Photos: Bright Eyes With Los Angeles Philharmonic / Yo La Tengo / M. Ward [Los Angeles, CA; 09/29/07]

Photos by Akmal Naim

Los Angeles got a taste of some more over-the-top indie rock pageantry last night as Bright Eyes performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the historic Hollywood Bowl. In case you haven't been paying attention, this is only one in a series of shows that has matched prominent young songwriters and bands with the orchestra, under the majestic arches of Hollywood's favorite outdoor amphitheater.

Joining Conor Oberst and co. for the night of extravagance were Yo La Tengo and Portland folkie M. Ward. The members of the orchestra itself, meanwhile, were given a rare opportunity to leave the tuxes at home and don hoodies and other casual attire for the occasion. So really, it was an evening of chilled-out extravagance. More photos and tour dates below.

BRIGHT EYES






YO LA TENGO




M. WARD



[MORE...]

M.I.A. Adds Shows With the Cool Kids

Photo by Kirstie Shanley

M.I.A. is for the kids, and the coolest of kids-- or the ones most willing to stomach the flashing neon of her website-- at that. And now, the Cool Kids are for M.I.A., in the form of tour support. She of the spandex and they of the flat brims have announced a whole heap of shows together, one of which also features Paul Wall! The first is in NYC on October 18.

Today, October 1, marks the release of M.I.A.'s "Jimmy" single via XL. She has a handful of dates without the Cool Kids, too, and the next one of those is tonight in Perth, Australia.

The Kids also have some dates of their own, including a few stops on the previously reported Fool's Gold Tour. They've got a single, "88" / "I Rock" (backed by B-sides "Gold and a Pager" and "What It Iz"), out soon on Fool's Gold. Their next show is in Riverside, California on October 3. [MORE...]

British Sea Power Ask: Do You Like Rock Music?
Well, do ya, punk?

If you found the title of British Sea Power's forthcoming Krankenhaus? EP a little curious, wait 'til you get a load of the name of their new album. Do You Like Rock Music? is the third LP from the seafaring sorts, slated for a February 12 release on Rough Trade/World's Fair in the U.S. and January 14 on Rough Trade in the UK.

The similarities between Krankenhaus? and Rock Music? are staggering; they both feature "Down on the Ground" and "Atom" (though the EP's version is slightly shortened), they both feature ex-Arcade Fire drummer Howard Bilerman and Godspeed/Silver Mt. Zion's Efrim Menuck, and they're both named after silly questions. Krankenhaus? Sure, why not? Do you like rock music? Of course you do!

British Sea Power are still touring both in the U.S. a little and the UK a lot. Can you really be sure you like rock music? Hit up a show and let your conscience be your guide. [MORE...]

Photos: Thurston Moore / Christina Carter [Boston, MA; 09/27/07]

Photos by Jason Bergman

On vacation from Sonic Youth, Thurston Moore brought the surname-free Trees Outside the Academy inside an academy of sorts this past Thursday, rocking Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. It was College Night, which meant young men and women of letters were free to roam the museum's galleries after hours and catch Thurston, opener Christina Carter (of Charalambides), and a couple DJs spinning amid the masterpieces.

And yep, Thurston is indeed sporting the t-shirt of a certain Wu-Tang Clan brainiac who warmed the stage for Sonic Youth at the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival.

Mr. Moore's still got plenty of face to melt before the month is up. Catch him in Northampton tonight, and with the rest of Sonic Youth later this week.

THURSTON MOORE






CHRISTINA CARTER

[MORE...]

T.V. Eye: October 1-7, 2007

Live music on TV this week:

Monday, October 1:

NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: VHS or Beta

Tuesday, October 2:

FUEL: The Daily Habit: High on Fire
NBC: The Tonight Show With Jay Leno: John Fogerty
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Mark Ronson

Wednesday, October 3:

FUEL: The Daily Habit: Panthers
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Nick Lowe

Thursday, October 4:

CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Rihanna
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Bloc Party

Friday, October 5:

CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Iron and Wine
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Animal Collective

Saturday, October 6:

NBC: Saturday Night Live: Spoon

Radiohead Album Coming Out as Regular CD Too

Okay people! Take a couple deep breaths, count to 10, switch the caps lock off, clean up the triple espresso you just spit all over the computer screen, and check this: that new Radiohead album, In Rainbows? The one that the world knew practically zilch about 24 hours ago? The one that drops digitally (DRM-free, no less!) in nine days, for a price of your own choosing? The one that's also coming out in a deluxe "discbox" in December? Well, it's also coming out in good, old fashioned CD format early next year.

No word on when exactly or through which label-- if any label at all-- but that's the news thus far from the band's publicist.

So, let's sort this whole mess out, shall we? You will eventually have three ways to pick up the seventh Radiohead LP, the Nigel Godrich-produced In Rainbows. It all depends how much you want to pay, which goodies you'd like, and how soon you want the tunes. Observe:

1. As a DRM-free mp3 download, beginning October 10 (and available for preorder now), via www.inrainbows.com (interestingly enough, last week's RickRoll, www.radioheadlp7.com, now directs here as well). This version contains the 10 tracks that comprise In Rainbows, and you can pay whatever the hell you want for it. This is basically the band leaking the album and asking you for a donation to access it.

2. As part of a deluxe "discbox", available for preorder now and shipping in December. In addition to the 10-track In Rainbows on CD, you also get the release on LP and as a digital download, plus an enhanced bonus CD packed with eight more tracks, photos, and artwork (and an LP of the bonus tracks), plus art and lyrics booklets and some nifty looking packaging. This thing costs £40.00/$81.00.

3. As a traditional CD, available in early 2008. This will presumably cost as much as traditional CDs tend to cost.

What Radiohead's doing here is actually pretty cool. Rather than preface their new album's release with the usual three months of press ballyhoo, only to have it leak at some random time before it comes out, they've kept it completely under wraps, then essentially gone and leaked it themselves. What's more, they've turned this into a moral question of sorts, by giving us the freedom to pay actual money for what amounts to an album leak.

Only a band in Radiohead's position could pull a trick like this. Well played, gentlemen.

Colin Mee Back in Deerhunter?

On Saturday night, a few of us Pitchforkers headed down to the Empty Bottle here in Chicago to check out the fourth night of The Wire magazine's excellent Adventures in Modern Music festival. No Age slayed despite amp problems, and free jazz legend Daniel Carter blew minds fronting a trio that also included guitarist Ben Vida (of Bird Show and Town and Country) and the Pitchfork Music Festival's own Mike Reed on drums. (Yes, he plays as expertly as he organizes music festivals.)

But when it came time for the evening's headliners, Deerhunter, we were shocked to find five people up there on stage. Guitarist Colin Mee, who quit the band just a month ago, was back in action. With frontman Bradford Cox free of guitar-playing duties, he could be his typical showman self. Struck with a nasty case of the flu, Cox remained charismatic despite the fact that he spent much of the performance crouched down at the front of the stage, coughing and sneezing and, at one point, even vomiting.

So what's going on here? Is Mee back in Deerhunter for good? What happened? Nobody seems to know...or wanted to tell us. It seems that Mee had played a couple shows with the band leading up to Saturday night, but not even members of the band could say (or would say) how much longer this is going to continue. We sure hope Colin Mee remains in Deerhunter; the band just isn't the same without him.

Deerhunter continue their eternal tour tonight in Urbana, Illinois, and hit CMJ next week before heading to Europe. Bradford Cox is gearing up for the release of his Atlas Sound album Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel on Kranky. He's got one solo gig scheduled so far, at the Fader Sideshow in New York City on October 19, during CMJ. [MORE...]

The Pipettes Postpone North American Tour

Disappointment: It's not love, but it's a feeling. And fans of neo girl group the Pipettes are gonna be feeling a twinge of that not-love feeling, as their North American tour, originally scheduled to kick off tomorrow in Chicago, has been postponed for a few weeks. The reason? Nothing dramatic: "a delay in visa paperwork."

Shame this sort of thing keeps happening to the Pipettes. As you'll recall, the release of the U.S. version of last year's We Are the Pipettes LP was pushed back from August 28 until tomorrow, October 2. But the album is still coming out tomorrow, and the Pips' tour has been rescheduled to begin October 25 in Los Angeles and end around Thanksgiving.

The L.A., San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Eugene, and Vancouver shows are still on, the Toronto show is set for November 18, and the full rescheduled itinerary is due shortly. We do know they'll be hitting San Diego, Denver, Austin, Atlanta, Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Chicago on the new trek. Hopefully, Detroit, Washington D.C., Nashville, Atlanta, Birmingham, New Orleans, San Antonio, and Dallas aren't left out! [MORE...]

The Battles Prep New LP Under New Name, Giantess
All-female group They Might Be Giantesses contemplating name change of their own

Chalk one up for clarity. Stephen Wood-- friend of/collaborator with the New Pornographers, Destroyer, and Black Mountain-- has changed the name of his band the Battles to Giantess, so as not to conflict with a certain other band that basically goes by the former name.

The newly named foursome will commemorate the occasion with the release of their third album, the self-titled follow-up to last year's Tomorrow's Eager Hands. Giantess comes out October 9 on Soft Abuse. [MORE...]

Bob Mould Issues Friends DVD, Shows It Off on Tour

From his days in the incalculably influential Hüsker Dü to his work in the short-lived Sugar to his recent adventures in solodom, Bob Mould's always surrounded himself with just the right folks. Such is the case with Circle of Friends, a new live DVD culled from a a fall 2005 concert in Washington, DC that finds Mould getting neighborly with Fugazi's Brendan Canty, Richard Morel of Morel fame, and Rockets Over Sweden's Jason Narducy while performing tunes from across his oeuvre. The DVD will be released October 9 on Mould's own Granary Music.

Mould plans to host a series of parties for his Friends on the road this fall, consisting of a 30 minute acoustic performance, a Q&A session, and a screening of the DVD. Care to watch a post-punk legend mill around while you watch a two-year-old recording of said legend tearing it up onstage? Dates-- and the Friends tracklist-- are below. [MORE...]

NEW RADIOHEAD ALBUM AAAAAAAHHH!!!
Update: Now with actual details

TODAY IS A GREAT DAY! First, the Phillies clinched the NL East for the first time in 14 years! YESSSS!!!
AND NOW THIS!!!

Hello everyone.
Well, the new album is finished, and it's coming out in 10 days;
We've called it In Rainbows.
Love from us all.
Jonny

Yup, that's right. A new Radiohead album, out October 10! Nice surprise, huh? It's called In Rainbows, duh. And it appears that Radiohead have chosen to not sign with a record label and are releasing it themselves via their website, at least for now.

And that's probably the least crazy aspect of this whole thing. [MORE...]

RadioheadLP7.com = Best RickRoll Ever!

Haha, you got us, guys! Good one! Thanks for not making me wake up early tomorrow morning, though. 'Preciate it!

Oh, but you should totally check out this Meg White sex tape...

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.)