I don’t know how many times I’ve said this, but KEXP ROCKS! I can’t count on my fingers and toes how many bands that this station has turned me onto, well before anyone else was talking about these bands. They play the music that you want to hear, well before anyone else is talking about or even playing it. A radio station built around the concept of being listener supported, not dictated by advertising or corporate meddling. A concept that should be adopted by more radio stations.

It’s that time of year, when they need your support to keep doing the magic that they do. Log on, listen, and contribute to the cause. It’s also the best time to listen to John Richards and Cheryl Waters ramble on and on, while dancing on the brink of insanity.

Listen: KEXP.org

Donate here: KEXP Summer Pledge Drive

Austin psych-drone rock band, The Black Angels are celebrating the release of their second full length, Directions to See A Ghost tonight @ Emo’s. The band’s sophomore effort shines the band’s talent for groove oriented psychedelic drone-n-roll and as predicted here, will provide the band with a year of growing success. Following the celebration of the release, the band embarks on a North American tour for the next couple of months getting support from the Warlocks for a majority of the dates. The opportunity to catch The Black Angels in Austin again, will be far in the future, so don’t miss this chance to catch one of Austin’s great musical exports. It’s gonna be dark, it’s gonna be loud, and it’s gonna be intense.

The Black Angels @ Emo’s 5.30 Show starts @ 10. Tickets

MP3> The Black Angels ‘Doves’

The Tour:

05-30 Austin, TX – Emo’s (CD release show)
06-03 San Diego, CA – The Casbah #
06-05 West Hollywood, CA – Troubadour
06-06 Long Beach, CA – The Queen Mary (Ink-N-Iron Festival)
06-07 San Francisco, CA – The Independent #
06-09 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge #
06-10 Vancouver, British Columbia – Richard’s on Richards #
06-11 Seattle, WA – Neumos #
06-13 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge #
06-14 Denver, CO – The Bluebird #
06-15 Rapid City, SD – The Imperial Inn #
06-17 Fargo, ND – The Aquarium #
06-18 Minneapolis, MN – Turf Club #
06-19 Madison, WI – The Annex #
06-20 Chicago, IL – Logan Square Auditorium #
06-21 Milwaukee, WI – Mad Planet #
06-23 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick #
06-24 Cincinnati, OH – Southgate House #
06-25 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom #
06-26 Toronto, Ontario – Lee’s Palace #
06-28 Brooklyn, NY – Southpaw #
06-29 Boston, MA – Middle East (Downstairs) #
06-30 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s #
07-02 Washington, DC – The Rock and Roll Hotel #
07-03 Chapel Hill, NC – The Local 506 #
07-04 Asheville, NC – The Grey Eagle #
07-05 Nashville, TN – The Exit/In #
07-06 Memphis, TN – Hi-Tone #
07-07 Birmingham, AL – Bottle Tree #
07-08 Atlanta, GA – The Earl #
07-10 Gainesville, FL – Common Grounds #
07-11 Orlando, FL – The Social #
08-09 Jersey City, NJ – Liberty State Park (All Points West Festival)

# with the Warlocks

Colour Revolt

photo : valerie@fremin.net

It hasn’t even been a month since the recent college grads from the south Colour Revolt were in town opening for the freshly reunited Breeders, but the opportunity to see the band perform again, beckons me. The bands first release on Fat Possum, Plunder, Beg, and Curse threatens to become one of my favorite recordings of this year. It’s a dense, layered, triple guitar attack wrestling with the dark side of one’s psyche, questioning love and spirituality along the way. It’s a beautiful, complex piece of work that requires multiple listens to grasp the full scope of the recording.

Snowden, if I’m not mistaken, haven’t been in town since opening for Kings of Leon about a year ago. Although the show was cut a bit short, thanks to an approaching storm, the intense rhythmic beats with soaring, jagged guitar riffs and Jordan Jeffares cryptic poetic lyrics was an interesting introduction to the band, well worth a second visit. The band’s 2007 release Anti-Anti on Jade Tree, continues to find it’s way into play for myself.

Snowden

photo : valerie@fremin.net

Snowden headline @ Stubb’s inside with Colour Revolt opening. Doors @ 9 p.m. and tickets are $10. Purchase tickets in advance.

MP3> Colour Revolt ‘Moses of the South’

MP3> Snowden ‘Anti-Anti’

Matador Records recording artist Shearwater, are playing a very special show here in Austin to end a short tour, and we have a pair of tickets to give away for the event. The band will be performing their upcoming release Rook in it’s entirety backed by an 8 piece orchestra @ The Parish this coming Thursday night 5.29. If you are interested in checking out this special event, please send us an email with Shearwater in the subject line and one winner will be randomly selected for a pair of tickets. Winner will be contacted Wednesday evening after 5 p.m.

Email: Shearwater tickets

photo : valerie@fremin.net

Anyone that knows me to any extent, knows that 1. I love KEXP.org and 2. I love the band Dead Confederate. The Athens band has quietly been making itself known in the scene since it’s release of the self titled EP that surfaced late in 2007, with a memorable showing at SXSW 2008, and many recent mentions in music publications around the country. The band has a full length recording, recorded with Mike McCarthy here in Austin, readied for release later this summer, and I suspect that it will be nothing short of greatness. The band is currently in the Seattle area for the Sasquatch! Festival and will be playing live on KEXP today. Tune in 12 p.m. Pacific Mountain time (2 p.m. for you folks in Austin, and 3 p.m. on the East Coast) to hear the band performing live in the KEXP studio. Really, you should be tuned in to KEXP anyways, but especially for these guys.

Don’t fret if you miss the show, cuz you can always access any live in-studio performances @ KEXP via their website, and listen whenever you desire. It’s kinda sweet. But really, you should be listening to the station everyday anyways. It’s easy. Just open up your iTunes on your computer, go to Radio, click on Alternative and scroll down to KEXP. Listen.

Mp3> Dead Confederate ‘Shadow the Walls’

News from our friends over @ Do512.com, is that Green Day is playing a secret show tonight @ Emo’s inside. If you want to see the show, better get in line now. The space is incredibly limited with a capacity of only a few hundred people. Tickets are $20 at the door only. Good luck!

Foxboro Hot Tubs is the name that they are playing under.

I won’t be there, but I beg of the band to play something off of Dookie for crying out loud!

photo : valerie@fremin.net

I’ve always been a fan of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, but they have always seemed to more of an after thought, than a band that I aggressively listen to, or schedule to see their live shows. The shift in gears with the Howl recording caught me a bit off guard as it did for fans of the heavier, electric guitar work from their first two recordings. Baby 81, which I admit I got on board with late in the game, is a fantastic blend of the bands talent, fusing their previous sounds into one great album and has stirred interest as to how this tour would fair against the Howl show.

Antone’s has never been my favorite venue for shows, mostly as the acts that they have drawn in the past, weren’t a part of my repertoire. The venue has been booking more music lately, that appeals to a different audience, and it’s nice to have a different option that our usual haunts. The layout is a bit awkward, but the stage is more than sufficient, and the sound is usually pretty good with the touring shows.

photo : valerie@fremin.net

This might sound a little odd, but the music that is played before a band takes the stage, has always had some effect on my excitement for the show. When done right, it really puts you in the mood for what is come. Monday’s night’s pre-show music was spot on with selections from The 13th Floor Elevators and Joy Division amongst others.

The show began with Peter Hayes taking the stage alone, aside from the company of his guitar, but was quickly joined by bandmates Robert Levon Been and Nick Jago. The band didn’t waste any time kicking it into full blown high gear with songs from earlier recordings, more familiar to me than some of the newer material. You sometimes forget that when bands are performing, it’s their job, and they sometimes have to do so day in and day out. We all can’t love our job every day, but Black Rebel Motorcycle Club seemed to be loving their job on Monday night. As the set progressed on with the band covering a lot of ground, playing for at least an hour and a half, they seemed to be enjoying the hell out of their own performance. As well as did the sold out crowd. There was the quieter acoustic moment, but for the most part, electric guitars blasted through favorites like “Red Eyes and Tears”, “What Ever Happened to My Rock-n-Roll”, “Need Some Air”, and “Weapon of Choice” with Hayes sporting a trombone on “Promise”. All the while, I’m wondering why this band isn’t one of the biggest bands around. I guess if they were any bigger and I had to go to some large venue to see them, I wouldn’t be nearly the fan. I’m glad that they are still playing the more accessible venues, selling out those venues, while allowing us the more intimate experience of the Black Rebel Motorcyle Club show.

No longer am I the casual fan the band. They officially impressed the pants off of me on Monday night, and I’ll be eagerly anticipating the next time the opportunity to catch these guys at work. At work enjoying their job.

Enjoy the amazing pics from the talented Valerie Fremin.

photo : valerie@fremin.net

photo : valerie@fremin.net

photo : valerie@fremin.net

photo : valerie@fremin.net

photo : valerie@fremin.net

photo : valerie@fremin.net

photo : valerie@fremin.net

Deborah Cannon AMERICAN-STATESMAN

I’ve seen Wilco on every tour since their debut album A.M. came out back in 1995, and every time I’ve seen them it’s always a great show. Sure, some shows have been more memorable than others, but even at their worst, the band is one of the best in entertaining with their own brand of rock-n-roll. Thanks to the USPS, I almost didn’t attend the show, with my ticket missing in action days before the event. I figured I’ve seen enough free shows over the past year, that if I was going to pay twice for a show, it might as well be a Wilco show. And deep down inside, I was more excited about this show than I had been in previous years. I had a feeling that it was going to be one I would remember for years. I was right.

Jeff Tweedy and Co. seemed to have hit their stride with the live performance, as they worked their way through a set that covered many of my favorites, while reaching far back into their catalog of recorded material. I read one review of the show, where the reviewer seemed unimpressed with the pace of the show, as if the band was trying to find themselves while casually making their way through the songs. Who cares about the pace? It’s Wilco, and the songs are what makes the show. Watching them perform songs like “Reservations”, “Handshake Drugs”, “A Shot In The Arm” with surgical like accuracy, sounding as good as a band can possibly sound live, taking me back to the days when those songs found themselves in regular rotation, evokes emotions and pleasure like nothing else. Each song the band played was spot on and as each one ended, and it felt as if it couldn’t get any better, the next one transported you on that magical journey once again. It was truly an amazing display by one of the greatest live bands of the past decade.

Thanks to our friend Josh Finklea for sending us these mp3′s from that night, so we can relive the experience.

Mp3> Wilco (live @ Stubbs) ‘Handshake Drugs’

Mp3> Wilco (live @ Stubbs) ‘Impossible Germany’

Mp3> Wilco (live @ Stubbs) ‘Jesus Etc’

Set list from 5.11.08

1. Sunken Treasure
2. You Are My Face
3. Remember The Mountain Bed
4. Company In My Back
5. Handshake Drugs
6. Pick Up The Change
7. Hummingbird
8. On And On And On
9. Pot Kettle Black
10. A Shot In The Arm
11. Summer Teeth
12. Jesus, Etc.
13. Impossible Germany
14. It's Just That Simple
15. That's Not The Issue
16. Walken
17. I'm The Man Who Loves You

Encore 2:
22. Hate It Here
23. Heavy Metal Drummer
24. Casino Queen
25. Hoodoo Voodoo
26. Outtasite (Outta Mind)

One of my favorite bands, who have managed to stay relevant over many a year, Built to Spill, have a new album in the can, and plans for a fall tour. I can almost kick myself for not seeing last time they were in town recently. Becoming more common today with bands that have been around for a period of time, the performance of a favorite recording from front to back, is what Built to Spill have planned for their fall tour. Which album would you guess? Perfect From Now On is the recording, and although I once argued the fact that this was their best recording (I argued against), it has grown to be one of my favorites. The new recording probably won’t have a street date until Spring of 2009, but I imagine that the band will be trying out some of the new material on the road, after blasting through the Perfect From Now On set.

Mp3> Built to Spill ‘I Would Hurt A Fly’

Thanks to Billboard.com for the info.

photo : valerie@fremin.net

Seattle’s Cave Singers brought their always enjoyable style of minimalistic modern folk rock to Mohawk last Thursday. I believe that this makes for the fourth time I’ve seen the band and each time I see the band, I can’t help to find myself mesmerized by the looping beat as well as Pete Quirk’s unique vocal style. The band is playing some new material not found on their release Invitation Songs and the progression of these songs seems a little more complex in instrumentation, with the sound becoming more full and richer. You can’t help to clap your hands and stop your feet when these guys are putting on the show.

The Cave Singers are currently on the road with a return home for this year’s Sasquatch Festival. Check their myspace page for tour dates.

Purchase Invitation Songs

The band is tentatively looking at getting back into the studio by the end of the year with new material hopefully available by next spring.

Cave Singers

photo : valerie@fremin.net

photo : valerie@fremin.net

photo : valerie@fremin.net

Dark Meat, quite the opposite of The Cave Singers with their 17 member band, opened the show in grandois style complete with horns, strings, 2 drummers, confetti, and a rocking sound. Unfortunately the size of the band made for a tight fit in the small inside stage area, and most of us were left to only catch glimpses of the band while listening.

Dark Meat

photo : valerie@fremin.net

photo : valerie@fremin.net

photo : valerie@fremin.net

photo : valerie@fremin.net

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club bring their own mix of garage, blues, folk revival, neo-psychedelia rock to Austin once again on Monday night @ Antones. The band first caught my attention with their self-titled debut in 2001, featuring bluesy, fuzzy psychedelic influenced guitar sounds with a driving rock beat. Two albums into the band’s life, the trio fractured with drummer Nick Jago stepping away from the band. The remaining members Peter Hayes and Robert Levon Been began writing songs with a different approach, stripping away the fuzz and electric feel and replacing it with a warmer acoustic sound. Drummer Jago eventually returned to the band and with the new songs in place, Howl was released in 2005. Howl represented a time for the band that not only touched on a period of transition, but also a period of coming into a band that stood secure in the music that they had progressed in producing, while maintaining the audience. The band is currently touring in support of Baby 81, a recording of material that was developed before and during the time period of Howl.

Why should you see BRMC? Aside from the fact that I’m a fan, the band delivers a solid representation of the newer material as well as venturing into the earlier material that drew most of us to the band to begin with. I don’t have an answer to that question. but I guess the question might be, why shouldn’t you go to see the BRMC? It’s bluesy, it’s rock, these guys have been around the block, and they deliver.

Mp3> BMRC ‘Sympathetic Noose’

Locals

Where: Antones

When: Monday 5.19.08

Tickets

Holy Crap! The storm that blew through Austin last night with hurricane force winds and large hail, was intense. It all seemed to happen in the ten minutes that it took me to get from downtown to my house, and the damage caused in those ten minutes will take days to repair. Downed trees, tree limbs, chunks of sheet metal in the street, broken windows and the loss of electricity to approx 20,000 residents of Austin happened in a flash.  So I get up this morning and immediately start searching my library of music for storm related songs, or song titles.  Songs to weather the storm.

MP3> Doves ‘Storm’

MP3> Minus the Bear ‘El Torrente’

Mp3> REM ‘Fall on Me’

Mp3> The Epochs ‘Thunder and Lightning’

Mp3> Nada Surf ‘Are You Lightning’

There are several fine options for what to do this coming Thursday, Roky Erickson & The Explosives @ Emos, Be Your Own Pet @ Stubb’s, and more I’m sure, but this guy is going to be hanging out @ Mohawk. Roky does sound a bit enticing, but I’m going with a sure bet, based on my experience, and will be soaking in the modern folk tunes of Seattle’s Cave Singers. Opening for The Cave Singers is Athens, GA’s, Dark Meat and Quiet Hooves.

photo : valerie@fremin.net

 The Cave Singers released their debut album Invitation Songs in 2007 on Matador Records, and quickly became on of my favorite recordings from the year. Stripped down sounds consisting of acoustic guitars, minimal drums, harmonica, and the occasional shaker or noise maker of some sort, formulated into modern versions of songs that remind me of an earlier time. An earlier time when songwriters like Woodie Guthrie were representing the voice of the common man. Dark, mysterious, and hypnotic. The Cave Singers are made up of Pete Quirk (Hint Hint), Derek Fudesco (Murder City Devils and Pretty Girls Make Graves), and Marty Lund (Cobra High).

Mp3> The Cave Singers ‘Dancing On Our Grave’

Dark Meat on the other hand, is a band I know little about. What I do know is that they are a 17 piece act from Athen’s, GA that jam the “psychedelic, blues, punk rock, jazz, with Zappa/Beefheart styled explosions”. I read that on a website.  Should prove to be quite interesting if anything. Dark Meat recently signed to Vice Records.

Mp3> Dark Meat ‘Angel of Meth’

 Cave Singers, Dark Meat, and Quiet Hooves @ Mohawk 10 p.m.

Photo © kevinlhenderson

I hate to say it, but My Morning Jacket have been dethroned as Best Live Band, by the road veterans Wilco, in my book. Sure, MMJ have held the title for quite awhile, and I’m sure that they still do with many of you out there, but if you were witness to the mind boggling performance that Wilco put on Sunday night @ Stubb’s, you would agree. Absolutely amazing and easily in the top 5 live performances I have witnessed in my lifetime.

My Morning Jacket have the opportunity to seize the title once again, when they hit the same Stubb’s stage on 8.28. Tickets for the show go on sale 5.16. Get em quick.

Evil Urges is set for a June 10th street date, and word around the scene is that it is great, but very different. It might challenge a few fans out there.
Mp3> My Morning Jacket ‘Evil Urges’

MMJ Tour

06/20 New York, NY @Radio City Music Hall

08/16 Louisville, KY @ The Great Lawn at Louisville Waterfront Park

08/18 Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theatre

08/19 Council Bluffs, IA @ Stir Cove

08/21 Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheater

08/23 Dallas, TX @ Palladium Ballroom

08/24 Austin, TX @ Stubbs [Tickets]

08/27 Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre-Atlanta

08/29 Miami, FL @ The Fillmore Miami Beach@ the Jackie Gleason Theater

08/30 Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues, Orlando

08/31 Myrtle Beach, SC @ House of Blues, Myrtle Beach

09/02 Charlottesville, VA @ Charlottesville Pavilion

09/03 Washington, DC @ Constitution Hall

09/05 Philadelphia, PA @ Festival Pier @ Penn’s Landing

09/06 Boston, MA @ Bank of America Pavilion

09/19 Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre

09/21 Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre

09/23 Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee

09/24 Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint

09/25 San Diego, CA @ SDSU Open Air Theater

09/27 Portland, OR @ McMenamins Edgefield

09/28 Seattle WA @ McCaw Hall

10/02 Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum Theatre

10/03 Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater

10/04 Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore

10/09 Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre

10/10 Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre

Death Cab for Cutie’s follow up to 2005′s The Plan, was released today, and word is, that the band has changed it’s tune a bit, engaging in darker sounds than previous. I have to admit that the lengthy, “I Will Posses Your Heart” with its long instrumental intro held down with a looping bass line that keeps you hooked, has captured my curiosity.  Narrow Stairs hit store shelves today, and if you want to listen to the recording, before dropping your dime, or taking the time to download it, you can stream it in it’s entirety @ Spinner.com.

Listen to Narrow Stairs Here

Mp3> Death Cab for Cutie ‘I Will Posses Your Heart’