DOWNLOAD: Matters and Dunaway, "Control the Night" (mp3)

Although Matters and Dunaway have never had much of a profile in Boston, where no one's ever got famous playing minimal techno and Boards of Canada-esque rocktronica, the laptop/bass duo's three mostly-instrumental albums have inspired a small, rabid following among electronic music fans and DJs across the country. (That includes former Can frontman Malcolm Mooney, who's been an occasional contributor to the group.) So file this track under "next level" on your iPod: M&D just recorded an EP's worth of propulsive dance music with lots of breathy singing, ravesploitation synths, and live drums. See why they calls themselves a band when they open for Kompakt's the Field on July 16 at Great Scott, with additional support from DJs Baltimoroder and Die Young.

As you’ve probably heard already from a) your co-worker, b) your grandma, c) your five-year-old niece, or d) anyone you’ve come to contact with in the past twenty-four hours, the Spice Girls are, in fact, reuniting. Which seems to have launched an odd spiral effect, wherein any band that Top 40 stations pounded into our heads in the mid-90’s will now attempt to reunite.  Case in point: Gavin Rossdale hinted recently that Bush may reunite. We admit it, “Glycerine” may have touched us on some level as emotionally confused middle schoolers, but we don’t want to go back there. And now for the even worse news: Robert Plant shot down all hopes for a Led Zeppelin reunion. 

But don't swear off the music industry just yet, vent your frustrations on Guitar Hero - or better yet, Airguitar Pro (soon to be released in Japan, no word on the U.S. date yet), which is basically involves the same plastic guitar/video game controller-hybrid, minus a few parts. But doesn't that make it, um, NOT air guitar?

And finally, if you see Danzig or Kraftwerk on your daily Starbucks trip, tell them that SoundExchange owes them some money. And they aren't the only ones.  According to SF Weekly, "The IRS of digital performance royalties, SoundExchange, claims it can't find thousands of often-popular artists to pay them their money. The deadline to contact them passes on June 30 for unclaimed royalties at least three years old; SoundExchange could pocket up to an average of $360 from thousands of the lowest-paid musicians in the world."  Read on here.

We're glad to see that the Bang Camaro dudes managed to keep their clothes on for their 15 minutes with RollingStone.com, which has a spiffy new video rehashing the band's well-documented creation story. Just like we've always said: a thrash-pop band with 17 lead singers is just impossible for magazine editors to pass up. Trust us. They will be in every magazine, ever, eventually. Next up: Bang Camaro in Playgirl. No word on an issue date, but this is not a joke. We hear they managed to keep their clothes on for that one, too -- we'd like to hear how -- but that at least one band member opted out of the shoot. One thing we love about Bang Camaro is that there are so many hangers-on that we're constantly getting ridiculously dirty gossip on 'em. Almost none of which is printable. We can give you the gist of it, though: what started out as a band of indie-rockers making a quasi-ironic comment on hair metal has pretty much devolved into a full-on, full-time Hammer of the Gods type party band. Rock and roll will kill you every time.

DOWNLOAD: Bang Camaro, "Push Push (Lady Lightning)" (mp3)
WATCH: Bang Camaro, "Push Push (Lady Lightning)" (video)

Can YOU tell them apart?

King mixes up his Beatles

We know that keeping band members straight can be challenging, but it gets a lot easier when several people in the band are dead, and the band is, you know, the most famous bands in rock history.  In possibly The World’s Worst Interview Flub, Larry King mixed up his Beatles last night on live television. An excerpt, courtesy of Rolling Stone’s Rock & Roll Daily blog:

 KING: Where were you when — when John passed?
MCCARTNEY: When John passed I was in Sussex, at my home in Sussex. That’s where I was.
KING: Did somebody call you?
MCCARTNEY: Yes, my manager at the time called me. And it was just the shock of all shocks, you know?
KING: George, where were you?
MCCARTNEY: George!
KING: Ringo.
MCCARTNEY: No, this is Ringo here.
KING: Ringo, where were you?
STARR: I was in the Bahamas.
KING: I was getting to (INAUDIBLE) George.
STARR: I was…
MCCARTNEY: No, you weren’t, Larry. You said his name wrong.

Read on here.  Luckily, Stereogum was able to keep things straight in their interview with McCartney (though we’re still scratching our heads as to how they scored said interview). Read it here.

A new dance craze?
Jason Fox is the new OK Go, and  “Aunt Jackie” is his “Million Ways” (and/or “Here It Goes Again”): the YouTube video that won’t die. The original version was lovably crappy home taping - “new rap music with an old school flow” (self-described within the video), accompanied by an odd, shifty, elbow-jutting dance.  The video quickly rose to YouTube’s top-viewed, and now there’s a shiny new version, a Slate article documenting “Aunt Jackie’s” rise to fame, and a new MTV how-to show for the dancing challenged  - which kicks off with (duh) “Aunt Jackie.”

MYSPACE: Hello?

CHILI'S: HI IT'S CHILI'S.

MYSPACE: How can we help you?

CHILI'S: WE WANT TO EAT THE KIDS. GIVE THEM TO US NOW.

MYSPACE: I'm sorry, we don't sell children as food. We just let them put up naked pictures of themselves. It's sort of a self-serve model. Like a buffet.

CHILI'S: WANT TO EAT THE KIDS! WANT TO EAT THE KIDS!

MYSPACE: Ma'am, the best we can do is offer you an exclusive sponsorship of a MySpace Secret Show.

CHILI'S: WHAT? WHAT?!

MYSPACE: We tell the children to go to a secret place and then they go there to see their favorite band. For free.

CHILI'S: AND THEN WE EAT THEM?!

MYSPACE: Ma'am, what you do while you're there is entirely at your discretion.

Shads Fall | Secret MySpace Show | June 28 | Pearl Street, Northampton | Brought to you by Chili's

The Racketeers may not have been single-handedly responsible for Boston's mid-'90s roots-rockabilly revival -- back then, the guy everyone curtsied to was Cranky Frankie -- but they were damn well sure the motorvatin' engine that threw the whole thing into third gear. Wild, unhinged, and repping the ghosts of Scollay Square, these guys were mad for a racket that implied punk rock's primal steez but stuck to the '50s r&r script with an ear for the kind of stylistic nuances that made record collectors sweat motor oil. Frontman Dana Stewart would stand behind the drum kit spewing wisecracks in a grating, raspy, rusty-carburetor accent, but he sang like a teen angel on crystal meth. They had a strange effect on people. Once, way back in the day, we went to see them at T.T.'s. Out on the sweaty dancefloor, our roommate accidentally elbowed guitarist Tom Umberger's then-girlfriend, and an argument ensued. Tom came down off the bandstand to confront our roomie, who promptly fainted -- the only time we've ever seen a dude pass out deadaway from fright. Years later, after they'd become one of our favorite bands, OTD booked the Racketeers to provide the soundtrack to some big party or other (apparently we were getting married or something?). What little recollection we have of the event has something to do with them playing an extremely sloppy version of the Stooges' "No Fun." Well, there was that, and there was the good friend of the bride's who came to the party with her live-in boyfriend and more or less left with Umberger. Which sounds sleazy, but Tom and said friend-of-the-bride's eventually got hitched, so we're inclined to call it fate. Anyhowz, the good news this week is that the original Racketeers lineup has got back together -- Umberger and the wife are coming back from their new home base of Austin, even -- for a show at T.T.'s on August 4. We're hoping the fainter count is higher among the ladies than among the men.

LISTEN: to the Racketeers, at MySpace

From the inbox, via the Beastie Boys' mailing list. More on the Beasties' instrumental album here. And yes, August 5 is Adam's real birthday:

A Boston Gala Event

On Sunday, August 5th, we will be performing a very exclusive and explicit, once in a lifetime GALA EVENT show to celebrate Adam Yauch's 43rd birthday @ the Boston Opera House! This goes above and beyond our usual already formal gala event. We are talking velvet seats, velvet ropes, and champagne and strawberries people. Dress to impress and take a photograph with that special someone in a wicker chair, oh what? Needless to say, proper dress is mandatory. We look forward to having you join us for this truly special celebratory evening.

August 5th - Boston, MA - Boston Opera House
Beastie Boys - A Gala Event - Exclusive Instrumental Show
Exclusive Presale Starts Thursday, June 28th at 10am (local time) here:
www.ticketmaster.com/event/01003ED9DC659E49
Password: MIXUP
Tickets go on sale to the public Saturday, June 30th at 10am (local time) here:
www.ticketmaster.com/event/01003ED9DC659E49

Also on sale this week -- and holy fucking service charges already -- are the following. Jeez, dudes:

Velvet Revolver
With Alice In Chains and Kill Hannah
At the Tweeter Center
Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Tickets are $25.00, $35.00, $50.00* and 4-pack lawn ticket special for $17.25**
* plus $7.00 venue charge and applicable convenience fees per ticket
** plus $21.00 venue charge and applicable convenience fees per 4-pack
Tickets go on-sale Friday, June 29, 2007 at 10:00 am

Wilco
June 24 at Pines Theatre in Florence, MA
All photos by Caitlin E. Curran

And we thought the MFA’s Calderwood Courtyard was a sublime spot to see a rock show. We made our first trip to the Pines Theatre at Look Park in the Florence section of Northampton to see Wilco last night and wowza. First of all, the place is cozy (2000 capacity), especially compared to the Bank of America Pavilion, where the band is playing this Thursday. The sound was near-perfect, loud enough, every note crystal clear — no small feat given the band’s size (six pieces). And to say the setting was idyllic would be an understatement — the theater is smack in the middle of a beautiful 150-acre park and surrounded by impossibly tall pine trees, which were lit from underneath, creating a surreal backdrop as the sun set over the course of the show. It was general admission (no seats, just grass) and we had enough room to spread out a blanket and get comfy. And perhaps inspired by the scene (or maybe the MTV and VH1 cameras that were present), the band were on their A-game for the duration of their two-hour set, which drew mostly from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, and the breezy new Sky Blue Sky. Big dynamic changes, like the abrupt noise bits in “Via Chicago,” were expertly executed. Jeff Tweedy’s voice was golden, and sounded even sweeter when bassist John Stirratt sang under it. Nels Cline (whose work on the new album we actually find a bit irritating at times) was a guitar god, whammying and widdly-wooing like his life depended on it. They closed the show with a rowdy rendition of “I’m a Wheel,” with multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone doing the Pete Townshend windmill, Cline pogoing around stage right, and Tweedy screaming bloody murder at the pines.

—Will Spitz

The National
June 21 at the Middle East Downstairs
All photos by Matt Teuten

It was difficult not to root for the National at the start of last night’s show, when six scruffy, average-looking dudes walked onstage, shyly and graciously, without a trace of hipster-ness - perhaps a sign of their Cincinnati roots, though they now reside in Brooklyn. It was the first of two sold-out shows (the other is tonight), on a sold-out tour, and this is new territory for the not-so-new band. The National released four incendiary albums and became accustomed to playing half-full (or less) venues before their fifth album, Boxer, came out last month (and leaked well before that) to a virtual storm of hype and critical acclaim - all of it well-deserved. There’s nothing particularly complex about Boxer - it’s lead singer Matt Berninger’s baritone voice (often compared to Leonard Cohen), brooding piano, guitar and strings, combined in a vaguely Smiths-influenced Americana-type way - except maybe for lyrics like “I’m sorry I missed you, I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain,” which are simultaneously mysterious and yet all-too-familiar. But simple songwriting is the National’s brilliance. That brilliance didn’t necessarily translate to the stage, however, no matter how badly anyone wanted it to. Crowd chatter and sounds drifting down from the Middle East upstairs threatened to swallow the National on slower numbers, such as “Slow Show” and “Brainy,”  though the dedicated crowd shouted along heartily on “Fake Empire,” and “Murder Me Rachel,” one of the band’s signature old live favorites. Full review to come soon.

Straight from the Internet's mouth, here's today's music buzz:

The Smashing Pumpkins, who are already on our shit list for scheduling shows in San Francisco, North Carolina, and Europe (everywhere BUT Boston basically), were slightly redeemed by their newest single "Tarantula," which combines everything awesome about Smashing Pumpkins  - the thrashing guitars, the "Drown"-style contemplativeness - although not everyone liked it.  But now they've gone and sold their souls to the devil.  The Pumpkins' upcoming album, Zeitgeist, will be available in four different versions - one standard version, and three with exclusive bonus tracks.  The three "special" versions will be available only at - wait for it - iTunes, Target, and Best Buy.  Where's the love for the indie music stores?

Friday, we're in love.  The Cure is touring, and they've scheduled a September date at Agannis Arena. That gives you three months to perfect your Robert Smith-style smeary eyeliner look. 

Jack White is returning to movie-land, to play Elvis Presley in John C. Reilly's upcoming musical biopic parody.

Slate weighs in on R. Kelly - the self-described "sexosaurus" (ew) - and his new album Double Up, via podcast.

--Caitlin E. Curran

Our dude Chris Rucker was up in Gary's Liquors over on VFW Parkway in West Roxbury on Wednesday, looked up, and saw . . . Motley Crue's Vince Neil. WTF? Turns out El Slobbo was in town talking up his new tequila brand. The local townie fishwrap stopped by to grill Vince about it, and did the good civic deed of wondering whether this wasn't poor form for a dude who back in the day was the drunk driver in an accident that killed Hanoi Rocks singer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley. "I don’t endorse drinking and driving. I endorse driving responsibly. I made a tragic mistake that cost one of my dear friends his life," Vince is quoted as replying. "Neil added that he likes drinking," the fishwrap clarifies, "as long as he does it responsibly." Mmm hmm. Although Vince tells Townonline that both the Sammy and Dave lineups of Van Halen are among his favorite bands ever, "Neil added that his tequila is better than Sammy Hagar’s, which is no longer in production."

DOWNLOAD: 27, "Brighter Days" (mp3)

The hirsute, godless followers of the Pennsylvania-based underground metal label Relapse have by now gotten over the aural blasphemy of having a quiet, pretty (we'll say it: heavenly) girl-led trio on the roster. So you can too. The latest disc by Boston's 27, Holding On For Brighter Days (out this Tuesday), congeals around Maria Christopher's voice -- dreamy, breathy, brooding -- and her chiming, distant strumming. (Which is not to suggest she's any kind of shrinking violet: just check her out on their MySpace-only cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy.") On "Brighter Days" the band's sense of melody is stronger than its ever been, tying up loose-ended guitar chords with crispy hooks. It's the perfect antidote to that Agoraphobic Nosebleed reissue you've been blasting all week. And for those of you who need more clouds in your life, here's the video:

The Bravery, Satellite Party (feat. Perry Farrell), Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and more
At The Bank of America Pavilion
Sunday, August 12, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Tickets are $38.50*
*plus $5.00 venue charge and applicable convenience fees
Tickets go on-sale Saturday, June 23, 2007 at 10:00 am

Gov’t Mule, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Earl Greyhound
At The Bank of America Pavilion
Friday, September 7, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Tickets are $30.00*
* plus $5.00 venue charge and applicable convenience fees
Tickets go on-sale Friday, June 22, 2007 at 10:00 am

Locobazooka 2007! featuring Heaven & Hell (aka the post-Ozzy Black Sabbath: Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice), Alice Cooper, and Queensryche
At the Tweeter Center
Sunday, September 9, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Tickets are $45.00 and $65.00*
*plus $7.00 venue charge and applicable convenience fees
Tickets go on-sale Friday, June 22, 2007 at 10:00 am

Hanson
At Avalon
Saturday, July 21, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Tickets are $26.00 adv, $28.00 d.o.s.
Tickets go on-sale Friday, June 22, 2007 at 10:00 am

Rufus Wainwright, the Magic Numbers, and A Fine Frenzy
At Avalon
Tuesday, August 21, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Tickets are $26.00
Tickets go on-sale Friday, June 22, 2007 at 10:00 am

The Receiving End of Sirens, Emanuel, Envy On The Coast, and Strangler
At Avalon
Saturday, September 15, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Tickets are $15.00
Tickets go on-sale Friday, June 22, 2007 at 10:00 am

The matted wig has been replaced by a natty bowler, and the stick-on mustache has been lost to the ages. More startlingly, that galaxy of hairy, multicolor tattoos lies hidden beneath a sharp and sober suit. But Robby Roadsteamer is still a rock and roll godhead, a barrel-chested power-ballad belter with an ego as big as his machismo.

Nonetheless, even he is a team player. So it is that his new record, I’ll Be at Your Funeral, a concept album about “dinosaurs, the North Shore, true love, and the original 8-bit Nintendo,” isn’t credited to Robby Roadsteamer at all.

Rather, his band’s name has been shortened — much in the way Jefferson Starship became, simply, Starship — to Roadsteamer. His band mates have returned the favor by adopting his surname as their own.

Now they are family. (Much like the Ramones, or Nelson.)

The record is in stores as of today, and its release will be celebrated at the Paradise on Saturday night, with guests Campaign For Real Time, Fluttr Effect, and the Snowleopards.

Be there, or be a failure on three different levels.

LISTEN: "The Dinosaurs Are Coming"
LISTEN: "The North Shore Is Where You're Gonna Soar"
WATCH: The Robby Roadsteamer shitcom
WATCH: Robby Roadsteamer on Boston.tv

Our sister mag Stuff at Night commissioned a summer house-party mixtape from Charlie and the Soul Clap crew, and those dudes came back with the classics. No hipster crap, just the solid stuff. Read more here, or download below.

Tracklist:

1. Rolling Stones – Miss You (Disco Mix)
2. Depeche Mode – Enjoy The Silence
3. Chromeo – Bonafide Lovin’
4. Daft Punk – Around The World
5. Nightcrawlers - Push The Feeling (The Dub of Doom)
6. Pirates of the Caribbean – Rumba
7. Pete Rodriguez – Oh That’s Nice
8. Miami Sound Machine – Conga
9. Madonna – Physical Attraction (BladeRunners Edit)
10. Da Mighty Dub Katz –Ghetto Girl
11. Andy Caldwell – Warrior (Claude Von Stroke Remix) -VS.- Jodeci – Freek-A-Pella
12. Guy Gerber & Shlomi Aber – After Love

DOWNLOAD: Soul Clap, Stuff at Night House Party Mix (mp3)

Massachusetts emo heroes the Receiving End of Sirens today leaked the first track off their forthcoming album The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi (Triple Crown, out in August), and announced plans for an international headlining tour that'll keep them busy through early fall -- their web site has the tour closing September 15 at Avalon with Envy on the Coast and Emanuel, although from what we've heard Avalon will be a big pile of rubble by then.

In any case, we give the thumbs up to the new song: pretty much what you'd expect from those dudes, big and anthemic and contemporary. Completists can sneak a listen to incidental song clips and trippy visuals at the Earth Sings album teaser site, which includes some making-the-album vids and suggests that the "Mi Fa Mi" part of the album title is some kind of double-entendre involving shape note singing, misery, and famine.

STREAM: The Receiving End of Sirens, "The Crop and the Pest" (via PureVolume)

Brad Delp, who committed suicide earlier this year, gets a proper sendoff August 19 at the Pavilion, with a benefit show that'll feature an original-members reunion of Boston (Sib Hashian, Barry Goudreau, Fran Sheehan, Fran Cosmo, and Tom Scholz), plus sets by Godsmack, Delp's Beatles tribute band Beatlejuice, and guest spots from Cheap Trick's Robin Zander and Extreme's Gary Cherone. Tickets are $35 (plus fees) and go on sale June 21 at 10 am.

From the inbox:

The families of Brad Delp along with Lynn Hoffman , VH1 Host, will “COME TOGETHER” to share a special musical night that will honor and remember this extraordinary man and his beautiful music.  On behalf of the Delp and Goudreau families, this concert titled “COME TOGETHER” will take place on August 19^th, 2007 at the Bank of America Pavilion, Boston, MA. 

The “COME TOGETHER” concert is the result of both the Delp and the Goudreau families’ desire to honor Mr. Delp’s legacy as a musical icon and will benefit the newly formed nonprofit Brad Delp Foundation.

In addition, a film about Mr. Delp will be aired during the concert that was written and directed by Delp’s daughter Jennifer, a graduate of the prestigious USC film school.  Never before seen footage of Mr. Delp will be shown that expresses not just the lead singer of the hugely successful band BOSTON; but of the man himself, and of those who loved him and called him their friend.

The Gossip

The Dresden Dolls

Rufus Wainwright

Debbie Harry

Erasure

Cyndi Lauper (and friends)

True Colors Tour
June 17 at the Bank of America Pavilion, Boston
Cyndi Lauper / Erasure / Debbie Harry / Rufus Wainwright / Dresden Dolls / the Gossip
All photos by Carina Mastrocola

(One question: when the did Debbie Harry turn into Blanche from The Golden Girls?)

DOWNLOAD: The Dead Trees, "Shelter" (mp3)

Like a less-slanted but every-bit-as-enchanting Pavement, the band formerly known as Furvis sound as if they were off enjoying their own range life on this track from their new, self-released 6 Songs EP. Well, maybe "enjoying" isn't the right word: singer Mike Cummings seems to be suffering from a crisis of faith as he addresses the big guy in the sky: "God, I think I had a little failure . . . I'm starting to rot." He needn't worry: ever since they changed their name to the Dead Trees, everything’s been going their way. Particularly of late: Todd Dahlhoff has been sitting in on bass in Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr.'s band, and the Dead Trees have been opening for Hammond at big gigs -- including the recent one that brought Drew Barrymore out to see them. They'll be back home to headline upstairs at the Middle East on July 3 -- and, to bring things full circle, opening for Mr. Hammond tonight at the Paradise. In the meantime, you can ponder whether the combination of Drew sightings a ttheir gigs and the whistling intro to this track is destined to make them the next Peter Bjorn and John.

File under: biting off more than they could chew.

Today indie hearthrob M. Ward and our beloved pop tart Kelly Clarkson both cancelled trips to the Hub, frankly acknowledging that they were waaay the fuck out of their league. Refreshing, almost.

It appears that after 15 years, Guns N Roses fabled "Chinese Democracy" has been completed. Unlike the last ten times you heard this, a finished version of the album has leaked to the internet through a piggish UK torrent site. (Said site, which maintains extremely nerdy standards for the material uploaded there, has twice deleted the torrent, apparently because it was transcoded from a non-digital source -- the album is currently unavailable there, but is about to metastasize into the mainstream internet.) A mere mention of the torrent on the indie-nerd message board Hipinion has led to that site being pretty much immobilized. The truly insane hook to this story: early responses to the post indicate that hipsters think the album is really fucking good. Hell: totally freezing over.

Damn you, webternet! The whole thing was a hoax. Count us among the gullible who've fallen for this one about seven zillion times. We'll have more details as soon as we get hold of what made it onto Oink.

Somehow this managed to evade our scrutiny for all things Dave Pino, who in our mind is one of Boston's certifiable loony musical geniuses (see the early lineup of Waltham and the mid-period lineup of Damone for further evidence.) In this YouTube classic, Dave attempts to learn how to swing a bass around his neck -- with a touching degree of safety preparedness, not to mention an as-yet-unreleased recording of his brother, Waltham front-hunk Frank Pino, singing the theme song from the 1986 BMX-ploitation classic Rad.

So all our favorite girls sent us new videos in the past 48 hours or so. Only Avril's sucks, but M.I.A.'s video for "Boyz" and the aforementioned David Lee Roth homage by Amanda Palmer are both so awesome we kind of didn't even notice. (Plus, we're still holding out hope on those rumors of a video for the Lil Mama remix of "Girlfriend." Maybe they should just use this one.)

Holy fuck, wait till you see Maya's makeover. She went all fucking Salt N Pepa and shit. And her new website is so insane that people who don't even know who the fuck she is are forwarding it to us with "wear sunglasses" alerts. Kala now has artwork and an August 21 release date in the US, by which time we expect to have been listening to it all summer, basically.

M.I.A., "Boyz"

Dresden Dolls, "Shores of California" (click HERE for the making-of)

Avril Lavigne, "When You're Gone"

. . . and other on-sale info for your Tuesday Ticket Alert.

Beastie Boys
At the Bank of America Pavilion
Monday, August 6, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Tickets are $45.00*
*plus $5.00 venue charge and applicable fees
Tickets go on-sale Saturday, June 16, 2007 at 10:00 am

Bouncing Souls
At Roxy
Thursday, August 16, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Tickets are $18.00
Tickets go on-sale Saturday, June 16 at 10:00 am

Download Festival
Modest Mouse, Guster, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Neko Case, Wolf Parade, Band of Horses
At the Tweeter Center
Saturday, August 18, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Tickets are $35.25*
*plus $7 venue charge and applicable fees
Tickets go on-sale Saturday, June 16, 2007 at 10:00 am

Kele-vision: which band would Bloc Party's singer rather be in, Oasis or the Who? Paul Driscoll gets the lowdown from BP on an album's worth of unreleased material, which BMP band they were most psyched to see, about the best Oasis drummer ever. Click to watch the video.

Mp3 of the week: Aberdeen City, "Moving In Stereo"

Aberdeen City took a break from recording demos for their new album to cut a version of a hallowed Boston classic -- the Cars' "Moving In Stereo" -- as part of a super-limited-edition CD to benefit Children's Hospital. The disc also includes covers of songs by Juliana Hatfield, Til Tuesday, and Sebadoh by Hooray for Earth, the Bon Savants, and Boy In Static, all of whom will perform tonight -- Friday, June 8 -- at the Paradise. The disc is available only at the show, but you can stream the AbCity track in its entirety below. (What, you thought we were gonna steal medicine out of the babies' mouths?!)

BONUS MP3 SAMPLE:

DOWNLOAD: Bon Savants, "Voices Cary" (mp3, 30-sec clip)

(p.s. -- a little birdie told us that if enough of you mokes buy the CD tonight, the little streaming player up there might just become a fully-functional DRM-free mpfree. Cop that shit, so that your bretheren might download it.)

Bang Camaro at Avalon

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

The Cinematics

Silversun Pickups

Photos by Caitlin E. Curran

Most overheard comment when OTD first walked down Lansdowne St. last night: "Kings of Leon aren’t playing?!" Yep, KOL backed out at the last minute (minus many cool points for them) but it was truly their loss because the crowd at Best Music Poll was plentiful and apparently fueled by Red Bull - nearly seven hours after they trickled in, as the Cinematics played an ear-splittingly loud cover of a Beck track from Sea Change on the outdoor stage, Axis was packed to capacity as Silversun Pickups began their explosive set 15 minutes early, explaining that they were bored backstage and everyone was there already anyway. Ridiculously awesome live versions of “Kissing Families” and “Three Seed” ensued, a welcome reward for their sweaty, tired-yet-psyched fans. For some, the Best Music Poll can function as the extreme sport of concert-going – the champions are the ones who endure all (roughly) eight hours, and brave crowds, lines and stern doormen to see as many bands as possible. For others, it’s just an excuse to get drunk and listen to good music on a weekday. More on everything that happened – Bloc Party turned Lansdowne into a for real block party, and Bang Camaro put all of their Guitar Hero-head fans to shame - via Will Spitz’s full review and innumerable amounts of awesome photos (and video!), coming soon.

Lock us up and throw away the key.

We had all kinds of rock-crushes on Joan Wasser back when she was a skunk-haired siren (<-- vid shot at MidEast!) sawing away on punk-rock violin in the Dambuilders (some tracks from their maje-label disc Encendedor over here). After moving to New York some years ago, she merged easily into that city's art-pop milleu, most notably as part of Antony and the Johnsons' coterie. (It didn't hurt her mystique that she'd been romantically linked with the late Jeff Buckley, either). Her solo project, JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN, took a while to find its sea legs. The first EP we got from her a couple years ago was on the uneven side, but her new album Real Life has been lodged in our old-fangled CD player for a month. It's old-souled and chanteusy, completely at ease with itself, the kind of thing that Rolling Stone would buttonhole as "mature." It's a fucking beautiful record, and Joan is singing in a voice we've never heard from her before. If you need a spiffy comparison to hang your hipster hat on, feel free to tell the guys at Newbury Comics it's the Downtown version of Amy Winehouse/Lily Allen/et al. Now very much looking forward to Joan showing up July 26 at the Middle East. A taste:

DOWNLOAD: Joan as Police Woman, "Eternal Flame" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Joan as Police Woman, "The Ride" (mp3)
PRE-ORDER: Real Life, with bonus stuff

(Oh, and if you work at a record store, her marketing peeps are giving away a guitar or something.)

John Pike, drummer for the Syracuse indie band Ra Ra Riot, was found dead in Buzzards Bay on Sunday afternoon. He was 23. Pike went missing early Saturday morning in Fairhaven, Mass., following a show on Friday night at the Living Room in Providence. Emergency workers began searching for the drummer on Sunday; Pike's body was found yesterday in seven feet of water, about 150 yards from a spot where searchers found his Blackberry on Saturday. Pike's last communication was a text message to his girlfriend around 3 am Saturday, SouthCoastToday reports.

Ra Ra Riot had just kicked off a summer tour that was to include dates with Tokyo Police Club, including a late-July show at the Middle East in Cambridge. According to CMJ, their debut EP is due out July 10, and -- ominously -- includes a song titled "Dying Is Fine." "Starting in a couple weeks we will all be focusing on the band full-time, which is very exciting," guitarist Milo Bonacci told CMJ.com in a story that was published the day before Pike disappeared. "Up until now, it has been a nights and weekends sort of thing." The band got a boost last year when they performed a live set on indie-tastemaking station WOXY, available here.

Oh, snap.

No, you didn't dream it: that was Bang Camaro's "Push Push (Lady Lightning)" playing when Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron-Cohen got up to accept last night at the MTV Movie Awards. To see the clip -- which includes Sacha's bitch-slap -- click the link below.

WATCH: Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen featuring Bang Camaro on the MTV Movie Awards

>>DOWNLOAD: Bang Camaro, "Push Push (Lady Lightning)" (mp3)
>>MUSIC VIDEO: Bang Camaro, "Push Push (Lady Lightning)"