Obits : Live at the Empty Bottle now up on WFMU-curated Free Music Archive...

Our recording of Obits set at The Empty Bottle up on the FMA with five others, including that first Cake Shop show! :

WFMU : FREEDOM IS FREE FORM!

"In the aftermath of Obits' first gig (Jan 12th 2008 @ Cake Shop NYC), word spread fast about this four-piece fronted by underground rock veterans Rick Froberg (Hot Snakes, Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu) and Sohrab Habibion (Edsel).

Along with the word came the sound: the Cake Shop bootleg, attesting to the nascent band's greatness (and their full year spent gearing up for this show!) as it was passed around by fans online. it's a lo-fi document, but a cohesive Obits sound shines through: one with incredible live energy, drawing on a wide range of influences with wisdom and sparseness and a rhythm section to match. That recording soon reached the ears of the mighty Sub Pop label, for whom the Obits are currently two albums deep.

The Cake Shop recording is now one of six Obits live performances hosted here on the FMA, where the group has taken ownership over their "bootlegs" by actively adding new sets to the archive. In addition to sets curated by WFMU (Evan "Funk" Davies show in 2009, June 4th 2011 on Terre T's Cherry Blossom Clinic) and KEXP ("Put It In Writing", 5/16/2009), there are recent sets from Athens GA's Caledonia Lounge and Chicago's Empty Bottle. The latter two were recorded by local scene archivists whose websites yield many more gems: Southern Shelter (Athens GA) and Gonzo (Chicago).

For Obits on record, check out I Blame You (2009) and Moody, Standard And Poor (2011) at Sub Pop, who also co-released two 7"s ("One Cross Apiece b/w Put It In Writing " & "I Can't Lose" b/w "Military Madness") with Comedy Minus One. All of these releases are highly recommended."

Interesting article. Almost made it to NYC for that show. Did we mention how great the artwork on the newest record is? Damn. Really, though.

Listen to Obits play "Moody, Standard, and Poor" at the Empty Bottle...

Sadly, last night, I missed Hozac's People's Temple and the sloppy fun of Loose Dude's. I was a bit bummed, but bopping around to the always entertaining, fresh Subpop signee's Jaill...it made me happy that I got there at least to catch them.

The mighty OBITS, consisting of Rick Froberg, Greg Simpson, Sohrab Habibion, and Scott Gursky, tore apart the Empty Bottle last night with a ton of scathing cuts from "Moody, Standard, and Poor" , launching into the stratosphere in a mere two weeks.

I regaled them in stories of interviewing and filming Handsome Furs, in which Dan Boeckner told me Obits singlehandedly turned him around on SXSW, and how it was insane he even got to meet Rick Froberg.

Make no mistake, the fellows in Obits are extremely nice. Downstairs in the green room of the Empty Bottle, I asked Sohrab if he was the one that agreed to let me record it. He smiled, stretched his hand out, and excitedly introduced himself...later, Greg Simpson gave me a shirt and a fresh copy of "Moody, Standard, and Poor" for the price of a record. Swell folks.

They began their set with new cuts off their soon-to-be-released sophomore Subpop outing...peppered in some classics like "SUD", "Widow of My Dreams", "Milk Cow Blues", and "One Cross a Piece".

It can take quite a bit to engage with new songs noone has heard, but these new tracks, as you can hear below, have all the bite and hooks of anything Rick Froberg and his band of cohorts has put out. A completely engaging, sweaty, brutal set with a few heart-felt ballads, and slow-jams by Sohrab in the mix. This was their third time gracing the Empty Bottle's stage, and by far the strongest.

Now I just have to fix my record player...


OBITS Start their destruction of Chicago's Empty Bottle with a slew of new songs, "Run", and another cut off "I Blame You"

Enjoy :


Raging on with "Widow of my Dreams" , "One Cross a Piece" , "SUD", "I Can't Lose" , and more new jams off Moody, Standard, and Poor! Out in two weeks on Subpop!


They end their reign of fire on the Empty Bottle in Chicago with ripping new songs "Killer", "Shift Operator", "I Want Results" , and end with a double encore of "Milk Cow Blues" and "Talkin' to the Dog". INSANE!!! Thanks to the OBITS!

...and please watch this space on April 4th for some big news