Cage The Elephant, Live at KCRW, "Morning Becomes Eclectic", April 18, 2011, 36 min., interview & performance....

Download Cage at KCRW free here

This "Morning Becomes Eclectic" live in-studio session, gives you a good chance to hear what Cage The Elephant is all about... they are a pretty cool new-ish indie rock band from Kentucky, known for their raucous (rock us? raw kiss?) live shows, fresh off their lauded Coachella 2011 appearance... they rock but aren't afraid to do poppy singles (which still have an edge)...


They're known for their loud funny defiant rowdy anthems like "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked", "Back Against The Wall", and "In One Ear".... but check out the mellow song "Right Before My Eyes"... it's like, the perfect pop song...


Cage is comprised of two brothers (singer Matthew Shultz and rhythm guitarist Brad) plus three old friends from Bowling Green. They recently released their second album "Thank You, Happy Birthday" (Jive/SONY) featuring several killer songs (i really like "2024").


Cage on tour (busy boys...):


APRIL 29, 2011 Memphis, TN Beale Street Music Festival
APRIL 30, 2011 Birmingham, AL 2011 Crawfish Boil
MAY 05, 2011 Louisville, KY Derby Festival
MAY 07, 2011 Philadelphia, PA The Electric Factory
MAY 08, 2011 Baltimore, MD Ram’s Head Live
MAY 10, 2011 Boston, MA House of Blues
MAY 11, 2011 New York, NY Terminal 5
MAY 14, 2011 Carlisle BBC Radio 1′s Big Weekend
MAY 17, 2011 Detroit, MI The Fillmore
MAY 18, 2011 Columbus, OH LC Pavillion
MAY 20, 2011 Columbia, SC Jillian’s
MAY 21, 2011 Jacksonville, FL Maverick’s
MAY 23, 2011 Orlando, FL House of Blues
MAY 24, 2011 Tampa, FL Ritz Ybor
MAY 25, 2011 Atlanta, GA Tabernacle
MAY 27, 2011 Houston, TX Verizon Wireless Theater
MAY 28, 2011 Austin, TX Stubb’s
MAY 29, 2011 Dallas, TX Palladium
MAY 31, 2011 Tempe, AZ Marquee
JUNE 01, 2011 San Diego, CA SOMA
JUNE 03, 2011 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl
JUNE 05, 2011 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
JUNE 07, 2011 Eugene, OR McDonald Theater
JUNE 08, 2011 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom
JUNE 09, 2011 Seattle, WA Showbox
JUNE 12, 2011 Landgraaf Megaland/Pinkpop
JUNE 15, 2011 Brussels, Belgium AB
JUNE 16, 2011 Paris, France Nouveau Casino
JUNE 18, 2011 Copenhagen, Denmark KB18
JUNE 20, 2011 Berlin, Germany Magnet
JUNE 21, 2011 Cologne, Germany Luxor
JUNE 22, 2011 Amsterdam, Netherlands Paradiso
JUNE 24, 2011 Glastonbury Glastonbury Festival 2011
JUNE 27, 2011 Vancouver, BC Deer Lake Park
JUNE 28, 2011 Calgary, AB Stampede Corral
JUNE 29, 2011 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
JUNE 30, 2011 Saskatoon, SK TCU Place
JULY 02, 2011 Winnipeg, MB MTS Center
JULY 03, 2011 Minneapolis, MN Roy Wilkins Auditorium
JULY 05, 2011 Council Bluffs, IA Stir Cove Ampitheater
JULY 06, 2011 Milwaukee, WI Summerfest
JULY 07, 2011 Toronto, ON Molson Ampitheater
JULY 10, 2011 Quebec City, QC Festival D’Ete
JULY 11, 2011 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
JULY 12, 2011 London, ON John Labatt Centre
JULY 13, 2011 Buffalo, NY Artpark
AUGUST 13, 2011 Tokyo, Japan Summer Sonic 2011
AUGUST 14, 2011 Osaka, Japan Summer Sonic 2011
AUGUST 26, 2011 Leeds Festival 2011
AUGUST 28, 2011 Reading Festival 2011
SEPTEMBER 03, 2011 Trinity Royal Jersey Showground



By the way, Cage The Elephant are the second cool band this week who gave major props to The Pixies in 
interviews... the other being The Arctic Monkeys, talking up their forthcoming 4th album "Suck It And See" to British music bible NME:
Watch Part I of Arctic Monkeys' NME video interview here
Watch Part II of Arctic Monkeys' NME video interview here

Arctic Monkeys in Chicago, Dec 6, 2009. Photo by thissmallplanet

The Pixies are currently touring the US and Canada:

Apr 24, 2011 St. Paul, MN.

Apr 26-27, 2011 Winnipeg, MB

Apr 29, 2011 Saskatoon, SK (surely that is a made-up town name...)

Apr 30, 2011 Calgary, AB

May 1, 2011 Edmonton, AB

May 3-4, 2011 Vancouver, BC

May 5, 2011 Victoria, BC

The Pixies at the Fox Theater, Oakland, California, Nov 8-9-10, 2009
Photos by thissmallplanet

Since reuniting in 2004, The Pixies have been playing arenas, theaters, and festivals all over North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. The shows have been either "Greatest Hits"or the classic album "Doolittle" in its entirety (with its B-sides and a few songs from other albums thrown in during the encores). 

The Pixies broke up in 1993, just as it seemed they were about to achieve the level of critical and commercial success that they deserved. Forming in Boston in the late 80s, they were signed to England's ultra-cool indie label 4AD, and championed by the late BBC DJ and timeless music guru, the unfortunately departed John Peel, who also promoted T Rex, The White Stripes, and The Libertines, among countless other cutting-edge bands...


Singer Black Francis' brilliant writing, pain-filled howl, and perfect harmonies with bass player Kim Deal (later of The Breeders) made The Pixies a unique voice on the alternative music scene. After the split, both singer Black Francis (later playing as Frank Black, Frank Black & The Catholics, and, with his wife Violet Clark, as Grand Duchy) and bass player/singer Kim Deal (with her twin Kelley in The Breeders) released a lot of incredible music.


Of course everyone was overjoyed when The Pixies reunited in 2004. Reportedly, Black Francis and Kim Deal hadn't spoken since the break-up until rehearsals for the reunion tour began. Yet all seemed to go well, and thousands of fans all over the world got the chance to see The Pixies, many of whom didn't get a chance to see them the first time around (1986-1993) - some of whom weren't even born or were infants at the time of the break-up.


After the reunion, we heard there might be some new music from The Pixies. We got a few new songs. In 2004, they released (without notice) "Bam Thwok" on iTunes, and recorded Warren Zevon's "Ain't That Pretty At All" for the tribute to the late wildman/genius poet Zevon ("Enjoy Every Sandwich", 2004). In 2006, they played an acoustic version of a Frank Black & The Catholics song at the Newport Folk Festival ("All Around The World").


But other that that, nothing.


Now I think The Pixies sealed their entry into The Hall of Fame with their 1987 debut EP "Come On Pilgrim", their debut LP "Surfer Rosa" (1988)(feat. "Where is My Mind?", unforgettably used at the end of the film "Fight Club"), and the classic "Doolittle" (1989), featuring the iconic single "Monkey Gone to Heaven". After that, most would agree, it was hit or miss, although the other two albums (and various B-sides, covers, etc.) definitely have their moments of brilliance.

Pixes playing "Gigantic" and "Where is My Mind?" at the Fox in Oakland, Nov 2009


I would go see The Pixies anytime, anywhere, and listen to songs from "Come On Pilgrim", "Surfer Rosa" and "Doolittle" until the end of time. 


BUT......


I would really love it


(and I'm sure millions of other people would too....)


if we would get some NEW MUSIC from The Pixies...


We LOVE Black Francis and Kim Deal singing together. We love Kim's bass. We love Black Francis' scream. We love Joey's guitar (he's one of the best). And we love David's drumming (and vocal stylings on "La La Love You"... and his magic show...)


How could they NOT make great music together, especially since they are now on speaking terms and none of them are dead.


Please, Pixies, just a couple of new songs. 


We promise that we'll like them... and we know they will be great...

Pixes playing "Vamos" at the Fox in Oakland, Nov 2009

Morning Benders Remix and/or Cover Britney Spears?

Download the song here free from Mediafire

Huh?

Morning Benders do a cover (or is it a remix?) of the Britney Spears song "Till The World Ends"?

First question: Why?

Second question: Is it any good?

Well, surely it's worth spending the time to download it free and giving it a listen, right?

  Chris at Central Park SummerStage last summer, photo by thissmallplanet

Free Downloads of Live Studio Sessions from Iron & Wine, Yuck, Best Coast, and The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

Download Live Iron & Wine here for free

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart here

Yuck here

... and Best Coast here.....

Wow, got to hand it to Daytrotter! They've been posting free downloads of live studio sessions by established as well as up and coming artists for a while now, but some of the recent sessions, like those posted above, have been excellent - must-have's, in fact.

It's a great opportunity to sample an artist you've heard about but aren't that familiar with.

Grab these four sessions. I'm sure you'll like them.

Fleet Foxes Maida Vale Sessions

Stream or download it free here

BBC1's infamous DJ Zane Lowe hosted The Fleet Foxes for a live session at Maida Vale Studios in London yesterday, featuring mostly songs from their new album "Helplessness Blues".

Let's Hear it for PJ Harvey....

 ... she managed to make an intelligent statement about society and politics and violence and war with her new album, and managed to do so in a way that was serious without being preachy, self-righteous, or self-aggrandizing (something some of our male would-be rocker/guilty-tripping "voices of conscience" have failed to do... Sting, Bobo...oops, i mean Bono;;;;)

AND NOT ONLY THAT

she managed to do so with songs that rock and sound good and feel good.

Free download of PJ Harvey live in San Francisco April 14, 2011 here...

The above link is a 38-minute version of the concert at San Francisco's Warfield Theater... This link is the whole concert (72 min.)

(pause for 420 break on April 20, 4/20, at 4:20 pm...)

some of them have reggae overtones, and others suggest rock and other forms, but regardless of the sound, it's always her, and she has something to say.... wow, a female artist over 25 who's managed to stay cool AND relevant.... now, that's something...

P.S. Everyone says she put on a killer show at Coachella 2011, despite being drowned out a few times from the main stage...

"Let England Shake" the new album from PJ Harvey


Good Interview in The Observer (UK) Apr 24, 2011 click here

famed NME cover Apr 4, 1992

Maybe many people will use this occasion, when everyone is appreciating her new album, to go back and listen to her entire body of work... there are some amazing songs to be discovered and re-discovered and uncovered and some covers, like PJ and Bjork doing The Stones' "Satisfaction".... some cool stuff for sure....

   "....i've seen soldiers fall like lumps of meat...."

"what if i take my problem to the U-nited Na-tions?...."

Ezra Covers Paul Simon

Download it for free here

Ezra from Vampire Weekend, whose sound many have compared to Paul Simon circa "Graceland", covers Simon's "Papa Hobo" for the soundtrack of Uma Thurman's new movie "Ceremony". (By the way, is Uma, still ultra-hot, now and forever condemned to playing "the older woman", while male actors her age - and much older - simply get to play "men".)

I've seen Vampire Weekend and still don't see what the fuss is about. It got turned off them early with their flaunting of their preppy upbringing. I mean, that's nothing to brag about. And their music is rather dull and safe (while referencing all the right Afro-Caribbean/world music sounds mined by Simon, Peter Gabriel, David Byrne, and countless others, to great acclaim). I was suspicious of their critical and popular success, I suppose. I tried to keep an open mind at treasure island 2009 and coachella 2010 when i saw them, but alas, it was of no use. i still found them boring and pretentious... but the kids in the crowd seemed to be having fun. i was waiting for the raconteurs to come to the stage that night. they were great of course, as were Tegan & Sara...

But anyway, even though i still am not a Vampire Weekend convert, i thought Ezra's Paul Simon cover was pretty cool.

Allow me to mention, by the way, that Paul Simon's new album, "So Beautiful or So What", which i guess officially came out yesterday, is pretty fucking good. Not bad for an old timer. The opener "Getting Ready for Christmas Day" is a jaunty romp through familiar Simon territory, followed by "The Afterlife" about dying and not being greeted by God but being told "you got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line".

Simon could have retired and rested on his laurels long ago. I mean, Simon and Garfunkel, "The Sound of Silence", all his great solo stuff, "Kodachrome", "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard", the triumph of "Graceland" ("losing love is like a window in your heart, everybody sees your blown apart, everybody feels the wind blow..."), and his gift of being able to bring African, Brazilian, and Caribbean music to the American masses....

I won't mention here my personal disappointment that he totally blew me off when i said hi to him backstage at Madison Sq. Garden when there was no one else around...

It is encouraging that an artist like Simon can keep trucking, approaching the beginning of his 8th decade on Earth (and what must be his 6th or 7th decade in the music industry). I admire his staying power and longevity. When artists come and go in a year or so, it's great to be able to follow artists like Simon, Dylan, and Leonard Cohen through their ups and downs, highs and lows, romances and heartbreaks, year after year, through their entire careers, through their entire lives, which become our lives.

Simon, who, like me, has Hungarian roots, could have thrown in the towel years ago but it's as if he can't retire (what would he do?), he's compelled to keep creating, recording, and performing. I saw him do a show a few years back outside of Boston around the time "You're The One" came out (2000). He put on a hell of a show, playing all his hits and beloved classics from Simon and Garfunkel, his solo years, and the more recent stuff. He had a great band too. He kept coming back for encores. I wondered if he had fond memories of Boston from days gone by or was just in a good mood, pumped up by an appreciative crowd. Surely he's not just doing it for himself or for Art and still wants people to like his records and performances. Well, they did that night for sure.

He's still got it. He's still The One.

The Morning Benders cover Bob Dylan's "Outlaw Blues"

Download it free here

Saw The Morning Benders open for The Black Keys last summer at Central Park SummerStage.

They are good - look for them live or digitally. It's two brothers (half-Japanese) and two friends.

They do a good version of the Dylan song too. Covering Dylan is always risky - do you go for loyalty to the original (and take a chance it will sound like a bad Dylan parody) or try something different and interpret it your own way. The Morning Benders chose the latter path and came to the palace of wisdom... I like when that happens...

Punk song about nuclear meltdown from 1979.... more relevant than ever, right Japan?

"27.3 Radiation Overdose" by Ice 9 (Portland, Oregon, USA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sJz8-9vS1w&feature=player_embedded

Hey, I grew up in Pennsylvania during Three Mile Island. Some activists I knew fled the state, fearing death. I was at a poetry festival where I met Allen Ginsberg. We actually thought we might die that weekend. But we didn't.

Then we had radioactive rain in San Francisco after Chernobyl.

Now they have the potential for nuclear disaster in Japan because of the tsunami/earthquake.

Can't believe some "responsible people" still want more nuclear, not less.... As Pete Seeger might say, "When will they ever learn? When will they e-ver learn?"

Lost on the Road to "Rome" - Danger Mouse & Jack White

OK, I've now heard the second Jack White song from "Rome", the Danger Mouse tribute to Spaghetti Western music and I'm officially, like, who cares?

The first song leaked a few weeks ago ('Two Against One" streaming here on Pitchfork), and now "The Rose With the Broken Neck" is out there. Jack White "The Rose With The Broken Neck"

Hey - what's not to love? Jack White, Norah Jones, Danger Mouse, Sergio Leone....

Sounds.... in-teresting.... I was pretty psyched about it... until I heard it. It's kind of boring. I love everything Jack White does... but this is not his project....

The larger question is... what's up with Danger Mouse? The man behind the genius of "The Grey Album" and "Crazy", producer of The Black Keys and everyone else... please explain your fascination with boring music like Broken Bells and "Rome".... real snoozefests....

Oh, maybe that's it.... music to come down from so you can go to sleep... (written at 6 am after sleeping all day and up all night)

P.S. There is a third Jack White song on the album (which comes out in May 2011) and the Norah Jones stuff so maybe those songs will take the world by storm.... or not....

Portland, May 2011

Just got to Portland and was checking out the free newspapers listing concerts and stuff and was amazed to see what's coming up in May...

M Ward is playing three nights, May 3rd, 4th, and 5th....

Mogwai from Scotland are playing May 5 and Black Francis of The Pixies is playing May 6.

Femi Kuti is playing later in the month.

Seems like Portland is into music or something....

Coachella 2011? NO! Coachella 2010? YES!

Well, the L.A. Times just dissed Odd Future's Coachella performance from earlier tonight here

That's right, it's Coachella time, kids. But if you didn't buy the overpriced ticket immediately, you aren't there. Neither am I, but I was there last year.

(I wasn't too thrilled about this year's line-up in general anyway, especially the three headliners - Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, and Kanye West - three of the biggest symbols of what's currently WRONG with music today.....)

On the occasion of the bad 2011 Coachella, let us fondly recall the Coachella 2010 of days gone by...

thissmallplanet video of Coachella 2010 Jack White Doing Van Morrison

thissmallplanet video of Coachella 2010 Jack White/The Dead Weather/Alison Mosshart "Will There Be Enough Water?"

Drummer Brad Wilk joined bandmate Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine on this jam with Boots Riley and Street Sweeper Social Club (a cover of the LL Cool J classic):
thissmallplanet video of Tom Morello "Mama Said Knock You Out"

Tom Morello/Street Sweeper Social Club "Promenade" Coachella 2010

thissmallplanet video of Tom Morello/Street Sweeper Social Club's cover of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes"

My blog post about Day 1 of last year's festival:

SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2010

coachella 2010 Friday

Got here at noon and spent an hour in line, waiting for my car to be
searched so I could go to my camping spot. they do seem to have a
thing about security and must spend a fortune on it. on the other
hand, things run pretty smoothly. I parked and went to the site. it
was starting to get warm but there was still snow on the mountains,
making a nice contrast with the palm trees. I started taking pictures
of the site and the people there. almost immediately, the music
started. Deer Tick and Avett Bothers put in solid sets. At 5 pm, sun
blazing, the street sweeper social club took the stage. Fronted by the
coup's boots Riley, and featuring the amazing guitar work of Tom
morello, they brought their fiery brand of revolutionary rock funk rap
to the coachella crowd. Stand out tracks included 100 little curses
and promenade from the. New album.... The crowd responded well to
their cover of mia's paper planes and the closer of L.L. cool j's mama
said knock you out, with a guest drumming spot by rage against the
machine's brad wilk..



I caught bits of she and him, gill Scott heron, lucero, yeasayer, the
specials, and passion pit. That's the great thing about coachella,
that you can stroll from stage to stage (5 stages plus other
performance spots, corporate tents, food courts, beer gardens, merch
tables, portolets and camping - with an Internet cafe where I write
this - all on a giant site, a polo field actually, in the southern
California desert near palm springs) and catch a song or two from a
band you've heard of but never seen - and probably never would see -
as well as a bunch of bands you never heard of who are amazing.

Allow me to sing the praises of Josh homme. The queens of the stone
age frontman, who also plays drums for the eagles of death metal,
seems to be at the very center of some exciting new music I call Dark
Psychedelia. Homme produced the arctic monkeys new album humbug, so
some of that desert magic rubbed off on the lads from Sheffield who
worked on the album at a desert studio near here. Some time queens of
the stone age cohort dean k plays guitar and keys for Jack white's new
band the dead weather - who also play coachella this year.

Eyebrows were surely raised when it was announced that homme would
front a new supergroup - them crooked cultures featuring nirvana/foo
fighters Dave grohl on drums and led zeppelin's john Paul jones on
bass. On first blush, it would seem he lacked the gravitas to live up
to the expectations having band members with such a legacy. Few people
would mention queens of the stone age in the same breath as nirvana
and led Zeppelin. In addition to singing and playing guitar with the
new band, homme apparently wrote most of the songs on the vultures'
debut album. Some critics complained the songs seemed tosseed off and
the album was done quickly but the so gs hold up well live. I saw them
in Oakland year and enjoyed it. I was curious so I gave a listen to
the queens albums as well as the desert sessions. Driving through the
desert these songs made sense.

The vultures took over the stage just before 8 pm. The evening cooled
the desert as the crowd swelled. Homme introduced the band and when it
came to himself he said "and you know me, I'm Joshua.... And this is
my hometown!" and proceeded to give a performance that should serve to
silence the critics and haters once and for all.

i missed critics darlings Grizzly Bear, but caught bits of Echo and
the Bunnymen, LCD Soundsystem, and everyone's favorites, Vampire
Weekend. I know I'm supposed to like them but the whole "look at us
we're preppies and proud" schtick doesn't sounds a little too smug. I
think their music is bland and boring. The headliners at the Main
Stage and the adjacent Outdoors Stage couldn't have been more
different - Johnny Rotten Lydon of PiL and rap sensation Jay Z. it was
kind of funny to see the suburbanites (who paid $260 for the 3-day
pass plus transportation, camping or hotel, food, etc.... after it was
sold out the 3-day passes were going for $600-$800 and up!) singing
along to "Hard Knock Life". As if! At one point I stood equidistant
between the two stages and was able to see Johnny and Jay-Z at the
same time. Two great con men, two different generations. All together
under the stars at coachella....

Nacao Zumbi & Arctic Monkeys new video "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair"

The new video for the Arctic Monkeys' "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair", the second release from the forthcoming album "Suck It & See", is out.

You can see it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1vYbHHhqYE

It's certainly one of the more visually interesting videos we've seen lately.

I like the song. It rocks. Basically nonsense lyrics about things you shouldn't do ("break a mirror, run with scissors, go into business with a grizzly bear" - always a bad idea if you ask me), but can if you want to, as long as you don't sit down, 'cause i've moved your chair. And you will fall. And that would be bad.

Ouch. I have to confess that I am guilty of said offense. Jeez, I guess it was at CBGB's. The guys were warming up for a show. When the drummer stood up, I moved his stool and when he sat down, he feel flat on his ass. Everyone laughed, except him, and I felt like a jerk. The drummer played it off, but I still felt like a jerk.

The band was Nacao Zumbi, Brazilian rock hip hop experimental collective (with traditional Brazilian drums) that came together to continue making music after the unfortunate death (car crash) of leader Chico Science. I was working for Central Park SummerStage and picked the guys up at the airport. We hung out for several days for rehearsals, the show (which was cancelled due to rain), other shows, and a couple more trips to several airports for flights to Portugal, then back to Brazil. One day we went to both Newark Airport and JFK. The road manager just assumed it was the same airport but when we got to Newark and couldn't find the gate, I asked to look at the tickets and discovered we were at the wrong airport. I had to drive them back to New York, out to JFK, go back to the hotel in Manhattan and pick up the other guys and equipment (including tribal drums and a bow string on a special stick), and make it back to JFK, go through ticketing and security, clear customs, do passport control, and check in all their obscure gear in odd shapes and sizes and containers. Somehow we managed to do that in time for the flight. The guys even got into a discussion, in the middle of all this, with one of the folks at the counter about Zulu Nation and how they were the Brazilian branch.

One night I was driving one of them back downtown and we passed through Times Square. We saw the full moon rising over the skyscrapers and started doing a reggae-ska jam in sing-songy English, Spanglish, and Portuguese:

(I See the Moon Over Babylon)


I see La Luna sobre Babylonia!
I see La Luna sobre Babylonia!


Mas brilla (brighter) than the lights of Times Square!
Mas alta (higher) than the tallest sky-raper!
Mas poderosa (More powerful) than Wall Street!


I see La Luna sobre Babylonia!

Wonder if they ever did anything if that?

They were very political. Some of them were from the city and were kids into rock and hip hop. Some of them were from the slums, with roots in Recife, up north, where they play those tall drums (worn strapped to waist) with a profound bass sound (feat in Paul Simon's "Rhythm of the Saints" and countless Brazilian traditional songs). Those drummers, combined with the rock-reggae-hip hop of the other members, made for a unique sound.

Everyone said Chico Science was awesome. He died before his time. He sought to be a modern Brazilian rock/hip hop version of Bob Marley, speaking truth to power. His tragic premature death weighed heavily on the band... some of them didn't speak or go out for months afterward. But this new band gave them the strength to soldier on.

One of their rehearsals was with Arto Lindsay (who grew up in Brazil) and DJ Spooky in some random rehearsal space way uptown. Joints were passed and the most amazing experimental music emerged. I was truly impressed. It was magical. We were all transported to some other place far from New York and probably close to Recife.

Boys, wherever you are, I wish you well. You guys are awesome.

Richard Ashcroft

i will not rest until americans appreciate richard ashcroft.

his new album "the united nations of sound" rocks! (and has soul)

for realz!

check it out!

Free Download from Yuck (Live)

The UK's Yuck, one of the best new bands around, has done a live session with Daytrotter. You can download it for free at http://www.daytrotter.com/dt/yuck-concert/20054666-110848.html?utm_source=NL&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=110413DT

Free My Morning Jacket Download

You can download a free copy of the new My Morning Jacket single "Circuital" by going to the band's website and giving them your email http://www.mymorningjacket.com/circuital/

Bright Eyes (Conor Oberst), Fox Theater, Oakland, California, Apr 12, 2011

Setlist:

Firewall

Jejune Stars

Take It Easy (Love Nothing)

Four Winds

Cleanse Song

Something Vague

Trees Get Wheeled Away

Shell Games

Approximate Sunlight

Arc of Time

Triple Spiral

Hot Knives

An Attempt to Tip the Scales

Padraic My Prince

Cartoon Blues

Poison Oak

Bowl of Oranges

Old Soul Song

The Calendar Hung Itself

Ladder Song

Encore:

Gold Mine Gutted

Lover I Don't Have to Love

I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning (Road to Joy)

One for You, One for Me

My video Bright Eyes (Conor Oberst), "One for You, One for Me", Oakland, Apr 12, 2011

My video: Bright Eyes, "Shell Games", Oakland, Apr 12, 2011

After two and a half albums ("Conor Oberst", "Outer South" and the EP "Gentlemen's Pact") of roots Americana countrified folk-rock as "Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band", The Bard of Omaha returns to the "Bright Eyes" moniker because.... uh, he feels like it...  (In interviews, Conor has explained that "Bright Eyes" is his collaboration with old friends Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott., while "Conor Oberst" is his OTHER stuff...)

I was living in New York in 2004 when Conor was often appearing there as "Bright Eyes", often solo. He seemed to be the quintessential emo boy, the one with hole-y (holy?) sweaters that hangs out at coffee shops and makes girls cry with his puppy dog eyes, sincere but bad poetry, and earnest yearning folky love songs. I saw him perform a whole bunch of times in a row, including one memorial appearance at St. John's Cathedral opening up for Patti Smith at a political benefit. Later that year I saw him perform opening for Springsteen, CCR's John Fogerty, and REM at the anti-Bush pro-Kerry (remember him? He ran for president in 2004/destroyed our dreams/gave us 4 more years of W/Iraq....) Rock For Change Tour.

He got tons of publicity around that time as "the new new Bob Dylan" or whatever, a folky poet from the Heartland who wore his emotions and his politics on his sleeve for the world to see.....

My video: Bright Eyes: Conor Oberst testifies on Politics, Bradley Manning, Gitmo...
(Fox Theater, Oakland, California, Apr 12, 2011)

I listened a little to early Bright Eyes after being impressed seeing him play. Hard to recall now but at that time, criticism of W in the years following 9/11 was few and far between. Perhaps you'll recall The Dixie Chicks, getting death threats and banned from radio stations for saying on stage in England, just before the 2003 US invasion of Iraq that "we don't want this war, this violence"... and that they were "ashamed" that W was from their home state of Texas. (Their supposed offense was not only exercising their free speech to oppose war but doing it "on foreign soil" (no free speech if the majority disagrees? no free speech overseas?), as if it were treason or something - a capital offense... the real traitors, of course, were the war profiteers like Blackwater, the war criminals exposed by Wikileaks whistleblower Bradley Manning (given a shout out last night from the stage by Conor who said he "should be given a fucking parade" instead of being tortured), and the media/public who sat there, their tongues frozen by fear and 9/11, who said ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for years against this war.... which is still fucking going on!

Thank God (or whoever) for artists like Conor Oberst who speak truth with passion. That what artists are for - to challenge us, to think outside the box, to destroy the box, to dream...

I didn't listen a whole lot to the earlier Bright Eyes stuff, but I really got into the Americana "Mystic Valley Band" stuff (some of which was written/recorded in the magical town of Tepoztlan, Mexico), seeing them perform those songs at Coachella 2009, LA's Echoplex, and San Francisco's Mezzanine. It's unfortunate that Conor appears to have felt limited by the Americana thing with the Mystic Valley Band, as those songs are so good, and ran the gamut from accoustic folk to straight-out barn burner rock n roll (not to mention crack players such as guitarist Taylor Hollingsworth, who contributed the rocker "Air Mattress" to the "Outer South" album).... Then there was The Monsters of Folk, who released an album and toured in 2009. The "supergroup" consisted of Conor and pals Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and M. Ward (solo and She & Him)(oops! and also Bright Eyes' Mike Mogis). They played the Fox in Oakland and people who weren't previously impressed by Jim James' work with My Morning Jacket (or his excellent "Yim Yames" Tribute to George Harrison) found themselves frozen between breaths, stunned by his angelic voice. M. Ward is, of course, a genius and wonderful.... (Jake from Vacaville agreed with me last night that She & Him is "too much She and not enough Him".... I mean, we love Zooey Deschanel.. she's cute, a good actress, good voice, seems like a nice person.... but Matt Ward is one of the finest singer/songwriter/guitarists around, it's a WASTE of his talent for him to be in She & Him where it's 90% She and 10% Him..... How 'bout a 50-50 split? Or just Matt solo? Insert obligatory discussion here about actresses who think they also need to be singers....)

So anyway, 'Monsters of Folk" and "Conor Oberst" seem to be on the shelf at the moment while "Bright Eyes" soars.... I didn't expect to hear any "Monsters" or "Mystic Valley" songs last night and I didn't (except in the car on the way there). But I was a little surprised there were so many early Bright Eyes songs trotted out last night.... to the delight of long-time fans (many of them female), who sang along with every word, but meaning little to people unfamiliar with that material (like me). (Conor turned 31 recently, but probably still gets carded for alcohol and maybe even cigarettes...). The 7-piece band (two percussionists, a horn player, keys, guitar, bass, and Conor on voice, guitar, and keys) was excellent, and the video projections behind the band were cool. The new songs from "The People's Key" worked well, but I was disappointed that we didn't get "Haile Selassie", perhaps the best (and most accessible) song on the album, which is certainly high energy enough for a rowsing live performance. But we did get great versions of "Shell Games" and "One for You, One for Me". As I was filming "Shell Games" (the first song released from "The People's Key" and one of its best songs), I thought, "Wow! this is terrible staging! Visually, this is awful! Why do bands try to 'bury' their single? Why not highlight it?" He was hiding, hunched over behind the keyboards. facing stage left (i.e. most people in the crowd got a side view). Why not have the keys set up so he could face the audience? But all concerns were obsolete as soon as he left the keys, grabbed a mike, and finished the song with a passionate tromp around the stage. I think I remember some of the shows I saw in 2004 where he basically just stood there with a guitar and sang. Conor's obviously grown as a performer and become much more confident on stage. He was all over the place, switching between acoustic and electric guitar, keyboards, jumping up on the drum riser, lifting his guitar high up in the air (and smashing it at the end), dancing, twirling, (sorry for the cliche) like a possessed dervish, possessed by his vision, passion, politics, and burgeoning spiritually (as evidenced by the sound samples on the record and broadcast at the beginning and end of the show by Conor's wacky spacey cosmic friend, street philosopher Denny Brewer).

That's what artists are for - to dream for us and reflect our dreams, inspire new dreams, to push the envelope on culture, politics, and spirituality.

The Fox was our church for a few minutes last night, and we were called to testify and hear Conor testify about a new world vision.

Conor's dream seems to be a world where the rich and corrupt don't get away with murder, where the poor get a shot instead of getting shot, and where community and compassion trumps greed and fear. He created community in that room last night. Hundreds of strangers in the dark, singing along, dreaming together, and they all left with a smile....

"Now you are, how you were, when you were.... Real....."

                                              "Approximate Sunlight"

Queens of The Stone Age, Fox Theater, Oakland, California, Monday, April 12, 2011

Regular Josh

Setlist:

Regular John

Avon

If Only

Walkin' on the Sidewalks

You Would Know

How to Handle a Rope

Mexicola

Hispanic Impressions

The Bronze

Give the Mule What He Wants

I Was a Teenage Hand Model

You Can't Quit Me Baby

1^st Encore:

Monsters in the Parasol

Burn the Witch

Make It Wit Chu

Little Sister

2^nd Encore:

Better Living Through Chemistry

Go With the Flow

A Song for the Dead

People were really excited when it was announced that Queens of the Stone Age would be touring again, playing their 1998 self-titled debut (recently re-released with 3 bonus tracks), as Josh Homme's OTHER band, Them Crooked Vultures (with Josh singing/guitaring/songwriting, Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) on drums, and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) on bass, etc.) had been touring for a couple of years, forcing a Queens hiatus. Then there were the rumours that Josh didn't talk with former Queen (and Homme's Kyuss bandmate) Nick Oliveri. Not true, says Josh, but reportedly he turned down an offer by Nick to join them on stage recently. But the fact remains that although the current band contains several of Josh cohorts, he is the only person in it who played on the 1998 album. 

That being said, the current band took to the old classics like jam to butter, especially guitarist Dean Fertita. I thought it was funny that this band contained two degrees of separation from two artists i consider two of the most seminal in music today - Arctic Monkeys and Jack White (Josh produced the third Arctic Monkeys album and Dean played with Jack White in both The Raconteurs (keys) and The Dead Weather (lead guitar/keys).

The crowd was very appreciative of the high energy performance by the band. Homme seemed very pleased with the reception from the sold-out crowd.

Maybe you can pick up on some of that from my photos and videos.

My video: 

Queens of the Stone Age, "Burn The Witch", Oakland, California, April 11, 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_oXBgtHnW4

Arctic Monkeys streaming new single now "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair"

http://www.arcticmonkeys.com/

this is the second song we've heard from the highly anticipated 4th Arctic Monkeys album "Suck It & See" (due out in early June 2011) - the first was the rocker "Brick By Brick"... this is the third new song, if you count "Piledriver Waltz" from singer Alex Turner's soundtrack for the indie film "Submarine" (not sure if the version on "Suck It & See" will be different than the one on the soundtrack).

people have often talked about a "sophomore slump", where a band produces two great albums - a debut and follow-up in quick succession... but then has trouble with the third album... they've recorded all the ones they'd been working on and are sometimes pressured, by record companies or whoever, to hurriedly write new songs and crank out a third album before they are ready... or they decide to make a departure from their tried and true sound in order to "experiment" on the third album and land up going in courageous but unfortunate directions....

so perhaps for a lot of bands these days, it's really the third album that is the challenge... off the top of my head, i am thinking of the third albums by arctic monkeys and M.I.A. which were really different from their first two albums and were pretty much universally underappreciated by both critics and fans.

i might add that SINCE the third M.I.A. album, we've had all kinds of singles (such as the diss track to New York Times reporter Lynn Hirshfield "I'm A Singer (To The Haters)" and her chorus on Rye Rye's delightful "Sunshine") and the Vicki Leekx mixtape) from her which prove she hasn't lost her touch.

The three new songs we've heard from Arctic Monkeys indicate a "return to form". Third album producer Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) was passed over for the fourth album (although he sang background on one song) in favor of a return to producer James Ford (Simian Mobile Disco). The third album ("Humbug") grew on me. It had some good songs. But, like everyone else, I found it less accessible, exciting, compelling than the first two classics. "Suck It & See" seems like it will be a straightforward rocker, full of 60s and 70s references, with clever lyrics and.... will this be the one that breaks them in America?

I don't know if they are bothered about how popular they are in America or not. They're already rich and famous beyond what anyone could wish for (Alex was recently named one of the UK's richest dudes under 30, with an estimated worth of 7.5 British Pounds). I just find it funny that they play huge stadiums in the UK and I can still see them in relatively small places in the US. Not that I'm complaining. I don't really relish going to see them in a baseball stadium or basketball arena. But I guess I would like my countrymen in America to finally catch on to what the rest of the world has known for several years - The Arctic Monkeys are one of the best bands in the world. Well, I suppose us Americans who know that already can get some satisfaction from being "insiders", but that only goes so far.

They keep coming to America - Alex lived here for a while and album 3 and 4 were both recorded in America - I have the chance to see them three times this summer in California (at two venues in Southern California and San Francisco's Outside Lands Festival in Golden Gate Park - so far) ... maybe this year people in America will realize how great Arctic Monkeys are.

The Vaccines, Dum Dum Girls, Cage The Elephant....

These are the three bands I'm listening to the most right now....

San Francisco's Outside Lands Festival 2011 Line-Up

Great line-up! muse phish arcadefire blackkeys deadmau5 mgmt decemberists johnfogerty beirut roots arcticmonkeys bigaudiodynamite sts9 warrenhaynes bigboi majorlazer mavisstaples chk bestcoast vaccines toroymoi stonefoxes wyeoak tysegall


http://www.sfoutsidelands.com/


San Francisco's Outside Lands Festival, held annually every August for the past couple of years in gorgeous Golden Gate Park, has announced their 2011 line-up and it is a good one!


The festival is kind of expensive, but well-organized and when I went in 2009, just for one of the days, i saw M.I.A., Modest Mouse, Robert Randolph, and Jack White (The Dead Weather) and bits of several others.


I've been disappointed by the line-ups of other recent festivals (treasure Island 2010 and coachella 2011 for example), so i was curious to see what they'd come up with and i have to say i'm pretty impressed. there are several bands i would like to see and who i know are great live - the black keys, arctic monkeys, mgmt, and san francisco's own ty segall (about to burst into superstardom? through constant touring of the US and Europe and the release in summer 2011 of a widely anticipated new album...)... nice to have some legends, such as CCR's fogerty and mavis staples (of the staples singers, who recently collaborated with wilco's jeff tweedy and billy bragg - not at the same time obviously...)..... looking forward to seeing some bands for the first time - the decemberists and the legendary original line-up of Big Audio Dynamite, feat The Clash's Mick Jones and Don Letts (finally getting some recognition for their early sampling and pre-Pro Tools flawless mash-ups of rock, hip hop, reggae, etc....)...... a unique chance for americans to see the vaccines, in the midst of their ascension to UK pop superstar status - they are one of the best new bands out there... the dude's a crooner! AND he can rock AND he can do a pop song or ballad... and they are spacey surfy psychedelic distorted garage-y fuzzy low-fi indie alt enough to satisfy the most cynical bastard out there... best coast, yeah, we love her.... and then there are artists I would probably NEVER go see as a stand alone show... but whom i quite like having the chance to see in a festival setting... where i can stay and watch if i like them, or go to another stage if i don't.... FOR example.... muse phish arcade fire (bo-ring!) deadmau5 roots big boi majorlazer... pretty sure beirut, warren haynes (govt mule, the dead, allman bros) will put on good shows....


Tickets go on sale April 14. A three-day pass will be $175 - $200, plus fees. The festival takes place outdoors in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, USA, Friday August 12, Saturday August 13, and Sunday August 14, 2011 

Free download from Steve Earle, the Hardcore True-bador...

http://www.facebook.com/SteveEarleMusic?sk=app_205664389457804