New AC/DC track(“Rock n’ Roll Train”) from the forthcoming album, Black Ice, is streaming on ACDC.com. Sounds good enough to me that I’ll brave the white trash that lives at Wal-Mart just to pick up the CD which will be sold for only $11.88 exclusively at the superstore (and Sam’s Club) on October 20. (Who am I kidding? As my wife so kindly reminded me this morning, we shop at Wal-Mart often.)
Wal-Mart operators are standing by now just in case you want to pre-order the thing.
Hey Gary, I’m keeping a top 10 spot on my year end list warm and cozy for you as I’m sure you’ll deliver.
Not a ton of info about the new Snow Patrol CD has been made available yet other than a title (A Hundred Million Suns), a release date (October 28), and the name of the first single (“Take Back the City”). In July, SP singer (and one of my favorite interview subjects) Gary Lightbody posted a MySpace blog rattling off a list of bands he’s been listening to this summer (Fleet Foxes, Sunset Rubdown, Fanfarlo) .
Gary, if you manage to read this, I’d like to suggest a potential opening band for any post-album release tour you might do, especially if it brings you to the U.S. You might already know them as they live on your side of the pond and they remind me quite a bit of SP. With that build up, let me introduce you to The Rushes.
The Rushes – “Corners”
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”
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.
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?