Art Brut Returns to NYC for a Show at Terminal 5

Art Brut is back in the States and will be doing an East Coast tour with The Hold Steady in Oct/Nov. The band has only one show in the area - Wednesday, Nov 21 @ Terminal 5, New York, NY. For anyone who hasn't been keep up with the new clubs that have been opening; Terminal 5 is the old Club Exit and it is located at 56th Street and 11th Avenue. According to this week's TimeOut, Terminal 5 has a capacity of 3,000. (I am sure there are going to be those who reminisce for last year's small club shows at Southpaw and the Knit)

Art Brut also did a live podcast for AOL's The Interface which is available as a free download on both video and mp3. Eddie is really something to watch -- I didn't hear the comparisons to The Fall when I first listened to the pre-release of It's a Bit Complicated but I can really see the comparison now. If you listen to the interview, there is talk that the University of Berlin is having a course on Eddie's lyrics.

Here is the track listing for the podcast:
'Pump Up the Volume'
'Post Soothing Out'
'Direct Hit'
'Good Weekend'

I have yet to catch The Hold Steady but this video from the band's show at Prospect Park looks pretty cool. It sounds like Craig Finn's spoken word delivery is a perfect match to accompany Eddie and Art Brut.

Before going off with Art Brut, The Hold Steady is play a show on 9.17.07 @ World Trade Center.

Links:
The Hold Steady
Art Brut
Art Brut's MySpace Page

Legal Music Downloads - TV on The Radio, Cold War Kids and Iggy (Pop) & The Stooges

I have been meaning to clear off my iPod and finally got around to listening to a number of the podcasts that I had downloaded.

The first podcast is TV on the Radio live on AOL's The Interface. The band's set was recorded in November of last year (2006) and they sound great!! They play three songs live in the studio and really show how far they have matured in both musicianship and songwriting since their debut. The band also gives a short interview and, amusingly, David Sitek grumping about the leak of the Cookie Mountain demos sounds somewhat like the Lars Ulrich/Napster wars (see below).


Tracks played are "Wash the Day", "Young Liars" and "Province". This is well worth the download.


The second podcast is The Cold War Kids live on KEXP's mid-morning show. As the only thing that I have previously heard by The Cold War Kids is Nathan Willet's solo set on The Interface, I don't have much of a point of comparison. I like the songs with the full band much better than Willet solo but, all-in-all, I don't hear what all the hype is about.

The last podcast is a twenty-minute set by Iggy & The Stooges recorded live at SXSW on March 16, 2007. This is a must for any Iggy fan as it features the reunited Stooges playing four cuts from The Weirdness. The tracks are "Trollin'", Interview with Iggy, "ATM", "My Idea of Fun" and "She Took My Money".

Pablo - Legal Music Download

I really need to stop relying on Spinner as my only source for legal music downloads. Unfortunately, I have been that busy at work that I haven't had time to chase down any new sources.

I have been hearing the local buzz around Pablo for some time but never got around to checking out the band. (It is dangerous how convenient Spinner.com is) Pablo, which is the brain-child of singer/guitarist Paul Schalda, caught my attention. I haven't made up my mind on the band but I would definately like to hear more and perhaps hear how the band sounds live.

Check out the band's set on The Interface from this past January where the band played four songs live in the studio and gave a fairly interesting interview (link).

Pablo has been playing a series of shows at the Rockwood Music Hall this month and has two shows upcoming -- June 16th and June 30th.

Pablo's latest release Half the Time was released last year on 230/Curb Appeal Records.

Links:
Pablo's Main Website (link)
Pablo's MySpace page (link)

Cold War Kids and Cloud Cult - Legal Music Download

I think I must be the few bloggers who have never what the Cold War Kids sound like so I was looking forward to hearing Cold War Kids lead singer Nathan Willet perform on The Interface. Willet performed two songs, We Used to Vacation and Hospital Beds. Unfortunately neither song did much for me. I didn't like Willet's voice and didn't find the lyrical content that interesting. It was all just a bit too "emo" for my tastes so, while I'll give the full band a listen, I am going to pass on Willet's solo work going forward.


BrooklynVegan has been a big fan of Cloud Cult and, based on this podcast, I can see why. This podcast was recorded on March 17th, 2007 as part of WOXY.com's live broadcasts from Austin, Texas during SXSW 2007. (There are some pictures from the recording session on Flickr.) The music is very interesting and obviously carefully arranged. It seems as though every note and every vocal has a purpose but no one sound overpowers another. I also enjoyed hearing what the band had to say during their interview. They have some pretty positive views on operating the band as a non-profit and maintaining an strong eco-friendly stance. On this podcast, the band performs Chain Reaction, Pretty Voice, Chemicals Collide, Washed Your Car and Son is Watching.

I'm very interested in hearing more from Cloud Cult.

Links:
Cold War Kids Main Website (link)
Cold War Kids MySpace page (link)

Cloud Cult Main Website (link)
Cloud Cult MySpace page (link)

Ted Leo - Legal Music Downloads

I hate it when I "wake up" and realize that a brilliant band has been right under my nose for quite a number of years. I lived in DC for years and have always been sort of aware of Ted Leo and Chisel. I just don't remember seeing them play. Once I moved to New York, I never bothered going to see him play as a solo artist. The live performance that Leo gave for The Interface is simply brilliant.

This podcast (link below) contains Leo playing four songs solo electric and he gives a brief interview. The songs performed are "Bleeding Powers", "Who Do You Love", "A Bottle of Buckie" and "Timorous Me". I can't say enough how much I have enjoyed this. I had heard Leo slagged as being a Paul Weller clone but he really sound nothing like Weller. His vocal style is probably closer to Phil Lynott or Joe Jackson.

Here is a link to the podcast (link) and there are additional live video and audio on Leo's website.

Leo's new CD Living with the Living was released earlier this year on Tounch & Go Records.

Links:

Ted Leo Main Website (link)
Ted Leo MySpace (link)