Friendly show reminder: Of Montreal TONIGHT @ The Variety Playhouse

Just a last minute reminder that Of Montreal is playing tonight at The Variety Playhouse. Doors open at 8:30pm, show should start soon after. Hopefully we don't get any Kevin Barnes nakedness at this show: see above pic (I used a neutral, non-descript loaf of french bread to help cover up his, uh....hissing fauna). I'll be taking photos, and I'll post a show review sometime next week.

UPDATE: This show is sold out. If ya ain't got tickets you're shit outta luck. Sorry.

Everyone's allowed to change their mind...it just took me awhile

Let me just start by saying I've never been a huge fan of The Apples in Stereo. As far as their Elephant 6 brethren go (Neutral Milk Hotel, Of Montreal, Elf Power), I'm a devoted listener. I just couldn't get into The Apples in Stereo. A couple of my friends have been trying for years to convince me to no avail. They say timing is everything, and maybe I just needed some time...or maybe I just needed them to make this album. "New Magnetic Wonder" grabbed me immediately, and sorta slapped upside the head & said "Dude. Took you long enough." Well I guess I deserved that. This really is some great, intelligent pop. Sunny and bright, in the vein of The Shins, Belle & Sebastian and as expected there's some Of Montreal in there too. "Energy" pulled me in with that Beatle-esque catchy-as-fuck intro chorus, "Same Old Drag" had that same momentum with a great guitar/keyboard driven melody. Man this album fucking kicks. I officially apologize to my friends. You were right, and I am going to revisit their older albums immediately. Do yourself a massive favor and go pick this album up now. Go. Why are you still standing there? Oh, you need to know where to buy it from? My bad.

Get it from Insound, or Criminal Records.

The Apples In Stereo "Energy" MP3 (via box.net)

The Apples In Stereo - Website

The Black Lips drop new album, tour

ATL 'flower punks', The Black Lips signed to Vice what seems like just yesterday and already their brand spankin' new album is out. "Los Valientes Del Mundo Nuevo" was recorded in Tijuana, Mexico by John Reis (Drive Like Jehu, Rocket From the Crypt, Hot Snakes)..."the result, Los Valientes Del Mundo Nuevo manages to capture the chaos of their live show (they kidnapped a Mariachi band to play with them for fuckssake) and pounds out some of the greatest hits of their past records." I couldn't agree more. The Black Lips have been a staple around Atlanta for awhile, a guaranteed good time soaked in beer and reverb. Head down to Criminal Records to pick this shit up, or buy it from Insound.

Dates with destiny:
2/23/07 - Whirlyball Atlanta - Roswell, GA
2/24/07 - The 40 Watt Club - Athens, GA
3/18/07 - The Mink - Houston, TX
3/19/07 - One Eyed Jack's - New Orleans, LA
3/21/07 - The Earl - Atlanta, GA
3/22/07 - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC
3/23/07 - Ottobar - Baltimore, MD
3/24/07 - Black Cat - Washington, D.C.
3/25/07 - Johnny Brendas - Philadelphia, PA
3/26/07 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY
3/27/07 - T.T. the Bear's - Cambridge, MA
3/31/07 - Logan Square Auditorium - Chicago, IL
4/01/07 - Mad Planet - Milwaukee, WI
4/03/07 - The End - Nashville, TN

Check out their Myspace for more.

Jesu forced to cancel 9 dates of first-ever US tour

Man, your first US tour ever, and you have to cancel the first 9 dates of the tour due to inept US work permit policies. That sucks. According to Justin Broadrick's (Jesu) blog, they're unfortunately waiting for their US work permits to be approved before they can head over to the states to start touring. (Update: Pitchfork announced today: "Justin K. Broadrick and co. have just secured the visas and will make their U.S. debut on March 5 in Orlando.") That's good news for the folks whose cities they'll be visiting on and after that date, and just plain sucks for those whose dates were canceled. No replacement dates have been scheduled as of yet.

Jesu's revised tour schedule:

02-22 San Diego, CA - Casbah * (canceled)
02-23 Tempe, AZ - The Clubhouse * (canceled)
02-24 Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad * (canceled)
02-26 Oklahoma City, OK - Conservatory * (canceled)
02-27 Fort Worth, TX - Ridglea Theater * (canceled)
02-28 Austin, TX - Emo's Alternative Lounging * (canceled)
03-01 Houston, TX - Numbers * (canceled)
03-02 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon * (canceled)
03-03 Birmingham, AL - Bottletree Lounge * (canceled)
03-05 Orlando, FL - The Social *
03-08 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club *
03-09 Charlotte, NC - Tremont Music Hall *
03-10 Richmond, VA - Alley Katz *
03-11 Washington, DC - 930 Club *
03-13 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts *
03-14 New York, NY - Irving Plaza *
03-15 Austin, TX - Emo's (SXSW)
03-16 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-17 Cambridge, MA - The Middle East (Downstairs) *#
03-18 Montreal, Quebec - Theatre National *#
03-19 Ottawa, Ontario - Barrymore's *#
03-20 Toronto, Ontario - Opera House *#
03-21 Detroit, MI - St Andrews Hall *#
03-22 Chicago, IL - Metro *#
03-25 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club *# 03-26 Iowa City, IA - The Picador *#
03-27 Lawrence, KS - Granada Theatre *#
03-28 Denver, CO - Marquis Theater *#
03-30 Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue *#
04-01 Boise, ID - The Big Easy *#
04-02 Spokane, WA - The Big Easy *#
04-03 Seattle, WA - Neumos *#
04-04 Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre *#
04-06 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 365 Club *#
04-08 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre *#

* with Isis
# with Zozobra

Tool Announce 2007 Spring Tour Dates

I haven't seen Tool live since 1996, and I think I might actually try and make it out for this show. They're amazing live, plus I would get to see what crazy-ass body painting/cross dressing Maynard will sport this time. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, 2/24/07 at 10:00am.

Here are the dates:
Thu 03/15/07 Las Vegas, NV Pearl @ The Palms
Fri 03/16/07 Las Vegas, NV Pearl @ The Palms
Sun 03/18/07 Reno, NV Reno Events Center
Tue 03/20/07 San Diego, CA Cox Arena
Wed 03/21/07 Tucson, AZ Tucson Convention Center
Fri 03/23/07 Albuquerque, NM Tingley Col.@New Mexico State Fair
Sat 03/24/07 Las Cruces, NM Pan American Center
Mon 03/26/07 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
Tue 03/27/07 Corpus Christi, TX American Bank Center
Thu 03/29/07 Oklahoma City, OK Ford Center
Fri 03/30/07 Southaven, MS DeSoto Civic Center
Sat 03/31/07 Baton Rouge, LA Baton Rouge River Center
Mon 04/02/07 Pensacola, FL Pensacola Civic Center
Tue 04/03/07 Tallahassee, FL Leon County Civic Center
Thu 04/05/07 Tampa, FL USF Sun Dome
Fri 04/06/07 Orlando, FL Amway Arena
Sat 04/07/07 Coral Gables, FL BankUnited Center
Tue 04/10/07 Duluth, GA The Arena At Gwinnett Center
Wed 04/11/07 Winston-Salem, NC Lawrence Joel Complex
Fri 04/13/07 Pelham, AL Verizon Wireless Center Birmingham
Sat 04/14/07 Greenville, SC Bi Lo Center
Sun 04/15/07 Richmond, VA Richmond Coliseum
Tue 04/17/07 Reading, PA Sovereign Center
Wed 04/18/07 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center
Fri 04/20/07 Albany, NY Times-Union Center
Sat 04/21/07 Atlantic City, NJ Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall
Sun 04/22/07 Portland, ME Cumberland Co. Civic Center
Fri 04/27/07 Quebec City, QC Colisee Pepsi
Sat 04/28/07 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
Sun 04/29/07 Hamilton, ON Copps Coliseum
06/14-17/07 Bonnaroo Festival

As you probably can see (and already knew), Tool will be one of the headliners for this year's Bonnaroo festival in TN, along with The Police. Those tickets go on sale this Friday, 2/23/07.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: New Album "Baby 81" Out 5/01/07

One of my favorite bands, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club will be releasing their follow-up to 2005's "Howl" , "Baby 81" on May 1st, 2007. It is a reported shift back toward their Jesus and Mary Chain influences. Which I think is a very good thing. Their last album wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. I am a huge fan of the first two albums and I'm quite eager to hear what they have in store for us.

The full track listing is as follows:

Took Out a Loan
Berlin
Weapon of Choice
Window
Cold Mind
It's Not What You Wanted
666 Conducer
All You Do Is Talk
Lien on Your Dreams
Need Some Air
Killing the Light
American X
Am I Only

"Weapon of Choice" will be the first single off of the album.
Visit the official B.R.M.C. website.