Child Bite are always a good time when they come around these parts, and paired with Ed Schrader's new band with Devlin Rice, this one's a no brainer. Ed Schrader's Music Beat has a new LP due out on Load Records, details of which are currently TBA.
This show at Golden West starts at 10 PM, costs five dollars, and you can RSVP here.
Saturday's Whartscape festivities were filled mostly with sounds of the rock and roll variety, and were considered by most to be the best part of the weekend fest. Ending the outdoor portion of the day with Dan Deacon and his ensemble, No Age, Arab On Radar, and Lightning Bolt proved nothing short of epic.
In addition to this killer foursome of sets, we saw a pretty astounding batch of songs from Double Dagger. Nolen made his usual threat to the photographers, however this speech stood out when he quoted something Ellie from Sick Weapons once said, "seems like a show doesn't happen in this town unless there's a photographer there".
Saturday also featured a great set from our favorite Detroit band, Child Bite - whose new LP is pretty fantastic. Ponytail's set was also worth noting, especially with rumors swirling regarding the band's current status. The day also opened up with some Ponytail, as Dustin Wong joined the Rapdragonsfor their song that samples his guitar part.
Get Valerie's full photo set from Saturday after the jump. Child Bite
Above is a freshly cut video from our living room session with Future Islands recorded late last year, with Splice Today editor Zach Kaufmann behind the lens. The song is called "As I Fall", and will be the closing track on In Evening Air, their Thrill Jockey full length which drops on May 5th.
This LP will easily be one of the best works to come out of Baltimore this year, 36 minutes of some of the most confident and realized output to birth from the trio. William, Sam, and Gerrit are poised to celebrate their upcoming releases via the way they know best, setting out on a full U.S. tour.
April 5th at the Zodiac, Future Islands play with Jason Urick,Child Bite, and Zoos of Berlin. In addition to this being the release show for their EP dubbed In the Fall, which precedes the LP and is limited to 500 copies, this will also be the release show for Jason Urick's Fussing & Fighting. Half of the proceeds go to benefit Whartscape.
Get all the tour details and another new living room session video below.
You might recognize "Litte Dreamer" as the beautiful closing track of Wave Like Home, or from a remix done by Jones with the added vocals of Victoria Legrand from Beach House for their Post Office Wave Chapel remix 12 inch out on Free Danger.
After a short stint of shows in early April, Future Islands embark on a massive North American tour with Jana Hunter's new band, Lower Dens. The tour also features dates with some other favorites including Height with Friends, Double Dagger, and Lonnie Walker. The In Evening Air album release show will be a big one at Floristree on April 30, with Double Dagger and Dustin Wong.
April 2 - Middlebury, VT @ Middlebury College April 3 - Providence, RI @ Building 16 April 4 - Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands (w/Air Waves, Guardian Alien) April 5 - Baltimore, MD @ Zodiac (w/Child Bite, Zoos of Berlin, Jason Urick) EP Release Party for us + Jason!! April 9 - Frederick, MD @ Cafe Nola April 22 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat (w/DOUBLE DAGGER, Ed Schrader) April 23 - Charlottesville, VA @ Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar April 24 - Greensboro, NC @ tba
North American Tour with LOWER DENS April 30 - Baltimore, MD @ Floristree (w/DOUBLE DAGGER, Dustin Wong) In Evening Air Release Party! May 1 - Brooklyn, NY @ Death by Audio (w/DOUBLE DAGGER, Light Asylum) May 2 - Philadelphia, PA @ Danger Danger (w/DOUBLE DAGGER) May 3 - Shepherdstown, WV @ Blue Moon Saloon May 4 - Raleigh, NC @ Berkeley Cafe (w/Lonnie Walker, Whatever Brains) May 5 - Charlotte, NC @ Milestone May 6 - Greenville, NC @ The Phoenix (w/Lonnie Walker, NAPS) May 7 - Charleston, SC @ Outer Space May 8 - Atlanta, GA @ 529 May 9 - Athens, GA @ Nasty World May 10 - Knoxville, TN @ Pilot Light May 11 - Chattanooga, TN @ tba May 12 - Oxford, MS @ tba May 13 - Pensacola, FL @ tba May 14 - New Orleans, LA @ tba May 15 - Houston, TX @ Mangos May 16 - Austin, TX @ The Mohawk May 17 - Lubbock, TX @ Riprock (w/Height with Friends) May 18 - Las Cruces, NM @ The Equinox May 19 - Phoenix, AZ @ tba May 20 - Las Vegas, NV @ tba May 21 - Los Angeles, CA @ Sync Space (w/Foot Village, Robedoor) May 22 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Smell May 24 - San Francisco, CA @ tba May 25 - Eureka, CA @ Lil Red Lion May 27 - Portland, OR @ tba May 28 - Olympia, WA @ Northern May 29 - Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern May 30 - Boise, ID @ tba May 31 - Salt Lake City, UT @ tba June 1 - Denver, CO @ Rhinoceropolis (w/Pictureplane) June 2 - Kansas City, MO @ The Pistol June 3 - Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop June 5 - Chicago, IL @ tba June 6 - Detroit, MI @ tba June 7 - Toronto, ON @ Primary Colors June 8 - Montreal, QC @ tba June 9 - Burlington, VT @ The Monkey House June 10 - Dover, NH @ The Brickhouse June 11 - Boston, MA @ tba June 12 - Brooklyn, NY @ tba June 13 - Baltimore, MD @ Penthouse
I was able to catch Child Bite at the Copycat Annex last Sunday, a Detroit trio that makes its way to Baltimore quite often. I've seen them two other times in town just this year, opening for Future Islands and Double Dagger at the Zodiac, and also at Whartscape.
Not only did these dudes kill it again this week, but they offered up a series of releases more than worth my 12 bucks.
Child Bite just finished up a trio of 7 inch splits, backed by This Moment in Black History, Big Bear, and dd/mm/yyyy. Each disc's cover art in the series was a different color, with the vinyl to match. However when all three jackets are lined up properly, a cohesive mural of art is revealed. All three releases were pressed by a different label, with my personal favorite disc put out by Baltimore's own, Wham City Records. Wham City's release is the yellow disc, and the last in the series. It's backed by everyone's favorite Toronto band, dd/mm/yyyy. The Child Bite A-side track is called "Gender Points", and just might be my favorite jam from this Detroit band. They rocked it live the other night, but it comes off just as well on vinyl.
While it sports the same frantic riffs and squalls, this track is one of their more focused works. "Gender Points" features catchy-as-hell horns, that start out giving the song an almost creepy vibe but quickly turn to a more upbeat romp. This is one of their more accessible tracks, and might be a good starting point for someone new to this crew. Grab it next time they're around while you can, it's limited to 500 pressings.
While a full length album is always welcome, I really dig the presentation that comes with this 7 inch series. I hope this becomes more of a trend, as I've seen the idea pop up more and more as of late. Grab the first 2 discs from Joyful Noise and Forge Again .
Cover art for Double Dagger'sMore was revealed today, and is looking to be pretty much on par to any high expectations. Lofty hopes are probably the case considering Nolen and Bruce both teach design at MICA, and are resposibile for Post Typography.
The album is still due out May 5th via Thrill Jockey, but dude's have a busy week planned of wildly unrestrained post-hardcore fun. I admit, I still don't know how to effectively classify their utter awesomeness. Which is obviously a redeeming quality of the trio.
Based on the new songs they've been playing live, More is looking to be pretty ridiculous. And considering they are mini-touring with Future Islands this weekend, I'd say attending one or all of the following would be wise:
Double Dagger are playing the Zodiac next Thursday, March 5th. My excitement for their new album has now grown to epic proportions. The band is currently finishing up with mastering and artwork, and we can all assume the album art will be brilliant yet again.
Sample the most important song to come out of Baltimore in 2007 below. If you're not already familiar, "Luxury Condos for the Poor" rocks everything wrong with urban renewal and Baltimore's real estate landscape. One can only hope the new album will include More intellectually luminous attacks on our society's missteps.
Stream"Luxury Condos for the Poor" below, download more free DD tracks here.
