Moneybrother - "Born Under A Bad Sign" Video

Moneybrother brings his punky brand of pub soul to Mississippi Studios tonight on his tour with Jesse Malin. It's a great pairing, as Malin sings Springsteen's gutter anthems while Moneybrother is more influence by Joe Strummer. I am a big fan of Moneybrother's album Real Control, so I can't wait to see those songs live, especially "Born Under A Bad Sign" (mp3) and "Feel Like Hurting Somebody".

The Booze Bombs - "Funnel of Love" Video

Last summer the Booze Bombs' "Friday Night Blues" took over my rotation, and my mind, for a solid 6 weeks. The new single "Funnel of Love" I am thinking will do the same. This band absolutely rocks, and I could totally see their song in the next Guy Ritchie film during some drunken debauchery scene. Her sultry voice and twangy guitars balance each other perfect like smell of Marc Jacob's "marc" perfume mixed with the taste of Kentucky Bourbon. Wow I love this song!

Madison Concrete @ Slabtown

I don't know much about any of these bands except that The Madison Concrete have a lot of '60s soul covers on their MySpace page. Brownish Black and The Satin Chaps also seem to be cool retro dance bands. I doubt I'll ever buy their albums, but they sound like a lot of fun live.

Moneybrother - Real Control (2010)

On Real Control, Moneybrother play what I'd call pub soul, following in the footsteps of musicians like Paul Weller who looked beyond their punk rock roots for inspiration in soul and reggae. I hear the echos of Joe Strummer on the shimmering keyboard driven ballad, "We Die Only Once", and Kevin Rowland on the chorus of "6 AM". "Born Under A Bad Sign" (mp3) opens with a soaring series of la la las, before settling into a rocksteady beat, while "Here Comes The Vain Again" has some moments that recall late 60's Motown. It makes for a great mix. I love the way "Feel Like Hurting Somebody" charges into a singalong chorus. Apparently Moneybrother has been big in Scandinavia for years. You can bet I'll be checking out the back catalog.

He's playing Portland's East End on April 10th. I can't wait to hear him belt it out live.