W♥M (Archive)

Zombie Apocalypse

Read More Rob Zombie …a few high profile cameo songs for a set of levels set in a fictionalized NYC, including Rob Zombie and Jurassic 5.

Did you guys pick up THE WALKING DEAD #100? What the F? They killed off one of my favorite character. Walking Dead is one of the best comics being published right now. Can't wait for Season 3 to start on AMC! At least that character is still alive in the television series, thank god.

ROB ZOMBIE
robzombie.com

Rob Zombie is offering his first single, "Thunder Kiss '65" (JDevil Remix) as a free download if you can find his 13 zombie cats on his website. The single is from his forthcoming new album, Mondo Sex Head (out on August 7th, 2012, via Universe Music Enterprises).

In other Rob Zombie news, he and Marilyn Manson have teamed up for the "Twins of Evil*" tour! This is a co-headliner tour, ending the US dates on my favorite holiday, Halloween.

Rob Zombie stated the obvious, "Finally! Why did the most obvious tour take so long to happen? Who knows? Who cares? It's happening now."

"Twins of Evil" official tour dates: 09/28 Phoenix, AZ Ashley Furniture 09/29 Las Vegas, NV Luxor Lot or Red Rocks 10/01 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre 10/02 Denver, CO 1st Bank Center 10/04 Topeka, KS Topeka Expo Center 10/08 Lincoln, NE Pershing Auditorium 10/09 Mankato, MN Verizon Wireless Center 10/11 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena 10/12 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre 10/13 Bloomington, IL US Cellular Coliseum 10/15 Youngstown, OH Covelli Center 10/16 Rochester, NY Armory 10/17 New York, NY Hammerstein Ballroom 10/19 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center 10/20 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena 10/21 Manchester, NH Verizon Wireless Arena

10/23 Boston, MA Agganis Arena 10/25 Atlanta, GA Aaron's Amphitheatre 10/30 Houston, TX Reliant Arena 10/31 Dallas, TX Verizon Wireless Theatre 11/26 London, UK 11/27 Manchester, UK 11/28 Glasgow, UK 11/29 Birmingham, UK 12/01 Luxembourg, Luxembourg 12/02 Bochum, Germany 12/03 Amsterdam, Holland 12/05 Stockholm, Sweden 12/06 Copenhagen, Denmark 12/08 Vienna, Austria 12/09 Munich, Germany 12/11 Basel, Switzerland 12/12 Bologna, Italy

* PS the 1971 movie, TWINS OF EVIL, just came out on Blu-Ray via Synapse Films on July 10th.

THE ZOMBIES
thezombies.net

I am a big fan of their song "She's Not There" and "Time of the Season," and tried catching them a few years ago. It didn't work out and sadly they're not coming around my area this year.

If you didn't know, The Zombies' new album, Breathe Out, Breathe In, came out last year.

Their 2012 tour dates:

Saturday, July 28 - Villages Amphitheatre Fayetteville, GA
Thursday, August 2 - Waterfest Summer Concert Series Oshkosh, WI
Sunday, August 5 - Highline Ballroom New York, NY
Monday, August 6 - Highline Ballroom New York, NY
Tuesday, August 7 - Wolf Den @ Mohegan Sun Uncasville, CT
Thursday, August 9 - Howard Theatre Washington, DC

TOOTHTAKER + RAPEWOLF
isaiahtoothtaker.bandcamp.com

The people behind last month's Rob Zombie 5-track EP made sure we knew that they had nothing to do with White Zombie or Rob Zombie or the actual undead.

You can download Rob Zombie on isaiahtoothtaker.bandcamp.com.

Track listing:

1. The Difference
2. Realest Sh** I Error Wrote
3. Burn It Down
4. Sorry 4 The Trouble
5. GTFOH

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

Vince Clarke: Collaborations with Martin Gore and The Good Natured

VCMG

Last February, Mute sent us a press release to promote “Fill Us With Fire”, from Erasure’s album Tomorrow’s World.  While I was quite happy to write up an article as such, I really was hoping they might send us information about Ssss, which was a collaborative project Erasure member Vince Clarke did with Martin Gore.  The album was released that next month, on March 12.

Mute never did send us anything (despite my attempts to contact the producer that e-mailed us), but I happily bought a digital copy of the album anyways. This work was exciting to me (and I’m sure other fans will agree) because Vince Clarke and Martin Gore are two of the founding members of Depeche Mode, but had not actively worked together since Clarke left the band in 1981.  They are both accomplished musicians and composer/songwriters in their own right, and have plenty of fans with their separate projects, but I felt them coming together was something special.

According to the Mute website, the album was completed in a rather unusual way, with the two working alone in their own respective studios and exchanging files by e-mail.  But what I think it a little more worthy of mention is Vince Clarke’s continuing dedication to analog synthesizers.  The tone and quality of the sound is different.  While computer software has given artists much more freedom in creating, mixing, and producing music, the sounds produced are not quite the same as those on the hardware side.

Please see my previous articles for Lowfish (read: “Lo-fi-ish”), Gejius, and Frame the City for comparative examples.  Selections from Ssss can also be found on Mute’s channel at YouTube.  (I agree with Vu that the YouTube player looks horrid, so I’ll skip an embed this time.  Sorry.)

THE GOOD NATURED

We also got an e-mail from an electropop band called The Good Natured, saying they got a wonderful opportunity to work with Clarke on a mixtape, which included another collaboration project called “The Ghost Train”.

The Good Natured - Ghost Train Vox Mix

You can listen to the mixtape and download “The Ghost Train” at their website: http://thegoodnatured.co.uk/mixtape/  Please note that the link to download the single automatically creates a promotional tweet on your Twitter account.  I didn’t mind, though, as some other artists are using this method, too.  I’d be excited to work with Vince Clarke and said so in a follow-up tweet:

 

@thegoodnatured Vince Clarke is a legend... pleased to share the love for your project with him!

I also looked around at their other social network connections and noted that their post-punk, synthpop influences were not just reflected in their music, but also in their look (hairstyles, makeup, clothing, etc.)  Very, very reminiscent of all the bands they say they are inspired by.  As I said before, kids today are wearing looks I haven’t seen for about 20 years... when I was about their age.  They’re also listening to and creating music that way, and much of it is all the New Wave, “alternative”, early MTV sort of styles.  (Apologies to all my hair-metal loving friends.)  Really takes me back and I’m looking forward to see what this will bring to the electronica scene.

---

♥ jaklumen (/ jaklumen.wordpress.com) ♥ http://mute.com/artists/vcmg ♥ http://thegoodnatured.co.uk/mixtape/

Aussies + Kiwis 2

Read more Aussies + Kiwis.

Read More San Cisco These guys just graduated high school, but already going to play at the big Aussie festivals like Big Day Out and Laneway, so youth is still on their side.

SAN CISCO
facebook.com/sanciscomusic

San Cisco, that 'awkward' youngster band from Australia, is playing their first ever USA show - in Minneapolis, of all places. I suppose it shouldn't surprise anyone since the local station here, The Current, has been playing their "Awkward" single.

We have been covering the band since their debut EP, Golden Revolver in 2011, so it's nice to finally be able to see them in person when they arrive here in October. Unfortunately, it's a 21+ show, which may be ironic since the band might actually be underage themselves.

Oct 21 Sun - Turf Club
October 21, 2012 8:30 PM (Sunday)
21+ SHOW
7:30PM DOORS
8:30PM SHOWTIME

No other dates have been confirmed yet, but I suspect the usual Los Angeles, New York, and, of course, San Francisco will follow. I'll keep you updated.

In other San Cisco news, they recently released a new single, "Rocket Ship." Homemade Super 8-type music video available right now on youtube.

Read More Kylie Minogue Just to give you an idea how popular Kylie Minogue is: I got an email announcing her first ever US dates, only to find out that pre-sale tickets were already sold out...

KYLIE MINOGUE
kylie.com

Yeah, I have a soft spot for Kylie.

As if you didn't know, part of her "K25" (25 years of Kylie in music) celebration, pop superstar, Kylie Minogue released "Timebomb" remixes this week (July 17th). She's been doing the rounds, appearing on E!, Fashion Police, The Soup, Extra, CNN, Chelsea Lately, Perez Hilton, Watch What Happens Live, VH1 “Morning Buzz Live”, NBC's New York Live, etc, etc.

Superfans of Kyle should check with kylie.com on the 25th of every month to see if they get lucky prizes from Kyle, herself. She has been trading in her massive stadium shows for more intimate venues throughout the UK and Australia (but don't expect to actually get tickets because they probably will sell out instantly).

“Timebomb” Remixes Tracklisting
01. Extended Mix
02. Peter Rauhofer Club Mix
03. DADA Remix
04. Redant & Romano Remix
05. Style Of Eye Remix
06. Italia3 Remix

BRIEFLY:

OPOSSOM opossom.bandcamp.com I previously mentioned that New Zealand's Opossom (aka Kody Nielson) will be releasing his debut album, Electric Hawaii in June under Create/Control. Well? It is out in Australia and New Zealand. The US will be getting it August 7th, via Fire Records. Check out the video for "Fly," the second track from the debut album.

PANAMA wearepanamatheband.com Panama is a new Sydney band, lead by Jarrah McCleary, who had previously been behind The Dirty Secrets. The band just released the single for "Magic," available digitally and on vinyl, and just wrapped up some tour dates (they are playing at Sydney's Googod Small Club tomorrow, July 20th).

BELLIGERENTS thebelligerents.com From Brisbane, the Belligerents just released a new EP called She Calls the Shots. The EP was produced by Yanto Browning (who also worked with San Cisco's touring buddies The Jungle Giants) at Airlock Studios in Brisbane. You can check out the single and EP on their Soundcloud:

HONEY CLAWS facebook.com/honeyclaws Technically they're all over the places, including Sweden and USA, but Thomas is from New Zealand… Did you catch the interview last Tuesday? The band is back with Money Jaws, released July 10th. If you want to preview the album, they've made it available in its entirety on soundcloud.com.

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

Liars at First Avenue, Minneapolis (07/17/12)

Tour Dates 07/18/12 Mad Planet Milwaukee, WI* 07/19/12 Metro Chicago, IL* 07/20/12 Magic Stick Detroit, MI* 07/21/12 Lee’s Palace Toronto, ON 07/23/12 La Sala Rossa Montreal, QC 07/24/12 Paradise Boston, MA* 07/25/12 U Street Music Washington DC* 07/26/12 Union Transfer Phila, PA* 07/27/12 Grog Shop Cleveland H, OH* 07/28/12 A&R Music Columbus, OH* 09/02/12 FYF Los Angeles, CA 09/06/12 Hopscotch Festival Raleigh, NC * with Unknown Mortal Orchestra Read More Liars Liars' sixth studio album is called WIXIW. The band said it's pronounced "wish you", but take that with a grain of salt from a band called 'liars'.

Liars stopped by First Avenue in Minneapolis last night, July 17th.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Opening up for them was Unknown Mortal Orchestra. I previously mentioned that this was a Portland band but that singer Ruban Nielson is from New Zealand (which would explain his accent).

The trio played straight rock, mostly from their self-titled debut 2011, including "Ffunny Ffrends" and "Boy Witch."

Aaron Hemphill getting Prince tattoos photo from First Ave

Before the band took stage, Liars' Aaron Hemphill was getting Prince tattoos on his fingers in the green room. This say to me that they are massive Prince fans, and playing at the legendary First Avenue's main room* meant a lot to the band.

Liars started off things on the slower side of their music. It took three or four songs before they started to kick things into gear.

As you can see from their set list, the majority of the songs played were from WIXIM, including "The Exact Colour Of Doubt," "Octagon," "No. 1 Against The Rush," and "Magical" (both "Rush" and "Magical" got great responses from the crowd).

The three-song encore (included "Beach," "Broken Witch," and "Plaster Casts of Everything") got the crowd moshing to every last note.

I have to say that based on the audiences' reaction to their music, they responded more to their more energetic punk-rock sound near the end of their set.

Liars are currently on tour for their latest album, WIXIM, which is out now via Mute Records.

* Fans of Prince's "Purple Rain" movie will take note how First Avenue's front and interior are shown in the 80s movie.

Liars at First Avenue, Minneapolis (07/17/12)

vu () ♥ liarsliarsliars.com ♥ unknownmortalorchestra.com

W♥M140: Honey Claws III

W♥M140 (12 mins)

Thomas Sahs of Honey Claws stopped by W♥M to talk about Honey Claws' return. Honey Claws is the only band to appear on W♥M three times.

The band is back with a new album called Money Jaws, which you can purchase on itunes or amazon (cheaper).

Topics discussed:

• The breakup and eventual reformation.
• Their sold-out/full capacity show at SXSW 2009.
• How Money Jaws came together and the origin of its name.
• Song of the show is "I Love Summer"

BONUS: Excerpt from Honey Claws in a car and New Zealand's radio.

PS, so when Thomas said they had one of their song "featured in an American television show," he didn't mention it was one of the hottest cable shows: Breaking Bad. Season 4 just came out on DVD/Blu-Ray, so fans that don't have AMC can finally catch up. The Honey Claws song, "Digital Animals," was prominently placed at a key emotional moment, not just some random 20 second clip. See it for yourself:



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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

Dirty Whigs

Free Download Dirty Three: Rising Below Read More Nick Cave Ryan previously mentioned Nick Cave's project, Grinderman, last May, and recently, I was fortunate enough to receive a review copy of their self-titled debut album.

DIRTY THREE
An upcoming performance by Australia’s renowned instrumental rock band Dirty Three should have music fans frothing at the mouth with excitement. The band will be touring behind Toward the Low Sun, their first album since 2005’s excellent Cinder, and making a stop at the intimate (and now air-conditioned!) Cedar Cultural Center on September 28th. Made up of violinist Warren Ellis, lead guitarist Mick Turner and drummer Jim White, the trio has been creating intriguing and sweeping soundscapes for nearly 20 years. Most folks will know Warren Ellis as a member of the hugely influential band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Bad Seeds’ delightfully vulgar, short-lived side project Grinderman. Turner and White are respected session players, aiding the likes of Cat Power and Bonnie “Prince” Billy (Will Oldham).

The band’s sound is a conglomeration of folk, chamber pop and world music, and the songs themselves are emotional and breathlessly beautiful; sometimes sparsely orchestrated and sometimes brimming with a rich, full sound. This isn’t your grandmother’s string ensemble. It’s wonderful, wordless storytelling, evoking melancholy and tranquility, but also plenty of darkness. Dirty Three only have eleven dates on this tour (including three midwestern stops) so catch ‘em while you can!

Dirty Three Tour Dates
Thu. Sep. 20 - Montreal, QC @ Ukranian Federation
Fri. Sep. 21 - Allston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
Sun. Sep. 23 - Washington, DC @ Sixth & I Historic
Tue. Sep. 25 - Detroit, MI @ 1464 Gratiot
Wed. Sep. 26 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
Fri. Sep. 28 - Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
Mon. Oct. 1 - Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore Cabaret
Tue. Oct. 2 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos
Wed. Oct. 3 - Portland, OR @ The Mission Theater
Thu. Oct. 4 - Portland, OR @ The Mission Theater
Mon. Oct. 8 - Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater

Read More Afghan Whigs Nineties revivals: The Afghan Whigs on tour in Australia

AFGHAN WHIGS
Surely, you remember the high-drama swagger of the Afghan Whigs, the 90s rock act reuniting after eleven years, who invoked both hard rock and soul into their moody arrangements, earning them acclaim from college kids and critics alike. Or perhaps you remember its charismatic frontman Greg Dulli, with his dark, sensual vocals penetrating the music world like no other; a man who wasted no time following the 2001 break-up of the Whigs, to delve into other notable musical projects such as the Twilight Singers, the Gutter Twins with friend Mark Lanegan and a 2005 solo record, Amber Headlights. Hell, maybe you know the Whig’s lead guitarist Rick McCollum, who found a home in Minneapolis in 1994 and, up until recently, was playing with rock quartet Moon Maan. If these names have you scratching your head, might I suggest picking up one of an Afghan Whigs album and preparing yourself for their arrival at the Varsity Theater October 28th!

The Afghan Whigs formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1986 and released six albums starting with punk-influenced Big Top Halloween and ending with 1998’s Dulli-produced 1965. The band wasn’t shy about their influences; in fact, an early line-up of the band bonded over their shared love of R&B. They’re also known for their sly covers of popular songs (I highly recommend giving their version of TLC’s “Creep” a listen). Gentlemen, their 1993 album recorded at the legendary Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, was their most successful to date, spawning singles like “Gentlemen” and “Debonair.”

After much speculation of a reunion, the band made a solid declaration by performing a new song (a Mary "Queenie" Lyons cover “See and Don’t See”) and an oldie (“I’m Her Slave”) on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in late May. If you caught it, consider yourself lucky - NBC apparently doesn’t like keeping videos of performances older than a month, so the video is swallowed up and lost forever in internet oblivion (or until someone is bold enough to rip a copy and put it up). But fear not! In a few short months, all parties hungry for the Whigs will be able to satisfy their craving with the much-anticipated Varsity gig and, hopefully, there’s more music to come!

07/25/12 Melbourne The Hi-Fi 07/26/12 Sydney The Factory 07/27/12 Byron Bay Splendour in the Grass 08/03/12 Chicago Lollapalooza 08/04/12 Chicago Metro 08/07/12 Helsinki Circus 08/09/12 Oslo Oya Festival 08/10/12 Göteborg Way Out West Festival 08/11/12 Rees-Haldern Haldern Pop Festival 08/14/12 Warsaw Palladium 08/15/12 Prague Lucerna Music Bar 08/17/12 Hasselt Pukkelpop 08/19/12 London KOKO 09/22/12 New York City I'll Be Your Mirror, Pier 36 09/26/12 Boston House of Blues 09/27/12 Philadelphia Electric Factory

09/28/12 Washington DC 9:30 Club 09/29/12 Pittsburgh Mr. Small's Theatre 10/03/12 Toronto Phoenix Theatre 10/05/12 New York City Terminal 5 10/12-14/12 Austin Austin City Limits Fest 10/19/12 New Orleans Tipitina's 10/20/12 Atlanta The Masquerade 10/21/12 Carrboro Cat's Cradle 10/24/12 Detroit St. Andrew's Hall 10/25/12 Cincinnati Bogart's 10/28/12 Minneapolis Varsity Theatre 10/30/12 Denver Ogden Theatre 11/02/12 Portland Wonder Ballroom 11/03/12 Seattle Showbox 11/07/12 San Francisco The Fillmore 11/09/12 Los Angeles The Fonda

emily () ♥ anchorandhope.com ♥ theafghanwhigs.com

I Am What I Am

Read More IAMDYNAMITE The space and lowercase hater band IAMDYNAMITE will be releasing their debut LP called SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC in June.

IAMDYNAMITE
iamdynamite.com

I tried seeing these guys earlier this year at the 7th Street Entry, but it didn't work out. That's fine, their upcoming appearance at the Varsity Theater should be better because it is one the best venues in all of Minneapolis. Believe me; I've been to them all.

Expect the guitar/drum duo to play hits off their album, SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC, when you see them on tour:

July 20 - House of Blues - Myrtle Beach, SC
July 26 - The Varsity - Minneapolis, MN
July 28 - Wicker Park Festival - Chicago, IL
Aug 3 - Knitting Factory - Boise, ID
Aug 4 - El Corazon - Seattle, WA
Aug 5 - Hawthorne Theater - Portland, OR
Aug 8 - Hotel Cafe - LA, CA
Aug 16 - The Black Sheep - Colorado Springs, CO
Aug 17 - The Marquee - Denver, CO
Aug 18 - Motors & Music Experience - Detroit, MI
Sept 14 - DIY Street Fair - Ferndale, MI

ALSO:

I AM HARLEQUIN iamharlequin.com German-born, London-based Anne Freier, otherwise known as I Am Harlequin, released her EP, Craze, over the Independence holiday (July 2nd). Digital copies are available all over, but a hand-packaged CD can be ordered exclusively through her website. Listen to her title song:

IAMYURY iamyury.com Don't really know much about iamYURY, based on their email. They seem to like folksy Meiko, even though they mentioned that Yury is a rapper/mixer/producer/beats maker from Pittsburgh. Yury tries and bring the tried-and-true mixtape experience to his live gigs and recently his work on "Landing on Stars" and was the #2 most downloaded MP3 on Amazon.

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

"The Palace Garden Tour" at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (07/15/12)

Tour Dates 7/17 - Denver: Hi Dive 7/18 - Salt Lake City: Kilby Court 7/19 - Boise: The Reef 7/21 - Seattle: Capitol Hill Block Party 7/22 - Vancouver: Media Club 7/28 - Portland: What The Fest? Read More music for teens. Teen Daze is basically Vancouver's one-man electro band. His album, All Of Us, Together, got released June 5th via Lefse Records.

Beat Connection, with White Arrows and Teen Daze, stopped by 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis, as part of their "The Palace Garden Tour".

Beat Connection

I was not there to cover Beat Connection, so I didn't take any notes. What I can tell you is that clearly they are the headliner, bringing out the most fans dancing to their beats. The singer was also the guitarist and one guy in the band alternate between keys and a floor tom. They also had a nice lighting setup with these light bars behind them that would display colorful sequences. Not sure if it was rigged to their music, but it sure looked cool.

Teen Daze

Teen Daze started the night off. He's a one-man DJ, playing his music by turning knobs and pushing buttons. Not that interesting to watch, probably why he asked the lights to be turned off (this also made photographing incredibly difficult). I thought his music would be all instrumentals, judging from his first three or four songs… but as he introduced his new songs, he started singing on his later set. I didn't know a lot of his song, but I recognized that he used "Pop Goes the Weasel" in one of his song.

This was White Arrow's second time in Minneapolis. I didn't see them the first time, but I liked their setup. They had a fog machine, which usually meant they brought their own lights.

As expected with a band with a debut album, Dry Land Is Not A Myth, they mostly did song from that album, including "Roll Forever" and "Golden." Highlight for me was their weird cover of Bruce Springsteen's classic "I'm On Fire."

There's only a few dates left on "The Palace Garden Tour," so if you liked dancing, be sure to check them out on tour.

White Arrows at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (07/15/12)

vu () ♥ beatconnection.co ♥ whitearrows.com ♥ facebook.com/teendaze

“The Wake Up Madagascar” Tour @ Cedar Cultural Center

Tour Dates July 15 - Chicago, IL @ Martyr's July 17 - Toronto, ON @ Lula Lounge July 18 - Montreal, QC @ Festival Nuits D'Afrique July 19 - Somerville, MA @ Johnny D's July 20 - Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse July 21 - New York City, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge July 24 - San Francisco, CA @ Yoshi's Jazz Club July 26 - Pasadena, CA @ Levitt Pavilion

On Friday night Vu sent me a text, stating he was surrounded by teenagers at the Owl City Concert at the Varsity.  I returned a message, saying the crowd at the Cedar Cultural Center was a little bit older, but no less energetic.  In fact, a big part of the crowd was ecstatic that members of Wake Up Madagascar were on stage.  After all, when’s the last time a musical group from Madagascar toured the Twin Cities?

What I know about Madagascar is a few geographical facts culled from a well-thumbed atlas in my living room.  Did you know it’s the fourth biggest island in the world and it sits off the coast of Mozambique, Africa in the Indian Ocean?  It’s also embarrassingly rich in biodiversity, and currently, the biodiversity is being threatened with unprecedented deforestation and bush burning.

This is the reason for the tour.  Singer and songwriter, Razia Said, was so shocked by the altered landscape of her native country, she organized a music festival in the Masoala Rainforest in 2011 to bring awareness.  This tour is an extension of the festival.

Taking the stage along with Razia were guitar virtuoso, Charles Kely, and singer, Eusèbe Jaojoby.  Jaojoby even brought along members of his band, which included his wife, Saramba, a brightly energetic singer, and three of his children who filled in at rhythm guitar, bass and one daughter who was a one-person dance line. 

One aspect I liked about the set up was everybody on stage sang.  There were ten vocal mics as members of the band took turns on lead vocal before switching to backup.  The concert was one constantly shifting lineup.  There was a point in the concert where I jotted down a few notes and looked back up to an entirely different band.  How does that happen?

The concert had a definite organic feel as it flowed from song to song.  I didn’t understand much for most of the songs were either in French or Malagasy.  Razia was eloquent as she spoke to the audience in English.  Although cautious, Joujoby’s pronunciation of the English language was much better than mine.  But when Razia asked if Saramba would like to say a few word in English, Saramba grabbed the mic and started a back and forth in Malagasy with the few concert goers who understood the conversation. 

And that’s how it went for two hours; the lead singers singing and the backup vocals responding; then the singer talking to the audience who would hoot and holler back.  Then everybody danced to the native musical sound of Salegy.  In it I heard the rhythm guitars of the Soweto Township and the easy breeze that comes with a Caribbean sound.  Maybe these sounds came from Madagascar.  They definitely made you want to sing, dance and engage with the members around you.  The sound of Salegy is one of community and the community is now saying, “Wake Up!” 

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ fornaught.net

BoDeans

Here's a blast from the past: 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 are currently on tour for their latest release, American Made, which just came out last month (June 12th).

The band is currently on tour to promote the album, so expect them to play their songs about the beauty of the night in "All the World" and other struggles of a blue-collar Midwesterner from the new album, plus their early hits: "Only Love", "Good Things", or "Closer to Free."

I will be covering them for July 28th, at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley. I don't normally go outside of Minneapolis for shows, but this looks like a lot of fun. We are also covering Bouncing Souls (First Avenue) and Best Coast (Cedar Cultural Center), also on July 28th, so hopefully it will all work out.

Tour dates below:

Jul 19 The Hub Cedar Falls, IA Jul 20 Ravinia Highland Park, IL Jul 21 The Old Rock House St Louis, MO Jul 22 Knuckleheads Saloon Kansas City, MO Jul 25 The Waiting Room Omaha, NE Jul 26 Majestic Theatre Madison Madison, WI Jul 27 Subway Music in The Zoo Apple Valley, MN Jul 28 Minnesota Zoo Amph Apple Valley, MN Jul 29 The Castle Theatre Bloomington, IL Aug 01 Hi Tone Memphis, TN Aug 03 Granada Theater Dallas, TX Aug 04 Nutty Brown Cafe & Amph Austin, TX Aug 09 City Winery New York, NY Aug 11 Downtown Block Party Hampton, VA Aug 15 REDSTONE ROOM Davenport, IA Aug 16 Waterfest at Riverside Park Oshkosh, WI

Aug 17 Vetter Stone Amphitheater Mankato, MN Aug 19 Bluebird Nightclub Bloomington, IN Aug 22 Acorn Theater Three Oaks, MI Aug 23 Magic Bag Ferndale, MI Aug 24 Headliners Music Hall Louisville, KY Aug 25 The Rex Theater Pittsburgh, PA Aug 26 World Cafe Live Philadelphia, PA Sep 26 Ram's Head On Stage Annapolis, MD Sep 27 Ram's Head On Stage Annapolis, MD Sep 28 Birchmere Alexandria, VA Sep 29 Bearsville Theatre Woodstock, NY Oct 02 Whitaker Center Harrisburg, PA Oct 03 World Cafe Live at Queen Wilmington, DE Oct 04 Tupelo Music Hall Londonderry, NH Oct 05 Showcase Live Foxboro, MA Oct 06 Infinity Hall Norfolk, CT

vu () ♥ www.bodeans.com/