March 2011

Fang Island @ Bowery Ballroom, March 11

There’s a strange bifurcation when it comes to Fang Island. The Brooklyn-by-way-of-RISD band either immediately strikes a chord (more like a symphony) with its newcomers, or it simply doesn’t click.

Most likely, the former category contains some prerequisites like being a punk/prog rock fan; appreciating the flawless execution of an arpeggio; having played Dungeons & Dragons; and presumably, being male. There’s definitely a Revenge of the Nerds catharsis involved with loving Fang Island. They make people want to band together, let their guards down, and cut loose.

For those who don’t get into it, it’s simply, “eh, it’s not really my thing.” And it’s true, they are an acquired taste and if people don’t like them within the first 10 seconds, they probably aren’t going to.

On the other hand, for the converted, it’s not the least bit uncommon to hear instant declarations that Fang Island is the greatest band of all time. The band emotes such a level of visceral energy that makes people feel wired and good…and exaggerate. It doesn’t require a science degree to know that the music is so anthemic and climactic that it releases the juice that makes people happy. Simply put, the band is fucking fun.

READ ON for more from Ryan on Fang Island…

In a recent interview with Billboard, Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament broke the news that the band will soon enter the studio to record a new album. Ament explained that

The fourth snoe.down Winter Music & Sports Festival 2011, presented by Great Northeast Productions and headlined by moe., will take place March 25 – 27. Two pre-party shows are scheduled for March 24. This will be the second consecutive year the event is held at the Spartan Arena in Rutland, Vt. and in Killington, Vt. at the Killington Resort. Tickets are being sold with optional ski lift passes for those that want to hit the slopes as well as rock out at the concerts.

Moe. will headline Friday and Saturday night at Spartan Arena.  One-man-band Keller Williams will open the Friday show and progressive dance-party instrumental rockers Lotus will lead off the Saturday show. Moe. will also play one long set on the Swany Stage on the side of Bear Mountain on Saturday afternoon with the neo-folk  Ryan Montbleau Band opening.

On Sunday, moe. will play a special acoustic set for VIP ticket holders at the Wobbly Barn wrapping up the band’s scheduled appearances for the weekend. Brunch will be served along with infamous moe. banter for the VIPs.  VIP tickets are sold out, but festival tickets and single day tickets, with optional ski lift passes, are still available.

READ ON for more on snoe.down 2011…

The amount of weirdness converging upon Austin this week for South by Southwest is too much for even a three-headed beast to devour. To better make sense of the insane scheduling, inescapable hype and impenetrable venues, Three Grown Men has adopted an alternative coverage strategy.

[All photos by Conor Kelley]

We compiled the list below to help us get our fill of bands, BBQ and booze. Maybe we’ll hunt down everything or maybe we’ll find nothing, but check Hidden Track every day at 1PM ET to join us on our exploits. You can also follow us on Twitter, and friend us on Facebook for all-day coverage. From March 15-20 we are SXSW scavengers.

• Find the youngest band
• Find five bands that don’t suck from five different countries
• Find the best street musician
• Find a famous person in a band
• Find a great funk band
• Find the best brisket in Austin
• Find the best singer/songwriter
• Find the prettiest guitar in Austin
• Find the drunkest dude at SXSW

READ ON for more of 3GM’s South by Southwest Scavenger List…

This oldie-but-goodie from Aziz Ansari is one of the funniest comedy bits in recent memory. Aziz loves to harass his Cinnabon-eating Will Smith-loving teenage cousin, Harris. In this segment –