Next contest – Drive-By Truckers at the Phoenix on Wednesday night. I’ve got three pairs of passes to give away, courtesy of Against The Grain. If you’ve never seen the Truckers live then by god you’re in for a treat – we’re talking Flying Vs, foot-on-monitor guitar solos and all that good stuff. It’s been a few years since the Truckers have come through town but they’re finally back and with a fine new record in A Blessing And A Curse to promote. And they’re bringing The Drams along to support.

Entries for this one are straightforward – as always, just email me at contests@chromewaves.net with “I wanna see the Truckers” in the subject line and your full name in the email body before midnight, October 15 (that’s Sunday night) and sit back and wait. Either you’re going on me or you’re not. Though you could always buy a ticket. It’ll be great. Promise.

MySpace: Drive-By Truckers

Having been to over 60 shows this year, not counting festivals like SxSW, Lollapalooza, V Fest and Pop Montreal, you can understand why one of the great joys in life right now is watching the concert calendar over there on the left steadily shrink. So even though the tour has gotten the So Much Silence seal of approval, I’ve elected to give the Viva Voce/Silversun Pickups show at Lee’s Palace on Tuesday night a reluctant pass. There’s enough must-sees in the next few weeks that I’m going to be heading to that the idea of sitting at home watching Veronica Mars is a more appealing scenario than getting my ears blasted yet again.

I say “reluctant pass” because I’m actually rather enjoying Viva Voce’s latest, Get Yr Blood Sucked Out. It’s a very eclectic but consistently cohesive and listenable blend of psychedelic folk and heavy rock with dashes of bubblegum pop, classic rock moves and pretty much everything else you can think of and topped off with sweet boy-girl vocals and a knowing wink. I don’t think you can have a song called “We Do Not Fuck Around” be as poppy as it is and not deliver it with a wink. Consisting of a husband/drummer-and-wife/guitarist duo from Portland (though they tour with a bassist), Viva Voce have crafted a record that sounds timeless simply by virtue of sounding like every era of rock all mashed up into a tasty brownie. THAT kind of brownie.

Silversun Pickups’ debut full-length Carnavas I’m less enamoured with. On the whole, it’s better than their Pikul EP which I reviewed last year, with better songwriting and less grating vocals, but the slavish 90s-retro vibe isn’t especially appealing. That era doesn’t seem that long ago to me – I’m not necessarily ready to relive it again. And while there’s a definite fondness for some Big Muff Pi action, I don’t find the Smashing Pumpkins parallels, ubiquitously referenced in everything I’ve read about the band, that obvious – but then, all the Smashing Pumpkins make me think of are Billy Corgan’s awful, screeching voice and enormous bald melon. I’m pretty sure Brian Aubert still has his hair.

But anyways – just because I’m not going to the show doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Tickets are just $8.50 in advance and I don’t doubt that at least one of the bands on the bill (locals Nassau open) will turn your crank at least a little. Both bands have been maintaining a tour blog for Filter and Chart has an interview with the Pickups. They also recently did sessions for AOL Interface and WOXY.

MP3: Viva Voce – “When Planets Collide”
MP3: Viva Voce – “We Do Not Fuck Around”
MP3: Silversun Pickups – “Well Thought Out Twinkies”
Video: Viva Voce – “From The Devil Himself” (YouTube)
Video: Silversun Pickups – “Well Thought Out Twinkies” (MOV)
MySpace: Viva Voce
MySpace: Silversun Pickups

Broken Social Scene may be heading into a hiatus, but they’re not going quietly. There’s a large-scale US tour and they’ve churned out another video from Broken Social Scene – this one for the fast version of “Major Label Debut” (taken from the EP To Be You And Me bonus disc) and comprised of live tour footage taken from the past year and a half. It’s amazing how many of those shows I remember being at (well, three at least) and as a send-off/retrospective/clips episode, it’s a good one. Thanks, now go away for a little while please.

Video: Broken Social Scene – “Major Label Debut” (MOV)

NOW curiously places Grizzly Bear as hailing from Boston (Ed Droste is a Beantowner) even though they get their fan mail sent to Brooklyn. They’re at the Opera House tonight with TV On The Radio – Bear at 9PM, TVOTR at 10:15 if you were wondering.

Ottawa X-Press offers some phonetic guidance on how to pronounce, “Under Byen“, something I was struggling with all of this past weekend. Stereogum also has a quick interview with the Danes.

A couple shows just announced – Beach House, who just scored an 8.1/recommended from Pitchfork are at the Tranzac on November 4 with New Zealand’s Over The Atlantic, even though technically, to get anywhere they’d have to go over the Pacific. And on November 13, Lee’s Palace plays host to Annuals and Evangelicals. Can You See The Sunset From The South Side endorses Annuals’ music while BrooklynVegan endorses Annuals’ promo photos.

Slate has assembled a slideshow to detail exactly why they love Scott Pilgrim (though not The Infinite Sadness) and manage to strip all the fun and joy out of the comic in the process. Yikes. Via Largehearted Boy.

np – The National / Alligator

Seems I’m running as many contests these days as I am making regular posts. This one comes courtesy of Universal Music and consists of a pile of swag for pint-sized British rapper Lady Sovereign. The prize consists of a pair of tickets to her show at the Opera House in Toronto on October 24th, a Lady Sovereign hoodie and some stickers and posters and other such paper-based goodies.

Due to the fact that the show is in Toronto and I’m not footing anyone’s airfare, hotel or spending money, this one is limited to locals of the 416 and 905 only. To enter, email me at contests@chromewaves.net with “I want the hoodie” in the subject line. If you’re the winner, I’ll contact you back for your full mailing address and reply promptly because we’re talking physical concert tickets here – you’ll need them to get in. Contest will close at midnight, October 20. CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Video: Lady Sovereign – “Hoodie” (YouTube)
Video: Lady Sovereign – “Love Me Or Hate Me” (WMV)
MySpace: Lady Sovereign

I picked up Find Yourself Along The Way, the debut album from Los Angeles’ Meeting Places after seeing them at SxSW 2005 and thought that the title was especially fitting. I felt there was a good deal of potential in their post-shoegaze style but that they still had some ways to go before it would be fulfilled.

Now with the release of their second album, Numbered Days, I have to reasses that initial impression – it may have been that I thought I knew where they were trying to go but it’s entirely possible they’re working from a different map entirely. By considering them strictly as a “shoegaze” band, I projected a certain set of expectations on them on what they should sound like and I’m thinking that’s pretty unfair. First, it sets them up against a yardstick that thanks to my nostalgia goggles they couldn’t possibly measure up to and secondly, it doesn’t give them nearly enough credit for having the ambition and creativity to exist outside that pigeonhole. They actually remind me a fair bit of fellow Californians Film School in the way they blend the spirit of shoegaze with post-punk influences and give it all a decidedly American accent rather than going for the easy British affect.

Of course, this revelation doesn’t necessarily defuse some of my criticisms about the record – the tempos on some tracks are too rigid and lumbering, marching along in an unwavering 1-2-3-4 when a little swagger or sashay would do wonders (though to be fair, they do swing at points and those songs are all the better for it). Also, singer/guitarist Chase Harris’ vocals remain monotone and tightly wound, not doing justice to the melodies he’s delivering. Sometimes it works but over the course of the album, even at a scant 33 minutes, it gets to be a bit much though the appearance of guest backing vocalist Dilean Jimenez from Ole on a few tracks does wonders for balancing that out. When on autopilot, the Meeting Places veer frustratingly towards an unemotive mechanicalness that I don’t believe is what they’re striving for, though the band’s bio namechecks both My Bloody Valentine and krautrock so again, I could be completely wrong about that.

Like its predecessor, Numbered Days has its moments but is overall frustrating because I can’t decide if it’s too shoegazey or not shoegazey enough. It doesn’t have the same overall sonic whallop of Find Yourself but does feature more concise and focused songwriting as well as some fresher production ideas that generally pay off. I think The Meeting Places continue to merit my attention but I’m still waiting to really connect with one of their records.

Spin declared them band of the day last week.

MP3: The Meeting Places – “Until It’s Gone”
MP3: The Meeting Places – “Hall Of Fame”
Video: The Meeting Places – “Love Like The Movies” (MOV)
MySpace: The Meeting Places

The Los Angeles Times talks to Yuki Chikudate of Asobi Seksu about the influence of shoegazing on their own sound.

The UK’s Forward Russia, whom you may have read about in assorted sundry blogs, and Snowden, whom you may also have read about in assorted sundry blogs (perhaps the same ones) will be at the Horseshoe on December 1.

Thanks to Donewaiting for directing me to this Album Cover War clip at YouTube, one of the greatest things I’ve seen in ages. What’s that? This is old news? Well excuse me, I’ve been away.

Pitchfork interviews Grizzly Bear, in town tomorrow night at the Opera House with TV On The Radio.

Largehearted Boy gets a reading list from Mac McCaughan of Portastatic whose latest Be Still Please was released yesterday.

np – Mojave 3 / Spoon & Rafter

New contest! Mojave 3 rank very highly in my list of all-time favourite bands so you bet your sweet bippy I’m excited that they’re coming back to town on Monday, October 16 for a show at the Mod Club. A change in scenery from their usual home at Lee’s Palace but considering that Puzzles Like You is a sparkling, upbeat pop record maybe the glitzier new digs will suit them nicely. No, Rachel won’t be along for the tour (health issues) but I’m sure it’ll be great regardless.

Anyways, I have three pairs of passes to give away to this show courtesy of Against The Grain. To enter to win, email me at contests@chromewaves.net with your full name and the names of three bands that Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell have been in together. Yes, there’ve been three. I was going to ask you to leave your entries as comments on this post but realized that after the first correct entry, there’d really be no challenge to anyone else… This contest will close at midnight, October 13 so get those googling hats on and get your entries in ASAP. CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

MP3: Mojave 3 – “Puzzles Like You”
MP3: Mojave 3 – “Breaking The Ice”
Video: Mojave 3 – “Breaking The Ice” (YouTube)