Category Archives: Activities

A CROPPED OUT Summary: Or Louisville’s Best Music Weekend Ever

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Hey Louisville, if you weren’t at CROPPED OUT at some point during this past weekend, you really missed something quite special. It wasn’t just that there were a buncha noisy, arty bands and rock n’ roll and whatnot. There was actually a quite palpable community spirit, evidenced by the smiles, high-fives, and general fun it seemed that most everybody had. Didn’t hurt that some of the best weather of the fall made it possible for lots of bands to play outside, too. So here’s a quick rundown of best parts of the festival, complete with crappy pictures from my cellphone.

DAY 1 — FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11th: Though it got started way early on Friday afternoon, and there was some noise issues early on, Friday was a good start, especially for the Louisville bands on the bill. SAVAGES played immediately after LEARNER DANCER, both of which brought forceful, guitar-heavy rock (the former more in a pop vein, while the latter mined some heavy Sonic Youth-style dissonant territory).

Shedding

One of the early Friday highlights was, of course, Louisville’s SHEDDING (disclaimer: Connor and I are buds, but even if we weren’t, I’d still love his music). Despite his talk of being influenced by RUSH, Connor really brought more of a CURRENT 93 vibe, perfectly mellow yet eerie.

Shit & Shine

Another Friday highlight was Austin, Texas’s SHIT & SHINE, which featured none other than the BUTTHOLE SURFERS’ KING COFFEY on percussion. Tribal, BOREDOMS-esque throb with synth squiggles and CB radio nonsense. Totally fun.

Other Friday night highlights included (in no particular order):
1. apologizing to KING COFFEY for talking his ear off at SxSW ’07
2. MOUNT CARMEL — and the revelation afterwards that KING has never seen ZZ TOP!
3. bonfires (more on them later)
4. hangin’ with MV + EE‘s dog Zuma
5. SHIT & SHINE‘s bunny suits
6. MV + EE singing “Fire on the Mountain” at the end of a fantastic set backed by TIM BARNES and CHRIS from the CHERRY BLOSSOMS (thanks for the beers!)
7. Locals ALCOHOL PARTY, NATIVES, ANWAR SADAT, and AXEL COOPER showing how it’s done
8. Chorizo taco from the Holy Mole Taco Truck
9. Good times with friends old and new
10. Beer

DAY 2 — SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12th: Saturday started inauspiciously as I showed up to the venue, the CRUMMY DEN, way early, so I wandered over to the FLEA OFF MARKET (where I bought an excellent book of photography from Louisville Hardcore’s poet laureate, Mr. BRETT EUGENE RALPH), then had lunch at the Blind Pig. Missed most of the early sets due to some errands I had to run, but caught a little bit of VIDEO DAUGHTER, who were okay.

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CAVE and OLD BABY at ZANZABAR on Sunday, December 11th

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CAVE and OLD BABY

Cropped Out and The Other Side of Life are proud to present:

CAVE (Chicago, Illinois; on Drag City)

with special guests

OLD BABY (Louisville, Kentucky; members of YOUNG WIDOWS, SAPAT, SHIPPING NEWS, and much more!)
and
DJ EVAN PATTERSON (YOUNG WIDOWS, OLD BABY)
DJ JOEL HUNT (The Other Side of Life)
DJ KIM SORISE (Dirty Soul Party)

Sunday, December 11th
ZANZABAR
2100 S. Preston Street
9 PM DOORS, $6 cover, 21 and over

CAVE began in Columbia, Missouri, playing mostly improvisational live music. CAVE is now located in Chicago, Illinois. In September 2011 Drag City released the new full length CAVE record Neverendless, which they describe as “a motorik masterwork! The new CAVE is roller-rinkin’ rock for the next generation!”

Watch the video directed by Miss Pussycat for the song “W U J” off their new Drag City album Neverendless here:

OLD BABY is a new Louisville-based band consisting of Todd Cook (SHIPPING NEWS, KINGS DAUGHTERS AND SONS), Jonathan Glen Wood, Neil Argabright (SAPAT), Drew Osborn (WORKERS) and Evan Patterson (YOUNG WIDOWS). This show with CAVE marks their debut, which we are sure will be auspicious, certainly not suspicious.

Link to the Facebook invitation is here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=215187421885679.

To join our email list, send an email to hstencil@gmail.com.

CROPPED OUT is one week away!

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Holy smokes, folks! Time flies when you’re… working, eating, L-I-V-I-N’ in the Louisville these days. CROPPED OUT is nearly upon us! That means what will be Louisville’s best weekend of music (like you thought I was gonna say “Forecastle?”) is just a week away! (You can read our previous preview here: https://othersideoflife.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/cropped-out-is-coming-up/.)

There is some slightly bummer news as we hear that Detroit garage weirdos HUMAN EYE had to cancel (thankfully for us that means there will be no weird stains on our living room rug). But hey, there’s still lots more musical excitement for your listening pleasure. Here’s the whole lineup (our “picks to click” a la Hawk Harrelson in bold):

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11th — MV + EE, DOPE BODY, SUN ARAW, SAVAGES, MOUNT CARMEL, NATIVES, CHRISTMAS BRIDE, ANWAR SADAT, COUGH COOL, SHIT & SHINE, SHEDDING, ALCOHOL PARTY, AXEL COOPER, LEARNER DANCER

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12th — BILL ORCUTT, GUARDIAN ALIEN, PYGMY SHREWS, THE DREEBS, ANGEL OLSEN, CHAT LOGS, JOHN WESLEY COLEMAN III, NATURAL CHILD, LAST YEAR’S MEN, SAPAT, TROPICAL TRASH, MAYOR DALEY, THE MEN, FAT HISTORY MONTH, CIRCUIT DES YEUX, JOVONTAES, ANGELS IN AMERICA, ARCANE RIFLES, CROSS, VIDEO DAUGHTERS, BLACK GOD

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13th — SCRATCH ACID, YOUNG WIDOWS, COLISEUM

Check it out at the following internet spots:

Facebook event invitation: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=251887664858861
Official website: http://croppedoutmusic.com
Official tumblr: http://croppedout.tumblr.com

See y’all there!

UPDATE: CROPPED OUT has posted the festival’s entire schedule here: http://croppedoutmusic.com/fest/#schedule.

Two Good Shows This Weekend!

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To be honest, we’re not huge fans of Halloween cover band shows. With the exception of the fantastic Jesus Lizard cover band show from a couple years back (R.I.P. Tony Bailey), usually it seems like most bands take the easy route and just do the same Misfits set or whatever. Yawn.

However, an exception to that rule is Louisville’s WAX FANG, which apparently pulled off Prince’s Purple Rain like it was no big deal. This year, they’re paying tribute to the Velvet Underground, one of our faves of all time! No word on which eras of VU will be represented, but I’m assuming it’s not gonna be just Doug Yule stuff from Squeeze or somethin’.

Another highlight of that same show will be THE BAD REEDS as the Plastic Ono Band (though again, it’s not clear entirely if they’ll be playing Yoko or John material). The show’s at ZANZABAR, which of course is at 2100 S. Preston. 9 PM, 21+, $10.

Also tomorrow night brings NYC post-hardcore chugga-chugg purveyors HELMET. If you’re like me, Meantime was one of your favorite albums at 16, mainly because it sounded like Sabbath played at 45 (with Ozzy’s vocals pitched down to 16 RPM)! TROPHY WIVES are the only opener we know of, but they pretty much rule, so that’s that. At the ridiculously still-chooglin’ PHOENIX HILL TAVERN, 7 PM, 21+ $15.

CROPPED OUT is coming up…

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We haven’t had too much to say about the upcoming CROPPED OUT festival, on the weekend of November 11th – 13th here in lovely Louisville, Kentucky, because it seems like it’s all anybody can talk about anyway! I mean, can you believe freakin’ SCRATCH ACID is gonna play?* Me neither, and I’m really stoked!

But the CROPPED OUT fest is far more than just one band. It’s a whole mess of ’em! Including some of our favorite performers ever:

  • BILL ORCUTT, former guitarist for HARRY PUSSY, and one of the most exciting purveyors of six-string nonsense (even though he only plays four strings, apparently) going today.
  • MV + EE, the duo of Matt Valentine (formerly of THE TOWER RECORDINGS) and Erika Elder is probably the closest you’ll get to seeing Neil Young live, except perhaps even more damaged. And rumor has it that former TOWER RECORDINGS member TIM BARNES will be joining them!
  • MOUNT CARMEL is probably our favorite of the new SILTBREEZE roster — straight-ahead Ohio-style boogie rock!
  • HUMAN EYE might possibly be the best rock band in Detroit right now. Period.

And there’s a whole slew more, including lots of shit we’ve never heard of before! And a bevy of fantastic local artists, including our friends SAPAT, YOUNG WIDOWS, SHEDDING, COLISEUM, CROSS, and lots more!

They got a new web site up at http://croppedoutmusic.com, so check it out and buy your tickets ASAP.** It’s gonna be killer!

*On a side note, how come nobody got it together to bring THE JESUS LIZARD to Louisville during their recent reunion action? Just because Laura Shine has no idea who they are doesn’t mean they weren’t one of the most popular Chicago-style bands to play in Louisville during the 1990s. Our excuse for not booking them is, well, we were too poor to afford their guarantee (as if our shoe-string show budget wasn’t obvious).

**Seriously Louisville, if you sleep on this like you slept on TERRASTOCK 2008, you only have yourself to blame. The prices are good, the venue is centrally located, and if you miss it…

DISCLAIMER: We are buds with Ryan and James who are booking/promoting CROPPED OUT, and we think they’re awesome! We do occasionally co-promote shows with ’em but that’s only because they rule!

OBITS, BOTTOMLESS PIT, and STATE CHAMPION at Club 21, Thursday, October 20th

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Our friends at CROPPED OUT are bringin’ it tomorrow night! Three great bands at Club 21 (formerly the Pour Haus, where you saw Pere Ubu, remember?). Here’s the details:

Cropped Out Presents
A very special evening of rock’n’roll music with:

OBITS (ex-Hot Snakes/Drive Like Jehu — from Brooklyn)
http://obitsurl.com/

with

BOTTOMLESS PIT (ex-Silkworm — from Chicago)
http://bottomlesspit.us/

and

STATE CHAMPION (“Deep Shit” record release show — from Louisville)
http://statechampion.tumblr.com/

Thursday, October 20th
Club 21 (formerly the Pour Haus)
Doors at 8. Show at 9.
$10. 21+.

Advance tickets available at:
http://www.ticketfly.com/event/59291

Be there! We will.

James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg, Avos (Tompkins Square)

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This week’s LEO Weekly features my review of the new album by James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg, Avos:

Louisville resident Nathan Salsburg is an archivist for the Alan Lomax Archive and a music columnist for LEO Weekly. (Disclaimer: I’ve been friends with Nathan since middle school, and we occasionally collaborate on promoting musical events in town). What is perhaps less known by the public at large is Salsburg’s prowess at the finger-picking guitar style established in the 1960s and ’70s by John Fahey and others, as he’s previously only released one song, on the Tompkins Square label’s Imaginational Anthems compilation series. His new collaboration, Avos, with Chicago-based guitarist James Elkington, as well as his upcoming solo debut Affirmed, should definitely garner Salsburg some well-deserved praise as a guitarist. Avos is intricately composed, yet has a fresh, contemporary sound without feeling too gimmicky or of-the-moment. Salsburg and Elkington tastefully show enough dexterity to make the listener wonder, “How’d they do that?” without being too flashy. Rather, Avos is a slightly melancholy affair, with plenty of melodic, serene moments to match the six-string sleight-of-hand.

Buy it from Tompkins Square here: http://www.tompkinssquare.com/avos.html.

And don’t forget, Nathan will be playing a solo set with Glenn Jones this Friday at the Clifton Center. Details (including a link to purchase tickets) here: https://othersideoflife.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/glenn-jones-and-nathan-salsburg-at-the-clifton-community-center-friday-october-21st/.

GLENN JONES and NATHAN SALSBURG at the CLIFTON CENTER, Friday, October 21st

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The Other Side of Life is proud to present:

Thrill Jockey recording artist GLENN JONES (from Massachusetts, founder of CUL DE SAC)

with special guest:
NATHAN SALSBURG (from Louisville, Kentucky; debut album forthcoming on No Quarter)

Friday, October 21st at 8 PM
Clifton Center, Community Room
2117 Payne Street
Louisville, KY 40206
$8 advance tickets available exclusively online at TicketFly, $10 day of show
ALL AGES WELCOME.

GLENN JONES has been called “the best guitarist you never heard of” by the Boston Globe. A 30+-year devotee of the so-called American Primitive school of acoustic steel string guitarists, GLENN JONES has been playing guitar since the age of 14. He formed Boston pysch-rock band, CUL DE SAC, in 1989 and led it on its 20 year journey to nowhere, leaving nine albums in its wake, including collaborations with guitarist John Fahey and Can’s Damo Suzuki. The Wanting is JONES’ first album for the esteemed Chicago-based Thrill Jockey label, and features his beautiful guitar and banjo compositions, as well as a collaboration with percussionist Chris Corsano. The Utne Reader calls JONES “an incredibly adept fingerstyle guitarist whose technique always remains in service of the song… His vigorous leaps are daring but never reckless, and nearly always sublime.”

GLENN JONES was recently profiled on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday, which you can listen to here: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/01/140935915/a-singular-guitarist-emerges-from-john-faheys-shadow.

NATHAN SALSBURG is an archivist, producer, guitarist and writer based in Louisville, Kentucky. He has worked for the Alan Lomax Archive since 2000, for which he currently serves in the capacities of production manager, photo and video archivist, and general digital catalog editor. Since 2006 he has produced and hosted “Root Hog Or Die,” a vernacular/traditional music program on East Village Radio, and is curator of the Twos & Fews recording imprint, also a vernacular music entity, and a collaboration with Chicago’s Drag City label. SALSBURG maintains an index of on-line vernacular music resources at his blog, roothogordie.wordpress.com, and contributes occasional music writing to the Louisville Eccentric Observer and the Other Music weekly update. This past August, the Tompkins Square label released Avos, a collaboration between SALSBURG and Chicago guitarist James Elkington (formerly of the Zincs), and SALSBURG’s first solo album, Affirmed, is due November 15th on No Quarter.

Listen to “Sought & Hidden” off Affirmed here: http://noquarter.net/mp3/sought.mp3.

Check out the Facebook invite here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=215621245171725.

To join our email list, send an email to hstencil@gmail.com.

Loren Connors, Red Mars (Family Vineyard)

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This week’s edition of the LEO Weekly includes my review of Red Mars, the new solo album by Loren Connors:

Guitarist Loren Connors toiled for decades in near-willful obscurity, self-releasing his recorded output under multiple pseudonyms. Only rarely in his early years did Connors work with other musicians, and as a result of his relative isolation, he developed a singular, insular style of playing guitar that, while inspired by the blues, thankfully never sounds “bluesy.” Despite his being diagnosed with Parkinson’s in the early 1990s, the rest of the world somehow caught up to Connors shortly thereafter, and he entered a still-ongoing fruitful period consisting of multiple collaborations (with avant-garde types such as Jandek, Jim O’Rourke and Keiji Haino), and the formation of his own band, Haunted House. Red Mars, his first truly solo release since 2004, harks back to Hell’s Kitchen Park, the first Connors record that I heard, way back in 1993; but it sounds even more desolately stark than previous efforts, an achievement I thought nearly impossible. As such, Red Mars is one of the darkest, sparest, listen-only-at-4 a.m. records I’ve ever heard. And that’s a compliment.

You can buy it from Family Vineyard here.

WOODEN WAND, NATHAN SALSBURG, and DANE WATERS at ZANZABAR, Tuesday, September 13th

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The Other Side of Life and Cropped Out! present:

WOODEN WAND (from Lexington, on Young God Records)
NATHAN SALSBURG (from Louisville, Kentucky; debut album forthcoming on No Quarter)
DANE WATERS (from Louisville, Kentucky; member of Sapat and Softcheque)

Tuesday, September 13th
at ZANZABAR
2100 S. Preston Street
9 PM DOORS, $6, 21 and over
BUY TICKETS HERE!

James Jackson Toth has been playing and recording (and releasing) music for over a decade, most notably as leader of the now-defunct New York-based collective Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice. After a solo album in 2007 on Rykodisc, and Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace! label and the Mad Monk label, he continues under the name WOODEN WAND with his new release on Michael Gira’s Young God Records label, Death Seat. Abandoning the psychedelic wail of WW&VV for a starker, more direct songwriting style, WOODEN WAND’s most recent tunes are harrowing and hellaciously good. Michael Gira writes that Toth is “a passionate singer and guitar player and inhabits the songs as he performs them with straightforward, unpretentious, and confident gravitas. I’ve been listening to this record over and over for the last several months—we went through dozens of equally compelling songs before choosing the line up of tracks—and the more I listen, the more honored I am to be associated with James Jackson Toth.”

NATHAN SALSBURG is an archivist, producer, guitarist and writer based in Louisville, Kentucky. He has worked for the Alan Lomax Archive since 2000, for which he currently serves in the capacities of production manager, photo and video archivist, and general digital catalog editor. Since 2006 he has produced and hosted “Root Hog Or Die,” a vernacular/traditional music program on East Village Radio, and is curator of the Twos & Fews recording imprint, also a vernacular music entity, and a collaboration with Chicago’s Drag City label.  Salsburg maintains an index of on-line vernacular music resources at his blog, roothogordie.wordpress.com, and contributes occasional music writing to the Louisville Eccentric Observer and the Other Music weekly update. This past week, the Tompkins Square label just released Avos, a collaboration between Salsburg and Chicago guitarist James Elkington (formerly of the Zincs), and Salsburg’s first solo album, Affirmed, is due November 15th on No Quarter.

DANE WATERS is one of Louisville’s brightest musical talents. As a member of SAPAT and SOFTCHEQUE, she displays an impeccable melodic sensibility, and has a voice so wonderfully haunting, it sends chills down your spine. Dane is in the midst of working on her first solo album, which we can’t wait to hear!

Check out the Facebook invite here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=183890385017722.