Drug Rug at The Belly Up Tavern Preview - 9/28/09

Lately it seems as though the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach is throwing caution to the wind by booking all these great acts for the Fall months. Whether it be the Meat Puppets with Dead Confederate, Entourage friendly Honey Bears, the bloggy Grizzly Bear, a whose who of local acts, or a certain band from Massachusetts that has gained the cred of Pitchfork, CMJ, and the Boston Globe (to just name a few). Drug Rug plays at the Belly Up Tavern on September 28th. Keep on reading for the scoop on the band.


Drug Rug is a two piece blend of Indie, Folk, and a nice balance of hi-fi lo-fi fun music. Thomas Allen and Sarah Cronin met in 2006 while working at the Middle East Club in Cambridge, Ma. After trading secret demos of their own songs, Tommy persuaded Sarah to combine forces. Drug Rug's S/T debut record, melted hearts and ears, and earned them rave reviews and comparisons to some of rock's greatest duos. They will continue to do so with their brand new record, "Paint The Fence Invisible."

Recorded in the Catskill Mountains of New York, "Paint The Fence Invisible" took a couple of weeks to record. They took residence in an old haunted house and laid down 11 brand new tracks including my favorite song on the record, "Never Tell." Using conventional methods like reel to reel you really hear the effort and time put into the record. The album they came out of the mountains with is a different and memorable record by a rock-duo who make their own rules. With comparisons to everyone from Sonny & Cher to Bikini Kill, the band is definitely set on making a name for themselves, but on their own their terms.

Drug Rug themselves say they believe in the imminent end of the world and will destroy each other with love before the apocalypse. I am starting to wonder where does that leave us? Well right now I have a ticket to their show, and a copy of their brand new CD, Paint the Fence Invisible, so I can't complain too much.

CMJ : "The sweetheart duo of Sarah Cronin and Thomas Allen continues to produce the sunny '60s harmonies that have endeared them to so many, but seem to follow historic timelines by infusing ever-increasing amounts of country-styled folk with their Hammond B-3 organ."

Boston Globe : "...leaves little ambiguity about its mission: making music at once delightful and daring, canny and ebullient, and always brimming with the buzz of life."

The Needle Drops/NPR : “It goes without saying where the music was recorded and what it was recorded on, but the rough sound give them an inescapable Moldy Peaches quality.”

The band plays with headliner Portugal. The Man and opener Robert Francis on September 28th at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach. Doors are at 8:00 PM and tickets are $12.00 / $14.00 day of show. Get their early and get some grub and make sure you catch all three acts. This is the 9th stop of the current tour of 27 cities and sure to be a good one with the Belly Up providing the digs. Here are the rest of the dates for the tour and the bands Myspace link where you should go listen/buy/love the bands schtuff.

With Portugal. The Man

9/25 - Troubadour - Los Angeles, CA
9/26 - Glass House - Pomona, CA
9/28 - Belly Up - San Diego, CA
9/29 - The Clubhouse - Tucson, AZ
10/1 - Santa Fe Brewing Company - Santa Fe, NM
10/2 - B-Side Lounge - Boulder, CO
10/3 - B-Side Lounge - Boulder, CO
10/6 - Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS
10/7 - Picador - Iowa City, IA
10/8 - Majestic Theatre - Madison, WI
10/9 - Turner Hall - Milwaukee, WI
10/10 - Schubas - Chicago, IL
10/11 - Schubas - Chicago, IL
10/13 - Magic Bag - Detroit, MI
10/14 - Horseshoe Tavern - Toronto, ONT
10/16 - Maxwell's - Hoboken, NJ
10/18 - Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA
10/20 - Higher Ground - Burlington, VT
10/21 - Pearl Street - Northampton, MA
10/22 - Johnny Brenda's - Philadelphia, PA
10/23 - Bowery Ballroom (CMJ SHOW) - New York, NY

www.myspace.com/drugrugdude

I also want to let you guys and gals know that I will be reviewing the Portugal. The Man portion of the show. Check out their brand new video for the first single off the their new record (The Satanic Satanist) called "Do You" here: