W♥M

Isobel Campbell: There Is No Other

Read More Isobel Campbell Isobel Campbell started off her career in the band Belle & Sebastian (you may have heard of them?), she released two albums under her own …

Scottish singer/songwriter Isobel Campbell released a brand-new third album There Is No Other (Cooking Vinyl Records) to little fanfare. To be fair, the timing couldn’t be worst, as the world’s in a middle of a coronavirus pandemic, and there are more things to worry than trying to promote a record. With all concert touring coming to a halt, and record stores (no essential stores) asked to close temporarily… you probably didn’t know about Campbell’s latest release.

Like many of you, I first heard of Isobel Campbell through Belle & Sebastian. When she left B&S to create her project The Gentle Waves, I was on board! You see, Campbell had always had a wonderful sense of music arrangement and her sugarly-sweet vocals lends itself to such beautiful, calming songs. Unfortunately, despite Swansong For You being a great album, she retired the Gentle Waves name… and released her debut solo record Amorino.

It’s about this time, that she met Screaming Trees’ Mark Lanegan, and the two decided to collaborated on a few successful albums. The pairing is perfect, really. I named this type of dueling vocals, “Beauty & the Beast”, as Lanegan’s vocals sounds like an animal… while Campbell provide such a sweet, sweet soothing singing voice.

With Isobel Campbell’s latest, There Is No Other, we see a return to a music style, much like circa-2000 Belle & Sebastian and Amorino. There’s lovely guitar plucking, there’s sparse arrangements, there’s some very catchy melodies, and, best of all, some wonderful string arrangements (courtesy of Nina Violet).

I’m not going to break down the album for you, but let’s just say if you enjoy B&S’ The Boy With the Arab Strap and The Gentle Wave’s Swansong for You, you’ll love There Is No Other.

I believe Campbell chose “The National Bird of India” as her single, which I don’t fully love. Instead, I recommend, “Runnin' Down a Dream” or “Ant Life”.

P.S., if you buy There Is No Other on Amazon, it includes “Autorip” so you’ll have the MP3 in your locker (and can listen to it via Echo or other Amazon products). This is the only way I buy music nowadays, as I have the CD as backup… but able to access my personal music locker where it’s convenient.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Emily's 2014 Best Of Lists

Read More Kelis W♥M 2014 Album of the Year Nomination: Kelis' Food, a concept about food. W♥M 2014 Album of the Year Nomination: Suzanne Vega's Tales From the Realm of the Queen of Pantacles …

Emily's 2014 Best Of Lists

ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

1) Kelis, Food
2) the Afghan Whigs, Do To The Beast
3) Sloan, Commonwealth
4) the Pack AD, Do Not Engage
5) Beverly, Careers

SONGS OF THE YEAR

1) Future Islands, "Seasons (Waiting on You)"
2) Lana Del Rey, "West Coast"
3) Sharon Van Etten, "Taking Chances"
4) Eels, "Parallels"
5) Mark Lanegan, "Floor of the Ocean"

*Special mention:

- Big Freedia, "Explode"
- Old 97s, "Longer Than You've. Been Alive"
- Spoon "Rent I Pay"

SHOWS OF THE YEAR

1) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at the State Theater
2) the Replacements at Midway Stadium
3) Sloan at the Turf Club
4) the Afghan Whigs at First Avenue
5) Eels (and Steve Perry) at the Fitzgerald Theater
6) Mark Lanegan at the Bottom Lounge
7) Pearl Jam at the Xcel Energy Center

New Elvis Perkins and Sleater-Kinney next year! Here we go 2015!

emily (emily@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

W♥M190: Rocktober 2013

W♥M190 (69 mins) Read More Deltron 3030 Deltron 3030 is back! The dream team consisting of Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Dan the Automator, and Kid Koala, will be releasing (and touring) in support of Deltron 3030: Event II.…

Emily is our guest on this week's W♥M Radio.

Last October 2012, we covered about 40 shows. We are gearing up toward another massive "Rocktober" month for 2013!

Before we get to Rocktober, we discussed Duke Garwood and Savages at First Avenue (09/17). We mentioned that weird droney Garwood performance with skinnyman Johnny Hostile and the chop/punch/kick aggressive performance from Jehnny of Savages.

This brought up the discussion of bands banning cellphone and cameras (because Savages discourage and asks people to not take photographs). Prince does it, as are other popular bands, as mentioned on petapixel.com: "It’s become a pattern with musicians lately. In an attempt to force people to actually experience the concert they’re attending, many musicians are banning photography at their shows outright. In the past, we shared messages put up by the bands She & Him, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Savages, all of whom are kindly asking concert goers to put away their darn cell phones."

Personally, I have attended all those bands (plus Oasis/Beady Eye and others asking for no photography). I often feel like I can't do my job, supplying one photo and taking notes (on my phone).... but then again: I'm not there as a fan, I'm there to report. I have not gone to a concert that took away my phone (they've taken away my camera), that, to me, is a little too extreme.

ROCKTOBER 2013
Why are there so many shows in October? Most of the smaller/up-and-coming oversea bands are here in the United States for the College Music Journal (CMJ) music festival taking place in New York in mid-October (Oct 15-19).

Other bands not on the CMJ scene are here because it's the start of the school season (late September), so they think it's a great way to earn money by touring through major cities (where the major colleges are located) in hopes of getting a piece of that college kids action.

Here are a few shows that W♥M may be cover in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St Paul):

10/01/13 Black Joe Lewis at First Avenue 10/01/13 Joan of Arc at 7th Street Entry 10/03/13 Guitar Wolf at Turf Club 10/04/13 Gold Panda at Triple Rock Social Club 10/04/13 Langhorne Slim at Turf Club 10/04/13 Ra Ra Riot/Cayucas at First Avenue 10/05/13 Gwar at First Avenue 10/05/13 Hey Marseilles at 7th Street Entry 10/05/13 KT Tunstall at Cedar Cultural Center 10/05/13 Pepper at Mill City Nights 10/08/13 Noah And The Whale at Varsity Theater 10/08/13 Quintron at 7th Street Entry 10/08/13 Tricky at First Avenue 10/09/13 Blitzen Trapper at First Avenue 10/09/13 Franz Ferdinand at Skyway Theatre 10/11/13 Wesley Stace at Cedar Cultural Center 10/11/13 Father John Misty at First Avenue 10/12/13 Man Man at First Avenue 10/12/13 ZZ Ward at Skyway Theatre 10/13/13 Papa Roach at First Avenue 10/13/13 Surfer Blood at Triple Rock 10/14/13 Fiona Apple at The O'Shaughnessy 10/15/13 The Blow at Cedar Cultural Center 10/15/13 Deer Tick at Fine Line Music Cafe 10/16/13 Neko Case at First Avenue 10/16/13 SSLYBY at 7th Street Entry 10/17/13 Neko Case at First Avenue

10/18/13 Anberlin at Mill City Nights 10/18/13 Olöf Arnalds at Fitzgerald Theater 10/19/13 Celtic Thunder at The O'Shaughnessy 10/19/13 Cocorosie at Cedar Cultural Center 10/19/13 Keep Shelly In Athens at 7th Street 10/19/13 Soul Asylum at First Avenue 10/20/13 Deltron 3030 at First Avenue 10/21/13 The 1975 at Varsity Theater 10/21/13 Aimee Mann at Dakota Jazz Club 10/21/13 King Khan & The Shrines at Turf Club 10/22/13 Little Green Cars at New Skyway Lounge 10/22/13 Lucy Rose at Amsterdam Bar and Hall 10/23/13 Bonnie Raitt at Convention Center 10/23/13 Kodaline at Turf Club 10/25/13 Jacuzzi Boys at Triple Rock Social Club 10/25/13 Those Darlins at 7th Street Entry 10/25/13 Mike Doughty at First Avenue 10/26/13 Head And The Heart at First Avenue 10/27/13 Head And The Heart at First Avenue 10/28/13 Frank Turner at Varsity Theater 10/29/13 Cowboy Junkies at Dakota Jazz Club 10/30/13 Chris Cornell at The O'Shaughnessy 10/30/13 Cowboy Junkies at Dakota Jazz Club 10/30/13 Cyndi Lauper at Mill City Nights 10/30/13 Jonas Brothers at Myth 10/30/13 Kate Nash/La Sera at First Avenue 10/31/13 Beats Antique at Mill City Nights

Some bands we spotlight for the month of October:

CYNDI LAUPER
cyndilauper.com

Children of the 80s should all know "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", which is actually a cover song. So basically all the money she made off that song and royalties went to one lucky Robert Hazard.

10/18/13 Englewood, NJ Bergen Performing Arts Ctr.
10/19/13 Boston, MA Wang Theatre
10/20/13 Flushing, NY Colden Auditorium
10/22/13 Wilkes-Barre, PA F.M. Kirby Center
10/23/13 New Brunswick, NJ State Theatre
10/25/13 Lebanon, NH Lebanon Opera House
10/26/13 Montreal, QC Metropolis
10/27/13 Toronto, ON Massey Hall
10/29/13 Madison, WI Capitol Theater
10/30/13 Minneapolis, MN Mill City Nights
11/01/13 Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre
11/03/13 Greensburg, PA Palace Theatre
11/05/13 Nashville, TN Andrew Jackson Hall
11/06/13 Knoxville, TN Tennessee Theatre
11/08/13 Clearwater, FL Ruth Eckerd Hall
11/09/13 Hollywood, FL Hard Rock Live
11/10/13 Lake Buena Vista, FL House Of Blues
11/12/13 Charlotte, NC Belk Theater
11/13/13 Washington, DC Warner Theatre
11/15/13 Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre
11/16/13 Ridgefield, CT Ridgefield Playhouse
12/07/13 New York, NY Beacon Theatre

NEKO CASE
nekocase.com

The holy trinity of ladies: Kate Nash, Fiona Apple and Neko Case.

Kate Nash, which we just mentioned here and her U.S. dates. She is tour for her latest album Girl Talk.

Fiona Apple was also previously mentioned here. She's touring under the "Anything We Want" banner with Blake Mills with absolutely no idea what songs they will play.

Neko Case has a new album The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, which came out September 3rd on ANTI-, and her First Avenue residency tells me that she feels she will sell out her show there. Hopefully booking another night would spread the love around because most people will not buy both tickets, unless they are 'caseheads' (which I just made up).

09/25/13 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory 09/26/13 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall 10/05/13 "Way Over Yonder" 10/06/13 "Austin City Limits Music Festival" 10/13/13 Austin, TX Zilker Park 10/15/13 Lawrence, KS Liberty Hall 10/16/13 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue 10/17/13 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue 10/19/13 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall 10/20/13 St. Louis, MO The Pageant

10/22/13 Cincinnati, OH Taft Theatre 10/23/13 Nashville, TN Cannery Ballroom 10/24/13 Atlanta, GA Buckhead Theatre 10/25/13 Ponte Vedra, FL Ponte Vedra Concert 10/26/13 Durham, NC Durham Performing 10/27/13 Charlottesville, VA Paramount Theater 10/29/13 Ithaca, NY State Theatre 10/30/13 Washington, DC Lincoln Theatre 10/31/13 Washington, DC Lincoln Theatre 11/01/13 Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre

MARK LANEGAN
marklanegan.com

Lanegan isn't stopping in Minneapolis, but that doesn't mean Emily isn't going to see him on this brief 8-U.S. date for his latest album Imitations (release September 17th).

10/04/13 West Hollywood, CA Troubadour
10/07/13 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom
10/08/13 Seattle, WA The Neptune
10/10/13 Chicago, IL Old Town School Of Folk Music
10/11/13 Boston, MA Royale Nightclub Boston
10/12/13 Philadelphia, PA Underground Arts
10/14/13 Washington, DC Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
10/15/13 New York, NY The Gramercy Theatre

DELTRON 3030
deltron3030.com

Vu was turned into an instant Deltron 3030 fan when he saw them in 2000. Now it's the year 2013 and Deltron is back with Event II (coming out October 1st), the 13-year follow-up to their debut self-titled album. Song of the show is "City Rising from the Ashes", the mad lead single from new album.

It's been so long that Del had to remind us who Deltron was: "I know you need a little background clear though about yer boy Deltron Zero, your hero in three thousand thirty, we ain't in the clear though…" The song takes us back to the year 3030, we were, in fact, always coming back.

10/08/13 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
10/09/13 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Bowl
10/10/13 Washington, DC Howard Theatre
10/11/13 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theater
10/13/13 Phila, PA Theatre Of The Living Arts
10/14/13 New York, NY HighLine Ballroom
10/16/13 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert
10/18/13 Indianapolis, IN Vogue
10/19/13 Chicago, IL House Of Blues
10/20/13 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
10/23/13 Atlanta, GA Heaven
10/25/13 "Mountain Oasis Electronic "
11/10/13 "Fun Fun Fun Fest"
11/15/13 "Boom Festival" (Denver)

Trivia: The role of Sir Damien Thorn VII of the Cockfosters Clan in the world of Deltron 3030, is played by Damon Albarn.

BONUS: The Replacements and Empire of the Sun.

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

Duke Garwood

Read More Mark Lanegan To fans, Lanegan is an enigmatic musician, a man whose miles-deep, rumbling voice both haunts and inspires. He is a respected singer, the former vocalist of the fantastic …

Savages Are you kicking yourself for missing the British all-girl Savages band the first time they were here in Minneapolis? Here's your second chance, Savages will be returning to Minneapolis this September 17th at the larger capacity First Avenue…

Experimental UK folk musician Duke Garwood is probably not a familiar name this side of the Atlantic. Garwood first cut his chops playing guitar on The Orb’s “Perpetual Dawn” in the late 80s and since then has worked with the band Archie Bronson Outfit, shared the stage with Wire and Kurt Vile and has put four solo records under his belt this past May released Black Pudding, his blues-y collaboration with Mark Lanegan. Lanegan himself has called Garwood “one of [his] all time favorite artists” and the British press often refer to Garwood as Lanegan’s “spiritual cousin.” It’s not hard to see why; Garwood is a gifted instrumentalist with a talent for creating sometimes ethereal, sometimes dissonant atmospheres. Lanegan’s gravelly baritone fits perfectly into Garwood’s languid, haunted arrangements. Check out the sinister minor-key meditation of “Thank You” or the sleep-walking guitar on “Mescalito.”

Garwood also made an appearance on current tourmates post-punk band Savages’ album Silence Yourself. The stunning, wailing track “Marshal Dear” features Garwood on great freaked-out clarinet solo that brings the song to a close.

Duke Garwood will be opening for Savages Tuesday September 17th in the Mainroom at First Avenue.

09/18/13 High Noon Saloon Madison, WI*
09/25/13 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR*
09/27/13 Independent San Francisco, CA*
09/29/13 Independent San Francisco, CA*
10/25/13 Passionskirche Kreuzberg Berlin+
11/03/13 Venue, Leeds College of Music Leeds+
11/08/13 Union Chapel London+
11/10/13 De Duif Amsterdam, Netherlands+
11/16/13 Kaufleuten Club Zürich, Switzerland+
11/18/13 Teatro Duse Bologna, Italy +
11/26/13 Teatro Nuevo Apolo Madrid, Spain+
11/29/13 Islington Assembly Hall London+

* with Savages
+ with Mark Lanegan

emily () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ dukegarwood.co.uk

W♥M176: Bohemian Like You

W♥M176 (36 mins)

Emily came on W♥M radio to talk about some news and events.

Vu: I just saw the advance preview for Danny Boyle's "Trance" - a mind-bending thriller, about Simon (played by James McAvoy) who stole the Goya's "Witches' Sabbath" painting and forgot what he did with it. He undergoes hypnotherapist treatment with Elizabeth (played by Rosario Dawson), and that's when the movie enters into this weird surreal part of the film. It's one of those movies, like "Inception", that you want to watch again to try it fully comprehend the picture.

More details on TranceTheMovie.com, movie gets limited distribution this week. Soundtrack is typically really good. The "Trance" Soundtrack featured Rick Smith from Underworld - so it made sense to hear those pulse-pounding beats at the more intense scenes. Smith also co-wrote the movie's theme song, "Here It Comes", with multi-Brit Award winner Emeli Sandé.

You may recall that Danny Boyle put together one of the greatest movie soundtrack for "Trainspotting" (so good that they released part 1 and 2 of the soundtrack) and his personal British music choices for the recent 2012 Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

News: Margaret Thatcher passed away this week (April 8th) to a stroke. Thatcher's uncompromising style of leadership as Prime Minister, left a long lasting bad impression on the people in England…. Particularly on protest singers and songwriters, who wrote and sang anti-Thatcher songs. This is not a complete list, but the songs that I've heard:

Sinead O'Connor, "Black Boys on Moped"

The English Beat, "Stand Down Margaret"

Morrissey, "Margaret on the Guillotine"

Elvis Costello, "Tramp the Dirt Down"

Billy Bragg, "Thatcherites"

Notsensibles, "I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher"

Hefner, "The Day that Thatcher Dies"

Pete Wylie, "The Day that Margaret Thatcher Dies" (song used in the podcast)

News: Record Store Day 2013 is happening next week, April 20th. This year is bigger than ever (I say this every year!), and Emily throws down some of her picks: Mad Season's deluxe double-disc Above on Record Store Day. Mad Season was considered a supergroup, featuring members from Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Screaming Trees.

Big Star is releasing some singles on Record Store Day. This is to coincide with the release of the documentary of Big Star called "Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me", which you can check out the trailer on www.bigstarstory.com. The film was made possible by Kickstarter, which we previously covered.

Husker Du has "Statues"/"Amusement" to be re-issued and Mark Lanegan is teaming up with Moby for "The Lonely Night". Plus, Lanegan will be collaborating with UK folk Duke Garwood for a new album in May.

Topic: Concerts for nostalgic acts are too high! Depeche Mode, Prince, Rolling Stones, etc., they are charging on average about $75 or more for one ticket, which is too much to ask. We're not even talking about hidden "convenience" fee and charges!

Song of the show: The Dandy Warhols's "Bohemian Like You", taken from their breakout album Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia. The album was released 13 years ago, so the band is heading out on tour to do all 13 songs from the Thirteen Tales album this year.

At the moment, only 12 dates are listed. I am assuming the 13th date will be in their original hometown of Portland?

05/28/13 Millvale, PA Mr. Small's Theatre
05/31/13 New York, NY Terminal 5
06/01/13 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
06/02/13 Boston, MA Wilbur Theatre
06/05/13 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert Theatre
06/07/13 Cleveland Heights, OH Grog Shop
06/08/13 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre
06/09/13 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
06/11/13 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre
06/14/13 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern
06/15/13 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
06/21/13 Seattle, WA Showbox At The Market

BONUS: The Jealous Sound's gentle reminder about their Gentle Reminder album.

Corrections: Title for Boyle's movie is "Trance", not "Trancer". Dandy Warhol's "white album" is their debut album, Dandy Warhols OK.

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vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Don’t Wanna Leave This Heaven So Soon

Mark Lanegan Band with Sean Wheeler and Zander Schloss at the Cedar Cultural Center May 18^th, 2012

Mark Lanegan Band at Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (05/18/12) photo by Amy Tour Dates 05/22/12 Los Angeles, CA - Gene Autry Museum 05/23/12 San Francisco, CA - Great American 05/25/12 George, WA - Sasquatch! Festival 05/26/12 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom 08/11/12 France - La Route Du Rock Festival 08/13/12 Frankkfurt, Batschkapp - Longhorn 08/14/12 München - Freiheizhalle 08/16/12 Hasselt, Belgium - Pukkelpop 08/17/12 Germany - Highfields Festival 08/18/12 Switzerland - Gampel Festival 08/20/12 Holland - Lowlands Festival 08/21/12 Falmouth - Princess Pavilion 08/22/12 Wolverhampton - Wulfrun Hall 08/24/12 Uk - Leeds Festival 08/25/12 Saint-Cloud, Fr - Rock En Seine Fest 08/26/12 Uk - Reading Festival 08/28/12 Aberdeen - Garage 08/29/12 Edinburgh - Picturehouse 09/01/12 Uk - End Of The Road Festival 09/02/12 Verona, It - A Perfect Day Festival Read More Mark Lanegan You might know Lanegan as the lead singer of the 90s band Screaming Trees, but he's become known more and more as successful solo artist. His collaboration list is also quite diverse.…

            It isn’t often that the opening act of a great musician like Mark Lanegan could threaten to steal the spotlight and make a run for it. But openers Sean Wheeler, of much-adored 90s rockabilly outfit Throw Rag, and Zander Schloss, expert guitar-slinger for everyone from 80s hardcore band The Circle Jerks to Joe Strummer, did just that. In less than an hour, the rightfully self-proclaimed Legendary Duo danced, serenaded and hammed their way into the ears and hearts of every member of Friday night’s audience. This is the kind of showmanship is perfect for a modest-sized, personal venue like the Cedar Cultural Center.

Sean Wheeler photo by Amy

Zander Schloss photo by Amy

            When Wheeler, a tall man with tattoos spilling out of his shirt and splashing onto his neck and hands and perfectly stiff, slicked-back brown hair, wasn’t trading jokes with Schloss, he was covering the microphone with his powerfully raw voice and swaggering around the stage in this part Vaudevillian shuffle, part Native American rain dance. The scholarly-looking, bearded Schloss, who happens to be an insanely talented artist (his incredible drawings grace the duo’s website), anchored the stage antics with rollicking melodies from his guitar, lovely vocal harmonies and his own dry wit (Schloss likened his past musical endeavors on par with jumping aboard a “burning ship”). They dubbed the set the “NPR set” and Schloss dedicated a song to Garrison Keillor. They appeared to be genuinely enjoying themselves and the audience responded with equal amounts of enthusiasm (One fan, a 20-year-old man celebrating his birthday with his father, traveled from Fargo to see the show and caught Wheeler’s eye with his vintage Throw Rag t-shirt). It was a thoroughly fun and funny performance.

            Wheeler and Schloss did an excellent job loosening the audience for what would be an exhilarating 90 minute set from the formidable Mark Lanegan and his fine Belgian backing band. As soon as the lights dimmed and band members quietly took their spot on stage, the excitement that had been building all evening finally manifested itself in yells and cries and thunderous applause from the crowd. Mark Lanegan, dressed in a black button-up and black pants, long brown hair curling around his face, strode on stage to an audience ready and eager to accept his word as gospel. The band slammed into the first song “The Gravediggers Song”, which happens to be the first song on Lanegan’s new LP Blues Funeral. It was truly a blast to the naked eardrums, a dark, driving number that left little wonder as to what was on the horizon.

            To fans, Lanegan is an enigmatic musician, a man whose miles-deep, rumbling voice both haunts and inspires. He is a respected singer, the former vocalist of the fantastic and often overlooked Seattle band Screaming Trees and frequent collaborator of such musicians as Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Alain Johannes (Eleven), Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs), Isobel Campbell (Belle and Sebastian), Soulsavers and UNKLE. It’s been eight years since his last solo album, Bubblegum, and fans have been practically gnawing at the bit with anticipation for a new solo album and a tour that didn’t just include LA, New York and Dallas. Minneapolis was lucky to see Lanegan come through in October of 2010 with Isobel Campbell in support of their album, Hawk, and in 2008 with Greg Dulli as part of the Gutter Twins celebrating the release of their album, Saturnalia. Being able to witness Lanegan in any musical landscape is an electrifying experience, but hearing him on tour supporting his own oeuvre of songs makes the performance more powerful and personal.

            The setlist was a mix of old classics and new ones, even a rare Screaming Trees track called “New Rose Way.” The song “Sleep with Me” from the EP Here Comes that Weird Chill made the crowd swoon and “One Hundred Days” from Bubblegum had jaws dropping in awe at the intensity of Lanegan’s vocals. His voice did seem to strain in some parts, but it didn’t hinder his performance at all. Some singers wiggle and roll around on stage like mad to create a feverish spectacle, but Lanegan just simmers and brings it all to a slow boil. He stands still, tightly grips his microphone stand with both hands, grimaces and howls, occasionally peering out at the audience with narrowed eyes. The Night Porter, as he is playfully called in reference to his song “When Your Number Isn’t Up,” broke his trance-like state only a few times to respond with shouts of thanks with a shy smile. A fan called for “Harborview Hospital,” an echo-y, synth-heavy tune from the new album and got his wish during the encore.     

            Hearing the transition from studio track to live jam was especially interesting and overwhelmingly successful.  Blues Funeral is certainly a more experimental album for Lanegan than anything prior. It sees him toying with electronic beats and rhythms and using synthesizers; perhaps an influence of collaborators UNKLE and Soulsavers and Lanegan’s own interest in 80s music. It was definitely a risky move for him to take considering what people have come to expect from his sound. But, like all great artists, Lanegan is growing and evolving as a musician. However, the new songs wouldn’t have sounded as strong live had Lanegan not surrounded himself with a supremely talented backing band (most, if not all, hailing from Belgium): Jean-Philippe De Gheest on drums, Frederic Jacques playing bass, Steven Janssens playing guitar and  Aldo Struyf working the keyboards and a second guitar. Janssens (or as I’ve dubbed him “The Silver Fox Johnny Cash”), especially wowed the crowd with his effortless guitar wailing. It’s hard to choose a highlight in a show crammed with excellent moments, but one song into the encore Janssens started strumming the chords to “Pendulum,” a western-flavored song off of Whiskey for the Holy Ghost, Lanegan’s second solo album, and this writer’s little heart nearly exploded in her chest. The band closed out the show very much like the way they came in, with a divine blast to the senses and a dirty, chugging version of “Methamphetamine Blues.” After the song, Lanegan gruffly thanked everyone and the band trickled off stage, leaving a leveled audience to wonder in awe what just happened.

            There’s a song Sean Wheeler and Zander Schloss played during their set on that hot Friday evening called “Song about Songs” that seemed to really encapsulate the theme of the show. Schloss strummed on his bouzouki while singing: “Before I leave this world/I hope you find/a song that loves you for all time/and that song saves your life.”

            It’s no question that music can be this intimate life-force that connects and moves and shakes its listeners. Elton John, Lou Reed and David Bowie have all sung about how songs are vital to the human spirit. Maybe Lanegan’s songs didn’t impact each person at that show exactly the same way, but I am certain no one left the Cedar that night unaffected by their power.

emily () ♥ marklanegan.com

♥ seanandzander.com

W♥M134: Pleased To Meet Emily

W♥M134 (36 mins)

Your hosts are Amy, Emily, and Vu.

Meet Emily, the girl who fell in love with The Replacements and moved to Minneapolis in stalking pursuit of Paul Westerberg. Her first show at "the legendary" First Avenue, it was an all-ages show for Built to Spill, while her first cassette purchased was for Dionne Warwick and The Four Tops. Who doesn't love oldies and Motown?

The main focus of the show is Mark Lanegan and his latest album, Blues Funeral, which came out February 2012, via 4AD. This is the first Mark Lanegan Band album since 2004's Bubblegum.

You might know Lanegan as the lead singer of the 90s band Screaming Trees, but he's become known more and more as successful solo artist. His collaboration list is also quite diverse, being in Queens of the Stone Age, The Gutter Twins (with Greg Dulli), and Isobel Campbell (of Belle & Sebastian).

Song of the show is Mark Lanegan Band's "Ode to Sade Disco".

He's currently on tour, Amy & Emily will be seeing him at the Cedar in Minneapolis.

10 May 2012 • New York, NY - Webster Hall 11 May 2012 • Washington, DC - 9:30 Club 12 May 2012 • Philadelphia, PA - Theatre Of The Living 13 May 2012 • Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club 15 May 2012 • Toronto, ON - Mod Club 16 May 2012 • Detroit, MI - Small's 17 May 2012 • Chicago, IL - Metro 18 May 2012 • Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center 20 May 2012 • Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre 22 May 2012 • Los Angeles, CA - Gene Autry Museum 23 May 2012 • San Francisco, CA - Great American Music 25 May 2012 • George, WA - Sasquatch! Festival 26 May 2012 • Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom 11 August 2012 • France - La Route Du Rock Festival

13 August 2012 • Frankkfurt, Batschkapp - Longhorn 14 August 2012 • München - Freiheizhalle 16 August 2012 • Hasselt, Belgium - Pukkelpop Festival 17 August 2012 • Germany - Highfields Festival 18 August 2012 • Switzerland - Gampel Festival 20 August 2012 • Holland - Lowlands Festival 21 August 2012 • Falmouth - Princess Pavilion 22 August 2012 • Wolverhampton - Wulfrun Hall 24 August 2012 • Uk - Leeds Festival 25 August 2012 • Saint-Cloud, Fr - Rock En Seine Festival 26 August 2012 • Uk - Reading Festival 28 August 2012 • Aberdeen - Garage 29 August 2012 • Edinburgh - Picturehouse 1 September 2012 • Uk - End Of The Road Festival 2 September 2012 • Verona, It - A Perfect Day Festival

PLUS:
I have a sad, sad, sad love for Wilson Phillips. This was my first cassette purchased at the Wherehouse (Blackstone location) in Fresno, California. The trio is back, and with a new covers album, Dedicated. Check out their live performance of "Good Vibration" via youtube.com. Wendy looks great!

They're coming to Minneapolis State Fair!

6/5/12 Austin, TX Long Center for Performing Arts
6/6/12 Dallas TX Winspear Opera House
8/17 & 8/18 San Diego, CA San Diego Symphony
8/31 & 9/1 St. Paul, MN Minnesota State Fair

*more tour dates to follow

BONUS: Things taken out of context: Emily's rant on the industry failing to grow out of the 60s, Paul Westerberg is a big Twins fan, "Kurt's dead, that's great!", "I'm Vu, Vu-me!". Falsetto, explained… which lead to Jeff Hanson (yes that song I used is by Jeff Hanson!). Emily's first cassingle was Salt-N-Pepa's "Ain't Nuthin' But A She Thing" and Vu was "How Long" by Information Society (that was 1991, I bought the CD Single later on as an upgrade). The cassingle played the same on both side A & B, you can see a scan of the cover here (along with "Think").

ROCK FOR PUSSY IX: Friday, June 8, 2012, at First Avenue in Minneapolis. Featuring Steve Price, John Eller, Dave Russ, Tommy Alsides, Janey Winterbauer, Christian Erickson, Aby Wolf, Chastity Brown, Venus and All the Pretty Horses, Adam Levy, Dan Israel, Reed Wilkerson, Laurie Lindeen, Dave Campbell, Ciaran Daly, Orion Treon, Liam Watkins, Michelle Massey, Brenden Green, Chris Perricelli, Leslie Ball, Chris Lynch, Kevin Nord, Matt Coffee, DJ Jake Rudh and many more!!!

W♥M Radio is available on iTunes, please subscribe!

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

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

W♥M112: Splendour in the Grass Preview

W♥M112 (50 mins) Listening options: Archive.org: W♥M112

Happy holidays! It's also Sally's birthdate week, as she was kind enough to stop in to preview Splendour in the Grass, which takes place this July 29th to 31st. Doors at 9am, music starts at 11 and ends after midnight. Details at splendourinthegrass.com.

Before we get into the meat of the matter, we did wrap up NXNE, which you can read more details at nxne.weheartmusic.com and all my exploits and adventures and lessons learned.

I did touch a bit on Jo Williamson, not literally, but I kept running into her. Saw Washington played twice, saw loads of other bands too. Disappointed with Brian Wilson, but Men Without Hats, Evan Dando and Juliana Hatfield saved the festival. Outro song is "Everybody Loves Me But You" by Hatfield.

Splendour in the Grass 2011 will be covered by the fine Festival Ladies, but Sally and I looked over Coldplay (it was all yellow!), Kanye West (he just shows up everywhere). A good bunch together of Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, Gomez, and Regina Spektor in a block is pretty amazing. Also, Grouplove, who I saw a few months ago, they are on the up and up. Yelle, the French girl is pretty hot too. Of course, Foster the People are a really good band, love their songs!

Amazed that DJ Shadow is still around, he pretty much was the first guy that made a whole album of just entirely out of samples.

Song of the Podcast is: British Sea Power's "Georgie Ray" from their new album, Valhalla Dancehall.

BONUS
More Pulp than you can stand. Fitz & The Tantrums are playing the same night as Pulp, so Sally will have to miss out.

Britpop class of '95 article available on independent.co.uk spotlights on Justine Frischmann, Louise Wener, Debbie Smith, David Roundtree, and Tim Brown. Where are they now and what they are doing. Kind of glad to see Debbie Smith is still playing in several bands (I met her a long time ago in a bar and she asked about my t-shirt - it was my penpal's artwork of Morrissey).

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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

Mark Lanegan/Joe Echo: Wolverhampton Slade Rooms 02/05/10

When Your Number Isn't Up Mark Lanegan  Tour Dates 05/04/10 Scala London, UK 05/06/10 Ancienne Belgique Brussels, BE 05/07/10 Luxor Cologne, DE 05/08/10 Uebel & Gefaehrlich Hamburg, DE 05/09/10 Lido Berlin, DE 05/11/10 Backstage Halle Munich, DE 05/12/10 Flex Vienna, AT 05/13/10 Magazini Generalli Milan, IT 05/14/10 Circolo degli Artisti rome, IT 05/16/10 Joy Eslava Madrid, ES 05/17/10 Bikini Barcelona, ES 05/18/10 Capitol Santiago de Compostela 05/20/10 Zappa Club Tel Aviv, IL 05/22/10 B2 Moscow, RU 05/24/10 Nosturi Helsinki, FI Discography [1990] The Winding Sheet [1994] Whiskey for the Holy Ghost [1998] Scraps at Midnight [1999] I'll Take Care of You [2001] Field Songs [2004] Bubblegum Read More Mark Lanegan http://weheartmus... Fans of Ex-Belle & Sebastian Isobel Campbell should be happy to know that she and Mark Lanegan...

25 years at the alt-rock coalface have left ex-Screaming Tree Mark Lanegan with one of the finest address books in modern music.  A list of collaborators ranging from Kurt Cobain to P.J. Harvey, taking in Queens of the Stone Age, Isobel Campbell and the (much overlooked) Soulsavers, should be  enough to fill Wolverhampton’s Slade Rooms twice over with curious on lookers alone.  A large portion of tonight’s crowd is made up of die hard fans.

Support takes the form of Belfast-based singer songwriter/ knob twiddler Joe Echo.  Joe used to be in band called Leya, who enjoyed moderate success, but by all accounts don’t seem to have been very good. Since leaving Leya, Joe has met William Orbit, incorporated dance music into his field of influence, and bizarrely seems to think that he is best mates with Madonna.

Joe’s set sounds a little bit like Starsailor would if they thought that they could get away with beat boxing. 300 indie kids clap politely, shuffle their feet and look embarrassed. The set seems to stretch on for an eternity.

 He finally leaves, and even the walls breathe a sigh of relief.

The lights go down, a ripple of excitement passes through the venue.  Mark Lanegan shuffles onstage, accompanied by a lone guitarist, and proceeds to croon his way through a mesmerising 50 minutes of the darkest psyche-folk murder ballads you have ever heard.

The crowd, having battled through the bank holiday drizzle to be here, are best described as rabid, and each song ends with two minutes of rapturous applause, during which Mark shrugs, nods his appreciation curtly, and awkwardly awaits the opening bars of the next song.

Old classics are bent, broken and twisted to fit the band’s new two man format, and the audience are duly whisked down “the corridors of our psychedelic past”, as Lanegan grumbles and howls his way through the highlights of his solo career, before taking on a couple of Screaming Trees numbers, and finally finishing up on the primal stomp of Queens of the Stone Age classic Hanging Tree.

Mark does not smile once.

 05/03/2010 20:57:22 ♥ Nick Owen (twitter.com/Nick_Owen) ♥ myspace.com/marklanegan ♥ onewhiskey.com 

News for the Week of 4/13/2008

 

CrackedCD

I wanted to mention that Arrica Rose & The ... (arricarose.com) has an LP that was released yesterday (April 14^th), but due to the rough post office, the CD arrived last week cracked (see image). Does anyone know if you can fix cracked CDs?

I've requested another CD to be sent out, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm pretty good about deadline/due dates, even though I am off by one day. You see, Tuesday is normally "new CD release day", not Monday.

As soon as I get a review copy, you'll see something written up, apologies to Arrica Rose.

Hilary McRae - Every Day (When Will You Be Mine)

Speaking of new CD releases, here are stuff that's being released today (April 15^th): Everclear - Vegas Years, The Kooks - Konk, Phantom Planet - Raise The Dead, William Shatner & The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra - Exodus: An Oratorio in Three Parts (WTF????!!!??), Ours - Mercy (Dancing For The Death Of An Imaginary Enemy), and Hilary McRae - Through These Walls.

That last name listed is Hilary McRae (hilarymcrae.com), who I've reviewed earlier this month.

I've noted that she is on the Starbucks Record label, which I think will do very well for her - and you know what? It's paid off. She's apparently the opening up or have opened up for such major acts as Huey Lewis & The News, Fergie, and Natasha Bedingfield.

And did I mention she's only 21? Far out.

Here are the rest of her Spring dates:
April 15 – Jackie Gleason Theatre w/ Todd Rundgren – Miami, FL
April 21 – The Living Room – New York, NY
May 2 – SunFest – West Palm Beach, FL
June 7 – Pride Fest – Milwaukee, WI

Read more at press.weheartmusic.com

Isobel Campbell And Mark Lanegan-Who Built The Road

Isobel Campbell Mark Lanegan - Deus Ibi Est

Fans of Ex-Belle & Sebastian Isobel Campbell (isobelcampbell.com) should be happy to know that she and Mark Lanegan (myspace.com/marklanegan) have decided to team up again for their second duet album Sunday at Devil Dirt, which comes out on May 5, 2008.

You see, after their highly successful Ballad of the Broken Seas (2006), she went off and released Milkwhite Sheets (2006), which many critics cited was "beauty without the beast". What they were trying to say is that, although Campbell's vocals are sweet and pure, it's really the sinister growl of Lanegan that made it consistently interesting.

And based on the songs that I've listened to, it's true. Lanegan, once again, takes the spotlight on this album.

Hope to hear more from them soon.

 

REDiCLAN - Arsenal

My last news item comes from ISL, who announces "Romanian-Born Band Raises The "Iron Curtain" on File Sharing".

Once in a while, I do see bands being very pleased that their music is being trade and are happy that their music are getting in the hands of those that would not have bought it in the first place.

To add a twist to this, REDiCLAN (rediclan.com) noted that most of the music sharing are from Eastern Europe and that "Due to the harsh social conditions before the crash and burn of communism, Eastern Europe has always been friendlier to underground and trend-breaking music than the Britney Spears culture. I’m glad to know RED i CLAN is among the bands people want to hear."

I do have the CD, Killohead, in-house for review so I'll make sure the review is up prior to April 29^th, which along with a ton of other CDs are being released.

That's it for this week's news. Unhappy tax day!

 04/15/2008 10:38:58  vu my♥posts weheartmusic.com