Well it’s not exactly a battle for outer space, but in a sense it is…my hometown of Charleston is going to be faced with the same decision that I have to make tomorrow night.

Tomorrow Saturday March 6th there are two amazing shows happening right here in Brooklyn, and Wednesday March 10th very similar shows are happening in Charleston, SC

First up is everyone’s favorite, Underwater Peeps Proprietors, and all around rad dudes Family Portrait who will be appearing with none other Alex Bleeker and the Freaks…and a too be named Special Guest (supposedly very special).

These New Jersey via DC and back to New Jersey rockers will be playing in full force for the first time in a very long time.  If you have seen Family Portrait over the past 6 months or so you saw various forms with Ari and Brody, but now that Sawyer is back from his journey out East they are back in action in the form we all know and love.  I was looking through my music, and I found a track that I grabbed back in September…. “On The Floor” is a retro pop jam full of fuzzy psychedelica.  Backed up with Brody’s crooning vocals and the type of beach vibe you expect to get from a New Jersey basement or garage party rather than the Jersey shore.

[mp3] Family Portrait- “On The Floor”

• Buy their split 7″ with Andrew Cedermark here.

Rock this one, and then go check out Family Portrait….they are touring down to SXSW!

• Tomorrow, March 6th @ 59 Jefferson St, #402 (21+ $8)
  • Family Portrait, Alex Bleeker, and very Special Guests!
    • This show is presented by Pixelhorse, Microphone Memory Emotion, and Visitation Rites.
      • Proceeds from this show go toward playing the bands playing their awesome SXSW showcase in Austin.  Get all the info on the Austin Show here.
• Wednesday, March 10th @ Outer Space! in Charleston, SC
  • Family Portrait, and fucking Castles Underground!!!
• Check out all of Family Portraits’ tour dates here (lots in between and after these two dates).

The Sandwitches are three ladies from San Fransisco making awesome 50′s/60′s throwback rock and roll.  Their album How to Make an Ambient Sad Cake has been getting tons of play at my house, and on my headphones.  It started with their single “Fire,” and it has slowly infected my head.  And now “The Revisionist” has had me singing “God ain’t no friend of mine” all morning.  I was curious about the lyrics of this song, and I thought I would check out what a revisionist actually was: “a movement in revolutionary Marxian socialism favoring an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary spirit”  and in a sense I guess I fall under this category.  Not a bad thing at all…and a really wonderful song.

[mp3] The Sandwitches- “The Revisionist”

• From How to Make an Ambient Sadcake, buy it here.
• The Sandwitches are part of the Endless Nest Collective.

As much as I love Family Portrait, both as musicians and people, I’m going to have to hit this Sandwitches show.  These ladies are coming from a long way, and who knows when they will be back.

• Tomorrow, Saturday March 6th @ Monster Island Basement
  • Golden Triangle, The Sandwitches, Coasting, and Girls at Dawn
    • All Ages, $8
      • They are also playing tonight, but very little info is available.
• Wednesday March 10th @ The Tin Roof in Charleston, SC
  • The Sandwitches, and Teenage Owl.
• See all of the Sandwitches’ tour dates here (lots in between and after these two dates).

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If none of these things work for you…. go see Twin Sister at CoCo66 tomorrow night (March 6th).  More info about Twin Sister can be found here.

And this weekend pregame for everything at Mugs Ale House’s  Split thy Skull Festival!

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The photo of Family Portrait was taken on January 29th, 2010 at Bruar Falls, and is from the White Lodge. If you would like to use this photo please link back to the flickr page, and credit the White Lodge.

• more posts featuring photos from the White Lodge can be found here.

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• More on Family Portrait here.
• More on Underwater Peoples Records here.
• More on the Sandwitches here.
• More on the Endless Nest Collective here.

Welcome to Vol. 2 of Speed Dating.

This is something I’m going to try to keep up with even while my other posts slack off over the holiday season (yes, my posts are going to dwindle to just a couple a week)…but that’s ok. I’m probably going to stop doing my weekly recs post because I would rather have actual posts on the blog rather than out dated event listings…but other than that content will remain the same…just less of it.

I’m pretty excited to post about these three bands being that they all have been running around in my head for a while. I hope you enjoy too.  Happy Thanksgiving.

Named after two things that I really like sandwiches and ummmm anything paranormal I have to say these ladies would have made it on to my iPod independently of the fabulous scene that surrounds them…but the fact of the matter is that The Sandwitches roll in the same scene as Thee Oh Sees, Tim Cohen, and Sonny and the Sunsets, as well as share members with Fresh and Onlys, and Brilliant Colors… this only points to good things. Twangy riffs coming out of the head phones totally caught me off guard, but I kept on listening. From the twangy bluesy guitars to the chorus-ey, at times doo-wop esque, vocals the Sandwitches seem to be bringing some fresh new sounds that actually sound pretty old with hints of blues, country, and a hint of rhythm and blues.   Look forward to seeing what is on the horizon from them…if their cohorts are any indication we should expect to be bombarded with Sandwitches vinyl in 2010.  The Sandwitches have  already started with the release of an LP on Endless Nest, titled How to Make an Ambient Sad Cake, this year that I’m beginning to think I should be tracking down.

[mp3] The Sandwitches- “Fire” (via rstb)
from How to Make an Ambient Sad Cake
buy it here.

Magic Kids have been spinning quite often on my turntable since I picked up the Hey Boy 7″ at the WFMU record fair (and for only $2 at that!), and again more music being made today that feels like it could have been many many years ago. Magic Kids are putting their own touch on a throwback to ’60s pop, and I don’t think it can get any catchier. Magic Kids are on Goner Records in the US, and Rough Trade picked them up in the UK…here is what sparked my interest:

[mp3] Magic Kids- “Hey Boy”
from Hey Boy 7″
buy it here.

I thought that it could only go down hill with a debut single as strong as “Hey Boy,” but the second single hit the interweb a couple weeks ago…called “Superball” it is also a really strong showing in the same vein as the first single and b-side. I’m glad a got the first single, and can’t wait to see what they do with an LP. Rough Trade is proclaiming “Hey Boy” to be the best song of 2009.

[mp3] Magic Kids- “Superball”
from their upcoming split with Smith Westerns on Fat Possum
it will eventually be available here

klk has been telling me to listen to Field Music for years (probably literally), and for some reason it has never happened until now. I downloaded the the track “Measure” from their to be released album, and all I have to say is that I don’t know why I waited so long.   I’m pretty sure there is an album or two lurking on our hard drive, and I think it’s time to dig them out.  I can’t wait to see what I have missed from the past couple of years from David and Peter Brewis, who seem to be a phenomenal song writing duo.  Overall just really well done indie pop, and that is just the type of thing that I have been in the mood for lately…maybe I need to catch them when they play the Bell House on December 3rd (tickets here)?

[mp3] Field Music- “Measure” (via mbv)
from their forth coming album due out 2/16/10
more info on it at Memphis Industries.
buy Field Music’s other releases here.

This is it for Speed Dating this week…hope to have another installment up next week.

Links:

• more Speed Dating here.