Brian Downs

​In honor of 11/11/11, known affectionately by Spinal Tap fans as Nigel Tufnel Day, we bring back our Flyer Of The Week series (this time done by the talented Brian Downs) in order to shine a spotlight on three bands who really do turn their amps up to 11. Tonight at the 331 Club, the heavy, tempestuous sounds of Gay Witch Abortion, Red Pens, and Buildings will surely shake the foundations of the intimate room while they collectively push their sound over a cliff, just like Nigel would want. And you get all of this strident rock 'n roll for FREE, which leaves you more money to spend on food, drinks...and earplugs.

"It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black."    More >>

What happens when you pull members from eight or nine local garage and experimental rock bands, toss them up on stage, and ask them to cover everything from T. Rex to the Cranberries to Dave Matthews Band? We're about to find out. Tomorrow night at the Turf, a mixed-bag band will play a very mixed-bag selection of songs that touch on everything from classic punk to mid-'90s grunge and radio rock for a gig simply billed as "Cover Band Show."More >>

After a long pause, we decided to bring back our Flyer of the Week series as soon as we spotted this excellent flyer for the Apocalypse Meow gig at the Turf Club tomorrow night. The show also features rock bands New Labor, Moving Monuments, and Nato Coles -- a night that promises, as the robot in this flyer designed by Ben Nylen says, to feature plenty of "human music."More >>

It's been a while since we've done a Flyer of the Week, and this one was just too good to let pass by. The flyer, for an Empty's Tapes showcase this Saturday at Hell's Kitchen, was illustrated by Brian Downs. Downs has a Flickr page where you can see a large sampling of his other posters, all of which deserve to be in the Flyer of the Week Hall of Fame.

Brian David Downs

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​Two mainstays of Radio K's programming came to a bit of an unceremonious end last month. Paul Harding, who's hosted Sunday morning's essential listening, Radio K International for 16 years now, and Adam Mehl, host of punk program, Out of Step for nearly 7 of its 10 years, have long been hallmarks of the weekend programming schedule.

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​A match made in band-name heaven, local instrumental rockers Wizards are Real are partnering up with Dragons Power Up! this Thursday night for an event dubbed "Sierrabration," which Dragons Power Up! say will also be their final show with "bassist/friend/spirit guide" Mike Coyne.

To mark the occasion, the band commissioned artist and designer Seth Mabbott to create this very Up-esque fantastical flyer. We dig it.

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​For those unfamiliar with relatively new local indie pop band Howler, here's a quick debriefing: The band is fronted by Jordan Gatesmith, who some may recognize as the guitar player from Total Babe, and is labelmates with Babe on the So-TM label, home of some of the most promising young pop acts in town. Howler formed about a year ago, and in that time have started writing songs, playing shows, and recording their first EP, This One's Different, which is set to drop tomorrow night at the 7th St. Entry.

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​A solid roster of local rock bands are gathering at the Hexagon Bar tomorrow night to raise money for Lugosi, a little Boston Terrier who belongs to the Great Confinement's Lindsay Keating.

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​"Notoriously nomadic" bass player CJ Boyd is kicking off a two-night stand in the Twin Cities with a gig at the Kitty Cat Klub tonight. For those unfamiliar, Boyd crafts soundscapes out of looped basslines, starting with small, minimalist arrangements and building into a complex network of intricately layered lines of sound -- think Dosh for the low end, mellow and mesmerizing and beautiful.More >>

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