Tonight! The Rural Alberta Advantage and The Dig -- FREE @ MHOW

[MP3] The Rural Alberta Advantage -- "Don't Haunt this Place"
Download: The Dig's 3 Song Demo

The advantage of digging: We love FREE.

Tonight, we will be heading to Music Hall of Willamsburg to catch the Rural Alberta Advantage and The Dig as they play for FREE! We are such suckers for anything that's free, be it ice cream (the orange creamsicle, we can all agree, was subpar) flashy red and extremely fast Kangaroo shoes, and or the occasional concert.  RAA's recent release, Hometowns, spurred and indie-brush fire, spreading through the blogosphere after its release in early July. These Canadian, now Saddle Creek labelites, have earned their fair share of praise from eMusic, the AP and of course P4K --needless to say, get there early, unless you want to wait in a Brooklyn Bowl-size line while drinking 32 oz. to-go beers. Actually, we may show up late.

The Dig -- on the back of their FREE three song demo, which is available for download above, these buzz-worthy New Yorkers use their live performances as a vehical to morph-minds; their lo-fi, hardstrumming tendencies make believers out of skeptics. We were certainly impressed after their Mercury Lounge show. Needless to say, see you tonight. FREE drinks on Stark...No fucking way.

See RAA and Dig tour dates after the jump.

08/04 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg (FREE)
08/05 Boston, MA The Middle East Cafe (Upstairs)
08/06 Ottawa, ONT Mavericks
08/08 Wolfe Island, ONT Wolfe Island Musicfest
08/20 Grand Rapids, MI The Intersection (Front Lounge)
08/21 Milwaukee, WI WMSE Radio Summer Camp / Cactus Club
08/22 Madison, WI University of Wisconsin
08/24 Chicago, IL Downtown Sound / Pritzker Pavillion / Millenium Park
08/25 Bloomington, IN Bear's Place
08/26 Cleveland, OH Beachland Tavern
08/27 Mount Pleasant, MI Rubble's Bar
08/29 Oro-Medonte, ON Virgin Festival Ontario / Burl's Creek #
09/06 Ithaca, NY The Positive Jam / Stewart Park $

$ = w/ the Hold Steady, Deer Tick, The Felice Brothers, etc
# = w/ The Pixies, Franz Ferdinand, Grizzly Bear, Mates of State, etc

The Dig:
Sep 18 2009 9:00P
Middle East- w/ The Walkmen and Here We Go Magic Cambridge, Massachusetts
Sep 19 2009 9:00P
Middle East- w/ The Walkmen and Here We Go Magic Cambridge
Sep 20 2009 9:00P
Pearl St w/ The Walkmen and Here We Go Magic Northampton, Massachusetts

Alela Diane DUMBO Session, MHOW Show

via P4K.tv

UPDATE: You can download the entire show (including Alela) from the previous night @ Bowery via NYC Taper!

Saturday night found a stacked line-up at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, featuring Blitzen Trapper, Plants and Animals, and Alela Diane. We were most excited to see how Alela's lovely West-coast folk translated to the big stage, and weren't surprised at the more than successful results. Backed by her Dad (see video) and a full band of bass, drums and back-up singer, the set was a mix of ancient-sounding folk tunes, and a little too much modern-hippie crunchiness. The latter makes no appearance on Diane's fantastic new LP To Be Still, and was not enough to sink the overall feel of the set driven most by Diane's impeccable voice and mature songwriting. The show left us convinced that Diane is indeed the real deal (which we kinda already knew) and also with a healthy crush on fantastic back-up singer Alina Hardin. Sorry, had to say it. For our thoughts on Plants and Animals and the headliner Blitzen Trapper see after the jump.


Plants and Animals started off on shaky ground, debuting some new material and drawing on songs from their largely excellent LP, Park Avenue. There was something off-putting about lead singer Warren Spicer's stage presence (huge mustache?) but the musicianship of the mostly bass-less power trio was strong and precise. The second half of the set picked up considerably finding a soaring high during their best song "Mercy". The set ended on a low-note as P&A tended to lean on unnecessary jams and Spinal Tap-esqe prog stylings. To our dismay, they failed to close the evening with "Big Bottom."

Capping off a night of dichotomy, Blitzen Trapper varied between their country-rock image and their country-folk image. Lead singer Eric Earley made it clear Blitzen Trapper was the vehicle for his songs. Whether it was his larger than life on-stage ego, or his solo set mid-show, Earley was clearly the center piece of the evening. Yet, it just so happens that his songs and voice were damn good. The mid-show acoustic section proved the highlight, featuring the crowd pleaser "Furr" and the excellent murder ballad "Black River Killer" plus pseudo-traditional "Cocaine." The electric full-band tunes felt a few clicks shy of tempo - but were well executed and certainly fulfilling. Overall, we'd give Saturday night a "B." We would certainly see Alela Diane again, once was enough for Plants and Animals, and depending on circumstances, would make it out to another Blitzen Trapper show.

A Quick Inquisition with Ari Gold of The Honey Brothers

STARK vs. ARI GOLD of THE HONEY BROTHERS

We caught The Honey Brothers last Saturday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Yes, most of the people there just seemed to want to make out with Vinny Chase, err, I mean Adrian Grenier. So I'm sure it came as a great relief to them that although Grenier is just the drummer, his drumset had good viewing placement, plus he strummed a guitar and sang for a few numbers.

But honestly, even though it may just be the success of Grenier that's propelled these boys to semi-stardom, Honey Brothers are much better than other vanity projects like Dogstar (Keanu Reeves.) They've even been compared to the Silver Jews, the Beach Boys and Ween by Village Voice.

And I really do appreciate ukelele player and vocalist Ari Gold's (real name? I'm not sure) whimsy. He was nice enough tell us about the band meeting at Ukelele Fantasy Camp, Bohemia and a utopia of love...

Catch Lauren Mooney's interview with Ari Gold after the jump.

What was Ukelele Fantasy Camp like? Is that where you guys met?

Ukulele fantasy camp is a state of mind, like Bohemia. As soon as you hold a curvy little uke in your hands you are At Camp™. Dory was the first among us to play the uke, and I was the first to become obsessed by it, when Dory lent me his. Truth is I was just tired of being stuck behind a drum set and I wanted an instrument that would fit into a backpack, since I like to travel. But the band starting singing around the uke and walking the streets with it, so At Camp was in the streets of New York. You can't be a bad ass at Ukelele Fantasy Camp and it's not possible to be cool, so the normal social struggles of camp do not apply. There are no cool kids at our camp, and that's a relief. Can you imagine a bully with a ukulele?

You were quoted on your MySpace bio as saying, "I think our music is trying to find the utopia of love in a world that might be going to shit." What is your current take on the world? And how exactly do you think your music helps find utopia of love?

Well, having just played two shows amidst the beauty of Washington DC as Obama was being inaugurated, we are feeling a little more hopeful about the world. But there is a lot of struggle and trouble in life, and if you can make music with your friends and try to enjoy every moment, then you are in a utopia of love. If we all end up as roving tribes of people eating nuts and berries in a few years, we hope that we'll still be able to maintain a good mood by playing music.

Dream people to play live with?

Metallica, David Bowie, Toots and the Maytals, David Byrne, Igor Stravinsky.

What's next for the Honey Brothers?

We have a bunch of new songs in our "new wave folk" vein and plan to record an album this summer. Meanwhile, we might make a movie, a solo record, or act in a TV show if we have to to get by.

Bon Iver to Release "Blood Bank" EP Jan 20

It's seems like Justin Vernon has been everywhere of late, selling out venues in NY and promoting his previous LP, For Emma Forever Ago. Yet, here he comes again with the release of a new EP titled, Blood Bank that drops on 12" and CD Jan. 20 in the US and the 19th in the UK. We heard the title track at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, and it's clear that Mr. Vernon is taking his project to a larger, more band-focused direction. It almost seemed Wilcoesque to us, but of course still featuring Vernon's unmistakable falsetto.
Bon Iver will also play Letterman Dec. 11th.

More details below from his label Jagjaguwar...

The new EP will be for sale in vinyl form at Bon Iver's upcoming UK and US tours in December. Those who purchase the 12" will be able to activate the digital download coupon on the January release date.

From the title track's remembrance of the winter warmth we seek, to the summer love tribute of b-side gem "Babys", Bon Iver's snow-blanketed harmonies live across the seasons. Still, there is a reverence for sabbatical, solitude and the winding down of time. As much as "For Emma, Forever Ago" is about the cold, the Blood Bank collection is about the warmth that gets you through it.

See two live videos featuring tracks from the EP after the jump

"Blood Bank"


"Babys"

Mark Kozelek / Sun Kil Moon Tour Dates, Music Hall of Williamsburg

Stark favorite Mark Kozelek is still touring behind the excellent Sun Kil Moon record April. He will be playing a solo show at Music Hall of Williamsburg (MHOW) on November 12. Never really one for shows at the Highline, I stayed away from Mark's last NY appearance -- accoring to these comments that was a good plan. Stark will definitely be making it out to MHOW though.

Mark Kozelek - 2008 Tour Dates

August 20 - Diesel in Pittsburgh, PA
August 22 - Smokin the Fire Festival in Birmingham, AL
November 7 - Attucks Theatre in Norfolk, VA
November 8 - Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC
November 10 - Rock & Roll Hotel, Washington DC
November 12 - Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
November 15 - Gibson Showroom, Orlando, FL

Sun Kil Moon full band - 2008 Tour Dates
September 5 - Stockholm
September 6 - Malmö
September 8 - Belgium
September 9 - Paris
September 10 - Brighton, UK
September 11 - Manchester, UK
September 12 - Birmingham, UK
September 13 - N. Dorset, UK
September 15 - Glasgow, UK
September 16 - Nottingham, UK
September 17 - London, UK
September 18 - Bristol, UK
September 20 - Dublin