Today in COMO Music

I have been getting more and more involved in the local scene here in COMO. Although it's not nearly as large as the one in my former city (Columbus, OH), it is thriving nonetheless. So, I figure I should dedicate a post to the scene from time to time.

In case you missed my last couple of posts, the bands from Emergency Umbrella have been busy.

For those of who weren't aware, EU is COMO's own music label, primarily catering to the indie elite but still accessible to most other music tastes.

EU's Bald Eagle played for the fist time in a while last Thursday, unveiling some new songs and experimenting with some new dynamics in their live show. The band played four previously unheard songs along with four crowd favorites. The blistering set was shortened with the band barely pausing between songs, sometimes filling the space with a short sample or two.

Although Gentleman Auction House is from St. Louis, they are still an EU band. As previously posted, GAH played at the Bluebird in St. Louis in celebration of the release of their forthcoming album, Alphabet Garveyard. According to those behind the merch table, the band was able to sell 70 or so copies of the album that night.

Speaking of EU bands not living in COMO, Sinkane is busy recording their follow-up to this year's Pitchfork-approved Color Voice. Sinkane mastermind Ahmed Gallab is preparing to join Of Montreal on their tour this fall in support of the upcoming Skeletal Lamping. The new Sinkane effort should be out sometime next year.

The Foundry Field Recordings will be opening for Dr. Dog when they play Mojo's on July 29. Then, The Foundry will join Gentleman Auction House for a tour in the fall. This tour will hopefully stir up some interest in the band as Billy Schuh and his new line-up release an album sometime next year.

Another EU act, Witch's Hat will call it quits after their August 8 show, also at Mojo's.

Both Mojo's and The Blue Note are "enjoying" a quiet summer, but things should pick up in the fall when the kids return. Mojo's does have an upcoming show featuring Saddle Creek's Son, Ambulance with Matador's Jennifer O'Connor. The Blue Note features a visit from the well-traveled guitarist Nels Cline on July 16 and Cracker for free on July 30. Rumor has it that one of my heroes will make a stop in the fall to play the Note, but I'm not at liberty to divulge that information just yet.

Although the summer months are slow, COMO needs a Pitchfork or BrooklynVegan-type of website to keep us all abreast of upcoming rock shows and album releases. There are currently a few blogs like this one and that one that attempt to cover the local music scene and there is CoMo Music. Right now, CM is a schizophrenic mess. The basic premise was to create a MySpace-type of website in hopes of getting community input regarding the music in COMO. It was a good idea, "ahead of its time" some might say. However, the result is a conglomeration of silly rantings, music reviews of little or no consequence, a Craig's List for local bands (among other things). Someone needs to intervene and quick.