NME has named dreamy L.A. pop duo Kisses one of the ‘50 Best New Bands of 2010′ — number 40 to be exact — saying “This duo are so laid-back, they sound like Erlend Oye in a crushed velvet smoking jacket.” (Okay, I had to look that one up. . . Norwegian guy . . . Kings of Convenience.) Kisses songwriter Jesse Kivel describes their sound as “nerdy, cheesy, popular music that’s a whole lot of fun”. I might add ‘languid’ and ‘tranquilizing’ and I mean that in a good way. Their first single ‘Bermuda’ got noticed right out of the gate, and now ‘People Can Do The Most Amazing Things’ is also garnering attention (The Guardian). In October they go on the road to Japan, England and parts beyond. (Prediction: Paris is going to love them.)

And yes, there is a local connection — the fetching girl on keyboards is Providence native and Lincoln School grad, Zinzi Edmundson, who moved to the West Coast for college and seems to be fitting right in.

Matthew, go here for Saint Etienne remix. (Videos after the jump.)

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Friday — @Club Hell, Surgeon, Metal 101, the Evening @AS220, Leather Bastard, Interplay, Max Cudworth Experiment @Jerky’s, Negative Approach, Wisdon in Chains, COA, Pow, Bear Trap, Tabernackle

Saturday — @Firehouse 13, Mrs. Six Eyes, Tomorrowcats, Whack Sabbath, Undercover, Drum Class @AS220, Mockingbird, Before the Eyewall, Acariya, She Rides @Jerky’s, Jahpan, Juan Duce, Team Franchise, Chi, Blak, Mongo @the 201, Sonorous Gale, Innerds

Sunday — @AS220, Peelander-Z, Math the Band, Lemon Lime Tennis Shoes, Hank Sinatra Jr.

(Photo of Peelander—Z by Daisuke Yoshida)

Friday — @Lupo’s, the English Beat, Bad Manners, Chris Murray @the 201, Woozy, Villainer, Rhythm and Blues Motherfuckers, Super Vacations @Firehouse 13, Prayers for Atheists, David Carradine, Poorly Drawn People, To the Depths @the Narrows, Taj Mahal @Club Hell, Ultrageist, Last Chance to Reason @AS220, Some Fresh Extraterrestrials, Erin Boyea, Small Deceased Animals

Saturday — @Firehouse 13, Half Man/Half Human, Flying Snitches, Los Calores, Nightmare Destruction, Jose y Jose @Comcast, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, My Morning Jacket @AS220, Zulu Lulu, Infinite Children, Octopus Triangle, Acoustiyah @the Penalty Box, Gravity Works

Sunday — @AS220, Mongo, Egg Brains, the Bygones, Dan Liparini @Jerky’s, Battle of the Bands starts 1pm

(Photo of Villainer by Ryan Scott Johnson)

Friday — @Machines With Magnets, Jacob and the Terribles, Idiot Vehicle, OKFY Radio, Mike Taylor @the 201, She Rides, Jesuscentric, Thrillhouse @AS220, The Devil My Pocket, MV EE, Andrew Graham and Swarming Branch Vio/Mire @Club Hell, the McGunks, Hope Anchor, Galvanize, PHI @the Colosseum, Sexcoffee, Pistol Shot Gypsy, For the Love of Sloane

Saturday — @Nick-A-Nee’s, the Goods @Firehouse 13, Interplay, Leather Bastard, Tom Casale @Club Hell, Phosphorescent, J. Tillman (Fleet Foxes) @the Penalty Box, Mark Cutler and Men of Great Courage  @the 201, Emanuel and the Fear (see below), A Clear Blur, Girlfriends @AS220, Foo Fest (see below) ESG, Javelin, Warpaint, Dropdead, Peter Glantz and Imaginary Company, Kintaan, Shryne, and many many more

Sunday — @Firehouse 13, Andy T. (formerly of Deer Tick), the Shivers, David Israel, Chris Paddock and Mother Mckenzie

(Photo of Megasus by Elliot Clapp)

It’s such a fine line between persistence and nagging, and I have to say these guys have been very . . . proactive (and this will seal my doom inbox-wise I suppose). But all of this comes to nothing if we don’t find you interesting. I finally got around to giving them a listen and this is some wildly original stuff. I found this amusing mention from a year ago in The L Magazine under ‘8 NYC Bands You Need to Hear’,

Thanks to Arcade Fire and a smattering of other bands that have bought into this idea that it’s perfectly acceptable to have every single one of your friends join you on stage, it’s no longer terribly rare to come across a band like Emanuel & the Fear, a mostly Brooklyn-based band boasting eleven members. What sets them apart, though, is that each and every one of them is there for a reason. You won’t find anyone standing around lightly tapping on a tambourine — they’re a massively ambitious rock and roll orchestra incorporating everything from violin and cello to trumpet and trombone, not to mention the standard guitar, bass, drums and piano that are represented as well.

Ain’t that the truth, but how are all these musicians (and that guy’s hair) going to fit into this club? I can’t wait to find out. I don’t think Emanuel et al. have to worry about competing with Foo Fest. This should be a completely different experience and may well attract a large number of Foo-ed out fans from up the street. So give a listen to some of these songs, and kudos to ‘the 201′ who have been booking some very cool nights of music. (photo credit: chris becker)

8pm, Saturday, Emanuel and the Fear, 201 Westminster Street

Head over to Dark Lady for Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores, Dead Western, Omnivore, Panoptics.

9pm, the Dark Lady, 124 Snow Street

At AS220, Almost Blind (from Pawtucket), Deprivation, Lights Over the Atlantic

9pm, $6, AS220, 115 Empire Street

Friends of India Point Park bring you Thursday music, starting tonight and continuing on August 19th and 26th.

Enjoy the hottest DubStep, electronic and hip-hop music featuring performances by DJ Bees Knees (all the way from New Orleans!) and Providence’s own DJ’s Micah Jackson, Lively Experiment, Thirsty Sounds, live music by Extraordinary Rendition Band, Matt Keane and many other special guests!

Bring a blanket, dancing shoes, or pull up in your yacht.

5pm, Thursday, Park Series, India Point Park

If I didn’t have to work tonight . . .

California hardcore punk band Ceremony plays tonight at AS220. This video is a couple of years old. I don’t know if the band’s lineup is still the same, but if it is, tell ‘blondie’ he has a fan. Super headbanging percussion here. With Wet Friend, Soul Control, Vaccine.

$7, 9pm, Wednesday, AS220, 115 Empire Street

‘Creation Tuesday’ tonight features Drugs and Gum (Christopher Stetson Wilson and another person) at the Spot Underground. Wilson describes the music,

Drugs and Gum is an experimental pop and folk duo. All music is composed by a million monkeys at a million musical instruments. Any entertainment you experience is purely coincidental.

We are all responsible for our own happiness after all. Just keep the monkeys away from me.

Friday — @the 201, Birdlips, Chris Paddock/Diego Perez, the Loom @Club Hell, Smart Bomb, the Brunt of It, the Down and Outs, Starting Over Tuesday @the Spot, Spogga @Firehouse 13, Hank Sinatra Jr, Yavinfive, Lil’ Vag, the Unibrows, Weak Teeth, the Letter Q @Waterplace Park, OK Go @AS220, MOGA

Saturday — @Firehouse 13, the Ones, La Merma, Atlantic Thrills, Clusterfuck @Nick-A-Nee’s, Mark Cutler and Friends @AS220, Icky Bonez, B. Cobb, Miles Stenhouse and the Road to Ruin

Sunday — @AS220, Divets, No One and the Somebodies, Turbosleaze, Private Public @Club Hell, the Midnight Creeps, the Shutdown, Blank Tradition, La Merma, Standard Deviance, the Pity Whores

(Birdlips photo by Alan Kayanan)

Damian Kulash (Brown ‘98) and the boys will perform this Friday as part of the Friday Night Concert Series. And if you have never watched their amazing Rube Goldberg video for the wonderful ‘This Too Shall Pass’ sit down and do it now. It’s one continuous shot that finally succeeded on the 60th take I think.

7:30pm, Friday, OK Go, Free, All Ages, Waterplace Park,

Special WaterFire treat tonight at Turk’s Head Plaza — the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Francisco Noya will perform an evening of orchestral music inspired by the flaming, floating extravaganza that is. . . WaterFire.

Approximately 2,500 chairs will be placed in the Plaza for audience members . . . The program includes Smetana’s The Moldau, Mahler’s Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 and Pärt’s Fratres.

Plus doughboys. The music will be miked and broadcast along the river for all to hear. Also performing — dancers from the Festival Ballet of Providence and soprano Diana McVey will sing music by Puccini and others. According to the ProJo there will be 5000 chairs. Anyway, lots of chairs. Further,

Noya said it’s music that “connects on a deeper level,” pieces like Barber’s Adagio, which was used in the soundtrack of the movie “Platoon.” He said that he and Evans picked a program with the “WaterFire vibe,” selections chosen to “support the ambience and the mystique of WaterFire.”

Ignition at 8:04pm, concert 9pm to 10:30pm, WaterFire, Saturday, downtown

Friday — @AS220, Academia, the Royalty, Tens of Thousands, the Universes @Lupo’s, Social Distortion, Dan Sartain, Action Design @Firehouse 13, Damsels, Masamune, Welcome to the Tide, Neomura @Jerky’s, the Reducers, Mark Cutler and Friends, Glory Hole, 2Guysandanotherguy @Club Hell, Doosh Bucket, the Paraplegics, Superpower

Saturday — @the 201, Jeff Byrd and Dirty Finch, Leah Carlson and the Heartless @Lupo’s, the Gaslight Anthem, Chamberrlain, Tim Barry @Club Hell, the Coming Weak, Keep Me Conscious, Kodiak Attack, the Tower and the Fool @AS220, Concord Ballet Orchestra Player, Goliath, Something Like Banter and the Cybernetic Inevitable All-Stars, the Invisible Hours

Sunday — @Jerky’s, Danny Diablo, Jaysaun, UGP, White Owl @Club Hell, Dhoulmagus, Rysk, Annabelle Lee, Black Vendetta

Scroll down for links to IndieArts, Newport Folk Festival and Wooly Fair.

Happy Anniversary to Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel — Thank You for 35 glorious years of music!!!

(Photo of Social Distortion by Justin Borucki)

See what I mean about the birds. . .  they are up to something. Providence is jam-packed with things to do tomorrow (some bands even doing double-duty). A perennial favorite is the IndieArts Fest downtown at Burnside Park and the BoA Skating Rink. Featured bands and performers include the Cellar Doves, Mahi Mahi (at 10pm), the Viennagram, Atlantic Thrills, Homewreckers and many many more. Also visit the Arts Exchange,

. . . a marketplace offering artwork, locally-designed jewelry, clothing, accessories, silk-screened posters and T-shirts, handmade crafts, cards, prints, vinyl records, compact discs, vintage clothing, eyeglasses, jewelry, books, etc.

There will be Roller Derby with DJ KingEvRock, and the best part of the whole thing — the General Burnsides Facial Hair Contest at 5pm on the BoA Skating Stage! Join host Christopher Johnson and cheer on your favorite whiskers.

IndieArts Fest, Saturday, noon to midnight, downtown Kennedy Plaza, schedule here

The Newport Jazz Festival, held this year on August 7th and 8th, is rolling into Newport’s Fort Adams Park and we would love to see you there enjoying the music, the scenery, and the fun! To make that happen, Clean Water Action is offering reduced rate tickets at $54 per day on a first come, first serve basis. We have a limited number of tickets available, so contact us ASAP to reserve your tickets!  How it works:

1) You call 401.331.6972 or email npoepping@cleanwater.org and provide the following information: your name, number, address, the number of tickets you would like to reserve, and what is the best way to get the tickets to you (mail or pick up).

2) You pay. Write a check to Clean Water Action and send it in or deliver it when you come pick up your tickets. Please specify that it is for the Newport Festivals. If all you have is cash or a credit card, we can work with that too. For credit, we will need to take down your credit card info and process it at our national office. Our address is 741 Westminster Street, Providence, RI, 02903.

3) We deliver or hold the tickets here at our office for pick-up.

Click on link for more information about the Jazz Fest line-ups. Clean Water Action will have a table set up adjacent to the main stage and will be running the recycling and composting program throughout the weekend. Feel free to stop by anytime during the festival to say hello and support our work!

Can’t wait to see you there!

The theme this year is ‘Back to Nature’. Head over to Monohasset Mill and the Steel Yard for music and interactive art. See the Flower Tower, the Churning of the Ocean, Nesty Tacos, the Blue Passage! And the Honey Bunny Rangers will be glad to tell you where to go. Entertainment includes,

DJ Rupture, Triangle Forest, the lovely Blevin Blectum (on the jellyfish corridor, 5pm to 8pm), Viennagram, Micah Jackson, Sensual Dan, Raw Lip, Caroline Hecht, Extraordinary Rendition Marching Band, The Atlantic Thrills, Through the Keyhole Burlesque, The Get Lively Experiment, and Thirsty Sounds

$15 at door, 1pm to 1am, Saturday, Wooly Fair, 64 Eagle Street