- Is a lineup change for the Cure really news? The latest adjustment came Friday with Roger O'Donnell (keyboards) and Perry Bamonte (guitars) leaving the band. Or they were fired. Or Robert Smith got hungry and ate them with a nice Chianti. Whatever, Robert Smith is the Cure and always has been. Next.

- Kraftwerk are in town tomorrow night at the Hammerstein Ballroom and Newsday has a preview. I did some research and found that this will be only the fourth time the band has played in New York. Kraftwerk played their first Manhattan show in 1975, returned in 1981 and didn't make another appearance until 1998. So if you have a ticket, this may be your only chance to see them for quite some time. Thanks to TwingoKraftwerk.com for the tour facts.

- Another interesting Kraftwerk site is the Kraftwerk F.A.Q. If you need to brush up on your history before tomorrow night, this is the place to start.

- The Guardian (UK) reviews Coldplay's X & Y and is not impressed:

as the umpteenth song swells from a lone piano and mournful falsetto vocal into a rush of drums and echoey guitar clang, you start to wish Coldplay had done something, anything, a little unexpected: accepted visionary producer Timbaland's public offer to work with them; recorded something quirky and lo-fi; called in the Dagenham Girl Pipers for a jam. Instead, the uneasy feeling that their ambitions may now be more commercial than artistic is difficult to avoid.

- If you've seen Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, perhaps you'll agree with me that the most cheesy moment in the whole film (and there are many) comes at the end when Darth Vader screams "nooooooo" after stumbling around like Frankenstein's monster. Well, someone has mixed this lame wail with the Liam Lynch song "United States of Whatever" and the results are hilarious. Check it out here.

Just a quick note - the Village Voice has confirmed the first round of bands for this year's Siren Festival, on July 16 at Coney Island. There are a few additions to the shortlist Brooklyn Vegan posted last week, and more bands are promised. For now, we've got Spoon, Mates of State, Brendan Benson, VHS or Beta, Dungen, Q And Not U, and the Dears. More to come as we hear it...

I've never been fond of the term Shoegazing, but it's the first adjective that comes to mind when listening to Amusement Parks on Fire's self-titled debut album. Scan the media reviews on the band's website and you'll see that pejorative term make several appearances, along with predictable comparisons to My Bloody Valentine. There is certainly a resemblance, but APOF are seldom as ethereal or warped as MBV. Other influences, like Foo Fighters or even Dinosaur Jr. also make an impression, pushing APOF's sound out of dreamland and into harder, grungier territory. I've carefully avoided grunge and its offspring for many years, but APOF's blending of styles works surprisingly well. They achieve just the right balance of droning noise and power pop.

It figures that I would start getting into APOF right after they played three NYC area shows last week. If anyone went to any of these shows, please let me know what you thought.

The APOF website has two radio sessions and two videos available for download in Real audio/video format.

APOF's MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/amusementparksonfire

It's been a while since I mentioned X-Wife on here, but they're actually playing their first-ever show in the UK tonight, at London's Notting Hill Arts Club. They've got two more UK dates scheduled, and then a few others back in Portugal:

5.30 - London, Notting Hill Arts Club
6.01 - London, Karma Club
6.02 - Brighton, Pressure Point
6.03 - Vila de Rei, Festival Rock Vila de Rei
6.18 - Pedrogao
6.20 - Porto, Casa da Musica
7.23 - Lagoa, Algarve

More details are available on their site. That June 20 gig in their hometown of Porto is an opening slot for LCD Soundsystem, which should make for an awesome show. Any of these shows are worth catching though, I think X-Wife are even better live than on album. Feeding the Machine was a mainstay in my CD player for most of last year, ultimately ending up in my top 10, but I remember them just as much for their mid-November shows in NYC. They were the band's first gigs in the US, and the band was sharp, edgy and super tight. They did a live session on WFMU on the same trip, which is archived here. (FYI - I started as a random fan but lost some objectivity when I helped them with those NYC gigs.)

Try out "Eno" (MP3) and "Rockin' Rio" (MP3) to get a taste of the album, which Other Music did a pretty great job of describing back in November:

This is one of those straight-outta nowhere albums that falls into our laps and dares us not to recommend it to everyone. With the never-ending line of "sounds like the last big thing, but with a little bit more of (blank)," it's nice to hear a decent rock album with songs on it instead just a few trendy ideas. Apparently, X-Wife hails from Portugal and apart from some airplay on WFMU and some upcoming shows in NYC, they've had no other exposure here in the States.

Without coming across as a Clinic soundalike, X-Wife shares that similar quality of having multiple rock influences, well-digested and mixed together to form a full-grown song. Drum machine that's played like a real drummer, vintage keyboard blasts and melodies (with simultaneous nods to Stereolab and the Cars), not-sure-what-he's-saying-in-the-chorus-but-I'll-sing-along-anyway catchiness, and a singer that sounds like some cross between Jim Reid and Johnny Lydon (via Luke Jenner?) with a drop of androgyny for good measure. On top of it all, this album keeps you listening and enjoying the songs, not wondering how much some talent scout was paid to groom their sound. A record you can play at the party, but won't mind on the road trip too! Recommended.

And there's a good chance we'll have some new X-Wife material to listen to later this year - looking forward to that.

Two quick weekend events of note:

- The Wind-Up Bird tonight at Pianos (9:30 PM). If you enjoy ambient music at all, you should check this out. And if you think ambient music is boring, a show like this might be what it takes to change your mind. I'm not sure if he'll still be doing the four speaker thing, but I have a feeling it'll be worthwhile either way. Goes Cube and Paul Michel are on beforehand, Single Frame and the Dirty Projectors afterwards.

- Ken Ishii at Rothko on Sunday. Ishii was actually the headlining DJ the first time I went to a club (the long gone Twilo), so I'll always have a soft spot for him; it helps that he's a pretty banging techno DJ. I honestly haven't kept close tabs on Ishii but I do know that it's pretty rare he spins a club as small as Rothko, and for as little as $10 (in advance). If Sunday's MF madness at the Roxy isn't your thing, this could be a good alternative. DJ Lera and Kazu Okura are also on the bill.

Brooklyn Vegan tipped me off to the fact that yesterday would've been Miles Davis's 79th birthday. I love Miles. I haven't listened to much jazz in a while, but 4-5 years ago I went through a serious phase. I had just taken a great jazz class, and the Ken Burns series fueled things further. I didn't get too obscure or comprehensive, and I'm still very much an amateur, but I threw a wide net over the basics - Coltrane, Mingus, Armstrong, Rollins, Monk, Parker, etc. And the one I kept on coming back to was Miles.

What I love about Miles Davis is how often and relentlessly he reinvented himself. His tireless innovation yielded a discography in which my four or five favorites sound little like each other except that they are each unmistakeably Miles. Kind of Blue kicked things off for me, as it should have, when I saw it cheap and was told it was required listening. Of course, it is, and it's still one of my favorites - the original late night album. In A Silent Way is the other landmark, when his band went electric. The lineup on both records is staggering, filled with guys that could (and would) carry albums on their own. By contrast Miles is very much the focus of his orchestral work with Gil Evans, and his playing and solos are more than up to the task. I never thought I'd dig those albums but then I heard them, and now two of my favorites come from that phase - Sketches of Spain and Porgy and Bess. To be in the studio for those sessions, to see the band jamming with an orchestra behind them, would have been amazing.

Here are a couple tunes to celebrate the man's birthday:

Miles Davis - "Gone" (MP3)

"Gone" is from the orchestral Porgy and Bess, in fact it's the only song on the album that's not a Gershwin. Instead Gil Evans wrote it, and it blends in perfectly. Philly Joe Jones tears it up on drums for pretty much all of the song. I love his intro parts, and how easily Miles slides out of them on flugelhorn.

Miles Davis - "Shhh/Peaceful" (unedited) (MP3)

Miles is on his usual trumpet on the 19-minute unedited "Shhh/Peaceful," which is taken from The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions. In A Silent Way was very much a studio creation, painstakingly stitched together by producer Teo Macero. "Shhhh/Peaceful" was never played as it was initially released; the unedited version didn't come out until this box set, and it's fascinating to hear the differences. Full sections and themes were excised, others (like the familiar intro) were completely transplanted, and both versions stand tall on their own.

(There's a bit of noise on both these rips, especially the second one, but they're still worth hearing. Apologies - my laptop is being testy today. I'll try to get something cleaner up later.)

- If you're looking for a Kraftwerk afterparty, Martin Gore of Depeche Mode will be spinning a rare DJ set at Hiro next Wednesday. Advance tickets are $10 and on sale now. "Rare" DJ sets always make me wonder how good the DJ will be, though I can give Martin the benefit of the doubt. But how great it would be if he played nothing but grime?

- This is pretty cool - "idea-based artist" Leif Inge stretched out Beethoven's Ninth Symphony to 24 hours, but without any pitch distortion. Read about and stream 9 Beet Stretch here, or download it here. It reminds me of William Basinski's excellent ambient music, in fact I listened to it for two hours this morning. (Perhaps that says something about my morning.) Thanks to Crazy Rhythms for the tip.

- The Fountains of Wayne played a surprise show at the Delancey on Monday and Catherine's Pita was there. Sounds like the show was a dud, unfortunately.

- Last night's big Boredoms show at the Bowery Ballroom was very much the real deal, though, according to More in the Monitor.

- Head over to Fluxblog to grab the Robyn song "Konichiwa Bitches." Excellent tune, and that's before the killer Chappelle reference of a title. Who knew Scandinavian pop stars could ape hip-hop so well?

- Stereogum fills us in on the Brian Jonestown Massacre's Anton Newcombe's seriously harsh words on Eric Clapton, and I am once again reminded that I really need to see Dig.

- Check out this classic interview with Sonic Boom (of Spacemen 3), done by Gerard Cosloy in 1988. Hilarious stuff. An excerpt:

Gerard: Can Spacemen 3 perform live with the aid of drug?

Sonic Boom: Yeah, we can. We never have, but I'm sure we could if we tried.

- Mega Mega Mega reports that Underworld have a new album due in August, and that a DFA remix of the Chemical Brothers is in the works.

- Spoon, Q And Not U, VHS or Beta, and the Dears are the extent of the rumored Siren Festival line-up so far, according to Brooklyn Vegan. Spoon would be a great headliner, but I hope I don't like any of the Siren bands too much. Crappy sound and sightlines usually make Nathan's the highlight of my Siren experiences.

- I'll have more to say on it later, but the new Sleater-Kinney album is without question one of the best things I've heard all year.

What can I say about Deerhoof that I haven't said before? Well, Sunday was my third Deerhoof show and the first one where I really knew what to expect. The first time blindsided me with their awesomeness, the second was the first where I knew the songs well (and appreciated how much they messed with them live), and the latest was the first time I walked in able to focus on more than just the drums. Greg Saunier's drumming is insane, utterly captivating to the point where he's mostly what I remember from the first two shows. He's worth the attention, but this time I made sure to notice guitarists John and Chris. (Satomi is impossible to miss.)

It helped that the songs were different this time around - much extended, and not as explosively spastic. I'm guessing a good chunk of them were new, and if so I'm intrigued by the direction they're going on. The sharp and precise interplay of the guitars drove the songs just as much as the drums, if not more so. There were moments that were positively jazzy (in a fairly f'ed up way). Saunier's fills and playing still owned though. Watching him never lose the beat while doing practically everything possible to screw with it, on a stripped down kit no less, never gets old; the man is a virtuoso. Satomi's antics worked well too, they felt more relaxed than at the other shows. She's the number 1 reason some people don't like Deerhoof, but she was great on Sunday.

I would've loved some more old songs though. The new stuff is relatively sedate by comparison, and my favorite moments were when they rocked out - especially "Giga Dance" and "Dummy Discards A Heart," a second encore to celebrate the end of their tour. I was really psyched to hear it. "Milk Man" (MP3) was also great, as it always is. Overall, I'll admit this was the least impressive of the Deerhoof shows I've seen - probably a result of high expectations. It still was very good, and I'll still be there next time, and I managed to convert a friend in the process. Seeing them live always does the trick.

There are a few more pictures after the jump, and then a whole bunch more at Flickr.

There were only about 30 or 35 people at last Thursday's Antena show at the Tonic, and it seemed just half of them were actually there to see the gig. The other half seemed barely interested in the show, as if they'd wandered in randomly for a drink. (A bit like the guy in line at Mini-Mutek NYC who asked me if we were at the Lansky Lounge.) Since Antena's opening slots for Andrew Bird ended up being cancelled - disagreements with the organizers, apparently - those of us in the crowd ended up being the only people to see the band's first visit to NYC in over 20 years. Antena's music has always seemed overlooked though - Camino Del Sol, their signature album, came out on Factory's relatively unheralded Benelux imprint and has never gotten much attention. I certainly wouldn't have heard them if not for Other Music's glowing write-up of the Camino Del Sol reissue last year, but their bossanova/"electro-samba" sound is quite nice IMO.

Still, randoms aside, I was probably the most casual fan in attendance on Thursday. (It was just $5 and I enjoyed the album enough to say why not.) Antena was originally a three-piece fronted by Isabelle Antena, but I believe she was the only one of them on this tour. She sang and played guitar, backed by a woman on electronics and some very old school drum machines. Most of the music was sampled/prerecorded, though I was hoping otherwise, but it put all the focus on Isabelle's voice. Which was fantastic - rich, nuanced, perfect for a songstress. They played most (all?) of Camino Del Sol, with the highlights being the songs I liked most on the album - the title track and "To Climb The Cliff." She also played a few other tunes, including what I'm told was an America cover. All in all, it was a good show. Not the kind of gig to win you over or turn you off, but everyone there seemed pretty happy with it. Hey, even the drunk random folks were dancing.

- Between Thought and Expression has the video for the new White Stripes single "Blue Orchid."

- The Boston Globe reviews last night's U2 show at the FleetCenter and calls Bono "rock's last great frontman" other than Mick Jagger.

- I've been grooving on SXSW darlings Be Your Own Pet's "Damn Damn Leash" a lot lately, so I'm excited to hear that they're releasing a second EP, called Fire Department in June.

- Rajeev mentioned yesterday that there are rumors the Stone Roses are reforming. Well, today Manchester Online reports that Ian Brown is denying any chance of a reunion. "I can make my own music with no barneys," said Ian in City Life, a Manchester listings magazine. "You know, musically we're too far apart to get back together." Obviously Ian cares about his ego more than his wallet.

- It's CD-R Go! time with Michaelangelo Matos

- Also from the Seattle Weekly, a review of Sleater-Kinney's new monster rock opus The Woods.

- Act fast and download the new split single from PAS/CAL and La Laque - the songs are available as free MP3's until Friday, after which you'll need to get the limited edition 12" instead. It's due out on June 21 and definitely gets a thumbs up from me, perfect if you're itching for some indie pop. "Summer Is Almost Here" will do a good job of tiding me over until the PAS/CAL full-length is out, and "Secret" has already done a good job of making me wish I'd paid attention to La Laque sooner - I dig the strings, and I love how they still rock out. They're from NYC and have played a lot locally, but this is their first official release. Definitely a strong start.

- The Wind-Up Bird will be at Pianos this Friday - he's on at 9:30. His quadrophonic live show floored me in February, as you may have noticed in my review on the right.

- Superpitcher and Ada will be at Cielo on July 26. Cielo is one of my favorite spaces in the city, but parties like this don't happen there often enough. (I guess they need to let us save up for those $11 drinks.) As for Superpitcher, his new mix Today was the Stylus album of the week last week. I can't wait to hear it.

- Art Brut, BTW, took the same Stylus prize this week with Bang Bang Rock N' Roll - no small feat with new Stephen Malkmus and Sleater-Kinney records in the mix. I've had the SM album for almost a week now and I'm liking it more with each listen; still not sure if it surpasses Pig Lib, but it's up there. As for The Woods, I'm hoping I can get a cut-rate copy at Best Buy tonight; worst case, I hit Virgin tomorrow.

- The Seattle Weekly profiles "funk classicists" (and One Louder faves) Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.

- Daft Punk must have realized Human After All needed some help - "Technologic" is featured in the new iPod commercial. Has anyone heard the new Basement Jaxx remix of that song?

- Tiny Mixtapes reports on the new Super Furry Animals album Love Kraft.

- I got the urge on Sunday to hear Radiohead's "Backdrifts," which in turn became my first spin of Hail to the Thief (or any Radiohead) in months. I gotta say, that album has aged quite well, better than expected. My RH fandom tends to be really intense around their albums and tours but pretty quiet in between. Things have been dead for me since the HTTT tour ended, but perhaps this is the start of me getting ready for their new album - potentially due next February according to Green Plastic (via Daily Refill).

- APT has a few new hip-hop events of note - Edan will be there on May 31, Mr. Len and Prince Paul on June 13, and DJ Jazzy Jeff on June 20.

- DJ Jazzy Jeff is actually half-responsible for the Bravery's Sam Endicott's quintessential summer song according to this Guardian article. (My money was on Skabba the Hutt.) The article gets all sorts of folks to weigh in on their summer songs of choice - Mylo, New Order's Peter Hook, Antony, Nitin Sawhney, Jimi Goodwin of Doves, Jaff of the Futureheads, and more. Well worth a read. [via Yawn Yawn Yawn]

- With reunion tours being all the rage, might the Stones Roses be next? The NME suggests as much, but John Squire and Ian Brown need to first start getting along again.

- And finally, Manic Mess lets us know that even Legos can rave.

Entertainment Weekly and the The Guardian UK may say it, but Coldplay are not the biggest band in the world and they won't be the next U2, at least not yet. At this point in time and having not heard X&Y, here's why I think Coldplay aren't worthy of the "Next U2" moniker. Maybe this will change when I hear the new album, maybe not.

1. No Personality - Besides Chris Martin, who knows or cares about the other guys in Coldplay. Mick had Keith, Paul had John. Chris Martin has uh, uh, Johnny Buckland? As individuals, Coldplay are dull. If it wasn't for Gwyneth Paltrow, would the general public know who Chris Martin is? Doubtful.

2. No Edge - No, I don't mean the U2 guitarist. In my opinion, Coldplay's music is seriously lacking in incisiveness. There's no threat or muscle to their sound. It's pretty, quite catchy, but too often it just safely floats by.

3. No Growth - Three albums in and how much progression has there been in the Coldplay sound? The lack of experimentations doesn't promise a long run. Consider that Radiohead's (the last "next U2" band) third album was OK Computer, a dramatic leap from Pablo Honey and The Bends. Like I said, I haven't heard X&Y in full yet, but I found "Speed of Sound" and "Talk" to be more of the same old Coldplay.

4. No Great Live Show - Chris Martin may be fun to watch bang on a piano and jump around like a rabbit on speed, but otherwise Coldplay are just OK live. I've seen them three times, including their MSG show, and while I enjoyed myself, they weren't that memorable. If they hope to consistently fill arenas and stadiums, Coldplay will need to put some more effort into their live show.

It's possible, perhaps even highly likely that I'm very wrong and Coldplay really are the next "biggest band in the world." I just wish the title would go to a band that is doing something innovative and exciting rather than just writing some pop tunes that go well with montages on The O.C.

I came very close to skipping this show. It had been a long week: two U2 concerts in New Jersey had drained me of most of my energy. But it was Andrew Bird, whose newest release Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs is in the upper echelons of my favorite 2005 releases. A 7:30 start and an intriguing opening act was enough to convince me to go.

Turns out, I'm really happy I didn't back out. Andrew put on a highly enjoyable show, full of humor, intelligence, sorrow and heartbreak. It was great fun watching Mr. Bird build each song from live violin samples, guitar fragments, chimes and the perfectly placed whistle. Only Andrew Bird could put his lips together and blow like a theremin without descending into novelty.

Using this simple live setup, Andrew's compositions were stripped of their studio ornamentations and his clever wordplays became the focus. Spinning tales both political and personal, Andrew's deft handling of metaphors and rich double-meanings truly set him apart from other singer-songwriters. Take for example "Sovay" from Mysterious with its doomsday Don Quixotes blasting "Ride of the Valkyries" on their way to "blowing us back to the seventies". On the album the song has a sweet, lilting quality, but live its apocalyptic edge was sharpened to serrate.

On stage Andrew possessed his songs with a manic almost neurotic edge. Never standing still or striking aloof poses, he was nervous tics, mumbled comments and false starts. Whether it's a persona, a fear of crowds or just who he is, it was beguiling and endearing. The sold-out audience was on his side from the start.

I mentioned at the top that there was an intriguing opening act. Well, there was suppose to be one. When I got to the Knitting Factory I learned that Antena had canceled their entire tour, including this show. I tried to find out what happened, but no one was willing to offer anything other than a shrug of the shoulders. So Chicago songwriter Chris Mills filled in and did an admirable job given the circumstances. I'm not familiar with his music, but it was good enough to warrant further research.

My photos of the show didn't turn out too well due to the Knitting Factory's low lighting. For what it's worth, you can check them out here.

I try to write these reviews soon after seeing a show, before I start to forget details, but a crazy busy week/weekend kept me from getting to Gang of Four till now. Their show last Tuesday, though, the first of three NYC gigs on their much-heralded reunion tour, was definitely great. I'm admittedly not the most complete Go4 fan - I think Entertainment! is fantastic, worthy of all the accolades and then some, but I've never really listened to their other albums. (I know, I know....) That meant I only recognized about half of their set, but it seemed a good chunk of the crowd was in the same boat as me. Pretty much all of it was excellent though. It was impossible to miss how much the Rapture, Franz Ferdinand, etc. draw on Go4's influence; the best of the newer bands still do their own thing with it, but Tuesday night went straight to the source.

I hadn't realized how animated the band would be on stage, but their unbridled energy and enthusiasm was infectious. It was hard not to move, with Dave Allen's basslines being thicker and funkier live and Jon King roaming the stage like a man possessed. There were actually three mics set up across the front of the stage, giving him maximum mobility. He took full advantage, working up quite a sweat in the process - I can't believe they did a second show a few hours later! King actually helped on the beat for one song by pounding away at a microwave with a bat, and drummer Hugo Barnham tore it up for most of the others. His beats were technically quite impressive, yet he made it all look so easy. Andy Gill was coaxing sheets of noise out of his guitar all night, at one point even tossing it on the floor. And I have to mention the basslines again - so great!

My favorite part of the show was the opening triple shot of Entertainment! - "Return the Gift," "Not Great Men," and "Ether" (if I remember correctly). By the time the final breakdown of "Ether" arrived, it seemed the whole floor was bouncing. "Damaged Goods" and "At Home He's A Tourist" were also pretty sick. You never know if a band will just rest on its laurels with reunion tours, but Gang of Four were playing like a band starting fresh and trying to win fans over. I certainly left more impressed than ever with them, and I think most of the crowd would agree.

More photos after the jump...

Another set of U2 photos - this time from Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Again, more comments on this concert tomorrow.







More photos from this show on Flickr.com

I wish these photos had turned out as well as the show itself did. More on that tomorrow.

- The Independent UK interviewed the Duke Spirit, who will be at the Tribeca Grand on June 18. I must concur with Rajeev that their debut album Cuts Across The Land is indeed excellent.

- I just stumbled upon Mixoftheweek.com, a site featuring mixes of "soulful dance music and other beautiful sounds", downloadable in MP3 or RealAudio format. I'm not really familiar with many of the artists, but some of these mixes look pretty interesting.

- USA Today predicts that U2 will gross $300 million from their Vertigo 2005 tour. That's more than the top three touring artists of 2004 (Prince, Shania Twain and Madonna) combined.

- I just had to laugh when I read this headline: "The Killers to Play Massive Central Park Gig". When did Summerstage become "massive"? Do some research, please.

- I took advantage of a half-day at work yesterday to see Star Wars Episode III. My verdict: better than the first two, but ruined by some horrible acting and writing. Without giving much away, the scenes with Hayden Christensen in the Darth Vader suit were so cheesy and unintentionally hilarious. Come on George, you can do better than: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO".

- Finally, learn to dance like Napoleon Dynamite

- Tonight is Antena's first show in NYC since 1983, when they played Danceteria with Sonic Youth. They're playing a midnight set at the Tonic, and they're also playing with Andrew Bird on Friday at the Knitting Factory and Sunday at Southpaw. The band will be playing Camino Del Sol in its entirety, an album that blends new wave, electro-pop, and bossanova with a cool detachment and is viewed as their masterpiece. The album originally came out on Factory in 1982, but was reissued by the Numero Group last year. Check out "To Climb The Cliff" (MP3) to see what you think. I think it's pretty great, and Pitchfork loved it with a 9.0 rating.

- If you're an Optimo fan, tune in to Tim Sweeney's Beats in Space show tonight on WNYU (89.1 FM, 10:30 PM - 1 AM) to hear a special DJ set from Twitch. WNYU also broadcasts online via both a live Real Audio stream and a streaming MP3.

- M.A.N.D.Y. will be at the Tribeca Grand on Saturday. They run the Get Physical label in Germany and, by all accounts, are masterful electro-house DJ's - like "Kompakt with an Italo fetish" according to Flavorpill, or "an updated version of classic Chicago house" according to DJ Spinoza. I don't know them too well but I've yet to read a bad word, and people seem pretty psyched about this. Note that an RSVP to weare138nyc@yahoo.com is required for entry.

- Sticking with the Tribeca Grand, the Duke Spirit will be there on June 18. I'm a big fan of Cuts Across The Land, their excellent debut full-length that just came out across the pond. I once described their sound as Martina Topley-Bird fronting Spiritualized. I could see them being great live, and since this is a Tribeca Grand show, we'll probably get to find out for free.

- Annie will be back in NYC next month as part of the Anniemix tour, with Annie and Timo Kaukolampi on turntables and electronics with live vocals. They'll be at Hiro on June 28 and Scenic on June 29, and hopefully Annie's show will be better without a full band. This is the first event I've heard about at Scenic, which will be opening in the old Guernica space. It certainly is a strong way to start.

I've always regretted not catching Yo La Tengo's performance of The Sounds of Science three years ago at Lincoln Center. I can't remember my reasoning, but it hit home when I got the accompanying CD soundtrack (The Sounds of the Sounds of Science) a few months later and listened to it incessantly. The eight pieces are far from your typical YLT fare, commissioned by the San Francisco International Film Festival in 2001 as a live score to the aquatic documentaries of Jean Painlevé. They're mostly extended jams on simple melodies - soundscapes just as much as songs, designed as background music but with enough detail and variation to hold your attention up close. With the exception of "Acera or the Witches Dance" at Prospect Park in '02, none of them seem to make it into YLT's setlists (at least when I'm in the crowd). The band played the entire set at the Rose Theater last night though, with the films playing behind them. It was very, very cool.

The films were the focus of the show, with the band playing in the dark, and I was really impressed. Painlevé's underwater documentaries span seven decades, and last night's selections dated from 1927 to 1978. All eight looked at underwater life up close - sea urchins, jellyfish, seahorses, shrimp, etc. As the program notes said, the films "cut between monochrome and vivid Technicolor, focusing on curious shapes, luminous colors, psychedelic patterns, and wobbly pulsating creatures." They worked well both artistically and scientifically; as someone who majored in biology, I especially enjoyed them.

I knew the music pretty well coming in, so I loved finally seeing each piece's inspiration; in most cases, the music matched the films quite well, and the band often looked at the screen while playing to synch up and improvise. James McNew's bassline on "How Some Jellyfish Are Born" (MP3) matched the throbs of the jellyfish on screen, likewise for his walking bassline and the darting shrimp on "Shrimp Stories." Those two were my favorites, along with "The Seahorse" and the E-Bow tones of "Sea Urchins." Watching a seahorse give birth while Ira Kaplan jams on a Farfisa works surprisingly well. My only complaint was that it was hard to look at both the band and the films; more often than not, I focused on the latter, but I wish I could have seen how YLT were making some of the sounds. ("Acera," for example, had Ira banging on his guitar with a mallet and playing it on the floor.)

But all in all, I enjoyed this quite a bit. The Rose Theater, part of Lincoln Center's new outpost in the Time Warner Center, was a nice space as well, a bit like a larger Zankel Hall. The sound was crisp, the sightlines were clear. It's not often something like this happens there, but I wouldn't hesitate to go back.

The Wicked was at the show as well, and Pitchfork gave an 8.0 to The Sounds of the Sounds of the Science back when it came out. Two more performances of the score are currently scheduled - May 28 in Tokyo and July 9 in North Adams, MA. Details are available here.

SETLIST

Hyas and Stenorinchus / Sea Urchins / How Some Jellyfish Are Born / Liquid Crystals / The Seahorse / The Love Life of the Octopus / Shrimp Stories / Acera or the Witches' Dance

Suddenly Saturday's MSG gig has something to live up to - and that would be last night's U2 show at the Meadowlands. Much improved sound, audience response and band tightness really produced a great concert, topping Tuesday.

As on the 17th, the best was saved for last. For anyone who follows U2 setlists with any regularity, the band has a "A" set and a "B" set for two-night stands. The "B" script was followed to the letter last night - subtract "Electric Co." and "An Cat Dubh - Into the Heart" and add "Gloria" and "The Ocean", etc. - until just after "Yahweh". On his way back to the main stage from out at the tip of the elliptical ramp, Bono stopped suddenly and asked for a spot light. Reaching down into the crowd, he began pulling a fan out of the throng. Then another, and another, and then even more.

But this wasn't random selection - Bono had heaved a local band, the Bank Robbers, onto the stage. As U2 handed over their instruments to these interlopers, Bono joked that Larry wouldn't surrender his drums, so the single tom drum used for "Love and Pease or Else" was brought on stage. The Bank Robbers' guitar player began to strum the familiar chords to "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", a song not played on this tour. What followed was a ramshackle, but inspired take on the U2 hit, complete with a thrashed-up and chaotic ending that brought down the house. It was a spontaneous and gloriously fun moment that I won't ever forget.

"If you're thinking of forming a punk group, a jazz group, a rock group," Bono said after ushering the Robbers off the stage. "We'll be back in the fall, so be ready." After a quick band huddle, U2 ended the night with a powerful rendition of "Bad".

Now it's on to Saturday night with my expectations ratcheted even higher by two surprisingly great New Jersey shows. Continental Airlines Arena - you've been redeemed.

Setlist:

City of Blinding Lights / Vertigo - Stories for Boys - Pump It Up / Elevation / Gloria / The Ocean / Beautiful Day / Miracle Drug / Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own / Love and Peace or Else / Sunday Bloody Sunday / Bullet the Blue Sky - When Johnny Comes Marching Home / Running to Stand Still / Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name / One

ENCORE: Zoo Station / The Fly / Mysterious Ways / All Because Of You / Yahweh / I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / Bad

More photos I took of this show are on Flickr.com

Billboard.com and Newsday review the Tuesday, May 17 show.

The Bank Robbers website

The 2005 Summerstage schedule is out and it's looking pretty solid. Summerstage is one of my favorite places to see a show in the summer, but I was pretty disappointed with their lineup last year. This year has some real keepers though - other than the already announced benefit shows, the free shows include Femi Kuti on July 17, MC5 and the Sun Ra Arkestra on July 30, and M.I.A. with Diplo on August 7. Pretty cool. Check out the full schedule after the jump and head over to the Summerstage site for details on everything.



* 6.04 - The Killers + Louis XIV (SOLD OUT)
6.17 - Will Calhoun presents AZA - featuring Pharoah Sanders, Wallace Roney, Orrin Evans and John Benitez
6.18 - John Legend + Lyfe Jennings + DJ Reborn
* 6.20 - Modest Mouse + Camper Van Beethoven (SOLD OUT)
6.21 - Marilynne Robinson + Joseph Lelyveld
6.24 - Cassandra Wilson + Tamar-Kali Pseudoacoustic
6.25 - Tortured Soul + Lady Alma + Rich Medina
6.26 - Tegan and Sara + Ron Sexsmith + Kyle Riabko + East Village Opera Company
* 6.28 - The Roots + De La Soul + MF Doom
* 6.29 - David Byrne with the Tosca Strings + Pink Martini + Brooklyn Steppers
7.02 - The Music of Nick Drake
7.03 - Khaled & Friends
7.07 - Ben Munisteri Dance Projects
7.08 - Gabriel O Pensador
7.09 - Nacao Zumi
7.10 - Blind Boys of Alabama + Citizen Cope + The Royal Wylds
* 7.14 - Dinosaur Jr. + Broken Social Scene + Magik Markers + Radio 4
7.15 - Shelby Lynne + Alana Davis
7.16 - Celebrate New Orleans: Kermit Ruffins & The Barbecue Swingers + others
7.17 - Femi Kuti + Brazilian Girls
* 7.18 - Lyle Lovett
* 7.19 - Elvis Costello and the Imposters with Emmylou Harris
7.21 - Upright Citizens Brigade
7.22 - Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company
7.23 - Dance for Peace + Skazi + Astral Projection + DJ Amir
7.24 - Dan Zanes & Friends + Batoto Yetu
7.27 - Ha Jin
7.29 - The Balanchine Legacy
7.30 - MC5 + The Sun Ra Arkestra
7.31 - Lila Downs + Maria del Mar Bonet + Las Ondas Marteles
8.04 - Patti Smith + Janet Hamill & Morning Star
8.05 - Brad Mehldau + Jason Moran + Eric Lewis
8.06 - Coheed and Cambria + Aterciopelados + Bebe
8.07 - M.I.A. with Diplo & special guests
8.11 - Trisha Brown Dance Company
8.13 - Yolanda Adams + A.R.C. Choir + Nuttin' But Stringz
8.14 - Barrington Levy + Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra + DJ Eddie Stats
* 8.18 - Death Cab for Cutie + The Decemberists + Stars (SOLD OUT)

Shows are free unless starred.

Hectic day today, so my thoughts on last night's Gang of Four show will have to wait for later - it was definitely great. In the meantime, check out pictures of the Irving Plaza show at Central Village and the midnight Tribeca Grand show at Brooklyn Vegan (who also recapped reviews of the night). And here are a couple quick downloads:

- I'm totally loving the Max Tundra remix of the Futureheads' "Decent Days and Nights," available at Poptext. Tundra's glitch-pop is a whole lot of fun on its own (see: the top-notch Mastered By Guy At The Exchange), likewise for the Futureheads' brand of post-punk. Together, they won me over instantly.

- I can't remember where I got this, so my source will have to unfortunately go uncredited - but here's a 29 minute interview and performance on KCRW (MP3) by the Magnetic Fields. The setlist:

I Don't Believe In The Sun / Asleep and Dreaming / The Book of Love / Grand Canyon / Yeah! Oh Yeah! / Acoustic Guitar / Love Is Like A Bottle Of Gin / Papa Was A Rodeo

I wish I could hear it in higher fidelity, as this recording lacks some punch - but I love the Magnetic Fields and I love their live shows, so I can't complain. I'm bummed I'm missing tonight's WFUV broadcast of their fantastic Zankel Hall performance from November, but it's for a good cause (a rare performance of The Sounds of Science by Yo La Tengo) and I'm sure someone will record it. Please?

With Saturday's show at Madison Square Garden consuming most of my excitement for this week of U2 concerts, trudging out to the lonely Continental Airlines Arena just didn't get me going. I'd seen U2 there before and in comparison to other cities, the New Jersey shows were a letdown. Something about this arena just didn't click with me. So I brought cautious optimism with me last night - it would be a good show I assumed, but greatness would be saved for the World's Most Famous Arena. So I thought.

Turns out, despite some slow moments, poor acoustics and a few minor gaffes, U2 reminded me why I spent so much money and time caring about them for the last couple decades. Their performance was heartfelt, enthusiastic and earnest. By the end of the night, the band's intense energy managed to drag a lackluster audience onto its feet, and brought life to a forlorn sports hall.

It was then, at the end of performance, that this show went from very good to great. I've followed the Vertigo set lists show by show, so I knew that when U2 plays "40", that's the end of the night. After a six-song encore that featured a sloppy, touching performance of "Original of the Species", Adam Clayton and The Edge switched instruments, Larry Mullen Jr. started the familiar drumbeat and so began "40". People started to stream out of the arena.

As the song wound down, the band left the stage, leaving just Mullen and the remaining crowd singing "How Long Must We Sing This Song". After a few second's pause, Larry started up his traditional drum solo. Suddenly, he double-timed it, jumping into the "Vertigo" beat. Was it just a tease or was the band coming back for more? It was no tease. U2 thrashed through a ferocious second playing of "Vertigo", tearing down the last vestiges of audience indifference and sending everyone home shouting "hello, hello" into the cool New Jersey night.

I don't know what's in-store for tonight and Saturday, but last night was a great start to U2's East Coast adventure.

Setlist:

City of Blinding Lights / Vertigo / Elevation / The Electric Co., An Cat Dubh - Into the Heart / Beautiful Day / Miracle Drug / Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own / Love and Peace or Else / Sunday Bloody Sunday / Bullet the Blue Sky - Please - When Johnny Comes Marching Home / Running to Stand Still / Pride / Where the Streets Have No Name / One

ENCORE: Zoo Station / The Fly / Mysterious Ways / Original of the Species / All Because Of You / Yahweh / 40 / Vertigo

More photos after the jump...

It's time for me to make my way out to the swamps in New Jersey, but I'll leave you with a couple more links I've found today:

- Check out some M.I.A. video clips from her Coachella 2005 performance. [via usounds]

- Tomorrow evening at 9 pm, WFUV (90.7 FM) will broadcast Magnetic Fields' November 18, 2004 Carnegie Hall performance. The show is part of NPR's Creators at Carnegie series. Rajeev and I were there and as Rajeev's review attests, it was a great show. The performance will be broadcast nationwide on NPR, times and dates vary. Since I'll be at another U2 concert tomorrow night, it would be nice if someone recorded this! [via Houseoftomorrow].

That's all for today. We'll be back tomorrow with Gang of Four and U2 concert reviews.

- Jason Kottke (of Kottke.org) lists 50 fun things to do with your iPod, besides listen to music on headphones. My personal favorite: #16 - a hand-cranked iPod charger. Very useful for my upcoming Amish phase.

- David Cross takes a turn contributing a top ten list to Pitchfork. The results? Hilarious.

- Phat Free lists the 50 worst hairstyles of all time. I particularly like #40: The Kenny Loggins Danger Zone.

- Oh god, no! NME says the Strokes and the Bravery have man crushes on each other.

- Between Thought and Expression has Coachella torrents from Wilco, Coldplay, and Weezer.

- Chromewaves reviews Doves + Mercury Rev at the Kool Haus in Toronto.

- Village Voice music writer Chuck Eddy offers up a handful of interesting downloads in this week's edition of Eddytor's Dozen, including an "unlabeled tribal-drumming neo-no-wave single" from Aa.

Rajeev's Nine Inch Nails review has kicked off a week of shows here at One Louder:

- Tonight I'll be attending my first of three U2 shows this week, while Rajeev heads to Irving Plaza to catch the Gang of Four reunion tour. If I had a clone, I'd be there too. NJ.com has a review of the U2 show in Philly from May 14.

- Tomorrow it's more U2 for me and Yo La Tengo at the Rose Theater at Time Warner Center (phew!) for Rajeev. NorthJersey.com previewed the YLT show with an interview with Ira Kaplan.

- Thursday appears to be a night off, but I wouldn't mind attending the Tarantula release party at Mercury Lounge. Other Passengers are also on this bill. They've been a personal favorite of mine so it would be great to catch them again. Download "In the Belly" (MP3) from the Is It Nothing to You, All Those Who Pass By? Ep.

- Friday will find me at the Knitting Factory for Andrew Bird and Antena. I would rate Andrew as one of the top lyricists around these days, so I was happy to find this Andrew Bird song lyrics site. These are great reads, even if you don't know Mr. Bird's music.

- Then the big one (at least for me) happens on Saturday: U2 at Madison Square Garden. I've seen U2 on five prior occasions at the Garden and it's almost always been a special evening. My expectations for this night are very high due this being the only U2 NYC date until October. Rajeev and a host of other friends will also be in the house for what should be an amazing show. Check out my review of U2's second Glendale, AZ show back in April.

I forgot just how *much* I used to love Nine Inch Nails in high school. It started with Broken but really picked up with The Downward Spiral and the ensuing tour, one of my first-ever shows. I was a massive fan of both those releases and Pretty Hate Machine as well, and I became a completist with all the NIN singles and remix EP's. (I think I made it to Halo Ten or Eleven.) Things cooled off with The Fragile but you never forget this stuff, as I realized last night at the Hammerstein.

"Pinion" started playing on the PA once the lights went out and the band soon exploded into "You Know What You Are," the blistering second tune on the new album. They played "Sin" second, which I recognized from the first beat. It was like that all night - I couldn't believe how well I remembered NIN's songs despite it having been so long. The intros, outros, changes, lyrics, even the quirks of the live versions all came back to me. I used to listen to a bootleg of their Woodstock '94 show a lot, and the live arrangements on the common songs last night were basically the same as back then. But what's impossible to convey on a bootleg is the amount of energy in the room. A very jacked Trent Reznor and his band were going nuts, constantly jumping around, wailing on their guitars, knocking over mic stands, flinging water on the crowd. I felt bad for the roadies. The light show was equally over-the-top (and occassionally blinding), and the crowd on the floor was completely mental. It was like one enormous mosh pit - I was very happy with a first mezzanine ticket. Look at what happened to Brooklyn Vegan's jeans down there.

I was also pretty psyched with the setlist. It was surprisingly light on With Teeth (just 3 songs, I think), which I would've liked more of (along with more TDS) - but instead we got some nice old gems in "Burn" from the Natural Born Killers soundtrack and "Suck" (!) and "Gave Up" (!!) from Broken. Also played - "March of the Pigs" (LOUD and awesome), "Terrible Lie," "Piggy," "Closer," "Hurt" (huge singalong), "Wish," and "Head Like A Hole" to end. (There were some others that I'm forgetting, including a couple Fragile tunes.) "Terrible Lie" and "Wish" were both pretty raucous (even more than the rest) live, as was "The Hand That Feeds" from the new one. I was hoping to hear "Only," but ah well.

Last night was a lot of fun - a big rock show in every sense, where it was hard to not get caught up in the spectacle of it. I'm definitely past my peak with NIN, especially compared to the many hardcore fans at the show, but I think it's time I dug out some of my old CD's and picked up the new one.

The Dresden Dolls, BTW, were one of the worst opening bands I've seen in a while. I'd heard good things about them, but most of their set was painful. They did a fun "War Pigs" cover though.

Check out what BV, Central Village, Daily Refill, Aziz, and SoF have to say about the show. PSNYC was there on Sunday, when they played "Something I Can Never Have" and "Reptile" - I'm jealous.

It's been a busy week at the record store for me:

Spoon - Gimme Fiction. People seem to be really digging this one, but I'm not yet sure I agree. At this point, all I can say is I'm not finding it as immediately arresting as their last two albums. It's grown on me with each listen, so I think I'm a week or two away from knowing where I stand. A few sections still sound flat to me, like the songs don't go anywhere. The cover art looks great though - with richer colors and details, it's not nearly as stark as on screen.

Optimo Present Psyche Out. I was about to order this online when I discovered it at the Virgin Megastore, of all places. (None of the usual suspects were carrying it.) It's quite different from HTKTDJ in that the mixing is nowhere near as constant or crazy, but it's still very strong thanks to excellent song selection. There's a nice run of old school acid, techno, and house at the core of the mix, reminiscent of their Brooklyn party in March, but my favorite section is the end. Systeme Imaginique's "The Sublime Moment" (a Belgian techno track from '91) goes into the Temptations' "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone," followed up a couple minutes later by the simply incredible Dinosaur song "Kiss Me Again," an 8+ minute soul-disco-funk JAM. I did some research and discovered that Dinosaur is actually an Arthur Russell project, with David Byrne playing guitar on the song. Alas they only did that one song but wow, what a tune.

Marc Leclair - Musique Pour 3 Femmes Enceintes. This is pretty different from Leclair's music as Akufen, focusing on textures much more than beats and samples. (Along those lines, Stefan Betke AKA Pole worked on the record.) I'm not sure where Leclair would've taken his microhouse sound next, so the shift is probably for the best. There are still some cut-up 4/4 beats to be found but they anchor the music much more than they drive it, grounding lots of washed-out synths, subtle melodies, and crackling grooves. I'm appreciating ambient releases this year more than ever before, and this record fits right into that - a great late-night listen.

Stereolab - Oscillons from the Anti-Sun. I've admittedly listened to this one the least, in part because it's the most intimidating. 3 CD's, 1 DVD, $20! Outstanding value, and you get stickers of all their single covers too. Its main effect so far has been the revival of Transient Random Noise Bursts on my iPod. But I have enjoyed the first two discs, except for the "Jenny Ondioline" EDIT to start disc 2 - anything less than 18 minutes of that song is sacrilege!

One notable absence above is the new Nine Inch Nails album With Teeth. I've had in my hands twice and passed both times - where's a $10 Best Buy sale when you need it? I guess The Fragile still has me a little gunshy, though I snuck in a couple listens to With Teeth's MP3's and I was pretty impressed. Unlike The Fragile, it didn't sound too forced. And the high school NIN obsessive in me is pretty excited to see them tonight.

The bi-weekly Insound Clips email has an interesting set of Desert Island Disc choices from the authors of the Rock Snob's Dictionary. The writers, David Kamp and Steven Daly, picked two lists each: one for their "Honest" favorites and one for their "Snob Substitutes."

The Honest lists have selections from the Beatles, the Flaming Lips, Prince, Dolly Parton, and Jennifer Lopez. The picks get expectedly more esoteric on the Snob side, with Sigur Ros, the Dead Boys, Shuggie Otis, and the Small Faces among the choices. Check out the full lists here. The authors' web site is a good read as well.

Of course, this got me thinking about my own current Desert Island selections. I'm not going to be so bold as to say I know what is snob or not, so I'll just stick to an honest list. This is more of a Castaway (sans volleyball references) list than a Lost list. My Lost list would have to include some Dinosaur Jr., French Hip-hop and maybe some Animal Collective. Ok, enough blabbering, here's it goes:

David Bowie - Low

The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground and Nico

The Go-Betweens - 16 Lovers Lane

Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted

The Bob Dylan slot - Highway 61 Revisited, Blood on the Tracks or Blonde on Blonde

Joy Division: Closer

Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy

The U2 slot - Either Achtung Baby, Joshua Tree or Unforgettable Fire

The Smiths - The Queen is Dead

Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92

- Damon Albarn tells NME that he's waiting for Graham Coxon to come back into the fold before making another Blur album. The Bloc Party boys must be happy about this. As for how likely it is, who knows. Graham is already recording on his next solo album, and I believe things are pretty chilly between him and Damon.

- Blur actually showed up at #7 in Glide Magazine's Top One Hit Wonders of the 90's with "Song 2." Totally off-base IMO - they certainly weren't huge on this side of the pond before (or after) "Song 2," but I remember hearing "Girls and Boys" on the radio a bunch and even seeing the video a few times. I have problems with the "one hit wonder" status of a few more of their choices, but two that I agree with and love - "A Girl Like You" by Edwyn Collins and "Flagpole Sitta" by Harvey Danger. [Link via Stereogum]

- With all the news of venues closing and in trouble (see: Luna Lounge, CBGB's), it's nice to hear about new ones opening up. Some old Knitting Factory and Wetlands people are going to be opening up a club called Scenic in the Guernica space on Avenue B, and one that's already open is the Cake Shop on Ludlow Street. They just had their grand opening shows this past weekend, and it appears they also have a record store on the premises - very cool.

- Catherine's Pita dug last Thursday's Built to Spill show, and points us to the MP3's from a full BTS live show recorded at Irving Plaza. Not sure on the date, except that it's likely from after Ancient Melodies. Some of the songs get cut off, but it's still worth a listen. Even though the band skipped the essential intro, the version of "Stop the Show" is pretty great. Likewise for the restrained take on "Broken Chairs" and the smokin' version of "Freebird." (Yep, "Freebird.")

- Coolfer ruminates on the fact that The Juan Maclean's upcoming (and eagerly awaited) full-length will be out on Astralwerks, as part of DFA's deal with EMI, and then looks at the anatomy of the deal.

- Learn how to play iPod War at Kittenpants. [via Lindsayism]

- Pop Your Funk was a blast at APT last night, though I only caught about an hour of Andrew Weatherall's set before the reality of Friday morning set in and blew the whistle. It was great though, all over the place and very fun. He started with a dub tune, then played a cool cover of "Guns of Brixton," and kept jumping around from there. I heard most of the opening sets from Roy Dank and Nick Chacona, both were very solid. Two songs I was happy to hear Roy spin - the Phones remix of Tom Vek's "I Ain't Saying My Goodbyes" (who is seeming more and more "of the moment" by the day) and the very awesome Twitch edit of "Going Back To My Roots" (MP3) by Richie Havens.

- The Norwegian duo Lindstrom and Prins Thomas will be soon making their DFA debut with a remix of the Juan Maclean. (I want to say they're also remixing LCD Soundsystem, but I can't find any confirmation of that.) I love "There's A Drink In My Bedroom And I Need A Hot Lady" (MP3), the 13-minute nu-disco epic that Lindstrom put out last year. The synths remind me a lot of "I Feel Love," and the section about 9 minutes in kills me. (Apologies for the low sampling rate on the MP3, it sounds fine though.)

- Stereogum has the tracklisting for the new McSweeney's mix CD, "an indie-yuppie's wet dream" of cover songs. The Decemberists take on Joanna Newsom, the Mountain Goats do the Silver Jews, and more.

- Brooklyn Vegan lets us know that the Roots, De La Soul, and MF Doom will be at Summerstage on June 28 - nice lineup. Special guests are promised as well, almost a given with the Roots involved.

- Soul Jazz's Chicago Soul compilation has literally not left my CD changer for over two weeks.

- Read about Weezer's Wednesday show at Roseland at MMM and Work Is For Suckers.

- The Thievery Corporation will be at Spirit next Friday, May 20. Five years ago, I would've been really psyched about this. (Though I could see them being good live.)

- NorthJersey.com previews Yo La Tengo's performance of The Sounds of Science next Wednesday at the Rose Theater with an interview with Ira Kaplan. I can't wait for this.

- The new issue of Earplug reports that Mute will be reissuing DJ Shadow's Endtroducing... with an extra discs of alternate tracks and live performances. I know I'm in the minority, but that album has never done much for me.

- Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo has a sound/art installation currently showing as part of the Crossed Circuits show at Brooklyn's Hogar Collection. And Jim O'Rourke will be doing a solo show on electronics on June 21 at John Zorn's new avant-garde space The Stone. Has anyone been there?

- Penguin Books has culled thirty spoken word samples from their audio books and made them available at Penguin Remixed. Submit your own creations with the samples and you could win a prize. Clips are available from Dickens, Ian Fleming (i.e. James Bond), Nick Hornby, and more.

- Finally, by request, here's the excellent Andrew Weatherall remix of My Bloody Valentine's "Soon" (MP3). Enjoy!

On a slightly smaller scale than the Vertigo production setting up nearby, Andrew Bird will bring his violin, samplers and a mysterious production of eggs to the Knitting Factory, Friday, May 20 at 7:30 pm. Despite knowing I'll be bordering on complete burnout from bus trips to the Meadowlands to see U2, I don't want to miss Mr. Bird's appearance in Tribeca.

Speaking of the Mysterious Production of Eggs, Andrew's new album is still providing fresh insights and enjoyment with each spin. When I first heard it, I couldn't stop playing "Fake Palindromes" over and over, but songs deeper in the tracklisting are beginning to grab me. "MX Missiles" and "The Naming of Things" are two good examples of this. Just two good samples from a great, great album.

Tickets are still on sale for the show at Ticketweb, at $12 a piece. Antena opens the show.

Listen to "A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left" (MP3)

U2 set up two webcams inside the United Center in Chicago to allow fans to view and capture images from its soundchecks and shows in the Windy City. U2log.com grabbed a number of very cool images from yesterday's soundcheck and has made them available on Flickr.

U2 will finally make it up to the Northeast this weekend. Philadelphia (on Saturday) begins the final run of shows for the first leg of the Vertigo tour. I've got tickets to both NJ shows (May 17, 18) and May 21 at MSG, so expect full reports and maybe some pictures. My seats aren't great, but at least I'm in the building(s).

And finally, last night was the fourth U2 show in Chicago, which means it was time to throw out the standard setlist and have some fun. Here's what was played last night, courtesy of U2tours.com:

Vertigo / All Because Of You / Elevation / Gloria / The Ocean / Beautiful Day / Miracle Drug / Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own / Love and Peace or Else / Sunday Bloody Sunday / Bullet the Blue Sky - When Johnny Comes Marching Home / Running to Stand Still / City of Blinding Lights / Original of the Species /Pride / Where the Streets Have No Name / One

ENCORE: Until the End of the World [played for the first time on this tour] / The Fly / Mysterious Ways / With or Without - Strangers in the Night / Yahweh / Bad - Norwegian Wood - Sexual Healing / 40

Heading in, Built to Spill's show last night at Irving Plaza felt pretty gratuitous. They didn't have a new album to promote (that comes in September), I'd seen them a few times before, and things have been so hectic lately that a night off would have done me well. Of course, all of that got thrown out the window by the third song of their set. It ended up being the best Built to Spill show I've seen, with an absolute dream of a setlist.

As excessive as it may have felt, I knew beforehand that I'd enjoy the show. BTS are an excellent live band, better than on album IMO, and I've loved every show of theirs I've seen with one exception - the Ancient Melodies tour, and that was the album's fault more than the band's. They're incredibly (yet unassumingly) tight on stage and invariably jam away on most songs, usually with an extra guitarist in the mix freeing up Doug Martsch to go nuts. With the songwriting also being diverse enough to avoid things getting samey, their shows are dependably satisfying, and they always toss in some gems.

Last night stood out instantly when the band came out five strong - two extra guitarists instead of just one, the first time I'd seen that. They started slow though, warming up with tepid versions of "In Your Mind" and "Distopian Dream Girl." The latter is one of my absolute fave BTS songs, it completely caught me off-guard - but the extra guitars hurt. "DDG" is all about hearing the edges on Martsch's playing, and the denser sound covered that up. From that point on though, it was pure gold - they played so many great songs! "The Plan," "Velvet Waltz," "I Would Hurt A Fly," "Sidewalk," "Big Dipper" (when the crowd went crazy), and "Built to Spill" all rocked. The band was on fire, roaring through the changes while still sounding loose. Near the end, I told my friend it'd be a perfect setlist if they ended with "Carry The Zero." Which, of course, they did! Then, before the encore, I told him the only thing left on my wish list was "Stop the Show." And what'd they encore with? "Stop the Show."

They didn't play much new stuff - just one or two songs, I think, along with a new Caustic Resin song sung by the extra guitarist. Still, this show came out of nowhere to remind me how much I love this band's catalog. I wasn't into the last album, but hopefully the new one will show it to be just a hiccup. Either way, the band just loves to play live, and I'll always have the shows to look forward to.

Two more somewhat fuzzy pictures are after the jump...

Back on April 7, I posted about my friend and co-worker Teen Wolf's excellent band, Leaders of the Free World. It's time to mention them again as Leaders are playing this Saturday night at Tommy's Tavern in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Also on the bill: The Redcoats are Coming, Poorboy Johnson & the Goddamn Rattlesnake, Landrew, and Compassion in Action. Come out and show your support for good music, cheap drinks and lycanthropy.

The fun gets started at 8 PM and it's only five bucks at the door.

Tommy's Tavern
1041 Manhattan Ave (at Freeman St)
G to Greenpoint Ave or B61/B43 to India St.

The legendary Andrew Weatherall is spinning tonight at APT, about as small a place as you'll ever get the chance to see him. It's part of the always fun Pop Your Funk monthly, and here's PYF resident DJ Roy Dank's email about the party:

We've managed to get Weatherall back for another punk funk/Pop Your Funk session in the comfy confines of APT this Thursday evening. Any folks out there who have heard the man's Nine O'Clock drop mix on Nuphonic know the drill for the night's selections.

Last time we had Weatherall over, he dropped everything from lost Factory Records classics to APB to Medium Medium, and finished the night out heading into full on digi-dub territory. Think Rhythm & Sound, their progenitors and the like. It was pretty damn amazing to say the least. I think some of you even showed up. And danced. Or at least sang along to Quando Quango's "Love Tempo." I sure as hell did.

Weatherall himself looked like a kid in a candy store. The guy never gets the opportunity to play these records and he played for over 3 1/2 hours that night and eager to come back for another set.

So yeah, I'm stoked as can be and hope some of you will be, too. Details are below. Oh, and Nick Chacona, he of Mood Music, Bear Funk and Grayhound and "Band Practice" infamy, joins in on the fun while my Pop Your Funk brother from another mother, Brennan Green, is on tour in Japan and Australia.

Smooches,
--Roy

Pop Your Funk
Thurs, May 12

Andrew Weatherall (Rotters Golf Club/Warp, UK)
Nick Chacona (Mood Music/Bear Funk, NYC)
Roy Dank (PYF)

$8 adv tix at Other Music. $10 door.
Open Red Bull & Boru Vodka Bar from 9 - 10pm.

Pop Your Funk (usually) happens on the 1st Thurs of each month at APT, 419 W 13th St between 9th Ave and Washington.

See you there!

- Now that you've updated your One Louder bookmark, are you looking for some other new ones? Start here - URL ABC's from Matos and the MP3 blog motherlode at the Tofu Hut.

- They lasted a few months longer than annnounced, but now the date is set - the Luna Lounge will be officially closing on June 11. No word yet on the lineup for their last night, but PSNYC is hearing rumblings that it'll be someone special.

- Central Village rounds up the growing hype around Tom Vek and adds his name to the list, and now I'll do the same. Perhaps curiously, We Have Sound reminds me of Soul Coughing's El Oso. I think it has to do with the drum sounds. "I Ain't Saying My Goodbyes" (one of two Tom Vek MP3's available at CV) is definitely a good one, but album opener "C-C (You Set The Fire In Me)" is one of the most addictive songs I've heard this year.

- Also quite addictive is the stellar 45 minute mix Kunstformen der Natur by Jena Paradies - well-mixed with not a bad tune to be found. Download it here. It includes Superpitcher's awesome remix of the MFA, Oliver Hacke, Ellen Allien, and more - highly recommended. I found out about it from Philip Sherburne, whose new Pitchfork column The Month in Techno debuted yesterday and is also well worth your time.

- Apparently Angela McLusky covers one of my favorite The The songs, "Love Is Stronger Than Death." A recaffeinated Daily Refill has both versions available for download as part of a review of McLusky's gig with Lisa Marie Presley (yep) at the Supper Club. Fun fact - The The was actually the first band I ever saw live. (They were opening up for Depeche Mode.)

- Stylus trims down and shuffles Daft Punk's classic Homework as part of its always interesting Playing God feature. I agree that some of Homework can go without hurting the album, but cutting "Revolution 909" is sheer lunacy.

- Thanks to Half.com, I'm now the proud owner of New Order's Technique - an album I've actually never heard. I've yet to spin it, but I noticed songs called "Love less" and "Vanishing Point" on the tracklisting. Kevin Shields and Bobby Gillespie must have been paying attention.

- Pitchfork has details on a new full-length from Kano, one of the stars of the killer grime comp Run the Road. It's called Home Sweet Home and will be out on June 20 in the UK.

- Fluxblog has "Downtown" from the upcoming Colder album Heat available for download. I'm looking forward to hearing the rest. I liked Again a lot, though Colder's terrible live show admittedly took some of the punch out of it.

- I love Jukebox Jury features, and Pitchfork's recent one with James Murphy is expectedly a great read. Lots of fascinating background on DFA stuff as part of his thoughts on M.I.A., NIN, DFA79, and more. I'm not sure I've ever read a bad interview with Murphy. And while you're at it, check out this week's Seattle Weekly Jukebox Jury with United State of Electronica.

- Some newly announced shows of note - Sufjan Stevens at the Bowery Ballroom on August 19 and 20, Cass McCombs and the Double at South Street Seaport on July 8, Plaid on Rothko on June 2 and 3, Architecture in Helsinki at Northsix on June 13 (they're at the Knit on the 12th), and Stars at Maxwell's on June 24. Thanks to the Wicked for tips on the last two.

Welcome to One Louder's new home: oneloudernyc.com. We've got a new domain and a new look: simple and streamlined. We hope you like it!

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People use all sorts of words to describe Autechre's distinctive brand of electronic music - thrilling, addictive, sinister, seemingly random - but "boring" usually isn't one of them. Their complex beats, layered rhythms, pummeling sounds, and weird meters definitely aren't for everyone, but they rarely lose your attention. For the first half hour of their Sunday night set at Webster Hall though, I was surprisingly bored beyond belief. Sean Booth and Rob Brown were on stage in complete darkness (save for their blinking banks of electronics) and their music just wasn't going anywhere. They just kept sitting in the same grooves with the same sounds, and it wasn't interesting at all. My friends and I even discussed leaving early.

But thirty minutes in, something clicked. The changes started to come more frequently, the layers started to get more complicated, the beats started breaking up more, and, just as quickly as they had lost us, they grabbed us back. What I enjoy about Autechre's music is figuring it out - picking out the invididual pieces and seeing how they play off of each other - and what keeps it interesting is how they constantly shake it up, throwing in new elements before you're even used to the old ones. The final hour of their 90 minute set was a near-constant build-up, ending in what would have sounded like sheer chaos if you hadn't been paying attention to the journey. I admittedly respect Autechre more than I listen to them, but after the slow start I enjoyed the show quite a bit. I assume they played much of their new record Untilted, which I plan to check out soon. They don't play very often, and I'm glad I went. And from the sustained cheers that greeted the end of their set, I think most of the crowd agreed.

I also must point out that Webster Hall was a perfect venue for the show. It's an easy venue to slag on, but their sound system is ideal for large electronic shows like this one. It'd be nice to see them do more things in this vein. They just need to chill with the smoke machine next time.

One other thing - not a huge surprise, but the M/F ratio at this show was off the charts! There must've been at least 4 or 5 guys for every girl.

- Fluxblogger and New Order DJ extraordinaire Matthew Perpetua handles this week's CD-R Go! In the Seattle Weekly. Matt picks 18 tracks from the likes of Edan, Electrelane, Bunky, and Charlotte Hatherley.

- Also in the Seattle Weekly: Reviews of new records from Four Tet ("simply agreeable"), Prefuse 73 ("...spun his one wheel a little too often for it to stir up any surprises"), and Caribou ("functions best when it puts the Can in Canadian laptop psych").

- NPR's Morning Edition profiles Philly DJ and M.I.A. (sorry Aziz) squeeze Diplo. (audio)

- The group that sold live CDs of the Pixies' 2004 tour have formed a new company, called The Show. They will again be selling mixed and mastered copies of the Pixies' 2005 North American shows. Order them here. I bought a copy of the Hammerstein Ballroom show I saw in December so I can vouch for the high quality of these discs. Well worth the price.

Today Largehearted Boy linked to this Monkeyfilter wiki entry on MP3 Blogs, which in turn led me to Wikipedia's similar entry. Both provided a very handy list of MP3 Blogs, aggregators, record labels, radio stations, etc. that host or link to music files.

It's a great resource, but it begs the question: What is an MP3 blog? Based on these lists, it's hard to tell the difference between sites that promote artists by offering limited downloads and sites that link to open directories, Yousendit links and the like. On one hand you have advocates of artists and on the other, blatant disregard for the artist, not to mention the law. So why give them all equal standing and attention?

Wikipedia's definition of MP3 blogs clarifies this matter even further:

An MP3 blog is a type of weblog in which the creator makes music files, normally in the MP3 format, available for download. They are also known as musicblogs or audioblogs. MP3 blogs have become increasingly popular since the beginning of 2003. The music posted is normally hard-to-find, often has not been issued in many years, and selections are often restricted to a particular musical sub-genre or theme.

The emphasis in the fourth sentence is mine. If you write about music that is "hard to find", you do so to advertise lesser known bands who do not have marketing muscle. It is not your intent to steal or to encourage theft, either by distributing or linking to distributions of entire albums. Rather, you limit the number of songs posted: just enough to inform, but not enough to discourage legal acquistion. The same rules apply to offering music that is out of print. The intent is to expose your audience to new sounds, to styles and artists you are passionate about.

So why bother writing all of this? Honestly, I don't want to see sites that do an admirable job of educating others about the "lesser knowns" taking the fall because of sites that, for whatever purpose, simply want to act as P2P alternatives.

Under normal circumstances, I would have bailed on Saturday night's party at the Tonic. Between New Order, a party, and a Yankee game, I was completely exhausted by the time Saturday night rolled around. But it was Mini-Mutek NYC, a night marked on my calendar right from the day I first heard about it. The Montreal massive were taking over both floors of the Tonic, and it couldn't be missed - especially not with Akufen playing. So down to the Tonic I went, and it ended up being a fun night - but not one without its faults. I got there to discover that Akufen wasn't on until 2:30 AM - brutal in my exhausted state - and Crackhaus wasn't going on until a half hour later downstairs, during Akufen's set. I was hoping for Deadbeat, Crackhaus, and Akufen to play back-to-back-to-back in Tonic's spacious upstairs space, but it wasn't to be.

That said, Deadbeat owned Subtonic. It was a bit too crowded down there but his digital dub set was fantastic, one of the danciest I've ever heard. (And he gets pretty into it himself.) He was playing mainly selections from his new one New World Observer, lots of DEEP bass grooves and intricate rhythms drenched in echo. It was good enough that I second guessed my move upstairs midway through to get some air and a taste of Vincent Lemieux's set, which sort of bored me. Lemieux's songs just didn't have much going on, and weren't banging enough to pull off being minimal. Perhaps I would've been more into it if I'd had more energy to dance.

I liked Hearthrob's minimal techno set afterwards much more, but at that point I was more interested in staying awake for Akufen. Alas he only played a DJ set, but I still enjoyed it thoroughly. He was spinning clicky microhouse, a bit like his own stuff (but not as sample-crazy) and the tunes on his Fabric 17 mix (but harder). It was rooted in the Perlon brand of microhouse, like what Sammy Dee spins, except there were more basslines to grab onto. The crowd definitely seemed into it. I wish I had been at 100% - I'm sure I would've lasted for more than half of his set, and I probably would've heard some of Crackhaus as well. But hopefully they'll back again soon with the rest of the Montreal crew - we're not that far away!

In case you missed these the first time, try out:

Akufen - "Deck the House" (MP3)
Deadbeat - "N'Importe Quoi" (MP3)
Crackhaus - "40oz Funk" (MP3)

I'm quite certain that these are the last days of calm before the hype storm for Art Brut hits our shores with force. Or perhaps it's just me who thinks AB will be the flavor of the day very soon. I greet their music with excitement; others just shrug. Their first full-length, Bang, Bang, Rock & Roll is a sprightly and concise burst of punky pop. It will either rule your stereo or make you wonder what's the big deal? It's not a musical revolution, it's just fun. Sometimes that's what I need from rock and roll.

For a limited time you have a chance to hear some Art Brut MP3s for free. The band is offering its Rocket Science 6Music BBC session for download, but it will be available for only a week. So download and decide for yourself if AB is the next big thing or not.

"Bang, Bang, Rock & Roll" (MP3)

"Emily Kane" (MP3)

"Rusted Guns of Milan" (MP3)

"Good Weekend" (MP3)

Hey look - the full schedule for the Celebrate Brooklyn concerts at the Prospect Park Bandshell is out:

6.15 - Rickie Lee Jones
6.17 - The Bad Plus + Charlie Hunter Trio + James Carter Organ Trio
6.18 - Philadanco
6.23 - Hugh Masekela + William Kentridge
6.24 - Soulive + Antibalas
6.25 - The New Pornographers + Stars + The Sadies
6.30 - The Del McCoury Band + Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez
7.01 - Bilal + Martha Redbone
7.02 - Shadow + Trinidad Slam
7.08 - Hop-Fu: Prodigal Son + Illstyle & Peace Productions
7.09 - Polygraph Lounge + Laurie Berkner
7.14 - Ozomatli + Pacha
7.15 - Charlie Musselwhite + Bettye Lavette
7.16 - Brooklyn Philharmonic
7.22 - Alloy Orchestra + Kaiku
7.23 - Boricua Festival
7.28 - Milly Quezada + Grupo Aguakate
7.29 - Slam
7.30 - Morgan Heritage + Don Minott and the High Voltage Band
7.31 - African Festival
8.05 - Plastilina Mosh + Kinky + JD Natasha
8.06 - Kasey Chambers + The Greencards
8.07 - Mocean Worker + Joan As Policewoman

As far as I can tell, none of these are benefit shows i.e. they're all free with a suggested $3 donation. The June 25 show is the clear standout if you're looking for indie rock, but there are some other good highlights - June 17, June 24, and August 7 IMO. Check out the Celebrate Brooklyn website for full details on them all.

The Paris-dwelling American duo CocoRosie will release its second album, Noah's Ark, in September on Touch and Go Records. I was surprisingly beguiled by the kitchen sink charm of their debut, La Maison de Mon Reve. The Casady sisters captured an essence of their adopted land and delivered it in an effortless, naïve manner that was completely mesmerizing.

But it was a short-lived spell for me - the magic didn't hold up across subsequent listening. Pitchfork pointed out the same problem in their review of La Maison in March, 2004. But I have high hopes the follow-up will provide longer lasting enjoyment.

Noah's Ark tracklisting:

K-Hole / Beautiful Boyz / South 2nd / Bear Hides and Buffalo / Tekno Love Song / The Sea Is Calm / Noah's Ark / Milk / Armageddon / Brazilian Sun / Bisounours / Honey or Tar

Autoradio found what appears to be live versions of several of these new songs from two Paris radio broadcasts. Check them out here.

Expect to read a lot about Spoon this week. The band is on a barnstorming promo tour to hype the release of its new record, Gimme Fiction. Tomorrow they will perform in NYC at the Union Square Virgin Megastore (6 PM, get there early, obviously), followed by an appearance on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Thursday and KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic on Friday at 2:15 PM EDT.

I've had a chance to listen to Gimme Fiction a few more times and its grown on me quite a bit. I can't say it's the best thing I've heard all year (that's reserved for Caribou, Malkmus, and Bloc Party right now), but it's much better than I first thought. Tiny Mix Tapes reviewed the album today, giving it 5/5. There are only a few other media reviews available right now, but here's a link to the Metacritic page for the album.

Sharon Jones at APT, June 18

While we haven't been shy about our love for Sharon Jones and her two damn fine albums with the Dap Kings, I've missed a few opportunities to see Ms. Jones live out of sheer laziness. I know, a lame excuse. Well, thanks to the good folks at APT and Daptone Records (Sharon's label), I'll have another opportunity to redeem myself on June 18 at APT.

Bumpshop, the monthly Saturday party at APT will feature the spinning talents of Gabe Roth and Neil Sugerman of Daptone with a special appearance from the soul sister herself. Sharon will be on hand to lend her support as host and, according to APT: "Maybe do a little live performance over one of her instrumentals..."

The cover is only $6 and there will be an open vodka bar from 9-10 pm. There's two more reasons why I shouldn't skip out. I may be out of town that weekend, but if I'm around I'll be there.

Listen to "How Do I Let a Good Man Down" (MP3)

Posting on the band's messageboard, Low's Alan Sparhawk announced on Thursday that the band was canceling its May and June shows, including a June 7 stop at Webster Hall. No makeup dates or future touring plans have been announced at this time.

In a very personal message, Alan confessed: "I have not been very mentally stable for the last while. Due to this, touring at this time has become too much of a burden on everyone involved." Read the full message here.

As fans of Low, we can only hope for a quick and full recovery for Alan.

- I'm still glowing from last night's New Order show. I went in with high expectations and it surpassed them all. As I mentioned in the comments on Jason's review, there were definitely some sloppy and off-key moments but whatever - it didn't really matter. Last night felt like the long-awaited celebration of a band that shaped my tastes at a young age, and I can't find much to gripe about. The Joy Division songs that felt weird on paper made total sense on stage and the band gave me chills more than a few times, from the opening melodica of "Love Vigilantes" to the closing breakdown on "Blue Monday" (which Peter Hook totally owned on six-string bass). What a show.

- I was really happy to hear the Larry Levan mix of the Joubert Singers' "Stand On The Word" (MP3) during the Fluxblog DJ set at last night's show - a fantastic song that you might recognize from the Optimo HTKTDJ CD. Big ups to Matthew for also playing some X-Wife - "Action Plan" (MP3) in particular.

- First the Junior Boys, then New Order, and now Akufen! He makes a rare NYC appearance tomorrow night at the Tonic as part of Mini-Mutek NYC. Deadbeat, Crackhaus, Vincient Lemieux, and a few others are also on the bill, and the Bunker site has good previews of them all. I posted Akufen and Crackhaus MP3's a few weeks ago, and since then I've also become a fan of Deadbeat's new album New World Observer. I can best characterize it as "microdub," smooth echoey grooves with all sorts of little sounds. Try out "N'Importe Quoi" (MP3) for a taste.

- Download the Talking Heads' first-ever show at CBGB's (June 1975) over at You Ain't No Picasso. The sound quality isn't great, but better than I expected. I pulled out The Name Of This Band... the other day and it was just as hot as I remembered. [via Stereogum]

- I talk a big game about visiting Cologne and the party that Geeta mentions on The Original Soundtrack seems like the perfect occasion to do it. Total Kompakt 6 is on August 26 in Cologne, and it'll feature DJ sets from DJ Koze, Michael Mayer, Superpitcher, Tobias Thomas, and more, and live sets from Ferenc, Reinhard Voigt, Rex The Dog, and Justus Köhncke. Insane!

- Used CD find of the year so far: United State of Electronica's self-titled debut for $5.00 at Kim's - an album well-deserving of the upgrade from MP3's. I miss out on the limited edition bonus EP though.

- More In The Monitor sat through 90 minutes of The Books and lived to tell the tale. (I'm a bit of a Books hater, but reviews of the new one have me intrigued. Sort of.)

- If all the New Order talk has you in a Factory Records mood, head over to She's Bitter to learn everything you'd want to know about The Wake, "possibly Factory's only band to have a faultless career." I don't know enough about them to agree or disagree, but the site does a pretty good job of educating.

- There's a big show on Jean-Michel Basquiat up at the Brooklyn Museum, and Fab 5 Freddy will be giving a talk at 8:00 on Saturday at the museum connecting Basquiat's work to the 1980's music scene. Tickets are free and available at the museum's visitor center at 7 PM tomorrow.

- Lastly, this has nothing to do with music but I was psyched to rediscover it the other day. With just cross sections to work with, try to name the candybar.

It's not often the inspiration for so much that you love about music comes alive in front of you. Time, distance, the fate of being born too late or in the wrong place can deny such moments. If you were born after the Beatles dissolved and you grew up just in time to see Mick and Keith cash in, it's easy to assume all the greats are gone. But there's at least one of the truly influential bands still with us.

Lost at times in the expanse of its own influence, New Order can easily be underappreciated. Only when you see an original can you recognize flaws in the facsimile. That was the thought that crossed my mind after hearing New Order tear through an arresting, amazing version of Joy Division's "Transmission" on Thursday night.

Now you may notice a contradiction here. New Order is itself a facsimile of Joy Division. But they're the only "cover" band that was there with Ian Curtis, writing those songs. So as strongly as I felt before that New Order should stop playing Joy Division songs, I now think they have every right to play them. It was fine that they turned the Hammerstein Ballroom into a writhing, dancing sea of bodies during "Love Will Tear Us Apart." I didn't complain when they transformed the room with the icy beauty of "Atmosphere."

But it wasn't all about New Order as Joy Division. Lest you forget, New Order was at Hammerstein Thursday night to promote a new record, Waiting for the Sirens' Call. Measured against the brilliance of the back catalog, the new material managed to hold its own. "Krafty" was genius of course. It was also great to hear a very solid version of the title track. Only "Jetstream" was a letdown, even with Ana Matronic on stage to sing her parts. It's a song I like on the record, but live it didn't connect.

Connections were not a problem when New Order rolled out its Substance standards. As familiar and overplayed as they are, "Bizarre Love Triangle", "True Faith", "Temptation" and "Blue Monday" instantly turned the night into a celebration. These were the songs that I was least excited about, but hearing them live - there was no resistance. They're just perfect pop songs - the blueprints for writing great dance songs.

The night belonged to the classics, but it was also all about Peter Hook. The man was in grand form, carrying the band on his wide and round shoulders. Hooky looked totally at ease with himself. He roamed the stage, climbing around monitors and keyboards to stand at the lip of the stage, thrust his bass out and pose like a rock star. He was clearly enjoying the night.

Setlist (Courtesy of Fluxblog):

Love Vigilantes / Crystal / Regret / Hey Now What You Doing? / Krafty / Transmission / True Faith / Run Wild / Jetstream (w/ Ana Matronic) / Waiting For The Siren's Call / Bizarre Love Triangle / Love Will Tear Us Apart / Temptation

ENCORE: She's Lost Control / Atmosphere / Blue Monday





More photos after the jump!

Quite a hectic day today, but I wanted to squeeze this in before tonight's New Order show drowned it out. I've been a New Order fan for about as long as I've been a music fan, starting with my BMG copy of Substance back in 9th grade, but - since I was away during the Republic tour - tonight will be the first time I've ever gotten the chance to see them. I am very excited.

My wait for the Junior Boys is better measured in months, not years, but I was still thrilled to see them for the first time last night at the Bowery Ballroom. I'd heard the JB's live show could fall flat and wasn't sure what to expect, but I thought they were great, very enjoyable as a live act. Since Jeremy Greenspan and Matt Didemus didn't bring reinforcements on stage, they inevitably needed to use samples. Surprisingly, I didn't mind the fact that the beats were almost entirely preprogrammed; they're what I love the most about Last Exit, but they rely on a precision that could be tough to reproduce live. The JB's instead focused on the rest, and to great effect. "Teach Me How To Fight" had great interplay between the two on bass and guitar during an extended ending, and Greenspan's echoey guitar work carried "Under the Sun." I liked all three of the new songs they played, one in particular had a guitar sound straight out of The Unforgettable Fire. "Birthday" was the crowd favorite but "Bellona" was my highlight - funked up with a banging beat and way more soulful vocals. This was the best set of the night in my opinion. Perhaps they can be hit-or-miss live, but last night was all hits.

I enjoyed Four Tet's set as well, though it was far more noisy than expected. Live, Kieran Hebden uses his songs merely as springboards, letting them play straight for just seconds before getting to work with his two laptops and a mixer. It's an approach that yields increasing returns as you become more familiar with his music. When I saw him on the Rounds tour, I was early in the curve and good-sized chunks of his set felt like laptop wankery. This time, I loved how he turned set opener "Joy" into a few minutes of glitched out madness, or how he looped the "My Angel Rocks Back and Forth" music box melody after about 30 seconds, threw a new beat under it, and then slowly mixed it into "She Moves She." The wankery can still be there, but he got me to look at his songs in a new light and I think that's exactly what I needed with Four Tet.

Caribou's headlining set focused on the new The Milk Of Human Kindness, which I still don't know too well but have really enjoyed so far. Their setup was the same as on the Up in Flames tour - two drum kits, keyboards, guitar, bass, and melodica, with the three of them moving around a decent amount. (Dan Snaith and crew wisely got rid of the silly animal masks, but unfortunately kept the prerecorded vocals.) The Krautrock pulse on many of their new songs worked well live, and the double drum attack kept their sound dynamic. Part of me wishes I had known the new album better, but I still enjoyed it considerably.

The Russian Futurists kicked things off with a set that was nice enough for a couple songs, but ultimately got pretty boring. Mathew Hart was joined by three others live, but they settled into the same groove a few too many times. I definitely think they have some potential with their poppy wall-of-synths sound, but some variety would go a long way.

With my hearing not yet recovered from Caribou's twin drum kit assault last night, I will subject my ears to even further torture tonight at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Yes, the day is finally Cinco De Mayo and New Order are in town. As good as last night was, my expectations are much higher for this evening.

It's been almost 16 years since I last saw New Order live (June 17, 1989, San Diego State University, with P.I.L, Sugarcubes and De La Soul to be exact), so I'd say I'm overdue. A wave of nostalgia hit when I found the setlist from that show on the New Order Gigography site:

Ceremony / Touched By the Hand of God / All the Way / Dream Attack / True Faith / Mr. Disco / 1963 / Vanishing Point / Round and Round / Bizarre Love Triangle / Temptation / The Perfect Kiss / Blue Monday / Fine Time

Ah, it was great hearing all of those Technique songs live. Technique will always be my favorite N.O. album. Ok, enough reminiscing. A little more recently, try two days ago, New Order played a show in Chicago that's available now to download [via LHB]. You'll need a membership to Dimeadozen as well as some software to listen to the songs (they're in FLAC format). I'm not going to reveal the setlist. I learned my lesson last time.

If you're not up to jumping through all those hoops just to hear some New Order, head over to Neworderonline.com and stream the new video for "Jetstream", featuring Ana Matronic.

Check back here tomorrow for a recap of tonight's show.

More photos after the jump. Reviews coming soon!

The media has spoken, now it's the time for the blogosphere to sound off on Coachella 2005. ProductShopNYC and Glorious Noise posted their reviews of the festival today and both are worth reading. PSNYC raves about Bauhaus, the Arcade Fire and Nine Inch Nails, while Glorious Noise seemed to catch just about every performance. The praise for Nine Inch Nails keeps flowing so maybe I'll have to get off my couch of laziness and indifference and check out the new album. I just can't stop listening to Caribou.

Other reviews of note:

- Central Village (Day 1) (Day 2) (Arcade Fire w/ lots of great photos)

- LAist (Day 1) (Day 2)

- 1115.org

Once you get sick of reading about a festival you probably didn't attend, check out My Blog Is Poop's "Make Your Own Coachella Blog Post", a Madlib-like template that - with some editing of course - might help me write a pretty good Siren Festival review this year. Thanks Bob! Now I don't have to pay attention any more.

P.S. If I missed your review and you want me to link to it, please drop a note in the comments. Thanks!

It's not too often you get a show at the Bowery Ballroom with four bands on the bill that are all worth seeing, but that's exactly what's going on tonight.

Kicking things off are the Russian Futurists, an irresistable alias for Canadian Mathew Hart. Hart does it all on the three Futurists albums. I've only heard his latest one Our Thickness (try "Paul Simon" (MP3)), but it's a fun listen - a bit samey, but enjoyably so. I put Hart's symphonic laptop pop somewhere between the Magnetic Fields, Flaming Lips, and Postal Service (though I find his vocals far more listenable than Ben Gibbard's). This sort of thing can be hit or miss live, but I'm curious to check him out. (What's up with the Geocities homepage though?)

The Junior Boys are second on the bill, but for me they're like the headliners (as Brooklyn Vegan pointed out ever so subtly on Gothamist). A little history - despite Last Exit being one of my absolute favorites of 2004, I was 0 for 2 on the JB's NYC shows last fall. First I inexplicably passed on seeing them with Mouse on Mars in October. Considering I also dig and have never seen MoM, I'm not sure what I was thinking - my guess is there was a baseball conflict in the mix. All seemed well for my second chance at Joe's Pub in December till a 104 fever entered the picture and kept me in bed - very frustrating. (Said fever also put the kibosh on Marshall Jefferson at APT and had me popping pills midway through the Pixies.) I haven't given Last Exit much time this year, so it won't be quite the same, but "Bellona," "Birthday" (MP3), and the rest still rule and I'm still pretty psyched to see how it translates live. (And I'll make good with Mouse on Mars too - June 14 at the Knitting Factory.)

Batting third, Kieran Hebden AKA Four Tet. Two years ago to the month, I was obsessed with Four Tet. Between his then-new Rounds and Pause and Dialogue, I loved what Hebden was doing with his unique "folktronica" sound. But it got old surprisingly quickly - Rounds felt like a lock for my top 10 and didn't even make it, Dialogue started to drag, and then I lost my copy of Pause (my favorite one). I think Nate De Young nails it in his recent reassessment of Rounds for Stylus: "Despite [its] moments, the album has diminishing returns. With each piano line, each guitar strum set to the perfunctory drum programming, Rounds sounds like an album never changing - forever lost in its own melancholic bliss." I still think it's a solid album, it just feels a bit dated. But Hebden's got a new record out in Everything Ecstatic, and after a couple listens I think it marries the acoustic sounds of his later work with the dancier grooves of Dialogue really well. I'm curious to see what he does with it live - it might do the trick for getting me back to the same levels with Four Tet. (Either way, he still has his moments where he totally rips it up, like "Joy" (clip) on the new one.)

I haven't even mentioned the headliner yet - Caribou (once Manitoba). I saw them a couple times on their Up in Flames tour, opening for Prefuse 73 and Broadcast, and their two drummer setup is pretty rockin' live. On my first listen last night, I really dug all the Krautrock action (like "Yeti" (stream)) on the brand new The Milk Of Human Kindness. I can see it working really well on stage. This post has gotten long enough, so I'll leave it at that.

The moral of this all - show up early tonight and stay late.

The Go-Betweens are touring the U.S. for the first time since 1989. This surprised me: Their New York stops will be at the Mercury Lounge and Southpaw, June 10 and 11. I would think a band with the reputation of the Go-Betweens would play a larger venue (like Bowery Ballroom or Irving Plaza). Mind you, there's nothing wrong with playing at the Mercury Lounge or Southpaw. Tickets are on sale now for both shows. Despite being a big fan of 16 Lovers Lane, it's the only Go-Betweens album I've heard. So I'm on the fence about buying tickets for this one right now.

- If you like music trivia games, check out the "Where Did They Get That Name? Game" and guess the source of moniker inspiration for Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Gary Numan, Bad Company, Bay City Rollers and a bunch of others. Get 10 out of 10 right and you can be The Lord of the Dance!

- First it was the Pixies, then Gang of Four, and now Stryper! Yes, Stryper are reforming. I'm actually not ashamed to admit that I was a big fan of the Yellow and Black Attack back in junior high school (circa 1986). I wore their concert t-shirts, tried to grow my hair long, and hang out with the other "stoners" at the Golf & Stuff. As a kid growing up in Christian schools, Stryper was about the coolest thing I had ever seen come out of the Church. Without Stryper, there would be no Creed, Evanescence and P.O.D. Wait, maybe it would have been better for Stryper to never have existed.

- Drowned in Sound list their favorite albums of April. I'm not familiar with many of their picks: Do Me Bad Things, Saul Williams, Art of Fighting, and Dustins Bar Mitzvah. Am I missing out on anything here?

A Coachella 2005 Press Roundup

As my 20's get further and further distant in the rear-view mirror, I find my desire for attending festivals like Coachella diminishing as well. Not to sound like an old fogy, but I've lost most of my tolerance for the annoyances that large, all-day, outdoor shows bring. So it's just fine with me to enjoy Coachella via reading the following media recounts of what went down this year in the California desert. I haven't seen too many blogger recaps yet, but I'm sure there will be posts a-many to link to soon.

Here's a few of the stories I've found so far:

- The OC Register (registration required) reviews Nine Inch Nails ("best set of the fest"), Gang of Four, the Arcade Fire ("simply astonishing"), the Faint, the Prodigy, the Futureheads, M.I.A. ("head-spinning fun"), New Order ("a slight disappointment") and many others.

- MTV also gives top honors to NIN, praises Coldplay, and the apparent darlings of the festival, the Arcade Fire:

"The Arcade Fire, one of the biggest buzz bands of the weekend, appeared to live up to the hype as the Outdoor Theatre crowd pogoed for most of the group's high-energy set. Singer Win Butler has a rock-star persona similar to Conor Oberst (whose Bright Eyes played later), but the fun was in watching the rest of the band, whose various members not only switched instruments constantly but also screamed every lyric, climbed the rafters, banged on everything in sight and wrestled each other to the ground."

Also sounding off on the festival:

- The Chicago Tribune

"Out of all the performances I managed to catch Saturday, the most riveting was delivered by the Kills on one of the four ancillary stages. The duo does it with just a distorted guitar, a hell-raising voice and electronic rhythm tracks that sound cheap and loud. The ersatz dime-store beats -- no attempt was made to simulate a "real" drum kit --only added to the trashy vibe, as guitarist Hotel fed his instrument into an unseen trash compactor, while VV, a pale, black-haired vixen, yowled the stray-cat blues."

- The Los Angeles Times

"What made Trent Reznor's comeback performance Sunday night at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival such a triumph was that Reznor didn't just recapture the '90s spark that placed him alongside the late Kurt Cobain as the premier rock voices of their generation...the muscular Reznor was even more compelling than before."

- Billboard

"Pioneering goth rock outfit Bauhaus, particularly blonde, goateed frontman Peter Murphy, sounded sharp on such formative numbers as "Bela Lugosi's Dead" and "Flat Field," while the reunited Gang Of Four rattled off spare, angular funk/rock workouts such as "Damaged Goods," "Anthrax" and opener "Return the Gift."

- Rolling Stone

"Wilco delighted with a set that deftly fused noise-rock experimentation and alt-country leanings. Before a superb rendition of "Handshake Drugs," he quipped, "We were supposed to be here last year, but I was too fucked up." (Wilco were to perform at Coachella last year but had to cancel when singer Jeff Tweedy entered rehab.) As the crowd roared in support, he deadpanned, "I feel a lot better now." In light of Tweedy's past, a version of "A Shot in the Arm," which rode on a drizzly keyboard melody, especially resonated. Tweedy crooned, "Something in my veins/Bloodier than blood," his singing invested with emotion."

Hey Magnetic Fields/Stephin Merritt fans, here's a project that might interest you:

Stephin Merritt's third operatic work, My Life as a Fairy Tale, will premiere during the Lincoln Center Festival from July 27-30. The production, based on the life and work of famed fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen, is a collaboration with theater director Chen Shi-Zheng.

Merritt and Shi-Zheng combined previously on The Orphan of Zhao in 2003 and Peach Blossom Fan in 2004. Nonesuch Records will release Two Chinese Operas, a two-disc compilation of these works [excluding My Life...], in July.

Individual tickets for My Life as a Fairy Tale will go on sale June 15 via CenterCharge online, by mail, or at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office.

Stephin was recently a guest on The Next Big Thing's program dedicated to Hans Christian Andersen. You can listen to an archive of the broadcast here.

[News and photo courtesy of House of Tomorrow]

Elsewhere:

- Jim DeRogatis, not exactly the biggest U2 fan (he trashed How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb back in October), interviewed Larry Mullen Jr. for the Chicago Sun-Times. This portion of the exchange was particularly interesting:

Q. Let's talk about the artistic ambition of the last two albums. I was disappointed that "All That You Can't Leave Behind" and "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" lacked the edge that characterized "Achtung Baby" and "Zooropa." At the time, I interviewed the producer of those albums, Brian Eno, who said his role was to come in and erase anything that sounded too much like U2, forcing the band to move in new directions. The more time passes, the more I realize how brave that was.

A. I disagree with you; that was then, and this is now. We've always been a band that has tried to walk away from the past and move into new areas and do new things, and we've always done that. But we got to a stage where the band as a band wasn't functioning. It was functioning like individuals, and the band wasn't performing and playing in a room. We'd become so acute in our distaste for anything U2 that it was just becoming impossible to be creative as a band.

- The New York Times ran a profile on Norwegian pop star Annie on Sunday. Pitchfork - no surprise - was mentioned as the most notable source of hype for the singer. Go indie rock nerds!

- The Magic Numbers, the "hairy British hippies" (Dave G, 2005) who opened for Doves at the Bowery Ballroom back in March have finished their debut album. It will be released on June 13 via Heavenly Records in the UK. While some found them excessively sentimental, consider me a fan of the Magic Numbers' sappy songs about love, loss and hope.

- Donewaiting.com has a very nice set of concert photos from Iron and Wine and Band of Horses' show at Cleveland's Grog Shop.

- Salon Audiofile reviews "Blue Orchid", the new White Stripes single and declares: "Don't bother...unless you're already a fan." I'm already a fan and I wish I hadn't bothered to hear this very disappointing song.

- Also from the Audiofile: An "exclusive" download (MP3) of "Prospect Hummer" by Animal Collective with Vashti Bunyan.

New Order Regrets

It seems I irritated some by posting New Order's setlist from their show in Oakland on April 29 in an unavoidable fashion. To those of you who did not want to know what was being played on this mini-tour in advance of Thursday's gig at Hammerstein, I apologize.

This probably won't make up for it, but here are two live New Order tracks to download:

New Order: Age of Consent (MP3)

New Order: 1963 (MP3)

Sorry again!

New Optimo Mix (Yep, Another One)

I haven't even gotten a chance to hear the new Optimo mix CD Psyche Out yet, but I now have Bonus Beats to keep me busy in the meantime. Bonus Beats is the latest mix available for free on the Optimo website - the twelfth (and apparently final) edition of the series. I just finished my first listen and it's more of a slow burner compared to the others, but still nice. Prince, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, the Fall (very briefly), the Beastie Boys, and more all make an appearance. My favorite moment - Roxanne Shante's "Have a Nice Day" mixed into Led Zeppelin's "Trampled Underfoot." Check it out.

I've only heard about half of them, but my favorite in the series is What On Earth? (MP3) - mix #11 and well worth a listen if you didn't grab it when I first mentioned it here. The Cure, Joy Division, and some drum n' bass classics all collide perfectly in the first few minutes and it's hard to resist.