Nine o’clock tonight at Milhouse, two traveling groups and two local favorites will bring sounds to one of the Kalamazoo underground music community’s favorite basements.
Johnny Foreigner, coming in all the way from the UK, is an energetic four-piece pop punk outfit with some experimental leanings. They’re hitting up the east coast, as well as the midwest on this tour.
Swerp Records labelmates Nervous Passenger are out with JF. They provide the type of throaty pop punk commonly brought to the Vine Neighborhood by Fat Guy House. They describe themselves and their music by saying “…songs are about girls and/or friends and/or beer, and they’re super fun to sing along to.”
Local support for the night comes from experimental/noise rock favorites Forget The Times, as well as left-wing anthem singers/Ted Leo fanatics Jake Simmons & the Little Ghosts. Donations will be accepted and are encouraged for the traveling bands. Attendees should plan for a fun night, but also to be respectful of the space, the others attending, and the people organizing/helping out with/playing the show.
Hey guess who forgot about the article they were supposed to write about the show that starts at 9 p.m. at Milhouse?
The Bulletproof Tiger sounds deliberate. Listening to is like starting and stopping dominoes with deft hands to create pools of black and white indie-rock paint that just oozes inky perfection—all while notes dance atop a snare drum to an electric-guitar conductor. These four lads out of Toronto are skilled instrumental math-rockers (no lyrics here folks), eschewing typical pop-styles such as when one would expect the structure of the song to be dependent on “verse-chorus-verse-chorus” for less predictable instrumental constructions, sometimes having 5-6 different, distinct sections to a song. Each song is seemingly out-of-sync, only to take a tip and twist in which tempered tapping of the guitar strings rush listeners back into confidence.
Providing some jumping-and-pumping music, sure to get chests sweaty and fists wailing about in the air, will be four-piece emo-punk group The Marine Electric from Brooklyn. Screams and grunts are reminiscent of 90’s skate-punk, less violent and more bloody heart-thumping angst, only further enforced with a throaty growl that is present in most songs that rumbles its way over the flighty choruses. Plenty of cymbal crashing and momentous punk-chords are here to get the circulatory system going, and Minutes fans should also give these guys a look as well.
Providing the most pop influenced sound of the night, the providentially named Cherry Cola Champions—never mind they aren’t coming due to familial injury. BUT SUPPORT THEM/ CHECK THEM OUT ANYWAY:
And hey, give the locals some love too—The Reptilian will be all over the grittier, free-formed, edge of punk tonight, sounding all ramshackled and ready to battle with the boot stomping heart to their music with outlying mechanical guitar playing and spacey drums. With twangy guitar solos paired to punk-chords and rambunctious break-downs The Reptilian is a raucous, rough and roaring addition to the night.
Donations for the touring bands are always accepted, but tom-foolery involving the destruction of the house is not.
Respect yourself, respect others, respect the house.
First off, I hope everyone had a good and fun (and crazy) New Year, I know we all did. I know we haven’t been around for a bit, but we’ll be trying to get back on things staring this week.
Tonight there is an acoustic show happening at the Milhouse, First Name, Last Name Fest I believe. Playing tonight there will be:
Alex Quinlan.
Used to play for The Almanac Shouters, now playing solo. Finger picky folk from right here in town. http://alexquinlan.bandcamp.com/
And I’ve been hearing around that an old Kalamazoo favorite is back in town and might be showing his face and mabey playing some songs? We’ll have to see.
Tomorrow, October 6th at 8:00 PM, there will be an acoustic, twee pop show featuring touring acts Madeline Ava and Mitch the Champ, as well as locals!
Madeline Ava plays tweepop on ukulele and sings about being nervous and how great her friends are. If you are a fan of Plan-It-X Records, she is to not be missed.
Mitch the Champ plays folk punk, and also occasionally plays his songs on a Casio electric guitar. If you’d like to know more of what that is all about, you’re just going to have to come to the show to find out!
Also performing is Pete Zange, AKA Angela. They are a long time supporter of the Kalamazoo music scene, and will be performing for the first time! Come show your support like they have done for many of the events here!
Rory Svekric from the Almanac Shouters will also be playing a couple of old songs she wrote. It will be her first solo show as well.
Come on over and see friends, and make new friends too!
This is the most relevant Simpsons image I could find.
DITKalamazoo 