Friday night’s visit to Tiger Bar by Bottom Of The Hudson and King Of Prussia was a lightly-attended affair, and not surprisingly so. Neither band has what you’d call a high profile or brand name recognition and were far from home – Brooklyn and Athens, Georgia respectively – so in that sense, I kind of feel grateful we had a show at all.

It seems most bands that have come out of Athens recently have a distinctive sort of sound, and ironically it’s nothing like R.E.M. Instead, it’s the shadow of the Elephant 6 that falls most heavily over this hotbed of art and music, King Of Prussia being no exception. Think British Invasion jangle on only mild psychedelics, faithfully retro at the core but not dogmatic about it and willing to add unexpected twists into the recipe. They’re one of the first signings to the newly-resurrected Kindercore label who will be bringing their debut mini-album Save The Scene to the people.

I talked about Bottom Of The Hudson’s new record Fantastic Hawk last week, so I won’t rehash that background info. Live, the Hawk material suffered a bit outside the cohesiveness of the album structure but still sounded good. The main difference I noticed was that there wasn’t so much of the bummed out vibe of the album – I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was upbeat, but Eli Simon cracked a joke or two and the band seemed to take the general lack of crowd density in stride. Ah, the life of a touring indie rock band. Don’t worry guys, those of us who were there enjoyed it. Well I did, anyway.

Photos: Bottom Of The Hudson, King Of Prussia @ Tiger Bar – July 20, 2007
MP3: Bottom Of The Hudson – “Bee Hive”
MP3: Bottom Of The Hudson – “Handwriting”
MP3: King Of Prussia – “Spain In The Summertime”
MySpace: Bottom Of The Hudson
MySpace: King Of Prussia

Some big news for local boys Tokyo Police Club, who’ve signed on with Saddle Creek for the release of their debut full-length, being recorded this September (presumably after their appearance at V Fest day two) and targeting an early 2008 release date. Pitchfork has details on the deal as well as some pictures of their celebratory cake. My Old Kentucky Blog is sharing some songs the band tracked for his Sirius radio show last week and Denver Westworld has a long feature on the band.

The Guardian gave Miracle Fortress’ Five Roses an impressive five out of five stars.

Emily Haines submits an essay about her father to The Toronto Star and she talks to The National Post about his influence. Don’t forget my contest for a copy of her new EP and her father’s poetry book closes at midnight tonight. And I don’t think I’ve commented on the recent re-release of Metric’s “lost” debut, Grow Up And Blow Away. While the vocals and lyricism as distinctly Metric, the overall songwriting isn’t as strong and the synth-pop sound feels a bit toothless compared to their current, rock-infused aesthetic. Interesting as a curio from the band’s past but the world wasn’t a poorer place for its absence.

MP3: Metric – “Hardwire”
MP3: Metric – “Grow Up”

The Times wonders if with a Summer chock full of festivals and touring, the Arcade Fire runs the risk of burning out.

Chad Van Gaalen has been tapped to open up for Great Lake Swimmers at the Phoenix on September 29.

Metromix talks to The New Pornographers’ Carl Newman about some of the business-ier aspects of Challengers, out August 21. He also gives them a guided tour of his new hood in Brooklyn.

Some more details about Toronto’s upcoming Virgin Festival have been released – there will be three stages dotting the Toronto Islands on September 8 and 9 plus what’s called the “B-Live tent”, most likely for dancing and carrying on. Some more bands have also been announced, hailing from both near and far. Locals Noah’s Arkweld, Birds Of Wales and Clothes Make The Man join London’s Enter Shikari on day one while Scots The Cinematics and Biffy Clyro, San Diegans Louis XIV and Toronto’s Justin Nozuka will now be playing on day two. Official word is that still more acts are coming but safe money is that this is close to the final lineup.

The Village Voice looks at the effect that America’s Homeland Security is having on Canadian bands trying to tour the land of the free. Handsome Furs, Frog Eyes and You Say Party We Say Die (who’ve been banned from the US for five years due to border shenanigans) testify to their experiences crossing the 49th.