Dirty Projectors play Red 7 in July
Those Soviet propaganda-inspired murals aren't the only things making Red 7 feel more like "the people's venue" these days: Since the late 2008 facelift that moved all the club's live music to its patio and filled the inside stage area with video games and vinyl booths, the bands that play there have become increasingly diverse. In May, it hosted yelping Baltimoreans Ponytail and local heroes Shearwater; in the next few weeks, underground MC Mr. Lif and Daft Punk tribute act Faux Punk will perform on the nights that don't feature the various permutations of punk and metal that helped establish the club.
But even after all that effort, it won't be until July 15 that the old, dingy, hardcore Red 7 is officially shipped off to Moscow, where it will be mummified and placed next to Lenin. For it is on that night that Brooklyn musicology whiz kids Dirty Projectors will appear on the Red 7 patio, bringing with them the bright, fractured songs of early "best of 2009" contender Bitte Orca.
It's still another week before anyone with "morals" or "no press hook-up" hears Bitte Orca, but when they do, they'll hear the most refreshing record to bubble up from the American underground this year. (Sorry, St. Vincent, Grizzly Bear, and Animal Collective.) We're far enough removed from the SXSW honeymoon to admit that "Stillness Is The Move" has no real chance at wrestling the "summer jam" crown from Black Eyed Peas or Jeremih, but it still deserves to rattle your car's trunk. The same goes for "Useful Chamber," Bitte Orca's 6-minute, 28-second centerpiece that wavers between a throbbing bass-as-heartbeat, an explosive recitation of the album's title, and the stacks of female harmonies that made the band's previous record (the Black Flag re-imagining Rise Above) so intoxicating.
[Also, in flagrant self-promotion news, Decider editor and noted Angel Deradoorian stalker Sean O'Neal will DJ between sets. Stop by the laptop station with a beer, and he just might play your favorite Notorious B.I.G. single. (No promises, but he'll definitely enjoy the beer.)]
No set times have been announced, but seeing as the show doubles as an unofficial after-party for that evening's Tortoise show at the Mohawk (which means a discount on tickets for all those who attend the former, hint hint), things should get underway some time after 11 p.m. A night of music on the art-rock vanguard—it's just as Karl Marx would have wanted it, had he not been so busy freaking out about economics and stuff.
