photos by Adam Siegel

Black Francis @ Le Poisson Rouge

Black Francis played Le Poisson Rouge last night (7/24). Eric Drew Feldman accompanied him like he's done in the past. Reid Paley, who Frank is releasing an album with, opened the show. Pictures are in this post.

Five days earlier, Frank's tour brought him to St Louis where kdhx had this to say:

"Once he was tuned up and ready to go, Frank howled out a fantastic cover of Tom Waits' "The Black Rider" and his own tune "Six-Sixty-Six" over Eric's gorgeous organ accompaniment. The rest of the set found Frank playing whatever came to mind, picking out some fantastic guitar lines and delivering his lyrics in a wailing tenor while Eric switched between electric piano, organ and bass depending on the song. The set mostly consisted of songs from Frank's solo albums, but did include a handful of Pixies tunes, covers of the aforementioned Tom Waits tune and the Gary Green penned "That Burnt Out Rock and Roll" along with the fan suggested "Song of the Shrimp" from his 2005 album Honeycomb."

The full 7/19 setlist is below.

Frank's got a couple more dates left before the Pixies go on a tour that hits Wellmont Theatre on October 27 (sold out), Asbury Park Convention Hall on October 28 (tickets) and The Paramount in Huntington on November 5th (tickets).

More pictures and videos of Black Francis from the 7/24 LPR show, and the 7/19 setlist below...

Continue reading "Black Francis played LPR (pics, video & the St. Louis setlist)"

Black Francis at Joe's Pub in September (more by Andrew St. Clair)

Black Francis and frequent collaborator Reid Paley recently recorded some material together in Nashville which they'll release as Paley & Francis on September 13 via Sonic Unyonl. Frank Black will head out on a tour this summer, with Reid Paley opening some of the shows. Only nine July dates have been announced at this point, but according to Frank Black's website more dates are coming soon. They'll bring their tour to NYC on July 24 at Le Poisson Rouge. Tickets are on sale now.

In related news, the Pixies recently spoke to Spinner about a possible new album:

You released a single a while back, but there's been no follow-up album. Kim made another Breeders album. Is there a reason Pixies haven't put out fresh stuff?

David: We were happy to just tour, and it's been non-stop because people want to see us. We've talked about it for years, but nothing's come to fruition.

Joey: I'm gonna answer this honestly, for once. In the back of our minds I think we're afraid that it might cause friction. Right? Don't you think? It might, and that "might" is gonna be an "Uh oh, what the f--- are we doing now?"

David: The thing is, we want to protect the legacy. If we do something, it better be good. And as we go along -- it's been seven years now -- it gets more difficult to make that decision.

Black Francis tour dates and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Black Francis releasing album w/ Reid Paley, touring (dates)"

Ray Davies has a new LP on the way entitled See My Friends due on November 1st. The release will see The Kinks frontman pairing with multiple bands to re-record, and sometimes re-imagine, Kinks songs. And these bands have names like Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Spoon, Black Francis, Metallica, Mumford & Sons... and the legendary Alex Chilton (RIP).

"This project came about almost by accident," says Davies of the project, which was kick-started when he recorded a version of 'Till The End Of The Day' in the summer of 2009, with Alex Chilton.

The full list of collaborators is below.

Davies is getting back on the road as well, though so far he just has scattered dates in Europe, and a newly-announced show in the United States. He'll be performing his 2009 LP The Kinks Choral Collection with the Dessoff Chamber Choir at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ on November 26th. Tickets go on sale at noon today (10/8). NYC got that show in 2009.

All dates, the See My Friends tracklisting, and some video are below...

Continue reading "Ray Davies re-recorded Kinks songs w/ special friends, playing NJ & other dates "

photos by Andrew St. Clair, words by Patricia Scull

"For the first time in my life, I just don't care," Frank Black sang Friday night (9/3), opening his solo acoustic show at Joe's Pub (his first of three sold out Labor Day Weekend shows at the intimate venue). While the song containing these lyrics ("Horrible Day") was released in 2003, it seems that Black has taken them and run. From his wearing sunglasses through the entire performance in the dimly lit Joe's Pub, to a mocking reference to his guitar skills ("And on guitar, we have Jack Shit,") Frank Black, a.k.a. Black Francis, a.k.a. the frontman of influential 90's alt-rock band the Pixies, seems numb to the hoopla. Black's billing at the club is promoted as a "solo acoustic show," however it should be noted that the stage setup contained a Baldwin grand piano, a pump organ, a bass guitar, drum set, and yes, featured Black on electric guitar.

Starting the show with some warm-ups and donning a variation of an outfit some might refer to as the "Canadian tuxedo" (loose fitting blue jean button up shirt, untucked, and blue jean pants), Black immediately mezmerizes as soon as he opens his mouth to sing. Black's powerful timbre consistently leads the crescendo, with electric instruments following behind, sometimes singing melodically, sometimes screeching madly.

Despite promoting his latest solo release Non Stop Erotik, Black pulls some of his Pixies repertoire off the shelf, performing "Nimrod's Son," Cactus," and "Planet of Sound." His solo material is more solemn and less experimental than his work with the Pixies, often using the catharsis of the pump organ as a backdrop for his grainy vocals. His solo material (including that billed as Frank Black and the Catholics) seems as if age and experience has cast a new light over his work, with introspection and flashes of wisdom. "If your heart is sad," Black laments, "this is your new home." At times, Black reverts back to his signature Pixies vocal style, proving that he's no "Burnt Out Rock And Roll" star, a song he included in the set, along with "Manitoba," Ten Percenter," "Los Angeles," and "I Heard Ramona Sing." Black closed the show with a brief and somber encore, reminding the audience to "Sing for joy/Sing for laughs/ If nothing else/Sing for joy."

More pictures from Friday's show, below...

Continue reading "Black Francis played 3 shows @ Joe's Pub (night 1 pics)"

Frank Black is going solo acoustic at Joe's Pub in NYC on September 3rd and 4th. Tickets just went on sale. All dates below.

You can also catch Frank at some upcoming Pixies shows.

And stop by Joe's Pub tonight (6/23) to catch Villagers.

The Breeders are playing two shows around their appearance at ATP NY this year. Those dates are below too...

Continue reading "Black Francis playing acoustic shows @ Joe's Pub & other dates, the Breeders playing gigs too"

DOWNLOAD: Black Francis - All in My Mind (Love & Rockets) (MP3)

I would like to apologize to the Breeders for saying they would not sell out. I was a jerk about it and am truly sorry. I also apologize to their fans I may have offended with my stupid insensitive comments. Hope you liked the show.-Anonymous

The Breeders @ The Paradise in Boston 8/17 (more by Bryan Bruchman)

"Come one come all-I'm work shopping new introductions bare with me-Welcome to the 18th installment of the Jay Porks Never Ending concert series. Tonight brings us to the 'Sold Out' Bowery Ballroom at 6 Delancey St. in New York City. The Bowery is a venue that's been on my radar for a while, considering that the Bowery owns(or at least sponsors) most of the venues I attend for concerts in the city. Tonight the headliner, the band I'm here to see is the one, the only, THE BREEDERS." [The Jay Porks Blog]

The Breeders completed their two-night run at Bowery Ballroom in NYC last night (8/19). More on that soon.

On the horizon, Kim & Kelley Deal will be singing as part of The Long Count at BAM this fall, and Kim will be playing with her other band the Pixies, when they play NYC on their Doolittle tour this November.

Co-Pixie Frank Black recently contributed a track to New Tales To Tell: A Tribute to Love and Rockets, which came out Tuesday (Aug 18th) on Justice Records. Frank's track from that, "All in My Mind", off L&R's 1986 album Express, is posted above for your downloading pleasure.

He didn't appear at the release party/show on August 18th at the Ben Sherman store in Soho, but he will be at the show for, another tribute comp, Ciao My Shining Star - The Songs of Mark Mulcahy, which happens Sunday, September 20th at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Also appearing at the concert will be Joseph Arthur, David Berkeley and more. Non-musical guests (of sorts) include the premiere of the Thom Yorke video "All For The Best" and a reading by graphic novelist Ben Katchor. Tickets go on sale Friday, August 21st at noon.

Joseph Arthur also has a series of shows coming up at City Winery.

That Mulcahy comp also has a slightly more personal story, via FrankBlack.net...

We have some sad news from a friend of our website and of FBF, Mark Mulcahy. Some of you might recognize the name as the singer/songwriter behind Miracle Legion and Polaris [of the soundtrack to Pete & Pete among other things], both of which featured Catholics David McCafferey and Scott Boutier, or perhaps you recognize the name from the liner notes of Christmass, as Mark provided backing vocals for both "Radio Lizards" and "Don't Get Me Wrong." Or maybe, like me, you saw Mark open for the Pixies in Atlantic City in 2005. Regardless, Mark's wife recently passed away, leaving him as a single dad to two small children. Some friends and admirers, including our Frank Black Francis, have recorded some of Mark's songs for a tribute record called Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy.

That record comes out September 29th on Shout! Factory records, and includes contributions from The National, Thom Yorke, Michael Stipe, Dinosaur Jr., Vic Chesnutt and Elvis Perkins. In addition to the names on the tracklist, below, 20 additional cuts will be released digitally. Look for a London concert to be announced as well.

Radiohead has a new song out now (two actually).

The tracklist and art work for both tribute albums are posted below...

Continue reading "Breeders played Bowery, Frank Black playing Mark Mulcahy show @ MHOW (tix), on Love & Rockets tribute comp (MP3) "

Black Francis (Grand Duchy) @ Siren (more by Tim Griffin)

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the release of their classic 1989 album Doolittle, the band - Black Francis, Kim Deal, Joey Santiago and David Lovering - will kick off the very special US "Doolittle Tour" at the Palladium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 4. The U.S. tour will hit a total of nine cities, including three dates in New York City. Ticket prices and on-sale dates will vary city to city, but some tickets go on sale as early as this Saturday, August 1 and can be purchased at the venues' box offices or online at Ticketmaster See below for full itinerary and on-sale information.

On this tour, the Pixies will perform all of the songs from Doolittle and its related B-sides, "Weird at My School," "Dancing the Manta Ray," and "Bailey's Walk" among them. Doolittle, the band's third album and the first to chart on Billboard's album charts, includes classics such as "Debaser," "Wave of Mutilation," "Here Comes Your Man," "Hey," and "Gouge Away."

"We wanted to do something special for Doolittle's 20th anniversary," said Black Francis, "and we thought his was a good opportunity to play all of the songs from that album, something we don't normally do at a regular gig."

The European dates were announced about a month ago. In 2004 the Pixies played eight shows at Hammerstein Ballroom. This time they've announced three 2009 shows at the same venue. Those and all North American dates below...

Continue reading "Pixies announce 2009 US 'Dolittle' Tour Dates"

photos by Tim Griffin

Village Voice: When's the last time you were at Coney Island?

Frank Black: The only time I was at Coney Island, I was filming an Electronic Press Kit. Remember those?

VV: Yeah.

FB: The record companies used to spend a few bucks on those. They hired a film director and everything. They had already begun to buy into the myth-well, it's not really a myth- it's the truth of my driving around in large automobiles. They rented us a van to drive around Coney Island. And that was my introduction. I don't think I've been back since.

VV: When was this?

FB: That would've been around 1993 or 1994.

That interview took place before Saturday when Frank Black and his wife Violet Clark introduced their new band Grand Duchy to NYC. The show was part of the Village Voice Siren Festival, in Coney Island 7/18). One night earlier they played a late show at Maxwell's in Hoboken. Fellow Siren-players Frightened Rabbit had played the early show. More dates HERE (and Pixies dates HERE, and Breeders dates HERE).

The Grand Duchy setlists have included the Black Francis song "Threshold Apprehension". The full Maxwell's setlist and more pics, below...

Continue reading "Grand Duchy (Frank Black) @ Maxwells (setlist) & Siren (pics)"

The Breeders @ McCarren Park Pool, July 13 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

Pixies played their first high-profile UK gig in nearly four years tonight (June 14), performing before Neil Young at the Isle Of Wight Festival.

Opening their Main Stage set with 'U-Mass', the band treated fans to an 80-minute greatest hits set.

Early on in the set, bassist Kim Deal remarked that she found the island "very pretty", before giggling into the microphone. [NME]

The Pixies followed that show with an invite-only release party for their Minotaur boxset the next night in London. (That boxset includes each of the five Pixies studio albums cut onto LP/gold-plated CD/Blu-ray audio/DVD/etc.) Drowned in Sound was there and wrote...

Doubtless you know/saw enough of the last reunion tour to be well aware the Pixies are still very, very good at playing Pixies songs, and a full review would be kind of gratuitous: they were frickin' awesome.

Set lists for both shows are below.

There's no word on any additional Pixies dates yet, though Frank Black has announced some solo Black Francis shows, and is touring with his Grand Duchy project this summer. That group plays NYC's Siren Fest on July 18th, with a show the night before in Hoboken. Updated tour dates (FB and GD) are below.

The Pixies' Kim Deal has shows this summer too, with The Breeders. They'll be at Sled Island Fest in Calgary this weekend (June 26th). The band's also announced several August tour dates. Those include NYC shows on August 18th and 19th at the Bowery Ballroom. Tickets for both nights go on presale Wednesday, June 24th at noon. General sale starts Friday at 11am.

Kim and Kelley Deal of the Breeders will lso be performing as part of The Long Count, a BAM commissioned project by the National's Bryce and Aaron Dessner. That premieres in Brooklyn in October.

Pixies set lists, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Breeders playing 2 NYC shows, Deals playing BAM, Pixies played 2 shows (setlist), Frank Black announced more dates"

by Andrew Frisicano

Pixies are back again - so far with just one UK date: June 14th at the Isle of Wight Festival (featuring Neil Young and more - tickets on sale here). "More [shows] to come", as promised by the band's Myspace.

Meanwhile, Frank Black and Violet Clark (husband+wife) have recorded a full-length as Grand Duchy. The record, Petits Fours, will be out April 14th in the US on Cooking Vinyl (out now in Europe). Track list below. The group's Myspace also asks for "submissions of an artistic nature for the creation of a compendium of Grand Duchy-themed art."

Frank Black's BlackFrancis.net cryptically speculates: "The negotiators continue the discussion about BLACK FRANCIS concerts for this year of the Ox 2009. Acoustic? 3 piece? GRAND DUCHY? PIXIES? Duets with movie stars? Poetry slam? Art exhibition? WHO SHALL KNOW THESE THINGS? Checking the site of blackfrancis.net can be a habit to have!!" Part of that picture is put together above, with certainly more to be announced.

Black also recently produced Art Brut's third LP Art Brut vs. Satan out April 20th (Europe on Cooking Vinyl) and May 12th (US on Downtown Records). The first officially released track "Alcoholics Unanimous" has a video which was posted here on Sunday and can also be watched below.

A book on the Pixies, Pixies: In Print, recently came out on Rock Reader Books. The 1,000-copy first printing "collects all of the revered and influential band's essential press interactions. Focusing on the group's 1987 - 1992 heyday and its subsequent 2004 - 2007 reunion, PIXIES: IN PRINT chronicles the history of the Boston-bred musical icons through essential interviews, essays and articles."

And, as previously mentioned, Kim Deal and The Breeders are curating/playing ATP UK Weekend 2 May 15-17. Full line-up, the Grand Duchy track list, some videos, and more below...

Continue reading "Frank Black back w/ Pixies (date), Grand Duchy & Art Brut "