Review: The Lucky Jukebox Brigade — Pretty Well Damned

The Lucky Jukebox Brigade were lovely enough to send me an advanced copy of their new album! I am unfortunately unfamiliar with their old stuff but I was definitely delighted when I popped the CD into my stereo. I had no idea what to expect but was enveloped with a grand multi-layered sound, which given the amount of people in the band, makes sense.

Without the long per-track review that would probably be longer than anyones attention span, I’ll just say the feeling throughout the album goes from indie-ish rock to show tune to big band to orchestral to southern blues with ease. There’s plenty of sing-alongs and harmonized vocals which I’d imagine would be amazing live. You can listen for yourself over at their band page.

Also don’t forget their album release ball is at Valentine’s tomorrow (Friday 5/18)! For more details: check the facebook event.

The Dirt Daubers and Tragedy: Recap and Photos

This past Monday at Valentines was an amazing opportunity to see many great bands both upstairs and down. Downstairs hosted The Slaughterhouse Chorus and The Dirt Daubers, and upstairs had Born Low and Tragedy.

The Slaughterhouse Chorus opened up the show downstairs, and they are one of the best bands that I had never previously heard of. Similar to the sounds of Against Me! with a bit more of a country twist rather than just folk-punk, they did their own thing, and they did it awesomely.

The Dirt Daubers, from Kentucky, were absolutely incredible. The frontman, J.D. Wilkes is fucking incredible at the banjo as well as the harmonica. He also ended up playing the kazoo and the washboard, which was all amazing.

After the show downstairs ended, Tragedy was just finishing up their soundcheck and I was able to feel the anticipation in the room building as they got things ready to go. They are just as heavy, loud and angry as ever. And a bit more sludgy than I remember, too. It seemed most people I talked to had seen them before and were more exited than ever to see them again. It was my first time and I’m quite glad I was able to catch them.

You can also read Sean’s way more in-depth Tragedy Recap from LPR.

Hit the jump for the full gallery and videos.

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Behind the Scenes of Electric City Couture With Ruth Dollery

Coming up this Friday is the third annual Electric City Couture Fashion Show at Proctor’s Theatre. I’ve attended in the past and have been consistently blown away by the amount of talent this area is hiding, especially in the design and fashion industries where it might require a bit more digging to discover. Thankfully, the good folks involved help make local fashion and design easily accessible by organizing and putting together this show, hopefully for many years to come.

This year, the event is created and produced in conjunction with the 5th anniversary of Schenectady Arty Night (which is a monthly free organized art event for those of you unfamiliar – think First Friday, but in Schenectady).

The Electric City Couture show is designed to celebrate art in the form of fashion, inspired by the runways of New York City, but happening in Schenectady and featuring the work of local designers Katie Pray and Joleen Button.

To get better acquainted with what it is like behind the scenes, I took a moment to sit down with Ruth Dollery, who will be doing make-up for Katie Pray for this year’s show. I’ve known Ruth for several years now and have been impressed with both her talent, her taste and her eye for style, whether it was doing our friend’s make-up for a Halloween party in her living room or with her clientele in the salon setting.

Hit the jump for the Q+A and for more information on the upcoming Electric City Couture.

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Covell Brewing on Kickstarter

I feel like I’m on a Kickstarter kick as of late. This one aims to start an accessible craft brewery in Saratoga.

Copypasta form the kickstarter page:

With your help, Covell Brewing intends to become the most innovative microbrewery/taproom in Saratoga Springs, New York. Covell Brewing will be community-oriented and experiential: hosting events, tastings, fundraisers, local musical acts, and brewing specialty releases with local and in-season ingredients. Along with our local focus, we plan to maintain a global mindset. Disturbed by stories of the water crisis in third world Africa, we took a cue from companies like Tom’s Footwear. We’ve planned a program in which we donate the equivalent of one pint of clean water for of every pint of beer sold in our tap room. With this we hope to make lending a helping hand as easy as kicking back and enjoying a good beer.

This would be awesome. I just hope they make a hefeweizen since I think IPAs taste like huffing pine tree flavor aerosol bathroom spray.

Read more on the kickstarter page and give em a kick if you can afford it!

Ticket Giveaway: RACES at Valentines 5/16

Valentines, is once again gracious enough to give us a pair of tickets to give away for another show! This one is a happy hour show, Wednesday at 6pm with the band RACES. Their music is really great and if you haven’t heard it (it’s been rotation at WCDB for a minute now) use the little player below.

Hit the jump for the entry form! Winner will be picked Wednesday around noon.

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Recap: Tragedy at Le Poisson Rouge

Le Poisson Rouge is not a punk club. Not that it avoids heavier music entirely – the West Village venue’s upcoming events calendar features appearances by Rorschach and Converge, among others. But the club hosts a wide range of live performance, from indie shows (another one coming up: the Clean and Times New Viking) to poetry readings to contemporary classical music, and its owners don’t want it trashed and spray-painted into a hardcore dive. So, perhaps, it felt a little odd to see Tragedy last Saturday evening in a concert hall where the bouncers wore white shirts with neckties, or one with a VIP bottle-service section at the back of the room.

But think about it a little more, and it makes perfect sense. Tragedy have done well for themselves by crafting an aura of mystery. The Portland band maintains little to no internet presence while quietly self-releasing their records – four LPs over the past decade, with a smattering of singles to tide fans over. Six years have passed between their latest album Darker Days Ahead and the one before it; a few friends remarked that they had no idea it had even come out until they saw copies on the merch table in the foyer. They garner attention from highbrow metal magazines like Decibel; given their recent interest in the punk middleground, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them covered in Spin. And they also don’t play out very often – every tour announcement stirs up rumors that this one will be their last.

Tragedy appear tonight upstairs at Valentines with Born Low, Neutron Rats, and Maggot Brain. 17 New Scotland Avenue, Albany. 8:00 PM, $10.

Check out the rest of the review beneath the cut!

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Hudson River Project

This is nuts, and I hope this gets funded. The Hudson River Project aims for a boat to be made of trash from NYC, taken to Lake Tear of the Clouds, and paddled back to NYC. Not sure what’s going to happen at the Federal Dam, though.

Oh, and Mogwai will be providing an original soundtrack.

From their kickstarter:

It’s a simple idea. Build a boat from New York City’s waste, take it to the source of the Hudson River – the river without which the city would not exist – and row the boat back to NYC.

This story connects the source of the Hudson River to NYC, the great city that sits at its mouth.

The film follows James as he makes a boat from NYC’s waste, the detritus of a modern megalopolis, and takes it to the source of the Hudson River high in the Adirondack Mountains, at Lake Tear of the Clouds.

Get the whole scoop on Kickstarter, and if you can give em a kick.