Wednesday, March 2nd, 2005
Gone for far too long, there is finally some good news from Teenage Fanclub – they are releasing their first album since 2000 (not counting the best-of comp), Man-Made, on May 2 in the UK (see cover art). Since this is coming out on their own PeMa label, there’s no info on a North American release but surely someone will arrange to distribute it in the colonies.
It might be a little much to hope for a tour as well, but considering they came over in 2001 for no particular reason (I don’t think Howdy! had been out in the US yet though it was available up here) and played a magnificent sold-out show at the Opera House, I know at least one city would make it worth their while. We loves the Fannies, oh yes we do. Very much looking forward to this one. And if you haven’t yet, check out the exclusive live and demo tracks available on their website.
Also coming out May 2 in the UK is the debut album from The Tears, aka Bernard and Brett from Suede (if you didn’t know). The record is called Here Come The Tears (which also answers the question of how the band name is pronounced – ‘tir or ‘tar). The first single is “Refugees” and there’s a streaming clip of it available here. Their label also has a big long writeup on the album.
The Shins are finally coming back to Toronto after almost three years. April 17 at the Kool Haus. That’s right, the Kool Haus. God I hate that place. Anyone else remember seeing them at the Rivoli in July 2002? That was a nice little show. I’m having some trouble envisioning their indie pop in a cavernous room like the Kool Haus… Man, I had no idea they were so big now. I blame Natalie Portman. She needs to be punished. Yes she does… Oh yeah, it appears support on this tour will be New Zealand’s The Brunettes. Tickets $21, on sale now.
Also coming back to town at Lee’s Palace on April 17, after a two month absence, is M Ward who kicked so much ass at the ElMo on Sunday. This time it’ll be with a full band, Norfolk & Western, who are also opening along with Devotchka.
And if you don’t want to see The Shins or M Ward, you can catch The Golden Republic and Aqueduct at the Horseshoe that same night, April 17, tickets $8. God, when was the last time so much was going on in town on a Sunday night? Oh yeah, this past Sunday.
Also at the ‘Shoe on April 29 will be Sweden’s Mando Diao and The Comas, admission $10.
Oh, and what was I saying about Joe Pernice yesterday? May 5 4, Horseshoe, $10. We love ya, Joe. Update: Hang on, just noticed that Adult is scheduled for the ‘Shoe on May 5. Maybe The Toronto Star had the date wrong? I’ll try to find out what’s what… Update 2: Thanks to Craig from Against The Grain for sorting things out for me. The show is May 4.
Pitchfork and XFM are reporting that J and Lou and Murph are together again as Dinosaur Jr and will play the Fuji Rock Festival and then some UK dates. J Mascis’ website confirms. I don’t know how I feel about this – I only got into Dino Jr when Lou was already gone, so he’s never been an integral part of the band from my perspective – hell, my favourite Dino Jr albums – Green Mind, Where You Been – are both post-Lou, though I will not argue that Bug is awesome. I would hope their hatchet can stay buried long enough to do some North American dates. I’ve never seen Dino in any incarnation, nor J on his own, so I’d be happy to get the opportunity – especially if they’re doing Dino tunes. But if they play “Poledo”, someone’s gonna get hurt. Lou Barlow recently talked to The Journal News about his new album Emoh and he also pretty much confirms the reunion plans.
Billboard introduces America to Stars. Set Yourself On Fire gets a release Stateside next Tuesday.
Sloan’s Twice Removed has been voted the greatest Canadian album of all time by Chart readers.
Why does “priceless” have a positive meaning while “worthless” has a negative meaning? Just wondering.
np – Arcade Fire / Funeral
Tuesday, March 1st, 2005
Sometime in the wee hours of last night, at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom, Luna played one last encore, said farewell and left the stage for the last time. They leave behind seven studio albums, one live album, several EPs and a sad spot in my heart as one of my favourite bands ever are no more.
Andy, who runs the Galaxie 500/Luna website Full Of Wishes, has started a groupblog – Luna’s Last Waltz – to document the final days of the band, collecting reviews, photos, testimonials and reminiscences from fans over the course of their final tour. There’s some really nice dispatches and photos from last night, including a pic of Dean loading his guitar into a cab to go home.
For my part, I bid the band farewell last Fall, first in Toronto and then Chicago (from where today’s photo was taken) even though that turned out to not be their final date in the Windy City – they stopped by once more last month on their way back home to New York City for their final four shows over three days.
Update: Photos from the last show.
As a parting gift, I present a farewell track – a Velvet Underground cover, natch – recorded June 3, 1993 at the Borderline in London.
MP3: Luna – “Ride Into The Sun” (live)
Goodbye.
One to put in your distant future pipe… Joe Pernice is trying to add a solo Toronto date onto “his very extensive 2-4 show tour of the world” (mailing list’s words, not mine) which currently includes London, New York and probably Boston. If it happens, it’ll probably do so around late April/early May. I admit, when Joe moved up here last Fall, I was hoping it would mean at least a couple local appearances, but the man’s been keeping a very low profile. But still, I’ll take what I can get.
The Times and The Guardian both run Manchester-angled interviews with Doves, whose Some Cities came out a couple weeks ago in the UK and is out today in North America. From Pop (All Love). And anyone who’s not rushing out today to buy the new record and needs a little more convincing, there’s a streaming audio sampler here. And if you like other people to tell you what to like, Pitchfork testifies.
You can preview a couple of tracks from The Carlton Chronicles, the new album from Centro-Matic side-project South San Gabriel. It’s out April 5.
David Bowie tells Rolling Stone why he likes Arcade Fire.
Wait for the punchline. Wait for it. From Golden Fiddle.
24: Well, I guess they decided that schizophrenic daughter storyline wasn’t going anywhere. So that’s the second major plotline wrapped up (kidnapping, meltdowns) by 6PM. Thirteen hours to go – what will they do next? Hopefully Jack will get a chance to have a sandwich or something, the boy hasn’t eaten all day. But really, I must once again applaud the producers for not dragging things out. Lots of believable (relatively speaking) mini crises are much more interesting than one drawn-out completely incredulous one. Of course, they’re also not going to convince anyone that the terrorists have yet another contingency plan in place… but they’ll try anyways. Let’s see what’s next. Maybe they’ll spend the next few hours in couple’s therapy where Audrey will confess that seeing Jack apply live electrical wires to her ex-husband’s nipples didn’t repulse her so much as excite her.
np – New Order / Power, Corruption & Lies
Monday, February 28th, 2005
It’s always risky going to a show when the artist has a new record to push and you don’t have that record. If they draw heavily from the newer material, will hearing mostly unfamiliar songs diminish one’s enjoyment of the show? That did weigh on my mind a bit last night when I went to see M Ward at the ElMo. I had yet to pick up Transistor Radio and had only listened to the stream at Merge once. But cut me some slack – it only came out last week. I haven’t had time to make it to the record store. Anyway.
Taking the stage in an unassuming brown shirt and wool cap, and considerably younger looking than I’d expected, Ward immediately tore into a frenzied acoustic instrumental (sounded familiar but I couldn’t pick out the name), leaving most of the audience’s jaws on the floor – what a way to start things off. The next hour and fifteen minutes were spent with Ward’s warm, raspy voice and virtuoso fingerpicked acoustic guitar (as well as some piano) while playing material from both Transfiguration Of Vincent and the new Transistor Radio. Scattered amongst the originals were covers of Joanna Newsom, David Bowie, Daniel Johnston, and The Beach Boys, done so uniquely in Ward’s folk/country style that if you didn’t know better, you’d swear they were his own compositions (though he did fess up to which ones weren’t his before starting). With the assistance of a looper pedal, his single acoustic guitar became almost a full band as Ward layered the various parts needed to recreate the arrangements of the albums – the result was nothing short of spectacular.
This show turned out to be part of a warm-up mini tour – Ward promised to be back in the next couple months with a full band, likely Norfolk & Western, whom I’d actually expected to be opening this show up. I have to wonder if Ward with a full band would be as impressive as him solo? I guess there’s only one way to find out, and if the ensemble experience is anywhere near as good as the one-man act, it’ll definitely be worth seeing. Only downside to this show was no merch – I guess I’ll have to get my copy of Transistor Radio the old retail way. Oh yeah, photos.
Kathleen Edwards will be at the Mod Club on April 7 for Back To Me, out tomorrow. Jason Collett supports. Tickets are $17 and appear to only be available through Maple Music.
Trashcan Sinatras are at Lee’s Palace on April 28. Lee’s Palace has new doors. Just thought I’d mention that. Info on the show from For The Records. As for the new doors, I saw them myself.
The first new House Of Love album in twelve years is out today. North Americans who don’t want to pay the import prices (that’s $28 CDN at Amazon.ca, if you were wondering), I direct you to the good folks at cdwow.com. Ten pounds for the album, postpaid anywhere in the world – whatta deal. I’ve dealt with them before and they’ve always been terrific. I don’t expect Days Run Away to get a domestic release, so this is probably my – and your – best bet.
np – The Chameleons / Strange Times
Sunday, February 27th, 2005
I really enjoyed Ocean’s Eleven, with its blend of caper and comedy and terrific cast, so while it wasn’t exactly crying out for a sequel, I had been pretty keen on seeing Ocean’s Twelve even though the reviews were fairly lukewarm. Whereas the first one was a heist film foremost and a comedy second, the sequel flips that around playing more for laughs and trading on the charisma and chemistry of the players rather than concentrate on the heists. The end result is considerably sillier and more lightweight, though still pretty enjoyable.
After getting away with robbing the Bellagio in the original, someone feeds the whereabouts of all the thieves to thieve-ee Terry Benedict who proceeds to… persuade them all to return the money they took from him. This, of course, requires more heists, this time in Europe. The new member of the cast, thus necessitating the increment in movie title, is Catherine Zeta-Jones (whose haircut really works for her…) as an police detective and Brad Pitt’s ex-girlfriend looking to take the gang down. As I mentioned before, this film really looks to play up the humour, particularly in the third act where things become ridiculous beyond the point of incredulity, but at least entertainingly so.
However I was disappointed in how incidental the heists became – they weren’t so much integral to the plot as just devices to give Clooney and the boys to banter and josh. Almost every interesting plot twist is recounted in flashback form, stripping away much of the suspense that might have otherwise come from it and forcing the viewer to suspend disbelief that much further. There does come a point that it becomes pretty damn hard to suspend disbelief that someone could plan that many moves in advance, even a criminal mastermind like George Clooney.
Feist has a new website with some nice new content. I particularly liked seeing the video for Broken Social Scene’s “Almost Crimes”. From For The Records.
…And now it’s a triple-header. Arcade Fire, Danforth Music Hall, April 26. You know the drill.
It’s 1994 all over again! Nine Inch Nails – yes, those Nine Inch Nails – are at the Kool Haus for two shows May 9 and 10 and Garbage is at the Kool Haus on April 25. Remember Garbage? Sure you do. They were that band. With that song. And Nine Inch Nails were that other band. With that other song. Both acts have new albums to flog, but you know the crowd will only want to hear those old songs. Congratulations Trent, Shirley, you’re officially classic rock. More Cowbell has NIN presale info.
I’ve begun playing Knights Of The Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. I’d held off for a little while, but have given in. Remember me fondly.
But in an attempt to counter the hours that will be devoured by trying to save the galaxy from Dark Jedi (or maybe I’ll go Dark and try and destroy the galaxy), I am becoming proactive on my long-rumoured redesign. Seriously – there are photoshop files, massive FTP transfers, code being written… it’s all very impressive. I hope to have it down before Guns’N’Roses release Chinese Democracy.
np – Shoegazeradio.com
Saturday, February 26th, 2005
The tragedy of it all is that of all the comic book adaptations that have found their way to the big screen in recent years, Hellblazer would have been one of the easiest to do right. Part of the beauty of the character of John Constantine is that he’s all about the premise. There’s no real continuity to be adhered to, nothing that would make the fanboys scream if you strayed from canon. Just be true to the character, and you’re all set. That’s why so many different writers have been able to work so well with him – with a few exceptions, you can start him from tabula rasa and be good to go. He’s blond, British, smokes a shitload, wears a dirty trenchcoat, is hip-deep in the occult and is a right bastard.
Which is why it’s so confounding that they got the film so bloody wrong. Brown hair, set in Los Angeles, black suit… dear God. I won’t even get started on Keanu… Someone like Robert Carlyle or David Thewlis could have been spectacular in the role, but no, they had to go with an action figure for a part that really doesn’t demand action at all. John Constantine is cerebral, not physical. He’s useless in a punch-up – he’s all about outthinking and outplanning his opponents. Obviously traits that Keanu embodies. It’s funny that by straying so far from the source material (so much so that Alan Moore apparently disavowed the film entirely, even forfeiting his creator credits and any monies that would come along with it), they’ve made a film that’s so unrelatable to the comics that I read for years that I could probably appreciate it on its own merits, whatever those may be. No, I haven’t seen it yet, but my argument doesn’t really require me to. And I may actually do so at some point, either at the rep or by rental. And amazingly, it’s done well enough at the box office that they’re already talking sequel. Gah.
Achtung Baby had a pretty thorough Hellblazer post last week, pretty much covering all the links I would have wanted to use. So I’ll just send you to this fansite and let you take it from there, if you’re so inclined. I read Hellblazer for years, from the tail end of Jamie Delano’s tenure all the way through Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s definitive run. The title stumbled for a bit post-Ennis with a variety of creative teams taking swings at the story, but never really getting the momentum back. I bowed out around then as it wasn’t holding my interest anymore and finances were tight. But man, those Ennis/Dillon issues are still amazing. I’ve recently started going back and trying to catch up on the stuff I missed – if the attention from the film has accomplished one positive thing, it’s to remind me of how good a character John Constantine can be in the right hands. A pity Hollywood couldn’t figure it out.
But if you DO like Keanu, you’re probably excited about A Scanner Darkly, which I admit, looks pretty cool. I’m not sure the rotoscoping works for the tone of the film though, it seems a little too cartoon-y. It’d have been nice if they went with something a little more jagged or Sienkiewicz-y.
New Order tells Billboard that they’re coming to North America to tour Waiting For The Siren’s Call (out April 12) this year. Honest. Swear to God. This might be exciting if I’d heard they were a decent live act… which I haven’t. Quite the opposite, actually, and the BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert album rather bears that opinion out. Still, it’s good of them to offer.
The Jayhawks do a little break-up backpedalling. Sorry guys, too late. You’re dead to me now. Dead.
The Independent challenges Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam to a no-holds-barred steel cage grudge match, and by that, I mean they sit down for a nice chat with the man. Via Coolfer.
Went to Dave & Buster’s last night for another 30th birthday party, this time it was Jeremy’s decade-odometer rolling over. Interesting place, like Chuck-E-Cheese with a liquor license. I went for the skee-ball but stayed for the Colorama (think roulette for idiots) and managed to cash out pretty well, taking home this bad boy. Spider-Man’s arms are poseable. POSEABLE!
np – Catherine Wheel / Adam And Eve
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