MUST-SEE SHOW: 4/22 Kings of Leon & The Walkmen @ AJ Palumbo Center There's a lot of good stuff going down in Pittsburgh this month, none better than the Followill brothers playing on the campus of Duquesne. Kings of Leon have been smoking lately, from earning high-profile festival gigs to winning a Grammy for "Sex on Fire." And while I think the Walkmen are massively overrated, they do bring a bit of star power to the opening act slot.
ALSO WORTH ATTENDING: 4/4 The Academy Is... @ Bigelow Boulevard/Pitt campus (free) Emo-pop may not be everyone's bag, but the Academy Is... do it as well as anyone. I'm partial to the remix of "Black Mamba", though it's doubtful you'll hear that version live. They haven't achieved as much mainstream success as their homies Fall Out Boy and Gym Class Heroes, but the Academy Is... are still worth seeing. Especially when the show is free!
4/7 Andrew Bird @ Carnegie Music Hall (Oakland) The first time I saw Andrew Bird live, he started whistling and I thought, Oh this is kinda cool. Then he whistled again in the next song. And the next one. By the end of the show I wanted to punch him in the face. Needless to say, I will not be attending this show. But if he's your cup of tea, by all means make your way to Oakland.
4/14 World/Inferno Friendship Society @ Mr. Small's We've sung the praises of the World/Inferno Friendship Society before and even interviewed their fearsome leader, Jack Terricloth, months before the New York Times did. (That's right, we scooped the New York Times - we're not playing around here.) Their anarchist circus punk is entertaining stuff. Dresden Dolls drummer Brian Viglione is still along for the ride - yet another reason to check them out.
Others to keep in mind: 4/1 Blind Pilot @ Club Cafe 4/1 Black Label Society & Sevendust @ Club Zoo 4/3 Ray Lamontagne @ Palace Theatre 4/4 Freezepop @ Anime Convention/David L. Lawrence Convention Center 4/4 Gay Blades @ Modern Formations 4/6 Jon Lajoie @ Improv 4/6 Bitch & the Exciting Conclusion @ Shadow Lounge 4/7 k.d. lang @ Benedum Center 4/8 hed(pe) @ Diesel 4/10 HR (of Bad Brains) @ 31st Street Pub 4/11 Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin @ Brillobox 4/11 Charlie Musselwhite @ Rex Theatre 4/12 Cloud Cult/Margot & the Nuclear So & So's @ Mr. Small's 4/13 G. Love & Special Sauce @ Mr. Small's 4/16 Diplo @ Diesel 4/17 New Pornographers/Ted Leo & the Pharmacists @ CMU Lawn 4/18 Arlo Guthrie @ Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead 4/19 Headlights @ Brillobox 4/21 Rachael Sage @ Club Cafe 4/22 Felice Brothers @ Mr. Small's 4/24 Buddy Guy @ Palace Theatre 4/28 Disturbed, Lacuna Coil & Killswitch Engage @ Petersen Events Center 4/29 Alkaline Trio & Saves the Day @ Club Zoo 4/29 Dr. Dog @ Mr. Small's 4/30 HorrorPops @ Diesel
Last night's World/Inferno Friendship Society show was excellent, even though the sound at Belvedere's is not exactly stellar, and some of the band members were absent for personal matters. I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple hundred people there. Singer Jack Terricloth did some crowd surfing, which, in Belvedere's cramped quarters, placed him perilously close to the ceiling.
I had a hard time getting good pics because of the darkness and smallness of the room. At one point, I had my camera aimed at Jack while he was crowd surfing, ready for the perfect photo, only to find myself forcibly guided into the (thankfully tame) mosh pit, and by the time I emerged, the moment had passed.
Afterwards, we chatted for several minutes with drummer Brian Viglione, previously of the Dresden Dolls. He is psyched to be part of World/Inferno, and his enthusiasm is palpable. He confirmed that he will be part of the band's next album, to be recorded in the coming months.
Last fall the World/Inferno Friendship Society played at Mr. Small's Theatre with the Subhumans and a handful of other punk bands. It was a hardcore crowd - lots of big dudes in studded leather jackets - and when World/Inferno came on, with their nice suits and accordions and horns, the crowd was clearly skeptical. People were looking around like, What is this nonsense?
And then World/Inferno began playing. Within minutes, the angry mohawked kids were dancing around and having a blast. It was a beautiful thing to witness.
The World/Inferno Friendship Society will be visiting Belvedere's in Pittsburgh on September 23. We rang up the group's charismatic frontman, Jack Terricloth, a man who joyously answers his phone thusly: "This is Jack. What's your name?" Terricloth told us about his online advice column, our questionable taste in music, and the likelihood of his band doing iPod commercials.
I’ve read many different descriptions of your sound. One of my favorites is “an insane punk circus.” Do you think that’s accurate, or do you have a better description? “Circus punk” is the one I always go for. Whether or not I’m insane, of course, is for the authorities to decide. But I feel like I’m perfectly normal.
We’re big fans of the Dresden Dolls - their drummer Brian Viglione is touring with you now. How is he fitting in? Like butter. We’ve known each other for a very long time. We used to play with Dresden Dolls all the time. It was just perfectly natural for him to come into the fold.
Who else will be playing with you on this tour? There’ll be at least seven of us. I believe Raja Azar is playing piano. We have two horn players, Miss Corrigan and Mr. Hess. And also Miss Sandra Malak is playing bass. And of course Mr. Lucky Strano. Is that everybody? It’s always an adventure, I never know who’s gonna show up.
Which rock n roll frontmen have inspired you? Well, I do like David Bowie very much. But I don’t like rock n roll very much at all. I’d say, Cab Calloway or Paul Robeson would be inspirations to me.
Your last record (Addicted to Bad Ideas) was inspired by actor Peter Lorre. What took you down that path? Being in the position that I’m in, which is the frontperson of an angry, anti-establishment band, I’ve often tried to look back and see people that were antecedents of this kind of thing I do, and, other than Paul Robeson, Peter Lorre seemed to be that guy. Peter Lorre seemed successful, completely his own man, and at the same time, completely fucked up. When you’re writing about stuff, nobody wants to hear about how Jack Terricloth feels about his life. I was trying to find someone in the past with the same kind of problems in the same kind of situation that we’re in, and Peter Lorre seemed like that guy.
What are your plans for the next record? Will there be any specific themes on it? We’re recording it in March of next year, and it should be out by next fall. I think one theme record is enough. This one’s going to be a bunch of great songs kids can cry and dance to at the same time.
You have a feature on your website called “What Would Jack Do,” where fans write to you for advice. Why do you think people seek your guidance? (Laughs). I get away with stuff, and they want to know how to get away with stuff as well. And I’m happy to share my misguided guidance.
If Apple called and wanted to use one of your songs in an iPod commercial, how would you respond? How much money? We’ve actually had that happen a couple of times, and they’ve never offered as much money as would be worth us looking foolish to our friends. However, we do have a figure in mind.
Do you prefer the cult following you have now, or someday would you like to subvert the mainstream? What’s that quote… They sentenced me to 20 years of boredom for trying to fight the system from within. I don’t really want to be inside the system. I love the cult kids, they’re all just like me, we hang out. But whatever happens happens. Could not give a damn either way.
Photo credit: Konstantin Sergeyev
I understand that you’ve written some books. What are they about and where could one track them down? They’re available on amazon.com and all that. The last one I wrote was about a bartender who is, against his will, brought into secret police of a post-revolution city in some place that seems like New York, but also seems like Eastern Europe. It’s about choices people make, basically. Like, if you had no money, and the government offered you a bunch of money to do something you do anyway, what would you do?
If you had to give up music or drugs for the rest of your life, which would you choose? Oh, definitely drugs. Music is the reason I’m alive. Drugs are just a hobby.
What can folks expect if they come see you at Belvedere’s? They should expect sweating and drinking and crying and laughing and pogoing, and they should also expect whatever they’re going to do, because that’s what we’re going to do. So there will be dancing, drinking, singing, and having a very good time.
Finally, we did a feature on our blog where we ranked all 100 bands we saw live last year, and World/Inferno came in 12th. Should we apologize for not ranking you higher? Out of 100, 12 sounds ok. Who were the top 11?
I don’t remember all of them off the top of my head… Daft Punk, the Hold Steady, TV On the Radio, Pearl Jam… I like TV On the Radio, they’re cool. Pearl Jam? Did you say Pearl Jam? Is the year 1993? I mean, you’re gonna start talking about, like, Boston or something after that. It’s the 21st century, come on. Get with it!
Video: World/Inferno Friendship Society - "The Brother of the Mayor of Bridgewater"
