Arcade Fire @ Obama Staff Ball (more by Bao Nguyen)

A list of celebrities, reportedly created by Obama's campaign, sent out on December 5, and acquired by the Tennessean (PDF HERE), is being passed around the internet. The list, heavily populated with people who we already know support Obama, is supposedly a wishlist of people the Obama administration hopes to get public support from again in this upcoming election. Among the names on the list: Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend, Wilco Regina Spektor, Janelle Monae, The Roots, Jay-Z, will.i.am, Jessica Alba, Laila Ali, Marc Anthony, India.Arie, Sara Bareilles, Jigga, Chelsea Clinton, George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, Fergie, America Ferrera, Jamie Foxx, Whoopi Goldberg, Al Green, Josh Groban, Neil Patrick Harris, Anne Hathaway, Jack Johnson, the Jonas Brothers, Jewel, Mila Kunis, Blake Lively, Ricky Martin, "Glee" star Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, Chris Pine, B.o.B, the Band Perry, Train, and Kate Walsh.

Speaking of Regina Spektor, who has played the White House, she has a benefit show coming up at Lincoln Center in NYC and is playing some shows with Tom Petty including one in Austin. All of her dates are listed below.

Speaking of Wilco, they're currently out on the road with White Denim who played a warm-up show at Hotel Vegas in Austin before leaving. All Wilco dates are listed below.

Speaking of Obama, he delivers a State of The Union speech this Tuesday.

Speaking of politicians, Stephen Colbert was spotted singing along at the Jeff Mangum show at BAM on Saturday night.

Continue reading "Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend, Wilco Regina Spektor & others on Obama wishlist"

'Jack Johnson Rocks!!' @ Baltimore Virgin Fest (by Bao Nguyen)

Tickets are on sale for Death Cab For Cutie's Radio City show.

Tickets are on sale for both of Yeasayer's upcoming NYC shows.

Tickets are on sale for the October 15th Danzig show at Roseland Ballroom.

Tickets are on sale for a September 5th Fratellis show at Roseland Ballroom.

Both Andrew Bird shows sold right out Wednesday.

Check the free show calendar for FREE SHOWS.

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Neil Halstead

As previously mentioned, the third and final day of APW started late - especially the smaller stage where Neil Halstead (ex-Slowdive) was opening. That meant I actually got to see him for a second as I ran to the back of the park to catch Amadou & Mariam. I wanted to see more of Neil, but A&M came a much longer way to be there. That was around 2pm. The schedule change also meant that I got to see about half a song of Jason Isbell (ex-Drive By Truckers) around the time when Cat Power played and I think I also accidentaly saw a few seconds of Matt Costa, who like Neil H, is a friend of Sunday headliner Jack Johnson...

Continue reading "Neil Halstead, Jason Isbell & the rest APW Sunday - pics"

by BrooklynVegan Mike

"There isn't any artistic integrity in just getting the band back together
and playing the old songs."

Neil Halstead, as a co-founder of Slowdive, was one of the architects of shoegazer, a genre that has seen a revival as of late with the reformation of My Bloody Valentine and Swervedriver. In 1995, most of Slowdive morphed into Mojave 3 and has since been making beautiful countrified dream-pop. Halstead also mellows things out more on his solo records. His sophomore release Oh! Mighty Engine dropped last week on Jack Johnson's label Brushfire Records. He is also currently on tour with Jack. (yeah, we know).

This Sunday he opens the third day of the All Points West festival in Jersey City - the same day Jack closes. You can also catch Neil one day earlier at the Surf Lodge in Montauk. We caught up with Neil after he opened the second day of the Osheaga Festival in Montreal on Monday. We discussed tour mate Jack Johnson, a Slowdive reunion, and the re-emergence of shoegazer.

---

You've played a lot of festivals in your twenty year career. How does it feel to open a festival?

Neil: It's a dubious honor, isn't it? [laughs]. I would trade in the honor for a few more people. But the people were really nice. Very sweet. We enjoyed it.

You've been opening for Jack Johnson on his tour. How has that been?...

Continue reading "an interview w/ Neil Halstead (Slowdive, Mojave 3) +++++++++++++++++ 2008 Tour Dates (All Points West)"

Rodrigo y Gabriela @ Sasquatch 2008 (more by Chris Graham)

"The multi-faceted, three-day festival will take place in San Francisco's historic Golden Gate Park on August 22 - 24, 2008. Radiohead, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Jack Johnson will headline the event. Tickets for the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival are available for purchase at www.SFOutsidelands.com."

Beck, Manu Chao, Sharon Jones, Nellie McKay, and Rodrigo y Gabriela are a few of the other artists playing. All of them below....

Continue reading "Outside Lands Music Festival lineup - now w/ more artists"

by BrooklynVegan Mike

Though the initial lineup has been announced for some time, more bands were recently added to the 3rd Annual Osheaga Music Festival (August 3 & 4, 2008). Spiritualized and The Kills are new additions to the Montreal outdoor music extravaganza that will be headlined by The Killers (on Day 1) and Jack Johnson (on Day 2). Other acts scheduled to appear include Iggy and the Stooges, Cat Power, The Go! Team, MGMT, and Plants and Animals.

Continue reading "3rd Annual Osheaga Music Festival in Montreal - lineup/dates"

"Prince outshines Jack Johnson at Coachella fest" [Hollywood Reporter]

photos by Ryan Muir

Continue reading "the Raconteurs & Black Lips @ Coachella (day 1) - pics"

...from the comfort of your own computer

I don't think the Jack Johnson thing is going to get old at least until this summer's Jack Johnson-heavy festival season is over. Actually it just keeps getting better and better:

Go Backstage with Jack Johnson at Coachella Get a head start on blue room's weekend long live webcast of Coachella. On the morning of April 25th, have breakfast with Jack Johnson LIVE from the grounds of Coachella! Log on at 11:00am (ET) to see Jack take the stage for intimate backstage interviews and an acoustic performance featuring songs from his new album, Sleep Through The Static, available now at all retail locations!

If you can't make it in the morning, make sure you log on to watch the Coachella webcast ALL WEEKEND LONG for a second chance to see Jack's performance!

As Conan points out, Radiohead are one of the "most environmentally conscious bands in the world." They just aren't as 'green' as Jack Johnson (or Dave Matthews or Pearl Jam) (according to Billboard)....

Continue reading "Jack Johnson is greener than Radiohead"

Video from last night's episode of Saturday Night Live below.....

Continue reading "Jack Johnson/Dave Matthews/John Mayer - SNL spoof (video)"

August 9 & 10 in Baltimore. Same weekend as All Points West in New Jersey.

The ALL POINTS WEST MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL LINE-UP (as of 2/21) is as follows: Radiohead, Jack Johnson, Underworld, Kings of Leon, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Cat Power, The Roots, The New Pornographers, Youssou N'Dour, Animal Collective, Andrew Bird, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Metric, CSS, Girl Talk, Chromeo, The Go! Team, Amadou & Mariam, The Black Angels, Sia, The Felice Brothers, K'Naan, Jason Isbell, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Alberta Cross, The Virgins, Black Kids, Mates of State, Duffy, Forro in the Dark, Nicole Atkins, Juana Molina, Little Brother, Rogue Wave, Neil Halstead and Your Vegas.

Continue reading "All Points West (Jersey City) initial 2008 lineup announced!"

The indie-rock kids of Coachella are in store for a classic-rock moment this April: Roger Waters of Pink Floyd will re-create the band’s trippy 1973 masterpiece “Dark Side of the Moon” on the festival’s main stage, which also will feature the Raconteurs, the Verve, Jack Johnson, Kraftwerk and a reunion of Portishead.

The ninth edition of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival will take over the Empire Polo Field outside the dusty town of Indio from April 25 through 27. The 125-act lineup was announced Monday afternoon at a press conference in Mexico City with Death Cab for Cutie, My Morning Jacket, Love and Rockets, and Justice among the names on the bill along with M.I.A., the Breeders, Rilo Kiley, Sasha & Digweed, Café Tacuba and Fatboy Slim. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday. [LA Times]

Continue reading "Coachella 2008 lineup announced (Roger Waters, Kraftwerk)"

DOWNLOAD: The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony (MP3)

As rumored, the LA Times is reporting that reunited British band The Verve are among those playing Coachella this year....

At a news conference scheduled for today, Tollett and his business partners, which include concert promotion giant AEG Live, plan to announce the full lineup for the ninth edition of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio this April. It will include the Verve, the Raconteurs, Jack Johnson, My Morning Jacket and Rilo Kiley. (thx CDS)

Radiohead @ Liberty State Park & Twin Towers, August 2001 (CRED)

In the latest shift in the competition for music fans this summer, the concert promoters behind the popular Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California will stage a three-day event in Liberty State Park, according to people briefed on the plans. The new festival, tentatively scheduled for Aug. 8 through Aug. 10, is to be presented by the promoter AEG and its Goldenvoice subsidiary. A competing event, the Vineland Music Festival, held by C3 Presents and Festival Republic, a unit of the concert giant Live Nation, is scheduled from Aug. 8 to Aug. 10 in Vineland, N.J. The band Radiohead and the singer-songwriter Jack Johnson have been mentioned as headliners at the Liberty State Park event, though a lineup has not been announced. Representatives for AEG declined to comment. [NY Times]

Radiohead (also) played Liberty State Park in 2001.

Continue reading "Radiohead & Jack Johnson to headline "Coachella East" in Liberty State Park, Jersey City, NJ?"