…as we mentioned earlier this week, Wake Up Mordecai will celebrate the release of his new album, Too Young for the Disco, tonight at Dayton Dirt Collective. Let us reiterate that we highly recommend to check out this new release. Along for the ride this evening will be some of Dayton’s finest practitioners of indie pop, Towhee, Jesse Remnant and the Trainwrecks, and XL427. Things get started around 7 pm, so don’t be late…

MP3: Wake Up Mordecai “Cowboys and Indians”
MP3: Towhee “Calm Down”
MP3: Jesse Remnant “Better Than You”
MP3: XL427 “It’s Not Just Pink, It’s New Wave Pink”

…as we suspected might happen, the improving weather seemed to bring everyone out of the woodwork last night for a great musical occasion. The cozy South Park Tavern played host to one of the most fun shows in recent memory…

…kicking off the evening, Jordan Hull ran through much of his self-titled debut and even without the aid of a backing band, still delivered the songs with a conviction and a confidence that held the audience rapt for the duration of his set…

…by the time Towhee came on, the room was at capacity and people were ready to celebrate the release of What We’ve Done. With the elaborate hand-crafted discs arriving just before the band hit the stage, the disc’s watercolor paint book made this an amazing package to go along with a great new album. From the start, Towhee lit up the room as the audience danced and sang along. The band seemed more relaxed and confident than we’d ever seen them, accentuating the sweeping dynamics and intensifying the band’s dance undertones. By the end of the night, the affirmation and joy found in Towhee’s music left everyone smiling a little more as they headed back out into the Dayton night…

For more photos from the evening, go here.

…The Buddha Den is very excited to be a part of the release of the new Towhee album, What We’ve Done, which we previewed earlier this week. We’ll be celebrating the release tonight at South Park Tavern. Opening the evening you’ve got Jordan Hull, who we highly recommend checking out as well. You know this is gonna be a fun night. We’ll see you there…

MP3: Towhee “Submarine”
MP3: Jordan Hull “How Dare He”

…one of our favorite Dayton bands, Towhee, are self-releasing their new album What We’ve Done. We’ll be helping the band celebrate the release this Saturday at South Park Tavern along with Jordan Hull. Filled with the band’s trademarks-intertwining guitars; airy, introspective vocals; intricate-yet-danceable rhythm section- What We’ve Done could very well be the perfect soundtrack to the imminent onset of spring in Dayton…

MP3: Towhee “Calm Down”
MP3: Towhee “Submarine”

…that’s right kids! You’ve got two great Cincinnati bands in town tonight with some of our great local flavor, so head on out…

…over at Blind Bob’s, you’ve got a few great local talents that don’t make too many appearances: XL427 and Kris N. are both getting ready to release new albums on local label Poptek Records and are hitting the stage tonight. Also along for the ride are Towhee and The Lions Rampant (from Cincy)…

…over at the Oregon Express there’s a great bill of rock n’ roll tonight. Hosting this evening is one of our faves, The Northwest Ordinance. These guys are bringing in some great out of town talent in White Girls (Cincinnati) and Hans Condor (Nashville). Wanna see something different? Here’s yr chance…

…with much of Daytonia still in the grip of darkness from the recent electrical outages, we gathered last night at Canal Street Tavern for The Buddha Den Presents. Opening the evening were the always-impressive Towhee. Armed with a handful of newer tunes earmarked for their next release, the band moved between their disco-inflected passages and nuanced restraint. Although the band may draw strong (and deserved) comparisons to Death Cab for Cutie, their range is simply much broader and should most certainly be examined further by music lovers far and wide…

…next up we had Soft Targets, out on tour from Tallahassee, FL in support of their new album, Heavy Rainbows. Immediately we realized this was a band of incredible musicians, as bassist/keyboardist Nate Sadler effortlessly pounded out lines on the Rhodes while holding down the low end and adding pitch-perfect harmonies all the while. With lead vocal duties being split between all three members, the set never got stylistically stale. Throughout their set, the band walked the line between the impeccable pop craftsmanship of Spoon and the jazzier incarnations of Steely Dan. In the end, we were feeling a bit too much of the yacht rock vibe to be totally in love with the band, but the handful of songs that really got us were enough to keep us attached…

…closing out the evening, perennial Dayton-faves Andrew & the Pretty Punchers brought the requisite small-town catharsis that is their stock-in-trade. Although relatively loose on this evening, the band still mustered an intensity and dynamic range that continues to expand with each performance. With several new songs in tow, the band continues to refine their everyman-singalongs as the hooks become more potent, but less obvious. Likewise, the band’s new slower dirge-like number allows the band to further expand their range, all the while retaining their ability to hold the audience enraptured. Yet again on this night, A&TPP proved that they are indeed one of the best bands in the current Dayton crop…

For more photos from the evening, go here.

…with the electricity still being out in some parts of the Dayton area, tonight is a good opportunity to get out and remember electricity…

…The Buddha Den Presents is very pleased to bring you another great bill at Canal Street Tavern. Headlining this evening are the always-incredible Andrew & the Pretty Punchers. Up from Tallahassee, FL, we’ve got the indie pop of Soft Targets who are out on an extensive tour in support of their new album, Heavy Rainbows. Opening up will be the sublime indie pop of Towhee….

…if yr feeling a little more subdued tonight, head over to Oregon Express to catch the second week of The Buddha Den NTRO/XPO. Tonight we will feature the jazz-rock explorations of Black Wolf Fight and the soulful stomp of The Lowland Healers, as well as the open mic to start the night. As always, it’s totally FREE…

…if you still need another option for a Wednesday, head on over to Dayton Dirt Collective to check out the return of Joe Anderl (aka The Challenger Disaster) to the stage. Also on tap are The Gunshy (Chicago), a revamped version of The Story Changes, and Accidently On Purpose. This one starts early, around 7 pm….

…hey kids! Tonight is the big biannual celebration in downtown Dayton known as Urban Nights. This time around, the city is trying to prove that we are not a city in decline, as Forbes magazine so kindly put it….

…The Buddha Den is trying to do our part to dispel these rumors tonight by doing what we do best: presenting some of the best Dayton music. We’ll be hosting bands at a couple of stages tonight. At 6 pm, head over to Kettering Tower on 2nd Street to catch a short set by Towhee. Then, head over to the St. Clair Lofts where we will be hosting a stage in their courtyard (in the back of the building). Starting at 7 pm and running until 9 pm, we will have The Goody Two Shoes, Andrew & the Pretty Punchers, and Grizzzzy Bear (we’re not sure which name they’re going with these days…). You know it’s gonna be a party…

…also starting tonight and running through Sunday night, the first LadyFest Dayton kicks off over at 20 N. Jefferson St. in the Dayton Arts Incubator. All weekend long there will be plenty of female-driven bands, artists, and workshops. Here’s what’s on tap for tonight:

G-​Miche​lle Bullo​ck 5:30
M- Hot Kiss – 6pm
G- Audre​y Isabe​lle 6:15
M- Bette​r than Sax – 6:45
G- Julie​ Roth 7:45
M-​Dawn Cooks​ey and 68 South​ 8:15
G- Kelly​ Campb​ell 8:45
G-​Jayne​ Sachs​ 9:30
M-​Paige​ & Trace​y 10pm
G-​Miran​da Penni​ngton​ 10:​30
M-​Fairm​ount Girls​ 11:​00
G-​Audre​y Ryan 11:​30
M-​Vanit​y Theft​ 12:​15

Be sure to head over and check out what the ladies in Dayton are doing…

…head on over to Pearl tonight to catch some great Dayton punk in the form of The Sound For Language. With their most recent EP, the band has started to chart a darker course while retaining their gifts for crafting good songs. Also on the bill are Spanish Bombs and NYC hardcore action of Disnihil. Opening the night, check out the understated, yet danceable indie pop of Towhee…

…it’s difficult to say for sure whether the closing of Nite Owl has really affected music-going in Dayton, but from recent turnouts on Thursday nights at Pearl, it would seem that the lack of quality weekend shows in recent months has turned the Pearl into the de facto weekend show on Thursday nights. Steady turnouts for all manner of shows bears this out, and last night was no exception…

…after a short opening set by Mascot, new buzz band Electric Banana whipped into the Pearl to lay down their self-proclaimed “fuck music” for the kids. The duo clearly seem more concerned with shredding than with quality backing tracks, as their drum-and-bass tracks were called up using a Discman. After struggling through the first half of the set with PA issues, the guitars finally cut through and by the time the band reached the climax of their set with the title track of their Denim on Denim album, Electric Banana were finally able to deliver on the promise of the recorded material. While much of their act relies on schtick and swagger that suggests the band may be little more than another Tenacious D, the fact remains that Billy Blanco and Jimmy Spade can shred on their guitars. The pair also know how to serve up jams that crack and smile and get heads banging simultaneously (see “The Mexican Jam”, a tale of l’amour at the local Mexican joint) that get people up and moving. We’d like to think that as Electric Banana puts in a few more hours that we’ll see these guys outstrip the gimmicks and seriously make a mark on the local scene. We’re gonna keep an eye on these guys and we recommend you do the same…



…next up were one of our favorite newer bands, Hospital Garden. The only other time we’d caught them, the PA was simply no match for the band’s sound and the vocals never broke through. On this night, however, the vocals of Lucas came through clearly and the plaintive, earnest vocal delivery recalled everything from Alex Chilton to Paul Westerberg to Conor Oberst. The rhythm section of Sarah and Ian Spencer nailed down the structure as Lucas slashed across the tunes with utterly fuzzed out bursts. As this band continues to solidify, we highly recommend that you try and check them out…



…closing out the evening was one of Dayton’s best-kept secrets, Towhee. Why this band continues to remain at the fringes of the local scene baffles us, as on this night their mastery of indie pop music was in full display. Between the stunning melodic guitar interplay of Brandon and Valen to the solid dance beats laid down by Josh to the solid, yet incredibly playful bass lines laid down by Sarah, Towhee is a band that begs to break through. The band are currently wrapping up their second album and we can’t wait to hear it….

For more photos from the evening, go here.