Album Of The Week: Evans The Death’s Expect Delays

While exploring recent releases, you’re bound to find something that impresses you. One that recently impressed me is Expect Delays from London alternative rock act Evans The Death. With its distortion and pulsating rhythms accented by the angelic voice of Katherine Whitaker, this band from across the pond has a sly groove to their sound and possesses a lot of energy. If you’re looking for music from one of those bands that are underground but on their way to bigger and better things, Evans The Death can definitely be your cup of tea.

Echoing the timeless post-punk styles of Siouxsie & The Banshees and Blondie, but mirroring contemporary bands like The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Evans The Death have a sense of coolness with catchy lyrics and poppy instrumentation that’s bound to stick in your head. These Brits are barely out of their teens and their music is way ahead of their time in a world where the current generation is looking for the hippest synth sound. There’s a raw tinge to Evans The Death’s musical stylings — a no-frills approach gives them a genuine and honest vibe.

Crazy drivers on the highway, it’s still cold outside and everyone always has something to complain about. Some things in New England never change. Another thing that will never change are my top tracks off of the Album Of The Week. Look on the bright side and check it out:

A stunning rocker of a song, “Bad Year” will get you jukin’ and jivin’ in a jiffy with infectious guitar riffs and feverish drumming. Fuzzy all over with a lot of power, “Enabler” is a force to be reckoned with. The bass licks are the driving force in the track and give it a unique tone. Another energetic anthem is “Clean Up,” a lovely electrifier that’ll give you a boost right when you hear the first strum.

Evans The Death haven’t announced any tour dates in the imminent future, bet let’s hope they grace New England with their magnificent music sometime soon. If they’re as good live as they are on Expect Delays, then they should be a blast to see on stage. Until then, get the brand new release from Evans The Death. It’s got a lot of heart ‘n’ soul to go with a unique take on rock ‘n’ roll. Check out a couple tracks from the album here: soundcloud.com/slumberland-records/sets/evans-the- death-expect-delays

CD Review: Modest Mouse’s Strangers to Ourselves

Even if you don’t care for Modest Mouse, it would be difficult to argue that they’re not one of the most original-sounding bands of their era. As far as world-famous indie acts go, they’ve had a very non-traditional path; one song (“Float On”) blasted them into the stratosphere of superstardom years after their most critically revered albums. That song has probably bought them all large homes and allowed them to do whatever they want musically, including waiting eight years in between records.

Their latest effort, Strangers to Ourselves, clocks in at just under an hour and, pound-for-pound, is of similar quality to their last two albums, where their sound became more produced and polished compared to their work in the ‘90s. Frontman Isaac Brock’s abrasive vocals still push through the often- sensitive instrumentation. Fans first heard “Lampshades on Fire,” this album’s “Dashboard,” with a catchy chorus and the perfect BPM for WBRU.

“The Ground Walks, With Time In A Box” is a good example of the band retaining the sound they’ve cultivated on their more recent albums. It has a semi-disco dance beat with a jarring, treble-y riff on top of it. But the lyrics provide the kind of vague, caustic imagery that only Isaac Brock can produce, reminiscent of early classics like “Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine”: “The world composes with his shirt tails wrinkled hanging out / Bang us together to see what sort of sounds we make right now / The world plays music, playing skin in teeth inside of the mouth.” It’s cryptic poetry like this that makes Modest Mouse stand out, and it’s what keeps me intrigued even after waiting eight years.

On Strangers, Brock proves he can also make a more specific emotional statement. “Ansel” is about the disappearance of a main character’s brother and eerily captures how you can never know if it’s the last time you’ll ever see someone. “Coyotes,” the album’s musical highlight, is a folky waltz protesting American exceptionalism and the desecration of our land (a reoccurring theme in the band’s back catalog).

There are a few songs that don’t really make an impact whatsoever; “Of Course We Know,” the closing track, chugs along to nowhere and “Pistol (A. Cunanan, , FL. 1996)” is the kind of jumbled, indulgent “Wtf?” track that shouldn’t make it past the demo stage.

Strangers probably won’t be an instant classic, but it’s probably the breath of fresh air their legions of fans have been waiting for. It doesn’t recapture the youthful rawness of the ’90s that so many fans yearn for, but maybe it was their youth that made that possible in the first place. If you enjoy the Modest Mouse of the past decade, you’ll want to give this a try as well. There’s still no one that sounds quite like them.

EDM: Shows Springing Up This Month

Yes, the chill is still in the air in RI, but there are a bunch of local EDM events ushering in a warmer season. Below are some stand-out events that oughta put some spring in your step!

Mutiny Presents Light Step, a Benefit for Kay Kay: Kay Kay Lightstep has been a big supporter of the scene as well as a valued threads and second-hand rave clothing vendor. She is currently recovering from breast cancer, so proceeds from this event benefit her convalescence. DJ Venom will headline. Sat, March 21 at Club Oasis in Worcester. Find more information on Facebook.

Tight Crew Presents Toy Story 2: This party will include a dedicated kandi-making space, contest for best toy-themed costume, oh yeah, and fresh fruit!? Ladyfaith will swoop in from LA to hit the crowd with some hardstyle, while Nostalgia will spin dubstep. Sat, April 11 at Fete in PVD.

Bass Wave with Bass Kleph: Bass Kleph is an Australian rocker-turned-DJ who brings his talent for drumming into his live electronic music sets. He is perhaps best known for incorporating live drumming into his electro-house-tinged shows. Supporting sets by Justin Dupont, Tony Dispirito, and Scott Sylvia. Wed, April 15 at The Colosseum in PVD.

Hyperglow Tour: This traveling event (formerly Glow) features DJs, live art and body painting all under UV lighting. No artists have been announced yet. Fri, April 17 at Lupo’s in PVD.

Photo Essay: George Thorogood at Park Theater

Alt-Nation: Diamond Rugs’ Cosmetics

It was March 2012 when the much hyped “indie super group” known as Diamond Rugs — composed of members of Deer Tick, Black Lips, Dead Confederate, Los Lobos and Six Finger Satellite — rolled into the music industry’s premier annual showcase: the South By Southwest Festival (SXSW). The band had only played a couple of shows in the year before. Their self-titled debut would be released the following month and SXSW was to be Diamond Rugs’ grand unveiling to the industry movers and shakers. The rollicking train that is Diamonds Rugs didn’t so much arrive at SXSW as it crashed through the gates.

The first night in town, drummer Bryan Dufresne and vocalist/guitarist John McCauley went to see The Cult play a show in a tiny bar. However, the real party began after they arrived back at the hotel. Dufresne recounts: “We got back and were out of beer. It was past last call. John walks into the hotel lobby with a case of wine. He said he went to the first gay bar that he could find, flirted with the bartender and put down 40 bucks in exchange for the wine. So we’re drinking and a bottle shatters on the floor while we’re waiting in line at this deli in the hotel lobby. People are getting upset. John is sipping wine through a straw off the floor, I’m wasted, and in walks Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy of The Cult who are heroes of mine. I yell, ‘Hey great show guys. Want to party with us?’ They looked horrified at the spectacle, said no and left. Eventually I made my way to our hotel room and opened the door only to have a newspaper that was on fire sail over my head out the door as someone yells to get in. John is lying on a bed with a girl and I opened the door to the bathroom only to find the entire floor and walls on fire. I yell, ‘Why is the bathroom on fire?’ John shows me an empty bottle of nail polish that had been spilled on the floor, like that makes any sense. I start looking for my sandwich, for which we went through the fiasco in the lobby to get, and someone yells, ‘It’s right there!’ pointing to ceiling where what remained was smeared. We’re halfway across the country with our hotel room on fire and that was just the beginning.”

Diamond Rugs would go on to play a half dozen shows at SXSW that year and get touted as one of the highlights of the festival.

The idea of the Diamond Rugs was hatched between Dufresne and McCauley. Dufresne describes it as months of asking, “When are we going to play?” when he finally got a call from McCauley to come by because Ian St. Pe (formerly of Black Lips) was in town to jam. The chemistry between the three was evident immediately with St. Pe agreeing to join the yet-to-be-named group. McCauley added, “The initial idea was to make a punk record about weed and call it Stoner Drama and write all these songs about what stoner roommates argue about. Then I met Steve Berlin (of Los Lobos) and he was a big fan of the way the Middle Brother record sounded. I told him that I was going to go back to the same studio and invited him to join because he was a big fan of Deer Tick and Black Lips. His signing up surprised us, so we kind of decided to take it a bit more seriously. Then Hardy (T. Hardy Morris of Dead Confederate) and Robbie (Robbie Crowell of Deer Tick) also joined and we had a band.”

When Diamond Rugs went to Nashville in 2011 to record their debut with producers Justin Collins and Adam Landry, things moved at a breakneck pace with everything written and recorded within a week and a half. Dufresne described the first session starting with McCauley, Crowell, and him in the studio not sure what they were doing. “John said, ‘Follow me,’ and within 5 minutes we’re locked and the riff became the song ‘Tell Me Why’ off our first record.

“Ian Saint Pe came up for a few days and then we talked Hardy into calling out of work for a week and coming up. Nobody really expected Steve Berlin to show up, being that he is a much more accomplished musician and producer, but when he did show up, he loved it so much that he ended up calling his wife to say he was going to stay an extra few days.”

Dufresne remembers the session as “Madness. [We were] doing two songs a day with everyone switching off instruments. John would play percussion with me and on another song I’d do backing vocals. We made a record with horns on it that doesn’t sound stupid, which is really hard to do. Our producers, Justin and Adam, were great at keeping us in the moment and not over-thinking things. We all weren’t actually in a room together at the same time till our first show months later in Atlanta.”

When asked about the differences between playing in Deer Tick and Diamond Rugs, McCauley described Diamond Rugs as “just having a good time.”

“It’s not the most brilliant music in the world, but then again neither is Deer Tick,” continued McCauley. “There is no big concept behind it since we ditched stoner drama. I’m glad we ditched stoner drama because it turned into something much better. There wasn’t really time to over-think anything, but I’m not a fan of over-thought music.”

Robbie Crowell, when asked about the difference between being in Deer Tick and Diamond Rugs, cited his shift from keyboards to bass. Crowell says his major influence on bass is James Jamerson. “He pretty much revolutionized the instrument, and everyone else I love has idolized him. Carol Kaye’s a monster too — so many hits, so many hooks.”

Diamond Rugs released their second album, Cosmetics, last month, which I premiered at my monthly DJ night that happens on the third Thursday of the month at E&O Tap. On Cosmetics, Diamond Rugs nail it as far as creating sweaty barroom rock ‘n’ roll. The looseness of the sessions comes out in tunes like “Voodoo Doll” where Saint Pe wrote the verse and told McCauley that he had a song about a stalker and wanted McCauley to come up with a chorus to sing on it. Both Morris’ “Thunk” and McCauley’s “Couldn’t Help It” have an early Tom Petty pumped up on horns vibe. Known for his rough vocals in the past, McCauley’s voice has never sounded smoother on tracks like “Ain’t Religion.” “So What” starts with a Ramones-like jabbing guitar riff and evolves into a pop-punk nugget. The biggest rocker off the new record, Cosmetics, “Motel Room” has a pleading chorus of “open your heart, open your heart, like surgery in a motel room.” McCauley recalls seeing a video of a guy castrating himself in a hotel room. “It’s an image I’ve never been able to forget so I guess that is where the song came from although it’s not about castration.”

Cosmetics may not be something completely new, but what is … and still enjoyable? Cosmetics is more like the soundtrack of barbecue or the jukebox blaring on a Saturday evening at the neighborhood dive bar.

As for what’s next for Deer Tick, McCauley said the band is working on a new record, which is a slow and long process. “The plan is to take more time working on it than almost all the other combined (laughs).” He said there was some talk about doing another Dude Smash (Deer Tick’s all-day show with local RI bands), but it is up in the air right now. Deer Tick don’t have anything booked for the summer, but will return to the Newport Blues Café for their annual post-Folk Fest after parties. A new album isn’t likely till 2016. There is a Deer Tick documentary by William Miller in the works; McCauley was uncertain of its production stage, but there are plans to shoot additional footage when he is in town at the end of the month. In the meantime, McCauley is living in Nashville with his wife, singer Vanessa Carlton, and their beautiful 9-week-old daughter, Sidney.

When asked the biggest highlight of his professional career to-date, McCauley cited the year 2014, which included being tapped to play with Nirvana at their post-Rock and Roll Hall of Fame party, opening for the Replacements, and closing out 10 years of Deer Tick by backing Stevie Nicks on New Year’s Eve. McCauley said of Deer Tick’s future, “I’m curious to see where we go. We’re a cult band now. Our fans have a very particular taste, which makes it all the more exciting.”

Unless you’re lucky enough to obtain tickets to Deer Tick’s Blues Café shows this summer, it’s likely the only chance to see McCauley this year will be when Diamond Rugs rock The Met Café!

Diamond Rugs, New , and Justin Collins will rock The Met Café on March 28.

Email music news to [email protected] Roots Report: Music Beyond The Towers

Okee dokee folks … So, will we have an actual spring this year or will we get snow in April? Either way is fine with me, I bought snowshoes!

I don’t mind the snow, but this was a tough winter. And it could snow in May — it’s happened before. On my 16th birthday we had a snow day because of 6 inches of snow. Weather is a wild thing. You may be able to predict it, but you can’t control it. People just have to better learn to adapt. For example, I like to hike. There was too much snow this winter to do that, so I bought snowshoes. I adapted. Other places get much, much more snow than us, but they go about their lives just fine. They adapt. Unless you plan on hibernating over the winter, you will have to adapt if you want to enjoy life during the colder months. Last winter friends of mine actually performed their music outside in a snowstorm. Learn to deal with the cold; learn to drive in the snow. Doing donuts in my truck in empty parking lots helps me overcome the fear of driving in the snow. If people had adapted to the weather, we would have had far fewer show cancellations this winter. There is still a chance for snow in the coming months, so if it snows again don’t freak out. Be brave, but be safe. Enough for now, read on …

The Courthouse Center for the Arts (CCA) in West Kingston is kicking things up a notch and Coming Alive! The iconic courthouse building has gone through many incarnations as an arts complex. Currently Loraine Craig Lesniak is leading the charge to get the venue onto the radar of folks in South County and beyond. She stacked the calendar with classic artists such as Melanie, Jonathan Edwards, Pousette-Dart, Livingston Taylor, John Ford Coley, and Pure Prairie League. The Courthouse Center houses an intimate theater, which is a wonderful space to enjoy great performances. The CCA is easy to get to, has ample on-site parking and is a very friendly place.

Back in the hey-day of the folk boom, the area around URI was lush with music presented in venues such as The Post and Beam Coffeehouse and The First Fridays Coffeehouse. The folk boom ended and so did the venues, leaving a gaping hole. Slowly the area’s music void is being filled by places such as The CCA and Music at Lily Pads in Peacedale. It’s about time that these venues get on your music radar. Good things do happen south of the Tower on Route 1 and this is RI, so nothing is really too far away.

Coming up in the next couple of weeks at the CCA you can hear the music of Melanie and The Pousette- Dart Band. Melanie became the voice of an era in one magical instant onstage at Woodstock. On that night, a New York kid barely known outside of the coffeehouse circuit in Greenwich Village sang her song “Beautiful People” and inspired the first panorama of candles and cigarette lighters ever raised at a concert event. That, in turn, moved the young singer to write “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain,”) which sold more than one million copies in 1970 and prompted Billboard, Cashbox, Melody Maker, Record World, and Bravo to name her as female vocalist of the year. Her single “Brand New Key,” an infectious romp about freedom and roller skates, topped the charts in 1971. With guitar in hand and a talent that combined amazing vocal equipment, disarming humor and a vibrant engagement with life, she was booked as the first solo pop/rock artist ever to appear from the Royal Albert Hall to Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera House, and later opened the New Metropolitan Opera House in New York, the Sydney Opera House, and in the General Assembly of the United Nations, where she was invited to perform on many occasions as delegates greeted her performances with standing ovations. The top television hosts of all time — Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, and Dick Cavett — all battled to book her. In the years that followed, Melanie continued to record and tour. UNICEF made her its spokesperson. Her records continued to sell — more than eighty million to date. She’s had her songs covered by singers as diverse as Cher, Dolly Parton and Macy Gray. She’s raised a family, won an Emmy, opened a restaurant and written a musical about Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Melanie will sing at the CCA on March 21.

On March 27 at the CCA, The Pousette-Dart Band takes the Courthouse stage. The Pousette-Dart Band, led by Jon Pousette-Dart were a mainstay of album radio, a favorite on the college circuit, and became one of the busiest touring groups in the US working with such acts as The Byrds, Bonnie Raitt, Little Feat, The Eagles, James Taylor, The J. Geils Band and many more, including the now famous Frampton Comes Alive tour. While the original group dis-banded in the early 80s, Jon kept performing with original drummer Eric Parker and continued writing and producing into the 90s, when he returned to Nashville to begin recording again on his own. He turned out four more solo albums, including Anti- Gravity, a cohesive selection of his best songs to date. He has co-written with some of the finest writers in the country. In November 2014 Jon Pousette-Dart released his latest, Talk. For more about this and the Melanie show, County Line over to CourthouseArts.org

Also in the South County area is Music at Lily Pads, which is located in Peace Dale at the Lily Pads Professional Center. They have been presenting top notch performances since 2009. The space is in the sanctuary of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of South County, seats 170 and offers a comfortable and intimate place to hear live music. Lily Pads hosts local, regional and national talent, ranging from new and traditional folk, jazz and rock acts, to choral groups and classical ensembles, poetry events, and dances. Coming up at Lily Pads on March 28 is singer-songwriter Ellis Paul. Though some may refer to him as a folksinger, he is more. He is a storyteller. He first gained prominence in coffeehouses and open mic nights. It also helped him that he won a Boston Underground Songwriting competition and placement on a Windham Hill Records singer/songwriter compilation, bringing him his first hint of national exposure. Paul became infatuated with the music of Woody Guthrie, drawn to Woody’s social consciousness and the humanitarian streak that ran through his work. His commitment to Guthrie’s legacy eventually led to his inclusion in a 10-day celebration of Woody’s work held at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in September 1996, an event that included such notables as Bruce Springsteen, Billy Bragg, the Indigo Girls and Ani DiFranco and which was presided over by Guthrie’s daughter Nora. He’s performed at the Newport Folk Festival, played Carnegie Hall, and venues from Alaska to Miami, Paris and London. In addition to his 19 albums released on the Rounder and Black Wolf record labels, his music has appeared on dozens of compilations. Paul has also contributed songs to commercials, documentaries, TV shows and the soundtracks of several blockbuster films, among them three by the Farrelly Brothers.

Last week I finally had a chance to see the legendary Neil Diamond perform. Diamond performed to a near capacity crowd at the Dunkin Donuts Center. While I was walking to my seat I overheard someone say “You won’t smell any marijuana here you’ll just smell Ben Gay!” Yes, the 74-year-old singer’s legion of fans tends to be on the older end of the age spectrum but it doesn’t make them any less loyal or excitable. About twenty minutes after the scheduled 8pm start time the stage separated and Diamond strolled out while his 13-piece band played a long intro to I’m a Believer, the song he wrote for the Monkees. Behind the stage a large 3-D looking diamond turned on the diamond shaped screen. Diamond seemed to be going for the younger, hipster look as he was sporting skinny jeans and a beard. He sang the first half dozen songs of the night sans guitar. His singing was always accented by his signature arm and hand gestures and the occasional “huh!” and “yeah!” He eventually strapped his Gibson J-200 guitar on for Kentucky Woman. He set his guitar back on the stand and said. “I love to sing and play my new guitar but most of all I love to dance.” And with that he launched into the reggae of Red, Red, Wine. “I’m going to play a love song I wrote about forty years ago. I will try to remember it. I’ll play you the parts I remember’, introduced his song “Play Me.” And as the guitar solo kicked in he mentioned, “This is the part I don’t remember.” The fourteenth song, “Cherry, Cherry”, was stretched out by the introduction of every band member and an instrument solo by each. The sister back up singers, Julia and Maxine, did their best Salt-N-Pepa rap to the song. He added a couple of new songs to the night’s mix but then went back into the hits. One song had the lyrics floating across the backdrop diamond screen. For the tune “Holly, Holy” he picked up a black Martin guitar that had the words “Neil Diamond” emblazoned across the fretboard. He closed the twenty-song set with “I am I Said”. After a generous round of applause, Diamond once again took the stage and presented some of his biggest hits including “Cracklin’ Rosie”, Coming To America” and “Sweet Caroline” which was actually performed twice -once with Neil singing and then again as more of an audience sing-a-long with lots of “so goods” and “ba-ba-ba’s”. This was encouraged when Diamond said, “I am coming to the chorus and I need to hear everyone singing!” He finished up playing his own hits with “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show.” The last number in the five-song encore was from the Hollies’ -“He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.” The stage then separated and Diamond left the stage. Across the big diamond screen was written, “Thank You, Providence, Love, Neil.” Having never seen Diamond perform live the only thing I had to go on was concert footage I had watched on TV. My mother, who was my “date” for the evening (no comments- I am not ashamed to take mom out for a night of music!), thoroughly enjoyed the show and thought he was as good as ever. She had seen him quite a few years ago when he was in PVD. As much as I enjoyed the show the whole time I thought that Diamond looked old and tired. Yes, he is 74- years-old but so is Ringo Starr and Starr did jumping jacks at the end of his show. I wasn’t expecting Neil to do aerobics on stage but again he just seemed tired. He did play a two-hour show packed with just about everything you would want to hear. You could clearly see his face on the jumbo screens located on either side of the stage. There was something about his eyes that just didn’t have the life I had seen in the earlier concert footage. I am glad that I was able to see him perform live but wish I had done it much sooner.

That’s it for now. If you have Roots related music events that you would like shared, please send me the information and I will consider it for my column. The more I know the more that everyone else will know. Thanks! www.JohnFuzek.com

Album Of The Week: Pile’s You’re Better Than This Roaring out of the burgeoning Boston music scene with intensity and vigor, Pile has an amazing sound that sonically can peel the paint off of walls. Imagine if CBGB legends Television started out in late ’80s , signed to SST Records and started touring with Black Flag, Sonic Youth, Husker Du and Big Black. Once you get a good picture of it and start listening to Pile, I guarantee everything will come together and start to make sense. The band’s new release You’re Better Than This continues an extraordinary pattern of originality and forcefulness to create music that will flat-out astound you.

The rigid distortion from the guitars and the angst behind frontman Rick Maguire’s voice makes for soul-socking jams that will light up your eyes as if you hit the musical jackpot. Progressive rhythms and a raw, unapologetic aesthetic make Pile’s new album hit all kinds of dimensions while not straying from the base of what makes their band so good in the first place. A distinct emphasis on loudness and reverb is all over this album from track to track. Its in-your-face style with a bleeding heart on the sleeve will amaze you.

Turn your speakers up to 11 and prepare to rock out like a madman. It’s time for my top tracks off of the Album Of The Week. You ready to get crazy? Dive in.

Kicking off the album with absolute authority, “The World Is Your Motel” is a raging cyclone of fury that hooks you from the start with scorching guitars. Very Fugazi-esque, “#2 Hit Single” gets all artsy with an abstract structure, but with numerous points of headbang-worthy noise that ups the ante. For the conspiracy theory nutjobs there’s “Tin Foil Hat;” a slow beginning with lighting fast beats and chords makes for another intense track.

Pile are currently in a middle of a tour that will be covering The US, Canada and Europe, and they’ll be making a stop in Providence on May 20. No details on where they’ll be playing and who else will be on the bill, but expect an update on that pretty soon. Until they invade the stage at your friendly neighborhood music venue, grab a copy of Pile’s new release. It’ll give you a shock to your system like few can.

Pile’s Bandcamp: pile.bandcamp.com St Vincent Puts Lupo’s In A Trance

Photo Credit: Kendra Whitcomb

On March 8, at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel, there was something incredible going on. Annie Clark, better known under the moniker St. Vincent, made her presence felt by bringing the noise and leaving everyone in awe. Jenny Hval opened the show with a memorable performance. It was the perfect way to close out the weekend with authority.

With a lot of reverb and a trip-hop synth sound, Jenny Hval came on stage to open things up and got all sorts of weird. You had these solid beats setting a groovy tone, but her abstract style had the audience captivated. On stage was a screen that had images like a girl looking as if she was nearly kissing a coil, and there were performance artists — two ladies acting like they were put under a spell while Hval was performing. At one point there was even a dangling banana. It was unique to say the least, but the music was actually pretty rad and Hval has a beautiful voice that serves as an anchor for her craft.

With the curtains closed and a robotic voice introducing the show, Clark and the rest of St. Vincent started it off with a noise pop number, “Bring Me Your Loves,” that had me hooked from the start. I was impressed by how much funk and groove they have. While performing “Cruel,” St. Vincent put on an amazing light show while getting crushingly electronic and groovy as hell. I’ll confess, it got me bobbing my head and shaking my hips a bit. After talking about the things everyone has in common and never giving up, Clark and crew kicked in “Chloe In The Afternoon” and my mind was obliterated. So much distortion to go with that clean sheen of pop really made it for me. Getting the crowd revved up for some bumpin’ synth with “Rattlesnake,” I thoroughly enjoyed the badass beats that turned Lupo’s into a cool dance party. Clark talked about her philosophy of retribution and more about what we have in common and then boom, the beat hit and “Huey Newton” took things over with vigor. Emphatic beyond compare, it was loud and intense, and everyone was loving it. Standing on a platform in epic fashion, Clark lead the rest of the band in “Cheerleader” and took everybody to church by getting grungy and noisy in the best way possible. My favorite song of the night had to be “Birth In Reverse,” a very jumpy vibe that was a fitting end to the initial performance. The crowd wanted more, yelling like a bunch of savages craving for another dose. Clark came up solo and stood on that platform for “Strange Mercy” and then introduced her bandmates Daniel Mintseris, Toko Yasuda & Matthew Lee Johnson. Together, they ripped “Your Lips Are Red” to smithereens. Raw, unapologetic noise consumed everyone and it captivated the whole room. Clark was crowd surfing, and pandemonium infected everyone at Lupos when she stood on top of a bouncer and threw a white shawl into the crowd. This was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of shows in my time. Word on the street is that a lot of people who were at Lupo’s that night feel the same way. St. Vincent will be coming back to the New England area sooner than you think. Clark and her gang of talented musicians will perform at the Boston Calling Music Festival at Boston’s City Hall in May. If it’s going to be as good as they were at Lupo’s, then it’s something you won’t want to miss.

For more info: ilovestvincent.com

Album Of The Week: Newish Star’s How Soon We Forget

With ripping guitars and fast rhythms mixed with a melancholy vibe, Buffalo’s Newish Star have that classic punk sound mixed with a pop sensibility that keeps them walking the fine line between being a blast from the past and the best new kickass band you’ve ever heard of. They have a new album out, How Soon We Forget, that is a huge force to be reckoned with. If you’re looking for a band that’ll flat out impress you and have you wanting more, look no further than Newish Star and their new album.

In classic punk fashion mirroring the early styles of The Ramones and The Clash, How Soon We Forget doesn’t have a track that goes beyond the 3-minute mark. For anyone who has ADD, this album is definitely what you’ve been looking for. Full of fury and energy while keeping things genuinely real, Newish Star has an honest side to their songwriting that doesn’t sugarcoat anything. With unapologetic rock ‘n’ roll that hits your senses like a freight train, this band has a no-frills approach to their music that makes listening to them extremely enjoyable.

Finally February is over! I don’t know about you, but February 2015 really sucked for nearly everyone in New England. A great example of things that don’t suck are my top tracks off of the Album Of The Week. Think of them as a dose of anti-February.

With a weird intro that has a girl expressing her individuality, “Casino Run” shreds with blistering guitars and feverish drums that make for the ultimate headbanger. Another shredder is “Salt Water Tank,” a guaranteed mosh pit starter. Concluding the album in a heart-on-sleeve fashion, “Feeling Good” keeps it short and simple while blazing through a riff fest that is amazingly electrifying.

Newish Star will be part of what should be a pretty insane show with The Atom Age, Richie Ramone & The Queers at Mohawk Place in Buffalo on April 1. Until they come to Providence, grab a copy of How Soon We Forget from Newish Star. They’ll be your new favorite band.

Newish Star: newishstar.bandcamp.com

Motif Interviews Sage Francis

An enigmatic force and a local legend around Providence, Sage Francis has everyone’s ear when he has a microphone in his hand. He’ll be performing at The Met in Pawtucket on Fri, March 13 with New Haven, Conn-based musician Ceschi Ramos, Brooklyn hip-hop duo Metermaids and fellow Providence artist Storm Davis. In advance of the show, Sage and I had a chat about the success of his latest release, Copper Gone, obtaining Elmo costumes, the future of independent music and everything else.

Rob Duguay: Last June you released your fifth studio album, Copper Gone, and it has become your biggest release yet. How do you handle your success as an artist? Do you embrace it or do you ignore it and focus on the next project?

Sage Francis: I’m certainly happy with the acclaim I get after all the hard work, but it’s not something that I put much stock into. Success is such a dangerous word. It always makes me uneasy to see people equate my relative success with happiness. It’s all come with so much struggle and stress. When someone says, “At least you’re doing what you love,” it really makes me take a step back and wonder if they’d even know who I was if I actually did what I loved. I’ve been able to accomplish more than anyone could have predicted, and I’ll do my best to keep things moving — that’s all I can say. Once I feel like I’m standing on a mountain top and once I’m content enough to die there or come back down, I’ll be in a much better position to answer this kind of question.

RD: Last month you and Ceschi Ramos put out a music video for the track “Barely Alive.” How did you and Ceschi meet and where can we get our own Elmo costumes?

SF: Ceschi and I first met at a hardcore punk show in 1996. I don’t remember this, but he’s one of the very few people who purchased my first demo tape. I don’t think he started releasing any official albums until the mid-2000s but I took notice. Not just because he’s fairly local, but he’s clearly got a special talent. A few years later we started working together on various levels. I think he was the last person we had perform in the Strange Famous Records basement, back when we used to do shows at our office space. Anyway, the Elmo costumes are rentable at any bootleg costume shop. I don’t know, Ceschi was the one who hooked them up for our video. I just had to make sure my wig game was on point. No worries there, always is.

RD: What is the most difficult thing about running Strange Famous, and what do you love most about it?

SF: The most difficult thing is figuring out ways to make as much impact as possible with so few resources. I like keeping our label small and compact, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to reach as many people as possible. The odds placed against independent labels seemed to have increased exponentially since 2006. The hustle never ends, and I guess the exhaustion is the worst part. The best part is working with a team of people with a unified goal, it’s nice to be a part of something like that. It’s probably more important to me than I’ve fully acknowledged for the better part of a decade because I’ve been so immersed in it, distracted by how busy we’ve been. We’ve developed a loyal fan base and we’ve developed a killer roster with a small, dedicated staff who all go hard for Strange Famous and that’s all with minimal media attention. A lot of indie labels have folded or sold out in various ways while we continued to weather the storm. That might be what I am most proud of, out of anything I’ve been involved with in my career.

RD: What is the main difference between poetry and rapping?

SF: There’s no main difference between poetry and rapping, but I feel the best “poetry” doesn’t rhyme. I also feel that the best rap doesn’t need to be poetic, though I prefer when it is.

RD: What do you think the future holds with the battle between independent and mainstream in the world of hip-hop?

SF: The battle has nothing to do with hip-hop. It’s a shared battle between conglomerate control of all common channels and indie entities fighting over the scraps. We’re all going to rip each other’s faces off and some lucky blogger will capture it on video. When the video goes viral, the money made off of ad revenue probably will go directly into supporting the fine arts.

Purchase tickets to the March 13 show here: etix.com/ticket/online/performanceSearch.jsp?- performance_id=7913257