The Shins to Self-Release Fourth Album

Keeping pace with the changing atmosphere of the music industry, the Shins revealed that they would likely self-release their fourth album through frontman James Mercer’s Aural Apothecary label. While the band is looking to make a deal that will allow them to keep their masters, they’re also hoping to partner with a label to help assist with the marketing costs, the Shins’ manager said. That partnering label may be Sub Pop, who released the band’s first three albums. “The Shins have been a huge part of Sub Pop’s story. We’d love to continue working with them,” the label’s general manager Megan Jasper told Billboard. The Shins’ next album isn’t due out until at least 2009. [Photo: Getty]

Published: 2008-06-23 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

Nine Inch Nails Bring Darkness and Light to Seattle for Tour Opener

After a headling slot at Pemberton on Friday night, Nine Inch Nails kicked off their North American tour with a 21st-century marriage of old-school showmanship and bleeding-edge technology on Saturday. With a crack four-piece band in tow — including NIN stage vets Robin Finck on guitar and Josh Freese on drums — an adrenalized, finely-coifed Trent Reznor tore through a two-hour set that leaned heavily on new material and included several choice classics. • Photos: Nine Inch Nails’ “Lights In the Sky” Tour Launches in Seattle As noted in the tour preview, at least half the show featured the band sandwiched between mesh LED curtains alternating evocative visuals, from falling rain to grainy static to an apocalyptic cityscape. The more obscured the band was by special effects, the more a detached, post-YouTube voyeurism haunted the performance. About an hour in, a solid backdrop descended at the front of the stage and the band — now a four-piece, minus keyboardist Alessandro Cortini — stepped in front of it. Standing at the lip of the stage, with Reznor on vibraphone and Justin Meldal-Johnsen on upright bass, they played a 20-minute, mostly acoustic interlude of songs from NIN’s recent Ghosts I-IV. It was a bold move, settling into a subdued, broken-down cabaret swing that was all atmosphere. Reznor swung the microphone like a weapon and ran the stage like an athlete. Twice during the set he pointed out the fact that this was the “first official night of the tour” — a tour, he said, that’s been ongoing for the last 15 years. He didn’t want it to stop, either: After closing with “Head Like a Hole,” the band returned for a half-hour encore. “Hurt” had the entire crowd singing and a few weeping; “In This Twilight,” from last year’s Year Zero ended the set in a downtrodden — but quintessential NIN — manner. Set List “999,999″ “1,000,000″ “Letting You” “Discipline” “March of the Pigs” “Head Down” “The Frail” “Closer” “Gave Up” “The Warning” “The Great Destroyer” “Ghosts

Published: 2008-07-28 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Live Shows, More News

Interpol Backstage at Madison Square Garden: Rolling Stone checks in with the band hours before their debut gig at New York's historic venue

Mon, Sep 17 2007 03:20 PDT Rolling Stone met up with Interpol just after they arrived at their surprisingly posh dressing room backstage at Madison Square Garden. The band recounted a brief history of their favorite dressing rooms. "There was a dressing room in Houston, Texas — it wasn't stylish, but it had atmosphere because it had been used over and over again. It had a little bit of a punk-rock history to it. Very rough around the edges," drummer Sam Fogarino remembered. Photo">

Published: 2007-09-18 Provider: Rolling Stone

After 15 Years, Leonard Cohen Proves He’s Still Got It in Toronto

Walking into the Sony Centre for Leonard Cohen’s Toronto concert on June 6th people had plenty of reasons to think the show might be a disappointment. The 73-year-old songwriting legend hadn’t performed a single concert in 15 years before this tour kicked off a few weeks back. He’s rarely been seen in public since then, and when he showed up at his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction earlier this year he looked pretty meek and refused to perform. Also, it’s quite clear the only reason he agreed to do this tour was the fact his manager stole nearly all his money during his five years Buddhist retreat on Mount Baldy in California and he needed a nest egg for retirement. Yet, like a master bank robber forced out of retirement for one last gigantic score, Cohen poured everything he had into a stunning performance. Cohen walked onstage with a nine-piece band promptly at 8:00, wearing a dark, double-breasted suit and a fedora — he looked like he just stepped out of the Dick Tracy retirement home. From the first seconds of “Dance Me to the End of Love” it was apparent that his deep baritone hadn’t deteriorated a bit since the 1993 tour. It’s a far cry from the tender voice that sang “Suzanne” 40 years ago, but he’s sounded husky for a while now and it suits his dark material perfectly. The band — featuring an amazing Hammond B3 organist and his longtime back-up singer Sharon Robinson — re-created the spooky atmosphere of his albums down to the smallest detail. Cohen played a handful of his 1960s/early-1970s classics such as “Suzanne” and “Bird on a Wire,” but the set list was heavily tilted towards material from the second 20 years of his career. He featured six of the eight songs from 1988’s I’m Your Man, along with five from 1992’s The Future and four from 2000’s Ten New Songs. It was a drag not hearing “Famous Blue Raincoat” o

Published: 2008-06-09 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Live Shows, More News

Exclusive: Stream the Entire Les Savy Fav Live Album “After the Balls Drop”

This past New Year’s Eve, while many were staring at Dick Clark or standing frigidly in Times Square, art-punk icons Les Savy Fav were preparing to bring their trademark live performance to a sold-out audience of diehard fans at NY’s Bowery Ballroom, which the band will release as a digital album entitled After the Balls Drop on April 29th. But you don’t have to wait until then to hear the live album, as we’re exclusively streaming the entire affair here. “The atmosphere of the show was unique. Our shows are known for being somewhat unique, so it was sort of a double-down, triple unique,” singer Tim Harrington says of the band’s first live album in their thirteen year tenure. It was a night for the band to delve deep into their catalogue, to bust out live renditions of their then-new album Lets Stay Friends and to play a few choice covers of songs. “We thought, ‘What would a party band do,’ Harrington says of the night. “‘If I were DJing, what songs would I just play that you know everyone would just get psyched on?’” Unfortunately, Harrington’s favorite memory of his band’s post-New Year’s Eve show didn’t make After the Balls Drop, due to right issues: The day before, Harrington went to a wholesale distributor of party supplies in NY’s Chinatown area to purchase about a hundred and twenty three-foot-long tubes that shot out confetti when twisted. The tubes were handed out during that show, and fired in unison during the band’s performance of AC/DC’s “TNT.” “It was such a cacophonous mess. It was like swimming in a sea of confetti, or a Backstreet Boys video on crack,” Harrington remembers. Thankfully, covers of the Misfits‘ “Astro Zombies,” Nirvana’s “Sliver,” Pixies‘ “Debaser” and Creedence’s “Hey Tonight” remained unscathed by legalities. ̶

Published: 2008-04-25 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

SXSW Day Four Wrap-Up: Jim James, The Breeders, She & Him, Robyn

Follow all of Rolling Stone’s ongoing SXSW coverage — photos, video, interviews and live reports — here. You could see the crowds of 6th Street in the distance from the window of Jim James‘ solo gig, but that was as close as the Mardi Gras atmosphere of SXSW encroached to this special show on the festival’s final night. Inside the music hall of St. David’s Episcopal Church, it was calm as a chamber music recital as the My Morning Jacket frontman performed gorgeous acoustic versions of his band’s most spiritual songs. He put aside his guitar and placed a small keyboard on his lap for the gentle “What a Wonderful Man” from Z, hitting high soulful notes that matched the God-like surroundings. Later he was joined by MMJ guitarist Carl Broemel for a stunning version of “Gideon.” The audience, which had been sitting quietly as church mice for the entire show, exploded into a standing ovation when it was over. Over at Waterloo Park, the Breeders kicked off their set with the droney, pounding “Overglazed” and “Bang On” from their forthcoming album Mountain Battles. The crowd stayed quietly reverent as the Deal sisters debuted some of the more low-key tracks from their first album in seven years (and its most upbeat track, “Walk It Off”), but perked up for their cover of the Beatles’ “Happiness Is a Warm Gun” (off their debut Pod) and Amps tunes like surfy “Tip City” and “Pacer” and went nuts when Kim Deal — who never stopped grinning — strummed her guitar with her thumb for Last Splash’s “No Aloha” and grabbed an acoustic guitar with an electric pick-up for “Cannonball,” bending over to squall into a microphone equipped with a fuzzy filter. Earlier in the afternoon, Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward’s She & Him played their fourth-ever show in the garden of the French Legation Museum.

Published: 2008-03-16 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, SXSW

SXSW Day Three Wrap-Up: N.E.R.D., The Black Keys, Dizzee Rascal, Does It Offend You, Yeah?

Follow all of Rolling Stone’s ongoing SXSW coverage — photos, video, interviews and live reports — here. It was a surprisingly scorching afternoon in Austin on Friday, but the weather didn’t explain the high number of scantily clad women packed into Stubb’s well after the sun went down to check out N.E.R.D.’s show. Pharrell Williams and Co. took over the outdoor venue with a set that featured a handful of songs from their forthcoming Seeing Sounds and all of the band’s past singles (save “Provider”). The two drum kits — tandem drum solos! — added a large dose of power, and Williams just could not stop darting around the stage. The atmosphere was like an aggressive rock show, complete with guitar solos and Williams calling for mosh pits. The pits may not have materialized, but muthafuckin’ noise was made, hands were waved in the air, and caring, in that respect, was at a minimum. New track “Everyone Nose” manages to make “All the girls standing in the line for the bathroom” a viable chorus, and closer “She Wants to Move” was a strong reminder that “Her ass is a spaceship I want to ride” remains a fantastic lyric. A few hours earlier at the same venue, the Cribs showed signs of shaking off the Strokes comparisons, adding a ferocious attack to older tunes like “Mirror Kissers” and newer ones like “Mens Needs, Womens Needs,” during a short set that was both lean and loose. The Kings of Leon’s Nathan Folowill came to check out MGMT’s extremely well-attended gig, but while the Brooklyn band were stretching out their psych-pop tunes in jammier directions he was raving about the Panics, an Aussie act he’d seen the day prior. “You know how normally when you hear a band you can list the bands that influenced them or that they ripped off straight away?” he asked. “We couldn’t do it for them,

Published: 2008-03-15 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, SXSW

The Complete John Mayer: Guitarist Delivers Acoustic, Blues-Rock and Latest Persona In One Marathon Show

For his First Annual Holiday Charity Revue Saturday night in Los Angeles, John Mayer brought together the three phases of his career — the solo acoustic work, the blues-rock John Mayer Trio, and his current touring band — into one night. Mayer devoted one set to each format, quipping, “It’s a real honor to be opening for myself,” as he began the acoustic set. “I ran into myself backstage and I was very nice — and, I mean, I’m huge!” Mayer began with an acoustic version of the funky “Neon,” off his major-label debut Room for Squares. The half-hour set’s other high points were gorgeous versions of the rarely played “In Your Atmosphere” and a cover of Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” (which he had also performed at Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit in October) with the two guitarists from Mayer’s touring band. But it was clear from the moment that the John Mayer Trio stepped onstage that their performance, already the most anticipated of the night, would go down as the highlight. Looking dapper in matching black suits and skinny black ties, Mayer, Steve Jordan and Pino Palladino tore through an electric 55-minute set of covers (”Every Day I Have the Blues,” “Wait Until Tomorrow,” “Bold As Love”), originals (”Who Did You Think I Was,” “Out of My Mind,” “Come When I Call”) and tracks from Mayer’s Continuum that originated on the trio’s 2005-2006 tour (”Vultures,” “Good Love is On the Way”). Mayer seemed thrilled and completely at ease, and addressed the recent spike in his tabloid appearances, telling the audience “My problem is not that my hair isn’t done or that I’m on video late at night and not walking straight. The reason it bugs me is that it messes with my message of playing guitar and being creative, and my message of being grateful to all of

Published: 2007-12-10 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Live Shows

Pearl Jam Indulge in Whimsical Summer Tour, L.A. City Council Crush Out on Jenny Lewis, Panic Working on Concept Album?

Sometimes you’re allowed to tour even if you have nothing to promote. That’s Pearl Jam’s thinking. The band told Billboard that even though they have no current plans to work on their follow-up to last year’s self-titled release, they couldn’t pass on what guitarist Mike McCready called some “pretty cool offers” to play live this summer. The band will play a bunch of European summer festivals and will headline Lollapalooza in Chicago on August 5th. Jenny Lewis has been honored by the Los Angeles City Council as a “pioneer woman.” The award, which is given out each year to one woman from each of L.A.’s 15 council districts for “outstanding community service and accomplishments in the areas of education, equal rights, professional opportunities, arts, sciences…” and so on basically means that even the government thinks Jenny Lewis is the coolest. Panic! at the Disco need to become more high concept like Britney needs another wig, but the band apparently feel differently. Word is that they are hard at work on a concept album for their follow-up to the obscenely successful A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. So what’s the concept? Apparently the band writes: “It’s kind of a love story. It’s a timeless age of romantic, poetic fantasies.” China’s version of American Idol, which achieved huge success with “Super Girls Voice” last year, is ramping up for a new male-idol-seeking installment called “Boys Happy Voice.” But this time around, no one gets to be weird. “No weirdness, no vulgarity, no low taste,” the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television said. “Happy Boys Voice” should limit itself to “healthy and ethically inspiring” songs, and should “maintain a happy atmosphere.” Creepy. Former Kiss guitarist Mark St John — who replaced Vinnie Vincent in 1984 before being forced to

Published: 2007-04-06 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Morning News Roundup

Scissor Sisters Perform Free Gig In Trafalgar Square

LONDON - SEPTEMBER 16: Fans soak up the atmosphere as they attend the free Scissor Sisters gig at Trafalgar Square on September 16, 2006 in London, England. New York pop band, the Scissor Sisters staged the free concert in central London on Saturday. Fans were able to win tickets via a text lottery, with the profits going to the AIDS charity RED. (Photo by Simone Joyner/Getty Images)

Published: 2006-09-17 Provider: ViewImages Keywords: Red, Freedom, Africa, UK, England, USA, Trafalgar Square, London, Fan, Bathtub, Homosexual, Popular Music Concert, Famous Place, HIV, Music, Charity and Relief Work, Candid, Marinated, Entertainment Group, Arts Culture and Entertainment, Attending, Scissor Sisters,

Scissor Sisters Perform Free Gig In Trafalgar Square

LONDON - SEPTEMBER 16: Scissor Sisters fans enjoy the atmosphere at the free gig at Trafalgar Square on September 16, 2006 in London, England. New York pop band, the Scissor Sisters staged the free concert in central London on Saturday. Fans were able to win tickets via a text lottery, with the profits going to the AIDS charity RED. (Photo by Simone Joyner/Getty Images)

Published: 2006-09-17 Provider: ViewImages Keywords: Red, Enjoyment, Freedom, Africa, UK, England, USA, Trafalgar Square, London, Fan, Homosexual, Sister, Popular Music Concert, Famous Place, HIV, Music, Scissors, Charity and Relief Work, Candid, Entertainment Group, Arts Culture and Entertainment,

Tibet House 16th Annual Benefit Concert

NEW YORK - MARCH 1: A general view of the atmosphere before the show at the Tibet House 16th Annual Benefit Concert at Carnegie Hall on March 1, 2006 in New York City, New York. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)

Published: 2006-03-02 Provider: ViewImages Keywords: Performance, USA, New York City, Carnegie Hall, Medium Group Of People, Concert, Band, Event, Entertainment Event, Musician, Popular Music Concert, Music, Stage, Charity and Relief Work, Candid, Charity Benefit, Arts Culture and Entertainment, Benefit, Celebrities, Benefit Concert, General View,