screams, whispers and songs from planet earth

Tag: Middle East Upstairs Cambridge MA

Introducing… Whirr

I’m not so sure it was necessary for San Francsico/Philadelphia band Whirr to have named this particular song “Heavy.” It is from last year’s album Sway (on Gravefrace Records). As I’m listening to it through my Netbook’s tiny tinny speakers, the thing is massive, pouring out over everything in the room, making the label superfluous. Whirr, too, is well named. Like the musical equivalent of several thick ingredients put on high cycle in an industrial blender, the result is a cacophonous aural assault. But in amongst the sheer density of sound is some pretty, fuzzy melodic shoegaze that swirls all around you, mixing you in so that you lose sense of time and space.

For all the tightness of their sound, Whirr is one of those unlikely bicoastal bands. After touring in 2013 with Philadelphia band Nothing, Whirr bassist Nick Bassett and Nothing’s Dominic Palermo formed Death of Lovers, and Bassett ended up remaining on the East Coast, where he also became Nothing’s permanent bassist. Sway, as a result, was composed on both coasts, with the rest of the band in San Francisco. What ended up happening with that geographically challenging situation has been the entire band contributing to the album’s material and arrangements. Sway was produced by longtime collaborator Jack Shirley.

When you’ve peeled yourself off the wall, have a listen to their lovely 2013 album Pipe Dreams.

Their tour begins in Denver on April 2 and moves across the U.S. to end in Oakland, California on April 25. See below for East Coast dates. At the Cambridge show, they’ll be performing with Adventures and Funeral Advantage. If zoning out while you’re bulldozed by a wall of sound seems like the perfect evening, you should definitely catch these guys. And bring earplugs. With a name like Whirr, it’s bound to be loud. Safety first, folks.

Whirr – East Coast Shows

April 8 – New York, NY @ Baby’s All Right
April 9 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Upstairs facebook event :: BUY TICKETS ::
April 10 – Washington, DC @ DC9
April 11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Ortlieb’s (early all ages)
April 11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Ortlieb’s (late +21)

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Introducing… Jacco Gardner (at the Middle East Sunday night 3/3)

Jacco Gardner with MMOSS, Quilt and The Ocular Audio Experiment
at The Middle East (Upstairs)
presented by The Middle East and Boston Hassle
Sunday, March 3, 2013 – 8pm doors
18+ | $10 advance, $12 day of show | ::: tickets :::
facebook event

Oooh, psychedelic! It’s Jacco Gardner, a Dutch multi-instrumentalist, and it’s difficult to believe he’s just 24 years old, because I swear he’s been to some of the same parties I was at, well, many years ago. He has a new album, Cabinet of Curiosities (from Trouble in Mind Records), and is currently touring in the U.S. Mmmm… strings, harpsichord, flutes… love. Grab your magic mushrooms and head out to The Middle East (Upstairs) on Sunday night to enjoy this live and in person. It seems he’s received high praise from Pitchfork, but we won’t hold that against him.

U.S. Tour dates
3/1 | Wesleyan University, Middeltown CT
3/2 | Death By Audio, Brooklyn NY
3/3 | Middle East, Boston MA
3/5 | 9th and Beats, Washington DC
3/6 | Golden West, Baltimore MD
3/7 | The Pinhook, Durham NC
3/8 | Savannah Stopover Festival, Savannah GA
3/9 | Green Room, Athens GA
3/10 | The Earl, Atlanta GA
3/12-17 | SXSW, Austin TX
3/18 | The Bishop, Bloomington IN
3/19 | Empty Bottle, Chicago IL
3/20 | Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH
3/21 | Garden Bowl, Detroit IL
3/22 | Happy Dog, Cleveland OH
3/23 | Mercury Lounge, New York NY

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