The funk runs deep on the Motet
To many devoted fans of Widespread Panic, their first unplugged album to date,
Whether this tortured soul is truly wrapped in bitterness, sickened by the sordid failings of men, or just snidely reacting to the greater absurdity of man like any cynic, one thing is for certain – no one snarls
Indie-rock mainstay Guided By Voices, which plans to split at the end of the year, has confirmed its last tour, to culminate with a New Year’s Eve concert in Chicago.
The Electrifying Conclusion tour boasts 25 dates, running from an Aug. 19 performance at New York’s Hudson River Rocks free concert series, and finishing up with a two-night stand at Chicago’s Metro. The group will also play two nights each at New York’s Irving Plaza and Berbati’s Pan in Portland, Ore.
After the Aug. 19 New York show, the band will host a free late-night record-release party at the Tonic nightclub, complete with GBV karaoke
As previously reported, GBV will release its final studio album, “Half Smiles of the Decomposed,” Aug. 24 via Matador.
Here are Guided By Voices’ tour dates:
Aug. 19: New York (Hudson River Rocks)
Aug. 19: New York (Tonic – album release party)
Sept. 9: Boston (Paradise)
Sept. 10: Philadelphia (Theater of the Living Arts)
Sept. 11: Washington D.C. (9:30 Club)
Sept. 28: Carrboro, N.C. (Cats Cradle)
Sept. 29: Athens, Ga. (40 Watt)
Oct. 1: Houston (Engine Room)
Oct. 2: Austin, Texas (Stubb’s)
Oct. 3: Dallas (Gypsy Ballroom)
Oct. 21: Columbus, Ohio (Al Rosa)
Oct. 22: Newport, Ky. (Southgate House)
Oct. 23: Cleveland (Beachland Ballroom)
Oct. 25: Bloomington, Ind. (Bluebird)
Oct. 26: Detroit (Majestic Theatre)
Nov. 11: San Diego (Canes)
Nov. 12: Los Angeles (Henry Fonda Theatre)
Nov. 13: San Francisco (the Fillmore)
Nov. 15-16: Portland, Ore. (Berbati’s Pan)
Nov. 17: Seattle (Neumos)
Dec. 3-4: New York (Irving Plaza)
Dec. 12: Orlando, Fla. (Beacham Theatre)
Dec. 30-31: Chicago (the Metro)
Source billboard.com.
Some of the blood-splattered history of punk rock’s most infamous couple, Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen, is to be displayed for the first time at an art exhibition in London, the Independent on Sunday said.
Apple Computer Inc. said Monday it introduced a new version of its successful iPod digital music player, boasting extended battery life.
Apple (AAPL: Research, Estimates) said the new model iPod has up to 12 hours of battery life, compared with eight hours on the previous models.
Poor battery performance in some iPods has drawn criticism in spite of otherwise rave reviews for the breakthrough music player.
The 20-gigabyte model, which can hold about 5,000 songs, has a list price of $299, while the 40-gigabyte model costs $399, nearly a $100 price reduction for each model.
Apple, best known for its Macintosh computer, has found huge success in digital music, selling more than 3 million iPods and taking a 50 percent share of the digital music player market. The iPod has been one of the main engines of growth for the company.
Apple’s iTunes online music service is the most popular legal download site, claiming 70 percent of all songs bought online.
Source CNN.com.
Faced with slow amphitheater business this summer, House of Blues has partnered with Ticketmaster and AOL to offer $20 tickets to more than 80 concerts at 17 venues throughout the United States. The promotion includes $20 tickets without per-ticket service charges, as well as some two-for-one reserved seats and four-for-three lawn seat offers.
Concerts featuring Jessica Simpson, Linkin Park, the Cure, Ozomatli, Josh Groban, George Benson and Linda Ronstadt are among those included in the promotion, as are Ozzfest and the Maybelline New York Chicks With Attitude tours.
While the House of Blues Web site says details of each offer will be posted there tomorrow (July 19), the Ticketmaster site already has offers in place for various shows at venues in Ohio, Colorado, California, Washington, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and Texas. The promotion is set to end Sunday.
Here is the list of venues included in the House of Blues discounted tickets offer:
Blossom Music Center – Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Coors Amphitheatre – Englewood, Col.
Coors Amphitheatre – Chula Vista, Calif.
Greek Theatre (in association with Nederlander Concerts) – Los Angeles
Gorge Amphitheatre – George, Wash.
HiFi Buys Amphitheatre – Atlanta
Marymoor Park – Redmond, Wash.
Paramount’s Carowinds – Charlotte, N.C.
Paramount King’s Dominion – Doswell, Va.
Paramount King’s Island – Kings Mills, Ohio
Paramount Redwood Amphitheatre – Santa Clara, Calif.
Paramount Theatre – Denver
Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, Col.
Amphitheatre at Regency Park – Cary, N.C.
Scene Pavilion – Cleveland
Smirnoff Music Center – Dallas
Universal Amphitheatre – Universal City, Calif.
Source billboard.com.
Paul Weller will release his eighth album, Studio 150, in September. The covers album will be the former Jam frontman’s first release as part of a new worldwide deal with V2 Records.
Among the twelve tracks are Weller’s takes on folk-rock staples like Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower,” Gordon Lightfoot’s “Early Morning Rain” and Tim Hardin’s “Don’t Make Promises,” along with some R&B and disco-era gems including Sister Sledge’s “Thinking of You” and Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Bottle.”
The album is Weller’s first since 2002’s Illumination and continues a prolific recording clip since he broke up his second band, the Style Council, in 1989 and released his self-titled solo debut in 1992.
Weller said that his interpretation of the Seventies R&B nugget “Wishing on a Star” (originally recorded by Rose Royce) is his favorite track on the record. “I was listening to the radio one morning,” he said, “when I heard the song and suddenly it made perfect sense.”
Source rollingstone.com.
The Wu-Tang Clan reunited Saturday in San Bernardino, California, for an eighty-minute performance that was recorded for a live album, due September 28th, and a DVD due October 12th.
The show marked the first appearance of all ten Wu-Tang members together in a decade, three thousand miles from their native New York. Prior to taking the stage with Method Man, Ghostface, Raekwon, Cappadonna, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, GZA, Inspectah Deck, U God, and Masta Killa, a hyped-up RZA spoke backstage about what it meant to have the crew back together, if only for one night.
“Everybody being so busy and so occupied that to end up here it’s a good thing,” he said. “Wu-Tang went to Europe last month, but ODB’s on parole, so he couldn’t go. Meth has a TV show, couldn’t go, wanted to go. But here it is now, there are no obstacles.”
Gathered to headline Rock the Bells — an eight-hour hip-hop festival that also featured Redman and Dilated Peoples — Wu-Tang took the stage of the National Orange Show Event Center at 11:15 p.m. before a capacity audience of 8,000, who’d started chanting Wu-Tang the moment Redman left the stage.
With the ten members bouncing back and forth between harmonious raps and solo leads, Wu-Tang drew on all four group albums, including such signature songs as “Triumph” and a sing-along version of “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing to F’ Wit,” as well as the MCs’ solo material.
As for the question of whether this show, and the group’s recent successful tour of Europe, might lead to the first Wu-Tang album since 2001’s Iron Flag, RZA seemed hopeful. “I’m gonna let time tell,” he said, “but I’m pretty sure the rush we get from tonight is gonna lead us to wanting to continue this.”
Source rollingstone.com.
