It Must Be Spring!

Guelph’s Hillside Festival Back and Better than Ever

The mounds of snow are gone now; our winter boots and salt stained pants replaced by well-worn Birkenstocks and shorts. It must be Spring in Canada because along with the migration of the pants a flurry of music festival announcements have begun to flood our inboxes. One of the more favourite festivals is Guelph, Ontario’s Hillside Festival and organizers have just announced an absolutely stellar bill of entertainers.

Among the most notable acts on the bill (a good mix of Canadian and international acts) are Japandroids, Los Lobos, Stars, Horse Feathers, Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles, Calexico, Shad, the Hidden Cameras, Jason Collett and Zeus.

The event will take place from July 23rd to 25th at Guelph Lake Island, with tickets going on sale this Saturday (May 1st) at 10 a.m. EST. Priced affordably at $99 for a weekend pass and $69 for a day, unless you’re under 12, in which case it's free! And hey elderly Everything is Pop readers, if you're one of the first 500 seniors, you'll get a weekend pass for a half price discount of $49.50. You’re on your own though for buffet and shuffleboard arrangements.

You can buy tickets at Ticketpro or by phone at 1-866-598-4455. For a list of retailers who carry tickets, go to the Hillside official website here.

The performers confirmed so far for Hillside 2010:

The Acorn
Matt Anderson
The Beauties
Brasstronaut

Basia Bulat
Calexico
The Canned Goods
Jason Collett
Digging Roots
Carlos Del Juno
Stephen Fearing
Flash Lightnin'
Frazey Ford
Good Lovelies
Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles
Sarah Harmer
The Hidden Cameras
The Horse Feathers
Japandroids
Lee Harvey Osmond
Los Lobos
Corb Lund
Harry Manx
Minotaurs
Finley Quaye
Shad
The Skeletones Four
Tannis Slimmon
Stars
The Warped 45s
The Wooden Sky
Young Rival
Yukon Blonde
Zeus

Check out Owen Pallet's memorably thundersome performance from Hillside 2010 below.

We've Got Golden Fingers

Shel Silverstein is renowned as the author of a number of classic children’s books. His lovable kids' poetry like A Light in the Attic, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and The Missing Piece are in print the world over and loved by millions. Many of you may not know Silverstein, (who passed away in 1999), was also a very successful songwriter. In fact, Silverstein penned the classic songs "A Boy Named Sue" for Johnny Cash and "The Cover of the Rolling Stone" for Dr. Hook. The man was truly multi-talented with an endearing comic edge.

The new album Twistable, Turnable Man: A Musical Tribute to the Songs of Shel Silverstein, due June 8th from Sugar Hill Records, honours Silverstein the songwriter. My Morning Jacket, Andrew Bird and Black Francis are three of the fans/ artists contributing to the album. Other Silverstein aficionados include the Decemberists offshoot Black Prairie, Dr. Dog, Lucinda Williams, Kris Kristofferson and John Prine. Bobby Bare Jr. and Bobby Bare Sr. teamed up to co-produce the slightly off kilter collection-fitting considering that Silverstein wrote the 1973 album Lullabies, Legends and Lies for the elder Bare. Both Bares got Grammy nominations for the Silverstein-penned duet "Daddy What If", which Bare Jr. covers on the tribute album with his own daughter, Isabella. But I for one can’t wait to hear Black Francis’ and Joey Santiago’s take on “The Cover of the Rolling Stone”.

Tracklist below.

Twistable, Turnable Man: A Musical Tribute to the Songs of Shel Silverstein:

01. My Morning Jacket - "Lullabies, Legends and Lies"
02. Andrew Bird - "The Twistable, Turnable Man Returns"
03. John Prine - "This Guitar Is for Sale"
04. Dr. Dog - "The Unicorn"
05. Kris Kristofferson - "The Winner"
06. Sarah Jarosz With Black Prairie - "Queen of the Silver Dollar"
07. Bobby Bare, Jr. with Isabella Bare - "Daddy What If"
08. Black Francis with Joey Santiago - "The Cover of the Rolling Stone"
09. The Boxmasters - "Sylvia's Mother"
10. Ray Price - "Me and Jimmie Rodgers"
11. Todd Snider - "A Boy Named Sue"
12. Lucinda Williams - "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan"
13. Bobby Bare - "The Living Legend"
14. Nanci Griffith - "The Giving Tree"
15. My Morning Jacket - "26 Second Song"

Black Mountain Coming to You

As British Columbia rockers Black Mountain put the finishing touches on their third album, the band have just announced a short summer tour to preview some of their hard work. Of course if it’s anything like previous endeavours you can expect something akin to a full-fledged force of nature. (To be on the safe side you might want to bring your earplugs.) The Polaris Prize finalists will be kicking things off in Kamloops, BC on June 23rd with several Canadian dates and a handful of American and European cities on the schedule throughout July.

Tentatively titled Wilderness Heart, the new album is expected out sometime later this year.

Amazing in concert. This one is a not miss!  (Yes there is a London, Ontario date at Call the Office.)

Black Mountain Tour Dates

06/23/10
Kamloops, BC - Pogue Mahone

06/24/10
Calgary, AB - Republik

06/25/10
Edmonton, AB - Starlite Room w/ Lord Beginner

06/26/10
Saskatoon, SK - Amigo's

06/27/10
Regina, SK - The Exchange w/ Lord Beginner, Orbital Express

06/28/10
Winnipeg, MB - The Garrick Centre w/ Sleepy Sun

06/30/10
Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon

07/01/10
Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall

07/02/10
Detroit, MI - Magic Stick

07/03/10
London, ON - Call the Office

07/09/10
Hultsfred, Sweden - Hultsfred Festival

07/10/10
Brugge, Belgium - Cactus Festival

07/11/10
Balado, Kinross-Shire, Scotland - T In The Park Festival

07/13/10
London, UK - The Lexington

07/14/10
London, UK - The Lexington

07/16/10
Suffolk, UK - Latitude Festivalw/ The National, Yeasayer, Belle & Sebastian, Vampire Weekend

07/17/10
Dour, Belgium - Dour Festival

09/11/10
Dorset, UK - End of the Road Festival


Black Mountain - Angels
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Oh! Before I Forget

Record Store Day has come and gone and if said sacred high holy day left you a little drained in the pocketbook rest easy dear reader, your next, very affordable music fix is here at last. London, Ontario's Second Annual Oh! Fest is now only a day away and the schedule is full. It’s also pretty amazing.

Please plan to attend. This is a must not miss!

All shows are ALL AGES and wheelchair accessible. Evening shows are AA and licensed.
________________________________________________________________

Tickets on sale at Grooves Records, the Village Idiot and InfoSource (UWO).
Weekend passes on sale at Grooves.

A weekend pass is $27 and it includes:
1) a HAND LETTERPRESSED pass, which gets you into all the events
2) a hand letterpressed program with the schedule
3) a limited edition oh! fest pin.

NOTE: There are a limited number of weekend passes available so get them soon!

OH! FEST SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

DAY 1, April 22:

4pm: @ Grooves Records (353 Clarence Street)
FREE!
The CFL Sessions (London)
Jon Mckiel (Halifax)

8:30pm: @ Museum London (421 Ridout Street N)
$12
The Acorn (Ottawa)
Olenka and the Autumn Lovers (London)
Cousins (Halifax)

DAY 2, April 23:

4pm: @ Grooves (353 Clarence Street)
FREE!
The Whipping Wind (London)
Kite Hill (Toronto)

8:30pm: @ The Forest City Gallery (258 Richmond Street)
$10
$100 (Toronto)
Handsome Dan and his Gallimaufry (London)
Evening Hymns (Toronto)

DAY 3, April 24:

2pm: @ The McManus Theatre (Below the Grand; 471 Richmond Street)
$7
The Wooden Sky (Toronto)
The Wilderness of Manitoba (Toronto)
Sam Allen (London)

8:30pm: @ Call the Office (216 York Street)
$7
The D'Urbervilles (Guelph/Toronto)
A Horse and His Boy (London)
Say Domino (London)
P.S. I Love You (Kingston)

Blowing the Kid's College Fund - One Record at a Time

Ah Record Store Day… You started with such humble beginnings three years ago; a fresh-faced newborn with so much promise and even that new baby smell. Thankfully the Pampers have been abandoned and this year’s incarnation promises an unprecedented delivery of the goods. This one dear reader, you can not afford to miss. What makes Record Store Day 2010 (which takes place this Saturday, April 17th) are the many special events and unique, ultra-collectible releases that bands and labels are doing in honour of the event.  (Spoiler Alert - Video Preview Here.)

So get out their and support your favourite independent record store. (Try the Slip n' Slide! at Grooves), and hear some great live music.  I fully intend on blowing the offspring’s College fund. How can I resist cool and limited released by Blur, Flaming Lips, Mountain Goats, Pavement and so many more! (List below) In Blur’s case, their new song, “Fool’s Day,” is being released in a super-limited (1,000 copy) seven-inch vinyl edition. Their first new music in seven years!

Get out their and do your thing people! But do tell, which ones are you hoping to pick up?  For the locals Grooves Record Store on Clarence Street in London has a tonne of live performances lined up.  Check out that schedule here.

The Album Leaf – 12″
“There Is A Wind (Acoustic)”/“Landing In Snow” b/w “Resonations”/“Falling From The Sun (Jamuel Saxon Sunburnt Remix)”
 
Asteroids Galaxy Tour – 12”
 
Beach House – 12″
“Zebra”/“The Arrangement” b/w “Baby”/“10 Mile Stereo (Cough Syrup Remix)”

The Black Keys – Howling For You 12″

Bloc Party – Silent Alarm LP w/“Little Thought” 7″

Blur – Fool’ Day 7”

Bon Iver/Peter Gabriel – Split 7″
“Come Talk To Me” b/w “Flume”

Bright Eyes – Fevers and Mirrors LP

Broken Bells – 7″

Caribou – Odessa Remixes 12″

Julian Casablancas – 7″
“11th Dimension”(Live) b/w “Long Island Blues”

Coco Rosie – 7″
“Lemonade” b/w “Surfer Girl” (Beach Boys)

Coconut Records – ?

Elvis Costello – Live at Hollywood High 7″

The Cribs – s/t LP

DA – Exclamation Point LP

Deerhoof – Apple O LP

Deerhoof – Green Cosmos LP

Ani DiFranco – Live At Bull Moose CD

Dios – We Are Dios CD

Drive-By Truckers 7″
“Your Woman Is A Living Thing” b/w “Just Maybe”

Dum Dum Girls/Male Bonding Split 7″
“Pay For Me” b/w “Before It’s Gone”

Editors – 7″

Electric Eels – 7″
“Agitated” b/w “Cyclotron”

Exit Clov – Cover Boy 7″
“Sing Your Life (Morrissey)”, “Steppin’ Razor” (Peter Tosh) b/w “The KKK Took My Baby Away” (The Ramones), “Mongoloid” (Devo)

The Fall – 7″
“Bury” b/w “Cowboy Gregorie”

Fucked Up – Daytrotter Session 7″

Flaming Lips – Dark Side of the Moon LP

Get Up Kids – Simple Science CD

Godsmack – 7″

Happy Birthday – 7″
“Shampoo” b/w “Alien”

The Hold Steady – Heaven Is Whenever LP

Mason Jennings – Live at Fingerprints CD

Shooter Jennings & Hierophant – Don’t Feed the Animals CD

Fela Kuti – s/t 10″

La Roux – 7″

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists – 7″
“The Oldest House” b/w “North Coast”

John Lennon – 7″ Singles Bag
1A: John Lennon – Mother
1B: Yoko Ono – Why
2A: John Lennon – Imagine
2B: John Lennon – It’s So Hard
3A: John Lennon – Watching the Wheels
3B: Yoko Ono – Yes, I’m Your Angel

Steve Mason – LP

Mastodon – Blood Mountain LP

Menomena/Helio Sequence – Split 7″
“Pilgrim’s Progress” b/w “Converter”

Midlake – The Trials of Van Occupanther LP

Modest Mouse – The Moon and Antarctic 180g 2xLP

Mogwai – ? (Unconfirmed)

Mountain Goats – The Life of the World to Come: A Film by Rian Johnson DVD

Neu! – 12″
“Crazy” b/w “Euphoria”

Nirvana – Colored LPs(?) (Unconfirmed)

Owl City – 7″
“Fireflies” b/w “Vanilla Twilight”

Pavement – 7″
“Cut Your Hair” b/w “Grounded”

Pavement – Quarantine The Past (Fan-Curated Edition) 2xLP

Phoenix – 12″ (Pink Vinyl)
“Fences” b/w “Fences” (Remix)

Grace Potter And The Nocturnals – Live In Skowhegan

Queens of the Stone Age - Feel Good Hit of the Summer 10″

R.E.M. – Chronic Town 12″ EP

Rodriguez – 7″

Rolling Stones – 7″
“Plundered My Soul” b/w “Down the Line”

Royce Da 5′9″ – 12″

Arthur Russell – Calling Out Of Context LP

Sex Pistols – The Great Rock ‘N’ Roll Swindle 180g 2xLP

She & Him – 7″ (In Tote Bag)
“In The Sun” b/w “I Can Hear Music”

Simian Mobile Disco – Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release LP

Sonic Youth – Hits Are For Squares 2xLP

Soundgarden – 7″ (Orange Vinyl)
“Hunted Down” b/w “Nothing To Say”

Them Crooked Vultures – 10″
“Mind Eraser, No Chaser”/”Hwy 1″ (Live) b/w Interview

The Thermals/The Cribs – Split 7″
“Separate” b/w “So Hot Now”

This Will Destroy You – 10″

Tutu & The Pirates – Sub-Urban Insult Rock For The Anti-Lectual LP

TV On The Radio – Dear Science LP

V/A – Fragments From A Work In Progress 12″ (4AD)

A1: Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – “Menopause Man”
A2: Tune-Yards – “You Yes You”
B1: Blonde Redhead – “Not Getting There”
B2: Gang Gang Dance – “Slime City (Heaven)”
B3: The Big Pink – “With You”

V/A – SP20: Casual Nostalgia Fest CD (Sub Pop)
(All live recordings)

1. Green River – “Leech”
2. Wolf Parade – “Fine Young Cannibals”
3. The Vaselines – “Dying for It”
4. Obits – “Run”
5. Les Thugs – “Dirty White Race”
6. Eric’s Trip – “Smother”
7. Beachwood Sparks – “You Take the Gold”
8. Blitzen Trapper – “Furr”
9. Flight of the Conchords – “Carol Brown”
10. Iron & Wine – “Woman King”
11. Constantines – “Why I Didn’t Like August ‘93”
12. Seaweed “Baggage”
13. Grand Archives – “Dig That Crazy Grave”
14. Low – “Silver Rider”
15. The Helio Sequence – “Lately”
16. Kinski – “The Wives of Artie Shaw”
17. Pissed Jeans – “Caught Licking Leather”
18. Mudhoney – “The Open Mind”
19. Comets on Fire – “Dogwood Rust”

Velvet Underground – Live 1969 LP

Weezer – Raditude Re-release (?)

White Lies - Remix EP

White Rabbits/The Antlers – Daytrotter Sessions Split 7″

Wooden Shjips – 7″
“What It Is” b/w “Buddy”

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – 7″
“Skeletons” b/w “Skeletons” (Live)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – s/t 12″ EP

Yeasayer – O.N.E. 12"

"Raw Power Got a Healin' Hand"

I love it when the universe sometimes remembers your birthday and an amazing free concert is announced on just that day in the very heart of Toronto.  But Iggy and the Stooges?  Are you kidding me?  And X and Mudhoney two nights before that in the Yonge and Dundas Square.

Someone up there likes me.

Austin, TX you may have your fancy shmancy SXSW  but this year's edition of NXNE, June 14th to the 20th in Toronto is positively stellar.

Click this link to see for yourself.  NXNE Lineup

More details and band announcements to come!

UPDATE

Thursday, June 17 2010

X, Mudhoney @ Yonge-Dundas Square (free) Warpaint, Free Energy, Elliott Brood @ The Horseshoe, The Besnard Lakes @ The Mod Club, HEALTH, Gold Panda, Indian Jewelry @ Sneaky Dee’s

Friday, June 18 2010

Sloan @ Yonge-Dundas Square (free), Man… Or Astro-Man?, Mudhoney @ The Horseshoe, AA Bondy, Simone Felice, Avi Buffalo @ The Great Hall, Japandroids, Wavves @ Lee’s Palace, Inlets @ TBA

Saturday, June 19 2010

Iggy & the Stooges, Wavves @ Yonge-Dundas Square (free), Quintron & Miss Pussycat, JEFF The Brotherhood @ The Garrison, Avi Buffalo @ Lee’s Palace, Cold Cave @ Wrongbar

Sunday, June 20 2010

De La Soul, Kid Sister, Phenomenal Handclap Band @ Yonge-Dundas Square (free)

Inky Hands and Open Hearts!

Spring has sprung dear reader and the good people at the Open House Arts Collective have been hard at work. Details for the second annual Oh! Fest are here at last and this city is going to be hopping at the end of the month.

Of course all of the cool kids will want to get their hands on the weekend pass which is on sale now. The pass will get you into every event taking place during the weekend for only $27! (Individual tickets for all events are also available.

From the Open House Collective Website:

The package includes the following:

1 – A hand letterpressed pass card
2 – A hand letterpressed program/schedule booklet to guide you through the weekend
3 – A limited edition Oh!Fest pin (1 of 2 designs)
4 – An Open House “Oh!” speech bubble sticker

Cool stuff! These pass packages are limited so be sure to pick yours up soon, available only at Grooves Records. (353 Clarence St.) Individual tickets for each show are also available there.

If you can’t make it down to Grooves, you can also get tickets for all 4 shows at the weekend pass price ($27) at INFO Source on the UWO campus.

These won't last long.  Get yours today!

The Best Thing I've Heard Today

Mix some hardcore, Fugazi spit, Springsteen sensibilities with a serious American history lesson = The best thing I've heard today.

New Jersey's hard rocking Titus Andronicus in session.

Wilco (the Curators)

Ardent road warriors and rock n' roll nice guys, Wilco have just announced their first foray into arts festival organization. Thankfully ‘Wilcopalooza’ was not even in the running as an event moniker... Instead, Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival promises a three-day event with “art, music, comedy, and interactivity.” It will be held in North Adams, MA this summer and will include a headlining set from Wilco, as well as performances by the band’s various side projects: On Fillmore, The Nels Cline Singers, The Autumn Defense, and Pronto. Their involvement won’t stop there though. Other events planned are: An interactive guitar pedal exhibit with Nels Cline, concert poster screening demos, and “planned workshops by luthiers.” The festival site is the huge, multi-building Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, so this might be the first festival that won’t involve nudity, being mud soaked and or getting sunburned. Tickets are $86.50 now, $99.50 after June 1st. Get them at the Solid Sound Festival site or at Wilco World.

Wichita Line-men

Billboard reports that Paul Westerberg has become Glen Campbell’s new Jimmy Webb. ‘Webbsterberg’ is just one of the people Glen Campbell has collaborated with on his upcoming album entitled Ghost on the Canvas.Astute readers will note that this is one of the tracks that appeared on the 6-song EP Paul released through Amazon.com last fall. In 2008, Campbell released Meet Glen Campbell, a covers album that included the Replacement’s "Sadly Beautiful". Campbell didn’t stop with Westerberg on his latest though; Others on the album include (among others): Jakob Dylan, Chris Isaak, members of the Dandy Warhols and the supremely prolific Robert Pollard.


The album's release date is pending a label deal however Campbell will tour for the new release- booking multiple theatre and small hall shows in selected cities.  (Details will be posted when they become available.)

Oh My God, This is Great

Enjoy the fine multi-textured sounds of Rhode Island’s finest, the Low Anthem on their recent Morning Becomes Eclectic performance. Listen closely for the Jack Kerouac cover. Via KCRW.  Recommended.