Mar 27 : "Speak to Me" - Ultraviolet Astronomy (Brooklyn)

A couple weeks ago on one of my frequent trips to Williamsburg, I saw the band "Ultraviolet Astronomy" play at Glasslands. I liked their electro-pop. They did a good show and also have some good music on their page. Here's "Speak to Me", which is on their full-length cd "U.V.A.", released in 2010.

Ultraviolet Astronomy doesn't have any upcoming shows listed on their page, but to hear their music on line, here is the click ::: Ultraviolet Astronomy on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE)

Mar 23 : "Riders On the Storm" - Doomsquad (Toronto)

Also on the bill with Seismic Thrust and 185668232 was Toronto band "Doomsquad". They did a good show.

They've also got cover work on their page. This is "Riders On the Storm", previously by The Doors.

I also have to point out that Iam S. Mick was the curator for this entirely enjoyable evening.

To visit Doomsquad on line, here is the click ::: Doomsquad (CLICK HERE)

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Mar 18 : "I've Got a Name (Jim Croce)" - Seismic Thrust (Philly)

Double Philly Music!

Playing on the same bill as 185668232 a week ago Thursday at Ortlieb's was Philly's Seismic Thrust.

Seismic Thrust has a wide and eclectic combination of songs on their page, and, one of the things that stands out are some excellent covers. The second track on the page is a cover of Jim Croce's song, "I've Got a Name".

I talked with Zach Decker, mastermind of Seismic Thrust, who told me that the band loves doing the covers, and they do it for fun for their own pleasure, but don't have serious intentions about including any of the cover tracks in an album or to perform them on stage.

This song might be considered "Double Philly Music" because Seismic Thrust is from Philly and Jim Croce was born in South Philly and lived in the area for years.

This arrangement by the talented folks at Seismic Thrust certainly rivals the original. And it is also a moving homage to the original artist with the words "plane crash" spoken at the very beginning of the track, and then the body of the work performed with a haunting and eerie echo effect.

This was the second time I saw Seismic Thrust play live; it would have been the third if the 15 hadn't done a disappearing act another time. :) haha

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Here is Seismic Thrust's arrangement of "I've Got a Name" by Jim Croce. I think I like this arrangement even more than the original.

Seismic Thrust did a great show at Ortlieb's and they have two more concerts coming up soon, one this Friday at PUHD in Lansdowne and then on April 9 at Milkboy in Philly. In the meantime, to hear some of that eclectic music, here is the click ::: "Seismic Thrust" on Soundcloud (CLICK HERE)

Mar 16 : "365.242" - 185668232 (Philly)

New Music & Noise / Freshly Written & Recently Released

Philly Noise!

Iam and Soni have been together for a little over a year. In celebration of that, my friend, Iam, always ahead of the curve, posted a short track on his page, "365.242", in the song notes for which he says, Soni & I have been together for one year! Here's a very raw sound-scapel that took me all of 3 hours to assemble. I bowed a church (hand) bell, sampled the recorder (little learning instrument for reed study), generated a bass tone from my voice ... & minimally glitched ChipTunes sequences. Still experimenting with the end and the word layers. "Pop-goes-the-_"

Iam can put together pieces quickly and/or on the spot. A couple weeks ago I wrote about a show he did at Yell Gallery where he had a table full of props whose sounds he recorded then incorporated into a piece he played as part of his performance.

Last Thursday night I saw 185668232 do a show at Ortlieb's Lounge, where, in a similar fashion, he recorded the last few bars of the in-between-bands-recorded-interlude music and snapped them into part of the piece he performed. He told me the show was entirely impromptu, so there's no direct similar track to feature here on my page today, but this most recent posting that illustrates his ability to create noise and music pieces spontaneously from whatever is around him. Here is "365.242" :::

185668232 doesn't have any new shows coming up soon, but here's the link to the "365.242" page. 185668232's "365.242" page (CLICK HERE)

Mar 14 : "Inhibitionist" - Starlight Girls (Brooklyn)

Their band page is mobbed with good chords and melodic lines. At Glasslands in Williamsburg, playing right after The Belle Game, which I talked about in the previous blog, was Brooklyn's "Starlight Girls".

I had never seen Starlight Girls play before that night. I came across their page while I checked for potential shows on my night off. Since then, during the past couple weeks, I've wound up visiting the band's page several times. The song they have highlighted at the top of the page is "The Inhibitionist", which they also played at the Glasslands show, to loud applause, which I might add.

Here is "The Inhibitionist" playing on my page right now :::

Unfortunately Starlight Girls doesn't have any other shows lined up for this area in the near future. However, if you visit their Soundcloud page, you can enjoy their music until their next show comes along. Here is the click ::: Starlight Girls on Soundcloud

Mar 09 : "River" - The Belle Game (Vancouver)

Went to Glasslands Gallery in Williamsburg a week ago Friday night and saw "The Belle Game", an exciting group from Vancouver. They were just starting a U.S. tour last week.

As I always do, I had listened (of course) to samples of the online music in order to pick where to go on my free night. And I liked what I heard when it came to Glasslands. I liked The Belle Game, their melodic lines and the styling.

But the recordings in no way prepared me for what I was to hear live on stage. While the music on the recordings hint at some strong vocals, the music on stage was WOW powerful. The force of Andrea Lo's voice was at once overwhelming, yet, the nuance of her styling made the music enveloping. An exciting experience.

The thing that stood out most about this performance was its vibrancy, not only due to Andrea Lo's voice, but also due to the way the performers interacted, or "didn't" interact. At times I felt that each of the performers were in their own world doing their own best shows oblivious to the others, and it was only by chance that it was all coming together. The performance just straddled enough on the edge of non-cohesiveness to keep me amazed and wondering, yet that was a major ingredient that just seemed to work right and help make the performance compelling.

One of the best recorded examples of Andrea Lo's powerhouse vocals is in the song "River", which is playing right here on my blog page :::

I don't know when The Belle Game will be coming back East or to the U.S., but I would say get on their list so you can find out! Here is the click ::: The Belle Game's website (CLICK HERE)