Frank YangIf only it were as Muppet-simple as “taking Manhattan”. In fact, it shook out more like first, I take a subway, then a shuttle bus, then a ferry, then a plane, then monorail, train and subway again just to get into Manhattan. And just as soon as I’ve arrived in the Big Apple, it’s back on the subway, another subway, then a train, another train and then an unlicensed taxi (“hey you need a ride?”) – all to get into Waterbury, Connecticut. A city which was once apparently a brass manufacturing powerhouse but which now seems to have little to recommend it as a destination, save for a gorgeous theater downtown – the Palace – and on Thursday night, one Leonard Cohen.

Seeing Cohen wasn’t on the agenda as recently as last weekend, as I’d hoped to be able to finagle a way to the Hamilton show at Copp’s tomorrow, but an extra ticket from Without A Yard, serendipitous scheduling and a willingness to undertake a rather ridiculous set of logistics to trek out to the show made it happen. Mostly. Weather delays and other issues fixed it so that we didn’t actually reach the theater until almost mid-way into Cohen’s set – so it’s just as well that he needs no introduction, because I wouldn’t have been able to provide one.

Thankfully, the show was extra-long and with an intermission, for that’s when we arrived and thus managed to avoid being those people who get there late and try to find their seats in the dark. Sure, it meant that instead of a marathon three-hour show, we only got a 90-minute, regular-length show, but even a that much Leonard is like a gift – especially in a venue as stunning as the Palace. There may not be much else to say about a one-cab town like Waterbury, but this was easily the second-nicest place I’d ever seen a show, after only the Royal Albert Hall in London.

And what a show. I don’t know what Cohen played in the front half of the performance, but it almost seemed like he knew to hold back my favourite songs for the finale, as it was stunner after stunner as soon as the lights went down and Cohen, surprisingly nimble, sprinted/danced/shimmied onto the stage. “Tower Of Song”, “Suzanne”, “Take This Waltz”, “Democracy”, “Halleleujah”, “Famous Blue Raincoat”, hell yes. And okay, I just had a look at the set list for the show and am a little pained to have missed “Anthem”, “Everybody Knows” and “Chelsea Hotel” but still, no regrets.

Just as remarkable as hearing the songs performed live – not something I ever thought I’d get to experience – was how good Cohen sounded. He’s obviously not a young man – he may have been spry but was still a slightish figure and a bit stooped – but age seems to have served his delivery very well, somehow making his voice even deeper, richer and more sonorous. He also played more guitar than I’d expected, and I’d have been happy – possibly even happier – to have heard him play solo. It’s no secret my favourite Cohen aesthetic is that of the stark, dark folksinger of his earlier works even if, as far as songs go, I prefer his later works circa The Future or I’m Your Man (and I’m far from unique in this, I know) but the production values on those records – the big bands, the backing singers, the rather dubious synths – have just aged so badly that it can be hard to listen to.

In the live setting, he splits the difference somewhat with a nine-piece backing band including three backing singers – it’s all live, analog instrumentation, toy keyboard on “Tower Of Song” excepted, and masterfully played but I don’t feel the high degree of polish – even if suited for the setting – suits the songs best. They need those dark, dusty corners and the gleam of Cohen’s band doesn’t let those shadows fall where they should. Additionally, Cohen as bandleader was generous to a fault, allowing extended excursions to the musicians – do anyone really need to hear more than one bouzouki solo in a lifetime? – and even ceding lead vocals to Sharon Robinson on their collaboration “Boogie Street”. Perhaps if I’d made the entire show, I’d have been less anxious about it but any moment that Cohen wasn’t singing felt like a lost one.

Understand, however, that these complaints aren’t even really complaints, more just observations, and should in no way imply that I was less than enraptured by the show. No matter how you dress them up, the heart of it is Cohen, his words and his voice, and those were flawless. Obviously I hope that Cohen continues to tour and that I might get to see him again – start to finish – but that’s a huge and probably unrealistic presumption. I feel fortunate to have seen as much as I did, and to anyone who will be seeing him on any of his remaining dates, you are in for such a treat. But of course you already knew that.

The Hartford Courant also has a review of the Waterbury show.

Photos: Leonard Cohen @ The Palace Theater – May 14, 2009
Video: Leonard Cohen – “Democracy”
Video: Leonard Cohen – “Closing Time”
Video: Leonard Cohen – “Dance Me To The End Of Love”
Video: Leonard Cohen – “In My Secret Life”
Video: Leonard Cohen – “First We Take Manhattan”
MySpace: Leonard Cohen

PitchforkTV’s “Don’t Look Down” series welcomes Jose Gonzalez for a session. He plays the Harbourfront Centre on June 26 as part of the Toronto Jazz Festival.

Anyone disappointed that Loney Dear had to cancel last week’s show in Toronto on account of their van breaking down between here and Montreal – I’m looking at you, me – can take a little solace in this performance they recorded for Baeble Music’s new “Guest Apartment” video session series. Seattlest has an interview with Emil Svanangen.

WOXY has posted the MP3s from their recent Lounge Act session with The Dears to share and enjoy.

Pitchfork talks to Peter Buck and Paste has some photos of R.E.M. hunkered down in the studio, hard at work on the follow-up to Accelerate.

Vanity Fair and Prefix talk to Stephin Merritt about his new musical based on Neil Gaiman’s Coraline.

Spinnerette has a date at the Mod Club on June 19. Their debut, which is either self-titled or called A Prescription For Mankind, is out June 23.

Video: Spinnerette – “Ghetto Love”

Abe Vigoda – band, not actor – are at the El Mocambo on July 22 in support of their new album Reviver. Advance tickets are $10.

MP3: Abe Vigoda – “Don’t Lie”

The Rural Alberta Advantage, who will properly release Hometowns on July 7 and tour North America all Summer to support, will play a homecoming pit stop/record release show at the Horseshoe on July 30.

So some details have emerged on why the Olympic Island concert was canceled last week. Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew blogs that the July 11 date was unfortunately scheduled opposite the Molson Indy – both temporally and physically, what with Olympic Island being just across the lake from Exhibition Place, where the very loud cars would have been tearing around the track all day. They’d likely have been done by the time BSS and Explosions In The Sky took the stage but for the rest of the bands, it’d have been near-unbearable. Beach House wouldn’t have stood a chance. So the festival was canned, the free make-up show that same night from BSS at Harbourfront Centre announced and the lineups for it are probably already stretching all along the waterfront. Also covered in the post is the fact that the band are now recording their fourth album – a proper Broken release, not a “Presents” faux-solo record – with Tortoise’s John McIntire at the helm. Considering his aesthetic is very, very different from usual BSS producer Dave Newfeld, it should be very interesting to see what comes of this – one hopes he can curb some/much of the Scene’s meandering sprawl without costing them their spontaneous magic. And Pitchfork currently has excerpts from the new Broken biography, This Book Is Broken available to read.

Frank YangThere’s a scene in the Danny Boyle film Sunshine (a fantastic movie, by the way) wherein the spaceship’s psych officer is in the observation deck and asks the ship’s computer to open up the shades blocking out most of the Sun’s intensity, even though he knows that doing so would be almost instantly fatal (the computer refuses and he settles for the minimum safe amount, don’t worry, no spoiler – it’s the opening scene). The point being that same urge, the one that compels you to do what is obviously unsafe in order to experience something huge and awesome and terrible in a direct, unfiltered form, is what overtook me a couple times on Monday night at the Phoenix when I slipped one of my earplugs out, just for a moment, during sets by both Mogwai and The Twilight Sad.

I hadn’t originally intended to attend this show. I certainly wasn’t going to go to the one it was making up for, a September 2008 cancelled on account of Mogwai drummer’s Martin Bulloch’s pacemaker malfunctioning – not for lack of interest, really, but because I’d seen them when they’d swung through town back in July. And there’s not a lot of bands that I want/need to see twice in the span of three months. But when this tour was announced, it had been long enough since last time that I was considering it and when The Twilight Sad were slated as support, that sealed it – there was no way I was going to miss out.

It’s been a couple years since they released their debut Fourteen Autumns, Fifteen Winters and as long since their one and only visit and even though you could never say that the band had a surplus of conventional stage presence, they still made a hell of an impression with the sheer aural intensity of their performance, and I’ve been waiting a long while for them to return. Though still formally a four-piece, they had with them an extra touring player covering keyboard duties and also second guitar for those moments where a zillion decibels apparently wasn’t quite enough.

With a new album almost done and set for an Autumn release, the set featured no shortage of new material and while I loved Autumns for its ability to essentially take one trick – huge, sustained guitar-driven crescendo and bellowed Scottish angst – and extend it out over an entire record without getting samey, but rehashing that on a second album simply wouldn’t have done. And to their credit, the new material doesn’t follow the formula but as such existed so far outside of my Twilight Sad frame of reference that offering an opinion with further listens wouldn’t be of any value – but I can say that they’re still decidedly dark and morose in tone, so any fears that they’ve lightened up can be put to rest. But it was still the old material that delivered the goods, huge and epic and like a sonic body massage. No, they still don’t do much on stage visually though singer James Graham does wander around a bit more than he did before, but looking is beside the point – it’s about the hearing. And the destruction of your ability to do so.

Going over my review of Mogwai’s show from last year, I find that I’ve already said much of what I’m inclined to say about this one – which is fitting because the general gist of it was that even though one Mogwai show isn’t too different from the next, they’re still always memorable experiences. It’s funny that most discussion of Mogwai focuses on the LOUD part of their dynamic – and make no mistake, when they get loud, it’s loud – but they spend so much more of their time exploring the quiet. And with the night’s set list leaning heavily on the last three records and their slower, more expansive and cinematic qualities, it was the perfect opportunity to listen – really listen – to how marvelously they do the little things. The intricate guitar picking, the gentle taps on the high-hat, the whirring textures of the keyboards – it’s simply gorgeous.

But of course there was the loud. Volume spiked throughout the show but it was the closing triumvirate that reminded, as if it was necessary, that Mogwai remained one of the absolute loudest bands around. First there was the extended apocalypse of “Mogwai Fear Satan”, still as unrelentingly potent as it was when it was released a decade ago and then just as the audience was picking itself off the floor, the thundering main set closer of “Glasgow Mega Snake” featuring one of the nastiest guitar riffs from anywhere, by anyone. And for the encore, a scorched earth “My Father, My King” that left nothing standing. I ducked out as things descended into feedback and even outside the venue, I could still hear it throb. Epic.

Chart also has a review of the show and there’s interviews with Mogwai at The Enterprise News, Metro and Pulse Niagara.

Photos: Mogwai, The Twilight Sad @ The Phoenix – May 4, 2009
MP3: Mogwai – “Yes! I Am A Long Way From Home”
MP3: Mogwai – “Tracy”
MP3: Mogwai – “Dial: Revenge”
MP3: Mogwai – “Hunted By A Freak”
MP3: Mogwai – “7:25”
MP3: The Twilight Sad – “Cold Days From The Birdhouse”
MP3: The Twilight Sad – “That Summer, At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy”
Video: Mogwai – “Travel Is Dangerous”
Video: Mogwai – “Friend Of The Night”
Video: Mogwai – “Hunted By A Freak”
Video: Mogwai – “Dial: Revenge”
MySpace: Mogwai
MySpace: The Twilight Sad

Drowned In Sound and Clash interview The Vaselines, whose Enter The Vaselines compilation is out now and who play Lee’s Palace next Friday night, May 15.

Patrick Wolf’s new album The Bachelor is still set for a June 1 release in the UK, but in North America, we’ll only be privvy to the digital release on that date (well, the 2nd). Those of us who still like physical media will have to wait for August 11 when his new label NYLON – as in the people behind NYLON – will make it available, details at Pitchfork. But they’re also sponsoring a tour in June – headlined by Wolf and also featuring Living Things and France’s Plasticines – so the delayed release is forgiven. I’d worried that with Wolf now without major label backing, he and his audacious live shows would have some difficulty coming back to North America. Only one date has been made public so far – June 14 in Minneapolis – but based on that we can (hopefully) expect to see Wolf hereabouts in mid-June. There’s interviews with Wolf at Arjan Writes, MusicOhm and NYLON.

The September 18 date at Lee’s Palace was already revealed, but Pitchfork has full Fall tour dates for Maximo Park in support of Quicken The Heart, out next week. They’re also offering up an MP3 from the album.

MP3: Maximo Park – “Let’s Get Clinical”

Drowned In Sound talks to The Horrors. They’re at the Phoenix tomorrow night opening up for The Kills.

Decider talks to Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner. Their new album The Knot is out July 21.

A third Dears b-side MP3 is now available.

MP3: The Dears – “Meltdown In A Major” (OG Demo Version)

Wolfe Island Musicfest taking place August 8 on Wolfe Island in the Thousand Islands at Kingston. This year, the Marysville baseball diamond will be rocked by the sounds of Holy Fuck, Busdriver (this one? Dunno), Apostle Of Hustle, Attack In Black, Woodhands, The D’Urbervilles, Ohbijou, The Rural Alberta Advantage and Julie Fader. Solid? Definitely. Worth the drive to Kingston? Probably.

Patrick LeducFor the longest time now, the phrase, “best unsigned band in Toronto/Canada/the world” has been used so often in conjunction with The Rural Alberta Advantage that they may as well have incorporated it into their name. But no longer. As hinted at a couple weeks ago and confirmed yesterday at Pitchfork, the trio’s long, slow build to critical mass – beginning with the eMusic Selects feature last Fall and culminating in their triumphant SxSW appearances in March – has now resulted in their signing to highly-regarded US label Saddle Creek. A fact which sent me digging for this piece in eye last Fall when the Omaha-based label insisted there was no master plan to snap up as much Canadian talent as possible (at that point, they’d added Tokyo Police Club, Sebastien Grainger and Land Of Talk to their roster in rapid succession). Now the truth becomes clear – we’re being annexed by Nebraska, one band at a time.

But seriously, It’s been such a treat to watch their star so deservedly ascend over the last couple years, and would like to offer the band a very hearty congratulations on the start of the next phase of their career. That will begin with a reissue of their debut album Hometowns on July 7 in the US and probably up here as well. I, for one, can’t wait to get a copy of the record in a physical form with a spine so that it doesn’t disappear on my CD shelves as soon as I file it, not that I’d likely ever forget that it was there. And I also envy those of you who’ll be getting to hear them for the first time with this wide release of the album and experience that feeling of discovery. You are in for such a treat.

North American touring is in the works for this Summer with a few dates listed in the Pitchfork piece, as well as confirmation of a couple of local festivals – Hillside in Guelph in July and Wolfe Island up in Kingston on August 8. Their next local date will be June 18 at the Drake Underground as part of I Heart Music’s NxNE showcase. Just informed they’ve got other things in the works – stay tuned.

MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Don’t Haunt This Place”
MySpace: The Rural Alberta Advantage

In other “just signed” news, Billboard reports that Australia-by-way-of-the-UK’s Howling Bells have signed to Nettwerk for the July 28 North American release of their second album Radio Wars, which was released in the UK back in February. I was pretty down on the album after hearing it, particularly with all the promise displayed in their self-titled debut, but have warmed to it a bit since. It’s still not as good as the first, but it’s really only a couple of really BAD songs that drag down the overall experience, which is largely okay with moments of pretty good. Faint praise, I know. My main hopes are that with this deal in place, they’ll finally be able to tour North America properly and not just as support on big arena-scale tours (Killers, Coldplay) that I’d have no intention of seeing.

MP3: Howling Bells – “Into The Chaos”

The Pitchfork guest list from Camera Obscura which I linked last week but then promptly went all 404 on us is now back, and will hopefully remain so. They’re at Lee’s Palace on June 27.

Neil Halstead has released another video from last year’s Oh! Mighty Engine. Halstead will also apparently be featured in today’s Daytrotter session – those usually go up by 10AM ET or so – will link when it’s available. Update: It’s up! With two new songs!

Video: Neil Halstead – “Elevenses”

The Guardian and This Is Nottingham profile Doves, whose Kingdom Of Rust apparently missed being the #1 album in the UK… by four CDs. Ouch. They play the Kool Haus on June 1.

The Quietus and The Irish Times interview Manic Street Preachers about their new album Journal For Plague Lovers, out May 18, covering the main talking points of the record – Richey and Albini. The Quietus also has a track-by-track review of the record.

The Manics also big up The Horrors’ new record Primary Colours to The Quietus as the best of the year. Express Night Out talks to frontman Faris Badwan. They’ll be at the Phoenix next Thursday opening for The Kills.

MP3: The Horrors – “Sea Within A Sea”

Exclaim talks to Eugene Kelly of The Vaselines. The double-disc retrospective Enter The Vaselines will be out on Tuesday and they’re making a rare live appearance at Lee’s Palace on May 15.

MP3: The Vaselines – “Son Of A Gun”

John Vanderslice will take his Romanian Names out on tour immediately following its May 19 release and that includes a July 10 date at The Horseshoe.

Support for the ‘Slice for that show will be Cotton Jones, who essentially used to be Page France. Their debut album is Paranoid Cocoon. Rolling Stone has a feature on the band.

MP3: Cotton Jones – “Gotta Cheer Up”
MP3: Cotton Jones – “Blood Red Sentimental Blues”

British funk-soul outfit The Heavy have a date at Supermarket on June 26.

MP3: The Heavy – “Colleen”

Maximo Park will be coming to North America in support of Quicken The Heart, out May 12, for this Fall. Toronto, circle September 19 at Lee’s Palace on your calendar. Singer Paul Smith talks football and memories with BBC.

Video: Maximo Park – “The Kids Are Sick Again”

The first MP3 from Dinosaur Jr’s new album Farm, out June 23, is now available to grab. Bassist Lou Barlow talks about the new record with The Times Dispatch.

MP3: Dinosaur Jr – “I Want You To Know”

Metric’s Emily Haines gives Drowned In Sound a guide to Buenos Aires.

In case you missed it, Wilco have confirmed both the title (Wilco (The Album) and release date (June 30) for their next album. And to start the anticipation build-up, the band are giving away a non-album track – a Woody Guthrie tune – and asking that you make a donation to the Woody Guthrie Foundation & Archives in exchange. Honour system, yo.

Leonie PurchasWith her 2006 debut album Fur & Gold, Natasha Khan – she who is essentially Bat For Lashes – crafted a mysterious and fantastical world with a foundation made up of a lot of Kate Bush and a little Bjork but still felt distinct and fresh and most importantly, was wholly beguiling thanks to the richness of both her creative vision and her remarkable voice.

Three years hence, she’s returned with Two Suns. It’s a record with much to live up to considering its Mercury Prize-nominated predecessor, and whether she’s succeeded depends on which direction you were hoping Khan would tilt her creative balancing act of accessibility and eccentricity. Of course, even that answer isn’t entirely straightforward. Fur & Gold was eclectic in mood and texture, like a wander through Khan’s imagination, but also featured immediate pop gems in “What’s A Girl To Do” and “Prescilla”.

Two Suns is more focused and consistent in feel, but with the exception of Karate Kid-invoking lead single “Daniel”, is less overtly hooky. It is, however, more dramatically executed – the power behind her vocals on “Glass” is chilling – and feels much more personal. Whereas Fur carried with it a fictional darkness, this time out it comes across as hauntingly autobiographical. The imagery used still draws on mythical influences, but the emotions behind them feel much more intense and direct than before. The production is also richer and deeper, more beat-driven and with a faint but distinct synthetic sheen – it’s subtle, but effective, and gleams when necessary. It may take a bit more time and effort for it to permeate the consciousness, but Two Suns manages to be a marked improvement on a debut that didn’t really have anything wrong with it in the first place. Remarkable.

Drowned In Sound has a print interview with Khan, Nylon a video one and XFM an aural one. Bat For Lashes kick of their North American tour on April 25 at the Mod Club in Toronto.

MP3: Bat For Lashes – “Glass” (live)
Video: Bat For Lashes – “Daniel”
MySpace: Bat For Lashes

The Tripwire asks five questions of La Roux’s Elly Jackson. Their self-titled debut is out June 29.

White Lies talk to Spinner about their upcoming gig in a London cemetery.

Black Cab Sessions coaxes Doves into their backseat for a song, while The Yorkshire Post and The Daily Star have interviews. Doves are at the Kool Haus on June 1.

Kevin Shields messes with Texas, giving interviews to The Austin Chronicle and Dallas Observer about My Bloody Valentine’s hiatus, reunion and the state of their old old (reissues) and new old (unreleased) albums.

A winner has been selected for the contest to create a video for M83. Check out the winning visuals for “We Own The Sky”.

Video: M83 – “We Own The Sky”

School Of Seven Bells heads down under, with Claudia Dehaza talking to The Age and sister Alejandra to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Newsweek interviews The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and coaxes them to play a new song for them on video. The Pains are at Lee’s Palace on April 28.

Baltimore dream-pop duo Wye Oak will release their second album The Knot on July 21. The first song sounds a little – well, exactly – like this. Beautiful.

MP3: Wye Oak – “Take It In”

Time Out New York talks to Holly Miranda. Her solo record is still presumably forthcoming.

ABC News has a video interview with Bob Mould, Express Night Out sticks with text.

Superchunk’s Jim Wilbur talks to Spinner about the band’s slow return from hiatus-land.

Filter has a three–part interview with John Vanderslice, whose new album Romanian Names is out May 19.

Third time’s the charm? After two cancelled shows, it looks like Passion Pit are trying to play Toronto one more time. According to the Harlem Shakes, with whom they’re touring this Summer, they’re going to be in town on June 16 at a venue to be determined. Good luck to ya. Passion Pit’s debut Manners is out May 19 while Harlem Shakes’ debut Technicolor Health is out now.

MP3: Harlem Shakes – “Strictly Game”

Sunset Rubdown have a new album coming out on June 24 called Dragonslayer and they’ve already booked a tour (dates down the left side of their website) to promote. Toronto show goes down July 11 at Lee’s Palace. Pitchfork has the first taste of the album.

MP3: Sunset Rubdown – “Idiot Heart”

The Rural Alberta Advantage’s session with WOXY has been broken up into downloadable MP3s, which means that I no longer have to procrastinate doing it myself.

eye‘s cover feature this week is on Neko Case, and her two sold-out shows at Trinity-St Paul’s tonight and tomorrow.

M Ward has rolled out a new video from Hold Time, this one for his cover of Buddy Holly’s “Rave On”. The Press-Enterprise has an interview. Ward plays the Phoenix on April 27.

Video: M Ward – “Rave On”

NPR has an interview with Elvis Perkins In Dearland, who have a show at the Horseshoe on April 29.

There’s a track available from the forthcoming Steve Earle album Townes, due out May 12.

MP3: Steve Earle – “To Live Is To Fly”

Pitchfork reports that Patterson Hood’s second solo record Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs) will be released on June 23. There’s a couple tracks streaming at his MySpace.

City Pages has an interview and NPR a session with Jason Isbell.

And finally, QTV has an extensive – 42 minutes extensive – interview with Leonard Cohen. It’ll take kinda forever to load, but worth it. Cohen plays Copps Coliseum in Hamilton on May 19. Also read a feature at Salon.

FacebookIf you’re looking for anything revelatory or even revealing about The Hold Steady in the video portion of their new live document A Positive Rage, you’ll likely be disappointed. Over the course of just under an hour, the doc follows the band on tour in the Fall of 2006, in support of Boys & Girls In America, as they marvel at the size of the venues they’re selling out and dispensing their no frills, rock & roll gospel.

There’s no dirt to be found because, unless they saved their goat sacrifices for after the camera stopped, there is none. They’re exactly as they appear to be onstage and on record – five normal guys who just want to play rock and have a good time. And if that’s what you want to kick back and watch for 60 minutes, then this is just the ticket. The performances do a good job of capturing the spirit of The Hold Steady live, their energy, Craig Finn’s onstage antics, the enthusiasm and chaos of the audience. The sound isn’t always terrific, but again – that’s part of it. And if you’re curious, the Toronto stop on that tour – October 28, 2006 at the Horseshoe – is represented by a couple of split-second shots. Whoo!

The audio portion of the package actually doesn’t quite synch up with the video as it captures a show at the Metro in Chicago from October 2007, a full year after the tour in the film, but fortunately (?) their show never seems to change much. It does manage to capture a lot of what makes a live Hold Steady show great, less the visuals, but with much better sound. I can’t necessarily say that they chose an exceptional show to document, but that’s because the standard for Hold Steady shows is so high that it’s rare that they exceed it – though hell yes it happens – what’s important is that they never fail to meet it. And though one Hold Steady show is very much like the last and the next – I’ve seen them about a half-dozen times, I think I can say that – they’re always great.

What I got most out of watching and listening to A Positive Rage was the confirmation that the magic of a Hold Steady show really only occurs in person, in the room, and it’s the alchemy of beer, sweat, spit and, to use the band’s favourite word, the joy that makes their shows so very special and enjoyable. I realize that even as much as the band are touring machines, not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to see them live so for them, the live set is a worthy substitute. But for those who’ve experienced the glory in person, it’ll just makes you anxious for them to come to town again.

Craig Finn describes a tour encounter of the Kiefer Sutherland kind to Spinner, gives an interview to The Tahoe Daily Tribune and talks baseball with The Sporting News.

MP3: The Hold Steady – “Chips Ahoy” (live)
Trailer: The Hold Steady: A Positive Rage
MySpace: The Hold Steady

Singing Lamb interviews Steve Lambke of Constantines. They play Harbourfront Centre on Canada Day.

Radio Exile has an interview with The Rural Alberta Advantage, who twittered a couple days ago about “big big raa news” to be announced soon, but have yet to follow up. One can only speculate that it’s along the lines of people no longer being able to say, “how are they still unsigned?!?” incredulously, but who knows. Maybe they just thought this downloadable and watchable session at Hear Ya went really well. Or maybe they just had a really great cheeseburger.

The Toronto Star talks to Neko Case, in town for two sold-out shows at Trinity-St Paul’s on Friday and Saturday.

Each Note Secure has an interview with Death Cab For Cutie drummer Jason McGerr. They just released a new EP in The Open Door.

QRO has the first part of an interview with Ra Ra Riot.

NPR has an interview with and is streaming Camera Obscura’s new album My Maudlin Career a week before its April 21 release. They’re at Lee’s Palace on June 27 with Anni Rossi as support. Scotland On Sunday has an interview with Tracyanne Campbell.

Stream: Camera Obscura / My Maudlin Career

I had thought that Sky Larkin’s excellent The Golden Spike was supposed to be available in North America this week, but can’t seem to find any online vendors who have it domestically. Regardless, it’s coming soon and you can stream it at Last.FM. There’s also a new video to grok.

Video: Sky Larkin – “Antibodies”
Stream: Sky Larkin / The Golden Spike

Innocent Words talks to Lauren Larson of Ume.

Magnet Q&As PJ Harvey.

Blast talks to Ida Maria, whose Fortress Round My Heart was released this week.

The Tripwire interviews TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe. They’re at the Sound Academy on June 2.

Chart talks to Robyn Hitchcock, whose show at the Mod Club tomorrow night has sadly been postponed due to illness. Refunds available at point of purchase or you can use them at the rescheduled date, which should be announced soon. I’ll contact contest winners after a new date has been announced and see if they can still make the new date.