2005

Former classmates, dynamic players and long-time friends Marc Friedman, bass player of the Slip and Marco Benevento, keyboardist of the Benevento/Russo Duo, are joining forces for a 2-city, 4-night run beginning Friday April 8th at the Paradise Lounge in Boston.

Both Friedman and Benevento continue to receive acclaim in their usual outfits – the Slip traverses worlds of styles, carving out their own voice in Rock N Roll with a new album presently in the works. And the Benevento/Russo Duo, with their ropeadope debut Best Reason to Buy the Sun hitting April 5th, have quickly become one of the hottest and most progressive acts in the land recently added to their holiday calendar a Memorial Day BBQ at the Sasquatch Festival with gunslingers Wilco and Kayne West to name a few.

As each performance will focus in improvisation with some of the material pre-arranged, Benevento and Friedman have brought together for the first time some of the finest musicians New York and Boston have to offer

A long-expected live album from Lucinda Williams will finally see the light of day next month, as will a separate DVD. Recorded across three nights in San Francisco in 2003, the “Live @ the Fillmore” audio project boasts 22 tracks, each selected by the artist. The DVD, “Live From Austin, TX,” stems from PBS’ “Austin City Limits.”

The “Fillmore” set will be released May 10 via Lost Highway in a two-CD and a three-disc vinyl package, according to the artist’s official Web site. Among the highlights are such favorites as “Changed the Locks,” “Essence,” “I Lost It,” “Essence” and “Pineola.” Accompanying Williams on stage were Doug Pettibone (guitar/pedal steel/vocals), Taras Prodaniuk (bass) and Jim Christie (drums).

The same day, New West Records will release the DVD, which continues the label’s ongoing “Live in Austin, TX” series, which plucks episodes of the long-running performance show that originates from Austin PBS affiliate KLRU. Williams taped episodes of the show in 1990 and 1998; at deadline it was unknown if the disc features just one appearance or culls from both.

In addition to Williams’ “Austin” title, New West is also readying “Austin City Limits” performances by Richard Thompson and Son Volt to join previously issued DVDs from the Flatlanders, Robert Earl Keen, Susan Tedeschi and Steve Earle.

Here is the “Live @ the Fillmore” track list:

Disc one:
“Ventura”
“Reason To Cry”
“Fruits of My Labor”
“Out of Touch”
“Sweet Side”
“Lonely Girls”
“Overtime”
“Blue”
“Changed the Locks”
“Atonement”

Disc two:
“I Lost It”
“Pineola”
“Righteously”
“Joy”
“Essence”
“Real Live Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings”
“Are You Down”
“These Three Days”
“American Dream”
“World Without Tears”
“Bus to Baton Rouge”
“Words Fell”

Here are Williams’ tour dates:

June 15: San Diego (Humphrey’s by the Bay)
June 16: Saratoga, Calif. (Historic Mountain Winery)
July 22: London (Shepherd’s Bush Empire)
July 26: Manchester, England (Bridgewater Hall)
July 27: Glasgow (Carling Glasgow Academy)
July 29: Gateshead, England (The Sage)
July 30: Cambridge, England (Cambridge Folk Festival)

Source billboard.com.

They’re young (18 to 21 years old), they have four part harmonies, they have famous fans and they’re not leaving anytime soon.

There’s been a lot of press about The Futureheads, who figured out a way to cram 15 songs into a 36-minute debut album. It’s gotten to the point that when they played in New York last September, opening for Franz Ferdinand, David Bowie reportedly told the band he was disappointed he missed their support slot.

Now, along with their visit to the massive Coachella music festival in Indio, Calif., the boys are taking their schizophrenic songs all over the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Our neighbors up North get first crack at them, starting April 15 at Louis’ Pub in Saskatoon. May is devoted to England, including Manchester, Leeds and London dates.

And then, it’s Atlanta, Washington, New York … on and on, through June, until the West Coast gets a visit at San Francisco’s Fillmore June 18, with two more stops in San Diego and Los Angeles.

Stateside press has gone absolutely bonkers over the band’s self-titled debut, throwing around phrases like “power-pop brilliance” (Time Out New York), “jittery, caffeinated gems” (Flaunt), and “innovative and exciting” (Los Angeles Times).

Drawing on influences including Queen, XTC and Fugazi, the band combines hyperactive, jagged riffs with vocals from all four members – an attribute that grew out of having to schedule separate vocal practices due to lack of a PA, according to the group.

Source pollstar.com.

Elvis Costello has been touring with his group, The Imposters, since late January in support of his album The Delivery Man. But if you see him at the end of April, you may get a surprise treat – seeing Costello playing with a new band called The Pick-Ups.

The revised line-up features sweet-voiced Los Lobos guitarist David Hidalgo replacing Imposters pianist Steve Nieve.

This isn’t the first time that Costello and the multitalented Hidalgo have worked with each other: Hidalgo appeared on Costello’s 1986 album King of America; Costello also sang on Los Lobos’ The Ride, which was released last year.

The dates for Hidalgo’s appearances with Costello will be April 24 in Baltimore, April 26 in Norfolk, Va., and April 27 in Athens, Ga.

To read more, visit pollstar.com.

Additional details have come to light about this year’s scaled-down version of Lollapalooza, which, as previously reported, will be held July 23-24 in Chicago’s Grant Park. According to the event’s official Web site, 70 bands are expected to grace five stages. The full lineup will be announced April 22.

For a week beginning Thursday (April 7) or until supplies last, a two-day pass will be available for $35, with a two-ticket limit per credit card. Tickets can be purchased through a link on the Lollapalooza site, which also promises forthcoming information on travel packages.

On the festival grounds, organizers say to expect installations from local and national visual artists, a runway show, the presence of robots and other man-made machines and the screening of a history-spanning Lollapalooza documentary.

The festival is returning this year after a disastrous 2004 when the entire tour was canceled due to sluggish ticket sales. Lollapalooza was to be a two-day traveling affair featuring Morrissey, String Cheese Incident, Wilco, the Pixies, Flaming Lips and Sonic Youth, among others, but was pulled in late June, less than a month before its planned start date.

Source billboard.com.