Lou Reed Brings the Noise: Metal Machine Trio featuring Ulrich Krieger and Sarth Calhoun Playing Gigs in Europe
By Jon Lorenz on 02-01-2010
Fans of Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music (or even the noisier side of The Velvet Underground) might be stoked to hear about Lou Reed’s new Metal Machine Trio featuring Ulrich Krieger and Sarth Calhoun. The trio did a back-to-back two-night gig at Blender Theatre in NYC last year and are now doing a five-day stint in Europe this April. Lou has been calling these events “A Night of Deep Noise” and will feature Lou on guitar and electronics, Ulrich Krieger on tenor sax and live electronics, and Sarth Calhoun on live processing and Fingerboard Continuum. The trio takes inspiration from Reed’s controversial 1975 album Metal Machine Music, but the performance isn’t a direct remaking, as made obvious by the trio’s instrumentation. So, anyone getting ready to call out for their favorite part of MMM are gonna be a little disgruntled when all they hear is Lou Reed actually playing his guitar opposed to pushing it up against his amp.
If you wanna hear the trio before shelling out the dough, check out the recordings from last year’s NYC events, released as The Creation of the Universe, or check out Lou’s own video of the trio here. If you’re just gonna shell out the dough either way, here are the dates:
04.17.10 - Cambridge, UK - Cambridge Junction
04.18.10 - Oxford, UK - Oxford 02 Academy
04.19.10 - London, UK - Royal Festival Hall
04.21.10 - Paris, France - La Cigale
04.22.10 - Brussels, Belgium - A/B, Ancienne Belgique
04.24.10 - Copenhagen, Denmark - DR Koncerthuset
04.26.10 - Oslo, Norawy - Sentrum Scene
04.27.10 - Bergen, Norway - Ole Bull Scene
04.30.10 - Mallorca, Spain - Teatre Principal de Palma
• Lou Reed: http://www.loureed.com
Owen Pallett, Freshly Shorn of Videogame Reference, Tours His Beloved Canadian Heartland
By Erika H on 02-01-2010
Old news alert: Final Fantasy is no more. Well, the Square/Enix video game is, but that’s kind of the source of the problem. Owen Pallett, a.k.a. Canadian one-man extraordinaire Final Fantasy, has officially renamed himself… Owen Pallett, in time for his newest release, Heartland (out now via Domino).
In an official statement, Pallett fondly recalled playing the game as a teenager before his tone quickly took a grave turn: “But the laws of trademark infringement exist for good reason,” he announced solemnly, “and so I am voluntarily retiring my band name.” It is not clear to what extent legal issues were involved in this decision, made after over half a decade after initiating the moniker, but the name change certainly didn’t hurt Heartland, his complex, beautifully crafted third album.
Allegedly, prior releases will be reissued under the new name, which will at least make things less confusing if you ever happen to talk to a gamer about He Poos Clouds (TMT Review).
Aaaanyway, Pallett has now confirmed Canadian tourdates to promote Heartland.
02.06.10 - Guelph, ON - Sleeman Centre (Hillside Inside Festival)
02.09.10 - Fredericton, NB - McCain Hall Theatre
02.10.10 - Halifax, NS - St. Matthew’s United Church
02.11.10 - Halifax, NS - St. Matthew’s United Church
02.12.10 - St. John’s, NL - Cochrane Street United Church
02.17.10 - Kingston, ON - Sydenham United Church
02.18.10 - Wakefield, QC - Blacksheep Inn
02.19.10 - Wakefield, QC - Blacksheep Inn
02.20.10 - Montreal, QC - Theatre Outremont
02.21.10 - Quebec City, QC - Le Cercle
02.25.10 - London, ON - Aeolian Hall
02.26.10 - Brantford, ON - The Ford Plant
02.27.10 - Hamilton, ON - Lincoln Alexander Centre
04.08.10 - Toronto, ON - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
05.09.10 - Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theatre
05.10.10 - Victoria, BC - Alix Goolden Hall
• Owen Pallett: http://www.owenpalletteternal.com
• Domino: http://www.dominorecordco.com
[Photo: Flare]
They Might Be Giants Announce Spring Tour, Court the Young and Old
By E. Nagurney on 02-01-2010
I believe there’s a quote by Sir Abraham Vigoda that goes something like, “You can please some of the people some of the time, but you’ll look like a jerk if you try to please everyone.” Maybe my wording’s off a little, but whatever the specifics were, it’s obvious pop weirdos They Might Be Giants never heard that quote. For their winter tour, it seems near impossible to please both aging hipsters who fell in love with Lincoln years ago and little kids whose parents (who may just be those aforementioned hipsters) bought them the group’s ever-growing children’s discography, yet the legendary group has a plan: along with a handful of traditional adult shows, the band is splitting their time between performances of their 1990 classic Flood and of their children-oriented family shows. Depending on your choice of show, be prepared to endure either arguments on whether Lincoln or Flood is the better album (it’s Lincoln) or whether Mario or Sonic is the better video game hero (it’s Mario).
They Might Be Giants dates:
02.06.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Largo at the Coronet *
02.07.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Largo at the Coronet * +
02.26.10 - Tampa, FL - Ritz Ybor
02.27.10 - Miami, FL - Adrienne Arsht Center *
02.28.10 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live *
03.02.10 - Jacksonville, FL - Free Bird Live +
03.04.10 - Birmingham, AL - Workplay Theatre
03.05.10 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
03.06.10 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse *
03.07.10 - Nashville, TN - Exit/In +
03.09.10 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
03.11.10 - Richmond, VA - The National +
03.12.10 - Baltimore, MD - Recher Theatre
03.13.10 - Pittsburgh, PA - Warhol Museum *
03.14.10 - Columbus, OH - Capitol Theatre *
* Family show
+ Flood show
Roky Erickson Enlists the Help of Okkervil River for His First Album in 14 Years
By Annapocalypse on 02-01-2010
Sometimes even the most distinguished musicians need a little help in the studio. In the case of former 13th Floor Elevators frontman Roky Erickson, he recently called upon fellow Austinites Okkervil River to help out on his new album, enlisting Will Sheff as a producer and the rest of the band as guest musicians. Erickson’s new album, True Love Cast Out All Evil, is his first for ANTI- and is due April 20. The album primarily consists of unreleased songs that Erickson wrote throughout the course of his lengthy career, touching upon such varied subjects as mental illness, imprisonment, loss, and love.
Will Sheff revealed his thoughts about working on Erickson’s record in a press release: “I feel truly lucky that I got to produce this record,” Sheff said. “This record has been the most challenging and rewarding thing I’ve ever worked on, and we in Okkervil River were deeply honored to show up decades later and help Roky carry these wonderful songs over the finish line.”
• Roky Erickson: http://www.rokyerickson.net
• ANTI-: http://www.anti.com
• Okkervil River: http://www.okkervilriver.com
Have the Band-Aids Ready! Tindersticks Falling Down a Mountain in February
By David Nadelle on 02-01-2010
Lush arrangements and production. Evocative, sensual performances. Fascinating lyric plots laced with subtle humor. Man, it’s good to have Tindersticks back! While you were sleeping, the masters of simmering melodrama softly ambled back onto the scene hellbent on tearing your heart in two (dozen!) with tales of brutal betrayal and bittersweet love. Their newest disc ‘n’ download, Falling Down a Mountain, is coming February 16 via Constellation (January 25 in Europe on 4AD) and features a caterwauling vocal performance by Mary Margaret O’Hara (the much-lauded 1988 Miss America album, Morrissey’s “November Spawned a Monster”).
01. Falling Down a Mountain
02. Keep You Beautiful
03. Harmony Around My Table
04. Peanuts
05. She Rode Me Down
06. Hubbards Hills
07. Black Smoke
08. No Place So Alone
09. Factory Girls
10. Piano Music
Compelling on record, devastating live. That’s the Tindersticks way. We cannot aver with certainty that North American dates are due, but it’s a good bet that occidentals will be able to see Stuart Staples and company in their ‘hood sometime in 2010. European tindersticklers (eh, it’s a nickname in progress…) can see their heroes starting at the beginning of February.
Behold:
02.03.10 - Caldes da Rainha, Portugal - Centro Cultural e de Congressos das Caldas da Rainha
02.04.10 - Guimaraes, Portugal - Centro Cultural Vila Flor
02.05.10 - Sintra, Portugal - Centro Clutural Olga Cadaval
02.06.10 - Guarda, Portugal - Teatro Municipal da Guarda
02.07.10 - Estarreja, Portugal - Cine Teatro de Estarreja
02.28.10 - Dusseldorf, Germany - Zakk
03.01.10 - Frankfurt, Germany - Mousonturm
03.02.10 - Berlin, Germany - Postbahnhof
03.03.10 - The Hague, Netherlands - Trojan Horse
03.04.10 - Utrecht, Netherlands - MCV
03.05.10 - Eindhoven, Netherlands - Effenaar
03.07.10 - Hamburg, Germany - Ubel & Gefaerhrlich
03.08.10 - Malmo, Sweden - KB
03.09.10 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Tradgarn
03.10.10 - Aarhus, Denmark - Vox Hall
03.11.10 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega
03.12.10 - Helsinki, Finland - Tavastia
03.14.10 - Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser Medis
03.15.10 - Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller
05.03.10 - Paris, France - Le Bataclan
05.04.10 - Lausanne, Switzerland - Les Docks
05.05.10 - Zurich, Switzerland - Kaufleuten
05.10.10 - Graz, Austria - Orpheum
05.12.10 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
[Photo: Maccosta]
• Tindersticks: http://www.tindersticks.co.uk
• Constellation: http://cstrecords.com
