Our brethren over at the FADER have a bi-weekly column written by Jamie Johns called The Freak Scene. Well, maybe we’re freaks, because she talks about a lot of the music we cover on a regular basis, including this week’s installment with Zola Jesus and Emeralds.

Just to catch you up to speed, we saw both bands in the past two weeks — Emeralds in Brooklyn and Zola Jesus in Texas — but along with interviews, Jamie and the FADER have songs posted for each. So we strongly recommend going there and checking them both out.

And as a last side note, Jamie also name drops U.S. Girls who can listen to courtesy of The Tripwire here, and the label Sacred Bones, with whom we will have a video-installment of our weekly column, The Singles Collection, dedicated to coming later this week, so stay tuned.

Rez and I headed into Death By Audio expecting a noisy raucous affair, but were treated to a sonic wonder to start the show in U.S. Girls. The one-woman show that is Meghan Remy — a Philly-based noise conductor drenched in fuzz and reverb a la Wavves or the Dum Dum Girls, but with vocals that will send shivers down your spine. Unlike the lazy drawl of many of the lo-fi deconstructionists, Meghan takes an almost R&B vibe on her vocals, and she belted out emphatically over the heavy beats and blips, including her cover of The Dave Clark Five’s “Bits And Pieces”. [Derek Evers]

[US Girls]

And then there’s Fiasco, the band I’ve seen countless times only to keep saying they get better with age. Which was ironic on this night as one of them actually became legal — guitarist Jonathan Edelstein celebrated his 18th birthday with the help of The Homosexuals. With two new songs to their repertoire and the usual array of blistering beats and tapping guitars, Fiasco remain one of my favorite bands to witness live. [Derek Evers]

[Fiasco]

I’d only heard NYC’s Sightings on record and never knew exactly how they concoct their weird, damaged soundscapes. I was pretty impressed to find out that they construct their sound with nothing more than a guitar, a bass, electro-acoustic drums and a bunch of effects pedals. The whole show was like one blistering assault of damaged noise, with guitarist/vocalist Mark Morgan laying down his baritone vocals over the grand cacophony. Their drummer is really sick/technical and all three members are interesting to watch but by the second half of the set, every song seemed to kick its feet into the next and the crowd grew a bit less enthusiastic, rather than the other way around. [Rez Avissar]

[Sightings]

AIDS Wolf tore the roof off the place. I was thinking of adjectives to use to describe the show… “frenzy”…”pandemonium”…”intense.” The band was tight, the singer Special Deluxe was extra vicious on the mic (and looked amazing in her purple sequin dress), and the whole place went fucking nuts. I haven’t danced this hard in a long time and in between paused to snap some glimpses into what basically was sweet, sweet mayhem. [Rez Avissar]

[AIDS Wolf]

[Death By Audio]

So last night I went to a show at Death by Audio that featured the likes of well known noisemakers AIDS Wolf, Fiasco and Sightings. Opening the show was Meghan Remy, a Philly-based noise concoctor who goes by the name of U.S. Girls. I’ve been catching word of her performances for the past few months, but after finally seeing her for myself, I suggest getting acquainted.

A one-woman show drenched in fuzz and reverb a la Wavves or the Dum Dum Girls, but with a much more cerebral approach (see: not as poppy) and vocals that will send shivers down your spine. Unlike the lazy drawl of many of the lo-fi deconstructionists, Meghan takes an almost R&B vibe on her vocals, belting out emphatically over the heavy beats and blips. She’s put out a handful of cassette and 7″ releases, so in an attempt to auralize her wide range, we’re going to offer up an original U.S. Girls track — “Found On The Ground” — and her cover of The Dave Clark Five’s “Bits And Pieces”.

U.S. Girls – “Bits And Pieces”

U.S. Girls – “Found On The Ground”

These Are Powers are taking it to the streets next month to support their Dead Oceans debut All Aboard Future, and they’re bringing a bunch of really cool friends along, too.

They’ll start out in Philadelphia with U.S. Girls on February 25, head to the west coast and back before wrapping things up in Richmond, Va., on March 27. Along the way they’ll also be playing with Abe Vigoda and Bird Names. (Tide your appetite over til then with our exclusive track from last week.)

These Are Powers U.S. tour dates
02.25.09 – Philadelphia, Penn. (The Marvelous Music) *
02.26.09 – Pittsburgh, Penn. (Lava Lounge) *
02.27.09 – Chicago, Ill. (The Hideout) **
02.28.09 – Grinnell, Iowa (Grinnell College Gardner Lounge) **
03.01.09 – Minneapolis, Minn. (Triple Rock Social Club) **
03.02.09 – Lincoln, Neb. (Box Awesome)
03.03.09 – Denver, Colo. (Rhinoceropolis)
03.04.09 – Salt Lake City, Utah (Kilby Court)
03.06.09 – Seattle, Wash. (Vera Project)
03.07.09 – Olympia, Wash. (The Northern)
03.08.09 – Portland, Ore. (Backspace)
03.11.09 – Chico, Calif. (Tion)
03.12.09 – Santa Cruz, Calif. (Crepe Place)
03.13.09 – Oakland, Calif. (Totally Intense Fractal Mindgaze)
03.14.09 – San Francicso, Calif. (Hemlock Tavern)
03.15.09 – Los Angeles, Calif. (The Echo/Part Time Punks)
03.16.09 – Phoenix, Ariz. (Phix Gallery) #
03.17.09 – Albequerque, N.M. (TBD)
03.19.09 – 03.21.09 – Austin, Texas (SXSW)
03.23.09 – Jackson, Miss. (121 Milsaps)
03.24.09 – Atlanta, Ga. (Eyedrum Gallery)
03.25.09 – Athens, Ga. (Caledonia Lounge)
03.26.09 – Chapel Hill, N.C. (Nightlight)
03.27.09 – Richmond, Va. (TBA)

* with U.S. girls
** with Birdnames
# with Abe Vigoda