Wow, the Entrance Band

It's fitting that the one word so aptly summing up the Entrance Band also happens to be the title of a Led Zeppelin album: presence. Watching the L.A. trio's captivating set at the Cafe Du Nord on Wednesday was akin to bearing witness to perhaps the most truly rock 'n' roll event of this week's Noise Pop! fest. And though they've been around some years, I hadn't even heard of Entrance until learning of the show. Apparently, Entrance is this total guitar guru guy (whose real name is also Guy, Blakeslee for completion's sake) who put together a psychedelic blues rock band with two musicians equal in musical wizardry: Paz Lenchantin on fat, phat bass, from Argentina and A Perfect Circle, and drummer Derek James, pretty much a percussively flawless maniac. Entrance, on guitar and vocals, is the real deal. Playing a right-handed guitar turned 'round with his left hand, his technical proficiency blows minds with effortless, wicked-smooth solos ala Hendrix over utterly rocking Zeppelin hard blues. Though his singing sounds strained at times, it's also vindicated by its guidance from earth, air, fire and water. Judging from the eager headbanging within the Du Nord audience on Wednesday, Entrance already counts a legion of disciples, with my conversion sprouting during a segue into the Nirvana/Shocking Blue classic "Love Buzz." And at the end of the show, we learned that Entrance rock 'n' roll's not all about the sex and many, many drugs (What was that he mumbled into the mic about "sugar cube acid?"), but about politics, and songs for "the liberation of mankind." Mwah. They're badass! Exclamation point worthy. Check "Silence On A Crowded Train" from the '07 Folk Yeah! Fest:

Integrity: Not just any ole' nine-letter word

OK class. For today's show and tell, I thought I'd leave my cuddly, baby-blue teddy bear at home and instead share an interview with Minor Threat/Fugazi dude-extraordinaire Ian MacKaye for all the kiddies to enjoy. Check out his talk with the Electric Cafe at the Black Lodges site: http://blacklodges.com/features/index.php?kat=1&detail=364 For all his quotable quotables, MacKaye's a shoo-in for the next edition of Bartlett's. "I think it is really absurd for a sneaker to represent a lifestyle." Thank you, Mr. MacKaye. Going by a recent article in Pitchfork, it sounds like you need to have a talk with some of your peers in the music world. Except those dead ones, but there's always a Ouija board.

Show preview: Entrance Band, The Mumlers, honey.moon.tree., Golden Animals @ Cafe Du Nord, Wednesday 2/27

Judging from Noise Pop previews I've spotted so far, it'll be a challenge to find in-depth coverage of shows that don't involve Hollywood actresses or snarky NYC singers. Wednesday's lineup at the Cafe Du Nord may be filled with less prominent artists, but its unique array of the folky and the freaky show it's equally deserving of buzz, or discussion, or whatever you want to call it. You've got L.A. psychedelic blues act The Entrance Band as headliners, who've obviously time-jumped from a hard rock show housed in a 1960s drug den. Totally loud, totally far out, filled with unpretentious, unwanky guitar solos and a rocking sound to which you'll happily headbang along. Plus, they've got Paz Lenchantin, from A Perfect Circle among other wondrous associations, on bass duty. May the force be with them. Groovy, groovy, jazzy, folky San Jose act The Mumlers, who just released debut full-length Thickets and Stitches, somehow manage to ride smoothly down a loosely graveled road of genres, quite a feat for a band that crowds the stage with seven musicians. Singer Will Sprott drives the sound with soul and then some, as melancholy instrumentation completes the spectacle. Sounds like a party to me. Check out the stellarly-named honey.moon.tree., San Francisco freak-folky guys prone to jamming sad Americana tunes on an assortment of acoustic and percussive instruments. Expect heartfelt vocals, offbeat lyrics and plenty of quirks coalescing into a dark sound that's firmly removed from the present time and place. Late addition openers Golden Animals are, according to their MySpace page, from the desert, an interesting locale to spawn a band so thoroughly drenched in Southern blues. While their man-guitarist/woman-drummer makeup and blues focus may scream "White Stripes," their look and sound is more of a throwback to traditional '60s rock adaptations. So if you're down, get to the Cafe Du Nord around 9 p.m. Wednesday, with $14 and an ID that says you're 21+, yum.

Sit Sasquatch!, sit! Good bigfoot.

That other West Coast megaconcert was announced today and Jack Johnson isn't involved, reason enough for many a fan with good taste to look forward to the 2008 Sasquatch! Music Festival happening May 24-26 in Washington state. Though lacking in starpower, the cumulative lineup's pretty ace: R.E.M. / The Cure / The Flaming Lips U.F.O. Show / Death Cab For Cutie / Modest Mouse / M.I.A. / Flight Of The Conchords / Rodrigo Y Gabriela / Michael Franti & Spearhead / The Breeders / Built To Spill / The Hives / Tegan & Sara / Ghostland Observatory / Ozomatli / The New Pornographers / Blue Scholars / The National / The Kooks / Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks / Cold War Kids / Beirut / Rogue Wave / Okkervil River / Fleet Foxes / Kinski / Mates of State / Sera Cahoone / Crudo (featuring Mike Patton & Dan The Automator) / Battles / Destroyer / Dyme Def / The Blakes / Pela / Jamie Lidell / The Cops / Dengue Fever / Siberian / Say Hi / White Rabbits / David Bazan / The Little Ones / "Awesome" / Dead Confederate / The Heavenly States / 65daysofstatic / Grand Archives / Vince Mira with the Roy Kay Trio / Joshua Morrison / Throw Me The Statue / J. Tillman / The Shaky Hands / Thao Nguyen with the Get Down Stay Down / Matt Costa / The Cave Singers While I'm not feeling as nostalgic about catching headliners R.E.M. or The Cure (what have they been up to lately) as much as I'd like to witness the re-emergence of Portishead at Coachella, the lineup bursts with artists from Portland (Malkmus, Fleet Foxes, Bazan) and Seattle (Death Cab, Modest Mouse, Throw Me The Statue) - which works because everyone knows bands from those regions are totally amazing because the weather sucks so badly, and people stuck indoors within the shadows of gloom all the time make good art, ya know. Plus there's Sasquatch's $150 price tag for all three days versus Coachella's $269 passes, and the added bonus of your face not frying off under the omnipresent, blistering sun. What a deal. The Flaming Lips U.F.O. show? Unmissable in name alone, no further details necessary.

Let's celebrate an ode to dodgery

When it comes to interpretations of song lyrics, mi casa es su casa. All are welcome. I awoke this morning with Radiohead's "Faust Arp" coarsing through my brain. Frauds eventually get exposed, "the elephant that's in the room is tumbling, tumbling, tumbling." All this time you've been stuffed with lies, pipe dreams. But after awhile you can "squeeze the tubes" and see the nothing that's left. The blind faith you had was for "no real reason," you simply fell for an actor's performance. Watch as they "take a bow." So wake up and get real. Don't be "dead from the neck up." Stop fooling yourself or you'll melt into butter.