Playing @ The Empty Bottle Mon. 3/11 – 2nd of 3 bands
Playing @ Subterranean Sun. 4/21 – Bottom of a 4 band bill
Both bands are on Brooklyn’s Sacred Bones Records.
Late Winter – Spring New Music Releases of Note
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Push The Sky Away (2/19)
Jamie Lidell – S/T (2/19)
Johnny Marr - The Messenger (2/26)
Shout Out Louds – Optica (2/26)
Atoms For Peace – Amok (2/26)
The Men – New Moon (3/5)
Chelsea Light Moving – S/T (3/5)
Youth Lagoon – Wondrous Bughouse (3/5)
David Bowie – The Next Day (3/12)
Wild Belle – Isles (3/12)
(The London) Suede – Bloodsports (3/19)
Low – The Invisible Way (3/19)
Fol Chen – The False Alarms (3/19)
Phosphorescent – Muchacho (3/19)
Sigur Rós – EP (3/22)
The Strokes – Comedown Machine (3/26)
Depeche Mode – Delta Machine (3/26)
Wavves – Afraid Of Heights (3/26)
Telekinesis – Dormarion (4/2)
Bleached – Ride Your Heart (4/2)
Caveman (4/2)
The Flaming Lips – The Terror (4/2)
Morrissey – “The Last of the Famous International Playboys” New/Reissue (4/8)
Morrissey – Kill Uncle Reissue (4/8)
Kurt Vile – Wakin On A Pretty Daze (4/9)
British Sea Power – Machineries Of Joy (4/9)
The Postal Service – Give Up Reissue (4/9)
James Blake – Overgrown (4/9)
The Knife – Shaking The Habitual (4/9)
Iron & Wine – Ghost on Ghost (4/16)
Junip – S/T (4/23)
Phoenix – Bankrupt! (4/23)
Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires Of The City (5/7)
She & Him – Volume 3 (5/7)
Dirty Beaches – Drifters/Love Is The Devil (5/21)
Devendra Banhart – Mala (Spring)
Edwyn Collins – Understated (Spring)
Daft Punk (May?)
Turn The Page – 2013 New Releases Of Note Q1
Christopher Owens – Lysandre (1/15)
Yo La Tengo – Fade (1/15)
Free Energy – Lovesign (1/15)
Toro Y Moi – Anything in Return (1/22)
Foxygen – We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic (1/22)
Ducktails – The Flower Lane (1/29)
Amor de Días – The House At Sea (1/29)
Local Natives – Hummingbird (1/29)
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – II (2/5)
Haunted Hearts – Something That Feels Bad is Something That Feels Good”/”House of Lords (2/5)
Jim James – Regions of Light and Sound of God (2/5)
Frightened Rabbit – Pedestrian Verse (2/5)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Push The Sky Away (2/19)
Jamie Lidell – S/T (2/19)
Johnny Marr – The Messenger (2/26)
Shout Out Louds – Optica (2/26)
Atoms For Peace – Amok (2/26)
Wild Belle – Isles (3/12)
Low – The Invisible Way (3/19)
Sigur Rós – EP (3/22)
Wavves (3/26)
Depeche Mode – TBD (March)
The Knife – Shaking The Habitual (4/9)
Junip – S/T (4/23)
Phoenix (April)
Kurt Vile – Wakin On A Pretty Daze (Spring)
Devendra Banhart – Mala (Spring)
Edwyn Collins – Understated (Spring)
Menomena @ Metro 10/19/12
Though they lost 1/3 of their lineup prior to recording 2012′s Moms, Menomena haven’t lost a step live. I personally prefer the songs that feature Justin Harris on lead vocals (a recent Guardian review referred to his wilting vocal style as being an American Bobby Gillespie – which I find an astute/unexpected comparison) and fortunately they were in abundance on Friday night at Metro. Still, the highlight of the night was “Rotten Hell.”
Setlist:
1. Muscle’n Flo
2. Plumage
3. Capsule
4. Weird
5. Giftshoppe
6. Five Little Rooms
7. Pique
8. Strongest Man In The World
9. Queen Black Acid
10. Baton
11. Don’t Mess With Latexas
12. Rotten Hell
13. Heavy Is As Heavy Does
14. TAOS
Encore:
15. One Horse
16. The Pelican
The Lemonheads @ The Vic Theatre 10/13/12
Despite being billed as the The Lemonheads featuring Juliana Hatfield, Miss Hatfield was nowhere to be found, instead Evan Dando (in one of few statements) responded to several audience inquiries after playing “Confetti” saying, ‘She’s in Boston.’
The news put a damper on the the reunion vibe, but this 3-piece incarnation of The Lemonheads was a vast improvement over the version I witnessed at The Abbey Pub in 2009.
The group banged out 15 tracks in 45 minutes and succeeded in the tried and true method of leaving the audience wanting more.
As it turns out, Hatfield had posted on her website and through her official Twitter account (@julianahatfield) on October 2nd, ‘i hate to have to say this but due to unforeseen circumstances i won’t be able to join the lemonheads on bass this month as planned.sosorry’
Saturday night’s setlist:
1. Down About It
2. Confetti
3. Hospital
4. My Drug Buddy
5. Break Me
6. The Great Big No
7. Mallo Cup
8. It’s About Time
9. Style
10. Ride With Me
11. Dawn Can’t Decide
12. It’s A Shame About Ray
13. Stove
14.Tenderfoot
15. Rudderless
Jens Lekman @ Lincoln Hall 10/3/12 (Night 1 of 2)
On Wednesday night Jens Lekman played the first of a two night stand at Lincoln Hall. On this go round Jens had a full band in tow which made for a far superior performance to other recent Chicago tour stops which had found Lekman performing as either a two-piece or on occasion solo.
The take away for me from this show was a better appreciation for his September 2012 release I Know What Love Isn’t. Coming in I had been lukewarm on the record, but seeing it live boosted my opinion.
Jens is a splendid storyteller both in lyrics and onstage recanting the premise of several songs throughout the night. In some bizarro world he would be a slam dunk for VH1′s Storytellers.
(Like telling of how he and his friend Joel stalked Kirsten Dunst when she came to his town, bringing along the newspaper article in which she declared she was a fan of Jens on “Waiting For Kirsten.”)
Lekman really has a way with painting pictures with words. One of my favorite lines is the opening stanza of “The World Moves On” (The thermometer ran out of numbers / When it reached fifty degrees / I just lay down on the floor / With a bag of frozen peas) or on “Your Arms Around Me” in which he ‘dreamt he was carried in a kangaroo’s pouch.’
Here’s Wednesday’s setlist:
1. Every Little Hair Knows Your Name
2. Become Someone Else’s
3. I Know What Love Isn’t
4. The End Of The World Is Bigger Than Love
5. She Just Don’t Want To Be With You Anymore
6. Golden Key
7. The Opposite Of Hallelujah
8. Waiting for Kirsten
9. Black Cab
10. I Want A Pair Of Cowboy Boots
11. The World Moves On
12. Maple Leaves
13. Into Eternity
14. Sipping On The Sweet Nectar
Encore:
15. Your Arms Around Me
16. A Postcard To Nina
Recommended Upcoming Releases – October 2012
Tim Burgess – Oh No I Love You (9/30 – Amazon mp3)
Taken By Trees – Other Worlds (10/2)
Sun Airway – Soft Fall (10/2)
The Vaccines – The Vaccines Come Of Age (10/2)
LCD Soundsystem – Shut Up & Play The Hits DVD (10/9)
Tame Impala – Lonerism (10/9)
A.C. Newman – Shut Down The Streets (10/9)
Black Moth Super Rainbow – Cobra Juicy (10/9)
Field Music – Play (10/15)
Jason Lytle – Dept. Of Disappearance (10/16)
Times New Viking – Over & Over EP (10/16)
Daphni – JIAOLONG (10/16)
Paul Banks – Banks (10/23)
Titus Andronicus – Local Business (10/23)
Bat For Lashes – The Haunted Man (10/23)
Diamond Rings – Free Dimensional (10/23)
Gary Clark Jr. – Blak and Blu (10/23)
Hospitality – The Drift/Monkey 7″ (10/30)
Dirty Projectors – About To Die EP (11/6)
Edwyn Collins – Understated (Jan. 2013)
