Sunday was a good day to be at the Corner Record shop. 3 touring bands and one excellent local outfit came together to make everyone’s shopping experience a bit better – and a lot louder.

Opening the bill was Kalamazoo’s own Philly Crawlers. 4-piece pop rock with just enough strange harmonies and interesting lyrics to keep things fresh. This was an excellent performance, high-powered and entertaining as always, and a great way to open for the touring talent. Also, according to various mumblings through the crowd, it seems the Crawlers may have a record out very soon here, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for that.

next up to bat was the boys from Athens, OH: She Bears. An excellent and hard-working indie-rock band, She Bears have been on the road for over a month touring, and this was their last date on that rather hectic schedule. I’m glad they could spend it in Kalamazoo, as their show is extremely entertaining, with them playing one absolutely polished tune after the other. It’s no wonder they were just signed to Deep Elm Records. check  ’em out their music, and check ’em out live if you ever get the chance. You will not be disappointed.

The third group was InBirdsEye from Northern Indiana, and they rocked. Technical guitar parts, inventive drum parts, and a throbbing bass made for the perfect vehicle for InBirdsEye’s intriguing lyrics to ride. If these guys come around (and I’m sure they will), make sure you catch them, as they are a most excellent group.

The final presence of the night were math-rockers all the way out of Calgary, Canada: This City Defects. They set up all their gear, turned off all the lights in the joint, and started making some vaguely musical sounds. Soon the racket had grown into something that was very nearly overpowering, and then the silhouette of the lead guitar player bent down, a light flashed on, and suddenly it was madness.

Anyone who has any interest in math-rock either as a listener or a player needs to check these guys out. They were clean, fast, and veritably terrifying both as individual players, and as a band as a whole. Fortunately, they’ve got an open day on their tour, and they’ll be destroying the Strutt tonight with Lincoln County War and the Savina Brothers.. Check it out. Trust me.

La Chambre No Fun, A Casa No Fun, in all languages it means the same thing: The No Fun House. And Friday night, July 30th to be exact, The House of Supreme Malaise hosted three (count ’em) bands: Good News, Fox and the Law, and And I Was Like, What? (in that order).

The latter two on the previously stated bill hail all the way from Seattle, Washington. For every mile they drove, they rocked two.

The night started out with “math rock” gods Good News playing to a crowd yearning for more individuals. Those individuals didn’t come, but Good News gave absolutely no mind to this situation and played on. They played on to a fervent crowd of other bands and DIT junkies, a guitarist and a drummer, adding and subtracting their way into the night, raising the bar of rockin’ so high that I could see sweat beading off of the heads of the members of Fox and the Law. They would not be frightened.

Fox and the Law met this challenge with a smile, told us we were the best crowd ever, and managed to rock everyone’s pants off. So much so that I had to go walk all the way to bronson park just to cool myself down in the fountain. So much so that I missed “And I Was Like, What?”. It sucked so bad that I missed them, though, I actually had to physically get up and drive myself to Steak and Shake to ward off the depression.

Yeah, that was a Steak and Shake plug, they’ve got good food, you mad?

The point here really is that you should all come to more DIT shows. Because often times there are awesome kids throwing down awesome jams at awesome places all around this fair city, and I know for a fact that if they stopped, you’d all cry. The good news is that they wont stop. Check the bar on your right, it’s on fire.

So I was at La Iglesia Friday night for punk rock pancakes and some noisey tunes from some of the finest artists kickin’ it in this fair city of ours:

Bronson Blvd kicked off the night, followed by Forget The Times. This First Band as well as Problems that Fix Themselves used synth to make noise, while the other two bands used drums and guitars(s), but all of the bands at La Iglesia that night made alot of noise, and seeing as how the show was “Punk Rock Pancakes” (which were made, lack of syrup be damned) I suppose that makes a whole lotta sense.

Before Forget The Times started, we had to set up a sophisticated police detection system in preparation. This included a look-out, and a text message. Fortunately for us and the police, they decided not to bug us. I don’t think anyone would’ve been surprised, however, because Forget the Times was loud…real loud. They smashed their way through songs, practically distorting the gravity in the room. Not for the faint of heart.

Problems that fix Themselves similarly warped the soundwaves in the room, with Josh Tabbia piloting his synth-craft from atop the Iglesia’s kitchen counter. I didn’t see much of this act, but I heard it, and it was warped in a good way. Check it out if you can.

And The Grow Fangs! well, they were loud too. The crowd cheered for random guitar ditties done between songs, as we were all amped up from all the rockin’, and The Grow Fangs! capitalized on this and put on a good show accordingly. There was a guy holding a boom box, face covered by a bandanna, creating some kind of distortion with his stereo but mostly adding to the overall aesthetic of the band, while James Duke was bottomless, and Ray Jackson was topless. Also Ray almost fell out of the window.

It was a good send off, and I think all parties involved had a great time. I suggest, if you see one of these bands playing somewhere in the future, you should go listen to their set. Word.

EDIT: I was having a good time Friday night and I got things a little mixed up in terms of order. I fixed it, though, and even if I said it in the wrong time line, everything I said was true.

Our friends over at Kalamazoo Noise snagged some cool footage of local math rockers, Good News live at the Koffee Klutch. Dig.

If you like this, be sure to come see them at No Fun House on July 30th with And I Was Like, What? and Fox & The Law.

On July 8, Ann Arbor’s Nathan K brought his signature honesty and precise finger-picking to a Kalamazoo audience at the Strutt. Nathan’s songs have a certain feel to them; kind of like driving away from someone you really love, and thinking about why you love them.

Fiona Dickinson made everyone stop in their tracks, beers half lifted to their lips, necks craned to to see where this sound could possibly be coming from. Accompanied by an all-star band of locals, Fiona’s spacey folk grew into a cloud of strange and unsettling emotion that was at once familiar and mysterious. All we knew was that it was beautiful, and we wanted to be close to it.

The Mind Death Quintet slowed things down a bit and turned each chord into a multi-layered wave of swirling sound. Jeremy Ruggles‘ voice floated over the top, like Gene Wilder in a room full of psychedelic candy, re-assuring listeners that it was all right to keep walking further into unknown parts and pleasures. I haven’t felt this way since I had that nervous breakdown at that Pink Floyd laser light show in 1999. Just kidding. But seriously.

p.s. I had the pleasure of making the flyer for this event. If anyone wants me to design flyers for their show, it’s only $10! Shoot me an email at james.r.duke@wmich.edu and tell me what you’re looking for.

No Fun House did it again.

Having personally worked the door, I can say without doubt that there were 50 people in that basement, rocking out and having an excellent time to two visiting bands, plus some wacked-out experimental quartet that I don’t know anything about. If you missed it, you missed out, so keep your eyes open for the next one.

I can’t say much about the quality of the opening act (on account of I was in it), but I can say that we’re called Forget The Times, we’re local (represen’in’), and we like weird noises. Sean Hartman, Peter Cook, and Benji Puppies (all DIT associates) are the three-guitar army of sorts, then there’s some punk-sissy on a drum kit. We’ll be around, so keep your ear to the ground if something like that interests you.

Next on the bill was Sohns, a most excellent high-octane super-charged rock group from San Antone, Texas. Fast guitars, technical drums, high-pitched vocals and -volume- made this group a sight to hear. From my seat in the back of the room at the doorman’s post, all I could see was a bunch of hot and sweaty bodies rockin’ to the sounds of what I can only assume was a class-A example of a Texan Friday night (except on a Wednesday, and in Michigan). What I heard, though, is best described as an unrelenting musical assault a-la rock-n-roll. If Sohns makes it back through the Zoo, you can bet good money I’ll be there to see it.

Third and finally, Northern Indiana put Analecta on loan for the night. They were fantastic. While not quite as spastic and sharp-edged as Sohns proved to be, they were just as loud, trading in the cut and scream of righteous electric guitars with strong melodic concepts and a pleasing aural resonance that had me, personally, leaning back with my eyes closed. The three-piece cites both Russian Circles and Explosions in the Sky as influences, and that is about as close to home as one can get. These post-rockers are another must-see, and with Indiana only being a short jaunt away (you gotta go down there for your cheap cigarettes and fireworks anydangway), it shouldn’t be too hard to catch ’em real soon.

Tonight there’s a few things happening, what with Emilio Festivez tearin’ down No Fun, and The Strutt playing host to Fiona Dickenson, Jeremy Ruggles (and the Mind-Death Quintet), and Nathan K. Slide by both if you get a chance. Or pick one. Either way, and whatever your flavor, you ain’t got no excuses to stay home tonight.

A moderate turn out of familiar Kalamazoo faces (to this old timer anyway) were treated to an engagingly diverse trio of bands this previous Saturday at The Strutt.

Setting the night in motion was Frank Fuzz, armed with his guitar, belting out his succinct slabs of pop over a projected backing video of him performing the harmonies and other instrumentation in settings such as the woods and by streams and the like. He included a cover of the Thinking Fellers Union Local 282’s “Noble Experiment”, a highly unexpected treat!

Delightism followed with a full-blown rock sound, a departure from the more mellow and/or acoustic-driven sound that frontman Dana Owens has been previously toying with under the moniker. The two guitar, bass and drum line-up howled and thrashed through a 30-minute set of stylistically-varied songs with a lot of energy and obviously enjoying themselves immensely.

Secret Twins

A drum and guitar duo took to the stage at this point, and it quickly became clear that something unusual was about to happen when a tiny girl wearing a Flying V began testing her mic by layering lush vocal harmonies with a loop pedal. Sure enough, Ann Arbor’s Secret Twins began their set with a hauntingly beautiful but driving rock number featuring a waterfall of looped voices. There was a clear folk influence in the songwriting, yet somehow, the further the set advanced, the more a raw punk sound took control. The audience was won over, giving a more-than-warm reception to the out-of-towners, and another Saturday night at The Strutt came to a close.

Earlier tonight (being June 24th of course), The Strutt‘s main stage was graced with the presence of three great bands.

First up was Grand Rapids band Victor! Fix the Sun, and this show, oddly enough, was actually my first time seeing them. They definitely won me over. They remind me a bit of Bear vs. Shark, to an extent. Their set was very solid and very enjoyable. I look forward to seeing them again.

Next was the Reptilian, and well, I’m biased, as they are one of my favorite MI bands currently. Their set was spot on and the crowd seemed to love it. This show definitely had to have been a great tour kickoff, seeing as both the Reptilian and Victor! are leaving for a 4 week tour tomorrow.

Maps & Atlases Q: Need I say more? A: Yes. They sounded incredible and everyone was getting into it. There were over 100 people dancing in the crowd, tapping their feet, singing along, it was just a great time. The band seemed very grateful for the audience and the show. When they finished their last song, the crowd (myself included) kept clapping, and they came back on to play another three songs. Overall the show was incredible.

Thanks to everyone who came out to support the bands, there will definitely be more to come soon.

Remember that show (that chances are) you didn’t  go to Tuesday night? The one at the No Fun House that sounded like it would be pretty dope that we were talking about here on DIT? Well it happened, and it was dope, and you missed it (probably).

Not being the type to hold grudges, but being the type to write down literal happenings in fancy-shmancy word-speak, I’m gonna let you in on exactly why it was dope.

The Parlor Scouts opened the night up rocking with synth, fronted by a ghostlike figure who sang like some sort of depressed super-artistic 12 year old (I mean that in the most positive way imaginable). They played mellow music that could’ve come from a music-box (albeit a rockin’ one) to a small crowd of very receptive individuals, and that was good.

Next were the the Bears of Blue River. Who, although missing half (?) of their band, managed to put on a pretty convincing performance. Although the lead singer kept talking about how he’d been to Kalamazoo to ski which was comical due to its lack of mountainous terrain. I guess I’ve just never seen Kalamazoo as the type of place where someone would purposefully go to ski, but whatever, they played some tunes, and that, too, was good.

Folklore played after the Bears of Blue River and got 5/6ths naked. I say that because there were 5 members and 3 of them got 1/2 naked. This works out to be about 0.8333 (infinity) nakedness. Nakedness aside, they played some pretty awesome jams. And for as much as I pride myself in my musical tastes, lyrical ability, and so-on, I can’t really think of how to tell you what they sounded like. We did tell you that they had these ties to this lesser-known “collective” that talk about elephants and sixes all the time, so I suppose, imagine (if you could) that type of music, only in the No Fun House, but a little different, because you’ve never heard Folklore before, and they’re just not that easy to explain. There was a pretty girl who played oboe, if that helps, and yes, she was one of the 20% of Folklore’s members that got half naked. Also they have a myspace page, but myspace aint cool, so whatever.

I didn’t get to stay for the last act, The Number Eight, ‘cuz my ride was leaving and I wasn’t very well going to sleep at the No Fun House because that wouldn’t have been fun. The music was great though, of what I did hear, and you can believe me when I say that because I told you so.

Edit: As quinlan88 has so gracefully pointed out in the comments, I used dyslexic math in this post and apologize to all confused parties. The band was 3/10 naked. I’m not exactly sure how I got that so wrong, but I never disputed my poor grades in math back in high-school, and I won’t now.