Drink Up Buttercup at Brooklyn Bowl

The Philly favorite Drink Up Buttercup returned last night to play a free show at Brooklyn Bowl, hosted by Paste magazine. There was a fair turnout for the monstrous space, especially since half the city was out celebrating  Cinco De Mayo, but the fan base somewhat lacked given the band’s recent surge of attention with their debut album, Born and Thrown on a Hook.

The set started with "Gods and Gentleman," a pop-infused song with loud crashing cymbals. Ben Money commanded the stage, freely strumming away on the bass with a maraca in place of his hand. At the song’s  finish, Jim Harvey – the lead singer and founder of the band - gave a cheers to the audience, downing his signature combination of a shot followed by a beer. It was a fitting intro for "Mr. Pie Eyes," a noise-infused track about a drunk man stumbling home at night. With part performance/part reality, the group bounced and stumbled around on stage, bringing high energy and heavy distortion.

The audience seemed confused and intrigued all at once. They finally started dancing when "Young Ladies" came on – a crowd pleaser, despite the fact that the band has received flack about the so-called “misogynistic” lyrics. But for Jim, the music comes first and the lyrics follow. The band likes to tell a story with each song.  People may coin them as “60s psychedelic” or “carnival,” yet Harvey finds that “movies are more of an inspiration for us than songs. That’s what we do. When we’re in the van we don’t really listen to music, we watch old VHS tapes and DVDs and that’s where we get our stories from.”

"Young Ladies" is influenced by his favorite movie Roger Dodger (dir. Dylan Kidd). “It’s kind of obscure,” Harvey admits, “but it’s a dialogue driven movie that is idiotic, yet eye-opening at the same time. It’s a misogynistic movie about some guy being an idiot and he realizes that by the end. But it’s not something I necessarily live my life by [he says this in all sincerity]. It’s just something I enjoy peering in on…because I’ve always been kind of the guy at the parties who likes looking at everybody else because I've never really been friends of everybody who’s at the party. And I'm like wow, the limits and how far people will reach just to hook up with somebody is disgusting in a way.”

The highlight of the night was the release of their new song, "Walk Loud." This dance number conceived by keyboardist Farzad Houshiarnejad (and Harvey’s brother) had surprisingly strong funk rhythms, a seductive refrain,and a heavy build up as the finish. Harvey tells me that it’s influenced by “The Devil’s Rejects, a Rob Zombie movie that’s really about, just you know, this crew of girls that are a family that stomp around and look for people to kill.” He admits that stylistically the song is nothing like their other work and that we can see more of these changes in the future. “For our first album we were kind of like ‘Oh,  this is what Drink up Buttercup is. We’re going to sound like Drink Up' and we tailored everything to sound like Drink Up. For our next album we’re not going to have any restrictions. We’re just going to go ‘whatever, let’s just play everything and anything’ and whatever comes out – it’s still us.”

Harvey’s unrestrained expectations make perfect sense. The multi-instrumental band comes from a background of performance, classical music and, for Harvey, years of listening to hip hop. So what’s his Guilt Free Pleasure?

“The remix of Ignition by R. Kelly. [It] is the best song of all time – in my opinion – and some people might be surprised that I think that’s the best song of all time but that’s my favorite song ever. I mean that is like the masterpiece of modern times. And I don’t give a fuck. I’ll admit that.”

Purchase Born and Thrown on a Hook here!

Maps & Atlases Record Release + Tour

The Chicago-based Maps & Atlases is gearing up for their tour starting this week, which ends with the debut of their new EP Perch Patchwork on June 29. This is their first album with Basuk Records (home to Death Cab for Cutie, Mates of State, RaRa Riot, Rilo Kiley, and more) and it is promised to have a more virtuosic and organic sound than their previous albums. We got their mp3 "Solid Ground" and it definitely has a textured vibe with wistful lyrics and a fluid mix of progressive and melodic rhythms.

Singer/guitarist David Davison says that “We went into the record with the understanding that the creation of the album would be separate from its existence as a live piece of music, which was really liberating.” I'm not sure what to say to this explanation except that the tour seems promising with an eclectic group of bands. I had the pleasure of seeing Drink Up Buttercup at SXSW last month and they can rock a show like nobody's business.

Solid Ground [mp3]

4/10 - Huckleberry's Pizza Parlor (Rock Island, IL)^
4/11 - The Basement (Columbus, OH)*
4/12 - The Rex (Pittsburgh, PA)&
4/13 - The Space (Hamden, CT) *
4/14 - Great Scott (Boston, MA)*
4/15 - Maxwells (Hoboken, NJ)*
4/17 - SUNY Purchase (Purchase, NY)
4/18 - Clementines (Harrisonburg, VA)*
4/19 - Musica (Akron, OH)*
4/24 - Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA)
4/25 - Cats Cradle (Carrborro, NC)#
4/27 - Black Cat (Washington, DC)#
4/28 - Webster Hall (New York, NY)#
4/29 - Paradise (Boston, MA)#
4/30 - First Unitarian Church (Philadelphia, PA)#
5/1 - Pearl Street (Northampton, MA)#
5/3 - Petit Campus (Montreal, QC)#
5/4 - Opera House (Toronto, ONT)#
5/5 - Grog Shop (Cleveland, OH)#
5/6 - Southgate House (Newport, KY)#
5/7 - The Old Rock House (St Louis, MI) #
5/8 - Metro (Chicago, IL)#
5/9 - Pabst Theatre (Milwaukee, WI)#
5/10 - Varsity Theatre (Minneapolis, MN)#
5/12 - Bluebird Theatre (Denver, CO)#
5/13 - Urban Lounge (Salt Lake City, UT)#
5/15 - Bitmore Cabaret (Vancouver, BC)#
5/16 - Neumos (Seattle, WA)#
5/17 - Berbati's Pan (Portland, OR)#
5/19 - The Fillmore (San Francisco, CA)#
5/22 - Casbah (San Diego, CA)#


^ w/Dark Dark Dark & w/Vieux Farka Toure
* w/Drink Up Buttercup
# w/Frightened Rabbit

Drink Up Buttercup - Born and Thrown on a Hook

Drink Up Buttercup is finally coming out with their first full-lenth album. Due to be released on March 23rd, the band is also releasing a live video of every song on the album on their website - one song each week (starting last week), culminating with the albums release.

The album is, well, exactly what I expected - noisey, catchy, full of mischief and ruckus - and all in all it embodied everything I love about them. Having seen Drink Up Buttercup perform on several occasions, I am familiar with most of the songs on the album by now. Plus it has most if not all of the songs from their early demo/EP (not sure it was ever officially released) on it, which makes me happy. I like to describe them as "Sargent Pepper at a creepy circus." I have written so much about them already, I'm not really sure what else to say except for BUY IT IN MARCH. Ok? Ok.

Seasickness Pills [mp3]

Awesome Brooklyn concert TOMORROW!

So unfortunately I'm not going to be in town for this but three of my favorite up-and-coming East Coast bands are playing all in one show tomorrow night (Friday) at Bell House, here in Brooklyn. We have Ravens & Chimes, Miracles of Modern Science AND Drink Up Buttercup (who has an album due out soon, so expect to hear more about that here at GFP within the next few days). Doors are at 7pm and tickets are just $7. I actually had thought about almost this exact line-up for a GFP Presents show myself, so I'm kinda sad someone beat me to it, but oh well. Also really sad I can't make the show, but YOU should go. I guarantee you'll LOVE it.

Hearts of Palm [mp3] - Ravens & Chimes - (iTunes)

MR2 [mp3] - Miracles of Modern Science - (iTunes)

Gods & Gentlemen [mp3] - Drink Up Buttercup - (iTunes)

Artists to Watch in 2010

For the last of our lists this year, we have artists that have shown promise and/or generated buzz, and that we're expecting to see interesting things from in the year to come. So, just in time for the New Year, we present you with "Artists to Watch in 2010":


Ellie Goulding
21-year-old Ellie Goulding has already been chosen as one of the 15 best rising music stars on BBC's Sound of 2010 list. She's been generating tons of buzz over the last few months, and with an electro-pop sugary sound, musicians like Little Boots and Marina and the Diamonds (more about her below) are often mentioned alongside her. Her first single "Under the Sheets" was released a couple of months ago and her debut set to release in March, so, like we've said before, expect this one to hit big.

Under the Sheets [mp3] - (no online purchase available in US)

Marina and the Diamonds

"I Am Not A Robot" was one of Lise's tracks-on-repeat this last summer, and like Ellie above, Marina and the Diamonds have also made BBC's Sound of 2010 list. People love her for her don't-care-what-others-think attitude and robust, thickly vibrato-ridden voice, but Lise is still waiting to be impressed with a live performance, although perhaps that will change in this upcoming year. Until then, you should at least check her out if you are unfamiliar, cause there is no doubt you will be hearing more about her in 2010.

I Am Not A Robot [mp3] - (no online purchase available)

Heathers
This Irish twin girl duo, named after the infamous '80s movie starring Winona Ryder, is kind of like Tegan & Sara 2.0, but more folky perhaps. They're how I imagine Tegan and Sara were when they were just starting out - talented and adorable, keeping things simple but lovely, with rocking acoustic guitar and awesome vocal harmonies. It sounds like things are starting to pick up for them in Ireland and we're hoping that they'll pick up for them here in the US too, so that they'll come back stateside for a tour again soon.

Veronica [mp3] - (iTunes)

Drink Up Buttercup

Em first saw Drink Up Buttercup by chance back in May, instantly loving them, and has watched their audience grow and expand at shows in NYC in August and November. They are worth seeing again and again live because they have such great energy as they bang and plang and clang on everything from your typical keyboards and guitars to the less typical garbage can tops, tool boxes and plastic maracas. Their EP is superb and hopefully we can expect a full-length album from them in 2010.
Sosey Dosey [mp3] - (iTunes)

Pattern is Movement
Much to our surprise, these two lumberjack-looking guys make the most elaborate, fanciful, delightful and downright bizarre music we've possibly ever heard. It certainly wasn't what Em was expecting when they opened for St. Vincent earlier this year, but they ended up blowing her away and we can't wait to hear more from the Philadelphia duo.

Jenny Ono [mp3] - (iTunes)

Local Natives

One of LA's top indie acts that are ready to break out in a big way, all 4-part harmonies and pounding toms. They're already popular overseas, having toured the UK and Europe in 2009, and they've just been signed to NY label Frenchkiss Records (home of The Antlers, Passion Pit, The Dodos, etc.) They played a soldout show at the Echo the other night - their last US show until the domestic release of Gorilla Manor (February 5) - and any Angelenos who made it out will be lucky enough to say they were there first.

Camera Talk [mp3] - (Amazon)

Marching Band
Unlike a lot of the Scandinavian music we receive here at GFP, this isn't dark, experimental, or haunting. Marching Band's music is for the most part poppy, pretty and highly enjoyable. It will definitely leave your head bopping and your toe tapping, and since a lot of amazing stuff is coming out of Scandinavia right now, I think we can expect to see them fair well here in the US.

Gorgeous Behavior [mp3] - (iTunes)

Avi Buffalo

One of our writers, Diana, has been into Avi Buffalo for a little over a year now and we can't wait to see what SubPop does for them in 2010. Seeing Avi play his Fender Jaguar will make you envious that you're not 19 years old, winning folks over with a high falsetto and lines like, "you are tiny and your lips are like little pieces of bacon."
What's In It For? [mp3] - (iTunes)

Fredrik
Their album Na Na Ni was on our Best Albums of 2008, and their album Trilogi was supposed to come out this year, but has been pushed back to January of 2010. So keep your eye out for that. The one track they've released from it is even more haunting, dark and stunning than the highly experimental Na Na Ni, and we've heard that the rest of Trilogi is supposed to follow suit.

Trilogi [mp3] - (iTunes)

Castledoor

We still don't know why this band isn't signed. Their debut Shouting At Mountains was quite solid, and the 3 shows Diana attended of their June residency at Spaceland were easily the best shows she's seen this whole year. Nate Cole has all the charisma a frontman needs and more, and the songs are just an awesome mix of blues, rock, and pop. They've been going strong in the LA scene for a couple years now, so we have my fingers crossed that 2010 will be their year.
Skipping Stepping Stones [mp3] - (iTunes)

tUnE-YaRdS
tUnE-YaRdS, aka Merrill Garbus is incredibly intriguing to say the least. Her unique rhythms, complicated music and full voice make for an interesting listen. However, her debut album, Bird Brains, was made very much DIY-style, and while she certainly does quite well with very little, we would love to hear what she can do with some real production value behind her. Hopefully we will get the chance considering how much buzz she has gotten this year.

News [mp3] - (iTunes)

Surfer Blood

Their debut album Astro Coast is dropping January 2010, and having listened to a couple of the tracks, we wager that it'll probably take a few months for news to properly circulate about this band. Surfer Blood has somehow managed to encompass that guilty pleasure of 90's pop-rock sound of Weezer and Keane and structure it into a sophisticated-yet-carefree indie rock throwback with added fuzzy flair for the upcoming decade.
Floating Vibes [mp3] - (iTunes)

Gamble House
One of Diana's bandmates introduced her to Gamble House a couple months ago, and she recommends them to anyone who is a fan of pre-Veckatimest Grizzly Bear. This year they self-released an album of low-key indie/folk-ish music that goes beyond the standard vocals/guitar M.O., incorporating banjo, bells, keyboards and other little flourishes that reflect the band's jazz background. Definitely worth checking out.

Central Park [mp3] - (no online purchase available)

Phantogram

For a duo that has yet to come out with a full-length album, Phantogram sure has a pretty big following. A bit reminiscent of Blonde Redhead, their electro-dance-rock certainly will get you moving. They're great live and we look forward to hearing what they come out with in the future.
When I'm Small [mp3] - (iTunes)


Ravens & Chimes
So they were on our list of Artists to Watch for 2009 last year, but unfortunately they didn't end up coming out with any new stuff this past year. However, it is confirmed that they will be coming out with an album in 2010, so we are putting them on the list again because we love them that much. Hopefully, after going through some major member changes this year (only two of the people in this picture are still in the band but we can't find any more recent ones...), next year will be a successful one for them. Here's one of the songs off their upcoming 2010 album.

Hearts of Palm [mp3] - (iTunes)

CMJ wrap up - Beast and Young and Hungry Party

Ok, yes, I'm way behind. So here's a quick CMJ wrap up. On Friday of CMJ, I saw Canadian trip hop band Beast at the Studio at Webster Hall. They put on a good (albeit rather short) show that had the audiences rocking out, although they played a lot of their darker, more electronic stuff (as opposed to my favorites which have influences more from funk or gospel). My friend and I were also really excited about the keybass (see below), which we spent much of the show trying to guess the name of (my favorite of our guesses were "basskeboard" - pronounced kinda like basketball - and "keyass," but alas it is just called a keybass, and apparently the bass player made it himself and is now working on a second generation keybass).

Saturday I went to the Young and Hungry party at The Delancey. Unfortunately I missed half the show (including Emmanuel and the Fear, who I really wanted to see) thanks to the MTA. However, I did still manage to catch two acts that I adore - Drink Up Buttercup and Elizabeth and the Catapult. Drink Up Buttercup did a semi-acoustic set, which means they sang at the top of their lungs without much help from microphones and mostly just banged on things (it's a miracle that they could sing over that too). They did use their keyboard once or twice, but mostly it was pretty acoustic. But when I say "mostly just banged on things" I mean, they made sweet sweet music out of trash can tops, tool boxes, maracas, cymbals, and basically anything that makes percussive sounds and it was awesome. Granted, they always use these things in their acts, but it was interesting to see how strong they still were "unplugged."

Elizabeth and the Catapult did not go the accoustic route (except for one bluesy song with her friend Jeff, who sang with her for a song or two when I saw them at Southpaw a while back), but they still played a great set too. Elizabeth is so adorable and she has such a lovely, natural voice. I have to say I was surprised/disappointed that they didn't play "Taller Children," which is one of their more well known songs, but it was still a fun, strong set and I suppose they also had to play a shorter set than usual due to the number of bands that played that day. For those of you who didn't get to catch them during CMJ, they're playing tonight at the Etsy Craft Fair at the Etsy Labs in Dumbo or tomorrow night at Webster Hall.

Mr. Hurricane [mp3] - Beast - (iTunes)

Gods & Gentlemen [mp3] - Drink Up Buttercup - (iTunes)

Race You [mp3] - Elizabeth & the Catapult - (iTunes)

Drink Up Buttercup @ Union Hall

Last night I headed over to Union Hall (or tried to anyway...) to see Lights On and Drink Up Buttercup. Unfortunately, the MTA was not on my side yesterday and after literally spending most of the day on the train getting stuck, re-routed and otherwise inconvenienced I missed the first two bands (the first of which was Lights On).

I was sad to miss San Diego band Lights On (thanks MTA), whose poppy yet nostalgic new single "John and Anne" has been getting heavy play on my playlists this week. Since I can't write about the show, I'll just share the track with you all.

John and Anne [mp3] - (iTunes)

Drink Up Buttercup was... wasted. But in some ways, that served them well. In other ways, it didn't. For the most part it didn't affect their music (although the lyrics were maybe a little harder to understand because of some speech slurring, and also because the mixing was pretty terrible), which they played without any major noticeable mistakes. And they seemed at times to be completely absorbed in the music and just having fun, as if they weren't even really aware there was an audience (at one point the lead singer actually shouted "that was f**king fun!" over and over after a song). Watching their total absorption was kind of cool, although I will say that I was afraid someone was going to get hurt (for example, they were haphazardly throwing their bodies around and there were moments I thought there would be a nasty collision, but there wasn't). Early in the show, the keyboard/bass player got a small cut on his cheek that bled pretty much throughout the show, though I didn't catch how he got it.

Another way in which being wasted did seem to serve them well was an improvisational ending to the show where they got off the stage and sang most of the last song acappella, encircled by a clapping and stomping audience. Although, the lead singer did go on a rambling incoherent tangent in the middle of the song, but it was still a lot of fun overall and it was a neat way to end the show. I stand by the fact that they are one of my favorite new discoveries of this year and they put on a good show, even if they might not remember it afterwards... They're coming out with a new album this coming winter, so expect to see more news about that.

Gods and Gentlemen [mp3] - (iTunes)

So many shows, so little time...

Here are some of the show highlights for the week here in NYC (Brooklyn is, as always, representing pretty hardcore):

Tuesday
TV on the Radio @Prospect Park (Celebrate Brooklyn BENEFIT)
Middle Distance Runner @ Union Hall

Wednesday
Miracles of Modern Science @ Union Hall
Bat For Lashes @ Webster Hall - sold out!

Thursday
BLONDIE, PAT BENETAR and THE DONNAS @ Asser Levy/Seaside Park (Seaside Summer Concert Series) - FREE!!!!!!
Tori Amos @ Radio City Music Hall

Friday
Animal Collective @ Prospect Park (Celebrate Brooklyn - BENEFIT)

Saturday
Lights On and Drink Up Buttercup @ Union Hall
Animal Collective @ Prospect Park (Celebrate Brooklyn - BENEFIT)
Xylopholks @ Drom

And no, that is not a typo - Animal Collective is doing TWO benefit shows for Celebrate Brooklyn. Please feel free to comment with NYC shows that you're excited about and even shows in other cities (just be sure to list the city and venue so people can buy tickets if they want to!)

One Crazy (awesome) Line Up...

Seems to me like I've been seeing some great lineups at Southpaw lately and Friday night was no exception. I went to the show on a whim, having never even really heard any of the bands' music and I was quite glad that I went.

The first band up was Holy Ghost Tent Revival, from Greensboro, N. Carolina, who totally stole my heart. They're a pretty good-looking group of guys and they're the first band I've ever seen with headbanging banjo and trombone/brass players. They all did quite a bit of headbanging, actually. Their frenzied brand of rock bluegrass (with a hint of ragtime and big band among other sounds) was quite infectious and it wasn't long before they had some members of the audience dancing like crazy. I have to say, I have a bit of a crush on bass player Patrick Leslie whose strong voice alternated between angelically clear and devilishly raspy at the drop of a hat with his stellar vocal control. In my honest opinion, Holy Ghost Tent Revival stole the show. Not to say that I didn't immensely enjoy the rest of the bands. But these guys are the ones that I walked away wishing I could see them again the very next day, if only they were staying in NYC longer (they were headed to Scranton, PA yesterday).

Getting Over Your Love [mp3] - (iTunes)

Next up was the Wahoo Skiffle Crazies, a large DIY bluegrass band from Staten Island, with homemade instruments, washboard, saw, jug and all. The stage was barely big enough to hold all of them all but I was quite impressed by what they did with some of their more homemade instruments, particularly a bass made out of one string, a large stick the the bass player moved to stretch the string to different tones, and a wash basin. It sounded just like a regular upright bass! The things people can do with so few tools... While they were certainly more gentle-mannered than HGTR (no headbanging for this set), they were still great fun and also had the audience dancing up a storm. On top of the mp3 I have posted here, you can download 2 more for free off of their website.

Take Your Finger Off It [mp3]

Third was Drink Up Buttercup, from Philadelphia, and I have to admit that I didn't think I was going to like them. Their first song was kind of standard rock that didn't strike me as anything particularly unique or interesting and didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the set (or the band name...). But after that, their music got more and more bizarre (especially for a group of such normal looking guys) and that's when I really started to dig them. It was like rock 'n' roll meets haunted house/creepy circus soundtrack. Very surreal yet poppy at moments, but always rock-out-able, and rocking out people were. Actually, going back and listening to their EP now, they kind of remind me of the Beatles in their more experimental stage. They also had some DIY instruments like trash can tops and a tool box. By the end of their set, I really liked them a lot. I do have one criticism that might seem silly, but it was just kind of awkward to watch after a while and I feel like I have to say it: the bass player hardly ever stood up straight so he always looked like he had to pee.

Sosey Dosey [mp3] - (iTunes)

Lastly was Skeletonbreath. No, they're not a deathmetal band, though they do have some metal-sounding songs. They're a violin-bass-drums trio from Brooklyn who plays fast and furious jams that take hints from all genres, including but not limited to metal, rock, pop, klezmer, Eastern European, funk, and more. For those of you Consider the Source fans that might be reading this, definitely check out Skeletonbreath. These guys have a similarly intense instrumental jam trio thing going. They're great to watch live, as they're quite talented and have a lot of energy, particularly the violinist, who must have to replace his bow quite often as he kept ripping hairs off it throughout the performance and it looked like it was getting a little thin toward the end.

More pictures (albeit crappily lit ones) here.