Garotas Suecas!
Monday, January 19th, 8pm
Garotas Suecas (sao paulo, brazil)
+ DJing by LouLou & Michael
$8, 10 for unders
Blitzen Trapper, Alela Diane & Gregory Paul at the Bug Jar
+ Blitzen Trapper
++ Alela Diane
+++ Gregory Paul
Tuesday, Februrary 24th
8pm
$10/12
Blitzen Trapper are a Sub Pop band from Portland Oregon who recently opened for Iron and Wine. I had the good fortune to see them in Buffalo and was entirely blown away with the range and depth of their songs. Their music is folky, Dylanesque, and good summer sunshine fun. Here are a few sweet morsels about them.
This imaginative, heartfelt collection is more intimate than its predecessor, reveling less in boundless stylistic freedom and more in the creativity afforded by structure. Blitzen Trapper are no longer talented jacks-of-all-trades, but a master of one, and Furr is proof that this already-great band gets even better as they define themselves more specifically. - Pitchfork ( 8.5)
Drinking Whiskey from a Rubber Boot: The Felice Brothers
~Olga L.
We’ve had some fantastic shows recently, and this next one is not to be missed. The Felice Brothers are coming up for a night of Folk-Rock, Cajun and Carnivalia. Just two years old, the band has received quite a bit of notice on everything from NPR to Pitchfork to the best of the musical festivals. The five piece of three brothers and two friends hail from the Catskill Mountains of New York, and were discovered while busking in NYC subway stations. Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) quickly scooped them up to Team Love Records, where they released a 15 track, self titled album with songs like “Frankie’s Gun” and “Whiskey In My Whiskey” (my two favorites). They have toured extensively, and landed an album of the year nomination for the Uncut Music Awards.
With accordions, harmonicas, washboards, and beat-up acoustic guitars, you might think you’re hearing an incantation from a certain classic album recorded in a basement in rural New York State with a certain gifted rambler from Minnesota and his scruffy backup band. Self described as true American Music; The Felice Brothers bring something familiar, yet totally original and modern to their songs. It’s the kind of new music that deserves to be played on an old record player… while friends sit on the front porch, drinking whiskey from a rubber boot.
Check out NPR’s five track recording of The Felice Brothers at the Philadelphia Folk Festival here.
Croquet Shows Present: An Evening With The Felice Brothers
The Bur Jar, Rochester NY
November 7th
Doors at 9pm
$10 over/12 under
Fredrik
Monday, November 10th, 8 p.m.
Bug Jar, $5
Fredrik (sweden)
+ Andy Gilmore (rochester)
++ DJing by Michael Neault
Fredrik - 1986
Fredrik - Hei Hei
Fredrik - Angora Sleepwalking
Fredrik -
Stereogum - Band to Watch - The band says “Black Fur” is about “small wooden labyrinths, luck and the nature of animosity,” and “Alina’s Place” is about “failing to spell ‘tintinnabular’ and the tremendous hassles of growing up and finding a new home.” We say they’re about the prettiest things we’ve heard all week.
XLR8R - …it’s clear the six members are more than up for experimenting with traditional pop’s sound structure… and have leaked [black fur] to give us a taste of the multi-instrumental, harmony-laden songs we can expect when the band releases Na Na Ni on October 28.
NPR - …the ambiance of Fredrik’s debut makes it the perfect compliment to the changing leaves and darkening skies of the season.
RCRD LBL - Fredrik are drenched in optimism and so their music is some beautiful blue and green avant-folk watercolor stuff for weary folk. Seriously, it feels like this music was specifically written to make its listeners feel better…a six-strong troupe of well-wishers and do-gooders.
URB - Swedish sextet Fredrik have set out, with their own brand of transcendental folk-pop, to challenge the notion that their countrymen (and women) are only capable of producing inconsequential bubble-gum pop. Using mostly acoustic instruments, the band has developed a timeless, almost hymn-like sound that refuses to be taken lightly. Their music is touching without being weepy, always containing that heart-wrenching glimmer of hope that makes the best pop music so powerful.
Exclaim - … is one of the most beautifully arranged albums released this year.
Fredrik - 11 Years from The Kora Records on Vimeo.
Fredrik - 1986 from The Kora Records on Vimeo.
Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise at the Bug Jar October 17th
+ The Music Tapes (Julian Koster)
++October 17th
+++The Bug Jar
$10|12
Doors at 9pm
We couldn’t be more excited to be presenting this one of a kind show. Julian Koster of Neutral Milk Hotel will be bringing his gang of fellow musicians, a 7 foot metronome and some other pretty impressive instruments, the likes of which you may never see again. The band will be performing songs from their album, Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes. They’ll also be sharing “Major Organ and the Adding Machine”, their short film which has been over a decade in the making, and stars Jeff Mangum and Kevin Barnes from Of Montreal. Koster describes The Music Tapes as a “big orchestra variety show” and although Jeff Mangum is not scheduled to come along for the fun…. you never know.
The new album spotlights Julian Koster’s songcraft and distinctive vocals, his almost religious devotion to the singing saw, and numerous contributions from other musicians in the Elephant 6 orbit. As on previous efforts, recording was done using an array of antique hardware, giving Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes a timeless, texturally rich sonic palette. It is the sound of Julian’s world poking through the curtain surrounding objective reality. In his words, “I just find the imaginary more real than the physical. Magic, the way we find things beautiful, the light behind eyes, kindness, and how we want to serve and protect the things we care about, these things seem like the real foundation of the world to me. I hope that the songs on this record can be more that just postcards from a world, but an invitation to it, to anyone at all who may find such a place comforting and nice.”
Unless you’re already a Music Tapes fan, chances are you haven’t experienced anything quite as exquisitely raw, effortlessly transportive, and charmingly distinct in a long time.- Tiny Mix Tapes
This will be a full evening’s worth of music and entertainment, and we know it’s gonna be brilliant.
