The Most Serene Republic – Present of Future End.mp3

I’ve seen them only once, which was at the Arts & Crafts showcase during CMJ 2005. It was simply awesome. They have one of the most insane drummers you’ve ever seen and the talent of the rest of band does not lag far behind. But while you might revel at their musicianship for a song or two, you’ll quickly come to hear them as a cohesive group, not a bunch of hot-shot prog-heads. Most of their songs are in crazy meter, but flow so smoothly that you barely notice the changes.

Here’s a live performance of my favorite song from Phages, the title track:

Anyway, they are playing three New York area shows and I’ll have to miss two of them, but there is no place in the world I’d rather be on September 21st than Union Hall. My friends at Neon Lights are presenting the bill and I hope to be recording the show. From their press release:

NEON LIGHTS PRESENTS announces our return to Union Hall, following a victorious two night stand in July (Ola Podrida, De Novo Dahl). In an effort to top ourselves, we’ve brought in a secret Canadian weapon, THE MOST SERENE REPUBLIC. The Ontario seven-piece were the first group signed to the Broken Social Scene’s Arts and Crafts label that weren’t a direct off-shoot of BSS themselves. The lovely expansive pop sound of their upcoming sophomore release, Population, will place the band on the level of their celebrated countrymen like Stars or Metric. Joining MSR will be hotly tipped Brooklyn newcomers, HIGH PLACES and SHE KEEPS BEES. The sweet melodies and alien instrumentation of HIGH PLACES have earned the duo Pitchfork love letters and an opening spot on the Blow’s upcoming Northeast tour. The spooked songwriting and soulful voice of SHE KEEPS BEES’ Jessica Larrabee have garned favorable comparisons to Fiona Apple or the early work of Chan Marshall. Between sets, music will be lovingly selected by our fellow blogging /concert promoting guest DJ’s, Justin and Nghia from CRACKER’S UNITED/ FRICTION and Chris from THE BATTERING ROOM/ KNOCKOUT.

I can’t make their Mercury show because I’m helping to produce Beirut on the 20th at Brooklyn Masonic Temple in Fort Greene. We scouted the venue today and I have to tell you, it’s going to be an amazing show. One of the greatest things about this season of the Wordless Music Series is that WNYC has signed on to record and broadcast all of the shows. This means their extremely knowledgeable engineer and all of his expensive microphones will be there. I can’t wait to hear Zach playing his trumpet through a ribbon mic that’s three times his age. Honestly, in that hall with those mics, Beruit will sound better than ever. And if you can get over your fear of the G train, the venue is not very hard to get to and very unique with superb acoustics. Or come to Manhattan on the 24th, both shows will be great. [details at Wordless Music Series]

I can’t make the Maxwell’s show on the 22nd because I need to be at Battering Room’s Knockout: Round 6. Some good friends of mine are playing… Details on that are forthcoming.

On Saturday, the 25th of August, at Studio B in Brooklyn, the first blogger-organized After The Jump Fest will be taking place. After the Jump will be an all-day event with a FREE day show (doors at 1pm, bands start at 2pm) and an AMAZING night show to benefit a proposal submitted by the Bronx High School For the Visual Arts (via DonorsChoose.org) for equipment to be used by aspiring DJs, writers, MCs and beat-makers. More info about their proposal HERE.

News:
We’re extremely excited to announce the addtion of Free Blood to the night show and Golem to the day show. As well, Sara Schaefer is lined up to be the MC of the day show.

Set Times:
FREE Day Show Schedule:

2:00 (MetroMix.com Main Stage) The Teenage Prayers
2:30 (CONCERT.TV Side Stage) Jukebox The Ghost
3:00 (MetroMix.com Main Stage) Locksley
3:30 (CONCERT.TV Side Stage) Bling Kong
4:00 (MetroMix.com Main Stage) Golem
4:30 (CONCERT.TV Side Stage) Goes Cube
5:00 (MetroMix.com Main Stage) Ra Ra Riot
5:30 (CONCERT.TV Side Stage) Apache Beat
6:00 (MetroMix.com Main Stage) Spectrum

MetroMix.com Night Stage Schedule:

10:00 The Virgins
11:00 Soulico
Midnight Free Blood
1:00 Riot In Belgium
–
Finger on the Pulse (DJ set)
David Bruno (DJ set)

Tickets:
Again, the day show is FREE. Purchase tickets to the night portion of the event HERE.

Interviews:
As part of the pre-fest extravaganza, we united bloggers are interviewing each of the artists performing at After the Jump. Check out the interviews that have been posted so far:

• The Music Slut: 8 Questions With Spectrum
• Music Snobbery: Jukebox the Ghost Interview
• The Music Slut: 8 Questions With Soulico
• Product Shop NYC: An Interview w/ Riot In Belgium

Keep checking back here, on all of the ATJF affiliated blogs, and on the official After The Jump Fest site for more interviews as the show date nears!

Raffle/Prizes:
Chris over at Music Snobbery is keeping a running tally of all the awesome prizes we have to raffle off at After the Jump, including TWO passes to the CMJ Music Marathon worth nearly $500 each (thanks CMJ)! We also have a ton of CD prize packs, signed posters, t-shirts, and much more – so come and donate for your chance to win!

Nerds:
Pictured above – the bloggers responsible for putting together the After The Jump Fest. Photo taken by Elizabeth Weinberg.

Volunteer:
Interested in donating your time to this event? Go HERE for more info.

Sponsors:
Things in this world cost money. Even really awesome free/for charity things. The companies below have helped out a great deal in terms of making this whole After The Jump Fest possible. Thanks and big ups to them.

• Cellfish Media. Cellfish Media creates digital content for mobile phones and is helping to revolutionize the blogging community.
• MetroMix.com. MetroMix is your one-stop local entertainment guide on where to go and what to do, from the hottest restaurants and bars, to the latest in events, music, movies, and more.
• Grand Hospitality. A pioneer in the industry, Grand Hospitality was the first company to establish luxury boutique hotels in the swank downtown New York neighborhoods of SoHo and TriBeCa.
• CONCERT.TV. is the first television channel dedicated to live music by offering both cutting edge shows and past favorites.
• Indaba Music. Indaba Music is an international community of musicians, music professionals, and fans exploring the creative possibilities of making music with people in different places.
• Imeem. Imeem is an online community where artists, fans & friends can promote their content, share their tastes, and discover new blogs, photos, music and video. Visit After the Jump on Imeem.
• CMJ. CMJ Network connects music fans and music industry professionals with the best in new music through interactive media, live events and print.
• Xanga. Xanga is a community of online diaries and journals.
• Colt 45. For over 4 decades, Colt 45 Premium Malt Liquor has been the “class of all malt liquor brands”. With its smooth and distinct flavor and historic affiliation with Billy Dee Williams, it has become an urban American icon.
• Studio B. Simply put, a night club in Brooklyn but really, a Greenpoint phenomenon.

Visit After The Jump Fest on MySpace.

Labels: After The Jump

www.afterthejumpfest.com
August 25, 2007

curated by the people behind:
themusicslut . batteringroom . disconap . earfarm . ryspace . irockiroll . musicsnobbery . merryswankster . softcommunication . theunderratedblog . sitdownstandup . watercoolergossip . bumpershine . themodernage . productshopnyc . yetidontdance . slapyouinpublic . subinev . punkphoto . poptartssucktoasted . stereoactivenyc . fingeronthepulse

for more information, please email:
booking: booking@afterthejumpfest.com
charity: charity@afterthejumpfest.com
sponsors: sponsors@afterthejumpfest.com
publicity: publicity@afterthejumpfest.com

Sorry for the blog silence. I’ve been adjusting to life after school and saying “yes” to every freelance gig that’s come along. Hopefully I’ll resume my show-going in the next few weeks.

Angelique Kidjo
Three time Grammy nominated African world music star

Zola (great bio with music by The Suburbs Are Killing Us here)
South African Kwaito (South Africa’s hip-hop) legend, as heard in the 2006 Academy Award winning Best Foreign Language Film of the Year, “Tsotsi”

Alma Partantes
Band lead by Colombian musician/artist Cesar Lopez, featuring instruments made from actual discomissioned weapons. (see picture below)

…a reading by Rosario Dawson regarding gun violence against women,

…and specially recorded music and video pieces by Gorillaz, Snow Patrol, Black Eyed Peas, Jack Johnson, Desmond Tutu, and Nicolas Cage throughout the evening.

CONTROL ARMS LIVE CONCERT
Date: 8pm, Wednesday June 28 2006
At: Supper Club, 240 W 47th Street, New York City
Featuring: Angelique Kidjo plus special guests

There are limited tickets available to the public with a suggested donation of $50 a pair. To reserve tickets send an email to RSVP@controlarms.org

[This message brought to you by fond memories of Model UN and by Bob F. who has done great publicity for this event.]

Pela is now playing a rooftop party with Mickey Finn (myspace) in Williamsburg. From Pela’s website:

Saturday, May 20
Rooftop Party
65 Roebling at North 8th Street,
Brooklyn, NY

It’s summer, and time to have fun! Rooftop party…… Hosted by “Micky Finn” (a new band you should check out), Sponsored by the bar across the street. Drink all night for a couple of bucks and enjoy some music outside. Tell you friends to come early, there’s limited capacity on the roof!

No word on what “early” means, but this sounds like a good time. Pela reminds me quite a bit of The National. (Webster Hall, Sunday – tickets available).

Check out the video for Catastrophe (via Videoteque).
More Pela: Lost to the Lonesome.mp3