The Bowery Presents

The Mercury Lounge upcoming shows

Early Show

ARMS
8:30
TV Torso
7:30
Juston Stens & the Get Real Gang
6:30

Venue:
The Mercury Lounge
Date:
Fri 8/27
Notes:
21+
Doors: 6:30 PM / Show: 6:30 PM
$10
Tickets
Arms
official website
myspace
Todd Goldstein spent the last few years playing guitar in the Brooklyn indie-pop band Harlem Shakes. To those who were listening closely, though, Goldstein has always also been ARMS, a persona he’s been crafting since 2004. As ARMS, Todd takes up a decidedly slower, sweeter, sloppier endeavor, working alone and singing in a sad, idiosyncratic baritone. ARMS’ debut full-length, Kids Aflame—previously available only in the UK, and now released in the US by Gigantic Music—is a labor of love by an artist with an ear for the beauty in noise, the primacy of melody, and the timelessness of melancholy pop music.
TV Torso
official website
TV Torso is a musical band from Texas with an affinity for skewed pop, repetition, skeletal guitar music, minimalism, tuning drum sets, and recording guitar direct. Matt Oliver and Jordan Johns formed the group in 2008. The two have been playing music together since 2002, when Johns was still in high school and Oliver was blowing his UT tuition on a degree in creative expository writing and Japanese. James Rhea, born in Saudi Arabia, current resident of central Texas, plays the bass guitar.

While early press on the group has been positive, it has tended to fixate on both Oliver and Johns’ previous stint in Sound Team, the avant-pop outfit which after 5 years of self-releasing cassettes, 7-inches, EPs and LPs, and relentless DIY touring, found itself in the role of Austin’s next-big-imploding-major-label-thing. That group fell victim to all of the inevitables associated with such a role and disbanded in 2007.

In 2009 and 2010 the band released two seven inches and completed several short U.S. tours that have brought them as far East as New York and as far West as Portland, Oregon. During this time, helpful references have included the Soft Machine, the Attractions, Brinsley Schwarz, Faust, and, weirdly enough, Paul McCartney.

With the release of Status Quo Vadis, a 6-song, vinyl-only, 12” mini-LP, the band may be judged on its own merits and shortcomings. The songs were lovingly produced and recorded by Matt Oliver and Stuart Sikes (White Stripes, Cat Power, Loretta Lynn) at the band’s studio in Austin and mixed at Jim Eno’s Public Hi-Fi studios. As on the group’s earlier output, the only recording formats used were 2-inch tape, ½-inch tape, and, in some cases, cassette tape.

In the band’s live performances a warbly, scavenged tape echo sees use as a guitar and vocal treatment and the arrangements are generally spare, though occasionally an electric piano or an old synthesizer might be carried onto the stage.
Juston Stens & the Get Real Gang
myspace
"Juston Stens will never die!" This was the chant created by the members of Dr. Dog to recognize the intensity, integrity, or ingenuity of Dr. Dog's hard hitting metronomic mad-man Juston Stens. It was often heard after playing a killer set, wiping off the bloody knuckles, or fixing something with the van or an amp in a way that would amaze even MacGyver! After 6 years and 5 albums with Dr. Dog the time to part had come. Juston, self taught multi-instrumentalist, put down the drumsticks and returned to guitar to write and finish old songs of love, life, loss, heartache, heart break, and death. Somehow managing to keep a positive outlook throughout the entire experience. In January of 2010 Juston left Philadelphia for Tucson, AZ to record with his dear friends The Golden Boots. From there he drove down to Black Mountain, NC to record with Seth Kauffman of Floating Action. This collection of songs is to be released in a series of 7" records later this year, and later as a digital EP on Park The Van Records. The full length album will then be recorded with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, this full band venture will include newer songs co-written with newest member Ms. Carrie Battle (Harlan Twins).
American Express — Are you a card member?

© 2010