Frank YangFor a while early last week, it looked like fate wasn’t going to be satisfied with just making the Summer leading up to this weekend’s Virgin Festival Ontario at the Molson Amphitheatre miserable, but it was going to apply the proverbial final kick to the groin by dumping upwards of 40mm of rain on the fest on its first day. Mercifully, the forecast improved incrementally each day and by Friday, it was looking like the rains would fall overnight and miss the festival entirely. By no means did this preclude the possibility of locusts descending during Franz Ferdinand’s set, but at least it would be dry if they did.

Thankfully, sun was the order of the day for the most part, and even if the could cover hadn’t broken then the festival’s first act – Mates Of State – would have done their best to warm up the sparse early birds with their general adorable-ness. The husband-and-wife keys-and-drum duo filled their half-hour set with oughta-be hit after oughta-be hit, wrapping with what was either a Daniel Johnston or Tom Waits cover – they put it to a crowd vote and I wasn’t sure which won out, nor did I recognize the tune. But pretty much everything else in the set came from their terrific last two records – Bring It Back and Re-Arrange Us – and really, made for the best way to start the day I could think of.

Photos: Mates Of State @ The Virgin Mobile Stage – August 29, 2009
MP3: Mates Of State – “My Only Offer”
MP3: Mates Of State – “Fraud In The ’80s”
MP3: Mates Of State – “Think Long”
Video: Mates Of State – “My Only Offer”
Video: Mates Of State – “Get Better”
Video: Mates Of State – “Like You Crazy”
Video: Mates Of State – “Fraud In The ’80s”
MySpace: Mates Of State

One of the perks of having had most/all the acts consolidated on the mainstage, save those on the top 40-friendly Virgin Radio stage, was that generally speaking, I didn’t have to run around between stages – I could just camp out at the main Amphitheatre stage and let them come to me and also watch entire sets for a change. And so while under other circumstances I probably wouldn’t have bothered seeing Lights, that there wasn’t really anything going on anywhere else was enough to keep me around. I’d seen her at last year’s V and while it was clear that I wasn’t the target audience for her wide-eyed, synth-pop, there was no denying her charm. And that was pretty much the take-away from her set on this day as well, all sugary pop confections delivered via keytar. But on a couple of tunes that she introduced as coming from her new record The Listening, out September 22, she broke out some decidedly big beats designed for the dance floor and I realized that if she wanted to, she could be Little Boots. The similarities between their two personas are striking, all Lights would need to do would be to ease up on the sugary, PG-rated balladry made for malls. Of course, that tact has served her quite well so far so the reinvention probably isn’t necessary – I’m just saying that it wouldn’t take much.

Photos: Lights @ The Virgin Mobile Stage – August 29, 2009
Video: Lights – “Drive My Soul”
Video: Lights – “Saviour”
Video: Lights – “February Air”
MySpace: Lights

The last time I saw Grizzly Bear was in August 2008 opening for Radiohead, also at the Molson Amphitheatre. And this time, like that time, they played to a small crowd scattered throughout the venue. But while it’d have been nice to have seen more people on hand to take them in, the open expanse did compliment their airy sounds and ghostly harmonies, allowing them to drift out over the field and lake (and highway). I’ve accepted that I like Grizzly Bear as much as I’m ever going to – which is not nearly as much as most, not even their much-fawned over new record Veckatimest – but I’ve always enjoyed seeing them live and just seeing four talented individuals work, today being no exception.

Photos: Grizzly Bear @ The Virgin Mobile Stage – August 29, 2009
MP3: Grizzly Bear – “Cheerleader”
MP3: Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks” (live on Letterman)
MP3: Grizzly Bear – “Deep Sea Diver”
MP3: Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait For The Others” (live at KCRW)
MP3: Grizzly Bear – “He Hit Me”
MP3: Grizzly Bear – “On A Neck, On A Spit”
Video: Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks”
Video: Grizzly Bear – “Knife”
MySpace: Grizzly Bear

I had to double-check past lineups to verify that this was indeed Sloan’s first appearance at a V Fest, which surprised me considering their “elder statesmen” stature in the firmament of Canadian music. But here they were to bring the first proper dose of rock for the day, and with an expanded lineup to boot. It wasn’t deliberate that they were performing as a seven-piece, but necessity – singer/bassist Chris Murphy had broken a collarbone less than a month ago after being hit by a car and was recovering from surgery (surgery? I’ve broken both collarbones and didn’t need no surgery. Of course, I also now have deformed collarbones) so while he was able to sing, his bass and drum duties were handed out to friends of the band. And while the extra players probably added a sense of fun for the band, it also increased the amount of slop in the performance significantly. They managed to keep it mostly together through a set made up of hits from throughout their career, a solid reminder that they’ve written some of the best pure pop songs this country has had to offer in the past 15 years or so, but by the time they made it to set closer “Money City Maniacs” – featuring a genuine manually-operated air raid siren – they were basically falling apart, missing cues, playing to different tempos and generally making a hash of it. Naturally the crowd ate it up, though not quite to the point of offering a, “SLOOOOOAAAAAAAN” chant. Still not enough of them out there to build up the necessary critical mass.

Photos: Sloan @ The Virgin Mobile Stage – August 29, 2009
MP3: Sloan – “I’m Not A Kid Anymore”
Video: Sloan – “Witch’s Wand”
Video: Sloan – “The Other Man”
Video: Sloan – “Money City Maniacs”
Video: Sloan – “The Lines You Amend”
Video: Sloan – “The Good In Everyone”
Video: Sloan – “Coax Me”
MySpace: Sloan

After Sloan’s set, the order of the day became finding something to eat and getting as far out of earshot from Paolo Nutini as possible. To that end, I headed over to the Boardwalk Stage, a euphemism for the third stage set up in the vendor’s concourse for some of the smaller bands on the lineup to perform. It amounted to little more than a vinyl tent, smaller than the space allotted to the on-site hairdresser, but did have location going for it being located right in the middle of a lot of foot traffic. I got there in time to see The Superstitions, a fresh-faced new band whom I’d almost caught at NXNE (but didn’t, obviously). Musically, they were pretty good, trading in garage-ish pop tunes with a good balance of hook and grit, but performance-wise they didn’t have the charisma or confidence to really deliver them effectively. If they manage to develop the proper attitude (preferably a bad one), they could be an act to watch.

Photos: The Superstitions @ The Boardwalk Stage – August 29, 2009
MP3: The Superstitions – “Mercy Line”
MP3: The Superstitions – “Of Sound Mind”
MP3: The Superstitions – “Deceiver”

I think I’ve mentioned the sparse crowds in every band writeup so far, and it’s too bad that that’s necessary but it was hard to miss the expanses of empty seats with any glance back at the audience. Normally, you’d focus on the people actually in attendance but in this case, the vacancies were a constant reminder of how many people were not The problem wasn’t necessarily in the numbers but where those numbers were gathered. You had the general admission pit and 200s pretty well filled and the same for the lawns, but the 300s and 400s in between were like a dead zone – hardly anyone there and really dampening the communal vibe that you’d normally expect at a festival. . This wasn’t a surprise – that’s how the seated venues go – but one couldn’t help thinking that if you’d taken everyone in attendance and dropped them, oh, in a big field, it’d have looked and felt a lot better.

And by the same token, I couldn’t help thinking that if Franz Ferdinand were bigger than they are and the size of the enthusiastic crowd up front was multiplied two or three times over, it’d have been an epic-sized party. The Scottish foursome, back for their third Toronto show in less than nine months, clearly knew how to play a festival set, packing their set with hits and a rarity or two for the hardcores and delivering it all with massive amounts of attitude and energy. I had largely lost track of their recordings since their self-titled debut and hadn’t seen them live since their Toronto debut at the Horseshoe back in February 2004 but watching them up there, absolutely destroying their set (literally, in the case of the drum kit demolition at set’s end), I had to ask myself why these guys weren’t my favourite band in the world? Super-tight, confident and utterly in their element, Franz were the first to make the day feel like a proper festival. Brilliant.

Photos: Franz Ferdinand @ The Virgin Mobile Stage – August 29, 2009
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “Can’t Stop Feeling”
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “Ulysses”
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “Jeremy Fraser”
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “Wine In The Afternoon”
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “Eleanor Put Your Boots On”
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “This Fire”
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “Take Me Out”
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “The Dark Of The Matinee”
MySpace: Franz Ferdinand

Though Pixies were only the penultimate act of the main stage, to many/most they were the real headliners (all due respect to Ben Harper). And while I was bummed to not have been granted photo accreditation for their set, I was still happy to sit back and take in the whole of their 90-minute set. Some seemed disappointed that this wasn’t going to be one of the much-ballyhooed Doolittle sets, with that album played in sequence, but there was no way they weren’t going to play all the highlights from it along with the rest of their repertoire so whatever. It’s not like they’ve got any new material to air out.

This was the first appearance for the Boston legends since 2005 at this same venue, and while I missed that show I did see one of their dates at Arrow Hall on their first reunion tour back in November 2004 and this set had very much the same feel as that one – it sounded great and felt almost completely heartless. This isn’t necessarily a slag – it’s no secret that they got back together for the money and they’re by no means phoning it in, they’re playing everything the customer wants to hear and playing it really well. But if you were looking to feel some love or get a sense of occasion from their show, you probably wouldn’t have found it. They were up there to do a job – play some classic-ass songs to crowds who may not have had the chance to hear them before – and do it well. In a sense, it’s preferable to those reunions where they purport to be taking care of unfinished business or have buried all hatchets, and yet you can see them looking daggers at each other on stage. And so another 10,000 people or so can say they heard “Head On”, “Wave Of Mutilation” and “Gouge Away” live and Pixies can make another payment on their houses. Everybody wins.

Video: Pixies – “Here Comes Your Man”
Video: Pixies – “Velouria”
Video: Pixies – “Dig For Fire/Allison”
Video: Pixies – “Alec Eiffel”
Video: Pixies – “Debaser”
MySpace: Pixies

Post-Pixies, it was time to head out but not before a nightcap back at the Boardwalk Stage for The Rural Alberta Advantage. I had been afraid that the crowds would have settled in at the main stage for the big names of the night and wouldn’t be roaming the other stages, but there was a large crowd around the tent even before the band had started to play. This was my first time seeing the Hometowns heroes since they broke big back at SxSW in March and while I had been following their whirlwind rise to buzz-dom since them, it was great to be able to actually see them play again. And while they turned in basically the same set I’ve seen them play many times before, they still seem to take real joy in playing and in turn, never fail to make me happy. But even better was seeing how excited the audience watching them were – there was a real sense of discovery on many of the faces, doubly-pleasing because big festivals like this are generally assumed to be about the hoary old veteran acts rolling out the hits. To get people stoked about something new, to see them lining up to thank the band after the set, invite them to play their cities and ask about buying a CD, was immensely satisfying.

Photos: The Rural Alberta Advantage @ The Boardwalk Stage – August 29, 2009
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Frank, AB”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Don’t Haunt This Place”
MySpace: The Rural Alberta Advantage

And then I went home and wrote all this up before day two. God I need some sleep.

MySpaceSo here we go. Some four months after I’d originally expected to see it in my inbox and after much rumour-mongering, hand-wringing, bitching and moaning, it’s here. The lineup for Toronto’s – sorry, Ontario’s – Virgin Festival 2009. It’s far and away the most mixed bag of nuts yet, with names guaranteed to both delight and confound, no matter what you’re into.

So really, the question is this; is this lineup enough to get you out to Burl’s Creek park near Orillia and camp for two or three nights with all the attendant logistical hassles? And perhaps more importantly… was this worth the wait? The fact that 2-day tickets this year are just $99 ($105 after fees) – I think that’s a full $30-$40 less than past years – may help sway your opinion towards the “yes” side, though that’s just admission – camping costs another $100 for two nights and $135 for three nights (note – prices are per campsite, not per person, to a maximum four people per site) and there’s various VIP options for those with low self esteem. There will also be information on commuting assistance forthcoming for those citygoers who are afraid to venture north of Dupont, let alone into cottage country.

But anyways. Here it is, with the standard “more to come!” note attached.

Saturday, August 29
Ben Harper & The Relentless7
Pixies
Franz Ferdinand
Paolo Nutini
Grizzly Bear
Mates Of State
Sloan
LIGHTS
Plants & Animals
Down With Webster
The Rural Alberta Advantage
Iglu & Hartly

Sunday, August 30
Nine Inch Nails
Pet Shop Boys
Our Lady Peace
N.E.R.D.
Cold War Kids
MuteMath
Mew
Thunderheist
Coeur De Pirate
The Von Bondies
Datarock
HyperCrush
Trouble Andrew
Silver Starling
The D’Urbervilles

For myself, I have to say this is a pretty attractive lineup, and I love how acronym-heavy the Sunday is, should make for easy texting. Providing there’s no scheduling SNAFUs I see more than enough to keep me interested from start to finish, and if this were somewhere more accessible then it’d be a no-brainer to attend. I wonder if the Pixies will be doing their Doolittle show or if it’ll be a normal set? I assume they, like Pet Shop Boys, will be closing out the second stage rather than warming up for the wholly incompatible “headliners” on each night. The location does give me pause, though – as I think I’ve mentioned before, I have unfond memories of sitting on the 400 for hours while trying to get to Molson Park, and now you have to add in getting through/around Barrie and to an even more remote location. So yeah, this’ll take some thinking. And maybe a helicopter rental. And yourselves? Who’s already airing out their tents and stocking up on industrial-strength blackfly repellant, and who’s, well, not?

And here’s a by no means comprehensive but decent sampling of what you might be hearing waft across Lake Simcoe that last weekend of August.

MP3: Grizzly Bear – “Cheerleader”
MP3: Mew – “Repeaterbeater”
MP3: Mates Of State – “My Only Offer”
MP3: Sloan – “I’m Not A Kid Anymore”
MP3: Thunderheist – “Jerk It”
MP3: Cold War Kids – “Hospital Beds”
MP3: The Von Bondies – “Pale Bride”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Frank, AB”
MP3: The D’Urbervilles – “Dragnet”
Video: Pixies – “Here Comes Your Man”
Video: Pet Shop Boys – “Love Etc”
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “Can’t Stop Feeling”
Video: Mute Math – “Spotlight”
Video: Coeur De Pirate – “Comme Des Enfants”

Matablog has details on the new Mission Of Burma record The Sound The Speed The Light, due out October 6. They also have the first MP3, with a decidedly un-MOB title but a very MOB sound.

MP3: Mission Of Burma – “1, 2, 3, Partyy!”

Bandstand Busking has posted a show from Woodpigeon.

They’ve already got a show at the El Mocambo this Thursday, but Japandroids have already scheduled another one at the Horseshoe for September 19 with The Mt St Helen’s Vietnam Band. Tickets $10.

MP3: Japandroids – “Young Hearts Spark Fire”
MP3: The Mt St Helen’s Vietnam Band – “Cheer For Fate”

If you don’t catch her free show at Harbourfront on July 25, Amy Millan has booked a cross-Canada tour including an October 14 date at the Mod Club in support of Masters Of The Burial, out September 8. Tickets for that show are $15.

Black Key gone solo Dan Auerbach will bring his Keep It Hid to the Phoenix on November 7 with Justin Townes Earle and Jessica Lea Mayfield as support. Tickets $20.50.

MP3: Dan Auerbach – “I Want Some More”
MP3: Justin Townes Earle – “Midnight At The Movies”
Video: Jessica Lea Mayfield – “Kiss Me Again”

Mates Of StateIt’s a billing that sounds more like a sit-com than an evening of music – the most adorable parents in indie-rock, Mates Of State, teaming up with the precocious dance-floor wundkinds of Black Kids – but it’s a co-headline tour and it’s on right now, and it’s coming to Toronto on Friday evening with Mates Of State closing and Sunbears opening. If this were the sit-com, I guess they’d be the wacky neighbours.

And courtesy of rootmeansquare, I’ve got a pair of passes to Friday’s show to give away. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with I want to see Mates Of State” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Get that in to me by midnight, April 7.

NPR is webcasting tonight’s MoS/BK show at the 9:30 Club in DC starting at 10PM ET. Mates Of State will also be releasing Re-Arranged Remixes: Volume 1 on April 14, a limited edition 12″ featuring four remixes of tracks from their latest album, Re-Arrange Us. They give an interview to The Boston Globe while Black Book talks to Black Kid Reggie Youngblood.

MP3: Mates Of State – “My Only Offer”
Video: Mates Of State – “Get Better”
Video: Mates Of State – “My Only Offer”
Video: Black Kids – “Hurricane Jane”
Video: Black Kids – “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You”
Video: Black Kids – “Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo)”

Frank YangAny sort of preamble for Saturday night’s Out Of This Spark second anniversary party at the Tranzac was covered in Friday’s post, so let’s just dive right into the post-mortem.

Leading off was Jenny Omnichord (neé Mitchell), accurately named for her weapon of choice. And while it may seem a bit novelty at first, the Omnichord is actually a very versatile instrument, ably providing accompaniment for Mitchell’s quirky songs. It’s no stretch that her latest album Charlotte or Otis : Duets for Children, Their Parents and Other People Too is a children’s record – the aesthetic isn’t too different from her work for grown-ups. A cute and compact set highlighted by entertaining road stories and a duet with her dad.

I’d expected The D’Urbervilles to be closing things out, both because of their profile relative to their labelmates, and their general rock action-ness, but they were instead on second. Every time I see them perform I’m reminded of how potent a live act they can be, all danceable, tightly-wound new wave/anthem-rock energy, but I also find my initial opinion of their full-length debut We Are The Hunters reinforced. They’re one thing, one intangible thing, away from being amazing. One song – hell, one moment in a song – that makes everything fall into place, and considering their excellent closing cover of Edwyn Collins’ “A Girl Like You”, maybe what they need is the right British producer. But whatever it is, I hope they find it soon. Because when they do, it will be epic.

I had to double-check to verify that the last time I’d seen Forest City Lovers live was fully a year and a half ago at Hillside – it certainly hadn’t seemed that long! But it was, and that meant that I’d not seen them since the release of their lovely album Haunting Moon Sinking last year, and that’s just not right. But it is, sadly, kind of appropriate for as much as they’re one of the finer bands Toronto has to offer, they’re also probably one of the most overlooked. A consequence, perhaps, of the characteristics that are also their greatest strengths – their subtlety and understatedness. Their folk-pop sound is definitely spare, almost skeletal at times, but every part that is there implies a richness that probably wouldn’t sound quite as wonderful if it were actually fleshed out – their sketches say more than some peoples’ oil paintings.

This show, however, sadly wasn’t a masterpiece. Now no one’s ever going to mistake The Tranzac’s acoustics for those of Massey Hall, but the sound for the Forest City Lovers’ set was exceptionally poor, with vocals being buried and the guitar and violin far too loud. While I realize that standing right up front isn’t exactly standing in the sonic sweet spot, I’ve done it enough to know how things can and should sound from that vantage point, and this wasn’t it. And it seemed it wasn’t just the house sound that was amiss – it was evident the band was having trouble hearing themselves on stage as at points tempos drifted, glances were exchanged and things simply didn’t sound as tight as they should have. It’s really to the band’s credit that they were able to mitigate these problems and still deliver an enjoyable show, even if I couldn’t really hear the words to “Orphans” (though that’s okay because I know them anyways). Perhaps things will be better when they again play the Tranzac on February 6 opening for Geoff Berner. Perhaps.

I did not stick around for final act Timber Timbre. You’d have thought that an act with a brand new album would feel like playing something – anything- from it, but instead Timber Timbre chose to play with old hi-fit equipment and guitar pedals in conducting a sonic experiment in white noise in pitch blackness. Maybe the whole thing busted out in a technicolour rock opera the minute I left, but I suspect not. I would hope they don’t pull the same thing at their Soundscapes in-store tomorrow evening Thursday. It’s not going to sell many records.

Photos: Forest City Lovers, The D’Urbervilles, Jenny Omnichord @ The Tranzac – January 10, 2009
MP3: The D’Urbervilles – “Hot Tips”
Videos: Forest City Lovers – “Pirates”
Videos: Forest City Lovers – “Please, Don’t Go”
MySpace: Forest City Lovers

Speaking of Soundscapes in-stores, Bruce Peninsula will be following up the February 3 release of A Mountain Is A Mouth with just one of those on February 4 at 6PM. So add that to their January 31 at the Horseshoe and February 22 album release party at the Polish Combatants Hall. And if you don’t want to take my word that this outfit is worthy of your attention, how about the BBC? Yeah, people will listen to anything delivered in a posh English accent.

Bell Orchestre will release their second album As Seen Through Windows on March 10 via Arts & Crafts.

PitchforkTV has a session with AC Newman, whose Get Guilty is out next week and who plays Lee’s Palace on March 11.

Pitchfork is offering a download of the title track from Bon Iver’s new EP Blood Bank, out next Tuesday. And you can stream the whole thing at their MySpace.

MP3: Bon Iver – “Blood Bank”

Mates Of State and Black Kids. What are two of the most unlikely bands to hit the road together, and yet are? The indie-pop veterans with kids and the indie-pop upstarts who are kids will hit the road together this April and stop in at the Phoenix – a decidedly bigger room than either would play on their own – on April 10. The Mates are still promoting last year’s Re-Arrange Us and Black Kids are continuing to try and prove their debut Partie Traumatic is worth more than a pug.

MP3: Mates Of State – “My Only Offer”
Video: Mates Of State – “Get Better”
Video: Mates Of State – “My Only Offer”
Video: Black Kids – “Hurricane Jane”
Video: Black Kids – “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You”
Video: Black Kids – “Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo)”

Those looking forward to standing in crossed-arm, stony-faced judgment of “2009 next big thing” candidates Passion Pit will have to wait just a little bit longer. For reasons unknown, their January 24 show at the Horseshoe has been postponed until April 3. Refunds available at point of purchase or if the new date works for you, just hang onto your ticket. And work on your scowl. They’re currently band of the week over at Paste. Update: Gig is now at Lee’s Palace.

Frank YangBrevity is the watchword of the day. ‘Tis been a long weekend.

Heading into Thurday night’s show at the Horseshoe, I was interested to see the headliner, curious about the much-buzzed about support act and completely unfamiliar with the local opener. We’ll start there.

I’d not heard of Tropics but half of the duo was Slim Twig, whom I was also mostly unfamiliar but at least I’d heard his name before. But it was his bandmate, drummer Simone TB, whom I found much more interesting – together, they were turning out some seriously loud garage-a-billy but while Twig’s guitar and vocal approach reminded me of a more abrasive but less interesting Jon Spencer, TB’s drumming was always deft and inventive and pushed their sound into more unpredictable places.

The drummer also stole the show for the Brooklyn outfit Crystal Stilts, but that wasn’t necessarily much of a feat. That’s not meant to take away from what Frankie Rose contributed behind the kit, as she and guitarist JB Townsend did a fine job of giving the band’s Spector-worshipping pop some punch, but more a comment on the sucking charisma vacuum that was frontman Brad Hargett. His droning Ian Curtis-ish vocals, already swathed in metallic reverb on record, seemed to be buried even further in the live mix and when he occasionally stepped on the reverb pedal his mic was run through, he may as well have not been there – an impression augmented by his complete lack of physical presence. Though not turning my world upside down, I do find some of Crystal Stilts’ output interesting, if overly one-dimensional. Live, however, they were wholly unengaging.

This left it up to headliners Love Is All to make the night worthwhile and while their set barely clocked in at forty minutes, they more than delivered. I’ve only recently gotten into the band, mainly on the strength of their latest release A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night, and was pleasantly surprised that they were even more enjoyable live. The scrappy production and clangy reverb of the recorded product gave way to a much fuller and polished live sound and a greater emphasis on their dancier attributes, thanks to a much more prominently feature Markus Gorsch – yes, the drummer once again ruled the day. But he didn’t steal the show – with a frontwoman as manic and energetic as Josephine Olausson, that’s next to impossible. Either banging away on her keyboard or caterwauling gleefully to the audience, and I mean that in the best possible sense, she led her bandmates through a delicate balance of sweet pop and sonic skronk.

The Chicago Tribune has a feature on Love Is All while The New Gay has a short interview with Olausson. The local media was apparently all excited about Crystal Stilts’ visit – there were pieces on the band in eye, NOW and Chart. Pity about their performance. To hear for yourself, check out a show available to download at NYC Taper – I haven’t listened to the particular show they’re offering, but I don’t think that the Toronto show was any kind of aberration from the norm. Call it a hunch. eye also has a review of the show.

Photos: Love Is All, Crystal Stilts, Tropics @ The Horseshoe – December 11, 2008
MP3: Love Is All – “Wishing Well”
MP3: Crystal Stilts – “Crystal Stilts”
MP3: Crystal Stilts – “Shattered Shine”
Video: Love Is All – “Wishing Well”
MySpace: Love Is All

If there was some way of knowing which Primal Scream was coming to North America next year, I might be more interested in their just-announced March 24 show at the Opera House Phoenix (tickets $35). If we’re talking XTRMNTR or Vanishing Point Primal Scream, I’m in. If we’re talking Give Out But Don’t Give Up or Screamadelica, I’m out (heresy on the second one, I know but whatever). And I have no idea who they are circa their last few records. If they’re going to play “Shoot Speed/Kill Light”, that might be persuasion enough but something tells me the name of the first single off latest release Beautiful Future might prove to be prescient… This Is Nottingham interviews guitarist Barry Cadogan. Update: Venue appears to be different from what I thought – now the Phoenix, not Opera House.

Video: Primal Scream – “Can’t Go Back”

Also just announced – Eagles Of Death Metal at the Phoenix on February 20, tickets $27.50.

Filter interviews Of Montreal.

Pitchfork has details on the new Arcade Fire DVD Miroir Noir, which will be available digitally starting today and in physical form next year.

The AV Club talks to Mates Of State.

The Times talks to Elbow’s Guy Garvey, Adele and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon about their breakthrough 2008s.