Ah, live rock shows, how I’ve missed you. I caught the Toronto stop of The Jayhawks’ Rainy Day Music tour with Rick from Over Anything. I just got there in time for the start of the show, delayed thanks to a standoff between a surly bus driver and a belligerant passenger.

I’d seen Josh Rouse about seven years ago when he was working the solo acoustic singer-songwriter angle, and wasn’t really impressed. Since then, however, he’s picked up a few new tricks and a full band and sounds much better. Apparently things in his hometown of Nashville were getting stale so he turned his eyes westward to Memphis when making his latest, 1972. The new material is pretty damn good in that 70s Soulsville USA vibe – I was certainly impressed.

I’d really enjoyed seeing the ‘Hawks open for Lucinda Williams last Thanksgiving, and was anxious to see them do their own headlining show. What I got was essentially a director’s cut of that last performance. An equally excellent perfomance, but longer, louder and featuring a broader set list – they even dipped into the Golden Smog catalog for a reading of “Jennifer Save Me” from Weird Tales as well as dusting off “Pray For Me” from Tomorrow The Green Grass, which they claimed to not have played since 1995. Gary Louris took advantage of the full-length set to really stretch out some solos, reminding the crowd that he’s got as much rock in him as country. Tim O’Reagan was again impressive on drums and vocals – I still can’t get over how good his material is. An extra treat was Sadie Dallas Good making a surprise appearance during the encore to play guitar in “Tailspin”. A great show all around and a terrific way to kick off the 2004 concert season. Photos here. I got some good ones from right up front, though I wish they’d ease up on the red lighting just a little bit.

Ride are endeavouring to release a DVD of some stripe this year, and are seeking a little help from the faithful in putting material together. In a recent mailing, they ask:

One thing that someone on the list might be able to help with is tracking down a guy in the States that made a short film to OX4 around 1993. It was a little B&W / sepia clip and it won a couple of awards at film festivals etc. If there is anyone that knows what i’m talking about then do get in touch. Also if anyone else has any half-decent footage knocking around form live shows, backstage, festivals, anything really! Then it might be interesting to throw it into the pile of potential content – if you don’t mind, of course.

If you’ve got anything, drop the band a line through their website.

Chart has a chat with Wheat about the ‘S’ word that’s been following them around since the release of Per Second Per Second Per Second Every Second. No, not ‘Sasquatch’, ‘Sell-out’.

Look for a new Rilo Kiley album in May or June. From Pitchfork.

2/5 of My Morning Jacket have departed the band. Keyboardist Danny Cash misses his family and guitarist Johnny Quaid misses his horse. Official notices of resignations are on the website. The band has enlisted some temporary replacements, so anyone hoping to fill a vacancy has some time to start growing their beards.

Buddyhead’s Rules Of Rock for audiences – the perfect companion piece to their Rules Of Rock for bands (or people who want to be in bands). From Burned By The Sun.

Wavelength has announced the line-ups and dates for their Wavelength 200 4th anniversary shows. Running from February 12-15, headliners will be Jim Guthrie, Fembots, Controller.Controller and Sea Snakes. Full details here.

No new 24 episode this week, but that doesn’t mean there’s no scuttlebutt. Salon solicited some suggestions on how to improve the show, with some interesting responses and here’s an article about what Jack’s dead wife thinks about current plot developments in season three.

np – Longwave / Endsongs

Magnet can now be forgiven for their putting bland prettyboy Pete Yorn on the cover last year. 2004 kicks off with the totally unmarketable but thorougly remarkable Soft Boy Robyn Hitchcock on the cover as part of their ‘Eccentrics and Dreamers’ feature. Also in this ish, the year in music 2003.

Another Sassy New Band Alert! Trespassers William were brought to my attention by Sean Hotsauce, who gave me their cover of Ride’s “Vapour Trail” (soon to be an MP3 of the week – patience). This Californian outfit combines country and shoegaze influences into a lovely, spacey narcoleptic brew. Think equal parts Slowdive and Mojave 3, Mazzy Star, maybe some Cowboy Junkies… I just got their sophomore album, Different Stars, through CD Baby, where you can stream the entire record to preview. The band is making some headway in the UK right now and deservedly so. It’s really good stuff.

Indie Rock Live has gotten a shiny new makeover, and has some new material up. Check out shows from Super Furry Animals, Azure Ray and Portastatic. They’ve also got shows in Bit Torrent format. I just discovered Bit Torrent. I am all about the Bit Torrent. Actually, I just like to say it. “Bit Torrent”. Say it with me, kids. “Bit Torrent”. Ahhh.

If anyone in Toronto is used CD shopping in the next while and comes across what looks to be a near-complete set of Mark Kozelek/Red House Painters CDs, please drop me a line. A friend’s apartment was broken into this weekend and a pile of her CDs stolen. The RHP ones are the ones she really wants back. Thanks.

Ever worry that you’re not quite a big enough geek? These DIY Imperial Stormtrooper props will take care of that in a jiffy. Guaranteed to get you disavowed by even your mother.

The Jayhawks tonight! Looking forward to busting out the camera again, it’s been a while. Not looking forward to finding myself in the bitter cold at 1AM, far from home. But what can you do.

I’m not going to talk too much about the Bloggies thing, though I registered well over 500 hits yesterday – that’s more than double my usual traffic, and today is already even busier. I’m was ranked #36 on the Blogdex this morning (though down to 53 now). Not to sound disingenuous, but I’m really taken by surprise by this whole thing. To this point, despite all my traffic trackers, I’ve never really thought about the fact that people read this thing. I mean, I know my friends and the modest network of other bloggers I link to visit, but the notion that there were many more visitors whom I’ve had no contact whatsoever with… it never really occurred to me. Now I feel like some guy who’s been goofing around on a dark stage playing AC/DC air guitar and singing “Highway To Hell” off-key, only to have the house lights turned on to reveal a packed audience. Uh, hi. So bear with me while I get over this hopefully-temporary bout of extreme self-consciousness. And if it sounds like this is going to my head, someone slap me. With a fish.

Thanks to Five Seventeen for the title bout poster up above. I won’t ask why my shorts are hiked up quite so high. And finally, I’m not going to lobby, but I will say this – I don’t think Moby needs that $50 gift certificate for Amazon.com.

np – The Soft Boys / Underwater Moonlight

Buffalo Soldiers is one of those films that got put on the shelf indefinitely after 9-11, and when it finally did reach the theatres last Summer, it was gone in a heartbeat. Which is a shame, because it’s really a pretty good movie. It’s got Joaquin Phoenix (who’s very good) as a bored supply clerk at an American army base in West Germany who’s running a black market scam and drug ring at the end of the Cold War. Ed Harris is his clueless commanding officer, Scott Glenn is the sargent out to bust him and Anna Paquin is the love interest. It’s definitely a very black comedy but really isn’t very satirical – I don’t think you could say anyone’s trying to make a specific point about anything. That said, it’s hardly a flattering portrait of the US military, with everyone being either utterly corrupt or mind-numbingly stupid. Worth a rental, anyway.

First Slatch broke em, then Catbirdseat stepped up to testify. I now will also add my voice to the choir – Mason Dixon are good. Very good. What sort of stuff is it? It’s the sort of stuff I like, which if you’ve been paying attention in class, should actually give you a good idea. And they’re even looking for band members! Drop them a line. Fame and fortune await.

From the easy easy targets file, MuchMusic has dug up some truly funny footage of former teen heartthrob Corey Feldman making a bid for pop idol on Electric Circus in 1993. Sadly, he still comes out ahead of former partner-in-crap Corey Haim – at least he’s never tried to sell his teeth and hair on eBay. It’s a tough call as to which is a lower career point – Prayer Of The Rollerboys or the Corey Haim Dream Pillow.

CBS has rejected the MoveOn.org’s “Bush in 30 seconds” commercial and it will not air during the Super Bowl as originally hoped. Disappointing, but hardly surprising.

Today’s Penny Arcade is extra funny because some of my friends – not naming names *cough*Vic*cough* – actually argue about pre-Crisis Superman and post-Crisis Superman. Spaz-tacular. And yes, all signs point to us being at the San Diego Comic Con this July.

Whoa. I’ve been nominated in the ‘Best Canadian Blog’ AND ‘Best Music Blog’ categories for the 2004 Bloggies, which as I understand it are like the Tony awards of blogging. WHOA. This is freaking me right out. I feel like Marisa Tomei. Uh, thanks to everyone who nominated me? Wow. This suddenly feels like sweeps week, like I should do some stunt casting or something. Maybe I’ll get Jamie Farr to fill in for me while I’m in Las Vegas. Surely everyone wants to know what Klinger has been up to since AfterMASH? Or maybe just posting FROM Las Vegas will be enough of a gimmick? Come on, people – Chromewaves on the road! Exotic locales! Showgirls! Mobsters! It’s a slam dunk.

On the downside, I am very aware that my life will never get better than this, and it’s all downhill from here. Maybe I shouldn’t be laughing at the Coreys so hard.

np – The Decemberists / Her Majesty

The Chapters in-store music clearance has yielded some pretty good deals. At 75% off, I can afford to sample some artists at very little cost. Yesterday, I grabbed Shannon Wright’s Maps Of Tacit and Clem Snide’s The Ghost Of Fashion for about $5 a piece. Or nothing, if you count the $10 coupon I cashed in when also buying Michael Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991, but I have a large pile of reading material to get through before I actually pick it up. Maybe it’ll accompany me to Las Vegas. As for the CDs, well I haven’t really had a chance to listen to them yet. I’ll post my impressions when I have some.

People are starting to get their tickets to the Toronto tapings of Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and by ‘people’, I mean those who are not me. Apparently they’re giving tickets out over a span of time so there’s still hope, but I have a nagging feeling that I won’t be so blessed.

The (relative) warm spell that started yesterday brought the people out of the woodwork and onto the streets last night. Drunken university kiddies being drunk and disorderly the way that university kiddies are inclined to be. Ah, youth.

I have officially gone more than one week without having the apartment flood. We’ll call this a triumph.

np – The Delgados / The Great Eastern

Is this Marvin from the forthcoming Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy film? Maybe.

Guitar Player talks to Ryan Adams about making Rock N Roll.

Yo La Tengo played The Onion’s Holiday party last December, and in a brilliant example of art imitating satire, re-enacted the classic “37 Record Store Clerks Feared Dead In Yo La Tengo Concert Disaster” story. Full band report and photos here. From Donewaiting.

In related news, part of the ceiling at the Bloor Cinema collapsed last night during a screening of The Corporation. No one was injured. And to think – I had been planning to maybe go to that, if the birthday party I was at hadn’t run long.

np – Ted Leo & The Pharmacists / Tell Balgeary, Balgaury Is Dead