The Best Shows in NYC This Week: DFA Hot Dog Rager + Royal Headache + Win Butler + Tamaryn + Earth + Heems + Tweens + The Good Life + Tei Shi + Midnight Magic + Solvey + eskimeaux + Gingerlys + Maria (!) + Luis (!) + more goodness - Oh My Rockness

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The Best Shows in NYC This Week: DFA Hot Dog Rager + Royal Headache + Win Butler + Tamaryn + Earth + Heems + Tweens + The Good Life + Tei Shi + Midnight Magic + Solvey + eskimeaux + Gingerlys + Maria (!) + Luis (!) + more goodness

August 24, 2015

Written by Patrick McNamara

Welp, it's the last week of August and I hope you all are REAL proud of yourselves. Look what you've almost done. You've almost made this fine summer burn into the sun. Congratulations. Hang on to the memories. I hope you made some of them, man. Because pretty soon that's all you'll have of Summer 2015: Happiness Strikes Back. RIP. See you at tha crossroads (so you won't be lonelllllly). #neverforget

*September in NYC is actually the most sublime month in the entire Mayan calendar but don't tell anyone else so we can have this clear blue city all to ourselves during those top tenner type days, OK?

Oh, yeah. Let's talk about the good shows going down this week now.

Monday - August 24, 2015 A.D.

Strange. This week actually starts with something good for a change. It's Night #3 of the Exploding In Sound Fest. The very fine record label wraps up the good times and future happy memories at Silent Barn tonight with Baked + Zula + Flagland + Gnarwhal + Fond Han. Good bands. All.

Tweens play Cake Shop. They play fun trash garage punk straight outta Cinci-Naughty. UK's Moral Panic open. They play fast and shout pretty good. Consider going to this one if you want to wake the fuck up for the rest of your work week.

And you know what? I gotta give props to The Bell House tonight because they're hosting WNYC's Ask Me Another and the guests are Maria and Luis. Maria and Luis! From Sesame Street! They were heroes to me once.

(RIP Mr. Hooper)

(I would rather recommend Sesame Street than Sugar Ray + Better Than Ezra + Uncle Kracker + Eve 6 tonight at The Paramount why did we even list this show firing myself immediately but I guess this song below is/was kinda good I sometimes I find myself singing it on the 4th of July.)

Other notable shows = you'll figure it out

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Tuesday - August 25, 2015 A.D.

Royal Headache are not only one of the best punkster post popster bands playing the game today (it's totally true) but they're also coming to play Rough Trade tonight from Australia which some of you Americans with maps might know is on the OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD. So the least you could do would be to show up for this one. Added bonus, they completely shred. And their frontman (his name is Shogun - I shit you not - Shogun) sings like Tom Jones. I shit you not. Tom Jones.

Or, how about Heems at Baby's All Right? Would you rather go to that. I can't fault you for that decision, man, because that would be a pretty dope choice. Did you know it's now been three long years since we lost Das Racist? Everyday I pray that someday they'll rise again. It's not silly. It's faith.

Other notable shows = The Atlas Moth at Saint Vitus + Melody's Echo Chamber at Music Hall of Williamsburg

SEE ALL OF OUR TUESDAY PICKS

Wednesday - August 26, 2015 A.D.

Olympia's Earth has been droning on and on and on since 1989. You can see them finely tune the calibrations of your self's inner gaze at (le) poisson rouge tonight (and Thursday at Saint Vitus). Whoa. Or, you can just watch this set they did last year at Saint Vitus from the comfy confines of wherever you are currently reading this right now. I'm currently writing this in a kitchen that's also acting as my office, thanks for asking.

NYC's What Moon Things make romantically tragic post-something ramshackle punk and if you don't believe that's even a thing and I probably made that up out of nothing but my butt, feel free to see and decide for yourself tonight at Silent Barn. If I'm wrong and led you astray, feel free to complain all you want in the comments section this music blob has thankfully never had.

Gingerlys play super catchy indiepop full of solid swirls, pleasant strums, and jubilant jingle-jangle. See them work those angles at Alphaville tonight. Forever young. I want to be forever young. Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever? Oh, sorry. That's the wrong Alphaville. I'll let you stream that song too, though. It's a real good one.

Other notable shows = Darwin Deez at Baby's All Right + Lip Talk at Shea Stadium

SEE ALL OF OUR WEDNESDAY PICKS

Thursday - August 27, 2015 A.D.

Tim Kasher's other band (besides Cursive) is The Good Life. Formed circa 2000, the Omaha band recently released their first new album in 8 years. It's a Saddle Creek thang. You can hear them play songs from it at Bowery Ballroom tonight.

Windows 98 DJ's at (le) poisson rouge tonight. Windows 98's given name is Win Butler. He's also frontman of a Canadian band whose name escapes me right now. Anyway, you might want to go see him push some buttons, flick some switches, and twiddle some knobs. It'll be a two-hour vinyl set with live percussion. Tuxedos and evening gown dress code appreciated.

The fine singer/songwriter/super smooth beat maker Tei Shi (Brooklyn by way of Buenos Aires) plays a “free" show at MoMA tonight. “Free" is in “quotes" because you have to purchase museum admission to attend this one for “free" and that price is now 25 bones. Let's move on to this week's installment of “When Patrick Worked At MoMA." When I worked at MoMA a lot of people gave celebs free tickets and once Alanis Morissette came to my ticket booth and I totally made her pay. THAT'S for getting “You Oughta Know-Oh!-Oh!-Oh!" stuck in my head all those years.

Other notable shows = Rick from Pile and Yazan at Palisades + Earth at Saint Vitus Bar + Dinowalrus and Granchildren at Union Pool

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Friday - August 28, 2015 A.D.

Tamaryn has been smoothly slinging the smoky pop goodness for a few years now. If you haven't seen her play you totally should. She's good. One such opportunity exists tonight at (le) poisson rouge. I hope you take advantage of it, man. Because I believe in the best you.

Maybe you're feeling more like if you don't start dancing you'll BUST. If that's the case, consider seeing Brooklyn's Midnight Magic on the roof of Output tonight and if you dance real good they just might play this big time jam for you from wayyyyy back (what was 2011 even LIKE, mannn?).

Or, if you have a lot of pent up rage that you want to let out and turn it into something beautiful consider seeing So Hideous at Saint Vitus. You'll scream. You'll soar. Your ears will bleed and you'll say why thank you So Hideous and ask this band for more. Listen to this song right quick. It's real intense and dramatic and good although sometimes I worry.

Bird Courage play Rough Trade. Here's my Bird Courage story. One late night a couple (few?) years ago I was waiting for the G train to come and it was taking forever which was great because the empty endless moment afforded me plenty of time to reflect on the really shitty night I was having. And then the dudes in Bird Courage started playing their pleasant pop songs on the platform and for a few minutes before the train finally came it kind of turned my night around. Thus, they get a Best Shows This Week mention. Thanks for that.

Other notable shows = Deradoorian at Trans-Pecos + Cold Fronts at Fulton Stall Market (free) + Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers at Bowery Ballroom

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Saturday - August 29, 2015 A.D.

It's that time again. DFA Records will be up to their old tricks by throwing a huge summer rager. This year it's at Good Room with a bunch of DJ sets by bands/artists on their label throughout the night. There will also be a “VERY" special live performance by somebody as of yet unannounced. That VERY in ALL CAPS was a direct quote from the source, man. I don't know who it is. But if you're thinking an LCD Soundsystem reunion can I just say I'd keep thinking, probably? The Rapture could be cool, though. Again, I know nothing. Regardless, this is going to be a fun one for sure because with a name like Summer Hot Dog it's gotta be good!

I already talked this week about Royal Headache (they played Tuesday at Rough Trade, remember?) but I'm going to make the highly unorthodox decision to mention this band again because A). they're playing Palisades tonight and B). they're so good they're worth even more than two mentions and C). this is my music blob and I can do whatever I want. Fun fact. I saw these guys in LA recently and their guitarist was wearing the exact same 1989 Cubs NL Central Division Champions shirt that I had when I was 11. More cool stories like this later!

Solvey is the grand post-goth pop* project of Jessica Zambri (of the fine band Zambri) and her creative collaborator, label partner, and main husband squeeze Noel Heroux (of the fine Hooray For Earth). See her create an epic, carefully constructed sonic world fueled by solid synths and dark beats tonight at Alphaville. Forever young. I want to be forever young. Oh, wait. Wrong Alphaville again.

*post-goth pop represents my best effort, however flawed it may be

Other notable shows = Jawbreaker Reunion at Aviv (relax, that's just the name of the band) + La Luz and EZTV at Bowery Ballroom + Pional at Output

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Sunday - August 30, 2015 A.D.

Royal Headache play Saint Vitus tonight (for only 5 bones!). This is my third mention of this fantastic band this week. And I now have nothing else left to give. If I can't convince you to go see these fine Australian punks at least once this week, well, I have failed. I have failed you. FATHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

eskimeaux and Bellows lead a solid (indie)(lo-fi)(whatever you think) pop lineup at Riis Park Beach Bazaar today. Like always, these shows on the beach are free. And not like always, there are only two left this summer. Time passed. I hope you all are real proud of yourselves.

Also, I guess Chris Brown is playing Jones Beach tonight. But you know what? Fuck that guy.

Other notable shows = Mas Ysa at 50 Kent (free) + The Gradients at Palisades + BORNS at The Surf Lodge (free)

SEE ALL OF OUR SUNDAY PICKS

Thanks for reading. Now please go out and enjoy the last week of August. Summer is almost over. I hope you all are real proud of yourselves.

*but once again September in NYC is the best the month of the entire Mayan calendar but you didn't hear that twice in the same article from me

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