Iceage at Yellow Canary Dance Hall, 7/19/2011

Iceage, Weird Ladies, and Nihilism Yellow Canary Dance Hall Tuesday, July 19, 2011 Hipsters and their irony — goddamn, it’s cute. The place is called Yellow Canary Dance Hall, however, there weren’t any birds, and only a handful of people dancing at last night’s Iceage show. The Danish foursome has…

Pictureplane: Thee Physical

However, therein lies the skillful, electronic music sensibilities of Travis Egedy — his music effortlessly whisks listeners away to a bygone era of day-glo, grown men sucking on pacifiers, and an all-night-long rave in a dingy warehouse. Not too bad for the man who coined the term “witch house,” even…

KWSS 106.7 Announces Benefit Show

As we reported yesterday, local independent radio station KWSS 106.7 FM has gone off air, but the station’s still streaming online at kwss.org. Representatives of the station are not making any “official” comments at this time as to why they’re presently not on terrestrial radio, but are expected to go…

Little Dragon: Ritual Union

If either of those songs tickles your fancy, then you’ll be happy to know Nagano sings on all eleven songs featured on Ritual Union — an album that NPR music has given their exclusive first listen treatment, streaming it in its entirety for you to enjoy before it is released…

Eight Bands That Should Make a Children’s Record

They Might Be Giants’ new album, Join Us, comes out today. If you’ve only been following TMBG for the past four or five years, you might be under the impression that this Brooklyn-based band is a children’s music group. That would be understandable, considering Join Us is the first TMBG…

Help Unlock a New St. Vincent Track Via Twitter – UPDATE

Fans must include the hashtag #strangemercy in their tweet to help unlock the new song, the progress of which is currently being monitored at strangemercy.com. There are four exclusive videos on the website — unlocked intervals along the way — the first of which features some women conversing, perhaps revealing…

The Riveras Explain “Tied”

Listening to the band’s music can feel like watching an old Western or reading Faulkner. Vocalist and violinist Jody Lew almost whispers her words to the audience, begging them to hear the music engulfing each one. The lyrics contain a story, for sure, but the music provides the setting in which the words thrive.

Bob Dylan at Comerica Theatre, 7-18-11

To put it bluntly, I didn’t know what to expect walking into Comerica Theatre last night.I’m a Bob Dylan fan, but let’s face facts: He’s 70. His most recent album, 2006’s Modern Times and 2008’s Together Through Life, have both been phenomenal efforts, but sounding good in the studio is very…

Ben Folds at Marquee Theatre, 7/18/11

Ben Folds Marquee Theatre Monday, July 18, 2011 Ben Folds has been writing piano rock oscillating between sardonic humor and commentary on the human condition since his beginnings with Ben Folds Five. Along the way, he’s been cast as many things — a father, a joker, a pissed off dude — but…

KWSS 106.7 FM Goes Off-Air, Still Streaming Online

Local independent radio station KWSS 106.7 FM went off the air today.The station, which we profiled in a cover story  this spring, is still streaming online at kwss.org and will continue hosting its popular The Morning Infidelity show from 6 to 10 a.m. MST on the Internet.We called representatives from KWSS…

Lollapalooza: “It Was 20 Years Ago Today…”

It’s kind of hard to imagine that Lallapalooza is 20 years-old. I wasn’t in attendance in 1991, but the event still feels like a cultural touchstone for me (due in no small part to the “Homerpalooza” episode of The Simpsons, which introduced me to Sonic Youth, and cemented my growing…

Top Five Musician Beatdowns

, according to Billboard.While the two fought in a hotel room in Dallas, Texas, Samuels allegedly shoved a suitcase full of his personal belongings in Minaj’s face and hit her in the lower lip after she told him she wanted him to leave the room with nothing.Minaj tweeted that she…

Andrew Jackson Jihad Announce Knife Man

Everyone’s favorite sardonic folk duo, Andrew Jackson Jihad, have announced details regarding their new album, Knife Man, due out on Asian Man Records on September 20.I spoke with bassist Ben Gallaty about the new record.”Sean [Bonnette, singer/guitarist] gave me a CD of 13 demos in December. The working title for…

Your New Favorite Band: Thundercat

When Bruner isn’t helping out others in the studio and on the road, he records his own bass-driven, jazz fusion music under the name Thundercat. Bruner’s debut Thundercat album, The Golden Age of Apocalypse, is due out August 30. It’s an overwhelming mixture of his bass funk, experimental jazz, and electronic-minded rhythms…

The Black Keys Done With New Album

, according to Consequence of Sound.Dan Auerbach says the next album “doesn’t sound like Brothers. It doesn’t have that open soul feel to it. It’s way more driving and the tempos are really fast.”The Black Keys have not yet announced a release date, a title, or a track list for…

Reverend Horton Heat at Marquee Theatre, 7/16/11

Reverend Horton Heat Marquee Theatre Saturday, July 16, 2011 Reverend Horton Heat makes an annual stop in Phoenix year after year and never fails to put on a good show. Sure, the band tends to play a lot of the same songs and tell a few of the same jokes,…

America at Wild Horse Pass Casino, 7-15-2011

America Wild Horse Pass Casino Friday, July 15, 2011 Sure, the venues that America is likely to play these days have gotten smaller, but it doesn’t mean that the band isn’t still capable of putting on a good show. The crowd of folks who came to watch them perform at the…