Deer Tick – “Art Isn’t Real (City of Sin)”
Matt Wertz – “5:19”
Stars Like Fleas – “I Was Only Dancing”
Emiliana Torrini – “Me and Armini”
Ben Weaver – “White Snow”, “Alligators and Owls”
Andre Williams – “Can You Deal With It?”, “Never Had a Problem”
Adventure – “Battle Cat”
Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez – “Mostly a Friend”
The Little Ones – “Morning Tide”
The Break and Repair Method – “You Won’t be Able to be Sad”
The Good Players – “David’s Lamentation”
Holly Springs Sacred Harp Convention – “Stratfield”
Month: August 2008
The Standard return in September
I accidentally stumbled upon a live performance by Portland’s The Standard in 2006 when going to check out a friend’s band. Got there a bit early and was completely memorized by these guys who just happened to be passing through town and secured a last minute gig, probably on their way to New York or something. In a weird way, they reminded me a bit of Radiohead that night though I’ll completely admit the singer’s voice took a little getting used to. It’s the same way on CD, an acquired taste, but I find there are times that I simply can’t get enough of their dark, hypnotic music.
After stints on Touch and Go and Yep Roc (where they seemed to be averaging a new release every year), The Standard signed to V2 and seemed destined for bigger and better things. V2 closed it’s door before The Standard’s The Swimmer could be released last year. It’s taken a while for the band to decide what they wanted to do with the finished product and they finally decided to start their own label (Partisan Records) to put the long-awaited (by me, anyway) CD out.
Look for The Swimmer to arrive in stores and on-line on Sept.23. In the meantime, here are 3 MP3s from that album to check out.
MP3: “The Swimmer“
MP3: “Sunday Eyes”
MP3: “A Different Skin”
Everest scores Neil Young dates (as does Wilco and DCFC)
Exciting news for the fellas in Everest (featuring ex-members of … deep breath … Sebadoh, The Watson Twins, Folk Implosion, Dig, Earlimart, John Vanderslice), they’ve scored the opening slot on this winter’s Neil Young tour. I’ve been a fan of the band since discovering Great Northern’s Davey Latter was a member at one point and gave the band’s debut, Ghost Notes, 5 W’s (out of 5) in my review for Wonka Vision magazine (funny … I mention both Neil Young and Wilco in my review!). Death Cab for Cutie is on the bill for the first half of the tour, Wilco on the second half.
From Thrasher’s Wheat, a site dedicated to Neil Young news, here are the dates:
October
14 – St. Paul, MN — Xcel Energy Center / on sale August 22
16 – Winnipeg, MN — MTS Centre / on sale August 22
18 – Regina, SK — Brandt Centre / on sale August 22
19 – Calgary, AB — Pengrowth Saddledome / on sale August 22
21 – Everett, WA — Comcast Arena at Everett / on sale September 12
22 – Vancouver, BC — GM Place / on sale August 22
29 – San Diego, CA — Cox Arena / on sale August 25
30 – Los Angeles, CA — The Forum / on sale August 25November
1 – Reno, NV — Events Center / on sale August 23
4 – Kansas City, MO — Sprint Center / on sale September 12
5 – Omaha, NE — Qwest Center / on sale September 12
29 – Halifax, NS — Metro Centre / on sale August 23December
1 – Montreal, PQ — Bell Centre / on sale September 13
2 – Ottawa, ON — Scotia Bank Place / on sale August 22
4 – Toronto, ON — Air Canada Centre / on sale August 22
7 – Detroit, MI — Palace of Auburn Hills / on sale September 12
9 – Chicago, IL — Allstate Arena / on sale September 12
12 – Philadelphia, PA — Wachovia Spectrum / on sale September 19
15 – New York, NY — Madison Square Garden / on sale September 15The concerts will feature the same band that he has toured Europe with: Ben Keith, Rick Rosas, Chad Cromwell, Anthony Crawford and Pegi Young.
Death Cab For Cutie and Everest will support dates from October 14 through November 5; Wilco and Everest are on the bill for dates starting November 29 through the tour’s conclusion, with the exception of the December 9 Chicago date which will feature (TBD) and Everest in support.
Probably one of the most interesting aspects of the announcement is that all shows for this tour will be general admission floor with reserved seating in the stands. This is great news for those of us who had to be restrained from standing and moving during “No Hidden Path”.
General admission tickets will be prices at $75.00 with reserved stand tickets ranging in price from $45.00 to $250.00.
Bloc Party figures “Can’t beat ’em? Join ’em”
After watching their 2007 album A Weekend in the City show up online 3 months before the official street date, Bloc Party has learned a lesson and is now willing to give in to those who just can’t wait for a physical release. Starting on Thursday, fans will be able to purchase a digital copy of the band’s new album, Intimacy, through Bloc Party’s website. If you’re in the U.S., it’ll cost you just a penny more ($10) through Bloc Party’s site than it would if you were buying through iTunes. For $20, you’ll get the digital album on Thursday and a physical copy of the CD in October.
So, will you be downloading?
Want to be Nelson’s personal assistant for the day? It’ll cost you.
I was hoping to see Scrap Metal this week – a sort-of supergroup featuring the Nelson bros, Eric Martin (Mr.Big), Mark Slaughter, and Kelly Keagy (Night Ranger) – but the show was canceled. Not sure if it was poor ticket sales, if it was Keagy’s involvement on the Night Ranger tour which kept him from playing this date, whatever, but I was a little bummed as I had been looking forward to hearing the greatest hits of each member’s respective bands with, undoubtedly, an all-star jam at the end. (Read the band’s official cancelation notice here).
Nelson did book a new show in Columbus on October 25 (with Eric Martin opening) at the Alrosa Villa which kind of makes up for the canceled Scrap Metal show. So as I was poking around on the Nelson site, I saw a link to something that said “Be a Personal Assistant”. Might be cool to hang with the brothers Nelson for the day, show them around town, take them out to dinner, whatever. Heck, maybe they’d even give you a couple of tickets to the show and a backstage pass or two for your trouble, right? Think again, chumps.
Please Note: This Package must be purchased, paid for and confirmed BEFORE the concert date you have chosen.
$1,000 for this chance to spend the day as Matthew & Gunnar Nelson’s Personal Assistant!
Only Credit Card or Money Orders will be excepted. NO Personal Checks.
All requests are subject to approval and only 2 Personal Assistants per show.
No refunds will be given.
Nelson is not responsible for dates cancelled due to rain or acts of GodTHIS IS A NELSON EXCLUSIVE – YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PURCHASE THIS PACKAGE AT THE VENUE ON THE DAY OF THE SHOW
If you are interested please drop us a line at nelsons@thenelsonbrothers.com with the subject line “I want to be a Personal Assistant to The Nelsons!“
Only $1,000? And you get to pay to work? Awesome. If anybody actually does this, please let me know, I’d love to publish a first hand account of what $1,000 will buy you.