The question of course becomes: will anyone care about 3D films anymore by the time Fall rolls around?

By Fred Mills

A month ago we ran contributor David Iskra's in-depth review of Peter Gabriel's June 26 concert in Camden, NJ. Gabriel has been touring backed by an orchestra dubbed "The New Blood Orchestra" in which the entire Scratch My Back album is performed during the first half of the show followed by a second half of Gabriel classics specially arranged for the 50-piece ensemble.

Wrote Iskra, "[The] level of craftsmanship makes the live show something to see and worth the steep ticket price.  Ever the consummate showman, Gabriel didn't strip down the theatrics for the jaunt.  He is the ultimate technophile and brought along some unique and very tastefully used Susquehanna video screens used in conjunction with old fashioned theater tricks (the mirror during "San Jacinto") that made quite a visual impact on the crowd.... The orchestra, led by conductor Ben Foster, was composed of musicians both locally and from Europe. They were muscular, tight and well rehearsed.  Anyone wanting to see a rock band that night got it, albeit in a different form. Foster whose angular moves and rock star energy kept the crowd entertained during instrumental passages which had the crowd in a frenzy."

Meanwhile, Gabriel has been prepping another studio album, New Blood, and now word arrives that a 3D theatrical movie of one of his orchestral concerts, March 23 in London, is being readied for a fall release as well. According to media reports, Eagle Rock Entertainment and Gabriel are putting the finishing touches on Peter Gabriel's New Blood 3D.

"The Eagle Media production was directed by Blue Leach - whose credits include tours for Snow Patrol, R.E.M. and Toto - and will be co-produced by Peter Gabriel's company Real World. Eagle Rock will distribute it later this year the year across 3DTV, theatrical, digital, DVD and Blu-ray platforms in all territories."

"I have long been fascinated by the potential of 3D to go beyond the gimmicks and immerse people in an experience," said Gabriel. "We had our first 3D filming experiments in the '80s, but at that time there was no audience or place to show them."

Not your standard promotional vehicle. Watch out for those arrows, kids.

By Blurt Staff

As we noted awhile back, the debut self-titled album from Wild Flag - the 4-piece Portland, OR- and Washington, DC-based rock group including Carrie Brownstein, Mary Timony, Rebecca Cole and Janet Weiss - is due September 13 on Merge Records. Featuring members of Sleater-Kinney, Quasi, Helium, the Minders and Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks to name just a few, Wild Flag premiered with a tour of small west coast rock clubs in the fall of 2010 and has been performing to hefty acclaim since. (Blurt caught the band in Austin at SXSW and also in D.C. this spring and can testify to the band's musical prowess.)

The latest round of tour dates is listed below. Meanwhile, you can take a look at the forthcoming album's new video trailer. It was directed by Andrew Ellmaker and Lara Gallagher and is pretty whacked out, to say the least.

Wild Flag - Album Trailer from Merge Records on Vimeo.

August 12       Williamsburg Waterfront        Brooklyn, NY*

October 3        Varsity Theatre           Minneapolis, MN

October 4        Waiting Room             Omaha, NE

October 5        Record Bar      Kansas City, MO

October 7        High Dive       Champaign, IL

October 9        Empty Bottle Chicago, IL

October 10      Grog Shop       Cleveland, OH

October 11      Lee's Palace     Toronto, ON

October 14      Paradise           Boston, MA

October 15      Bell House      Brooklyn, NY

October 16      Maxwell's        Hoboken, NJ

October 18      Bowery Ballroom        New York, NY

October 19      Union Transfer            Philadelphia, PA

October 20      Black Cat        Washington, DC

October 21      Cat's Cradle    Carrboro, NC

October 22      40 Watt           Athens, GA

October 24      Bottletree        Birmingham, AL

October 26      One Eyed Jacks          New Orleans, LA

October 29      Emo's Austin, TX

October 31      Rhythm Room            Tempe, AZ

November 1    Casbah            San Diego, CA

November 2    Troubadour     Los Angeles, CA

November 3    Troubadour     Los Angeles, CA

November 4    Great American Music Hall    San Francisco, CA

November 5    Great American Music Hall    San Francisco, CA

November 7    Humboldt State          Arcata, CA

November 9    Doug Fir          Portland, OR

November 10 Doug Fir          Portland, OR

November 11 Neumo's          Seattle, WA 

November 12 Biltmore Cabaret         Vancouver, BC

* with Sonic Youth and Kurt Vile & the Violators

The distaff side of Fiery Furnaces torches the Hotel Utah in San Francisco with incendiary solo outing on July 26.

By Jud Cost

With the striking good looks of Zooey Deschanel, the hairstyle of Chrissie Hynde and a voice that's all her own, Eleanor Friedberger played her first San Francisco solo show before about 35 devotees, jammed into the smallest room in town, the Hotel Utah at Fourth and Bryant. She and brother Matthew Friedberger did an acoustic show as indie-rock duo the Fiery Furnaces at Cafe du Nord just last May. "The band's getting smaller every time we come," laughed Eleanor. "It's down to just me this time."

When I told her earlier at the will-call desk that I was going to do a live review, she groaned, "Oh no, really?" A minute later, she tapped me on the shoulder at the bar, "Why don't you come back in September," she urged. "We'll have the whole band here then." She needn't have worried. Her short, 45-minute set was a knockout, start to finish, one of the best I've seen by a singer with an electric guitar. Much like Eilen Jewell, Friedberger's joy of being onstage is impossible to conceal, even in as drab a joint as the Hotel Utah, whose five wooden ceiling-support beams make for the worst sight-lines of any music venue since The Rock Garden in London's Covent Garden, back in the '70s.

Playing mostly original material from her debut solo album Last Summer (Merge), Friedberger's quiet but deadly accurate picking and strumming and no-nonsense voice would have wowed 'em at the storied Greenwich Village and Boston basket houses back in the days of Fred Neil and the Jim Kweskin Jug Band. "My brother bought this shitty guitar for $150 somewhere near our home in Oak Park, Illinois," she said, laughing it off when she hit a clunker to end a song. It was the only foot she put wrong all night. Friedberger introduced one tune, written by a male acquaintance who had a lot of girlfriends, then she kept the lyrics in their original gender, Joan Baez-like. The vocals to her own songs had the wide-eyed honesty and immediacy of Conor Oberst, high praise, indeed.

"Here's a song I wrote when I was 19, a couple of years ago," smirked Friedberger, now 34, as she lit up a confessional number that might have been an entry from her diary. "I'll send you on your merry way with a cover. Let's see, I've got the Ramones or Sparks..." she announced, unable to choose. Someone hollered out, "Ramones!" but she began playing one of her own songs, instead, then shut it down after a few chords. "Oh no, I've already played that one," she muttered. "Somebody please say something," she begged during the awkward moments before launching into another original gem.

Eleanor Friedberger is one very likeable performer who shines effortlessly in the phone-booth-like atmosphere of the Utah, but is clearly meant for bigger things, either with or without her brother. 

King Of Limbs gets suitably dismembered for the third time.

By Blurt Staff

The Radiohead King of Limbs remix series continues apace: the latest (third) 12" from the band feature Lone, Pearson Sound and Four Tet tackling, respectively, "Feral," "Morning Mr. Magpie" and "Separator." It'll be in stores next week but you can listen to it streaming now.

At the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on July 29, it was a Chicano rock party par, ahem, excellente.

By Jose Martinez

Friday night proved to be one of those special Southern California nights at the Greek Theatre. It was a beautiful, cool summer evening under the stars as Chicano-tinged rock filled the air.

Old school ‘veteranos' Los Lobos, hardly "just another band from East L.A." no matter if that was the title of their 30-year old debut release, got the party started right as its Spanish "Cumbia" music delighted the slightly older crowd. Los Lobos has managed to consistently evolve artistically while never losing sight of its humble beginnings. There is indeed more to the influential band than "La Bamba", which still manages to get the crowd off its feet. Its band's latest effort, Tin Can Trust continues to stay true to its roots even though "Yo Canto" sounds a lot like "Cumbia Raza", but that didn't seem to matter to the crowd.

With Los Lonely Boys' Henry and Ringo Garza joining on guitar and drums respectively on the band's final few numbers, the vibe really felt like a community effort, and segued seamlessly into the Los Lonely Boys fiery set.

The brothers Garza, including bassist JoJo, started their show with a long jam as concertgoers made their way back to their seats, with ‘cervezas' in hand. Los Lonely Boys first studio release in three years, Rockpango is a Spanglish word coined by the band that translates more or less to "rock party," and that's exactly what they delivered.

Not committed to playing the recorded versions of their songs, live, each selection seemed to meander a bit into longer, yet impressive, versions. The good-natured Texican jam fest came off as genuine and refreshing, and not the typical show played out on a nightly basis. With Los Lobos guitarist David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas, and horn player Steve Berlin, joining for the encores, the circle seemed complete, as the Greek was transformed into the perfect outdoor stage for classic bar bands to play.

Band also issues a special "thank-you" to the folks who didn't toss the master tapes in the trash!

By Blurt Staff

A few months ago it was announced that legendary Ohio/North Carolina post-punkers Bitch Magnet was getting back together for the first time since 1989 in order to play All Tomorrow's Parties' "Nightmare Before Christmas" festival in London this coming December 10. Now word arrives that Temporary Residence Limited will re-release the complete studio recordings from the band.

November 15 will see Star Booty, Umber, and Ben Hur  repackaged as as a deluxe, limited edition triple-LP set and as a triple CD. The reissues will also include songs that have never appeared on CD or LP, and a collection of previously unreleased studio recordings newly mixed in October 2010 with John Congleton (Explosions In The Sky, The Walkmen). The albums are remastered from the original analog master tapes.

"Bitch Magnet was a watershed band, both for me and for underground music of the ‘80s and '90s. They had a big hand in challenging and redefining punk rock at a very pivotal time, and laid the groundwork for a template that seems downright institutional at this point," said Jeremy deVine, owner of Temporary Residence Ltd. "It is an enormous honor to be a part of re-introducing these vital recordings to longtime fans and to the uninitiated."

"Were it not for the endless patience of Temporary Residence, which first approached us sometime during the Bush administration, this would not be happening," added Bitch Magnet guitarist Jon Fine. "Also, we owe a big debt to our friends and family across the US, whose residences housed Bitch Magnet master tapes for all these years. We're totally grateful they never quite got around to throwing them out."

That's good enough for us, too...


By Blurt Staff


Okay, okay, so we're a bit slow in posting this news item. It's summer - vacations, computer crashes, etc.


This was posted awhile back at the blog by Waits' label, Anit-, under the heading "peek at a lyric from new Tom Waits' album." We can hardly, er, wait! BTW, the fan comments at the blog are worth reading....

The legendary band's "L.A. Rising" show this past weekend, July 30, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum drew nearly 60,000 punters.

By Jose Martinez

In only its second Los Angeles show in the last ten years, Rage Against the Machine leapt onto the local scene with the weight of Godzilla behind it Saturday night. In classic Rage fashion, its last two L.A. specific performances (not including a 2007 concert at Coachella two hours away from the city) were protest shows; in 2000 at the Democratic National Convention and recently in protest of Arizona's controversial immigration law.

With close to 60,000 on hand at the Coliseum, it was a safe bet something unruly would occur. Dare we say ‘riot'? Hell, a riot broke out days before on Hollywood Boulevard, as ravers were annoyed an outdoor DJ set was shut down before a movie premiere. Maybe the $100 ticket price kept revelers from causing too much havoc, fearing they'd miss the band's long-awaited L.A. reunion.

Twenty years ago, when Rage delivered its unrelenting debut, they were fresh faces in the wake of the 1992 Rodney King riots. And the band's militant passion only grew from there. Saturday night, as mosh pit after mosh pit broke out on the general admission football field ‘dancefloor,' it was evident that there is not a hard rock band as intense and radical as Rage Against the Machine. Now a bonafide stadium act, the show, dubbed L.A. Rising, was the band's attempt to create it own annual rock festival. The inaugural lineup included Muse, Rise Against, Lauryn Hill, Immortal Technique, and El Gran Silencio.

"It's a much broader endeavor than sort of a normal rock gig would be," guitarist Tom Morello explained. "Our hope is that we're able to establish a festival in Los Angeles that people look forward to seeing every year."

Kicking things off with a fiery version of "Testify," the sound gave out and continued to drop but that didn't slow down the pit or the band's nuclear onstage assault. Fan favorite after fan favorite followed and the band, singer Zach de la Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk, were just as intense and immediate as ever.

Warning that there's a "tension in the air" in Los Angeles, de la Rocha railed against the slew of foreclosures around the city as new hotels, filled with empty rooms, open in downtown. He recalled how the city got it right with the Watts Riots and the '92 riots. Whether he was attempting to insight a riot, there is a fine line between civil disobedience and rallying for violence, the audience seemed too busy relishing the return of one of its rock favorites to take notice.

Revolution was the theme of the day, from rapper Immortal Technique getting the audience to chant "Viva La Revolution" to Lauren Hill hearkening back to her Fugees days, to Chicago punks Rise Above getting the mosh pits going. Muse added a great sense of high power arena rock to the night. Delivering an impressive and rousing performance, Muse picked up its rock quotient, offering popular rock jams like "Back in Black," "Heartbreaker" and "House of the Rising Sun" into its songs.

Yet the night belonged to Rage. Under the cool, beautiful summer L.A. sky, the band proved it is still as mighty and incendiary as ever. While fires burned in the mosh pits, there was no looting, an L.A. pastime, and the first ever L.A. Rising concert went off without a hitch. It will be interesting to see if the daylong festival becomes an annual event and what Rage's involvement will be. Maybe at the very least it will mean the band will perform yearly instead of once every decade.

[Photo credit of band: Penner, via Wikimedia Commons; other photos by Jose Martinez]

July 22 at the Mississippi Studios, the indie poster charmed a small but appreciative crowd.

By Tim Hinely

I was bummed that I had missed Messersmith last year so I wanted to make sure I caught him this time. The crowd was a bit sparse (but appreciative) probably due to the PDX Pop Now! Festival going on on the other side of town.  Messersmith didn't seem to mind, he seems to be happy-go-lucky and is a well-dressed guy and has a bit of an Elvis Costello look about him (ok, so it's the glasses). He is supremely talented individual and his backing back, comprised of a lead guitarist, drummer and a gent who played some bass as well as bit of cello were all ace players as well. They played a good chunk of material off his latest (3^rd) record , the terrific  The Reluctant Graveyard, as well as some earlier stuff. 

Not one to miss a joke either, Messersmith joked that "I've only been in Portland for a few hours but am impressed by both the quality and the quantity of the beards here"; and, at the end of the set, "OK, this is usually the part when I walk off stage and you guys cheer wildly then I come back out and play a few more songs, but let's just act like I left the stage but I will stay here....cool?"  The guy has the talent and deserves a bigger audience so we will see if he will go the way of Matthew Sweet (who he reminds me of a bit) and stay a cult favorite or break out. Stay tuned.

Taped Friday, July 22 at the Mother & Son Bistro in Asheville.

By Blurt Staff

A couple of the guys from Asheville's RBTS WIN sat down with Lingua Musica host Joe Kendrick for a chat in advance of their appearance at the upcoming Bele Chere Festival on Saturday 7-30-11. They talked about their synth-heavy sound and their ongoing relationship with Moog Music, their numerous releases (well-worth checking out, incidentally - most of them you can download for free) and upcoming plans, as well as life as an independent artist on a local music scene. Videographer Jesse Hamm also edited this video. 

You can visit RBTS WIN and check out song samples at their official website.

The videotaped conversation marks the latest in the new Lingua Musica Interviews series and we're looking forward to many more in the very near future. (Previous installments have included Dex Romweber Duo, Paper Tiger, Kellin Watson, Dubtribe, Dehlia Low, Ryan Montbleau, Brian McGee, Jon Dee Graham, and more.) BLURT is a proud co-sponsor of Lingua Musica. Please visit the LinguaMusicaAlive.com website, and meanwhile, check out the video.

[Photo Credit: Eric Graham Photography]