It had been well over a decade since the last time I saw Tennis perform live. It was a Lollapalooza aftershow where they were opening for The Vaccines. I missed. a good chunk of their set trying to get in, but once I did hear them playing, I was very impressed. That was at a smaller venue, the correct size for a band that was … Continue reading Tennis at Riviera Theatre, 4/7/23
At the beginning of the year I posted the ten bands that I thought should hit big in 2012. I wasn’t right on all of them, but I got a few things correct. I suppose if it proves anything, this lists shows that I am not in step with the mainstream in the least. That’s ok, though. Great music doesn’t always live on KISS FM … Continue reading 10 Bands To Watch In 2012: Results
Back in the first week of January I put up a list of some bands I thought you should keep your eye on for breakouts this year. Some of them were educated guesses, others hopes, and quite a few longshots. Now we’re about halfway through the year, and many of these bands have already delivered some good stuff. Not all of them, mind you, but a good amount. Let’s go over some of them in the order in which I originally listed them.
1. Dastardly-I put them at the top of the list for a couple reasons, chief among them being that I know they have the talent to be something special. At the beginning of the year they released an EP called Bury Me In The Country which featured “Brief Thoughts On Death,” one of my favorite songs of the year so far. In August they’re releasing another EP, Ballads In Blue. I’ve been fortunate enough to hear it already, and it is completely different from what I expected. I tried to describe it a few days ago, and I don’t think I made much sense. Basically I think it sounds like Rodgers & Hammerstein filtered through David Lynch…if that tells you anything.
2. Bhi Bhiman-The biggest success on the list by a large margin. When Bhiman, Bhi’s second album, came out it was met with great reviews by The New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times, NPR, and Paste among others. I called it the second he opened his mouth last year at SxSw that he was gonna make it. So far this year he’s opened for Josh Ritter, John Prine, Martin Sexton, Joe Pug, and Rosie Thomas and played headlining gigs at some well-known venues around the country. Next week he stops in Chicago for the fourth time since January.
3. Adam Arcuragi-Also garnering much critical acclaim was Like a fire that consumes all before it…Adam Arcuragi’s latest album that came at the end of January. This was my introduction to his style, which he refers to as “Death Gospel.” He toured the US in support of the album, then headed over to Europe for a streak of dates. He also put out a great Daytrotter session back in May that you can check out.
4. Sons Of An Illustrious Father-In 2011 they delivered the album of the year, One Body. They took a bit of a break for a while and now they’ve headed out on their first big tour. They’re hitting Chicago on July 20th with The Canoes and The Buddies, so I’m eagerly awaiting that. They are down a member, as Sofia Albam left to play with her new band Thorn & Shout.
It’s barely been a year since Tennis released their critically-acclaimed debut album Cape Dory here in the states, and the band is taking the old adage “strike while the iron’s hot” to heart. I came late to the Tennis bandwagon last year. The website that I used to write for, surprisingly, was ahead of the game. They offered up a live review of a show … Continue reading Tennis-Young & Old
There was a much longer version of this that was a bit more descriptive, but my system crashed and I lost it. So, now each band has a bit less said about them. However, I’ve decided to just add in a video for each one so you can get a decent sense of the music. Dastardly-Their new album, Bury Me In The Country, comes out … Continue reading 10 Bands To Watch In 2012
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