March 2008 Archives
Four dates announced on the West Coast.
26/8/08: Seattle, WA - WaMu Theater - Pre-Sale tickets on sale 4/1/08 @ 10AM PST until 4/3/08 @ 10PM PST. Tickets on general sale 4/4/08 @ 12PM PST available from Ticketmaster & Qwest Field Box Office.
27/8/08: Vancouver, BC - GM Place - Pre-Sale tickets on sale 4/1/08 @ 10AM PST until 4/3/08 @ 10PM PST. Tickets on general sale 4/4/08 @ 10AM PST available from Ticketmaster & GM Place Box Office.
29/8/08: Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place - Pre-Sale tickets on sale 4/1/08 @ 10AM MST until 4/3/08 @ 5PM MST. Tickets on general sale 4/4/08 @ 10AM MST available from Ticketmaster & Rexall Place Box Office.
30/8/08: Calgary, AB - Pengrowth Saddledome - Pre-Sale tickets on sale 4/1/08 @ 10AM MST until 4/3/08 @ 10PM MST. Tickets on general sale 4/4/08 @ 10AM MST available from Ticketmaster & Pengrowth Saddledome Box Office.
Not road trip worthy, although I wonder who gets to play Wonderwall?
Quite the weekend. Kite Festival, Cherry Blossoms, fighting the tourist crowds, catching Stephen Malkmus and John Vanderslice at the 9:30 Club, watching Kansas run the same play all game against Davidson and almost blow it. I picked them to win the whole thing, but I think now, if they do win, it will be in spite of Bill Self.
"I think in the last five years or so there's been a rather ominous silence," said Jonathon Keats, a San Francisco critic and artist who admires Ellis' work. "It seems like Ellis has never been given the benefit of a test of time. He's gone from being poster boy for everything extreme to a name that's quaintly nostalgic -- a moment from the past."
But talk to some of the more serious writers of his generation and a different picture emerges.Many see him as an overlooked figure, one whose literary heft grows with time. It may be that like a lot of things that emerge from California, the style and vision of Ellis' work creates problems for East Coast intellectuals, but will become as enduring as psychedelia, surfing, the hard-boiled novel or fast food.
[via goldenfiddle]
What's more, the new starting times for the Saturday region finals, 6:40 and 9:05, are a joke. Forget the fact that they blow up Saturday night newspaper deadlines for two-thirds of the country (although the NCAA should care about people being unable to read about a game that decides a Final Four slot on Sunday morning). More importantly, it means the players have to sit and wait for a late start that helps no one except, apparently, CBS. Fans have to kill time all day, too. The old times, 4:40 and 7, were too late. This is ridiculous. The only reason the Sunday games are more reasonable (2:30 and 5) is so CBS doesn't lose "60 Minutes." Thank God for "60 Minutes."
I remember going outside and playing basketball all afternoon in 1988, after Duke beat top ranked Temple and super-frosh Mark Macon to reach the Final Four. Mike Harris and I took turns being Quinn Snyder and Kevin Strickland.
Don't forget, next Thursday I'm presenting Robbers on High Street with The City Veins at the Rock and Roll Hotel. Should be a lot of fun. Doors are at 8 p.m. Hope to see you there!
You can buy advance tickets here.
[mp3] Robbers on High Street | Married Young
[mp3] The City Veins | Strike Up The Band
[mp3] The City Veins | Toe The Line
Hansbrough, I Hate Your Stupid Face.
I am consistently amazed at the amount of hate Greg Paulus and John Scheyer get compared to this mongoloid. If Paulus had done that uncoordinated victory lap Hansbrough pulled in the ACC tournament, people would still be writing about it. *sigh*
This is, without a doubt, one of my favorite songs ever.
...to see my photos from last nights Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige show in Baltimore. This is the second time I've shot Jay-Z for Pitchfork and this time was completely different. Last time it was a small club and I got three songs. This time was an arena scale show and we had just one song to shoot both Jay and Mary. Surprisingly I got a nice set of photos in the short time we were alloted to shoot. And to top it all off, my trip up there and back was fairly painless. Bonus!
Head over to Pitchfork to see the full photo set.
I finally have some time in my schedule to go out to some shows this week. Good thing too, because this week's dance card is full. Looks like I'll be out and about Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Thanks to everyone that sent in condolences regarding the not-so mighty Blue Devils going down in flames. Just be thankful you weren't watching the game with me. Mr. Pink was cowering in the corner from all the yelling. Eventually I ended up curled up in the corner sobbing "No more threes, no more, no more!" Congrats to WVU though, they definitely deserved the win.
Monday
Morcheeba @ 9:30 Club
I loved Big Calm, but I don't really see the point after Skye left.
Tuesday:
Blitzen Trapper w/ Fleet Foxes @ Black Cat Backstage
Heard nothing but good stuff about both these bands. I've seen quite a few FF comparisons to MMJ, so color me intrigued.
Wednesday:
Vandaveer, Laura Burhenn w/ The National Reserve @ Black Cat Backstage
Thursday:
Xiu Xiu w/ Thao Nguyen and the Get Down Stay Down @ Black Cat Backstage
Again, heard all sorts of good stuff about Thao Nguyen and they're local, so I'm going to go check them out for sure.
Friday:
Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks @ 9:30 Club
I'm such a huge Pavement fan that it's been hard for me to get into any of SM's solo stuff. But I gave the latest record a try, and it's pretty good, so I'm curious as to what the live show is like. Plus the chances that he wears a garish pink polo shirt are good, so there's that...
[mp3] Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks | Cold Sun
[mp3] Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks | Baltimore
Saturday:
Ghostland Observatory @ 9:30 Club
Raveonettes @ Black Cat
I've been digging Lust, Lust, Lust more than their previous records, so I think I'm going to go see The Raveonettes tonight. Ghostland didn't really do it for me at ACL last year, although I'd give them another shot on anyother night.
[mp3] The Raveonettes | Aly, Walk With Me
Last night I read this post, which contains the following statement.
For the last week and a half or so, I’ve been back home in Virginia for vacation. And while being at home obviously has its luxuries, after searching for some shows to see during my time here, I quickly remembered just how difficult is it to find a good one in the Washington, D.C. area. Fortunately this time around, a South by Southwest-esque showcase made its way to D.C.’s Rock and Roll Hotel last night, and for three hours on a Thursday night, my music thirst was temporarily quenched.
Jesus. Since the author has no problem making clueless, sweeping generalizations, I'll do the same and declare that the passage above is easily one of the worst opening paragraphs in the history of music blogging.
Not to mention that it is just flat out WRONG.
I have no intention or desire to get into the whole NYC v. D.C. thing again, so let's just agree that D.C. does not have as many bands, venues, concert goers or music bloggers (with Chicago influences!) as NYC. Or SXSW.
Some might even say this is a good thing.
I bring all of this up because CoS is a decent blog (although their superior festival coverage is tempered by all the press releases they cut and paste onto their site), and quite frankly, I expect better from them.
BTW, here are the shows at the Black Cat during the first week in April:
Wed Apr 2- JENS LEKMAN, THE HONEYDRIPS, MARLA HANSEN
Thu Apr 3- KIMYA DAWSON, ANGELO SPENCER, SPOONBOY
Fri Apr 4- LES SAVY FAV, THE BIG SLEEP, THE DODOS
Mon Apr 7- DIRTY PROJECTORS, NO KIDS
Gerald Henderson, take a bow. From goat to hero in one trip down the court. You ruined tonight and tomorrow for Deadspin Nation, and for that, I thank you.
FUCK YES!
Pearl Jam East Coast tour dates:
11-Jun West Palm, FL Cruzan Amphitheatre
12-Jun Tampa, FL St Pete Times Forum
13-15 Jun Manchester, TN Bonnaroo Festival **
16-Jun Columbia, SC Colonial Center
17-Jun Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
19-Jun Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center
22-Jun Washington, DC Verizon Center
24-Jun New York, NY Madison Square Garden
25-Jun New York, NY Madison Square Garden
27-Jun Hartford, CT Dodge Amphitheater
30-Jun Mansfield. MA Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
Kings of Leon will open the June 11-17th concert dates. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists will open the remaining dates from June 19-30th. Doors for all shows are 6:30pm.
Tickets go on sale April 4th.
via Noah Kalina, who is 1) an amazing photog, 2) semi-famous and 3) still not handled by a rep.
...that Ra Ra Riot put on such an amazing live show? I caught them at the Black Cat last night opening for The Cribs and I was totally blown away. I didn't know anything about them going into the show other than the unfortunate passing of their drummer. But I walked out a fan. A very lazy comparison would be Reckoning -era R.E.M. with cello and violin. In other words...BEST.
They were on stage when I got to the venue and I really liked the first song I heard. By the fourth or fifth I was dancing along so much I was having a hard time taking photos. Good stuff! They are on tour through April so go check them out. I can't recommend them highly enough.
On the way home as I was listening to the EP I bought, I thought to myself "these guys would be perfect playing with someone like Jukebox the Ghost or Sam Champion." Then I checked my email upon returning home and I saw a show from last November at the Rock n Roll Hotel with that very lineup! Argh. Whenever I tell you I am ahead of the curve on something, be sure to point me to this post.
As for The Cribs...Yawn. Too much shouting with nothing to say, but they did do a nice cover of "Bastards of the Young."
Last night D.C. United played their first home game of the 2008 season at RFK Stadium as part of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Their opponent: Jamaica's Harbor View Football Club.
The result: a 5-nil win for United, who advance to the Champions Cup semis in April.
Peep the recap at DCist.
I love shooting MLS. There's nothing better. It's only been four months since I shot MLS Cup at RFK, but it seemed like an eternity.
Highlights from last night:
Fred's weird pacifier/cradle rocking goal celebration (apparently his wife is expecting)...
...and Santino Quaranta's act of contrition towards the Barra Brava and Screaming Eagles, the D.C. United supporters clubs. Tino is a former United player and local product that had lost form due to a series of injuries. He was subsequently traded away and made some not so friendly gestures to the Barra and Eagles while playing with the Los Angeles Galaxy. This was not taken kindly. He's fallen on hard times and signed a contract with United during the off season to get his career back on track. He played great last night and it looks like he is on the road to forgiveness.
A colleague received this email last night. Draw your own conclusions.
Colin Coward Interview Opportunity- DC Area- TIME SENSITIVE
Hi there [redacted],My name is [redacted] and I'm working with ESPN Radio to help promote some of their top talent. I wanted to touch base with you about an upcoming event we have with Colin Coward in the DC area. Colin is going to broadcasting from Clyde's Restaurant next to the Verizon Center THIS THURSDAY and we have just been informed he has granted interview opportunities with online press immediately following his show, at 1 PM.
I wanted to reach out to you to see if you were interested in being one of the four sites we are offering this opportunity to. Each site will have ten minutes of one-on-one time with Colin, as well as photos opportunities following. The space and time is understandable limited, so I will need to hear back from you ASAP as to whether or not you'd be interested.
Please let me know and I can give you further details! I understand the turnaround is very quick on this, but I think this will be a great opportunity that shouldn't be missed.
Thanks and look forward to hearing from you!
[redacted]
Sounds great, like they got sick of being such wusses on the last record.
Loud and fast, rinse, repeat.
Pretty please.
The band will give you a free download of the track "Broke Up The Time" if you give them your post code and email. Done!
"The album was mastered and completed in the first week of March. It was then taken immediately to a vinyl pressing plant. Then to a CD pressing plant. Then preparations to sell it digitally began. March 25th became the soonest date to have it available in EVERY FORMAT AT ONCE. The band have done no interviews or advertisements for this record before this announcement.
The purpose: to get the album to the fans as soon as possible and as we promised. We wanted to get this record to fans, the press, radio, etc., all at the EXACT SAME TIME so that no one has an upper hand on anyone else regarding it’s availability, reception or perception.
With this release, The Raconteurs are forgoing the usual months of lead time for press and radio set up, as well as forgoing the all important “first week sales”. We wanted to explore the idea of releasing an album everywhere at once and THEN marketing and promoting it thereafter. The Raconteurs would rather this release not be defined by it’s first weeks sales, pre-release promotion, or by someone defining it FOR YOU before you get to hear it."
Can't say I'm a huge fan or anything, but it's cool to see bands trying out new types of release strategies with an eye towards long term sales.
At least for the first leg of the tour. Drat. I really wanted Underworld.
They still might be doing the second leg of the tour, and if that's the case, anyone want to go to the Philly show with me?
Get a free four track EP by Liars by clicking here.
Also, Listen to MMJ at SXSW on NPR. OMG!
**UPDATE** - Holy Shit. "Thank You Too" is THE MOTHER EFFING JAM. I need an MP3 of this ASAP. It's at the 27:36 mark. Total 1970's FM rock power-ballad space-jam. Can't wait until June and Radio City!
I hope it's better than the decidedly meh R.E.M. show at Stubbs. The new stuff? Not so great.
I've also got to dig my way through Jens Lekman, The Whigs and a few others.
...but of all the scenarios concerning this electric Celtics turnaround, the one that I've found most enjoyable is the way Paul Pierce has folded seamlessly into his new nucleus. Just the other day, Garnett lauded him as his league MVP, and while that has virtually no chance of happening, KG's sentiments were not misplaced.
All those doubters who wondered aloud if Pierce could share the ball, the minutes, and the limelight have been quieted. The critics who dogged his defense have had to eat some crow.And, even with Garnett and Allen aboard, No. 34 still remains one of the most dangerous scorers - if not the most dangerous - on his team...
As for his defense, the commitment has been there from the start. On the very first possession of this magical 2007-08 season against the Washington Wizards, Pierce, overplaying Caron Butler, deflected a pass, then clapped like an excited schoolboy when the ball grazed off Butler's fingers and out of bounds.
The new era of Celtics basketball was officially in motion.
Wow. It's a lot more labor intensive than us armchair GM's might think.
Related: Celtics On Brink of Turnaround Record.
In the interest of lateness (this shows almost a week old) and brevity, let me just say that I enjoyed Say Hi's show last week at the Black Cat immensely. I was a bit worried when only two people got up on stage, but I was pleasantly surprised at how full and alive their sound was. On CD, the band's sound is a bit slick and lifeless, but live, it's much more organic and "rock" sounding. The lead singer has the "Awwww, shucks" shtick down pat, and had the surprisingly young crowd eating out of his hand.
I should also mention that the sound in the Backstage was great - head and shoulders above what it used to be like. I think I've mentioned this the last few shows I've seen in that room, but it's worth noting. The band also deserves props for taking like 10 minutes on the changeover. They literally set up the drums, banged the snare a few times, strummed the guitar to make sure the amp worked and then went at it. Respect.
Unbeknownst to me, Quaterlifeparty and Instrumental Analysis were also at the gig.
Full photo gallery after the jump.
With their SXSW performance tomorrow (you can listen to the webcast on NPR) and the news that Accelerate will debut on iLike/Facebook on March 24th, the hype for R.E.M.'s new album is everywhere. I sure as hell hope it lives up to expectations. Editors lead singer Tom Smith liked what he heard from the album when I talked to him in January.
Here's the first video from the album, for the track "Supernatural Superserious," a decent song but not a classic by any means.
If you want a classic, try this on for size:
[mp3] R.E.M. | So. Central Rain (live in Cologne, 2001)
You can get the entire show (2 CD's worth) here.
I'm still excited about seeing Stipe & Co. this summer with Modest Mouse and The National. I haven't seen R.E.M. since the Up tour. I just couldn't bear to pay the $75 for tickets to DAR last time they toured.
While the rest of the music blogging world is heading to Austin, it's time for me to go for mine. I am very happy to announce that information leafblower dot com is putting on its first-ever concert featuring Robbers on High Street with The City Veins at the Rock and Roll Hotel on April 3rd. I've been a Robbers fan for a while now, especially after The Fatalist and Friends EP, so I'm super-stoked to be hosting them here in our fair city. The City Veins are an up-and-coming D.C. band that have been generating some great local buzz. Should be a lot of fun.
You can buy advance tickets here.
Here is the video for "Crown Victoria," the latest track from the Robbers on High Street album Grand Animals.
[mp3] Robbers on High Street | Married Young
[mp3] The City Veins | Strike Up The Band
[mp3] The City Veins | Toe The Line Band
Still on a high from last night's finale. I'll probably watch it another time or two just to drink it all in.
What did you think? My only gripe was no Avon. I don't want to say anything else in case you still haven't seen it.
That's On Point: "The final montage said without saying that, no matter the best efforts of man the system forever remains the system. You can't beat City Hall."
More as I come across them.
Utterly ridiculous. You'd think Duke could get a call at home on Senior Night, but it was not to be. Funny how the pundits failed to notice that DeMarcus Nelson didn't shoot any free throws either.
That said, this loss is squarely on the offense. In the last five minutes they reverted to that 1-on-1 crap they started the game off with and, as a result, the offense bogged down and they couldn't get a bucket. Off course, usually when that happens you get to the line every once in a while. But I digress...
Isle of Wight Festival offered Morrissey Phil Collins as stand in drummer in 2005.
Remember when Moz canceled his appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2005? Apparently he told the organizers he couldn't play because he didn't have a drummer. So the festival offered to get Phil Collins to play drums for him. That would have been all kinds of awesome. Sadly, it never happened and Travis filled in for the mighty Mozzer, which in a way in ironic considering they were out of commission for a time after their drummer was almost paralyzed in a 2002 diving accident.
Fran took a small shot at Moz when they played the 9:30 Club last year. You can hear it at the end of the show if you want to give it a listen.
You know how certain songs always make your day a little bit better no matter when you hear them?
This is one of those songs.
It just came on my iPod and made me very happy.
[mp3] Rolling Stones | Moonlight Mile
Hat tip to So Well Remembered and the Hype Machine.
Finally.
After three months and a couple of false starts, my big project at work is finally alive and online. I got home from work last night at 2:37 this morning, after one final furious push to fix as much stuff as we could.
I think the final product looks pretty good. But I'll tell you the same thing I told everyone at work. You're not allowed to send me emails about links that don't work or other errors on the site until Monday.
It feels great to finally get this over with. I am overjoyed to get my social life back, although I think I'll end up taking it easy this weekend. I have the DCist Exposed opening tonight and the Idiotarod on Saturday, but other than that, I'm looking at some serious couch time in my near future.
On Monday, it's back to the grind. I'll also have a big blog announcement coming very soon.
I'm going to have a long day today. It's time for the final push on my project at work. See you on the other side.
Unitl then, feel free to replay this thunderous Rajon Rondo dunk from last night's Pistons beatdown. The Celtics became the first team to clinch a playoff spot last night. w00t!
Grab you some Neon Neon tracks. That's the new collabo between Gruff Rhys and producer Boom Bip. I've been rocking "Raquel" on my iTunes for the last few weeks.
Paging Kegzies! Swervedriver have reunited for an upcoming NYC gig.
No Pavement reunion any time soon? Maybe? Pretty please? Just not for Coachella.
Related: TLOBF, one of my fave UK blogs, talks to Senor Malkmus.
Doves new album “moving along nicely.” Rock.
Spiritualized's new record, Songs in A&E, will get a US release!
New Mew? Yes please. Maybe then I will stop listening to And the Glass Handed Kites and Frengers. But I doubt it.
Completely unrelated: D.C. United season starts in just a few days time. Woo hoo!
Sadly, Pela's March 14th show at the Rock n' Roll Hotel has been canceled, along with the rest of their tour.
During last night’s show at Schuba’s in Chicago Billy fell off the stage, landing on a broken pint glass. This happened during the triumphant finale of the set; the stage was crowded with people dancing and singing to ‘Cavalry’, while a strobe light turned their vision into a cut screen movie. His left hand has a gash on the palm, and a deep slice in his pinky finger which also cut tendons.We regrettably must announce that Schuba’s was the last night of the tour.
We promise to make up each and every show as soon as possible and apologize to everyone who purchased tickets. Arrangements are being made with all of the clubs on how best to handle the situation. We will have more information soon.
Webmaster note: you can send your best wishes to billy@pelamusic.com and I'll forward them to him.
Get well soon Billy.
[mp3] Pela | Cavalry (live at the Bowery Ballroom)
**[UPDATE - 03/05]**
Billy will be interviewed by John Richards on KEXP today at 8am Pacific time (11am Eastern time). You can listen online at kexp.org and on air if you are lucky enough to get KEXP on your radio waves.Billy was asked to share his thoughts about the tour, his injury, and anything else that come to mind - for everyone that bought tickets to see us on this tour.
We apologize for the last minute post, but we just found out.
Pela
Last Friday I was talking with a co-worker about my weekend plans. I told her I was traveling back to the Cackalack for my Mom's XXth birthday (I am not allowed to reveal her true age on the interwbs, obvs.) and that my Dad was going to surprise her with a trip to the Richard Petty Driving Experience at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, NC. "How very....Southern," she replied.
And she is right, but ask any of my friends from college and they'll undoubtedly tell you I was the least Southern Southerner there ever was. Which is not to say I don't have a few redneck tendencies (I do), but I hate NASCAR. Actually, that may be a little harsh, but I really don't care for it at all. But after riding along for three laps around the speedway on Saturday, I have a better understanding and appreciation for it.
First of all, the three laps on the 1.5 mile long quad-oval track go by very, very quickly at 160 mph. The g-forces on the banked curves are pretty incredible, more powerful than any roller coaster you've been on. We took the first turn high and easy, but on the second lap, the driver gunned it and we stayed low. Wow. Coming out of that turn and hugging the wall was pretty intense. We were only a few inches from the wall in the straightaway and I'd be lying if I didn't think about what would happen with one wrong turn of the steering wheel.
I can only imagine what it must be like coming off that turn in a group of cars, three wide. We didn't "race" and of the other cars out on the track, they all kept in order, one after the other. But it was still one of the wildest things I've ever done. Good idea, Dad! The track itself was immense. It holds 167,000 people on race days. It's like a small city. I just might have to go to a race one of these days and see what that is like. But I'll have to brush up on my Talladega Nights quotes first.
[mp3] Radiohead | Killer Cars
Full photo set after the jump.
Monday:
These United States @ Iota - Jessie Elliot and Tom Hnatow are good friends and even better musicians. This is the first date in their forthcoming US tour that will take them all over this damn country, playing with a different backing band in every city. They are also releasing their debut record tomorrow. I highly recommend you check them out if you like your music loose and laid back.
[mp3] These United States | First Sight
Tuesday:
Say Hi @ Black Cat - Been looking forward to this show for a while now. Their new record The Wishes And The Glitch is getting quite a few spins from me lately.
[mp3] Say Hi | Northwestern Girls
[mp3] Say Hi | Toil And Trouble
[mp3] Say Hi | Zero To Love
Jesse Malin and De Novo Dahl @ Iota
Thursday:
Born Ruffians w/ Cadence Weapon @ DC9
Friday:
Sia w/ Har Mar Superstar @ 9:30
Saturday:
The Hives w/ The Donnas @ 9:30
Jukebox The Ghost @ Rock and Roll Hotel - Heard nothing but good things about JTG, but I can't seem to make it to one of their shows. Last time they were in town I was in Philly seeing the Super Furries. It's becoming a running joke at this point.
Virgin Festival rumors...Personally I would be suprised if Foo Fighters and Stone Temple Pilots aren't there.
Here are the last bands added to the All Points West Festival. Still rather meh in my opinion. Also, it looks like those APW will be Radiohead's only NYC area appearances.
The Charlatans have released their new record as a free download.
Art Brut: the best unsigned band in Britain?
26 tempting but inappropriate funeral songs.
It’s almost unbearable how perfect Elastica could be.
I had a fun weekend, more on that tomorrow. This should, fingers crossed, be my last week in work purgatory. Hopefully things will get back to normal next Monday.
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