ARTIST: Decemberists on Tour DATE: 02-17-07 WRITER: Press McGee 2006 was a good year for The Decemberists. They battled Colbert, sold their souls to the major label devil and still came out on top, and Colin Meloy had time to pop out a kid. So now, they’ve decided to let us all bask in the glow of their glowing glow, hitting the road with My Brightest Diamond for two months (or two moons, for you sea-faring folk). Check the...
2006 was a good year for The Decemberists. They battled Colbert, sold their souls to the major label devil and still came out on top, and Colin Meloy had time to pop out a kid. So now, they've decided to let us all bask in the glow of their glowing glow, hitting the road with My Brightest Diamond for two months (or two moons, for you sea-faring folk). Check the tour dates, yo: DECEMBERISTS SPRING 2007 TOUR 3/21 Jersey City,...
Clouds are the kind of heavy-rock band that make me want to get drunk and drive a van into a desert sunset. The music conjures up a classic stoner scene then obliterates it with alcoholic aggression like a biker gang rolling up on a beach party. “New Amnesia” opens with a screech of white feedback before plowing forward into a set of riffs that call to mind Blue Cheer at their heaviest. The band downshifts into the heavy blues of...
Posing in an alleyway on the edge of L.A.’s venerated Troubadour, the members of stellastarr* are having test shots taken for GC’s exclusive photo feature. The flash is bright. Monsters and Waiting is at sound check inside. Thinking L.A. glam? Everything but. They are test shots after all, and the L.A. skyline is in a perpetual blink. But the stellastarr* kids are damned good sports about it. They even entertain the idea of answering some good ol’ novelty questions in...
Now that the O.C. is gone, where will indie bands play awesome background music as suspiciously old teenagers fall in and out of love, depending on how close to sweeps it is? Teenagers of the normal sort can re-enact their favorite Seth-Summer love scenes as the Walkmen tour this spring (provided the show is at an all ages venue, of course), first with Ferraby Lionheart and the Broken West, then with the Kaiser Chiefs, Annuals and the Little Ones. Check...
South By Southwest: It's overwhelming, it's awesome, and at 2 AM, the sausage-cart guy in front of Emo's has delivered more people from hunger than Moses did from the Egyptians. Here's a direct quote from the official SXSW website: "Over 1300 acts are currently confirmed and more are on their way." Here's a small chunk of that list (because even if I just copied and pasted, it would still take too damn long to post every one): Aesop Rock (Brooklyn...
South By Southwest: It's overwhelming, it's awesome, and at 2 AM, the sausage-cart guy in front of Emo's has delivered more people from hunger than Moses did from the Egyptians. Here's a direct quote from the official SXSW website: "Over 1300 acts are currently confirmed and more are on their way." Here's a small chunk of that list (because even if I just copied and pasted, it would still take too damn long to post everyone): A sampling of the...
Lately even my bosses have been whistling Peter Bjorn and John, and that is saying something. These are two guys who don’t know what end is up when it comes to new music—and they’ll freely admit it—yet once or twice a day that refrain comes wafting through the halls. So anyone who wants to catch them live (like you can see them right here), well, the magic of tour dates can grant your wildest dreams, provided you don’t live below...
Kill Rock Stars has announced that they will release New Moon, a compilation of Elliott Smith tracks from 1994-1997 (when he released Elliott Smith and Either/Or) on May 8, 2007. The final mixing for the double CD was done by Larry Crane, who is the archivist for the estate of Elliott Smith. A significant portion of proceeds from the album sales will go directly to Outside In, a Portland-based social service organization dedicated to providing diverse services for homeless youth...
“Hey, I thought maybe you could come check out my band tonight.” My friend Dan had called on a Sunday afternoon to let me know that his band was playing in Redondo Beach. I live in Silver Lake. A drive to Redondo is officially “a commitment.” And on a Sunday night, no less. After some light begging and promises of free drinks by Dan, I agreed. He waited a full two beats before mumbling, “Oh, yeah, it’s a cover band.”...