Childhood friends Jesse Lortz and Kimberly Morrison had already played together in a few garage-punk groups over the years when they decided to write material together. In a nod to the Flying Dutchmen, a “deconstructionist R&B band” they’d been in, they named their new musical outfit the Dutchess & the Duke. Their sound comes off as rough-and-tumble folk and punk, and they put out their first album, She’s the Dutchess, He’s the Duke, in 2008. Their second LP, the less stark Sunset/Sunrise, was released last year. And the Dutchess & the Duke (above, doing “Out of Time”) play Mercury Lounge on Saturday night.
Originally a five-piece from Cincinnati, the now three-piece Greenhornes make quality music combining garage rock, blues, the British Invasion and ’60s R&B. The band has toured nonstop (except when the guys in the group are busy with some of their many other projects, like Jack White’s the Raconteurs and the Dead Weather), which brings the Greenhornes (above, playing “Can’t Stand It”) to Mercury Lounge Friday night. And while that is good news, want to hear something even better? Thanks to Sailor Jerry, you can go for free. Just RSVP here.
Marina Diamandis dropped out of four different music programs at four different schools before deciding to make music her own way. While her piano-driven songs lean toward pop, they’re often more soulful and melancholy than you’d expect. The Welsh singer-songwriter earned fame in the UK when, under the name Marina and the Diamonds, she took second place in the BBC’s Sound of 2010 on the strength of her EPs. Since then, Diamandis, who performs live with a full band, released her debut album, The Family Jewels. And now Marina and the Diamonds (above, doing “Mowgli’s Road” for BBC1) are on the road, and they play Webster Hall tomorrow night.
Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir was born in London and raised in Iceland. Early piano lessons led to studying guitar and bass and then to joining bands. Eventually she began singing and decided to go out on her own under a name much easier to pronounce: Lay Low. Her mix of blues, country and folk—initially posted on MySpace—won the notice of a record label. Shortly afterward, her debut album, Please Don’t Hate Me, was released and quickly went gold. Since then, the singer’s kept busy acting in and scoring a play, working on a movie soundtrack and being a part of Benny Crespo’s Gang, but she still made time to release another disc, Farewell Good Night’s Sleep. The LP came out in the U.S. last year, and Lay Low (above, playing “By and By”) brings those new tunes to Mercury Lounge tomorrow night.
We’ve got a three-day weekend coming, and if you’re not skipping town, you’ll be looking for something good to do. Now you’ve got it because grunge pioneers Mudhoney play The Bowery Ballroom on Saturday. Want to Grow a Pair of tickets? Then fill out the form below, including your name, e-mail address, which show you’re trying to win tickets to (Mudhoney, 9/4) and a brief message explaining why Singles is better than Say Anything…. Eddie Bruiser, who’s actually partial to Almost Famous, will notify the winner by Thursday. Good luck.
Rock the Bells - South Island Field at Governors Island - August 28, 2010
With less than a month remaining in the summer, many of hip-hop’s living legends and cunning contemporaries assembled on South Island Field at Governor’s Island for the seventh annual Rock the Bells. Thousands dressed in Wu-Tang Clan T-shirts and tank tops took the short ferry ride to the festival grounds where thousands more crowded around two stages to share in the American pastime of hot dogs, lemonade and blunts. With so many great acts to see and ridiculous people watching, the following is a list of the best moments at this year’s festival:
Best Underdog:Brother Ali, the self-proclaimed, “Fat-ass Muslim, albino rapper,” used his competing set time with KRS-One to captivate his loyal audience. Although the sun’s unforgiving rays seemed to deep-fry the MC, Brother Ali fought back with fierce rhymes, preaching tolerance and thoughtfulness. You came for the Minnesota rapper but you stayed for DJ Snuggles, the multitalented 22-year-old who spun, beat-boxed and even rapped on Brother Ali’s beats.
Best Looking Tent Food: Sweet corn cakes with mozzarella. I didn’t get them but I’ll be damned if I didn’t ogle the precarious sounding treats every time I walked past the tent.
Best Extended Breakdown: More than a decade after The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Ms. Lauryn Hill played Rock the Bell’s main stage with a full band, backing singers and an outfit somewhere in between Little Miss Muffet and a church lady. It was a treat to see her perform such songs as the Fugees’ “Ready or Not” and “How Many Mics,” however the best moments came when versions of “To Zion” and “Fu-Gee-La” spun into a pageant for friends and family members. Highlights included Hill calling all her children to the stage as well as Chris Rock, Jay-Z and a very pregnant Alicia Keys.
Best in Show:A Tribe Called Quest and Wu-Tang Clan (tied). Call me biased, but how can you top New York City’s two legendary hip-hop groups playing their classic albums? You can’t, and that is why the Queens and Staten Island natives drew the largest and most devoted crowds at the festival. Q-Tip and Method Man played frontman to their respective group’s sets, both coming out into the crowd for their go-for-broke performances. Personally, I give the slight edge to A Tribe Called Quest solely for Busta Rhymes’ ground-shaking cameo during “Scenario.” However, the late ODB’s son Boy Jones’ flawless impersonation of his father during Wu-Tang Clan’s set is a very close second. —Jared Levy
You’re probably familiar with the expression “Go West, young man.” Well, simple logic dictates that the opposite would be “Go East, young woman,” which is exactly what Amanda Warner did, in the hopes of becoming a songwriter for hire, when she ditched Oakland for NYC. But then she met Peter Wade and decided she wanted to write for herself and front her own band. And thus began MNDR (above, playing “Fade to Black” for Fearless Music). Warner and Wade uploaded four songs to MySpace last year, which later became an EP, and are currently working on a full-length album to be released next year. In the meantime, MNDR has opened for Deerhoof and Massive Attack, and you can see what the fuss is about on Monday at Mercury Lounge.
Virginian Jack Tatum used to be in Jack and the Whale and Facepaint. But last year he decided to go it alone, one-man-band style, recording under the name Wild Nothing and putting out several demos and EPs. People liked what they heard of the dreamy synth pop, so Tatum decided to take the music on the road, rounding out the sound with drummer Max Brooks, guitarist Nathan Goodman and bassist Jeff Haley. The band’s first LP, Gemini, came out earlier this year, garnering some Pitchfork love, and now Wild Nothing (above, doing “Live in Dreams” for Fader TV) is on the road, playing The Bowery Ballroom on Saturday night.
The rousing, rootsy These United States have toured steadily since forming in 2006. Of course it’s easy to do so when you’ve just about always got new music. And one thing’s for sure, these guys are prolific: In 2008, the band released two albums just six months apart, A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate to the Garden of Eden and the more rousing Crimes, to much acclaim even though the discs cover somewhat different musical territory. Last year they put out Everything Touches Everything, and in July they released What Lasts. Led by Jesse Elliott, These United States (above, playing “I Want You to Keep Everything” for hearya.com) sometimes sound psychedelic and at other times endearingly rambling and twangy, but, regardless, they’re always fun. Find out for yourself on Saturday at Mercury Lounge.
The L.A.-based trio Autolux—Carla Azar (drums and vocals), Greg Edwards (guitar and vocals) and Eugene Goreshter (bass and lead vocals)—formed in 2000 when Goreshter and Azar met while writing the score for a play. After performing live several times, they released their self-produced debut EP, Demonstration, in March 2001. When T-Bone Burnett caught one of their shows, he decided to sign them to his (and the Coen Brothers’) label, DMZ. Their first full-length, the shoegazing Future Perfect, came out in 2004. The band toured behind the album but didn’t release a new album—although they did put out a few singles—for quite some time, or more specifically, six years: Their second LP, Transit Transit, somewhat reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine, came out earlier this month. So Autolux (above, doing “Supertoys” for From the Basement) is touring again. And you’ve got two chances to check out their new stuff when they play The Bowery Ballroom tomorrow and Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday.
Singer Jack Shears (Jason Sellards) and keyboardist-bassist Babydaddy (Scott Hoffman) met in the late ’90s and formed Scissor Sisters, combining glam rock, pop, dance, burlesque, multiple singers, performance art and outrageous live shows, in 2001. As is the case with many bands, they struggled for a while before finding success. But in this case it was overseas: On the strength of their disco take on Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” and “Take Your Mama” (with its shades of Elton John), their self-titled debut disc was the best-selling album in the UK in 2004. And if that weren’t enough, Bono labeled them “the best pop band in the world at the moment.” Since then, the group has toured considerably and released two more albums, the most recent of which, Night Work, came out in June. And now Scissor Sisters (above, doing “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’” on Later…with Jools Holland) are back, playing Terminal 5 tonight and tomorrow.
Rock the Bells comes to South Island Field at Governors Island on Saturday. And if you want to see the likes of Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan and Lauryn Hill, you’re in luck because The House List is giving away two tickets. Want to Grow a Pair? It’s easier than you think. Just fill out the form below, including your name, e-mail address, which show you’re trying to win tickets to (Rock the Bells, 8/28) and a brief message explaining what Wu-Tang means to you. Eddie Bruiser, who claims to be friends with RZA, will notify the winner by Friday. Good luck.
