Built to Spill Loves the Rockies

Fall tour announcement from Built to Spill reveals two Boulder dates and one in Denver. Sweet!

Built to Spill Fall Tour 2007
06-29 Edmonton, Alberta - The Starlite Room
06-30 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
07-01 Milwaukee, WI - Milwaukee Summerfest
07-02 Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop
07-03 Lancaster, PA - Chameleon
07-05 Boston, MA - Avalon Ballroom
07-06 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
07-07 Brooklyn, NY - McCarren Park Pool *
07-08 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
07-10 Toronto, Ontario - Lee’s Palace
07-11 Toronto, Ontario - Lee’s Palace
07-12 Montreal, Quebec - Le National Cabaret
07-13 Ottawa, Ontario - Ottawa Bluesfest
07-14 South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
07-16 Detroit, MI - St. Andrew’s Hall
07-17 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
07-18 Omaha, NE - Slowdown
07-20 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
07-21 Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
09-07 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre
09-08 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre
09-10 Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
09-11 Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre
09-12 San Diego, CA - House of Blues
09-13 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre
09-14 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre
09-16 San Francisco, CA - Treasure Island Festival
09-18 Arcata, CA - Kate Buchanan Hall
09-19 Eugene, OR - WOW Hall
09-20 Portland, OR - The Crystal Ballroom
09-21 Portland, OR - The Crystal Ballroom
09-22 Spokane, WA - The Big Easy Concert Hall
09-23 Bozeman, MT - Gallatin County Fairgrounds
09-25 Fargo, ND - House of Rock @ Playmaker’s
09-26 Winnipeg, Manitoba - Garrick Centre at the Marlborough
09-27 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Louis’ Pub
09-28 Calgary, Alberta - MacEwan Hall Ballroom
10-01 Victoria, British Columbia - Sugar Nightclub
10-02 Vancouver, British Columbia - The Commodore Ballroom
10-04 Seattle, WA - The Showbox
10-05 Seattle, WA - The Showbox
10-06 Seattle, WA - The Showbox

[via Pfork]

Live Preview: Dan Deacon

Fans of the fun and strange, hie thee to the Hi-Dive tonight to see the seemingly delightful if overly quirky Dan Deacon.

Words don't suffice, so how about a video?

Link Roundup

Below are my fave tidbits and delights from catching up on a week's worth of music news after vacation:

John Roderick makes Bonnaroo funny.
Everyone loves The National.
I continue to love Jack White.
Feist rocked Boulder, Grizzly Bear did not make it.
Reminiscing about grunge is oddly satisfying.

And the Yeah Yeah Yeahs bring out a new EP!

Jose Gonzalez Tour & More

I keep forgetting to post this excellent tidbit of news: everyone's favorite Swedish guitar picker visits Denver's Bluebird Theatre October 12th. Mostly I forgot to post because I was busy emailing friend Nigel who loves loves loves him. She's planning her marriage proposal to dear Jose right now.

If you're in the mood for more Jose Gonzalez, how about the Pfork interview?

It even comes with a nice mp3 of Crosses.

p.s. between the Cure and Gonzalez, is it officially time to start making an October concert calendar? September's booked with Monolith and Arcade Fire, where did summer go?

The Cure @ Red Rocks

October 2nd Red Rocks will host the Cure. Suddenly there's something to see in Morrison this summer other than jam bands and graduation ceremonies.

The Cure U.S. Tour Dates 2007
Thu-Sep-13 Tampa - St Pete Times Forum
Sat-Sep-15 Atlanta - Gwinnett Center
Mon-Sep-17 Charlotte - Charlotte Bobcats Arena
Wed-Sep-19 Washington DC - Patriot Center
Fri-Sep-21 Philadelphia - Wachovia Spectrum
Sun-Sep-23 New York City - Madison Square Garden
Tue-Sep-25 Boston - Agganis Arena
Wed-Sep-26 Montreal - Bell Centre
Thu-Sep-27 Toronto - Air Canada Centre
Sat-Sep-29 Chicago - Allstate Arena
Tue-Oct-02 Denver - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Thu-Oct-04 Salt Lake City - E Center
Sat-Oct-06 San Francisco - Shoreline Amphitheatre - Download Festival
Mon-Oct-08 Seattle - Key Arena
Tue-Oct-09 Vancouver - General Motors Place
Thu-Oct-11 Santa Barbara - Santa Barbara Bowl
Sat-Oct-13 San Diego - Cox Arena
Sun-Oct-14 Los Angeles - Hollywood Bowl
Tue-Oct-16 Houston - Toyota Center
Wed-Oct-17 Dallas - American Airlines Center

Arcade Fire & LCD Soundsystem to play Red Rocks!!

This just in from Pitchfork: Arcade Fire will perform at Red Rocks with LCD Soundsystem on September 17th.

All I can say is: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, why is this two days after Monolith? Do I need to take a week off work?

Pela @ Mercury Lounge NYC 6/17/07

Visibly pleased to be home in NYC, Pela gave it their all on the last night of the tour with full energy and maximum guitar rock. People compare them to the Walkmen, and it is an apt comparison, but they have something else going on that I like a lot.

The blistering cover of the Pixies Holiday Song was a nice surprise, as was the all band end of tour jam at the end. Not sure what to make of the spaceman who introduced them and joined in on the fun, but he added a nice whimsy to the proceedings.

Stream the album here.

Brakes Brakes Brakes @ the Mercury Lounge 6/17/07

It was hot as hell and the last night of the tour and we were not certain we were in the mood for Brakes Brakes Brakes' brand of punk rock. We were wrong.

These boys won us over, first with the big ol' Wyoming sticker on a guitar, then with their humor and enthusiasm. Porcupine or Pineapple is a song I'll carry in my head forever.

Sorry for iffy photos, I'm far away from my photo-chop.

Live Preview: Hot Chip

Get ready to dance and be corrupted by Hot Chip Sunday June 17th at the Gothic.

From the band's website:

Hilariously, The Guardian reports today that Hot Chip are being targeted by the Local Government Association as part of their "crackdown" on illegal raves and parties over the summer. The association warns that youngsters have grown tired of "mainstream" music and are turning to naughty, naughty bands such as Hot Chip to provide them with illicit thrills in forests and green fields all across the land. Apparently, we are using bleeding edge technology such as "mobile telephones" and something called "Myspace" to deceive the constabulary and covertly organize our Bacchinalian festivities.

If there are so many great illegal parties and festivals up and down the land, can we be invited to one please?

Aqueduct, Blitzen Trapper, and Smoosh

New Pitchfork favorites Blitzen Trapper come to the Hi-Dive July 31st with Aqueduct and Smoosh. Curious about this show, but it falls the day after the Silversun Pickups at the Ogden. Need to work on funding and justification to make both shows happen.

Enjoy an mp3, courtesy of pfork.

Dan Deacon coming to Denver

The mesmerizing and befuddling Dan Deacon set a Colorado date this week.

Dan Deacon Summer Tour 2007

06/15 : Plush, Tuscan, AZ
06/16 : ExPlx, Los Angeles, CA
06/17 : Che Cafe, San Diego, CA
06/18 : Pehrspace, Los Angeles, CA
06/19 : Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA
06/20 : 21 Grand, Oakland, CA
06/21 : Fools Foundation, Sacramento, CA
06/22 : Holocene, Portland, OR
06/23 : Seattle Pride, Seattle, WA (early)
06/23 : A Magical Hidden Cloud, Seattle, WA (secret late)
06/24 : Higgins Hall, Missoula, MT
06/25 : Grouse Mountain Lodge, Whitefish, MT
06/26 : Neurolux, Boise, ID
06/27 : Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
06/28 : Hi Dive, Denver, CO
06/29 : The Jackpot Saloon, Lawrence, KS
06/30 : Waiting Room, Omaha, NE
07/02 : Triple Rock Club, Minneapolis, MN
07/03 : Cactus Club, Milwaukee, WI
07/05 : The House Cafe, Dekalb, IL
07/06 : Diamond Star House, Kalamazoo, MI
07/07 : Scrummage University, Detroit, MI
07/08 : McCarren Park Pool, Brooklyn, NY
07/09 : Sneaky Dees, Toronto, ON
07/10 : Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ottawa, ON
07/11 : La Sala Rossa, Montreal, PQ
07/12 : Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge, MA
07/14 : Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago, IL
07/21 : Whartscpae Festival, Baltimore, MD

Live Preview: Bloc Party

Tonight Bloc Party returns to the Ogden. If it is anything like their show there last summer, it will be sweaty, dance-y, singalong awesomeness. Here's hoping Matt Tong's formerly collapsed lung is ready to drum it up in the Mile High City.

A Tuesday dose of Bloc Party, This Modern Love in Anaheim last week:


[thx adamparkcity]

New Pornos set Boulder date

Yay! The New Pornographers set a Boulder date for September. Now to wonder who will be there... crossing fingers for Neko Case.

New Pornographers - 2007 Tour Dates
Jun 18 - Bar Academy London, London and South East
Jun 19 - Borderline London, London and South East
Jun 20 - 93 Ft East London, London and South East
Jun 22 - Glastonbury Festival Pilton Farm, Northeast
Jul 4 - Battery Park New York, New York
Jul 15 - Pitchfork Festival Chicago, Illinois
Sep 13 - McPherson Ballroom Victoria, British Columbia
Sep 14 - Showbox Seattle, Washington
Sep 15 - Showbox Seattle, Washington
Sep 16 - Crystal Ballroom Portland, Oregon
Sep 17 - Warfield Theatre San Francisco, California
Sep 18 - House Of Blues San Diego, California
Sep 19 - Henry Fonda Theatre Los Angeles, California
Sep 20 - Henry Fonda Theatre Los Angeles, California
Sep 21 - Rialto Theatre Tucson, Arizona
Sep 22 - Sunshine Theater Albuquerque, New Mexico
Sep 24 - Boulder Theater Boulder, Colorado
Sep 25 - The Depot Salt Lake City, Utah
Sep 26 - The Egyptian Theatre Boise, Idaho
Sep 28 - Commordore Ballroom Vancouver, British Columbia

Brakes Update

I was not at the Brakes show Thursday, but Merry Swankster was. Who is this tool?

NYC Decisions

I'm trying to decide what show(s) to see while in NYC next week. Take a listen to the streams and weigh in!

The options:
Albert Hammond, Jr.
Panda Bear
Pela w/ Brakes Brakes Brakes
Apostle of Hustle
Lily Allen

I'm kind of feeling the Pela and Apostle of Hustle on first listen, but overwhelmed by options right now!

New Pornographers - Early Stream of Challengers

I love the deal at Buy Early Get Now for the new New Pornographers album. You $14 pay now and get a full album stream, bonus mp3s, and advanced notice and tickets for their shows. There's a super-fancy package too with tons of bonus material.

Tempting!

[thx to gorilla vs. bear]

Band of Horses to open for Modest Mouse

My favorite ex-Seattleites open for Modest Mouse on tour this summer, including an August 1st date at Red Rocks.

Band of Horses summer dates, per PFork:
06-30 Victoria, British Columbia - Sugar's Nightclub %
07-01 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards %
07-02 Seattle, WA - Showbox %*
07-03 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom %*
07-05 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall %*
07-06 San Diego, CA - Cane's Ballroom %*
07-07 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl $
08-01 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre @#
08-03 Kansas City, MO - City Market @#
08-08 New York, NY - Keyspan Park #!@
08-15 Columbus, OH - LC Amphitheater @#
08-16 Cleveland, OH - Warner Cable Amphitheatre @#
08-18 Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center (Download Festival) @#
08-19 Philadelphia, PA - Festival Pier @#
08-18 Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center (Download Festival) #
09-02 East Troy, WI - Alpine Valley Music Theater (Download Festival)

% with A Decent Animal
* with Stardeath & White Dwarfs
$ with the Decemberists, Andrew Bird
# with Modest Mouse
! with Clipse
@ with Love as Laughter

Live Preview: Brakes

Brakes play the Hi-Dive Thursday, June 7th.

Pfork says 7.8, raising my curiosity level a bit. Lots of folks say "roots rock" about these Brits, and that seems fair enough.

Take a listen: Last Man on the Station [via sound of the suburb]

Harry and the Potters Coming to Cheyenne

Learned about this at bookish day job: PFork reports that Harry and the Potters will visit the Equality State on their summer tour of libraries. So head over to Cheyenne August 13th if you love books and music!

Stream here, including "Save Ginny Weasley".

Harry and the Potters Summer Tour (August only):
08-01 London, Ontario - London Public Library
08-02 Toronto, Ontario - Prophecy 2007
08-04 Toronto, Ontario - TBA
08-05 Grand Rapids, MI - the DAAC
08-07 Johnston, IA - Johnston Public Library
08-08 Sioux Falls, SD, Sertoma Park Shelter
08-09 Omaha, NE - Omaha Public Library
08-10 Denver, CO - Denver Public Library (Central Library)
08-11 Salt Lake City, UT - Salt Lake City Public Library
08-12 Boise, ID - TBA
08-13 Cheyenne, WY - Laramie County Library
08-14 Boulder, CO - Boulder Public Library (Main Branch)
08-15 Kansas City, MO - Kansas City Public Library
08-17 Springfield, MO - Springfield Public Library
08-19 Pittsburgh, PA - Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

Farewell to The Manor and Clone, Inc (for now)

Too much sad news for the Laramie music scene this week.

Clone, Inc announced that the June 9th show at will be their last. According to their myspace blog:

So, some of you may have heard that Clone Inc. is finising up as a band. Well, for the moment that is kind of true. Right now both Mike and I are going through some rather life altering changes and between how busy we are and how much is going on we have diecided to put Clone Inc. on the shelf for a while.

We'll miss seeing Will and Mike out on the scene, making waaaaay too much noise for two guys on one stage.
In more bad news, The Manor, a local home that played host to bands such as The Divorce and Photo Atlas, is closing up shop. According to their myspace bulletin:

Our stint as venue owners lasted for about a year and four months and we couldn't be more pleased with how it all turned out. Our goal was to make our home a welcoming and comforting place for those bands on the road who were away from their family and friends, and I feel confident in saying that we succeeded in this.

Any other Laramie venues ready to pick up the slack? The Manor girls did a great job booking, we wish them the best of luck!

Cloud Cult @ Larimer Lounge 5-10-07

This concert review not quite a month late, oops.

I went into the Cloud Cult show not knowing what to expect and only somewhat familiar with the band's sound. The opening band did not bode well, a terrible mishmash of styles and no real presence.

That all went by the wayside when Cloud Cult took the stage with (I think) 7 band members, two of whom started painting on large canvasses during the music. A full sound and tight band, the strings sounded fantastic as did Craig Minowa's voice. I loved that CC made the Larimer Lounge seem big... I've never seen a band own that stage so well, what with the paintings and the smoke and the lasers and tons of instrumentation.

The crowd knew most of the songs but also consumed rather too much Miller High Life before the show, so their enthusiasm turned into asshole-ishness at times.

The band closed with my fave and everyone else's, Take Your Medicine [thx to mokb]. A fantastic performance, worth catching during Monolith for sure.

My photo of one of the stage paintings, this one by Scott West, it was auctioned off to benefit the earth or similar, did not come home with me:

Arcade Fire on Fresh Air

NPR's Terry Gross interviewed Win Butler and Regine Chassagne on today's Fresh Air. Imagine my surprise and delight upon entering my car at 3 p.m. to the sounds of Intervention on Wyoming Public Radio.

Archived interview available via NPR.

Live Preview: The Faint, Land of Talk, Rosebuds

The early part of this week offers a couple interesting shows. Day job responsibilities will likely keep me in Laramie, but tell me about the shows if you go.

June 4th & 5th: The Faint @ the Fox Theatre, Boulder
I've never seen them but people keep telling me I would love their live show. Curious -- maybe it's a Nebraskan thing?

June 5th: The Rosebuds with Land of Talk and Everything Absent or Distorted @ the Larimer Lounge, Denver
This promises to be a good show... I like the Rosebuds' brand of dark dance music, and Everything Absent should draw a good local crowd. PFork offered some inscrutible details about Land of Talk tour drama, so keep an eye out for shenanigans and cross yer fingers that they found a new drummer.

Menomena & Grand Archives - Missing it

Oh for a longer vacation! While in Seattle last weekend I *kept seeing* the flyers for the Menomena and Grand Archives show tonight at Neumos and felt very blue indeed that I would miss it. Just listened to their in-studio on kexp and now feeling even more blue about the situation.

I already tried to convince Menomena to hit the Rocky Mountains again on this tour since I could not attend their Hi-Dive show this spring, but no dice. Drummer Danny did console me with kind words about our great state, even after eating at the Cheyenne Applebees.

And special note to Grand Archives: Please visit Wyoming and/or the greater Front Range and I will make you a home cooked dinner and rave about Carissa's Wierd, Band of Horses, Sera Cahoone and your new EP. I swear it.

Torn Blue Foam Couch from Grand Archives, courtesy of Spin.

And silly video, super song.

Arcade Fire Sasquatch Update

Arcade Fire fan? Yes I am.

Today's evidence in the form of this beautiful memento, ordered today:

Monolith Tickets Presale

Thanks to Julio over at Cause=Time for a tip on Monolith pre-sale tickets today.

Also up on the Monolith website, daily schedules. It looks like I might need to attend both days, just unsure whether my definitely-not-20-years-old body is up to the task.

Friday September 14th:
CAKE
The Decemberists
Kings of Leon
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Ghostland Observatory
Editors
Juliette & The Licks
Flosstradamus
Kid Sister
Das EFX
Vienna Teng
The Broken West
Everything Absent or Distorted
Ra Ra Riot
Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Mason Proper
Born in the Flood
De Novo Dahl
Cat-a-tac
Mobius Band
AutoVaughn
Angie Stevens
On a Sun
A Verse Unsung
Bela Karoli

Saturday September 15th:
The Flaming Lips
Spoon
Turbonegro
Art Brut
Brian Jonestown Massacre
Cloud Cult
Matt & Kim
The Dears
Au Revoir Simone
The Little Ones
Bob Log III
William Elliot Whitmore
Rocky Votalato
Earl Greyhound
Ian Ball of Gomez
Yacht
Hot IQ's
Lords of the Underground
Otis Gibbs
Forget Cassettes
Tim Barry of Avail
Cameron McGill
Laylights
The Thieves
Machine Gun Blues
The Swayback
Minus Story
Gregory Alan Isakov
Nina Storey
Stranger Lazy