Ashley MaileWho: The Gaslight Anthem
What: Arena-sized blue-collar punk rock from the wilds of New Jersey; Bruuuuuuuuce-approved
Why: They released their third full-length American Slang earlier this year
When: July 14, 2010
Where: The Sound Academy
Who else: The Menzingers and Tim Barry support
How: Courtesy of Collective Concerts, I’ve got a pair of passes to give away for the show. Email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see the Gaslight Anthem” in the subject line and your full name in the body before midnight, July 12.
What else: Exclaim has the band on their cover this month

Video: The Gaslight Anthem – “American Slang”

Nacho AlegreIt’s Summer! How do we know? Well, the Summer solstice is behind us, for starters, and that means that technically the days are getting shorter (noo!). It’s also frequently hot as hades out there and we’ve got records like Subiza from Barcelona’s Delorean to spin.

This isn’t to say that Subiza‘s blissfully danceable electro-pop wouldn’t go over well in the dead of Winter – its vibes could probably sub in for a space heater in a pinch – but at some point you will probably realize that you not, in fact, on a sunny beach in Barcelona surrounded by beautiful frolicking people in appropriate states of undress. But I digress. It’s Summer now, and Subiza is as good a soundtrack as anything. And if you want to surround yourself with frolicking people whilst listening to it – the beautiful and undress are not guaranteed – then perhaps going to see them at Wrongbar on July 14 as they conduct a short tour of North America would be a sensible move?

Tickets for the show are $12 in advance, but courtesy of Embrace, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see Delorean” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, July 10.

MP3: Delorean – “Stay Close”
Video: Delorean – “Stay Close”

Frank YangSo The Flaming Lips; they’ve kind of been doing the same thing live for pretty much forever, right? The bubble walk, the costumed dancers, the confetti canons, the general technicolour mayhem with Wayne Coyne as master of ceremonies – that’s been going on since at least 2006, circa At War With The Mystics, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of it went back as far as the dates supporting 2002’s Yoshimi. Most entertainers who put together a high-production value show feel the need to reinvent it or at least change it up between tours, but the Lips – they’ll maybe switch up some giant rubber hands for a bizarro megaphone contraption, or trade Coyne’s relatively conventional double-neck SG for a Frankenstein one that’s half Guitar Hero controller.

But even if it is all, technically, a bit predictable, the joy of a live Lips show is that no matter how much you think you’ve seen it all before, when you actually witness it all for either the first or the fifteenth time, you can’t help but be awed by the sheer ridiculous wonder of it all. And those of us in Toronto, at least, can hardly say, “what, these guys again?” because they haven’t been here since September 2006 – their famously abbreviated V Fest set – and before that, their last visit was in the Spring of that year at the Phoenix, a venue good for saying you saw them in an intimate club but not so good for things like walking on top of the audience in giant plastic hamster balls.

Which is why their upcoming July 8 show at the Molson Amphitheatre is worth getting genuinely excited about. Not only are they playing a venue large enough for them unleash the full Flaming Lips live experience, but they’re (presumably) being given a long enough set time that there’s no chance of the authorities bringing the curtain down prematurely. AND they’ve assembled a terrific string of support acts – Spoon, Tokyo Police Club and Fang Island – for what could well be one of the best shows of the Summer. Tickets range from $33.25 to $56.25, but courtesy of LiveNation, I’ve got two prize packs consisting of a pair of tickets to the show AND a lovely limited edition concert poster to give away. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see The Flaming Lips” in the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the body, and get that in to me before midnight, July 4.

The AV Club, BBC6 and Spinner all talk to Wayne Coyne about stuff.

MySpace: The Flaming Lips

Matt WingallTouring through Canada can be a trial for American bands under the best of circumstances – I’m sure every act who’s ever come north of the 49th has a story or two about overzealous or paranoid border guards tearing apart vans and confiscating merchandise – but you have to feel for Long Beach, California’s Delta Spirit who are coming into town for a show next Saturday, June 26. They’re not only going to be subject to the interrogations of of the customs and immigration officers, but upon getting into Toronto they’ll be smack dab in the middle of the G20 boondoggle that’s happening downtown.

But providing they’re not flagged as enemies of any of the 20 state and they don’t have black tinted windows and a penchant for driving really slowly, they should be alright and will be at Mod Club that evening to regale us with their big roots-rocking anthems from their latest album History From Below, helping us forget that we’re essentially being held prisoner in our own city this weekend (I just saw the list of “security procedures” for getting into my own damned apartment building for the next week and it’s bullshit, but I digress).

Tickets for the show are $14.50 in advance but courtesy of LiveNation, I’ve got three pairs of passes to give away to the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see Delta Spirit” in the subject line and your full name in the body, and get that in to me before midnight, June 23.

The Georgia Straight has a feature piece on the band.

MP3: Delta Spirit – “People C’Mon”
Video: Delta Spirit – “People C’Mon”

Frank YangClearly firm believers that the road to success lies on the road, Montreal’s Plants & Animals have been touring their second album La La Land relentlessly since before its release back in April, and with good reason. Their sprawling jam-happy classic rock approach works best on stage, where the trio’s musicianship and chemistry can be put front and centre – I wasn’t especially wowed be either their debut La La Land or their debut Parc Avenue, but they were one of the standouts at Canadian Musicfest thanks largely to their showmanship.

They’re putting that on display for Toronto for the third time in as many months with an all-ages show at the Opera House on June 24, following the aforementioned CMF gig and their free record release show at the Horseshoe in April. Tickets for the show are $18 in advance but courtesy of LiveNation, I have three pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see Plants & Animals” in the subject line and your full name in the body, and have that in to me before midnight on June 21.

Gothamist has an interview with Plants & Animals drummer Matthew Woodley.

MP3: Plants & Animals – “Tom Cruz”
Video: Plants & Animals – “The Mama Papa”