Review: Buffy -- Once More With Feeling

Guest review by Jevon Phillips

6/27, Los Angeles: Slaying 'em with a song, baby! 'Buffy the Musical' -- the musical 'Once more ... with feeling' episode of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer- (the greatest show of all time, incidentally) -- screened in L.A. for the first time last night in West-friggin-wood (Go Trojans). And it knocked my cushiony socks off.

From start to finish, there was LOTS of loud singing throughout the theater. Raucous, but not raunchy. Though it was continual, it didn't get in the way of the TV-watching. Truthfully, I'd say most people were on key and decent singers.

The pre-show -- yes, there was a pre-show -- highlighted some fan creations. The Dresden Dolls' 'Coin-operated Boy' was used to spoof Buffy's 4th season relationship with Riley Finn, and was probably the highlight. A tribute to Buffy's mom was touching, a look back at one of Alyson Hannigan's first roles (My Stepmother is an Alien -- IMDB it) had a surprising contemporary twist, and some trivia tidbits displayed the depth of the crowd's knowledge of the Buffyverse. Nerds, but I'm one of them.

Musically, the songs are fun. Joss Whedon is a great writer, and it seems to extend to all venues and genres. The bulk of the music is kind of showtuney, but they fit nicely. Throw in a high-pitched ballad by lesbian lover Tara (to her Willow), a 'rockabilly' diddy from Spike the vampire, and the jazzy stylings of Sweet the demonlord, and it's an OK mix of music.

The show itself is interactive eyecandy. Vampire teeth, poppers, dry cleaning, bubbles and kazoos bring it all together well. The actors in the NY show add something to the experience, but not having them does bring the focus back to the show itself, and forces the audience to 'make their own fun' without relying on the actors.

Someone who did rely on the actors, though, was Joss Whedon. The creator, along with writer-producer-running buddy extraordinaire Marti Noxon, showed up at the Majestic Crest theater (a cool venue, by the way, despite its location. Go Trojans!), to rile up the already riled. A guy of few words, Whedon admonished the crowd to lighten up on Buffy's sometimes-bratty sister Dawn, and was touched by the continued Buffy worship poured on the series, and specifically, the musical episode. The program creator Clinton McClung said that he'd created a cinematic work on TV, and that feat is what made it all possible. Awww.

Go see it!! Or rent it and sing along in your house by yourself, popping poppers and swinging drycleaning around with vampire teeth on and holding a stuffed bunny. Or is that just me?

Bonde do Role on a roll. ay.

Hell yes: After some sort of "dental problems" forced Brazil nuts Bonde do Role to cancel some West Coast shows, the trio has struck back with a tankload of U.S. dates:

09-11 Washington, DC - Black Cat
09-12 Baltimore, MD - Sonar
09-13 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
09-14 New York, NY - The Powerhouse @ American Museum of Natural History
09-15 Brooklyn, NY - TBA
09-17 Allston, MA - Harper's Ferry
09-18 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
09-19 Toronto, Ontario - Cabaret
09-20 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
09-21 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
09-22 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club
09-25 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richards on Richards
09-26 Seattle, WA - Neumos
09-27 Portland, OR - Holocene
09-28 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
09-29 Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
10-01 San Diego, CA - Casbah
10-02 Tucson, AZ - Plush
10-04 Austin, TX - Emo's Jr.
10-05 Dallas, TX - Palladium Loft
10-06 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
10-08 Tallahassee, FL - Beta Bar
10-09 Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds
10-10 Jacksonville, FL - TSI
10-11 Orlando, FL - The Club at Firestone
10-12 Atlanta, GA - MJQ Concourse
10-13 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506

So how was McCartney?

Here's a great review of Sir Paul's not-so-secret Amoeba show last night. 90 minutes! Sounds like a corker.

Spice. Girls. Dates.

Hell Yes, God yes: Girl power has been conspicuously missing for our lives for the past decade or so. But no more, my droogies. The aforementioned Spice Girls reunion rumor has been made manifest. Check out their tour schedule (all venues TBA):

12-07 Los Angeles, CA
12-08 Las Vegas, NV
12-11 New York, NY
12-15 London, England
12-20 Cologne, Germany
12-23 Madrid, Spain
01-10 Beijing, China
01-12 Hong Kong, China
01-17 Sydney, Australia
01-20 Cape Town, South Africa
01-24 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Who's up for Deadheading it with me? We can catch them on 6 continents! And in Vegas.

M.I.A. in the U.S.A.

Hell Yes: Provided that they allow her into the country, hottie M.I.A. has added some U.S. dates, and some in Canadia as well. Feast:

07-21 Brooklyn, NY - Coney Island (Siren Festival)
07-25 Brooklyn, NY - Studio B
07-28 San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Stop
08-03 Chicago, IL - Grant Park (Lollapalooza)
08-04 Chicago, IL - House of Blues
08-05 Baltimore, MD - Virgin Festival
09-08 Toronto, Ontario - Virgin Festival
09-09 Montreal, Quebec - Parc Jean Drapeau (Osheaga Festival)
09-14 Austin, TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)
09-15 San Francisco, CA - Treasure Island Festival
10-26-28 New Orleans, LA - Voodoo Music Experience

Larry King. Dorkus.

Aw, hell no: You're an idiot, Larry King. You called Ringo "George" in a live innerview. Also, Yoko Ono is hot.

KING: Where were you when — when John passed?
MCCARTNEY: When John passed I was in Sussex, at my home in Sussex. That’s where I was.
KING: Did somebody call you?
MCCARTNEY: Yes, my manager at the time called me. And it was just the shock of all shocks, you know?
KING: George, where were you?
MCCARTNEY: George!
KING: Ringo.
MCCARTNEY: No, this is Ringo here.
KING: Ringo, where were you?
STARR: I was in the Bahamas.
KING: I was getting to (INAUDIBLE) George.
STARR: I was…
MCCARTNEY: No, you weren’t, Larry. You said his name wrong.
STARR: Shut up, it’s my turn.
MCCARTNEY: I know, but he got your name wrong, Ringo, on national television.
STARR: I know. Give him a break.
MCCARTNEY: We can’t cut it. It’s live.
STARR: Anyway, I was in the Bahamas and the kids called and they said we’ve heard something, like John has been hurt.

Review: The National/The Broken West @ El Rey

6/26, Los Angeles: The National tore it up at their sold out El Rey show last night. Plowing through 90 minutes worth of tracks culled from their 5-album career, the sextet's show seemed to be a late bloomer, like the band themselves. The NYC-by-way-of-Cincy indie act has been building a devoted (extremely devoted, as evidenced by the energetic crowd) audience over the last few years. Their latest LP, The Boxer, is a favorite of critics and indie rockers alike. Often sounding like an American New Order (minus the dance) crossed with My Morning Jacket (minus the falsetto), their set included one too many slow jams, but more than made up for it with some ear-crushing dual guitar sonic crescendoes at the end of the night. The violinist bounces back and forth between playing a melody and supplying an extra rhythm instrument, but by the finale, he chucked his bow and played the thing like a tiny little electric guitar. Fists were pumping, lyrics were being screamed, hands were furiously clapping. It was that kind of night.

Openers The Broken West, from L.A., are pleasantly rockin', sounding like Summer Teeth-era Wilco.

Sonic Youth at Urban Outfitters

Hell YES: What goes better with Sonic Youth than Starbucks? Urban Outfitters, that's what. The legendary group will kick out the jams July 21st at the Santa Monica store as part of the continuing Free Yr Radio in-store series. Tapes 'n Tapes did it (in MPLS), and so will Grizzly Bear (in Cleveland) and El-P (in NYC). This one will benefit SMC radio station KXLU. DNTEL is opening. And it's FREE, print out yr pass at their site.

Led Zeppelin is BACK.

Hell Yes? So...again, don't get too excited, but Gigwise is saying it's time to get the Led out. Plant, Page and JPJ are reuniting to play a "one-off" concert in memory of late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. And the rumor is that they may embark on a world tour... Rumor.

Weezer is also BACK.

Hell Yes: No, not as cool as Zeppelin playing live, but some of us like Weezer! It appears that frontman Rivers Cuomo has finally stopped messing around with "Real life" (Harvard, marriage, etc...) and is getting the boys back together for a new album. Says he on their Website:

"Hey Party-People,

Weezer is just polishing up a batch of songs for a recording session that is going to start at the beginning of July. This will be the final recording session for our 6th album which we aim to put out in the first half of 2008. We hope you are all having good times."

The Verve reuniting

Hell Yes: Bittersweet hitmakers (OK, one-hitmakers) and '90s Britpop sensations The Verve are reuniting for some well-supervised touring craziness. If playing Glasgow, Blackpool (Blockpuuule) and London can be considered a tour. Why do these bands even bother breaking up anymore? Thanks again to Pitchfork.

Clap Your Hands, Tour

Hell Yes: Self-releasing NYC band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are saying yes to touring the U.S. from sea to shining sea. Dates:



08-03 Chicago, IL - Metro
08-04 Chicago, IL - Grant Park (Lollapalooza)
09-11 New York, NY - Blender Theater at Gramercy
09-14 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre (Monolith Festival)
09-15 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival
09-16 San Francisco, CA - Treasure Island Festival
09-18 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
09-19 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
09-20 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
09-23 San Diego, CA - Street Scene Festival
09-28 Portland, OR - Roseland
09-29 Seattle, WA - Neumos
09-30 Seattle, WA - Neumos
10-04 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Cafe
10-05 Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar
10-06 Madison, WI - The Annex
10-26-28 New Orleans, LA - Voodoo Music Experience

Macca at Amoeba!!!

Hell yes: Now don't get too excited, because it sounds like it'll be nearly impossible to get in, but Sir Paul is playing an instore at Amoeba Records in Hollywood tomorrow night. You gotta get a wristband starting at 12:30 pm tomorrow. So, get in line now. Fly, you fools! Thanks to A-Rom for the tip!

Review: DJ Shadow/Cut Chemist @ Hollywood Bowl

6/24/7, Los Angeles: It's rare for a solid evening of live music to be brought to such an anti-climactic close. But such was the case Sunday when DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist teamed to spin some rare (and not-so-rare) 45s at the Hollywood Bowl.

The cavernous theatre probably isn't the best place for an hour-long set of record-scratching in the first place, but the DJ duo held court with great sound, some slick technicals and a bevy of cameras capturing every needle-drop and back-spin. As explained in an amusing introductory video, the duo's ability of mixing songs from 45 rpm 7"s (as opposed to 12" LPs) is a difficult feat, due to the disc's size and speed. The sampling of titles covered a wide spectrum, including some "never heard of that before" moments, but overall the pace was in need of some picking up. Too often, the DJs stuck within genres, featuring a doo wop section, a classic hip-hop section, a Brazilian/Carnaval section and some recent rock (Foo Fighters). It was fun, but hardly mind-blowing.

Using small, portable turntables to scratch along to Metallica's "One" while walking around the stage was a great idea, but Shadow cleary wasn't as good at it as Cut Chemist, and then the record skipped at the last moment,followed by a deafening silence from the crowd. Kim Fowley, of all people, stumbled out and announced the show's end, but it appeared that no one in the crowd knew who he was and the stunt confused more than it thrilled.

Review: The Police/Foo Fighters @ Dodger Stadium

6/23/7, Los Angeles: Among the many recently reunited bands, The Police are the only group that can command night after night of arena shows and charge an arm and a leg for them. Despite some bad press after their first few shows, the Brit trio sound like no time has passed at all. Ignoring the inevitable backstage head-butting for the time being, the threesome are perfectly in synch onstage and Sting, especially, sounds as good as ever both on the mic and on the bass. They were eager to trot out all the old warhorses, but they saddled both "Roxanne" and "Can't Stand Losing You" with aimless, Pink Floyd-inspired space jams. Similarily, a handful of mid-set slow jams bogged down an otherwise buoyant set. The sold-out crowd (Sold out being a technical term, as there were plenty of open seats) represented a good mix of young and old.

The Foo Fighters earned the call-up to open the show, and their catchy, if uninspired, pop metal is pefectly suited for an arena. Trouble is, most of their songs sound the same. Frontman Dave Groehl made up for lack of originality by turning himself into a spectacle, jumping into the crowd and zig-zagging to the back of the front section --- all the while shredding some lame cock rock solos on his "axe".

Side rant: Seats to the side of the stage (from where you cannot see the stage nor the front-facing video screens) shouldn't be top price. They should be dirt-cheap, or not sold at all. It's easy to forget how much arena shows suck, but they do indeed. A lot.

Book Report: Nirvana

Nirvana: The Biography by Everett True
Nearly 600 pages, and about half of them are about Nirvana, the rest are about Everett True. (Small) exaggerations aside, True really was there when all the shit went down: The NME journalist followed Kurt Cobain and co. from their early days in and around Olympia, through Sub Pop and Bleach, DGC and Nevermind, and lastly, through superstardom, Courtney Love, MTV, heroin addiction, In Utero and suicide. True was there, and he gives some excellent first-hand accounts of small club shows, backstage shenanigans, band in-fighting and similar tales of sex, drugs and rock n roll (well, not much sex really). But where was everybody else? For whatever reason, True wasn't able to interview drummer Dave Groehl (although he has some cool stories from Chad Channing, Nirvana's talented first dummer) or bassist Krist Novelselic, nor do we hear from producers Butch Vig and Steve Albini. And, although he loves to reminisce about wrestling with her on hotel lobby floors, True gets no input from Courtney Love either. Nirvana: A Biography really feels like a deseprate attempt from True to remain relevant in a rock world that has pretty much forgotten about the Seattle scene he so experty chronicled more than a decade ago.

Spice. Girls. Reunion.

Hell Yes: Move over, Pipettes. Remember a few days ago when we said the only thing better than the Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem joint tour would be for Evel Keneivel to tour with the reunited Spice Girls??? We just got one step closer to that. Yes! Now we can play "Who's YOUR favorite Spice Girl?" all over again!

Mine was always Ginger.

Cool band alert! ARGO

Seattle indiepop stalwarts Argo are nothing short of amazing. The opening track on their latest Ana-Them EP Attack of the Firebots has got to be one of the catchiest instrumentals in the last five years or so. And when the vocals kick in on "Water's Red", their immortality is assured. They're (finally) gigging outside of Washington, and California and Oregon folks'll be lucky to catch them. Definitely for fans of Death Cab and Jon Auer types.

Ryan Adams on the road again

Hell Yes: Crazy man/singer Ryan Adams is busting loose and adding some live dates hither and thither. Critical word has it that Adams' latest tour is a relaxed, non-crazy affair that features some of his softer material and less of his craziness.

Daniel Johnston announces rare gigs

Hell yes: Texas singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston is set to dazzle California with a trio of all-too-rare live dates. F-U-N spells "FUN!!!!"

Wed, 08/22/07 - San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 365 Club
Thu, 08/23/07 - Hollywood, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre
Fri, 08/24/07 - Hollywood, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre

Voodoo Fest unveils lineup

Hell Yes: New Orleans is stepping up nicely to compete in the 2007 U.S. Festival awards by unveiling a pretty stellar lineup for its annual Voodoo Fest which runs Oct. 26- 28. It turns out Rage Against the Machine's Coachella performance wasn't even close to a one-shot deal, so those of you who spent thousands of bucks to see them can officially start regretting it now that they've added those Rock the Bells shows, the Wisconsin show and this. Besides Rage, Voodoo is also offering up a spicy gumbo plate featuring Wilco, Black Crowes, um...Fallout Boy, Sinead O'Connor, Ben Harper, M.I.A., CYHSY and those dirty greedy Smashing Pumpkins.

Cure dates

Hell Yes: Break out the eyeliner (or steal it back from Panic! At the Disco): The Cure is back in town. 65 Days of Static will be opening a number of shows. Check out dese dates:

9/13/07 - Tampa, FL - St. Petersburg Times Forum
9/15/07 - Atlanta, GA - Gwinnett Civic Center
9/17/07 - Charlotte, NC - Charlotte Bobcats Arena
9/19/07 - Washington, DC - Patriot Center
9/21/07 - Philadelpha, PA - Wachovia Spectrum
9/23/07 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
9/25/07 - Boston, MA - Agganis Arena
9/26/07 - Montreal, PQ CAN - Bell Center
9/27/07 - Toronto, ON CAN - Air Canada Centre
9/29/07 - Chicago, IL - Allstate Arena
10/2/07 - Denver, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheater
10/4/07 - Salt Lake City, UT - E Center
10/6/07 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheater
10/8/07 - Seattle, WA - Key Arena
10/9/07 - Vancouver, BC CAN - General Motors Place
10/11/07 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl
10/13/07 - San Diego, CA - Cox Arena
10/14/07 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl
10/16/07 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center
10/17/07 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center

Beirut is coming to your town

Hell yes: Merry musicmakers Beirut have announced a short North American tour. Colleen is opening. There are plenty of dates in between, so if your city's not the list maybe it will be added later. Patience. yeeeeee---eaaahhh. Just a little patience.

September 23rd - Princeton, NJ - Terrace F Club
September 24th - New York, NY - Worldess Music Series @ Society for Ethical Culture
September 26th - New York, NY - Delacorte Theater
September 30th - Montreal, QU - La Salla Rosa
October 2nd - Toronto, ONT - Danforth Music Hall
October 4th - Chicago, IL Portage Theater
October 8th - San Francisco, CA - Herbst Theater
October 9th - San Francisco, CA - Herbst Theater
October 10th - Los Angeles, CA - Avalon

Walk like a Ramone

Hell Yes: Just in time for your June wedding, honor the Ramones by wearing their logo on yr feet. Or, maybe you're more of a Dino Jr. fan. Why haven't the White Stripes done this yet? Or Nelson?

Cool band alert! The French Semester

L.A.'s The French Semester have hit the ground running. After getting together just a few months ago, the foursome have already recorded a self-released CD, and have been playing L.A.-area shows left and right, with Safari Sam's and Mr. T's Bowl gigs coming up in the next few weeks. Their sloppy, catchy indie rock can be compared to Guided by Voices and Pavement, but they clearly take some pointers from the Britpop/shoegaze era. Jump on the bandwagon before it expands into a jumbojet or a zeppelin or something.

Cancel those travel plans

Hell no: This year's Austin City Limits Fest has released its schedule. Looks brutal. Fest-goers have to choose between Andrew Bird and Steve Earle; Wilco and My Morning Jacket; LCD and M.I.A.; Muse and Arctic Monkeys; QOTSA and Spoon; and, worst of all, Arcade Fire and White Stripes! Meanwhile, there are daytime stretches with no real conflicts at all. What gives? At least no one's conflicting with Dylan. Just back off, people. Give the man some room.

Arcade Fire/LCD adding dates. Together. LIVE.

HELL YES: Canuck phenom Arcade Fire is slowly expanding their Fall U.S tour with LCD Soundsystem opening! Besides ACL, they now have dates at Red Rocks on Sept. 17 and the Hollywood Bowl on the 20th. The tour is scheduled to go through early October, with more dates to be announced shortly. Hurry! The only thing better than this would be Evel Kenievel and the reunited Spice Girls touring together.

New Go! Team video

Hell Yes: Brighton's brightest, The Go! Team have got their new video up on their Myspace page. Dig in.

Magnetic News

Hell Yes: Stephen Merritt has announced that a new Magnetic Fields album is in the works for the '08. And probably a tour. That is all.

Prince in L.A. Update!

Hell Yes: Finally, Prettyman is breaking his silence about his forthcoming L.A. residency!!! He'll be hitting the Rossevelt Hotel THIS weekend (June 21-23), next weekend (June 28-30), and adding two more dates later. Tickets ain't cheap. Send an email to his Badness to reserve tickets...although I've emailed and not yet heard back!

State Fair Madness

Hell Yes- Now this is a cool lineup: Joan Jett with special guests Fountains of Wayne and The Suicide Commandos at the MN State Fair on August 26th. Joan Jett is still hot. The best part? The night before is Fergie, and Monday is "Weird" Al. Any self-respecting Music Nerd in Minnesota will be there all three nights for some un-Complicated Fun.

New Radiohead

Hell yes: NME sez you can preview a new Radiohead song. You know, RADIOHEAD.

Amy Winehouse adding shows

Hell Yes: Amy Winehouse is returning to North America, with Paolo Nutini in tow. So far, it's only a handful of shows, as follows:

Tue 9/18/7 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern
Wed 9/19/7 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern
Fri 9/21/7 San Francisco, CA Warfield Theatre
Sat 9/22/7 San Francisco, CA Warfield Theatre
Mon 9/24/7 Vancouver, BC Orpheum
Tue 9/25/7 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre
Fri 9/28/7 Minneapolis, MN The State Theatre
Sat 9/29/7 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom

Photo by Chinapixie.

San Diego Street Scene lineup revealed

Hell OK: This year's Street Scene (San Diego, Sept. 22-23) lineup is kind of weak so far. Muse...OK...Killers...OK...Social D...again?...Air...OK...Panic! At the Disco...no...Arctic Monkeys...OK...Brand New...no...Slightly Stoopid...fuck off...G. Love...no...CYHSY...OK

See what I mean? They should just throw Flaming Lips and Lily Allen in there, and you'd have the exact same festival as like fifty others this summer. The $15-a-day Sunset Junction (in L.A.) lineup is already better than this.

Review: Long Blondes @ The Echo

6/15/07, Los Angeles: The latest in hype-stirring U.K. pop bands, The Long Blondes mash-up Franz Ferdinand-style dance-rock, Sleater-Kinney vocal wails and Pulp-inspired choruses (they hail from Sheffield). But besides having one of the cutest bass players since Kim Deal debuted with the Pixies, Long Blondes didn't bring much to the table Friday night at the sold-out Echo. Singer Kate Jackson's vocals and onstage preening were not as cool as some may think, and the incessant disco beat grew particularily stale after twenty minutes. Still, judging from the crowd's reactions, big things are in store for the group.

Review: LCD Soundsystem/Yacht @ El Rey

6/12/7, Los Angeles: The packed El Rey had so many feet tapping and asses shaking that the whole building was surely bouncing up and down outside, like an anthropomorphized Disney creation. Pumping, stomping anthems for the too-cool-for-raves set spilled forth from LCD Soundsystem's speakerboxxxes, and the manic crowd roared with approval.

Frontman James Murphy, a disheveled thirtysomething, acts as ringleader, and to the appreciation of the crowd, cowbell soloist. The set, primarily culled from this year's Sound of Silver, built to a manic crescendo with the witty "Yeah Yeah Yeah", and the encore brought the crowd down with two of the band's prettier tunes, "Someone Great" and "New York, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down." The band is as tight as a drum, and some tunes get an extra kick from having two basses and/or double synths. It was their third night at the venue, but they were fresh and lively. Even the typically stoic keyboardist Nancy Whang smiled. Once. ONCE.

Opener Yacht (from Portland, Ore.) prances around the stage like a skinnier Har Mar Superstar, and his joints got old after a few, as many of them have too similar beats. The best bit was when he took a minute for an audience Q&A. "How much do you make?" elicted a great double-take.

Starbucks Nation?

The hell? Starbucks is eating everything, and even Sonic Youth can't resist their tractor beam. It actually sounds like it could be a great collection, and maybe some latte-sipping yuppies will (re-)discover one of the great bands of the post-punk era. It's still weird though.

The return of Miki

Hell yes: Stellar soprano, 12-string axe slinger and collosal hottie Miki Berenyi hasn't been in the public spotlight too much since Lush broke up in 1997. She popped up on a Rentals song a couple of years later, but that's about it. Now she's returning to the music scene, sort of. She'll be guesting on a number of tracks by U.K. band Seinking Ships, whose album is due for release early 2008.

Seinking Ships are Eric Matthews And Christopher Seink , their music is described as "Henry Mancini and Joe Meek locked in a studio with a bunch of acoustic session musicians and vintage synthesizers."

Flame on, Flaming Lips

Yup: There will be confetti, balloons, dancing animals, dancing aliens, fake blood (or is it?), video screens with images of naked girls and Dick Cheney, and if you're lucky, some music. Right: The Flaming Lips are heading out on the road again. First, Bonnaroo, then Europe then closer to home:

9-07 Chicago, IL - Aragon Theater
9-09 Minneapolis, MN - The Myth
9-12 Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
9-14-15 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre (Monolith Festival*)
9-18 Vancouver, British Columbia - Orpheum Theater
9-19 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
9-20 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theater
*Mega-fest also includes Decemberists, Spoon, CYHSY, Das Efx, Cloud Cult and, um, Cake.

Planet Prince

Hell Yes: Planet Earth will be treated to Planet Earth, Prince's latest disc on July 24. The full-length features a collaboration with Ex-Revolution members Wendy and Lisa!

You stay classy, Planet Earth.

Review: Pipettes/Smoosh @ Troubadour

6/11/7, Los Angeles: What else can be said about the Pipettes? They're still cute as hell. They played some new songs which were great. Their debut still hasn't been released in the U.S., but we'll see it in a month or so.

Seattle's tween rock phenoms Smoosh opened and while they're getting less adorable as they grow up, their musical skillz are increasing at an alarming rate.

FOG WATCH 2007

Day 900: Finally, my droogies: Fog have left a not-at-all-cryptic message on their website about their forthcoming album Ditherer, which is now set to rock our puny minds August 14. It features these peeps: Why?, Low, Andrew Bird, Dosh, pedestrian, Phil Elverum, Jeremy Ylvisaker and Mike Lewis. Plus remixes by Akron/Family, DNTEL, Jesu

Jesus God, I can't wait. Even Pitchfork knows what up.

Review: CSS, Busdriver @ Henry Fonda

6/10/7, Los Angeles: Brazilian party band CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy) is strictly for the late night Carnivale set. Singer Lovefoxxx slithers her way across the stage like a feline Lolita, spouting off lyrics about sex, drugs and Paris Hilton in her charmingly broken English. Their set was largely taken from their self-titled Sub Pop debut. But they dropped a new tune in there and made room for an L7 cover. The L.A. metal group's Donita Sparks joined them onstage for "Pretend We're Dead," but much of the crowd seemed clueless about her identity. Clearly reaching for the mainstream, CSS' sound has sharpened considerably since their last U.S. tour where they played small clubs in select cities, and larger venues opening for like-minded electronic acts Ladytron and Diplo.

Fellow Brazilians Bonde do Role were also on the bill, but cancelled due to "emergency dental surgery." Those Brazilians like to party hard, I guess.

One of L.A.'s stranger underground rappers Busdriver filled the opening spot. The go-to guy for L.A.-area opening slots (he recently played with Deerhoof and is opening for Os Mutantes in July), Busdriver has a fast, smart flow that grows old after a half hour, but is nonetheless impressive and amusing.

New York's Yo Majesty opened with a brief set of vintage Gotham rap. The cavernous sound of the Fonda detracted a bit from the three ladies' performance. They're no doubt better in a small club. No doubt.

I really need to get photos of these shows.

Oh My Awesome

Holy cats! What's better than a bunch of movies being played at the exotic location at which they were filmed? The STARS of said movies PERFORMING music before the screening. Those stars: Kevin Bacon, Dennis Quaid and Bruno Willis. Kevin's playing before Diner on the Baltimore waterfront, Quaid's burnin' up N'awlins prior to The Big Easy and John McfuckinClane is before um...Armageddon at Cape Kennedy. Canaveral. Canavral. Whatever, you know, Florida. But dude, why not show Die Hard at Nakatomi Plaza in Century City? How awesome would that be??

Review: Hold Steady @ El Rey, L.A.

Brooklyn-by-way-of-Minneapolis rockers The Hold Steady are one of --if not THE -- greatest live bands on PLANET EARTH. Last night at the El Rey in Los Angeles, they absolutely KILLED it and left the sold-out audience literally screaming for more, more, more.

For the uninitiated, the Hold Steady have been (accuratley) described as "Bruce Springsteen meets the Replacements," "Elvis Costello fronting the E Street Band" and "The best bar band in America." The key to their cult-like devotion from fans is lead singer Craig Finn's infectious tourette's-like stage presence and his eerily prescient lyrical output. He doesn't sing, he lectures. Lectures about drugs, drinking, partying, growing up, living in America (most often Minneapolis and Ybor City, Fla.). Finn is so huggable up there on stage, smiling broadly, quivering and scratching like a junkie and telling the crowd how much fun the band's having.

The setlist included only one song from their debut Almost Killed Me and one B-side ("Modesto is Not That Sweet" -- to which I say, "Yes it is! George Lucas is from there!"), the rest coming from 2005's Seperation Sunday (cop that shit NOW!) and their critically acclaimed Boys and Girls in America.

On the musical side, axeman Tad Kubler has fully made the transition to Guitar God (he even plays a double-necker for a few tracks; "You know those guitars that are like TWO guitars?!"). They're steadily improving as a live unit, which makes their personal sloppiness even more interesting. Sweet Christ, I love the Hold Steady. One last thing, where were all you ladies? Swear to God, the crowd was like 80% males in their thirties.

Openers Illinois (from, um, Pennsylvania) spent as much time praising the Hold Steady as they did playing. The lead singer offered a countdown of sorts to the headlining act: "30 minutes to the Hold Seteady," "Hold Steady in less than 20 minutes!," etc. But we were in no hurry, as Illinois proved to be a damn catchy garage rock act.