Indianapolis, clear your schedule for the night of Saturday, Sept. 29 for what is guaranteed to be one of the best rock and roll parties of the year with Nick Waterhouse & His Tarots and Allah-Las at White Rabbit Cabaret. Once again, thank MOKB Presents and Sun King Presents for bringing this killer lineup to our fine city.
If you don’t know him yet, 26-year-old California native Nick Waterhouse is as gifted and multi-faceted as they come; immersed in vintage sounds and consummate style, Waterhouse is a first-rate singer, songwriter, and musician, an analog-only production genius, and founder of his own 45-only imprint, Pres Records.
On his debut album, Time’s All Gone (released May 1), Waterhouse blasts deep grooves with a rocking heart that dives headfirst into the endless riches of inspiration of all the 45s come and gone. Now, he resides in Los Angeles, but Waterhouse told KEXP that Time’s All Gone is a “love letter to my time in San Francisco. That’s all my life right there and the epic odyssey of growing up in that city from the age 18 to 25.” He cut the album at the famed Distillery, an analog-only haven that has served as a musical oasis where Waterhouse can bring to life all the sounds in his head stemming from an encyclopedic knowledge of a lifetime of 45s he discovered while working at Rooky Ricardo’s in San Francisco.
Admittedly, Waterhouse has a vintage soul and style, rooted in an analog sounds, ‘50s fashions, and timeless sounds. The inception of Waterhouse’s rise started with a single 45, “Some Place,” (a self-released record that DJs have routinely coughed up $300 for) in which Waterhouse voiced primal, impassioned restlessness: “There’s some place, I swear it’s not in my mind / but it’s somewhere I been trying so hard to find / some place, I know it’s not quite clear / a place I can only say that it’s not right here.”
Brought to raging life with Waterhouse’s blistering Little Richard energy and an infectious “Welllllllllll” right up front, Waterhouse kicks in jungle rhythm, a brass bonanza, and an irresistable body-shaking groove. On record, “Some Place” (and the entirety of Time’s All Gone), is old-school rhythm & blues perfection. In a live setting, Nick Waterhouse & His Tarots will ignite a party for the ages. This isn’t your average party; this is the sweatiest, sexiest, all-inclusive, good-time fiesta with an amplified soundtrack that will never go out of style. They’ll bring the blistering R&B and heavy soul played at full blast, and you bring eager ears, a good mood and a readiness to move.
Nick Waterhouse – “Some Place”
He has a classic sound with the hot-blooded spirit of all the Stax, Decca and Sun greats who have come and gone but never faded away, but Waterhouse doesn’t believe his sound is particularly anachronistic. He told SF Weekly, “A record is a moment in time, and something recorded in 1955 is the same as something recorded in 2010.” He told GQ that he plays a 1963 electric Martin and uses ’60s Ampeg and MegaTone amps because they sound better; not because they’re old.
He’s right; all of it sounds damn fine. Take “Say I Wanna Know,” the first single from Time’s All Gone. Listen to that rich atmosphere in the production, the juicy brass blasts, the infectious organ and ragtime piano riffs, and the intoxicating soul of The Naturelles at his back. You know right up front that Waterhouse’s world is one you want to be living in.
Allah-Las will be bringing their own addictive blast of garage rock and Paisley Underground in support of Waterhouse & His Tarots. If you’ve got an insatiable love for ‘60s garage, surf, and soul and haven’t heard Allah-Las yet, run out and buy their brand-new, self-titled debut as soon as you can. It’s a spectacular debut effort that bridges the infectious energy of early Stones, Yardbirds riffs, Ventures surf perfection, and all the California sunshine you can squeeze on two sides of vinyl. The album is hot off the presses (released Sept. 18), and this L.A. four-piece has a future brighter than the photosynthetic psychedelia that drips from every corner of their sound.
Allah-Las – “Busman’s Holiday”
Concert: Nick Waterhouse & His Tarots – Live in Berlin
Buy Tickets to MOKB Presents and Sun King Presents: Nick Waterhouse and the Tarots w/ Allah-Las @ White Rabbit Cabaret
Nick Waterhouse and the Tarots Tour Dates:
9/26 – Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
9/28 – St. Louis, MO – Plush
9/29 – Indianapolis, IN – White Rabbit Cabaret
9/30 – Nashville, TN – Hi Watt
10/2 – Washington, DC – RocknRoll Hotel
10/3 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brendas
10/4 – Boston, MA – Great Scott
10/6 – NYC – Bowery Ballroom
10/8 – Toronto, Canada – Great Hall
10/10 – Chicago – Lincoln Hall
10/11 – Minneapolis – Fine Line
10/14 – Seattle, WA – Neumo’s
10/15 – Bellingham, WA – Wild Buffalo
10/16 – Vancouver, Canada – Biltmore
10/17 – Portland, OR – Star Theater
10/20 – San Francisco, CA – Bimbo’s
All dates with Allah-las
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