Frank YangWednesday night’s in-store at Criminal Records had something for everyone. For The Besnard Lakes, it was an opportunity to refine the translation of their just-released new record The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night into live performance before setting out on a world tour that would take them and their much-anticipated new album across Europe and North America. For those in attendance, it was a chance to be amongst the first anywhere to hear the new songs live and in an intimate – and free – setting, without having to endure the crowds that would surely be jamming the Horseshoe last night at their official Canadian Musicfest last night. Win-win.

That said, the brightly-lit retail outlet was an unusual setting for a band as much about atmosphere as the Besnards. Partway through the set, bassist Olga Goreas mentioned how much she was missing their signature smoke machine and a little bit of that probably would have better set the mood for the show, through which the audience sat almost too-respectfully silent on the floor of the store. Instead, all the mood would have to come from the music – epic in scope and massive in weight and probably requiring more hands to reproduce live, not less. Yet the departure of keyboardist Nicole Lizee after the touring cycle for The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse was done left the band as a four-piece and as such, frontman Jace Lasek had to augment his guitar-playing and pedal-stomping with laptop and keyboard duties. And while they probably could have gotten away with simply playing louder, the extra care taken to reproduce the fullness of the Roaring Night material was appreciated.

The set was made up mostly of new material which, with the record having been officially available for less than 48 hours, was probably unfamiliar to much of the audience but they did throw the fans a bone with a single number off of Dark Horse before going even further back – I assume from their debut Volume 1 – for a closing number that sounded almost completely unlike their present-day material. It wasn’t the most engaging Besnard Lakes show I’d ever seen – as befit a dress rehearsal of sorts, they were concentrating more on the playing than the performing – but I’m sure that by the time they return to town, with The Roaring Night fully road-tested, it’ll be something to behold. And there’ll be the smoke-machine.

Spinner, Chart, The Montreal Gazette, hour.ca, The List, The Montreal Mirror, CBC and NOW all have feature pieces on the Besnard Lakes.

Photos: The Besnard Lakes @ Criminal Records – March 10, 2010
MP3: The Besnard Lakes – “Albatross”
MP3: The Besnard Lakes – “And You Lied To Me”
MP3: The Besnard Lakes – “For Agent 13″
Video: The Besnard Lakes – “For Agent 13″
Video: The Besnard Lakes – “Devastation”
Stream: The Besnard Lakes / The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
MySpace: The Besnard Lakes

Spinner talks to Think About Life, who play Lee’s Palace tonight at 1AM.

John O’Regan of Diamond Rings graces the cover of this week’s eye, who also talk to his bandmate in The D’Urbervilles, Tim Bruton. Diamond Rings the Silver Dollar tonight at midnight, while The D’Urbs are up at 10PM at the Garrison.

Torontoist questions Dan Mangan, who plays the Courthouse tonight at 11PM, Criminal Records tomorrow at 6PM and the Horseshoe on April 22.

eye takes a look inside the apartment of Rural Alberta Advantage frontman Nils Edenloff. It’s okay, they were invited. Spinner settles for a chat.

The Toronto Star, Lucid Forge and Torontoist talk to Woodhands, who have just announced they’ll be playing tonight (!) at Wrongbar as a last-minute CMF addition – tickets are $12.50, on sale now.

Chart interviews The Balconies, whom they’re rightly declared a hot act. Witness the hotness at the Horseshoe Saturday night at 9:20PM

The Sadies will release their new album, entitled Darker Circles, on May 18. Live dates are sure to follow, but I’m going to go out on a limb right now and say they’ll be at the Horseshoe on December 31.

The National Post Q&A’s Great Lake Swimmers.

The Weakerthans will celebrate the release of their live CD/DVD set Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre on March 23 with an in-store performance at Sonic Boom on March 24 at 5PM. Maybe they can play in front of the Burton Cummings vinyl section. They’ve also got a date at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on May 26.

MP3: The Weakerthans – “Plea From A Cat Named Virtue”
Video: The Weakerthans – “Tournament Of Hearts” (live)

Popolio has a quick interview with Ume. They’re playing Eastbound & Down during SxSW at 2:05PM.

Filter and Michigan Live talk to Ted Leo. The Filter piece is a two-parter.

Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers talks to Spinner about their next-next record, which will follow next week’s release of The Big To-Do with Go-Go Boots before the year is out. The Truckers are doubling up their next visit to Toronto with two nights at Lee’s Palace, April 6 and 7.

Spinner talks to Centro-Matic.

My Morning Jacket drummer Patrick Hallahan tells Spinner he’s glad the band took a break.

The Scotsman interviews Spoon, who are at the Sound Academy on March 29.

Spin checks in with The Thermals, who are in the studio working on their next album Personal Life, due out September 7.

Rolling Stone has words with Midlake. They play The Mod Club on May 25.

Sharon Van Etten talks to Spinner. She is at the Horseshoe on April 5.

hour.ca interviews Joanna Newsom, who plays a sold-out show at The Phoenix on Saturday night.

She & Him are the subject of features at Spinner and Billboard. Volume 2 is out March 23 and they play The Phoenix on June 9.

Soiree de poche has a video session with Beach House, who have a sold-out show at The Opera House on March 30 and are also playing the Toronto Islands Concert on June 19.

Blurt and Spinner have features on Wye Oak, here opening up for Shearwater on April 1.

Spinner talks to Phantogram, who will be at Supermarket tonight at 1AM.

Spin has debuted the video for the title track of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s new album Beat The Devil’s Tattoo. They are at The Phoenix on April 1 and again on April 11.

Video: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – “Beat The Devil’s Tattoo”

Echo & The Bunnymen are sharing another track from their latest record The Fountain. They are at The Phoenix on April 23.

MP3: Echo & The Bunnymen – “Proxy”

Serena-Maneesh will release their new album S-M 2: Abyss In B Minor on March 23 and are not only streaming the whole thing, but they’ve debuted a new video over at Stereogum. They will be at the Great Hall on April 2.

Video: Serena-Maneesh – “I Just Want To See Your Face”
Stream: Serena-Maneesh / S-M 2: Abyss In B Minor

Swedish folk sister act First Aid Kit have set a North American tour for June and will be at the Rivoli in Toronto on June 12. Their debut Drunken Trees came out last year.

MP3: First Aid Kit – “I Met Up With The King”
MP3: First Aid Kit – “You’re Not Coming Home Tonight”

Shout Out Louds have released a new mini-documentary about the making of their latest record, the just-released Work. They play the Mod Club on May 8.

Video: Shout Out Louds “At Work”

Drowned In Sound has posted the first of a multi-part interview with Jonsi. Go is out March 23 and he plays the Sound Academy on April 30 and May 1.

Under The Radar interviews The Mary Onettes.

Lilja BirgisdottirWhen it was revealed that Jon Thor Birgisson was going to be working on a project separate from Sigur Ros, many – well me, at least – assumed that the instrumental Riceboy Sleeps record which came out earlier this year was it. But in fact, it was credited to Jonsi & Alex, the titular Alex being Alex Somers of Parachutes and Birgisson’s boyfriend and the project being something else completely. Which is just as well because while it was a pretty piece of atmosphere, Riceboy Sleeps didn’t really engage as a piece of music and didn’t do much to tide one over while waiting for the new Sigur Ros record.

When flying solo as just Jonsi, however, the results are more satisfying. Details on Birgisson’s debut album entitled Go were revealed last week alongside the first MP3 – “Boy Lilikoi” – and it’s definitely not lacking in substance. Big and colourful, it finds Birgisson singing in English overtop buoyant and burbling pop arrangements, courtesy of Bjork arranger Nico Muchly and The National producer Peter Katis. This track and the extra audio samples available on the Jonsi website seem to ensure that Go will be enough like Sigur Ros to entice and satisfy fans of Sigur Ros, but different enough to justify not being Sigur Ros.

The album will be out on March 23 of next year, and a world tour to support will follow. Which basically ensures that the new Sigur Ros record won’t be out until Fall at the earliest.

MP3: Jonsi – “Boy Lilikoi”
MP3: Riceboy Sleeps – “Boy 1904″
MySpace: Jonsi

Rolling Stone talks to Ted Leo about his new album The Brutalist Bricks, available March 9. For a sneak preview of the new material, check out this downloadable live show from last week courtesy of NYC Taper.

Magnet does the over/under thing with Built To Spill’s oeuvre.

BrooklynVegan reports that The Antlers will be opening up for Editors on their upcoming North American tour, including the February 16 date at the Phoenix in Toronto. The Irish Times interviews Peter Silberman.

The Fader has posted their recent cover story on Bon Iver online while NME reports that a charity album entitled A Decade With Duke, pairing Justin Vernon with his Eau Claire, Wisconsin high school’s jazz band in performing Duke Ellington songs, Bon Iver songs and a few standards. NPR has a feature piece on the collaboration.

Though they just announced details of their next studio album, entitled Beat The Devil’s Tattoo and out on March 9, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club don’t want folks to forget they also just released a live album – they’ve released a video of four live performances and are offering up one of the tracks to download. Their two worlds collide when they play songs from the new studio album in a live setting on April 1 at the Phoenix.

MP3: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – “Whatever Happened to My Rock and Roll (Punk Song)” (live)
Video: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club / Live

Paste kicks off their new “Moog Sessions” – featuring videos of performances recorded at the Moog factory in Asheville, North Carolina – with Yo La Tengo.

The Skeleton Crew Quarterly interviews Venice Is Sinking.

For Folk’s Sake interviews Jenn Wasser of Wye Oak.

Drive-By Truckers will release their new studio album The Big To-Do on March 16 – details at Muzzle Of Bees.

This week, PitchforkTV is streaming the 2004 Superchunk documentary, Quest For Sleep.

Video: Superchunk: Quest For Sleep

The Thermals’ Hutch Harris talks lyrics with Paste. Their next album is out September 7, 2010.

The Line Of Best Fit interviews Beach House about their new album Teen Dream, out January 26.

The Independent has an extensive interview with Wilco.

Austinst has information on The Golden Dossier component of Shearwater’s new album The Golden Archipelago, which they are hoping to finance via Kickstarter. The album is out February 23.

Christmas has come early for fans of over-the-top British arena rock and those with nostalgic memories of the ’90s-era Canadian indie rock. Different gifts, though they could well be the same fans. To the former, word that Muse have added a March 8 date at the Air Canada Centre to their Spring 2010 North American tour in support of this year’s The Resistance. Support on the tour will come from Silversun Pickups.

Video: Muse – “Uprising”

And to the latter, the long-rumoured Thrush Hermit reunion appears to be a go. Official confirmation and full dates are still forthcoming, but an eastern leg of the tour appeared on last week and puts the reunited Haligonians at Lee’s Palace in Toronto for two nights, March 26 and 27. Once and future Thrush Hermit frontman Joel Plaskett also just released a new video from Three. Update: Plaskett has confirmed the reunion in an interview with Exclaim.

Video: Joel Plaskett – “You Let Me Down”

ShearwaterIf there was a reason I finally got off my ass this past month and got my turntable fixed up with a shiny new cartridge, it’s this. Shearwater’s forthcoming The Golden Archipelago. The Austin band’s latest album, which is due out on February 23, has enormously high standards to live up to thanks to its two predecessors Palo Santo and Rook, but based on the just-released first MP3 from the album, the third part of this triumvirate will more than measure up if not eclipse the others. “Castaways” is nothing short of majestic, capturing the grand scope of Shearwater’s vision without giving up the the structure and immediacy of the pop song. It is amazing.

And it will look as grand as it sounds. Firm believers of the art of the album, both as an artistic statement and a physical package, Shearwater will be releasing The Golden Archipelago in distinct vinyl and CD formats that both appear to be essential to own. The CD will come with a 50-page perfect-bound book containing, as Matablog puts it, “a set of extracts from a dossier of records, photos, regulations and images collected by Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg” – probably not unlike that which you see in the video trailer released a little while back. As for the vinyl edition, the LP has two extra tracks making for a different running order and a coupon for digital downloads of the album and a PDF of the dossier, though those who pre-order will also receive a physical copy of the book.

As for the “why” of the differing editions, Meiburg chimed in with an explanation on the Shearwater message board in October. He described the CD as having “one running order, which we selected to be as concise as possible, so that it’s easiest to take in at one sitting” and the LP as “the version of the album I prefer, and the song that’s been placed back in the sequence was one of my favorites (and the one our co-producer, John Congleton, liked best of all). These songs make the LP about 20% longer than the CD”. So there you have it, the digital and analog offer two different experiences of the record though, obviously, if you have to choose one and are equipped to do so, the vinyl would be the way to go. Hence my getting the ol’ Rega serviced. February 23. I am ready.

MP3: Shearwater – “Castaways”

Pitchfork talks to Will Schaff, whose wonderful and often creepy artwork adorns the albums of Okkervil River. Buy one of his shirts, scare the neighbourhood children.

Blurt and New York talk to John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats.

There’s a new video out from The Dodos.

Video: The Dodos – “Long Form”

Spin declares Thao with The Get Down Stay Down to be a “hot new band”.

Interview and Stereogum interview Sufjan Stevens.

The Submarines have a new video from Honeysuckle Weeks.

Video: The Submarines – “Submarine Symphonika”

Spiral Stairs tells The Age that Pavement’s “no new material” edict for their 2010 reunion tour is doomed to fail.

Matt Ward and Zooey Deschanel tell Paste that She & Him Volume Two will be coming in Spring 2010. Deschanel also talks to The Wall Street Journal about her favourite music. I declare that this year, I will finally watch Elf. I’ve never seen it and it’s not the sort of film you can trot out in May. This year.

Holly Miranda records a Black Cab Session in the streets of New York.

Ca Va Cool interviews The Antlers.

Telekinesis stops in for a session with Daytrotter.

The Thermals certainly believe in long deadlines – Paste reports the band has gotten to work on album number five and are looking at a September 2010 release.

Craig Finn discusses the differences between Lifter Puller and The Hold Steady with Spinner.

You simply don’t get more French than Phoenix, Takeaway Shows and the Eiffel Tower. All you need is a fellow in a beret, striped shirt carrying a bague They’re at the decidedly un-Parisian Sound Academy this Saturday night, there’s an interview at The Detroit News and Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix was just nominated for a “best alternative album” Grammy.

Billboard reports that the Arcade Fire’s third album is on track for a May 2010 release and that they’ll likely be doing (headlining) the Summer festival circuit.

The Varsity interviews Think About Life.

Malajube discuss their touring schedule and plans to release an EP entitled Control with Chart.

Quick Before It Melts and The Brock Press interview Two Hours Traffic.

Steeltown label Sonic Unyon is going for a ghosts-of-Christmas-past/ghosts-of-Christmas-present theme for their annual holiday fete, drafting SIANspheric and Tristan Psionic out of retirement/hiatus/whatever to perform alongside Spirits and Quest For Fire at This Ain’t Hollywood in Hamilton on December 19. Admission $10, $5 with a donation of a non-perishable food item or a toy donation.

Some previews of the new Final Fantasy album Heartland are available via live videos on PitchforkTV’s “Tunnel Vision” series and a free download of “Lewis Takes Action” from Domino Records.

Fans of $100 may be interested to know they’ll be performing as a duet this Saturday night at the Royal Canadian Legion Hall (Bathurst and Niagara) as part of a special fundraising event – details here and here.

Canadian Interviews talk to Jenn Grant.

Spinner enumerates the best Canadian songs of the decade.

Jennifer TzarSo how exactly does a band who’ve not yet even released an album yet get to play arguably the most storied venue in Toronto – Massey Hall – their first time out? The kind that’s made up of My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, M Ward’s Matt Ward, Conor Oberst’s Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes’ Mike Mogis, also known as the Monsters Of Folk.

As reported earlier this week, the supergroup will release their self-titled debut album on September 22, but it was announced yesterday that they would also be undertaking an extensive tour first across North America and then Europe, with $1 from each North American date ticket sale going to a worthy charity local to that city via philanthropic organization Air Traffic Control . The Toronto date falls on November 2 at Massey Hall and the charity selected to receive the proceeds is Foodshare Toronto. Ticket presale goes July 28, regular onsale July 31 – check back at monstersoffolk.com for more information. Tickets for the Toronto show range from $36.50 to $49.50 plus charges.

And congrats to Lousiville, Kentucky for drawing the Halloween date – I expect everyone who attends that show to dress up as their favourite folk monster. Werewolf Woody Guthries, Zombie Pete Seegers. You know.

MP3: Monsters Of Folk – “Say Please”
MySpace: Monsters Of Folk

Woodpigeon have bid farewell to Michael Jackson by way of a cover. I hadn’t intended to post any MJ covers and yet here’s two, two days in a row. Hrm.

MP3: Woodpigeon – “Say Say Say”

The Singing Lamb has an interview with The Most Serene Republic about their new album …And The Ever Expanding Universe. They’re at the Mod Club on October 15.

MP3: The Most Serene Repbulic – “Heavens To Purgatory”

Matt & Kim are coming back to town for a show at the Reverb on October 1, tickets $13.50.

MP3: Matt & Kim – “Yea Yeah”

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age talk to Friendly Fires, who have released a video for their new single, which will be appended to the deluxe reissue of their self-titled debut, coming September 9. They’re at Lee’s Palace on August 10 and I will bet that as soon as that date passes, the December 2 slot on their Fall itinerary will magically fill up. Just watch.

Video: Friendly Fires – “Kiss Of Life”

BBC talks to Little Boots about her new video for “Remedy”, which they are also premiering. She is at Wrongbar on September 13.

Video: Little Boots – “Remedy”

MPR has a session with Sonic Youth. There’s also an interview at The Georgia Straight and The Stranger nominates some of the best tracks from their career.

Drowned In Sound spends some time with St Vincent. You can do the same next Saturday night, August 8, at the Horseshoe.

Pitchfork has details on a new EP coming from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – look for four new songs packaged as Higher Than The Stars come September 22. The Georgia Straight and LAist have interviews with the band, who’re at the Horseshoe on September 7.

Opening up that POBPAH show are Cymbals Eat Guitars – The Line Of Best Fit has an interview with the band and Baeble has a live video performance from the Cake Shop in New York. They’re also interviewed by altsounds.

Daytrotter and Noisevox have audio and video sessions with The Thermals, respectively.

Yours Truly has Loney Dear in for a video session. They’re at the Horseshoe on October 13.

PitchforkTV welcomes Andrew Bird to their Cemetery Gates series for a live performance.

Nick HeldermanI’d honestly thought I’d have been able to build a post around the Torontontario V Fest announcement this week. All signs pointed to them finally coming clean about the when, where – already a poorly kept secret, sure – but more importantly the who. And yet here we are at Friday with no official word, just seven weeks out from when it’s all supposed to go down (August 29 and 30 at Burl’s Creek near Orillia, Ontario) and so instead of reporting facts, I will delve into the rumour mill for goodies. Though when it comes straight from the artist’s mouth, it probably counts as somewhat more than rumour. I refer, of course, to the fact that Nine Inch Nails has decided that Bonnaroo would not mark their final live North American appearance, as originally intended, and instead will do a few more dates including a headlining slot at the Ontario edition of V Fest. And in addition to NIN, a few other acts came to light this week though nothing major: Thunderheist, Trouble Andrew (does his presence imply Santigold? I can’t imagine anyone would want him on his own), and though not confirmed, I don’t think it’s any big secret what the August 30 “TBA” for Toronto on the Pet Shop Boys’ Fall itinerary means.

So yeah. Another week, another non-announcement. On the plus side, it’s evident that they’re trying to put together something really good and the last Canadian V of the Summer will have a bona fide, big-time headline act – I wouldn’t call myself a fan of Trent but there’s no arguing his stature – but on the downside, even a leak this size hasn’t been enough to prod them into announcing anything, which to my paranoid sensibilities doesn’t necessarily bode well for the rest of the bill. But it’ll come, and until then, I’m going to engage in more rampant and unfounded lineup speculation while clearing out a big old pile of links and stuff.

Paste talks to Bowerbirds about their second album Upper Air was released this week. Daytrotter and They Shoot Music have also released sessions with the band – audio and video respectively – who are on the road to support. They’re not doing anything August 29 or 30, but do have a date at Sneaky Dee’s next week on July 14 so it’s unlikely they’re playing V Fest.

Magnet’s “Wrens Watch” feature has coaxed another new song demo MP3 from Wrens, who continue to work on their follow-up to Meadowlands. It’s conceivable that they could make the trek up here for V – the calendar is clear – but probably haven’t been invited.

Pitchfork has the first taste of Bonfires On The Heath, the new album from The Clientele, out October 6. They played V Fest back in 2007 and while I’d love to see them again, they’re already making a short North American trek this month and probably won’t be back till the Fall.

MP3: The Clientele – “I Wonder Who We Are”

Editors’ Tom Smith keeps up the sci-fi soundtrack talking points in discussing their new record In This Light And On This Evening, out September 21, with NME. The band also played V in 2007 and would certainly be welcomed back, but are probably going to stick to Europe for the Fall before coming to North America to promote.

The Line Of Best Fit talks to Yo La Tengo – their new record Popular Songs is out September 8. They’ve got a November European tour scheduled – they could do North America before that, but probably no dates before the record is released.

Ca Va Cool has an interview with Telekinesis’ Michael Benjamin Lerner. Their calendar is clear for late August but they’re far too small to be added to a festival bill when they’re not already touring through the region.

Wheat are offering a new MP3 from their forthcoming album White Ink Black Ink, due out July 21. Odds of playing V? Less than Telekinesis.

MP3: Wheat – “Changes Is”

The Bird & The Bee have a new video from Ray Guns Are Not Just For The Future. They have nothing on the schedule, and I’d personally love to see them again in any setting. But they are probably not playing V.

Video: The Bird & The Bee – “My Love”

Jenny Lewis has released yet another new video from Acid Tongue. Why ask why? She’s finishing some US tour dates and is in Japan in early August. Maybe she can come to Toronto in late August.

Video: Jenny Lewis – “See Fernando”

NPR interviews Steve Earle. He’s at Massey Hall on Saturday, which really precludes his playing V in August. Not that he probably would anyways.

PitchforkTV is streaming the Townes Van Zandt documentary Be Here To Love Me for the next week. I saw this film at TIFF 2004 and it’s a lovely work. It’d be quite a coup if V got Townes to play, but I’m not holding my breath.

Video: Be Here To Love Me

The Denver Post interviews Son Volt’s Jay Farrar. They’re touring from July through early August, then picking up again second week of September. Don’t see them interrupting the downtime to trek up here to play in front of, well, people who probably aren’t fans. The NIN and Son Volt fanbase Venn diagrams don’t overlap much.

American Songwriter has excerpted a portion of their cover feature on Wilco, The Boston Globe has an interview with Jeff Tweedy and The Boston Herald talks to Nels Cline about his role in the band. They’re in Dublin on August 28. Probably not in Toronto on August 29 or 30.

NPR is streaming Sonic Youth’s recent show in Washington DC. They’re playing the Vancouver V Fest but having just played Toronto last week, I don’t expect a return engagement so soon.

Spinner gets Metric to recount their run-in with Spinal Tap at Stonehenge after Glastonbury this year. Metric are seemingly playing every other V in the country, I give them very good odds for being at the Toronto edition. Spinal Tap just did the “unwigged” thing at Massey Hall, but doing V – in character, of course – would be kinda great. Their new record is Back From The Dead.

Malajube have a new video from their Polaris-nominated album Labyrinthes. Their schedule is clear, they could be at V.

Video: Malajube – “Luna”

The Scotsman talks to Dean & Britta. I don’t think their 13 Most Beautiful… Warhol soundtrack show would work too well on a big outdoor stage.

Mew are releasing their new album No More Stories… on August 25 and have already been tapped to play some of Nine Inch Nails’ other “final” shows – why not this one? Spinner has an MP3 from the new record.

MP3: Mew – “Repeaterbeater”

PitchforkTV is running video of Fleet Foxes’ performance from Pitchfork Festival last year. Obviously they do the festival thing, but with an August 4 date at Massey Hall, a V slot is unlikely.

But for everyone who had tickets for that Fleet Foxes show and were crushed that it meant missing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs show at the Kool Haus that same night, rejoice! A second Yeah Yeah Yeahs show has been added for August 5, same venue. Tickets $32.50, on sale today at 10AM. And yes, this pretty much guarantees that they won’t be at V – that is, if being at Reading/Leeds across the Atlantic wasn’t guarantee enough.

Off The Beaten Tracks gets an acoustic video session out of The Thermals. They’re in Europe through mid-August. Swinging by Toronto en route back to Portland seems improbable.

Decider and Austin360 have features on Spoon. Besides their own Spoon-fest in Austin this weekend and performance at the Wanderlust yoga/music festival in Lake Tahoe at the end of the month, they’re not doing much. They could be playing V.

Contact Music has an interview with Glasvegas – they’re one of many bands at Reading/Leeds the weekend of V, so are obviously not playing Toronto. What’s more curious is the routing of their mid-September tour supporting Kings Of Leon, which puts them in Long Island on the 14th, Montreal on the 16th, Ottawa on the 17th, Hamilton on the 19th, London on the 20th and Detroit on the 22nd. Obviously this leaves many opportunities to make a Toronto stop, and yet there currently is none. As I said, curious.

Daytrotter has a session with Ida Maria, who seems awfully reluctant to make her Toronto debut. She’s on tour in North America till early August and then will be back for Monolith in Denver in mid-September. Obviously a lot more dates would have to surface to keep her on the continent from late August till then, but I can see it happening.

NPR is streaming a radio session with Phoenix. They’re playing V in the UK the weekend before the Ontario edition, and are back in September for a string of dates including Monolith and ACL. Odds of them playing our V are slim to none.

The List talks to St Vincent’s Annie Clark, who is at the Horseshoe on August 8 and will consequently not be at V Fest.

And while I know it’ll never happen, I would love beyond words for Superchunk to come and play V Fest. Or play anywhere nearby. This acoustic version of “Detroit Has A Skyline Too” came from a recent radio session. Loverly.

MP3: Superchunk – “Detroit Has A Skyline” (acoustic)

The Boxer Rebellion, who made headlines by charting in the top 10 on iTunes’ charts with the wholly independent release of their second album Union, will be at the Mod Club on August 8 – tickets $11.50. Though they’d probably fit the V demographic, this show means they’re unlikely to be there.

Video: The Boxer Rebellion – “Evacuate”

Either of these bands – …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead and The Secret Machines – would be a decent addition to a festival bill, but they won’t be to V because they’ve got a date at Lee’s Palace on September 22 – tickets $18.50.

MP3: The Secret Machines – “Dreaming Of Dreaming”
MP3: The Secret Machines – “Atomic Heels”

You know, this little “who’s playing V” meme turned out a helluva lot more tiring than I expected. Whew.