Hello again, readers. As promised yesterday, here’s your to-do list for the remainder of this week (covering Wednesday the 26th and Thursday the 27th). Read on, and then party on. Or something like that.
Author Archives: valleyofsteel
What To Do In Pittsburgh This Week: Part 1 (24-25 September 2012)
Wow, sometimes it feels like all I ever do anymore is write these “What To Do In Pittsburgh” posts. It might look that way, but don’t worry — there’s some cool stuff brewing behind the scenes around here, some big changes and announcements will be coming shortly. In the meantime…
Usually I end up covering a weekend’s worth of events with these things, but it seems like this week there’s an extraordinary amount of stuff going on in between the weekends. So that’s why I’m throwing together this special two-part weekday edition — there’s some stuff to keep you busy each evening from Monday through Thursday this week! This post will cover tonight and tomorrow night (Monday the 24th and Tuesday the 25th) and stay tuned for the rest to be posted tomorrow…
What To Do In Pittsburgh This Weekend (22-23 September 2012)
Happy Friday everyone!
Isn’t it so weird how time works? Or, our perception of time, anyway…
I mean, it feels like this week has been dragging on forever — like it seemed that the weekend would never get here (and now it’s just a few hours away!) But then, looking at the bigger picture, it feels like this year has been flying by. Like, it doesn’t seem like it should be September already, and here we are approaching the END of September!
And as of tomorrow, it’ll officially turn from summer to fall — which is fine with me, because I’m so sick of hot weather anyway, but my point is, time just seems to keep slipping away so fast… unless you’re stuck at work, that is.
Anyway, since summer’s basically over now, the schedule of local shows seems to have gotten a little bit lighter — but there’s still plenty of chances to get out there and rock out! (Or, to thieve the slogan from local printers Commonwealth Press on their new NHL-related tees, “Rock aht with your lock aht”!)
Drones for Queens Hitting the Road This Weekend / Free EP Download!
When I heard the name Drones for Queens, my immediate thought was that there are two different directions this band might be taking. On one hand, they could specialize in slow, drawn-out, ambient, meditative music that’s specifically targeted to homosexuals. The other possibility is that the name refers to worker bees who devote their entire lives to serving those at the top of the social hierarchy — perhaps using this concept as a metaphor for the conflict between the proletariat and bourgeoisie classes in human society.
Then, a quick peek at the cover art from their recent EP Health (see above) led me to believe that perhaps the second case was more likely.
But you can hear for yourself — in person, if you happen to live near the spots in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia where the band will be making appearances over the next few days (starting with a hometown show in Philadelphia tonight) — or if it turns out you aren’t able to make it to any of these, you can still download your very own copy of Health for any amount you choose to pay!
First, here’s some more information on these guys, courtesy of Catharsis PR:
The two-man outfit is comprised of brothers Shane and Evan Madden (also of Rifflifter Touring) who spent years exploring the realms of doom and black metal in bands like Woods of Ypres, Woe, and The Green Evening Requiem before succumbing to a mutual desire to make raw, real, pissed off music. The result? Four tracks of virulent, noisy, thrashy grindcore, spat out with DIY fury but backed by label-hardened savvy; Health is fast, furious, and fucking intense. Recorded and mixed by Brian McKay at Audiolux in Philadelphia and Audiolab in Millville, New Jersey and mastered by Dan O’Hare, Health is a shotgun blast echoing out into a stale scene.
Vesperia Searching for a New Guitarist (Plus, a Preview of their Upcoming Live DVD!)
Canadian Celtic/Viking metal band Vesperia are definitely not strangers to change. In fact, as you may recall, it was just a few months ago that they announced they had undergone a metamorphosis and rebirth with a brand-new name (they had formerly been known as Bolero).
Well, the winds of change just keep on blowing, it appears, because the band is now announcing that they are looking to replace a guitarist.
In the words of bassist/lead vocalist Morgan Rider,
Hey guys,
It really sucks to have to be typing this and we never thought in a million years we would be doing so… Change has been a defining word for Vesperia in 2012 and so far we have held our heads high and kept our sights in the clouds with all these testing changes and new commitments we have been taking on each week that would have normally seen a band dissolve. Aspiring for the greater purpose with our music and selves has always been our focus.
Our comrade, lead guitarist and brother-in-arms, Tim, has recently felt that in his and the band’s best interest he must hang his hat on guitar duties for Vesperia. There is no tension or bad blood between any of us and him business-wise or personal whatsoever and we will carry on feeling the mutual respect and brotherhood we’ve always had for each other.
Continue reading
Biipiigwan – Nibaak EP
Biipiigwan – Nibaak EP (Handshake Inc., 27 February 2012)
Man, what a horrendously ugly day this has been. As I begin writing this review, I’ve been at work for over seven hours already, and my feet are STILL cold and damp from traipsing through the streets of downtown Pittsburgh during a deluge of Noachian proportions, after getting off the bus this morning.
If they ever published a list of ways to make being at work less miserable, I can guarantee “walk around with wet socks all day” will not be anywhere on that list.
Nevertheless, regular readers of this blog have probably figured out by now — an ugly day calls for some ugly music! (Very observant regular readers may also have noticed that ANY day can benefit from some ugliness, regardless of the weather!)
So to help me along today, I’ve turned to some new friends, whom I discovered two weeks ago when they came to play a show here from their native Ontario. The band is called Biipiigwan (don’t worry, it’s easier to pronounce than it is to spell — and in fact it isn’t really that hard to spell either — drummer Steve Vargas informed me that the double “i” sounds like an “e”, so just say “BEE PEEG wahn“), and their newest release is an EP called Nibaak (again, the “i” sounds like an “e”, so that’s “NEE bawk“).
Now that we got all that out of the way, let’s turn our attention to the actual music. I’ve already mentioned that it’s ugly, but that isn’t nearly descriptive enough — this is grimy, sludgey, filthy, and soul-wrenchingly painful stuff. Plus, you can listen to it for free or download it for any price you choose. Honestly, what more could you ask for?
Michale Graves Announces More War of Information Tour Dates
Michale Graves, former Misfits, Graves, and Gotham Road vocalist, has announced a new string of dates being tacked onto the previously announced War of Information Tour (which ultimately is supposed to be leading up to the recording and release of an album by the same name). These new shows, kicking off next Tuesday in Pittsburgh, will consist of acoustic-only performances.
Hey, Did You Hear? There’s a New Soundgarden Album Coming Soon!
Iconic Seattle grunge/rock/metal band Soundgarden plans to release King Animal, their first new studio album in over 15 years, on November 13th, 2012!
The band had pretty much been on extended hiatus ever since I was in high school, during which time singer Chris Cornell put out a couple solo records (in addition to working with three-quarters of Rage Against the Machine as Audioslave), bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron formed Wellwater Conspiracy (while Cameron also served as a member of Pearl Jam — by far the longest-tenured drummer in that band’s Spın̈al Tap-esque revolving door at that position), and guitarist Kim Thayil occasionally popped up with guest appearances but otherwise kept a generally low profile.
However, the quartet emerged from the woodwork a little over two years ago, playing various shows all over the world. And now they are announcing that their sixth full-length will be available in just about two months. I doubt there’s anyone reading this who isn’t already familiar with Soundgarden, but just in case your only exposure happens to be the small handful of maddeningly-overplayed singles (for example, “Black Hole Sun”) that constantly grace the airwaves, you really owe it to yourself to dig deeper into their discography — over the course of a decade or so, these guys put out some incredible albums that never faltered in quality. From their earliest singles like “Flower” or “Loud Love” up through the gems from the Down on the Upside album (“Pretty Noose” or “Ty Cobb”, to name a few) in the late ’90s, there really aren’t any weak spots or low points in the band’s career.
Now Available: Low Man – Self-Titled EP
Low Man – Low Man EP (self-released, 14 August 2012)
Hey there, friends and comrades, how are you all doing?! Feel free to imagine all the typical witty “oh man it’s Monday, I really hate Mondays” rhetoric here. Honestly, though, I’m not really feeling that terrible so far.
It could just be that I’m still not quite awake enough to really feel it yet, or maybe it could be a lingering positive feeling from watching (my local football team) the Steelers utterly demolish the visiting New York Jets yesterday. (By the way, if anyone reading this is a Jets fan, I’m sorry — for many reasons…)
But anyway, whatever the explanation, I think I’ll take advantage of this ultra-rare pleasant mood (relatively speaking, of course), and do something productive. The first thing I want to do is talk to you about Low Man.
Now I’ve mentioned these guys a time or two in the past, when they’ve had various shows scheduled, but I’ve never really taken the time to discuss the band at length before. And since they’ve recently released their self-titled debut EP (which has been online for the past few weeks, but will also be available on CD starting today), it seems like a good time to start!
What To Do In Pittsburgh Tonight (17 September 2012)
Pile, Old Accusers, Low Man
at the Mr. Roboto Project
5106 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh (Bloomfield)
Monday 17 September 2012 | 7:00 pm | $5 | All ages
The following description was lifted directly from Low Man‘s official Facebook event page:
Oh shit yes. Pile, our favorite proggy hardcore sons of the revolution are trekking out on tour from their beautiful city of Boston and stopping here in Pittsburgh just to have a good time with you.
How could that possibly get better? How about the fact that we invited local crushers Old Accusers to play as well? They’ve got a brand new album out, just like we do, and they’re going to rip your face off and use it as a frisbee.
As for your friendly neighborhood stoner punks, we’ll hopefully have a wonderful surprise in store, along with some new and old jams for your most devious pleasures. We’ll keep you in the loop on that shit, don’t you worry.
This is an all ages joint, right across from Spak Bros, so get a killer slice and a cream soda, and then cross the street to get your earholes blown out with your best friends in the world.
You can check out more information about all three bands (and hear previews of what you might expect at tonight’s show) at the following links: Pile, Low Man, Old Accusers
In addition, regarding that “wonderful surprise” that the band hinted at above, well the cat’s been let out of the bag now:
This is now the Official Low Man CD Release Party Thing, so if you want our new EP in a tangible form, bring your five dollar bills and you can have one!
Yeah, the band’s brand new self-titled EP is now available on CD as well — read my review of the album here, then head to Roboto tonight to grab your very own copy!
RSVP here.
Valley of Steel 