Okay, there isn't a whole lot of news here, so those of you who don’t like to read thick slabs of text, time to get excited! No Age begin a tour this Saturday that'll take them through SXSW, with April dates slowly trickling in too. Dates have been added here and there over the past couple weeks, so keep an eye on their MySpace for more dates. Meanwhile, if for some reason you still haven’t heard Nouns (TMT Review), do yourself a favor and amend this error. Just remember there are no small stories, only small music writers -- or something like that.
02.28.09 - Santa Barbara, CA - Velvet Jones
03.01.09 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
03.06.09 - Mexico City - Lunario
03.07.09 - Guadalajara, JAL - Teatro Estudio Cavaret
03.10.09 - Phoenix, AZ - Modified
03.12.09 - Flagstaff, AZ - Tacos Locos
03.14.09 - Albuquerque, NM - 1Kind Studios
03.16.09 - Lubbock, TX - Bash Riprocks
03.19.09 - Austin, TX - Radio Room
04.02.09 - Wellesley, MA - TBA
04.03.09 - Saratoga Spring, NY - TBA
04.04.09 - Iowa City, IA - The Picador
04.17.09 - Indio, CA - Coachella
05.15.09 - Portland, OR - Worksound
05.16.09 - Eugene, OR - TBA
No Age Keep Adding Dates. Really, The Boys Just Want An Excuse To Go On A Road Trip.
Senate Judiciary Subcommitee Bodyslams Potential Ticketmaster-Live Nation Merger with Harsh Words and the Ghost of Bruce Springsteen
Last Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Anti-Trust sat at a hearing over the potential merger between Ticketmaster -- largest ticket seller in the world/notorious dong huffers -- and Live Nation -- the largest event promoter in the world, ’05 Clear Channel spinoff, general lackey to the devils of bland music. This, only a month or so since Live Nation started selling tickets on its own, thus creating the first bit of legitimate competition Ticketmaster has seen since either the dawn of time, the fall Rome, or the Grunge era, depending on your sources. The resulting merger could potentially open the gates of hell, and we could enter into a whole new era of over-pricing, convenience fee soliciting, Springsteen-hating madness like the kind we have never seen before.
Then again, some people don't think so. Eddie Van Halen, in a letter to the subcommittee, said that this deal will "help bring our fans closer to the band." I'm sorry, Eddie, but wha? He did go on to say, "It's going to ensure that... I have a future in music," which is a far more legitimate argument for him to be making, one most likely behind a lot of these big-name supporters like Shakira, Journey, Seal, Madonna, The Jonas Bros, and Bono.
But not The Boss. No. Bruce Springsteen, you stood like a great glowing spirit behind that subcommittee hearing, playing some mean licks, singing some songs about the working man, and watching the administration call Ticketmaster a behemoth as their CEO Irving Azoff and Live Nation chief executive Micheal Rapino squirmed in their seats. It made you want to bosscock all over C-Span one, two, and three, didn't it Boss? Didn't it? Some of my favorite quotes from the night:
- "What does Live nation's decision to merge with its competitor, rather than fight it out on the open market, tell us about any company's ability to compete with Ticketmaster? If LiveNation can't compete, after all, who can?" --Sen Herb Kohl, D-WI.
- "Bruce Springsteen says Ticketmaster abused his fans and I agree with The Boss" --Sen. Charles Schumer D-NY
- "Vertical integration on steroids." --Jerry Mickelson, JAM Productions.
- "The one thing that would make the current ticket situation even worse for the fan than it is now would be for Ticketmaster and Live Nation coming up with a single system..." --The Boss (attending in spirit) as read by Jerry Mickelson.
- "You can't blame Live Nation at this point anymore than you can blame a shark for eating people." --Seth Hurwitz, IMP productions & 9:30 Club co-owner.
So, good news: the law's on our side. Bad news: the Senate doesn't really have the jurisdiction to stop the merger. That's the Justice Department, and they're not saying a word yet. Maybe if we ask nicely we can get Little Steven to lean on them a bit.
Marnie Stern Announces Spring Tour, But Will She Bring Her Guitar or the Kissing Booth?
Q: Who has ten fingers, six strings, and one whammy bar?
A: Marnie Stern and her guitar, of course!
Marnie will be bringing her guitar (surprise!) on tour this spring, as she plays venues like the Kung Fu Necktie, Lounge on Elm Street, Bottom of the Hill, and The Echo. Wait, are we sure these are actually venues or are they horror movies? I’m not sure I’d feel safe stepping into a place called the Kung Fu Necktie. But, then again, if Marnie brings her puppies along for the tour, I’ll follow her anywhere.
03.05.09 - New York, NY – New York University
03.10.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie
03.11.09 - Washington, D.C. - DC9
03.12.09 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
03.13.09 - Charlotte, SC - Snug Harbor
03.14.09 - Atlanta, GA - 529
03.17.09 - Dallas, TX - Lounge on Elm Street
03.18.09 - Austin, TX - SXSW Kill Rock Stars Showcase
03.21.09 - Tucson, AZ - Plush
03.24.09 - Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room
03.25.09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
03.26.09 - Visalia, CA - The Cellar Door
03.27.09 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom Of The Hill
05.08.09 - Minehead, London, UK - All Tomorrow’s Parties
07.02.09 - Denmark - Roskilde Festival
Anticipation Surrounding Modest Mouse’s New EP Goes into Overdrive
What would we be at TMT if we didn’t report on the latest gossip and hearsay in the music scene?
Last year, Isaac Brock told the crowd at North Myrtle Beach, SC that Modest Mouse’s next EP would be named Nobody's Next And You're First. Just recently a few days ago, after their Visalia, CA show, a fan managed to corner Eric Judy where he mentioned that the new release had been recorded for some time and they were hoping to get it out in the next six months. The delay has been due to the band experiencing "‘kinks’ or something and they might add another song," according to this fan website (thanks for the tip Tom Bortkof!).
However, the fan admitted in a message board post that he was “so deaf after the concert” and struggled to hear what Judy was saying because of his “soft” voice. Consequently, it may well be that Mr. Judy was merely articulating his love of caramel-coated pancakes topped with thick whipped cream. And why wouldn’t he, considering February 24 (the day after the Visalia show) was ‘Shrove Tuesday,’ an annual pre-Lent event in Ireland, the UK, Canada, and Australia -- the day is commemorated by stuffing your face full of pancakes. This surely wouldn’t have escaped the attention of the learned and culturally-aware Eric Judy.
The rumoured tracklisting (or maybe it’s been confused with Judy’s favourite pancake mixture) is as follows:
1. The Whale Song
2. Satellite Skin
3. Autumn Beds
4. I've Got It All (Most)
5. King Rat
6. 3 other tracks (One of which may be "Tie The Lake Down" and another that has a rumored title of "History")
Tourdates:
02.26.09 - Albuquerque, NM Albuquerque Convention Center
02.28.09 - Boulder, CO Balch Fieldhouse
03.02.09 - Kansas City, MO Uptown Theater
03.03.09 - Oklahoma City, OK Diamond Ballroom
03.04.09 - Austin, TX Stubb's
03.05.09 - Oxford, MS The Lyric Oxford
03.07.09 - Atlanta, GA The Tabernacle
03.08.09 - Miami, FL Langerado Festival
03.09.09 - Lake Buena Vista, FL - House of Blues
03.10.09 - Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues
03.11.09 - Raleigh, NC - Disco Rodeo
03.12.09 - Baltimore, MD - Ram's Head
03.13.09 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
03.14.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
03.15.09 - New York, NY - Terminal 5
RIP: Randy Bewley, Pylon guitarist
From OnlineAthens:
Pylon guitarist Randy Bewley died this afternoon after suffering a heart attack while driving in an Athens neighborhood Monday.Bewley was driving on Barber Street on Monday evening, and his van drifted off the road and tipped over, bandmate Vanessa Hay said in an e-mail to supporters.
Ticketmaster Agrees to Stop Linking to Subsidiary TicketsNow
I asked some folks to play a round of free association with the word "Ticketmaster." Their responses:
- "Convenience fees."
- "Death."
- "A raging, bloody-mouthed, bursting-veined, 10-story-tall capitalist pig raging through New York City destroying the youth of America and sucking their pockets and souls dry."
Their words, not mine.
After the hubbub surrounding Bruce Springsteen's shows, Ticketmaster reached a national settlement with the New Jersey Attorney General (via The Daily Swarm), in which the company has agreed to stop linking customers to its subsidiary, TicketsNow. If you haven't heard, customers that tried purchasing tickets were redirected to TicketsNow, a company that was charging fans inflated scalper prices while tickets were still available at face value.
More than 2,200 Boss fans complained -- a few million short of the grumbles the site receives daily -- resulting in a 2,000-ticket lottery that will award entrance at the original face value.
People who don't win will be given a $100 gift certificate and a chance to purchase Springsteen tickets next time he rolls into the Garden State. And get this: The ticket site has to pay New Jerz $350,000 to cover the investigation price tag.
Meanwhile, Ticketmaster will continue to raise blood pressure (TMT News) if it successfully merges with Live Nation.
