2006

Death Cab for Cutie has unveiled details of their upcoming fall tour. Having spent much of the past two years on the road, the band is set to perform their third and final North American tour in support of their Grammy nominated album, “Plans.”

The Seattle-based quartet will launch their six-week tour just outside Philadelphia at the Tower Theater on October 26th. The tour will then traverse the United States and Canada through December 9th, with Death Cab set to play their biggest-ever hometown show at Seattle’s Key Arena. As ever, the tour will see Death Cab supported by some of today’s best and brightest indie artists, with special guests including Ted Leo + Pharmacists, OK Go, and Jenny Lewis. Pre-sale tickets will be available starting Thursday, September 7 through the band’s website www.deathcabforcutie.com

TOUR DATES:
10/26 UPPER DARBY, PA – TOWER THEATRE
10/27 ROCHESTER, NY – AUDITORIUM THEATRE
10/28 OTTAWA, ONT – OTTAWA CIVIC CENTRE THEATRE
10/30 TORONTO, ONT – MASSEY HALL
11/01 MONTREAL, QC – METROPOLIS
11/02 BOSTON, MA – THE OPERA HOUSE
11/04 PROVIDENCE, RI – PROVIDENCE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
11/06 WASHINGTON, DC – CONSTITUTION HALL
11/08 NEW YORK, NY – THEATRE AT THE GARDEN
11/10 NORFOLK, VA – NORVA
11/11 BELLE VERNON, PA – ICE GARDEN ARENA
11/13 COLUMBUS, OH – PROMOWEST PAVILION
11/14 INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MURAT THEATRE
11/15 LOUISVILLE, KY – LOUISVILLE PALACE THEATRE
11/16 BIRMINGHAM, AL – ALABAMA THEATRE
11/17 ATLANTA, GA – FOX THEATRE
11/18 CLEMSON, SC – LITTLEJOHN COLISEUM
11/19 ORLANDO, FL – UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
11/20 CORAL GABLES, FL – UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
11/26 MILWAUKEE, WI – EAGLES BALLROOM
11/27 ST. LOUIS, MO – THE PAGEANT
11/28 MEMPHIS, TN – ORPHEUM THEATRE
11/29 NEW ORLEANS, LA – REPUBLIC
11/30 HOUSTON, TX – HOBBY CENTER – SAROFIM HALL
12/02 MESA, AZ – MESA AMPHITHEATRE
12/03 LAS VEGAS, NV – HARD ROCK HOTEL – THE JOINT
12/05 IRVINE, CA – UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA – IRVINE
12/06 SANTA BARBARA, CA – ARLINGTON THEATRE
12/09 SEATTLE, WA – KEY ARENA

(With TED LEO & PHARMACISTS 10/26-11/20)
(With OK GO 11/26-11/30)
(With JENNY LEWIS 12/02-12/09)

Barely a week after longtime keyboard player Ed Harsch left the band for “personal reasons,” today Black Crowes fans were notified via a posting on the band’s official message board that another longtime member, guitarist Marc Ford, would also be leaving.

To the fans:

Yesterday, The Black Crowes were notified by Marc Ford

R.E.M. will perform three songs with original drummer Bill Berry to celebrate its induction into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, to be held Sept. 16 in Atlanta. Berry has only played three times with his longtime colleagues since exiting the band in 1997, most prominently at the October 2005 wedding of R.E.M. guitar tech Dewitt Burton.

At that performance, the foursome played a seven-song set of classic early material, including “Sitting Still,” “Radio Free Europe” and “Wolves, Lower.” In April, Berry joined vocalist Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills to perform R.E.M.’s “Country Feedback” at an Athens, Ga., show by Buck’s side band, the Minus 5.

While the group rehearses for the Hall of Fame ceremony, it is “considering recording something for a yet-to-be-announced charitable project,” according to a post from manager Bertis Downs on R.E.M.’s Web site.

Following the induction, R.E.M. will end a year-long hiatus and hit the studio to begin work on the follow-up to 2004’s critically maligned “Around the Sun.”

Source billboard.com.

The Arctic Monkeys have won the 2006 Nationwide Mercury Prize, the “album of the year” award for British and Irish acts. The act’s debut set, “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” (Domino), was named the winner at a ceremony held tonight (Sept. 5) at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.

The Sheffield, England-based alternative rock quartet has arguably been the hottest British act to emerge this year. Since its release this January, the album has sold more than 1 million copies in the United Kingdom alone, where it is certified triple platinum. In the U.S., it has sold 258,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The event was hosted by Jools Holland and featured live performances from eight of the 12 shortlisted acts, including Thom Yorke, Editors, Hawley, Hot Chip, Zoe Rahman, Sway, Scritti Politti and Guillemots. All the nominees were present at the ceremony.

The shortlisted albums were chosen by 12 judges from an entry of more than 200 albums submitted by labels. To qualify, an album had to be recorded by a British or Irish artist and released between July 25, 2005 and July 17, 2006.

Source: billboard