When/how did Band Of Horses become so damned popular? That’s not a complaint, they’re a fine band and deserve success, but I thought when they originally booked into Lee’s Palace for Tuesday night that they were perhaps overestimating their draw – usually a new band (excepting Carissa’s Weird) coming through town for the first time will do so at the cozier confines of the Horseshoe, but Band Of Horses not only got put in the much larger Lee’s, but sold the damn thing out. And I don’t think these were OC-ADD converts who wanted to hear the hit single and leave, but the whole crowd seemed to be genuine fans and excited for the show.

Contrary to local listings (but consistent with the touring bill) there were two openers along for the ride, The Can’t See and Mt Egypt. The former were a three-piece from Seattle with some nice guitar/keyboard interplay but otherwise kind of generic indie-rock and the singer really couldn’t, well, sing very well. Mt Egypt were more interesting, with a lightly indiosyncratic electri-folk sound reminiscent of Destroyer though less out-there and maybe with a little more cannibas in the diet than bourbon. Each opener had a somewhat truncated set since they had to shoehorn two bands into the time initially allotted for just one, but Band Of Horses got on stage just 15 minutes later than scheduled so all was good.

Band Of Horses took the stage looking quite energized by the audience and seemed genuinely delighted by the enthusiastic response they got before and after every song. Touring as a four-piece (there were five Horses in Austin in March), singer/guitarist Ben Bridwell was unequivocally the centre of attention and not just because his cohorts hid in the shadows for the whole show. His voice soars yet somehow stays rooted firmly on the earth, fingers outstretched to the sky and bolstered by the pedal steel, chiming guitars and gentle keyboards. The set consisted mainly of Everything All The Time, naturally, with a couple of new songs and a Hall & Oates cover thrown in for good measure. The live renditions of the Everything material came off much more dynamically than the recorded versions, which I think are a touch restrained and even samey-sounding across the length of the album – especially now that I’ve heard them performed. But by the same token, having experienced the songs live, I now appreciate the album even more. Yeah, I saw them at SxSW but they sounded much more effective in a packed, sweaty club (and was it ever sweaty) than at a lazy afternoon outdoor BBQ. A superb debut performance and deserving of every person in attendance.

You may ask why all the photos are of Ben. Well a) he’s the cutest and b) he’s the only one who got any light on him at all. What can you do. The Cleveland Free Times discusses the origins of Band Of Horses with Ben Bridwell, New York Press talks about his tattoos and this Monday at 9PM, 94.9 The Rock will have an interview with Ben recorded backstage at Lee’s on Tuesday night. And Even though the media page on their website claims these are tracks from Everything All The Time, they’re actually demo versions that are quite different from the final album versions and are definitely worth having/hearing. SubPop courteously provides downloads of the final verions.

MP3: Band Of Horses – “The Funeral”
MP3: Band Of Horses – “The Great Salt Lake”
MP3: Band Of Horses – “Funeral” (demo)
MP3: Band Of Horses – “Our Swords” (demo)
MP3: Band Of Horses – “I Lost My Dingle On The Red Line” (demo)
MP3: Band Of Horses – “For Wicked Gil” (demo)
MP3: My Egypt – “Battening Down The Hatches”
MP3: My Egypt – “NYC”
MP3: The Can’t See – “Bar Fight”
MP3: The Can’t See – “Suffer And Die”
Video: Band Of Horses – “The Funeral” (MOV)
MySpace: Band Of Horses
MySpace: My Egypt
MySpace: The Can’t See

NOW and The Toronto Star talk to tween sister act Smoosh while The Boston Globe warns against dismissing them as a novelty act. Decide for yourself when they open up for Eels at the Mod Club on Saturday night. Note – it’s an early show with Smoosh taking the stage at 7PM. Early bedtimes, dontchaknow.

Tiny Mix Tapes reports that Magnolia Electric Co mainman Jason Molina has three albums worth of material almost complete and will be looking to release them under his own name ASAP. The first of these, Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go, will be out August 22. But wait – Songsohia.com also reports that a new Magnolia Electric Co record of old sessions and whatnot, Fading Trails, will also be coming out on September 12, coincidentally the same day that he is scheduled to be at Lee’s Palace with (hopefully) Shearwater – still looking for official confirmation of this bill. Tickets for the show are $13.50 and went on sale today.

Pitchfork says that Wilco fans who were disappointed their DVD collections didn’t get grow with the shelved Kicking Television live document can look forward to a live DVD of a Jeff Tweedy solo show later this year. And speaking of Jeff solo acoustic, RBally has been posting one of Jeff’s charity living room shows this past week and encourages you to donate to charity if you enjoy listening to the show. And if you don’t enjoy it, well, I guess you’re off the hook. Wilco are at Massey Hall on July 7.

Shows – Sound Team and Cold War Kids are at the Horseshoe July 31, ticket $10. Sound Team intrigues me but that’s the same night at The Hold Steady. What to do, what to do. Elsewhere/when, The Human Television are at Sneaky Dee’s July 24 (have you heard them? I like), Deadboy & The Elephantmen are at the ‘Shoe July 19, Hard-Fi at the Opera House August 8 and Xiu Xiu are at the El Mocambo October 20. Full tour dates at the ‘Fork.

Everyone should read Mocking Music’s writeup about the ongoing battle over Net Neutrality and those of you who have Congressmen or Senators or whatever should do something about it.

np – Camera Obscura / Let’s Get Out Of The Country

Sunday night, my fourth show in four nights. Surely something low-key and relaxing to wind out the weekend? Not so much. No, instead it was Tilly & The Wall and a Mod Club full of hepped-up under-agers. Woot!

Opener and fellow Team Love-r David Dondero’s country-folk sounds midwestern to a fault, which is strange since he actually hails from San Francisco via Austin. He also sounds like what I suspect is an ever-growing generation of songwriters who really do hold Conor Oberst in higher regard than, oh, anyone, often apeing his pinched, emo-wounded vocal delivery and verbose lyrical style. I arrived a little late so I didn’t see the full set, but I saw enough to figure what he was about and wasn’t especially impressed or offended.

I’d said before that I feared what a full Tilly set would do to my blood sugar levels, but to my pleasant surprise I lasted the whole hour and change without slipping into a diabetic coma. While the slower numbers didn’t necesarily play to the band’s strengths (all comments about David Dondero’s voice apply triply to Derek Pressnall), they did offer a much-needed dynamic shift in the set and more importantly, gave Jamie Williams a chance to rest up between tap dances. She must surely be the fittest person in indie rock and comes off tour in better shape than when she starts. Kianna Alarid and Neely Jenkins have also got strong and distinctive voices that sound great either in harmonies or solo. They’re like a PG-13 Disney afterschool special (they cuss!) but there’s no denying their ability to write hooky pop songs and put on a fun show. It’s easy to write them off as a novelty/gimmick band but that’s lazy and inaccurate. They’re actually very good at what they do and are incredibly, overwhelmingly and frighteningly happy and positive.

As I mentioned, I arrived a little late so I must have missed when they handed out the Kool-Aid to the kids (all-ages, remember) but whatever they put in it, it worked as the audience was enthralled and screamed like they were seeing the Beatles at Shea. I’d wondered before why they had been booked into the large-ish Mod Club when I knew their audience wasn’t large enough to fill it, but Mod is one of the few all-ages venues in the city and without the kids, I wager it would have been a much smaller and quieter show. But as it was, the chemistry between the band and audience was perfect and the band definitely saw and appreciated the love. Of course, it also seemed like their fans would have gone out and killed if Tilly had commanded it. Our nation’s youth, in the thrall of sunshiney tap-dancing cultists. They may well be the most subversive band in America. Think about it.

And apparently Natalie Portman was in attendance. For reals.

Photos are here. Daytrotter has a profile of Tilly and co and Dose talks to Kianna while Pitchfork gives Bottom Of Barrels a rather positive review. Tilly has a MySpace and so does Dondero. You can listen to the whole of Bottom Of Barrels here or just grab an MP3.

MP3: Tilly & The Wall – “Bad Education”
MP3: Tilly & The Wall – “Lost Girls”
MP3: David Dondero – “South Of The South”

M Ward will be at the Mod Club on September 11 to promote his new album Post-War, which is out August 22. You can hear the first track from the record – a Daniel Johnston cover with Neko Case on backing vox – courtesy of Tripwire, who also have the other tour dates. I don’t know if this is a solo tour or full band, but having caught him as the former last February, I will attest that he’s as arresting a solo performer as I’ve ever seen. NPR also has a new track to preview.

MP3: M Ward – “To Go Home”

A couple more shows – Cracker are at the Mod Club July 20 and Muse is at the Docks on July 30.

Some great stuff from La Blogotheque who have an ongoing series called Concert A Emporter where videographer Vincent Moon records artists performing songs in the streets, in the woods, wherever. A couple of recent ones include Neil Halstead of Mojave 3 in an apartment complex (link) and Will Sheff of Okkervil River in the woods (link). Great stuff.

Pitchfork interviews Dan Bejar of Destroyer.

Glide has some more info on Bob Dylan’s Modern Times, out August 29.

np – Dirty On Purpose / Hallelujah Sirens

My final NxNE intake for the past weekend was Winnipeg’s Paper Moon who kicked things off at Healey’s on Saturday night. I caught them at CMW three years ago and recall enjoying their sugary pop goodness then but after hearing their more recent stuff on their MySpace, I was struck by how much more songcraft had grown in the interim and made a note to definitely check them out.

There’s a lot to like about Paper Moon – cherubic singer/guitarist Allison Shevernoha leads sublime three-part girl harmonies and dueling keyboards while the boys sit back and hold down the rhythm, all the while cranking out glorious pop gems. They remind a bit of early Ivy or Cardigans – fun, melodically ruch and decidedly sophisticated pop with a lightly jazzy touch, though with a denser, meatier sound and lyricism and without the Euro angle.

And their live show is also a good ball of fun. Shevernoha is an effervescent frontwoman with an infectious energy – the band was also happy to be playing to a crowd of some (any) size having paid their dues with a two-week tour through some of Ontario’s, er, smaller markets in leading up to their showcase gig. Their set was nice and compact and a good way to start off the last night of NxNE (and in my case, end it) and I’m thinking I should really try to catch them sometime when they’re NOT in town for a festival and can play a full set sometime.

The obligatory A/V portion of the post – the first song is from their new album Broken Hearts Break Faster Every Day, the second from their debut One-Thousand Reasons To Stay… One Reason To Leave and be sure to check out the radio player on their website which streams more audio from the new record. The Ottawa XPress recently ran a profile on the band and here’s some photos.

MP3: Paper Moon – “String Of Blinking Lights”
MP3: Paper Moon – “Mercury Is Clearly Opposing Neptune”

Torr has an interview with Neil Halstead of Mojave 3. Like my MP3 of the week this week? Of course you do.

Billboard has details of Blowoff, Bob Mould’s new collaborative project with Richard Morel, named for his monthly DJ night in DC. It sounds to be another marriage of Mould’s rock and electronic worlds which means that fans will surely find as much to love as loathe, depending on which side of the fence they’re on. There’s a MySpace set up and an MP3 available to sample:

MP3: Blowoff – “Hormone Love”

Sonic Youth’s Rather Ripped comes out today. AOL is streaming the whole thing. I think it’s good. Others do too. Some hate it. Popmatters talks to Kim Gordon. So does MP3.com. Sonic Youth are at the Kool Haus on August 8.

Aversion Q&A’s Mission Of Burma.

Bradley’s Almanac has a complete Cat Power show from last week in Boston available for download. Brad is your friend.

If you hadn’t noticed over on the right there (what? you don’t look at my ads?), Project DU is running a pretty cool contest wherein you could go to the Austin City Limits festival in, well, Austin this September as their official blogger. The grand prize gets a press pass and a 3-day pass for a friend plus you’ll get airfare, lodging, etc etc. There are also more 3-day passes to be won. Click the link above for full details and rules – sorry, only Americans are eligible. Hey, don’t blame me – I’m a judge in this thing and even I don’t get to go. All I get to do is laugh at your entries. I mean, marvel at their wittiness. Yes.

Stylus has posted a follow-up to their “Perfect Sound Forever” article from last month that railed against the sonic quality of modern music. It’s funny, because when I first put my copy of At War With The Mystics in my CD player last week it nearly knocked me over with loud, I was all “oh my god, Stylus was right. It’s the apocalypse!”. But it turns out I just had the volume up higher than normal. That said, it’s still a hellaciously compressed and loud record that I do find rather fatiguing to listen to. Hear that, Wayne Coyne? You’re fatiguing.

Torontoist interviews Scott Pilgrim scribe Bryan Lee-O’Malley.

np – Chad Van Gaalen / Infiniheart

“Guitars!”

That’s how the liner notes for Television’s classic live album The Blow-Up open, and it’s as good an intro as anything. Because Television is about guitars – Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd wielding Fenders alternately like bludgeons or razors, lethal either way. Even if I saw nothing else this past weekend at NxNE than Television at the Phoenix, I would have to declare the fest a transcendental success – they were that good. I’ve seen a number of performers over the year that could be called legendary – Mission Of Burma, Pixies, Elvis Costello, Neil Young – but in terms of both show intimacy and personal meaningfulness – I LOVE Television – this show probably topped them all.

Since it had been emphasized that this show would start absolutely at 7PM and there was no opener, the Phoenix was pretty damn packed mighty early. Of course, the band was late and didn’t take the stage until 7:15, but considering it had been 14 years since their last Toronto appearance, no one was going to get huffy over 15 extra minutes. And to reward the Hogtown faithful for their patience, the band kicked off immediately into… a new song. Though unfamiliar, the guitar stylings of Verlaine and Lloyd were unmistakable and the crowd went nuts anyways. And then they went nuts even more when they kicked into the opening riff of “Prove It”.

And this would be the recurring theme of the evening – for a band that hasn’t released anything in almost a decade and a half, there was a very surprising number of new songs in the set – five of 13. There have been rumblings of a new studio album for some time now, and it seems they’ve got the material – what’s the hold up? While the new stuff wasn’t as fiery as the Marquee Moon material, it still sounded great and deserves to be committed to tape. I was a little surprised that not only did two songs from Television make it into the set, but that they featured Richard Lloyd’s fiercest playing on the night. The album versions were a little stiff but live, they were sheer six-string destruction. The remainder of the set was from Marquee Moon with just a single nod to Adventure (“Days”).

And those are the facts and figures from the night – let’s talk abstract. While the band doesn’t play live much, only periodic festivals or one-offs, the musical chemistry between Verlaine, Lloyd and the rhythm section of Fred Smith and Billy Ficca was as powerful as ever, The musical interplay and instincts on display simply amazing to see. Though compared to the Mapplethorpe photo that graces their debut album cover, they’ve all gotten distinctly middle-aged (though Verlaine still looks eeriely timeless), they haven’t lost a bit of fire. Verlaine is still the more cerebral player, contemplating and experimenting with his instrument as he plays (and sometimes incorporating tuning the guitar into a solo) while Lloyd is all instinct and passion. Perfectly contrasted and complimentary. At a few points in the show, I just broke out into a stupid grin because I couldn’t believe I was watching Television play – and play amazingly. I admit there was a part of me that was expecting to be disappointed by my own lofty expectations but instead, they were exceeded. There’s a reason there are so few solos in either punk or indie rock. Not because it’s self-indulgent or uncool, but because these two guys got there first and did it better than anyone. Amazing show, easily at or near the top for the year – and I’ve seen a LOT.

Footnote: Tom, Strats only? The Jazzmaster militia weep. And watching that guy who was hassling Lloyd for a pick get tackled off the stage by security was awesome.

Check out my photos here, and while it’s certainly not an official site, the MySpace dedicated to the band has some classic tracks streaming. For my part, I will bust out something from my own archives – there haven’t been a lot of Television covers over the years, mostly because any guitar-based band would be foolish to try and top the originals – but what about NON-guitar bands?

MP3: Kronos Quartet – “Marquee Moon”

Segue 1: Head Full Of Wishes has more compilation info on spiritual descendents of Television who could solo (almost) as well Luna, including the tracklist for the download-only Lunafied covers record – I think I have maybe half of these so I guess I’ll be downloading away on the 20th – and news that Beggars, Luna’s European label for much of their career, will release their own best-of sometime around September. I’m curious if this will encompass the whole of Luna’s catalog like Rhino’s The Best Of Luna will, since to my knowledge Beggars didn’t handle Lunapark, Bewitched or Rendezvous.

Segue 2: Old guy who still remains vital and relevant Bob Dylan will release his new studio record Modern Times on August 29. While for a lesser artist the title might be a little scary, implying a usually dreadful “hey I’m going to ham-fistedly comment on current events… IN SONG” approach, this is Bob – social commentary is (was) what he was best at back in the day and he is still on a winning streak with his last few albums. If anyone gets the benefit of the doubt, it is he.

Tired of the same old band promo photos showing up everywhere? Sub-Inev was, so he started drawing his own. They’re great, check out the thumbnails under “band profiles”. I particularly like this one for Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s. Speaking of whom, Playback StL has a diary from the band during their March/April tour, which includes the $4000 transmission repair on their van which forced them to cancel their Toronto show. And Chart talks to Margot tourmates Film School about pigeonholes, labels and marketing.

Last week I was given the opportunity, along with a number of other local blog-folk, to take a preview tour of the new Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, aka the new opera house at the corner of Queen and University. I’m not on record as an opera buff but I do love good architecture and the Four Seasons is a fine new building indeed – the performance hall is stunning and though I didn’t hear it in action, I’m sure the acoustics are marvelous. The official opening was yesterday and my photos had to stay under wraps until then, but here they are now at la Flickr. Locals know that this facility has been a long, long time in coming and anything that culturally enriches the city is a big plus in my book. The Globe & Mail talks about the Four Seasons (what will this place end up being commonly called? We already have an Opera House, even though it doesn’t host opera) and it’s impact on the city, The Toronto Star welcomes the facility to the city and recounts the long and winding road to the facility’s grand opening. And The Toronto Sun has photos of women in swimwear. God bless the local media.

Livejournal’s 50 greatest Marvel characters of all time is a great list. Why is it great? Just read the Fin Fang Foom entry:

Here’s what you do need to know about Fin Fang Foom; he’s a giant lizard in purple pants. If you don’t understand what makes this great, you probably shouldn’t have any contact with superhero comics.

And speaking of Fin Fang Foom, read Warren Ellis’ Nextwave. Also super-great, and hell – they have a theme song. The first trade paperback, Nextwave, Agents Of H.A.T.E.: This Is What They Want, is out August 30. Via Largehearted Boy.

MP3: Thunder Thighs – “NextWave”

np – Archers Of Loaf / All The Nations Airports

Levy / Rotten Love (One Little Indian) Gothamites Levy crafts the soundtrack of beautifully coiffed people breaking each other’s hearts in the dim lights of the after-hours club. With the shimmering guitar work and lightly arch vocals, they owe more than a debt to the romanticism of classic British music, but there’s a certain laissez-faire, hipster cool quality to it all that’s intrinsically New York. At 10 songs and under half an hour in length, it’s just the right length to dry your eyes, down a cocktail and get back on the dance floor. Levy play the Drake Underground this Saturday night with The Two Koreas and killthelights. MP3: Levy – “Rotten Love” MP3: Levy – “In The Woods” Video: Levy – “Rotten Love” (MOV) Video: Levy – “Wednesday” (MOV) Video: Levy – “On The Dance Floor” (MOV) Levy @ MySpace Levy @ Blogger

Portastatic / Who Loves The Sun (Merge) Having successfully turned Portastatic into the new Superchunk with a two solid albums of full-on guitar rock, Mac McCaughan once again turns expectations on their head by making the project’s newest offering another film score for director Matt Bissonnette – Portastatic also scored his 2002 debut Looking For Leonard. Heavy on the strings and woodwinds, Who Loves The Sun has a light, breezy feel that is perfectly suited for background music, which is pretty much the point. Can anyone recommend for or against either of the films? They’ve both got Molly Parker in them, which is a plus in my books… And Mac’s also got a Portaststic blog going, though he’s talking more about the Hurricanes-Oilers Stanley Cup finals than he is about his music. MP3: Portastatic – “Lively Chase” MP3: Portastatic – “Just Like A Real Book” MP3: Portastatic – “Last Kiss Music” Portastatic @ MySpace Portastatic @ Blogger

Crystal Skulls / Outgoing Behaviour (Suicide Squeeze) Make no mistake, Seattle’s Crystal Skulls can play their instruments. They also want very much to play pop music. The two are not mutually exclusive traits, but sometimes the former can get in the way of the latter a bit. Boasting pristine performances and production and a smooth, jazzy yet melodic sound, this record is a bit stuffy and chilly for my tastes but should be manna from heaven for those who would have been Steely Dan fans if they were twenty years older. MP3: Crystal Skulls – “Baby Boy” MP3: Crystal Skulls – “The Cosmic Door” Crystal Skulls @ MySpace

np – The Stills / Without Feathers