April Smith and the Great Picture Show - New Tour Dates

Fans of April Smith and the Great Picture Show have something to get excited about today, as they have announced new tour dates for March and April:

03/20: Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Bowl
03/25: New York, NY - Apple Store (14th Street)
04/10: Cincinnati, OH - 20th Century Theatre
04/11: Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
04/12: Charleston, SC - The Music Farm
04/14: Atlanta, GA - The Loft at Center Stage Atlanta
04/17: Mobile, AL - Soul Kitchen
04/18: Houston, TX - House of Blues - Bronze Peacock
04/19: Austin, TX - La Zona Rosa
04/20: Dallas, TX - House of Blues - Cambridge Room
04/22: Santa Fe, NM - Santa Fe Brewing Co.

Personally I'm very excited about this because 1) I missed the recent Mercury Lounge show due to illness, and 2) Brooklyn Bowl is a fantastic venue that I think will serve them well. Look for a review of the Brooklyn show here after it happens.

Jukebox the Ghost pre-order + tour

Lots of exciting things happening in the world of Jukebox the Ghost. First of all, they are going to be at Lollapalooza this weekend. (Knock 'em dead, boys!) This is just the start of what will be their "Yay our album has finally been released" tour. They're probably calling it the "Everything Under the Sun" tour, but my title is what all the fans are likely saying. Full list of dates follows:

AUGUST
6 - Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza BMI Stage
7 - Chicago, IL - Official Lollapalooza After-Party at Bottom Lounge (12:30am)

SEPTEMBER
15 - Boston, MA - Great Scott *
16 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg *
17 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar *
18 - Charlottesville, VA- The Southern Cafe & Music Hall *
20 - Louisville, KY - The Vernon Club *#
21 - St Louis, MO - Cicero's *#
22 - Little Rock, AR - Juanita's Cantina Ballroom *#
23 - Houston, TX - House of Blues *#
24 - Austin, TX - The ND at 501 Studios *#
25 - Frisco, TX - Oysterfest *#^
28 - San Diego, CA - The Loft UCSD #&
30 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo #&

OCTOBER
2 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill #&
4 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios #&
5 - Seattle, WA - High Dive #&
7 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court #&
8 - Denver, CO - Hi Dive #&
9 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown Jr #
11 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry %
12 - Milwaukee, WI - The Cactus Club %
14 - Indianapolis, IN - MOKB Presents @ Radio Radio %
15 - Pittsburgh, PA - The Brillobox %
16 - Washington, DC - The Black Cat %

* = w/ Via Audio
# = w/ Hooray for Earth
& = w/ AB & the Sea
% = w/ Elizabeth & the Catapult
^ = w/ Rhett Miller, Ekterklang, Bowerbirds, and more

Also, don't forget to pre-order your copy of "Everything Under the Sun" while there's still time. The album will be available to the public on Sept 7.

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (A Review)

Arcade Fire's new album, "The Suburbs" is an experience that is powerful both musically and lyrically. The songs are upbeat and energetic at times, mellow and thoughtful at others. "Half Life" has pounding music that feels ready to burst any minute. It resolves to "Half Life II", which starts slow and builds back up again.

Another word to describe the album is "eclectic". "Suburban War" has war-like drum beats followed by the next track "Month of May" which is more of a dance number. The whole album goes through waves with different levels and emotional tones to them. With such a variety of flavors to experience, I'm sure you will find a song for you.

Arcade Fire are currently on tour, and will be in NYC August 4th & 5th. The Aug 4th date is sold out, but tickets are still available for Aug 5th, according to Bowery's website.Full list of dates can be found on the Arcade Fire MySpace. If you can't make it to any of the shows, fear not! The Madison Square Garden show will be broadcast on the Internets (see Bowery site for details). The event will be an historic one, so you're not going to want to miss out.

Alex Band - We've All Been There: A Review

Hearing the lead singer from a rock band make the change to solo artist, some might fear this will just be a watered down version of the former band. Rest assured, this is not the case with "We've All Been There". Right from the start, Band shows his fans that he still has some rocker left in him. That's not to say that this is just like The Calling but with a different band. Alex' voice is recognizable from his days as frontman, but the sound is all his own. The album actually achieves a perfect balance that should keep fans of The Calling happy while also adding to that fan base and making it stronger. The album grabs the listener right away with the title track, letting them know that Band is giving it all he's got with this one. Good to know, for those who have been waiting since he first announced his solo career back in 2005. These loyal follows have stayed with him through label issues and several delays. Five years later and they now have a new album to hold (which has been signed by the artist if they jumped on that promotion). And what an album it is, too. With each song you can hear the passion Band has for his craft. You would have to love something that much to go through the rollercoaster ride it has been and even creating a label, in essence building a home for the newborn child to live and feel comfortable in.

The album is entirely worth it (IMO) but a few songs especially stand out for me. One is the single "Tonight", partly because I have had more time to fall in love with it and partly because it is just a truly powerful song. When the video was finally made available, I shared it with everyone I thought might be interested and played it a dozen times in the first day. In case you missed it, here it is again:



Another song is "Only One" because the chorus reminds us we only have one life to live, which I take a step further to mean we shouldn't waste the time we've got left. This is a lesson we all learn at some point, but sometimes we need repeated reminders.

"Holding On" refers to "holding on to a dream and staying strong" - which could be the theme song for the overall process of recording the album and making it accessible to the public, the whole time fighting the urge to lose faith and not give up. Keeping with that theme, there is also the track "Love", which proclaims "I'm not giving up… I'm blessed with love". This is the sort of positive, uplifting message we need in difficult times like we have seen lately. The final song "Start Over Again" is about life bringing you down and being able to pick right up and start again. Or maybe Alex just subliminally is trying to tell us to start the record over again…. Hey, you don't have to tell me twice!

After listening to the new album a few times on repeat, it's time to enjoy them in a live setting. Now that the album is finally out, there are a series of tour dates to look forward to. The tour began on the West Coast on July 14th and will end on the East Coast on August 8th. The New York date is August 6th at Highline Ballroom. The complete list of dates can be found on his website, as well as the latest news the artist has to share and a bunch of other extras. You can also follow Alex on Facebook and Twitter as well. The album can be purchased on iTunes and his website, as well as certain local retailers. You've waited long enough for this one, folks - go buy your copy today!

Aerosmith Announce Summer Tour

Remember back when we thought Aerosmith was going to replace Steven Tyler as their lead singer and I predicted that would be the end for the classic rock band? Well fans should be glad to hear that not only did that not happen, but the band is going on tour this summer. The NY/NJ area dates are Jones Beach and PNC Bank Arts Center. The rest of the dates are:

7/23, Oakland, CA (Oracle Arena) *
7/26, Paso Robles, CA (State Fair)
7/29, Irvine, CA (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)
7/31, Las Vegas, NV (MGM Grand Garden Arena) *
8/3, Dallas, TX (Superpages.com Amphitheatre)
8/5, Woodlands, TX (Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion) *
8/7, Tampa, FL (Ford Amphitheatre)
8/9, Fort Lauderdale, FL (BankAtlantic Center) *
8/12, Wantagh, NY (Nikon at Jones Beach Theater) *
8/14, Boston, MA (Fenway Park)
8/17, Toronto, ON (Air Canada Centre) *
8/19, Omaha, NE (Qwest Center) *
8/22, Tinley Park, IL (First Midwest Bank Amphitheater)
8/24, Holmdel, NJ (PNC Bank Arts Center) *
8/26, Syracuse, NY (NY State Fair)
8/28, Atlantic City, NJ (Boardwalk Hall) *
8/31, Detroit, MI (The Palace at Auburn Hills) *
9/2, Cincinnati, OH (Riverbend Music Center) *
9/4, Uncasville, CT (Mohegan Sun Arena)

* w/ support from Sammy Hagar and the Wabos

Stay tuned to this station for all the latest in music news.

Arcade Fire Announce Tour, Headlining Madison Square Garden

If you've been waiting for the chance to see Arcade Fire live, well your wait is officially over. The band announced a tour that, among other places, will hit Madison Square Garden in August. There haven't been many other US dates announced as of now, but the list has been growing for the past couple of days, so if you don't see your city then don't panic just yet. The dates that have been announced so far are:

Jun 28 - Helsinki, FI @ Senaatintori
Jun 30 - Rättvik, SE @ Dalhalla
Jul 02 - Arendal, NO @ Hove Festival
Jul 04 - Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter
Jul 09 - Eadestown, IE @ Oxegen
Jul 12 - Quebec City, QC @ Festival d'ete de Quebec
Jul 13 - Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Bluesfest
Jul 31 - Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Music Festival
Aug 03 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Aug 08 - Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
Aug 12 - Toronto, ON @ Toronto Centre Island
Aug 27 - Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival
Aug 28 - Reading, UK @ Reading Festival
Aug 29 - Saint-Cloud, FR @ Rock en Seine
Aug 31 - Berlin, DE @ Tempodrom
Aug 02 - Bologna, IT @ I-Day Festival

Oh, and for those curious about the opening act, that was announced too: Spoon. The same band that headlined Radio City in March. Me thinks whatever these tickets (which go on sale June 12th) cost is going to be worth it.

Touring News

Two tour updates to give today. Well, one tour and one summer concert series.

First, Mates of State have announced possibly the coolest tour I've ever heard of. The tour is for the release of their upcoming covers album. The shows are going to play out more like a variety show, however. Included will be magic, contortionists, and much much more. The dynamic duo have two dates in New York (one at Music Hall of Williamsburg and one at Bowery Ballroom). Full list of dates can be found here.

Second, RXP have announced plans for their Summer Concert Series. The kickoff will be June 25th and features Silversun Pickups (fresh from opening for Muse) with Against Me! and The Henry Clay People. The concerts will all take place at the Williamsburg Waterfront. You don't want to miss out, so get your tickets today.

Artic Monkeys Can't Stop the Beat

Artic Monkeys have been touring and enjoying the success of their new album Humbug for awhile now. So of course when the tour wraps up they are going to take a much needed break, right?

Wrong!

The band plans to get right back into the studio to start working on their next project. There are no details available yet, except their plans to do this. For those of us (like me) who realized their love for the band after they had already passed their home town on the tour, this is exciting news. Let me do the math for you:

new album = another tour

At least it probably does. Either way, new music from this great band is nothing to sneeze at. After all, they weren't listed as one of my top bands of 2009 for nothing.

Flyleaf on Tour

Flyleaf is going on their UNite & Fite Tour starting this month and through the beginning of June. The tour will start in the UK and swing by the US. The New York date is scheduled for May 22nd at Webster Hall. Tickets go on sale March 20th.

News Roundup

A few quick news items that should probably all get their own posts but sadly there just aren't enough hours in the day.

Peter Graves, the star of the television series Mission Impossible, died last night near his home in LA. He would have been 84 in a week.

ABBA is among the list of new inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Other famous artists include Genesis and The Hollies, among others.

Kings of Leon, recent winners of Record of the Year, will be touring this summer. The tour kicks off in Atlantic City on June 5th and continues through September 23rd, where it will stop in Dallas. Complete list of dates can be found here.

Desperate Housewives will (finally!) be introducing us to Patrick Logan, the character that is supposed to be after Angie and her family, next week. As I have already mentioned, the role will be played by Torchwood star, John Barrowman. Discussion of this story will continue in the coming weeks.

Finally, don't forget that 24 is on tonight. You don't want to miss a minute of this exciting season.

Pearl Jam Announces Tour, Visits MSG

Pearl Jam is set to tour the U.S. in May, including two dates in Madison Square Garden (May 20th & 21st). Other stops include Buffalo, Hartford, and Boston. Band of Horses will open all of the dates except the MSG shows, which The Black Keys will open. Pre-sale starts March 15th and public on-sale starts March 19th & 20th (depending on what city you are in).

Conan O'Brien Set To Tour U.S.

Conan O'Brien may be done with late night TV for awhile (at least until Sept 1, according to the settlement with NBC), but his days (or nights) of making people laugh are far from over.

There will be a tour.

It will take place during the summer.

It will be epic (maybe).

Presenting Conan O'Brien in the "Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour"

The tour will hit most of the major spots, including an appearance at Bonnaroo. The rest of the dates are:

4/12, Eugene, OR (Hult Center for the Performing Arts
)
4/13, Vancouver, BC (Orpheum Theatre
)
4/16, Spokane, WA (INB Performing Arts Center)

4/17, Edmonton, AB (River Cree Resort & Casino
)
4/18, Seattle, WA (Marion Oliver McCaw Hall
)
4/22, San Francisco, CA (Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium
)
4/24, Universal City, CA (Gibson Amphitheater)

4/29, San Diego, CA (San Diego Civic Theatre)

4/30, Phoenix, AZ (Dodge Theatre
)
5/1, Las Vegas, NV (Pearl Concert Theater)

5/4, Reno, NV (Grand Sierra Resort and Casino)

5/5, San Jose, CA (San Jose State Event Center
)
5/6, Sacramneto, CA (Sacramento Memorial Auditorium)

5/9, Boulder, CO (Mackey Auditorium
)
5/10, Denver, CO (Ellie Caulkins Opera House)

5/13, Dallas, TX (McFarlin Auditorium)

5/14, Austin, TX (Austin Music Hall
)
5/15, Tulsa, OK (Brady Theater
)
5/16, Kansas City, MO (The Midland)

5/18, Minneapolis, MN (Orpheum Theater
)
5/19, Chicago, IL (Chicago Theatre)

5/22, Toronto, ON (Massey Hall)

6/1, New York, NY (Radio City Music Hall
)
6/4, Boston, MA (Wang Theater)

6/6, Uncasville, CT (Mohegan Sun Arena)

6/7, Upper Derby, PA (Tower Theatre)

6/8, Washington, DC (Dar Constitution Hall)

6/11, Manchester, TN (Bonnaroo Music Festival
)
6/14, Atlanta, GA (Fox Theatre)

Way to tackle unemployment head-on, sir.

Muse On Tour: Boston Edition

Picture it: Fall, 2009. Muse headlines for arguably one of the greatest bands of all time: U2. "Who are these guys?" the crowd wonders. They're really good.

Flash forward to now. Muse is on a tour of its own, and you can be sure everyone in the crowd knows who they are. They sit through a fun yet otherwise uneventful set from Silversun Pickups. Many are only familiar with one song, the hit "Panic Switch" It is played near the end of the set. Everyone dances and sings along. They know it means they will soon be getting what they came here to see.

Break. Set change. Waiting.

The lights go down. Everyone cheers. Our time is now.

The stage shines with intense light displays and video. Portions of the stage rise and fall to reveal the band. What follows is over an hour of one of the most impressive displays of musical ability I have seen in a band. It was truly inspirational.

The main set ended with a few songs missing, so I started my predictions of what the encore would be. It was a long shot, I knew, but I was hoping for Exogenesis Symphony. To me, it showcases their talent as musicians. I was pleasantly surprised to see I had gotten my wish. It was followed by Stockholm Syndrome and then concluded with Knights of Cydonia. A great finish, although I was disappointed they didn't play Invincible. It is the best song on the live album, and I was hoping to experience it for myself.

Overall the show was fantastic. If you get a choice to see them live DO IT. They are one of the best live bands you will possibly ever see.

Glee hits the road for spring tour

Things we already know about the hit show "Glee":

1) Well, it's a hit. Ratings are good and people are talking.

2) It's a show about a glee club. That means lots of singing and dancing.

Knowing these two things it should come as no surprise that the cast of Glee will be going on tour this spring. The list of dates is short, but they're hitting most of the big cities (including two dates in New York City).

May 18 Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theatre
May 20 Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheatre
May 21 Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheatre
May 25 Chicago, IL Rosemont Theatre
May 26 Chicago, IL Rosemont Theatre
May 28 New York City, NY Radio City Music Hall
May 29 New York City, NY Radio City Music Hall

So, who else is Glee-ful over this latest announcement?

Muse To Headline Coachella 2010

As if Muse wasn't getting enough buzz in recent months, they now have something else to look forward to. They have been added as the headliner for the Saturday, April 17 date for Coachella. The festival takes place every year in California. This is in addition to a growing tour they will be on for most of this year with Silversun Pickups opening. The New York date of this tour is on March 5 at Madison Square Garden and is sold out (according to Silversun PIckups' website).

Jukebox the Ghost Make Plans to Haunt the U.S.

Jukebox the Ghost, who have been working on a second record, are now planning a U.S. tour to share all their new tunes with us. Exciting news for fans everywhere. The list of dates is as follows:

March
03 - Boston, MA - Great Scott #
04 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom #
05 - Ithaca, NY - The Haunt #
06 - Westport, CT - Toquet Hall #
07 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Smalls Theater #
09 - Ann Arbor, MI - The Blind Pig #
10 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection #
11 - Madison, WI - The Frequency #
12 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall #
13 - St Louis, MO - Firebird #
15 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues #
16 - Houston, TX - House of Blues #
17 - Austin, TX - SXSW
18 - Austin, TX - SXSW
19 - Austin, TX - SXSW
20 - Austin, TX - SXSW
22 - Nashville, TN - Rocketown #
23 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl #
24 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 #
25 - Washington, DC - The Black Cat #
26 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar #
27 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's #

# = w/ Tally Hall, Skybox

A short documentary about the new album is also available.

Switchfoot - Mess of Me

The new video for "Mess of Me" by Switchfoot is up on their YouTube page. Also, tickets are on sale for their upcoming tour. The New York date is 12/8 at The Filmore Irving Plaza. Personally I have never had the chance to see them live, although I have be trying for about two years now. Anyone have an opinion on their live show? Comments on this are welcome.

Switchfoot to Tour Again

Tickets go on sale today for Switchfoot's latest tour. This is in anticipation of their new album "Hello Hurricane" which comes out this November. The tour itself starts October 30th in Florida and hits the NY/NJ area December 8th when they come to Irving Plaza. Tickets for that show are $25. This blogger has missed every chance to see Switchfoot live and may just have to go see this show. Will you be there?

Bon Jovi Announces World Tour

Bon Jovi has announced a world tour to go along with the upcoming new album they are currently working on. The New Jersey stop will consist of two dates at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East rutherford, NJ. The last tour Bon Jovi did was also the opening of Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Seeing as how the band is the pride of NJ it only seems fitting that they play such an important role in the expansion of the music scene here.