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Apollo Sunshine @ Mercury Lounge, NYC 10/29/08

Sam Verrill — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:16:53 +0000

If there is a worse night of the week to see a gig than Wednesday I don’t know what it is. Wednesday is hump day; three days of work have already tired you out, but you still have two more staring you down, so it’s not always best to go all night. That said, the right show can change all that. A great concert with the band and the crowd feeding off each other’s energy can make you forget about all your midweek woes.

I was really hoping Wednesday night’s Apollo Sunshine show at Mercury lounge was going to be one of those gigs. I hadn’t actually checked out much of Apollo Sunshine’s music prior to the show, but I had heard enough people sing their praise that I was really looking forward to checking out a new band. When I heard that in the spirit of the season they would actually be appearing as The Apollo Sunshine Experience, donning costumes straight out of Hair and playing Hendrix covers I was totally sold.

Unfortunately it was the spirit of Wednesday that owned the night. I’m not entirely sure if it was a lack of energy from the crowd that through the band off, or if their was something slightly off with Apollo Sunshine that led to a weak crowd. Whatever it was, something wasn’t quite clicking at Mercury Lounge.

By the time the threesome took the stage, The Apollo Sunshine Experience seemed more myth than reality. Vocalist/bassist Jesse Gallagher, vocalist/guitarist Sam Cohen and drummer Jeremy Black came out not in the garb of the ’70’s but in the uniform of the indie scene and broke into some decidedly un-Jimi tunes.

The Sunshine set was uneven, following the high of a great psychedelic freakout with a failed attempt at an old song off their debut album Katonah. The band never quite hit a groove, and the crowd in the room never got there either. At one point Gallagher had to decry even the lack of hecklers. It’s a shame too because the band is obviously talented, mixing one part pop with one part indie rock and a whole heaping pile of psychadelia. Cohen’s guitar work especially stood out on extended, distorted solos.

After a 60 minute set of originals, the band took a 15 minute break. When they returned it was full on afro time. The Apollo Sunshine Experience tore through a few Hendrix tunes including “Foxy Lady” and ending with “Are You Experience?” After a brief conference in the middle of the stage they called it quits, an abrupt finish to the gig, but it was clear that Wednesday had gotten the better of us all.

Any time you’ve got a touring band that hits the road the way Apollo Sunshine does, there are bound to be off nights. When the Experience hits the Iron Horse on Halloween my bet is it will be a different story.

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Tonight: The Apollo Sunshine Experience and More Tour Dates

Justin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:08:11 +0000

The Apollo Sunshine tour rolls on further with three nights (starting tonight) as The Apollo Sunshine Experience, a tribute-esque performance with costumes and music celebrating the art of Jimi Hendrix. Sam’s going to be there tonight and I’m sure it’s going to rule. Then the band rolls through the rest of the country supporting their fantastic release, Shall Upon Noise, as the opener for Dead Confederate, a band I saw at SXSW and didn’t really think too much of.

Apollo Sunshine Fall 2008 Tour Dates

Oct 29 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge*
Oct 30 – Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East (Downstairs)*
Oct 31 – Northampton, MA @ The Iron Horse Music Hall*

Nov 02 – Belfast, NORTHERN IRELAND @ Mandela Hall (w/Dirty Pretty Things)
Nov 03 – Dublin, IRELAND @ Academy (w/Dirty Pretty Things)
Nov 05 – Cork, IRELAND @ Cyprus Avenue (w/Dirty Pretty Things)
Nov 06 – Wicklow, IRELAND @ Greystones Theatre (w/Dirty Pretty Things)
Nov 07 – Galway, IRELAND @ Roisin Dubh (w/Dirty Pretty Things)

With Dead Confederate
Nov 08 Austin, TX @ The Mohawk (Fun Fun Fun Festival After Party…w/White Denim)
Nov 11 Tucson, AZ @ Plush
Nov 12 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
Nov 13 Las Vegas, NE @ Beauty Bar
Nov 14 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland (Co-headline)
Nov 15 Visalia, CA @ The Cellar Door (Co-headline)
Nov 16 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Nov 18 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Nov 19 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
Nov 20 Boise, ID @ Neurolux
Nov 21 Park City, UT @ Sidecar
Nov 22 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge

*performing as the Apollo Sunshine Experience

Update: it should be noted that Dead Confederate was originally listed in this post as “The Dead Confederates.” Sorry, gang — rookie mistake.

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Apollo Sunshine Announce More US Tour Dates (and UK)

Justin — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 05:15:59 +0000

Apollo Sunshine just announced some new tour dates, including a few dates over in the UK with Dirty Pretty Things.

APOLLO SUNSHINE FALL TOUR (NEW UK and US DATES)

Oct 03 – Black Rock, CT @ The Field
Oct 08 – Philadelphia, PA @Johnny Brenda’s
Oct 09 – Washington DC @ DC9
Oct 12 – Cambridge, UK @ The Junction (w/ Dirty Pretty Things)
Oct 13 – Norwich, UK @ UEA (w/ Dirty Pretty Things)
Oct 14 – London, UK @ The Roundhouse (w/ Dirty Pretty Things)
Oct 16 – Oxford, UK @ Carling Academy (w/ Dirty Pretty Things)
Oct 21 – Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar
Oct 22 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
Oct 24 – Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
Oct 25 – Madison, WI @ Club 770 – University of Wisconsin
Oct 26 – Indianapolis, IN @ Birdy’s
Oct 27 – Columbus, OH @ The Basement
Oct 29 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge*
Oct 30 – Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East (Downstairs)*
Oct 31 – Northampton, MA @ The Iron Horse Music Hall*
Nov 02 – Belfast, NORTHERN IRELAND @ Mandela Hall (w/ Dirty Pretty Things)
Nov 03 – Dublin, IRELAND @ Academy (w/ Dirty Pretty Things)
Nov 05 – Cork, IRELAND @ Cyprus Avenue (w/ Dirty Pretty Things)
Nov 06 – Wicklow, IRELAND @ Greystones Theatre (w/ Dirty Pretty Things)
Nov 07 – Galway, IRELAND @ Roisin Dubh (w/ Dirty Pretty Things)
Nov 11 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
Nov 12 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
Nov 13 – Visalia, CA @ Cellar Door
Nov 14 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Nov 21 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge

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Apollo Sunshine Announce Fall 2008 Tour Dates

Justin — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Apollo Sunshine announced some tour dates last week in support of their new album, Shall Noise Upon, a fantastic piece of music front-to-back and one that I’ve already spent a lot of time on. I even got to buy Jeremy, the drummer, a beer at the Benevento/Russo Duo show at the Mojito. I complimented him on the new album and how I was truly grateful to be able to get an album like that early. I asked him if they had any dates booked coming up and he had mentioned that this tour was in the works and that they planned on playing San Francisco sometime in November. Expect more dates to get announced.

Apollo Sunshine Tour Dates

Sep 13 Cambridge, MA @ Newbury Comics (in-store performance)
Sep 14 Brooklyn, NY @ Sound Fix (acoustic in-store performance)
Sep 15 Brooklyn, NY @ Monkey Town
Sep 16 Brooklyn, NY @ Monkey Town
Sep 19 Andover, MA @ Andover Town Hall
Sep 26 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland
Oct 3 Fairfield, CT @ The Field
Oct 8 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
Oct 9 Washington, DC @ DC9
Oct 14 Nashville, TN @ 3rd and Lindsley
Oct 15 Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn
Oct 17 Dallas, TX @ The Cavern,
Oct 18 Austin, TX @ Mohawk
Oct 19 Norman, OK @ Opolis
Oct 24 Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
Oct 27 Columbus, OH @ The Basemen
Oct 29 New York, NY @ The Mercury Lounge
Oct 30 Boston, MA @ Middle East
Oct 31 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse

More dates TBA

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Apollo Sunshine Announce New Album, 2008 Tour Dates

Justin — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 19:30:00 +0000

Happy Monday, dudes. I’ll still be catching up on some news and other items that may have dropped last week, and one of those was the news that Apollo Sunshine just announced some tour dates. They’re planning on releasing a new album digitally (and via vinyl) on August 2 called Shall Noise Upon, and so far they’ve announced a couple dates ahead of that.

Apollo Sunshine TOUR DATES!

June 05-06 – Lawrence KS @ Wakarusa Music Fest
June 26 – San Francisco, CA @ 12 Galaxies
August 08-09 – Wellfleet, MA @ The Wellfleet Beachcombe

I’ll be signing up to see them here in San Fran. and I hope to see them continue to tour this summer. I’ll be eager to hear what the new record is all about; from the release it sounds pretty interesting. And for those of you that missed our 55th Podcast here on the blog, go check it out to get a sense for how these guys sound live. The “Better Change Your Mind” still has as much power as I remember.

Read on for the full release.

Apollo Sunshine, the trio who’ve already wooed Beantown with their virtuosic instrumental talents, will be releasing their third full-length, Shall Noise Upon, this September 2nd on Headless Heroes (but for those who can’t wait/never-learned-or-have-forgotten-how-to-play-CDs, vinyl and digital will be coming out August 5!).

The album was recorded last summer in a supposedly spirit-inhabited house in the Catskills, and perhaps it was the presence of said spirit that, er, inspired the band in their musical creation. The three members of Apollo Sunshine, Jesse Gallagher, Sam Cohen, and Jeremy Black, have worked together to make rich, but not ornate, music, music that moves from lush poetics to Mexican horns to psychedelic guitar like a well-crafted, well-tracked mixtape.

The band’s serious chops, which have won them numerous accolades and consistently ranked them as one of Boston’s best, are also on display, and more than a few of the songs on Shall Noise Upon should become live standouts. “The Funky Chamberlain
(Who Begot Who)” in particular, with its psychedelic intro and wild keyboards, provides the freedom and atmosphere to let Apollo Sunshine’s prodigious and well-honed abilities shine through.

The result is a timely collage drawn from homemade samples and field-recordings to singing bowls and jaw harp. Shall Noise Upon comes together in an impressionist tour of electrified music, and with each play, the range of sounds grow more connected to each other, a wholly satisfying experience, a wholly satisfying album.

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