Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Wednesday, May 12th

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night I wanted to go out. I truly did. But it seems that I have some lingering winter time laziness still lingering within me. Which sucks. I am trying to combat it. Actually it might be that I am doing a whole lot all of the time. Either way I am trying to get better. Here are some shows that I am going to try to get out to:

Berbati's is having a show with Blake Mackey and Ah Holly Fam'ly. Blake Mackey is not the most known name in town. But He scored a residency at Berbati's which is great because, honestly...he's pretty good. One look at his guitar covered in stickers and I was like, "great. Another anti-folk guy. This is going to suck." But he can actually play quite well. I mean it sounds like he might have some classical guitar chops or something. Or at least he is a far better guitar player than most folk acts have. I think I heard of him because he played with Ah Holly Fam'ly before. Ah Holly Famly also plays guitar better than your average folk band which is what sets these two apart. Though it seems to me that Jeremy Faulkner style is a little crazier but he is not very obvious about the craziness that he plays. It is usually hidden beneath his very soft vocals. This will be a good show. The show is FREE in the restaurant side of Berbati's and starts at 9 PM.

The Goodfoot is haivng a show iwth Autopilot is for Lovers, When The Broken Bow, Mike Midlo (of Pancake Breakfast), and Grey Anne. Wow this is a nice line up bands. Where to start? How about with Autopilot. As most of the readers of this blog already know, I think pretty highly of the Autopilot band. They take your traditional blues folk music and then make it darker and more expansive than what you might be used to. It is not that hard to be expansive when you have a band that is five members strong and often has a choir added in the mix. Plus Adrianne Hatkin's verbrato is truly unique and is perfectly fitted to the feel of the music. When The Broken Bow is the project headed by the piano player for many bands, Ali Ippolito. She also plays banjolele and accordion. Her music is a very complimentaly to Autopilot. I have not seen Mike Midlo play solo, but I know what he can do in a band setting. His voice and songs seem to be strong enough to stand on their own though. I imagine that if Brain Mumford of Dragging an Ox Through Water didn't add experimental freak outs in his songs, they might sound kind of like Mike's . I really love his voice. You should check him out. I have not seen Grey Anne in forever. I love everything about what she does. Which is perform well written songs that make use of her expert live looping skills. She harmonizes and uses her vocals as an instrument better than any band I know. Plus she always actually putting on a show. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

Holocene is having a show with Copy, Dirty Mittens, White Fang, and DJ New Moon Poncho. Man, lately there have been a lot of shows with really good line ups. This is one of those shows. Copy is probably my favorite dance act in a town that has a lot of good dance acts. I guess it his way of layering melody upon melody to create something that is just...so cool sounding. It also has a bit of 8-bit game sounds. I think he uses old technology to create his new sounds. I love it. Dirty Mittens is not necessarily a dance band per se, but the last time I saw them (at WW's Eat Mobile show) I danced my ass off. They are a very feel good band that add a bit of soulfelness to trtaditional indie-pop. Plus they got not one, but two sax players. How cool is that? I think that they are still doing the card thing where you can get your card stamped and get free stuff once you see them like five times orsomething. White Fang are a pleasure to see and will pretty much have a good time whether or not you do playing their kinda arty kinda punky tunes. There is also mention of a super secret guests. It should be noted that I found this link also on the Holocene website. Are they the secret? I guess you have to go to find out. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

Ella Street Social Club is having a show with Brittain Ashford, St. St. (Olympia/Tucson), and James Mcfarland. Umm... Britain said that this is her Birthday show. So if you like to party birthday style (no, that does not mean stripping down to your birthday suit) then you should head over to the social club. Her tunes are filled with heartbreak and longing. I think it is something that comes naturally when you spend you time living on opposite coasts like Brittain often does. Her instrument of choice is auto harp which creates a delicate bed for her very very pretty voice. St. St. is a folk duo that is also kinda delicate. Those who know me know that I m a sucker for boy girl soft music. James MacFarland sounds like a sad sad man with a raspy voice. I believe that he performs with a cellist which is a favorite of mine. So the music is not all that fun at this show, but it is good. And mostly likely the people will not actually be bummed out despite what their songs may suggest. The show is $5 and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say "Hi".

-Ben


Blake Mackey will play songs that sound like this at Berbati's every Wednesday this month

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