Finally it is the freakin weekend

At long last, the 4th of July holiday weekend is here. We are both taking a much needed break from work and our busy social schedules (June ran us down to the bone).

For now, we are laying low and sipping on this excellent Sauvignon Blanc by Wattle Creek. There are definite elements of lemon grass while maintaining a healthy acidic balance (that other Sauvignon Blancs tend to lack, being way too acidic). We're very pleased with our selection, you can also purchase this from Heinen's (or your local grocery store) for the reasonable price of $12.99.

La Cave Du Vin

Last night we went to see Final Fantasy. His peformance was just what we needed: beautiful, intimate, and on the chill tip. We were in complete awe of his of set. As always, Ryan took some great pics. A wrap up on our time in Chicago is coming this weekend, and all I can say for now is we did have a good time. Tommorow if you are looking for something fun to do @ 8pm there is a wine tasting @ La Cave Du Vin aka The Wine Cave in Coventry. The cost is $20 and it should be a good time.

My parents just got back from Ireland and we are going to Ireland in September so I am on a bit of Pogues kick tonight . Enjoy this classic by The Pogues and please be sure to note the appearance of a young Mr. Matt Dillion as a cop in the begining of the video.



(mp3) Fairy Tale of New York - Third Eye Blind (Pogues cover)

Weekly top 5 songs (Chicago Edition)

Within the next hour we will be on the road and thus begins our trek to Chi-town. Kelly turns 25 on Sunday. Happy early birthday to her :) Enjoy these tunes about Chicago!

5.(mp3) San Francisco - Alkaline Trio live @ the Vic Theatre in Chicago of course

4.(mp3) Chicago at Night - Spoon the title says it all, from their great album, girls can tell

3.(mp3) Hey Chicago - Low a nice and breezy gem

2.(mp3) Sweet Home Chicago - Blue Brothers a great cover of this Robert Johnson classic

1.(mp3) My Kind of Town - Frank Sinatra you can't go wrong with this one

Stay Golden*

I remember a couple years ago when Jose first introduced me to Au Revoir Simone -- it was one of those moments when you feel like you've found the most perfect match, like a music-match made in heaven or something. At the time, I was suffering from serious Azure Ray withdrawal but I was also in desperate need of something a little more uplifting. This three-piece all girl band from Brooklyn was just what I was waiting for. What made me fall completely in love with Au Revoir Simone's sound is that they posses a fun and subtle energy while maintaining serene and haunting elements.

If I haven't quite sold you on Au Revoir Simone, once you listen to them you will definitely understand their allure. So, download both of these very different but equally amazing songs by them:

[Mp3] Au Revoir Simone - Through the Backyards Their soothing and hypnotic side

[Mp3] Au Revoir Simone - The Disco Song Their happy and boppy side

As you can imagine, Jose and I were very excited to learn that Au Revoir Simone joined We Are Scientists' current tour, giving us even more reason to see WAS for the second time this year (see our humorous review and pictures from the first WAS show here).

Even cooler is the fact that WOXY is having Au Revoir Simone as guests for their Lounge Act session this Friday, June 23rd. This podcast will be available for you to download here.

[Au Revoir Simone Official Website]

[Au Revoir Simone MySpace]

Dallas comes to Cleveland

This Wednesday Dallas's very own The Hourly Radio is coming to Cleveland to play a show @ The Winchester.You may recall when we posted about them band back in December of last year. If you are not familiar with them they used to have a brit-pop/shoegaze sound (think early u2, verve, doves) but now they have taken that sound and made it little harder with a dancey beat and the end result is great. This year The Hourly Radio have been quite busy touring ( in the UK, playing @ SXSW and now the U.S.) they put out a new limited edition 7 inch (Deaf Ears + Crime Does Pay) in March of this year which features songs from their debut album (History Will Never Hold Me) due out this September. The album actually will first be available for purchse on June 27th via ITUNES.

Tomorowow (June 20th) marks the first date of this current tour they will be playing @ The Southgate House with The Octopus Project. But before the show @ 3:30pm est they will be making an apperance on woxy.com: lounge acts. From the nati the band will be heading north to c-town. So this Wednesday come out to The Winchester and help support this great up and coming band. Below check out their video for "fear of standing upright" and some other great tracks.





(mp3) The Hourly Radio - Deaf Ears

(mp3) The Hourly Radio - Stealing Off ( acoustic)

Top Five Songs of the Week!

The above beautiful sight is actually one found in Cleveland, OH at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. We spent an evening there last week and would highly recommend that you do the same.

Yesterday was too nice to sit in front of the computer and waste time ;) Thus, here is the delayed weekly top five:

5. [Mp3] Pony Up! - The Truth about Cats and Dogs (is that they die) Even Jose can't deny the catchiness of this song

4. [Mp3] The Lovely Feathers - Pope John Paul These guys put on a great show last night, check Ryan's post

3. [Mp3] Fionn Regan - The Underwood Typewriter This up and coming Irish folk singer has been drawing comparisons to Damien Rice and Rocky Votolato

2. [Mp3] Arms - Whirring A fun and rocking track from yet another band introduced to us by iGiF

1. [Mp3] Scanners - Lowlife These Brits are making darkly beautiful music that reminds us of The Pretenders

Nice and Nicely Done

This evening we will be heading to yet another show: Spinto Band and The Lovely Feathers are playing at The Beachland Tavern as part of CMJ.

Check out our post from when we saw Spinto Band earlier this year.

Also -- watch this mesmorizing video for Spinto Band's song, Atari:

We are the Sleepyheads

The above picture is a favorite of my family's cat, Bailey :) It's very appropriate because Jose and I have been wishing we could take multiple cat naps throughout the past few days at work -- it's nice to be busy and have fun, but we are happy to take a little break this evening and do absolutely nothing. . .

In the meantime, check out this weekend's CMJ Music Fest Schedule, which we are resting up for, and this mini-playlist I'm listening to right now:

1. [Mp3] Belle & Sebastian - We are the Sleepyheads
2. [Mp3] The Concretes - Sunbeams
3. [Mp3] The Radio Dept. - Sleeping In
4. [Mp3] Matt Costa - Sunshine

Mark your calendars

Now that summer is almost here, we have been noticing an encouraging amount of events going on in Cleveland. If you are from the area, below are a few upcoming occasions that you should definitely take note and advantage of!

Thursday's June 15th, July 20th, August 17th:
Coventry Market Street Fair

Come check out fabulous sidewalk sales, outdoor cafes, and a variety of exciting entertainment.

Friday June 23rd: An Unnatural Affair

We were informed about this intriguing event while at 1300 Gallery -- a Happy Hour Party on the observatory rooftop deck of the Natural History Museum!? Nice...

Saturday July 15th: Globe in a Glass

While in Heinen's wine section we noticed an advertisement for this upcoming Wine Tasting at the Idea Center in Playhouse Square, brought to us by the same guys who put on The World Series of Wine.

Saturday July 22nd: Bloggapolooza

Brewed Fresh Daily exposed us to this unique opportunity to mingle with our fellow Cleveland Area Bloggers. Regardless, we rarely pass up street festivals offering good food and free entertainment!

Video: Lily Allen - Smile

Just as the song's title suggests, this video makes us smile :)

Tonight!

Beachland Tavern
15711 Waterloo Rd.
Cleveland, OH

9 PM - $6

Head Like a Kite
Burdfur is Green Feathers
Bears

Bears play first, so get there early!

See Friday's Post

In other news, the season premire of Entourage is on HBO this evening at 10pm EST:

[View Trailer]

On the Verge @ 1300 Gallery

Friday evening was spent at 1300 Gallery's Opening Reception of Karen St. John-Vincent's Exhibition: On the Verge, a display of color photography and coinciding prose. We had been meaning to visit 1300 Gallery for the past few months, especially when we heard about their Little Jacket Exhibition back in February.


We couldn't have been more impressed with the Opening and Karen St. John-Vincent's work -- it was the perfect way to start a Friday evening out on the town. The vibe was suprisingly welcoming, the lighting was phenomenal, there was a nice selection of wine and hors d'oeuvres, and the gallery itself was the perfect setting. It was even more entertaining to observe the crowd and be able to point out the subjects used in Karen's photography simply walking around the gallery. We even had a local celebrity sighting where Derek Hess was in attendance.

This event not only exposed us to the talent of Karen St. John-Vincent, but left us anticipating future exhibitions held by 1300 Gallery.

It was difficult to choose, but we all decided that the below photograph was our favorite:


Karen St. John-Vincent's Exhibition will be on display until June 30th -- we highly recommend that you check it out.

Top Five Songs of the Week!

We have to make this brief, but last night was very good time -- the opening at 1300 Gallary was exceptional and the Tilly and the Wall show was soo much fun. Definitely post more details tomorrow...

For the moment, we will leave you with the Top Five Songs of the Week:

5. Brandston - Earthquakes and Sharks Cleveland's favorite former emo house band have made a complete 180 and are exploring a more pop oriented sound

4. Zero 7 (Danger Mouse Remix Feat. Doom) - Somersault An excellent remix

3. Pattern is Movement - Two Voices for Two Sections This Philly band reminds us of Aloha

2. Acid House Kings - Do What You Wanna Do The epitome of shoe jangle ;)

1. Belief (Feat. Vordul Mega, C-Rayz Walz, Murs and Wordsworth) - Say Yes We're feelin' this track

BONUS: Brandston - Breaking Ground An old favorite

so many shows, so little time

This weekend we got 3 shows on the horizon. Tonight Tilly and The Wall return to c-town, we last saw them when they came with rilo kiley and now it's overhead. Unfortunately they were the opener that time so we did not get to see most of their set. That is the not the case this time, they are headlining while David Dondero, Friend and Birds and Elephant are the openers. The show tonight is @ The Grog Shop and starts @ 9pm. Can't wait to hear the material live off their great new album "Bottoms of Barrels".




Sunday we have a double dose awaiting us. The evening will start first @ The Beachland Ballroom(in the tavern) where my friend charlie and his band Bears, will be playing their first show opening for Bird Fur is a Green Feather and headliner Head Like A Kite. We unfortunately will not be able to stay for the whole show (which is too bad since I would like to check out head like a kite) because over at The Grog Shop Band of Horses is playing with Mt. Egpyt and The Can't See. We are especially excited to see Band of Horses for the first time, their album "everything all the time" has been one of our favorites this year.


(mp3) Tilly and The Wall - The Freest Man

(mp3) Bears - How To Live

(mp3) Head Like A Kite - Noisy At The Circus with Aysa from Smoosh

(mp3) Band of Horses - Great Salt Lake ( live)

thursday = nice day

Earlier this week on Monday we went to go see "The Break-up" with Ryan. In the movie The Break-up they have a few scenes that take place at an Old 97's concert of all places. This was particular odd to us considering at dinner before the movie we had just been discussing the band. While we are on the subject of the Old 97's , I ought to mention that Rhett Miller( the leader singer) is coming to The Beachland Ballroom on Saturday June 24th (you should go if you are looking for a good time). Also of note on that date The Beachland Ballroom will be having their "rock n roll flea market" from 11am - 4pm that day there will be cd's, vintage clothes, art and other collectibles, admission is free.

We unfortunately will not be able to attend that show, we will be in chi-town observing Kelly's birthday and attending The Intonation Festival on Sunday June 25th (finally we will get to see bloc party).

Here is a Rhett Miller perfomance featuring Jon Brion on the short lived tv show of comedian Zach Galifianakis.

Do you want to see my brain?

Today I was saddened to learn that on May 27th that Alex Toth died. He was the original creator and animator for Space Ghost along with several other cartoons for Hanna-Barbera including Johnny Quest. I have only seen a few episodes of the original Space Ghost series, however I was big fan of the later spin off, Space Ghost: Coast to Coast. I used to watch this unique interview show in high school and in college. Here is one of my favorite episodes: in which he attempts to interview Bob Costas and we learn what chambraigne is.

Top 5 Songs of The Week!!

Getting ready for our drive today, here we come Cincinnati. Hope these tunes help you enjoy your day! Also congrats to the Miami Heat for eliminating the Pistons last night and making it to their first NBA Finals.


5. The Morning After Girls - Straight Thru You these Aussies bring to mind Brian Jonestown Massacre, (early) BMRC, etc.

4. Oppenheimer - M.O. they hail from Ireland, sounds like postal service, Stars, stereolab, etc

3. Prototypes - Je Ne Te Connais Pas Chris turned us on to this electro-punk French group, notice the great use of hand claps.

2. Nelly Furtado - Crazy (accoustic) , a beautiful cover of that Gnarles Barkley jam, thanks to Dodge

1. Phoenix - Rally from their great new album "It's never been like that" , looks like this is going to be the record for summer 06.

Not if you were the last dandy on earth...

Today I realized (as I am sure many of you have already) that the song being played in the new Pontiac Solstice commercial is I Love You by The Dandy Warhols. Upon this realization it made me laugh because that particular song is part of an inside joke that Kelly and I have. We won't go into the details, but it started with viewing this one part at the end of DiG! (which is an excellent documentary about The Dandy Warhols and the Brian Jonestown Massacre -- if you have not seen it, you should definitely do so) where that song comes on, evoking this akward feeling because this song is just so creepy. It's kind of a paradox that a song titled "I Love You" would be anything but romantic. So whenever we hear this song it makes us laugh -- I just had to share that with you all...

This week we have been super busy, hence the lack of posts. Tommorow we are heading down to "the nati" to my friend Wray's wedding (congrats to Rob and her) but Sunday we should be back in the swing of things again.

Check out the Pontiac Solstice commercial here

(mp3) The Dandy Warhols - I Love You

(mp3) Dr. Dre vs The Dandy Warhols Mash Up Check this one out