that's the house that they live in

dear friends,

some kind of mystery bug decided j & I were extra yummy & kept us up all night by attacking us. not a mosquito, didn't hear buzzing. not bedbugs, the bites are rather large. possibly spiders? which should be an ep title or at least a b-side.

tonight is beg yr pardon #2 at the delancey. tina's brownies are baked, the $5 bbq will be sizzling (until 9 that is, so watch the time!) & the free beer will flow from 11:30 to 12:30. travis harrison aka dj business will be spinning, said my my. will he drop nobody beats the biz at some point? I hope so!

the line-up (for band mp3's, please visit the beg yr pardon website)

1. first up is telenovela star, a power trio in the vein of mid to late 90s lady rock a la throwing muses. you remember those days, if you were a girl you were so psyched because it was something that YOU might be able to do, & if you were a guy, you found yourself thinking: "girls playing guitars. look good. sound nice. drool." or something like it.

but lest you think that telenovela star are some kind of nostalgic throwback thanks to this lazy reference point, keep in mind that singer/guitarist maggie t-star's vocals, coolly levelheaded whispered threats/self-reproachments, are paired with a biting guitar style that sounds nothing like her singing. & since usually with singer/guitarists it's the aural equivalent of dogs & their owners in that they resemble one another, I'm curious to see how this fantastic duality works live. go check out a plum on their my space page.

2. planes for spaces is essentially one man, joe, & his windy, tumbleweed strewn compositions which are like riding a car through the desert with a brilliant but terribly damaged friend. you never know where the story is going to go or whether or not you'll get to your destination, so you quiet down & let the gun club gone slowcore vibe take over. ragged, sad, spiraling beauty floating over a barren landscape.

3. first things first, takka takka are sadly not named after foosball (in chile, we say "taca taca") but they still manage to sound as fun & warm as an afternoon game with your friends. in many ways their simple & evocative we feel safer at night is also a car ride song. 'cept this time, the singer is the narrator & the narrator is you writing out the voiceover to your life as you pass the sleeping houses & dark green yards. the hum of the organ is the road you travel on & the conversation in your head says you'll be carried through the day & the night, & you'll be feeling alright. pop songs as lovely company can do no wrong in my book.

4. higgins songs make me smile all silly. I love, love, love beatle-esque sounds but too often the bands peddling those wares are selling the cheap stuff, all surface similarity, no songs underneath. this is not the case with this group. I've never seen them live so expect to find one maniacally grinning idiot in the corner.

so what do you say? see you tonight!

love, d

bands to go see live tonight: telenovela star, planes for spaces, takka takka, higgins