Big Early Concert Warnings: Jim Jones Revue, Pavement, and more

*indicates video below (more will be gradually added)

April 4 Reverend Horton Heat, Le Trabendo

April 8 Band of Horses*, La Fleche D'Or

April 8 Le Grand Duc du Kansas avec Long Tall Dave @ la Feline (DJ, honkytonk, rockabilly, jump blues, early RnR, Surf, Garage, Soul, classic punk, Hard Indie)

April 7 Laura Marling*, La Fleche D'Or

April 10 A Sunny Day in Glasgow*, La Fleche D'Or

April 10 Le Grand Duc du Kansas (Soul, Black Rocknroll, and Jump Blues only) @ Le Baron Samedi, Rue des Goncourts, Metro Goncourt.

April 11 Melissa Auf Der Maur*, La Fleche D'Or

(insane, annoying: 3 great shows on the 13th)

April 13 Scott H. Biram*, Le Scopitone

April 13 Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings*, Le Trabendo

April 13 Frightened Rabbit*
April 13 Crystal Antlers, Time New Viking, Pt. Ephemere

April 14 Fanfarlo*, Le Trabendo

April 15 The Love Me Nots*, La Fleche D'Or

April 15 Foals, Le Trabendo

April 16 Le Grand Duc du Kansas and Friends (bastard DJ set, honkytonk, rockabilly,jump blues, early RnR, Surf, Garage, Soul, classic punk, Hard Indie)

April 16 NY Dolls*, Le Trabendo

April 16 Dan Black w/ We Were Promised Jet Packs, La Fleche D'Or

April 19 Killing Joke, Bataclan

April 23, 24 Chicros, La Fleche D'Or

April 27 Brian Jonestown Massacre, Bataclan

May 5 Alkaline Trio, La Boule Noire

May 7 Pavement, Le Zenith

May 9 Pennywise, Le Trabendo

May 10 Mayer Hawthorne, Le Trabendo

May 11 Black Diamond Heavies, La Boule Noire

May 12 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Bataclan

May 12 A Place to Bury Strangers, Le Trabendo

May 13 Jim Jones Revue, Nouveau Casino

May 13 Deerhunter, La Maroquinerie

May 14 Midnight Juggernauts, La Maroquinerie

May 14 Madness, Zenith

May 17 Hole, Bataclan

May 19 Paul Weller, Bataclan

May 19-22 (yep, that's right) Juliette Lewis, La Fleche D'Or

May 19 Liars, La Maroquinerie

May 20 Surfer Blood, La Maroquinerie

May 21 Broken Social Scene

May 26 The New Pornographers, La Maroquinerie

June 8 Them Crooked Vultures, Zenith

Pt. 2 Review of SxSW Festival Austin: The Music

Showcases, Shows and Sets: Performances Persist No Matter What
As for the musical performances themselves, some were the expected solid sets that helped sustain brand power—in industry speak, that is—while others lived up burgeoning hype while more still petered away like balloons less their loads of viral marketing bluster. By Saturday night, it was clear that the entire event had taken its toll on all participants. Instead of embodying the growing energy of the biggest five-day music biz festival, artists, press, and local hosts were on their last legs—and in some cases at their wits ends.

Over the last three years I received several recommendations to check out the Carolina Chocolate Drops, an African American trio from Durham, NC. After finally seeing them Wednesday, I was ashamed it had taken me so long. Three poly-instrumentalists playing styles of traditional African American music on banjos, fiddles, dobros and bones (yes, you’ve heard of playing spoons; now check out bones) and even reviving the dances that go with them: they were absolutely fantastic. Their vocal and string styles were unlike any I’ve ever heard (and I’ve listened to a good chunk of the Library of Congress/Rounder Records recordings by Alan Lomax). On some songs they seemed to be able to make traditional African American folk music as cool as contemporary R&B. For example their cover of “Hit ‘Em Up Style” was brilliant. Continue

Review of Austin's SxSW Music Festival and INdustry Conference

I first attended SXSW in 1998, what some consider to be its heyday. However, even then my first trip was nearly soured ahead of time by criticisms that it was a corporate affair and not about independent music (and therefore not “authentic” at all). I found that to be only partly true then; and it’s only partly true now. As long as bands like the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Fucked Up are playing, it’s still at least partly about music above all else, for artists and fans, and not completely about making money, for artists, labels, promoters and marketers. Besides, the conference side is arguably useful for people who see music as a business.

Digitize and Monetize Me, or The Battle of Digital Asskicking

I attended four industry panels during my four days in Austin. Though different in title, all shared the same industry obsession: getting consumers hooked into habits of encountering music, the label, third party marketers, sponsors and supposedly the artists that want to access them all via new social media. In other words, “How can I monetize that?” Monetization is the elusive panacea, or so it seems. Continue

Notes from the Road | PopMatters

Notes from the Road | PopMatters

Posted using ShareThis

Notes from the Road | PopMatters

Notes from the Road | PopMatters

Posted using ShareThis

Notes from the Road | PopMatters

Notes from the Road | PopMatters

Posted using ShareThis

Album Review: The Slits/Trapped Animal

The expected socially conscious themes are supported by more polished punk-reggae styles and vocals, as well as newer dubiously successful electronic experiments, but are plagued by clumsily wrought lyrics.

The Slits

Trapped Animal

(Narnack)

US release date: 20 October 2009

UK release date: 20 October 2009

By Jayson Harsin (from PopMatters)

Someone once told me he didn’t think politics and music worked together. I responded that he should listen more closely to the Clash and the Dead Kennedys. I might’ve added the Slits.

In case you’re a newcomer, possibly lured by the punk group’s provocative name, the Slits were/are a seminal British punk act. Just as importantly, they were one of the female groups of that moment that have, with their contemporaries like Kleenex, the Raincoats, and X-Ray Spex, as well as earlier trailblazers like Suzi Quatro and the Runaways, inspired countless young women to form bands under the observation that rock and roll (least of all, punk) is not the exclusive domain of men. Continue

This week: March 2 -9

Some great global and local stuff in Paris this week.



Tues 2 March: The Woodentops @ La Maroquinerie. Respectable 80s Brit alternarockers. Fairly melodic stuff. Stopped touring in early 90s. Now back on the circuit. See video below.

Tues 2 March: The Obits @ Pt. Ephemere

Another indie rock band buzzing (yes, I've decided this is the daily overused word/root) about Brooklyn, and thus around the rest of the friggin planet. Lead singer Froberg was in other fairly well known indie outfits like Pitchfork and Drive Like Jehu. Lugubrious bass lines and twangy guitars harnessed into a garage punk effort that does not suck in the slightest. See video below.

Tues 2 March: Antlers @ Scopitone. Get tickets here.

Tues 2 March: Les Spurts @ La Cantine de Belleville (108 BD DE BELLEVILLE). Garage rock from Toulouse.

Wed 3 March: Broadcast 2000 @ La Fleche D'Or: British indie folk. Also have a good buzz. See video below.

Thur 4 March: The Soft Pack @ Nouveau Casino. A hot pop punk alterna group in the States right now (witnessed by the video above from the Letterman show). Very catchy. Get a ticket here.

Fri 5 March: Girls @ La Maroquinerie

Big buzz about this indie rock bunch from San Francisco. No surprise: Ultimate buzz bequeathers Pitchfork gave their 2009 debut album a 9.1/10 and rated it the 10th best album of that year. Influences range from Buddy Holly to the Beach Boys. It's sold out, but there's always somebody trying to sell a ticket at the show.

Fri 5 March: 69 Eyes @ Le Nouveau Casino. Helsinki Hard Horror Rockers, all about bloodsucking and stuff.

Sat. 6 March: Brendan Benson (U.S.) multi-instrumentalist American singer-songwriter, pal of Jack White, and member of the Raconteurs @ Le Nouveau Casino.

Sat. 6 March: Zombina and the skeletons + Louis Lingg and the Bombs + DJs @ Le Klub

Sat. 6 March: TEENAGE MOONLIGHT BORDERLINERS + CHUCK VIOLENCE @ La cantine de belleville

Sat. 6 March: COMBUSTIBLES A-GO-GO #2 @ Les Combustibles (14 rue Abel 75012):

POP'N'PIES : 60's PARTY !

début des concerts à 20h

Djs BALDO & CHERRY PEGGY; THE FREAKETTES (habillées par TIM BARGEOT www.timbargeot.fr); 60's Dance Avengers

http://www.myspace.com/thefreakettes; http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Freakettes/35771769141?ref=search&sid=1573653109.2722226440..1; SOS MADEMOISELLE

60's French pop / rock à minette

http://www.myspace.com/sosmademoiselle

THE SPARK SHYVER

Rock / Blues / Psychédélique

http://www.myspace.com/thesparkshyver

Mon 8 March: Adam Green @ l'Alhambra theatre.

Wed 10 March: Panda Bear (of Animal Collective) @ Cabaret Sauvage.

Thur 11 March: Djay Indie Eclectique/Le Grand Duc du Kansas w/ guest dj Long Tall Dave, spinning great vinyl pearls of honky tonk, rockabilly, surf, soul, and punk. @ La Feline!

Early Warnings:

Los Campesinos 15 March @ Pt. Ephemere

Scott H. Biram: Tuesday April 13 @ Le Scopitone