Few bands could pull off a song apparently about cartoon characters dropping anvils on each other in such rocking fashion. Yet another reason Mancino is so impressive. The dexterity they exhibit in making the light and absurd somewhat dark and brooding and the dark and brooding somewhat light and absurd is a truly rare thing. [...]

Mancino Week continues with video of “Monster Trucks” as performed at Pianos.

There’s something about this song that we feel particularly showcases the band’s strengths — with its dynamic build, dramatic swells, and a perfect low-key, yet quietly intense, resolution.

Oxford Collapse is playing tonight at Knitting Factory with The Meat Puppets and The Only Children. The show is sponsored by The Onion and Pabst Blue Ribbon. Oxford Collapse is on Sub Pop and we seem to remember The Meat Puppets being involved with some other band that was once on Sub Pop… something to [...]

Two more videos today of Mancino at Pianos:
“Circus Scabs”

“Hetchie Hutchie Footchie”

(photo by Matthew Spencer)
Alina Simone is one of our favorite solo artists playing today. Here’s the brief bio from her website:
I was born in Kharkov, Ukraine and grew up in Massachusetts. My songs are about places where nothing and everything seems to happen — pawn shops, access roads, malls, gas stations — and all the [...]

Back in May we went on about a show at Pianos that was especially good. Great bands all night. And all of them on top of their game with great sound and energy. Even the crowd, perhaps aware that they were at a particularly good show, seemed to be in top form. Looking back, it [...]

We’ve seen and heard it happen before: a group of experienced New York musicians who put together a new band that, right out of the gate, sounds like a pretty much fully-formed entity offering entirely fresh sounds through a new combination of familiar and extremely skilled musicians that we’ve enjoyed in projects past. That’s pretty [...]

Wednesday, August 22nd
Via Audio
@ Union Hall / 8pm
702 Union Street
Brooklyn, NY
w/ Dappled Cities, The XYZ Affair
Thursday, August 23rd
Mistakes
@ Galapagos / 9pm
70 North 6th Street
Brooklyn, NY
w/ RUOK, Viva Nada, You Me Us Them
Friday, August 24th
Lariats
@ The Creek And The Cave / 9pm
10-93 Jackson Avenue
Long Island City, NY
w/ The Wallace Bros., Fred Thomas
The Art Of Shooting
@ Opera [...]

Not to brag or anything, but we’re feeling pretty good about this mini-tour we have set up for Gold Streets and Man In Gray. The internet talks a lot and it has plenty to say about the bands for this trip:
Time Out New York:
Man in Gray is a gritty, dancey local rock quintet driven by [...]

And here’s one more video of Gold Streets at the July Hot Rocks Party for you to enjoy before seeing them live with Man In Gray as part of the StereoactiveNYC Roadshow. They’re at Union Hall tomorrow night, then in Virginia and North Caroline over the following few days.