Stay Down Champion Stay Down
AV Club staff weigh in on their favorites of the year.
From my good friend and fellow FNL super fan, BC, the man who introduced me to The National and Cloud Cult many years ago:
It exceeded even my lofty expectations. 3 days straight of non-stop music. I'm talking 12pm to 2am every day, with a short power nap in the early evening to re-charge for the evening. An incredible party scene, and literally music coming at you from all sides of the street. Here is a quick run-down of the week....
Wed. Night - land at 10pm, in time to catch School of Seven Bells at midnight (they kinda sucked)
Thursday:
12noon-5pm: Wavves, Lucero (I like these guys a lot), The Hard Lessons (very cool husband/wife duo from Detroit - they fuckin' rocked) and a sick show from The Hold Steady.
Wavves
The Thermals
The Hold Steady
Unknown
Peelander-Z
Silversun Pickups
I don't know about you, but I think $30 is a small price to pay to catch Bloc Party, Social D, Interpol, QOTSA, Kaiser Chiefs, Cold War Kids and Silversun Pickups. Of course Sum 41 is on that bill, too. Pitchfork has their jokes (don't they always?), but let's be honest, this is a solid bill at a solid price. Shoreline Ampitheatre is a great venue, as well. But, maybe that's just me getting nostalgiac...
From Dangerbird Records: "Sea Wolf is the vehicle for Alex Church’s songs – who is not only Sea Wolf’s songwriter and singer but also the band’s only invariable member. Born in the small gold rush town of Columbia, California, Church’s musical memories were shaped by ad hoc bluegrass outfits playing for tourists on sidewalks of his hometown coupled with the Beatles and Willie Nelson records on his mom’s turntable. Church wandered from California twice – once as a boy, when he and his mother spent a year living in a tent in the French countryside, and once for college at NYU's film school He wrote his first song the week he graduated from college and returned to California, where he later became the founding bass player of Los Angeles outfit Irving 'Even though I’ve always returned here, I don’t feel like the music has much of a connection to one particular place,' Church explains. 'In a way, it’s not rooted in any place.' That sound Church sought and achieved is a combination of delicate, arching melodies and foggy, elegiac narratives. Over the spare instrumentation, his voice can be weary or buoyant, but it’s always capable of leaving an indelible impression."
[Official Site | MySpace]
Tour DatesSilversun Pickups are also playing DC101's Chili Cook-off on Saturday, May 12th.
April
12 Vancouver, BC - Richards On Richards *
13 Seattle, WA - Neumos *
14 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom *
16 San Francisco, CA - The Independent *
26 Los Angeles, CA - ExPlx + [downstairs of The Echo]
May
01 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour #
08 Rochester, NY - Water Street Music Hall *
09 Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace *
10 Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom *
13 Baltimore, MD - Recher Theatre *
14 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero *
15 New York, NY - Webster Hall *
* = w/ Silversun Pickups
+ = w/ Earlimart & The Watson Twins
# = w/ Sloan
I was just reading Coolfer's chart recap for this week and this particular line really caught me off guard:
Silversun Pickups' Carnavas (Dangerbird) has now sold 106,000 units in ten weeks of release. They've got big numbers in Los Angeles, San Diego, the Bay Area and Seattle. In comparison, the latest Clap Your Hands Say Yeah album has done 40,000 in eight weeks, and Bloc Party's latest has sold 95,000 in seven weeks.This is amazing to me and really says a lot about how far SSPU has come in such little time. There are few indie bands out there that have worked as hard as these guys (and girl) to get into the minds and ears of the masses. I guess it remains to be seen whether this leads to any sort of long tail longevity and a dedicated fan base because I've definitely noticed the hipster crew is starting to jump ship. I, for one, am happy for them but I also expected a bit more from Bloc Party.
I've been sulking over the last few weeks and it's because I've had no live shows on the calendar to look forward to in the new year. And then everything changed in the last 24 hours. I've just picked up tickets to see new UK buzz band, The View @ Mercury Lounge on 1/3. This is a DIY Scottish band that has been linked to ultimate fuck up Pete Doherty. They've since been getting a lot of play on BBC and their debut album comes out in the UK on January 22nd. I'll go in with low expectations and hopefully leave pleasantly surprised. Also on the books, Peter Bjorn and John, who are somewhat surprisingly doing two shows at Mercury Lounge on 1/29 and 1/30. By now, I hope you have all heard "Young Folks." It was on Grey's Anatomy after all...(that's intended to be sarcastic but seriously best pop song of the year?) Lastly, the best news of all, The Thermals will be doing two headlining dates on the East Coast (w/ the Big Sleep). Tickets go on sale Friday at noon (at least for NYC).
Mar 2 - Black Cat Washington, DC
Mar 4 - Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
And just like that, bands representing two of my favorite albums from '06 kicking things off right in '07.
With that, I thought I'd list my favorite shows of 2006:
1. Editors @ Mercury Lounge (Jan. 20): I don't know one person, blogger, etc. in attendance who wasn't floored by this performance. I had been listening to their album for quite some time but that's a different band. Simply, the most jaw dropping live performance I've probably ever seen and I shared that experience with about 200 people.
2. Muse @ Hammerstein / SSPU @ Mercury (Aug. 3): There are a collection of bands that can rightfully claim to be the best live band in the world today. Muse currently holds that title. Jumping in a cab and rushing to see SSPU at Mercury made the night that much more memorable.
3. Pearl Jam/MMJ @ Continental (Jun. 3): Any Pearl Jam live appearance is going to count as one of the best of the year. They're my favorite band and the benchmark for any rock band trying to make the jump to arenas. Oh and MMJ is no slouch, they get it.
4. Wolfmother @ Northsix (Feb. 19): Watching this band grow into something huge and knowing that InMyTree and I saw them before it all went down.
5. Radiohead/The Black Keys @ MSG Theater (Jun. 14): No need for explanation
That's Bender Arena at American University. I was really hoping this was going to be D.A.R. Constitution Hall (in fact SSPU's MySpace page still has it listed as D.A.R. Constitution Hall), but what can you do? Just to give you an idea, Bender Arena holds roughly half the people that the GMU Patriot Center does. Capacity will be 6,000 for a concert setup, where GMU Patriot Center holds 10,000 for basketball games alone (not counting the floor seats).
9:30 Club presale goes off tomorrow from 10 AM to 10 PM and tickets are on sale to the public starting Saturday, Dec. 9th at 10 AM. Snow Patrol made the wise choice of not butting up against Grey's Anatomy on a Thursday night.
Snow Patrol
[Official Site | MySpace]
Silversun Pickups
[Silversun Pickups | MySpace]
OK Go
[Official Site | MySpace]
Rest of Snow Patrol, SSPU, and OK Go dates
Feb 26 Memorial Coliseum / Portland, OR
Feb 27 Key Arena / Seattle, WA
Mar 01 Bill Graham Civic Auditorium / San Fran, CA
Mar 02 Gibson Amphitheatre / Los Angeles, CA
Mar 03 SDSU Open Air Theatre / San Diego, CA
Mar 05 Saltair / Magna, UT
Mar 06 The Fillmore Auditorium / Denver, CO
Mar 08 Cain’s Ballroom / Tulsa, OK
Mar 09 Nokia Theatere / Grand Prairie, TX
Mar 10 Stubbs Bar-BQ / Austin, TX
Mar 11 Verizon Wireless Theater / Houston, TX
Mar 19 Bank United Center / Coral Gables, FL
Mar 20 Hard Rock Live / Orlando, FL
Mar 21 The Arena at Gwinnett Center / Duluth, NJ
Mar 23 Bender Arena (AU) / Washington, DC
Mar 24 Tweeter Center / Camden, NJ
Mar 26 Theater at MSG / New York, NY
Mar 27 Theater at MSG / New York, NY
Mar 28 Agganis Arena / Boston, MA
Mar 30 Metropolis / Montreal, QC
Mar 31 Ricoh / Toronto, ONT
Apr 01 State Theatre / Detroit, MI
Apr 02 Aragon Ballroom / Chicago, IL
Apr 04 The Pageant, St. Louis, MO
Apr 05 Eagles Ballroom / Milwaukee, WI
Apr 06 Northrop Auditorium / Minneapolis, MN
Apr 07 Burton Cummings Theatre / Winnipeg, MB
Apr 09 MacEwan Hall / Calgary, AB
Apr 10 Shaw Conference Center / Edmonton, AB
As we mentioned last Monday, Silversun Pickups made their network debut on Friday night's Late Show with David Letterman. I think their performance was decent; the vocals never seemed quite right (possibly due to nerves) and they shortened the song by about a minute (possibly for tv reasons). Regardless, it was great to see them on the show and after the commercial break, both Paul and Dave took a moment to provide some glowing feedback. I think they may have picked up a few fans with this effort.
Hope everyone enjoyed a nice holiday. Some news of note:
* Silversun Pickups continue to prove that Pitchfork hate cannot bring them down. 7 PLUG Award nominations and an opening slot on the recent Wolfmother tour later, the band will further expand their reach during Snow Patrol's spring tour and as announced today, a spot on Friday night's Late Show with David Letterman.
* Popmatters has an interview with Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio.
* Interpol is back in the studio for what is rumored to be their major label debut.
* Editors, also in the studio, have revealed some details on their second album. More here.
* It's amazing how much money the Stones and U2 gross on these tours.
* Tool's new single, "The Pot" is Number 1 on Billboard's Singles Chart for Mainstream Rock Tracks, a first for the band.
With all the craziness around CMJ this week in New York, I did my best to partake in the events this weekend catching 8 different bands in a 24-hour period. It was exhausting, I felt like I spent a full day at Austin City Limits. Here are some thoughts on the various acts.
Friday, 11/3: The Black Angels, The Black Keys @ Nokia Theatre
I was looking forward to hearing the Black Angels, I haven't had a chance to listen to their album in full but I like most of their songs. They sounded great in what must have been the largest venue they've ever played (2100 which was full during their show). My lady actually felt bad that the band had to drag their own equipment off the stage after their set. I explained to her that not all bands have a crew the size of U2, her response: "Well, they're living the dream". True. The Black Keys were entertaining as always. I believe this is the 4th time I've seen them and this was by far the best set list, combining the best of Magic Potion with past greats. Patrick Carney, of course, did not disappoint on drums. A very nice reminder as to why he is one of the best on tour today.
Saturday, 11/4: Brooklyn Vegan Show @ The Annex
I can't thank BV enough for putting this show together. He literally managed to pull together all of my favorite new bands (White Whale, Tokyo Police Club, and SSPU) in one venue for a FREE show. Amazing. I missed Takka Takka who came on first at noon but here were the rest, in order:
White Whale: I've been waiting and waiting for these guys to come to NYC to promote their album. They haven't received much of the critical acclaim that I feel their album deserves but I thoroughly enjoyed their brief set. After many shows this week, Matt Suggs barely had his voice but the band was nothing short of awesome. They need to come back.
Annuals: Despite all of the buzz, I'm not really a huge fan of the album, Be He Me. The potential is there and some of the songs are great but the album just seems to fade in the latter half. That said, no band left me more impressed. Adam Baker's energy matches his age and although they only managed to get through 4 or 5 songs, I firmly believed that their future will be extremely bright. Random aside: why hasn't Pitchfork reviewed this album? No one built these guys up more after posting the mp3 to "Brother." Get the sense that maybe they felt the same way that I did about the album? A little disappointing to be sure - and yet no review. Hmmm...
Elvis Perkins: I didn't know his work beforehand and I didn't really hear anything that would give me cause to listen further. Sorry, just a bit too depressing for me.
Tokyo Police Club: My vote for best new band in 2006. They easily managed to cover the most ground in their allotted 30 minutes, getting through about 9 songs half of which were new material. Always entertaining, I can never get enough of these guys.
The Big Sleep: "Murder" is one of my favorite tracks this year and there is no question that the band can rock out with the best of them. Unfortunately, I need to hear some more vocals. I get the sense that if they followed in the footsteps of Broken Social Scene that they would also experience similar success.
Silversun Pickups: This is probably one of our most blogged about bands and deservedly so. Entertaining as always, Brian Aubert and Nikki Monninger seem to be more comfortable on stage with each show. I just wish they could have played a bit longer. "Lazy Eye" and "Kissing Families" are quickly becoming show staples. Solid.
And the venues keep getting bigger for Wolfmother. Can I get a 9:30 Club? Coming soon:
SILVERSUN PICKUPS ON TOUR WITH WOLFMOTHER
November 21 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Electric Factory
November 22 - New York, N.Y. @ Hammerstein Ballroom
November 24 - Detroit, Mich. @ Majestic Theatre
November 25 - Chicago, Ill. @ Riviera Theatre
November 26 - St. Louis, Mo. @ Mississippi Nights
November 28 - Houston, Texas @ Meridian Theatre
November 29 - Dallas, Texas @ Gypsy Ballroom
December 2 - Portland, Ore. @ Roseland Ballroom
December 3 - Seattle, Wash. @ Moore Theatre
December 4 - Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
December 7 - Las Vegas, Nev. @ The Joint
[Indie Workshop]
...at Philadelphia's Y-Rock, tonight. You can listen online here. If you are a local Philadelphian, know this: I hate the Eagles, I love Chase Utley, and something always goes wrong when I visit your city. Alas, I keep giving it a chance. Viva Voce comes on at 8, Silversun Pickups at 9.
MP3: Viva Voce - "So Many Miles"
