Ben Meyercord's Live Picks for Tuesday, March 29th

Hello Dear Readers,

I didn't go to the shows last night. I was doing this and, to a certain extent, that. It had me busy all night. But I looked, and there are plenty of shows happening tonight:

Holocene is having a show with Miniature Tigers, Pepper Rabbit, and And And And. I will admit that I have not really heard of Miniature Tigers before, but apparently they have some hype behind them. And to my surprise, they actually sound pretty good. It is indie pop, for sure. But it is seems pretty fresh. I can never really put my finger on why something sounds good, but this does. I guess if I had to say one thing, I would say that they have great pop melodies that sound classic. They are on tour with Pepper Rabbit, a band that I have not heard but heard of. Just listened to them. They are also real good. They have a sound that seems to have roots in both classic pop and newer indie pop. A very nice place to be. And then there is the band that drew me to the show, And And And. They have garnered a lot of attention in recent months. Probably because they are good. They have higher energy then both of the former bands put together. Though they are definitely poppy, I have a hard time calling them and indie pop band. I would just say a rock band. They are super prolific. Probably because they have two main songwriters. One has a voice that is very dramatic along the lines of a David Byrne or something. The other has a voice less distinctive but his songs are no less infectious. I though it was kind of funny that while last year they put out a "mixtape", this year they actually put out a real cassette that was sent out digitally as more of a mixture format than they have ever done before. It is a half hour mp3 called Life Ruiner that is actuality anything but ruin one's life. There are some weird moments for sure, but it never gets boring and flows really well. The show is $11 and starts at 7:30 PM.

Mississippi Studios is having a show with Wye Oak (Baltimore), Callers (Brooklyn), and Aan. Wye Oak is awesome. They are based around the duo of Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack. Though as the main vocalist and guitarist she sticks out a bit more. Though Andy is very impressive handling the drums and some sort of bass synth proving he is a more than capable one man rhythm section. I have seen them before and was really impressed. They are currently on tour with Callers. Callers are a female led band of kind of easy going music that has a lot of subtle rhythmic things going on with the guitars and drums. Check them out. The main thing that attracted me to this show, however is Aan. They are one of my favorite local bands. They do a lot of rhythmic things that are not subtle but are really cool. They perhaps are the most dynamic band around now. Plus Bud Wilson's voice is a wild beast that just won't let you ignore (but it's a good thing). The show is $10 and starts at 9 PM.

Valentine's is having a show with White Hinterland and friends. Casey Dienel of White Hinterland is constantly changing her "sound". On the latest album there is a a tiny touch of dub while maintaing a separateness from that genre. I just found out via text message that at least one of the friends is David Kyle and The Invisibles. You best know David as the leader of Secret Codes. The Invisibles are the instruments and effects pedals. One instrument that sets him apart is the toshikoto. He does a lot of looping. He has promised some new songs. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Ella Street is having a show with Zoogirl, Hazel's Wart (San Francisco), and Kotten Dik. Zoogirl is a band that reminds me a lot of some emo bands that I used to listen to. But not terrible emo but good stuff (if you can believe it). Hazel's Wart is a rock band. Nothing else I can say about them. Kotten Dik have a name that I would never use. I watched some you tube videos of them, they look like a pretty chaotic loud rock band. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say, "hi". That would be nice, right?

Ben


And And And play Holocene tonight.