Jonsi at Terminal 5 (May 8-9, 2010)

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When we left Sigur Ros’ front-man Jón Þór Birgisson (aka Jonsi) back in December, he was working hard on his new solo record with producer Peter Katis. Well, now that new album has a title, Go, a release date, April 6, and a bunch of North American tour dates to go along with it. Jonsi will be bringing his impressive sounding show to the big room at Terminal 5 on May 8 and 9, 2010. Tickets go on fan club presale starting tomorrow at 10AM EST, the password is GO. Amex presale starts on Wed, Feb 10 at 11AM EST and regular on sale begins on Fri, Feb 12 at noon EST.

The tour will feature a brand new band and a stage set designed by 59 Productions, bringing together the worlds of theatre and music in a new and hopefully unique way. We are really excited about this project so we’ll be giving you glimpses on jonsi.com in the coming weeks as it progesses.

More Jonsi tour dates, album art and a video for “Go Do” after the jump.

“Jonsi, New Record, Tour Dates (T5), Presale Starts Today” continued after the jump

So I haven’t actually heard this record yet, but I did notice it around the cash register the other day and was quite intrigued. Check out the list of performers below, it’s pretty indie-tastic!

Sweetheart by Starbucks Entertainment
Great performers cozy up with the songs that make them gush on our exclusive annual collection of love songs.

Track List:
1. “Hand on Your Heart” – José González
Originally recorded by Kylie Minogue

2. “Cupid” – Grand Archives
Originally recorded by Sam Cooke

3. “Spanish Harlem Incident” – James Mercer & Robert Mercer
Originally recorded by Bob Dylan

4. “Love Song” – Spoon
Originally recorded by Damned

5. “Teneme en Tu Corazon (Keep Me in Your Heart)” – Elvis Perkins
Originallly recorded by Violeta Parra

6. “Give Me All Your Lovin’” – The Long Winters
Originally recorded by ZZ Top

7. “You Make Me Feel Good” – Yo La Tengo
Originally recorded by the Zombies

8. “Amo Você (I Love You)” – CéU Eu
Originally recorded by Tim Maia

9. “I Go Crazy” – Diane Birch
Originally recorded by Paul Davis

10. “Every Night” – Jason Collett and Zeus
Originally recorded by Paul McCartney

11. “I Love” – The Avett Brothers
Originally recorded by Tom T. Hall

12. Long Way Home – Mates of State
Originally recorded by Tom Waits

13. “Ne Me Quitte Pas (If You Go Away)” – Angelique Kidjo
Inspired by the Nina Simone recording

14. “True Love Will Find You in the End” – Hey Marseilles
Originally recorded by Daniel Johnston

Bell Biv Devoe at B.B. King’s (03/21/10 )

Drake inadvertently disses 2010 Grammy winners Phoenix in this post-awards show smackdown edition of “The Take”.

Drake’s Take: New Releases 02.02.10

New release post-Grammys week is always a crapshoot. Most labels avoid it like the plague, as it’s the week award winners see sales bumps, but there are enough music fans out there (namely, me) who don’t give a rat’s ass about who won a Grammy. For those of us, there are some scraps like the new release from (the band formerly known as The Muslims) The Soft Pack and the latest from Dead Moon offshoot Pierced Arrows. This week also sees new releases from The Album Leaf, Midlake, We Are Wolves, The Brunettes and the soundtrack to Shutter Island.

Playlist: New Releases 02.02.10

The name ‘The Muslims’ was never really going to work for this San Diego surf-punk outfit, especially with this album they’ve released under their new name, The Soft Pack. Songs like “C’Mon,” “Answer to Yourself,” “Pull Out” and “Parasites” seem targeted for a larger audience than the grimier tracks they released under their former, less marketable name. Singer Mark Lamkin, who at times sounds an awful like Sam Roberts, delivers his lines as straight-forward as the reverb-soaked guitars, and if it’s welcoming that they sound a little like the Strokes at times, it’s because it’s been awhile since there was some straight ahead indie rock to root for.

Saw them open for Phoenix recently and dug their set, even if your ears had to squint to hear it through the nightmare acoustics of the Showbox SODO location. Look forward to them headlining on their own next time they come through.

Free AOL album stream
Download: “Answer to Yourself” [mp3]

Pierced Arrows – Descending Shadows
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

When frontman Fred Cole broke-up Dead Moon after nearly 20 years together, most knew it wouldn’t be too long before he, and wife Toody, were back on the horse. Pierced Arrows was formed shortly after, and this, their sophomore release has moments that rank with the best that Cole has recorded in his 46 years performing. Cole is 61-years old now, though, and his voice sometimes sounds like a fragment of what it was. Between that and the often sloppy execution, it can feel too amateurish at times (even for Dead Moon), but highlights like “Buried Alive” and Tonight’s the Night ferocity of “Let it Rain” more than make up for it.

Album Streaming at Vice Records
Download: “Let It Rain” [mp3] / “Paranoia” [mp3]

REISSUES
The Units – History of the Units: The Early Years 1977-1983
Attitude Adjustment – The Collection

The Black Keys at All Points West (08/02/09)

Photo: D. Caplan

A couple of things have trickled in about this year’s Summerstage lineup, and while I really don’t know much more than the next guy, here’s what I’ve been able to dig up so far.

2010 Summerstage/Rumsey Playfield Shows
06/23/10 Stanley Clarke & Hiromi, McCoy Tyner
06/26/10 Tinariwen
06/30/10 Def Poetry Jam ft. Carlos Andres Gomez and others
07/27/10 The Black Keys (Buy Tickets)
09/21/10 Pavement SOLD OUT
09/22/10 Pavement SOLD OUT
09/23/10 Pavement SOLD OUT
09/24/10 Pavement SOLD OUT

Aside from the Pavement and The Black Keys shows, everything else is unofficial as far as I know. If this year is like year’s past, you can expect around 32 official “Summerstage” shows, plus rentals (like Paul Van Dyk), the GMA Summer Concert Series, and possibly Oprah again.

Ben Folds just announced a new Spring tour (with no new record to support) which will bring him to the Town Hall for two nights on April 12 & 13 and the venerable Wellmont Theatre on April 9. Tickets for the Town Hall shows go on Amex presale starting on Feb 12 at 10AM EST, regular on sale will commence on Feb 19 at 10AM EST.

Folds continues to support his third solo album, “Way to Normal,” which surfaced in 2008 and landed at No. 11 on The Billboard 200. The lead track, “You Don’t Know Me” featuring Regina Spektor, made it into the Top 30 at Triple A radio. That song and a couple others from the album are streaming at Folds’ MySpace page.
…
Last spring, Folds released “Ben Folds Presents University A Cappella,” a compilation of his songs performed by leading college vocal troupes from around the US. In December, Folds appeared as a judge (alongside Nicole Scherzinger and Shawn Stockman) on NBC’s a capella competition show, “The Sing Off.” The four-part series featured eight a capella groups performing popular tunes and attempting to win a grand prize of $100,000. [LiveDaily.com]

More Ben Folds tour dates after the jump.

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In case you missed it (and if you’re like me, you probably did), Jon Stewart squared off against Papa Bear on the O’Reilly Factor last week (Feb 3-4). Check out the full unedited interview below:

Peter Gabriel at Radio City Music Hall (May 2-3, 2010)

Buy Peter Gabriel Tickets

Peter Gabriel
Radio City Music Hall
May 2-3, 2010
Password: SCRATCH
Buy Tickets

More Peter Gabriel tour dates and album info over here.

Broken Social Scene at Siren Festival (07/19/08)

Photo: Jon Klemm

Pitchfork Music Festival | Jul 16-18, 2010 at Union Park in Chicago, IL

Hey, so I know you read about this everywhere else today already, but as a general rule, I like to be complete in my incompleteness. So here, for the first time on this blog, is the info on this year’s Pitchfork Festival which will run from July 16-18, 2010 at Union Park in Chicago. As many have predicted, Pavement is headlining one night, the rest of the announced lineup is below.

Friday, July 16:
– Modest Mouse

Saturday, July 17:
– LCD Soundsystem
– Raekwon

Sunday, July 18:
– Pavement
– St. Vincent
– Lightning Bolt
– Cass McCombs
– Sleigh Bells
– Here We Go Magic [Pitchfork.com]

Tickets are on sale now at pitchforkmusicfestival.com and at Ticketweb— single-day tickets can be purchased for $40 and three-day passes for $90 (Buy Tickets).

Monotonix at 2009 Siren Festival (more)

Photo: Jon Klemm (Buy Monotonix Tickets)

42 events in NYC go on sale today folks!

DOWNLOAD: The Soft Pack – “Answer To Yourself”

The Soft Pack’s (nee The Muslims) new self titled record came out Tuesday on Kemado Records and they’re playing a free record release show tonight (Feb 5) at The Cake Shop. Tonight’s show is (more or less) the kick off of an ambitious tour which will take them over to Europe, then back to the US just in time for SXSW (they’ve been confirmed, chances are they will be playing a lot of shows). If you can’t make tonight’s show you can also catch them at Maxwell’s on March 31 or at the Mercury Lounge on April 1 or at MHOW on April 3 (Buy Tickets).

More Soft Pack tour dates and album art after the jump.

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Hot Chip w/ Free Energy at Highline Ballroom (02/05/10)

That’s tomorrow night (Feb 5) folks!

MySpace Secret Shows is proud to present…

HOT CHIP
With Special Guests
FREE ENERGY

* * *

FRIDAY
February 5, 2010

FREE! ALL AGES
Doors @ 7:00 PM

DETAILS BELOW
@ Highline Ballroom
431 W. 16th St., New York, NY 10011

PLEASE NOTE:
This show is first come, first served.
So get there early and stay in line.

For all you non New Yorkers out there, this show will also stream live at Myspace Music starting at 8 PM EST, Friday Feb. 5! Principal

This one might have flown under some people’s radars; previews start tonight for the NYU Tisch Drama production of The Who’s Tommy at the Abrons Arts Center (Buy Tickets).

NYU TISCH DRAMA STAGE WORKS: THE WHO’S TOMMY
Previews February 4 & 5
February 6-13

The Who’s Tommy is Peter Townshend’s tale of a young boy’s journey from pain to triumph. First produced on Broadway in 1993, its thrilling score and MTV-style storytelling is viewed by many as the seminal musical that brought Broadway into the rock era. Directed by Kent Gash. Presented by New York University’s Tisch Drama Stage Works through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

Previews: $15, $5 students and seniors
General Admission: $20, $10 students and seniors

On the other hand, I’m sure most of you probably know that The Who are the featured entertainers at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. In a recent interview with Billboard, Pete Townshend “leaked” the band’s set list for the big game, here’s what he said:

“We’re kinda doing a mashup of stuff,” the guitarist tells Billboard. “A bit of ‘Baba O’Riley,’ a bit of ‘Pinball Wizard,’ a bit of the close of ‘Tommy,’ a bit of ‘Who Are You,’ and a bit of ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again.’ It works — it’s quite a saga. A lot of the stuff that we do has that kind of celebratory vibe about it — we’ve always tried to make music that allows the audience to go a bit wild if they want to. Hopefully it will hit the spot.” [Billboard.com]

Super Bowl XLIV will air on Sunday, February 7 on CBS.