The War on Drugs and Caveman at Cameo Gallery

The War on Drugs are the Philadelphia based band remembered most as where Kurt Vile got his start (probably the reason they have recently garnered so much attention). Since the departure of Vile the band seems to have expanded further upon the ambient sounds that weren’t necessarily so dominate on any of the tracks from their debut EP “Barrel of Batteries.” However, you can hear the transition taking shape on the track “Taking the Farm” from their first sans Vile LP “Wagonwheel Blues.” According to the band their newest release “Slave Ambient” (Secretly Canadian) is “a timeless record – as familiar as it is wholly new, as vintage as it is modern.”

Well, if confusing any potential listeners is their goal… mission accomplished. The live show was a confusing mixture of mellow instrumentation, vocals and a soundscape that blends into a pseduo-abyss. There is no arguing that The War on Drugs are exceptionally talented and have an admirable and enthusiastic fanbase, but the lackadaisical song structure leaves more to be desired. I doubt you will be hearing them on the radio or garnering national notoriety anytime soon, but the live show is impressive enough to carry them further. The War on Drugs have found their niche and have enough support to hunker down in their ambient cave for as many records as Secretly Canadian is willing to put out.

Caveman is another band very similar in sound and background. Forming from the remains of The Subjects, Caveman has experienced seemingly overnight success. For Caveman’s set it seemed as if all of New York’s 20-something music professionals were there to see what the fuss was all about, but struggling to hear a single vocal.

Unlike their tourmates, Caveman’s songs have much more clarity and structure. There are honestly a few tracks that stand out as potentially ready for the masses most notably “Decide” and “Old Friends.” When their album comes out at the end of the year we will offer further analysis/critique, but refrain from obvious comparisons to The Shins until the recordings are out. Nevertheless, if they are going to include so many vocal harmonies on the recordings they either need better vocal mics or stronger projection for the live performance to reciprocate.

Ambassadors at Cameo

Since Casey is recovering from a successful kidney transplant we figured you Ambassadors fans should get a live performance to hold you over till February.

Hank and Cupcakes at Cameo

Here’s a video we shot of Hank and Cupcakes playing Cameo with The Ambassadors. Speaking of cameos… can you spot The Vanguard in the crowd. Hank and Cupcakes will be joining RethinkPopMuisc at the Midpoint Music Festival in Cincinnati on September 25th.

RethinkPopMusic Showcase #2

We still have one more artist to bring with us to Midpoint Music Festival. Who will it be?

Don’t forget to RSVP

And the winner is…

Freelance Whales! RethinkPopMusic’s first ever “Put Your Music Where Your Mouth Is” showcase can only be described as an absolute success. All the bands; Julia Barry, Freelance Whales, Shoe and The Glorious Veins were incredible, however it was the Freelance Whales who edged out The Glorious Veins with a score of 136 to 134. Thanks to shoe from coming all the way from Detroit and getting the crowd dancing like no one else did all night. Also, if you haven’t heard Julia Barry live you are missing out. She has an exceptional voice and her skills on the keyboard impressed everyone, especially Casey from The Ambassadors.

A huge amount of gratitude is owed to our fantastic judges:

Laura Miller – MTV U
Sami Jarroush – RockItOut! Blog
Dan De Lara – AsianManDan.com
Ben Foxx – RethinkPopMusic
Greg Hewes – RethinkPopMusic

Here’s a video of Bob Berman introducing the judges:

Full HD footage of all the bands performing will be available soon…

This event would never have been a success if it weren’t for the amazing staff at Crash Mansion. Thanks to Stephanie and Mindy who made this idea a reality. We can’t wait to officially launch RethinkPopMusic at Crash Mansion on September 17th.

Here are some pics from the evening:

Soundcheck

Judges Table

Julia Barry

Freelance Whales

Shoe

The Glorious Veins

A very special thanks go out to our RethinkPopMusic artists The Vanguard, The Ambassadors and The Aviation Orange who were all in attendance to see who would accompany them to midpoint music festival. Here’s a pic of the back of The Aviation Orange’s heads!

We still have one more competition set for August 7th at Cameo. RSVP