Latest Posts

Tonight: Delta Rae

June 25, 2014

Delta Rae, a southern group with a unique, electrifying folk-pop sound, is coming to the Tralf tonight. I’ve seen them haphazardly dumped into the country category, but their hybrid style – one of their biggest songs consists of a chain, a tin can, a bass drum, vocals, and NOTHING ELSE – can not be defined by one or even two genres. I’ve been listening to them for months and I still don’t know what to call them; I only wrote folk-pop above because it sounded decent and sometimes you just have to commit. Ranging from explosive, downright chilling harmonies to smooth, soulful melodies, their sound is a convergence of all things great, and the Tralf is the perfect place to listen to it. There’s only room to post one clip but I’d love to post them all, so in addition to the one below, check out this song and this[...]

Tonight: Manchester Orchestra

May 20, 2014

Town Ballroom has been positively on fire this year, and the momentum will continue tonight at the Manchester Orchestra show. Skip ahead real quick and watch the clip below: they’re playing one of their new songs, “Cope,” on Letterman, and they just go after it. They’re playing loud as hell in front of a dead studio audience; yes, they are still on national TV, but after watching this, you can’t help but get excited about tonight’s show. It’s just not possible. I first heard Manchester Orchestra’s “I’ve Got Friends” back in 2009 and it quickly became one of my favorite songs. I don’t normally “do” angst, but there was an underlying substance and grittiness about the band that I loved. Unfortunately, having just graduated from college and still carrying around a good bit of residual laziness, I didn’t bother following them any further. Then they released Simple Math in 2011 and[...]

The Black Keys – Turn Blue

May 13, 2014

It’s been a busy week for Patrick Carney. The Black Keys have just released their 8th (can that be right?) studio album, and he’s somehow managed to find time to reignite his old beef with Justin Bieber. While he’s correct in his opinion that Justin Bieber is pretty much the worst type of person the world has ever seen, it’s not his responsibility to make everyone aware of it. His responsibility is to be a sick drummer in one of the better bands we’ve ever heard. If this is a PR move, I think we can all agree that it is pretty shameful. I really, really don’t think it is, but I can’t completely dismiss the idea. Offstage, The Black Keys have always struck me as a bit goofy. I remember watching them as extras in an SNL skit a few years ago and being surprised at how remarkably unfunny[...]

Tonight: Hollerado with Wildlife

April 18, 2014

Easter is still a few days away but talk about a basket of goodies: Hollerado and Wildlife will be at Town Ballroom this evening. We have a long way to go, but this lineup is a dark-horse contender for show of the year. I mean to take nothing away from Hollerado because I enjoy each and every 90’s flashback they intentionally and unintentionally provide, but this is one of those rare shows where I’m just as excited to see the opening act. I love Hollerado’s unabashed party-rock spirit, and Record in a Bag has taken up multiple, lengthy residencies in my car stereo, but Wildlife’s On The Heart was one of my favorite albums of 2013. It made me miss the 80’s even though I am pretty sure I was still in diapers. In my fawning review of it last March, I suggested, rather cringe-worthily, that “Bad Dream” might have been how the universe[...]