Saturday is Noise Pop’s busiest day, with more events than you can shake a stick at (and who shakes sticks anyways?). Before even getting to the nighttime stuff, three daytime events are all worth noting. Fans of independent crafts and design should swing by the free Pop and Shop at the Verdi Club, while aspiring moguls and music tech geeks should head over to Industry Noise for panels about the state of indie music and networking opportunities galore.
If you go to either, though, I’d plan to head out in time to make it to the Brooklyn Vegan-presented Happy Hour at Bender’s (4pm, Free) with Odawas, The Baths and That Ghost. Odawas were really great at Du Nord recently, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to catch the other two before all three bands head to South by Southwest in March.
Amidst the justified hype surrounding some of the other big names at Noise Pop this year, are people sleeping on !!!‘s Saturday night show at the Mezzanine? It’s the band’s latest homecoming show (with apologies to Sacramento), in anticipation of a new full length this year. Nic Offer, um, offered some hints about the new record’s direction in this Pitchfork interview last December. The show’s also the 7″ release party for Maus Haus, who seem to have spent the time since their debut record further upping the ante on prog-pop craftsmanship. Sugar & Gold and My First Earthquake open the show.
[audio:https://www.thebaybridged.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/01-Winter.mp3] Maus Haus – “Winter”Over at the Rickshaw Stop (8pm, $14), Portland’s Black Prairie play their first live show ever. Headlining a Noise Pop show is something of an auspicious debut, but it’s not like these guys haven’t performed before: three-fifths of the band are also members of The Decemberists. Joining them at the Rickshaw are three sets of locals: country-punks Trainwreck Riders, indie poppers Billy & Dolly, and Birds Fled From Me. BFFM shares the “familiar face/different band” quality of the headliners. It’s the solo project of Rachel Williams, who also sings in Sleepy Sun.
[audio:https://www.thebaybridged.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/trainwreckriderssafetyofaback.mp3] Trainwreck Riders – “Safety of a Back”Also of note on Saturday:
– The Magnetic Fields at the Fox Theater. The band’s Herbst show is sold out, so here’s your only other chance to catch the band on its Realism-supporting tour.
– Fans of indie singer-songwriters have a tough choice to make, with Thao Nguyen and Mirah playing a special duo show at the Swedish American Hall, and Mark Kozelek playing solo at the Great American Music Hall.
– Local indie-prog band P.E.E. reunite for a show at Cafe Du Nord. The band released two albums in the late 1990s, the second of which was actually the first release on Absolutely Kosher Records.
