Some great music happening in Baltimore this weekend
Sweet lineup: Baltimore-based indie duo Wye Oak, on-the-rise pop act 2AM Club and faux-hawk-headed vixen La Roux are all headed to Charm City . . .
Above: Brooklyn indie band the Lisps will perform at the Wind Up Space this weekend
We’re coming up on a strangely wonderful weekend for music in Baltimore and we decided to prepare for it by creating this day-by-day/genre-categorized guide to help you determine which dark sweaty crowd you want to shake your hips or sway dreamily with, this weekend. Happy listening! (All-age shows are noted).
FRIDAY 11/5
Brew Category: Easy on the Ears
Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak (Photo courtesy of www.myspace.com/wyeoak)
Wye Oak, Height with friends & The Art Department
Ottobar, Doors at 8pm; show at 9pm – All ages
Tickets $10 – Buy online
Idolator music blogger Kate Richardson called Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner of the Baltimore-based duo Wye Oak, “either two of the most talented musicians currently out there right now” or “aliens from a distant planet where all beings are born with the inherent ability to produce songs that are equal parts intelligent, emotional, challenging, and fun.”
The Brew’s verdict? Their pretty, sleepy songs are perfect for daydreaming or holding someone’s hand (both would preferably take place in a hammock but the Ottobar is a sufficient second choice). You can stream the pair’s most recent album, “The Knot” (2009), here.
SATURDAY 11/6
Brew Category: Intelligent Pop
2AM Club & Runner Runner
Sonar (Club Stage), Doors at 7 – All Ages
Tickets: $10 – Buy online
The last time 2AM Club came to Baltimore (at Ottobar over the summer), the rapidly-on-the-rise six-piece pop ensemble managed to get the entire crowd (including 50-somethings) on their feet jumping up and down and dancing in time to their catchy, self-aware music – even those who had never heard it before. Fresh off the “Up in the Air Tour” with Mike Posner, they’ll headline the all-ages show this weekend at Sonar and we expect the energy level to be no different this time around. Check out this video of their first single, “Worry About You.”
Brew Category: Proper Punk
Social Distortion
Rams Head Live, Doors at 7pm
Tickets $30 – Buy online
The Orange County-born punk band came together in the late 70s when Mike Ness was only 17 and grew up in the underground punk clubs of London and NYC. It’s been over 20 years and as many changes since the four-piece band, which is known for its intense hard-hitting sound, embarked on its first North American tour in an old school bus, and now they’re at it again in a cross-country tour through iconic US venues.
Brew Category: Indie/Experimental
The Lisps, Mr. Moccasin, Honeyboat, Dead Whale Ramblers
The Wind Up Space, Doors at 8:30; show around 9pm
Tickets $7 – Buy at the door
New York-based band the Lisps describe themselves as “an assemblage of 21st century indie-rock vaudevillians” who perform songs about “science and love, space and pain, [and] babies and documents.” We were initially drawn to the photograph of them wearing red macrame dinosaur hats and couldn’t not stick around for the performances “known to involve bloody tambourines,” “lipstick smeared melodicas” and “old kitchen cabinets and dinosaurs.”
CMJ called them a “true diamond in the rough of local bands” and Spin.com compared them to “an old time variety show” with songs that “tap dance between simple country guitar melodies to a cacophony of melodica, horns, [and] even bag pipes.” Check out their video for “Pepper Spray” below.
SUNDAY 11/7
Brew category: Experimental/Eclectic
Ben Frock and The Love Unit Orchestra, Chris Pumphrey Sextet, Out of Your Head Founders (Hopkins/Frazao)
The Wind Up Space, Doors at 7:30pm
Tickets $5 – Buy at the door
Ben Frock’s 19-piece Love Unit Orchestra is a one-night only manifestation of his band, the Love Unit. Frock as well as the other performers on the evening’s bill are members of Baltimore’s “Out of Your Head” improvised music collective, which is a Peabody-funded group that features a different set of improvising musicians every Tuesday night at the Wind Up Space (The collective was recently named “Best Band” in City Paper’s annual “Best of Baltimore.”). An interesting footnote to Sunday’s performance. In the spirit of improvisation (and his 30th birthday), Ben Frock, who is apparently the bravest person on the planet, will be getting an improvised tattoo by a local tattoo artist named Darl Gnau. The only plan for the tattoo’s design is whatever inspiration Gnau gets from listening to the evening’s improvised music.
La Roux (Photo courtesy of raiment.wordpress.com)
La Roux w/ Far East Movement, Francis and the Lights
Rams Head Live, Doors at 7pm – All ages
Tickets $25 – Buy online
La Roux is a beautiful birdlike, red faux-hawk-headed vixen with the voice of an angel who made her indie-yet-accessible sound mainstream with the chart-topping hit “Bulletproof,” which has been remixed more ways than there are to say “red hair” in French. La Roux will be backed by Wesleyan University-born Francis and the Lights (Watch their new video “Darling, It’s Alright”) and Far East Movement, who just finished the Up in the Air tour with 2AM Club (above) and are now gracing Charm City with their hit single “Like a G6” the same weekend as their former tour mates. Check out La Roux’s video for “In for the Kill” (recently remixed by Kanye West) below.