Celebration came in last week for their microshow. The audience packed it in nice and tight. An intense energy permeated the room. Celebration modified their sound by adding a new dimension to what they do on a typical stage. Katrina Ford’s powerful and soulful voice completely filled the room while Sean Antanaitis’s pump organ complemented her every move, adding a complicated sense of melody. Dave Bergander’s simple yet syncopated beats were the glue holding it all together. Celebration was also joined by Tony Drummond on harmony vocals and Walker Teret on upright bass and acoustic guitar. Both perform with Celebration regularly on tour. It was quite the experience and we have it all here below for you to share.

And be on the lookout! Friends Records is releasing Celebration’s highly anticipated new LP, Hello Paradise – Electric Tarot. This is the band’s first release since their last record, which came out three years ago on the prestigious 4AD Records out of the United Kingdom.

Technical info: Kick: Sennheisser 421, Snare: SM7, Floor Tom: Oktava 012, Overhead: C12 Clone, Katrina’s Vox: AKG 414, Upright Bass: Neumann U87, Acoustic Guitar: Oktava 012, Pump Organ: Spaced Pair of Shure SM81s, Tony’s Vox: AT 4033. 2nd Engineer: Alex Champagne

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Sri Aurobindo are what’s often referred to as a ‘guitar band,’ the kind of act whose records are dominated by swirling overdubs of noodling leads and effects pedal textures. But that kind of characterization would diminish how key bass guitar is to the Baltimore quartet, who have one of the best bass sounds going: fuzzed out and high in the mix, but round and appealing, like a foghorn cutting through the otherwise trebly mix. On Cave Painting, their first release for Friends Records, Sri Aurobindo’s bass is in your face more than ever, hooking you even when the lyrics are impossible to make out and the psychedelic songs’ shaggy structures are hard to follow. In fact, that massive low end may be what ultimately sets  the band apart from the pack of similar psych rock acts currently crowing the indie scene.

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What’s not to love about Weekends? Two super nice guys. Awesome music. No egos. Luscious distortion. And a good time always.

Brendan and Adam from Weekends came in a week or so ago for their microshow. They have a pretty stripped down raw sound to begin with, however somehow they achieved and even more stripped down sound. Only equipped with acoustic guitars, a keyboard, floor tom and some percussion, they still put down an awesome show, gave us some new songs and covered a song from Baltimore’s Romantic States.

Be on the look out for their next LP on Baltimore’s Friends Records.

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