The Coathangers have always known how to have a good time. Even in their earliest days, when their skills were nascent and they’d play art spaces in Atlanta two or three times a week, they’d make sure that everyone enjoyed themselves by baking cookies for the crowd and throwing themselves into their brash and straightforward songs. Over time, the keyboard melodies have become more jagged and the guitar riffs more complex and Julia Kugel, Candice Jones, Meredith Franco and Stephanie Luke became one of the most reliably must-see live bands. more ›

Back in 2005 when Seattle-based quartet These Arms Are Snakes unleashed Oxeneers or The Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home onto the unsuspecting college radio airwaves, the executive staff at our college radio station came up with a drunken continuum, with “tipsy” on one end and “These Arms Are Snakes” at the other. Reason being, their live show provided a rather impressive interpretation of their high-energy studio recordings, but singer Steve Snere’s antics (which included standing on the monitors and wrapping the microphone cord around his neck) were overshadowed with a sense of impending doom. The guy could barely stand up as it was. It was hard not to think, "This guy is going to die. He's going to die here, onstage, and I'm going to be here watching as he does." more ›