a u t o p i a

Giant Drag tour the US, again.

Giant Drag are hitting the road again. Why? Because they can. But really, Annie & Micah are re-releasing their debut album Hearts and Unicorns which includes a bonus cover of 'Wicked Game'! Next for the dynamic duo includes tours with Devendra Banhart for a few dates then opening a month-long tour with Pretty Girls Make Graves.

Meow.....Meow, Meow, Meow:

4/27 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern *
4/28 - Phoenix, AZ - The Brickhouse *
4/30 - Indio, CA Coachella
5/02 - Omaha NE - Sokol Underground **
5/03 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock **
5/04 - Milwaukee, WI - Mad Planet **
5/05 - Chicago, IL - Metro **
5/06 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick **
5/08 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop **
5/09 - Buffalo, NY - Buffalo Icon **
5/11 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East **
5/12 - Providence, RI - The Living Room **
5/13 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza **
5/14 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre Of The Living Arts **
5/15 - Washington DC - Black Cat **
5/17 - Nashville, TN - Exit In **
5/18 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl **
5/19 - Tallahassee, FL - The Beta Bar **
5/20 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room **
5/21 - Tampa, FL - The Orpheum **
5/23 - Orlando, FL - The Social **
5/24 - New Orleans, LA - The Parish **
5/25 - Austin, TX - Emo's **
5/26 - Dallas, TX - Gypsy Tea Room **
5/30 - Tempe, AZ - The Clubhouse **
6/01 - San Diego, CA - Casbah **
6/02 - Pomona, CA - Glasshouse **
6/03 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey **
6/04 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall **

* With Devendra Banhart
** With Pretty Girls Make Graves

Sufjan Stevens wins New Pantheon Music Prize!

What a shocker! Sufjan Stevens wins the first annual New Pantheon Award for Illinois, which is a fantastic record by the way. He beat out the likes of M.I.A., Animal Collective, Antony and the Johnsons, The Decemberists, The Arcade Fire, Bloc Party, Death Cab For Cutie, Fiona Apple, and Kings of Leon. I honestly haven't heard that Kings of Leon record either have you? Sufjan takes home a nice trophy along with $5,000 in cash. Congratulations Sufjan.

In a hushed fashion, the New Pantheon Awards took place somewhere and somehow in the last few weeks. Nominators included various rock icons, journalists, music industry types, and several other "I'm an actor but I have a band, can I vote too?" people. Although that didn't seem to matter because Illinois was pretty much the front runner from the beginning. Sufjan Stevens had already been receiving accolades from Pitchfork (whom the industry now worships) and every other indie-site in...sight for quite some time. As for next year the New Pantheon organizers are planning on holding an event with peformances from it's nominees. Unless something more fascinating comes along, I'm already betting on a certain horse to win next year's prize.

The Warlocks return home, ponder label situation.

The Warlocks returned to L.A. earlier than expected from their opening tour with Sisters of Mercy. Unfortunately, this story is all too familiar with news that their label has been hesitant with resources. This sure didn't help their situation on the road as they eventually quit the tour early. As you already know from previous posts the band has had some major lineup changes with the absence of Corey Lee Granet and Laura Grigsby in the past six months. Here's the lowdown from warlock-in-chief Bobby Hecksher:

"Hey everybody, we just got back home, touring with The Sisters Of Mercy was a blast but unfortunately, the shows were very problematic. We were forced (not by them or anything) to pull the tour early. Apologies to those affected. I felt like we were sliding more and more into mediocre performances. The smaller line-up just doesn’t seem to work consistently. In addition, we had no help from our label Mute/EMI as far as support, which didn't’t help the problematic part. We were in the middle of negotiations for a new deal, but everything fell apart leaving us without a label. I’m going to continue to write songs, and perhaps try reworking things but at the moment that's where everything is..."

Irving, Great Northern, Lavender Diamond & Army Navy: Live at King King, 3/29/06.

It's a rare feat when a bill of four bands are all at the top of their game, Wednesday night was just that. Lavender Diamond kick out the slow jams with their vulnerable and mesmerizing songs. Singer Becky Stark and with incredible pipes remind me of Peter, Paul & Mary or the unparalleled delivery of Cass Elliot. Becky is a true talent which makes Lavender Diamond stick out like a sore thumb. They rock you in the softest way still leaving your wanting more.

Great Northern finally have a CD to purchase for only $3, six songs for only three dolars? This band comes off sounding like That Dog and Earlimart in a boxing ring. Only the vocal harmonies of Ariana, Rachel, and Solon are much more precise and at the forefront of every song. Great Northern had a very diverse set of slower ELO-inspired ballads ('The Middle') and faster, melodic rockers ('Into the Sun') all of which balance out their latest EP entitled Bats. Incredible.

Irving take the stage and blast into some hits from their latest album Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers. This band never sounded so good. 'Situation' and 'I Want To Love You In My Room' sounding amazing with their perfect mix of vocal harmonies coming from the entire band, jangly guitars, and Alex Church's thumping bass, Irving blew the crowd away and even managed to get an encore in. We've just finished the third quarter of the night, if only the Lakers were this consistent.

At this time of the night I should leave and savor what has already been a fantastic example of why L.A. has the best bands in the country. But I'm curious to see Army Navy, they are next month's Spaceland residents after all. Unfortunately for the band 90% of the crowd has left. What matters is that Army Navy turn out to be just as strong and intense as every performance that happened here in the past three hours. Vocally they remind me of Butterglory or the nasally vocal tone of Robert Schneider (Apples in Stereo). Musically they are quick, catchy, and noisy like the spectacular Franz Ferdinand, I'm dead serious. It's a weird combination of noise and pop that I couldn't pull away from. Army Navy are the real deal.

-all photos by Scott McDonald

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club this Sunday!

I'm already in line suckas.

Irving record release show tonight.

The last time I saw Irving half of the crowd was made up of teenage girls with their parents diligently waiting outside. I haven't seen a crowd of kids so ready to faint from boy-band admiration since Depeche Mode's 101 DVD. All the fan hoopla aside, Irving are a great musicians and one of our cities best pop bands. Tonight celebrates the release of Irving's latest LP Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers (Eenie Meenie), which officially hits stores April 4th. Opening sets will be provided by Great Northern, Lavender Diamond, and Army Navy. The show takes place at King King and begins at 8:30 pm. After this gig the band embarks on a month-long tour with Voxtrot:

3/30/2006 - San Francisco, CA - Noise Pop Festival venue TBA

4/01/2006 - Salt Lake City, UT - at Kilby Court with Jana Hunter

4/02/2006 - Denver, CO - at Hi Dive with Jana Hunter

4/05/2006 - Dayton, OH - at Elbo's

4/07/2006 - Harrisonburg, VA - MACRock Festival with Voxtrot

4/08/2006 - Washington, DC - at DC9 with Voxtrot

4/09/2006 - New York, NY - at The Mercury Lounge with Voxtrot

4/10/2006 - New York, NY - at The Mercury Lounge with Voxtrot

4/11/2006 - Wellesley, MA - at LuLu Wang Center with Voxtrot

4/12/2006 - Montreal, QC - at La Sala Rossa with Voxtrot

4/13/2006 - Toronto, ON - at Sneaky Dee's with Voxtrot

4/14/2006 - Detroit, MI - at The Lager House with Voxtrot

4/15/2006 - Chicago, IL - The Empty Bottle with Voxtrot

4/19/2006 - Lawrence, KS - The Jackpot Saloon with Voxtrot

4/20/2006 - Norman, OK - at Opolis Productions with Voxtrot

4/21/2006 - Denton, TX - at Hailey's Club with Voxtrot

4/22/2006 - Austin, TX - at Emo's with Voxtrot

More dates tba with Essex Green!

Cocteau Twins release comprehensive CDs.

If I was a die-hard Cocteau Twins fan I'd still be pissed about the Coachella cancellation last year after thousands of peeps had already spent hundreds on plane tickets and admissions. Well at least Robin and Simon are trying to win back some fans. All the non-album tracks from across the Cocteau Twins' entire career have been compiled to form Lullabies to Violaine, Volumes 1 and 2.

4AD is set to release the second phase of Lullabies to Violaine, this time as two separate discs, Volume 1 (the 4AD years) and Volume 2 (the Capitol/Mercury years). As part of the promotion, they're giving fans the opportunity to submit any question they like to Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde (apparently Liz Frasier doesn't talk anymore), who will each provide answers that will be posted at a future date. Check out 4AD's lovely L to V page to listen to tracks from the collection, buy CDs, and submit your questions to Robin and Simon. This also gives you an excuse to perform that Gothy-Stevie Nicks dance you've been telling your friends about.

Built To Spill

There are already two shows on deck at the troubadour and a couple more waiting in the bullpen for Built To Spill's L.A. performances. The band has currently rescheduled their tour in support of You In Reverse (Warner Bros.) which drops in just a couple of weeks on April 11th. This gives you plenty of time to grow a kick-ass beard:

6.09.06 - Calgary, AL (MacEwan Ballroom small room)
6.10.06 - Edmonton, AL (Reds)
6.12.06 - Vancouver, BC (Commodore Ballroom)
6.13.06 - Seattle, WA (The Showbox)
6.14.06 - Seattle, WA (The Showbox)
6.15.06 - Seattle, WA (The Showbox)
6.16.06 - Portland, OR (Crystal Ballroom)
6.17.06 - Portland, OR (Crystal Ballroom)
6.18.06 - Bend, OR (Domino Room)
6.19.06 - Eugene, OR (WOW Hall)
6.21.06 - San Francisco, CA (Slim's)
6.22.06 - San Francisco, CA (Slim's)
6.23.06 - San Francisco, CA (Slim's)
6.24.06 - San Francisco, CA (Slim's)
6.27.06 - San Diego, CA (House Of Blues)
6.28.06 - Los Angeles, CA (The Troubadour) on sale soon!
6.29.06 - Los Angeles, CA (The Troubadour) on sale soon!
6.30.06 - Los Angeles, CA (The Troubadour)
7.01.06 - Los Angeles, CA (The Troubadour)
7.07.06 - Tempe, AZ (TBD)
7.08.06 - Albuquerque, NM (Launch Pad)
7.10.06 - Boulder, CO (Fox Theatre)
7.11.06 - Boulder, CO (Fox Theatre)
7.12.06 - Salt Lake City, UT (TBD)
8.05.06 - Chicago, IL (Lollapalooza @ Grant Park)
9.12.06 - Minneapolis, MN (First Avenue)
9.13.06 - Minneapolis, MN (First Avenue)
9.14.06 - Madison, WI (Barrymore Theatre)
9.15.06 - Chicago, IL (Metro)
9.16.06 - Chicago, IL (Metro)
9.17.06 - St. Louis, MO (Mississippi Nights)
9.18.06 - Columbia, MO (The Blue Note)
9.20.06 - Lawrence, KS (The Bottleneck)
9.21.06 - Tulsa, OK (Cain's Ballroom)
9.22.06 - Rock, AR (Vinos Little)
9.23.06 - Memphis, TN (Young Ave. Deli)
9.24.06 - Nashville, TN (City Hall)
9.26.06 - Indianapolis, IN (The Vogue)
9.27.06 - Columbus, OH (Newport Music Hall)
9.28.06 - Detroit, MI (St. Andrews Hall)
9.29.06 - Pittsburgh, PA (Mr. Smalls)
9.30.06 - Buffalo, NY (Town Ballroom)
10.01.06 - Burlington, VT (Higher Ground)
10.02.06 - Boston, MA (The Roxy)
10.04.06 - New York, NY (Irving Plaza)
10.05.06 - New York, NY (Irving Plaza)
10.06.06 - New York, NY (Irving Plaza)
10.07.06 - Philadelphia, PA (Trocadero)
10.08.06 - Philadelphia, PA (Trocadero)
10.09.06 - Washington, DC (9:30 Club)
10.10.06 - Washington, DC (9:30 Club)
10.11.06 - Carborro, NC (Cat's Cradle)
10.12.06 - Carborro, NC (Cat's Cradle)
10.13.06 - Atlanta, GA (Variety Playhouse)
10.14.06 - Athens, GA (40 Watt Club)
10.15.06 - Birmingham, AL (Zydeco)
10.17.06 - New Orleans, LA (TBD)
10.18.06 - Houston, TX (Warehouse Live)
10.19.06 - Dallas, TX (Gypsy Tea Room)
10.20.06 - Austin, TX (Stubb's)
10.21.06 - Lubbock, TX (Jake's Backroom)

Ninja Academy tour with The Mormons.

Ninja Academy play a hell of a lot of shows. To expand on their incredible work ethic they've lined up a west coast tour with The Mormons. When they come back home they'll be busy transforming themselves into the Silverlake Lounge residency band, free Mondays in May.

Check:

4/14 - The Warehouse - 115 Harvey West Blvd. Building F
           (next to Costco) Santa Cruz, CA 95060
4/15 - Gilman St. - 924 Gilman St., Berkeley, CA 94701 - with 8-bit! (flyer)
4/16 - Jewels In The Square@ Union Square Park - 2pm - 333 Post St.
4/16 - Balazo 18 Gallery - 2183 Mission St. San Francisco 94110
4/17 - The Alibi - 744 9th Street, Arcata, CA 95521
4/18 - Sabala's - 4811 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland, OR 97225
4/19 - Yes Yes - 320 4th Ave., Olympia, WA 98501 (flyer)
4/20 - Studio 7 - 110 South Horton, Seattle, WA 98134
4/21 - Tonic Lounge - 3100 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland, OR 97232

Cat Power reschedules gigs.

Now that you've finally received that refund check for your Cat Power tickets get ready to spend it all over again. Chan Marshall is returning to the stage healthy and ready to play. She's rescheduled a few gigs in the US including her stops at the Coachella and Bonaroo Festivals. All shows are still backed by the Memphis Rhythm Band. More dates will be added as they arrive in my mailbox.

4/27 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater
4/29 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella Festival)
5/01 Seattle, WA - Showbox
5/03 San Francisco, CA - Palace of Fine Arts
5/04 San Francisco, CA - Palace of Fine Arts
6/16 Manchester, TN - (Bonnaroo Festival)