saturday night gallop

Hockey Night is from St Paul, Minnesota, which might have given them a slight Replacements DNA boost from the twin city, but they may as well hail from Stockton, CA. Seriously, vocalist Paul Sprangers has the starring roll in Being Stephen Malkmus. And I am perfectly pleased with that.

For Guys Eyes Only might start with a guitar lick, but really it is the first track on the first great summer bubblegum mixtape of 2005. Towards the end sprouts a little Sesame Street / School House Rock kind of jingle and it makes you believe in youthful indie pop again. Great hooks and ideas pop out and surprise from every new corner. Cooperation is more anthemic and less lazy than the Slanted and Enchanted ones. Even to the point of having a rawkish solo thats ripe and ready for your own personal Mascis air guitar.

Somehow they got hooked up with Lookout Records, who is putting out their cd, Keep Guessin'. (Vinyl version on Eenie Meenie). Check out the extended tour about to start soon:

07/06 - Vaudeville Mews - Des Moines, IA
07/07 - Mojo's - Columbia, MO
07/08 - Second Story - Bloomington, IN
07/09 - Comet Bar - Cincinnati, OH
07/10 - Black Cat - Washington, DC
07/11 - 169 Bar - New York, NY
07/12 - Talking Head - Baltimore, MD
07/13 - Koko's - New Philadelphia, OH
07/14 - Gabe's Oasis - Iowa City, IA
07/15 - Metro - Chicago, IL
07/16 - Big V's - Minneapolis, MN
07/22 - 7th Street Entry - Minneapolis, MN
07/23 - The Patio/Midwest Music Summit - Indianapolis, IN
07/24 - Cowboy Monkey - Champaign, IL
07/25 - Brew and View - Rock Island, IL
07/26 - Replay Lounge - Lawrence, KS
07/27 - Outland Ballroom - Springfield, IL
07/28 - Opolis - Norman, OK
07/29 - Rubber Gloves - Denton, TX
07/30 - Emo's - Austin, TX
07/31 - Gypsy Tea Room - Dallas, TX
08/02 - Launchpad - Albuquerque, NM
08/03 - Plush - Tucson, AZ
08/05 - Howie and Sons - Visilia, CA
08/07 - Spaceland - Los Angeles, CA
08/08 - 12 Galaxies - San Francisco, CA
08/09 - Berbati's Pan - Portland, OR
08/10 - Crocodile - Seattle, WA
08/12 - Grant's Brewpub - Yakima, WA
08/13 - The Bouquet - Boise, ID
08/14 - Monk's House of Jazz - Salt Lake City, UT
08/15 - Larimer Lounge - Denver, CO
08/16 - Knickerbocker's - Lincoln, NE
08/19 - Seaport Music Festival - New York, NY

Hockey Night - For Guys Eyes Only
Hockey Night - Cooperation