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.
HEALTH, those manic noise addicts who first introduced you to Los Angeles tofu-dog-mecca The Smell, are setting out on a late-winter tour whistling across Dixie. They want none of your dreary northern state's frigid Arctic climate. Instead, they're going to enjoy the sunny skies and warm breezes of real America, touring for real Americans. Who could blame them?
If only we could all be so lucky to live in a cultural and subtropical oasis like Lubbock, Texas. Well, we can't. But I've got good news...
For those of us who have to suffer through the snowy months HEALTHless with runny noses, headaches, fevers, sore throats, and diarrhea, I've got the cure: here's an old Québécois sugar shack recipe to rid you of that pesky winter cold:
In a small saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil
Add:
- 3 cloves of garlic - 2 sticks of cinnamon - ½ lemon (rine and all) - 5 tbsp of maple syrup - 7 tps cayenne pepper
Boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
Reduce heat
Simmer until mixture reduces to approximately 1 cup
Strain
Salt to taste
Drink and enjoy!
Tourdates: 02.26.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Echo w/ Abe Vigoda, Captain Ahab 03.07.09 - St. Augustine, FL. Harvest of Hope Festival @ 03.17.09 - Phoenix, AZ - Trunk Space % 03.18.09 - El Paso, TX - Black Market ! 03.21.09 - Austin, TX - Mohawk (Panache Booking/Lovepump SXSW Showcase) 03.23.09 - Tallahassee, FL - Club Down Under # 03.24.09 - Knoxville, TN - The Catalyst # ^ 03.25.09 - Greensboro, NC - Greene Street Club # 03.26.09 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl # * 03.27.09 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon # 03.28.09 - Houston, TX - Free Press Block Party # 03.30.09 - Lubbock, TX - Bash Riprocks # 03.31.09 - Santa Fe, NM - Warehouse21 # 04.01.09 - Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture #
# Pictureplane
@ Girl Talk, Against Me, Monotonix, Mae Shi
% Pictureplane, Clipd Beaks, Mika Miko, WAVVES, Abe Vigoda
! Mika Miko, Clipd Beaks, Pictureplane
^ WAVVES, Vampire Hands
* Judi Chicago, Dj Craig Preston
European dates start April 10. Check the dates here.
According to their website, The Walkmen are writing new songs, which is just fine with me: last year’s You & Me (TMT Review) solidly rocked. In fact, to prove just how fine this is, listen to The Walkmen perform on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectichere or check out their video for "Four Provinces."
Meanwhile, The Walkmen are going on a cross-country tour with the Kings of Leon, with dates starting in April. In May, the Walkmen will be playing the Sasquatch Music Festival.
U.S. tourdates with Kings of Leon: 04.18.09 - Boston, MA - Agannis Arena 04.19.09 - Boston, MA - Agannis Arena 04.20.09 - Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa* 04.21.09 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre 04.22.09 - Pittsburgh, PA - Palumbo 04.24.09 - Fairfax, VA - Patriot Center 04.25.09 - Philadelphia - Spectrum 04.27.09 - Norfolk, Va - Constant Convocation Center 04.28.09 - Raleigh, NC - Koka Booth Ampitheatre 04.30.09 - Charlotte, NC - Bojangles Coliseum 05.04.09 - St, Augustine, FL - St Augustine Ampitheater 05.05.09 - Orlando, FL - UCF Arena 05.07.09 - Miami, FL - Bank United Center 05.08.09 - Tampa, FL - Sundome 05.08.09 - Charleston, SC - North Charleston Coliseum 05.12.09 - Cincinnati, OH - National City Pavillion 05.13.09 - Cleveland, OH - Tower City 05.19.09 - Phoenix, AZ - Mesa Ampitheatre 05.21.09 - San Francisco, CA - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
March Madness is almost upon us. Meaning, every crappy, local, "hipper than thou" band will be headed down to Austin, TX for the annual SXSW Music and Media Conference. This is every unsigned hometown "indie" band's so-called chance for super stardom. "Hey, look Mom, we're playing South By Southwest; we finally made it. We might get signed!" Likewise, thousands of people are going to pack their vans and head south in hopes of catching the "next big thing" (or maybe a chance to rub shoulders with Moby). Well, I'm not. I'm staying home -- away from all the madness, away from the young high school kids with their Radiohead t-shirts and their shaggy hair, away from more bad bands than you can shake a stick at. Don't get me wrong -- there will be many great bands to see among the array of bad ones, and in fact I'd like to provide some details on a handful of them.
Parenthetical Girls and No Kids will set out on a tour, with dates that will sandwich their SXSW appearances. They will be joining fellow Tomlab artist Casiotone For the Painfully Alone for the SXSW Tomlab/K/ Asmatic Kitty showcase, which will also include performances by Tara Jane O'Neil and Jeremy Jay.
Seriously though, Keep Austin Weird! 03.12.09 - Seattle, Washington - Sunset Tavern 03.13.09 - Portland, Oregon - Backspace 03.14.09 - Boise, Idaho - Neurolux 03.15.09 - Salt Lake City, Utah - Kilby Court 03.16.09 - Denver, Colorado - Hi Dive 03.18.09 - Austin, Texas - SXSW* 03.19.09 - Austin, Texas - SXSW 03.20.09 - Austin, Texas - SXSW 03.21.09 - Austin, Texas - SXSW 03.22.09 - Austin, Texas - SXSW 03.23.09 - Phoenix, Arizona - Stinkweeds 03.24.09 - San Diego, California - Bar Pink 03.25.09 - Los Angeles, California - Spaceland 03.27.09 - San Francisco, California - Cafe Du Nord
* Tomlab/K/Asmatic Kitty Showcase: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Jeremy Jay, Tara Jane O'Neil
Ever since Conor Oberst went out on that album-naming limb and dubbed his 2008 solo album Conor Oberst (TMT Review), he's been traveling and playing and singing his little heart out with The Mystic Valley Band (Taylor Hollingsworth, Nik Freitas, Macey Taylor, Nathaniel Walcott and Jason Boesel). This same, fabulous quintet of talented musicians is again lending a hand to Conor's upcoming album, more adventurously named Outer South. It'll be coming to us May 5 through Merge Records.
Taking a break from the Bright Eyes moniker, Conor gave us sing-songy goodness on the topics of time, heartache, life, and death on his eponymous album. We can only hope Outer South will be more of the lyrical adeptness that we've become accustomed to.
While patiently waiting for the album release, you can view a performance of "Nikorette," one of 16 tracks being released on Outer South, here. Meanwhile, those of you living on the Left Side can catch Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band in the flesh.
Check it out: 04.09.09 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown 04.10.09 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre 04.11.09 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up 04.12.09 - El Paso, TX - Barnett Harley Davidson # 04.13.09 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theatre 04.14.09 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre 04.15.09 - Pomona, CA - Glass House 04.17.09 - Indio, CA - Coachella Music & Arts Festival 06.18.09 - Telluride, CO Telluride - Bluegrass Festival
Back in December, viewers of CBS' Late Show with David Letterman let out a terse but piercing cry as perennial man-child Adam Sandler performed a pedestrian cover of Neil Young's winding guitar epic "Like a Hurricane." It was a chilling performance, if not so much for its mere terribleness then for the spooky revelation that Adam Sandler's annoying baby voice actually sounds a lot like Neil Young.
Well, those of you who saw the performance and still didn't develop a tremor in your remote-flipping hand will be thrilled to know that Warner Bros. is releasing Sandler's cover alongside 11 more contemporary covers of classic WB-owned songs. Covered: A Revolution in Sound, which will be released exclusively on Amazon.com March 10 and in stores everywhere on March 24, begs fan to consider questions such as "What could a band so bereft of melody as Taking Back Sunday possibly do with a Tom Petty song?" and "Is there any way I could dislike The Used more than hearing their what-is-sure-to-be-awful cover of The Talking Heads' ‘Burning Down the House’?" Oh, and, "Are the Flaming Lips really so bored that they need to take part in this?"
Okay, sure, there's a few eye-catching tracks on the list: it'd be near-impossible for Against Me! to screw up The Replacements' classic "Here Comes a Regular"; Mastodon are pretty solid for a ZZ Top cover; and The Black Keys get class points for covering a non-Trout Mask Replica Captain Beefheart tune (though minus points for the fact that it's the only other Beefheart tune most people know because it's on the Big Lebowski soundtrack). But let's be honest: in a year's time, it's a safe bet that, like all covers compilations, the only place Covered will be making any sort of "revolutions" is in the dollar bin.
And now, Adam Sandler's Dec. 15, 2008 performance of Neil Young's "Like a Hurricane" on the CBS Late Show:
Covered: A Revolution in Sound tracklist:
1. Mastodon: "Just Got Paid" (by ZZ Top) 2. The Black Keys: "Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles" (by Captain Beefheart) 3. Michelle Branch: "A Case Of You" (by Joni Mitchell) 4. Against Me!: "Here Comes A Regular" (by The Replacements) 5. Missy Higgins: "More Than This" (by Roxy Music) 6. James Otto: "Into The Mystic" (by Van Morrison) 7. Adam Sandler: "Like A Hurricane" (by Neil Young) 8. Taking Back Sunday: "You Wreck Me" (by Tom Petty) 9. The Used: "Burning Down The House" (by Talking Heads) 10. Disturbed: "Midlife Crisis" (by Faith No More) 11. Avenged Sevenfold: "Paranoid" (by Black Sabbath) 12. The Flaming Lips With Stardeath And White Dwarfs: "Borderline" (by Madonna)
