This wretched month will finally come to an end by the time the weekend is out, but February does leave us a nice parting gift in the form of some fantastic shows that should get you out of whatever hopefully warm abode you call home.
5) Wolf Alice, Sunflower Bean, Lazyeyes, Palehound at Brooklyn Night Bazaar
British act Wolf Alice are yet another 90s-sounding alternative rock band but to be honest I’m still not bored of this trend. The rest of the lineup has a solid local flavour with Sunflower Bean and Lazyeyes (bands who seem to crop up fairly often on bills in this feature), whilst Palehound make the shortish trek from Allston, MA. As always, it’s a free show. Saturday 7pm – RSVP to skip the line if that’s your kind of thing
4) The Dodos, Springtime Carnivore – Music Hall Williamsburg
The Dodos have been releasing rather nice and twee folk-pop for a while now, but the star attraction for me is Springtime Carnivore, who was one of my “can’t miss” choices during CMJ last year: Greta Morgan creates gorgeous, cinematic pop with a timeless quality. If you aren’t swooned by a song like Two Scars then I can only sympathise. File somewhere between Phil Spector-esque production and Dusty Springield blue-eyed-soul. Friday 8pm
3) Solids, Cutters, Center at Cake Shop
While the future of the venue remains somewhat uncertain, Cake Shop is still flying the flag with fantastic bookings. Get down there tonight (Thursday) for a a great lineup, Solids are a two-piece from Montreal who will just floor you. Cutters and Center mix up subtle, almost math-like guitar flourishes with thrashy passages. Thursday 8pm
2) Sleater Kinney at Terminal 5
Now that it has happened it seems inevitable that Sleater Kinney would get back together at some point, it’s probably also unsurprising that No Cities to Love is an appropriately wonderful album with which to mark their return. The bad news is that they chose to play their NYC shows at Terminal 5, even worse that they sold out instantly. Thursday and Friday – SOLD OUT
1) Screaming Females, Priests, Tenement, Vacation at Knitting Factory
If you’d listened to my advice a couple of weekends ago you’d have seen the Don Giovanni showcases at the Knitting Factory. This is the third showcase and also doubles-up as Screaming Females record release show for Rose Mountain, which came out this Tuesday. The record is a little more restrained, some might even call it radio-friendly, but I think at this stage in their career it’s nice to see them mix it up a little bit. I consider Screaming Females to be the best live band around at the moment so it’s no surprise that the show sold out, a later show was also added which has also sold out. You snooze, you lose on this one. Aside from New Jersey’s finest, Washington DC’s Priests are back in town to truly make this a can’t miss show. Saturday (early and late shows) SOLD OUT
