October 31
Concert — Fat White Family
at Bunk Bar (21+)
Possibly the grossest band now touring, Fat White Family is known to get naked (and when I say naked I mean naked) and let loose ejaculations of various forms of viscera both tangible and sonic from the stage. They are touring the US re-release of their great (and greatly/offensively titled) 2013 album “Champagne Holocaust.” Come to this show if you wanna get down and dirty with a fun and freaky band on Halloween night. Stay far, far away if you have an aversion to penises. There will be a lot of them, I’m serious.
November 2
Concert — Pissed Jeans
at Doug Fir (21+)
I saw Pissed Jeans at last year’s Pitchfork Music Festival and they were by far the funniest group there (except for maybe R. Kelly, but he walks a fine line in regards to his self-awareness [and, ya know, that sexual assault/child porn stuff isn’t funny despite how many jokes are made about it]). Pissed Jeans’ frontman Matt Korvette has some major David Yow vibes, strutting the stage and flinging his arms in some middle-aged appropriation of a toddler’s hissy fit. When I saw them last, he tore through three Jack Daniels tank tops, two of which he was wearing over each other and the third which flew from some assistant (whom I assume only has one job, which is to keep Korvette in Jack Daniels tank tops) offstage. Pissed Jeans music is angry, crushing punk that yelps about the pains of being middle-aged (Korvette & co. confirmed their middle-agedness by looking backwards and reissuing their first albums this year, which is what I am assuming they are touring on, besides 2013’s Honeys). Even if you aren’t 45 and working a dead end middle-class job, it’ll be worth it to come out and mosh your feelings out to this show.
November 7
Concert — United Nations
at Holocene (21+)
Lotsa hardcore music this time ’round. United Nations is a powerviolence/screamo supergroup of sorts, collecting members from Thursday, Pianos Become the Teeth, Lovekill, Acid Tiger, and more. Their 2014 album, The Next Four Years, sounds kind of like a really aggressive storm cloud rolling overhead, but there are strains of beer-doused fist-pumping not far off from Titus Andronicus and their bar-band ilk, too. It’s a dark, angry, pessimistic record, but I can’t help but noticing that, for all of its negativity, it’s pretty fun too. This show should reflect that nicely. Also a fun fact: The United Nations sent a cease-and-desist letter to the band and got their Facebook page deleted. Take that, punks!
The Grail’s new website and the Cultural Calendar has a new page (www.reedthegrail.com/calendar) with pictures and videos of the events listed. You can preview upcoming events before they show up in print and add them to your calendar directly from the site. Check it out !