The premiere rock / hip hop / alternative music festival in New Orleans, Voodoo, has recently released one-day tickets for sale.
They have a good lineup, as usual. As for Friday, Kendrick Lamar is one of the biggest names in rap right now, and LCD Soundsystem should never be missed. Prophets of Rage are probably the must-see band of the year, and I’d love to see Marian Hill again.
On Saturday, don’t miss Foo Fighters, Crystal Castles, the Record Company, or the Black Angels. I’d check out Cold War Kids, La Femme, Ron Gallo, and Bleached on Sunday.
I missed Day One of the 2017 Middle Waves Music Festival(Curse you, full-time job!), but I managed to make it to the latter half of Day Two. Sadly, I didn’t make it to Headwaters Park in Fort Wayne in time to catch Diarrhea Planet‘s set (Again, curse you, full-time job!), but I heard it was outstanding.
I snagged my press pass and soon spotted this pedicab nearby.
Yes, that’s an MGMTpedicab. You could hook up to a couple mp3 players attached to it and hear four songs of their upcoming album. It was a neat gimmick, and the four tracks weren’t bad either.
I wandered to the food court to snag a slice of pizza and noticed one vendor truck was a portable barber shop / styling salon giving out free haircuts. I debated partaking in one, but opted to check out some music instead.
One thing Middle Waves does that makes them stand out from most other music festivals is that they offer two free stages for the entire two days. This is genius. Some of the best bands play these free stages, so make sure you check out these shows next year. Again, it costs you nothing to see them.
I saw two local bands on a free stage this year, and both were excellent. The first was Wolfbearhawk. How do you not see a band with that name? They played a solid rock set, and it was good to hear some power chords after a long, hot day of work.
Wolfbearhawk – Possibly the best named band of the festival.
I then walked to the other free stage to see Selector Dub Narcotic. This wasn’t to be, however, because SDN (known in real life as music producer Calvin Johnson) was yanked off the stage as soon as I arrived after he stood on one of the monitors.
SDN / CJ has a chat with a Ft. Wayne PD officer while he and fans wonder what just happened.
I was told by two other press members that Calvin Johnson attempted to move two monitors from the center of the stage just before I arrived and the sound booth guy told him not to move them. He then attempted to move them again and the sound booth guy warned him he would be cut off if he attempted it a third time.
As I arrived at the stage, the sound booth guy was standing at stage left and watching CJ as he performed a freestyle rap without any microphone or instruments. CJ then stood on one of the monitors at center stage and the sound booth guy told him he was cut off / done and he pulled him to stage right. Another man came out from stage right as CJ was being pulled away. Fans began yelling, and one yelled, “You can’t do that!” The man who entered from stage right yelled back, “Yes, we can. That’s OUR stuff.” So, the guys contracted to do sound for this stage were concerned CJ was going to break something.
Fans began pounding on the stage and nearby police officers ran to the scene and made sure nobody stormed the stage. No one was injured. No arrests were made. No one was handcuffed. No pepper spray or Tasers were deployed. I didn’t see the officers put a hand on anyone in the crowd. One officer stood on stage while CJ packed up his minimal gear and seemed to be having an amicable chat with him as fans booed. CJ told fans he’d take his gear somewhere west of the stage and play there. He instead came into the crowd and finished his rap among the fans, took some photos, grabbed his backpack and then left without looking back while a MW volunteer walked with him. The sound booth guy who shut CJ down did at one point walk to down center stage and attempt to get his attention while he was rapping amongst the fans. I don’t know if this was going to be an offer to play his set, but the dye was cast by then and CJ was out of there.
Calvin Johnson finishes his song in the crowd.
I hung out by the free stages for a little while and eventually caught a great set by Ft. Wayne’s Love Hustler. They put down a great set of electro-disco-funk. I knew it was going to be a good set as soon as I saw a key-tar and a “golden throat” guitar effect microphone on stage. They put on the best set of the day, in my opinion. I’m eager to hear their upcoming EP.
Love Hustler – Also possibly the best named band of the festival.
The Middle Waves Twitter feed recommended getting to the main stage early for headliners MGMT. They figured a long line would be the result of extra security checks there. They were right.
I got in quick thanks to my press pass (Thanks again, Middle Waves!), and MGMT were already playing their blend of trippy electro and psychedelic rock.
This was my first time seeing them live, so I was surprised to see five people onstage. MGMT is mainly two guys, but I’m sure they need more people to replicate their sound live. They played a good mix of old and new tracks. One big highlight, of course, was “Fated to Pretend,” which sent the crowd into a frenzy.
“Fated to Pretend”
They announced that their upcoming album is “rugby themed,” and played “Me & Michael” from it. It’s a catchy tune, and I thought, “Yeah, MGMT recording an entire album about rugby seems right.”
Outside the main stage area, fans were peeking through the fence and standing on pillars and what-not to see and hear MGMT’s set. It made me grin. It’s always good to see “old school” concert cheating like that.
Fans watching and listening outside the main stage fence.
So, another good festival put on by the Middle Waves crew. There were some bumps, like any other festival, but I think they’ll improve on them and come back stronger next year.
CLUTCH ANNOUNCE WINTER PSYCHIC WARFARE TOUR DATES WITH DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT & THE OBSESSED
Clutch has just announced Winter tour dates for the continuum of their Psychic Warfare tour. Supporting the tour will be Devin Townsend Project and The Obsessed. Fan club pre-sale tickets will start at 2:00pm ET today, public stale starts 10am ET on Friday. Exclusive fan club pre-sale tickets and show info available here: mt.cm/clutch. The on sale date for the 4 Florida shows is TBD due to the hurricane in the region. Check the bands official website www.pro-rock.com for all upcoming ticket and show info.
Clutch will be entering the studio in early 2018 to begin work on their 12th studio album.
Psychic Warfare is the latest and eleventh studio effort from Clutch. The disc debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard 200, No. 2 on the Billboard Independent, No. 1 on the Billboard Hard Rock and Billboard Rock charts. Psychic Warfare was produced by longtime producer Machine (Lamb Of God, Every Time I Die).
Clutch, Devin Townsend Project and The Obsessed Tour Dates:
Wed, 11-29-17 Greensboro, NC at Cone Denim Entertainment Center
Fri, 12-01-17 Myrtle Beach, SC at House Of Blues
Sat, 12-02-17 St Petersburg, FL at Jannus Live
Sun, 12-03-17 Fort Lauderdale, FL at Revolution
Tue, 12-05-17 Saint Augustine, FL at Backyard Stage @ St Augustine Amphitheatre
Wed, 12-06-17 Pensacola, FL at Vinyl Music Hall
Fri, 12-08-17 Baton Rouge, LA at Varsity Theatre
Sat, 12-09-17 San Antonio, TX at The Aztec Theatre
Sun, 12-10-17 Houston, TX at House Of Blues
Tues, 12-12-17 Springfield, MO at Gillioz Theatre
Wed, 12-13-17 Lincoln, NE at Bourbon Theatre
Fri, 12-15-17 Peoria, IL at Limelight Eventplex
Sat, 12-16-17 Nashville, TN at Marathon Music Works
Wed, 12-27-17 Clifton Park, NY at Upstate Concert Hall
Thu, 12-28-17 Sayreville, NJ at Starland Ballroom
Fri, 12-29-17 Richmond, VA at The National
Sat, 12-30-17 Knoxville, TN at The International
Sun, 12-31-17 Columbus, OH at Express Live
CLUTCH:
Neil Fallon – Vocals/Guitar
Tim Sult – Guitar
Dan Maines – Bass
Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums/Percussion
For more information, check out the band’s website:
My wife and I caught Buddy Guy at the Lerner Theatre in Elkhart, Indiana. It was our first show at the Lerner, even though we’ve lived a 30-minute drive from Elkhart for over 20 years. I don’t know how this happened, but we got some good seats (after a ticket mix-up at the box office) and settled in for the opener – 17-year-old blues guitarist wunderkind Quinn Sullivan.
Quinn Sullivan
Sullivan first played on stage with Buddy Guy when he was seven years old. He shreds like he’s been playing for far longer than seventeen years. He played a few cuts from his three albums, as well as a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing.”
Buddy Guy came out to meet a rowdy crowd (many of whom had done plenty of pre-game drinking) and got right down to business by breaking a guitar string on the first note.
Buddy Guy with replacement guitar.
Once a replacement guitar was brought to him, he proceeded to shred through “Damn Right I Got the Blues” and then played around with classics like “Rock Me Baby,” “Fever,” “Hoochie Coochie Man,” and “Who’s Making Love to Your Old Lady?”
Guy had plenty of fun stories as well, including one lively rant about genetically engineered chickens and tomatoes (“When I was a kid, a tomato was like cotton. You could make a sandwich out of it. Now you get a tomato and you could play baseball with it.”) and how you should buy produce that still has bugs on it (“Because it hasn’t been sprayed with stuff you shouldn’t eat.”).
One wild part of the show was when he played a guitar solo using a drum stick and a shirt.
Playing guitar with a shirt and a drumstick. Really.
Trust me, it worked. It worked quite well, in fact. He was flailing his guitar with a T-shirt and playing Cream riffs while doing it. He also walked through the crowd, shredding and singing the whole time.
He brought his son, GregGuy, andQuinn Sullivan back onstage for the end. His back-up band was, just like the last time I saw him, killer. They can play seemingly any tune and stop on a dime. Greg Guy and Sullivan played along during Buddy’s hit “Feels Like Rain” and then tore through Clapton and Hendrix covers to end the show.
Buddy Guy (right) watches his son, Greg, and Quinn Sullivan carry on the blues tradition.
The show was close to three hours total, and a fun performance that had everyone cheering and hollering. Buddy Guy is eighty-one years old now, so don’t miss him if he comes close. He’ll probably tour until he drops dead, but make sure you see him shred. There aren’t many living legends anymore.
File this under: Best News You’ve Heard Today. Austin, Texas’ annual Levitation Festival returns April 26-29, 2018.
The flagship Levitation festival (the others are in Chicago, Vancouver, British Columbia, and Angers, France) was cancelled this year after the organizers, the Reverb Appreciation Society, took a heavy loss due to the 2016 Austin festival being cancelled due to storms and flooding. Make up shows were quickly scheduled, but many attendees got shut out of those thanks to ruthless ticket scalpers. The RAS bounced back a bit this year with their Angers festival, but fans hoped the Chicago, Austin, and Vancouver shows would return soon.
There’s no word on the Chicago festival (which is usually the first of the four and held in early spring), but the announcement of the Austin festival’s return is great news and a good omen for the other Levitation shows.
Tickets for Austin aren’t on sale yet, but don’t wait too long to score them. The demand will be greater than normal. See you there.
Montreal’s Elephant Stone have a remix album of their Ship of Fools record, entitled Remix of Fools, now available for pre-order. Two of the tracks are instant downloads once you pre-order the full album.
9/23 Liverpool, UK @ Baltic TriangleTICKETS | FB EVENT (ES + Acid House Ragas)
9/25 Leicester, UK @ The Soundhouse
9/26 London, UK @ The Social FREE | FB EVENT (Acid House Ragas only)
9/27 Theossaliniki, GR @ Rover Bar
9/28 Arta, GR @ Miles Bar
MELKBELLY ANNOUNCE MORE TOUR DATES, INCLUDING SUPPORT FOR THE BREEDERS & BULLY, IN SUPPORT OF DEBUT ALBUM, NOTHING VALLEY, OUT OCTOBER 13TH ON CARPARK’S WAX NINE
(photo credit – Lenny Gilmore )
Chicago’s Melkbelly are set to release their debut full-length album, Nothing Valley, on Oct. 13thon Carpark Records’ imprint Wax Nine. Next week, the four-piece — Miranda Winters (vocals/guitar), brothersBart (guitar) and Liam Winters (bass), and James Wetzel (drums) — hit the road for a run of pre-release shows supporting Protomartyr. Today, they are announcing more headline shows, plus support tours with The Breeders and Bully. All dates are below.
Emerging from Chicago’s DIY spaces, Melkbelly recorded Nothing Valley fresh off a west coast tour. The resulting debut album is organized noise and thoughtful freneticism. Throughout, they fuse dreamy vocal lines and cantankerous guitar racket as their songs clang and bang in stripped-down production that highlights the band’s sharp edges. Multi-faceted slabs of sound serve harmonious, immediate songs.
Watch Melkbelly’s “Middle Of” Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdLUXUsBoQY “Kid Kreative” Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mJoRmdYTo0Pre-order Nothing Valley:
Via Wax Nine – smarturl.it/nothingvalley_wax9
iTunes – smarturl.it/nothingvalley_itunes
Apple Music – smarturl.it/nothingvalley_appleMelkbelly Tour Dates: (new shows in bold) Wed. Sep 6 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Cattivo # Thu. Sep. 7 – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery # Fri. Sep 8 – Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Festival Sat. Sep. 9 – Asheville, NC @ Mothlight # Sun. Sep. 10 – Cincinnati, OH @ Northside Yacht Club # Fri. Oct. 13 – Chicago, IL @ The Hideout (Record Release Show) Mon. Oct. 16 – Bloomington, IN @ Bishop Bar + Tue. Oct. 17 – Columbus, OH @ Double Happiness Wed. Oct. 18 – Washington DC @ Comet Ping Pong Fri. Oct. 20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Alphaville Tue. Oct 24 – Cleveland, OH @ Now That’s Class Wed. Nov. 08 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom ^ — SOLD OUT Thu. Nov. 09 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox ^ Sun. Nov. 12 – San Francisco, CA @ the Independent ^ — SOLD OUT Mon. Nov. 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theater ^ — SOLD OUT Tue. Nov. 14 – Phoenix, AZ @ LBX Thu. Nov. 16 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge Fri. Feb. 16 – Norman, OK @ Opolis * Sat. Feb. 17 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf * Sat. Feb. 24 – Eugene, OR @ Hi Fi Music Hall * Mon. Feb. 26 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret * Thu. March 1 – Spokane, WA @ The Bartlett * Fri. March 2 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux * Sat. March 3 – Salt Lake City @ Kilby Court * Tue. March 6 – Kansas City @ The Record Bar *
# = with Protomartyr
+ = with Snail Mail
^ = with the Breeders
* = with Bully
The calm before the storm at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.
Somehow multiple decades have gone by without me catching electro legends Depeche Modelive. The dates finally worked out, and my wife and I were able to see them and shoegaze / post-punk newcomers Warpaintat Toronto’s Air Canada Centre.
Warpaint impressing a lot of us.
Warpaint played a good set of crisp post-punk with snappy bass lines and even snappier drumming (which would be a theme for the entire night). I’d heard a lot of good things about them, and they didn’t disappoint. I need to find more of their material.
Looking down the “Barrel of a Gun” with Depeche Mode.
Out came Depeche Mode to the Beatles’ “Revolution,” a major theme for their new album – Spirit. They rolled into “Going Backwards,” “So Much Love,” and “Barrel of a Gun” (which included a snippet of Grand Master Flash’s “The Message,” which cracked me up).
“World In My Eyes”
The crowd (which filled the stadium, apart from the unsold / unused seats behind the stage, by the way) jumped to its feet when they broke into “World In My Eyes.” It was a reminder of not only their electro prowess, but how much influence they’ve had on Trent Reznor. An acoustic version of “Question of Lust,” sung by MartinGore,was a crowd favorite, and the follow-up of “Home” was excellent.
Depeche Mode never letting us down.
“Where’s the Revolution?” – the first single off Spirit – was another standout and essentially the band’s rallying cry for fans old and new to stand up against The Man. “Everything Counts” is also staggeringly relevant for these times, even though it’s decades old by now. It preceded “Stripped,” “Enjoy the Silence” (which was almost entirely sung by the now-bonkers crowd), and “Never Let Me Down Again” – which was better live than I even hoped it would be (and drummer Christian Eigner was absolutely slaying his kit by this point).
“Somebody”
The encore started with “Somebody,” included a nice cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes,” and finished with big hits “I Feel You” and “Personal Jesus,” which had everyone raising their hands to “reach out and touch faith.”
“Personal Jesus”
It was long overdue, but very welcome. My wife immediately listened to their new album as soon as we got back from the show. She woke up the next day with Depeche Mode songs in their head, and I’ve had “Never Let Me Down Again” stuck in my brain for days.
“’Virtue’ is a sterling new single… Ms. Kaul has an oozy, aspirated voice, and smears it tactfully atop Mr. Lam’s euphoric, quick-stepping production, which bridges fiery garage and joyous disco.” – The New York Times
“Once things get started on ‘Virtue’ it’s like a sonic boom. Heavy bass blasts find a home next to frantic dance beats and Kaul’s cooing, serene vocal delivery.” – Stereogum
“In its slow build and beauty, ‘Downfall’ feels like having ascended a ladder to a particularly gorgeous vantage point, and enjoying the journey on the way there, too.”
– Pitchfork
Kllo have announced their first ever North American headline tour this fall in support of their debut album, Backwater, coming out October 20th on Ghostly International. The tour marks Kllo’s first time performing material from Backwater live such as lead singles “Virtue” and “Downfall,” both of which have received early praise from The New York Times, Stereogum, Pitchfork and others.Kllo’s last North American dates were in Winter 2016 supporting RÜFÜS DU SOL with a pair of one-off headline shows including a packed house at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn for their New York City debut. This time around they’ll headline multiple nights in NYC including brand new venue Elsewhere. A full list of dates is below.
Kllo – an electronic pop collaboration between Melbourne cousins Chloe Kaul and Simon Lam – waded in figurative backwater for much of 2016 amid an extensive world tour. These were exciting times; the duo’s Well Worn EP furthered the promise of 2014 EP Cusp, receiving millions of streams and landing Kllo on festival stages as well as Artists-to-Watch lists. Nonetheless, the stretch kept them far from home, isolated and vulnerable, treading through perpetual uncharted territory while yearning for the comforts of the familiar.
As a result, Kllo’s full-length debut depicts inner adjustment to outer change. Songs were written partially on the road and developed back at Lam’s bungalow, a haven that harbors creative spontaneity and catharsis.
“It’s the first time we hadn’t felt like kids anymore,” says Kaul. “We were really able to dive in deeper and bring out a lot more of us into the music.”
Kllo first emerged with a sound beyond their years; fully formed, fusing elements of R&B, UK garage, and 2-step. Well-versed students of artists like James Blake, Lauryn Hill, and The xx, the duo extend an amalgamation of established pop elements with modern sensibilities and wide-eyed sincerity. Backwaterarrives as a refined, coming-of-age account. The LP format finds Kllo with more room to breathe and sync their rhythms with emotions. Kaul’s smoky voice emanates with assurance and leisure. Lam’s production invents brooding, steely undercurrents hemmed with charming crescendos.
Kllo have officially come out the other end of the stilted estuary with twelve compositions cultivated to feel timeless and crafted, and equally current. The duo’s second release on Ghostly International — and their most realized work to date — Backwater celebrates the ephemeral and the enduring changes in emotion, the downfalls and the dissolves. It’s an album that parts course with its flow, and flourishes in a lowland.
Kllo Tour Dates (new dates in bold): Oct. 18 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas (tickets) Oct. 20 – Detroit, MI @ El Club (tickets) Oct. 27 – Vancouver, BC @ Waldorf (tickets) Oct. 28 – Seattle, WA @ VERA Project (tickets) Nov. 1 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Resident (tickets) Nov. 2 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill (tickets) Nov. 4 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere (tickets) Nov. 5 – New York, NY @ Berlin (tickets) Nov. 12 – Madrid, ES @ Costello Nov. 13 – San Sebastian, ES @ Dabadaba Nov. 14 – Barcelona, ES @ Sidecar Nov. 16 – Paris, FR @ Supersonic Nov. 17 – Rotterdam, NL @ V11
Nov. 18 – Brussels, BE @ Les TransArdentes at Palais 12
Nov. 20 – Amsterdam, NL @ The Sugar Factory Nov. 23 – London, UK @ XOYO Nov. 24 – Bristol, UK @ The Louisiana Nov. 25 – Manchester, UK @ The Soup Kitchen Nov. 27 – Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast Nov. 28 – Edinburgh, UK @ Sneaky Pete’s Nov. 29 – Leeds, UK @ Headrow House Nov. 30 – Nottingham, UK @ The Bodega Dec. 3 – Berlin, DE @ Badehaus Dec. 4 – Cologne, DE @ Yuca Dec. 5 – Hamburg, DE @ Haekken Dec. 8 – Sydney, AUS @ Oxford Arts Factory Dec. 9 – Perth, AUS @ Jack Rabbit Slim’s Dec. 14 – Brisbane, AUS @ Woolly Mammoth Dec. 15 – Melbourne, AUS @ Corner Hotel Dec. 16 – Adelaide, AUS @ Fat Controller
The last time I saw the New Pornographerslive was in 2007 at Chicago’s Metro. Lead singer Carl Newman commented during the show about a strong thunderstorm happening outside during the gig, and you could hear thunder between songs now and then. It was a great show, and my wife and got back to our hotel room still buzzing from it. I noticed I had a voicemail from work, so I listened. The storm that had rolled through Chicago during the show had become a tornado by the time it reached our hometown. Nearly every home on the southeast side of town had either been destroyed or damaged. A factory and a convenience store were wiped off the face of the Earth. Amazingly, no one was injured. Our house was fine, but we returned home early the next day to help with the rebuilding and cleaning efforts.
Thankfully, the only thing dire that happened during my second time seeing the New Pornographers was that the brewery in which they played, Bell’s in Kalamazoo, didn’t serve cider, radlers, or even their own root beer.
Ought
Unfortunately, I missed nearly all of opening band Ought‘s set. I walked in during their last song (Thanks, Google Maps, for directions that were fine until the last two steps of the journey.), which sounded like some good shoegaze. I need to check out their material.
The New Pornographers opening with “Moves.”
The New Pornographers came out sharp and quick with crowd favorites like “High Ticket Attractions,” “The Laws Have Changed,” and “Sing Me Spanish Techno.” They sounded great. They haven’t lost anything in ten years. In fact, the additions of more electro touches from keyboardist Blaine Thurier and keyboardist / co-vocalist Kathryn Calder and violin and vocals from Simi Stone bring the band a new brightness.
Joe Seiders on drums and Simi Stone on violin and co-vocals.John Collins on bass and Kathryn Calder on keyboards and co-vocals.L-R: Blaine Thurier on keys, lead guitarist Todd Fancey, and lead vocalist and co-guitarist Carl Newman.
“Whiteout Conditions,” the title track of their new record, sounds even better live, and I was delighted to hear “Dancehall Domine” from Brill Bruiserslive for the first time (They nailed it, by the way.). The show cruised along well until a string broke on John Collins‘ bass and the band had a brief on-stage break while Mr. Collins worked some magic and had his axe swinging again in moments. They were soon they were back to a fine rendition of “Adventures in Solitude.”
Broken bass string break.
The encore included “Challengers,” “Brill Bruisers,” “The Slow Descent in Alcoholism” (which I found funny considering they were playing in a brewery), and a rousing version of “The Bleeding Heart Show” that had us all cheering.
“Challengers”
It was a fun night, and much needed by all. It’s no secret that depression and the 2016 presidential election fueled much of Newman’s songwriting for Whiteout Conditions, so the crisp sound, fun vibe, and power pop the New Pornographers brought were, for one night at least, an escape from the miasma of news, Tweets, rumors, and anger.
The premiere rock / hip hop / alternative music festival in New Orleans, Voodoo, has recently released one-day tickets for sale.
