Pile (Boston, MA) w/ Panther Car & (latent)
Tuesday, September 19 // Door at 7:30 PM // Show at 8 PM // $16 Advance // $18 DOS For fifteen years, Pile’s evolving take on rock has earned the group one oft-repeated superlative: “your favorite band’s favorite band.” Ceaseless touring took its members from Boston’s basement circuit to international festivals, hitting loftier technical apexes with each new record. Maguire—the fastidious composer, evocative guitarist, and potent voice behind the solo-turned-punk project—gives musical body to his interior world in scream-along-able lyrics that skew surreal. Drummer Kris Kuss’s time-defying performances, layered over gnarled basslines, have garnered widespread acclaim. 2019’s Green and Gray took Pile’s thunderous noise to more intricate realms, thanks to new recruit Alex Molini’s work on bass and keyboards, and Chappy Hull’s dextrous interplay on second guitar. After completing past records, Pile’s had goals bubbling on the backburner. Maguire poured all of those and then some into All Fiction, and this purity of intention unlocked a refreshed sense of joy and fulfillment in Pile’s music. “I like thinking art has the capacity to change things and the way people function. But the means to get that art out there and get people to connect to it can be draining—and I overcommitted, in a lot of cases, to trying to be an island,” Maguire admits. All Fiction was sparked by a beguiling sonic palette, but it’s also infused with love from the years of trust between Kuss, Molini, and Maguire. Proof’s in the aftermath: though they spent five years as a long distance project, post-All Fiction, all three members of Pile are once again living in the Northeast.https://fieldbookingagency.com/pile/Photo credit Adam Parshall. Panther Car comes in the shape of a traditional rock band yet sounds far from it. Their amorphous brand of pop music teeters between the radiant iridescence of psychedelia and the murky darkness of dreams. Every moment is a door that opens into a new room. Songs progress through tangential wormholes as in an ecstatic conversation; music that is equal parts meditation and celebration. Hard to categorize, maybe Panther Car is better defined by negation. Panther Car is not something you want to miss. (latent) is a Missoula based band composed of Zack Buchholo, Nick Togliatti and Jake Swank. These three fellers have been playing music together for nearly a decade and this band is a culmination of their endeavors to incorporate absurdity, sincerity, and high energy music into a single intense project. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
The Pack Strings + The Gravy Ladles + Arwen Grace Baxter
Thursday, March 30 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 // $15 Artist Supporter Ticket The Pack Strings are a lively acoustic trio from Missoula. Their music is rooted in Americana and draws inspiration from folk, rock, and bluegrass. The members of this cohesive three-piece settle into a fun groove as they trade lead vocals, swap instruments, and sing harmonies. You can expect to hear some creative original material as well as spirited covers and unique takes on some good ‘ole stand-bys! The Pack Strings feature Marit Olsen on violin, Connor Adams on bass, and Chad Pickett on guitar. The Gravy Ladles “pour it on” to serve up a slice of Americana music with a homegrown feel. Twins Sky (vocals, guitar, bass) and Kevin (vocals, djembe, ukulele, bass) Weaver join Alia Fintz (vocals, saxophone, fiddle, ukulele, bass) to bring soaring three part harmonies and a mix of instrumentation to heartfelt originals and some fun covers. Arwen Grace Baxter is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and actor. Raised on the rivers of Idaho and Montana, place inspires her work. Her first album, ‘Wildfire Season’ is available on Spotify and all streaming platforms, with her second album, ‘Prodigal Daughter,’ set for release in June of 2022. She holds degrees in English literature and theatre from the University of Montana and lives in Missoula, Montana. Her writing has been published in the Scribendi Literature and Arts Magazine, The Sun Magazine, The Oval, and UReCA, and her poetry chapbook, Anchor Ice, is available at Fact & Fiction in Missoula. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Bluest + Summer like the Season (Detroit) + Modular Haze
Tuesday, March 28 // Door at 7:30 PM // Show at 8 PM // $10 // $15 Tour Supporter Ticket Bluest is an indie rock band out of Missoula MT, orchestrated by the longings and hauntings of Noelle Huser. Her songs are chalked full of adolescent nostalgia and sweetness, soured by the biting existential dread of figuring out who you are in it all. With pleas of empathetic anger a la diary-scrawled lyrics, she pays homage to her 90s/00s angst pop and country influences Alanis Morissette and Sheryl Crow. Bluest’s chilling debut album Cold Sweat, sifts through dreams and nightmares to find solace in serenading ghosts. It is emboldened with a hunger to return from dissociation back into the body, finding oneself in the present, feet on the ground, blood boiling, head in the clouds and heart on the sleeve. Cold Sweat will be released in May 2023 through Anything Bagel. Summer Like The Season is an indie electronic/art rock/experimental pop band performing the musical musings of Summer Krinsky. Based out of Detroit, Summer’s sound is characterized by poppy vocals mingling with polyrhythmic harmonies, bizarre breakbeats, and ethereal soundscapes. Exploring themes of this cyborg era, the musical/lyrical content examines the intermediary role technology plays in modern identity. The sound is stylized by the use of mixing and production as a compositional foundation, tracing the edge between live instrumentation and contemporary electronics. Summer experiments with programming novel audio controllers and designing interactive installations, pushing boundaries to ameliorate human/digital expression. For the live show meticulous songwriting collides with bursting noise, Summer plays drum kit and sings alongside Scott Murphy (synth/electric violin/mpc) and Liam McNitt (guitar/backup vox/electronics). ModularHaze is a wave of sonic, synth thickness and visuals! Consisting of Sam Kaley, Chris Lee, Chris Bacon, and Sarah Frazier. We make you want to get in Neon Powered Cars and drive fast! For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
WOW Songwriters Showcase (& Bake Sale!), A Fundraiser for the Literary Podcast Words Out West
Sunday, March 26 // Door, with Bake Sale & Songwriters Merch Sale starts at 6:30 PM // Showcase begins at 7 PM // $10 // $15 Podcast Supporter Ticket Enjoy an evening of music and support the literary podcast, Words Out West! Hosted by Cole Grant, this Showcase boasts five Montana-based songwriters – Sean Howard Burress, Rebecca Kelley, Greg Owens, Gabrielle Tusberg, and Maria Zepeda. A bake sale by friends of WOW and artist’s CD and merch sales start at 6:30 PM. The Showcase starts at 7 PM. Words Out West is a nonprofit literary podcast, bringing listeners original writings from the Rocky Mountains and beyond, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, songs, audio plays, and more. Listen, subscribe, and donate at wordsoutwest.org, or listen wherever you get your podcasts. The Words Out West podcast is produced by Jay Kettering and Cole Grant in partnership with Montana Public Radio. This event is made possible thanks to the following sponsors: Montana Public Radio, The Bell Pipe & Tobacco Shop, & Gallery 709 (Montana Art and Framing).For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Desperate Electric + STiLGONE + False Teeth
Saturday, March 25 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 // $15 Tour Supporter Ticket Desperate Electric wants you to feel alive. Weaving melodies through the triumphs and tribulations of life, growing up, and relationships, the pair use their electric disco soul to tantalize crowds across the nation. Desperate Electric’s high energy live show makes you feel good; their lyrics are playful and honest, exploring themes of both vulnerability and resiliency. Groove with them as their thoughtful composition glides along an emotional roller coaster. STiLGONE is a Bozeman based band that plays a unique fusion of genres, spanning funk, soul, hip hop, reggae, psychedelic rock and more. While covering so many styles they manage to create a cohesive sound that is uniquely their own. Their live shows are an immersive trip through detailed soundscapes, danceable grooves, and the lyrics of songwriter and guitarist Symon Palmer, who founded the band originally In 2016. Since then STiLGONE has gone on to play many of their own events, and supported nationally touring acts like Deltron 3030, Nappy Roots, Kyle Hollingsworth Band, and Michal Menert. Since 2010, False Teeth has been the pseudonym of audio collage, beats, visual projection and performance art creative Nora Justice. Exploring themes of nature, death, surrealism, jazz, history, and pop ephemera, False Teeth as a project grows in scope with each release. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Palm Sunday + Jonny G & the Music Factory + Dint 2 (Soft Maybe)
Friday, March 24 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 // $15 Tour Supporter Ticket Palm Sunday is dreamy timeless tunes with a genre bending quality, all the way from way down yonder in New Orleans. Jonny G & the Music Factory is a Hard Rock and Roll (sometimes soft rock n roll) music group from the PNW. Dint 2 (Soft Maybe) … Soft Maybe is the guitar pop project of Sanders Smith. Expect little songs jam-packed with jazzy chord progressions, catchy hooks, fun guitarmonies, maybe even a splash of clarinet. This time on the Dint menu, playing the music of Soft Maybe and a few Lukas Phelan songs; featuring the one and only Nate Biehl on pedal steel and the inimitable Jon Cardiello on drums. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Grocer (PA) w/ Calamity Cowboy & Wildlands
Wednesday, March 22 // Door at 7:30 PM // Show at 8 PM // $10 // $15 Tour Supporter Ticket Grocer is a band from Philadelphia, PA. Led by three distinct vocalists, they pendulate between moments of brash atonality, saccharine pop sensibility, and rhythmic acrobatics. Their compositions are both meticulous and volatile, while their live performances are lauded for explosive chemistry with cheeky curiosity. On their most recent full length Number’s Game the band rearranged the puzzle pieces of 90s-influenced rock and dissonant pop into something utterly their own. Now building on a landscape of polyrhythms and chromaticism that their fans have grown to cherish, they explore new sonic structures in their forthcoming EP Scatter Plot. Across its six tracks, Grocer reiterates they are just as comfortable with glassy earworms as they are with angular dissonance. They remain giddy, furious and singularly themselves. Calamity Cowboy was created in a petri dish by a mad scientist in 1943. Some might describe their sound as “shoegaze” or “garage rock.” I would describe their sound as bad. Calamity Cowboy forever. Wildlands is an aspiring three piece indie pop band based out of Missoula. They create and perform electrifying pop music for all to enjoy, so please enjoy it. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Jazz Night w/ Patti Nolan & The Undeniables
Thursday, March 16 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $12 // $15 Artist Supporter Ticket Patti Nolan & The Undeniables takes over The Show Room at the ZACC for a spirited night of jazz, paying tribute to jazz standards with a fresh new sound. With Patti on vocals, Ben Shuberg on piano, Pete Hand on bass, Graeme Pletscher on sax, and Christian Guitierez on drums, Patti Nolan & The Undeniables bring a totally fresh new sound to the Missoula jazz scene. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Goth Ball
w/ DJs Gingerbat & Sister Midnight & a LIVE Performance by Negative Gain Recording Artist ‘Order of The Static Temple’Friday, March 10 // 8 PM to Midnight // $10 The Montana Goth Ball is back and ready to have a spooky spring! Release the bats Friday, March 10, at the ZACC! DJs GingerBat and Sister Midnight will bring you the spookiest tunes along with a LIVE performance by Negative Gain recording artist Order of The Static Temple! DJs will rotate throughout the night, so be ready to DANCE! This is your excuse to dress up and party – gothic, leather, fetish, punk, Victorian, latex, lace (if in doubt, wear black). Dress to DEPRESS! For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
Rob Travolta + Panic Boner + Scuba Steve & the Sharks
Thursday, March 9 // Door at 7 PM // Show at 7:30 PM // $10 // $15 Artist Supporter Ticket Rob Travolta is the ideal soundtrack for road trips through space and time. Drummer / beat producer Cole Bronson creates dynamic shifts within bassist Rob Cave’s bass lines. Fresh from releasing their new record “Landscapes and Soundscapes” Rob Travolta’s aim is to create thought provoking / heart-felt compositions that keep you on your toes. Panic Boner is Missoula’s premier kamikaze cowboy noise project founded by Dusty Shriver. Influences include racketcore and hard glamgaze. Past collaborators who perform live with Panic Boner include members of PowerPlant, Thee Noise Complaints, and Supersport. Panic Boner’s current line-up is a self-induced improvisational duo – with local painter and main SQUISH head honcho Tricia Opstad who currently performs with stompgrind and yelps – and Dusty, who explores drums, percussion under the influence of psycho magic. They have virtually no entertainment value and are here for anyone who loves the vibe in vibe out experience. Scuba Steve & the Sharks rode a tidal sound wave over the prairie all the way from Billings just to fill your ears with joy. For further information, accessibility, and inquiries please visit https://www.zootownarts.org/meet-the-zacc/about/.
