Thursday Music Miscellany
Posted on April 12, 2007 at 12:06 pm | No Comments
My weekly catch-all post of music-related linky randomness, with some national bits and some Boston-area show news.
Touch & Go Records continues their weekly sharing of fantastic video featurettes on the bands and their performances from last fall’s 25th Anniversary celebration in Chicago, and last week was my favorite so far: Arcwelder. The modest men are interviewed, and you get to see their killer performance of set-closer “Cranberry Sauce” in its entirety. Gave me goosebumps, once again. And not only is Shellac’s Todd Trainer a brilliant drummer, he’s a very wise man. Watch the clip and you’ll understand.
Random meeting of the off-kilter minds: Comedian Eugene Mirman interviews Robyn Hitchcock. And yes, I’m still a little bitter about missing Robyn’s show a couple weeks back.
Also with the slightly bitter: the fact that the Wedding Present’s planned October tour commemorating the 20th anniversary of the release their debut album, “George Best”, will come nowhere near American shores. Yeah, yeah, I know the whole point of the thing is to re-visit the places they played on that album’s original tour, but, but… sigh. Between the Weddoes’ performance of that entire disc from start to finish and the House of Love doing the same for their debut album in London in September (as part of the Don’t Look Back series), I’ve got some serious continent-envy.
To coincide with that special full-album performance, the House of Love will be re-releasing that stellar 1988 self-titled Creation Records debut in September, along with a long-unavailable collection of early singles and rare tracks, which gets expanded slightly. More details here. Pretty sure I’ve got all those cuts on their original pressings, but the re-issues should be much appreciated by those who missed out the first time around.
Also getting a re-release, courtesy of the Hi-Speed Soul label: Nada Surf‘s 1996 “Karmic” EP. As someone who considers their “Let Go” one of the most solid indie-rock albums of the last 5 years, I’m looking forward to hearing this early pre-Popular work. The re-issue arrives in June, and the band’s fifth full-length should follow this fall.
Waitaminute… Team Dresch is working on new songs? Yes, please.
Tanya Donelly’s latest album, the gorgeous (but isn’t she always) “This Hungry Life“, was recorded live in front of an adoring audience up in Vermont, and T has graciously uploaded all the songs that were performed but not included on the disc. As she says, the mixes of these extra songs “…are not wonderful, and unlike THL, this is just a straightforward, stripped-down, warts-and-all live set“, so she asks that you not put any donations in the digital tip jar (top of page). Regardless, just pretend you’re donating for all those demos she shared a few months back. Or just because she deserves it in general.
Via Billboard, Perennial Boston boys Buffalo Tom have announced the official release date of their long-awaited next full-length: The 13-track “Three Easy Pieces” will be out on July 10th through the new Ammal Records imprint. From the new songs they’ve been playing live over the past couple years, it should be a good ‘un.
American Laundromat Records has announced the first two artists taking part in their planned Pixies tribute disc, “Dig For Fire“: Mogwai doing “Gouge Away”, and the Rosebuds doing “Break My Body” (which they chose after another band claimed “Caribou” first). If they keep announcing covers of that caliber, I’ll be pre-ordering that sucker as soon as it’s possible. Oh, who am I kidding… they had me at “Mogwai”.
As followers of Matt Pond PA wait for news of their next album (“Last Night”, hopefully in the fall?), the band will kill some time by releasing a limited EP this summer titled “If You Want Blood”. No word if they’re pulling a Kozelek by covering the original AC/DC song as the title track, though. The band is also killing time by, well, starting a whole new band: The Dark Leaves. They’ve got four Fawn-centric songs up on their MySpace page already, so MPPA fans should get befriending.
Been meaning to mention these guys for a very long time, but have been waiting for an occasion. Well, enough waiting, I’m just gonna share: The Answer Is Fall (or e.g.?) is a Brooklyn-based band with some swell songs up on their MySpace page. You likely haven’t heard of them because they’ve been gestating for awhile now, trying to steady their lineup (bassist Steve Choo has switched to guitar, so the band was looking for a bassist), as well as their band name (it’s changed once, and may yet change again), but the shared songs promise good things once they get up and running. They promise new material and live shows “in the near future”, and I do hope that near is near.
The First Act Guitar Studio here in Boston has been hosting acoustic sessions by some decent (and some, uh, not so decent) bands for awhile now, but has only recently started hooking up with Volkswagen to share select mp3 recordings of those sets on the web. The corporate co-venture (which also includes the Phoenix & WFNX) comes together in something called the VW Green Room, where you can find recent performances from Bloc Party and Silversun Pickups. I’ll link a couple of the shared songs here, but for the rest, head here and here, and scroll to the bottom of each page.
Former recluse and overall musical oddball Jandek is coming to Boston this summer, on Friday, June 8th, at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, to be exact. And he’ll be playing bass in the band that he’s bringing with him. I’ve heard lots of differing reactions to live shows he’s been doing since coming out of hiding in 2004, after over 25 years of releasing dozens of albums. Some have said the performances were magical, others have wished the guy remained in hiding, that the cloud of mystery was better left alone. Either way, this will be a bona fide sell-out event, one of those things that maybe you should experience just once if not again. To do so, grab tickets on April 30th right here, or if you’re already an ICA member, you can get them early this Tuesday, the 17th. Thanks to the ICA and the Critique of Pure Reason for setting this one up.
My old friend and bandmate (and one of the most talented guys I know), Jedd Kettler, is in a Vermont-based band called Farm (as opposed to “the farm”… I think Jedd would sooner jump off the “groovy train“), who I only now just discovered have a MySpace page with four downloadable songs, and a full-length album on the way titled “Gray Birds”. One of those four songs, “Boomtown” (which happens to be my fave), can be found on a new disc of Vermont artists that was put together for VT’s Otter Creek Brewing Company by the folks at Animalville Records. It’s simply titled the “Vermont Sampler 2007”, and in addition to being offered in limited edition with a certain number of Otter Creek 12-packs, you can get one sent to you free of charge by emailing Otter Creek (details here). Just did that myself, and it’s on the way. Can’t vouch for the other bands on the collection, but I’m looking forward to having “Boomtown” on disc.
Do I really want to cram myself into a crowded Urban Outfitters to see Dinosaur Jr. play an in-store? I’ll have to make that decision before June 11th, when they’ll be at the store’s Harvard Square location in Cambridge, MA. It’s part of some random ‘synergistic’ series of gigs called “Free Yr. Radio” that Toyota’s Yaris marketing team and U.O. have come up with, and they’re linking each show to a nearby independent radio station (this Boston-area appearance is a benefit for Emerson College’s WERS). The series kicks off in a couple days with Klaxons in Chicago, and other bands involved include The Ponys (April 24th), Voxtrot (April 28th), The Long Winters (May 1st), Annuals (May 9th), Man Man (May 19th), the Rapture (May 21st), Rogue Wave (May 25th), and Tapes ‘n Tapes (June 5th). Full details here (via clicky clicky).
In the “timing is everything” department: On Friday, June 29th I’ll be driving up to Vermont for the weekend in order to be part of my *cough*th anniversary high school reunion, the first I’ve ever braved been to. And what happens to be taking place up there on the very night I arrive? Only that Low is opening for Wilco on the green-grassed lawns of the historic Shelburne Museum. I spent so much time at that place growing up, I can’t imagine seeing a couple of great bands on their grounds. So even though I’ll have to seriously scramble to make it from the early-evening show over to the reunion festivities in my hometown of Essex Junction, I just couldn’t resist. That has the potential to be a truly transcendent evening, and it’d kill me to be so close but not be in the crowd. The only thing that could make it more special is if they actually set up on the deck of the Ticonderoga.
And for Boston area fans: Tickets for Low & Wilco on our waterfront at the Bank of America Pavilion on Thursday, June 28th will go on sale this Monday, April 16th at 10am, via Ticketmaster. Have your browsers ready and your fingers on your mice.
Another Boston show you must be made aware of, not just for the lineup, but for the cause: A benefit for one of my favorite area makers of music, Victory at Sea’s Mona Elliott, on June 16th at PA’s Lounge in Somerville. Her friends are pulling together to help with some unexpected medical bills, and if the world works the way it’s supposed to, the show should be packed. So far the wonderfully fierce Black Helicopter and the fiercely wonderful Seana Carmody are taking part, but I’m sure more great bands will be added. So mark that date on your calendar and send your healing thoughts Mona’s way.
Tonight, here in Boston: French Kicks are headlining a strong bill at Allston’s Great Scott that includes Wonderful Spells, the Subjects, and Mike Fiore of Faces on Film. With the show approaching, I realized I neglected to share the French Kicks songs that I recorded last summer when they opened for the Futureheads at the Paradise. So here they are…
Mp3: French Kicks – “England Just Will Not Let You Recover” (live)
Mp3: French Kicks – “No Mean Time” (live)
Mp3: French Kicks – “Also-Ran” (live)
all songs live at the Paradise, Boston, July 1st, 2006
Blog Fresh Radio asked me to make my second spoken contribution to their online podcast, which can be downloaded or streamed from their site. The relatively new program invites bloggers to introduce a song by a band they’re into, and this week you won’t be surprised to hear me gush about Ted Leo and the track “La Costa Brava” off his new record. Feels like I rambled nearly as long as the song that follows.
I was glad to see music blog Speed of Dark included in this new episode as well, not only because I’m a SoD fan, but because they brought attention to a band I’m really digging right now, Seattle’s Siberian. The song “Paper Birds” appears in the show, and here’s another one from the Sonic Boom label site…
Check out Siberian’s MySpace page for more, or visit their Sonic Boom page.
I can’t remember the last time I spun music for a crowd… it can’t have been as far back as my college dj days at WRUV, can it? But I’ll get the chance again soon thanks to Chris over at Tourfilter. He’s kindly asked me to be part of the second official Tourfilter DJ night at my favorite bar, River Gods in Cambridge. We’ll be playing songs from bands that are coming to town soon (check out the list to the left to get an idea of my playlist), and I’m kicking off the evening at 9 o’clock. So come by early, partake of some fine food & beverages, and heckle me up in the dj window.
Speaking of Tourfilter, major congrats on their nomination for a 2007 People’s Voice Webby Award. They’re up against some big guns like BBC Radio 1 and Last.fm, so head over there and vote if you’re a TF fan. Check in the Media section under Music.
Tomorrow night, Bostonians: Your presence is required at the Paradise for Caspian’s official cd release show. As I’ve mentioned too many times now, they’re excellent debut full-length, “The Four Trees”, came out this week, so the time has come to celebrate. And celebrate they shall, with openers On Fire and Constants. Doors at 8pm, see ya there. A nice write-up to get you in the mood: Caspian in this week’s Phoenix.
So, yeah, nice article in the Boston Globe last weekend about me and the Almanac, along with the fine folks from Band in Boston. Thanks very much to everyone who sent congrats in comments and emails (and yes, I’m still buried in correspondence and new MySpace friend requests). While my irrepressible modesty finds that kind of focus a little uncomfortable, the most remarkable part of the write-up was that I didn’t hate the photo they used. And y’know, there’s nothing to make you feel more inconsequential in the big scheme than discovering that the photographer was recently in Iraq taking beautiful pictures of a living nightmare. That’ll give you some perspective, right there. Real nice guy, though, and I’ll be thinking of him when he heads back over.
Meanwhile, I’ll be right here. Writing about, uh, music and stuff.
Coming: The Indie Film Fest of Boston
Posted on April 10, 2007 at 7:31 pm | No Comments
One of my most favorite signs of early spring: The announcement of the full schedule for the annual Independent Film Festival of Boston. This year marks the fifth edition, and while I’ve attended every one so far, this is the first year I’ve purposefully left my social schedule open between April 25th and May 1st. No conflicts, no out-of-town trips, no rock shows to get in the way. The only choices I’ll have to make are between films I want to see that happen to conflict with each other.
Of the long list of this year’s films, both narrative and documentary, here’s one from each day that jumps out at me…
The opening night film this year is director Hal Hartley’s latest, Fay Grim, with Parker Posey in the title role. If the character’s name sounds familiar to Hartley fans, it’s because the movie is a sequel to his 1997 film Henry Fool, with Posey reprising her character. Co-star James Urbaniak, who will be appearing at the opening night screening, also reprises the role of her brother Simon Grim. And while Urbaniak’s imdb listing is lengthy, I’m most psyched to see the man who voices Dr. Venture on the animated Venture Bros. series on Adult Swim, and a guy whose blog I read regularly.
Thursday, April 26th, 2007
The world premiere of On Broadway on the fest’s second night will be the quintessential Boston-flavored affair, as the film couldn’t be any more locally connected. It’s set here, was filmed here, and most of the cast and crew are from here. The screening is sure to be a party, with director Dave McLaughlin and some of the cast in attendance, including former New Kid Joey McIntyre, Watertown native (and, yes, leather-pantsed vampire slayer) Eliza Dushku, and (cue “The Final Countdown“) Arrested Development’s low-voiced puppet-master, Will Arnett. No doubt much of the crew will be in the audience as well, and I’m sure tickets will disappear shortly. Hell, I’d stop reading this right now and go get yours if I were you.
Friday, April 27th, 2007
Friday night at the Brattle brings the documentary Punk’s Not Dead, about the current and ever-evolving state of the over 30-year-old punk rock movement. Tons of bands and musicians in this thing, o’course: Fugazi, Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, X, Black Flag, NOFX… the list goes on and on. Director Susan Dynner will be in town for both screenings of the film, and I’m sure she’ll have some stories to tell.
Saturday, April 28th, 2007
There is no film with a higher geek-factor this year than documentary The King of Kong, which means, of course, that I am compelled to attend. Seriously, an entire movie about the original world record-holder of the Donkey Kong high score, and the man who threatened to dethrone him 20 years later? Total arcade generation gold. (also screens on Friday night)
Sunday, April 29th, 2007
Sunday night I’ll be at The Ten, directed by David Wain of The State comedy collective, and of the sadly departed Stella TV series. Apart from the Stella episodes and shorts, I believe this is the first film he’s directed since 2001’s Wet Hot American Summer, which had a pretty great cast… but this one might just top it: Paul Rudd, Famke Janssen, Winona Ryder, Justin Theroux, Liev Schreiber, Gretchen Mol, Rob Corddry, Janeane Garofalo, Adam Brody, and Jessica Alba. And that’s not even a complete list of recognizable names. The film is a series of ten (duh) short stories centered around the ten commandments, and word is that someone from the cast will make it to one or both of the screenings (there’s another the previous day as well).
Monday, April 30th, 2007
During the Silver Jews tour of Israel in the summer of 2006, filmmaker (and blogger) Michael Tully followed David Berman & company around to document the noteworthy trip, and the results are the film Silver Jew. As a longtime Joos fan who was very glad to see them play here in Boston that year, I’m really looking forward to this one, especially with director Tully in attendance at both screenings (the film also screens on Sunday night).
The music geek in me won out over the baseball fan on this particular night of the fest, but I’ve gotta mention the documentary Rumbo a Las Grandes Ligas, which I’d be seeing if it wasn’t for Silver Jew. It takes an in-depth look at baseball in the Dominican Republic, where for many kids it’s more a religion than a pastime. Our own Big Papi, the Red Sox David Ortiz (who, as I type this, has just hit a couple homers), appears in the film , and both director Jared Goodman and producer Eran Lobel will be at the screening. And hey, the Sox are off that day, and will be back in town to play Oakland… wonder what the chances of Ortiz showing up at that screening are? Hmmmm…
Tuesday, May 1st, 2007
The film that will officially bring the 5th annual Independent Film Festival of Boston to a close is the world premiere of Brooklyn Rules from Rhode Island-born director Michael Corrente. He’ll be at the final night screening of the movie, which stars Alec Baldwin, Freddie Prinze, Jr., Scott Caan, Jerry Ferrara (Entourage’s Turtle), and Mena Suvari.
And that hardly scratches the surface of this year’s lineup, and as the fest gets closer I’ll no doubt add a bunch more to my “gotta see” list (especially some of the “late night” screenings). Check the full schedule to make your own list, and get on those tickets (or better yet, a festival pass) before they’re gone… every year too many film fans are shut out who wait until the last minute, so don’t be one of ’em.
A few IFFB links…
Befriend the IFFBoston on MySpace. For more on all the films, visit the excellent new Unofficial Guide to the 2007 IFFBoston. Apparently the 5th year anniversary gift for a film festival is your very first fansite. Check out this little feature on Boston.TV about the premiere screening of the Mission Of Burma documentary that took place at last year’s IFFBoston. Randomly, Amie and I can be spotted in the crowd for a micro-second, and it was good to see my old friend Dan (who used to sell me lots of records at Pure Pop in Burlington, Vermont) interviewed briefly, saying “I’m a huge Burma fan, absolutely“. A final footnote: Just when I thought the festival couldn’t be improved, I discover that the Somerville Theater now serves beer on tap. Nothing better to wash down the ol’ popcorn.