Get set for family time: Radar Brothers tour US with Modest Mouse
By Erika H on May 18 2010
Get ready to sway discretely from side to side with a cold can of PBR; Radar Brothers are going on tour. You may think you’ve already heard all you can hear from these guys over the years, but frontman Jim Putnam begs to differ. For the band’s sixth album, The Illustrated Garden, he put together a new lineup consisting of Be Hussey and Steve Treichel — and if the change in sound isn’t noticeable on the album (not a bad thing; TMT Review), maybe it will be on stage. (You shouldn’t be so damned cynical anyway.)
In addition to playing the Silverlake Jubilee in Los Angeles, Radar Bros. have announced a number of dates with Modest Mouse (tourdates: TMT News), another band garnering acclaim for over a decade and a half. Together, Putnam and Isaac Brock guys are sort of like indie’s Mick Jagger — or Ira Kaplan, at least.
Tourdates:
05.23.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Silverlake Jubilee
06.17.10 - San Diego, CA - Soda Bar
06.18.10 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Crepe Place
06.19.10 - Merced, CA - The Partisan
06.21.10 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
06.22.10 - Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern
06.24.10 - San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Stop
07.07.10 - Tempe, AZ - Yucca Tap Room
07.09.10 - Santa Fe, NM - Paolo Soleri Amphitheatre *
07.10.10 - Broomfield, CO - First Bank Center *
07.12.10 - Sioux Falls, SC - Ramkota Exhibit Hall *
07.13.10 - Fargo, ND - Hub at the Venue *
07.14.10 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre *
* Modest Mouse
• Radar Brothers: http://www.radarbros.com
• Merge: http://www.mergerecords.com
Portugal. The Man announce new tourdates for United States. the country
By E. Nagurney on May 18 2010
Portland-based prog-poppers and chronic skippers of English class Portugal. The Man are heading out for a short West Coast tour in June. Before they do that, they’ll hit up Washington’s Sasquatch! Festival. This bit of touring will be in support of the group’s recently released American Ghetto record on Equal Vision Records, which follows up last July’s Satanic Satanists. In other news, the group recently signed to Atlantic Records and is hard at work on their next album, which is set for release in 2011. Suddenly, I’m wondering if I spend too much time worrying about punctuation.
Portugal. The Man tourdates:
05.29.10 - George, WA - Sasquatch! Festival
06.17.10 - Sacramento, CA - Harlow’s Night Club
06.18.10 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
06.19.10 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
06.20.10 - Tucson, AZ - Hotel Congress
06.23.10 - Salt Lake City, UT - Club Sound
06.25.10 - Seattle, WA - Neumos (Crystal Ball Reading Room)
06.26.10 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
• Portugal. The Man: http://portugaltheman.com
• Atlantic: http://www.atlanticrecords.com
Balkan Beat Box play shows in support of Blue Eyed Black Boy, usher in the dance party the Mayans warned us about
By Liz Louche on May 18 2010
I have to admit: the title of the new Balkan Beat Box full-length, Blue Eyed Black Boy, totally made me think of America’s pop sweethearts Black Eyed Peas (of “Where Is The Love?” and “My Humps” fame) when I first heard it. Perhaps this is because once, while working at a restaurant, I overheard a really mindblowingly in-depth discussion of “Where Is The Love?” The song clearly had made an impression on the table. “It’s like that song ‘Where Is The Love.’ Because, you know, like, WHERE IS THE LOVE?” the diners earnestly asked one another. And while I could not tell them the answer to this age-old question, I could tell them this: the new Balkan Beat Box album was released April 27 on Nat Geo Music.
They probably wouldn’t have cared. But you should! Because, as Paste put it, this gypsy-influenced trio is “the dance party of the new millennium.” This latest album from the acclaimed group was self-produced by Balkan Beat Box and features a plethora of guest appearances, including a gypsy orchestra from Belgrade known as Jovica Ajdarevic Orkestar. Plus, the tracks have all the hip-hop, punk, and “world music” pizazz that savvy listeners have come to know and love.
And it’s all going on tour with them. Balkan Beat Box will bring in da noise, da funk, and well, whatever else they decide to bring in to support Blue Eyed Black Boy this summer at the venues listed below.
06.03.10 - Chicago, IL - Pritzker Pavilion at Millenium Park
06.04.10 - Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center
06.05.10 - Solana Beach, CA - Fiesta Del Sol at Fletcher Cove
06.06.10 - West Hollywood, CA - The Troubadour
06.11.10 - Tel Aviv, Israel - Barby
06.17.10 - Kibutz Naan, Israel - Moadon Hadir
06.25.10 - Kibutz Be’ery, Israel - Ulam Hamofaim
06.26.10 - Haviva, Israel - IsraelLehavot
07.02.10 - Saint-Denis de Gastines, France - Saint-Denis de Gastines
07.03.10 - Cologne, Germany - Summer Jam
07.04.10 - Biarritz, France - Ehz Festival
07.10.10 - Brugge, BE- Cactus Festival
07.11.10 - Different Sounds Festival Lublin, PL
07.14.10 - Arles, France - Les Suds
07.15.10 - Cauterets, France - Latino Roc
07.16.10 - Barcelona, Spain - Crullia de Cultures
07.17.10 - London, UK - Lovebox
07.18.10 - Dour, BE - Dour Festival
07.23.10 - Timisoara, RO - Iraf
08.06.10 - Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza at Grant Park
08.07.10 - New York, NY - Lincoln Center Out of Doors
09.04.10 - Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival
09.05.10 - Toronto, Canada - Harbourfront Centre
• Balkan Beat Box: http://www.balkanbeatbox.com
• Nat Geo: http://bit.ly/5KuRxt
Mi Ami goes on world tour, avoids Miami to avoid confusion
By E. Nagurney on May 18 2010
Miami — Florida city known for its beaches, clubs, and that one visit from Will Smith. Mi Ami — D.C.-based post-punk group known for their Black Eyes alumni, spaz rhythms, and excellent new record Steal Your Face (TMT Review. They’re not the same, so don’t get confused! Only capitalization and spaces can sort you out, and sort you out they will. To further distinguish between the two, keep in mind that Mi Ami are going on a world tour this summer. The city of Miami, as far as I know, will stay put.
Mi Ami tourdates:
05.18.10 - Kortrljk, Belgium - De Kreun
05.19.10 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Studio
05.20.10 - Koln, Germany - Tsunami
05.21.10 - Leipzig, Germany - Conne Island
05.22.10 - Berlin, Germany - Raum 18
05.23.10 - Krakow, Poland - Club Re
05.24.10 - Prague, Czech Republic - Klub 007
05.25.10 - Vienna, Austria - Fluc
05.27.10 - Bologna, Italy - Locomotiv *
05.28.10 - Brescia, Italy - Lo Bar
05.29.10 - Geneva, Switzerland - L’Usine *
05.30.10 - Lyon, France - Grnd Zero *
05.31.10 - Paris, France - L’Chaufferrie Du Moulin Rouge
06.01.10 - Lille, France - La Peniche
06.02.10 - Brighton, UK - Prince Albert
06.03.10 - London, UK - Barden’s Boudoir
06.04.10 - Leeds, UK - Nation of Shop Keepers
06.05.10 - Glasgow, UK - Sleazys %
06.06.10 - Manchester, UK - The Ruby Lounge
* Wolf Eyes
% Divorce
• Mi Ami: http://www.myspace.com/miamiamiami
• Thrill Jockey: http://www.thrilljockey.com
Jesus, EMI, are you in debt for everything? Beleaguered record label now owes $365 million in pension funds
By Kid Midnight on May 17 2010
Just the other day I was reporting on EMI’s only (semi-)happy news story of the year, wherein the company managed to raise a significant portion of money to prevent their loans from running out and save their necks for a couple more months, but it seems that the (brief) celebration was ill-timed, as it appears EMI now owes as much as $365 million in pension payments due to an alleged shortfall in funds! Yowza, EMI, that’s a buttload of cash!
The UK’s famous leg-breaker, “Pension Regulator,” has come knocking on EMI’s door and says that the famously in-debt record label needs to fork over the “buttload” of cash so that 22,000 pensioners (with only 500 still working for the company) can get their monthly checks.
However, EMI is all “no way!” and says that they only owe 15 million dollars, which is strange since EMI’s holding company, Maltby Capital Ltd., did their own accounting and said the debt could be $15 million or it could be $292 million. In any case, definitely not $365 million. Maltby claims the variance in numbers is due to “different actuaries using a variety of methodologies.” Sure, Maltby, how about you blame somebody besides actuaries for once.
Now, I know this sounds like bad news, but think of it this way, EMI: 365 million dollars is only a dollar a day for a million years and you can easily sell a Beatles song a day on iTunes for a million years. Oh, you’re also having trouble getting The Beatles on iTunes? That sucks. Just blame Yoko, it works for me.
