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The soft-pop indie goodness, strained word wisdoms and jumbled jam-jazz progressions found of the Floridian’s just-released “To Bed To Battle” CD (Suburban Home Records) should get the attention of Dispatch, Citizen Cope and Dredg fans. The musical mixture of acoustic guitar, violin and piano is nice, too. The guys headline the Court Tavern (124 Church St., New Brunswick) tonight. Show starts at 8. Local post punks Let me Run play, too. Tickets cost $8. 21-plus.
Arrow Smith
Connor Byrne’s recent blind deceptions leads to alter-egos and smart, angst-minded acoustic sets – like the one he’ll join in on tonight at Asbury Lanes (209 4th Ave., Asbury Park) opening for folk-punk Tom Dunphy. The former pop-punk prince is quite the lyricist, and we can thank his MF Doom obsession for that. For fans of Saves The Day’s “I’m Sorry I’m Leaving.” Show starts at 8. The Ruining’s Nick Harris, Mary Ocher and DJ Valves round out the bill. Tickets cost $8. 18-plus.
The Lancaster metalcore misfits pulverize ears for the sake of the Lord. And if Jesus can’t hear the band’s turgid pose, bass bombs and metallic windstorm from the heavens, maybe he should just give up on helping out a bloodless group like As I Lay Dying to concentrate of some new blood to turn to wine. For fans of The Devil Wears Prada and Norma Jean. The guys play Championships Sports Bar and Grill (931 Chambers St., Trenton) tomorrow afternoon. Show starts at 4. Burlington’s Beyond Dishoner, whose “parody” of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” has been viewed by 1,552 people on YouTube, opens. The Kill Gene, The Abstract, Taking The Tide and Your Bright Ideas play, too. Tickets cost $10 in advance, $12 at the door. All-ages.
The Trenton group’s multi-instrumental Afro-Cuban jazzercises feature bossa nova rhythms, slick trumpet and jive bass and bongos. A staple of the city’s open-air Capital City Market events every summer, the guys play a free show at the Gallery 125 (125 S. Warren St., Trenton) tomorrow night. Show starts at 7. All ages. The group also plays a Haiti benefit at Katmandu (50 River View Plaza, Trenton) on Sunday. Tickets for that performance cost $10. 21-plus.
According to their MySpace page, the Michigan trio based the cover art to its “Whatever Forever” CD on “Woodrow,” “the mysterious leering dog of Trenton, New Jersey.” Not sure how that helps advertise their left-of-the-dial post-punk style, but the trio – playing the Mill Hill Basement (300 S. Broad St., Trenton) tomorrow night – often stop by the capital when hitting the road. Their music is a mix of Pixies and Sonic Youth and has a ’90s college-rock feel – think Velocity Girl on downers - that ventures into pure pop goodness when drummer Hattie Danby grabs the mic. Show starts at 9. Trenton crash-rock sound colliders, DEMO, headline the show. And they’ll have up for sale copies of its new disc, “Co-Pilot 2: Electric Boogaloo” to burn your ears off. Bucks County groove-punks Pistol Monk round out the bill. Tickets cost $5. 21-plus.
The beat-boxing, alt-folk Terrapins hit up the At The All Call Inn (214 Weber Ave., Ewing) tomorrow night. Show starts at 9. Hopewell alt-rockers La Violencia and Bucks County ragga-jammers Among Criminals headline the show. Tickets cost $5. 21-plus.
A protopunk legend through his songwriting and bass work for New York’s Dictators starting the mid ’70s, Shernoff hits the Record Collector (358 Farnsworth Ave., Bordentown) tomorrow night with a discography busting from the seams. Including his work in the Dictators and Manitoba’s Wild Kingdom, Shernoff – a wine connoisseur by the way - also penned songs for underground punk luminaries The Toilet Boys, The Wretched Ones, Meatmen, Smugglers and Electric Frankenstein and produced tracks for The Smithereens and Guided By Voices. Show starts at 7:30. Monte A. Melnik, the legendary tour manager of The Ramones, will open the show with a spoken word performance, where he’ll touch on the wild lifestyle of the biggest punk band to ever live. According to the promoters, Melnik plans to display a series of one-of-a-kind photos of The Ramones never before showcased in this area. Show starts at 7:30. Tickets cost $10 in advance, $12 at the door. All-ages.
The Riverside rioters’ duel-monster vocal venom is a metallic two-headed hydra that feasts on the brains of the weak-minded. It’s death metal, people. And it explodes into a mountain of fury at Championships Sports Bar and Grill (931 Chambers St., Trenton) on Saturday afternoon where the foursome will unleash its new record, “Insufferable Torment” on the masses. Show starts at noon. Tickets cost $10. All-ages.
The international noise conspirators from Milan, Italy, might possibly be the most unique band to ever venture into Ewing. The grind-core threesome – invading The All Call Inn (214 Weber Ave., Ewing) on Saturday - feature multi-textured reverberations of hard-rocking guitar and smash drumming over sequenced keyboards that slice-open bag-pipe samples and shout Italian propaganda snippets, the band describe as “real-time audio manipulations” and outer sounds of old movies, noise streams and vinyl cut ups. The results are definitely fuzzy or hazy for a lack of a better term. And the band says the themes of their musical revolts – all instrumental minus the sampling – center around “glorious and dark” moments in contemporary Italian history. Think The Dillinger Escape Plan teaching social studies to RJD2 and The Refused. Show starts at 9 p.m. Rap-rock-addicts Earth’s Final Sunset and To Live & Die in NJ open. Tickets cost $5. 21-plus.
Trenton’s closet thing to Rocket From the Crypt – and the city’s hardest-working band - announced in January that they’ve finished recording 19 songs for their next record, including covers of Fugazi’s “Waiting Room” and Bruce Springsteen’s “No Surrender.” Maybe they’ll try out a couple new ditties on Saturday when headlining McGuinn’s Place (1781 Brunswick Pike, Lawrence)? Show starts at 9. Local Demise and The Percs play, too. Tickets cost $5. 21-plus.
The Deborah Massa Jazz Project
The area singer, whose acting credits include a two-year run in the Broadway musical “Dance With Me,” shows off her jazzy side with a free show at Revere Restaurant (802 River Road, Ewing) Saturday night. Show starts at 9. 21-plus.
The Jersey rockers found their muse in gold-digging strippers – playing Southern-inspired groove rock aimed at shaking-up hole-in-wall nudie bars. There won’t be any breast flashes at Championships Sports Bar and Grill (931 Chambers St., Trenton) on Saturday night when the guys hit town, but there’ll be Whiskey-swilling trash rock there to get you all wet. Show starts at 9. Iron Curtain opens. Tickets cost $8. 21-plus.
The Raisin Bran-pushing ex-Hooter knows his way around the garden - starting his own landscaping business in 1995. But there’s a lot of “dance, like a wave of the ocean, romanced,” left in the 56 year old, who’s roots-rocking “Lucky Kinda Guy” release from October marks Lilley’s first fronting gig. He’ll headline The Record Collector (358 Farnsworth Ave., Bordentown) Saturday night. Show starts at 7:30. Cliff Hillis, the bassist for the Eric Bazilian Band, opens with an acoustic set. Tickets cost $12 in advance, $15 at the door. All-ages.
The acne-fighting Asbury Park dance-rocker’s new wave disco gyrations mix Blondie and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but with a lot more cowbell. Also for fans of The Gossip, Peaches and The Kills. The band, which features ex Lifetime member Ari Katz, headline The Court Tavern (124 Church St., New Brunswick) Saturday night. Tickets cost $8. 21-plus.
Reign Supreme Ken MySpace Video Reign Supreme
The Philly hardcore players headline Championships Sports Bar and Grill (931 Chambers St., Trenton) Sunday afternoon. Show starts at 1. Mountain Man, Down The Block, Reptar, Sicker Than Most, Double Or Nothing, Cold Blooded Promise, Preaching The Converted and Cipher round out the bill. Tickets cost $10 in advance, $12 at the door. All-ages.
Scott Frost’s On The Beat concert listing appears in The Trentonian every Thursday. If your band is playing around town, email the On the Beat web line at djscott111@aol.com.
