Shows: The Sapiens, Freer, Oscillating Fan Club and Beggars, 7/12 at Magic Stick: Woman, with The Frustrations and the Pizazz, 7/14 at Corktown Tavern

Two tournig bands are coming through town this weekend, paired with exceptional local line ups.

The Sapiens from Chicago and Woman from Knoxville Tennessee:

Sapiens

The Sapiens are a flavorful, theatric, palpably-punk-leaning quintet also intent on driving pop odysseys, the kind of music that’s almost as much fun to play as it is to listen to…swaying rhythms and booming arena-rock vocals over broken spoke guitar hooks and shakeable rhythms. They’re coming into town from Chicago to play the Magic Bag Theatre in Ferndale with some locals: the 60’s Brit-pop/indie/surf-punk of The Oscillating Fan Club, the lovably crazy and charismatically bacchanalian Beggars and the soul-heavy groove pop of Freer.

The Sapiens are back in the studio recording a follow up to their Vs. The Hornet EP
Freer is also in the studio working things out on their second LP, hoping for a late 08 release
The Oscillating Fan Club is all wrapped up on their debut, and hope for a August or September release.

(Sapiens article from Real Detroit)

~~~

Woman

Moving onto a current favorite, Woman: here's a review of their EP, "Mazes"

A -

Woman is a Knoxville-based quartet thriving on hollow hellraisers and rhythm-heavy primordial creepy freak outs that waver defiantly between conventional backbeats to intense polyrhythms, standard guitar hooks that mutate down into ear bending prickly pickings then rev up to pedal fuzzed tumblers. Their style blends metal’s screaming guitars with experimental/indie’s aptitude for embracing haunting yowled vocals and adding in post punks bristly hooks. This 4 song EP aptly opens with the spastic-percussive echo-slurred anthem “Not Quite Metal,” boosted by a steady guitar scrape and declarative bass grooves. Almost confrontational in their devotion to push the experimental rock envelope, this EP’s a fine statement of rhythm-heavy spook chants that always speed up into guitar torrents of fuzz-fucked glory.

You can catch Woman, along with the equally distinct punk styling of Detroit’s Fontana, and the art-punk leaning, organ-led quirk-pop of The Pizazz, at the skinny drafty laid back Corktown Tavern, down Michigan Avenue, on July 14th.

More thoughts on Cityfest...with More pictures

It's the morning of the final day of Cityfest; the 20th anniversary of the festival once known as Tastefest. Today, George Clinton, SSM and Thunderbirds Are Now make the Sunday line up a force to be reckoned with, however, though it may be bold to say since this day has barely begun, I still feel Saturday might have had the most refreshing line up. Or, at the very least, Sterling (from Jacoby's/313 Jac) put together the most impressive line up at the New Center Council Park Stage.

The Park Stage is usually the most ideal stage, of the four, at Cityfest - your options include laying out on the grassy hill, standing up close enough to high-five your favorite performers, or perching up at the top of the hill under a tunnel of trees - kinda like a mini-corporate amphitheatre.

Yesterday's highlights included performances from Calexico, Great Lakes Myth Society and the stately baroque pop of Zoos of Berlin.

Also, the incomparable blues/classic rock styling of The Muggs drew a considerable crowd:

The as-revved-up-as-ever party-pushing quintet, The Beggars, brought as much fire onto the sometimes-impersonable Pure Detroit stage:

Silverghost played their most inspired, confident set yet - and have a debut 7" on the way:

Sterling's subtle coup of placing this still-considerably fresh Ypsi-trio, Lightning Love, (a DC favorite) at a prime slot of Saturday-8pm (on the Park Stage) worked well to get some much needed eyes and ears pointed their way, with such beautiful, minimalist pop ballads with a striking sensibility for song structures and lovely vocal harmonies.

Check here for Cityfest Schedules

CityFest - 4th of July - Eat Up

Cityfest...sometimes conjures a discordance of relaxation with frustrated anxiety, celebration with uneasiness.

As I myself, more than before, am still grappling with soapbox idealism of 'all-this-country-does-is-shop-and-eat,' it gets easier for me to be riled by this huge funnel-cake/lemondade/ice cream crowd traipsing through the streets - but then, the bright side - local businesses are getting attention and the money spent on tickets goes back to the city (hopefully,) and on top of that, we get some great live performances from local bands (including touring bands like spaced-out-acid-funk master George Clinton, the sometimes overlooked-but highly vital British Invasion-born band, The Zombies)

The weather completely devestated the opening evening - no De La Soul. The Silent Years, resourcefully, decided to transplant the party to the Garden Bowl. But, because it was so improvisational, none of the bands or the Garden Bowl itself was really in a quick-set-up-break-down-in-a-cramped-space-sort of mode...so set transitions were a bit casual...leading to the party going late into the wee hours. Cheers to the bands (Hentchmen, Magic Shop, Dead Bodies, Silent Years) for going that extra mile (mile and a half down the block, to Woodward and Mack) to perform some very inspired sets - rain or shine.

Today is the 4th of July.

At Cityfest, today:

DJ Frankie Bank$ plays the Pure Detroit Stage at 4pm.
Afro-beat of SEUN KUTI and Egypt 80 plays The Motor City Casino stage at 5:30 pm

Detroit's Four Hour Friends play the Park Stage at 8:00 pm

and Canada's semi-math-rockin/semi-indie-rockin' collective, Broken Social Scene, plays Motor City Casino Stage at 8:30 pm

Here's some photos (mike milo) from Sterling's Park Stage from last night

Duende

Scarlet Oaks

Readies

The Death Set - Deep Cutz Interview (playing 7/10 at the Magic Stick)

Every Word Means Everything:


(Johnny Sierra from the Death Set)







by Jeff Milo

It’s anthemic and feral, this freaked-up unfounded devastation-punk style brought by the duo (Johnny Seirra and Beau Velasco) known as The Death Set. There’s innocence in their sugary melodies, an air of curfew-breaking mischief – and yet there’s undoubted ferocity, like nitroglycerine chicken dance bar fighting. Yet, this is not the adversarial punk born from hardcore, or the too-cool esoteric punk wrought by the arty-NY-’77 trip; it has a sort of you leave us alone, we’ll leave you alone kind of vibe to it in the sense that it’s very celebratory, not malicious, very inclusive, very raise-your-fists and just forget dance moves—just slosh around with the rest of us in this sweaty basement of a hot-breath harried night.

They originate from the Gold Coast of Australia – where they met in 05, plugged in their guitars and their synthesizers and their drum machines and got really motivated to tour and record – which meant moving to Sydney and soon to Brooklyn and then to Baltimore. Once in Baltimore, they found a flourishing outsider art/underground scene and shacked up in a warehouse/artists enclave to record early releases like To EP and Rad Warehouses Bad Neighborhoods EP.

They’re style thrives on this blown-out electro-rush aesthetic; essentially a mutant hybrid of cute-sounding genres of electro-punk and electro-pop, with a bit of rock and a lot of ravenous, gnawing energy.

Earlier this year, they released a definitive 18 songs in 25 minutes, on the Worldwide LP and a little more than a month ago they played an inspired and quintessentially spastic set as part of Detour’s Rock City line up.

Here’s an exclusive Deep Cutz interview with singer/guitarist/programmer/aspiring engineer, Johnny Sierra.

DC/Milo: What was it like recording 'Worldwide,' was it standard procedure more or less of recording in your own studio with your various electronic contraptions? is there extra meaning to the title-at all connected to transplanting from Australia to here?


JS/DS: Uuuum it was a pretty relaxed process. We did it at our own pace and tweaked till we were happy with the process. Lots of youtubing hip hop videos, skateboarding and eating Basmati Riceand tofu in between. Instruments came and went. ...borrowed Junos to pots and pans all in there...


The title came from an idea we had which was to make a punk flag. We wanted it to be like a bike gang where it says the name of the club up the top, the image then the home town below. Like Black label NYC for example. But then it kind of became apparent that the band wasn't really rooted in any one place so it was just "Worldwide". Which i think is pretty bad ass:)


DC: Since it's been out for a while, what are you working on next? or looking forward to?

JS: From January we have been in full touring mode. US, Canada, UK, Europe all multiple times now Japan. Hopefully Australia after Japan and Europe. Be nice to kiss home soils again. Then I'm looking forward to getting back into the studio and making some new tunes. Im excited to keep making music that makes me excited to be honest, Whether that be with DeathSet or other projects. I think I want to start doing karate again too. Snappin necks.`


DC: Songs like Negative Thinking and Around the World hold some very affirming lyrics, expressing personal philosophies of self-empowerment/words to live by - which causes me to lean toward hearing 'fuck everybody else because this is how we're doing it and we feel confident about this way...' does that ring true for you at all - is it this kind of healthy-defiance that leads you to the sensibilities of Punk? or are you more laid back about life?

JS: For me the biggest battles are the ones inside my own head. Like really not trying to let outside influences control my experiences but rather letting my inside thoughts and feelings control my exterior. So it's definitely "not a fuck everyone else" attitude. its more of a "how can I control my mindset so it's best for me and the people care about surrounding me". I would like to think I am confident but the truth is its something I try and work every day on. Trying to make everything better every day in every way with that P.M.A. (Positive Mental Attitude, insert Bad Brains shout out right here).




DC: ...and, punk is often harped upon when people are writing about your music--or, indeed, when they're asking you questiosn..., what are some of your non-punk influences?


JS: I/We all listen to as much hip hop and electronic music as punk. Positivity always. Friends bands of course. Shout out to Matt and Kim, Ninja Sonik, Daedelus my favs right now. I love awkward kid bands too. Polished ready for their publicity, right hair cut bands really make my stomach turn.



DC: I really dig a lyric like 'i don't want to be like the people i've liked...' (Negative Thinking chorus)

JS: Thanks. Sometimes the lyrics are just honest and sincere like that one. But they can also be flippant and nonsensical in the next second.


DC: How did you develop your aesthetic/your approach - of heavy electronic composition+pre-programmed beats/tunes+ultra-fuzzed-blown-out-sounding-harmonica-mics

JS: I think the aesthetic of Providence bands like Lightning Bolt were really influential when it came to seeing videos of kids just spazzing the fuck out. I'd never seen anything like that before in Australia. As for sonically It was funny as Beau and I both made electronic music and played in punk bands but started at opposite times and met in the middle vomiting out this strange little beast.

DC: What is your current live set up and are there any new things you've been experimenting with - or would like to try?

JS: Right now the the live set up includes two live drummers as well as the beats, two guitars and two vocals. It really makes the live shows way more dynamic and more of a punk rock show which is rad. The juxtaposing that with hip hop and pop culture samples is always fun. For the next record Im really interested with focussing a lot of time with my beat making and production. Should be super fun.


DC: Now that you've been together and played and toured for years, are you, for lack of a better word, militant, about getting the crowd involved and getting them to feed off the energy? what was it like starting out in your first shows as the Death Set?

JS: Sometimes its a catch 22. Cause a lot of the time the shows are just expected to be rawkus so the fire to really spaz is less but there are always times to win a crowd over or at least leave those stupid hipsters with their mouths open wide at the least. Which is always fun.

more info: www.ninjatune.net/ninja/artist.php?id=137

See them at the Magic Stick, 7/10

live clip

Mick Bassett and the Marthas

Band site

A dark, sinewy romanticism, raspy and full of character – these young spook-folk stalwarts are a force to be reckoned with in the tradition of smoky voodoo flavored minstrels and on-another-planet-auteurs of piano-led folk. Backed by the versatile, sensational and equally quirky ‘Marthas,’ this Ann Arbor/Detroit singer/songwriter has a busy July ahead of him. You can read a Real Detroit feature here - and make sure to see them 7/16 at the Ann Arbor Street Fair, or 7/18 at the Lager House. It’s one of the more memorable and distinct live presentations you can find...

Check Real Detroit next Wednesday...(hopefully) for another feature.

Dream all day, write all night: Freakout in a Moonage Daydream

Just some photographic details from The Blue Moon In June II festival, (6-28 at the CAID) which featured many bands, including Mick Bassett and the Marthas, Red China, Dutch Pink, Pinkeye, and Stare Into The Sun - and, included here in the instances where we had a camera on us (it was kind of a haphazard night in terms of journalistic diligence) we have, in order of appearance: Wildcatting, Silverghost, Duende (who recently appeared on Detroit Today, on WDET), Satori Circus, The Oscillating Fan Club, Woodman's Blue-Moonage Daydream and Deastro.

Looking back on this hurried and hectic month, which, for myself and many friends, began with the overkill hatchet-to-remove-a-fly frightening stomp-out carjacking of the DPD upon the vigorous youths at CAID's Funk Night, and ended after consecutive weekends of battling construction zones to get to 3 different glorious, expansive music festivals: Detour's Rock City, Fiberglass Freakout and The Blue Moon in June - we now look forward to wraping it all up this week with CITYFEST.

But think about this, as I often harp on the bubbling propensity of the bands on this scene: From 50-some-odd bands at Detour, to 10+ at Fiberglass, to the 12 at Blue Moon In June--we only had, what, one or two repeats on the line ups?

read about Cityfest here: www.newcenter.com/cityfest/

Craziness.
(photos by mike milo)