Good news for fans of The Whigs (that’s us), the band has announced that their new album, In The Dark, arrives March 2, 2010 on ATO Records. This may be old news to some of you, but the band is currently offering a free download (e-mail required) of two of the new tunes “Hundred / Million” and “In the Dark.” More details here.

Download: two new tracks from the Whigs forthcoming album

By Jodi Root

The Whigs are great. They make simple, solid rock and roll. With every new it band of the week, it gets really easy to overlook the basic musical formula of which all today’s genres are stemming from—guitar+bass+drums+vocals. No gimmicks, no extra polishing, no super side project connections. Just flat out loud and basic rock and roll. This Athens trio brought their refreshing sounds to Chicago’s Bottom Lounge last evening to a full house and literally rocked the crowd’s faces off performing tracks from last year’s Mission Control and 06’s Give ‘Em All a Big Fat Lip.

I’ve been a huge fan of Mission Control and fell hard for these guys after catching the last half of their set this past summer at Lollapalooza. My one regret though is that I wish I had been familiar with their older material prior to checking this show as several tracks were accounted for from their debut album. Songs like “Nothing is Easy” sounded hella solid, but I still felt a bit like the awkward 8th grader who wasn’t really invited to the birthday skating party, but showed up at the roller rink anyway—not really sure what’s going on, but still dying to be a part of it.

Highlights from the hour long set included opener “Mission Control,” which led into my personal fave the up-tempo, guitar blazing “Like a Vibration,” and the dance worthy “Hot Bed.” The audience totally lost their shit with the percussion opening of crowd favorite “Right Hand on My Heart”—as far as I could see, nobody was standing still—just a big old dance party, like shows should be, sans any pretentious bastards in the back with arms crossed.

The Bottom Lounge had perfect acoustics and sound set up as always, complimenting the energetic head banging and Animal like thrashing of the musicians on stage. Every time I check the BL, I’ve been impressed by the crisp quality of sound and lighting. The fact that the Whigs were the center of attention just upped my love for this downtown venue.

Last night’s performance was the second or third show I’ve heard of in Chicago in the past few months from this trio, but was actually the first headlining set I was able to catch. I just wish I hadn’t let this pass me by earlier, and know not to again in the future. For an escape from the kitschy trend of the week hype, The Whigs are definitely the perfect solution for an energetic and therapeutic night of true southern rock and roll.

Discuss Did anyone else happen to catch this show last night? What were your personal highlights?

Previously: 5 Questions with The Whigs

Myspace: The Whigs

Kings of Leon ready the release of their new record Only By The Night on September 23rd with a supporting tour to follow, including a stop at the Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee on Wednesday, November 5th. The show will be supported by We Are Scientists and The Whigs.

Myspace: Kings of Leon
Myspace: We Are Scientists
Myspace: The Whigs

+Bookmark our Wisconsin and Chicago shows pages for all your concert announcements+

The following are some recently announced concerts coming to Madison:

7/31 – Toadies/The Whigs – The Annex
8/23 – Xavier Rudd – Majestic Theatre, Madison
9/9 – The Derek Trucks Band – Majestic Theatre
9/11 – Great Big Sea – Majestic Theatre
9/12 – Backyard Tire Fire/Ha Ha Tonka – The Annex
10/9 – The Kooks – Barrymore

Related: The Whigs <3 Madison, eat at Local Tavern, name drop Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, and Juan Nieves.

Find MP3′s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic

+Bookmark our Wisconsin and Chicago shows pages for all your concert announcements+

What did you think of The Whigs last night in Madison? I know some of you got on stage during the encore. Anybody notice Bricco from the Blueheels join in on rhythm guitar for John Lennon’s “Instant Karma.” How about their take on The Who’s “The Kids Are Alright.” See how much fun live music can be when you show up?

Thanks to The Whigs and The Majestic for making last night a rock and roll experience.

Leave us a comment letting us know if you made the show and what you thought. Your comments/reviews improve moral and also qualify you as a journalist, which you can put on your resume!

MoB: 5 Questions with The Whigs

Myspace: The Whigs
MP3: The Whigs – “Right Hand On My Heart”

Find MP3′s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic

Muzzle of Bees proudly presents The Whigs tomorrow night at the Majestic Theatre in Madison. Hey, they recently destroyed LA! Tickets are only $10, plus you have the added bonus of catching Madison’s very own Blueheels open things up! If you missed them the last time through Madison, let this show be your redemption. I caught up with singer/guitarist Parker Gispert for our continuing 5 Questions with Muzzle of Bees feature.

Could you lend some information on the recording process of Mission Control? Where and how was it recorded, and were there any lessons learned that you’ll apply towards future recording sessions?

We recorded demos of each Mission Control song while at home in Athens, Ga. We sent the demos to Rob Schnapf (producer) and talked about which songs we wanted to be on the album. All the songs except “Already Young” remained structurally the same as they were on the demos leaving our studio time in L.A to be spent capturing performances and going after tones. I learned some singing techniques which helped me stay on pitch better during the sessions. Those will definitely be applied when I’m singing live and in the studio next time.

The last time you guys played Madison your encore was a cover of The Rolling Stones “Get Off Of My Cloud.” If you were to cover and entire night of someone else’s material whose would you choose?

Stones

We’re always looking to uncover new favorite artists, are there any band(s)/record(s) that you could recommend to our readers?

Wax Fang’s “La La Land.” The first song on the album is called “Majestic.”

I’m going to be in Athens, GA for the first time later this month. Can you give me some places that are a can’t miss?

Indeed I can. You MUST eat at “The Grit,” “,” and “La Parillia.” Rip the dinner and movie special at “The National” which allows for you to see what’s playing at Cine. Check out a show at the 40 Watt, Caledonia, or Tasty World. Get beers at the Manhattan Cafe, buy records at Wuxtry and Schoolkids, clothing shop at Mynx, and junk shop at Agora. There’s also this new place called Taco Bell that is unique to Athens.

The internet has dramatically altered the way artists can reach an audience. With things like blogs/myspace/etc, what are your thoughts on the power of the internet in terms of helping (or hurting) your music?

I started a blog where people can read about things we do while touring. The fear of using internet tools to keep people connected is that you lose mystique and imagination from your audience as to what the band could be up to at any given moment. On the other hand you gain intimacy and develop a more personal relationship with your audience. Its been fun talking to people at shows who read the blog and are caught up to date with what we’ve been doing the previous weeks before a show. Most importantly the blog allows for bands to be exposed to audiences in their natural form. We don’t have to rely on a journalist who knows nothing about us to portray “the real Whigs” after spending 20 minutes interviewing the band. The blog format allows for a developing stream where one day you are partying and playing in front of 3,000 people and the next you are discouraged and playing to 12. Hopefully it enhances people’s experiences with our music to see where we are coming from artistically based on where we are coming from personally.

MoB Ticket Giveaway: We have two (2) pairs of tickets for The Whigs at the Majestic Theatre to give away to the MoB faithful.

To enter, please send an e-mail to muzzleofbees.com @ gmail.com with The Whigs as the subject of your e-mail. We will notify the winners by e-mail on Tuesday.

Myspace: The Whigs
MP3: The Whigs – “Right Hand On My Heart”

Find MP3′s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic