photos by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

Divine Fits @ Beerland - 8/1/2012

Divine Fits played their second show (the first official one) in Austin on 8/1 at a sold-out Beerland with locals The Young opening the night. While this was indeed Divine Fits' second public performance, the band consider the 7/31 show their '0.5' debut,

Following the format of the secret show one night earlier at the Continental Club (billed as 'The Hot Skull'), they kept to a 12 song set. The only noticeable differences being the order of the songs, and the omission of 'The Salton Sea' from the list.

As with the Continental show, DF sounded great and all appeared to run smoothly, with the only super-minor hiccup being the need to have a quick guitar trade between Dan and Britt as they started Nick Cave's "Shivers" (video below). Despite much of the set being brand-new to the audience (as Divine Fits' debut LP, A Thing Called Divine Fits, isn't released until August 28), all went over really well.

Next stop is Dan Boeckner's hometown of Montreal on Friday 8/3 (the same day that tickets go on sale for the NYC show). All current dates are listed, along with more pictures, videos, and the setlist, below...

Continue reading "Divine Fits filled Beerland and The Young played too (pics, setlist, videos, dates)"

by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

Divine Fits @ the Contiental Club - 7/31/2012 (more)

What was advertised as their first show is now their second show.

As you may already know if you have a ticket or if you don't have a ticket because it sold out so quickly when it went on sale, Divine Fits are playing Beerland. If you missed out, there's also still hope.

Divine Fits has confirmed that it will make its live debut kicking off a trio of shows in the hometowns of members Britt Daniel (Austin, TX on August 1), Dan Boeckner (Montreal, QC on August 3) and Sam Brown (Columbus, OH on August 6).

The live shows follow immediately on the heels of the July 31 release of Divine Fits' first single "My Love Is Real," the 7-inch of which features a non-LP B-side cover of Camper Van Beethoven's "I Was Born In A Laundromat."

Special golden tickets will be inserted into ten random copies of the "My Love Is Real" single available at select indie retailers in each of these three markets, including Waterloo and End of an Ear in Austin, Used Kids and Magnolia Thunderpussy in Columbus, and participating stores in Montreal which are still TBD. Each golden ticket will admit the winner and a guest to the Divine Fits show in the respective city.

For more information on the golden ticket competition, general ticket information and personal notes from each band member to his respective hometown, go to DivineFits.com.

"My Love Is Real" is also available digitally as a stand-alone track or as an instant download with pre-orders of Divine Fits' debut album A Thing Called Divine Fits placed in the Divine Fits store, the Merge store or at iTunes.

A Thing Called Divine Fits will be released August 28 in the U.S. on Merge Records and on Universal in Canada. The record will be out one day earlier in the UK and Europe via Anti-/Epitaph.

Divine Fits hometown shows:
Aug 1 Austin, TX Beerland
Aug 3 Montreal, QC Il Motore
Aug 6 Columbus, OH Ace of Cups

Tuesday, July 17th, 2012
Beerland // Austin, TX // 08.01

Is it weird to be in a band where you've made a record but you've never played in front of an audience? We've certainly played together a lot -- starting at the end of last year with a couple weeks of let's see what happens and drink vodka and eat Russian ice cream at a place called LA Rehearsal in Little Armenia. Then in January when Dan came to stay with me and Sam visited and we all wrote songs & rehearsed them every day for a couple months. And then when we recorded (usually live) in the studio with Nick Launay. And really, the answer is yes. It is weird. Doing shows is the most immediate part of the whole deal and for me it's a huge chunk of the equation of why being in a band is so great. I do feel kinda mental not having been able to do that yet. So is it good timing that pretty soon we'll finally be doing some shows? Yes. And I personally am real happy that this band's first show will be in the the town where I've played more gigs than any other, the place I've spent most the years of my life, the city that always welcomes me back with enthusiasm and affection (with the exception of that one time at the Beauty Bar) -- Austin, Texas. Divine Fits will be playing at Beerland on Tuesday August 1 with The Young opening. I think they're putting tickets up next week? I hope so. I'm ready to feel normal again. Love, Britt

A list of all dates and streams of two album tracks -- "My Love Is Real" and "Would That Not Be Nice" -- are below...

Continue reading "Divine Fit's 1st-ever show will be at Beerland (ten golden tickets hidden in Austin record stores)"

M. Ward @ SXSW 2008 (more)

Merge Records will host their 2012 SXSW showcase at Frank on Friday, March 16th, kicking things off in a big way with M. Ward OPENING the show at 7:30pm. In order, it looks like this:

M. Ward
Hospitality
Eleanor Friedberger
the Love Language
Crooked Fingers
Imperial Teen

The showcase will be one of at least four SXSW shows for M. Ward who is also playing Central Presbyterian Church (again) on March 14th and Auditorium Shores (again) with The Shins on March 15th (5:45PM Little Hurricane, 6:45PM M. Ward, 8:00PM The Shins).

After SXSW, Matt heads out on a tour around Coachella. Those dates are listed below along with a stream of "Primitive Girl" from the forthcoming "A Wasteland Companion".

Eleanor Friedberger is also playing other shows (TBA), and will be back in Austin on a tour with Hospitality who also have more SXSW shows TBA.

The Clean aren't playing SXSW, but the Merge-signed band will be in Austin for Chaos in Tejas this year as part of a just-announced tour with their labelmates Times New Viking.

M Ward song and dates below...

Continue reading "Merge Records at SXSW 2012 (and other M. Ward dates)"