pampelmoose Dave Allen of Gang of Four’s Music and Media Blog — music . media . web. culture

The Whigs – Sunday November 15th @ Doug Fir Lounge
These young Georgians are your quintessential American rock band. They are a power trio fronted by a gruffly handsome young man in tattered jeans and they play terse, ripping blues-tinged jams that takes full advantage of their thick Southern accents and love of power chords. Their current tour is priming the proverbial pump for the release of their third full-length, Into The Dark, which will be out early next year. My prediction: in six months, these boys are going to be opening up stadium shows for Tom Petty. Best to see them now in a place where you can appreciate the cut of their jib up close.

CONTEST: Pampelmoose wants to send you and a friend to see The Whigs this Sunday. As usual, please leave us a comment to this post with your full name and e-mail address so we can contact you if you’re the lucky winner. We’ll be picking somebody at random by 12pm on Sunday the 15th. Good luck!

Blockhead – Friday, November 13th @ The 2410
This inventive producer, known to his priest as Anthony Simon, has laid the sonic foundation for rappers like Slug and Mac Lethal, but is most well known for his work building the playground of sound for Aesop Rock to burn off his sugar high within. Simon carries this same mischievous attitude to his solo material, which, as heard on his latest Ninja Tune release The Music Scene, makes quick dips into the well of dubstep and IDM. The rest of the album, though, is one long slow blunt drag while resting curbside by your neighborhood bodega.

Ghostwriter – Wednesday, November 18th @ Twilight Cafe And Bar
Listening to Steve Schecter when he performs raw one-man blues anthems under the name Ghostwriter can be a rather cathartic experience. His voice snarls and bites through every song and his guitar tone is a bit of barbed wire poking at an raw, exposed nerve. It’s a big sound for such a humble gent who tends to a saw mill in The Dalles when he’s not tearing into life’s indignities and joys in his songs. Serve up his performance on Wednesday with a shot and a beer.