When two substances collide: Andrew Bird kicks off U.S. tour

“I’m tired of playing all these instruments. It’s quite taxing,” lamented indie music superstar and whistling champion Andrew Bird toward the end of his July 16 show at the Grand Sierra Resort’s Grand Theatre in Reno, Nev. As a featured artist for Reno’s 2008 Artown festival, Bird kicked off his national tour performing fan favorites including “Fiery Crash”, “My Skin Is” and “Nervous Tick Motion of the Head to the Left” and five songs from his upcoming untitled album, two of which the had never played for an audience.

Decked out in striped green and pink socks, three piece tweed suit and tie and tousled hair Bird looked more like a mad scientist than a classically trained violinist turned indie darling, and to some extent he was. Flanked by his band, a sock monkey, glockenspiel and a modified gramophone, Bird looped Theremin-like whistles, staccato guitar riffs, and driving rhythms with his voice that impressed with its strength and range. Bird’s creations weave together music layers into a sonic tapestry that seems to move forward as if under its own power. In two hours Bird performed on the glockenspiel, violin, guitar and keyboard several times looping a track and switching instruments mid song.

Bird’s articulate phrasing and effective dynamic use, created an altogether unique sound that soared and fluttered as a leaf on the wind unpredictable and scattered but also purposed and graceful. The evening brought to mind sonic chaos of Radiohead and My Morning Jacket but also the harmonies of the Beatles and Beach Boys.

This was particularly evident on “First Impossible” a tune Bird himself described as, “tricky.” owing to a complex beat pattern that took advantage of the offbeat employing them with both skill and elegance, as Bird often does. The song conjured telegram rhythms coming to full and unexpected stops and starting again just as quickly creating a disorienting, fractured piece whose rhythms eventually broke down washed over the audience in waves ending miles away from where it stared.
Bird was full at ease with his audience whom he treated more as guests in his living room rather than paying audience members disarming them with humor and engaging them with colorful anecdotes. Several times during the evening Bird asked the audience for patience and leniency as the band ironed out some bumps and kinks in the set list. And though there were minute missteps in the newer tunes, Bird and company handled trademark complex rhythms and melodies, intricately and delicately designed with Swiss watch precision at dizzying and sometimes breakneck speeds.

Though there were only four people on stage they seemed backed by a virtual symphony of sound layering ethereal whistling skills, eccentric rhythms and to create an organic and distinctive sound and one of the most original and entertaining voices in music.

Ben Folds Announces New Album

Everyone’s favorite Dre covering, blue streak swearing, piano-rocking rock star Ben Folds has a new album hitting record store shelves Sept. 16.

Way To Normal is Folds' first studio LP since 2005’s Songs For Silverman and will be released on Epic Records. Though Folds has played some high-profile shows over the past couple years from opening for John Mayer to being backed by a symphony orchestra, the new album is still an unashamedly rock and roll record.

“It’s a fairly un-orchestral record,” Folds told Paste magazine in a recent interview. Folds continued, “It’s a fairly lyric-driven rock record. We’ve looked at taking a few of the songs on the new record and scoring them for orchestra and, uh, it was kind of slim pickins.”

Notable tracks include titled “You Don’t Know Me”, an eccentric duet with Regina Spektor (is there any other kind)? Also on the album, a experiment that hearkens back to Fear of Pop called “Free Coffee” on which Folds gets an electronic effect on his trusty piano by taping Altoids cans to the strings and running it through a distortion pedal.

Folds’ trademark irreverence is still in full effect on several tunes includin “Bitch Went Nuts,” which tells the story of a relationship that went wildly wrong after the song's narrator’s lover goes crazy and stabs his basketball. The song, according to Folds, is a comment on relationships from the male point of view. Says Folds, “If you ask loads of women what went wrong in a relationship, they’re going to give you a variety of answers. But you ask men, especially at a bar somewhere, and they’re gonna go, ‘Uh, bitch went nuts!’”

Check out tour dates here.

MP3: Ben Folds: Such Great Heights (Postal Service cover)

Better late than never: Police hint at new album

Good news for Police fans old and new alike. According to a recent NME interview, Police guitarist Andy Summers hinted that the band may get to work on a new album after their upcoming global tour.

Summers said in an April 4 interview that the legendary trio would consider pressing a new album after their tour. "If we do well with these concerts we may well make a sixth album. I can't see why not."

Summers also said that the trio will debut some new tunes during the tour, which start in Vancouver on May 28 before heading to Europe in August. "We've been jamming acoustically lately and we've been really enjoying it; we'll be playing a couple of new songs at the shows in the summer." said Summers.

Morrissey set to tour US

Former Smiths frontman and musical legend Morrissey returns to the U.S. for a full tour for the first time in three years. Aside from the two shows in Chicago and Pasadena, his 2006 world tour skipped the states entirely.

This world wide trek includes music from and is in support of Morrissey's latest album, Ringleader of the Tormentors. The tour makes some landmark stops including the Hollywood Bowl and Madison Square Garden.

London piano and drums duo KRISTEENYOUNG is slated to back Morrissey for the entire tour. The group recently completed its fourth album, The Orphans.

Official Morrissey 2007 U.S. Tour Dates:

April:
27 - Stockton, Calif. @ Bob Hope Theater
28 – Sparks, Nev. @ John Ascuaga's Celebrity Showroom
29 - Sparks, Nev. @ John Ascuaga Celebrity Showroom

May:
1 – Oakland, Calif. @ Paramount Theater
2 – Santa Rosa, Calif. @ Wells Fargo Center
5 – Spokane, Wa. @ INB Performing Arts Center
6 – Seattle, Wa. @ Paramount
8 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ Center Ford Theater
9 – Denver, Co. @ Fillmore
11 – Omaha, Neb. @ Orpheum
12 – Milwaukee, Wis. @ Riverside
14 – Ann Arbor, Mich. @ Michigan Theater
15 – Chicago, Ill. @ Auditorium
17 – Cleveland, Ohio @ Playhouse Square Center
18 – Columbus, Ohio @ Palace Theater
20 – Indianapolis, Ind. @ Murat Center
22 – St. Louis, Mo. @ The Pageant
23 – Kansas City, Mo. @ Uptown Theater
25 – Dallas, Texas @ Palladium
26 – Austin, Texas @ Backyard
28 – Houston, Texas @ Verizon
30 – El Paso, Texas @ County Coliseum
31 – Tucson, Ariz. @ Music Hall

June:
2 – Phoenix, Ariz. @ Maricopa County Events Center
3 – San Diego, Calif. @ Bayside Concerts
5 – Ventura, Calif. @ Majestic Ventura Theater
6 – Riverside, Calif. @ Riverside Municipal Auditorium
8 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ Hollywood Bowl
9 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ Pearl
10 – Bakersfield, Calif. @ Rabobank Arena
26 – Boston, Mass. @ Bank of America Pavilion
27 – Northampton, Maine @ Pines Theater
29 - Philadelphia, Penn. @ Mann Center
30 – New York, N.Y. @ MSG

July:
2 – Vienna, Va. @ Wolf Trap
3 – Baltimore, Md. @ Rams Head
5 – Atlantic City, N.J. @ Borgata
6 - Holmdel, N.J. @ PNC Bank Arts Center
9 – Norfolk, Va. @ The Norva
10 – Knoxville, Tenn. @ Tennessee Theatre
12 – Clearwater, Fla. 2 Ruth Eckerd Hall
14 – Boca Raton, Fla. 2 Mizner Park Amphitheater
15 – Orlando, Fla. @ Hard Rock Live
17 Jacksonville, Fla. @ Morocco Shrine Auditorium
19 - Birmingham, Ala. @ Alabama Theatre
20 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Chastain Park
21 - Myrtle Beach, S.C. @ House of Blues

Amy Winehouse releases Back to Black video

British vocal phenom/train wreck Amy Winehouse just released Back to Black, the third video off of the album for the title track, and though it’s not yet available in the U.S. Winehouse plans a North American tour starting April 26 in San Francisco.




Tour dates include:

April
26 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Popscene
27 - Indio, Calif. @ Empire Polo Grounds
30 - Boulder, Colo. @ Fox Theatre

May
2 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ Varsity Theater
3 - Chicago, Ill. @ Schubas
6 - Philadelphia, Penn. @ Theatre Of The Living Arts
7 - Boston, Mass. @ Paradise Rock Club
8 - New York, N.Y. @ The Highline Ballroom
9 - New York, N.Y. @ The Highline Ballroom
12 - Toronto, Ontario @ Mod Club
13 - Toronto, Ontario @ Mod Club

OK Go headed to studio

After a year and a half of a riotously popular video campaign, (including a Grammy award for best short for "Here it Goes Again") Ok Go is ready to head back to the studio.

The band has been riding the wave of notoriety since 2005 and the YouTube, backyard, dance, video smash, "A Million Ways" and is currently on tour supporting Snow Patrol. After the Snow Patrol dates, the band will open for The Fray starting June 11 and running through July 1.

After the tour, Kulash and Co. will take the summer off to finish writing their new album and will most likely head into a Swedish studio in the fall.

Though there will be considerable pressure for the follow up album, frontman Damien Kulash is certain that fans both old and new alike will remain loyal. Kulash is excited about what the future has in store for the band saying in a recent interview with Billboard, "We've certainly raised the bar, but we also are not going to judge the things we make in the future by the same terms that we judge what's going on (now)."

Ben Folds, John Mayer to tour summer 2007

Guitar rocker John Mayer and piano rocker Ben Folds will be touring together summer 2007. Mayer tapped Folds to be the mainstage opener to support him on the upcoming Continuum tour. The mainly arena/amphitheater tour for the multi Grammy winning album kicks off on June 1 in Ridgefield, Wash. and runs cross-country ending in Palm Beach, Fl. on August 8. Tickets for most venues go on sale March 24.

Folds himself will set out on a headlining tour starting March 24 at Assumption College in Worchester, Mass finishing up August 8 with the final leg of the Continuum tour. Folds recently released his LP Super Sunny Speed Graphic a collection of previously "web only" singles and the wildly popular DVD Live at My Space, showcasing his performance on Myspace's first live-by-request online concert.

Dates for the Continuum tour:
June 1: Ridgefield, Wash. (The Amphitheatre)
June 2: George, Wash. (The Gorge)
June 5: San Jose, Calif. (HP Pavilion)
June 6: Fresno, Calif. (Save Mart Center)
June 8: Las Vegas (Mandalay)
June 9: Los Angeles (Hollywood Bowl)
June 12: Chula Vista, Calif. (Coors Amphitheatre)
June 13: Glendale, Ariz. (Jobing.com Arena)
June 15-16: Denver (Red Rocks)
June 19: Kansas City, Mo. (Verizon Wireless)
June 20: Maryland Heights, Mo. (Verizon Wireless)
June 22: Dallas (Smirnoff Music Center)
June 23: Houston (C.W. Mitchell Pav)
June 23: San Antonio, Texas (AT&T Center)
June 26: Cincinnati (US Bank Arena)
June 28-29: Chicago (Charter One Pavilion)
June 30: Indianapolis (Verizon Wireless)
July 1: Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (Blossom Music Center)
July 3: Milwaukee, Wis. (Marcus Amphitheatre)
July 5: Auburn Hills, Mich. (The Palace)
July 14: Hartford, Conn. (Dodge Music Center)
July 15: Saratoga, N.Y. (SPAC)
July 17: Boston (Banknorth Garden)
July 20: Camden, N.J. (Tweeter Waterfront)
July 21: Hershey, Penn. (Hershey Park)July 24: Holmdel, N.J. (PNC)
July 25: Washington, D.C. (Verizon Center)
July 26: Uniondale, N.Y. (Nassau Colisuem)
July 30: Virginia Beach, Va. (Verizon Wireless)
July 31: Raleigh, N.C. (Walnut Creek Amp)
Aug. 1: Charlotte, N.C. (Verizon Wireless)
Aug. 3: Nashville, Tenn. (Gaylord Center)
Aug. 4: Pelham, Ala. (Verizon Wireless)
Aug. 5: Atlanta (Phillips)
Aug. 7: Tampa, Fla. (Ford Amphitheatre)
Aug. 8: West Palm Beach, Fla. (Sound Advice)

Arctic Monkeys unleash new single, music video

Brit rockers The Arctic Monkeys officially released the first single, "Brainstorm", from their upcoming sophomore release Favourite Worst Nightmare and the accompanying music video. The band will tour later this year to support their new album. Favourite Worst Nightmare's U.S. release is set for April 24, 2007.