Ruth SwansonSeeing San Francisco’s Ty Segall at Halifax Pop Explosion 2010 was one of the most unexpectedly rowdy/violent shows I’ve ever been in the middle of, which was a bit surprising considering that as rough and garage-y as his stuff is, it’s not all that heavy. Certainly not the obvious soundtrack for the bedlam that ensued that evening. Maybe it was just Halifax. Anyways, despite enjoying his music well enough, I’ve made a point of avoiding his shows as the odds of me getting kicked in the head seem to increase exponentially when we’re in the same room.

So you won’t be finding me at The Horseshoe on May 12, as that’s the day that Segall and Tim Presley, who plays in Los Angeles’s Darker My Love but also operates solo as the mellow if trippy ’60s psych-rock act White Fence, roll into town. The show will be in support of their forthcoming California garage rock summit LP Hair, as well as their respective latest releases. Segall put out Goodbye Bread last Summer, White Fence will release the two-volume Family Perfume set in April and Hair is due out in late April.

Spin talks to Segall about the collaborative record. Tickets for the show – which also feature Austin’s Strange Boys on the bill – are $16.50 in advance, and do not cover first aid costs for if you get kicked in the head. Update: Full tour dates now up at Pitchfork.

MP3: Ty Segall – “You Make The Sun Fry”
MP3: White Fence – “It Will Never Be”
MP3: The Strange Boys – “Me And You”

And if the garage rock isn’t your speed, that same evening will find Justin Townes Earle at The Opera House to play songs from his new record Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now, out March 27. It’s part of a massive world tour and will cost you $18.50 to get in.

MP3: Justin Townes Earle – “Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now”

Good news! Portland’s Blouse, who were featured in the first post of this year, are coming to town on May 5 as support for Bear In Heaven at The Garrison. Bad news! It’s the same night as Spiritualized at The Phoenix. I will be making catching them at SXSW a priority, but if you’re free that evening I’d highly recommend this bill.

MP3: Blouse – “Into Black”

And speaking of Bear In Heaven, they released a regular-speed preview of their new record I Love You, It’s Cool a few weeks ago. It’s out April 3.

MP3: Bear In Heaven – “The Reflection Of You”

NPR has premiered the first video from The Magnetic Fields’ forthcoming long-player Love At The Bottom Of The Sea, due out March 6. They play The Sound Academy on March 30.

Video: The Magnetic Fields – “Andrew In Drag”

The first taste of M. Ward’s new one A Wasteland Companion comes by way of a video. The record is out April 10.

Video: M. Ward – “The First Time I Ran Away”

NOW, The Boston Globe, Metro, The Montreal Mirror and Washington Examiner interview The Kills, in town at The Kool Haus on February 7. And if you want a preview of it, NPR will have a stream of last night’s show in Washington DC up in the next few hours.

Spin has a video of Death Cab For Cutie playing “You Are A Tourist” on PBS’ Live from the Artists Den, the full episode of which is set to air February 17. Death Cab are at Massey Hall on April 19.

NPR welcomes Centro-Matic over for a World Cafe session. Pegasus News talks to Will Johnson about the Woody Guthrie tribute project with Anders Parker, Jay Farrar and Jim James called New Multitudes which will release an album of the same name on February 28.

NPR is streaming a KCRW session with Ryan Adams.

New WestBlue Rodeo’s annual Summer shows at the Molson Amphitheatre are pretty much a Toronto tradition and they never have a problem getting people to come down to the lake’s edge and lounge about listening to old favourites, whether there’s a new record to support or not (their last release was 2009’s The Things We Left Behind). But this year’s edition is notable for offering the extra incentive of having Steve Earle & The Dukes and Duchesses on board as support.

That’s right, after a good long while of being Dukes-free – the last album with them on board was 2004’s The Revolution Starts Now – Earle has regrouped his long-time backing band to support his forthcoming album I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive, though I’m not certain if they’re actually on it – haven’t gotten my hands on the record or its liner notes yet. What is evident is that the band has gone co-ed, and presumably includes more than just Earle’s missus, Allison Moorer.

In any case, the record is out April 26, Earle’s debut novel of the same name is out on May 12, the new season of Treme, on which Earle appears, begins April 24, and the show in question goes down August 20. Right now, however, you can download an MP3 of the album’s opening track and a chapter of the novel by liking Earle’s Facebook. Yeah, that doesn’t sound very outlaw but what can you do.

Video: Blue Rodeo – “Diamond Mine”
Video: Steve Earle & The Dukes – “I Ain’t Ever Satisfied”

In other show news – having sold the hell out of her show at the Opera House back in January, Lissie returns for a show at the Phoenix on May 28, tickets $24.

MP3: Lissie – “Everywhere I Go”

Austin instrumental outfit This Will Destroy You will bring their new record Tunnel Blanket, out May 10, to Lee’s Palace on May 30. Tickets $13.50 in advance.

MP3: This Will Destroy You – “The World Is”

Sweden’s Wildbirds & Peacedrums will be coming to town for a show on May 30 at the Drake Underground in support of last year’s Rivers, an album made up of their Retina and Iris EPs. Supporting them will be New York’s Yellow Ostrich, whose album The Mistress came out earlier this year.

MP3: Wildbirds & Peacedrums – “Fight For Me”
MP3: Yellow Ostrich – “Whale”

Ireland’s Bell X1 have made a date for The Mod Club on June 1 in support of their new record Bloodless Coup, out April 12.

Video: Bell X1 – “Velcro”

There’s no specific venue announced yet but Julianna Barwick, recipient of a “Best New Music” for her new record The Magic Place, will be in town on June 17 as part of NXNE, though that’s some interesting routing – Salt Lake City to Toronto to Seattle is not an especially common path to take across the continent.

MP3: Julianna Barwick – “The Magic Place”

Wrongbar gets just a little bit punk when JEFF The Brotherhood, The Strange Boys and White Fence hit Wrongbar on June 21.

Video: JEFF The Brotherhood – “Mind Wire”
Video: The Strange Boys – “Be Brave”

Montreal by way of Michigan saxophonist Colin Stetson, whose new record New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges is getting a lot of praise, will be at the Music Gallery on June 29. Timber Timbre talk to Exclaim about Stetson’s contributions to their new record and NPR is streaming one of his SXSW showcases from last month.

MP3: Colin Stetson – “Fear of the Unknown and the Blazing Sun [ft. Laurie Anderson and Shara Worden]”

NYC Taper is sharing another live recording of Godspeed You! Black Emperor from last month. They’re at Lee’s Palace from April 22 to 24.

Also on offer from NYC Taper – a recording of Destroyer’s show at the Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan last week. Uptown and Square have conversations with Dan Bejar.

Owen Pallett has put out a new video from Heartland and a live show from Paris is available to watch at Grand Crew.

Video: Owen Pallett – “The Great Elsewhere”

Beatroute talks to The Rural Alberta Advantage, whose April 29 show at The Phoenix is almost sold out if not already.

It’d be nice if Southern Souls had a more scannable/searchable index of their content, but the sheer volume of on-the-street video sessions with Canadian artists still makes it worth becoming intimately acquainted with. And if that’s not enough, I just noticed that there are MP3s of many of the performances available to download – don’t know if that’s a new offering or if I just never noticed before, but yeah. Go to it.