news is slowly trickling out of the wake of the ISIS and Jesu tour path.

the reports are coming in daily from NYC, Cambridge and Toronto. we should be hearing from Detroit, Chicago, and Minneapolis soon. i’ve compiled a handful of concert reviews about the ISIS/Jesu tour. in addition to each link, i have quoted a tiny snippet about each band from each review. this is my attempt to create a tour-at-a-glance view with heads’ own words, so you can get an idea of how the bands are sounding. definitely go read the reviews in their entireity. they all have detailed descriptions of each band from each show. all the links here are pretty good, the top 2 really stand out.

• great review by Chris Bilton
  march 20 at the opera house toronto ontario
  jesu : distorted shoegazer drones performed at a snail’s pace
  isis : captivating set….intense physicality to the heady philosophies found within.

• probably the best review, or maybe just the most positive and well informed by Shehzaad Jiwani :
  March 20, 2007 Opera House Toronto, ON
  only one quote, for the show overall : the show was a phenomenal display of underground talent…

• great review by not paper’s adam
  Zozobra : fast, rhythmic chug-rock and slow, melodic doom
  Jesu : shoegaze-enriched art-metal
  ISIS : gritty dirges, rousing choruses, soulful movements, and ambient noise

• photos by Rev. Aaron
• photos by gdvorsky
• photos by propheci

• decent review from ottawa by the Humpradio blogger
  jesu : 45 minutes of powerful atmospheric metal
  isis : Tool sounding prog metal

• another review, this one by Brad Filicky
  torche : Stoner grove
  isis : nonstop art metal assault
  overall : uncompromising heavy music

• by the blogger, March to the Sea
  jesu : wonderfully “sonic” show
  isis : post metal slug fest

sounds like the critics agree on two things - the shows are LOUD! and resonate the thinking centers as much as the feeling centers. but mind what you’re feeling when you’re shoulder to shoulder in a thicket of black hooded ‘heads….

i’d be pretty satisfied if my music was described as Stoner grove. i mean really, how can you go wrong with that kind of street cred?

i can’t wait. i will be imbibing the layers of distortion from the swanky seating in san francisco’s Bimbo’s 365 Club. it’s like the old dinner clubs from 1930’s movies, you sit and enjoy the entertainment, perhaps make a round of the dancefloor if yer feeling, amped. i plan to immerse myself in the intensely ambient atmospheres, and gaze at stoner slugs with soulful movements in a rousing assault on doomed sonic snails, and maybe post metal underground to be captivated by gritty dirges as they distort themselves into uncompromising art. then again, i”ll probably drone on for 45 minutes nonstop after a heady chug fest-enriched display of powerful choruses. only time and the 2 drink minimum will tell. (and of course i will have a full report for you when i recover!)

here is the rest of the ISIS, Jesu, Zozobra tour :

4/1 The Big Easy Boise ID
4/2 The Big Easy Spokane WA
4/3 Neumo’s Crystal Ball Reading Room Seattle WA
4/4 Hawthorne Theatre Portland OR
4/5 DAY OFF
4/6 Bimbo’s 365 Club San Francisco CA
4/7 Downtown Brew San Luis Obispo CA
4/8 Henry Fonda Theatre Los Angeles CA

i just noticed in Southern Lord’s news today that Earth will playing live tonight, Saturday March 31, at El Corozan in Seattle.

aww dang. i cut it close on this one. sorry for the short notice, but if yer in seattle, you probably knew it was coming. i’m in sanfran, sometimes there is a delay….

i do really hope Earth make it down here again soon. i’m in need of some tempered metal.

there is a thorough article on VH1.com today about DJ Drama. he is speaking out about the arrest, and previewing tracks from his upcoming major release, Gangsta Grillz.

the article is here

sorry no audio previews of the new album…

there have been some updates to the Lily Allen tour, mostly additions thanks to all the extra hype she is getting lately.

from the trusty blog of the Brooklyn Vegan :

Lily Allen - 2007 Tour Dates
Fri 03/30/07 San Diego, CA House Of Blues
Sun 04/01/07 Sacramento, CA Crest Theatre
Mon 04/02/07 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
Thu 04/05/07 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert Theatre
Fri 04/06/07 Montreal, QC Club Soda
Sat 04/07/07 Boston, MA The Roxy
Sun 04/08/07 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Tue 04/10/07 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
Wed 04/11/07 New York, NY Irving Plaza
Sat 04/14/07 Universal City, CA Gibson Amph. At Univ. CityWalk KCRW Evening
Sun 04/29/07 Indio, CA Empire Polo Field Coachella
Tue 05/15/07 The Wiltern Los Angeles, CA
Mon 05/21/07 Ogden Theatre Denver, CO
Tue 05/22/07 Liberty Hall Lawrence, KS
Wed 05/23/07 Vic Theatre Chicago, IL
Sat 05/26/07 Newport Music Hall Columbus, OH
Sun 05/27/07 Majestic Theatre Detroit, MI
Mon 05/28/07 Sonar Baltimore, MD
Wed 05/30/07 Roseland Ballroom New York, NY
Mon 06/04/07 House of Blues Cleveland Cleveland, OH
Tue 06/05/07 Vogue Theatre Indianapolis, IN
Tue 06/12/07 Lake Buena Vista, FL House Of Blues
Wed 06/13/07 House of Blues Orlando Orlando, FL
Fri 06/15/07 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo Music Festival
Fri 06/22/07 Glastonbury Festival
Fri 07/06/07 Kinross, UK Balado
Sat 08/18/07 Staffordshire, UK Weston Park V Festival
Sun 08/19/07 Chelmsford, UK Hylands Park V Festiva

get your tix before she gets bored of her own songs!

do you play music and dream of your chance to make it big?

Jarvis Cocker is looking for local bands to open his shows!!

that’s right! the frontman for Pulp is taking recommendations for who should open his shows in NYC, Seattle, Vancouver and SF! also for shows in Europe!

from his myspaz blog :

we are playing in North America soon & need support bands for New York (2 shows), San Francisco, Seattle & Vancouver - do you think you could help? Same idea as the Europe shows - you recommend LOCAL bands that would be good for the job (preferably with a link to somewhere I can hear their music) & I’ll do the rest. It worked a treat before - let’s unleash the magic again!

G’day xx Jarvis

here’s your chance! hit the man with some links!

and, here is the full tour schedule :

04-22 New York, NY – Webster Hall
04-23 New York, NY – Webster Hall
04-27 Indio, CA – Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
04-28 San Francisco, CA – Fillmore
04-30 Seattle, WA – Showbox
05-01 Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore
07-13-14 Barcelona, Spain – Parc del Fòrum (Summercase Festival)
08-18 Chelmsford, England – V Festival
08-19 Staffordshire, England – V Festival

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that’s right! to promote the Simpsons Movie coming out this summer, a slew of 7-11 convenience stores in the US will be transformed to look like the fictitous Kwik-E-Mart. it has not been announced yet which cities will get the Springfield staple, nor whether Duff Beer will be available.

chances are, you will not find Apu Nahasapeemapetilon behind the counter, nor his altar to Ganesha. how about Squishees and Buzz Cola, you ask? YES, both will be sold at the Kwik-E-Marts! tofu dogs and paradise behind the non-alcoholic beer? ummm, no.

will owners of the chain of “real” Kwik-E-Mart stores in Minnesota and Pittsburgh take issue with the conversions, or reap the free publicity? only time will tell….

actually, i can’t wait to see what other transformations occur in preparation for this movie! the movie will hit theatres in the US on july 27th, 2007.

news from :: gadling.com ::
Kwik-E-Mart trivia from :: wikipedia.com :: and my obsessive addiction to the Simpson’s tv show

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• subscribe to all posts on ht in Greatest Hits : greatest hits feed
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ok, maybe that’s actually an exageration. but they should be after receiving a letter from California attorney Merl Ledford III, of Visalia, California. Ledforf III just points out how unreliable their witnesses and evidence are, and how weak their case is. next thing you know, RIAA drops one of its recent cases.
the whole story is on :: techdirt.com :: with an excerpt from the letter. the full letter can be viewed :: here :: where it serves as an example for other lawyers who are defending people against the out of control megalomaniac recording industry.
finally, RIAA’s statement of Voluntary Dismissal can be viewed in all it’s legal-formatted glory :: here::

• subscribe to all posts on ht about RIAA : RIAA feed

according to Pitchfork today, Bjork has joined the new trend of “leaking” new material onto the internet. there are a series of micro-teasers to bizarre for me to even list here, so if you really want to hunt down little snippets that might be from the upcoming Volta album, then go check out Pitchfork …

ok, ok, fine, Gerome Voltaire is a REAL person living in Reykjavik, who is remixing snippets of music he recorded with a neighboring artist. and Bjork will be furious when she finds out he is putting this stuff on the web. sure. ;) .

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/UKa2fl3f_ls]

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/xK5GIU74y3U]

• read more about Bjork : news and updates
  

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Punjabi production team, Tigerstyle, mix bhangra, dancehall, sometimes M.I.A., and just about everything for totally danceable eastern influenced music. they have packed venues and rocked nations around the world, and will soon do a small tour through a few US cities with labelmates dub-K.

March 30 2007 Tabella Seattle, Washington
March 31 2007 Andaz @ Fez Ballroom Portland, Oregon
April 5 2007 Tartan Week Performance @ The Knitting Factory New York City
April 7 2007 Boston, MA

for more info, and a music preview, check out Fader Magazine.
you can also listen on their myspace page.

their myspace will be updated with more tour dates, as they are booked, and has a few dates in UK for April.

Hurray!!! Finally, EAR, Experimental Audio Research, is touring!! Not too many chances to catch his far out experimentalism, only a handful of US dates spanning April, and only 2 in London, but better than nothing which is all we have heard from EAR lately!
EAR was created by an experimental electronic scientist, Peter Kember, aka Sonic Boom, who may be more well known for his participation in surf guitar rock band, Spaceman 3, and psychedelic spaced out guitar rock band, Spectrum. There seems to be no limit to the scope and direction of the experimentations. he is notorious for his use of mulitple speak and spells as instruments and found sound recordings. i own an album which consists of nothing but recordings and simulations of daily noises, starting with the time of dinosaurs, and progressing to the modern experience. For further and deeper descriptions of this project, please read the bio on Sonic Boom’s website.

It gets better, the April 15th London performance will have EAR opening for Cluster! The April 30th London performance will also present a performance by Bert Jansch! Cluster, formed in the 70’s, is one of Germany’s pioneer experimental electronica bands. Cluster has collaborated with experimental krautrock band, Neu! and Brian Eno. These days, Cluster play mostly ambient electronic krautrock, and as far as i know, they have not toured since 1997. Bert Jansch is the founding member of Pentangle and won the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 for his work in folk music. The Scotsman has worked with Neil Young, Johnny Marr, and Jimmy Page, among others.

According to Sonic Boom’s website, here are the dates and places :

1 APRIL 2007, NYC, NY

E.A.R., REBEL NYC
2 APRIL 2007, PHILADELPHIA, PA

E.A.R., JOHNNY BRENDA’S
3 APRIL 2007, CLEVELAND, OH

E.A.R., BEACHLAND TAVERN
4 APRIL 2007, CHICAGO, IL

E.A.R., LAKESHORE THEATRE
5 APRIL 2007, AUSTIN, TX

E.A.R., EMO’S
8 APRIL 2007, SAN FRANCISCO, CA

E.A.R., HEMLOCK TAVERN
9 APRIL 2007, HOLLYWOOD, CA

E.A.R., SAFARI SAM’S
10 APRIL 2007, SACRAMENTO, CA

E.A.R., BLUE LAMP
12 APRIL 2007, NYC, NY

SPACELINES DJ SET, TRIBECA GRAND
15 APRIL 2007, LONDON, UK

E.A.R. SUPPORTING CLUSTER, CAMDEN UNDERWORLD
30 APRIL 2007, LONDON, UK

E.A.R., ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL. as part of St.Etienne’s launch of the refurbished room. Bert Jansch also playing.

Spectrum is also planning to tour the Pacific Rim in the late summer and fall of this year. Spectrum will release an EP and LP before the year is over.

British electronica duo, Underworld, is recording a new album and scheduling a world tour for this summer. The new album, their fifth studio work, will not be released until autumn, however, singles should start to appear soon. The band just finished the complete soundtrack to the movie Sunshine, a film by Danny Boyle. The soundtrack is a collaboration with composer John Murphy, and will be released when the film comes out. their 2005 album, Pizza For Eggs, one of a series called riverrun, is available for preview or download through the band’s website.

june 2007
15-june efes one love istanbul turkey
16-june ejekt festival athens greece

july 2007
05-july super bock rock lisbon portugal
07-july monegros festival monegreos spain

sept 2007
09-sept hollywood bowl los angeles usa
11-sept red rocks denver usa
14-sept central park new york usa

El-P World Tour Dates

Mar 29 2007 @ 103 CLUB BERLIN, Berlin
Apr 1 2007 @ Grunspan Hamburg, Bremen
Apr 2 2007 @ MTC, Koln
Apr 3 2007 @ ATOMIC CAFE, Munich
Apr 5 2007 @ ELECTRON FESTIVAL, Geneva
Apr 6 2007 @ PALLADIUM, Paris
Apr 7 2007 @ ABATTIORS, Bourgoin Jallieu
Apr 8 2007 @ Moumatouff, Mulhouse
Apr 10 2007 @ LIEU UNIQUE, Nantes
Apr 11 2007 @ WIELOOBAR AT BOTANINQUE, Brussels
Apr 12 2007 @ MELKWEG (OLD HALL), Amsterdam
Apr 15 2007 @ CRAWDADDY @ Dublin
Apr 17 2007 @ LEEDS UNI @ Leeds
Apr 18 2007 @ DINGWALLS @ London
Apr 19 2007 @ FABRIKKEN @ Oslo
Apr 20 2007 @ MINIFESTIVAL ELECTRONICA AT LA CASA ENCENDIDA, Madrid
Apr 27 2007 @ COACHELLA
May 1 2007 @ MIDDLE EAST, Boston
May 2 2007 @ Le NATIONAL, Montreal
May 3 2007 @ THE OPERA HOUSE, Toronto
May 4 2007 @ THE BEACHLAND BALLROOM, Cleveland
May 5 2007 @ LITTLE BROTHERS, Columbus,
May 6 2007 @ MAGIC STICK, Detroit
May 7 2007 @ TOP CATS, Cincinatti
May 8 2007 @ ABBEY PUB, Chicago
May 10 2007 @ GRANADA, Lawrence
May 11 2007 @ BLUEBIRD THEATRE, Denver
May 12 2007 @ THE DEPOT, Salt Lake City
May 14 2007 @ NEUMOS, Seattle
May 15 2007 @ RICHARD ON RICHARDS, Vancouver
May 16 2007 @ WONDER BALLROOM, Portland, OR
May 18 2007 @ GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC HALL (NOT SLIMS), San Francisco
May 23 2007 @ THE CLUBHOUSE, Tempe
May 24 2007 @ SUNSHINE THEATRE, Albuquerque
May 27 2007 @ EMOS, Austin
May 28 2007 @ NUMBERS NIGHT CLUB, Houston
May 30 2007 @ THE PARISH HOUSE OF BLUES, New Orleans
Jun 2 2007 @ COMMON GROUNDS, Gainesville, FL
Jun 7 2007 @ CATS CRADLE, Carrboro, NC
Jun 8 2007 @ THE 9:30 CLUB, Washington DC
Jun 9, 2007 @ Irving Plaza, NYC

As far as i can figure, AKON and Lady Sovereign will be support acts for Ms. Stefani on the North American dates only. Stefani will also be touring the UK and Japan. Those dates can be found on her website.

Links to Lady Sovereign :
http://www.ladysovereign.com/
http://www.myspace.com/ladysovereign

Links to Akon :
http://www.akononline.com/
http://www.myspace.com/akon

Links to Gwen Stefani :
http://www.gwenstefani.com/
http://www.myspace.com/gwenstefani
http://www.askmen.com/women/singer_60/70_gwen_stefani.htm

According to the Live Daily website this is the schedule :

April 2007
21 - Las Vegas, NV - The Pearl Concert Theater @ The Palms Casino Resort
22 - Chula Vista, CA - Coors Amphitheatre
24 - Fresno, CA - Save Mart Center
25 - Bakersfield, CA - Rabobank Arena
27 - Universal City, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre
28 - Phoenix, AZ - Cricket Pavilion
30 - West Valley City, UT - The “E” Center

May 2007
2 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
3 - Albuquerque, NM - Journal Pavilion
5 - Dallas, TX - Smirnoff Music Centre
6 - The Woodlands, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
8 - Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheatre
9 - West Palm Beach, FL - Sound Advice Amphitheatre
11 - Atlanta, GA - HiFi Buys Amphitheatre
12 - Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
14 - Raleigh, NC - Walnut Creek Amphitheatre
15 - Virginia Beach, VA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
17 - Bristow, VA - Nissan Pavilion
18 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
20 - Wantagh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre
21 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
23 - Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center
24 - Camden, NJ - Tweeter Center at The Waterfront
27 - Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata Hotel and Casino
29 - Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre
30 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre

June 2007
1 - Auburn Hills, MI - Palace of Auburn Hills
2 - Noblesville, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center
4 - Omaha, NE - Qwest Center
5 - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
8 - Tinley Park, IL - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
10 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - MTS Centre
12 - Edmonton, Alberta - Rexall Place
13 - Calgary, Alberta - Pengrowth Saddledome
15 - Vancouver, British Columbia - General Motors Place
16 - Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre
18 - Marysville, CA - Sleep Train Amphitheatre
19 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
22-23 - Irvine, CA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
26-27 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl
29 - Reno, NV - Reno Events Center

August 2007
24 - Honolulu, HI - Neal S. Blaisdell Center

Grime, meet Indie Rock. Pop, meet Grime. And so on. New albums on the horizon that are blending, mashing, and redefining musical genres.

There is a great article on the genre crossing between grime music and indie rock in The Independent today. I find it interesting that, for me anyway, it has raised more questions than answers about music today.

It lists a few examples, such as Statik remixing the Bloc Party and The Rakes last year, putting a grime sound to each. It was Statik that coined the term “grindie” for such combinations. He also made a few mashups, placing grime mc’s over Ladyfuzz and Larrikin Love with Pete Doherty in the mix. ([More →])

what do The Clash, The Kinks, Bob Dylan, The Fratellis, and The Good The Bad And The Queen, all have in common?

they all made their debut performances in an English pub! an English standard that is quickly disappearing to gentrification.

The Clissold Arms was the site of the first Kinks show in 1963, just across from Ray and Dave Davies’ childhood home. The Clissold Arms has remained the site of a Kinks “shrine” with band memorabilia - autographed ticket stubs, photos from shows - and a place for travelling fans to visit and get a feel for the neighborhood where the band drew a lot of it’s inspiration. This pub was recently purchased by a company that wants to recreate it into an upscale eatery, and while not set in stone yet, there are plans for the company to auction off the memorabilia rather than keep it on display. The fans are taking it as a slight to the band, feeling that the new owners consider The Kinks connection to the site an embarrassment.

The fan club have set up an online petition to urge the new ownership to donate the shrine items, with a few options including setting up the shrine at a neighboring pub, returning the items to the place they originated, or to the club which would in turn auction the items and donate the proceeds to the Leukaemia Research Fund.

Read more in The Independent.
Find the online petition here.