April 22, 2009

9:00 pm

Need some action? Action Painters frontman Tom Haslow won’t let you down. But don’t come just for the eye candy (see also: Allison Zatarain on keyboards), not that there’s anything wrong with that. Come for the total package — um, no pun intended — just a little raw and just below the radar. Spin calls the Painters’ sound ”twinkly heartache.” That heartache could be yours.

Bounce and swoon at: The Red & The Black, 1212 H St. NE

Doors: 9:00PM

Show: 9:30PM

Tickets: $6

Free EP download here: http://www.actionpaintersband.com

Playing with: http://www.myspace.com/thekillerballoons

Action Painters = authentic angsty indie rock with just enough new-wave to keep you bouncing to the last synth-tinged note. And a sweet colorful Cyndi Lauper cover to boot… “Money Changes Everything.”

A little more spin from Spin:

“Action Painters do twinkly heartache with the best of them, and their up-tempo numbers are convincingly jagged. It’s when they let the excitement of being young and romantic and stupid make them dizzy, though, that they excel. Album opener “Absolutely Clear” can’t decide whether it wants to be classic rawk or post-punk, so Haslow lets his voice tremble and shake and splits the difference, landing somewhere frenetic and epic and sweet. It all sounds sort of tossed off, as if the band doesn’t care, but buried beneath the artsy fury lies AM radio gold. Think the Replacements if they had given a damn more often.” –Spin Magazine

And a little hotness to leave you wanting more: