sound ground #101

“Indie pop with a shoegazery aftertaste” trio Headlights has signed to Polyvinyl Record Co. and next month will start work on its first full-length, due Fall 2006. The announcement came Nov. 2, two days before Headlights started a 13-state, 32-date tour of the Midwest and Northeast in support of The Enemies EP. The Urbana date is tomorrow at The Canopy Club, with Ghost in Light, Shipwreck, Quien es BOOM!, and Bailey. Show time is 10 p.m., and cover is $5. A Champaign date follows on Nov. 22 at Cowboy Monkey. Headlights is guitarist-vocalist Tristan Wraight, keyboardist-vocalist Erin Fein and drummer Brett Sanderson.

Temple of Low Men went out with not just a bang, but a supernova on Nov. 3 at Cowboy Monkey. The rock-steady spawn of Funky Butt Drum Club played 16 songs, 10 of them originals unissued in any form. “Snocone” was most incandescent, but the snarl of “Tomorrow Never Knows” showcased dynamite drumming by Ian Shepherd, and “Bulls on Parade” ignited an angry dance party, in comic contrast to the serene image of Oprah Winfrey on both visible bar TVs at the time. The crowd was slow to thin out, and the merchandise table was bare by the end of the night. Locally, Brandon T. Washington continues in Beat Kitchen, and Josh Walden continues in Jeff Helgesen Quintet, whose next show is Nov. 18 at The Iron Post. Show time is 5 p.m., and admission is free.

Lorenzo Goetz opened at the Iron Post with an 11-song set, acoustic and less manic than the week before when the formidable foursome debuted the song “Designs over Vampires” Oct. 22 at Wise Fools Pub in Chicago and repeated it Oct. 28 at Cowboy Monkey while in costume as “vampirates.” Talk like a Vampirate Day is Nov. 31. Tonight, Lorenzo Goetz plays the Village Records Showcase at The Bitter End in New York. Fear not, though, frontman Larry Gates will be back Tuesday for his residency at White Horse Inn. Show time is 9:30 p.m., and admission is free.

The release party Oct. 29 for Snake Creeps Down by Triple Whip bore spooky similarity; it turned out to be the last scheduled show with Santanu Rahman as singer.

In January, he relocates to Austin, Texas. In a Count Chocula costume, he presided over five older songs, then the five songs that make up the new EP as a medley without interruption. Unfortunately, the fact Snake Creeps Down is a limited pressing of two hundred got lost in the shuffle.

Todd J. Hunter hosts WEFT Sessions and Champaign Local 901, two hours of local music every Monday at 10 p.m. on WEFT 90.1 FM. Send news to soundground@excite.com. Support your scene to preserve your scene.

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