W♥M (Archive)

REVIEW: Groovin The Moo 2011 - Maitland (7/5/2011)

Poor Maitland,.. or more specifically, the kids from Maitland… always being the brunt of our bogan jokes, when in reality, us kids from Newcastle weren’t much less boganic. To cut a long story short, Maitland was the scene of one of the locations of the Groovin The Moo festival, which tours around Australia each year to some more regional locations (rather than your capital cities like Melbourne or Sydney).

My first thoughts, as I walked up to the entrance, were “lordy… that person’s backyard is going to be a river of wee if people keep weeing on that tree” and “why did no one tell me that short denim shorts were ‘in’?” However, those thoughts soon faded because as funny as the female uniform was, there was some music to be concentrating on.

After catching the very end of The Jezabels (who were on unusually early on in the line-up… in my opinion), Darwin Deez was the first act on our list of must-sees. As quirky as his recordings was the performance by Darwin Deez and band. It was pretty much what I was expecting music-wise. Poppy, happy, guitar driven tunes; keeping the kids dancing, although most of the songs seem to be relate to some sort of relationship break-up. Sad and happy all at once: “Everyday ought to be a bad day for you”. The best part, by far…  was the choreographed interludes (to Enya, amongst other songs) performed by the entire band.

Those lads from Norway, Datarock, adorned in snazzy red tracksuits, played next on the adjacent stage and pleased the ever-growing crowd significantly. I do admit that although I enjoyed the recent 'Catcher In The Rye' release from Datarock, I’ll never be able to go past 'Computer Camp Love', which, to my surprise (and dismay) was released as far back as 2005…. feels like yesterday. And yes, to my glee, they played it.

Washington has successfully made it into the Australian mass conscience - proven by the shortening of their name to 'Washo' by various fans and radio DJs. Megan and the band played an upbeat and rather tight set, sticking mostly to the well known songs from 'I Believe You Liar', the main exception being their version of The Divinyl's 'I Touch Myself' where Megan appeared to be channelling Christina Amphlett. Megan Washington's band made no attempt to divert attention away from her, which would have been a challenge anyway, considering her diva-like presence on show. They did divide the popsters from the rock fans amongst the festival crowd, but there were many up front who may have been there only to see Washington. And some very enthused sing-a-longs.

The Go! Team were as brilliant live as I always remembered them. I don’t know what you think, but their energy on stage coupled with their performance of the songs that are just made for singing/yelling along, makes them more enjoyable live than sitting at home (or on a train or in the supermarket) listening to their recordings. Ninja makes the stage her own and has an amazing ability to get the crowd involved (I also think she might have laughed at how tiny my camera was compared to the other photographers - but also.... she probably didn't even notice it).

House of Pain really aren’t my cuppatea, but really seems to be just what the Maitland folk were waiting for. You can probably guess which of their songs is the only song I know and yes, the minute they started playing 'Jump Around' there was an insane mass flux of people moving towards the stage.  I was like an alcoholic salmon swimming upstream towards the bar.

Architecture in Helsinki were the last of my highlights from the day. I’d never managed to catch these guys live before. It was always on the list, and now my mission is complete. A band that is loved by squillions and so well-travelled, but have never crossed my path (not that that’s any kind of amazing feat).  Looking like they had just stepped straight out of the 80’s, Architecture in Helsinki played all their most well known tunes and more. The crowd watching was large and dense, making it slightly hard to see, but that really didn’t matter. 

Groovin the Moo: an excellent day out and a great opportunity for kids of all ages who might not live near a capital city to get out and experience live music in a festival setting. Fingers crossed that future Groovin the Moo’s can attract such a high calibre of acts and keep the crowds coming.

Link: Groovin The Moo 2011 - Maitland: Gallery.

Sally & John

JAZZ NOTE #14 – CAPTURE AN ERA

We here at We Heart Music are big fans of Putumayo and their focus on music from around the world.  They are like a cool friend who makes really great mixed tapes.  Forget splapdash and haphazard, the selections they chose have something to say and blend so well with the others. 

Anita O’Day: It Don't Mean A Thing Read More Jazz Notes If you don’t know much about jazz, I can think of no better introduction. I especially like Toussaint’s interpretation of “St. James Infirmary”, a traditional dirge of a funeral march, but he picks a pace between a skip and a strut.

If you go to their website www.putumayo.com you will notice they have compilations from every continent except Antarctica.  Espana and Brazilian Café are in my musical rotation and so will Jazz.

Jazz is a pretty broad musical term.  This compilation concentrates on an era when big band was on the wane and rock n’ roll was still on the horizon.  It was a time when jazz musicians were exploring and pushing the boundaries in tightly knit combos and singers were adding their own voice to the classic ballads of Gershwin and Hammerstein. 

What I like most about this record is it’s not the typical collection of usual suspects you’d grab while ordering a latte or picking out furniture.  This is a thoughtful compilation that both beginners and aficionados can enjoy.  There are singers on this record that I’m unfamiliar with like Blossom Dearie and Maxine Sullivan and there are well know icons playing recordings I never heard before: Louis Armstrong and Oscar Peterson in “I Was Doing All Right” and Cannonball Adderly and Bill Evans playing a rather upbeat “Waltz for Debby.”  Then there is Anita O’Day’s interpretation of Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing.”  If any person captured the feeling of jazz in the 5o’s it was her.  Hip, cool and non-conforming, she could swing with the best of them while adding her own sassy spin. 

Dave

Little, Small, Tiny things

We get a lot of music-related emails here, on average about sixty plus emails a day (not counting duplicate messages!). We can't cover everything, but I do try and make it interesting, especially when I start seeing trends in names and themes. Apologies if I've overlooked you, it helps to keep sending in submissions (hint: I only shift through a month's worth of emails). Today's theme is small, tiny, little things.

>>>
ONE LITTLE INDIAN
www.indian.co.uk

One Little Indian Records has a few releases coming out this year, but I thought I'd just spotlight two recent ones: The first one will be out May 16^th, 2011, called This is the Computers by the band The Computers (thisisthecomputers.com).

NME described the band as a punk rock n roll band with the "gut punching barrages of the Circle Jerks and the satirical elegance of a society of scholarly gents", while Kerrang! called them "snotty attitude and great, gritty tunes".

I gave the album a listen, it's typical punk sound: short, high energy song. None of their songs goes over the three minute mark, so with the eleven tracks, still clocks under twenty-four minutes. Perfect for vinyl, actually (which obviously is available in 12").

Singer Speedo seems to have this, it's hard to explain, like a "throw up" style of singing. Lots of "hugh" and "haargh" and "eegh" (imagine Axl Rose doing that). If you like 90s California punk scene (NOFX, maybe a little Rancid), you'll like The Computers.

I'll give them this: I like that they are totally analog, they basically did a one or two take on recording this album, live with little or no post production work. If there were mistakes or errors, it's part of the song, and that's cool in this day of autotune.

The other band I took a look at is called Underground Railroad (myspace.com/urailroad) with their album, White Night Stand, out on June 13^th.

I was drawn to the cover artwork of a mannequin on a bed. I think it sets the tone of the album, which was inspired by David Lynch. In fact, singer/guitarist Marion Andrau named his songs after Lynch films, in particular Twin Peaks' episode titles: "The Black Widow", "The Orchid's Curse", and "Traces To Nowhere".

Although the band's influence is in American rock music, it sounds like they're trying to sound more British with this album. Lots of interesting layers of sound, percussion, and melodies (check out the final section of "Russian Doll" or the buildup on "Seagull Attack").

If you like British bands and don't mind waves and waves and waves of sound, I think Underground Railroad has some songs they can offer to your liking. I'll bet you those songs will sound great live:

Thursday 16th June: Barfly, London
Friday 17th June: Norwich Arts Centre, Norwich

Read More Little Man Chris Perricelli, aka Little Man, wrote on his blog that they're in the studios for a new release in Spring 2011.

LITTLE MAN
www.littlemanmusic.net

Last Christmas, I mentioned that Chris Perricelli (aka Little Man) was working on a new release for Spring 2011. Well Spring is here and, as promised, his latest release is an EP called Orbital Amusement.

The EP is described as "Sonic delights abound with burly beats, lush harmonies and fuzzy, pitch-bending guitars inspired by ZVEX effects".

Like many of you non-musicians, I had to look that up, apparently it's a pedal effect by Minnesota's own Zachary Vex. Vex, himself, had this to add about his equipment on the EP: "Orbital Amusement is full of fun fuzzy textures and modulated goodness. Chris Perricelli's live use of the Fuzz Probe is the best and most creative I've seen yet."

With the help of 89.3 The Current, he is having his release party this May 27^th at St Paul's Turf Club. Support for the show includes my local favorite Red Pens and The Rockford Mules. I'm afraid, I have another show, but we'll see if I can sneak out early to head over to the Turf Club.

LITTLE OWL
facebook.com/littleowlmusic

I had intentions of using Little Owl as part of another birds article, but they can fit in here.

I wasn't given a whole lot to work with, probably because this is still a brand new band (formed last Summer), headed by Yoni Berk. The full band consists of five other band members (Shayna Brown, Nathaniel Markman, Emily O'Dean, Jordan Smith, and Maxx Farris) turning them into an micro orchestral-indie band, complete with violins (as heard on "Psalms" and "Naturally") .

Their debut EP is called Stories and Observations of Argus Madur, which is available at cdbaby.com.

Their music video for "Black On White" is available at youtube and if you like what you saw, the track is a free download at bantermm.com

LITTLE STAR DWELLER
littlestardweller.com

Little Star Dweller, I've been told, was formerly known as Nite Club, based out of Brooklyn, New York.

With the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, they've recently released a song called "TK Days" - you can preview and listen to the song at bandcamp.

From the description, the song was recorded during a June sun shower in the third month of songwriter Richard's stay in Tokyo.

All proceeds from the track will go to the Japan Society earthquak relief fund.

ALL TINY CREATURES
alltinycreatures.com

All Tiny Creatures's latest album is called Harbors out now on Hometapes Records.

I don't know much about the band, but reading their biography, it seems like they're great live and based out of Madison, Wisconsin (?).

I put on the only song by All Tiny Creatures that I have: "Minor", which was featured on a Hometapes compilation called Here All Beautiful Collides: A Sampler a few years ago. It's very Nintendo-ey, if that's a word to describe it. The song is an all-instrumental tracks, so I'm surprise to read that Harbors, that they've added "a new instrument" called "the human voice".

Here are their tour schedule:

05/17/11 - Appleton, WI @ Pusey Room 05/18/11 - Madison, WI @ The Frequency 05/19/11 - Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews 05/20/11 - Bloomington, IN @ Rachael's Cafe 06/03/11 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Howler's* 06/04/11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Sycamore* 06/05/11 - New York, NY @ The Mercury Lounge* 06/06/11 - Baltimore, MD @ The Wind-Up Space* 06/07/11 - Washington, DC @ Velvet Lounge*% 06/08/11 - Charlottesville, VA @ Twisted Branch % 06/09/11 - Raleigh, NC @ Kings%		06/10/11 - Asheville, NC -@ Broadway's% 06/11/11 - Wilmington, NC @ Satellite Bar% 06/12/11 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl% 06/14/11 - Knoxville, TN @ Pilot Light% 06/15/11 - Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar% 06/16/11 - Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub 06/17/11 - Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle 07/29/11 - Milwaukee, WI @ Club Garibaldi 07/30/11 - Madison, WI @ UW Memorial Union 09/08/11 - Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Music Festival * w/ The Caribbean, % w/ Shedding

SMALL SUR
smallsur.com

Baltimore's Small Sur has a new album called Tones, out June 28^th, 2011.

I downloaded his free song, "The Woods" to preview, and what I can tell you is that singer Bob Keal has a very gentle soothing voice. NPR agrees, adding, "Its serene minimalism conjures large expanses of natural landscapes at their most beautiful".

Here are their Summer tour schedule so far:

June 01: Washington, DC - Velvet Lounge
June 18: Charlottesville, VA - Tea Bazaar
June 21: Richmond, VA - The Listening Room w/ South China
June 23: Wilmington, NC - Satellite Bar
June 25: Nashville, IN - Pine Room w/ Elephant Micah, Joe Manning
June 29: Madison, WI - Project Lodge w/ Conrad Plymouth + more
July 01: Ypsilanti, MI - Woodruff’s w/ Annie Palmer + more
July 09: Portland, ME - The Apohadion
July 11: Portsmouth, NH - Hush Hush at the Red Door
July 12: Bangor, ME - Joshua’s House
July 16: North Adams, MA - Union & Field

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

Barsuk Records: Wooden Birds and The Globes

The Wooden Birds: Two Matchsticks Discography [2009] Magnolia [2011] Two Matchsticks Read More Wooden Birds The Wooden Birds, Andrew Kenny’s latest project, is a reflection of his move from Brooklyn, New York back to his hometown of Austin, Texas.

I am just going to say it now, I like Barsuk Records. They were kind enough to send me some advances for a couple of their new releases. Let's take a look shall we?

THE WOODEN BIRDS
thewoodenbirds.com

The last time we saw Andrew Kenny's project, The Wooden Birds, Kateg said their album, Magnolia was "laid-back and tranquil". With Two Matchsticks, which is scheduled for a June 7^th release date, I would say it's more or less true. The whole album seems more acoustic, lending itself to playing intimate coffee shop setting. However, I should point out that the intro song, "Folly Cub" and title track, "Two Matchsticks", tried to keep it upbeat.

I don't know if it's the case of the first album, but this second album songs are kept in a brief three-four minutes, very radio-friendly. Case in point, the song "Warm To The Blade", sounds like it could go on for a few more minutes, but instead, at the 2:30 mark, the song faded down. Most of the songs are sung by Andrew Kenny, but I thought Leslie Sisson's song, "Baby Jeans", was really good. Maybe it's because it just stood out like a sore thumb.

If you enjoy the mellowier side to Death Cab for Cutie, I think The Wooden Birds is right up your alley. If you don't believe, check out the melodic and lyrics of "secrets of your hearts" on "Secrets" or "she cheats and she steals and she kills, but you can't hate her" on "Struck By Lightning", they belong in a Ben Gibbard song, especially the music.

Two Matchsticks will be released on June 7^th, 2011, on Barsuk Records. In the meantime, preview the title track "Two Matchsticks" at MTV Hive.

Bonus: Download the entire show of The Wooden Birds @ SXSW, The Hilton (3/19/11) at kut.org.

Like what you hear ? Then see them this Summer:

6/16 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room* 6/17 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo (18+) 6/18 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar (21+) 6/19 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place* 6/23 - Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern (21+) 6/24 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir (21+) 6/25 - SF, CA @ Bottom of the Hill * 7/8 - Chicago, IL @ The Hideout (21+) 7/9 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Founders Brewery (21+)		7/10 - Toronto, ON @ The Drake* 7/11 - Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo * 7/12 - Boston, MA @ Great Scott (18+) 7/14 - New York, NY @ Mercury (21+, 8pm) 7/15 - Brooklyn, NY @ Rock Shop (21+) 7/16 - Washington, DC @ DC9* 7/17 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl (21+) 7/20 - Austin, TX @ The Mohawk* * all ages shows

The Globes: Stay Awake Tour Dates 05/18/11 Sonic Boom, Seattle, WA 05/28/11 Sasquatch Music, George, WA 06/03/11 Troubadour*, Los Angeles, CA 06/04/11 Troubadour*, Los Angeles, CA 06/07/11 Casbah, San Diego, CA 06/11/11 Emos Austin, Austin 06/12/11 The Loft*, Dallas, TX * w/Archers of Loaf

THE GLOBES
myspace.com/theglobes

The Globes' debut album, Future Self, just came out on Barsuk last month, April 26^th (available on iTunes yesterday, May 10^th, with a bonus track: "The Ocean Is Dreaming of You").

I don't know much about the band, but from the fantasy-esque cover artwork and title ("future"), for a band that's interested in Sci-Fi, a lot of themes on their album seems down-to-earth. Lots of animal references on this album: whether about being torn to shreds by bears ("Haunted By Bears"), feeling pigeon skins/your favorite dove ("Pigeon"), pretty birds ("Pretty Birds Above Our Heads", although I don't actually recall hearing them sing anything about birds), and black crows calling out names ("Ghost").

I have to point out that the production on this album is fantastic. Every guitar, bass, pounding, noise, is heard. The placement of each note is intentional (or at least I would like to think so), and it creates this music landscape. The world of Future Self is calming, that is until the final song, "Face Up Facing". The chaotic song feels like the world is being destroyed or going through a change.

Find out why Alternative Press called the Globes "Bands You Need To Know in 2011" and if you like atmospheric/moody music, you should check them out. Future Self is out now, on Barsuk Records.

PS, As serious as these guys take their music, they do have a sense of humor. Check out their April Fool's Soundbyte, which they claim "sounds better than vinyl". Incidentally, the vinyl comes with an MP3 download, the way it should be!

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

Teenage girls

AMANDA MAIR www.labrador.se Labrador Records, out in Sweden, was very, very excited to let us know that they've signed Amanda Mair, a girl who was then 15 (now 16), who sounded like a mix between Dusty Springfield and Kate Bush. She's not online at all (no myspace/bandcamp) and she's never played live or sent out demos. Her debut single, House, produced by Philip Ekström (The Mary Onettes / Det Vackra Livet), is coming out June 8th. Download the free track here.		SKY FERREIRA skyferreira.com I first heard of Sky Ferreira last year, with her debut single, "One". Christopher said it was criminal that she's only made it on the charts at #60. At the time, she was 17, I think she's legal now. That might explained her "Sex Rules" title ? It's actually not what you'd think, it's the rules of nature, not that "it's totally awesome". Capitol Records was kind enough to send me a review copy of her EP, As If!, which I have to say, I actually really like it. I've always liked pop music, so it probably shouldn't be a surprise. I think if things works out, Sky Ferreira could be the next Katy Perry or Ke$ha, although Sky's probably too clever.

MICHAELA WALLACE michaelawallacemusic.com Michaela Wallace is a 14-year-old girl from Missouri, her song, "Justin Bieber's Girlfriend" got a lot of youtube attention. I did download the acoustic track (free at michaelawallace.bandcamp.com), and I have to say: can't relate. I know Lara has Bieber fever, and I guess, I never understood why he's so popular. Besides, doesn't he already have a girlfriend (Selena Gomez)?		REBECCA BLACK rebeccablackonline.com If you haven't heard Rebecca Black's "Friday" song, then clearly you've been living under a rock. This 13-year-old girl got over 135 million views for her youtube song. Everyone loved the song, even Conan O'Brien made a parody video for his song "Thursday". Not really much to add this this, except that we wonder what's next for her? Is this a one-hit wonder deal ?

BONUS: Did you know that every week, I get about five or six songs from Glee, that popular Fox television show, courtesy of Columbia Records. As much as I am a cover lover, it's hard for me to keep up. I don't watch the television show, however, a fan pointed to me that on the May 10^th episode, "Prom Queen", they covered Rebecca Black's "Friday" song. This is pretty interesting, considering that most of the Glee's standard cover is for more established bands (Beatles, Zeppelin, etc).

I looked into finding out why they covered this really recent song, apparently Mark Salling (who plays Puck) is a fan of the song and suggested they cover it for this episode. Hearing Salling sings the song from a male perspective is pretty interesting. It sounded pretty faithful to the original song, complete with the rap bits.

I gave the rest of this week's music a listen, while I was at it. They did ABBA's "Dancing Queen" and Black Kids' "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You", which are fitting for a promenade dance. The ABBA cover is fantastic, the other stand-out cover is Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely". I didn't know which Glee cast member sung it, so I looked it up. Apparently it was a proposal song from Artie. The recorded version had Artie sounding very, very similar to Stevie Wonder's vocal styling.

You can always buy ever week's music via iTunes, read more of our Glee coverage here.

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

Lake and AgesandAges at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (05/10/11)

  The sky darkened, welcoming Olympia's Lake and
  Portland's AgesandAges to Minneapolis, last night, May 10^th.

Tour Dates 05/13/11 Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver BC 05/14/11 Northern, Olympia WA 05/15/11 The Tractor Tavern, Seattle WA 08/05/11 Pickathon, Portland OR Read More AgesandAges AgesandAges' debut album is called Alright You Restless on Knitting Factory Records. They are currently on tour to promote it, and tomorrow will be in town with K Records' Lake.

RYAN PAUL AND THE ARDENT

Opening up for them was Ryan Paul and the Ardent, a local band, and from their biography they aren't afraid to mention that Ryan Paul was lost "in a haze of drug and alcohol addiction". But he seems all sorted out now, sober and focus. However, seems a little amateurish when band members argued about the setlist order.

Ryan Paul and the Ardent's songs seems to be about singer Ryan Paul's struggles of the heart ("Nothing Can Destroy") and loneliness ("Meet Me Where I Am"). The highlight of the show was a cover of The Ramones' "The KKK Took My Baby Away".

AGESANDAGES

They did manage to fit all seven band members of AgesandAges on stage at the tiny 7^th Street Entry. I was kind of impressed, no one got hurt. I actually didn't know what to expect from AgesandAges, but they did sound upbeat, catchy, happy, and melodic like I'm From Barcelona, but minus the extra 32 band members.

The title track, "Alright, You Restless" was dedicated to a "dry and boring professor", and you quickly realize their protest when they sing "but that won't happen to us". Of course, lots of hand-clapping are involved.

I don't have their album, Alright, You Restless, but from what I heard live, it sounded great.

Lake's new album is called Giving & Receiving, and I did manage to give it a listen to before I saw them to get an idea of what they'll sound like live. I'll admit, I was expecting a pretty mellow show. It does have things I like, the boys/girls vocals and brief pop songs.

One thing I've noticed is that the band members play musical chairs and switches between keys and drums and bass, etc. Their songs has a tendency to point to the heavens ("Distant Stars", "The Stars", etc), so it seems natural that Lindsay asked what those clouds in the sky over Minneapolis were called. Someone in the audience said "mammatus". Luckily, I did manage to take some pictures of the mammatus clouds prior to the show, which I'm using in this article as the title header.

As much as I liked the Ashley songs, I thought "Skeleton Costume" was the best song live. The melodies reminded me of "Lean On Me".

Most of the songs performed last night are from their latest album, Giving & Receiving, out now on K Records.

LAKE

XAVIER RUDD

BONUS: So, last night, there was a lot of noise coming in from the main room, First Avenue. I did sneak in to see what all the ruckus was about.

Apparently, Xavier Rudd, from Australia was playing to a very full house. Judging from his audience, they are the free-spirited, earth-friendly, hippies-type (the last crusty band I saw for State Radio, there was also a massive turnout).

He spent the last four songs of his set sitting down, playing these funky instruments and drums. I didn't know any of the songs, but the last song was done in acapella and seems to be about the Aboriginal, with lyrics like frozen earth, hunting ground, and the future we hold in our hands. He held up a boomerang, which I honestly thought he was going to throw it into the audience (but wouldn't it just go back to him?) He did no such thing, apparently the boomerang meant something special to him. He held it close to his chest and left the stage.

vu () ♥ laketheband.com ♥ agesandages.com ♥ ryanpaulandtheardent.com

Nature Sounds

Scattered Trees: Four Days Straight

The theme here is nature, trees, plants, earth, and sky.

SCATTERED TREES
scatteredtreesmusic.com

The origin behind Scattered Trees' album, Sympathy, was that it was written, while in mourning of singer Nat Eiesland's father's death. As you can probably guess, the album's theme is personal, full of hope and loss and love.

Recently, the band's record label, Roll Call Records, recruited four student filmmakers to create Scattered Trees' music video for "Four Days Straight". Apparently, the winner of the music video is Markus Kneer, you can watch his music video at cluster1.tv.

They are going on a limited mid-west tour this Spring (updated tour listing):

May 13 2011 – Des Moines IA at Vaudeville Mews *
May 14 2011 – Rock Island IL at Rock Island Brewing Co *
May 15 2011 – St Paul MN at Turf Club *
May 20 2011 – Grand Rapids MI at Pyramid Scheme *
May 24 2011 – Columbia MO at Mojo’s
May 27 2011 – Tucson AZ at Plush #
May 28 2011 – Los Angeles CA at Satellite Club #
May 30 2011 – San Francisco CA at Bottom of the Hill #
May 31 2011 – Sacramento CA at Blue Lamp #
Jun 02 2011 – Telluride CO at The Steaming Bean
Jun 03 2011 – Cheyenne WY at The Bananza
Jun 04 2011 – Lincoln NE at Bourbon Theatre

* w/ Wildfire
# w/ Asobi Seksu

ETERNAL SUMMERS
myspace.com/eternalsummers

Eternal Summers are from Roanoke, Virginia, where, apparently, they are part of "Magic Twig Community", a collective of nine like-minded musicians interested in doing weird indie pop music. You can download Eternal Summer's free song, called "Cog" at alteredzones.com, to hear what they're all about.

Thank goodness Eternal Summers isn't touring in the Winter. Soon enough, they're going on tour with The Beets, in support of their self-titled EP, Silver and Prisoner, via Kanine Records.

Below are Eternal Summers' tour dates:

5/18 - Beachland Tavern - Cleveland, OH $ 5/19 - Magic Stick Lounge - Detroit, MI $ 5/20 - Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL $ 5/21 - 7th Street Entry - Minneapolis, MN $ 5/22 - Aquarium - Fargo, ND $ 5/24 - The Badlander - Missoula, MT $ 5/25 - CRAFT House - Moscow, ID $ 5/26 - Media Club - Vancouver, BC $ 5/27 - Healthy Times Fun Club - Seattle, WA $ 5/28 - East End - Portland, OR $ 5/29 - San Francisco Popfest @ CA $		5/31 - Origami - Los Angeles, CA $ 5/31 - Echo - Los Angeles, CA $ 6/1 - Casbah - San Diego, CA $ 6/4 - Chaos in Tejas - Austin, TX $ 6/5 - Free Press Fest - Houston, TX $ 6/6 - The Saint - New Orleans, LA $ 6/7 - The Nick - Birmingham, AL $ 6/8 - The Earl - Atlanta, GA $ 6/9 - The Milestone - Charlotte, NC $ $ w/ The Beets

THE YOUNG SINCLAIRS
myspace.com/theyoungsinclairs

If you can't see Eternal Summers on tour (see tour date listing above), I was also sent information that members of Eternal Summers are actually in another band called The Young Sinclairs. They have released an all-new fourteen track digital album called Don't Believe In Demos Vol. 1, out now, May 10^th via Planting Seeds Records.

I think this is more or less a collection of odds and ends, and includes a cover of Merle Haggard's song, "Running Kind". More information on their website, just check around.

WHITE APPLE TREE
www.whiteappletree.com

I am told that White Apple Tree's music appeared on Gossip Girl and on the German film, "Kokowääh", and they recently opened up for Dirty Vegas... so there's a buzz buiding on this band this month. With over 1 million tickets sold for the German film, it can't be all that bad to be featured on their soundtrack.

I did take a peek at a picture of the band, apparently they are two brothers.

You can find out more about these guys at their official website or their record label, 37 Records.

LEAF
www.itsmeleaf.com

Not really given much to work with here.

I guess Leaf is a musician with a new single is called "Uh Oh (Came Here to Party)" and it features Sky Blu (of LMFAO, an electro hip hop duo of Sky Blu and DJ Redfoo), produced by Clinton Sparks & DJ Snake.

From her label, Burnitdown Group LLC, I reckon she's based out of New York.

NEON TREES
fameisdead.com

The synthpop band, Neon Trees, will be featured on the Late Show With David Letterman on CBS tonight, May 10^th. The brief biography I got is that the had a major hit with their single, "Animal", which recently went platinum. But for David Letterman, they will be performing "Your Surrender" with a children's choir.

The band recently toured with My Chemical Romance (a band that I envy their jackets). Neon Trees will be kicking off their own headlining tour on May 15^th.

5/14/2011 Downtown Gulfport Gulfport, MS 5/15/2011 House Of Blues Houston, TX 5/17/2011 House Of Blues New Orleans, LA 5/18/2011 Freebird Live Jacksonville Beach, FL 5/19/2011 House Of Blues Myrtle Beach, SC 5/20/2011 The Fillmore Charlotte Charlotte, NC 5/21/2011 Rfk Stadium Washington, DC 5/22/2011 Theatre Of The Living Arts Phila, PA 5/23/2011 The Norva Norfolk, VA 5/25/2011 St. Andrews Hall Detroit, MI 5/26/2011 Bogart's Cincinnati, OH 5/27/2011 House Of Blues Cleveland, OH 5/28/2011 Darien Lake P.A.C. Darian Center, NY 5/29/2011 Comcast Theatre Hartford, CT		5/31/2011 Higher Ground Burlington, VT 6/1/2011 State Theater Portland, ME 6/2/2011 Thunder Mountain Loveland, CO 6/4/2011 Weenie Roast Los Angeles, CA 6/5/2011 Shoreline Amph Mountain View, CA 6/8/2011 House Of Blues Chicago, IL 6/12/2011 Bonnaroo Manchester, TN 6/18/2011 Timberwood Amph Hot Springs, AR 6/22/2011 Del Mar Fair Del Mar, CA 7/15/2011 Red Rock Casino Las Vegas, NV 7/16/2011 Oc Fair And Event Center Costa Mesa, CA 7/19/2011 The Cove Sacramento, CA 9/1/2011 Rumsey Playfield, Central Park NY

EARTH
thronesanddominions.com

Drone band Earth was said to destroyed European in their recent UK tour in support of Sabbath Assembly.

It won't be long, but they are heading back to the US for a Summer tour with Ô Paon this year to promote their latest album, Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light: I, out now on Southern Lord Records. West Coast fans will soon hear an announcement from them about their second leg of their tour, so check back with their official website for more details.

Interestingly enough, they are going to be playing at the What the Heck? Festival that I recently mentioned.

Midwest/East Coast American Tour:

6/08/2011 Mayne Stage - Chicago, IL* 6/09/2011 Mad Planet - Milwaukee, WI* 6/10/2011 Magic Stick - Detroit, MI* 6/11/2011 The Strutt - Kalamazoo, MI* 6/12/2011 Grog Shop - Cleveland, OH* 6/13/2011 Johnny Brenda's - Phila, PA* 6/14/2011 Wadsworth - Hartford, CT* 6/15/2011 Middle East - Boston, MA*		6/16/2011 Le Poisson Rouge - New York City, NY* 6/17/2011 Ottobar - Baltimore, MD* 6/18/2011 Braddock Carnegie - Braddock, PA* 6/19/2011 Historic Southgate - Newport, KY* 7/16/2011 What the Heck Fest - Anacortes, WA 9/09/11 Hopscotch Music Festival - Raleigh, NC 10/02/2011 I'll Be Your Mirror - Asbury Park, NJ * w/ Ô Paon

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com

Ages and Kids

AGESANDAGES
agesandages.com

AgesandAges' debut album is called Alright You Restless on Knitting Factory Records. They are currently on tour to promote it, and tomorrow will be in town with K Records' Lake. They are playing the 7^th Street Entry, and what I want to know is: is there enough room for all seven band members to be on stage??!!?? 7^th has a tiny, tiny stage. The whole venue is a size of an extra large closet.

The band's songwriter and founder, Tim Perry, described his songs as "I thought of these songs like folk hymnals, sung by a 'congregation' who is affirming and reaffirming their own collective vision: that life is better here under the radar. I think of it kind of like propaganda rock. They will never understand you. But we understand each other."

Below is what's left of their tour dates:

Mon 05/09/11 Cactus Club, Milwaukee WI *
Tue 05/10/11 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis MN *
Fri 05/13/11 Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver BC *
Sat 05/14/11 Northern, Olympia WA *
Sun 05/15/11 The Tractor Tavern, Seattle WA *
Fri 08/05/11 Pickathon, Portland OR

* with Lake

Milk Carton Kids: As It Must Be

MILK CARTON KIDS
www.themilkcartonkids.com

The Milk Carton Kids is a duo: Kenneth Pattengale & Joey Ryan. They are described as minimalist, so I am assuming it's acoustic and lyrical. They are coming here to my favorite venue, The Varsity Theater on May 16^th with Joe Purdy (who was the first W♥M freebies).

Their recently released album is called Retrospect, a live album, just released March 15^th. However, if you look at the cover artwork, it is intentionally released under the name "Kenneth Pattengale & Joey Ryan". The first official release of The Milk Carton Kids will be called Prologue, to be released sometime in 2011.

According to both artists' website (kennethpattengale.com and joeyryan.net), you can download Retrospect for free. I did download it, but have not had a chance to check it out.

Looking at both musicians' website, they sure have a pretty impressive discography between them.

May 9 – Neurolux - Boise, ID May 10 – State Room – Salt Lake City, UT May 12 – Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO May 14 – Bottleneck – Lawrence, KS May 15 – Vaudeville Mews – Des Moines, IA May 16 – Varsity Theater – Minneapolis, MN May 17 – Turner Hall - Milwaukee, WI May 18 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL May 19 – Off Broadway – St. Louis, MO June 8 – Mercy Lounge – Nashville, TN June 9 – WorkPlay – Birmingham, AL June 10 – The Loft – Atlanta, GA June 11 – Grey Edge – Asheville, NC June 12 – Cat’s Cradle – Carborro, NC		June 14 – Ram’s Head – Annapolis, MD June 15 – World Cafe Live – Philadelphia, PA June 16 – Highline Ballroom – New York City, NY June 17 – Stage One – Fairfield, CT June 20 – Iron Horse – Northampton, MA June 21 – Brighton Music Hall – Allston, MA June 22 – Narrows Center – Fall River, MA June 23 – Higher Ground – Burlington, VT June 25 – Petit Campus – Montreal, QC June 26 - Horseshoe Tavern – Toronto, ONT June 27 – Rex Theater – Pittsburg, PA June 28 – Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, OH June 30 – Westscott Theater – Syracuse, NY On tour with Joe Purdy

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com

Amos and Amos

photo by Victor de Mello Read More Tori Amos Tori Amos needs no introduction, her latest album, Abnormally Attracted to Sin, out now on Universal Repblic Records on May 18th.

Did you know that Amos was one of the twelve minor prophet in the Old Testament, and the author of the Book of Amos? There's also a band called Amos and Amos, but it doesn't look they've been active since 2010.

TORI AMOS
toriamos.com

You know I love Tori Amos. She is one of those artists that I'll still continue to buy her albums, despite getting review copies. I have news from her: she just signed with Deutshe Grammophon, known for their classical music releases, and her upcoming album will be released in September and will be called Night of Hunters. Apparently, like her previous modern interpretation of Christmas songs, it looks like Night of Hunters might be her take on classical music, spanning over 400 years. It sounds interesting, whatever she does, I'm sure I'll love it.

As Tori Amos describes it: "I have used the structure of a classical song cycle to tell an ongoing, modern story. The protagonist is a woman who finds herself in the dying embers of a relationship. In the course of one night she goes through an initiation of sorts that leads her to reinvent herself allowing the listener to follow her on a journey to explore complex musical and emotional subject matter... One of the main themes explored on this album is the hunter and the hunted and how both exist within us."

They sent me her European tour dates, but stay tune for her US dates. I currently do not have that information.

9/28 Finland, Helsinki, Ice Hall 9/30 Russia, St Petersburg, Oktyabrsky Hall 10/2 Russia, Moscow, Crocus Hall 10/4 Luxembourg, Den Atelier 10/5 France, Paris, Le Grand Rex 10/7 Italy, Milan, Teatro Arcimboldi 10/8 Italy, Rome, Auditorium Parco della Musica 10/10 Germany, Hamburg, Laieszhalle 10/11 Germany, Berlin, Tempodrom 10/13 Poland, Warsaw, Sala Kongresowa 10/17 Holland, Amsterdam, Carre 10/20 Norway, Oslo, Sentrum Scene		10/21 Denmark, Copenhagen, The Royal Theatre 10/24 Switzerland, Lucerne, KKL 10/25 Austria, Vienna, Stadthalle F 10/26 Germany, Frankfurt, Alte Oper 10/28 Belgium, Antwerp, QEH 10/29 Belgium, Brussels, Bozar 10/31 Germany, Essen, Philharmonie 11/2 UK, London, Royal Albert Hall 11/4 UK, Manchester, Apollo 11/6 UK, Glasgow, Royal Concert Hall 11/8 UK, Belfast, Waterfront 11/9 Eire, Dublin, Grand Canal Theatre

AMOS LEE
amoslee.com

Dave noted in his review of Mission Bell, that Amos Lee is a man who "easily slipping between rock, country, blues and soul". Life is good to Lee, his string of successful sold-out concerts last year, his album debut #1 on on the Billboard album chart in February, and most recently, he scored his first #1 AAA single with "Windows Are Rolled Down".

Having already appeared on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, The Late Show With David Letterman, The Early Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Tavis Smiley, NPR, he's set his eyes on Conan O'Brien (today, May 9^th), Jimmy Fallon on May 26^th, and Craig Ferguson (airdate to be announced). Seriously, can things get better for Lee ?

If you want to see Lee in person, below is a full listing of his tour dates, as given to me. I would like to see him at the Basilica Block Party in Minneapolis, but chances are, it's probably sold out.

5/13 Down By the River - Roanoke, VA 5/14 The National - Richmond, VA 5/15 Pier Six Pavilion - Baltimore, MD 5/17 Orange Peel - Asheville, NC 5/18 House of Blues - N. Myrtle Beach, SC 5/19 House of Blues - Lake Buena Vista, FL 5/20 Ruth Eckerd Hall - Clearwater, FL 5/22 The Hangout Festival - Gulf Shores, AL 6/12 Bonnaroo Manchester, TN 6/24-26 Dave Matthews Caravan - Atlantic City, NJ 7/08-10 Dave Matthews Caravan - Chicago, IL 7/09 Basilica Block Party - Minneapolis, MN 7/10 Summerfest Milwaukee, WI 7/13 Kresge Auditorium - Interlochen, MI* 7/11 Meijer Gardens - Grand Rapids, MI 7/15 Riverbend Music Center - Cincinnati, OH* 7/16 Nautica Pavilion - Cleveland, OH* 7/17 Stage AE Pittsburgh, PA* 7/19 Filene Center @ Wolf Trap - Vienna, VA*		7/20 Wellmont Theatre - Montclair, NJ* 7/21 Beacon Theatre - New York, NY* 7/23 Mountain Park - Holyoke, CT* 7/24 Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular - Gilford, NH* 7/31 Newport Folk Fest - Newport, RI 8/04 Red Rocks Amphitheatre - Morrison, CO 8/07 Gallivan Center -Salt Lake City, UT 8/09 Jackson Hole Center - Jackson, WY 8/10 Eagle River Pavilion - Eagle, ID 8/12 Edgefield - Troutdale, OR** 8/13 Chateau Ste Michelle - Woodenville, WA** 8/14 Cuthbert Amphitheater - Eugene, OR** 8/16 Wells Fargo Center - Santa Rosa, CA 8/17 Fox Theater Oakland, CA** 8/20 Orpheum Theater Los Angeles, CA 8/21 Humphrey’s San Diego, CA *denotes show with Lucinda Williams **denotes show with Calexico as special guests

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com

Arrington de Dionyso's Malaikai Dan Singa at the Turf Club, St Paul (05/07/11)

Tour Dates 05/08/11 Dubuque, Iowa - TBA 05/09/11 Chicago, Illinois - Empty Bottle 05/11/11 Ann Arbor, MI - Arbor Vitae 05/12/11Youngstown, OH - Cedar's Lounge 05/14/11 Albany, New York - TBA 05/15/11 Boston, MA - BATV 05/16/11 Biddeford, ME - Oak & the Ax 05/18/11 Brooklyn, NY - Issue Project Room 05/19/11 Baltimore, MD - Windup Space 05/20/11 Washington, DC - Comet Pizza 05/21/11 Charlottesville, VA - Twisted Branch 05/22/11 Philadelphia, PA - TBA 05/25/11 New York, New York - Cake Shop 05/26/11 Providence, RI - Pawtucket 05/27/11 Lowell, MA - 119 Space 05/28/11 East Hampton, MA - Flywheel 05/29/11 Buffalo, NY - with Steve Baczowski 05/30/11 Buffalo, NY - Voice workshop 06/01/11 Bloomington, IN - House show 06/02/11 Indianapolis Museum, IN Read More Arrington de Dionyso When I wrote the review for Arrington de Dionyso, I called it the most interesting record on my playlist, and it's true, I didn't know any "white" guy (he looks white, at least) singing songs in Indonesian. While most people might dismiss this as a joke/novelty, I feel this isn't the case with Arrington de Dionyso.

One of the most bizarre shows I've attended in a while, Arrington de Dionyso's Malaikai Dan Singa stopped by the Turf Club in St Paul last night, May 7^th to play some Indonesian pop music from his albums, Suara Naga and Malaikat Dan Singa.

MALLS

When the first of three bands, Malls, opened up at nearly 11pm, I knew it was going to be a late night. Malls only played four songs, all instrumental, all experimental ambient music, in some instances seems even tribal. It was hard to tell when a song began or ended, and the most interesting thing about Malls was the two acoustic guitar bodies, which were used as percussion instruments. Also should be noted is that they used some analog recordings of answering machine loops throughout their songs. And they only played four songs.

DIMANCHE

Next up was a duo, Dimanche, a band that was not formally on the bill. They played really atmospheric, creepy songs, using a wide variety of instruments: violin, upright bass, electric cello (?), brass gongs-thingies, etc. Sometime the girl in the band screams, but otherwise, they are more or less an all-instrumental band. I don't know much about the band, but I thought I read that the girl is from Mother of Fire.

When Arrington de Dionyso's Malaikai Dan Singa came on stage, it was after midnight. There was a lot of gurgling, guttural, throaty and vocal ranges, combined with bass and drums and it was all so ... weird. Sometime the music sounded like Norwegian death metal (especially when Arrington uses the strapless guitar and the chants!), but then when you hear the alto saxophone (which Arrington drops the mic inside the horn) it suddenly sound like it's interpretive jazz. It's all over the place, but with all highly energetic and intense performance, it was still fun to watch and thrash to.

Honestly, I couldn't tell you what songs were played, I wish I understood Indonesian. What I can tell you is that I had a good time, despite struggling to stay awake. I ended up buying one of Arrington's handmade silkscreen books. From what I remember, only one hundred of these were made. I liked that. I think musicians should sell other things rather than the regular CD and T-Shirts. I've often picked up pins, hand bags, tambourines, hats, because I probably already own the album.

If you aren't familiar with Arrington's music, then get it from K Records. His latest release is called "Suara Naga".

ARRINGTON DE DIONYSO

vu () ♥ www.myspace.com/arringtondedionyso