Chris BarneyEver since they announced Joe Pernice’s upcoming gig at the Dakota Tavern back in July, I’ve been telling myself that I’d have his new book It Feels So Good When I Stop, for which this is a promotional jaunt, read and absorbed. I mean, I had an advance copy of the novel in hand by late July and surely a little less than two months would be plenty of time to get through it – after all, it was hardly an omnibus edition of The Wheel Of Time or anything.

And yet, here we are just a week out from the September 24 show and I’ve yet to even crack the spine on it. Free time for reading just hasn’t materialized as I’d hoped and when there is a moment, there’s more time-sensitive stuff to be plowed through (library books, magazines, etc) so I guess I’ll just have to go into the show, which is part performance, part reading, and let Joe tell me his story himself. Or little bits of it. I did at least manage to listen to the CD of the same name, though, so at least I’ll know the songs he’ll be playing at the show but considering that they’re all covers, I hope he throws a few of his own songs in the mix as well.

Tickets for the show are $18.50 in advance and $20 at the door, but courtesy of Against The Grain 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 feel so good when I stop” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, September 22.

MySpace: Pernice Brothers

AmazonPeople probably don’t believe Joe Pernice, he of the gorgeously depressive folk-pop, when he says he’s a huge fan of early ’80s British new wave with its mechanical tones and synthetic textures. And so perhaps to prove it, he covers it. A lot. Or he did, anyways – his latest release It Feels So Good When I Stop is almost all covers and while it ranges from ’70s AM pop through classic country and ’90s college rock, his Anglophile side is pretty much ignored. But then, the album is meant to soundtrack his new book of the same name, and it’s not autobiographical, not at all. No sir.

Digging back through his Pernice Brothers and Chappaquiddick Skyline periods, however, reveal a trifecta of superb covers from the era – New Order’s “Leave Me Alone”, The Chameleons’ “Up The Down Escalator” and this one of The Psychedelic Furs’ “Love My Way”, released as a b-side to the “Clearspot” single. Maybe someday Joe will release another covers album comprised solely of this stuff. But probably not.

Pernice plays a combination show/book reading at the Dakota Tavern on September 24 while The Psychedelic Furs are teaming up with The Happy Mondays for a nostalgia tour that hits the Kool Haus on October 14. The Chicago Tribune has an interview with Pernice.

MP3: Pernice Brothers – “Love My Way”
Video: The Psychedelic Furs – “Love My Way”

Frank YangJust to be clear: I had absolutely no intention of going to any shows this past weekend whilst in New York City. Yes, I checked to see what was playing over the long weekend and certainly would have hit something up if it were appealing, but taking a break from standing around in Toronto clubs till the wee hours of the morning by standing around in New York clubs till the wee hours of the morning is not my idea of a vacation. However, a chat with Soundbites on Saturday afternoon and the lack of anything more interesting to do on Saturday night found me – wait for it – standing around in a Lower East Side club till the wee hours of the morning.

The club was The Cake Shop, a venue I’d heard tale of for years but had not set foot in – and which like other fabled NYC clubs of which I’ve recently made the acquaintance of, was much smaller, darker and sweatier than I’d imagined. But they did indeed sell cake. So there’s that. The bill was four deep, the first half of which I missed, but I did arrive in time to see The Ladybug Transistor – a band not all that familiar to me but who came with a pedigree containing the keywords Elephant 6 (a scene with whom they were originally associated), Merge (the label to which they’re signed) and The Essex Green (the band with which they’ve shared many a member). And so while not being familiar with their material, per se, that was more than enough to make me confident that I’d enjoy what they had to offer and indeed I did – sharp, singalong-worthy and handclap-happy retro-styled indie-pop will never go out of style. With a big, lush sound that seemed a bit at odds with the decidedly non-lush environs, The Ladybug Transistor’s set certainly made for a better evening than watching basic cable back at the apartment where I was staying, which probably would have been the evening’s fallback activity.

The night’s headliner was an outfit called Cinema Red & Blue, an offshoot of UK indie cult heroes The Comet Gain involving members of The Ladybug Transistor – for any more detail than that, I refer you to this preview piece at BrooklynVegan. I think I’d heard Comet Gain before and recall being generally unimpressed with their shambolic aesthetic, so it was probably too much to hope that a one-off gig from an under-rehearsed and probably drunk side-project would offer much in the revelation department. And no, it really didn’t. A late start due to a malfunctioning keyboard (always a good idea to wait until show time to discover that the power cord doesn’t work) pretty much set the tone and by the time they got started, they were as sloppy and wobbly as you’d expect. But while that wasn’t my thing, it seemed to be precisely what the fans in attendance wanted and so they all seemed pretty pleased. I stuck around for a little while and quietly excused myself. Sleep beckoned.

Photos: Cinema Red & Blue, The Ladybug Transistor @ The Cake Shop, New York – September 5, 2009
MP3: The Ladybug Transistor – “Three Days From Now”
MP3: The Ladybug Transistor – “Splendor In The Grass”
MP3: The Ladybug Transistor – “The Reclusive Hero”
MP3: The Ladybug Transistor – “A Burial At Sea”
MySpace: The Ladybug Transistor

As for the rest of the trip, it was intended to be a little bit shopping excursion, a little bit get the hell out of Toronto and it was a success on both counts. Some clothes and probably unnecessary photo gear to the former, some exploration of Brooklyn, culture at the MoMA and AMNH, excellent eating and hanging out with friends made it a great long weekend and a small but necessary act of salvaging a tiny bit of the Summer. Some photos are up at Flickr if you’re curious.

Apologies to anyone who stopped by Sunday to check out this week’s G’N’R cover only to find, instead of twee-ified Axel, a googly-eyed cat – in my rush to get posts written up and queued for my absence, I forgot to upload the MP3 file. So it’s live now and as a bit of mea culpa, also help yourself to this radio session version of Luna doing the same tune. Also check out the Taken By Trees features at Paste and The Guardian and stream the new album East Of Eden – out today – at Drowned In Sound.

MP3: Taken By Trees – “Sweet Child O’ Mine”
MP3: Luna – “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (live)
Stream: Taken By Trees / East Of Eden

Anyone faced with a Joe Pernice-or-The Antlers dilemma for the evening of September 24, rejoice – The Antlers will be playing an in-store at Criminal Records that evening, time TBA. So you – and by “you” I mean “I” – can hit up the in-store first then trek over to the Dakota later that night to see Joe. Unless you had tickets for the Antlers’ show at the Horseshoe that night, in which case you’re on your own with a double-serving of Antlers. There’s a video session with them at LiveDaily while Pernice talks to Spinner about his new record.

Suckers have been added as support for the just-announced White Rabbits gig at the Drake on October 24. I’ve heard almost as many good things about them as I have the headliners – which is a considerable amount – so that gig is probably one not to miss. Check out an MP3 and video and also their Daytrotter session from earlier this Summer.

MP3: Suckers – “It Gets Your Body Movin'”
Video: Suckers – “Easy Chairs”

Former 13th Floor Elevators frontman and general psych-rock legend Roky Erickson has set a rare live date at Lee’s Palace in Toronto for October 28 – tickets $29.50. There’s an interview with Erickson at The Quietus.

Video: The 13th Floor Elevators – “You’re Gonna Miss Me”

The Swell Season, who continue on despite the end of Glenn Hansard and Marketa Irglova’s real-life romance, will release their second album Strict Joy on October 27 and follow it up with a Fall tour that includes a date at Massey Hall in Toronto on November 3 – tickets $29.50 to $42.50. Check out a new song from the record courtesy of Spinner and also a few more at a Tiny Desk Concert recorded for NPR.

MP3: The Swell Season – “In These Arms”

If you were wondering if/when The Wooden Sky would play a proper hometown gig rather than rooftop soirees or subterranean in-stores, wonder no longer – they’ll present their excellent new record If I Don’t Come Home You’ll Know I’m Gone on a proper stage on November 13 at Lee’s Palace. Tickets $12.

MP3: The Wooden Sky – “Something Hiding For Us In The Night”

And if you’ve been wondering – as I have – what TV is worth downloading this Fall, it’s The AV Club to the rescue. They’ve listed off all the shows they’re going to be covering as the traditional new television season kicks off in the coming weeks, and not a moment too soon. With Weeds over last week and True Blood done this Sunday, I needs new stuff to watch. Though a closer look at their picks shows that our tastes align a little too closely – most of them I already watch or have decided not to watch. Will be following Glee and Bored To Death – anyone have any other suggestions that don’t require catching up on four or five past seasons worth of eps?

Gavin EvansToday marks Nick Cave’s second foray into the world of fiction – at least in the printed form – with the release of The Death Of Bunny Munro, his follow-up novel to 1989’s And The Ass Saw The Angel. I’ve read neither of these works, but considering the dark and seedy places where his musical muse takes him, I have trouble imagining his prose will be anything but blackly hilarious and disturbing.

And while I’ve never been an audiobook sort – I prefer to multitask and listen to music while reading, and listening to a book leaves my eyes with nothing to do – but the audio version of Bunny Munro offers a certain temptation. Besides having Cave himself read his work, it features musical accompaniment by Cave and Warren Ellis – the Bad Seed, not the comic scribe, though he himself is no stranger to things dark and seedy. The book’s website has audio clips of Cave reading the first four chapters of the book, video footage of him reading four chapters with more to come and Spinner has a text excerpt available. The audio book will come on 7 CDs with a DVD from whence the above video clips are taken, as an iPhone version – prose app or audio download – and in an old-fashioned dead-tree edition. Multi-platform much?

Cave talks to The Times and Scotland On Sunday about the novel and to The Guardian about going with the iPhone as a means of distribution. And if the recorded and printed Cave isn’t enough, he’ll be doing readings and signings in the UK, US and Canada – September 16 at 7PM at the Indigo in the Eaton Centre in Toronto and September 17 at 7PM in Ottawa at the Ottawa Writer’s Festival at St Brigid’s Centre.

MP3: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – “Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!”

Another musician gone author is Joe Pernice, with his debut novel It Feels So Good When I Stop. Though not being promoted as elaborately as Cave’s book, it’s also more than just a book – it has a soundtrack CD that includes a couple of spoken word passages of Pernice reading from his book and the handful of live dates will be combination shows and readings. I fully intend to have read the book before his September 24 date at the Dakota Tavern. Seriously, I will. There’s interviews with Pernice at The National and The AV Club, and there’s a bunch of video session performances available at KEXP’s YouTube channel.

That September 24 date is circled in ink on the ol’ calendar (figuratively speaking, of course), but it’s not without a bit of regret as it means missing seeing The Antlers at the Horseshoe that same night – especially now that Holly Miranda has been announced as opener for the tour.

Resonancity talked to drummer Paul Banwatt of The Rural Alberta Advantage at V Fest this past weekend. I also talked to Paul, but our conversation was along the lines of, “hey how’s it going,” “alright, how’re you?”. Not really worth transcribing. Much more noteworthy is the fact that the band recorded a session for Daytrotter on their last jaunt through the midwest US and that session, featuring two new songs, is now available to download.

Other conversations taking place at V Fest had Fazer and Spinner chatting with members of Mew. ArtistDirect also has an interview, though conducted elsewhere.

Coeur de Pirate performed a new song on CBC’s Q. Metro talks to Beatrice Martin.

Video: Coeur de Pirate – “Place de la Republique” (live on Q)

Brooklyn’s White Rabbits have finally made a local date in support of their latest album It’s Frightening – catch them at the Drake Underground on October 24, tickets $15.50. And also check out their WOXY session from earlier this Summer.

MP3: White Rabbits – “Percussion Gun”
Video: White Rabbits – “Percussion Gun”

Yo La Tengo’s new record Popular Songs isn’t out until next week but it’s currently streaming in its entirety over at NPR and they’ve also released yet another video from the record. And Pitchfork has a chat with Dario Robleto, who crafted the art that adorns the album cover. Yo La Tengo are at the Opera House on October 3.

Video: Yo La Tengo – “When It’s Dark”
Stream: Yo La Tengo / Popular Songs

And support for Yo La Tengo’s Canadian dates has been announced as Chicago outfit The Horse’s Ha. They sound something like this.

MP3: The Horse’s Ha – “Asleep In A Waterfall”
MP3: The Horse’s Ha – “The Piss Choir”

Maxim has an interview with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. No bikini photo shoot, though. Probably for the best. Wilco are at Massey Hall on October 14 and 15.

If you thought Neil Young was going to take a break from his Archives now that the first box set has been released, think again. Rolling Stone reports that November 2 will see the release of Dreamin’ Man, a live album collecting solo recordings of Harvest Moon circa 1992. Neil will be making an appearance at Yonge-Dundas Square on September 14. He may bring his guitar. He may play it.

eye talks to members of The Depreciation Guild, in town at the Horseshoe on September 7 opening up for The Pains Of Being Pure Of Heart, with whom NOW has a chat. The Chicago Tribune talks to the third band on the bill, Cymbals Eat Guitars.

Coley Beekman & Jeremy NelsonYou might not think it – I certainly didn’t – but the shortest path between the exotic locales of DeKalb, Illinois and Winooski, Vermont runs directly through Toronto, Ontario. And that’s what brings Wisconsin-based trio The Daredevil Christopher Wright through town tomorrow evening, August 28, for a free in-store at Criminal Records on Queen West.

It’s not their first visit to the city – they were here in June during NXNE and made friends and fans as well as a fine impression at both at their official showcase and an in-store, also at Criminal Records, and it’s not hard to see why. Their debut In Deference To A Broken Back – steaming in full at their MySpace – is full of rich and whimsical orchestral-pop that’s eminently likeable, well-suited to spontaneous bouts of humming or clapping along or just soundtracking these last days of Summer (and don’t think I haven’t noticed we’ve lost about 10 degrees in ambient temperature these last few days. Nature, you’re on my list).

The show begins at 6PM and is free as our health care system. The band is just starting a massive tour so if you live anywhere in the eastern US or midwest, you’ll probably get a chance to check them. Probably not for free, though. On Milwaukee has an interview with the band, who were named “Band Of The Week” by Paste back in May and recorded a Daytrotter session last year.

MP3: The Daredevil Christopher Wright – “The East Coast”
MP3: The Daredevil Christopher Wright – “How To Get My Head Back On My Shoulders”
Stream: The Daredevil Christopher Wright / In Deference To A Broken Back
MySpace: The Daredevil Christopher Wright

Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, who produced much of the Daredevil Christopher Wright record, has a new project called Volcano Choir who will release their debut album Unmap on September 22. It kind of sounds like this.

MP3: The Volcano Choir – “Island Is”

Spinner welcomes Joe Pernice to their studios for an Interface session and The San Francisco Chronicle has an interview. Joe is at the Dakota Tavern on September 24.

Magnet Q&As Richard Thompson about his new box set, Walking On A Wire: 1968-2009

Islands will release their new record Vapours on September 22 and the first MP3 is available below. The second can be had at Stereogum. They’re at the Kool Haus on October 14 opening up for The Happy Mondays and The Psychedelic Furs.

MP3: Islands – “Vapours”

White Hinterland will be in town at a venue to be announced on October 10. Casey Deinel’s last release was last year’s Luniculaire EP.

MP3: White Hinterland – “Chante de Grillon”
MP3: White Hinterland – “Dreaming Of The Plum Trees”

Decider and The Boston Herald talks to members of Wheat.

The Line Of Best Fit interviews Charlie Fink of Noah & The Whale, whose First Days Of Spring, is out on Monday in the UK and domestically on October 6.

Mumford & Sons have released the first video from their debut album Sigh No More, due out October 5. From this, I daresay the record will be worth the long, long wait.

Video: Mumford & Sons – “Little Lion Man”

Clash talks to Arctic Monkeys, in town at the Kool Haus on September 29.