Tampa Calling

As an addendum to my recent column, “Traveling to see music without losing your money (or your mind),” I’ve put together this small group of shows and fests that provide some good selections for music-motivated travel. If you haven’t already made travel plans this summer, here are some of your best bets.

Grizzly Bear and TV on the Radio
Saturday, June 13, The Tabernacle, Atlanta
If you wanna go, get your tickets now — it’s a Saturday night co-headlining bill featuring of two of Brooklyn’s most hip and beloved bands, both with recent albums — Grizzly’s just-released Veckatimest, TVOTR’s fantastic Dear Science from last year — so the show will most definitely sell out. I would be at this show, front row, if I wasn’t just returning from a music-motivated vacation that same Thursday.

The Decemberists (pictured) with Andrew Bird and Blind Pilot
July 18-19, Edgefield, Portland, Oregon
The chamber rock quintet only comes as close as Atlanta and plays that date on Wednesday, June 3 — not at all convenient for a road trip unless you plan on taking that week off. But the tour also includes this appealing Saturday-Sunday run in Portland, and with whistling singer/songwriter Andrew Bird, and Portland’s own indie pop duo, Blind Pilot. Read the rest of this entry »

Who doesn’t love some sultry Neko Case? NPR has her new album, Middle Cyclone, available for listen now. From the NPR write-up:

Ultimately, Case says, the songs on Middle Cyclone are more about the universal need for love, regardless of what form it may take.

“What other people might call ‘love songs,’ I think of as homages,” she says. “They can be to a person, a region, a feeling, even sad feelings.”

In addition to 12 new tracks, Case also covers two songs on Middle Cyclone: “Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth” by Sparks, and “Don’t Forget Me” by Harry Nilsson.

Middle Cyclone was produced by Case, with Darryl Neudorf, and recorded in Tucson, Brooklyn, Toronto and Vermont. It features Case, backed by her core band: guitarist Paul Rigby, bassist Tom V. Ray, backing vocalist Kelly Hogan, multi-instrumentalist Jon Rauhouse, and drummer Barry Mirochnick. She’s also joined by a number of guests, including M. Ward, Garth Hudson, Sarah Harmer and members of The New Pornographers, Los Lobos, Calexico, The Sadies, Visqueen, The Lilys and Giant Sand.

Check out the tracks below the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

On February 18th, both the Chicago Tribune and Pitchfork ran stories that put a knife through the heart of the punk/indie world. Venerable Chicago label, Touch and Go Records would be closing it’s distribution wing and massively scaling back it’s own output. This decision, that I’m sure was made after all other options were exhausted, effects more than just T&G’s roster. They provided distribution for 23 other labels Read the rest of this entry »

In a new, thorough interview with Pitchfork, Stephen Malkmus talks about his memories of albums past and about the possibility of a Pavement reunion.

SM: Well, I don’t think about it too much. It’s sort of an out-of-sight, out-of-mind type thing. It’s just standard question #10 on the interview circuit for Real Emotional Trash. It’s almost as if it’s a script. Most bands will tell you, make sure you like your press release, because everything is going to come off of that, and you know what’s coming. That’s part of the formula, so I usually just say “No, it’s not happening.” People say stuff about Pavement, and I say that I’m really honored and proud that a lot of people at the show are into Pavement, and there wouldn’t be as many people there, we wouldn’t have the dialogue, or play the same venues, frankly, if we were just a new band. So I’m happy about it. But I’m into the new thing.

Pitchfork: Do you think your bandmates in the Jicks ever feel weird about it?

SM: I think they’re used to it at this point. Maybe for Janet it was a new thing. She was in Sleater-Kinney, and that’s it own thing.

Pitchfork: Yeah, “When are Sleater-Kinney going to get back together again?

Read the rest of this entry »