Eccentric singer Courtney Love is threatening legal action against game giant Activision — who brought her late husband, rocker Kurt Cobain, back to life for the latest edition of Guitar Hero.
The firm created a Cobain character for Guitar Hero 5, which arrived in stores September 1. In the game, the late Nirvana star appears [...]
NEW RECORD MIXES PURE AMERICANA STORYTELLING WITH PSYCHEDELIC POWER POP
BAND ANNOUNCES FALL TOUR DATES
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The Mother Hips have flown under the radar as true indie music pioneers for almost two decades. With the release of their new album Pacific Dust (available October 27 on Camera Records), California’s unsung psych-pop heroes tell their story. Hailed by critics for their “rootsy mix of ’70s rock and power pop” (Pitchfork) and for their unflinching ability to “sing it sweet and play it dirty” (New Yorker), on Pacific Dust The Hips’ signature sound rings more genuine and relevant than ever before.
The Hips – led by co-founders Tim Bluhm (vocals/guitar) and Greg Loiacono (guitar/vocals) – have been playing music for nearly 18 years, and in the process, have had the luxury of exploring and refining their craft. For the band’s seventh full-length studio album, The Mother Hips have never been more primed to share their well-traveled tales – the long days and nights on the road, the gritty politics, the smart inward reflections and the music! – all delivered with a most appealing balance of Americana storytelling and their California-burnished rock.
Pacific Dust‘s compositions about penning a song in your kitchen at 3:00 a.m. (the thundering album opener “White Falcon Fuzz”), record company politics (garage-rock boogie “Third Floor Story”), and a father and son’s relationship through music (on the ballad “Young Charles Ives”) indeed tell the story of many American rock bands. But here’s why it matters: The Mother Hips have survived, and in fact thrived, throughout the journey – and Pacific Dust, with its bittersweet melodies, poignant lyrics, and strong and gritty musicianship, is a perfect example of why.
The Mother Hips owe most of their success to their large and loyal fan base. Earlier releases such as Part-Timer Goes Full, Green Hills of Earth, and Red Tandy have become almost cult classics among indie music buffs, and the band’s most recent 2007 album, Kiss the Crystal Flake, offered proof that the band still continues to attract new supporters. Over the years, the band has worked with and played alongside a slew of renowned/respected colleagues including super-producer Rick Rubin, Wilco, Johnny Cash, and many others.
Today, armed with their newest release Pacific Dust, The Hips are poised to take their experience and talent to another level for this next leg of their already epic journey.
The band will tour this fall in support of Pacific Dust. The complete list of currently confirmed tour dates is as follows:
September 11 The Palms Playhouse Winters CA
September 17 Plush Tucson AZ
September 19 Zion Canyon Music Festival Springdale UT
September 25 19 Broadway Fairfax CA
October 1 Downtown Brew San Luis Obispo CA
October 2 Club Fred Fresno CA
October 3 The Glass House Pomona CA
October 9 Smith’s Olde Bar Atlanta GA
October 10 Fall for Greenville Greenville SC
October 16 The Lodge Ventura CA
October 17 Smokin’ in the Park BBQ Festival Alpine CA
October 29 – November 1 Las Tortugas IV Halloween Ball Groveland CA
November 5 Tractor Tavern Seattle WA
November 6 Doug Fir Lounge Portland OR
November 7 River City Saloon Hood River OR
November 17-18 Joe’s Pub @ The Public Theater New York NY
November 20-21 Schubas Chicago IL
December 4-5 Emo’s Austin TX
January 3-8 Jam Cruise 8 Fort Lauderdale FL
Additional dates to be announced.
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Soulsavers‘ genre-bending album of wide-ranging majesty, Broken (check it out below), was recently released digitally on Columbia Records, with a physical release date still pending. Joining founding production team Rich Machin and Ian Glover on Soulsavers’ haunting third album was an inspirational group of musicians who give the album a more live and open feel than their previous releases. At the forefront are the vocals of Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age), whose profound, growling croon is the perfect match for Soulsavers’ broader, richer vein of sepulchral cinerama. Duets on Broken include vocals from Spiritualized‘s Jason Pierce, Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers, and Faith No More frontman, Mike Patton. Also appearing on the album are bassist Martyn LeNoble (Porno for Pyros, Jane’s Addiction), the dark, sultry tones of Red Ghost (aka Rosa Agostino) and Richard Hawley.
Praise for Soulsavers:
Q, 4/5 stars – “Mark Lanegan reprises his role as a latter day Johnny Cash, while fellow alt-rock alumni Jason Pierce, Mike Patton and Richard Hawley make fleeting cameos. The result could be the soundtrack to the greatest spaghetti western never made.”
NME, 8/10 stars – “A tumultuous amalgamation of zoned-out jazz lines, wistful soul vocals, moody strings, dreamlike electronic sequences and compact rock… A veritable Dante’s Inferno of an album.”
Soulsavers Tour Dates:
09/06/09 Sun Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR
09/07/09 Mon Bumbershoot Festival Seattle, WA
09/09/09 Wed The Independent San Francisco, CA
09/10/09 Thu The Troubadour West Hollywood, CA
09/12/09 Sat Casbah San Diego, CA
09/15/09 Tue Stubb’s BBQ Austin, TX
09/16/09 Wed House of Blues: Cambridge Room Dallas, TX
09/18/09 Fri One Eyed Jacks New Orleans, LA
09/19/09 Sat The Loft Atlanta, GA
09/21/09 Mon Rock & Roll Hotel Washington, DC
09/22/09 Tue Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
09/23/09 Wed Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA
09/25/09 Fri Mod Club Toronto, ON
09/26/09 Sat Grog Shop Cleveland, OH
09/27/09 Sun Double Door Chicago, IL
Words by: Bear Connelly | Images by: Jim Brueckner
Newport Folk Festival :: 08.01.09 & 08.02.09 :: Fort Adams State Park :: Newport, RI
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The Newport Folk Festival is one of the longest running music festivals in America, and this year she celebrated her 50th anniversary (the festival did not take place from 1971-1985) with a huge array of artists spanning generations, countries and languages. The deep historical context of the festival resonates highly with the artists that play here, making it quite a destination for musicians and fans of the greater folk world. Dylan went electric here and Joan Baez played the first ever festival in 1959. NWFF is located at Fort Adams State Park, a defunct Naval base nestled in the harbor of the sailing mecca of Newport, Rhode Island. The festival has three stages, the main stage sitting right in front of the fort overlooking a huge lawn that leads to the ocean, and two tents containing smaller stages also along the water. Thousands of people attend each year, setting up blankets and lawn chairs and basking in the sunshine and music for two days every August. Due to the location, boats are encouraged to pull up close and drop anchor and listen to the music while swimming and playing in the water. This is truly a festival you need to see once in your life, if not many times.
As always there were so many great bands playing that I kind of felt like a chicken running around with his head cut off in order to see them all. For some artists, I only caught a couple songs, like folk legends Baez (whose voice has sadly lowered in register over the years) and Arlo Guthrie (who is an amazing storyteller) to Joe Pug (a young working class, Dylan-esque folkie from Chicago belting tunes like “My Father’s Drugs” with a Midwest snarl). With a festival as diverse as Newport – acts range from Mavis Staples to Brett Dennen, 23-year old John McCauley (Deer Tick) to 90-year old Pete Seeger – there was something for everyone.
Here are some of the highlights from this year’s event, and you can also listen to all these sets at npr.org.
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As I walked in to the festival I headed straight for the first music I could hear. I stumbled in to the Harborside Tent to find Ben Kweller playing with a stripped down version of his band. There was Ben, decked out in a sleeveless NYC t-shirt, jeans and boots (which reminded my of that classic John Lennon pic) with a drummer and a dobro/pedal steel player. Kweller cranked through tunes like “13,” which was apparently written about a night out in Block Island, an island off the coast of Rhode Island, and “Gypsy Love” with a great sense of enjoyment at being at this historical festival. He even tried out tunes that he normally plays on piano in the spirit of guitar driven folk music. The highlight of his set was a crowd sing-along version of “Falling” dedicated to Kelly, a girl who worked at the festival that asked if he would play it, despite the lack of a piano on stage.
I haven’t really listened to The Avett Brothers but with the electricity of their live shows you don’t really need to in order to enjoy them. The North Carolina natives brought their brand of psych-emo, energetic folk-grass to the festival for the second time in as many years. The band ran through live staples such as “Paranoia in B flat Major” and “Ballad of Love and Hate,” along with new tunes off their upcoming album I and Love and You like “Kick Drum Heart” with little disparity for a newcomer. Read: their new tunes kick as much ass as their old ones.
Given the fact that Tom Morello is a Harvard educated, political junkie, effects infused shredder, I was perhaps most curious to see what he had in store for a folk festival. Morello, armed simply with a nylon string guitar (that had “Whatever It Takes” scrawled on it in black marker) and his rustic baritone voice played songs such as “Dogs of Tijuana” and “One Man Revolution.” Morello also mentioned how excited he was to play at the same festival as the legendary Pete Seeger. He dedicated his tune “The Road I Must Travel” to Seeger, who Morello believes is “a living body of justice-ness and righteousness,” and is glad that “in a world of passport carrying jackasses there are people like Seeger to balance it out.”
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Fan favorite Gillian Welch delighted the main stage crowd yet again (in the three years I’ve been, she’s been there every time) with a nice mix of songs from her entire repertoire. Apparently she and her partner, Rhode Island native Dave Rawlings, had to get a police escort from Boston just to make their set after a five-hour flight delay at LAX. Welch joked that she felt “Like Mirabelli getting escorted to the Sox game in order to catch Wakey a couple years back,” referring to Red Sox catcher Doug Mirabelli’s return trip to Fenway after being reacquired mid-season. Although sleep deprived and unkempt, they didn’t let the jetlag stop them from delivering angst melting tunes like “Orphan Girl,” “My First Lover” and “Look at Miss Ohio,” the latter featuring a blistering solo from Rawlings, who is perhaps the tastiest guitarist in Americana music today. Midway through the set, she debuted her haunting version of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” to the crowd’s enjoyment.
One of the more historical acts at the festival was the gospel stylings of Mavis Staples and her energetic band. Staples’ set included a rousing rendition of The Band’s “The Weight,” which she sang at The Last Waltz with The Staple Singers 30 years ago, and “Why Am I Treated So Bad,” her father’s song written after a conversation with Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hometown heroes number one (Deer Tick being number two) played their first set of presumably many to come at Newport after a whirlwind summer that saw them playing all over the world, including sets at Bonnaroo, Hyde Park and Roskilde Festival (read about Roskilde here). Since releasing Oh My God Charlie Darwin on Nonesuch (and Bella Union in Europe) the band has been touring relentlessly and it shows. The once awkward folkies that could barely play their secondary instruments – there is a clarinet, French horn, upright bass, drums, organ, acoustic and electric guitars and crotales on stage, with all three members rotating between them for each song – have tightened their sound to captivate the audience, which overflowed the small Waterside Tent they played in. The band played some new, unreleased tunes that held water alongside older gems like “Ballad of Broken Bones” and “To Ohio.” The highlight for me came with their take on the traditional “Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around” that featured guitarist/singer Ben Knox Miller on drums, Jeff Prystowsky on upright bass and clarinetist Jocie Adams showing off her electric guitar chops, all of which showcased the band’s growing versatility.
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Sam Beam played a solo acoustic set on Saturday afternoon to a packed Harborside Tent. Beam, whose wispy vocals and percussive yet intricate guitar picking was a perfect soundtrack for a sunny afternoon on the water. He started his set off with a cover of Postal Service‘s “Such Great Heights” that quickly turned into a group sing-along after he forgot the words to the chorus. Next came the stomping “Woman King,” which induced some of the crowd (mostly seated) to dance. Beam had great stage presence, talking about how “beautiful but distracting” the view from the stage was and handling catcalls like a woman in the crowd who yelled, “I want to live in your beard… because it seems like a warm place to sit,” with a quick wit. Beam closed his set with the fan favorite (and Twilight soundtrack hit) “Flightless Bird, American Mouth,” which left the audience standing and cheering for an encore. Beam sheepishly walked back on stage to deliver “Sunset Soon Forgotten,” a wonderful finger picking tune off Our Endless Numbered Days.
I was really interested in checking out the Fleet Foxes, one of the past two years’ biggest hype bands. I really like their harmonies and arrangements on the album and wanted to see if they could pull it off live. Well, they killed it. Unfortunately, their small discography lead to them basically playing their album and EP in their entirety. However, getting a main stage slot at Newport is quite a feat for such a young band. Songs like “White Winter Hymnal” and “Oliver James” oozed lush melodies and dispersed waves of their “baroque harmonic pop jams” amongst the festival-goers and aquatic onlookers.
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Saturday’s headliner (other than Pete Seeger, who closed both nights as more of an honorary guest) brought their literary folk rock to the main stage for the first time. Armed with a plethora of vocalists and rare instruments (like the hurdy-gurdy), the band ripped through a greatest hits set – they’ve been playing their folk opera, The Hazards of Love, in its entirety most nights this tour – including “The Crane Wife Part 3″ and upbeat closer “Sons and Daughters.” Mid-set the band’s Decemberists Family Players acted out a scene from the Festival’s storied past – the day Dylan went electric. Four people represented festival founder George Wein, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan and a squirrel to act out a scene inspired by Seeger’s famous comments after hearing Dylan go electric (“Damn it, if I had an axe, I’d cut the cable right now”) referring to shutting down the sound system.
For those of you who don’t know, David Rawlings Machine is just him and Gillian Welch but with reversed roles. They play his songs instead of hers and he sings lead vocals to her harmonies. These two are amazingly captivating with just two guitars and voices. Rawlings, known as a producer and session guitarist mostly, ran through wonderful cover songs ranging from Bright Eyes’ “Method Acting” to Dylan’s “Queen Jane Approximately,” Ryan Adams’ “To Be Young (Is to be sad, is to be high)” (which he co-wrote) to “Big Rock Candy Mountain.” The set was so fierce that the late morning crowd called for an encore, which is usually reserved for headlining acts. Dave answered the call with a foot stomping, hand clapping cover of Johnny Cash’s “Jackson.”
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Also known in the indie world for her work with the New Pornographers, Neko Case has been churning out great alt-country albums on her own for years. Supporting her latest, critically acclaimed album, Middle Cyclone (JamBase review here), Case played the main stage on Sunday. She barreled through songs from her whole repertoire including “Wish I Was the Moon,” “Hold On Hold On” and her roaring new single “This Tornado Loves You.” Not only does Case have one of the best lovesick howls in the business but her backing singer Kelly Hogan (who has also sung with Andrew Bird, The Minus 5 and Edith Frost) provided a nice layer on which Case could stray more and show off her pipes. After a standing ovation from the crowd, who spent her set in lawn chairs, Case ripped through a stellar version of The Shangri-La’s “The Train from Kansas City” as an ode to female groups of yesteryear.
Deer Tick
The second hometown favorite of the festival was the fast-rising Deer Tick. The band took the stage while leader John McCauley III stated, “I don’t know what an acoustic guitar is. Give me one and I’ll try to plug it in. Let’s do it like Dylan did!” before launching into the raucous “Easy” off the band’s latest album, Born on Flag Day. Before their second tune, “Little White Lies,” a fan from the mostly seated crowd asked, “Can we stand up? We just want to dance.” After the okay from security, chairs were moved out of the way and the littlest tent of the festival gave birth to its biggest dance party. Deer Tick plowed through their songs showcasing new, full band arrangements to previously mellow acoustic songs on their albums. Even when the solo song “A Song About A Man” was played the rest of the band sang three-part harmonies, where the last time I saw them they just left the stage. After a guest spot from singer Liz Isenberg on “Friday the XIII” and a cover of John Prine’s “Aimless Love,” the band brought down the house with a rockin’ take on “La Bamba,” which seemed very genuine and relevant despite coming from a 23-year-old white kid from North Providence, RI.
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Playing the festival for the second time, the singer-songwriter and his energetic, multi-instrumentalist band (they all play horns and some other primary instrument) closed down the Harborside Stage on Sunday. Half the band attended Brown University and his bassist was from Newport, so there was kind of a homecoming vibe to Dearland’s set. Despite suffering some tragedies within his own family (his dad, actor Anthony Perkins died from AIDS, while his mom was on board one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center), he is able to sing positive, “live in the moment” style songs that shine bright lights on to the dark zones of the human mind. Perkins, who understands the gravity of playing at such a storied festival, treated the crowd to his own gems like “Chains Chains Chains” and “Shampoo” while mixing in covers like “Weeping Mary” and “Four Strong Winds.” Set closer “Doomsday” had Elvis singing: “Man, I went wild last night…/ I don’t let doomsday bother me/ Do you let it bother you?”
Pete Seeger
It’s a rare opportunity to see a living legend these days. I felt this way when I saw Ray Charles. Pete Seeger IS folk music. Marking both his 90th birthday and the 50th anniversary of the festival he helped create, Seeger treated the crowd to a sing-along set that started with the help of his grandson Tao Rodriguez-Seeger. Pete played “Turn Turn Turn” and “Midnight Special,” saying the lyrics before each line was to be sung so no one in the crowd had an excuse to not sing. It was great to hear the stories behind all these songs – this man knows who wrote the songs we all know as “traditional”! Midway through his sunset set, Seeger invited “every musician who played today” on stage for huge group versions of “Guantanamera,” “If I Had a Hammer” and the obvious closer, “This Land is Your Land.” Never again will I see Colin Meloy singing with Tom Morello, Ben Kweller sharing a mic with The Low Anthem’s Jocie Adams or Seeger himself singing with Gillian Welch and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot. It’s moments like these that make the kinship, history and stature of this festival what it is today.
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Continue reading for more pics of Newport Folk Festival 2009…
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JamBase | Rhode Island
Go See Live Music!
The Fiat 500 C press event I went to at the end of last week was worth going to. Thankfully, I didn’t find myself listening to an over-detailed presentation about the technical specs of the car (that stuff should all be available in the press pack). Most journalists appreciate a to-the-point presentation that highlights what’s important rather than a methodical ploughing through of everything about the car.
In fact, the Fiat UK MD, Andy Humberstone, stuck to the basics of the car and talked more broadly about Fiat UK’s business (here’s a link to the article I was able to write before breakfast, pleasantly hangover free – no need for an Audi-style corporate-manslaughter-avoiding press launch breathalyser).
The car? I hate to sound kind of sexist, but I think it will appeal particularly to young professional females. I like what Fiat have done with the soft top and there’s a ‘girlie’ feel, especially inside. Nothing wrong with that. After seeing BBC Top Gear last night (they did a comparison of small premium cars and admitted afterwards that they had overlooked the best of the lot – the 500), Fiat can perhaps be excused a bit of a bask in the good reception the car has had. The new variant should do well. With small cars all the rage in Europe, it looks like the right product at the right time.
Maybe not a car for thrashing, but it certainly provides enough fun around town for the target customer.
How would it do in the States, I wonder…
Some pics below. Dorset coast was pretty and the hotel was just off Poole quay where we could see the Sunseeker boat yard and some rather large yachts. A jolly chap called Dennis fom a Bridport radio station told me over a beer that a worker there once tried to make his own Sunseeker ‘One piece at a time’ Johnny Cash Caddy assembly line style. They caught him, but he’d got quite a long way to getting his own boat…
Joan Baez 
Arlo Guthrie 
Sam Beam – Iron & Wine 
Del McCoury 
Brett Dennen 
Campbell Brothers 
Guy Clark 
Dala 
The Low Anthem 
Joe Pug 
Tom Morello/The Nightwatchman 
Dave Rawlings Machine 
Deer Tick 
Elvis Perkins in Dearland 
Tao Rodriguez-Seeger 
Final Song led by Pete Seeger featuring everyone!
Final Song led by Pete Seeger featuring everyone!
Final Song led by Pete Seeger featuring everyone!