Written by Patrick McNamara

“April. Come she will. When streams are ripe and swelled with rain.

"May. She will stay. Resting in my arms again.

"June. She’ll change her tune. In restless walks she’ll prowl the night.

"July. She will fly. And leave no warning to her flight.

"August. Die she must. The autumn winds blow chilly and cold.

"September. I’ll remember. A love once knew has now grown old.” *****

Well, that sucks.

Oh well. Happy spring, everybody!

Thursday - April 10th, 2014 A.D.

Remember when we were talking about Soundcheck + WNYC + The Greene Space + GIGSTOCK? Night #2 is tonight w/ Conor Oberst and James Vincent McMorrow. But we didn’t have anything to do with Night #2. So I don’t care if you go to this show or not.

(Just kidding! Of course I care! Because I still want you to experience nice things!)

If you feel like getting down in Tarrytown tonight, Feist is doing a solo show up there tonight. According to Google Maps, Tarrytown is approximately 43-49 minutes from NYC. I think Feist is worth 43-49 minutes of your time, don’t you? And look at it this way. Think of how many times you can count to 4 during the ride up.

Toronto’s TRUST play (le) poisson rouge tonight. TRUST’s slinky seductive goth pop synths will sex you up. So consider going to this. If you’re interested in getting sexed up. Please remember. What comes up - must come down. So don’t get too sexed up that you fly too close to the moonlight tonight. Because tomorrow morning’s walk of shame is a mighty long fall, indeed.

Porches play Baby’s All Right tonight (w/ The Love Language). I just wrote about this fine blazed and amazed down home laid back easy breezy cultish band. You should read what I had to say by clicking over to that profile. Because I was in much clearer descriptive spirits the day I composed that. (3:04 pm on March 24th in the Year of the Tucks Medicated Pad.)

Oh yeah. The Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is at Barclay’s Center tonight. Inductees include: Peter Gabriel! Hall and Oates! Nirvana! Linda Ronstadt! Cat Stevens! The E Street Band! Naga... wait, how do you pronounce this last one…. Nagaharr…. Nagaheee…. well, Not Gonna Go To This One anyway!

(This is a great song though - written by Michael Nesmith of The Monkees - nbd.)

Other notable shows that don’t suck like the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame sucks = Milagres at Bowery Ballroom + DJ Questlove at Brooklyn Bowl + Radical Dads at Death by Audio + Low Fat Getting High at The Living Gallery.

SEE ALL OF OUR THURSDAY SHOW PICKS.

Friday - April 11th, 2014 A.D.

Kevin Barnes from Of Montreal plays (le) poisson rouge tonight. Now, I would never call another man a liar - especially on a muzik blob. But I just went on Wikipedia - which is pretty much the most reputable website there is - and Wikipedia says Of Montreal and Kevin Barnes are from……... Athens. And Athens ain’t a neighborhood in Montreal, friends. I looked into it. Athens is a town in Georgia.

(The regular 13 readers GASP.)

Erika M. Anderson (her friends call her EMA) is a noisy pop crushing songstress who was in the band Gowns. Solo now, she wails her decadently distorted jams at Union Pool tonight. It’s free. But not really. Because you have to buy her new record from one of 6 local record stores first. If you do follow the complicated instructions and are able to go to this show - bring your earplugs - or you will also receive free tinnitus and/or marked hearing loss beginning around the age of 40. Wooooooooo!

Fat (Bad) History Month play The Ho_se in Brooklyn tonight. These indie rock jocks play their guitars right and courageous and melodic and true. Read more about Bad (Fat) History Month here. Then consider going to this show. Recommended if you liked that band Oxford Collapse. I sure did. Also recommended if you like pizza.

Other notable quotable shows tonight = “Wild Child at Rough Trade” + “ITAL at Shea Stadium” + “James Vincent McMorrow at Music Hall of Williamsburg” + “Osekre at Joe’s Pub” + “The Hood Internet at Brooklyn Bowl” + “Andrew Cedermark at Glasslands.”

SEE ALL OF OUR FRIDAY SHOW PICKS.

Saturday - April 12th, 2014 A.D.

Let’s start tonight with something free. Brooklyn Night Bazaar has a beautiful punker rocker show tonight with PUP + Hunters + Big Ups and all three of these bands played our CMJ show last year. Someone must be paying attention. I wholeheartedly fully support the goodness at work here. These bands blast it. And it makes me smile. I would totally pay to go see this show. I mean, I’m not going to. But I would. I definitely would. And I hope you remember that, man.

Have you heard Detroit’s Protomartyr yet? They’re nice and dirty and melodic and pretty- like scum rising to the top of the pops on the wings of a dirty dove. Read more of my recent words about this band. And then consider going to see them at Death by Audio tonight. I think you’ll like it. I wouldn’t have recommended them if I didn’t. That’s sorta the deal here.

(Protomartyr play Cake Shop on Sunday night too.)

Four really good pop-ish punk-ish (or punk-ish pop-ish) bands play Suburbia tonight. They are: LVL UP + Chumped + Causal + Adult Dude. There’s a reason they’re all linked like that. Because I wrote kind words about each of them recently. You can go read them. And listen to their songs. And then get excited for this show like I’m excited for this show. Long live the up-and-coming emerging punker rocker alts!

Other notable tonight shows = Mirah at Supper Studio + DJ Neon Indian at BRIC House + Summer Camp at Brooklyn Bowl + Oceanographer at Glasslands + Amtrac at Slake.

(This song is still a thumper alright.)

SEE ALL OF OUR SATURDAY SHOW PICKS.

Sunday - April 13th, 2014 A.D.

Cloud Nothings play Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight. How good is this good garage guitar pop band’s new album? Hint. It’s really good. This show is definitely sold-out. But remember. Where there is a will - there’s a pay. Also remember. I’ve used that line a thousand times on here before. (Ok maybe not a thousand - my daddy done told me a million times never to exaggerate.)

The forever and eternally chill Small Black also has a very fine new (EP) album out. And they too play tonight. This time, at Bowery Ballroom. And this time, it’s personal. Go if you like listening to good pop songs. Not recommended if you enjoy standing around and staring at suckiness. Because you’re not going to find any of that at this one.

Canadian experimental loud eccentro alts Yamantaka/Sonic Titan + Toronto punk sludgers Odonis Odonis + Brooklyn’s bombastic Sannhet play Baby’s All Right tonight. That’s a solidly loud 1-2-3 punch right there. Definitely get there early to see Sannhet. Not only do they brutally rip it - but they make the decibel destruction sound so pretty as they do. Listen for the beauty among Sannhet’s blasts. You’ll hear it. I know you will. Because I believe in you.

SEE ALL OF OUR SUNDAY SHOW PICKS.

That was The Best Shows This Weekend. And they’re so good - they haven’t even happened yet.

Now stop reading. Stop procrastinating. And go out there and enjoy spring, goddamn it. It only lasts a fleeting second before…... POOF….. dust in the wind, dudes.

Mono No Aware.

Now.

Temporary.

Forever.

***words borrowed from Paul “Buzzkill” Simon - and i didn't even ask him. #punk #rock