New Iron & Wine album coming out soon

One to look for on Sept. 25 is Iron & Wine's new album, The Shepherd's Dog. With his whispering singing style and understated, yet beautiful arrangements, Sam Beam is not known for rocking out. But his recent collaboration with Calexico seems to have lit a spark under Sam, if "Boy With a Coin", his single from the new album, is any indication. The energy of the song is much more uptempo than is typical for him. Supplementing his acoustic guitar with percussion and handclaps, it has a bounce and rhythm you can (almost) dance to. Given that, I have a feeling that the album will still contain those soft, haunting gems that endear me most to his music. Hear his new single on his MySpace page here: http://www.myspace.com/ironandwine

Concert Review: Wilco @ Greek Theater, Berkeley, CA 08/24/2007

With family in tow, I ventured down to Berzerkely to check out Wilco at the Greek Theater. We brought the kids knowing that the Greek has lawn seating where we imagined spreading out our blanket, opening our picnic basket and laying back enjoying some great music. What we didn't expect was how small and steep the lawn at the Greek really is. The only level spots were up at the very top where, although the view is nice, the sound is not. It was still comfortable and the sound improved when I stood up. Still, nothing could detract from that Wilco magic. Once again they show why they are, in my humble opinion, one of the best live bands around.

The setlist was varied, with songs from all phases of their career. They played a lot songs from Sky Blue Sky, which I certainly didn't mind. A highlight for me was Nels Cline's spirited guitar work; especially on Handshake Drugs, and Impossible Germany. Nels was hopping around like a jumping bean most of the night and at one point almost fell over his monitor.

Jeff Tweedy was his usual flippant self as he bantered between songs. At one point he pleaded with the audience to stop using the phrase "I love's me some...", like "I love's me some Wilco." He also made quite a few references to marijuana, saying, "You guys smell high" and adding that we still had a long way to go if we wanted to keep up with Portland.

Once again Wilco put on a great show, sound challenges notwithstanding. They are still one of my all-time favorites.

Setlist
Sunken Treasure
You Are My Face
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Either Way
Handshake Drugs
Pot Kettle Black
War on War
Shake It Off
Side with the Seeds
A Shot in the Arm
Impossible Germany
Sky Blue Sky
Too Far Apart
Via Chicago
Jesus, etc.
Hate It Here
Walken
I'm the Man Who Loves You
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Misunderstood
California Stars
Hummingbird
On and On and On
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I'm Always in Love
Outta Mind (Outtasite)
In A Future Age
Spiders (Kidsmoke)

Wilco webcasts & assorted sundries

Wilco is webcasting two Canada shows, live on their website, on Aug. 17 & 18. If you miss the live webcasts, I am sure they will add it later as an archived stream.

Also, Wilco performed for a presentation of AOL Sessions, which can be viewed here: http://sessions.aol.ca/?id=631&xtraid=AOLMUS00050000000020

Mix Tape: Road Trip Mix (and Urge)

The new version of Windows Media Player includes an embedded digital music service called Urge. Urge, run by MTV Networks, is an online distribution service that provides millions of songs for download. The service was launched in May of 2007. The great thing about it is that it can be used in conjunction with WMP to make great mix tapes. WMP will search for songs that are already in your personal library. However, if the song is not there, Urge probably has it in it's vast database. Samples of all the songs can be listened to, and if a monthly subscription service is joined, the full songs can be played in their entirety. If you want to burn the songs, they are available for $0.99 a track.

I used the service to fill in the gaps of my most recent mix tape. I made the Road Trip Mix in honor of an upcoming family vacation. The tracklist is shown below. This will be the first installment of what I hope will become a regular feature; cd-length mixes revolving around various themes.

Road Trip Mix 2007

"On the Road Again" - Willie Nelson
"Hit the Road Jack" - Ray Charles
"Going Mobile" - The Who
"Drive My Car" - The Beatles
"Cars" - Gary Numan
"Convoy" - C.W. McCall
"East Bound and Down" - Jerry Reed
"Hot Rod Lincoln" - Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen
"Hang On St. Christopher" - Tom Waits
"Six Days on the Road" - Taj Mahal
"No Particular Place to Go" - Chuck Berry
"(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" - Nat King Cole
"King of the Road" - Roger Miller
"Born to be Wild" - Steppenwolf
"Life in the Fast Lane" - Eagles
"Radar Love" - Golden Earring
"Truckin" - Grateful Dead
"Cruisin" - Smokey Robinson
"Ramblin' Man" - The Allman Bros Band
"Take Me Home Country Roads" - John Denver
"Everyday is a Winding Road" - Sheryl Crow

Radiohead - Wherefore Art Though?

When's the bloody album coming out??!!

Found a sweet video on YouTube. One hour of live Radiohead.

The Decemberists: Hollywood Bowl, 07/07/07

The Decemberists have made the big time. They played at the Hollywood Bowl on July 7 backed by the L.A. Philharmonic. Opening was Band of Horses and Andrew Bird.

With the Hollywood sign and Griffith Park observatory in sight, the pleasant warm evening began with the Band of Horses, who seemed a bit overwhelmed by fact that they were playing the Hollywood Bowl. They played a short set that included some new, yet to be released songs. Although a bit out of their element, the performance highlighted their strong songwriting and further emphasised the strength of their 2006 album Everything All the Time.

Andrew Bird played an unforgettable set, switching from violin and guitar as he sampled and looped himself to further supplement the sound of his three-piece band. He also included some funky props and effects, including a spinning Wurlitzer-looking thing. He played an impressive set which will have me keeping my eye out for more live dates from Bird.

Finally, The Decemberists came out joined by the L.A. Philharmonic and played an ambitious set. Staying away from some of their more well-known tracks, they played long, narrative numbers including an 18+ minute version of the 5 movement epic "The Tain".

Although disappointed that they did not play "Eli, the Barrow Boy" or "Yankee Bayonet", the arrangement with the orchestra made for a special event. Look for the DVD (I hope, I hope).

Setlist
"The Crane Wife 1 & 2"
"The Infanta"
"We Both Go Down Together"
"Bagman's Gambit"
"Odalisque"
"The Perfect Crime #2"
"Los Angeles, I'm Yours"
"Tain (Parts i, ii, iii, iv, v)"
"O Valencia!"
"I Was Meant For The Stage"
"Chimbley Sweep"

There are a number of home-made videos from the concert on YouTube. Here is "Los Angeles, I'm Yours":

Spoon streaming new album

There are now 5 tracks from Spoon's new album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga on the Merge Records website here. The album will be out July 10, and it sounds like it's gonna be good!