Photos: Beach House / Papercuts [Chicago, IL; 03/26/08]

Photos by Erik Liam Sanchez; text by Tyler Grisham

Baltimore's Beach House have expanded upon their live show since I saw them at the Pitchfork Music Festival this past summer. As with the subtle but impressive sonic improvements they made between their highly-regarded debut and last month's follow-up, Devotion, the basic setup remained the same: Victoria Legrand on her organ and Alex Scally backing her up on guitar. But Papercuts' Jason Robert Quever on drums bolstered the preprogrammed beats that began each song-- a trick the group employed on Devotion and one that helps their stage presence burst to life.

Quever's San Francisco-based band opened the night at Schubas with a set of tracks from last year's Can't Go Back, including the time-signature-hopping ballad "John Brown" and "Dear Employee", plus a few numbers from an as-yet-unannounced follow-up. Beach House's Scally provided keys for Papercuts, and Legrand joined them onstage for the last number.

A few minutes later, Legrand, Scally, and Quever were back on stage, drowned in swirling blue lights straight out of Back to the Future's Enchantment Under the Sea dance, drifting through a set of tunes pulled equally from Devotion and their self-titled debut. The set was bookended by two of Devotion's best tracks, "Wedding Bell" and an utterly majestic rendering of "Heart of Chambers".

We caught up with the bands in Schubas' green room after the show for a few behind-the-scenes shots. Look for a supine Cass McCombs cameo and the bands' whole road crew below, plus the handful of remaining tour dates.

BEACH HOUSE








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Tapes 'n Tapes Walk It Off for Cancer Research

Tapes 'n Tapes aren't just talking the talk when it comes to their new Walk It Off LP. They're walking the walk as well. And they were hoping you could do it with them.

You see, Tapes 'n Tapes have this record coming out called Walk It Off (release dates: April 7 in the UK and April 8 in the U.S. on XL). To celebrate, they're looking for folks to register as "Team Tapes 'n Tapes" at breast cancer research walk-a-thons in their hometowns. The top fundraiser in each city will not only get the satisfaction of helping out a good cause, but a personalized, autographed copy of the vinyl version of Walk It Off.

Walk-a-thons are taking place across the country throughout the spring, summer, and fall. Tapes 'n Tapes encourage you to check out the sites of the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, or the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure for information on a walk taking place in your city. The band puts particular emphasis on the Susan G. Komen Twin Cities Race for the Cure, which takes place May 11-- Mother's Day, don't you know-- in the band's native Minneapolis/St. Paul. Charity, as they say, begins at home.

Though without a Lear jet or something, Tapes 'n Tapes won't be anywhere near the upper Midwest that particular May weekend, as they'll be on tour on the West Coast. However, the band plans to participate in a breast cancer walk once their tour ends in the summer.

And, in other Tapes news, Walk It Off's first single, "Hang Them All", hits UK shelves March 31. [MORE...]

Photos: Caribou / Fuck Buttons [Boston, MA; 03/26/08]

Photos by Alex Burack

I'd say Paradise is a pretty apt name for any club playing host to the kaleidoscopic bliss of Caribou and the pulsing, rhapsodic sonics of Fuck Buttons, just as a certain aptly named venue in Boston did last night.

Both acts will have plenty more opportunities to dazzle folks with their wares in the coming weeks, culminating in each band's appearance at that ATP vs. Pitchfork Festival you may have heard something about.

This awesome-bands-touring-together thing is a great idea. Let's hope it catches on!

And if you want the Caribou live experience from the comfort of your headphones, tune in March 30 as NPR's "Live in Concert" series broadcasts Dan Snaith and Co.'s set from Washington, DC's (also aptly named) Rock and Roll Hotel.

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Be Your Own Pet Announce North American Tour

They've already been to every place everywhere in the world, but Be Your Own Pet are doing it all over again. Their tour is currently ripping through the UK and Europe, and now it's scheduled to head to North America in May and June.

The NYLON Magazine sponsored tour also features L.A. fashion rockers She Wants Revenge. We have no idea what the two bands could learn from each other on the sizable tour, but hey, maybe seeing the fun BYOP have on stage will be a sort of "road to Damascus" moment for She Wants Revenge.

Either way, you really shouldn't miss a chance to see the most punk rock band in all the land, so watch them tear through a set sure to include some of the unreleasably violent songs from their new Get Awkward at the dates after the jump. [MORE...]

Photos: Boredoms [Chicago, IL; 03/26/08]

Boredoms gig posters ought to read like circus announcements:

MARVEL! as four intrepid noise-makers from across the Pacific conjure up a rapturous, clangorous, 360-degree shitstorm, at once piercingly primitive and gleefully forward-looking!

STAND IN AWE! as Eye wields pitch-bending, glowing globules like a human theremin!

WITNESS! the living spider-woman Yoshimi, whose dextrous appendages handle drums, hi-hats, bass pedals, and progged-out synth all at once! Barefoot, even!

BEHOLD! the ridiculous seven-neck guitar tower that Eye plays like a freaking gong!

CHUCKLE! at the poor guy who has to stand behind the thing the whole while and constantly retune it!

So it was at Chicago's Congress Theater last night as Boredoms touched down in the home of their new label Thrill Jockey, with Soft Circle and labelmates Human Bell in tow, for a rare performance "in the round". By the end of this 90-odd minute set, both band and audience looked positively exhausted. And who could blame them? Cosmic catharsis is taxing, after all.

And speaking of Thrill Jockey and live Boredoms, we'd be remiss not to remind you that the label will deliver the all-live Super Roots 9 in the States April 8.

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Axl Rose Responds to Dr. Pepper Proposition

Axl Rose photo by George Chin

As mentioned yesterday, should Axl Rose and whatever twisted form Guns N' Roses currently exist in somehow manage to squeeze out the oft-delayed Chinese Democracy by the end of 2008, we'll all be sippin' on the sweet nectar of rock'n'roll... as well as our very own complimentary can of Dr. Pepper. And it seems news of this prescription for productivity reached all the way to the hideyholestudio, as Mr. Rose himself posted a statement on the matter on the Guns N' Roses website. Observe:

We are surprised and very happy to have the support of Dr Pepper with our album "Chinese Democracy," as for us, this came totally out of the blue. If there is any involvement with this promotion by our record company or others, we are unaware of such at this time. And as some of Buckethead's performances are on our album, I'll share my Dr Pepper with him.

What a nice guy.

You'll note that there's no real indication of cooperation with Dr. Pepper's proposal, however. But the very fact that Axl is even thinking about it has gotta mean something, right? Right? Perhaps, but I wouldn't bet any more than a can of pop on it.

Pitchfork Seeks Web Developer

Pitchfork seeks an enthusiastic web developer with webmaster/content management experience to work full-time as a multi-faceted technologist in our Chicago or Manhattan office to maintain and develop multiple high-traffic, Drupal-based sites. Work environment is creative, fast-paced, and Mac-based with competitive pay and benefits. Most day-to-day tasks deal with the development and maintenance of a frequently updated e-zine. Job requires round-the-clock availability (when needed).

All candidates must possess:

* Expert level knowledge of PHP, MySQL, Apache and Unix/Linux
* Intermediate level experience with Drupal, JS, and jQuery
* Passion for standards-based XHTML/CSS layout

* Webmaster/Content Management experience
* Experience administering large-scale sites
* Strong non-technical communications skills
* Knowledge of video codecs and compressions a plus

Interested parties should send a resume to jobs@pitchforkmedia.com, along with a link to your portfolio, and references from previous clients/employers.

Photos: Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige [Baltimore, MD; 03/26/08]

Photos by Kyle Gustafson

From the top of the charts (and their game) to the "Heart of the City", Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige brought it to Baltimore's 1st Mariner Arena last night. The unimpeachable pairing will continue to look pretty and rock crowds on a Super Bowl scale through early May. Look for them next in Uniondale, New York tonight.

Also, fans in Montreal should note that a Z/J. gig scheduled for May 9 at Bell Centre has been cancelled. Bummer! As consolation, we encourage you to crank "Can't Knock the Hustle" and quickly scroll through these photos right here.

JAY-Z AND MARY J. BLIGE









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Shearwater's Meiburg Talks Rook, Birding, Okkervil
"One time in Florida I nearly whacked Bill Callahan in the face! I was like, 'Look! Look! There's a white ibis!'"

"It's funny, I keep trying to get away from the birds but they keep coming back to me," Shearwater's Jonathan Meiburg, a "semi-retired" ornithologist, admits. And indeed, birds abound in Shearwater's oeuvre, from the band's moniker to song titles like "Sing, Little Birdie" to album names like Winged Life and the latest, Rook.

Rook will alight on record shelves June 3 thanks to Matador. It's the Austin quartet's fifth full-length overall and first all-new release for the indie giant, although Matador did reissue an expanded edition of Shearwater's 2006 set, Palo Santo (originally released on Misra), in spring 2007.

"Rooks are very interesting birds," Meiburg muses. "They're very clever, very social, and when you see a group of them by the side of the road in Europe they always look like they're planning something [laughs]. They always look like you just interrupted a meeting."

Yet Rook isn't just for the birds. Meiburg chose the title for its sound ("it's got the nice 'k' at the end of it") and its multiple meanings, from the card game to the verb form of the word: "To rook also means to steal something, and-- maybe not so much as magpies-- but rooks will often take little items out of your garden, or shiny things. They have a reputation for mischief."

Theft of another, more dire sort plays into Rook's 10 tracks. "There's this theme of environmental destruction that runs through the record and of worlds being lost," Meiburg recounts. "Not purely literally but also metaphorically."

Environmental degradation makes for uncertain times, and this idea also manifests itself sonically on Rook. "I really wanted you to not know where the songs are going; some of them stop very abruptly, others go on and on. As you listen to it I just wanted you to have no real sense of security about what the next song was going to do."

Meiburg also invites us to consider Rook in naturalistic terms. "The record, I keep thinking of it this way: I thought of Palo Santo as a series of islands, like this weird archipelago leaning over the sea, and then [Rook] begins on the open sea and dives to explore sunken continents.

"Just to get ridiculously pretentious about it," he adds with a laugh.


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Bloc Party, BOH, CSS, Manu Chao Show Off...Shoes!

Talk about meta! The Shoes (Les Chaussures if you will) are an electro-pop duo from France. The Shoes have a new single out now on the UK's 50 Bones imprint called "Knock Out". Not just any single, the limited edition "Knock Out" 7" comes bundled with one-of-a-kind Polaroids depicting...wait for it...shoes! That's right people, shoes!

And not just any shoes: shoes worn by people in bands you might happen to like. Among the indie celebs showing off their sneaks: Bloc Party, Band of Horses' Ben Bridwell, CSS, and Manu Chao ("El Chapu" in the photo below).

Other featured footwear comes courtesy of former Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins, KavinSky, Busy P, the Cribs, Mystery Jets, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, MGMT, Jackson (of Jackson and His Computer Band fame), Inspiral Carpets, Metronomy, Blood Red Shoes (appropriate!), and a certain "Barry", apparently "Gwen Stefani's maintenance man." What, no Lee "Scratch" Perry?

And that's not all! Each of these unique Polaroids-- and there are some 300 in all-- is autographed. Who needs music anymore when you have gimmicks like this one?


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Hercules and Love Affair Announce Tour

Now that Brooklyn producer Andy Butler has unveiled Hercules and Love Affair to the world with the international release of his Best New Music garnering self-titled LP, it's time for the record's bongos and basslines to breathe amidst the open air of festivals and the dark stink of clubs. This spring and summer, Hercules and Love Affair will make that happen on the group's UK and European tour.

We say "group" because Herc's live configuration is a full eight-member band. Unfortunately, Antony isn't one of those members, but we trust Butler & co. to come up with a creative solution for the vocals. Maybe Antony can do them via satellite!

The first show of the tour is May 23 in Brighton, and soon, Hercules and Love Affair will announce even more dates across the world.

Still no word on an American release for Hercules and Love Affair, however. Fingers crossed! [MORE...]

A.A. Bondy Re-Releases Debut on Fat Possum, Tours

Fat Possum, a label heavy on rootsy songwriters, will give the debut album from rootsy songwriter A.A. Bondy a wider U.S. release than it got last year on Superphonic. The tracklist for this new edition of American Hearts remains the same as the original, and Fat Possum will issue the record on April 15.

Leading up to that release date is Bondy's U.S. tour with the Weakerthans and Christine Fellows, which kicks off tonight (March 26) in Ann Arbor. Near the end of the tour, on April 11, Bondy will also make an appearance on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien". [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.)