Upstart Pittsburgh indie dance swingers Big Hurry plan to release their first EP Silver Screens this Saturday at the Brillobox along with local rock stalwarts Landline and Casino Bulldogs.  I’ll monitor my hyperbole for the rest of the article, but I can’t help mentioning I’ve been waiting for new tracks from Kelly Tobias and co. since their live show way back in February.

And with “Paper Trails” Big Hurry may have released their most accomplished production yet.  The track showcases a tumbling, slow motion percussion section, cascading guitars and Tobias’ trademark croon flooding in from various angles.  Similar to “Tell Me” from the group’s Myspace page, “Paper Trails”‘ tempo is set in a lower gear, a bouncy throb climbing toward a heavy conclusion.  Lust and intrigue, as usual, are present and smoldering, but the atmosphere is sagacious rather than sinister, with the chorus soaring into the stratosphere.

I think a casual observer of speed of the pittsburgh sound could argue that Big Hurry gets a fair amount of ink and I won’t deny it.  I often trumpet the importance of witnessing local bands settle into their blatant musical talents and Big Hurry are doing just that with grace and potency.  Can’t wait to hear the rest of the EP.  And as for you Pittsburgh, start paying attention.

Big Hurry – Paper Trails

Mr. Andrew Bird, whose own show at the Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland is slowly creeping up on April 7,  gets to be the poster boy for Speed of the Pittsburgh Sound’s new, spiffier, more comprehensive concert calendar for April and May that has just been posted (and because I’m in a fairly euphoric mood after compiling all that concert data, I’ll post a couple tracks off Andrew Bird’s latest, Nobel Beast, down below).

It’s chalk full of small local acts, quality national tours, and massively huge arena shows that will no doubt cost an arm and leg to attend.  Some highlights include:  Andrew Bird (obviously), Kings of Leon with The Walkmen, TV on The Radio with The Dirty Projectors, and last but certainly not least, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.  It’s not easy to prioritize such a healthy concert calendar and with a new job on the horizon, I don’t see myself getting to as many shows as I would like.

There are also a couple shows I clipped off because I refused to keep any March dates present on the page and they would be: Antlers w/ Olympus Mons and Casino Bulldogs this Friday at the Brillobox, Meeting of Important People’s CD release party on Saturday at the Brillobox, The Gaslight Anthem w/ Heartless Bastards and Good Old War at Mr. Small’s on Sunday, and Handsome Furs w/The Cinnamon Band at the Brillobox next Tuesday.   For Pittsburgh’s music scene it’s business as usual, kicking ass and taking names.  Let’s hope the summer months can keep the city bumping.

P.S. If we don’t have your band’s gig posted on the concert calendar, feel free to email us at bowmanpatrick@ymail.com and we will add it as soon as humanly possible.

Andrew Bird – Fitz and the Dizzyspells

Andrew Bird – Effigy

GMPD (Gil Mantera’s Party Dream) – Waking Vision

Okay, okay, I know Gil Manera’s Party Dream (or GMPD as they now wish to be known) is actually from Youngstown, OH, but they have played so many shows in Pittsburgh over the years, including repeated affairs with the likes of local legends Girl Talk and Grand Buffet, that I couldn’t help but consider them apart of the steel city.  Coming off their 2006 fucking stunner of a debut album Bloodsongs, GMPD have just released their sophomore effort Dreamscape in February of 2009.  Where Bloodsongs held a steady, exuberant, party fusion of synth, metal guitars and thumping bass drums for the entire album, Dreamscape seems to be more contemplative and introspective.  The first single from the album ready for download is “Waking Vision” calls to mind classic New Order rather than the smart alleck raps of Grand Buffet.  Complete with a watery bass guitars, shimmering key boards and a beat you can dance to, this song could totally slip onto the soundtrack for “The Breakfast Club.”  Move over M83, GMPD are ready to stake their claim as the post-millennial torch bearers for melancholy, 80′s infused  New Wave.

Gems – Kimberly Don’t Leave

Born as the brain child between former Camera member, Cory Allen, and current Takeover UK member Derek White, Gems is working pretty damn hard to bring their lush, orchestral pop to the masses, starting with “Kimberly Don’t Leave” off their first EP Change To Call You. Shuffling onto the track with so much 60′s nostalgia you’ll have to brush it away from your face, “Kimberly Don’t Leave” is a sweet and simple plea from a guy who desperately can’t see his woman leave.  The composition is flawless, between the gorgeous ooh’s and ahh’s over the bridge, wavy beach guitars present through out, and a monster chorus that is both grand and intimate.  With such a relaxed sense of pop and harmony, I’m pretty positive these guys come up with hooks in their sleep.  Next time I ever have a relationship long enough to get dumped miserably, I’ll listen to this song  and remember that a beautiful chorus has the ability to mend any wound.  That’s probably not true, but it helps me sleep at night.

Chalk Dinosaur – Crazy Folks

Considering Chalk Dinosaur lead singer/songwriter John O’Hallaron has a website devoted to not one but eight volumes his music available for download, I don’t see this guy’s band slowing down their output anytime soon.  “Crazy Folks” off  the most recent Vol. 8 gives a fairly good synopsis of Chalk Dinosaur’s sound: unassuming lyrics, unabashed influences (re: Weezer, The Pixies, the Beach Boys, The Beatles), and a warm aura of an aw shucks slacker persona that makes it appear as if these guys went to high school in 1991.  The track owes more than a little to Weezer’s “Sweater Song,” but where Rivers Cuomo can sound ironic and detached , O’Hallaron comes off refreshingly sincere: youthful, restless, and a little overwhelmed by the future.  The song is pitch perfect in theme, tone and harmony, perfectly illustrating the poignant malaise of a late night going nowhere.  The last verse perfectly encapsulates one of my biggest fears, reminding me to poke a little less fun at the motley crew of regulars 24 hour diner tends to have, “The crazy folks/are the aim of our jokes./But someday I’ll be there.”

Casino Bulldogs – Tuck and Roll

I hope to take at least one road trip this summer.  With the personal promise of said road trip, I desperately need music that personifies freedom, the road, and the hills of western Pennsylvania quickly disappearing in my rear view mirror.  Luckily, Casino Bulldogs have delivered a fast, burning, road trip track in the form of “Tuck and Roll” off their latest EP Stop What You’re Doing to Me! This is rawk at its fastest and most satisfying, full of cruise control guitars, quietly cool vocals, and faster than sound percussion, chugging along with foot stomping rhythm, poised to blow the doors of my little Scion Xa as I get the hell outta dodge.  “Tuck and Roll” immediately sounds as if its been stuck in a tape deck of an 88′ Honda with 200,ooo miles on it for six years, feeding and fueling the fervor too many midnight power drives to count. Classic road music this is, more than ready for anyone’s next adventure.

Stay tuned for part 2 coming in the next week.