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CLICK HERE FOR THE NEW BLOG!!!!!

Tony Wilson R.I.P.

Bad news: Factory Records founder and all-around music guru Tony Wilson has passed away at 57. Though he had surgery to remove a kidney in January, he was present at April's Coachella Festival to introduce the long-awaited U.S. return of the Happy Mondays. Without Wilson, we would have no Joy Division/New Order, no Happy Mondays and no "24 Hour Party People". And no Creation Records either. The Manchester Evening News has a nice roundup of tributes from those who knew him.

Fun Fun Fun in Austin Austin Austin

Hell Yes: Austin just won't sleep until it has more stomp-ass music festivals than NYC, Chicago and L.A. combined. The Texas capital has upped the ante with the Fun Fun Fun Fest (sounds fun!), set for early November. It'll feature bands such as the New Pornographers, Explosions in the Sky, um... Of Montreal...er, Girl Talk... um, An Old Man Fashioning a Canoe... I mean Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. Also Battles, Okkervil River, Diplo, Final Fantasy, Mates of State, I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness, Emma Pollock (ex-Delgados), Neurosis, Busdriver, the Sword, the Saints, Against Me! and more!

OMG CMJ LOL!!!

Hell yes: For New Yorkers, rich people and music industry people, CMJ is four nights in a non-stop music fantasy land where Patti Smith follows you around and David Bowie crashes at your pad. For the rest of the world, CMJ is a giant jealousy-inducing tease that none of us can ever go to. The event will tease Oct. 16 - 20 in various venues around Gotham City. Only a few acts have been announced so far, including Spoon, Brother Ali, Justice, UNKLE, Del and Rodrido y Gabriela.

Seymore Tours the World...or at least 8 cities

Cool MPLS popsters Seymore Saves the World are hitting the road this month for a mini-tour west of the Mississippi, including three days at "Snowghost Sessions" in Big Sky Country.

8/16 - Minneapolis, Minn. - The Uptown Bar
8/17 - Omaha, Neb. - Saddle Creek Bar
8/18 - Denver, Col. - Quixotes
8/19 - Los Angeles, Calif. - Spaceland
8/20 - San Fransisco, Calif. - Elbo Room
8/21 - Portland, Ore. - Dante's
8/22 - Seattle, Wash. - High Dive
8/23 - Whitefish, Mont. - Snowghost Sessions
8/24 - Whitefish, Mont. - Snowghost Sessions
8/25 - Whitefish, Mont. - Great Norern Brewing Co.

Odds and sods and news

The Hell? Did you know that the Beastie Boys have NEVER played live in their native Brooklyn???! If "No Sleep 'til Brooklyn" is right, then they haven't slept in TWENTY YEARS.

Madge and J. Timberlake, now how heavy is that? Is Timbaland a robot programmed to never say no? He and Timberlake have shacked up with Madonna for her follow-up to 2005's shitty Confessions on a Dancefloor.

Demme-gogue: My man Jonathan Demme has made several stomp ass concert films like this one and this one, and to a lesser extent, this one. Now, he's teaming with Alejandro Escovedo for another awesome one.

Rilo Kiley has a secret for L.A.

Rilo Kiley will be performing a "secret" show at --this rocks -- Eagle Rock’s All Star Bowling Lanes this Friday, August 10, courtesy of the Myspace. This'll be a warm-up gig for their ensuing tour.

A limited number of wristbands will be available starting at 4pm (no lineups before 3)on Friday at the Echo. You'll need a printout of your MySpace profile with Rilo Kiley’s MySpace and MySpace’s Secret Shows in your Top 8. Which you probably already have anyway.

The show is free, all ages and starts at 8pm.

Thanks for the tip again, A-Rom.

Devendra Banhart dates

Hell yes: That strange, hairy, lovely Devendra Banhart will be hitting the road in support of his forthcoming 5th album...

9/1 - Vancouver, Canada - Commodore Ballroom
9/2 - Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival (KEXP stage)
9/4 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
9/6 - Santa Cruz, CA - Rio Theater
9/7 - San Francisco, CA - House of Fine Arts
9/10 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theater (Native American Benefit)
9/12 - Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium
9/13 - Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall Theater
9/15 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
9/16 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater
9/18 - Chicago, IL - Portage Theater
9/19 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theater
9/21 - Toronto, Canada - Danforth Music Hall
9/22 - Montreal, Canada - Theatre National
9/23 - Burlington, VT - Davis Center Grand Ballroom
9/25 - Boston, MA - Roxy Ballroom
9/27 - New York, NY - Grand Ballroom
9/29 - Philadelphia, PA - Theater of Living Arts
10/1 - Washington, DC - Sixth And I Historic Synagogue
10/4 - Nashville, TN - City Hall
10/6 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
10/7 - Austin, TX - La Zona Rosa
10/9 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater (Native American Benefit)
10/10 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater
10/12 - Phoenix, AZ - Marquee Theater
10/13 - Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum

Frank Black Francis madness

Hell yes: Frank Black is turning into Prince. He comes out with a new album like four times a year, has a crazy new website, and he loves the name game. The artist formerly known as Black Francis (born Charles Michael Thompson) became Frank Black circa 1993, and is now reverting back to Black Francis for his latest release Bluefinger, out Sept. 10 (pre-order here). And wait, there's more: Black has also released an exclusive iTunes EP, BUT it's only available on Canadian iTunes?! No word on the long-rumored Pixies reunion album though...

All info courtesy of the saintly peeps who run Frankblack.net and release bitchin' F.B.-related podcasts.

Poster of the Week: MF DOOM by Mark Sgarbossa

The people have only those rights which I choose to give them:


Click on image to enlarge.

MF DOOM at Cane's in San Diego 8/19, art by Mark Sgarbossa

Odds and sods and news

Jesus rocks: A little update on Kanye's upcoming CD, which has been delayed until September 11 (same day as 50 Cent's new joint!).

Check it: The Hives have unveiled some newsy news about their upcoming album (no release date). The Black and White Album (Please be a Prince-Beatles mash-up) is being finished up in Mississipi studio, although they also recorded in London, Sweden and Miami (with Pharrell!)

Supergroup alert! John Mellencamp, Kelly Clarkson and Faith Hill will perform at the Colts/Saints game in Indianapolis on September 6.

Supercorn what now? Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood's orchestral piece "Popcorn Superheat Receiver" is headed for the U.S. for the first time at New York's St. Paul the Apostle on January 16-17 as part of the Wordless Music Series. The piece, which features a 34-piece string orchestra was first performed in England in '05.

Whoa, that's a lotta REM: The dudes at MPLSfuckingrocks have posted a tankload of youtube clips of REM performing new material in Dublin. Pretty good.

MTV VMA noms announced

This is for the 7 people who still watch MTV (OK, fine, it's for the 7 people who read this blog): MTV has unveiled the list of nominees for this year's VMA Awards. That hot hunk of manmeat J. Timberlake has racked up a hard-to-beat 7 nods, while that luscious chunk of womanmeat Beyonce also earned 7 (I said "Hard to beat", not "hard to tie"). Kanye West and Rihanna are nominated for five and Amy Winehouse three.

All Wilco, all the time.

Hell yes: Are you some kind of Wilco fanatic? Well, earn prizes for your obsessiveness. Presenting The Second Annual Wilcoworld Photo Contest.

All you have to do is send in a photo of you doing your freaky summertime rituals (bar-b-q-ing, sledding, making snow angels, wait...) while wearing a Wilco shirt or holding something "Wilco related". Sounds fun, but check out the prizes: Two pairs of 3-day passes to Austin City Limits, a pair of tickets to see Wilco's taping of the Austin City Limits TV show, um... Simple shoes, and "other cool stuff." Stuff rules. Send photos to ineedacamera@wilcoworld.net.

Odds and sods and news

Sweeeet: Is David Lee Roth finally ready to party (no alcohol, please) with Eddie and the rest of Van Halen?! Yes, says Rolling Stone. An arena tour is in the works for the fall. Again.

Kick Push: Dapper Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco apparently unveiled a bunch of new tracks during his Lollapalooza set over the weekend, including "Superstardom," the first single from his upcoming second album Lupe Fiasco's The Cool, due in the fall.

Catch up with the Virgin Fest: You didn't go to Lollapalooza OR the Virgin Festival? Loser. LOSER. Stereogum'll hook you up with highlights from the latter.

Review: St. Vincent @ The Echo

8/4/7, Los Angeles: Texas songstress St. Vincent (nee Annie Clark) is like the weird theatre girl from your high school, except exceedingly talented and cute as hell. Her huge, anime-like eyes give her an irresistible deer-in-headlights look, and she backs up said looks with an awesome voice, quirky songwriting and some fearsome guitar chops. Backed by three grungy gents on bass, violin and drums (plus a smattering of keyboards thrown in for added ambience), St. Vincent enchanted the packed Echo Saturday night with a string of tunes from her lush debut Marry Me.

Her songs don't conform to the usual verse-chorus-verse structure, instead meandering through proggy orchestral pop sounds and often culminating in Sonic Youthy bursts of guitar noise. At the end of her best song "Now Now," Clark even ripped off a guitar string and threw her axe down in a display of mock rebelliouness. Later, she used a severed mannequin arm as percussion ("You should see what we did to the rest of her," she quipped).



The brief encore consisted of the Magnetic Fields' "Yeah! Oh Yeah!", duetted by Clark and special guest John Vanderslice, and Clark's haunting solo take on Nico's "These Days."

Cleary destined for cult status, Clark (as a solo act) is opening for the National on their upcoming tour.

Photos by the sportily-dressed Chinapixie.

Lee Hazelwood passes on

Bad news: Pitchfork is reporting that music legend Lee Hazelwood has died at age 78, after a long bout with cancer. He was best known for his seminal work with Nancy Sinatra. Hazelwood wrote "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" and "Some Velvet Morning," and produced and performed on two albums with the singer, 1968's Nancy & Lee and 1972's Nancy & Lee Again. We'll miss you Lee!

Spy on Lollapalooza

Oh boo hoo: You don't get to go to Lollapalooza? You baby. You can (sort of) attend it here, at ATT&T's Blue Room, live! Virtually. Kind of. Better than nothing.
Today:
1:00 Elvis Perkins
1:30 Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
2:30 Jack's Mannequin
3:30 Slightly Stoopid
4:30 Soulive
5:30 Sparklehorse
6:30 Satellite Party
7:30 LCD Soundsystem
8:30 G Love and Special Sauce
9:30 The Black Keys

Saturday:
12:45 Tokyo Police Club
1:30 Tapes 'n Tapes
2:30 M.I.A.
3:30 Motion City Soundtrack
4:30 Pete Yorn
5:30 The Hold Steady
6:30 Stephen Marley
7:30 Regina Spektor
8:30 Ben Harper

Sunday:
12:15 Dax Riggs
1:15 Heartless Bastards
2:15 Lupe Fiasco
3:15 Blue October
4:15 Kings of Leon
5:15 Rodrigo y Gabriela
6:15 Paolo Nutini
7:15 Amy Winehouse
8:15 Interpol

No Pearl Jam??! What the fuck?!

Asobi Seksu remix contest

Hell yes: NYC's Asobi Seksu is a good shoegazey-type pop band (although they're a disappointment live). Their latest single, "Thursday" (NOT the best song on their latest ablum Citrus) is avaiable for you to remix. You can win a "prize package" that includes t-shirts, a free show and signed posters, but no date with their hottie lead singer, Yuki.

Hot Chip does Kraftwerk

Hell Yes: We are the robots...We are the robots...etc... Kraftwerk is getting some remix action courtesy of Hot Chip, whose members will re-werk 2003's 'Aerodynamik' and 'La Forme' on a limited edtion 12" (and CD and download). September 17.

Party hearty with Jens Lekman

Hell yes: Catch Swedish singer-songwriter Jens Lekman on tour this fall. His new album Night Falls Over Kortedala (Secretly Canadian) drops October 9.


10-23 - Bloomington, IN - Jake's
10-25 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
10-26 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
10-27 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
10-29 - Boston, MA - Paradise
11-01 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
11-02 - Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
11-03 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club
11-06 - Seattle, WA - Nectar
11-07 - Portland, OR - Someday Lounge
11-09 - San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 365 Club
11-10 - West Hollywood, CA - Troubadour

Stevie Wonder on tour

Hell yes: Regular-sized Steven Wonder is leaving his billion dollar estate to finally tour from sea to shining sea -- although one sea (the Pacific) is seeing more Wonder than anywhere else (6 of the 13 shows are in California?!). Uptight:

8/23 - San Diego, CA - Humphrey's
8/25 - Lake Tahoe, CA - Harvey's Lake Tahoe Amphitheatre
8/26 - Concord, CA - Concord Pavilion
8/28 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl
8/30 - Portland, OR - Edgefield Amphitheatre
8/31 - Woodinville, WA - Chateau Saint Michelle Winery
9/4 - Saratoga, CA - Mountain Winery
9/5 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
9/10 - Chicago, IL - Charter One Pavilion
9/12 - Detroit, MI - Meadowbrook
9/14 - Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park Amphitheatre
9/16 - Baltimore, MD - Pier Six Pavilion
9/20 - Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion

Poster of the Week: Sharon Jones by Scrojo

Simple and sweet:



Click on image to enlarge.

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings at the Belly Up in Aspen. Art by Scrojo.

Odds and sods and news

HOT! Details on PJ Harvey's upcoming album White Chalk here. The LP is due internationally at the end of September.

Sweet: Stereogum's got quite a bit of info on Rogue Wave's next album Asleep at Heaven's Gate.

Peter, Bjorn and John. And now Kanye. The Swedish trio will be the MC's backing band at a festival in Sweden. Get YouTube ready.

B O R I S

Hell Yes: You just knew they wouldn't come all the way over from Japan for just three shows, right? Right. BORIS is coming to your city:

9/30 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
10/02 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
10/03 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
10/04 - Pittsburgh, PA - Kelly-Strayhorn Theater
10/05 - Columbus, OH - Wexner Center for the Arts
10/06 - Milwaukee, WI - Mad Planet
10/07 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock
10/10 - Bellingham, WA - Nightlight Lounge
10/11 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
10/14 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
10/15 - Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
10/18 - San Antonio, TX - The Ballroom
10/19 - Austin, TX - Scoot's Inn
10/20 - Baton Rouge, LA - The Spanish Moon
10/21 - Birmingham, AL - Bottletree
10/22 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
10/23 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club
10/24 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
10/25 - Charlottesville, VA - Satellite Ballroom
10/26 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
10/27 - Annandale-on-Hudson, NY - Bard College
10/28 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
10/29 - Boston, MA - Middle East Downstairs

Review: Bat For Lashes @ Spaceland

7/31/7, Los Angeles Last night saw the L.A. debut of Bat For Lashes from Brighton, England, offering ten or so tracks from their U.S. debut Fur and Gold. The act is really just Natasha Khan, although she's touring the states backed by an all-female three-piece who rotate instruments.

The group's thrift store gypsy look matches their sound, an amalgam of junkshop folk (violins, viola, autoharp, percussion of all kinds), noisy guitar, electro beats and Khan's unreal vocal stylings that recall Bjork, Polly Jean Harvey and Julee Cruise --- sometimes all in one song. Like a less cloying CocoRosie, Bat For Lashes has a sweeping but childlike sound, often piano-driven, that can send shivers up your spine. But too many songs crawl along, and even at an hour, their Spaceland set seemed too long (this wasn't helped by their delay to the stage).

Photos by the insufferable Chinapixie.

Odds and sods and news

Solo Lowe: Dashing Brit icon Nick Lowe is returning to the U.S for the first time since '04, check the dates here, mates.

Dap it up, dap it up: Soul stirrers Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings are hitting the road this fall as well.

It's all sunshine: MPLS hip-hop legends Atmosphere won't have a new full-length out til '08, but you can feast on five new tracks on the latest Sad Clown joint here. Sluggo's on tour with the Paid Dues crew now.
My name is Wilson: As in Brian Wilson, who's debuting another crazy "Song cycle" on a U.K. tour this fall. Jealous? You should be.

Review: M.I.A. @ The Echoplex

7/30/07, Los Angeles: England's buzzy dish M.I.A. stormed The Echoplex last night like a miniature Missy Elliot, sporting strange rhymes and even stranger clothes.

The Sri Lankan singer offers an infectious, danceable mish-mash of various world styles all filtered through a uniquely British stye of hip-hop. Live, she was accompanied by a backup singer/dancer/hypewoman and a scratch-heavy DJ. Playing songs from her breakthrough debut Arular and her forthcoming disc Kala, her set only lasted about an hour (making the $20 cover seem steep), but the sold-out crowd was definitely digging it.

The Echoplex is a cavernous, sweaty club probably better-suited for DJs than bands you want to be able to see, which makes it unfortunate that both Boris and The Go! Team are booked there this fall.

Photo by the incandescent Chinapixie.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs add more U.S. dates

Hell yes: NYC's one and only YYYs have expanded their U.S. tour with these dates:

8-01 - Lawrence, KS - Granada Theatre
8-02 - Columbia, MO - The Blue Note
8-04 - Chicago, IL - Grant Park (Lollapalooza)
8-05 - Baltimore, MD - Pimlico Race Track (Virgin Festival)
8-07 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
8-16 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
8-18 - Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center (Download Festival)
8-21 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
8-22 - Los Angeles, CA - Mayan Theatre

FOG WATCH 2007

Day 10 Billion: If you just can't wait a few more days (ADD), or if you don't want to shell out the cashmoney (cheep bastage), you can hear all of Fog's new disc Ditherer on MP3.com for free. Streaming and what-not. "I am smothered in glistening chicken fat." Makes you think.

Finally. Go! Team tour news

HELL YES: The Go! Team, the greatest band ever (Says The Hyperbole! Team), is swimming across the Atlantic to play for us. "Us" meaning "U.S."

Run to ticketweb/ticketmaster:

10-13 - Chicago, IL - Double Door
10-15 - Seattle, WA - Neumos
10-17 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir
10-19 - San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine
10-20 - Pomona, CA - Glass House
10-21 - Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
10-25 - Boston, MA - Paradise
10-26 - Philadelphia, PA - TBA
10-27 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
10-28 - Brooklyn, NY - Studio B
10-30 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

Photo by the 8 foot tall Chinapixie.

Joanna Newsom sets U.S. dates

Hell yes: That adorable, pixie-ish harp shredder Joanna Newsom is beefing up her entourage for her brief U.S. tour in the fall. She'll be towing a 28-piece orchestra.

10-21 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater
11-04 - Grass Valley, CA - Music in the Mountains
11-09 - Los Angeles, CA - Walt Disney Concert Hall
11-17 - Atlanta, GA - Woodruff Arts Center Symphony Hall

Vegoose after hours

Hell Yes: Vegas is the city that never sleeps (well, it's the other city that never sleeps), so it's nice to know that the town's Vegoose fest includes some late night action, like the similarly-minded Austin City Limits fest. Too bad they're like all jam bands. Huzzah:

10/26 - moe. - The Pearl
10/26 - Thievery Corporation - House of Blues
10/27 - Umphrey's McGee - House of Blues
10/27 - Michael Franti & Spearhead - The Joint @ Hard Rock
10/28 - STS9 - House of Blues
10/28 - The Shins - The Joint @ Hard Rock

Poster of the Week: Arcade Fire by BONA

This rules:


Click on image to enlarge.

Arcade Fire 2007 Canadian tour poster by Burlesque of North America.

Review: Tokyo Police Club @ Troubadour

7/25/7, Los Angeles: Playing L.A. for only the second time (unless you count Coachella), Canada's Tokyo Police Club (because it sounds so much cooler than "Toronto Police Club" or "Medicine Hat Police Club") seemed to be in a big hurry Wednesday night at the sold out Troubadour. With only a handful of singles and one EP consisting of 7 under-three-minute songs, TPC doesn't have a whole lot of material, but playing every song in double-time shortened their set to only about 40 minutes. Their one-song encore was a half-assed cover (their first ever played live, apparently) of The Rentals' smoking "Friends of P," which they ironically slowed to a crawl -- removing most of the song's catchy fun in the process. The youthful quartet has energy to spare, and are more ambitious than many of their dance-rock-inspired contemporaries, but they may be getting too big too fast.

Ben Kweller likes to play

Jumping on the entire -album-live bandwagon (see Lucinda Williams, Sonic Youth, Melvins, etc...) is Ben Kweller, who apparently has three albums, each of which he'll be playing on consecutive nights at the Troubadour in L.A.. And he's touring like Meat Loaf:

7/27/7 - Philadelphia, PA - Festival Pier at Penn's Landing
7/28/7 - Florence, MA - The Pines Theatre
7/29/7 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
7/30/7 - Brooklyn, NY - Southpaw
7/31/7 - Brooklyn, NY - Southpaw
8/1/7 - Brooklyn, NY - Southpaw
8/7/7 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
8/8/7 - Orlando, FL - The Social
8/9/7 - Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbits
8/10/7 - Ybor City, FL - Crowbar
8/11/7 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room
8/13/7 - Birmingham, AL - Work Play Theatre
8/15/7 - New Orleans, LA - The Parish
8/17/7 - Houston, TX - Walter's On Washington
8/18/7 - Denton, TX - Hailey's
8/20/7 - Oklahoma, OK - Bricktown Ballroom
8/21/7 - Tulsa, OK - Bob's at Cain's Ballroom
8/22/7 - Little Rock, AR - Juanita's
8/23/7 - Memphis, TN - Newby's
8/24/7 - Nashville, TN - Exit/In
8/25/7 - Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle
8/26/7 - Charlottesville, VA - Satellite Ballroom
8/28/7 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway
8/29/7 - Columbia, MO - Mojo's
8/30/7 - Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck
8/31/7 - Boulder, CO - Club 156
9/1/7 - Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue
9/4/7 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom Of The Hill
9/5/7 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo (performing Sha Sha)
9/6/7 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo (performing On My Way)
9/7/7 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo (performing Ben Kweller)
9/9/7 - Las Vegas, NV - The Canyon
9/11/7 - Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture
9/16/7 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival

The Blow blowin' into town

Hell yes: Portland's The Blow are hitting a handful of American cities soon. Inhale these, dude:

8-03 - Portland, OR - PDX Pop Now! Festival
9-30 - Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar
10-01 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
10-03 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
10-04 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
10-05 - New York, NY - Blender Theatre at Gramercy
10-06 - Boston, MA - Remis Auditorium (Museum of Fine Arts)

Deerhoof in the house

Hell yes: Touring machines Deerhoof have announced some dates in the USA and Canadia this autumn. Word.

9-21 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
9-22 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues
9-23 - Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom
9-25 - Nashville, TN - City Hall
9-26 - Covington, KY - Madison Theatre
9-28 - Toronto, Ontario - Ricoh Coliseum
9-29 - London, Ontario - John Labatt Centre
9-30 - Pontiac, MI - Eagle Theater
10-01 - Madison, WI - Rathskeller (University of Wisconsin Memorial Union)
10-02 - Minneapolis, MN - McGuire Theater at Walker Art Center
10-04 - Denver, CO - Bluebird
10-06 - Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue

Boris adding U.S. dates

Hell Yes: After announcing their appearance at Chicago's upcoming Adventures in Modern Music fest, Japanese metal gods Boris have set two more dates, with more to follow (presumably). Plus, the trio are re-enacting Altar, their studio collaboration with Sunn 0))), Live! In England! So, to re-cap:

9-30 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle (Adventures in Modern Music)
10-03 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
10-15 - Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
12/7 - 12/9 - Minehead, England - Butlins Holiday Center (ATP Nightmare Before Christmas w/ Portishead, Earth, Aphex Twin, Thurton Moore, more)
12-10 - London, England - Forum

ACL announces after-shows

Hell yes: The actual festival schedule is kind of screwy, but Austin City Limits offers crowds some stellar second (or first)chances to catch their favorite bands again (or for the first time) in smaller venues around town over the same weekend. The only hitch is that most of these shows are during festival hours, so you're still gonna have to pick and choose between two or three bands.

Stubb's BBQ
9/13/07 - Gotan Project
9/14/07 - Paolo Nutini/Peter Bjorn and John (outside)
9/14/07 - Back Door Slam (inside) (Free w/Paolo Ticket)
9/16/07 - The White Stripes/Cold War Kids (outside)
9/16/07 - Dr. Dog (inside) (Free w/ White Stripes ticket)

La Zona Rosa
9/13/07 - Spoon
9/14/07 - STS9
9/15/07 - Queens of the Stone Age/Dax Riggs
9/16/07 - Common

The Parish
9/13/07 - JJ Grey & MOFRO/Ryan Shaw
9/14/07 - Robert Earl Keen
9/15/07 - Heartless Bastards/White Denim
9/17/07 - Yo La Tengo

Emo's
9/14/07 - Stephen Marley/Zap Mama
9/15/07 - Blonde Redhead/The National
9/15/07 - STS9
9/15/07 - STS9 (DJ Set) (Emo's Lounge) TBD

Antone's
9/15/07 - Rodrigo y Gabriela

Grizzly Bear loves Canada

Hell yes: Hot off their tour with Feist, Brooklyn's own Grizzly Bear are trekking out for some scattered North American dates this fall, including three nights in Ontario. Take that, Alberta!

8-26 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre (826NYC benefit with Feist, Carl Newman, Jim James)
8-29 - Brooklyn, NY - McCarren Park Pool
9-06 - Seattle, WA - Neumos
9-07 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge (Musicfest NW with Eric Bachmann, AU, Tiny Vipers)
9-18 - Northampton, MA - Pearl Street
9-19 - Buffalo, NY - Traif Music Hall
9-20 - Toronto, Ontario - The Mod Club
9-21 - London, Ontario - Lola Festival
9-22 - Ottawa, Ontario - Christ Church Cathedral
9-23 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground

All hail Vegoose

Hell Yes: From the creators of Bonnaroo, comes this year's most anticipated music festival: Vegoose, in Sin City Oct. 26 - 27. Zang, what a lineup:

Rage Against The Machine
Daft Punk, Iggy & the Stooges performing Fun House, Muse, The Shins, Cypress Hill, Queens of the Stone Age, Public Enemy, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Umphrey's McGee, Thievery Corporation, STS9, Ghostface Killah & The Rhythm Roots Allstars, Blonde Redhead, Gogol Bordello, U.N.K.L.E., Ghostland Observatory, Pharoahe Monch, Battles, M.I.A.

More to come, naturally. Fun House?! Ghostface with a live band?! Daft Punk Against the Machine?!?!! Look how excited Fabio is!

Odds and sods and news

Canada rules: The sixth annual Pop Montreal's lineup includes Georgie James, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, the National, Sunset Rubdown, Magnolia Electric Co., Fujiya & Miyagi, Black Mountain, Final Fantasy, Caribou, Patti Smith, Half Japanese, Pere Ubu, A-Trak, Kid Sister, the Cool Kids, Qui, MSTRKRFT, Chromeo, Ron Sexsmith, Chad VanGaalen, Earlimart, Daedalus, Fucked Up, the Watson Twins, Tiga, DJ Mehdi, Cody ChesnuTT, and more!!! Event runs October 3-7.

The Donnas have set a Sept. 18 release date for their new album "Bitchin'" on Red Eye Records. They split from biggie Atlantic after two not-so-good CDs.

We can dream, can't we?: Is MJ going to take Prince's advice and schedule intimate shows in Vegas? How awesome would that be? Or how awful? Awful awesome.

Review: Sonic Youth @ Urban Outfitters

7/21/7, Los Angeles: Minneapolis got Tapes n Tapes, Philly got The Rapture and NYC got El-P, but L.A. landed the biggest fish with Sonic Youth. Toyota's admirable Free Yr Radio live series came to a close at the Santa Monica Urban Outfitters with a brief, invigorating set from the iconic NY noise band. All the clothes were moved aside, turning the retail store into an intimate club, with a pretty cool onstage backdrop featuring the band's logo.



Each Free Yr Radio show benefitted a local indie radio station, with SMC's KXLU receiving the goods from the Sonic Youth event.

Primarily culled from their latest album, Rather Ripped, Sonic's setlist also included the early jam "The World Looks Red" and the well-received "Bull in the Heather." Bassist/vocalist Kim Gordon, guitarist Thurston Moore, and guitarist Lee Ranaldo shared vocal duties

Postal Service's DNTEL opened to a largely tuned-out crowd, most of whom were chatting during his overlong set.



Photos by the pugnacious Chinapixie.

L.A. gets all the good stuff

Hell Yes: Offering a fine mix of independent rock, punk, hip-hop, whatever, the colorfully named Fuck Yeah Fest continues this year on Aug. 25 and 26 at various clubs in Echo Park. Two-day passes are a mere $22. That's the price of ONE DVD, and change. Check the partial lineup, as curated by Keith Morris (Circle Jerks) & Sean Carlson:

Saturday, August 25th:
The Explosion (very last west coast show)
Lavender Diamond
Dillinger Four
Busdriver
Boom Bip
Entrance
The Mae Shi
Fleshies
Bobby Birdman
Imaad Wasif
Hit Me Back
Thee More Shallows
Langhorne Slim
Greg Ashely of Gris Gris
Partyline (members of Bratmobile)
Brother Reade
+many more

Sunday, August 26th:
Deerhunter
Indian Jewelry
No Age
Midnight Movies
Jay Reatard
Pissed Jeans
xBxRx
Darker My Love
Triclops!
Best Fwends
+many more

Chicago gets all the good stuff

Hell Yes: British mag The Wire is celebrating its 25th anniversary with five nights of music at Chicago's Empty Bottle club. The musical program will be accompanied by a film series at Chicago's Gene Siskel Film Center. And as a side note: Boris, since you're playing in Chicago (which I'm pretty sure is in the United States), please find it in your heart(s) to visit some other spots in the U.S. For now:

9-26 - Chicago - White Magic, Holy Fuck, Badawi, Burning Star Core with Graveyards & Zac Davis
9-27 - Chicago - Pere Ubu, Ulrich Schnauss, Hair Police, Glen Jones & Jack Rose
9-28 - Chicago - Qui, Excepter, Thomas Ankersmit, Leslie Keffer
9-29 - Chicago - Deerhunter, No Age, Daniel Carter, Sin Ropas
9-30 - Chicago - Boris, Michio Kurihara, Damon & Naomi, People

Review: Sonic Youth at the Greek Theater

7/20/07, Los Angeles: Daydream Nation, first released in 1988, always seemed destined for icon status, and is often celebrated as one of the great albums of the 1980s, and usually mentioned early on in recaps of American post-punk.

Continuing the trend set by All Tomorrow's Parties' Don't Look Back series, Sonic Youth played Daydream all the way through on Friday at the Greek Theatre in Hollywood (following similar performances in Chicago and London), and for a few hours, the band recaptured the zeitgeist surrounding the album's original time period. Stripping down to a quartet again (with new bassist Mark Ibold waiting in the wings), the band played the double-album straight ahead with few frills, and little stage banter. Guitarist Lee Ranaldo seemed to be the driving force behind the night's production, whether singing his tracks or slowly destroying his small army of guitars. The songs themselves sound as fresh as ever, awash in feedback and also threatening to spin out of control, but still laced with unforgettable melodies.

Strangely enough, the band seemed to be having more fun during the encore, when Ibold joined them for a handful of songs off their latest disc, Rather Ripped. His presence allowed Kim Gordon to ditch her bass and get some infectious dancing in. In fact, they were having such a blast, they ought to think about playing that album in its entirety as well. Or how about all of them? In a row. In my apartment.

Lucinda Williams catalog -- Live!

Hell yes: Lucinda Williams fan? Live in NY or L.A.? Check it: The singer is playing not one, not two, but FIVE of her albums all the way through on five nights in each city. The chosen: Her 1988 self-titled disc, "Sweet Old World," "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road," "Essence" and "World Without Tears." She's apparently doing them inreverse-chronological order, starting with "Tears."
In case that wasn't clear:

9/5 - Los Angeles - El Rey ("World Without Tears")
9/6 - Los Angeles - El Rey ("Essence")
9/8 - Los Angeles - El Rey ("Car Wheels On A Gravel Road")
9/9 - Los Angeles - El Rey ("Sweet Old World")
9/10 - Los Angeles - El Rey ("Lucinda Williams")
9/29 - New York City - Irving Plaza ("World Without Tears")
9/30 - New York City - Irving Plaza ("Essence")
10/2 - New York City - Town Hall ("Car Wheels On A Gravel Road")
10/3 - New York City - Town Hall ("Sweet Old World")
10/4 - New York City - Town Hall ("Lucinda Williams")

Need me to draw you a pitcher?

Poster of the Week: Decemberists by Electrofork

Here's something cool:


Click on image to enlarge.

The Decemberists/Grizzly Bear at Summerstage in Central Park in New York. Art by Electrofork.

FOG WATCH 2007

Day 907: Our Fog watch continues with a bit of news from the Minneapolis band's camp. After a close-to-home CD release show August 18th at the Square Lake Festival near Stillwater, MN, the trio will be taking over Europe on these dates:

8/3 - Dresden, Ger. - Scheune
8/4 - Biesenthal, Ger. - Goldmund Festival
8/6 - Berlin, Ger. - Bastard
8/7 - London, UK - The Luminaire
8/8 - Dublin, Ire. - Crawdaddy
8/9 - Paris, Fr. - Fleche d'or

I really want to know what the "Bastard" in Berlin is like.

Rilo Kiley touring in the fall

Hell yes: The catchy, quirky pop sounds of L.A.'s Rilo Kiley are drifiting to your town this fall. Bliss out on these dates:

9-06 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
9-07 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
9-08 - Seattle, WA - Showbox
9-10 - Orem, UT - McKay Events Center
9-11 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
9-12 - Columbia, MO - Jesse Auditorium at University of Missouri
9-13 - Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium
9-14 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
9-15 - Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
9-17 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre
9-18 - Toronto, Ontario - Phoenix Theatre
9-19 - Montreal, Quebec - La Tulipe
9-21 - Boston, MA - Avalon
9-22 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
9-23 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
9-25 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
9-26 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
9-27 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
9-28 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
9-29 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
10-01 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Revolution
10-02 - Orlando, FL - House of Blues
10-04 - New Orleans, LA - The Republic
10-05 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
10-06 - Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom
10-07 - Austin, TX - Stubb's Bar-B-Q
10-09 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
10-10 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre
10-12 - San Diego, CA - SOMA
10-13 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel
10-15 - Santa Monica, CA - Civic Auditorium

Photo of Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis at the Glass House in Pomona, Calif. in March of '06 taken by the elusive Chinapixie.

For DOOM, the bell tolls

Hell Yes: Infamous masked madman MF DOOM is rocking our world with a brief U.S. tour this fall (most of the dates are with the traveling Rock the Bells Festival), and also pimping his image out for some Nikes.

7-29 - New York, NY - Randall's Island (Rock the Bells)
8-08 - San Diego, CA - TBA
8-10 - Pomona, CA - Glasshouse
8-11 - San Bernardino, CA - Glen Helen Hyundai Pavilion (Rock the Bells)
8-12 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
8-15 - San Francisco, CA - Independent
8-16 - San Francisco, CA - Independent
8-18 - San Francisco, CA - McCovey Cove Parking Lot (Rock the Bells)
8-25 - Minneapolis, MN - Metrodome Parking Lot (Rock the Bells)
8-26 - Chicago, IL - Charter One Pavilion (Rock the Bells)
8-28 - Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig
8-29 - Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Music Center (Rock the Bells)

Of Montreal touring in the fall for y'all

Hell Yes: There's just not enough room to talk about Of Montreal, just room for dates. Bad dates:

9-28 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
10/2 - Knoxville, TN - Bijou Theatre
10/3 - Urbana, IL - Canopy Club
10/4 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre
10/5 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
10/6 - Chicago, IL - Metro
10/7 - Chicago, IL - Metro
10/8 - Oberlin, OH - Hale's Gym
10/9 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
10/0 - Buffalo, NY - The Tralf
10/1 - Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero
10/2 - Boston, MA - The Roxy
10/3 - New York, NY - Roseland
10/4 - Baltimore, MD - Ram's Head Live
10/1 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club
11/1 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
11/2 - Houston, TX - Numbers
11/3 - Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/4 - Dallas, TX - Granda Theatre
11/5 - El Paso, TX - Club 101
11/6 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee
11/7 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto
11/8 - Los Angeles, CA - Avalon
11/9 - Los Angeles, CA - Avalon
11/2 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
11/3 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
11/4 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
11/6 - Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue
11/7 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theater
11/8 - Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall
11/9 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant

Odds and sods and news

Sweet: Rilo Kiley's "Under the Blacklight" will be out Aug. 21 on Warner Bros., You can hear the first single, "The Moneymaker" (and see the hot video -- it's hot), on their Myspace page.

Gross: The long-awaited headliner for the second night of L.A.'s kick ass Sunset Junction Festival? She Wants Revenge. More like "She wants BARF." Nice. Still, they've yet to reveal another band for Sunday, and we've already got the Buzzcocks. Can't complain for 15 bucks. Wait, yes I can. She Wants Revenge sucks.

Cool news: For all you Son Volt fans, that is. They're re-releasing all those iTunes-only tracks on a limited edition (1,000 copies) double LP. Sweet.

Review: Os Mutantes/Busdriver @ The El Rey

7/13/7, Los Angeles: Brazilian tropicalia pioneers Os Mutantes haven't popped up onstage in the U.S. very often since their late-sixties hey-day, but the revitalized group has been making the rounds lately, and hopefully they'll be back soon (and play more than just four North American cities).

Probably best know for their fuzzy, exotic 1968 garage nugget "Bat macumba", Os Mutantes' founding brothers Arnaldo Baptista and Sergio Dias Baptista are nowadays joined by Sergio's wife-singer Zelia Duncan, original drummer Ronaldo "Dinho" Leme and 6 newbies, all extremely talented. The dectet spun some feel-good Brazilain jams, freely bouncing from samba to bosa nova to straight rock, with Sergio truly shredding his axe. Where has this guy been for the past 30-odd years? He sounds like Vernon Reid, except all of his solos seem necessary. He even quoted a few licks from Clapton's phantom solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

The nearly-sold out El Rey ate it up, and went nuts when they kicked out a mega-extended take on "Bat Macumba" for their sonically psychedelic encore. Os Mutantes seemed to be having too much fun not to return for a proper U.S tour soon.

L.A. indie rapper Busdriver landed the opening slot, but his clever wordplay and often improvised rhymes were all but drowned out by his DJ tag-team of Anti-MC and Daddy Kev. In a nod to the ominous date of the performance, Kev sported a Jason-style goalie mask while Busdriver, his apparent victim, wore a plastic knife-in-the-head rig.

Pitchfork has an excellent set of photos from their recent Chicago gig, and a clip of the performing "Bat Macumba" at the Pitchfork Fest last year. Hey hey!

Justice is coming

Hell Oui: French electronic duo Justice("Just-eeece") are bringing the beats and the Freedom Fries to their North American brethren. No Justice, no peace:

10-09 - Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater
10-10 - San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine
10-12 - Seattle, WA - Neumos
10-13 - Vancouver, B.C. - Commodore Ballroom
10-16 - Minneapolis, MN - Foundation
10-17 - Chicago, IL - Metro
10-18 - Toronto, Ontario - Republic
10-19 - Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis
10-20 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
10-21 - Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Ballroom

Bjork in the U.S.A.

Hell yes: Iceland's most adorable export (no! not the Abominable Snowman! Bjork!)is crossing the ocean, fighting pirates and sea monsters the whole way, just to perform in these N.A. cities and townships:

9-08 - Toronto, Ontario - Virgin Festival
9-11 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre
9-14 - Austin, TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)
9-17 - Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre
9-21 - Montreal, B.C. - Jacques Cartier Pier
9-24 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden

Bjork at Coachella photo by Chinapixie.

Odds and sods and news

This'll be cool: A docomentary about Shoegaze bands, with innerviews with My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields and Debbie Googe, JAMC's Reid brothers and Douglas Hart, and Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde, as well as Robert Smith (the Cure), Neil Halstead (Slowdive), Mark Gardner and Andy Bell (Ride), Emma Anderson (Lush), Adam Franklin (Swervedriver), Toni Halliday (Curve), Bobby Gillespie (Primal Scream), and others who were there.

The Beastie Boys are playing an all-instrumental show at L.A.'s Wiltern theatre on Aug. 21. The Live Nation pre-sale starts Friday at 10 am. PST. They've got a few other instrumental shows here and there, but this is a new addition.

Garbage is heading back into da studio sometime in 2008.

Guitar Center Calling: Strap on your very own "Joe Strummer" Fender guitar. It'll look nice with your Ramones Converse, you poser.

The National on national tour

Hell Yes: Rocking rockers The National have announced a pretty big N.A. tour. Herewith:

08-17 - New York, NY - South Street Seaport
9-04 - Philadelphia, PA - Theater of Living Arts
9-05 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
9-06 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
9-07 - Carrboro, NC - Cats Cradle
9-08 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
9-10 - Orlando, FL - The Club @ Firestone
9-11 - Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder
9-12 - Birmingham, AL - The Bottletree
9-14 - Dallas, TX - Grenada Theater
9-16 - Austin, TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)
9-18 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theater
9-19 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown
9-20 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line
9-21 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater
9-22 - Chicago, IL - The Vic
9-23 - Cincinnati, OH - Madison Theater
9-27 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
9-28 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
9-29 - San Francisco, CA - Ballroom
10-01 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
10-02 - Seattle, WA - Showbox
10-03 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
10-06 - Boston, MA - Roxy
10-07 - Montreal, Quebec - Le National
10-08 - Toronto, Ontario - Phoenix Concert Hall

Arcade Fire/LCD expand U.S. tour...a tiny bit

Hell yes: All-star dream team tour Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem have added some more dates for all you north American Scum. Lucky Cities:

9-17 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks
9-20 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl
9-30 - St. Paul, MN - Roy Wilkins Auditorium
10-03 - Louisville, KY - Waterfront Park
10-05 - Columbus, OH - LC Pavilion

LCD's also slated to play Lollapalooza in Chicago and the Virgin Fest in Baltimore.

Photo of James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem by the tireless Chinapixie.

Beatle Pods --- Engage!

Hell yes: Rumor has it that Apple will soon be unveiling an all-Beatles-all-the-time yellow (as in submarine) iPod. It'll be loaded with the Fab Four's entire catalog. But, come one, anyone willing to buy this sucker surely has all the Beat-All's CDs anywho, right? And is it cool for me to put Rutles songs on there? What about Wings?

Pogues plot mini-U.S. tour

Hell yes: The Pogues have announced a short west coast tour, which is cool, but hopefully they'll add some other dates as well. What about the rest of the world, blokes?

10/17 - Seattle, WA - The Fenix
10/18 - Seattle, WA - The Fenix
10/21 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
10/22 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
10/26 - San Diego, CA - 4th & B Concert Theater
10/28 - Anaheim, CA - House Of Blues
10/30 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
10/31 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
11/02 - Las Vegas, NV - The Pearl Concert Theater At Palms

They Might Be Touring Giants. Wait, they are.

Hell Yes: Now that they've put all that children's records crap behind them They Might Be Giants can return to the sludgy, doom-laden grindcore METAL for which they're best known. Rock out with them here:

7/18 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
7/19 - Dewey Beach, DE - Bottle & Cork
7/20 - Lancaster, PA - Chameleon
7/21 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
7/22 - Detroit, MI - Max Fischer Music Center/Concert of Colors
7/23 - Toronto, Ontario - Mod Club
7/25 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
7/26 - Seaside Park, NJ - The Green Room
7/27 - Wellfleet, MA - Beachcomber
7/28 - Uncasville, CT - Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun Casino
8/1 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
8/3 - Amagansett, NY - Stephen Talkhouse
8/4 - Oyster Bay, NY - Planting Fields Arboretum FOTA Pavilion
8/8 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
9/12 - Baltimore, MD - Ram’s Head Live
9/13 - State College, PA - State Theatre
9/15 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
9/17 - Minneapolis, MN - First Ave
9/18 - Iowa City, IA - University of Iowa Ballroom
9/20 - Boulder, CO - Boulder Theatre
9/23 - Missoula, MT - University of Montana
9/26 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre
9/27 - Portland, OR - Roseland
9/28 - Sacramento, CA - Empire
9/29 - Santa Cruz, CA - Rio Theatre
10/3 - Los Angeles, CA - Avalon
10/4 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues
10/5 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues

U.S. seeing Stars this fall

Hell Yes: Canadian popsters Stars are invading the U.S... and Canada. Prepare for war on these dates:

9-06 - Grand Rapids, MI - Calvin College Fine Arts Center
9-08 - Montreal, Quebec - Parc Jean- Drapeau (Osheaga Festival)
9-09 - Toronto, Ontario - Virgin Festival
10-17 - South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
10-18 - New York, NY - Town Hall
10-19 - Boston, MA - Berklee Performance Centre
10-20 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10-24 - Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Ballroom
10-26 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
10-27 - Atlanta, GA - The Variety Playhouse
10-28 - Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder
10-30 - Austin, TX - Stubb's BBQ
10-31 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues
11-02 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
11-03 - Minneapolis, MN - Pantages Theatre
11-04 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown
11-06 - Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre
11-08 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
11-09 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues
11-10 - Los Angeles, CA - The Orpheum
11-13 - San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 365 Club
11-14 - San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 365 Club
11-15 - Portland, OR - The Crystal Ballroom
11-16 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox

Poster of the Week: Sonic Youth by Malleus

Here's something cool:


Click on image to enlarge.

Sonic Youth at Spazio 211 in Torino, Italy. Art by Malleus.

Buzzcocks buzzing Loz Angeleez

Hell Yeah: Good ol' Spaceland in Silverlake, Calif. is offering a rare club appearance by those good ol' Buzzcocks on Friday, August 17. Whoa, indeed. It'll be a little preview before they play the Sunset Junction fest down the street the following Sunday.

Catch Andrew Bird on tour. And then release him.

Hell Yes: Hot off his sweet show at the HoBowl, Chicago's Andrew Bird will take to the skies once more for a mega U.S. tour, including a stop at his hometown Hideout Block party, also featuring The Frames and, completely inapproriately, Bloc Party.

8-06 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater (solo show)
9-01 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards
9-02 Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot
9-08 Chicago, IL - Hideout Block Party
9-10 Knoxville, TN - The Bijou Theater
9-11 Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
9-12 Durham, NC - The Carolina Theatre
9-13 Atlanta, GA - The Variety Playhouse
9-15 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival
9-17 Lawrence, KS - The Granada
9-18 Louisville, KY - WL Lyons Brown Theatre
9-19 Bloomington, IN - Buskirk Chumley Theater
9-20 Madison, WI - Wisconsin Union Theater
9-21 Urbana, IL - Pygmalion Music Festival
9-22 Iowa City, IA - The Englert Theatre
9-24 Buffalo, NY - Asbury Hall at the Church
9-25 Toronto, Ontario - The Opera House
9-26 Montreal, Quebec - La Tulipe
9-28 South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
9-29 Baltimore, MD - Sonar
9-30 Richmond, VA - Toad's Place
10-02 Pittsburgh, PA - Carnegie Music Hall

Andrew Bird photo by Chinapixie.

Odds and sods and news

Ooooh, extras! When you buy Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga at a certified indie record store, you get a free limited edition 7" featuring a demo of "The Underdog" and the b-side "It Took A Rumor To Make Me Wonder, Now I’m Convinced I’m Going Under." This is in addition to the 12-track bonus EP being issued with the CD. And, double-extra-special bonus for L.A. residents: the first 150 peeps to buy it at Amoeba get a Golden Ticket to Spoon's "secret" show July 16 at Little Radio. They're doing similar "secret shows" in Chicago and SF as well. Get in line now, friends.

Earth yes: It was inevitable that the majority of viewers would end up watching choice moments of the Live Earth spectacle, rather than stay glued to Bravo or whatever all day long. Stereogum's just made it easier, picking and choosing the best bits. And also Genesis. ooooh, BURN!

How the heck did The Hives land an opening gig for Maroon 5? Was there a typo somewhere?

The 13th studio release from The Cure will be a double album. Enjoy.

And the Bloc Party have added some North American dates. Also enjoy.

Review: The Decemberists/Andrew Bird/Band of Horses

7/7/7, Los Angeles: With long-form orcehstral pop songs already a major part of the band’s oeuvre, Portland’s The Decemberists were a perfect match for the Hollywood Bowl orchestra who accompanied them Saturday at the Bowl. The group was able to harness the full power of the orchestra far more successfully than past performers at the venue such as Air and Belle and Sebastian, who underutilized the world-renowned classical group in years past.

Mystifyingly playing only a handful of songs from their latest CD, The Crane Wife, frontman Colin Meloy and his band delighted in playing such a massive (and deservedly famous) venue, and he took ample opportunities to ham it up with faux-rock god shenanigans. At one point, he mimed a guitar solo on the little stage in front of the mainstage as lead guitarist Chris Funk provided the actual riffs. When Meloy’s guitar troubles delayed the show, the band struck up a goofy, lounge-jazz riff while the stagehands sorted out the tech problems. The orchestra added some punched-up horn riffs and some powerful percussion to slow-burners like “O Valencia!” and "The Infanta".

"Los Angeles, I'm Yours", which compares the city to "an ocean’s garbled vomit on the shore", drew hearty applause from the SoCal crowd. The show didn’t really hit full swing, however, until the encore, when the Decemberists cut loose and appeared to be having one hell of a time up there. Pitchfork's got a video and some cool pics posted.

Rounding out the bill were two buzzy bands: Chicago’s Andrew Bird and his two-piece rhythm section (Martin Dosh on drums/keys and Jeremy Ylvisaker on bass) skillfully mix Bird’s multiple musical talents (violin, guitar, whistling) with live sound looping, creating a minor cacophony of orchestral pop, while Seattle’s Band of Horses were stuck with the early opening slot, playing their guitar-soaked indie pop to a largely inattentive crowd still shuffling in while the sun is still shone brightly over the picturesque Hollywood Hills.

And a special fuck you goes out to all the dumbshits talking in Section Q1. Why would you pay money to talk to your idiot friends about nothing when there’s a one-of-a-kind live event unfolding right before your very eyes? Idiots.

BobDylan/ToddHaynes/I'mNotThere

Hell Yes: Remember a few years back when you first heard about Todd Haynes' mysterious Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There? Now, we have a trailer, featuring an unreleased Dylan recording. David Cross as Allen Ginsberg and Cate Blanchett as Bob. Nice.

Live Earth reclaims DC; Gore consolidates power

Earth yes: First, the previously-cancelled Rio show was reinstated, now Earth President Al Gore has announced the last-minute addition of Warshington DC to the Live Earth setlist. The event will be held at the National Museum of the American Indian (two blocks from the Capitol). And the headliners are Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. Hey, it's for a good cause.

Cloud Cult plot U.S. tour, tofu snacks

Hell yes: Duluth's own eco-freak-folk-electro-rock-poppers Cloud Cult are hitting the road again. To see the dates, continue reading, Western-style:

August 17th - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
August 18th - Seattle, WA - KEXP BBQ
September 4th - Toronto, ON - El Mocambo (all ages)
September 5th - Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa (all ages)
September 7th - Boston, MA - Middle East
September 8th - New York, New York - Bowery Ballroom (18+)
September 9th - Philadelphia, PA - Greenfest (all ages)
September 13th - Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck (all ages)
September 14th - Denver, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheater (Monolith Festival)

Check 'em out. These dudes and dudettes ROCK. They rock for LIGHT!

Prince hat trick in MPLS

Hell Yes: For those of you keeping score at home, Minneapolitans now have THREE chances to see Prince on July 7 (Saturday). Following his Target Center perf, Prettyman will walk across the street to his old stompin' grounds First Avenue to kick out some more jams. This'll be his first official show there in twenty years!