Mercury Lounge

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Please note: All events are 21+ unless otherwise noted.

Delta Spirit 10:30

Salt and Samovar 9:30
Action Painters 8:30
Peasant 7:30

Thu 9/4

Tickets

$12

Delta Spirit

http://www.myspace.com/deltaspirit
http://www.deltaspirit.net/
Thereâ€™s a scene in Murray Lernerâ€™s film ("Festival"), about the 1963 Newport Music Festival, where Peter, Paul and Mary are shown obliging a resounding call for an encore with the protest song, "If I Had A Hammer." Peter and Paul face each other from the sides and Mary faces the audience of tens of thousands, shaking her blonde hair and bearing down on a song about making change. She would, they would hammer out danger and a warning all over the land. Delta Spirit have five hammers and they swing them the way Mary bobbled her head back in â€™63 for her close-ups, the way Mary sang as if her knees were on fire and her mouth was brimming with more ire laced with optimism than she knew what to do with. These Californians have more in common with the dirty haired, dirty fingernailed folk groups of the nascent years than they do any of their contemporaries. Theyâ€™re suited for reminiscent hopefulness and the gracefully youthful fusion of hostility and all-encompassing passion for all things that can set a smile ablaze or turn the hairs on arms and backs of necks into little beds of nails at the flick of a switch. They make lists of things they like, including all of the people they love, their home, pretty girls, desserts, bodies of water, justice and America. They believe thereâ€™s still hope for it and in all of the rooms contained within the hallways of the bandâ€™s newest offering, "Ode To Sunshine," they make you understand that, when itâ€™s all boiled down, what we all ultimately live for is catharsis and a fulfillment of body meeting land, air and sea harmoniously. Theyâ€™re about bodies meeting bodies, pressing skins to skins. Theyâ€™re about reminding you to listen more than you talk. Theyâ€™re about urging you to put stock in the happiness of others, not just your own. They make it obvious that we have to go somewhere to be somewhere. We have to feel something to really live. They sing of the soul searchers. They sing for the soul searchers. They are the soul searchers. â€“ Sean Moeller

Action Painters

www.myspace.com/actionpainters
http://actionpaintersband.com/
Action Painters do twinkly heartache with the best of them ("Cold Dead Corner"), and their up-tempo numbers ("Never Say I'm Sorry") are convincingly jagged. It's when they let the excitement of being young and romantic make them dizzy, though, that they excel. Album opener "Absolutely Clear" can't decide whether it wants to be classic rawk or post-punk, so Haslow lets his voice tremble and shake and splits the difference, landing somewhere frenetic and epic and sweet. Buried beneath the artsy fury lies AM radio gold. --Spin.com

"Supermarket" is one of the best songs of 2008. Tight garage-y guitars collide into a cocktail that tastes like whiskey, coke, and your head hitting the ceiling as you try to jump out of the room. Spin it until your inner ear is begging for mercy - 32ftpersecond.com

Salt & Samovar

http://www.myspace.com/saltandsamovar
http://saltandsamovar.com
Salt & Samovar is intent on writing the next great American songbook. Uniting classic rhythm & blues, “foot-stomping psyche-garage” intensity (fiddlewhileyouburn.com) and a talent for enduring, archetypal melodies, their repertoire gathers together the musical heirlooms of a cherished American past. The band’s revival-like performances gain their momentum from the legacy of 19th century spirituals. Onstage this energy resonates clearly across historical timelines to the forefront of the 21st century.

Salt & Samovar’s first shows were on a tour of France in September of '06, supporting singer D.S.’s album, ‘Salt & Samovar’. They spent the cold winter of '06-'07 recording their debut, ‘Old Joy, New Joy’ (2007). That September the band launched its first US tour, delivering the sounds of ‘Old Joy, New Joy’ and their 15-foot American flag to 19 cities from coast to coast. On November 8 S&S had its live radio debut when they appeared on KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic”, a performance that solidified the band’s place at 3 on Music Director & host Nic Harcourt’s Top 10 Albums of 2007. In March '08 the band played for the first time at Austin’s SXSW festival, featured at KCRW's showcase. On May 16 they had their 2nd appearance on "Morning Becomes Eclectic". S&S is made up of past & present members of Moonraker, FEAST & The Shivers.

Peasant

http://www.myspace.com/peasant
http://www.iampeasant.com
Although he's been on the road a lot lately, this Peasant has a home. And home for Damien DeRose is the small town of Doylestown, PA; a quaint and charming place outside of Philadelphia where the birth of Peasant's time-honoring (yet unique) sound makes a lot of sense.

Having drawn comparisons to acts like Elliott Smith and Simon and Garfunkle, Peasant creates his own style by channeling his analytical personality through a guitar and soothing, yet troubled lyrics.

Maintaining a humble and engaging personality, Peasant almost contradicts himself with his emotion-evoking songs and composed nature on stage. He has continued to display an ability to quiet nearly any audience with a simple acoustic guitar, an awe-inspiring vocal style, and a personality of timid confidence.

DeRose's lyrical honesty and almost sepia-toned sound inspire both feeling and mental imagery. And it is these lyrics, coupled with the lucid sound of his guitar, that justify the popularity of his first release, Fear Not, Distant Lover.

This spring, Peasant gained new ground, with his sophomore release "On the Ground" (Paper Garden Records debut).... once again leaving fans begging for more.