Back in March, the A.V. Club kicked off its Undercover project, in which they invited 25 bands into their small studio to cover 25 different songs.

In the five months since the project started, we’ve seen The Swell Season cover Neutral Milk Hotel, Justin Townes Earle cover Bruce Springsteen, and Retribution Gospel Choir cover The Beach Boys, among others. And the project reached its conclusion today with the release of video of The Walkmen covering R.E.M.’s “Driver 8″. Check it out:

I, for one, really enjoyed this series, and hope that they do it again next year. And may I suggest that Mystery Jets cover this song?

More info as it gets closer. For now, just put it on your calendar!

Wow, talk about a slow week. I suppose if I cared about any of the artists at the North Coast Festival I might think otherwise, but as it stands, it looks like I’ll be attending one, maybe two, shows this week. Not good. That said, the Thomas Function/White Mystery/Cococoma show at Crown Tap Room on Saturday is a major winner, and it gives me the opportunity to finally check out Crown Tap Room. See you there?

Shows in bold are recommended shows, while shows in larger bold red are shows that I plan on going to and/or shows that I really, really think you should be going to.

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Monday, August 30
Double Door: Names Divine, Nude Sunrise, Forbes/Young Duo, The Kremlin
Empty Bottle: Stereo Total, Brilliant Pebbles, Boutros
Hideout: Daddy’s Book Party ft. Lindsay Hunter, Lindsay’s Dad, Blake Butler, more
Martyrs: Booty Movement Coalition
Pritzker Pavilion (12pm): Future Rock
Ronny’s: Almanac, Cody Copeland, Pat Hull, Zikr
Schubas: Volcanoes Make Islands, Scott Lucas & The Married Men, Mutts, more

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Tuesday, August 31
Empty Bottle: The Great Society Mind Destroyers, Geffika [FREE w/ RSVP]
Evanston SPACE: The Civil Wars & Madi Diaz, Tim Schurrer
Fireside Bowl: Treasure Fleet, Lipreader, Dastard, FXHK
Hideout: David “Honeyboy” Edwards, Sanctified Grumblers
Lincoln Hall: Orgone, The Right Now, Nootka Sound, The Dirty Diamond DJs
Schubas: Sarah Jaffe, Rego
Subterranean: Community College, Seafarer, House Sounds, Richardson Richardson

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Wednesday, September 1
Abbey Pub: Pro Blak, Fatel Flows, ATrade, Mark n’ Genius, more
Crown Tap Room: Grown Up, Dumpster Babies, Magic Milk
Double Door: Some Years Later, Ambient Green, The Auctioneers, Luring Thieves
Empty Bottle: Tyevk, Loose Dudes, Bummers
Evanston SPACE: Sam & Ruby, Abalone Dots
House of Blues: Apocalyptica, Dir En Grey, Evaline
Martyrs (7pm): Tributosaurus becomes The Moody Blues
Martyrs (10pm): Tributosaurus becomes The Moody Blues
Ravinia: The Beach Boys
Schubas: Eliabeth Cook, Ernie Hendrickson

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Thursday, September 2
Abbey Pub: Counting Cards, File Explodes, Shadow is Past
Beat Kitchen: X Is For Eyes, Lowtalker, The Snips, Belmont Transfer
Crown Tap Room: Verma, Dire Wolves, Solar Fox
Darkroom: Vincent Minor, Slow Witch, Matt Hopper & The Roman Candles, The Devil Whale
Double Door: Ready the Destroyer, Starter Kit, Barcait Couture, Without a Breath
Empty Bottle: JEFF, The Brotherhood, Wizzard Sleeve, Daily Void
Evanston SPACE: BeauSoleil Quartet
Hideout: Baby Teeth, Singing In The Abbey, Man Is A Man
Lincoln Hall: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Telekinesis, The Kickback
Martyrs: Big C Jamboree ft. Gas House Gorillas
Reggie’s Rock Club: Swingin’ Utters, The Menzingers, The Stranger, The Please & Thank Yous
Riviera: Scissor Sisters, Sammy Jo
South Belmont Harbor: Joyous Outdoor Event – JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound
Schubas: Sarah Vonderhaar, Martha Berner
Subterranean: Wolf In A Spacesuit, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., The Single Helix, Earth Program

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Friday, September 3
Abbey Pub: V Sparks, Fifth Story, Just Married, more
Beat Kitchen: Jookabox, Truman & His Trophy
Bottom Lounge: Loyal Divide, The Flavor Savers
Double Door: Jason Gatz, O.D., Que Billah, Boy Illinois, Ronnie Bass, DJ Trentino
Empty Bottle: The Poison Arrows, Follows, This Is Versailles
Hideout: Altered States, Cool Memories, Baltimore Art Department
Lincoln Hall: Murley Shertz, Train Company, Markit 8, Peter Terry
Martyrs: Valius, The Locals, Halfway North
Metro: The Hudson Branch, Camera, Reds and Blue, My My My
North Coast Festival: Chemical Brothers, Paul van Dyk, Pretty Lights, more
Reggie’s Rock Club: The Rosedales, The Mission Creeps, Outburst on the 66
Schubas: California Wives, Color Radio, Panda Riot, Gemini Club (DJ set)
South Belmont Harbor: Joyous Outdoor Event – Ezra Furman & The Harpoons
Subterranean: Begin By Gathering Supplies, Trophy Wives, The Pear Traps, Odd Obsession (DJ)

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Saturday, September 4
Abbey Pub: Kid A (Radiohead trib.), Handsome Devilz (Morrissey/Smiths trib.), Mr. Gray
Aragon: El Tri
Bash on Wabash (12-10pm): Flosstradamus, Hood Internet, more
Beat Kitchen (6pm): Dormlife, Nick Miller and the Neighbors, The Outbreaks, And After
Beat Kitchen (10:30pm): Come On Come On, Pal, The Sleights
Beauty Bar: Baio, DJ Zebo
Bottom Lounge: Boys Noize, Kissy Sellout
Crown Tap Room: Thomas Function, White Mystery, Cococoma
Double Door: The New Mastersounds, Family Groove Company
Empty Bottle: Frontier, special guests
Evanston SPACE: This Must Be The Band
Hideout: Altered States, Cool Memories, Baltimore Art Department
House of Blues: Lucky Boys Confusion, Allister, Facing Forward, Adora
Lincoln Hall/Schubas Boat @ Columbia Yacht Club: Stay Smooth XIV: Nowhere Left to Rum
Lincoln Hall (10:30pm): Dominique Young Unique, BBU, Money Penny (DJ set), more
Martyrs (7pm): Heather Styka
Martyrs (9:30pm): Bakelite Army, Tommi Zender & Friends, Machine Gun Mojo
Metro: The Omega Moos, Wyllys
North Coast Festival: Moby, Umphrey’s McGee, De La Soul, The New Deal, more
Reggie’s Rock Club (5pm): A Wilhelm Scream, Counterpunch, The Sky We Scrape, Thrillage
Reggie’s Rock Club (10pm): William Elliott Whitmore, The Steepwater Band, The Nadas
Ronny’s: Bass Line Bums, Tracer Bullet, On The Attack
Schubas: Bumpus, Rita J, DJRC
South Belmont Harbor: Joyous Outdoor Event – Scotland Yard Gospel Choir
Subterranean (6pm): New Generation Dudes, Weekend FM, Too Close to Perfect, The Orwells
Subterranean (10:15pm): I&A, Wes Restless, Vertual Vertigo, Scheme, Goodlife

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Sunday, September 5
Aragon: Vampire Weekend, Beach House, Dum Dum Girls
Bash on Wabash (12-10pm): Cracker, Asobi Seksu, Detroit Cobras, more
Beat Kitchen: (The Return of) The Gear w/ Phil Angotti, Eric Howell, more
Bottom Lounge: Brendan & Joel of Umphrey’s McGee
Empty Bottle: Warm Ones, Silverghost
Evanston SPACE: Asobi Seksu, Shaper
House of Blues: Crowded House
North Coast Festival: Nas & Damian Marley, Disco Biscuits, Maps & Atlases, Phantogram, more
Reggie’s Rock Club: Ghetto Division, Seel Fresh, Guns Down, Phero, P. Choppa
Ronny’s: Miles of Kyles
Saki (2pm): Radar Eyes
South Belmont Harbor: Joyous Outdoor Event – Ssion, My Gold Mask
Subterranean: House of Normandie, Rabble Rabble, People Sometimes, The Hudson Landing

Great Bloomers, “You’re Everywhere”

It was Toronto Night at Schubas last night, with three young bands from our neighbor to the north swinging through town. It’s easy to forget that headliners The Rural Alberta Advantage are still technically a “young” band – although they have just one full-length album to their credit, they’ve been touring pretty much non-stop for the last two years, and have attained a level of popularity that few bands reach so early in their careers. (Just ask the sold-out Schubas crowd that sang along with every song last night.)

The band has spent the last month or so in the studio working on their second album, and they took a short break from recording to come down to the U.S. to co-headline Friday night’s Omaha Block Party alongside Built to Spill. Last night’s show was essentially a one-off stop on the way home to Toronto, and the band used the opportunity to test out a number of new songs that will feature on the album. The band played a total of seven new songs by my count, two of which I’ve seen them perform previously, and they were all really good. Nothing terribly different from the blueprint laid out on Hometowns, though one song (the third they played, I think) had a slightly more dancey, keyboard-driven sound to it. Surprisingly, that actually may have been my favorite of the new songs. The band also played the bulk of Hometowns, managing to fit nearly their entire oeuvre into the space of a 70-minute set.

RAA also used last night as an opportunity to introduce their American fans to two other young Toronto bands that they’re friends with, The Wooden Sky and Great Bloomers. The Wooden Sky played a solid if unspectacular Americana-esque set, though their cover of Tom Petty’s “American Girl” was fantastic. To be fair, though, I didn’t know their music going in, and it seems like something I might like on record. Great Bloomers, on the other hand, were fantastic, and much, much better live than on record. I do like their last record, Speak of Trouble [BUY], quite a bit, but the album didn’t prepare me for how much I’d like them live. In fact, their set very well may have been my highlight of the night.

Well, that and the fact that Paul performed a short Run D.M.C. cover. That was pretty sweet.

The Rural Alberta Advantage

The Wooden Sky

Great Bloomers

Second video from the band’s new LP, Sugar (BUY). More about the video and song at The Huffington Post.

Not sure how I missed this earlier, but apparently Austin, Texas’ The Old 97′s are set to release their eighth studio album, The Grand Theatre Volume One, on October 12th.

I was a huge fan of the band in the late 90′s and early part of the 00′s, but after a couple of lackluster albums and a multi-year hiatus, I stopped following them as closely as I had. Thankfully, 2008′s Blame It On Gravity was a bit of a return to form, and the first two tracks from The Grand Theatre are even better. Check out both songs, “Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You)” and “A State of Texas”, at the band’s MySpace or Facebook pages.

The band has a number of live dates scheduled in support of the new album, but sadly no Chicago date as of now. Granted, they were just in town last month, but that was a weird show at Navy Pier on the first night of Pitchfork Fest. I’d love to see them come back and play Lincoln Hall. And soon.

Old 97′s Tour Dates
10/12: Dallas, TX (Borders – Greenville Ave.)
10/13: Austin, TX (Waterloo Records)
10/14: Houston, TX (Cactus Records in-store @ 5:30pm)
10/14: Houston, TX (Continental Club)
10/22: Carrolton, TX (Festival at the Switchyard)
12/2: Oxford, MS (The Lyric)
12/3: Little Rock, AR (Revolution Music Room)
12/4: Nashville, TN (Mercy Lounge)
12/7: Towson, MD (Recher Theatre)
12/8: New York, NY (Bowery Ballroom)
12/9: New York, NY (Bowery Ballroom)
12/10: Brooklyn, NY (Music Hall of Williamsburg)
12/11: Philadelphia, PA (Theatre of Living Arts)

Very solid week of music in town this week. Several big conflicts, which typically would annoy me, but given how slow things have been for the last month or so, I can handle it.

Shows in bold are recommended shows, while shows in larger bold red are shows that I plan on going to and/or shows that I really, really think you should be going to.

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Monday, August 23
Beat Kitchen: Nathen Maxwell & The Original Bunny Gang, The Crombies
Double Door: Jessica Robbins, A Wu Li Conspiracy, more
Empty Bottle: Dusty Bible, Tirra Lirra, The Brothers Goforth [FREE]
Hideout: Robbie Fulks – String Wizard Trio
Martyr’s: M13, Chris Siebold & Psychles
Park West: Brandon Flowers [SOLD OUT]
Reckless Records/Lakeview (3pm): Julian Lynch
Reggie’s Rock Club: Exodus, Malevolent Creation, Holy Grail, more
Ronny’s: Frozen Teens, Street Legal, Nature Boys, Planet Ketchup
Schubas: Archie Powell & The Exports, Two Star, Stay Golden
Subterranean: Black Bear Combo, Neo, Tribraco, Jim Tashjian Group

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Tuesday, August 24
Darkroom: Ego Likeness, The Ludovico Technique, Short to Ground
Double Door: Small Houses, Mitch Mead, John Davey, more
Empty Bottle: Unsane, Today Is The Day, Keelhaul
Hideout: Sanctified Grumblers
Martyr’s: Farkus, Darrick Thompson, Greg Thomas
Ronny’s: The Hamburglars, International Espionage!, more
Schubas: The Wooden Birds, Dan Mangan, Hospital Ships
Subterranean: Bad City, Dastardly, George Swayne

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Wednesday, August 25
Double Door: Always the Villain, Voodoo Pilot, Ampline, more
Empty Bottle: Paul Collins Beat, Half Rats, Ian Olvera & The Sleepwalkers
Hideout: Immediate Sound Series ft. Elisabeth Harnik, Ken Vandermark, more
Lincoln Hall: Deanna Devore, Cole DeGenova & The People’s Republic, more
Martyr’s: Cabaret Vagabond
Pritzker Pavilion: David Gray & Ray LaMontagne
Reckless Records/Lakeview (6pm): Sarin McHugh and the Everymen
Reckless Records/Wicker Park (3pm): Paul Collins Beat
Reggie’s Rock Club: Enthroned, Destroyer 666, Pathology, Cardiac Arrest
Schubas: Casiokids, Light Pollution

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Thursday, August 26
Abbey Pub: Pheta Morgana, Waiflike, Polymer Twins, Art Garden
Beat Kitchen: Poison Control Center, Holyoke, Chrash
Darkroom: Dorian Taj, La Scala, The Ragtones
Double Door: Dick Wolf!, Conrad Richards, Dozens, Origin of Animal
Empty Bottle: Belmondos, Nathan Xander & Witchouse, Welcome to Ashley
Hideout: Hollows, Tyler Jon Tyler, Half Rats
Lincoln Hall: Vienna Teng & Alex Wong, The Guggenheim Grotto
Martyr’s: 3 in Counting, Ben Keeler & the 500 Club, Dawn Xiana Moon
Park West: Justin Nozuka Band
Reggie’s Rock Club: The Bitter Wigs, Mark the Knife, Lasers and Fast and Shit, more
Ronny’s: The Bumpus Hounds, Dingus, The Roaring .22s, Thirty Case Chase
Schubas: Lou Barlow & The Missingmen, Wye Oak, Young Man
Subterranean: The Lavellas, Mr Russia, Magnetars

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Friday, August 27
Abbey Pub: Gypsyfly, Poundcake
Beat Kitchen: Spitalfield, Just Left, The Forecast
Bottom Lounge: Big Science, Post Honeymoon, The Kickback, Camera
Darkroom: The Melismatics, The Duke of Dark, Blane Fonda, more
Double Door: Otter Petter, Jessica Godwin, Scale Model, The Visitors
Empty Bottle: God Bullies, TV Ghost, White Drugs, My Cold Dead Hand
Logan Square Aud.: Jon Drake & The Shakes, The Shams Band, The Minneapolis Henrys, more
Hideout (6:30pm): Flame Shark, T-Bird Magera, The Cells, Curtis Evans
Hideout (10pm): Michael Columbia, Running, Verma
Lincoln Hall: White Mystery, The 1900s, Lover!
Martyr’s: Hollus, Dirty Rooks, Delta Routine
Metro: Cameron McGill & What Army, Horse in the Sea, more
Old Town School: Fruit Bats, Nathaniel Braddock
Reggie’s Rock Club: Coliseum, Sweet Cobra, Burning Love, Fight Amp
Ronny’s: She Likes Todd, The Tired and True, Loudmouth, The Atrocities
Schubas (7pm): Drag the River (acoustic), Cory Branan
Schubas (10pm): Brent Puls, Death Ships, The Glory Singers
Subterranean: Riot Inside, Room 101, Arma, Echo Son

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Saturday, August 28
Abbey Pub: Benefit for Youth Recordings Chicago
Beat Kitchen: Spitalfield, Nervous Circuits
Bottom Lounge: 1000 Vertical Feet, Phaded
Double Door: American Motherload, Black Angus, Admiral of Black, Blackbox
Empty Bottle: Windy City Soul Club
Hideout: Warmbloods, Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat
Lincoln Hall: Memoryhouse, Twin Sister, Yawn, Distractions
Martyr’s: Reckoning, Blood on the Tracks, The Rolling ClonesUSA
Metro: Team Bayside High, Zebo, Alex Zelenka, more
Old Town School: Todd Snider
Park West: Zoso (Led Zeppelin tribute)
Reggie’s Rock Club: Textures of Lions, The Megabangers, Fain, more
Ronny’s: Highball, Be My Doppleganger, The Neutron Bombs, Sore Subjects
Saki Records: Paper Mice (4pm), Locks (3pm)
Schubas: The Rural Alberta Advantage, The Wooden Sky
Subterranean: Tub Ring, Dr Killbot, Dr Manhattan, Mose Giganticus

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Sunday, August 29
Aragon: Iggy and the Stooges
Beat Kitchen: Alert, Beckon Q, Roots 101, more
Bottom Lounge: The Audition, Breathe Electric, The Action Blast, more
Double Door: Down-Fi, Rodeo, Dogs of Fortune
Empty Bottle: DISROBE, DAD, Skank Wolf & The Mange
Hideout: Kumail Nanjiani, Beth Stelling, Joselyn Hughes
Lincoln Hall: Carioca Trio
Metro: Curren$y and Friends
Ronny’s: Almanac, Cody Copeland, Pat Hull, Zikr
Saki Records: The Velcro Lewis Group (3pm)
Schubas: TV Torso, Radar Eyes, The Lighthouse and the Whaler
Subterranean: Teenage Bottlerocket, The Reaganomics, Love & Squalor

Seattle’s The Posies today announced a month-long U.S. tour featuring Brendan Benson. I’ve also read that Aqueduct will be opening as well, but they weren’t mentioned in any of the official announcements I saw this morning.

The tour is in support of The Posies’ brand new album, Blood/Candy, due out September 28th on Rykodisc.

11/5: Milwaukee, WI (Turner Hall)
11/6: Chicago, IL (Bottom Lounge)
11/7: Newport, KY (Southgate House)
11/9: Detroit, MI (Majestic Theatre)
11/10: Columbus, OH (Outland Live)
11/11: Millvale, PA (Mr. Small’s Theater)
11/12: Rochester, NY (Water Street Music Hall)
11/13: New York, NY (Highline Ballroom)
11/14: Philadelphia, PA (Trocadero)
11/16: Boston, MA (Royale)
11/17: Washington, DC (9:30 Club)
11/18: Carrboro, NC (Cat’s Cradle)
11/19: Nashville, TN (Exit/In)
11/20: Atlanta, GA (The Loft)
11/21: Memphis, TN (Minglewood Hall)
11/24: Dallas, TX (Granada Theater) [Posies-only show]
11/26: Austin, TX (La Zona Rosa)
11/27: Houston, TX (The Argentum)
12/1: Englewood, CO (Gothic Theatre)
12/3: Los Angeles, CA (Club Nokia at LA Live)
12/5: San Francisco, CA (The Independent)
12/8: Portland, OR (Aladdin Theater)
12/11: Seattle, WA (Showbox at the Market)

New vid written & directed by Tom Scharpling. Broadway sellouts!!

As you likely know by now if you follow me on Twitter, Ireland’s The Frames are reuniting after a two-year hiatus for a short Fall tour to celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band. I’m kinda excited about it.

A New York date at Terminal 5 was announced and went on sale several weeks ago, and today three more shows have been announced for Philly, DC and Chicago (yay!). According to flyers seen as recent Swell Season shows (the band featuring all of the Frames plus Marketa Irglova), we can still expect a number of West Coast dates to be announced before long.

For now, though, here’s what we know. I hope to attend at least 3 of these shows.

The Frames Fall U.S. Tour Dates (so far)
Fri Nov 19, 2010 – Philadelphia PA (Theatre of Living Arts)
Sat Nov 20, 2010 – New York NY (Terminal 5)
Sun Nov 21, 2010 – Washington DC (9:30 Club)
Tue Nov 23, 2010 – Chicago IL (Vic Theatre)

Shows in bold are recommended shows, while shows in larger bold red are shows that I plan on going to and/or shows that I really, really think you should be going to.

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Monday, August 16
Double Door: The Forty Whacks, ThunderDriver, more
Empty Bottle: Paper Mice, Laarks, Unmanned Ship [FREE]
Hideout: Robbie Fulks – Doghouse Flights w/ Beau Sample
Martyrs: Tin Lynott
Pritzker Pavilion (12pm): The Juan Maclean (DJ set)
Pritzker Pavilion (6:30pm): Lost In The Trees
Schubas: The Names That Spell, Dastardly, Honest Engines, The Hate Maxes
Vic: Interpol, Twin Tigers

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Tuesday, August 17
Abbey Pub: Thirst E, Angie Star, K. Williams, more
Charter One Pavilion: My Morning Jacket
Double Door: Sawbuck, Brother George, The Nashville Wreckers, more
Empty Bottle: Ty Segall, Royal Baths, CoCoComa
Hideout: Sanctified Grumblers
Martyrs: Enlou, Bo & The Locomotive, Benjamin Ezra, Warren Buckler
Permanent Records (5pm): Ty Segall, Baths
Reggie’s Rock Club: Dexterous Roy, Kris Myers of Umphrey’s McGree, Liquid Soul, more
Ronny’s: Crunk Witch, Devon Kay & The Solutions, The Kickback, Sisero
Schubas: Ari Herstand, Joey Ryan & Kenneth Pattengale

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Wednesday, August 18
Abbey Pub: When Clouds Attack, CMKT4, Bullet Called Life, Biographer
Beat Kitchen: The Wild Birds, The Yes Way, Hollis Brown, Governor
Bottom Lounge: Mel Hammond, Alex Zelenks, Source 1
Charter One Pavilion: Paramore, Tegan & Sara
Empty Bottle: Outer Minds, All Things Lucid, Sweet Spots, Yuppies
Hideout: Immediate Sound Series ft. Bhob Rainey, more
Martyrs: Looking Daggers, TAxi, Alma Sub Rosa
Reggie’s Rock Club: Dave Weiner, Rob Balducci, more
Ronny’s: Shit Heads, Sex Robots, Nightcap, more
Schubas: The Sweetback Sisters, Parkington Sisters
Subterranean: Hellsent, Robust, DJ Dallas Jackson

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Thursday, August 19
Abbey Pub: The Canoes, Go Long Mule, Model N, The Van Goghs
Beat Kitchen: Sidewalk Chalk, Mos Scocious, Akasha, more
Bottom Lounge: Volbeat, The Sleeping, Dommin
Darkroom: Milk At Midnight, Tomorrow The Moon, Berserker Theory
Double Door: Soul Summit Dance Party
Empty Bottle: Remaindermen, True Womanhood, Neutral Uke Hotel, Angel Olsen
Evanston SPACE: The Watson Twins, Ferraby Lionheart
Hideout: JT and the Clouds, Dave McGraw and Crow Wing, Mandy Ferrarini
Lincoln Hall: David Singer & The Sweet Science, The Interiors, Nelken
Martyrs: Dead Superheroes Orchestra, more
Park West: An Acoustic Evening w/ Jon Anderson
Reggie’s Rock Club: The Handsome Devilz, Dec8de, Swoon Method
Schubas (7pm): William Fitzsimmons, Rosi Golan [ALL AGES]
Schubas (10pm): William Fitzsimmons, Rosi Golan

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Friday, August 20
Abbey Pub: The Western, The Numbers
Beat Kitchen (6pm): Par Avion, Kirkland, Ava Waits
Beat Kitchen (10:30pm): The Mediums, The Action, Steve Stone
Bottom Lounge: Autolux, This Will Destroy You, Alla
Darkroom: The Rosen Association, 800Belover, more
Double Door: Suns, Robbers, Gaberdine, Brontosaurus
Empty Bottle: Dax Riggs, Brighton MA, Mark Trecka
House of Blues (9pm): STS9
Lincoln Hall: Elsinore, Canasta, The Bears of Blue River
Martyrs: The Charming Beggars, The Webstirs, The Delafields
Metro: Tokyo Police Club, Freelance Whales, Arkells
Old Town School of Folk: The Spares, Mike Mangione & The Union
Reggie’s Rock Club: The Tards, Ramova, Dethwarrant, more
Ronny’s: The Casting Out, Quite a Mob, The Minor League, The American Autumn
Schubas (7:30pm): Bushwalla
Schubas (10pm): The Sadies, Prichard
Subterranean: Doko Benjo, The Jordan Years, Cold Water Mystic
UIC Pavilion: Slayer, Megadeth, Testament

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Saturday, August 21
Abbey Pub: Hospital Garden, Portable Models
Aragon: STS9, Mos Def
Beat Kitchen: The Felix Culpa, O’Brother, Tigers In The Backseat, Machree
Chicago Theatre: The Black Crowes
Double Door: Madina Lake, AM Taxi, The Fold, more
Empty Bottle: A Frames, Headache City, Bloodyminded
Hideout: Mad Decent Block Party ft. POPO, Maluca, more
House of Blues (7:30pm): George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Eddie Shaw
House of Blues (12:30am): Bassnectar
Lincoln Hall: Jimmy Webb, Barry Mann
Martyrs (7pm): Paul Sanchez, Shamarr Allen
Martyrs (9:30pm): 500 Miles to Memphis, Kopecky Family, more
Metro: Nocturna, DJ Scary Lady Sarah
Old Town School of Folk: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Tangleweed
Reggie’s Rock Club: Brain Drill, Flesh Consumed, Arkaik, more
Ronny’s: Joan of Arc, Abner Trio, Maximum Wage, The Blue Ribbon Glee Club
Schubas (7:30pm): Screaming Females, Michael Michael Motorcycle
Subterranean: Sundowner, The Sidekicks, American War, This Is This

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Sunday, August 22
Abbey Pub: Animal City, The Armchairs, The Bears of Blue River, Tin Tin Can
Beat Kitchen: Love of Everything, Eux Autres, City Center
Double Door: The Sparta Philharmonic, The Period, Cottonseed
Empty Bottle: Mumiy Troll, Run Run Run, Raised on Zenith
House of Blues: Rhythym Devils ft. Bill Kreutzmann + Mickey Hart
Reggie’s Rock Club: Goddamn Gallows, Nothing to Gain, Stang Stomper, more
Ronny’s: Kevin Seconds, Jaredd Grabb, Bill Tucker
Saki Records (3pm): Great Society Mind Destroyers, Rabble Rabble
Schubas: The Rails, The Ivorys, The Clergymen
Subterranean: You Hang Up, State & Madison, The Able Body

One of my favorite sets at Lollapalooza last weekend came courtesy of Southern California’s Dawes. I’d seen the band do a small acoustic set during SXSW, and was looking forward to seeing them in a larger, electric setting. Not only did they live up to my expectations, but they probably ended up being my second favorite set of the weekend (after Mavis Staples).

The thing that really surprised me was the reaction the band got from the crowd. When the band first came out (at the smaller Sony Bloggie stage), the crowd was relatively thin, with only a core group of fans along the stage. I was actually kind of worried that this might be one of the less-attended sets of the weekend. However, by the time the band played “When My Time Comes” (see below), I was shocked to hear a huge contingent of people singing along behind me. I turned around and saw a much, much bigger crowd than I expected. I guess all those people showed up after the set started.

Anyway, I guess they’re a lot more popular than I realized, because they’ve just announced a month-long headlining tour this Fall with Vetiver, Peter Wolf Crier and others, including a November 10th stop here in Chicago at Lincoln Hall. Full dates follow below.

If you haven’t heard the band yet, or even if you have, check out this video of the band performing “When My Time Comes” for Yours Truly. And if you go here, you can also see the band perform their song “If You Let Me Be Your Anchor”.

Dawes Fall Tour Dates
OCTOBER
10 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Festival
22 – Houston, TX – Fitzgaralds *
23 – Dallas, TX – Sons of Hermann Hall *
24 – Little Rock, AR – Sticky Fingerz Chicken Shack *
26 – St. Louis, MO – Gargoyle at Washington University *
27 – Louisville, KY – Headliners *
28 – Nashville, TN – Mercy Lounge &
29 – Birmingham, AL – Bottletree &
30 – Atlanta, GA – Smith’s Olde Bar &
31 – Charleston, SC – The Pour House &

NOVEMBER
02 – Charlottesville, VA – Jefferson Theatre &
03 – Washington, DC – Rock and Roll Hotel &
04 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts &
05 – New York, NY – Webster Hall &
06 – Boston, MA – Royale &
08 – Toronto, ONT – Horseshoe Tavern &
09 – Detroit, MI – Magic Stick &
10 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall &
11 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue (w/ Peter Wolf Crier and The Moondoggies)
12 – Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre #
13 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall #
14 – Ames, IA – Maintenance Shop at Iowa State University #
15 – Denver, CO – Hi-Dive #
16 – Salt Lake City, UT – State Room #
18 – Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern (w/ Magic Mountain and The Romany Rye)
19 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge (w/ Magic Mountain and The Romany Rye)
21 – Santa Barbara, CA – Soho #
26 – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre #
27 – San Diego, CA – The Casbah #

* = w/ Peter Wolf Crier and The Romany Rye
& = w/ Peter Wolf Crier and Vetiver
# = w/ The Moondoggies and The Romany Rye

Another awesome AV Club Undercover performance.

PS: When did Marketa chop off her hair?

Well, that was… interesting.

In case you didn’t see my tweets from yesterday, I got to Lollapalooza around noon and left, for good, at 2:45pm. I saw two bands (The Antlers and Blitzen Trapper), liked one (The Antlers), nearly got puked on by a drunk 18-year old while waiting for Mumford & Sons, couldn’t stand another day of sun and heat, and finally decided to di di mau.

Do I regret the decision? Not really. The only bands I really wanted to see were Frightened Rabbit and The National. From what I could tell on Twitter, the Frightened Rabbit set was obscenely crowded, with people barely able to get within viewing distance of the stage. And while I would have loved to see Matt Berninger of The National serenade my friends’ daughter, I honestly don’t know that I would have made it that far into the day even if I tried. I actually ended up falling asleep at 5:30pm yesterday, only to wake up for dinner around 10:30pm, and then fall back asleep until this morning. I was a little tired.

Anyway, I clearly need to rethink my Lollapalooza strategy for next year. But that’s a topic for another time. Until then, head to these sites for better discussion and photos of Lollapalooza Day 3.

Chicago Tribune
Time Out Chicago (reviews)
Time Out Chicago (photos)
Underground Bee (photos)

Cool new video from DC band Tereu Tereu’s show at Beat Kitchen in Chicago last weekend. If you thought you knew Tereu Tereu before, listen again – there’s a new direction, and it’s one I like a lot.