Saturday, September 22 2007
LADYBUG TRANSISTOR/LUCKSMITHS/STILL FLYIN' MIND WHIP TOUR
Ever held your head in ice water a little too long? One might try but one may never deny oneself the pure rush of this refreshingly unwise activity, particularly when bestowed upon by a tremendous waterfall or perhaps a hole in a majestic frozen fjord. The more sublime the surrounds, the more intense the desire to dip the noggin. Equivalent too, the sensation as one’s ears become exposed to a trifecta of nature’s most pleasing sounds. This natural phenomenon now has a name: MIND WHIP.
Take three of today’s most esteemed live musical groups — The Lucksmiths, The Ladybug Transistor, Still Flyin’ — and combine them for a jammed-up run of dates down the east coast of the USA. We’re talking three bands of close friends who know not only how to string together more than a lifetime’s worth of amazing tunes, but also what the blazes to do with them when met by a horde of potential proverbial head-wetters. Now you’re starting to get the idea. Your mind is entering the pre-WHIP. Just like on your nature trek, when you’ve brushed the final frond from your face and there before you — a pristine blue waterhole.
The Lucksmiths of Melbourne Australia, re-emerge for their sixth US tour on the back of album number ten, a 45-song double-CD compilation of non-album recordings from the past decade entitled Spring a Leak (released Sept 10 on Matinée). The Lucksmiths' deft songwriting and impossibly charming live show have earned them a devoted cult following across the globe.
Similarly, The Ladybug Transistor, formed in Brooklyn NY in the mid-90s, through voracious touring have amassed a solid army of followers who were initially forewarned by some fuzzy homemade meanderings and then later, well and truly snagged by their brand of gorgeous folky psychedelic classic-pop. Their finest work to date can be heard on the latest Merge album, Can’t Wait Another Day.
The final ingredient to this whip of the mind is San Francisco’s righteously riotous rocksteady party band Still Flyin’ who are a far more complex campaign entirely. Comprising members of some of Indiepop’s first-division (The Aislers Set, Masters of the Hemisphere, Poundsign, Track Star, Dear Nora, The Bright Lights…), Still Flyin’ make their first visit to the eastern seaboard and not before time, as word of their wild stage show has swept cascade-like across the entire continent (further enticing those partial to a good ol’ head-dip) since the release of their two EPs Time Wrinkle and Za Cloud (both on Antenna Farm).
Thursday September 27 - Cambridge, MA: TT The Bear’s
Friday September 28 - New York, NY: Knitting Factory (early show, doors 6pm)
Saturday September 29 - Brooklyn, NY: Europa (early show, doors 6:30pm)
Sunday September 30 - Washington, DC: DC9
Monday October 1 - Durham, NC: Duke Coffeehouse
Tuesday October 2 - Athens, GA Caledonia (Lucksmiths and Ladybug Transistor only)
Wednesday October 3 - Mount Pleasant, SC (Ladybug Transistor and Still Flyin'only)
The Ladybug Transistor http://www.theladybugtransistor.com/
The Lucksmiths: http://www.indiepages.com/matinee/artists/lucksmiths.html
Still Flyin' http://www.myspace.com/stillflyin
