Craig Finn at Cabinet of Wonders in October (more by Chris Graham)

Last week, we announced that Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn added a Maxwell's show (3/1) to his already announced solo tour. The Maxwell's show is part of a longer string of dates that he's tacked on to the end the tour, which also includes Mercury Lounge on February 29. Marcellus Hall opens all of the shows on the newly announced run, except for the 2/27 show live at Drew's house in Ringwood, NJ. Tickets for the Mercury show and the Maxwell's show go on sale Friday (12/16) at noon. AmEx presale for the Mercury show starts Wednesday (12/14) at noon. All dates are listed below.

Meanwhile catch Craig front his band The Hold Steady at the Brooklyn Bazaar in Williamsburg this Saturday night, one night after Radical Dads play there (with Fucked Up).

Craig also recently made an in-studio video that talks about the process of his upcoming solo album, Clear Heart Full Eyes. That video and all dates are below...

Continue reading "Craig Finn discusses new album, adds more tour dates (Mercury Lounge included)"

photos by Diana Wong

Great Lake Swimmers @ the U.S. Open

"Serena Williams failed to put a storybook finish on her injury comeback and instead decided on Sunday to once again turn center court at the U.S. Open into a vulgar outlet for her frustrations.

Williams, whose outburst in the U.S. Open semi-final two years ago cost her the match, is praised for her power-hitting and fighting qualities on the court but has also come to be reviled for a lack of self control toward officials.

Her latest incident, which came during a 6-2 6-3 loss to Australian Sam Stosur in the final, featured repeated outbursts toward a chair umpire who reversed a point against her for shouting "Come On!" while the ball was in play.

"If you ever see me walking down the hall, look the other way because you're out of control. You're out of control. You're a hater and unattractive inside, the 29-year-old told the chair umpire during a changeover. "Code violation for this? I expressed myself, we're in America last time I checked. Don't look at me. Don't look my way."" [Reuters]

Wye Oak kicked off a week+ of musical performances at the US Open that included outdoor sets by Great Lake Swimmers (who also played City Winery last week), Ava Luna (who are heading out on tour with Toro y Moi), Miniature Tigers and others. You saw pictures of Wye Oak already. Pictures from the rest of the week continue below...

Continue reading "Great Lake Swimmers, Ava Luna, Serena Williams & others played the U.S. Open (pics) "

photos by Chris Gersbeck, words by Rachel Kowal

"Modest Mouse without a cloud in the sky!" -rojacaliente

"If this were Make A Wish and you were going to die in 20 min, just long enough to play Freebird, we wouldnt play it -Modest Mouse" -georgeferris

"Modest Mouse is testing my love for them by keeping the kid awake with their heavy bass and drumming two blocks away. /fistshaking" -woolyknickers

Lightning may have shut down Modest Mouse in July, but for last night's rescheduled show, the weather was nearly perfect (if not a bit chilly).

This time, the opener was the Americana singer/songwriter Marcellus Hall and his backing band. The pairing was a bit odd. Modest Mouse prompted people to shout along to every song and to rush the stage. Marcellus Hall's performance had people turning around to admire the setting sun over the Manhattan skyline and leaving polite pockets of space throughout the crowd.

After Marcellus Hall's relatively short set, the anticipation for the headliners steadily grew, but more than thirty minutes passed before they marched on stage. As if making up for their severely truncated show last July, Modest Mouse then played a lengthy set - nearly 2 hours long when you factor in the encore.

"Welcome back!" Isaac Brock said by way of introduction. They kicked off the show with "Gravity Rides Everything." Taking no time to get into the show, the crowd enthusiastically sang along from the opening verse. (fittingly, the song contains the line, "Everything will fall right into place.") Isaac Brock hardly talked between songs. He didn't need to. The audience was wholly engaged. Each song was met by cheers and triumphantly extended fists. After all, for many of the people present, this was take two.

From "Cowboy Dan" to "Autumn Beds," the band pulled songs from throughout their career and readily switched between the more raucous and reserved. The pump organ, banjo, glockenspiel, accordion, and trumpet made regular guest appearances that nicely punctuated the set and revealed the surprisingly decent sound quality. The stage lights - which were absent during opening set - certainly helped to set the mood for Modest Mouse.

The band closed their initial set with "The View," leaving the audience with the soothing sound of electronic crickets to underlie their cries for more. After an unusually long wait (10 minutes), they returned for another five(ish) songs before finally concluding just short of 10:00, saying, "Thank you all very much. Have a good night" and delivering a PSA discouraging "driving while drinking and drinking while driving." Luckily, Brock didn't say anything about smoking and riding the subway.

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Isaac Brock and gang have one set of shows left on their calendar, on October 23rd and 24th at Shoreline Ampitheater in Mountain View, CA as part of the annual Bridge School Benefit. The band will join a reformed Buffalo Springfield. Pearl Jam, Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams, T-Bone Burnett's Speaking Clock Revue (with Elton John & Leon Russell, Elvis Costello, Ralph Stanley, Neko Case and Jeff Bridges, they play NYC on 10/20), and Grizzly Bear among others.

The Bridge School Benefit lineup by day, more Waterfront pics and the Modest Mouse setlist is below...

Continue reading "Modest Mouse played Williamsburg Waterfront again (pics, setlist), playing Bridge School Benefit in CA (lineup)"