A HAWK AND A HACKSAWhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
10/17 Istanbul, TUR @ Babylon
12/07 Butlins, Minehead, UK @ All Tomorrow's Parties Festival
AKRON/FAMILY
09/19 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
09/21 Columbus, OH @ Wexner Center for Arts at OSU
09/22 London, ON @ LOLA Festival
09/23 Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
09/25 Guelph, ON @ Vinyl
09/26 Ottawa, ON @ Barrymore’s Music Hall
09/27 Burlington, VT @ Club Metronome
09/28 Boston, MA @ Harper’s Ferry
09/30 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
10/10 Palo Alto, CA @ Stanford University
10/11 San Francisco, CA @ Independent
10/12 Hollywood, CA @ The Troubadour
10/13 Big Sur, CA @ Fernwood Resort
10/18 Vancouver, BC @ Richards on Richards
10/19 Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Cafe
10/20 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
KYLE ANDREWS
09/25 Charlotte, NC @ Evening Muse
09/26 Vienna, VA @ Jammin Java
09/27 Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head Tavern
09/30 Philadelphia, PA @ Tin Angel
11/22 Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
MATTEAH BAIM OPENING FOR DEVENDRA BANHART
09/19 Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theater
09/21 Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
09/22 Montreal, QC @ Theatre National
09/23 Burlington, VT @ U of VT Davis Center Grand Ballroom
09/25 Boston, MA @ Roxy Ballroom
09/27 New York, NY @ Grand Ballroom
09/29 Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of living arts
10/01 Washington, DC @ Sixth and I Historic Synagogue
DEVENDRA BANHART
09/19 Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theater (w/Matteah Baim)
09/21 Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall (w/Matteah Baim)
09/22 Montreal, QC @ Theatre National (w/Matteah Baim)
09/23 Burlington, VT @ U of VT Davis Center Grand Ballroom (w/Matteah Baim)
09/25 Boston, MA @ Roxy Ballroom (w/Matteah Baim)
09/27 New York, NY @ Grand Ballroom (w/Matteah Baim)
09/29 Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of living arts (w/Matteah Baim)
10/01 Washington, DC @ Sixth and I Historic Synagogue (w/Matteah Baim)
10/04 Nashville, TN @ City Hall (w/ Jana Hunter)
10/06 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater (w/ Jana Hunter)
10/07 Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa (w/ Jana Hunter)
10/09 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater (Native American benefit)
10/10 Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theater
10/12 Phoenix, AZ @ Marquee Theater
10/13 Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum
BEIRUT
09/20 Brooklyn, NY @ Masonic Temple (in Fort Greene)
09/24 New York, NY @ Society for Ethical Culture (Wordless Music Series w/ Colleen)
09/26 New York, NY @ Delacorte Theater
09/28 Montreal, Quebec @ La Sala Rossa (w/ Colleen)
09/29 Montreal, Quebec @ La Sala Rossa (w/ Colleen)
09/30 Montreal, Quebec @ La Sala Rossa (w/ Colleen)
10/02 Toronto, Ontario @ Danforth Music Hall (w/ Colleen)
10/04 Chicago, IL @ Portage Theater (w/ Colleen)
10/08 San Francisco, CA @ Herbst Theater (w/ Colleen)
10/09 San Francisco, CA @ Herbst Theater (w/ Colleen)
10/10 Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon (w/ Colleen)
10/11 Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon (w/ Colleen)
11/06 Manchester, UK @ Club Academy
11/07 Glasgow, UK @ Arches
11/08 Leeds, UK @ Irish Centre
11/09 Cardiff, UK @ Point
11/10 London, UK @ Roundhouse
11/12 Paris, FR @ Olympia (Inrocks Festival)
11/13 Strasbourg, FR @ La Laiterie (Inrocks Festival)
11/14 Brussels, BEL @ Botanique
11/15 Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
11/16 Lille, FR @ Grand Mix
11/18 Copenhagen, DNK @ Vega
11/19 Hamburg, DEU @ Fabrik
11/20 Koln, DEU @ Kulturkirche
11/21 Munchen, DEU @ Elserhalle
11/22 Schorndorf, DEU @ Manufaktur
11/24 Lyon, FR @ Ninkashi
11/25 Zurich, CH @ Mascotte
BLOCKHEAD ON TOUR WITH ASOP ROCK
09/19 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
09/21 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
09/22 Providence, RI @ Living Room
09/23 Boston, MA @ Middle East
09/25 Northhampton, MA @ Iron Horse
09/26 Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
10/10 San Francisco, CA @ Filmore
10/12 Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Fonda Theatre
10/13 Phoenix, AZ @ Clubhouse
10/15 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
10/16 Durango, CO @ Abbey Theater
10/18 Denver, CO @ Cervantes
10/19 Boulder, CO @ Fox Theater
10/20 Ft. Collins, CO @ Aggie Theater
10/22 Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
10/25 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
10/26 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
10/27 Bellingham, WA @ Nightlight
10/28 Seattle, WA @ Showbox
10/30 Eugene, OR @ Wow Hall
11/07 Ashville NC @ Orange Peel
11/09 Orlando, FL @ Club Firestone
11/10 Miami, FL @ Studio A
11/12 New Orleans, LA @ House Of Blues
11/13 Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
11/15 Dallas, TX @ The Loft
11/16 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
11/17 Austin, TX @ Emo’s
11/19 Nashville, TN @ Exit In
BLUES CONTROL
09/19 Brooklyn, NY @ GlassLands
BUCK 65 - Upcoming on Strange Famous
10/30 Providence, RI @ Living Room (Record release party w/ Sage Francis)
11/01 Boston, MA - The Middle East Downstairs (Record release party w/ Sage Francis)
11/03 San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord
11/04 Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour
11/08 Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues (Cambridge Room)
11/10 Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
11/11 Tallahassee, FL @ Beta Bar
11/13 Orlando, FL @ The Social
11/14 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
11/17 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's
11/18 New York, NY @ The Bowery Ballroom
11/20 Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
11/21 Chicago, IL @ Reggie's Live
11/23 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
11/27 Boulder, CO @ The Fox Theatre
11/29 Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
11/30 Portland, OR @ The Doug Fir Lounge
CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA
09/22 Chicago, IL @ The Abbey Pub
09/23 Toronto, ON @ Phoenix
09/24 Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
09/25 Boston, MA @ Paradise
09/26 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
COLLEEN OPENING FOR BEIRUT
09/24 New York, NY @ Society for Ethical Culture (Wordless Music Series)
09/28 Montreal, Quebec @ La Sala Rossa
09/29 Montreal, Quebec @ La Sala Rossa
09/30 Montreal, Quebec @ La Sala Rossa
10/02 Toronto, Ontario @ Danforth Music Hall
10/04 Chicago, IL @ Portage Theater
10/08 San Francisco, CA @ Herbst Theater
10/09 San Francisco, CA @ Herbst Theater
10/10 Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon
10/11 Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon
DAMON & NAOMI
09/30 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle (Adventures in Modern Music)
10/02 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
10/03 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
10/04 Pittsburgh, PA @ Kelly-Strayhorn Theater
10/05 Columbus, OH @ Wexner Center for the Arts
10/06 Milwaukee, WI @ Mad Planet
10/07 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock
10/10 Bellingham, WA @ Nightlight Lounge
10/11 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
10/14 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
10/15 Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
10/16 Phoenix, AZ @ The Brickhouse
10/18 San Antonio, TX @ The Ballroom
10/19 Austin, TX @ Scoot's Inn
10/20 Baton Rouge, LA @ The Spanish Moon
10/21 Birmingham, AL @ Bottle tree
10/22 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
10/23 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
10/24 Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
10/25 Charlottesville, VA @ Satellite Ballroom
10/26 Washington, DC @ Black Cat
10/27 Annandale-on-Hudson, NY @ Bard College
10/28 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
10/29 Boston, MA @ Middle East Downstairs
DEERHOOF
09/21 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
09/22 Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues
09/23 Tulsa, OK @ Cain‘s Ballroom
09/25 Nashville, TN @ City Hall
09/26 Covington, KY @ Madison Theatre
09/28 Toronto, ON @ Ricoh Coliseum
09/29 London, ON @ John Lambert Center
09/30 Pontiac, MI @ Eagle Theater
10/01 Madison, WI @ UW Memorial Union Rathskeller
10/02 Minneapolis, MN @ McGuire Theater at Walker Arts Center
10/04 Denver, CO @ Bluebird
10/06 Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
DENGUE FEVER
09/21 Albuquerque, NM @ National Hispanic Cultural Center
DIPLO
09/19 Portland, OR @ Holocene
09/20 Seattle, WA @ Neumos
09/21 Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
09/22 San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine
09/23 Vancouver, BC @ Plush Nightclub
10/05 New York, NY @ Hiro Ballroom
10/27 Rio de Janeiro, BRA @ Marina da Gloria
EFTERKLANG
10/16 Paris, FR @ Divan du Monde,
10/17 Le Havre, FR @ Cabaret Electric
10/18 Rennes, FR @ Electroni-k Festival
10/21 Madrid, ESP @ Festival de Otono
10/30 Malmø, SWE @ Debaser
10/31 Oslo, NOR @ Blå
11/01 Stockholm, SWE @ Debaser
11/02 Gothenburg, SWE @ Stenhammersalen
11/08 Albertslund, DNK @ Forbrændingen
11/09 Vejle, DNK @ Bygningen
11/10 Århus, DNK @ VoxHall
11/15 Copenhagen, DNK @ Lille Vega
11/16 Odense, DNK @ Studenterhuset
11/17 Aalborg, DNK @ Studenterhuset
11/21 Bristol, UK @ Thekla
11/22 Kings Heath, Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds
11/23 London, UK @ Bush Hall
11/24 Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
11/25 Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms
11/27 Glasgow, UK @ The Arches
11/28 Dublin, IRE @ Whelans
11/29 Belfast, UK @ Spring & Airbrake
11/30 Manchester, UK @ The Roadhouse
12/01 Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2
12/02 Brussels, BEL @ VK-club at Palace
12/03 Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
NANCY ELIZABETH
09/22 Matlock Bath, UK @ The Fishpond
10/30 Glasgow, UK @ The Arches
11/01 Sheffield, UK @ Corporation
11/02 Manchester, UK @ Dulcimer
11/04 Hull, UK @ The Adelphi
11/05 Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
11/07 London, UK @ 93 Feet East
11/08 Coventry, UK @ Taylor Johns House
11/09 Cheltenham, UK @ Meantime Arts Space
11/10 Bristol, UK @ Cube Cinema
11/11 Penryn, Falmouth, UK @ Miss Peapods
11/12 Ringmead, Berkshire @ South Hill Park Arts Centre
11/13 Colchester, UK @ Arts Centre
11/18 Lancaster, UK @ Yorkshire House
FERN KNIGHT
10/30 New York, New York @ MOMA - The Valerie Project
MICHAEL GIRA
10/11 Brussels, BEL @ AB-club
10/12 Leuven, BEL @ STUK
10/13 Utrecht, NL @ Theater Kikker
10/14 Groningen, NL @ Vera
10/15 Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
10/16 Geneva, CH @ PTR - L'usine
10/17 Roma, IT @ Circolo degli Artisti
10/19 Hasselt, BEL @ KC Belgie (+ Boredoms)
10/20 Kortrijk, BEL @ Sonic City Festival (+ Boredoms / Deerhoof)
10/21 Coventry, UK @ Taylor John's House
10/22 Manchester, UK @ Academy (+ Boredoms)
10/23 Glasgow, UK @ Arches (+ Boredoms)
10/24 Aberdeen, UK @ The Lemon Tree (+ Boredoms)
10/26 London, UK @ Shoreditch Town Hall (The Wire/Electra festival + Boredoms)
10/27 London, UK @ Monto Water Rats
HOWLIN RAIN OPENING FOR QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
09/19 Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House Of Blues
09/20 Tallahassee, FL @ The Moon
09/21 Jacksonville, FL @ Plush
09/22 Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
09/24 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
09/25 Norfolk, VA @ The Norva
09/26 Baltimore, MD @ Ram's Head Live
09/28 Pittsburgh, PA @ Carnegie Music Hall
09/29 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
JANA HUNTER OPENING FOR DEVENDRA BANHART
10/04 Nashville, TN @ City Hall
10/06 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
10/07 Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
NYLES LANNON
09/20 Portland, OR @ Tonic
09/21 Bellingham, WA @ Nightlight
09/22 Yakima WA @ Yakima Sports Center
09/24 Sacramento, CA @ Club Pow
09/26 San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern (Record release show)
10/24 San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
LESBIAN
09/28 Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
11/02 Portland ME Geno's
11/03 Boston, MA@ O'Brien's Pub
11/04 Wallingford, CT @ Cherry Street Bar (early show)
11/05 Brooklyn, NY @ Luna Lounge
11/07 Baltimore, MD @ Talking Head Club
11/08 Richmond VA @ Gallery 5
11/09 New York, NY @ Tap Bar at Knitting Factory
THE LODGER
10/26 New York, NY @ Cake Shop
10/27 Philadelphia, PA @ Khyber Pass
10/28 Washington, DC @ Velvet Lounge
11/02 Durham, NC @ Duke Coffeehouse (Troika Festival)
11/03 Athens, GA @ Flicker Theater
MALCOLM MIDDLETON
12/07 Minehead, UK @ ATP
MURCOF
09/21 Nantes, FR @ Scopitone Festival
09/29 Utrecht, NL @ Theatre Kikker (InterZone Ambient Festival)
10/04 London, UK @ Planetarium
10/18 Rennes, FR @ Electroni-k Festival
10/20 Reims, FR @ Electricity Festival
10/24 Graz, AUT @ Elevate Festival
10/26 Basel, SCHE @ Dreispitz (Shift Festival)
11/17 Brno, CZE @ Club Fleda
NUMBERS
09/28 Portland, OR @ Someday Lounge
09/29 Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
10/01 Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
10/02 Denver, CO @ The Hi-Dive
10/03 Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar
10/04 Dallas, TX @ The Public Trust
10/05 Houston, TX @ Rudyard’s Pub
10/06 Austin, TX @ Mohawk
10/08 Flagstaff, AZ @ Eleven Eleven
10/09 Phoenix, AZ @ Modified Arts
10/11 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
10/12 North Hollywood, CA @ The Smell
THE OCTOPUS PROJECT
09/19 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
09/21 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
09/22 Providence, RI @ Living Room
09/23 Cambridge, MA @The Middle East
09/25 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse
09/26 Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
10/04 Houston, TX @ Numbers
10/08 Orlando, FL @ Back Booth
10/09 Delray Beach, FL @ City Limits
10/10 Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
10/11 Atlanta, GA @ The Drunken Unicorn
10/12 Knoxville, TN @ The Pilot Light
10/13 Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone
10/14 Durham, NC @ Duke University
10/15 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
10/16 Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
10/17 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's
10/18 New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom (Kork Agency CMJ Showcase)
10/20 Boston, MA @ Great Scott
10/21 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa
10/22 Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dee's
10/23 Buffalo, NY @ Soundlab
10/25 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
10/26 Chicago, IL @ The Abbey
10/27 Chicago, IL @ The Abbey
10/29 Minneapolis, MN @ The 7th Street Entry
10/30 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
10/31 Norman, OK @ Opolis
OM
09/19 Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
09/20 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
09/21 Oklahoma City, OK @ Bricktown Live
09/22 Dallas, TX @ Palladium Ballroom
09/23 Austin, TX @ Emo's
POP LEVI
10/06 Los Angeles, CA @ LA Weekly's Detour Festival
PORT O’BRIEN
09/23 Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre (w/Bright Eyes)
09/24 Chico, CA @ Senator Theatre (w/Bright Eyes)
09/26 Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
10/10 San Diego, CA @ Casbah (w/Rogue Wave)
10/11 Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey (w/Rogue Wave)
10/12 San Francisco, CA @ Bimbos 365 (w/Rogue Wave)
10/15 Portland, OR @ Wonderland Ballroom (w/Rogue Wave)
10/16 Seattle, WA @ Nuemos (w/Rogue Wave)
10/19 Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre (w/Rogue Wave)
10/20 Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck (w/Rogue Wave)
10/21 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room (w/Rogue Wave)
10/23 Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar (w/Rogue Wave)
10/24 Chicago, IL @ Double Door (w/Rogue Wave)
10/26 Toronto, ON @ Mod Club (w/Rogue Wave)
10/27 Montreal, QC @ Cabaret Music Club (w/Rogue Wave)
10/29 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall (w/Rogue Wave)
10/30 Boston, MA @ The Paradise (w/Rogue Wave)
JAY REATARD
09/27 Memphis, TN @ Goner Fest IV
09/28 Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge
09/29 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
09/30 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
10/02 Chicago, IL @ The Note
10/03 Detroit, MI @ Lager house
10/05 Toronto, ON @ Silver Dollar
10/06 Montreal, QC @ Pop Fest
10/07 Somerville, MA @ PA’s Lounge
10/09 New Haven, CT @ Cafe Nine
10/10 New York, NY @ Cake Shop
10/11 Brooklyn, NY @ Don Pedro’s
10/13 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
10/15 Atlanta, GA @ Lenny’s
10/31 Austin, TX @ Beerland
11/01 Austin, TX @ Beerland
11/16 San Francisco, CA @ 12 Galaxies
JACK ROSE
09/19 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rosa
09/21 Detroit, MI @ National Bohemian Home
09/23 Duluth, MN @ Pizza Luce
09/24 St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
09/25 Iowa City, IA @ Picador
09/27 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
09/28 Cleveland, OH @ Parish Hall
09/29 Buffalo, NY @ Soundlab
09/30 Syracuse, NY @ La Cena
10/01 Bennington, VT @ Bennington College
SIXTOO
09/19 Quebec, QC @ Grand Salon de l'Universite Laval
09/21 London, ON @ LOLA Outdoor Stage
SOLE AND THE SKYRIDER BAND
10/20 Halifax, NS @ Halifax Pop Explosion Festival
10/25 Los Angeles, CA & Knitting Factory
10/27 San Francisco, CA @Bottom Of The Hill
11/01 New York, NY @ Knitting Factory
SONIC YOUTH
10/05 Austin, TX @ Stubbs BBQ
10/06 Marfa, TX @ Thunderbird Hotel- Chinati Open House Weekend
10/07 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
SPANK ROCK
09/29 Los Angeles, CA @ Neighborhood Festival
10/27 Rio De Janeiro, BRA @ Marina da Gloria
10/28 Sao Paulo, BRA @ Anhembi Sumba Drum
SUISHOU NO FUNE
09/19 Minneapolis, MN @ Turf Club
09/20 Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
09/25 Boston, MA @ PA's Lounge
09/26 Providence, RI @ AS220
09/28 Washington DC, @ Velvet Lounge
09/29 Charlottesville, SC @ Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
10/01 Pittsburgh, PA @ Gooski's
10/03 Louisville, KY @ Pour Haus
10/04 St Louis, MO, @ Spooky Action Palace
10/08 Austin, TX @ Emo's w/ST37
10/12 Phoenix, AZ @ Trunk Space
VETIVER OPENING FOR THE SHINS
10/17 Atlanta, GA @ Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center
10/18 Charleston, SC @ The Plex
10/19 Raleigh, NC @ Progress Energy Center (Raleigh Memorial Auditorium)
10/20 Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
10/22 Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
10/23 New York, NY @ Terminal Five
10/24 New York, NY @ Terminal Five
WOODEN SHJIPS
10/05 Oakland, CA @ Ghost Town Gallery
10/20 New York, NY @ The Annex (CMJ showcase)
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Beirut Review On Stylus
Beirut
The Flying Club Cup
Ba Da Bing
2007
A-
Online reveiw
Some people may mourn the passing of Zach Condon's cottage-industry approach and makeshift binary orkestra, the occasionally cacophonous delivery, and earnestly clamoring and lo-fi arrangements that typified Gulag Orkestra—a result of the young musician's inventiveness in the face of necessity. They added up to at least half the charm of Beirut's terrific and much-acclaimed debut album from last year.
Of course those people are also missing something if they think that Condon's second album, or, more appositely, Beirut's first as a fully-fledged band, is somehow less charming, less idiosyncratic, less unique, and less wonderful simply because our magical conductor now has a full and very real band at his disposal rather than a cast of imagined musicians in his head.
Following on the heels of the Lon Gisland EP and the extensive, worldwide-touring that followed Gulag, The Flying Club Cup makes use of the friends, networks, and synergies put together to make his previously isolated adventures tangible, and in doing so improves it. It's a simple formula—the songs are better, the melodies more memorable, the vocals stronger, the sound richer, the arrangements more rewarding.
To give some context, which I view pretty important to this whole "reviewing records" thing, I reviewed this album in the midst of a house-move, my music collection packed all away bar a handful of Beta Band, King Biscuit and Beirut CDs, my desktop computer boxed and debunked, myself perched on a beanbag with a laptop and a glass or eight of red wine. Listening to and writing about The Flying Club Cup in this context made an awful lot of sense; the waiting, the tidied disarray, the low light, the frantic sense that something, somewhere, must have been forgotten, the empty shelves, the rioja that slips across one's tongue and down one's throat just slightly too easily. The Flying Club Cup is a luxuriant, beautiful album, but also slightly distracted, otherwise occupied, busy.
Something else that makes a lot of sense is hearing Owen Pallet's high, tremulous voice ring out with a sense of frosted drama above the accordions and beyond-the-Iron-Curtain martial drums of "Cliquot"; doubly so when you realise that it's his wonderful, swirling and emotive string arrangements that run through half the record, helping to take the virtual kingdom of Gulag and turn it into a real place populated by accordions horns, pianos and voices—many, many voices.
The foremost of those voices being Zach Condon's own, finally revealed in its full splendor as both delicate and powerful, capable of traversing melodic lines and riding tides of instruments and musical traditions that should be well beyond the common or garden college dropout from Albuquerque.
Inspired by a picture of hot air balloons by the Eiffel Tower that Condon kept pinned up in the studio (and everywhere else he recorded), The Flying Club Cup sees Condon's picaresque folk wandering westwards from the Balkan sources of his debut album to take in sights, sounds, and scents more Gallic; Jacques Brel, conversational French, deep, taciturn burgundy clarets and light, dancing Beaujolais. The briefly ringing ukulele (or is it a mandolin?) charms and chides of "The Penalty," the camp and elegiac drama of "Forks & Knives (La Fête)," the gently-breaking percussive waves and weirs of "Nantes," the jazzy piano fills and audacious strings of "The Mausoleum," the rolling farewells of "St. Apollonia"; Beirut here is taken of too much wine, swoonsome, romantic, decadent, observed, and wonderfuly so. The debut album was good, but this is better. Much, much better; the kind of record I will happily and willingly return to long after this review is dead and buried. Please, investigate, sup deeply, imbibe. The Flying Club Cup is a marvel.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Breakbeat Techno Disco Acid Loving Vibert!
Luke Vibert's output can only be summed up as prolifically monstrous. Since the early 90ies Vibert has released fifteen full lengths, sixteen EPs and somewhere around sixteen singles. Vibert's latest CD and triple-freakin-vinyl Chicago, Detroit, Redruth shows no sign that the man is ready to call it quits. Below are a few recent reviews.
The Onion - September 4th, 2007
Luke Vibert
Chicago, Detroit, Redruth
Reviewed by Michaelangelo Matos
Online review
As Plug, Luke Vibert turned drum-and-bass breakbeats in on themselves. As Wagon Christ, he helped crystallize trip-hop's dread-filled MO. Under his own name, he's flittered about with a number of styles, with bright-eyed, songwriterly panache. On Chicago, Detroit, Redruth, Vibert corrals his many approaches into a cohesive album which plays like a career-spanning overview that happens to consist entirely of new material. All of it fits, and plenty of it is self-explanatory: Titles like "Breakbeat Metal Music," "Comfycozy," and "Rapperdacid" pretty well speak for themselves. But Vibert always adds an unexpected twist, frequently a funny one, as on the fuzzy-cosmos "God," whose hook is a mock-frightened, sampled woman shrieking, "Oh my God!"
A.V. Club Rating: B+
Brainwashed.com - September 9th 2007
Luke Vibert, "Chicago, Detroit, Redruth"
Written by Gary Suarez
Online review
It may have taken a few years longer than hoped, but that other Cornish madman has at last perfected the formula he has relentlessly toiled over with this batch of infectiously quirky acid-blasted instant classics. The chronic unevenness that hindered many of his releases this century is noticeably absent from this gooey mix of "grown folks" electronica.
2007 is shaping up to be quite productive for Vibert. Chicago, Detroit, Redruth, his second long player for Planet Mu, was preceded by The Ace Of Clubs' Benefist album and Rubber Chunks EP on Firstcask. Furthermore, he unleashed a whole slew of digital reissues exclusively via Warp Records' Bleep.Com download service, including several out-of-print Wagon Christ releases and the coveted Plug album Drum 'n' Bass For Papa. As for the remaining months, Lo Recordings is just about to drop his anticipated full length Moog Acid collaboration with the legendary Jean Jacques Perrey, and, according to the Rephlex website, a follow-up to 1993's Vibert/Simmonds album appears due out this year. Still, without having heard these latter two releases, Chicago, Detroit, Redruth is positioned to be his finest this decade.
Though remarkably cohesive as a whole, the album engages in a fair bit of genre hopping throughout, from the dangling boom-bap and fidgety squiggles of "Clikilik" to the astonishingly straightforward Plus8-referencing techno of "Argument Fly." Spectacular opener "ComfyCozy" brilliantly slaps a drum n' bass rhythm against a piano-driven jazz performance gilded with electronic touches, recalling for this fan the very first time he heard the aforementioned Plug. As expected, Vibert doles out invigorating acid like "Brain Rave" and the joyously retrospective title track. However, there are some real surprises here, such as "Swet," an eight-minute freaky groove that tactfully samples the instantly recognizable doorbell sequence from The Jetsons. Here, an unanticipated maturity surfaces from a producer oft noted for having his tongue permanently stationed in his cheek.
Of course, the sacred Roland TB-303 box returns as a pivotal weapon in the Vibertian arsenal, delivering those signature squelchy sequences that simply cannot be beat. However, the artist has finally mastered just how to best use that invaluable box in the context of his irreverent yet enticing productions, far more so than on less satisfying affairs like YosepH and Lover’s Acid. But any music geek worth his salt knows that acid was—and is—more than a box. The essence of those good old days dominates on "Breakbeat Metal Music," which only sparingly utilizes the 303, and the heavenly "Radio Savalas."
With nary a drippy track in the bunch, Chicago, Detroit, Redruth redeems the unsettlingly hit-or-miss nature of his 21st century work, be it Kerrier District's daft disco, Wagon Christ's kitsch-funk, or any number of styles wielded by his elusive collection of monikers. Though last year's high-energy-meets-deep-bass Amen Andrews vs Spac Hand Luke deviated delightfully from that trend, this new set for Planet Mu represents a creative triumph from a producer who now appears unstoppable.
The Onion - September 4th, 2007
Luke Vibert
Chicago, Detroit, Redruth
Reviewed by Michaelangelo Matos
Online review
As Plug, Luke Vibert turned drum-and-bass breakbeats in on themselves. As Wagon Christ, he helped crystallize trip-hop's dread-filled MO. Under his own name, he's flittered about with a number of styles, with bright-eyed, songwriterly panache. On Chicago, Detroit, Redruth, Vibert corrals his many approaches into a cohesive album which plays like a career-spanning overview that happens to consist entirely of new material. All of it fits, and plenty of it is self-explanatory: Titles like "Breakbeat Metal Music," "Comfycozy," and "Rapperdacid" pretty well speak for themselves. But Vibert always adds an unexpected twist, frequently a funny one, as on the fuzzy-cosmos "God," whose hook is a mock-frightened, sampled woman shrieking, "Oh my God!"
A.V. Club Rating: B+
Brainwashed.com - September 9th 2007
Luke Vibert, "Chicago, Detroit, Redruth"
Written by Gary Suarez
Online review
It may have taken a few years longer than hoped, but that other Cornish madman has at last perfected the formula he has relentlessly toiled over with this batch of infectiously quirky acid-blasted instant classics. The chronic unevenness that hindered many of his releases this century is noticeably absent from this gooey mix of "grown folks" electronica.
2007 is shaping up to be quite productive for Vibert. Chicago, Detroit, Redruth, his second long player for Planet Mu, was preceded by The Ace Of Clubs' Benefist album and Rubber Chunks EP on Firstcask. Furthermore, he unleashed a whole slew of digital reissues exclusively via Warp Records' Bleep.Com download service, including several out-of-print Wagon Christ releases and the coveted Plug album Drum 'n' Bass For Papa. As for the remaining months, Lo Recordings is just about to drop his anticipated full length Moog Acid collaboration with the legendary Jean Jacques Perrey, and, according to the Rephlex website, a follow-up to 1993's Vibert/Simmonds album appears due out this year. Still, without having heard these latter two releases, Chicago, Detroit, Redruth is positioned to be his finest this decade.
Though remarkably cohesive as a whole, the album engages in a fair bit of genre hopping throughout, from the dangling boom-bap and fidgety squiggles of "Clikilik" to the astonishingly straightforward Plus8-referencing techno of "Argument Fly." Spectacular opener "ComfyCozy" brilliantly slaps a drum n' bass rhythm against a piano-driven jazz performance gilded with electronic touches, recalling for this fan the very first time he heard the aforementioned Plug. As expected, Vibert doles out invigorating acid like "Brain Rave" and the joyously retrospective title track. However, there are some real surprises here, such as "Swet," an eight-minute freaky groove that tactfully samples the instantly recognizable doorbell sequence from The Jetsons. Here, an unanticipated maturity surfaces from a producer oft noted for having his tongue permanently stationed in his cheek.
Of course, the sacred Roland TB-303 box returns as a pivotal weapon in the Vibertian arsenal, delivering those signature squelchy sequences that simply cannot be beat. However, the artist has finally mastered just how to best use that invaluable box in the context of his irreverent yet enticing productions, far more so than on less satisfying affairs like YosepH and Lover’s Acid. But any music geek worth his salt knows that acid was—and is—more than a box. The essence of those good old days dominates on "Breakbeat Metal Music," which only sparingly utilizes the 303, and the heavenly "Radio Savalas."
With nary a drippy track in the bunch, Chicago, Detroit, Redruth redeems the unsettlingly hit-or-miss nature of his 21st century work, be it Kerrier District's daft disco, Wagon Christ's kitsch-funk, or any number of styles wielded by his elusive collection of monikers. Though last year's high-energy-meets-deep-bass Amen Andrews vs Spac Hand Luke deviated delightfully from that trend, this new set for Planet Mu represents a creative triumph from a producer who now appears unstoppable.
Port O'Brien 7.5 Review Posted On Pitchfork Today.
Port O'Brien
The Wind and the Swell
[American Dust; 2007]
Rating: 7.5
Online review
From the Decemberists' belly-of-the-whale epics to Modest Mouse's existential oceans, from Alela Diane's yo-ho-ho choruses to Oh No! Oh My!'s pirate anthem, nautical themes have become so prevalent in current indie mythology that it's enough to make you seasick. But Port O'Brien has earned the right to the salt-crusted imagery adorning its first full-length, The Wind and the Swell, as well as to the numerous mentions of seas and oceans and fishing boats and puffins in these jagged, intelligent indie-folk songs. Port O'Brien mainstay Van Pierszalowski, a California native and son of a commercial fisherman, spends his summers aboard an Alaskan salmon schooner, either fighting the seas or bored in port if the weather's bad. He named the band after an Alaskan port, uses photos of his father's crew as album art, and keeps a detailed ship's blog on the group's web site.
But The Wind and the Swell, which collects the group's first two out-of-print releases on one disc, sounds like a much better journal of days at sea. Like most tracks, opener "I Woke Up Today" could be a sea-legs lament: "Yes I understand I cannot live on this land," Pierszalowski sings, "but does that truly mean I have seen all that can be seen?" The song is all windworn surfaces: the guitars sound rough and creaky, the voices cracked but resolute. These same lyrics repeat on the sparse closer "Simple Way", which slows the tempo and pares down the music: instead of a stormy passage, the song fades gradually, like land disappearing on the horizon.
Port O'Brien's first LP, When the Rain Comes, from 2005, was a set of mostly acoustic songs featuring Pierszalowski on acoustic guitar, reflecting the outfit's more-or-less solo origins. The recording is blunt and primitive, perfect for Pierszalowski's then-unrefined songwriting. "Five and Dime", his wordiest composition, reckons with his own wanderlust: "It kills me to think that straight lines have taken over the life I've led," he sings as the song veers suddenly into a relentless road-trip strum. The band's 2006 EP Nowhere to Run keeps the rough aesthetic and unflinching self-examination in place, but elaborates on them in intriguing musical ways: adding new sounds and more instruments, honing the lyrics to be more teasingly indirect, and benefiting greatly from the presence of Cambria Goodwin, whose sharp vocals and percussive banjo color "I Woke Up Today" and her own "Tree Bones".
On The Wind and the Swell, instead of presenting each release in its original tracklist order, as if they're two sides of the same album, Pierszalowski resequences the songs to highlight the contrasts between the two sets. This tack, despite its minor limitations (gone are the scraps of stray song interspersed between the "real" tracks from Nowhere to Run), distracts from the weaknesses of early tracks and emphasizes the seaworthiness of later songs like "Tree Bones" and "A Bird Flies By". In the process, The Wind and the Swell builds and fades, suggesting a landlocked anomie that only the ocean can assuage: "And I just wanna be floating on the sea," Pierszalowski sings on "Anchor", "with my anchor tied to land." The product of days and days at sea, The Wind and the Swell retains the songs' original documentary impact, even as it shows that Pierszalowski's music is less about seafaring summers than simple remoteness, both geographical and emotional.
-Stephen M. Deusner, September 17, 2007
Check out these upcoming Port O'Brien live dates:
09/23 Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre (w/Bright Eyes)
09/24 Chico, CA @ Senator Theatre (w/Bright Eyes)
09/26 Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
10/10 San Diego, CA @ Casbah (w/Rogue Wave)
10/11 Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey (w/Rogue Wave)
10/12 San Francisco, CA @ Bimbos 365 (w/Rogue Wave)
10/15 Portland, OR @ Wonderland Ballroom (w/Rogue Wave)
10/16 Seattle, WA @ Nuemos (w/Rogue Wave)
10/19 Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre (w/Rogue Wave)
10/20 Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck (w/Rogue Wave)
10/21 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room (w/Rogue Wave)
10/23 Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar (w/Rogue Wave)
10/24 Chicago, IL @ Double Door (w/Rogue Wave)
10/26 Toronto, ON @ Mod Club (w/Rogue Wave)
10/27 Montreal, QC @ Cabaret Music Club (w/Rogue Wave)
10/29 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall (w/Rogue Wave)
10/30 Boston, MA @ The Paradise (w/Rogue Wave)
Sweet footage of 'My Eyes Won't Shut'
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Blues Control Gets Foxy.
Brooklyn's dynamic noise-rock duo Blues Control scored a killer review on Foxy Digitalis yesterday. For those in the greater NY metropolitan area, check out some live blues with Rahdunes (Emperor Jones) tonight and tomorrow.09/13 Annandale-on-Hudson, NY @ Bard College (w/Rahdunes)
09/14 New York, NY @ Cake Shop (w/ Rahdunes)
09/19 Brooklyn, NY @ GlassLands
Blues Control
Holy Mountain
Online review
In a homemade submarine below the surface of a tropical sea Blues Control lurk. They have managed an escape from the expectations associated with any prescribed sound or scene. Many bands over the years have been eager to take their “rock” to outer space, but as you can see Russ and Lea have opted for something different, instead of putting the tin can into the cosmos, they lowered it into the sea. I know what you are thinking “The cover of this album contradicts everything you are saying,” but perhaps none of us have just never gone deep enough in the sea.
Deadened hypnotic loops of percussion push their fuzzy low-end frequencies through beaten old speakers, the only sonar the good ship Blues Control needs. The prerecorded magnetic tape that sets the course are soaking wet and the beats sound as if they are being pounded out on a damp cardboard box drum set. Reminiscent of the steady rhythm that would be found holding down an epic side-long psychedelic rock compositions, these loops serve as a ready made foundation upon which Blues Control over lay virtuosic spaced-out piano and infectious damaged guitar leads. Along the way synths, flutes, harmonicas, and manipulated vocals all make appearances in walk-on roles. All structures created for and within these compositions are calculated devices for reaching a more pure level of expression and shared freedom. Freedom is a quality so quickly (and perhaps wrongly) associated with improvised music. While Blues Control are by no means an improv group, their songs are built loosely enough for subtle continual reinvention to take place. It is also through these slight and subtle “imperfections” and “inventions” that the listener is able to develop a closer relationship to the music and it’s makers.
These songs cannot adequately be described in pre-existing genre definitions. There is a hazy feeling of familiarity one gets when listening to the tracks contained here within but any immediate point of reference will not have a name. We could throw terms around until we are blue in the face, but I promise you the moment we settle on a definition, no matter how concrete or vague, Blues Control will make a move to contradict all the conclusions we just arrived at. You see, Blues Control are not afraid of stylistic contradictions that may arise within their process, in fact they embrace them, understanding that the richest territory to mine is that which is not defined, and what better way to get the listener to walk the path with them then by giving the listener something vaguely familiar to hold onto.
As I listen again and again I can’t help but think of, what I imagine to be an, unintentional bond this album shares with German Oak and their self-titled album released 35 years earlier. Though Blues Controls, spaced-out tin can party vibe couldn’t be further from the dark brooding of German Oak, the recordings present on both albums share a similar sense of production and through that production succeed at creating a very specific space in which the music exists. There is an honesty and sincerity that can be heard through the music, a quality that can not be assumed, that truly makes this album a gem to be treasured. Blues Control are not afraid to commune with the ghosts of rock past but be aware their reference to the groups of the past goes hand in hand with a wary critical edge and an eye to the future. 9/10 -- Ryan Brown (12 September, 2007)
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Ambitious Video Concept For New Beirut Album.
Over the summer Beirut filmed individual videos for very song off their upcoming flying Club Cup album (streets Oct. 9th). The first two videos have just been posted on flyingclubcup. An additional ten videos will incrementally appear on the site leading to a very rousing finale with "The Flying Club Cup". So stay vigilant. While on the subject, don't miss these Beirut live dates.
09/24 New York, NY @ Society for Ethical Culture (Wordless Music Series w/ Colleen)
09/26 New York, NY @ Delacorte Theater (w/ Colleen)
09/30 Montreal, Quebec @ La Sala Rossa (w/ Colleen)
10/02 Toronto, Ontario @ Danforth Music Hall (w/ Colleen)
10/04 Chicago, IL @ Portage Theater (w/ Colleen)
10/08 San Francisco, CA @ Herbst Theater (w/ Colleen)
10/09 San Francisco, CA @ Herbst Theater (w/ Colleen)
10/10 Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon (w/ Colleen)
10/11 Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon (w/Colleen)
Scherr Show Review In The NY Times.
Tony Scherr's string of residency gigs at Marion’s Marquee Lounge has caught the attention of the NY Times. Scherr's next solo album, Twist in the Wind C, will be released on Smells Like Records later on this year. In the mean time you can catch his live show every Monday night at Marion’s.
MUSIC REVIEW | TONY SCHERR
Singer-Songwriter’s Soul, the Chops of a Jazzman
By BEN RATLIFF
Published: September 12, 2007
Online review
Tony Scherr is principally an electric guitarist, and his style is full of boiled-down facility and squirrelly, transformative ideas. At first it’s clear how much specific knowledge he has learned from jazz and blues and country-music languages. After that it’s clear how much he has willed himself to forget it.
Visually, he’s a singer-songwriter in a bar band, not a jazz musician. But his trio’s set on Monday night — a regular gig at Marion’s Marquee Lounge, on the Bowery, with the bassist Rob Jost and the drummer Anton Fier — included huge amounts of improvisation. Not just flat-out soloing, but also improvising with melody lines and with the form of a song.
Some of Mr. Scherr’s songs started as if in the middle, suggested by a few chords and a scrap of a lyric; some seemed chopped off after a chorus or two. Singer-songwriters usually don’t treat their babies this way.
He has played with Willie Nelson on and off, as well as with Bill Frisell and Norah Jones, and, a much longer time ago, jazz bandleaders like Woody Herman and Dakota Staton. Mr. Nelson comes through with special clarity as an influence, especially in the phrasing Mr. Scherr uses to make a pinched, fairly average voice worth listening to.
But his guitar playing has a lot more than that. Mr. Scherr plays on a big scale, from delicate strings of passing chords to blaring, splintery rackets. It’s all dramatic and quite beautiful, and the group breathes together. Like the best late-1960s power trios in rock, it has a constant flexibility, with everyone free to add fills as they want, or leave space open.
The overriding theme in his songs — and those by others, like Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me” (done at a crawl) or Fleetwood Mac’s “Over & Over” — is deep loneliness, being on the losing end of a communication breakdown. And this sense of isolation somehow carried through to the whole band’s performance: it was a kind of tunnel-vision session, a deep and rambling dream. (Dreams figure into Mr. Scherr’s songs a lot too.)
His sets usually run to two hours, a stretch for a small band in a small club. But the music never grows dispiriting: it’s a coherent and invigorating two hours, suggesting much about how seemingly disparate pieces of American music can be recombined.
The Tony Scherr Trio plays every Monday at Marion’s Marquee Lounge, 354 Bowery, between Great Jones and East Fourth Streets, East Village;
MUSIC REVIEW | TONY SCHERR
Singer-Songwriter’s Soul, the Chops of a Jazzman
By BEN RATLIFF
Published: September 12, 2007
Online review
Tony Scherr is principally an electric guitarist, and his style is full of boiled-down facility and squirrelly, transformative ideas. At first it’s clear how much specific knowledge he has learned from jazz and blues and country-music languages. After that it’s clear how much he has willed himself to forget it.
Visually, he’s a singer-songwriter in a bar band, not a jazz musician. But his trio’s set on Monday night — a regular gig at Marion’s Marquee Lounge, on the Bowery, with the bassist Rob Jost and the drummer Anton Fier — included huge amounts of improvisation. Not just flat-out soloing, but also improvising with melody lines and with the form of a song.
Some of Mr. Scherr’s songs started as if in the middle, suggested by a few chords and a scrap of a lyric; some seemed chopped off after a chorus or two. Singer-songwriters usually don’t treat their babies this way.
He has played with Willie Nelson on and off, as well as with Bill Frisell and Norah Jones, and, a much longer time ago, jazz bandleaders like Woody Herman and Dakota Staton. Mr. Nelson comes through with special clarity as an influence, especially in the phrasing Mr. Scherr uses to make a pinched, fairly average voice worth listening to.
But his guitar playing has a lot more than that. Mr. Scherr plays on a big scale, from delicate strings of passing chords to blaring, splintery rackets. It’s all dramatic and quite beautiful, and the group breathes together. Like the best late-1960s power trios in rock, it has a constant flexibility, with everyone free to add fills as they want, or leave space open.
The overriding theme in his songs — and those by others, like Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me” (done at a crawl) or Fleetwood Mac’s “Over & Over” — is deep loneliness, being on the losing end of a communication breakdown. And this sense of isolation somehow carried through to the whole band’s performance: it was a kind of tunnel-vision session, a deep and rambling dream. (Dreams figure into Mr. Scherr’s songs a lot too.)
His sets usually run to two hours, a stretch for a small band in a small club. But the music never grows dispiriting: it’s a coherent and invigorating two hours, suggesting much about how seemingly disparate pieces of American music can be recombined.
The Tony Scherr Trio plays every Monday at Marion’s Marquee Lounge, 354 Bowery, between Great Jones and East Fourth Streets, East Village;
Monday, September 10, 2007
Akron/Family Album Reviews.
Check out some outstanding Akron/Family press riding on their new album Love Is Simple, which streets next Tuesday September 18th. The Akrons are currently touring the US and Canada and will continue on to Europe this November.
Time Out Chicago / Issue 132: September 6–12, 2007
Album review
By Matthew Lur
Akron/Family
Love Is Simple (Young God)
There are certain things ’60s psychedelia trademarked that are too naive ever to make an unironic comeback—among them free love, sunrises and portals. The youthful idealism that seems to cling to every note from the Brooklyn band Akron/Family falls into that group—but the enigmatic quartet also recognizes that just as that decade left us cynical and jaded, it’s also the era most prime for reinvention.
Akron/Family’s fourth album in a furious two-year existence keeps the group’s rickety and inexhaustible spirit roaring ahead. Its touchstones, from the Grateful Dead to Neil Young to Fairport Convention, could easily veer into ostentatious eclecticism, but since Akron/Family doesn’t boast a particularly charismatic singer, the musicians all sing—and play—without
Real Detroit Weekly
Akron/Family
By Jeff Milo
Aug 28, 2007
Some Friends That You Should Meet
Akron/Family
Akron/Family infect a bristly sort of enjoyable insanity for your mind to fall into; seemingly complete and utter genre defiance, at least on the surface, because certainly on this the folksters and the experimental-rockers and the outsider-sound lovers and the ‘60s-grandiose-starry-eyed-popsters can all groove.
The sounds are free and expressive, like a drum circle in the woods, hallucinogenic visions of heaven itself in the warbled tribal shouts and wild percussions, wavy-scat-like harmonies sing love letters to all of the places that you have known, snaking guitar lines elucidate the crumbling of the boundaries of reality and you’re enveloped by awakening lyrical philosophies like:
“Every precious human being has been a precious parent to you.”
“No point exists.”
“Don’t be afraid, you’re already dead.”
Drummer Dana Janssen casually remarks, “Yeah, that stems from some of the guys being Buddhists … ya know, beliefs of impermanence and what-not …”
“Who are the Buddhists?” I ask of the band, including Seth Olinksy, Miles Seaton and Ryan Vanderhoof.
“Three of the four … and I’m not telling you which one, that’s the game …” his tone is a smarmy Mr. Miyagi, “guess right now!”
“Well, it might be … you?”
“Oooh hoooo,” he responds, “I might not hold my beliefs on my shirt like a badge.”
“I can admire that … am I wrong though?”
Pause. “No, you’re not wrong,” then a hearty laugh.
The Akron/Family is a (sort of) Brooklyn-based quartet of gonzo, neo-bohemian illuminati, obsessed with wispy acoustics, winding vibratos, conflicting contemporary philosophies on post-modernism and juxtaposed down-home-ness with tripped out kaleidoscope atmospherics; pick-up-truck-drivers with Herman Hesse in the glove compartment and astronaut helmets fashioned into banjos and in their eyes you see the errant mysteries of what’s at the end of the galaxy.
Or maybe not, but maybe the swaying sounds of their unpredictable operas: sunny, murky, cacophonous and wandering in their rhythms, are illusory enough in a quasi-holy sort of way that this imagery supernaturally presents itself.
Live shows include the band venturing into the crowd, frugally armed with light instrumentation and mingling with their audience, eventually seducing everyone into sing-alongs with their quirky primordial noise experimentations and stately beards.
“The ‘album’ as a product is really kind of dying,” Janssen says. “(Love Is Simple) is sort of our last attempt to create ‘an album.’ I don’t know if that’s really something people want these days. Popular music changed, these days it’s all candy-pop. Weird stuff … like Maroon 5? What’s up with that?” "Mainstream radio plays the shit out of ‘em and it just legitimizes it; Middle America eats it up,” I offer in my best elitist tone.
“It’s a lack of information …” says Janssen. I offer: “I’m trying to cure that here, writing about bands like Akron/Family.”
He replies: “I’m with ya, man.” | RDW
pretension.
In the group’s songs, no whim remains unexplored, no harmony stays undoubled and no lyric is unrepeated. Drum circles lead into harmonic-minor field hollers while campfire sing-alongs get stepped on by goofy Silver Apples-esque synthesizers. The frequent call-and-responses between Akron/Family and a bellowing, amateur, mixed-gender choir adds to the raucous all-my-friends-are-here vibe.
“There’s so many colors without the dirty windows,” goes the hook on one of Love’shighlights, a typical schizophrenic try-anything affair. It begins in a bare Gregorian chant before morphing into a Crazy Horse–style dirge, then plummets into a plaintive folk lullaby—all over eight roller-coaster minutes. “Love is simple,” the band sings in a booming four-part chorus on “Don’t Be Afraid, You’re Already Dead.” Naive? Yes. But also radical.
Revolver Bands On Tour September 10th 2007
AKRON/FAMILY
09/10 Sarasota, FL @ New College of Florida
09/11 Orlando, FL @ Back Booth
09/12 Tallahassee, FL @ Downunder Club @ FSU
09/13 Birmingham, AL @ Bottle Tree
09/14 Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theater
09/15 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
09/17 Raleigh, NC @ Pour Haus
09/18 Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
09/19 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
09/21 Columbus, OH @ Wexner Center for Arts at OSU
09/22 London, ON @ LOLA Festival
09/23 Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace
09/25 Guelph, ON @ Vinyl
09/26 Ottawa, ON @ Barrymore's Music Hall
09/27 Burlington, VT @ Club Metronome
09/28 Boston, MA @ Harper's Ferry
09/30 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
10/10 Palo Alto, CA @ Stanford University
10/11 San Francisco, CA @ Independent
10/12 Hollywood, CA @ The Troubadour
10/13 Big Sur, CA @ Fernwood Resort
10/18 Vancouver, BC @ Richards on Richards
10/19 Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Cafe
10/20 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
KYLE ANDREWS
09/15 Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
09/25 Charlotte, NC @ Evening Muse
09/26 Vienna, VA @ Jammin Java
09/27 Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head Tavern
09/30 Philadelphia, PA @ Tin Angel
11/22 Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
GREG ASHLEY
09/15 Berkeley, CA @ Missouri Lounge
MATTEAH BAIM OPENING FOR DEVENDRA BANHART
09/18 Chicago, IL @ Portage Theater
09/19 Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theater
09/21 Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
09/22 Montreal, QC @ Theatre National
09/23 Burlington, VT @ U of VT Davis Center Grand Ballroom
09/25 Boston, MA @ Roxy Ballroom
09/27 New York, NY @ Grand Ballroom
09/29 Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of living arts
10/01 Washington, DC @ Sixth and I Historic Synagogue
DEVENDRA BANHART
09/10 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theater (Native American benefit w/ Rio En Medio)
09/12 Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium (w/ Rio En Medio)
09/13 Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall Theater (w/ Rio En Medio)
09/15 Minneapolis, NM @ First Avenue (w/ Rio En Medio)
09/16 Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater (w/ Rio En Medio)
09/18 Chicago, IL @ Portage Theater (w/Matteah Baim)
09/19 Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theater (w/Matteah Baim)
09/21 Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall (w/Matteah Baim)
09/22 Montreal, QC @ Theatre National (w/Matteah Baim)
09/23 Burlington, VT @ U of VT Davis Center Grand Ballroom (w/Matteah Baim)
09/25 Boston, MA @ Roxy Ballroom (w/Matteah Baim)
09/27 New York, NY @ Grand Ballroom (w/Matteah Baim)
09/29 Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of living arts (w/Matteah Baim)
10/01 Washington, DC @ Sixth and I Historic Synagogue (w/Matteah Baim)
10/04 Nashville, TN @ City Hall (w/ Jana Hunter)
10/06 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater (w/ Jana Hunter)
10/07 Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa (w/ Jana Hunter)
10/09 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater (Native American benefit)
10/10 Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theater
10/12 Phoenix, AZ @ Marquee Theater
10/13 Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum
RAY BARBEE WITH THE MATTSON 2
09/15 San Francisco, CA @ Victoria Theatre (Galaxia Sampler 2)
BEIRUT
09/24 New York, NY @ Society for Ethical Culture (Wordless Music Series w/ Colleen)
09/26 New York, NY @ Delacorte Theater (w/ Colleen)
09/30 Montreal, Quebec @ La Sala Rossa (w/ Colleen)
10/02 Toronto, Ontario @ Danforth Music Hall (w/ Colleen)
10/04 Chicago, IL @ Portage Theater (w/ Colleen)
10/08 San Francisco, CA @ Herbst Theater (w/ Colleen)
10/09 San Francisco, CA @ Herbst Theater (w/ Colleen)
10/10 Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon (w/ Colleen)
10/11 Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon (w/ Colleen)
BLOCKHEAD ON TOUR WITH ASOP ROCK
09/10 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
09/11 Pittsburgh, PA @ Rex Theatre
09/13 Chicago, IL @ Metro
09/14 Madison, WI @ Barrymore
09/15 Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theatre
09/16 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
09/19 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
09/21 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
09/22 Providence, RI @ Living Room
09/23 Boston, MA @ Middle East
09/25 Northhampton, MA @ Iron Horse
09/26 Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
10/10 San Francisco, CA @ Filmore
10/12 Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Fonda Theatre
10/13 Phoenix, AZ @ Clubhouse
10/15 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
10/16 Durango, CO @ Abbey Theater
10/18 Denver, CO @ Cervantes
10/19 Boulder, CO @ Fox Theater
10/20 Ft. Collins, CO @ Aggie Theater
10/22 Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
10/25 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
10/26 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
10/27 Bellingham, WA @ Nightlight
10/28 Seattle, WA @ Showbox
10/30 Eugene, OR @ Wow Hall
11/07 Ashville NC @ Orange Peel
11/09 Orlando, FL @ Club Firestone
11/10 Miami, FL @ Studio A
11/12 New Orleans, LA @ House Of Blues
11/13 Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
11/15 Dallas, TX @ The Loft
11/16 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
11/17 Austin, TX @ Emo's
11/19 Nashville, TN @ Exit In
BLUES CONTROL
09/13 Annandale-on-Hudson, NY @ Bard College (w/Rahdunes)
09/14 New York, NY @ Cake Shop (w/ Rahdunes)
09/19 Brooklyn, NY @ GlassLands
BONOBO
09/10 Vancouver, BC @ Lamplighter
09/12 Chicago, IL @ Sonotheque
09/14 New York, NY @ Pier 17
09/15 Long Island, NY @ Water Taxi Beach
CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA
09/12 Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
09/14 Los Angeles, CA @ El Ray Theatre
09/15 San Francisco, CA @ Bimbos 365 Club
09/16 Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theatre
09/17 Seattle, WA @ Neumos
09/18 Vancouver, BC @ Richards on Richards
09/22 Chicago, IL @ The Abbey Pub
09/23 Toronto, ON @ Phoenix
09/24 Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
09/25 Boston, MA @ Paradise
09/26 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
COLLEEN OPENING FOR BEIRUT
09/12 Dublin, IRE @ Spiegeltent
09/24 New York, NY @ Society for Ethical Culture (Wordless Music Series)
09/30 Montreal, Quebec @ La Sala Rossa
10/02 Toronto, Ontario @ Danforth Music Hall
10/04 Chicago, IL @ Portage Theater
10/08 San Francisco, CA @ Herbst Theater
10/09 San Francisco, CA @ Herbst Theater
10/10 Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon
10/11 Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon
DAMON & NAOMI WITH MICHIO KURIHARA ON TOUR WITH BORIS
09/30 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle (Adventures in Modern Music)
10/02 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
10/03 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
10/04 Pittsburgh, PA @ Kelly-Strayhorn Theater
10/05 Columbus, OH @ Wexner Center for the Arts
10/06 Milwaukee, WI @ Mad Planet
10/07 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock
10/10 Bellingham, WA @ Nightlight Lounge
10/11 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
10/14 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
10/15 Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
10/16 Phoenix, AZ @ The Brickhouse
10/18 San Antonio, TX @ The Ballroom
10/19 Austin, TX @ Scoot's Inn
10/20 Baton Rouge, LA @ The Spanish Moon
10/21 Birmingham, AL @ Bottle tree
10/22 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
10/23 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
10/24 Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
10/25 Charlottesville, VA @ Satellite Ballroom
10/26 Washington, DC @ Black Cat
10/27 Annandale-on-Hudson, NY @ Bard College
10/28 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
10/29 Boston, MA @ Middle East Downstairs
DEERHOOF
09/21 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
09/22 Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues
09/23 Tulsa, OK @ Cain's Ballroom
09/25 Nashville, TN @ City Hall
09/26 Covington, KY @ Madison Theatre
09/28 Toronto, ON @ Ricoh Coliseum
09/29 London, ON @ John Lambert Center
09/30 Pontiac, MI @ Eagle Theater
10/01 Madison, WI @ UW Memorial Union Rathskeller
10/02 Minneapolis, MN @ McGuire Theater at Walker Arts Center
10/04 Denver, CO @ Bluebird
10/06 Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
DENGUE FEVER
09/12 Los Angeles, CA @ MacArthur Park
09/15 San Francisco, CA @ Treasure Island
09/21 Albuquerque, NM @ National Hispanic Cultural Center
DIPLO
09/13 Dallas, TX @ Suite
09/14 Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club
09/15 Chicago, IL @ Metro
09/19 Portland, OR @ Holocene
09/20 Seattle, WA @ Neumos
09/21 Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
09/22 San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine
09/23 Vancouver, BC @ Plush Nightclub
10/05 New York, NY @ Hiro Ballroom
10/27 Rio de Janeiro, BRA @ Marina da Gloria
DROP THE LIME
09/12 Vancouver, BC @ Royal Unicorn Cabaret
09/13 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
09/14 San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine
09/15 Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
09/16 Riverside, CA @ Club Era
NANCY ELIZABETH
09/10 London, UK @ Bush Hall
09/22 Matlock Bath, UK @ The Fishpond
11/18 Lancaster, UK @ Yorkshire House
FERN KNIGHT
10/30 New York, New York @ MOMA - The Valerie Project
MICHAEL GIRA
09/14 New York NY @ Highline Ballroom (Record Release Show)
10/11 Brussels, BEL @ AB-club
10/12 Leuven, BEL @ STUK
10/13 Utrecht, NL @ Theater Kikker
10/14 Groningen, NL @ Vera
10/15 Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
10/16 Geneva, CH @ PTR - L'usine
10/17 Roma, IT @ Circolo degli Artisti
10/19 Hasselt, BEL @ KC Belgie (+ Boredoms)
10/20 Kortrijk, BEL @ Sonic City Festival (w/Boredoms & Deerhoof)
10/21 Coventry, UK @ Taylor John's House
10/22 Manchester, UK @ Academy (w/Boredoms)
10/23 Glasgow, UK @ Arches (w/Boredoms)
10/24 Aberdeen, UK @ The Lemon Tree (w/Boredoms)
10/26 London, UK @ Shoreditch Town Hall (The Wire/Electra festival)
10/27 London, UK @ Monto Water Rats
GOJOGO
09/15 San Francisco, CA @ Victoria Theatre (Galaxia Sampler 2)
TOMMY GUERRERO
09/15 San Francisco, CA @ Victoria Theatre (Galaxia Sampler 2)
DANIEL HIGGS
09/13 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop (w/ OM)
09/15 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle (w/OM)
HOWLIN RAIN OPENING FOR QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
09/15 Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
09/16 Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues
09/19 Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House Of Blues
09/20 Tallahassee, FL @ The Moon
09/21 Jacksonville, FL @ Plush
09/22 Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
09/24 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
09/25 Norfolk, VA @ The Norva
09/26 Baltimore, MD @ Ram's Head Live
09/28 Pittsburgh, PA @ Carnegie Music Hall
09/29 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
JANA HUNTER OPENING FOR DEVENDRA BANHART
10/04 Nashville, TN @ City Hall
10/06 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
10/07 Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
KID KOALA
09/15 Montréal, QC @ Club Soda
NYLES LANNON
09/18 Seattle, WA @ Sunset Room with the Lucksmiths
09/20 Portland, OR @ Tonic
09/21 Bellingham, WA @ Nightlight
09/22 Yakima WA @ Yakima Sports Center
09/24 Sacramento, CA @ Club Pow
09/26 San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern (Record release show)
10/24 San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
LESBIAN
09/14 Seattle, WA @ Comet Tavern
09/15 Portland, OR @ Satyricon w/Grayceon
09/28 Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
11/02 Portland ME Geno's
11/03 Boston, MA@ O'Brien's Pub
11/04 Wallingford, CT @ Cherry Street Bar (early show)
11/05 Brooklyn, NY @ Luna Lounge
11/07 Baltimore, MD @ Talking Head Club
11/08 Richmond VA @ Gallery 5
11/09 New York, NY @ Tap Bar at Knitting Factory
MALCOLM MIDDLETON
09/16 Dorset, UK @ End Of The Road Festival
12/07 Minehead, UK @ ATP
MURCOF
09/21 Nantes, FR @ Scopitone Festival
09/29 Utrecht, NL @ Theatre Kikker (InterZone Ambient Festival)
10/04 London, UK @ Planetarium
10/18 Rennes, FR @ Electroni-k Festival
10/20 Reims, FR @ Electricity Festival
10/24 Graz, AUT @ Elevate Festival
10/26 Basel, SCHE @ Dreispitz (Shift Festival)
11/17 Brno, CZE @ Club Fleda
NUMBERS
09/10 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland
09/11 Buffalo, NY @ Soundlab
09/12 Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dee's
09/13 Montreal, QC @ Zoo Bizarre
09/14 Jamaica Plain, MA @ Milky Way
09/15 New York, NY @ The Tank
09/28 Portland, OR @ Someday Lounge
09/29 Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
10/01 Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
10/02 Denver, CO @ The Hi-Dive
10/03 Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar
10/04 Dallas, TX @ The Public Trust
10/05 Houston, TX @ Rudyard's Pub
10/06 Austin, TX @ Mohawk
10/08 Flagstaff, AZ @ Eleven Eleven
10/09 Phoenix, AZ @ Modified Arts
10/11 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
10/12 North Hollywood, CA @ The Smell
THE OCTOPUS PROJECT
09/13 Chicago, IL @ Metro
09/15 Madison, WI @ Barrymore Theater
09/15 Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theatre
09/16 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
09/18 Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
09/19 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
09/21 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
09/22 Providence, RI @ Living Room
09/23 Cambridge, MA @The Middle East
09/25 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse
09/26 Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
10/04 Houston, TX @ Numbers
10/08 Orlando, FL @ Back Booth
10/09 Delray Beach, FL @ City Limits
10/10 Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
10/11 Atlanta, GA @ The Drunken Unicorn
10/12 Knoxville, TN @ The Pilot Light
10/13 Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone
10/14 Durham, NC @ Duke University
10/15 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
10/16 Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
10/17 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's
10/18 New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom (Kork Agency CMJ Showcase)
10/20 Boston, MA @ Great Scott
10/21 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa
10/22 Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dee's
10/23 Buffalo, NY @ Soundlab
10/25 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
10/26 Chicago, IL @ The Abbey
10/27 Chicago, IL @ The Abbey
10/29 Minneapolis, MN @ The 7th Street Entry
10/30 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
10/31 Norman, OK @ Opolis
OM
09/13 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
09/14 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
09/15 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle (w/Daniel Higgs)
09/16 Newport, KY @ Southgate House
09/19 Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
09/20 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
09/21 Oklahoma City, OK @ Bricktown Live
09/22 Dallas, TX @ Palladium Ballroom
09/23 Austin, TX @ Emo's
POP LEVI
10/06 Los Angeles, CA @ LA Weekly's Detour Festival
PORT O'BRIEN
09/12 Bristol, UK @ Thekla
09/13 Cardiff, UK @ The Point
09/14 Southampton, UK @ Joiners
09/16 Dorset, UK @ End of the Road Festival
09/23 Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre (w/Bright Eyes)
09/24 Chico, CA @ Senator Theatre (w/Bright Eyes)
09/26 Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
10/10 San Diego, CA @ Casbah (w/Rogue Wave)
10/11 Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey (w/Rogue Wave)
10/12 San Francisco, CA @ Bimbos 365 (w/Rogue Wave)
10/15 Portland, OR @ Wonderland Ballroom (w/Rogue Wave)
10/16 Seattle, WA @ Nuemos (w/Rogue Wave)
10/19 Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre (w/Rogue Wave)
10/20 Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck (w/Rogue Wave)
10/21 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room (w/Rogue Wave)
10/23 Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar (w/Rogue Wave)
10/24 Chicago, IL @ Double Door (w/Rogue Wave)
10/26 Toronto, ON @ Mod Club (w/Rogue Wave)
10/27 Montreal, QC @ Cabaret Music Club (w/Rogue Wave)
10/29 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall (w/Rogue Wave)
10/30 Boston, MA @ The Paradise (w/Rogue Wave)
JAY REATARD
09/27 Memphis, TN @ Goner Fest IV
09/28 Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge
09/29 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
09/30 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
10/02 Chicago, IL @ The Note
10/03 Detroit, MI @ Lager house
10/05 Toronto, ON @ Silver Dollar
10/06 Montreal, QC @ Pop Fest
10/07 Somerville, MA @ PA's Lounge
10/09 New Haven, CT @ Cafe Nine
10/10 New York, NY @ Cake Shop
10/11 Brooklyn, NY @ Don Pedro's
10/13 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's
10/15 Atlanta, GA @ Lenny's
10/31 Austin, TX @ Beerland
11/01 Austin, TX @ Beerland
11/16 San Francisco, CA @ 12 Galaxies
RIO EN MEDIO OPENING FOR DEVENDRA BANHART
09/10 Denver @ Ogden Theater (Native American benefit)
09/12 Omaha @ Sokol Auditorium
09/13 Lawrence @ Liberty Hall Theater
09/15 Minneapolis @ First Avenue
09/16 Milwaukee @ Pabst Theater
JACK ROSE
09/14 Haverford, PA @ Haverford College
09/16 New Haven, CT @ Bar
09/17 Florence, MA @ Ecstatic Yod
09/18 Saranac, NY @ Bluessed Studios
09/19 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rosa
09/21 Detroit, MI @ National Bohemian Home
09/23 Duluth, MN @ Pizza Luce
09/24 St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
09/25 Iowa City, IA @ Picador
09/27 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
09/28 Cleveland, OH @ Parish Hall
09/29 Buffalo, NY @ Soundlab
09/30 Syracuse, NY @ La Cena
10/01 Bennington, VT @ Bennington College
SIXTOO
09/19 Quebec, QC @ Grand Salon de l'Universite Laval
09/21 London, ON @ LOLA Outdoor Stage
SOLE AND THE SKYRIDER BAND
10/20 Halifax, NS @ Halifax Pop Explosion Festival
10/25 Los Angeles, CA & Knitting Factory
10/27 San Francisco, CA @Bottom Of The Hill
11/01 New York, NY @ Knitting Factory
SONIC YOUTH
10/05 Austin, TX @ Stubbs BBQ
10/06 Marfa, TX @ Thunderbird Hotel- Chinati Open House Weekend
10/07 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
SPANK ROCK
09/29 Los Angeles, CA @ Neighborhood Festival
10/27 Rio De Janeiro, BRA @ Marina da Gloria
10/28 Sao Paulo, BRA @ Anhembi Sumba Drum
SUISHOU NO FUNE
09/14 Los Angeles, CA @ The Smell
09/15 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill (w/Wooden Shjips)
09/16 Davis, CA @ KDVS (live set @ 2PM)
09/16 Davis, CA @ Delta of Venus (w/Wooden Shjips)
09/19 Minneapolis, MN @ Turf Club
09/20 Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
09/25 Boston, MA @ PA's Lounge
09/26 Providence, RI @ AS220
09/28 Washington DC, @ Velvet Lounge
09/29 Charlottesville, @ Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
10/01 Pittsburgh, PA @ Gooski's
10/03 Louisville, KY @ Pour Haus
10/04 St. Louis, MO, @ Spooky Action Palace
10/08 Austin, TX @ Emo's w/ST37
10/12 Phoenix, AZ @ Trunk Space
VETIVER OPENING FOR THE SHINS
10/17 Atlanta, GA @ Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center
10/18 Charleston, SC @ The Plex
10/19 Raleigh, NC @ Progress Energy Center (Raleigh Memorial Auditorium)
10/20 Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
10/22 Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
10/23 New York, NY @ Terminal Five
10/24 New York, NY @ Terminal Five
WOODEN SHJIPS
09/15 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill (w/Suishou no Fune)
09/16 Davis, CA @ Delta of Venus (w/Suishou no Fune)
09/10 Sarasota, FL @ New College of Florida
09/11 Orlando, FL @ Back Booth
09/12 Tallahassee, FL @ Downunder Club @ FSU
09/13 Birmingham, AL @ Bottle Tree
09/14 Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theater
09/15 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
09/17 Raleigh, NC @ Pour Haus
09/18 Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
09/19 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
09/21 Columbus, OH @ Wexner Center for Arts at OSU
09/22 London, ON @ LOLA Festival
09/23 Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace
09/25 Guelph, ON @ Vinyl
09/26 Ottawa, ON @ Barrymore's Music Hall
09/27 Burlington, VT @ Club Metronome
09/28 Boston, MA @ Harper's Ferry
09/30 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
10/10 Palo Alto, CA @ Stanford University
10/11 San Francisco, CA @ Independent
10/12 Hollywood, CA @ The Troubadour
10/13 Big Sur, CA @ Fernwood Resort
10/18 Vancouver, BC @ Richards on Richards
10/19 Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Cafe
10/20 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
KYLE ANDREWS
09/15 Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
09/25 Charlotte, NC @ Evening Muse
09/26 Vienna, VA @ Jammin Java
09/27 Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head Tavern
09/30 Philadelphia, PA @ Tin Angel
11/22 Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
GREG ASHLEY
09/15 Berkeley, CA @ Missouri Lounge
MATTEAH BAIM OPENING FOR DEVENDRA BANHART
09/18 Chicago, IL @ Portage Theater
09/19 Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theater
09/21 Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
09/22 Montreal, QC @ Theatre National
09/23 Burlington, VT @ U of VT Davis Center Grand Ballroom
09/25 Boston, MA @ Roxy Ballroom
09/27 New York, NY @ Grand Ballroom
09/29 Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of living arts
10/01 Washington, DC @ Sixth and I Historic Synagogue
DEVENDRA BANHART
09/10 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theater (Native American benefit w/ Rio En Medio)
09/12 Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium (w/ Rio En Medio)
09/13 Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall Theater (w/ Rio En Medio)
09/15 Minneapolis, NM @ First Avenue (w/ Rio En Medio)
09/16 Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater (w/ Rio En Medio)
09/18 Chicago, IL @ Portage Theater (w/Matteah Baim)
09/19 Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theater (w/Matteah Baim)
09/21 Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall (w/Matteah Baim)
09/22 Montreal, QC @ Theatre National (w/Matteah Baim)
09/23 Burlington, VT @ U of VT Davis Center Grand Ballroom (w/Matteah Baim)
09/25 Boston, MA @ Roxy Ballroom (w/Matteah Baim)
09/27 New York, NY @ Grand Ballroom (w/Matteah Baim)
09/29 Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of living arts (w/Matteah Baim)
10/01 Washington, DC @ Sixth and I Historic Synagogue (w/Matteah Baim)
10/04 Nashville, TN @ City Hall (w/ Jana Hunter)
10/06 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater (w/ Jana Hunter)
10/07 Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa (w/ Jana Hunter)
10/09 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater (Native American benefit)
10/10 Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theater
10/12 Phoenix, AZ @ Marquee Theater
10/13 Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum
RAY BARBEE WITH THE MATTSON 2
09/15 San Francisco, CA @ Victoria Theatre (Galaxia Sampler 2)
BEIRUT
09/24 New York, NY @ Society for Ethical Culture (Wordless Music Series w/ Colleen)
09/26 New York, NY @ Delacorte Theater (w/ Colleen)
09/30 Montreal, Quebec @ La Sala Rossa (w/ Colleen)
10/02 Toronto, Ontario @ Danforth Music Hall (w/ Colleen)
10/04 Chicago, IL @ Portage Theater (w/ Colleen)
10/08 San Francisco, CA @ Herbst Theater (w/ Colleen)
10/09 San Francisco, CA @ Herbst Theater (w/ Colleen)
10/10 Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon (w/ Colleen)
10/11 Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon (w/ Colleen)
BLOCKHEAD ON TOUR WITH ASOP ROCK
09/10 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
09/11 Pittsburgh, PA @ Rex Theatre
09/13 Chicago, IL @ Metro
09/14 Madison, WI @ Barrymore
09/15 Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theatre
09/16 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
09/19 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
09/21 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
09/22 Providence, RI @ Living Room
09/23 Boston, MA @ Middle East
09/25 Northhampton, MA @ Iron Horse
09/26 Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
10/10 San Francisco, CA @ Filmore
10/12 Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Fonda Theatre
10/13 Phoenix, AZ @ Clubhouse
10/15 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
10/16 Durango, CO @ Abbey Theater
10/18 Denver, CO @ Cervantes
10/19 Boulder, CO @ Fox Theater
10/20 Ft. Collins, CO @ Aggie Theater
10/22 Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
10/25 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
10/26 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
10/27 Bellingham, WA @ Nightlight
10/28 Seattle, WA @ Showbox
10/30 Eugene, OR @ Wow Hall
11/07 Ashville NC @ Orange Peel
11/09 Orlando, FL @ Club Firestone
11/10 Miami, FL @ Studio A
11/12 New Orleans, LA @ House Of Blues
11/13 Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
11/15 Dallas, TX @ The Loft
11/16 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
11/17 Austin, TX @ Emo's
11/19 Nashville, TN @ Exit In
BLUES CONTROL
09/13 Annandale-on-Hudson, NY @ Bard College (w/Rahdunes)
09/14 New York, NY @ Cake Shop (w/ Rahdunes)
09/19 Brooklyn, NY @ GlassLands
BONOBO
09/10 Vancouver, BC @ Lamplighter
09/12 Chicago, IL @ Sonotheque
09/14 New York, NY @ Pier 17
09/15 Long Island, NY @ Water Taxi Beach
CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA
09/12 Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
09/14 Los Angeles, CA @ El Ray Theatre
09/15 San Francisco, CA @ Bimbos 365 Club
09/16 Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theatre
09/17 Seattle, WA @ Neumos
09/18 Vancouver, BC @ Richards on Richards
09/22 Chicago, IL @ The Abbey Pub
09/23 Toronto, ON @ Phoenix
09/24 Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
09/25 Boston, MA @ Paradise
09/26 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
COLLEEN OPENING FOR BEIRUT
09/12 Dublin, IRE @ Spiegeltent
09/24 New York, NY @ Society for Ethical Culture (Wordless Music Series)
09/30 Montreal, Quebec @ La Sala Rossa
10/02 Toronto, Ontario @ Danforth Music Hall
10/04 Chicago, IL @ Portage Theater
10/08 San Francisco, CA @ Herbst Theater
10/09 San Francisco, CA @ Herbst Theater
10/10 Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon
10/11 Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon
DAMON & NAOMI WITH MICHIO KURIHARA ON TOUR WITH BORIS
09/30 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle (Adventures in Modern Music)
10/02 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
10/03 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
10/04 Pittsburgh, PA @ Kelly-Strayhorn Theater
10/05 Columbus, OH @ Wexner Center for the Arts
10/06 Milwaukee, WI @ Mad Planet
10/07 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock
10/10 Bellingham, WA @ Nightlight Lounge
10/11 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
10/14 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
10/15 Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
10/16 Phoenix, AZ @ The Brickhouse
10/18 San Antonio, TX @ The Ballroom
10/19 Austin, TX @ Scoot's Inn
10/20 Baton Rouge, LA @ The Spanish Moon
10/21 Birmingham, AL @ Bottle tree
10/22 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
10/23 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
10/24 Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
10/25 Charlottesville, VA @ Satellite Ballroom
10/26 Washington, DC @ Black Cat
10/27 Annandale-on-Hudson, NY @ Bard College
10/28 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
10/29 Boston, MA @ Middle East Downstairs
DEERHOOF
09/21 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
09/22 Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues
09/23 Tulsa, OK @ Cain's Ballroom
09/25 Nashville, TN @ City Hall
09/26 Covington, KY @ Madison Theatre
09/28 Toronto, ON @ Ricoh Coliseum
09/29 London, ON @ John Lambert Center
09/30 Pontiac, MI @ Eagle Theater
10/01 Madison, WI @ UW Memorial Union Rathskeller
10/02 Minneapolis, MN @ McGuire Theater at Walker Arts Center
10/04 Denver, CO @ Bluebird
10/06 Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
DENGUE FEVER
09/12 Los Angeles, CA @ MacArthur Park
09/15 San Francisco, CA @ Treasure Island
09/21 Albuquerque, NM @ National Hispanic Cultural Center
DIPLO
09/13 Dallas, TX @ Suite
09/14 Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club
09/15 Chicago, IL @ Metro
09/19 Portland, OR @ Holocene
09/20 Seattle, WA @ Neumos
09/21 Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
09/22 San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine
09/23 Vancouver, BC @ Plush Nightclub
10/05 New York, NY @ Hiro Ballroom
10/27 Rio de Janeiro, BRA @ Marina da Gloria
DROP THE LIME
09/12 Vancouver, BC @ Royal Unicorn Cabaret
09/13 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
09/14 San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine
09/15 Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
09/16 Riverside, CA @ Club Era
NANCY ELIZABETH
09/10 London, UK @ Bush Hall
09/22 Matlock Bath, UK @ The Fishpond
11/18 Lancaster, UK @ Yorkshire House
FERN KNIGHT
10/30 New York, New York @ MOMA - The Valerie Project
MICHAEL GIRA
09/14 New York NY @ Highline Ballroom (Record Release Show)
10/11 Brussels, BEL @ AB-club
10/12 Leuven, BEL @ STUK
10/13 Utrecht, NL @ Theater Kikker
10/14 Groningen, NL @ Vera
10/15 Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
10/16 Geneva, CH @ PTR - L'usine
10/17 Roma, IT @ Circolo degli Artisti
10/19 Hasselt, BEL @ KC Belgie (+ Boredoms)
10/20 Kortrijk, BEL @ Sonic City Festival (w/Boredoms & Deerhoof)
10/21 Coventry, UK @ Taylor John's House
10/22 Manchester, UK @ Academy (w/Boredoms)
10/23 Glasgow, UK @ Arches (w/Boredoms)
10/24 Aberdeen, UK @ The Lemon Tree (w/Boredoms)
10/26 London, UK @ Shoreditch Town Hall (The Wire/Electra festival)
10/27 London, UK @ Monto Water Rats
GOJOGO
09/15 San Francisco, CA @ Victoria Theatre (Galaxia Sampler 2)
TOMMY GUERRERO
09/15 San Francisco, CA @ Victoria Theatre (Galaxia Sampler 2)
DANIEL HIGGS
09/13 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop (w/ OM)
09/15 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle (w/OM)
HOWLIN RAIN OPENING FOR QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
09/15 Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
09/16 Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues
09/19 Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House Of Blues
09/20 Tallahassee, FL @ The Moon
09/21 Jacksonville, FL @ Plush
09/22 Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
09/24 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
09/25 Norfolk, VA @ The Norva
09/26 Baltimore, MD @ Ram's Head Live
09/28 Pittsburgh, PA @ Carnegie Music Hall
09/29 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
JANA HUNTER OPENING FOR DEVENDRA BANHART
10/04 Nashville, TN @ City Hall
10/06 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
10/07 Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
KID KOALA
09/15 Montréal, QC @ Club Soda
NYLES LANNON
09/18 Seattle, WA @ Sunset Room with the Lucksmiths
09/20 Portland, OR @ Tonic
09/21 Bellingham, WA @ Nightlight
09/22 Yakima WA @ Yakima Sports Center
09/24 Sacramento, CA @ Club Pow
09/26 San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern (Record release show)
10/24 San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
LESBIAN
09/14 Seattle, WA @ Comet Tavern
09/15 Portland, OR @ Satyricon w/Grayceon
09/28 Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
11/02 Portland ME Geno's
11/03 Boston, MA@ O'Brien's Pub
11/04 Wallingford, CT @ Cherry Street Bar (early show)
11/05 Brooklyn, NY @ Luna Lounge
11/07 Baltimore, MD @ Talking Head Club
11/08 Richmond VA @ Gallery 5
11/09 New York, NY @ Tap Bar at Knitting Factory
MALCOLM MIDDLETON
09/16 Dorset, UK @ End Of The Road Festival
12/07 Minehead, UK @ ATP
MURCOF
09/21 Nantes, FR @ Scopitone Festival
09/29 Utrecht, NL @ Theatre Kikker (InterZone Ambient Festival)
10/04 London, UK @ Planetarium
10/18 Rennes, FR @ Electroni-k Festival
10/20 Reims, FR @ Electricity Festival
10/24 Graz, AUT @ Elevate Festival
10/26 Basel, SCHE @ Dreispitz (Shift Festival)
11/17 Brno, CZE @ Club Fleda
NUMBERS
09/10 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland
09/11 Buffalo, NY @ Soundlab
09/12 Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dee's
09/13 Montreal, QC @ Zoo Bizarre
09/14 Jamaica Plain, MA @ Milky Way
09/15 New York, NY @ The Tank
09/28 Portland, OR @ Someday Lounge
09/29 Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
10/01 Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
10/02 Denver, CO @ The Hi-Dive
10/03 Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar
10/04 Dallas, TX @ The Public Trust
10/05 Houston, TX @ Rudyard's Pub
10/06 Austin, TX @ Mohawk
10/08 Flagstaff, AZ @ Eleven Eleven
10/09 Phoenix, AZ @ Modified Arts
10/11 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
10/12 North Hollywood, CA @ The Smell
THE OCTOPUS PROJECT
09/13 Chicago, IL @ Metro
09/15 Madison, WI @ Barrymore Theater
09/15 Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theatre
09/16 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
09/18 Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
09/19 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
09/21 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
09/22 Providence, RI @ Living Room
09/23 Cambridge, MA @The Middle East
09/25 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse
09/26 Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
10/04 Houston, TX @ Numbers
10/08 Orlando, FL @ Back Booth
10/09 Delray Beach, FL @ City Limits
10/10 Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
10/11 Atlanta, GA @ The Drunken Unicorn
10/12 Knoxville, TN @ The Pilot Light
10/13 Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone
10/14 Durham, NC @ Duke University
10/15 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
10/16 Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
10/17 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's
10/18 New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom (Kork Agency CMJ Showcase)
10/20 Boston, MA @ Great Scott
10/21 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa
10/22 Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dee's
10/23 Buffalo, NY @ Soundlab
10/25 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
10/26 Chicago, IL @ The Abbey
10/27 Chicago, IL @ The Abbey
10/29 Minneapolis, MN @ The 7th Street Entry
10/30 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
10/31 Norman, OK @ Opolis
OM
09/13 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
09/14 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
09/15 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle (w/Daniel Higgs)
09/16 Newport, KY @ Southgate House
09/19 Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
09/20 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
09/21 Oklahoma City, OK @ Bricktown Live
09/22 Dallas, TX @ Palladium Ballroom
09/23 Austin, TX @ Emo's
POP LEVI
10/06 Los Angeles, CA @ LA Weekly's Detour Festival
PORT O'BRIEN
09/12 Bristol, UK @ Thekla
09/13 Cardiff, UK @ The Point
09/14 Southampton, UK @ Joiners
09/16 Dorset, UK @ End of the Road Festival
09/23 Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre (w/Bright Eyes)
09/24 Chico, CA @ Senator Theatre (w/Bright Eyes)
09/26 Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
10/10 San Diego, CA @ Casbah (w/Rogue Wave)
10/11 Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey (w/Rogue Wave)
10/12 San Francisco, CA @ Bimbos 365 (w/Rogue Wave)
10/15 Portland, OR @ Wonderland Ballroom (w/Rogue Wave)
10/16 Seattle, WA @ Nuemos (w/Rogue Wave)
10/19 Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre (w/Rogue Wave)
10/20 Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck (w/Rogue Wave)
10/21 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room (w/Rogue Wave)
10/23 Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar (w/Rogue Wave)
10/24 Chicago, IL @ Double Door (w/Rogue Wave)
10/26 Toronto, ON @ Mod Club (w/Rogue Wave)
10/27 Montreal, QC @ Cabaret Music Club (w/Rogue Wave)
10/29 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall (w/Rogue Wave)
10/30 Boston, MA @ The Paradise (w/Rogue Wave)
JAY REATARD
09/27 Memphis, TN @ Goner Fest IV
09/28 Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge
09/29 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
09/30 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
10/02 Chicago, IL @ The Note
10/03 Detroit, MI @ Lager house
10/05 Toronto, ON @ Silver Dollar
10/06 Montreal, QC @ Pop Fest
10/07 Somerville, MA @ PA's Lounge
10/09 New Haven, CT @ Cafe Nine
10/10 New York, NY @ Cake Shop
10/11 Brooklyn, NY @ Don Pedro's
10/13 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's
10/15 Atlanta, GA @ Lenny's
10/31 Austin, TX @ Beerland
11/01 Austin, TX @ Beerland
11/16 San Francisco, CA @ 12 Galaxies
RIO EN MEDIO OPENING FOR DEVENDRA BANHART
09/10 Denver @ Ogden Theater (Native American benefit)
09/12 Omaha @ Sokol Auditorium
09/13 Lawrence @ Liberty Hall Theater
09/15 Minneapolis @ First Avenue
09/16 Milwaukee @ Pabst Theater
JACK ROSE
09/14 Haverford, PA @ Haverford College
09/16 New Haven, CT @ Bar
09/17 Florence, MA @ Ecstatic Yod
09/18 Saranac, NY @ Bluessed Studios
09/19 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rosa
09/21 Detroit, MI @ National Bohemian Home
09/23 Duluth, MN @ Pizza Luce
09/24 St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
09/25 Iowa City, IA @ Picador
09/27 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
09/28 Cleveland, OH @ Parish Hall
09/29 Buffalo, NY @ Soundlab
09/30 Syracuse, NY @ La Cena
10/01 Bennington, VT @ Bennington College
SIXTOO
09/19 Quebec, QC @ Grand Salon de l'Universite Laval
09/21 London, ON @ LOLA Outdoor Stage
SOLE AND THE SKYRIDER BAND
10/20 Halifax, NS @ Halifax Pop Explosion Festival
10/25 Los Angeles, CA & Knitting Factory
10/27 San Francisco, CA @Bottom Of The Hill
11/01 New York, NY @ Knitting Factory
SONIC YOUTH
10/05 Austin, TX @ Stubbs BBQ
10/06 Marfa, TX @ Thunderbird Hotel- Chinati Open House Weekend
10/07 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
SPANK ROCK
09/29 Los Angeles, CA @ Neighborhood Festival
10/27 Rio De Janeiro, BRA @ Marina da Gloria
10/28 Sao Paulo, BRA @ Anhembi Sumba Drum
SUISHOU NO FUNE
09/14 Los Angeles, CA @ The Smell
09/15 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill (w/Wooden Shjips)
09/16 Davis, CA @ KDVS (live set @ 2PM)
09/16 Davis, CA @ Delta of Venus (w/Wooden Shjips)
09/19 Minneapolis, MN @ Turf Club
09/20 Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
09/25 Boston, MA @ PA's Lounge
09/26 Providence, RI @ AS220
09/28 Washington DC, @ Velvet Lounge
09/29 Charlottesville, @ Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
10/01 Pittsburgh, PA @ Gooski's
10/03 Louisville, KY @ Pour Haus
10/04 St. Louis, MO, @ Spooky Action Palace
10/08 Austin, TX @ Emo's w/ST37
10/12 Phoenix, AZ @ Trunk Space
VETIVER OPENING FOR THE SHINS
10/17 Atlanta, GA @ Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center
10/18 Charleston, SC @ The Plex
10/19 Raleigh, NC @ Progress Energy Center (Raleigh Memorial Auditorium)
10/20 Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
10/22 Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
10/23 New York, NY @ Terminal Five
10/24 New York, NY @ Terminal Five
WOODEN SHJIPS
09/15 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill (w/Suishou no Fune)
09/16 Davis, CA @ Delta of Venus (w/Suishou no Fune)
Friday, September 07, 2007
µ-Ziq Review In Popmatters
µ-ZiqDuntisbourne Abbots Soulmate Devastation Technique
Planet-Mu)
by Nate Dorr
Online review
Oh, hindsight. When µ-Ziq's last album, Bilious Paths, came out four years ago, I found myself decrying its apparent focus on heavy processing and spastic rhythmic overload. µ-Ziq's Mike Paradinas had always distinguished himself from his contemporaries among the '90s IDM pioneers on the strength of his melodies, layered and majestic, whereas the new album buried them in rapid drum edits and noisy effects tweaking. Suddenly Paradinas seemed to be edging into the DSP-breakcore oeuvre already well tracked by the likes of Hrvatski and Venetian Snares, perhaps fittingly both signed to Paradinas' own Planet-µ label. Hardly a concession to pop success, given the decidedly cult popularity of such cataclysmic percussion, but it seemed an odd bit of band-wagoning, especially considering that the sell-by date of the DSP-era seemed to be rapidly approaching. Digital signal processing, mainstay of the turn-of-the-century crop of new electronic producers like Kid 606 bent on breaking their loops as completely as possible, wasn't nearly as fresh and exhilarating as it once was, and suspicions that it was more or less a clever gimmick were gaining weight.
Within a couple years, though, Bilious Paths seemed less a late-race genre-jump and more simply one of many strong statements of a vibrant era of electronic music. What's more, Paradinas' signature melodies were by no means gone, just simplified slightly and worked tightly into his ever-shifting weave of fractured snare rushes, spastic sampling, and jolts of noise and unexpected syncopation. Surely, musical stasis would have been much more regrettable than a (borrowed) new direction that took some getting used to.
The latest µ-Ziq effort, Duntisbourne Abbots Soulmate Devastation Technique (I have to wonder about the derivation of that title, and the macabrely surreal motor accident in the art) further drives this point home. Here we have it: a full-fledged return to melodic focus, drums scaled back into mainly lock-step loops that serve as a framework for woozy synth arrangements—that now feel entirely oversimplified and underwhelming. It doesn't help that these melodies rarely possess the clarity or elegance of older µ-Ziq arrangements, instead settling on queasy, slippery detuning and dissonance. The notes sit against eachother uneasily, reverb washing each phrase over the next in stomach-turning waves, as warbled snatches of voice cough and gibber with obscure menace. 1999's The Royal Astronomy seemed to capture a sort of ersatz, mechanical utopia; Duntisbourne Abbots... is a distinctly organic sort of dystopia, a soundtrack for debilitating hang-overs, burst appendixes, and feverish dreams of oozing, animate organs sloshing together. Ultimately, the album comes off like an extensive exploration of the sensation of nausea.
This doesn't exactly make for a comfortable listening experience. Now, uncomfortable music can certainly have its place (consider claustrophobic Aphex Twin classic "Ventolin"), but here the feeling is almost unbroken and without respite. That is not to say that the disc is not entirely without its pleasures. Tracks like "Eggshell" present quintessential µ-Ziq synth melodies with an unadorned grace, recalling early work like Tango n' Vectif, and "Rise of the Salmon" actually makes excellent use of its simplified percussion to lend an insistent momentum to its symphony of squelching analogue melodies. These moments, however, are relatively few, and padded out with tracks that tend more towards dull oversimplification, or unpleasantness, or often both.
There will always exist a niche for "difficult" music, music that pushes at various conventions and beyond. Usually when we talk about difficult music, it's in reference to harsh noise, or minimal drone, or particularly vicious breakcore. Paradinas actually has done something interesting with this album, despite—well, actually because of—its unpleasantness. Duntisbourne Abbots... has the distinction of being the only difficult album I can think of defined not by sensory overload or abstraction, but by intelligible melodies that just refuse to be palatable, to sit properly in the gut for digestion. There's a sort of innovation in that, but it still can't make me want to listen.
RATING: 5/10
— 7 September 2007
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Galaxia SF Showcase!
When:
Saturday Sept. 15 @ 8 pm
Where:
Victoria Theatre, San Francisco, CA.
Who:
Tommy Guerrero
Ray Barbee with the Mattson 2
Gojogo
The Mumlers
The Photographic
Malcolm Middleton Review In Lost At Sea.
Malcolm MiddletonA Brighter Beat
Full Time Hobby
Rating: 7.8/10
Online review
So what should listeners expect when Malcolm Middleton, recently retired guitarist and co-miserabilist of the foul-mouthed duo Arab Strap, delivers an album entitled A Brighter Beat? Arab Strap's parting statement, The Last Romance, depicted multi-instrumentalist Middleton and vocalist Aidan Moffat retiring with the upbeat epilogue of "There Is No Ending." This culminating moment was a difficult one for those nestled in the comfort of a decade of Middleton and Moffat's long spoken-sung words of melancholy; it was also uplifting for those who awoke with the pair to realize that they too had finally seen the light of day.
A Brighter Beat, the follow-up to the Middleton's 2005 solo outing, Into The Woods, appears to be a clear continuation of the lingering Arab Strap mindset. The less-onerous title and the overtly optimistic cover-art (of a balloon drawn face nearly fixed into a smile, peeking out of the top of a bedcover) perhaps signals the arrival of a new Middleton. But don't let the signs mislead you; Middleton is in top form as his old self, meaning his songs are made up of the stuff of human relationships, or more precisely, the bonds that make us human. The album's opener, "We're All Going to Die," is a reminder that everlasting human connections are also the ones that leaves us most vulnerable. This realization is humbling, and although the songwriter has never been afraid to spill himself onto a song, here he makes the process more inclusive--something akin to group therapy for aging hipsters.
In most cases, listeners are able to characterize Middleton's solo material as upbeat music for sad people. "Fight Like the Night" is a prime example of what Middleton can do with a melody, a verse, and an appropriate niche. With monster riffs pulled straight out of the 1980s, ethereal female vocals, and down-to-earth like lyrics ("You can be my hero/ By not letting me down/ Not letting me down again/ And being around"), which are all set off by Middleton's deep Scottish brogue, "Fight Like the Night" welcomes itself as a grandly conceived original statement.
The title track is a perfect example of Middleton's seasoned upbeat, self-depricating charm. It features a guitar line meant for traveling, no less lively than a Widespread Panic jam, but with one exception: the lyrics are less about the singer's travels than they are about his departed lover's. "Now you've gone and left me/ And there's nothing here/ But dinner in my pocket/ And a fridge full of beer," Middleton sings in front of the jam-heavy rolling slideshow.
Much of A Brighter Beat is contradictory in nature. The album tracks often feature conflicting lyrical and melodic impulses. The most endearing track on the album is "Fuck It, I Love You," a minor scale composition made to document the singer's inner conflict. The song acts as an open-ended letter to a now-distant lover, one that shows discomfort on Middleton's part, but that tension makes it all the more sincere. He pleads "When are you coming home?/ When are you coming home?" in the midst of a nearly monotonous verse. And this is coming from a singer who on his last album lamented his broken heart while recognizing that without it, he would have nothing to sing about.
Middleton's most recent take on life is not quite as steeped in desperation as his previous efforts, and as such A Brighter Beat is revealing to his growth as a songwriter. He does fall back into old habits with "Four Cigarettes," a harrowing view of a relationship coming to an inevitable end; for a brief moment or two, time flits by, but Middleton is able to strike a balance that plays up the best of both Arab Strap worlds. The barrom bastards' faithfuls will find that with A Brighter Beat the intimacy is real, the sounds are soothing, and the merging of the two is complex--always reassuring.
Reviewed by Patrick Gill
More A Hawk And A Hacksaw Coverage On Pitchfork
A Hawk and a Hacksaw and the Hun Hangár Ensemble
A Hawk and a Hacksaw and the Hun Hangár Ensemble
[Leaf Label; 2007]
Rating: 7.3
There's a twinkle of lore in A Hawk and a Hacksaw and the Hun Hangár Ensemble, the limited edition, eight-track EP that follows A Hawk and a Hacksaw's best album to date, last year's The Way the Wind Blows. As the band puts it, they "walked into a music store in Budapest, Hungary and walked out with a score of four collaborators versed not only in Hungarian folk, but also...jazz and minimalism." Béla Ágoston, Zsolt Kürtösi, Ferenc Kovács, and Balázs Unger became the ad hoc Hun Hangár Ensemble, sharing their ancestral repertoire with Hacksaw's Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost and allowing the two younger musicians to add their own arrangements and ideas. Such obvious cultural immersion may sound disingenuous or self-serving, but it works here and on the accompanying tour diary DVD, finally allowing A Hawk and a Hacksaw the chance to bloom amid a parcel of the folk heritage from which they've long drawn.
A Hawk and a Hacksaw's growth has always been collaboration-dependent, so this EP, which takes the group's interest in Eastern European folk to more traditionally rooted depth, comes as little surprise. It actually feels natural in a reverse sort of way: The band's eponymous debut was all Barnes, the former Neutral Milk Hotel and Bright Eyes drummer. It was a hodgepodge of American and Eastern European folk-- parlor pianos, singing accordions, generous rhythms and rooster calls-- plied beneath experimentation with tape manipulation, vocal effects, and found sounds like telephone bells. Barnes had gone peripatetic by the second album, Darkness at Noon, dividing his time between his native New Mexico, England and Prague, picking up motifs and players along the way. Violinist and pianist Heather Trost was the one that stuck, joining Barnes for Darkness and The Way The Wind Blows. Those sessions somewhat foreshadowed the work with the Hun Hangár Ensemble, as Barnes traveled to the Romanian countryside to work with folk group Fanfare Ciocarlia. They accompanied Zach Condon on Beirut's Gulag Orkestar, too, and, though they went largely unrecognized for it, it was an indication that A Hawk and a Hacksaw was chipping back towards its source.
This latest collaboration excels in large part because it never tries to shoehorn a mood or sound into the pieces: It flows well, rocking back and forth between vibrant, danceable movements and somber, turgid instrumental numbers. The set's two horas-- a diverse class of Eastern European dances often associated with weddings-- reflect those poles. "Romanian Hora and Bulgar", recorded live last year, is spry, bells splashing out over the accordion's loping rhythm. Its second half is all frenzy, though, a heavy, exuberant, violin-led jump dashing to the audience's delight. But "Oriental Hora" shoots the same cadence through with a thick air of sobriety, a violin and viola doubling the melody until the rest of the band-- tuba, accordion, bouzouki, ukulele and Barnes' glockenspiel and steady foot percussion-- joins.
"Oriental Hora" is one of the EP's rare moments featuring more than a handful of instruments. Despite a core of six musicians and contributors including Zach Condon, the EP rarely attempts to impress with bulk sound or flashy parts. The best work here emphasizes quality not quantity, like the opening Trost composition, "Kiraly Siratás", a duet for bowed strings and the dulcimer-like cymbalom. The traditional Hungarian melodies of "Dudanotak" are played on the bagpipe by Ágoston, but Barnes lends a cantering boom-bap beat that's exuberant and charming. This music is older than both musicians, but in these hands it's got renewed swagger. Coming out of these spectacular sessions, it's more than reasonable to expect the same sort of reinvigorated vibrancy from A Hawk and a Hacksaw in the future.
-Grayson Currin, September 05, 2007
A Hawk and a Hacksaw and the Hun Hangár Ensemble
[Leaf Label; 2007]
Rating: 7.3
There's a twinkle of lore in A Hawk and a Hacksaw and the Hun Hangár Ensemble, the limited edition, eight-track EP that follows A Hawk and a Hacksaw's best album to date, last year's The Way the Wind Blows. As the band puts it, they "walked into a music store in Budapest, Hungary and walked out with a score of four collaborators versed not only in Hungarian folk, but also...jazz and minimalism." Béla Ágoston, Zsolt Kürtösi, Ferenc Kovács, and Balázs Unger became the ad hoc Hun Hangár Ensemble, sharing their ancestral repertoire with Hacksaw's Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost and allowing the two younger musicians to add their own arrangements and ideas. Such obvious cultural immersion may sound disingenuous or self-serving, but it works here and on the accompanying tour diary DVD, finally allowing A Hawk and a Hacksaw the chance to bloom amid a parcel of the folk heritage from which they've long drawn.
A Hawk and a Hacksaw's growth has always been collaboration-dependent, so this EP, which takes the group's interest in Eastern European folk to more traditionally rooted depth, comes as little surprise. It actually feels natural in a reverse sort of way: The band's eponymous debut was all Barnes, the former Neutral Milk Hotel and Bright Eyes drummer. It was a hodgepodge of American and Eastern European folk-- parlor pianos, singing accordions, generous rhythms and rooster calls-- plied beneath experimentation with tape manipulation, vocal effects, and found sounds like telephone bells. Barnes had gone peripatetic by the second album, Darkness at Noon, dividing his time between his native New Mexico, England and Prague, picking up motifs and players along the way. Violinist and pianist Heather Trost was the one that stuck, joining Barnes for Darkness and The Way The Wind Blows. Those sessions somewhat foreshadowed the work with the Hun Hangár Ensemble, as Barnes traveled to the Romanian countryside to work with folk group Fanfare Ciocarlia. They accompanied Zach Condon on Beirut's Gulag Orkestar, too, and, though they went largely unrecognized for it, it was an indication that A Hawk and a Hacksaw was chipping back towards its source.
This latest collaboration excels in large part because it never tries to shoehorn a mood or sound into the pieces: It flows well, rocking back and forth between vibrant, danceable movements and somber, turgid instrumental numbers. The set's two horas-- a diverse class of Eastern European dances often associated with weddings-- reflect those poles. "Romanian Hora and Bulgar", recorded live last year, is spry, bells splashing out over the accordion's loping rhythm. Its second half is all frenzy, though, a heavy, exuberant, violin-led jump dashing to the audience's delight. But "Oriental Hora" shoots the same cadence through with a thick air of sobriety, a violin and viola doubling the melody until the rest of the band-- tuba, accordion, bouzouki, ukulele and Barnes' glockenspiel and steady foot percussion-- joins.
"Oriental Hora" is one of the EP's rare moments featuring more than a handful of instruments. Despite a core of six musicians and contributors including Zach Condon, the EP rarely attempts to impress with bulk sound or flashy parts. The best work here emphasizes quality not quantity, like the opening Trost composition, "Kiraly Siratás", a duet for bowed strings and the dulcimer-like cymbalom. The traditional Hungarian melodies of "Dudanotak" are played on the bagpipe by Ágoston, but Barnes lends a cantering boom-bap beat that's exuberant and charming. This music is older than both musicians, but in these hands it's got renewed swagger. Coming out of these spectacular sessions, it's more than reasonable to expect the same sort of reinvigorated vibrancy from A Hawk and a Hacksaw in the future.
-Grayson Currin, September 05, 2007
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