The Church - Past, Present and Perfect tour

Good reviews are coming out for Australian band The Church's new Past Present and Perfect tour, where the band is playing THREE complete albums, each from a different decade: "Untitled #23" (2009), "Priest=Aura" (1992), and "Starfish" (1988).

From the recent show in Los Angeles came this awesome review:
"Following an intermission, the Church returned for the second hour-long set, centered on 1992’s Priest=Aura, an esoteric collection that became a band and fan favorite despite modest sales.
This time, the music did all the talking. Audience members that provided polite applause before suddenly cheered loudly after Aura. Fittingly, floating ectoplasm images were projected on the backdrop. Guitarist Peter Koppes’ amazing whammy bar workout amid the triple axe attack on a psychedelic “Ripple” got an equally enthusiastic response (two guys behind me kept yelling “whoa” after every extended guitar solo).
Koppes also shined with some chiming tones and slide work on the poppier “Feel” while Willson-Piper shook his head and had fun while soloing. The cabaret vibe of “Witch Hunt” worked extremely well. A trippy take on “The Disillusionist” saw Kilbey using the lyric sheets again and providing one of the night’s most dramatic deliveries, robustly leading the sea-shanty chorus and ending with a poetic recitation. The crowd gave it a standing ovation."

The Church, formed in Sydney in 1980, are: Steve Kilbey, Marty Willson-Piper, Peter Koppes, and Tim Powles. Read more about the band and the tour.

Here's a fine review from the Boston show by rock writer/photographer Tim Bugbee. Video from the Boston show is below.

Here's "Under the Milky Way":

The Hellacopters - Gotta Get Some Action NOW!

In the early 00s, a guitarist friend kept telling me to listen to Swedish band The Hellacopters - sadly, I didn't then, but am now, three years after their demise. Learn more about the band's 14 year run at Wikipedia.

If you missed them like I did, check out this Alarm Press post from 2008 which lists its top 10 Hellacopters songs.

Here's their insane great rocker - (Gotta Get Some Action) Now!

R.E.M. "Collapse Into Now" video press clip

Veteran rock band R.E.M. has released its video press clip for media in advance of the March 8th release of "Collape into Now", the band's 15th studio album.

Watch it here:


Rolling Stone gave 4 stars to 'Collapse into Now'.

Stinson & Armstrong help Jesse Malin do Thunders

This weekend, Jesse Malin and his St. Marks Social band rocked the City Winery, playing his debut 2003 CD "The Fine Art of Self Destruction". It was played in its entirety along with selections of new tunes and old standards. Tommy Stinson of the Replacements joined Jesse's band during the evening.

Here's Malin, Stinson and Green Day's Billie Jo Armstrong doing a cover of Johnny Thunders' "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory" - encore at City Winery, 2/19/11.

Singles, CDs, Albums? Who's Buying?

This is a snapshot above of the 'record industry' of today, according to a thorough post titled "The REAL Death Of The Music Industry" by Business Insider's Michael DeGusta.

In it, Michael describes how the record industry makes most of its money from full album sales, but the problem is no one's buying albums anymore, but rather single songs (see chart below from the same piece).



Which may be a good reason we're seeing artists releasing near-constant streams of singles once a month or maybe every two months. The era of not hearing for a while about your favorite recording artist is quickly slipping by. New promo opps are popping up every six weeks or so, it seems.

Click through for a read and review. Worth your time.

Psychedelic Furs - US Spring Tour - live 1981 "India"

That great Rockpalast show on German WDR TV in the old days sure featured a lot of great bands in its time. They still do - click to Rockpalast site and use Google Chrome to translate.

Click here for a media player with the Psychedelic Furs' big hits.

The Furs are touring the West and southwest US this spring as well. Here are April-May, 2011 dates as posted at the band's website:

April 19 SAN ANTONIO, TX • WHITE RABBIT
April 20 AUSTIN, TX • ANTONE'S
April 21 EL PASO, TX • CLUB 101
April 23 HOUSTON, TX • WAREHOUSE LIVE
April 24 DALLAS, TX • GRANADA THEATER
April 27 SOLANA BEACH, CA • BELLY UP
April 28 ANAHEIM, CA • HOUSE OF BLUES
April 29 AGOURA HILLS, CA • CANYON CLUB
April 30 LOS ANGELES, CA • THE MUSIC BOX
May 3 SAN FRANCISCO, CA • SLIM'S
May 5 NAPA VALLEY, CA • UPTOWN THEATRE
May 6 RENO, NV • KNITTING FACTORY
May 7 PORTLAND, OR • ALADDIN THEATER
May 8 SEATTLE, WA • SHOWBOX at the MARKET

Here's a pretty cool clip of The Psychedelic Furs from 1981 doing their classic 1st LP track "India" -



"India....don't you cry..." "I'm American, ha, ha, ha...."

Lifeguards - Waving at the Astronauts

There's a brand new rock 'n roll CD from Lifeguards (out today on Serious Business Records) called 'Waving at the Astronauts'. It's a dynamic, layered, nuanced pro effort from a couple of players who know their way around cool guitar and vocal riffs - guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Doug Gillard (with help from NYC engineer/musician Travis Harrison) and singer/songwriter-GBV honcho Robert Pollard.

Together the two former GBV team players (2nd golden era 1998-2004) deliver a rousing 70s-inspired rock ALBUM that begs to be played loud and is full of spit and verve. The LP's 10 tracks all have a particularly clean guitar sound from Gillard (except for the dirty fuzzy Sexless Auto and synaptic vocal melodies and quirky lyrics that define Pollard's best work.

Click here to read more about Lifeguard's track-by-track insights from Doug Gillard at this Facebook page.

Allmusic writes:
"Gillard and Pollard both contributed to the songwriting on Waving At The Astronauts, and while there are plenty of Pollard's usual melodic tricks here and his lyrics are clever but oblique in his usual manner, the tunes are also shot through with a wiry energy and an adventurous but hard-rocking attack that makes the most of their shared obsession with 1970s rock. And with Gillard's guitar work giving this music a firm backbone and a bold sense of drama, Pollard's steps up his game as a singer -- he's sometimes sounded more precise than he does here, but it's been quite some time since he's felt like a for-real rock & roll singer as he clearly does on this material."

Spinner is streaming 'Waving at the Astronauts' this week, so catch it while you can. Or just buy it at Serious Business Records.

By the way, it sounds GREAT on headphones.

The Love Me Nots - New CD, tour dates

Phoenix garage rockers The Love Me Nots sent news today touting their upcoming CD and new tour dates.

"The Love Me Nots will release their new record, The Demon and The Devotee, on the Project Infinity (LP w/downloads) and Bad Reputation (CD) labels. The single "I'm Gonna Be Your Girl" will be released online next week and the full album will be released next month.

The forthcoming album was recorded and mixed by Jim Diamond in Detroit and features the return of original LMN drummer Jay Lien, bassist Kyle Rose Stokes, guitarist Michael Johnny Walker, and singer/organist Nicole Laurenne. The band calls this album their most collaborative effort to date, with all of the band members contributing to the lyrics, arrangement, production, artwork, and instrumentation."

Here are some The Love Me Nots' upcoming tour dates, before the band heads again to France (where they have a strong following) for a dozen shows (or more).
Fri Feb 18: SAN DIEGO - Bar Eleven
Sat Feb 19: HOLLYWOOD - (Hollywood Studio Bar)
Sun Feb 20: PHOENIX - The Rhythm Room
Fri Mar 25: TEMPE - TBA



Here's the band revving it up from a Tempe, AZ show in January:

Teenage Bottlerocket Europe tour - April

Fave rockers Teenage Bottlerocket just announced dates for a April tour in Europe. They are touring with Fat Wreck labelmates NOFX and Old Man Markley, and will play nine shows in nine nights before taking any kind of breather. Get ready German, France and Spain!

Teenage Bottlerocket - Europe dates
4/11: Hamburg, Germany Docks w/ NOFX, Old Man Markley
4/12: Hamburg, Germany Docks w/ NOFX, Old Man Markley
4/13: Stuttgart, Germany LKA Longhorn w/ NOFX, Old Man Markley
4/14: Dusselfdorf, Germany Rotkompot w/Old Man Markley
4/15: Paris, France, Les Combustibles w/Old Man Markley
4/16: La Rochelle, France La Sirene w/ NOFX, Old Man Markley
4/17: Bilbao, Spain Sala Rock Star w/ NOFX, Old Man Markley
4/18: Madrid, Spain Macumba w/ NOFX, Old Man Markley
4/19: Barcelona, Spain Razzmatazz w/ NOFX, Old Man Markley
4/22: Zurich, Switzerland Kimplex LOUDFEST w/ NOFX, Old Man Markley
4/23: Meerhout, Belgium Groezrock Festival w/ NOFX, Dead To Me, Old Man Markley
4/24: Berlin, Germany: C-Halle Monster Bash w/ NOFX, Dead To Me, Old Man Markley

Here's some recent live action from the band:

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Wow. A Merge Records band won 'Album of the Year'! That's cool! Congratulations to Arcade Fire.

Phoenix New Times music writer Mike Escoto wrote today:
"I'd like to think that somewhere in Phoenix right now, someone who owns a radio station is thinking that, given an indie band won a Grammy, maybe an indie rock radio station wouldn't be such a bad idea for this city after all. I'd like to think that somewhere someone has stopped listening to Nickelback and is now listening to Arcade Fire. I'd like to think that someone who is listening to Katy Perry right now is performing a Google search on Arcade Fire and will come across a music blog that will expose them to other extremely talented indie acts like Tennis or Smith Westerns."

I'd like that too! C'mon PHX radio - stop playing Pink Floyd, Led Fucking Zeppelin, Foghat and all the other washed out rock that we've heard for the last 30 years. Time for a new slant on an old dog!

Shit, my classic rock is T. Rex, The Jam, and The Clash. And that's old too!

The Beatles - Feb 14, 1961

On this day 50 years ago, The Beatles played a performance in Liverpool for a St. Valentine's Day dance. More info in the blurb below (from DMBeatles)

1961 - Performance at the Casanova club, Liverpool. Sampson and Barlow's New Ballroom in Liverpool for a St. Valentine's Day dance. Filmed. A 8mm film, supposedly shot by a fan, was discovered in a drawer in Liverpool in the late 90's. It reportedly shows the Beatles performing in their black leathers on stage for this performance. The silent film appears to be authentic and therefore would be the earliest known film of the Beatles. It's unknown if it has been released in any form to the public. The Beatles, according to one source, also perform at the Town Hall in Litherland, Liverpool with Ray and the Del Renas.

I looked for the fan film mentioned above that day on YouTube, but no luck. So here's the next best thing, some clips of the Beatles in their Young and Wild Hamburg days. Some great pics contained within - it kicks in around :16 mark.

Get OFF!

What happens when former members of Circle Jerks, Red Kross and Rocket from the Crypt get together to bring back that good ol hardcore sound? You get OFF!

More news at Pitchfork about Off! playing shows in hardcore cities this March.
OFF! Tour dates:
03-22 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn *
03-23 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 *
03-24 Washington, DC - The Red Palace *
03-25 Baltimore, MD - The Ottobar *
03-26 New York, NY - Santos Party House *
03-28 Cambridge, MA - Middle East Downstairs *
03-30 Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place *
03-31 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop *
04-01 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick *
04-02 Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge *
04-03 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club *
04-17 Indio, CA - Coachella

* with Trash Talk

Here's some awesome SHORT riffage and rockin' from OFF!

Upside Down


I Don't Belong

Gang of Four on Letterman

Gang of Four rocked out "Never Pay for the Farm" on the Late Show with David Letterman last night - it's from their new release "C O N T E N T" - dig it below.

And You Will Know US by the Trail of Dead - Tao of the Dead

The new LP 'Tao of the Dead' is out today! It's the latest rockin' effort from Texas combo And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, and it's being released though Superball Music. For a through (and thoroughly entertaining) rundown of how the music got created, I recommend you read bandleader Conrad Keely's Nov 30th blog entry at the band's site.

Or just check out the article in Billboard detailing the two parts of the Tao (D tuning and F tuning).



AllMusic got a preview copy of the CD and loved it. To wit:
"But The Tao of the Dead is far from pretentious, mostly because it’s so loud. From the opening blast of “Let’s Experiment," the band’s fusion of punk energy and prog rock fantasies on the first part of The Tao of the Dead is nearly flawless. “Pure Radio Cosplay” serves up a meta-critique of the death of rock radio that’s as radio-friendly as any song they’ve released, riding a “Jumping Jack Flash”-style riff as it charges through the album’s elaborate trappings like a bull in a china shop.

“Summer of All Dead Souls” and “Cover the Days Like a Tidal Wave” follow suit, delivering the heavy yet nimble rock the band perfected on Source Tags and Codes. Yet there’s also plenty of variety, from “Weight of the Sun (Or the Post-Modern Prometheus)”'s bracing shanty rock to ballads like “The Wasteland” and “Ebb Away,” which keep the tension of the album’s louder moments."

Here's a 10 minute video shot by band honchos Jason Reece and Conrad Keely while visiting Cologne, Germany in December. The video shows some of the artwork that has gone into the CD package, stories on the recordings in upstate New York and border Texas and self-help advice. It's a hoot!

Joy Division "Transmission" Play Mobile stylin'

Video treat of the Day - a stop gap motion video of Joy Division's 1979 appearance on the Brit TV youth program "Something Else".

One of the commenters writes:
"Hook's bass should be low slung, Albrecht looks down at his strings the whole time, Curtis never wore a jacket and tie, but I'll give you props for Curtis' movements and Morris' drumming is spot on!"

Here's the great 'Transmission':



And for you completists, here's the original....


(Props to Bunk for the FB tip-off)

LCD Soundsystem - Final Show, Morning Becomes Eclectic (Nov 2010)

With news of LCD Soundsystem's final show at Madison Square Garden in April, it seems fitting to bring to Waved Rumor readers in the live session that James Murphy and his band did on KCRW's 'Morning Becomes Eclectic' show in November 2010.

The band brings some groovy live 'you were there' goodness to tracks like "I Can Change" and "Drunk Girls". And leader Murphy shares a good deal about the band, his early days in NYC and more. Listen below.



And just for those of us who won't be at MSG on April 2, let's just have fun with the band's live rendition of "Daft Punk is Playing at My House".

Monday Musical Mayhem

Here's a catch-up of musical news swirling about my inbox:

- Classic prog-rockers Yes will tour in March and April performing intimate theater shows. The touring band will feature original guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire, and drummer Alan White, as well as Oliver Wakeman (son of Rick Wakeman) on keyboards and lead singer Benoit David.

- Is Saturday your favorite day of the week? If so, you might enjoy the thematic approach from band Honeydrum with their three songs "Saturday Morning" "Saturday afternoon" and "Saturday Night" - click here for the goods.

- Speaking of Saturday, if you are in the Phoenix/Scottsdale/Tempe axis this weekend, you should come out on Saturday night to Rogue Bar in Scottsdale and see the Dfactor rock band (aka The Insolvencies) play its hooky brand of rock-filled pop. Or is that pop-filled rock? We start around 9pm.

- Urge Overkill has lined up live dates in May to help kick off its April release of new CD "Rock and Roll Submarine".

- Heaven Up Here! Echo & The Bunnymen will tour select US cities this May to play their 1st two LPs 'Crocodiles' and 'Heaven Up Here' - dates below. And see a clip from their UK tour of "Stars are Stars" below that. Echo & The Bunnymen 2011 North American Tour:
5/9 Boston, MA @ Paradise Club
5/11 Washington DC @ 9.30 Club

5/12 Philadelphia ,PA@ Trocadero
5/13 New York,NY @Irving Plaza
5/16 Toronto,Canada @Phoenix Theatre
5/17 Chicago,IL @ Vic Theatre
5/19 San Francisco ,CA @ Warfield Theatre
5/20 Las Vegas,NV @ Red Rock Casino
5/21 Los Angeles, CA @Club Nokia Theatre
5/22 Anaheim, CA @ House Of Blues

Echo & the Bunnymen - Stars are Stars (Live) from Girlie Action on Vimeo.

Super Stereo - "Life Passed Me By"

Happy Electro Pop Monday! I wanna share with you a fab new song and video from Super Stereo called "Life Passed Me By" - lots of great singing, a hooky chorus and a wicket beat makes this one catchy pop single...

Super Stereo is from these parts (Tempe, AZ), and the group's brand new CD is called "This is Future Pop", released last week. Here's what they wrote on their blog page:
"In the span of about a year and a half, Super Stereo formed as an idea, and then as a band. We wrote some songs together. We played some phenomenal shows to some packed houses around town and caught the attention of a local Record Label. They signed us. We recorded an album. We played over 20 shows all over the state. We flew to New York City to record a music video for our single. We released our single worldwide and premiered our music video just a couple weeks ago. And now…the album!"

Here's the shot-in-NYC video for the lead off track "Life Passed Me By":

Super Stereo - Life Passed Me By from Super Stereo on Vimeo.

Rock Clip of the Week - The Fresh & Onlys "Peacock and Wing" (live in Bkln, 2010)

Thanks to the killer eyes and skilled camerawork of Bleary Eyed Brooklyn, we have this week's Rock Clip of the Week.

San Francisco band The Fresh & Onlys played one of NYC promoter Todd P's Monster Island parties last spring and performed this killer song called "Peacock and Wing". Thankfully, Bleary Eyed Brooklyn was there to catch it.

And months later and miles away, it's here now for you. Rock Friday to you.

The Fresh & Onlys are on tour throughout March and April - See them across the US at these fine rock establishments:

02-27 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill ^
03-16-19 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-21 San Diego, CA - Tin Can Alehouse
03-22 Los Angeles, CA - Echo
04-12 Denver, CO - Hi Dive *
04-13 Lawrence, KS - The Jackpot Saloon *
04-14 Bloomington, IN - The Bishop *
04-15 Pittsburgh, PA - Brillobox *
04-18 Cincinnati, OH - MOTR Pub *
04-19 Saint Louis, MO - The Billiken Club #
04-20 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall *#
04-21 Toronto, Ontario - Parts & Labour *
04-22 Montreal, Quebec - Il Motore *
04-23 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg *#
04-24 Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie *#
04-25 Washington, DC - Red Palace *#
04-27 Atlanta, GA - The Earl *#
04-28 Birmingham, AL - Bottletree *#
05-25 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Festival

Smith Westerns - Playing PHX (Rhythm Room) Feb 10

Chicago's Smith Westerns roll into PHX on their tour supporting the fine release "Dye It Blonde".

Smith Westerns will be playing in Phoenix at The Rhythm Room with Brit band Yuck on Thursday Feb 10. Silverplatter describes it thusly:
"Smith Westerns' musical influences stem from the compilation albums Nuggets and Back from the Grave, along with David Bowie, Marc Bolan, and T. Rex. Their new album is called Dye It Blonde. Opening is England's Yuck!"

A musically discriminating pal of mine wrote:
"Listening to Smith Westerns "Weekend" now and hot cream on sweet sugar this is - some fluffy candy floss tunage with a George guitar bent, swirling melodies and falsetto harmonies all bouncing along like a summer day with a pocket full of goodies, toes on the sand and falling in love with her, then her over there, but look at that one, and someone offers you a cold lager and that just goes so well with your doobie dried cottony lips as the sun passes just over straight overhead and a patch of shade slides along to cool your itchy warm shoulders."

NPR wrote:
"While Dye It Blonde mostly sticks to the band's three-minute garage-rock formula (and all the youthful energy that comes with it), the music borders on epic at times. Check out the singalong chorus halfway through "Smile," or the jam that closes "Still New" — the songs have more heft and feel more developed, with the addition of new instruments such as strings and organ."

Here's the band playing last week "My Heart" in Austin, TX.


More of the band's tuneage at Pitchfork.