Backseat Sandbar

Norah Jones is coming to Louisville’s Whitney Hall on March 12th in support of her recently released The Fall (Stream Here).  Beginning December 1, a series of remixes will be released on RCRD LBL [“That’s What I Said (The NYC Remix by Adrock and Mike D)”](Dec. 1), Stereogum.com [“Chasing Pirates (Santigold and Snotty Remix)” (Dec. 2) and Artist Direct [“Chasing Pirates (Droogs Remix)”] (Dec. 3).

Check out the press release, tour dates and critical acclaim from a variety of sources that I wouldn’t dare listen to for their musical insight (more…)

Because we must

Starting on on Thursday, I’ll be making my way west for what I call my “Morrissey Pilgrimage”. It is required by my religion that I must listen to Morrissey at least once a day while facing Manchester, and see him live at least 5-10 times a year. I don’t make the rules, I just follow them out of fear that Mike Joyce might sue me.

Barring any unforeseen bottles being thrown or fainting spells, I’ll be seeing Morrissey in Las Vegas (12/4), Indio (12/5), Pomona (12/7), San Diego (12/8), Los Angeles (12/10), and Ventura (12/11).  Having only seen Morrissey 24 times, these shows are required for me to attend because one can never have too much Moz. I’ll try to snap a few pics and do some reports from the many many many hours I’ll spend queuing for the very front row. I had the chance to go solo to Los Angeles back in October 2007 to see Morrissey close down the Hollywood Palladium with a 10 7 show residence (2 were canceled), and I was able to meet a lot of very great friends that I’ll get to see again. Keep watch for some updates from the left coast.

Update – the show at the Fox Theatre in Pomona will be taped for a DVD. Look for me, I’ll be the one trying to get on stage (as will everyone).

You’re My Density will be having an EP release party at Vernon Club on Friday, December 18! The new EP will be titled Whatever Was Supposed To Be Here Is Gone Now. These guys are always a treat to see live, so make sure you attend this special event. Heck, even put it on your Facebook Event Calendar!

More info from YMD:
You’re My Density will release its first official recording on December 18, 2009 and we need YOU to help us celebrate. Our friends from Indianapolis, Heavy Hometown, will get things started.

Doors open at 8 PM. Show starts at 9 PM.

Admission is only $5.

We can’t wait to see you there…

About You’re My Density…

In a time when mankind obsesses over a different kind of star than the ones focused on by our brave, navigationally inclined, New World discovering ancestors. Stanley Chase III (vocals, keys), Curtis McCubbin (guitar), Tom Claycomb (bass), Jeremy Rea (guitar) and Corey Barnes (drums) join forces to be captain of and sail to our shores their own musical vessel, which is aptly named, You’re My Density. With them, these travelers from musical lands unknown have brought what they’ll need to give us all a taste of our own musical destiny; and this time it’s not small pox.

About Heavy Hometown…

Formed in early 2008, Heavy Hometown wasted no time jumping into the Midwestern live music scene. The band’s early performances left bewildered audiences wondering, “Who are these guys and where are they from?” These shows hinted at what the band’s debut album, Action Figures, now proves: lo-fi can be charming, and good songs still matter.

Oddly enough, given the band has Hometown in their name, this 3-piece is hesitant to associate themselves with a ‘scene’ or geographic home base. Ask them where they’re from, and you’ll get brushed-off, if not blatantly lied-to (we’re pretty sure the members live in Indianapolis and Louisville).

They’re a song-oriented band that pulls from both the belly and the mind – an ambidexterity hard to come by. Utilizing two lead singers, this band has two distinct voices: one is vulnerable and open (Jon Wood) the other velveteen and guarded (Corey Barnes). With electric piano bass and vintage synthesizers, keyboardist Eric Park provides precise cohesion between the band’s two disparate sides.

This record captures a vision of an imperfect person, the reconciliation of attachment and detachment, the pleasure in suffering, and the understanding that one can be as much super-hero as he is dope fiend. That’s where the Heavy comes in, and this is what Action Figures is all about.

The XX are riding the wave of their growing buzz with a huge five and a half month tour, including a stop at Bloomington, Indiana’s Buskirk-Chumley Theater.  No details are up yet about tickets, but we’ll give you an update as soon as we find out.  You have a while to wait anyway.  jj will be opening at the show.

The XX- Crystalized

jj- Me & Dean

Tour Dates:

11-21 Hollywood, CA – Henry Fonda Theater #^
11-20 San Diego, CA – Casbah #^
11-23 San Francisco, CA – The Independent #
11-24 Sacramento, CA – Sacramento State University #
11-25 Portland, OR – Doug Fir #
11-26 Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore Ballroom #
11-27 Seattle, WA – Neumo’s #^
11-30 Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock Social Club #
12-01 Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge #
12-02 Toronto, Ontario – Phoenix #
12-03 Montreal, Quebec – Le National #
12-04 Boston, MA – Paradise Lounge #
12-05 New York, NY – Webster Hall #
12-15 Belfast, Ireland – The Speakeasy
12-16 Galway, Ireland – Roisin Dubh
12-17 Cork, Ireland – The Pavilion
12-19 Dublin, Ireland – The Button Factory
01-11 Stuttgart, Germany – Longhorn
01-12 Hamburg, Germany – Grunspan
01-13 Frankfurt, Germany – Batschkapp
01-14 Groningen, Netherlands – Eurosonic
01-15 Copenhagen, Denmark – Vega
01-16 Aarhus, Denmark – Vox Hall
01-18 Oslo, Norway – Garage
01-19 Stockholm, Sweden – Debaser Slussen
01-20 Gothenburg, Sweden – Pusterviksbaren
01-21 Malmo, Sweden – Debaser
01-22 Berlin, Germany – Astra
01-29 Brisbane, Australia – Laneway
01-30 Sydney, Australia – Laneway
01-31 Melbourne, Australia – Laneway
02-01 Auckland, New Zealand – Laneway
02-05 Adelaide, Australia – Laneway
02-06 Perth, Australia – Laneway
02-07 Singapore, Singapore – Laneway
02-11 Lille, France – Grand Mix
02-12 Angouleme, France – La Nef
02-13 Nantes, France – Olympic
02-14 Toulon, France – Midi Festival
02-16 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
02-17 Brussels, Belgium – AB
02-18 Paris, France – Cigale
02-20 Saint-Malo, France – Route du Rock Winter
02-21 Strasbourg, France – Laiterie
02-23 Rome, Italy – Brancaleone
02-24 Milan, Italy – Magazzini
02-25 Munich, Germany – Backstage Werk
02-27 Cologne, Germany – Essikfabrik
03-01 Brighton, England – Komedia
03-02 London, England – Shepard’s Bush Empire
03-03 London, England – Shepherds Bush Empire
03-05 Birmingham, England – Birmingham Academy 2
03-06 Manchester, England – Manchester Academy 2
03-08 Leeds, England – Cockpit
03-09 Edinburgh, Scotland – Studio 24
03-10 Liverpool, England – Kazimer
03-22 Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon !
03-24 Atlanta, GA – The Earl !
03-25 Carrboro, NC – Cats Cradle !
03-28 Washington, DC – Sixth & I Historic Synagogue !
03-29 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church Sanctuary !
04-05 Columbus, OH – Wexner Center !
04-06 Bloomington, IN – Buskirk-Chumley Theater !
04-16 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater *
04-19 Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre *
04-20 Toronto, Ontario – Koolhaus *
04-22 New York, NY – Terminal 5 *
04-24 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club *

# with Friendly Fires
^ with Holly Miranda
* with Hot Chip
!  with jj

State Champion, The Olympia Three (CD Release), Egret @ DCE – 11/28

Regina Spektor and her hand-picked supporting crew of Jupiter One made the final stop of their fall tour right here at the Louisville Palace last Thursday night. Regina, who is quite photogenic if I may say so, requested that no pictures be taken during her set. I was respectful of her wishes, but it did cross my mind more than once to do an artist’s rendering depicting the evening’s events using some crayons and construction paper. Alas, I could not find any crayons to use. Sorry.

The multi-talented Jupiter One was selected by Regina herself to support her on the tour, and it’s easy to see why she picked them. Bringing their Brooklyn selves to Louisville were K Ishibashi, Zac Colwell, Dave Heilman, Pat “Panda” Dougherty, and they packed loads of sound with guitars, keyboards, violins, and… a flute? Yes, a flute, and no, it was not like the scene on Anchorman. Jupiter One made all of this come together in musical happiness, and the usually lackluster Palace crowd were seeming to enjoy it very much. I do believe I saw more than a few people stand and applaud, and not just after the last song! I hope those that enjoyed Jupiter One made sure to grab a MP3 card or bought their CD on the way out the door. Make sure to give these guys a listen to, they are quite good.

*more pics of Jupiter One below the break

Oh where to even begin about Regina Spektor. First off, I must mention that she was not alone for the entire evening. Mr. Ishibashi and Mr. Heilman from Jupiter One accompanied Regina during most of her set by providing violin and drums. Combine that, add Regina’s piano, multiply it by her voice, and it equals somewhere near perfect sound. I have seen and heard many shows at The Palace over the years, but I must say this was the most crystal clear I’ve ever heard the sound there. You could hear every little noise, especially when Regina let everyone know when she, “Fucked that up.” There were a few missed lyrics here and there from her, but nobody minded. That’s what live music is all about, and she handled it well. She still seemed in high spirits and was happy to be there. This was the last stop on their tour, and she had been feeling unwell for the past few shows, but she finally was feeling better and got to see the outdoors. She had the chance to see a bit of Louisville, and even picked up a few Louisville Sluggers for kids in her family. Sounds as though she liked visiting here, hopefully she’ll remember our great city for her next tour. Hint hint, wink wink.
I didn’t get the setlist down, but a few of the highlights were Radio (of course), Sailor Song where some nice people up front assisted her with the part about Kentucky, a return to the stage after a short break with Samson where the backdrop was showered with starry lights, Hotel Song where people were finally starting to stand up and move around a bit (credit to the guy in Row A center who got the party started and was running the aisles), and the country sounding closer of Love, You’re A Whore was played for us Kentucky people. It was nice to see that even the stonewall gentlemen in front of me were moving their heads and legs in approval of the fantastic music by the closing tune. All in all it was a great evening and the sound was just impeccable. Great show Regina, great show.

More pics…
(more…)

Listen to “Want Within the Need” and “Quietly” from Second Story Man’s upcoming album, Screaming Secrets, out on December 5, 2009 via Noise Pollution Records, on their myspace page HERE.  They have a CD release show at Skull Alley also on December 5th.  Hopefully these two tracks will tide you over.

Thirteenth Sun @ The Hideaway Saloon – 11/26

The legendary Acid Mother’s Temple are coming to Lexington’s Cosmic Charlie’s on April 14th.  We had the good fortune to catch AMT’s Kawabata Makoto during the Terrastock Music Festival.  During his set at the Mellwood Arts center, a huge portion of the crowd left midset, not ready to hear the shrill and abrasive sounds.  For my part, a quick peek with an otoscope revealed my ears had bled.  So there is one very important lesson in this: BRING YOUR EAR PLUGS!

After the “King Khan will never set foot in KY again”, I was afraid Windish would be reticent to bring another band back, but they’ve come through in a very big way.  This should be an incredible show, but I cannot stress enough that this is going to be LOUD.

The full tour schedule (more…)

In the vein of Rockabye Baby, the hipster rock lullaby series that has given our children renditions of songs originally by Nirvana, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Bjork, Bob Marley, The Cure, Green Day, Guns n Roses, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, the Pixies, the Ramones and more, SonaBLAST Records founded by Gill Holland is putting together “Louisville Lullabies: Cradle Rockin’ Sleeper Hits“, a similar series compiling the works of 13 Louisville musical acts.

Artists include: Carter Wood (a recently returned Louisville native who had George Strait record some of her songs while living in Nashville), Love Jones (regrouped for this benefit), Arnett Hollow (who recently performed at Forecastle and WFPK‘s Live Lunch), Lucky Pineapple (on the heels of their sonaBLAST! Release), Harry Pickens (pianist, composer, teacher and organizational consultant), Sandpaper Dolls (amazing a cappella trio), Ron Whitehead (author of 19 books with appearances on more than 20 CD’s), Yardsale (Louisville’s self-proclaimed ‘Second Most Rootin-est, Tootin-est Band‘), Danny Flanigan (performing a song he wrote for his son), Leigh Ann Yost (marketing director at Louisville‘s School of Rock), Justin Lewis (performing ’Dream a Little Dream’) Alistair Shell (Stephen George performing his first released recording) and Heidi Howe (Louisville performer, author and co-producer of the CD).

The album goes on sale on December 6thwhen Comedy Caravan hosts the release party.  Sales of the album are going to benefit  Home of The Innocents on East Market Street.  The tracklisting looks fun, so any and all hipster parents along Bardstown road should be certain to pick up a copy.  Check out the tracklist below…

Tracklisting:
1. “In My Balloon,” Lucky Pineapple
2. “Benjamin,” Danny Flanigan
3. “Lullabye (by Albert Goldbarth),” Alistair Shell
4. “My Baby,” Leigh Ann Yost
5. “Dream a Little Dream,” Justin Lewis with Emily Caudill
6. “Shelter for the Night,” Arnett Hollow
7. “Dream,” Carter Wood
8. “For My Children: A Lullaby,” Ron Whitehead, Harry Pickens
9. “Made in Korea (Song for Stinky Pete),” Heidi Howe
10. “Down Below,” Yardsale
11. “All the Pretty Little Horses,” Harry Pickens
12. “Grey Lady,” Sandpaper Dolls
13. “Dark and Lovely,” Love Jones

Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore are playing a benefit for Institute 193 in Lexington, Kentucky at the Red Mile Round Barn on November 28, 2009.  Tix are $12 in advance or $15 at the door.  Doors are at 6, show at 8.  Daniel Martin Moore is doing a lot of benefit work it seems, as he is also playing a benefit show at 21c w/ Jim James on December 6th to support Kentuckians For The Commonwealth. Ben and Daniel have a new album, Dear Companion, coming out via Sub Pop February 16, 2010. (thanks to You Ain’t No Picasso for the heads-up on this one!)

Ben Sollee- A Change is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke Cover)

ABOUT INSTITUTE 193
Institute 193 is dedicated to enriching the cultural landscape of Lexington by exhibiting emerging and mid-career professional artists from the Southern region of the United States. It will serve as a point-of-departure for artists, providing them with professionally installed exhibitions, color catalogs of their work and scholarly essays pertaining to their show. Its goal is to advance the careers of regional artists in the larger markets found in New York, Paris, Los Angeles and London. The Institute will primarily focus its efforts on the production of scholarly materials, show cards, exhibition catalogs, and anything tangible that may benefit the artist. It will also participate in various art fairs across the country in a direct effort to expose Southern artists to the world-at-large. It will ideally serve as a de facto ambassador for the city of Lexington and the Southern region using the prism of contemporary art to communicate its identity.

Thirty Two Frames, Frontier(s), Brother Doubt, and Sink’em Low are playing at Skull Alley on November 27th.  Tix are $7 bucks.  Show starts at 7pm.

December 12th is my birthday and I could not ask for a better show to be scheduled in town for that night.  Three of my favorite local bands, The Pass, You’re My Density and Dude Plays Saxophone are playing at Zanzabar with OK Deejays and DJ Sam Sneed.  Not only is the line-up amazing, it is for a good cause.  The show costs $5, but if you bring three canned goods, you get in free.  Proceeds will benefit Kentucky Harvest.

THE PASS

YOU’RE MY DENSITY

DUDE PLAYS SAXOPHONE