Pixies frontman Black Francis comes to The Abbey Bar tonight. When his influential college-rock band called it quits in 1993, Francis (born Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV) turned the sudden void in his life into the start a solo career that now includes a couple of 4AD releases, multiple aliases and an eventual Pixies reunion. Recently Francis struck up a collaboration with Reid Paley, which resulted in the 2011 LP Paley & Francis. In addition to Paley and Francis providing guitars and vocals, the Nashville-recorded album features Muscle Shoals studio stalwarts Spooner Oldham (piano) and David Hood (bass). Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Reid Paley can be found here. Watch a live video of the duo performing “Magic Cup” below.
The Abbey Bar
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Tonight’s Concert Picks: XPN Welcomes Freelance Whales to The Abbey Bar, Dave Hause opening for Flogging Molly at The Electric Factory, XPN Welcomes The Stray Birds to World Cafe Live, Sour Mash at City Tap House
Brooklyn indie kids Freelance Whales head out to Harrisburg for a show at The Abbey Bar tonight. The quintet followed up their 2009 debut with Diluvia last year. The sophomore effort sees Freelance Whales expanding their sound and their narrative with more intricate arrangements and a complex sci-fi concept running through the tracks. What hasn’t changed with the new release is the band’s accessible and appealing indie pop sound that got the buzz started in 2009. Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Hundred Waters can be found here. Below, watch the video for “Spitting Image.”
Tonight’s Concert Picks: Lantern at Johnny Brenda’s, Black Prairie at MilkBoy, Blonde Redhead at Union Transfer, XPN Welcomes David Johansen of New York Dolls to World Cafe Live, XPN Welcomes Rhett Miller to The Abbey Bar
Local rock ‘n’ roll trio Lantern headline Johnny Brenda’s tonight. Self-described as “proto-biker-punk-blues,” the one thing that will strike any listener upon diving into 2012′s Dream Mine EP (Bathetic) for the first time is the sheer amount of blown-out fuzz and noise that distorts the classically punk vocals of front-man Zachary Devereux Fairbrother. Citing influences as surprising as early folk and blues and as obvious as early rock ‘n’ roll and ’60s-’70s punk, Lantern’s music is a combustion of nitty gritty Americana. Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Dong Johnson and Amanda X can be found here. Below, watch the video for “Train Song.”
Watch an alternate-take video of “Caverns” from Hundred Waters (playing The Abbey Bar on 1/31 and World Cafe Live at The Queen on 2/1)
Gainesville, Florida’s Hundred Waters released a breathtaking self-titled LP last year on dub step / electronic label OWSLA. In May 2012, Hundred Waters re-recorded two tracks from their full-length to be released as a limited edition 7″ through Small Plates Records (Gracie, High Highs) this coming spring. While the album cut of “Caverns” is unleashed with gauzy, twinkling bells crescendoing into multi-layered electronic patterns, the re-imagined version is a solo piano take with vocalist Nicole Miglis. Watch the Yours Truly session video for “Caverns” below; Hundred Waters will open for Freelance Whales on January 31st at The Abbey Bar in Harrisburg, PA and on February 1st at World Cafe Live at The Queen in Wilmington, DE. Tickets and information for both shows can be found here. Pre-order “Caverns” b/w “Visitors” here.
Tonight’s Concert Picks: Roky Erickson at Union Transfer, Maserati at Kung Fu Necktie, Rusted Root at The Abbey Bar
Psychedelic rock trailblazer Roky Erickson will be performing tonight at Union Transfer. Erickson recently collaborated with Okkervil River 2010′s True Love Cast Out All Evil, which was Erickson’s first release of fresh material since 1995′s All That May Do My Rhyme. The 21+ show begins at 8 p.m., for more information go here. Watch Erickson’s 2010 performance of “You’re Gonna Miss Me” at Johnny Brenda’s below.
Tonight’s Concert Picks: John Wesley Harding’s Cabinet of Wonders at 215 Festival, Freelance Whales at Union Transfer, Spirit Family Reunion at The Abbey and more
The fantastic spectacle that is John Wesley Harding’s Cabinet of Wonders hits Underground Arts tonight in conjunction with the 215 Festival. Bringing in special guests Dean and Britta, Elizabeth & The Catapult, Doogie Horner, Paul Muldoon, Alec Ounsworth, Carla Rhodes and The Spinto Band, the Cabinet is sure to entertain with its quirky, vaudevillian mix of comedy, music and storytelling. Tickets are $15 here for the 21+ show; doors will open at 9:00 p.m. Watch a promo video for the Cabinet of Wonders below.