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Posts Tagged ‘Indie Rock’

new music from Nellie McKay & My Brightest Diamond

22nd Mar 12 (Thu) Leave a comment

Jazzy, piano-pop songstress Nellie McKay just got done with a stint of tour dates for her death-row musical review I Want To Live! (double Oregon show review here).

Now she’s off with a new show entitled SILENT SPRING – It’s Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature, a tribute to trailblazing environmentalist, Rachel Carson (Nellie made up as Rachel to the right).

She is currently amidst her Silent Spring residency at Feinstein’s in NYC.  The show runs March 20 to 31, 2012.  No word on if Silent Spring will make it out of NYC for a tour, but this seems similar to the path that I Want To Live! took… so, who knows, maybe we’ll see Silent Spring out West in late 2012/early 2013?

Listen to Nellie’s version of the song “Rio de Lua (Moon River)” below:

Shara Worden / My Brightest Diamond has recorded a guitar-based version of “I Have Never Loved Someone” for a limited release (1000 hand-numbered copies) as a 7″ through Holland-based Nowhere Fast Records.  For the B-side, Shara has sung Leonard Cohen’sBird On A Wire” with guitar accompaniment by Marc Ribot.  The album is set for release on Record Store Day (21 April 2012), and it will be available in Europe, the UK and the US markets.

~Dan – np: Boards of CanadaMusic Has the Right to Children

PHOTOS: Drive-By Truckers @ Skip’s CD World (Eugene, OR – 3/18/12)

18th Mar 12 (Sun) Leave a comment

“One third” of the alt-country indie rock group Drive-By Truckers (Patterson Hood & Jay Gonzalez) stopped Skip’s CD World in Eugene, Oregon, for a 30 minute in-store session ahead of their show tonight at McDonald Theatre

all pictures (cc) 2012 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)



Of the songs I could identify… “Betty Ford,” “Polly Anna,” “Old Timer’s Disease,” “Margo and Harold,” and “Mercy Buckets.”

Drive By Truckers: SITE / Facebook / Twitter

Skip’s CD WorldSITE / Facebook / Twitter

~Dan – np: The Blood BrothersCrimes

REVIEW: David Bazan @ House Show (Portland, OR – 2/15/12)

16th Feb 12 (Thu) Leave a comment

David Bazan is a busy man… he just got done with a 40+ date band tour in Nov/Dec 2011, and now he’s off and running with another near-40 date living room tour in Feb/Mar 2012.  His proximity (Seattle) to me (Oregon I-5 corridor) means I get to take in a lot of his shows.  Even though I just saw him with his band at Sam Bond’s in December, the living room tours are so fun and intimate.  I had to hit the Portland show last night…

He arrived about an hour late… first night of tour, and got stuck in traffic coming out of Seattle.  The good thing: hanging out in someone’s living room and kitchen sippin’ a beer is waaaaay better than hanging out at a stinky club playing LMFAO on loop.

After setting up his small cube amp, he kicked into his set…

Setlist: about 70 minutes

  • Cold Beer and Cigarettes
  • Wolves at the Door
  • Hard to Be
  • Q&A #1
  • Priests and Paramedics [Pedro the Lion]
  • Transcontinental [Pedro the Lion]
  • Shit Talker [Headphones]
  • Q&A #2
  • Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box [Radiohead]
  • Options [Pedro the Lion]
  • Virginia
  • Bearing Witness
  • Q&A #3
  • Strange Negotiations
    No Encore

A little shorter set than in the past, but I think that may have been due to running late.  The original “everyone needs to be out time” was 10pm, but he didn’t get going until 9:15pm.  So, for the rest of the living room tour, don’t judge the set length on Portland.  Despite the shorter set, I think it was a pretty good show… David was in a great mood and quite chatty as usual.

The somber take on “Wolves at the Door” was excellent… slower and a bit haunting compared to the version the band was belting out last year.  Another favorite was the return of the Radiohead cover that he played last year.  First three notes and goosebumps.  Such a great song.

There weren’t any new tunes played, which was a bit striking – as David is working on a new album, and it might even be done and to the label (Barsuk) by the beginning of May.  He said it could come out in August/September, but a lot of that depends on delivery to the label.

The Appropriate Linkage:

This was his first date of this tour… check out more tour dates below.

Next show for me… MEDGE (bellydancing) at Cozmic Pizza (2/17) and then post-rockers Talkdemonic at Sam Bond’s Garage (2/24).

~Dan – np: John Zorn’s The DreamersO’o

David Bazan – Winter 2012 House Show Tour

2/15 – Portland, OR
2/16 – Sacramento, CA
2/17 – Oakland, CA
2/18 – Los Angeles, CA
2/19 – Long Beach, CA
2/20 – Orange, CA
2/21 – Carlsbad, CA
2/22 – Phoenix, AZ
2/24 – Clinton, OK
2/25 – Denton, TX
2/26 – Dallas, TX
2/27 – Austin, TX
2/28 – Houston, TX
2/29 – Baton Rouge, LA
3/02 – Orlando, FL
3/03 – Jacksonville, FL
3/04 – Altanta, GA
3/05 – Nashville, TN
3/06 – Asheville, NC
3/07 – Charlotte, NC
3/09 – Charlottesville, VA
3/10 – Baltimore, MD
3/11 – Philadelphia, PA
3/12 – Brooklyn, NY
3/13 – Brooklyn, NY
3/14 – Boston, MA
3/15 – Buffalo, NY
3/16 – Cleveland, OH
3/17 – Three Rivers, MI
3/18 – Chicago, IL
3/19 – Madison, WI
3/21 – Minneapolis, MN
3/22 – Lincoln, NE
3/23 – Lawrence, KS
3/24 – Denver, CO
3/25 – Salt Lake City, UT
3/26 – Boise, ID
3/27 – Spokane, WA

Bad Veins “Dancing on TV” (video premiere)

8th Feb 12 (Wed) Leave a comment

Secret Chiefs 3 & Dengue Fever reviews/setlists/photos from the Eugene & Portland gigs to be
posted tomorrow (Thursday 2/9).  Go here for a teaser… now on to some music news…

As previously mentioned, Cincinnati indie power-pop duo Bad Veins have a new album coming out soon… April 24th – The Mess We’ve Made (Modern Outsider Records).  They just released their video for “Dancing on TV,” featuring a quaint 70s retro vision and the Bad Veins signature move of girl-meets-boy and missed connections… ’tis quite cute:

Pre-order for The Mess We’ve Made is coming soon, per the label.  Bad Veins are not hitting my coast this time… but here are some of their spring tour dates:

Bad Veins 2012 Tour Dates
03/19 – Denver, CO @ Hi Dive *

03/20 – Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room *
03/21 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater *
03/22 – Dekalb, IL @ The House *
03/23 – Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge *
03/24 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Lounge *
03/25 – Iowa City, IA @ The Blue Moose Tap *
03/27 – Bloomington, IN @ Bluebird Nightclub *
03/28 – Louisville, KY @ Headliner’s Music Hall *
03/29 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/ In *
03/30 – Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree *
03/31 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade *
04/02 – Tampa, FL @ Crowbar *
04/03 – Miami, FL @ Bardot *
04/04 – Orlando, FL @ The Social *
04/05 – Columbia, SC @ New Brookland Tavern *
04/07 – Durham, NC @ Motorco *
04/10 – Baltimore, MD @ Sonar *
04/11 – Pawtucket, RI @ The Met Café *
04/12 –  Hamden, CT @ The Space *
04/13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Milkboy
04/14 – Annapolis, MA @ The Whiskey
04/15 – Allston, MA @ Great Scott
04/16 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
05/31 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues ^
06/01 – Austin, TX @ Stubbs BBQ ^
06/04 – Orlando, FL @ Beacham Theater ^
06/05 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution ^
06/06 – Tampa, FL @ The Ritz ^
06/10 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade ^
06/11 – Carrboro,NC @ Cat’s Cradle ^
06/12 – Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live! ^

* = w/ We Were Promised Jetpacks
^ = w/ Two Door Cinema Club

~Dan – np: Sean LennonRosencrantz & Guildenstern are Undead

Wussy to embark on 2012 West Coast tour (needs help)

7th Feb 12 (Tue) Leave a comment

Cincinnati dusty indie rock quartet Wussy are going to hit the West Coast for the first time in June.  Their latest album, Strawberry, is EXCELLENT, and it is going to be available as a limited edition vinyl for Record Store Day 2012.  They’ve made a map for their tour in June, now they need our help…

We’ve just posted the itinerary for our first ever west coast tour in the events section here on FB. In case it wasn’t obvious, we do pretty much everything ourselves here in Wussyland and we need your help. We’ve never played most of these cities and whatever help you can give in finding appropriate venues and contacts we’d really appreciate it. In order to keep this a little more organized post your info in the event for the actual city we’re playing. We’re coming, we just need to figure out where!













~Dan – np: MadLoveWhite With Foam

REVIEW: Thee Silver Mt Zion Memorial Orchestra @ Mississippi Studios (Portland, OR – 2/4/12)

6th Feb 12 (Mon) Leave a comment

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

Montreal’s Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra appear to have an identity crisis.  They’ve been known as A Silver Mt. Zion, The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band with Choir, and Thee Silver Mountain Reveries.  For short hand, I’ll simply refer to them as Silver Mt Zion.  I’ll admit, I am new to their music… I got into them via ambient post-rock giants Godspeed You! Black Emperor, who share three members with Silver Mt Zion (singer/guitarist Efrim Menuck, violinist Sophie Trudeau, and bassist Thierry Amar).

More on Silver Mt Zion later…

The opener was a one-man band called Total Life.  He played a 25-minute, ambient/drone guitar & loop set (his clear guitar to the right).  It had a slow burn, then quickly morphed into a wall of sound.

For most opening gigs, this would not do, but for a post-something crowd, Total Life’s 25 minute experiment showed the audience’s patience and respect.  All bundled up, he was barely moving making the sounds, but sweat started dripping down his forehead and nose until the final note.

While GY!BE tend to stay in the ethereal, ambient, sweeping post-rock movement, Silver Mt Zion are a little more difficult to pin down.  They have many components similar to GY!BE, but they definitely write more in a “song” vein, with vocals.  Yet, I wouldn’t call them a singer-songwriter troupe.  The first two “songs” alone clocked in at 35 minutes.  They sweep, they go places, come back.  The vocals sometimes have choruses, and sometimes it more resembles lofty prayers… to whom? I do not know.

Their label describes their influences as “free jazz, community sight-singing, Minimalism and American folkways – still anchored to a punk-rock take on neo-classical and modern music tropes.”  If that narrows it down for you, well, you’re more forgiving of “genre-fication” than I.  Whatever you want to call them, they made great music on Saturday night at Mississippi Studios in Portland.

Setlist: about 90 minutes

  • 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons
  • There Is A Light
  • What We Loved Was Not Enough
  • Black Waters Blowed / Engine Broke Blues
  • Take Away These Early Grave Blues
  • Blind, Blind, Blind
  • Horses In The Sky
  • Encore: God Bless Our Dead Marines

more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

They only have a select number of dates on this tour.  Definitely go see them if you have the chance!  Check out more tour dates below.

Next shows for me… back-to-back Secret Chiefs 3 & Dengue Fever co-headlining in both Eugene (2/6 WOW Hall) and Portland (2/7 Dante’s).

~Dan – np: John ZornFilm Works IX: Trembling Before G-d

THEE SILVER MT ZION MEMORIAL ORCHESTRA PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2012 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Thee Silver Mt Zion — 2012 Jan/Feb Tour Dates

  • 31.01.12 Calgary, CAN The Republik
  • 02.02.12 Vancouver, CAN The Rickshaw Theatre
  • 03.02.12 Seattle, USA The Crocodile
  • 04.02.12 Portland, USA Mississippi Studios
  • 06.02.12 San Francisco, USA Great American Music Hall
  • 07.02.12 Santa Ana, CA, USA Constellation Room
  • 08.02.12 Los Angeles, USA Troubadour
  • 09.02.12 San Diego, USA Casbah
  • 10.02.12 Tucson, USA Club Congress
  • 12.02.12 Dallas, USA Sons of Hermann Hall
  • 13.02.12 Austin, USA The Mohawk
  • 14.02.12 New Orleans, USA One Eyed Jacks
  • 15.02.12 Birmingham, USA Bottletree
  • 16.02.12 Cincinnati, USA MOTR Pub
  • 17.02.12 Buffalo, USA Soundlab
  • 18.02.12 Ottawa, CAN First Baptist Church
  • 19.02.12 Montreal, CAN La Tulipe

Bad Veins – The Mess We’ve Made

25th Jan 12 (Wed) 1 comment

A new record from lo-fi, melodic indie rock duo Bad Veins is on the way…

The Mess We’ve Made hits April 24th.

Stay tuned at http://badveins.net/ and Facebook

~Dan – np: Frank ZappaJoe’s Garage

Damien Jurado – Static To Be Sold @ Pickathon (7″ release)

3rd Jan 12 (Tue) Leave a comment

The first session posted and the last session recorded from Pickathon 2011, Seattle-based singer-songwriter Damien Jurado and his new band take us through “Static To Be Sold” recorded by Live & Breathing in the Pickathon Pumphouse:

 

Per Damien, the song won’t be on the record, but will be out on a 7″ vinyl…



On February 21, Secretly Canadian will be releasing the upcoming Damien Jurado LP, Maraqopa, another collaboration with musician/producer and Cottage Grove-Oregon resident, Richard Swift.

Go HERE for more info on Maraqopa.  You can pre-order it HERE on CD or vinyl.  There’s also a free mp3 download of “Nothing is the News” here:

~Dan – np: WussyFuneral Dress

REVIEW: David Bazan Band @ Sam Bond’s Garage (Eugene, OR – 12/14/11)

15th Dec 11 (Thu) 3 comments

If anything is certain in life, the move from the Midwest to the West Coast has been good for my David Bazan tour in-take.  Being only a short hike from his homebase in Seattle, we get the treat of the former Pedro the Lion frontman in our neck of the woods several times a year.

Many times, he trots out on his own… which is usually more intimate.  But the chance to see Bazan with a backing band shouldn’t be passed up.  He’s really able to let the rock come forth in his songs.  His doubtful, questioning, reflective lyricism work just as well behind a dirty, loud guitar as it does with just him and a guitar in a living room.

Last night at Sam Bond’s, after delightful indie-rock quartet opener Shay Roselip’s short set, Bazan came on to do what I thought was just sound check.  Nope… boom goes the dynamite, his mighty three-piece kicked into a tune from Pedro the Lion’s Control… “Second Best.”

Setlist: ~85 mins

  • Second Best [Pedro the Lion]
  • Wolves at the Door
  • Bless This Mess
  • How I Remember
  • I Do [PTL]
  • Of Up and Coming Monarchs [PTL]
  • Q&A #1
  • Gas and Matches [Headphones]
  • Eating Paper
  • Magazine [PTL]
  • Climb That Hill [Tom Petty]
  • Bearing Witness
  • Q&A #2
  • Virginia
  • People
  • Cold Beer and Cigarettes
  • Big Trucks [PTL]
  • Criticism as Inspiration [PTL]
  • Q&A #3 with lifetime pass drawing
  • Strange Negotiations
    No encore

The setlist was similar to other shows on this tour… a great mix of Pedro the Lion tunes, a Headphones tune, a Tom Petty cover and a lot from his two solo albums & EP.  Strange Negotiations, this years effort, will definitely be somewhere on my Best of 2011 list (still formulating).

Being the last stop of the 40+ date tour across the country, his voice showed some wear – especially on the “right on” part of “Cold Beer and Cigarettes.”  He powered through it, dropping the notes to a more suitable weary-throat range.  His band, made up of Alex Westcoat on drums and Andy Fitts on bass, blistered away with David.  Despite the aforementioned vocal strain, their musical chops were evident last night.

They were driving through the night to make it home to Seattle by sun-up.  If you missed them on this tour, David hinted at a new album being done by March 1st, with it coming out sometime in 2012.  So the chance of more tours in 2012?  High possibility!

The Appropriate Linkage:

This was the last date of the tour… see other dates below.  I’m sure David will be out again in the Spring…

Next show for me… Cellophoria private house concert on 12/18.

~Dan – np: Marketa IrglovaAnar

David Bazan + Band Tour – Fall 2011

11/01 Tue – Spokane WA - A Club
11/02 Wed - Boise ID - Neurolux
11/04 Fri - Colorado Springs - The Black Sheep
11/05 Sat - Lawrence KS - Bottleneck
11/06 Sun - Omaha NE - The Waiting Room
11/07 Mon - Iowa City IA - Blue Moose Taphouse (upstairs)
11/09 Wed - Milwaukee WI - Cactus Club
11/10 Thu - Indianapolis IN - White Rabbit Cabaret
11/11 Fri - Newport KY - Southgate House
11/12 Sat - Grand Rapids MI - Ladies Literary Club
11/13 Sun - Pittsburgh PA - Brillobox
11/14 Mon - Hoboken NJ - Maxwell’s
11/15 Tue - Baltimore MD - Ottobar
11/17 Thu - Charlottesville VA - The Southern
11/18 Fri - Norfolk VA - Jewish Mother
11/19 Sat - Charlotte NC - Evening Muse
11/20 Sun - Columbia SC - New Brookland Tavern
11/21 Mon - Knoxville TN - Pilot Light
11/26 Sat - Athens GA - Caledonia Lounge
11/27 Sun - Nashville TN - Mercy Lounge
11/29 Tue - St Augustine FL - The Original Cafe Eleven
11/30 Wed - Tampa FL - Crowbar
12/01 Thu - Tallahassee FL - Engine Room
12/02 Fri - Oxford MS - Proud Larry’s
12/03 Sat - Memphis TN - Hi Tone
12/04 Sun - Norman OK - Opolis
12/06 Tue - Albuquerque NM - Low Spirits
12/07 Wed - Tucson AZ - Solar Culture
12/08 Thu - Las Vegas NV - Beauty Bar
12/09 Fri - Costa Mesa CA - Constellation Room
12/10 Sat - Santa Cruz - Crepe Place
12/11 Sun - Sacramento CA - Blue Lamp
12/12 Mon - Arcata CA - Jambalaya
12/14 Wed - Eugene OR - Sam Bond’s Garage

MBD (Portland 11/6) photos posted…

9th Nov 11 (Wed) Leave a comment

photos now posted from My Brightest Diamond’s show at Mississippi Studios (Portland, OR) on Sunday, November 6th…

http://pacificlectic.com/2011/11/07/mbd-pdx2011/

~Dan

REVIEW: My Brightest Diamond @ Mississippi Studios (Portland, OR – 11/6/11)

7th Nov 11 (Mon) 5 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

I can’t go on enough about how much I love My Brightest Diamond and how much I love her newest album, All Things Will Unwind.  She hasn’t planned a full tour under this record (yet), but when I saw she was playing a couple one-offs in Seattle and Portland, I jumped out of my chair.

While hitting both shows in a scenario like this isn’t uncommon for me, I showed some restraint and only hit the Portland show…

The opener, Netherfriends, is currently in Portland this week for a “residency” of sorts.  Several shows at the Mississippi Studios and two DJ sets (one at Aalto Lounge and one at Beech Street Parlour).  He was a veritable one-man rockfolktronic wrecking crew.  After his first song, I wasn’t sure what to expect… he powered through some technical difficulties and ripped through 35-40 minutes of fun energy.

Very danceable, very off-kilter, a little spastic, but grounded in melody.  Sort of like Holy Fuck, if they were a one-man band.  Beatboxing, electronic drums, loops, Harry Nilsson covers (see below).

What’s more to love?  Check him out (free downloads here)!

Since it was billed as a “Shara Worden solo show,” I expected a more stripped down My Brightest Diamond set.  Oh, was a wrong… she came out initially in costume (mask, fabric bubbles on her shirt) and danced along to a pre-recorded instrumental number, then immediately took off her mask and started in with the lead-off track, “We Added It Up.”  She donned the mask again for “Be Brave“…

She mixed up the set a bit with ukulele, keyboards, pre-recorded drums and strings, acoustic guitar, rockin’ electric guitar, mbira (below), and a hand-held harp-like instrument.

Setlist: just over an hour

  • Instrumental #1 with dance
  • We Added It Up
  • Everything is in Line
  • Golden Star
  • Escape Routes
  • Instrumental #2 with dance
  • Be Brave
  • She Does Not Brave the War
  • There’s a Rat
  • High Low Middle
  • Apples
  • Feeling Good [Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley]
  • I Have Never Loved Someone [for her son]
  • Inside A Boy
  • Encore: Be My Husband [Nina Simone]

My favorite songs of the night were “Be Brave” and “Inside A Boy,” but honestly, I enjoyed it all intently.  Even the almost-too-cutesy-for-meThere’s a Rat” was brought to new heights for me with Shara’s adorable story about her rehabbing her “fixer-upper” that she and her husband recently bought in Detroit.

more photos below

I hope she does a bigger/longer tour for the record… but if she doesn’t Portlanders & Seattlites can count themselves blessed.

The Appropriate Linkage:

Next show for me… Puscifer tonight (11/7) in Seattle, then a three-day run by Peter Mulvey (11/10 @ Sam Bonds in Eugene, 11/11 @ private house concert in Creswell, 11/12 @ Majestic in Corvallis).

~Dan – Peter Mulvey & David GoodrichNine Days Wonder

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND (SHARA WORDEN)
& THE NETHERFRIENDS PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Wussy – Strawberry

4th Oct 11 (Tue) 1 comment

I don’t miss Cincinnati much.  I do miss a few choice eateries (Melt, Gajah Wong, Tellers, Lemongrass, tons of Indian) and I do miss being able to see some of my favorite bands play (Over the Rhine, Ric Hordinski, Ash Peacock, Ryan Adcock, Kim Taylor, Ellery, Jason Ludwig/Noctaluca, Wussy… the list could go on for a long time).

Well, I’m happy as a doggie in a strawberry field, because the aforementioned Wussy just put out their fourth full-length studio album – Strawberry.  Wussy’s a fantastic rock quartet made up of Chuck Cleaver, Lisa Walker, Mark Messerly, and Joe Klug.  They write catchy, poppy choruses and meld it perfectly with Midwest Americana-meets-indie-rock grit (or “Midwestern drone” as their press says).

Vocal duties are traded off with Chuck (of the Ass Ponys) and Lisa (of the Magic Words… and of my college days).  The samples I’ve heard so far as right in line with what I love about them.  Go hear for yourself (the entire album is up streaming with a few FREE downloads), and then pick up a copy for yourself on bandcamp (mp3 download or limited CD).

http://wussy.bandcamp.com/album/strawberry

FYI, the CDs are limited to only 100… and I’ve got one coming to me in Oregon, so grab one of the other 99 before it’s too late.  I can’t recommend Wussy, this album, and their prior albums enough.  A+++

Other links for Wussy:
Webpage / FB / MySp / Twit

~Dan – np: Steven WilsonGrace for Drowning

REVIEW: David Bazan @ House Show (Eugene, OR – 9/29/11)

30th Sep 11 (Fri) 2 comments

Wave 2 of the David Bazan 2011 Living Room tour… I missed the last swipe through in Corvallis, but was destined to see him in my home town again.  It was held at the same house from 2009 (that review here).  Thank you so much to the super great hosts!

No opener this time.  David kicked into it just after 8pm with the lead off track to his new album, Strange Negotiations.  It’s a great record, and rumor has it that he’s working on a new one already – but there was no mention of that last night…

Setlist: ~80 mins

  • Wolves at the Door
  • Cold Beer and Cigarettes
  • June 18, 1976 (Pedro the Lion)
  • Hard to Be
  • Q&A 1
  • Foregone Conclusions (Pedro the Lion)
  • Shit Talker (Headphones)
  • Virginia
  • Q&A 2 on old blues guitarists
  • Fewer Broken Pieces
  • Slow and Steady Wins the Race (Pedro the Lion)
  • Q&A 3
  • Transcontinental (Pedro the Lion)
  • Q&A 4
  • Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box (Radiohead cover for Elliott Smith)
  • Won’t Let Go
  • Curse Your Branches
  • Q&A 5
  • Strange Negotiations
  • No Encore

David’s playing Sam Bond’s Garage in about 2 1/2 months with a full band (Dec 14th for those wanting to know); so Eugene will be lucky to see his beardy face grace our presence once again.

The Appropriate Linkage:

Check out the now-almost-all-done tour dates below.  Woodinville, Washington tonight – then he’s back to his own bed until the band tour hits in the late Fall…

Next show for me… Melt Banana at WOW Hall on 10/1.

~Dan – np: Frank Zappa – Feeding The Monkies At Ma Maison

Bazan’s 2nd wave of Living Room Tour Dates 2011

Mon 9/5 – Bozeman, MT
Tues 9/6 – Salt Lake City, UT
Wed 9/7 – Fort Collins, CO
Thurs 9/8 – Topeka, KS
Fri 9/9 – Winona, MN
Sat 9/10 – Wheaton, IL
Sun 9/11 – Champaign, IL
Mon 9/12 – Lexington, KY
Tues 9/13 – Scott Depot, WV
Wed 9/14 – Wilmington, OH
Thurs 9/15 – Cleveland, OH
Fri 9/16 – Rochester, NY
Sat 9/17 – Wilkes-Barre, PA
Sun 9/18 – Williamstown, NJ
Mon 9/19 – Oakton, VA
Tues 9/20 – Charlottesville, VA
Wed 9/21 – Simpsonville, SC
Thurs 9/22 – Birmingham, AL
Fri 9/23 – Shreveport, LA
Sat 9/24 – Tulsa, OK
Mon 9/26 – Payson, AZ
Tues 9/27 – Aliso Viejo, CA
Wed 9/28 – Santa Rosa, CA
Thurs 9/29 – Eugene, OR
Fri 9/30 – Woodinville, WA

My Brightest Diamond – Be Brave single/video & Tour

23rd Sep 11 (Fri) Leave a comment

My Brightest Diamond’s new album, All Things Will Unwind, is now available for pre-order on Asthmatic Kitty (CD / LP) or Amazon (CD / LP).  It drops October 18th in the U.S.  The lead-off single, “Be Brave,” is out on iTunes with two remixes.  The part in-studio, part Shara being trippy in masks video is below…

Directed by longtime MBD collaborator Murat Eyuboglu, the video captures the studio recording of the song with a bit of performance from frontwoman Shara Worden and dancer Jessica Dessner. Emilliner created the facsinators, Lake Simons made the mask, and Noelle Marinelli did makeup. Our good friend DM Stith provides background vocals. Read more info about the song here.

She also has a  few tour dates pulled together for the fall (not necessarily a complete listing thus far):

~Dan – np: BucketheadCaptian Eo’s Voyage

My Brightest Diamond @ MusicNow 2011 (video)

20th May 11 (Fri) 5 comments

If you’re like me and you missed My Brightest Diamond + yMusic at the Cincinnati-based MusicNow Festival 2011, here’s a neato 8+ 4+ minute video from the performance…


video from A Story Told Well

“We Added It Up” redacted
“Reaching Through”
(thanks comment people
for the 2nd song name)

Now, get out there and enjoy the sunshine!

~Dan – np: RadioheadHail to the Thief

MusicNOW Festival 2011 (kicks off today!)

13th May 11 (Fri) Leave a comment

Today is the first performance in the amazingly stacked MusicNOW Festival 2011 line-up in Cincinnati, Ohio. My Brightest Diamond kicks off the fest at Memorial Hall.  The National play Cincinnati’s Music Hall later this weekend. Click the reblog below or hit musicnowfestival.org for more info.

Read my review of My Brightest Diamond, Sufjan Stevens, Amiina, and more from MusicNOW Fest 2007.

~Dan

MusicNOW Festival 2011 If you live in or near Cincinnati Ohio, this is a fantastic music festival for you – MusicNOW Festival 2011.  I’m officially jealous, as I won’t be able to make it out this year.  I went in 2007 when I still lived in Cincinnati, and it was amazing.  Trust me, I thought about going back for this year’s line-up… The National / Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) / Sharon Van Etten / Richard Reed Parry / Little Scream / yMusic / Owen Pallett / Meg … Read More

via mainly music meanderings

Searching for Elliott Smith (+ 5 uncovered songs)

6th May 11 (Fri) Leave a comment

24bit just posted some news about the Elliott Smith documentary Searching for Elliott Smith.  It’s set to screen at the Los Angeles New Wave International Film Festival (Sat 5/7 @ 2:30pm).  It’ll feature a Q&A with the filmmaker (Gil Reyes) and Elliott’s girlfriend at the time of his death – Jennifer Chiba.  It shows again on Sun 5/8 @ 8pm (no Q&A).

The synopsis of the documentary:

The first feature-length documentary about the greatest singer-songwriter of his generation. Elliott Smith’s intensely intimate songs helped popularize lo-fi, indie-rock: A traditionally underground genre until Smith’s mainstream effort ‘Miss Misery’ took Hollywood by surprise. But even after an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, he managed to fly mostly under the radar. And Smith wanted it that way. After his death in 2003, Smith’s peers understandably avoided the media. Granting very few print interviews… and NO on-camera interviews. Until now. From his high school days as a National Merit Scholar… to his early work in the Portland rock band, ‘Heatmiser’… to critical acclaim… to his mysterious death at the age of 34. We learn the dark motivations behind a musical genius. And discover how psychic pain can also produce timeless art. Appearances by filmmaker, Gus Van Sant who chose Smith’s music for the movie, ‘Good Will Hunting’. Also interviewed is Elliott’s fiancee, Jennifer Chiba. Chiba talks about the fight leading up to Elliott’s death and the LAPD’s ‘open investigation’ into possible homicide.

http://www.searchingforelliottsmith.com/

Go to the 24Bit page for five unreleased lo-fi YouTube’d Elliott Smith songs… tentatively titled: She Won’t Look at Me,  Where I Get It From,  Like a Cop,  I’m Gonna Get Crushed, and  Shiva Opens Her Arms.

~Dan – PortisheadPortishead

Shara Worden on Prefuse73′s new album

29th Apr 11 (Fri) Leave a comment

I should change the name of this blog to something to do with Shara Worden (aka My Brightest Diamond).  She took some time off to have a baby, but now it seems like she’s popping up all over the indie-rock landscape.

This time, she lends her golden voice to the Prefuse 73 track “The Only Hand To Hold” from their just released album, The Only She Chapters.  The song is available now as a FREE mp3 download over on their website.

The album (mp3/wav/flac/CD/LP) is available to purchase at BLEEP.

~Dan – np: Porcupine TreeIn Absentia

New Music April…

28th Apr 11 (Thu) Leave a comment

Sorry for not having much new to post as of late.  I did recently get the following CDs… all of them great in their own right, and all of them worth checking out!  Click on the album covers for mp3 sound samples.

Foo FightersWasting Light
melodic hard power rock

Explosions in the SkyTake Care, Take Care, Take Care
moving post-rock, brilliant packaging

Shara Worden & CoLetters to Distant Cities
short & sweet indie rock, spoken word

~Dan – np: Foo FightersWasting Light


David Bazan – Strange Negotiations (2011) & Tour

30th Mar 11 (Wed) Leave a comment

David Bazan (Pedro the Lion) has a new solo album coming out… it now has album art, a release date, and a summer tour planned…

Strange Negotiations
May 24, 2011

http://davidbazan.com/

Bazan & Band 2011 Summer Tour

  • 06/01 Wed – Salt Lake City UT @ Kilby Court
  • 06/02 Thu – Denver CO @ Hi Dive
  • 06/03 Fri – Kansas City MO @ Record Bar
  • 06/04 Sat – Council Bluffs IA @ Westfair Amphitheater w/ Bright Eyes
  • 06/06 Mon – St Paul MN @ Turf Club
  • 06/08 Wed – Chicago IL @ Lincoln Hall
  • 06/10 Fri – St Louis MO @ Old Rock House
  • 06/11 Sat – Columbus OH @ The Basement
  • 06/12 Sun – Akron OH @ Musica
  • 06/13 Mon – Pontiac MI @ Pike Room
  • 06/14 Tue – Toronto ON @ Lee’s Palace
  • 06/15 Wed – Ottawa ON @ Maverick’s
  • 06/17 Fri – Ithaca NY @ The Haunt
  • 06/18 Sat – Hamden CT @ The Space
  • 06/19 Sun – Cambridge MA @ TT the Bears
  • 06/22 Wed – New York NY @ Bowery Ballroom
  • 06/23 Thu – Philadelphia PA @ TBD
  • 06/24 Fri – Washington DC @ Black Cat
  • 06/25 Sat – Chapel Hill NC @ Local 506
  • 06/27 Mon – Orlando FL @ The Social
  • 06/28 Tue – Atlanta GA @ The Earl
  • 06/29 Wed – Birmingham AL @ The Bottletree
  • 06/30 Thu – New Orleans LA @ One Eyed Jacks
  • 07/01 Fri – Baton Rouge LA @ Spanish Moon
  • 07/02 Sat – Houston TX @ Fitzgerald’s
  • 07/03 Sun – Dallas TX @ TBD
  • 07/05 Tue – Austin TX @ ACL Satellite Sets
  • 07/07 Thu – Phoenix AZ @ Sail Inn
  • 07/08 Fri – San Diego CA @ Casbah
  • 07/09 Sat – Long Beach CA @ TBD
  • 07/10 Sun – Los Angeles CA @ Troubadour
  • 07/12 Tue – Visalia @ Cellar Door
  • 07/13 Wed – San Francisco CA @ The Independent
  • 07/15 Fri – Portland OR @ Mississippi Studios

~Dan – np: B Lan 3Music for Hunting and Mapping

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