Poster by Jacob Halpern

Not really sure of the genesis of this show but it could be the end of a weeklong celebration for The George Elliot Underground who released a new EP, Summer of Weird, earlier this week and played multiple shows in the last week or so with bands such as American Bang and The Wildbirds.

For the price (FREE … download NOW), Summer of Weird, recorded at Electraplay Studio by James Allison (Blastronauts) and Tony Stewart, is worthy of space on the iPod. At times, Summer of Weird recalls the lower NYC lower East Side hipster rock of The Strokes (“I.N.K.”), at other times there’s a retro Detroit-style garage rock sound (“Attack of the Lightening Bird Pt. 11″). My favorite, though, is the 5-minute jam “January One”, heavy with a mid-70′s Southern Rock swagger (if all the songs sounded like this, I’d love to see G.E.U. open a Skynryd/Govt Mule/Black Crowes triple bill).

Try before you buy!

MP3: Loyal Divide – Young Blades
MP3: Blastronauts – Even the Score
MP3: The Town Monster – Born of the Pines

Oh hey, remember this thingie? I know, it’s been a minute. Don’t wanna hear it. I bet you can only imagine that a ton of cool shit has happened since we last got up. For example, a weekend camping excursion with a bunch of dudes, guns and fireworks(in the streets) O.K. enough will the small talk. Oh man where do I even start, the older I get the less I remember.

In this issue of “How long is Robert Duffy gonna keep letting that jackass write this crap”, I saw some sicccckkkk psych rock via Subarachnoid Space, some weirdo noise band in luchador masks, some weirdo dude in a giant hamster ball, some weirdo dude hula hooping for a really long time and I went to that thingie down town that a bunch of bands played at.

If you’re really that bored at work today click the more thingie —–>

Dead Sea@Carabar

Tuesday, against my better judgment I went down to Carabar basically because I haven’t seen Dead Sea in sometime, so I figured why not. Gotta tell you-pleasantly surprised by all bands involved. First and foremost, DEAD MOTHERFUCKING SEA. If you’re not hip, Dead Sea are prog metal virtuosos. They typically play loooong and play last. Tuesday the played short, first and left the decent crowd for a Tuesday night wanting more, which is the way it should be. These dudes are amazing musicians, excellent showmen and all around cool dudes. Currently, Dead Sea are in the midst of recording a two song 12″ (one song each side doi) to be released on bass player Alex’s Label, Chrome Leaf. Also I may or may not have heard that Alex is playing bass for some dude that was in some “influential post rock band”‘s other band. Go see Dead Sea on October 30 at Ruby Tuesday dorks.

OvO@Carabar

OvO are some noise duo from Italy. The chick played her dread with a bow.

uhhhh

I mean these dudes were wearing luchador masks. Chris Lutzko was stoked.

Subarachnoid Space@Carabar

I used to have a Subarachnoid Space at one point in time-dunno how I got it,dunno where it went, prolly sold it for heroin. At any rate, wasn’t sure what exactly what to expect and what I got was pure psych rock awesomeness. Dudes(and one chick) were dressed in all white to like totally become one with the screen behind them and the projections in front of them. So totally arty. For real though, sick psych, if not almost stoner jams. Sorry bout you’re life if you missed it.

Guinea Worms@Rumba Cafe

It was Rumba Cafe for me on Thursday. There’s this weirdo band Guinea Worms, perhaps you’ve heard of them. If not sorry bout you’re life. On this live Guinea Worms experience occasion, it was all about the ode to Kraftwerk, Kraftworms if you will-at least that’s what Gary called it. Whatever just look at the picture-I mean.

Also Day Creeper and We March played too. People seem to like Day Creeper. I think they at least aren’t awful. We March are from that hippie college town Athens, but aren’t a jam band and were loud.

The Flaming Lips@LC

Thanks to acclaimed Donewaiting writer Chip Midnight, I was able to attend The Flaming Lips show on Friday night at The Lifestyles(not the rubber) Community Pavilion. I should mention that my first concert consisted of the bands The Flaming Lips, Butthole Surfers and Stone Temple Pilots. It was the summer before my freshman year of high school. I was totally stoked for Stone Temple. I crowd surfed for the first and last time. I met Gibby Haynes and got his autograph. I saw a dugout for the first time in my life. Pretty good first concert really.

17 years later The Flaming Lips headline and a whole bunch of people(buncha hippies really) come to see them. So yeah, I haven’t seen Lips since the first time and was curious to see what the hubbub was about these days. Gotta say, they pretty much delivered. I’m not really a deep cuts Lips dude, so I was happy to hear all the songs you would expect to hear. It was quite the production and I thought the confetti and balloons were cool-I mean as far as that kind of thing goes. Also, Wayne Coyne dedicated a song to The Sun drummer(buncha other bands too) turned You’re so Bossy front man Sam Brown. Buncha weirdos dressed up. There was an 11 year old standing in front of me. The Lips entered the stage through a psychedelic vagina. I told the kid that’s what acid felt like-it wasn’t very well received by his mother. Good lookin’ out Chip and Flaming Lips touring guitarist Derek Brown!

Aaron Hibbs hoopin@Skylab

Soooo, Aaron Hibbs of noise dudes Sword Heaven attempted to break the world record for longest hula hooping ever-dude was shooting for 120 hours. The official record is 72 hours with no break. There is a rumored 90 hour record. Aaron made it round about 59 hours and made an oopsie. I mean, he had a catheter-dude means business and is gonna try again sans oopsie. Come to the benefit on October 9 at Skylab. Envelope is performing. Help make these hoop dreams a reality. MORE LIKE AARON HIPPS AMIRITE.

I mean

Impromptu professional interpretative nunchuk action. I told you.

Saturday there was a festival downtown. Independents’ Day. Buncha local vendors. Buncha local bands. Buncha pictures of the bands that played follow.

Moon High@Independents’ Day

Moon High play magic lullabies.

Blastronauts@Independents’ Day

Blasrotnauts are pissed they’re from Columbus and not Manchester.

Church of the Red Museum@Independents’ Day

Mayor Coleman was totally stoked for Church of the Red Museum.

You’re So Bossy@Independents’ Day

Sam Brown dedicated a song to The Flaming Lips.

no fucking idea

These dudes like attention.

Flotation Walls@Independents’ Day

Flotation Walls take forever to release a record.

Six Gallery@Independents’ Day

Six Gallery doesn’t suck.

Karate Coyote@Independents’ Day

Karate Coyote are Kevin Elliot‘s favorite band.

Best wrapper alive

mp3: Blastronauts – Even the Score

If you’re not headed down to Nelsonville for Yo La Tengo on Thursday night, you’d do well to check out Blastronauts‘ release show at Oldfield’s on High, a venue that’s had some better shows recently thanks to Blastronauts main man James Allison, who started booking a Thursday night lineup under the name Outer Sounds (and now occasionally records some of those bands and posts songs to stream at the Outer Sounds website).

The new EP, Galileo, is the first in a series of four mini-albums about astronomers. So there’s obviously some spacey stuff on there, but as you’ll hear in the above mp3 of “Even the Score,” everything is grounded with some love for a good hook. …Also, that album cover up there is 3D when viewed with the appropriate anaglyph eyewear, and Thursday night Oldfield’s will boast a 3D photography exhibition.

Also on the bill:

- The Rosewood Thieves, from NYC, who recently released their own EP called Heartaches By The Pound: The Rosewood Thieves Sing Solomon Burke. Burke actually wrote the liner notes for the project, going so far as to say, “I thought the Rolling Stones did me a favor but you have taken it to another level.” Judge for yourself with this mp3 from the EP:

mp3: The Rosewood Thieves – Home In Your Heart

- The Dead Trees, from Portland, who just toured Brazil with Little Joy.

- The Lost Revival, a local favorite of mine. Rarely does their “bastardized Americana” disappoint live.

Columbus’ Blastronauts have been keeping busy. Besides all of the shows and recordings surrounding their own band, they’ve also been hosting a lot of events around town under the Outer Sounds name. To expand their small empire, they’ve partnered with EP Studios to record bands and release recordings on their new website.

The first session featured Couch Forts.

Couch Forts have been with the outer sounds since the beginning, being once of the first bands we had play at the concert series when we started up last year. Since then they have become a mainstay on the Columbus music scene and were recognized as one of Columbus Alive’s band’s to watch in January, 2009. The three man band, consisting of Owen Kelley on guitar, vocals and stomping duties, Matt Owen on fiddle, and Tyler Evans on Banjo, create a very industrial take on folk music that manages to meet somewhere in between Sufjan Stevens and The Books.

Here’s one of the songs from that session:

MP3: 1959 by Couch Forts

Click here to listen to the other songs.

September 25th, 2008, Bernie’s
The Seedy Seeds (Cincinnati)
Flotation Walls (Columbus)
Couch Forts (Columbus)
New Vega (Dayton)

October 2nd, 2008, Rumba Café
Blastronauts (Columbus)
Earwig (Columbus)
Paper Airplane (Columbus)
Bookmobile (Columbus)

October 9th, 2008, Café Bourbon Street
Russenorsk (Athens, OH)
Melty Melty (Columbus)
James & James (Columbus)
Blood on my Neck (Columbus)

October 16th, 2008, CBR’s
Blastronauts (Columbus)
The Melismatics (Chicago, IL)
The Nuclear Children (Columbus)
Karate Coyote (Columbus)

October 27th, 2008, Rumba Café *SPECIAL MONDAY SHOW*
Le Concorde (Chicago, IL)
Winter Makes Sailors (Columbus)
Our Cat Philip (Columbus)
Jonathan Hape (Columbus)

October 30th, 2008, Ruby Tuesday
HALLOWEEN PARTY featuring Our Cat Philip, Karate Coyote and Blastronauts

November 6th, 2008, Bernie’s
Dressy Bessy (Denver, CO, featuring John Hill of the apples in stereo!)
One for the Team (Minneapolis, MN)
Blastronauts (Columbus)