Smith Westerns are performing at the Drunken Unicorn on Tuesday, February 1st

Tight Bros presents

Smith Westerns at the Drunken Unicorn on Tuesday, February 1st, 2011



"Chicago's the Smith Westerns are a band looking for some teenage kicks with their home-brewed mixture of garage, glam, and punk, and they come by their youthful energy honestly -- none of the group members were old enough to buy a beer when they released their first album. The Smith Westerns were formed in 2007 by Max Kakacek and Cullen Omori, who at the time were students at Chicago's Northside College Preparatory School; the two had been turned on to '60s garage rock through compilations like Nuggets and Back from the Grave, and they decided it was music they could play without knowing too much about technique. As Kakacek and Omori began learning to play guitars, they drafted Cameron Omori, Cullen's brother, to play bass, and with the three members taking turns on drums, the Smith Westerns were born. Within a year, the band was steady enough to be booked into some of Chicago's better rock clubs, including Schuba's and the Empty Bottle, while also playing lots of house parties on the side, which helped win them a loyal local following. In 2008, the Smith Westerns finally found a full-time drummer, Hal James, and local independent label HoZac Records (originally an offshoot of the punk ‘zine -Horizontal Action) released their first 7", a three-song single featuring the tunes "Irukandji," "Crabman," and "Spiritus Sanctus." The single promptly sold out its first two pressings, and in June 2009, HoZac brought out the Smith Westerns' self-titled debut album (initially a vinyl-only release), which found the band indulging a taste for '70s glam rock along with their punk and garage influences. The band was also touring steadily by this time, including a road trip with Nobunny in which the Smith Westerns opened the show and then reappeared as Nobunny's backing group. In 2010, the Smith Westerns released a split single on Fat Possum with the Magic Kids that featured some of their most polished music to date, and the band pledged to keep making music while several of the members also attend college." Mark Deming, Rovi

Smith Westerns on Facebook

Yuck are performing second.



"Having seemingly been blessed with the Midas touch in terms of being at the center of mass music press hype, by the end of 2010 -- and before the age of 20 -- Daniel Blumberg (guitar/vocals) and Max Bloom (guitar/vocals) found themselves in their second project that had achieved just that. The London-born, longtime friends were once melting teenage girls' hearts with the indie pop of Cajun Dance Party (in which Bloom played bass). But having received rave reviews for their XL Recordings 2008 debut album Colourful Life, the group managed to seemingly disappear, leaving behind a trail of disappointed journalists and fans. Thankfully, it wasn't to be the end for Bloom and Blumberg, who began writing music together for the first time, resulting in the late-'80s and '90s lo-fi-influenced Yuck.

The two began recording a string of demos in Bloom's bedroom before setting about finding their rhythm section. Bassist Mariko Doi, from Hiroshima, was introduced to the pair by mutual friends in London and joined after the breakup of previous band Levelload, while Blumberg met drummer Jonny Rogoff in the Israeli desert on a kibbutz. In December 2009, Rogoff "dropped everything" -- including a degree and a band called Impossible Village in his hometown of New Jersey -- to meet up with the band in London, while Daniel's younger sister Ilana provided ethereal backing vocals, although she originally remained behind the scenes to focus on her college education.

Their debut single (a split with Cleveland-based Herzog on Transparent) "Georgia" borrowed the rhythm of the Cure's "Friday I'm in Love," sped it up slightly, and added a wall of fuzz to produce what was a superb introduction to the band. Early on, Yuck showed another side to their sound with the melancholic, piano-dominated Weakend EP, which was released on cassette-only label Mirror Universe Tapes under the name Yu(c)k. Using this spelling, the band issued a split 7" on Transparent in December 2010, on which they covered Porcelain Raft's "Despite Everything"; Porcelain Raft returned the favor for "The Wall," which had earlier featured on the Weakend EP.

A million miles away from the clean-cut, boyish charm of Cajun Dance Party, the sound of Yuck resembles bands such as Sonic Youth, the Cure, Red House Painters, and the Jesus And Mary Chain. Yet while the style was so very different this time around, the kind of attention Yuck received was very familiar to Blumberg and Bloom. They toured with the likes of Teenage Fanclub, the Dum Dum Girls, and Modest Mouse, had the drone guitar-drenched single "Rubber" remixed by Mogwai, and were part of the BBC's Sound of 2011 list, all before the appearance of their self-titled debut album, which was released in February 2011 through Fat Possum, who had signed the band in September 2010." - Daniel Clancy

Yuck on Facebook

Moodrings are the opening act.



Super Nineties Crystals

Moodrings on Facebook

There will be a Black Lips DJ set in the cafe with Ol King Cole Younger and DJ Jihad as well during the show.

$8 in adv, $10 DOS 18+
Doors @ 9 pm

Advance tickets available @ Ticket Alternative, Criminal Records,
Decatur CD, Fantasyland Records and the following CD Warehouse locations: Buford, Duluth, Kennesaw, Lawrenceville and Roswell.

If you want to WIN a FREE PAIR of tickets to this show be the first person to comment stating that you want the tickets and you will receive a free pair of tickets for this show.