Doors open at 9pm and tickets are $7 (all ticket sales go to Andyman-a-Thon charities). DVDs will be available at the premiere (and hopefully afterwards for those who can’t attend) for $15.

But in terms of new stuff, here’s what I liked this year, starting with national releases and ending with Cowtown LPs.

1. Strand of Oaks – Pope Killdragon
I didn’t immediately hit repeat when I heard this album, but once I came back to it, I never stopped. Who knew a record with songs about John Belushi (from the perspective of Dan Akroyd), a 12-foot man and JFK could be so engrossing. Devastating, too. If you think Tim Showalter is just another pretty-voiced folkie, the layers of synth and Sabbath-like riffs on “Giant’s Despair” prove otherwise. The best way to get Killdragon digitally or on vinyl is through Strand of Oaks’ Kickstarter page.

2. The Black Keys – Brothers
Ditto Duffy.


3. Anais Mitchell – Hadestown
A folk-rock opera about Orpheus sounds like a terrible idea. Thanks to Mitchell’s clever arrangements & talents like Greg Brown, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and Low Anthem’s Ben Knox Miller, it’s a tour de force.

4. Sam Amidon – I See the Sign
Sam Amidon takes old songs and makes them new. Oh, and R. Kelly songs, too. Fans of Nick Drake and Sufjan will dig this. Feb. 18 show at the Wex with Brian Harnetty is icing.

5. Local Natives – Gorilla Manor
No new ground broken, but I’ll take these songs any day over a lot of the big-name, anthemic indies who released albums this year.

6. Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
People seem to either love or discard Bradford Cox. I love him. Album cover disturbs me.

7. Sufjan Stevens – Age of Adz
I went from disappointed to intrigued to enraptured with this album.

8. Spoon – Transference
I’m still waiting for Spoon to release a bad album.

9. Lost in the Trees – All Alone in an Empty House
Prediction: By this time next year many more people will know the name Ari Picker. He can strip a song down to its bones on one song, then compose a rich orchestral piece the next. Wex show Jan. 30 (more icing).

10. Patty Griffin – Downtown Church
I don’t imagine many Donewaiting readers are into country gospel. (I’ll echo Duffy’s preamble about what makes DW great.) When it’s done this well, I’m a fan. Guests include Buddy Miller and Emmylou Harris.

Mention-worthy:
Justin Townes Earle – Harlem River Blues (underrated b/c of daddy)
Surfer Blood – Astro Coast (kids are all right)
Shearwater – The Golden Archipelago (Meiburg the magnificent)
Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More (It’s in my most-played, so I must like it)
Sun Kil Moon – Admiral Fell Promises (underrated guitarist)
Love Language – Libraries (underrated b/c of …)
Vampire Weekend – Contra (Better than the first)
Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (“That’s why your Winslow”)
Mavis Staples – You are Not Alone (Legend made even better by Tweedy)
Lower Dens – Twin-Hand Movement (Jana Hunter > Devendra Banhart. Much greater.)
Mountain Man – Made the Harbor (Who needs instruments?)

Columbus albums
Like I said, Gibson Bros., but I’d remiss not to mention Columbus Discount Records‘ two other reissues I loved: Ron House’s Blind Boy in the Back Seat and Nudge Squidfish’s 20,000 Leagues Under Nashville. I liked some EPs, too (Way Yes, Spruce Campbells’ 1st) and a 7″ (TNV’s “No Room to Live”) or two, but I’m sticking with albums here. As usual, I’ll also clarify that I’m not separating these lists because these are somehow inferior or can’t compete with national releases. I just like doing it this way.

1. Super Desserts – Twee as Folk
Can’t say much more about this band and album that I haven’t already said. This is the Desserts at the top of their game.

2. The Black Swans – Words are Stupid
One way the Black Swans have honored the memory of violinist Noel Sayre is to still include him on this album, a meditation of sorts on how language fails us. It’s light, it’s dark, it’s great.

3. Time and Temperature – Cream of the Low Tide
I don’t know if this is an EP or an album, so I’ll say it’s an album. At long last. More from Val Glenn, please.

4. Ghost Shirt – Daniel
I don’t think you want to hear me talk about this band anymore, either. This record was a pleasant, late-fall surprise.

5. Micah Schnabel – When the Stage Lights Go Dim
It makes sense that the songs of the Two Cow Garage front man hold up with just an acoustic guitar.

6. Andrew Graham & Swarming Branch – Andrew Graham’s Good Word
I’m still surprised by how little press this Mexican Summer release got. “Take it Easy on Kathy, at Least she Can Dance” is one of my favorite Columbus songs released this year.

7. Nick Tolford & Company – Extraordinary Love
Soul! At least go download “End of the Night.”

8. The Kyle Sowashes – Nobody
“I threw up at Tee-Jaye’s on Wednesday night/ Pale-faced and clammy I was something of a sight/ We played a show at some basement bar/ And while they couldn’t pay us/ They gave us PBR/ So I took it as a challenge/ I tried to drink them all/ Each one went down better than the last as I recall/ And I’d forgotten to eat dinner/ I realized too late/ I got double dragon before the waitress brought my plate.” Long live Kyle Sowash.

9. Deathly Fighter – Completely Dusted
I remember seeing Deathly Fighter awhile back and being bored. It’s not usually my thing. But this album keeps me coming back. I think I like it for the same reasons I like the XX and Burial. Not that DF sounds anything like those two, but there’s something about a record that’s simultaneously chill and pulsing…

10. Earwig – Gibson Under Mountain
Didn’t get to this one for awhile, but now find myself humming these songs all the time.

Mention-worthy:
Phantods – Creature (need to spend more time with this)
Bookmobile – The New Patriot (bittersweet)
Two Cow Garage – Sweet Saint Me (consistency)

You can also find Gawel’s “Try a Little Faith” (featuring Marcy Mays of Scrawl) on A Very Ohio Christmas.

Earwig is giving away the song “Next Christmas” off Lizard McGee and crew’s 2010 release Gibson Under Mountain:

I also noticed that Lizard is giving away an acoustic version of the record and a mini, 4-song version. I’d take him up on all these offers.

MP3: Earwig – Trees

Every year around the holidays people in Columbus have rallied around Andyman Davis to raise money for CD101 for the Kids, and that hasn’t changed now that Andyman is gone. In fact, Andyman’s buddies from bands of Columbus past (and present) are stepping up to reunite for one night at the LC Pavilion just to raise money for CD101 for the Kids and the Andy Davis Memorial Fund. A quick rundown of who’s playing:

Howlin’ Maggie, fronted by former RC Mobster and Twilight Singer Happy Chichester. Not sure when the last Howlin Maggie reunion was, but it’s been over a year, I think. That’s the band’s 1996 video for “Alchohol” up there. Ex-major label.

Watershed has never officially “broke up,” but with co-writer/singer Joe Oestreich living out of state, gigs have been few and far between. Oestreich and Colin Gawel know their way around a hook, and it made them one of the most well-known and well-liked bands in the city. Like Cheap Trick meats Replacements. I don’t know of many Columbus bands Andyman loved more than Watershed. Also ex-major label.

Earwig is still alive and kicking, releasing its latest, Gibson Under Mountain, in May. Lizard McGee’s songwriting is remarkably consistent. Check out Chip’s Gibson breakdown if you missed it. And make sure you download the leadoff track, “Trees,” at the top of the post. Andyman always gave Earwig tons of support on CD101.

The Toll is reuniting after 18 years since the band’s last gig. I know the Toll was on Geffen and I know bassist Greg Bartram does photography. Feel free to educate me more about the Toll.

X-Rated Cowboys features Quinn Fallon, one of Andyman’s best buds who ran the Treehouse back when it was Andyman’s Treehouse. Fallon mostly does acoustic stuff these days, so this should be a fun roots-rock reunion.

Willie Phoenix has been around forever. He had a self-titled record on A&M in 1982. He wears funny hats and plays guitar like Jimi Hendrix. It’s hard not to have fun watching Willie Phoenix.

Tickets are $20. Doors at 6pm.

Here’s the thing about Earwig, they’ve been nothing but consistent during the course of their long and storied history as part of the Columbus music scene. Anybody who has been following the band since the critically-acclaimed 1999 CD Perfect Past Tense (yes, I am well aware that this isn’t the FIRST Earwig CD) knows what an Earwig CD is going to sound like probably even before Lizard McGee has started dreaming about his next batch of songs. And that’s all cool, fool.

The players may have changed over the years (the current lineup, with Matt Wagner on bass and George Hondroulis on drums, is rock solid) but McGee’s songwriting style, which has always reminded me of the North Carolina “scene” of the early-to-mid ’90s (I’ll be damned if I didn’t confuse a Small23 CD for Earwig a few years back – just check out “True Zero Hook” by Small23), remains intact. The first three tracks (“Trees”, “Star Cross’d”, “Not About You”) are vintage sounding Earwig.

Interesting choice for track 4 (“Her Heart”), a slower, acoustic-driven number that builds up kind of like a Poison power ballad like “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn” or something like that (ha ha, I mean, yeah, it DOES do that but in no way, shape or form am I comparing Earwig to Poison). It’s beautiful and makes me weepy.

In the same shopping trip to Half-Price Books (Graceland location) that resulted in the Small23 purchase mentioned a few paragraphs ago, I also scored Sleepyhead’s 1994 Starduster. Is it a coincidence, then, that Earwig’s got a song on Gibson Under Mountain called … “Sleepyhead”? I think not. The song doesn’t sound like the band but does sound like something that could have been written in 1994 so take that for what it’s worth.

My drive to work is 25 minutes in moderate traffic. Same on the way home. So that means that if I listen to a CD, I usually can hear 5 or 6 songs before bringing the car to a stop and a lot of times I don’t make it to the last 2 tracks until months later when I finally decide to dedicate a full 45 minutes (or whatever the length of most CDs is) to give the whole thing a listen. That being said, the last two tracks on Gibson Under Mountain are – at least as of the time of this writing – my two favorites. “Shiny Morning” would have been a great track to open the CD with, brimming with energy and layered vocals in the chorus and something that resembles a guitar solo.

The last song? Holy sweet Jesus, this isn’t the kind of thing I expected to find on an Earwig album, it breaks all the molds and McGee’s opening guitar intro is somewhere between a tasty J.Mascis riff and something out of a surf movie. It’s the type of song that begs to be played loud through headphones (which I did this afternoon when my kids were in the front yard fighting over Silly Bandz). This might be deserving of a slap to the face, but something about this song also reminds me of ’90s alt-rock band Live. Seriously. Check it out.

Earwig’s made Gibson Under Mountain available in a variety of formats so there really is no excuse not to pick up a copy, whether you buy a physical copy ($10) at Used Kids (or here) or download a digital copy ($7) through the band’s Bandcamp site.

MP3: Devastator by Catfish Haven
MP3: Used Kids by Earwig

Catfish Haven played the Donewaiting.com SXSW show so we’re really happy to have them in Columbus. Last time they played town was with Lucero and lots of bottles broke. Their new album (out yesterday) is starting to get some great reviews.

Earwig is a Columbus institution. Always on target, always a lot of fun, I’m glad they’re playing the show. Preston Furman plays .5 shows a year so we’re glad they’re getting together for this one. And The Exceptionals are a great new-ish addition to the Columbus scene.

Show starts around 10. It’s free. It’s at Carabar. And you should be there too.

Earwig’s still working it and HOLY CRAP is this remix of the fan favorite “Used Kids” nothing short of amazing. We love Earwig here at Donewaiting. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it a million more times (if I say it 100 times a day, it’ll only take me 27 or so years) Earwig’s got a hearty meat-and-potatoes midwest indie rock sound so to hear this techno/danceclub take on the song … damn, I NEVER would have seen that one coming. But here it is, the DJ Peter Carli (of XM radio) remix:

MP3: “Used Kids” (Radiation Room Remix)

To borrow a line from a song from my good friends The Damnwells, catch it while you can it’s the feel good hit of the summer.

Earwig’s next full band rock show (they’ve got an acoustic show in Reynoldsburg this week) is Friday, May 16 at the Rumba Cafe.

Here’s the MTV-ready video for the original version of “Used Kids” (thanks Lizard for basically writing your own article!).

Click here to view the embedded video.

PS: It should be noted that Ron House no longer works at Used Kids.

Click here to view the embedded video.