Bishop Allen @ Plush

Bishop Allen builds great, catchy pop music out of its most basic elements - up-tempo guitars (major key all the way), shiny harmonies and an incessant, head-nodding beat. Aside from an uncanny mastery of those basics, Bishop Allen makes its name with additional flourishes that set the band apart - marimba, xylophone, melodica and extra hints of percussion everywhere.

The band started its post-SXSW tour last night at Plush, its first trip to Tucson since July, with a new record in hand and plenty of buzz (from The New York Times, among others). Drawing fairly well for a post-Spring Break Sunday night, the band had a bouncy and enthusiastic crowd.

The band manages to spend most of its stage time creating the type of mood-lifting pop music that seems like its constantly soaring, with an all-singers-on-deck catchiness that sounds sweeter as it goes along.

Bishop Allen comes from the sunny, angst-free part of Williamsburg, marking their own territory with clever and catchy tunes and a jittery stage presence, with singer Justin Rice especially, as if he's a being wound up by the songs, or else shaking his legs to get help get them out.

"The Ancient Common Sense of Things," from the new Grrr... sounds a bit looser live, but the multi-vocal effect worked just as well. Other highlights were "Empire City," (from 2003's Charm School) one of the band's most straight-ahead rockers; "True Or False," sung by percussionist/marimba player Darbie Nowatka, who could easily take lead vocals for a whole album - Bishop Allen or her own; and the absolutely irrestible "Click, Click, Click, Click," which is good enough to make me forget about its all-too-easy commercial applications.

DOWNLOAD:
Bishop Allen - The Ancient Common Sense of Things (live)
Bishop Allen - Shanghied (live)

More Tour Dates:

• Mar 23 L.A. @ Troubadour
• Mar 24 S.F. @ Rickshaw Stop (aa)
• Mar 26 Salt Lake City @ Kilby Court
• Mar 27 Provo @ Velour
• Mar 28 Denver @ Hi-Dive
• Mar 29 Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot Saloon
• Mar 30 Minneapolis @ Triple Rock (aa/5pm)
• Mar 31 Chicago @ Subterranean (17+)
• Apr 02 Northhampton @ Iron Horse
• Apr 03 Cambridge @ Middle East [D] (18+)
• Apr 04 Brooklyn @ Music Hall of W'burg (16+)
• Apr 05 New York @ Bowery Ballroom (16+)

Odds & Ends

Bishop Allen played a hell of a show in Tucson last July, and now the Brooklyn band has new record on the way. I have no doubt it'll be more of the ultra-catchy guitar pop that they're known for.

The band's preview singles fall right in line with the Bishop Allen catalog, which includes the 2006 monthly EP project.

Grrr... is out March 10, the same day the band launches a six-week tour. And right smack in the middle, there's a four-day gap between an appearance at Austin's SXSW festival and Los Angeles. Let's hope there's a Tucson stop in the works...

DOWNLOAD:
Bishop Allen - The Ancient Commonsense of Things
Bishop Allen - Dimmer

*******************************

The resurrected Clem Snide, one of my favorite live bands, will be out on tour this spring, and have an April 6 show at Plush. Oh, and a new album, Honey Bird, due out this month.

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Eef Barzelay played this summer at Plush, with a stripped-down set of solo material that showed the tremendous range and versatility he has as a performer.

But a full Clem Snide is a good thing in this world, and I welcome them back with open arms.

DOWNLOAD:
Eef Barzelay (of Clem Snide) - Ballad of Bitter Honey

*******************************

Photo by Alissa Anderson

San Francisco's Vetiver are newly signed to SubPop, just about to release their first record for the venerable indie label, and are Tucson-bound, with a gig at Plush on April 10.

Tight Knit, the band's fourth album, is due in two weeks, is a sunny mix of folk, pop and rock, the type of tunes that are normally associated with the Southern California burgs instead of Vetiver's San Francisco. Rest assured, Tight Knit will land on a lot of year-end lists, especially after the folk-rock breakthrough SubPop had in 2008 with the Fleet Foxes.

SubPop announced the new record with a press release titled "At last! Vetiver is ours."

DOWNLOAD:
Vetiver - Everyday

*******************************

Also in the about-to-release-a-record-and-headed-to-Tucson group is former Drive-by Trucker Jason Isbell, who has a March 31 gig at Club Congress.

Isbell is now on Lightning Rod Records, alongside the should-be-legendary James McMurtry, which is nothing but a good sign for his artistic intentions.

DOWNLOAD:
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Seven-Mile Island

*******************************

The Rialto Theatre has booked Franz Ferdinand for an April 19. The Scottish dance-rockers haven't ever been my cup of tea, but I'll definitely give 'em a chance live...

Bishop Allen with The Swim @ Club Congress tonight... FREE

Brooklyn's Bishop Allen is rolling into town tonight, and the ultra-catchy indie pop band is more than well-matched by locals The Swim. They're joined by the Lemon Drop Gang, another set of locals I haven't heard before, but aren't lying on their MySpace when they describe the music as "girlgroup popsicle sweet."

Bishop Allen gathered a lot of buzz for putting out an EP every month in 2006, a bold and attention-grabbing move that could've easily failed, but I think it mostly just raised expectations for the band's full-length debut, last year's The Broken String.

The funny thing is, I've seen little promotion for the show, which seems to be a one-off for Bishop Allen - the only other show the band has booked this month is Wicker Park Festival in Chicago. But a free Friday show at Congress, and especially one billed as X-Mas in July, promises a lot.

DOWNLOAD:
Bishop Allen - Click Click Click Click
Bishop Allen - Rain
Bishop Allen - Calendar
The Swim - Margaret With Comets
The Swim - Beautiful Endeavor (demo)