Contest Win tickets to either Wakey! Wakey! or Violens

Violens

The A.V. Club has a pair of tickets to give away to two shows: Wakey! Wakey! at Lincoln Hall Nov. 4 with Jenny Owen Youngs and Young Buffalo or Violens at Schubas Nov. 5 with Reds And Blue. To win, interested parties should e-mail ochicago@theonion.com with either “Wakey! Wakey!” or “Violens” in the subject line!

As preposterous as it sounds, as a child, Wakey! Wakey! frontman Mike Grubbs would finish his homework as fast as possible so he could play more piano. Despite being son of a longtime piano teacher and choir director, Grubb never learned how to play proper jazz or rock, and was clueless as to how to put a song together. Through experimentation, he found his own style in the form of balancing both pop and art-damaged indie rock. With the help of some strings, drums and horns, Wakey! Wakey!’s first LP sounds like an Oscar-nominated film soundtrack.



In Fall 2007, former Lansing-Dreiden members blended the words “violin” and “violence” and voila! Violens was born. Violens are definitely contemporary, but could probably be mistaken for a Bernard Sumner side-project. Similar to New Order, Violens is both upbeat and dark, but they combine subtle electronic elements with Violent Femmes-like rawness. Put it all together and throw some of Roxy Music’s sophisticated glam on top, and that’s kind of what Violens is like.

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