hozac blackout fest wrap-up: random videos

here are two more videos from HOZAC BLACKOUT FEST.  everyone was having too much fun to document the whole weekend, but these were two of my favorite sets of the fest......

HEAVY TIMES


PEOPLES TEMPLE

hozac blackout fest wrap-up: drunk pixels

thanks to kirstie shanley (kirstiecat.com) for sharing her HOZAC BLACKOUT FEST photos.  i might have been too drunk to take any myself.......

so here is a taste of BLACKOUT 2011......

nervous eaters closed out blackout fest like they haven't missed a beat in their thirty year hiatus......power pop/ garage at its best!


nobunny killed it saturday night.  by this time everyone was delusional, drunk and exhausted from rock n rolling nine hours that day.......


puffy areolas almost started a riot with their free jazz / noise / punk freakout.  highly recommended..


reading rainbow jangled popped us into the early eve.  quite catchy.


peoples temple brought the psych garage as if it were '68.....


radar eyes should be yr new fav band.  hozac lp forthcoming.  so look out.


NONES brought the no wave skronk to start off a long fun saturday......



click here for kirstie's complete BLACKOUT FEST gallery on FLICKR.

and hopefully more photos are to come.  this post only covers half of saturday.....

hozac blackout fest wrap-up: TV GHOST

tv ghost brought BLACKOUT FEST near the edge of apocalypse.......one of my fav performances of the weekend......

you need to see these guys live......

hozac blackout fest wrap-up: THE SPITS

the return of hozac records' BLACKOUT FEST was a fucking chaotic rock n roll weekend.....i'm just barely surviving after three days of music.......

in case you missed it, here's the friday night performance by the SPITS........

useless eaters- daily commute

USELESS EATERS are lo-fi punk in the vein of the "killed by death" comps.   raw loose rock n roll with a early 80s / new wave DIY touch.......

useless eaters are goner fest staples and frequent tour mates of jay reatard.  and that stamp of approval means something to me,,,,,,,

the new lp "daily commute" is out on tic tac totally records may 31st....

sample the lp here.   then go buy it.

here's what revolver had to say if yr not convinced.... "Oozing with sleaze, anger, and hooks (what could be more beautiful than that?!), this first proper album from Useless Eaters captures completely tape-fried 70's punk beauty by joining the musicality of the Stranglers and the Adverts with the snot-nose antics of the Lewd or Vomit Pigs. With the proximity effect of the Memphis scene circa 2003-2007. Compared to earlier output, Daily Commute has a beefier sound, though still culled from the same manic recording style. Content-wise, this is the direct result of being stranded abroad, weirded out and pissed off while readjusting from the sudden death of bandmate JAY REATARD. Hands down the most complete sounding and best assembled of SETH SUTTON’s output yet. Previous singles on Shattered, Goner, Goodbye Boozy and more. Highly recommended to anyone constantly blasting their KBD faves or UK D.I.Y. weirdo shit...this is a nice 'lil gem mined from those parts!"


watch below....

the oh sees- singles vol. 1 & 2

save yrself some hard earned cash and pick up some hard to find oh sees singles all in one nicely packaged double lp set.....

highly recommended.  this rarities comp is better than most of lps you've heard in the past couple of years.....

the oh sees' quirky garage rock might just be one of tiny grooves all time favs...and since john is all overdriven and productive as robert pollard releasing multiple lps in a year, it's surprising that not one song is less than yr next fav jam.....

pick it up here......

disappears- live at echo canyon

chicago drone psych garage rockers, disappears,  unleash another record perfect for cruising with windows open to the next late night house show......


pick it up here.

black lips- arabia mountain

CLICK HERE TO ACQUIRE THE NEW BLACK LIPS LP, ARABIA MOUNTAIN!

of course i can't guarantee the link will last long.

(but you can also click on the tab at right for my mediafire uploaded albums.....and there you will find a copy of the lp as well.....)

arabia mountain might just be the best album of 2011......  GO OUT AND BUY IT JUNE 7TH FROM VICE RECORDS AT YER LOCAL RECORD STORE........

it's catchy fun rock n roll from everyone's fav garage rock trouble makers........

yr free show guide to the weekend!!!!!!!

check out CRYSTAL STILTS tomorrow (saturday 5/21) at PERMANENT RECORDS around 1.30pm.......bring yr own hangover PBR and enjoy the reverb in packed small record store with all yr friends......

on monday may 23rd......go see BONNIE PRINCE BILLY (or will oldham as i still like to call him) at MILLENNIUM PARK for free .... the pritzker pavilion at 6.30pm

and last but not least..... go see local psych punks RABBLE RABBLE at the empty bottle monday night and release their new seven inch upon the world......these kids are going places, and are most definitely one of the best new chicago bands around.   i'll see you there..........

forgotten jams- CLAP - "Have You Reached Yet?"

“Like most followers of rare seventies rock esoterica I first heard about Have You Reached Yet? via the pages of the now-legendary Bomp fanzine. It was the surf issue if I recall correctly, and editor Greg Shaw, in the course of a pretty positive review, mentioned CLAP's ability to mix up what seemed like a healthy late-sixties punk rock attitude with the prevailing hard rock winds of the early-seventies from whence this album came. The album was a charm with the hefty Rolling Stones influences so common of the day being reshaped by a strong Shadows of Knight snarl all filtered through an early seventies heavy metal consciousness giving us...a sound and style that although part and parcel to the stoner seventies mentality had a totally unique and refreshing approach that sounded as if it could stand on its own not only in 1972 but 1966 or even 1987 for that matter. It was teenage rock & roll that continued to sound so long after the entire teen mystique of the sixties and seventies shriveled away, yet it was hard enough for even the most experienced pothead at the supermarket to roll joints to during his coffee break.” (from the revolver distro website)

click here to grab the recently reissued LP.... and buy it at yr local record store now....


and listen below via youtube.....

x-ray eyeballs- not nothing

sexy melodic lo-fi garage rock.

hazy fun songs for late nights....

more than just a side project of golden triangle.....not just another band from brooklyn.......


x-ray eyeballs may wear their jesus and mary chain and new wave influences on their sleeves, but at heart the new "not nothing" lp is one of the catchiest garage pop / indie rock albums you'll hear all year long.  



click here to grab the lp......and enjoy....

a tour documentary about black flag (from 1986)

"Reality 86'd" A film by David Markey 


A road documentary shot from the inside of the last Black Flag tour ever (the 1986 "In My Head" US tour.) Greg Ginn along with Henry Rollins, Cel Revulta, and Anthony Martinez comprise the final line up of the band. 


Featuring behind the scenes proceedings and live performances from Black Flag, Painted Willie, and Gone (Ginn's side project, then featuring Sim Cain and Andrew Weiss (later of the Rollins Band). 


Filmmaker / musician David Markey was along for the entire trip as the drummer / singer for Painted Willie (with Phil Newman & Vic Makauskas), documenting the six month tour as it happened.  


A crucial turning point in American underground rock, and the end of the line for a trail blazing American band.


THIS IS A GREAT DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE 80S DIY PUNK MUSIC SCENE AND TOURING THE USA.....HIGHLY RECOMMENDED......




click here to watch the film in its entirety... 
(on vimeo)....




watch the trailer on youtube below.....

up and comers- the hussy

two piece raucous garage rock from madison wisconsin.  now i know what yr thinking.  is this just another one of those bands copping this lo-fi garage rock style?  that if you took away the feedback and reverb that you'd have nothing left?

NO...the HUSSY are good catchy rock n roll.  throw some nuggets-era garage rock in the mix with 70s punk and you start to get the idea of what they're all about.

the hussy have a stripped down two piece vibe that keeps any unnecessary excess away from yr ears, yep no unwanted keyboards or untalented band members here.  the focus is melodic songs that keep you humming long after the song is done..... these guys would've been very at home on sympathy for the record industry if the label was still going.....

click here to listen to their new lp via bandcamp.

and click here to grab "Sexi Ladi" from their cement tomb mind control LP (out on slow fizz records)

\and check out the tour dates below.   (chicago, make sure to buy these guys a beer when you see 'em)


May 14th - Chicago, IL @ WHPK's Summer Breeze Festival 

  w/ Sic Alps, Heavy Times, Bunny Brains

May 26th - Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle w/ The Growlers, The Stranger

May 27th - Bloomington, IN @ The Root Cellar w/ Moscow Moscow Moscow

May 28th - Nashville, TN @ Mt. Swag w/ Pujol, Deluxin', The Ranch

May 29th - Lafayette, IN @ The Black Sparrow w/ Eric and the Happy Thoughts (LP Release), Vacation Club

June 2nd - Milwaukee, WI @ The Cactus Club w/ Peach Kelli Pop, The Honey Slides (EP Release)

June 7th - Chicago, IL @ Crown Tap  w/ Radar Eyes, Strychnine

June 8th - Cincinnati, OH @ The Comet

June 9th - Athens, OH @ The Smiling Skull w/ Wheels on Fire, B-Side

June 10th - Washington DC @ 1110 Park RD House w/ Maybe Baby

June 11th - New York City, NY @ Fontana'sw/ The Rats, Prospector

June 12th - Jersey City, NJ @ WFMU - Live Set

June 13th - New York City, NY @ Don Pedro's

June 14th - Buffalo, NY @ The Funeral Homew/ Plates

June 15th - Columbus, OH @ Carabar/ Day Creeper

June 16th - Cleveland, OH @ Now That's Class w/ The Wooly Bullies

June 17th - Kalamazoo, MI @ TBA

June 18th - Indianapolis, IN @ The Vollrath w/ Eric and the Happy Thoughts (LP Release),

the oh sees- castlemania !

click here for the double LP "CASTLEMANIA"

though you gotta promise to buy it.  i know collecting oh sees records is an expensive proposition, but come on now.  the band does need to eat......

WFMU's TEENAGE WASTELAND

so if you're looking for the most excellent garage and rock n roll radio program to stream via the interweb (or you happen to live in the nyc), you need to check out WFMU 91.1's program TEENAGE WASTELAND, hosted by Bill Kelly.

garage rock from today and yesterday, rock n roll, r&b, rockabilly, psych and everything that rocks in between.....

listen in sunday afternoons 2-4 pm.....  (click here for the WFMU web stream.)

or check out the web archive here (for over ten years of shows....)   much better than 99 percent of what you'll ever hear on yr local radio.....

up and comers- cosmonauts

Cosmonauts - S/T lp - Permanent Records' 24th label release! -  Cosmonauts are Orange County's premier garage psych group and they're barely old enough to drink legally. These kids have only been making music together for a short while, but they've already shared stages with and are garnering comparisons to well-known garage and psych acts like Black Angels, Ty Segall, and Thee Oh Sees. Although Cosmonauts share some similar influences with these groups, their sound is much grittier, more repetitive, and more Spacemen 3 influenced. Cassette tape tastemakers, Burger Records, released the Cosmonauts debut on tape back in 2010 and now it's available on wax for the first time courtesy of Permanent Records. Fans of the aforementioned bands will absolutely be calling themselves Cosmonauts fans before the year is out.


the burger records tape is sold out and i have a feeling the permanent records lp will be gone soon too.....don't miss out........

check out this live set @ burger records below......





and here are a couple more videos, just in case yr not convinced......






and ps......if you live near LA, check them out at the permanent records LA store opening on june 4th....(yep you west coast kids get to have yr own permanent records store... it's just too cool to be in just one spot.......)

but i'm crossing my fingers that these kids will tour across the us, so everyone else gets to see them soon......

may guide to the chicago scene

here are a few upcoming shows everyone in chicago should know about.......

sunday may 8th @ empty bottle  DEATH SET w/ win win
thursday may 12th @ empty bottle COLA FREAKS
satuday may 14th @ U of C Quad  SIC ALPS, HEAVY TIMES, BUNNY BRAINS and more
thursday may 19th @ bottom lounge GUITAR WOLF w/ CHEAP TIME
friday may 20th @ empty bottle CRYSTAL STILTS
monday may 23rd @ millennium park  BONNIE PRINCE BILLY
monday may 23rd @ empty bottle  RABBLE RABBLE w/ we are hex
fri, sat may 27-28th 
@ velvet perineum  
HOZAC BLACKOUT FEST 
sunday may 29th @ empty bottle MARKED MEN
sunday may 29th @ hideout LOOSE DUDES and BAD DRUGS
tuesday may 31st @ double door MELVINS


(ps......keep an eye on my twitter for last minute show announcements/details.....)

the scientists- blood river red

the scientists are one of those cult favorites that most people just don't know anything about.  less known than their contemporaries the birthday party (mostly because nick cave went onto to success on his own), the scientists are a must listen.  formed in australia in the late 70s and continuing on into most of the 80s, the scientists mix of garage, post punk, noised drenched blues and gothic proto-punk that predated grunge and much of the darker indie rock to come.  

if yr a fan of the chrome cranks, the birthday party, gun club, mudhoney, radio birdman, the stooges or tv ghost....the scientists ought to be in yr collection now......

click here to grab the sympathy for the record industry issued collection "blood river red: 82-84"  and go to yr local record store to buy the recently issued lp "this is my happy hour: birth of the scientists"....