Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Run

Slow news day pushes Vampire Weekend tour announcement to top of post

Photo By Soren Solkaer StarbirdSoren Solkaer StarbirdActually that’s not entirely true – it was indeed slow yesterday morning when I decided to lead with the Vampire Weekend tour info despite my general indifference and/or distaste for the band, but since then a number of notable concert announcements have shown up in the ol’ inbox and RSS feed. But since the release of their second album Contra next week is, arguably, the first big album release of 2010 – and I already had the picture cropped and uploaded – I’ll run with it.

And so here’s the 411 – the North American tour kicks off March 14 in Edmonton (!) and takes a leisurely route eastwards, eventually stopping in Toronto at the Sound Academy on March 30. That’s right, Vampire Weekend are playing a 3000-capacity venue, and they’re charging $27.50 a head to see them do so. Tickets go on sale this Friday.

Considerably less costly is the opportunity to hear their new record a week before release. It’s currently streaming on their MySpace and additionally, PitchforkTV has a “Juan’s Basement” live video session to watch. Also worth noting is that folks who buy Contra at their local indie store rather than, say, Wal-Mart, will receive the Vampire Weekend Meets Toy Selectah bonus CD for their conscientious consumerism. Details on the what and where here. Spinner talks to bassist Chris Baio about the new record.

MP3: Vampire Weekend – “Horchata”
Video: Vampire Weekend – “Cousins”
Stream: Vampire Weekend / Contra

Certainly the most intriguing announcement of the day yesterday was that Charlotte Gainsbourg would be coming to town. Gainsbourg has many claims to fame – daughter of Serge, actress (The Science Of Sleep, Antichrist), singer – and it’s as the last of these that she will be at the Phoenix on January 29. Her third album IRM, out January 26, was produced by Beck, who also duets on the first single, and it’s his band that will be backing Gainsbourg on this tour. Tickets for the Toronto show are $21.50.

Video: Charlotte Gainsbourg – “Heaven Can Wait”

Fans of the now-defunct Be Your Own Pet may be interested to know that a couple of spin-off acts (who are not Jemina Pearl) are hitting the road this Winter. JEFF The Brotherhood, featuring former BYOP guitar and drums Jake and Jamin Orrall, are out and about including a January 29 date at Sneaky Dee’s in support of their record Heavy Days while Turbo Fruits, which is led by the BYOP guitarist and drummer at the time of their dissolution, are hitting the road in support of Echo Kid with Surfer Blood and will be at Sneaky Dee’s on March 6.

MP3: Turbo Fruits – “Pocket Full Of Thistles”
MP3: Surfer Blood – “Swim”
Video: JEFF The Brotherhood – “The Tropics”
Video: JEFF The Brotherhood – “Bone Jam”

Fucked Up have a date at the Opera House on February 26 with Kurt Vile as support, as part of a North(eastern) America tour. Fucked Up’s new singles comp Couple Tracks is out January 26.

MP3: Fucked Up – “Neat Parts”
MP3: Fucked Up – “No Epiphany”
MP3: Kurt Vile – “Overnite Religion”
MP3: Kurt Vile – “Hunchback”

Cuff The Duke have a date at Lee’s Palace on March 20.

Video: Cuff The Duke – “Promises”

Nada Surf have yet to reveal full details of their forthcoming covers album but they have put a demo version of their redo of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy The Silence” on their MySpace and announced some live dates, including a March 29 date at Lee’s Palace – tickets $16.50. Update: Some details revealed – if i had a hi-fi will initially be available only at shows starting March 25. Regular retail info still to come.

MP3: Nada Surf – “See These Bones”

Philadelphia dream-pop outfit A Sunny Day In Glasgow will make their Toronto debut on April 2 at the Garrison; tickets $10. I didn’t take to their 2007 debut Scribble Mural Comic Journal nearly as much as I thought I would/should, but am willing to give last year’s follow-up Ashes Grammar a shot, especially with a live date in the offing. Anyone care to comment on the live Sunny Day In Glasgow experience? I would imagine that reproducing the cut-and-paste sonics of the records verbatim isn’t on the agenda. There’s interviews with the band circa their US tour last month at The Village Voice, Express Night Out and Washington City Paper.

MP3: A Sunny Day In Glasgow – “Ashes Grammar/Ashes Math”
MP3: A Sunny Day In Glasgow – “Best Summer Ever”
MP3: A Sunny Day In Glasgow – “Watery (Drowning is Just Another Word for Being Buried Alive Under Water)”

Toronto’s Japandroids and Sweden’s Love Is All will make the Horseshoe loud and sweaty on April 3. Tickets $12.

MP3: Japandroids – “Young Hearts Spark Fire”
MP3: Love Is All – “Wishing Well”

With next Tuesday’s Mod Club show well and truly sold out, Owen Pallett has scheduled another hometown date for April 8 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre – tickets $25. XTRA and Reuters have interviews with Pallett, whose Heartland is out next week.

And though there’s no Toronto date to announce right now, Pitchfork’s list of Joanna Newsom tour dates has a very conspicuous three-day gap between Grand Rapids and Montreal. It does not take three days to drive from Grand Rapids to Montreal.

By : Frank Yang at 8:28 am
Category: General

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

RSS Feed for this post12 Responses.
  1. stalevar says:

    Frank – are jj confirmed at Lee’s? I don’t see it anywhere beside the link in your post

  2. Frank Yang says:

    it was confirmed in the email from Secretly Canadian – I think the hold-off on announcing is tied to whether or not The xx are going to be on the bill. But I am pretty sure jj will be there either way.

  3. Greg says:

    I am definitely in for the ASDIG gig but I have never heard of the Garrison??? Hope the venue isn’t shite.

  4. Frank Yang says:

    The Garrison is the new Wavelength HQ (for the next five weeks until Wavelength ends, anyways) out at Dundas/Ossington. It’s not a bad room at all – was there in the Fall when they were still obviously tuning the room acoustically, but it’s a pretty good size, good sightlines and the folks running it care a lot about making it great. Getting new/decent stage lights is lower down their priority list than I’d like, but what can you do.

  5. Greg says:

    Thanks for the information Frank I am very much excited to see these folks in action.

  6. bike says:

    Will BECK also be playing the Charlotte Gainsbourg show?

  7. Frank Yang says:

    really doubt it- if so, it’d have been advertised. and probably be more expensive.

  8. bike says:

    Anything is possible though. One can hope that it’s secret.

    Remember when he walked into the Drake a few years back and played a few songs with his band?

  9. paul says:

    Joanna Newsom – Massey Hall?!

  10. Frank Yang says:

    bike – no, I don’t remember that at all but I’m not really a Beck fan so I wouldn’t have been paying attention.

    paul – doubt it. she’s playing the Ukranian Federation in Montreal, which is 600. Trinity-St. Paul’s seems more appropriate at around 800. Montreal show is with a 7-piece orchestra, too. Hope a T.O. show is happening.

  11. Matt says:

    Love the new Charlotte Gainsbourg album – Beck wrote all the music, co-write the lyrics, produced and mixed IRM. Insanity…the guy is a machine. However unlikely, I’d still love to see him perform a few of the tracks with her…

  12. Brent says:

    if i had a hi fi. a palindrome! how clever, nada surf!