Tonight: Rasputina at the Earl in Atlanta

For our readers who live in the Atlanta area it's time to break out the clove cigarettes as Rasputina rolls into the Earl tonight. I can't think of another show this week that will capture the spirit of Halloween as well as Melora and company. You might have gotten a taste of the Transylvanian concubines at Dragoncon this year, but this is going to be  one of their most intimate performances to date. Expect to hear your favorites from their 96 debut “Thanks For the Ether” since Carpella Parvo one of the original cellist from that album is re-joining Mellora Creager. This tour is also going to be the first for the band that will feature piano and beat boxing courtesy of Luis Mojica, taking the place of drums.

They are touring in support of their new album “The Stranger” which came out April of this year. Some of the normally fanciful lyrics are now veiled metaphors for Mellora’s experience of being stalked on the internet, which serves as the cathartic inspiration for the album. While saying “Expect to see it on my top 10 best of list” could best sum up my review of the album, You can read my full review of “ The Stranger” here…  http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/07/return-of-steam-punk-queen-rasputinas.html

For those of you not as versed in the band and are wanting more of the glimpse perhaps you caught at Dragon-con or are just looking for something to do tonight don’t be fooled by the cellos as they have been known to step on the distortion pedals and crank out covers of Heart and Pink Floyd. Creager was also the cellist for Nirvana’s last tour of Europe. The band has shared the stage with everyone from goth royalty such as Ms. Siouxsie Sioux and Marilyn Manson to Les Claypool and Porno For Pyros. So the cellos will be much louder than you might imagine. Creager was dressing in victorian garb years a decade before steam punk became a thing and songs like Transylvainian Concubine will put you in the mood for the spookiness that follows this weekend. If you are an old goth like me then this is just business as usual like the other 364 days of the year, but if you are looking launch your Hallowed weekend into full ghastly gear then get to the Earl at 8:30 when doors open to get your drink on. Daniel Knox opens and it’s only twenty bucks at the door.

Your Guide to South x Southwest

For all the plethora of bands going to be there the majority are going to be the same run of the mill limp dick inside rock Paste magazine pimps, and the few that actually rock are far and few between as you see even when the better acts do play they are clustered in the same time frames in spread out venues across the event,however some of these artists are playing multiple times through out the course of the weekend to solve some but not all of these conflicts. so I'm going to help you make the tough choice, aside for Death Grips I am just focusing on rock as while it's cool Master P is still making them say ugh, rap boils down to bad karaoke live .

Tuesday...noise is being made but none of it worth a ring of the ears so just make sure you are there by 7:45 weds for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds who are playing Stubbs, if I have to give you a description of Nick Cave just go back to huffing glue to Five Finger Death Punch and ingore the rest of this post.

Merchandise is at Viceland at 9:00 p.m and oddly booked at the same time Murder by Death is playing the next night so if you find yourself choosing between Merchandise fuzzed out effected homage to the glum eighties or Murder By Death's dark and boozy Americana punk which get thrown down at the Continental club, you might want to have proximity help you in this decision.

Pinkish Black brings there heavy murk of drone doom throb to to the six lounge at 9:30

Thurs the 14th

Pissed Jeans displays what a marriage between the Rollins band and The Jesus Lizard might sound like at the 1100 Warehouse at 9:20

Then round out the night at the dirty dog bar where Royal Thunder brings their retro blues vest rock to the stage at 10:35 and Goatwhore rips into their set at 12:40, their last album was good for what it was but a little repetitive but they would still be fun live and there's nothing else worth a half a shit going on,

Fri the 15th

Today is the Day brings their crazed punk metal to red 7 at 10:3o

Then the next Murder by Death vs Merchandise conflict arises at 11:00 Murder by Death is at the 1100 Warehouse and 11:15 is at Mohawk out door.

One thing to consider is the little outdoor stages tend to sound like shit so catching Merchandise the night before and Murder By Death this night is your smartest bet.

Destruction Unit who I just reviewed plays Hotel Vegas at 11:20 so if you need a proximity default they would be worth catching. Some of the clubs can get too packed as well so something else to keep in mind.

Sat the 16th

8:55 on the patio of Red 7 blackened sludgsters Inter Arma and five mins later Merchandise does on inside
But Pinkish Black is playing then at North Door at the same time to really boils down to who you have already caught

The north door is a good place to hang this night as the much Hyped Thrashers Mutilation Rites also plays at North door at 11:00 followed by Pallbearer at 1:00 who is bound to have better sound than they got at the earl last week.

Other points of Intrest would be A Place to Bury Strangers at Brazos Hall 12:45 and Death Grips at 11:45 at 1100 Warehouse, I got turne off by their rushed follow up to money store which was a middle finger to the major label and just not much thought invested.

If I was going to rank these acts as the must sees it would be as follows

1. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
2. Pinkish Black
3. Merchandise
4. Murder by Death
5. Pallbearer
6. Inter Arma
7. Pissed Jeans
8. Destruction Unit
9. A Place to Bury Strangers
10. Royal Thunder