Tenacious Hand Stamp

NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert: Phoenix

2010-07-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

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MY TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2010, so far...

2010-06-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a long time since i've gushed or ranted... so here is a nifty little list of what's been playing on handstamp's headphones over the last 6 months.

1. STARS - THE FIVE GHOSTS
I have been highly criticized for having a very short memory when it comes to making these types of lists by putting newer releases higher than they should be ranked. As such, I present to you, The Five Ghosts which was 'officially' released not more than a week ago. The Five Ghosts is Stars' first full length since the 2007 album, 'In Our Bedroom After The War' which happens to be my one of my all time favorite albums. To say that this album has a lot to live up to is a major understatement. The first five times I listened to this album, my initial reaction was that it's NOT 'In Our Bedroom..' which is OK. This album might not be Stars' best work, but it's still an incredibly beautiful album that is angelic and haunting, sad and dancy. And for now, I can't stop listening to it. So the next six months will determine whether this album has the staying power that I'm claiming it does.

2. SPOON - TRANSFERENECE
When it comes to music and Britt Daniels, there are few people that would challenge claims of his extraordinary talent. Spoon has steadily released very solid albums over the last decade-plus. I ranked their 2001 release 'Girls Can Tell' at #36 in my Top 50 albums of the decade, and this is my favorite Spoon album since. As much as the band pushes the envelope with their sound, it maintains its pop/rock accessibility.

3. FREE ENERGY - STUCK ON NOTHING
If you are going to start the first measure of the first track of your first album with a cow bell you better have the chops to back it up... and free energy does. No doubt about it, 'Free Energy' is pure rock-pop... in fact, the 3rd track on the album is titled 'Bang Pop' which is a great description for the style of music.... complete with oohs, and ahhh's, and Na Na Na's..

4. HARLEM - HIPPIES
This is what happens when you cross The Beatles with Nirvana. Pure Awesome.

5. MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS - THE FAMILY JEWELS
I'm calling this the album of the Summer. The question is will this Brit-pop singer rise and fall from the spotlight like other recent female brit pop and rock stars? The album will certainly appeal to indie crowd, and it's got massive pop power (think Regina Spektor + Lady Gaga) that could catapult her into widespread radio play before you know it.

6. BROKEN BELLS - BROKEN BELLS.

7. SURFER BLOOD - ASTRO COAST

8. TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB - TOURIST HISTORY

9. THE GOLDEN FILTER - VOLUSPA

10. MENOMENA - MINES

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Harvey’s Kitchen: Amelia’s Mechanics - Part 2

2010-05-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

I have been watching this series distributed by my company, blip.tv. It consistently interviews great bands that I would never have heard of otherwise.

Harvey’s Kitchen: Amelia’s Mechanics - Part 2 - (see Part 1 here) - Molly McGinn and Molly Miller after completing their first album “North, South” with Kasey Horton and produced by Jim Avett, are now beginning the process of recording their second album with 3 time grammy award winner Steven Heller and Laurelyn Dossett at Echo Studios. This is a bit of departure from the usual Kitchen episode. The song was recorded live next to our dirty dishes but Carolyn and I also ventured out to a few venues to capture a little live footage to complement the performance. This particular song will be appearing on their as yet untitled new album. If their introduction is anything to go by, this band is definitely going places.
—-
Harvey’s Kitchen brings you music, art, and all manner of things both in the kitchen and outside of it.
This is a really fantastic series. Some of the best sounding/looking live performances I’ve seen on the video web. If you’re a fan of Folk/ Bluegrass / Alt. Country music you need to check this out and browse the entire series of episodes here.

The Coachella Effect

2010-04-07T12:36:00.000-07:00

The next two weeks are absolutely nutty with shows in San Francisco.

Click the image for a larger view.

Not in this image is The Dead Weather on 4/15 and 4/16 at the Fillmore, Thom Yorke @ the Fox, and Phoenix who is playing the Catalyst in Santa Cruz on 4/17

PS22 Chorus "LISZTOMANIA" Phoenix

2010-03-30T08:11:00.001-07:00

I want to adopt each and every one of these children.

First Concert(s) of 2010 - Double Header!

2010-01-14T12:35:00.001-08:00

I had the special privilege of catching my former co-worker's band, The Matinees, yesterday at El Rio in San Francisco. Jaime was my office manager at The ONION and was there with us from the beginning! I love their sound. Look out for them in San Francisco!

I then zipped off to see The Builders and The Butchers who never ever disappoint! Check out the video here.

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Top Albums of the Decade (2000-2009)

2010-01-01T08:40:00.000-08:00

1. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)
2. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)
3. Franz Ferdinand - S/T (2004)
4. The Killers - Hot Fuss (2004)
5. Daft Punk - Discovery (2001)
6. Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War (2007)
7. Portugal The Man - Church Mouth (2007)
8. White Stripes - White Blood Cells (2001)
9. The Strokes - Is this It? (2000)
10. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot it Int the People (2002)
11. Hot Chip - The Warning (2006)
12. Blonde Redhead - 23 (2007)
13. Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now Youngster (2008)
14. Portishead - Third (2008)
15. Ratatat - Classics (2006)
16. Metric - Fantasies (2009)
17. Beirut - Gulag Orchestar (2006)
18. Beck - Guero (2005)
19. Postal Service - Give Up (2003)
20. Jamie Lidell - Jim (2008)
21. Vampire Weekend (2008)
22. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones (2006)
23. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2005)
24. Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock & Roll (2005)
25. The Go! Team - Thunder Lightening Strike (2005)
26. Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat (2006)
27. The Helio Sequence - Keep your Eyes Ahead (2008)
28. LCD Soundstystem - Sound of Silver (2007)
29. Silversun Pickups - Carnavas (2006)
30. Kings of Leon - Aha Heartbreak Shake (2004)
31. Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of this Country (2006)
32. Tegan & Sara - The Con (2007)
33. Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica (2000)
34. The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're gone? (2003)
35. Black Mountain - In the Future (2008)
36. Spoon - Girls Can Tell (2001)
37. Eagles of Death Metal - Heart On (2008)
38. Heartless Bastards - The Mountian (2009)
39. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods(2005)
40. Rodrigo y Gabriela - ST (2006)
41. The Kills - Midnight Boom (2008)
42. Gogol Bordello - Gypsy Punk: Underdog World Strike (2005)
43. Architecture In Helsinki - In Case We Die (2005)
44. Tilly and the Wall - Bottoms of Barrels (2006)
45. Maps - We Can Create (2007)
46. King Khan & The Shrines - The Supreme Genius of..(2008)
47. Cold War Kids - Robbers & Cowards (2006)
48. Fugazi - The Argument (2001)
49. The Sounds - Dying to Say this To You (2006)
50. My Morning Jacket - Z (2005)

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My Year in Lists: Top 10 Albums of 2009

2009-12-21T20:55:00.000-08:00

#10 - Girls
Album
Listen here

#9 - Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros
Up From Below
Listen here

#8
Miike Snow
Miike Snow
Listen to their track 'Animal'

#7
Heartless Bastards
Mountain
Listen to their track 'Be So Happy'

#6 - The xx
xx
Listen here

#5 - Raveonettes
In and Out of Control
Listen here

#4
Passion Pit
Manners
Listen to the track 'The Reeling'

#3 Portugal. The Man -
Satanic Satanist
Listen here

#2
Metric
Fantasies
Listen to their track 'Gold Guns Girls'

#1
Phoenix
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Listen to their track '1901'

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My Year in Lists - Top 10 Concerts 2009

2009-12-18T20:16:00.000-08:00

I am officially declaring the end of the 2009 concert season. I'm done for this year. Now, although I've been documenting most of my concerts for the last 2 1/2 years now, it's only been this year that I started to actually keep a count of all the concerts i go to... you know, for tax reasons. And so here it is. The final count is 80. Here are some some numbers:

22 shows @ The Independent
10 shows @ The Fillmore
7 @ Bottom of The Hill
6 @ Rickshaw Stop
6 @ Mezzanine
5 guys in a band crashed in my 1BR apartment.
3 shows in London, UK
2 in Los Angeles
1 game of pop-a-shot with Nate Mendel of the Foo Fighters.

Choosing the top 10 shows was much easier than I thought it would. I've also added links to videos or my reviews of the concerts where available. If you were at any of these shows I want to hear from you! Reply with comments.

So here are my top shows of the year:

#10 - Starfucker @ Bottom of the Hill (10/07)
#9 - Portugal. The Man @ Independent (09/23)
#8 - Passion Pit @ Bimbo's (05/26)
#7 - Eagles of Death Metal @ Fillmore (02/05)
#6 - Wolfmother + Heartless Bastards @ Fox Theatre (11/23)
#5 - Los Campesinos! @ Slims (04/15)
#4 - Metric + Silversun Pickups @ Bimbo's 365 Club (11/06)
#3 - Phoenix @ The Warfied (09/17)
#2 - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros @ The Great American Music Hall (12/12)
#1 - Does It Offend You, Yeah? @ Heaven nightclub in London UK (10/29)

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2009 Concert Archive

2009-12-16T19:25:00.000-08:00

MY 2009 CONCERTS

01/23 - Raveonettes (Bimbo's)
01/25 - Jay Reatard (Independent)
01/30 - Devotchka (Fillmore)
01/31 - Social Studies (Hemlock)
02/05 - Eagles of Death Metal (Fillmore)
02/21 - Murder by Death + The Builders And the Butchers (Bottom Of The Hill)
02/24 - Deerhunter (Mezzanine)
02/25 - French Kicks (Independent)
02/27 - RA RA Riot (Independent)
02/28 - Portugal The Man..
03/01 - Les Savy Fav (Mezzanine)
03/05 - Fujiya & Miyagi + Pop Levi + Project Jenny, Project Jan (Independent)
03/13 - Asobi Seksu (Independent)
03/21 - Karl Denson's Tiny Universe + Robert Walter's 20th Congress (Independent)
03/24 - Bishop Allen (Rickshaw Stop)
03/27 - Marnie Stern (Bottom of the Hill)
04/01 - RATATAT (Fillmore)
04/15 - Los Campesinos! (Slims)
04/21 - Black Kids + Mates of State (Independent)
04/24 - Vivian Girls (Independent)
04/30 - Ladytron + The Faint (Fillmore
05/12 - Cloud Cult + Ice Palace (Independent)
05/15 - Kraak & Smaak (mezzanine)
05/16 - Michael Franti & Spearhead, Greyboy Allstars (Oyster Fest)
05/19 - The Kills (Fillmore)
05/21 - Pelle Carlberg, Oh No! Oh My!
05/22 - Ghostland Observatory (Mezzanine)
05/25 - Flight of the Conchords (Paramount)
05/26 - Passion Pit (Bimbo's)
05/28 - Black Moth Super Rainbow + School of Seven Bells(BOTH)
05/29 - Jenny Lewis (Fillmore)
05/30 - Pretty Lights (Independent)
06/04 - CLUES (former Arcade Fire + Unicorns) @ Rickshaw
06/05 - Submarines (Independent)
06/06 - Airborne Toxic Event, Designer Drugs (Popscene)
06/06 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Crystal Castles, Airborne Toxic Event, DJ AM, Mike Relm (Live 105 BFD, Shoreline)
06/08 - Camera Obscura (Fillmore)
06/10 - Rodrigo y Gabriela (Mountain Winery)
06/12 - DataRock (Independent)
06/13 - Bat For Lashes (Great American Music Hall)
06/15 - Art Brut (Independent)
06/18 - Miike Snow (Popscene)
06/20 - White Rabbits (Independent)
07/03 - Lovemakers + Amazing Baby (popscene)
07/09 - Rural Alberta Advantage (Bottom of the Hill)
07/14 - Blonde Redhead (Indepenedent)
07/15 - The Builders and The Butchers (Bottom of the Hill)
07/21 - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Rickshaw Stop)
08/03 - Bowerbirds, Megafaun (Cafe du Nord)
08/18 - Scrabbel (Hemlock)
08/19 - Crocodiles (Rickshaw Stop)
08/28 - Outside Lands // Los Campesinos!, Silversun Pickups, Thievery Corporation, West Indian Girl, Pearl Jam
09/10 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Fox)
09/11 - The Lovemakers (Independent)
09/17 - Phoenix (Warfield)
09/18 - Frightened Rabbit + We Were Promised JetPacks
09/23 - Portugal. The Man (Independent)
09/25 - Portugal. The Man (Troubadour)
09/30 - LadyHawke + Ida Maria
10/02 - Asobi Seksu (Slims)
10/03 - Miike Snow (Bottom of the Hill)
10/04 - Jolie Holland (Independent)
10/06 - School of Seven Bells (Slims)
10/07 - Starfucker (Bottom of the Hill)
10/13 - Sunny Day Real Estate (Fillmore)
10/15 - Pretty Lights (Independent)
10/16 - MGMT (Independent)
10/24 - The Sounds + Foxy Shazam (Warfield)
10/28 - Los Campesinos (Garage, London)
10/29 - Does It Offend You, Yeah? (Heaven, London)
10/30 - Amanda Blank, Ou Est Le Swimming Pool, We Have Band (Proud, London)
11/06 - Metric + Silversun Pickups (Bimbos)
11/09 - Raveonettes (Bimbo's)
11/13 - They Might Be Giants (Fillmore)
11/20 - The Juan Maclean (Mezzanine)
11/22 - The XX + Friendly Fires (Independent)
11/23 - Wolfmother + Heartless Bastards (Fox)
12/10 - Gossip, Passion Pit, Hey Champ (Mezzanine)
12/12 - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (GAMH)
12/14 - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (Mayan Theatre, LA))

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Silversun Pickups & Metric rock Droid Launch Party @ Bimbos

2009-11-10T09:43:00.000-08:00

The Motorola Droid Launch event came with special launch party events in several cities last Friday. Completely taken by surprise, I found out on Friday morning that two of my favorite bands, Metric and Silversun Pickups would be playing the event. I scrambled to get tickets but I discovered that the only way to get in was to be invited. And you could only be invited if you bought a the new phone or won a lottery from street teams handing out invites. It turned out that not everybody buying a Motorola Droid was interested in seeing Metric or Silversun Pickups, and I able to acquire a pair of tickets for the show.. The event drummed up a lot of hype in a very short amount of time, but, as events go, the venue was sparsely attended. This was fine by me, as it made the performances by both bands very intimate. Click on the images for video.

Silversun Pickups:

Metric:

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October 2009 archive

2009-10-25T10:13:00.000-07:00

10/01 - Datarock (Slims)
10/01 - Ian Fays + Hot Toddies (Bottom of the Hill)
10/02 - Asobi Seksu (Slims)
10/02 - Geographer (Rickshaw Stop)
10/03 - Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (Golden Gate Park)
10/03 - Miike Snow (Bottom of the Hill)
10/04 - Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (Golden Gate Park)
10/04 - Jolie Holland (Independent)
10/06 - School of Seven Bells (Slims)
10/09 - MUTEMATH (Fillmore)
10/10 - Bob Dylan (Greek)
10/11 - Bob Dylan (Greek)
10/13 - Devotchka (Warfield)
10/13 - Junior Boys (Mezzanine)
10/14 - Devotchka + Pogues (Regency Ballroom)
10/14 - Great Lake Swimmers (Great American Music Hall)
10/15 - Gogol Bordello (Fox)
10/15 - Moby (Warfield)
10/15 - Pretty Lights (Independent)
10/16 - Snow Patrol (Fox)
10/17 - Treasure Island Music Festival // MGMT, Mstrkrft, Girl Talk, Brazilian Girls, Passion Pit
10/17 - Why? (GAMH)
10/18 - Treasure Island Music Festival // Flaming Lips, Decemberists, Beirut, Grizzly Bear, Yo la Tengo, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
10/19 - Jay Reatard (GAMH)
10/20 - Stone Temple Pilots (Fox)
10/21 - Blind Pilot (GAMH)
10/22 - Noah and the Whale (Swedish American Hall)
10/23 - Islands (Bottom of the Hill)
10/24 - The Sounds + Foxy Shazam (Warfield)
10/29 - The Dodos (Bimbos)
10/30 - Amanda Blank, Ou Est Le Swimming Pool, We Have Band (Proud, London)
10/30 - Art Brut (Cafe du Nord)
10/30 - Paul Oakenfold (Regency)
10/30 - Regina Spektor (Fox)
10/31 - Built to Spill (Fillmore)
10/31 - LMFAO (Regency)

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The Sounds + Foxy Shazam @ Warfield

2009-10-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

Foxy Shazam - "Introducing Foxy" -= There's a lot of shit happening here. Pay particular attention to the keyboardist.

The Sounds - "Queen of Apology"

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Sunny Day Real Estate @ The Fillmore

2009-10-18T09:27:00.000-07:00

Perhaps it was the opportunity to sit in the headliner's dressing room among the ghosts of the musicians that have graced the Fillmore Auditorium? Perhaps it was the great company?

Perhaps it was playing 'pop-a-shot' with Nate Mendel (Bassist for SDRE and Foo Fighters") at my favorite local dive bar?

Or perhaps it was just a rocking show? I don't know... but evening will go down as one I will never forget.

MGMT @ The Independent

2009-10-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

In anticipation of the Treasure Island Music Festival this weekend, MGMT announced a surprise show at the Independent which sold out in minutes. I was fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to get one of these tickets.

I'm not sure if I was just tired and cranky, but after seeing the combination of BLK JKS and MGMT, I was seriously questioning why on Earth these bands get the hype that they do. Specifically MGMT. It may not have been the worst concert I have ever seen... but it was certainly close.

Boo. MGMT. Boo.

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Starfucker @ Bottom of the Hill

2009-10-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

Strength and Deejay Ceejay opened for Starfucker. Here's a clip from Strength.

School of Seven Bells @ Slims

2009-10-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

SVIIB - 'Iamundernodisguise'

SVIIB - new song from their upcoming album

SVIIB - 'Connjur'

SVIIB - 'My Cabal'

Anna Ternheim shines @ Slim's

2009-10-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

Asobi Seksu and Loney Dear co-headlined Slim's last night. Unlike the last time Asobi Seksu came to town (march 13, 2009), I was quite indifferent about their return to SF. It's partly because I wasn't really dazzled by their newest studio album, and their last live show was just meh. Well, i had nothing better to do, so I went to Slims early, got myself a cheeseburger, a PBR, and some great conversation with the bartender.

The first opener was Anna Ternheim. She is a Swedish singer-songwriter who's apparently huge... in Sweden. Well, if she keeps doing what she's doing, she's going to turn some heads in the U.S. too. Every one of her songs was unique and original yet accessible and very catchy; she's cute, and she has a terrific voice. If it weren't for her dark-ish lyrics, she could follow The Submarines, Feist, and The Ting Tings in the long line of cute voices selling iPods.

Loney Dear, also a singer-songwriter from Sweden, didn't blow anybody's mind, but wasn't terrible either. Kinda sounds like Conor Oberst.

I was lucky to be able to get a glimpse of the setlist as Asobi Seksu took the stage. This way, i knew how to time the beer runs and cigarette breaks without missing the songs I was there to hear.

check out more videos from this show on my YouTube channel

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Music Graph - June through September 2009

2009-09-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

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September 2009 Archive

2009-09-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

09/09 - Vivian Girls (Rickshaw Stop)
09/09 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Fox)
09/10 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Fox) ** THS Show**
09/11 - The Lovemakers (Independent)
09/17 - Phoenix (Warfield) **THS Show**
09/18 - Citizen Cope (Fillmore)
09/18 - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart (Great American Music Hall)
09/18: Frightened Rabbit + We Were Promised Jetpacks (Independent) **THS Show**
09/19 - Citizen Cope (Fillmore)
09/23 - Portugal. The Man (Independent) **THS Show**
09/25 - Portugal. The Man (Troubadour) **THS Show**
09/23 - Rodrigo y Gabriela (Fox)
09/30 - LadyHawke + Ida Maria **THS Show8*

Portugal. The Man + Drug Rug rock my face in two venues

2009-09-26T12:36:00.001-07:00

It's been a busy and exciting week for me. The concert schedule is heating up and my new job at blip.tv is keeping me incredibly busy. I always make time for music, though, especially when it is Portugal. The Man. This band has been melting my face for two years, and I'm really excited that they are drawing such amazing crowds. Last year, they made it to the top of the 'Best Concert of 2008' list with the help of opener Foxy Shazam.

Though it is hard to keep raising the bar, they may be able to defend that title again this year, this time with the help their tour support, Drug Rug. Drug Rug is pretty straightforward rock'n'roll with exceptional stage presence and great chemistry. I had the good fortune of being able to see them in San Francisco @ the Independent on Wednesday and in Los Angeles at the Troubadour on Friday night. Here are some videos:

Drug Rug @ Troubadour

Portugal. The Man @ Troubadour

They opened with Colours

People Say

Church Mouth

encore

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Phoenix @ Warfield

2009-09-18T07:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got a brand new Flip Video minoHD camera just in time for the Phoenix concert. Enjoy the following clips!

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August 2009 Archive

2009-09-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

08/02 - Japandroids (Hemlock Tavern)
08/02 - Sonic Youth (Fox)
08/15 - N.A.S.A. (Independent)
08/18 - Scrabbel (Hemlock) ** THS Show
08/19 - Crocodiles (Rickshaw Stop) ** THS Show
08/26 - The Dodos (Rickshaw Stop)
08/28 - Outside Lands // Los Campesinos!, Silversun Pickups, Thievery Corporation, West Indian Girl, Pearl Jam ** THS Show
08/29 - Dirtbombs (Rickshaw Stop)
08/29 - Outside Lands // Portugal. The Man, The Dirtbombs, Bat For Lashes, Deerhunter
08/30 - Outside Lands // Matt & Kim, Lenka, Cage The Elephant, Heartless Bastards, The Dead Weather, Band of Horses, Modest Mouse, Ween, MIA, Beastie Boys.

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Music Graph - May through July 2009

2009-08-07T17:40:00.000-07:00

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Tenacious D to replace Beastie Boys at Outside Lands

2009-08-06T14:41:00.001-07:00

As previously reported on this blog, the Beastie Boys cancelled several tour dates due to Adam Yauch's cancer diagnosis. Unfortunately, this included Another Planet's Outside Lands Festival in Golden Gate Park. Another Planet Entertainment announced today, "The “Greatest Band In the World,” Tenacious D featuring Jack Black and Kyle Gass is joining the world’s greatest line-up of artists for the 2nd annual Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival. Slotted as the closing act on Sunday evening, this will mark the legendary band’s first appearance in the Bay Area in three years and their United States Festival debut. Tenacious D’s unforgettable performances, groundbreaking videos and sheer charisma, energy and inspired songwriting will make this one of Outside Lands’ most memorable performances."

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SF Concert Schedule heating up!

2009-08-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

08/18 - Scrabbel (Hemlock)
08/19 - Crocodiles (Rickshaw Stop)
08/26 - The Dodos (Rickshaw Stop)
08/28 - Outside Lands // Los Campesinos!, Silversun Pickups, Thievery Corporation, West Indian Girl, Pearl Jam
08/29 - Dirtbombs (Rickshaw Stop)
08/29 - Outside Lands // Portugal. The Man, The Dirtbombs, Bat For Lashes, Deerhunter
08/30 - Outside Lands // Matt & Kim, Lenka, Cage The Elephant, Heartless Bastards, The Dead Weather, Band of Horses, Modest Mouse, Ween, MIA, Beastie Boys.
09/09 - Vivian Girls (Rickshaw Stop)
09/09 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Fox)
09/10 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Fox)
09/11 - The Lovemakers (Independent)
09/17 - Phoenix (Warfield)
09/18 - Citizen Cope (Fillmore)
09/18 - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart (Great American Music Hall)
09/19 - Citizen Cope (Fillmore)
09/23 - Portugal. The Man (Independent)
09/23 - Rodrigo y Gabriela (Fox)
10/01 - Datarock (Slims)
10/02 - Asobi Seksu (Slims)
10/03 - Miike Snow (Bottom of the Hill)
10/04 - Jolie Holland (Independent)
10/06 - School of Seven Bells (Slims)
10/14 - DeVotchKa (Regency Ballroom)
10/17 - Treasure Island Music Festival
10/18 - Treasure Island Music Festival
11/09 - Pixies (Fox)
11/09 - Raveonettes (Bimbos)

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July 2009 Archive

2009-07-31T14:08:00.000-07:00

*** indicate shows THS went to.

07/03 - Lovemakers + Amazing Baby (Rickshaw Stop) ***
07/07 - Dirty Projectors (Independent)
07/07 - Miniature Tigers (Cafe du Nord) ***
07/09 - Rural Alberta Advantage (Bottom of the Hill) ***
07/10 - Mighty Mighty Bosstones (Fillmore)
07/11 - Death Cab for Cutie, Ra Ra Riot, Andrew Bird (Greek Theatre)
07/14 - Blonde Redhead (Independent) ***
07/15 - Blonde Redhead (Independent)
07/15 - The Builders and The Butchers (Bottom of the Hill) ***
07/17 - Tussle (Bottom of the Hill)
07/21 - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Rickshaw Stop) ***
07/24 - Of Montreal (Fox)
07/26 - The Mighty Underdogs (Stern Grove)

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New Builders and Butchers Video - Golden and Green

2009-07-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

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Beastie Boy's Yauch Diagnosed With Cancer - Cancels Tour Dates

2009-07-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

From SFist

Well, this is some depressing news on this oddly gloomy summer day. The Beastie Boys are canceling their upcoming tour, as well as postponing their new album release, because doctors discovered a cancerous tumor in Adam Yauch's left parotid (salivary) gland. Yauch explains his treatment and the band's future in the video above.

In a statement, Yauch also explained, "I just need to take a little time to get this in check, and then we'll release the record and play some shows. It's a pain in the neck (sorry had to say it) because i was really looking forward to playing these shows, but the doctors have made it clear that this is not the kind of thing that can be put aside to deal with later."

If you recall, the Beastie Boys were supposed to headline one of the days at the Outside Lands Festival in August.

See the complete guide to 2009 music festivals here.

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Treasure Island Music Festival 2009 Lineup

2009-07-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

Treasure Island Music Festival 2009 Lineup:

Saturday October 17, 2009:
MGMT
MSTRKRFT
Girl Talk
Brazilian Girls
The Streets
Passion Pit
LTJ Bukem Feat. MC Conrad
DJ Krush
Federico Aubele
Dan Deacon
Murs
Crown City Rockers
The Limousines

Sunday October 18, 2009:
The Flaming Lips
The Decemberists
Beirut
Grizzly Bear
Yo La Tengo
The Walkmen
Bob Mould
Thao with The Get Down Stay Down
Vetiver
Spiral Stairs
Sleepy Sun
Tommy Guerrero
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

See the complete guide to 2009 music festivals here.

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Top 10 Albums of 2009... so far.

2009-07-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

#1
Phoenix
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Listen to their track '1901'

#2
Metric
Fantasies
Listen to their track 'Gold Guns Girls'

#3
Miike Snow
Miike Snow
Listen to their track 'Animal'

#4
Heartless Bastards
Mountain
Listen to their track 'Be So Happy'

#5
The Builders and The Butchers
Salvation is a Deep Dark Well
Listen to the track 'Devil Town'

#6
Passion Pit
Manners
Listen to the track 'The Reeling'

#7
Bat For Lashes
Two Suns
Listen to their track 'Sleep Alone'

#8
Camera Obscura
My Maudlin Career
Listen to the track 'French Navy'

#9
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Listen to the track 'Young Adult Friction'

#10
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
It's Blitz
Listen to the track 'Zero'

These albums are definitely worthy of being on many lists too.. so you should check them out as well.

Art Brut
Grizzly Bear
Dirty Projectors
Silversun Pickups
Dark Was The Night
Animal Collective

June 2009 Archive

2009-07-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

06/04 - CLUES (former Arcade Fire + Unicorns) @ Rickshaw
06/05 - Peaches (Regency Ballroom)
06/05 - Submarines (Independent)
06/06 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Crystal Castles, Airborne Toxic Event, DJ AM, Mike Relm (Live 105 BFD, Shoreline)
06/07 - Rogue Wave (Independent)
06/08 - Camera Obscura (Fillmore)
06/09 + 10 - Neko Case (Warfield)
06/10 - Rodrigo y Gabriela (Mountain Winery)
06/12 - Datarock (Independent)
06/13 - 1990s (BOTH)
06/13 - Au Revoir Simone (Bimbo's)
06/13 - Bat For Lashes (Great American Music Hall)
06/13 - Jay Reatard (Independent)
06/15 - Art Brut (Independent)
06/17 - Andrew Bird (Mighty)
06/18 - Cut Off Your Hands (BOTH)
06/20 - White Rabbits (Independent)
06/26 - David Byrne & DeVotchka (Greek)
06/27 - Phoenix + Amazing Baby (Grand Ballroom)

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The Builders and The Butchers - New Album, Tour Dates!

2009-06-19T17:59:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, The Builders And The Butchers release their second full length album called, "Salvation is Deep Dark Well". As many readers of this blog know, this is one of my favorite bands. Hailing from Alaska via Portland, these guys play a southern-grime-rock that returns to classic rock and roll roots. Everyone feels they need to draw comparisons to what/who they sound like which is a testament to its familiarity and one of the reasons I believe this band to be accessible to all listeners. Those in the indie community draw comparisons to the Decemberists.. though I disagree. Personally, I have described this bands sound to Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Led Zeppelin, The White Stripes, and the Cold War Kids. Lead singer, Ryan Sollee is quoted in an interview with the Seattlest, "The era of songs that drive and influence the majority of the Builders' material is early Depression-era blues, folk, and gospel, and weirder stuff like Tom Waits."

I've introduced many people to this band by taking them to their live performances and I've never had anybody leave saying, "Yeah, that was OK." Instead they blather superlatives for weeks on end. And I love it because It's true... you feel really really great while listening to The Builders And The Butchers... which is ironic because their songs are about death, poverty, betrayal, death, heartache, and more death. It's story telling at its best.

The Builders and The Butchers are currently on Tour and will be playing at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco on July 15, 2009. Tickets are $10. Buy your tickets now.

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Art Brut @ The Independent

2009-06-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

"Ready Art Brut!" This was the battle cry heard before every song played before a near-sold-out crowd at the Independent. Since first being introduced to Art Brut in 2006, my passion for this band has steadily increased with every play of nearly every track this band has produced. The show exceeded my already high expectations from a musical standpoint. The band's stage presence was among the best I've ever seen... and the banter between songs was funny as hell.

Here's a clip of the band covering the Ramone's "KKK took my baby away"

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Hotel Utah Documentary

2009-06-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

The Hotel Utah Saloon has a very storied history. The bar dates back to 1908 and though it has seen the city go through many changes, the bar itself has not changed much at all over the years except for the building of a small stage in 1977. That stage has been host to many rising stars thanks to their open mic night. The folks over at Bricks and Mortar Media are creating a documentary about music, from the perspective of the Hotel Utah open mic. In the process, they are sharing the dailies from the open mics at the Utah. The dailies are filled with live music and interviews. It's worth checking out. They're having a sneak preview at the Utah on June 27th.

In the meantime, go check out the dailies. Here's one interview with Eric McFadden and Pandora founder, Tim Westergren.

Hotel Utah Dailies 3.11.09 from Bricks and Mortar Media on Vimeo.

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Vampire Weekend + Ra Ra Riot = Discovery

2009-06-08T17:00:00.000-07:00

Bacon Ice Cream... Two things that are great individually, but when you put them together they taste wholly different, yet still delicious. Discovery is the name of the new collaboration between Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot. Turns out that the two bands are pretty close and they have a bunch of ideas that don't fit into either band's repertoire. So, they created a new band. I'm 50/50 on side projects and collaborations, but I think Discovery has legs. I just don't want to see another disappointment like Clues (Unicorns + ex-Arcade Fire members). And on that note... why is it that these seemingly genius musicians who come up with great names like Vampire Weekend, Unicorns, Arcade Fire, Ra Ra Riot, etc... suck at picking band names for their collaborative efforts? I mean.. Discovery? really?

Well anyway, for your enjoyment... Here is a free mp3 download of "Orange Shirt" by Discovery.

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Metric @ BFD

2009-06-08T08:31:00.001-07:00

Check out Jessica Jardine's interview with Emily Haines at the Decider.com

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Submarines @ The Independent

2009-06-08T08:29:00.000-07:00

photo courtesy of headshaker.

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Clues disappoint @ The Rickshaw Stop

2009-06-05T00:12:00.000-07:00

There are many blogs and music sites that take it upon themselves to write detailed reviews on albums and concerts, so you may notice that when I add my two cents, its usually to gush about a band who either achieved or exceeded my high expectations. I generally avoid writing a banal review of a band who doesn't dazzle and I rarely waste my time on negative reports. But for some reason, I am compelled to document on my humble blog that Clues are crap.

When I first heard of the band and its members' roots in the Unicorns and Arcade Fire, I clearly had high expectations. I listened to the album the same week I heard new releases from Phoenix, Metric, and Passion Pit (all albums that brought me great joy). My first go-through with the album was lackluster, but since it had been muddled with several other stellar new releases, I thought I would give it another shot when the hype of the aforementioned albums wore off. After a few weeks, a friend of mine encouraged me to listen to it with headphones to accentuate the intricacies of the album, of which there are many. However, I couldn't help but wonder if the album was poorly produced or if the band just missed the mark with what it was shooting for. I would wait to see them live to make my final judgement. And last night it all became clear to me.

Clues headlined the Rickshaw Stop with support from San Francisco local bands Geographer + Birds and Batteries. Though the show was not sold out, the floor filled quickly once the first opener Birds and Batteries began to play. Their unique style of rock-synth-pop was enough to get the crowd moving. Geographer then took the stage with an amazing display of talent and vibrant sound and filled the main floor with shifting bodies and bobbing heads.

The crowd was really energized as they waited for Clues to take the stage. However, a surprise duo called Jerusalem In My Heart (an extension of Clues) played a slow noisy interlude that killed the mood. The remaining band members shuffled on stage as the noisemakers exited and the anxious crowd waited in anticipation. What ensued was truly disappointing. Clues were neither entertaining, nor were they tight as a group. While there were moments of greatness and inspiration, they were few and far between. The majority of the performance was tedious and haughty, as if the members in the band were really only interested in playing for each other. Their self-involvement was probably the only thing keeping them from noticing that over half of the audience cleared out of the venue by the time they played their fourth song.

My judgement on the production of the album was clearly off target. This mess of talent was produced the best it could have been, and it is shame that they have to use the names of the Unicorns and Arcade Fire to sell themselves.

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Phoenix - Lisztomania 80's Video Mash-up

2009-06-02T18:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a gem I found from fellow blogger, Persona Sauna who says:

I can't believe I never saw this until today. Oddly enough, whenever I've listened to "Lisztomania" I can't help but find myself pulling out some of the same moves. The homemade YouTube video features classic dance scenes from 80's brat-pack movies mashed together such as The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Footloose, and Mannequin. Phoenix has even admitted they prefer this version to their own official video, calling it "our best video".

The new Phoenix album is getting heavy rotation on my iPod these days and will surely make my top 10 list for 2009. If you live in San Francisco, you can catch them on June 27 at the Regency. Amazing Baby will be opening for them and it is a show that should not be missed... unless you are out of town that weekend, like I am. Boo. At least i have the video to enjoy.

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Live Nation Announces Wednesday Specials

2009-06-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES, June 1 (Reuters) - Concert promoter Live Nation said on Monday it will waive service fees for general admission at hundreds of concerts on sale for a 24-hour stretch this week.

Live Nation's no service fee offer will happen as a one-day-only event on Wednesday. The company said it plans other offers every Wednesday through the summer as a recession year break for customers, such as waving the fees on certain bands or offering regional discounts.

OK.. I suppose this is a step in the right direction... but I'm more concerned about small capacity venues that generally charge $20 or less for tickets with an additional $12 in fees.

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Treasure Island Music Festival 2009 Rumors

2009-06-01T13:04:00.001-07:00

UPDATED 7/13 - Treasure Island Music Festival 2009 Lineup

Consequence of Sound reports that the following bands are confirmed:

Beirut
The Decemberists
The Flaming Lips
Girl Talk
HEALTH
Miike Snow
MSTRKRFT
Monotonix
Murs
No Age

Others report rumors of Joanna Newsom, Grizzly Bear, St. Vincent, Bon Iver, Calexico, School of Seven Bells, Ghostland Observatory, Chromeo, MGMT, and Ben Harper as rumored participants in this year’s lineup.

UPDATED 6/17 - FULL ARTIST LINEUP SHOULD BE ANNOUNCED WEEK OF JULY 13.

See the complete guide to 2009 music festivals here.

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May 2009 Archive

2009-05-30T00:21:00.000-07:00

05/01 - Asobi Seksu (Great American Music Hall)
05/01 - Chris Cornell (Regency Ballroom)
05/01 - Matthew Dear (Mighty)
05/12 - Deerhoof (Fillmore)
05/16 - Sean Hayes (Independent)
05/19 - The Kills (Fillmore)
05/21 - Kings of Leon + The Walkmen (BG Civic Aud.)
05/21 - Pelle Carlberg, Oh No! Oh My! (Rickshaw)
05/22 - TV on the Radio (Fox)
05/24 - Luka Bloom (GAMH)
05/25 - Flight of the Conchords (Paramount)
05/26 - Animal Collective (Fox)
05/26 - Passion Pit (Bimbos)
05/26 - Peter Bjorn & John (GAMH)
05/27 - M83 (Mezzanine)
05/28 - Black Moth Super Rainbow + School of Seven Bells(BOTH)
05/28 - Jenny Lewis (Fillmore)
05/29 - jenny Lewis (Fillmore)
05/29 - Langhorne Slim (Independent)
05/30 - Thermals (BOTH)

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Jenny Lewis @ Fillmore

2009-05-30T00:17:00.001-07:00

photo courtesy of Tenacious Handstamp Field Correspondent, HRH
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School of Seven Bells @ Bottom of the Hill

2009-05-29T10:11:00.001-07:00

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Backstage with Bob Dylan

2009-05-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

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Cloud Cult @ The Independent

2009-05-13T22:31:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that until last week, I was not familiar with Cloud Cult. After a friend of mine bought tickets for the show and gifted the album to me via iTunes, I gave it a listen and loved what I heard. What I didn't know was that the show I was about to see was going to be performance that bound musical and visual art together to create an unforgettable experience.

As the performers picked up their instruments, the artists picked up their brushes and gave life to two empty canvasses which flanked the stage. The paintings were auctioned off after each show.. making a couple of lucky bidders the owners of the coolest concert poster one could ever wish for. Here's the progression of what we saw.

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Does It Offend You, Yeah? Breaks Up, Cancels US Tour.

2009-05-02T14:36:00.000-07:00

Does It Offend You, Yeah? has canceled their 2009 US Tour. The band was on the lineup for Live105's BFD until today. According to Aaron Axelson [Live 105 music director], Morgan Quaintance, who plays live guitar and sings back-up vocals for Does It Offend You, Yeah? has quit the band. The remainder of their 2009 US Tour has been canceled, including BFD which is slated for June. I am saddened by this.

See the complete guide to 2009 music festivals here.

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Last 3 months In My Head.

2009-05-01T17:04:00.000-07:00

Click here for the last 3 months... or take a closer look at the last 6 weeks below

Austin City Limits 2009 Lineup announced

2009-04-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

Here it is kids...

Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Beastie Boys, Kings of Leon, Ben Harper and Relentless7, Thievery Corporation, John Legend, The Dead Weather, The Levon Helm Band, Ghostland Observatory, Sonic Youth, Mos Def, Toadies, Flogging Molly, The B-52s, Lily Allen, Citizen Cope, Arctic Monkeys, The Decemberists, Coheed and Cambria, Andrew Bird, Girl Talk, STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9), Phoenix, Bassnectar, Bon Iver, !!!, Avett Brothers, The Airborne Toxic Event, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Clutch, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Grizzly Bear, Heartless Bastards, Passion Pit, White Lies, Dan Auerbach, The Walkmen, The Scabs, Reckless Kelly, DeVotchka, Blitzen Trapper, The Virgins, Here We Go Magic, Eek-A-Mouse, K'Naan, Asleep at the Wheel, Dr. Dog, The Raveonettes, The Knux, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, State Radio, Los Amigos Invisibles, The Felice Brothers, Federico Aubele, Raul Malo, Daniel Johnston, Poi Dog Pondering, Brett Dennen, School of Seven Bells, and many many more....

See the complete guide to 2009 music festivals here.

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Live 105's BFD lineup announced

2009-04-27T14:31:00.000-07:00

April Archive shows

2009-04-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

04/01 - RATATAT + Tussle (Fillmore) <-- THS
04/02 - RATATAT (Fillmore)
04/03 - Snoop Dogg @ Mezzanine <-- did not attend
04/04 - Lily Allen (Warfield)
04/14 - Devendra Banhardt (Independent)
04/14 - Fleet Foxes (Fillmore)
04/15 - Los Campesinos! (Slims) <--- THS
04/15 - The Tings Tings (Fillmore) <--- did not attend
04/16 - Junior Boys (Bimbo's)
04/17 - Band of Horses (Fox)
04/17 - COACHELLA <-- did not attend
04/17 - The Action Design (Bottom of the Hill)
04/18 - COACHELLA <-- did not attend
04/18 - Noah and the Whale (Independent)
04/18 - The Black Keys (Fox)
04/19 - COACHELLA <-- did not attend
04/19 - Kimya Dawson (Rickshaw Stop)
04/20 - Black Kids + Mates of State (Independent)
04/20 - Bloc Party (Fox)
04/21 - Mates of State + Black Kids (Independent) <-- THS
04/24 - Vivian Girls + Abe Vagoda (Independent) <-- THS
04/28 - Cold War Kids (Fillmore)
04/29 - Ladytron + The Faint (Fillmore)
04/30 - Ladytron + The Faint (Fillmore <--THS

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Lollapalooza 2009 Lineup Announced!

2009-04-21T08:23:00.000-07:00

Here's the Full lineup:

Depeche Mode, Tool, The Killers, Jane's Addiction, Beastie Boys, Kings of Leon, Lou Reed, Ben Harper and Relentless7, Thievery Corporation, Snoop Dogg, Rise Against, Andrew Bird, TV on the Radio, Vampire Weekend, The Decemberists, Neko Case, STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9), Animal Collective, Band of Horses, Of Montreal, Arctic Monkeys, Coheed and Cambria, Ben Folds, Fleet Foxes, Silversun Pickups, Kaiser Chiefs, Crystal Castles, Bon Iver, Santigold, Atmosphere, Dan Auerbach, Cold War Kids, Deerhunter, Lykke Li, Robert Earl Keen, Peter Bjorn and John, Heartless Bastards, Gomez, Glasvegas, Federico, Aubele Dan Deacon, Passion Pit, Zap Mama, The Raveonettes, The Gaslight Anthem, The Airborne Toxic Event, White Lies, Ra Ra Riot, No Age, Asher Roth, Los Campesinos!, Bat For Lashes, Chairlift, Gang Gang Dance, The Virgins, Amazing Baby, Portugal. The Man, The Knux, Ida Maria Delta Spirit, Friendly Fires, Manchester Orchestra, Constantines, Ezra Furman & The Harpoons, Hockey, Miike Snow , Alberta Cross, Hey Champ, Sam Roberts Band, The Henry Clay People, Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam, Cage the Elephant, Living Things, The Low Anthem, Blind Pilot, Langhorne Slim, Other Lives, The Builders and The Butchers, Eric Church, Joe Pug, Kevin Devine, The Greencards Carney, Thenewno2

And spinning at PERRY'S
Bassnectar MSTRKRFT Simian Mobile Disco Deadmau5 Boys Noize KiD CuDi Crookers A-Trak Hercules and Love Affair (DJ Set) The Bloody Beetroots (DJ Set) LA Riots Kaskade The Glitch Mob Hollywood Holt Rye Rye He Say, She Say Car Stereo (Wars) Dark Wave Disco Moneypenny Yello Fever Animal Collective (DJ Set)

See the complete guide to 2009 music festivals here.

And the ever-popular accompanying video... sans puppets.

Lollapalooza Lineup 2009 from C3 Presents Video on Vimeo.

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Coachella 2009 Recaps:

2009-04-20T12:12:00.001-07:00

Courtesy of my good friend Jessica Jardine of the Onion's AV Club:

Coachella 2009, Day 1:
Coachella 2009, Day 2:
Coachella 2009, Day 3:

See the complete guide to 2009 music festivals here.

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Los Campesinos! @ Slims

2009-04-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

Too tired to write an intelligent post.. but the concert was great. Sky Larkin did a great job opening the show despite reporting that they had tremendous bad luck with their equipment and had to share LC!'s gear. They are definitely fun to watch so look out for them in the future.

Los Campesinos!

Los Campesinos! joined by Sky Larkin for encore

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Outside Lands Festival 2009 Lineup Announced!

2009-04-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

Outside Lands Festival 2009 Lineup! Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Beastie Boys... wait, this is 2009, right? not 1994? phew.. just checking.

Alright.. enough with the jokes, heres the much awaited lineup!

Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Beastie Boys, Incubus, Black Eyed Peas, M.I.A, Jason Mraz, Ween, The Mars Volta, Thievery Corporation Modest Mouse, Band of Horses, TV on the Radio, Dead Weather, Atmosphere, Tom Jones, Silversun Pickups, The National, Q-Tip, Brett Dennen, Built To Spill, Mastodon, Raphael Saadiq, Calexico, Os Mutantes, Midnite, JJ Grey, Mofro, Kinky, Deerhunter, Lila Downs, Trombone Shorty, Orleans Avenue, The Dodos, Bettye LaVette, Dengue Fever, Heartless Bastards, The Dirtbombs, Lenka, Akron/Family, John Vanderslice, Matt and Kim, Portugal. The Man, The Morning Benders, The Duke Spirit, Zee Avi, Blind Pilot, SambaDa, Ryan Bingham, West Indian Girl, Extra Golden

Here's the Musical Puppet version..

See the complete guide to 2009 music festivals here.

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Treasure Island Music Festival 2009 Dates Announced

2009-04-09T09:06:00.000-07:00

Noise Pop Industries and Another Planet Entertainment announced yesterday that the Treasure Island Music Festival will take place on October 17 & 18, 2009. This is a full month later than previous years. l speculate that the move was done because:
a: Vegoose, which took place over Halloween in Las Vegas, is no longer a competitive threat.
b: it creates a more manageable time gap between Another Planet's other big Festival, SF Outside Lands, which happens late in August this year
c: and it may actually be warmer in mid-October.

See the complete guide to 2009 music festivals here.

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Neko Case - Live in Concert on NPR Tomorrow

2009-04-08T10:04:00.000-07:00

From AV Club's Kyle Ryan April 8, 2009

As part of its "Live In Concert from All Songs Considered" series, NPR Music will stream Neko Case's show tomorrow night (April 9) at the 9:30 Club in D.C., where she'll perform with another A.V. Club favorite, Crooked Fingers. Many of the dates of Case's current tour are sold out or will sell out, so this may be your best shot. The free stream goes live at npr.org/music at 9:30 eastern.

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Gogol Bordello, What's Your Deal?

2009-04-07T14:47:00.000-07:00

Gogol Bordello has lined up a second leg of U.S. tour dates. After the gypsy-punk band's May and June dates, the group will head overseas for a European run followed by a 10-city summer tour bookended by previously announced festival appearances. Oddly omitted from their tour dates is any San Francisco tour date. They'll be skipping over SF when they go from Santa Cruz straight to George, WA for Sasquatch. They go abroad in June and part of July, and then finish up the month with an East Coast tour that culminates with All Points West before they head to Japan for Summer Sonic Festival. Hopefully they extend their tour into August and September so we may have a chance to see them included in the Outside Lands lineup, as previously predicted.

Gogol Bordello Tour Dates

See the complete guide to 2009 music festivals here.

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Nathan 'Flutebox' Lee - Amazing

2009-04-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

Last year I posted the Yuri Lane video of the beatboxing harmonica player. This year, we have Nathan 'Flutebox' Lee. Check it out:

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All Points West 2009 Lineup Announced

2009-03-31T12:09:00.000-07:00

All Points West 2009 Line-up:

Friday, July 31: Beastie Boys, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, The National, Fleet Foxes, MSTRKRFT, Q-Tip, The Pharcyde, Organized Konfusion, The Knux, Ra Ra Riot, Seasick Steve, Telepathe, Shearwater, Heartless Bastards, Flying Lotus, College Humor Live, Arj Barker, Eugene Mirman and Bo Burnham.

Saturday, August 1: Tool, My Bloody Valentine, Gogol Bordello, Arctic Monkeys, Neko Case, The Ting Tings, Yelle, Crystal Castles, St. Vincent, Tokyo Police Club, The Cool Kids, Kool Keith, Cage the Elephant, Chairlift, White Rabbits, Electric Touch, The Postelles, Black Gold, College Humor Live, Tim & Eric, Judah Friedlander and Jim Jeffries.

Sunday, August 2: Coldplay, Echo & The Bunnymen, MGMT, The Black Keys, Elbow, Silversun Pickups, Mogwai, We Are Scientists, Ghostland Observatory, The Gaslight Anthem, Etienne De Crecy, Lykke Li, Akron/Family, Steel Train, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, College Humor Live, Janeane Garofalo, Michael Showalter and Todd Barry.

Tickets are $89 for one-day, $199 for 3-day passes.

See the complete guide to 2009 music festivals here.

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March 2009 Archive

2009-03-30T23:37:00.000-07:00

03/01 - Les Savy Fav (Mezzanine) ** NOISE POP
03/05 - Fujiya&Miyagi + Pop Levi + Project Jenny, Project Jan
03/05 - M. Ward (Palace of Fine Arts)
03/12 - Cut Copy (Fillmore)
03/13 - Asobi Seksu (Independent)
03/15 - Soundtrack of Our Lives - (Indy)
03/20 - Black Mountain (Rickshaw Stop)
03/21 - Karl Denson's Tiny Universe (Indy)
03/24 - Bishop Allen (Rickshaw Stop)
03/25 - OK Go + IO Echo (GAMH)
03/27 - Marnie Stern (Bottom of the Hill)

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Bjork + Dirty Projectors to play Bookstore Cafe in NY

2009-03-27T11:26:00.000-07:00

Yikes... this sounds awesome. Bjork and the Dirty Projectors will be playing at the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in NYC (Capacity 300) and will benefit homeless people living with HIV and AIDS. Read more about it at The Onion's Decider.

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Beastie Boys, Depeche Mode, and original members of Jane's Addiction to Headline Lollapalooza 2009

2009-03-24T12:11:00.001-07:00

Though the line-up of artists is not officially posted on the Lollapalooza 2009 site,
The Chicago Tribune reported:

Depeche Mode, the Beastie Boys and a reunited Jane’s Addiction are expected to headline the fifth annual Lollapalooza Aug. 7-9 in Grant Park.

Though promoters would not confirm the information Friday, multiple sources inside the industry said the three headliners are a lock for the festival. Three more arena-level headliners are expected to be included when the complete lineup is announced next month.

The original Jane’s lineup of Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, Stephen Perkins and Eric Avery headlined the first Lollapalooza tour in 1991, only to break up soon after. There have been sporadic reunions since, but none included all four original members until some one-off gigs last year. A national tour was announced a few days ago, but a Chicago date was conspicuously absent.

Here's the full 2009 Concert Festival Calendar.

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Coming Soon

2009-03-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

04/01 - RATATAT + Tussle (Fillmore)
04/02 - RATATAT + Tussle (Fillmore)
04/03 - Snoop Dogg @ Mezzanine
04/04 - Lily Allen (Warfield)
04/14 - Devendra Banhardt (Independent)
04/14 - Fleet Foxes (Fillmore)
04/15 - Los Campesinos! (Slims)
04/15 - The Tings Tings (Fillmore)
04/16 - Junior Boys (Bimbo's)
04/17 - Band of Horses (Fox)
04/17 - COACHELLA
04/17 - The Action Design (Bottom of the Hill)
04/18 - COACHELLA
04/18 - Noah and the Whale (Independent)
04/18 - The Black Keys (Fox)
04/19 - COACHELLA
04/19 - Kimya Dawson (Rickshaw Stop)
04/20 - Black Kids + Mates of State (Independent)
04/20 - Bloc Party (Fox)
04/21 - Mates of State + Black Kids (Independent)
04/24 - Vivian Girls + Abe Vagoda (Independent)
04/28 - Cold War Kids (Fillmore)
04/29 - Ladytron + The Faint (Fillmore)
04/30 - Ladytron + The Faint (Fillmore
05/01 - Asobi Seksu (Great American Music Hall)
05/01 - Chris Cornell (Regency Ballroom)
05/01 - Matthew Dear (Mighty)
05/12 - Deerhoof (Fillmore)
05/16 - Sean Hayes (Independent)
05/19 - The Kills (Fillmore)
05/21 - Kings of Leon + The Walkmen (BG Civic Aud.)
05/24 - Luka Bloom (GAMH)
05/26 - Animal Collective (Fox)
05/26 - Peter Bjorn & John (GAMH)
05/27 - M83 (Mezzanine)
05/28 - Black Moth Super Rainbow (BOTH)
05/29 - Langhorne Slim (Independent)
06/05 - Peaches (Regency Ballroom)
06/07 - Rogue Wave (Independent)
06/08 - Camera Obscura (Fillmore)
06/09 + 10 - Neko Case (Warfield)
06/12 - Datarock (Independent)
06/13 - Bat For Lashes (Great American Music Hall)
06/13 - Jay Reatard (Independent)
06/15 - Art Brut (Independent)
07/24 - Of Montreal (Fox Theatre)

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Snoop Dogg to Play Mezzanine April 3

2009-03-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

MEZZANINE & LOCATION415.COM PRESENT

HOLLYWOOD NIGHTS
Exclusive Celebrity Birthday Party For
NBA STAR STEPHEN JACKSON

Featuring Up Close & Personal Performance By SNOOP DOGG

With SPECIAL GUEST DJS

Tickets are $30-$50 and available from Brown Paper Tickets

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M.I.A. to Replace Amy Winehouse at Coachella

2009-03-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

From Billboard.com

"Sri Lankan pop sensation M.I.A. has been added to the Coachella festival's Saturday night lineup, the event's producers announced today via their Twitter feed. M.I.A. replaces Amy Winehouse, who was forced to cancel her appearance earlier this month due to an assault charge in the U.K.

Coachella will mark the rapper/singer's first public appearance since the birth of her son last month and her performance of "Paper Planes" with Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne at the Grammy Awards in February.

M.I.A. joins other late additions to the Coachella bill including Devendra Banhart, the Orb, Chemical Bros., Murder City Devils and Etienne deCrecy."

See the full 2009 Concert Festival Calendar

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Jesus Is My Friend

2009-03-16T12:10:00.001-07:00

He is like a mountie, he always gets his man.

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Pitchfork Music Festival 2009

2009-03-12T07:07:00.000-07:00

The much anticipated Pitchfork Music Festival 2009, announced the initial artist lineup last Friday.

Friday, July 17 (Setlist by Request).
Tortoise, Yo La Tengo, The Jesus Lizard, Built to Spill
Buy a ticket and you can vote for the songs you want to hear

Saturday, July 18:
The National, Pharoahe Monch, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart,

Sunday July 19:
Girzzly Bear, The Walkmen, Vivian Girls

more artists to be announced. Tickets on sale Friday March 13, 2009

View The Complete 2009 Music Festival Calendar

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SF Outside Lands Festival 2009 Dates Announced

2009-03-04T07:47:00.000-08:00

Official Dates have been announced:

Organizers of the Outside Lands music festival will return to Golden Gate Park this year on Aug. 28-30. The announcement of the festival dates comes just weeks after the city signed a deal with Another Planet Entertainment, allowing the Bay Area promotion company to repeat the three-day festival that was first held last year.

See the complete guide to 2009 music festivals here.

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Mentalists cover MGMT using only iPod Touch and iPhone

2009-03-02T13:57:00.000-08:00

The Mentalists, a UK based girl-group, used only iPhones and iPod touches to recreate the MGMT song 'Kids'. This is very cool...

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Last 3 months In My Head.

2009-03-02T08:29:00.000-08:00

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Summer Sonic Festival 2009 Lineup

2009-03-01T14:15:00.000-08:00

It's a long way to go.. but this could be a fun festival.

Linkin Park - My Chemical Romance - Nine Inch Nails - The Specials - The Flaming Lips - Aphex Twin - CSS - The Enemy - Klaxons - Mogwai - Paramore - Placebo - Sonic Youth - Soulwax - Teenage Fanclub - Boys Like Girls - Cancer Bats - Datarock - Enter Shikari - Ghostland Observatory - Girl Talk - Hollywood Undead - Kid Sister - Kyte - Lady Gaga - Lenka - Little Boots - Mando Diao - Matisyahu - Metronomy - Mew - Mercury Rev - Mutemath - N.A.S.A. - Red Light Company - Saosin - 2 Many DJ's - The Vaselines - VV Brown - Yuksek

Click Here for the complete guide to Summer Music Festivals

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February 2009 - Concert Archive

2009-02-28T14:14:00.000-08:00

02/04 - Nobunny (Knockout)
02/05 - Eagles of Death Metal (Fillmore) **
02/06 - The Bad Hand + Aimless Never Miss + Rademacher (Hemlock)
02/09 - The Bird and The Bee (Independent)
02/13 - NOFX (Fillmore)
02/15 - Lykke Li (Fillmore)
02/20 - MC Lars + K-Flay (Uptown Oakland)
02/20 - Scissors for Lefty (BOTH)
02/21 - The Builders And the Butchers (Bottom Of The Hill) **
02/22 - Modest Mouse (Fox)
02/24 - Deerhunter @ Noise Pop opening party (Mezzanine) **
02/25 - French Kicks (Independent) ** NOISE POP
02/27 - RA RA RIOT (Independent) ** NOISE POP
02/28 - AC Newman (Independent)
02/28 - Portugal. The Man (Cafe du Nord) ** NOISE POP

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Hot Chip and Peter Gabriel cover Vampire Weekend

2009-02-27T10:13:00.000-08:00

I discovered a collaboration of Hot Chip and Peter Gabriel covering Vampire Weekend's 'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa' on Blip.fm. i'd like to see future collaborations between Peter Gabriel and Hot Chip.. but I do like the original version of this song better... although, I do love that PG had some creative license with the lyric, "It feels so unnatural. Peter Gabriel, too. And it feels so unnatural to sing your own name..."

Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa - Hot Chip & Peter Gabriel

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SF Outside Lands Festival 2009

2009-02-25T08:03:00.000-08:00

UPDATED (4/13) Lineup announced... see link here: Outside Lands 2009 Lineup announced

The rest is old news.
-------------------------------

Through several unconfirmed rumors, it seems that the Outside Lands Festival will be the final weekend of August. Per Jim Harrington of Mercury News

It just wouldn’t be the summer concert season without the Dave Matthews Band announcing a major tour. Predictably, the mega-platinum group is planning to hit the road during the warm-weather months, with a stop planned for San Francisco on Aug. 29.

The exact venue for the Bay Area gig is being listed, mysteriously, as “TBA.” Yet, there aren’t many venues in the actual city of SF that can accomodate a DMB-size crowd. One of them would be the Outside Lands Festival in Golden Gate Park. Dates for Outside Lands have not been announced, nor have the acts, but the timing for DMB to be the Saturday headliner at what’s likely to be a three-day fest seems to work out nicely.

I just hope that DMB is not scheduled on the same day as Gogol Bordello.

Here's the full 2009 Concert Festival Calendar.

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Epic Rockumantary Added to the Annals of Rock History

2009-02-22T21:55:00.001-08:00

The most important bands in the history of Rock and Roll often document their story in the form of video documentary, or 'rock'umentaries. Among the most well known are:

Monterey Pop - 1968 concert film documenting the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival
Gimme Shelter - a 1970 documentary chronicling the Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour
The Decline of Western Civilization - a 1981 American documentary about the Los Angeles punk rock scene from '79 to '81.
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten - a documentary film Joe Strummer, the lead singer of The Clash
Shut Up and Sing - a film that follows the all-woman Texas-based country music trio the Dixie Chicks over three years

Thanks to YouTube, economical video editing software, and lots of spare time... we now have:
'The Builders and the Butchers: Deep Inside (Parts 1 and 2)'. In the video, you'll see the band deal with serious challenges that face a band on tour like van life, sharing, politeness, and the flu. You'll also see the introduction of Harvey's new banjo and a controversy over name pronunciation almost tears the band apart in part 2.

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Noise Pop 2009 - THS Picks of The Festival

2009-02-18T18:43:00.000-08:00

While Noise Pop is always a fun and exciting time, there are often difficult decisions to be made with regard to the artist schedules. So after lots of deliberation, here's what I'm thinking:

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 24:
OPENING NIGHT PARTY @ Mezzanine -- DOORS: 8:30 PM - SHOW: 10:00 PM 21+
ACTS: Deerhunter, Lilofee :: plus: DJs Jimmy Tamborello (Postal Service), Aaron Axelson and Omar (Popscene)

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
NOISE POP Venue: Benders - 21+
ACTS: The Aimless Never Miss + The Sleepover Disaster
8:00 PM -
NOISE POP Venue: The Independent - 21+
ACTS: French Kicks + Broken West + Here Here + The Don'ts

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 26
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
NOISE POP Venue: Benders - 21+
ACTS: Scissors For Lefty, Picture Atlantic, Man/Miracle
9:00 PM
NOISE POP Venue: Mezzanine
ACTS: Mike Relm + Kool Keith: Dr. Octagon Vs. Dr. Dooom (co-headline) + Crown City Rockers, Kutmasta Kurt

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 27
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
NOISE POP Venue: Benders - 21+
ACTS: Maus Haus, Sugar & Gold, Tempo No Temp
8:00 PM
NOISE POP Venue: Slim's, (All Ages)**
ACTS: The Morning Benders & The Submarines (co-headline) + The Mumler, Rademacher
OR
8:00 PM
NOISE POP Venue: The Independent (21+)**
ACTS: RA RA Riot + Cut Off Your Hands, Telekinesis, The Hooks
**GAME TIME DECISION**

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28
1:00 PM - MATINEE SHOW!
NOISE POP Venue: Bottom of the Hill (All Ages)
ACTS: The Matches + Dizzy Balloon, Ex-Boyfriends
4:00 PM -
NOISE POP Venue: Benders (21+)
ACTS: Music For Animals + Aim Low Kid, Audio Out Send
8:00 PM -
NOISE POP Venue: The Independent (21+) **
ACTS: AC Newman + Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele, Devon Williams, City Light
9:00 PM -
NOISE POP Venue: Cafe du Nord (21+) **
ACTS: Portugal. The Man + Japanese Motors, Girls, Love is Chemicals
** GAME TIME DECISION: Priority for the Saturday night show goes to Portugal. The Man since I know that they NEVER disappoint. However, I could be swayed to stick it out with AC Newman if I can confirm that Nicole Atkins will be accompanying him.

SUNDAY MARCH 1
1:00 PM -
NOISE POP Venue: Bottom of the Hill (All Ages)
ACTS: NO AGE + White Circle Crime Club, Infinite Body, Veil Veil Vanish
8:00 PM -
NOISE POP Venue: Mezzanine (21+)
ACTS: LES SAVY FAV + The Mae Shi, The Drums

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Sasquatch Music Festival 2009 Lineup

2009-02-17T07:15:00.000-08:00

Sasquatch Music Festival 2009 - George, WA
Dates: May 23 -25
Ticket Info: n/a
Lineup: Confirmed

Saturday, May 23th

Kings of Leon / Yeah Yeah Yeahs / The Decemberists / Animal Collective / Bon Iver / Devotchka / M. Ward / Doves / Sun Kil Moon / The Gaslight Anthem / King Khan & The Shrines / Ra Ra Riot / Shearwater / Passion Pit / Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band / Vince Mira / Blind Pilot / Owl City / Arthur & Yu / Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele / Death Vessel / Hockey

Sunday, May 24th

Jane's Addiction / Nine Inch Nails / TV On The Radio / Peter Bjorn and John / of Montreal / The Avett Brothers / Calexico / M83 / The Airborne Toxic Event / The Walkmen / The Wrens / St. Vincent / The Dodos / John Vanderslice / The Submarines / Viva Voce / The Builders And The Butchers / AA Bondy / Fences / Point Juncture, WA / Jon Benjamin

Monday, May 25th

Ben Harper and Relentless7 / Erykah Badu / Silversun Pickups / Fleet Foxes / Gogol Bordello / Santigold / Grizzly Bear / Explosions In The Sky / Girl Talk / Blitzen Trapper / The Knux / Monotonix / Bishop Allen / Black Moth Super Rainbow / Beach House / Mugison / The Dutchess And The Duke / School Of Seven Bells / Horse Feathers / The Pica Beats / Loch Lomond / BLK JKS

Check out my complete 2009 Concert Festival Calendar

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The Builders and The Butchers - This Saturday!!!!

2009-02-16T23:41:00.000-08:00

Many of you who read my blog know already that I think that The Builders and The Butchers have one of the best live performances around. I first saw them when they opened for The Helio Sequence during Noise Pop 2008 at the Independent and since have seen them 5 times in 4 different cities. I'm not a crazy stalker or anything. I just happened to be in the places that they were playing while I was traveling on business trips.

At any given point, TBATB have at least 5 people on stage and often times, there are more. They play an dark, yet animated southern-rock with double drummers (wearing tambourines on their ankles) and 'singing and shouting with guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, accordian, drums, xylophone, bells, and washboard.'.. and and trumpets, and a tin funnel... They hand out instruments (shakers, tambourines, etc) for the audience to participate which makes for a very fun experience. Singer Ryan Sollee has a unique and compelling voice and delivers his masterfully written lyrics with a passion that you don't hear very often. Alex Ellis plays non-upright acoustic bass and sports a sweet 'stache. Harvey switches between mandolin/banjo, and Ray and Paul play the drums and the trumpet.. among other shit.

Every person I introduce to their music is immediately taken, often blown away. Every person I bring to their live show immediately walks away muttering superlatives incredulously. For this reason... if you have the means to get to Bottom of the Hill this Saturday, February 21, 2009, you must go. They will be opening for Murder by Death (also awesome), so get there early.

Here's some video:

P.S. To Current fans of The Builders... go listen to a new song, titled 'Barcelona' on their myspace page.

Here's quote from Denver's Westword:

"Luckily, the Builders and the Butchers saved the day with their double drummer, country-rock infusion on hand to bring the mood back down to a pleasantly depressing level of euphoria. The place was packed, and you could feel that same energy resonate through the whole theater by the time Murder by Death took the stage to elevate the Valentine's Day blues factor to a whole new level. Songs from the act's new album, Red of Tooth and Claw, comprised an hour and a half of whiskey-driven rock and roll, while a video played in the background to keep all senses engaged. The video, which was in sync with the music and looked like something out of an art school kid's nightmare, perfectly set the mood for the other album that dominated Murder's set, Who Will Survive and What Will be Left of Them? - which the outfit also played in its entirety.

Quote from Brooklyn Vegan

"The Builders and the Butchers started the show with an up-tempo set, echoing other new traditional bands O'death and the Decemberists - especially in its strained, twangy vocals and mandolin/banjo on the side. The muddy stage mix accentuated the malleted drums, which sounded like steel-toed boots kicking Rubbermaid containers (in the best way possible). Singer/guitarist Ryan Sollee passed the crowd hand percussion for the last chorus of the band's last song. All together, the band came off like a fun work-in-progress, with its various songwriting and stage-show parts fine-tuned enough for the welcoming, appreciative crowd."

Quote from WouldbeHipster from a show that boasted Amanda Palmer as the headliner

The heavy lifting started early as Portland-based openers The Builders and Butchers took the stage, immediately jumping into their percussive-heavy songs about, what else, death and dancing. Now, don't get me wrong, their CD is a solid dose of goth-punk-blues. However, you can't bottle lightening (lest you end up as one of their future song topics no doubt). Live, there's a delicious take-no-prisoners element and more instruments than you can shake a washboard at. By the end of the blistering half hour set their need for percussion was so great, many audience members were enlisted as back up, one lucky person armed with the band's kick drum.

Quote from the Owl Mag:

Though the band only performed on the shorter side of a half hour, the set was the right amount of intense with not a bit of pretension. The Builders and the Butchers tossed out tambourines, cymbals, and maracas for their last song "Bringin' Home the Rain." Those that couldn't reach an instrument embellished the music with clapping and stomping. The simple percussion was by far one of the most beautiful moments of the night.

Other reviews:
Phoenix

Sound on the Sound

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San Francisco Tax Day Music Festival

2009-02-12T23:48:00.000-08:00

No.. It's not really a music festival, but each year as we approach Coachella, amazing bands come through San Francisco all at once. This year (so far) Fleet Foxes, Franz Ferdinand, The Ting Tings, and Los Campesinos! are all playing on April 15. Also playing during that same week are Junior Boys, Band of Horses, the Black Keys, and a 2nd Fleet Foxes show.

My recommendation is: The Ting Tings @ The Fillmore and then Los Campesinos! @ The Slims.

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Ladytron Announces Tour dates

2009-02-07T09:40:00.000-08:00

The Music Slut posted the Ladytron concert schedule which includes two nights at the Fillmore (April, 29 and 30) where they will play with The Faint

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Eagles of Death Metal @ The Fillmore

2009-02-06T19:33:00.000-08:00

When you look up 'Rock 'n Roll' in the ~~dictionary~~ wikipedia, this is not the picture you see... but it should be. This is Jesse Hughes (A.K.A. The Devil / Boots Electric), lead singer of The Eagles of Death Metal and he not only knows how to rock and roll, he is rock and roll... Let's see... Sunglasses, check; handlebar 'stache, check; Greasy Hair, check; tight Jeans, t-shirt, check, check; lyrics about sex, selling soul, check, check; face-shredding riffs, check.

The Eagles of Death Metal take all the fun parts of Rock and Roll bands from the Rolling Stones to the Kings of Leon and put them together. While I'm sure they take their music seriously, they don't take themselves seriously. These guys packed up whatever egos they had and shipped them off to Axl Rose who has apparently used up all of his. It was clear that they were at the Fillmore to have fun, and it makes it really easy for the audience to have a good time, when the band on stage is having fun (as opposed to 'working'). Bands often say 'You're the best audience we've ever played for' and that's kind of annoying to hear, especially when a crowd clearly isn't into the band. But the Eagles of Death Metal never said that and yet I was convinced by Jesse Hughes reactions that we were the best audience they've ever played for. As the lyrics go to the title track of their newest album, Heart On "Shoot to Kill, Aim to Please / What good's a heart if it ain't on your sleeve?" Thank You, EODM for the pure, unadulterated, fun rock & roll. I bought the '68' t-shirt.

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Worst.News.Ever - Live Nation and Ticketmaster in Merger Talks

2009-02-05T16:52:00.001-08:00

Live Nation and Ticketmaster - my two most hated organizations in the universe are rumored to be in talks of a merger. In most cases, one might think that two negatives could make a positive, but I can't imagine that being the case here. I've already been subjected to paying $5 promoter fee, $3 Building fee, $6 convenience charge, and $2 'ALLOW ME TO PRINT OUT THE TICKET MYSELF' fee for a $15 concert ticket and I feel dirty and cheated every time I do it. CNN's Alan Duke defends Ticketmaster's charges because they 'pioneered' online ticketing and fans no longer have to wait in long lines for hours to buy tickets. This is true, but I can think of a million other services that are more convenient because of the internet that don't charge a 'convenience' fee.

The merger, if it goes ahead, would combine the world's largest concert promoter, Live Nation, and the leading ticketing company, Ticketmaster. This news comes on the heels of Ticketmaster messing with Bruce Springsteen's ticket sales. Ticketmaster was caught passing ticket-buyers to their secondary ticket site, TicketsNow. TicketsNow is a broker (like StubHub) and can inflate the value of tickets based on demand. Well, the funny thing was that there were plenty of tickets still available for the Springsteen show. I got news for you, Ticketmaster... YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE BOSS.

“Last Monday, we were informed that Ticketmaster was redirecting your log-in requests for tickets at face value, to their secondary site TicketsNow, which specializes in up-selling tickets at above face value. They did this even when other seats remained available at face value. We condemn this practice,” Springsteen and his tour team said in a letter posted on Bruce’s official site. “We have asked this redirection from Ticketmaster to TicketsNow cease and desist immediately and Ticketmaster has agreed to do so in the future and has removed its unwanted material from their and our site.”

The Boss continues, “A final point for now: the one thing that would make the current ticket situation even worse for the fan than it is now would be Ticketmaster and Live Nation coming up with a single system, thereby returning us to a near monopoly situation in music ticketing. If you, like us, oppose that idea, you should make it known to your representatives.”

President Obama has vowed to toughen antitrust enforcement, and I hope to God that he starts with Evil Nation and Ticketmassa. If you are a San Francisco resident, Click Here to write to Nancy Pelosi and let your thoughts be known regarding this merger.

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More about this:
Coolfer.com
CNN.com

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RATATAT returning to The Fillmore

2009-02-05T15:01:00.000-08:00

RATATAT will be returning to San Francisco, playing two nights at the Fillmore on April 1st and 2nd, 2009. Tickets go on sale on Sunday February 8 at 10am through Live Nation.

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Langerado Music Festival Canceled

2009-02-05T09:08:00.001-08:00

2009 Langerado Music Festival Has Been Canceled; Tickets to Be Refunded
The Langerado Music Festival has suffered from not selling enough Tickets and will Cancel 2009 Festival.
Read Article Here

Get more info on other Festivals on the Music Festival Calendar

Flight of the Conchords coming to Berkeley

2009-02-05T05:00:00.000-08:00

New Zealands fourth most popular digi-pop band, Flight of the Conchords, will be performing live at the Berkeley Community Theatre on 05/25/2009. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10am through Ticketmaster.com.

i just can't wait to see Sugalumps performed live:

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Lily Allen Announces Warfield show

2009-02-04T09:10:00.000-08:00

Earlier today, Lily Allen announced her North American tour which includes a night at the Warfield in San Francisco on April 4, 2009. Opening for the Brit-pop cutie is Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. Natalie Portman's Shaved Head opened for CSS at Bimbo's in December 2008.

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Rodrigo y Gabriela on Tour?

2009-02-03T18:00:00.000-08:00

With the announcement of the Bonnaroo lineup it was revealed that Rodrigo y Gabriela will be touring again this summer. Keep them on your radar and don't miss them if they come to a city near you.

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Bonnaroo 2009 Lineup Preview Video!

2009-02-03T09:58:00.000-08:00

Bonnaroo 2009 Lineup...

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Phish (2 shows), Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, David Byrne, Wilco, Al Green, Snoop Dogg, Elvis Costello Solo, Erykah Badu, Paul Oakenfold, Ben Harper and Relentless7, The Mars Volta, TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Gov't Mule, Andrew Bird, Band of Horses, Merle Haggard, MGMT, moe., The Decemberists, Girl Talk, Bon Iver, Béla Fleck & Toumani Diabate, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Galactic, The Del McCoury band, of Montreal, Allen Toussaint, Coheed & Cambria, Booker T & the DBTs, David Grisman Quintet, Lucinda Williams, Animal Collective, Gomez, Neko Case, Down, Jenny Lewis, Santogold, Robert Earl Keen, Citizen Cope, Femi Kuti and the Positive Force, The Ting Tings, Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Kaki King, Okkervil River, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Crystal Castles, Tift Merritt, Brett Dennen, Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Revue, Toubab Krewe, People Under The Stairs, Alejandro Escovedo, Vieux Farka Touré Elvis Perkins in Dearland Cherryholmes Yeasayer Todd Snider Chairlift Portugal. The Man. The SteelDrivers Midnite The Knux The Low Anthem Delta Spirit A.A. Bondy The Lovell Sisters Alberta Cross More Artists to Be Announced

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DeVotchKa + Crooked Fingers @ The Fillmore

2009-02-01T12:05:00.000-08:00

Friday night I went to see the first of DeVotchKa's two-night stint the Fillmore. Here are some pictures and a video. You can read the review at Hard Rock Chick who wrote a great post about the performance .

Theremin in action

One of the Slavik Sisters acrobatic performance on the hoop...

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January Concert Archive.

2009-01-31T07:49:00.000-08:00

01/15 - Lenka (Independent)
01/21 - The Walkmen (Fillmore)
01/23 - Raveonettes (Bimbo's) [THS show]
01/24 - Low Red Land (Hemlock)
01/25 - Jay Reatard (Independent) + Nobunny [THS show]
01/28 - Katy Perry (Fillmore)
01/30 - Devotchka (Fillmore) [THS Show]
01/31 - Devotchka (Fillmore)
01/31 - Social Studies (Hemlock) + Anavan [THS show]
01/31 - West Indian Girl (Bottom of the Hill)

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Coachella 2009 Lineup

2009-01-30T07:22:00.000-08:00

Back to Home Page: One More Time, From the Top!

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Last 3 months In My Head.

2009-01-27T16:01:00.000-08:00

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Jay Reatard Throws Girl into Crowd @ The Independent

2009-01-26T12:04:00.000-08:00

"Last Night I had a dream that turned into a nightmare." ... though the words were merely an introduction to Jay Reatard's "Nightmares" midway into his set at the Independent on Sunday night, they summed up an evening of amazing garage-punk-rock-and-roll in a somewhat prophetic way.

Opening the night was Bare Wires, a trio from Oakland featuring Erin Emslie on drums, Paul Keelan (guitar) and Matthew Melton (bass). The band sped through a series of 6 songs with enough time to sing Emslie a warm Happy Birthday. They wasted no time between songs, and if it wasn't for the band name taped to the drum kit, we might not have even known what they were called. Despite the lack of banter, they were able to draw the attention of a nearly sold-out crowd at the Independent with their performance. Some might believe they sped through their set because they wanted to get through as many songs as possible... I believe that they just wanted to get back stage to make sure their shit wasn't getting thrashed by 2nd opener, Nobunny.

Nobunny took the stage quickly since they were using the Bare Wire's drum kit. After taping a band t-shirt over the bass drum, the members took the stage. The lead singer came out last with his trademark bunny mask, a sharp 'Nobunny' smoking jacket, no pants, tight brown underwear and one woman's shoe. I feared that this image may haunt my dreams/nightmares, but I left the show strangely wanting more. It is safe to say that this performance may rank as one of the strangest, liveliest, most fun and utterly disturbing of all time.

until...

Well, most of Jay Reatard's set was pretty straightforward, that is to say, rocking. The crowd was extremely animated with a fairly sizable mosh pit developing at times. On the last song of the set, Jay pulls up a drunk girl out of the crowd and gives her his guitar to make some noise... Drunk girl, sitting on the edge of the stage proceeded to strum aimlessly. She then rolled onto her back and kicked her feet into the bassist and threw the guitar on the stage. I didn't think that was part of the act, but Jay Reatard did not notice she had done it. Rule #1 of Rock and Roll: DO NOT FUCK WITH ANOTHER MAN'S AXE. She proceeded to pick up the guitar again and throw it again this time with a little more force (as if to smash it). At this point Jay picked her up and hurled her into the crowd. Well, I can't even begin to tell you how incredible it was to see this little lass fly through the air. It kinda looked like a blow up doll being thrown at a concert festival. I wish I had video of it... and if you do, please post a link in the comments.

The band finished the song, Jay put down the guitar, flipped off the girl and started walking off stage as he was pelted with a water bottle presumably thrown by the girl (or one of her friends). I did not think that Jay would come out for an encore, so at that point I left. Incidentally, the drunk girl was not hurt. She was outside laughing about the incident and was plotting a quick getaway.

All told, the nightmares of the evening made this a dream rock show. Get out and see any of these three bands whenever you can.

Nobunny is playing:
2/4 @ The Knockout in San Francisco
2/7 @ The Stork Club in Oakland.

Bare Wires is playing
1/30 @ Ghost Town in Oakland
2/5 @ Hemlock in SF
2/21 @ Hemlock in SF

Nobunny photo credit to: Photo Credit: Scott Caris
More pictures and the SF Weekly recap here

Another recount here

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Gogol Bordello rumored to play Outside Lands

2009-01-25T12:01:00.000-08:00

An organizer for San Francisco Oyster Fest shared with me his plans for this year's festival which is being shortened to one day this year. He revealed to me that he was hoping to get Gogol Bordello as the headliner, but was having difficulty signing the band because they claim to be holding out for the Outside Lands festival. Since the Oyster Fest happens in May, could Another Planet be moving the festival from August to May? In any case, it looks like Gogol Bordello is most likely returning to San Francisco this year.

Click here for the complete 2009 Music Festival Calendar

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2009 Music Festival Calendar

2009-01-13T18:30:00.000-08:00

The 2009 Music Festival Calendar will continue to be updated throughout the year. Bookmark this page and check back often.

NoisePop 2009 - San Francisco, CA
Official Dates: Feb 24 - March 1, 2009
Ticket Info: Festival Badge - $150 - on sale now
Lineup:
Antony And The Johnsons, Deerhunter, Stephen Malkmus, Josh Ritter (solo with a string quartet), the Mountain Goats (solo), Bob Mould, A.C. Newman, Sleepy Sun, French Kicks, Matt Costa, Thao Nguyen, Martha Wainright, Goblin Cock, From Monument to Masses, Thee Oh Sees, Kool Keith, Mike Relm, St Vincent, The Morning Benders, The Submarines, Ra Ra Riot, Dear And The Headlights, Port O’Brien, The Matches, Themselves, Portugal. The Man, Clues, Sholi, Flosstradamus, N.A.S.A., No Age and Les Savy Fav.

Langerado Music Festival 2009 - Miami, FL - CANCELLED
Official Dates: March 6-8, 2009
Ticket Info: CANCELLED
Lineup: CANCELED
Death Cab For Cutie • Snoop Dogg • Thievery Corporation (Live) • Slightly Stoopid • Ryan Adams and the Cardinals • Dashboard Confessional • The Pogues • Matisyahu • Flogging Molly • Michael Franti & Spearhead • Broken Social Scene • Cafe Tacuba • Umphrey's McGee • The Disco Biscuits • Robert Randolph & The Family Band • Pepper • The Faint • Cold War Kids • Steel Pulse • Public Enemy • Gym Class Heroes • Tricky • Girl Talk • Chromeo • Mute Math • Bad Brains • Ozomatli • Against Me! • George Clinton & Parliament / Funkadelic • Tortoise • DeVotchKa • Black Kids • Grupo Fantasma • Holy F*ck • Budos Band • Tokyo Police Club • Lotus • The Virgins • The Gaslight Anthem • King Khan and the Shrines • Lucero • Murs • Ra Ra Riot • Tortured Soul • Rebelution • K'Naan • The Egg • Zac Brown Band • Tigercity • The Aggrolites • Cloud Cult • Spam Allstars • Rachel Goodrich • Blue King Brown • The Heavy Pets • Awesome New Republic • The Postmarks • Suenalo • Live Painting by LEBO

SXSW Music Festival 2009 - Austin, TX
Official Dates: March 18-22, 2009
Ticket Info: n/a
Lineup: Over 1000 Bands click here

Ultra Music Festival 2009 - Miami, FL
Official Dates: March 27-28, 2009
Ticket Info: $129.95 - $350 - on sale now
Lineup:
PRODIGY • PENDULUM • PAUL VAN DYK • ARMIN VAN BUUREN • MOBY • TIËSTO • BLOC PARTY • THE TING TINGS • CARL COX • CUT COPY • CRYSTAL CASTLES • DEADMAU5 • SANTOGOLD • HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR • & - FOR THEIR FIRST U.S. APPEARANCE IN SEVEN YEARS – RONI SIZE REPRAZENT

Coachella 2009 - Indio, CA
Official Dates: April 17-19, 2009
Ticket Info: n/a
Lineup (official poster) : Paul McCartney, The Killers, The Cure, Morrissey, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Franz Ferdinand, My Bloody Valentine, ~~Amy Winehouse~~, MIA, Thievery Corporation, Beirut, Silversun Pickups, The Ting Tings, Fleet Foxes, Girl Talk, The Hold Steady, Ghostland Observatory, X, Jenny Lewis, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Crystal Castles, No Age, Noah and the Whale, Los Campesinos!, TRAV$DJ-AM, MSTRKRFT. Peanut Butter Wolf, Sebastian Tellier, Themselves, Tinariwen

New Orleans Jazz Festival
Official Dates: April 24-26, 2009 & April 30-May 3, 2009
Ticket Info: $5-$600
Lineup: April 24-26, 2009
Wynton Marsalis, Dave Matthews Band, James Taylor, Joe Cocker, Earth, Wind and Fire, Wilco, Erykah Badu, Spoon, Third World, Irma Thomas, Etta James, Robert Cray, Pete Seeger, Kinky, Drive-By Truckers feat. Booker T. Jones, Better Than Ezra, plus many more.
Lineup: April 30-May 3, 2009
Artist TBA, Aretha Franklin, Sugarland, Ben Harper, Tony Bennett, Kings of Leon, The Neville Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Allen Toussaint, O’Jays, Dr. John, Common, Emmylou Harris, Los Lobos, Toots and the Maytals, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, The Whispers, Jakob Dylan, Chuck Brown, Meter Men: Zig, George, & Leo, plus many more.

Sasquatch Music Festival 2009 - George, WA
Dates: May 23 -25
Ticket Info: n/a
Lineup: Rumored per Travis Hay of Seattle P-I:

Saturday, May 23th

Kings of Leon / Yeah Yeah Yeahs / The Decemberists / Animal Collective / Bon Iver / Devotchka / M. Ward / Doves / Sun Kil Moon / The Gaslight Anthem / King Khan & The Shrines / Ra Ra Riot / Shearwater / Passion Pit / Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band / Vince Mira / Blind Pilot / Owl City / Arthur & Yu / Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele / Death Vessel / Hockey

Sunday, May 24th

Jane's Addiction / Nine Inch Nails / TV On The Radio / Peter Bjorn and John / of Montreal / The Avett Brothers / Calexico / M83 / The Airborne Toxic Event / The Walkmen / The Wrens / St. Vincent / The Dodos / John Vanderslice / The Submarines / Viva Voce / The Builders And The Butchers / AA Bondy / Fences / Point Juncture, WA / Jon Benjamin

Monday, May 25th

Ben Harper and Relentless7 / Erykah Badu / Silversun Pickups / Fleet Foxes / Gogol Bordello / Santigold / Grizzly Bear / Explosions In The Sky / Girl Talk / Blitzen Trapper / The Knux / Monotonix / Bishop Allen / Black Moth Super Rainbow / Beach House / Mugison / The Dutchess And The Duke / School Of Seven Bells / Horse Feathers / The Pica Beats / Loch Lomond / BLK JKS

Live 105's BFD - Mountain View, CA
Official Dates: June 6, 2009
Ticket Info: $25-$49
Official Lineup: The Offspring | 311 | Yeah Yeah Yeahs | Dead Confederate | Taking Back Sunday | Alkaline Trio | Rebelution | Metric | Mute Math | Glasvegas | Anberlin | Airborne Toxic Event | Cage the Elephant | Audrye Sessions | Crystal Castles (live) | DJ AM | Does It Offend You, Yeah? (live) | Villains | Steve Aoki | Mike Relm | Paparazzi | The Limousines (live) | Designer Drugs | DJ Omar | DJ Miles | MC Lars | Music for Animals | Wallpaper | Odawas | Dizzy Balloon | The Catholic Comb | Ambience | Solid State Logic | Fighting the Villain

Bonnaroo 2009 - Manchester, TN
Official Dates: June 11-14, 2009
Ticket Info: $224-$249
Lineup: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Phish (2 shows), Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, David Byrne, Wilco, Al Green, Snoop Dogg, Elvis Costello Solo, Erykah Badu, Paul Oakenfold, Ben Harper and Relentless7, The Mars Volta, TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Gov't Mule, Andrew Bird, Band of Horses, Merle Haggard, MGMT, moe., The Decemberists, Girl Talk, Bon Iver, Béla Fleck & Toumani Diabate, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Galactic, The Del McCoury band, of Montreal, Allen Toussaint, Coheed & Cambria, Booker T & the DBTs, David Grisman Quintet, Lucinda Williams, Animal Collective, Gomez, Neko Case, Down, Jenny Lewis, Santogold, Robert Earl Keen, Citizen Cope, Femi Kuti and the Positive Force, The Ting Tings, Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Kaki King, Okkervil River, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Crystal Castles, Tift Merritt, Brett Dennen, Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Revue, Toubab Krewe, People Under The Stairs, Alejandro Escovedo, Vieux Farka Touré Elvis Perkins in Dearland Cherryholmes Yeasayer Todd Snider Chairlift Portugal. The Man. The SteelDrivers Midnite The Knux The Low Anthem Delta Spirit A.A. Bondy The Lovell Sisters Alberta Cross More Artists to Be Announced

High Sierra Music Festival 2009 Quincy, CA
Official Dates: July 2-5, 2009
Ticket Info: $140 (4-day pass, discounted through 1/26)
Lineup: John Butler, Umphrey's McGee, Ani DiFranco, Disco Biscuits, Galactic, The Del McCoury Band, Steve Kimock Crazy Engine feat. Melvin Seals, The Wailers, Tea Leaf Green, Ollabelle, Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Revue, ALO, Vieux Farka, Touré, Dr. Dog, Devil Makes Three, The Travelin' McCourys, The Lee Boys, Cornmeal, Bonerama, Marco Benevento Trio, McTuff feat. Skerik, Joe Doria, Andy Coe & D'Vonne Lewis, Skerik will also appear as an artist-at-large, Joe Craven and Sam, Bevan Duo, Joe Craven will also appear as artist-at-large and emcee, Nathan Moore, Fareed Haque and The Flat Earth, Ensemble, Pretty Lights, Everest, Dusty Rhodes and the River Band, Pimps of Joytime, J-Boogie and Dubtronic Science, Poor Man's Whiskey, Living Folklore

Mission Creek Music Festival 2009 San Francisco & Oakland, CA
Official Dates: July 10-25th
Ticket Info: $na
Lineup: Not Announced

10,000 Lakes Music Festival 2009 Detroit Lakes, MN
Official Dates: July 22-25, 2009
Ticket Info: $120 (4-day pass), available now
Lineup: Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic (2 nights), Wilco, Umphrey's McGee, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Railroad Earth, Junior Brown, Tea Leaf Green, WookieFoot, Trampled By Turtles, Cloud Cult, Everyone Orchestra, Kathleen Edwards, Pretty Lights, BoomBox, William Elliott Whitmore, Kinetix, The Macpodz, My Dear Disco, The Ragbirds, Enchanted Ape and many more...

Pitchfork Music Festival 2009 - Chicago, IL
Dates: July 17-19, 2009
Ticket Info: Tickets on Sale March 13, 12pm CDT.
Lineup: rumored - The Black Lips
Lineup: official: The Flaming Lips, Built to Spil, TheNational, The Jesus Lizard, Yo La Tengo, Tortoise, Pharoahe Monch, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Grizzly Bear, The Walkmen, Vivian Girls

Osheaga Festival Musique et Arts 2009
Dates: August 1, 2
Ticket Info: on sale now, $125 Canadien
Lineup: COLDPLAY - BEASTIE BOYS - THE ROOTS - JASON MRAZ - RUFUS WAINWRIGHT (SOLO) - ARCTIC MONKEYS - GIRL TALK - THE DECEMBERISTS - CRYSTAL CASTLES - LYKKE LI - EAGLES OF DEATH METAL - THE TING TINGS BEAST - ELBOW - JOSH RITTER - THE HONEY BROTHERS - LE VOLUME ÉTAIT - AU MAXIMUM - KITTY DAISY & LEWIS - WINTER GLOVES - PARLOVR - MOTHERS FATHERS

Lollapalooza 2009 - Chicago, IL
Official Dates: August 7-9, 2009
Ticket Info: $190 for 30-day pass
Lineup: Depeche Mode, Tool, The Killers, Jane's Addiction, Beastie Boys, Kings of Leon, Lou Reed, Ben Harper and Relentless7, Thievery Corporation, Snoop Dogg, Rise Against, Andrew Bird, TV on the Radio, Vampire Weekend, The Decemberists, Neko Case, STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9), Animal Collective, Band of Horses, Of Montreal, Arctic Monkeys, Coheed and Cambria, Ben Folds, Fleet Foxes, Silversun Pickups, Kaiser Chiefs, Crystal Castles, Bon Iver, Santigold, Atmosphere, Dan Auerbach, Cold War Kids, Deerhunter, Lykke Li, Robert Earl Keen, Peter Bjorn and John, Heartless Bastards, Gomez, Glasvegas, Federico, Aubele Dan Deacon, Passion Pit, Zap Mama, The Raveonettes, The Gaslight Anthem, The Airborne Toxic Event, White Lies, Ra Ra Riot, No Age, Asher Roth, Los Campesinos!, Bat For Lashes, Chairlift, Gang Gang Dance, The Virgins, Amazing Baby, Portugal. The Man, The Knux, Ida Maria Delta Spirit, Friendly Fires, Manchester Orchestra, Constantines, Ezra Furman & The Harpoons, Hockey, Miike Snow , Alberta Cross, Hey Champ, Sam Roberts Band, The Henry Clay People, Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam, Cage the Elephant, Living Things, The Low Anthem, Blind Pilot, Langhorne Slim, Other Lives, The Builders and The Butchers, Eric Church, Joe Pug, Kevin Devine, The Greencards Carney, Thenewno2

All Points West - Jersey City, NJ
August: July 31, August 1+2
Ticket Info: Tickets are $89 for one-day, $199 for 3-day passes.
Lineup: Friday, July 31: Beastie Boys, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, The National, Fleet Foxes, MSTRKRFT, Q-Tip, The Pharcyde, Organized Konfusion, The Knux, Ra Ra Riot, Seasick Steve, Telepathe, Shearwater, Heartless Bastards, Flying Lotus, College Humor Live, Arj Barker, Eugene Mirman and Bo Burnham.

Saturday, August 1: Tool, My Bloody Valentine, Gogol Bordello, Arctic Monkeys, Neko Case, The Ting Tings, Yelle, Crystal Castles, St. Vincent, Tokyo Police Club, The Cool Kids, Kool Keith, Cage the Elephant, Chairlift, White Rabbits, Electric Touch, The Postelles, Black Gold, College Humor Live, Tim & Eric, Judah Friedlander and Jim Jeffries.

Sunday, August 2: Coldplay, Echo & The Bunnymen, MGMT, The Black Keys, Elbow, Silversun Pickups, Mogwai, We Are Scientists, Ghostland Observatory, The Gaslight Anthem, Etienne De Crecy, Lykke Li, Akron/Family, Steel Train, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, College Humor Live, Janeane Garofalo, Michael Showalter and Todd Barry.

Tickets are $89 for one-day, $199 for 3-day passes.

Summer Sonic Festival 2009 - Tokyo, Japan
Official Dates: August 8-9, 2009
Ticket Info: 39,500 Yen
Lineup: Linkin Park - My Chemical Romance - Nine Inch Nails - The Specials - The Flaming Lips - Aphex Twin - CSS - The Enemy - Klaxons - Mogwai - Paramore - Placebo - Sonic Youth - Soulwax - Teenage Fanclub - Boys Like Girls - Cancer Bats - Datarock - Enter Shikari - Ghostland Observatory - Girl Talk - Hollywood Undead - Kid Sister - Kyte - Lady Gaga - Lenka - Little Boots - Mando Diao - Matisyahu - Metronomy - Mew - Mercury Rev - Mutemath - N.A.S.A. - Red Light Company - Saosin - 2 Many DJ's - The Vaselines - VV Brown - Yuksek

Outside Lands Music Festival 2009 - San Francisco, CA
Official Dates: August 28-30, 2009
Ticket Info: on sale April 15
Lineup: Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Beastie Boys, Incubus, Black Eyed Peas, M.I.A, Jason Mraz, Ween, The Mars Volta, Thievery Corporation Modest Mouse, Band of Horses, TV on the Radio, Dead Weather, Atmosphere, Tom Jones, Silversun Pickups, The National, Q-Tip, Brett Dennen, Built To Spill, Mastodon, Raphael Saadiq, Calexico, Os Mutantes, Midnite, JJ Grey, Mofro, Kinky, Deerhunter, Lila Downs, Trombone Shorty, Orleans Avenue, The Dodos, Bettye LaVette, Dengue Fever, Heartless Bastards, The Dirtbombs, Lenka, Akron/Family, John Vanderslice, Matt and Kim, Portugal. The Man, The Morning Benders, The Duke Spirit, Zee Avi, Blind Pilot, SambaDa, Ryan Bingham, West Indian Girl, Extra Golden

Bumbershoot 2009 - Seattle, WA
Official Dates: Sept 5-7, 2009
Ticket Info: n/a
Lineup: Sheryl Crow / Modest Mouse / Katy Perry / Michael Franti & Spearhead / De La Soul / Raphael Saadiq / Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan / The Long Winters / Sly & Robbie & the Taxi Gang / World Party / MSTRKRFT / Roy Ayers / Common Market / UH HUH HER and many, many others…

Monolith Music Festival 2009 - Red Rocks, CO
Official Dates: not announced (Sept)
Ticket Info: n/a
Lineup: Not Announced

Austin City Limits Music Festival 2009 - Austin, TX
Official Dates: October 2-4, 2009
Ticket Info: $185 (3-day pass)
Lineup: Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Beastie Boys, Kings of Leon, Ben Harper and Relentless7, Thievery Corporation, John Legend, The Dead Weather, The Levon Helm Band, Ghostland Observatory, Sonic Youth, Mos Def, Toadies, Flogging Molly, The B-52s, Lily Allen, Citizen Cope, Arctic Monkeys, The Decemberists, Coheed and Cambria, Andrew Bird, Girl Talk, STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9), Phoenix, Bassnectar, Bon Iver, !!!, Avett Brothers, The Airborne Toxic Event, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Clutch, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Grizzly Bear, Heartless Bastards, Passion Pit, White Lies, Dan Auerbach, The Walkmen, The Scabs, Reckless Kelly, DeVotchka, Blitzen Trapper, The Virgins, Here We Go Magic, Eek-A-Mouse, K'Naan, Asleep at the Wheel, Dr. Dog, The Raveonettes, The Knux, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, State Radio, Los Amigos Invisibles, The Felice Brothers, Federico Aubele, Raul Malo, Daniel Johnston, Poi Dog Pondering, Brett Dennen, School of Seven Bells, and many many more....

POP Montreal - Montreal, Canada
Official Dates: Sept 30-Oct 4
Ticket Info: n/a
Lineup: Not Announced

Treasure Island Music Festival 2009 - San Francisco, CA
Official Dates: October 17-18, 2009
Ticket Info: n/a
Lineup: Rumored Lineup Beirut, The Decemberists, The Flaming Lips, Girl Talk, HEALTH, MSTRKRFT, Monotonix, Murs, No Age

CMJ Music Marathon 2009 - New York, NY
Official Dates: October 20-24, 2009
Ticket Info: on sale now
Lineup: Not Announced

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My Year in Lists - Top 10 shows of 2008

2008-12-24T14:25:00.000-08:00

#10 - CSS + Tilly and The Wall @ Mayan Theatre - Los Angeles (Sept 2008)

#9 - Jamie Lidell + Janelle Monae @ Fillmore - San Francisco (Oct 2008)

#8 - Kate Nash @ Bowery Ballroom - New York City (Jan 2008)

#7 - Girl Talk @ The Music Box - Los Angeles (Oct 2008)

#6 - Ting Tings @ 330 Ritch (Popscene) - San Francisco (Dec 2008)

#5 - Ratatat + e*Rock @ The Echo - Los Angeles (July 2008)

#4 - Los Campesinos! + Parenthetical Girls + Abe Vigoda @ The Troubadour - Los Angeles (June 2008)

#3 - Jamie Lidell + James Pants @ El Rey - Los Angeles (May 2008)

#2 - Helio Sequence + The Builders and The Butchers @ The Independent - San Francisco (February 2008)

#1 - Portugal. The Man + Foxy Shazam @ Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco (March 2008)

Honorable Mention goes to San Diego Street Scene: While individual shows such were great, such as Hot Chip + Does It Offend You, Yeah + Devotchka + Tokyo Police Club.... the festival overall was.... meh.

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My Year in Lists - Top 10 Albums in 2008

2008-12-22T23:09:00.000-08:00

#10 Tilly and The Wall - o
o is the most aggressive Tilly and The Wall album to date. The Omaha quintet uses feet to keep the beat... Tap Shoes, to be exact. o is the Tilly's third full length release, and was produced by Mike Mogis (Saddle Creek Records). I only bring this up because the production quality of o really accentuates this musical element more than their previous two albums, which is important, because the tapping is what defines Tilly and The Wall. This is an album that will put you in a great mood. You can listen to it from beginning to end and then want to replay it over and over again.

#9 Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
This list would be thoroughly incomplete without Vampire Weekend's debut album. After I saw them in 2007, I knew they would have a quick come-up in 2008. And they did, which I think makes me brilliant. This is a thoroughly fun album that is extraordinarily accessible to all musical tastes. Well, mainly white people. According to a Salon.com interview with Christian Lander, founder of stuffwhitepeoplelike.com:

SC - What about the whitest band?
CL - Right now? I have to say Vampire Weekend all the way. They're pushing it to levels unseen.

#8 Girl Talk - Feed The Animals
Steph Benson (writer for Rhapsody) posted on her facebook status that Girl Talk is truly music for those with A.D.D. Mashing almost every conceivable song with a beat from 1970 to 2008, Feed The Animals is an action packed dance marathon. I was sitting in a middle seat on a flight from Denver to LAX between two giant men. I put on Feed The Animals on my iPod and annoyed the shit out of them with my seat dancing and head bobbing. Sorry guys... you'd have been dancing too.

#7 Portugal. The Man - Censored Colors
Plug the headphones into the Hi-Fi, switch on the lava lamp and listen to this amazing musical journey. This album deserves more than a few blurbs, so I'm going to direct you to antiMusic.com to read a terrific description of the album. F-You. I'm not lazy. Take it back.

#6 Eagles of Death Metal - Heart On
Heart On was the most difficult album to place on my Top 10. I knew it belonged but I had a very difficult time placing it. I wasn't entirely impressed with them when I saw them live during San Diego's Street Scene, but since the album came out in November, it has been in constant rotation. It's a true blooded rock and roll album with very catch riffs and sounds like the offspring of a Mick Jagger and David Byrne project.

#5 Thievery Corporation - Radio Retaliation
As I mentioned in my previous post, Radio Retaliation has a theme of political fury and is quite possibly their most lyrically robust and musically diverse album to date. They mix reggae, hip-hop, arab, indian, among musical styles from a variety of regions while singing in at least 3 different languages.

#4 Los Campesinos - Hold On Now, Youngster
Los Campesinos! may not have a sound that will appeal to everyone, but this album oozes energy. The riffs are catchy, the choruses are singable, and the songwriting brings with it a clever youthfulness. "I'll be CTRL-ALT-Deleting your face with no reservations". LC! however, not only has one spectacular album released this year, but two. Hold On Now, Youngster was released in February and We Are Beautiful, We are Doomed was released in October. Both albums are similar in nature; that is to say, great. However, We Are Beautiful, We are Doomed could very easily have been an extension of Hold On Now, Youngster which is why I left the latter off the top ten, but it definitely gets an honorable mention.

#3 Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead
This Portland duo incorporates guitar, drums, synth and harmonica. Comparisons to Bob Dylan are often drawn with their songwriting and vocals. Though the poetry allows the listener to reflect upon self-awareness, heartache, hope, and independent thought about God, it is mostly upbeat with complex musical rhythms which may be why this album scored so high with me.

#2 Jamie Lidell - Jim
When you start to be compared to Stevie Wonder, Little Richard, Sly Stone, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye while creating a sound that none of the above would have ever dreamed of, it's fair to say you are in good company. This album is brimming with soul from beginning to end and is funky enough to guarantee a little bit of feel good to all its listeners.

#1 Portishead - Third
While Third is technically the third full-length release by Portishead, it is their first release in eleven years. There are many that are calling this album a 're-debut' or 'comeback' album... I think what really happened was that they died and became vampires with incredible musical abilities. The good part about that is that they will live forever and hopefully make music for as long as I live. Portishead makes it to the top spot because they not only push the limits of their own core-competency, but also because they break new ground (and set the bar high) with new experimental sound.

Honorable Mentions go to:

Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
Marnie Stern - This Is it and I Am It and You are It and So Is That and He is It and She is It and It is It and That is That
The Mighty Underdogs Droppin' Science Fiction
Black Mountain In The Future
Ratatat - LP3
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
She & Him - Volume One

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My Year in Lists 2008 - Top 20 Tracks on Handstamps' Headphones

2008-12-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Ah... Two Thousand Great... it really did live up to its name. And what's interesting is that you can kinda see the mood I was in this year by looking at the tracks to which I listened. Here's a playlist of the tunes that topped my last.fm charts for the last 12 months. Note: though the title of the post says there are 20 tracks, there was a tie for 20th, so there are 21 tracks.

2008 Top Tracks

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