double dagger - 333 (RSD, thrill jockey) lp + dvd

as if their last tour wasn't enough of a farewell (which it wasn't), THRILL JOCKEY RECORDS released DOUBLE DAGGER's final EP 333 for RECORD STORE DAY this year..... packaged with a dvd of the documentary IF WE SHOUT LOUD ENOUGH (on the band, their final shows and impact on their DIY punk scene), 333 is a more than necessary exclamation point to one of my favorite DIY hardcore / punk bands of all time.   sure i'm biased--being friends with the band, going on tour with them, and helping promote their shows, seeing them play multiple times--but ask anyone who's seen DOUBLE DAGGER live and they will all say the same thing, these guys are one of the fucking best bands ever / if not life changing.......in a world where we're inundated with music and it's hard to get excited about new bands, DOUBLE DAGGER went about things the old school unpretentious DIYway: playing loft shows, releasing their own records, touring cities they felt a kinship with, helping other bands out, and being part of a baltimore scene that's since taken the world by storm...... no trying to be the next hype band or making a career out of it, or aiming for the mainstream...... all DOUBLE DAGGER wanted to is have a fucking fun time and play some RIOTOUS LOUD PUNK ROCK....and we're all the better for it..........

to say these guys will be missed is an understatement.  their last two chicago shows were off the fucking chain and probably the most fun i've ever had at any shows.....   it's too bad there's no more DOUBLE DAGGER to look forward to, but at least we have this film documenting the band and one last killer ep.......

and sometimes it's best to stop while you're ahead.  no need to tarnish all the awesome memories.

everything DOUBLE DAGGER has released is HEAVILY RECOMMENDED
and 333 IS NO EXCEPTION.

SO CRANK THIS SHIT UP LOUD,
FEEL YOUNG
AND REMEMBER THE GOOD TIMES.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY
THANKS DOUBLE DAGGER FOR EVERYTHING.

LISTEN TO TWO SONGS OFF 
DOUBLE DAGGER'S LAST EP, 333, BELOW - 

HERETIC'S HYMN

FOREIGN BODIES


WATCH THE TRAILER FOR THE DOUBLE DAGGER DOCUMENTARY IF WE SHOUT LOUD ENOUGH BELOW -
If We Shout Loud Enough - Trailer (Double Dagger documentary) from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.

and watch some crazy footage from DOUBLE DAGGER's last ever chicago show on their goodbye tour courtesy of GONZO CHICAGO.....  (and see if you spot me in the crowd) -
Double Dagger's final Chicago show from GONZO CHICAGO on Vimeo.

roomrunner - super vague ep

I wish Double Dagger hadn't called it quits, but then again if they were still a band, the drummer, Danny Bowen, wouldn't have started Roomrunner.  No it's not quite the noise spattering post hardcore we all came to know and love in his former band, but Roomrunner's new EPSuper Vague on Fan Death is just the kind of crunchy guitar rock we need to combat the auto-tuned disco pop world we now live in.

All four songs on this EP burst at the seams with chainsaw guitar buzz and manic rhythm from a bruised and beaten drum kit.  You can hear lots of the shambling 90s indie rock in Roomrunner's all out six string attack, and I'd like to think that their home base in Baltimore's proximity to the fabled DC hardcore scene (yes I'm talking about DIschord) is there as a glaring influence as well.  This is post punk, pre grunge guitar rock mayhem like I grew up on.  I can imagine the band handing me a mixtape of their influences rather then answering some rote interview question, and that cassette would inevitably be filled with Dinosaur Jr, Yo La Tengo, Mudhoney, Green River, Shellac, Jesus Lizard and Fugazi songs.

But Super Vague is not simply reviving guitar rock (or "indie rock" as it used to be defined) since they try to take it a step further, e.g. loving the Coachwhips / Lightning Bolt noise mongering as much as those early Sub Pop 45s.   Plus not enough bands are unpretentious with their aim to rock out--which is terrible because there are way too many indie bands that don't have unpolished edges anymore--and even fewer indie bands that don't have a synth, violin player or some other extra somewhat unnecessary musicians.

The EP and especially the title track is a fuzzy loud anthem of youthful angst, bursting at the seams with heavy riffs.   I may have heard "Undo" before in some form or another, but I forgot who they're ripping off so it feels fresh and new to me anyway.  "No Wait" and "Petrified" thrash you through the second side with more crunchy melodies, bruising churn and trebly waves of feedback.  The EP gets rougher and sort of unwinds itself at the end, as if it was a miracle that these songs even came to be.

This explosive quality is what sucks me in the most about Roomrunner.  They swallowed too many influences and might just choke, but in the process they spit out some great raw sounding distorto rock.  Roomrunner makes me believe that some kids might still love rock n roll more than MTV pop drivel and that yes good ol' fashioned indie rock as I knew it might still have a chance.

Listen to the whole Super Vague EP below. 

(And buy it digitally or as a 12 inch / tape / poster combo from Fan Death.)

and watch ROOMRUNNER live below........

drunk pixels - double dagger

double dagger is no more..... sad but true....  but their short farewell tour was more fun than i've had in quite some time, maybe since black lips/night beats lolla after party...


i hope you were lucky enough to witness one of these last DOUBLE DAGGER shows, but if not watch their last night in chicago @ treasure town, our city's best and most dirty rock n roll warehouse space.......

and if you watch carefully you might see me moshing around in the crowd, screaming the lyrics.....  double dagger might be the last "hardcore" band i like.......

upcoming HOZAC SHOWS in CHICAGO!

CHICAGO I WILL SEE YOU THERE........ 

CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE JACUZZI BOYS AGAIN......AND I'VE NEVER SEEN SEX CHURCH, SO I'M STOKED ABOUT THAT SHOW FOR SURE.......

CHECK BACK WITH TINY GROOVES AND I'LL HAVE MORE INFO ON THE DOUBLE DAGGER SECRET SHOW AND SOME OTHER SURPRISE HOUSE SHOWS I HEAR WHISPERS ABOUT....... 

AND PERMANENT RECORDS HAS A COUPLE OF KILLER IN-STORES COMING IN THE NEXT MONTH THAT I'VE GOTTA LET YOU IN ON.......

BUT IT IS ROCKTOBER AFTER ALL......SO I EXPECT IT TO BE CRAZY FUN.......

double dagger - first lp and final tour

it's sad when one of yr favorite bands calls it quits.   but you gotta thank 'em for all the fun drunken times......

DOUBLE DAGGER is going on one final tour after nearly ten years, three albums and one ep.......


their noisy post hardcore art rock was some of the best underground rock you could get yr hands on... so much so that thrill jockey signed them for their last two releases......

if you haven't seen the chaos of DOUBLE DAGGER live, you're missing out.....

they're tied with japanther and lightning bolt in the wild loft party show category....  
          and no one writes hardcore songs about design, typography, dance parties and hipsters like this......  
     i really can't say enough about these guys.... sure they're friends, but anyone who's ever listened to DOUBLE DAGGER immediately calls themselves a fan........

click here to grab their self titled self released debut lp...... its an album you'll want, and you can't find it anywhere........

make sure to check them out on their farewell tour....


10.14.11 - Chicago, IL - Ultra Lounge
10.15.11 - Chicago, IL - SECRET HOUSE SHOW I WILL LET YOU KNOW ABOUT!!!
10.16.11 - Cleveland, OH - Now That's Class
10.19.11 - Washington DC - Black Cat
10.20.11 - Brooklyn, NY - Death By Audio 
10.21.11 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar

friday night fun