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two great shows tonight! lee jae-won & ex models (heck, even just ex models!) would have my $$$ any day of the week if i didn’t already have tickets to cursive.

cursive, thermals & ladyfinger at the starlight ballroom - one of my favorite bands of the last couple of years is touring to support their latest release, happy hollow. at first i wasn’t sure how to take the new album’s anti-war, anti-church concept but kasher avoids the ham-fisted, generalized sloganeering that has plagued a number of releases this year, using characters & narrative and most importantly, letting the music dictate the emotion and messages he’s trying to convey. despite the departure of cellist gretta cohn, HH isn’t lacking for auxilliary instrumentation; there’s a full complement of keyboards and horns (!), adding a dark, almost bluesy groove that marks yet another step in the evolution of this band. mike sent me mp3s of their set in NYC a few months back and i’d be surprised if this show were a disappointment. this might be sold out, check out the R5 website for more.

friday night all-ages marathon w/ red rocket, lee jae-won, voodoo economics & the ex models at surreal sound studios - plain parade is throwing a crazy warehouse show featuring a triple record release (from red rocket, lee jae-won & voodoo economics) and a round robin set (from red rocket & lee jae-won). from PW via the plain parade site:

Three Philly bands celebrate a CD release at this show, which amazingly has guitar-less garagers the Apes [canceled! -pp.] and the even eviler Ex Models (both from out of town) tacked on. But Lee, Jae-Won deserve the most attention, since they’ve gotten the least thus far. It’s probably because they’re a band’s band, pile-driving genres onto each other in an instrumental fury that like-minded musicians eat up. Their long-overdue album pairs doomy metal with solemn post-rock, and M83-worthy exploded soundscapes with unreal prog. The other two releases come courtesy of West Philly’s post-metal Red Rocket and steamy, menacing Voodoo Economics. (Doug Wallen)

only $10! get full details, directions at plainparade.org