Arcade Fire Members to Show Support for Obama With Free Beachland Show on Monday

Fresh off the internets, Will Butler, Regine Chassagne and Jeremy Gara of the Arcade Fire will be playing a free show in support of Barack Obama's Presidential campaign this Monday night at The Beachland Ballroom. This is an 18 and over event. Doors are at 7 and admission is first come first serve.

"King of the Thieves" by 13ghosts

While I'm still on the road to well, making progress some days, and hitting road blocks on others, I invited another one of my favorite bloggers, Harry Smith, from Tha Bomb Shelter to fill in for a post. I never listened to 13ghosts' last album, "Cicadas", but when an album from Wendy Williams at Toolshed drops in my mailbox, I'm always eager to listen. So yesterday when I found myself in possession of "The Strangest Colored Lights" courtesy of the one and only Ms. Williams, I couldn't wait to pop it in my CD player and give it a spin. With just the little blurb on the front of the disc to guide me, I came into this pretty well blank as far as expectations were concerned. But then, who wouldn't be at least a little bit intrigued by the following, "With a lo-fi attention to detail that builds to a soaring and cinematic wall of sound...this album should please fans of artists as diverse as Sparklehorse and Pink Floyd." While I'm not familiar with Sparklehorse, I am a big fan of Pink Floyd, soaring, and wall of sound. So join me as I listen to Track Seven for the first time, "King of the Thieves", after enjoying the dark, orchestral crescendos and the eerily quiet breakdowns. As the last strains of the unexpected guitar solo from "Faint Goat" fade into the gentle plucking and strumming of "King of the Thieves", the jarring of the gear shift startles. With the guitar, the tired, plodding piano, the dusty, occasional strings, and the snippets of lyrics I can only barely catch, "Many Miles in the days to come/ a place between myself and here", it's tough to get a firm grasp on the tune. The tempo quickens a touch and the dynamics of the song increase with an inexorable march toward a (hopefully) satisfying release. As it drops to the acoustic, some fuzz and the plinking of the piano, I'm on edge with the still fresh memory of that unexpected finish of "Faint Goat". Will it explode again? Will it trudge slowly slowly to a close as I'm waiting for just one more note, one more surprise? When everything comes back, gentle and loud, filling my ears with sound, but not overwhelming, there's hope for a crashing crescendo. A release after an almost-buildup. When the fuzzed out guitars screech into the amps and the plonks of the piano slide seamlessly into "Go to Sleep" I'm left satisfied, even though the big release never came. I only want a little more as the British Invasion vocals come in, another jarring transition, yet just perfect from this surprising band. MP3: 13ghosts - King of the Thieves The Strangest Colored Lights by 13ghosts will be out March 18th on Skybucket Records. 13ghosts Skybucket Records photo by Wes Frazer

Old Growth by Dead Meadow

Considering everything I've gone through the past couple weeks, I invited Chris DeLine from Culture Bully to fill in with a couple reviews. First up is one album I've been rocking steadily for the first couple months of the year, Dead Meadow's Old Growth. Dead Meadow Old Growth Matador In 2005 I was introduced to Dead Meadow as the group opened for Sleater-Kinney, the band epitomized neo-psych with its no-nonsense hazy drab. At the time the band's music came across as something terribly powerful while the makeup of its sound was tastefully cautious, the group never fully realizing the massiveness it sought. Cut to roughly three years later, on the same stage at Minneapolis' First Avenue, with the heavily touted To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie playing a showcase. Again I was witness to a band that seemed to be far more talented than it sounded, its music coming off as a blurred wave lacking any sense of harmony. Given a few years of expansion however, To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie may prove me wrong much like Dead Meadow's increasingly colossal latest, Old Growth has. That being said - Old Growth has been criticized for failing to move forward, Pitchfork's Tom Breihan elaborating on the album, "Since the release of 2005's Feathers, the band has relocated from D.C. to L.A. and returned to being a trio after additional guitarist Cory Shane came and went. Listening to Old Growth, though, there's barely any indication that anything has ever changed for this band." This is an interesting accusation considering the elaborate layering of such songs as "Till Kingdom Come" and the album's opener "Ain't Got Nothing (To Go Wrong)." Breihan caustically demeans the group's sound, claiming, "Dead Meadow can write songs like these in their sleep, and they probably do," but therein lies the continual shallow observation of anything remotely using its weight in reverb or shallowly defined as shoegaze. Given that bands ranging from the Brian Jonestown Massacre's to The Upsidedown and Dead Meadow are all easily classified by the simpleness of their sound it's easy to cast aside the creativity that necessitates the music; if it sounds simple it can't possibly be art, right? But situations such as the carefully placed guitar solo late into "What Needs Must Be" demonstrates the band's willingness to step outside the reverb-bubble it's created and play-out an honest piece of music. Old Growth is an album that is for the majority what one would expect of it, but it is also an album that is creative and enjoyable by its own right. Creating a record's worth of mood music is easy, but the band's inclusion of acoustic palatability without stunning the listener with a harsh abrasiveness proves that Dead Meadow has in fact grown. MP3: Dead Meadow - What Needs Must Be MP3: Dead Meadow - I'm Gone

Since I've Been Gone

*I didn't make it out Saturday to The Beachland Tavern for the Wussy show, but did you see who did? Dennis Kucinich, Sean Penn, and entourage were there and made an appearance in the Tavern before the two men took to the main stage in the Ballroom prior to Ringworm's performance. *The Mae Shi's HLLYH is finally coming out next week. I've been waiting for this one ever since their sweaty show at the Tower this past summer. It's the featured album of the week over at Paper Thin Walls where you can hear a full streaming preview with track by track commentary provided by the band. *"Strange Times" by the first single from the Black Keys forthcoming album, Attack and Release, is available now through iTunes and amazon.com, streaming at myspace, and if the fun police haven't taken action, it may still be available through the Hype Machine for the price of a couple clicks.

Where to Rock It This Weekend

Checking my calendar, there are two shows going on this weekend that should also be on your rock and roll agenda. The first one is happening tonight at MOCA where BJ Warshaw of futuristic glitch punks, Parts and Labor, is touring with a full band for his side project Shooting Spires. Then on Saturday night, Check Cleaver, formerly of the Ass Ponys, Lisa Walker, and the rest of Wussy bring their rustic, raucous rock to the Beachland Tavern. Did I mention I started keeping an events calendar? By no means is it a complete list of every show going down in the Cleveland/Akron area. The intention is to keep this calendar updated only with the good sh*t. And by good sh*t, I mean if Sufjan comes to Cleveland, I'll just pretend it isn't even happening.

Hey You Guys: It's Another Announcement

You may have noticed that things have been a little slow around hear of late. It's not a problem with the computer, or the Rockometer, it's a problem with me, the blogger. The emails and the cds have been piling up as I've been dealing with some issues the past couple weeks that have affected my ability to blog in my normal insightful, witty, and timely manner. Don't worry. It's nothing too serious, and it should (god willing) clear itself up in the next couple weeks. That being said, if you're the curious or caring type and want to know what's up, send me an email and I'll gladly discuss things in a much less vague manner.

The Cure for an Unlovely Valentine's Day: Indie Rock Singles Night at The Beachland

Not having a lovely Valentine's Day this year? No need to worry, Music Saves and The Board of Love are looking out for you. Next Thursday, February 21st, they'll be hosting an Indie Rock Singles Night at The Beachland Tavern featuring trivia, food by the Supper Club, and prizes from local merchants including Music Saves, The Beachland, Big Fun, Fast Eddie's Chop Shop, The Grog Shop, Guy's Pizza, Holden Arboretum, Melt Bar & Grill, Shoparooni, Thermadore Lounge, and Visible Voice Books. Not that I have any need for such an event. I'm putting this out there for you, the single scenester between the ages of 23 and 34 who's at The Beachland or The Grog every weekend and who spends the night holding on to a Pabst and holding up the wall. If there's anything I've learned in the two years writing I Rock Cleveland it's that ladies love men who spend an inordinate amount with their laptop and who have an obsessive relationship with obscure music. Doors are at 7 and the fun starts at 8. Space is limited. Reservations can be made through Music Saves or by sending an email to indierocksinglesnight [at] gmail [dot] com. Note: This post was published under the threat of noogies by the organizers of the Indie Rock Singles Night. I hate noogies. Note 2: Bloggers don't get the ladies. That's called sarcasm. Indie Rock Singles Night is actually a fantastic idea, and I look forward to meeting many of the people I've seen at shows during the past couple years.

The Definitive Mission of Burma

To say I'm excited about Matador Record's Ace of Hearts era Mission of Burma reissues, The Definitive Editions I, II, and III, would be ignoring words like stoked and adverbs like incredibly. Signals Calls and Marchers, Vs, and The Horrible Truth About Burma have all been expanded, repackaged, and remastered with bonus cuts and live DVDs. Hell, I'm not even sure incredibly stoked is an accurate enough description. Maybe I could add a couple F bombs in there for more emphasis. Or, better yet, why don't I just let the stereo do the talking. MP3: Mission of Burma - Max Ernst MP3: Mission of Burma - Weatherbox (Live) The Definitive Mission of Burma reissues will all be available March 18th, and if you're like me and you plan on picking up all three, Matador's website is promising a sweet preorder deal. Mission of Burma Matador Records Note: Both of the tracks featured here are also available as uncompressed WAV files via Matador.

"The Silence Between Us" by Bob Mould

In his less than complimentary track review of Bob Mould's "The Silence Between Us" for Paper This Walls, Ron Hart wrote, "If this track came from any other artist, people would dismiss it as the hacky, watered-down Foo Fighters bite it really is. Quicker than you can say Candy Apple Grey. But because it is 'Bob Mould,' critics and fans seem to be hailing this twaddle as the Hüsker Düde’s comeback to his guitar-rock roots." Hart does have a valid point. If this wasn't Bob Mould, then "The Silence Between Us" wouldn't have had me digging through my mess of a cd rack, my secondary cd rack, and all the stacks of cds on the bedroom dresser and the coffee table in my living room looking for old Sugar cds I hadn't played in years. Instead, I would have tuned my dial to K-ROCK to hear more "alternative" hits from the Nineties and Today. Look, I'm not saying that "The Slilence Between Us" is the second coming of "If I Can't Change Your Mind," but it's far from twaddle, and if anything, it serves as a reminder that Mould had quite a string of solid singles during his post Husker Du days. MP3: Bob Mould - The Silence Between Us District Line by Bob Mould is out now on Anti- Records, and of local interest, The Bob Mould Band will be appearing at the Grog Shop on March 8th. Bob Mould Anti-

The Black Keys Offer a Brief (And I Do Mean Brief) Preview of Attack and Release

The Black Keys are currently airing a 50 second video of footage taken at Suma Studio in Painesville, Ohio during the recording of their forthcoming album, Attack and Release. There's audio, too. One spooky groove accompanies the video, hinting at what you may expect from the Akron duo's fifth full length release due out April 1st on Nonesuch. The Black Keys

The Lottery League

The Lottery League has the potential to be either the greatest event the local music scene has witnessed in years, or the biggest clusterf*ck ever to grace the Beachland Stage. Either way, you have to hand it to the Council of Chiefs for putting together this ambitious project. Here's the basics: This past weekend, over 130 area musicians entered themselves into a random drawing to create 33 new bands. The only rule was none of the musicians in the new bands could have played with any of their new bandmates in any previous band. The newly formed bands now have two months to work out a ten minute set with one original composition for a showcase at The Beachland on April 12th. While I wouldn't expect all 33 bands to make it through to the showcase, a quick scan of the lottery's results does reveal some really intriguing combinations: Band III with Dave Petrovich of The Very Knees, and John Polomsky (Bare Essentials), Dale Ursic (Homostupids, The X Bolex), and Mike Rodemann (No Peace, Puncture Wound) has the potential to SHRED. While Band XVII which pairs Tony Vorell of easy rockers Expecting Rain with Nathan Bowers of the experimental noise band Tusco Terror, Lawrence Caswell of This Moment in Black History, and Matt Clement (Kong Sauce, Bella Sylva) is one of more unpredictable combos. Other bands to keep your eyes on are Band V (with Ryan Weitzel of Mystery of Two and Sean Djurcic of National Sucide Day), Band X (with members of Roue, TMIBH, and 6 Parts 7), and Band XXII (feat. members of Houseguest, Chum, The Deathers and Sun God with singer/songerwriter Mike Uva). The full results of The Lottery League can be found here.

"Sorry We Took All Yr Money" by Scary Mansion

One cd that's been getting an awful lot of play in the IRC Soundsystem of late is Every Joke is Half the Truth by NYC artist Leah Hayes and her band Scary Mansion. My first exposure to this lovely, young songstress with a baseball bat was through the Indie Rock smash or trash website, Our Stage, a few months back. I had to wade through trash piled upon trash piled upon even more trash, but thanks to a little perseverance and lots of boredom, I finally found a smash in "Sorry We Took All Yr Money," a dark, mischievous, folk number anchored by Hayes' expressive, captivating voice, oddly paired with a propulsive (albeit reserved) rhythm more common to NYC dance punk. Although Hayes may say she's repentant, I'm not totally convinced she's sorry about taking the money. C'mon, she's holed up in her bedroom with a baseball bat. That says to me, "Yes, I took your money, now what are you going to do about it sucka'?" MP3: Scary Mansion - Sorry We Took All Yr Money Bonus Non-Album Cut: MP3: Scary Mansion - Popular (Nada Surf Cover) Every Joke is Half the Truth is out now on Zum. Scary Mansion Scary Mansion Myspace Zum Records photo by Sara Tew

"S.T.H.D." by Ladyhawk

I have yet to crack the abbreviation "S.T.H.D.," the title of the latest track to emerge from Ladyhawk's forthcoming, second album, Shots. Could it be something about being stoned and/or drunk? Ladyhawk are notorious rabble rousers. Or, maybe it's some secret code only known to hunters, naturalists, nomads and other inhabitants of the Canadian wilderness. Ignoring the letters in "S.T.H.D.," I've come up with what I believe to be the best possible definition, "Everything you need to know about Ladyhawk in less than two minutes." There's the rustic undertones, a big arena rock chorus, and they even found enough room for a frenzied guitar solo. Basically, it's everything Ladyhawk do well, in one quick hit. MP3: Ladyhawk - S.T.H.D. Shots by Ladyhawk will be out March 4th on Jagjaguwar. Ladyhawk Ladyhawk Myspace Jagjaguwar

Clevo Rock Update: The Dreadful Yawns, Hot Cha Cha, Prisonshake

*By now you should know that The Dreadful Yawns are releasing Take Shape, their latest record for Exit Stencil Records this Spring. But did you know that there may be a second Yawns record out this year? Word from Team Yawns is that the local label Van Gogh Round will be putting out a disc of early recordings by principal Yawns songwriter and vocalist, Ben Gmetro. For a preview of Take Shape, you can head over to The Dreadful Yawns' myspace where they've released videos for three tracks: "Catskill," "Saved," and "Queen and The Jokester." *The latest signing by Cleveland's Exit Stencil Records, Hot Cha Cha is currently featured on WFMU's Beware of the Blog in their dump it or pump it feature. If you haven't seen or heard Hot Cha Cha yet, let me say this, I have it on good authority (and no it wasn't some loudmouth at the bar proclaiming "Hot Cha Cha F'n Rule") that the ladies in Hot Cha Cha are putting on some of the finest shows in town these days. As the saying goes, vote early and vote often. *How's this for a blast from Cleveland's Rock 'N' Roll past? The one time Cleveland, now St. Louis based label, Scat Records, recently released a brand new single by the ex-pats in Prisonshake. "The Nice Price" is available in both a standard and deluxe limited edition format directly from Scat Records, and is also available as a digital download from eMusic. The band's first full length since 93's The Roaring Third, titled Dirty Moons, will be out later this year.

Three-fer Tuesday: The Death Set, Yea Big and Kid Static, and Die! Die! Die!

The Deathset's last release, Rad Warehouses, Bad Neighborhoods, was quite possibly the funnest 15 minutes of music put to disc in 07. It sounded just as the title would imply -- quick, rabid, wild, electronic punk anthems made for bouncing off the basement walls of underground clubs. Well, at least it was the funnest 15 minutes of music until one fateful day, as I was minding my own business, jamming to The Deathset at my home away from home (also known as the cube) when a yellow jacket bit me on the elbow. Quickly, 15 minutes of fun became 15 minutes of pain. For months, this negative reinforcement kept me away from The Deathset. Taking a cue, from the intro of The Death Set's latest single, "Negative Thinking," not only can a a bad attitude ruin your life, but it can also ruin a perfectly good record. Never again. I could be bitten by a rogue rattlesnake any moment now (it's possible, Fox 8 news says so), and that wouldn't be enough to keep me away a second time. MP3: The Death Set - Negative Thinking Youtube: The Death Set - Negative Thinking (Version 1) Youtube: The Death Set - Negative Thinking (Version 2) "Negative Thinking" was originally released on an earlier Death Set EP, but will also be included on the their first full length, Worldwide, due out April 22nd on the new Ninja Tune offshoot, Counter Records. The Death Set The Death Set Myspace Ninja Tune Photo by Tod Seelie Turns out, when Yea Big and Kid Static aren't kicking out glitchy, electro jams, or mashing up underground acts like the Mae Shi, they're mixing beats about sandwiches. Usually, when rappers rhyme about food, they're really talking about something else, like sex. If someone raps about making a sandwich on the dance floor, it has absolutely nothing to do with a loaf of rye and thinly sliced deli meats. However, when Yea Big and Kid Static rap "Eatchyo Samwich" I get the feeling these guys really do like eating samwiches. Sure, it's also filled with meaty innuendo, but it's secondary to the thrill of the mighty sammy. Be it a BLT, Hero, Tuna Melt, 24 inch party sub with peporoni and salami, or six slices of cheese stacked between two slices of white, they rock them all. MP3: Yea Big and Kid Static - Eatchyo Samwich The very limited edition Eatchyo Samwich 3" cd single is available for preorder now (appropriately packaged in a sleeve resembling a piece of bread) from The F*ck Me Stupid Mountain Princess Recording Collective. Yea Big and Kid Static The FMSMPRC It's been often said of the Cleveland scene, that its unclassifiable, if not disjointed and slightly out of touch with mainstream, sound comes from the fact that it's isolated from the major music markets. Just because something plays in LA or NYC, doesn't mean it'll play in this town. A similar conclusion can be drawn with Dunedin, New Zealand's Die! Die! Die!. While most of today's post-punk is all mopey and dopey, DDD, play post-punk the way it's meant to be played-- fractured, loud, and frantic. I've seen names like Wire, Black Flag and The Pixies tossed about in describing these guys, but I prefer one simple adjective: rad. MP3: Die! Die! Die! - Sideways, Here We Come MP3: Die! Die! Die! - Blue Skies Bonus Cuts: Youtube: Die! Die! Die! - Out of the Blue MP3: Die! Die! Die! - Death to the Romantic (via PTW) Promises Promises by Die! Die! Die! is due out this Tuesday on SAF Records. Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Myspace SAF Records

Housekeeping: A New Media Player for I Rock Cleveland

I've changed up the MP3 links on the main page to incorporate Yahoo's new media player. Next to each mp3 link, you'll see a small play icon. Click on the icon and the mp3 will start streaming. This would also explain the gray box floating along the lower left corner of the page. Move your mouse over the floating gray box, and the player will expand. The small icon on the far left of the player will expand the playlist to enable you to play all mp3 links embedded on the page. All mp3s can still be downloaded with a right-click and save-as if your a windows person. If you're a Mac person, well, keep doing whatever it is you did to download. I messed around with the Yahoo player for some time tonight and it seems to work really well. The only issue I've seen is that it gets a bit funky with dead links. As a general rule, if a post is no longer displayed on the main page, then there's a good chance the mp3 link is dead. The Yahoo! Web Music Player Here's a sample track with the new player: MP3: Hell's Information - Song Four Update: Ok, I noticed a little funkiness. If you pause a track with the icon located next to the mp3 link, then move on to another track, sometimes it will resume from the previous track instead of starting the new track. This doesn't seem to be an issue with the floating player. Please let me know if you notice any other issues with the player.