MiNORMASS - Winning's Half the Game But Losing's No - (Baltimore, MD)

Lake Trout - What You Need - (Baltimore, MD)

Either these guys are super-deep or I just do not get what these lyrics mean. They have such enthusiasm in their voice, so I know it's not just nonsense, or is it? I'm sure it's over my head. Anywho, their tracks are fast-paced and full of table-finger-drumming-energy that, sometimes, you need to bring you out of a funk.

Tubelord - Night of the Pencils

Tubelord - Dun Dun Dun Scissor Rocks and Tonne

What a B movie! Japanese youths are offing themselves at an alarming rate! Leaping onto subway platforms and plummeting from school buildings while a creepy website (not suburbandander.com) keeps a running total of the mass suicides. Meanwhile, police investigators keep finding rolls of sewn-together squares of human skin, all from what seems to be hundreds of different bodies. Just when you think you know what's behind the hysteria, another twist keeps you on edge, and thoroughly confused. If you don't mind subtitles and poor production value, you have to see this.

Check out the trailer.

Global warming resurrects hoards of ghost dinosaurs that terrorize a helpless team of ice-road oil workers and independent environmental researchers! Did I give it away?

Co-writer and director Larry Fessenden keeps watchers saying, "WTF?" W/ suspense-building shots like caribou stampeding just in front of the actors, barely visible in the pitch black and Blair Witch-style, night-vision, handy-cam freak-outs. Some of the effects near the end are ruined by tacky CGI, in my opinion, but most of the other creep-outs are left to the viewers' imagination, as it should be. Apocalyptic cliffhanger-ending kinda left me wanting at least a little more explanation, but all-in-all this was a pretty sweet flick.

Check out the trailer.

Y'all is Fantasy Island - Consider Yourself Swallowed

Come On Gang! - Start the Sound

Jaguar Love - Highways of Gold

Beth Wilmshurst - Climbing Trees

Bat for Lashes - Sad Eyes

Panda Bear - Comfy In Nautica

Cajun Dance Party - Amylase

Mates of State - For the Actor

Clare & The Reasons - Alphabet City

The Rakes - 22 Grand Job

The Cloud Room - Hey Now Now

Thinguma*jigSaw - Redlightcockfight

Animal Collective - My Girls

Popup - In Her Day

Tricky - Overcome

Heartless Bastards - The Mountain

Asobi Seksu - Nefi Girly

Thrushes - Into the Woods

... I got a bumper sticker. So we roll out to the Ottobar at, like, 10 p.m., we end up making it there at around 10:30-10:45 to find a sparse crowd. Amongst the unwashed I spot a couple Thrushi milling about, so we figure they are waiting till the joint fills up before their set. We make our way over to the bar and order our cocktails. By the by, don't order anything but beer at the Ottobar, they have a wall full of liquor they don't know how to operate.

Setting up base right up front, we get a good view of Tyvek setting up. We assumed they were the first act. Now, the only Internets-offerings Tyvek had for me were a few songs off their MySpace page which were none too impressive. But, I have to tell you folks, with their lead guitarist/vocalist — w/ his retro, 1970s glasses — and a stand-up drummer (literally, the guy stood the whole time), they were a pretty fun group. They need to lose their bassist. This girl doesn't add anything at all. W/ a drowned-out, occasional lyric here and there and her un-enthused head-bobbing, she's a drag on the band. Also, the only Tyvek merch I saw offered were some handmade mix tapes. I know tapes are kick-ass and retro, but WTF?

So at this point the place is starting to fill up and we're totally expecting the Thrushes to set up. Not so much. Super tiny Yuki Chikudate starts assembling keyboards and meticulously strings her microphone w/ what I guess to be a sound-sensitive string of red Xmas lights. While they're setting up I've taken the job of beer bitch, so I run through the crowd — which has grown exponentially since our arrival — toward the bar, and back to the front of the stage. At this point, it's sinking in that the Thrushes have already played their set. I'm slow. The lights dim and Asobi Seksu takes stage for one of the best shows I've seen in a while. Leading up to the show, I always like to look to the Internets to find band offerings. Asobi had four albums, including a live album, available for listen on their MySpace page, which was far better than the other bands' Internets offerings. James Hanna, Asobi's guitarist, rules every song. If you want to find out where the song was headed, just keep a close eye on James. Yuki's vocals are a little lost, which I blame on the sound set-up. Or maybe it was because we are right on top of a speaker that may or may not be directly attached to James Hanna's effects pedals. At any rate, Asobi Seksu is my new favorite! It'd be sweet to catch them in their hometown of NY. Some day, perhaps.

Thrushes, sorry we missed you, but we had a great time nonetheless. We'll catch up eventually.

Epically intense, moving, dirty, somber and distracted, here's another Thrushes must listen.

Thrushes - Into the Woods