We've been hearing a lot about Brooklyn's Country Mice over the past few days and decided it time to get on board. Often described as a mix between Wilco and Drive By Truckers with tinges of Neil Young, this country rock trio can bring it. We are pumped to see them rock the Cake Shop in NYC on Friday with Little Gold and Grand Rapids (doors at 8PM.) Hear their in-your-face, vamped guitar anthem "Festval" above. Their debut album, Twister is out now.
Photos by Karp Where haven't you seen or heard about The Soft Pack (formerly known as The Muslims) these days? Be it their infamous "ten shows in one day" concert, their performance on Letterman (video after the jump), their newest self-titled release on Kemado, or perhaps their free live show at the Cake Shop last Friday; if you have ears, you've heard the name. We at Stark have big ears (sometimes mouths) and have been thoroughly saturated with Softness.
Last Friday, we at Stark made the decision to drink to get drunk; our evening plans were laid before us effortlessly and almost a week in advance. We were going to see the Soft Pack, we were going to get drunk and we were going to have fun. Our pre-conceived notions of Soft Packiness were influenced mainly by a CMJ set and their self-titled vinyl released under The Muslims moniker. The album came equipped with 9MM bullet holes in the front, and the sound ripped through our speakers, smacking us in the face with snark upon first listen. We were hooked.
More photos, show review and Soft Pack's Letterman performance after the jump.
On Friday evening, after fighting through a seemingly impenetrable throng of people more reminiscent of a dreaded morning subway commute than a concert, we reached our haven -- the dimly lit, and for a brief moment, cool, basement of the Cake Shop. Soon enough, our preconceived notions were met by the raw emotion and snotty sound that was and is now The Soft Pack.
We should have known what we were getting ourselves into when we signed on to attend a midnight, FREE show. In the sea of green Rolling Rock cans, we made our way to the front of the Cake Shop crowd in hopes of maybe getting elbowed in the face, our asses grabbed, or at least a shirt tug. None of the latter occurred however (to our dismay) during their set.
Occupied evenly by both new and old material, it was clear that the 'Pack were comfortable in such a stripped down setting. They had the energy of a high school punk band playing in the garage of their parent's house. Ripping through a set that recalled early Strokes, and donning wardrobe expected more from Vampire Weekend (blue Oxford button-downs) The Soft Pack shredded classics such as "Red Rum" which was lightning fast, and newer tunes like "Pull Out" and the single "Answer to Yourself". As fellow Stark editor, Matt, stated, "Ezra Koenig eat your heart out" and "this sounds like when the Kings of Leon were a good band." Well, hearts were eaten, and we were pleased by watching a band live up to expectation.
Anyone who knows the writers of this little site knows that we've been going through a helluva life adjustment in our chosen career fields. All moves here have been upwards and great, but highly time consuming. For that reason, this show has been a highlight on our calendar all week. We're starting the evening off with the amazing Diana Jones at Joe's Pub before heading to Cake Shop for the fantastic bill of Tom Brosseau, Tim Williams,Essie Jainand Angela Correa. We've been spouting off about how much we love Tom Brosseau for awhile now, and how great his record Posthumous Success is. While tonight will be only Tom with a guitar -- this is often where he thrives. We saw him about 2 1/2 years ago with about 15 other people at the Living Room. His falsetto, prairie melodies, finger-picked guitar and charming stage demeanor kept everyone captivated.
Before Tom will be Tim Williams, who we admit we're not super familiar with - -that's what these shows are for right? We have it from good sources that folks should definitely make it to Cake Shop for Tim's 9:15 set. He's going to be previewing material from his upcoming album 'Careful Love,' out October 20 on Dovecote Records.
As if you needed another excuse to come - Essie Jain will ALSO be there! Should be a good time. If you see us there, buy your favorite blog writers a beer. We need it.
Cory Branan - "Tall Green Grass" - mp3 Cory Branan - "Crush" - mp3 While we've been listening to Cory Branan for years, our first time seeing him live was this summer in Nashville, and as we wrote previously, it was well worth the trip. Although his tours are often sporadic and mostly in the South, word just came through that he will be coming to NY on October 12th to play for us yankees at the Cake Shop as part of a large national tour.
While unassuming at times, his songs are filled with powerful lyrics that are often highly moving and amazingly funny. Branan can be unjustly lumped into the country singer/songwriter/folk genre by some, but the quality of his writing and his captivating stage persona have drawn him attention and praise from many critics. In 2000, the Memphis chapter of NARAS awarded Branan with the Phillips Award for Newcomer of the Year. Branan currently has two records available The Hell You Say and 12 Songs. Madjack released 12 Songs in 2006. Hopefully he will debut some new material for us at this show... it's time. Tour dates after the jump...
Sep 18 2008 Pour House Music Hall Raleigh, North Carolina Sep 19 2008 Evening Muse (All Ages) Charlotte, North Carolina Sep 20 2008 Pour House w/ Blue Mountain Charleston, South Carolina Sep 22 2008 New World Brewery Tampa, Florida Sep 24 2008 Big Daddy’s (18+) Tallahassee, Florida Sep 25 2008 Egan’s Tuscaloosa, Alabama Sep 27 2008 Barley’s Tap Room (18+) Knoxville, Tennessee Sep 28 2008 House Show / Picnic Asheville, North Carolina Oct 1 2008 The Camel w/ Josh Small Richmond, Virginia Oct 2 2008 Rapture (Free / 18+) Charlottesville, Virginia Oct 3 2008 Iota (CB to Open @ 9pm) Arlington / D.C., Virginia Oct 4 2008 Della Rose’s Canton (Free) Baltimore, Maryland Oct 5 2008 Laurrapin (5pm / Free / 18+) Havre de Grace, Maryland Oct 8 2008 Flat Street Brew Pub (18+) Brattleboro, Vermont Oct 9 2008 Jake’s w/ Quiet Life (18+) Providence, Rhode Island Oct 10 2008 Oasis Pub w/ Quiet Life New London, Connecticut Oct 11 2008 TT The Bears (18+)(CB @ 9) Cambridge, Massachusetts Oct 12 2008 The Cake Shop w/ Quiet Life New York City, New York Oct 16 2008 Brothers Lounge w Magpies (18+) Cleveland, Ohio Oct 17 2008 Uncommon Ground Devon Chicago, Illinois Oct 18 2008 Rudyard Kipling w/ Dangerbird Louisville, Kentucky Oct 19 2008 Molly Malone’s (18+) Covington (Cincinnati), Kentucky Oct 20 2008 Brooklyn Pizzeria (All Ages) Lexington, Kentucky Oct 22 2008 Jackpot Saloon (18+) Lawrence, Kansas Oct 24 2008 The OPO (18+) Fayetteville, Arkansas Oct 25 2008 Whitewater Tavern Little Rock, Arkansas
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