Colorado alternative rock/pop group OneRepublic have outlined their Summer 2013 tour of the United States supporting this year’s latest studio album, Native. Some of these dates will be co-headlining concerts with Sara Bareilles supporting her latest, The Blessed Unrest, due next month. [Read more…]
My Bloody Valentine, the alternative rock band from Dublin, Ireland, will be making a handful of rare headlining concert appearances in the United States during the worldwide tour, which will feature a number of dates at popular music festivals. These are the first U.S. dates since 2009. Their new album, mbv, was released earlier this year. [Read more…]
England New Wave band The Fixx will be playing a little over a dozen shows across the U.S. next month. Best known for 80s classics like “One Thing Leads To Another”, “Red Skies”, and “Saved By Zero”, the group is likely to play newer material as well from last years studio album, Beautiful Friction. [Read more…]
“We got in kind of late today, and everybody jumped off the bus, except me… I had to change my clothes… and I looked out the window, and there was a man in his underpants… directly across from the bus… and was just sort of walking around like, ‘it’s cold’. And I felt like I was finally at home. Which brings us to this next song, ladies and gentlemen, which is called ‘We Live In A Dump’.” Preface to one of their uniquely They Might Be Giants songs, by one of the two founding members, John Flansburg, painting an accurate picture of the immediate area surrounding The Warfield in San Francisco in a uniquely perceptive and humorous TMBG way. The Grammy Award-winning duo and backing band have long been pioneers in alternative and experimental music, breaking into the mainstream with their third studio album, Flood (1990), which included hits “Birdhouse in Your Soul” and “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” and well known for their “Boss of Me” theme song to the television series, Malcolm in the Middle. Last night’s show included a great mix of old and new material, including songs from their 16th studio album, Nanobots, released just a few months ago. The packed theater seemed to be filled with hardcore fans, which wasn’t surprising given that their work is so unique and they have been so prolific over more than a quarter century that they’ve cultivated quite a following.
“I’ve been losing my voice, so I’m probably going to be singing a lot of sweet, falsetto songs tonight. I apologize for not being able to do more of my trademark growling and Janis Joplin screaming that I’m so famous for… but I’ll do what I can.” A few songs into her set, how singer-songwriter Jewel framed her performance at Ovations LIVE! at Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino last night in Chandler, Arizona, well into her “Greatest Hits Tour”. Having had an opportunity to meet her backstage before the show, where conversation was limited to whispering, I wasn’t too sure what to expect. Amazingly, sitting in the audience, you would never have any idea that she was having any issues at all, as she put on an incredible showcase performance, reflective of her place in the music world as one of our most gifted vocalists in popular music today, with range, versatility, and emotion bursting out of every song. Having penned over 500 songs, later in the show Jewel mentioned that no two shows are ever the same, yet in addition to the music she provided some personal insights into her life and journey in music, both of which seem forever intertwined. It was really a fantastic evening, and her (mostly) solo, all acoustic show is definitely a must see in live music today.
New Wave pioneers Pet Shop Boys today announced and put on sale dates for the U.S. leg of their upcoming world tour – their first appearance here in more than four years. Also today they have released a music video for “Axis”, off their upcoming album, Electric, due July 15th. [Read more…]
“I’m not gettin’ old. I’m gettin’ dead.” Sixto Díaz Rodríguez, at age 70, standing before an enthusiastic, sold out crowd at The Warfield in San Francisco last night. He took time away from his set of late 60s folk protest rock and some surprising covers to engage the audience, often with humor (and some of it lighthearted and self deprecating) and incredible charm. I don’t know about the rest of the crowd, but if I could have one wish granted at the show, it would probably be to go up and give him a hug. He seems to be quite a sweet character, and beaming with happiness, which was not quite what I expected having his work on rotation for the 2.5 hour drive into the city. With boots, leather pants, black shirt and coat, and his trademark hat and glasses, he stood before us like some kind of elder statesman rock star… long lost and forgotten, that he was there at all playing on stage was as much unlikely as it seemed to be a part of his destiny. Truly an incredible opportunity to experience his music live and in person, I can’t imagine anyone in the room went away anything less that ecstatic with the show.
Live Nation has provided Rock Subculture Journal with a pair of tickets to Killing Joke’s April 19th concert at Irving Plaza in New York City to give away to one of my readers. The show in New York is their first U.S. date and one of just a handful of shows announced for this tour. One winner will be selected at random to receive two (2) general admission tickets to the show, which is part of their world tour currently underway. [Read more…]
Yeah Yeah Yeahs have this week published their upcoming new album, Mosquito, in its entirety, two weeks ahead of the official April 16th release date. In addition, they are at the beginning of a somewhat haphazard tour that will have them playing Coachella and a handful of U.S. dates before heading out for England early next month and then back and forth between Europe & the UK and the U.S. through July. They have already played about 10 shows and festivals thus far in 2013. [Read more…]
Metric has thus far this year plotted out dates through June, with appearances at Coachella as well as their own headlining shows in and around the United States. Having covered two of their shows last year, they are really a must see band with amazing music and songs from their latest studio album, Synthetica, get a lot of play on this tour. [Read more…]