On Halloween night, the place to be was The Truman in Kansas City, MO. Tank and The Bangas entertained a raucous crowd with their incredible stage performance. Zaria Dukes captured the madness for us, and we can’t stop smiling.
Galway-based folk artist Ultan Conlon released his latest album Last Days of The Night Owl to incredible amounts of praise, landing itself at #1 on RTE. A 12-track masterpiece, Last Days of The Night Owl takes the listener on a lighthearted journey full of easy-listening that reeks of perfection no matter the season. We’re still impressed, so it’s on tap now just as often as it was at its release.
Beginning with “As the Light Gets Low”, Conlon establishes a sense of positivity as he croons, “somethings not right / but i can’t be all of the time.” The album slows only slightly with “The Town Square”, the percussion and tempo picking up again with “Hall of Mirrors”. By this time, we’re hearing direct influence from Roy Orbison, James Taylor, and the likes. “Fond Memories” exists at a gait reminiscent of a 1950s sock hop, though the discontent is obvious in the lyrics.
While “Sorrow Ease” comes in with more clear country influence, “Ojai” feels grand and gorgeous, perhaps just as much so as his expectations of the town before his arrival changes his mind. Memories aren’t always reality, and this song reminds us of that. “Hurt Inside” simplifies the trajectory, while “Time to Mourn” is the most outright melancholic track in every aspect. “The Measure” lightens things up a bit sonically, a toe-tapper if there ever was one, and that vibe continues through “Twice a Child”.
Everything comes to a slow crawl with “A Weak Heart Like Mine”, as Conlon evaluates the difference – or perhaps striking familiarity – between positive and negative feelings in romance. He rounds it all out with “The Fine Art of Happiness”, once again establishing a sense of positivity and looking forward in life. And that’s the note the album was destined to end on, giving us hope for light at the end of our sorrows.
Keep up with Ultan Conlon here.
Austin rockers The Schisms delighted the crowd at The Brick in Kansas City on October 27th. Along with Cortége, they’re in the middle of a 15-show tour, “It Came from Austin.”
Check out The Schisms here: https://www.facebook.com/
Follow the Roof Dogs as their live music journey takes them through Cincinnati, Lexington, Nashville, St. Louis, Bloomington, Chicago, Toledo, and all the in-betweens on their most recent autumn tour!
Cincinnati, Sean and his bass on the drive. Touring in a Toyota Corolla can be difficult. While The Bascinets’ vehicle held most of the gear for tour, on the way to Cinci we had to travel with Walker’s drum hardware and Sean’s bass in the backseat.
Pre-show R&R at the Airbnb
Found a lighter with some flare.
Nick Wellman of The Bascinets fishing for Pigs at Northside Yacht Club.
Tristan (Bascinets) before he lost his glasses. Tristan would continue to lose several other items before the tour was done.
Andrew with Bourbon (neat). Andrew played NSYC’s “$4 Whiskey Wheel of Wonder,” he landed on Jim Beam.
Dinge. Was the first time we played with them for about three years. They rock.
The Bascinets
Ezra (Dinge)
Trevor (The Bascinets)
Tired after day one…
Our friend Nick (left) let us hangout on his rooftop in Northside after the show. He also let us play his harmonium and theremin. Great fun was had by all.
“Please, no pictures” – Zlata
Eden Park, Cincinnati
Lexington, KY. Game day. The show didn’t start until 11:30 because the Wildcats were “stomping ass.”
Andrew strings up
There was a lot of time to kill, but luckily the door guy charged the folks who came for the game. Many hung around when the show started, too.
Setlist debate
The Bascinets, feat. Mannequin
Abandoned motel shoot between Lexington and Nashville.
Twinning. It seems that almost all of the Midwest claims ownership of Lincoln. The same cannot be said for Andrew.
Nashville: Trevor insisted on $5 cups of coffee at his favorite spot. (They were actually amazing though so it’s okay). Jesse pictured here writing nursery rhymes.
Alberto & Friends in their delightful basement.
The Bascinets
Matt of Superstarfamus1day. He was closely supervised by the doll. They played an impressive impromptu set when their drummer George got very sick right before and couldn’t play.
Our performance did not meet Alberto’s expectations. He locked us up by the doghouses.
Shew (left) and Alberto (right). Post-show hangs in the backyard. His house was an old doctor’s office from way way back in the day (the 40’s?) so his backyard was actually a parking lot that was converted into a giant driveway. They have the perfect band house and we are jealous.
Triple Jesse
We loved the wallpaper.
Sleepy bois. The Bascinets brought along portable cots.
Wellman in the haunted basement.
“No pictures in here, honey. Some people aren’t here with the people they’re supposed to be with.” Hermitage Cafe in Nashville. Great country-fried steak.
St. Louis: At the Arch
Bright bois, where’s Walker?
Farmer Nick
Andrew with the cigarette machine at CBGB.
The Snapchettes, they typically perform as a seven piece.
Frankie Valet. Jack (at microphone) hosted us and took us to a good breakfast spot the next morning. Incidentally, he and Jesse share a birthday on September 14.
Outside CBGB
Felix at the board.
Sean relaxes at Jack’s. He managed to cranked out The Silmarillion on tour. Jack’s excellent cat can be seen in the background.
Jack, our host in St. Louis
Tristan after breakfast. There are more cash-only diners in this country than I ever knew.
Forest Park, St. Louis
En route to Chicago. It was somewhere around this point that Sean and Jesse began to argue over the fortitude of their respective bladders. Sean would soon prevail.
Walker driving
Chicago. We had two days off here with a show in the middle. There was a lot of relaxing but we didn’t get as many pictures here, but had a great time exploring the city. On our last night we rode the train to a 107 year old jazz club, the Green Mill in Uptown where they were broadcasting live on AM radio.
But first a visit to the lake.
Beers on the pier
Tristan and the great beyond
Curious old maintenance man tinkers at the venue.
Wallpaper
Fahrenheit 808, who was, sadly, not allowed by the venue to play due to dumb age restrictions. They were gracious about it.
Oxford, OH. Captain Redbeard and the S.S. Friendship. We played at our friends house, The Secret Garden. It’s a beautiful home.
Trevor, some light leak, and a stray vine. After the show we all went to Bagel & Deli and waded through an ocean of college students to the counter. Every five minutes or so, one worker at the shop would get iced (Smirnoff) by customers and proceeded to jump on the counter and chug to the applause of everyone. I’m pretty sure we waited in “line” for like half an hour. Someone stole my bagel once and I had to order again. Ultimately the wait was worth it. -Andrew
Hot sauce with salt at Hometown Eatery. College Corner, IN. Tristan apparently eats this to curb his appetite. He chose to spend his diner money on a candy apple red Jaguar.
Propane rodeo star, Andrew Marczak.
At Joe’s house in Oxford.
“Joe, where are the forks?”
Wellman with spork.
Toledo, OH. Ottawa Tavern, our last stop, with bangin’ sign.
Watching the game. “Pizza Cat,” the attached restaurant, was delicious and had good deals for performers. We were all satisfied.
Teamonade ripping it right up.
Trevor the angel
Wavves
“It Can Happen to YOU”
One shot of the Roof Dogs playing.
Family photo. We then parted ways and ventured back to Columbus for a day off before we all went back to our day jobs at NASA.
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Keep up with the Roof Dogs here.
The eleven-track compilation stunner just released by Dazzleships Records honestly serves as our life soundtrack at this very moment in time. Ever since we got our first listen, we’ve been running the tracks back through our minds, creating more with these songstresses as our inspiration. Dazzleships Records Presents: Raise By Women is both tantalizing and evocative of a generation – or more – in its entirety. Skull Diver‘s “Bad Star” sets the tone, giving us a grunge indie/pop soundscape to play with, absorbing itself into the quirky and lighthearted tone of Mini Blinds‘ “Happy” before Cat Hoch‘s “Say You Love Me” throws us into an 80’s-inspired bliss.
Natasha Kmeto‘s “Your Girl” blends synths in a similar way to its predecessor, but in a much more contemporary and soulful way. While Rilla‘s “Side Sleeper” is one to get your head bobbin’ to, your feet groovin’ a bit, Johanna Warren‘s “The Blessing The Curse” dunks you in an ethereal, mellifluous soundscape before DANDAN gets all experimental on us with “Broken Mirror”. Black Water Holy Light‘s “Sunrise” belongs on an episode of The O.C. (Seasons 1 or 2 exclusively, please?), and Laura Palmer’s Death Parade brings us to a slow, folk-tinged, melancholia with “Scrollin'”. Haste basically says it all within the instrumentals of “Let’s Touch Ourselves”, with gorgeous vocals and alluring lyrics to make it a powerhouse of a track. And the entire collection is rounded out quite nicley with Sheers‘ “An Osscasion”, which plays with dissonance and a more earthy, string-led sound that really feels delicate.
Keep up with the latest from Dazzleships Records and all their new projects here.
Seattle-based pop trio Tangerine just released their 4-track EP White Dove, which glistens in the glow of nostalgia from the very beginning of firs track “Local Mall” to the last chords of “Lake City”. Though “Local Mall” exists at mid-tempo, it feels more energetic, with Marika’s light-as-a-feather vocals driving the track itself. “Cherry Red” continues with a similar soundscape to its predecessor, bringing out more percussive moments for emphasis. “Monster of the Week” boasts a more sinister tone, perfect for this time of year, and last track “Lake City” is comprised of gorgeous melodies and a feeling of ease that only a beautiful body of water should be able to provide.
Keep up with Tangerine here.
