Wednesday 09.02.09: NEW RADIANT STORM KING / FUNERAL PARTY / LOWLIGHTS / THE WALSH BROTHERS @ echo

New Radiant Storm King || Listen

It’s a shame that New Radiant Storm King aren’t better known. The New York/Northampton, MA quartet has been kicking out dependably roiling, twin-guitar-ignited indie rock for almost two decades. Yes, they’re that band: amassers of a deep, decorated catalog of releases on six different labels, and grabbers of cult appeal wherever they can find it. Like, say, Sloan or any one of an entire host of terrific rock crews both North American and British dating back to the late 80s, they don’t hit any one rock touchpoint in a particularly unique way—you wouldn’t find ‘em too easily without an accident or a recommendation. But that’s not the same thing as “formula done right,” or worse, being called derivative; NRSK is far too exciting a band for those lazy dismissals.

The thirteen songs on Moonlight make for a leaner, cleaner package than 2006’s blistering The Steady Hand, for better and for worse. The paint-stripping distortion that earns them plenty of comparisons to Swervedriver and other inspired noisemakers—and the jagged poetics that would invite Silver Jews suggestions even if guitarist Peyton Pinkerton weren’t a Jews alumnus—aren’t so much here. But the band’s deft attention to songcraft and lovingly burnished hooks are given more room to breathe, and some songs, like album closer “Fall Prey” and the la-la-la-punctuated “Midnight Comes” are downright pretty. – Popmatters

With:
Funeral Party
Lowlights
The Walsh Brothers

8:30pm / $8 / 18+

Wednesday 09.02.09: DUB CLUB presents RICHIE SPICE / SPANNER BANNER @ echoplex

RICHIE SPICE

Armed with just a microphone, one-drop rhythms and purifying lyrical flames, singer Richie Spice is the Gideon of contemporary reggae. The publicly declared “prince of fire” uses culturally uplifting, spiritually fortified words to defeat the negative content that informs much of popular (Jamaican) music. Fittingly, Gideon Boot is the title track of Spice’s brilliant fourth album. Recorded over the timeless Johnny Too Bad rhythm (taken from The Slickers 1970s hit of the same name, popularized in the film The Harder They Come) the song details Spice’s strategic plan for delivering his musical sermon to an awaiting global audience. “I need a Gideon boot and a khaki suit to stand out inna Babylon and defend the truth/ I got a strong reggae beat with a mic in my hand fe lead out de youth dem outta destruction and let de people know right from wrong.”

Just like the singer’s previous albums “Universal”, “Spice In Your Life” and “In The
Streets to Africa”, “Gideon Boot” contains inspiring messages specifically aimed at empowering vulnerable youth.

The traditional Rastafarian Nyabinghi drumming that dominates the opening cut “Babylon Falling” heralds the seriousness of Spice’s musical mission. “World Is A Cycle”, sung over producer Arif Cooper’s haunting “Guardian Angel” rhythm, is, as Spice explains, “a song for the children and for the parents saying be careful because what you do can fall right back on you and your kids.”

Also included is the current Jamaican hit “The Plane Land” which display’s Spice’s superb story telling skills. The song’s lyrics detail the frustration that oftentimes accompanies post 9/11travel. “Saddle up myself fe take interrogation…tek off mi shoes, tek off mi tam, if they ever find you with a spliff yu gone another land.” “It is a song everyone can relate to if they travel,” notes Spice, “and if they don’t travel, they will learn this is what we go through as entertainers as we go to other countries.”

Since 2004, when his apocalyptic single “Earth A Run Red” became the year’s most popular reggae song, Richie Spice has performed throughout the world, insuring that cultural roots reggae isn’t relegated to a bygone era but continues as a thriving, evolving musical genre.

with special guest:
Spanner Banner

plus Resident DJs:
Tom Chasteen
Roy Corderoy
The Dungeonmaster
Boss Harmony

Spinning the best in classic reggae, dub and dancehall

@ Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
(Main Entrance is through Alley)
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Save Money when you order tickets by mobile phone
text gideon to 467467

9pm / $10 advance, $10 at the door before 10pm, $15 at the door after 10pm / 21+