5 Acts: December 2009

Sunday, December 20, 2009

A Wintry Mix

Friday, December 18, 2009

Urbantramper

The Jezabels

Acrylics

The Tiny Tin Hearts

The Middle East

Thursday, December 17, 2009

The Very Most

Tigers That Talked

Man/Miracle

Electric Tickle Machine

The Laughing

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

ticket giveaway:
Casper Bangs at Rock & Roll Hotel

Local artist Casper Bangs is performing in between fellow DC acts Ugly Purple Sweater and Army Of Me at Rock & Roll Hotel on Friday night (12/18). If you'd like to win a pair of tickets for this one, e-mail me with "I Woke Up" as the subject. I'll pick a winner randomly tomorrow (12/17) at 5:00 pm ET.

Casper Bangs on MySpace

Casper Bangs on The Hype Machine

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Slow Club

The Crayon Fields

The Postmarks

Corto Maltese

Alec Ounsworth

Monday, December 14, 2009

Letting Up Despite Great Faults

Los Angeles, CA

The perfect soundtrack for snow gazing out a train window.

"Our Younger Noise"

Letting Up Despite Great Faults on MySpace

Letting Up Despite Great Faults on The Hype Machine

Freelance Whales

New York, NY

I saw Freelance Whales open up for Fanfarlo the other night, and it was such a nice pairing. Expect to hear a lot more from these guys in 2010.

"Starring"

Freelance Whales on MySpace

Freelance Whales on The Hype Machine

Swimming In Speakers

Body Language

Gobble Gobble

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Holiday Shores - Edges Of Our Lives


We Are The World - Clay Stones


Junior Boys - Bits And Pieces


Kittens Ablaze - This Machine Is Dying


The Swimmers - A Hundred Hearts


Saturday, December 12, 2009

Arpline - Fold Up Like A Piece Of Paper

Marina And The Diamonds - Hollywood

Mew - Repeaterbeater

Califone - Funeral Singers

Lissy Trullie - Self-Taught Learner

Friday, December 11, 2009

ticket giveaway: Lissy Trullie at DC9

Lissy Trullie is playing DC9 next week on Wednesday night (12/16) at DC9. For a chance to win a pair of tickets to this one, e-mail me at 5actsblog at gmail dot com with "Self-Taught Learner" as the subject. Contest ends on Monday (12/14) at 9:00 am ET.

Lissy Trullie on MySpace

Lissy Trullie on The Hype Machine

tonight at IOTA:
Freelance Whales / Fanfarlo

Please don't miss two great bands tonight at one great venue. IOTA hosts Fanfarlo, one of my favorite acts from CMJ, and openers Freelance Whales, who just recently signed to Frenchkiss/Mom+Pop Records. Doors open at 9:00 and tickets are just $12.

Freelance Whales on MySpace

Freelance Whales on The Hype Machine

Fanfarlo on MySpace

Fanfarlo on The Hype Machine

Thursday, December 10, 2009

ticket giveaway for Rock & Roll Hotel:
The Phenomenal Handclap Band

I cannot praise enough the live set from The Phenomenal Handclap Band. Their record release show at Santos Party House in NYC was one of my favorite shows of the year. Now I'm giving you the chance to see them here in DC for free. E-mail me at 5actsblog at gmail dot com with the subject line "15 To 20" for your chance to catch their show on Saturday night (12/12) at Rock & Roll Hotel. Contest ends tomorrow (12/11) at 5:00 pm ET.

The Phenomenal Handclap Band on MySpace

The Phenomenal Handclap Band on The Hype Machine

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

ticket giveaway: Mean Creek

Mean Creek recently received the "Best New Band" award at the Boston Music Awards. I think you should stop by Black Cat tomorrow night (12/10) and congratulate them. Better yet, you wanna attend the show and take a buddy for free? E-mail me at 5actsblog at gmail dot com with "The Sky (Or The Underground)" as the subject. It's a mainstage show with The Features and The Whigs also playing. Doors open at 8:00. I'll select a winner for the contest at random by tomorrow (12/10) at 2:00 pm ET.

Tour Dates:
12/10 - Black Cat - Washington, DC
12/11 - The Fillmore - New York, NY
12/12 - North Star - Philadelphia, PA
12/13 - Dante's - Frostburg, MD
12/14 - Local 506 - Chapel Hill, NC
12/15 - Pour House - Charleston, SC
12/18 - Middle East - Boston, MA
12/31 - Great Scott - Allston, MA

Mean Creek on MySpace

Mean Creek on The Hype Machine

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

more dates in the States:
We Were Promised Jetpacks

Yippie! We Were Promised Jetpacks will be coming back to the U.S. in February...

02/11 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
02/12 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
02/13 - Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel
02/14 - Cambridge, MA - The Middle East
02/17 - Charlotte, NC - The Casbah at Tremont Music Hall
02/19 - Nashville, TN - The End
02/23 - Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room
02/26 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
02/27 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
03/03 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir
03/05 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
03/06 - Denver, CO - Hi-Dive

We Were Promised Jetpacks on MySpace

We Were Promised Jetpacks on The Hype Machine

Monday, December 07, 2009

My Favorite Albums of 2009

20. The Horrors - Primary Colours
The Horrors - Primary Colours

19. Pictureplane - Dark Rift
Pictureplane - Dark Rift

18. The xx - xx
The xx - xx

17. Phantogram - Eyelid Movies
Phantogram - Eyelid Movies

16. Japandroids - Post-Nothing
Japandroids - Post-Nothing

15. Pomegranates - Everybody, Come Outside!
Pomegranates - Everybody, Come Outside!

14. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

13. The Answering Machine - Another City, Another Sorry
The Answering Machine - Another City, Another Sorry

12. Wave Machines - Wave If You're Really There
Wave Machines - Wave If You're Really There

11. The Antlers - Hospice
The Antlers - Hospice

10. We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls
We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls

09. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
Yeah Yeah Yeah - It's Blitz!

08. Generationals - Con Law
Generationals - Con Law

07. Mew - No More Stories...
Mew - No More Stories...

06. The Gossip - Music For Men
The Gossip - Music For Men

05. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains
Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains

04. The Twilight Sad - Forget The Night Ahead
The Twilight Sad - Forget The Night Ahead

03. Deastro - Moondagger
Deastro - Moondagger

02. Passion Pit - Manners
Passion Pit - Manners

01. Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
Local Natives - Gorilla Manor

Sunday, December 06, 2009

ticket giveaway: A Sunny Day In Glasgow at The Red & The Black

On Thursday night (12/10) The Red & The Black welcomes A Sunny Day In Glasgow back to DC with open arms. If you'd like to attend this show with a friend, e-mail me at 5actsblog at gmail dot com with the subject line "Ashes Grammar." Contest ends on Wednesday (12/09) at 5:00 pm ET. Good luck!

Tour Dates:
12/06 - Savannah, GA - Sentient Bean
12/07 - Asheville, NC - Bobo Gallery
12/08 - Chapel Hill, NC - The Cave
12/09 - Charlottesville, VA - Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
12/10 - Washington, DC - The Red & the Black
12/11 - Baltimore, MD - Metro Gallery
12/12 - Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall
12/13 - New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
12/14 - Brooklyn, NY - The Bell House (ASDIG DJ Set)
12/15 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's

A Sunny Day In Glasgow on MySpace

A Sunny Day In Glasgow on The Hype Machine

Saturday, December 05, 2009

These New Puritans - We Want War

Reverie Sound Revue - An Anniversary Away

Lightspeed Champion - Marlene

Chromeo - Night By Night

Them:Youth - Halo

Friday, December 04, 2009

Max's Kansas City Teams Up With Whrrl

Maxskansascity.com is an online community dedicated to continuing the artistic trajectory of Max’s Kansas City. From the late 1960s through the early ‘80s, Max’s Kansas City was a gathering place in NYC for all things hip and, as William S. Burroughs called it, “the intersection of everything.” Famous icons including Andy Warhol, Lou Reed, Richard Avedon, Roy Lichtenstein, David Bowie, Janis Joplin, Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, Aerosmith, Betsy Johnson, Halston, Twiggy, Dennis Hopper, Stanley Kubrick and Frederico Fellini are just a few of the heralded characters that formed the eclectic tapestry of Max’s Kansas City.

Max’s Kansas City is dedicated to propelling and exploring the fusion of art, fashion and music. In the same way the original Max’s represented the melting pot of “pop culture” for its generation, the new Max’s website aims to be a progressive and dynamic genre of “avant-garde art culture” for today’s artistic community.

The new MaxsKansasCity.com website is broken into the following major areas:

- Classic Max’s: This is a compact portal, which delves deeply into the history and culture of the vanguard Max’s Kansas City. It provides a detailed and colorful narrative of the great artists and bands that came of age at Max’s.

- Trio Exhibitions: These are specially curated triplate blogs which feature different entities from the worlds of art, fashion and music that are linked by a particular unifying theme.

- The Vault: This contains informative and interesting interviews with the original Max’s icons as well as current artist who embody the same Max’s Kansas City spirit of rebellion and boundless creativity.

- The Back Room: This section contains personal essays and tributes of today’s artists speaking passionately about the heroes and greats from the classic Max’s era who influenced and shaped their careers.

- Music/Art Widget: A unique pop-out music widget which plays music with accompanying artistic visuals. The aim is to highlight the fusion of visual art and music.

- Social Media: The site is also fully equipped with a frequently updated culture blog, a live Twitter feed, and links to Facebook and Myspace pages so that Max’s Kansas City can stay fully connected with all the members of this new Max’s community.

From the storied history of the legendary establishment that Mickey Ruskin built, and onwards into the future, MaxsKansasCity.com will continue to be the authenticator and gold standard of all creative movements in art, music and fashion.

Maxskansascity.com will be teaming up with Whrrl - a location-based, social networking application. When users go to www.whrrl.com, they will find exciting featured content about today’s artists, musicians, fashion designers, actors, writers and filmmakers, (e.g. Andrew W.K., Ida Maria, The Phenomenal Handclap Band, House of Diehl, Marilyn Minter, Alexander McQueen, etc) and also learn about those celebrated idols that frequented the legendary New York City venue.

Whrrl v2.0 lets people capture and share the stories of their lives, one moment at a time. This is the flagship product of Pelago, which is committed to developing innovative products that bring the power of online information to everyday life in the physical world. The company was founded in 2006, based in Seattle, and led by an executive team from companies including Amazon, RealNetworks and Yahoo. Pelago is backed by pioneering Internet and mobile investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Bezos Expeditions, T-Venture, Trilogy Equity Partners and Reliance Technology Ventures. For more information, visit www.whrrl.com.

Max's Kansas City on Facebook

Max's Kansas City on Twitter

Max's Kansas City on MySpace

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Mean Creek