The Fox and the Hound Show - 4/12/11

Our second show in April featured the premier of Mob Device's new track "Muscovite". We also encouraged unsigned artists listening to submit a song for the soundtrack to the upcoming To Write Love On Her Arms film, Renee. Don't forget to become a fan!

The Life After Death of Biggie Smalldust and the Hustlers from Mars

Nathan Leigh recently collapsed a lung due to "spontaneous pneumothorax". Fortunately he has recovered (just played a show tonight with Super Mirage), but while he was in the hospital, he could not stay away from music. Based on a friend's suggestion, he decided to mash up two masterpieces: David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and Biggie Smalls' Life After Death. The results, of course, are legendary. Listen and download on Nathan's website [here].

Show Review: Caleb Hawley

Caleb in 2007:
It's not often a former American Idol contestant comes to B-sides, but this week singer-songwriter Caleb Hawley returned to our stage after almost three years, including his stint on Idol and a move to New York. His quirky music-nerd persona still comes through in the revamped act, but in a much more professional package. Constant joking and a winning smile carried Hawley through original music, renditions of the Mario soundtrack, and a jam session with his student doppelganger, Alex Brubaker. As someone who has been in artist management, it was fascinating for me to see such a talented musician attain much greater levels of success through marketing. His new and improved show pulls out all the stops, even bringing his dog on stage for a song about being jealous of the affection his wife shows their canine companion. A graduate of both Berklee College of Music and the Stephen Tyler school of "YES!", Hawley is sure to be a fixture in the industry now that his excellent musicianship is more popularly packaged. Caleb in 2011:

The Fox and the Hound Show - 4/5/11

Our first show in April included the world premiers of The New Division's "Walk in the Dark" and Taylor Smith's "Beautiful Eyes", among other goodies. Probably too many jokes on this one, but that's why you love us!

Show Review: O'Death

photo courtesy of Frederick Foxtrott
"Apocalyptic folk metal" act O'Death comes straight outta Brooklyn with gothic lyrics embedded in jammed-out headbanging music played on traditional folk instruments. The apocalyptic themes were more difficult to detect at b-sides this past week, however, as they came even more deeply hidden in a muddy bass- and violin- heavy mix than their indie aesthetic requires. The mix, while poor, was admittedly propulsive, emphasizing the driving bass and spasmodic fiddle more than enough to get me moving several times during the show. If Mumford & Sons did a record consisting entirely of their occasionally spastic breakdowns produced by Trent Reznor circa "Head Like A Hole", that would sound approximately like O'Death. To give them a better listen than I got to, stream their new album Outside at Paste [here].

Kolstrom = Mob Device

Tim Kolstrom is going the way of all electronic musicians and diversifying his sound, working on house music under the name "Mob Device", though it seems likely the new AKA will take over his music more generally. Maybe his real name just isn't awesome enough to describe his music. Speaking of which, his latest track "Muscovite" does the trick nicely:

Show Review: Koji on the Resolve Tour

Local singer-songwriter and social activist Koji dropped by B-sides on The Resolve Tour, raising awareness for an advocacy organization working against the Lord's Resistance Army in Africa. This is the same issue Invisible Children began fighting, but has both a wider and more specific focus: it works beyond Uganda in the other effected nations and works expressly as an advocacy group rather than a charity.

Koji played a selection of his own tunes, developed over the years through many different projects, as well as some covers. The crowd favorite was probably Josh Ritter's "To the Dogs or Whoever", probably because of the excellent show Ritter played here a while back. After the show, he and the volunteers from The Resolve hung out for a 'town meeting' with interested students.

Vote for The New Division

The New Division has an opportunity to play live on Jimmy Kimmel if they hit 5,000 'likes' on Facebook by the end of the month. [Click here to like their page] and then download the free mp3 of their latest single "Walk in the Dark" at their Bandcamp page.

Show Review: First Friday

This year, Alex Brubaker started First Fridays, an event to help campus musicians gain experience performing actual sets instead of just single songs at Coffeehouse. Each month he hosts a few artists either outside the Union on the patio or in the Fishbowl. Sometimes he brings in outside guests, which have included Suzi Brown and Joseph Strider. I've made it out for a few, but for some reason haven't gotten around to reviewing them and probably shouldn't try to remember that far back to do one after the fact.

This month featured Matt Wagner, Natalie Ness, and Jeff Waters. Wagner opened up, bringing along a few accompanying musicians for some songs as he did at the Sycamore House show. His guitar work was more complex than the average singer-songwriter, probably because he's a music performance major. He closed the show with an acoustic rendition of his dance-pop tune "Vienna", which has since become a staple in my indie-dance sets.

Next up was Natalie Ness, a regular performer on campus whose multi-instrumental performances always bring a mix of originals and covers rearranged to fit better with them, like her popular medley of Lady Gaga songs.

Closing out the evening, my RA from freshman year, '08 homecoming king Jeff Waters returned to campus with an abundance of new material written since graduating. The focus of his latest album is on travel, as all of the songs were written while aboard planes, trains, and automobiles or backpacking across Europe. Standout tracks "Manhattan Blues" and "Postlude" were as beautiful live as they were when I first heard the demo recordings, as Waters' perfect pitch never failed us.

Be sure to come out to the final First Friday on May 6 for another evening of local music curated by Alex Brubaker.

Show Review: Tim Be Told

Asian Student Association and Middle Eastern Student Association sponsored a celebration of Asian Pacific Islander and Middle Eastern heritage month in the Union on Friday featuring student performances capped off with a show by pop-rockers Tim Be Told, 3 of the 4 members of which are of Asian descent.

Hip-hop-inflected drums and funky six-string bass support bluesy guitar and Tim Ouyang's bouncy piano playing and soulful vocals, providing a sound reminiscent of a rock take on John Legend or pop variant of The Black Keys. Lyrically, Tim Be Told is a product of the intimate confessionals that have become emo's lasting legacy in the music industry, letting doubts and insecurities shine through between hopeful moments born of the band's Christian background. With everything from wailing solos to catchy singalongs, Ouyang and company bring an appealing live show, right down to self-deprecating humor and compelling explanations of song's content. Pick up their latest effort Humanity [here].

Vote for Talain Rayne

Former Messiah student and Sandy Cove employee Talain Rayne has been making music for a while now, gradually focusing his efforts after attending the Contemporary Music Center. I caught his set on the Main Stage at Purple Door last summer, and his stage presence and integration with his band were impressive for what is essentially a piano-driven electronica act. He is currently entered in a Radio 104.5 contest to open for Weezer and Panic! at the Disco May 20 on the Festival Pier in Philly. [VOTE HERE]

Show Review: Miami Horror

This week, B-sides brought us 80's-obsessed Australian act Miami Horror, whose disco stylings and guitar solos were well-received by the student audience. I personally kicked off the dancing, soon to be joined by scads of revelers bouncing around like sober people imitating ravers, which is essentially what we were. "The Hound" even overcame a track-related injury to dance his heart out with the rest of us as synthpop gems floated to our ears and compelled our bodies to move. Not having brought some of their equipment from down under for this tour (they're currently in Canada), Messiah provided the band with a drum kit, instrument stands, and other necessities, which I spent about an hour tearing down after the show. The band members seemed to be affable guys that genuinely enjoy playing their music, joking with each other throughout. Enjoy the above video and check out their remix of Gorillaz' "Empire Ants" below:

The Fox and the Hound Show - 3/29/11

This week's show was supposed to include guest DJing by Jared "The Hound" High's parents, who were kept away by weather, and a live performance by Natalie Ness, who was under it. It did not, but it did include the usual inane joking and bizarre 3-song genre explorations. Listen & enjoy (?)

Be sure to catch Natalie, Jeff Waters & Matt Wagner at First Fridays [RSVP here] and Iron & Wine coming through this area later this month (Philly, Bmore, etc.) If you want to hear more dance music from us, Matt Pfeiffer and myself will be 'spinning' for Relay for Life here at Messiah next weekend.

Show Recap: Sycamore House on the Hill Benefit

This past weekend I dropped some jams on some cool kids at the Sycamore House on Allison Hill for their fundraiser benefiting the community garden they are starting. Before that happened, Matt Wagner, Craig Kile & co. played a set, ending with this hilarious acoustic rendition of Das Racist's "Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell":

You can catch Matt later tonight at First Fridays in the Fishbowl, along with Jeff Waters and Natalie Ness (who bailed on The Fox and the Hound Show this week due to illness). The residents from the house played a short set of covers as well before we all adjourned upstairs for a great performance by Darry Miller & the Veil. As many people as possible packed into the loft, overflowing down the hall and stairs to see/hear what was universally described as an incredibly tight performance. Since the last time I saw them at my birthday show, the band has picked up a new drummer and added Derek Jenkins on keys and background vocals, filling out their sound with both a blues feel and pop sheen I never knew they lacked. Despite my jury-rigged microphone stands and the small space, the guys played a great show. Definitely catch them live at Drexel on the 7th if you can!My set to close the show included this song, among other goodies: