FOLLOW THAT BIRD! AT BEAUTY BAR Sorry for not updating Wednesday guys – a combination of more moving difficulties and a slow news day meant no time for an update. However, today is a double update, beginning with a show review of one of the best local bands we’ve stumbled upon all year, the punk trioFollow That Bird!.
Stunning an elated Beauty Bar crowd with their massive set, these women pack a sound laden with furious feedback and chugging basslines under the magnificent croon of Corin Tucker incarnate lead singer Lauren Green, whose wail refused to be overpowered even by the crunching notes of her own guitar shredding. The trio stormed through a set comprised half of punk vignettes highlighting Green’s vocals and half of more melodic pieces which challenged with their improvisational fuzz-work and splintered in a million different directions before returning to a poppy whole. All the while bassist Rachel Badger provided a solid base for the action to take place on, whipping through intricate basslines and diving below the lead guitar all with a moment’s notice, and drummer Tiffanie Lanmon railed on her drums and whipped her head about like the most metal of moshpit fanatics. Overall, the band surprised with its larger than life sound that nonetheless managed to hold fast to a punk ethos that kept us engaged and enthralled. We can definitely say without question that this was one of the best shows we’ve been to all year and we hope to see more of these girls soon! Here are some more pictures and another YouTube we found.
******************************************************************** SOUTHERN DRAMA INTERVIEW ONLINE The special interview we did a few weeks ago with our friends inSouthern Dramais now up at the Soundcheck Magazinewebsite. Go check it out hereand be sure and swing by the ladies’Myspacewhen you get a chance as well.
Southern Drama – “Blood Red”
******************************************************************** CRYSTAL CASTLES HEADS CMJ LINEUP The NYC equivalent of Austin’s own SXSW madness theCMJ Music Marathonhasannouncedits lineup and up near the top of the list is Cannibal Cheerleader favoriteCrystal Castles, along with other favorites like the Virgins, the Cool Kids, A Place To Bury Strangers, etc. We’ll definitely be looking forward to what these cats pull when their massive music fest isn’t in a town where the weather seems perpetually beautiful and cooperative (most of the time, haha). In other CC news, the duo is currently in Europe on tour and pretty soon they’ll be swinging back into the US for a romp with none other than Trent Reznor and co. We’ll be keeping you up to date on those shows when they happen!
Crystal Castles – “Trash Hologram”
******************************************************************** THE NATIONAL REVEAL NEW TUNE Recently at a show in Copenhagen our favorite brooding indie-rockers the Nationalrevealed a new track entitled “A Thousand Black Cities” which you can view below. A bit jazzier and light than the title might suggest, the song starts slow but then really comes into its own and stands aside some of the band’s strongest work, with a soaring chorus and the same hopeless, inner-city existentialism we’ve come to expect. Maybe not the band to soundtrack your latest frat party, but it’ll do if you can’t find your copy of Unknown Pleasures (lord knows that gets the sorority sisters bouncing!).
******************************************************************** ACL AFTERSHOWS ANNOUNCED According to theAustinistthe lineup of ACL Fest aftershows has been officially released and along with cool Texas acts like Bill Callahan (aka Smog) and the Butthole Surfers, there’s a special show at La Zona Rosa on Sunday night featuring none other than Conor Oberstand special guestJenny Lewis. You know that we’ll be waiting in line all day for that one, screw waiting for Foo Fighters. List of shows below:
Stubb’s BBQ:Thursday Sep 25: (outdoors) An evening with Manu Chao Ticket: $35 adv/ $35 dos Doors 7pm, show 8pm.
Friday Sep 26: (outdoors) Gnarls Barkley w/ CSS
Ticket: $27 adv/ $30 dos
Doors 8pm, Show 9pm
Saturday Sep 27: (very special gospel brunch) Gospel Brunch w/ Mike Farris featuring the Roseland Rhythm Revue
Ticket: $30, $40 (Call for reservations 512-480-8341)
Doors at 11am, Brunch at 11:30am
Saturday Sep 27: (outdoors) Return of the Butthole Surfers w/ The Kills
Ticket: $30 adv/ $33 dos
Doors 7pm, Show 8pm.
Saturday Sep 27: (indoors) Mugison
Ticket: $15 adv/ $15 dos
Doors 11:30pm, show midnight
Sunday Sep 28: (outdoors) The Black Keys w/ The Black Angels & Jessica Lea Mayfield
Ticket: $25 adv/ $25 dos
Doors at 7pm, Show at 7:30pm
LaZona Rosa:
Friday Sep 26 G Love & Special Sauce
Ticket: $25 adv/ $27 dos
Doors at 10pm, Show at 11pm
Sunday Sep 28 Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band w/ Special Guests Jenny Lewis and M. Ward
Ticket: $30 adv/ $30 dos
Doors at 9pm, Show at 10pm The Parish:
Friday Sep 26 Jamie Lidell w/ Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears
Ticket: $20 adv/ $20 dos
Doors at 10pm, show at 11pm
Paramount Theater:
Thursday Sep 25 David Byrne on Tour – songs from David Byrne and Brian Eno
Ticket: $50, $55
Doors at 7:30pm, Show 8:30pm
Saturday Sep 27 The Swell Season w/ Bill Callahan
Ticket: $35, $42.50 (depends on where seat location is)
Doors at 7:30pm, Show at 8:30pm
Emos:
Friday Sep 26 (outdoors) Drive-By Truckers w/ Shooter Jennings
Ticket: $20 adv/ $22 dos
Doors at 10pm, Show at 10:30pm
Friday Sep 26 (Emos Jr) Heartless Bastards w/ Dead Confederate & Wax Fang
Ticket: $15 adv/ $17 dos
Doors at 10pm, show at 10:30pm
Friday Sep 26 (Emos Lounge) Car Stereo Wars
Ticket: $8 adv/ $10 dos
Doors at 10pm, show 11pm.
Saturday Sep 27 Emos Outside Okkervil River w/ Man Man & Crooked Fingers
Ticket: $15 adv/ $17 dos
Doors at 10pm, show 10:30pm
Saturday Sep 27 (Emos jr) Jose Gonzalez w/ Neva Dinova & McCarthy Trenching
Ticket: $18 adv/ $20 dos
Doors at 10pm, Show at 10:30pm
Saturday Sep 27 (Emos Lounge) Car Stereo Wars
Ticket: $8 adv/ $10 dos
Doors at 10pm, show 11pm.
Antone’s:
Saturday Sep 27 Jakob Dylan and The Gold Mountain Rebels w/ Back Door Slam
Ticket: $23 adv, $25 dos
Doors at 10pm, Show at 10:30pm
******************************************************************** NEW BAND CHEER: KYLESA Make no mistake about our indier-than-thou, twee lovin’ credibility over here at Cannibal Cheerleader – heck, we’re a stones-throw from tight-jeans wearing hipsters – but we love ourselves some face-melting fuckin’ metal every once in a while. And while we hate the radio-ready rock of bands like the much maligned Disturbed, we can’t help but be intrigued every time we hear about a band that takes the dynamic elements of metal (it’s penchant for feedback-heavy riffs, it’s air of slow-burning experimentation, etc) and fuses them into a truly unique package. That band is Savannah, Georgia’sKylesa, a beast of a band combining swirly guitar-noodling, teeth-grinding riffs, and a brilliant vocal dichotomy between two lead vocalists, Phillip Cope and Laura Pleasants. With a psychedelic tinge and a habit of making loud-quiet-loud seem like doom-hushed oblivion-doom, Kylesa take Southern metal and brand their mark of experimentalism and purebred fury into its dusty hide. Lucky for us Austinites the band will be swinging through on Sept. 20th supporting Pinback, and you know, as always, Cannibal Cheerleader will be there!
NEW RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS SONGS/VIDEOS Today’s recurrent theme seems to be bands that one can devote their entire lives to, starting of course with Austin punk giants the Riverboat Gamblers, who just played their first show in Austin in six months this past Saturday at Red 7. Of course Cannibal Cheerleader was there camera in hand and once again the Gamblers put on a fantastic set fitting of the greatest live punk act this reporter has ever seen. Lofty praise maybe but it only seems fitting for a band whose boundless energy outlives rocky lineup changes and a music industry constantly on the verge of collapse. The Gamblers showcased some new tracks from their as-of-yet-untitled fourth LP, including “Alexandria” as shown below. Check out these videos and tell us what you think!
Riverboat Gamblers – “Alexandria”
Riverboat Gamblers – “Black Nothing Of A Cat”
Riverboat Gamblers – “Rattle Me Bones”
******************************************************************** CRYSTAL CASTLES UPDATE CC favorites Crystal Castles recently responded to a request for a statement regarding the ‘crystal theft controversy‘, which is a series of accusations leveled at the band that decry them as thieves of samples from the works of ‘chiptune’ artists on some of their tracks. Here’s what Andy from their Toronto label Lies Records had to say:
“In 2004 CC was 100% samples. They stopped using samples in 2005 and started using their own sounds. The band became popular 2 years later thanks to their remixes for Klaxons, GoodBooks, and Bloc Party. Their success has nothing to do with these early obscure sample-based tracks. These songs have not been heard by many people until now.
I myself wanted to release Insecticon but I could not find Lo-bat to seek his permission. There is no contact for him on his website. Ethan Kath in an interview dated June 2007 says Insecticon will remain unreleased because no one can find Lo-bat to ask permission.
Lo-bat himself has talked to the band’s manager on the phone and said that he himself thinks the controversy is ridiculous. It is clear that the band has never profitted or performed these ancient tracks.
The track Insecticon is actually a mash-up which uses the vocal track from the CC guitar track “Insectica” and mashes it with Lo-bat’s “My Droid” for fun, not profit.”
For my money this statement, along with the other Crystal Castles facts uncovered in the comments section of the previous post on the subject, clears up the controversy as we know it. However, I feel that this will not be an end to the argument so I am, as always, interested to hear comments from readers.
In other news Crystal Castles will soon be trekking through North America (but missing Texas, grr!) and then it’s on to the UK in late summer. Swing by Austin again you two!
******************************************************************** YEAH YEAH YEAHS STUDIO UPDATE – LP3 ON THE WAY
Here at Cannibal Cheerleader we always swell with excitement whenever we hear any tidbit of news from one of our favorite bands the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Today’s update concerns a recent post by the band on their Myspace that reads as follows:
“Smells Like Record 3…
COOKING IN THE KITCHEN
Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been hopscotching down the road less traveled- from a barn in the Northeast to a ranch in the Southwest on our journey for the next sound. Why go RURAL? We’re not yet sure ourselves, but one thing the city don’t have that the country got is SPACE and there has been plenty of spacing out in the studio as of late.
KITTEN FACTOR
Fuzzy soft muses aka kittens have played a major role in the writing process of YYYs current and past records. Show Your Bones was written in Sam Spiegel’s home studio amidst the birth of a litter of kittens, little gold lions scrambling around. Amazingly therapeutic, nothing turns a frown upside down (there are many frowns in the record writing process) as a purring kitten in your lap. Alas our favorite kitten of all beloved SQUEAKER arrived just in time for record three! Abandoned by his mother, we’ve watched him grow before our very eyes from a blind and helpless little thing into a frisky and fierce little beauty- much like the tunes we’re writing. Go figure.”
The post is then followed by this picture: Sounds like Karen O., Nick Zinner, and Brian Chase are going for a spaced-out, country feel on this record? However it sounds you can be Cannibal Cheerleader will be first in line to give that sucker a listen.
PS. We want a cat named Squeaker!! Here’s a spaced-out YYY song to quench your thirst for the time being.
******************************************************************** ACL SCHEDULE POSTED Thanks to our friends over at Soundcheck Magazine for letting us know that the Austin City Limits Festival has put up their official schedule for the three days of the event. Check it out here.
From what we can tell (besides the fact that ACL seems to have slimmer and slimmer pickings each year), is that Jenny Lewis is running into N.E.R.D., we’re going to have to run between Conor Oberst, the Black Keys, then back to Beck, and Sunday might just be the best day of the fest (what with Stars, Tegan and Sara, Neko Case, the Raconteurs, Band of Horses, and Gnarls Barkley all packed in). Whine as we might, you know that we’ll be there, rain or shine@ ******************************************************************** DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE REVIEW A quick note: my review for Death Cab for Cutie’s Narrow Stairs is up on the Soundcheck Magazine website. Check it out over there and I’ll copy/paste it down below. Comment if you like it!
“Death Cab for Cutie Narrow Stairs Atlantic
It’s lonely at the top. That seems to be the message of Narrow Stairs, the newest offering from rock’s unlikeliest of superstars, Death Cab For Cutie. For better or for worse, it is undeniable that indie has crowned Ben Gibbard and company as the kings of a tender flock. There seems to be something remarkably Cobain-esque about the meteoric rise of Death Cab for Cutie, though, while Nirvana was an outward explosion of punk nihilism, Gibbard’s experience feels more like an emotional implosion, a fiery inner carnage that replaces distorted guitars with heart-searing poetics. With a legion of lonely boys and girls hanging themselves on every lyric, Death Cab can clearly feel the strain of fame on their newest LP. This pressure comes across in the form of their bleakest, their most terrifying, and, surprisingly, one of their most engaging works to date.
Ben Gibbard’s overwrought, angst-ridden lyrics – though they may strike some as naïve – nonetheless come across to modern listeners as more genuine in their devices than most modernist poetry. His pathos clearly strikes a chord in the hearts of the music community: uncertainty and despair are no longer the flavors of the day but staples of our modern lives. Death Cab for Cutie evoke images both creative and familiar on brilliant standout tracks like “Grapevine Fires” and “Your New Twin Sized Bed”. Gibbard’s continued flights with heavy-handedness nonetheless ring as distinctly frank and authentic, and he is no more honest than on Narrow Stairs. As opposed to viewing the flecks of white in a world of black as Death Cab did on 2005’s Plans, the new record remarks pointedly on society in shades of gray. Fundamentally, it must be understood that Gibbard plays the part of a poet, not the esteemed indie-rocker delivering kitschy hits about the most sensitive of subjects. He channels the former slightly in the track “Soul Meets Body”, but soon morphs into a Kerouac-like scribe reminiscing about “the place where your soul had died” in “Bixby Canyon Bridge”.
It is over this canvas of loneliness that producer and guitarist Chris Walla attempts to erect a sound, and the results recall a garage-band strumming away in an empty, abandoned house. Acoustics bounce off empty walls, and the music provides an air of claustrophobia that furnishes a feeling of closeness to the listener. However, this closeness is not the warmth of past Death Cab releases, but an unnerving proximity that magnifies scars of weariness and age that Gibbard and company now wear. It imparts an almost voyeuristic view of a band at their most vulnerable and engaging. The group has expanded their sonic palette not with expansive soundscapes but with instrumental virtuosity, as slinky guitar parts quiver over tracks like “The Ice Is Getting Thinner” and “Pity and Fear”, and swirling keyboard parts give way to a return to crunchy guitars on songs such as “Long Division”.
To describe Narrow Stairs as “frightening” would not be wholly inaccurate. The creepiness of the five-minute intro to first single “I Will Possess Your Heart” represents the lengths Death Cab for Cutie have stretched in crafting this record. The slow build of the instruments to a plaintive tale of stalkers and obsession invokes dark and graphic images. This track paired with “Cath…”, the story of a withered and abused woman alone in the prison of outward appearances, place Narrow Stairs as the coronet on the canon of the Death Cab discography. These somber sagas of all-too-familiar characters stick like barbs into the listener, slowly seeping their meaning and effectiveness into them, making the record a grower and a headphone masterpiece. To this end, Narrow Stairs is, in many ways, the group’s crowning achievement. This is a crown of thorns: delicate and difficult, weaving and at times off-putting, but, for Death Cab for Cutie, ultimately bloody and beautiful.
So, things seem to be tough all over, with many of CC’s favorite artists apparently falling off (or never having been) the indie rock radar and the artists being forced to turn to the fans for support. This is of course yet another sign of the way that the music industry must take on a serious sea change to stay afloat. It seems odd that bands are having to turn back to the fans for support after the labels fail them. Perhaps it’s better for we the fans though, as artists will once again pander to the individual’s tastes rather than all the corporate nonsense.
Up at the top there is perennial CC fave Giant Drag (now lead solely by lead guitarist/vocalist/badass Annie Hardy) who seems to be having it rough after getting dropped from a major label. In order to record her second album Annie is needing all the help she can get, so she’s got a ‘donate’ button on her website and she’s opened up an eBay store. Check it and donate/buy cool stuff homies. ******************************************************************************************************************************** Next up is our friends Trophy Scars who had the rug pulled out from under them on their when their entire UK tour (a venture which required the band members all emptying their bank accounts) got cancelled because of dick promoters. Awfulness indeed but they too have opened up an eBay store and you can check their website for more info about how to help. ******************************************************************************************************************************** Just so things aren’t all gloomy, check out this rad new artist called Also, partial ACL Lineup here. Gnarls Barkley, N.E.R.D., Hot Chip, CSS, the Raconteurs, Del the Funkee Homosapien, etc. Sounds okay but hopefully we’ll get some more than this because there certainly isn’t enough indie here to satiate me (though N.E.R.D. does kinda rule…) ******************************************************************************************************************************** Oh, and here’s the real cover for the new Charlotte Sometimes Album. Looks like it’s gonna be awesome! Can’t wait for the May release!
Sorry for not updating Wednesday guys – a combination of more moving difficulties and a slow news day meant no time for an update. However, today is a double update, beginning with a show review of one of the best local bands we’ve stumbled upon all year, the punk trio Follow That Bird!.
The special interview we did a few weeks ago with our friends in Southern Drama is now up at the Soundcheck Magazine website. Go check it out here and be sure and swing by the ladies’ Myspace when you get a chance as well.
The NYC equivalent of Austin’s own SXSW madness the CMJ Music Marathon has announced its lineup and up near the top of the list is Cannibal Cheerleader favorite Crystal Castles, along with other favorites like the Virgins, the Cool Kids, A Place To Bury Strangers, etc. We’ll definitely be looking forward to what these cats pull when their massive music fest isn’t in a town where the weather seems perpetually beautiful and cooperative (most of the time, haha). In other CC news, the duo is currently in Europe on tour and pretty soon they’ll be swinging back into the US for a romp with none other than Trent Reznor and co. We’ll be keeping you up to date on those shows when they happen!
Recently at a show in Copenhagen our favorite brooding indie-rockers the National revealed a new track entitled “A Thousand Black Cities” which you can view below. A bit jazzier and light than the title might suggest, the song starts slow but then really comes into its own and stands aside some of the band’s strongest work, with a soaring chorus and the same hopeless, inner-city existentialism we’ve come to expect. Maybe not the band to soundtrack your latest frat party, but it’ll do if you can’t find your copy of Unknown Pleasures (lord knows that gets the sorority sisters bouncing!).
According to the Austinist the lineup of ACL Fest aftershows has been officially released and along with cool Texas acts like Bill Callahan (aka Smog) and the Butthole Surfers, there’s a special show at La Zona Rosa on Sunday night featuring none other than Conor Oberst and special guest Jenny Lewis. You know that we’ll be waiting in line all day for that one, screw waiting for Foo Fighters. List of shows below:
Make no mistake about our indier-than-thou, twee lovin’ credibility over here at Cannibal Cheerleader – heck, we’re a stones-throw from tight-jeans wearing hipsters – but we love ourselves some face-melting fuckin’ metal every once in a while. And while we hate the radio-ready rock of bands like the much maligned Disturbed, we can’t help but be intrigued every time we hear about a band that takes the dynamic elements of metal (it’s penchant for feedback-heavy riffs, it’s air of slow-burning experimentation, etc) and fuses them into a truly unique package. That band is Savannah, Georgia’s Kylesa, a beast of a band combining swirly guitar-noodling, teeth-grinding riffs, and a brilliant vocal dichotomy between two lead vocalists, Phillip Cope and Laura Pleasants. With a psychedelic tinge and a habit of making loud-quiet-loud seem like doom-hushed oblivion-doom, Kylesa take Southern metal and brand their mark of experimentalism and purebred fury into its dusty hide. Lucky for us Austinites the band will be swinging through on Sept. 20th supporting Pinback, and you know, as always, Cannibal Cheerleader will be there!
