Brad Matthew

Being the son of a famous musician is probably a hard thing to live up to.  In Justin Townes Earle’s case, son of Steve Earle, not only does he have that to live up to, but he was named in honor of his pappy’s hero, the country-folk legend Townes Van Zandt. Now that’s a lot of live up to, but after seeing Justin at Double Door this past Friday evening, let it be known that he is the real deal!

Before the show I had listened to very few of Justin Townes’ tunes and what I had listened to didn’t strike me as anything all that special. Armed with just his guitar and the eyes of murder, from the moment he took the stage, you knew he wasn’t fucking around; this guy meant business. Throughout his set, Justin Townes prowled the stage with such utter confidence and attitude it was hard not to watch.  His music is about as raw and authentic as it gets, straight from the green tops of the Appalachians, pure roots Americana.  Accompanying Earle was multi-instumentalist Cory Younts, who was not only one hell of a harp player (harmonica), but ripped between mandolin and banjo as well.

Go see Justin Townes Earle.  Take a listen to his tunes to get a taste of what he is all about, but keep in mind the live show is where his full flavor is to be consumed.

When Dr. Dog first announced it was playing Double Door, I was pretty fucking pumped. Their debut LP, We All Belong, is a great album and frequented my aural pallet in 2007. Last year they released the follow up, Fate, which was good, but never really hooked me in.  Last Friday night marked the second night of a two night stand at Double Door.  While the show was good, like Fate, it never really captivated me.  The band is damn amazing, driven by their guitar harmonies and tight ass bass grooves, but through it all, not many of their songs were distinguishable.  It was great to hear some of my favorites off of We All Belong, including “Worst Trip” and “My Old Ways.”  Those songs rip!  Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to salvage what turned out to be a run of the mill show.

After busting out to national buzz in 2007 with their super catchy song “Lazy Eye”, Siversun Pickups are back with “Panic Switch”, off their followup Swoon, out April 13 on Dangerbird.  I really dug their debut album Carnavas (featuring “Lazy Eye”) and am diggin what I have heard off of Swoon so far.  These guys (and gal) have a great style, quite reminiscent of Smashing Pumpkins before they sucked (or “he sucked”, considering Billy Corgan is the only remaining member). The video for “Panic Switch” was directed by James Frost, who also directed Radiohead’s 3D plotted “House of Cards.” Dig it!