Big Jugs Release New Record
Santa Barbara Bands, Venues Bring Weeklong Highlights
IN A TRANCE: School may be out for summer, but that’s certainly not stopping the booking powers behind Isla Vista’s Biko Co-Op Garage (6612 Sueno Rd.). In fact, this Friday, July 2, the space plays host to three promising young experimentalists: Chrome Wings, Italic Indian, and Moon Pearl. Irvine lo-fiers Moon Pearl open the show and possess an intriguing mix of cacophonous rock ’n’ roll, distorted chants, and chimey pop that calls to mind a darker, more oddball version of The Go! Team. As the second in charge, Westminster electro-rockers Italic Indian are riding the current No Wave movement to new heights. They pen tunes that are computer based, sonically ambiguous, and dizzyingly experimental, and the result sounds like a cross between Animal Collective and a tripped-out soundtrack to a modern art installation.
Rounding out the night are Portland-dwellers Chrome Wings, who are hands-down dishing up the most palatable jams of the lineup. Mixing spacey samples with all kinds of synth and drum machine loops, the duo (made up of multi-instrumentalists Jon Jurow and Shane McDonell) fall somewhere between a baroque, vocally light Grizzly Bear and Here We Go Magic.
No matter what comparisons you draw, though, all three are bound to put on a dazzling sonic display—not to mention to employ more tripped-out gear than we listeners can even begin to wrap our heads around.
The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and donations are encouraged. Visit sbdiy.org for more info.
HOLY HOMECOMING: For a taste of country that’s not so saccharine sweet (sorry, Taylor Swift), be sure not to miss Big Jugs’ CD release party at SOhO (1221 State St.) this Thursday, July 1. Since stepping onto the S.B. scene in 2006, the Ojai-based crooners have been turning heads—and winning over fans—with their lighthearted take on good ole Americana. Over washboards, lap steels, dobros, and banjos, the guys sing (and swear) harmonized ditties about girls, drinking, and partying it up. Here’s the catch to Jugs’ sometimes-offensive shtick: All five members can seriously shred. And shred they do, jamming out twangy bridges and solos that put most contemporary country artists to shame.
Opening the show are fellow Santa Barbarans The Mutineers and Strange Bird.
The show starts at 8 p.m. and is 21+. The first 50 people in the door get a copy of Big Jugs’ new, self-titled disc. For tickets and info, call 962-7776 or visit sohosb.com.
TAKING IT TO THE STREETS: Starting this Saturday, July 3, Sunshine Brothers frontman and S.B. staple Owen Plant kicks off his monthly Busker’s Paradise series on the front patio of Borders (900 State St.). A lifelong proponent of street performance, Plant says the series will act as a way for local bands, touring acts, and solo musicians to share in the vibes of downtown Santa Barbara. Shows are slated to take place the first Saturday of every month (August’s will fall smack dab in the middle of Fiesta) at 12 noon, and all artists will be playing solely for tips. For more information on the series, or Plant’s other pet project, the always fabulous Sunshine Brothers, visit sunshinebrothers.com, or call Borders at 899-3668.
UNPLUGGED: Also going acoustic this week are the singer-songwriters of Santa Barbara City College, who team up for an unamplified evening of tunes at Velvet Jones (423 State St.) this Friday, July 2. Among the mix of acclaimed young talent, you can catch current Verna Beware frontman Kyran Million doing his solo thing, Sound and Vinyl’s Dakota Ray Duffy Gartner, recent Putnam County Spelling Bee grad Evan Bell, and solo songbird Little Indian. The show is 18+ and kicks off at 8:30 p.m. For tickets and information, call 965-8676 or visit velvet-jones.com.
