Pretty much every media format in the area has been saturated with Pygmalion coverage over the last week or so, but this column will be … no exception. Kidding. Actually, I’m just going to throw out info about a few of the acts that might not be getting much of the glory, but that I think are some of the most exciting additions to the lineup this year.
Carl Hauck — Thursday, noon, Blues BBQ: Carl is quickly proving himself to be a very solid songwriter, particularly with the release this year of Counter Intelligence, his third CD since 2004. The album is littered with carefully picked instruments and sparse-but-solid guest vocals over mostly subdued songs that recall Andrew Bird and Iron & Wine. Hauck has had a partner-in-crime in Tall Tale’s Tricia Scully lately, which adds a new dimension when the two share the stage, so watch out for that. Now all we have to do is get Carl to learn a Ramones song or something to break up the slower, prettier songs that he likes to write. Catch him at Blues BBQ, of all places, for a free noon show today with Elsinore’s Ryan Groff. You can also stop by myspace.com/carlhauck to preview several songs from the new CD.
Everthus the Deadbeats — Thursday, 2:30 p.m., Canopy Club: This Muncie/Indianapolis band has become a touring force on the indie circuit over the last two years, putting on frantic shows filled with experimental songs and layers of harmonies that can sound like a mix of Electric Light Orchestra and the Arcade Fire. The band is currently on Standard Recording, the former home of Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s, and have a new record (John Kill & The Microscopic Lullaby) that you can preview at myspace.com/everthusthedeadbeats. They play Canopy this afternoon as part of a $5 day party.
Good Night & Good Morning — Friday, noon, Blues BBQ: Another local that is beginning to take off, GNAGM is a slow burner of a duo (once a trio, they recently lost harpist Roisin Maguire to school at NYU), equipped with melancholy songs that are the perfect companion for the fall season. Check out the very excellent “April 18th” at myspace.com/gnagm, or get up early enough to catch the band for free on Friday alongside Final Pygmalion Effect (in an excellent collision of band name and festival name).
Gentleman Auction House — Friday, 8:45 p.m., Red Herring: This band is one of my very favorite bands currently making music. This year’s Alphabet Graveyard is a solid release that does an okay job of capturing just how tight and energetic the live show is. They will depart on Saturday for a tour with Yea Big + Kid Static, which you’d do well to tell your friends in other cities about, since that’s a co-bill of two acts that put on two of the best shows I saw in the last year. Check out myspace.com/gentlemanauctionhouse or the Red Herring show tomorrow, where the band plays with Tall Tale.
The Living Blue — Friday, 9:30 p.m., the Canopy Club: While this band is certainly one of the best to come from the CU area in the last decade, they don’t venture to campustown too often, which leaves a lot of students (sadly) in the dark. Packing solid new material (that you can preview at myspace.com/thelivingblue) and an always-solid live show, the band will share the stage Friday with Black Mountain. If you’ve never heard TLB’s “Conquistador,” find yourself a copy of fire, blood, water immediately.
Exile On Main St. — Saturday, 2-7 p.m.: I’m highlighting this whole show mostly due to the fact that I have no idea how exactly it is going to work, but am still excited to see it unfold. To those who have never checked out Exile, you can catch up with this week’s supplement about it (see “related articles” on the right). It’s not a big place and it will be interesting to see how the bands adjust to make it all work. Lucky Mulholland (2 p.m.) is a band known for catchy, Beatles-influenced pop, while Santa (3 p.m.) is a campus favorite wading out into the experimental territory. Snowsera (4 p.m.) has developed quickly into a solid indie rock band since forming in 2006, the Living Blue (5 p.m.) received words above, but I’ll add that it would be awesome to see them do a full-on acoustic set. Sangamon (6 p.m.) will close the in-store with the band’s blend of piano-driven pop with a Keane edge. This show is free.
Tractor Kings — Saturday (technically Sunday morning), 12:30 a.m., Mike ‘n Molly’s: These guys have an extremely solid new record called Homesick and will be playing at what amounts to home for the band. Ol’ myspace.com/thetractorkings will familiarize you with the Kings’ blend of country and rock. The band will close out a bill that also features Milwaukee’s Atlatl.
Kilborn Alley — Wednesday, 8 p.m., the Iron Post: Alright, this isn’t a part of the festival and it doesn’t happen until next week (9/24), but the Kilborn Alley Blues Band is set to perform its 1,000th show. This is a monumental feat for any band, especially one so young. The campus crowd might think that there is some sort of stigma related to the blues genre — that it’s for older people or something — but Kilborn Alley has rocked plenty of college towns and crowds of all ages. They’ve constantly been hailed as the best blues group in the area, and have had similar praise lavished upon them in other areas through which they’ve toured. To mark the occasion of the thousandth show, the band will play the Iron Post on Wednesday, with $10 tickets available in advance at the venue or through kilbornalley.com. This show begins at 8 p.m.
For those who have been following the record store roundup at the end of my recent columns, you can find further installments in their own separate section starting this week.
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