Tag Archives: smith westerns

 Unknown Mortal Orchestra @ Glasslands

By amelia |
Sep 22 2011

words and pictures by @braidofsmoke

Unknown Mortal Orchestra melted maddddd faces off on when they played Glasslands along with Hospitality, Blouse, and Man/Miracle last week!

Portland’s Blouse, who shares bassist Jacob Portrait with UMO, sounded so clean and sharp I almost mistook them for a recording when I got to Glasslands. Check this great video of them performing “Into the Black” from Bleary Eyed Brooklyn.

Brooklyn indie pop quartet Hospitality got everyone warmed up with their minimalistic, catchy tunes. Fronted by Kansas City expatriate and multi-instrumentalist Amber Papini, her vocals resemble that of Karen O., but only if she were a little less brooding and had been chilling with animated animals all day long. Yeah, this girl’s got a sugary sweet voice, and it fits so well her smiley onstage demeanor and the band’s jangly, feel good tunes like “Betty Wang” and “Friends of Friends.”

Hospitality @ Glasslands 9/15/11

With Nathan Michel on drums, Brian Betancourt on bass, and recent addition Kyle Olson on guitar, these guys put on a show that will have you forgetting about the job you just came from or the paper you have to write by tomorrow morning. They’re inviting you to go on a lovely pop journey through rainbows and dandelions, and damn straight you’ll be joining them.

Hospitality @ Glasslands 9/15/11

Hospitality recently signed to Merge Records and is expecting their debut full-length to be released early next year. To grab a couple of free tracks, visit their Bandcamp.

UMO @ Glasslands 9/15/11

Based in Portland Unknown Mortal Orchestra is all you’d ever want 1960′s Beatles-inspired psychedelia rock to be. Formed by New Zealand native Ruban Nielson (formerly of the Mint Chicks), Portland producer Jake Portrait, and teenage drummer protege Julien Ehrich, these guys exploded into the indie rock scene with their track “Ffunny Ffrends” in late 2010. By spring, they were already opening for heavy-hitters like the Smith Westerns. They released their self-titled debut LP in June via Fat Possum.

For all the hype, these guys certainly don’t disappoint live. Even though they haven’t been together for very long, these guys run a pretty tight ship on stage and as a spectator you can see that there’s some real chemistry going on when they play together. Nielson’s weirdly high wailing vocals give all of UMO’s songs an airy futuristic vibe, but his ass-kicking guitar solos keep us down to earth.  With the drum beat solid, these guys make you remember why you started listening to rock music in the first place–because you love being punched in the face by tasty riffs. All we have to say is keep em’ coming, UMO. We are more than happy to be taken to your psychedelic, acid-inducing wonderland.

So Many New Releases!

By amelia |
Apr 12 2011

Oooo today is a big day for a few of our super awesome upcoming acts–their albums are dropping, and we want to tell you all about it!

Bass Drum of Death is releasing its long awaited debut LP GB City today via Fat Possum. The duo premiered such a great show with The Smith Westerns back in January, and now the Mississippi boys are returning to Glasslands to headline on April 22nd!

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D. Charles Speer & The Helix welcomes it’s third full-length Leaving The Commonwealth by way of Thrill Jockey just in time for its April 21st show at Glasslands with Endless Boogie!

Sonny & The Sunsets drops its sophomore effort Hit After Hit also on Fat Possum. We just announced the quartet’s July 30th show at Glasslands so that gives you plenty of time to learn the new record cover to cover.

Giveaway: Smith Westerns

By amelia |
Jan 12 2011

Okay even though the show is sold out, we’re gonna give you guys one more chance to see the Smith Westerns and give away a pair of tickets (YOU +1) to join the party.  Just remember Glasslands is really hard to sneak into (we don’t have a smoking door).

All you have to do is retweet the contest tweet @popgunbooking.

The winner will be announced by 5pm on Thursday, January 13th.

Smith Westerns (ALBUM RELEASE) // Ducktails // Bass Drum of Death // Sundelles

GOOD LUCK

Q & A: Smith Westerns

By amelia |
Jan 7 2011

Smith Westerns are coming to Glasslands on 1/18 to celebrate the release of their second full-length Dye It Blonde, and we’re all like YAY!  I got to trade the guys a few questions for a few answers all about the great things going on for the band these days.

yeah, the NYPD just wants to get a free show

You guys found some quick notoriety as a ‘garage’ band with your first record, but your sophomore effort is a huge departure from that whole vibe.  What contributed to the transition?

I never thought we were really a garage band. The first record was us trying to be a power pop band. I think “garage” is like a buzzword that people who want to pretend they know music label every band that doesn’t have a keyboard in it. I think we wanted to show everyone our ability at writing music and at playing. We also wanted to show that given the opportunity we could make something that would surpass or at least stand up to our lo-fi release.

Dye It Blonde sounds clear as a bell – seriously so entertaining from start to finish.  How did you guys navigate your first time in a proper studio?

Thanks. We wanted to make something epic that would be a departure from the first record, it being lo-fi was cool but it made it too dated and we wanted to make something that would hold up and move towards timelessness or being a classic: or that was the goal. We didn’t navigate it properly; we were always freaking out thinking we were going to run out of time or money. Chris Coady (our producer) told us what was up and made sure we were taking the time to do everything right and he knew how to transfer what we wanted to do but didn’t know how to do in a studio setting.

The “Weekend” video looked like a lot of fun to shoot, is that a typical weekend for you in Chi-town? You guys have some nice axe skills, btw.

Not, really. We’re never at home in Chicago anymore, we don’t really live anywhere now. But if I had money I would go spend it like we did in that video.

I know you recently wrapped up a European tour with MGMT – what was the craziest city you played?

Prague, we came on and played percussion on “Kids” and then the whole time we played our set these little girls kept screaming.

The last couple of times I saw you guys play Brooklyn the parties got shut down by NYPD – I’ve never seen a full set!  Which song psychs you out the most to play live for an audience right now?

Yeah the NYPD just wants to get a free show :P . I like playing songs that the audience don’t know off Dye It Blonde, because they don’t care but then its like just wait till ya hear this on wax, brah.

BTW you can get tickets HERE