Dancing About Architecture 05.30.06
Posted by Ian Wright on 05.30.2006
New Kevin Shields material (sort of), Oh Canada, My great week, a car crash, Deerhoof, Belle And Sebastian, Spoon, New York, Austin and more.
The bit at the start
First of all I'd like to thank Mitch Michaels for filling in last week in my absence.
I had a great time while I was away, musically it was quite possibly the best 6 days I've ever had. Starting with Radiohead on the Thursday and finishing on the Tuesday with the cutting of my band's first demo with ATP sandwiched in the middle I had a blast.
I'm pleased to report that the new Radiohead material sounds fantastic, "Bodysnatchers", "Bangers N' Mash", "Arpeggi" and the full band version of "Nude" were all great and with LP7 not due out till next year there's still the prospect of the Thom Yorke solo album to tide me over till then.
After that ATP was going to have a hard time following that but I saw some brilliant stuff there. Joanna Newsom (who passed me in the bar about an hour before she went on stage; up close, yowza; I think I hate the dude from Smog) was utterly charming and it would have been worth the trip just to see her, it looks like her next album will be fantastic too. Dinosaur Jr. left me near deaf for 11 hours, Broken Social Scene and Mission Of Burma were amazing, The Black Keys kicked ass, Lightning Bolt were loud as hell and The Shins finished the weekend with a set that has me salivating at the prospect of their next album. Also, The Brian Jonestown Massacre were phenomenally shit.
But the highlight of the weekend could well have been seeing R. Kelly's "Trapped In The Closet" on ATP TV on Sunday morning, that shit is insane. If you've never seen it get scouring You Tube now.
Beg, borrow, buy, steal or download this album
Joanna Newsom The Milk Eyed Mender.
An amazing musician and lyricist. I'm so besotted.
Liam Roche corrects me on my assertion that up to the release of the Thom Yorke solo album XL's biggest act has been Devendra Banhart:
I'm not normally a nit-picker but XL Recordings is also home to Dizzee Rascal, some beat combo called the White Stripes and some noiseniks called the Prodigy
I stand corrected, in my defence I don't' like any of those acts enough to notice who they're signed to.
You news, you lose
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I'm an awful human being.
Kaiser Chief's frontman Ricky Wilson is rather unfortunate. In the past year he's had a number of ankle injuries, collapsed onstage and now it's emerged that the hapless singer was hit by a car in his hometown of Leeds a week and a half ago.
According to the band's website Wilson "escaped with minor injuries, a broken toe and bruising". Wilson escaped more serious injury by utilising the piece of stage craft that makes me think he's a bit of a tool, "It sounds daft, but a 'Ricky trademark jump' has probably saved his life. The jump meant he was flipped over the top of the car, hitting the windscreen, rather than getting trapped under it."
OK, it's a dumb car crash story but it's got a long way to go if it wants to top the tale of East 17's Brian Harvey running over his own head when he fell out of his car a couple of years ago.
On the 'hoof.
Chris Cohen, bassist/guitarist with Deerhoof is to leave the band and rejoin his old band, the curtains. In a message posted on the Deerhoof Myspace page last Monday Cohen wrote, "As hard a decision as it was-- I loved being in Deerhoof!-- I really want to go full-time with my other band, The Curtains."
"This is the band that I've always done on the side (I started it with my friend Trevor before I ever joined Deerhoof) - and I feel a real strong pull to go and perform our new material live and focus all my energy into that. We're just about to finish a new record [Calamity] which comes out on Asthmatic Kitty in the fall."
"Deerhoof are still my close and beloved friends and we part ways on the best of terms - I wish them all the best and they do for me too. It just wasn't possible to go on when my heart was in another place."
"I hope you all understand."
"I'll be looking forward so much to all the things Greg, John, and Satomi go on to do in Deerhoof and I can't wait to play the new Curtains music on tour this year!"
Deerhoof have since posted a new EP for download on their website. It contains 9 songs, including covers of songs by The Beatles, My Bloody Valentine, Canned Heat and Herman's Hermits, and 5 live songs. Its available here.
I'm not a big Deerhoof fan, I found The Runners Four to be incredibly overrated and I really respect Cohen's decision to pursue his own artistic vision or whatever, but dude, you could have been opening for Radiohead in a couple of months, you're a jerk.
"Twee Twee, twee twee." Is that a bird? No it's just a fey Scottish band.
Mick Cooke of Belle and Sebastian is to curate a compilation album for the Save The Children organisation. It's currently untitled but it's due for release on Rough Trade on September 11th.
The record features contributions from a number of bands including Franz Ferdinand, Four Tet, Snow Patrol, the Flaming Lips, the Fiery Furnaces, Kathryn Williams, the Divine Comedy, Travis, Jonathan Richman and Rasputina who will all be recording childrens songs. At present only the Rasputina song is known, they'll be performing "A Skeleton Bang".
full of sugar helps the medicine go down.
The first two Spoon records (the ones that saw them start out as critical pariah's if you're keeping score) on July 25th on Merge records. Telephono and the Soft Effects EP have long been traded around eBay for silly money but now you'll be able to get your grubby little mitts on them on a double disc release. The release shockingly features no bonus tracks but will feature the video for "Not Turning On".
In other Spoon news the band will be spending much of the next few months in drummer Jim Eno's home studio working on their next record with producer Mike McCarthy with a view to releasing it early next year. There's also a Britt Daniel solo record (hear that Thom? he'll use the word "solo") which is due out later in the year.
I don't think I've loved a record this year that wasn't made by Canadians.
Seriously, maybe the Cat Power record might sneak in there but all my favourite albums of 2006 have been made by people who may or may not end all their sentences with an "eh".
The members of Metric have certainly noticed that there's tons of great music being made by their countrymen and they've decided to have a party to celebrate that fact. The Dog Day Afternoon festival is the result of the band's desire to "recognize the newfound respect Canadian music has had on a world level and celebrating it here at home," guitarist James Shaw told ChartAttack.com. "We've played a lot of festivals in the past [and] spent a lot of time backstage talking about what we'd do if we had the chance. Well, we figured now we do."
The first date of the festival is actually going to take place as part of a larger event, The Ottowa Blues Festival where the bill will also include Holy Fuck and The Fiery Furnaces. Secret Machines, Electric Six, Wintersleep, and Land of Talk will be on the lineup for the final two dates. Prices range from $26.50 to $40 depending on the date and ordering information is available on the Metric website.
07-14 Ottawa, Ontario - Ottawa Blues Festival
07-15 Toronto, Ontario - Fort York
07-17 Montreal, Quebec - Old Port
Considering who is playing the lead perhaps the quote should be "Let them do coke".
What do you do when you have to follow up what is generally considered to be one of the greatest and most important albums of all time? Well if you're former My Bloody Valentine leader Kevin Shields you do pretty much nothing FOR 15 FUCKING YEARS.
In seems that the only person that is able to rouse shields from his inactivity is Sofia Coppola who managed to get him to contribute to the "Lost In Translation" soundtrack in 2003 and she's enlisted his help once again for her next film, "Mary Antoinette".
Shields will be remixing 2 songs by Bow Wow Wow, both covers. One is a version of Johnny Mercer's "Fools Rush In" and the other is "I want Candy".
If you're wondering what the hell a film about 18th century French royalty (yes, I know she was Austrian) has to do with Jailbait (seriously, you could go to jail for looking at their album cover) 80's pop acts you need look no farther then the band's singer Anabella Lwin.
"They actually based Marie Antoinette, from a styling point of view, on Annabella Lwin," explained the band's manager, Nicole Powers. "They drew parallels from the fact that they were both young girls who found fame and fortune at a ridiculously early age."
Jesus, this is going to be terrible. There's more to this story but I kinda feel ill thinking about it. It's not gonna be no Snakes On A Plane folks.
Another reason to wish I lived there.
If you live in New York then you're in for a treat this summer. There are tons to great free shows happening with the Central Park Summerstage, the Celebrate Brooklyn Performing Arts Festival in Prospect Park and the River To River Festival taking place in various locations in lower Manhattan. Pitchfork have sifted through the schedule of all three events (so you and more importantly I don't have to) and recommended the following, some (Okkervil River, Buck 65) are great, some (Josh Ritter) are utter shite:
>>Central Park SummerStage:
06-17 Rhett Miller
06-25 Feist, Buck 65, Jason Collett
07-02 Seu Jorge, José González
07-16 Amadou & Mariam, Birdy Nam Nam
07-23 Konono No. 1
07-30 Lady Sovereign, Pete Rock, Jean Grae
08-13 Prefuse 73, DJ Spooky
>>Celebrate Brooklyn:
06-17 Laurie Anderson
06-30 TV on the Radio, Matt Pond PA, Voxtrot
07-13 Yo La Tengo, Samara Lubelski
07-15 Nortec Collective
07-27 Philip Glass and Kronos Quartet perform live score to Dracula
08-03 Bill Frisell
08-04 Los Amigos Invisibles
>>River to River Festival:
06-02 South Street Seaport - Super Furry Animals, Dead Meadow, Andy Votel
06-04 World Financial Center Plaza - Anthony Braxton's Composition #19 - Marching Piece for 100 Tubas
06-04 World Financial Center Plaza - Bang on a Can All-Stars, Matmos, Alarm Will Sound
06-13 World Financial Center Plaza - Eels, Smoosh
06-20 World Financial Center Plaza - Son Volt
07-04 Battery Park - Belle and Sebastian, Martha Wainwright
07-06 Castle Clinton - Mates of State
07-11 World Financial Center Plaza - Puffy AmiYumi
07-13 Castle Clinton - Okkervil River
07-20 South Street Seaport - Sugar Hill Gang
07-27 Castle Clinton - The Hold Steady
07-28 South Street Seaport - Richard Hawley, Nicolai Dunger
08-04 South Street Seaport - Hot Chip
08-11 South Street Seaport - Josh Ritter
08-18 South Street Seaport - The Box Tops featuring Alex Chilton, Tralala
08-25 South Street Seaport - Ted Leo/Pharmacists
I think I could even take the hellish summers and the freezing winters if it meant I got to see these gigs.
Somehow Vince McMahon will figure out a way of screwing this over.
If you live in Austin I probably hate you. Not only do you have one of the most vital scenes in North America which has produced some really good bands (Explosions In The Sky, And you will know us by the trail of dead, Okkervil River, I love you but I've chosen darkness) but you get not one, but two amazing festivals to go to each year. The lineup for the second of those, Austin City Limits, which takes place between September 15-17 at Zilker Park was leaked and the lineup thus far looks like this: (things I think are good underlined)
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, the Flaming Lips, Massive Attack, Ween, Gnarls Barkley, the Raconteurs, the Shins, John Mayer, Feist, Stars, Cat Power and the Memphis Rhythm Band, Thievery Corporation, the New Pornographers, Sparklehorse, Son Volt, Aimee Mann, Nickel Creek, Nada Surf, Wolf Parade, Iron & Wine, Calexico, I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness, Ted Leo/Pharmacists, KT Tunstall, Secret Machines, the Rocket Summer, Okkervil River, José González, Matisyahu, Gomez, Galactic, G. Love and Special Sauce, Kings of Leon, Explosions in the Sky, Guster, Damien Rice, Damian Marley, Alexi Murdoch, Buckwheat Zydeco, Ben Kweller, Kathleen Edwards, String Cheese Incident, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Los Lonely Boys, Jack Ingram, Kasey Chambers, Centro-matic, Marah, the Black Angels, Sara Hickman, Trish Murphy, Asleep at the Wheel, South Austin Jug Band and Palm Elementary School Choir.
But wait, there's more.
On June 20, Image Entertainment will release a double CD and two-disc DVD chronicling last year's festival. The Austin City Limits Music Festival 2005 DVD features performances from Jet, Allman Brothers Band, the Bravery, Thievery Corporation, the Black Keys, Kasabian, Bloc Party, the Frames, Kaiser Chiefs, Blues Traveler, Ambulance LTD, Eisley, the Decemberists, Jason Mraz, Mike Doughty, Aqualung, Keane, Rachael Yamagata, Robert Earl Keen, Steve Earle Keen, Steve Earle and the Dukes, Gov't Mule, John Prine, John Butler Trio, and Widespread Panic, interviews with Ambulance LTD, Aqualung, the Black Keys, Blues Traveler, the Bravery, the Decmberists, Gov't Mule, Jason Mraz, Kaiser Chiefs, Kasabian, Keane, Mike Doughty, Rachael Yamagata, and Widespread Panic, mini-documentaries on Ambulance LTD, Blues Traveler, Ruthie Foster, and Roky Erickson, photo galleries, and more.
CD tracklist:
Disc one:
01 Jet - "Cold Hard Bitch"
02 Bloc Party - "This Modern Love"
03 Thievery Corporation - "Warning Shots"
04 Aqualung - "Brighter Than Sunshine"
05 Keane - "We Might as Well Be Strangers"
06 Jason Mraz - "Did You Get My Message?"
07 Ambulance LTD - "Primitive (The Way I Treat You)"
08 Kasabian - "L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)"
09 The Frames - "Revelate"
10 Kaiser Chiefs - "I Predict a Riot"
11 Tortoise - "Salt the Skies"
12 The Decemberists - "July, July!'
13 The Black Keys - "Set You Free"
14 The Bravery - "Unconditional"
Disc two:
01 The Black Crowes - "Sting Me"
02 Blues Traveler - "Hook"
03 Widespread Panic - "Love Tractor"
04 The Allman Brothers Band - "One Way Out"
05 Gov't Mule - "Time to Confess"
06 Mike Doughty - "Madeline and Nine"
07 Rachael Yamagata - "Be Be Your Love"
08 Eisley - "Golly Sandra"
09 The New Amsterdams - "Hover Near Fame"
10 John Prine - "Lake Marie"
11 Asleep at the Wheel - "Miles and Miles of Texas"
12 Robert Earl Keen - "Feelin' Good Again"
13 Split Lip Rayfield - "Kiss of Death"
14 Steve Earle and the Dukes - "Warrior"
If you can you should go to these gigs.
Mission Of Burma
07-01 North Adams, MA - Mass MoCA
07-13 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
07-14 Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw
07-15 Washington, DC - Black Cat ^
07-16 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
07-26 Toronto, Ontario - Horseshoe Tavern
07-27 Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop
07-28 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
07-29 Newport, KY - Southgate House (Lite Brite Test Festival)
07-30 Chicago, IL - Union Park (Pitchfork Music Festival) %
^ with Antelope
% with Os Mutantes, Spoon, Yo La Tengo, Devendra Banhart, Aesop Rock, the National, Jens Lekman, Tapes 'n Tapes, Chin Up Chin Up, Diplo, Matthew Dear, Spank Rock, Glenn Kotche, Tarantula A.D., Tyondai Braxton, CSS, Chicago Underground Duo, Bonde Do Role, more
DJ Shadow
05-25 Los Angeles, CA - Mayan Nightclub *
06-08 Bristol, England - Lakota #
06-09 London, England - Fabric #
06-10 Liverpool, England - Chibuku #
06-11 Nottingham, England - Stelth #
06-12 Amsterdam, Holland - Melkweg #
06-14 Lisbon, Portugal - Lux #
06-15 Brussels, Belgium - AB #
06-16 Barcelona, Spain - Sonar #
06-23 London, England - Wireless Festival
06-24 Leeds, England - Wireless Festival
07-22 Byron Bay, Australia - Splendour in the Grass
07-23 Sydney, Australia - Hordern Pavilion
07-25 Melbourne, Australia - The Palace
07-26 Melbourne, Australia - The Palace
07-28 Auckland, New Zealand - St. James
07-29 Wellington, New Zealand - Townhall
07-31 Adelaide, Australia - Thebarton Theatre
08-02 Perth, Australia - Metro City
08-05 Singapore, Singapore - Zouk
08-12 Osaka, Japan - Summersonic
08-13 Tokyo, Japan - Summersonic
08-16 Dusseldorf, Germany - Philipshalle ^
08-17 Hasselt, Belgium - Pukklepop
08-18 Biddinghuizen, Netherlands - Lowlands
08-19 Cannes, France - Pantiero Festival
08-22 Munich, Germany - Zenith ^
08-23 Berlin, Germany - Arena ^
08-25 Paris, France - Rock en Seine
08-26 Liverpool, England - Creamfields
09-02 Stradbally, Ireland - Electric Picnic
* with Cut Chemist, MF Doom, Madlib, Jurassic 5, Dilated Peoples, Money Mark, Beat Junkies, MC Supernatural
# with Keak Da Sneak, Turf Talk
^ with Massive Attack
Sonic Youth AND The Flaming Lips
08-03 Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center (92.3 K-ROCK Presents Kuyahoga)
08-04 Detroit, MI - State Theater
08-05 Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
08-24 St. Paul, MN - Minnesota State Fair
08-25 Council Bluffs, IA - Stir Cove at Harrah's
08-26 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
08-28 Columbus, OH - Promowest Pavilion
08-31 Allentown, PA - Allentown Fair
09-01 Syracuse, NY - New York State Fair
09-03 Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion
Writing under the influence
Without which this column would not have been possible:
Talk Radio.
The bit at the end
I saw X-Men 3 on Friday, don't bother. Soooooooooooo boring.
Take care of yourselves folks, if there is a good record released this year that isn't Canadian please let me know.
