When I think of my favorite concert film ever – - The Last Waltz, two things come to mind immediately: Robbie Robertson’s smile, and the performance of “Dry Your Eyes,” with Neil Diamond. Yes, the man who inspired me to want to wear nudie suits, Neil Diamond, takes a jet back to the past tonight with a performance at The Bitter End in NYC. Neil Diamond will perform at a special free MySpace Secret Show, tonight, correlating with yesterday’s release of Diamond’s highly anticipated new album, Home Before Dark, his second collaboration with producer Rick Rubin, released yesterday on Columbia Records. Home Before Dark is imbued with the same style of inspired melodies that has made his music so enduring. The album’s highlights include the stunning lead single “Pretty Amazing Grace” and a duet with the Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines entitled “Another Day (That Time Forgot).” The new collection was written by Diamond and recorded in Los Angeles with guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers), bassist/acoustic guitarist Smokey Hormel and guitarist Matt Sweeney. The album will also be available as a deluxe version that includes two bonus tracks and a DVD with rare footage of Diamond in the studio. To coincide with the release, Diamond will be launching a 37-City North American Tour starting on July 19th in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Black Kids have signed to Columbia for North America, and Almost Gold for the rest of the world, and they will release their full-length album, Partie Traumatic, in North America July 22nd, and the rest of the world, July 7th. Black Kids are currently on tour with Cut Copy.
tour: May 6 – Minneapolis, MN at 7th Street Entry*
May 7 – Chicago, IL at The Abbey Pub*
May 8 – Detroit, MI at Magic Stick*
May 9 – Toronto, ON at Lees Palace*
May 12 – Boston, MA at Paradise*
May 13 – Brooklyn, NY at Studio B*
May 15 – Washington, DC at Black Cat*
May 16 – Philadelphia, PA at Pure*
May 17 – Baltimore, MD at Sonar*
May 18 – New York, NY at Bowery Ballroom
*with Cut Copy http://www.myspace.com/blackkidsrock http://blackkidsmusic.com/
Baltimore resident Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez has gone from playing stripped down electro-60s French chanteuse pop in the short-lived band Cache Cache, to expanding his range of musical projects to include playing guitar in the drone-tinged country-folk group The Tall Grass as well as an electronic side project called The Ruby Stallion Ensemble. Having said that, Lesser’s first solo record, Why Is Bear Billowing? is just Lesser and his acoustic guitar crafting folk tunes that are a testament to the beauty of simplifying your life. Lesser delivers his songs with a sense of earnestness, and has garnered comparisons to Nick Drake, John Fahey, and Donovan. Lesser will tour North America with Jana Hunter in Aug. and Sept. and later in the fall will take part in a Wham City Round Robin tour. Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez will release his debut solo album Why Is Bear Billowing? on Aug. 19, on Carpark Records.
Copenhagen’s Slaraffenland found its final formation in 2002 and since have made more than their share of engaging sounds. Slaraffenland’s 2007 album Private Cinema displayed a band that is both delightfully challenging and appeasing to the senses. May 6th begins the band’s coast-to-coast North American tour with fellow Danes Efterklang. The tour features dates with Subtle, Black Moth Super Rainbow, and others – and it will be the first place you can get Slaraffenland’s new Sunshine EP.
tour: 05.06 – Denver, CO @ Lorimer Lounge
05.07 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
05.09 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
05.10 – Seattle, WA @ Nectar Lounge
05.11 – Eugene, OR @ Wow Hall
05.12 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill
05.13 – Visalia, CA @ The Cellar Door
05.14 – Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland
05.15 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
05.16 – Tucscon, AZ @ Plush
05.17 – Phoenix, AZ @ Modified
05.19 – Denton, TX @ Hailey’s
05.20 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
05.22 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn
05.23 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 505
05.24 – Washington DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel
05.26 – Philadelphia, PA @ Sanctuary
05.27 – Hamden, CT @ The Space
05.28 – New York, NY @ Knitting Factory
05.29 – Boston, MA @ TT The Bears
05.30 – Montreal, Quebec @ Zoobizarre
05.31 – Toronto, Ontario @ El Mocambo
06.02 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
06.03 – Kansas City, MI @ Record Bar
* with Efterklang
Black Francis has a new seven song, mini-LP entitled Svn Fngrs, available from Cooking Vinyl Records. Check out the remix of “The Seus,” done by the Infadels, and found at the link below. This remix, along with two others, will be released digitally on an EP called The Seus. Black Francis will be playing a handful of shows this summer with the Stone Temple Pilots.
18 year old Laura Marling released her debut album, Alas, I Cannot Swim, in the UK in February to great reviews. With a gift of melody and lyricism beyond her years, Laura will present her finely crafted songs at a solo performance in support of Adam Green on May 10th at Town Hall. Alas, I Cannot Swim will be released on Astralwerks in August.
Five Baltimore ladies came together in 2005 to form the singing, dancing, marching, spinning, running, jumping, laughing a capella group, The Lexie Mountain Boys. Sacred Vacation is the result of three years of performances, events and tours in the US and Canada. Recorded in the sanctuary of St John’s Church in Baltimore MD by Wye Oak’s Andy Stack, no overdubs were used, nor were any added effects on the vocals beyond the natural reverb of the sanctuary. The Lexie Mountain Boys release their Carpark debut Sacred Vacation on June 10th.
While Sunny Day Sets Fire was founded in London, collectively, the band hails from Hong Kong, Italy, Sardinia, Canada, and London. The result is a hybrid of The Beach Boys, The Flaming Lips, Architecture in Helsinki, Of Montreal, and themselves. Mauro, the lead vocalist, 12-string guitarist and occasional drummer of Sunny Day Sets Fire, is originally from Italy; he lists director Harmony Korine, black metal bands and Surrealism as personal influences, and acts as the band’s main songwriter and composer. In the summer of 2006, the band released the four-song Brainless EP. Back in February, the band put out a remix EP to much applause, setting anticipation high for Sunny Day Sets Fire debut album, Summer Palace, and its mid-summer release.
In 2005, Firewater’s Tod A embarked on what would become a three year sabbatical through the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent and South East Asia. Recording with a single microphone and a laptop in his pack, he captured performances with a vast array of musicians across India and Pakistan–and eventually Turkey and Israel. Bhangra and sufi percussion would form the basis for the songs he wrote along the way–songs about the world he left behind, politics, and dislocation.
tour: May 23 – Boston, MA – Paradise
May 24 – Brooklyn, NY – Southpaw
May 25 – Philadelphia, PA – North Star
May 26 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
May 27 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
May 28 – Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
May 30 – Chicago, IL – The Empty Bottle
May 31 – Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock Club
Jun 03 – Seattle, WA – Chop Suey
Jun 04 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir
Jun 06 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill
Jun 07 – West Hollywood, CA – The Roxy
Jun 08 – San Diego, CA – Casbah
Jun 09 – Tucson, AZ – Plush
Jun 11 – Ft. Worth, TX – Lola’s
Jun 12 – Austin, TX – Emo’s Lounge
Jun 13 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues – The Parish
Jun 14 – Atlanta, GA – The Earl
Jun 15 – Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506
Jun 16 – Washington, DC – Black Cat
Jun 17 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar http://www.myspace.com/realfirewater http://www.firewater.tv/ http://www.bloodshotrecords.com/
Antwerp, Belgium’s electro pop artist Styrofoam (aka Arne Van Petegem) releases his new album, A Thousand Words, on June 10 (digitally on May 6th, 2008) on Nettwerk. The album features guest vocals by Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World, singer/songwriter Josh Rouse and Blake Hazard of The Submarines. Van Petegem, who is also an integral part of the revitalized Belgian music scene as a producer/remixer, will bring Styrofoam to North America for a headlining tour in support of A Thousand Words.
audio: My Next MistakeAfter SunsetBright Red Helmet
video: Mon, Jun 02 – Washington, DC @ DC 9
Tue, Jun 03 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbery
Wed, Jun 04 – New York, NY @ Knitting Factory NY
Fri, Jun 06 – Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East Upstairs
Sat, Jun 07 – Montreal, PQ @ Casa del Popolo
Sun, Jun 08 – Toronto, ON @ El Mocambo
Mon, Jun 09 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas
Tue, Jun 10 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
Fri, Jun 13 – Vancouver, BC @ The Bourbon
Sat, Jun 14 – Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
Sun, Jun 15 – Portland, OR @ Someday Lounge
Tue, Jun 17 – San Francisco, CA @ Cafe du Nord
Wed, Jun 18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Knitting Factory Hollywood http://www.myspace.com/styrofoam http://www.nettwerk.com/
Akron, Ohio’s The Black Keys will perform a special intimate myspace secret show, Wednesday, May 7 at the 170 person capacity Beachland Tavern in Cleveland Ohio. The band, who hail from a mere thirty miles from Cleveland, recently released its fifth full-length LP Attack & Release on Nonesuch Records. Attack & Release was recorded at engineer Paul Hamann’s Suma Studio outside Cleveland, Ohio. Initial collaboration began when Danger Mouse (a.k.a. Brian Burton) approached the band to write songs for an album he was developing with the late R&B legend Ike Turner. As the band began composing tracks for Turner early last year , they quickly realized they were actually laying the groundwork for a new album of their own.
On May 8th at 7:30P PT/10:30P ET, Death Cab for Cutie and Current present “Open Windows,” a half-hour pod that features never-before-seen live performances and tour footage. Current catches Death Cab during the first few shows of its 2008 tour and at home in the days leading up to the release of its eagerly anticipated album, Narrow Stairs, hitting stores May 13th. The special delivers a sneak peak of the album’s first single “I Will Possess Your Heart.”
When I think of my favorite concert film ever – - The Last Waltz, two things come to mind immediately: Robbie Robertson’s smile, and the performance of “Dry Your Eyes,” with Neil Diamond. Yes, the man who inspired me to want to wear nudie suits, Neil Diamond, takes a jet back to the past tonight with a performance at The Bitter End in NYC. Neil Diamond will perform at a special free MySpace Secret Show, tonight, correlating with yesterday’s release of Diamond’s highly anticipated new album, Home Before Dark, his second collaboration with producer Rick Rubin, released yesterday on Columbia Records. Home Before Dark is imbued with the same style of inspired melodies that has made his music so enduring. The album’s highlights include the stunning lead single “Pretty Amazing Grace” and a duet with the Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines entitled “Another Day (That Time Forgot).” The new collection was written by Diamond and recorded in Los Angeles with guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers), bassist/acoustic guitarist Smokey Hormel and guitarist Matt Sweeney. The album will also be available as a deluxe version that includes two bonus tracks and a DVD with rare footage of Diamond in the studio. To coincide with the release, Diamond will be launching a 37-City North American Tour starting on July 19th in St. Paul, Minnesota.
