VIDEO: "Coming Down" by Dum Dum Girls

The Dum Dum Girls' 2011 album "Only in Dreams"is a great rock-pop album, but there's a darkness behind many of the catchy tunes. Band leader Dee Dee wrote many of the songs as her mother battled, and then succumbed to, a sudden onset of cancer.

One of those songs is "Coming Down," a lovely, slow ballad that Dee Dee wrote after her mother's death. The song superbly spotlights Dee Dee's voice, and on the album it clocks in at more than six minutes. Above is the official video for "Coming Down," which runs a little over four minutes.

For E.C.H.

Today: Tinderbox Music Festival at Webster Hall

The annual Tinderbox Music Festival showcasing female musicians takes place today and tonight at Webster Hall. And as usual it's jam-packed with several dozen artists both established and up-and-coming, in genres from pop and folk to rap and electronica.

The Tinderbox festival goes on today, and tonight, at Webster Hall.

Tinderbox begins... well, right about the time we're posting this, before 1 p.m... but not to worry, the live music will be going on all day and night, on three stages. See the Tinderbox lineup (which includes links to the artists) and check out the set times.

Among the artists performing at this year's Tinderbox:

• Vagina Panther (2 p.m.)
• Hard Nips (3 p.m.)
• ZZZ's (4 p.m.)
• 9mary (4:20 p.m.)
• Bern and the Brights (8 p.m.)
• Selebrities (9 p.m.)
• Sirius Plan (9:20 p.m.)
• MANCIE (9:40 p.m.)
• Jean Grae (10 p.m.)
• Michelle Citrin (10:10 p.m.)
• Ducky (10:30 p.m.)
• CocoRosie (11 p.m.)
• Shuteye (11:20 p.m.)

Should be a great day and night of music.

Live in NYC Thursday: Dum Dum Girls in Brooklyn, GoGirls Music Fest in E. Village

Fans of female-powered rock will be interested in two shows on Thursday night that will be starting December off with a bang, on both sides of the East River.

One of my new favorite bands, the Dum Dum Girls, are back from a brief European swing and will play Brooklyn Bowl in a show starting at 8 p.m. Brooklyn's Dive and Xray Eyeballs open the gig. Doors are at 6 p.m.; admission is just $10. Brooklyn Bowl is at 61 Wythe Ave. in Williamsburg between N. 11th and 12th Streets (directions).

If you miss this show, the DDGs will be returning to Brooklyn Bowl for another show on Dec. 17th. (UPDATE: It doesn't say this on their tour page, but the Dec. 17th show is not a DDG show; rather, the band will be spinning a DJ set during the Stylofone reunion show. They will be playing a solo acoustic show with Crocodiles on Dec. 22nd at Glasslands.)

More than a half-dozen female indie rockers play the GoGirls Music Fest Thursday.

Across from Williamsburg in Manhattan, a line-up of women indie rockers will play at the GoGirls Music Fest at Otto’s Shrunken Head (538 E. 14th St.). On the bill: ReW, Lachi & Meridian Gold, Inky Glass, Melissa Clark, Luciar, Rachel Lee Walsh, and Tiik (from the band G.U.T.S.). You can hear songs from the GoGirls Music Fest here (my favorite is the poppy "Bug Out" by Lachi & Meridian Gold).

The show is a benefit for the Red Thread Movement, which is dedicated to fighting sex trafficking in Nepal. The show is set for 7 p.m. and admission is only $5.

Liz Phair Performs "Exile in Guyville" Live - Free Podcast Download

A young Liz Phair shook up the rock world 15 years ago with her brash, sexually charged "Exile in Guyville." Now a middle-aged single mother, Phair has distanced herself from the album, but recently has undertaken a limited tour in which she performs the entire album live.

You can download the "Exile in Guyville" concert free from NPR Music, or stream the concert along with an interview with Phair. At the Web page above you can also find some previous stories NPR did on her. The concert was recorded at The Troubadour in West Hollywood.

Whether you were a fan of the album when it first came out or have come to it later, check out the performance and hear today's Liz Phair recreating her classic CD.