Following the release of the still-underrated Love and Distance, its 2004 debut on Sub Pop, Brandon Summers and Benjamin Weikel toured the world like mad, sharing stages with the likes of Blonde Redhead, Kings of Leon, and their pals Modest Mouse (whom Weikel has also drummed for). Summers' voice was soon hopelessly shot, and the doctor prescribed bed rest and no daytime chatter. Fast-forward a couple years, post-"rehab," to 2008's Keep Your Eyes Ahead, a lovely pastiche of the band's texture-tronic keyboard-driven folk jangle, as effortlessly warm and wit-filled as ever, and remind yourself of how lucky we are – were it not for the two-three year hiatus, there's little chance we'd still be able to see the Sequence in a venue this intimate. With The Lights Fluorescent, Ultimate Optimist. Milestone (Davis)
w/ Reverend Jeff Mosier Now 10 years into things, the Jeff and Johnny Mosier-led Blueground Undergrass have managed to unite both grassheads and jambanders alike with their "sonic wall of twang." There's a little of the late, great Southern band Sea Level in here too, along with some jangly/Django-esque jazz riffage. If all that sounds like The Avett Brothers, it ain't; BU is somewhat lighter in both sonic and emotional delivery, though both bands have more stores of energy than a well-fed camel. Sylvia Theater, York (Davis)
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