W♥M

NXNE: Monday

VAS VEGA at Trinity Square Park, Toronto (06/13/11)

I walked all over Toronto today, just to get a good understanding of the layout of the land.

God Help the Girl

Came into the HMV store on Yonge Street, not really expecting to get anything, but I found these albums, God Help the Girl for a mere $1.99! Could not resist, ended up buying all their stock.

There was a whole stand with section of NXNE artists as soon as you enter HMV, which was nice to see. They're promoting about a dozen bands, including Stars, and the unfriendly named F*** Up.

Anyway, from there, we headed through Trinity Square Park to discover that NXNE's banner and information desk were there. I picked up a scheduling booklet, the concert listing looks incredibly daunting.

Vas Vega, minus the drummer, were performing a set for us. What a treat, except, it seems the passerbys just thought it was odd.

Highlight from their set were two covers: A medley of Zager & Evans' "In the Year 2525" and David Bowie's "Space Oddity" and Radiohead's "Karma Police" (which had a guest singer, Jay Edwards).

They ended their set with "Ordinary Boy".

Vas Vega will be performing at an official NXNE show at the Velvet Underground (510 Queen W) on Wednesday, along with Rehab For Quitters, Lava & Ash, mip, and We Were Heads. More information about Vas Vega at vasvega.com.

Bonus: If you're in the Toronto area and want something to do in the daytime, here are some free shows, courtesy of NXNE. See you there!

June 15, 2011 Market Lane 12:00pm – JF Robitaille Trinity Square 12:00pm – Mandippal Union Station 3:00pm – Madippal 4:30pm – JF Robitaille 6:00pm – Graydon James & The Young Novelists		June 16, 2011 Berczy 5:00pm – JF Robitaille 4:30pm – Paper Thick Walls June 14, 2011 Matt Cohen 4:30pm – Vas Vega		June 17, 2011 Kops Records 6:00pm – Actual Water 6:40pm – Young Governor 7:20pm – Teenanger Razor 8:00pm – Cults Endless Market Lane 12:00pm – JF Robitaille Berczy 5:00pm – The Strumbellas Matt Cohen 4:30pm – Thees Uhlmann & Band Trinity Square 12:00pm – Inlet Sound		June 18, 2011 Berczy / Saturday 5:00pm – Jean Caffeine Harbour Parklands (Island Ferry Dock) 11:30am – Kaya Fraser 1:00pm – Vas Vega 4:00pm – Ian La Rue & The Heartbeat City Bellevue Square 2:00PM – Josh Geddis 3:30PM – The Star Department

 

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NXNE: Sunday

I'm in Toronto, Canada. I guess this is pre-NXNE, which basically mean I'm going to put up some previews for Monday. NXNE day one starts on Wednesday when registration happens and there are shows/parties.

For Monday, the plan is to get a week Metro pass and hopefully catch the Kurt Cobain documentary About a Son, which is actually playing at 9pm at Toronto Underground Cinema (186 Spadina Ave, M5T 3B2).

Not much else is happening regarding NXNE, oh, there is the NXNE Airport Series, which I missed/did not see Shawn Clarke when I deplaned on Sunday. For Monday, Linda will be performing at 3pm and 5pm at the International Arrivals Hall of Pearson’s Terminal 3. If you're flying in, you're in for a treat.

MUSEBOX
themusebox.net

In the meantime, here are some more NXNE spotlight, the first are three Musebox shows.

Wed. June 15: The Painted Lady (218 Ossington Ave.) will play host to the disparate sounds of We’re Not Popstars (1am), King Raam (midnight), Catlow (11pm), Jess Hill (10pm), Mise En Scene (9pm), and Ingrid Gatin (8pm).

Thur. June 16: Loki (577 King St. W.) will see the electronic DJ danceathon courtesy of Prince Club, Poupon, Kill Them With Colour and Wenzell starting at 10pm.

Fri. June 17: The Comfort Zone (486 Spadina Ave.) will rock out with the likes of Heavy Cream (1am), The Hoa Hoas (midnight), My Skin Against Your Skin (11pm), The Vandelles (10pm), The Young Things (9pm), and Little Foot Long Foot (8pm).

You can download a mix tape of all the bands on the bill at soundcloud.com.




SHEEZER
myspace.com/sheezerfanclub

It's about time for an all-girls Weezer band, and it's pretty awesome that they're into Pinkerton-era, not post-Green album. They are doing a special Blue album/Pinkerton set at Sneaky Dee’s at 2am on a Friday, June 17th.

I'm so excited, you know as a cover lover and huge early Weezer fan (met Rivers, saw them open up for Lush a long time ago, been a fan since).

Cannot wait to hear a girls version of "Pink Triangle".

 

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

NXNE Preview

Can't get enough of NXNE news? I know you're jealous.

I am leaving in two days for NXNE, so this is my only day that I'll have time to do a preview. I have set up a special url (nxne.weheartmusic.com) to quickly access all-things NXNE on W♥M.

I have downloaded two applications to help navigate and scheduling. See below for details.

To start off first, there is a NXNE welcoming party/opening party that is happening on June 15^th. I'm not sure if it's actually open to the public, so I won't tell you where it's located, but I'm sure if you're resourceful, you'll figure it out.

In NXNE news, Brian Wilson will receive the inaugural NOW Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award on June 16 at the Hyatt Regency Toronto (370 King Street West) as part of the NXNE Festival. This is a bit of a last-minute addition, I wasn't even aware that the Beach Boys legend was even in the Toronto area! It's not made clear if he will be performing on the 16^th, but as facts will have it, he will be doing a live gig at Massey Hall on June 18^th via a "rush line". Spots are pretty limited (limited to 50 NXNE pass holders), and since I do want to see him, I will try and wait it out in line.

M for Montreal and Brooklyn Vegan presents a free NXNE show on June 18th called Bruise Cruise. Check it out: "I'm on a boat! Look at the motherf***king boat!"

Looks like loads of fun, the cruise departs at 2pm and if you miss the boat, you miss the show! Bands scheduled to play are:

Ty Segall (headliner)
Young Governor
Uncle Bad Touch
Jesuslesfilles

I don't know any of the bands, outside of Ty Segall, because artie reviewed his 2009 album. Also, Young Governor is basically Ben Cook from the punk band F**ked Up.

The instructions I got was: get to 207 Queens Quay and walk down the boardwalk to the left of Sobey's towards the lake and it's located at the Captain Matthew Flinders. The boat holds about 575 people, so arrive early. It's FREE.

Here are some bands that I may, or may not, check out. But they are on my radar because people send me emails! You can do the same too. Please have the words "NXNE" in your subject header for the next week, so I can filter things accordingly (it'll help me manage my 200 emails a day! Thanks!)

The Worst Thing (Whitey Jam)

STARS
www.youarestars.com

Since I can't stop loving Stars (some of my favorite albums are Nightsongs and Set Yourself on Fire) and I'll always cherish their show at the 400 Bars many, many, years ago. I have kept up with them, even buying their In Our Bedroom After The War with the DVD, although not one of my favorite Stars album, I still love them.

Arts & Crafts is releasing The Bedroom Demos, so it suggests to me that they had so many songs from their Bedroom album that they are finally releasing the demos (14 tracks!)

The digital pricing is right for a release like this, under $6, and you can download a free track "The Worst Thing (Whitey Jam)" at Pitchfork now.

They are doing some limited dates, including headlining one NXNE show (which you know I'll be there):

June 17, 2011 - NXNE - 7:00 pm Toronto, Canada Dundas Square
July 16, 2011 - Canada Kulth Music Festival - 7:00 pm Parksville
August 6, 2011 - Wolfe Island Music Festival - 5:00 pm Kingston, Canada Wolfe Island
August 21, 2011 - Canada Squamish Festival - 5:00 am Squamish

The Postelles: 123 Stop

THE POSTELLES
thepostelles.com

The Postelles' debut self-titled album came out last Tuesday (June 7th) and for a limited time, you can download their free new single song "123 Stop" at Rolling Stones. The song and album were produced by the band and The Strokes' Albert Hammond Jr.

There is a limited edition vinyl available at Insound until July 6th. I wonder if you can also purchase the vinyl at their live show - which incidentally they are playing NXNE at The Garrison on June 15.

6/10 || Philadelphia, PA || Kung Fu Necktie*
6/11 || Washington, DC || Red Palace*
6/15 || Toronto, ON, Canada || The Garrison/NXNE
6/17 || Chicago, IL || Schubas*
6/18 || Milwaukee, WI || Summer Soulstice Music Festival
6/23 || San Francisco, CA || Popscene @ Rickshaw Stop
6/28 || Los Angeles, CA || The Echo || Kitten, Pageants, Pan Am
7/2 || Las Vegas, NV || Beauty Bar
7/7 || Boston, MA || T.T. the Bear's Place*
8/5 || Southhampton, NY || Escape to New York Festival
8/27 || Montauk, NY || Benefit Show for Music Unites at The Surf Lodge

* with The Dig

SMOKE FAIRIES
www.smokefairies.com

Smoke Fairies are from the UK and their US debut album, Through Low Light and Trees, is coming out next week (June 14th via 453 Records).

I did get a chance to listen to it, and I'll tell you what I like about it: it has great atmosphere. Through Low Light and Trees, with its quiet low-key analog sound and acoustics sounds like it's an album that was recorded in the past.

It's sometime bluesy ("Strange Moon Rising", "Feeling is Turning Blue") and dark ("Devil in my Mind") and sometime a bit too fantasy and fantastic ("Dragon"). Still, it's definitely different and refreshing from the usual indie rock bands that dominates NXNE. Smoke Fairies are worth checking out at The Dakota in Toronto on June 18th. Head over there to find out why Time Out New York noted that Smoke Fairies are "Top 5 Must See Bands".

They'll catch up with Rasputina in July. I suspect if conflicts and scheduling made me miss their NXNE appearance, I will likely see them in August at 7th Street.

June 18 /// The Dakota /// Toronto, ON
June 20 /// Passim Folk and Cultural Center /// Boston, MA
June 21 /// Rockwood Music Hall /// New York, NY
June 22 /// Rock Shop /// Brooklyn, NY
July 29 /// Key Club * /// Los Angeles, CA
July 30 /// SLO Brewing Co * /// San Luis Obispo, CA
July 31 /// Great American Music Hall * /// San Francisco, CA
August 4 /// WOW Hall * /// Eugene, OR
August 5 /// Doug Fir Lounge * /// Portland, OR
August 6 /// Tractor Tavern * /// Seattle, WA
August 8 /// The Railyard * /// Billing, MT
August 11 /// Bourbon Theater * /// Lincoln, NB
August 12 /// Blue Moose Tap House * /// Iowa City, IA
August 13 7th Street Entry * Minneapolis, MN
August 14 /// Shank Hall * /// Milwaukee, WI
August 16 /// Underground * /// Sandusky, OH

Child Bite: Odd Inn

CHILD BITE
childbite.com

From Detroit, Michigan, Child Bite is heading up to Toronto to play some shows at NXNE. The most interesting thing about the band, that I've read, is that they use a gaming joystick on stage. I guess I'll have to check them out to see what that is all about.

They are playing with DD/MM/YYYY on June 16th at Sneaky Dee's. Technically DD/MM/YYYY isn't even on until 1am! Yikes!

They are also playing with Peelander-Z on June 18th, also at the same venue. I know for a fact that I will be at Sneaky Dee's on June 18th, so I'll definitely will catch Child Bite.

I am told that I should look to get some nachos there. Done.

Free download of "Odd Inn" at bandcamp.com

EXTRA ARMS
extraarmsmusic.com

Extra Arms is an indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York. They are playing at The Boat at 10pm on June 16th. Their debut single is called "Race to Sleep", which you can listen on Soundcloud. The song is mixed by Bryce Goggin (who worked on Pavement - and you know how we love our Pavement and recently Antony and the Johnsons, who "scared the crap out of me"). If you end up listening to the song, it does have that Alternative 90s sound, and there's some epic guitar-playing towards the end. I'm pretty certain if the song is done live, it'll be at the end of their set and it'll also be a jamfest.

A full length album, to be produced by Grammy-winner Alex Newport, is due out this fall.

You can keep up with them on facebook and their official website, extraarmsmusic.com.

MYNXNE
www.shweet.com

Screenshots from mynxne Artist Summary

News Feed

The two one NXNE application that will help me navigate are: NXNEi and mynxne.

Mynxne application looks great. It's basically an all-in-one solution, but since I don't live in Canada (and don't have Rogers), it might not be that useful if the data aren't cached from wifi*. I'm probably not going to pay for the AT&T international charges, so I'll turn off cellular data when I'm in Canada.

I like that there are NXNE-related news and complete event listing. Seems like a lot of work to put into this application that will be used maybe a few times a year!

* Update: I did more testing of mynxne last night at the Architecture in Helsinki show. Without data service, I was still able to see event listing overview and was able to add some to my calendar without any problems. The application did warn me that I was not online, which was nice to know in case things have changed since the last time the data was cached. Worked great on wifi and it looks great. One annoyance was I often have to click on "full story" because of lack of formatting (but this is expected because the blurbs are there to give you only a glimpse of the actual news article). Can't wait to use this on the field in a few days.

The NXNE Interactive sessions and workshops are all located at Hyatt Regency Toronto (370 King W, M5V 1J9). It lasts two days (June 15 and 16), and it looks like they are in the daytime, so I don't think it'll conflict with any of my shows. Most of the events on the 15th are workshops, which means you generally need a laptop to work with (and since I'm travelling light, these sessions might not be for me.) I didn't know a lot of the speakers, but there are some things I'm interested in - in particular website designs and social media.

Just realized that the NXNi app is from 2010!

Here are some Interactive Section that stood out/sparked my interests:

Interview with Steve Anderson of OpenMedia.ca June 16 @ 4:50 PM Speaker(s)/Panelists: Steve Anderson Jesse Brown Over the past few years our freedoms to access the internet in an open and fair way have been continually challenged. From selective throttling of bandwidth to anti-competitive billing schemes the major service providers have been trying everything they can to squeeze every last penny out of Canadians. OpenMedia.ca and SaveOurNet.ca have helped raise awareness about these issues to unprecedented levels, resulting in positive results for internet users across the country. Join Jesse Brown of the Search Engine podcast as he interviews Steve Anderson, the National Coordinator for OpenMedia.ca and learn what you need to do in order to preserve our future freedom to access and use the internet in open and innovative ways. Produced by Interactive Ontario		The Black Hole of Facebook June 16 @ 12:00 PM Location: Speaker(s)/Panelists: Lee Dale and Jay Goldman How fans disappear on your Pages and ways to engage beyond Like Facebook maintains the largest single social network on the Web, presenting a huge win for marketers who can tap into even a fraction of this population. Yet the majority of campaigns get stuck at Like, losing the engagement of fans following that initial connection.		Wheel Of Fortune/Misfortune: Conversations About Music & Stuff June 16 @ 2:15 PM Speaker(s)/Panelists: Jeff Waye Meghan Currier Jake Gold Joseph Patel The craziest stories from the road; how promoters really feel about tube socks on riders; the digitization of music and the rebirth of vinyl. Worst mistake ever made. Best advice ever given. Worst artist encounter. Damn kids and their torrents. Why doesn't the entertainment business get with the times... Watch as this group of panelists spins the wheel on a wide range of topics sure to insight hilarious, interesting, insightful, and irreverent ranting conversation. Come be a part of the conversation as additionally we'll be adding the Panel Hi-Jacker chair. Someone from the audience always tries to take over the conversation... so now we're making it official and inviting members of the audience to partake. Good times promised... we might even get the panel drunk!

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

W♥M111: NXNE

W♥M111 (30 mins) Listening options: Archive.org: W♥M111

NXNE is coming, June 13-19, 2011, in Toronto, Canada. I am flying in on the 12th, and I guess will be doing touristy things in the city. If you want to hang out, send me a note. The music portion, as far as looking at the schedule, doesn't actually start until Wednesday, the 15th. Which means, I have a lot of time to kill, perhaps I'll attend some of the movies that NXNE has to offer (I am probably going to try and make it to "Upside Down – The Creation Records Story", a documentary about Creation Records). I have gone on record and stated that I think Alan McGee is a genius.

Bands on NXNE that Cristina and I touched on:

Men Without Hats: Love them. Can't believe they are still around. Basically cannot wait to hear them play their big two hit songs, "The Safety Dance" ("because if your friends don't dance, then they're no friends of mine!") and "Pop Goes the World".

Evan Dando and Juliana Hatfield: I haven't seen either bands (Lemonheads or Juliana Hatfield Three), so I am definitely excited to see them for the first time. Lara claims that Dando brings a sort of time machine with him: to the year 1992.

The Pharcyde: Cristina seems more excited about this 90s hip hop band, who, to be honest, I was never into hip hop - but if they are playing, I'll check them out!

Art Brut: I think they're really, really funny. They also love their comic books (they have a fascination with American comics, because they're from the UK). I've seen them before, but I'll love to see them again. See below for more Art Brut dates:

6/15 - Chicago at Double Door
6/16 - Cleveland at Beachland Ballroom
6/17 - Toronto at Mod Club
6/18 - Montreal at Il Motore
6/20 - Boston at Brighton Music Hall
6/21 - Hoboken at Maxwells
6/22 - DC at Black Cat
6/23 - Brooklyn at Music Hall Williamsburg
8/27 - Los Angeles at Sunset Junction Festival

Peelander-Z: Recently added to the bill. They're playing a few dates, one of which I cannot make it to. It'll be good to see them again.

Washington: Also a late addition (she wasn't on the initial lineup), but I'll finally get a chance to see her. She canceled her Minneapolis show, so this will be my first time seeing her in Canada. First song of the show is Washington's "Sunday's Best".

Click "read more" to see the entire schedule for NXNE (or head over to nxne.com). So many of the bands starts at 9pm, so it's definitely not an all-day party as far as it compared to SXSW.

BONUS
Two interesting Peelander-Z projects coming up, including Peewonder-Z, the sister band of Peelander-Z, and TheBlackCherry, a side project of Peelander-Green (aka Cherry) and Peelander-Black.

Both Peewonder-Z and TheBlackCherry are playing at Death By Audio in New York on June 9^th, details on fb.com

Also, Australia's The Panda Band has return with their single, "The Fix", which is available as a free download. Second song of the show is Panda Band's "The Fix".

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Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on mypodcast.com

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

W♥M110: "Macho Man" Randy Savage RIP

W♥M110 (24min) Listening options: Archive.org: W♥M110

Cristina and I did a "Macho Man" Randy Savage and NXNE recording, which I had to split up in two parts. The first part is about Macho Man, which did run a little too long (about ten minutes).

As a child growing up in the 80s and 90s, I watched a lot of WWF (later WWE, no thanks to the World Wildlife Fund). Was never a fan of NWA (later WCW), the league that generally had "Nature Boy" Ric Flair as champion. As Cristina said, they were also considered a second-rate wrestling compared to WWF.

I have a lot of good memories of watching Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, André the Giant, Big John Studd, Jake the Snake, Hulk Hogan, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, the Heart Foundation, and, of course, "Macho Man" Randy Savage. They were all so colorful! They were always fueding with each other.

A little trivia, but did you know many stars of wrestlers are from Minnesota? Sure, we all know Jesse "The Body" Ventura is from here, but Minnesota is home of these wrestlers: Barry Darsow, Greg Gagne, Verne Gagne, "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig, Nikita "The Russian Nightmare" Koloff, Bam Neely, "Mean" Gene Okerlund (technically not a wrestler), "Ravishing" Rick Rude, and Tom Zenk.

Bonus section: HBO's Game of Thrones! What a great show, I'm really enjoying the plot. Episode eight, to air next Sunday, will feature George R.R. Martin's script for the show (most of the previous episodes were written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss, based on Martin's first book of A Song of Ice and Fire).

Other bonus song is Phoebe Cates & Bill Wray's song "Just One Touch", which appeared on the soundtrack for the sex comedy film, Private School (1982).

Join us next week for an epic NXNE preview podcast!

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Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on mypodcast.com

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Black

Evan Ayllon - Ruperta (Lando) Read More Secret Stash Records We are excited to announce that we are GIVING AWAY A FREE MP3 download of the song “El Mayoral” by Peña. We recorded this track in the Spanish Cultural Center located in Lima, Peru on April 16th, 2010.

Theme is 'black', please also see White.

>>>
THE RHYTHMS OF BLACK PERU
www.rhythmsofblackperu.com

The Rhythms of Black Peru is the latest release from Secret Stash Records, on sale today May 24^th.

For fans of world music, particularly Latin-American music, you'll like this compilation. I think to understand this collection, you have to understand Peru's two main cultures: the Spaniards and the African slaves that were brought over. Somehow, over the centuries, these two distinctive music style fused together in popular music of what Secret Stash is calling Black Peru. You can hear these styles at work on this compilation, the Flamenco plucking ("Charango") and the clearly Africana rhythm ("El Mayoral").

As a beginner (clearly I am unfamiliar with these artists), it's a learning experience of where modern Salsa music comes from. But if you're an expert, you'll find that the artists compiled here are some of the most important musicians today.

Like 99% of Secret Stash's releases (with the exception of the Pena CD), they only press vinyls, but they'll also give you an MP3 download, so you can put the music on your iPod to go. What's really nice about The Rhythms of Black Peru is the vinyl is a mixture of black and white wax - indicating the mixture of Latin and African music.

You can pick up the vinyl today at secretstashrecords.com, read more about the history of Peru and music at rhythmsofblackperu.com.

Gardens & Villa - Black Hills

GARDENS & VILLA
gardensandvilla.bandcamp.com

Gardens & Villa just announced their new single (and video) is called "Black Hills". I did get a chance to listen to it, which has a slow start, but once it gets going (especially with the backup vocals), it's pretty good.

Their debut self-titled LP will be out July 5^th on Secretly Canadian Records.

Other than that, I don't really know much about this new band. I can tell you that they are doing a ton of tour dates, and opening up for Foster the People. You know the story about Foster the People, I randomly saw them live was that I was very impressed with them when I noticed that only after two EP releases that they've amassed a ton of fans (all singing along to their songs!).

I know I'm flying out to NXNE the next day, but I have agreed to see Foster the People at the Fine Line on June 11^th. I'll also report back Gardens & Villa - I usually always try and catch the support acts.

Tour dates below:

Jun 8 Denver CO – Bluebird Theater ^ Jun 10 Lawrence KS – The Bottleneck ^ Jun 11 Minneapolis MN – Fine Line Music ^ Jun 12 Chicago IL – Lincoln Hall ^ Jun 13 Cleveland Heights OH – Grog Shop ^ Jun 14 Columbus OH – Newport Music Hall ^ Jun 17 Montreal QC – Club Lambi ^ Jun 18 Toronto ON – The Mod Club ^ Jun 20 Brooklyn NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg ^ Jun 22 Washington DC – 9:30 Club ^ Jun 24 Brooklyn NY – Glasslands Jun 28 Philadelphia PA – Theatre of Living Arts ^ Jun 30 Atlanta GA – Masquerade: Hell Stage ^ Jul 1 Houston TX – Warehouse Live ^ Jul 2 Austin TX – Emo’s ^ Jul 3 Dallas TX – The Loft ^ Jul 5 Tucson AZ – Club Congress ^ Jul 6 San Diego CA – House of Blues ^ Jul 7 Los Angeles CA – El Rey ^ Jul 8 Tempe AZ – The Sail Inn * Jul 9 Tucson AZ – Club Congress * Jul 10 San Diego CA – Casbah * Jul 14 Los Angeles CA – The Echo *		Jul 15 San Francisco CA – Café Du Nord * Jul 16 Davis CA – Sophia’s * Jul 17 Portland OR – Mississippi Studios * Jul 19 Seattle WA – Tractor Tavern * Jul 20 Boise ID – Neurolux * Jul 21 Salt Lake City UT – Kilby Court * Jul 23 Santa Fe NM – Corazon * Jul 24 Oklahoma City OK – The Conservatory * Jul 26 Chicago IL – The Empty Bottle # Jul 27 Cleveland OH – Happy Dog # Jul 28 Washington DC – Black Cat Backstage # Jul 29 Philadelphia PA – Kung Fu Necktie # Jul 30 New York NY – Mercury Lounge # Jul 31 Allston MA – Great Scott * Aug 1 Montreal QC – Casa del Popolo * Aug 3 Pontiac MI – Vernors Room at the Crofoot Aug 8 Wichita KS – Rock Island Live Aug 9 Fort Worth TX – Lola’s Saloon Sixth Aug 10 Austin TX – The Mohawk ^ w/ Foster the People * w/ Generationals # w/ Craft Spells

Matt Bauer: Blacklight Horses

MATT BAUER
mattbauermusic.tumblr.com

Matt Bauer is offering a free song, "Blacklight Horses" from his upcoming album, The Jessamine County Book of the Living (out June 7^th via Crossbill Records). New York Magazine called Bauer's newest collection of "haunting, weird folk music" and Under the Radar said "An album of fragile beauty", and judging from the free download, with ghostly violins, I agree. What I did ultimately liked about the song is that somewhere in the middle, it turned into a duet with Jolie Holland.

Incidentally, June 7^th is also the day he returns to Minneapolis, at the Aster Cafe. I've never been there before, but I am assuming it's a nice quiet (and tiny) venue. I think Holly from Zoo Animals is opening up.

06.02.11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool 06.05.11 - Indianapolis, IN @ Laundromatinee 06.06.11 - Rock Island, IL @ Daytrotter 06.07.11 - Minneapolis, MN @ Aster Cafe 06.08.11 - Chicago, IL @ house show 06.09.11 - Lincoln, NE @ Zoo Bar 06.10.11 - Denver, CO @ TBA 06.11.11 - Salt Lake City, UT @ TBA 06.12.11 - Boise, ID @ house show 06.13.11 - Olympia, WA @ TBA 06.15.11 - Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern 06.16.11 - Portland, OR @ Music Millenium 06.16.11 - Portland, OR @ The Woods 06.18.11 - San Francisco, CA @ TBA 06.19.11 - San Francisco, CA @ Chasing the Moon 06.20.11 - Davis, CA @ Amardillo Records * 06.20.11 - Davis, CA @ DM3 House * 06.21.11 - Marin, CA @ house show * 06.22.11 - Sacramento, CA @ Phono Select* 06.22.11 - Nevada City, CA @ The Tin House 06.23.11 - San Francisco, CA @ the Verdi Club		06.24.11 - Los Angeles, CA @ TBA * 06.25.11 - Los Angeles, CA @ TBA * 06.26.11 - Sedona, AZ @ Live In-Studio * 06.27.11 - Santa Fe, NM @ TBA 06.29.11 - Austin, TX @ Live on KUT at 11 a.m. * 06.29.11 - Austin, TX @ The Mohawk * 06.30.11 - New Orleans, LA @ Circle Bar * 07.01.11 - Little Rock AR @ TBA * 07.02.11 - Hot Springs, AR @ The Art Church * 07.07.11 - Nashville, TN @ house show 07.12.11 - Cincinnati, OH @ TBA 07.13.11 - Columbus, OH @ TBA 07.14.11 - Pittsburgh, PA @ TBA 07.15.11 - Albany, NY @ TBA 07.16.11 - Biddeford, ME @ The Oak and the Ax 07.24.11 - Manhattan, NY @ the ACE Hotel 07.25.11 - New York, NY @ Live on WFMU 07.28.11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Zebulon 07.31.11 - Frederick, MD @ Cafe Nola * w/ Dana Falconberry

BLACK JOE LEWIS & THE HONEYBEARS
blackjoelewis.com

I actually accidentally saw Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybear last month, and I really liked them. They recently announced a new video for "Livin' in the Jungle" (you can watch it on vevo.com). They also list their tour dates, which I'll repost here (should be an amazing time, especially with Sharon Jones touring with them!)

05/29/11 - Quincy, WA - The Gorge (Sasquatch! Music Festival)
06/04/11 - Houston, TX - Free Press Summer Fest
06/11/11 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Music Festival
06/12/11 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell’s
06/12/11 - New York, NY - Madison Square Park
06/16/11 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway
06/17/11 - Columbia, MO - Mojo’s
06/23/11 - Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone Café
06/24/11 - Louisville, KY - Iriquois Ampphitheater
06/25/11 - Indianapolis, IN - The Lawn at White River State
06/26/11 - Columbus, OH - LC Pavilion
07/02/11 - Portland, OR - McCall Waterfront Park
07/03/11 - Portland, OR - McCall Waterfront Park
07/16/11 - Greenfield, MA - Green River Festival
08/6/11 - Philadelphia, PA - Theater of Living Arts
09/10/11 - Bowling Green OH - Black Swamp Arts Festival

*with with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

AMY BLACK
www.amyblack.com

This New England singer/songwriter is holding a "iPod One Time Music Collection" contest (it's loaded with Amy Black's music and videos, I think).

In order to win, you have to watch the video at www.amyblack.lotosnile-dev.com, where you'll get a special URL. Once you spam all your friends to watch the video, you may be a winner of an iPod Touch, providing you have the most viewers by June 2^nd. I own three iPod Touch (different generations), and I can tell you, if you don't already have one, it's really worth getting one - especially if you can win one for free.

Tour Dates below:

06/02/2011 - Framingham, MA - Amazing Things
06/05/2011 - Boston, MA - WUMB Boston Music Fest
06/10/2011 - Shirley, MA - The Bull Run
06/16/2011 - Norwood, MA - Perks Coffee House
07/20/2011 - Nashville, TN - Music City Roots
07/22/2011 - Nashville, TN - The Basement
07/29/2011 - Lowell, MA - The Backpage
09/09/2011 - Portland, ME - Port City Blue
09/18/2011 - Middleborough, MA - Joe Davies Folk Festival
11/05/2011 - Cambridge, MA - Club Passim

BLACKOUT FESTIVAL
hozacrecords.com

HoZac Records is back again to curate the Blackout Fest that takes place in Chicago, coming up this week: May 27-28 at The Velvet Perineum in Logan Square. Unlike the previous nearly week-long music marathon, it's just down to Friday and Saturday this year. Although, I am told that there is a special opening party show on May 26th, so technically it's a three-day event.

I'll confess, I have not heard of many of these bands. I reckon they are all local bands in/near the Chicago-area.

Thursday, May 26 Timmy Vulgar Canderson Nathan Jerde Mac Blackout Christopher Ilth Rob Karlic Ben Lyon + bands TBA!		Friday, May 27 The Spits The Brides K-Holes TV Ghost The Happy Thoughts Mickey Squish		Saturday, May 28 Nervous Eaters Nobunny Tutu & the Pirates Timmy's Organism Puffy Areolas Idle Times Reading Rainbow People's Temple Heavy Times Radar Eyes Outer Minds Nones

BLACK DUB
www.amyblack.com

Black Dub, or Daniel Lanois' Black Dub, are about to set on tour this May 27^th. It's headed by, you guessed it, Grammy Award-winner Daniel Lanois. A free track they giving away to get you excited is a live version of "Last Time.

Hopefully you can get a tast of the energy and performance from the live song. Tour listing below:

May 27 Anaheim, CA House Of Blues
May 28 Los Angeles, CA Music Box
May 29 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
May 31 San Diego, CA House Of Blues
June 9 Detroit, MI Magic Stick
June 10 Chicago, IL Park West
June 9 - 12 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo Festival
June 14 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
June 15 New York, NY Webster Hall, NY
June 17 Pittsburgh, PA Diesel
June 18 Philadelphia, PA TLA
June 19 Westhampton Beach, NY WBPAC
July 3 Ottawa, Canada Ottawa Jazz Festival
July 4 Montreal, Canada Montreal Jazz Festival
July 5 Toronto, Canada Opera House
July 8 Chicago, IL DMB Caravan Festival
August 27 Dundas, Ontario Harvest Picnic
September 8 Champaign, IL University of Illinois

Now, for some quickies. All 'black'-themed:

BLACKWOLFGOAT last.fm/music/Blackwolfgoat BLACKWOLFGOAT's second album, Dronolith, is to be released tomorrow, Tuesday, May 24th, via The Maple Forum. It is an all-instrumental album, which isn't a surprise because they're a progressive drone project by Darryl Shepard (Milligram, Hackman, Slapshot). What's really interesting is that there will be a limited 100 hand-numbered gatefold digi-sleeve of the album, featuring artwork by Alexander von Wieding.		BETTY BLACK www.sylviablack.net Let me know if I'm getting this right, Sylvia Gordon (of Kudu), is also known as Silvia Black, and her latest music project, she is known as Betty Black. Her forthcoming EP is called Slow Dance Out , to be released June 28th on Frau Pink Productions / KID Recordings. Under the Betty Black name, I see she's covered a few songs (see www.bettyblack.bandcamp.com), including a cover of the Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen In Love" (which Cristina and I mentioned in our cover lover show).
SILVER MEDALLION slavetothecity.com Whoever sent me the announcement for "Blackmail", they supply all the good details: where the band is from (Phoenix, Arizona), cover artwork provided (see image on the right), and detail about the song. The song features LA Boys Noize and Dame Fifty5 and is described as a punk meets hip hop. If you like the song, it's available as a free download at soundcloud.		DAVID'S LYRE davidslyre.co.uk Not a lot of info sent my way regarding David's Lyre. Maybe a little biography on the meaning behind "David's Lyre" next time? Looks like Black Masa is a East London DJ duo, who decided to remix David's Lyre's song, "Heartbeak". You can hear the remix here. David's Lyre just played the Lexington (in London?) yesterday, and his EP, In Arms is out now.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Testing iOS mobile update

Since I will be attending NXNE this year, I am setting up my mobile option to update things as soon as it happens. I won't be bring my laptop, in favor of a first generation iPad and a Bluetooth keyboard.

That is a problem as you know because the iPad doesn't do files storage and doesn't behave with flash and the normal web.

This test post is using the mobile Typepad application for the iPhone. So far, so good, since it allows me to upload a photograph from this device.

The other option I was thinking was using a public dropbox but that is a lot of work to figure out links and juggling two or three applications.

I'll still have to go back and pretty things up on a real computer later, but for mobile, this is fine.

Any other suggestions?

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com

♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com

♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Northern Music Festivals 2011

Please also see US Music Festival Guide 2011.

This additional guide features some festivals in the North-ish area, including Canada.

NXNE
www.nxne.com
June 12-19, 2011
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

I'm happy to announce that I will be doing coverage on NXNE this year. The music festival is going stronger than ever in its 17^th year. And this year, there are some amazing bands that I will definitely be checking out. I am mostly interested in Devo, Stars, Men Without Hats, Evan Dando & Juliana Hatfield, and Art Brut, but you know, I'll cover as many bands as I can.

It's listed that there are 650 bands playing over 50 music venue in seven days. June 13^th to the 19^th. Just some of the bands scheduled to appear:

Devo, Descendents, Stars, The Pharcyde, Men Without Hats, Digable Planets, Twin Shadow, OFF!, Art Brut, Shad, Land of Talk, Chad VanGaalen, Cults, The Dodos, Deerhoof, Hot Water Music, The Bouncing Souls, and Anti-Flag (previously announced), plus Dum Dum Girls, Evan Dando & Juliana Hatfield, Braids, Ty Segall, Suuns, PS I Love You, Crocodiles, Wild Nothing, The Pack A.D., Metz, Dirty Beaches, Forest City Lovers, The Luyas, Lower Dens, Gentlemen Husbands, Rusty, Royal Bangs, Julianna Barwick, No Joy, Prince Rama, Doldrums, Secret Cities, Evening Hymns, Snowblink, Parlovr, Talk Normal, PUJOL, Woodsman, Gauntlet Hair, Joey Cape, Tape Deck Mountain, AIDS Wolf, Houses, CJ Ramone, and Kevin Seconds

I think one interesting thing is that most of these headliners are basically from 80s, including Descendents (playing June 16^th), Men Without Hats*, Anti-Flag and Devo.

The early rates just passed, at the moment, the standard price for Priority Pass is $200, this grants you access to all NXNE club shows and film screenings PLUS afternoon Interactive sessions.

Anyone in the Toronto area that wants to hang out, send me a note.

* Cannot wait to hear "The Safety Dance" and "Pop Goes the World".

NORTHSIDE FESTIVAL
www.northsidefestival.com
June 16-19, 2011
Brooklyn, New York, USA

The rates to this festival is pretty decent, day of event is $80, but a VIP ticket is $200 (which includes reserved seatings and booze).

It looks like this year's event is headlined by Beirut on June 17^th and Guided by Voices with support by Wavves on June 18^th.

So far, here's what we have:

Guided by Voices • Beirut • Wavves • Surfer Blood • Deer Tick (performing as Deervana) • Sharon Van Etten • Theophilus London • DOM • Mount Eerie • The Strange Boys • Iceage (U.S. debut) • Twin Sister • Javelin • Frankie Rose & the Outs • Cult of Youth • Alela Diane & Wild Divine • White Fence • Grouplove • Allo Darlin' • Lucky Dragons • Takka Takka • Blondes • Janka Nabay • Holiday Shores • Eternal Summers • The Babies • Xeno and Oaklander • Houses • Teengirl Fantasy • Delicate Steve • Grooms • Slowdance • Grand Rapids • Radical Dads • Mainland • Easter Vomit • Lady Lamb the Beekeeper • Ava Luna • Sean Bones • Dream Diary • The Loom • Pursesnatchers • Gatekeeper • Nicholas Krgovich (No Kids) • Pop. 1280 • World Atlas • The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt! • The Black Hollies • I'm Turning Into • Quiet Lights • The Secret History • Tiny Victories • Indian Rebound • Kindest Lines • Coyote Eyes • Yellow Tears • Xray Eyeballs • Epee du Bois • Marie Stella • Mussels • Diehard • Sensual Harassment • Wires Under Tension • Dry the River • RYAT • The Gypsy West • Dirty Dishes • Grandfather • Bangladeafy • Grass Is Green • Anasazi • The Men • Pillow Theory • Lost Tribe • A Lull • The Brooklyn What • Gabriel & the Hounds...

WHAT THE HECK!
whattheheckfest.com
July 15-17, 2011
Anacortes, Washington

I'm pretty sure Anacortes, Washington, is as far north as you can go before hitting Canada.

Lots of smaller indie bands, the more popular ones are on K Records. Tickets are $65 for all dates, but you have to choose Friday or Saturday for dinner. It comes with food. Sweet!

Here are the list of bands scheduled to appear:

Wyrd Visions, Ben & Bruno, Earth, Angelo Spencer et les Hauts Sommets, For The Birds, LAKE, Arrington de Dionyso’s Malaikat dan Singa, Takhoma, Laura Leif, Bitpart, Broken Water, Sam Lohmann, The Drink Up Honey, D+, Lovers Without Boarders, Mount Eerie, Ô Paon, Mecca Normal, Thrones, Brave Irene, the Zaps

CALGARY FOLK FESTIVAL
www.calgaryfolkfest.com
July 21-24, 2011
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Meanwhile, on the more mid-west of Canada is the Calgary Folk Festival. This four-day festival takes place, according to their map, on Prince's Island Park, in downtown Calgary.

They've recently announced their line-up this year, although I'm not sure if it's the final list. They sure seem to have a bunch of bands playing, including kd lang, Dark Dark Dark (they're from Minneapolis!), Yo La Tengo (not sure if they fit in "folk"), Cadence Weapon (I like him, but again, not sure "folk" fits him), and The Felice Brothers.

Early rate tickets for a 4-day wristband (ends June 1^st) is $135, while advance rate is $165. I am assuming it's nearly 200 for walkup rate? What's interesting is that you can choose to buy a "single" wristband or "flex" wristband, the latter you can give to a friend, once you're done with it.

Below is the list of artists scheduled to appear:

Matt Andersen, Joseph Arthur, C.R. Avery, Balkan Beat Box, Geoff Berner, Blind Pilot, Blue Rodeo, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Braids, Jon Brooks, T. Buckley, Cadence Weapon, Caravan Palace, Chic Gamine, City and Colour, Coeur de Pirate, Cutest Kitten Ever, Dark Dark Dark, David Wax Museum, Kris Ellestad, Elvis Bossa Nova, Fada Dance, The Felice Brothers, The Flatlanders, David Francey, Nanci Griffith, The Head and the Heart, The Herbaliser, Hollow Brethren, Imaginary Cities, Inhabitants, Elisapie Isaac, Harrison Kennedy, k.d. lang and The Siss Boom Bang, Lightning Dust, Raghu Lokanathan, Jez Lowe, Catherine MacLellan, Lauren Mann and the Fairly Odd Folk, Matt Masters and the Gentlemen of the Rodeo, Mighty Popo, Minotaurs, Jim Moray, New Country Rehab, Morgan O'Kane, The Once, Painting with Ella, Joel Plaskett, Portland Cello Project, Punch Brothers, Raleigh, Ernest Ranglin, Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, Carl Hancock Rux, Martha Scanlan, SoCalled, SociaLybrium, Spiro, Buffy Saint-Marie, The Swamp Ward Orchestra, Ti-Coca & Wanga-Négès, Patrick Watson, Emily Jill West, Jenny Whiteley, Wilson, Swarbrick and Gaughan, Yemen Blues, Yohimbe Brothers featuring Bernie Worrell, Yo La Tengo

The company working on this event also does work for other Canadian festivals, including Vancouver Island Music Fest (July 8-10), Dawson City Music Festival (July 15-17), and Hillside Festival (July 22-24)

KAHBANG FESTIVAL
www.kahbang.com
August 5-13, 2011
Bangor, Maine, USA

KahBang announced the initial music lineup for the 2011 KahBang music | art | film Festival. Tickets went on sale yesterday, so you can get a steal of the early bird rate at $80 - but according to the website they are in limited quantity.... so if you're in north Boston, then it's totally worth checking out.

Similiar to SXSW and NXNE, this event will take place at various venues. As previous years (this is the third annual), the festival will feature over 40 bands, taking place along the Bangor Waterfront over the course of nine days.

My Morning Jacket, Chromeo, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Atmosphere, Surfer Blood, Atomic Tom, Dom, Blueprint, Evidence, Prof, and The Gay Blades

ESCAPE TO NEW YORK
www.escape2ny.com
August 5-7, 2011
Southampton, New York, USA

Remember the Kurt Russell movie, "Escape From New York"?

Well this music festival will take place in Southampton, which is about 100 miles east of New York City. And what's interesting is that it is on Shinnecock Indian land...

The news is that this festival was created by the same people that brought you The Secret Garden Party UK.

I don't actually have a line-up announcement, but I'm sure May 4^th, I'll hear all about it. What's even weirder is that "Early Bird tickets now sold out!", that's hardcore attendees - buying tickets before even knowing who's on the bill ? Weekend Admission is $275, which seems pretty high (especially because I don't know who's playing and if it's worth it).

If the 2011 line-up to Secret Garden Party is any indication, expect to see more indie-ish DJs and bands (the most recognizable band on their list I see are Blondie and Peter, Bjorn and John)

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic