Dancing About Architecture 09.18.07
Posted by Ian Wright on 09.18.2007
Fire at ACL, Johnny Cash is now less of a lawbreaker, Los Campesinos, PJ Harvey, Nick Drake, The National to cover Springsteen and more.
The bit at the start
Oh man, it's late.
I'm so late.
I'm so tired.
I've not been to any gigs this week, I've not bought any new music.
Part of the reason is that I've found a new love. I've got something special in my life now. Some of you might be turned off by the prospect of white on black love but I don't care what you think. The sounds I get in response to running my fingers down her neck are a joy to my ears.
And how can it be so wrong when it seems so right?
Here's a pic.
Why? What else would I have been writing about.
Mailbag.
Jax took exception to my piece about the bridge school benefit last week …
Seriously...you have no idea what bridge school is or why it is do you?
Was that sarcasam or do you have no clue why they started the school....
I know precisely what the bridge school is and I believe that I've praised their work in the past in my columns. However my point was a) when it comes to charity gigs people don't give a shit what the cause is so long as the lineup is good b) the phrasing used in their blurb was insanely flowery and kinda pompous. If they said "we work with handicapped kids, we try to make to make their lives better" it would have hit the nail precisely on the head and not made them sound like arch bullshitters.
Beg, borrow, buy, steal or download this album.
Liars - Liars
Liars go pop. A brilliant art-punk record.
The Dancing About Architecture MySpace band of the week.
Indie electro hip hop, the world will be all over these guys once their album drops.
Recommended song: Thou Shalt Always Kill (possibly the best pop song of the year.)
You news, you lose
Oh, not good.
Friday was a bad day for the Austin City Limits Festival due to a trailer catching fire in the city's Zilker Park, injuring 2 people critically and seriously wounding several others.
According to local TV station KXAN the fire was caused by propane tanks exploding (insert inappropriate King Of The Hill reference) around 2:30 in the afternoon. The blaze spread to other nearby trailers and several portable toilets.
The fire caused the delay of Anglophile New Jersey singer-songwriter Pete Yorn's set while fire trucks made their way into the festival grounds. The fire was eventually brought under control around 3:10.
That's a pretty shitty way to start the festival. Considering that the incident took place a few days ago and there's been no follow up I can only hope it means that none of the injuries became fatalities.
The Gardeners! wouldn't sound anywhere near as catchy.
In my opinion that the only decent thing I've heard from the much hyped Los Campesinos! is "You Me Dancing" but I am willing to admit there there's a possibility that I may be wrong about them. Anyway they've finished their debut full length and will unleash the first single from it in the UK on October 22nd.
"The International Tweecore Underground" "is a story of a friendship of two opposites and how they are in the best band in the world, one embracing things that are, shall we say (and you would almost definitely say) 'twee' (yuck) and the other embracing music that is...not so."
The single will be available in the new ubiquitous 7", CD and download formats and according to the band's MySpace the initial concept of the song "led us to the genius idea of creating a B-side for both of these people, and covering songs that each in turn would maybe like, by musicians that are name-checked in the song. You must understand that this is a decision based on art, and not on us being too rubbish to write our own B-sides. SO, now we have LC! playing the Amelia Fletcher/Calvin Johnson duet of Heavenly track 'C Is the Heavenly Option' and on the other hand LC! stick it to the man with our rendition of Black Flag's 'Police Story'. Pretty rad huh?"
"And so, the concept single is born (yeh, it's ALL down to us) and a new generation of Henry Rollins fans will want us killed. Sweet thing."
Bless them, they're only kids. Maybe they'll grow out of it or maybe they'll become a much more garage rock sounding Fiery Furnaces.
Add this to the list of reasons I'm glad I live here.
Anyone in North America anxiously counting down the days to the planned September 25th release of PJ Harvey's upcoming White Chalk will I fear have to wait a further week as the release date has been pushed back to October 2nd (though European release dates seem to be unaffected).
Surprisingly as Polly's putting a new album out there's little in the way of touring action to coincide with it with just 4 dates lined up.
09-24 Bristol, England - Colston Hall
09-29 London, England - Royal Festival Hall
10-10 New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
10-15 Los Angeles, CA - The Orpheum
It's not quite shooting a man in Reno just to watch him die.
42 years ago that depraved criminal mastermind Johnny Cash committed an act of civil disobedience in Starkville, Mississippi which even eclipses Ozzy Osborne pissing on the Alamo in the mid-80's.
On the night of May 11th 1965 a drunk Cash broke the city's curfew and picked some flowers (in fairness it was probably the former that got him in the most trouble). The incident is recounted in Cash's "Starkville City Jail", which if we're being perfectly honest is a minor song in the Cash canon.
The city of Starkville has finally got over the affront Cash caused them however and has granted Cash a posthumous pardon for his crimes.
But wait, there's more.
To celebrate Cash's pardoning the city will hold the "Johnny Cash Flower Pickin' Festival" from November 2-4 which includes musical events, religious events, a charity auction, and a possible discussion by authors who have written books about Cash. Admission is free but there's a suggested $10 donation which will go to the local Boys And Girls Club and Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum.
See you there kids.
A drake is a boy duck.
After being out of print for a number of (7 to be exact) years Fruit Tree, which was a box set collecting the late Nick Drake's 3 albums (2 wonderful, 1 not so much) will be reissued on November 6th, giving music fans a good opportunity to get a large portion of one of Britain's finest ever songwriters' discography in one go.
The once off (according to the label) run will be restricted to 10,000 copies on CD and 2,000 on vinyl and will come with a DVD copy of the recent documentary A Skin Too Few and a 108 page book "featuring song by song analysis by producer Joe Boyd, engineer John Wood, arranger Robert Kirby and songwriter/music journalist and friend Robin Frederick."
Drake was a really remarkable talent, and it's a real shame that he wasn't appreciated while still alive but if you've never bought any of his material but have a thing for gentle acoustic folk and brilliant guitar playing then this collection is well worth investing in.
I think I just came.
So the b-side for the next National single ("Apartment Story" from the brilliant Boxer) is going to be a cover called "Mansion On The Hill" which is a song that was written by some dude from New Jersey back in the 80's.
I think the original might be on one of my very favourite albums. Track 3 or something like that.
The single is out on November 5th in the UK and a day later in the States.
The YouTube video of the week
Others people's kids, particularly ones that sing Pavement, are so great.
If you can you should go to these gigs.
Feist
09-14 Grantham, PA - Messiah College *
09-15 Ann Arbor, MI - Borders Book and Music
09-15 Ann Arbor, MI - Michigan Theatre *
09-20 Baden Baden, Germany - New Pop Festival #
09-21 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg #
09-23 Nottingham, England - Social #
09-24 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire #
09-25 Dublin, Ireland - Tripod #
09-26 Glasgow, Scotland - Oran Mor #
09-28 Bristol, England - Trinity Arts Centre #
09-30 Berlin, Germany - Admiralspalast #
10-01 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega #
10-02 Stockholm, Sweden - Cirkus #
10-04 Hamburg, Germany - CCH Saal 2 #
10-05 Cologne, Germany - E-Werk #
10-06 Munich, Germany - Georg-Elser Halle #
10-08 Paris, France - La Cigale
10-10 Paris, France - La Cigale
10-11 Countance, France - Cultural Centre
10-12 Yzeure, France - Cultural Centre
10-13 Bordeaux, France - Salle de Vigean
10-15 Nancy, France - Jazz Pulsation Festival
10-16 Geneva, Switzerland - Grand Casino
10-17 Mulhouse, France - Cultural Centre
10-19 Brussels, Belgium - Cirque Royale
11-06 Portland, OR - Schnitzer Auditorium
11-07 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre
11-09 San Francisco, CA - Nob Hill Masonic Center
11-12 Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre
11-14 Denver, CO - The Ogden
11-17 Chicago, IL - The Riviera
11-18 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center
12-03 Hamilton, Ontario - Hamilton Place
12-04 Kitchener, Ontario - Centre in the Square
12-05 London, Ontario - Centennial Hall
12-18 Toronto, Ontario - Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
* with Rogue Wave
# with Bob Wiseman
Los Campesinos!
10-02 Dublin, Ireland - Whelan's *
10-03 Belfast, Ireland - Limelight *
10-06 Lancaster, England - Library *
10-07 Northampton, England - Racehorse *
10-09 Oxford, England - Zodiac *
10-10 Bristol, England - Thekla *
10-11 Wrexham, England - Central Station *
10-12 Liverpool, England - Barfly
10-13 Manchester, England - Night & Day *
10-15 Glasgow, Scotland - King Tut's *
10-16 Edinburgh, Scotland - Cabaret Voltaire *
10-17 Newcastle, England - University *
10-19 Leeds, England - Cockpit *
10-20 Nottingham, England - Rescue Rooms *
10-21 Birmingham, England - Custard Factory *
10-22 Brighton, England - Komedia *
10-23 London, England - ULU *
10-25 Colchester, England - Arts Centre *
10-26 Norwich, England - Arts Centre *
10-27 Sheffield, England - Fuzztival
10-29 Cambridge, England - Portland Arms *
10-30 Southampton, England - Joiners *
10-31 Exeter, England - Cavern Club *
11-03 Amsterdam, Netherlands - London Calling
11-04 Brussels, Belgium - Botanique
11-07 Munich, Germany - Atomic Café
11-08 Berlin, Germany - Magnet
11-10 Lille, France - Aeronef
11-11 Paris, France - La Cigale
11-12 Nantes, France - Olympic
11-14 Toulouse, France - Bikini
11-27 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
11-28 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
11-30 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
* with You Say Party! We Say Die!
Final Fantasy
09-21 London, Ontario - LOLA Festival
09-28 Guelph, Ontario - River Run Centre
10-04 Montreal, Quebec - Ukrainian Federation (Pop Montreal Festival) $
10-12 Chicago, IL - Schubas $
10-13 Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry $
10-15 Winnipeg, Manitoba - West End Cultural Centre $
10-16 Regina, Saskatchewan - The Exchange $
10-17 Edmonton, Alberta - Myer Horowitz Theatre $
10-18 Calgary, Alberta - The Warehouse $
10-20 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards $%
10-21 Victoria, British Columbia - Alix Goolden Hall $
10-22 Seattle, WA - Nectar #
10-23 Portland, OR - Someday Lounge #
10-25 San Francisco, CA - Independent #
10-26 Pomona, CA - Glass House #
10-28 Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour #
10-29 San Diego, CA - Beauty Bar #
10-30 Phoenix, AZ - Modified #
11-01 Abilene, TX - Monks #
11-02 Denton, TX - Hailey's #
11-03 Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Festival #
11-05 Birmingham, AL - Bottletree #
11-06 Decatur, GA - Wordsmiths Books
11-06 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn #
11-07 Charleston, SC - Map Room #
11-09 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church Chapel #
11-10 Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's #
11-11 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom #
11-12 Cambridge, MA - Middle East #
11-14 Sackville, New Brunswick - Brunton Auditorium
11-16 Halifax, Nova Scotia - St. Matthew's United Church
11-17 Halifax, Nova Scotia - St. Matthew's United Church
11-19 Quebec City, Quebec - Le Cercle
11-20 Ottawa, Ontario - Bronson Centre
* with Bloc Party
$ with Basia Bulat
% with Great Lake Swimmers
# with Cadence Weapon
Les Savy Fav
09-21 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg *
09-22 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom #
10-06 New York, NY - Randall's Island $
10-20 London, England - "Secret Show"
10-21 Manchester, England - Academy
10-22 London, England - Scala
10-23 Berlin, Germany - Festsaal Kreuzberg
10-24 Hamburg, Germany - Uebel & Gafährlich
10-25 Rotterdam, Netherlands - Rotown
10-26 Paris, France - Nouveau Casino
10-27 Dublin, Ireland - Crawdaddy
11-16 Durham, NC - Duke Coffeehouse
11-30 Seattle, WA - Neumos
12-01 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards
* with Cheeseburger, Fatal Flying Guilloteens
# with Parts & Labor, S Prcss
$ with the Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem, Blonde Redhead, Wild Light
Buck 65
09-22 Oxford, England - Truck Festival
09-24 London, England - Bush Hall
09-26 Paris, France - Pointe Ephemere
10-05 Montreal, Quebec - La Tulipe (Pop Montreal)
10-19 Reykjavik, Iceland - Iceland Airwaves
10-30 Providence, RI - Living Room (album release party) *
11-01 Boston, MA - Middle East Downstairs (album release party) *
11-03 San Francisco, CA - Café du Nord
11-04 Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour
11-08 Dallas, TX - House of Blues
11-09 Austin, TX - TBA
11-10 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
11-11 Tallahassee, FL - Beta Bar
11-13 Orlando, FL - The Social
11-14 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
11-17 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
11-18 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
11-20 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
11-21 Chicago, IL - Reggie's Live
11-23 Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
11-24 Omaha, NE - TBA
11-27 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre
11-29 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Café
11-30 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
* with Sage Francis
Writing under the influence
Without which this column would not have been possible:
Talk radio
Phantom FM
The bit at the end
Personally I don't give a shit about the Zeppelin reunion. Robert Plant is possibly the worst lyricist ever.
If you're heading along to any of the Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem gigs in he next few weeks I'm insanely jealous.
Semi permanent plug for my blog, lots of content posted in the past week including a retrospective on 5 of my favourite songs from 4 years ago.
