HONESTY AND LIES

Jose Gonzalez's show at St. Paul's Trinity on June 26, 2005 is now on sale through ticketmaster, Rotate This and Soundscapes. He will be joined by Juana Molina and Psapp. Tickets are $20.

Watch his video for Stay In The Shade here.

Check his MySpace here.

HIS LITTLE HEART, IT BEAT SO FAST

The Futureheads have finished recording the follow-up to their most excellent self-titled debut. The first single Skip To The End will be released on May 15, 2006 (but you can download it now below). News and Tributes will be out May 29, 2006 and if the first single is any indication, it's gonna be bananas (as Lauren would say). It has a modernized Clash kind of feel, but still has the Futureheads signature sound. Loves it.

The Futureheads - Skip To The End
The Futureheads - Decent Days and Nights (acoustic)
The Futureheads - Hounds Of Love (Mystery Jets Pirate Invasion Remix)

Check their MySpace here.
Check out the video for Skip To The End here.

I"M GOING ON WITHOUT YOU


As everyone knows, Stars' Amy Millan is going solo with the release of her debut album Honey From The Tombs (Arts & Crafts)on May 30, 2006. As reported earlier, she will be hosting a CD release at the Mod Club during NXNE on June 10, 2006. I've posted another track from the album below (to download the first single Skinny Boy, click here).

Amy Millan - Baby I

Check Amy's mySpace here.

BOWL OF ORANGES

Bright Eyes Canadian tour is currently on sale through a saddle creek pre-sale. Click here to purchase tickets (apparently all the Massey Hall tickets that are available are on the main floor).

MAKE A HOME FROM A RENTED HOUSE


Feist's remix album titled Open Season will be released this coming Tuesday. In anticipation of the release, here are a few tracks from the album. I'm crushing on The Postal Service remix of Mushaboom.

Feist - Mushaboom (Postal Service Remix)
Feist - Inside + Out (Apostle Of Hustle UnMix)
Feist - Lovertits w Gonzales (Peaches Cover)

Enjoy!

IF YOU WALK AWAY, I'LL WALK AWAY

It's been a busy week. DCFC/FF monday night, and as most people have heard, it wasn't the greatest experience (it had nothing to do with the bands). Ricoh Coliseum is absolutely the worst venue I've ever been to, worse than Arrow Hall. The acoustics are dreadful, it echos like a bitch and it feels like a dank cavern. Franz put on a decent set, full of young energy and fun. DCFC actually sounded great, except for the fire alarm that went off for 15 minutes during their set. Needless to say, Ben and Co. handled the venue malfunction well, and still produced a solid set.

There are tons of YouTube videos from the show:

Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To?
Franz Ferdinand - Walk Away (clip)
Death Cab For Cutie - Title And Registration (Clip)
Death Cab For Cutie - Ben and the file alarm
Death Cab For Cutie - Crooked Teeth

In concert news:

June 6, 2006 - The Spinto Band w The Lovely Feathers - El Mocambo
June 14, 2006 - Bright Eyes - Massey Hall
June 26, 2006 - Jose Gonzalez has been confirmed for St. Pauls Trinity (via Chromewaves)

Rumour has it that Radiohead has been confirmed to play Hummingbird Centre in mid-june. My guess is two shows (via Stillepost)

Are you in Veronica Mars withdrawl since there wasn't a new episode on this week? Check out the trailer for Pulse, starring Vmars Kirsten Bell herself.

CALENDAR GIRL


Everyone's favourite Canadian indie darling (ummm other than Neko) Amy Milan (of Stars) has confirmed her first solo show in Toronto. Ms. Milan will be playing the Mod Club Theatre on June 10, 2006. The show is 19+ and tickets are on sale this morning via ticketmaster.

Download the first single "Skinny Boy" off her debut album here.
Check her myspace here.

Frank over at Chromewaves has a news about a bunch of confirmed shows. The two I'm most excited about are:

May 16, 2006 - Wolfmother w Deadboy & The Elephant Man

June 26, 2006 - Jose Gonzales w Juana Molina and Psapp (venue TBO)

He also has a great Mp3 up for download. It's a cover by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs of Bjork's Hyperballad.

Radiohead fansite At Ease has a news story concerning confirmed venues for two cities in North America (sadly, not Toronto).

iForward Russia's debut album has leaked. Dreams Of Horses has Mp3s for download of a few tracks here.

Chart Magazine reviews the CYHSY! show this past saturday at the Opera House in Toronto.

Sucking A Lemon reviews the Owen Pallett curated "The Man Show" this past weekend at the Music Gallery in Toronto. Check out the wicked cool pictures.

Stereogum reviews Voxtrot's show at Mercury Lounge in NYC. Scott also has Mp3s for download from the KEXP sessions. Voxtrot play Sneaky Dee's this thursday night, tickets are still available via Soundscapes and Rotate This.

FOR A MINUTE THERE, I LOST MYSELF

WTF!!!! Radiohead have answered my prayers and are planning multiple dates here in Toronto!!! According to Billboard:

"Radiohead is eyeing multiple-night stands in Montreal, Toronto, Philadelphia and Chicago as part of its summer North American tour, which will get underway in June, Billboard.com has learned. Dates, venues and an opening act are still being finalized."

Check the link.

Soooo excited!!!! The last time I saw them in a small venue was in 1998, at the Opera House and then during the Tibetian Freedom Concert weekend in D.C. at the 9:30 Club. Rumors and guesses are abound on Stillepost as to which venue will host the shows. My guess is two nights at Hummingbird , or three at Massey Hall. I'd die if it was Massey Hall, it's by far one of the best venues in the city.

Word.

Thanks to Janice over at Just Keep Bloggin' for the tip on the just announced Olympic Island festival featuring Broken Social Scene, Bloc Party, Feist and J.Mascis (more bands to be announced) on June 24, 2006. According to Emerge, tickets go on sale saturday April 8th!!! Soooo excited!!!

UPDATE>>> The Edge is having a pre-sale which starts thursday at 10am. Tickets for the sale are $38.50. The price will be going up for the regular on-sale date.

ON MY OWN

I can't believe it's been over a week since the Stellastarr*/Editors show at the Phoenix. I've been meaning to post about it all week, but shit's been crazy busy...work, preparing for the move (moving from the 'burbs to Toronto May 1st) and catching up with some peeps. Back to the show. Met Mark and Shannon after work and headed up to grab a bite to eat near the venue. Small problem, there's nowhere to eat near the Phoenix, so we ended up at Golden Griddle, amongst a sea of freaks on College. I opted for a cup of tea, while the others ate lackluster meals. Headed back to the venue just before 7pm. Even though the doors had opened an hour before, we still secured a good spot on the balcony. Stellastarr* went on at 7:15pm, they opened with In The Walls from their debut. Their live performance has improved immensely since the last time I saw them (at their debut Toronto show at the ElMo back in 2003), their sound is full and intense. Shawn's vocals have also improved as has his stage presence. It's funny, Stellastarr* use to tour with The Killers before they blew up, and I kept thinking during the show that there isn't any real reason that Shawn and company couldn't be in their position. Both bands are great live and in my opinion, Stellastarr*'s tunes are much more advanced and well written. Their setlist consisted of a mix between new and old material. Highlight of their set was a breathtaking/full body goosebump inducing verison of On My Own. They closed their set with crowd favourite Jenny which was incredible.

Editors' set started off a little shaky. They opened with Lights, their first track of their debut The Back Room, which was noticeably too slow and a mess. Soon after, they found their bearings. They sounded exactly as I expected, percise (expect for the first tune) and professional (which is strange of a band that is soo young). They played the majority of their disc and were good, but didn't blow me away (Mark and Shannon liked their set alot more than me).

Check:
Stellastarr*'s MySpace

Listen:
Editors - All Sparks
Editors - Munich

Watch:
Stellastarr* - Sweet Troubled Soul
Editors - Bullets (Live)