mardi 28 Oct 2008, 15h09m
Saturday, Novermber 8th
Scissors for Lefty, Voxhaul Broadcast, Killola, Vox Jaguars
8:00 PM, $12 in advance, $14 day of show
From Spin: “Eager rock magpies come bearing bright, catchy gifts. Scissors for Lefty don’t disguise their influences—listen a minute, and you’ll think of a dozen bands they sound like (for clarity’s sake: Pulp, the Killers, the Walkmen, Hot Hot Heat, and virtually every group on this week’s NME). But the sounds this San Francisco quintet mine weren’t necessarily original to begin with, so huge hooks and playful pleasures win the day. So cheerily unpretentious, it’s almost irresistible.
Saturday, November 29th
Subtle, Zach Hill (of Hella)
8:00 PM, $12
Since 2001, Oakland-based sextet Subtle has been home-recording its way to the far side of song. Drawing from a diverse palette of instruments: sampler, synth, guitar, cello, winds, electronic and acoustic drums, and the unmistakable voice and prose of doseone, the band fashions a self-sampled and live-mic’d honest-to-genreless music. Not to be missed, their live show includes painted backdrops, stage-props and a whole lot of middleclass mojo–it is in the midst of live performance that Subtles’ songs complete themselves.
Says XLR8R of their new album: "ExitingARM is gorgeous. On some nasty, guttural level, it's music like you've never heard."
Sunday, December 7th
Underneath The Gun, the Word Alive
7:00 PM, $10
Says the band themselves: “We're simply a Christian band with a message talking about where we came from and why we're here.” Oh yeah? Donnie and Marie this ain’t, as the onslaught of hardcore metal and Jesus-loving death grunts will knock you right off your pew.
Thursday, December 11th
My American Heart, Danger Radio, the Graduate, Artist vs. Poet
7:00 PM, $12
Age doesn’t necessarily denote musical prowess, but for My American Heart, a band who wrote their debut when most of the members were merely sixteen, making great music has only been augmented by three years of touring, practice and acquired knowledge. The San Diego quintet’s dynamic, innovative second record reverberates with a sense of newfound wisdom and the sort of skill that comes only from that hard-earned experience, a reminder of how shockingly young the makers of the record actually are. The strikingly varied disc, metaphorically entitled Hiding Inside the Horrible Weather to denote the beauty that inherently lies in all things, soars from hooky, driving rock (“The Shake {Awful Feeling}” and “Boys! Grab Your Guns”) to introspective acoustic ballad (“Tired and Uninspired”) to expansive searches that reveal a whole new side of My American Heart (“Dangerous” and “Fantasy”).
Thursday, December 11th
God is an Astronaut
8:00 PM, $10 advance, $12 day of show
Hmm, and all along I thought He was a question by which we measure our pain. Here’s what Decoy Music has to say about the latest, Far from Refuge, from the Glen of the Downs, Ireland post-rock trio. “God is an Astronaut’s Far from Refuge certainly is a worthwhile experience. Rather than bloating songs with excessive crescendos or relying on pointless distortion, they’ve created a simultaneously gentle and enthralling adventure upon a star-strewn stage. Let’s hope that they maintain their commendable commitment to subtlety.”
Saturday, December 13th
Mustard Plug, Chase Long Beach
7:00 PM, $11 advance, $13 day of show
Sixteen years in “band years” is basically forever. Or at least, that’s how long it seems like Michigan-based pioneering ska-punk sextet Mustard Plug has been in existence. Vocalist Dave Kirchgessner has been there, done that and just about seen it all — most particularly the changing of the guard in music scenes, trends and fads. Throughout these shifts, Mustard Plug has always stood tall, clinging to its signature sound without pandering to the presumed next wave. So it comes as no surprise that the band is set to release their sixth full-length, In Black And White, with the same passion and commitment to its art, just as they did as a fresh-faced basement band cutting demo tapes, playing parties and slotting themselves into open mic night gigs. With an impressively loyal fanbase that consistently asks for more, a touring resume that comprises of hundreds of thousands of miles and countless venues both domestically and internationally, not to mention the bands Mustard Plug has shared bills with (from Fall Out Boy to Rancid to Helmet and even Weird Al Yankovic!), In Black And White offers a band whose exhaustive history practically guarantees excellence.
Tuesday, December 16th
Fear Before, Heavy Heavy Low Low, Dr. Manhattan
7:00 PM, $10 advance, $12 day of show
According to Alternative Press, the band formerly known as Fear Before the March Of Flames is sitting on one of the most anticipated albums of the year. It comes out today (Oct. 28), and by the time the band (now known simply as Fear Before, which is also the title of the album) reaches L.A., the fervor for their new music will have reached fever pitch. The new alb features guest spots by their friends from the Fall of Troy, Shelter Red, Vaux, and I Am the Ocean, but the sheer epic impact of the material is in itself enough to sustain the enthusiasm this music has generated.
Tuesday, December 16th
These Arms Are Snakes, Narrows (ex-Botch), Trap Them
7:30 PM, $12
From Allmusic.com: “Artsy Seattle post-hardcore act These Arms Are Snakes mixes the urgency and aggressive vocal style of punk with the exploded song structures and technical complexity of the original wave of math rock bands. (The band) released their first EP, This Is Meant to Hurt You, on Jade Tree Records in August 2003. These Arms Are Snakes released their debut full-length, Oxeneers or The Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home, in September 2004. Their second full-length album, Easter, followed in the fall of 2006, with new producer Chris Common also taking over the drum throne from Ben Verellen (of Roy and Harkonen fame). Over the next two years, the quartet toured with like-minded groups Pelican, Mastodon, Hot Water Music, and the Blood Brothers before releasing their third album Tail Swallower and Dove on Suicide Squeeze records in October of 2008.”
Tuesday, December 16th
1st Annual Time Again Acoustic Christmas Show
7:30 PM, $10
In the grand tradition of loud, aggro bands turnin’ it down and getting’ all misty for Christmas, Time Again brings some Yule joy to our humble Alterknit Lounge. Here’s the skinny on the group: In November of 2005, Time Again began work on their highly anticipated full-length debut album scheduled for release in April of '06 on the Epitaph subsidiary Hellcat Records. With over a hundred shows under their belt, Time Again has matured as a band, trading in their often mid-tempo singalongs, for faster paced and harder hitting tracks. Speeding through 13 songs in under 30 minutes, the album is both haunting and thought provoking. While all the melodies remain strong, and well focused, the songs are gritty and raw and most importantly, true. The album's title, The Stories Are True, refers to the fact that all of the songs are based on real people and actual incidents.
"This is what punk is. This is a band that's gonna be around for a long time." - Lars Frederiksen (Rancid)