New Pornos, Andrew Bird Play Sculpture Garden
Bon Iver and Cloud Cult, too

The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden-- adjacent to the Twin Cities' Walker Art Center-- is one of the more beautiful spots in the Midwest (that picture doesn't really do it justice). Featuring ornate landscaping and gargantuan sculptures from the likes of Alexander Calder, Claes Oldenburg, and others, it's a surreal, almost magisterial spot, and sounds just about perfect for a concert.

What luck, then, that in celebration of its 20th birthday, the Sculpture Garden is hosting a pretty great one. On June 21, the New Pornographers, Andrew Bird, Bon Iver, and hometown heroes Cloud Cult will, rain or shine, hit the outdoor stage for the Rock the Garden celebration. Happy birthday, place with the big cherry spoon!

Oh, and if you happen to call the Twin Cities home or happen to be in town for a Twins game or something, you'll have a chance to see local boy Dosh-- along with Andrew Bird, Jel, Fog, and others-- at the Garden's World of Dosh concert May 3.

Sub Pop Announces 20th Anniversary Bash
Green River, Seaweed, Red Red Meat, the Fluid, Beachwood Sparks reunite for the occassion

20 years ago this month, Sub Pop Records' Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman threw caution (and their dayjobs) to the wind and rented an office in Seattle's Terminal Sales Building. Two decades on, that little Pacific Nortwestern upstart has become an indie juggernaut.

In celebration of 20 years of putting out amazing records, Sub Pop is throwing itself quite a birthday party. The SP20 Festival will go down July 12-13 at Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington (just outside of Seattle). And they've managed to pull quite a few bands from the ether to join the party. In addition to the Fluid, SP20 has nabbed reunions from proto-grungers Green River (members of which would go on to form Mudhoney-- who are also playing SP20-- and Pearl Jam), proto-Califoners Red Red Meat, Tacoma punks Seaweed, and California psych-country crew Beachwood Sparks.

Of course, the current Sub Pop stable will show these old folks what's what, with appearances from Iron & Wine, Low, No Age, Wolf Parade, Fleet Foxes, Flight of the Conchords, Pissed Jeans, the Ruby Suns, Foals, Comets on Fire, Grand Archives, Kinski, and the Helio Sequence. More performers are expected to be announced soon. SP20 kicks off July 11 with a comedy show at Seattle's Moore Theatre, featuring comedians Eugene Mirman, Patton Oswalt, Todd Barry, and more.

Both the Sub Pop staff as well as the acts performing will choose a group of charities to be the recipients of proceeds from the festivities.

The anniversary celebration doesn't stop with just the party, though. The label will also relaunch a limited run of the infamous Sub Pop singles club, and kick off an extensive reissue series with an expanded edition of Mudhoney's 1988 EP Superfuzz Bigmuff on May 20.

Hey, happy birthday, you lot!

Aceyalone, Dilated Peoples, Alchemist Do Joint Tour
With 88-Keys, a bunch of dudes with backpacks

First, the Fresh Rhymes: noted alternarappers Dilated Peoples, the Alchemist, and Aceyalone will join up-and-comer 88-Keys on a joint tour in the late spring/early summer. They're calling it Fresh Rhymes and Videotape, it's being put on by Decon Records, and, well, now we're all caught up to the first part of the phrase. Each show will reportedly feature both special guests and-- check it-- "unorthodox content creation." That, I believe, is the most neglected of all the four elements.

As for the Videotape: while on the road, your rhyming tour guides will create a half dozen collaborative cuts to be released after the shows are all over. When they arrive, those new jams will be accompanied by footage shot by director Jason Goldwatch at the tour stops, as well as a music video. So there you go.

Fresh Rhymes, Videotape... man, all we need now is a chronological array of dates, huh? Oh, right. [MORE...]

Melt-Banana, Cannanes in Art-Swapping Singles Club

Love singles clubs but plumb out of cash? Fancy creating and checking out DIY art? Well sniff a few quarters out from under the couch cushions and get ready for the 3" series designed especially for you!

The Dark Beloved Cloud singles club, helmed by Pitchfork contributor Douglas Wolk, has returned with another round of 3" CD goodness. Yes, all releases in this club come on 3" compact discs. Not only do they play in most CD players, but they're also just like cute little baby versions of regular CDs. Awww!

Two installments in the latest wave of Dark Beloved Cloud 3"s have surfaced thus far: a split between Japanese freakout artistes Melt-Banana and Boston noisemakers Fat Day (both covering Devo) called Q./A., and a four-song EP from unsung Aussie indie-pop heroes the Cannanes known as Grassy Flat. Future contributors include Atlanta folkie Grace Braun ("The Soldier & the Lady"/"The Fox"), psych mainstays Fly Ashtray (Doodnat Mahadeo), and Study Partners (self-titled), a project from out-there L.A. music-maker Azalia Snail. Other surprises are promised as well.

Subscribers get six 3"s at absolutely no cost, save for the price of postage and the time it takes to craft a half dozen 3" x 3" pieces of art. That art will wind up atop some other club member's 3"s, while your own 3"s will bear the unique designs of yet another singles-happy art-maker. The 3"s come in batches of two, with the second batch's arrival expected in June or so. Read all about it here, see some art samples here, and then go here to sign up.

Menomena Issue Record Store Day Foosball Challenge

As if they weren't already near and dear to our hearts, Menomena have gone and brought foosball into the equation. Instead of releasing an exclusive single or screening a 3-D music video, the Portland, Oregon trio will celebrate Record Store Day by descending upon their local independent shop to challenge all comers to a game of the not-that-popular-anymore (except at the Pitchfork office!) table sport.

From 1-3 p.m. on April 19, the Jackpot Records located in downtown Portland (203 SW 9th Ave, to be exact) will host foosball matches between the members of Menomena and any customers who dare defy them. Winners will be entered to win "a special gift." What's more, Menomena will multitask, as they will DJ the event with records from their own collections.

For now, the band's only other public appearance is in May at the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, Spain.

Jeff Mangum, Will Cullen Hart on New Instruments LP
Instruments bandleader Heather McIntosh joins Gnarls Barkley live act

It's an exciting thing, any time reclusive Neutral Milk Hotel godhead Jeff Mangum associates with anything resembling an instrument these days. But a whole band of Instruments? Well, that's practically standard procedure.

See, Jeff has once again teamed with Japancakes/Circulatory System member Heather McIntosh's Instruments project for their new LP, Dark Småland, due May 13 on Orange Twin. McIntosh's pastoral, cello-driven folk crew is further bolstered by appearances from fellow Elephant 6 notables like Will Cullen Hart, John Fernandes, and Peter Erchick.

And, hey, you can bet the collaborations don't stop there (like they ever do with these people): McIntosh recently stepped into the Gnarls Barkley fold as their live bassist/cellist. She popped up with Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse over the weekend on "Saturday Night Live", which you can see over in Forkcast, and she'll tour with the festival-happy lot. Those dates comin' at you after the jump. [MORE...]

Swervedriver Plan More Gigs, Film School Supports

They've been away for so long, but alt-rockers Swervedriver are making up for their absence with the addition of even more reunion tour dates, including a run of shows at the end of May with Film School. However, the current list of Swervedriver dates still doesn't quite match the original promise of a full-blown world tour, so let's hope the band has a few shows still stuck in its flannel sleeves.

A related note: The self-titled debut EP from Magnetic Morning-- Swervedriver frontman Adam Franklin's new project with Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino-- comes out via DH Records April 19, aka Record Store Day (as you know). To celebrate the release and the new holiday, Fogarino will DJ at NYC's Other Music on the same date.

Film School have their own hefty U.S. tour to play before they meet up with Swervedriver, including a bunch of dates with British Sea Power and a gig at Brooklyn's Death by Audio, recently profiled on Pitchfork.tv. [MORE...]

Photos: Stars of the Lid / Nudge / Christopher Willits [Los Angeles, CA; 04/14/08]

Photos by Akmal Naim

One minute they're kicking off a tour, the next they're a whole gig into it! Don't let all those patient drones fool you-- like lightning, that's how the two gents behind Stars of the Lid move.

Last night Adam Wiltzie and Brian McBride helped transform Los Angeles' Echoplex into an audiovisual wonderland, ceding center stage to their string players and some dazzling projected image-play courtesy of Luke Savisky. The evening also saw performances from Stars of the Lid's Kranky labelmate (and Atlas Sound live band member) Nudge and touring companion Christopher Willits.

These Stars fall next upon San Francisco, and continue blissing out through late May.

STARS OF THE LID






NUDGE




CHRISTOPHER WILLITS



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Fiery Furnaces Tour With String Cheese Incident Dude

Photos by Sanchez and Kitahara

Amidst a flurry of website updates about album-titling caucuses, fan-assisted songwriting, and democratically chosen setlists, the Fiery Furnaces have found time to schedule yet another tour.

This spring/summer trek includes one-off shows with the Cool Kids and the Raconteurs, but the Friedbergers' most interesting pair-up is the addition of Kyle Hollingsworth to their band for the first six shows.

But who, you may ask, is Kyle Hollingsworth? He would be the keyboardist for jam-band journeymen the String Cheese Incident. But what, you may ask, the fuck? We knew Matthew & Eleanor had some jammy tendencies, but apparently the roots run deeper than we thought.

This news comes from a story on JamBase.com confirmed by Thrill Jockey, and we'd like to thank reader Tobias Sincere for the tip.

The Fiery Furnaces' tour begins April 18 in Wooster, Ohio, and it ends in mid-June, right before their appearance at Bonnaroo (no, the String Cheese Incident aren't playing). The duo's only date after that is a set at the Pemberton Festival in July. [MORE...]

Diplo, Bonde do Role, Carl Craig Rework Tony Allen

Legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen's most recent album, 2006's Lagos No Shaking, is the subject of a reconstruction project spearheaded by Damon Albarn's Honest Jon's Records. The label found artists from across the universe of Allen's influence to contribute their own versions of Lagos No Shaking tracks to a compilation titled Lagos Shake.

Among those artists are Detroit techno godfather Carl Craig, the ubiquitous Diplo, hard-working baile funksters Bonde do Rolê, Dizzee Rascal associates Newham Generals, and Basic Channel cofounder Mortiz von Oswald.

Honest Jon's will release the double-LP version of Lagos Shake on May 13, and the CD will follow on May 27.

And speaking of Damon Albarn and Honest Jon's, the label released an Albarn-produced, self-titled LP from Chaabi act Abdel Hadi Halo & the El Gusto Orchestra of Algiers today (April 15). [MORE...]

Photos: The New Pornographers / Okkervil River [Washington, DC; 04/14/08]

Photos by Will Marsh

Washington, DC's 9:30 Club turned just a little bit seedy last night as some New Pornographers rolled through town to peddle their smut totally catchy tunes. No Dan Bejar or Neko Case sightings this time, but the crew did bust out a cover ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down".

Tourmates Okkervil River, meanwhile, served up another barnburner with recent live addition Charles Bissell (of the Wrens) on guitar.

Both bands remain on the road together for the next week or so, before breaking for some scattered festival fun.

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS








OKKERVIL RIVER







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Windy & Carl's Windy Weber Unleashes Hate on Solo LP

Windy & Carl's Windy Weber has gone without frequent partner Carl Hultgren for the release of a solo album, the delightfully titled I Hate People.

Consisting of two tracks with a combined running time of almost an hour, I Hate People "is not music to sleep to, but instead could make you tense and anxious," according to a press release. It is also "the story of how in one's life, your car, your dog, a dead bird on the ground is not going to be as upsetting or devastating to you as another human will be. Only people can make you feel so bad. Only people can hurt you, betray you, and make you feel like you want to die." Cheery!

Blueflea is handling the CD release of I Hate People, and Kenedik is releasing the LP. The latter comes in an edition of 1000: 500 splattered blue/green/purple and 500 splattered red [pictured]. The vinyl also features different, shorter track mixes than those that appear on the CD. Artist Christy Romanick, a friend of Weber's, took all of I Hate People's cover art photos except for the one from Weber's 1987 passport. His Name Is Alive's Warren Defever mixed and mastered the album, which arrived today (April 15).

Finally, Windy & Carl will release a full-length follow-up to 2005's The Dream House via Kranky in the fall. [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.)