Lately, it seems that piano driven power-pop is all the rage. The latest tasty dose I'm listening to now is from a Denver based quartet named Fiance. They're putting out their second EP, Please Ambitious, Please, which is a quick jolt of five songs headed up by the vocals of Patrick McGuire (whose voice at times reminds me of Michael Nau of Page France). The affair starts with a piano pulsating rocker, Super-Soft Knife, but before jamming themselves into a corner, the group is quick to show their soft, contemplative side on the next song, Pretty Model's Hands (which strangely, for a power piano ballad on a 5 track EP, is over 7 minutes long).

The EP's tempo goes up and down quicker than a roller-coaster in its 5 songs. That being said, you kind of need to be in a funky mood to listen through it and connect with every song. It would be interesting to see of the band could extend it out to an LP, where the change in emotions wouldn't feel so abrupt. There are 5 solid songs here though, which you might visit individually depending on your day; here's one of the more depressing ones (if your day hasn't been so bad, save it for a downer).

No new music to share right now, instead I'm going to share how excited I am to be seeing two great shows taking place this summer. Not to rub it in or anything but...

The first show I've already made plans to see is in mid July to see a triple decker of a summer tour: John Mayer, Brett Dennen, and Colbie Caillat. Yea, you read that right. You've got an accomplished guitarist who's tackled everyone from Radiohead to classic blues men (whose last album Continuum was just re-issued with an additional track, Say - stream it here), a young folksey pop singer with wisdom beyond his years (and who I've seen and enjoyed before - albeit in a MUCH smaller club - hopefully he won't lose his personality in such a big venue), and a guilty pleasure that's hard to resist. All of this wrapped up in one tight package that spells summertime fun. Check out dates for the tour below, and look for me in Mansfield on the 12th.

John Mayer - Gravity : Continuum

Brett Dennen - The One Who Loves You The Most : So Much More

Colbie Caillat - Bubbly : Coco

Tour Dates:
7/2 Milwaukee , WI Marcus Amphitheater (Summerfest)
7/3 Maryland Heights , MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7/5 Noblesville, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center
7/6 Rothbury , MI Rothbury Music Festival
7/7 Toronto , ON Molson Amphitheatre
7/9 Wantagh , NY Nikon @ Jones Beach Theater
7/10 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center
7/12 Mansfield , MA Tweeter Center
7/13 Columbia , MD Merriweather Post Pavilion
7/15 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
7/17 Cuyahoga Falls, OH Blossom Music Center
7/18 Tinley Park, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheater
7/20 Denver, CO Soccer Fields @ Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
7/21 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre
7/23 Paso Robles, CA Mid-State Fair
7/25 Marysville , CA Sleep Train Amphitheater
7/26 Mountain View , CA Shoreline Amphitheater
7/27 Irvine , CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7/29 Chula Vista , CA Coors Amphitheatre
7/30 Phoenix , AZ Cricket Wireless Pavilion
8/1 Dallas , TX Superpages.com Center
8/2 Houston , TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion


The second is a weekend festival, the Green River Festival, which takes place at Greenfield Community College in Massachusetts shortly after on July 17-19. It's an Earthy-crunchy sort of weekend with all sorts of activities for kids and adults alike. In addition, there's some eclectically wide music playing all weekend including Jimmie Vaughn (older brother of Stevie Ray Vaughn), Forro in the Dark, Los Straitjackets, Eilen Jewell, Lucinda Williams, and the artist I'm most excited to see, Mavis Staples, former member of the legendary Staple Singers and accomplished singer in her own right. I got a weekend pass to see all these acts (plus a few more) for the insane price of $35! I'm already crossing my finger hoping the weather will be perfect that weekend.

Mavis Staples - Down In Mississippi : We'll Never Turn Back

Lucinda Williams - Main Road : Sweet Relief

“The whole decor of the place, the furniture, the light switches, it was like something out of a James Bond movie.”
There are tons of DJs out there, but Dimitri From Paris stands out as something unique. Born in Turkey, grew up in France (hence his stage name), Dimitri does an incredible job of spinning new cuts with tracks dug up from who-knows-where while keeping the flow as smooth as a baby's bottom. He's been spinning vinyl since the mid 80's, and his well of music runs deeper (and wider) than many of his cohort.

Last month, he put out the double disc release Return to the Playboy Mansion, a follow-up to his 2000 album A Night at the Playboy Mansion and the 2002 After the Playboy Mansion. Similar to what he did with the 2002 release, the first disc is titled Partytime, and as the name suggests, it's designed to get you moving on the floor, with nineteen tracks of retro booty-shaking goodness. The second disc is titled Sexytime, and as you might guess, things get smoother with a downtempo mix designed for you to get some of that booty that was shaking from listening to the first disc. The entire disc isn't entirely Barry White type material (although he does make an appearance early with the second track), but things do get a little more sensual.

As one could expect, although there a few names here you'll recognize (Jamiroquai, Teddy Pendergrass, Marvin Gaye, etc...), there are even more that will be unknowns to all but the deepest crate diggers. These discs are exactly what they look like - collections of cuts that can be thrown on to play straight through that you don't have to worry about skipping tracks to get to a good song.



and one from his debut

Dimitri From Paris - Love Love Mode : Sacrebleu

Today I have a super special early-bird look at The Watson Twins' new album Fire Songs, which is coming out next month on the 24th. Normally I wouldn't post about something coming out so far away, but I was really excited to check this album out and to share it with all of you. I've been consistently listening to it for the last couple of weeks.

Chandra and Leigh Watson were kind enough to share their thoughts and ideas on Old Ways, the tenth track on the album, reveal why the new album is titled Fire Songs even though there's no track by the same name, and admitted wearing matching poodle skirts. As always, text in red is theirs, questions in black are mine.



This song was one of the first written for our new record, Fire Songs (Vanguard Records, June 2008). It actually started forming on the road when we were on tour opening for Matt Costa In comparison to writing at home, there is a different kind of inspiration found out in the world, playing shows, meeting new folks, long late night drives and a whole lotta bars. Traveling in a van with your band mates, eating together, sharing hotel rooms, sound checking, let’s just say there isn’t a lot of "alone time"… so when writing this song I’d often sneak away to a back hallway of a club as we were waiting for the doors to open and just play the song and sing the lyrics over and over… committing each line to memory as it formed, building each verse slowly day by day.

Once it was done, the vocal harmonies that Leigh (my sis) and Russ Pollard (drummer/producer) brought to the table just immediately solidified the vibe… as well as the sorghum sweet lead on the instrumental verse from J. Soda (Guitarist/Producer) and the solid/soulful bass line of Matt Fitzell. It just naturally fell in to place and that always brings a special attachment to a song.

Old Ways was originally titled Fire Song because of the chorus "you’re always on fire, your old ways being wild"… as we started working on the record the title of the song changed, but we still liked the visual imagery of the words Fire Songs and since it was the first written it only seemed fitting to title the record this, marking the beginning of our writing adventure.

And a few questions for the twins (C=Chandra, L=Leigh):

1.) You do a beautiful job of taking The Cure's Just Like Heaven [it's the fourth track on the new album] and making it your own, although it takes on an almost wistfully melancholic tone to it. What inspired you to cover the song?

C: We were at home in Kentucky for Christmas and WFPK, the local station there, was doing a count down... top "1000 songs of all time"..."Just Like Heaven" came on and Leigh and I were singing along with the radio, talking about what a great song it was and Leigh suggested that we try and cover it. After we got back to LA, Leigh learned it on the guitar and brought it in to rehearsal giving it her own spin. We started playing it with the band and it just all came together. We played it a handful of times live and the crowd was in to it, so we decided to put in on our new record "Fire Songs".
L: It was pretty cool how it all came together. I always loved the original version of the song, and covers are definitely dangerous, but this one just came so easily it seemed like the right thing.


2a.) Working with Jenny Lewis on Rabbit Fur Coat obviously helped bring your own music into a larger listening public’s ear and brought you more recognition. Did you find while working on this new album that you were affected musically by working with Jenny?

C: Of course, I think every musical collaboration affects you, it becomes a part of your creative life and that's where each song begins.
L: Agreed, its all part of your own personal history. You are always learning, absorbing, growing. I think experiences like what we had with Lewis and RFC changed us not only as songwriters, but just as people. You spend a year on the road traveling and going to amazing places you find inspiration and you evolve.

2b.) Do you think the sound of this album would have been different if you had not collaborated with her?

C: The sounds on our album "Fire Songs" come from the music that has influenced us... country, indie, classic rock, jazz, R&B, soul... and I would say Jenny, my sis and I have similar records in our collections and get inspired by those, so the fact that we share a similar taste in music probably has more to do with our sound than our specific collaboration on RFC.
L: For sure. The sound comes from a pretty specific place, it's something we have been moving towards for years. It's a reflection of all of our musical experiences.

2c.) Any future plans to record another album together?

C: Not currently, we all have a lot on our plates but the future is full of possibilities and we do have a lot of fun singing together.
L: Never say never.

3.) Growing up as identical twins, you must have some great stories. Can you share one that stands out as either particularly funny or embarrassing (for one or both of you!)?

C: wow... that's a tough one... Leigh?
L: Funny and embarrassing...we performed It's My Party (...and I'll cry if I want to) for our middle school talent show in poodle skirts that our mom hand made with choreographed dance moves. If only we had made it to Star Search. hahhaha.



The album opens up with How Am I To Be, a track that will serve as a bridge for those listeners who caught on to the twins through their work with Jenny Lewis. It's got a feel to it that would have blended right in with Rabbit Fur Coat. The sisters don't just try to copy what they did with Lewis though, and on the second track, Lady Love Me, they quickly head off on their own direction, staking claim to musical ground that is distinctly theirs.

It's clear once you listen to their own work what the influence the Watson Twins had on Jenny Lewis and Rabbit Fur Coat, an album that is quite far away from her work with Rilo Kiley, and much closer to what you'll find on Fire Songs. Most immediately evident will be the sisters' voices, at times warmly welcoming and at others displaying that distant melancholy I mentioned on their cover of Just Like Heaven. Regardless of the tone though, their two voices work together seamlessly and beautifully, and carry a depth to them that will pull you in.

I've really been enjoying the album, and am eager to check out the twins on the supporting tour (although dates haven't been announced). I think that this album is going to prove that the sisters can make music of their own that is equally deserving of your ears' attention. Enjoy the following early peek and start counting down to June 24th, when the album will be available.

Just a quick track to share. Give it a spin and tell me it doesn't have Fiery Furnaces written all over it? (that's a good thing by the way) It's from an artist named Rose Kemp (no, I don't know a single thing about her), and is being released as a single next month (on the 30th). Head here to check out her previous releases.


Rose Kemp - Nanny's World : Unholy Majesty

So last night I checked out Uh Huh Her at Pearl Street in Northampton, MA, and the highlight of the night actually happened before the show even started (no offense to the fine musicians who played - I loved the show, honest!). It went down like this. The show was supposed to start at 8:30, so I got to the venue around 8:15 only to find the doors hadn't been opened yet and there was a much bigger line than I anticipated. Not only was the line bigger than I anticipated, but it's make-up was somewhat unexpected, but I'll get back to that in a minute.

So I'm waiting in line, and one of the guys who works for the venue drifts over to me (if you've been to Pearl Street or the Iron Horse, I'm talking about biker-Santa Claus) and says to me, "Let me tell you something - I think we're outnumbered tonight." Honest, those were his exact words! This is where the composition of the line comes in. Let me put it this way, there were more guys at the last Indigo Girls concert I attended. I just sort of chuckled (as quietly as possible) and looked around to make sure there weren't any eyes glaring at me due to my unwilling complicity. "I think we're outnumbered tonight." Absolutely classic! 'Nuff said about that though.

Come to find out, there was massive amounts of traffic, causing the bands to arrive late, but when the show finally got rolling, opening for the evening was Angie Mattson (MySpace). She played some original tunes (which I wasn't familiar with) on her guitar, and a killer cover of The Black Crowes' song She Talks to Angels.

The Black Crowes - She Talks to Angels (live) : Freak 'N' Roll...Into The Fog (Live - The Fillmore, San Francisco)


The big draw of the night though was Uh Huh Her, whose newest album's (Common Reaction) release date has been pushed back to August. If you're not familiar with the quartet, they play an peppy electro-80's, synth-dance fiesta that feels like it should be the soundtrack for a remake of a Brat-pack film. I was only familiar with the five tracks off of their debut I See Red EP, so much of the material they played during the evening was unknown to me, and presumably off of the upcoming album. Suffice to say, if you enjoyed the EP, the new material carried on in the same tradition.

Thankfully, even though I was in fact outnumbered and one of the minority, I made it out alive in order to share this post with you. they have a few shows left before the end of the month, and I would assume will be hitting the road again during the summer in preparation for the release of the album in August.


Uh Huh Her - Say So (Thom Russo Mix) : I See Red EP

I've simply fallen in love with Laura Gibson and her new six song EP Six White Horses: Blues & Traditionals, Vol. 1. It's quiet. It's haunting. It's full of covers and reinterpretations. But it's also wonderfully original. And I love it.

I'd like to just stop here and let my brevity stay the course, as it does on the EP, but I'll add a little more to try and get you to love it, too.

The texture of Gibson's guitar work stays fairly true to the original blues compositions, but she does an incredible job of playing around with the timing, drawing it out, and somehow making it more haunting and powerful in a different sort of way than the originals. When it was recorded, Gibson's voice and guitar were projected and recorded through the speaker of an old-record player, adding that other-worldly feel to it. Accompanying her is Jason Leonard, who adds a washbucket, newpaper drums, porch stomping, bells, whistling, vibraphone and glockenspiels to support her vocals and guitar. The six tracks on the EP include the following:

1. All The Pretty Horses (Traditional)
2. One Dime Blues (Blind Lemon Jefferson)
3. Freight Train (Elizabeth Cotten)
4. One Thin Dime (Mance Lipscomb)
5. Black Is The Color of My True Love's Hair (Traditional)
6. Dry Land Blues (Furry Lewis)

Laura really does an incredible job of taking these timeless songs and making them her own, while still retaining links to the past. You can listen to the first track, All the Pretty Horses, below. I've also added some of the originals for the other tracks so once you pick up the disc (which I'm very much hoping you will), you'll be able to compare and see how Laura has reinterpreted them.

And finally, you can also check out some video of Laura playing four live songs for NPR here, in the first of their "Tiny Desk Concert" series.






Blind Lemon Jefferson - One Dime Blues : Complete Classic Sides Remastered (Disc B)

Elizabeth Cotten - Freight Train : Freight Train and Other North Carolina Folk Songs and Tunes

Mance Lipscomb - One Thin Dime : Texas Songster

Right about now, I wish I was living in the City of Brotherly Love. Check out the insane line-up above and you'll see why. The Roots just put out their 10th album, Rising Down, and they're hitting the road hard in support of it.

Before I even get to the music, I want to take a look at the title, which comes from William T. Vollmann's tome on violence entitled Rising Up and Rising Down (it's not the first time they've named an album after a book - 1999's Things Fall Apart was named for the Chinua Achebe novel). I actually went to the library and picked up the book myself when I realized the link. The book is a brick - over 750 pages of it (and we're not talking summer beach blanket reading), and it's only an abridgment of the seven volume, 3,500 page version. Vollmann's stance is an interesting one; in the book he posits that violence can be rationalized and justified, and that by careful analysis (what he calls "moral calculus"), we can determine how and why governments come to perform acts of violence. I've just cracked open the book myself, so I won't pretend to be an expert on it, but the premise is an eye-arching one.

The reason I start by talking about the title is because I think it's a clear indication of why The Roots have been around for so long, continue to make music that is warmly received, and continue to receive such positive feedback in a genre known for one hit wonders where singles are king and albums typically full of filler. There is a lot more meat on a Roots' song compared to a lot of entire hip-hop albums out there today.

The stand out track for me (and it may be because I've been listening to Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump a lot lately) is I Will Not Apologize, which is a total throw-back Fela Kuti track. It hits you the first time you listen to it and I'm always finding myself looking forward to getting to it when I've been throwing the album in. The rest of the album is just as good, although to me it feels a little darker when stacking it up against their last release, Game Theory.

If you're in Philly on June 7th, you gotta check out the show. If not, check out the other tour dates below.








The Roots - The Show (Doug E. Fresh cover) : In Tha Beginning...There Was Rap

The Roots (Feat. Cody Chesnutt) - The Seed : Live From Bonnaroo 2003


May
15 Washington, DC- Constitution Hall*
16 Norfolk, VA- Chrysler Hall*
17 Richmond, VA- Landmark Theater*
20 Boca Raton, FL- Mizner Park*
23 Atlanta, GA- Fox Theater*
24 Chillicothe, IL- Summer Camp Music Festival
25 Los Angeles, CA- UCLA Jazz and Reggae Festival
27 Nashville, TN- Ryman Auditorium*
29 St. Louis, MO- Fox Theater*
30 Chicago, IL- Chicago Theater*
31 Chicago, IL- Chicago Theater*

June
2 Denver, CO- The Fillmore*
4 Eugene, OR- Cuthbert Amphitheater
5 Seattle, WA- Marymoor Park*
7 Philadelphia, PA- The Roots Picnic @ Festival Pier
8 Oakland, CA- Paramount Theater*
10 San Diego, CA- Humphrey's*
12 Los Angeles, CA- Greek Theater*
13 Birmingham, AL- City Stages Festival
14 Phoenix, AZ- Mesa Amphitheatre*
17 Houston, TX- Verizon Wireless Theater
18 Dallas, TX- Nokia Theater
19 New Orleans, LA- House of Blues
22 Rochester, NY- Rochester International Jazz Festival

July
4 Milwaukee, WI- Summerfest 2008
20 Commerce City, CO- Dick's Sporting Goods Park

Aug
8 Jersey City, NJ- All Points West Festival @ Liberty State Park

* w/ Erykah Badu

I've shared this before, but for newer readers I'll repeat myself. As a child growing up, I can remember playing my dad's vinyl, and at one point, Neil Diamond was my favorite artist out of his selections. Looking back, I don't know if it was his name, the album covers, or the music, but the memory stuck with me of loving Neil. Eventually my musical tastes turned onto new pathways, but a piece of me always enjoyed Neil's music.

Now that we've got that out of the way, I'll continue my post in the semi-present tense (or at least more present than when I was a wee-young one). I only recently found out that Neil is now working with Rick Rubin, and has been since his last album, 12 Songs. It terms of producers active in music today, Rick Rubin probably tops my list, or at least comes close, of musical masterminds that I respect. When you look back at what he's accomplished, and in such diverse genres, it's hard not to give him some props. I mean if you can take 3 white guys and make them into respected hip-hop artists, you must be doing something right.

Then you have to think about what he did working with Johnny Cash. I'm not going to thumb my nose at all you and say that I was listening to Johnny before American Recordings came out (I was), simply point out that Rick was able to get A LOT of listeners to realize that Johnny still had music in him that wanted to come out and be appreciated. It seems that Neil is hoping for some of that same magic: getting a younger generation of listeners to hear what's coming out of his mouth and soul. With today's generation, unfortunately the only cultural currency I think Diamond holds is Sweet Caroline and his cameo in Saving Silverman.

If my opinion is worth 2 cents, this album proves that he wasn't just a glitzy 70's star that should be relegated to kitschy movie roles. Honestly, I think this album is going to be one of my top 5 favorites of the year. Call me a sentimentalist if you want, but I'll still stick with this album. As he did with Cash, Rubin has stripped down Diamond's sound, although not as much. Diamond's voice is nearly as spent as Johnny's was either (not putting down Johnny, the scratch was part of the draw - that lived hard and played harder mythos that he carried with him), but is certainly carries a somber tone that he hasn't always displayed in his work.

I'd love to give you most of this album to listen to to prove you should be paying attention, but I'm going to limit it to one: One More Bite Of the Apple. It's a great track that on the surface is about not giving up on love, about giving it another go. I listen to it and I hear Neil singing like this is one more chance to make the music that he's loved for decades, one more chance to connect with a new generation. I for one am rooting for him.




Urge Overkill - Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon (Neil Diamond cover) : Pulp Fiction Soundtrack


May

24 Rotterdam Ahoy Arena
25 Rotterdam Ahoy Arena
27 Munich Olympiahalle
29 Antwerp Sportpalais
31 Cologne Cologne Arena

June

2 Hamberg Colorline Arena
5 Glasgow Hampden Park
7 Manchester MEN Arena
8 Manchester MEN Arena
10 Birmingham The NIA
11 Birmingham The NIA
14 Dublin Croke Park
17 South Hampton Rose Bowl
19 Cardiff , Wales Millienium Stadium
21 London O2 Arena
23 London O2 Arena
24 London O2 Arena
27 London Wembley Arena

July

19 St. Paul , MN Xcel Energy Center
22 Sioux City , IA Tyson Events Center
24 Omaha , NE Qwest Center Omaha
26 Chicago , IL United Center
29 Indianapolis , IN Conseco Fieldhouse
31 Detroit , MI The Palace of Auburn Hills

August

3 Cleveland , OH Quicken Loans Arena
5 Washington , DC Verizon Center
7 Hartford , CT XL Center
9 Philadelphia , PA Wachovia Center
12 New York , NY Madison Square Garden
14 New York , NY Madison Square Garden
18 Pittsburgh , PA Mellon Arena
20 Albany , NY Times Union Center
23 Boston , MA Fenway Park
25 Columbus , OH Value City Arena at The Schottenstein Center
27 Green Bay , WI Resch Center
29 St. Louis , MO Scottrade Center

September

14 Winnipeg , MB MTS Center
16 Edmonton , AB Rexall Place
18 Calgary , AB Pengrowth Saddledome
20 Vancouver , BC General Motors Place
22 Portland , OR Rose Garden
24 Seattle , WA KeyArena at Seattle Center
26 Sacramento , CA ARCO Arena
28 San Jose , CA HP Pavilion

October

1 Los Angeles , CA Hollywood Bowl
7 San Diego , CA San Diego Sports Arena
10 Phoenix , AZ Jobing.com Arena
12 San Antonio , TX AT&T Center
14 Houston , TX Toyota Center
17 Dallas , TX American Airlines Center
19 Oklahoma City , OK Ford Center
21 Tulsa , OK BOK Center
24 Tampa , FL St. Pete Times Forum
26 Ft. Lauderdale , FL BankAtlantic Center
28 Orlando , FL Amway Arena Orlando
30 Jacksonville , FL Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena

You might remember me posting a track by 65DaysofStatic a few months ago. I just found out that they were hand picked by Robert Smith to open for The Cure on their current tour. Unfortunately for me, I found out the very day they were playing Boston (yesterday) and therefor lost my chance to check out the show. Fortunately for you, I've got the rest of the dates below and hopefully you'll be luckier than me.

In addition to sporting tunes from their two albums, they've got a new four track EP out entitled The Distant and Mechanized Glow of Eastern European Dance Parties. Try saying that five times fast. It's got two remixes of the track of the same name from their last album The Destruction of Small Ideas and two brand new songs: Goodbye, 2007 (hear it below) and Antique Hyper Mall.



65DaysofStatic - Goodbye, 2007 : The Distant and Mechanized Glow of Eastern European Dance Parties EP



May 14 2008 Bell Centre w/The Cure Montreal, Quebec
May 15 2008 Air Canada Centre - w/The Cure Toronto, Canada, Ontario
May 17 2008 Allstate Arena w/The Cure Chicago, IL, Illinois
May 17 2008 Subterranean *65HEADLINE SHOW* Chicago, Illinois
May 18 2008 2 Cents Plain *65HEADLINE SHOW* St Louis, Missouri
May 19 2008 Starlight Theatre - w/TheCure Kansas City, KS, Kansas
May 21 2008 Red Rocks Amphitheatre w/The Cure Denver, CO, Colorado
May 22 2008 The Falcon *65HEADLINE SHOW* Englewood, Colorado
May 23 2008 E Center w/The Cure Salt Lake City, UT, Utah
May 24 2008 The Venue *65HEADLINE SHOW* Boise, Idaho
May 25 2008 Gorge Ampitheatre @ The Sasquatch Festival George, Washington
May 26 2008 General Motors Place - w/The Cure Vancouver,, British Columbia
May 28 2008 HP Pavillion San Jose, California
May 29 2008 Santa Barbara Bowl - w/The Cure Santa Barbara, CA, California
May 31 2008 Hollywood Bowl w/The Cure Los Angeles, CA, California
Jun 1 2008 Shrine Auditorium - w/The Cure Los Angeles, California
Jun 2 2008 Chain Reaction *65HEADLINE SHOW* Anaheim, California
Jun 3 2008 Cox Arena - w/The Cure San Diego, CA, California
Jun 4 2008 Dodge Theatre - w/The Cure Phoenix, AZ, Arizona
Jun 4 2008 Modified Arts *65HEADLINE SHOW* Phoenix, Arizona
Jun 6 2008 American Airlines Center - w/The Cure Dallas, TX, Texas
Jun 7 2008 Rock Bottom *65HEADLINE SHOW* San Antonio, Texas
Jun 8 2008 Emos *65HEADLINE SHOW* Austin, Texas
Jun 8 2008 Austin Music Hall - w/The Cure Austin, TX, Texas
Jun 9 2008 Toyota Center - w/The Cure Houston, TX, Texas
Jun 11 2008 St Pete Times Forum - w/The Cure Tampa, FL, Florida
Jun 12 2008 The Social *65HEADLINE SHOW* Orlando, Florida
Jun 13 2008 Bank Atlantic Center - w/The Cure Ft Lauderdale, FL, Florida
Jun 14 2008 The Atlantic Gainsville, Florida
Jun 15 2008 Gwinnet Civic and Cultural Centre - w/The Cure Dulath, Georgia
Jun 16 2008 Charlotte Bobcats Arena - w/The Cure Charlotte, NC, North Carolina
Jun 18 2008 Cleveland State University - w/The Cure Cleveland, OH, Ohio
Jun 19 2008 Mercury Lounge *65HEADLINE SHOW* New York, New York
Jun 20 2008 Madison Square Garden - w/The Cure New York, NY, New York
Jun 21 2008 Radio City Hall - w/The Cure New York, New York

"We strive to expose people to new music through the cello; support local musicians and give them the opportunity to work with an orchestral accompaniment; and to make Portland, Oregon the cello capital of the world, perhaps one day changing its name to Celloland."
Well, if there is ever a national referendum on the topic, you've got my vote Doug. Although Finnish cello-metal quartet Apocalyptica might argue the point with you.

What are the odds of getting not one, but two albums dedicated to cello music in the same week? Amazingly, it happened to me, and I was tempted to call the folks over at Ripley's. The first disc that appeared was The Portland Cello Project, which is a loose confederation of any and all cello players that want to contribute in the Portland area. Although I've not seen them myself, I hear that they play a mean combination of covers, both classical as well as modern, and their disc represents that. Some tracks have a very classical feel to them (try Robing Hood Changes His Oil), while others are obviously very contemporary (Toxic, of course!).

While the Portland Cello Project reaches wide for diverse source material with cellos as the primary form of instrumentation, Apocalyptica takes the cello and adds a fair dose of other harder rocking instruments as well to make a more modern sound that alternates between soothing your nerves to encouraging you to thrash (all in the same song)

Although both consider themselves cello groups, they are quite unalike from one another, as you can probably guess from the above descriptions. Get both though - one for the dinner party, and one for the late night party.

When it comes to my knowledge of Nigerian music, it can be summed up in three words: Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat. I’ll surmise that the same can be said of most Western listeners. That being said, listening to Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump was a refreshing dose of new music for me. It’s the newest title from Strut Records that I’ve been listening to lately. Instead of me going on and on with my love of the label, just keep reading.

Like I said above, I know next to nothing about the development of music in Nigeria in the last 50 years, and won’t pretend otherwise here. I did however learn quite a bit from reading the extensive and informative (as typical for Strut’s releases) liner notes that accompanied this compilation. Not surprisingly, the only musician’s name I recognized in the track list or in the notes was Fela Kuti, but his is a name, and contribution, that only builds on preceding artists. As I always do, I’d suggest picking up a physical copy of the album when it comes out for the liner notes alone. From reading the notes, I learned much of the following information.

Without getting into the history and development of the music too much, I’ll say that the tracks here represent many musical movements that took place within Nigeria. The basis for much of the music on the album comes from two contrasting musical styles: Highlife dance band music which revolved around big bands that initially mimicked and then built off of American Swing music, and Juju music which was more of an organic traditional music.

The popularity and prominence of these two very unlike styles waxed and waned as the country went through political strife, but with the infusion of western pop music in the 60’s, things would change - permanently. Rock and Roll, ska, soul, and funk made inroads with young musicians who started incorporating these western styles into their own music, beginning the development of Afro-pop, then Afro-jazz, and of course Afrobeat (which Fela Kuti is celebrated for pioneering and why his name is indelibly branded in musical history). The sixteen tracks on this disc are an audible expression of how African musicians took in outside music, played with it, adopted parts of it, and created a fusion of styles of their own.

This disc is in some ways a follow-up to another release that Strut put out in 2001 their first time around titled simply Nigeria 70 (a 3 CD set that goes for insane prices now - if you can find it that is). Whereas the previous release included many established names such as Kuti and others, Lagos Jump focuses on other relatively unknown artists. It's coming out later this month on the 27th, but in the meantime, enjoy the opening track by Sir Shina Peters below.








Fela Kuti - No Agreement : No Agreement

So when I found out that Matthew Sweet was working with and producing a group of comparative youngins named The Bridges, my curiosity was piqued. Although Matthew dropped off my radar screen after 100% Fun in 1995 (I wish I still had that tour shirt), I reacquainted myself with his work when he teamed up with ex-Bangle Susanna Hoffs for Under the Covers, Vol. 1 in 2006.

The Bridges consists of five members, four siblings (whose last name is Byrd – I guess The Byrds is already taken though, isn’t it?) and a cousin, and actually formed back in 2002. Their big break though was when they signed with VerveRecords at the end of last year, and then soon after started working with Sweet at his own studio. Although I’m not entirely positive about this, the group might have got connected with him via the Hoff-Sweet connection after opening for The Bangles earlier in 2007.

(Somewhat completely unrelated fun fact side-note: Did you know that Hoff and Sweet, along with Mike Myers, made up the fictitious rock group Ming Tea in the Austin Powers movie?)

Anyway, as you can imagine, with Sweet’s name involved, I jumped to some assumptions about what the group would sound like. As it turns out, I was pretty much completely wrong.

Unlike Sweet’s work (at least his older material which I’m more familiar with) which really is guitar driven, The Bridges’ strength lies in the three part sunshine harmonies sung by its three sisters. Behind them is a scaled back, bordering on the edge of country twang, and a sound which connects back to the group’s stated influences: Fleetwood Mac and The Mamas and the Papas. Put simply, they’re not here to hit you over the head with their sound.

The album, Limits of the Sky, which is their big league debut, is set to hit shelves on June 10th. Also, in July, look for Matthew Sweet’s new album, Sunshine Lies.






Matthew Sweet - Theme From Camp Burlesque : Camp Burlesque

Matthew Sweet And Susanna Hoffs - Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young cover) : Under The Covers Vol. 1

Who can resist a song titled galoshes on a rainy day like today?


The Box Social - Galoshes : Get Going

Some albums hold a mythical place in our cultural consciousness. Tapestry, released in 1971 and quite possibly the pinnacle of Carole King’s career, is one such album. From the people involved in helping Carole make the album (James Taylor and Joni Mitchell, who both added supporting vocals), to the monumental success gained in record sales (over 24 million copies sold worldwide), to the artistic recognition the album garnered (winning Grammies for Record of the Year for It’s Too Late, Album of the year, Best Female Pop Vocal, and Song of the Year – James Taylor’s version of You’ve Got A Friend), Tapestry is an album that will probably never fade into the past.

A few weeks ago, Sony released what they call a Legacy Edition of the album. It’s a deluxe double disc release which not only acknowledges the impact the album made on the musical world, but also celebrates Carole’s 50th year as a recording artist. 50 years. Disc one is the original album remastered. Twelve classic cuts including It’s Too Late, I feel the Earth Move, (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman, You’ve Got A Friend, etc… Disc two is where the magic happens. On this disc the album is captured and recreated in the original order from live performances Carole gave of the songs in 1973 in Boston, Columbia, and NYC and in 1976 in San Francisco. These tracks, previously unreleased, are Carole and a piano. The only track missing from the second disc is Where You Lead, as there were no live recordings at that time of her playing that song.

Not only does the Legacy Edition include the extra disc of live material, it also contains liner notes penned by music journalist Harvey Kubernik, track-by-track annotations by Lou Adler, who worked as Carole’s manager and publishing rep for many years, and unpublished color pictures of the album’s 1971 recording session.

For those of you still spinning Tapestry on vinyl or clicking through the 8-track, here’s your chance to get it on CD with plenty of additional incentive.

You might remember me writing about Lykke Li a few weeks ago (back here). I had wanted to see her play the Middle East tomorrow night in Boston, but will have to settle letting you all know about it so hopefully one of you can check it out and report back. She's touring with El Perro Del Mar to make the evening an all-out Swede double play, and I'm sure it will be interesting to see if the two perform together at all.




And speaking of shows to check out in Boston, I've got a pair of tickets to see Uh Huh Her next Saturday at the Paradise. Make sure to enter.


05.09.08 - Boston, MA - Middle East
05.10.08 - Montreal, QUE - Lambi
05.11.08 - Toronto, ON - Mod Club
05.12.08 - Chicago, IL - Shuba’s
05.14.08 - Vancouver, BC - Red Room
05.15.08 - Seattle, WA - Triple Door
05.16.08 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir
05.18.08 - San Francisco, CA - Bimbo’s
05.19.08 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre