Hooray Friday!

- Besides the second night of Wilco/John Doe, NPR also has the Black Mountain/Ben Iver concert posted for your listening pleasure.

- Butter Team has the new LCD Soundsystem track that's going to appear on the 21 soundtrack, out March 18th (film out March 28th). BONUS - The post also had two acoustic Radiohead diddies.

- Pershing, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin's new album is out April 11th and MOKB hooks us up with two listens from it.

- More new songs from upcoming albums. The Black Keys have Attack & Release coming out on April 1st, but you can stream "Strange Times" now on their MySpace page.

- And again with the new stuff. Toyko Police Club. Elephant Shell. April 22nd. "In a Cave". Ultra 8201.

- Same blog, different band. I'm bummed that I won't be able to make the Ghostland Observatory show at the 9:30 later this month. Ultra 8201 has a video of their performance of "Heavy Heart" this week in Austin. And and and, you can stream the new album Robotique Majestique here.

- People seem to either love or hate Vampire Weekend. Well I'm one of the former, so back the eff up. Anyway, I am fuel has the Black Dominoes remix of their "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa".

- Gnarls Barkley's new video "Run" is available on Brooklyn Vegan.

Wilco - 9:30 Club (2/26/08)

I didn’t realize how long it had been since I was last at a concert. Maybe that’s why I was a bit anxious about this one. After making a rather odd Wilco nut extremely excited by unloading my extra ticket on him, I got into the 9:30 just as John “F-ing” Doe was finishing his set. While I think I would enjoy JD’s music, he constantly shakes his knee back and forth while playing. I’m quite sure I have odd quirks of my own, but it annoys the shit out of me - so much so that I can’t seem to “shake” the mental image, even when I’m just listening to his music. I know, it’s petty. And I’m fine with that.

Last time I saw Wilco was in 2003 during their Yankee Hotel Foxtrot tour. I remembered leaving that night with mixed feelings. I was a little wet behind the ears as a Wilco fan, so all I really knew was... well, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Overall, it seemed like a good concert, but I only knew 11 of their songs so what the hell did I know. Unfortunately, the concert ended on a bad note (literally) for me as their encore was full of annoying feedback. Since that time, I've become much more educated… at least when it comes to the song stylings of Wilco.

I settled into my spot on the floor, just in front of the soundboard and took in everything Wilco was giving out. They rattled off a 19 or 20 song main set in just over 1:30 that spanned their entire discography. While I love their last three albums, I was ecstatic to hear a few numbers from Being There and Summerteeth. Two encores later and I was pleasantly spent – from the Nels Cline solos and constant guitar changes, to the 3-piece horn section, to the tight and inventive percussion of Glenn Kotche. There was even a "Grammy" presentation by a fan...



Almost complete setlist below, thanks to Vox Populil. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be "Pot Kettle Black". Wilco was taking a ride and everyone in the 9:30 Club hopped on board for it.

Was I In Your Dreams?
Blood of the Lamb
You Are My Face
Pot Kettle Black
Shot in the Arm
Side with the Seeds
Pieholden Suite
Impossible Germany
Sky Blue Sky
Handshake Drugs
Too Far Apart
Summerteeth
Jesus Etc.
Walken
I’m the Man Who Loves You
Hummingbird
Magazine Called Sunset
Red-eyed and Blue
I Got You (At the End of the Century)
Monday

Hate It Here
Can’t Stand It
Is That the Thanks I Get?
Just a Kid

War on War
Heavy Metal Drummer

If your interested, you can also stream the second night at the 9:30 on NPR. I am fuel also has Wilco's fifth night in Chi-town just a few nights before available for download.

This week's late night TV lineup

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• Monday - The Helio Sequence

Tonight Show w/Jay Leno

• Tuesday - Lupe Fiasco
• Thursday - Cat Power

Last Call w/Carson Daly

• Monday - Lupe Fiasco
• Wednesday - Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova

Late Show w/Dave Letterman

• Thursday - Liam Finn

Hooray Friday!

- The All Points West Festival lineup has been announced with Radiohead playing on Friday AND Saturday. Ah Jersey City, NJ… a beautiful area of the world. And let's not forget the fact that Jack Johnson has managed to score the trifecta in festival headlines this summer. Good on ya, Jack.

- I am fuel has a handful of Eddie Vedder/Bruce Springsteen collaborations posted for your listening pleasure.

- Same blog, different topic. This week’s music roundup had a new track from the Mountain Goats, a live one from Spoon, a White Stripes/Beck diddy and a Daft Punk cover.

- Apparently Maxim magazine reviewed the Black Crowes' upcoming album, Warpaint, without even hearing it. This reminds me of when I was in college and tried to write term papers without doing any research. Unlike Maxim though, I was never called on it (thankfully). Thanks to Product Shop NYC for the K.

- For those of you who have yet to discover Cloud Cult, you are missing out. The Meaning of 8 was a highlight of 2007 for me and they are following it up with the release of Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes) in April. MFKWCRG has a track from the album, "When Water Comes to Life", which does not disappoint.

- Rihanna and the Klaxons got together at the 2008 Brit Awards and made a little "Umbrella" and "Golden Skans" love. The Music Slut provides the links.

Something to kick off the week just right

I know I'm a day late for those who had to work on Presidents' Day, but having the day off gave me the time to find this.

Check out the video that miraculously appeared on YouTube and other sites of ESPN's Chris Berman cussing like a sailor during a MNF halftime show. Let it load and enjoy with your morning cup of joe. You're welcome.

This week's late night TV lineup

Tonight Show w/Jay Leno

• Tuesday - The Hives

Late Night w/Conan O'Brien

• Wednesday - The Whigs
• Thursday - Black Mountain

Late Show w/David Letterman

• Tuesday - Ray Davies
• Wednesday - Foo Fighters

Get your tour dates here!

I've been in a bit of a concert drought lately, but plan on turning that frown upside-down with a few of these:

• Tapes 'n Tapes
• Colin Meloy (lead singer of The Decemberists)
• The New Pornographers w/Okkervil River (both are playing some seperate dates as well)
• Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
• Feist
• Islands
• Sea Wolf
• Cat Power
• Statehood
• The Police w/Elvis Costello (Elvis has a few dates w/o The Police)
• Eddie Vedder
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
• Kanye West w/Lupe Fiasco and others
• Yeasayer w/Man Man (both are playing some seperate dates as well)
• British Sea Power
• Black Kids w/Cut Copy (both are playing some seperate dates as well)
• Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige

Hooray Friday!

- Amplive's Rainydayz Remixes has Radiohead remixes from In Rainbows available for download. Thanks to Jude for the shot of K.

- The National has released a four song live EP, Rhapsody Rocks NYC. Want to take a stab where you can get it? You guessed it Einstein - Rhapsody. P-fork provided the info.

- Have a listen to "Hang Them All" from Tapes 'n Tapes' upcoming album, Walk It Off out April 8th. I saw it first on MOKB, but saw it on numerous other blogs as well. They kick off their North American tour a few days after the release.

- Same blog, different post. Kate Nash covers the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" and just like Mikey, I like it. Kind of puts a different spin on the track.

- More news on covers. Music for Kids has a handful of mp3s posted on Brits covering Brits. Artic Monkeys, Amy Winehouse, Kaiser Chiefs, and the Klaxons just to name a few.

- And more covers. The Klaxons covering "No Diggity"? No that's not a typo. Have a listen courtesy of You Ain't No Picasso - not half bad.

Decisions, decisions

I'm torn. Radiohead dates and venues have been released for the first part of their US tour. Only 8 dates and some interesting cities left off - no NYC or Philly (sorry fellas) and nothing close to the West Coast. I'm sure they'll knock all of those out when they return from their summer stint in Europe though.

I should be happy. They are coming to the DC area... but it's the effing Nissan Pavilion. Horrible. I hate heading out there - it turns a concert into a 7-8 hour event. One way in and one way out. It's like grunting out a tough turd on the shitter.

My other concern is that I thought Radiohead was so-so when I last saw them in 2003. I know, I'm probably one of the few that has ever thought that, but I'll admit I was disappointed. Maybe I was expecting too much. Maybe it was because the guy in front of me was dancing like he was having an epileptic seizure for most of the concert.

The show at Nissan is on a Sunday which is promising. This is pretty motivating as well.


Tickets go on sale this Saturday. Less than 3 days to decide. Tick tock, tick tock...

• May 5 West Palm Beach, FL - Cruzan Amphitheatre
• May 6 Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheatre
• May 8 Atlanta, GA - Lakewood Amphitheatre
• May 9 Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
• May 11 Bristow, VA - Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge
• May 14 St. Louis, MO - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
• May 17 Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
• May 18 Dallas, TX - Superpages.com Center

This week's late night TV lineup

Late Show w/David Letterman

• Monday - OK Go

Late Night w/Conan O'Brien

• Tuesday - Band of Horses

Grammy Faux Pas

Nobody's perfect. At one time or another (or for some of us, too many times to count), we make poor decisions that we wish we could take back.

The key is learning from those mistakes and hopefully minimizing future ones. I guess over 50 years, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences is allowed to make a few and Cracked.com calls them on some of their biggest ones.

I guess hindsight is always 20/20. But looking back on some of these, it's tough to figure out what the voters were thinking. My favorite is "Winchester Cathedral" by The New Vaudeville Band beating out singles by the Beatles ("Eleanor Rigby"), Beach Boys ("Good Vibrations") and Mamas and Papas (Monday Monday"). I'm thinking that wasn't such a good choice.

Hooray Friday (2 days late)!

- The Bonnaroo, SXSW and New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fesitval lineups have been announced. Maybe this is the year that I go to one of these festivals. I doubt it, but just maybe.

- About A Son, the Kurt Cobain documentary has been around for a few years, but is now being released on DVD on Feb 19th. I am fuel has some thoughts on the project, a few mp3s from it and the trailer.

- Same blog, different topic. If you're interested in Counting Crows' new music, I am fuel has the mp3s from their set on WXPN World Cafe.

- La Blogotheque releases a Take Away Show each week. Apparently they've been doing this for quite awhile, but it's the first I'm hearing about it (thanks to Gorilla vs. Bear). Some truly solid stuff. Too many to list, so you'll have to check it out yourself.

Here's to hoping Amy Winehouse doesn't fall on her face tonight at the Grammy's. She has enough shit going against her.

Enough of Mercury Morris... PLEASE!

I just heard Stuart Scott on ESPN decribe this play as "Sick nasty". I'd consider that a pretty accurate statement. And don't forget the Eli to Plaxico game-winning TD - the 2000's version of Montana to Taylor. Great f-ing game.

Take a train to Happy Town - whoo whoo!