Open Water

is it obvious it’s pre-recorded? is the immediacy not there? the timely social commentary a bit off-kilter, like a psychic trying desperately to train focus? no matter — it’s all been prepped & ziplocked for your listening pleasure. Robert Palmer once said “maybe it’s live.” well maybe it’s not. new Ubu & NE-HI, some shrinking Oakland post-punk and some fatalistic Detroit post-punk. Brainiac lives!

the wayback machine makes a couple stops in ’81 & ’82 tonight — then returns to portions of 2017 that sound a helluva lot like ’81 & ’82 thank Frankie Rose, Mourn, THICK and the lot. and yes, we give passing mention and enduring love to the Lost Heartbreaker.

two hours is a long time. especially when the mic sounds like it comes from inside a soupcan. (I’m on it — trust.) meanwhile, it’s a bevy of new and not-so, w/ even-yet-still-more Ted Leo, a Mourn cover, more Castle Face, a dual Deer Tick, a post-punk set for you malcontents, and a goth set for you sads. take the athletes off the White House’s Christmas card list.

another helping of Ted Leo. a fitting sendoff to Bent Shapes. plus re-worked Wedding Present, fittingly esoteric Ariel Pink, and some old stuff that’s nonetheless new. oh, and another cock-up just to lay claim to the DIY ethos.

“for a start take two Grant Harts / and call me when you die.” a little tribute, a little try-to-move-on. du you know the way to Minneapolis?

the male gaze turns to you, with some new finds from the past 6 days, and some non-perishables pulled from the back right corner of the fridge. oh, and who can resist a trifecta of covers? not I.

show 67 heralds the return of some of our prodigal sons — new stuff from Omni, The Front Bottoms, Pere Ubu & Tera Melos; Castle Face continues to exercise a desperate grip on the latter half; and Alex Dezen gets a twofer cuz he works just. that. hard. Tejas-sized love to Houston.

arrrrrgh… people. (and also, new stuff from AJJ, GBV, Radiator Hospital, Rainer Maria, and a back-to-back whack from Castle Face). but arrrgh… people.

Oakland band Everyone is Dirty comes to KX to play and gab.

show 65 finds itself a little garage rock-y at the outset, before diving back to the ‘90s for a short spell, then doing the goth for a cool 7 minutes, only to come out the other side with some harmless indie. no Glen Campbell. he woulda wanted it that way.