March 6 is for metal at Union Pool

It’s a double dose of metal this month.

On March 6, Liturgy and Naam head to Williamsburg for a set that’s sure to blow the water out of Union Pool, a welcome home for metal heads.

Out of Brooklyn, Liturgy in particular has been blowing up in recent months with their black metal, thanks to shows at The Blackened Music Festival at Le Poisson Rouge, as well as non-metal circles, including a New Yorker Festival show and shout-outs from a Dirty Projector.

Their music equally draws from a range of influences: the solemn 11th century chants of Perotin, the allegorical prophecies of Blake, the apocalyptic vision of Scriabin, the mass-media spirituality of Jodorowsky, the cataclysmic transcendence of Glenn Branca’s post-minimalist collective no-wave drones.

Also a Brooklyn band, Naam delves more in stoner rock, with the trio molding elements of classic psychedelia and prog with modern elements of jam-heavy bliss and apocalyptic amplitude.

Hear them March 6 at Union Pool (484 Union Ave.) at 9 pm. Tickets $10 $8. For more information, go to www.myspace.com/unionpool.

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Grief focused through guitars

From the depths of despair can come some of the most inspired works in music.

Arcade Fire’s acclaimed 2004 debut “Funeral” was fueled by the loss of several of the band members family members, resulting in heartfelt, powerful works.

In Brooklyn, another debut comes from a similar place. “Rapture Ready, I Gazed At The Body,” from Midnight Masses, the Brooklyn-based side project of Autry Rene Fulbright (Dragon’s of Zynth’s) and members of …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, was written following the death of Fulbright’s father.

Recruiting several close friends, they channeled his grief into four dramatic, alive songs. Several local talents can be found on the EP, among them Gerard Smith of TV on the Radio, who produced the EP, as well as longtime collaborators Conrad Keely and Kevin Allen of The Trail Of Dead (the band whose recording sessions birthed Midnight Masses, and whose Jason Reece is a founding member).

The EP doesn’t come out until November 10 digitally via Collect Records, but you can hear the band live when they play Union Pool (484 Union Ave.) tonight, as the band pulls from these songs and their 2009 seven-inch “Heaven.”

The show starts at 8 p.m. with Rose Parade. For more information, call 718-609-0484.

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Their 'Heads' are in the right place

By Meredith Deliso

Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound always enjoy playing in New York.“It’s been so contrary to what people have you think,” says Charlie Saufley, frontman of the San Francisco-based psychedelic band. “The crowds are so enthusiast, which runs contrary to legend. I don’t think New York crowds are so tough. I love New York. I think New York people are really friendly, enthusiastic, awesome folks.”

It’s so surprise then that the band makes a stop here as they tour in support of their third album, “When Sweet Sleep Returned” (Tee Pee Records), playing Union Pool in Williamsburg September 16.

The core trio of the band — Saufley (guitar, vocals, and keys), Michael Lardas (drums) and Jefferson Marshal (electric, acoustic and bass guitars) — as well as Saufley’s sister, multi-instrumentalist Camille, found themselves experimenting with a more tuneful songs on new record, out on Tee Pee Records.

“This record was so different than what we’ve done, so much more song-oriented than in the past,” says Saufley. “I think that’s confused people. But it hasn’t had much bearing on the live how, [which] still seems to be pretty unhinged for those who may have been scared away by our more tuneful explorations. We’re still a bunch of kooks most days.”

Tracks continue to evolve beyond the album, with a song like “By the Greens,” which was an acoustic number on the record, becoming a “heavier, almost Creedence-style” song, says Saufley.

“We’ve tacked on a lot of endings to things” as well, he said. “Suddenly here’s a sprawling, noisy interludes in the middle.”

When not jamming it up on stage, the band could be found in Williamsburg record shops, as well as museums, if they have the time. (“I feel like an old school New York geek,” says Saufley. “I’m a total wonk for that.”) Then it’s back to the West Coast, which is definitely home, even if they do enjoy the company here.

“I could never live in New York City. I’m Northern Californian by birth. If I can’t get to trees in 10 minutes, I start to get nervous,” says Saufley. “It’s wonderful to get my fix and get out.”

Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound play Union Pool (484 Union Ave.) September 16 at 9 p.m. Ticket cost TBA. With Weird Owl and a special surprise guest. For more call 718-609-0484.

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What's happening tonight

Luke Winslow-King

The weekend starts early this week. Here's a run down of some things happening tonight in Brooklyn:

Festivals: It's finally here: the four-day Northside Festival kicks off tonight, with many things to choose from, so put your badge to good use. Our picks: the opening party at Studio B (259 Banker St.), with Brightblack Morning Light, The Hold Steady at Music Hall (66 N. 6th St.) with Hype of the States, and Uncensored Interview's curated night with Sharon Van Etten and Ivana XL at Union Pool (484 Union Ave.). Put on those running shoes.

Books: For those who missed it the first time, Ben Greenman will be reading from his new novel, "Please Step Back," 0tonight at Cobble Hill's Book Court (163 Court St.) at 7 p.m. Published by DUMBO's Melville House, the book, which has gotten a lot of local positive press, tells the rise and fall of a '60s rock star in an absorbing, entertaining pseudo-bio.

Music: Straight from The Big Easy, Luke Winslow-King plays music inspired by New Orleans rag time, impressionism, delta and country blues, poetry, folk, and classical composition for a sound that is both rustic and elegant. He plays in Williamsburg tonight at Radegast Hall & Beer Garden (113 N. 3rd St.) at 9 p.m. and tomorrow at Zebulon (258 Wythe Ave.) at 10 p.m., pulling from his new album, "Old/New Baby," slated for release this August.

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They rock today so that girls can rock tomorrow

Twenty bands will rock out at four different Brooklyn venues this month to help benefit a camp that helps make young girls own rock-star dreams come true.

From May 28 - 31, the 3rd Annual Willie Mae-Ra-Thon, a weekend of shows featuring all local bands at some of the borough’s best and newest venues, will invade Brooklyn.

Proceeds will go toward the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls, a summer camp that helps teach young women and girls songwriting skills and how to play instruments.

Williamsburg’s Union Pool (484 Union Ave.) kicks things off on that Thursday with Brooklyn-based noise rock band Parts & Labor. Sarah Lipstate, the guitarist for Parts & Labor, will also play that night in her solo project Noveller. Also performing that night are equally experimental bands Omega Jarden and Talk Normal.

The next night, Public Assembly (70 North 6th St.) plays host to the Mae-Ra-Thon, with experimental funk group Burnt Sugar, jazz group Sex Mob, with DJ Olive that night, hardcore band Secretary, coming all the way from California for the event, featuring Big Boss. DJ Scribe, DJ shErOck, Joro Boro, and eMMA Sound Sista will also be behind the turntables.

Brooklyn’s newest venue, Bruar Falls (245 Grand St.), will feature art punk upstarts Taigaa and Pterodactyl, Grass Widow and Querent on Saturday, May 30.

And The Bell House (149 7th St.) in the Gowanus will feature an indie lineup with Babe the Blue Ox, Antietam and The Last Town Chorus on Sunday, May 31.

Show times and costs vary. For more information on the Willie Mae-Ra-Thon, as well as the rock camp (which also has a camp for ladies for all you dying to get on stage yourselves), go to http://www.williemaerockcamp.org/ or call 212-777-1323.

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