Indianapolis’ Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s debut album, The Dust of Retreat, was one of my favorite albums of 2006 (although it technically came out in 2005).
The band has been working on its followup to that album for more than a year now. If memory serves, they announced the name for the new album – Animal – late last Spring, and went into the studio to start recording last Summer. I’m not sure exactly what happened in those sessions, but the band ended up going on the road last Fall without a finished album, and apparently regrouped in the studio this Spring to finish the album.
And, thankfully, the album is now complete, and will be coming out on… err… the Epic label on July 29th. I in fact did not know (or at least did not remember) until writing that last sentence that the band had signed a major label deal. Maybe that explains the new studio sessions. (In fact, they have even more studio time in June for work on album #3.)
Anyway, the band has a ton of dates coming up in the Western half of the U.S., and is starting to announce a few shows here in the East. They pulled a good size crowd here in DC last fall, so hopefully we’ll be getting a DC date announced soon.
M&TNSAS Tour Dates
5/6 – Springfield MO / Randy Bacon Gallery 5/7 – St. Louis MO / Lucas School House 5/9 – Madison WI / Stage Door 5/10 – Milwaukee WI / Mad Planet 5/12 – St. Paul MN / The Turf Club 5/13 – Omaha NE / The Waiting Room 5/14 – Lawrence KS / Jackpot Saloon 5/16 – Denver CO / Larimer Lounge 5/17 – Salt Lake City UT / Kilby Court 5/20 – Seattle WA / Chop Suey 5/21 – Portland OR / Doug Fir Lounge 5/23 – San Francisco CA / The Independent 5/24 – Los Angeles CA / The Echo 5/26 – San Diego CA / The Casbah 5/27 – Tucson AZ / Solar Culture 5/28 – Phoenix AZ / Rhythm Room 5/30 – Austin TX / Emo’s (Inside stage) 5/31 – Denton TX / Rubber Gloves 7/26 – Louisville KY / The Forecastle Festival 7/28 – New York NY / The Bowery Ballroom 8/2 – Chicago IL / Lollapalooza 8/8 – Boston MA / Middle East Downstairs
Animal Tracklist 1. At the carnival 2. German Motor Car 3. I am a lightning rod 4. Mariel’s bad dream. 5. Love song for a Schubas bartender 6. A children’s crusade on acid 7. There’s talk of mineshafts (act two begins, mariel accepts her fate) 8. The shivers (I gotz ‘em) 9. Cold, kind, and lemon eyes 10. O’ what a nightmare! 11. My baby (shoots her mouth off) 12. Real Naked Girls.
Posted under Babystew Home by Steve on Wednesday 30 April 2008 at 2:04 pm
So it’s starting to look like the recent Shudder to Think shows in New York were, in fact, a precursor to an honest-to-goodness reforming of the band. I use the word “reforming” because it doesn’t look like Stuart Hill is going to take part, and they’re playing with Kevin March on drums instead of Adam Wade or Mike Russell.
Kick ass.
The band is playing on the Sunday of V-Fest up in Baltimore. Still not sure if I’m gonna make that or not, so hopefully we’ll get a fuller tour later in the year, including a homecoming show here in D.C. The idea of finally getting to see a band I first fell in love with 16 years ago (but never saw) in their hometown is pretty freakin’ cool.
And speaking of Larson and March, what ever happened to Hot One? I really like the songs on their website (“Sexy Soldier” could easily have been a late-period STT tune), but can’t remember ever seeing their CD or any tour dates listed anywhere. WTF?
So in case you didn’t see it elsewhere, the full lineup for this year’s Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore has been announced. And it’s turning out to be a pretty respectable lineup.
Now I just need to decide whether or not to go to this or just go to Delaware to see Wilco on Sunday. I suppose I could do V-Fest on Saturday (8/9) and Wilco on Sunday (8/10), but the Saturday lineup is pretty thin compared to Sunday, and the main attraction for me on Saturday would be Wilco anyway.
Saturday V-Fest Lineup Bloc Party Cat Power Chuck Berry and The Silver Beats (!!) Citizen Cope Duffy Foo Fighters Gogol Bordello Jack Johnson KT Tunstall Lupe Fiasco The Offspring Paramore Rodrigo Y Gabriela Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings Soulwax The Swell Season Underworld Wilco
Sunday V-Fest Lineup Andrew Bird The Black Keys Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Bob Dylan Chromeo The Go! Team Iggy and the Stooges Kanye West Lil Wayne Moby Nine Inch Nails She and Him Shudder to Think Stone Temple Pilots Taking Back Sunday
Decisions, decisions…
Oh, and for those deciding at home, V-Fest tickets go on sale this Saturday, May 3rd at 10am via Ticketmaster. There also appears to be a pre-sale starting Thursday, but I haven’t seen anything about who’s eligible for that.
Two-day passes are $175, and one-day passes at $97.50. Ouch. That’s pretty steep when compared to the prices for the 3-day Lollapalooza and ACL festivals, and especially compared to Pitchfork.
Posted under Babystew Home by Steve on Monday 28 April 2008 at 2:04 pm
I’ve been meaning to start doing “week preview” posts for a while now, but like so many other things with this blog, I’ve been lazy and never gotten around to it. I figured now was as good a time as any to start.
Please note, though – this isn’t a comprehensive list. It’s merely a list of the shows around town that are either interesting to me or that I think will be interesting to some of you…
Shows I plan to attend are in bold.
Sunday, 4/27 Black Cat: Urge Overkill, Suffrajett 6th & I Synagogue: Elbow
Tuesday, 4/29 Black Cat: Tokyo Police Club, Smoosh, Meligrove Band Iota: American Music Club
Saturday, 5/3 Black Cat: Jukebox the Ghost, Travis Morrison Hellfighters, The XYZ Affair RR Hotel: South, The Silver State, KI:Theory Warner Theatre: The Kids In The Hall
Posted under Babystew Home by Steve on Sunday 27 April 2008 at 9:40 am
I’m not sure why, but it seemed like I got twice as much email from PR folks and bands this week than I normally do. Guess labels are gearing up for a ton of Late Spring/Early Summer releases… or something.
Anyway, one of the more interesting things I got was a link to a video from an artist named David Ford. David used to be the singer in a British indie rock band called Easyworld, but has recently made the transition over to a solo singer-songwriter, a laDamien Rice after he left Juniper (now known as Bell X1).
And the Damien Rice comparisons don’t stop there. In it’s best moments, David’s recent (second) album, Songs for the Road, is reminiscent of Rice’s ability to mix a keen melodic sense with an extremely raw, personal delivery and lyrics. Unfortunately, though, Rice isn’t the only touchstone for the album – several songs on the album push a bit too far into the false-affected, over-produced realm of James Blunt. Not a good thing. I’m still trying to figure out which side of the fence the album will eventually fall for me.
All that said, Ford has made a video for his song “Go To Hell” which eschews the fuller production of the album and instead relies on numerous sound loops to recreate a full-band sound (similar to what Liam Finn is doing in his live shows these days). And it’s pretty damn good:
David is currently touring with Sara Bareilles and Rachel Yamagata (a friend of Damien Rice, natch). You couldn’t really pay me to go to this show, which I suppose is good because their show here in DC at the 9:30 Club on Monday is sold out. Starting next week he’ll be on tour with Augustana, including a return trip to the 9:30 Club on May 22nd. For a full set of dates, go here.
And while we’re at it, here’s a video of “Bleach” from David’s earlier band, Easyworld. It’s pretty solid, IMO.
Posted under Babystew Home by Steve on Saturday 26 April 2008 at 7:50 am
If you live in or near North Carolina this week, you’re in for some quality music options thanks to the upcoming Democratic primary.
First, as you’ve probably already heard, The Arcade Fire and Superchunk are teaming up to hold One-Stop Early Voting Concerts in Greensboro (Thu., 5/1) and Carrboro (Fri., 5/2). The concerts are in support of Baby, You Got a Stew Goin’-endorsed Barack Obama, and allow new voters to both register and vote at the concerts. For more information about the shows, go here.
Second, and possibly more exciting (to me, that is), is news that Asheville’s Reigning Sound will also be playing a Barack-B-Que early voter appreciation show TOMORROW (Sat. 4/26) at Joli Rouge, 130 College Street, Asheville. The party starts at 3pm. Here’s the poster:
Posted under Babystew Home by Steve on Friday 25 April 2008 at 8:35 am
One of my favorite new bands of 2006 was Ireland’s La Rocca. The band released the excellent The Truth LP on Dangerbird Records, did a few gigs around the U.S., and then quickly proceeded to disappear off the face of the Earth.
Well, there’s good news. Not only is the band still around, but they’ve got a new album coming out called Ok Okay, and they’ll be touring across the U.S. this summer. They even have two advance tracks (“Love Under Key” and “Roadway Hymn”) available for download over at iTunes.
I haven’t seen a CD release date yet, or a full set of U.S. dates, but they do have 5 shows scheduled on the West Coast next month. If you can make it to the shows, I recommend that you do – the boys put on an excellent live show.
La Rocca West Coast Tour Dates 5/13: San Diego (House of Blues) 5/14: Los Angeles (Roxy) 5/16: Reno, NV (Club Underground) 5/17: Sacramento (Boardwalk) 5/19: Modesto (Fat Cat)
Just a thought, fellas, but I think DC9 or the Red and the Black would be excellent options for a DC show…
Posted under Babystew Home by Steve on Friday 25 April 2008 at 8:18 am
Okkervil River’s set on WOXY today was pretty great. And best of all was news that the band will soon be releasing an Appendix disc to The Stage Names, must like they did a couple years back for Black Sheep Boy. Can’t wait to hear it.
Anyway, go here to download the band’s WOXY Lounge Act.
Posted under Babystew Home by Steve on Thursday 24 April 2008 at 8:39 pm
If you do nothing else tomorrow, be sure to be by your computer at 3pm Eastern to hear Okkervil River play a Lounge Act on WOXY.
Okkervil is one of my favorite bands going these days, and their live performances tend to be pretty fantastic. And, with any luck, maybe we’ll even get a Wrens cover (Wrens guitarist Charles Bissell is touring with them right now).
Posted under Babystew Home by Steve on Wednesday 23 April 2008 at 8:41 pm
