The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower - Coming to NYC

Their newish website has the following news:

Early October through November THE PLOT, SOME GIRLS, and DAS OATH will be touring the entire US and CANADA on their way to the CMJ festival in NYC. These dates will be posted very soon.

Excellent!!

As I've previously mentioned, they canceled their last two NYC dates, one of which was for last year's CMJ. Even though it's a long way off, it's good to see that there is hope in sight.

Here's their Myspace.

Maritime - Flameshovel Goodness

Maritime's new album, We, the Vehicles, is my newest Flameshovel obsession. Been listening to this album on repeat today.

Flameshovel has been kickin' ass recently. The Bound Stems EP, The Logic of Building the Body Plan, is great and has been keeping me busy until their full length, Appreciation Night, is released on September 5th. Download their WOXY Lounge Act performance as an mp3. Wish I was able to see them when they were here recently. I hear that the new Lying In States album is also worth checking out. I've already mentioned how I dig The End of the World, The Narrator, and Chin Up Chin Up (now on Suicide Squeeze).

Unfortunately, Maritime might not be coming to NYC for a while. Their website says that they will be touring the Midwest with Bound Stems soon and then a US tour this fall.

The Most Serene Republic - Video & EP

Some things you may or may not know about The Most Serene Republic:

1) I love this band. A lot.

2) They have a new EP, Phages, that up until recently was a tour-only EP. You can now buy it online at the Arts & Crafts store. It rocks. Almost as much as their excellent debut album, Underwater Cinematographer. If you have seen them live, you are probably already familiar with many of the songs on it.

3) They now have a video for my second favorite song, (Oh) God. You can watch it at the Revolver Film Company website. BTW - Proposition 61 is my favorite song.

4) They also have a video for Content Always Was My Favorite Colour, which you can watch at their website.

Hopefully they will come back to NYC soon after they finish up the new album that they are working on. And maybe when they do return it will be as headliners.

Metal Hearts - WOXY Lounge Act

Metal Hearts' debut album, Socialize, is one of my favorite albums of 2006 so far. I haven't been able to catch them live yet and unfortunately I've heard mixed reviews of their live show. They did a WOXY lounge act today and damn, they sounded great. They played Foothills, Vampire Song, Gentleman's Spell, and Socialize. Actually didn't listen to the performance live, but those WOXY folks have been on the ball recently and it's already available for download as an mp3. Maybe I will finally get a chance to see them at Knitting Factory on 5/23.

You can listen to the album versions of Gentleman's Spell and Socialize at their Myspace. They also have a video for Foothills on YouTube. I like the animated sketches of the band playing. Reminds me of the famous Take On Me video, which is probably intentional.

Best of List - 2005

2005 list of integrity:

1) Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
2) Crystal Skulls - Blocked Numbers
3) The Most Serene Republic - Underwater Cinematographer
4) Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene
5) The Frames - Burn The Maps
6) Spoon - Gimmie Fiction
7) Stars - Set Yourself on Fire
8) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
9) The Decemberists - Picaresque
10) Aqueduct - I Sold Gold
11) The Rosebuds - Unwind EP
12) Chin Up Chin Up - Chin Up Chin Up EP
13) Nada Surf - The Weight Is A Gift
14) Wolf Parade - Apologies To The Queen Mary
15) ...and you will know us by the trail of dead - Worlds Apart
16) The Rosebuds - Birds Make Good Neighbors
17) The Free Design - The Now Sound Redesigned
18) Elbow - Leaders Of The Free World
19) Amusement Parks on Fire - Amusement Parks on Fire
20) Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
21) Super Furry Animals - Love Kraft
22) Architecture In Helsinki - In Case We Die
23) Benzos - Morning Stanzas
24) New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
25) Doves - Some Cities
26) The Fiery Furnaces - EP
27) The Cloud Room - The Cloud Room
28) Supersystem - Always Never Again
29) Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy
30) LCD Soundsysytem - LCD Soundsysytem
31) Animal Collective - Feels
32) Silversun Pickups - Pikul EP
33) Sam Champion - Slow Rewind
34) Cloud Cult - Advice From The Happy Hippopotamus
35) Of Montreal - Sunlandic Twins
36) The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower - Love In A Facist Brothel
37) The Russian Futurists - Our Thickness
38) The Mars Volta - Frances The Mute
39) Gorillaz - Demon Days
40) The Boy Least Likely To - The Best Party Ever
41) The Pale Pacific - Urgency
42) Thunderbirds Are Now! - Justamustache
43) Rogue Wave - Descended Like Vultures
44) Constantines - Tournament Of Hearts
45) Death Cab For Cutie - Plans
46) Out Hud - Let Us Never Speak Of It Again
47) The National - Alligator
48) Brazilian Girls - Brazilian Girls
49) Antony & The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now
50) The Thievery Corporation - The Cosmic Game

Top 15 is solid. No change. Okkervil River, Cloud Cult, Animal Collective, and TPTBUTET should be much higher. Speaking of TPTBUTET, their new (wrong, actually 03, sorry) album, Dissertation, Honey, is sick. They are walking the same path as The Whole Fantastic World though. Consecutive canceled NYC shows. They had a good reason though.

If there is one thing that you get from this list, it's that you SHOULD own Blocked Numbers. Buy it today. GO!

Best of List - 2004

Here's my list of integrity for '04:

1) Wilco - A Ghost is Born
2) Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
3) The Black Keys - Rubber Factory
3) Ted Leo & the Rx - Shake The Streets
5) The Arcade Fire - Funeral
6) Interpol - Antics
7) Madvillain - Madvillainy
8) Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News
9) Earlimart - Treble & Tremble
10) Apostle of Hustle - Folkloric Feel
11) Mates of State - Team Boo
12) Gomez - Split The Difference
13) TV On The Radio - Desperate Youths, Blood Thirsty Babes
14) The Walkmen - Bows And Arrows
15) !!! - Louden Up Now
16) Snow Patrol - Final Straw
17) The Beta Band - Heroes To Zeroes
18) Rogue Wave - Out Of The Shadow
19) Sparta - Porcelain
20) Valley Of The Giants - Valley Of The Giants
21) Elliot Smith - From A Basement On A Hill
22) Stars - Set Yourself On Fire
23) Pinback - Summer in Abaddon
24) South - With The Tides
25) Hope of The States - The Lost Riots
26) Elbow - Cast of Thousands
27) Matt Pond PA - Emblems
28) The Futureheads - The Futureheads
29) The Dears - No Cities Left
30) AC Newman – The Slow Wonder

I totally stand by my top 5. They have not changed to this day. Earlimart, The Walkmen, Apostle of Hustle, !!!, Stars, Pinback, and Elbow should be higher. There are a bunch of albums that I discovered in '05 that would be added in retrospect, Chin Up Chin Up for instance. Maybe I'll work on a updated version. Probably won't... ; )

!!! - Not playing Club Exit???

If you were thinking of catching !!! at Club Exit, instead of Northsix, you may want to reconsider. !!! at Club Exit on June 9th is no longer listed on Todd P's website. Touch & Go says that they are going to be at the Black Cat in DC on June 9th.

BTW - While at Todd P's site, this caught my eye:

Friday May 5th @ CAKESHOP

:: Oxford Collapse
:::: The Narrator
:::::: The Punks
:::::::: End Of The World
:::::::::: The Pathways

[ Curated by Cakeshop ]

[ CAKESHOP ]
152 Ludlow St @ Rivington Lower East Side, Manhattan
F-Delancey, JMZ-Essex 8pm $TBA 212.253.0036

Oxford Collapse are getting better and better each time I happen to catch them opening for another band. They were excellent the last time I saw 'em, opening for We Are Scientists at Maxwell's. Would be nice to finally see End Of The World and The Narrator. Also same night as Geoff Farina at Knitting Factory. Hmmmmm.....

Also noticed that The Books and Pinback at Northsix are now sold out. Darn.

For fun... go here

Radiohead - Chicago & LA news

Radiohead dates popped up on Ticketmaster this past Friday for Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre on June 19th and 20th and it said that tix are going on sale on Sat May 6th at 10:00AM, the same time that Atease reported tix are going on sale for Boston.

I'd say it's safe to assume that the public on sale for the upcoming Radiohead US tour will be Sat May 6th at 10:00AM. If WASTE handles the US presale the same way they handled the presale for the European tour, watch for a tour announcement on Tues May 2nd and a presale on Wed May 3rd. While putting this post together, I have seen this prediction elsewhere, so....

Also, Greenplastic is reporting a rumor that "Radiohead will be performing at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, CA on June 29 and 30." These dates would mess up the two shows in a city and a day off pattern. Where would they play between LA and San Fran? Seattle? Vancouver?

Updated possible Radiohead US tour:

6/1 - Tower Theater - Philadelphia
6/2 - Tower Theater - Philadelphia
6/4 - Bank of America Pavilion - Boston
6/5 - Bank of America Pavilion - Boston
6/7/06 - NYC ???
6/8/06 - NYC ???
6/10/06 - Montreal ???
6/11/06 - Montreal ???
6/13/03 - Toronto ???
6/14/06 - Toronto ???
6/17 - Bonnaroo - Manchester
6/19 - Auditorium Theatre - Chicago
6/20 - Auditorium Theatre - Chicago
6/22 - Greek Theatre - San Francisco
6/23 - Greek Theatre - San Francisco
6/29 - Greek Theatre - Los Angeles
6/30 - Greek Theatre - Los Angeles

Loose Record Party Tonight

Here's something fun to do after Cloud Cult tonight:

186 Birthday Throwdown Vol. 3
3 people x 3 birthdays = 9 times the fun

Friday, April 21st (8pm)
@ Fontana's (105 Eldridge btwn Grand & Broome)

NO COVER / 21+ / ITS FREE MOTHERFUCKERS

Bands: The End of the World, The Big Sleep & Special Guests
DJs Build It, Good Times & Fuzz Gun

$3 PBRs & Bud Lights / $5 PBRs + Whiskey Shot

Come and give us hugs and tequila shots!

Apparently Sam Champion (Stellar band) are the special guest.

Now I just have to make sure I get to Arlene's by 8:00pm.

Gnarls Barkley - Listen to St. Elsewhere tomorrow

Crazy is a great song, but the rest of the songs I've heard so far have been ehhh... They are going to be streaming the album at their myspace starting tomorrow. The new albums from Soul Position and Ghostface have set the bar high for '06, we'll see if this is in the same league. It's also good to know that they will be performing on Conan on May 24. Here's the email from the band:


ST. ELSEWHERE - OUT 24.04.06!
LISTEN EXCLUSIVELY ON MYSPACE THIS WEEKEND!
The hugely anticipated debut album from Gnarls Barkley is out in the UK on Monday 24th April. The album includes the record-breaking NUMBER 1 single 'Crazy' plus hotly tipped 'Smiley Faces', 'Who Cares' and Violent Femmes cover, 'Gone Daddy Gone'. You can pre-order the album online NOW here!

But if you can't wait until Monday, you're in luck! This weekend you'll be able to listen to the whole album exclusively on Gnarls Barkley's Myspace page! The album will be available to stream from Friday 21st April to Monday 24th. Click here to go to Myspace.
And, of course, you can still buy the Crazy ringtone...
To get the Crazy ringtone in the UK (polyphonic or real) text GNARLS1 to 88188.
(Tones cost £3. Please check handset compatibility and terms and conditions at www.warnermobile.com before ordering.)

Catch Gnarls Barkley Live!
Gnarls Barkley has a massive summer of touring ahead - don't miss it...

Apr 30th 8pm - Coachella Indio, CA
May 24th 8pm - Late Night with Conan O'Brien, New York
Jun 23rd 8pm - Wireless Festival, London
Jun 24th 8pm - Wireless Festival, Leeds
Jul 28th 8pm - Fuji Rock Festival, Japan Yuzawa-machi
Aug 5th 8pm - Lollapalooza Chicago, IL
Aug 26th 8pm - Creamfields Festival, Liverpool
Sep 3rd 8pm - Electric Picnic Festival, Stradbally

www.gnarlsbarkley.com
www.myspace.com/gnarlsbarkley


massive eya????



...and with that I'm off to Skylight Studios...

I need a list

We seem to be in the midst of another surge of interesting, upcoming NYC shows. And I'm having trouble keeping track of all of them. Especially with the free River to River and Celebrate Brooklyn shows being announced. It's times like this that it's good to have a list. So here's a list of shows that interest me:

Sat 4/29 Wooden Wand - Soundfix 4:00PM FREE
Fri 5/5 Geoff Farina - Knitting Factory 8:00PM $10
Thu 5/18 Architecture in Helsinki - Avalon 7:30PM $16.75
Sun 5/21 The National, Baby Dayliner, Doveman - Webster Hall 7:00PM $17a/$20d
Tue 5/23 Metal Hearts - Knitting Factory 8:00PM $10a/$10d
Wed 5/24 Sunset Rubdown, Frog Eyes - Mercury Lounge 7:30PM $12
Wed 5/24 The Books - World Financial Center 8:00PM FREE
Sat 5/27 Soul Position - Southpaw 8:00PM $15
Fri 6/2 Super Furry Animals - South Street Seaport 7:00PM FREE
Tue 6/6 Tapes n' Tapes - Bowery Ballroom 7:30PM $14
Tue 6/13 The Boy Least Likely Too - Knitting Factory 8:00PM $10
Fri 6/30 TV On The Radio, Matt Pond PA, Voxtrot - Prospect Park
Thu 7/6 Broken Social Scene - Prospect Park 6:00PM $30
Thurs 7/13 Okkervil River - Castle Clinton 7:00PM FREE
Fri 7/28 A Silver Mt. Zion - Northsix 9:00PM $12
Fri 8/25 Ted Leo & Rx - South Street Seaport 7:00PM FREE

Radiohead - Boston

So here we go. The first firm Radiohead US dates (other than Bonnaroo) and an on sale date. Via Atease:

The band will be playing the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston on June 4th & 5th. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Saturday May 6th at 10am EST.

This conflicts with what Productshop has been reporting:

In regards to Radiohead performing in New York City, I'm still hearing some rumblings of two shows at The Theatre [at MSG] on June 5th and 6th

Productshop also reported:

Product Shop NYC has heard major rumors that Radiohead have been booked into Philadelphia's Tower Theater on June 1st and 2nd, Chicago's Auditorium Theatre on June 19th and 20th, and Berkeley's Greek Theatre on June June 22nd and 23rd.

Previously Atease reported:

It looks like the band have found another venue in Chicago. According to sources in the industry Radiohead will play the Auditorium Theatre on June 19 and 20. San Francisco radio station Live 105 said that Radiohead have been confirmed to play two shows at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA.

and

Radiohead is eyeing multiple-night stands in Montreal, Toronto, Philadelphia and Chicago as part of its summer North American tour, which will get underway in June, Billboard.com has learned. Dates, venues and an opening act are still being finalized.

So if we put this all together we get:

6/1/06 - Tower Theater - Philadelphia
6/2/06 - Tower Theater - Philadelphia
6/4/06 - Bank of America Pavilion - Boston
6/5/06 - Bank of America Pavilion - Boston
6/17/06 - Bonnaroo - Manchester
6/19/06 - Auditorium Theatre - Chicago
6/20/06 - Auditorium Theatre - Chicago
6/22/06 - Greek Theatre - San Francisco
6/23/06 - Greek Theatre - San Francisco

If this is true, and whether or not they play NYC, it looks like I will not be going to Bonnaroo. 2 Boston show and 2 Philly shows will be fine, and if they do play NYC, then all the better.

If I had to wager a guess, I would say that the NYC, Montreal, and Toronto dates would look something like this:

6/7/06 - NYC
6/8/06 - NYC
6/10/06 - Montreal
6/11/06 - Montreal
6/13/03 - Toronto
6/14/06 - Toronto

If this turned out to be true, shows in Montreal on the weekend would be very very tempting. Seeing them in Montreal in 03 was a blast and I would love to do the road trip again, but doubt I will.

Jeniferever

First heard about Jeniferever on WOXY a while ago when the afternoon DJ Mike was giving You Only Move Twice a ton of airplay. Great song off of their solid Iris EP. I'm surprised that with all the attention other Swedish acts have been getting recently (Jose Gonzalez, Jenz Lekman) that these guys haven't also been getting love. Especially now that their new album, Choose a Bright Morning, is out there and is sooo good. Recently, this is the band that I have been telling everyone about and I seem to be making a new fan every time. You can listen to You Only Move Twice and two songs off of Choose a Bright Morning at their myspace page.

So these guys just announced another tour and once again it's all Europe. I went ahead and emailed the band, asking if they have any plans to come over to the US, and I got the following response:

hi there. happy to hear that you like the album. no us tour planned at the moment but hopefully we'll come over within not a too distant future, maybe next spring or so. it all depends on when we have an american label decided for licensing the album there etc.

take care
/kristofer, jeniferever

Well then, kind of a bummer. Maybe next spring???? That sucks. Someone from a US label needs to get in touch with these guys - soon.

Islands - Sound Fix

Stopped by Sound Fix yesterday and what do I see on their in-store announcement board? Islands!!! They're playing there this Saturday at noon before their show that night at Avalon. Better get there extra early for this one.

While at Sound Fix I picked up Rubies, Return to the Sea, and Outgoing Behavior. Three albums that will most likely be on my Top 10 for 2006.

Margot and the Nuclear So & So's

Margot and the Nuclear So & So's were great when I saw them open up for South at Maxwell's. I picked up their album at the show and I like it a lot, but I liked their live show much more. Good to see they are coming back to NYC:

Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - Mercury Lounge - $12 - on sale

- 10:30 -
FILM SCHOOL
- 9:30 -
MARGOT & THE NUCLEAR SO & SO'S

Listen to some songs at their myspace page. Especially Quiet as a Mouse and Skeleton Key.

Pearl Jam - SNL

Pearl Jam are performing on SNL tonight. This is probably common knowledge. Lohan is hosting.

The Whole Fantastic World

I have been worrying recently that this band might have broken up before I got a chance to see them live. Well maybe I should stop worrying. Their website has just recently moved from www.thewholefantasticworld.com to www.thewholefantasticworld.org. Why? Who knows. Also, the news item dated January 15, which has been disappearing and reappearing, is now back up. And I just noticed, and this is the best part, that they have posted mp3's of 5 new songs.

new ideas from the whole fantastic world:
1. Colossus
2. Color in your Cheeks
3. Eloise
4. To the Lives and Loves We've Known
5. Monsoon

Colossus has been on their myspace page for a while now and is way to addictive. The other songs also all stand up to the greatness that is their debut album, Chime!

So maybe they haven't broken up yet. And maybe they will finally schedule an NYC date and not cancel, like the past two times I've tried to see them live.

Nada Surf Acoustic

I've seen Nada Surf live 4 times now, 2 standard shows and 2 acoustic. Their standard rock shows are excellent, no question, but I personally enjoyed their acoustic shows much more. Seeing them play songs from the new album acoustic at Sound Fix last year stands out in my mind as one of the better shows I saw all last year. Therefore, I highly recommend this show:

Wednesday, May 10, 2005 - Mercury Lounge

- 10:30 -
NADA SURF (Acoustic)
- 9:30 -
DANGARU
- 8:30 -
TRUE LOVE
- 7:30 -
WANDERBUND

So far, there aren't advanced tix for this show. I have a feeling that will change. I've never heard of the other bands playing before them, are they good? Phoenix are playing the same night at Bowery so I might end up doing that instead.

Update: Tix are $10 and are on sale. They are also playing this benefit at Knitting Factory on Tues 5/2:

GUITAR WORLD MAGAZINE PRESENTS The AIDS/Lifecycle Benefit Concert featuring live music from Matthew and Ira from Nada Surf (Acoustic), PLUS The Anabolics, The Border Cops, The Browns, The Dave Diedrich Band, Dirty Dick, Drag Citizen, The Grand Old Party, James Wolfe, Live Perl, The Muscatels, Shattered NYC, Tornado Big Man and True Love

!!!

I can't think of a better way to get things started. The last time I saw !!! was the late show at the Mercury Lounge the day before NYE 05, and they destroyed. I danced/partied harder at that show then any other show I've ever been to. Last year during CMJ, I choose The Rosebuds at Rothko over !!! at SOB's, thinking that since !!! were local and The Rosebuds were not, that !!! would play again shortly thereafter. As it turned out, The Rosebuds played again about a month later and !!! disappeared. That is, until now.

Sunday, June 11, 2006 - Northsix - !!! - $15 - Doors: 8pm - Show: 9pm

Tickets on sale now at Ticketweb

Speaking of Northsix, I'm thinking about going there tomorrow night for The Appleseed Cast, Aloha, and Victory at Sea.

Update: !!! will also be at Club Exit on Fri 6/9. It's a Todd P. show.

So I guess I'll give this a try...

Someone with as little computer savvyness (is that a word?) as me should not have a blog. I'm already confused. Oh well.

I'm not all that great at writing show reviews, so I probably won't do very much of that sort of thing. I will be using this mainly as a way of spreading the word about new shows and/or tours on the horizon.

Enjoy!