Sharing a Beer Bong with The Men

wearethemen.blogspot.com 

published on theBomberJacket.com

Music could be heard as we walked from our car that we parked on the side of the road. A ton of people were already at the party, so the driveway was full of cars and we had to make the hike from down the street. They had given the house a name as people like to do, and it was called Open Your Heart. It always seemed like a weird name to me. Then again, the people that lived there were called “The Men.” Even the girls that lived there were still referred to as “The Men.” I had heard about the party from a friend and realized that I had been to another thing The Men had thrown a year earlier in a different place. That one used to be called The Leave Home House. Those parties were a bit stranger and darker and from what I had heard, this new place seemed a bit more lively and fun.

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Walking Under Picore's Balls

Photo by Arianne Picón.
picore-picore.bandcamp.com 

Published on thebomberjacket.com

Picore say they work hard to make their music “suggestive and danceable” and there are always people moving around at their shows. However, there’s still something about their style that seems like every once in a while it would have to be met with slack jawed staring and drooling while you oozed off into space.

The Spanish band (from Zaragoza) use a few superfluously hyphenated self descriptions that play with the idea that their songs and lyrics could be hymns. For example, “angular-rock-with-sermons” or “danceable-but-not-hype-rock-with-prayer-lyrics-in-Spanish.” The meandering guitar and sluggish tempo force singer Dani Jiménez to chant more often than sing.

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SXSW: The Bomber Jacket Wishlist from Jen and Drew

Below is a pretty good round-up SXSW wishlist from The Bomber Jacket's editor and freelance writer Drew Fortune. Published here.

thebomberjacket.com

Dr. Dog at 2010's SXSW, playing at Ceder Street Courtyard

Two years ago in 2010 I flew down to Austin, Texas to embark on an debacherous, adventurous week at South by Southwest Festival. I was covering the music portion of the festival as a college journalist. The week was positively arduous and long, with hardly any sleep and excessive amounts of alcohol. I carried my camera and my field recorder with me everywhere, catching bites of sound and images of glory from Daedelus’ DJ set to the deafening crowd roars at Andrew WK shows.

Andrew WK at 2010's festival

The morning after the festival was over, I was half-awake and melted into a chair at an airport gate, drinking a beer and going over my notes for an article. Next to me was a guy doing the same thing, with a worn-out backpack adorned with pins from his favorite bands. I leaned over and introduced myself, and he told me he was also a music journalist, and that the week had also been his first experience at SXSW.

Drew Fortune and I both cannot attend SX this year. It is a true disappointment. To celebrate our two-year friendship, we’ve decided to post a “SXSW Wishlist” for all of you lucky people who are enjoying the Texas heat and barbecue sauce. Have a beer for us, and check out our list of the top-20 shows you should attend. Note that the *asterisked* links bring you to our own coverage of some of the musicians.

#10

Drew: 12th Planet, Skrillex’s buddies. If nothing else, this will be the show to see and be seen at (if you’re into that kinda thing).  3/17 @ Beauty Bar Backyard

Jen: Fiona Apple. One of our favorite 90s babes is back, and she’s starting her comeback at SXSW. 3/14 @ Stubb’s

#9

Drew: **Titus Andronicus. Lineup changes shouldn’t affect the amateur historian New Jersey punks. 3/15 @ Belmont

Jen: SBTRKT. British sex on the dance floor. 3/17 @ The Madison

#8

Drew: The Drums is my favorite discovery of 2012. Like Joy Division, only a tad sunnier. 3/16 @ Stubb’s

Jen: Trust. One of the latest bands to sign with Canada’s Arts & Crafts Records. Trust is Robert Alfons and Maya Postepski (from Austra). 3/13 @ Mohawk

#7

Drew: Dinosaur Jr. Bring your earplugs (seriously). 3/16 @ Bar 96

Jen: Madi Diaz. The musician went to Berklee College of Music, and she’s now signed and living in Nashville, but she still hasn’t really been heard yet. 3/17 @ St. David’s Bethell Hall

#6

Drew: Wayne Kramer. All I know about the Motor City 5 frontman is that he’s been supervising music for Eastbound and Down (and doing a damn good job of it). A must for any motherfuckers who wanna see the jams kicked out! 3/16 @ Swan Dive

Jen: **Cloud Nothings. Watch the young, Waldo-looking lead singer awe the crowd. 3/15 @ 512 Rooftop

#5

Drew: Jimmy Cliff. Another legend, and a good chance to fire up that spliff and eat some BBQ. 3/17 @ The Stage on Sixth Patio

Jen: Suckers. Always a solid live band. The group’s new album Candy Salad is due out in April. 3/14 @ The Stage on Sixth Patio

#4

Drew: **Daniel Johnston and Friends. Who knows how long any of us will have the chance to see Johnston perform…with friends no less! 3/13 @Belmont

Jen: **Das Racist. The abundantly entertaining rap threesome is something you just have to see at some point in your life, especially when you’re partying. 3/15 @ Empire Auto & Club 606

#3

Drew: Skrillex. C’mon…who isn’t intrigued? 3/15 @ The Main

Jen: Watch Cymbals Eat Guitars‘ Joe D’Agostino as he belts into the mic and shreds nostalgic riffs. 3/16 @ The Studio by HGTV

#2

Drew: Tenacious D. I interviewed **Kyle Gass when he was working on his musical project Trainwreck. Should be fun to see Tenacious D back in action again. 3/15 @ Haven

Jen: Bear in Heaven. These dudes have their new album out now, so they’ll be playing loads of new material. Lead singer Jon Philpot is so excellent live. The event is free and open to the public. 3/15 @ Flamingo Cantina

#1

Drew: Jesus and Mary Chain, my “White Whale” of concerts. The year I don’t go to Coachella, they play. The year I don’t do SXSW, they play. By all means, my #1 with a bullet. 3/15 @ Belmont

Jen: **Emperor X. I don’t think there’s a musician out there quite as underrated as Emperor X. It seems as if every show is his best show. There’s no doubt in my mind that his SXSW performances will be any different. 3/14 @ The Hideout

*

Written by Jen Brown and Drew Fortune (written for The Onion’s AV Club, LA Weekly and Chicago Sun-Times).






In addition, The Mango Nebula would fancy:

Quilt,
Youth Lagoon,
Za!,
Grimes,
The Men,
and it would be worth it to check out The Magnetic Fields and Built to Spill, even just to say you saw them once.

But to emphasize:
EMPEROR X!
EMPEROR X!!
EMPEROR X!!!

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An Evening with Mr. M and The Great Lambchopsby

www.lambchop.net

published on thebomberjacket.com

The strings swelled as he sat at the piano with his back to an audience that was chatting quietly around candle lit tables. He readjusted his top hat, stroked his moustache, and then rested his fingers on the keys. I was expecting Sinatra when he started playing, but he lazily exuded, “Don’t know what the fuck they talk about…” It seemed as if his voice were foamier that the overly frothy beer that was leaving circles on the top of the old wooden piano. Still, there was something sweet about the gentle vulgarity. His soothing nonsensical words spoke about his coughing grandfather and coffee makers and whether or not he should talk about seagulls. Then he then cued an imaginary flute section that only he grooved along to, because only he could hear it.

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