A Gift From the Arcade Fire, Coming This Saturday

This Saturday, October 6, the Arcade Fire will wrap up their blockbuster tour with LCD Soundsystem at an extravaganza on New York City's Randall's Island that also features Les Savy Fav and Blonde Redhead. But that's not the only Arcade Fire goodness going down that day.

If you've visited NeonBible.com today, you might have noticed a link to www.beonlineb.com (clever, guys!), which as of right now, only sports the words "Arcade Fire presents..." and "October 6th."

So what's going on? Well, we know, but we can't tell you. Rest assured, it's pretty fucking cool. Definitely keep your browsers at the ready.

And hey, you were already spending this week in a state of heightened anticipation, so what's a little more excitement? [MORE...]

Stream: Arcade Fire: Broken Window [from the Keep the Car Running single]

Photos: Built to Spill [Edmonton, Alberta; 09/29/07]

Photos by Aaron Vanimere

Whether at a demon's whim or not, Built to Spill rolled into Edmonton's Starlite Room this past weekend as part of their umpteenth never-ending tour of one arbitrary epoch or another. If you can believe it, an end is in sight: this latest run wraps up October 6 in Seattle. But then it starts back up again just two months later, with a run Down Under.

Catch the remaining dates and some more hot Martsch-on-guitar action below.






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Nina Nastasia and Jim White Tour Together

MP3: Nina Nastasia and Jim White: I Write Down Lists [from the You Follow Me LP]

Neko Case Readies Trio of Reissues
Fox Confessor Brings the Blacklisted Lullaby

Between her solo career and her on-and-off onstage appearances with the New Pornographers, Neko Case's musical activity can be slightly unpredictable. And while she is definitely performing with the NPs on their current tour (next stop tonight, October 2, in Berlin), the rest of her fall is occupied with some well-deserved steps back into her recording past.

Anti- will reissue Case's previous three studio albums, including last year's excellent Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, on November 6. 2000's Furnace Room Lullaby (credited to Neko Case and Her Boyfriends) and 2002's Blacklisted (both originally released on Bloodshot) will both come unadorned with extras, but the Fox Confessor reissue will feature a bonus disc consisting of a demo of "Behind the House" and a four-song sampler of tracks from Blacklisted and Furnace Room. (What, no love for Neko's 1997 debut The Virginian? It's good!)

Case also has a pair of solo shows scheduled in November. [MORE...]

MP3: Neko Case: Star Witness [from the Fox Confessor Brings the Flood LP]

Photos: Magnolia Electric Co. / The Watson Twins [Boston, MA; 10/01/07]

Photos by Jason Bergman

Jason Molina and his Electric Company (no, not that one) have pulled out their St. Christopher medallions and hit the road, in support of their Sojurner box set on Secretly Canadian. Magnolia stopped through Cambridge, Massachusetts' Middle East club last night, with support from Jenny Lewis collaborators the Watson Twins.

More photos and remaining tour dates below. Molina heads out on a solo trek through Europe in November.

MAGNOLIA ELECTRIC CO.




THE WATSON TWINS



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Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donnelly Reunite for Shows

Perhaps it's not the full-on Throwing Muses reunion that band's slipped in and out of over the course of this decade, but it's still pretty great: Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donnelly, who together formed the creative center of the pioneering alt-rock group, will join up for a pair of shows at Boston's Brattle Theatre October 6. (This weekend? Man, good thing the Sox don't play 'til Sunday.)

As you probably know, both women have enjoyed successful careers apart from each other-- Hersh as a solo artist, and Donnelly as a solo artist and member of Belly and the Breeders.

The pair will play a solo set apiece before joining up onstage to close thing out. Hersh also has a mess of solo shows Down Under scheduled after her gig with Donnelly.

Thanks to reader Pete Savignano for the tip! [MORE...]

Video: Throwing Muses: Counting Backwards [from the Real Ramona LP]

Rage, Bjork, Arcade Fire, LCD, Battles Play Big Day Out

Flaming Lips Plan Christmas in March
Easter Bunny grudgingly accomodates

The Flaming Lips are eyeing next March's South by Southwest film festival for the release of their long-forthcoming feature film, Christmas on Mars, according to a recent Billboard.com interview with frontman Wayne Coyne.

"It is coming. In fact, it's better than ever. Because it's taken so long, we've become better filmmakers. There's better computer effects. I think it will be much better," Coyne said. Come to think of it, it makes sense that the Lips would need to build UFOs before traveling to Mars.

After Christmas on Mars' SXSW premiere, Coyne mentioned that the band plans to take the film on a tour of some sort. "I want the Flaming Lips audience to shape this. It'll be like our live show, which evolves as it goes. We'll show it to the audience and let them talk out there on message boards, and then maybe we'll take that and go back and change it and put it out there again and see what they think. It'll be a different experience than sitting at home and watching a DVD, for sure. I don't know if a lot of bands can do that, but the Flaming Lips sure can."

Currently, Christmas is in the final editing stage. The band is also transferring it to HD and adding "in-depth special effects."

Coyne also referred to the possibility of an At War With the Mystics follow-up coming out next year, but he emphasized that finishing the film is the Flaming Lips' first priority. "I have ideas I think could spur a great new Flaming Lips concept and a new sound and things like that, but I feel like we have to finish Christmas on Mars before we jump into anything else. Hopefully we'll be able to do that [new record] next year, though."

Hey, remember when this movie was coming out around Christmastime 2002? Ah, those were the days.

Recently, the band has also contributed songs to movies in which they don't star. They contributed to The Heartbreak Kid and Good Luck Chuck soundtracks, and, according to the Billboard.com report, they have also recorded the theme song for an upcoming unannounced Disney cartoon.

The Lips have two tour dates left on their schedule: one tonight at Amos' Southend in Charlotte, North Carolina and then at the Echo Project in Fairburn, Georgia on October 12. But be careful-- the Charlotte show comes with a surgeon general's warning.

Stream: The Flaming Lips: I Was Zapped by the Lucky Super Rainbow [from the Good Luck Chuck OST LP]

Photos: The Hives [Chicago, IL; 09/30/07]

Photos by Joseph Mohan

On Sunday night, Sweden's Hives gave the Chicagoans at Metro a chance to get up close and personal, before they shuffle off on Maroon 5 opening duties for most of the remainder of the fall. Fear not, though. Howlin' Pelle and the boys have several more headline gigs tucked into their lengthy itinerary with Adam Levine and his goons. They'll also return to Europe in late November.

The release date of the Hives' forthcoming Pharrell-assisted LP The Black and White Album has been pushed back since we last reported-- it's now coming out October 15 in the UK and November 13 in the U.S.

Dates and more photos ahead.








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Photos: Fujiya & Miyagi / Dirty on Purpose [Cambridge, MA; 09/29/07]

Photos by Josh Bean

British Japanophiles Fujiya & Miyagi rocked the Middle East (the venue in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that is, not the region of the world) this past weekend with their New Yorker pals Dirty on Purpose.

The Brighton trio played five songs from their upcoming record, which they're now calling Light Bulb (apparently it's undergone some grammatical changes since we first reported on it almost a year ago). The band also announced that it will have expanded to a quartet for the new LP (still no word on a release date), having added a drummer ("Lee") to their studio-- and, eventually, live-- lineup.

More photos and tour dates below.

FUJIYA & MIYAGI








DIRTY ON PURPOSE



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Animal Collective Are Corrupting Our Nation's Youth!
Kids, keep your parents away from the indie rock

Danger! Depravity! Experimental pop music! Apparently it's all there in droves at a live performance by the scariest band working today, NicklebackAnimal Collective.

After Animal Collective played Philadelphia's Starlight Ballroom on Friday night, Sean Agnew of Philadelphia concert promoters R5 Productions received an e-mail from an angry mother of an attendee. He was kind enough to share it with us.

It reads:

You should be brought up on charges for what went down Saturday night, is this an underground cult you are running with Animal Collective?

My daughter and her friends were terrified, no security, no police, not even a show, music playing backwards and men trying to lure them away, only one door to exit out and no cab would come pick them up
because the location they gave did not exist, no one ever heard of the Polaris club or the address.

What kind of scheme are you running.....

I will find someone to listen and have your organization investigated, you endangered several young adults on Saturday night.

I hope your child never goes thru what hell you put ours thru,
I hope you rot in hell, or is that were your from!

"Underground cult?" "Music playing backwards"? "Only one door to exit out"? Sounds like every Animal Collective show we've ever been to! What's the problem here again? At least there wasn't any pot smoking!

Agnew's response to the mother informed her that there were 12 R5 staff members, one police officer, and two "uniformed and armed licensed state security officers" stationed at the venue (indie kids can sure get rowdy!), which happens to have three exits, and had plenty of cabs out front.

He ended his e-mail with "We are not a cult and you have horrible grammar. Good luck on your journey with your child."

Animal Collective dates follow the jump. BEWARE. [MORE...]

Stream: Animal Collective: Various tracks [live on NPR's All Songs Considered]

Prinzhorn Dance School Issue "Space Invader" Single
Remixed by Optimo

Photo by Melanie Klein

I can just picture it now: The meeting in which a single spare, stomping, shout-packed track was culled from a disc of 16 spare, stomping, shout-packed cuts. There's a shrug, perhaps an uncomfortable clearing of a throat. Eventually, 16 song titles are written on a piece of paper at which a dart is thrown. "'You Are the Space Invader'", you are the winner!"

To be fair, the recently Forkcasted "You Are the Space Invader" does put Prinzhorn Dance School's best foot forward (guess that would be the right foot, eh?), but really, it could've been any of those songs. No knock; that record is awesome. It's just, you know, a bit monochrome.

So, then, October 23, DFA will wrangle "You Are the Space Invader" into some kind of digital medium, throw new b-sides "1,2,3,4,5" (take that, Feist) and "Wheat for the Locust" in for laughs, and even get Optimo to craft an "Espacio" remix of the track. (You can hear the Optimo remix on the DFA's MySpace page right now. Surprise, it's spacey!)

The single arrives just in time for Prinzhorn to wrap a trio of dates with LCD Soundsystem, which themselves wrap the School's plans for the month. What a backwards school! I hear they don't even keep any books in their library. [MORE...]

Video: Prinzhorn Dance School: You Are the Space Invader [from the Prinzhorn Dance School LP]

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.)