Windy & Carl, Benoit Pioulard, Creepily Named Lamb’s Laughter Creep Up and Down East Coast
By Kenny Bloggins on 04-15-2009
Lamb's Laughter kinda sounds like the title of a DVD track in any
given David Lynch film. But no, there's nothing creepy about it.
Lamb's Laughter is a live collaboration between two beautiful
songwriters -- Windy & Carl's Windy Weber and Benoit Pioulard's Tom
Meluch -- and all three are touring like one big happy Kranky family.
The brief tour will hit Canada and the East Coast and should totally
rule, but don't sip any lean before you go. You might pass out on
contact with the first note. Speaking of notes, show your W&C pride by
becoming a FaCeBoOk fan. It'll be refreshing to see Windy and Carl's faces betwixt all the quiz results.
Laugh, Lambs, Laugh:
04.22.09 - London, ON - London Convention Center
04.23.09 - Toronto, ON - Wippersnapper Art Gallery
04.24.09 - Ithaca, NY - The Shop
04.25.09 - Haverford, PA - Lunt Basement
04.26.09 - New Haven, CT - Bar
04.27.09 - Medford, MA - Oxfam
04.28.09 - New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
04.30.09 - Richmond, VA - The Triple
05.01.09 - Asheville, NC - Bebe Theater
05.02.09 - Atlanta, GA - 529
05.03.09 - Lexington, KY - The Hop Hop
The Decemberists Return to The Colbert Report; This Time It’s, Uh, You Know, NOT Personal
By Nobodaddy on 04-15-2009

Hey, Billy Corgan! While you’re out there wailing and gnashing, tearing your shirt open and beating your breast, key stroking (and I do mean “stroking”) your own personal Articles of Confederation and squeezing every last drop of narrative drama out of your forced “Me vs. the Universe” archetype, some of your major-label contemporaries are actually managing to keep their careers fun! Imagine that! Let this be a lesson to you, Mr. Endisthebeginningistheend: a little lighthearted, postmodern cheek-tonguing can go a long way.
Just ask Colin Meloy and his Decemberists, who have just confirmed another performance on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report for Monday, April 27. Fans no doubt recall that this will be the band’s first appearance on the show since 2006’s infamous “ShredDown,” in which [badass] Decemberists guitarist Chris Funk was dubiously “defeated” by a Colbert-devised run-in with the infamous Peter Frampton and his even-more-infamous talk box. There were bribes, there was senseless shredding, there was Rick Neilson... heck, there was even a healthy lampooning of pop music criticism. And while no specific challenges, call-outs, throw-downs, or insults have been volleyed by either side as of yet, you just know that something special has to be going down that’s going to make The Decemberists that much easier for the whole world to love (are you still listening, Billy?).
And what’s this? Not only is one of your peers keeping things light, but they’re also putting out records and touring on them? What a concept! The Decemberists have also announced the majority of dates for Phase Two of their “A Short Fazed Hovel” 2009 tour in support of their nerdily ambitious The Hazards of Love album (TMT Review). Tickets will go on sale to the public for newly announced headline concerts beginning Friday, April 17 at 10 AM ET. Full venue and ticketing information is available at The Decemberists’ website. On tour, The Decemberists will play two sets a night -- the first, a full performance of The Hazards of Love, and the second a melange of their older material. And just as before, Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden will be joining the band on-stage to reprise their roles as... Margaret and... some sort of queen, I think, and... I don’t know... whoever else. But hey, a band doing stuff instead of talking about doing stuff? We’ll take it.
05.19.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium
05.20.09 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theatre
05.21.09 - Eugene, OR - McDonald Theater
05.23.09 - Quincy, WA - Sasquatch Festiva
05.24.09 - Missoula, MT - Wilma Theatre
05.26.09 - Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium
05.27.09 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
05.29.09 - Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theater
05.31.09 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
06.01.09 - Columbus, OH - Lifestyle Communities Pavilion
06.03.09 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
06.04.09 - Raleigh, NC - Memorial Auditorium
06.05.09 - Richmond, VA - The National
06.06.09 - Upper Darby, PA - Tower Theatre
06.08.09 - Baltimore, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion
06.09.09 - Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion
06.10.09 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
06.11-14.09 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
06.20.09 - Minneapolis, MN - Rock the Garden/Walker Art Center
BREATHER
07.17.09 - Seattle, WA - Marymoor Park
07.18-19.09 - Portland, OR - Edgefield Winery
07.21-22.09 - Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theater
08.03.09 - Toronto, ON - Kool Haus
08.05.09 - Madison, WI - Orpheum Theater
08.08.09 - Indianapolis, IN - Murat Egyptian Room
08.10.09 - Louisville, KY - W.L. Lyons Brown Theater
08.11.09 - Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Theater
If You DJ, They Will Come: Stones Throw Throws a Spring DJ Tour
By Couscous on 04-15-2009
Maybe in response to the sad fact that you can't throw a stone these days without hitting some kid with an iPod and an 1/8"-to-1/4" adapter that calls himself a DJ, revered underground hip-hop label Stones Throw is throwing a DJ tour this spring to show you how it's really done. Peanut Butter Wolf, Dam-Funk, Mayer Hawthorne, and James Pants are currently on tour of the United States and Canada. The show won't be strictly DJ sets; the inimitably bizarre Pants plans to perform with his band The Royal Zodiac, and Hawthorne plans to kick out some live soul jams as well. No word yet on whether Guilty Simpson will show up at the 2-hour mark in a helicopter
04.21.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex*
04.22.09 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
04.23.09 - Portland, OR - Holocene
04.24.09 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
04.28.09 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater
04.29.09 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
04.30.09 - Chicago, IL - The Abbey Pub
05.01.09 - Toronto, Ontario - Revival Bar
05.02.09 - Montreal, Quebex - Les Saints
05.03.09 - Princeton, NJ - Terrace Club
05.04.09 - Boston, MA - Paradise
05.05.09 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
05.06.09 - Philadelphia, PA - North Bowl
05.07.09 - Washington, D.C. - 930 Club
05.08.09 - New York City, NY - Natural History Museum
05.09.09 - New York City, NY - LPR*
* Peanut Butter Wolf replaced w/ Folerio
Au Goes on Massive European Tour, Always Wins Scrabble with 2-Letter Word Combos
By Kasia Galaxy on 04-15-2009
Apparently Au -- mainly one dude with a rotating cast of musicians -- has lived all over the country. And now Luke Wyland and current bandmate Dana Valatka will get to travel to parts of Europe you probably didn’t even hear about during your time abroad. The experimental psych-folk duo will set out at the end of the month in Norway and wrap it up two months later in France with a few scattered fall dates. Because the tour list is so long, I’ll just shut up and hop to it:
04.24.09 - Bergen, NO - Landmark
04.25.09 - Oslo, NO - Novafest *
04.27.09 - Brighton, UK - The Freebutt
04.28.09 - Cardiff, UK - Buffalo Bar
04.29.09 - Dublin, IE - Upstairs / Whelans
04.30.09 - Cork, IE - The Pavilion
05.01.09 - Bristol, UK - The Cube
05.02.09 - Barrow-in-Furness, UK - The Canteen
05.03.09 - Glasgow, UK - Captains Rest
05.04.09 - Edinburgh, UK - The Bowery
05.05.09 - York, UK - Basement-City Screen
05.06.09 - London, UK - The Lexington
05.07.09 - Paris St Ouen, FR - Mains d'Oeuvres +
05.08.09 - Brussels, BE - Festival Les Nuits du Botanique
05.09.09 - Copenhagen, DK - Lades
05.10.09 - Gothenburg, SE - Röhsska Museet #
05.11.09 - Stockholm, SE - Landet
05.12.09 - Turku, FI - Dynamo
05.13.09 - Helsinki, Fl - Semifinal &
05.16.09 - Riga, LV - Skanu Mezs (Sound Forest) Festival
05.17.09 - Warsaw, PL - Powiekszenie $
05.18.09 - Berlin, DE - NBI +
05.19.09 - Leipzig, DE - Paris Syndrom +
05.21.09 - Schorndorf, DE - Club Manufaktur
05.23.09 - Lyon, FR - Grnd Zero @
05.27.09 - Roma, IT - Init
05.28.09 - Faenza, IT - Clandestino
05.29.09 - Brescia, IT - Morya Alter Bar
05.30.09 - Pisa, IT - Caracol
06.01.09 - Bordeaux, FR - BT59 ^
06.03.09 - Strasbourg, FR - Galerie Simutania
06.04.09 - Paris, FR - Chronicart / Café de la Danse %
06.05.09 - Orleans, FR - L'Astrolabe ^
06.06.09 - Cherbourg, FR - Terra Trema Festival
09.10.09 - Stravanger, NO - Numusic festival
09.19.09 - Utrecht, NL - Theater Kikker
* Chrome Hoof, Smoosh
+ Ora Cogan
# Lexie Moutain Boys
& Avarus
$ Kyst
@ Phosphorescent
% Cryptazice, Berg Sans Nipple
^ Deerhoof
Andrew Bird Tours World, There Will Be No Mention of “Flying,” “Whistling,” “Flitting,” or “Warbling” in This News Brief
By Kasia Galaxy on 04-14-2009
I was never in orchestra, but I do know those instruments can cost (hundreds of thousands of) pretty pennies. So, when Andrew Bird recently dropped and cracked his (probably expensive) violin at Chicago’s Civic Opera House, it must have been tragic.
Steadfast and unfazed as his namesake, Bird will power through a worldwide tour until July, hitting Europe first before coming back home for a month’s worth of dates stateside.
The tourdates:
04.24.09 - Bourges, France - Theatre Jacques Coeur
04.25.09 - Rennes, France - Ubu
04.27.09 - Paris, France - La Cigale
04.28.09 - Nancy, France - L’Autre Canal
04.29.09 - Nantes, France - Olympic
04.30.09 - Lyon, France - Epicerie Moderne
05.01.09 - Cologne, Germany - Luxor
05.03.09 - Stockholm, Sweden - Strand
05.04.09 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Lille Vega
05.05.09 - Hamburg, Germany - Uebel & Gefahrlich
05.06.09 - Berlin, Germany - Admiralspalast 101
05.07.09 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Pardiso
05.09.09 - Brussels, Belgium - Les Nuit de Botanique Cirque Royal
05.10.09 - Bristol, UK - Thekla
05.11.09 - London, UK - Shepherds Bush Empire
05.13.09 - Manchester, UK - Academy 2/Academy 3
05.14.09 - Glasgow, UK - Oran Mor
05.16.09 - Geneva, Switzerland - PTR-Usine
05.17.09 - Zurich, Switzerland - Rote Fabrik
05.18.09 - Milan, Italy - La Casa
05.20.09 - Nice, France - Theatre Lino Ventura
05.22.09 - Valladolid, Spain - Cafe Espagna
05.23.09 - Madrid, Spain - Neu Club
05.25.09 - Lisbon, Portugal - Cinema Sao Jorge
05.26.09 - Braga, Portugal - Theatro Circo
05.28.09 - Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Festival
06.08.09 - Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion*
06.11.09 - 06.14.09 (TBD) - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
06.15.09 - Atlanta, GA - Cobb Energy Center
06.17.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theatre
06.18.09 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
06.19.09 - Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion
07.10.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
07.11.09 - Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
07.14.09 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
07.18.09 - Troutdale, OR - McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater
07.19.09 - Troutdale, OR - McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater
* The Decemberists