“A virus may scare the punk rock world out of Oakland in July but we’ll scare it right back on Halloween weekend! Trick or treat, we can’t be beat! Burger Boogaloo 2020: a Monster Mash to top them all!” – John Waters
Given the unprecedented circumstances facing our city, state, and country, Burger Boogaloo is officially moving to Halloween weekend: Saturday, October 31st & Sunday, November 1st in Oakland’s Mosswood Park. The festival’s lineup will remain the same and even include additional artists: Shannon Shaw, Hammered Satin, and The Rubinoos. All previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new dates.
The safety of our attendees, performing artists, and staff is of the utmost priority. That sentiment extends beyond the Boogaloo’s festival grounds, which is why we want to stress the importance of staying home, refraining from unnecessary socializing, and maintaining thorough cleanliness during these trying times.
Outside of Halloween being the most fitting holiday for Burger Boogaloo to fall on, we chose these new dates because they were the best option for accommodating our performing artists, many of whom have had to cancel or reschedule upcoming tours. For the same reasons, we ask that you continue to support the artists you cherish and the members of your community who have been hit hardest by current events whenever possible. This includes abiding by social distancing practices that can help keep others healthy in the present while ensuring that a safer future comes sooner than later.
We look forward to the day that live music returns and to a Burger Boogaloo Halloween celebration that will be unlike any other. Until then, keep safe and keep listening.
BIKINI KILL (1st Bay Area show in 25 years) CIRCLE JERKS (1st Bay Area show in 10 years) PLASTIC BERTRAND (1st Bay Area show ever) CARBONAS (1st Bay Area show in 10 years) BLEACHED SHANNON SHAW ALICE BAG (of the Bags) FLIPPER THE FEVERS PANSY DIVISION THE YOUNGER LOVERS PANTY RAID MIDNITE SNAXXX HAMMERED SATIN THE RUBINOOS
TICKET PRICES Day 1 – $99 Day 2 – $69 Weekend Pass – $129 VIP day 1 – $149 VIP day 2 – $109 VIP weekend Pass – $199
Keep your mind open.
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King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have announced Chunky Shrapnel; a feature length music documentary film and accompanying Double LP to be released in April 2020.
The album will be released digitally on April 24th with vinyl pre-orders available on April 10th. The film will premiere online April 17th.
“Chunky Shrapnel was made for the cinema but as both concerts and films are currently outlawed, it feels poetic to release a concert-film digitally right now. Get the loudest speakers you’ve got, turn ‘em up and watch Chunky on the biggest telly you can find. Get heaps of snacks and convert your lounge room into a cinema.” Stu Mackenzie
A musical road movie dipped in turpentine, Chunky Shrapnel is a point of view/on stage experience from the perspective of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Once a song begins, just like the band, you’re stuck in the adrenaline fueled quick sand that there is no escape from. The film’s contention is clear from the outset, it’s going to be a “journey” not a “lecture”, an incurved experience rather than a linear one.
The band, nor the film-makers were interested in making a self congratulatory “behind the scenes expose” film. It was a direct decision to keep the inner workings of the band’s personality at arms length, it is the music they were interested in exploring. The approach was taken that the film’s protagonist should be the “on stage” performances, that was the focus. With this, they abandoned multiple cameras and cross cutting during performances, turning the camera into a vehicle for the audience to experience the show through, rather than placing them in a crowd or side of stage. At 96 minutes, Chunky Shrapnel more than earns its length. At times gently holding your hand and at other times smashing a bottle over your head and dumping your body in a heaving crowd. There is an inevitability to the film, a driving, ever accelerating spiral that climaxes in a 15 minute medley that spans four countries.
Chunky Shrapnel is directed by John Angus Stewart and scored by Stu Mackenzie.
Keep your mind open.
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[Thanks to Flightless Records for this press release.]
Today Protomartyr announce their fifth album, Ultimate SuccessToday, out May 29th on Domino. Following the release of Relatives In Descent, the band’s critically acclaimed headlong dive into the morass of American life in 2017 (featured on myriad “best of” lists, including The New York Times, Esquire, Newsweek, and more), Ultimate Success Today continues to further expand the possibilities of what a Protomartyr album can sound like. Along with today’s album announcement, the band shares the video for their first single “Processed By The Boys,” and announces a summer North American tour. WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “PROCESSED BY THE BOYS” http://smarturl.it/PBTBYT
PRE-ORDER ULTIMATE SUCCESS TODAY Domino Mart | Digital “There is darkness in the poetry of Ultimate Success Today,” says punk legend, founding member of the Raincoats, and friend of the band Ana da Silva. “The theme of things ending, above all human existence, is present and reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Our world has reached a point that makes us afraid: fires, floods, earthquakes, hunger, war, intolerance…There are cries of despair. Is there hope? Greed is the sickness that puts life in danger.”
“The re-release of our first album had me thinking about the passage of time and its ultimate conclusion,” says singer Joe Casey of Ultimate Success Today. “Listening to No Passion All Technique again, I could hear myself hoping for an introduction and a long future, but also being cognizant that it could be ‘one and done’ for us. So, when it came time to write Ultimate Success Today, I was reminded of that first urgency and how it was an inverse of my current grapple with how terribly ill I’ve been feeling lately. Was that sick feeling coloring how I felt about the state of the world or was it the other way around?”
“This panic was freeing in a way. It allowed me to see our fifth album as a possible valediction of some confusingly loud five-act play. In the same light I see it as an interesting mile marker of our first decade of being a band – a crest of the hill along a long highway. Although just to cover my bases, I made sure to get my last words in while I still had the breath to say them.”
“There are exquisite, subtle gifts from other instruments that always heighten the guitar, instead of fighting with it,” explains da Silva. “They help to create a harmonious wall of sound all of its own. This was intentional. Greg Ahee wanted to use different textures other than pedals, and the drone quality of some of those instruments colours the guitar and the whole sound with a warm, rich in reverb, yet all-consuming landscape for Joe Casey’s voice.”
The video for “Processed By The Boys,” directed by David Allen & Nathan Faustyn and produced by HLPTV & LooseMeat.Biz, is a play on a bizarre Brazilian TV clip the band became infatuated with. A man sings to a studio audience, while a member of the audience becomes enraged by a puppet, leading the whole situation to devolve into total chaos. “As soon as we heard the concept, we knew how to take the band’s ideas and coalesce them into this sort of timeless public access chaos,” says Faustyn. “Because of the nature of HLPTV & LooseMeat.Biz and who we are – professional and hobbyist technicians – we knew we could pull off a really strange, funny and sardonically dark compendium to this song that is equally such.”
Protomartyr is Joe Casey (vocals), Greg Ahee (guitars), Alex Leonard (drums), and Scott Davidson (bass guitar). Ultimate Success Today was recorded at Dreamland Recording Studios, a late 19th century church, in upstate New York and co-produced by the band and David Tolomei (Dirty Projectors, Beach House) with mixing by Tolomei. Featured guest musicians on the album include Nandi Rose (vocals) a.k.a. Half Waif, jazz legend Jemeel Moondoc (alto sax), Izaak Mills (bass clarinet, sax, flute), and Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello).
Ultimate Success Today is available to pre-order now on LP, CD and digital formats. A limited blue-in-red colored edition of the LP is available exclusively on the Domino Mart.
ULTIMATE SUCCESS TODAY TRACKLISTING
1. Day Without End 2. Processed By The Boys 3. I Am You Now 4. The Aphorist 5. June 21 6. Michigan Hammers 7. Tranquilizer 8. Modern Business Hymns 9. Bridge & Crown 10. Worm In Heaven
PROTOMARTYR TOUR DATES (new dates in bold)
Mon. April 27 – London, UK @ Peckham Audio – SOLD OUT Tue. April 28 – London, UK @ The Lexington – SOLD OUT Wed. April 29 – Paris, FR @ La Boule Noire – SOLD OUT Thu. April 30 -Utrecht, NL @ Ekko – SOLD OUT Sat. May 2 -Berlin, DE @ Ubran Spree Sun. May 3 – Berlin, DE @ Urban Spree Mon. May 4 – Groningen, NL @ Vera Tue. May 5 – Brussels, BE @ Nuits Botanique Mon. June 1 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Tue. June 2 – Montreal, QC @ Le Ritz Wed. June 3 – Boston, MA @ Sinclair Thu. June 4 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Sat. June 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts Sun. June 7 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat Tue. June 9 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings Wed. June 10 – Atlanta, GA @ Earl Thu. June 11 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa Fri. June 12 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada Mon. June 15 – Tucson, AZ @ Hotel Congress Tue. June 16 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge Wed. June 17 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah Thu. June 18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room Fri. June 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room Sat. June 20 – Oakland, CA @ Starline Social Club Mon. June 22 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom Tue. June 23 – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Fri. June 26 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry Sat. June 27 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club Sun. June 28 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall Protomartyr Online: https://www.facebook.com/protomartyr https://soundcloud.com/protomartyr http://pitchperfectpr.com/protomartyr https://protomartyr.bandcamp.com http://www.dominorecordco.us/artists/protomartyr
Wilco photo by Annabel Mehran, Sleater-Kinney photo by Nikko LaMere
Wilco and Sleater-Kinney are pleased to announce their “It’s Time” Summer 2020 co-headlining tour. After their respective North American and European runs in support of last year’s Ode To Joy(out now on dBpm Records), Wilco will return stateside, closing out each night of their co-headlining tour with Sleater-Kinney, who just closed out their The Center Won’t Hold tour. The entirety of the tour is made up of outdoor amphitheatres and venues, including a show in Wilco’s hometown of Chicago at Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion, Nashville’s AscendAmphitheater, Morrison, CO’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and more. Tickets for these newly-announced shows are on sale now.
Wilco Tour Dates (new dates in bold): Sat. March 21 – Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theatre & Mon. March 23 – Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall & Tue. March 24 – Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall ^ Thu. March 26 – Santa Rosa, CA @ Luther Burbank Centers For The Arts ^ – SOLD OUT Fri. March 27 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater ^ – SOLD OUT Sat. March 28 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater ^ – SOLD OUT Sun. March 29 – San Jose, CA @ San Jose Civic ^ Tue. March 31 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore – SOLD OUT Wed. April 1 – Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum Theatre ^ Thu. April 2 – Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum Theatre % – SOLD OUT Sat. April 4 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl % Sun. April 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium % Wed. April 15 – Jackson, MS @ Thalia Mara Hall $ Thu. April 16 – Mobile, AL @ Saenger Theatre $ Sat. April 18 – St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheatre $ Sun. April 19 – North Charleston, SC @ High Water Festival Fri. May 15 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre (JEFF TWEEDY SOLO SHOW) Sat. May 16 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre (JEFF TWEEDY SOLO SHOW) Fri. June 19 – Kent, UK @ Black Deer Festival Mon. June 22 – Merignac, FR @ Krakatoa Tue. June 23 – Nimes, FR @ La Paloma Thu. June 25 – Murcia, ES @ Plaza de Toros Fri. June 26 – Madrid, ES @ Noches Del Botánico Sat. June 27 – Valencia, ES @ 4ever Festival Sun. June 28 – Barcelona, ES @ Suite Festival Tue. June 30 – San Sebastian, ES @ Auditorio del Centro Kursaal Thu. July 2 – Werchter, BE @ FestivalPark Rock Werchter Wed. July 3 – Beuningen, NL @ Down the Rabbit Hole Festival Thu. Aug. 6 – Spokane, WA @ First Interstate Center for the Arts @ Sat. Aug. 8 – Big Sky, MT @ Peak to Sky @ Tue. Aug. 11 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre @* Thu. Aug. 13 – Kansas City, MO @ Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland @* Fri. Aug. 14 – Maryland Heights, MO @ Saint Louis Music Park @* Sat. Aug. 15 – Atlanta, GA @ Cadence Bank Amphitheatre @* Sun. Aug. 16 – Nashville, TN @ Ascend Amphitheater @* Tue. Aug. 18 – Asheville, NC @ Salvage Station @* Wed. Aug. 19 – Richmond, VA @ Altria Theatre @* Fri. Aug. 21 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion @* Sat. Aug. 22 – Forest Hills, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium @* Sun. Aug. 23 – Philadelphia, PA @ Mann Center for Performing Arts @* Tue. Aug. 25 – Boston, MA @ Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion @* Wed. Aug. 26 – Portland, ME @ Thompson’s Point @* Thu. Aug. 27 – Lewiston, NY @ Artpark Amphitheater @* Sat. Aug. 29 – Chicago, IL @ Millennium Park Pritzker Pavilion @* Thu. Sept. 17 – Des Moines, IA @ Water Works Park # Fri. Sept. 18 – Ashwaubenon, WI @ Capital Credit Union Park # Sat. Sept. 19 – Welch, MN @ Treasure Island Amphitheater #
!=w/ Young Fresh Fellows &=w/ Kacy and Clayton ^= w/ James Elkington %= w/ White Fence $= w/ Ratboys #= w/ Trampled by Turtles @=w/ Sleater-Kinney *= w/ NNAMDÏ
“[Ode to Joy is] sometimes dank…sometimes warm and Westerberg-ian” – The New York Times
“The group’s 11th LP, their best in years, is a beautiful exercise in downhearted uplift.” – Rolling Stone
“[Ode to Joy] is Wilco’s best album in over a decade, and solid proof there’s room for bands to grow even when they’re already ten albums in.” – Vulture
“[Ode To Joy] is direct and spacious, centering on the beauty of quiet revelation.” – Pitchfork
“Ode to Joy, is mostly a slower-paced album that shows appreciation for the small, beautiful moments in life.” – NPR
Keep your mind open.
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The annual Levitation Francemusic festival will fall on the weekend of September 18-19th this year. It will be held in the Le Quai performing arts center in Angers – a great venue across from the Maine River. Tickets aren’t on sale yet, but I highly recommend going to this festival if you can make it. Angers is a lovely town and the lineup is always top notch.
Following the release of their new concept album, Hollow, Elephant Stone have announced a spring North American tour starting with a free show in Winooski, Vermont and ending in Chicago, Illinois. All tour dates are with DJ Al Lover, with whom Elephant Stone‘s lead singer / bassist / sitarist Rishi Dhir has worked in the past with their Acid House Ragas project. Tickets are available for all dates.
4/29 Winooski VT @ Foam Brewers FREE SHOW 4/30 New Haven CT @ State House TICKETS 5/1 Brooklyn NY @ The Sultan Room TICKETS 5/2 Allentown PA @ Muhlenberg College TICKETS 5/3 Washington DC @ Comet Ping Pong TICKETS 5/5 Cleveland OH @ Beachland Tavern TICKETS 5/6 Indianapolis IN @ Square Cat Vinyl TICKETS 5/7 Windsor ON @ Meteor TICKETS 5/8 Milwaukee WI @ Milwaukee Psych Fest TICKETS 5/9 Chicago IL @ Sleeping Village TICKETS
The Pitchfork Music Festival will celebrate its 15th anniversary this summer, Friday, July 17 through Sunday, July 19, at Chicago’s Union Park. Today, the Festival announces the full 2020 lineup, including headliners Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Run The Jewels, and The National. Leading up to the Festival weekend, there will be a week of special 15th Anniversary Events commemorating 15 years of the Pitchfork Music Festival and the city of Chicago. Further details will be announced soon.
The festival opens on Friday with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Angel Olsen, The Fiery Furnaces playing their first show in 10 years, Jehnny Beth, Deafheaven, Waxahatchee, Tim Hecker & The Konoyo Ensemble, SOPHIE, Fennesz, Hop Along, Dehd, SPELLLING, KAINA, and Femdot.
On Saturday, the festival hosts Run The Jewels, who had a formative moment in 2013 during which they were originally booked as solo artists before joining each others’ sets. They will be joined by Sharon Van Etten, Twin Peaks, Danny Brown, Thundercat, Cat Power, Tierra Whack, BADBADNOTGOOD, Dave, Oso Oso, Divino Niño, Boy Scouts, Ezra Collective, and Margaux.
Sunday will feature The National, who played Pitchfork Music Festival’s first year in 2006, Big Thief, Kim Gordon, Phoebe Bridgers, Yaeji, Caroline Polachek, DJ Nate, Maxo Kream, Rapsody, Faye Webster, Mariah the Scientist, Dogleg, The Hecks, and Dustin Laurenzi’s Snaketime.
For 15 years, the Pitchfork Music Festival lineup has spanned genres and generations, consistently placing contemporary cutting-edge artists alongside some of the most influential acts of our time. Year after year, this significant balance has made the event stand out as one of the most enjoyable festivals and celebrated weekends in music.
“For the 15th anniversary of Pitchfork Music Festival, we’re excited to showcase musicians who have been formative to our readers and pivotal to their respective communities,” said editor-in-chief Puja Patel. “It’s in Pitchfork’s DNA to seek out rising talent and the best new music out there, and this year’s lineup exemplifies that across all three days. We always hope that fans will come to see their favorite band and leave the weekend having found a new one as well.”
Pitchfork Music Festival tickets are on sale now. Currently, three-day passes are $185 and single-day passes are $75. The Pitchfork PLUS upgrade, including a range of exclusive amenities, is $385 for a three-day pass and $160 for a single-day pass. Payment plans will be available for all tickets over $100. More details are available here.
FRIDAY Yeah Yeah Yeahs Angel Olsen The Fiery Furnaces Jehnny Beth Deafheaven Waxahatchee Tim Hecker & The Konoyo Ensemble SOPHIE Fennesz Hop Along Dehd SPELLLING KAINA Femdot
SATURDAY Run the Jewels Sharon Van Etten Twin Peaks Danny Brown Thundercat Cat Power Tierra Whack BADBADNOTGOOD Dave Oso Oso Divino Niño Boy Scouts Ezra Collective Margaux
SUNDAY The National Big Thief Kim Gordon Phoebe Bridgers Yaeji Caroline Polachek DJ Nate Maxo Kream Rapsody Faye Webster Mariah the Scientist Dogleg The Hecks Dustin Laurenzi’s Snaketime
For more information, including lineups, event news, and the latest updates, please visit PitchforkMusicFestival.com, facebook.com/pitchforkmusicfestival and follow Pitchfork Music Festival on Instagram and Twitter.
Levitation Austin has announced the 2020 festival dates as October 22 – 25th. Four-day passes for the entire festival and / or for the four headliner shows at Stubb’s BBQ are already on sale. No lineup has been announced yet, but I imagine the first wave will be announced this summer.
Keep your mind open.
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Iceland Airwaves, the country’s longest running festival and the world’s Northernmost music showcase, returns to downtownReykjavík Wednesday, November 4 through Saturday, November 7 and reveals its first wave of performers. This year, Courtney Barnett will play a rare intimate solo set, Metronomymake a triumphant return to Iceland with their latest album Metronomy Forever, and recent Grammy-nominated Texan psychedelic soul duo Black Pumas will make their Airwaves debut. Experimental punk band Squid, British outfit Dry Cleaning, over-the-top pop artist Dorian Electra, and many more will also appear. Icelandic-based billings include Iceland’s most famous 9-strong all female rap collective Daughters of Reykjavik, the Westman Islands’ freaky folk pop songwriter Júníus Meyvant, revered Seabear member Sin Fang, plus more. The first wave of announced artists is listed below.
LISTEN TO ICELAND AIRWAVES FIRST ROUND PERFORMERS PLAYLIST HERE
Iceland Airwaves is firmly back to its best and will be inviting thousands of music lovers from over 60 countries for an unmissable global gathering. Attendees can experience shows in spaces as varied as art galleries to churches and concert halls, all in easy walking distance within downtown. With the festival’s forward thinking, collaborative approach and positive local influence, Reykjavík has developed into a thriving and globally recognised music city.
Super early-bird tickets have sold out. Iceland Airwaves Music Festival early-bird tickets are on sale nowfor 14.900 ISK (around $136) for a four-day pass. Travel packages from the USA, Canada, UK and Europe, are available from Icelandair.
International Acts Black Pumas (UK) CHLOBOCOP (UK) Courtney Barnett (solo) (AU) Dorian Electra (US) Dry Cleaning (UK) Erika de Casier (DK) Lynks Afrikka (UK) Metronomy (UK) Squid (UK) Tami T (SE) The Murder Capital (IE)
Icelandic Acts ADHD Andavald Andy Svarthol Benni Hemm Hemm BSÍ Daughters of Reykjavik dj. flugvél og geimskip Gugusar GRÓA Halldór Eldjárn Júníus Meyvant Kiriyama Family K.óla Krummi MSEA Myrkvi Omotrack Oyama Pale Moon Sólveig Matthildur S.hel Sin Fang Sinmara
Keep your mind open.
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It was a chilly Monday night, but not unbearable. It was downright balmy for a Chicago winter. Despite the cold and the early night of the week, Schuba’s had a good-sized crowd for the art-punk / no wave night of music featuring Chicago’s own Jungle Green and Brooklyn bands The Wantsand BODEGA.
Jungle Green took the stage first with a dizzying set of no wave bedroom rock that instantly reminded me of Gary Wilson tunes with their themes of love and romance and performance art strewn throughout the show. The lead singer spent the whole set in the crowd and the rest of the band swapped instruments so many times that I lost count of how many times who played what. In other words, it was a lot of fun.
One configuration of Jungle Green
The Wants played a stunning set of dark shoegaze that reminded me of a mix of Joy Division and The Fixx. Heather (bass and vocals), Madison (guitar and vocals), and Jason (drums) made jaws drop for their whole set and had everyone eager to hear their full-length album due next month.
The Wants
BODEGA (which includes The Wants’ Heather and Madison in its ranks) wrapped up the night with a wild, fun, fiery set peppered with brief, amusing discussions on Oscar Wilde, advertising, and film. I think the audience was secretly thankful for these funny chats lead singer Ben Hozie had with the audience because the talks gave us all time to breathe. BODEGA let up during these breaks from a pedal-to-the-metal set of post / art-punk and no wave bangers like “Name Escape” – which featured their friend / fellow Brooklynite / rapper Kaheim Rivera (who played Chicago’s Empty Bottle two nights later) doing two freestyle riffs during the song – and the always wall-flattening “Truth Is Not Punishment.”
BODEGA
It was a great way to spend a Monday night and worth the drive in the cold. Catch BODEGA if you can, and look for The Wants to tour the UK later this year.
Keep your mind open.
[Thanks to Patrick Tilley for setting me up with press credentials for the show.]
