Update: Frightened Rabbit Announce Spring Tour

Frightened Rabbit at Bottom Of The Hill, from the HAD Archive

While yesterday's announcement circled around a single Webster Hall date, we were pleased to learn this morning that Frightened Rabbit has in fact lined up an entire spring tour! After stopping in at Coachella, the band will make it's way around most of the remainder of North America over the course of two months. These guys really nail it live, and will presumably be touring with some freshly recorded tunes under their belt. Frankly, you have no excuse not to get out there.

mp3: Frightened Rabbit - Nothing Like You

Frightened Rabbit Spring 2010 Dates

March 17 Austin, Texas SXSW
March 18 Austin, Texas SXSW
March 19 Austin, Texas SXSW
March 20 Austin, Texas SXSW
April 17 Indio, Calif. Coachella
April 19 Tempe, Ariz. The Clubhouse
April 21 Houston, Texas Walters
April 22 Dallas, Texas Loft @ Palladium Ballroom
April 23 Little Rock, Ark. Revolution
April 24 Atlanta, Ga. The Masquerade
April 25 Carrboro, N.C. Cat’s Cradle
April 27 Washington, D.C. Black Cat
April 28 New York, N.Y. Webster Hall
April 29 Boston, Mass. Paradise
April 30 Philadelphia, Pa. First Unitarian Church
May 3 Montreal, QC Petit Campus
May 4 Toronto, ONT Opera House
May 6 Newport, Ky. Southgate House
May 7 St. Louis, Mo. The Old Rock House
May 8 Chicago, Ill. Metro
May 9 Milwaukee, Wisc. Pabst Theatre
May 10 Minneapolis, Minn. Varsity Theater
May 12 Denver, Colo. Bluebird Theatre
May 13 Salt Lake City, Utah Urban Lounge
May 15 Vancouver, B.C. Biltmore Cabaret
May 16 Seattle, Wash. Neumo’s Crystal Ball Reading Room
May 17 Portland, Ore. Berbati’s Pan
May 19 San Francisco, Calif. The Fillmore
May 22 San Diego, Calif. Casbah

Atlas Sound Played NYU - Pictures, Review

Last night at NYU, Bradford Cox brought his other musical project, Atlas Sound, out to play. Surprisingly, given the complexity of some of the Atlas Sound recorded material, Cox appeared solo, accompanied by an acoustic guitar, a harmonica, and a massive board of guitar pedals.

Those pedals are what would largely define the show: Cox used them with expert precision, and through the use of effects, delays, and samplers managed to create a sound that was layered, diverse, and intricate. The effects also served to differentiate the songs sonically, and allow Cox to present a set that was diverse beyond the simple acoustic singer/songwriter model.

In addition to the music, Cox was talkative and upbeat. He waxed philosophical to the largely-student crowd about his own GED, and subsequent technical college experience is video editing. Acknowledging that the experience wasn't exactly his top choice, Cox claimed that he had "forgotten all of it, but still went to college!". Indeed.

While the show was enjoyable, an unquestionable representation of Cox's performance magic, and wonderfully intimate, it was still lacking. Much like on record, Atlas Sound's material is more uniform and abstract than Deerhunter's, and the result is that watching a performance can be quick to lull one into submission. Despite the completely solid performance, and lovely tunage, we do have to say there's a piece of us that's looking forward to catching Deerhunter en masse when they open for Spoon this spring.

More pictures at the HAD Archive.

mp3: Atlas Sound - Walkabout

Spoon Deliver Video For "Written In Reverse"

In what is largely a live take on the song, Spoon have delivered the video for the first single from Transference, "Written In Reverse". The video is in black and white, and filmed in front of a room-size mirror. A pretty simple motif, playing on the song's "reverse" motif. For us, it's somewhat reminiscent of the band's own video for "Jonathan Fisk", along with a bit of Blur's "Tender" for good measure. Check it out above.

mp3: Spoon - Written In Reverse

Frightened Rabbit Coming To Webster Hall In April

Frightened Rabbit at Bottom Of The Hill, from the HAD Archive.

While they don't yet have a full US tour up for notice, we were more than a little pleased to see that Frightened Rabbit will be stopping in at Webster Hall on April 28th on their way west to Coachella. The band has been recording a new record in the past few months, and as far as we can tell this is your best chance to catch up with their new material.

Either way, we (being huge fans of the band, both on record and live) highly recommend that you get yourself off your couch and our to Webster Hall, where they're sure to give a killer dose of their unquestionably awesome genre bending tunes. We will be there beside you, being very, very excited, and very, very, happy.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow at noon.

mp3: Frightened Rabbit - Nothing Like You

Grand Lake To Open For Alec Ounsworth (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) At Du Nord Next Week

Grand Lake at The Uptown in Oakland, from the HAD Archive. Photo by Rick Audet.

Alec Ounsworth (of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah fame) is out on the road in support of his new solo record. As such, we couldn't have been more excited to discover that one of our favorite San Francisco bands, Grand Lake, was picked to support the man in this endeavor when he stops by the Bay.

The musical gifts of both parties will be on display for your enjoyment next Friday, February 12th, at San Francisco's own Cafe Du Nord. It's a tiny room, and while we're not quite sure it can hold that much rock awesomeness, we must say that it'll be worth your while to go and find out.

Tickets are on sale now.

mp3: Grand Lake - Black Cloud

mp3: Alec Ounsworth - Modern Girl

Broken Social Scene: New Record and Mini Tour On Tap For May

Broken Social Scene at Outside Lands, from the HAD Archive

Let us start by saying that the number of records dropping in 2010 that we are inordinately excited about is ridiculously high. Case in point: Broken Social Scene's first full band effort since 2005 is dropping on May 4th, and we couldn't be more excited. What's more the record was recorded in Chicago at Soma Studios with the awesome John McEntire. Translation: lots and lots and lots of awesomeness in store.

On top of the excitement of a new record, the band has also planned a mini-tour to coincide with the record's release. The tour will make a mere three US stops, with one in San Francisco (at the Fillmore) and one at Webster Hall in New York. The third date is at the Henry Fonda in LA. Needless to say, BSS' live show is as good (if not better) than their records, and there's every reason for you to get your ass out there and make sure you don't miss this.

While we haven't heard any of the new material yet, we're every bit as excited as you are, and can't wait to wrap our ears around it. Meanwhile, we've been occupying ourselves with the spare BSS tracks from the soundtrack to The Tracey Fragments. It's not a new record, but it's something!

Broken Social Scene Spring 2010 Dates
05/01/10 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
05/03/10 Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda Theatre
05/07/10 New York, NY Webster Hall
05/13/10 London, UK Brixton Academy (w/ Pavement)
05/14/10 Minehead, UK All Tomorrow’s Parties
05/15/10 Brighton, UK The Great Escape
05/17/10 London, UK Heaven
05/18/10 Amsterdam, NE Melkweg
05/19/10 Cologne, GR Burgerhaus Stollwerck
05/21/10 Paris, FR La Maroquinerie
05/23/10 Linz, AU LinzFest
06/19/10 Toronto, ON Toronto Island (w/ Pavement, Band of Horses)

Nouvelle Vague Played Webster Hall: Pictures, Review

On Saturday night, we had the pleasure of stopping in at Webster Hall and catching up with those masters of the modern cover song, Nouvelle Vague. Given the expert realization of the band's three records, we were certainly expecting a good show. We certainly got that. However, even more so, it was a show that transcended the records and instead infused the recorded material with a new sense of stage presence, musical precision, and unrepentant showmanship.

The first component in that renewed vigor was unquestionably instrumental section of the band: the four members were impeccably tight, and played with an expertise normally reserved for placid studio takes. Amazingly, in addition to their technical wizardry, they also managed to create an instrumental performance that was dynamic, compelling, and ultimately the foundation of the show.

If that was the foundation, than the building itself was unquestionably built by the vocals. Alternating turns, the two vocalists waltzed through the band's catalog with ease and aplomb. Never mind that the original vocalists for many of the tracks weren't present - it posed little challenge for the two, who alternated stage personas and vocal styles, dancing all the while.

The result was a show that unquestionably could be called a crowd pleaser: they were unrelenting in their enthusiasm, and the band rewarded them in turn with multiple encores, and trips to walk amongst the throngs. As the show came to a close, its most vivid moment took shape, with a writhing, crawling version of "Bela Lugosi's Dead", closing with both singers lying on the floor.

We went to Saturday's show with a fair bit of admiration for Nouvelle Vague, but it has to be said that we left with a good bit more. The combination of an incredible stage presence, bulletproof musicality, and ridiculous charisma served to create an experience was one of pure, epic theatricality. The band is on tour in the US - we implore you not to miss it.

Many more pictures at the HAD Archive

mp3: Nouvelle Vague - Master And Servant

Phoenix Cover Bob Dylan

Phoenix in Central Park, from the HAD Archive

Yes, you know we love Phoenix. And yes, you know we'd post any new musical trinket that came our way from the French musical masters. That being said, this is actually quite a bit more than a trinket: while on tour in Germany, the band stopped in and did a live acoustic set for the German music magazine Musikexpress, which was subsequently included in the magazine as a CD giveaway.

While we have yet to get our hands on the full CD, we have snagged (courtesy of Pitchfork) this cover of Bob Dylan's "Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands", which is nothing short of spectacular. It's quiet, and subtle, and expertly executed in a way that allows Thomas Mars to channel Dylan in a way that is astoundingly authentic, given the disparity in their voices. Listen. Now.

mp3: Phoenix - Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands (Bob Dylan Cover)

New Caribou Record On Tap For April

In case you don't have anything else cooked up for 4/20, we have some good news for you: the new Caribou record Swim drops on that very day. It's been a while since we heard anything from the Canadian rhythmic masters, so this has us quite excited. What's more, Caribou front man Dan Snaith has indicated that the record will be far more of a dance record than Andorra ever was.

There's already a track available from the record (bel0w) entitled "Odessa", and if it's any indication, the man is very true to his word. It has all of Caribou's trademark calculated intention, but takes the beats to a place that is simultaneously more canned, but also slightly more human and organic. We like it very much. Now we just need news of a tour.

mp3: Caribou - Odessa

Pavement Playing Greek Theater In Berkeley, Presale Thursday

We were already excited enough that Pavement was descending on New York for 4 nights and hitting up Coachella on the last day. So, suffice it to say that it's pure icing that the band will be at the Greek Theater in Berkeley (probably our favorite summer venue of all time) on June 25th. While it has yet to be seen if the band will have even more reunion dates, we're willing to guess they're going to do more than five headlining shows. The Berkeley date has a presale tomorrow (Thursday) with the password "wowee".

In other news, the band has a "greatest hits" (cover above) on tap for March 9th, entitled Quarantine The Past. Along with that collection comes a full vinyl reissue of their catalog. Sadly, the vinyl reissues weigh in at a paltry 120gm of goodness. So, while we love vinyl as much as the next guy, it's not exactly what we'd call audiophile grade. Ah well, you can always compensate by catching the real thing this summer!

mp3: Pavement - And Then (The Hexx) Original Version