Friend of TWD First Blush is gearing up for a gaggle of shows in NYC starting tonight. The shows are:

June 26th – The Local 269 9:45 PM (feat. Zach Swanson as guest bassist) 

June 29th – Lit Lounge 9:00 PM 

July 5th – The National Underground 8:00 PM 

July 28th – Arlene's Grocery 12:00 AM

In case you missed it, their entire debut EP is available on bandcamp. Read on for more details and live footage from a recent concert from Bar East in NYC.

First Blush: This Century's Dance

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Recently TWD hosted a ticket give away for a Bowerbirds concert at the Ottobar in Charm City Baltimore. The venue was a perfect fit for a set of primarily new material from their album The Clearing.

I took in the show personally and enjoyed the group's intimacy, balance, and ability to both stay true to the settings of the original recorded versions, as well as stretch out and display new facets of the material live. In particular Yan Westerlund, the Bowerbirds rhythm section, was absolutely locked in that night. He was a true technician behind the kit.

Read on for my full thoughts on the concert as well as the newest video for the song Sweet Moment.

Bowerbirds: This Year

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The Bowerbirds are on tour in promotion of their newest album The Clearing which came out March of this year. The album remains true to their sound but displays the growth appropriate for a third release.

The band will be making a tour stop in good ol' Baltimore next week on June 7th at the Ottobar and we just happen to be offering a ticket give away to the show. Read on for the full details of the give away and I hope to see you at the show. You dig?

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This one's a little late coming, but it was a great little show, so it's still worth sharing with Dig Nation. I unfortunately missed Patrick Watson opening for Andrew Bird last weekend, but when life closes a door, a nice little cocktail bar near you throws a show, or something like that.

I had the distinct pleasure of catching Patrick Watson and his band Patrick Watson play an intimate show for probably 50 people in the piano lounge at the Manhattan Inn in my Greenpoint hood. The set-up was essentially in-the-round and definitely up close, which ended up being the best possible way to absorb Patrick and co.'s sentimental, cinematic pop tunes. It was so intimate, in fact, that it ended up being more like a house show for friends with audience interaction, laughs over goof ups in songs, and a tip jar.

Patrick Watson (the man) has a fascinatingly emotive voice that carries the ballads (despite his cigarettes and two glasses of whiskey). Patrick Watson (the band) play perfectly off of eachother and weave their voices and instruments into a mesh dripping with feeling. 

The guys (and gal) released their album Adventures In Your Own Backyard last month and will be touring with Andrew Bird for awhile longer.

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I'd say you should check out the show tonight at The Gutter in Brooklyn for the simple fact that it's a show in a bowling alley. But you should also be sure to check it out because of the bands involved, which include Palomino. Read on for details.

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This Friday May 11th the Atlantic Guitar Quartet will be hosting a concert event at the prestigious Engineer's Club at the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion in Baltimore MD where they are the artists in residence. The concert promises to cross artistic genres as the quartet mixes live music with live visual art. AGQ is pleased to be sharing the stage with dancers Maia Draper-Reich and Gabriela Santos of Peabody Dance as well as Junichi Fukuda. Each of these performers will be presenting their settings of Olivier Bensa's Ecolsion from La Grand Terra with AGQ accompanying. The soundcloud file below is a recording of that piece by the quartet. 

Additionally, quartet member and visual artist Jonathan Zwi will be showcasing his newest paintings and light sculptures during the concert. Musically the concert will consist of works from Olivier Bensa, Arvo Pärt, Fred Frith, and Ronald Pearl, with two world premier performances of compositions written for the quartet from Christopher Gainey and David Smooke.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door with a discounted rate of $5 for students with ID. The concert begins at 8:00 and doors open at 7:30 with a cash bar available before and after the performance. As always the dress code at the Engineer's Club is business casual. Tickets can be purchased in advanced here and you can stay in touch with AGQ via their webpage, facebook, and twitter. We hope to see you there.

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Good morning Dig Nation and good morning Baltimore. Last week Steve hooked up the Brooklyn readers with several fantastic Gigs We Dig. This week it is my pleasure to hip the Baltimore crowd to a couple of off the beaten path concerts that promise to work your ears, your eyes, and your thinking caps. If that sounds like your kind of deal pay attention this week and come out to two performances from TWD's own Atlantic Guitar Quartet at both the Evolution Music Series as well as at Baltimore's Engineer's Club.

First up is Wednesday May 9th's Evolution Music Series Concert entitled Sounds and Sweet Airs at An Die Musik. Read on for a full description of the concert program or just trust my judegment and dive in – tickets can be purchased here.

The soundcloud file below is the first of a five movement Ronald Pearl piece to be fully premiered on that concert. This portion of the composition is titled Sometimes a Thousand Twangling Instruments. You dig?

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As if today wasn't already packed with exciting things like Cinco De Mayo festivities and the Kentucky Derby, tonight promises at least one spectacular show in the city: the great dual bill of NYC-based, atmospheric, coed duos at Le Poisson Rouge: EXITMUSIC and School of Seven Bells. Read on for more details.

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Quite the double bill this evening at the Mercury Lounge: Miracles of Modern Science and Conveyor. Read on for the details.

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If you are looking for a good, actually let's say great, show to go to tonight, we strongly recommend seeing Field Mouse, one of our favorite Brooklyn bands, at the Rock Shop. Read on for all the details.

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