Donnas Tour U.S., Play European Festivals
Group mastectomy diminishes fanbase

08-24 Reading, UK - Reading Festival
08-25 Leeds, UK - Leeds Festival
08-26 TBA, The Netherlands - Lowlands Festival
09-09 San Francisco, California - Great American Music Hall
09-14 Los Angeles, California - The Palace
09-15 Pomona, California - The Glass House
09-16 San Diego, California - Canes Bar & Grill
09-18 Tempe, Arizona - Nita's Hideaway
09-20 Austin, Texas - Emo's
09-21 Houston, Texas - Fitzgerald's
09-22 New Orleans, Louisiana - Shim Sham Club
09-25 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida - Freeze
09-26 St. Petersburg, Florida - State Theater
09-27 Orlando, Florida - Sapphire Supper Club
09-28 Tallahassee, Florida - Club Downunder
09-29 Jacksonville, Florida - Jack Rabbits
10-01 Nashville, Tennessee - Exit-In
10-02 Atlanta, Georgia - Earthlink
10-05 Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/d/donnas/turn-21.shtml
Lookout!: http://www.lookoutrecords.com

12 Rods Return to the Studio
Readers able to define "jew sucker" encouraged to write in

Minneapolis' 12 Rods are ready to get back in the studio. The last time they could claim the same, the studio was in Kauai, Hawaii, and the producer was none other than the once-almost-respectable (as in 20 years ago) Todd Rundgren. Unfortunately, the result was anything but idyllic-- 2000's Separation Anxieties received reviews that leaned towards the negative side of "mixed." What once had meshed so well and rocked so hard on 1998's self-produced LP, Split Personalities, seemed sacrificed to the gods of bland pop-schmaltz. Luckily, Todd Rundgren has been left to perform in front of his tens of fans at no-name dives and sing about his ISP. (Think we're kidding? Look it up.)

Keyboardist Ev Olcott apparently got wind that his band's last album was just a tad shitty. In a recent announcement, he proclaimed that "the suits and the cubicle-dwellers just didn't understand where [the band was] coming from" and promised that the new album will be "what we want it to be, not what the label wants us to do." He further hinted that it will be another self-produced effort. Hopefully, this means a return to the fresh, innovative, spazzy post-pop that first caught our attention.

The band has yet to settle on a tracklist, title, release date, or even whether or not it will be a full-length, but they do have plenty of road-tested material to work with. The record will be committed to vinyl (or whatever it is they use in those "compact discs") as soon as the band works out the kinks in their new equipment.

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/t/twelve-rods/separation-anxieties.shtml
Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/t/twelve-rods/split-personalities.shtml
12 Rods: http://www.12rods.com

The Faint Tour in Support of New Album
Gary Numan wants his song back

Saddle Creek Records' new-wave revivalists the Faint are back with a new soundtrack for sex, Danse Macabre, the follow-up to their successful Blank-Wave Arcade. To promote the ideas of sex and synthesizers, and their new album which hits stores August 21st, the band is taking their flashy light show on the road. Dig out those tight jeans and get sexy, cause here are the dates:

08-17 Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium Upstairs
08-29 Iowa City, IA - Green Room
08-30 Urbana, IL - Courtyard Cafe
08-31 Bloomington, IN - Bloomington Festival/Rhinos
09-01 Indianapolis, IN - Volcano Room
09-02 Murfreesboro, TN - Red Rose
09-04 Louisville, KY - BRYCC House
09-05 Columbus, OH - Little Brothers
09-06 TBA
09-07 Annendale, NY - Bard College
09-08 Easthampton, MA - Town Hall
09-09 Portland, ME - The Skinny
09-10 Providence, RI - Met Cafe
09-12 Philadelphia, PA - Rotunda
09-13 Washington, DC - Black Cat
09-14 Cambridge, MA - Middle East (Downstairs)
09-15 NYC - Saddle Creek CMJ Showcase
09-16 Richmond, VA - Virginia Commonwealth Univ.
09-17 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
09-18 Athens, GA - 40 Watt
09-19 Jacksonville, FL - Jackrabbits
09-20 Orlando, FL - Sapphire Supper Club
09-21 West Palm, FL - Respectable St.
09-22 Tampa, FL - Orpheum
09-23 Tallahassee, FL - Cow Haus
09-24 New Orleans, LA - Mermaid Lounge
09-26 Fayetteville, AR - Clunk Music Hall
09-27 Dallas, TX - Rubber Gloves
09-28 Austin, TX - Emo's
09-29 Houston, TX - Mary Janes
10-01 Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture
10-02 TBA
10-03 Pomona, CA - Glass House
10-04 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
10-05 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
10-06 Sacramento, CA - TBA
10-07 Portland, OR - TBA

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/f/faint/blank-wave-arcade.shtml
Saddle Creek: http://www.saddle-creek.com
The Faint: http://www.thefaint.com

Reggie and the Full Effect Play Out
We still say their other bands are funnier

Vagrant Records' side-project Reggie and the Full Effect are out and about, playing shows in support of their 2000 LP, Promotional Copy. Along with solo dates, they're slated to make appearances on the massive Vagrant America tour along with a plethora of labelmates, including Pitchfork faves Saves the Day. Reggie and the Full Effect, a novelty offshoot of the Get Up Kids and Coalesce, combines the emo-pop of the former group with the comedy of Emo Phillips, resulting in a fusion of aesthetics that only a Smothers Brother could love. But hey, they still beat "Dice." On occasion. Dates!:

08-20 Chicago, IL - Metro
08-21 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
08-23 Worcester, MA - The Palladium
08-24 New York, NY - Wetlands
08-25 New York, NY - CBGB
08-26 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
08-27 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/r/reggie-and-the-full-effect/promotional-copy.shtml
Vagrant: http://www.vagrant.com

First, Second Leg of Björk Tour Announced
Third leg presently being toyed with

Aside from the performances in larger venues, several small-venue shows which will be limited to 300 seats are tentatively planned. These smaller settings will allow Björk to perform without a microphone and to take advantage of the intimacy which Vespertine craves. These shows will only be announced on the day of the performances themselves, in light of the response to her secret Riverside Chapel concert in New York, when 30,000 people applied for only 300 tickets. Tour dates for Europe, Japan, and Iceland are in the works for November and December.

08-18 Paris, France - Le Grand Rex
08-20 Paris, France - Le Grand Rex
08-23 Paris, France - Saint Chappelle
08-25 Paris, France - Saint Chappelle
08-29 London, England - St. John's Smith's Square
09-11 Stuttgart, Germany - Stuttgart Liederhalle
09-13 Lausanne, Switzerland - Le Metropole
09-15 Lausanne, Switzerland - Le Metropole
09-18 Frankfurt, Germany - Alte Oper
09-21 Lille-Roubaix, France - Le Colisee
09-23 London, England - English National Opera: The Coliseum
09-28 Amsterdam, Holland - Muziektheatre (aka Stopera)
10-04 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
10-05 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
10-07 Toronto, Canada - Hummingbird
10-12 Boston, MA - Wang
10-14 Chicago, IL - Lyric Opera House
10-17 San Francisco, CA - Paramount Theatre
10-22 Los Angeles, CA - LA Opera: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

.: Björk: http://www.bjork.com

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/b/bjork/selmasongs.shtml

Pinetop Seven Releases Tour-Only CD
Collectaur is hungry

According to their website, sad-rock virtuosos Pinetop Seven recently compiled over 60 minutes of previously unreleased material for a limited edition full-length disc entitled Lest We Forget. The album draws largely from tracks originally intended for Pinetop Seven's last two critically acclaimed LPs, 1998's Rigging the Toplights and 2000's Bringing Home the Last Great Strike. Both albums showcased Pinetop Seven's breathtaking synthesis of sparse orchestral rock, country and Americana, as well the intricate, painfully tragic lyrics of frontman-cum-storyteller Darren Richard. Besides the studio tracks, the CD also features a remix of "Mission District" (from Bringing Home the Last Great Strike) by an esoteric DJ named Mactra, along with an improvised score to a black-and-white silent film entitled "The Wind," and a few miscellaneous demos. Want the CD? It's only available at live shows or from the band's website. Pinetop Seven is currently finishing a tour with Will Oldham, and they've got a few Midwestern shows planned for September.

08-07 Columbia, MO - Mojo's
08-08 Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck
08-10 Boulder, CO - TBA
08-11 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre
08-13 Lincoln, NE - Knickerbockers
08-14 Omaha, NE - Music Box
08-15 Iowa City, IA - Gabe's Oasis
09-08 Chicago, IL - Abbey Pub
09-29 Madison, WI - Rathskeller

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/p/pinetop-seven/bringing-home-the-last-great-strike.shtml
Pinetop Seven: http://www.pinetopseven.com

Hot Water Music to Headline Benefit Tour
1-800-SUICIDE not the number we'd have chosen to SAVE lives

Sub Pop and Asian Man Records have joined forces to bring you one of the summer's biggest and most charitable tours. The Plea for Peace/Take Action Tour features Hot Water Music and a bunch of other crazy bands, including the Alkaline Trio, Selby Tigers, Cave-In, Zero Zero, and Strike Anywhere. Proceeds from the tour will benefit the National Hopeline Network (1-800-SUICIDE), with 15% of the revenue from each show going to the charity.

In addition to the tour, a Plea for Peace/Take Action CD is in stores today, featuring 28 tracks, mostly rare, live, or unreleased, from 28 different artists. 5% of those sales will also go to the charity. For those relieved to see bands playing for causes other than veganism and straight-edge, here come the dates:

08-23 Chicago, IL - Metro
08-24 Detroit, MI - St. Andrew's
08-26 Latham, NY - Club 797
08-27 New York, NY - The Wetlands
08-28 Worcester, MA - Palladium
08-29 Buffalo, NY - Sideshow Hall
08-30 Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre
08-31 Pittsburgh, PA - Club Laga
09-01 South Amboy, NJ - Club Krome
09-02 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
09-03 Washington DC - Nation
09-05 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
09-07 Atlanta, GA - Echo Lounge
09-08 Gainesville, FL - Market St. Pub
09-09 St Petersburg, FL - State Theatre
09-10 Orlando, FL - Sapphire Club
09-12 New Orleans, LA - Shim Sham
09-13 Houston, TX - Engine Room
09-14 Austin, TX - Emo's
09-15 Albuquerque, NM - Launch Pad
09-16 Phoenix, AZ - Boston's
09-17 San Diego, CA - Cane's Bar
09-18 Pomona, CA - Glass House
09-19 San Francisco, CA - Great AMH
09-20 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
09-23 Seattle, WA - Graceland
09-25 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
09-26 Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck
09-27 St. Louis, MO - Creepy Crawl
09-28 Sioux Falls, SD - Lakota Events
09-29 St. Paul, MN - North Star
09-30 Milwaukee, WI - Miramar

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/h/hot-water-music/never-ender.shtml
Hot Water Music: http://hwm.indiepress.com
Take Action Tour: http://www.takeactiontour.com

Matador to Release Aereogramme LP
Bagpipes! Haggis! Uh... Bagpipes!

Matador Records has announced that they will act as U.S. license for Glaswegian artists Aereogramme. The trio, which includes ex-Ganger guitarist/vocalist Craig B (how bad could his last name be?), is set to release its debut LP, A Story in White, via the Delgados-founded Chemikal Underground Records in September. The stateside Matador release hits your favorite record store October 9th. That is, unless your preferred musical emporium is Target, Wherehouse, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, or the checkout aisle at Rite-Aid.

Aereogramme formed in 1998, after Craig B's discontent with Ganger as a personal creative outlet. In an effort to bring something, regardless of freshness, to the table, the young trio flesh out their loud-soft-loud transitions with "discipline and finesse." After 7" releases and shows in support of acts such as Low, the group released a debut EP, The Glam Cripple, early this year. An EP companion to their imminent LP, entitled White Paw, will be released in the UK on August 20th. Three White Paw tracks will be featured on the Matador full-length. Aereogramme are slated to support the Dirty Three and Frank Black during their respective Scottish ventures. And, in light of the "whiteness" of their two upcoming releases, the trio will perform all shows on horseback wearing ivory robes. At least, that's what the First Cavalier of Olde Ivory Robe Wearing Horsebackers tell us.

Matador Records: http://www.matadorrecords.com
Chemikal Underground: http://www.chemikal.co.uk

PJ Harvey to Tour U.S.
Call her "The Harv" and see where it gets you

09-04 New York - Hammerstein Ballroom
09-07 Boston - Orpheum Theatre
09-08 Philadelphia - Electric Ballroom Factory
09-10 Washington DC - 9:30 Club
09-13 Chicago - The Riviera
09-18 San Francisco - The Warfield
09-21 Los Angeles - Palladium

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/h/harvey_pollyjean/stories-from-the-city.shtml
PJ Harvey: http://www.pjharvey.net

Lost Camper van Beethoven LP Does Fleetwood Mac
Take Christine McVie bowling, take her bowling

In a transparent attempt to win Pitchfork's coveted "Most Fleetwood Mac-Related News Item of the Year" award, re-formed 80's skinhead-bowlers Camper van Beethoven plan to release a track-for-track cover version of Fleetwood Mac's 1979 opus Tusk.

According to the source from which we steal all of our news stories, the awesome Rolling Stone (did anyone read that N'Sync story? Such hilarity has never existed), the genesis for this odd project came in 1987, when Camper van Beethoven spent some time in a cabin near Mammoth, California with plans to work on their next album. What came out of those sessions was a "re-imagining" (to use Planet of the Apes lingo) of all 20 tracks from Tusk, Fleetwood Mac's dark double-album follow-up to Rumours. For some reason, which apparently now eludes all those involved, the tapes were subsequently scrapped.

However, following a recent Camper van Beethoven reunion tour, head Cracker David Lowery and fellow ex-Campers Jonathan Segel and Victor Krummenacher decided there was gold in them thar hills, and finally mixed and mastered the Tusk tapes. They plan to release the record on their own Pitch-a-Tent label later this year, provided all the appropriate royalty checks fall into place.

In other CvB family news, expect a new album in January from Cracker, entitled Forever, and a disc of covers (both live and studio) sometime in the coming months.

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/c/camper-van-beethoven/is-dead-long-live.shtml
Pitch-a-Tent: http://www.pitch-a-tent.com

Rilo Kiley Release LP, Tour with Nada Surf
But do they have a novelty song?

Southern Californian quartet Rilo Kiley released their debut full-length record, Take Offs and Landings, this past week on Barsuk Records. According to Barsuk (actually pronounced "bar-sook," according to some guy who answered their phone like that), a nocturnal tour shall ensue this month in celebration of the emission. The indie-pop aggregation will play in support of one-hit-wonders Nada Surf, who, though not quite popular, are still hanging on to their career.

Frugal consumers take note: Take Offs and Landings is on the special discount menu this month at Barsuk. The group strum amiable arias, setting themselves apart from the rest of the twee-pop crowd with careful implementation of the enigma known in some circles as "the distorted guitar." The music of Rilo Kiley has been described as "an opus of breadth and depth worthy of repeated listenings." Repeated listenings? Isn't that a bit unrealistic in this cutthroat industry? Flying through the air, it's dates!:

08-09 Tempe, AZ - Nile Theater
08-11 Austin, TX - Mercury Jazz
08-12 Houston, TX - Fitzgerald's
08-14 Atlanta, GA - Cotton Club
08-15 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
08-16 Baltimore, MD - Sidebar
08-17 Cambridge, MA - Middle East
08-18 Rockville Center, NY - Backstreet Blues
08-19 New York, NY - Brownie's
08-21 Chicago, IL - Metro
08-22 Milwaukee, WI - Miramar Theater
08-23 Minneapolis, MN - Ascot Room
08-24 Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck

Barsuk: http://www.barsuk.com

Brando Moves to Luna Records
Stella!!!!!!!!!!!!

Luna Records, the label responsible for Robert Pollard's non-GBV output, has picked up Bloomington, Indiana's Brando. The band formerly released their albums via Smokeylung Records. The rationale behind the move is simple: Brando wanted to expose their sound to a larger audience. Through the deal with Luna, the band's releases will be distributed to more than 120 stores and over 150 radio stations. Smokeylung plans release some Brando 7" records, as well as some EPs. Brando, in the meantime, is looking to sue "that actor fuck" for running off which their name. The horror!

Luna Music: http://www.lunamusic.net/

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)