I saw The Explorers Club play at the Lions Lair last Tuesday the 24th. It was great to hear there less polished, live sound. Its not quite so straight up Beach Boys live again but more 60's rock. It took them a few songs to warm up but when they were warm they were hot. Unfortunately they only played a very short set. They did get in my favorite song, Honey I don't know why, and it was rockin. They finished off with a sweet version of Johnny be good. All in all it was a great show and I'm sure they will be back in the future, playing much longer sets to much larger crowds.

I caught the Old 97's show last tuesday, the 10th, at the Gothic theatre.I have been a fan for the last few years and have been waiting for them to come around; I was not disappointed. They have a fantastic sound and plenty of energy live. Rhett Miller has impossible not to sing along with lyrics and his sexy little hip swaying dance kept the crowd hanging on every word. Seeing them live really brought out the power of the lead guitar in their compositions. Lead guitarist, Ken Bethea, kept belting out killer leads all the while playing up the crowd stage left. Things did not drop off at all when bassist, Murray Hammond, took over the role of lead singer. The drummer, Phillip Peeples, is solid gold making it clear that one can play the shuffle all night without it ever getting old. If you missed them, you should catch them as soon as possible.

Two albums out now that you should be listening to are Black Mountain's In the Future and Elf Power's In a Cave. Black Mouintain's latest came out in January on Jagjaguwar, and is a solid psychadelic follow up to their 2005 selftitled debut, if you liked the first one you'll love In the Future too. Black Mountain again manages to walk that line where they rock almost to the point of heavy metal on some tracks then bring it down almost to a folk song on others. The album has a constant driving under current that sounds perfect in the car or in the background at a strangers party. Another psychedelic gem is Elf Power's In a Cave, out this month from Rycodisk. This album explores many a spooky interior and sinks a few good hooks into you while its at it. Elf Power is one of the Elephant 6 survivors and they are still churning out tracks that remind us of that pedigree. Pick up these albums and enjoy.

I'm a little late with this review because this album got lost in the holiday shuffle for me as it was released on the 29th of January. The Shackeltons self-titled release on Loveless records was on my desk for a while before I finaly gave it a listen but I haven't stopped listening since. It reminds me alot of No Means No and other old Grunge-era Seattle bands whose names have long been lost to me. Not the soft and cute northwest indie bands but the hard-driving, punk influenced bands that made music with the intensity of drunken sex. The Shackeltons have put together a fine album here, wielding their guitars like blunt instruments on songs like The Breaks, and bringing it down for songs like Yellow Cadillac and Emergency, reminding me a bit of the Modern Lovers. I found myself singing along pretty quickly and the first time I heard The Ship I was nodding my head. If you find your music rotation is in need of something that rocks a little harder this spring- pick up this album.

www.myspace.com/theshackeltons

www.lovelessrecords.com

Spiritualized has a new album coming out May 26th (in the UK) from Spaceman Records. The Album, titled songs in A&E, does not yet have a US release date. I'm really looking forward to that- it has been too long, Jason Spaceman, too long. In unrelated news, Adam Franklin of Swervedriver and Sam Fogarino of Interpol have formed a new band called Magnetic Morning. An EP has already been released through itunes and should be coming out via DH records in April. You can hear the tracks at their Myspace, www.myspace.com/magneticmorning, it sounds pretty good.

The International songwriters competion has released the semifinalists for 2007 but more importantly is excepting early entries now for 2008. I just caught wind of this competition and am considering sending in songs myself. The ISC's stated mission is "to provide the opportunity for both aspiring and established artists to have their songs heard in a professional, international arena." The competition allows you to enter multiple songs in multiple categories or the same category including "lyrics only." There is a fee for entries but its not outrageous. The list of celebrity judges they have for this competition is impressive including Tom Waits, Robert Smith , Loretta Lynn and Macy Gray to name a few. Check out their site for more information. www.songwritingcompetition.com

Rock the Earth, a Denver based environmental advocacy organization, received a $10,000 grant from the band Incubus' Make Yourself Foundation. This is largest single grant to date for the organization as well as the second significant donation in recent months. Bonnie Raitt's Aria foundation contributed to RTE in November. Rock the Earth (RtE) is a three year old non-profit environmental defense and advocacy organization that draws its support from musicians and their fans. RtE has a presense at major music festivals across the country as well as touring with some bands. At these events outreach and advocacy takes place and fans are informed on issues concerning the environment and given the chance to get involved.

More info on RtE at www.rocktheearth.org