W♥M (Archive)

When Animals Attack! #13

Read more Animals Attack here.

NEWSFLASH: Elephant 6 Recording Company's Bill Doss (also member of Olivia Tremor Control) passed away today, July 31st, 2012.

ALSO: If you're at Lollapalooza 2012 this year, Tortoise & Blonde eyewear (based out of NYC) will be showcasing at Urban Outfitters on State and Washington during the music festival. The company has a pseudo-record label through manufacturing sunglasses endorsing and supporting artists like The Spinto Band, Ra Ra Riot, and Jukebox the Ghost.

Read More Animal Collective You might know Noah Lennox, aka Panda Bear, as one of the founding member of Animal Collective. Animal Collective was the Pitchfork-type band of 2007…

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
myanimalhome.net

Animal Collective premiered their new song, "Today's Supernatural," today (July 31st). The single is from their upcoming album, Centipede Hz. The album will be out September 4th, via Domino Records.

The band will be on tour to promote Centipede Hz in the fall:

09/18: Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
09/19: Vancouver, BC @ Malkin Bowl
09/20: Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
09/21: Oakland, CA @ The Fox Theatre
09/23: Los Angeles @ Hollywood Bowl
09/25: Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
09/27: Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
09/28: Austin, TX @ Backyard
09/29: New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
09/30: Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle
10/02: Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
10/03: Philadelphia, PA @ Mann Center
10/05: Brooklyn, NY @ Williamsburg Park

WHY?
whywithaquestionmark.com

Have fun trying to google the band WHY?

The Cincinatti based indie trio will be releasing Sod in the Seed EP on August 14th via Anticon (City Slang in the UK). Their new LP, Mumps, Etc. will follow on October 8th.

They're going on a national tour with Anticon labelmates Serengeti, Doseone, Jel, Sodapop, and others, this fall.

Check out their free song, "Sod in the Seed," on Soundcloud:

TOUR DATES 08.24 Columbia, MO: The Blue Note 08.25 Norman, OK: Opolis 08.26 Santa Fe, NM: SOL at Santa Fe Brewing 08.27 Phoenix, AZ: Crescent Ballroom 08.28 Los Angeles, CA: Echoplex 08.30 San Francisco, CA: Great American 08.31 Arcata, CA: Arcata Playhouse 09.01 Portland, OR: Wonder Ballroom 09.02 Seattle, WA: Bumbershoot Festival 09.03 Boise, ID: Reef 09.04 Salt Lake City, UT: In the Venue 09.05 Englewood, CO: The Gothic 09.06 Omaha, NE: The Waiting Room 09.07 Lawrence, KS: The Granada 09.08 Minneapolis, MN: Cedar Cultural Center 09.09 Chicago, IL: Lincoln Hall 09.10 Cleveland, OH: Beachland Ballroom 09.11 Ithaca, NY: The Haunt 09.12 Cambridge, MA: Middle East 09.13 Brooklyn, NY: Music Hall 09.14 Philadelphia, PA: Union Transfer 09.15 Durham, NC: Motorco Music Hall 09.16 Asheville, NC: Grey Eagle 09.17 Atlanta, GA: The Earl

09.18 Nashville, TN: Mercy Lounge 10.05 Düsseldorf, Germany: New Fall Festival 10.06 Evreux, France: L'Abordage 10.07 Paris, France: Maroquinerie 10.08 Brighton, England: Old Market 10.09 London, England: Electric Ballroom 10.10 Manchester, England: Central Methodist 10.11 Bristol, England: Fleece 10.12 Glasgow, Scotland: SWG3 10.13 Oxford, England: The Bullingdon 10.15 Berlin, Germany: Volksbühne 10.18 Cincinnati, OH Lois & Richard Rosethal 10.20 Pittsburgh, PA Altar 10.24 Richmond, VA Canal Club 10.25 Athens, GA 40 Watt 10.26 Jacksonville, FL Jack Rabbits 10.27 Orlando, FL The Social 10.28 Tampa, FL Crowbar 10.29 Tallahassee, FL Club Downunder 10.30 Mobile, AL Alabama Music Box 10.31 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon 11.01 Houston, TX Walter's 11.02 Dallas, TX Sons of Hermann Hall 11.03 Austin, TX Fun Fun Fun Fest 11.05 St. Louis, MO Luminary Arts

SNOOP LION
snooplion.com

Snoop Dogg needs no introduction, but what about Snoop Lion? This is Snoop Doggy Dogg's latest project called "REINCARNATED." From my understanding, the inspiration for Snoop Lion/"REINCARNATED" was because Snoop recently visited Jamaica and loved the food, music, art, environment, etc. The visit literally changed his life.

Snoop had this to say about the album and the name change, "For this project, I had no intention of making a reggae album, but the spirit called me. Anytime the spirit calls you gotta know that it's serious and real …. I wanted to bury Snoop Dogg and become Snoop Lion, but I didn't know that until I went to the temple and received the name Snoop Lion from the Nyabingi priest. From that moment on, I started to understand why I was there and was able to create something magical in this [Reincarnated] project...something I haven't done before in my career."

Look for the VICE Film's "REINCARNATED" to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival September 7th.

BRIEFLY:

MR MINER'S PHISH THOUGHTS phishthoughts.com Phish fans are a devoted lot. For the hardcore fans that must own everything, there is a book written by a fan for fans called Mr. Miner's Phish Thoughts, which is available now. The book recount Phish's long history and their eventual reunion in 2009. Author David Calarco confessed that all the Phish books out there are "so outdated, they’re no longer relevant" and that his book is "the only book ever written by a fan for the fans."

BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD facebook.com San Francisco's Blackbird Blackbird (aka Mikey Maramag) announced that they've signed to Lavish Habits and will be releasing "Boracay Planet" EP on October 16th, 2012. In the meantime, check out his reworking of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" for free at Soundcloud.

TROJAN HORSE bandcamp.com Manchester's Trojan Horse just released "Fire" EP a few weeks ago (July 16th). I believe the single is taken from their self-titled LP, released two years ago. In addition to the title track, the EP also features a cover of the Neil Young song, "Ohio." The track was an inspiration for the band during the fall out of the Arab Spring.

STEALING SHEEP stealingsheep.co.uk Liverpool's Stealing Sheep will be releasing Into the Diamond Sun on September 4th, 2012, via Heavenly Recordings/Cooperative Music. This looks like an all-girls band (Rebecca Hawley, Emily Lansley and Lucy Mercer) who are into "faery folk" (otherwise known as pagan folk) and Krautrock.

JAWS jawsjawsjaws.co.uk JAWS' new single is called "Toucan Surf." The single comes out August 27th, via Rattlepop Records. Not much else was given; they say that NME liked them.

STAYCE DYLAN tumblr.com No background details about Stayce Dylan, other than that she just released her second song "Please Don't Feed the Animals". You can hear it on Soundcloud. I don't even think she has a website.

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

Best Coast with Those Darlins and JEFF the Brotherhood at the Cedar Cultural Center 7/28/12

Tour Dates 08/05 Portugal Sudoeste Festival 08/07 London 100 Club 08/10 Gothenburg Way Out West Festival 08/11 Oslo, Norway Oya Festival 09/03 Seattle Bumbershoot Festival 09/06 Los Angeles Santa Monica Pier 09/15 Victoria BC Rifflandia Festival 09/18 London The Borderline 09/19 Paris Point Ephemere 09/20 Amsterdam Paradiso (Upstairs) 09/22 Brussels Witloofbar (Botanique) 09/27 Cincinnati Midpoint Music Festival 09/28 Urbana, IL Pygmalion Music Festival 10/14 San Francisco Treasure Island Read More Best Coast I've mention this before, but it seems within the last year or so, that Los Angeles' Best Coast duo (Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno) really blew up.

After the demise of the ill-fated SoundTown Festival, which was supposed to take place this weekend in Somerset, WI, bands that were slated to play found themselves all dressed up with no place to go. Luckily, a smattering of those bands found homes at several Minneapolis venues - one of them being Best Coast’s Saturday night gig at the Cedar Cultural Center.

Best Coast brought along former tourmates Those Darlins and JEFF the Brotherhood who opened for the band earlier on their tour. At first, the bill seemed very much like a game of “one of these things is not like the other,” but there’s actually quite a bit that draws all of the bands together. For example, Best Coast and JEFF the Brotherhood released an EP together in 2011 on Jack White’s Third Man Records. And JEFF the Brotherhood shares a hometown with Those Darlins: Nashville, TN.

Those Darlins photo by Kelsey Tollefson

Speaking of those feisty darlings, they sure know how to put on a rockin’ show! The cow-punk quartet includes Jessi Darlin on vocals/guitar, Nikki Darlin on vocals/guitar, Linwood Regensburg on drums and a tall, blonde guy on bass replacing beloved member Kelley Darlin, who left the band in February to dedicate more time to her organization Southern Girls Rock and Roll Camp (google it; it’s a really cool project). Despite Kelley’s absence, Those Darlins had enough swagger and strut to give every member of the audience restless leg syndrome forever. The music is definitely a cross between the Cramps and the Blackhearts, with wide-eyed vocalist Jessi singing like a punk-rock Brenda Lee and showing off some tasty licks like Poison Ivy. Nikki took over lead vocals on a few songs and traded some playfully dirty two-step shuffles with Jessi. The band oozed, what my concert companion delightfully referred to as, “grungy charisma.” And that’s no lie. Rowdy numbers like “Screws Get Loose” and “Be Your Bro” and a very special “Funstix Party,” to commemorate Jessi’s 23rd birthday, proved that this was going to be a very difficult act to follow. Clearly, Those Darlins had already stole the show.

(BUMMER UPDATE: According to a friend, Those Darlins had their van broken into that very night. Minneapolis folks who frequent used guitar shops, keep yer eyes peeled for: a Red 2006 Fender Jaguar bass, matching headstock, Fender Badass II bridge, gash on upper edge, and a white Richmond guitar, Seymour Duncan bridge pickup.)

JEFF the Brotherhood photo by Kelsey Tollefson

JEFF the Brotherhood took to the stage, saving me from having to listen to the guy next to me loudly pontificating about Mason Jennings. The duo, brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall on vocals/guitar and drums, respectively, brought a sound that seemed largely influenced, most notably, by Black Sabbath (although all I had been reading and hearing of the band seemed more garage or punk inspired). At first, Jake sang intermittently, providing a shrill wail through the violent crash of drums and psychedelic swirl of guitar. About three songs in, a fog machine unleashed a cloud of white smoke, causing quite a swell of excitement in a crowd of people apparently unfamiliar with such stage wizardry. In between songs, a young woman from the audience asked the band if they would take things down a notch and “show their soft side.” Jake responded by lifting up his shirt and patting his belly. The Orrall brothers are definitely talented (and have a sense a humor), but something about the set just didn’t click with me. Perhaps the context of the show itself (JEFF following a country-tinged punk band and preceding a sugary pop band) is why I couldn’t get into them. The last two songs they played, one of which was their recent single “Sixpack,” highlighted the band’s catchy songwriting chops.

Before Best Coast took to the stage, I felt compelled to abandon my sweet spot near the stage for a less than stellar view sidestage near the back (a result of ingesting fruity perfume and having to endure more asinine conversations from people around me - i.e. “Like, why is the bear holding the state [in regards to Best Coast’s humorous backdrop being an homage to California’s animal]? I totally don’t, like, get it. But that’s just my opinion. I’m going to Vancouver in two weeks!”). Had I sucked it up and braved those minor things, I probably would have felt more engaged in Best Coast’s sunshine and rainbow-filled performance. Lead singer and songwriter Bethany Cosentino was in good spirits, joking with the crowd about being a little tipsy and asking the crowd’s permission to play a slow song (“Even if you said ‘F**k off,’ I’d still sing it.”). The band was tight, playing old favorites (“Crazy for You” and “Summer Mood”) up against new tracks from their most recently released record, The Only Place (“Last Year,” “How They Want Me to Be” and “No One Like You”) with their trademark fuzzed-out, lo-fi pop sounding fuller and brighter. Something that was sorely missed from the performance, however, were the pretty vocal harmonies that are loaded on their records. And despite Bethany’s knack for writing frothy, fun love songs, I found myself growing a little bored with the musical structure and sentiment and started spacing out. After a few songs, I found myself secretly hoping the bear from the backdrop would step out of its 1-dimensional cage and wreak carnage. Or dance along with the songs. I don’t know. And although I have an affinity for California and all things related to the state (wine, palm trees, smog), I really can’t stomach another schlocky tribute to it.

emily () ♥ bestcoast.us ♥ thosedarlins.com ♥ jeffthebrotherhood.com/

BoDeans at Weesner Family Amphitheater, Apple Valley (07/28/12)

Tour Dates 07/29 Castle Theatre Bloomington, IL 08/01 Hi Tone Memphis, TN 08/03 Granada Theater Dallas, TX 08/04 Nutty Brown Café Austin, TX 08/09 City Winery New York, NY 08/11 Downtown Block Party Hampton, VA 08/15 Redstone Room Davenport, IA 08/16 Waterfest Oshkosh, WI 08/17 Vetter Stone Amp Mankato, MN 08/19 Bluebird Nightclub Bloomington, IN 08/22 Acorn Theater Three Oaks, MI 08/23 Magic Bag Ferndale, MI 08/24 Headliners Music Hall Louisville, KY 08/25 Rex Theater Pittsburgh, PA 08/26 World Cafe Live Philadelphia, PA 09/26 Ram's Head Annapolis, MD 09/27 Ram's Head Annapolis, MD 09/28 Birchmere Alexandria, VA 09/29 Bearsville Theatre Woodstock, NY 10/02 Whitaker Center Harrisburg, PA 10/03 World Cafe Live Wilmington, DE 10/04 Tupelo Music Londonderry, NH 10/05 Showcase Live Foxboro, MA 10/06 Infinity Hall Norfolk, CT Read More BoDeans This heartland/roots rock band formed in Wisconsin in the early 80s. By the 90s, they had several top 40 hits mainstream and adult contemporary hits.

BoDeans played to a sold-out show at the Weesner Family Amphitheater at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, last night, July 28th.

The Honeydogs

Opening up was Minneapolis' the Honeydogs. The band's age and music styles are a good fit for the BoDeans. With seven band members of varying age, I can see why Lara called them straightforward mature rock. The brass section (trumpet and trombone) does add a nice punch to their music. They ended their set with "10,000 Years" and "Devil We Do."

You can tell that Wisconsin's BoDeans has quite a big fanbase in Minneapolis. Sure, their fans are all now aging parents with their children, but they were still quite dedicated fans.

Although the BoDeans is playing live shows to promote their latest album, American Made, they knew what the fans wanted: the hits. What they did right was that they sandwiched the new songs (like "Flyaway" and "All the World") between old favorites.

I have to say that the new songs sounded great live, there's a hint of Irish traditional and Johnny Cash-influence in them, especially when you hear the fiddle and accordion.

They ended their set on a strong finish with a double-wammy of crowd-pleasers "Fadeaway" and "Good Things." They could've have left it there and the audience would've been satiated. With only five minutes to spare, they came back for a quick encore of their big hit single, "Closer to Free."

BoDeans' latest album, American Made, is out now.

BoDeans at Weesner Family Amphitheater, Apple Valley (07/28/12)

vu () ♥ bodeans.com ♥ honeydogs.com

BONUS: W♥M 141: BoDeans

W♥M141 (13 mins)

Vu and Dave's special BoDeans bonus podcast.

Our first thoughts on the BoDeans and Honeydogs show.

Topics discussed:

• Subway Music In The Zoo series: BoDeans at the Weesner Family Amphitheater at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley.
• Weesner great lighting and birdshow in the daytime.
• Sold-out show for this Sue McLean's show. The only independent female local music promoter.
• 26-year band mixes of young & old members. Set list is a good mix of old and new (but mostly old as they closed out their set).
• Song of the show is BoDeans' "All the World," from American Made

BONUS: New songs from American Made sounded great.

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

Bouncing Souls at First Avenue (07/28/12)

Tour Dates 07/29 Metro Chicago, IL 07/31 Magic Stick Detroit, MI 08/01 Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, OH 08/02 Mr. Smalls Theatre Millvale, PA 08/03 Crocodile Rock Allentown, PA 08/04 House of Blues Boston Boston, MA 08/05 Brooklyn Bowl Brooklyn, NY 08/24 Reading Festival Reading, United Kingdom 08/25 Leeds Festival Leeds, United Kingdom 08/26 De Effenaar, Kleine Zaal Eindhoven 08/27 Melkweg Amsterdam, Netherlands 08/29 Knust Hamburg, Germany 08/30 Skater's Palace Munster, Germany 08/31 Masters Of Rock Festival Thourout 09/01 Blubstock Festival Chancy, Switzerland 09/02 The Arena Vienna, Austria 09/03 Kranhalle Munich, Germany 09/04 Estragon Bologna, Italy 09/06 Sala Azkena Bilbao, Spain 09/07 Sala Cachamba Gijon, Spain 09/08 Sala Live Madrid, Spain 09/09 Loco Club Valencia, Spain 09/10 Estraperlo Club Murcia, Spain Read More The Bouncing Souls The Bouncing Souls are one of the oldest punk rock bands, having survived over 20 years together as a band.

The Bouncing Souls have been around for 24 + years, and they are still able to bring in a youthful energetic crowd. Since the 2012 Olympics are going on now, I would like to say if there was a gold medal for longest running Pop Punk band still touring and releasing albums, the Bouncing Souls would bring home the gold for all of New Jersey.

The Bouncing Souls is less of a Punk band from the days of yore, they are an institution. Greg Attonito has always and have been a charming lead singer. Pete Steinkopf with thrashing guitar riffs. Bryan Kienlen keeping the bass rhythm smooth. Michael McDermott on drums keeping the tempo in check. These New Jersey punk rockers are as tight as ever.

Playing on the stage is some tube T.V.s playing random images accompanying the songs. Those random images include old 80's films like The Breakfast Club, John Cusack films, to one of my all time favorite films BMX Bandits.

Playing songs is a mix from their legacy. Old favorites mixed with new material. You can tell that the audience reacts more favorably to the old mainstays. Encores include "Private Radio," "No Regrets," and "Gone." Also during the encore the backdrop changes which was a surprise to me.

The Bouncing Souls have been around long enough that they know what the audience wants. I have been a fan of the Bouncing Souls from the late 90's, and I was expecting not to know any of the songs. That made me a TRUE BELIEVER.

Opening was the Smoking Popes, Merzingers, and Luther. Great solid punk bands with 3 cord progression that makes me wish for the early days of punk. It's great that the Bouncing Souls takes on tour with them some up and coming bands. Just to show them the ropes and hopefully learn from them from their 24 plus years of touring and releasing albums. Punk's not dead; the future is in the hands of this next generation.

Bouncing Souls at First Avenue, Minneapolis (07/28/12)

jimi ♥ bouncingsouls.com

IAMDYNAMITE at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (07/26/12)

Tour Dates 07/28 Wicker Park Festival Chicago, IL 08/03 Knitting Factory Boise, ID 08/04 El Corazon Seattle, WA 08/05 Hawthorne Theater Portland, OR 08/08 Hotel Cafe LA, CA 08/16 Black Sheep Colorado Springs, CO 08/17 The Marquee Denver, CO 08/18 Motors & Music Detroit, MI 09/14 DIY Street Fair Ferndale, MI Read More IAMDYNAMITE The space and lowercase hater band IAMDYNAMITE will be releasing their debut LP called SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC in June.

IAMDYNAMITE returned to Minneapolis at the Varsity Theater last night, July 26th.

Red Daughters

Opening up was Minneapolis' Red Daughters. The thing about this five-piece band is that the drummer does most of the singing. Didn't really know their songs, but some of their songs they did were called "Renegade," "Egypt" (which is not actually called "Egypt"), and they ended their set with "Cool Guy."

IAMDYNAMITE's singer and guitarist, Christopher Martin (not to be confused with the Coldplay guy), is in a dress shirt & trouser with a bow tie and Buddy Holly glasses. Pretty geeky. What's missing? His shoes.

The duo seems to josh around on stage. For instance they claimed was drummer Chris Phillips' birthday (not).

IAMDYNAMITE played loud catchy punk-pop songs. Pretty much every song from SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC, like "OEO," "Hey Girl," "Where Will We Go," were played. "Carolina" was dedicated to Anne Murray, who was a running joke for the band because Phillips was wearing an autographed Murray T-Shirt.

Two songs for the encore: a wonderful hard cover version of the Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian" and "Stereo." They picked five young boys on stage to playing tambourines for the encores. It was the first concert ever for some of the guys on stage, so what a treat to be playing alongside with the band!

If you love IAMDYNAMITE's SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC album, then you definitely will want to check out this tour.

IAMDYNAMITE at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (07/26/12)

vu () ♥ iamdynamite.com ♥ myspace.com/reddaughters

Always look on the bright side of life

Read More Red Wanting Blue Red Wanting Blue (or simply RWB) was on my radar in 2010 with their re-issue of These Magnificent Miles…

"You know, you come from nothing,
you're going back to nothing!
What have you lost? Nothing!
Always look on the bright side of life."

- Monty Python

RED WANTING BLUE
redwantingblue.com

I'm glad to see that Red Wanting Blue made their national television debut on David Letterman last week! Check out their performance of "Audition" on youtube.

If you want to hear more RWB, hear "Stay On The Bright Side," from their latest album, From The Vanishing Point, on soundcloud.

If you recall, I mentioned that the band's been on my watch list since 2010 for These Magnificent Miles, and felt that RWB's music would favor a large festival. The band has been selling out their shows (recently selling out the 1400-capacity House of Blues in Cleveland), so be sure to get tickets sooner than later.

07/26 Kearney, NE @ Buffalo County Fair 07/27 Washington, MO @ Otis Campbells 08/09 Kearney, NE @ Cunningham's 08/10 Kearney, NE @ Cunningham's 08/16 Indianapolis, IN @ The Rathskeller 08/17 Akron, OH @ Musica 08/18 Deshler, OH @ Corn City Festival 08/22 Rochester, NY @ The Bug Jar 08/24 Red Bank, NJ @ Riverside Gardens Park 08/25 Buffalo, NY @ Jammin In The Vines III 08/26 Elkins, WV @ Davis & Elkins College 09/01 Bloomington, IL @ Block Party 09/06 New Philadelphia, OH @ Kent State 09/09 Dayton, OH @ Downtown Dayton Revival 09/13 Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell's Brewery 09/16 Des Plaines, IL @ Fall Fest Des Plaines 09/18 Urbana, IL @ Canopy Club 09/20 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club 09/21 Iowa City, IA @ Blue Moose 09/22 Madison, WI @ Redamte Coffee House 09/23 Ames, IA @ M-Shop

09/25 Tulsa, OK @ Cain's 09/27 Austin, TX @ Stubb's Jr. 09/28 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues 09/29 Houston, TX @ House of Blues 09/30 New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues 10/03 Nashville, TN @ Hard Rock Cafe 10/04 Raleigh, NC @ Pour House 10/05 Ashville, NC @ LAB 10/06 Greenwood, SC @ Music On Maxwell 10/10 Boston, MA @ TT The Bear's 10/11 Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live 10/13 Vienna, VA @ Jammin' Java 10/14 Asbury Park, NJ @ The Saint 10/17 Detroit, MI @ Hard Rock Cafe 10/19 Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection 10/20 Toledo, OH @ Mickey Finn's 10/25 Milwaukee, WI @ Shank Hall 10/26 Evanston, IL @ SPACE 10/27 St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill 11/02 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall 11/09 Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues

Read More Meiko Did you happen to catch the beautiful Meiko on Jay Leno a few weeks ago? You can see her on her myspace video.

MEIKO
meikomusic.com

I know I just recently mentioned Meiko, but at the time of writing, her final touring schedule was not finalized.

Official tour dates below; this is in support of the release of The Bright Side, out now via Fantasy/Concord Records.

07/27 Tulsa, OK Vanguard
07/28 Kansas City, MO Retro Lounge
07/29 Little Rock, AR Juanita’s Cantina
08/01 Pittsburgh, PA Club Café
08/02 New York, NY The Living Room
08/03 Vienna, VA Jammin’ Java
08/05 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
08/07 Cleveland, OH Cambridge Room
08/08 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
08/10 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry
08/11 Lincoln, NE Bourbon Theatre
08/13 Denver, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre
08/14 Aspen, CO Belly Up
08/16 Tucson, AZ Club Congress
08/17 Las Vegas, NV Hard Rock Café
08/18 Palm Desert, CA The Hood
08/19 Hermosa Beach, CA Saint Rocke

BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT
brightlightx2.blogspot.com

Rod Thomas, otherwise known as Bright Light Bright Light, released his debut album, Make Me Believe in Hope, last month via The Blue Team/Aztec Records Ltd.

If you live in New York, Bright Light Bright Light will be doing a special intimate acoustic showcase at Pianos on August 2, 2012.

Find out why Q Magazine called his album, "positively ecstatic (four stars)" and Idolator saying it's "one of the strongest debuts of 2012."

More dates:

08/01 Good Times (DJ Set) @ Eastern Bloc, NYC
08/02 Pianos @ NYC
08/04 Another Night (DJ Set) @ Vogue Fabrics, London
09/01 Cardiff Mardi Gras [Full Band]
09/02 Poptronik Festival @ Sitges, Spain
10/30 Cargo London

BRITE FUTURES
britefuturesforever.com

Brite Futures' future not so bright? The band announced their breakup in May and played their last show at the Seattle's Vera Project in June.

Not familiar with Brite Futures? The band was previously known as Natalie Portman's Shaved Head (a reference to V for Vendetta), but changed their name in 2010. I can only speculate that Portman and her lawyers had something to do with the name change.

Anyway, here is an excerpt of their press statement:

It is with many bittersweet feelings that we announce that as of next month Brite Futures will cease to be an active band, and we will no longer be creating or playing music together. After almost seven years as a band (more than a quarter of our lives) we've unanimously reached the decision that it's time to move on to other adventures-the irony of which, for a band with our name, is not lost on us. This separation is not due to a falling out or any ill feelings between us personally, but with the band's momentum dying down and other aspirations beckoning, we've begun to look toward the next stage in our lives. And that's exciting at the same time as it's sad to leave behind a pursuit that saw us grow up together, from awkward high school spazzes singing about our first beards to more confident young adults.

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

The Future

Read More Eleni Mandell The more I think about Eleni Mandell, her singing reminds me a bit of PJ Harvey, especially with "Pauline" from her album Thrill….

"I never ever really had a computer
I really wouldn't know what to do
I was hoping sometime in the future
You would show me a thing or two."
- Baxendale

ELENI MANDELL
elenimandell.com

Eleni Mandell's latest album, I Can See the Future, came out last week, July 10th, via Yep Roc Records.

I love her previous works (Thrill and Artificial Fire), and I'm looking forward to hearing songs from I Can See the Future, when she comes here to Minneapolis on August 1st.

Mandell's tour dates:

07/25 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
07/26 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
07/27 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement
07/28 – Bloomngton, IN @ The Bishop
07/29 – Chicago, IL @ Ace Bar
08/01 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry
08/02 – Iowa City, IA @ The Mill
08/19 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern *
08/21 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios *
08/23 – San Francisco, CA @ Café Du Nord *
08/24 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Muddy Waters *
08/25 – Los Angeles, CA @ Mccabe's
10/11 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle

ODD FUTURE RECORDS
littlehurricanemusic.com

Odd Future Records announced fall releases from Domo Genesis, Trash Talk, Mellowhype, Tyler the Creator & Mike G … plus tours!

Domo Genesis' No Idols is coming out August 1st.

Mellowhype's Numbers will be out October 2nd (hear their new track "La Bonita" below):



Trash Talk's 119 will be out October 9th.

Tyler, the Creator's Wolf is out sometime in November.

Mike G's debut LP (self-titled?) is also set for a 2012 release.

Confirmed tour dates:

THE INTERNET/KILO KISH TOUR DATES 08/04 Washington, D.C. - U Street Music Hall 08/05 New York City - Bowery Ballroom 08/07 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's 08/08 Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall 08/10 Toronto, ON - Mod Club CAMP FLOG GNAW TOUR DATES 08/31 Norfolk, VA 09/01 Philadelphia, PA 09/02 Baltimore, MD 09/04 Huntington, NY 09/05 Portland, ME 09/07 Providence, RI 09/08 Wallingford, CT

CAMP FLOG GNAW (CON'T) 09/09 Buffalo, NY 09/11 Cleveland, OH 09/12 Columbus, OH 09/14 Saint Louis, MO 09/15 Milwaukee, WI 09/16 Chicago, IL 09/18 Columbia, MO 09/19 Lawrence, KS 09/21 Boulder, CO 09/22 Boulder, CO 09/25 Vancouver, BC 09/26 Portland, OR 09/28 Santa Cruz, CA 09/29 Ventura, CA 09/30 Los Angeles, CA

FUTURE TWIN
futuretwin.com

Double the pleasure, double the fun. Future Twin is releasing a double release for Resist in 7" and Deluxe Edition (featuring the new 7" and 5-track cassette Situation) on July 31st.

They are having a record release show for July 27th in San Francisco's SPARC Dispensary.

Check out "Lockits" via their soundcloud page:



The name of the song is funny because Future Twin was originally an all-girl band called The Lockits.

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

Haunted by you

"With all the things that I've said, I'm still haunted by you.
In every town, in every place, you're waiting"
- Gene

Read More Bat for Lashes A friend of mine asked me to check out this errie music video for "What's a Girl To Do" by Bat for Lashes. My first thought was of how reminiscent it is of the film Donnie Darko…

BAT FOR LASHES
batforlashes.com

I've always thought Bat For Lashes' singer, Natasha Khan, was a fox, but wowser, check out the cover artwork for her upcoming new album, The Haunted Man. The photograph was taken by Ryan McGinley, known for his naturalistic imagery. I love the photo!

Anyway, hearing about her new album would only mean one thing: a new tour. I think I have seen Bat For Lashes every time they were in Minneapolis, and hopefully, Charlotte Hatherley will also be in the band.

Look for The Haunted Man on October 23rd, via Capitol Records. In the meantime, check out the video for "Laura," taken from the upcoming album.

Below are her confirmed UK dates:

09/02/12 Stradbally, Ireland "Electric Picnic
09/09/12 Isle Of Wight, UK Bestival
10/18/12 Inverness, UK Ironworks
10/19/12 Edinburgh, UK HMV Picture House
10/21/12 Glasgow, UK ABC1
10/22/12 Manchester, UK Manchester Cathedral
10/25/12 Leeds, UK Metropolitan University
10/26/12 Norwich, UK Univ. Of East Anglia LCR-Union
10/28/12 Leicester, UK O2 Academy
10/29/12 London, UK HMV Forum
11/01/12 Birmingham, UK The Institute
11/02/12 Bristol, UK Anson Room
11/03/12 Portsmouth, UK Pyramid Centre
11/04/12 Brighton, UK Brighton Dome
11/27/12 Amsterdam, Netherlands Paradiso

ARIEL PINK'S HAUNTED GRAFFITI
facebook.com

Ariel Pink has been producing original music since 2000, and a few years ago, he's really started coming on my radar. Before I knew it, he went under a new band called Haunted Graffiti. For some reason, he changed the band's name to Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti. I think it's a dumb name, but there's probably a good reason for this. I can only speculate that he wants to continue to brand the name "Ariel Pink" or that "Haunted Graffiti" was already another band's name.

Anyway, their new album, Mature Themes, is coming out August 21st via 4AD. The song, "Only In My Dreams," was given to KCRW's Morning Becomes Electric and a free MP3 can now be downloaded from 4AD.com.

He will be out on tour:

09-07 Austin, TX - Mohawk *$ 09-08 Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre *$ 09-10 Atlanta, GA - Goat Farm *$ 09-11 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle*$ 09-13 Washington DC - 9:30 Club *$ 09-14 New York, NY - Webster Hall *! 09-15 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer *% 09-16 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club *% 09-18 Montreal, Quebec - Cabaret Du Mile *% 09-19 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace *% 09-20 Oberlin, OH - Oberlin College * 09-21 Chicago, IL - Metro *# 09-22 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Cafe *# 09-24 Denver, CO - The Summit Music Hall *# 09-25 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge *# 09-27 Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre * 09-29 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom * 10-01 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 365 Club *# 10-05 Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre * 11-07 LIVERPOOL, Kazimier

11-08 GLASGOW, Stereo 11-09 LONDON, York Hall (Illuminations Festival) 11-12 ANTWERP, Trix 11-13 AMSTERDAM, Melkweg 11-14 PARIS, La Gaite Lyrique 11-16 COLOGNE, Gebaude 9 11-17 HAMBURG, Prinzenbar 11-19 COPENHAGEN, Vega Big Room 11-20 STOCKHOLM, Debaser Midis 11-22 HELSINKI, Tavastia 11-24 WARSAW, Hydrozagadka 11-25 BERLIN, Festaal Kreuzberg 11-27 MUNICH, Ampere 12-06 ISTANBUL, Babylon * = w/ Bodyguard $ = w/ Moon Diagrams ! = w/ TEEN % = w/ Phedre # = w/ Dâm-Funk

LITTLE HURRICANE
littlehurricanemusic.com

Little Hurricane is a duo consisting of CC and Tone. They met on Craigslist and since then, the band's music has been described as "dirty blues."

Tone would protest that they're "more rock 'n' roll than the record." He's referring to their live shows, which includes homemade speakers and DIY attitude.

The band's single, "Haunted Heart," can be seen on their music video. If you like it, the song can be yours for free if you sign up for their mailing list on their website.

The little band is going on a big tour with Heartless Bastards (#) and Electric 6 (*). See below:

07.31 Manny's Billings, MT# 08.01 Hop Hat Missoula, MT# 08.02 A Club Spokane, WA# 08.04 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR 08.07 Pink Garter Theatre Jackson, WY# 08.08 Hi Dive Denver, CO 08.10 The Urban Lounge Salt Lake City, UT# 08.11 Cargo in CommRow Reno, NV# 08.13 Harlow's Sacramento, CA# 08.14 Rio Theatre Santa Cruz, CA# 08.15 Bottom of the Hill San Francisco, CA 08.16 The Hotel Cafe Los Angeles, CA 08.17 The Observatory Santa Ana, CA# 08.18 Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown, CA# 08.30 Belly Up Solana Beach, CA

09.06 Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV 09.14 Telluride Blues & Brews - Telluride, CO 10.19 Grog Shop Cleveland, OH* 10.21 20th Century Theater Cincinnati, OH* 10.22 Brillbox Pittsburgh, PA* 10.24 Iron Horse Music Hall Northampton, MA* 10.28 Milk Boy Philadelphia, PA* 10.31 Black Cat Washington, DC* 11.01 Cats Cradle Carrboro, NC* 11.02 New Brookland Tavern Columbia, SC* 11.03 529 Atlanta, GA* 11.04 Headliner's Music Hall - Louisville, KY* 11.06 Firebird St Louis, MO* 11.07 The Highdive Champaign, IL *

SHADOWBOX
shadowbox4u.net

Bonnie Baxter's stagename is ShadowBox, and her EP, "Haunted By Colors" EP can be heard streaming at The FADER. The EP came out today (July 24th) on Pictures Music.

Baxter, herself, explained that the title was "inspired by the vivid dreams I was having at the time where no dialogue was present, just these reoccurring images that would naggingly imprint themselves into my head. Also, the anxieties and fears of waking life."

Check out her song, "AM":

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

Adele and Coldplay Piano Songbook

Read More Adele Clearly the big winner of the night was Adele, winning six Grammys: Album of the Year (21), Best Pop Record (21)…

Here is a review of the iPad application for Adele Piano Songbook and Coldplay Piano Songbook, both developed by Musicroom.com. Both applications are identical, complete with biography, more apps, and help options.

Since I don't know how to read music sheets, I am assuming all the timing, backing tracks and notes are perfect. I played the more popular hits ("Rolling in the Deep," "The Scientist," etc.), and they sound exactly as you would expect a pop song to be converted to "muzac." Just imagine if your favorite hits were stripped of vocals and the music replaced with piano melodies.

I have seen piano tribute albums going for $10+ and piano sheet music books for $20+, so having both these things appearing in one iPad app seem like a real bargain at $7.99 each.

I do have some minor issues/bugs with the application; for one thing it doesn't look great on landscape (you'll notice that 70% of the screen is white with a small music note in the center). It just seems to me that this app was design to read in portrait mode, and the landscape option was an afterthought.

If you swipe to the next page, the automatic paging turning stops working. I don't think this is a bug, but I found it annoying that the only way to get back to automatic page turn is to press pause and press start again. When it does work normally, the automatic page-turning feature is smooth and displays a live preview of the next page (this is perfect for anticipating the next set of keys).

Also, for an application that remembers your notes and annotations that you can leave anywhere on the music sheet, it sure doesn't remember the size setting! By default each song is set to "small," and will revert back to "small" when you go back into the song.

Outside of these small gripes, the software is solid. It didn't crash or show slow-downs, and the Noteflight notation piano audio sounded great.

If you're a pianist and want to play Adele and Coldplay hit songs, these affordable applications are perfect for you. You can pick up these apps on iTunes.

Adele Piano Songbook Chasing Pavements* Cold Shoulder Daydreamer Don't You Remember Hometown Glory* Make You Feel My Love* Right As Rain* Rolling In The Deep* Set Fire To The Rain* Someone Like You* Take It All Turning Tables* * with backing track

Coldplay Piano Songbook Amsterdam* Clocks* Don't Panic Fix You Green Eyes In My Place Sparks Speed Of Sound The Hardest Part The Scientist* Trouble* Violet Hill* Viva La Vida Warning Sign Yellow * with backing track

vu () ♥ www.musicroom.com

Beirut at the Cabooze in Minneapolis 07/21/12

Tour Dates 7/23 Burton Cummings – Winnipeg, MB 7/25 Edmonton Event Centre – Edmonton, AB 7/26 Calgary Folk Music Festival Calgary, AB 7/28 Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, BC 8/28 House of Blues Boston – Boston, MA 8/29 Rumsey Playfield - New York, NY 9/01-9/02 FYF Festival - Los Angeles, CA 9/03 Fox Theater - Oakland CA 9/05 Moore Theatre – Seattle, WA 9/06 McDonald Theatre - Eugene OR 9/07 MusicfestNW - Portland, OR 9/11 Barrlowlands - Glasgow, UK 9/12 Academy - Leeds UK 9/14 Hammersmith HMV – London, UK 9/15 We Love Green Festival – Paris, FR 9/16 Leffinge Lauren – Leffinge, BE 9/18 TonHalle - Munich, DE 9/19 Columbiahalle – Berlin, DE 9/21 Turkcell Kurcesme - Area Istanbul, TR 11/11 Harvest Festival - Melbourne 11/17 Harvest Festival - Sydney 11/18 Harvest Festival - Brisbane Read More Beirut Beirut is one of those bands that sort of came out of left field a while ago and took the whole indie music world by storm.

The outdoor event featuring Beirut at the Cabooze and opener Little Scream turned out to be as musically satisfying as deathly humid, playing a smattering of songs from the New Mexico bred band’s plethora of LPs and EPs. Band master Zach Condon is no stranger to large crowds, wooing the masses in the sold out plaza Saturday evening.

I arrived during Little Scream’s set, catching a handful of songs. There was certainly anticipation in the air for the headliner as no one in the audience seemed too responsive to Little Scream. After what seemed like an eternity awaiting Beirut, they graced the stage to ecstatic applause from a sweltering crowd. The band seemed very much into playing, with lead singer Condon keeping time by tapping his chest with his hands and the musicianship of the entire band was well above and beyond. There was a transition from bass to upright bass, from trombone to tuba (including a sweet tuba solo from Ben Lanz, a dead ringer for actor Alan Cumming) and Perrin Cloutier moving from keyboards to accordion effortlessly. Condon sounded excellent, occasionally hinting at a wailing Morrissey in the dewy Minneapolis night air. At one point, Condon made note of the fact that the band was playing close to the Triple Rock Social Club, where they first played in Minneapolis, mentioning the club’s delicious food.

“A Sunday Smile” from The Flying Club Cup and “Sante Fe” from The Rip Tide were delightful highlights of the seemingly short 75-minute set. I would have loved to see them play for much longer, but I understand that the weather was not conducive to outdoor marathon performances. Despite all that, the band followed the end of their crowd-pleasing set with a wonderful encore which included “Gulag Orkestar” from the debut album of the same name.

All in all, despite its brevity, Beirut’s moving outdoor show illustrated that this band, comprised of the 26-year-old Condon and primarily of five other members, is a force to be reckoned with and listen to.

Beirut at Cabooze, Minneapolis (07/21/12)

amy () ♥ www.beirutband.com