Planes Mistaken for Stars to reunite because of an intergalactic "battle of the bands" held on Jupiter

By Kid Midnight on

Planes Mistaken for Stars to reunite because of an intergalactic "battle of the bands" held on Jupiter

Planes Mistaken for Stars, who were hardly “broken up” (they played a “reunion” show at last year’s The Fest 8), have announced that they will be reuniting for two separate shows. The band’s lineup for the get-togethers will consist of the final lineup of Gared O’Donnell, Chuck French, Mike Rocketts, and Neil Keener, with the addition of their previous guitarist, Matt Bellinger.

In an official statement, O’Donnell explains why the band is getting back together: “Planes is getting together for some shows for a variety of reasons. The main catalyst being that Var (owner of No Idea Records) said, ‘Please play the No Idea 25th Year Anniversary at the Fest 9 in Gainesville,’ but I suppose people need a story…” O’Donnell goes on to explain that “life got in the way” — the band wanted to do music “balls deep,” and they felt they couldn’t with Planes Mistaken for Stars, but they realized they could and that everybody just missed each other.

But do you want to hear the real story? Of course you do.

What happened was this: Guitarist Mike Rocketts is actually a sentient rocket built for long-distance space travel, and upon the band breaking up “because life got in the way,” he set out for the stars to explore the furthest reaches of the universe. After a couple days of travel, Rocketts decided to take a pit-stop on Jupiter for a drink and a nap. However, Rocketts was quickly captured by local Jupiterian police agencies for illegal entry and spent two weeks in jail. Once Rocketts convinced the authorities that he wasn’t a threat, he was released from prison. BUT! Rockett’s dog went on the space-trip, and the Jupiterian authorities refused to release the adorable puppy. Rocketts spent months in Juperiterian courts, but the the best he could do was this ruling: “The aforementioned Earth-dog (Spongy) shall only be released from imprisonment once the plaintiff (Earth-man Mike Rocketts) wins the 233rd annual Jupiter Battle of the Bands.” Consequently, Rocketts rushed back to Earth, got his band together, and, after scheduling a couple shows for practice, made plans to head back to Jupiter and free his mutt.

Planes Mistaken for Stars reunion shows:

10.28.10 - Chicago, IL - Subterranean
10.30.10 - Gainesville, FL - The Fest 9

• Planes Mistaken for Stars: http://www.myspace.com/pmfs
• The Fest 9: http://www.thefestfl.com

Sufjan Stevens employs a baroque string quartet and a banjo to announce a North American tour

By Kid Midnight on Aug 11 2010

Sufjan Stevens is a real cock-tease, and I’m tired of announcements that aren’t really announcements. He hasn’t put out an actual record since like 2005 and everything he has released just makes me madder because none if it is that cool. Okay, it’s cool, but seriously, I want an actual album, not outtakes or alternate tracks or Christmas music or DVDs or whatever other shit Stevens has planned before actually releasing an album.

I want a tour where Sufjan plays music I like and doesn’t expect me to sit through a boring movie filled with woodwinds and hula-hoopers about a highway that I’ve never been on.

Wait, what’s that I hear? Is it a baroque string-quartet and a banjo? It must be a new Sufjan Stevens announcement! What’s the news this time, dude? A set of extras and outtakes from the Michigan album? Classical music about Route 66?

Wait, what did you say? That’s great!

Sufjan Stevens has just told me that he’s scheduled a North American tour where he’ll be playing at historic venues like NY’s Beacon Theatre, Chicago’s Chicago Theatre, and Minneapolis’ Orpheum Theatre. In addition to the excellent (and handpicked by the man himself) selection of venues, Stevens has assured me that he’ll be playing a full set of his lovely, lovely music.

Wow, this announcement of an official, big-venue tour of North America has been a long time coming, and it’s got me feelin’ happy! All of the anger from the top of the article has drifted away.

But Sufjan better announce an actual album soon or I’ll be pissed again!

10.12.10 - Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis Theater
10.13.10 - Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
10.14.10 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre
10.15.10 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theater
10.16.10 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theater
10.17.10 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
10.19.10 - Austin, TX - The Long Center for the Performing Arts
10.20.10 - Dallas, TX - McFarlin Memorial Auditorium
10.22.10 - Mesa, AZ - Mesa Arts Center (Ikeda Theater)
10.23.10 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
10.26.10 - Oakland, CA - The Paramount Theater
10.28.10 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Orpheum Theater
10.29.10 - Portland, OR - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
10.30.10 - Seattle, WA - The Paramount Theatre
11.01.10 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kingsbury Hall
11.02.10 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre
11.04.10 - Indianapolis, IN - Hilbert Circle Theatre
11.05.10 - Knoxville, TN - Bijou Theater
11.06.10 - Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle
11.07.10 - Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
11.10.10 - Philadelphia, PA - Kimmel Center
11.11.10 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
11.14.10 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
11.15.10 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre

• Sufjan Stevens: http://www.sufjan.com

[Photo: indieinterviews]

La Otracina releasing new LP Reality Has Got to Die in September, will outdo Taylor Swift’s Speak Now

By Harold Shueberg on Aug 11 2010

Has yours been a summer spent wrapped in the warm comfort of your grandmother’s house, suffering through her endless catalog of Mannheim Steamroller? Or has your girlfriend been forcing you, during every sweltering car ride, to listen to the platinum edition of Taylor Swift’s Fearless? Been too absorbed in Woodsist releases of late? Well shit, man, that sucks. Fortunately for you, La Otracina are taking those summer doldrums, warping them through a flux capacitor at 88 mph, and greeting the end of the soul-crushing season with a peel-out and middle finger. Mostly directed toward Taylor Swift.

With that said, the band will be releasing Reality Has Got to Die pretty soon, appropriately through psych juggernaut Holy Mountain. It’s sure to kill, and we have some surefire proof over at the Chocolate Grinder where you can scope out the track “Raze the Sky.” The album drops September 21 and is accompanied by some upcoming live appearances in the northeast. If you’re not pumped about this by now, then quit wasting our time and go pre-order another Woods album.

Reality Has Got to Die tracklisting:

01. Hail Fire
02. Raze the Sky
03. Crystal Wizards of the Cosmic Weird
04. Can’t Take No City Life
05. Reality Has Got to Die
06. We Ride On
07. Mass Meteoric Mind

Dates:

08.22.10 - Philadelphia, PA - JR’s Bar
08.27.10 - Brooklyn, NY - Union Pool
09.16.10 - Brooklyn, NY - Union Pool

• La Otracina: http://www.myspace.com/laotracina
• Holy Mountain: http://www.holymoountain.com

Wye Oak extend fall tour to include dates with The Mountain Goats and David Bazan, but they’re really just afraid to go home and deal with their overbearing mothers

By Kid Midnight on Aug 10 2010

We’ve all had those days where we stay late at work or do a little extra homework in the library or overstay our welcome at a friend’s house, all in the hopes of avoiding time with our overbearing mothers who wait for us at home to ruin our lives with their aggressive coddling. But now, Wye Oak have admitted to the nation that they just aren’t ready to return home to their overbearing mothers yet by announcing that they will be extending their tour to play some dates with The Mountain Goats and David Bazan, pimping last year’s The Knot (TMT Review) on Merge.

“We know that Wye Oak are good guys and we love their company, but sometimes they just want to hang out longer than we want to,” said an anonymous member of The Mountain Goats. “I know it’s because they want to avoid their overbearing mothers, but sometimes you just gotta go home and deal with it, overbearing mother or not.”

The tour will also feature Lou Barlow + The Missingmen, who agreed to the extra dates so that they could spend a little more time away from their smothering, live-in girlfriends.

Wye Oak tourdates:

08.17.10 - Milford, CT - Daniel Street Club *
08.18.10 - Washington, DC - Rock N Roll Hotel *
08.19.10 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle *
08.20.10 - Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle *
08.21.10 - Nashville, TN - The Basement *
08.23.10 - Madison, WI - The Frequency *
08.25.10 - Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar *
08.26.10 - Chicago, IL - Schubas Tavern *
08.27.10 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop *
08.28.10 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern *
08.29.10 - Montreal, QC - Il Motore *
08.31.10 - Northampton, MA - Iron Horse *
09.01.10 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge *
09.02.10 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East *
09.03.10 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s *
09.04.10 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell’s *
10.04.10 - Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck %
10.05.10 - Columbia, MO - The Blue Note %
10.11.10 - Lubbock, TX - The Foundation #
10.12.10 - Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad #
10.13.10 - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress #
10.15.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland #
10.16.10 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah #
10.17.10 - San Luis Obispo, CA - Downtown Brewing Co. #
10.18.10 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent #

* Lou Barlow
% The Mountain Goats
# David Bazan

• Wye Oak: http://www.myspace.com/wyeoak
• Merge: http://www.mergerecords.com

RIP: Phelps "Catfish" Collins, guitaristames for Parliament/Funkadelic and James Brown

By Shane Mack on Aug 10 2010

From RollingStone:

Phelps “Catfish” Collins, the legendary funk guitarist who played with James Brown and Parliament/Funkadelic, died Friday in Cincinnati after a battle with cancer. He was 66. “My world will never be the same without him,” said his brother Bootsy Collins in a statement. “Be happy for him, he certainly is now and always has been the happiest young fellow I ever met on this planet. […] Collins’ death comes just one month after fellow Parliament-Funkadelic guitarist Garry Shider passed away from cancer at 56.”

• Catfish Collins: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catfish_Collins

Greg Dulli (Twilight Singers, Afghan Whigs, Gutter Twins) goes on solo tour, presumably under an endless shroud of darkness

By E. Nagurney on Aug 10 2010

Listening to any Greg Dulli project is like staring into the soul of a man completely at ease with his own self-disdain. Seeing Dulli live takes that same into-the-man’s-soul glare and makes it a bit more literal. But Dulli has never toured solo before, so at least all that delving into the darkness of man gets filtered through a full-band setup. This fall, Dulli’s going on his first solo tour, so that just leaves you, Dulli, and a whole bunch of bleak despair. Other things to endure include the debut of some new songs from the forthcoming Twilight Singers album on Sub Pop come 2011. Sure, there will be other people in the audience, but the former Afghan Whigs frontman is so intense, it may not feel like it.

“An Evening with Greg Dulli”:

10.12.10 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge
10.13.10 - Cincinnati, OH - 20th Century Theater
10.14.10 - Chicago, IL - Double Door
10.15.10 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
10.16.10 - Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop
10.18.10 - Cambridge, MA - Brattle Theatre
10.19.10 - New York City, NY - The Bowery Ballroom
10.20.10 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s
10.22.10 - Pittsburgh, PA - Brillobox
10.23.10 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
10.27.10 - Dublin, Ireland - Whelans
10.28.10 - Belfast, UK - Spring & Airbrake
10.29.10 - Galway, Ireland - Roisin Dubh
10.30.10 - Cork, Ireland - Cyprus Avenue
11.02.10 - Lisbon, Portugal - Santiago Alquimista
11.03.10 - Porto Viana do Castelo, Portugal - Hard Club
11.04.10 - Santiago de Compostela, Spain - Sala Capitol
11.05.10 - Madrid, Spain - Charada
11.06.10 - Arrasate, Spain - Amaia Antzokia
11.07.10 - Lloseta, Spain - Teatre Lloseta
11.09.10 - Sevilla, Spain - Teatro Central
11.10.10 - Barcelona, Spain - Sidecar
11.11.10 - Zaragoza, Spain - La Casa Del Loco
11.13.10 - Antwerp, Belgium - Trix
11.16.10 - Hollywood, CA - Troubadour
11.17.10 - San Francisco, CA - Cafe du Nord
11.18.10 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile
11.20.10 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge

• Greg Dulli/The Twilight Singers: http://www.thetwilightsingers.com
• Sub Pop: http://www.subpop.com

[Photo: Sam Holden]

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