Handsome Furs head to Asia for tour, continue to grope each other while doing so
By Erika H on Aug 3 2010
Justin Bieber may not be heading to North Korea, but Handsome Furs are at least visiting the neighborhood. Starting in August, the cutest (okay, irritatingly cute) Canadian couple since Win and Régine will be touring Asia to — well, we don’t know. There’s no news of a new album (the last one is still last year’s Face Control [TMT Review], their second on Sub Pop), but you can’t fault Dan Boeckner for doing some self-promotion in between his dates for Wolf Parade (see them here).
Tourdates:
08.04.10 - Hong Kong, China - Grappa’s Cellar
08.06.10 - Shanghai, China - Yu Ying Tang
08.07.10 - Wuhan, China - Vox Bar
08.08.10 - Beiing, China - 2 Kolegas
08.12.10 - Daegu, South Korea - Club Guess *
08.13.10 - Busan, South Korea - Vinyl Underground *
08.14.10 - Seoul, South Korea - TBA *
08.19.10 - Bangkok, Thailand - Club Culture
08.20.10 - Chaing Mai, Thailand - Guitarman
08.22.10 - Singapore, Singapore - Baybeats Festival
* Teengirl Fantasy
• Handsome Furs: http://www.myspace.com/handsomefurs
• Sub Pop: http://www.subpop.com
Spoon announce tour to promote their hate music
By Mango Starr on Aug 3 2010
Saying that Spoon are popular is an understatement. Their latest album, Transference (TMT Review), was released earlier this year, and not only has it led to widespread critical acclaim, but it’s also been met with the adoration of millions of fans. Tonight, they’re set to play Jimmy Fallon, and tomorrow, they’ll finish off their summer tour, including dates with Arcade Fire. They’ve even booked shows taking us through November, all of which will probably sell out before the night of the show.
But for a band as loved as Spoon, I’m surprised how many fans and critics overlook their hateful lyrics. On Transference, Spoon promote the most frightening, despicable subject matter with barely a whimper from the critical community. “Fuck you, and fuck your stupid ugly mom/ Yeah, that’s right/ Fuck you all to hell as I put your mom in a mighty spell,” sings Britt Daniel on the album’s opening track, “Before Destruction.” Later, on “I Saw the Light,” he screams, “Oh, you think you’re tough? You think you’re rough? Well, I saw the light, and I’ll skull-fuck your fuckin’ wife, you stupid dyke!” His attack goes well beyond sexism on “Trouble Comes Running,” where Daniel yells, “I want to get a piece of that sexy-looking niece or, hey, maybe even that male state police/ But yo, I’m not misanthropic: I love the deceased!”
Okay, the lyrics are not that bad, and yes, bands like Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene also thrive off these hateful sentiments, but you’d think critics would at least address some of these issues. Or am I asking too much?
08.04.10 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden *
08.05.10 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden *
08.06.10 - Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion *
08.07.10 - Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
08.09.10 - Columbus, OH - LC Pavilion Outdoor Amphitheatre
08.10.10 - Covington, KY - Madison Theatre
08.11.10 - Atlanta, GA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre *
09.11.10 - Harrisburg, PA - The Forum
09.12.10 - Clark, NJ - Union County Music Festival
09.30.10 - Los Angeles, CA - The Palladium with Cold Cave
10.01.10 - San Diego, CA - SOMA
10.02.10 - Las Vegas, NV - Matador’s 21
10.04.10 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre with Dale Watson
10.05.10 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theatre with Dale Watson
10.06.10 - El Paso, TX - Club 101 with Dale Watson
10.08.10 - Austin, TX - ACL Festival
11.10.10 - Rockefeller, Oslo Norway
11.11.10 - Tradgarn, Gothenburg Sweden
11.12.10 - Vega, Copenhagen Denmark
11.13.10 - Rolling Stone Weekender, Germany
11.15.10 - Elysee Montmartre, Paris
11.16.10 - Shepherds Bush Empire, London
11.17.10 - Cockpit, Leeds
11.18.10 - Academy, Dublin, Ireland
11.20.10 - Crossing Border Festival, The Hague Holland
11.21.10 - Crossing Border Festival, Antwerp Belgium
* Arcade Fire
• Spoon: http://spoontheband.com
• Merge: http://www.mergerecords.com
Hercules and Love Affair present Blue Songs, disco-ize The xx, start tour today
By Liz Louche on Aug 3 2010
Modern-day disco enthusiasts Hercules and Love Affair are set to return in January 2011 with a new album entitled Blue Songs*. Expect guest turns from the likes of Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke, Venezuelan singer Aerea Negrot, Shaun Wright, and Hercules regular Kim Ann Foxman. Alas, Antony will not be involved this time around, but never fear: Hercules & Love Affair obviously have no problem kickin’ out the jams without their most famous collaborator. Besides, Mark Pistel, who has worked with Grace Jones and Meat Beat Manifesto, assisted in the production and recording process!
In other Hercules-related news, Butler and Foxman also have a cover of The xx’s “Shelter” due in November. Hercules & Love Affair have hit the road for a few dates this summer, which are listed below.
08.03.10 - Washington, DC - Rock N Roll Hotel
08.04.10 - New York, NY - Central Park
08.10.10 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Venue
08.11.10 - Seattle, WA - Neumos
08.12.10 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
08.14.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
*Let’s hope it’s not a tribute to Eiffel 65’s “Blue (Da Ba Dee),” which was shockingly and inexplicably reanimated by rap dude Flo Rida last year. (Evil gutter-pop icon Ke$ha got her big break on one of Flo Rida’s songs, and therefore all parties involved must be stopped. I mean, surely she is the catastrophe that wise Mayan seers warned us about. Ugh. “Don’t Stop” — ugh.)
• Hercules and Love Affair: http://myspace.com/herculesandloveaffair
Four Tet proves there is love in him, announces a North American and European tour for later this year
By Aaron Norman on Aug 3 2010
Still riding the success of this year’s much-loved There Is Love in You (TMT Review), Domino Records will be releasing the “Angel Echoes Remix” 12-inch today, August 3, in the US. The single is already available in the UK and features remixes from both Caribou and Jon Hopkins. Meanwhile, a digital version of the single will contain a total of nine tracks and feature several remixes of “Love Cry” and “Sing” in addition to “Angel Echoes.” (Although the digital version was scheduled for release on July 20, it has yet to appear at Domino’s digital store.)
Four Tet is currently on tour in Europe, has a Bestival appearance in September, and will then perform in North America for six dates in October with Jon Hopkins. He’ll head back to Europe for several dates in November. To see this month’s tourdates, visit his official site. To see dates from September on, look no further:
09.10.10 - Isle of Wight, UK - Bestival
10.14.10 - Chicago, IL - Metro *
10.15.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater *
10.20.10 - Toronto, ON - The Mod Club *
10.21.10 - Montreal, QC - Studio Just For Laugh *
10.22.10 - New York, NY - Webster Hall *
10.24.10 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *
11.04.10 - Rome, Italy - Circolo Degli Artisti
11.05.10 - Torino, Italy - Club To Club
11.06.10 - Bologna, Italy - Locomotiv Club
11.16.10 - Brighton, UK - Corn Exchange
11.19.10 - London, UK - Coronet $
11.20.10 - Manchester, UK - Warehouse Project $
11.21.10 - Glasgow, UK - ABC
* Jon Hopkins
$ Caribou, James Holden, Nathan Fake, Rocketnumbernine
• Four Tet: http://www.fourtet.net
• Domino: http://www.dominorecordco.com
Neon Marshmallow Fest brings Burning Star Core, Emeralds, Julian Lynch, Caboladies, U.S. Girls, Social Junk and many more under one super loud roof
By Mike McHugh on Aug 2 2010
What’s in your summer festival backpack? Probably a bottle of sunscreen and a whole lot of drugs, right? Well, leave the Banana Boat at home and use the extra room for poppers and spray glue, baby, cuz you’re headed to the Neon Marshmallow Festival! For four magical days (August 19-22) at Chicago’s Viaduct Theater, over 90 of the world’s most ear-splitting experimental bands will take to two stages in the hopes of reawakening your most deeply repressed memories through the power of loud, loud sounds.
Along with the bands mentioned in the headline, expect to be knocked off your fine fat asses by Ducktails, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Dave Phillips, Tom Carter (Charalambides), unFACT, and Wasteland Jazz Unit, as well as by Astral Social Club and Dolphins into the Future’s sole US performances this year. Speaking of Dolphins into the Future and Ducktails, Matt Mondanile of the latter and Lievens Martens of the former will debut their collaborative project Music of the Sky Islands at the Sunday showcase. Also in exciting Neon Marshmallow collaboration news: Medicine Rocks, a joint effort from Emeralds’ John Elliot and Alex Moskos of AIDS Wolf, will make their US debut at the fest.
And besides all these fine noisy names, there are like fucking 70 more performers for you to scour through on the fest’s website. So get with it, beautiful people!
• Neon Marshmallow Fest: http://www.neonmarshmallowfest.com
• Acid Marshmallow: http://www.acid-marshmallow.com
