The co-headline tour must be a tricky proposition. The “co-” implies that the acts are of an equal stature and that one should take no higher billing than the other, but pragmatically when it comes to showtime, someone opens and someone closes. When the Keren Ann/Dean and Britta tour was initially announced, it was Ms Zeidel who appeared to be getting the nod as far as getting to pick songs for an encore but as Saturday night’s date at the Mod Club drew near, listings appeared to flip the order and give Mr and Mrs Luna the top billing, possibly causing issues for people planning out their evening. For me, it was academic. Though I thought it a bit of an odd pairing, it worked for me and I was there well early enough to catch the whole show, whatever the order.

As it happened, Keren Ann took the stage first. I’d lost track of her since seeing her in 2006 2005 in support of her English-language debut (and third album overall) Not Going Anywhere, a beguilingly low-key blend of folk and jazz with some dashes of rock thrown in for flavour that I don’t listen to nearly as much as it deserves. In the interim, she’s released two more albums – 2004’s Nolita and last year’s self-title – and, based on Saturday’s set, discovered her inner rocker. Fear not – her inner rocker looks and awful lot like her inner folkie, just wielding a big, hollowbody electric guitar for a few numbers that rather suited her. Also very complimentary was her band, consisting of an electric guitarist/bassist and drummer that was a far cry from the two-piece acoustic/keyboard configuration I saw her with last time. That extra musical oomph, coupled with her beautifully breathy voice, turned what I had expected to be a pleasant performance into a rather stunning one. If this is the direction she’s taken her recordings in, then I have some catching up to do.

The last time Dean & Britta came to Toronto in March 2007 was also the first time and for myself and presumably other Toronto Luna fans, a real occasion. For part of the reason for Luna’s dissolution was Dean Wareham’s weariness of life on the road so I never really expected any proper touring to occur, let alone make it up here. There was also the question of how much of Wareham’s musical legacy would be acknowledged and if it was, how would it sound without Sean Eden and Lee Wall? The answer to these questions was “lots” and “just fine” and with that show, the spectre of Luna (and to a lesser extent Galaxie 500) was essentially exorcised (lovingly so) and Dean and Britta were free to be Dean & Britta.

My thoughts previously about it being an odd pairing with Keren Ann proved completely off base as D&B’s languorous, Euro-flavoured retro pop exists very much in the same dimension as Keren Ann’s in a way that Luna’s guitar-centric rock never did. Welcome to the present, I guess. So while the show opened with a shot of G500’s “Snowstorm” and Luna’s “Moon Palace” made an appearance three songs in, the bulk of the set didn’t make the same efforts to straddle all of Wareham’s career and the delivery was pure Dean & Britta. Appropriately, there were far fewer guitar solos than last time and the songs and set were much more compact, though that may have been due more to the looming curfew than any aesthetic choice. Wareham also took more lead vocals than last time and handled the bulk of the banter, picking out familiar faces in the crowd, commenting on films (he didn’t like Juno). plugging his forthcoming book (Black Postcards: A Rock & Roll Romance – out March 13!) and generally seeming more at ease than I can recall ever seeing him. A fine show and if the vibe eleven months ago was that of the return of the long-lost prodigal son, this show felt more like an old friend stopping by for a visit. Can’t wait for next time.

The Westender talks to Wareham about his band, his book and film scores while The Weekly Dig features Keren Ann. And while Zoilus was a bit of a victim of the shifting lineup/set-times, he came for the Keren Ann but stayed for the D&B.

Photos: Dean & Britta, Keren Ann @ The Mod Club – February 9, 2008
MP3: Dean & Britta – “Words You Used To Say”
MP3: Dean & Britta – “Singer Sing”
MP3: Keren Ann – “Not Going Anywhere”
Video: Dean & Britta – “Words You Used To Say”
Video: Dean & Britta – “Night Nurse”
Video: Dean & Britta – “Knives From Bavaria”
Video: Keren Ann – “Lay Your Head Down”
Video: Keren Ann – “Chelsea Burns”
Video: Keren Ann – “Not Going Anywhere”
MySpace: Dean & Britta
MySpace: Keren Ann

Cutesiness abounds as Uberdrivel interviews Los Campesinos! (Hold On Now, Youngster… out April 1) and Music Snobbery chats with Tilly & The Wall (untitled third album due June 3).

Stephin Merritt talks to The Boston Globe about The Magnetic Fields’ Distortion.

The Age discusses White Chalk with PJ Harvey.

PopMatters asks Robyn Hitchcock 20 questions. Robyn Hitchcock gives PopMatters 20 answers.

Hey guys, I’ve got this new artist I want to tell you all about named Nicole Atkins. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned her before, but she’s really great. You should check her out.

Ahem.

So after a string of visits to Toronto last year in a support capacity, Nicole Atkins & The Sea return next Sunday night, February 17, for a headlining show at Lee’s Palace and courtesy of Sony/BMG Canada, I’ve got stuff to give away. First off, a pair of tickets to Sunday night’s show, second off, two copies of Neptune City on just-released vinyl and two copies of Neptune City on CD and I’m parceling things out as follows: a grand prize consisting of the tickets and a copy of Neptune City on CD, two prizes of the album on vinyl and one prize of the album on CD. The grand prize, naturally, is limited to Toronto-area folks, but if you want the album only, anyone in Canada can play.

To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with either “I like Nicole Atkins live”, “I like Nicole Atkins analog” or “I like Nicole Atkins digital” in the subject line (indicating a bid for the grand prize, LPs or CD respectively) and your full mailing address in the body. The contest will close at midnight, Tuesday night (February 12).

And if you’ve got an hour to kill, check out this video session/interview Nicole did with Google. The conference hall atmosphere is a little weird/sterile but the interview is fun as she recounts the number of jobs she was fired from while getting started as a musician and the performances are, of course, terrific.

MP3: Nicole Atkins & The Sea – “Party’s Over”
MP3: Nicole Atkins – “Bleeding Diamonds”
MP3: Nicole Atkins – “Carouselle”
Video: Nicole Atkins & The Sea – “The Way It Is”
Video: Nicole Atkins – “Neptune City”
MySpace: Nicole Atkins

Seriously, I intended to take today off but in my meanderings around the internets, I found some concert announcements. And then some more concert announcements. And then some more. And so I took them, threw them in a pot, added some broth, a potato. Baby, I’ve got a stew going. So here we go, quick like bunny. ‘Cause I need to go get groceries.

Of all the announcements, the only one that I would have immediately decided to attend was The Long Blondes’ May 22 date at Lee’s Palace, and I say “would” rather than “will” because on that date, I will be in London. It figures – I go to the UK, they come to Canada, and that’s not the only UK band I like that’s coming to town while I’m away. As for the other, well, scan the last few days of posts and you should be able to figure it out (not officially announced yet so I can’t say). Anyway, they’re releasing their sophomore record Couples on April 8 and Pitchfork has full tour dates and album info.

MP3: The Long Blondes – “Once And Never Again”
Video: The Long Blondes – “Weekend Without Makeup”
Video: The Long Blondes – “Giddy Stratospheres”
Video: The Long Blondes – “Separated By Motorways”
Video: The Long Blondes – “Once And Never Again”

And now the rest of the shows, in chronological order. If you’ve ever wanted an excuse to spend a fortnight in April camped out at the ElMo, your ship has come in.

One of the biggest bands in Ireland, Bell X1 try to win over North Americans with a tour in support of their album Flock, which has a February 19 release on these shores. The tour starts in Toronto on March 12 at the El Mocambo.

MP3: Bell X1 – “Rocky Took A Lover”
Video: Bell X1 – “Flame”

One of the next big things out of the UK – Duffy – is at the Mod Club on March 18, tickets $15.50.

Video: Duffy – “Rockferry”
Video: Duffy – “Mercy”

Sunset Rubdown are at Lee’s Palace on March 30, tickets $12. They’re still touring in support of last year’s
Random Spirit Lover.

MP3: Sunset Rubdown – “Winged Wicked Things”
MP3: Sunset Rubdown – ” Up On Your Leopard, Upon The End Of Your Feral Days”

Wolf Eyes hit Lee’s on April 1, no foolin’ (that was so bad). $12 in advance. Full dates here.

MP3: Wolf Eyes – “Stabbed In The Face”
MP3: Wolf Eyes – “The Driller”

Mick Jones’ new outfit Carbon/Silicon tour their debut Last Post to Lee’s Palace on April 2. Matt Pond PA support. Their new record Last Light was released last year.

MP3: Carbon/Silicon – “What The Fuck”
Video: Carbon/Silicon – “The News”
Video: Matt Pond PA – “Locate The Pieces”

VHS Or Beta are at the El Mocambo on April 3 in support of 2007’s Bring On The Comets. Admission is $10.

Video: VHS Or Beta – “Can’t Believe A Single Word”

Seattle’s Throw Me The Statue, coming off last year’s About To Walk EP and set to release their full-length Moonbeams at on February 19, are at the El Mocambo April 4. Tickets are $10. Other tour dates here.

MP3: Throw Me The Statue – “About To Walk”

The Dodos, all the way from San Francisco, will be at the El Mocambo on April 9 in support of their new record Visiter, out March 18. Full tour dates here.

MP3: The Dodos – “Jody”
MP3: The Dodos – “Fools”
Video: The Dodos – “Fools”

Minneapolis’ Cloud Cult have a new album in the can – Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes) – set for an April 8 release and will tour in support, stopping at the El Mocambo on April 14. That show will cost you $10.

Video: Cloud Cult – “Chemicals Collide”

Saul Williams and Dragons Of Zynth have a date at the Mod Club on April 14. This is a musical show for Williams, not just spoken word. Though he’s likely to speak at some point during the show as well.

MP3: Saul Williams – “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
Video: Saul Williams – “Sunday Bloody Sunday”

From the ashes of Pretty Girls Make Graves come The Cave Singers, who released their debut Invitation Songs last year. They’re at the Horseshoe on April 30, tickets $10.

MP3: The Cave Singers – “Seeds Of Night”
Video: The Cave Singers – “Dancing On Our Graves”

Laura Veirs, still working last year’s Saltbreakers, returns to town for a show at the El Mocambo on May 24 with Liam Finn. His debut is Call Me Lightning and yes, from his surname, you can surmise he grew up in a somewhat crowded house. Admission is $10 in advance.

MP3: Laura Veirs – “Galaxies”
MP3: Liam Finn – “Second Chance”
Video: Laura Veirs – “Cast A Hook In Me”
Video: Liam Finn – “Second Chance”

And finally, this Pitchfork piece indicates that on July 4, Harbourfront Centre will play host to both Ladytron and Datarock, almost certainly as part of their annual Beats, Breaks & Culture festival… which would mean this show is free. Yay for free. Ladytron’s new record Velocifero is out June 3.

MP3: Ladytron – “Destroy Everything You Touch”
MP3: Ladytron – “Destroy Everything You Touch” (Hot Chip remix)
MP3: Datarock – “Fa-Fa-Fa”
Video: Ladytron – “Destroy Everything You Touch”
Video: Datarock – “Fa-Fa-Fa”
Video: Datarock – “Bulldozer”

Reveille welcomes Basia Bulat back to Minneapolis. She plays Lee’s Palace on March 29.

Spinner features The New Pornographers in an Interface session. They play the Phoenix with Okkervil River on April 9.

With the Grammy Awards set for tomorrow night, the media has finally found a reason to give multiple nominee Feist some attention. Witness pieces in The Globe & Mail, The Toronto Sun, The Vancouver Sun, The Belfast Telegraph and The Los Angeles Times. Feist plays the Sony Centre on May 13.

Efrim Menuck tells Drowned In Sound why Godspeed You! Black Emperor had to stop, and how you can essentially change their status from “hiatus” to “defunct”. His current project, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band will release 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons on March 25 and play two nights at Lee’s Palace on June 7 and 8.

Apparently Arcade Fire aren’t the only Canadian band whose music was used by Fox in last week’s Super Bowl broadcast without permission. Chart reports that Ottawa’s My Dad Vs Yours had about 90 seconds of their song “Habla Paisano” used as background music in an interview segment without permission and, more crucially, without compensation. They are currently investigating the legalities of their situation.

Best news ever – according to this Globe & Mail travel piece on Austin, Texas, Air Canada will begin offering direct flights from Toronto starting May. NO MORE LAYOVERS IN O’HARE, BITCHES. I just did a quick test reservation for mid-May… $474 return. Hot diggity dog. If that holds for March as well, SxSW just got $200 cheaper and four hours faster. Of course, one flight a day means I have to book next year, oh, right now to get a seat but I’m willing to do that. I am.

So as everyone and their dog has already blogged, the official SxSW 2008 lineup was released yesterday. In the past, they’ve parceled out the lineup in smaller bundles but this looks to be the whole thing. Of course, it’ll change some between now and mid-March – there’s acts on there that I’ve been told aren’t going to be attending and other acts absent that I know will be in Austin. But by and large, that’s it.

And while I had a pretty good idea before this came out of who I liked or wanted to see that would or wouldn’t be, scanning the whole thing my initial reaction to this year’s lineup – relative to the past three years I’ve attended, anyway – is pretty meh. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure I’ll see lots of terrific stuff, old faves and new discoveries, but when I scan the band list I’m looking for those up-and-coming acts that’ve already caught my ear but who are too small to mount a tour to North America and whom I can only reasonably expect to catch at something like Sx. Those bands – the ones I’ve never seen and want to – are the ones that seem sorely lacking this year.

I am, however, very pleased that I’ll finally get to see Trespassers William live and previewing material from their forthcoming fourth album (they’re streaming one of the new songs on their MySpace). That’ll take some sting out of the fact that The Radio Dept are once again going to absent, but there’s some good news from them as well – the new album is done and will be out in May!

But the lineup announcement is really only the beginning – now we can wait for the gigantor-sized MP3 torrents featuring a good chunk of the showcasing bands, the deluge of day show announcements and the actual schedule, which is where the real fun/nightmare begins. So those of you who’ve taken a closer look at the lineup than I and have some recommendations, send them over. Torr, for example, has already singled out a bunch of UK (and some other) acts that have piqued his interest and if I feel like rooting for the home team, Chart has filtered out all the Canadian acts making a run for the border. Goodness, there’s a lot of us. And as always, Donewaiting and SxSW Baby are your best two sources of info for anything and everything Sx-related. Bookmark them or add them to your RSS for the next month and a half. Photo of 6th St in Austin via New York Magazine.

Related – though it’s been getting updated bit by bit over the last few weeks, the Canadian Music Week schedule has been declared as officially released. Still some gaps in there, but you should get a good idea of what’s going on in town the week of March 5 through 8. Note the Ace Frehley show at the Guvernment on March 5 – this is NOT the long-rumoured Frehley’s Comet reunion. It’s just Ace. Don’t get your hopes up.

Some of you may have heard about the feature Spin ran about Toronto – aka “Rock City” (say what?) – in this month’s issue. Well rather than loiter at Chapters checking it out, you can see it on their digital edition, which reproduces the magazine in its entirety – ads and all. To see the article, head to the very back of the ish – page 140 102-103 to be precise – and bask in the warm glow of a formerly relevant American music magazine give Hogtown big props (and without namechecking Rush or the Barenaked Ladies even once).

Indie MP3 has graciously posted up the list of “50 Greatest UK Indie Records Of All Time” as declared by the latest issue of Mojo. The biggest question that it raises in my mind is exactly what is their definition of “record”? Some of their picks are songs, others are albums, or are they referring to the actual physical format? Like, if it was released on shiny slab of black vinyl, be it album, single or EP, it’s fair game? Weird.

Anchorage Press, who incidentally have possibly the worst website layout I’ve ever seen, has an interview with Mountain Goat Peter Hughes. Heretic Pride is out February 19.

Those of you undergoing Decemberist withdrawal will be pleased to know that the Colin Meloy solo tour will indeed be stopping in Toronto. He’s at the Phoenix on April 19 and his live solo record Colin Meloy Sings Live is out April 8.

Spinner has it that Jenny Lewis is working on a second solo record and has invited a bunch of her showbiz friends along to help out.

Kathleen Edwards will play songs from her new record Asking For Flowers, out March 4, at The Phoenix on March April 23.

Bob Mould returns to his own Minneapolis stomping grounds to record a session for Minnesota Public Radio. Mould is in Toronto at the Mod Club on March 10.

Chart chats with Two Hours Traffic’s, in town at the Horseshoe February 23.

The Brooklyn Paper talks to Matt Berninger of The National about making the jump to bigger venues, as they will this Summer on tour with R.E.M.. That tour stops in at the Molson Amphitheatre on June 8.

And a last minute update courtesy of Bradley’s Almanac – Okkervil River’s show in Amsterdam tomorrow night will be webcast live at Fabchannel starting at 8PM local, 2PM Eastern standard time.

The mention of Athens, Georgia in a musical context tends to bring to mind a certain sound or aesthetic – be it the jangly college rock of R.E.M. in the ’80s, the whimsical psychedelia of the Elephant 6 movement in the ’90s and since the late ’90s through today, the blistering Southern rock of the Drive-By Truckers (though some, myself included, tend to think of them more as an Alabama band).

And while you can find traces of the aforementioned bands in their DNA, it was in the spirit of the Truckers that Athenian trio The Whigs brought into town this past Tuesday for a free Nu Music Nite showcase at the Horseshoe to coincide with the Canadian release of their second album Mission Control. Their songwriting isn’t as ambitious in scope or narrative depth but they more than compensated with a ferocious live show built on Julian Dorio’s thunderous drumming. Seriously, his kick drum could have punched a hole through a bank vault and the rest of the band was just as tight. The Whigs aren’t up to anything that hasn’t been done many times before and sometimes they’re a bit too obvious with their cribbing but what they do, they do well and there’s always a place in this world for good, loud rock’n’roll.

The good-sized crowd that had gathered for The Whigs all but cleared out by the time their tourmates – Birmingham, Alabama’s Wild Sweet Orange – came on and that was their loss. The people who left, not the band’s. Summing up their sound succinctly isn’t easy – their roots run country but with space-rock aspirations. The resulting pushme-pullyu of delicate folkiness and psyched rock-outs definitely had my attention though there weren’t any specific songs that grabbed me – it was more the overall strategy at work that I found engaging. They were touring their debut EP Whale but should have a full-length out sometime this Spring. Should be worth checking out.

Chart, The Tripwire, The Post-Tribune, The New York Daily News and Creative Loafing all have features and interviews with The Whigs while LiveDaily.com and Gibson.com have features on Wild Sweet Orange. Live In Toronto has some recordings of The Whigs’ set on Tuesday already available to download and they’ll be back in town on March 19 at the Opera House opening for the Drive-By Truckers. Of course.

Photos: Wild Sweet Orange, The Whigs @ The Horseshoe – February 5, 2008
MP3: The Whigs – “Right Hand On My Heart”
MP3: Wild Sweet Orange – “Wrestle With God”
Video: Wild Sweet Orange – “Wrestle With God”
Myspace: The Whigs

And speaking of R.E.M., Pitchfork is streaming the first single from their next album Accelerate, out April 1. Hey, electric guitars. Hey, Mike Mills backing vocals. Welcome.

Stream: R.E.M. – “Supernatural Superserious”

Is there anything more chocolate-and-peanut butter than shoegaze fans with nothing to do on Valentine’s Day? I think not. Which is why the timing of a tribute night to My Bloody Valentine entitled Loveless for February 14 at the Drake Underground is just perfect. Participating bands so far include Germans, Sleeping Kings Of Iona and Gravity Wave but more will be announced. I expect most of the performances will be of the incredibly loud, incredibly droning variety and since the selections won’t be restricted to Loveless, there’s almost certainly going to be some takes on the louder, bashier numbers from Isn’t Anything and admittedly, “Feed Me With Your Kiss” has got to be loads of fun to play, but it’d be nice to see someone take the Japancakes approach and focus on the wonderful melodicism in My Bloody Valentine, not just the noise.

MP3: Japancakes – “Loomer”

British Sea Power appear to have a puppet fetish. First, there’s the new video for “No Lucifer” which features both real puppets and band members dressed as puppets – quite unsettling – and then there’s this YouTube clip which showed their stage setup from their recent appearance on Jools Holland… more puppets. In lieu of foliage. Also unsettling. Do You Like Rock Music? is out on these shores next week and more North American tour dates covering the east coast should be along shortly.

Video: British Sea Power – “No Lucifer”

The Courier Mail talks to PJ Harvey.

NOW‘s cover feature this week is Cat Power, playing the Kool Haus this Saturday night. Congratulations to Elva, who won the contest for passes to the show.

This Is Fake DIY talks to Land Of Talk’s Liz Powell as the band prepares for an upcoming European tour.

Dean Wareham talks to eye about both Dean & Britta, at the Mod Club on Saturday, and his memoirs Black Postcards: A Rock & Roll Romance, out March 13. And he answers five questions from NOW.