Kurt Vile "Jesus Fever" video

Smoke Rings For My Halo, the fourth album from Philadelphia singer Kurt Vile, is one of my favorite albums of the year (so far).  "Jesus Fever," with it's jangly guitar and dark, brooding vocals is a standout track on the album.  Vile and his Violators will be in Austin next month for the Austin City Limits music festival, as well as opening for Bright Eyes' official ACL after show at Stubb's on September 18th.  Buy your tickets here.

Check out the official video for "Jesus Fever."

Listen to new Girls track "Honey Bunny"

Christopher Owens (Photo courtesy of Pitchfork)

NPR is streaming "Honey Bunny," a new track by the San Francisco duo Girls.  The track, off their forthcoming album Father, Son, Holy Ghost, is a sunny, surf-pop homage to all things vintage. Primary songwriter, Christopher Owens, said he wrote the song about his mother back in 2008.

Check it out here.

Neil Young - Streets of Glasgow 1976.

Here's an interesting video of Neil Young singing "The Old Laughing Lady" on a Glasgow Street in 1976.

Thanks to La Blogotheque for turning me on to this rare treat!

Bon Iver "Holocene" video

A beautiful video for a beautiful song.

Day 1 SXSW 2011

Young Man at The Parish

My day one kind of started off slowly because I neglected to pick up my Fader Fort wristband on Tuesday and spent the better part of the day standing in line for the damn thing.  We did get to hear some of Toro y Moi and Jonquil while standing in the ridiculously long line.  (Note to Fader Fort:  Get a better system next year.  5 people doing RSVP's for thousands of people = 2 hour wait time).  As my friend Brandi said:  "After that 2 hour wait, Jesus had better be the surprise guest." 
After procuring our wristbands, I really needed a beer.  We headed over to the Flavorpill/Musebox party over at Lipstick 24.  There we saw electronic outfit Oh Land and Pitchfork darlings Nite Jewel.  We headed next door to Eventbrite's Empire Garage party where we should have been the whole time.  We caught the tail end of Braids' set.  It sounded wonderful.  Next up was Jukebox the Ghost, who also sounded great.  There we basked in the sunshine and sipped our free Dos Equis. 
We headed over to the Paste party to see Sondre Lerche but were discouraged by the long line.  After the Fort, I decided that I wouldn't wait in any more long lines that day.  Luckily, there will be other opportunities to check out Sondre.  We got to the New Zealand party and barely missed Liam Finn.  Boo.  But we did get to see The Naked and the Famous.  Their infectious rhythms were just what was needed to kick into night mode. 
After a much needed food break at the Whip In, we headed back downtown again.  Our first stop was the Parish, where we were treated to a set by Young Man, a group of strapping young lads.  To me, they sounded like a cross between Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah and Starsailor.  The stifling heat in the Parish (and the need to smoke a cigarette) brought us out into the street.  We decided to skip the Antlers (I plan on seeing them today at the NPR showcase) and head over to the Spill to catch some of the Dears.  Wow.  I have been a fan of the Dears for awhile, but wasn't crazy about their last album.  The material off of this album sounded great.  Singer Murray Lightburn and company exuded a frenetic energy that permeated the club with a frenzied, ecstatic vibe.  I will definitely be catching another show of the band before South by ends. 
We hightailed it down to Red River to catch Tennis and Yuck at Club Deville.  Unfortunately, we got there too late to see Tennis, another band that I intend to catch this week.  Yuck were amazing.  It was a nineties rock revival complete with soaring, fuzzed-out guitars and catchy pop drenched melodies.  On our way back to the car, we heard Duran Duran belting out "Girls on Film" from Stubbs.  It would have been a great show to see, but I didn't want to spend the entire night at Stubb's (although the lineup was great).  As I have said before, I love the nomadic experience of SXSW. 
My feet already hurt.  On today's agenda?
Wye Oak at the IFC House, The Antlers at the NPR Day show, City and Colour, Atlas Sound at Flamingo, Smith Westerns at East Side Drive-In, and The Strokes!  I'm sure things will get changed around a bit, but I fully intend on seeing the Strokes at Auditorium Shores. 

Brooklyn Vegan Saturday party!

Brooklyn Vegan have announced the details for their Saturday day party at Barbarella and Swan Dive. For this party they joined forces with M for Montreal to present a stellar lineup with tasty treats too!

Check out full lineup here.


- Alison Willis

Bon Iver at Fader Fort!

Bon Iver will appear Saturday night at the Fader Fort with former bandmates/friends Megafaun. The Fort says it will be a "Bon Iver/Megafaun/Deyarmond Edison collaboration."
Deyarmond Edison is the former band that included Justin Vernon and members of Megafaun.
More info here.

- Alison Willis