Posted by Leilani Polk on Aug. 4, 2009, at 2:40 pm
As of Wednesday, August 5, 2009, Tampa Calling will be folded into Creative Loafing’s main blog, The Daily Loaf, and all music content from this date forward will be merged with the rest of the content on DL. To continue to read solely music content, click here and save the link to your bookmarks. To get a feed from the entire Daily Loaf site (which features posts on sex & love, food, film, arts & entertainment, sports, green living and much more), click here and save the link to your bookmarks.
Thank you for your cooperation and we hope to see you over at The Daily Loaf!
Some shots from last night’s Green Day show at the forum. More will be featured in a follow-up review of the show that will be posted sometime tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Posted by Leilani Polk on Aug. 4, 2009, at 12:05 pm
The RITZ Ybor has announced that the 70’s Soul Jam featuring The Stylistics (pictured), Chi-Lites and MC Jimmy “JJ” Walker due to take place this Friday, August 7, has been postponed and will not be rescheduled until sometime in 2010 (no date has been confirmed). Refunds are available at the point of purchase; tickets purchased online will be automatically refunded.
Posted by Vinyl Fever on Aug. 4, 2009, at 11:44 am
Vinyl:
Antony & the Johnsons – Aeon7”
New single from ‘The Crying Light’. Includes the earnest and impassioned cover of Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love.”
Assjack – Assjack
Death-metal band founded and fronted by Hank III.
Fruit Bats – The Ruminant Band
Using bright melodies, defiantly major-key chord structures, natural imagery mixed with the occasional blazing insight and tender observation, The Ruminant Band marks a further crystallization of singer/songwriter Eric Johnson’s own melodic instincts and overall vision.
Guided By Voices – Under the Bushes, Under the Stars 2xLP+MP3
The last GBV album with the original lineup of Pollard-Sprout-Mitchell-Fennell. Beautiful original gatefold packaging. Double HQ-180 vinyl includes download code.
Gus Gus – 24 / 7
Sixth album from the Icelandic electronic/dance collective.
Jimi Hendrix – Live at Woodstock
2XHQ-180gram LPs.
Julian Plenty – Julian Plenty is Skyscraper
Solo album from Paul Banks — lead singer of Interpol. This varied album runs the gamut from folk-tinged acoustic songs to orchestral guitar anthems.
Jay Reatard – Watch Me Fall LP+MP3
Vinyl now, CD due August 18.
Sian Alice Group – Troubled, Shaken, Etc.
You get your minimalist trances, electronic experimentation, techno thump, jazz motifs and Eastern music tropes. A complete listening experience.Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Leilani Polk on Aug. 3, 2009, at 4:12 pm
Here a few concert announcements I received this past weekend.
No Clubs Presents sci-fi horror metal makers GWAR with special like-minded guests Job for a Cowboy and The Red Chord Sunday, October 4, at The Ritz in Ybor City. Tickets are $19 in advance/$22 day of show, and go on sale this Saturday, August 8, beginning at 10 a.m. The 25th anniversary tour marks of the band’s “re-awakening on planet Earth” celebrates their most “sonically devouring, instrumentally challenging” album to date, Lust In Space, due out August 18 on Metal Blade Records.
Posted by Leilani Polk on Aug. 3, 2009, at 10:09 am
Kids are freaking great, right? They just keep getting smarter and more clever every generation. Here’s the latest whiz, 5-year-old Wesley, who performs his own unique rendition of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” at the 2009 Spring Coffee Shop Jam at Columbia City Theater in Seattle. This is not a child being exploited or another chance for fanatical stage parents to put their kid under a spotlight. The clip is from an ongoing event that gives students at Heartwood Guitar Instruction a chance to showcase their abilities. I
I love how he says “twain” instead of “train,” and when he sings, “But I shot a man in Reno / just to watch him die,” it kills me. Read the rest of this entry »
Holy. Crap. Talk about getting one in right under the wire. No matter. We’re here. It’s still July and the podcast is live, so let’s talk about it.
This month’s podcast is divided into two halves. The first half is all about new music. In that section we have a song from the upcoming Lucero CD, 1372 Overton Park, as well as a phenomenal cover of Lucero’s “Better Than This” by ninebullets.net faves, The Fox Hunt. Incidentally, the new Lucero album is currently up for preorder. If you do preorder it, not only will you get the physical CD a few weeks prior to the “official” release date, you’ll also immediately get to download a six-song preview of the album (from whence the song on this podcast came). While we’re on the preorder tip, there’s also a song on the podcast from the new Chris Knight album, Trailer Tapes II. Like the new Lucero, Chris’ album is up for preorder, but if you preorder it now you’ll get to download a digital copy of the whole album immediately.
The second half of the podcast features bands from this year’s Deep Blues Festival, which I plan on posting a complete recap of next week. I featured American Relay in this segment who, unfortunately, played their last show ever at the fest. I believe they have a new album coming out, but there will be no tour to support it. Also featured is Davina and The Vagabonds. I had high hopes for this band and they lived up to every one. Matter of fact, during their set I tweeted the following: “Davina and the Vagabonds. Music you should fuck to“. I also decided to include Woodsbossman, Tom VandenAvond. He looks like he could be Scott H. Biram’s little brother and he writes some fine, fine music.
I closed this month’s Podcast with a track from Gainesville’s The Takers. Their new album has finally been released and you can get it at all your favorite digital outlets, plus you can read about the album here.
And that does it. Another month comes to pass. I am pretty happy with this month’s podcast and I think y’all will like it. Do me a favor, though. If you listen and you enjoy the show, please tell other people about it. The website’s stats have been increasing this month, but the podcast’s stats have been in decline. I am gonna try to do more advertising of the show this month, but nothing beats word of mouth.
Thanks, everyone. ~Autopsy IV (twitter: @autopsy4)
Posted by Joel Weiss on Jul. 31, 2009, at 11:39 am
Shitty concert etiquette can destroy what could otherwise be an out-of-this-world concert experience. I’ve attended hundreds of metal, rock, and punk shows and witnessed all manner of drunken douchebaggery. The more intense the show, the more idiocy you’ll have to put up with.
I’m not a people person. I don’t go to shows to get shitfaced. I don’t go to shows to intentionally collide with people galloping in a sloppy circle while shadowboxing. There’s nothing wrong with either of those things, and I have no problem putting up with people who engage in them — I just want to enjoy an awesome live show.
Gogol Bordello played the Ritz Ybor last Monday. They were just as amazing as their last Bay Area appearance at the State Theatre, and I had an awesome time. Early on, however, I feared my evening would be ruined by the most egregious concert etiquette faux pas. An error so heinous it transcends rock shows and infringes upon normal everyday life: exceptionally awful body odor. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Lily Reisman on Jul. 30, 2009, at 2:16 pm
It was ridiculously hot. It took me 15 minutes to realize that my white wife beater would become my face towel for the day. It was loud. It was colorful. It was my first time at Vinoy Park. And finally, at the age of 24, it was my first time experiencing Warped Tour.
It’s been three years since I attended a music festival and as I walked through the ticket line into a field filled with tents, stages, beer stands and even a slip n’ slide, I instantly recalled why I love outdoor fests; passing through the gates meant entering a world of the unpredictable and the unexpected. I didn’t know what kind of crazies I’d come across (there were bound to be some amidst the 10,000 attendees), what kind of new music I’d hear, or how pleased I’d be with the bands I was there to support. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Leilani Polk on Jul. 30, 2009, at 10:40 am
A quick breakdown of this weekend’s most worthy concerts beginning with Thursday, ’cause that’s when the weekend really starts, right? For a more comprehensive schedule of concerts, check out our Upcoming Events page.
Thursday, July 30 Jeffree Starw/Artist VS Poet/Watch Out! Theres Ghosts/Lets Get It Jeffree Star is conversely ambiguous and flamboyant — he could be a woman or a man with his long, bright pink hair, dragtastic make-up and swaths of rock star tattoos. The LA-based self-proclaimed “Queen of the Internet” is a dance music recording artist and Internet phenom who has more than a million MySpace friends and more than 12 million hits on his most played song, “Eyelashes Curlers & Butcher Knives.” Thurs., July 30, 8 p.m., Orpheum, Ybor City, $10, all ages.
Maxwellw/Chrisette Michele Neo-soul singer Maxwell — the Grammy-nominated artist who hits the high notes in his seductive, made-for-making-looove serenades — is currently touring in support of his fourth studio album and first new effort in eight years, BLACKsummers’night. The Brookyn native’s latest features a 10-piece band that brings a lush feel to the album’s supple grooves. Soul support act Chrisette Michele actually won a Grammy for “Best Urban/Alternative Performance” in 2009 for her up-tempo “I Will Survive”-style single, “Be OK.” Thurs., July 30, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater; last time I looked this show was SOLD OUT, although I’m sure you can find tickets floating around outside.Read the rest of this entry »
“I’m so blessed to / have spent the time / with my family and the friends I love/ with my short life / I have met so many people I deeply care for”
These final chanted lyrics of Yeasayer’s “Red Cave” go a ridiculously long way in summarizing exactly what my recent trip to Chicago for the fifth annual Pitchfork Festival meant to me. While I’d been to the fest several times in the past (the first three, actually), this marked the first time that a huge group of old friends (LBHS stand up!) were able to meet up and enjoy the city and the music and the drunken shenanigans together. (Pictured at right: Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips; all photos by R. Kevin Rose.)
What’d I learn? well, for starters… we are all official members of the POSI-ADULT CREW. Not straight edge — not even close — but definitely upbeat and affable. Positive, if you will. A group of kids raised on (amongst many, many other things) Bad Brains’ “P.M.A.”, Seven Seconds, Dag Nasty, Gorilla Biscuits, etc., who grew into a geographically dispersed crew of adults … all of us still kinda “Screaming For Change” in our own unique ways. (LOTS MORE PICS AND SHENANIGANS AFTER THE JUMP) Read the rest of this entry »
Anyone who pays any attention to music in Florida has heard about The Takers at some point in the past year, and since Suburban Home picked them up, the hype machine has been doing nothing but gaining momentum. By the time Virgil reached out to me with a copy of the band’s debut album, Taker Easy, I was already wondering if they’d be able to match the advance billing. Now, after spending some two months with the CD and managing to catch them live at the Citrus Circuit Tour, I can readily proclaim that yes, The Takers are worthy of the hype. Now hopefully with the CD finally coming out the rest of the country will get behind this little Florida band.
The Takers are a ragtag collection of bike mechanics, cooks, restaurant managers, cashiers and recycled ink salesmen out of Tim Tebow-land (Gainesville). They came together almost by accident when Devon Vlasin (singer) found himself in need of a backing band to open for an upcoming Willie Heath Neal show. A few phone calls and free beer bribes netted a temporary ensemble that decided to keep at it beyond the one-night gig. After some member revisions and additions, the band finally settled in with singer Devon Vlasin joined by Chad Smith and Ronnie Holmes on electric guitars, Jerome Goodman on bass, Mike Collins on pedal steel and drummer Jon Reinertsen. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Vinyl Fever on Jul. 28, 2009, at 5:14 pm
Vinyl:
10 Ft. Ganja Plant – Bush Rock The band’s first studio recording in five years, Bush Rock includes vocals by Kyle McDonald of Slightly Stoopid. A well-rounded reggae/dub excursion that features both heavy dub tracks and silky sweet songs.
Deceh – Deceh
Deceh is a fine drone quartet utilizing traditional ethnic drone instruments as well as vintage analog synthesizers.
Green Day – Warning
Latest vinyl reissue of Green Day’s back catalog.
Holy Modal Rounders – Good Taste is Timeless
From the Greenwich Village acid-folkies — a 1971 cult classic.
Al Kooper & Mike Bloomfield – Super Session This historic 1968 summit meeting features three of the era’s greatest musical talents: blues guitar hero extraordinaire Mike Bloomfield, multi-talented keyboard visionary Al Kooper and Buffalo Springfield/CSNY founder Stephen Stills.
Morphine – Yes
HQ-180 audiophile vinyl reissue of Morphine’s third album, originally released in 1995.Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Leilani Polk on Jul. 28, 2009, at 1:14 pm
Pennsylvania experimental rock ensemble Black Moth Super Rainbow (pictured, photo by Jae Rumberto) hit retro and modern notes all at once with their day-glo vibrant electro-dance melodies, fizzadelic folk shambles and made-for-space jams. It’s some of the headiest music you’ll find out there right now, but songwriter/frontman/creative conscience Tobacco (real name Tom Fec) doesn’t consider his music psychedelic at all.
“I think everything I do is pop,” he told me a few weeks ago during a phone interview before the second leg of the band’s two-part tour. “I don’t like psychedelic music and I never set out to do it. It just sort of comes out that way. I might be the only person who thinks this, but Eating Us … it seems like a pop album to me.”
Eating Us, his band’s fourth and latest full-length, is not the sort of name that makes me think pop. The black-and-white album cover, with its smeary sad face superimposed onto the back of a hand, doesn’t make me think of pop music, either. And the limited edition “hairy” version of Eating Us (with synthetic hair in its inner sleeve) is probably as far from pop packaging as you can feasibly get. (VIDEOS AFTER THE JUMP) Read the rest of this entry »
Normally, I don’t do video posts. But sometimes I see one that is just so sweet I have to share it with y’all. Such is the new video for Buck 65’s song “The Rebel” off his latest effort, Situation. It was done by animator Benjamin Logsdon and you need to make sure you watch it in HD.
Posted by Leilani Polk on Jul. 27, 2009, at 2:11 pm
Lots of new concert announcements arrived in my email box over the past three days. I’ve paired the new with a few that slipped through the cracks for your concert planning convenience. For a complete breakdown of area shows, visit our Upcoming Concerts page.
Posted by Leilani Polk on Jul. 27, 2009, at 12:00 am
A weekly bulletin on musical guests playing late night TV; set your TIVOs or DVRs if you’ve got an early bedtime.
The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS
Monday, July 27: Dave Matthews Band
Tuesday, July 28: Silversun Pickups
Wednesday, July 29: Elbow (The British alt rockers are currently on tour with Coldplay.)
Thursday, July 30: Cage the Elephant (They don’t have a new album out since their 2008 self-titled debut, but they did play a much-talked-about set at Bonnaroo.)
Friday, July 31: Dave Matthews Band (Two nights of DMB on Letterman. Woo fucking hoo!)
Posted by Leilani Polk on Jul. 24, 2009, at 2:19 pm
Jamie Foxx has come a long way since his In Living Colour sketch comedy days. That job led to some serious acting gigs, then to an Academy Award-winning performance of Ray Charles in the 2004 biopic, Ray, then to a lucrative music career. Foxx had always played music (he began taking piano lessons at age 5 and actually released an album, Peep This, in 1994), but that role opened new doors for him as the artist proved he could not only act, but that he had a damn fine voice and knew how to use it.
With music cred came guest spots that began when Foxx was featured with Kanye West on Twista’s song chart-topping “Slow Jamz.” His “I Got a Woman” Ray Charles-inspired hook in West’s “Gold Digger” followed and the song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for 10 weeks. It was all downhill from there. Foxx proved himself a multi-talented force to be reckoned with and while virtually no one heard Peep This, Foxx’s second album, Unpredictable, sold nearly 2 million copies in the U.S. alone and was certified double platinum by the RIAA.
Foxx’s current 50-city North American “Blame It” tour in support of his third album, 2008’s Intuition, makes its way down to Florida and stops at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center’s Carol Morsani Hall on Monday, August 31, at 8 p.m. Tickets on sale at noon this Monday, July 27; regularly priced tickets start at $56.50.
Posted by Nick Truden on Jul. 23, 2009, at 3:12 pm
Conor Oberst, the young man who began his career writing about breaking up with actress girlfriends and late-night boozing via his alias Bright Eyes, recently told Rolling Stone that he was ready to put that part of his life to rest.
It’s true indie citizens. After one more album, which Oberst plans to record early in 2010, Bright Eyes will be no more. But fear not! Conor plans on keeping himself busy with other projects, including his Mystic Valley Band and this new super group, Monsters of Folk (pictured), which also features M. Ward, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, and producer Mike Mogis. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Leilani Polk on Jul. 22, 2009, at 3:49 pm
Exciting news folks. Due to an apparent overwhelming demand, Leonard Cohen (pictured, photo credit: Lorca Cohen) brings his world tour back to North America and adds some dates, including a surprising two-date Florida leg that features the artist at the BankAtlantic Center in Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday, October 17, and the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa on Monday, October 19. (Wonder what he’s doing in the Sunshine State between dates) Tickets sale details will be released Monday, August 3…
Here’s the release
Los Angeles, CA – July 22, 2009 – To the delight of his legions of fans, Leonard Cohen will once again return to the U.S. this fall for the final leg of his critically acclaimed 2009 World Tour. Since taking the stage earlier this year at New York’s Beacon Theatre—his first stateside performance in more than fifteen years—Mr. Cohen has enchanted audiences, earning rave reviews and sold-out concerts across the globe. The highly anticipated 15-date trek kicks off October 17th at BankAtlantic Center in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and culminates on November 13th in San Jose, CA, which is the fourth Northern California date of the tour. Tickets for the newly added concerts will go on sale beginning Monday, August 3, 2009. Additional tour information is available at www.LeonardCohen.com and www.AEGLive.com. (Complete tour date additions listed after the jump) Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Leilani Polk on Jul. 22, 2009, at 2:25 pm
A quick breakdown of this weekend’s most worthy concerts beginning with Thursday, ’cause that’s when the weekend really starts, right? For a more comprehensive schedule of concerts, check out our Upcoming Events page.
Thursday, July 23 Nightmare Of You (pictured) w/Plushgun/Brian Bonz/Aushua In Nightmare of You’s single, “I Think I’m Getting Older,” frontman Brandon Reilly laments about aging against jangly guitars and post-punk bounce, and right before it peters to an end, there’s a brief breakdown of lazy, watery dub. Haven’t heard the rest of the Long Island, NY, four-piece quartet’s just-released second album, Infomaniac (Bevonshire), but my curiosity is piqued. Plushgun and Brian Bonz are both Brooklynites; Plushgun does cloying electro-pop (oft-described as “infectious”) while Bonz has a husky vocals and a pleasant ambience to his organic experimental rock. Thurs., July 23, 9 p.m., Crowbar, Ybor City, $10 in advance/$12 dos (18 and up).
Ex-Norwegianw/The Lighthouse and the Whaler/PemberleyWhile the name may imply far away origins (or an appreciation of Monty Python’s Flying Circus), Ex-Norwegian hails from Miami Beach and their music has the bright and shiny quality you’d expect with hand-claps, acoustic guitar and cheery vocals. Ohio’s Lighthouse and the Whaler make airy folk rock with percussive trimmings and multi-voice harmonizing that give the music a tender, rustic feel. Thurs., July 23, 9 p.m., New World Brewery, Ybor City, $7. Read the rest of this entry »
Screeching guitars over a rapid backbeat pierce 50 ears trying to hear 25 stilted conversations. A foot-long needle shoots directly through the beckoning orifices, winds around the ear canals and connects directly with the center of each half of the brain. A throbbing begins at the base of the skull as imaginary brain fluid leaks out of each ear. Each face contorts into wrinkled disgust and the faces move closer together.
“Music is my life!” screams one bearded-with-glasses 20-something into the ear of a young girl with hair framing her face, brown tank top, cut-off jean shorts and several colored tattoos spattered across each arm. Clouds of cigarette smoke linger between them and slowly rise to the tar-stained ceiling. From the other end of the bar, the shapes and cartoons on her arms aren’t distinguishable, but I’m convinced they’re more than just blobs of ink. ”Have you ever heard the first Bad Brains album?” he continues to yell, ”It’s so raw, I can’t get enough of it!”
The band falls into a repetitive pattern of chunky chords, fast, pounding, tribal drums and hollering vocals. A few words sneak out of the mix, “MAKE…APPOINTMENT…TIME…MIND…EXCUSE!” Fuzzed mumbling fills the spaces between the recognizable words.
“I’m so glad you like them, too! Did you go see them at State a few months ago? They were great. I was there for Propaghandi, though!” the girl hollers back.
On paper, Dethklok should be unbearably lame. Fake bands from cartoons bring to mind tripe like Jem or Josie & The Pussycats. But somehow, Metalocalypse creator Brendon Small got it right. Dethklok is more than just a “brutal” caricature. Judging by how Small crams in references to obscure bands and invites big names from the metal underground such as George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher and the members of Exodus to provide guest voices on most episodes, Small clearly gives a shit about metal. The Berklee College of Music grad not only voices many of the characters and writes much of the music, he also sings and plays guitar.
The Dethalbum should have also been unbearably lame. Songs from the TV show’s first season had to stand on their own without silly ultraviolent imagery. At best, Dethklok should be paint-by-numbers metal, and their songs little more than novelty throwaways. But behind every silly concept like “Murmaider” (homicidal sea-creatures) or “Awaken” (resurrecting demons) hides a pretty awesome metal song. In fact, Small’s Berklee pedigree and heavy metal fanboy roots create a competent, if not expertly-crafted pastiche of the best aspects of death, thrash, and traditional heavy metal.
The Deathalbum was one of my favorite releases of 2007. Now, Small and his cartoon band will try again. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Leilani Polk on Jul. 21, 2009, at 4:50 pm
Jackson Browne settles his copyright case with the Republican Party, which played his 1977 hit, “Running on Empty” without permission in a McCain campaign ad that aired on TV and the Internet.
A new covers album of songs by New Zealand indie great and recent stroke victim Chris Knox features a rather respectable line up — Guided by Voices, the Mountain Goats, Jay Reatard, Yo La Tengo and Lambchop, among many others.
Posted by Leilani Polk on Jul. 21, 2009, at 12:45 pm
Google “gypsy punk” and most of the dozen or so results relate back to Gogol Bordello. Search the band specifically and you’ll find more than a million pages that mention it. While Gogol’s Ukraine-born visionary/composer Eugene Hütz isn’t interested in taking credit for spearheading a whole new movement in American music, his band’s influence is undeniable.
Gogol grew from NYC’s underground music scene, just as much a melting pot as the city itself. Hütz immersed himself in it and assembled a motley crew of talented, multi-ethnic musicians to create his gypsy punk orchestra and make his vision of infusing East-European culture into Western music a reality.
The nine-member band represents seven nationalities all told. Their sound combines gypsy and Slavic music traditions with punk rock, dub reggae, metal, rap and even some funk and grooves, and the lyrics are delivered in English sprinkled with Spanish, Ukrainian and Italian verses. Since 1999, they have released four LPs; the most recent, 2007’s critically acclaimed Super Taranta!, fully launched Gogol into the international spotlight.
Many of Gogol’s songs (including “Wonderlust King, below”) are about living a roving, responsibility-free lifestyle, though various other topics are touched upon, from the absurdly catchy “Start Wearing Purple,” about letting loose and being silly, to “American Wedding,” which pokes fun at our country’s stuffy wedding traditions (“Where is the vodka, where’s marinated herring? / Where is the supply that gonna last three days?”), to the hilarious God vs. Science debate in “Supertheory of Supereverything.”
Everyone contributes vocals to the boisterous, colorful music, like violin virtuoso Sergey Ryabtsev, capable of some of the fastest and most furious fiddle playing I’ve ever witnessed; accordion player Yuri Lemeshev, who also moonlights with the studio band on Late Night with Conan O’Brien; and attractive lady entertainers and pandemonium makers Pamela Jintana Racine and Elizabeth Sun, who alternately sing, dance, and play marching band-style percussion throughout the live shows.
Hütz is the captivating and unpredictable center of it all. He sings lead, plays forceful acoustic guitar, and, usually shirtless with sweat dripping from his thick handlebar mustache, marches back and forth encouraging playful unruliness and leading spirited singalongs. He pilots the vigorous musical spectacle and keeps both his band and the audience as amped-up as he is.
Leilani: So, tell me about the role you play in the band as ringleader. How much of your songwriting goes into what happens on stage?
Eugene: I think it’s quite obvious (laughs robustly) that I write all the songs. (VIDEOS AFTER THE JUMP) Read the rest of this entry »
This past Saturday night, the Cuban Club Bandshell played host to a long awaited and twice-delayed show by the Avett Brothers. Once for the birth of Scott Avett’s daughter, the other due to a scheduling conflict as the North Carolina foursome opened for the Dave Mathews Band earlier in the summer. Accordingly, fans packed into the charmingly-neglected Cuban Club awaiting a trademark, knock-you-on-your-ass Avett Brothers’ performance — and they delivered.
The Avetts opened with a track from their upcoming release, I and Love and You (September 29, American Recordings) — “Laundry Room,” an entrancing song with a refrain I still can’t get out of my head. Then the band traversed through their entire catalog, with highlights that included “Distraction #74,” “Gimmeakiss,” “I and Love and You” and “Shame.”
As NPR’s Bob Boilen recently pointed out, Scott Avett sings as if he swallowed an amplifier. The long-haired, banjo thrashing hillbilly yells love songs at the top of his lungs. It’s a sweaty mess, but still ends up being captivating, raw and beautiful. The younger (and only other brother), Seth Avett, plays George to Scott’s John, Paul and Ringo, as the older Avett will sometimes take to the drum kit and keyboard. Often when drums are interspersed within a set, the music lacks punch and suffers inconsistencies — but the energy of Avetts made up for it. Not to mention the brothers, along with Bob Crawford on upright and electric bass and Joe Kwon on cello, pound the hell out of the back of their respective instruments. (Setlist and more after the jump…) Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Leilani Polk on Jul. 21, 2009, at 11:12 am
Less than a year after their last appearance at Clearwater’s stately Ruth Eckerd Hall, New York-based blues rockers The Black Crowes return for another round on Wednesday, October 7, with Truth & Salvage Co. to open. Tickets are $40.50 and $68, and sales begin at noon this Friday, July 24.
The tour will come after the release of the band’s eighth studio effort, Before the Frost…Until the Freeze, a different sort of double album out September 1. The first album, Before the Frost…, features 11 new unreleased Crowes’ studio songs distributed via the band’s own Silver Arrow label and Megaforce Records. The second album, …Until The Freeze, includes 8 original Crowes’ songs and a cover of Stephen Stills’ classic “So Many Times,” and it’s given away via a download code included with Before The Frost… Limited-edition vinyl copies of Before The Frost…Until The Freeze with all 20 tracks will also be available.
Posted by Vinyl Fever on Jul. 21, 2009, at 9:25 am
VINYL:
Bad Religion – Stranger Than Fiction
Collectible red vinyl reissue of the Southern California-based band’s Atlantic Records 1994 debut album (and eighth of their career). Mastered from the original analog tapes, featuring guest riffs from the MC5’s Wayne Kramer.
Bikini Kill – New Radio 7”
Re-issue featuring feminist punk anthem “Rebel Girl” and produced by Joan Jett. Still relevant.
Billy Childish – Archive From 1959: The Billy Childish Story 3xLP
This 51-track collection offers a look at the more rock & roll aspects of Childish’s career.
Discovery – LP LP+MP3
Now available on vinyl.
DJ Premier – Instrumental World Vol. 39 3XLP
Here, he has compiled 40 DJ Premier produced instrumentals. Hits from the likes of Gangstarr, Nas, Big L, Jay-Z, Lord Finnesse, Notorious B.I.G and many more. Perfect for DJs!
I Roy – Original Deejay At King Tubby’s
A collection of some of his greatest works to date. I Roy (born Roy Reid) worked as an accountant for the government in the mid-60s, during this time he saw DJing as more of a hobby. Due to the rise in popularity of DJs in the late-60s he established and operated Turbo Sonic Sound. He then started to take the business more seriously and went on to record a string of hits with various producers of the time. Bunny Lee, one of Jamaica’s finest producers, produced some of I Roy’s most popular tracks, which we have right here on one big album. All tracks recorded and mixed at King Tubby’s Studio.
Magnolia Electric Co. – Josephine
Magnolia Electric Co.’s fifth full-length, Josephine, is a concept album that pays tribute to the life and spirit of fallen bassist Evan Farrell. It contains some of the strongest songs Jason Molina has written. He’s approached the universal loneliness before, but never in such a focused, directed manner.
Modest Mouse – Perpetual Motion Machine 7”
Limited edition — b/w “History Sticks To Your Feet.”
Fats Navarro – Fats Blows
Trumpeter Fats Navarro is largely considered one of the lost geniuses of the bop movement. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Leilani Polk on Jul. 20, 2009, at 2:09 pm
Adam Yauch, aka MCA of the Beastie Boys, revealed the details of his illness today via a video broadcast with fellow member fellow band member Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock) on the Beastie Boys’ website. Yauch has a form of cancer that attacks his Parotid gland, though the good news is that it’s only located in one area, it’s treatable, and the treatment will not not affect his voice. Yauch also apologized to fans who were looking forward to their upcoming shows and he seemed sincerely sad about it, though that probably has more to do with his health than anything else. An update on Yauch’s condition and the band’s cancelled shows is expected soon; the Beasties will also postponed the release of their eighth studio album, Hot Sauce Committee, originally due to drop in September.
Posted by Leilani Polk on Jul. 20, 2009, at 1:20 pm
Last Thursday, on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to land on the Moon, NASA came out with the embarrassing news that it had somehow, over the years, managed to record over America’s most important historical footage of said trip to the Moon’s surface. You know, the famous footage of Neil Armstrong’s “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” the one that all those conspiracy theorists say is faked Wag the Dog style? Yeah, that footage.
(Apparently, in the 1970s and ’80s, NASA had a shortage of tapes, so it erased about 200,000 of them and reused them, including ones documenting the historical event.)
Luckily, NASA’s news came with a Hollywood saves-the-day solution: those crafty preservationists who restored Casablanca are digitally sharpening and cleaning up grainy footage of the moon landing taken from four sources NASA scrounged from around the world. The results are said to be better than what TV viewers witnessed on July 20, 1969, and according to senior NASA engineer Dick Nafzger, “There’s nothing being created; there’s nothing being manufactured.”
In honor of NASA’s royal fuck-up, I’ve made up a playlist of songs dedicated to the moon. There are a great deal more than 10, and some are rather obvious, but headlines are better with nice round numbers … interesting how many of these songs were produced in the ’70s. I guess a mission to the moon will inspire some songs, huh? Read the rest of this entry »
Good news for every independent musician in the World. MTV (owners of the Rock Band franchise) just announced its own new distribution platform through the immensely popular musician-simulation game Rock Band.
The Rock Band Network is a revolutionary system that will allow bands, studios and record labels to create and sell playable game content from their master recordings using the same professional tools used by Rock Band developers. Rock Band Network, currently in closed beta, should launch to the public in August (with in-game sales later in the year).
MTV has infused Rock Band Network with professional utilities to enable a community of music makers to get their work to the masses and profit by it. Paul DeGooyer, a senior VP with MTV games, tells Billboard that “We’re talking about a set of serious professional tools to allow people on the front line of writing and recording songs to completely control their destiny with respect to interactive products and then giving them direct access to the download store.”
Posted by Leilani Polk on Jul. 17, 2009, at 12:59 pm
Gainesville’s dreadlocked singer-songwriter Chris McCarty, a local fave who hits the Skipperdome every eight weeks or so, brings his soulful acoustic groove-pop back to town, this time performing at Push Ultra Lounge for a “Ralley Florida” concert. The charitable event is held to raise awareness and funds for the statewide, grassroots “Share a Little Sunshine Tampa Bay (SALS)” viral marketing campaign to infuse much-needed revenue into Florida’s economy.
If you’re interested in doing your part, visit the SALS website (at VisitFlorida.com). Once there, upload some sort of video about Florida’s greatness, then send it out to encourage friends, family and loved ones to vacation here. Every person who sends or receives an invite will be registered to win one of 12 Florida getaways. As an added bonus, every person who sends an invitation and brings the printed online confirmation to the concert gets in for free. The show takes place Friday, July 24, at 9 p.m.; regular admission is $5 at the door.
Tuesday night, Wilco appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, with special guest vocalist Feist, to perform “You And I.”
The next day, 66-year-old ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and his band played a 22-minute concert on the roof of the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater. They flew through “Coming Up,” “Band on the Run,” “Let Me Roll It,” “Helter Skelter,” and “Back in the USSR,” and sounded tight as f!@#, in this author’s opinion.
When Billy Corganfirst announced his intention to resurrect The Smashing Pumpkins, longtime fans crossed out the names of uninvolved former members (except Jimmy Chamberlain) one by one. We knew there would be no James Iha (now in that silly supergroup Tinted Windows) and no D’Arcy Wretzky (right). Only now do we finally hear what’s up with the silvery-haired bassist! D’Arcy randomly called Chicago alt-rock station Q101 to let us know she left the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle behind in favor of passing her days on a horse farm in rural Michigan. Oh, and she loves Silversun Pickups, who don’t at all sound like The Smashing Pumpkins.
Last month, I reported on Courtney Love and her similar intention to resurrect Hole with minimal involvement from former bandmates. Former Hole guitarist and co-conspirator Eric Erlandson took time out from Buddhism and marketing vegan food for a Spin Q&A. When asked about his feelings on Hole’s return, he responded:
We have a contract. She signed a contract with me when we decided to break up the band, which was like 2002 or something, so I really don’t have a comment on it except that I know my part in that band. The way I look at it, there is no Hole without me. [Laughs] To put it blunt. Just on a business level… I’m open to discussions regarding the real Hole, and if she has a solo album together, I think that’s great.
On paper, 
When 
