The Rumble: Rumspringa, Nucular Animals, A B & The Sea

I've been digging the blues lately, especially the gritty garage variety, so when The Rumble's latest press release described one of the bands, Rumspringa, as "LA based blues soaked rock act... in the vein of the Black Keys," it caught my attention. "Shake 'Em Loose Tonight" (mp3) does seem to capture some of the Black Key's laid back amble.

Filling out the lineup are San Francisco's A B & The Sea and Portland's Nucular Aminals, whose playful and free-spirited indie pop I saw last year at Berbati's during their residency there. Don't know much about A B & The Sea, but the upbeat and retro pop on their homepage is pretty catchy. It reminds me of The Explorers Club.

Overall, it seem like a fun show. Plus, it's free. It's on August 3rd at Holocne. If I'm not completely burnt after PDX Pop! I'll be there.

Art Brut @ Holocene

The Sunday after Halloween in a Halloween-loving town like Portland is probably not the best night for a concert. But that didn't stop Art Brut from pulling out the stops and shredding so hard on the guitar that an amp literally caught fire. The set list pulled from across their three albums, kicking off with a one-two punch of "Formed A Band" and "My Little Brother". And while it was a blast hearing the singles that first caught my attention, it was the songs off of the new album that made me want to grow old with Art Brut. Songs like "DC Comics And Chocolate Milkshake" just speak to me, even if I don't drink chocolate milk or read comic books. It captures those mundane things from my youth that I am not willing to give up, like PB&J. "Slap Dash For No Cash" perfectly sums up the garage rock I love and "The Replacements" could be about any number of classic bands I am just discovering. Plus, all the sarcasm and attitude is wrapped in riff after giant riff. And it sounds great when it's delivered live with Eddie Argos wandering through audience ranting and improvising.

Art Brut - "Alcoholics Unanimous" Video

Time to drink some water and rally. Art Brut is in town for a post-Halloween concert at Holocene. "Alcoholics Unanimous" seems particularly relevant today. Personally I can't think of a better way to work off a hangover than to have Eddie Argos shout sardonic lyrics at me over angular riffs. Dirty Dudes and Princeton open.