Dancing About Architecture 03.27.07
Posted by Ian Wright on 03.27.2007
Hannigan/Rice Split, Win Butler is unwell, Bowie, Slint, Spoon, The Hold Steady and TV On the Radio.
The bit at the start
Shit, shit, shit. I meant to do something special for Paddy's day and write something about music here that I like. Ah well, it means that there'll be plenty of bands to mention in the MySpace band of the week thing for a while.
I saw Andrew Bird last week. He'd been ill that week and been forced to cancel the night before but was well enough to perform on Wednesday. While not 100% he was still in pretty stunning voice and his skills with the ol' violin/loop pedal combo were astonishing. The material from the new album sounded great too.
Beg, borrow, buy, steal or download this album.
Dosh – The Lost Take
Wonderful stuff from Minnesotan electro-whizz/family man Martin Dosh.
The Dancing About Architecture MySpace band of the week.
A guy who tried to add me on MySpace today had them as his profile song. Kinda NMH sounding crossed with Spencer Krug but with added harps.
Recommended song: Separate Planes.
You news, you lose
Wow, I actually had a scoop ... of sorts
In last week's "bit at the end" I wrote that there were unconfirmed rumours that Lisa Hannigan had quit Damien Rice's band. On Sunday night the following appeared on Damien Rice's website ...
"After much thought and discussion Damien has decided that his professional relationship with Lisa Hannigan has run its creative course. As a result Lisa will not be appearing at any of the upcoming live shows. Lisa is embarking on her own artistic endeavours and there are no plans for them to work together in the foreseeable future. The current band on tour at the moment are Damien Rice, Joel Shearer, Shane Fitzsimons, Tom Osander and Vyvienne Long."
Oh wow, PR speak, great.
There are rumours that it was more a quitting than firing based on the information that first broke a week ago which basically said that that full band soundchecked and Hannigan then didn't appear at the gig. She's also been absent from all the European gigs they've played in the past week or so. The pair have been working together for about 8 years so it's a rather big step to take but where exactly does it leave them?
Live, I think Rice will be alright but in the studio he could be in trouble unless he gets a bit braver and the next record is what I thought the second one could be after having seen him gig a fair bit. O was marvellous, almost all the songs were really good, it was well arranged, it had a lovely ramshackle feeling to it, but I always felt that it was Hannigan's vocals which pushed it over the top from a good to a great record. 9, for me, was really underwhelming. There were a couple of honest to goodness bad songs on it, I didn't much care for some of the arrangements or how it was recorded and some songs that were great live lost something on record (in the case of "Elephant" for example that thing would be the guitar). Save for "Accidental Babies" the only songs that I thought were top class were the ones that Hannigan contributed to. In fact I'd go so far to say that she rescued that album.
Rice is certainly capable of making a great album without her but he may have to capture the spirit of the gigs to do it.
Bad news for loads of Europeans on Saturday which made me glad that Arcade Fire chose to open their tour in Dublin when it was announced that the band were cancelling the final 8 dates of their European Tour due to frontman Win Butler's health issues with sinus and bronchial infections which have been causing him problems for the past 3 months. In fact there had been talk of the band cancelling shows midway through their 4 night run in London the previous week. Writing on the band's website Butler explained the reason for the cancellations:
"heavy heart"
Hello Friends,
I am backstage at the venue in Oslo and I just had to make the very sad decision to cancel the rest of the European tour. I have been suffering from a sinus and bronchial infection for the last 3 months, and last night in Stockholm I finally pushed my voice and body farther than they are able to go. Last night I kept yelling at the monitor guy because I didn't recognize the sound that was coming out of the monitor as my own voice, and it took me until the second song to realize that the sound was coming from me. Today I can barely speak, or make any sound, so finishing the shows is no longer possible.
I have had several doctors advise me to cancel shows weeks ago, and I have been trying to push through, but for my own health and safety I need to have sinus surgery so I can get better and start the recovery process. We are all very sad, because we were very much looking forward to playing these shows, and we could not imagine cancelling a show unless it was physically impossible to do. We apologize to the fans that have been waiting to see us, and we promise to try and come back as soon as it is humanly possible...
We would like to thank everyone who has been coming to the shows, and the outpouring of love and support for our music that we have felt. Wish me luck with the doctors,
And see you soon
luv,
Win
Butler's brother Will also posted on the band's site about the cancelations but it's all in flash and I can't be arsed to transcribe it so if you want to read it then head over there. You should, it's nice.
It's not known if Butler is going to have the required surgery prior to the upcoming US tour which is slated to begin in Whales Vagina San Diego on April 26th or if he'll simply spend the month resting up and hoping to get himself through the tour but considering that there's 20 dates in less than 6 weeks on the tour it might be something they should think about.
Speaking of the US tour if you were reading this column a couple of weeks you would have read the following ...
"New Yorkers, be prepared to go to Harlem for your gigs"
I was 2/3 right there because the venues for the New York dates were announced last week. The first 2 nights will take place in the United Palace Theatre with the third happening in Radio City Music Hall as the opening event of the Highline Festival. Tickets for those gigs go on sale this Friday at 10AM local time. They'll appear on eBay at 10:24.
He spent most of the 70's being high on lines.
I reported aaaaggggggggggeeeeeeessssssss ago that David Bowie is set to curate this year's Highline festival in New York. Taking place at various venues around the city from May 9th to 19th in addition to the above mentioned Arcade Fire the festival will feature performances from Air, Deerhoof, the Polyphonic Spree, and the Secret Machines, Laurie Anderson and Ken Nordine, comedian Ricky Gervais (whose stand up leaves quite a bit to be desired), Daniel Johnston and Stardust Cowboy. There will also be art exhibitions and film screening throughout the 10 days.
According to Bowienet the thin white duke had the following to say about curating the festival.
"I thought it a very cool deal to be asked to curate the High Line Festival. The request was for me to choose artists and acts that I myself would go out of my way to see. Although this inaugural year will be modest in scale we've been pretty lucky in that many whom I asked have accepted.
"I'm also pleased that many emerging artists are participating alongside more established talents that represent a fairly wide cross section of disciplines within the arts community. I would really hope that the exposure this festival affords will help these folk get the attention they deserve."
The lineup for events is as follows ...
05-09 Arcade Fire - Radio City Music Hall
05-10 Air - Theatre at Madison Square Garden
05-11 The Polyphonic Spree - Hammerstein Ballroom
05-15 Deerhoof - Irving Plaza
05-16 Daniel Johnston, Bang on a Can All Stars, the Legendary Stardust Cowboy - High Line Ballroom
05-16-17 Ken Nordine - The Kitchen
05-17-18 Laurie Anderson - High Line Ballroom
05-19 The Secret Machines - High Line Ballroom
05-19 Ricky Gervais - Theatre at Madison Square Garden
...full of sugar helps the medicine go down.
Apparently the guy from Spoon is going to marry my friend Valerie. He doesn't know it yet but she's quite adamant that it'll happen. And she's a very determined person.
Anyway, before the nuptials Spoon will release their 6th album on Merge on July 10th. It's currently untitled but that'll probably change in the next week or so and I'll have to report that. Oh you clever PR people, I'm completely under your spell and would suck off a hobo if you asked me to.
Tracklisting:
01 Don't Make Me a Target
02 The Ghost of You Lingers
03 You Got Yr Cherry Bomb
04 Don't You Evah
05 Rhthm and Soul
06 Eddie's Ragga
07 The Underdog
08 My Little Japanese Cigarette Case
09 Finer Feelings
10 Black Like Me
I can almost promise you that they'll be at the pitchfork fest.
Slint lied to you. The reunion shows that they played a couple of years ago (which weren't all that amazing) weren't the last gigs ever despite what fans were told. Lying rock stars bad, the fact that their lie leads to the band performing Spidererland in its entirety in the coming months good.
In conjunction with ATP's "Don't Look Back" series the band will perform their seminal album across Europe and, for the first time in the series' history, America. Those shows, both in New York's Webster hall, happen the week of the Pitchfork festival in Chicago. The same festival that see Sonic Youth perform Daydream Nation in full thanks to ATP.
Hmm.
Hold quiet and steady.
My old band the The Hold Steady are all set to release an acoustic EP on April 17th. Live at fingerprints was recorded at a record store in Long Beach, California.
The EP will only be available in a limited run from independent record stores which are part of the Think Independent consortium.
Tracklisting:
01 Cattle and the Creeping Things
02 Chips Ahoy!
03 You Can Make Him Like You
04 Citrus
05 You Gotta Dance With Who You Came to Dance With
Speaking of record store gigs.
Today TV On The Radio are releasing a recording at their live show in September in Ameoba records. The EP is available from any of the record store's locations in California or from their website.
Tracklisting:
01 Blues From Down Here
02 Wolf Like Me
03 Province
04 Wash the Day Away
If you can you should go to these gigs.
Spoon
04-13 Grinnell, IA - Harris Center (Grinnell College)
04-21 Baltimore, MD - Sonar (Main Room)
04-22 Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Ballroom
04-24 Asbury Park, NJ - Stone Pony
04-26 New Haven, CT - Toad's Place
04-27 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street
04-28 Boston, MA - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
05-27 George, WA - Gorge Amphitheatre (Sasquatch! Festival)
06-16 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Music Festival
07-04 Detroit, MI - Comerica CityFest
Slint
05-19 Somerset, England - Butlins Minehead (ATP vs the Fans) *
05-21 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
05-23 Brussels, Belgium - AB2
05-24 Paris, France - Bataclan
05-28 Bologna, Italy - Estragon
05-29 Rome, Italy - Circolo Degli Artisti
05-31 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound Festival
07-17 New York City, NY - Webster Hall
07-18 New York City, NY - Webster Hall
08-20 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowlands
08-22 London, England - Koko
08-23 London, England - Koko
* non-Spiderland show
Sonic Youth
Daydream Nation dates:
06-02 Barcelona, Spain - Parc dèl Forum (Primavera Sound)
06-21 Munich, Germany - Tollwood Festival
06-27 Berlin, Germany - Columbia Halle
07-13 Chicago, IL - Union Park (Pitchfork Music Festival/ATP Don't Look Back)
07-19 Berkeley, CA - Berkeley Community Theater
07-20 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
08-30 London, England - Roundhouse (ATP Don't Look Back)
08-31 London, England - Roundhouse (ATP Don't Look Back)
09-01 London, England - Roundhouse (ATP Don't Look Back)
Regular dates:
04-17 Osaka, Japan - Namba Hatch *
04-18 Nagoya, Japan - Diamond Hall *
04-20 Tokyo, Japan - Studio Coast *
04-23 Beijing, China - The Star Live
04-24 Shanghai, China – Shanghai Concert Hall
04-27 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
05-17-20 Brooklyn, NY – No Fun Fest #
06-16 Wiesbaden, Germany - Schlachthof
06-23 Neuhausen, Germany - Southside Festival
06-24 Scheessel, Germany - Hurricane Festival
06-26 Cologne, Germany - E Werk
06-29 Gdynia, Poland - Open'er Festival
07-01 Cergy-Pontoise, France - Furia Sound Festival
* with Vooredoms
# Thurston Moore/Jim O'Rourke, Kim Gordon/Yoshimi
Of Montreal
03-22 Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle *
03-23 Columbia, SC - Headliners *
03-24 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club *
03-29 Gainesville, FL - Abbey Road *#
03-30 Miami, FL - Studio A *#
03-31 Orlando, FL - Club at Firestone *#
04-01 Jacksonville, FL - Freebird Live *#
04-02 Tallahassee, FL - Moon *#
04-14 New York, NY - Studio B (as karaoke band and full set) ^
04-19 Sarasota, FL - Club Minxx
04-27 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
05-01 Bergen, Norway - Bergenfest
05-02 Oslo, Norway - John Dee
05-03 Gothenburg, Sweden - Sticky Fingers
05-04 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser Medis
05-05 Malmo, Sweden - Debaser
05-06 Copenhagen, Denmark - Loppen
05-08 Berlin, Germany - Lido
05-09 Hamburg, Germany - Ubel & Gefahrlich
05-10 Cologne, Germany - Gebaude 9
05-11 Freiberg, Germany - Swamp Club
05-12 Munich, Germany - Orangehouse
05-13 Vienna, Austria - Planet $
05-14 Zagreb, Croatia - SC
05-16 Rome, Italy - Circolo degli Artisti
05-17 Ravenna, Italy - Bronson
05-18 Milan, Italy - Casa 139
05-19 St. Gallen, Switzerland - Palace
05-20 Basel, Switzerland - Das Schiff
05-22 Caen, France - BBC
05-24 Strasbourg, France - La Laiterie
05-25 Paris, France - Bataclan
05-26 Amiens, France - Lune des Pirates
05-28 Norwich, England - Norwich Arts Centre
05-29 London, England - Cargo
05-30 Cambridge, England - Soul Tree
05-31 Nottingham, England - Social
06-01 Manchester, England - Roadhouse
06-02 London, England - Chalk at Scala
06-03 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera
07-15 Chicago, IL - Union Park (Pitchfork Music Festival) %
* with Loney, Dear
# with Pigeon John
^ with Flosstradamus, Michael Showalter
$ with Shout Out Louds
% with Jamie Lidell, Ken Vandermark's Powerhouse Sound
Morrissey
04-27 Stockton, CA - Bob Hope Theater *
04-28 Sparks, NV - John Ascuaga's Celebrity Showroom *
04-29 Sparks, NV - John Ascuaga's Celebrity Showroom *
05-01 Oakland, CA - Paramount Theater *
05-02 Santa Rosa, CA - Wells Fargo Center *
05-05 Spokane, WA - INB Performing Arts Center *
05-06 Seattle, WA - Paramount *
05-08 Salt Lake City, UT - E Center Ford Theater *
05-09 Denver, CO - Fillmore *
05-11 Omaha, NE - Orpheum *
05-12 Milwaukee, WI - Riverside *
05-14 Ann Arbor, MI - Michigan Theater *
05-15 Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre *
05-17 Cleveland, OH - Playhouse Square Center *
05-18 Columbus, OH - Palace Theater *
05-20 Indianapolis, IN - Murat Center *
05-22 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant *
05-23 Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater *
05-25 Dallas, TX - Palladium *
05-26 Austin, TX - Backyard *
05-28 Houston, TX - Verizon *
05-30 El Paso, TX - County Coliseum *
05-31 Tucson, AZ - Music Hall *
06-02 Phoenix, AZ - Maricopa County Events Center *
06-03 San Diego, CA - Bayside Concerts *
06-05 Ventura, CA - Majestic Ventura Theater *
06-06 Riverside, CA - Riverside Municipal Auditorium *
06-08 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl *
06-09 Las Vegas, NV - Pearl *
06-26 Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion *
06-27 Northampton, MA - Pines Theater *
06-29 Philadelphia, PA - Mann Center *
06-30 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden *
07-02 Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap *
07-03 Baltimore, MD - Rams Head *
07-05 Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata *
07-06 Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center *
07-09 Norfolk, VA - NorVa *
07-10 Knoxville, TN - Tennessee Theatre *
07-12 Clearwater, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall *
07-14 Boca Raton, FL - Mizner Park Amphitheater *
07-15 Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live *
07-17 Jacksonville, FL - Morocco Shrine Auditorium *
07-19 Birmingham, AL - Alabama Theatre *
07-20 Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park *
07-21 Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues *
* with Kristeen Young
Writing under the influence
Without which this column would not have been possible:
Talk Radio
Dosh – The Lost Take
The Wrens – Secaucus
The Hold Steady playing in a High School
The bit at the end
I'm probably going to say this every time that Ireland play a football international but anyway. STAN OUT.
Having seen the 300 today I'm all for going to war with the Persians. Those that I don't slaughter in my initial attack shall drown in the blood of their brethren. Their woman shall be arid from weeping and their offspring shall swear vengeance upon me and many decades from this day I shall destroy them as I did their fathers.
