TheFourFour

The Show Report, 12/17: A night for thrash ‘n’ ’stache

Posted on17. Dec, 2009 by thederosh.

One can already feel the week starting to wind down, which, of course, means a corresponding spike upward in the number of shows taking place throughout the city. Aren’t reverse correlations wonderful things? The show card is full of regular weekly shows back to make you dance, rock or both, but a couple switch things up a bit. One is the return of prog-metal group Super String Theory, a band that plays infrequently enough to justify calling each of its shows “the return of Super String Theory.” The latest return is tonight at The Outland Ballroom, paired with openers Hessian Crucible, Gnash Rambler and Offset. If you have never seen SST before, you’ve missed some of the fastest, craziest guitar work in local music, not to mention the best mustache, all courtesy of Aaron Roten.

Wanting more? Come get it after the break.

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The Show Report, 12/10: Goodbye, Hello

Posted on10. Dec, 2009 by thederosh.

One era ends for a popular local act tonight, with a new era beginning soon. First the goodbye: The Shotgun Brothers are playing their last show with their original bassist, Dustin “Duk” Rehagen (pictured far right), tonight at Patton Alley Pub. The band promises the hello–the debut of its new bassist–at its next show, also at Patton, on January 15, but in the meantime the rootsy bluegrass/rock/jam group is giving Duk a proper sendoff in front of fans and friends with opening act Andy Frasco.

But that’s only the start of Dead Day Eve. Oh, yes, it is. Click for an anniversary, some racy performances, some local faves back onstage and more.

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The Show Report, 12/3: Showcase time!

Posted on03. Dec, 2009 by thederosh.

Tonight is an important night for a few reasons, but we’ll start with one close to our hearts. We’re holding the first of what will now be monthly showcase shows at Lindberg’s, and the first one is classic FourFour fare. We start with The Dark Alleys, the darkly retro (dare we say rock noir?) band back from hiatus since summer and tearing it up on stage. After that, brand-new pop-rock-meets-post-grunge (how’s that for an adjective?) group Golden Giant, sporting The FourFour’s own Scott P. on drums, plays a short introductory set. Next up will be garage-pop group Sunrise Cassette, belting out hooks than the now-upcoming Mayweather/Pacquiao superfight. Lastly, because we can’t send you off to bed or afterbars without a little zany tongue-in-cheek metal, we close the night with the recently reclusive but presently trim, tight and still-crazy Knife*Death, complete with new material, we hear. Does it all make sense together? Of course not… and that might be the most exciting thing about it. Watch for lots more goodies at future showcases, too. Let’s just say we have some stuff percolating that we think you’re going to like.

Man, who is ready to party? Here are your other options going down tonight:

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The Show Report, 11/19: The return of Knife*Death

Posted on19. Nov, 2009 by thederosh.

Pause for a moment today and ask yourself this question: When was the last time you saw a Knife*Death show? Not since the summer, and then only if you were really on top of things. After a period of regular performances–a handful paired with the similarly niche, but way more serious, Short Histories of Powerful Nations among the most notable–the local kitsch-metal group took a break for a while. Tonight marks the group’s return with a show at Nathan P. Murphy’s with The First Teenager Ever, My Politic and The Beltniks. Tongue-in-cheek metal rides again.

Oh, what? You want more? You’ve got it:

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The Show Report, 10/29: Local Music’s Frightfest, Part 1

Posted on29. Oct, 2009 by thederosh.

This whole week has been steadily building toward Halloween night, and tonight begins local music’s ramp-up in earnest to the big event, courtesy of two touring bands.

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The Show Report, 10/22: An unusual benefit

Posted on22. Oct, 2009 by thederosh.

There’s no denying that Springfield is a very charity-friendly city. The list of locally based nonprofit organizations needs a scroll to fit them all and there’s a fresh see-and-be-seen fundraiser something-or-other, both local and not, surfacing almost every week. Tonight brings an event for a cause we have not seen in Springfield before:

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The Show Report, 8/20: A Fond Farewell by any other name…

Posted on20. Aug, 2009 by thederosh.

Imagine this scenario: You’re in a band (woo!), you record your debut album in a day at a very good studio (damn we’re efficient!) and even send it out for some early reviews (free publicity rules!). From there, all hell breaks loose. You discover your band name is shared with another band… in Germany (seriously?!), [...]

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The Show Report, 8/13: Off by one day…

Posted on13. Aug, 2009 by thederosh.

We narrowly avoided that most dreaded of regularly occurring bad omens: Friday the 13th. Today is Thursday, the 13th of August, putting the curse off course and allowing us to enjoy a broad spectrum of shows free of worry.
We don’t pay attention to that s*** anyway, DeRosh.
Oh, well, neither do I. Who cares if [...]

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The Show Report, 8/6: Welcome Back…

Posted on06. Aug, 2009 by thederosh.

Tonight reminds us of the joys of returning to the familiar, with two good examples to back it up:
* Eric Guinn plays his first show back tonight as the bassist for blues-rock group Trash Angels, who themselves are back in a familiar place–The Daily Pub, where they have been playing every Thursday night for years. [...]

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The Show Report, 7/30: The Super-sub

Posted on30. Jul, 2009 by thederosh.

There are those unusual moments in music where you see a performer play and excel in different context, something unexpected that only serves to increase your respect for the artist. It’s with that feeling in mind that we give a shout-out to Reed Heron, bass player for local rock stalwarts Speakeasy, who fills in on [...]

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The Show Report, 7/23: Homecoming in July

Posted on23. Jul, 2009 by thederosh.

Tonight brings two Springfield residents–one past, one present–back to the city for a big show. Future Leaders of the World, fronted by onetime Springfield resident Phil Taylor and the band responsible for this hit song, headlines The Outland Ballroom tonight with Formant, Assembly Line Gods and Glass Bottom Boat Ride. Also back in town is FLOW [...]

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