Tour Altert: The War On Drugs (Woo) + Hold Steady (Boo)

The War On Drugs are teaming up with Craig Finn & Co. touring the US in support of last year's Wagonwheel Blues. After releasing the album in 2008, War On Drugs plundered the UK and European regions, touring like muppets. Last year, Craig Finn listed -Wagonwheel Blues- in his top five albums of 2008 on Pitchfork and said "they made an amazing record that I was obsessed with for most of the year".*

Good for Craig, but I had this to say: "Phantasmal." The record made the number seven slot on my Best of 2008 list.

After the jump includes Spring US tour dates and the intoxicating and repeatable video for "Needle in Your Eye #16". I really love this band. The guitar sound, is insinderary...incendiary, anyway, way to go.
*From Secretly Canadian PR

THE WAR ON DRUGS SPRING 2009 U.S. TOUR:
03/29/09 Cambridge, MA - TT The Bear's Place
03/30/09 Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall
03/31/09 Albany, NY - Valentine's w/ The Hold Steady
04/01/09 Buffalo, NY - Tralf Music Hall w/ The Hold Steady
04/02/09 Grand Rapids, MI - Calvin College Fine Arts Center w/ The Hold Steady
04/03/09 Urbana, IL - Courtyard Cafe w/ The Hold Steady
04/04/09 Bloomington, IN - Jakes Nightclub w/ The Hold Steady
04/05/09 Chicago, IL - Schubas w/ Tallest Man on Earth
04/06/09 St. Louis, MO - Gargoyle w/ The Hold Steady
04/07/09 Iowa City, IA - The Picador w/ The Hold Steady
04/08/09 Omaha, NE - Slowdown w/ The Hold Steady
04/10/09 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre w/ The Hold Steady
04/11/09 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge w/ The Hold Steady
04/13/09 Las Vegas, NV - Beauty Bar w/ The Hold Steady
04/14/09 Stateline, NV - Harrah's Tahoe South Shore w/ The Hold Steady
04/15/09 Sacramento, CA - Harlow's w/ The Hold Steady
04/17/09 Seattle, WA - Jules Maes Saloon
04/18/09 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge w/ Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
04/20/09 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
04/21/09 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
04/22/09 Phoenix, AZ - Modified
04/24/09 Austin, TX - Mohawk
04/25/09 Denton, TX - Rubber Gloves
04/26/09 Nashville, TN - Exit/In
04/27/09 Knoxville, TN - The Pilot Light\

Stark Give Away: Hold Steady / Drive By Truckers Tickets!

FREE TICKETS!

Because we love you, our readers, so much, we are giving away two free tickets to the Hold Steady/Drive By Truckers concert tomorrow night (Thursday, Nov. 6) at Terminal 5 in NYC.

The first person to email Matt at Starkny@gmail.com will automatically win these tickets --you MUST be able to meet us in the East Village to pick them up.

Good luck. Get your ass-a-emailn'.
~Best,
Stark

More Hold Steady/DBT Tour Dates

The Hold Steady & Drive By Truckers - 2008 Tour Dates
30-Oct Louisville, KY Coyote's @ City Block
31-Oct Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
1-Nov Atlanta, GA Tabernacle
2-Nov Tallahassee, FL The Moon @ FSU
3-Nov Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theatre
5-Nov State College, PA The State Theatre
6-Nov New York, NY Terminal 5
7-Nov New York, NY Terminal 5
8-Nov Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
9-Nov Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre
11-Nov Toronto, ONT Phoenix Theatre
12-Nov Pittsburgh, PA Carnegie Music Hall
13-Nov Bloomington, IN Bluebird
14-Nov Chicago, IL Riviera
15-Nov Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
16-Nov Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
19-Nov Boise, ID The Big Easy
20-Nov Seattle, WA The Showbox
21-Nov Seattle, WA The Showbox
22-Nov Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom
23-Nov San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
24-Nov San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
25-Nov Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern

Breaking News: The Hold Steady & Drive By Truckers to Tour

Breaking News -- The Dream Ticket

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. You read correctly -- The Hold Steady and the Drive By Truckers are ready to make dreams come true. Two of America's great Rock 'n Roll bands will unite on what will be a 23-date touring run. Stark sources reveal three important tour dates with more to come:

Halloween @ The Ryman, Nashville
Nov. 6 & 7 @ Terminal 5, NYC

For now, just bask in the beautiful revelry that is the Dream Ticket. How about a double whiskey coke no ice while I drive around my friends, getting haircuts and jobs.
More mangled lyrical mixes to come...

The Tribeca Film Festival Broke Our Favorite Band

The Hold Steady sold out.

I'm sorry to say, but yes, it's true. The Tribeca Film Festival recently went over top of Bowery Presents to book The Hold Steady at Webster Hall. Those unfortunate enough to waste $15 last Friday night saw a rock show that ended at 9:30 p.m. Are you serious? The Hold Steady took the stage around 8:50 p.m., played for 40 minutes, then walked off, never to be seen again. Fans didn't leave in such a fashion. Everyone thought the band's exit was part of an elaborate encore. Then roadies began to break down the gear and fans began to break down as well. Grabbing anything in sight, angered and outright cheated Hold Steady followers began berating stagehands. Full beers, empty cups and gum found their way on stage all while "Fuck Tribeca" and "Hold Steady" chants echoed like that of a European soccer stadium. People were pissed off.

The pseudo-rioters then took to the streets, where fans drunkenly banded together to offer their ill-tempered sentiments to Tribeca officials stationed at the venue door.

You got it wrong, Tribeca. The show was poorly organized and outright embarrassing. Tickets were not even checked upon entrance.

Bowery Presents must have had a good laugh about this one, but Hold Steady fans did not.

HOLD STEADY TONIGHT!

Taking a break from the Nashville posts - Vince and I will be hitting up the Hold Steady/Virgins show tonight at Webster Hall in NY. Should be an awesome night. Here is a preview of what's coming up this weekend and next week...

* Replacements - A History ~Mike Bailey

*More Nashville recap and a review of Wax Fang at Nashville's Mercy Lounge.

* Coverage of the amazing new No Age record due out Tuesday, May 6 on Sub Pop. Stream the whole thing HERE!

*A recap of the Hold Steady's Webster show.

*A preview of the new album by Firewater out on Bloodshot.

... and finally a review of the new record from the hometown-Philly band Make a Rising.