MP3: Titus Andronicus – A More Perfect Union

New Jersey’s Titus Andronicus is doing a mini tour of in-store performances in support of their new Civil War concept album, The Monitor, which is out tomorrow on XL. One of the seven stops will be at Used Kids Records here in Columbus this Wednesday, 3/10. And it’s free. The poster says 7 pm, Used Kids says 6 pm. Who will you trust…

They’ll also be back in Columbus at the Summit April 22.

Click here to view the embedded video.

My own involvement with BenCo aside, I’m thrilled to announce that Fanfarlo will be coming to town to play The Summit on April 1st with Lawrence Arabia and Robert Francis supporting. (My previous thoughts on Fanfarlo here.)

From the press release:

Acclaimed U.K. five-piece Fanfarlo have announced more North American headlining dates for March and April with Lawrence Arabia and Robert Francis as support. The band whom are just finishing up a string of European headline shows will be back in America next week to make their national television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman Monday, February 15th.

Tickets go on sale Saturday. All tour dates, including SXSW appearances, after the jump.

NORTH AMERICAN HEADLINE DATES:

February 20 El Rey Theatre Los Angeles, CA*
February 22 Great American Music Hall San Francisco, CA*
February 23 Doug Fir Portland, OR*
February 24 Crocodile Café Seattle, WA *
February 25 Knitting Factory Spokane, WA *
February 27 Urban Lounge Salt Lake City, UT *
February 28 Larimer Lounge Denver, CO *
March 27 The Loft Atlanta, GA **
March 30 The NorVa Norfolk, VA **
March 31 First Unitarian Church –Sanctuary Philadelphia, PA **
April 1 The Summit Columbus, OH **
April 2 The Bluebird Bloomington, IN **
April 3 Zanzabar Louisville, KY **
April 5 Record Bar Kansas City, MO **
April 6 Cedar Cultural Center Minneapolis, MN **
April 7 Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL **
April 8 The Grog Shop Cleveland, OH**
April 9 Lee’s Palace Toronto, ONT**
April 10 Studio Juste Pour Rire Montreal, QC**
April 11 Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA

* with April Smith as support
** with Lawrence Arabia and Robert Francis as support

SXSW Showcases:
Wednesday, March 17th KCRW showcase @Galaxy Room Backyard Time TBD
Thursday, March 18th Paste Magazine Day Party at Radio Rocks Time TBD
Friday, March 19th CODA showcase at The Ale House @ 1:00 a.m.
Saturday, March 20th Chop Shop/Atlantic Party @ Brush Square Park East Tent @ 7pm

Schedule:
Fri, Jan 22 / Pontiac, MI / Crofoot Ballroom
Sat, Jan 23 / Madison, WI / Barrymore Theatre
Sun, Jan 24 / St. Louis, MO / The Pageant
Tue, Jan 26 / Lawrence, KS / Granada Theatre
Wed, Jan 27 / Tulsa, OK / Cain’s Ballroom
Thu, Jan 28 / Houston, TX / Warehouse Live
Fri, Jan 29 / Austin, TX / Antone’s
Sat, Jan 30 / Dallas, TX / Granada Theatre

Ticket info here.

The last time I had the chance to see The Magnetic Fields, I went and got married instead. OOPST.

The band has a new album out January 26 on Nonesuch Records. Complete tour dates after the jump.

Feb 4 Lisner Auditorium @ George Washington Univ. Washington, DC
Feb 6 Corona Theatre Montreal, QC Feb 8 Queen Elizabeth Theatre Toronto, ON
Feb 10 Wilbur Theatre Boston, MA
Feb 11 Wilbur Theatre Boston, MA
Feb 13 Howard Gilman Opera House @ BAM Brooklyn, NY
Feb 21 Aladdin Theater Portland, OR
Feb 22 Aladdin Theater Portland, OR
Feb 23 Town Hall Seattle, WA
Feb 24 Town Hall Seattle, WA
Feb 27 Fox Theater Oakland, CA
March 1 Herbst Theatre San Francisco, CA
March 2 Wilshire Ebell Theatre Los Angeles, CA
March 4 Pabst Theatre Milwaukee, WI
March 5 Buskirk Chumley Theater Bloomington, IN
March 6 The Pageant St. Louis, MO
March 7 Harris Theater @ Millenium Park Chicago, IL
March 10 Town Hall New York, NY
March 11 Town Hall New York, NY

2/3 Victoria, BC Element
2/4 Vancouver, BC Venue
2/5 Seattle, WA Neumos
2/6 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge (2 shows, 6pm + 10pm)
2/8 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
2/9 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theater
2/10 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up Taverm
2/11 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room
2/13 Denver, CO The Bluebird Theater
2/15 Lawrence, KS Bottleneck
2/16 Iowa City, IA The Industry
2/17 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall
2/18 Chicago, IL Metro
2/19 Pontiac, MI The Pike Room at The Crofoot
2/20 Columbus, OH Outland on Liberty
2/21 Pittsburgh, PA Diesel Club
2/23 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theater
2/24 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
2/25 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church – Sanctuary

Wildbirds & Peacedrums open all dates.

I remember the first time I heard the name Andrew Bird. Though I’m somewhat ashamed to admit this, it was Friday, April 13th, 2007. (Yes, the last time he played the Southern Theatre.) The sweetly meek Chicagoan happened to be one of the faces I was serving at a restaurant that afternoon. I had no idea of the talent sitting in front of me and was honestly just happy he was polite and low-maintenance.

Two years later…

With the melodies still reverberating through my head a full week after the his Wexner Center show at the Southern, it’s safe to say the sold-out show was worth it’s equivocal weight in musical gold. (And I officially feel stupid.) Between the consistently eloquent tone of his lyrics and his equally impressive skill as a one-man ensemble, Bird himself proved to be a Noble Beast. His endearing awkwardness in small-talk between songs filled the theater with a charm that was inescapable. Bird encored with St. Vincent and covered Bob Dylan’s “Oh Sister,” which was a true treat.

Opener St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) played an electric set that primed the anticipatory mood of the evening. Clark is touring on her newest album, Actor, which is a mature progression from the last. (I’ve found it impossible to stop listening to either.) She somehow managed to juggle a perfectly rosy demeanor with some bad-ass guitar playing in a way only someone who had once been in a 23-piece band could.

Both acts continue separate tours through the end of the year.

MP3: The Loved Ones – Distracted
MP3: The Loved Ones – The Bridge

Back when I was a Philadelphia middle-school kid with a mushroom haircut and giant tortoise-shell glasses, I remember getting my introduction to the city’s hardcore scene through a cassette tape by a band called Step Ahead. It was my older brother’s tape, and like most kids with big bros, his music taste became my own, so I’d sneak a listen to anything he came home with. What made this cassette even cooler, though, was that Step Ahead’s guitarist, Dave Hause, went to our school. That tape was my first experience with a DIY band. My brother gave me the evil eye whenever I said I wanted to go to a Step Ahead show with him, so I never saw them live, but I played that tape on my big, spaceship-looking Aiwa stereo often.

Dave Hause went on to play in more well-known hardcore bands (the Curse, Paint it Black), and these days you’ll catch him playing catchy, polished punk-rock (with a pinch of Americana here and there) in The Loved Ones, which now includes Dave Walsh (ex-the Explosion). The Loved Ones released their full-length debut on Fat Wreck Chords last year, and this year they put out an EP called Distractions. (Judging by the EP’s covers, they’ve been distracted by Springsteen and Billy Bragg.) Check out the mp3s above to see if it’s your thing.

You can catch the Loved Ones here in Columbus on Monday, Oct. 26, at the Newport with the Gaslight Anthem and Murder by Death. And on Friday, Nov. 13, Dave Walsh will play a SWEATIN pre-show at Circus with Tin Armor, Dane Terry and Atlantic/Pacific (ex-Texas is the Reason), followed by Le Principle (Brooklyn Fire), Dustin Knell (ex-Adulture?) and CJ Townsend. Update: According to Sweatin, this show is not happening anymore.

And, for old time’s sake, here’s a track from that old Step Ahead demo tape…

MP3: Step Ahead – Apart (thanks Severed Forever)

Donewaiting presents Blitzen Trapper and Wye Oak at Skully’s on Tuesday, October 13. More info can be found here.

Before the interview begins, some obligatory praise for Wye Oak’s sophomore release, The Knot (listen to it, in full, at the end of the interview). Admittedly I was relatively unfamiliar with the duo (Jenn Wasner – guitars/vocals, Andy Stack – drums, keyboards) other than checking out a couple of MP3s from If Children that we posted last year on the site. That being said, within the first 5 minutes of The Knot, I emailed the duo’s publicist at Merge Records and said something to the effect of “Is it possible to fall in love with an entire CD before the second song has even ended? If so, I’ll drop to one knee and propose to Wye Oak on the spot.”

MP3: “Take It In”

The Knot opens with the spacey “Milk and Honey” – the subtle effects-pedal-drenched guitar hanging in the background (the guitar playing – and the song itself – remind me a lot of Ashland’s Bel Auburn). It’s the first – and last – song that Stack will provide lead vocals on on the CD. The rest of the CD works on the ebb and flow of slow to loud, loud to soft that bands that Wye Oak have compared to are so proficient in (Yo La Tengo, My Morning Jacket, The Spinanes). It’s a beautiful sounding, at times loud and chaotic, CD and, as mentioned before, one that knocked me out from the get-go.

A few weeks into a tour with Blitzen Trapper, I sent Wye Oak some questions via email hoping they’d have internet access somewhere along the way. They did and the following are Jenn’s answers to the questions I sent.

Have you found that touring with a band like Blitzen Trapper – a band with critical buzz – has led to a “fan” buzz? Have you been pleasently surprised with the attendance at shows so far on the tour or have you played to smaller crowds than expected?

The shows with BT have been so excellent! It’s always interesting to play to audiences that aren’t necessarily there to see you. It puts you in a position where you have to try to win people over, and that really provides a good bit of energy and excitement, especially when you’ve been playing shows for weeks and weeks. It’s always really satisfying when you can get a good response out of an audience that’s never heard your music before.

I was doing some “Googling” to see if Wye Oak has ever performed in Columbus and couldn’t find any past show dates. Have you played in our fair city and, if so, did it leave any lasting impressions?

We haven’t, actually! Looking forward to this being our first time.

I only just “discovered” If Children but I spent some time listening to it on Lala.com today. Am I correct in saying that you’ve shifted directions with respect to lead vocals? If I remember correctly, vocals on If Children were split about 50/50. What led to Andy taking a back seat? Was it too much to pull off playing multiple instruments at the same time AND sing?

That’s pretty accurate. When we made If Children, we didn’t have a live show at all- it was really more of a recording project. In pretty much every way, this new set of songs was largely shaped by our live show, and most of the songs were written–consciously or unconsciously– with that setup in mind. Andy’s got a lot on his plate when we perform live, playing drums and keyboard bass simultaneously, so it’s really realistic to expect him to handle lead singer duties, as well.

It also seems like you’ve dialed back a bit of the ’shoegazing’ noise although when you do use it on The Knot, it’s extremely effective. I love the way a song like “Mary is Mary” starts off quietly but then adds layers of noise texture. Is this a result of trying something different? Of maturing as songwriters? Of incorporating different influences?

The arrangements of the songs are never a result of trying to pigeonhole a certain genre or sound. We write the songs we write, and then we’re really just trying to do justice to the songs themselves. There’s a lot of trial and error in the studio, and the decisions of what stays and what goes are really based on our own personal tastes and instincts. I think we’re probably the worst people to ask about how our music sounds our what particular genre we’re emulating at the time.

Is there a reason that you haven’t added additional players to flesh out the sound? Is it something you’d consider in the future or do you think adding new “teammates” would disrupt the dynamic the two of you have?

A lot of it is logistical. We’re not a big enough band to be able to support a third person, and we tour constantly, so realistically, we’ve got to be able to stay afloat. Honestly, the duo thing started out as limitation, but it’s grown to be an aspect of our musical dynamic that we’re both really excited about and challenged by. If we ever get to a point where we no longer feel excited by the setup, it’ll be time to move on.

I’ve seen references to bands like Come, The Spinanes, Scrawl in Wye Oak reviews. Are these bands that you listened to and are aware of or is it the case where you read these comparisons and then go out and check out these bands for the first time?

I don’t know any of those bands, actually, except the Spinanes, and somebody just gave us a copy of one of their records a few days ago. So I can’t really claim any influence, but I’m always curious to check out people’s comparisons. It’s very interesting to try and understand how your music is interpreted from an outsider’s perspective.

Is there a magic formula to keeping your sanity while on tour?

On this tour, Andy and I will have covered almost 19,000 miles in two months. That’s two consecutive trips out to the west coast and back in our Honda Odyssey minivan. You get into a very unique mindset when you’re consistently living this way. You get used to it. Sometimes I think it’s the greatest job in the world; sometimes it’s a nightmare. It’s all part of the deal, though, and I can honestly say there’s nothing else I can imagine doing with my life.

What are your eating habits on the road? Have you ever booked shows in certain cities because there is some sort of attraction in that city (such as a restaurant, a book store, a museum, friends/relatives, etc)?

As of right now, we’re mostly traveling as a support band, which means we’re playing shows that are booked by the headliners, and we run on their schedule. We definitely make an effort to enjoy the best of what each city has to offer, but it’s tough when you get 12 hours or less to spend wherever you go. Eating well is very important to us, though; we couldn’t do this without maintaining a reasonably healthy diet. It’s worth it to spend a little extra to not have to eat fast food, which we avoid at all costs. The ideal experience consists of a good show and a couple extra hours to spend at a really good local restaurant, plus a good coop to get some healthy snacks and kombucha in the morning. If all of these requirements could be met daily, I’d be a happy lady.

I’m going to assume that you don’t make a living playing music – I don’t think there are too many bands out there right now that can exist solely on money the make from CD (or download) sales and/or touring. If it’s not too personal of a question – what type of work do you do to pay the bills?

We do tour for a living, actually- we tour constantly! We’re never really home to work other jobs. You’re correct to assume that CD sales are a small drop in the bucket for most bands, but plenty of folks do this kind of stuff for a living. Being on tour is the only real way to do it, though. I mean, for a band of our size, at least. It helps that we’re a duo, and that we’re able to live cheaply with minimal expenses.

I was reading the cover store on U2 in the latest issue of Rolling Stone and there is one paragraph that stood out to me. I realize that they are one of the biggest rock bands of our generation and they put on shows unlike any other bands, but I just want to get your reaction to this paragraph – “U2 are trying to make art in football stadiums – to achieve what Bono calls “intimacy on a grand scale” – even if getting there takes $750,000 a day of overhead: a 170-ton stage, 200 trucks and the corresponding carbon offsets, nearly 400 tour employees, more than 250 speakers, and 13 video cameras.” Thoughts?

A tour on that scale is so far beyond the scope of my experience that it’s hard to comment. I have no idea the kind of decisions I would make were I placed in U2’s shoes, so I’ll try to refrain from judgment upon their personal decisions about where to direct their money/creative image. I certainly hate being caught at the other side of that equation (on a much smaller scale, of course.)

With 2009 coming towards an end, any favorite CDs of the year that you want to mention?

We love the new Dirty Projectors record, Bitte Orca. We love the new Cass McCombs, Catacombs, and our friend Height (with Friends) put out an amazing record called Baltimore Highlands earlier this year.

10/17 – St. Olaf College – Northfield, MN
10/18 ­ Fargo Theater – Fargo, ND
10/19 ­ The Railyard Ale House – Billings, MT
10/20 ­ The Filling Station – Bozeman, MT
10/21 ­ The Big Dipper – Spokane, WA

And before all that happens, you can catch Two Cow Garage at the Rumba Cafe this Thursday with the Cinema and Crudely Fashioned.

JULY 31st – INDIANAPOLIS
Two Cow has been touring for seven years and not once in that time have we ever traveled with a trailer. We’ve debated it to the point of exhaustion and I personally have railed against it. Up until this point I have won out, maybe because I do most of the driving, or maybe because no one wanted to hear me bitch, but for whatever reason it just did not happen. Until now. The tour we are currently involved with is a package tour, a sort of revue of our record label Suburban Home Records. So, the Suburban Home Records Tour is to feature Two Cow Garage, Austin Lucas, Mike Hale, and a smattering of Jon Snodgrass. Six people all traveling in our van. I finally lost the trailer fight. I will say this, at the risk of sounding stubborn, there are pros and cons. That’s all.

So we start the tour in Indianapolis, where we are to meet Mike Hale and Austin Lucas. We’ve borrowed a trailer from a friend, and before it’s even completely loaded up we realize that the taillights are not working properly. After an hour in an Auto Zone parking lot, the decision is made that they are working “good enough” and that we should just head to Indianapolis and see how things shake out. The drive is fine and once we reach Indy we decide to spend the extra time on getting the taillights figured out, which, with the help of a nice O’Reilly’s employee, and another hour in a parking lot, we do. Or I should say Andy does, I have no fucking clue about that stuff. We meet up with Mike Hale (whom we’ve never really met), and Austin Lucas at the show, which was possibly the best show we’ve ever had in Indy. It has not been a very friendly town to us in the past. The next show of the tour is back in Columbus, which is also something we’ve never done before, played at home during a tour. We drive straight back home after the show.

AUG. 1ST – COLUMBUS
Turns out playing a show at home to kick off a tour is not a bad way to start. Even with the New Bomb Turks playing at another club we still had a great show. Austin is from Indiana but a lot of his family lives in the Ohio/Michigan/Indiana, tri-state area and he records with his father and family backing him. Several of them came out and played with him, which turned out to be pretty cool.

I don’t remember how I got home.

AUG. 2ND- NASHVILLE
After a bit of a late start we were on the road with an uneventful drive ahead of us. We pulled into The Basement late and rushed to load in and get set up. Two Cow is the only full band on the tour so set up and tear down is pretty easy, but I hate being rushed like that. Three fifths of the band Glossary drove up from Murfreesboro and it was really nice to hang with some old friends. This was also probably one the best Nashville shows we’ve had. All in all a victory. We stay with our friend Marsha, who has been putting us up, and putting up with us for years.

AUG. 3rd – Memphis
Two Cow has somehow managed to never officially “play” Memphis. Years ago we had a show that no one came to so we did not even set our gear up. Since then we’ve managed to skirt Memphis every time we’ve gone through the Mid-South. The club that we’re playing is the same one as the infamous (to us anyway) no show night. Another member of Glossary comes to the show and I spent most of the night hanging with him. Also, that band rules the fucking school so check them out. If you don’t know, now you know. Lightly attended show but considering the past I’ll take it. Pretty sure 90% of the folks were from Little Rock though. Thanks Little Rock.