Braxton, Zorn, Merzbow, Chadbourne, Haino, and Magik Markers: The Victoriaville Musique Festival is in Kweebec, Canaduh? Right on! I finally get to do me some snowshoeing, kill baby seals, and eat whale blubber

By David Nadelle on

Victoriaville, Quebec. It is a quaint blip lying on the Nicolet River, the Trans Canada Highway, and Canadian National Railway. It is about a hundred miles northeast of Montréal and 72 miles south of Québec City. It is famous for its hardwood. Originally a settlement known as Demersville, the city changed its name to honor Queen Victoria in 1861 (I am guessing much to the distress of the town's French-speaking majority). It is regularly referred to as the "arsehole of Quebec" by a friend of mine, but I know this is primarily because he got his ass dumped by a girl from ‘Victo.' As a lumber-heavy mill town, Victoriaville is definitely most famous for the hockey sticks that bear the town's name. I switched my stick allegiance many years ago to Sherwood 5030s after planting the blade of my Victoriaville in a sidewalk crack while playing road hockey and bagging myself something terrible in the process.

For our purposes at TMT, the city's royal name will only be spoken in conjunction with the "musique actuelle" festival it hosts every year, namely, The Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville. Priding itself on booking and presenting "modern" music in the very best sense of the word, this is the 24th edition and once again features visceral international inventors, composers, and installers alongside neo-classical heavyweights alongside noisy sound wrestlers alongside musique-concrete manipulators alongside non-traditional sound sculptors alongside, well, you get the picture, right? Additionally, Victoriaville loves introducing "world" or North American premieres of ensembles and shows and gets off on giving the spotlight to many artists before others catch up and are forced to. There is no downside I can think of; there's no reason why you shouldn't take a trip north to visit the economic capital of the "Bois-Franc" region of Quebec from May 17-21, despite what my bitter friend says.

Here's the lineup so far: Anthony Braxton 12(+1)-tet, John Zorn (solo), Acid Mothers Gong, Marilyn Crispell/Lotte Anker/Andrew Cyrille/Mark Helias, Corkestra, Jean-François Laporte, Michael Snowith Alan Licht/Aki Onda, Theresa Transistor, Melvins, Koenji Hyakkei, "Signal Quintet" (Jason Kahn/Tomas Korber/Norbert Möslang/Günter Müller/Christian Weber), Victoriaville Matière Sonore, Larry Peacock, Carla Bozulich, Magik Markers, Quasar/Alexandre Burton/Julien Roy, Anthony Braxton Diamond Curtain Wall Trio, Fine Kwiatkowski/Hans Tammen, John Tilbury/Stevie Wishart/Christof Kurzmann/Werner Dafeldecker, Fond of Tigers, Joane Hétu, Kevin Blechdom/Eugene Chadbourne, Daniel Menche, and Keiji Haino/Merzbow.

Brother Ali Ignores MTV’s Advice, Locks in Freshness, Disses Martha Stewart, Tours

By Gumshoe on 03-14-2007

[Rustling of paper, a hand raking over face, sound of metal tapping glass table, two heavy snorts, licking of plastic bag]

WOAH, what the hell happened there? Sorry about that, folks; I was doing some crystal meth in my breakfast nook, and when I returned to my computer, I passed out. I woke up, peeled my bare torso from the seat of my pleather computer chair like a fruit roll-up from its wrapper and found this idiotic poem on my desktop. So sorry about that! Hey, speaking of wrappers, Brother Ali is a pretty good one. He doesn’t have the patented burp that locks in freshness, but he DOES have a secret weapon: twist-ties. You don’t need one of those trendy, blog-approved freshness seals when you’ve got a corral of twist-ties! They do the trick every time, from the backstreets to Blackstreet.

Another thing... in my blackout-induced haze, I realized Brother Ali isn’t taking the steps necessary to get famous in the rap game. First off, he needs to get shot a few times. Last time I checked, you had to have at LEAST 24 bullet holes in your torso to deserve a major-label contract. And where’s the "dancin’ bitches"? I saw this special on MTV and it said you HAVE to have "dancin’ bitches" in your videos to win the game. Hear that Brother? And not having a Martha Stewart-produced track is the nail in the coffin; look, you can spend your time writing seamless albums if you want, but only a M-to-the-Stewart shout-out will land you in a limo with Luda or a sitcom with Ice-T. Then she’ll make guest appearances in your videos and maybe sign you to her vanity imprint. Then she'll get hella-jealous of you and have you rubbed out. Then she'll write a tribute song to your sorry, dead ass. Hey, it’s all about survival. Thought you knew that.

Brother Ali's Undisputed Truth is set for an April 10 release through Rhymesayers.

Look for jiggling flesh at the following tourdates:
04.10.07 - Duluth, MN - Pizza Luce
04.11.07 - Fargo, ND - House of Rock
04.12.07 - Mankato, MN - What's Up Lounge
04.13.07 - Iowa City, IA - Picador
04.14.07 - Omaha, NE - Sokol Underground
04.16.07 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up
04.17.07 - Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre
04.19.07 - Menomonie, WI - University of Wisconsin
04.20.07 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
04.21.07 - Chicago, IL - Subterranean
04.22.07 - Bloomington, IN - Bluebird
04.23.07 - St. Louis, MO - Washington University
04.24.07 - Louisville, KY - Uncle Pleasants
04.25.07 - Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig
04.27.07 - Indio, CA - Coachella Festival
04.28.07 - Columbus, OH - Skully's Music Diner
04.29.07 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
05.01.07 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground Lounge
05.02.07 - Boston, MA - Middle East
05.03.07 - New York, NY - Knitting Factory
05.04.07 - Philadelphia, PA - The Church
05.05.07 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
05.06.07 - Charlottesville, VA - Starr Hill
05.08.07 - Carrboro, NC - Cats Cradle
05.09.07 - Wilmington, NC - Soapbox
05.10.07 - Mt Pleasant, SC - Village Tavern
05.11.07 - Orlando, FL - The Social
05.12.07 - Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn
05.14.07 - Birmingham, AL - The Nick
05.15.07 - New Orleans, LA - Parish - HOB
05.16.07 - Austin, TX - Emos Lounge
05.17.07 - Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
05.18.07 - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
05.19.07 - Flagstaff, AZ - Orpheum
05.21.07 - Pomona, CA - Glasshouse
05.22.07 - San Diego, CA - Belly Up
05.23.07 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
05.24.07 - San Luis Obispo, CA - Downtown Brew
05.25.07 - San Francisco, CA - Slims
05.26.07 - Reno, NV - New Oasis
05.29.07 - Eugene, OR - WOW Hall
05.30.07 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
05.31.07 - Seattle, WA - Vera Project
06.01.07 - Bellingham, WA - Night Light
06.02.07 - Missoula, MT - The Loft
06.04.07 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
06.05.07 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre
06.06.07 - Kansas City, KS - Record Bar
06.07.07 - Des Moines, IA - Vaudeville Mews
06.08.07 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue (Homecoming Show!)

Ween Play Jazzfest Concert Series in New Orleans, But Julia Sweeney’s “Pat” Character Won’t Be Joining

By Emceegreg on 03-14-2007

When you hear the words "jazz fest," you may associate it with "Rib Fest." Possibly the same thing sometimes, but you can't cancel out the odds of an unexpected amazing act to play one of these festivals. No, I'm not talking about Hootie and the Blowfish, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, or Spin Doctors. This year, Gene and Dean Ween (and the other guys) will be hitting up the 2007 "Superfly during Jazzfest" concert series in New Orleans provided by Superfly Productions. The events start from Saturday, April 28 through Saturday, May 5 at various New Orleans venues, including the Contemporary Arts Center and the Riverboat Cajun Queen. The "Superfly during Jazzfest" concert series started in 1997, and since then it has been the foundation for iconic national events like Bonnaroo Music, Arts Festival and Vegoose. Spanning ten days over several venues, this is one jazz fest that you probably should check out. You can get tickets by visiting www.superflypresents.com.

The Superfly at Jazzfest 2007 lineup is below:

Saturday, April 28

The Radiators

Riverboat Cajun Queen

Friday, May 4

Greyboy Allstars

Riverboat Cajun Queen

Friday, May 4

Ween

With the Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Contemporary Arts Center

Saturday, May 5

Gov¹t Mule / Dr. John¹s Night Tripper

Contemporary Arts Center

Saturday, May 5

North Mississippi Allstars

Riverboat Cajun Queen

Furthermore, this lousy TMT reporter believes that the reign of Ween will be returning sooner than you can shout Chocolate & Cheese. Since my predictions are usually 100% on, you better hurry and get your copy of Ween's film debut, It's Pat. Yeah, remember that androgynous character named Pat from early-90s Saturday Night Live, played by Julia Sweeney? If you remember that, you probably are already a fan and own a copy of the timeless classic that was an instant SNL-film-based-on-a-character bomb. When I first saw Pat rock out with Ween, I felt the rise of Ween in my jeans, and I knew someday they would have an even greater following. And I also knew they would play the "Superfly during Jazzfest" concert series on Friday, May 4 in 2007 with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans, LA. Is it really possible to foresee the future from watching SNL films? The answer is yes; stop being stupid.

Something Pat didn't know, aside from whether he or she had a winky or a twinky, was that Ween is currently readying their new album and prepping for a memorable set at Bonnaroo! According to their website, Ween are in the studio recording everyday at a rented farmhouse. You can check this message out and view pictures from the studio by going to this handy dandy link here.

No, I'm just kidding, I mean here.

Ween scheduled shows:
03.29.07 - Falls Church, VA - The State Theatre (Gene Ween solo show)
04.30.07 - Ashevillie, NC - The Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
05.01.07 - Birmingham, AL - Alabama Theatre
05.03.07 - Oxford, MS - The Library
05.04.07 - New Orleans, LA - Contemporary Arts Center
06.16.07 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Festival

Blood Brothers Hack (Tour) Their Way Through the U.S. with Young Machetes; No One Is Safe!

By Heidi Vanderslice on 03-14-2007

The Blood Brothers scare me. They remind me of those kids in middle school who painted their fingernails black with permanent marker and then sniffed the markers a whole bunch and got detention for starting mosh pits in the hallway after becoming, uh, stimulated. To be fair, the Blood Brothers are much more fashionable than those kids were, in that they appear to stay far away from parachute pants.

The well-dressed (read: terrifying) Brothers are coming fresh off a tour of Europe, where I’m sure they learned lots of naughty new words. They’ll be spreading their newfound knowledge across the unsuspecting U.S. and Maple Syrup/Bears/ReasonableDrinkingAge Land in support of their new album, Young Machetes this month, so ready your virgin ears.

Or you know, go. If you’re BLOOD enough:

Dan Deacon Tours, Unleashing Arnold Schwarzenegger Nightmares on Unsuspecting Nation

By Judy Berman on 03-13-2007

Memo to the terminally uncool: Baltimore is blowing the fuck up. It's the new black. It's the new white. It's the new DC. Most importantly, it's where Dan Deacon comes from, and this dude is poised for world domination.

Picture this: You're at a show in someone's semi-decrepit warehouse/living space so far into Bushwick you're almost in Queens. You're leaning against a broken '80s-era digital camera. There are some crazy noise loops going on. A psychedelic, sci-fi, absurdist reimagining of Arnold Schwarzenegger's campiest films (including Junior, natch) is projected on a screen that's been duct-taped up and keeps falling down. Two drummers are going so insane that one nearly passes out on his drum kit at the end of the 30-minute performance. And Thurston Moore is looking on from the back corner of the room.

No, I'm not recounting Mr P's latest wet dream. Strike that, maybe I am, but if so that would be pretty creepy since it's also what happened when I saw Dan Deacon play at Silent Barn last week! I know it sounds too good to be true, but this video provides the proof that keeps me (somewhat) sane. This new project, a collaboration with filmmaker and Wham City co-conspirator Jimmy Joe Roche, is called Ultimate Reality.

"What's this Wham City of which you speak?" you ask. Shut up, kid. I'm getting there. Wham City is a collective of Baltimoretastic musicians, artists, and other weirdos who used to live together in the eponymous warehouse space. In fact, the musical arm of Wham City, including Video Hippos, Santa Dads, Blood Baby, and Butt Stomach (you think I made this whole thing up and just chose the most random, absurd names I can think of, but I assure you I'm not that creative), is touring across the country RIGHT NOW!!! You can see the whole family at a shitload of dates across the country

03.15.07 - Austin, TX - Monitor Mansion (SXSW) ALL BALTIMORE PARTY!!!
03.15.07 - Austin, TX - Mrs. Breas (SXSW) %
03.16.07 - Austin, TX - Six Lounge (SXSW) Carpark Show Case
03.17. 07 - Las Vegas, NV - Slanted Clam %
03.18.07 - Los Angeles, CA - Pehrspace Space: 325 Glendale %
03.19.07 - San Francisco, CA - Knock Out %
03.20.07 - Oakland, CA - on a Rad Bus (info coming) %
03.21.07 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Blue Lagoon w/ Wildlife, Blood Bab
03.22.07 - Portland, OR - Dantes w/ Blood Baby
03.23.07 - Seattle, WA - 1412 Gallery %
03.24.07 - Missoula, MT - Elks Club w/ Video Hippos
03.26.07 - Denver, CO - Rhinoceropolis %
03.27.07 - Oklahoma City, OK - TBA %
03.30.07 - Richmond, IN - Earlham College w/ Video Hippos
03.31.07 - Chicago, IL - Shape Shoppe %
04.01.07 - Cincinnati, OH - Skull Lab %
04.02.07 - Oberlin, OH - Oberlin College %
04.06.07 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar w/ Girl Talk
04.13.07 - Jacksonville, FL - TSI*
04.14.07 - Orlando, FL -Back Booth*
04.17.07 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues Parish*
04.18.07- Houston, TX - Mink*
04.20.07 - Austin, TX - Emos Lounge*
04.21.07 - Denton, TX - Haileys*
05.03.07 - Brooklyn, NY - Silent Barn
05.04.07 - Providence, RI - The Living Room
05.05.07 - Baltimore, MD - TBA: Spiderman of the Rings Baltimore Release Show!
05.10.07 - Washington, DC - Rock N Roll Hotel
05.11.07 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brendas

* ADULT., Parts & Labor

% Wham City (includes Santa Dads, Video Hippo, Blood Baby, and Butt Stomach)

Photo: Ray Roy

Nas May Very Well Start Some New Beef on Tour

By Petya Romanov on 03-13-2007

Everyone’s favorite religious rapper with street cred is touring this spring. Nas, in support of recent album Hip Hop Is Dead, has announced a 23-date trek that includes, along with the standard U.S. cities, a few spots for our brothers up north. Although the feud between the Street’s Disciple and Jay-Z is supposedly over, reports that initial titles for Nas’s recent release were Jay-Z Is Dead and Sean Carter Is a Pussy with No Cred and Would Rather Wear Button-Ups and Tennis Bracelets and Leather Shoes and Has Forgotten Where He Came from and Has No Friends and Can Only Get His Mom to Do a Collaboration keeps people wondering if the feud can ever end. Not to be outdone, however, Jay-Z had reportedly responded with: "This is not beef/ This is rap homie/ I don't have a scratch on me/ You feel Jay soft/ Rip jay off." I know what you’re thinking: "Feuds are soooo 1997." But just remember, he is married to Kelis, and you are not.

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