Results tagged “The Catalyst” from Live Like This

A couple of sources close to the club have confirmed that Catalyst in the Old City has shut its doors. No word yet on whether it's permanent or temporary or whether upcoming shows--which include British dub guy Ott, Hank III, and a Halloween show by big beat duo the Crystal Method--will be moved to an alternate venue or simply canceled. A formal announcement from the owners is expected later this week.

UPDATE: Seems to be permanent. Some shows will be moved to the Cider Room and Southbound Bar & Grill. Some details here.

Cincinnati music blog Each Note Secure got the scoop on the title of Royal Bangs new album last week. Let It Beep, the band's second album, will be released sometime this fall by Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney's Audio Eagle label.

There's a download of "My Car Is Haunted" from the disc at the blog.

Royal Bangs will celebrate the release of Let It Beep at the Catalyst on Sept. 3. The band sets out for a tour of some of the baddest-ass clubs of the East Coast and Midwest with Carney's side project Drummer in October. 

EDIT: Album title corrected from Let It Bleep to Let It Beep.

The online calendar for Catalyst in the Old City says the Royal Bangs will hold a CD release show on Thursday, Sept. 3, which suggests the band will have a new album out around that time.

Back in the 1980s, the Relentless Blues Band was a staple of Knoxville's music scene. (They placed 34th in Metro Pulse's Best Knoxville Bands Ever poll earlier this year, tied with Erick Baker and Wh-Wh.) And now they're back, playing happy hour sets at the Catalyst courtyard in the Old City from 5-9 p.m.

Here's a bit Jack Rentfro wrote about the band in Cumberland Ave. Revisited:

A couple of years later, (Jacaranda) devolved from the double lead guitars-and-drums-Allman Brothers paradigm back into the trio that started it all. Montage was the name of this new, streamlined strategy of the Cortses and Jones. It was, regardless, "original, kick-ass" music, as Corts put it. Guest keyboardists with Montage included Leo Schmied, Joel Fairstein and Marcus Shirley. In 1988, Montage ceased to exist and Ed joined forces with local guitar madman, Don "Mad Dog" Rutherford, and dynamic frontman and bassist, Michael Delaney, to form the original edition of the Relentless Blues Band. This assemblage continues to exist in some form, usually with a Corts somewhere, sometimes with blueswoman Cheryl Renee on vocals. Jones, "Detroit Dave" Meer, Ladd and the Cortses are also known as the Nairobi Trio, a musical alter-ego that has played Knoxville clubs since 1989, usually presenting "obscure covers and rock classics" as their bill of fare.

And '90s indie rock band the Scenesters are getting back together for a reunion show at Barley's on Friday, July 31, with John Davis of Superdrag and Superdrag bassist Tom Pappas' Whip!

 

Tonight's Jay Reatard show has been moved from Pilot Light to the Catalyst. It's just across the street and much bigger. 

Tonight: The slightly bent noise/art-pop of Magik Markers with It Is a Code at Pilot Light, or the genuinely fierce Nashville funk-and-R&B revue The Dynamites with Charles Walker at Barley's Taproom, 10 p.m. There's also The Melungeons at Patrick Sullivan's and local honky-tonk revivalists J.C. and the Dirty Smokers at Preservation Pub.

Saturday: Two chances to see Elvis Perkins in Dearlnad--a specail Saturday Blue Plate Special at WDVX and later at the Catalyst.

Stuff to do tonight:

• It's First Friday, so art+free booze all over downtown. 

* The Best of Knoxville Party with the Dirty Guv'nahs, Jon Worley and Cornbred Blues Revival, and DJ Slink at the Cider House. More free booze.

• The 1220 CD release show at the Catalyst.

• The Felice Brothers at Barley's Taproom.

• Southern Culture on the Skids at the Square Room.

• Celebrate the grand opening of Southbound Bar & Grill with some trashy women and Confederate Railroad. 

Since we didn't get any coverage of Dan Deacon's upcoming show in this week's paper (blame his publicist, not us), here's a review of his new album:



Dan Deacon
Bromst (Carpark Records)
When Baltimore's weirdo-du-jour Dan Deacon suggested last year that the followup to his 2007 breakthrough Spiderman of the Rings would be a notably darker affair, his fans (including more than a few Knoxvillians, thanks to his frequent stops at Pilot Light) were surely left curious. What could "dark" mean coming from a guy whose maximalist electro-spaz, as occasionally disturbing as it can be, is best described as nothing short of giddy?
He later clarified his meaning somewhat, but Bromst speaks just as well for itself: There's not a whole lot of darkness, but from opener "Build Voice" on it's apparent that Deacon has put much more of himself into his work this time around, and the result is a disarmingly affecting electronic pop record. Where Spiderman often felt like a collection of half-songs and silly sound art packed around best-of-the-year barnstormer "Wham City," Bromst works much better as an album thanks to its relative emphasis on composition. There's still some sketchwork, and pieces that work better by themselves (like rubbery live favorite "Woof Woof"), but for the most part Deacon has stepped up both his sonics and his songs, often in tandem; the quiet moments (parts of Bromst recall an ADHD-afflicted Múm) marry together well with his trademark Toontown coke-rave soundtracks, thanks to an increasingly organic knack for tension and release, and his meticulously double-stuffed aesthetic pushes his hooks to places no sane man would dare.
There are portions of Bromst where Deacon repeats himself--his melodic sensibilities are strong but a bit narrow--but he makes up for it with increased focus. Unmistakable whiffs of the sublime "Wham City" are easily forgiven, especially when the similarly central "Snookered" very nearly overtakes it with poise and poignance. Even Dan Deacon's admirers may have questioned his ability to mature, but Bromst is an exhilirating step forward. (Nick Huinker)

Deacon's playing at Catalyst on Tuesday, April 7, at 8 p.m. with Future Islands and Teeth Mountain.

photo by Ray Roy