Feist announced an extenstive 2012 world tour in support of her recent album Metals, spanning Europe, Australia, Asia, and North America. The tour starts tomorrow in Australia and lasts until August, ending in London. Wowza! Unfortunately, the closest tour stop to us is Indianapolis in April (6 hour drive, if you're wondering). Might I suggest seeing her at Coachella? You can catch other great artists like The Black Keys, The Shins, and Gotye while you're there. Make a vacation out of it.
Feist also just released the video for her new single "The Bad In Each Other." Check it out after the tour dates.
Feist 2012 Tour Dates
2/1 Melbourne, Australia - Palais Theatre
2/4 Melbourne, Australia - Laneway Festival
2/5 Sydney, Australia - Laneway Festival
2/7 Sydney, Australia - Enmore Theatre
2/9 Adelaide, Australia - Thebarton Theatre
2/11 Perth, Australia - Laneway Festival
2/15 Jakarta, Indonesia - Fairgrounds
3/6 Oslo, Norway - Sentrum Scene
3/7 Stockholm, Sweden - Cirkus
3/8 Copenhagen, Denmark - Falkoner Theatre
3/10 Vienna, Austria - Gasometer
3/11 Zurich, Switzerland - Volkshaus
3/12 Munich, Germany - Tonhalle
3/13 Cologne, Germany - E-Werk
3/15 Frankfurt, Germany - Jahrunderthalle
3/18 Lisbon, Portugal - Coliseum
3/19 Porto, Portugal - Coliseum
3/21 Paris, France - Le Zenith ^
3/22 Lyon, France - Transbordeur ^
3/23 Lille, France - Theatre Sebastopol ^
3/25 London, England - Royal Albert Hall ^
3/26 Manchester, England - O2 Apollo ^
3/27 Glasgow, Scotland - Royal Concert Hall ^
4/14 Indio, CA - Coachella Music Festival
4/21 Indio, CA - Coachella Music Festival
4/22 Phoenix, AZ - Orpheum Theater
4/26 Austin, TX - Stubb's
4/28 New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Jazz Fest
4/30 Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room
5/1 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
5/2 Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
5/3 Raleigh, NC - Memorial Auditorium
5/5 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
5/7 Boston, MA - House of Blues
5/8 Philadelphia, PA - Academy of Music
5/9 Bethesda, MD - Strathmore
5/11Burlington, VT - Flynn Theater
8/8 Oslo, Norway - Oya Festival
8/10 Gothenburg, Sweden - Way Out West Festival
8/17 - 8/19 Beacons, England - Green Man Festival
Bruce Springsteen has announced his American tour, but the closest he'll get to Madison is Detroit (April 12) and Cleveland (April 17).
The tour in support of the album Wrecking Ball (due out March 6) will feature the E Street Band, starting in Atlanta and wrapping up May 2 in Springsteen's home state of New Jersey. Then it's off to Europe until the end of July.
Let's hope that the band has a real fire in the belly and announces a second American tour this year after the European tour concludes. And a show in Madison sure would be nice.
A girl can dream.
Here's the American itinerary..
US Tour Dates
March 18 - Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena (on sale Feb 4)
March 19 - Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum (on sale Feb 3)
March 23 - Tampa, FL - Tampa Bay Times Forum (on sale Jan 28)
March 26 - Boston, MA - TD Garden (on sale Jan 28)
March 28 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center (on sale Jan 28)
March 29 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center (on sale Jan 28)
April 1 - Washington, DC - Verizon Center (on sale Jan 28)
April 3 - East Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center (on sale Jan 27)
April 4 - East Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center (on sale Jan 27)
April 6 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden (on sale Jan 27)
April 9 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden (on sale Jan 27)
April 12 - Detroit, MI - The Palace of Auburn Hills (on sale Jan 28)
April 13 - Buffalo, NY - First Niagara Center (on sale Jan 28)
April 16 - Albany, NY - Times Union Center (on sale Jan 28)
April 17 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena (on sale Jan 28)
April 24 - San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion (on sale Feb 3)
April 26 - Los Angeles, CA - Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (on sale Feb 3)
April 29 - New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (on sale now)
May 2 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center (on sale Jan 27)
Walking through crunchy snow on the way to High Noon last Friday night, FRZN Fest seemed appropriately frozen. The first night of the inaugural Madison music festival showcased five indie groups, three of which were fronted by sassy female vocalists. And one of these Polica stole the show.
The first band on the bill, Squarewave, was an adequate indie rock band for an opening slot. Too bad they were upstaged immediately by the phenomenally entertaining Polica. Polica's mesmerizing sound demanded the audience's attention. I know I wasn't the only person who formed a girlcrush while watching the entrancing Channy Leaneagh (Casselle) perform on stage. Polica's seemingly overnight rise to indie blog fame stems from their connection to the Bon Iver clan of bands, notably the collaboration known as Gayngs. Fans of Gayngs should be pleased with Polica's sound, like a hybrid of Phantogram and Bon Iver. One thing was clear: Polica set the bar high for the evening.
The crowd reached its peak during the next set, Class Actress. Lead singer Elizabeth Harper ushered in a flashback with her teased hair, oversized blazer, and trench coat. The crowd enjoyed her synth sound, and a 90s dance party ensued. It was a good set, yes, but Elizabeth's stage presence seemed lackluster following Channy.
Dom was up next, proving that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. The boys in the band were looking tough, but the speakers pumped out fun, pop-flavored indie rock. I guess the lead singer's pink paisley guitar could've given that away.
Chairlift closed out the first night of FRZN Fest to an unfortunately thinned out crowd. Oddly, lead singer Caroline Polachek also donned shorter dark hair & a trench coat, just like Class Actress' Harper. Those unfamiliar with Chairlift were bound to at least recognize their song "Bruises," which was featured in an iPod commercial a couple years ago. Chairlift was a warm ending to a FRZN night. Was that too cheesy? Yeah. Suffice it to say FRZN Fest was a success, and I'm looking forward to the next time Polica is in town.
True Endeavors, the concert-booking machine of Madison, is hosting its inaugural FRZN Fest this weekend. You won't want to miss your chance to catch this impressive line-up of upcoming indie artists when they stop at High Noon this Friday & Saturday. The line-up seems to be dominated by our friends from the Northwoods -- S. Carey, Polica, and Peter Wolf Crier all have ties to the Bon Iver clan. This northern exposure of performers is supplemented with other rising artists -- some overlapping with our neighbor Chicago's Tomorow Never Knows music festival -- including Chairlift, Class Actress, and Dom.
Still not convinced? Here's what you have to look forward to if you join me this weekend for the introduction of FRZN Fest.
Day 1 - Friday, January 13th
Chairlift - An article about this duo was just posted on Pitchfork, just in time for you to get to know them.
Dom
Class Actress - Might I suggest listening/dancing to "Keep You"?
Squarewave
Polica - Fronted by female vocalist Channy Casselle, this Twin Cities group has been rampant on indie blogs lately like Brooklyn Vegan (click through to explore some tunes of theirs). Their debut album Give You The Ghost will be out February 14th.
Day 2 - Saturday, January 14th
S. Carey - Labelmate of Bon Iver on Jagjaguwar Records -- who seem excited about this music fest.
Peter Wolf Crier - Explore his sound below with "Settling It Off." If you dig it, you can grab the song for free on True Endeavors' website here.
Caveman
Carter Tanton
Juniper Tar
Ticket Info, etc
$12 adv | $15 at the door (each night) | $20 for both nights
Bon Iver is a thing. Bon Iver is a wonderful Wisconsin thing.
To most people, Bon Iver is Justin Vernon the man, the myth, the legendary Wisconsin musician who recorded an epic album while hibernating in a cabin in our own northwoods. But on Saturday night, it was clear that Bon Iver has become, in Justin's own words, "something bigger." No longer a solitary man grieving with his guitar, Justin made it a point to announce that Bon Iver was a thing something he attributed to his Eau Claire roots. "Growing up around here, you learn that you are not one thing. You are a part of something bigger," he explained, after stating how good it felt to be back home on Wisconsin soil.
On, Wisconsin! Bon Iver's last stop here was back in 2008 at the Barrymore, so he was well overdue for a Madison show. The Orpheum's majestic-but-cozy setting was a fitting venue for Bon Iver's homegrown sound. And if you hadn't seen Bon Iver since his last show in Madison, you were probably surprised by the number of people on stage. Justin was accompanied by a slew of talented musicians, yielding an array of brass & stringed instruments. The ease with which Justin & crew could transition from the quiet, haunting emotion of For Emma tracks like "Re: Stacks" to the orchestral anthems of Bon Iver like "Holocene" was impressive. The highlight of the show for me was the last song (pre-encore), the audience-interactive "The Wolves (Act I and II)."Hearing the crowd sing "what might've been lost" before howling together in the outro provided a beautiful choir of Midwestern voices emanating from within the Orpheum.
The encore included a clap-happy rendition of "Skinny Love" (which seemed to satisfy the bros standing next to me), as well as the beatboxing-Bjork cover "Who Is It" that they've been peddling on this tour (we love you, Reggie). With four Grammy nominations (Best New Artist, Best Alternative Music Album, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year), as well as legions of fans at sold-out shows across the country, the rest of the world is starting to know what we do - Bon Iver is a wonderful (Wisconsin) thing.
There's no denying that Bon Iver evokes emotions. The guy standing next to me summed it up well when the house lights came on: "Well, I only cried twice."
There was an enormous worldwide media frenzy this fall when Coldplay released their album "Mylo Xyloto," and they sold a lot of albums. And that likely will translate into a mad scramble for tickets to their 2012 North American Tour.
Just announced: 20 dates in the United States and Canada, starting in Edmonton, Alberta April 17th, and ending in Minneapolis August 11th.
The closest they'll get to Madison is Chicago. They play the United Center August 7th. Tickets for that show go on sale December 19th.
Coldplay took over Triple M quite recently and there was a national contest that our Madison listeners could enter in order to win a trip to see Coldplay perform live in Glasgow, Scotland. Most of the time when a national contest gives away such a kick a$* prize like that people scoff at the idea of entering because the probability of winning is so low. But Triple M listener Julie C, the winner of Coldplay's national contest, took her chances and was flown to Scotland to enjoy an epic musical feast. Before she left, we asked her to please share her experience with us and she sent us a very appreciative email...
"I first want to extend my thanks to all at Triple M for being a part of this Coldplay contest! Thank you so much for this wonderful trip to see Coldplay in Glasgow, Scotland. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Colplay started out by thanking everyone for coming to listen to them and giving up their Saturday to be there. The concert was awesome with an amazing light show! Everyone walking in was given a bracelet/band in different colors and then during the concert, they would light up (with LED lights) during various songs. The crowd was so excited, singing to almost every song, and the stadium seats felt as though they were swaying. They are truly amazing.
The dancey indie rock band stopped by for a rowdy Madison show Sunday night.
Walking into The Frequency on a quiet Sunday evening for this show, my expectations weren't high. I was hoping for a rowdy little club show, but I assumed the turnout would be dismal, and the crowd energy low. I was happily wrong! A small bill in a small venue, both bands proved that they're poised for something bigger the next time they're in town.
Chicago-based Scattered Trees was the only opener for the evening. With previous opening gigs for Two Door Cinema Club and Asobi Seksi, as well as a recent visit to Daytrotter, Scattered Trees seems to be on the path to indie rock success. Heavy on the reverb and reminiscent of Coldplay, songs like"Love and Leave" would fit well on the radio airwaves nestled between The Head & the Heart and Death Cab for Cutie.
The story of Scattered Trees only makes them more alluring; Scattered Trees started as a solo project for lead singer Nate Eisland before becoming a full band in 2006, but the group separated a couple years later. After the death of Eisland's father propelled him to write songs again, the band reformed (eagle eyes will notice that the line-up includes Eisland's now-wife, Alissa, as well). The band's impressive 2011 release Sympathy is the result of this therapeutic recording (and reforming) process. Their live show embodied what you'd expect an emotional musical accompaniment to the stages of grief altogether strangely depressing and uplifting in the same set.
Without much delay, Walk the Moon was up on stage. You will know them (and their fans) by their facepaint. It's a kitschy touch best-suited for the under-21 set, yes, but it fits the enthusiasm of their sound well. Lead singer Nicholas Petricca freshens up the frontman role by yielding not a guitar, but keys & a floor tom. The setlist delivered a wealth of catchy melodies and sing & clap-along songs, easily accessible and fun for a first-time listener.
The highlight of the evening came in the form of an unexpected cover. Midway through the show, the boys donned foxhats and made Fleet Foxes' "White Winter Hymnal" their own. The harmonies were still there Walk the Moon just lit a pop-rock fire behind them.
Walk the Moon closed the night with their probable breakthrough single "Anna Sun," leading the crowd of 60ish in a sweaty, Sunday night dance party. If you're feeling bummed about missing this show, I wouldn't worry you'll hear from them soon. The band recently signed to RCA Records and will be releasing their first album on the label early next year (don't worry, it will include "Anna Sun"). They'll also be back on tour in February opening for Young the Giant; you can see them at their Milwaukee date on February 21st.
The rising Wisconsinite will be playing shows in Madison & Milwaukee this weekend.
What began as dorm-room fun has now become hot indie fuss, causing a frenzy of activity across hipster blogs. Alex Schaaf fronts Yellow Ostrich, a musical project he started as a student while at Lawrence University in Appleton. Alex began performing shows a la Andrew Bird, flying solo while looping. Since then, the frontman has recruited a full band to accompany him & his upbeat, indie pop. The group recently signed to Barsuk Records, and their breakout single "Whale" was even featured as the Song of the Day on NPR back in September. Yellow Ostrich's sound should bode well with Postal Service poplovers, while still satisfying the "rock" requirement of indie rock.
Lucky for us, Yellow Ostrich doesn't share the Zola Jesus complex, and they'll be dropping by Wisconsin this weekend for a couple of shows. For the Madison folks, Yellow Ostrich will perform opening duties for labelmates Ra Ra Riot at the Sett (the Club 770 replacement at the new Union South) for FREE on Saturday. If you can't make it to the Saturday show (maybe you've already got tickets to Mates of State/Generationals that night, like me?), no worries! Yellow Ostrich will be headlining the following night in Milwaukee at the Cactus Club don't miss the opener Conrad Plymouth, either this homegrown act is beginning to cause a stir among the indie music blog circuit, too.
Madison's Saturday show is 18+ and starts at 9:30pm, Milwaukee's is 21+ on Sunday at 8pm.
I'm one of those people. I didn't listen to Nickel Creek when they were an active band. What a shame! A friend introduced me to the mandolin wizard that is Chris Thile, and for that, I am grateful.
Saturday's sold-out Punch Brothers show at High Noon was one not to miss. You might've expected rowdy dancing at a bluegrass show, but there was not much of the sort. The crowd largely stood in awe of the talent on stage. I found myself trying not to drool while listening to each musician shred on their respective stringed instrument. For the unfamiliar, the Punch Brothers line-up features a mandolin, guitar, upright bass, banjo, and fiddle it's an alt-country, modern bluegrass quintet of power.
Punch Brothers, who have been restricted to a shorter timeslot on their current tour as Paul Simon's opener, were eager to expand their setlist (lucky for us!). We Madison folks were privileged to two hours of classics, covers, and new stuff, including the "world premiere" of their new song "Patchwork Girl." This seemingly poppier (but still plently bluegrassy) song will be featured on their next album, "out some Tuesday in February." Notorious for their covers, Punch Brothers didn't disappoint. The boys in suits provided folk-infused, fun renditions of The Beatles' "Paperback Writer," Beck's "Sexx Laws," and for their second encore, The Band's "Ophelia."
One of the beauties of this bluegrass quintet is their greater appeal; I found myself being annoyed, yet appreciative, of the bros standing next to me shouting desperate pleas for Radiohead covers. Kudos to Punch Brothers for having the ability to reach a new league of fans with this genre. Check out their crowd pleaser "Rye Whiskey" below.
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I already have hoarding tendencies, so it's probably not a great idea to start a new collection.
But this one is so awesome. I was inspired by a new feature on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, where she celebrates very bad album art. So while making my...
Leonard Cohen's deep and steady voice returns on his latest studio album Old Ideas. Don't expect any hopeful and uplifting revelations from Cohen this time around. It isn't called "Old Ideas" for nothing. Here you'll find the...
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Well my friends, I was certainly wrong. The hard part was narrowing it down to a few. EXCELLENT JOB EVERYONE!!!
We start , as always, with the...
Paul McCartney's new album Kisses On The Bottom will be available February 7th. It's a collection of standards he's wanted to do for quite some time and includes two original songs.
The album features virtuoso pianist (and wife of...
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2/1 Melbourne, Australia - Palais Theatre
The first band on the bill, Squarewave, was an adequate indie rock band for an opening slot. Too bad they were upstaged immediately by the phenomenally entertaining Polica. Polica's mesmerizing sound demanded the audience's attention. I know I wasn't the only person who formed a girlcrush while watching the entrancing Channy Leaneagh (Casselle) perform on stage. Polica's seemingly overnight rise to indie blog fame stems from their connection to the Bon Iver clan of bands, notably the collaboration known as Gayngs. Fans of Gayngs should be pleased with Polica's sound, like a hybrid of Phantogram and Bon Iver. One thing was clear: Polica set the bar high for the evening.
Can Coldplay keep the excitement going?
