Blues / Americana roots rockers Heartless Bastards are now tour promoting their upcoming album Restless Ones (which comes out in June). They’re a great band with one of the best lead vocalists around nowadays. They have a large number of dates across the country this spring, so don’t miss a chance to see them (full list of dates on their website).
Keep your mind open.
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Director and composer John Carpenter will be performing music from his many excellent film scores and his great album Lost Themes throughout the United States beginning June 14th in Seattle, Washington. This is a rare opportunity to see Mr. Carpenter perform his music, as he only has eleven tour dates scheduled over the summer. Tickets start at $45 at some venues, and most are offering good (albeit pricey) VIP packages that include meet-and-greet events and special merchandise.
This is perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime event, so don’t miss it. I have my tickets for his Detroit show in July. I didn’t opt for a VIP package since I’ve met Mr. Carpenter before, but I do hope to score one of the limited tour posters there.
Keep your mind open.
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The line-up for Levitation Vancouver has been revealed, and it’s another good one.
Thee Oh Sees, Allah-Las, Com Truise, and Night Beats would all be high on my list there. I need to research a lot of these bands. One of my favorite things about the Levitation festivals is that they get bands from around the globe. I love discovering bands from Australia, South America, and Europe that I might never hear otherwise.
Keep your mind open.
Knoxville, Tennessee’s Big Ears Festival has announced its line-up for 2016. The festival is one of the best world music festivals around and brings in a great variety of acts.
Where else are you going to find Laurie Anderson headlining on Sunday, Yo La Tengo playing two sets, Tuareg guitarist Bombino, German psych-rockers Faust, and doom rockers Sunn O))) playing in the same festival (apart from a Levitation show)?
They also have independent films from all over the world scheduled the whole weekend, and tickets for the festival are cheap – $135 (plus fees) for the whole weekend. That’s a steal for this much musical talent from around the globe.
Keep your mind open.
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Austin, Texas’ White Denim, highly regarded as one of the best live acts out there, has started their spring tour to promote their upcoming album Stiff (due out March 25th). They just rocked the BBC 6 Music Festival, and now they’re back in the United States. You can find all the official tour dates here.
Here’s the new single, “Ha Ha Ha Ha (Yeah)” from Stiff. I look forward to hearing the whole record.
Psych rockers (and a favorite band of my wife) Elephant Stone have released a new single, “Where I’m Going,” from their upcoming album Ship of Fools. As my wife put it, “I was hooked in the first five seconds.” The band has mixed a bit of electro into their raga-influenced psych-rock, and it works very well.
They’ve also announced March tour dates. Catch them if you can.
03/10 – Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dees w/ Champion Lover and Bad Girls TICKETS
03/11 – Indianapolis, IN @ Joyful Noise w/ Vaadat Charigim TICKETS
03/12 – Little Rock, AR @ Vino’s Brew Pub TICKETS
03/14 to 03/17 – Austin, TX for SXSW TICKETS
03/18 – Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone w/ R. Ring TICKETS
03/19 – Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub TICKETS
03/20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right w/ Las Rosas and Fascinator TICKETS
04/14 – Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa w/ The Mad Alcemy Liquid Light Show TICKETS
Keep your mind open.
Recorded on December 13, 2014 at the end of their world tour, Tuareg musicians Tinariwen (Ibrahim Ag Alhabib – vocals and guitar, Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni – vocals and guitars, Hassan Ag Touhami – vocals and guitar, Iyad Moussa Ben Abderahmane – vocals and guitar, Elaga Ag Hamid – background vocals and guitar, Eyadou Ag Leche – background vocals and bass, Said Ag Ayad – background vocals and percussion) recorded a fantastic album of their blend of desert rock, traditional music, spiritual songs, and poetry. Renowned Tuareg singer and poet Lalla Badi, who hadn’t performed in France in three decades, joined them.
Badi performs the first traditional poem in the opener, “Tinde,” which sets a near-sacred tone to the record. “Tamiditin” brings in the traditional crisp guitars you expect from Tinariwen and is mellow enough to relax you but snappy enough to make you tap your toes. The band ramps it up a bit on “Koudedazamin,” which will add head bobbing to your toe tapping.
“Imidiwan Ahi Sigidam” is full of wonderful percussion and swirling, snappy guitars that induce full-body swaying to the dance the band creates for you as the record progresses. The guitar work on “Tamatant Tiley” is almost like a riff from a Bo Diddley record while the percussion keeps the song firmly in the Tuareg tradition.
Another rousing “Tinde” with Lalla Badi follows and then comes “Azawad” – a song that would be perfect for a motorcycle trip across an African plain. The guitar work on it is as almost like a piano solo. “Chaghaybou” is as hot as the band’s homeland can get from time to time. The percussion instantly gets you moving and the guitar work takes on a rougher edge. The song speeds up to whirling dervish pace before blissfully fading out into the wind. “Toumast Tincha” induces happy trances and dancing every time I hear it. The bass on it also comes to the front now and then, which is a nice touch.
“Tiwayyen” could’ve been a Jimi Hendrix song in another dimension, as the guitars in it are reminiscent of Hendrix’s psychedelic blues riffs. “Emin Assosam” continues the uncanny blues flavor thanks to the heartfelt vocals that sound like something from an old Mississippi Delta blues B-side, even in a foreign tongue.
The album fittingly ends with “Tinde Final,” which brings the audience and listener back from the wonderful spiritual journey this performance creates. My wife and I were lucky enough to see Tinariwen at Austin Psych Fest (now known as Leviation Austin) three years ago. They played a great set under a blue sky while people of various ages, races, religions, and, admittedly, states of mind danced with each other. This band heals spiritual wounds, and this album is a delightful tonic for a bad day.
Keep your mind open.
My favorite music festival, Levitation Austin, has released their daily line-ups and additions to the three-day music festival.
I was happy to see the return of France’s Wall of Death, psychedelic rockers Holy Wave, German electro artist Klaus Johann Grobe, and the Arcs (which lets me see one half of the Black Keys, since it’s Dan Auerbach‘s psychedelic band) on Friday.
Saturday’s additions that excite me are electro artist Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, spaghetti western rockers Federale, electro artist Bayonne, and David J and the Gentlemen Thieves – which might be the closest I ever get to a Bauhaus or Love & Rockets reunion.
Sunday has added (among others) Magic Wands and Ween to the list. I’m keen on hearing the Magic Wands, and I’m sure the Ween performance will be packed.
Single day tickets are also now available. The festival hasn’t announced who will play the Thursday night pre-festival kick-off shows downtown yet, but they’re always worth seeing.
Keep your mind open.
Young Irish rockers The Strypes have released their first live record, currently available on iTunes UK and Soundcloud, Live in Tokyo 2015. It has ten tracks of their great blues-laced, raucous pub rock that draws influences from early Rolling Stones all the way to Arctic Monkeys. These lads only get better with each record.
Texas psychedelic rockers Holy Wave have announced extensive European tour dates through the spring to promote their upcoming album Freaks of Nuture.
They’re kicking off the tour with a record release party at Barracuda in Austin, Texas February 26th and then it’s off to Europe. I’m hoping they’ll be back in the U.S. in time to play Levitation Austin at the end of April.
You can hear Holy Wave’s excellent new single, “California Took My Bobby Away,” right here on the Levitation Austin website.
Keep your mind open.