Bert Jansch Announces Reissues, North American Tour, and Challenge to Swine Flu and Jon & Kate Plus 8: "All Your Headlines Are Belong to Me!"

We would never claim Jimmy Page to be an angel (actually, we have gotta give the man some credit for having impeccable taste) but, though innovative as he was in some regards, he cribbed notes wholesale time and time again. It has become a known fact that if Page snakes your action you must be something special. This may be some consolation to Bert Jansch but more consolation would come in the form of official credit for writing Zep’s “Black Mountain Side” (and possibly “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” too). Page may have been the most obvious of admirers but many others have looked to Jansch for inspiration, among them, Neil Young, Nick Drake, Donovan, Johnny Marr, Beth Orton, and many new followers like Devendra Banhart and Espers. No matter who cops his moves, Bert Jansch is something special and something many more people will get the chance to figure out over the next few months. The revered guitarist will be touring this summer and has had a hand in reissuing three of his past masters which are due in a couple of weeks.

The tour will take Jansch all over the U.S., into Canada, and even close enough to this writer’s cardboard hovel to get hands sh-sh-shaking in anticipation of witnessing a rare live appearance by the venerable solo artist/Pentangle legend. Nearly half of the North American dates have support from Alasdair Roberts, who also knows a thing or two about commanding an audience's attention with his own folksome ways.

Dates:
06.08.09 - London, England - Jazz Café
06.26.09 - Albuquerque, NM - The Cooperage
06.28.09 - Denver, CO - Swallow Hill
07.01.09 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir
07.02.09 - Seattle, WA - Triple Door
07.03.09 - Vancouver, BC - Richard's on Richards
07.04.09 - Victoria, BC - Conservatory of Music
07.06.09 - Anchorage, AK - University of Alaska
07.08.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Largo
07.10.09 - Santa Cruz, CA - Don Quixote's
07.12.09 - San Francisco, CA - Café du Nord
07.13.09 - Portland, ME - The Space
08.03.09 - Montréal, QC - La Sala Rossa #
08.05.09 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern #
08.07.09 - Pittsburgh, PA - The Warhol #
08.08.09 - Columbus, OH - Wexner Arts #
08.10.09 - Chicago, IL - Martyrs #
08.12.09 - Lexington, KY - The Dame #
08.14.09 - Asheville, NC - Diane Wartham Theatre
08.16.09 - Charlottesville, VA - The Southern #
08.19.09 - Alexandria, VA - Birchmere $
08.20.09 - New York, NY - City Winery #
08.21.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's #
08.25.09 - Edinburgh, Scotland - Edinburgh Festival
09.05.09 - Birmingham, England - Moseley Folk Festival

# with Alasdair Roberts

$ with Al Stewart

Jansch's three albums on Charisma -- L.A. Turnaround (1974), Santa Barbara Honeymoon (1975), and A Rare Conundrum (1977) -- will be issued for the first time on CD on June 15 by EMI/Virgin. All three albums have been remastered and include bonus material selected by Jansch, including many unreleased and newly discovered tracks. L.A. Turnaround will be an enhanced disc and includes a previously unseen 13-minute film made around the time of recording which features Jansch monkeying around with Mike Nesmith, Red Rhodes (Nesmith’s pedal steel sidekick), and others. Each album comes with newly penned notes, original artwork, photos, can opener, corkscrew, tweezers, toothpick, and saw.

Flaming Lips Issue 10th Anniversary Edition of Soft Bulletin on 180g/2xLP Vinyl

On June 23, Warner Bros. will release the 10th anniversary edition of The Soft Bulletin on 180-gram, 2xLP vinyl (with possible bonus CD). The album was The Flaming Lips' ninth full-length, considered by philosophers, scientists, and critics/gatekeepers/cultural arbiters to be the single most important document of human existence. "Without The Soft Bulletin, life would be a mistake," said Friedrich Nietzsche. "Music has a power of forming the character, and we should therefore be introduced to The Soft Bulletin when we're young," insisted Aristotle. "The Soft Bulletin has been my playmate, my lover, and my crying towel," opined Buffy Sainte-Marie The Vampire Slayer.

Really digging the reworked cover too:

The Flaming Lips tourdates:
06.12.09 - Loch Ness, UK - Rockness Festival
06.26.09 - St. Gallen, Switzerland - St. Gallen Festival
06.28.09 - Helsinki, Finland - Pitka Kuuma
07.19.09 - Chicago, IL - Union Park - Pitchfork Festival
07.28.09 - Moore Park, Australia - Hordern Pavillion
07.29.09 - West Melbourne, Australia - Festival Hall
09.13.09 - Monticello, NY - Kutschers Country Club & Resort

[Thanks to Angie for the tip!]

No Fun Fest Moves to Sweden This Fall (A News Article in One Movement, With Swedish Stereotypes In Tow)

Majestic fjords, well-designed minimalist furniture on the cheap, blonde hair and blue-eyed mensch, and... armies of hooded sweaty dudes fist-pumping to C. Spencer Yeh's face-melting violin thrash. That's right, the infamous New York-based No Fun Fest (TMT Review), the nation's largest festival celebrating grating noise, is packing its IKEA bags and taking the freak wagon to Stockholm September 18-20 for No Fun Fest... SWEDEN EDITION!

The lineup reads like a who's who in all that is horrifying -- Wolf Eyes, Religious Knives, Hair Police, Emeralds, Burning Star Core, Prurient, Hivemind, Astral Social Club, and plenty more. For only 75 Euros (more expensive for us Yanks, of course), you get all three days at Fylkingen. These tickets go on sale July 1; single-day passes will be available July 20.

So, throw them horns up, raise a Ölglas, and tipsa en vän (got these translations from the Internet -- might totally be wrong).

Here are the confirmed acts so far:

Wolf Eyes / Emeralds / Carlos Giffoni / Noveller / Dead Machines / Burning Star Core / Oneohtrix Point Never / Hair Police / Regression / Religious Knives / Putrefier / Sons of God / Prurient / Testicle Hazard / Astral Social Club / Sten Ove Toft / Dylan Nyoukis / CM von Hausswolff / Enema Syringe / Studio SS / Sewer Election / Family Battle Snake / Dror Feiler / Family Underground / Hivemind

There Were Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things… And a New Arctic Monkeys Album in August

Write this down, because it’s pretty rare that you’ll read a Richard Jeni bit in a TMT news story. Talking about America's classic rock track “Horse with No Name,” the comedian mocks, “You’re in the desert. You got nothing else to do. Name the freakin’ horse!” Too true! Throw me in the desert with the same horse for a couple of minutes and I would have had multiple made-up monikers, a plausible back-story, and 16 dishes prepared from his carcass.

Like or very unlike the non-threatening 1970s folk-tinged rock troupe, cheeky Sheffield quartet Arctic Monkeys have announced details of their much-anticipated third album but have yet to name it. No matter, really, because all else is known. The 10-track album, which was recorded by Josh Homme in Los Angeles and James Ford in Brooklyn, will be released August 24 by the band’s label Domino. Besides, there’s plenty of time to christen the record. Let’s hope they don’t decide on something terrible like Favourite Worst Nightmare... oh shit, sorry!

1. My Propeller
2. Crying Lightning
3. Dangerous Animals
4. Secret Door
5. Potion Approaching
6. Fire and the Thud
7. Cornerstone
8. Dance Little Liar
9. Pretty Visitors
10. The Jeweller’s Hands

What would summer be without girls screaming at boys on festival stages? Summer with boys screaming at girls on festival stages? Girls screaming at girls? Boys screaming at boys? Probably a combination of all of the above. Regardless, when the Arctic Monkeys take any stage, there will be screaming and plenty of smiling, for they are one of the best live times around. Strangely, the boys are only scheduled for two British festival dates so far: the back-to-back Leeds and Reading festival gigs at the end of August. I’m guessing there will be more announced soon, but in the meantime, check out the many other shows confirmed, beginning with a bloc of concerts in Eastern Europe in July.
07.02.09 - Gdynia, Poland - Open’er Festival
07.04.09 - Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic - Rock for People
07.05.09 - Vienna, Austria - Vienna Arena
07.07.09 - Split, Croatia - Prokurative
07.09.09 - Novi Sad, Serbia - Exit Festival
08.01.09 - Jersey City, NJ - All Points West Festival
08.02.09 - Montréal, QC - Osheaga Festival
08.13.09 - Oslo, Norway - Oya Festival
08.14.09 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Way Out West
08.15.09 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Beat Day Festival
08.21.09 - Erfurt, Germany - Highfield Festival
08.22.09 - Hasselt, Belgium - Pukkelpop Festival
08.23.09 - Biddinghuizen, Holland - Lowlands Festival
08.28.09 - Leeds, England - Leeds Festival
08.29.09 - Reading, England - Reading Festival
11.06.09 - Paris, France - Zenith

No Age, Deerhunter, and Dan Deacon Reveal Collaborative Tourdates; Collective Cry of “HOLY FUCKING SHIT THEY SKIPPED MY CITY” Is Heard in Places That Don’t Matter

By now, most of you know that No Age, Deerhunter, and Dan Deacon announced a month ago that they were all planning to tour together this summer. By now, the drool puddle under your dropped jaw has been cleaned up, you’ve put on some clean underwear, and your enormous boner has gone flaccid/vagina has gone dry -- but prepare to go through it all again. Yes, the full tour itinerary for this round robin-y three-way band extravaganza has finally been revealed! However, unless you live in (or near) the East coast or the Midwest, it looks like you’re out of luck this time. All complaint emails can be sent to playmycity@heywhyarentyoufuckersplayingmycity.com.

No Deerhunter Age Deacon:
08.01.09 - Medford, NJ - Flying W Airport & Pool
08.02.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Jelly Space 2009
08.03.09 - Millvale, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre
08.04.09 - Newport, KY - Southgate House
08.05.09 - Bloomington, IN - Rhinos
08.06.09 - Madison, WI - UW Madison Memorial Terrace
08.07.09 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom

No Age:
06.04.09 - Santiago, Chile - Industria Cultural
06.05.09 - Port Alegre, Brazil - Parc Fest at Manara
06.06.09 - Sao Paulo, Brazil - Clash Club
06.07.09 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - La Trastienda
06.12.09 - Seattle, WA - Triple Door
06.13.09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Standard Hotel
06.18.09 - Toronto, Ontario - Whippersnapper Space
06.19.09 - Toronto, Ontario - Lee’s Palace
06.20.09 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Biltmore Cabaret
06.27.09 - Hollywood, CA - Hollywood Palladium

Deerhunter:
06.02.09 - Helsinki, Finland - Travasita
06.04.09 - Tokyo, Japan - O-Nest
06.05.09 - Kyoto, Japan - Club Metro
06.07.09 - Nagoya, Japan - KD Japon
06.08.09 - Tokyo, Japan - O-West
06.09.09 - Osaka, Japan - Fandango
06.11.09 - Sydney, Australia - Manning Bar
06.12.09 - Melbourne, Australia - Corner Hotel
06.13.09 - Brisbane, Australia - The Zoo
06.15.09 - Auckland, New Zealand - Kings Arms
06.16.09 - Wellington, New Zealand - San Francisco Bathhouse
06.18.09 - Melbourne, Australia - Corner Hotel
06.20.09 - Sydney, Australia - The Annandale Hotel
07.23.09 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
07.24.09 - Seattle, WA - Capitol Hill Block Party
08.07.09 - Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
08.28.09 - San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival
09.12.09 - Monticello, NY - All Tomorrows Parties NY

Dan Deacon:
06.02.09 - Manchester, England - Manchester Club Academy
06.03.09 - Dublin, Ireland - Andrews Place
06.04.09 - Dublin, Ireland - Andrews Place
06.05.09 - London, England - ULU
06.06.09 - Cherbourg, France - Terra Trema
06.07.09 - Brussels, Belgium - Botanique-Orangerie
06.08.09 - Amsterdam, Netherlands Paradiso (solo)
06.12.09 - Boston, MA - ICA (Ultimate Reality)
06.13.09 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar (solo)
06.20.09 - Cleveland, OH - Cleveland Museum of Art (solo)
08.08.09 - Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza

Neutral Milk Hotel-Sponsored Paragon Carousel Wins Popular Vote, Given $100k Grant

It's hard being a hipster these days. With your favorite scene being crushed and co-opted by capitalism, it's hard not to feel vain and vapid. It's even harder to deny that you've become increasingly shallow towards others in an attempt to maintain individuality by postmodernizing your existence to oblivion. But does that necessarily make you a bad person? No! You can still do good, especially when your favorite band of old asks for help.

Case in point: The Paragon Carousel, based in Hull in northern Massachusetts. A beautiful early 20th-century carousel, the Paragon Carousel is likely reminiscent of the old carousels you rode when you were a kid, with its screechy tunes and wooden horses. But it's gotten old, and it needed help. In the running for a $100,000 grant from Partners In Preservation that would help in restoring and preserving the antiquated amusement machine, we reported in April that Julian Koster, speaking on behalf of Jeff Mangum and Neutral Milk Hotel, had sent a public letter, beseeching fans to vote daily for the Paragon. A few days before the May 16 deadline, the Carousel was leading with 14% of the vote, 2% above the old Salem City Hall.

Now, two weeks ago -- which means it's still current news in the indie music blogosphere -- it was announced by Partners in Preservation (and reported by local newspapers) that the Paragon won the popular vote, guaranteeing a $100,000 grant from the initiative. The Carousel thanked everyone for their involvement and is celebrating with several events this summer.

Who's to say hipsters aren't kind?

News

  • Recent
  • Popular