds and lose yourself in the wistful tragedy of love and loss and hope and nostalgia that bubbles to the surface in all of your darker, finer moments. And though it could easily be the soundtrack to One Hundred Years of Solitude (what, with all the horns and guitars and the crooning Nick Urata), it's actually more spiritually related to the darker and finer moments of, say, Modest Mouse. (“Night on the Sun” the-world-is-ending-right-here-in-this-guitar-delay Modest Mouse, not the newly-minted disco Mouse). It makes you think. It makes you long. It makes you dream. And if you can listen to the aching troubadour ballad “Dearly Departed” without feeling the suffocating sensation of tearing flesh from bone that accompanies any true loss, then you haven't loved and you haven't lost and you shouldn't kid yourself that your better for it. Norfolk and Western started as a recording project in '99 or so. I met Adam when he was just finishing up his first recording, A Collection of Songs . He recorded The Places pretty early on, at his then newly transplanted studio, The Type Foundry. Anyway, he was going to release this recording the same way HUSH had been doing it in those early days: a CDr run with nice handcrafted packaging. Adam has always been in to nice packaging. I still have the original, deleted songs and all. But I digress. I saw him play the Norfolk and Western material as a duo with M.Ward (in that same basement bar that I was first introduced to Amy Annelle and Colin Meloy) and I was floored. Adam has a really amiable, understated, but confident stage presence that I've always admired. Every show he plays is different, too. There is always some new element or a new collaborator du jour. Four years later, he's a neighbor, sure-shot basketball compatriat, and dependable inspiration. Joining forces with his girlfriend Rachel Blumberg on Drums, Dave Depper on Bass, and sound jackal Tono Moreno on guitar, organ and the secret stuff buried behind the signature 20's-era radio cabinet, Selzer and co. deliver a dynamic (in a pastoral atmospheric sort of way) live show. |
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ARMY OF JESUS/ |
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THE SPITS/THROBBIN' URGES |
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THE ANGEL SLUTS/THE METAL TEETH |
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BRIMSTONE HOWL/KAZALOK |
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THE CRETEENS/THE METAL TEETH |
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MISS ALEX WHITE & THE RED ORCHESTRA/ |
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THE MIGHTY GO-GO PLAYERS/THE FEELERS / $7.00 - 18 & Over |
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Valentine Productions Proudly Presents: FRUIT BATS Sub Pop Recording Artist Thursday May 4th With: $9 Advance $11 Day of Show Tickets Available: At The Kraftbrau & Vertigo Music |
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Black Jack Productions and Valentine Booking Proudly Present Rough Trade Recording Artist From Montreal, Quebec THE BELL ORCHESTRE Wednesday May 3 rd 9pm Doors Open $10 THE BELL ORCHESTRE/SNAILHOUSE/THE GLOWFRIENDS @ Kraftbrau (Kalamazoo, MI)/ At The Kraftbrau & Vertigo Music 129 S. Division Ave. Grand Rapids, MI Rocket Star Café- Kalamazoo The Bell Orchestre was born in an old dance studio in central Montreal. As dancers ran, froze and crashed into each other and footsteps echoed in our ears the music began to create itself, painting landscapes and underscoring bodies, communicating through powerful, wordless gestures… The band spent two years among the dancers, and when the time came to fly away, the music continued to evolve and exude intangible, physical qualities. Bell Orchestre impacts the body and the emotions, evoking images, vast open spaces, movement and conflict, while retaining in the music a delicate intimacy and a raw ferocity that is completely unique. It taps into the acoustic delicacy of chamber music, the urgency and volume of post punk and rock, and the intricacy of contemporary electronic music. Often drawing comparisons to film music, perhaps this band is not so much creating the soundtracks to movies, but rather inventing a musical meeting place for a century's worth of city ghosts, weather patterns and shifting architecture. The Bell Orchestre is made of strings, bells, horns, drums, stethoscopes, samples and quiet noise. Their live performances soothe, excite and soar. The band is: Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire) on upright bass/keyboard/percussion, Sarah Neufeld (Arcade Fire) on violin, Stefan Schneider (IKS) on drums/percussion, Pietro Amato (Torngat) on French horn/electronics, and Kaveh Nabatian on Trumpet/Melodica, with Mike Feurstack (Wooden Stars/ Snailhouse) playing Lap Steel Guitar on happy occasions. If you like these other folks you will most definitely like the Bell Orchestre: Kronos Quartet, Aphex Twin, Penguin Café Orchestra, Autechre, Rachel's, Arvo Part, Red Snapper |
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THE HUNCHES/ |
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BLACK SUNDAY/THE METAL TEETH DUTCH HERCULES ONE MAN BAND |
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THE FATALS/THE RAT TRAPS/THROBBIN' URGES |
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8:30 Doors 9:30 Show Begins $8 JOHN VANDERSLICECarefully Crafted Indie-Pop from the golden gates of San Francisco. John Vanderslice returns to Kalamazoo for another show stopping performance.
CRYSTAL SKULLS Just one year ago, Crystal Skulls released their debut, Blocked Numbers. Listeners got smart and stylish songs nestled comfortably into the folds and corners of various timeframes and musical movements. The band delivered a thoughtful, eloquent, and singular record and toured extensively, playing the tunes with good and feisty intentions to those that came to listen. The band will be touring throughout the year in support of the record. You'll love it if you come. Links: At The Kraftbrau Vertigo Music- 129 S. Division Ave. Grand Rapids Rocket Star Café- Kalamazoo |
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BLACK JACK PRODUCTIONS presents THE REMPIS PERCUSSION QUARTET http://www.482music.com/ http://www.482music.com/albums/482-1046.html DAVE REMPIS : saxophones ANTON HATWICH : bass TIM DAISY : drums FRANK ROSALY : drums "The name of Dave Rempis's latest group is fair warning: never before has the local saxophonist led a band that hit this hard. Bassist Anton Hatwich provides a stable fulcrum with his thrumming, insistent vamps, around which drummers Frank Rosaly and Tim Daisy, both on ! trap sets, play a dynamic array of swinging beats, interlocking Latin motifs, martial cadences, and nuanced, meterless textures. Even at full throttle the two drummers mesh precisely, despite their divergent styles: Rosaly's is fluid and sinuous, busy with double- kick flutters, while Daisy's is more spiky and agitated. Rempis sketches keening alto and tenor lines across the surface, taking a more overtly melodic tack than he does in Triage or his free-improv quartet with Jim Baker. At other times he switches to baritone and plunges down into the ensemble's dense and surging rhythms, using his horn like yet another percussion instrument--and it's then I start thinking this might be the best new jazz band in town. The set I caught a couple weeks ago at Hotti Biscotti created an unstoppable momentum with its seamless transitions, opening with a polyrhythmic whirlwind worthy of late- 60s Pharoah Sanders and building from there." - Bill Meyer, Chicago Reader KRAFTBRAU BREWERY 9PM Doors 10PM Show 18 & Over $6.00 |
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BLACK JACK PRODUCTIONS presents |
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BLACK JACK PRODUCTIONS presents |
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VALENTINE PRODUCTIONS PROUDLY PRESENTS Sunday April 2 nd Arab Strap From Scotland A Whisper in the Noise $10 Advance $12 Day of Show Tickets Available At The Kraftbrau & Vertigo Records 129 S. Division Ave, Grand Rapids Rocket Star Café- Kalamazoo |
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Saturday March 25 Dr.Xeron & The Moogulators Helles-Dostoevsky 9pm - $5 |
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VALENTINE PRODUCTIONS PROUDLY PRESENTS With Sally Crewe & The Sudden Moves Saturday March 11 9pm $10 Advance $12 Day of Show The Wedding Present was, and is, one of the most influential and successful indie bands in Britain. Active from 1986 to 1996, the band, fronted by songwriter and only constant member David Gedge, had seventeen Top 40 UK hit singles, patronage by the late renowned DJ John Peel, and acclaimed albums released on RCA/BMG, Island, and Cooking Vinyl. Among other notable achievements, the band had twelve chart singles - one each month -- in 1992, equaling Elvis' 35-year-old British record for "most hits in one year. At Kraftbrau & Vertigo Music 129 S. Division Ave. Grand Rapids |
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DAVE DONDERO FRANK FUZZ $7 9pm Doors 10pm Show Considering everywhere Dave Dondero has traveled, it's not surprising that geography permeates his songs. From Miami, Florida to Ely, Nevada, Dondero connects the highway lines into a collection of literate, impressionistic, folk-blues mini-epics. Conjuring the spirit of Henry Miller coming to terms with his homeland in The Air-Conditioned Nightmare, Dondero is like the ex-patriot returned--passionately and sublimely relaying how beautiful and ugly this huge-ass country can be. The former Sunbrain singer/guitarist spent a week in August and two weeks in December 2004 at Sweat Box Studio in Austin Texas with a seasoned cast of like-minded cohorts, giving South of the South a richer, more worn-in feel than any of his previous records. Eric Bachman (Crooked Fingers), Mike Vasquez, Tom Heyman, Dan Carr, and Chris Heinrich collectively bring decades worth of musical wisdom that spreads all over these songs like the dust from a pickup peeling out on a dirt road. Of course it wouldn't feel right without longtime cohort Craig D on drums, and longtime Dondero fans can take comfort in his presence. "I've Seen the Love," features a signature Craig D shuffle beat while Vasquez's trumpet breezes through and Dan Carr's upright bass keeps the song on its feet. “Let go the Past”--a determined, eerie, country-stomper--finds Heyman manipulating a reverb heavy slide guitar line, while Bachman lays a blanket of keys. Nice. With an album full of ringers, it's somewhat surprising that some of the most revealing moments simply include Dondero's voice and guitar. On the haunting, live-to-one-track recording of "Brownsville Revival," he finger-picks a haunting melody and sings a damning lullaby about his home state of Florida and its backwoods religions with disarming results: "There was a man whose daughter had died/I believe it was in Gainesville/By the cooler/And he put her inside/Went to Brownsville revival/Asked the congregation/If they could bring her back for him/He was looking for a miracle/But it just didn't happen." Yes, it's a bleak story, but it's the life some people lead. |
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CROOKED FINGERS CLEAR DAYS ALWAYS $8 9pm doors 10pm show Crooked Fingers is Eric Bachmann. Eric Bachmann is most noted for, well many things. He was the principle songwriter for indie legends Archer's of Loaf. Crooked Fingers picks up right here Archer's left off, not losing any momentum, in fact gaining speed. |
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ELF POWER THOSE TRANSATLANTICS $7 9pm Doors 10pm Show Musically Elf Power is all over the map this time , going from sleazy, T-Rex rockers (Drawing Flies), to psychedelic electronica (The Cracks), to blown out Southern boogie romps (title track, featuring a duet with folk rock legend Vic Chesnutt). Lyrically, the band foregoes the abstract supernatural imagery of their past releases for a more straightforward lyrical approach, with songs about the effects of advertising and media on modern America (Empty Pictures, Never Believe), love songs (Drawing Flies),and even strange, autobiographical story songs about meeting up with a gang of beggar children in Warsaw (Walking With the Beggar Boys). Elf Power's finest moment is here, so listen up! Elf Power formed in Athens,GA in 1994 and have spent the last decade releasing six albums and touring the globe, from America to Europe to Japan and Brazil, playing with bands like REM, Wilco, Guided By Voices, and Neutral Milk Hotel (whom Laura Carter also recorded and toured with), and have built a rabid underground following in the process. The band will be touring all over once again in support of this release, starting with a full U.S. tour in April and a Brazilian tour in May. |
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MAKE/BELIEVE $7 9 pm doors 10 pm show This the first time I've been able to be in a band that feels like [the band] I've always wanted to be in, just in terms of mutual enthusiasm you know?" says Make Believe frontman Tim Kinsella. "I wish I could have started this project ten years ago, it would have saved me a lot of trouble." Instead of resting on the laurels of their previous acts (Joan Of Arc, Owls, GhostsVodka, etc.), Make Believe fearlessly forge ahead, connecting the dots between avant-indie acts like US Maple and Polvo with the emotion of say Minor threat all the while sounding absolutely nothing like any of the above. In other words, Make Believe are just four really talented dudes in their 20s trying to reinvent punk rock the only way they know how. However, there's only so much a one-page bio can tell you about a band. The best way to begin to understand Make Believe is to see it for yourself. Love it or hate it, we promise it won't sound like anything else you've ever heard before. So, what are you waiting for? |
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Friday November 4th, 2005Down The Line9pm $6 - 18 & up with ID Down The Line proves an unlikely truth: Electricity has little to do with power. The band employs acoustic instruments — shimmering In the fall of 2005, Down The Line released their second full-length album, Please Remember My Name, a dynamic collection of memorable Down The Line was dubbed “the new wave of college rock” by Performing Songwriter magazine. They’ve been featured on both radio and |
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Wednesday November 2th, 2005Ember SwiftHailey Wojcik9pm - $10 Indie music sensation Ember Swift’s particular brand of |
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SATURDAY OCTOBER 15, 2005$10 advance $12 day of show 9 PM Doors 10 PM Show 18 & up with ID Special return performance THE MOUNTAIN GOATSSome of the most imaginative, inventive lyrics come from The Mountain Goats. Just ask Sasha Frere-Jones from The New Yorker, according to him, John Darnielle is the best non-hip hop lyricist of our generation. A lofty title to live up to, but they do it well. Check these out for yourself. NPR loves the Mountain Goats http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4651778 The New Yorker loves the Mountain Goats http://www.newyorker.com/critics/music/articles/050516crmu_music THE PRAYERS AND TEARS OF ARTHUR DIGBY SELLARS"With the release of the Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers' sophomore album, three nascent principles emerge in the Triangle music scene: Perry right is one of its most impressive songwriting talents; producer Alex Lazara is one of its most capable and creative visionaries; and the Bu Hanan records family- hitherto more of a collection of friends making record in Chapel Hill homes- is suddenly an artistic stable worthy of envy." " Cynthia offers a glimpse at the assorted and burrowed tunnels of a complicated mind, an absorbent, watchful, keen mind capable of compiling theories, theologies, dialogues, parables and paradoxes and funneling them into four-minute considerations worthy of thousand-word elaboration." The Independent Weekly
PLEASE ADVISE THE LAST MOUNTAIN GOATS SHOW SOLD OUT QUITE EARLY; PLEASE BUY ADVANCE TICKETS TO ENSURE ADMISSION.
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SUNDAY OCT 9 2005$8 8PM ***Note early time JOHN VANDERSLICEBarsuk Recording Artist Dear Friends, John Vanderslice has made the record everyone has been waiting for him to make. Over the past four years, Vanderslice's previous efforts, Mass Suicide Occult Figurines (2001), Time Travel is Lonely (2002), Life and Death of An American Fourtracker (2003), and Cellar Door (2004) have charted the incremental growth of one of the finest songwriters working in under-the-radar rock music today. Every one represented a step forward, in terms of artistry and also of ambition; the narrative scope of the songs, the melodic range of the singing, the sonic palette of the productions—with each subsequent release, Vanderslice has pushed hard to find the limits of his abilities, then pushed harder and broken through them to create something beautiful. But if his prior records were a gradual progression, his latest constitutes a quantum leap. Barsuk Records is proud to present Pixel Revolt, the most ingenious release to date by San Francisco based solo artist John Vanderslice. In the age of laptop lo-fi, when anyone can make a record anywhere they want, Vanderslice is a purist for the old way: Pixel Revolt, like all four of its predecessors, was the result of intensive labor (and analog gear) at JV's Tiny Telephone studios in San Francisco To help him find his voice, literally and lyrically, Vanderslice turned to longtime friend, collaborator, and tourmate John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats (whose last two acclaimed LPs were produced by Vanderslice). Darnielle, one of the most inventive songwriters alive, performed variously as editor, co-writer, and midwife to the record. For an exploration of the complex thematic terrain of the songs, please consult the attached User's Guide to Pixel Revolt. In short, we believe this record is a masterpiece by a seasoned veteran at the top of his form, and we hope you will too. |
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Saturday September 24BRIAN VANDER ARK$8 adv / $10 door 18 & up with ID Brian Vander Ark is the lead singer and principal songwriter for The Verve Pipe, whose platinum debut, Villains, on RCA Records, includes Vander Ark’s 'The Freshmen' -- one of the most successful multi-format tracks of 1997 and winner of an ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors And Publishers) Pop Award. In 1999, they released their In addition to their success on radio, sold-out concert dates throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia, features in Spin and Rolling Stone and videos on MTV and VH1, Brian and the band have made numerous television appearances, including "The Tonight Show," "Late Night With David Letterman," "120 Minutes," and VH1's "Hard Rock Live." Brian has also written songs recorded by The Verve Pipe for the films/soundtracks Great Expectations and Clay Pigeons. He also co-wrote the song 'Blow You Away' with Andy Partridge of XTC which appeared on The Avengers soundtrack. Most recently, Brian wrote and performed the song 'When I’m Gone' for the film Life Or Something Like It. Brian is currently scoring his first film, Dead and Breakfast. Brian first made the leap from musician to actor playing a country singer in the independent film Road Kill. Road Kill premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Brian has just completed his first solo album, released on Brash Music on March 9, 2003. |
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Blackjack Productions & Valentine Booking Present Wednesday September 219pm Doors 10pm Show $8 The PonysIn The Red Records X-OffenderKalamazoo Plus Special GuestsSPIN (JUNE 2005)- The Ponys "Celebration Castle" Grade: A- A bluesy midwestern Interpol, with Richard Hell and the Gun Club in their record collection instead of Joy Division. If the lyrics seem placeholderish, they soon evolve into images of people fighting off real dread in the the-worlds-a-mess-it's-in-my-kiss tradition. What it sounds like to be sucked into doomed romantism rather than aspire to it. Links: |
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