TVD Ticket AND Vinyl Giveaway | Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves | Friday (9/19) at the The Rock & Roll Hotel

You get a little jaded doing alla' this blogging. Well wait, let me clarify--one's email inbox tends to fill up quite nicely with solicitations from bands, invites to gigs, and all sorts of announcements. It's dizzying. But ya' know what...I welcome it when it delivers something that makes me finally sit up and take notice:

Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the seven piece True Loves are bringing their brand of old school soul (think Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding...) to the Rock and Roll Hotel on September 19th. Featured recently on NPR's morning edition alongside Sharon Jones and the DapKings, as MOJO magazine put it: There are singers who sing, then there are singers whose sheer power of expression can knock you off your feet. Eli 'Paperboy' Reed falls firmly into the latter category ... [he] threatens to be one of the defining voices of the year."

Eli's given TVD two pairs of tickets (2 winners!) for this Friday's show at the Hotel, along with DC's The Ambitions and The Jones. (And you'd be wise to catch Eli and the True Loves in this more intimate setting before they hit the road with Duffy this October.) But if THAT wasn't sweet enough, he's tossing in a copy of his new "Roll With You" on vinyl for both winners.

So--get to typing! Leave us an old school comment why you should be one of the chosen two winners for the pair of tickets and a copy of the LP shipped right to your door. We'll take solicitations for the show until noon on Friday and please remember to leave some contact info!

Eli 'Paperboy' Reed - Am I Wasting My Time (Mp3)



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TVD's Daily Wax

I had to laugh when Madonna introduced Gogol Bordello at last year’s Live Earth concert as her “Romani gypsy friends.” None of the band members are actually Roma gypsies; the whole point of the “gypsy punk” genre is a self-conscious symbolic identification with those consummate outsiders. “Gypsy punk” reflects an ongoing effort to blend together every kind of rebel music and distill it into the auditory equivalent of a twenty-four hour vodka party. Authentic gypsy music is as variable as Romani culture itself, assimilating a multitude of influences from all over the world. Modern “gypsy punk” upholds this multicultural aesthetic by layering punk, hip hop, reggae, klezmer, and rock over traditional gypsy melodies. The live performance aspect is one of the best features of the genre; the spectacular concerts often include stylistic aspects of dark cabaret and street busking. There is a powerful immigrant sensibility in the bands’ identity and music. The artists typically have roots in Eastern Europe, South America, the Mediterranean, or the Middle East, and their lyrics are a polyglot potpourri reflecting their origins and audiences. This is aggressively enjoyable music, uproarious and eminently danceable. It’s like the set list from the hottest party happening on the wrong side of town, the one you’d love to go to, if only you had someone who spoke the language to take you. Oh yeah, and this is my supreme favorite hybrid genre ever. Round of applause for anyone who can guess why and posts it in the comments!

Gogol Bordello - Ultimate (Mp3)
Kultur Shock - God Is Busy May I Help You (Mp3)
Man Man - Banana Ghost (Mp3)
Rotfront - Remmidemmi (Mp3)
Zydepunks - Satan (Mp3)