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The Eames Era with Exit Clov
Saturday · The Comet
If the New Pornographers were a more functionally integrated sum of their delightfully schizophrenic parts — Carl Newman's skittering Power Pop anthemics, Dan Bejar's off-center Art Pop deconstructionism, Neko Case's '60s chick Pop classicism — and if they then decided to run the whole business through a Pavement-influence filter, they might begin to approach the weird and wonderful sound of The Eames Era.
The quintet (vocalist Ashlin Phillips, guitarist Grant Widmer, drummer Greg Gauthreaux, bassist Brian Waits, guitarist Ted Joyner) assembled five years ago when they were all students at LSU in Baton Rouge, La. In 2003, they became The Eames Era, christened in honor of designers Charles and Ray Eames, and recorded a pair of well-received discs, both of which were done between classes and touring.
The discs were widely acclaimed and earned Phillips understandable comparisons to Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis. The band was lauded for their sunny AltRock dispositions, rousing melodies, bouncy hooks and impassioned presentation. The Eames Era's profile rose considerably through steady college radio airplay and the band had a song placed on Grey´s Anatomy, which increased awareness and curiosity about the group.
All of this attention led to a proposed large-scale tour in 2005, which was cancelled when Phillips and Joyner were injured in a collision between The Eames Era's van and a military rescue vehicle involved in Hurricane Katrina operations. Once the pair had recovered, the band reconvened and finished the recently self-released Heroes and Sheroes.
Here's a ground-floor opportunity to see The Eames Era before a major-label bidding war bumps them up to the next inevitable level. Before their free Comet show Saturday, check them out that afternoon (1 p.m.) live on
 The Planetary Group
The Eames Era
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The Eames Era with Exit Clov
Saturday · The Comet
If the New Pornographers were a more functionally integrated sum of their delightfully schizophrenic parts — Carl Newman's skittering Power Pop anthemics, Dan Bejar's off-center Art Pop deconstructionism, Neko Case's '60s chick Pop classicism — and if they then decided to run the whole business through a Pavement-influence filter, they might begin to approach the weird and wonderful sound of The Eames Era.
The quintet (vocalist Ashlin Phillips, guitarist Grant Widmer, drummer Greg Gauthreaux, bassist Brian Waits, guitarist Ted Joyner) assembled five years ago when they were all students at LSU in Baton Rouge, La. In 2003, they became The Eames Era, christened in honor of designers Charles and Ray Eames, and recorded a pair of well-received discs, both of which were done between classes and touring.
The discs were widely acclaimed and earned Phillips understandable comparisons to Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis. The band was lauded for their sunny AltRock dispositions, rousing melodies, bouncy hooks and impassioned presentation. The Eames Era's profile rose considerably through steady college radio airplay and the band had a song placed on Grey´s Anatomy, which increased awareness and curiosity about the group.
All of this attention led to a proposed large-scale tour in 2005, which was cancelled when Phillips and Joyner were injured in a collision between The Eames Era's van and a military rescue vehicle involved in Hurricane Katrina operations. Once the pair had recovered, the band reconvened and finished the recently self-released Heroes and Sheroes.
Here's a ground-floor opportunity to see The Eames Era before a major-label bidding war bumps them up to the next inevitable level. Before their free Comet show Saturday, check them out that afternoon (1 p.m.) live on woxy.com. (Brian Baker)
Everthus the Deadbeats with Chick Pimp, BIGBIGCar, Drew Danburry and Iji
Saturday · The Holy Grail
Named for the witty rejoinder hurled at The Dude by the guy who pisses on his rug in the early moments of the Coen brothers' masterwork, The Big Lebowski, Everthus the Deadbeats has been compared favorably to everyone from Ween to The Stranglers to Oingo Boingo to The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
And while all of that seems at the very least appropriate and occasionally dead on the mark, it hardly begins to accurately describe the sonic jaw drop that accompanies your first exposure to the mad, mad, mad, mad world of Everthus the Deadbeats.
Take the phonically playful "Trevor Dust the Bedsheets," from the Muncie, Ind., quintet's most recent EP, Addicts Stuck in Traffic. Vocalist John Muyelle works the dark side of the microphone, a cross between Bunnyman Ian McCullough and Lust For Life-era Iggy Pop, while the band swings into psychotic Pop carnival mode, like Sparks collaborating with Danny Elfman on the soundtrack to a Tim Burton animated epic about disquieting childhood fears coming to fabulously shrieking real life. Propelled by the twin keyboards of Muyelle and Lisa Berlin, guitarist Allen Bannister's velvety psychotronic six-string crunch, Benny Sanders' fuzz-drenched bass and Dan Fahrner's subtle yet insistent timekeeping, Everthus the Deadbeats veer crazily from manic Pop to frenetic Dance/Jazz to blistering AltRock with barely a flinch.
ETD are Rock freaks with an ominously twisted sense of humor and self and an expansive view of music history and their well deserved place in the sonic food chain. (BB)
Look Mexico with Junior Revolution
Sunday · Poison Room
Look Mexico is refreshing. Hailing from the wonderland that is Tallahassee, Fla., the Pop/Indie quartet understands that it doesn't have to sacrifice its musical integrity for the sake of monotonous hooks and melodies. Instead, the members cleverly opt to produce something thought provoking and masterful. Imagine that, right? Each slice of their recent album, This is Animal Music, is built on fluttering drum beats beautifully accompanied by mathematical guitar melody and solid walls of vocal harmony. As instruments begin to chaotically pull away from one another in a series of distorted, sweeping movements, the magnetism of the melody keeps everything in check.
The eclectic sound of Look Mexico pays homage to a menagerie of past and present Pop powerhouses, like American Football, Karate and Minus the Bear, but it also refuses to get into bed with any of them and stay the night. Ultimately, the album's musical themes avoid being pigeonholed because Look Mexico's collective personality has a distinctive luster to it. Damn fantastic.
Having been elected by Alternative Press as one of the top 100 bands to look for in 2007, Look Mexico has recently embarked on a tour on which it hopes to effectively serve the sound its been cultivating since 2004 to the masses. The band has the pleasure of linking up with the local Pop/Indie trio Junior Revolution in what promises to be a pleasant evening of head bobs and foot taps. The J-Rev boys have recently been recording a brand spanking new album, and I'm sure many of the new gems will be on display for the audience's listening pleasure. (Kevin Warwick)
