Mac DeMarco - Chamber of Reflection (official video and lyrics)

Mac DeMarco (Vernor Winfield McBriare Smith IV)

Mac DeMarco (born Vernor Winfield McBriare Smith IV) was born in British Columbia in the small town of Duncan and first made a name for himself as a solo artist and creator of psychedelic movies in Vancouver in 2009.  But it's fair to view DeMarco as a product of the ridiculously-fertile-sick-musician-per-capita city of Edmonton, Alberta which has produced one of the most defineable waves of Canadian artists since Halifax was hailed as the new Seattle.

DeMarco's since found the holy land of Mafia corruption/low rent/low French that is Montreal although he currently lives in Bed Stuy.  While he put out an album as Makeout Videotape in 2009, and under his own name 2 (2012) and the EP Rock and Roll Night Club (2012) it's this years Salad Days that has made the music press stand up and take notice.   At this year's NXNE in Toronto, DeMarco was a must-see for many American journos making the sojourn.

Mac is probably better seen and heard than written about.  Frank Zappa's assertion that writing about music is like dancing to architecture seems particularly apt when trying to process DeMarco.

"Chamber Of Reflection"

Spend some time away
Getting ready for the day
Upon again

Spend some time alone
Understand is on your run
With a better man
Alone again

Alone again
Alone again
Alone again
Alone

Now use looking out
It's within that brings that
Lonely feeling

Understand when you leave here
You be clear
Among a better man
Alone again

Alone again
Alone again
Alone again
Alone

Alone again
Alone again
Alone again
Alone

Bear In Heaven release Time Is Over One Day Old (tour dates)

Bear In Heaven are endearing to listeners of various stripes.  BIH is essentially a project of- originally Athens, GA based Jon Philpot's- which has been a reliable trio since the 2010 release of Beast Rest Forth Mouth.   Philpot plays synths, Adam Wills (bass) and drums (Joe Stickney).   Their psychedelic sound is deeply informed by krautrock and electronic music.  Philpot's preening falsetto is so high that admittedly the first time I saw them in concert I was actually surprised to realize he was a man.  After meeting them I also pleasantly learned that they are all died in the wool Deadheads although one could only hear that influence in their music in the most muted of ways.

2012's I Love You It's Cool failed to ignite the same critical fanfare that rightly accompanied their first noticed release.  Time Is Over One Day Old is a clear progression along the trajectory of these three albums each distinguished by a phased droning quality as well as the sharp precision and 'familiar' songwriting of Philpot. 

NPR are streaming the album up to its August 4th release date HERE. 

Mon. Aug. 4 - Brooklyn, NY - Rough Trade (record release instore)
Wed. Aug. 20 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
Thu. Aug. 21 - Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair
Fri. Aug. 22 - Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
Sat. Aug. 23 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle (Back Room)
Sun. Aug. 24 - Atlanta, GA - Terminal West
Tue. Aug. 26 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
Wed. Aug. 27 - Houston, TX - House of Blues (Bronze Peacock)
Thu. Aug. 28 - Austin, TX - The Parish
Tue. Sept. 2 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echoplex
Wed. Sept. 3 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
Fri. Sept. 5 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
Sat. Sept. 6 - Spokane, WA - Bartfest
Sun. Sept. 7 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
Wed. Sept. 10 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th St. Entry
Thu. Sept. 11 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
Fri. Sept. 12 - Columbus, OH - A&R Music Bar
Sat. Sept. 13 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern
Sun. Sept. 14 - Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa
Tue. Sept. 16 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
Wed. Sept. 17 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
Thu. Oct. 2 - London, UK - XOYO
Fri. Oct. 3 - Brussels, BE - Beursschouwburg
Sat. Oct. 4 - Paris, FR - Espace B
Sun. Oct. 5 - Amsterdam, NL - Bitterzoet
Mon. Oct. 6 - Cologne, DE - Studio 672
Tue. Oct. 7 - Berlin, DE - Kantine am Berghain
Thu. Oct. 9 - Copenhagen, DK - Ideal Bar
Fri. Oct. 10 - Lund, SE - Mejeriet
Sat. Oct. 11 - Stockholm, SE - Kagelbanan
Sun. Oct. 12 - Goteborg, SE - Pustervik
Mon. Oct. 13 - Oslo, NO - John Dee
Tue. Oct. 14 - Bergen, NO - Landmark
Thu. Oct. 16 - Aarhus, DK - RADAR
Fri. Oct. 17 - Hamburg, DE - Aalhaus 
 

Ryan Adams - State Theater, Portland ME (07.22.14) setlist

 

Ryan Adams
State Theater
Portland, ME
July 22, 2014

setlist:

Gimme Something Good
Dirty Rain
Fix It
Do I Wait
Stay With Me
Political Scientist
Let It Ride
Oh My Sweet Carolina
Everybody Knows
Catherine
Peaceful Valley
This House Is Not for Sale
Beautiful Sorta
Shadows
Two
When The Summer Ends
Change Your Mind
Am I Safe
Crossed Out Name

Encore:
Come Pick Me Up

The Barr Brothers - Half Crazy (download)

Charlie Barr circa 1905

 'A little known fact, in 1905, Brad and Andrew Barr's great-great uncle Charlie Barr, an accomplished skipper, set the record for the fastest crossing by a sailing yacht of the Atlantic Ocean. His monohull record stood for nearly 100 years until beaten in 1997. '

What does this have to do with the musical world of The Barr Brothers et al.? Not much, except that Brad, Andrew, Andres and Sara just crossed the Atlantic and also have a new record to tell you about.

Today they released Half Crazy, the second track offered from they're upcoming album, Sleeping Operator.  Half Crazy and Even The Darkness Has Arms both had strong debuts at Massey Hall during NXNE making an indelible entry into the expanding oeuvre of the Barr brothers various projects (The Slip, Surprise Me Mr. Davis, The Barr Brothers), are available when you download the entire record at iTunes, or can be downloaded on their own.

The Barr Brothers have an enthralling range of co-bills including 2014's wunderkind The War On Drugs as well as their Montreal compatriots the Patrick Watson band.   Many will be excited about their playing with Neutral Milk Hotel but Canadians know that Bahamas (aka Afie Jurvanen) is one of the finest soft-seat/beer hall guitarists in the country.  Hopefully both artists open their sets up with a bit of collaboration both ways.   Check below or on the BB website for the complete show lineup and tickets.

Hope to see you out there!

Andrew, Brad, Sarah & Andrés

The Barr Brothers Tour Dates 2014

07/22/14 Würzburg, DE - Uni Würzburg  Free

07/23/14 Mannheim, DE - Marktplatz Mannheim  Free

08/01/14 Happy Valley, OR - Pickathon Tickets ^

08/03/14 Happy Valley, OR - Pickathon Tickets ^

08/23/14 Burlington, VT - WYSIWYG Farm, Food, Music & Art Festival Tickets *

08/29/14 Salisbury, UK  - End of the Road Festival Tickets

08/30/14 Salisbury, UK  - End of the Road Festival Tickets

09/05/14 Berlin, DE - First We Take Berlin Tickets

09/12/14 Laval, QC - MRCY Festival # 

09/27/14 Santa Monica, CA - Newport Folk Presents Way Over Yonder ±  Tickets

10/09/14 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre Tickets ^ 

10/10/14 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre Tickets ^

10/11/14 Lawrence, KS - The Granada Theatre Tickets ^

10/14/14 London, UK - The Lexington Tickets

10/15/14 Cologne, DE - Studio 672 Tickets                    

10/16/14 Hamburg, DE - Prinzenbar Tickets                     

10/17/14 Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Tickets                             

10/19/14 Zurich, SZ - Bogen F                           

10/20/14 Brussels, BE - Witlofbar                          

10/23/14 Manchester, UK - The Castle Hotel          

10/24/14 Dublin, IE - Whelan's Tickets           

10/25/14 Bangor, UK - Beach House Tickets               

10/26/14 Sligo, IE - Sligo Live Ireland Tickets           

10/28/14 Edinburgh, UK - Voodoo Rooms             

10/29/14 Birmingham, UK - Hare & Hounds Tickets 

       

11/05/14 Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall % Tickets

11/06/14 Montreal, QC - Metropolis % Tickets

11/07/14 Sherbrooke, QC - Theatre Granada % Tickets 

11/08/14 Quebec, QC - Imperial de Quebec % Tickets

11/14/14 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle Tickets 

11/15/14 Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center Tickets 

11/18/14 Washington, DC - Sixth & I  Tickets 

11/19/14 Philadelphia, PA - Boot & Saddle Tickets

11/21/14 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom Tickets 

11/22/14 Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair Tickets

^ - w/The War On Drugs

* - w/Patrick Watson & Kishi Bashi

# - w/Neutral Milk Hotel

± - w/Jackson Browne

% - w/Bahamas

New dates are in BOLD

Aaron releases 'Freeman' LP July 22 via Partisan Records

After the hoopla that surrounded his increasing onstage meltdowns (in Vancouver for instance) which were excessive by even Ween standards- Aaron Freeman ultimately took shelter from the storm.  Sobriety looks good on Freeman, who gives hope to any hopelessly addled soul if only because the vast majority of his output as Gene Ween is about: 'hope', 'hopelessness' and 'being addled'.

His early four track experiments post-rehab gave some indication as to where he might go with his new material, there was the 4-track gooning, some role-playing crooning, and the occasional ballad in presumably his own voice (like the tender Nature Man which didn't make the cut) represented on the new album FREEMAN by More Than The World.

Aaron is quoted in a sprawling interview with Rolling Stone that the meltdown in Vancouver directly led (perhaps unsurprisingly in hindsight) to the dissolution of Ween.  The lead track on the album Covert Discretion (the full album is currently streaming on Spin) is none-too-subtle about the vapid sadness he was experiencing after playing a great show and then wallowing in his substance abuse later:

It's striking that on "Covert Discretion," the first song on the new album, you sing "Save your judgments for someone else" and "Fuck you all, I got a reason to live." It's easy to read those lyrics as being addressed at fans who wanted you to continue with Ween. Is that an accurate interpretation

Yeah, I think so. That's the only song I wrote after a major breakdown in Vancouver when I couldn't play [with Ween]. I wrote that about a week after that show. It's about addiction and people not recognizing that you're hurting so bad. And yeah, it is clearing the air of the last couple of years, which is why I wanted to put it first. At that point Ween had been over for years and I wanted to put that down in a way. Anytime there's a major change in your life, a lot of people don't embrace that, and it's something that you have to get through on your own. I had some wonderful supportive people with me during that period who helped me through. But it's tough, and it takes a while to turn people around, if I'm making any sense.

In other interviews Freeman is touching when he explains that despite wanting to clear the air on the first cut that he approached this whole record as he would have approached a Ween record.  He wrote the record with Mickey, Claude, Dave and Glenn in mind to play even though he knows they will never play again.  So there is a lovely quality about the record because it evokes so many stylistic touchstones from Ween's whole catalogue.   That said because it was composed in that fashion on numbers like the very Weenish El Shaddai the listener really wants to hear Mickey Melchiondo but instead gets whoever's playing guitar for Freeman.  A number of songs then take on the quality almost of sketches of Ween songs to be, one senses something missing from them- likely collaboration.

FREEMAN available now on Itunes fits into the chronology of Ween's records, the next one most likely won't.  Or perhaps all of the hallmarks that we associate with Ween will always be present in its inimitable songwriters solo output.

Tour Dates

July 22 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
July 23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All RIght
September 4-7 - Arrington, VA @ Lockn' Festival
September 5 - Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Festival
September 17 - Boston, MA @ Sinclair
September 18 - Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
September 19 - Rochester, NY @ Lovin' Cup
September 20 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
September 24 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
September 25 - Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
September 26 - Minneapolis. MN @ Turf Club
September 27 - Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room
September 30 - Columbus, OH @ The Basement
October 1 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Brillbox
October 2 - Washington, DC @ Rock N Roll Hotel
October 3 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's
October 4 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
October 23 - Houston, TX @ Fitzgeralds
October 24 - Dallas, TX @ The Loft
October 25 - Austin, TX @ Parish
October 28 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah
October 30 - Los Angeles, CA @ Roxy
October 31 - San Francisco, CA @ Independent
November 1 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
November 2 - Seattle, WA @ Tractor
November 4 - Missoula, MT @ Top Hat
November 5 - Salt Lake City, UT @ State Room
November 6 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird
November 7 - Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room

Mister Lies - Flood You/ Medusa (download)

Mister Lies (multimedia artist and producer Nick Zanca) has released a distinctive new single Flood You/ Medusa via his Bandcamp page.  Mister Lies made all audiophiles stand up and take notice with last year's one-off Cleam.

Zeus - Miss My Friends

Zeus - Refusal To Die (studio footage)

 

First and foremost Zeus are a Toronto band. Well technically they're a Barrie band.  But in the not-too-distant future the megalopolii of Toronto and Barrie will surge together in an awkward and predictable middle (resembling some of the more upscale - mind you post-apocalyptic - enclaves found in contemporary Detroit for instance). But Zeus is also a Canadian band and we never let things get that grim.  Plus we have the fresh water. So there is that.

But we've always had Zeus (*technically the Greeks first), tonight we happily share them with your nation (and others) via that network institution The Tonight Show (interestingly David Letterman was always promised The Tonight Show after his trailblazing creation of the late night comedy format where he often debuted so-called 'indie' bands to the nation and their ultimate due acclaim.  Recently The Tonight Show fell into the hands of a pompadoured impresario (Conan O'Brien) then back into the wretched maw of the equally pompadoured Jay Leno only to be thrust into Jimmy Fallon's confused and sweaty and palm, where he and his house band The Roots have extended the legacy they built at Late Night.).

Otherwise we don't have much Zeus juice to pass along except that they are debuting the instant classic Miss My Friends on said Tonight Show and that we assure you it is a perfect addition to their repertoire.  You'll have to stay tuned for their major league debut but in the meantime here's a surefire instrumental album keeper from the forthcoming Classic Zeus Refusal To Die (due Sept 2, Arts and Crafts).

Even The Darkness Has Arms - The Barr Brothers (Live on KEXP)

The Barr Brothers deliver a stripped down early version of Even The Darkness Has Arms while on a break from playing in Iceland.

Even The Darkness Has Arms - Barr Bros. (stream/ download)

From the Barr Brothers second album, Sleeping Operator, out on Secret City Records (expected Oct. 7, 2014) comes the chilling Even The Darkness Has Arms (available free with Itunes pre-order)

musiciens reunis

Brad: lead vocals, guitars, piano
Andrew: percussion, ukulele, synthesizer
Sarah: guitar, vocals
Andrés: pump organ
Miles Perkin: contrabass
Richard Reed Parry: contrabass
Laurel Sprengelmeyer: vocals