Concretes Can't Catch a Break, Cancel Rest of U.S. Tour

Yesterday, the band posted the following message on their MySpace:

"The Concretes cancel U.S. tour dates! Due to illness, The Concretes have been forced to cancel their remaining U.S. tour dates. The band and their management send their apologies to fans who may already have bought tickets or were simply looking forward to seeing the band's new live show, and hope to re-schedule new dates some time in the near future."

According to the band's publicist, it's frontwoman Victoria Bergsman who has fallen ill, and a doctor advised her to cancel the tour.

We hope that a) Victoria makes a full recovery, and b) The Concretes are not too mad at North America to make a return sometime soon.

Canceled dates:

05-18 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Café<br> 05-19 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
05-20 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
05-22 Long Beach, CA - Fingerprints (in-store)
05-23 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
05-24 San Diego, CA - Casbah

The band's European festival dates are still on, however:

05-27 Stockholm, Sweden - Popaganda Festival
06-16 Hultsfred, Sweden - Hultsfred Festival
07-14 Madrid, Spain - Boadilla del Monte (Summercase Festival)
07-15 Barcelona, Spain - Parc del Fňrum (Summercase Festival)
07-28 Ostersund, Sweden - Storsjoyran Festival

* Pitchfork Review: The Concretes: In Colour
* Pitchfork News: The Concretes Latest Victims of Gear Theft
* The Concretes: http://www.theconcretes.com/

Kevin Shields Remixes Bow Wow Wow for Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette Soundtrack

Ever unpredictable, Shields' contribution involves two remixes...of Bow Wow Wow. (The 1980s new wave band Svengalied by Malcolm McLaren, not the "under 21 with a Black Card" guy. That's Bow Wow. Although we'd kill to hear what Kevin Shields could do with "I Think They Like Me". But I digress...)

Shields has sprinkled his fairy dust on Bow Wow Wow's version of Johnny Mercer's "Fools Rush In" as well as their signature hit, "I Want Candy" (also a cover). Bow Wow Wow's "Aphrodisiac" also appears in the film, untouched.

In Coppola's film, Kirsten Dunst plays the titular character and Jason Schwartzman plays Louis XVI. Marianne Faithfull, Steve Coogan, Molly Shannon, and Asia Argento also star. So basically you've got Spider-Man's girlfriend, Max Fischer, Mick Jagger's girlfriend, Alan Partridge, Mary Katherine Gallagher, and JT Leroy's best friend running around in wigs and listening to Bow Wow Wow.

WTF is going on here? Why is Bow Wow Wow on the soundtrack to a movie about 18th century France? And how did the band hook up with Kevin Shields? We called up Bow Wow Wow yesterday to find out. Yes, they're still around.

"They actually based Marie Antoinette, from a styling point of view, on [Bow Wow Wow singer] Annabella Lwin," explained the band's manager, Nicole Powers. "They drew parallels from the fact that they were both young girls who found fame and fortune at a ridiculously early age."

Indeed, Marie Antoinette was married to Louis XVI, the future King of France, when she was 14 years old; Lwin was the same age when McLaren discovered her.

Powers described Marie Antoinette as "totally a punk rock period drama." "All the graphic design is based around that Jamie Reid style that was on the Sex Pistols cover. One of the other characters-- one of Marie Antoinette's lovers in the movie-- is actually based on Adam Ant." Also according to Powers, Coppola's production company is named I Want Candy.

Shields' involvement was shepherded by Brian Reitzell, who, in addition to being the drummer for Air, supervised both the Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette soundtracks. Powers described the "I Want Candy" remix as "absolutely phenomenal and incredible" and "a bit more rock'n'roll" than the original, while Bow Wow Wow bassist Leigh Gorman said, "Kevin Shields has done a really cool job, especially from the bass player's point of view because, he kind of loops the bass, and it goes really well." Neither Powers nor Gorman had heard the "Fools Rush In" remix yet.

Gorman described the scene in which "I Want Candy" is used as occurring "where she's realized that she's been put into this weird arranged married, and she's really young and she's in this strange country because she's gone from Austria to Paris, and she realizes that, 'Wow, I'm probably the richest person in the world right now...well, the richest woman, at the age of 14, so I might as well just have fun!', and you just see her having a complete blast. She's just doing all these wonderful things-- watching sunsets and eating grapefruit."

An unofficial soundtrack listing has been floating around the internet, claiming that in addition to the Bow Wow Wow songs, the movie also features music from Gang of Four, Windsor for the Derby, Radio Dept., Aphex Twin, Air, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Cure, New Order (whose "Age of Consent" appears in the trailer), Squarepusher, Adam and the Ants, the Strokes, and Phoenix. Secretly Canadian confirmed that Windsor for the Derby's "The Melody of a Fallen Tree" is in fact in the film, and Astralwerks confirmed Air and Phoenix's particiapation. But that's all we know for sure right now.

Also floating around the internet are rumors that Coppola is pregnant with Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars' baby. Hot gossip!

As for Bow Wow Wow, they've got a bunch of shows lined up for this summer and fall, including a tour with Devo.

Dates:

06-10 Milwaukee, WI - Pridefest
06-11 Los Angeles, CA - Los Angeles Pride
06-24 Temecula, CA - Pechanga Resort & Casino *
09-07 Green Bay, WI - Oneida Casino #
10-22 Phoenix, AZ - Maricopa County Events Center #
10-27 Anaheim, CA - The Grove #
10-28 San Francisco, CA - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium #
10-31 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre #

* with the Go-Go's
# with Devo

Bow Wow Wow: http://www.bowwowwow.org/
Marie Antoinette: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/marieantoinette/index.html

Boris, Sunn 0))) Launch Attack on America

Oren Ambarchi will perform as a member of Sunn 0))) on all of the dates, and will open a few shows with a solo set.

Sunn 0))):

05-18 Boston, MA - Middle East *
05-20 Victoriaville, Quebec - FIMAV festival #
05-22 Toronto, Ontario - Music Gallery $
05-23 Grand Rapids, MI - Institute of Contemporary Arts $

* with Grief, Sin of Angels
# with Keiji Haino
$ with Oren Ambarchi solo set

Boris and Sunn 0))):

05-25 Minneapolis, MN - Walker Arts Center *
05-26 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium *#
05-27 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center for the Arts*
05-28 Youngstown, OH - Emissions From the Monolith Festival *
05-30 New York, NY - Avalon *

* with Oren Ambarchi
# with Kevin Drumm

Boris:

06-01 Boston, MA - Middle East Club *#
06-02 Wallingford, CT - Wallingford American Legion Hall *#
06-04 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar *#
06-05 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church *#
07-22 Tokyo, Japan - Shinjuku LOFT ^

* with Growing
# with Thrones
^ with Guitar Wolf

Before hooking up with Boris, though, Growing and Thrones take their fuzz-toned circus of noise on the road for a series of dates of their own. Consider these shows ample opportunity to zone out in a dim club and experience the sensation of having your teeth shaken out of your gums courtesy of sub-harmonic riffage.

05-19 Brooklyn, NY - The Syrup Room
05-20 Washington, DC - Black Box Warehouse Theatre #
05-21 Charlottesville, VA - Gravity Lounge
05-23 Athens, GA - Caledonia Lounge
05-24 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn
05-25 Knoxville, TN - The Pilot Light
05-26 Columbus, OH - High Five *
05-27 Grand Rapids, MI - Division Avenue Arts Collective *
05-28 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle *
05-29 Detroit, MI - Bohemian House *
05-31 Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place
06-03 New York, NY - Cake Shop

* with Mammal
# with Alasehir

Growing were recently signed to Mogwai's Rock Action label, and their latest album, Color Wheel, will be released in Europe and Japan on July 11.

* Pitchfork Review: Sunn 0))): Black One

Boris: http://homepage1.nifty.com/boris/
Stephen O'Malley of Sunn 0))): http://www.ideologic.org/
Growing: http://www.growingsound.com/
Southern Lord: http://www.southernlord.com/

Awesome Free Shows Take Over NYC This Summer

Pitchfork has done the job of sifting through these organizations' event schedules, cherry-picking the best of what the Big Apple has to offer (does that even make sense?). Big names include Belle and Sebastian, Yo La Tengo, TV on the Radio, Voxtrot, Feist, Lady Sovereign, Prefuse 73, Hot Chip, the Hold Steady, Alex Chilton, Mates of State, and Super Furry Animals. And there's also a tuba parade.

The cream of the crop:

>>Central Park SummerStage:

06-17 Rhett Miller
06-25 Feist, Buck 65, Jason Collett
07-02 Seu Jorge, José González
07-16 Amadou & Mariam, Birdy Nam Nam
07-23 Konono No. 1
07-30 Lady Sovereign, Pete Rock, Jean Grae
08-13 Prefuse 73, DJ Spooky

>>Celebrate Brooklyn:

06-17 Laurie Anderson
06-30 TV on the Radio, Matt Pond PA, Voxtrot
07-13 Yo La Tengo, Samara Lubelski
07-15 Nortec Collective
07-27 Philip Glass and Kronos Quartet perform live score to Dracula
08-03 Bill Frisell
08-04 Los Amigos Invisibles

>>River to River Festival:

06-02 South Street Seaport - Super Furry Animals, Dead Meadow, Andy Votel
06-04 World Financial Center Plaza - Anthony Braxton's Composition #19 - Marching Piece for 100 Tubas
06-04 World Financial Center Plaza - Bang on a Can All-Stars, Matmos, Alarm Will Sound
06-13 World Financial Center Plaza - Eels, Smoosh
06-20 World Financial Center Plaza - Son Volt
07-04 Battery Park - Belle and Sebastian, Martha Wainwright
07-06 Castle Clinton - Mates of State
07-11 World Financial Center Plaza - Puffy AmiYumi
07-13 Castle Clinton - Okkervil River
07-20 South Street Seaport - Sugar Hill Gang
07-27 Castle Clinton - The Hold Steady
07-28 South Street Seaport - Richard Hawley, Nicolai Dunger
08-04 South Street Seaport - Hot Chip
08-11 South Street Seaport - Josh Ritter
08-18 South Street Seaport - The Box Tops featuring Alex Chilton, Tralala
08-25 South Street Seaport - Ted Leo/Pharmacists

Central Park SummerStage: http://www.summerstage.org
Celebrate Brooklyn Performing Arts Festival: http://www.brooklynx.org/celebrate/default.asp
River to River Festival: http://www.rivertorivernyc.com/

Coachwhips Resurrected on CD/DVD

CD:

01 Mr. Hyde
02 My Job at the Hive
03 Prisoner 119
04 I Don't Need You
05 ATM
06 We Are in Love
07 Mid-tempo Violent Dancer
08 Hands On...
09 Hey Fanny
10 He-C-She
11 Brains Out
12 Ringing the Chowbell
13 Fight With My Heart
14 Ghost of a Chance
15 I Don't Know
16 Deathmachine
17 Boom Pow Awesome (The Traps cover)
18 Guess I'm Falling in Love (Velvet Underground cover)
19 Drowning (Gories cover)
20 I Gotta Move (Kinks cover)
21 Pigs (Icky Boyfriends cover)
22 Only Inch of My Heart (Horrors cover)
23 Pay-N-Pac (Icky Boyfriends cover)
24 Whip in My Valise (Adam Ant cover)
25 The Witch (The Sonics cover)

DVD:

01 Letter to London
02 OOPS, Uh, Uh
03 I Made a Bomb
04 Hey Fanny
05 Hands on the Controls
06 I Drank What?
07 You Know You Wanna
08 Recline Recline
09 Brains out
10 Ringing the Club 6
11 Look Into My Eyes When I Cum
12 Dancefloor, Bathroom
13 Peanut Butter & Jelly

And just because the Coachwhips are chilling at the morgue doesn't mean their members are picking out tombstones. Frontman John Dwyer has been keeping busy with his group the Ohsees (formerly OCS), who recently finished up a record with TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek producing. The Cool Death of the Island Raiders will see a Narnack release on June 13. (This guy sure likes death, doesn't he?)

If we had waited a bit longer to run this story, we could have made a See You Next Tuesday joke in reference to the first track, but alas:

01 The Gilded Cunt
02 The Dumb Drums
03 Turn Off
04 Losers in the Sun
05 Drone Number One
06 Island Raiders
07 Cool Death
08 Broken Stems
09 We Are Free
10 Drone Number Two
11 You Oughtta Go Home

* Pitchfork Review: Coachwhips: Peanut Butter and Jelly Live at the Ginger Minge

Narnack Records: http://209.200.80.36/

Numero Group Preps Eccentric Soul: The Big Mack Label

Eccentric Soul: The Big Mack Label, due out this Tuesday, May 23, turns its focus on the "nobodies" of Ed McCoy's Big Mack record company, founded in Detroit in 1961. Big Mack's life spanned nearly two decades, its business fueled by an ad in the Detroit Free Press offering anyone and everyone the opportunity to cut a record for $14.95. A press release describes the label's recording history as packed with "young artists with awful, wonderful, and awfully wonderful voices," and now the best tracks (the "wonderful," we hope) will finally see an official release.

Now that's what I call eccentric:

01 L. Hollis & the Mackadoos - "Bui Bui"
02 Edd Henry - "Your Replacement Is Here"
03 Bob & Fred - "I'll Be on My Way"
04 Soul President - "Got to Have It"
05 Performers - "Mini Skirt"
06 Mae Young - "The Man Puts Sugar In My Soul"
07 Grand Prix's - "You Drive Me Crazy"
08 Manhattens - "The Feeling Is Mutual"
09 Ms. Tyree Jones - "If You Feel It"
10 Essence - "Fever"
11 Edd Henry - "Crooked Woman"
12 Soul President - "Get It Right"
13 Mae Young - "Let's Give Our Love a Try"
14 Manhattens - "Why Should I Cry"
15 Grand Prix's - "I See Her Pretty Face"
16 L. Hollis & the Mackadoos - "Monkey Time Shine"
17 Sleepwalkers - "Mini Skirt" (Instrumental)
18 Ms Tyree Jones - "If You Feel It" (Instrumental)
19 Essence - "Fever" (Instrumental)

* Numero Group:http://www.numerogroup.com/

Austin City Limits Festival Lineup Revealed

Yesterday, Robert Wilonsky of the Dallas Observer posted the initial lineup for the for the 2006 Austin City Limits Music Festival, taking place September 15-17 at Zilker Park in Austin, Texas, on the Observer's blog. The official announcement is due Thursday morning.

In addition to the previously confirmed Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Flaming Lips, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, and Willie Nelson, festivalgoers can now look forward to catching Van Morrison, the Raconteurs, the Shins, Feist, Stars, Sparklehorse, Wolf Parade, Secret Machines, Gnarls Barkley, Cat Power and the Memphis Rhythm Band, José González, the New Pornographers, Ted Leo, Okkervil River, Iron & Wine, Calexico, Son Volt, Los Lonely Boys ("How far is heaaaaaaaaven?"), and many more.

The lineup, for now:

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, the Flaming Lips, Massive Attack, Ween, Gnarls Barkley, the Raconteurs, the Shins, John Mayer, Feist, Stars, Cat Power and the Memphis Rhythm Band, Thievery Corporation, the New Pornographers, Sparklehorse, Son Volt, Aimee Mann, Nickel Creek, Nada Surf, Wolf Parade, Iron & Wine, Calexico, I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness, Ted Leo/Pharmacists, KT Tunstall, Secret Machines, the Rocket Summer, Okkervil River, José González, Matisyahu, Gomez, Galactic, G. Love and Special Sauce, Kings of Leon, Explosions in the Sky, Guster, Damien Rice, Damian Marley, Alexi Murdoch, Buckwheat Zydeco, Ben Kweller, Kathleen Edwards, String Cheese Incident, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Los Lonely Boys, Jack Ingram, Kasey Chambers, Centro-matic, Marah, the Black Angels, Sara Hickman, Trish Murphy, Asleep at the Wheel, South Austin Jug Band, Palm Elementary School Choir

On June 20, Image Entertainment will release a double CD and two-disc DVD chronicling last year's festival. The Austin City Limits Music Festival 2005 DVD features performances from Jet, Allman Brothers Band, the Bravery, Thievery Corporation, the Black Keys, Kasabian, Bloc Party, the Frames, Kaiser Chiefs, Blues Traveler, Ambulance LTD, Eisley, the Decemberists, Jason Mraz, Mike Doughty, Aqualung, Keane, Rachael Yamagata, Robert Earl Keen, Steve Earle Keen, Steve Earle and the Dukes, Gov't Mule, John Prine, John Butler Trio, and Widespread Panic, interviews with Ambulance LTD, Aqualung, the Black Keys, Blues Traveler, the Bravery, the Decmberists, Gov't Mule, Jason Mraz, Kaiser Chiefs, Kasabian, Keane, Mike Doughty, Rachael Yamagata, and Widespread Panic, mini-documentaries on Ambulance LTD, Blues Traveler, Ruthie Foster, and Roky Erickson, photo galleries, and more.

CD tracklist:

Disc one:

01 Jet - "Cold Hard Bitch"
02 Bloc Party - "This Modern Love"
03 Thievery Corporation - "Warning Shots"
04 Aqualung - "Brighter Than Sunshine"
05 Keane - "We Might as Well Be Strangers"
06 Jason Mraz - "Did You Get My Message?"
07 Ambulance LTD - "Primitive (The Way I Treat You)"
08 Kasabian - "L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)"
09 The Frames - "Revelate"
10 Kaiser Chiefs - "I Predict a Riot"
11 Tortoise - "Salt the Skies"
12 The Decemberists - "July, July!'
13 The Black Keys - "Set You Free"
14 The Bravery - "Unconditional"

Disc two:

01 The Black Crowes - "Sting Me"
02 Blues Traveler - "Hook"
03 Widespread Panic - "Love Tractor"
04 The Allman Brothers Band - "One Way Out"
05 Gov't Mule - "Time to Confess"
06 Mike Doughty - "Madeline and Nine"
07 Rachael Yamagata - "Be Be Your Love"
08 Eisley - "Golly Sandra"
09 The New Amsterdams - "Hover Near Fame"
10 John Prine - "Lake Marie"
11 Asleep at the Wheel - "Miles and Miles of Texas"
12 Robert Earl Keen - "Feelin' Good Again"
13 Split Lip Rayfield - "Kiss of Death"
14 Steve Earle and the Dukes - "Warrior"

Austin City Limits Music Festival: http://www.aclfestival.com/

DJ Shadow Reveals More LP Details, Tour Dates

The album doesn't have a release date or tracklist yet, but we do know that it will feature guest spots from Q-Tip, David Banner, Keak Da Sneak, and Turf Talk (the latter pair appear on the single "3 Freaks"). We also know a little bit about what the album's going to sound like, thanks to Shadow's post yesterday:

"There's been a lot of speculation as to the vibe of the new album. Some have predicted that the whole album is in the hyphy vein like "3 Freaks". To those people I say: RELAX YOUR BACK, YOU'VE ONLY HEARD ONE SONG. The album is very diverse, and reflects the fact that I don't fit comfortably in any one genre. My critics see that as a problem, but I don't...it's simply the way things are. I've never really fit into any one clique. That's why the album is called The Outsider. "In some ways it's a risky record. It's going to turn some people off. And I think I'll lose some fans. On the other hand, I know I'll gain some new ones. That's a fair trade in my mind. Besides I can't see playing it safe at this point in my life.

"There's songs with samples and songs with no samples. There's very dark stuff and very light stuff. Fast and slow. Simple and complicated. And there's songs on this album that I think blow away almost anything else I've ever done, so...we'll see. I think song for song it's the best album I've ever made. One thing's for sure...it's going to make it very difficult for people to imitate my sound."

Dude knows how to get a crowd pumped!

As previously reported, on May 25, DJ Shadow will play his first live gig in close to four years at a Los Angeles benefit concert for his art director, Keith Tamashiro, who recently suffered a brain aneurysm and is struggling to pay his medical bills. Shadow and Cut Chemist will perform a portion of their Brainfreeze set, and MF Doom, Madlib, Jurassic 5, and more are also on the bill.

The awesome doesn't stop there. Shadow also recently revealed a slew of tour dates, hitting territory from Europe to Japan to Australia. While non-L.A.-residing North Americans won't find this itinerary all that pleasing, Shadow promises more in the near future.***

***Update: A reader wrote in to let us know that DJ Shadow is playing at the Avalon in Boston on July 3. And that reader is correct! Oh wait, now it's canceled! Fuck!

Entroducing:

05-25 Los Angeles, CA - Mayan Nightclub *
06-08 Bristol, England - Lakota #
06-09 London, England - Fabric #
06-10 Liverpool, England - Chibuku #
06-11 Nottingham, England - Stelth #
06-12 Amsterdam, Holland - Melkweg #
06-14 Lisbon, Portugal - Lux #
06-15 Brussels, Belgium - AB #
06-16 Barcelona, Spain - Sonar #
06-23 London, England - Wireless Festival
06-24 Leeds, England - Wireless Festival
07-22 Byron Bay, Australia - Splendour in the Grass
07-23 Sydney, Australia - Hordern Pavilion
07-25 Melbourne, Australia - The Palace
07-26 Melbourne, Australia - The Palace
07-28 Auckland, New Zealand - St. James
07-29 Wellington, New Zealand - Townhall
07-31 Adelaide, Australia - Thebarton Theatre
08-02 Perth, Australia - Metro City
08-05 Singapore, Singapore - Zouk
08-12 Osaka, Japan - Summersonic
08-13 Tokyo, Japan - Summersonic
08-16 Dusseldorf, Germany - Philipshalle ^
08-17 Hasselt, Belgium - Pukklepop
08-18 Biddinghuizen, Netherlands - Lowlands
08-19 Cannes, France - Pantiero Festival
08-22 Munich, Germany - Zenith ^
08-23 Berlin, Germany - Arena ^
08-25 Paris, France - Rock en Seine
08-26 Liverpool, England - Creamfields
09-02 Stradbally, Ireland - Electric Picnic

* with Cut Chemist, MF Doom, Madlib, Jurassic 5, Dilated Peoples, Money Mark, Beat Junkies, MC Supernatural
# with Keak Da Sneak, Turf Talk
^ with Massive Attack

* DJ Shadow: <a

Liars Philly Show Canceled, Tour Kicks Off Tomorrow

The city of Philadelphia, however, does not like Liars a lot. Or very much at all, it appears. Yesterday, the band posted the following message on their website:

URGENT TROUBLING NEWS:
LIARS PHILADELPHIA SHOW CANCELLED!!
PLEASE CONTACT THEATRE OF LIVING ARTS
215-922-2599 FOR FULL TICKET REFUND.
PLEASE NOTE:
THIS IS NOT OF OUR OWN VOLITION..
FOR REASONS BEYOND OUR COMPREHENSION
LIARS ARE NOT WELCOME IN PA ON WED 5/17/06.
WE WIIL HOWEVER BE IN DC AS PER "THE PLAN"
THE FOLLOWING NIGHT 5/18/06 WITH
SACRIFICIAL CHEESESTAKES AND 76ERS..
OUR DEEPEST SYMPATHIES..
BROKEBACKLIARS

According to their booking agent, the "reasons beyond our comprehension" were poor ticket sales. Philly! What's wrong with you?! (On second thought, don't answer that. We don't have the time or the energy to hear what's wrong with Philadelphia. And lord knows you people love complaining.)

The rest of Liars' North American tour is scheduled to more forward as planned. They'll rock the Casbah! They'll fix the Pilot Light! They'll throw stones at the Glass House! They'll, um, do things they'll regret with the Drunken Unicorn!

Tour's not over:

05-18 Washington, DC - Black Cat &
05-19 Charlottesville, VA - Jefferson Theater &
05-20 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle &#
05-21 Knoxville, TN - The Pilot Light &#
05-22 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn &#
05-24 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon &#
05-25 Houston, TX - Walter's on Washington &#
05-26 Austin, TX - Emo's &#
05-27 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Tea Room &#
05-28 Norman, OK - The Opolis &#
05-30 Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad &
05-31 Tempe, AZ - The Clubhouse &
06-02 San Diego, CA - Casbah &%
06-03 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour &%
06-04 Pomona, CA - Glass House &%
06-05 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill &%
06-07 Eugene, OR - WOW Hall &%
06-08 Portland, OR - Dante's &%
06-09 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards &%
06-10 Seattle, WA - El Corazon &%
06-12 Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue &
06-13 Denver, CO - Hi-Dive &
06-17 Barcelona, Spain - Sonar Festival
06-18 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium &
06-19 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick &
06-21 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace &
06-22 Montreal Quebec - Cabaret Music Hall &
06-23 Boston MA - Paradise &
06-24 Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw &$
06-25 Baltimore, MD - Sonar &^
06-26 New York, NY - Avalon &

& with Apes
# with Deerhunter
% with Rabbits
$ with Alan Vega
^ with Celebration

Liars: http://www.liarsliarsliars.com/
Mute: http://www.mute.com/

Hot Chip Coming on Even Stronger With Second Album

Heed it:

01 Careful
02 Boy From School
03 Colours
04 Over and Over
05 Just Like We (Breakdown)
06 Tchaparian
07 Look After Me
08 The Warning
09 Arrest Yourself
10 So Glad to See You
11 No Fit Stare
12 Won't Wash

Fresh from releasing the singles "Over and Over" and "Boy From School", and contributing "I Can't Wake Up" to the kiddie comp See You on the Moon!, the melody makers from London town are quite justifiably hot shit right now. According to their website, they're working on remixes for Tilly and the Wall, Adem, the Boggs, Radio 4, Amp Fiddler, and Tussle, too. Tilly and the Wall?! Well, we're certainly curious to hear how tap shoes sound when competing with drum machines.

The band played some select U.S. dates this year (including a set at Pitchfork's own SXSW party), and they'll return for a handful of shows leading up to Lollapalooza. They're currently on tour in the UK, playing three different venues named Carling Academy 2. Can't one of Britain's biggest beer companies come up with something better? We're not saying they should copy King Tut's Wah Wah Hut or anything, but, c'mon, guys.

And, before you ask, yes, the band is playing Sanfrandisco.

Coming on live:

05-17 Birmingham, England - Carling Academy 2
05-18 Manchester, England - Roadhouse
05-19 Liverpool, England - Carling Academy 2
05-20 Nottingham, England - Stealth
05-21 Leeds, England - Cockpit
05-22 Leeds, England - Jumbo (in-store)
05-23 Newcastle, England - Carling Academy 2
05-24 Edinburgh, Scotland - Cabaret Voltaire
05-25 Glasgow, Scotland - Fopp (in-store)
05-25 Glasgow, Scotland - King Tut's
05-31 London, England - King's College
06-01 Brighton, England - Concorde
06-03 Aix en Provence, France - Vasarely Festival
06-07 London, England - The Luminaire
06-17 Barcelona, Spain - Sonar Festival
06-23 Ghent, Belgium - Culture Club
07-03 Malmo, Sweden - Accelerator Festival
07-04 Goteborg, Sweden - Accelerator Festival
07-06 Stockholm, Sweden - Accelerator Festival
07-12 Amsterdam, Netherlands - 5 Days Off Festival
07-14 Gräfenhainichen, Germany - Melt Festival
08-01 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
08-02 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
08-04 New York, NY - South Street Seaport
08-05 Milwaukee, WI - Stonefly Brewery
08-06 Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
08-10 Oslo, Norway - Oya Festival
09-03 County Laois, Ireland - Electric Picnic
09-10 Newport, Isle of Wight - Bestival

Hot Chip: http://www.hotchip.co.uk/
DFA Records: http://www.dfarecords.com/
Astralwerks: http://www.astralwerks.com/

Long-Delayed Big Star Tribute LP to Be Released

The comp features artists HEAVILY influenced by the consummate 70s power pop band, such as Teenage Fanclub, Wilco, Matthew Sweet and, of course, the Posies, whose members are such big fans they actually joined the band. Big Star themselves supply the latter-day reunion song "Hot Thing", thus paying tribute to themselves. How post-modern.

Wow, the Gin Blossoms and Juliana Hatfield are on here, too? Were the Gigolo Aunts not available? This thing should have come out ages ago. Oh wait, my bad; it seems as if the album has been shelved since 1999! Kudos should at least be thrown at Koch for rescuing this comp from the dustbin of useless music trivia, and for replacing the Sister Hazel cover of "September Gurls" with the Afghan Whigs song. And what the hell, you can use it as a soundtrack to reminiscing fondly about the Kosovo conflict and horny White House hijinks while watching The Matrix.

You get what you deserve:

01 Afghan Whigs - Nightime
02 Matthew Sweet - Ballad of El Goodo
03 Gin Blossoms -- Back of a Car
04 Teenage Fanclub - Jesus Christ
05 Big Star - Hot Thing
06 Wilco - Thirteen
07 The Posies - What's Going Ahn
08 Juliana Hatfield - Don't Lie to Me
09 Whiskeytown - Give Me Another Chance
10 Kelly Willis - When My Baby's Beside Me
11 Idlewild - You Get What You Deserve

The past year has been full of Big Star activity, as the band cemented a sturdy lineup (original members Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens with the Posies' Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow) and released a new album, In Space. They have three live dates scheduled for the rest of the year so far, including one in a mall. That's kinda sad.***

***UPDATE: A reader has written in to inform us that St. Louis' Gateway Mall is not, in fact, a place to go shopping. Rather, it's a park. And Big Star playing in a park is not sad at all. It's happy!

Radio cities:

05-21 Atlanta, GA - Centennial Park
06-03 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound Festival
10-01 St. Louis, MO - Gateway Mall

Big Star: http://bigstarband.com/
Koch: http://www.kochentertainment.com/

The Concretes Latest Victims of Gear Theft

The latest band to fall victim to gear theft is Swedish dream-poppers the Concretes, who are currently slogging their way across the country in support of their latest album, In Colour. Last weekend, the band posted the following message on their website:

"Some assholes stole all our guitars, one organ and one euphonium from our locked trailer in New York. That means stealing a major part of our sound and it sucks so hard and we are really quite fucking upset about it. If you are offered a really sweet deal on some vintage instruments in the NY-area then please first check against these serial numbers. In case of a match, report to us and give the seller a good punch in the face."

The euphonium after-market is filled with dark and nefarious characters, so use caution when dealing with anyone hawking a used one in an alley.

Nonetheless, the Concretes are continuing their tour undaunted. Check them out here:

05-18 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Café *
05-19 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge *
05-20 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall *
05-22 Long Beach, CA - Fingerprints (in-store)
05-23 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour *
05-24 San Diego, CA - Casbah *
05-27 Stockholm, Sweden - Popaganda Festival
06-16 Hultsfred, Sweden - Hultsfred Festival
07-14 Madrid, Spain - Boadilla del Monte (Summercase Festival)
07-15 Barcelona, Spain - Parc del Fňrum (Summercase Festival)
07-28 Ostersund, Sweden - Storsjoyran Festival

* with New Buffalo

If one were a highly driven, loose cannon police detective using push-pins on a map to track this crime wave, one would see a developing pattern: the East Coast is a hotbed for grand-theft-indie. In April in Philadelphia, Ambulette lost over $15,000 worth of equipment and Rosie Thomas' band were robbed of an assortment of guitars and a stage piano. In March in Philly, Film School's van and its contents were stolen, and in February Matt Pond's gear was stolen from their trailer following a show at New York's Bowery Ballroom in February.

Lesson learned: the East Coast, particularly Philadelphia, ain't a safe place to be if you're a touring musician. Oh wait: the Duke Spirit had their equipment stolen in Portland, Oregon in April. Damn, that foils our push-pins-on-map scheme.

The Concretes: http://www.theconcretes.com/

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)