Photo by Jason Frank Rothenberg
THIS WEEK’S BEST BET:
Battles
w/ Nisennenmondai
Friday, October 28
The Masquerade – 695 North Avenue in Atlanta 30306
Admission $18 / Purchase Tickets
I can’t think of a more innovative rock band to emerge in the last decade than New York-based, Battles. I put the emphasis on rock because for all their experimentation and rhythmic ingenuity, the never strays too far from the traditional rock template. At the end of the day, they’re a band that strings together grooves drawn from a variety of commonplace musical settings — math rock, funk, metal, prog and pop. If their debut LP, Mirrored, sounded revolutionary it wasn’t because of what they were playing, but how they played it. Sure there was an arduous — often breathtaking — complexity about their songs, but it was the zany, computer-assisted cartoonish-ness of it all that reached out and grabbed your immediate attention. It was wild and thrilling; a rare record that made dense and difficult music sound fun, and that managed to defy every audience expectation in the process. (It also helped that their explosive live show successfully channeled the album’s kinetic force and impeccable technicality. Hearing it on record was impressive enough — watching it go down live was mind-blowing.)
With their latest record, Gloss Drop, Battles have decidedly toned down some of the frenetic energy and left-field inventiveness that made Mirrored such a unique but divisive listen. Gone is Tyondai Braxton, the group’s outlandish and daring vocalist, replaced by some well-chosen guests and a greater emphasis on propulsive future-pop grooves. But despite these rather significant changes, the remaining trio embraced the challenge and turned out some of their most dazzling and hypnotic tunes to date. Whether or not this show turns out to be one of the year’s best remains to be seen, but it easily falls into the realm of one of my most anticipated. Good god, I just can’t wait.
THE BEST OF THE REST:
Gold-Bears
w/ Masters of the Hemisphere, Small Reactions
Tuesday, October 25
529 – 529 Flat Shoals Avenue in Atlanta 30316
Admission $5
The Menzingers
w/ The Flatliners, Broadway Calls, The Arteries, Leagues Apart
Tuesday, October 25
The Masquerade – 695 North Avenue in Atlanta 30306
Admission $10 / Purchase Tickets
Zola Jesus
w/ Xanopticon, Featureless Ghost
Tuesday, October 25
The Earl – 488 Flat Shoals Avenue in Atlanta 30316
Admission $10 ADV / $12 DOS / Purchase Tickets
Hull
w/ The Fucking Wrath, Lazer/Wulf
Wednesday, October 26
The Drunken Unicorn – 736 Ponce De Leon Place NE in Atlanta 30306
Admission $8
Pillage & Plunder
w/ Faun and a Pan Flute, Tiny Victories, Antbrain
Wednesday, October 26
The Music Room – 327 Edgewood Avenue NE in Atlanta 30303
Admission $7
Campaign
w/ Mixtapes, Pianos Become the Teeth, Octaves, Moonraker, Crun Pun
Thursday, October 27
WonderRoot – 982 Memorial Drive in Atlanta 30316
Admission $5
Sleepy Genes
w/ ODIST, A. Grimes, Opposite Box
Thursday, October 27
Clermont Lounge – 789 Ponce De Leon Avenue NE in Atlanta 30306
Admission $8
Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun
w/ Qurious, Warning Light, Twins, Paul B. Collins (Beirut) DJing
Thursday, October 27
Star Bar – 437 Moreland Avenue in Atlanta 30307
Admission is FREE
Wax Idols
w/ Terry Malts, Places
Thursday, October 27
529 – 529 Flat Shoals Avenue in Atlanta 30316
Admission $5
The Edgewood Spook
w/ Mood Rings, Red Sea, Ricer, Cassandras, many more…
Thursday, October 27
Edgewood – Chipley Street at Mayson Avenue in Atlanta 30307
$10
Beirut
w/ Basia Bulat
Thursday, October 27
Variety Playhouse – 1099 Euclid Avenue NE in Atlanta 30307
SOLD OUT!
Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All
w/ TBA
Friday, October 28
Center Stage – 1374 West Peachtree Street NW in Atlanta 30309
SOLD OUT!
Portugal. The Man
w/ Alberta Cross
Friday, October 28
Variety Playhouse – 1099 Euclid Avenue NE in Atlanta 30307
Admission $15 / Purchase Tickets
St. Vincent
w/ Cate Le Bon
Friday, October 28
The Earl – 488 Flat Shoals Avenue in Atlanta 30316
SOLD OUT!
Screaming Females
w/ Street Eater, Older Member
Friday, October 28
WonderRoot – 982 Memorial Drive in Atlanta 30316
Admission $7
Black Tusk
w/ Coliseum, Regents, Order of the Owl
Saturday, October 29
The Drunken Unicorn – 736 Ponce De Leon Place NE in Atlanta 30306
Admission $8 ADV / $10 DOS / Purchase Tickets
Valient Thorr
w/ Death On Two Wheels, Whores.
Saturday, October 29
The Basement – 1245 Glenwood Avenue in Atlanta 30316
Admission $10
Ra Ra Riot
w/ Delicate Steve, Yellow Ostrich
Saturday, October 29
The Earl – 488 Flat Shoals Avenue in Atlanta 30316
$15 ADV / $17 DOS / Purchase Tickets
Soulphonics & Ruby Velle
w/ Cute Boots
Saturday, October 29
Star Bar – 437 Moreland Avenue in Atlanta 30307
Admission $10
Carnivores
w/ Sealions, Bake Sale, DJ and the Bear
Saturday, October 29
Highland Ballroom – 644 N. Highland Avenue in Atlanta 30306
Admission $10
Fitz and the Tantrums
w/ Walk the Moon
Saturday, October 29
Center Stage – 1374 West Peachtree Street NW in Atlanta 30309
$20 ADV / $24 DOS / Purchase Tickets
Brandt Brauer Frick
w/ Living Rooms, Lid Emba
Sunday, October 30
529 – 529 Flat Shoals Avenue in Atlanta 30316
Admission $10
