Portland’s newest art punk band, Jaguar Love, got much love from a sold out crowd at the Vic Theatre last Friday in Chicago. Undoubtedly, the majority of the audience was comprised of dedicated fanatics of The Faint ready to get their dance on, however, Jaguar Love delivered the goods with grooves that provided a good warm-up.
Over fifteen years ago, quiet indie band Bedhead began making gorgeously hushed music, with restrained instrumentation and hushed vocals that made them a staple in indie music circles. Sadly, though, the band called it quits in 1998, leaving its two band leaders – brothers Matt and Bubba Kadane – bored and longing for something to do with their time. They eventually formed a new creative outlet, The New Year, and released their first full-length three years after Bedhead’s last record.
On October 7th, German experimentalists The Notwist will release “Boneless” on 7″. The single – which includes the album version of “Boneless” from this year’s The Devil, You + Me and an exclusive remix version by Animal Collective’s Panda Bear – will be release in physical format only from Domino Records.
Well, summer is almost over, and while that means shorter days, longer nights, and cooler temperatures, there is still one last hurrah before the last glow of summer officially fades. We’re talking, of course, about Bumbershoot, Seattle’s music and arts festival.
Mavis Staples, an icon of resistance and former lead singer of the Staples Sisters, performed a moving concert on June 23rd in Chicago that has since been recorded and is set for release on November 4th, aka Election Day. Entitled Mavis Staples Live: Hope at the Hideout (Anti-), the chosen release date is not a mere coincidence. Staples has ties to the upcoming election, having attended the same Chicago church as Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, who Staples has described as, “in a way, so much like Dr. King.” Also, Obama’s message of “change” and “hope” are standards in Staples’ music. The live album showcases Staples’ live rendition of the protest classic “We Shall Not Be Moved,” a song often sung during sit-ins at restaurants in the South in the 1960s.
The ’59 Sound (Sideonedummy), the latest album by The Gaslight Anthem debuted at #70 on the Billboard Hot 200 Charts. After a whirlwind of publicity including being featured on the cover of Kerrang! magazine, the band’s strong debut is no surprise. Currently on tour throughout the UK, the band is scheduled to perform throughout the United States this fall with such acts as Rise Against, Alkaline Trio and Thrice.
On the heels of their recent stint this summer during the Vans Warped Tour, Hollywood by way of Denmark rockabilly punks Horrorpops have announced a new fall tour entitled “All Hallows Eve Tour 2008.” The tour is in support of their third release, Kiss Kiss Kill Kill, an album based around a film noir throwback. Fans should look forward to an atypical concert experience, as frontwoman Patricia Day along with Kim Nekroman on guitar and Henrik Niedermeier on drums ensure the “All Hallows Eve Tour 2008” is a must-see event.
By the time San Francisco-by-way-of-Florida metal duo Black Cobra took to the stage late Thursday night, roughly a dozen air drummers and air guitarists clamored for space in the front two rows where on cue, they unselfconsciously began to play along with the band with the fervor as appropriate for a tent revival as a rock’n’roll show. While I couldn’t bring myself to share in the miming, I could appreciate the sentiment. Live, drummer Rafael Martinez (who also plays bass guitar for Acid King) guitarist Jason Landrian’s expertly played mixture of doom and punk comes to life, a different beast than the muddier version that rears its head on the group’s recordings such as Feather and Stone (At A Loss).
17-piece Athens, GA based rock ‘n’ roll collective, Dark Meat have just announced a 21-date US tour. Setting off aboard their 1972 GMC coach bus, the band will cumulate their tour on October 31, bringing their psychedelic, southern-styled rock to New Orleans for a special Halloween appearance.
I’ve been conducting a series of interviews with Dick Zigun, and I’m going to give you just a taste of what we’ve been discussing. If you’re a fan of New York burlesque, you might find the timeline interesting; if you’re not a fan, you may at least finally understand why New York Burlesque is so far from being simply recreationist.
After the successful release of their debut album, Saturnalia, veteran rockers Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan (Afghan Whigs and Screaming Trees) of The Gutter Twins are set to release a brand new EP entitled Adorata and featuring reinterpretations of songs by the likes of Vetiver, Jose Gonzales, and Primal Scream. The eight-song EP will include The Gutter Twins‘ take on songs such as “Belle” by Vetiver, “Flow Like a River” by Eleven, and “Down the Line” by Jose Gonzales.
Ra Ra Riot have come a long way in just two years. After making a name for themselves as one of the most energetic live bands in Syracuse, New York, releasing a self-titled EP, and raising some eyebrows at CMJ festival, the quintet seemed destined for stardom. Sadly, though, along the way, they lost drummer, co-songwriter, co-vocalist and founder John Ryan Pike when he tragically drowned in 2007. But where many bands might folded under the new-found malaise, Ra Ra Riot instead persevered, making do with what they had, and created The Rhumb Line (Barsuk) one of this year’s best indie-pop debut albums.