Treasure Island

I'd almost forgotten about this one. SF's own Treasure Island Music Festival will return to this year, and in force. Here are the highlights:

Saturday 9/20:
Justice (headlining?!)
TV on the Radio
Hot Chip
CSS

Sunday 9/21:
The Raconteurs
Vampire Weekend
Okkervil River
Tokyo Police Club
John Vanderslice
The Dodos

Ticketing details to come! You can sign up for the mailing list at treasureislandfestival.com to get the scoop on presale. Needless to say, your favourite bloggers are catatonic.

Dossier on Jaguar Love

Certainly one of the great tragedies of 2007 (okay, not really) was the dissolution of Seattle's Pretty Girls Make Graves. Both formative to and formed by the early 2000s post-punk revival, PGMG paved the way for a many of the pop-inflected bands really hitting their stride now, including Tokyo Police Club and Vampire Weekend.

Another disappointing breakup from last year were the Blood Brothers, also hailing from Seattle, who brought a bit more brains to the post-hardcore scene beyond the crop of canned At the Drive-In pretenders.

The players from both groups have moved onto new projects, the most fertile of which appears to be Jaguar Love, notably because it comprises members of both disparate groups. Johnny Whitney (centre) lends his vocals to the supergroup along with bandmate Cody Votolato's guitar (bottom and yes, he is brothers with that terrible folk singer). Adding to the mix is J Clark (top) of PGMG, who covers drumming and keyboard duties.

Judging from the demos playing on their Myspace, the trio fuses the distinctive post-hardcore vocals and angular guitar of Blood Brothers with the pop sensibilities of Pretty Girls Make Graves, making for a fairly unique sound. It's the energy of the former with the rhythms of the latter, fit for doing dancing much more sophisticated than pogoing. They're even somewhat reminiscent of labelmates The New Pornographers.

Since forming, they've signed to indie heavy Matador (former home of PGMG) to release Take Me to the Sea August 19th, with an EP dropping June 3rd. And indeed, they are headed for a sea near you! They'll play Popscene two weeks from today, May 29th. Not enticed? Remember, Popscene featured Vampire Weekend in January just before they exploded and will have NLtS faves These New Puritans next month. It could be a big deal. It could be nothing. Check it out?

MBV in SF, Radiohead hits our beaches

As part of their recently announced trip to North America, shoegaze godparents My Bloody Valentine will be visiting our fair side of the state, dropping in at the Concourse (at the SF Design Centre) September 30th. This means that both artists honoured with having the best album of the 90s by Pitchfork (depending on which list you refer to) are going to hit up the Bay Area in the space of about a month later this year.

To give you an idea of what you'll hear at Radiohead's set August 22nd at Outside Lands, here's what they played at their inaugural show last night in Florida:

All I Need
Bodysnatchers
There There
Reckoner
The Gloaming
Morning Bell
Nude
How to Disappear Completely
15 Step
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Idioteque
Bullet Proof..I Wish I Was
Where I End and You Begin
Airbag
Everything In Its Right Place
The National Anthem
Videotape

And for encore numero uno:
Optimistic
Just
Faust Arp
Exit Music (For a Film)
Bangers & Mash

Another encore!
House of Cards
Street Spirit (Fade Out)

Radiohead are notorious for playing a different set almost every night of a tour, as well as eschewing obvious songs like "Creep" or "Karma Police" and even "Paranoid Android". It's probably safe to assume they'll run through the balance of NLtS 2007 AOTY In Rainbows, some classics, and a few b-sides and surprises each night. In case, get excited!

Bloc Party Tour With Does It Offend You, Yeah?

London's favourite sons and NLtS AOTY 2007 finalist are hitting the road to trot out some material from their third LP. Their inter-album material includes "Flux" and a cover of Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right", both of which were received fairly well. Frontman Kele Okereke has hinted at the introduction of keyboards to the Bloc Party lineup, in addition to drum machines dotting A Weekend in the City and the straightforward post-punk Silent Alarm. Having established themselves solidly on albums one and two, one wonders where Bloc Party are headed. In the short term, here's our best answer:

7/29 - Los Angeles (Mayan Theatre)
7/30 - San Francisco (Fillmore)

Both dates are accompanied by the latest intarwebs over-punctuated act, Does It Offend You, Yeah? One of your favourite bands at arguably the best venue in the Bay Area? Sounds like a must.

Prince covers Radiohead

(Sort of) Fresh off a breathtaking rendition of Foo Fighers' "Best of You" (seriously, it was amazing), Prince tackled the single that skyrocketed Radiohead to worldwide fame. I saw this on the A.V. Club, and thought it was worth checking out:

This festival, too.

I hope all those that attended Coachella this year had a time as good as could be had. Personally, the only thing that really caught my eye was the back to back to back Architecture in Helsinki/Vampire Weekend/The National afternoon sets on Friday, plus Hot Chip yesterday. Luckily, I caught Hot Chip last year at the festival and this week at the Fillmore, so all is not lost. Assuming I get George Bush's relief check this week, I may end up going the REM/Modest Marr/The National show in Berkeley and all will be right with the universe.

But on to today's real poop!

SF's inaugural festival, Outside Lands, which throws down this August 22-24, has firmed up its final lineup. A number of exciting acts are dropping in, and I've marked newly released names with an asterisk:



Friday:
Radiohead
Beck
Black Keys*
Cold War Kids*
Black Mountain

Clearly, this day will be mostly a tribute to rock made by sweaty men from the South in the Seventies, plus the only two Nineties artists that remain creatively viable (Does that burn, Damon Albarn?.

Saturday:
Lupe Fiasco*
M. Ward
Two Gallants

I see myself turning in early this day, unless an absolutely overwhelming South Park fanboy attack overwhelms me and I have to stick around for Primus.

Sunday:
Wilco
Broken Social Scene
Andrew Bird
Stars*
The Cool Kids

Yes. Stars and BSS on the SAME DAY. Take a moment with me to let that sink in.

In addition, single day tickets go on sale this Thursday, which should please anyone as displeased with the Saturday lineup as I am. I suppose I haven't seen Two Gallants in as many years, though. Never Learned to Swim hopes you can join us in San Francisco's first real stab at a decent festival in some time. I'll have you know that Live 105's BFD on June 7th this year has Pennywise and Everlast billed prominently.

The festival.

More so than that other Chicago festival, the currently running Coachella, and SF's own Outside Lands, the Pitchfork Music Festival is pulling at the heart- and purse-strings of Never Learned to Swim. The skinny:

*July 18-20
*Union Park in Chicago, Illinoise
*$65 for three day passes

Friday will feature post-punk/noise pioneers Mission of Burma, Public Enemy (Flavor Flav alert!), and Sebadoh all performing a classic album in its entirety (Vs., It Takes a Nation of Millions, Bubble and Scrape), much like Sonic Youth and Slint doing Daydream Nation and Spiderland last year.

Saturday, The Hold Steady, !!!, Atlas Sound, and Vampire Weekend effectively make the trip and expense worth your while. Other bands might play. Eh.

Sunday, Spoon headlines. The remaining members of Dinosaur Jr join Lou Barlow and will perform a standard set. Local guys The Dodos also play.

We could say more, but seriously...



The Hold Steady. Performing their hits. And probably material from Album 4.

Radiohead reveal more tour dates

They're coming.

8.01 Chicago, IL - Grant Park (Lollapalooza)
8.03 Indianapolis, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center
8.04 Cleveland, OH - Blossom Music Center
8.08 Jersey City, NJ - Liberty State Park (All Points West Festival)
8.09 Jersey City, NJ - Liberty State Park (All Points West Festival)
8.12 Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Bank Center
8.13 Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center
8.15 Toronto, Ontario - Molson Amphitheatre
8.19 Vancouver, British Columbia - Thunderbird Stadium
8.20 Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre
8.22 San Francisco, CA - Golden Gate Park (Outside Lands Festival)
8.24 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl
8.25 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl
8.27 Chula Vista, CA - Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
8.28 Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl

Live: The Mountain Goats 2/29

First off, yes, I know.

After two forgettable, indeed, forgotten openers, New York's Jeffrey Lewis took the Bimbo's 365 stage with his band, the Jitters. Considering the deadly serious intent of The Mountain Goats, they were an excellent appetiser. The set began with a spoken word bit about the many facets of Top Ramen. Also included were three songs with storybook visual accompaniment telling the tale of a violent but wise brain and Lewis' days as a hippie. "The Last Time I Took Acid I Went Insane" left few sides unsplit. It wasn't all laughs, though. Many of his songs turned on his audience, launching into meta-indie commentary including one about an encounter with Bonnie Prince Billy/Will Oldham on an el train that left him feeling cold. Lewis' quick wit and lack of pretense was quite charming, enriching his infectious material.





In contrast, John Darnielle's Mountain Goats were a portrait of professionalism. All three were in suits and presented a set spanning The Mountain Goats' existence, plus nearly the entirety of early Album of the Year contender Heretic Pride. The three piece rock set-up was highly novel, considering the variety of arrangement and style present on their studio recordings. Earlier songs that are essentially tape hiss, guitar, and Darnielle and recent material incorporating strings, choirs, and all manner of John Vanderslice trickery were all run through the same mill into straight-ahead rockers. Mighty egalitarian. The Heretic Pride tracks especially were born anew with a simple band and a heap of energy, as simplicity and heat were two qualities in short supply on HP.



That massive back catalogue must weigh on John Darnille, as he was unable to get past the introduction to "Marduk T-Shirt", forgetting the chords, and later had trouble with his effects pedals. Peter Hughes was channeling Carlos D's dress, swagger, and playing style quite strikingly. Perhaps Carlos D is channeling Peter Hughes? Darnille followed the set with a solo encore before closing with full-band renditions of "This Year" and "Going to Georgia". Professional, stylish, legendary.



-RJR

Bat for Lashes to open for Radiohead in Europe and the U.K.

It was very recently reported by this blog and other media outlets that Liars would open for Radiohead on their U.S. tour. Today, reports indicate that Natasha Khan aka Bat for Lashes will assume the support role for most of Radiohead's shows on the other side of the pond (that is, in the United Kingdom and Europe).

Additionally, Bat for Lashes has plans to start recording the follow-up to 2006's Fur and Gold sometime this year. It's shaping up to be a busy one for Ms Khan.

Outside Lands Festival Shapes Up

SF's very own Outside Lands festival will throw down 22-24 August of this year with, as previously reported, Radiohead (and Jack Johnson and Tom Petty) headlining. A few more details on the Golden Gate Park-based fest have surfaced. Here's the skinny:

1. Beck, Wilco, Broken Social Scene, Cold War Kids, Andrew Bird, The Cool Kids, Two Gallants, and Black Mountain have all joined the confirmed lineup, along with many other luminaries.

2. Tickets go on sale this Sunday, 30 March at 1000 PDT. A three-day pass will run $225.

3. Any number of performance artists, installations, stoned hippies, and green organisations are going to join in making OLF an experience in the "spirit of the Golden Gate community".

If the prospect of Radiohead and Broken Social Scene tearing up Golden Gate Park in the same weekend doesn't floor you, NLtS recommends rushing to the emergency room, as you are likely dead.

Radiohead's spring tour gets better

As if seeing Radiohead wasn't enough of a reason to get your hands on some tickets to their inevitably sold out tour this spring, they have chosen one hell of a support act. New York post-rockers Liars (pictured above) will assume opening duties for the Oxfordshire legends as they cavort around the United States. From Liars' perspective, it's certainly a step up from Interpol.

Consolers of the Lonely tracklist revealed

On the heels of their announcement that their sophomore album Consolers of the Lonely will be released on March 25, The Raconteurs have announced the tracklist:

1. Consoler of the Lonely
2. Salute Your Solution
3. You Don't Understand Me
4. Old Enough
5. The Switch and the Spur
6. Hold Up
7. Top Yourself
8. Many Shades of Black
9. Five on the Five
10. Attention
11. Pull this Blanket Off
12. Rich Kid Blues
13. These Stones Will Shout
14. Carolina Drama

They'll also tour soon, making their way to the Bay Area on April 23 right before their April 25 appearance at Coachella.

Radiohead confirmed for Outside Lands festival

Checka:

http://www.outsidelandsfest.com/

As we mentioned a while back and have now confirmed, there will be a music festival this August in Golden Gate Park and Radiohead will headline. More to come.

Noise Pop gets rolling tonight

It's officially festival season, and it starts right here in the Bay Area. The lineup is a strong one, so if you're aimless in The City between tonight and 2 March, make your way to this festival that sprawls San Francisco. Highlights of the enormous lineup include A Place to Bury Strangers, Blitzen Trapper, Bodies of Water, British Sea Power, The Broken West, Cursive, Darker My Love, DJ Amplive (Zion I), Film School, Fleet Foxes, Great Northern, Helio Sequence, Holy Fuck, Magic Bullets, The Magnetic Fields, The Mountain Goats, MSTRKRFT, The Rosebuds, Stellastarr*, Adam Stephens (of Two Gallants), Kelley Stoltz, Throw Me The Statue, Tilly And The Wall, The Walkmen, What Made Miluakwee famous, and Working for a Nuclear Free City.

The whole lineup is here: http://noisepop.com/2008/performers.php

Participating venues include 12 Galaxies, ATA, Bimbo's, Bottom of the Hill, Café Du Nord, GAMH, The Independent, Park Life, Mezzanine, Mighty, Thee Parkside, Queen's Nails Annex, The Rickshaw Shop, Roxie, and of course, Slim's

For their addresses, go here: http://noisepop.com/2008/venues.php

A full schedule of the events of the week can be found here: http://noisepop.com/2008/schedule.php

Happy show-hopping to all those who plan to attend. NLtS will offer coverage of appearances by The Mountain Goats and Tilly and the Wall and a nonfestival show from Cursive this week.

Ryan Jay's Concert Calendar

NLtS contributor Ryan Jay will be hitting up several shows as the weather warms up. Here they are so far. All shows are in San Francisco unless otherwise noted.

2/29
The Mountain Goats
@ Bottom of the Hill
(as part of Noise Pop 2008)

3/1
Cursive
@ Phoenix Theatre (Petaluma, CA)

3/2
Tilly and the Wall
@ Rickshaw Stop
(as part of Noise Pop 2008)

3/21
Explosions in the Sky
@ Great American Music Hall

4/24
Hot Chip
@ The Fillmore

Expect reviews and pictures from what should be an exciting season.

Bonnaroo topples Coachella for "festival of the year so far"

As we were all too keen to point out last week, this year's lineup for California festival Coachella came up a bit short. We are glad to report that Tennessee festival Bonnaroo's lineup is pretty stellar, especially for those slightly less preeningly indie.

Big names: Pearl Jam, Metallica, Jack Johnson, Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, Phil Lesh & Friends, Willie Nelson, Death Cab for Cutie, Bela Fleck, O.A.R., Rilo Kiley



Good names: Kanye West, My Morning Jacket, The Allman Brothers Band, BB King, Sigur Ros, M.I.A., Ben Folds, Iron & Wine, Talib Kweli, Broken Social Scene, Mastodon, Lupe Fiasco, !!!, Jose Gonzalez, Battles, Two Gallants, Vampire Weekend, Black Kids



Plus: David Cross, Brian Posehn, Zach Galifianakis

Coachella does appear to have a better showing for dance music (e.g. Hot Chip and Justice), but Bonnaroo seems to have forgone booty-shaking in favour of the over-40 crowd. Overall a step down, like Coachella, from last year. There seem to be far fewer performers in quantity and the comedy section has declined considerably. They host David Cross again, but lost Demetri Martin and Flight of the Conchords. Possibly a good shot for anyone with an opportunity to go June 12-15.

Catch Vampire Weekend Live

If Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut (reviewed below) strikes your fancy, you can catch them live in San Francisco tomorrow night. They're playing Popscene, on 330 Ritch. Take advantage of this chance to see them fresh off of their glowing Never Learned to Swim review (and Pitchfork Best New Music accolade) before they truly blow up and they start playing them on adult alternative stations or whatever.

Tour to end all tours?

In support of their forthcoming album, Accelerate, college rock gods R.E.M. will enlist NLtS faves (and AOTY finalists) The National and Modest Mouse for support. Dates are spotty, but this makes the LCD SS/Arcade Fire tour from last year looks like kids' play. Representing the last three generations of independent rock, this tour should really bring together the aged, again, and young hipster alike.



You can catch Accelerate on April 1; as reported here, The National at Coachella; and all three in Berkeley at the Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley May 1.

Live: Mirah and The Blow 1/23

Great American Music Hall in San Francisco has a way of making not-so-legendary artists appear larger than life. It's a quality that it shares with its big sister, The Fillmore. Case in point: the K Records extravaganza that was Mirah and The Blow. Both women had stellar performances, rock star-like even. A pretty good showing for two minimalist artists on THE minimalist label. It's this cycling irony that makes both artists worth paying attention to, the notion of normal person as rock star as normal person.





Opener Cryptocize were impressive not for any Rolling Stones apery (hell, not even Hold Steady apery), but for their insanely twee aesthetic and cheap instruments tied by a strong sense of melody, breakneck stops and starts, and obvious chemistry. Both guitars were funnelled through $100 5 Watt Vox amps and the drummer was without a snare, only a tambourine. The thought of an entire record label, nay genre, of bands this shoestring is enthralling.





Khaela Maricich slash The Blow next took the stage, weaving mostly cuts from Paper Television into an often laugh-out-loud narrative about the universe, boys, girls, drugs, and boys again. Her banter covered her songwriting process, at least allegorically, and her creative debt to former collaborator Jona Bechtolt (who's now making MacBook cases?), Mirah, and James Taylor. All in white, sporting some of the best robot dance moves I've ever seen, her voice lost a great deal of intensity at the set went on. Near the end, it would have seemed wise to cut back on the story-telling to preserve her voice, but she closed the set with gusto. Never underestimate the power of a woman and a drum machine.



For the first time all night, more than three musicians were on stage for Mirah's set. It was well, given that many of her songs come across as dirges live, rather than the warm studio versions she cultivates. The melodic heft of a full band was a welcome departure from the rest of the night, especially her drummer, who was especially excellent at moving ever the slower songs around. The set list drew heavily from newer material, including an upcoming collaborative concept album about insects (for serious). The less familiar songs fit in well with the classic cuts, including an early take on fan favourite "Jerusalem". An excellent night for the international pop underground.

-RJR