Just announced by the Death Cab for Cutie blog on Myspace: more tour dates and now they're playing at Millenium Park in Chicago.
Apr 24 8:00P The Joint / Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas, Nevada Apr 26 11:00A Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Indio, California May 9 8:00P Providence Piers Providence, Rhode Island May 10 8:00P WFNX Show - Bank of America Pavilion Boston, Massachusetts May 24 5:00P Les Schwab Amphitheater Bend, Oregon May 25 11:00A Sasquatch Music Festival @ The Gorge Quincy, Washington May 26 8:00P Thanksgiving Point Lehi, Utah May 28 8:00P Red Rocks Amphitheatre Morrison, Colorado Jun 2 8:00P Orpheum Theatre Minneapolis, Minnesota Jun 3 8:00P Millenium Park Pritzker Pavilion Chicago, Illinois Jun 6 8:00P Jacques Cartier Pier Montreal, Quebec Jun 7 8:00P Toronto Olympic Island Toronto, Ontario Jun 9 8:00P Merriweather Post Pavilion Columbia, Maryland Jun 10 8:00P McCarren Park Pool Brooklyn, New York Jun 12 8:00P Mann Center for Performing Arts Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Jun 13 8:00P Plain Dealer Pavilion Cleveland, Ohio Jun 14 8:00P The Lawn at White River State Indianapolis, Indiana Jun 15 11:00A Bonnaroo Manchester, Tennessee Jun 17 8:00P Nokia Theatre Grand Prairie, Texas Jun 19 8:00P Mesa Amphitheatre Mesa, Arizona Jun 21 8:00P Greek Theatre Berkeley Berkeley, California Jul 27 8:00P Pemberton Festival Pemberton, BC Aug 9 8:00P Summer Sonic Festival Tokyo Aug 10 8:00P Summer Sonic Festival Osaka
More detailed information here: http://www.deathcabforcutie.com/tours/
Craigslist played an important role in the creation of LeLoup. Sam Simkoff (banjo, keyboard), the band's founder, used the site to find the remaining 7 members of Le Loup: Christian Ervin (computer), Michael Ferguson (guitar), Nicole Keenan (keyboard, French horn), Dan Ryan (bass), Robert Sahm (drums), May Tabol (guitar) and Jim Thomson (guitar). Comparisons to Le Loup include Animal Collective, Sufjan, and The Books, but really, they're more than just a mix of any artists. Any similarities, they say, are "more in style rather than sound." Their 2007 album, “The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly,” was released under sub-Sub Pop label, Hardly Art.
Bodies of Water are a group of four from California and Arizona. They are Kyle Gladden (bass), Meredith Metcalf (organ), Jessie Conklin (drums), and David Metcalf (guitar). They all sing vocals as well. From their website: They draw from a number of disparate traditions, combining the metaphysical intensity of gospel, the primitive gusto of punk rock, the earnest idiosyncracy of american folk, the sonic inclusiveness of tropicalia, the planned jamming of prog, and the sincere melodrama of musical theatre. They released their record “Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink” in 2007, and just finished their forthcoming 2008 release of “A Certain Feeling.” Expect it in a few months.
Just a couple hours ago, Pitchfork announced thirteen additional acts for their summer festival, bringing the total announced bands up to 26 out of 41 scheduled.
Here's what we've got so far. (The starred are the new acts)
Friday, July 18: Pitchfork Music Festival and All Tomorrow's Parties present "Don't Look Back"
Public Enemy performing It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back * Mission of Burma performing Vs. * + one more to be announced
Saturday, July 19: Animal Collective * Jarvis Cocker * !!! Vampire Weekend Dizzee Rascal Fleet Foxes No Age * Jay Reatard * * King Khan & His Shrines * Atlas Sound * The Ruby Suns * * A Hawk and a Hacksaw * * Occidental Brothers Dance Band International * + many more!
Sunday, July 20: * Dinosaur Jr. * Spiritualized M. Ward * Ghostface and Raekwon * * The Apples in Stereo * Boris * Dirty Projectors * * Cut Copy * Extra Golden El Guincho * Fuck Buttons * + many more!
I'm excited to be going. Get tickets here or listen to KEXP since they'll be broadcasting live.
Here's a fun one by The Blakes. "Magic," from some advertising thing from The Gap. But hey, I like it.
I don't wanna get up 'cause I got no place to go I think that you remind me of someone I used to know We said our vows under an old oak tree I ran away with you the very next day and that's the last she saw of me
Remember I saw The Spinto Band a couple weeks ago and they were lovely? Well here's a new song and a new video. Summer Grof. Check out the making of the video on their blog.
The OaKs (yah, the K is kapitalized)! These guys are from Orlando. Well, 5 guys, 1 girl. Their album, Songs for Waiting just came out a bit ago. The single, Masood is wondrous from start to end. Two songs for free to download on their Myspace, the whole album for $6.50.
It was early December, 2004. 26-year-old Ryan Costello had just moved into a new house on the west side of Kabul with a South African family, having lived there only one month. With only a scant knowledge of the local language, Farsi, Costello began walking the streets near his house during the day determined to make friends in the neighborhood. After several days of hanging out with and taking photographs of the local school age children, he was invited by a middle aged man into his mud-walled shop and offered tea. Not knowing the local custom of declining invitations at least three times, Costello said "yes", which surprised the man who frantically looked around, realizing he had no tea to serve. At that moment another, younger man with a beard and leather jacket who had been standing in the corner of the shop spoke up, "You must come to my house and have tea with us."
Just a few hundred feet away Costello approached an old rusty gate racked with bullet holes and walked into a courtyard where the shell of a blown-out building stood. Up the winding stairs and into a carpeted living room, with thin cellophane over the gaping hole blown in the wall, Costello sat and waited. After a few minutes, in walked a young boy, around sixteen-years-old, with clear eyes and a wide smile. "Hello – welcome. My name is Masood."
Thus began a close friendship between Costello and Masood. Taking him deep into the heart of the city's swarming bazaars, Masood helped Costello buy a Chinese bicycle for 20 American dollars. Masood and his brothers took Costello all over the ancient city, from the mined mountains on the outskirts of the city where the faithful gather holy water from a sacred spring to the bird bazaar where birds from all over Asia are traded and sold. Their unlikely friendship grew deeper, as did Masood's English and Costello's Farsi. Masood shared his life story, how his father had been a renowned judge before the war and how they lived in a large house, which they now huddled in the remains of.
One sub-freezing night in the middle of winter, Masood showed up on Costello's doorstep with red, worried eyes. "Can I use your phone to call my brothers out on the west side of the country?" After some prompting, Masood shared with Costello that his father was near death with an undiagnosed illness. Masood took Costello in the cold night to his house, up the stairs and into a small back bedroom, where Costello saw Masood's mother, brothers, and sister huddled around his father who lay on a cot on the floor, a loud rattle in his chest. Masood invited Costello to come and sit with him next to his father, and they sat together for some time. Masood asked if Costello would pray over his father, and, raising his hands in the Afghan custom, he did. That night, Masood's father passed away.
The next day began 40 days of mourning. Masood came over to get Costello one early morning soon after, and Costello walked into their courtyard to find relatives from all over Afghanistan had come to pay their respects for Masood's father. Many of them walked up to Costello and thanked him in broken English for coming to spend time with him in his last hours, and for praying for him.
Costello and Masood continued their close relationship for two more years after this, until Costello left for America. Masood changed after his father died, becoming more sober and pensive. He shared with Costello the weight he felt on his shoulders to rise up and provide for his family and to take on their name.
Three years later, as Costello sat around in his living room in Florida one summer strumming on his classical guitar, he began working on a song that would weave in the story of Masood with another Masood who was killed in late 2001, Ahmad Shaw Masood. An Afghan mythic hero who rose up mighty armies to fight first the Russians and then later the Taliban, Masood from an early age carried himself as a warrior and a walking message to his people never to let themselves be ruled from without. Called "The Lion of Panshir", Masood gave hope to his people in a hopeless time. As a composite of one personal friendship and one mythic story, Masood came to be one of the centerpieces of The OaKs' new album Songs For Waiting.
Hmm, I likes this song! We is Shore Dedicated consists of Sam Tsitrin of Ebb and Flow, Dmitry Ishenko, Juan Cabeza de Vaca, and Chris Cline from California and New York. Their second album, Rainbo Donuts, was released February 2008 on Huevo Imaginary Records. Here are a couple more free songs from their new album on their site.
Okay, okay, so I'm a little obsessed with Schubas. But they showcase good music. :)
And the Moneynotes Starting off, And the Moneynotes. I actually really liked them. Maybe not necessarily someone who I would listen to regularly, but it was a good show.
The keyboardist was my favorite.
Tally Hall Next up was Tally Hall. They started with what felt like a 20-minute long advertisement on the projection screen for an internet show they're premiering this Spring. It was kind of annoying, and someone shouted out, "Just play us a song!" and I kind of agreed.
They played a really eclectic set of songs - pop, rock, and comedic rap.
The Spinto Band The headliner for the night was The Spinto Band, who were pretty good. They all look like they're about 17 years old, but it works for them. :)
The Builders and the Butchers: their live performance was really good.
For the last song, they passed out makeshift percussion instruments into the audience and my friend and I banged pots and pans to the beat. Usually these guys take the audience outside for their closing song, but it was way too cold. :(
I do have to say that I prefer their recorded stuff, but perhaps coming after The Builders and the Butchers' energetic performance, the more low-key set by The Acorn wasn't quite what I had wanted it to be.
I love these five guys a lot. They're one of my favorites of 2008 so far. Their self-titled album, released this past February under Sub Pop, has been on repeat for me many a time. Listen and love.
Yay Stephen Malkmus! The Jicks stopped by The Current at MPR on Wednesday to play a couple songs: "Gardenia," "We Can't Help You", and "Elmo Delmo." In an interview with Mary Lucia of MPR, Malkmus said he likes to focus more on the songwriting than guitar playing, getting "directly from the heart and to the strings." Take a listen.
In other news, I'm seeing them tonight at The Vic. Super excited. Pictures to come.
Two guys I like from two bands I love. Barnes and VanWyngarden are teaming up to make Blikk Fang. An album will possibly be coming out next winter. Three recorded tracks, none yet released, are "Hypnotic Agents," "Dead Dogs," and "Pleasure Cunts." Sounds about right.
Mmm, I likes this song. Off of Death Cab for Cutie's new album "Narrow Stairs," is "I Will Possess Your Heart." The album is due out May 15th. Check out their site for a short video featuring the instrumentals from the song as well.
Stream the full song, "I Will Possess Your Heart" here.
La Blogotheque makes another awesome take away music video, this time with Yeasayer, one of my favorites. The band takes to the Paris Metro with "Red Cave" and "No Need to Worry". Beer bottles, bystanders, and beautiful a capella. See another video of them featuring "2080" here.
So, Vapid Wolf and I have this thing where we compile our top 5 or so songs of the week and share them with each other, but now that I have this blog, I can share them with other people as well. :) This started a couple weeks back, so here's Week One.
David (Vapid Wolf) and I headed out to Schubas Tavern in Chicago on a Friday night to see Audrye Sessions, Evangelicals, and Headlights.
Audrye Sessions: the beautiful Alicia Campbell (bass) and Michael Knox (lead guitar).
Audrye Sessions opened the show with "Children," a song not on their new album, "Braille" (2008). My two personal favorites of the night were "Julianna" and "Relentless," both found on the album. See their official video for "Paper Faces" here.
Headlights: Nick Sanborn of Decibully recently joined Headlights
Headlights: Erin Fein singing and on keyboard with Josh Jones of Evangelicals looking on
My favorite of the night was the headliner, Headlights. Everyone smiling, happy, the music sweetly poppy - it was a good time all around. They opened with "Get Your Head Around It," a personal favorite. See their official video for "Cherry Tulips" here. Their newest album, "Some Racing, Some Stopping," came out on February 19th of this year. Good stuff.
Hey, a real blog. This is The Tangled Cord, a blog composed mainly of good new musics that I enjoy and some photography that I've taken. :] Music will come in the form of mp3s which are hosted for a short time only. Other content includes photography (mostly from concerts), concert experiences, music videos (original and fan-based), and who knows what else. Enjoy and such.
