Archive - Mar 2010

It's been a while since we posted anything about Chicago alt-country rockers Wilco, but thanks to French music vlog La Blogotheque, we now have some new content from Tweedy and the gang. Videographer Vincent Moon made his way to Montreal where Wilco were set to perform a gig later in the evening, and recorded the band going through a stripped-down version of their "Country Disappeared." I've been hoping Wilco would meet Vincent Moon Derrick Belcham, and it finally happened. I would've loved to see them do one of Moon's famous Take-Away shows, where bands take to the streets to perform unique two or three songs sets in different parts of the city they are in, but this will definitely suffice. Damn, I love this band!

Hopefully Wilco makes it to Houston again sometime soon, and when that happens, let's pray that Cereal won't get in a chick fight and have to poor a beer on some rude girls head.

Black Joe Lewis plays Walter's on Friday night

Check out whats hitting Houston's clubs and venues over the next week:

Monday, March 29
The Mighty Orq
The Big Easy
8 PM

Tuesday, March 30
El Ten Eleven and I Am Mesmer
Rudyard's
9 PM

Wednesday, March 31
Fat Man and Little Boy
Under The Volcano
8 PM

Roky Moon & Bolt
Walter's On Washington
9 PM

Check out the rest of this week's shows after the jump

Day two of the SXSW music festival was just as action-packed as day one, this time filled with a host of my must-see acts of the year. After our initial plans were deviated, we ended up catching sets from Everest, Delta Spirit, Citizen Cope, Minus The Bear, Grupo Fantasma, Mariachi El Bronx, Billy Bragg, Frightened Rabbit and Man Man.

Check out my photos from Friday, March 19th at the SXSW music festival after the jump!

With one full day at the 2010 SXSW music festival done and gone, we still had two more to go. While I studied my ass off leading up to the weekend, I still went into it with no real plan – just ideas of what I might want to do. I had the parents and sister in tow for another day, and Bacon had plans to meet us later in the day, so all I knew was that I was ready for a party. We got up decently late, and shipped off in favor of another brilliant day of music, friends, partying and whatever other hi-jinks we could get ourselves into.

Read all about Friday, March 19th at the 2010 SXSW music festival after the jump.

A couple years back, Cereal and I had the opportunity to attend a performance by Swedish indie-rock trio Peter, Bjorn and John at Houston's Warehouse Live. They were quite good that night, but it was their supporting act, The Besnard Lakes, that truly caught our attention. After the show we scooped up a copy of their 2007 album, The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse, and immediately fell in love with the grandiose sounds that were coming from the Montreal quartet. Towards the beginning of this month, the group released The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Horse, and while I still haven't heard the album completely, reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. For their national television debut, they took the stage on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to work through the first single from the new album, "And This Is What We Call Progress." Check it out...

Great tune! I can't wait to pick up a copy of Roaring Horse in the next couple of days. Also, for us Houstonians, The Besnard Lakes will be visiting our fair city for a gig at Walter's on May 19. Get excited folks!

Our first day of the 2010 edition of SXSW was jam-packed with musical exploration. We had the chance to check out a bunch of bands we've never indulged in before, and caught up with some old favorites. Throughout the day we caught sets from The Living Sisters, Fanfarlo, Gordon Gano & The Ryans, Lou Barlow & the Missingmen, The Lonely Forest, The Low Anthem, Black Prairie, The xx, Local Natives, Adam Green and Delta Spirit.

Check out my photos from Thursday, March 18 at SXSW after the jump.

Another SXSW has come and gone, and we couldn't have left with more accomplished and satisfied feelings then we did. The BOT team of Toast, Bacon and myself took the festival by storm, and hit up as many shows as possible. Over the course of three days I witnessed at least a few songs by 48 different bands (as well as a few choice repeats), and now I sit here in a daze trying to think about our crazy adventures throughout the city of Austin. We made it to the festival on Thursday morning, and it was on from there!

Read about BOT's Thursday, March 18 at the SXSW music festival after the jump

Newport Folk Festival - photo courtesy of Scotty B over at Hidden Track
There have been many festivals that have come and gone over the years, but only one can say they've been at it for over half a decade. George Wein's Newport Folk Festival has been going strong since 1959, and has witnessed year after year of quality performances. I mean, come on, Dylan first went electric at Newport! That's pretty freaking cool if you ask me. For the 51st edition of the storied festival, Wein has put together another excellent docket of bands to perform at the three-day event. Friday, July 30th is an abridged day, and will be headlined by actor/comedian/musician Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers. Saturday, July 31st will see performances from the likes of John Prine, Andrew Bird, Yim Yames of My Morning Jacket, Calexico and SXSW bust-out's The Low Anthem among others. The final day, Sunday, August 1st, will close the festival out in style with Levon Helm's Ramble On The Road, The Swell Season, The Avett Brothers, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Richie Havens and one of my current favorites, The Felice Brothers.

Check out the full line-up for the 2010 Newport Folk Festival after the jump.

One of my must-see acts of 2010's SXSW music festival was without a doubt Liverpool dance-rockers YACHT. After catching bits and pieces of two different sets on Friday, I finally had the chance to experience the group for an entire set at the French Legation Museum's Garden Party on a chilly Saturday evening that also featured the likes of Frightened Rabbit and J Mascis' Sweet Apple. They didn't disappoint for their full 45 minutes, and left me with a longing for an extended performance in the near future. Just today, the duo consisting of Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans released a brand new video for "The Afterlife," a standout track from their break-out 2009 album, See Mystery Lights. The video finds them being baptized, not only once, but numerous times in a various assortment of different bodies of water. Check it out...

There's really no way you can't love this song, specifically the breakdown mid-way through. After hearing it live twice a few days ago, I'm freaking obsessed!

Congratulations to Corey Deiterman and Eric Brantner for winning a pair of tickets each! We will continue to feature give away's on a regular basis, so for those of you that didn't win, there will be plenty of opportunities for free tickets in the near future. Thanks for supporting BOT!

We are giving away two pairs of tickets to see Alkaline Trio, Cursive and The Dear & Departed at Houston's Warehouse Live on Friday, March 26th. To win, all you have to do is leave a comment with your full name and e-mail address or phone number in which you receive texts. We will need to get a hold of you when we choose the winners, and be able to give your full name to our press contact, so without those things, you can't win. We will be choosing the winners on Thursday, March 25th at 3 PM, so get your comments in quick! We will quickly notify the winner via e-mail or text, as well as at the top of this post shortly after the 3 PM deadline. This should be a pretty amazing showcase of road-tested indie rock from all three bands, and I can't think of a better way to see it when you don't have to pay for it!

If you don't feel like entering this simple contest, or have too much money lying around, you can hop on over to Warehouse Live's ticketing page and pick up as many as you need for a pretty cheap $18 ($6 a band...). As always, thanks to The Messina Group, AEG Live and Warehouse Live for allowing us the chance to give away all of these tickets. You guys kick ass!