Music Tonight: Seattle's Motopony bring its endearing Electro/Folk/Indie Pop/Soul hybrid to the Southgate House tonight for an intimate show in the venue's Parlour room. The band was formed by fashion designer and writer Daniel Blue and received a lot of attention right out of the gate, drawing praise from NPR, KCRW, RCRD LBL and Nylon and Filter magazines. Motopony's debut, eponymous LP (deemed "buzzworthy" by MTV) is an enchanting, chilled listen, with grabbing melodies and vocal phrasings that help it recall the best work of the Bee Gees, sort of a bridge between that trio's early Pop/Rock sound and later Saturday Night Fever gems that gets sucked up into a time machine and relocated to a comfy, chic Soho nightclub circa 2011. Tonight's show is open to all-ages and begins at 9 p.m. Cincinnati ElectroFolk outfit Evans Collective opens. Tickets are $10 at the door. Here's the video for the slinky Motopony single "King of Diamonds."—-
Momentous Musical Happenings for Sept. 28
On this day in 2001, Courtney Love filed a lawsuit against Geffen Records and the surviving members of Nirvana, claiming an agreement she signed concerning splitting rights to the band's music should be invalidated because she was under duress. According to BIllboard, Love was "seeking a declaration that Nirvana's contract with the label is void and all rights pertaining to the band should revert to her." A settlement was reached a year later that satisfied all parties. (Though we have to imagine Love was under duress when she signed that agreement, too.)
Happy belated birthday, Nevermind! Below enjoy almost 45 minutes (!) of Nirvana performing live in Seattle about a month after their legendary album was released. The video is included in the 20th anniversary reissue package for Nevermind.
Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers sharing a Sept. 28 birthday include: talk-show host and (often unintentionally) promotional champion of Rock icons from The Beatles to The Doors, Ed Sullivan (1902); late Blues singer Koko Taylor (1928); R&B singer Ben E. King (1938); and Country singer Mandy Barnett (1975).
After the release of I've Got A Right To Cry, her terrific Sire Records debut from 1999, Barnett — whose sound had a more traditional flavor than most of her poppier peers in Nashville — seemed poised for stardom. But the album didn't do as well as expected commercially and it took her over a decade to follow it up.
This year, Barnett returned to her roots with the album Sweet Dreams, a tribute to idol Pasty Cline. Barnett — who, of all the artists who can claim to sound like Cline, comes closest to capturing the legend's sublime vocal qualities — got her start as a 12-year-old singing "Crazy" at the Grand Ole Opry and she starred in the musical Always … Patsy Cline as a teen (and started in the role again in 2009). She also played Cline in the film Crazy, about Nashville songwriter/guitarist Hank Garland.
