The Rumpus (“Now Even More Social Medialicous!” edition)

10/26 Social Distortion, with Lucero, and Frank Turner @ the 9:30.  OK, this is just an insanely cool triple-bill, and seriously, how often does that happen?  Only know Social D from their early ‘90s hits?  Well, they’re still tearing it up, and the power of the live show is undeniable.  Lucero are their brothers in punk spirit, though rather than aping Social D’s brand of punkabilly, Lucero have carved out their own brand of bourbon-soaked, country-accented rock (and, with their most recent release, have made a latter-day masterpiece of horn-fueled southern soul).  As for Frank Turner, well, just imagine a younger (but just as passionate, just as political, and just as angry) Billy Bragg, and you’ll be in the neighborhood.  Listen to “Far Behind” at Social Distortion’s MySpace, the Love and Rockets-referencing “The Devil and Maggie Chascarillo” at Lucero’s, and “Try This at Home” at Frank Turner’s. Sold out.

*10/26 Eli “Paperboy” Reed & the True Loves @ Jammin’ Java.  Paperboy’s retro-soul sounds represent door number two of three can’t-miss picks for your live music dollar this Tuesday.  If Social D and Lucero’s growly vocals and muscular punk/rock sounds aren’t exactly your speed, maybe Paperboy’s smooth blue-eyed soul sounds will fit the bill?  Listen to the Philly soultastic sound of “Come and Get It” at Paperboy’s MySpace.

*10/26 VENUE CHANGE, as all shows at DC-9 are cancelled for the foreseeable future.  This show will now take place at the Rock 'n' Roll Hotel:  Gentleman Jesse & His Men @ DC-9.  Can’t get into the sold out Social D / Lucero show?  One block away at DC-9, Gentleman Jesse & His Men, power pop purveyors of the highest order, have got the cure for what ails you.  I’ve seen them twice now, and the last time through town they brought a boatload of killer new songs with them.  From what I heard that night, the follow-up to Introducing Gentleman Jesse may very well be even better than that tasty debut.  Listen to “Don’t Wanna Know,” one of the new songs, at Gentleman Jesse’s MySpace.

10/27 Me First & the Gimme Gimmes, with Teenage Bottlerocket @ the Black Cat.  What we have right here is the punk rock double-bill of the season, my friends.  For those not in the know, the Gimme Gimmes are a veritable punk supergroup, and they’re also the World’s Coolest Cover Band.  Their schtick is to take massive hit songs that everybody knows, and puckishly punk ‘em up.  Teenage Bottle rocket kicks a bunch of ass too, so get there early to see them for sure.  Listen to “The Boxer” at the Gimme Gimmes MySpace, and listen to “Radio” at Teenage Bottlerocket’s MySpace.

*10/29 Stereo Skyline, opening for the Summer Set @ Jammin’ Java.  Speaking of peerless pop, Stereo Skyline dabbles in a little sub-genre which I like to call “Indie Pop Rocks” (and to which I wrote a love letter of a blog post for Twangville earlier this year).  Their debut album came out over the summer and it’s a more polished affair than was their irresistible debut EP (most especially the insanely catchy bubblegum pop of “Heartbeat,” which appears again on the album, albeit in an overproduced version), but their pop hooks pack an undeniably top-40-sized wallop. Listen to “A Little More Us” at Stereo Skyline’s MySpace.  Warning: It’s so sweet that you might want to have your toothbrush nearby.  Sold out.

*11/4 Moneybrother, opening for Bedouin Soundclash @ the RnRH.  The too-short set opening for Jesse Malin last month at DC-9 didn’t scale the heights of the world-beating SXSW showcase I saw them play a few years back, but at least one band member was clearly new at the time, and I’ve got to figure that with another couple of months of touring under their belt, they’ll be be fully in the groove by now (and, one hopes, playing a set list that includes more of the earlier classics than were presented on the tour with Jesse Malin; which is not  to say that the new album isn’t great though!).  None of their very best songs are available on their MySpace, so check out the studio version of “Reconsider Me” (the song of theirs that initially caught my ear) at YouTube.

11/13 Sarah Vowell @ Lisner.  David Sedaris, the first half of what was originally sold as a literary comedy package of sorts, was a riot earlier this month, and Sarah Vowell will no doubt hold up her share of the bargain, and then some.  I’m pretty sure that a Rumpus “subscriber” has a (great) ticket available for this show, so drop me a line if you’re interested.  Warning: You may have to sit next to me.

*11/29 Brandon Flowers (of the Killers) @ the 9:30.  Flamingo, Flowers’ first solo effort, may not often sound like a Killers album (though it certainly does at times), but that’s all to the good, as he’s written what could easily be construed as a thematic sequel to Sam’s Town, and Flamingo boasts at least as many great songs as that early Killers effort.  Alas, none of the best songs are available to stream in their entirety, but listen to (the studio versions of) “Hard Enough” (feat. Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis), “Jilted Lovers and Broken Hearts,” and/or “Was it Something I Said?” on YouTube, and I trust you’ll see what I mean.

*12/1 Free Energy, with Foxy Shazam @ the RnRH.  What’s that you say?  Two of my favorite new acts (and makers of two of my favorite albums) of the year on the same bill?  Oh, hell yeah.  Check out what I had to say about the first time I saw Foxy Shazam in the Twangville post where I described them as the “most indescribably awesome new band of SXSW 2010.” ‘Nuff said.  As for Free Energy, I’ve seen them three times already this year and the live show only gets better and better (and the debut album, Stuck on Nothing, produced by LCD Soundsystem’s  James Murphy, is as infectious a slab of pop goodness as you’re likely to hear this year), and I’ve been fortunate to see them joined onstage for my favorite song (“Bang Pop”) by their previous tourmates Mates of State and Titus Andronicus already … if that streak continues with a guest appearance by Foxy Shazam on 12/1, I might just float out of the building that night.  Listen to “Bang Pop” at Free Energy’s MySpace, and “Wanna-be Angel” at Foxy Shazam’s MySpace.

*12/2 fun., Steel Train, and the Postelles @ the 9:30.  Are you kidding me?  Combined with the “Foxy Energy” show the night before, these two shows represent the finest non-South-by back-to-back nights of live music of the year for me … five amazing bands over two nights in two D.C. venues, every one of which puts on a Rumpus-certified terrific live show.  Outside of Austin in March, back-to-back nights of live music pretty much don’t get any better than this, folks.  Listen to “The Gambler” or “All the Pretty Girls” at fun.’s MySpace, “Bullet” at Steel Train’s MySpace, and “123 Stop” at the Postelles’ MySpace.

*12/9 Crooked Fingers @ Iota.  Though it pains me to say, their live show and set list selection often doesn’t live up to the majesty of their recorded artistry, but there’s an ever-present fragile beauty to the live show nonetheless.  (But damn, if ever there were a band I wish I could write the set l list for…)  Listen to “Sleep All Summer” (aka gorgeousness and gorgeousity made flesh) at Crooked Fingers’ MySpace.

*12/15 Jesse Malin & the St. Mark’s Social, with Marah @ Jammin’ Java.  Bringing their “It Came Upon a Midnight Beer” Rock & Roll Christmas Show to the NoVA ‘burbs, this one promises to be a special night.  Over the years, I’ve logged many hundreds of miles to see (separately) both of these artists play Christmas shows, and some of those were among the best shows I’ve ever seen Marah and Jesse Malin play.  Bringing a Christmas Show on the road, and featuring both bands?  Genius!  Unless you’re a rock ‘n’ roll-hating Grinch, you won’t want to miss this.  Listen to “Burning the Bowery” at Jesse Malin’s MySpace, and “Angels of Destruction” at Marah’s MySpace.

*2/5 Chromeo @ the 9:30.  Chromeo’s set at this year’s Virgin Festival was far and away the highlight set of the festival for me.  Presenting a seamless blend of some of the most infectious electronic sounds and styles of the ‘70s, ‘80s, and today, and blending it with genuine heart and soul, this Canadian duo has got it all going on.  Listen to “Bonafied Lovin’” at Chromeo’s MySpace (bearing in mind that while the studio recordings are quite good, as with so many bands appearing in this space, the live show is truly where the magic is).

* As ever, new / modified entries are denoted with an asterisk and boldface, take place in the D.C. area unless otherwise noted, and if you're reading it here, it's recommended!

Reminder: I’ve created a Google calendar for the Rumpus and it’s been marked public so, if you’re so inclined, you’re welcome to subscribe to it via RSS (and thus find out about new Rumpus-worthy shows when they’re announced/added to the calendar and without having to wait for me to get around to actually scribing a new edition).  Here’s the XML for RSS readers, and here’s the URL to view it as a calendar.