Through the silent ambush of heavy snow Friday, three great shows were happening about town, and one that I missed while I was seeing Fanfarlo was Old Canes at the Hi-Dive. Signed to Saddle Creek Records, Old Canes are the project of Appleseed Cast frontman Chris Crisci. I've just stumbled upon their most recent album Feral Harmonic a day late, a dollar short, etc etc. The marvelously warm opening track on the album breaks exuberant and brightly colored - pounding and thumping with [...]
![New Capgun Coup: Sitting on the Sidewalk [mp3] from Maudlin; Tour with <span style="color: #384E60; background-color:#84CCF2">Cursive</span>](http://cache.elbo.ws/posts/2133730_lg.jpg)
Sitting On The Sidewalk [mp3] - Capgun Coup This second single up from Maudlin ( Team Love , 11/2/09) conjures old school country/rockabilly the likes of Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis . I've been trying to catch up with Sam for an interview for a few days now. After a couple of missed calls, I decided he's probably off rolling around in sticky molasses and self-feathering somewhere ..... way more fun than talking on the phone. Alas, he was [...]

Radio Free Chicago is no stranger to Capgun Coup , having posted their song "Bad Bands" earlier in the fall. Now that the Omaha native's sophomore effort has finally hit the shelves, the band's wasted no time in hitting the road and getting more tracks on to the internet for mass consumption. Following the raw, fun track "Bad Bands", Capgun Coup has brought us "Sitting on the Sidewalk", which together show quite a bit of promise for their latest release, Maudlin . Vaguely reminiscent of the messy, DIY rock [...]

the vocals are nothing to write home about (ayo-electroclash) but can you hear that Tasmanian devil guitar shredding around rhythmically like a dog in heat? it's like cursive circa domestica riffs formed a union and to opted into a dance band. more importantly, this is how i would imagine mars volta sounding if Omar would take his ritalin and perform something other than self indulgence. the name - come out tonite *** ****highly recommend their song assonance too. you can listen to [...]
Cursive has announced a new run of headlining dates next month, beginning November 24th at the Bottleneck in Lawrence, KS. The shows will continue into December and wrap up on the 13th at Lash's 6th Annual Toy Drive at the Waiting Room in the band's hometown of Omaha, NE. The Toy Drive is an [...]
Cursive has announced a new run of headlining dates next month, beginning November 24th at the Bottleneck in Lawrence, KS. The shows will continue into December and wrap up on the 13th at Lash's 6th Annual Toy Drive at the Waiting Room in the band's hometown of Omaha, NE. The Toy Drive is an [...]
Last year, the Chicago based music venue as Schubas brought the likes of Cursive, Department of Eagles, Bishop Allen, and Bear Hands for its annual five-day winter celebration/music festival, Tomorrow Never Knows . We were there and wrote a lot about it . Anyhow, for its 2010 edition, Schubas, now with their new venue, Lincoln Hall, available to provide some extra space, has taken TNK up a notch. After all, include to take part in this year's festivities, which takes place from January 13-17 at both Schubas and Lincoln Hall, are The Cribs, Voxtrot, Final Fantasy, [...]

The third installment of A Retrospective, this time the focus is on 2002. The year of rebuilding, so to speak. It was the year I discovered Cider Jack (and did so plentifully) at the local Pullman bar Rico's, and we all would rehearse Bill Brasky skits (from the SNL spots, and made up on the spot) as twenty feet away the university jazz combo performed excellent renditions of Van Morrison's "Moondance" and various Motown favorites. As we see every year, 2002 saw several real great releases. Here are my favorites. [...]
by chuck bell Touring is undoubtedly the most difficult part of maintaining a band. Traveling nonstop, living in close quarters and trying to subsist on little to no money is often too much for these musicians to handle. Despite the fact that its members knew each other since junior high (and in some cases preschool), Bear vs. Shark ultimately fell victim to the hardships of the road. Growing up as childhood friends in Highland and White Lake, Michigan, Marc Paffi, John Gaviglio, Derek Klegsen and Mike [...]

Capgun Coup: "Sitting on the Sidewalk" Enjoying the few songs I've heard from Capgun Coup's new album, Maudlin . Released last week from Team Love, the Omaha group spent some time in the famed Hotel Frank making some nice lo-fi, complemented with some cool 60s surf vibes. I thought of Birds of Avalon, Be Your Own Pet, The Vivian Girls and Times New Viking (gotta stop posting about them). Maybe they're all similar in style rather than substance. Check Capgun Coup here at Team Love and on [...]

Animal Collective - My Girls Clean - In The Dream life You Need A Rubber Soul Wild Beasts - All the Kings Men Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks Faunts - Hurts Me All The Time Field Music – Measure [...]

Whoah, this was unexpected. We knew Portland experimental rock/folk/etc. trio Ghost to Falco had been touring a lot, but we didn't know there was a record coming out so soon. The band, currently in Europe, will release third full-length Exotic Believers as a vinyl-only release before the month is out. If you haven't checked out Ghost to Falco, you really should. Eric Crespo's group plays a lyrically conscious experimental folk-pop with nods to post-punk acts like Fugazi and Cursive. Just when one anticipates Crespo's next twist or turn, he injects a jazzy departure or wall of [...]
Live at Chessvolt Studios in Los Angeles, Omaha's Cursive records Mama, I'm Satan from Mama, I'm Swollen (3/10/2009, Saddle Creek ). CLICK HERE to go to the entire live session with tracks, review, photos and more video.

I am feeling a little bit out of it today. It seems like it's taking me forever to wake up. The result of this is often that I say inappropriate things to people. Not inappropriate like NSFW, but inappropriate like WTF? Example: Friend: "Hey, what's up" Me: "What? What is up? Oh. Yes. Hi. Hello." When I'm feeling particularly asleep on the subway, I often cook up ridiculous ideas that I think are awesome until I fully wake up. This morning, I was thinking about gay marriage, mostly because Gov. Paterson has been pushing [...]

I am feeling a little bit out of it today. It seems like it's taking me forever to wake up. The result of this is often that I say inappropriate things to people. Not inappropriate like NSFW, but inappropriate like WTF? Example: Friend: "Hey, what's up" Me: "What? What is up? Oh. Yes. Hi. Hello." It's not that I'm trying to be rude. It's not that I forgot your name. It's not that I didn't see you. I'm just not awake yet. When I'm feeling particularly asleep on the subway, I often cook up ridiculous ideas that [...]
40 oz. To Freedom (Sublime Tribute): Fri., Jan. 22. Scout Bar Clear Lake. "4th Annual Rudz Thanksgiving Eve" With Born Liars: Wed., Nov. 25. Rudyard's. Bowling For Soup, Smile Smile: Sat., Dec. ... Continue reading "Distant Early Warning: Better Than Ezra, Cursive, Flogging Molly, Jay-Z, John Mayer, Yo La Tengo, etc." >

Modified Arts , an all-ages venue in downtown Phoenix that has been a staple of the local music scene and a vital venue for touring indie bands for nearly 11 years, will change direction and transform into a space focused mostly on art. (Read more here and here .) As such, I am collecting thoughts and memories from the musicians who played there and the fans who attended its many shows. This is less an obituary and more a celebration of a less-than-perfect but charming venue that, as we know it now, will [...]

DOWNLOAD: Capgun Coup - "Sitting on the Sidewalk" (MP3) Capgun Coup's sophomore release Maudlin (Team Love) is a near perfect slice of lo-fi garage rock that owes an equal debt to both late 60's era Bob Dylan and The Modern Lovers. The band's music is raw and energetic and, over the course of this new disc, skips across styles and genres seamlessly. Musical styles range from the languid, 'Pavement-ish' "Farnam Street" to the indie-pop melodic harmonies of "Pretty City" to the raw garage-punk [...]

1. Capgun Coup - "Band Bands" (Snarling country-punk from their sophomore album, Maudlin . On tour with Cursive) http://www.team-love.com/ Download: http://team-love.com/home/wp-c ontent/uploads/tl-43/Capgun%20 Coup%20-%20Bad%20Bands.mp3 2. Hurricane Bells - "This Year" (Haunting and moody solo project from Steve Schlitz of Longwave) www.myspace.com/hurricanebells Download: http://grid.vagrant.com/grid/h urricanebells/thisyear.mp3 3. Dragon [...]

Here's a playlist of some albums/songs from 2009 that aren't explicitly Halloween-themed, but would probably be appropriate for an eerie mix for the more indie-minded. There's a few free downloads in there and links to hear the rest. Happy Halloween! Artist: AFI Song: End Transmission Album: Crash Love It's AFI - so you know it's gonna be at least a little creepy. "End Transmission" is my favorite off their new album. Listen on YouTube Artist: Antlers Song: Epilogue Album: [...]