Vagrant Records and The Hold Steady announce an April 7 release date for A Positive Rage, a double disc package featuring a documentary on DVD and their first-ever live album. The set will be released on April 6 on Rough Trade Records in the UK and Europe.

A Positive Rage captures the excitement and high spirits of both the band and their fans in the days surrounding the release of their third full-length, Boys and Girls in America, (Vagrant) and ensuing world tour in 2006.

The 53-minute documentary begins with The Hold Steady's first ever London performances with never-before-seen live footage, back stage interviews with the band members, fan commentary and the original, raw audio. Cameras follow the band as they return to the US for a 24-date tour that culminates on screen with an especially poignant performance at First Avenue in Minneapolis.

The live album was recorded on October 31, 2007 and includes seventeen songs that Craig Finn, Tad Kubler, Galen Polivka, Franz Nicolay, and Bobby Drake performed on the second of their two-night sold-out stand at the Metro in Chicago. The enhanced album will also feature five bonus studio tracks: "Ask Her For Adderall," "Cheyenne Sunrise," "Two Handed Handshake," and the previously unreleased tracks "Spectres" and "40 Bucks."

The booklet features personal photos and the band's memories of the tour, including this excerpt from Craig Finn... "It ended up being a fantastic suburban blow out with band and audience on the floor, Frisbee and tailgating in the adjoining parking lot, and everyone singing along to every song.... It reminded me of the hardcore shows I loved as a kid, everyone sweating and screaming together in a rented hall. And drinking in the parking lot, of course. The next night worlds converged.... "

The Hold Steady, in addition to appearing at SXSW in mid-March, will kick off their late-March-into-April tour at Irving Plaza in NYC on March 30th. $25.00 tickets to the "WRXP Anniverary Show" will go on sale Friday February 20th at 10AM via LiveNation.com. Openers TBA.

In related Vagrant news, they just announced that they signed the UK's Olivia Broadfield. "I have been blown away by how well things have been going for me over the past year and signing with Vagrant is quite simply the cherry on top," said Broadfield. "I am so excited to be working with Vagrant, they have shown such faith and belief in me as an artist and I know that my album will be in good hands. It's taken a lot of hard work to get this far and I can't wait to take things to the next level with Vagrant by my side."

In related Hold Steady news, the band covered Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City" for the new "War Child Heroes" charity comp. "A Postive Rage" tracklist, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Hold Steady tour dates (Irving Plaza, SXSW) & a documentary"

by Bill Pearis

Currently celebrating their 25th anniversary, Camper Van Beethoven are playing Friday (1/9) (tickets) and Saturday (1/10) (tickets) at Bowery Ballroom in NYC - the band's first shows here since 2006 (thx anon). They also played some shows in 2004 when they released New Roman Times, their first album of original material in 15 years.

Camper Van Beethoven were one of the few bands of the '80s loved by both punks and hippies, taking the f-you attitude of the former and the laid-back vibe of the latter, mixing it with various forms of ethic music plus their own Santa Cruz style and humor. Whether punks and hippies ever acknowledged each other's presence at shows back then is a different story. (It took me till the late-90s to admit that "Good Guys and Bad Guys" sounds a lot like The Dead.) While best-known now for their their early single "Take the Skinheads Bowling," CVB were also capable of thoughtful, insightful, and moving songs as well. Time has been kind to them, actually, and records like their 1985 debut, Telephone Free Landslide Victory, 1986's eponymous third album, and the finale of CVB's initial run, 1989's Key Lime Pie have held up more than a lot of other records from the same era. And New Roman Times was a fine addition to their discography, almost like they never went away.

If you're a big CVB fan, you might want to consider hitting both shows. The band's 2-night stint in Chicago back in November saw sets of around 25 songs, with only 9-10 of them being duplicated both nights. I last saw them was at a 2-hour plus, sweltering show (literally) at Knitting Factory in July 2002. It's almost all of the original lineup and, if anything, the band have gotten better as musicians since.

Opening at the Friday show at Bowery (1/09) is McCabe & Mrs Miller, which is CVB bassist Victor Krummenacher's project with Alison Faith Levy (formerly of The Loud Family) and also features Camper members Jonathan Segel and Greg Lisher.

Additionally, Krummenacher and Segel are both doing solo sets at Pianos on Sunday (1/11) - a bill that also includes local fave Sharon Von Etten. I wouldn't be surprised if other members of Camper make appearances. Segel also plays in Noodle Shop at Le Poisson Rougue on Wednesday (1/14).

But wait there's more. Monks of Doom, which is basically Camper Van Beethoven minus frontman David Lowery plus David Immergluck (who has played in Counting Crows but spent the '80s in the bizarre theatrical band The Ophelias), are playing Europa in Greenpoint on March 12 and 13. Tickets are on sale. Lowery, meanwhile, continues to play in Cracker too. These guys stay busy.

A few classic CVB videos, and all dates, after the jump...

Continue reading "Camper Van Beethoven shows & a Monks of Doom reunion "

An hour before show time, a battalion of security officers was directing a convoy of concertgoers in S.U.V.'s, and traffic was flowing smoothly in an area known to wear down would-be diners and moviegoers seeking a coveted parking space.

Back in September, Joseph Hartnett, chief executive of the municipality, said, "Keeping all of these people moving is going to be a challenge in an already parking-challenged town." As it turned out, concertgoers said parking was less an issue than other factors, at least on a Tuesday evening when the theater was not filled to capacity.

"There's ample parking on the street -- I had no problem at all," said Chris Kunstadter, 53, of Bloomfield. Mr. Kunstadter received e-mail notification of the postponement in time to avoid heading out on Monday, but when he made it inside on Tuesday, he had a different concern.

"They should have seating on the lower level," he said, referring to the capacious open space near the main stage, where clumps of concertgoers convened. For this concert, seats were available only on the Wellmont's upper tier. [NY Times]

The Decemberists, Wolf Parade, Brian Wilson, Al Green, Yo La Tengo, Vampire Weekend, Duran Duran, and Rufus Wainwright all have shows coming up at Wellmont Theatre.

Counting Crows are playing the first three shows at the end of October at the new Wellmont Theater in NJ. Tickets for all three shows are on sale (@ 10am).

Tickets are on sale (@ 10am) for the upcoming Smashing Pumpkins shows at United Palace (single day and two day passes).

Tickets are on sale for the upcoming Oasis show at MSG.

Tickets for the show O'Death are playing at Bowery Ballroom in December are now on sale.

And those $5.00 Mission of Burma / King Khan / Jay Reatard tickets are also on sale.

Yeasayer @ Emo's in Austin, March 2008

* Happy 10th Living Room
* Goodbye Magnetic Field
* Telepathe is playing Hugs
* Wussy is playing Maxwell's
* Wildildlife is playing Death by Audio
* Oppenheimer is playing Union Hall
* The Budos Band are playing S.O.B.'s
* Cut's 3-year anniversary is at Studio B
* Counting Crows are playing the Apple Store
* Brother Ali & Abstract Rude @ Bowery Ballroom
* Mary J Blige & Jay-Z are playing Nassau Coliseum
* Caribou, Fuck Buttons, and Dan Friel are playing MHOW
* Riot in Belgium and The Glass Soundsystem at Hiro Ballroom
* The Heavenly States, Darla Farmer, and Peasant are playing Pianos
* Pwrffl Power, The Terrordactyls, and The Extraordinaires are at Sound Fix
* Sunset Rubdown, Ecstatic Sunshine & Blood on the Wall @ the Masonic Temple

Yeasayer has nothing to do with this post really, but I needed somewhere to put the photos Leia took of them at Emo's two weeks ago. More below....

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

For Counting Crows fans this this might be a big deal?

In case there is any confusion. Counting Crows are also playing CMJ, but they aren't the secret band listed on this flyer.