It’s been a busy year for our Wilco boys and it doesn’t appear that the pace is going to let up anytime soon; Even after a host of stellar summer festival dates, late-night appearances, and the release of their all together fine Wilco (The Album). (Incidentally, the band scored its highest Billboard placement ever charting at #4 the week of its release with nearly 100 000 copies sold.) That’s quite a feat for a band that streamed online the record weeks prior to its release. Critics posited that it could drastically affect sales of the record. Pffft, what do they know? It’s called ‘building a buzz’ people…
Well, the happy Wilco ‘buzz’ continues in October, when Wilco will be hitting mostly the Midwest and South of this part of the world. The tour will include Farm Aid appearances with Willie Nelson and Neil Young, a performance in Toronto at Massey Hall (road trip Blair W?) and two shows in their native Chicago.
The hardest working band in show business? Absolutely.
Tour Dates below:
10/01 Iowa City, IA - University of Iowa 10/02 St. Paul, MN - Roy Wilkins Auditorium 10/04 Maryland Heights, MI - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (Farm Aid) 10/06 Kansas City, MO - The Crossroads 10/08 Cedar Park, TX - Cedar Park Center 10/09 Dallas, TX - The Palladium 10/10 Memphis, TN - Orpheum Theatre 10/12 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center 10/14 Toronto, ON - Massey Hall 10/16 Ann Arbor, MI - Hill Auditorium 10/18 Chicago, IL - UIC Pavillion 10/19 Chicago, IL - UIC Pavillion
A couple weeks back, Austin Texas quartet Spoon surreptitiously released their EP “Got Nuffin’” to anxious fans awaiting new music from the band. The release coincided with their headlining three nights of their own SPOONX3 music festival at the popular Austin outdoor venue Stubb's. Good news today that all three nights were recorded in glorious multi-track HD and are now available in MP3 or FLAC format for purchase via Spoon'swebsite. Collectors can now purchase all three nights for fifteen bucks or pay seven for the individual nights. After perusing the setlists the former option might be the best bargain for your money considering the songs were varied greatly from night to night. Having seen Spoon a number of times I can tell you their live performances are always top-notch and this would be a welcome addition to anyone’s digital music library.
During their Bedrooms and Backstreet tour, the Wooden Skystopped by the Open House Arts Collective in London, Ontario and played a wonderful backyard set. Lucky for us they recorded some of it. This video, produced by Stuart Thompson, Sam Allen and Matt Devlin is indeed the most amazing thing I've seen today.
So news that the new Mountain Goatsalbum The Life of the World to Come is coming out October 6th via 4AD created a little old-fashioned excitement for this blogger today. According to an internet posting from head Goat John Darnielle the album was recorded earlier this year. Once again, the record finds Darnielle working with familiar friends Jon Wurster on drums and Peter Hughes on bass. As well, the recording will feature string arrangements from talented Canuckian Owen Pallett(Final Fantasy).
Curiously all of the songs are named after Bible verses. Download or listen to the new track "Genesis 3:23" here.
Darnielle explained the record's sacred themes briefly:
It's twelve new songs: twelve hard lessons the Bible taught me, kind of. More than that I'd want to wait to say until some people have heard it, which won't be long. Will there be more news soon, quite soon? Like, next week, even? Oh yes there will!"
Until then, here's the full tracklist:
The Life of the World to Come
01 1 Samuel 15:23 02 Psalms 40:2 03 Genesis 3:23 (Download here) 04 Philippians 3:20-21 05 Hebrews 11:40 06 Genesis 30:3 07 Romans 10:9 08 1 John 4:16 09 Matthew 25:21 10 Deuteronomy 2:10 11 Isaiah 45:23 12 Ezekiel 7 and the Permanent Efficacy of Grace
No, this is not some terrible mutant spawn borne of Toronto’s garbage heaps and ongoing municipal workers strike. Far from it- these Monsters are far gentler and wield only acoustic guitars and impressive harmonies. The Monsters of Folkis in fact the curious moniker for the new collaborative supergroup that features M. Ward, Conor Oberst, and Jim James (My Morning Jacket). The group has recorded their self-titled debut recording, and it will be released on September 22nd through Shangri-La.
Click here to sign up and receive a free download of their excellent new song “Say Please”.
Dates have been now been confirmed for a huge Fall tour. Regretfully these monsters will not be landing in Hong Kong to kick things off; choosing instead Vancouver on October 13th, to make their monstrous tour debut. The Monsters of Folk will then gently terrorize the North American continent until mid-November, including a stop in Toronto at Massey Hall on the second of that month. From there, they will hit up Europe before concluding the tour in Belgium on November 22nd.
10/13 Vancouver, British Columbia - Orpheum 10/14 Portland, OR - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall 10/15 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre 10/17 Oakland, CA - Fox Theater 10/18 Los Angeles, CA - The Greek Theater 10/20 San Diego, CA - Spreckels Theatre 10/21 Phoenix, AZ - Orpheum Theater 10/22 Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl 10/28 Omaha, NE - Holland Center 10/29 Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre 10/30 Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre 10/31 Louisville, KY - Louisville Palace Theatre 11/2 Toronto, ON - Massey Hall 11/3 Boston, MA - The Orpheum 11/6 New York, NY - United Palace 11/8 New York, NY - Beacon Theater 11/9 Philadelphia, PA - Academy of Music 11/12 Stockholm, Sweden - Philadelphia Church 11/14 Berlin, Germany - Huxleys 11/15 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega 11/17 London, England - Troxy 11/18 Paris, France - Elysee Montmartre 11/19 Koln, Germany - E/Werk 11/21 The Hague, Netherlands - Crossing Border 11/22 Antwerp, Belgium - Crossing Border
Since discovering Toronto’s The Wooden Skya few months back, I’ve been anxiously awaiting their latest full length release. Today I was fortunate to receive a preview copy of that release entitled If I Don’t Come Home You’ll Know I’m Gone, (due to hit the streets on August 25th.) Well worth the wait, this one is a decidedly less boisterous affair than their previous effort and demonstrates a marked growth for the band. Growth best characterized by attention to detail, musicianship and keen lyrical beauty. This is a band clearly honing its craft and absolutely getting it right.The Wooden Skydeftly draws on elements of folk, country and rock with this record and the results are stunningly gorgeous and very original. “Something Hiding For Us in the Night” and “Oslo” shine with a conspicuous organic charm that any band would be proud to call their own. An early front runner for favourite record this year, If I Don’t Come Home You’ll Know I’m Gone will mightily impress. Who knows, the Wooden Skymight just be your next favourite band.
Gavin Gardiner, Andrew Wyatt, Simon Walker, Anissa Hart, Peter Krpan, Andrew Kekewich (the Wooden Sky) has set out on a cross-Canada tour this month to lead up to the record’s late August release. Dubbed the “Bedrooms and Backstreets Tour”, the band will be playing cities big and small and some places slightly off the well worn club path. The entourage will roll in to play on Gavin and Wyatt’s Rooftop in Toronto tonight and in London on July 24th. The band will be playing at Patterson’s Backyard.
From the band’s Facebook fan page:
This summer, we're going to be heading across Canada doing a different tour than we're used to doing. We have nearly 30 dates, and the large majority of them will be free of charge and in alternative venues such as house parties, backyards, campfires, in gondolas and even in canoes. We're pretty excited. We'll be playing songs from our new record If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone (which comes out in the fall) as well as a good selection of older songs. Hopefully we'll be stopping by somewhere close enough to you that you'll be able to come out!
Here's The Dates - More Details Coming Soon!
19 Jul Royal City Park Gazebo Guelph, Ontario 21 Jul The Grist Mill Waterloo, Ontario 23 Jul Gavin and Wyatt’s Rooftop Toronto, Ontario 24 Jul Paterson’s Backyard London, Ontario 25 Jul The Ford Plant Brantford, Ontario 26 Jul The Phog Lounge (Outside/Inside) Windsor, Ontario 29 Jul Levi’s Backyard Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 30 Jul 510 Patio Calgary, Alberta 2 Aug Waterfont Gazebo Nanaimo, British Columbia 3 Aug TBA Victoria, British Columbia 4 Aug Peak2Peak Gazebo Whistler, British Columbia 5 Aug John Rogers Park Vancouver, British Columbia 6 Aug Backyard Party! Banff, Alberta 7 Aug In Canoes On Water! Banff, Alberta 8 Aug Edmonton Folk Festival Edmonton, Alberta 9 Aug Edmonton Folk Festival Edmonton, Alberta 10 Aug Carl’s House Regina, Saskatchewan 12 Aug Ragpickers Winnipeg, Manitoba 13 Aug Black Pirate’s Thunder Bay, Ontario 14 Aug Arcadia Coffee House Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario 15 Aug Jon`s House Sudbury, Ontario 16 Aug Black Sheep Inn Front Patio Wakefield, Ontario 17 Aug Canteen Ottawa, Ontario 19 Aug Karl’s Backyard Quebec City, Quebec 20 Aug La Chasse Galerie Lavaltrie, Quebec 21 Aug TBA Montreal, Quebec 22 Aug TBA Peterborough, Ontario 23 Aug The Woodlawn Ajax, Ontario
The Wooden Sky make a stop in London on their "Bedrooms and Backstreets" Tour across Canada.
They will be showcasing songs off their new album (released on August 25th) "If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone". The cross-country tour will roll through London on July 24th. The band will be playing at Patterson’s Backyard.
Opening up will be Evening Hymns and London's Handsome Dan and his Gallimaufry. This show is Pay What You Can and will be outside (weather permitting) Bring your own LAWNCHAIR (and refreshments!)
Lastly, I have a copy of the band’s limited edition tour only EP courtesy of themusebox and the Wooden Sky to give away to one lucky reader. Leave a comment and or drop me a line sean dot thisispop at gmail dot com and tell me the name of the Wooden Sky’s forthcoming release and you might just win it.
Tis the season of the music prize dear reader and the venerable British version was announced earlier today. The judges who preside over the annual Mercury Music Prize are soon to commiserate in an attempt to figure out the best album by a British artist in 2009. The methodology behind the award’s designation is a closely guarded secret, with a handful of music industry types deciding who should win the prestigious award.
The prize of £20,000 (approx. $36,200 C) is considerable, and will help out any artist in these recessionary times. The favourites to win this year are Florence and The Machine and Kasabian, although Bat for Lashes, Glasvegas and The Horrors have all got a good chance of taking home the prestigious award.
The winner of the prize will be announced on September 8th. The full list of nominees reads as follows:
Florence and the Machine – Lungs Kasabian – West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum Bat for Lashes – Two Suns La Roux – La Roux Glasvegas – Glasvegas Speech Debelle – Speech Therapy Friendly Fires – Friendly Fires The Horrors – Primary Colours Lisa Hannigan – Sea Sew The Invisible – The Invisible Led Bib – Sensible Shoes Sweet Billy Pilgrim – Twice Born Men
Any ideas on whom you think will take the purse this year? I think that Florence and the Machine will be hard to beat.
At long last the lineup for the Ontario edition of the 2009 Virgin Music Fest was announced today. The two-day festival, this year will take place in Burl’s Creek Park near Barrie ON on August 29th and 30th. Nine Inch Nails will top a list of headliners that also includes Franz Ferdinand, Grizzly Bear, Pet Shop Boys, Sloan, Our Lady Peace, Ben Harper & Relentless7 and the Pixies. (I suspect Counting Crowsmay have all ready been booked elsewhere) In fairness it is exciting to see Grizzly Bearand the Rural Alberta Advantage on the ticket.
Tickets go on sale Saturday (July 18th) at noon through Ticketmaster and the Future Shop, with weekend passes going for $99 and VIP weekend passes for $275.
For more information about the passes, transportation to the site and other Virgin Festival business, you can visit the festivals website.
More acts are expected to be announced as the date approaches, but here is the initial lineup for Virgin Festival Ontario:
August 29:
Ben Harper & Relentless 7 Pixies Franz Ferdinand Paolo Nutini Grizzly Bear Mates Of State Sloan Lights Plants and Animals Down With Webster The Rural Alberta Advantage Iglu And Hartly Anjulie Candy Coated Killahz
August 30:
Nine Inch Nails Pet Shop Boys Our Lady Peace N.E.R.D. Cold War Kids Mutemath Mew Thunderheist Coeur De Pirate The Von Bondies Datarock Hyper Crush Trouble Andrew Silver Starling The D'Urbervilles Sean Kingston Melonie Fiona The New Cities
Sunfest 2009 has come and gone now but the fine Forest City summer festival fun continues. This time it’s one of this city’s oldest music traditions, the Home County Folk Festivalin downtown Victoria Park in London, Ontario.
This year organizers are inviting everyone to “Come Experience the Fusion” at London’s longest running FREE admission music festival. A summertime tradition for the past 35 years the festival brings together generations of music fans and performers whilst transforming the park into an exciting family celebration of music, dance and the arts. With over 132 performances, you’ll be energized by the fusion of sounds from regional, national and international talent in folk/rock, blues, bluegrass, Celtic and Acadian.
With an incredible line-up for 2009, professional artists and new styles of folk will be showcased at the park and at late night ticketed venues throughout downtown London. While at the park, take in the sounds and witness the dances that celebrate Canadian artistic roots. You can stroll between the performances and enjoy over 150 crafters and artisans while sampling a variety of foods. Come picnic with the family or visit the Small Folk Fun Area for a variety of free kids entertainment, games, crafts, music, and the Small Folk Fun Stage.
The festival runs from July 17 -19, 2009! I for one can’t wait for Elliot Brood; Always a concert highlight!
It seemed inevitable to me but news today confirmed that poet-singer-songwriter-author-ladies man-monk Leonard Cohen has asked for a brief respite from new versions of his classic “Hallelujah,” arguing the large number of artists covering the song and its frequent appearance on soundtracks amounts to overkill.
“I was reading a review of a movie called Watchmen that uses it, and the reviewer said, ‘Can we please have a moratorium on ‘Hallelujah’ in movies and television shows?’ and I kind of feel the same way,” Cohen told the Guardian . “I think it’s a good song, but too many people sing it.”
I had posted earlier this year about the ubiquity of "Hallelujah" Most recently the song provided the soundtrack for the sex scene in Watchmen and actually employed Cohen’s own version of the song, one of the few times Cohen’s original has been used in recent years. Since Jeff Buckley covered the song on his 1994 album Grace “Hallelujah” has taken on near mythical status. Helping out as well were renditions by the U.K.’s X Factor winner Alexandra Burke and American Idol Season Seven finalist Jason Castro. Kate Voegele, k.d. lang and Rufus Wainwright have also covered the song in the years since its original 1984 release.
Can you say over-saturation dear readers? Cohen could not be any more correct, it really is time to give this one a rest. Then again, Cohen can’t be complaining about the extra royalties that have been begotten from “Hallelujah”, especially considering he was forced to tour after a lengthy hiatus because his former manager made off with most of his assets.
What are your thoughts? Any other songs deserved of moratorium status?
The day has finally arrived to reveal the 2009 Polaris Prize Shortlist! Let the real prognosticating begin. (And you thought last year was a tough one to pick.)
Summer holidays can sometimes wreak havoc on a bloggers news cycle but I would be remiss if I were to leave this item unmentioned. In the better late than never department - some terrific London Ontario music news.
The artist listing for the fourth incarnation of the London Ontario Live Arts Festival (LOLA) has been announced and as always it looks pretty fantastic. Final Fantasy, Akron/Family, Bruce Peninsula, Polar Bear, A Horse and His Boy, Canaille and Nihilist Spasm Band, NOMO, and the University Of Western Ontario New Music Ensemble are some of the musical acts that will play the London Ontario Live Arts Festival (LOLA) from Sept. 17th to 19th.
Free concerts and programming will once again be held in London's Victoria Park and over three days.
“By turning night into day, day into night – warping time and space metaphorically and psychologically – the artists of LOLA 2009will generate visions of brilliance and darkness that will challenge the senses and ignite the imagination,” states Paul Walde, Artistic Director for LOLA.
LOLA 2009will once again free concerts in Victoria Park, feature art exhibitions throughout the city's downtown area and the Forest City Gallery, along with a downtown light-based installation that will transform an entire city block.
More information about the festival is available on the LOLA website.
Sub Pop Records pioneered the model, Radiohead varied the theme and Trent Reznor all but perfected it… Needless to say it’s not exactly the most original idea, but Third Man Records head Jack White has started a website subscription service called the Vault. Third Man is home to White’s bands The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and the recently formed The Dead Weather, which features The Kills’ vocalist Allison Mosshart.
“If you knew what we had laying around here, you’d crap your pants,” decrees The Vault’s chromatically pleasing website.
Soiled pants aside, membership will include exclusive video content, pre-sale concert tickets, podcasts, pay-per-view live concerts and other exclusive online content for $7 a month. A “premium membership” is also available for a rather hefty $20 a month (minimum three-month subscription), and also includes a quarterly limited edition 12-inch LP, seven-inch single and T-shirt.
Now for the small print part and do pay close attention to the upcoming deadline. Regular subscriptions are available anytime; platinum subscribers must apply during quarterly registration periods (the first window closes July 21st). Interested customers will receive a double album of The White Stripes’ Icky Thump featuring an exclusive mono mix, 180-gram vinyl and customized artwork, as well as a Third Man shirt and a 45 of The Dead Weather performing covers of “Forever My Queen” and “Outside".
So kudos and virtual hugs go out to Jack White III and the fine folks atThird Man Records. This appears to be the new market model for music distribution and will definitely appeal to diehard music fans of all stripes. I am certain that if you spoil them Jack and they will be yours for life.
REVIEW: Sonic Youth in Concert Massey Hall, June 30th, 2009
A good friend of mine once remarked that, he could not believe I liked the music of Sonic Youth- “That stuff just hurts my ears”, he opined. The noisy dissonance and extended guitar workouts seemed (at least to him) entirely incongruous to the short, sharp pop that heavily infiltrated other corners of my record collection. His assessment seemingly informed by mere cursory listening and hasty judgment than anything else. To my mind it was as if we heard two different bands in Sonic Youth. Amidst that melodic chaos that “hurt” his ears a certain beauty existed for me, the likes of which I had truly never heard before. It would become some of the most important music of my life. Sonic Youth forced me to listen to music differently and opened a myriad of doors that extended far beyond music.
I first saw Sonic Youth perform at a small venue in Ann Arbor, Michigan over twenty years ago. The late night performance was mesmerizingly loud and forever cemented the group in my heart as a band that truly mattered to me. They were arty, mysterious, bewildering and beautiful. Sonic Youth defined a sound and completely original musical entity that would influence a generation of artists. The band’s overt musicality escaping the easy confines of compare; eventually establishing a huge creative legacy that would leave most bands green with envy.
Flash forward twenty three years later and the band continue to make relevant and challenging music that goes straight to my heart and mind. This time the dank nightclub replaced by the acoustically perfect Massey Hall in downtown Toronto. Expectations were noticeably high as a palpable buzz permeated the historic venue. After an interesting although brief set by the Ecstatic Peace-signed The Entrance Band, Sonic Youth took the stage at 9:05 pm. The band walked onto the same one that has hosted iconic music royalty through the years from Neil Young to the Stooges- (Both of which greatly informed the Sonic Youth sound.) Beginning with the murky and cacophonous “She Is Not Alone” (off the band’s first self-titled 1981 release) the band laid waste to some audience expectations immediately. This felt more like an event than a typical rock n’ roll show, just like it did so many years ago. The stage, adorned with large silhouetted lighting panels, mounted behind the band were used to great effect and would be frequently throughout the nearly two hour show. Thurston Moore quickly established control of a rapt and very energetic audience- assaulting the strings and fret board of his guitar with a drumstick until falling to the stage on the instrument by song’s end.
Catapulting us directly to the present, the band launched into the barely two minute single “Sacred Trickster” (from the Eternal) featuring a dancing Kim Gordon resplendent in a silver lame dress. This song would be the first of what would be (to some fans’ chagrin) a complete replay of the Eternal album. (Not without precedent the band is known to focus on newer material on their musical outings.) Fifth (touring) member, bassist Mark Ibold added extra rhythms to augment the band's sound.
Quite honestly I loved this show. After having lived with the record for nearly a month now I really love all of the songs that comprise it. Unlike a band say, like the Rolling Stones, Sonic Youth are not a greatest hits band and seldom tread on familiar musical path. It is one of their best qualities. Mind you Gordon did throw me for a loop when she announced a Neil Young cover would be played before launching into “Massage the History” a suitable homage perhaps to a man pivotal to their career success. (Thurston’s acoustic guitar, a subtle reminder of the man that once tapped them as show openers in the early nineties.) Just before that they played “Thunderclap (for Bobby Pyn)” their tribute to former Germs frontman Darby Crash. Not surprisingly it was older songs that comprised the two encores that really seemed to enliven the audience. For a band with a history like this one, nostalgia is all but inevitable, but this time it felt far from it. "Pacific Coast Highway" from the album Sister. Evol album-opener "Tom Violence" and "The Sprawl" from the band’s landmark album Daydream Nation were welcome encore selections and they could not have sounded better.
The show truly reached its inspired zenith with the opening notes of Lee Ranaldo’s guitar on “What We Know”, a perfect and mystifying song that bridges the old and the new, the obscurity and the obvious, the artistic and the pop side and the beauty and truth that comprises the very art that is Sonic Youth. This is one song that represents exactly what I love about this band and why I will always maintain a very certain level of excitement when another new album and tour are announced. Judging by the smiles on the faces in the crowd that night I wasn’t the only one more than satisfied by a band still reaching for greater creative heights.
The crowd euphoria continued when the band exploded into their classic "Death Valley ’69" (from Bad Moon Rising) to end the night as a final encore. Steve Shelley's propulsive persussion on this one was simply amazing. That selection could not have been more inspired. It functioned as both a much deserved nod to those fans that frequently called it out and likely acknowledgement to their own storied past. It was the only song I kind of missed from that concert I attended twenty years ago but on this night it sounded as beautiful and fresh and unlike anything else now. I have a funny feeling I’ll still be listening with the same fresh ears twenty years from now. With any luck Sonic Youth will be touring with a brand new record under their wing then too.
SETLIST
Sonic Youth Massey Hall, June 30th, 2009 Toronto, Ontario
She Is Not Alone Sacred Trickster No Way Calming the Snake Walkin’ Blue Malibu Gas Station Antenna Leaky Lifeboat Poison Arrow Anti-Orgasm Thunderclap/for Bobby Pyn Massage the History Pacific Coast Highway
