Late Night Pick: The Lone Bellow

Americana band The Lone Bellow is on Late Show with David Letterman tonight (11:35 PM, CBS). They will no doubt be performing something from their new album, "Then Came The Morning". They'll be at the Boston Calling Music Festival in May, which looks like a good one with Beck, Pixies, My Morning Jacket, Ben Harper, Tenacious D, Tame Impala, St. Vincent, TV on the Radio, Jason Isbell, Run the Jewels, and more. Here they are back on 2013 peforming "Teach Me to Know" from their self-titled debut album:



The Decemberists debuted their new project on Jimmy Kimmel Live the other night, "The Decemberists Sing YouTube Comments":

Late Night Pick: The Decemberists

Geeky alt rockers The Decemberists are on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight (11:35 PM, ABC). Mayor Charlie Hales of Portland, OR recently declared Decemberists Day in Portland on 1/20/15. That just happened to conincide with the release date of their new album, "What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World". Here they are doing "The Mariner's Revenge Song":



Here's Belle & Sebastian on last night Conan doing "Nobody's Empire":

Weekend Picks: Zap Mama, Antibalas, BRONCHO, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Avers, Bio Ritmo, Trongone Band

Thursday night at the Modlin Center, two-time Grammy winners Spanish Harlem Orchestra will turn up the heat. The show starts at 7:30 PM and tickets range from $10 to $32 depending on your demographic. Here they are a few years ago:

Friday night at The Camel, Trongone Band headlines with opener Dale and the Zdubs. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 and it's $7 to get in. Trongone Band just got back from Key West, where they played a private wedding event, so they will be tanned and ready to go. Here they are at The Camel in December with Ron Holloway on sax doing an Allman Brothers classic:



Indie garage punk alternative noise rock band BRONCHO (out of Norman OK) will be at Strange Matter Friday. Doors open at 9 and it's $10 to get in. Yonatan Gat, The Milkstains and Daddy Issues open. You can download the Dine Alone Records Winter Sampler for FREE which includes BRONCHO, Lucius and others HERE. Here's BRONCHO's video for "Class Historian":

Hardywood Park Craft Brewery has a party on Saturday to celebrate their work with Cigar City Brewing to create The Milkmaid (White Milk Stout) and The Milkman (Chocolate Milk Stout). The tapping begins at 2 PM. Live music starts at 5 PM with The Trillions (shred pop), then
Warren Hixson (Lofi psychedelic surf pop) at 6:15 PM and Avers (hard psychedelic pop) at 7:30. Charlie Glenn will pull double duty playing with both The Trillions and Avers so buy him a beer. The Trillions will most likely be doing some songs from their new album, "Superposition", which comes out 1/31. Here's Avers doing "Hold On" at The Broadberry in October:



Wood Face, The Green Hearts and Jordan Tarrant will be at Sound of Music Recording Studio Saturday starting at 7 PM. It's $5 to get in. Here's The Green Hearts in the dark at Southside Lounge somewhere in America in 2013:

You can get your salsa on at The Broadberry on Saturday with Bio Ritmo. It's $8 in advance, $10 at the door and things get under way at 8 with DJ Felty and DJ Pari. They'll be recording this show live so get there and be on the recording. I'm on three official live recordings: The Kinks - "Live: The Road", Grateful Dead - "Nightfall of Diamonds" and Grateful Dead - "View from the Vault 1". I'm the guy yellling "Wooooooooooooooo!" after each song. Here's Bio Ritmo at The Camel in December:



Wednesday night, African jazz avant garde group Zap Mama is at the Carpenter Theatre with Antibalas. Tix are $30 - $38 and Antibalas opens the show at 7:30 PM. They'll be playing together so this should be a really cool funk jazz show. Here's the press blurbs for the bands:

Known to her fans as Zap Mama, Marie Daulne redefines the term "vocalist." Athletic and powerful on stage, Daulne is a “sonic stylist who alternates between storytelling and creative vocal expression.” She is the sound of urban, afro-scat, and alternative funk. Since bursting on the scene almost 20 years ago, the Belgian-Congolese diva has wowed audiences around the world with her unique sound, which seamlessly blends African, American, and European cultural influences and effortlessly mixes genres such as R&B, hip-hop, and jazz with indigenous and tribal sounds.

Antibalas is Afrobeat’s premier second-wave ensemble and disciples of Fela Kuti, the brilliant big-band leader and Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer. This eleven-member ensemble from Brooklyn deals in the rhythms that define the Afrobeat style, but bring in jazz, funk, dub, improvised music, and traditional drumming from Cuba and West Africa to much acclaim. Through their concerts, tours, and recordings, Antibalas has earned the admiration of a wide array of respected musicians, including everyone from Questlove and David Byrne to members of Fugazi and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. NPR Music’s Bob Boilen writes “If they come to your town, drop what you’re doing and go see them. Wear dancing shoes.”

Here's Zap Mama in Belgium:



As you may have heard, the remaining members of the Grateful Dead will be playing three final shows together in Chicago's Soldier Field on July 3, 4, and 5 to commemorate the band's 50th anniversary. Trey Anastasio from Phish will be on guitar (which I'm excited about, Hitler not so much) and Bruce Hornsby will be on keys. And I know you were probably wondering how Hitler, apparently a big Deadhead, would react. So here you go.



Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Belle & Sebastian

Indie pop band Belle & Sebastian put a new album out yesterday, "Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance" and they'll be on Conan tonight  (11 PM, TBS). This seems eerily similar to yesterday's Late Night Pick blog. From 2003, here's B&S' "I'm a Cuckoo":



Here's Sleater-Kinney on last night's Conan. I'm getting quite a crush on Carrie Brownstein. She's smart, funny, pretty and she rocks!

Late Night Pick: Sleater-Kinney

Sleater-Kinney is getting some of the best reviews of their career for their latest album, "No Cities to Love", which is their first release together in 10 years and came out today. Tonight, they'll be on Conan (TBS, 11 PM) to play a song from that. They've also sold out a large chunk of their tour including the shows closest to us in DC (9:30 Club, 2/24 & 25) though you can still get tickets for their show in Raleigh (The Ritz, 4/22). Here's one from their last album, "The Woods", called "Modern Girl":



Here's Run the Jewels on Thursday night's Conan (language NSFW):

Late Night Pick: Run The Jewels

Alternative rappers, Run The Jewels, whose album "RTJ2" showed up on many a year-end best-of list including a few designating it the #1 album of the year, will be on Conan tonight at 11 PM on TBS. And that success looks like it will continue in 2015 as they open for Jack White at Madison Square Garden on 1/30 and they will play at Coachella. Here's their title track, "Run The Jewels" by Run the Jewels (language NSFW):



Here's Panda Bear on last night Tonight Show:

Weekend Picks: The Whigs, VibeFrost, The Northerners, Four Year Strong

Wanted to make sure I got this out by Thursday this week because all the state workers have a day off on Friday for Jackson - Lee day, when we celebrate the contributions of Michael Jackson and Bruce Lee to the great Commonwealth of Virginia. What? It's about Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee? Well then let's just call it Dead Losing Generals of the Civil War Day!

Saturday evening, you can rock for a good cause at VibeFrost at Positive Vibe Cafe. It'll run from 6 PM to 10 PM. It's a $10 donation to get in and music will be provided by The Taters, Andy Vaughan and The Driveline, and The Hullabaloos. Here's a clip from The Taters New Year's Eve Show:

Over at The Camel Saturday, it's Americana from The Northerners, Nicky C & The Rattle Snake Bites, and GOAT. The show starts at 8 and it's $7 to get in. The Northerners have some new tunes and a new lineup so it you haven't seen them in a while it'll be just like new. Here's The Northerners with "My Song" (not the Elton John tune, an original):

At The Broadberry Saturday, it's a fine rock n' roll show with Athens band The Whigs, Sideways Orange and Lightfields. Tix are $12 in advance, $14 at the door. Doors open at 7:30, show starts at 8:30. You might dig The Whigs if you like The Raconteurs, My Morning Jacket, Kings of Leon, or Son Volt. I like this video for their tune "Hit Me" which actually came out in 2014 but here they are playing it on in 1973 on the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test show or something like that:

It's a pop-punk potpourri at The Broadberry on Tuesday. Four Year Strong out of Worcester MA headlines the show, with Comeback Kid, Handguns, Expire and Heart to Heart opening. Doors open at 6, show starts at 6:30. It's $16 to get in and there are VIP seats available for $40 - $65. Here's Four Year Strong's "Go Down In History":



That's it! See you at The Whigs show this weekend. I'll leave you with a classic low-fi Star Wars parody, "Hardware Wars":



Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Panda Bear

Animal Collective co-founder, Panda Bear, is riding high right now on his critically acclaimed new release, Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper. You can hear a track from it tonight on Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC, 11:35 PM). Panda Bear's site to promote the album is verrrrrrrrrrrrry psychedelic. Use a Google Chrome browser and then move around with your arrow keys. My mind is blown.

Here's a video from Panda Bear:



Oops, wrong Panda Bear! Here's Panda Bear's "Boys Latin" video. He may play this song on the show tonight but this is a great video:



Here's Mariachi El Bronx on last night's Conan:

Late Night Pick: Mariachi El Bronx

Tonight on Conan (TBS, 11 PM), Mexican Mariachi punk/pop/rock/adult alternative/indie band Mariachi El Bronx takes the stage. Here's MEB with "Holy":



Here's Brandy Clark doing "Stripes" on last night Late Night with Seth Meyers:

Late Night Pick: Brandy Clark

Americana artist Brandy Clark (who wrote hits for Band Perry, Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves and LeAnn Rimes) will be on Late Night with Seth Meyers tonight (NBC, 12:35 AM). Brandy was recently nominated for two Grammy Awards: Best New Artist and Best Country Album. We'll find out if she wins on February 8. Here's a song in the good ol' country song about a cheatin' man from Brandy called "Stripes":