Show Worthy 9/7 - 9/13

OMG you guys there's like something TOTALLY AMAZING going on every night this week. Too bad I'm working every fucking night this week.



Brendan Murray by R. Yau. via
Monday, September 7
Brendan Murray at Weirdo Records (donate, 7:00, all ages)
You may be thinking to yourself, "Wellll, it's a Monday night, I can see Murray pretty much whenever I want, and it's only him playing..." If that's the case then you need take a step back and fucking realize what this shit is about. Mr. Murray is doing a motherfucking drone installation. I have no idea what that means but it sounds pretty fucking great. It'll run from 7-9 so that means you can space out for 2 hours in a tiny record store and have a highly enjoyable evening in the process.



Raed Yassin Quartet by Intangible Arts via
Tuesday, September 8
Raed Yassin Quartet (Raed Yassin, Audrey Chen, Morton Olsen, Jeff Carey), Skinny Vinny at Outpost 186 ($10, 8:00, all ages)
Fantastic group playing here. Yassin doin his acoustic bass thing, Olsen on percussion, Carey with the electronics, and Chen who does some seriously amazing vocal work while fucking with her cello. Skinny Vinny's weirdo improv noise jazz will kick things off.



Rise Set Twilight by almost foodies via
Tuesday, September 8
Rise Set Twilight at Cafe Fixe (donate, 8:00, all ages)
The next "experimental coffee house" at Cafe Fixe presented by Non-Event has Rise Set Twilight coming to town for the first time in 3 years. Projections, analog shit, and all sorts of noise while drinking some delicious fucking coffee is probably the best way to spend your Tuesday night in Brookline.



Bruno Pronsato by von boot via
Wednesday, September 9
Bruno Pronsato at Phoenix Landing ($5, 10:00, 19+)
Bruno Pronsato (aka Steven Ford) makes killer electronic beats that are perfect for dancing or chilling. If Raster Noton decided to put out some dance records, Bruno Pronsato would be the first release.



Dirty Three by fishplums via
Thursday, September 10
Dirty Three, The Low Lows at ICA Boston ($25, 7:30, all ages)
I was this close to going to this show. I got the day off and everything. But then I was like, "FUCK. Am I really going to spend $25 on Dirty Three?" Maybe if they were playing Ocean Songs like they are at ATP NY. Otherwise, no. Sorry dudes. But if you got some extra cash this week, then this would the place to spend it.



Hrvatski (as Keith Fullerton Whitman) by Seth Tisue via
Friday, September 11
Mavis Concave, Hrvatski, Sharpwaist, Typical White Male, Nathan Trites & Max Lord, Karlheinz, DJ Travis England at Butcher Shoppe/Burger Stoop (donate, 8:00, all ages)
I can't tell you how pumped I am for this show. Do you see that fucking lineup? It's a fucking powerhouse. By the end of the night, the Butcher Shoppe is going to be leveled because it won't be able to contain all of the awesomeness. You got your noise, glitch, drone, power electronics, and everything in between. So so so cool. And yeah, they're attempting to change the name from Butcher Shoppe to Burger Stoop so keep your eyes peeled.



Many Mansions by Asteroid M via
Saturday, September 12
Boston Underground Summit (Round Robin style with Many Mansions, General Interest, World Map, Big Digits, The Needy Visions, Crystal Understanding, Mmoss, Life Partners) at Outside The Lines ($10, 6:00, all ages)
Kinda self explanatory, right? You know about the Round Robin thing done by Dan Deacon multiple times. Except now it's with some of Boston's best experimental bands. There's no way this isn't going to be the coolest thing ever.


Sunday, September 13
Ulysses' Crewmen, Diagram A, Xiphoid Dementia, Zerfallt, Bitchneck at Outpost 186 ($5, 8:00, all ages)
Alright, so this is really confusing for me. I think Ulysses' Crewmen is a play. Something to do with Insurgent Theatre and Existence Establishment. And Diagram A, Xiphoid Dementia, Zerfallt, and Bitchneck are all "involved" and probably performing their regular noise. But I'm not totally sure. Either way, all those dudes are fucking cool as shit and it should be a great time.



Telefon Tel Aviv by florena via
Sunday, September 13
Telefon Tel Aviv, The Race, Coralcola, DJ Pandai'a at Great Scott ($10, 9:00, 18+)
If you're not quite feeling the noise thing Sunday night, you should be at Great Scott. Lots of lush electronic soundscapey tunes. And this is the first tour for Telefon Tel Aviv since Charles Cooper died and Fredo Nogueira has (temporarily?) taken his place helping Josh Eustis on stage. And Coralcola has that new epic song "Egggirl" which I'm sure he'll play. So this show is going to be fucking awesome. Obviously.

Sons Of Magdalene - Ephemera

Sons Of Magdalene - Pourquoi Tous Les Hommes Sont-Ils Des Laches? (excerpt)



Sons Of Magdalene = Joshua Eustis = 1/2 of Telefon Tel Aviv. Simple enough, right? One of the guys from Telefon Tel Aviv (Josh) has a solo project (Sons Of Magdalene). I found out about this little project of his because he had some info on his MySpace regarding Belong's Colorloss EP, which was mixed in Josh's studio. I listened to the one track he had on his page, "Quartet For Erhu And Tape," and immediately added him as a friend, waiting for him to announce any sort of release.

Well, that day came, just over a week ago. I placed my order (which you can also do, info right here) and received my limited edition, hand numbered CD-R copy (number 8 ftw!) of Ephemera yesterday. Hooray!

I love it. It's gorgeous and beautiful. And you know what it sounds like? It sounds a helluva lot like Belong. Which is certainly not a bad thing. Actually, the world could use a lot more music that sounds like this. Ephemera has two tracks, both similarly titled (something in French about men and women) and they're both long enough to develop sonically (about 20 and 17 minutes) but just short enough so that it leaves me craving more. The first one, "Pourquoi Tous Les Hommes Sont-Ils Des Laches?" sounds more like Belong, while the second track sounds more like William Basinski. And I'd say being compared to those two puts you in very good company.

I believe his technique is to record a live orchestra on tape, and then process and loop the tape. It definitely has that looped tape sound, much like William Basinski, who I know is a major influence on Belong (have you ever compared "Who Told You This Room Exists?" to any of the Disintegration Loops?), and must be for Eustis as well. And since I'm such a fan of both Belong and Basinski, I have immediately fallen in love with Sons Of Magdalene.

However, sometimes while listening to Ephemera, I feel like I could easily be listening to either Belong or Basinski, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but maybe Sons Of Magdalene needs to distinguish itself a little bit more. I know these are (I think) only his third and fourth recorded songs, so it's possible he just needs a little more time in the oven. I have no problem with that, given that he releases all of his future work. I would be very interested to follow Sons through an illustrious and prolific career of gorgeous tape drones. From the sounds of it, I'm sure it would be a good time.