THE BOOKS COMING TO LEX, and more

Hey errybody,

I'm waking Blueline up from a long nap because there's some great haps coming up in Lexington and I wanted to make sure everyone was awares.

Firstly and foremostly...

Bullhorn is bringing experimental library-folk-sound collage duo THE BOOKS to Lexington on Monday, September 21! This promises to be one of the most memorable shows in a while. Not only because of the unique nature of The Books, whose strangely beautiful soundscapes are composed of non-traditional instrumentation as well as various found sounds (thrift store cassettes, self-help tapes), but because it's at The Miller House, Lexington's amazing modern architectural marvel. The show is a benefit for the Foundation for Advanced Architecture and will be a multi-media experience; stay tuned for more kickass details in the very near future, but go ahead and mark your calendars stat. (co-sponsored by You Ain't No Picasso, WRFL and Blueline)


Secondly, in light of recent news of the Dame's closing, there have been a couple recent articles about Lexington's changing music scene, namely the opening of two new music venues very soon (Buster's and Cosmic Charlie's, formerly known as Lynagh's Club).
Ky Kernel
Shock and Yawn

Thirdly, there are some not-to-miss shows this weekend (sorry the details are so sparse):

Thursday, August 27

• Girl Talk at UK's Student Center. Weird, right? Right. Getcha groove on, show all the new kids on campus how to day-ance....unless you don't already have tickets because word on the street is that it is SOLD OUT.
  
• Weirdo music at The Void Skateshop: Nightmares, s.m.e.l.l., and a Cadaver in Drag solo set.
  
• Kitschy dance pop in NoLi: Big Fresh, Matt Duncan, Little Noodles at Al's Bar. Sixth and Limestone.
  
• DJ Night at Sidecar (Cheater's) - Case Mahan and Josh Blaine will be spinning
  from 9 p.m. till the wee hours at LexVegas's new favorite hipster dive. Sixth and Limestone. FREE, 21 +

Friday, August 28

• WRFL presents...: Back to School Hip Hop Throwdown at the Red Mile Round Barn! Tanya Morgan (which, contrary to popular belief is a full-blown really rad hip hop group, not some chick named Tanya); Cuntry Noize; Devine Carama - all ages, $4 for students; $7 general pub.

Saturday, August 29

• "The Pen As Sword: Writing as Activism" - a workshop led by local literary giant Eric Sutherland (whom you may know as the MC for the monthly Holler Poet Series at Al's Bar). The event takes place at Carnegie Center at 11 a.m.; $25 (scholarships available); registration available by calling 859.254.4175.

• WRFL presents...Crazy Dreams Band/Jana Hunter/Tiny Fights.
  

CMJ Announces initial line-up

CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival (for all intents and purposes, New York City's lesser-known version of Austin's South by Southwest), finally announced its initial line-up today. There are many (many) more bands to be announced soon, but here's what it's shaping up to look like so far:

Broadcast - School of Seven Bells - Múm - Atlas Sound - Zac Brown Band - Japandroids - Portugal. The Man - Margaret Cho - The Budos Band - Pitbull -
The Very Best - The Temper Trap - Crystal Antlers - Cymbals Eat Guitars - Malajube -
Local Natives - Wild Light - The Antlers - Das Racist - Suckers - Pissed Jeans - Screaming Females

So, yeah, even though the majority of the line-up is rather shruggable to me, I'm way pumped to see one of college radio's (WRFL's, at least) favorite contemporary British psychelectronic bands BROADCAST on the top of the bill...

Not because I'll be attending (1300 bands, $475, New York City - it's a little too much on all fronts for me) but because Broadcast is touring North America, which gives me some sort of distant hope for humanity in some way I don't fully understand (even though the band informed me, sadly, that they are unfortunately unavailable to play Lexington at this time...). In comparably exciting news, the tour is in support of their upcoming album, to be released via Warp Records October 13.

Broadcast are touring with Atlas Sound in the next couple of months - check their MySpace for some jams & a complete list of dates.

Discounted tickets for CMJ are available until Sept 22 but don't get your hopes up - they're still (un-freaking-believabley) $285 for students and $475 for the general public. Seems like a complete racket to me too, but apparently a pretty sizeable population of music industry hipsters (and corporate junkies) are willing to pay this - CMJ and it's cousin South x Southwest draw hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country each year for their extreme, hyper-active week of overstimulation/saturation.

I'm really not as bitter about this as I might sound...I have very limited interest in attending this fest so I don't really care how much they're charging...but I should add that for your money, I'd recommend BOOMSLANG....a much more affordable festival (in your own backyard, Kentucky!) that focuses heavily on bands that are tried and true (strange and offbeat as they might be)....

Stay tuned for a post about Boomslang.....soon, I promise, SOON!!....

In related festival news, All Tomorrow's Parties (the New York festival that I am actually tempted to splurge the $285 or so on) continues to slay with line-up additions - filmmaker Jim Jarmusch added recently...

Natasha's featured on NPR

If you have been paying attention to what's happening in Lexington, you have likely noticed that in recent months, Natasha's Bistro has been picking up steam in a major way, with a new lease on booking and recent renovations (not to mention brilliant future plans) helping cement their status as one of Lexington's most diverse, unique and all around illustrious hot spots.

This morning, the restaurant/bar/theatre/music venue was featured on NPR's Morning Edition, one of the leading radio news shows in the country.

The story drew from multiple interviews wiht Natasha Williams, who owns Natasha's Bistro along with her husband Gene, and also directs Natasha's theater group, Balagula Theatre. The NPR Website features video clips of Balagula Theatre Production “Pillowman” (April 2008), starring Balagula’ Artistic/Managing Co-Director Ryan Case ( Winchester), Joe Gatton (Lexington), David Richmond (Versailles), Pete Sears (Lexington).

Natasha's Bistro and Bar is home recurring weekly and monthly events such as Tawaga Tuesdays, Wandering Storytellers, LexJam, and Rakadu Gypsy Dancers, as well as nightly cultural events (concerts, theater, etc.). On August 23 they will host Over The Rhine, and they will also take part in Lexington's upcoming 3-day multi-venue music and art festival BOOMSLANG, presented by WRFL on October 9-11.

You can find their full schedule at www.beetnik.com.

Way to go Natasha's - thanks for doing more than your share to put Lexington on the cultural map!