The Best Shows This Weekend! - Oh My Rockness

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The Best Shows This Weekend!

March 18, 2013
Written by Patrick McNamara

Here’s what they don’t tell you about SXSW. Most of the good bands play NYC the following week anyway. They stop on through on their way home to Alt-ville. And how about that, that following week is this week. So if you didn’t shell out the big bucks to go to Austin to eat free orange powder chips from a stage made to look like a giant vending machine you just might be the big winner after all. And you heard that here first....or second. Third at the very least. All I want is for you to get up on that podium and medal.

Here is the show goodness this weekend. Choose wisely. Please note. All choices are equally wise.

Thursday - March 21st, 2013 A.D.

Jonathan Ames is doing something or another (you heard that here FIRST) at Union Hall. Did you know that his Brooklyn comedy, “Bored to Death,” was vastly superior to the Brooklyn comedy, “Girls?” Disagree with me? Cool. GO BE THE HERO OF YOUR OWN STORY!!!!!!!

(UPDATE: This show is still happening but I guess Jonathan Ames is no longer scheduled to appear as he is no longer on the venue listing page but he once was we swear and anyway the scene below will still give you a good chuckle so we're all still winners here.)



Sufjan Stevens + Bryce Dessner (of The National, you know? yeah. you know) + Nico Muhly are performing "Planetarium" at BAM - an "evening of songs inspired by our solar system." Hell yeah. Let's all go to Mars, mannnn.



SEE ALL OF OUR THURSDAY SHOW PICKS.

Friday - March 22nd, 2013 A.D.

This first night of the weekend is dedicated to the orange powder chip in us all. I’m an orange powder chip. You are an orange powder chip. We are ALL an orange powder chip.

Check out Erika Spring at Knitting Factory. She makes pretty delightful sounds, wouldn’t you say? Shh. Say nothing. No need for words. I can hear your heart. And your heart beats “YES.” (in morse code..or something..I don’t know)

(UPDATE: gosh I'm sorry to have to interrupt again but this show has been cancelled and that's a little sad but at least we can still enjoy the Erika Spring video conveniently embedded below, right? right? hello? guys?)



Garbage + IO Echo are playing Teminal 5. Do you think Shirley Manson is still only happy when it rains? She runs around all giddy when there's a Monsoon? Floods fills her with unmistakable joy? That's cool. Her band mate, Butch Vig, is only happy when he produces albums like "Nevermind" and "Gish" and "Dirty." So, you know, he's not sweating it either, Shirley.



Sure. There are some other good shows tonight. It's Friday. But who has the time when we’re all eating orange powder chips? (If only they could somehow incorporate this same great blast of flavor into something like...a taco. Now that, my friends, would truly be life changing - for you. for me. for us. for the world we’re all trying to make it in - let’s talk endlessly on Twitter about the possibilities!)

SEE ALL OF OUR FRIDAY SHOW PICKS.

Saturday - March 23rd, 2013 A.D.

Nightlands are a really good band. They play Bowery with Efterklang (all these Bowery shows represented on this thing are not by design - it just happens that way sometimes - I give you my word). Nightlands are also the rare band that’s meant to be listened to on 8-track. Do they still make 8-tracks and their respective 8-track machines? Because if not, I’m going to make them. And tastemaking alts will buy them. And then I will be rich. And I’ll use my new money buy up all bags of the orange powder chips currently in production. And then I’m going to burn them all.

STAY AWAY FROM MY INDIE ROCK AND ROLL, DORITOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I like Black Marble. I like Beliefs. They lead a solid line-up of up-and-coming Rated Rookies Future Stars at Shea Stadium tonight. Regular Rockness readers (where the 4 of you at?) will know I've been into this Beliefs song that's below for awhile now. Guess what? Still into it.

(UPDATE: Beliefs aren't playing this show anymore and I just give up....I just give up.)



Play that Free Time song. Go ahead. It's right there. Play it. Cool. Like it? Of course you do. Want to go see them play 252 Norman tonight? Of course you do!



Owen plays Maxwell’s. He’s Mike Kinsella. Of course, a long time ago he was in Cap’n Jazz. One of my favorite bands ever. So here’s a convenient segue to a video I shot of the Cap’n Jazz reunion show a few years back. Just for fun. I did my best with the quality (but perhaps my best wasn’t good enough since it looks like I shot it in an intimate medieval cathedral in the middle of an earthquake - oh well - my heart was in the right place).



SEE ALL OF OUR SATURDAY SHOW PICKS.

Sunday - March 24th, 2013 A.D.

Not much. But let’s leave laughing anyway. Thanks, Hannibal.



SEE ALL OF OUR SUNDAY SHOW PICKS.

That’s it for now. There's more good shows I didn't mention though. Click that link below. If you want to. I'm not going to click-bait you or anything (although I would be remiss if I didn't point out that all of your craziest wishes and wildest dreams will come true if you click that link below).

VIEW ALL OF THIS WEEK'S SHOW PICKS HERE >>

Have a great week. Don’t take it too seriously. And never give up. Never, ever give up.

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