Concert Announcement: St. Vincent

It's been a long time since I've done one of these worth noting. St. Vincent will making an appearance in Lawrence on February 15th at The Bottleneck. St. Vincent is Annie Clark who has previously played with The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens touring band. Annie herself is quite accomplished in here solo career as St. Vincent though. 2007's Marry Me (which is extra noteworthy since it's name was taken from the greatest TV show ever, Arrested Development) and this years Actor are both worth checking out.

Here's the video for 'Marrow' from the album Actor:



St. Vincent Myspace

-Matt

New Music: Dead Man's Bones

It's certainly an interesting enough back-story: Actor Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields form the band after canning plans to do a musical monster/ghost love story for the stage. When they realized how much money the whole thing would cost they decide skip the play and keep going with the music part of it. To be honest, whenever an actor decides to start making music, it's usually horrible. There are certain exceptions (although I'm having problems thinking of many other than She & Him and, of course, This) but overall it's pretty consistent. When details began to surface about the Dead Man's Bones project and the addition of the Silverlake Children's Choir it began to sound more and more intriguing.

I'll admit the band name, album concept and early October release date make it all seem a little like a holiday album. Something that will be fun to bust out a few times before Halloween each year. It will be that album too and there is nothing wrong with that. After spinning it at least a dozen times in the past few days I'm seeing that after the cuteness wears off there are some fantastic songs in here. The Children's Choir will really be a make or break point for a lot of people on this album. I was hesitant about a choir too until I actually heard it. The kids really do add a lot to the songs and they never overshadow any of the album.

I've included a few of the best songs below from the record. You'll see the band is a bit all over the map with their style. 'My Body's A Zombie For You' sounds like Arcade Fire making a Halloween tune and should be on every Halloween mix from here on out. Dead Man's Bones proves to be more than an actor delving into the music world as Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields really did end up putting out an overall great album from start to finish. If you want to get this, make sure you get it before Halloween, but I'd imagine it will get plenty of play afterward as well.

My Body's A Zombie For You:



In the Room Where You Sleep:



Pa Pa Power:



-Matt

Concert Announcement: Another (Promising) Buzz Show

I feel bad plugging another 96.5 The Buzz sponsored show two posts in a row, because frankly, the station sucks. Other than the two hours each Saturday that Robert Moore has his show and Resurrection Sunday, the station isn't worth listening to. But they are having another "Halloweenie Roast" concert this year and the lineup is strange but intriguing: Jet, Flock of Seagulls, The Raveonettes, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears and White Rabbits.

Yes, Flock of Seagulls...



Now if you know me then you know me then you know I love the music from the 80's and not in a cheeky, ironic way either. I really think that the music of that decade will be looked back on as being as good as any other decade. Flock of Seagulls are a perfect example, most people only know 'I Ran' and they should. It's a fantastic and iconic pop tune but it's not nearly as good as one of my favorite songs of the decade, 'Space Age Love Song'. Watch the video for 'Space Age Love Song' below, although the video hasn't aged very well, the song has and it's is a way better Flock of Seagulls song then the more famous 'I Ran'. I originally was just going to post the audio, but 80's videos are so fantastically ridiculous that I included the video too.



Enough about A Flock of Seagulls because most of the rest of the lineup is just as interesting.

First off is headliner Jet, who are fucking horrible. Check out what may be the greatest Pitchfork review of all time for Jet's sophomore album (Possibly NSFW).

Also appearing are:

• The Raveonettes: A fun boy-girl duo that I've never seen live but have always enjoyed on record.
• Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears: These guys make new soul/funk music that sounds 40 years old and in a good way.
• White Rabbits: A great indie rock band written about here many times before.

The concert is Wednesday October 28th outside and inside of The Beaumont Club. The headliners below will be playing outside while a few different local bands will play inside. Tickets are approximately 10 bucks and go on sale tomorrow morning. I'll be there and I'll be leaving after A Flock of Seagulls are done playing.

-Matt

Upcoming (Free) Show: Passion Pit This Thursday

Despite the crap that actually flows over their airwaves most of the time, 96.5 The Buzz actually gets some pretty good bands to free shows in KC. This time Passion Pit will be playing an all ages show ($5 charge for minors) outside at The Beaumont Club on Thursday night. Local bands Audiovox and The Roman Numerals will open along with some band called Owl City. Passion Pit have hit the relative big time as far as indie bands go. They seem to be at that level of notoriety where they might get booked for SNL. Also, if you don't remember that far back, Kevin wrote about them over a year ago HERE.

Originally I read the doors opened at 6, but this is what's on the Buzz's website:

8pm - Doors
9pm- Audiovox
9:35pm - Roman Numerals
10:25pm - Owl City
11:25pm - Passion Pit

Here's a couple of Passion Pit videos in case you need motivation for this show. Both these songs can be found off their full length album, Manners. First is a live performance of 'Sleepyhead' from pitchfork.tv:



Here's the video for 'The Reeling':




-Matt

Video: Monsters of Folk on Conan

Although it's one of my least favorite tracks on a promising collaboration between Jim James (My Morning Jacket), M. Ward and Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), it's still pretty cool seeing all three of them on stage together. The rest of the album is still sinking in but the lead single 'Say Please' is a little to Willburyish for me. Recorded under the name Monsters of Folk, the album is out as of yesterday, so pick it up.

'Say Please' on Conan:




-Matt

RIP: Jim Carroll

Rest in Piece, Jim.



Drive-By Truckers cover:



-Matt

Photos: Ben Nichols (Lucero) Solo Acoustic Show

Last night I caught Ben Nichols of Lucero at a solo acoustic performance at 1819 Central Gallery in KC. Lucero was in town opening for Cross Canadian Ragweed at The Crossroads and although I wasn't able to make it to the show, I did catch the pre-show solo performance and I'm really glad I did. Ben came in with a guitar and a handle of Jameson and took requests for almost an hour in the corner of the Art Gallery. It was a fantastic performance and the lady friend was able to catch a few snapshots of Ben on my phone.

-Matt

Upcoming Show: Murder By Death @ The Bottleneck Saturday Night

If you've never heard of the Indiana band Murder By Death and are fan of the music promoted on this site, there is a good chance you are missing out on your new favorite band. Their sound could be described as the perfect mixture of Punk-Rock and Americana, with one of the most engaging vocalists around today.

Here's a better description from the bands record label, Vagrant:

"If you're not yet familiar with MURDER BY DEATH, the best way to describe them is probably "Americana-noir." Their latest album, Red of Tooth and Claw is like a modern version of Homer's Odyssey where the characters aren't as noble. Frontman Adam Turla's voice has been likened to Nick Cave and Johnny Cash, and he's backed by a talented band (including a cellist!) that fully understand how to convey the grit and drama of the Old West through their music. Any fan will tell you they're absolutely captivating live, very in tune with their instruments and their craft. Since the early 2008 release of Red of Tooth and Claw, they've done several headlining tours (both in the US and overseas; the most recent US tour this past spring was mostly sold out), they're working on a split 7" covers series with a number of artists (so far, Amanda Palmer, William Elliott Whitmore and O'Death have shared wax with them for the project, with more to come), they've also begun writing a new record. And though it's not a Vagrant release, they've also worked with sci-fi/fantasy/horror writer Jeff VanderMeer to create an instrumental soundtrack to go along with his forthcoming novel Finch. Also, fun fact: their song "Comin' Home" is featured in a recent trailer for the new Quentin Tarantino film Inglorious Basterds. TONS of cool stuff going on in that camp, and I urge you to check them out if you haven't heard them yet: http://www.myspace.com/murderbydeath"

I had the chance to check them out a few years ago at the Bleeding Kansas festival and although I hadn't heard of them at the time, their performance led me to check out anything they had put to record. Their most recent effort, 2008's Red of Tooth and Claw, is a great place to start.

They'll be at The Bottleneck in Lawrence tomorrow night and I can only imagine they've gotten even better live in the years since I've seen them. This is definitely a show not to miss.

-Matt

Concert Announcement: Dirty Projectors, Jason Isbell, The Swell Season, more...

Quite a few concerts announced since the last time I threw one of these up here. Dirty Projectors get top billing since Kevin (who use to write for this blog back every once in a while) is a big fan of their most recent effort Bitta Orca. I'm kind of on the fence about it but I think it's got a few great songs on it. Either way they'll be in Lawrence on November 9th at The Granada, it should be a good one.

Other big announcements include Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, The Swell Season, Meat Puppets, Art Brut and Passion Pit. See below for the recent shows and the full list is still RIGHT HERE.

10/01 Passion Pit/Owl City/Roman Numerals @ The Back Yard at the Beaumont, KC (Free Show)
10/02 Moby (DJ Set) @ The Beaumont Club, KC
10/07 Sian Alice Group @ The Record Bar, KC
10/30 Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit @ The Bottleneck, Lawrence
11/02 Fu Manchu @ The Jackpot, Lawrence11/04 Bouncing Souls @ The Beumont Club, KC
11/06 Meat Puppets/Grant Hart (from Husker Du) @ The Record Bar, KC
11/07 Art Brut @ The Bottleneck, Lawrence
11/09 Dirty Projectors @ The Granada, Lawrence
11/13 The King Khan & BBQ Show @ The Jackpot, Lawrence
11/21 Electric Six @ The Riot Room, KC
11/23 Minus The Bear @ The Granada, Lawrence
11/30 The Swell Season @ The Uptown, KC


-Matt

Upcoming Show: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

In one of the big surprises of the year so far, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros have put out the most enjoyable new album I've heard in the past month or so. The LA band's debut Up From Below is getting press as a mix between Arcade Fire and the Mama's and Papa's. It reminds me a little bit more of I'm From Barcelona, if not only because of the massive number of band members. Either way it's a fantastic debut album and lucky for all of us they will be in Lawrence at the Jackpot Music Hall on Tuesday, September 8th. If you don't believe me on how catchy this group is, check out what are quickly becoming two of my favorite tracks of the year.


Home:



40 Day Dream:



-Matt

Tickets for Springsteen? Pricey!

Our good friend Matt recently reported to me that he spent triple digits per ticket for the upcoming show. As he pointed out, he'd rather spend the money and get great seats for his first time seeing The Boss, and that is valid. Plus, it's doubtful you'll walk away from a Springsteen show feeling cheated. "You know, he just didn't seem to put much into it. Reall went through the motions."

After seven months of blankness, this information finally sparked a creative idea for another post, albeit a short one: What band or artist would you pay triple digits to see? This actually has me hard-pressed, as I'm a tight-ass. I can't off the bat fire off someone without thinking, unlike Matt, who will share it in his comment. And I'm not talking about bands that are gone, or people who are dead. I mean, right now.

My initial knee-jerk reaction would be the surviving members of Led Zeppelin, but I already saw Page/Plant in 1995, and nothing can top that, even without John Paul Jones not being there (and that was cheap- only 40 bucks or so at Kemper). After that, I don't know. Maybe I've lost a little passion to see people live, but I'm so used to club shows and 20 dollar tickets I can't fathom paying over a 100, and most of the bands I want to see tend to be at that club level.

Maybe I need to paint a certain scenario, like a big band playing at an intimate venue, once of those once in a lifetime moments, or bands who broke up but get back together to do a show. I also need to think about the idea of seeing a band with a great live reputation. So here's a short list:

Sleater Kinney
The Hives
Prince (if he rejects his faith and gets back with The Revolution)
Radiohead

That's all I got. More curious to hear from other people

Video: Sunset Rubdown - 'You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)'

Just for good measure, here's part 2 of Sunset Rubdown on pitchfork.tv, this time doing another fantastic tune of Dragonslayer, 'You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)':



-Matt

Video: Sunset Rubdown - 'Silver Moon'

Sunset Rubdown apparently dropped by the Pitchfork Offices to play a few songs. Regardless of how you fell about that site, it's way cooler than any place you or I work at. Sunset Rubdown's most recent album, Dragonslayer, is still my favorite album of the year, and this live performance of the album opener just reminds me why.

-Matt

Concert Announcement: White Denim

This is a band that I've been digging on for the last few months but hadn't mentioned here yet(other than their album cover previously appearing over in the left column under "what we're listening to"). White Denim are from Austin, Texas and have been building quite the underground following over the past year or so. Austin music blog Gorilla vs. Bear have been talking them up for a long time now but I never checked them out until their most recent album, Fits, came out in June.

Generally a ton of the stuff that gets hyped up on indie blogs can be, well frankly put, really shitty. I'm sure it's someone out there's favorite type of music, but this under-produced, no-fi, shitgaze stuff that's all the rage doesn't really do it for me. White Denim however seem to be cut from more of a 70's classic rock cloth that I really dig. Their new album has been hovering around in my top 10-20 albums of the year since I first heard it. Their video below is a great example of their sound, and while that track is good, my favorite tune on the album (and one of my favorites of the year) is called 'Regina Holding Hands' and you can hear that HERE.

White Denim will be at the Jackpot Music Hall in Lawrence on November 3rd. I haven't heard too much about their live shows, but if it's got as much energy as the new album does, it will be great.

Here's the video for 'I Start To Run' off Fits:



-Matt

New Music: Lightning Dust - Infinite Light

I'm beginning to think that the bands that have spawned from the Black Mountain collective may be more impressive and prolific than the bands that Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner are responsible for. Black Mountain has connections with Pink Mountaintops, Blood Meridian, Jerk With A Bomb and finally Lightning Dust. I had picked up Lightning Dust's self-titled debut purely because both Amber Webber and Joshua Wells were members of BM, but wasn't impressed enough to keep coming back to it. When I heard their second album was coming out, I knew there was still a chance that they would release a great album and with Infinite Light they may have done just that.

It's still to early to call, but upon the first handful of listens this album is revealing itself to be another one of the years top albums. From the very beginning of the opening track, 'Antonia Jane', you know the centerpiece of this album is Amber's voice. It's got a haunting quality that few women that aren't named Beth Gibbons have. The music matches her voice perfectly on tracks like 'Never Seen', where just a drum machine and a dark synth line back her and the results are fantastic. The whole record certainly isn't dark and depressing, in fact songs like 'I Knew' and 'Times' are nice, tight little two minute rock songs. My favorite tune on the record might be 'Wondering What Everyone Knows', which in all honesty might not be all that special of a song with someone else singing it.

Time will tell where this album falls by the end of the year but at the very least it's made me consider going back to that debut album to see if maybe I just didn't give it enough of a chance. If you are a fan of Black Mountain or Pink Mountaintops I would definitely pick this up, it's got that same vibe you'll find on most stuff that Sam Beam touches. Lightning Dust just prove that maybe some others in the band are just as capable of putting out a truly great album.

-Matt