I’m not sure if you know this… but Gypsy Eyes is popping up all over the place. They are overseas, present seas, and it’s rumored will soon be intergalactic in coming months. Stay tuned for dates on Mars.

Upcoming shows you need to be at in no particular order:

JUNE 8TH – Vandaveer is taking a holiday from touring in France to come home and of course play a show in Iota, a quaint lil’ place in the district. It’s basically coming out to see the man play JUST for you, you’ll be so close. Oh, not to mention he’s gaining fame internationally. In fact, after closing out his French leg of his tour and this ONE show he’s playing back in the states, he’s back to touring around the good ol’ United Kingdom. Do check him out.

JUNE 6TH – Mikal Evans will be back in town for one night only to play the Black Cat. Last time she played the cat it was quite the show. I dare say it was the sexiest event ever to take place in any room, but that’s just from a man who gets goosebumps from a girl on a guitar. Really though, she is a 8 shades of awesome.

OH!!!!! and how could I forget. Good friends of Gypsy Eyes are playing some awesome awesome shows, too! SEE-I will be playing Starscape Festival, basically a huge rave kinda festival in Baltimore right on the water. Which water? I’m not sure, but Starscape is in their 10th year. Hell, Slick Rick will even be there! The festivities are one evening long, starting at 2pm June 7th and going until day break, about 6 am. It’s a great chance to see these guys if you never have before. This in addition to their

If that wasn’t enough for you, June 28th Theivery Corporation will be at Merriweather with just about the best complimentary bands ever. Seu Jorge, for those who don’t know, made huge waves when he got national recognition performing David Bowie covers in “The Life Acquatic with Steve Zissou.” He is super awesome, and just chill as hell. Also performing is TV on the Radio! I love this band so much, it’s not even funny. They are one of the most driving forces in indierock today and everything they put out is awesome. THIS will be a night to remember.

SO GO SEE SOME LIVE MUSIC, DAMMIT!

I did not want to go to The Apes CD release party.   I particularly did not want to stay after I heard opening act Kid Congo Powers.  But The Apes really did blow me away.  In due time, let’s start at the beginning.

Food for Animals was the first act, and came on stage about an industry standard 30 minutes late. Right from the get go, one would notice first that they rappers were having a good time despite the modest crowd size, due most likely to the second fact, the rappers didn’t look at the audience. Interestingly, they interacted with the crowd but never looked at them. Kinda like being fucked without being kissed. They were energetic and actually pretty good. The apple computer based beats (staple of both opening acts) probably would have sounded decent if you could hear any of it. It sounded like being stuck between two H2’s at a stop light in downtown, one blasting the latest rap song with obligatory dance associated and bass too heavy to enjoy, and the other competing with some euro-trash electronica, a throwback to indie blips Bumblebeez 81 only entertaining to huge ass nerds (read: moi). In the off chance you could actually make out the beat, you could here it was well constructed and pretty technically advanced. Overall, it just sounds like they were trying to do too much, stretched beyond their means perhaps. A more modest approach could have shown their strengths instead of the “going-for-gold” technique that just embellished their weaknesses. It’s like when a fat guy goes shopping: You think that buying smaller clothes will make him look smaller since, you know, he’s wearing smaller clothes, but in actuality, it just looks like a hot dog expanding in a microwave. But they did have awesome t-shirts for super cheap.

Next on the bill was Kid Congo Powers. Ugh. He slithered on stage looking something like a John Waters impersonator with no introduction, and the P.A. music still going, and just started talking. He introduced himself which was nice, and then told us about himself, which was odd, and then talked about how he grew up a long time ago, which was teetering on boring, and then talked about where he grew up, and WOULDN’T FUCKING SHUT UP. FOR THE FIRST 10 MINUTES OF THIS GUYS SET, HE READ A PART OF HIS BOOK! The segment of the book that he read just kept referencing semi famous people from the 70’s/80’s and shit. It could have been fact or fiction, I don’t care, couldn’t keep up with it, and didn’t want to. Eventually, a bass player came out, and “Kid” as the lead singer/guitarist was affectionately self titled synched up his mac to play some “madawesomeBeats!!!!11!1!ONE.” Ugh. The first song sounded (and looked) like it was his first time fucking but you could see from his gargoyle face he was too high to enjoy it, as he concentrated on thrusting his phallic guitar into the air more than the noise that permeated from it. The obedient bassist stood by and played angry, open bass chords high on the neck for a standard “don’tfuckwithme” attitude. The second song was at least a song. This time, there were even vocals! Pretty much, this guy killed himself with a bad first impression. Maybe I’m not cool enough to “get it.” Maybe it’s a punk thing that was just way over my head. I just wanted to beat the shit out of him to see if he’d fight back.

So with this, you can imagine how psyched i was to continue watching bands. The organ/keyboardist came out first with a red skimask on, anounced herself as “Majestic Ape,” talking about how she shit her pants from the last set. If one thing could make the last set worse, it would be someone talking about how good it is…and then a girl talking about shitting her pants. Then they started playing, and my entire outlook took a 180. Every member of the band was awesome. The guitarist has bass pickups in his axe, virtually combining two instruments into one. Though it is not a completely new technique (i.e. grunge rockers Local H comes to mind), it definitely has its place in the quirky, dark band. And the player of this Frankenstein never blinked. His eyes were WIDE opened the entire set, reminiscent of a portrait who’s gaze is omnipresent. Damn, it was creepy. The drummer was the most energetic one I’ve seen since Tommy Lee, and just as powerful. He really did look like a toy ape (appropriately) with a snare fused to his chest, and the way he beat those drums made you scared for the cymbals. Also, he donated all of his sweat glands to the lead singer, which was an interesting change of pace. While we’re on the vocals, it was a great milieu of indie rock falsetto and potent, early rock and roll vocals, conscience of what many singers fail to get: knowing when not to sing is as important as knowing when to. While some bands find the inclusion of an organ as something to be constantly accentuating, there was a happy medium in using it as adding to the madness while keeping it in check. She, the organist, Majestic Ape if you will, was a bit eclipsed by the amplitude of the rest of the band. But I can assure you firsthand that this slight slip-up is corrected in the mixing of the new album, the reason for this record release party, Ghost Games. The set consisted of mostly songs from this album with minimal banter between the crowd. It was solid, songs flowed from one into the other, and I only spotted one missed cue, only because the drummer scoffed at another members late entry. There isn’t enough that can be said about this band live, though. To pick up the evening from the declining state it was headed was not only impressive, it was godly. Go see them if you get a chance. Also, go pick up a copy of their CD, Ghost Games. Very, very good stuff.

And Bonnaroo was doing SO well.  At least from the sounds of it.  This year’s Bannaroo headliner is Pearl Jam?  And Metallica?  I can kind of get Pearl Jam despite being years out of their prime, them releasing an album in the past 2 years and all.  But Metallica?  They’ve gone on record as saying their new album will go back to their roots, the type of good shit they were making when they were still the metalist band on the planet, or at least the best selling metal band.  Since those days, you may remember them on one side of the war against downloading.  Ironic that the vast number of people attending Bonnaroo will no doubt be the people who owe some artist or another several thousands of dollars, at least from Metallica’s stand.  Eddie Vedder at least has a kind of old, rustic rock star vibe, the kind you get with years of road wisdom.  James Hetfield is like a guy from “Celebrity Rehab” which, when you think about it, is really just this generation’s version of “Where Are They Now?”  So, boo on the headliners.  What else we got?<p>  The likelihood that Levon Helm will get the crowd that he deserves from a audience coming to see State Radio and Against Me! is about the same of Led Zeppelin reuniting along side the 1/3 of the band already certain to perform: an acoustic set with Robert Plant and Alison Kraus.  There will be the jam band festival regulars, obviously Dark Star, Bela Fleck, Yonder, Robert Randolph and Umphrey’s, but they traded Keller for Kanye, a Les Claypool band of freaks for the frat-friendly O.A.R., and STS9 for a Deathcab band that practically wrote the book on modern indie, at least in the hearts of weeping girls everywhere.  There are quality acts, some of which will put on awesome shows.  I’d go see Gogol Bordello in a shoebox…I might even prefer it that way.  Derek Trucks is just a prodigy who’ll no doubt play with uncle Butch Trucks (of the also performing Allman Brother’s Band).  Speaking of which, there’s a good group of “see-them-before-you-can’t” bands, Allman Brothers, B.B. King, and Willie Nelson, in addition to Phil Lesh and the afore mentioned Levon Helm.  Unfortunately, it all just feels too…hipster.  But if you are in the mood for almost a straight up jammy festival, one a little bit more managable, consider Langerado.  A little bit lesser known, but more of that neo-hippie smell that made Bonnaroo what it is some five years ago.  You’ll keep a lot of the same acts, actually.  Phil Lesh, Ben Folds, Umphrey’s, Dark Star, Sam Bush, Ghostland Observatory, but you’ll also get some Built to Spill, Benevento Russo Duo (Marco is just blowing up all over the place, if you hadn’t noticed, working even with Brad Mehldau), the reunion of Blind Melon, Perpetual Groove, STS9, The National, MMW, Les Claypool, and G. Love to boot.  Headliners for Langerado are the living legends Beastie Boys, Michael Stipe’s posse R.E.M., and 311.  They do have their share of one trick pony’s however (*cough* Matisyahu? *cough*) For full lists, click the links and read where it says line up.</p><p>SO yeah, obviously you can’t have a bad time at a festival…unless you get some bad opium or get a bad acid trip going, or if you’re just stupid about it (LIKE MISSING LEVON HELM IF YOU GO TO BONNAROO).  And there’s still a bunch of good ones not yet announcing their line-ups: All-Good, the modest yet blatantly commercial Virgin Festival.  Oh, and how can I forget.  Coachella.  Personally, I’d give a whole bunch to go see Coachella… but later on that.

What the fuck is a listening party anyway? I always thought it was just a bunch of kids smoking l’s, sitting around a record player with a new vinyl, eating cheetos and geeking out. Apparently, I’m an idiot. Last night’s listening party for Shortstack’s The Covers EP showed me on what I’d been missing out.

To head off the night on mainstage was an obstreperous Suns of Guns playing their 4/4 hardcore, who did all they could to illicit response from the scenester army of 50. It was pretty clear that no one in the audience knew who they were except the band’s guests. And that’s cool, good for them. They mumbled each and every song title, but just like the lyrics during the songs, none of them could be understood (I THINK one of them is called “Snakes are Pregnant”). It was pretty standard punk-influenced hardcore, not exactly what I had come to see, but then the headliner is fairly unique. The vocalist had a pretty good scream going on, sounded like he really had a good understanding of his voice. While the rest of the band wasn’t bad, they were just kinda boring; an average drummer and bassist. Until we got to a specific guitar solo. It was just obnoxious. Burleigh Seaver (of Shortstack) sat in playing lap steel, but instead of adding shape and ambience, it just added to the dissonance accrued from the shrieking guitar. It wasn’t progressive or inventive, just offensive. My ears demanded I leave, so I made my way to Food for Thought and enjoyed a vegan hotdog quietly.

Junior League stepped in as a last minute change to fill in for Celebration’s cancelation. They came out like a typical bluegrass band; upright bass, mandolin, acoustic guitar, banjo, abbreviated drumset, and just to round things out, a harmonica. Their music, unfortunately, was not bluegrass, and the crowd was not a straight up country fanbase. Something had to be wrong with the sound guy. During the opening few songs, the volume was way down, so much so that you could barely hear the band. The entire crowd just talked over them with ease, and you could see the bands falling enthusiasm. Each solo, be it guitar or harmonica or mandolin, while may not have been the most amazing performance, was virtually inaudible. For the first 20 minutes of an hour set, the only thing I heard was the drummer spending all day on the snare, kickdrum and high-hats, a glorified walking bass, and some vocals.

Finally, everything was just so and the sound had been all but fixed. The vast amount of songs had great dynamics (read: many quiet parts) that would have been effective if they had the attention of the crowd from the beginning. That not being the case, it was difficult to tell where some songs ended and others began. The most memorable part was a cover of Robert Johnson’s famous “Crossroads.” For those lacking in Delta Blues history, “Crossroads” is the story of Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil for mastery of guitar. Although the cover was lively, energetic, and probably the best song of their set, Junior League missed the point. A guitarist playing while someone else sings totally takes away from the whole point of the song. The ghost of Robert Johnson was clearly angry as he popped one of the guitar strings mid-song. On whole, the bassist said it perfectly. While referring to the new four song EP, he said, “We think it sounds really nice.” Nice indeed. Junior League played “nice”music accompanying a hapless performance.Then there was Shortstack.

I’ve been stoked for this show for some time now, watching and re-watching the few videos posted on Youtube, listening to the albums over and over again. They came on stage and immediately explained Adrian Carroll was having a bit of a sore throat, something that would become painfully apparent to the now considerably stocked room as the show progressed. His throat was working 60 hours overtime, and every capsule in his neck was cringing, but to his name, he didn’t bitch out. He hit just about every note, belting even those in the clouds without shrieking into a half-assed falsetto. Playing mostly songs from the new Covers EP (OH! That’s what a listening party is!) but also some earlier tunes from “The History of Cut Nails in America,” Shortstack has cohesion that ultimately can’t be depreciated by the illness of one member. Every other member stepped up as a would-be crutch, rocking out that much harder. Bassist Mike Pahn was so zoned in on his upright bass. When songs ultimately picked up, he did this out of control, palm mute, slap . . . thing I’ve never seen anyone do, especially on an upright. Drummer Scott Gursky was onpoint the whole night, jamming out like the best of them, and Burleigh Seaver was, typical of a guitarist, in full out crazy mode when he had the luxury of not being bogged down by the lap steel.

Every song by the end was a rock n’ roll tune, even those that began as ballads, like “Nothing in the World Can Stop me Worrying About That Girl,” originally by the Kinks. They’re live sound compliments the album’s sound in a much rawer form, keeping the rockabilly style with an echo and grunt. They played a bit of an abridged set, probably due to Carroll’s throat pains. The last song, “Commotion” originally by CCR, was so awesome. During the opening, Gursky looked like he was seizing from hitting the kickdrum so much, so hard, and so fast. It came to me then that though the opening bands were very different from Shortstack, the combination between the two of them would probably equate to Shortstack: a rowdy rock band infused with country. It came full circle.

The Fort Knox Five have been rocking their new residency at the Eyecandy Sound Lounge at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. They’ve also brought many special guests to the club including Afrika Bambaata, Killa Kela and now for the second time DJ Craze. The last time Craze was in town, he completely destroyed the place with a barrage of old school funk, party rockers and even Drum & Bass.

So if you are in Vegas on Valentine’s Day – take your special sweetheart out for a spectacular night of music.