Dancing About Architecture 02.13.07

Posted by Ian Wright on 02.13.2007

ARCADE FIRE NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES, new music from Rufus Wainwright, Bright Eyes, SXSW, Feist, The Smashing Pumpkins and ATP.

The bit at the start

Oh Jesus I'm tired. Mentally, physically, lots of things ending in "ally".

Too many late nights, probably not too much exercise but my bodyweight exercises regime (such as it is) is currently making me feel like I got hit by a truck.

Ireland's soccer team is crap and it now seems our rugby team isn't quite as good as we hoped.

Were it not for something happening this week I'd want to sleep for a week.

But enough of that, woman and children, let's go.

Beg, borrow, buy, steal or download this album.

Boards Of Canada – Music Has The Right To Children



I wish this were the soundtrack to my dreams.

You news, you lose

I can't go a week without mentioning them.

Arcade Fire have confirmed the support for their rather extensive European March tour and the acts in question are …

well …

I don't think they're going to put much pressure on AF to up their game to be honest.

Patrick Wolf will open at the first 8 dates of the tour beginning in Dublin on March 5th (finally, something to make me glad I don't have a ticket) with Electrolane taking over midway through the band's stint in the Brixton Academy for the remaining 14 dates.

The band begin a 5 night stint in New York's Judson Memorial Hall tonight and tickets are obviously like gold-dust because due to some rather restrictive anti-scalping sales conditions it's almost impossible to resell the tickets on. Those ticketless can join in the fun however on the 17th because that gig will be broadcast live on NPR's "All things considered."

But if that's not enough then you could always try to get yourself a ticket to one of the dates on the full North American tour which was announced late on Monday night (so late in fact that I was about to post the column when they were announced):

04-26 San Diego, CA - Spreckels Theatre
04-28 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
05-01 Atlanta, GA - Civic Center
05-02 Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
05-04 Washington, DC - DAR Constitution Hall
05-05 Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theatre
05-07 New York, NY - TBA
05-08 New York, NY - TBA
05-09 New York, NY - TBA
05-10 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
05-12 Montreal, Quebec - Arena Maurice Richard
05-13 Montreal, Quebec - Arena Maurice Richard
05-15 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
05-16 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
05-18 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
05-19 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
05-20 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
05-27 Portland, OR - Schnitzer Concert Hall
06-01 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
06-02 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre

Looking at some of the gaps, don't be surprised if a few more dates trickle out over the next month or two.

It'll be fabulous.

Following the hugely ambitious one-two punch (then simultaneous duel smack when they were re-released as a single set) of Want One and Want Two Rufus Wainwright releases his 5th album Release The Stars on Geffen in May.

Produced by Wainwright himself (but executive produced by Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant) and mixed by Marius DeVries who has previously worked with David Bowie, Björk, Madonna and Melanie C (but he doesn't talk about that one so much) it features guest appearances from Joan Wasser (a.k.a. Joan as Policewoman), Richard Thompson and actress Siân Phillips.

Tracklisting:

01 Do I Disappoint You
02 Going to a Town
03 Tiergarten
04 Nobody's Off the Hook
05 Between My Legs
06 Rules and Regulations
07 I'm Not Ready to Love
08 Slideshow
09 Tulsa
10 Leaving for Paris
11 Sanssouci
12 Release the Stars

Feisty

Worst … pun … ever.

Feist releases her next solo album (please let it not be as patchy as the last one because I love her voice) on April 23rd around the world and on May Day in the US and Canada. It's called The Reminder and features contributions from Jamie Lidell, Gonzales, Mocky, and Renaud LeTang. I don't know who most of those people are.

Tracklisting:

01 So Sorry
02 I Feel It All
03 My Moon My Man
04 The Park
05 The Water
06 Sea Lion Woman
07 Past in Present
08 Limit to Your Love
09 1 2 3 4
10 Brandy Alexander
11 Intuition
12 Honey Honey
13 How My Heart Behaves

Head south-west, then turn right.

South By South West released a preliminary list of performers for this year's festival which takes place all over Austin from March 14-18 and holy shit, there's a lot of bands playing there.

I mean, seriously, wow, listing all the bands playing alphabetically would turn this column into a more than 30 page word document so I'm not going to do that, if you want to see a list like that the you can go here so instead I'll just list the bands that are playing which I'd like to see play.


Apostle of Hustle (Toronto ON)
The Apples in Stereo (Denver CO)
Aqualung (South London UK)
Badly Drawn Boy (Manchester UK)
Beirut (Albuquerque NM)
Jello Biafra (San Francisco CA)
Bible of the Devil (Chicago IL)
Andrew Bird (Chicago IL)
Boom Bip (Los Angeles CA)
BORIS (Tokyo JAPAN)
Buck 65 (Mt. Uniacke NS)
Vashti Bunyan (Edinburgh UK)
Busdriver (Los Angeles CA)
Cadence Weapon (Edmonton AB)
Cold War Kids (Fullerton CA)
Rob Crow (San Diego CA)
Delorentos (Dublin IRELAND)
Diplo (New York NY)
Do Make Say Think (Montreal QC)
Steve Earle (Schertz TX)
The Favours (Hull UK) tin TX)
Field Music (Sunderland UK)
The Frames (Dublin IRELAND)
Frog Eyes (Victoria BC)
Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton (Toronto ON)
Micah P. Hinson (Abilene TX)
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness (Austin TX)
The Immediate (Dublin IRELAND)
Jape (Dublin IRELAND)
Daniel Johnston and the Nightmares (Waller TX)
Junior Boys (Hamilton ON)
Les Savy Fav (Brooklyn NY)
Eliot Lipp (New York NY)
Mastodon (Atlanta GA)
Meat Puppets (Austin TX)
Messiah J & The Expert (Dublin IRELAND)
Midlake (Denton TX)
Thurston Moore (Northampton MA)
My Brightest Diamond (Brooklyn NY)
Okkervil River (Austin TX)
Oppenheimer (Belfast IRELAND)
The Pipettes (Brighton UK)
Gruff Rhys (Cardiff UK)
Rodrigo y Gabriela (Terra Acida MEXICO)
Sage Francis (Providence RI)
Ron Sexsmith (Toronto ON)
Shearwater (Austin TX)
Simple Kid (London UK)
Clem Snide (Nashville TN)
Spoon (Austin TX)
The Stooges (Detroit MI)
The Theater Fire (Ft Worth TX)

Wow, there's a lot of bands playing that either I've never heard of, think are shit or whose name I accidentally deleted but there's still a pretty extensive list of acts I like that are playing put as far as I'm concerned there are 2 that stand head and shoulders above the rest. You really shouldn't miss Okkervil River or Jape.

I feel I should point out that of the bands I deleted from that list I have heard of The Bravery, I didn't list them deliberately. I really hate their music. So much so in fact that I'm POINTING IT OUT.

THEY'RE TERRIBLE.

It's not the Pumpkins without Darcy or James.

The Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlain experience announced last week that their new album Zeitgeist will be released on July 7th of this year. Which works out as 07-07-07 no matter where you put the day and the month.

I'm really not all that bothered about this whole thing, if it's like the early pumpkins stuff then it could be good, if it's like the last album then it'll be awful, we'll see.

Burning Like Fire.

Bright Eyes has announced the tracklisting for his/their/whatever upcoming 6th album Cassadaga which is due out on Saddle Creek in the US on April 10th. Polydor are yet to announce a date for the rest of the world where he's sold out (I kid, I kid.) The album features a whole host of guests including M. Ward, Gillian Welch, and Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney and the Jicks.

There's also an EP entitled Four Winds which is out on March 6th.

Cassadaga tracklisting:

01 Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)
02 Four Winds
03 If the Brakeman Turns My Way
04 Hot Knives
05 Make a Plan to Love Me
06 Soul Singer in a Session Band
07 Classic Cars
08 Middleman
09 Cleanse Song
10 No One Would Riot for Less
11 Coat Check Dream Song
12 I Must Belong Somewhere
13 Lime Tree

ATP ATP ATP

Another week, another host of bands added to May's ATP vs. The Fans festival in England with Mogwai, Grizzly Bear, Band of Horses, Battles, Patti Smith, MCs Edan & Dagha, Explosions in the Sky, Ghost, Current 93, Tall Firs, Alexander Tucker, and Capricorns all making the lineup look a lot better with offers currently being extended to Wilco, the Postal Service, Yo La Tengo, Les Savy Fav, Wolf Parade and Chavez.

That looks like a really strong lineup, I almost wish I was going to that instead of the ATP curated Primavera Sounds festival in Barcelona at the end of May. I say almost but really where would you rather be? Barcelona watching Explosions In The Sky or a Butlins holiday camp watching Explosions In The Sky?

If you can you should go to these gigs.

The Shins

02-09 Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom *
02-10 Chicago, IL - Congress Theater *
02-11 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant *
02-12 Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall *
02-13 Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall *
02-15 Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium *
02-16 Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue *
02-17 Boise, ID - Egyptian Theatre *
02-18 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre *
02-19 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom *
02-20 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theater *
02-21 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom *
02-25 London, England - The Astoria *
02-26 London, England - Bush Hall *
03-05 Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom *
03-06 Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theater *
03-07 Austin, TX - The Backyard *
03-09 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium *
03-10 Winston-Salem, NC - The Millennium Center *
03-12 Washington, DC - DAR Constitution Hall *
03-13 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory *
03-14 New York, NY - Theater at Madison Square Garden *
03-15 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theater *
03-16 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis *
03-17 Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus *
04-14 Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre (KCRW: A Sounds Eclectic Evening 6) #

* with Viva Voce
# with Lily Allen, Cold War Kids, Bitter: Sweet

Mastodon

Every indie kid's favourite prog metallers are in for a busy few months.

02-09 Pittsburgh, PA - Rex Theater *#
02-10 Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom *#
02-13 Allentown, PA - Crocodile Rock *#
02-14 Rochester, NY - Water Street Music Hall *#
02-15 Clifton Park, NY - Northern Lights *#
02-16 New Haven, CT - Toad's Place *#
02-17 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *#
02-18 Norfolk, VA - Norva *#
02-20 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel #
02-21 Louisville, KY - Headliners Music Hall #
02-22 Charlotte, NC - Amos' Southend #
02-23 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle #
02-24 Atlanta, GA - Center Stage #
03-02 Belfast, Northern Ireland - Mandela Hall
03-03 Dublin, Ireland - Ambassador Theatre
03-05 Wolverhampton, England - Wulfrun Hall
03-06 Manchester, England - Academy 2
03-07 Glasgow, Scotland - ABC
03-09 Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Desert Rock Festival
03-12 Sheffield, England - Sheffield Corporation
03-13 Nottingham, England - Rock City
03-14 Portsmouth, England - Pyramid Centre
03-15 London, England - Mean Fiddler
03-17 Austin, TX - Auditorium Shores Park/Town Lake (SXSW) #^
03-19 San Antonio, TX - White Rabbit #
03-20 Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom #
03-21 Columbia, MO - The Blue Note #
03-23 Colorado Springs, CO - The Black Sheep #
03-24 Salt Lake City, UT - Avalon Theater #
03-26 Seattle, WA - El Corazon #
03-27 Spokane, WA - The Big Easy Concert Hall #
03-28 Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater #
04-12 Perth, Australia - Metro City
04-14 Adelaide, Australia - Thebarton Theatre
04-15 Melbourne, Australia - Vodafone Arena
04-17 Sydney, Australia - Hordern Pavilion
04-19 Brisbane, Australia - Riverstage
04-21 Auckland, New Zealand - St. James Theatre
06-29 Arendal, Norway - Hovefestival

* with Converge
# with Priestess
^ with Boris, Against Me, Riverboat Gamblers

Rufus Wainwright


02-18 London, England - Palladium (Judy Garland tribute)
02-20 Paris, France - L'Olympia (Judy Garland tribute)
02-25 London, England - Palladium (Judy Garland tribute)
04-27 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
09-23 Hollywood, CA - Hollywood Bowl (Judy Garland tribute)

Modest Mouse

03-10 Mexico City, Mexico - Foro Sol
03-14 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
03-15 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
03-16 Missoula, MT - Missoula Univ Theater
03-18 Sioux Falls, SD - Ramkota Exhibit Hall
03-19 Fargo, ND - Playmakers Pavilion
05-20 Somerset, England - Butlins Minehead (ATP vs. the Fans)
05-23 London, England - Royal Albert Hall
06-01 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound

Writing under the influence

Without which this column would not have been possible:

Talk Radio
About a million Myspace pages of bands that I've accepted friend requests from but I've never listened to (explanation below). Hooray For Humans and Emily Haines are particularly good.

The bit at the end

After years of living in the fucking wilderness and being to far away from the exchange to get DSL I finally got wireless broadband installed in my house today. How do I steal music/movies/music?

The band I'm in is opening for The Wrens on Thursday. Yes, I am as excited by the prospect as you'd expect.

Coming next week a new feature here on Dancing About Architecture. The Myspace band of the week.