What better way to say goodbye to the grey month of February will colorful music? With these artists, this night won’t so much of a show as much as it will be an experience to cherish.

Louie’s trophy house presents Glowfriends, husband&wife, and Fiona Dickinson on February 28th.

Starting at 9pm, for those who are 18 and older, the show will be celebrating husband&wife’s new LP release Dark Dark Woods.

husband&wife has been touring since the beginning of February, where they have been stopping by various venues in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. They’re a quintessential indie-rock group, building slow melodies with steady basslines, and weaving song like threads with guitars. It’s intelligent pop rock.

While male and female vocal harmonies feel ethereal, and the addition of vibrations add bright colors to a shoegaze-influenced Glowfriends. The group echoes the influences of Slowdive or My Bloody Valentine while crafting a more youthful sound. Wash away the winter-time woes with layered dreampop.

Fiona Dickinson is part of the local Double Phelix collective, and her show will be an ethereal treat. Once she opens her set, the music will demand your undivided attention. Prepare to be haunted by her vocals, reminiscent of Bjork, as she blends shoegaze and old time folk with orchestral and choral arrangements. Her sound is lush, full, and symphonic when she includes backup musicians who might play reverberated slide guitar to the cello.

So please bring $5 for the touring artists. And do please come for these artists. You’ll take a lot from this experience.

Flyer for a flyer show by Rory Svekric

The Kalamazoo Collective Arts Center is presenting a retrospective of local music through flyer art and live band photography. On display will be flyer work from the personal collections of some of Kalamazoo’s music world veterans as well as prints from some of our city’s up-and-coming photographers.

The reception begins tonight at 6PM and will run until around 11. There will be snacks and refreshments on hand as well as a pair of WIDR DJs on deck spinning records throughout the evening.

Swing on by and hang out for a while or just stop on by on your way to one of the shows going on elsewhere in the Vine Neighborhood. (Check the sidebar for details!)

It’s going down at 509 W. Vine st. and is totally free.

For more details, check out the facebook event here.

A long-standing tradition resides in the Vine Neighborhood. Those who frequent the house show scene may be familiar. The Fireplace Club (an infrequently used though highly-revered house venue space) has hosted a Valentine’s Day Love Song Open Mic for 4 years. This event invites anyone in the community to share songs about love (the positive or negative aspects thereof), either originals or covers, with their friends in a warm, comfortable living room/dining room environment.

This lovely fellow could be you!

This event is great for the single, the coupled, and the anywhere-in-between. This event is a great way to see local artists and friends perform songs they probably otherwise would not get an opportunity to – and perhaps even get people who rarely perform up to the challenge!

Recordings of previous events can be heard here:

Listen to 2012: https://soundcloud.com/ditk3/sets/valentines-day-love-song-open
Listen to 2011: https://soundcloud.com/ditk2/sets/love-song-open-mic-2011
Listen to 2010: https://soundcloud.com/ditk/sets/valentines-day-2010

Mehrunes Dagon is a newer outfit out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. As a sucker for stoner metal I was instantly drawn in by their tunes. This is a band that would go great with Beast In the Field or The Sword. We have the pleasure of having them back to The Black Lodge for another shot at Kalamazoo.

The first Mehrunes Dagon show was an affair to remember. Rarely do we see bands that give off that super authentic vibe. These dudes make heavy slow metal because this is who they are! Give their tunes a listen at the following link…

http://mehrunesdagon.bandcamp.com/

Joining the ranks of this all star line up we have Reconnect. Reconnect is a hardcore group from Lansing that is comprised of members of Lansing’s banned and burned! Cody howls and plays the guitar with pure unadulterated emotion. Staring off like a wild man into empty space like he wants to explode. Another not to miss act!

Locals on the show include…

Timelapse-Brutal hardcore from Battle Creek.

Fossil Eyes-Members of The now defunct band penguin collector and some new friends have reconvened to give bring us some delightful new tunes. A little more on an indie rock inclination than all of the other bands, but a great addition to the show!

Please donate to the two out of town bands! Come hang!

This Wednesday evening, the Courthouse has another show jammed to the hilt with rock, roll, and heaven knows what else.  With performances by

Jake Simmons and the Little Ghosts – never failing to disappoint
http://jakesimmons.bandcamp.com/

Appleseeds – from Milwaukee, which might as well be a sister city to Kalamazoo
http://appleseeds.bandcamp.com/

Real People – who are from from Buffalo, and sound like a trampling herd of exactly that.
http://realpeople.bandcamp.com/

Ghost Bunnies – catch them at the Courthouse, then again the next night at the Globe!

and, of course, Witch Fingers – who require little introduction, as I’m certain you’re aware
http://witchfingers.bandcamp.com/

Bring a beer, a fistful of dollars, and a friend, and leave your attitude at home
Get there early so you don’t miss any of the action!

Seeing as how Corner Record Shop is too far away from downtown to be a part of the monthly Art Hops, they’ve decided to host their own version of it. First one was last month with Brown Company, Forget The Times and Saxsquatch. A pleasant time was had by all.

This month they’re keeping the new tradition alive! Here’s the plan:

The store will be open all day as normal. Register will be open throughout the event as well if ya wanna do some late night shopping.
At 8pm, there will be FREE snacks & refreshments (planning on picking up a few growlers of root beer from Old Peninsula…). Feel free to come hang and enjoy the art.
At 9:30 the music will begin.
There is no cover charge and all ages are welcome.

Visual Art By Collin Schipper

Live Music From KYLE LANDSTRA & ENTROPY ELEPHANT (Collin Schipper & Sid Redlin)