This weekend the inaugural Pearl Street Music Festival embarks on its maiden voyage of awesomeness, taking over its namesake thoroughfare with terrific music and art.
Dr. Dog’s Shame, Shame, Shame album is one of my belated favorites of last year, and I just honorarily added this track into my Springtime Mix a few days ago when I was out on a run and it came on so flawlessly in the sun and budding trees. I think it fits best as track #16, after the Cuyahoga cover:
WIN A PAIR OF SATURDAY PASSES to see Dr. Dog (and all the other bands/venues) at the Pearl Street Music Festival, by emailing me and expressing your desire. I will pick someone by Thursday! Update: tickets have been given away!
The festival is also cool in the uniquely integrated way it takes advantage of the location right there in the heart of Pearl Street, with all its quirky shops, drum circles, culinary delights, and street musician hippies – bless their souls. With your festival pass, you get discounts on a bunch of rad local shops and restaurants, including things like a free cookie from Boulder Baked, a free glass of wine at Absinthe House, or a free yoga or JiuJitsu class, for those feeling adventurous and not-hungover on Saturday. Hi-YAH!
Wake up kids: today is the Christmas, birthday, and Valentine’s Day of the indie music world all rolled into one. Record Store Day is in its fourth year today, and you would be smart to head down to your local independent record store to celebrate the vibrant role they all play in keeping good music alive. There are also a slew of Record Store Day exclusives being offered today, so maybe break that piggy bank to take with you as well.
In the spirit of celebrating everything that’s right about Record Store Day today, Fuel/Friends has a special giveaway pack for one lucky reader.
To note all the excellent new releases that will be available today for the first time, the first item in the pack is the debut record from The Head and The Heart on vinyl. Sub Pop is releasing their album today, now remastered and with “Rivers and Roads” on it, with expanded liner notes / sweet art. You know by now why I like them; or you can read what I wrote for Sub Pop. Can’t wait to hear the record on warm, crackly vinyl.
The second item in the gift pack is to note all the re-releases coming out on vinyl today. For the first time, Matt Costa‘s 2006 debut record Songs We Sing is coming out on vinyl through the good folks at Brushfire Records. This is a sunny acoustic gem of an album that will serve you well all summer long, also one that will sound great on vinyl.
And finally, Fingerprints Records in Long Beach –a terrific independent record store– is contributing a signed poster from the in-store they are doing today with Brett Dennen. I bet your local record store is having musicians play amidst the stacks today as well.
To enter to win the Fuel/Friends RSD 2011 prize pack, leave me a comment telling me what you are doing today and why. I’ll pick one winner at the end of the weekend. I am in Chicago, so a whole new city beckons. I have my Reckless Records tshirt to guide me.
I am pretty excited about the Pacific Northwest Invasion (take 2) that is happening this weekend, with the show I am presenting Friday night at Moe’s in Denver (win tickets below!), and then the super-rad intimate Fuel/Friends House Show on Saturday night. All the bands playing are amazing. But I am holding a special reserve of anticipation and trembling for the power that I know comes with Kelli Schaefer.
Kelli opened my very first house show I held, back in November. I have not seen anyone like her. The way she can transfix a room with her somber, strong songs is astounding and when she lets her rock howl loose, hairs stand up on end. Back in November, I recognized the vibe in that room when she played to Jeff Buckley and the Grace album – the bluesy guitar sang and wept while Kelli punctured each song through with startlingly dramatic imagery and beautifully conflicted lyrics. I think we all felt something special crackling in that voice.
She is coming back through here on her tour down to SXSW in support of her masterpiece new album The Ghost of The Beast. I had a really difficult time picking which track to feature from the album, because it is so varied that no single song is representative of Kelli. But this is the song I immediately listened to the most, a benediction of the steadfastness of love and the quiet joy found in holding up others even when our arms are shaking. Listen to that scritchy-scratch opening loop; this song also showcases the intricate ambient noises that Kelli works throughout her music, like you are digging them out from the sounds of the day.
And when she sings here that there is nothing we have done that has been wasted, I believe her.
Similar to the organic growth of Drew Grow (who produced the record), Kelli’s full-length comes from collecting a series of singles that she has released in Portland over the last year through the Amigo/Amiga label.
It’s a scavenger approach which yields a surprisingly cohesive album here, but one that defies classification nonetheless. There are times the record feels like waking from a dense sleep (on songs like “Trinkets,” layering through ambient noise), as if Kelli is somewhere singing through dark cotton and vintage microphones. Other songs layer her vocals into an enchanting siren choir (“Home”), or let loose with riffs that would make Led Zeppelin turn an ear. Kelli sings honestly about something called “The Fury,” which one could imagine is an artistic inferno, or the struggles we have within — or something else entirely. In one of my favorite lyrics on the album, she sings:
God would you send me somebody
who understand the fury
who understands the fury well?
He’s gonna have to be a fighter
gonna have to know the story
strong enough to tell it to me when I’ve lost my head
when I’ve lost my head
The way she sings it (that last line, especially) gives me chills every time. This is a woman who seems to see inside of me in a way that not many female artists do.
My other favorite is found in the gothic sonic layers of the title track, “The Ghost of The Beast.” Listen below; it’s sharper and shows some of Kelli’s punkier chops. I’ve spent repeated listens trying to figure out what that sound that starts the song is, and I finally just learned it is Drew Grow scraping a shovel across the ground, and looping the noise. It is disconcerting and perfect.
I contributed to her successful Kickstarter campaign, and earlier this week the album arrived on vinyl. The cover art features a ribcage cut delicately out of paper – protective but delicate, able to be torn. If you come and see her this weekend in Colorado, or buy the album and listen with headphones, I guarantee you will be transfixed.
TICKET GIVEAWAY
I have two pairs of tickets to give away to see Kelli Schaefer tomorrow night (Friday) at Moe’s in Denver, next door to the Gothic. She is opening for The Head and The Heart & The Moondoggies (all of whom will be playing my house show Saturday night!). It is going to be a tremendous show. Please email me if you would like to be entered for a pair. Come early – Kelli is on first Friday, around 8pm, and you do not want to miss her.
Thursday night Josh is headlining the Ogden with his full Royal City Band, with support from a Denver musician who goes by the name of Thieving Irons.
WIN TICKETS, YOU SAY?!
Surely. Fuel/Friends has one pair of tickets for the eTown taping in Fort Collins to give away, and two pairs for the Denver show on Thursday night. To win, you must email me your favorite Josh Ritter lyric, and why you love it, and tell me which show you are entering for. I’ll be at both shows, looking forward to it.
[top image credit Brian Stowell, Ritter merch guy extraordinaire. Second image mine from one of the best SXSW shows ever.]
It may be Rocktober here in Denver, what with all sorts of marvelous shows rolling through here this month. But in a few weeks, forget Rocktober because Fuel/Friends is presenting three absolutely fantastic shows coming through Colorado in the first week of November, with bands from the fertile loamy shores of the Pacific Northwest.
We’ll call it Rockvember, which really doesn’t have nearly the same snappy effect as Rocktober, but it will have to do.
Seattle’s The Head and The Heart and Portland’s Drew Grow and The Pastors’ Wives — both bands are becoming addictions of the most socially acceptable kind, meaning that I pretty much just rotate between their two albums in recent weeks but maintain my hygiene and there’s no lying or drug-seeking behavior.
First off, Drew Grow and The Pastors’ Wives are playing the Larimer Lounge on Wednesday, November 3rd (with Kelli Schaefer, the girl joining in for a show-stopping duet on the last lines of the song in the video below). The next night, Thursday the 4th, they are playing a Fuel/Friends house show down in Colorado Springs and I think you should come. It’s $5 and you can BYOB and rock out in my ‘hood.
Every last thing that you need to know about why you should come see Drew Grow & The Pastors’ Wives for one of those two shows can be gleaned from this post here, and from this video here. Wait until three minutes in, when the best kind of musical cataclysm starts to occur:
Their album is one of my favorites of the year, easy. Recently at the Doe Bay Festival in Washington, the Seattle Weekly reviewer wrote, “Two weekends ago, I had one of those rare, game-changing live music experiences, the kind when you’re watching a band and your chest swells up big and red and raw like a great frigatebird during mating season and there’s a lump in your throat and an ACME anvil could fall on the person next to you and you probably wouldn’t even notice the blood spatter because HOLY FUCKING SHIT this band is amazing.”
Then on Friday, November 5th –if we survive the two nights with Drew Grow, maybe rehydrate our electrolytes– Seattle supernovas The Head And The Heart are playing their first show in Colorado at Moe’s (next door to the Gothic), co-headlining with local favorite Ian Cooke, with support by The Lumineers.
Guys, I can’t even tell you how blindingly quick things are exploding for this likeable, insanely catchy band right now, and deservedly so. They just toured through my home state of California, and I had friends at each stop along the way either texting me effusive praise from stageside, or stuck outside in the rain (like in LA, where apparently many folks couldn’t get in, despite the band adding a late show the same night). I have never seen them perform live yet, just pretty much watched the bejesus out of youtube videos.
This is a new song, “Gone,” they have been performing, with a bridge that I just can’t get out of my head. I’m trying here…
BIG OLE’ TICKET GIVEAWAY!
I have five pairs of tickets to give away to both of these Fuel/Friends presented shows (11/3 with Drew Grow and 11/5 with The Head And The Heart) to folks who email me. You can go to both, I’d absolutely love to share these bands with you.
I was clicking around on Threadless a few weeks ago and noticed their cool new “Living in Harmony” dual guitar design (acoustic? electric? how about both). I tend to be lamely paralyzed by indecision when buying clothing online and didn’t get it then, but serendipitously now the folks at Threadless have contacted me with a sweet little promo contest for you guys!
Fuel/Friends has a prize pack to give away containing the tshirt design by artist Josh Perkins, and matching Havaianas flip flops as well. You may or may not wear them together, depending on how completely dedicated to the idea of musical fashion you wish to appear.
TO WIN! I know this might cause you to groan, but you need to find a great joke to leave in the comments for me — one that makes you laugh out loud. The other night on a bicycle pubcrawl, I was talking about jokes and how hard it is to remember them when needed, and I realized I need some new fodder. Here’s my latest favorite: How do you get 100 Canadians to get out of a swimming pool? You say, “Please get out of the swimming pool.”
And because I like this song, both the original electric and this acoustic re-interpretation:
Based on a recommendation from a friend who saw The Mynabirds last night at San Francisco’s Rickshaw Stop, I’ve googled and clicked and fallen in love with the toe-tapping sultriness and all these indie-rock goddess vocals.
Half of the former D.C. duo Georgie James, Laura Burhenn possesses a powerful alto voice that owns this album and every song on it. Ranging from dusty old soul to big gospel harmonies, with clattery percussion that evokes Spoon at times and smolders at others, What We Lose In The Fire We Gain In The Flood (Saddle Creek) is eclectic and thoroughly enjoyable. Burhenn’s voice channels the confidence of females like Dusty Springfield circa 1968, to Cat Power or Jenny Lewis in the modern-day lexicon. This song even has a touch of Cowboy Junkies?
I also strongly recommend that you listen to the piano-thumping fun of “Let The Record Go” and the echoey girl-group soul of “Numbers Don’t Lie,” among others.
What We Lose In The Fire We Gain In The Flood was recorded with lots of whiskey and dancing in an Oregon hillside cabin, and was produced by the uncannily flawless ear of Richard Swift (whose pop confections opened a Wilco show for me once). Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes) arranged the shiny horns, and my friend J. Tom Hnatow of These United States brings his wicked slide guitar. It is a fantastic record, been listening to it all day.
CONTEST FOR THE DENVER KIDS: Wanna come see the Mynabirds on Monday night (July 19) at the Hi-Dive? I have a pair of tickets to give away. It’s an 18+ show, with Dark Dark Dark. As usual, please email me if you can for sure for reals come. We’ll get you on the list.
For the non-Denver residents, here are your other options:
MYNABIRDS TOUR DATES * = w/ David Bazan
& = w/ Crooked Fingers
07/15: Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
07/16: Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
07/17: Boise, ID @ Neurolux
07/18: Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
07/19: Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
07/24: Omaha, NE @ MAHA Festival
08/01: Council Bluffs, IA @ Stir Cove (w/ Al Green)
08/07: Council Bluffs, IA @ Stir Live and Loud
08/27: Omaha, NE @ Outside at Slowdown ( w/ Built To Spill)
09/03: Austin, TX @ The Mohawk &
09/05: Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress &
09/06: San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar &
09/08: San Francisco, CA @ Café Du Nord &
09/16: Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall*
09/17: Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick*
09/18: Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Place*
09/19: Montreal, QC @ II Motore*
09/21: Burlington, VT @ Club Metronome*
09/22: Cambridge, MA @ TT The Bear’s*
09/24: Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl*
09/25: Wahsington DC @ Black Cat*
09/26: Charolottesville, VA @ The Southern*
09/27: Carrboro, NC @ Cats Cradle*
09/28: Atlanta, GA @ The Earl*
09/29: Nashville, TN @ Exit/In*
10/01: Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits*
10/02: Orlando, FL @ The Social*
10/03: Tallahassee, FL @ The Engine Room*
10/05: Birmingham, AL @ The Bottletree*
10/06: New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks*
On most days, my favorite Wilco album is Summerteeth (maybe on most warm days like today, or perhaps it would always be my favorite if I lived in California full time).
TO WIN: Let’s talk about your favorite Wilco _______ (seemingly nonsensical but somehow profound song lyric, live concert moment, etc). You pick what to write about, and the responses will be enjoyable for me to read in these coming days of travel and services. I’ll pick a winner when I get home on Sunday night.
I recently got all giddy about how much I love the debut album from Portland trio Mimicking Birds, just released on Isaac Brock’s label (Modest Mouse frontman). Fortuitously, they are on tour and swing through Denver next week and I have five pairs of tickets to give away to spread the good word.
To be entered, tell me a bird story or a bird fact in the comments. I’m prepping for Jeopardy. (Please only enter if you can actually go for reals: It’s next Tuesday at the Hi-Dive)
After you enter the contest, or if you are sitting dejected and despondent because you live not in Colorado, click on over to this site and gorge yourself on a bunch of heartily enjoyable, vulnerably lovely Mimicking Birds demos, like the one above.
Name: Heather Browne Location: Colorado, originally by way of California
"I love the relationship that anyone has with music: because there's something in us that is beyond the reach of words, something that eludes and defies our best attempts to spit it out. It's the best part of us, probably, the richest and strangest part..."
—Nick Hornby, Songbook
"Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel." —Hunter S. Thompson
Mp3s are for sampling purposes, kinda like when they give you the cheese cube at Costco, knowing that you'll often go home with having bought the whole 7 lb. spiced Brie log. They are left up for a limited time. If you LIKE the music, go and support these artists, buy their schwag, go to their concerts, purchase their CDs/records and tell all your friends. If you represent an artist or a label and would prefer that I remove a link to an mp3, please email me at browneheather@gmail.com
Submissions
Got something I should hear? Email me at browneheather@gmail.com. Digital's usually best, but music submissions can also be sent to: Fuel/Friends, PO Box 64011, Colorado Springs, CO 80962-4011.
Fuel/Friends is presenting the show, and elegant, intricate favorite JBM opens, so that makes it double fantastic.
WIN A PAIR OF SATURDAY PASSES to see Dr. Dog (and all the other bands/venues) at the Pearl Street Music Festival, 
To note all the excellent new releases that will be available today for the first time, the first item in the pack is the debut record from 
The second item in the gift pack is to note all the re-releases coming out on vinyl today. For the first time, 
TICKET GIVEAWAY
WIN TICKETS, YOU SAY?!
BIG OLE’ TICKET GIVEAWAY!
CONTEST FOR THE DENVER KIDS: Wanna come see the Mynabirds on 
TO WIN: Let’s talk about your favorite Wilco _______ (seemingly nonsensical but somehow profound song lyric, live concert moment, etc). You pick what to write about, and the responses will be enjoyable for me to read in these coming days of travel and services. I’ll pick a winner when I get home on Sunday night.
Name: Heather Browne
