Show Update: Open mic, Rick Rude, Metal music, Art show, and more

Brewbakers, a small, homey coffee shop in Keene, NH, is having an acoustic open-mic tomorrow, Wednesday, December 4th.

That same night, Rick Rude is playing a set at Sonny's Tavern in Dover, NH.A self-described "slacker rock" band, Rick Rude should appeal to fans of Dinosaur Jr. as well as contemporaries Ovlov and Speedy Ortiz. There will also be a showing of the film Wreck-It-Ralph. Facebook event.

Sonny's is having another show the following night, Thursday, during which three sludge/metal bands are performing. I don't know much about Stasis or Finisher, but I do know that members of KYOTY play in The Erotic City Electric Blues Band, so it must be excellent. Don't let this eyesore of a flyer scare you away! The Facebook event can be found here.

Next, there's been a flyer made for the Badfellows, The Pleasure Gap, The Pants show @ Studio 550 (Manchester, NH).

Finally, and most excitingly, Sam Paolini is organizing her second annual Wrong Brain Holidaze Bizaare. Wrong Brain is an awesome NH-based zine that showcases some of the most creative art and music from local artisans. This fair should be incredible and I definitely plan on stopping by.

Band Spotlight: Machine Language

(Photo courtesy of Last.fm user jakeemccoy)

Aside from having a particularly great band name, Machine Language was a short-lived (ended around 2010, maybe?) but important punk/hardcore band in the New Hampshire scene. The vocalist, Ryan (who now plays guitar and sings for Pleasure Gap), had a desperate yet powerful presence behind a microphone and used his time in the band to deliver misanthropic pessimism in soul-crushing waves. Meanwhile, the instrumentation is frantic, dark, and apocalyptic -- something that pissed-off New Hampshire bands are all too comfortable expressing (the end portion of "We Make Evil People," posted below, is a particularly strong example of this).

Members were also fairly involved with the local scene, playing in numerous other bands such as Armor For The Broken and Jive, and were known to eschew the typical "pay-to-play" norm that was unfortunately such a standard practice around New Hampshire a few years ago. Ryan also handled the band's graphic design work and aesthetic, creating the artwork for Still Living as a project in an art class we took back in the day.

Despite being the band's only completed output, Still Living plays out as a fully-realized and accomplished album, cementing the band as one of New Hampshire's hidden gems. Highly recommended.

DISCOGRAPHY

Still Living | Download

Demo 2010 (Raise That Flag You Bastard!) | Stream

OTHER LINKS

Facebook (Inactive)

Myspace (Inactive)

Show Update: Badfellows, Pleasure Gap, Chalk Li, and more

I recently learned about a few more shows happening, which is always a good thing.

For starters, there's a house show this Friday (Black Friday) with Badfellows, The Pleasure Gap, and Foreign Tongues, but it's private so message one of the bands to get the address.

Badfellows plays a folk/alternative mix, not unlike their contemporaries in The Pleasure Gap. Although I've seen The Pleasure Gap play live before (they were fantastic), I've never had the pleasure of seeing Badfellows perform and I'm eager to see how they hold up.

Foreign Tongues, from what I remember, leans more towards the post-hardcore side of things on the alternative spectrum. I'm at work so I can't re-listen but Youth Funeral had the chance to play with this band over the summer and I thought that they (Foreign Tongues, that is) put on an interesting and engaging performance.

Next, there's a second show happening on December 13th. In case you forgot, Timothy Jackson Scott, Chalk Li, Pukey Stevens, and Chelsea Mae are having a performance at Modern Gypsy this same day. If that's not something you're interested in, however, Badfellows, The Pleasure Gap, and The Pants are playing Studio 550. Both venues are in Manchester, NH.

Furthermore, along with writing and recording new material, Youth Funeral is going to be playing a few shows in December and January, so keep your eyes posted for more information about that.

November Update

After a quiet month of October and with half of November behind us, No Guidance is finally rising from its slumber and seeing its first traces of activity. Despite some initial delays, the Youth Funeral Symptom of Time cassettes have been ordered and we are now currently waiting patiently for their arrival from the plant; more information and photos will be posted once we have them in our hands.

Meanwhile, the first visual No Guidance release has also been ordered. 50 hand-numbered posters, 11"x17" and printed on Premium 100# Glossy Cover, designed and illustrated by Raphael Bastek, will soon be available in our webstore and at live performances by assorted No Guidance bands.

New Hampshire has seen a variety of excellent releases as well. In a scene that has lately been crowded with hardcore and punk outfits, Pleasure Gap is a very unique band that blends alternative rock, folk, and many other elements to create an eclectic and charming sound. They released Tropical Barn on September 18th and it's fantastic.

November 2nd saw the release of Primitive Form by Guilt. The members of Guilt have been playing in and out of various hardcore bands in the New Hampshire and Massachusetts music scenes for the past few years and I think I speak for everyone involved that this new EP is the culmination of years of effort and growth.

That being said, I recently had the pleasure of attending FEST 12 in Gainesville, Florida with some of my best friends. It was quite an excellent showcase of punk and post-hardcore music and I had the opportunity to see some fairly impressive bands. One that particularly stood out was Ittō, a band that I had been listening to and following avidly for quite some time but just now saw live; I highly recommend them.

I unfortunately missed a fair amount of bands that I was eager to see (Wild Moth, Pile, LVL UP, United Nations to name a few) but the good certainly outweighed the bad and the warm weather was a pleasant change of atmosphere from the bitter cold of New Hampshire.

Keep posted for more information about art, music, New Hampshire, and everything else.