FacebookHaving only gotten around to discovering the genius of LCD Soundsystem with their third and final album This Is Happening, I feel immensely fortunate to have caught them live twice on their farewell tour – their final Toronto show in May 2010 and then in Chicago headlining that year’s Pitchfork Festival – probably more than someone as late to the part as I deserved.

But watching Shut Up And Play The Hits, the concert documentary covering their final ever concert at Madison Square Garden in New York in April 2011, I felt no small amount of regret that I didn’t move heaven and earth to be there. Not that I would have gotten a ticket, and not that I had even seriously considered it, but the film does such a great job of making it seem like it was much more than just a concert, but the a genuinely historic (at least from a musical perspective) passing of a band who so embodied their city for the decade that they were active. Even constrained to limited camera angles from the amount of gear and players on stage, the live footage captures both how great a live band they were – remarkable considering they were originally intended to be strictly a studio-bound concern – and just how much their fans loved them.

While I enjoyed the non-concert footage – particularly the Klosterman interview which I think became this Guardian feature – the scenes meant to show James Murphy’s first day of the rest of his life didn’t quite achieve the suspension of disbelief necessary. I mean, it’s possible that he acquiesced to having a camera crew waiting in his apartment while he slept and certainly does a good job of ignoring them while he goes about his band post-mortem business, but I don’t know. It’s too well-captured to not have been at least somewhat staged. And if I’m wrong and it really was all real life, fly on the wall stuff, my hat’s off to directors Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace for getting it so right. Ultimately a trivial complaint and I’m always up for more loving shots of New York City streets, but it did bother me.

The film is currently making the screening rounds – kind of a final farewell tour – and if you missed its last two times through Toronto (Hot Docs back in the Spring and last week where I saw it), note that it’ll be back for a third encore with screenings at The Bloor on August 3 and 4. The DVD edition, which also includes the entirety of the four-hour farewell show, is out October 9 and available to pre-order now – I long ago decided I’d stop buying music DVDs since I rarely/never watch them, but I think I’ll be making an exception for this one. And there’s a little bit of bonus/fan footage available to watch at The Creator’s Project.

Trailer: Shut Up And Play The Hits

If you were at that Shut Up screening last week, you would have seen a trailer for Searching For Sugar Man, the documentary that tracked down lost ’60s folk singer Rodriguez. The film begins a two-week run at The Bloor on August 10 and Rodriguez himself will be in town for a concert at The Mod Club on October 25, tickets $20. There’s feature pieces on the man and the film at The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Wall Street Journal.

MP3: Rodriguez – “Sugar Man”
Trailer: Searching For Sugar Man

Time makes a good case for why the just-released reissues of Sugar’s Copper Blue/Beaster and File Under: Easy Listening are so essential.

eMusic talks to Eternal Summers about their new album Correct Behavior. They’re at The Garrison August 7.

Interview talks to Cat Power about her new album Sun, due out September 4.

Trespassers William nave announced a September 4 street date for their final release Cast; a double-disc set with collects an album’s worth of rarities and b-sides and a full-length version of their 2009 EP The Natural Order Of Things.

NME talks to J Mascis about I Bet On Sky, the new Dinosaur Jr album due out September 18. They play Lee’s Palace September 24, 25, and 26 in support.

Rolling Stone talks Undersea with The Antlers, in town September 25 at The Great Hall.

The Mountain Goats have released the first MP3 from their new record Transcendental Youth, out October 2.

MP3: The Mountain Goats – “Cry For Judas”

October 2 also marks the release of the new Mark Eitzel solo record Don’t Be A Stranger. Details on the release – his third since the last American Music Club album The Golden Age was released but the first since that band was officially retired (again) – are available at Exclaim.

Paste checks in with Ben Gibbard, who’s putting out his first solo record Former Lives on October 16. This ode to recently-traded Seattle Mariners outfield Ichiro Suzuki probably isn’t on it.

Stream: Ben Gibbard – “Ichiro’s Theme”

Terribly if accurately named Los Angeles outfit He’s My Brother She’s My Sister are in town for a show at Parts & Labour on October 19.

Video: He’s My Brother She’s My Sister – “Touch The Lightning”

NPR has a World Cafe session with Andrew Bird, who’s just released a new video from Break It Yourself.

Video: Andrew Bird – “Give It Away”

Yours Truly has a video session with Of Montreal.

The Village Voice talks to Dean Wareham about Galaxie 500 and the odds of a Luna reunion. Update: NYC Taper has a recording of last week’s Dean & Britta performance in New York where they were joined on guitar by Sean Eden. 3/4 of the way there!

Frank YangWith a lead-up week that had included rather insane shows from each of Patrick Wolf, Phoenix and The Dead Weather, it wasn’t surprising that I was half-dead before NXNE even began this year. I don’t even want to speculate what kind of shape I’d been in if I hadn’t taken the week off from work. But the will and energy to hit the clubs would be found. Somehow.

There were many options to kick things off, but I opted for the secret-but-not-really show at the Whipper Snapper Gallery featuring Los Angeles duo No Age. I wasn’t especially won over by last year’s Nouns but had heard good things about their live show and the venue’s location would allow me to grab a tasty panzerottti at Bitondo’s. I say the show was not really secret because though the festival tried to keep it under wraps, it had been listed on the band’s booking agency’s website for over a week. But considering the modest-sized turnout, maybe it had been kept under wraps better than I’d thought. As for the show, I found the duo more entertaining live than on record, exchanging their lo-fi white noise sonic signature for something louder and meatier. Song-wise, it all sounded a blur but it was fun to watch them revel in the noise as well as pull off one of the most seamless broken guitar string changes I’ve ever seen. Metro has an interview with the band.

Photos: No Age @ The Whipper Snapper Gallery – June 18, 2009
MP3: No Age – “Neck Escaper”
MP3: No Age – “Eraser”
Video: No Age – “Eraser”
Video: No Age – “Boy Void”
Video: No Age – “Goat Hurt”
MySpace: No Age

From the Whipper Snapper, it was a short jaunt over to Neutral to welcome Austin’s Ume to town. They were one of the best things I saw at SxSW this year and I was very pleased that they’d made the long trip up to Toronto. I was also pleased that a very good-sized crowd of people were there to greet them and that the band managed to get their A-game across the border. Just as in Austin, singer-guitarist Lauren Larson was a dervish, her voice ranging from a coo to a shriek and her guitar chops several degrees past ridiculous as the band powered through selections from their Sunshower EP and some new material. In the few instances I was able to tear my eyes from the stage, I saw that others in the audience with that same look of “holy shit” I’m sure I was wearing back in March – pure rock action. Pure Grain Audio has an interview.

Photos: Ume @ Neutral – June 18, 2009
MP3: Ume – “Pendulum”
MP3: Ume – “The Conductor”
MP3: Ume – “Wake”
Video: Ume – “The Conductor”
MySpace: Ume

There were a few options for the next show, but the mental coin flip came up Kittens Ablaze, a Brooklyn act slated to play the Rivoli. Between them and Finnish outfit Cats On Fire, I detect a disturbing trend in pop bands with feline immolation-themed names. This particular one was a six-piece ensemble whom it would be impossible not to compare to Ra Ra Riot thanks to their near-identical band makeups and penchant for dizzying, uptempo orch-pop. They didn’t have the same quality of tunes, but were able to convey the sense of fun they were obviously having to the audience and made for a good time. NOW talked to the outfit before the festival.

Photos: Kittens Ablaze @ The Rivoli – June 18, 2009
MP3: Kittens Ablaze – “Gloom Doom Buttercups”
Video: Kittens Ablaze – “Strobelight”
MySpace: Kittens Ablaze

It’s not that long a haul from the Rivoli to Clinton’s by bike, but it certainly felt like it. I dragged my ass to basically the most northwest-located venue of the fest to see locals The Darcys, who’d been on my to-see list for a while. Now a lot of bands list Radiohead as an influence, which sadly usually means that the singer thinks that he’s got a great falsetto and some profound angst that needs to be expressed and thus, are generally meant to be given a wide berth. The Darcys do NOT list Radiohead as an influence (at least on their MySpace), but they were the first reference point I came up with. Not because singer Kirby Best has either a falsetto or angst (he may, I don’t know) but because of the the band’s innate creativity and their remarkably intricate arrangements of their three-guitar attack. I couldn’t help thinking that if the ‘Head had gone into their more introverted post-OK Computer phase with guitars still at the fore, The Darcys are the sort of band they’d have influenced. The recordings on their 2007 album Endless Water don’t really reflect what I heard on Thursday night – I very much look forward to what they’ll put out next.

Photos: The Darcys @ Clinton’s – June 18, 2009
MySpace: The Darcys

Anyone who missed Metric’s set at Edgefest this weekend can console themselves a bit with this full concert stream from DC last week at NPR and this session at MPR.

Islands have released details of their next album, Vapours, due out September 22. They’ll play a free show as part of Pride 2009 at the corner of Church and Wood on June 27.

Bonfires On The Heath, the new album from The Clientele, has been given a release date of October 6. Full details at Pitchfork.

Matador is streaming the whole of the God Help The Girl album of the same name, in stores tomorrow.

Stream: God Help The Girl / God Help The Girl

The Yorker has an interview with Patrick Wolf.

Emmy The Great has re-recorded a batch of songs which had been kicking around for a while but didn’t make it onto First Love, including favourites “Canopies & Grapes” and “Two Steps Forward”. Edward EP (First Songs) is out July 27 digitally and on 12″ vinyl, and will also be added to all future copies of First Love.

Bloc Party will be releasing a new non-album single on August 10. Well, not taken from any album we know of – yet. You can stream it at Pitchfork.

Stream: Bloc Party – “One More Chance”

There are new videos out from Lily Allen, Rose Elinor Dougall and Franz Ferdinand. Perhaps you would like to watch one, two or perhaps all three. I have provided links. You are welcome.

Video: Lily Allen – “Fuck You”
Video: Rose Elinor Dougall – “Stop/Start/Synchro”
Video: Franz Ferdinand / No You Girls

I can’t say as I’m that familiar with his works, but I do know that ’70s Detroit-based, psych/folk protest singer Sixto Rodriguez – who worked as just Rodriguez – is held in very high esteem by people whose opinions I respect. His two previously lost albums Cold Fact and Coming From Reality were reissued in super-deluxe format last year, and he’s been hitting the road to support – including a just-announced July 3 free show at Harbourfront Centre as part of their Hot Spot festival. I get the feeling that even if you don’t know his work, this is a show you will want to see.

MP3: Rodriguez – “Sugar Man”

Built To Spill return to Lee’s Palace for a two-night stand on October 6 and 7. Their new record There Is No Enemy is due out right about then as well.

The resurrected Jesus Lizard is coming to town – they’re at the Phoenix on November 9, tickets $20.