Friday Night Shenanigans

[mp3] The Octagon: "Suicide Kings"

Besides Dawn Landes at Mercury, and Stark performing with Tim Emmerick at Pianos (9:00) - we feel obliged by our dedication to good taste to tell you about two more amazing shows happening on Friday.

The first being the triumphant return of The Octagon to Brooklyn after dominating the country behind their new (and killer) record Warm Love and Cool Dreams Forever. This analog garage trio is hitting Bruar Falls to celebrate release of the aforementioned album on Serious Business Records. Order the vinyl HERE. Anyone who's ever heard a note of Pavement or Dinosaur Jr. would do well to be in the audience Friday, as The Octagon feature prominently in the future linage of these seminal, rock-guitar driven, indie legends.

[mp3] Ava Luna: "Clips"

The second band on tap are the quickly rising Ava Luna, who will be part of an amazing bill Friday which includes Marni Stern and The Suckers. Location: Under 100 (172 Duane St). It's not often that we refernce Spoon when talking about bands, let alone new bands. Yet there is something about the songs on Ava Luna's new EP Services (1/22 release) that recall the clatter and skeletal soulfulness of early Spoon records. With veiled dance rhythms and a male/female vocal attack, Ava Luna toss about wisps of pop melody, yet keep the songs expertly grounded in the echoing booms of a resonant and adept rhythm section.

Spoon Covers Springsteen, Kinks, Stones, and more!

[MP3] Spoon - "Rocks Off (Rolling Stones)"

Got Nuffin'? Nah, we got somethin' aside from that new EP. Spoon covers! Hot off of some RT's and You Ain't No Picasso... seems there is a nice aggregation of eclectic Spoon covers -- everything from Springsteen's "I'm Going Down" to the Kinks' "Set Me Free" to Wire's "Lowdown." There is some great stuff here. Dig it.

New Spoon: "Got Nuffin" EP

It's been quite the big 12 hours in the blog realm, what with keeping up with the MJ news n all, and this little bit of information slipped past our radar: Spoon is releasing an EP next Tuesday (6/30) called Got Nuffin. It's currently available to listen to at Amazon. We're spinning it right now, and well, it sounds like Spoon. It's little bit more rough and lo-fi than we got on Ga Ga... but that's A-ok with us.

Lissy Trullie @ Santos Party House

Photo Credit: Faith-Ann Young
Lissy Trullie "Self Taught Learner" - mp3

The buzz has been slowly building around Lissy Tullie for a few months now, and her set Monday night at Santos Party House proved that, not only was she good enough to justify it, but that said "buzz" was reaching new levels.

Lissy came on around midnight...
More photos and words after the jump.

Openers, The Rumble Strips, hit around 11 p.m. Mark Ronson (who tickled the vinyl later) has already agreed to produce their next record, and it seems that that album will also come out on Ronson's label. While sporting a fantastic lead singer, the 'Strips didn't deliver as I had hoped. The bald keyboardist was a little freaky, and their horns... well, let's just say they were more LeRoi Moore (RIP) than Dap Kings.

Lissy came on around midnight to a packed house that contained Little Joy/Strokes drummer Fab Moretti and Britt Daniel from Spoon along with numerous Amazon looking women towering over a certain blogger (also in attendance.) Trullie played in a not wholly original style, channeling visions of downtown NY's rock past. Yet, there was something strikingly legitimate about it all. From her capable guitar playing, to her slightly-androgynous look and voice and well crafted songs...I kept saying to myself, "wow, she's really pulling it off!" And she did. She was just, well, cool. Her band was good and she put on a tight show.

Then Adam Green came out. Crowd surfed. And I didn't care.

Tullie is label-less, and record-less. Yet, according to a publicist, she has an EP due sometime in 2009. Based on Monday's performance at Santos, it's clear there is something good going on with Lissy Trullie -- it's only a matter of time before she assembles the right team and makes her entrance into the mainstream. Keep your eye out in 2009.

Go ahead music writers -- make your own Trullie/Truly puns. Whose gonna be the first?? Not us.

Julia Nunes Is F*!@ng Adorable

I've got a new obsession, and thy name be Julia Nunes. What started out as an innocent crush has blossomed into an absolute fixation; this girl has got me smitten. After a friend forwarded me a link to her cover of Weezer's "Keep Fishin", I proceeded to watch every single video on her mega-popular YouTube channel, and I've been floored ever since. Her off-kilter voice takes the best parts of a soulful Zooey Deschanel and a childish Kimya Dawson. She makes great use of the ukelele, transforming big popular indie hits into intimate desert island/dorm-room performances. She overdubs herself with perfect harmonies and a kitschy melodica, sometimes with the help of her college roomates and whoever else feels like joining in. She's refreshingly candid and insanely charming, from her infectious smile to her quirky confessions to the camera. You simply can't knock on this girl. She's even parlayed her Internet success into a full-fledged (albeit part-time) solo career, performing her great originals with the likes of none other than Ben Folds. I've included a slew of her covers below. I strongly urge you to check the rest out -- don't blame me if you spend the whole day doing so -- because this girl is a star in the making. In the words of Maeby Funke, "marry me!"

 

Weezer "Keep Fishing"

Spoon "The Underdog"

 

Bright Eyes "The First Day Of My Life"

Way more videos of Ben Folds, The Beach Boys, and yes, Kanye covers can be found via YouTube.