Photos: Sunset Rubdown / Johnny and the Moon / Magic Weapon [Cambridge, MA; 10/07/07]

Photos by Josh Bean

A bandana-wearing Spencer Krug led his excellent band Sunset Rubdown to Boston's Middle East club last night, for the second show on the tour in advance of their new LP, Random Spirit Lover, out tomorrow on Jagjaguwar. At the end of the set, Krug announced that it was the birthday of their sound technician, Dave, who threatened to pull the plug on the mixer if anybody struck up "Happy Birthday". Krug called his bluff anyway, and led the crowd in a rousing rendition.

Opening for Sunset Rubdown on this trek is Johnny and the Moon, the side project of Krug's fellow Wolf Parader Dante DeCaro. Continuing the side project fever, also opening the show was Magic Weapon, featuring Jordan Robson-Cramer of Sunset Rubdown.

More photos and tour dates below.

SUNSET RUBDOWN






JOHNNY AND THE MOON


MAGIC WEAPON

[MORE...]

Thurston Opens for Bright Eyes, Adds Shows
Conor Oberst suddenly realizes what he's going to look like in 30 years

Photo by Jason Bergman

Sure, Bright Eyes are massively popular and have top 10 records and stuff. And Sonic Youth are massively influential and have top 10 records (on critics' polls) and stuff. But one suspects neither young Conor Oberst nor skronkfather Thurston Moore ever thought the elder statesguy of noise-rock would assume the warmup slot for teary rock's poster boy. But lo and behold, it's happening.

Attendees of Bright Eyes' November 19 show at Radio City Music Hall in NYC might want to be extra mindful of punctuality, as Thurston will be knocking over those Trees tracks before Bright Eyes take ya'll to Cassadaga and back.

In addition to the Bright Eyes opening slot, Thurston's added a few more European dates to his own tour, and a couple Stateside in-stores as well. His next gig, in fact, will be amongst the iPhones at NYC's SoHo Apple Store on October 17.

Sonic Youth, who recently wrapped up a trio of Texan dates over the weekend, appear to have no further plans for 2007. Unless "being collectively awesome" is a plan. [MORE...]

Video: Thurston Moore: Trees Outside the Academy preview

Lil' Wayne Arrested on Fugitive Charges in Idaho

According to MyFoxAtlanta.com, Lil Wayne was arrested Friday night in Boise, Idaho following a concert. He was slapped with a felony fugitive charge springing from the fact that he missed two court dates in August relating to a 2006 drug arrest in Georgia.

Wayne was apparently unaware he was due in court in August, according to his attorney, William Head. Head claims that Wayne never received any notice about the court appearances, as he was "under the impression that those charges had either been resolved or dismissed." Wayne is currently out on a $20,000 bond, and is due back in a Fulton County, Georgia court for his arraignment tomorrow. [MORE...]

MP3: Lil Wayne: Seat Down Low [from Da Drought 3 mixtape]
Stream: Britney Spears: Gimme More (ft. Lil Wayne) [Max Methods remix]

Photos: Sigur Ros / Will Oldham at Wordless Music Series [New York, NY; 10/05/07]

SIGUR RÓS






WILL OLDHAM

[MORE...]

The Decemberists Cancel UK Dates

MP3: The Decemberists: The Perfect Crime #2 (Junior Boys remix) [from the Perfect Crime #2 EP]

Photos: Arcade Fire / LCD Soundsystem / Les Savy Fav / Blonde Redhead [New York; NY 10/06/07]

Photos by Ryan Muir

Indiepalooza! Randall's Island, out in the middle of the East River off the coast of Manhattan, was the site of a massive concert this weekend, as the Arcade Fire / LCD Soundsystem tour came to a close, with Les Savy Fav, Blonde Redhead and Boston's Wild Light joining in the fun.

The Fav's Tim Harrington stuffed his face and did a little striptease for the crowd, while LCD's James Murphy tore through some of the Sound(s) of Silver. Arcade Fire blasted out a boisterous set of tunes from this year's Neon Bible, then hit the crowd for a megaphone-blasting encore cover of the Violent Femmes' "Kiss Off".

The only downer? Win Butler announcing that this would be the last time the band would play NYC for a few years. Sounds like the band is taking a well-deserved break.

More photos and tour dates below.

ARCADE FIRE




LCD SOUNDSYSTEM




LES SAVY FAV

BLONDE REDHEAD



[MORE...]

Zach Condon Guests on New Final Fantasy Single
Indie rockers in the mirror are far more excited about upcoming joint project than they appear

There's been no shortage of Final Fantasy music in the year-and-a-half since the release of He Poos Clouds; it just generally hasn't been his own. Whether arranging strings for some band or other, fiddlin' around on the records of several dozen others, or coming up with those loopy covers, Mr. Pallett's been too busy giving himself away to give us anything of his own. Until now. Sort of.

On November 20, Tomlab will unveil the X release in its Alphabet Series of 7" singles, the work of Final Fantasy assisted by the steady hands of Beirut's Zach Condon. It contains two new tracks that are longtime live staples: "Hey Dad" and "What Do You Think Will Happen Next?" According to a press release, "'Hey Dad' begins in an unassuming dream-state only to build to a gorgeous drum-roll and tambourine march. 'What Do You Think Will Happen Next?' seeks a life sans cigarettes with a tight rock drum, nearly synth-sounding violins, and the help of Mr. Condon's signature horns." Sounds a lot better than the patch, eh?

Tomlab's only pressing up 500 of these puppies, and seeing as both these dudes are so hot right now, making haste is probably in your best interest if you'd like one of these things. And, hey, while you're zipping around doing things in a disorderly fashion, maybe you'll stumble upon Owen as he traverses this North America of ours on tour. [MORE...]

Video: Final Fantasy: Cliquot [Beirut cover]
Video: Beirut: The Gulag Orkestar [with Final Fantasy and several members of the Arcade Fire]

Ghostface/Rakim/Brother Ali Tour Features Live Band
Venues take cues from jam scene, sell weed, hemp clothing, grilled cheese in parking lots

Rakim photo by William Kirk

It's not quite the animated mayhem Ghostface is currently enjoying on his Adult Swim tour, but with Brother Ali and legendary old-schooler Rakim in tow, the first annual Hip Hop Live! Tour is hardly sneeze-worthy.

While we've already reported most of the tour's dates, the new dirt is that 10-piece band Rhythm Roots Allstars will provide the live licks for all three MCs. Those who attended Rakim and Ghost's set at SXSW in March got an early taste of the tour, as the Allstars played with both gentlemen there. They have also performed and recorded with a few other notable names: Outkast, Justin Timberlake, and Christina Aguilera, among others. So if the R busts out a tongue-twisting freestyle over "Beautiful", don't say you weren't warned.

Rakim's place on the tour is in support of two forthcoming releases, the Live DVD and new album The Seventh Seal.

Brother Ali is also touring his ass off this fall; he's in Canada right now, and hits NYC for CMJ. He's touring in support of his new album The Undisputed Truth.

Ghostface also has some other stuff going on. [MORE...]

Video: Kanye West, Nas, KRS-One & Rakim: Classic (Nike Remix) [single]
MP3: Ghostface Killah: Chunky [from the J-Love Street Savior Pt. 5 mixtape]
MP3: Brother Ali: Truth Is (Clean) [from The Undisputed Truth LP]

Pitchfork Curates All Tomorrow's Parties Spring 2008!
Of Montreal, Man Man, Caribou, Los Campesinos! among first bands announced

Pitchfork and All Tomorrow's Parties: Together again! As you probably remember, back in July at the Pitchfork Music Festival, we partnered with our London friends to bring you the North American premiere of the Don't Look Back series. Well, we had such a great time that we're re-teaming with ATP for their festival in England.

The spring 2008 All Tomorrow's Parties will take place over two weekends in May, and for the first weekend, May 9-11, Pitchfork has chosen roughly half of the 35 bands that will be performing. ATP themselves chose the other half, hence the title "ATP vs. Pitchfork".

Here is the initial list of artists:

Chosen by Pitchfork: 

Of Montreal
Man Man
Los Campesinos!
Caribou
Glass Candy
Dirty Projectors

Chosen by ATP: 

Sebadoh
Ween
Pissed Jeans
Fuck Buttons
Apse

And there's still 24 more to come!

ATP vs. Pitchfork will take place at the original All Tomorrow's Parties site, Camber Sands Holiday Park, near Rye in Sussex. Part of the fun of ATP is living at the festival site for all three days. Included in the ticket price of £140 are accommodations at Camber Sands' chalets, which feature private bathroom suites, bars, a swimming pool, restaurants, a supermarket, go-karting, and mini-golf!

Yes, that's right: nearly three dozen amazing bands, PLUS go-karting and mini-golf. Pretty much the best thing ever. Can you imagine what happens when the members of Man Man hit the go-kart course?

Tickets for the weekend can be purchased through ATP's website in blocks of four, five, six, seven, or eight.

The dates and lineup of ATP 2008's second weekend, which will take place at Butlins Resort at Minehead, are coming soon.

We are extremely honored to be following in the footsteps of such esteemed past ATP curators as Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, Shellac, Matt Groening, Stephen Malkmus, Slint, Devendra Banhart, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Mogwai, and Sleater-Kinney. We thank All Tomorrow's Parties for this wonderful opportunity.

Thrill Jockey Unveils Anniversary Box Set Details
David Byrne covers the Fiery Furnaces, the Sea and Cake cover Califone, Arbouretum team with Beach House's Victoria Legrand

Without even making us pin the tail on the donkey, the folks over at Thrill Jockey have finally revealed the tracklist and release date of their limited edition, 180-gram-vinyl, 7"-only, 15th anniversary compilation box set. (Don't worry, we're experiencing information overload too.)

The spiffy package of Thrill Jockey artists covering their favorite Thrill Jockey tunes features re-workings from David Byrne, the Fiery Furnaces, Tortoise, Califone, the Sea and Cake, Arbouretum (featuring Victoria Legrand from Beach House!), Pit er Pat, Archer Prewitt, Bobby Conn, Howe Gelb, Adult., Angela Desveaux, Eleventh Dream Day, Sue Garner, John Parish, the Lonesome Organist, the National Trust, Pullman, the Chicago Underground Quartet, Nobukazu Takemura, Giant Sand, Thalia Zedek, Freakwater, and the Zincs.

The box set will be available first at the label's ATP-sponsored anniversary shows at London's Koko on November 11 and 12. Thrill Jockey will then release it in the UK on December 3 and the next day in the U.S. An alphabetical list of the box's tracks-- there are 18 across nine 7"s-- is after the jump.

Finally, the label is planning an anniversary event similar to the London shows to take place in Chicago sometime in December. [MORE...]

Video: Fiery Furnaces: Ex-Guru (Live at the Mercury Lounge) [from the forthcoming Widow City LP]

Blur Reunite
...for lunch

Video: Blur: Girls & Boys [from the Parklife LP]

Klaxons Put Liars, Wu, Justice on Bugged Out! Mix

Whether it's their rollicking, untethered style, their proclivity for injury, or their devil-may-care hairdos, some might say Klaxons are bugging out. And some would be right: Jamie Reynolds of the recent Mercury Prize recipients has compiled two discs of the band's favorite tracks for the Bugged Out series. The set is out this week in the UK on New State.

The first disc, "A Bugged Out Mix", focuses on club tracks, while the second, "A Bugged In Selection", highlights the group's influences. The first disc ends with the previously unreleased Brodinski remix of "It's Not Over Yet", which features spoken word vocals by Aleister Crowley!

Klaxons are presently bugging out the patrons of a Lawrence, Kansas Wendy's in preparation for tonight's gig. They've got shows from now through the near futures, spanning several continents and pairing them with some fine bands. Not along for the ride as originally planned: Shitdisco, who've canceled their planned dates with the band. In their place? The slightly more PG Apes. [MORE...]

Video: Klaxons: It's Not Over Yet [from the Myths of the Near Future LP]
Stream: Various Artists: Selections from Klaxons' Bugged Out Mix

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.)