Wednesday: NICK AFRICANO
Based out of New York, Minnesota native Nick Africano combines the best of folk and soul with sublime storytelling to create a unique style. His music doesn’t fit in a single genre or style – his voice is at times a powerhouse fit for arena rock, sometimes soulful befitting mid-60s Motown, and other times sincere like the early years of Elvis Presley. Locals The Counterfactuals and Yours Truly support.
Sounds like: Bruce Springsteen, Joe Bonamassa, Pokey Lafarge, Bob Dylan
Thursday: MEATBODIES and HUNTERS
Chad Ubovich began ripping through the rock scene in 2011 as guitarist for Mikal Cronin and, eventually, bassist in FUZZ. In between tours, he spent his time recording and playing shows around Los Angeles under the name Chad and the Meatbodies. In 2012, Ty Segall released some of Chad’s bedroom recordings via cassette tape and caught the attention of In The Red, who recently released Chad’s self-titled Meatbodies LP.
Co-headlining with Meatbodies on tour is New York City-based Hunters (led by Izzy Almeida and Derek Watson), who cut their teeth terrorizing random NYC basements and loft spaces, but soon found a spiritual home at Brooklyn’s renown D.I.Y. venue Death By Audio. Hunters signed with Mom + Pop records (Wavves, FIDLAR, Parquet Courts, Sleigh Bells) and released their self-titled debut album in Fall 2013. Thursday promises to be a raucous, punk-fueled night in the Entry with these two bands on the bill.
Sounds like: The Coathangers, Diarrhea Planet, JEFF The Brotherhood
Friday: THE BLIND SHAKE Tour Kickoff
“The Blind Shake is at once spacey, primitive futuristic, and brutal: a kind of backyard extraterrestrial minimal surf-punk party. One guitar, one baritone guitar, a fuckload of reverb, and a drummer who deserves an Olympic medal.” [SF Weekly] Fronted by brothers Jim and Mike Blaha, with friend Dave Roper on drums, this trio has been tunneling through the underground since before telephones could talk. They kick off their latest tour in the Entry on Friday, with support from Madison duo The Hussy, along with locals American Cream and Animal Lover.
Sounds like: Thee Oh Sees, Tyvek, Michael Yonkers, The Intelligence
Saturday: KING TUFF
Vermont native King Tuff, a.k.a. Kyle Thomas, has been prowling the corners of the D.I.Y. scene for years, both in this solo guise and as a member of several vastly different acts: the freak-folk outfit Feathers, the wunderkind pop band Happy Birthday, the doom-metal burner Witch. But until Black Moon Spell [just released via Sub Pop], he hadn’t really pushed his persona so far in a single direction. On his third full-length album, Thomas re-brands himself as some sort of demonic teenager, out for kicks, laughs, and maybe a little mailbox baseball, as opposed to bloodshed and the apocalypse. It makes for a fun, evocative ride through four dimensions of rock music, paired by decade-straddling jumps through nostalgia loops: the ’70s glam scene’s repurposing of ’50s greasers, JDs, and teenage sci-fi/comic-book culture, as well as ’60s psych and garage sounds re-evaluated through ’80s metal. [NPR First Listen]
Sounds like: Ty Segall, Jay Reatard, FIDLAR, Natural Child
Sunday: ELENA
Elena, born and raised in Minneapolis, is a singer, songwriter and aerialist. Her sultry-soulful vocals will take you on a personal journey through timelessness. She brings to the stage a full backing band and an intimacy with both her lyrics and the audience.
“Elena delivers a unique performance…she has an obvious intimacy with the lyrics…[her] soulful pop and jazz sounds nod to Nelly Furtado and Astrid Gilberto. This is the kind of artist you want to listen to over cocktails on a patio somewhere warm.” -Craig Lefevre, Dakota Jazz Club
Sounds like: Norah Jones, Corinne Bailey Rae, India.Arie
Monday: THE LAZY KIDS Album Release Party
The result of a successful Kickstarter campaign this past summer, Tunnel Visions is the latest album from local indie rock/folk-pop outfit The Lazy Kids. Led by Anthony “Oz” Osland, the band will be celebrating the new recording’s release next Monday in the Entry, with support from friends and fellow locals Graveyard Club and Skittish.
Sounds like: The Decemberists, Andrew Bird, Department of Eagles
Tuesday: EMPIRES
Empires is a band that’s easy to root for. The Chicagoans built a local following off of 2008’s diverse Howl, released for free and showing that rock unpredictability can be a good thing even if it’s at the cost of a cohesive sound. In 2011, the group made the final four in Rolling Stone’s contest to put an unsigned band on the cover. Its time slot at Lolla 2012 was rescheduled due to the storm-caused evacuation, but taking the stage to a smaller crowd than they would have had otherwise, Empires played and connected like they were headlining a sold-out Soldier Field show. So following 2012’s enjoyable, impassioned Garage Hymns, it’s nice to hear Orphan, the band’s major label debut (Chop Shop/Island Records), show the quartet continuing to come into its own. [Redeye Chicago]
Sounds like: The Gaslight Anthem, Augustines, Gold Motel, The Black Angels
