ChordStrike

Lou's Metal Machine Hits The Road

Lou Reed has always gone against the grain. During 1967's so-called summer of love, his band The Velvet Underground released a debut album about prostitution and heroin addiction. Then, when the hippy revolution turned sour, the VU released their happy, trippy pop album, Loaded, starting with the decidedly hippyish "Who Loves The Sun."

But most contrary of all was Reed's 1975 solo album, Metal Machine Music (1975), four sides of unlistenable noise which divided fans: 99% hated it, while 1% considered it a challenging but worthwhile work of conceptual art. Last year a Rolling Stone reviewer described it live as "a continuous blaring fog that rose and decreased in its deafening intensity, marked by shrill electronic shrieks, long demented sax solos and Reed’s occasional yelling voice."

Warning: This video should not be listened to by anyone

Great news (!) - Lou Reed is taking his blaring fog, shrill shrieking and demented soloing on tour! So far only European dates have been announced, but the April shows will coincide with a full reissue program which will include Metal Machine Music on Blu-Ray for the first time. Perhaps a marginal improvement in audio clarity will make it an easier listen? Probably not.

April dates:

17 Cambridge, England - The Cambridge Junction
18 Oxford, England - O2 Academy
19 London, England - Royal Festival Hall
21 Paris, France - La Cigale
22 Brussels, Belgium - A/B (Domino Festival)
24 Copenhagen, Denmark - DR Koncerthuset
26 Oslo, Norway - Sentrum Scene
27 Bergen, Norway - Ole Bull Scene (Bergen Festival)
30 Mallorca, Spain - Teatre Principal de Palma

--Ally @ SoundUnwound

SoundUnwound's editorial team write about the latest big music news and quirky stories which catch the eye. We also post a selection of these news stories on Chordstrike; for much, much more, visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon. Follow us at twitter.com/soundunwound.

Pavement Reunite!

After years of rumors, seminal indie-rock band Pavement have finally confirmed they are to reunite. New York-based blog Brooklyn Vegan was first to declare these rumors were the real deal, and on Thursday guitarist Scott Kannberg (a.k.a. Spiral Stairs) confirmed the reunion in an interview with Rolling Stone. The first confirmed date is a Central Park, New York show on September 21 next year. Referring to frontman Stephen Malkmus, Kannberg said "Steve and I just had a conversation on the phone, and we’d never talked about it before at all. We’ve talked over the years, but the subject never came up. Then our agent asked us about these New York shows, so we went around to everybody in the band, and they said, ‘Yeah, the time is right If everybody’s ready to do it, then we’ll do it and see what happens.’ There was no real impetus — it just kind of happened naturally.” Pavement split up ten years ago after releasing five hugely influential albums. While never big sellers, their reputation has only grown in the years after they broke up, so their reunion shows are sure to be attended by big crowds. "There’s festivals and stuff that we’re talking to, like Coachella," Kannberg added. "After that, anything that happens in the future is in the future."

It's also been confirmed by Pavement's record label, Matador, on their blog.

"After years of speculation, the most important American band of the 1990’s is returning to the stage, with the lineup of Mark Ibold, Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg, Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich and Steve West reuniting for dates around the world in 2010."

They also say that a pre-sale (password ZOWEE) for the Central Park show begins tomorrow. That's right, if you want to guarantee a ticket, you need to pre-pay a year in advance!

--Ally @ SoundUnwound

SoundUnwound's editorial team write about the latest big music news and quirky stories which catch the eye. We'll be posting a selection of these news stories on Chordstrike every week; for much, much more, visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon. Follow us at twitter.com/soundunwound.

An Interview with Chris Martin

"Coldplay, currently on tour...." That statement will probably be accurate for the next few years,as the band seems to be on the road permanently.  In the early stages of the Viva La Vida tour, after postponements for illness, permission for music etc., we got a slot to speak with the famed front man of the British mega-group.

I wondered how he'd be.  There are topics you obviously steer away from with Mr. Martin, if you want your full ten minutes, so I stuck with the world of live performance and he turned out to be attentive and worthwhile (you'll let me know if you disagree. :)  He probably did a score of similar length "phoners" before and after our time together that day, but I was struck by how well he chooses his words. -- Hugo Munday

Aerosmith's Steven Tyler Injured Again

After 61 year old AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson announced his impending retirement, Lady Luck seems to be suggestively digging her elbow into various aging members of Aerosmith, not least 61 year old frontman Steven Tyler, to think about following suit. Tyler was airlifted to hospital on Wednesday night after sustaining minor head, neck and shoulder injuries falling off-stage at a concert in South Dakota. An onlooker told the Rapid City Journal “I’ve never seen that happen before. But you could kind of see it coming because he was dancing all over the stage.” It's the latest in a long line of injuries and setbacks that have hit the band recently. In May last year, Tyler checked into rehab to recover from an operation on his foot. In February concerts were canceled when guitarist Joe Perry required emergency surgery to deal with an infection in his knee. In March Tyler contracted pneumonia, delaying plans to record a new album, and last month more shows were canceled after Tyler injured his hamstring on-stage. Guitarist Brad Whitford missed several shows after he required surgery, reportedly due to bumping his head really hard as he exited his Ferrari. Then, bassist Tom Hamilton had to take time off to recover from some unspecified "non-invasive surgery." Although Tyler's latest injuries are not serious, there's only so many hits a man can take before he thinks about throwing in the towel.

--Ally @ SoundUnwound

SoundUnwound's editorial team write about the latest big music news and quirky stories which catch the eye. We'll be posting a selection of these news stories on Chordstrike every week; for much, much more, visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon.

U2's World Tour Hits a Snag

Just a week after announcing a donation of €5million ($7million) towards music education for children in Ireland, local heroes U2 have faced protests in their hometown of Dublin because of the disruption caused by their massive tour entourage. About 80 people joined a picket near Croke Park stadium because of the sheer volume of trucks required to transport U2’s unique claw-like stage. “The stage was to come down overnight and 94 trucks were to go in and out, one every three and a half minutes, right through narrow roads and both sides of the stadium,” Mrs Barbara Ward, of the Croke Park Area Residents’ Alliance told Ireland On-Line.  “People would have been awake all night. We decided to stand up and protest and the drivers never tried to pass us.” The size of the tour was also criticized by David Byrne, who said “Those stadium shows may possibly be the most extravagant and expensive (production-wise) ever: $40 million to build the stage and, having done the math, we estimate 200 semi trucks crisscrossing Europe for the duration. It could be professional envy speaking here, but it sure looks like, well, overkill, and just a wee bit out of balance given all the starving people in Africa and all.”  The somewhere-between 94 and 200 trucks (oh, and the band) are now behind schedule as they head for Sweden, where the next dates on their world tour are due to be held this weekend. 

Here's a short video courtesy of U2Miracle.com about the construction of U2's unique stage, known as The Claw:

--Ally @ SoundUnwound

SoundUnwound's editorial team write about the latest big music news and quirky stories which catch the eye. We'll be posting a selection of these news stories on Chordstrike every week; for much, much more, visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon.

Michael Jackson hits the Road

Coldplay's appearance at The Gorge, Saturday, July 11 featured a concert within a concert. At one point, the ever-working mega band belted from the main stage, up to this tiny platform at the beginning of the grass section. Tracked by two long-throw spot-lights they offered some unplugged goodies, including a rendition of Jackson's Billie Jean. The homage to the King of Pop was treated no differently, from most of the Coldplay super-hits and the audience sang along with gusto.

For a band that's done an unbroken stretch of 130+ shows, I have to admit they sounded very "there." At the end of one of the hottest days of the year, so far, I don't think anyone would argue if I gave the  MVP award to the sunset.  Truly spectacular, as it often is in this part of the world, adding another dimension to this brand of euphoric anthem rock.  Mother Nature did all the mind-altering that was needed. -- Hugo Munday

Rock Opera

I've figured out why I'm transfixed by Chickenfoot.  There is no difference between this brand of hard rock and one of my true loves, Grand Opera.  Stay with me on this one.

• Both have a long established tradition of terrible lyrics.
• Both, at their best, are often unoriginal.  They recycle clichés we've heard before and fans are in awe of the ornamentation around those clichés and the way they're linked together.
• Both are best practiced by performers that are somehow larger and louder than life.
• Experiencing both (if you're into this stuff) you know what's coming next and it only makes it better.

I could go on - hair, costumes, make-up - all over the top.  Is anyone still reading?

Chickenfoot, lyrically and in many other ways, is a mess, but an exquisite one.  Hagar, at the age of 61, while he doesn't attempt an F above high C, anymore, still has mind-boggling tone, phrasing, and diction. Satriani, steps back from the July 4th pyrotechnics he's known for and becomes an ensemble player with almost no equal.  If you have the privilege to catch these guys live, you'll get to appreciate how he summarizes all that is multi-tracked on the album in his live performance.   Michael Anthony provides an omnipresent depth, pumping out classic hard rock bass lines, and Chad Smith steps away from his signature inner syncopations of RHCP, to this cast-iron back of the beat, pedal work, and sharp, precise upper register stuff.  Ensemble work doesn't get much better than this.

Other reasons I might like this album are that I can't hear any Auto-Tune, and there isn't an iPod app' that makes it any better. -- Hugo Munday

5 Things I Will Remember About Sasquatch 2009

Now that I've finally recovered from three exhausting and thrilling days of sun, music, and elephant ears, here, in descending order, are the five things I will remember most about this year's Sasquatch Music Festival:

5) Finding out about Jay Bennett's death from Silversun Pickups' frontman, Brian Aubert, who dedicated a song to Bennett, adding, "may he rest in peace" --

I'm so utterly addicted to the interent/blogosphere that it was shocking to actually hear a breaking news item from a real live person, let alone a quasi-rock-star. It was a sad, strange moment.

4) Meeting one of my favorite singers, Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters/Sun Kil Moon), during the Bon Iver set --

I was on my way to go pull a friend away from the YYY's mainstage show when I spotted Kozelek in the crowd taking in the Bon Iver set. I shook his hand, told him how much I love his music (especially his album of acoustic AC/DC covers) and moved on. He seemed genuinely appreciative and I was thoroughly stoked.

3) St. Vincent --

After taking in this performance, my crush on St. Vincent's Annie Clark escalated from "slight" to "unhealthy." H-E-L-P!

2) Shearwater --

Shearwater was flat-out fantastic live. I liked 2008's Rook, but I wasn't expecting much when I meandered over to the Wookie stage to check out this Texas-based band, fronted by former Okkervil River member and bird-enthusiast Jonathan Meiburg. I won't go into the details, but if you like this band at all, don't miss them the next time they roll through town--they are the real deal.  

1) Bon Iver --

Closing out the first night of the festival on the Wookie stage, Bon Iver came off less like a new-kid-on-the-indie-singer-song-writer-block and more like an elder statesman showing all the wannabes how it's done. The sun had just set when Justin Vernon and co. took the stage, the waning light and surreal landscape of the Gorge providing the perfect backdrop to Vernon's sad, rousing melodies. Even Mos Def, who I spotted checking out the set from stage-side, was bobbing up and down to "Skinny Love." 

Oh, 'Squatch, I miss you already.      

Are There Echoes in Space? YES!

Echo & the Bunnymen's classic 1984 album, Ocean Rain will be blasting off to the International Space Station on June 13.

Seems Colonel Timothy L. Korpa, longtime fan and current astronaut, e-mailed the band asking if they wouldn't mind if he took their album to space, and they obliged. 

Where ya gonna get a gig like that?

Said Ian McCulloch: "What an honour. Now it's official. We are the coolest band in the universe. I cannot wait to hear from Tim what it is like to listen to 'The Killing Moon' in the actual glow of the moon."

I bet it will be pretty amazing. But, I wonder: Since space itself sounds pretty strange, does music sound different in space? And, suppose you were heading to space for months. What music would bring?

Here's my space shortlist:

1. The Pearl, Brian Eno & Harold Budd
2. Lamentate, Arvo Part
3. Ta Det Lugnt, Dungen
4. Neu!
5. Pocket Symphony, Air
6. Electr-o-pura, Yo La Tengo
7. Rather Ripped, Sonic Youth
8. A Sectioned Beam, Lansing Dreiden

SPACE!

The Melvins Remember Back in the Day

The Melvins are turning 25. To celebrate, they are planning a little run of shows featuring a set with the original line-up: Buzz Osborne, Dale Crover (on bass), and Mike Dillard on skins.

Can we call this a "boutique" tour? I think we can.

May 15 New York, NY Webster Hall

16 Boston, MA Paradise

18 Chicago, IL Double Door

20 Austin, TX Emo’s

Read more on 4metal.

A.C. Newman On Tour

I had the great pleasure of catching New Pornographers front man A.C. Newman live in concert in Seattle last weekend and I would strongly encourage everyone else to do the same! I will admit that prior to the show I was expecting to mourn the absence of the brilliant Neko Case (also a member of New Pornographers and one of my all-time musical heroes), but A.C. more than thrilled the crowd with a selection of pop delights from his buzz-worthy new solo album, Get Guilty. 

The tour’s second greatest asset is nerd-core newcomer Dent May, who played songs from his aptly named new release, The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele. Sadly for those catching this show in another city, you will not be fortunate enough to hear the music of Seattle-based opener, Cataldo (who I suspect you will hear more from in the future), but you just might be lucky enough to catch L.A. darlings, The Broken West, who will be joining Newman mid-tour in support of their latest release, Now or Heaven. 

A.C. Newman Tour Dates:

•    2/24 Sacramento, CA Harlow’s*
•    2/25 San Diego, CA Casbah*
•    2/26 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour*
•    2/27 Santa Barbara, CA Club Mercy*
•    2/28 San Francisco, CA The Independent*
•    3/1 Eugene, OR John Henry’s*
•    3/10 Ithaca, NY Castaways*
•    3/11 Toronto, ON Lee’s Palace*
•    3/12 Montreal, QC Il Motore*
•    3/13 Providence, RI Club Hell*
•    3/14 Boston, MA Paradise*
•    3/15 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom*
•    3/17 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda’s**
•    3/18 Washington, DC Black Cat **
•    3/19 Chapel Hill, NC Cat’s Cradle**
•    3/20 Atlanta, GA The Earl**
•    3/21 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge**
•    3/22 St. Louis, MO Blueberry Hill**
•    3/24 Minneapolis, MN 400 Bar**
•    3/25 Chicago, IL Logan Square Auditorium**
•    3/26 Pontiac, MI The Pike Room at The Crofoot**
•    3/27 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop**
•    3/28 Pittsburgh, PA Andy Warhol Museum**

*with Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele
**with The Broken West

Check out Dent May and his Good Feeling Music:

--Shelby Earl

Iron & Wine U.S. tour dates announced

May 04 The Vera Project, Seattle WA (w/Yogoman Burning Band)
May 05 Triple Door, The, Seattle WA (w/Alela Diane)
May 06 Cafe du Nord, San Francisco CA (*Swedish American Hall (above Cafe du Nord) w/Yogoman Burning Band)
May 07 Cafe du Nord, San Francisco CA (*Swedish American Hall (above Cafe du Nord) w/Magic Leaves )
May 08 Masonic Hall at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles CA (w/ Alela Diane and DJ Small Town Talk)
May 09 Troubadour, Hollywood CA (w/ Yogoman Burning Band)
May 12 Lakeshore Theater, Chicago IL (w/Katie Stelmanis)
May 13 Schubas, Chicago IL
May 17 Abrons Arts Center, New York NY (w/Lia Ices)
May 17 Abrons Arts Center, New York NY (/partyface)

Flight of The Conchords Tour Dates Spring 2008

Flight of The Conchords

US spring tour dates just announced.

Apr 06 Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa FL
Apr 07 Universtiy of Miami Bank United Center, Coral Gables FL
Apr 08 UCF Arena, Orlando FL
Apr 10 Ryman Audiotorium, Nashville TN
Apr 11 Fox Theatre, Atlanta GA
Apr 13 DAR Constitution Hall, Washington DC
Apr 14 Radio City Music Hall, New York NY
Apr 17 Agganis Arena @ Boston University, Boston MA
Apr 18 Tower Theater, Upper Darby PA (Early Show: 7PM Late Show: 10PM)
Apr 19 MAC Center - Kent State University, Kent OH
Apr 21 Massey Hall, Toronto ON, Canada
Apr 22 Massey Hall, Toronto ON, Canada
Apr 24 Fox Theatre (MI), Detroit MI
Apr 25 IU Auditorium, Bloomington IN
Apr 26 Overture Center for the Arts (WI), Madison WI
Apr 28 Arie Crown, Chicago IL
Apr 30 Fox Theatre (St. Louis), St. Louis MO
May 02 Riverside Theater, Milwaukee WI (Early Show: 7PM Late Show: 10PM)
May 03 Northrop Auditorium, Minneapolis MN
May 05 NOKIA Theatre at Grand Prairie, Dallas TX
May 06 Jones Hall (TX), Houston TX
May 07 Bass Concert HAll, Austin TX
May 10 The Center in Vancouver Performing Arts, Vancouver BC, Canada
May 11 Paramount Theater, Seattle WA
May 12 Paramount Theater, Seattle WA
May 14 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland OR
May 16 Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison CO (w/ Iron & Wine )
May 17 Abravanel Hall, Salt Lake City UT
May 19 Dodge Theatre (AZ), Phoenix AZ
May 20 RIMAC Arena, San Diego CA
May 22 Santa Barbara Bowl, Santa Barbara CA
May 23 The Joint, Las Vegas NV
May 24 The Greek Theatre, Los Angeles CA
May 25 Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley CA

-- Patrick Whalen

Fruits, Cats and Kimonos

Katy Perry began her 2009 tour in Seattle on Friday night, playing to a sold out crowd at The Showbox.  I took my daughter, thinking I would stroke my beard and contemplate the vagaries of youth.  Wrong.  I had a great time leaping up and down in the throng and got every word, from a vocal and familiar audience, trying to compete with the sound system.  That being said, the tween juggernaut package was blessedly absent from this evening.

What do you get if you go?  More than I thought.  If  the Seattle opener was anything to go by, you get Kitty Purry (a huge inflated, illuminated cat), tons of oversized, flying fruit, a costume change, pretty much the whole album and some covered Queen that had this old fart belting out the lyrics, for a change.  I'm still having a good time, having a good time. -- Hugo Munday

01/26/2009 Crystal Ballroom Portland, OR
01/28/2009 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
01/29/2009 The Empire Sacramento, CA
01/31/2009 The Wiltern Los Angeles, CA
02/02/2009 University of Arizona Tucson Tuscon, AZ
02/03/2009 Marquee Theatre Tempe, AZ
02/05/2009 House of Blues San Diego, CA
02/10/2009 In The Venue Salt Lake City, UT

Death Cab For Cutie Spring 2009 Tour dates

Death Cab for Cutie, Amazon Ed's #6 fave for 2008, tour dates just announced:

March 7: Miami (Langerado Festival)
April 7: Upper Darby, Pa. (Tower Theatre)
April 8: Washington, D.C. (DAR Constitution Hall)
April 9: Davidson, N.C. (John Belk Arena)
April 10: Louisville, Ky. (Louisville Palace)
April 11: Memphis (Orpheum Theatre)
April 12: Tulsa, Okla. (Brady Theater)
April 13: Omaha, Neb. (Holland Theatre)
April 15: St. Paul, Minn. (Roy Wilkins Auditorium)
April 17: Chicago (Aragon Ballroom)
April 18: East Lansing, Mich. (Breslin Events Center)
April 19: Waukesha, Wis. (Van Male Fieldhouse)
April 24: Spokane, Wash. (McCarthey Athletic Center)
April 25: Boise, Idaho (Morrison Center)
April 27: Sacramento, Calif. (Memorial Auditorium)
April 29: San Diego (RIMAC Arena)
May 1: Austin, Texas (Austin Music Hall)
May 2: New Orleans (Contemporary Arts Center)
May 4: Nashville (Ryman Auditorium)
May 5: Birmingham, Ala. (BJCC Concert Hall)
May 6: Atlanta (Fox Theatre)

Cold War Kids support in April, Matt Costa in May, with Ra Ra Riot opening the bill for the whole tour.

Fan club tickets go on sale Jan 28. Non-certified fans will have to line up on the weekend.

A Kinky Tour!

Kinky is one of my favorite bands to see live for a few of reasons:

1) I love their music, which is a genre-defying meld of Mexican rock, electronica, and latin percussions.
2) Their energy is completely insane and infectious. The dance floor is usually vibrating and the crowd airborne when they're on stage doing their thing.
3) What can I say? I am a sucker for charming Latin boys.

Above is the video for their new single, "Hasta Quemarnos," from their new album Barracuda. To get a better idea of what you can expect at a live show, click here. The digital version of Barracuda is out now, in case, like me, you can't wait for the physical CD, which drops February 24.

Tour Dates as follows. And *gasp*! No Seattle show. I just might have to head to LA on the 24th. If you like music of any kind, I encourage you to catch them live:

Sat, Feb 21    San Francisco, CA @ Grand Ballroom
Sun, Feb 22    Ventura, CA @ Club Soho
Tue, Feb 24    Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Fonda
Wed, Feb 25    Anaheim, CA  @ House Of Blues
Thur, Feb 26    San Diego, CA @ House Of Blues
Fri, Feb 27    Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
Sat, Feb 28    El Paso, TX @ Bandoleros
Wed, Mar 4    San Antonio, TX @ Club Rio
Thur, Mar 5    McAllen, TX @ Las Palmas
Fri, Mar 6    Laredo, TX @ Cananas
Sat, Mar 7    Houston, TX @ Club 59
Sun, Mar 8    Dallas, TX @ OK Sports Bar
Thur, Mar 12    New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
Fri, Mar 13    Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Sat, Mar 14    Chicago, IL @ Congress

--Renata Sadunas

Artists Rocking the Vote

With the whole country’s attention turned toward the November 4th election, many musicians are speaking up and singing out in an attempt to encourage political awareness and involvement amongst their fans. One of the most moving “Rock the Vote” videos of them all is Christina Aguilera’s a cappella rendition of “America the Beautiful” sung lullaby style to her infant baby.

Also announced this week, the “Get Out and Vote Tour” will be visiting select cities pre-election with an impressive line-up of politically savvy musicians including Beastie Boys, Sheryl Crow, Lenny Kravitz, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Norah Jones, Santogold, and more.

The message from your musical leaders is clear: if you're going to rock the rock, you've got to also rock the vote.

--Shelby Earl

In The Media: Tegan & Sara

One of my favorite bands in the world, the ridiculously talented identical twin duo Tegan & Sara, played the latest single off last year's brilliant album, The Con, on Letterman this week. It's called "Call It Off," and it's a tearjerker. Here's the Letterman performance, and underneath is the music video for the song, which was released last month:

Tegan & Sara are embarking on their last round of touring for The Con. I hope they come by Seattle, if they do, you better believe I'll be there.

--Alan Wiley

Fix on This

I’m going to be honest. I tend to fixate. Sometimes it’s on a new item of clothing (have you ever bought a new shirt and proceeded to wear it every single day? Yeah, you know what I mean.), and sometimes my gaze is set on a person (usually of the opposite sex), but most often I’m locked in on a new record, a recently discovered band, or a live show I’ve just seen. This week has been a real doozie on the musical-fixation-front and I’ve got three goodies to share with anyone who's in the market for a new obsession.

The band you won’t be able to get enough of: Frightened Rabbit. They are by no means a “new” band, but they are relatively new to me and to many other music fans in the States. Their album Midnight Organ Fight has been the soundtrack to my entire summer and I was struck silly this week by the announcement that they are heading out on tour with Death Cab for Cutie and the Spinto Band. Considering that heavy-hitting bill, it is obvious I'm not the only person with Frightened Rabbit fever.

The live show that will haunt your dreams: Bon Iver. Justin Vernon and his band make painfully beautiful music and their live show is utterly breathtaking. Still touring on the album For Emma, Forever Ago, I got to see them play live last week and have literally been dreaming about it ever since. Justin told the audience that he believes he has finally found the perfect band configuration. Having seen them play once before as a 3-piece, I couldn’t agree more that the current five-person line-up is just about perfect. The band's performance was precise yet soulful, and the entire sold-out crowd stood pin-drop silent for most of the show. If you go to many live shows then I don't need to tell you how special that is. Fixate on your nearest record store and secure yourself a ticket for Bon Iver's fall tour.

Check out Bon Iver Live in August:

The record that will go into constant car, desk, and home stereo rotation: Johnny Flynn – A Larum. I am utterly riveted by this doll-faced British folkie and his songs. Johnny’s writing touches on the melancholic beauty of Fionn Regan (a former fixation of mine) and the lyrical profundity of a young Bob Dylan. Not only have I been spinning this disc non-stop, but my eyes are firmly fixed on a date in the very near future when Johnny Flynn will roll through town on tour with Laura Marling.

Go here to check out a video of Johnny Flynn discussing A Larum

--Shelby Earl

 

 

Radiohead: In Rainbows, On Tour

ChordStrike is headed to the Radiohead show tonight. Has anyone else caught a performance on this tour? What can we expect from the set list? Are they playing three-hour sets with multiple encores, à la Pearl Jam, or 45-minute let-downs à la Björk? Regale us with stories!

If you haven't caught the tour and would like to, Craig's List abounds with both fairly priced and overpriced ticket offers in almost every city left on the tour. They are:

• 8/22/08 San Francisco, CA--Golden Gate Park
• 8/24/08 Los Angeles, CA--Hollywood Bowl
• 8/25/08 Los Angeles, CA--Hollywood Bowl
• 8/27/08 Chula Vista, CA--Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
• 8/28/08 Santa Barbara, CA--Santa Barbara Bowl

Get 'em while you can, and drop back in with highlights!

     --Jason Kirk