The legendary Toronto based heavy metal band Anvil are back on the road, starting this Friday, touring the US in support of their upcoming catalog reissue! The End will be re-issuing their first three releases: Worth the Weight, Strength of Steel, and Pound For Pound just in time for Valentine's Day, remastered in digipak format. 

In case you missed them on their tour last year in support of their 16th studio album Juggernaut of Justice- fret not and check the dates after the jump (an awesome live performance of "Metal on Metal") to see if they'll be coming to a joint near you. 

In the meantime, if you are in the Northern Virginia area, we've got a couple passes to giveaway to their Jammin Java show on 1/29! (Courtesy of Tell All Your Friends!) All you have to do is email us by 3 PM on 1/27 and let us know what song you want them to play the most and why.  (Please include your first and last name for guest list requirements.) The winner will be chosen at random and emailed back.

Anvil Tour Dates

1/27 -- Livewire Concert Club -- Mentor-on-the-Lake, OH
1/28 -- Ollie's Point -- Amityville, NY
1/29 -- Jammin Java -- Vienna, VA
1/31 -- Sellersville Theater -- Sellersville, PA
2/3 -- The Melting Point -- Athens, GA
2/4 -- The Hard Rock -- Atlanta, GA
2/5 -- The Rosevelt -- Tampa, FL
2/7 -- Siberia -- New Orleans, LA
2/8 -- Juanita's Cafe and Bar -- Little Rock, AR
2/9 -- Warehouse Live -- Houston, TX
2/10 -- Trees -- Dallas, TX
2/11 -- Backstage Live - San Antonio, TX
2/12 -- Average Joe's Rock Bar -- Laredo, TX
2/15 -- Whiskey A Go Go -- W. Hollywood, CA
2/16 -- The Boardwalk -- Orangevale, CA
2/18 -- El Corazon -- Seattle, WA
2/19 -- Backstage Live -- Tacoma, WA
2/22 -- Station 4 -- St. Paul, MN
2/23 -- Reggie's Rock Club -- Chicago, IL
2/24 -- Token Lounge -- Westland, MI
2/25 -- Anabel's -- Akron, OH

Beatrice Martin, best known in the francophonic music world as Coeur de Pirate, is the Montrealer cutey behind a keyboard with a killer Alice in Wonderland sleeve.  Breaking into the scene with a s/t debut album in 2008, she was quickly recognized as a contender with awards issued in the same year like Felix's "Newcomer of the Year", nominated for a Juno, and mentioned in the Polaris Prize list.  The album went on to sell 600,000 copies worldwide! She's now touring throughout Canada and US before heading off to France in support of her latest release Blonde. Check out the official video for "Adieu" off said album below.

On this tour, she's making a pivotal stop at the 9:30 Club in DC on Wednesday January 25. And the 9:30 Club wants to make sure you see her, so we've got a couple passes to give away!  All you have to do is email us and tell us what your favorite Coeur de Pirate song is and why, by 3 PM on Tuesday Jan 24.  Please include your first and last name for guestlist requirements.

Don't wanna risk not winning and the show selling out? You can still get your tickets here! Not in the DC area and want to check out Coeur de Pirate live? Get a full list of tourdates here! 

(by Dawn Reed) S.C.U.M., the London based post punk art rockers add an abbrasive goth edge to a dance beat, and reverbed vocals in this track "Athens", part of a series they call Signals.  In this series, they recorded music in the studios of the cities they visited, such as Paris, Warsaw, Berlin, and of course Athens. This video of impecable mash-ups of classical Greek God statues and recent riots in the streets of Greece's capital comes off as something that is most likely being transmitted in the electrowaves currently being disperesed to intergalctic civilizations.  

(by Dawn Reed) Digging into a glorious pile of bulgogi at a local K-BBQ joint, you might hear the usual K-Pop bands dominating Korean radio over the speakersystem.  And on a recent outing to kill a spicy pork belly craving at my fav- the Honey Pig, I heard fuzzed out lo-fi guitars instead of bubblegum boy bands. Most call it K-Indie, and it has been sweeping the underground of South Korea for years now, especially in the Hongdae clubs.  But those clubs apparently have been taken over by the increasingly trendy hip-hop (not K-Hop) scene. Nevertheless, with Korean indie labels like Pastel Music and Happy Robot Records still churning them out, we trekked for some of the raddest K-indie band videos to post via the interwebs. So take that PIPA/SOPA.

Making a debut appearance at SxSW last year was the atmospheric shoegaze band Vidulgi OoyoO (Korean for "pigeon milk") who formed back in 2003.  After their debut release Aero came out (US release 2008), they had a brief hiatus when some members left for call of duty and other reasons, and then resumed with the line-up of Jong Suk Lee (guitarist), Ki Hoon Sung (bassist), Jihye Ham (vocals/guitar), and Yongjun Lee (drummer) completing their latest EP Good Night Shining.  They've been compared to other shoegaze greats, such as Slowdive, and have performed with the greats too- such as Mogwai just this past month!  Check out the video above for "Elephant" off of Aero.

Apollo 18 is another great atmospheric/post punk rock band based out of Seoul Korea that toured North America early last year with a stop at SxSW. Formed in the summer of 2008, Kim Dae Inn (bass), Choi Hyun Seok (guitar), and Lee Sang Yun (drums) released their first EP Red shortly after in early 2009 and then their album Blue that summer. Check out the above live clip of Apollo 18 performing "Trampoline" and you'll hear why they've won both the grand prize at 2009's Hello Rookie Awards and "Best New Artist" at 2010's Korean Music Awards! 

Donawhale is an indie rock band that mixes elements of eletronica and soft pop with whispery vocals from Yu Jeon Young that gives them a real college radio appeal.  At least I feel that with the track "Echo" off their 2007 self-titled release. Their debut was followed by their 2009 release Dive In Blue, and as of now- that was there last album. Check out the fan created video for "Echo" above set to the film Oliver & Company with lyrics translated into English.


For some more in depth coverage of the amazing K-Indie scene, I suggest you check out the blog: www.koreagigguide.com/

The L.A. based Latin-funk hip hoppers Ozomatli have been doing what they do for over 16 years now, 5 studio albums in their collection of sound, and continue to make considerably notable performances around the world with many proceeds going to outstanding charities.  And something cool that you may not know about them... in 2008 they became official cultural ambassadors, traveling and performing with sponsership from the US State Department! 

And now, they will be making an appearance in DC at the 9:30 Club on January 21, and the 9:30 Club wants to make sure you get to see them! So we've got a couple passes to give away to one lucky winner. All you have to do is email us by January 20 at 3 PM, and tell us what your favorite Ozomatli song is and why.  Please be sure to include your first/last name for guest list requirements.  The winner will be chosen at random and emailed back.

Don't wanna chance it selling out and not getting that winning email back? You can still get tix (going fast!) here now!!!!

Not in DC and still want to check these guys out? Check out the list of tour dates after this awesome jump where Ozomatli was interviewed for the David Lynch Foundation!

    •     01/15/2012 Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center- Santa Clarita, CA
    •     01/20/2012 Ozomatli’s American Songbook Series - New York, NY
    •     01/21/2012 Nightclub 930 - Washington, DC
    •     01/27/2012 Belly Up Tavern Night 1 - Solana Beach, CA
    •     01/28/2012 Belly Up Tavern Night 2 - Solana Beach, CA
    •    02/11/2012 The Canyons Resort - Park City, UT
    •     02/17/2012 Orpheum Theatre - Flagstaff, AZ
    •     02/18/2012 Rialto Theatre - Tucson, AZ
    •    02/19/2012 House of Blues - Anaheim, CA
    •    04/13/2012 McDowell Mountain Music Festival - Phoenix, AZ
    •    07/28/2012 FloydFest - Floyd, VA