April 1: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Day

You might have grown up knowing the 1^st of April as being April Fool’s Day. But my lovelies, I’d like to suggest an alternative...I submit to you that April 1^st is hereby known as The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Day, in honor of one of my oh so very favoritest purveyors of tunes full of fuzzy, frothy goodness.

With a new record and a tour going on as we speak, TPOBPAH is in the process of making 2011 one heck of a year. If you’ve never seen them live, now’s your chance. And if you’re not yet in love with them, well, there’s never a better time that right about now.

mp3: Heart In Your Heartbreak (The Pains of Being Pure at Heart from Belong) (cheers, Music Under Fire!)

August 7: Loom Day

It's been a long, long time since I've decreed an honorary day around these parts. But I figure it's about time for another, and The Loom now joins Dead Confederate and The Black Angels as bands upon which I've given a day here at LET.

By sheer happy chance, The Loom's show tonight at The Red & The Black, with Little Bigheart, Strand of Oaks, and The Idiomatics, (y'all come on down, y'hear?) has managed to become my 50th show of the 100 Shows of 2010 extravaganza. And if that's not cause for celebration, well, I just don't know what is.

If you're not yet familiar with The Loom, now's the perfect time to make amends. Brooklyn's finest makes gorgeous, glorious and honest epic folk, with a little bit of mountainous country hither and yon, that is both haunting and uplifting. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to tear myself away from listening to their record in order to go and see them live, but where there's a will there'll be a way. So folks, come on feel The Loom. I'm pretty sure you'll be pleased as punch that you did.

mp3: Helen (The Loom from the forthcoming Teeth)

[photo by Sarahana Shrethsa]

December 12: Dead Confederate Day

It’s 12/12, friends, and that can mean only one thing. Yes indeed, it’s Dead Confederate Day. Rejoice! That's right, today belongs to everyone’s favorite band (mine, anyway) to come out of Athens, GA, since that band with three letters…

You’ll soon be seeing Dead Confederate in my Top 18 of 2008 list, and if you haven’t yet heard their debut LP Wrecking Ball I strongly suggest you correct that situation. It’s some of the finest, loudest, messiest rock you’ll hear this year. You might have heard the term “grunge” bandied about in reference to Dead Confederate, but there’s a lot more to them than that.

For those of you here in Richmond, what better way to celebrate Dead Confederate Day than to head over to the Canal Club, where the band will be gracing the stage this very evening. I’ve been looking forward to this show since, well, the first time I heard about it. I have no doubt it’ll be one for the ages.

Here’s a glimpse at the band’s new clip for “Start Me Laughing”. Shockingly, it kicks all sorts of ass.

July 2: Black Angels Day

In honor of the recent release of their killer sophomore album and their show tonight at the Rock'n'Roll Hotel, we at Les Enfants Terribles hereby declare today, July 2nd, to be Black Angels Day. It might not yet be a nationally-recognized holiday, but we feel this band is much deserving of their own day. So mark it on your calendars, put on one (or both) of their albums, and raise a glass to Stephanie, Christian, Kyle, Alex, and Nate, otherwise known as one of the finest darned rock bands out there today, won't you?

And if you're in the DC Metro area (or just driving up from Richmond, like our own Megan is), make sure to stop by the Hotel to catch the Black Angels and similarly-minded psych-rockers the Warlocks for a double bill of mind-blowing.