Prince Sets December NYC Dates @ Apollo...

Jay-Z Brings Tour to EMU...

According to recent premature announcements, Jay-Z will be bringing his world class raps to Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan on October 21st. Tickets are set to go on sale on September 11th...the same day Hova's new album, The Blueprint 3, will be released & the same day he plans to perform a benefit concert at Madison Square Garden in NYC to give back to the city through Answer the Call, the New York Police and Fire Widows' & Children's Benefit Fund. Click here for more info. on how to stream the concert live.

These United States Get Idiotic...

As we approach the 4th of July, what could be more patriotic than good thoughts about These United States?...and here is a truly good thought...It looks like they will be returning to the area! The Village Idiot in Maumee to be exact...on August 20th.

Wilco Schedules Cinci Before Bonnaroo...

Wilco has just announced a string of additional U.S. tour dates, including a show at The Aronoff Center in Cincinnati on Friday, June 12th. Ticket pre-sale begins April 22nd. This show should be a nice prelude to their Bonnaroo appearance and their new album release (late June).

The forthcoming and still-untitled next Wilco album is nearing completion. Jim Scott and the band spent the last few weeks mixing in Jim's studio in Valencia, California and here's a list of song titles spied on the reels -- note this is not necessarily complete and not in sequence.

Deeper Down
Conscript (aka I'll Fight)
One Wing
Solitaire
Wilco (the song)
Country Disappeared
Everlasting
Bull Black Nova
Sonny Feeling
You and I

Rumors and blogs regarding a guest appearance on that last track are, amazingly, quite true. Feist does indeed lend a great vocal to You and I. Other details will emerge in the coming weeks. The release is currently scheduled for late June on Nonesuch.

Side Note: Jeff Tweedy will throw out the first pitch at the Brewers game prior to there show in Milwaukee on April 14th.

Animal Collective Tour Dates Include Royal Oak...

Animal Collective is heading out on tour including a date at Royal Oak Music Theatre on May 18th. Tickets will go on sale beginning tomorrow, January 23rd.

2009 Tour Dates
5.11 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
5.12 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
5.13 New York, NY @ Terminal 5 / Terminal Five
5.14 Boston, MA @ House of Blues
5.15 Montreal, Qu @ Metropolis
5.16 Toronto, On @ Sound Academy
5.18 Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
5.19 Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
5.20 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
5.24 Vancouver, Br @ Commodore Ballroom
5.25 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre and Grill
5.26 Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
5.27 Big Sur, CA @ Henry Miller Library
5.29 Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
5.30 Las Vegas, NV @ House Of Blues
5.31 Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
6.01 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
6.02 Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
6.04 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
6.05 Austin, TX @ Stubb's Bar-B-Q
6.06 Oxford, MS @ The Library Bar and Gril
6.08 Saint Petersburg, FL @ The State Theatre
6.09 Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
6.10 Orlando, FL @ Club Firestone
9.12 Monticello, NY @ ATP New York / All Tomorrow's Parties

Album, Tour & Daytrotter from Ben Kweller...

Ben Kweller is back on the scene with an upcoming album & tour. To get you started, drop in on the Daytrotter site to hear his session & download the MP3s.

Slated for a February 3rd release, Changing Horses is Ben's follow-up to his 2006 self-titled work. Recorded mostly in Austin, TX, the title meaningfully marks a sea of change for Kweller. While his previous efforts have been stylistically restless, Changing Horses is a cohesive work, centered around Ben's affinity for country music. As he wrote to us at ATO Records this past November, the tracks on this disc "tell stories about life and love and desire and fear - people from the alleyways and roads unclear." Kweller produced the album himself, citing a "natural, warm beauty" inherent in the sound.

From Ben's website:
On February 3rd , 2009, the whole deal comes full circle with the release of a captivating album called Changing Horses (ATO). With Horses , Kweller returns to his small-town roots as he takes one of his own back-roads, country music, and makes it the main road. It's a collection of stories with a hymnal quality. The genre seems so natural that you think he's finally settled down, at least for one album. Rootsy songs from his past, like “Family Tree”, “Lizzy”, “In Other Words” or “Living Life”, make Changing Horses a natural progression in this gifted songwriter's career. His inviting vocals still guide the songs, creating the compelling intimacy fans are familiar with. “People are asking me, ‘why did you wake up and decide to make a country album?' To them I say, ‘I didn't. It's been in me the whole time, I just never put it on tape.' Friends heard me talkin' about Changing Horses for years. They know how much country music means to me - when Alan Jackson comes on the radio, somethin' happens inside. Brings me back to the trees, back to pushin' cars out of the mud. Reminds me of my hometown.”

Ben Kweller U.S. Tour Dates 2009
Feb 16 - Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
Feb 17 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre
Feb 18 - Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
Feb 19 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
Feb 21 - Cleveland, OH @ Case Western Reserve University
Feb 22 - Toronto, ONT @ The Mod Club Theatre
Feb 24 - Somerville, MA @ Somerville Theatre
Feb 25 - New York, NY @ Town Hall
Feb 26 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Feb 27 - Philadelphia, PA @ TLA
Feb 28 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Diesel
Mar 1 - Carrboro, NC @ Cats Cradle
Mar 3 - Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall
Mar 4 - Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
Mar 5 - Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
Mar 6 - Birmingham, AL @ Workplay Theater

On My Way (at Paste Studio)


Things I Like to Do (at Paste Studio)


Wantin' Her Again

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