Are you ready for the summer? Are you ready for the good times? Are you ready for the birds and bees? The apple trees? And a whole lot of indie rock? Well you’re in luck because that’s what we have here with the first mix of Summer Fridays 2012.* I am hoping to do these every Friday, though I’m gainfully employed now (we don’t get summer Fridays at my job, unfortunately) and have a lot less time — and energy — than I have the last four years. Which is good! Anyway, we’ll see how I do. This kickoff mix has lots of great new music, I think, and a few oldies peppered in as well. Like usual. Slide away…
Tracklist:
1. The Intelligence – Reading and Writing About Partying
2. The LimiƱanas – I Know There’s an Answer
3. The Primitives – Who Are You Trying to Fool?
4. Flop – Hello
5. Exlovers – This Love Will Lead You On
6. Pushy Parents – Secret Secret
7. Eternal Summers – You Kill
8. Terry Malts – Disconnected
9. TV Girl – Sweaters
10. Smile – Satellite Blues
11. The Upsetters – V-S Panta Rock
12. Race Horses – Mates
13. Orca Team – 8×8
14. Nick Waterhouse – (If) You Want Trouble
15. Grass Widow – Under the Atmosphere
16. Evans the Death – Catch Your Cold
17. Kelley Stoltz – Marcy
18. The Teardrop Explodes – When I Dream
19. King Khan & the Shrines – Bite My Tongue
20. Novella – Don’t Believe Ayn Rand
21. No Joy – Junior
Honestly, I wasn't expecting all the moshing and crowd surfing. I'd hopped in a cab seconds after seeing Wild Beasts for a third time in one week and headed to Market Hotel to see Seattle's finest purveyors of bent surf garage. On record, The Intelligence are genuinely weird, like they try and make normal music and this is what comes out. It's not dissimilar to what Sic Alps or Thee Oh Sees do, but there's a sinister edge, kind of like in a David Lynch movie. Slightly uncomfortable. But live, Lars Finberg and the rest of The Intelligence are here to rock. Market Hotel didn't seem that crowded to me, but when the second song kicked in it was a like a mosh magnet, everyone who was still there rushed towards the stage and collectively lost their shit. In particular, Golden Triangle's OJ (the band had just played) was a crowd surfing dynamo, despite there not being quite enough crowd to hold him. No matter how many times he got dropped, OJ kept getting back up there. "Let's see how many people get hurt on this one," a perplexed Finberg joked during the encore. The guy might have bruises all over his body now, but Friday night that little dude was all smiles. Finberg kept asking the crowd if we could he his vocals — we could I thought they sounded great — but judging by that I don't think they could hear anything. Sometimes you just move forward via instinct and muscle memory. The Intelligence play Cake Shop tonight. Somehow I doubt a Sunday Night crowd will be as whacked-out as Friday's all-ages Market Hotel scene, but who can say for sure? Highly recommended. You can watch Mad Men tomorrow. MP3: The Intelligence – Moody Little Tower
Buy some Intelligence via Insound. Or buy some at the merch table tonight. I shot a lot of video Friday night but a lot of it didn't come out so well as I was constantly in fear of head injuries via someone's boot. Anytime the camera veers away from the stage, it's because of that. Those videos and all the Intelligence's remaining
The Intelligence on tour:
Sep 13 cake shop new york, New York Sep 14 live on viva radio new york, New York Sep 14 live on wnyu new york, New York Sep 16 cafe nine new haven, Connecticut Sep 17 sonar balitmore, Maryland Sep 18 comet pizza and ping pong washington dc, Washington DC Sep 19 the triple richmond, Virginia Sep 20 the new french bar asheville, North Carolina Sep 21 jj's bohemia chattanooga, Tennessee Sep 22 instore at criminal records atlanta, Georgia Sep 22 the earl atlanta, Georgia Sep 23 club down under tallahassee, Florida Sep 24 alabama music box mobile, Alabama Sep 25 hi tone/gonerfest 6 memphis, Tennessee Sep 26 saturn bar new orleans, Louisiana Sep 28 spanish moon baton rouge, Louisiana Sep 29 the ten eleven san antonio, Texas Oct 1 la sala rossa montreal, Quebec Oct 2 mohawk austin, Texas Oct 3 handsome kitten dallas, Texas Oct 4 the conservatory oklahoma city, Oklahoma Oct 5 record bar kansas city, Kansas Oct 6 medowlark denver, Colorado Oct 7 meow wolf santa fe, New Mexico Oct 8 club congress tucson, Arizona Oct 9 modifided phoenix, Arizona Oct 10 bujwha el centro, California Oct 11 part time punks festival @ the echo los angeles, California Oct 12 the casbah san diego, California Oct 13 the hub sacramento, California Oct 15 house of nostromos oakland, California Oct 16 elbow room san francisco, California Oct 17 garage/vice scion festival portland, Oregon