Stuck In My Head: Summer Fiction, "Perfume Paper"

Generally, all it takes is a descriptor of "power pop" attached to a band to get me to come running. Enter Summer Fiction: when I an email drawing comparison between sophomore record Himalaya, released 16 June, and Big Star landed in my inbox, I was game. My love usually lies with the '90s alternative ilk, but Bill Ricchini's style feels older, too, more of the '60s and '70s; other comparisons rely heavily on Brian Wilson.

Essentially, lead single "Perfume Paper" has been stuck in my head - literally, it just kind of pops up throughout the day - since earlier in this month. It's been a long time since I've asked for a record in advance, but this jangly little 3:00 track tugged hard enough at my sentimentality that I really couldn't resist the rest.



If you're like me and want to hear the rest, SPIN has the full record available for streaming.

Two upcoming shows in NYC and Philly are slated for this week:
18JUN - Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY
20JUN - Boot & Saddle, Philadelphia, PA

I'll be at the Philly show; hopefully, some of you will be there, too, and I'll be able to pull together my thoughts enough to post about the show and the whole record sometime next week.

Nothing's on Telly: Teen Men have a party, tour with CYHSY, who are apparently still A Thing.

Oh, the mid-to-late-2000s. Listen, I sort of wax nostalgic for this golden period, when I was discovering new music right and left and actually dedicating time to writing about it. The age of Blog Rock. And speaking of Blog Rock, apparently Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are still a thing? I listened to their debut in 2005 or 2006 sometime and tried really, really hard to like it, but despite that perfect-for-Pitchfork 9.0 rating they got, I just couldn't get past the vocals. Sorry. Apparently they're still popular enough today that they booked two shows in Philly and two in New York for their 10th anniversary tour. Huh.

This post isn't about CYHSY. Although I went to Philly show one of two, my boyfriend and I didn't stay for the main act. (Not trying again 10 years later, not sorry.) We were there to see opener Teen Men, who released this video for "Adventure Kids" less than two weeks ago, and who are releasing their s/t record next week.



Rachel called it one of the weirdest videos she's ever seen. I don't really agree with her, but then again, she didn't see the visuals they show during their set, either.

Upcoming shows w/ Clap Your Hands Say Yeah:
02 JUN - Radio Radio, Indianapolis, IN
03 JUN - Exit / In, Nashville, TN
05 JUN - Club Dada, Dallas, TX
06 JUN - The Mohawk, Austin, TX
08 JUN - Lowbrow, El Paso, TX
09 JUN - The Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ
11 JUN - Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA
12 JUN - Casbah, San Diego, CA
13 JUN - Constellation Room, Santa Ana, CA
14 JUN - The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA
17 JUN - The Independent, San Francisco, CA
19 JUN - Mississipi Studios, Portland, OR
26 JUN - Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE *

17 JUL - The Crocodile, Seattle, WA
18 JUL - Electric Owl, Vancouver, BC
19 JUL - The Bartlett, Spokane, WA
22 JUL - The Aquarium, Fargo, ND
23 JUL - Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis, MN
24 JUL - Majestic Theater, Madison, WI
25 JUL - Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL
26 JUL - Thompson House, Newport, KY
28 JUL - Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids, MI
29 JUL - Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, ON
31 JUL - Brighton Music Hall, Allston, MA

01 AUG - Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
02 AUG - Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
* w/ Sin City Band

New Tour Dates : Nightmare of You on a summer tour.

Man, so, Nightmare of You. I used to be so crazy about this band, but that's what happens when you get hold of a record you really really like and then it just winds up being ruined, unruined, reruined, and reclaimed in this weird, long, two-year emotional arc with a whole cast of characters and too many songs involved.

Um. Anyway. Enough about me. Last time I posted about them, they were in the midst of making some demos last summer for their upcoming sophomore effort, due out sometime this summer, none of which I particularly cared for (which is what maybe dampened my fire a little bit. A lot.). They've been up to some other stuff since then. Like...recording. And doing some touring on the east coast. And then doing a two-week tour of the UK in April. And now they're on the road with Alkaline Trio and Saves the Day.

They've also announced a summer headlining tour in the States, presumably in support of that upcoming record which I think I read drops on 21 June, but I can't tell you where I read that. Journalistic integrity, I has it! Dates below.

21 June - North Star - Philadelphia, PA
23 June - Mac’s Bar - Lansing, MI
24 June - Reggie’s Rock Club - Chicago, IL
30 June - The Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS
1 July - Marquis Theatre - Denver, CO
2 July - SHO - Salt Lake City, UT
5 July - Chop Suey - Seattle, WA
11 July - The Knitting Factory - W. Hollywood, CA
12 July - The Epicentre - San Diego, CA
13 July - Modified Art's - Pheonix, AZ
15 July - Rock Bottom - San Antonio, TX
18 July - The Door - Dallas, Texas
19 July - 516 Soundstage - Shreveport, LA
23 July - Crowbar - Tampa, FL
28 July - The Boot - Norfolk, VA
31 July - Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
1 August - The Crazy Donkey - Farmingdale, NY
2 August - Maxwell's - Hoboken, NJ

All dates are with Brian Bonz (currently supporting Kevin Devine on tour), Plushgun, and Ashua.

New Tour Dates : Tally Hall on the road in May.

And now with venues noted:

15 May - The Blind Pig - Ann Arbor, MI
16 May - Subterranean - Chicago, IL
18 May - The Intersection (Front Bar) - Grand Rapids, MI
19 May - Mac's - Lansing, MI
20 May - Mr. Small's Theatre - Millvale, PA
21 May - DC9 - Washington, D.C.
22 May - Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
23 May - Middle East (up) - Cambridge, MA
24 May - Toquet Hall Student Coffeehouse - Westport, CT

I don't think they've really been doing much lately, aside from wrapping up the T.H.I.S. (Tally Hall Internet Show). Although I could be mistaken. From T.H.I.S. (episode seven) :

New Tour Dates : Athlete hit the road...in the UK.

Brits Athlete are heading out on an extensive tour of their native land in June and July, supposedly in support of their fourth record which they are supposedly working on. (I say "supposedly" because I read that on Wikipedia, of all places, and we all know how reliable that is.)

5 June - M Club - Hull
8 June - Waterfront - Norwich
9 June - The Picturedrome - Northampton
11 June - Guildhall - Gloucester
12 June - O2 Academy 2 - Birmingham
13 June - Rescue Rooms - Nottingham
16 June - Concorde 2 - Brighton
17 June - Southampton University - Southampton
19 June - Cardiff University - Cardiff
20 June - Imperial College London Summer Ball - London
23 June - O2 Academy 2 - Newcastle
24 June - Cabaret Voltaire - Edinburgh
25 June - Ironworks - Iverness
26 June - BA Club - Fort William
28 June - Fat Sams - Dundee
29 June - Lemon Tree - Aberdeen
30 June - Oran Mor - Glasgow
1 July - Academy 2 - Liverpool
3 July - Central Station - Wrexham
4 July - The Duchess - York
5 July - Ruby Lounge - Manchester
6 July - The Cockpit - Leeds
8 July - The Fleece - Bristol
9 July - Phoenix Rooms - Exeter
10 July - Wedgewood Rooms - Portsmouth
11 July - Guilfest 2009 - Guilford
13 July - The Junction - Cambridge
14 July - Academy 2 - Sheffield
15 July - Rockhouse - Derby
16 July - Academy 2 - Oxford
17 July - Somerset House - London

Tickets unsupposedly went on sale yesterday.

New Tour Date : Phoenix add second NYC show.

Right, so, lots of Phoenix going on 'round these parts as of late, yeah? Remember how I was all whining like, "Umm Terminal 5? Nah, thanks."

Yeah, well, Bowery Presents just announced a second date in New York, this time at Music Hall of Williamsburg, on Thursday, 18th June.

Tickets go on sale Friday at noon, and I will seriously be considering purchasing them. The Term5 show the day after is already sold out.

That's all you're getting in terms of interesting updates for right now, sorry.

New Video / New Tour Dates : Phoenix, "Lisztomania"

OH EMM GEE HEY EVERYBODY GUESS WHAT PHOENIX PUT OUT A VIDEO TODAY!

Okay, yeah, I feel like I'm about twelve hours late to the party. (And only in today's blogosphere world is it possible to feel "late to the party" the same day a video is released.) Evs. Pitchfork TV unveiled the video to Phoenix's "Lisztomania" from their upcoming Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.



They also announced their upcoming US/Canada tour dates :

13 June - Park West - Chicago, IL
15 June - Phoenix Concert Theater - Toronto, ONT (lol really?)
16 June - Les Saints - Montreal, QC
17 June - Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA
19 June - Terminal 5 - New York City, NY
21 June - Rock and Roll Hotel - Washington, DC
23 June - Varsity - Minneapolis, MN
25 June - Bluebird - Denver, CO
27 June - Regency Center - San Francisco, CA
28 June - Wiltern - Los Angeles, CA

So...Boston gets the 'Dise, but NYC gets Terminal 5? If it wasn't so damn impractical, I'd be on a bus for Boston. Guess I'll have to wait it out 'til they (presumably) play Paris again in the fall (hopefully at La Cigale, which is roughly half the capacity of Term 5).

Check This : We Were Promised Jetpacks

If you recognise the name We Were Promised Jetpacks, then there's a good shot it's because you were at SXSW last month, as they were, too.

I, however, was not, so I stumbled upon them via Waved Rumor, which I rediscovered via my overcrowded inbox. (I pay attention to your emails, I swear! I just forget to, ya' know. Follow up.) Anywho. I like the sound of the a-side of their debut single, "Quiet Little Voices," out 4th May on Fat Cat Records with the b-side "Let's Call This A Map." Let's!

We Were Promised Jetpacks -

The band's debut record, These Four Walls, is out in June. In the meantime, you can see them live. If you live in the UK.

1 May - Hinterland Festival - Glasgow
14 May - Great Escape Festival - Brighton
15 May - Great Escape Festival - Brighton
9 June - Cabaret Voltaire - Edinburgh
10 June - Doghouse - Dundee
15 June - King Tuts - Glasgow
16 June - Night & Day - Manchester
17 June - Bodega - Nottingham
18 June - Lexington - London
19 June - Cockpit - Leeds
20 June - The End - Newcastle
28 June - Outsider Festival - Rothiemurchus – Cairngorms National Park
24 July - Wickerman Festival - Dundrennan

Are they putting something in the water in Glasgow...? Seriously.

Grab your FREE Homosexuals mp3s.

Clicking on the above link will give you the opportunity to grab SIX totally FREE Homosexuals mp3s ("Fanfare," "Slow Guns," "3AM (Pink Pony)" from the Love Guns? EP, "Pentecost 2016," "Fay Gash," and "In Search of the Perfect Baby" from the upcoming Important if True EP), courtesy of Serious Business.

The Homosexuals played SXSW and then embarked on a follow-up tour that garnered a whole lot of incredible press. Seriously. That's just three links of like, a million. I can't even list it all here. Which is why all the pictures, press, videos, and more have been culled together by Ser Biz for your viewing pleasure over here.

Missed the Homos on tour? If you live in Boston, they'll be playing at the 'Dise on 7th May.

Stuck In My Head : Kevin Devine, "I Could Be With Anyone"

Photo by by Denny Mui. Alas, he's a Mets fan.

I saw Kevin Devine at Pearl Street down in Northampton a little over a year ago. I was there to see Baker, had never even heard of the headliner before, but wound up blown away by Devine's stage presence and heartfelt acoustic songs.

I downloaded the I Could Be With Anyone tour EP several months ago and, as is often the case in my life, only just got around to listening to it the other day. And, yet again, I was blown away by the EP's title track, which is also apparently the lead single off his latest LP, Brother's Blood, due out on the 28th. It's still the same heartfelt Devine crooning heartfelt, maybe heartbreaking truths ("I could be with anyone.../I'm not saying that it's right/But I'm not saying that it's a lie") that ever ring true, but danceable and immediately catchy.

Kevin Devine & the Goddamn Band - "I Could Be With Anyone"

Tour dates in support of Brother's Blood:
24 April - Bowery Ballroom - New York (sold-out) @
29 April - Northstar - Philadelphia, PA +
30 April - Ottobar - Baltimore, MD +
1 May - Alley Katz - Richmond, VA +
2 May - Local 506 - Chapel Hill, NC +
3 May - New Brookland Tavern - West Columbia, SC +
4 May - The Social - Orlando, FL +
5 May - Orpheum - Tampa, FL +#
6 May - City Limits - Delray Beach, FL +#
8 May - Vinyl - Atlanta, GA +#
9 May - Spanish Moon - Baton Rouge, LA +#
10 May - Warehouse Live Studio - Houston, TX +#
12 May - Stubb's Jr. - Austin, TX +#
13 May - The Loft - Dallas, TX +#
15 May - The Phix - Phoenix, AZ +*
16 May- Voodoo Stage @ House of Blues - San Diego, CA +*
17 May - Troubadour - Los Angeles, CA +*
18 May - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA *
20 May - Hawthorne Theater - Portland, OR *
21 May - Chop Suey - Seattle, WA *
23 May - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT *
24 May - Marquis Theatre - Denver, CO *
26 May - Jackpot - Lawrence, KA *
27 May - The Picador - Iowa City, IO *
28 May - Triple Rock Social Club - Minneapolis, MN *
29 May - Schubas - Chicago, IL *
30 May - Mac's Bar - East Lansing, MI *
31 May - Grog Shop - Cleveland, OH *
2 June - Mohawk Place - Buffalo, NY *
3 June - El Mocambo - Toronto, ONT *
4 June - Altar Bar - Pittsburgh, PA *
5 June - Webster Underground - Hartford, CT *
6 June - TT The Bear's - Boston, MA *
7 June - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY *

@ with New Numbers
+ with Miniature Tigers
# with Sarah Jaffe
* with Wild Light
Brian Bonz and the Hot Dongs (also highly recommended) will be opening for the entirety of the tour as well.

I just don't get it. (There, now I said it.)

Oh, Bishop Allen. Why must you make things so complicated?

I came across Bishop Allen back in mid-2007 when a friend told me to "go download every free mp3 on their website." Said friend has impeccable taste in music, so I did as I was told, and the rest is a long, complicated, emotional history of the past two years and the people and places in-between. Chances are if there's a poignant moment in that period, I've commemorated it with a Bishop Allen track. They have become – nay, have always been – a band that makes me cry, as the above friend once noted a few months ago, taking the proverbial words right out of my mouth.

Many complained that their second LP, The Broken String, released in the summer of 2007, was merely a "best of" their EP collection and ergo, nothing new, nothing gained. I disagree; while, on the whole, I prefer the EP versions of their songs to the album versions (something known as Demoitis), each version carries its own particular significance. It's hard to truly forgo one in favour of the other.

Enter anticipation of their third effort, the strangely but perhaps aptly-titled Grr.

I can’t really say anything bad about Grr.

That being said, I can't really say anything spectacular about it, either. An odd sentiment when one considers that it is an album of flawless pop songs.

The problem largely lies in the fact that the Bishop Allen formula has become predictable. The melodies are predictable, the harmonies predictable, the lyrics predictable. What was interesting, quirky or innovative on their freshman and sophomore efforts seems more contrived the third time around.

Not that this is damning at all. Remember, these are flawless songs, after all. Opening track, "Dimmer," is quintessential Bishop Allen, something that could sit comfortably among the tracks from The Broken String. The sparse orchestration of closer "Tiger, Tiger," with the haunting strings and percussion and not much else, ends the record on sobering, more mature note. In-between we’re treated to gems like "Dirt On Your New Shoes," swelling to its lyrical climax fifteen seconds from the end, or the lovely, pleading "Don't Hide Away" and "True or False." When I get past my dislike for the whisper-singing in "South China Moon," I’m greeted with a sweeping refrain and a richly orchestrated bridge.

But, while I like "The Lion & The Teacup," I’m forced to think why I should prefer it over "Like Castanets," "Oklahoma" over "The Chinatown Bus," "Cue The Elephants" over "The Same Fire."

These are perfect, joyous, sing-along friendly pop gems. But it all lacks the same, unpolished, raw feel from Charm School (and earlier punk project, Pissed Officers). It lacks the same emotional punch that made Broken String and the twelve EPs that preceded it so memorable. It's a little too polished, a little too refined and, well. A little too Bishop Allen. (Is it possible to be a little too yourself?) And while I'll take Bishop Allen's brand of predictability over a majority of bands' any day, it truly does equate to "nothing new, nothing gained" this time around.

Bishop Allen - "The Ancient Commonsense of Things" [link]
Bishop Allen - "Dimmer" [link]

Bishop Allen are currently on tour in support of Grr from now through at least May. Tour dates - including 2nd April at Iron Horse, 3rd April at the Middle East down, 4th April at Music Hall of Williamsburg, and 5th April at Bowery Ballroom - are listed on their website, as I'm entirely too lazy to repost them here.

Z Berg of The Like is playing an acoustic show on the 28th.

I was just starting to get really antsy about The Like's next record - where in the world is it already? When lo and behold...

Well hi there! Generally I'm too scared of the interweb to make much an appearance here on myspace, but here I am to say, "While The Like is trying to finish up our record with Mark Ronson, I am in the meantime playing an acoustic show with my friends Mike Runion and Blake Mills (formerly of Simon Dawes) at 'Home' in Silverlake (www.homesilverlake.com) on the 28th of march.
Mickey Madden will be djing, and all in all it will be funnn! Hope to see anybody there!"

love, z

p.s.
I promise we will finish our record!!!

All right, well, that doesn't give me any good news about the record, but at least they're still alive.

New(ish) Single / New(ish) Tour Dates : Franz Ferdinand's record drops 26th January, too.

January is just one big ol' pile of exciting, isn't it? YES IT IS.

I'm a little late on the uptake on this one (sorry), but Franz's third record, Tonight, will be released on the 26th of January in the UK, the 27th in the US. And they've got a whole lot of dates lined up - in Europe and Australia. Grr! Fingers crossed for the summer.

29 Dec 2008- Rhythm & Vines Festival - Gisborne, NZ
30 Dec 2008 - Falls Festival - Marion Bay, AU
31 Dec 2008 - Falls Festival - Lorne, AU
3 Jan 2009 - Southbound Festival - Busselton, AU
5 Jan 2009 - Palace Theatre - Melbourne, AU *
6 Jan 2009 - Enmore Theatre - Sydney, AU *
8 Jan 2009 - Sunset Sounds Festival - Brisbane, AU
14 Jan 2009 - The Picture House - Edinburgh, UK
20 Jan 2009 - Heaven - London, UK ^
28 Jan 2009 - Dolans - Limerick, IR
01 Jan 2009 - Olympia - Dublin, IR
4 Mar 2009 - Barrowlands - Glasgow, UK
6 Mar 2009 - Academy - Manchester, UK
8 Mar 2009 - Academy - Birmingham, UK
9 Mar 2009 - Hammersmith Apollo - London, UK
12 Mar 2009 - AB Club - Brussels, BE
13 Mar 2009 - Paradiso - Amsterdam, NL
14 Mar 2009 - Palladium - Cologne, DE
16 Mar 2009 - Aeronef - Lille, FR
17 Mar 2009 - Olympia - Paris, FR
18 Mar 2009 - Olympia - Paris, FR
20 Mar 2009 - Vega - Copenhagen, DK
21 Mar 2009 - Circus - Stockholm, SE
22 Mar 2009 - Sentrum Scene - Oslo, NO
24 Mar 2009 - Docks - Hamburg, DE
25 Mar 2009 - Columbiahalle - Berlin, DE
26 Mar 2009 - Tonhalle - Munich, DE
28 Mar 2009 - Schiffbauhalle - Zurich, CH
29 Mar 2009 - Estragon - Bologna, IT
30 Mar 2009 - Alcatraz - Milan, IT
1 Apr 2009 - Le Phare - Toulouse, FR
2 Apr 2009 - Pabellón de la Casilla - Bilboa, ES
3 Apr 2009 - Palacio de Deportes - Madrid, ES
4 Apr 2009 - Coliseo Ciudad de Atarfe - Granada, ES
* with the Cribs
^ with Of Montreal

You all already know they've released their second single from Tonight, "Ulysses." Here's them in the studio playing it:



Franz Ferdinand - "Ulysses"

New Release / New Tour Dates / MySpace It : Stuck In The Sound's second record drops 26th January.

Since when are bands making "coming attractions"-style teasers for their new albums...?

TEASER SHOEGAZING KIDS
by DavidFontao

Um, regardless, I am SO EXCITED about Stuck In The Sound's sophomore album, Shoegazing Kids, which drops 26th January, along with a France-wide tour to go with it.

23 Jan 2009 - L’EMB - Sannois
29 Jan 2009 - La Maroquinerie - Paris *
30 Jan 2009 - Le Chabada - Angers
31 Jan 2009 - L’Ephémère - Vannes
6 Feb 2009 - Le Normandy - Saint-Lo
7 Feb 2009 - L’Abordage - Evreux
13 Feb 2009 - Le Grand Mix - Tourcoing
14 Feb 2009 - Le Plan - Ris-orangis ^
20 Feb 2009 - La Lune des pirates - Amiens *
21 Feb 2009 - La Manekine - Pont Sainte Maxence
27 Feb 2009 - le Fuzz’Yon - La roche sur Yon
28 Feb 2009 - Arcade / Tremore - Notre Dame de Gravenchon *
4 Mar 2009 - L’Ubu - Rennes ^
5 Mar 2009 - Barbey - Bordeaux ^
6 Mar 2009 - Victoire 2 + Adam Kesher ^
7 Mar 2009 - Le Phare - Toulouse ^
11 Mar 2009 - La Luciole - Alençon
12 Mar 2009 - L’Olympic - Nantes ^
13 Mar 2009 - Chato’do - Blois ^
14 Mar 2009 - Espace Culturel Leclerc - Niort ^
17 Mar 2009 - Les Grands Marais - Riorges
18 Mar 2009 - La Vapeur - Dijon
19 Mar 2009 - Ninkasi Kao - Lyon ^
20 Mar 2009 - Salle Le Bournot - Aubenas ^
21 Mar 2009 - El Mediator - Perpignan #
26 Mar 2009 - Festival Chorus - Chatenay-malabry
27 Mar 2009 - Les Trinitaires - Metz
28 Mar 2009 - La Cartonnerie - Reims ^
3 Apr 2009 - Cooperative de Mai - Clermont-Ferrand
4 Apr 2009 - Festival Garorock - Marmande
10 Apr 2009 - L’Empreinte - Savigny le temple
11 Apr 2009 - Run Ar Puns - Chateaulin
* with I am un chien
^ with Adam Kesher
# with Music Is Not Fun

Right now, les gars have two new singles, "Shoot Shoot" and "Ouais" ("Yeah," for the uninitiated), up on their 'Space. Oh, they did a teaser for "Ouais," too (yeah, seriously):

Teaser "OUAIS"


Ouaaaaaaaaais.

It's like I'm a sophomore again : OK Go announces March '09 east coast tour.

The Paradise, Boston, 1/06

Indulge my past fangirl sensibilities, please. OK Go has just gone and announced a handful of east coast tour dates for next March, which probably means a (series of) full-fledged tour(s) is also at hand sometime in the near future. And because they've been making a new record, that means they'll be playing new material as well, which is a relief, because their sets started sounding like CDs to me and that's never good.

Dates as follows:

6 March 2009 - Theatre of the Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA
7 March 2009 - Recher Theatre - Towson, MD
8 March 2009 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
10 March 209 - Toad's Place - New Haven, CT
11 March 2009 - Pearl St. (upstairs, I'm assuming) - Northampton, MA
12 March 2009 - Paradise - Boston, MA

But I really just want to squee on about how they're playing Pearl St. again. I'm not at Smith anymore, but hell if I won't be there.

Here's a video of them playing some new stuff:

Festival des Inrocks 2008

So let's talk about this year's Festival des Inrocks and it's pretty amazing line-up and how, if I were living in France and had the money, I'd pretty much be going every night.



The whole shebang (did I really just write that?) started off last night with MGMT, Alela Diane, Fleet Foxes, and She & Him playing L'Olympia in Paris, and continues through the 18th.

A Paris:
13th November - Franz Ferdinand, Get Well Soon, Yo Majesty - La Cigale
14th November - The Ting Tings, Cajun Dance Party, Black Kids, Amazing Baby, GaBLe - La Cigale
15th November - Foals, Friendly Fires, Soko, S. Steve, The Virgins, Wild Beasts - La Cigale
16th November - Hot Chip, Metronomy, Late of the Pier, Kennedy, Cut Copy - La Cigale
17th November - The Kooks, CSS, Mystery Jets, White Lies - Le Zenith

A Lille:
13th November - The Ting Tings, Cajun Dance Party, Black Kids, Soko - Aeronef
14th November - Foals, Friendly Fires, Soko, The Virgins, Wild Beasts - Splendid de Lille

A Nantes:
15th November - The Ting Tings, Cajun Dance Party, Black Kids - Olympic de Nantes
16th November - Foals, Friendly Fires, Soko, The Virgins, Wild Beasts - Olympic de Nantes

A Ramonville:
17th November - The Ting Tings, Cajun Dance Party, Black Kids - Le Bikini
18th November - Foals, Friendly Fires, Soko, The Virgins, Wild Beasts - Le Bikini


Plus some other bands that seem to be on the poster but not listed on any of these dates that I'm seeing.

That's a lot to digest. Point is, there's a shit tonne of bands that I'd love to see (Franz, Mystery Jets, Cut Copy) and would be interested to see (The Ting Tings, Foals, Friendly Fires, The Virgins, CSS, She & Him) and, um. I can't go.

Luckily, les Inrocks and sponsors iDTGV will be posting videos and photos in their Festival blog over here, for those of us unable to swim across to Europe.

If you do happen to be in France, there's some ticket info over here, although a majority, if not all, of the Paris shows are currently complet. That's French for "sold out."


I mean, frankly, whose idea was this whole "Atlantic Ocean" business, anyway...?

The Like head out on tour with Conor Oberst and go nowhere near the east coast.

amazing, right? how long has it been? too fucking long if you ask me. i feel like a whole new person!!! a girl, in a band (that just happens to be really cool in my opinion), playing new songs, packing a suitcase with new stage clothes bought last year in hopes of going on tour, finally going on tour.


so thank you, conor oberst and the mystic valley band, for giving us this opportunity to play our instruments in front of people, wear outfits we would get (and have been) laughed at for wearing out in the real world, and for getting us out of this smog-ridden city for a week or so.


Dates as follows:

16th October - Ogden​ Theat​re - Denve​r,​ CO
17th October - Solar​ Cente​r - Taos,​ NM
18th October - Rialt​o Theat​re - Tucso​n,​ AZ
19th October - SOMA - San Diego​,​ CA
21st October - Music​ Box @ Fonda​ - Los Angel​es,​ CA
22nd October - Music​ Box @ Fonda​ - Los Angel​es,​ CA
23rd October - Fox Theat​re - Visal​ia,​ CA
24th October - The Warfi​eld - San Franc​isco,​ CA

The Like finished recording their follow up to Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking? about a year ago, actually, but no word on when it'll be released. That I've seen, anyway.

Tonight in NYC and Boston, in case you haven't got plans.

Hello, my lovelies in both cities. Bored tonight? Here's what you should check out:



Higgins just dropped their second record, Zs, on Tuesday and they're playing their second of two CD release parties tonight (the first was yesterday at Maxwell's; details for tonight are below. (Ignore the fact that the above poster is actually for a couple of shows they did in August. Sorry.)

Higgins @ SoundFix Records
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
8 pm
w/ Benji Cossa

You can listen to "Write It Down" from Zs over here.


As for you other kids...



There's this Tom Petty tribute show going on at the Middle East up tonight. Nobody's really sure why there's a Tom Petty tribute show going on. I think they all just really like Tom Petty. Anyway, a bunch of really good Boston bands are playing, so you'll probably want to go. Deets are on the poster, except for the fact that the music starts at 9:15.

Um. 'Tis all for now.

New Song / Release : Malibu Stacy, "Ladies Can't Drive" (from Marathon)

Happy Labour Day to all. I'd really love to be vegging out down the shore right now, but seeing as I have to be in the city and professionally dressed for class at 6 pm, that really wasn't an option. Maybe tomorrow, when everybody has gone home.

In other news, here's a new song for you : Malibu Stacy, whom I've mentioned before, are dropping a new record, Marathon, come the 19th. (Um. How is it September already...? WHERE'D MY SUMMER GO??) The lead single, "Ladies Can't Drive," is out now. It's the sort of thing that reminds me of the stuff I was listening to between junior and senior year of high school that makes me want to drive to my (non-existant) boyfriend's house, blasting the music with the windows down. August driving music.

Malibu Stacy - "Ladies Can't Drive"

Here are their upcoming dates, in case you're actually living in Europe :

13 September - Bucolique Ferrières Festival - Ferrières, BE
19 September - Emporium Galorium - Rouen, FR
26 September - Cirque Royal - Brussels, BE
8 October - Arsenal - Namur, BE
13 November - Ferme du Biereau - Louvain-la-Neuve, BE
26 November - Vooruit - Ghent, BE
27 November - Het Depot - Leuven, BE
29 November - Coliseum - Charleroi, BE
5 December - Salle des Fetes de Droixhe - Liège, BE
6 December - Petrol - Antwerp, BE
9 December - Botanique - Brussels, BE
13 December - La Chapelle - Mons, BE

No, seriously, how is it September?

This is tomorrow night.

$10, 21+

This is pretty big. You should go.