Dinosaur Feathers And Joe Michelini of River City Extension @ The M Room 07.19.09

July 20, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: photos 

A few photos from last night’s show at the M Room which featured an amazing performance by Dinosaur Feathers and an absolutely captivating solo set by Joe Michelini of River City Extension. Big thanks to the bands, everyone who came out, and especially to Emma of The World In A Paper Cup for co-hosting the party. If you weren’t there you missed some fantastic music.

UPDATE: Read Emma’s excellent show review here

Dinosaur Feathers




Joe Michelini Of River City Extension


BOS & TWIAPC Present River City Extension & Dinosaur Feathers 07.19.09

July 15, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Uncategorized 


Come on out to the party this Sunday Night at M Room in Philadelphia when Bag Of Songs along with our new friend Emma from The World In A Paper Cup bring you two amazing bands.

First up, Emma’s pick is Brooklyn’s super cool Dinosaur Feathers who whip up a mix of layered percussion, acoustic guitars and keyboards, along with overlapping harmony vocals that’ll have you hooked from the word go. If you’re digging bands like Animal Collective, Yeasayer, Fleet Foxes, or Grizzly Bear, you’ll want in on the Dinosaur Feathers action for sure. 

My pick for the evening is New Jersey’s River City Extension, who I first caught as The Broken Bell‘s pick in the May Battle Of The Blogs at The North Star Bar. Their frenetic live show made me an instant fan, and has been earning them well deserved comparisons to bands like Gogol Bordello, Man Man and The Avett Brothers. A category defying blend of folk,gospel blues, country,even a little punk and pure unadulterated bliss. it’s music guaranteed to make you move, or at the very least it will move your soul.

Dinosaur Feathers – Know Your Own Strength
Buy Ltd Edition Single
[MYSPACE]

River City Extension – Clever & Quickness
Buy Nautical Sabbatical
[MYSPACE]

Bag Of Songs & The World In A Paper Cup
Present
River City Extension (NY)
Dinosaur Feathers (NJ)
Sunday July 19th
$5 | 8PM | 21+UP
M Room
15 W Girard Ave Philadelphia PA

Exclusive First Listen Part 4: Golden Bloom – Fan The Flames

July 10, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Uncategorized 

Last night I felt infinite… Shawn Fogel from She Leaves Me Poetry

If you’re regular reader here it’s no secret that we’re big Shawn Fogel/Golden Bloom fans. Today I’m proud and honored to be a part of bringing you an exclusive first listen to Golden Bloom‘s new Fan The Flames disc along with 8 other sites who will be debuting a track a week leading up to the August 18th official release date.  It all started off a few weeks back with Magnet Magazine and the lead off track E.H.M., followed by a special Ruby Isle remix of Doomsday Devices at Under The Radar, and last week Tuneraker had Fan The Flames. Today we have the fourth track on the record, and one of my personal favorites, She Leaves Me Poetry, a slow burning chronicle of a relationship that I can easily picture playing as the soundtrack song during the climactic scene in a movie.

Easily among the year’s best records, Fan The Flames is a refreshing take on solid songwriting and addicting melodies when many indie rock bands just seem to be in a race to see who can be the most obsure.  A potent blend of Americana and Power Pop, these are songs you’ll remember long after hearing them.  Back in January, Spin magazine named Golden Bloom as one of “8 undiscovered bands worth a listen”, well the time for discovery is here people, give She Leaves Me Poetry a listen and be sure to follow along to hear more over the next five weeks when you can then rush out and obtain your own copy of the album.

Shawn Fogel is an amazingly talented multi instrumentalist who played all of the instruments on the album himself and worked with Producers Peter Katis(the National, Interpol,Mates Of State),Roger Greenawalt(Ben Kweller) and Dylan Magierek(Mark Kozelek) to produce a top notch record.

Golden Bloom – She Leaves Me Poetry
From Fan The Flames available 8/18/09

Where to get your Track By Track First Listen :

6/19 “E.H.M”-Magnet www.magnetmagazine.com

6/26 “Doomsday Devices (Ruby Isle Remix)” Under the Radar www.undertheradarmag.com

7/3 “Fan the Flames” Tuneraker www.tuneraker.com

7/10 “She Leaves Me Poetry” Bag of Songs bagofsongs.com

7/17 “The Fight at the End of the Tunnel” Consequence of Sound www.consequenceofsound.com

7/24 “Dead Petals” Ryan’s Smashing Life www.ryanssmashinglife.blogspot.com/

7/31 “If You Believe” Spin www.spin.com

8/7 “The Mountainside Says” PopWreckoning popwreckoning.com

8/14 “Theme For an Adventure at Sea” Fensepost www.fensepost.com

[WEBSITE] [MYSPACE] [FACEBOOK] [TWITTER]

[PHOTO BY Alicia J Rose]

The Ethereal Sound Of Hope

July 9, 2009 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Uncategorized 


Back in the early 90’s Hope Sandoval and Mazzy Star were laying down a blueprint for trippy ethereal music with female vocals that is still the standard by which the genre is measured today. Mazzy Star’s second album So Tonight That I Might See spent many a late, late, night hour in my cd player spinning it’s mystical elegance into my world. September marks her first release in nearly nine years when the second Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions album arrives. The Warm Inventions are a project formed together in 2001 with My Bloody Valentine‘s Colm O’Ciosoig and deliver every bit of the trademark sound that Hope is known for. Check out a couple tunes below, Fade Into You, the Mazzy Star song that really pushed Hope’s career into legend status, and the lead off track Blanchard from the upcoming Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions disc, Through The Devil Softly.

Mazzy Star – Fade Into You
Buy So Tonight That I Might See

Hope Sandoval And The Warm Inventions – Blanchard
Buy Through The Devil Softly

[MYSPACE] [FACEBOOK]

Do You Know The Holy Open Secret ?

July 6, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Uncategorized 


If you’re in need of a good, foot stomping, hand clapping, singing alonging hootenanny to free your mind from the cares of the world, Philadelphia’s Hoots and Hellmouth have the just the cure for you. Teaming up with Dr Dog‘s Bill Moriarity to handle the engineering, they have a recorded a new set of tunes that truly captures the non stop manic energy of their live shows. The Holy Open Secret is a whirlwind blend of upright bass, acoustic guitars, mandolin, toe tapping percussion and harmony vocals that’ll have you up and dancing your troubles away in no time. Catch ’em, on tour near you soon !

Hoots And Hellmouth – Known For Posession
Buy The Holy Open Secret

Upcoming Shows
07/09/09 Club Passim Boston , MA
07/10/09 Empire Dine & Dance 575 Congress St. Portland , ME
07/11/09 StageOne 70 Sanford Street Fairfield , CT
07/16/09 The Basement Nashville , TN
07/17/09 JJ’s Bohemia Chattanooga , TN
07/18/09 The Beacon Pub 210 Whitson Avenue Swannanoa , NC
07/19/09 Unplugged in the Park @ Park Tavern 500 10th Street NEAtlanta , GA
07/21/09 The Melting Point Athens , GA
07/22/09 The Evening Muse 3227 N. Davidson Street. Charlotte , NC
07/23/09 The Camel Richmond , VA
07/24/09 Iota Cafe 2832 Wilson BlvdArlington , VA
07/25/09 XPN XPoNential Fest Wiggins ParK , NJ
07/28/09 The Boiler Room @ Congress Hall 251 Beach Avenue Cape May , NJ
08/05/09 Musikfest – Liederplatz Stage Walnut & Guetter StreetsBethlehem , PA
08/06/09 Iron Horse 20 Center St. Northampton , MA
08/07/09 Infinity Hall 20 W. Greenwoods Road (Route 44) Norfolk , CT
08/14/09 Summer Folk – The Georgian Bay Folk Society Owen Sound , ON
08/21/09 Kennett Flash 102 Sycamore Alley Kennett Square , PA
09/11/09 The Ark 316 S Main St Ann Arbor , MI
09/18/09 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion Bristol , VA

[WEBSITE] [MYSPACE] [TWITTER]

As The Sparks Fly On The Fourth Of July

July 4, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Uncategorized 


Happy Fourth Of July everyone. Here’s four versions of the Elvis Costello classic, Indoor Fireworks, from his King Of America album, about one of the more dangerous types of pyrotechnic displays. Celebrate safely today.

Laura Cantrell – Indoor Fireworks
Live On World Cafe
Nick Lowe – Indoor Fireworks
Buy The Rose Of England
Cold War Kids – Indoor Fireworks
Benefit At The District
Elvis Costello & Lucinda Williams – Indoor Fireworks
Live On CMT Crossroads

Hot New Music : Alan Wilkis – Pink and Purple EP

July 3, 2009 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Uncategorized 


Throwing down some jamming dance music at you today. New York’s Alan Wilkis first caught my ear with last year’s excellent  Babies Dream Big, an electro funk gem which got quite a few spins here at the BOS. Alan’s new one, the Pink And Purple EP  ups the ante a notch with a smoking six song set of tunes. In a recent interview on Owl and Bear Blog, Alan lists his top ten influences as :

1. Michael Jackson
2. Prince
3. Rick James
4. Dazz Band
5. Frank Zappa
6. Tortoise
7. Wilco
8. Raphael Saadiq
9. Jimi Hendrix
10. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Just one listen and you can tell he’s learned his lessons well, the Pink and Purple EP  blends his influences into a synth fueled, soul funk tour de force, that in a perfect world should be blasting out of radios all summer long. If this doesn’t have you up and shaking your body down to the ground nothing will.

Here’s a couple songs from Pink and Purple plus one from Babies Dream Big to kick your Fourth Of July weekend into full blown dance party mode. Rock on !

Alan wilkis – N.I.C.E.
Buy Pink And Purple
Alan wilkis – Gotta Get You Back
Buy Pink And Purple
Alan Wilkis – It’s Been Great
Buy Babies Dream Big

[WEBSITE] [MYSPACE] [TWITTER]