Photos: Joanna Newsom with the Brooklyn Philharmonic [Brooklyn, NY; 02/01/08]

Photos by Kathryn Yu

The formula is pretty well established by now: Joanna Newsom + live orchestration = awesome. But we can never have enough proofs of an equation like that, and so Newsom, trusty harp, Ys Street Band, and members of the Brooklyn Philharmonic took to the Brooklyn Academy of Music late last week to demonstrate once more for the converts and any remaining doubters alike.

Like previous Newsom/orchestra meetups, this one featured a set of Ys in sequence followed by a set of Newsom favorites and new tunes minus the orchestra. Sometime Ys Street Band member Kevin Barker (also of Currituck Co.) even dropped by to join Newsom for the encore.

That'll do it for Newsom's live appearances for the moment. Perhaps now the lady will trade Ys for some much-needed...wait for it...ZZZZs?

JOANNA NEWSOM





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Om Cancel Dates, Drummer Hakius Leaves

Bad news from the Om camp. The San Francisco drone group remains a duo, but bassist/vocalist Al Cisneros is now working with a replacement drummer for Chris Hakius, who has left the band.

According to a message from Cisneros in a press release, "Om is continuing forward with a new drummer and working on a new recording... A live vinyl-only LP, Om: Live at Jerusalem, will be forthcoming. This is Chris Hakius' final release with the group."

As a result of Hakius' departure, Om have had to cancel their previously reported shows with Lungfish's Daniel Higgs. "I personally apologize to East Coast fans who planned on coming out to the shows. Please know that Om will be back in your area later in '08," Cisneros said.

Om are scheduling some new shows for later this spring. The band's cancelled East Coast dates are after the jump. [MORE...]

Blonde Redhead Plot Another Brief Tour

Photo by Sebastian Mlynarski

Pocket-sized Blonde Redhead tours seem to be the order of the day for 2008, as the tantalizing tinted trio are following up their brief East Coast run earlier this month with a nine-date trek through Europe come April.

The band's plans include stops in Scandinavia, France, and a lone date in London. They will also join their 4AD labelmates the Breeders-- and scores of others, of course-- at Belgium's Pukkelpop Festival Polsslag Festival, an indoor festival organized by the Pukkelpop people here the Pace brothers and the Deal sisters will reenact their favorite scenes from the Schwarzenegger/DeVito classic Twins. That's what twins do when they get together, right? [MORE...]

Yes, That Was an Arcade Fire Song in a Super Bowl Ad
No, the band didn't have anything to do with it

As you might have noticed, some kind of important televised sporting event happened earlier this evening. A ball was kicked and thrown and men in extremely tight pants ran back and forth across something resembling grass. In the middle, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed, though they didn't really seem to get what all the fuss was about. (Tom didn't even think the occasion was worth shaving for.)

A few minutes after the halftime show, something weird happened. And it wasn't just the realization that holy shit, the Giants actually have a chance here. It was an ad for NFL on Fox, buoying its triumphant montage of sweaty dudes in helmets with the rousing strains of the coda to the Arcade Fire's "No Cars Go".

Verrry interrrresting. We knew these guys were sports fans, but would Win, Regine, and the gang really sell their music to Rupert Murdoch so that he could advertise his football television program?

No, no they wouldn't.

Turns out Fox never even asked the band if they could use their song, and they certainly weren't given permission to do so. (Gee, this sounds familiar.)

Right now, it's unclear if anything illegal took place, or if the Arcade Fire is owed any money from Fox. The matter is currently being reviewed by the band's camp.

UPDATE: Apparently "No Cars Go" has been used during NFL on Fox ads throughout the football season, according to various readers. 

Iron & Wine to Tour U.S. With Califone
Add Australian, New Zealand dates as well

Following a one-off gig in Wheaton, Illinois this month (a solo set) and a brief trek Down Under in March, Sam Beam's Iron & Wine will hit the road across the U.S. for a spell. He'll be joined for the second time in a while by his chums in Califone, making this truly the most beards and vests you're likely to see on a single stage this spring. Man, is that a funny line.

After hanging up with Califone, Sam and whoever he can smuggle over the pond in those flowing locks will hit the Explosions in the Sky-curated ATP Festival.

Califone, meanwhile, have a couple more music and film engagements to attend to before heading out on tour. [MORE...]

Parts & Labor, Shooting Spires Line Up Tours

Jagjaguwar Mapmakers Parts & Labor will do a little more cartography this March on a three-week U.S. tour with SXSW smack dab in the middle. The band also has a solitary show before the tour, which takes place tomorrow, February 2, in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Also before the P&L tour is a February outing from bassist/vocalist BJ Warshaw's Shooting Spires side project, in support of his self-titled bedroom-spun debut. For the tour, Warshaw has expanded the Spires lineup from just himself to a four-piece band. [MORE...]

Jay-Z to Headline Glastonbury

Photo by Kyle Gustafson

H to the Izzo! Jay-Z to the UK! To Glastonbury in a hurry like a blurry... broken... P.A. Yeah, I dunno either, but Jay-Z is confirmed to headline Glastonbury 2008, and between that and the three-foot-deep snow drifts burying Chicago right now, we're all a bit loopy this afternoon.

The news comes from a BBC report, which indicates Neil Diamond will perform at the rather large summer festival as well on June 29. Our moms couldn't be happier.

Jigga and Diamond (OMG plz collaborate) are the only confirmed performers thus far for Glastonbury 2008, though rumors abound, as always. The festival pops off near the English town that bears its name from June 27-29 this year.

Jay-Z doesn't have any other activity planned at the moment, but having abdicated the throne of Def Jam and regained our respect, you know he's ripe for more live action.

Sally Shapiro Reveals Remix Romance Details
And look who's on it: Junior Boys, Juan Maclean, Lindstrom, Holy Fuck

Photo by Frida Klingberg

As promised, Sally Shapiro will continue spreading the love found on last year's Disco Romance with a remix album packed with offerings from other people we like to get excited about. As also promised, Junior Boys and Lindstrøm are among those people, tackling "Jackie Jackie (Spend This Winter With Me)" and "Time to Let Go", respectively.

Also dishing out the rejiggered Sally tracks: Juan Maclean, Holy Fuck, the Cansecos, Skatebård, and more. It all adds up to Remix Romance Vol. 1, invading record shops and lovesick hearts near you April 15 via Paper Bag Records. Ooh, does this mean there will be a Vol. 2??

In other Sally news, Permanent Vacation and Diskokaine have paired to unleash a hyper-limited white label version of that forthcoming "Jackie Jackie" single. Only 80 of these things exist, and they're available now via the Clone webstore. Permanent Vacation will unload the official "Jackie Jackie" single in Europe later this month, with a North American release to follow in April.

Finally, Sally and producer/songwriter Johan Agebjörn have added two dates to their unlikely DJ outing. A February 9 record release party in Gothenburg will mark Shapiro's first public appearance ever, while both will be on-hand at the PLUG Awards March 6, appearing in an as-yet-undetermined capacity. If there is a God, that capacity will of course be the receiving of an award. [MORE...]

Prodigy to Perform H.N.I.C. 2 Live in Its Entirety
Album to be translated into 1,500 languages!

That Prodigy sure knows how to say goodbye in style. He's facing a three and a half year jail sentence for a 2006 gun charge, and his term begins February 13. The Mobb Deep rapper knows his days of freedom are, for the time being, numbered.

So on February 6, P will take a break from video blogging (dude is a regular Ron Paul with this internet game) to join a few friends at New York City's B.B. King Blues Club for a sendoff party. But not just any farewell: Prodigy will perform the entirety of his forthcoming H.N.I.C. 2 LP onstage at the event, and guests aplenty-- including a few of his G-Unit associates-- are expected to appear and pay tribute to P.

H.N.I.C. 2 is due March 25 from Infamous Music/Voxonic. Wired reports that Prodigy will employ the company's really sci-fi "Voxonic" speech-conversion software that will translate the album into up to 1,500 languages. (Indeed, H.N.I.C. 2's last track is a Spanish version of "ABC".) That's kind of like how Avril Lavigne made a bunch of "Girlfriend" translations.

Man, Avril and Prodigy, together at last. [MORE...]

Goldfrapp Announce Spring, Summer Dates

Where Seventh Tree is concerned, Goldfrapp sure aren't interested in rushing things. What began with standard pre-album chatter became a name and a release date, which begat a tracklist, then finally, a first single.

None if it's out yet, of course, but they've surely given us plenty to talk about, if not necessarily all that much to listen to. And now, there's a UK tour, albeit a fairly brief one, and it doesn't kick off until late June. (The band does have a couple London dates in the interim, though those aren't for a while yet either.) Man, by the time that rolls around, they may very well be halfway into their next stylistic gear-shift. Goldfrapp does grindcore, pretty please?

Seventh Tree falls into stores February 25 in the UK and the following day in the U.S. thanks to Mute. Geez, guys, slow your roll!

In related news, Goldfrapp soundman Will Gregory's previously reported original score for Victor Sjöström's 1924 film He Who Gets Slapped can currently be heard on BBC Radio 3's website. [MORE...]

American Music Club Tour the World
World Music Club

The release of American Music Club's ninth LP The Golden Age (February 19, Merge) is coming on fast. It may have been four years since their back-from-hiatus album Love Songs for Patriots came out, but Mark Eitzel and company are getting right back in the saddle for a frankly humongous world tour.

The band is in Europe right now, starting February off with shows in the UK and Ireland. But soon enough, they'll move on to the rest of the continent before returning to North America in April and May.

Finally, for the AMC fans who just can't wait two and a half weeks to find out what their boys have been up to, Merge is now hosting an mp3 of Golden Age track "All the Lost Souls Welcome You to San Francisco". Download it at the link below. [MORE...]

Black Moth, Seven Bells, Bazan Do Suicide Squeeze 7"s
Plus: the Coathangers and, as you know, HEALTH

Another year, another series of shit hot sevens from those sluggers at Seattle's Suicide Squeeze.

That HEALTH 7" we spoke of a short while back, it seems, was only the beginning. In the months to come we can also look forward to nifty song-etched plastic discs from the likes of psych weirdos Black Moth Super Rainbow, Atlanta's raucous Coathangers, the Secret Machines-descended School of Seven Bells, and Pedro the Lion tamer David Bazan.

The HEALTH single lands first, as you know, on February 19. Following not far in its wake is the Coathangers' "Shake Shake", backed with "Dreamboat" and set for release March 18. Skip forward a month and we have School of Seven Bells' "Silent Grips", due April 8 and backed with a cover of Wire's "Used To".

Then, come May 6, Black Moth Super Rainbow summon "Zodiac Girl" with an as-yet-undetermined B-side. Finally, flip all the way to the back of your datebook to mark November 4 as the day the fifth and latest David Bazan Christmas single comes down chimneys. No word yet on the tracks for that, though I sure hope he does Wham!'s "Last Christmas" b/w "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer".

Like highly collectable past 7"s from Suicide Squeeze, all of these are limited to 2,000 copies. [MORE...]

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.)