Ecstatic Sunshine | CEX | Schwa | Disqo Disco (Kettle Art, 8-11pm)
Great show on an otherwise normal Monday night. Ecstatic Sunshine has been getting attention all over the place recently for their exceedingly pleasant drone pieces that always seem to be loud, noisy and messy yet comforting and almost gentle in their form and presentation. You can tell they're from Baltimore based on the obvious Wham City influence the band seems to carry in both style and substance (in addition to their friendship with Dan Deacon), but it seems to be the specifically Baltimoresque joy that gives their material a boost to set it apart from similar acts. This is post rock and noise and glitchy electronica and a lot of other things, but it really doesn't fall in line with any particular style enough to permit such a label. I just spent the past five minutes reading articles that compared them to LaMonte Young AND Crystal Castles, if that gives you any indication. Come early for the strange and exciting glitch hop of CEX too. The name kind of reminds me of that band Everyone Gets Laid from PCU, which is pure bonus points.

Cool Out (The Cavern)

The Hard Lessons | Tiger Moth | Austin Brown (The Cavern)
Ok, the Hard Lessons are a totally gay rip off of that one "Stacy's Mom" band (what is that, Nada Surf or some bullshit?), and they lose even more points for writing songs that lecture us about "plastic" people and how dumb the "scene" is. Uh, dudes, have you heard your own band? In other news, Dallas' Tiger Moth are much more interesting and tolerable, even if this isn't saying a whole hell of a lot. Their stuff reminds me of bits and pieces of a lot of different things you've heard before, including Spoon, White Stripes, Kings of Leon, T. Rex, and even stuff like Guns N Roses and Stone Temple Pilots. The songs are catchy enough and well written for sure, and if any of the aforementioned influences appeal to you, you'll probably enjoy this quite a bit. If not, then I wouldn't bother. I wouldn't be surprised at all if these guys start drawing bigger, pub crawlin' Greenville crowds in the near future based on this polished and forceful guitar rock sound. I'm just not sure if I'll be part of that crowd.

Jazz (Amsterdam)

Paul Slavens (Dan's Silverleaf)