We caught two (out of three) of the excellent Arcade Fire shows this weekend here in Chicago — Whit saw Friday, I saw Saturday — and I thought Saturday night was fantastic. It was my first time catching the band so I’ll be sure to write up a more thorough review of the festivities in the next day or so. All I’ll say is that these Canadians can sure belt out a song. All of them can. Every single member of that band gives their performance about 150%, and it’s a shame that more bands can’t follow their example there.
I enjoyed myself and came away a more interested Arcade Fire fan, so catch up on the last week here at Live Music Blog while I key some thoughts down…
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Weekly Roundup
- Festival Tip: Don’t Join a Drum Circle
In the latest issue of Spin, Demetri Martin gives us his own Festival Tips (called Festival Dos and Don’ts). Stereogum posted a good set of these already. This one actually made me laugh out loud. DON’T JOIN A DRUM CIRCLEAvoid,… - Heady Links | Tours, Dates and Stuff
A random sampling and collection of recent tour date updates from our inbox…enjoy oh so much. - Dinosaur Jr. | 2007 Tour Dates
Photo © something.from.nancy One thing that has always severely hampered my indie rock background and knowledge has been the fact that I came into this scene way too late. I never really got into Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., the… - Bonnaroo 2007 | Jazz Tent, A/C and Showers Added
The Bonnaroo Music Festival continues to make some interesting changes and adjustments for 2007. They’ve just announced that they’ll be adding a Jazz tent (called the “Somethin’ Else” tent) sponsored by classic jazz label, Blue Note Records. - Summer Camp 2007 | Schedule Posted
The schedule for Summer Camp 2007 has been posted. - Fujiya & Miyagi | 2007 Tour Dates
One of my favorite new bands, Fujiya & Miyagi, is in the midst of a fairly large tour that is set to finish up in the United States real soon. Then back to Europe. Then back to the United… - Festival Tip: Know When to Number Two
Today’s festival tip comes courtesy of our good friend Ross… Festival Tip: *Know* when to use the bathroom “Hold it in until right after they clean out the port-a-potties with the high-powered cinnamon scented water. Not only will the john… - New Beasties Boys Track and Video | ‘The Rat Cage’
It’s no secret that Justin and I have been getting excited about the Beastie Boys’ upcoming all-instrumental album,the Mix Up. Well, we’ve now got a new track and a video making its way around the Internets: Beastie Boys “The Rat… - High Sierra 2007 | Artist Additions Round Two
More artists have been added to the 2007 High Sierra Music Festival in Quincy, CA… Xavier Rudd The Slip Anders Osborne Band featuring Kyle Hollingsworth Surprise Me Mr. Davis Garaj Mahal Carolyn Wonderland Patrice Pike Zilla Chris Berry and… - 2007 Siren Music Festival | Early Lineup
Brooklynvegan has the early lineup info for the 2007 Siren Music Festival, the free event put on at Coney Island by the good folks over at Village Voice. 2007 Siren Music Festival http://www.villagevoice.com/siren July 21, 2007 Coney Island, NY Lineup:… - Beastie Boys Drop Second Video, Re-Vamp Website
After a brief false-start yesterday afternoon, it looks like BeastieBoys.com has now gotten its official makeover. It’s kinda bloggy and includes a lot of fun little places to get lost. And we’ve got yet another video from the Beastie Boys in the lead-up to releasing of their new album, The Mix Up. This one is a simple black & white studio take for “Off the Grid.” - Amazon Announces DRM-Free MP3 Store
In one of the longest-running rumors in the online music realm, Amazon.com has officially (and finally) announced that it will open a digital music store. The store will include EMI’s entire catalog (12,000 record labels) available as MP3s, all without that pesky Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) that everyone’s been arguing about for years. - Perpetual Groove at Martyrs | Photos
Last Thursday night was a great night for me to choose to head over to Martyrs to see Perpetual Groove (thanks Shimon Presents). Whit was down to go with me, and I was smart and planned for a day-off… - Apostle of Hustle Take Up Chicago Residency in June
Apostle of Hustle is doing three Wednesday shows during June at Schuba’s in Chicago — I can’t wait… - Andrew Bird | Live on NPR Sunday, May 20th
I was super impressed with Andrew Bird’s live show, which I was able to catch back in April as a part of the Green Apple Festival here in Chicago. So I was stoked to see that NPR would be streaming his upcoming show at the 9:30 Club in D.C. this Sunday, May 20. - White Stripes to Rock Nashville Friday, May 18
The White Stripes just announced a last-minute show in Nashville this Friday, May 18. Be there. - Video: Ozomatli Live from SXSW
Enjoy some Ozomatli clips from SXSW 2007, even though I’m not a huge fan. Oh well. - Euphone in Chicago | No Show for You!
Instead of getting to see Bjork last Saturday night, me and a small crew figured it was a great night to head down to the South Side right near University of Illinois: Chicago (otherwise known around here by their… - Phish Friday | Lemonwheel Highlights, Part II
I thought I’d continue that “Lemonwheel Highlights” series I started a few weeks back. For part II, it’s time to highlight some gems from one of my favorite daytime sets: 8-16-98 – Lemonwheel, Day II. There’s something about the first set of Lemonwheel, Day II, that is just perfect for a beautiful sunny day. - Podcast #058 – KVHW ‘Down in the Wetlands’
For our 58th podcast, I’ve pieced together some highlights from two nights of KVHW at the Wetlands, which basically was the unofficial ‘jamband HQ’ in New York City until its closing last year. These two nights capture KVHW at its peak as a fresh, energetic, and exploratory improvisational rock band made up of amazing musicians. - Festival Tip: Bring Earplugs
Festival Tip: “Bring Earplugs” — Not for the music, but for the mornings. No matter how late you stayed up, there will always be some Wookie in the next tent over who got drunk, stayed up all night, and now wants to blast gangsta rap at 8 AM. Earplugs will help you to avoid the noise and sleep late so you can be fresh for the next day’s festivities.
Have a killer week, dudes.