Tampa Calling

VINYL:

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO – Dark Side Of The Black Moon: What Planet Are We On?
More proggy psych from Acid Mothers Temple — mixes Pink Floyd with fuzzy wah guitars and cosmic sounds. Double LP includes an exclusive bonus D-side track.

Neko Case – Middle Cyclone

Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
Double LP comes in beautiful litho-wrapped gatefold jackets and includes MP3 download.

Earth - Radio Live
Vinyl only release. Radio Live is comprised of two tracks from a live radio broadcast on KFJC (12/31/07) and two tracks from a live performance in Vienna on their 2008 European tour.

God Help The Girl - God Help The Girl
After the success of Belle And Sebastian’s most recent album, The Life Pursuit, band leader/singer/songwriter Stuart Murdoch decided to pursue the writing of a rock musical scored for female singers. After auditioning vocalists via Internet contests, he made his choices and, with all members of Belle And Sebastian backing him up, recorded this record. It combines the strengths of early Belle And Sebastian records in a broader musical palette, drawing equally on musicals, ‘60s girl groups, ‘80s indie, and classic pop. LP includes MP3 download.

Green Day - Know Your Enemy 7”
Ultra-limited edition 7” single features the non-album B-side “Hearts Collide”. We have a limited few remaining after Vinyl Saturday! Read the rest of this entry »

The Mars Volta’s fifth studio album, Octahedron, will be released June 23 by Warner Bros. in the U.S. and on June 22 via Mercury Records to the rest of the world.

“It’s more mellow. It’s a little more of what we consider our ‘acoustic’ side,” singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala told Australian radio station Triple J of the new record. “We know how people can be so linear in their way of thinking, so when they hear [the new album], they’re going to say, ‘This is not an acoustic album! There’s electricity throughout it!’ But it’s our version,” the singer said. “That’s what our band does — celebrate mutations. It’s our version of what we consider an acoustic album.”

Hailed by The New Yorker as “perhaps the most musically adventurous act currently signed to a major label,” The Mars Volta formed in 2001. The band’s recorded output includes their 2003 debut full-length, De-Loused In The Comatorium, as well as Frances The Mute (2005), Amputechture (2006) and the Grammy-winning The Bedlam In Goliath (2008).

The band are confirmed performers at this year’s Bonnaroo and San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival.

Here’s the track, “Cotopaxi”:

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This release from Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha and former Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore came out back in July 2008. I think its interesting to see what some jam sessions lead to among career musicians. At a mere 5-songs, the repetitive yet inspired debut eponymous EP seems like a good weekend jam that was captured and carved into entrancing neo-funk hip hop riff rock, without guitars. You can check them out at www.onedayasalion.org. Thanks to Disqo for the tip.

Around 3 p.m. yesterday, I caught Rec Center and King of Spain at the New Granada showcase at Ginger Man Pub. I grabbed a bite with Flee, Laura, John McNicholas as well as Scott Harrell and Mike Delach from the REAX crew. So awesome that the conference was bookended by Tampa-centric showcases. Maybe we can add a Mohawk Bomb showcase to the roster next year?

Unfortunately, I had to jet before Hankshaw took the stage in order to catch Flatstock by 6 p.m. Flatstock is a quarterly exhibit that features artists, concert posters and prints for sale. I got to meet Jared from Mexican Chocolate. I’m a big fan of this guy’s work for the Mars Volta and I picked up a couple more prints for my collection.

Now here’s where my heart starts beating. I left an hour early to ensure I got a good spot for PJ Harvey and John Parrish’s set at Stubbs. I got there in plenty of time - the Indigo Girls and Third Eye Blind fans had no interest whatsoever, so I was able to wriggle my way down front. The only downside – enduring an entire set by Razorlight. Wow.

PJ Harvey on stage at Stubb’s. Photo courtesy of Carol Copfer.

In a rare US appearance, Polly Jean Harvey took the stage looking like a straight-jacketed geisha, and delivered a set of mostly new material - at turns crying, laughing and screaming - one minute delivering lines like “there’s no more laughter in the garden,” with a tiny, childlike voice and the next, snarling “stick it up your fucking ass,” with an empowered roar. The crowd responded with riotous screams and applause, and she humbly, quietly thanked them each time. When she announced that the next song would be their last, the audience loudly protested, and she tried to explain that everyone was being kept to strict time slots. To the chants of “come back soon,” she had no reply.

Afterward, I ran into John Barker and Jennie from MerchGirl. They were headed down an alleyway to catch the DJ duo L.A. Riots. They asked if I’d like to tag along, but I was still a bit shellshocked from the whole PJ Harvey thing and needed to walk it off in the night air for a bit.

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