Firefly Fest (Dover, Delaware - June 19 − 22) Has One of the Best Lineups of the Summer Festival Season

http://fireflyfestival.com/ 

Actually, a lot of words rhyme with Pavement...

Estrangement, enslavement, disengagement....

Cool article from Pitchfork (see below) with great videos of Pavement from back in the day... Not news to anyone who actually saw them then or during the more recent reunion shows.

Looking forward to seeing Malkmus on tour next month... It was cool to see him acknowledge Parquet Courts in a recent interview.... They are definitely the spiritual heirs of Pavement... Austin of Parquet Courts told me how much he loved jamming with Spiral Stairs and how they saw themselves as mining the same veins as Pavement... rich psychedelic ore, aye....

from Rolling Stone:

Have you heard Parquet Courts?

Those guys are cool. I was in this hamburger place the other day in Portland – they were playing the Parquet Courts record and I thought it was Pavement.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/stephen-malkmus-on-why-everyone-wants-to-be-a-nineties-kid-20140103

http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/233-invisible-hits-pavement-in-1994/

Proof That Pavement Didn't Suck Live

By Tyler Wilcox, February 13, 2014 at 11:50 a.m.

Welcome to the first installment of Invisible Hits, a new column in which Tyler Wilcox scours the internet for the best (and strangest) bootlegs. Tyler also blogs at Doom & Gloom From the Tomb. This time, in honor of the 20th anniversary of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, he's dug up some killer archival footage of Pavement.

"They're terrible live."

If you mentioned Pavement back in the 90s, that statement was usually not far behind. But all these years later—and a day shy of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain's 20th birthday, at that—can we finally put that argument to rest? Stephen Malkmus has always had too mercurial a temperament to simply cruise through note-perfect versions of his tunes; he likes to fuck around with his creations. He’s still known to change lyrics at will, play radically different guitar solos, try out new tempos. Which is why for some fans, Pavement gigs could be frustrating. But for people entertained and compelled by the now-ness of a live performance, Pavement was an oddly bewitching onstage presence.

1994 marked a particularly strange moment for the band. Riding high on four years of critical hosannas and armed with an album that showed no signs of the dreaded sophomore slump, this was supposed to be the year Pavement broke through to the mainstream. Things didn’t quite work out that way, and with hindsight, it’s easy to see why. While Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain was the band’s most accessible set of tunes thus far, it was also packed to the brim with ambivalence about the prospect of rock stardom. And if there’s one thing that kills buzz, it’s ambivalence.

You can see Pavement’s uneasiness all too clearly in two clips from that year. At an unnamed festival that summer, we see the band whipping the crowd into a frenzy with a demonic "Unfair", Nastanovich howling righteously, Malkmus barely able to contain his glee. But then, without missing a beat, Pavement shuts the mosh pit down, seguing into a goofy instrumental rendition of the then-unreleased "Brinx Job".

Then, famously, Malkmus greeted Jay Leno’s late night audience on "The Tonight Show" with a bout of atonal screeching, before leading the band through that almost-smash-hit, "Cut Your Hair." What did Branford Marsalis think?

But this amazing, semi-professional video of a gig in Frankfurt in March of that year tells a different story. Great songs were pouring out of Malkmus with frightening regularity during this period (Neil Young’s unstoppable output circa 1973-4 comes to mind), and Pavement kicks off the set with an unreleased song, the wind-swept desert dirge "Pueblo." The band then swaggers through the bulk of the just-a-month-old Crooked Rain (skipping only "Range Life"). There are false starts and hiccups galore—new drummer Steve West briefly forgets how to play "Elevate Me Later" and Spiral Stairs disappears at one point, to the bewilderment of his bandmates. "The other guitarist just quit the group," Bob Nastanovich quips. 

Pavement play with an undeniable confidence and spirit, exploring the explosive cadences of "Silence Kit", drifting majestically on "Heaven Is A Truck", and ba-ba-ba-ing through old favorites like "Debris Slide" and "Forklift". They even excel on the stranger, more challenging material, like the falsetto-laden "Newark Wilder" and a "Stop Breathing" that builds to a thrilling finale. There’s very little in the way of ambivalence here—Pavement just sounds like a great rock band. Malkmus’ guitar work is less proggy than it would later become, but he still shreds with abandon, at times skronking up a storm à la Sonic Youth, at others slipping into a sparklingly psychedelic mode. He manages to fit it all in on the closing "Fillmore Jive", surely the only song to bring to mind both the Frogs and "Free Bird". "I need to sleep," goes the chorus, and the band responds with a cacophony that would wake the dead. 

——————————————————————————————————————————

A good excuse, no, to take another look at my recent Malkmus video featuring Pavement's "Harness Your Hopes", Led Zeppelin's "Hairway to Stephen", I mean "Stairway to Heaven", and The Velvet Underground's "Beginning to See The Light":

New Spiritualized Space Song

According to Pitchfork: On April 19 (Record Store Day), Lefse will release a compilation called Space Project, which features songs by Youth Lagoon, Beach House, Mutual Benefit, the Antlers, and others that incorporate sounds recorded in space by the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes. Spiritualized, under the name the Spiritualized Mississippi Space Program, contributed a track called "Always Forgetting With You (The Bridge Song)". Listen above.

Every song in the compilation is inspired by a different celestial body - the Spiritualized track is about Neptune.

http://pitchfork.com/news/53934-listen-spiritualized-always-forgetting-with-you-the-bridge-song/

By the way, Jason will be performing in L.A. February 14 and 15, doing "Ladies and Gentlemen" with a fucking orchestra! I saw this show at Radio City Music Hall a few years back and it's one of the best concerts I've ever seen. All the best to the band and the fans in L.A.! Gonna be great, I'm sure...

Jack White to Co-Headline Impressive Governor's Ball Line-Up

Jack White's only currently scheduled concert for 2014 is this one...

Queens of The Stone Age 2014 U.S. Tour

April 11-13 - Indio, Calif. (Coachella)
April 15 - Portland, Ore. (Keller Auditorium)
April 17 - San Francisco, Calif. (Bill Graham Civic Auditorium)
April 18-20 - Indio, Calif. (Coachella)
May 6 - St. Paul, Minn. (Roy Wilkins Auditorium)
May 7 - Milwaukee, Wisc. (The Riverside Theater)
May 9 - Chicago, Ill. (Aaron Ballroom)
May 13 - Kansas City, Mo. (Starlight Theatre)
May 14 - Tulsa, Okla. (Brady Theater)
May 16-18 - Gulf Shores, Ala. (Hangout Music Festival)
May 23-25 - George, Wash. (Sasquatch! Music Festival)

The Strypes "Hard to Say No"

Well, well, well... (as the late great R.L. Burnside used to say...).... our favorite teenaged Irish retro R&B band is happily proving to be more than a one-hit wonder and one-note tunesmiths.

Although they masterfully (almost scarily) handle classic Mississippi Delta Blues (channeled via the early 1960s London R&B scene), there was a question as to whether they could write their own material or perform stuff which wasn't strictly Da Blues.

This latest release (see below) should put the last of those fears at bay.

We first caught their catchy cover of "Can't Judge a Book".




They looked great. They played great. But could they write? Yes they can. Can they play something other than classic Blues? Yes they can. They are all excellent, but guitarist Josh McClorey is a particular stand-out. He inspires confidence that he could handle playing almost anything and playing it well.

I caught them a few weeks back in San Francisco during their first U.S. tour. Although I didn't care for the venue (or the crowd), they put on a great show. Wish I had gotten down to the L.A. show...

Of course the kicker is that none of them, still, can get served a drink (legally) in America. I went by San Francisco's Last Call, owned by Irish music fanatic Kevin, before the show. Kevin couldn't make the show and I was going to see if the band wanted to go to the bar after the show, but then I realized they are all still under-age for drink (in America).

A bunch of Irish teenagers covering songs written by and for middle-aged African-Americans sounds like a disaster in the making or at the very least a terrible joke. (Needless to say, it helps that they are using superlative source material.) The Strypes manage to pull it off, with gusto, class, sass, and swerve.

If you missed the first U.S. tour, fear not.... the good news is, they are coming back to the U.S. pretty soon!

THE STRYPES WILL BE TOURING THE U.S & CANADA IN MARCH 2014

MARCH 

10 - NASHVILLE, TN - High Watt - TICKETS

11 - MEMPHIS, TN - 1884 Lounge - TICKETS

18 - NEW YORK, NY - Bowery Ballroom - TICKETS

20 - ALLSTON, MA - Great Scott - TICKETS

21 - MONTREAL, QC - La Sala Rossa - TICKETS

22 - TORONTO, ON - Virgin Mobile Mod Club - TICKETS

24 - CHICAGO, IL - Subterranean - TICKETS

25 - MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Triple Rock Social Club - TICKETS

27 - SEATTLE, WA - The Crocodile - TICKETS

28 - PORTLAND, OR - Holocene - TICKETS

29 - SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Bottom of the Hill - TICKETS

31 - LOS ANGELES, CA - El Rey Theatre - TICKETS

Here's their new song "Hard to Say No"....

See Conor On Tour This Year

from Spin.com

http://www.spin.com/articles/conor-oberst-hundreds-of-ways-upside-down-mountain-tour-stream/

Conor Oberst Previews Solo Album With Jaunty 'Hundreds of Ways'

'Upside Down Mountain' is due out May 20 on Nonesuch, amid a U.S. tour

Conor Oberst, right side up, not especially mountainous

WRITTEN BY
Marc Hogan

February 11 2014, 1:32 PM ET

"I hope I am forgotten when I die," Conor Oberst insists on "Hundreds of Ways," the initial listen from upcoming solo album Upside Down Mountain. One of SPIN's 50 Albums You Gotta Hear in 2014, the May 20 Nonesuch Records release will be Oberst's first proper solo album since 2008's self-titled set and his first album of new material, period, since Bright Eyes' 2011 LP The People's Key.

The lyrical sentiment might be a surprising one from an artist who has been releasing music since before he could get a driver's license, but it captures this buoyant track's live-in-the-moment uplift. The title refers to ways to get "through the day," and Oberst — who, according to Rolling Stone, recorded with Father John Misty producer Jonathan Wilson and guest vocalists First Aid Kit in Nashville — offers a few of them here: indie-folk storytelling, alt-country twang, and cosmpolitan-pop brass that brings to mind the last Iron & Wine record.

"Hundreds of Ways" is out on vinyl on April 19 as a Record Store Day 2014 exclusive, backed by non-album track "Fast Friends." Listen below, and scroll down for dates with Dawes, including stops at New York's Central Park and Oberst's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.

Play

Conor Oberst tour dates with Dawes:

May 8 - Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom
May 9 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
May 10 - Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Festival
May 11 - Nashville, TN @ Charleston Music Hall
May 13 - Jacksonville, FL @ Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
May 14 - Orlando, FL @ The Beacham
May 16 - Gulf Shores, AL @ The Hangout Festival
May 17 - Chattanooga, TN @ Track 29
May 22 - Westbury, NY @ The Space at Westbury
May 23 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
May 24 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
May 25 - Munhall, PA @ Carnegie Library Music Hall of Homestead
May 27 - Cincinnati, OH @ Taft Theatre
May 29 - Chicago, IL @ Metro
May 30 - Chicago, IL @ Metro
May 31 - Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater
June 1 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
June 2 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
June 4 - Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium
June 5 - Columbia, MO @ The Blue Note
June 6 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
June 7 - Lexington, KY @ Buster's
July 29 - New York, NY @ Central Park Summer Stage at Rumsey Playfield

See Malkmus On Tour This Spring

2014 US Tour Dates

by JOANNA JICK on Dec 3, 2013

Wed Feb 12, 2014Denver | Gothic Theatre | tickets *

Fri Feb 14, 2014Columbia, MO | Mojo’s | tickets *

Sat Feb 15, 2014St. Louis | Old Rock House | tickets *

Sun Feb 16, 2014Omaha | The Waiting Room | tickets *

Tue Feb 18, 2014Minneapolis | Cedar Cultural Center | tickets *

Wed Feb 19, 2014Madison | High Noon Saloon | tickets *

Thu Feb 20, 2014Chicago | Lincoln Hall | tickets +

Fri Feb 21, 2014Ferndale, MI | The Loving Touch | tickets +

Sat Feb 22, 2014Toronto | Lee’s Palace | tickets +

Sun Feb 23, 2014Montreal | Cafe Campus | tickets +

Tue Feb 25, 2014Boston | Paradise | tickets +

Wed Feb 26, 2014
NYC | Bowery | tickets +

Thu Feb 27, 2014
Brooklyn | Music Hall of Williamsburg | tickets %

Fri Feb 28, 2014
Washington DC | Black Cat | tickets %

Sat Mar 1, 2014Philadelphia | Theatre of Living Arts | tickets %

Mon Mar 3, 2014Carrboro | Cat’s Cradle | tickets #

Tue Mar 4, 2014Atlanta | Terminal West | tickets #

Wed Mar 5, 2014Birmingham | Bottletree | tickets #

Thu Mar 6, 2014New Orleans | The Parish @ HOB | tickets #

Fri Mar 7, 2014Houston | Fitzgerald’s Upstairs | tickets #

Sun Mar 9, 2014Dallas | Granada | tickets #

Sat Mar 15, 2014Portland | Star Theater | tickets <o>

Thu Mar 27, 2014San Francisco | Slim’s | tickets &

Fri Mar 28, 2014Los Angeles | El Rey | tickets &

Sat Mar 29, 2014San Diego | Casbah | tickets &

Sun Mar 30, 2014Pioneertown, CA | Pappy and Harriet’s | tickets &

Tue Apr 1, 2014Phoenix | Crescent Ballroom | tickets &

Wed Apr 2, 2014Las Vegas | Beauty Bar | tickets &

Thu Apr 3, 2014Salt Lake City | Urban Lounge | tickets &

Sat Apr 5, 2014Missoula | Top Hat | tickets &

Mon Apr 7, 2014Calgary | Republik | tickets &

Tue Apr 8, 2014Edmonton | Starlite Room | tickets &

Thu Apr 10, 2014Vancouver | Rickshaw Theatre | tickets &

Fri Apr 11, 2014
Victoria | Lucky Bar | tickets &

Sat April 12, 2014Seattle | Neptune | tickets &

( * with Tyvek)
(+ with Disappears)
(% with Endless Boogie)
(# with Purling Hiss)
(<o> with Sun Foot)
(& with Speedy Ortiz)