Clicky Clicky Presents: A Very Clicky Clicky September with Dæphne, Elizabeth Colour Wheel and Beeef | O'Brien's Pub, Allston | 16 Sept.

In case you've not yet heard, yr friends at Clicky Clicky are putting on some rock shows in glamorous Allston Rock City™ this fall and into the new year. The first is tomorrow night, when rock fans who assemble at O'Brien's Pub can catch an evening of now sounds from jangle-mongers Beeef, stormy shoegazers Elizabeth Colour Wheel, and the pensive dream-pop purveyors Dæphne.

Beeef, a new-ish act that counts among its number journalist Perry Eaton (Allston Pudding, Boston.com), released unto the Interwebs last spring a strong, eponymous EP that paired irrefutably catchy surf-styled guitar licks with Mr. Eaton's lively paeans to Boston living. While all four numbers on Beeef are winners, the one jam to rule them all is "Dogshit Paradise." Here the band steers an efficient and sturdy bass line through an extended workout as Eaton waxes on the mundanity of morning commutes and dirty student domiciles.

Attentive readers will recall our previously spreading the good news far and wide about Elizabeth Colour Wheel, and not just because their name totes references blog forever faves Lilys. There was this piece, and then there was this piece; good times. Having seen the quintet rock basements and Berklee parties within and without Allston, we can confirm that its live set can be transcendent, and so we are pleased to also have Elizabeth Colour Wheel on the bill tomorrow.

As with ECW, we dubbed Dæphne a Boston band to watch based purely on the strength of a formidable four-track demo, this one surfacing late last year. We went so far as to deem their tune "Driving Down a Country Highway Blasting Weezer" one of the best of 2014. Dæphne is hatching plans to ditch the best coast for a life anew out west and we will wish them great success in their future endeavors when the time comes. But in the meantime there is rock to be rocked (not to mention, apparently, a debut LP to release), and we are pleased to host the quartet for what may or may not amount to one of its last gigs in town.

There might be an additional detail or two at this Facebook event page, but that is largely the size of it. We beseech you to come early tomorrow, maybe enjoy a beer or two if you so choose, and then of course stay late. In that exact order. Also bring earplugs. If you've not yet memorized the three EPs referenced supra, we have embedded them below for your listening pleasure. -- Dillon Riley

That Was The Show That Was: Infinity Girl, Lubec, Guillermo Sexo, Havania Whaal | Great Scott | 9 July

We're going to remember this one for a long time. Not only was this big, big, big rock show Thursday night our first-ever IRL meeting with a very old and good friend, it was also our first time seeing Clicky Clicky fave Lubec and now-Clicky Clicky fave Havania Whaal. Our good friends in Guillermo Sexo were reliably spectacular, and shoegaze heroes Infinity Girl were just heroic. Great show, five stars, would recommend seeing again.

But of course there's more to it than that. Openers and Oregonites Havania Whaal was probably the least-known quantity for most folks in Boston -- locale of the first night of HW's tour with BandFF's Lubec -- and a number of folks sidled up to us to remark at how the trio impressed. The band opted for more uptempo and immediate material for its live set, which somewhat played down the band's characteristic darkwave flavor, but revealed in aural glimpses some of the band's more classic influences in Versus and Unrest. Official Show Saviors Guillermo Sexo backlined the entire night with their gear, but perhaps bigger contribution was its amazing set, which was richly textured and firmly dreamy. The band's stock in trade is atmospheric and moody psych-rock, which we've written about here in these electronic pages for years, but even after a decade Guillero Sexo is finding new tricks up their collective and proverbial sleeve. Its set was heavily tilted toward brand-new material, and the second song out of the gate was a stunner, uplifting and transcendant in a way we have not yet heard the band do it. We are eager to hear what comes next; a video for the new-ish tune "Graffiti Skies" is about to be unleashed, so keep your eyes open for that.

Lubec was simply tremendous, a constantly crescendoing miracle of dream-pop, its three players and their playing both perfectly aligned and balanced. The Portland three has played with a second guitarist previously, and we were wondering if we'd miss that element in the mix, but fronter Eddie Charlton's guitar work, keyboardist Caroline Jackson's work holding down the low and and spangling the upper register, and Matt Dressen's sturdy drumming complement each other in a remarkably graceful way. Lubec played the three songs from its hotly anticipated "Concentration" single (which will be out on vinyl and cassette via Like Young and Touchy Feely, respectively) as well as hits from its 2014 masterpiece The Thrall [review]. Finally, Infinity Girl delivered a powerful reminder of just what got these guys signed to Topshelf Records earlier this year. Its dynamic set included classics including "Please Forget" as well as its latest single, but we were particularly thrilled to hear them play what will surely be a monster hit, the uptempo and blurry instant classic "Dirty Sun." Trust us: the song is massive, like Top 10 all-time-favorite-songs massive. Infinity Girl will be back in Boston in early September playing a release show with totes sick support for its tremendous sophomore set Harm, which will be issued by Topshelf Aug. 17 [details].

Lubec and Havania Whaal's tour jogged to the left for a show in Worcester, Mass. Friday and blazed through Brooklyn just this afternoon, and from here on out they are heading due south toward Jacksonville, playing dates en route with Clicky Clicky faves Golden Gurls and Swings. The remaining tour dates are posted at the bottom of this item. We suppose this is as good a place as any to note that Golden Gurls seem to be brushing off the cobwebs and becoming more active again. The Baltimore trio loosed to the wilds of the Internerds late last month a short stack of demos called, unsurprisingly, New Old Demos [link], and we have it on good authority the band has new material in the works, so keep an ear on Baltimore. Well, not all of Baltimore, pretty much just them and a few others, yeh?

Big thanks go to Carl, Jesse and Dan at Great Scott, as without their support there'd have been no show and that would have been super-sad. Now is probably an opportune time to mention that this Clicky Clicky Presents thing is sort of happening, and will continue to happen, and we're planning a bunch of first-rate rock events straight through into the new year, which year will include a certain blog's 10th anniversary, based on the most reliable metric of measuring such things. Anyway, keep your gaze trained on this page, our Facebook dojo and Twitter outpost. You'll be glad you did. Now why don't you go grab another beer and stream the songs below?

Infinity Girl: Bandcamp | Facebook
Lubec: Bandcamp | Facebook
Guillermo Sexo: Bandcamp | Facebook
Havania Whaal: Facebook | Internerds









Lubec / Havania Whaal Tour Dates:
07.12 -- Philadelphia PA -- Bourbon & Branch
07.13 -- Baltimore MD -- Reverb
07.14 -- Washington, DC -- The Pinch
07.15 -- Norfolk, VA -- The Taphouse
07.16 -- Raleigh, NC -- Prisma Video
07.17 -- Asheville, NC -- Mothlight
07.18 -- Athens GA -- Flicker Bar
07.19 -- Jacksonville FL -- Burro Bar w/ Round Eye

Clicky Clicky Presents: Infinity Girl, Lubec, Guillermo Sexo, HavaniaWhaal | Great Scott, Boston | 9 July

We promised an official announcement weeks ago when the date gelled, but, well, we've been busy, you've been busy, Mercury was in retrograde, etc. But here we are, with the big, big official announcement of our second Clicky Clicky Presents event (if you count the Together series as one thing) of 2015: July 9. Great Scott rock club in Boston. Infinity Girl. Lubec. Guillermo Sexo. Havania Whaal.

Es correcto! That's just 10 days hence. And these bands have stuff going on. Shoegaze titans Infinity Girl recently announced they had signed with Topshelf Records, and its sophomore album Harm will be released in August. The Brooklyn four's first preview single made a splash on the Internerds, and we can assure readers that any other preview singles -- should they come along -- will also blow minds. Portland, OR dream-pop gigantes Lubec are prepping a new vinyl and cassette release featuring the tunes "Concentration" and, as the embed below illustrates, "Many Worlds." Boston psych-pop stalwarts Guillermo Sexo launched early this month a very, very cool video for its new tune "Graffiti Sky," which is the first taste of its forthcoming sixth long-player Eclipse, due this fall, likely on the Midriff Records imprint. And Havania Whaal just loosed to the wilds of the Interpants an engaging, moody concept record titled 13 A.D. And not only does this particular bill epitomize the descriptor "stacked," it is the first night of Lubec and Havania Whaal's East Coast tour, which will dreamily blitzkrieg venues from Boston to Jacksonville over the course of 10 big nights; full tour dates are right here. Look for posters trumpeting the Boston date around town now, designed by Lubec drummer Matt Dressen and now situated in your general vicinity and visual field courtesy of the skilled hands of Staff Writer Dillon Riley.

There is a Facebook event page for the Boston date, as well, and we encourage you to hit this link and pledge your allegiance now so we know you are coming. And tickets! Buy tickets, tickets for you, tickets for your roommate, tickets for you mom. We'd like that, as the more tickets you buy, the more faith the nice people at Great Scott have in us when we pitch bills in the future. While you wait for the big day to arrive, soak up some sounds from the four bands on the bill via the various embeds below. They will complete you.

Infinity Girl: Bandcamp | Facebook | Soundcloud

Lubec: Bandcamp | Facebook | Soundcloud

Guillermo Sexo: Bandcamp | Facebook | Soundcloud

Havania Whaal: Bandcamp | Facebook | Soundcloud

THAT TICKET LINK AGAIN.

Together With Together: Clicky Clicky Presents Two Nights of Abstract Electronics And Indie Rock May 12+14

As a long time admirer of one of the driving forces behind it, we could be none more pleased to announce Clicky Clicky has partnered with the annual Together festival to bring abstract electronics and indie rock to adventurous listeners next month. Whether it be serendipity or silliness, we somehow have ended up presenting not one but two nights of programming during the five-year-old festival's seven-day run this year. First up, on Tuesday, May 12, Together and Clicky Clicky present folktronica/collage duo Skinny Bones and abstract electronic improviser Dinnersss (a/k/a producer Jimmy Hughes) at Lilypad in Cambridge's fashionable Inman Square. That night of programming is enough to raise pulses out there among the cognoscenti, but we've got yet more bunnies up our pant leg: on Thursday May 14 we present at the very same venue contemporary 'gaze greats Strange Mangers, Bostonian Virginia De Las Pozas' charming and other-worldy electronic project Couples Counseling the creaky and haunting strummery of trio Horse Jumper of Love, and a very, very special performance from slowcore giants (and recent Kill Rock Stars signing) New Dog. The Tuesday show is all ages, a 10PM start, and will cost you five American dollars, while Thursday jumps off at 8:30, is all ages, and will cost eight American dollars; Together festival passholders can walk in like royalty and not have to gesture toward their billfolds at all.

We would need many hands to count up all the reasons to be excited about these musical programs, but let us just drop a few here. The music on Skinny Bones' 2014 debut Noise Floor feels as unbounded as the work of Syd Barrett, but as deeply personal as the harrowing and beautiful music of Bad History Month. Dinnersss' recent and entrancing modular synth reverie "Mise En Place" (embedded below) is evocative head music and among the most exciting electronic music we've heard coming out of Boston in this decade. Equally enticing are the electronic sounds of Couples Counseling, which at times seems to provide Boston's most on-point, contemporary response to Nuno Cannavarro's classic 1988 masterwork Plux Quba Horse Jumper of Love's recent EP Ur Real Life Dress builds up a slow and dusty, lower-case-g gothic head of steam and hits a groove on closer "Nose Bleeder," all of which makes us excited for the trio's forthcoming full-length. That live set from New Dog? It's a warm-up for the act's forthcoming European tour, and may very well be the band's first show as a duo: former Soccer Mom kit-minder Justin Kehoe now backs fronter and former Travels/Metal Hearts principal Anar Badalov. The band's new set Classic Ballroom Dances is out June 2, and June 6 the pair kicks off a couple weeks of dates in Germany, Czech Republic and Belgium. Strange Mangers topline Thursday night, bringing with it the big-guitars/big melodies sound that Clicky Clicky devotes most of its time to championing. Strange Mangers had a big 2014, releasing a terrific and haunting EP Return Eternal as well as an entirely arresting comp of older material, and we are expecting big things from the act in 2015 as well.

It is worth noting these two shows -- Facebook Event Page 1; Facebook Event Page 2; pledge your allegiance now -- represent the first efforts of this blog's nascent Clicky Clicky Presents arm. Clicky Clicky Presents is already planning sick bills every other month for the rest of the year and into 2016. We will certainly keep you apprised of these future goings on, but for those curious about what we've got planned, here's a hint and another and another and another about what we're planning or July. But for now let's stay focused on the short term, and the many auditory delights the Together festival has in store for us. Sure, our bills are great, but be sure to scrutinize the entire schedule: there is a ton of hot, hot stuff going on. Don't sleep on it.

TUESDAY, MAY 12 >>





THURSDAY, MAY 14 >>

That Was The Show That Was: Clicky Clicky Community Servings Benefit Show Thank Yous And Wrap-Up

Well that was quite a night, wasn't it? I mean, the Pats scored like 55 points! Oh wait, right, the rock show. THE ROCK SHOW. The rock show was tremendous! Not only were punters treated to four Clicky Clicky faves delivering impassioned performances, but we raised a tidy sum for a great cause, Community Servings, whose various services we have detailed here often, and include providing nutritious meals to the critically ill and their caregivers.

The show kicked off with an entrancing solo set from the magical K. Heasley, a/k/a Kurt Heasley, the visionary behind the long-running, shape-shifting indie rock enigma Lilys. Kurt, accompanied only by an acoustic guitar and seated on a wide stool he carried into the club with him, played mesmerizing versions of "Ginger" and "YCJCYAQFTJ" from the towering A Brief History Of Amazing Letdowns EP; "Cambridge, CA" from the LP Better Can't Make Your Life Better; "Will My Lord Be Gardening?" from Precollections; and "Claire Hates Me," the transcendent closing number from Lilys' full-length debut In The Presence Of Nothing. While Mr. Heasley complained of some sniffles whatever effect they might have had on his transcendent performance were imperceptible. A more tender version of "Will My Lord Be Gardening?" you will, in almost all likelihood, never hear again. Here's a similar version from 2009.

Local shoegaze titans Soccer Mom grabbed the proverbial baton from Kurt and launched into an intense set heavy on the foursome's desperate and dense noize-gaze sounds. Bassist Danielle Deveau was playing fairly fresh from having pieces of metal extracted from her ankle, but she executed with nary a wince from between Will Scales and Dan Parlin. The lads traded off good cop/bad cop style on their very loud, dynamic and textured tunes, and highlights of their set included the single "Canoe" and several new tracks from the foursome's pending 2014 collection, which we could not be more amped to hear.

The Hush Now burst from the proverbial carbonite of a two-year hiatus with a leaner formation (gone are the keyboards that colored the band's last LP, 2011's Memos) and more tricks. The band played about eight songs, all of them brand new and likely to appear on their own planned 2014 set. The opening salvo was an Adam Quane-sung number titled "Pandas," and a clear highlight was a subdued and sad new one sung by guitarist Noel Kelly called "Manchester UK." Earthquake Party! delivered on its youthful, shambolic promise, exploding like a bomb each time it blasted through a selction from its repertoire of compact, fizzing power-pop. Highlights of the set included convulsing versions of "Little Pet" and "One More Night Could Ruin Us," each from last year's Let's Rock, OK? cassette. Surprisingly, the trio pared down to a duo for an uncharacteristically moderately paced cover of "Stephanie Says," a sweet nod to the late October death of punk pioneer Lou Reed. And with that appropriate close, the night was done.

There are many, many people who helped make this event the success it was, not the least of which are Sadie Dupuis, who took a break from an insanely busy life to DJ between sets, and Joe Turner, who washed the stage with dazzling visuals throughout the night. And while we are certain we will forget a name or two, our feeling has always been it's better to try to acknowledge everyone and fail rather than to not acknowledge anyone at all. So here we go. A huge Clicky Clicky thank you goes out to not only Sadie and Joe, but also Tim Leahy, Nick Lorenzen, Richard Bouchard, Barry the totally relaxed and affable sound guy, Carl Lavin, Wayne S. Feldman, Christian Housh, Kurt Heasley, Will Scales and Soccer Mom, Justin Lally and Earthquake Party!, Noel Kelly, Barry Marino and the rest of The Hush Now, Jeff Breeze, Jed Gottlieb, Michael Marotta, Anngelle Wood, Adam XII, Jonathan Donaldson, Bryan Hamill, Perry Eaton, Jay Kumar, Lisa Deily, Kristin Bishop And Rook, Ilya Sitnikov and all of the folks who came out to support the cause. We are excited to do it again next year, bigger and better. Stay awesome, Boston.

OH! If you would like another opportunity to support the great work that Community Servings does, you can buy a pie, right now, from my good friend Nick. All of the details are right here, but the long and the short is you give them $25, they use that $25 to feed a critically ill client for a week, and in return you get a pie in time for Thanksgiving. I believe that is called a win-win. Do it now.

That Was The Show That Was: Clicky Clicky Community Servings Benefit Show Thank Yous And Wrap-Up

Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

A lot of people, places and things made this show happen, and they are, in no particular order: Carl Lavin; Kerri Lavin; Joe McMahon; Rafi Singer; Michael Marotta; Jeff Breeze; WMBR; Jed Gottlieb; The Dig; The Phoenix; The Boston Herald; Adam XII; RadioBostonDotCom; Anngelle Wood; WZLX; Nick Lorenzen; Tracy Gibbs; Tim Leahy; Sarafina Scapicchio; Gareth Dobson; Reuben Bettsak and the unearthly Guillermo Sexo; Sadie Dupuis and Speedy Ortiz; all the guys in Infinity Girl, who are the nicest dudes you'll ever meet; superheroes Benjamin Deily, Lisa Marie Deily and Joshua Pickering who together comprise the mighty Varsity Drag and who each deserve special recognition for their help; Alexei Berrow, Junior Elvis Washington Laidley, Kelly Southern and Lewes Herriot all of the fucking top serious Johnny Foreigner cohort, who we are proud to call our friends, including visual fifth man Benjamin Rausch and driver Evan Bernard; Johnny Foreigner's label heads J. Matthew Nix at Swerp and Jack Clothier at Alcopop; Brad Searles; William Scales, whose counsel we rely on regularly; Cameron Keiber; Richard Bouchard; Michael Piantigini; Berklee's The BIRN; Brendan Mattox at WERS. We are sure we forgot some people, for which we apologize, but the risk of forgetting someone is no excuse for not recognizing the rest of you. Cheers. Yr loved, drummed.

Despite the freak snow storm that blew in Wednesday night, the above-referenced show was a smashing success, albeit one scaled back somewhat by three inches of fairly unexpected slushy snow and 60 mile per hour wind gusts. The 100 or so folks who made it to Great Scott in Allston gave not one glaring expletive about what was going on outside once they made it through the doors, as all four bands on the bill turned in thrilling sets. Openers Infinity Girl, the hottest new band in Boston, brought their wall of sound in from the cold and made the dwindling ranks of the unfamiliar realize quickly why the band is becoming an ever-present fixture on bills around town. They normally lead off with "Please Forget," but this night they held it back, like a pitcher making a hitter wait for the fastball. It was a delicious set, and definitely the best we've seen the foursome play to date. Varsity Drag -- a very late addition to the bill after the snow forced Speedy Ortiz to cancel -- took the stage next, no sound check, hardly time for more than a "how's yer mum" as they strode through the doors and pretty much went right on stage, plugged into borrowed gear, and just slayed. Just turned in a murderously good set, filled with Clicky Clicky faves like "Summer Time," "Skinny Ties" and "Billy Ruane." It gets us every time, when they finish that latter song, and drummer Josh Pickering shouts "it's not the same!" Theirs was a commanding performance, and it included "Drowsy Owls" and "Mind Like A Sieve," new songs fronter Ben Deily is contributing to the planned Lemonheads reunion record we wrote about in September here.

After driving across Connecticut in the snow storm, a trek that took the band 10 hours door to door from New York to Boston, Birmingham, England-based noise-pop savants Johnny Foreigner finally made it onstage -- after some real-time soundcheck -- around 11:20. Just as quickly they dispersed from view, and then drummer Junior began the slow piano melody of the band's soul-crushing ballad "Johnny Foreigner vs. You," with fronter Alexei Berrow and bassist Kelly Southern singing the vocal off mic from different spots within the assembled throng, with many of the suddenly-very-young crowd singing along. The band slowly filtered back on stage, and the final note of "Johnny Foreigner vs. You" became the deafening squall of the first notes of the hyperfizzed anthem "Feels Like Summer." From there, the band turned in a shuddering, exhilarating, floor-shaking set for its Boston debut. Other tunes performed include at least two cuts from the brand new Names EP [review forthcoming], as well as classics "Eyes Wide Terrified," "With Who, Who And What I've Got," and "The Wind And The Weathervanes." A colossal rendition of "Salt, Peppa and Spinderella" inspired spirited moshing and generally threatened the structural integrity of 1222 Commonwealth Avenue. Johnny Foreigner closed with the classic early single "Sofacore," and with the final note the band ditched its gear and Ms. Southern led a giddy coalition of the willing back through the crowd and out the front door of the club to make snow angels on the sidewalk. Insane.

Boston psych-rock phenoms Guillermo Sexo, who are finishing up an extremely promising fifth collection recorded with Justin Pizzoferrato, turned in a focused, otherworldly set of hypnotic guitar workouts and steady grooves. It was the perfect way to ground and round out the evening, with singer/keyboardist Noelle Dorsey's incantations and swirling stage presence leading everyone on a journey inward. The quartet delivered thrilling iterations of "Colour The Noise" and "Skyline" from its most recent collection Secret Wild [review here], closed with the bright and elliptical new cut "Bring Down Your Arms," and then closed down the bar with the gang from Johnny Foreigner late, late in the evening. To say we are overjoyed by how the show went is an understatement, as not only was the music incredible, but we raised a nice chunk of money for Community Servings, which, as readers know, provides free nutritious meals to the chronically ill and their families. While Wednesday is just a fading memory at this point, the need for the services Community Servings provides never goes away. There are two ways anyone reading these words can help RIGHT NOW. First, if you are reading this sometime before Nov. 17, go buy a pie from our good friend Nick, who co-hosted the event with us. All of the money from your purchase goes to help feed those in need. If pie isn't your thing, you can click this link and make a donation of any amount to the organization. Finally, clear your schedules for 2013, 'cause were gonna do this again, for sure. How about some music to take us out?

.

WEDNESDAY: Clicky Clicky Music Blog Presents A Benefit Show For Community Servings Featuring Guillermo Sexo, Johnny Foreigner, Speedy Ortiz And Infinity Girl

It is hard to believe, but after a year of planning, the date is almost upon us. This Wednesday -- no matter if tomorrow the guy we love wins the White House of the guy we hate wins -- is Clicky Clicky Music Blog's most important event of the year, a benefit show for the terrific and important local charity Community Servings. In case you missed our original announcement in August, Community Servings is a Jamaica Plain-based organization that delivers 395,000 free, home-style meals to 1,300 people per year, persons who are too sick to cook for themselves or their families. Community Servings cares for clients with 35 different life-threatening illnesses; its service includes a customized, nutritionally-packed lunch, dinner, and snack for sick clients, their caregivers and dependent children, 95% of whom live at or below the poverty level. The group performs a vitally important function supporting those who need it the very most.

So what's Clicky Clicky got to do with this? Well, we wanted to find an opportunity to leverage the blog to make a difference in people's lives, so we got in touch with reps from the organization early this year to pitch the idea of a benefit show, and Community Servings got on board right away. Then we turned around and asked some of our favorite bands whether they'd like to help support the cause, and each one agreed to help right away, without hesitating. From there the idea was off and running. And so, finally, Wednesday will feature a killer night of music, top-lined by local psych-pop veterans Guillermo Sexo, but featuring also the Boston debut of England's greatest contemporary guitar pop band Johnny Foreigner. Speedy Ortiz, who earlier this year were named the best band in Massachusetts by The Phoenix, and new-ish Boston shoegaze heroes Infinity Girl will also perform. It's going to be amazing. Doors at 9.

Tickets for the event are $10, and all proceeds from the evening go to help feed Community Servings clients. Buy tickets here; buy tons of tickets. To help raise even more cash, we will be raffling off prizes including New England Revolution tickets, tickets to the superfun F1 Boston go-kart facility, and even a brand new vinyl copy of Everyone Everywhere's excellent 2012 LP Everyone Everywhere, because, well, they sent us two by mistake. Community Servings is also currently running a larger fundraiser called Pie In The Sky, details of which are here, and show-goers will also have the opportunity to buy pies to help support Community Servings. Pie! Everyone loves pie! Jeepers, we wish we had some pie right now.

What else can we say? Please come. It's going to be awesome. We are beyond excited. Here's the Facebook event page; please RSVP, share the event, and invite all of your friends. Now how about some songs?

New Video Hype For Clicky Clicky Music Blog's Community Servings Benefit Show Nov. 7

As we've stated previously, but are reiterating now because HEYCOOOLNEWPROMOVIDEORIGHT?, Clicky Clicky Music Blog is presenting a bill for the ages, four of the best bands *anywhere*, Wednesday, November 7, performing at Great Scott in Boston to raise money for one of the worthiest charities in all of the Commonwealth, Community Servings.

Guillermo Sexo_//_boston, ma
[web site]

Johnny Foreigner_//_birmingham, england
[web site]

Speedy Ortiz_//_northampton, ma
[web site]

Infinity Girl_//_boston, ma
[web site]

BUY TICKETS, LOTS OF TICKETS:
http://tktwb.tw/Qg9PB9

DOWNLOAD/SHARE the flyer designed by Lewes Herriot

Community Servings prepares and delivers daily free, nutritious meals to almost 800 chronically ill clients (as well as their caregivers and children) in 17 cities and towns in Massachusetts. If you'll permit us to copy and paste from Servings.org, Community Servings' web site, "meals are prepared with delicious, fresh foods and are packed with the nutrition needed to fight illnesses such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis and lupus. To meet our clients' needs, we cater to their dietary restrictions, providing for 25 special diets."

Video courtesy of CDH Design.

Soundtrack: "Champagne Girls I Have Known," Johnny Foreigner
from the demos collection Every Day Is A Constant Battle

Video snippets borrowed from with good intentions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpEsOYUdiRA&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLgZMJTjrh0&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K3ElmxonYk&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UfhvnlvGEs

The Ash Gray Proclamation and Clicky Clicky Music present Hallelujah The Hills, Ted Billings, Richard Davies and The Blue Dress | PA's Lounge | 14 Jan.

We are exceedingly pleased to be presenting this Saturday alongside our friends at The Ash Gray Proclamation a sterling evening of rock and roll music. The bill, as the title of this post makes clear, features local heroes Hallelujah The Hills, Ted Billings of Age Rings, Richard Davies and The Blue Dress. The show is at PA's Lounge, and we are (briefly) coming out of our just-had-a-baby-show-going-hiatus to make the scene because, you know, we love rock and roll music.



Hallelujah The Hills, of course, needs no introduction, but if you gotta start somewhere like Jon Brion, we'd direct you to the recent, wonderful digital-only b-side "Some Of Them We Lost," which is embedded above and was introduced to us by Team AGP. The song, as we have quipped elsewhere, "at 3:11 ... all of sudden comes on like the vertigo of five too many shots of liquor, and you get up off the couch and realize you can't stand at all." The more recent work of Mr. Billings in Age Rings is well-known to readers of this blog; that band's Black Honey was among our favorite records of 2011, and Age Rings promised a follow-up entitled Magnum Love will appear sometime this year. Here's hoping that we get a little preview Saturday.

We're not going to lie: Richard Davies is totally new to us. But his inclusion on the bill definitely tells us that his music is something we'll want to hear. Word is that some of The Blue Dress guys will be backing Mr. Davies up for his set, which may or may not be akin to juggling swordfish or drinking moonshine from a sneaker, we don't know, but the proposition of the unknown is exciting. As for The Blue Dress (whose appearance here is apparently the band's first club show), we first became aware of the band last summer when the words "dance, dance, dance, dance to the radio..." kept wafting out of our IPod in an unusual context. The line, of course, is lifted from Joy Division's epic "Transmission," a song covered by many but perhaps most notably by Low. The Blue Dress tucked it into their demo "House Of The Demon," and that little hook -- mournfully delivered, but with a different vibe than Low's -- got us very interested in the band. The band's dazzling recent EP These Happy Golden Years is something we wish hadn't slept on in late 2011, because it has that perfect -- dare we say Kiwi-esque -- balance of melody and noise (and trumpet! which is sorta both!) that keeps us coming back for more. Check out "My Deth Ray" below:

The Blue Dress - "These Happy Golden Years" - My Deth Ray by The Blue Dress

It's going to be a great night, and we do sincerely hope you will come out and say "hi," it's been a long time since we've been among the indie rockers. See you then.

The Hush Now with Soccer Mom, Chandeliers, Cooling Towers, Johnny Foreigner Listening Party | Precinct | 22 Oct.

Feel the hype cycle! We are proud to present along with our friends at The Ash Gray Proclamation Saturday night's The Hush Now tour homecoming show at Precinct Bar in Somerville, Mass. We hand-picked the majority of the bill ourselves and think that the line-up is not only the very best, but also the Clicky Clicky-est bill we could have mustered. Check out the Facebook Event page right here. The night is centered around the final show of local guitar pop heroes The Hush Now's current tour supporting its superlative third long-player Memos [review here]. The bill also includes the crushing, visceral majesty of Boston noise rockers Soccer Mom, long a favorite of the blog fresh off the release of their spectacular 10" EP You Are Not Going To Heaven, as well as rising rockers Chandeliers. And, as a very, very special treat, we've arranged with Oxford, England-based Alcopop! Records to bring you the North American -- if not world -- premiere listening party for Johnny Foreigner's epic third LP Johnny Foreigner vs. Everything. Cooling Towers are a late addition to the bill and will also perform.

Doors for the event open at 8PM, and the listening party begins promptly at 8:20PM sharp. Punters that enter the club before 9PM will receive a complementary The Hush Now-branded shot glass. We can personally attest to The Hush Now-branded shot glass' powers of conveying small amounts of liquor between a bottle and a mouth [Note: bottle and mouth not included -- Ed.]. The full slate looks like this:

8:00 Doors
8:20 North American premiere of Johnny Foreigner vs. Everything
9:30 Chandeliers
10:30 The Hush Now
11:30 Soccer Mom
12:30 Cooling Towers

With the pending arrival of Clicky Clicky Baby No. 2, we're viewing this event as kind of a finale for our year, and we'd be pleased as punch if you came out and said hello and soaked up the sounds of all five bands along with me, Clicky Clicky Rock, Bryan Proclamation and stalwart Clicky Clicky supporter and podcaster extraordinaire The KoomDogg. It's going to be a big night, so let us know you're coming out. Now how about some songs?

Arkansas by thehushnow

Unwanted Sounds by SOCCER MOM

Chandeliers - Let's Do Brunch by Chandeliers

(don't) show us your fangs by johnny foreigner

COOLING TOWERS - "Song For Apple Martin (Live on WMFO)" by CommodoreVic