Frank YangIt’s a long way from CBGBs in New York to Massey Hall in Toronto – geographically, stylistically, even temporally. The former defined by its role as the primordial ooze from whence punk rock first emerged, the latter known largely for the legendary folk and jazz artists who graced its stage. CBGBs was a place to begin, Massey a place to arrive, but the path between the two is one that’s been trod by few acts. As of this past Tuesday night, Sonic Youth became one of them.

At first, the venue seemed a peculiar choice – putting a band whose reputation was built so heavily on dissonance in a room with the most splendid acoustics in the city. But in truth Sonic Youth became about so much more than just noise a long time ago and the complexity of their songs really were demanding of the room in which they were performed. Plus it held about the right amount of people.

I didn’t arrive in time to catch most of openers The Entrance Band, but did hear enough to find it ironic that such a trad-sounding hard rock band would be supporting such an avant-garde one. I didn’t feel like I’d missed much but if I did, I could console myself with the knowledge that they’d be back in town on August 20 at the Annex Wreck Room supporting Nebula.

I’ve already come clean about being only a casual Sonic Youth fan, but most of that enthusiasm has been built on their most recent records, say from Murray Street up to and definitely including their latest The Eternal as they’ve struck what, to my ears, is the perfect balance of atonality and melody. And having only ever seen them once live before, at Lollapalooza 2006, I was pretty excited to do so again. From the buzz in the hall, it was pretty clear everyone else was excited as well but I suspect that most were much more hardcore than I and thus exponentially more stoked. Takeaway: people were looking forward to the show.

And the long-time fans were catered with the first song, “She Is Not Alone” dating back to the band’s 1982 debut. Of course I didn’t know this song – it and most others were verified via set list – but it was a slow, hypnotic sort of dirge featuring massive guitar freak-out from Thurston Moore that many probably hoped would be a set loaded with classic material. These people would probably be disappointed. With “Sacred Trickster”, the band made it clear that they would not be partaking in any career retrospectives – they were still creative and vital and had eyes dead set forward, and would prove it by playing eleven straight songs from The Eternal.

Now these were some of the songs I was most familiar with, but that’s a pretty relative statement – I don’t find Sonic Youth to be a band I necessarily enjoy on an individual song basis, but more as a whole aural experience and that’s exactly what they delivered. A massive, dense and cinematic sonic rendering that was simultaneously aggressive, gentle, intense and detached. Seemingly incongruous guitar parts wove around each other perfectly, lunging and lurching around the alternating vocals of Moore, Lee Ranaldo and Kim Gordon, all of whom initially looked every bit their age but with every song, became more and more ageless – the healing power of music, I suppose. And you know, for a band that’s been around as long as they and are so unquestioningly influential, it’s remarkable how no one but no one sounds like them. Following a stunning rendering of “Massage The History”, featuring the unexpected sight of Moore on acoustic guitar, the band finally threw the old-timers a bone with a searing set closer in “Pacific Coast Highway” from Sister. The two encores were similarly steered towards older material with the exception of “What We Know”, the final Eternal track that hadn’t yet been aired. If they’d run them in order, they could have billed it as a “Don’t Look Back” show, albeit for their newest record.

I can understand if some fans felt let down by the focus on the new stuff – I would have even liked to have heard some Rather Ripped stuff, as that may be my favourite recent album of theirs – but with a catalog as broad and deep as theirs, there’s no way they could have satisfied everyone. But from a sheer performance point of view, I can’t believe anyone was actually disappointed in any way by the show they were given. Simply epic.

There’s further reviews of the show at The National Post, eye, NOW and Fazer. Check out interviews with the band at Crawdaddy, eye, The Toronto Sun and Spinner.

Photos: Sonic Youth @ Massey Hall – June 30, 2009
MP3: Sonic Youth – “Sacred Trickster”
MP3: Sonic Youth – “Incinerate”
Video: Sonic Youth – “Sacred Trickster”
Video: Sonic Youth – “Incinerate”
Video: Sonic Youth – “Death Valley 1969”
MySpace: Sonic Youth

Blurt has an interview with Dinosaur Jr, while Exclaim has assembled a career-spanning timeline of their existence. They’re at the Phoenix on September 30.

The Big Takeover has a massive five-part interview with Bob Mould. He’s at the Mod Club on October 5.

Gibson Guitars talk to Neil Young about Archives Volume One.

Wilco (The Album) was released this week and in its wake comes Wilco (the media glut). There’s interviews with Jeff Tweedy at Time, The New York Times and JAM while American Songwriter chats with Nels Cline and Paste with Cline and John Stirrat.

St Louis Today and The Colorado Springs Independent discuss Son Volt’s American Central Dust with Jay Farrar.

PopMatters considers the legacy of Uncle Tupelo.

Steve Earle talks to Cincinnati.com. He’s at Massey Hall on July 11.

Daytrotter is sharing a session with Mark Olson & Gary Louris, recorded in March at SxSW.

MySpaceWhat do you get when you have a pile of random news and links, not a lot of time and definitely not enough caffeine in your system? A post like this.

NME reports that British prog-rock space cadets Muse have announced the release of their fifth studio album, The Resistance, for September 14 with massive world touring to follow. I had thought they might feasible V Fest Toronto headliners, following their shiny red-jumpsuited performance at the first edition in 2006 but they seem to have all their record promotion ducks in a row with the US U2 support dates and the European headlining dates – any visits to Canada will probably come much later.

But there is some V Ontario news – the dates and one of the acts performing have basically been confirmed thanks to Mute Math’s MySpace – they’re listed as performing at V Fest Toronto on August 29 and 30.

The Dodos will release their third album Time To Die on September 15. Expect to hear some of the new material when they open up for Beirut at the Phoenix on July 6 9.

The duo of Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss have reconvened as Quasi have a new, still-untitled record in the can. Look for it to have a name by the time it comes out on October 27.

Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips confirms to the BBC that their new record will be a double-disc affair entitled Embryonic and is targeted for a September, though more likely later in the Fall release. He also gives a video interview to Clash. Hey, maybe they can headline V Fest. They still technically owe us a show.

Drowned In Sound has a two-three-part interview with Manic Street Preacher Nicky Wire. NME quotes bandmate James Dean Bradfield as saying that their next album will be a more upbeat affair than their current release, Journal For Plague Lovers.

The New Yorker salutes Sonic Youth, who have released a video from The Eternal. They are at Massey Hall on June 30.

Video: Sonic Youth – “Sacred Trickster”

NPR interviews Elvis Costello, who will be at Massey Hall on August 28.

Bowerbirds are showing off a second MP3 from their new record Upper Air, due out July 7. They will be at Sneaky Dee’s on July 14

MP3: Bowerbirds – “Beneath Your Tree”

Her Acid Tongue album was released last Fall, but Jenny Lewis has only just released a first video from it.

Video: Jenny Lewis – “Black Sand”

Decider interviews The Decemberists, playing a date at the Kool Haus on August 4.

Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis talks about American Hardcore to The Quietus. Their new record Farm is out next Tuesday.

Magnet has a Q&A with Bob Mould, who is playing guest editor at their website this week. He and his band have a date at the Mod Club on October 5.

Interview interviews An Horse.

Mille-Feuille talks to Anna-Lynne Williams of Trespassers William about her various musical projects.

JAM has an interview with Great Lake Swimmers’ Tony Dekker.

Decider has a talk with Natasha Khan of Bat For Lashes.

Charleston City Paper has an extensive feature on Band Of Horses.

Washington City Paper talks to John Stirratt of Wilco. Wilco (The Album) is out June 30.

The Quietus examines the thespian endeavours of David Bowie.

Nick Thornton Jones/Warren Du PreezBelieve it or not, Patrick Wolf is really just like the rest of us – he gets lonely, insecure and frustrated with life and at the end of the day, just wants to be loved. It just so happens that he’s also a 6’4″ musical prodigy with a penchant for melodrama, a sartorial sense that ranges from the unusual to the outrageous and whose inner monologue of self-affirmation sounds an awful lot like Tilda Swinton.

His new album The Bachelor – out in the UK and digitally in North America now and getting a physical release here on August 11 – is dizzying sonic mash-up of facet of Wolf’s works, from the gothic electronica of Lycanthropy through Wind In The Wires‘ ghostly folk to The Magic Position‘s giddy techniclour pop, all wrapped around the very basic theme of Wolf wondering if he’ll ever find love. In the hands of some, the collision of all these sounds might be a cacophonous mess, especially when you add in the electro-industrial textures of Alec Empire, but with Wolf it somehow sounds perfectly natural to veer from Celtic folk to 8-bit synth-pop, all of it swathed in strings and Wolf’s dramatic, emotive baritone – the enormity of his creative vision unable to be confined by any single genre. The man thinks in widescreen – no, IMAX – and the breadth of The Bachelor is simply intended to capture it in all its grandiose, over the top glory.

Wolf’s larger than life aesthetic isn’t for everyone, certainly, but for those who allow themselves to be swept up in Wolf’s epic creations, The Bachelor seems a watershed record for the young auteur. There’s never been any question that Wolf has had a very clear idea of what he’s wanted to say and how he wants to say it, but with The Bachelor, there’s the sense that the listener is now hearing what Wolf himself hears – it sounds like the sum of all his previous works, blended into one concise, chaotic statement. Though initially disappointed that the double-album Battle was split into two albums and the second part, the triumphant The Conqueror, pushed back to 2010, I suspect that’s now for the best. The Bachelor is so rich and dense that if the companion record is nearly as good – and I really hope it is – it’d really be too much to absorb. I think I’ve managed to avoid this sort of hyperbole for the year so far, so I’ll give myself a cookie now – The Bachelor will almost certainly be one of my favourite albums of the year. Just watch.

Wolf is currently on tour in North America as part of the Nylon Summer Music Tour alongside The Living Things, The Plastiscines and Jaguar Love and will be at the Mod Club in Toronto on June 17. And, courtesy of REMG, 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 Patrick Wolf” in the subject line and your full name in the body. The contest will close at midnight, June 14.

There’s features on Wolf at The Skinny, The Quietus, Clash and Decider, videos of a couple of exclusive acoustic performances at Out and a behind-the-scenes feature on the making of the glow-in-the-dark video for “Hard Times” has emerged.

MP3: Patrick Wolf – “Who Will?” (Buffet Libre mix)
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Hard Times”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Vulture”
MySpace: Patrick Wolf

God Help The Girl has released one more MP3 from the forthcoming album – out June 23 – that should be extra-familiar to Belle & Sebastian fans. It also offers a pretty good reference point for how God Help The Girl differs from Belle & Sebastian, and how it’s alike.

MP3: God Help The Girl – “Funny Little Frog”

Under The Radar interviews former Pipette Rose Elinor Dougall, who is putting the finishing touches on her solo debut, due out later this year.

MP3: Rose Elinor Dougall – “May Holiday”

The Horrors talk to The Independent about being outsiders.

Sonic Youth Week is underway at PitchforkTV – first up is an A>D>D session with the band featuring a couple tracks from The Eternal, out tomorrow. They’re at Massey Hall on June 30.

Minnesota Public Radio has been on a roll with the studio sessions – last week they welcomed Jenny Lewis and also St Vincent, the latter of whom is at the Horseshoe on August 8 and was interviewed by The Chicago Tribune.

Pitchfork has details on a forthcoming Jayhawks anthology Music From The North Country, due out July 7. It’ll be available in standard and deluxe editions, the latter of which includes a disc of rarities and a DVD of the band’s videos.

The Georgia Straight and The Santa Barbara Independent talk to with Jens Lekman.

Two-thirds of the new A Camp covers EP, out tomorrow, is available to hear right now. Stream their Grace Jones cover at Spin and their Pink Floyd cover at Spinner. There’s interviews with the band at 2 Advocate, The Denver Post and The Montreal Mirror.

If you couldn’t be at The Radio Dept’s show in New York last month – and judging from the number of curses sent my way, there were a few of you – here’s the next best thing. Not one, but two live recordings of their set at the Bell House in Brooklyn, one from Bradley’s Almanac and another by a fan but made available at the band’s website.

Via Audio and Ha Ha Tonka will be at the Horseshoe on June 23 for a free show as part of Nu Music Nite.

MP3: Via Audio – “Developing Active People”
MP3: Via Audio – “Presents”
MP3: Ha Ha Tonka – “St. Nick On The Fourth In A Fervor”

Deleted Scenes will be at Sneaky Dee’s on July 5 as part of Wavelength.

MP3: Deleted Scenes – “Turn To Sand”
MP3: Deleted Scenes – “Fake IDs”

Ra Ra Riot have a date at Lee’s Palace on September 11, tickets $13.50.

MP3: Ra Ra Riot – “Dying Is Fine”
MP3: Ra Ra Riot – “Each Year” (EP version)

The mighty Bob Mould will bring his Life & Times to the Mod Club on October 5, tickets $22.50.

MP3: Bob Mould – “City Lights (Days Go By)”

Ingrid ZAs much as I’m looking forward to being in New York next week, I can’t help feeling I’m getting there a week too late. For it was this Wednesday night just past that Patrick Wolf played a one-off show at Le Poisson Rouge in Manhattan, previewing material from this forthcoming album The Bachelor – out in the UK on June 1 and in North America on June 2 and August 11, digitally and physically, respectively. And even though said performance was intended to be a mostly solo and mostly acoustic intimate affair, the live reports and photos from Stereogum, Prefix, The Music Slut, The New York Press and Spin make it sound like it was just as enthralling and magical a show as his more extroverted performances.

I mentioned just a couple days ago that a proper Wolf tour – also featuring The Living Things, The Plastiscines and Jaguar Love – was being assembled in conjunction with his new label NYLON and while a full itinerary is yet to be announced, I’m pleased to be able to announce that in addition to the handful of dates already sussed out, there will be a Toronto show on June 17 at the Mod Club, tickets on sale May 16. It’s fitting that this news come just a couple days before my birthday because Wolf’s May 2007 show at the El Mocambo on my actual date of birth was one of the most fun evenings I’d had in ages, and I have similarly high expectations of this show. With that gig, Phoenix and NxNE all falling in the same week, it’s shaping up to be a pretty crazy June. Crazy awesome.

The Music Slut caught Wolf for a quick interview on his visit to New York wherein he revealed that the sequel to The Bachelor, entitled The Conqueror, will now not see release until next year and the two may still be combined into their originally-intended double-album under the name Battle in the near future. Burton Mail also has an interview.

Video: Patrick Wolf – “Vulture”
MySpace: Patrick Wolf

There’s a video from the forthcoming God Help The Girl album of the same name. The album is out June 23.

MP3: God Help The Girl – “Come Monday Night”
Video: God Help The Girl – “Come Monday Night”

Mail On Sunday talks to Blur’s Graham Coxon about not having such a great time of it in the ’90s.

Doves are giving away a free MP3 of an alternate take of “Birds Flew Backwards” from Kingdom Of Rust. They’re at the Kool Haus on June 1.

Pitchfork has details on the 20th anniversary deluxe reissue of The Stone Roses’ debut, due out August 11.

PJ Harvey and John Parish talk to Filter about their collaboration A Woman A Man Walked By.

La Roux has released a new video. The self-titled debut is due June 29.

Video: La Roux – “Bulletproof”

Extenuating circumstance kept me from the Kills/Horrors show last night but if you need some kind of fix, have an interview with the former’s Alison Mosshart at NOW where they discuss the re-release of Keep On Your Mean Side and an interview with the latter at The Quietus.

Did you miss Bowerbirds’ show at the Drake last weekend? Fear not – they’re back on July 14 for a show at Sneaky Dee’s with Megafaun.

Stereogum gets an update as to where The Flaming Lips are with their next album – the working title is Embryonic and it is targeted for a September release.

VBS’ Soft Focus sits down with Ted Leo for an extensive interview.

Clash, Black Book and Paste talk to Nick Zinner and Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

I think I would have paid much much money to see Nick Cave’s script for Gladiator 2 made real. Well, I’d have bought a ticket at least. Maybe two.

Pitchfork has details on Dark Night Of The Soul, the forthcoming multimedia collaboration between Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous, Danger Mouse and David Lynch due out this Summer. Too strange to try and recap here, so just go read the article.

Trailer: Dark Night Of The Soul

The Aquarian talks to Hutch Harris of The Thermals while The AV Club gets Kathy Foster to shuffle her music collection.

The Quietus has an interview with Bob Mould.

The Artist’s Den welcomes The Hold Steady to their studios for a couple of video performances – via So Much Silence.

The New York Times profiles St Vincent.

Popmatters asks 20 questions of School Of Seven Bells’ Ben Curtis.

Leigh RightonVancouver fuzz-merchant duo Japandroids chose an interesting way to celebrate the release of their new album Post-Nothing and the attendant “Best New Music” laurels bestowed upon it by Pitchfork – they cancelled nearly their entire scheduled Spring tour.

Okay “chose” is probably the wrong word, as singer-guitarist Brian King probably didn’t decide this was the perfect time to suffer a perforated ulcer and go in for emergency surgery. But that’s what happened, and so nearly a month’s worth of dates were scrapped but almost immediately rescheduled – Pitchfork has the new dates, including a July 16 date at the El Mocambo in Toronto to make up for the nixed May 9 date.

In the meantime, they can try and keep up with the increased media interest that this record is sure to generate – witness them already on the cover of the latest Exclaim. There’s also interviews with them at JAM and View, while Metro talks to them in the context of what it identifies as a new trend of “lo-fi” bands.

MP3: Japandroids – “Young Hearts Spark Fire”
Video: Japandroids – “Heart Sweats”
MySpace: Japandroids

Exclaim! and Chart talk to Dog Day about new album Concentration. They’re at Lee’s on May 28.

Metric week continues at Drowned In Sound as the band plays tour guide – bassist Josh Winstead relates his favourite things about New York City and guitarist Jimmy Shaw does the same for Toronto.

NOW features The Dears, kicking of their North American tour at the Mod Club tonight.

Fucked Up will be hosting a night of what’s sure to be musical mayhem at the Phoenix on July 16 with a bill that will include Women and Vivian Girls amongst others still to be announced. There’s features on the band at Vue and Uptown.

MP3: Fucked Up – “No Epiphany” (No Age remix)
MP3: Fucked Up – “No Epiphany”
MP3: Fucked Up – “Twice Born”

The Los Angeles Record gets the boys from No Age to interview Bob Mould. No Age will be in town in June for NxNE – specifics still forthcoming.

Aquarium Drunkard interviews James McNew of Condo Fucks.

NPR has a World Cafe session with School Of Seven Bells.

The Guardian profiles St Vincent’s Annie Clark. Her new record Actor is out next week.

John Vanderslice has let loose another MP3 from Romanian Names, out May 19.

MP3: John Vanderslice – “Too Much Time”

M Ward stops by MPR for a session. Metro also offers up an interview.

Magnet offers an over/under analysis of The Hold Steady’s five most over- and underrated songs. Some of those songs make an appearance in the band’s session recorded for Daytrotter during SxSW, which is now available to download (or will be later today – will link when it’s up). Update: There we go.

Paste goes Bob Dylan-crazy on the occasion of his new album’s release. Together Through Life came out earlier this week and is streaming at Spinner.

Stream: Bob Dylan / Together Through Life

Metromix talks to Stephin Merritt about his score for the stage version of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline.

I like how much I’ve been able to swear in today’s post, and none if it was me being profane.