When bright skies turn to gray and Hunters are preferred over Rainbows, indoor activities become more appealing. Instead of spending an evening frat-hopping in the rain or staying in watching Netflix, check out some of the bands coming to Baltimore later this month.
On Oct. 21, Chicago-based band Twin Peaks will be performing at the Metro Gallery, just a few blocks from Penn Station. The relatively new band, which gained popularity after playing lots of house shows, started touring after their senior year of high school. The band is quickly gaining recognition and recently performed at Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival this summer.
Twin Peaks is not your typical boy band. Their sound is far more rock and roll than pop. When asked about their second album released this summer, Wild Onion, in an interview with Stereogum, the band asserted its rock roots.
“We’re all huge fans of the Beatles’ production on all of their records... We were all getting real into Exile On Main Street and the Stones a couple months before we recorded, so that definitely played a little impact on how everything was turning out,” Twin Peaks said.
Twin Peaks is an inspiration to many younger independent bands. In an interview with Interview Magazine, bassist Jack Dolan addressed the issue of integrating such bands into the music scene.
“Just the fact that we were so young coming out in the DIY scene, it was kind of freaky. We had always wanted to do it. Me and Cadien and these guys, we would always go to these house shows — these DIY shows — and we would be like, ‘Why can’t we set anything up here?’ No one wants to book a 15-year-old band. When that started finally happening, and people welcomed us with open arms — I strive to do the same thing when I see younger bands. I see myself in them,” Dolan said.
Fans of Bleached, Neutral Milk Hotelor Deerhunter may enjoy Twin Peak’s music.
Ghost Hotel is an indie pop band from Maryland that will perform with Heavy Lights, New God and Seaknuckle at the Metro Gallery on Thursday, Oct. 23. Their first album Do You Feel It was released in 2012 and illustrates the band’s indie pop and electro sound. Both Alison Crawford and Sam Paxton sing, and on the track “All Day Ocean,” they harmonize nicely, highlighting how strong the combination of male and female vocals can be. Fans of Wye Oak, Yuna and Two Door Cinema Club may enjoy Ghost Hotel’s music.
Rapper Riff Raff (Horst Christian Simco) and Waka Flocka Flame (Juaquin Malphurs) will be performing at Baltimore Soundstage on Oct. 28. Riff Raff collaborated with artists including Childish Gambino, Mike Posner and Mac Miller on his most recent album, Neon Icon, released this past June. The tracks on the album have rather eccentric lyrics, differentiating Riff Raff from some of his peers.
“I could freestyle to a dolphin and a tambourine / The snow abominable laughin’ inside my golden vault / The Candy Copper Helicopter when I’m playing gold,” Riff Raff raps in “Aquaberry Dolphin.”
Songs like these, as well as more popular tracks like “Tip Tow Wing In My Jawwdinz” and “Dolce & Gabbana,” will surely have the audience dancing and singing along, even if they themselves don’t know what message Riff Raff is trying to send.
Hip hop artist Waka Flacka Flame has produced many hit songs, including “No Hands,” “O Let’s Do It” and “Hard in da Paint.” His songs are catchy, and it’s no surprise that several have made it onto the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Many may not know that Flame is also an animal rights advocate who worked with PETA on a fur campaign.
“[Fur is] ugly to me. It’s nasty as hell. Every time I think about furs, I just think about pimps and big-ass rings and somebody trying to be too extra. You wear fur, it’s like you trying to be something you not. You get fur, you can spend the same money on like, 30 jackets. And it’s gonna do you better, that sh*t gonna keep you warm,” Flame said in an interview with The Boombox.
For those looking for a more mellow fall concert to attend, duo She Keeps Bees will perform at the Metro Gallery on Oct. 28. Vocalist Jessica Larrabee and drummer Andy LaPlant partnered with sound engineer Nicolas Vernhes (who also worked with Deerhunter and The War on Drugs) to produce their most recent album, Eight Houses, released this past September. Tracks “Owl” and “Wasichu” off this album are the ideal soundtrack for a melancholic fall day. Fans of Wye Oak, Nico and Cat Power may enjoy listening to She Keeps Bees.
For those looking for an alternative to spending Halloween in Fells Point, Tribal Seeds will be performing at the Baltimore Soundstage on Oct. 31. The California-based reggae band’s most recent album, Representing, was released this past May and exudes chill vibes with tracks like “Herb Stock” and “Fill It Up.” When asked by the blog Surf Channel about their impressions on the album, member Tony-Ray Jacobo expressed his thoughts.
“I feel it’s our best production yet. Spent a lot of time in the details of the music, most we’ve ever spent. With roots reggae as the foundation of our sound, I feel we give it a fresh, energetic feel. The lyrics will always promote a spiritual, uplifting, loving and militant message,” Jacobo said. Fans of Rebelution and Nas will enjoy listening to Tribal Seeds.
