We Are Jeneric - Nocturnal Animals
Why? - These Hands
Morning Benders - Excuses
Arcade Fire - We Used to Wait
Scientific Maps - People Love Their Troubles
Railbird - Not Alone
Horse Feathers - Thistled Spring
Junip - Rope & Summit
Mountain Man - Animal Song
Julie Dorian - Life of Dreams
Devandra Banhard - Can’t Help But Smiling
Bon Iver - Blood Bank
Sharon vanEtten - Love More
Matthew Carefully - Poughkeepsie
Efterklang - Modern Drift
Owen Pallet - E is for Estranged
The Avett Brothers - Travelling Song
Color Revolt - The Cradle
Beware! the Other Head of Science - Front Row Seats for the Great Beast
Liars - Scissor
The Black Keys - Next Girl
The Hold Steady - Rock Problems
Titus Andronicus - Four Score and Seven
Deerhunter - Revival
Wolf Parade - What did My Lover Say?
Wye Oak - For Prayer
Rock Plaza Cebtral - Oh Lord how mand are my foes
Blitzen Trapper - Destroyer of the Void
The Armchairs - Grampa Yells Portents at Strangers
Patrick Porter - Hee Haw
These United States - The Great Rivers
The Tallest Man on Earth - King of Spain
Phospherescent - Its Hard to be Humble (When you’re from Alabama)
Harlan T Bobo - Mlle. Chatte
Drink Up Buttercup - Seasickness Pills
Dr Dog - Station
Hanoi Janes - Bad Attitude
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - Home
Bowerbirds - Crooked Lust
Arcade Fire - Month May
Local Natives - Airplanes
Nana Grizol - Cynacism
Joanna Newsom - Good Intentions Paving Company
B3nson Records, in conjunction with the Albany Historic Foundation, WEXT, and All Over Albany will hold the Restoration Festival on August 28th and 29th at St Joesph’s Church in Arbor Hill, Albany, NY.
On Saturday and Sunday, August 28th and 29th
from 12:00 pm to 10:00 pm, St. Joseph’s Church in Downtown Albany will be a home and a stage for an all local Musical Extravaganza. Bands from every corner of the Capital Region will come together to deliver their musical prowess and wit in a never before witnessed conglomeration of local cultural celebration. Tickets are currently on sale for the Early Bird Price of $10.00 per day and $15.00 for the whole weekend at www.restfest.net. 25% of all proceeds will go to the St Joseph’s Restoration fund to support their $300,000 matched grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation.
The current lineup includes [in no particular order] Matthew Carefully and Swamp Baby [of Collar City Records], Aficionado [ of No Sleep Records ] Alta Mira [of Indian Ledge Records] the Mathematicians, Railbird, RESTYS, El Duke, The Red Lions, Grainbelt, Que Caro, and Barons In The Attic, Scientific Maps, We Are Jeneric, Beware! The Other Head of Science and Sgt. Dunbar & the Hobo Banned [of B3nson Records]. Musical and Visual interludes as well as after party will be exploded and controlled by Goodship. All of which are contributing equally to making this celebration a success.
Be on the lookout for more updates, information and cultural escapades from B3nson Records and all of their friends. News feeds will be provided at www.restfest.net and you can become a fan and a friend at www.facebook.com and www.twitter.com/restorationfest
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Putting on a CD is like climbing behind the wheel of a car. You are in control. Forward. Reverse. You can stop on a dime. It takes you where you want to be. A cassette tape is more like an inner tube in a lazy river. You can try to control it, but you’re better off drifting along and enjoying the experience without constraint. If you own a waterproof boom box Weaver’s cassette, I am a Flower, would be a great companion. Weaver, who also goes by the name Andrew Joseph Weaver, is a native of upstate New York, and a current resident of Portland, Oregon.
One sticky Sunday in July a modest crowd files into the Dovecote on Hudson Ave. in Albany, languorous from the long sweaty weekend behind them. Weaver sits on an unused practice amp attentively watching the performers preceding him through dark sunglasses. When it is his turn he performs with the composure of a man in his own living room, and all attention is paid. No other sound can be heard. No bottles clinking. No chatter from the sidewalk.
Weaver is able to reproduce this same earnest passion on I am a Flower. Just seconds into the opening track, beautifully placed back-up vocals echo the word ‘prairie,’ and you certain you will not divert your attention until every note has been heard. Weaver is able to create great beauty through conflict. On A Dogfight he pits haunting ethereal vocals and banjo picking against a drum beat likely to be poached for the next Jay-Z record. On the tape’s title track the drums lumber along as if dragging the weight of a thousand lonely nights, while the vocals float above it all with the insouciance of a man just released from prison. As a whole, I am a Flower is unwavering in its charm. From start to finish Weaver’s words float weightlessly over the grit of a trunk full of well loved instruments.
Check out Weaver’s I Am a Flower free to stream at Bandcamp.
Jesse Horton
NYS Dept. of Civil Service
Employee Benefits Division
Leave Without Pay Unit
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Our brothers to the north AKA Sub Bombin’ Records are throwing a party to celebrate the release of Firefighter Font’s new CD “Crash Tender”. The much anticipated 13 track debut is chock-full of catchy indie-pop tunes that are the perfect soundtrack for a summer drive. The whole thing kicks off at 8pm with Sub Bombin’s own Midas and Rawhead doing their thing. Racing City Ghosts will also be performing. We’ll See you there!
Kings Tavern is located at 241 Union Ave, Saratoga Springs, NY.
Ages 21+, $5 entry.
Members of the B3nson Recording Company have been kicking around copies of The Monitor since… well, since we should have. But, given how promising their last record was (2008’s The Airing of Grievances) we couldn’t help ourselves. The Monitor is full of sprawling, unapologetic, alcohol-fueled anthems and greatly expands on the bands huge-drums-and-guitar-noise sound by adding additional instrumentation at the most epic moments. That being said: go buy the album and listen to it a hundred times between now and July 12th. Then go sing along with us at Valentine’s when they roll into town next month with Boston’s Hallelujah the Hills!
Our own BEWARE! the Other Head of Science will be getting the party started at 8pm, so don’t be late!
Tickets are $10.00, Ages 18+
Buy tickets now at Brown Paper Tickets
Facebook Event Page
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http://www.titusandronicus.net/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14010-the-monitor/
http://www.hallelujahthehills.com/
http://www.bewaretheotherheadofscience.com/
http://www.valentinesalbany.com/
Friday June 18th could be one hell of a good night if you plan it right. Fortunately, we’re here to help you out:
First: head over to the Albany Public Library at 6pm to catch the Hoborchestra playing with Blue Factory. They’ll be in the garage around back. It’s free. Perfect! Show has to be over at 8pm which gives you plenty of time to…
Next: Convince all your friends to load into their respective vehicles (carpool, if you can!) and head across the river and into Troy to catch BEWARE! the Other Head of Science with Pine Island and Steer at the Troy Bike Rescue (51 3rd st.) at 8:30. The Bike Rescue is a really fun place to catch a show and they don’t happen too often… so be there! It’s only a $3 donation!
DANCE PARTY!
Albany bid a sad “farewell” to local songster Barrow Burrow (AKA Jack Rosenberger) as he has decided to up and leave to capital region in favor of Ohio. You may have heard of Ohio, as it is the state that claims to be the “Birthplace of Aviation”. We’re not too sure what he is thinking, but we do know that he will be missed and we wish him the best!
To mark the occasion Jack performed a set of Barrow Burrow songs with his band-mates in Sea of Trees. It was quite a memorable occasion. The band performed songs off of both of the Barrow Burrow albums released this year, the excellent ‘This Road is Not a Road’ and ‘Dead West’. In addition to being a testament to Jack’s splendid songwriting it also reinforced what dynamic musicians the members of Sea of Trees are.
B3nson’s own Hoborchestra opened up the show performing songs spanning much of Tim Koch’s repertoire including reworkings of old tunes like the “Table and the Cup” and “A Life Learning Languages” up through “If Fire Drives You Away” off of December’s “I Only Eat You To Make Me Stronger”. In true Hoborchestra fashion, there was a crack band of B3nsonites spanning most of our collective’s roster (Sgt. Dunbar, BEWARE!, Barons, Sci-Maps and more!) and several surprises as well.
The Hoborchestra will be performing this Friday as part of the Albany Public Library’s ‘Garage Bands in the Garage’ series. The show takes place in the garage of the APL (head ’round back) and starts promptly at 6pm! Opening up the show will be local pop-rockers Blue Factory. Oh yeah, it’s FREE!
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Who: Matthew Carefully with members of Swamp Baby
What: ARTSFEST
When: Saturday, June 12th at 8pm
Where: Arts Center Saratoga, Saratoga Springs, NY
How (much?): $5
Close B3nson relatives Matthew Carefully and Swamp Baby will be joining forces to improvise music to locally produced/submitted silent films as part of Saratoga’s ARTSFEST. This one-time only performance should be very interesting and awesome!
Visit saratogaartsfest.org/ for more info and to purchase tickets.
Also, both bands are riding high on the release of excellent new records. You should probably head over to collarcityrecords.com to pick them up.
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Our good friends Da Comrade, the most excellent Philadelphia based Gypsy Psych Rock outfit will be appearing at Valentines in Albany. If you didn’t get a chance to catch them with Sgt Dunbar & The Armchairs at Ground Zero last fall now is your chance.
The show starts at 8pm and will be opened by a pair of most interesting musicians from Bloomington, IN. Toby Foster who plays a playful and witty soft of acoustic punk and Eric Ayoette, who grew up in Troy, and went to school in New Paltz (I think) and used to go by the name Halo Fauna (which was awesome) and also toured while doing the Gadabout Film Festival. You may have caught him on one of his previous passes through the area. Also on the bill is the female fronted rock and roll stylings of Visiqueen. All for only 5$. Come check it out.
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