My Morning Jacket Announce Summer Tour Dates, SNL this Weekend

Last time we checked in with My Morning Jacket, they had just announced the release date for Evil Urges (June 10th) while also dropping news of a special show at Radio City Music Hall on June 20th.

Since then, it's been hard to keep track of all the developments, but we'll give it a try anyway: let's see, first there was a Spin cover story, then news of a Saturday Night Live appearance slated for this Saturday evening, and just yesterday the unveiling of an extensive summer tour that includes The Black Keys as openers from the Aug 16th through Oct 10th dates (with the exception of the Aug 21st Red Rocks show). Looks like the Radio City gig is still the only New York date so far, while they've instead gone ahead and doubled their pleasure in Chicago, not fair. Check out all the dates after the jump...

22 May - London, England @ St. James Church (Jim James solo acoustic)
12 Jun - Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo
16 Jun - Toronto, Ontario @ Kool Haus
17 Jun - Montreal, Quebec @ Le National
20 Jun - New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
25 Jun - Sheffield, England @ Leadmill
26 Jun - Bristol, England @ Academy
27 Jun - Manchester, England @ Academy
29 Jun - Glastonbury, England @ Glastonbury Festival
01 Jul - Hamburg, Germany @ Gruenspan
02 Jul - Cologne, Germany @ Gebäude 9
04 Jul - Werchter, Belgium @ Rock Werchter Festival
06 Jul - Kent, England @ The Hop Farm
08 Jul - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg
09 Jul - Paris, France @ Le Trabendo
11 Jul - Nottingham, England @ Rescue Rooms
13 Jul - Balado, Scotland @ T in the Park
15 Jul - London, England @ The Forum
19 Jul - Benicàssim, Spain @ Benicàssim Festival
26 Jul - Pemberton, British Columbia @ Pemberton Festival
01 Aug - Newport, RI @ Newport Folk Festival (Jim James solo acoustic)
16 Aug - Louisville, KY @ Waterfront Park
18 Aug - Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theatre
19 Aug - Council Bluffs, IA @ Stir Cove
21 Aug - Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheater
23 Aug - Dallas, TX @ Palladium Ballroom
24 Aug - Austin, TX @ Stubbs
27 Aug - Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre-Atlanta
29 Aug - Miami, FL @ The Fillmore Miami Beach - Jackie Gleason Theater
30 Aug - Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues
31 Aug - Myrtle Beach, SC @ House of Blues
02 Sep - Charlottesville, VA @ Charlottesville Pavilion
03 Sep - Washington, DC @ Constitution Hall
05 Sep - Philadelphia, PA @ Penn’s Landing
06 Sep - Boston, MA @ Bank of America Pavilion
19 Sep - Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre
21 Sep - Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
23 Sep - Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee
24 Sep - Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint
25 Sep - San Diego, CA @ SDSU Open Air Theater
27 Sep - Portland, OR @ McMenamins Edgefield
28 Sep - Seattle WA @ McCaw Hall
02 Oct - Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum Theatre
03 Oct - Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater
04 Oct - Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
09 Oct - Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
10 Oct - Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre

Visit My Morning Jacket on MySpace

EF On The Road: SXSW Edition

It’s been a while since we rapped at you, and since our last edition we made the not-so-far drive from Waco to Austin and into the Heart of Darkness itself, South By Southwest. As the recent flood of show recaps and pics might suggest, we saw heaps of music over the last five days, yet this recap is less about that (that's what our other posts are for) and more about the odds and ends going down since the last update.

In the interest of not boring you too much, we’ve broken this down into different subjects - or “talking points” - rather than a straight play-by-play because honestly, if we did that it would be something to the effect of “saw show, took pictures, drank beer” on endless repeat. So here we go:

Registration. Determined to avoid a repeat of CMJ registration difficulties, we uploaded badge pics of ourselves in advance with the hopes of expediting the whole check-in process. Such foresight proved only to complicate things further, as the SXSW minions put the wrong picture on my badge. Check out “Grumpy Fake Mike Stunt Double” after the jump...

And, before I could even walk inside the Austin Convention Center to pick up my impostor badge, we first had to face one of the most difficult aspects of navigating SXSW: finding parking. After circling the building a handful of times, we decided to trade off running inside to get our badges while the other person kept circling. On my stint as getaway driver I had a chance to get a bit of a feel for things while cruising around the premises, gasping with horror at what would be the first of many enormous lines (at the FADER Fort) and getting accustomed to the distinct sound that would characterize our time there, a jumbled stew of muffled rumblings from about four different PA systems all bleeding out into the street and mixing together.

Commute. Having learned our lesson with the impossibility of parking at registration, we vowed to only walk from our hotel to the venues downtown for the duration of the festival if we could help it. As we saw it, we were hearty New Yorkers used to walking dozens of city blocks on a given day. Ten blocks is ten blocks, right? Well, yes, and also absolutely not. The commute was roughly "ten blocks" plus a few lateral avenues but these "blocks" were definitely longer than New York blocks. That in itself is fine, but factor in our walking path being the shoulder of Interstate 35 and the commute suddenly became significantly more daunting. Cars would whizz by and yell shit at us (where was my stunt double when I needed him?) and the heat from the highway was kind of unbearable; I saw one of those time and temperature signs on a bank read 95 degrees on Friday while walking into town. Matt actually took video footage of our entire walk home (a smidge over 26 minutes) from Saturday night. Future bonus EF material alert?

Making Friends. As Matt mentioned in our R.E.M. show recap, Dead Confederate and EF came together like Murtaugh and Riggs during Day 1 of the festival. The guys were nice enough to let us tag along with them for the day and shoot a bunch of footage of what - to this point - was the biggest day in their career: opening for R.E.M. at Stubb's. I think we may have been more nervous than they were. In any case, we had a blast and are eager for them to venture into Yankee territory this spring to keep the good times going. Some other people we tried to befriend (with varying levels of success):

Michael Stipe - Okay, so we were too star-struck to actually approach him but Matt has photographic proof that we were within a few feet of him backstage.

Jim James - I wish this were an interesting story but it basically just involved me cornering him after last call following the Tapes 'n Tapes show late Saturday and trying to convince him how sincerely, honestly, no, like for real, how much I really am looking forward to My Morning Jacket's Radio City show in New York in June. He was very nice about all the attention, nice and probably very scared.

Brian Posehn - Matt accosted his fellow metalhead (and hilarious comic) in line at the Torche show Saturday night. He's been remarkably tight-lipped about the whole exchange, which makes me suspect a deep connection was made...

Shirtless dude potentially on hallucinogens walking down Interstate 35 - The commute into town is bad enough, but when you're shirtless and running as fast as you can and jumping from embankments and rolling around on the grassy shoulder of the highway screaming to yourself and no on in particular, we imagine you could use a friend. We tried our best to help him.

A Word About Booze. Why were all the free booze offered during the day parties and not during the night? Wouldn't the opposite make more sense? You would think so, but no. During the day - and by day I mean starting at noon - everything from beer to Bloody Marys to Screwdrivers to Dewars on the rocks were free and for the taking depending on where you were. Scotch at noon? No thank you. Honestly, it was harder to score a bottle of water at some of these daytime events than a tumbler of Scotch. Factor in the scorching sun overhead and suddenly you've got a nice drowsy headache to go with your farmer's tan. I'm actually surprised I didn't come across more crazy shirtless dudes sprinting down the highway at midday.

As a final note, on the last night (Saturday) we headed back to the hotel at a reasonable hour after watching Goes Cube's showcase. We ended up watching that MSNBC special called "The Mind of Manson" on TV. It occurred to me then that Charles Manson - all long-haired, thickly bearded and covered in tattoos in a tight sweatshirt - looked pretty much exactly like every SXSW participant we came across. At least more so than whoever is on my badge....

UPDATE To This Update: We meant to get this posted earlier this morning but some weird technical stuff was happening on Blogger (we think our Tom Tom nav system was somehow behind it, she's been giving us a whole lot of attitude lately). Anyway, we had to hit the road in order to make our final BBQ lunch with Skatterman & Snug Brim in Kansas City (best meal yet?) and haven't gotten to a computer until now. Hope you enjoyed the belated update, we'll have a proper wrap-up when we return to New York.

EF On The Road: Pre-SxSW (Raleigh to Atlanta to Memphis to Waco?)

"I'm standing where my, uh, living room was and it's not here because my house is gone and it's an Ultimart! You can never go home again, Oatman... but I guess you can shop there."

That Martin Blank was right on the money. In the past few days I've spent time in both my hometown of Raleigh, NC, where I spent my formative years, and in Ft. McClellan, AL where I was born. In neither place was I able to reconcile the past (whatever that means) but I did manage to spend some money. Recession be damned! Allow me to explain, in bulleted list format, what our past few days have entailed. I'll highlight the extraneous spending in bold, yeah? Good. Because we both need some manner of loose framework for this post (to hang our brand new Indiana Jones hat on) and I think the above quote from Grosse Pointe Blank will work just fine.

Back to the old house with us then. I believe when we last left you we were sitting in a coffee shop in Raleigh on Friday afternoon...

Friday
- blogged at my favorite coffee shop writing spot (Cup A Joe at Mission Valley), bought one too many lattes.
- drove around in the rain and showed Mike a bit of where I'm from (had to fill up the gas tank in that behemoth you see above because of the "scenic tour") and did my best to explain to Mike a bit about both North Carolina and my own personal history along the way. He's currently jonesing for some sweet tea, biscuits, and a pickup truck - and knows very well the local axiom "if you want a saint, go to Peace; if you want a piece, go to Saint Mary's" - I think I did a pretty good job.
- bought tickets for the show on Saturday night for some friends at Schoolkids.
- got dinner with a friend, went back to another friend's house to play Rock Band all night long. Highlight: Mike drum-battling some random dude online on Expert to an Iron Maiden song. In my mind, I've already purchased this game.

Saturday
- BBQ lunch with The Rosebuds... great food, great company, fun times all around. Our treat. Can't wait to do it again.
- stopped by an auto parts store to purchase a cigarette lighter to AC outlet converter for the van.
- dinner at The Raleigh Times, amazing beer selection caused us to spend a little extra on Belgian beers.
- went to see Amy LaVere and Chatham County Line at the Lincoln Theatre... the crowd was of the loud-talking during the songs, cell phone on belt holding up khakis, we go see Jimmy Buffet every year set, so we left midway through CCL. As an aside, the Lincoln Theatre is the kind of place you could grow an entire city's music scene out of. How about someone buy the place from whoever runs it now and start booking some solid talent there on a regular basis, eh? Because the calendar simply does not match the potential of the venue.
- went to Slim's and caught The Apes and played entirely too many games of Donkey Kong.

Sunday
- drove to Atlanta, no death trucks, and bought lots of sunflower seeds for the ride.
- went to The Earl for Vampire Weekend and The Walkmen. Nearly couldn't get in because we weren't on the guest list as we were told we'd be, but things ended up working out.
- went back to the motel and work work worked.

Monday
- drove from Atlanta to Memphis and stopped to visit where I was born (Ft. McClellan, AL) on the way... I took a ton of pictures, found my old house (not replaced by a convenience store) and bought an Indiana Jones hat at a gas station in Anniston, AL for $20. I'm an adventurer now. More on this later.
- spotted no less than 10 different Bingo joints along US 78 in and around Jasper, AL. It was oddly exciting to see Bingo after Bingo after Bingo, each parking lot filled with cars.

Tuesday
- BBQ lunch with Amy LaVere and her band mates... more great food, great company, and fun times all around. Our treat once again.
- headed for Dallas (from Memphis) to see Goes Cube play a show... they get bumped up to 8:30pm which causes us to miss their set; which, all things considered, was probably a good thing given that they were kicked off the stage for being too loud after only two songs!!
- kept driving towards Austin and ended up stopping in Waco, TX for the night.

Wednesday
- today, right now, still in Waco and preparing to leave in one hour for Austin and SxSW.
- on tap for the rest of the day are a few Dead Confederate shows, namely one tonight in which they will be opening for that R.E.M. band. Can not wait. It's one of the few things that's locked into my SxSW schedule, another being to catch as many Billy Bragg shows as I can.

Apologies for the "just the facts" format here but we're on a tight schedule with a lot of things to do and see over the next few days. I'd post our probable concert schedule but we tend to like surprising you. So stay tuned, thanks for reading, and we'll either see you in Austin very shortly or back here on EF for your regularly scheduled content (mixed in with some bonus SxSW coverage).

Listen:
"Back to the Old House" by Billy Bragg (originally by The Smiths)

The Walkmen and Vampire Weekend @ The Earl (Atlanta) - 9 March 2008 (pics, video)

This past Sunday evening, The Walkmen (above) made it very clear why they were headlining The Earl and why Vampire Weekend - though riding the comet tail of hype and adulation - were still better suited as openers. The former are rock stars, plain and simple, having matured from carving a studied and distinctively narrow niche for themselves to blossoming into a dynamic beast of a live act, shape-shifting from stadium-sized waves of rock one moment to pensive and cavernous dirges the next and back again with ease.

And after feeling the bass saturate the room, the drums rattle my chest and then witnessing Hamilton arch waaaay back to hit that shrieking final note for an extra 20 seconds, I’m almost convinced they could have gone down the road a few miles and filled Turner Field with the wall of sound they created. It was an absolute privilege to see them play up close again in such an intimate venue as The Earl, where the sound was LOUD but mixed to perfection.

This is not to suggest at all that Vampire Weekend was disappointing or unworthy of praise; in fact, I was pleasantly surprised at how incredibly tight these guys are live. This is music that’s made for a live and social setting, i.e. party music. And one night after playing Saturday Night Live, Ezra Koenig did his damned best to bring the enthusiasm and the party to the sold-out crowd (who were all doe-eyed and all there to see them - see picture below). As I overheard the doorman say, “I like it, sounds like Jimmy Buffet.”* See more pics and watch live videos from this show after the jump...

The Walkmen

Watch:
"Little House Of Savages" by The Walkmen live (from this show) on YouTube | download QT
"If Only It Were True" by The Walkmen live (from this show) on YouTube | download QT

See more pictures of The Walkmen (from this show) HERE.

Visit The Walkmen on MySpace.

Vampire Weekend

Watch:
"A-Punk" by Vampire Weekend live (from this show) on YouTube | download QT

See more pictures of Vampire Weekend (from this show) HERE.

Visit Vampire Weekend on MySpace.
--
*words by Mike, pictures and video by Matt.

The Apes @ Slim's (Raleigh) - 8 March 2008

If we were to conjure up the most glaringly opposite and different setting to Amy LaVere and Chatham County Line at the Lincoln Theater, we couldn’t do much better than what was going down a few blocks away at Slim's. There, Washington D.C.-based psych-freaks The Apes set up in a cramped corner as Majestic Ape – the band’s ski mask-wearing keyboardist – antagonized a perplexed audience about the outcome of the Duke/Carolina game (UNC won, Duke lost). From there, the quartet blasted through a cacophonous showcase of yelps, synth-bleeps, and bottom-heavy baritone guitar riffs, melting faces in the front and alienating everyone else outside of their immediate vicinity. It wasn’t my favorite show, but it was certainly worth stumbling onto and provided my Saturday night with a second wind I didn’t know it needed*. More pics/videos after the jump...

The Apes

Watch:
"Beat Of The Double" by The Apes live (from this show) on YouTube | download QT

See more pictures of The Apes (from this show) HERE.

Visit The Apes on MySpace.
--
*words by Mike, pictures and video by Matt.

Amy LaVere and Chatham County Line @ the Lincoln Theatre (Raleigh) - 8 March 2008 (pics, video)

Current EF Band (Artist) of the Week Amy LaVere (above) played Raleigh’s Lincoln Theatre on Saturday evening, showcasing a more aggressive and muscular side to her laid-back roadhouse ballads. Joined by guitarist Steve Selvidge and drummer Paul Taylor, LaVere’s propulsive upright bass anchored the set while leaving plenty of space for Selvidge’s stinging blues and country-inflected flourishes to shine through.

She opened for local heroes Chatham County Line, whose four members huddled around a single mic and whipped the adoring hometown crowd into an instant frenzy. Combine traditional bluegrass and North Carolina-specific lyrics and imagery delivered with spot-on James Taylor –esque vocals and you get the picture. For a Yankee like myself*, it was a very entertaining show. More pictures and live video for each band after the jump...

Amy LaVere

Watch:
"Nightingale" by Amy LaVere live (from this show) on YouTube | download QT
"Killing Him" by Amy LaVere live (from this show) on YouTube | download QT

See more pictures of Amy LaVere (from this show) HERE.

Visit Amy LaVere on MySpace.

Chatham County Line

Watch:
"One More Minute" by Chatham County Line live (from this show) on YouTube | download QT

See more pictures of Chatham County Line (from this show) HERE.

Visit Chatham County Line on MySpace.
--
*words by Mike, pictures and video by Matt.
**check back later for more pictures from this show, right now Flickr and my motel internet aren't working well together.

EF On The Road: Week 1

Behold, the Death Truck. Canary yellow bumblebee banana monstrosity of a road train; witness the opaque shield concealing the motorway maestro lurking beneath. Shudder at its interstate omnipotence. This dude almost killed us yesterday. True story.

But, before I divulge the gory details perhaps it's best if I back up a bit. Yesterday, Matt and I hit the road for an epic adventure in search of bands, BBQ, truth, justice, and the American Way. Lofty goals indeed. And in the interests of managing expectations, we've entitled this post "Week 1" instead of "Day 1" to lessen the unspeakable burden of having to report our comings and goings every day. Like, what if nothing happens during one of these outings? Do you really want to read about that? Nah. With that disclaimer then, we'll try to bore you only with the interesting bits and bobs, and will do so at least once a week while trying to maintain our usual content (with bonus SXSW and other coverage too). If you dare, keep reading after the jump for some more pics, a bit of music, and some storytellin' too....

So back to the Death Truck. Matt and I were cruising along somewhere in Southern New Jersey, listening to one of his more inspired mix cds from the halcyon days of 2001 - our entire trip will be soundtracked by mix cds as there's no iPod compatibility in Vancina - when it came time to merge into a single lane because of construction. Coaxing the white knight along the left shoulder, I pulled safely ahead of the Death Truck and began the merge. Perhaps the Motorway Maestro construed this move as an affront to his road dominance, perhaps he was in a hurry, perhaps he was just fiddling with his CB or playing on his iPhone and not paying attention, because the next thing I saw was a hurtling bolt of bright yellow fury roar past me and inch ever closer to Vancina's frontquarters. Brakes were applied, obscenities launched, and a collision barely avoided as I piloted the van away from the Death Truck and to an almost dead stop. What a start.

Anyway, we were able to catch up and snap some pictures (see above) just in case we could somehow bring this maniacal hater of bearded dudes in vans to justice. First step: blog about it!

Right then, so other than that things have been fairly uneventful. We took in some great music last night at the Reservoir and on the way home our friend Graham played tour guide and brought us by the Duke campus, where an army of fanatical basketball fans were camping out for tickets to tomorrow night's Duke UNC game. As the picture suggests, the scene was definitely less that of esteemed university campus and more post-apocalyptic shantytown:


And this morning, we sharpened our palates and began our culinary tour of America in earnest with a breakfast stop at Bojangles. Check the hero shot Matt took of our breakfast, mmmm bacon 'n biscuits....


At the moment, we're taking shelter from torrential downpours at a coffee shop in Raleigh. And if it seems as though I'm rambling, consider the fact that most of my attention has been diverted to the very loud conversation taking place next to me, a diatribe that has just glossed over the following talking points: why Sicilians are near the bottom of the Italian social caste (explains man #1), why she didn't call back (man #2 proffers), and why an undergraduate degree in Physical Anthropology is the key to answering all of the above (man #2 again).

Tomorrow's highlights include eating a tasty BBQ lunch with the Rosebuds and later seeing Amy LaVere and Chatham County Line play at the Lincoln Theatre. Good things await....

Listen:
"I Don't Wanna Die" by the Unicorns

Erie Choir and Cheyenne @ The Reservoir - 6 March 2008 (pics, video)

Erie Choir (above) and Cheyenne both played excellent sets last night at The Reservoir in Chapel Hill. The show had the relaxed feeling of a practice as the two bands treated those of us in attendance to really solid, straightforward, small-club American rock and roll. Cheap beer, well above average sound, a wide-open layout - an all around nice venue (I remember it as Go Studios). It was great to see familiar faces and hear songs I already know and love on our first night on the road. More pictures, as well as live video, after the jump.

Erie Choir

Watch:
"Lullaby for Jon Grives" by Erie Choir live (from this show) on YouTube | download QT

See more pictures of Erie Choir from this show (and others) HERE

Visit Erie Choir on MySpace.

Cheyenne

Watch:
"Big Weather" by Cheyenne live (from this show) on YouTube | download QT

See more pictures of Cheyenne from this show (and others)HERE

Visit Cheyenne on MySpace.

EAR FARM Spring Tour '08: travel itinerary, BBQ with bands, SXSW!

As we've already mentioned, EAR FARM will be hitting the road tomorrow to head down to Austin, TX for South by Southwest. Our trip will include multiple stops along the way to survey local color, see live music, and enjoy the best barbecue our country has to offer.

Speaking of which, we'd like to take a moment to announce something very special we'll be doing on our way down to/back from SXSW. EAR FARM is going to be working with CHOW to bring you a very special feature in the coming weeks. We'll be connecting with musicians in each of the four US BBQ meccas to sample the best BBQ that each location has to offer - you'll get to see the results of our little musical foodie adventures both on CHOW and here on EAR FARM in the coming weeks. Check out our BBQ schedule below.

EAR FARM BBQ Tour '08
*North Carolina barbecue with The Rosebuds*
*Memphis barbecue with Amy LaVere*
*Texas barbecue with Tapes 'n Tapes*
*Kansas City barbecue with Skatterman & Snug Brim*

Tentatively, our entire live music/city-stop schedule looks like this:

7 March - TBD in Raleigh, NC
8 March - Chatham County Line/Amy LaVere in Raleigh, NC
9 March - The Walkmen/Vampire Weekend in Atlanta, GA
10 March - TBD in Memphis, TN
11 March - Goes Cube in Dallas, TX
12 March - R.E.M./Dead Confederate @ SXSW in Austin, TX
13 March - TBD @ SXSW in Austin, TX
14 March - TBD @ SXSW in Austin, TX
15 March - TBD @ SXSW in Austin, TX
16 March - TBD in Wichita, KS
17 March - Built to Spill/Meat Puppets in Kansas City, MO
18 March - TBD in Indianapolis, IN
19 March - TBD in Pittsburgh, PA
20 March - return to NYC

The cancellation of the Van Halen show in Raleigh was quite a letdown; however, we're extremely excited for this opportunity to see the Southeastern quarter of the US while hitting up concert after concert, my hometown, SXSW, and tons of amazing BBQ. Our plans are to keep things here on EAR FARM *fairly* normal while we're away, with just a bit of added/extra travel-related content. March looks to be one hell of a month for EAR FARM and our readers so stay tuned.

Listen:
"Drive" by The Wedding Present
"Drive" by El-P
"Drive" by The Cars
"Drive" by R.E.M.
"Drive" by Fu Manchu

Also, if you're in a band playing somewhere along our travel route or know of any can't miss shows/BBQ joints in your neighborhood, please get in touch and share the wealth with us. And if you run into us at any of these shows, or in Austin, be sure to ask for one of our brand new EAR FARM magnets. They're green and free and fun. Just like us.

Visit our van (Vancina) on MySpace HERE.

Reminder: EF Hits the Road

In case you forgot, Matt and I will be hitting the road later this week for a two-week jaunt around this great country of ours. Go HERE to check out the original itinerary and announcement or hold your collective breaths and wait until Wednesday when we unveil the final, semi-set-in-stone plan of attack (we're waiting on you Van Halen).

Also, if you're in a band playing somewhere along our travel route or know of any can't miss shows going down in your neighborhood, please get in touch and share the wealth with us.

Above photo found HERE

Runnin' With The Devil: EAR FARM hits the road again in March

Last year I took to the road for five weeks on an immense tour with the band Goes Cube to shoot footage for a documentary about the experiences of an indie-rock band on their first cross-country tour. The documentary is moving along, as is the band. In fact, Goes Cube is currently lining up dates for another big tour on their way down to Austin for South by Southwest and is looking for shows on the way to, and back from, Texas. Get in touch with them if you'd to help find them a show in your town.

One of our collective favorites for on-the-road listening humor was the Smash Mouth "Days Like These" vocal outtake originally posted on the Grizzly Bear blog. If you haven't heard it before, listen now. It's awfully funny. Awful AND funny.

The reason I bring up last year's tour is that EAR FARM is going to go on a tour of our own: we're headed down to Austin in March for SxSW. Two weeks of driving, concerts, writing, and barbecue. We'll be sure to stop in the four BBQ meccas (North Carolina, Texas, Memphis, and Kansas City) during our trip and will do our best to see as many live shows on the road as we can. To this end, if you're in a band that will be playing in/around/near one of the cities we're going to on our March '08 tour, please get in touch and let us know about your show. Also, feel free to get in touch with us if you have any suggestions for eats or live music or things to do/see in any of the cities listed below.

Tentatively, our live music/city-stop schedule looks like this:

7 March - Van Halen in Raleigh, NC
8 March - Man Man in Athens, GA
9 March - The Walkmen/Vampire Weekend in Atlanta, GA
10 March - TBD in Memphis, TN
11 March - Goes Cube in Dallas, TX
12-16 March - SXSW in Austin, TX
17 March - Built To Spill/Meat Puppets/Helvetia in Kansas City, MO
18 March - TBD in TBD
19 March - TBD in TBD
20 March - TBD in TBD

To say that we're excited about kicking off our tour by seeing Van Halen in Raleigh would be an understatement. March looks to be one hell of a month for EAR FARM and our readers.

To celebrate - what? you thought I'd end this without an accompanying MP3 or two? pssh - we've located what is sure to be this tour's "Days Like These". Okay, it's not nearly as horrible/humorous, but is amusing no less. Found on Chunklet, it's a studio outtake of David Lee Roth singing "Runnin' With The Devil" - vocals only. Enjoy.

Listen:
"Runnin' With The Devil" (vocals only outtake) by David Lee Roth
"Runnin' With The Devil" by Van Halen

*above photo from HERE.

NEW music video for Goes Cube Song 34

Posted above is a brand new music video for Goes Cube Song 34. The video was shot (on Super 8mm film obviously) and edited by me using some of the footage I got while on tour with the band in March. Expect to see this footage, and much more just like it, when I've finished cutting the tour documentary sometime in 2025.

In related news: next Tuesday the 19th of June will see the official Cordless Recordings release of Beckon the Dagger God (it will also be available on iTunes). And word is that Goes Cube is heading back in the studio very soon to record new material. YES.

EDIT/UPDATE: I'm rather unhappy with all of the artifacts and compression bits that showed up in the YouTube version posted above. Therefore, I've uploaded a larger QT version of this video and am bumping this post back to the top and suggesting you download a quicktime version of the music video for Goes Cube Song 34 via one of the two links below.

Download:
- medium sized quicktime of Goes Cube Song 34 HERE (19.3 MB)
- large sized quicktime of Goes Cube Song 34 HERE (39.5 MB)

Visit Goes Cube on MySpace.

Goes Cube Tour Day Thirty-two

After thirty days on the road, playing as a mostly unknown band to unpredictable audiences, what exactly would Goes Cube be coming home to? How many of their friends and fans would show up, and would they be prepared for how tight the band had gotten over the past five weeks?

Regardless of what the turnout was to be, show after show (after show) had already proven to me that Goes Cube is always ready to deliver their raw power. No matter how few (or many) people they play for, no matter how terrible (or excellent) the venue/bill/soundsystem, if there's one thing to be learned from spending a month documenting this band on tour it's the fact that they bring it every night. And, to be honest, the homecoming show at Mercury Lounge was circled as the important show from day one. Not actually circled. I mean, not like they're a college football team who'd gotten together one day after practice to watch their coach circle April 6th and say "boys, this is the day...you can lollygag all you want on every other date, but you better bring hell at Mercury Lounge." Then again, it was kind of like that. But without a coach, and all much more implied. Still, this was the one we'd all been waiting for...yourselves included. Goes Cube back in New York City after taking on America. After kicking America's ass from coast to coast, and everywhere in between. You want to know how the show was? In short, not for one second of their set did Goes Cube disappoint. It was the best show I've seen them play.

The band that was on stage before them (Pilot to Gunner) got off to a late start and didn't finish until a few minutes after 10pm, which is when Goes Cube was supposed to start. They ended up being ready to go by about 10:20 and were promptly told they'd have to be off the stage at 10:45. Because of reasons outside of their control, the band coming off a month long tour was going to have their set cut short?! Yeah, welcome home. I was extremely pissed off at the situation, so I can only imagine how mad the three guys were. The thought of waiting all this time for the homecoming show, only to have it cut short?! Goes Cube SMASH! And they did. More on that later. Ultimately, all this really did was help to fuel the Goes Cube fire. Yeah, like they needed any extra reasons to bring the thunder.

Given the time constraints, Goes Cube launched into their set with added urgency. This show was supposed to be about playing to a home crowd full of fans and friends but what it turned into was something else altogether. From the very first chords following the violin bow intro to Goes Cube Song 34 the band set a blistering pace. All business, all rock. Loud. Perfect. The sound was out of this world, compared to the clubs we'd been at for the past few weeks, and the band responded accordingly. They paused ever so briefly between songs to catch a breath of air, and to mention what song was next, but that's all. Rather than halt momentum for a second too long, Goes Cube pushed forward and destroyed song after song, eardrum after eardrum, as only they can. To top it all off, David unleashed his new guitar on the audience for Goes Cube Song 33. By unleashed I mean to say that he jumped down into the crowd (as he often does) and smashed the guitar on the floor right in the middle of everyone (see the above picture, taken by Charlie from Nerd Litter). It was their final song of the evening, and I couldn't have come up with a more perfect punctuation for the tour if I scripted it - Goes Cube played their best show of the tour (best ever, in my opinion) on the final date to a home audience. And smashed a guitar right smack dab in the middle of said audience. Shit yes.

Speaking for myself, and the band as well, it's really great to be back home. Friday night was an instant reminder of why New York music fans are some of the best in the country. Thanks to everyone who came out, both on Friday and throughout the tour, and thanks to the band for letting me come along to document the whole thing on video. Stay tuned for updates about my work on the post-production side of things with the video, and for future posts relating to, and reflecting upon, this tour. It'll probably take me quite a while to edit the film, so hopefully it'll be worth the wait.

Now, who wants to pay us lots of money to do it all over again?

Listening to right now:
Explosions In The Sky - "What Do You Go Home To?"

Visit Goes Cube on MySpace

Full tour schedule HERE

**read more about the show (from David's perspective) HERE, and from another blogger's point of view HERE**

***also be sure to go HERE and submit some questions for me to ask the guys***

Goes Cube Tour Day Thirty-one

Over one month on the road (8,000 plus miles) for Goes Cube and myself. Fourteen capitol buildings jumped in front of, 24 states visited, 22 venues rocked. Tonight, the homecoming show at Mercury Lounge. See you there.

Goes Cube tour 2007 next show:

6 April - Mercury Lounge w/ Bang Camaro
New York, NY

Listening to right now:
Goes Cube Song 30

Visit Goes Cube on MySpace

Full tour schedule HERE

**read more about the tour (from David's perspective) HERE**

***also be sure to go HERE and submit some questions for me to ask the guys***

Goes Cube Tour Day Thirty

The final show on the road before we head back to NYC...what would Pittsburgh have in store for Goes Cube?

We started out the day in Columbus and went for lunch with Emily from Necropolis. I got a hummus and vegetable sandwich with a side salad and it was delicious. Boy I really needed some veggies after a month of bar and gas station food. Despite what you might think, shopping at a gas station each day is not a glamorous lifestyle. Chex mix, trail mix, water...repeat. That's my secret for surviving consistent gas station shopping. And then grilled chicken sandwiches at the venues, but I already covered that. Anyway, thankfully the restaurant had free wireless internet and I managed to post yesterday's update as we had lunch. In no time we were back on the road headed for Pittsburgh.

Goes Cube had played this particular venue already, but that was back before Kenny was a member of the band. Therefore, the show yesterday promised to be a bit different than the last one. Unfortunately the band was paired with six separate solo avant-garde guitarists. They each played about 20 minutes or so (which set the stage for a rather short set for Goes Cube) and they all were kind of terrible. Okay, I didn't see them all. But of the four I did see, none of them were anything I'd recommend anyone listening to ever.

So, this poorly curated lineup (mixed with tour exhaustion) didn't exactly make for the best show of the tour. Goes Cube started out sluggishly, displayed perhaps a bit of fatigue, but finished strong. Although it was apparent to me that they'd rather not have been stuck in the middle of six guitarists practicing in public, I'm not sure anyone else would've necessarily known. What I mean to say is that they still brought it. They always do. It was loud and it was rocking, and then it was over. Six short songs, then we left. Left the venue, left town, and drove all the way home. Kenny and David battled through the night to bring us safely from Pittsburgh to New York. We arrived this morning at 5am and have today off before we head to the FINAL show of this tour at Mercury Lounge tomorrow. It's going to be AWESOME. I guarantee it. Also, I bet it will sell out, so get there early.

Goes Cube tour 2007 next show:

6 April - Mercury Lounge w/ Bang Camaro
New York, NY

Listening to right now:
Daniel Johnston - "To Go Home"

Visit Goes Cube on MySpace

Full tour schedule HERE

**read more about the tour (from David's perspective) HERE**

***also be sure to go HERE and submit some questions for me to ask the guys***

Goes Cube Tour Day Twenty-nine

The facts:

- woke up in motel, got gas and coffee, hit the road
- David and I watched A Mighty Wind in the van
- we laughed lots
- made it to Columbus with plenty of time to spare
- took a capitol picture
- ate sandwiches
- arrived at le maison du Necropolis around 4pm
- hung out, went for a walk, bought toy airplane, got a drink, played pinball, played with toy airplane, called Auburn information number to inquire about Ohio's state house's lack of a dome
- played with toy airplane
- watched Jeopardy
- drank Sparks
- attempted to hit squirrel with toy airplane
- walked over to the venue
- had super easy load-in since the venue is mere feet from the house
- Goes Cube played first, kicked ass
- David premiered the new guitar he bought in Kansas City, kicked its ass
- Necropolis played next and was a very energetic and impressive live band
- next band not so great, watched them anyway
- went for a walk to find more sandwiches
- got home, watched some of Airplane II, went to sleep

Goes Cube tour 2007 next show:

4 April - Garfield Artworks
4931 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Listening to right now:
Johnny Mandel - "Suicide Is Painless"

Visit the bands from this post on MySpace:
Goes Cube
Necropolis

Full tour schedule HERE

**read more about the tour (from David's perspective) HERE**

***also be sure to go HERE and submit some questions for me to ask the guys***

Goes Cube Tour Day Twenty-eight

Yesterday was supposed to include a show in Michigan but that got cancelled due to car trouble. Instead we used the day as a travel day and made our way to Indianapolis for a capitol buidling picture and some bowling. The van is completely repaired and we're now in Columbus, OH getting ready for one of the final three shows of the tour.

Goes Cube tour 2007 next show:

3 April - Cafe Bourbon St w/ Necropolis
Columbus, Ohio

Listening to right now:
Blonde Redhead - "23"

Visit Goes Cube on MySpace

Full tour schedule HERE

**read more about the tour (from David's perspective) HERE**

***also be sure to go HERE and submit some questions for me to ask the guys***

Goes Cube Tour Days Twenty-six and Twenty-seven

As I was saying, we encountered some trouble in Champaign and ended up needing to have the van towed to a garage. We're currently awaiting the repair of the engine oil pan and, if all goes well, I expect we'll be heading out of Illinois sometime late today/tonight. Unfortunately the show originally scheduled for tonight in Michigan has been cancelled but we're planning to make it to Columbus, OH for the show tomorrow...one way or another. I'll betcha we find a way to make a stop in Indianapolis for a capitol picture.

The first show in Chicago was at the Elbo Room. Because the other two bands on the bill had cancelled, Goes Cube was to be the only band appearing on Saturday night. They took the stage around 10:15pm to a very friendly audience full of Matt's family and other various friends of the band. And, as an extra special surprise, two close friends of Goes Cube (shout outs to Tammy and Andrew - what what) made a surprise visit to Chicago for the show. The warm welcome they received must've helped energize the guys because they destroyed their set (that's a good thing) and delivered happy musical punishment to the ears of all in attendance. Merchandise sales reenforced the fact that this show was one of the best of the tour.

We spent a lot of our time in Chicago with Mike and Andrea, who are close friends of the band. They were kind enough to welcome the four of us into their home and it was super refreshing to enjoy non-motel living again. Comfortable sleeping arrangements, food and beverages in abundance, time to relax, and knowledge of where to get the best local food. Mmm regional cuisine. In this case it was Chicago hot dogs. Whoa baby.

First of all, this was the best hot dog I've ever eaten. I'm referring to just the dog itself. Dogs actually, more on that in a second. I just wanted to address this fact immediately. It was better than any of the NY hot dogs I've had by a long shot. And the toppings? Holy cow. Look at them. An explosion of tastes. Pickle, relish, tomatoes, mustard, onions...and TWO hot dogs...all on one poppy seed bun. Yeah, two dogs, one bun. I got the double char dog because that's what Mike ordered but next time I'd go for the single I think. Two turned out to be too much hot dog, but oh so delicious.

After the hot dogs we made our way to Andy's house (another friend of the band) for some homemade beer and Guitar Hero. It's been quite a while, but my chops returned in no time and Kenny and I wrecked "Hangar 18" to the tune of 275,000 plus points before we headed to Town Hall Pub for the second Goes Cube show in Chicago. This show was nowhere near as excellent as the previous night's show, but was a good time nonetheless. A band from the first show of the tour (Constants) had called David and asked if they could be worked into the bill and that's just what happened. They're an excellent band, one of the best I've seen on tour, and I highly suggest checking them out sometime. As for Goes Cube, things were a bit off because they shared equipment with Constants and didn't sound much like themselves. Yet still they were as tight as ever and deafened the small audience with another powerful combination of numbered songs and emphatic delivery.

We're on our way now back to Champaign to pick up the van and then eventually off to Columbus, Pittsburgh, and then home.

Goes Cube tour 2007 next show:

3 April - Cafe Bourbon St w/ Necropolis
Columbus, Ohio

Listening to right now:
Torche - "Charge Of The Brown Recluse"

Visit the bands from this post on MySpace:
Constants
Goes Cube

Full tour schedule HERE

**read more about the past few days (from David's perspective) HERE and HERE**

***also be sure to go HERE and submit some questions for me to ask the guys***

Goes Cube Tour Day Twenty-five

A brief update here, not on my own computer. We made it to Champaign yesterday and Goes Cube played a good set to an average sized audience at a club with bad sound. After the show we accidentally ran over some large rocks in the middle of the street which cracked the heck out of our engine oil pan. The minivan is currently at the shop and won't be repaired until Monday at the earliest. We're now scrambling to find a way to make it to Chicago for the shows tonight and tomorrow. One way or another that's going to happen. Unfortunately this means that the show in Ypsilanti is going to be cancelled. More updates with pictures tomorrow (hopefully).

*I also wanted to mention that today is David's birthday (from Goes Cube), so let's all wish him a happy birthday and hope the day ends better than it began.

Goes Cube tour 2007 next show:

31 March - Elbo Room
Chicago, Illinois

Listening to right now:
The sounds of many hurried phone calls to parts stores, car rental places, and parents

Visit Goes Cube on MySpace.

Full tour schedule HERE

***also be sure to go HERE and submit some questions for me to ask the guys***

Goes Cube Tour Day Twenty-four

This is the story of Goes Cube at The Ground Floor. It will be told in pictures and mismatched writings. See if you can correctly pair the picture with its corresponding description.

Goes Cube makes a fan out of at least one happy single mother in Belleville, who then offers to carry two guitars to the car as we load out.

Though there were at least 20 people at the bar, very very few decide to get close to the stage.

David (far right in pain), Kenny (center), and Matt ("waving" to the other band members) on stage before the show.

The guys are seriously really rocking each show by now. Last night's Goes Cube Song 42 was AMAZING.

Another show, another broken drum head.

David hits his knee on the stage trying to jump onto it and proceeds to ice the injury with a large can of PBR.

Goes Cube tour 2007 next show:

30 March - The Iron Post
120 Race St, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois

Listening to right now:
Explosions In The Sky - "Welcome, Ghosts"

Visit Goes Cube on MySpace.

Full tour schedule HERE

***also be sure to go HERE and submit some questions for me to ask the guys***