Category: Artists (Page 79 of 262)

Pavement expands reunion tour

After opening their 2010 reunion tour with dates in Australian and New Zealand, Pavement will spend a month in the U.K. and Europe. The lucky countries include France Italy, Germany, Czech Repbulic, and Ireland.

Here’s how the tour is shaping up:

Pavement 2010 Tour Dates
03/01 – Auckland, NZ @ Auckland Town Hall
03/04 – Sydney, AU @ Enmore Theatre
03/06 – Victoria, AU @ Golden Plains
03/07 – Adelaide, AU @ Thebarton Theatre
03/08 – Perth, AU @ Metro City
03/10 – Brisbane, AU @ The Tivoli
03/12 – Melbourne, AU @ The Palace
05/04 – Dublin, IE @ Tripod
05/05 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland
05/07 – Paris, FR @ Le Zenith
05/08 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
05/10 – London, UK @ Brixton Academy
05/11 – London, UK @ Brixton Academy
05/12 – London, UK @ Brixton Academy
05/13 – London, UK @ Brixton Academy
05/14 – Minehead, UK @ All Tomorrow’s Parties
05/15 – Minehead, UK @ All Tomorrow’s Parties
05/16 – Minehead, UK @ All Tomorrow’s Parties
05/18 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
05/19 – Berlin, DE @ Astra
05/20 – Prauge, CZ @ Palac Akropolis
05/21 – Vienna, AT @ Arena
05/22 – Munich, DE @ Muffathalle
05/24 – Rome, IT @ Atlantico Live
05/25 – Bologna, IT @ Estragon
05/27 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
05/29-31 – George, WA @ Sasquatch! Music Festival
09/21 – New York, NY @ Central Park SummerStage
09/22 – New York, NY @ Central Park SummerStage
09/23 – New York, NY @ Central Park SummerStage
09/24 – New York, NY @ Central Park SummerStage

As of this point, my concert in New York City on September 24 is the last stop on the tour. I really hope it remains that way.

The coolest thing I’ve seen Ben Gibbard do

I’m a huge fan of Tom Waits, particularly his oft-overlooked debut album, Closing Time. Waits has possibly never been more accessible, as his voice has a more natural quality to it and most of the songs feature a booming chorus. Anyway, I specifically remember trying to learn the album’s fourth track, “Old Shoes (& Picture Postcards),” on guitar, spending hours with the song instead of focusing on homework. It’s a country-flavored number with a sweet message, perfect for jamming with friends while having a drink or two.

Last week, Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar covered the song live. The pair are currently on a brief tour in support of One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur, their soundtrack to the film of the same name.

Per TwentFourBit:

The pair enlisted Nick Harmer, Mark Spencer, and Jon Wurster for a 6-night jaunt through a few major U.S. cities and they even branched out a bit from their album One Fast Move or I’m Gone. ”

The banjo and steel guitar make it work.

Strokes returning to the stage after lengthy hiatus

Strokes

The Strokes haven’t played a live gig since 2006. That’s strange to think about considering how instantly popular they became after the release of their debut album, Is This It. Frontman Julian Casablancas has recently released a solo album, Phrazes for the Young, and kicked off a tour of America, Canada, Europe, and the UK. Most had considered The Strokes permanently defunct, but it should please their countless fans that the band is playing the Isle of Wight Festival next year. Jay-Z and Pink will also perform.

The three day festival, held at Seaclose Park, Newport, takes place 11-13 June 2010 and will also see performances from Pink, Orbital and Blondie.

Last year’s event was headlined by The Prodigy, Stereophonics and Neil Young.

Tickets for the festival go on sale on 4 December.

Maybe the band will play Coachella as well.

Robbie Williams: Reality Killed the Video Star


RIYL: Seal, Pet Shop Boys, the phrase ‘Produced by Trevor Horn’

How did it take this long for Robbie Williams, one of the UK’s biggest pop stars, and Trevor Horn, one of the UK’s most successful producers, to make an album together? Perhaps Horn wasn’t interested while Williams was still getting his freak on – “Rudebox” may be a stone cold jam, but it’s not exactly in Horn’s wheelhouse – and Williams is just now ready to make a grown-up pop record. Whatever the reason, Reality Killed the Video Star, the first Williams album to see a Stateside CD release since 2002’s Escapology (2005’s Intensive Care and 2006’s Rudebox are download-only), is everything you’d expect from a Robbie/Trevor joint venture. It’s flush with perky, if mannered, electronic beats, and Williams is still extremely candid in his lyrics (“All we ever wanted was to look good naked,” he observes in the UK #2 smash “Bodies”). Reality isn’t teeming with potential singles the way, say, Sing When You’re Winning was, but there’s not a duff track in the bunch. Well, there is one duff track: “Blasphemy,” his reunion with longtime collaborator Guy Chambers, which yields a lyric that would make Paul Stanley blush. (“Was it a blast for you? / ‘Cause it’s blasphemy.” Wow.)

Robbie_Williams_03

While it’s nice to see Robbie get scrubbed down and dolled up, one gets the sense listening to Reality that this whole grown-up thing is just a phase. As phases go, it’s an extremely pleasant one, but it would not be at all surprising to see Williams go full Lady GaGa with his next one. (Virgin 2009)

Robbie Williams MySpace page
Click to buy Reality Killed the Video Star from Amazon

Book Review: The Light in Darkness by Lawrence Kirsch

bruce and band

For many die-hard Bruce Springsteen fans, the 1978 tour ranks as his best. It was Springsteen at the height of his powers, when his live shows truly became the stuff of legend. The tour lasted only seven months, and he wasn’t playing arenas yet so he wasn’t yet drawing the huge crowds that would see him in the 1980’s, but the tour lived on in the numerous bootlegs created during these incredible shows.

So, when I heard of a new book about the tour, I had to check it out. The Light in Darkness by Lawrence Kirsch is an excellent tribute to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and the memorable tour from 1978. Bruce would release Darkness on the Edge of Town during the tour, which broke a three-year drought caused by Springsteen’s legal battles with his previous manager following the success of Born to Run.

The first thing you notice is the photography. Kirsch compiled an impressive collection of photos from that time period, many of which came from fans and had never been previously published. But the stories are equally rich, as writers, fans, DJs and others who saw the tour or participated in various ways share their experiences.

Bruce piano

Growing up in Cleveland, I was introduced to Springsteen through WMMS, the legendary AOR station that featured Kid Leo as the afternoon drive DJ. Kid Leo became Springsteen’s most enthusiastic supporter outside of Springsteen Jersey/Philly base. I didn’t get to see my first Springsteen show until 1980, but I was introduced to the 1978 tour when WMMS would replay the incredible free concert Bruce gave at the Agora in Cleveland that was broadcast on WMMS. Like everyone else I taped it and memorized the entire show. Kid Leo game the memorable introduction to Bruce and the band that everyone can hear on the recording: “I have the duty and the pleasure of welcoming, ladies and gentlemen, the main event. Round for round, pound for pound, there ain’t no finer band around – Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band!” Bruce then tore into Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues” and then “Badlands” to kick off the epic performance. Through the years you hear the evolution of Springsteen’s live versions of his signature songs, but the raw intensity he displayed on this tour has always stuck with me as Bruce at his very best.

In The Light in Darkness, Kirsch includes four stories about this memorable performance, two from die-hard fans, one from John Gorman who helped produce the show’s broadcast and one from WMMS DJ Denny Sanders. I learned that Bob Segar was quoted as saying “This was the greatest rock and roll show I ever heard,” and that Max Weinberg called it “The best show the E Street Band ever did.”

The book is a celebration of rock history. If you’re a Springsteen fan, it’s something you’ll have to add to your collection. You’ll want to break out the old bootlegs and rock out to the Boss all over again. If you’re a rock and roll junkie who’s never been a big Springsteen fan, this book might be the introduction you need to one of the best live artists in rock history.

inside front cover

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