Conan is Back!

So Conan is back on the air and all is right with the world. His opening montage was one of the funnier things I have seen on TV since the original Iron Chef Japan started rerunning every night at 11:00PM. It seems that Conan may have had a direct hand in the shows first music booking. With the Katy Perry's of the world vying for that last minute, fourth quarter look, it is Jack White that takes the stage. With Conan in tow, White rips through Eddie Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock," and some of his more quintessential guitar solos. We can only hope that Conan starts the tradition of joining all his guest performers on stage. Next week, Conan whips his hair on the floor. He whips his hair. He whips his hair.

PS - Where can I get my 'Conan' guitar strap?

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A Letter to Mr. Conan O'Brien Asking Him To Join The Stark Team

Dear Mr. Conan O'Brien,

In light of recent events -- in which a no-talent assclown held a clueless television network hostage until said network shot itself even deeper in the foot and succumbed to aforementioned no-talent assclown's demands, putting you and your wonderful show in a very tough position -- I write you this letter. I just read your own letter of resignation, and I applaud you for making difficult sacrifices in order to preserve the most established -- though now forever jeopardized -- franchise in the history of broadcast television. Now that you have effectively quit "The Tonight Show" and will be leaving NBC with your dignity in tact, I am sure you have got a bevy of options for your next endeavor on the table and will spend the appropriate amount of time carefully weighing each one. FOX is rumored to be in pursuit of your talents, and ABC has also been mentioned as a possible suitor. However, allow me to present you with another option, less heralded but no less important: coming to work for Stark Online.

It's okay if you haven't heard of us, because not many people have. We are a young blog with roots in New York City and Northeastern Pennsylvania covering mostly independendent music, but we are looking to expand our fledgling empire, and we believe someone with your stature presents us with the perfect opportunity to do so. We'd like to formally invite you to join the Stark team, which already includes over five (five!) different contributors. All you have to do is this: you and your writing and producing team will film a daily hour-long show with comedy bits and celebrity guests and upload it to a YouTube account of your choice. That's it! We'll do the rest. We can then embed that YouTube video into this blog, and stream it to over 300 (300!) of our daily visitors. We can't actually offer you the viewership or money that say, a FOX, can. But we can offer you a winning smile, and the occasional linking on The Music Slut and Brooklyn Vegan. Most importantly, we will offer you the job security and friendship that NBC never could provide for you, not to mention a more formidable lead-in than a failed 10 p.m. talk show: a couple of copied-and-pasted press releases with free, downloadable mp3s.

In closing, I sincerely appreciate your consideration of our offer. We've been gigantic fans of yours forever, and we all hope you'll decide to join our family and start a happy, healthy relationship with us for years to come. Also, Fuck Jay Leno.

Cordially,

Andrew Daniels
Editor and Co-Founder of Stark Online

Dan Auerbach: Tour Dates and Conan

Stream: "My Last Mistake"

We recently reviewed Auerbach's newest release, Keep It Hid, and we are still enjoying its deliciousness. In the standard record pushing ways, Auerbach is set to play Conan this evening... 12:35 p.m. EST/11:35 CST. Stream "My Last Mistake" above and continue after the jump for tour dates. Have a great day folks.


DAN AUERBACH ON TOUR
Feb 28 - 9:30 Club - Washington DC, Washington DC
Mar 1 - Paradise Club - Boston, Massachusetts
Mar 2 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, New York
Mar 3 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, New York
Mar 5 - Beachland Ballroom - Cleveland, Ohio
Mar 6 - Metro - Chicago, Illinois
Mar 7 - First Avenue - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mar 10 - The Showbox - Seattle, Washington
Mar 11 - Wonder Ballroom - Portland, Oregon
Mar 13 - Bimbo’s - San Francisco, California
Mar 14 - El Rey Theatre - Los Angeles, California

M83 To Play Conan Tonight

"Kim and Jesse"

M83 is on tour with The Killers. Yeah, pretty crazy. Good for them. From Pitchfork's top tracks of '09, to touring with the Killers, to now, a performance on Conan. Tonight, M83 will perform their newest single "Kim and Jesse" (like we all didn't see that coming.) They have been on the Stark radar for sometime now, and even made Matt's year end list.

The Gaslight Anthem Visits Conan

The Gaslight Anthem - "Great Expectations" mp3

Maybe they felt some added pressure because a real live member of the E-Street Band was in their presence, but New Jersey's The Gaslight Anthem sure rocked the shit out of Studio 6A in Rockefeller Center last night. They delivered a triumphant performance of the title track to this year's breakthrough The '59 Sound, which should make many a year-end-list around here, prompting Conan O'Brien himself to call the band "killer." And yeah, we know he has to do that with all the bands, but usually they're just "great." Catch the video after the jump.

Dead Confederate Play Conan Tonight - Tour Dates, mp3

Dead Confederate - "The Rat" - mp3
Dead Confederate - "Yer Circus" (demo) - mp3

Dead Confederate are a band that have risen through the ranks the old fashioned way - hard work. Razor and Tie recently released their genre spanning debut record this summer. Shifting from Southern Style roots-music to straight wall-of-sound Rock and Roll, Wrecking Ball comes off a little scattered at times, but ultimately manages to deliver in the end. Dead Confederate continue their push this fall with a huge tour and an appearance on Conan O'Brien tonight. Definitely a band to keep your eye out for, especially as they continue to grow and tighten their sound as a cohesive unit. Tour dates after the jump.


09.29.08 – The Bluebird – St. Louis, MO - w/ Catfish Haven
09.30.08 - The Granada - Lawrence, KS - w/ Catfish Haven
10.01.08 – The Waiting Room – Omaha, NE - w/ Catfish Haven
10.02.08 – The Annex – Madison, WI - w/ Catfish Haven
10.03.08 – Mo's Irish Pub – Milwaukee, WI - w/ Catfish Haven
10.04.08 – Schubas – Chicago, IL
10.06.08 – TT the Bears – Cambridge, MA - w/ Catfish Haven
10.08.08 - The Khyber - Philadelphia, PA - w/ Catfish Haven
10.09.08 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY - w/ Catfish Haven, Kuroma
10.10.08 – Union Hall – Brooklyn, NY - w/ Kuroma
10.13.08 - Talking Head Club - Baltimore, MD
10.14.08 – Cat's Cradle – Carrboro, NC - w/ Heartless Bastards
10.16.08 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN - w/ Heartless Bastards
10.17.08 – Proud Larry's – Oxford, MS - w/ Heartless Bastards
10.25.08 – Voodoo Experience – New Orleans, LA
11.11.08 – Plush – Tucson, AZ
11.12.08 – The Casbah – San Diego, CA
11.13.08 – Beauty Bar Las Vegas – Las Vegas, NV
11.14.08 – Spaceland – Los Angeles, CA
11.15.08 – The Cellar Door – Visalia, CA
11.16.08 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA
11.18.08 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
11.19.08 – Chop Suey – Seattle, WA
11.20.08 – Neurolux – Boise, ID
11.21.08 – Sidecar – Park City, UT
11.22.08 – Larimer Lounge – Denver, CO
11.28.08 – Cat's Cradle – Carrboro, NC **
11.29.08 – Rocketown– Nashville, TN **
11.30.08 – Southgate – Newport, KY **
12.02.08 – House of Bricks – Des Moines, IA **
12.03.08 – Subterranean – Chicago, IL **
12.04.08 – Mac's Bar – Lansing, MI **
12.05.08 – Musica – Akron, OH **
12.06.08 – Diesel – Pittsburgh, PA **
12.07.08 – Northstar – Philadelphia, PA **
12.09.08 – Harper's Ferry – Allston, MA **
12.10.08 – Maxwell's – Hoboken, NJ **
12.11.08 – Ottobar – Baltimore, MD **
12.12.08 – Canal Club – Richmond, VA **
12.13.08 – Soapbox Laundrolounge – Wilmington, NC **
12.14.08 – Headliners – Columbia, SC **
12.16.08 – 40 Watt – Athens, GA **
12.17.08 – The Social – Orlando, FL **
12.18.08 – Orpheum – Ybor City, FL **
12.19.08 – Jack Rabbits – Jacksonville, FL **
12.20.08 – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA **

** indicates shows with Manchester Orchestra