“… returned to their youthful passion without losing a step… it is nice to have you back, ladies.”—THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
Luscious Jackson will finally play its first show in the borough that the band”s Jill Cunniff and Gabby Glaser call home. The triumphant roll that began with the release of the Magic Hour album last fall continues with a November 22 date at the Bell House in Brooklyn.
The Bell House date is the latest news in the wake of the Cunniff, Glaser and Kate Schellenbach”s Magic Hour album, released last November on the band’s own City Song label (on sale at iTunes or http://www.LusciousJackson.us). Magic Hour has seen a uniformly excellent reception including raves from ROLLING STONE (“Luscious Jackson were to New York freestyle dance pop what their online casino cohorts the Beastie Boys were to hip-hop… Welcome back, ladies”), THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (“Listening to Luscious Jackson… is like a night out hitting the clubs in New York City: a rock riff here, reggae grooves there, some sugary pop, and plenty of low end. All in all, a good time, and plenty eclectic”), and many more. Luscious Jackson’s live debut along the Gowanus is the latest live event in a run including a November 18 appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, and rapturously received live shows in Philadelphia, New York City, San Francisco, Boston and Los Angeles—a show that had THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER raving that the band had “… returned to their youthful passion without losing a step… it is nice to have you back, ladies.”
“fully enthralling live… a show that feels less like a collection of songs and more an immersive experience… even after the band’s final goodbye, the crowd stood in the park singing the melodic words-free chorus line like a soccer chant with passion and gratitude.”–HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
“Born headliners”–THE GUARDIAN
“Watching a band at the top of their game, blurring the lines between musical styles…You won’t see many better live performances”–MTV
“Euphoric… Theirs is the kind of music that makes you want to wrap your arm around everyone you’re with, sing like inebriated pirates and hope that summer never ends”–THE INDEPENDENT
Having completed a hugely successful swing through Europe, the UK and beyond, Arcade Fire will bring their one-of-a-kind, euphoria-inducing, multi-stage Reflektor Tour back to North America resuming July 30 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, CA. Among the host of esteemed guests joining the band for this next leg will be Spoon, The Unicorns, Owen Pallett, Antibalas, Tune-Yards, Constantines and Fraka.
Additionally, the legendary Akron, OH androids Devo, whose “Uncontrollable Urge” has cropped up as an occasional Arcade Fire encore, will perform opening sets to kick off Arcade Fire’s Mountain View and Chicago shows. Attendees of the band’s third night in Brooklyn on August 24 will begin their evening with an exclusive reunion performance from the pioneers who first brought alt rock to CBGB in the mid 1970s: Television.
As was the case during Arcade Fire’s first North American tour leg, Dan Deacon will be hosting between-sets dance parties guaranteed to get those feet warmed up for the main event. The festivities will be further expanded in Los Angeles for the band’s two nights at The Forum where Steve Mackey of Pulp will provide an after-show DJ set.
For a full listing of confirmed dates and support acts, consult the itinerary below.
ARCADE FIRE
REFLEKTOR TOUR
07/25/14 – Niigata, Japan – Fuji Rock
07/30/14 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheater + *
08/01-02/14 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum ^ * %
08/04/14 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl # *
08/05/14 – San Diego, CA – Sleep Train Amphitheatre & *
08/08/14 – Seattle, WA – The Gorge Amphitheatre *
08/09/14 – Squamish, BC – Squamish Valley Festival
08/11/14 – Edmonton, AB – Rexall Place @ *
08/12/14 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome @ *
08/14/14 – Winnipeg, MB – MTS Centre @ *
08/17/14 – Washington, DC – Verizon Center ! *
08/19/14 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center ! *
08/20/14 – Bangor, ME – Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion ! *
08/22-23/14 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center ^ *
08/24/14 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center $ ^ *
08/26-27/14 – Chicago, IL – United Center + *
08/29/14 – Toronto, ON – Molson Canadian Amphitheatre // *
08/30/14 – Montreal, QC – Parc Jean Drapeau & * >>
* with Dan Deacon
+ with Devo
$ with Television
& with Spoon
^ with The Unicorns
# with Owen Pallett
@ with Tune-Yards
! with Antibalas
// with Constantines
>> with Fraka
% with Steve Mackey (DJ Set)
“I don’t know if you’ve ever been in that situation where you knew a record was going to come out at a certain point, and you waited for that day and went to the store and got it on that day. But that was something I used to do, and it was part of a process that made it kind of magical.”— SALON.com interview with Britt Daniel
The revolutionary method of vinyl album preordering is upon us. On its very first day of availability, Spoon’s Vinyl Gratification program is already selling out supplies at record stores across North America!
Developed as an incentive to encourage preordering albums from record stores, Spoon’s Vinyl Gratification initiative rewards fans for frequenting their favorite independent music retailers.
Upon preordering a vinyl copy of Spoon’s forthcoming album, They Want My Soul (out August 5 on Loma Vista), at a participating record store, fans will be instantly rewarded with a limited edition 45 RPM vinyl 10-inch featuring three songs: “Rent I Pay”, “Inside Out” and the album’s lead single, “Do You”. On or after August 5, those fans who have preordered through the Vinyl Gratification program can return to their record store and get their beautiful 180g white vinyl copy of They Want My Soul.
Daniel explained further to SALON this week, “It bothered me that over and over we were giving these things to these entities that I feel don’t need a break necessarily. And I feel like the record labels and the record stores themselves could stand a break and yet nobody’s giving it to them, and I don’t know, it just seemed like a cool spin on the idea of these instant gratification things that are such a big deal these days.”
Castor, the mastermind behind a certain used Volvo ad (and later, an actual Volvo commercial), has created a video to detail the workings of Spoon’s program. Take a look here and then proceed to a participating record store to make your mark on music history.
07/18/14 – Louisville, KY – Forecastle Festival
07/25/14 – Seattle, WA – Capitol Hill Block Party
08/01/14 – Chicago, IL – Metro
08/02/14 – Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza
08/05/14 – San Diego, CA – Sleep Train Amphitheater
at Chula Vista *
08/08/14 – Los Angeles, CA – The Fairbanks Lawn of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery
08/10/14 – San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands
08/17/14 – Portland, OR – Musicfest NW
08/30/14 – Montreal, QC – Parc Jean Drapeau *
08/31/14 – Philadelphia, PA – Made in America Festival
09/02-03/14 – Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre +
09/05/14 – Raleigh, NC – Hopscotch Music Festival +
09/06/14 – Norfolk, VA – Norva +
09/07/14 – Boston, MA – Boston Calling Music Festival
09/10/14 – New York, NY – Central Park
09/11/14 – Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead +
09/12/14 – Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room +
09/13/14 – Hamilton, ON – Supercrawl Festival
09/14/14 – Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Theatre +
09/16/14 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre #
09/17/14 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theatre #
09/18/14 – Madison, WI – Orpheum Theatre #
09/19/14 – Minneapolis, MN – State Theatre #
09/20/14 – St. Louis, MO – Pageant #
09/21/14 – Lawrence, KS – Liberty Hall #
09/23/14 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom #
10/03-05/14 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Music Festival
10/10-12/14 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Music Festival
11/01/14 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
11/02/14 – Hamburg, Germany – Uebel & Gefarlich
11/03/14 – Basel, Switzerland – Kaserne Reithalle
11/04/14 – Cologne, Germany – Luxor
11/05/14 – Ghent, Belgium – Vooruit
11/06/14 – Paris, France – Trabendo
11/07/14 – London, UK – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
* special guests of Arcade Fire
+ with Hamilton Leithauser
# with EMA
SAN DIEGO — Paul McCartney has added another date to summer”s hottest ticket: the Out There world tour has confirmed a September 28 stop at Petco Park in San Diego – marking Paul’s first concert in the city since the Wings Over America tour passed through in 1976.
The Out There tour, as always, features music from the most beloved catalog in popular music, as Paul performs songs spanning his entire career – as a solo artist, member of Wings and of course as a Beatle. The set list will also include material from Paul”s most recent studio album NEW, a global hit upon its release last year.
The McCartney live experience is a once in a lifetime opportunity; in just three hours some of the greatest moments from the last 50 years of music are relived; music which for many has shaped the very soundtrack of their lives. The last decade has seen Paul and his band perform in a staggeringly impressive range of venues and locations, including outside the Coliseum in Rome, in Moscow”s Red Square, Buckingham Palace, at the White House, a free show in Mexico to over 400,000 people, and even broadcast live into Space! Featuring Paul”s band of the last 10 years – Paul “Wix” Wickens (keyboards), Brian Ray (bass/guitar), Rusty Anderson (guitar) and Abe Laboriel Jr (drums) – the show never disappoints.
The tour also uses state of the art technology and production to ensure the entire audience has the best possible experience. With massive screens, lasers, fireworks, unique video content and, of course, the best songs in the world, a Paul McCartney show is so much more than just an ordinary concert. Paul”s shows attract a multi-generational audience from different backgrounds all brought together by his music.
Tickets for Paul’s return to San Diego will be on sale to the general public Friday, July 18 at online pokies 10 a.m. American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets before the general public beginningMonday, July 14 at 10 a.m. Padres Season Ticket Members can purchase tickets before the general public beginning Thursday, July 17 at 10 a.m. Tickets will be available at www.padres.com/PaulMcCartney and all Ticketmaster locations. Suites and premium hospitality spaces will be available for purchase by phone at 619.795.5060 or by email at suites@padres.com.
Keep checking PaulMcCartney.comfor further announcements as the Out There tour expands into September and October. PAUL McCARTNEY OUT THERE U.S. TOUR 2014
July 9 – Chicago, IL – United Center
July 12 – Fargo, ND – Fargodome
July 14 – Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
July 16 – Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
August 2 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Field
August 5 – Missoula, MT – Washington-Grizzly Stadium
August 7 – Salt Lake City, UT – EnergySolutions Arena
August 10 – Los Angeles, CA – Dodger Stadium
August 12 – Phoenix, AZ – US Airways Center
August 14 – San Francisco, CA – Candlestick Park
September 28 – San Diego, CA — Petco Park
October 2 – Lubbock, TX – United Spirit Arena
October 11 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
October 13 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
October 15 – Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
October 16 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
October 25 – Jacksonville, FL – Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
October 28 – Louisville, KY – Yum! Center
October 30 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum
“Like a kid getting a special package in the mail and opening it up with anticipation, these interpretations of songs from the Song Reader book have surpassed what I could have imagined when putting the book together. The book addressed the idea of a song in its most elemental form, letting others give it a voice. It amazes me to hear how these musicians have made the songs their own and in the process revealed that the interpretation is the living breathing soul of the piece. These interpretations have made the book something new— something better.” —BECK
The now legendary Beck Song Reader – twenty Beck compositions previously released exclusively as stunningly illustrated sheet music in partnership with McSweeney’s — will receive a long awaited traditional release on July 29, when Warby Parker/Capitol Records issues the Beck Song Readercompilation album, produced by Beck and Randall Poster, known for his music supervision work with directors Wes Anderson, Martin Scorsese, Sam Mendes and many others. Warby Parker will commemorate the release of Song Reader by reissuing limited-edition Carmichael frames created in collaboration with Beck, this time in Black Cherry — as well as a new edition of the Song Reader book, featuring two new prints from artist Marcel Dzama.
“No one embodies the spirit of creativity and collaboration more than Beck. From the moment we heard about his Song Reader, we were eager to join forces on the project. We’re thrilled to have worked together to introduce an album and a great pair of frames,” says Warby Parker co-CEO and co-founder Neil Blumenthal.
The 20-track all-star collection features exclusively recorded versions of Song Reader charts by the likes of Jack White, Jeff Tweedy, David Johansen, Jason Isbell, Fun., Eleanor Friedberger, and several more including Beck himself.
“I was incredibly excited when Beck asked me to produce a collection of Song Reader recordings with him,” says the album’s producer Randall Poster. “Beck’s dynamic musical energy and creative passion inspired the artists — some of our favorite and greatest artists at that — to make these songs their own and render them with authority and distinction. They are both a reward and an invitation to join in on a unique and enduring song enterprise.”
The Warby Parker release of Beck Song Reader marks the first officially recorded incarnation of the project, which has already inspired interpretations from hundreds of musicians the world over. The record includes the studio-quality debut of songs previously only played live either by Beck himself or at one of the handful of Song Reader concerts staged over the last two years. The most recent of these was presented by the L.A. Philharmonic in partnership with McSweeney’s and Warby Parker at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on November 24, 2013. Described by The Los Angeles Times as an “expertly delivered and received night… another big step in Beck’s long, fascinating evolution,” the show’s highlights included Jarvis Cocker’s interpretively danced “Why Did You Make Me Care?” and Jack Black’s borderline frightening “We All Wear Cloaks,” the latter of which makes its recorded debut on the Beck Song Reader album.
The limited edition Carmichael glasses’ two-tone hue combines Beck’s two favorite colors, in a design inspired by Beck’s genre-bending music and unimpeachable personal style. Equal parts eclectic and charming, Carmichael will be available online at warbyparker.com and at Warby Parker stores and showrooms beginning July 29. The new edition of the book will be available at store.mcsweeneys.net, and at Warby Parker stores.
Warby Parker and artists’ proceeds from the Beck Song Reader album will go to 826 National, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students, ages 6–18, with expository and creative writing at eight locations across the USA. For more information, go to http://826national.org/. For every pair of frames sold, a pair will also be distributed to someone in need through Warby Parker’s Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program.
The complete track listing for Beck Song Reader is as follows:
1. Moses Sumney – Title of this Song
2. Fun – Please Leave A Light On When You Go
3. Tweedy – The Wolf is on the Hill
4. Norah Jones – Just Noise
5. Lord Huron – Last Night You Were A Dream
6. Bob Forrest – Saint Dude
7. Jack White – I’m Down
8. Beck – Heaven’s Ladder
9. Juanes – Don’t Act Like Your Heart Isn’t Hard
10. Laura Marling – Sorry
11. Jarvis Cocker – Eyes That Say “I Love You”
12. David Johansen – Rough On Rats
13. Jason Isbell – Now That Your Dollar Bills Have Sprouted Wings
14. The Last Polka – Marc Ribot
15. Eleanor Friedberger – Old Shanghai
16. Sparks – Why Did You Make Me Care?
17. Swamp Dogg – America, Here’s My Boy
18. Jack Black – We All Wear Cloaks
19. Loudon Wainwright III – Do We? We Do
20. Gabriel Kahane & yMusic – Mutilation Rag
About Warby Parker
Warby Parker is a transformative lifestyle brand with a lofty objective: to offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price while leading the way for socially conscious businesses. For every pair of glasses sold, a pair is distributed to someone in need through the Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program.
Since early on, Warby Parker has taken an interest in cultivating and developing emerging musicians, showcasing new talent like HAIM, Niki & the Dove and Father John Misty at the Warby Parker Citizens Circus at SXSW in 2012, to the Artists in Residence program, where the brand hosted a selection of developing artists at The Standard Hotel for a long weekend of composing and recording. The Warby Parker release of the Song Reader is another step in the brand’s ongoing support of the music industry.
Warby Parker is available at www.WarbyParker.com as well as stores and showrooms across the country.
“The idea was inspired by the chance meeting in 1957 that would change Paul, John, George, and Ringo’s lives forever,” explains L.A. director Vincent Haycock.
The proposal Vincent wrote for “Early Days” simply begins, “This film is a poetic homage to the legendary beginnings of Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s relationship.”
Expanding on his idea Vincent says, “Their story at its core is a universal one, two young kids who bond over their passion for music and form a band and friendship. This video is about them, and every band, and every kid who has suffered the ups and downs of starting a band, whether or not they became successful. The universality of their story was a big inspiration of setting the film in Mississippi during the 50s. This is a time period that inspired The Beatles – American Rock and Roll and the Mississippi Delta Blues of the 50s. Early Days is about the spirit and inspiration young musicians find in each other.”
Vincent has a CV that includes an Emmy nomination in 2004 for designing and directing the main title sequence for the TV show Nip/Tuck. Since then he’s gone on to work on music videos for artists such as Florence + The Machine, Cheryl Cole and Spiritualized. He has established a unique freeform docudrama-style music promo and in 2012 he won a MTV VMA for Best EDM video for the track “Feel So Close” by British DJ/producer Calvin Harris.
Talking about how he came to be working with Paul he recalls, “I sent over a written treatment and then spoke with Paul about it and it developed from there. Paul generously shared some old stories with me that inspired many of the scenes in the video.”
Shot between L.A., Natchez, Mississippi and Faraday, Louisiana, Vincent spent almost a month in total working on the video. The casting involved an extensive process and it was important to Vincent that all the characters be as authentic as possible. His team took to street casting in the locations, utilizing local churches, schools and record stores to find people with genuine emotional connections to the music and history of the areas they were shooting in.
Paul recorded his parts in L.A. over two days and the story unfolds around an intimate performance with just him and an acoustic guitar. By the end of the video Paul is playing with a group of blues guitarists, including his friend Johnny Depp. Johnny, no stranger to a McCartney video and an accomplished guitar player too, stopped by on the day for a jam.
Vincent describes his experience of working with Paul as “such a pleasure”. “Paul’s scene was incredibly fun to create. It was just him, some blues players and Johnny Depp jamming on set all day. Patti Smith also turned up on set and hung out, which made the crew very happy! One of my favorite days of filming ever.”
“Early Days” is taken from Paul’s 16th solo album NEW, which was released to critical acclaim in October 2013. In the UK it entered the Official Album Charts at Number Three and in the US Billboard charts it also charted at Number Three. Within months it had sold almost quarter-of-a-million copies in America alone and counting. NEW also went Top 10 in 17 different countries including a Number One position in the Japanese charts. Since its release it has achieved Silver sales status in territories including UK and France, Gold status in Japan and Platinum in Russia, to name just a few international sales achievements.
Paul is currently touring the US on his Out There tour which opened in South America earlier this year.
Can you believe we’re at our 21st Vault package? It seems like only yesterday we were overwhelmed with mono Icky Thump LPs, folding t-shirts, driving the packages to the post office (before we’d figured out USPS would just pick ‘em up from us) and generally feeling like there was no way we’d ever get through mailing all of those. Memories.
Keeping our promise made a few months back, the 7-inch for this go-round is another deadly two song pairing from the leather nightmares of the Dead Weather. THESE ARE TWO NEW ORIGINAL TRACKS…DEBUTING ON VINYL EXCLUSIVELY FOR VAULT MEMBERS! Pressed on pretty golden vinyl, the tracks “Buzzkill(er)” and “It’s Just Too Bad” are further examples that this band, in their downtime from Queens of the Stone Age, the Kills and JW solo, are more deadly than 99% of the rest of the also-rans out there. Don’t let the waterfowl on the single cover fool you…this single spits fire.
The LP for Vault #21 is a release unrelated to new albums or anniversaries or anything of that sort…just something that feels right. The White Stripes Live Under The Lights Of The Rising Sun showcases Jack and Meg in their first overseas trip in October 2000. While the band’s two Japanese shows were far from sold out, the power transmitted by the band is captivating. This double LP contains the entirety of the the White Stripes’ two Tokyo performances. With an on-mic shout-out to the evening’s headliners the 5.6.7.8’s, the Stripes would also cover that band’s classic song “I Walk Like Jayne Mansfield” in an improvised medley that also included Screaming Lord Sutch’s “Jack the Ripper.” Other highlights from the two nights include a rare cover of Iggy Pop’s “I’m Bored” as well as pre-White Blood Cells takes on “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground.” Complete with unseen photos taken during one of the performances and a sneaky die-cut, gatefold jacket, this live document leaves nothing to be desired to even the most die-hard fanatic. Listen to a clip of “Hello Operator” from Live Under The Lights Of The Rising Sunhere.
For our third item…a first in the Third Man world…a flag! A proper 3ft by 5ft, wave it high, show your colors, all aboard the SS TMR rock and roll flag. This thing will give the jolly roger a run for it’s money. And if that weren’t enough…there’s a contest involved. Once they’ve received their flags, Vault members are encouraged to submit photos of the flag in different, unique states of display. The “best” photo, as arbitrarily decided by a team of Third Man’s finest indentured servants, will receive test pressings of both the 7” and 12” discs from the Vault 21 package. You can’t beat that with a stick.
“the heaviest band of the evening – and the most swinging… powerful enough to require a UN weapons inspection team.”—ROLLING STONE
“the band’s entire performance felt miraculous… flawless… better than anyone else.”—THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
“the greatest living rock’n’roll band”—SPIN
It’s “The End Of The Road” for Queens Of The Stone Age… For now, at least: As its globe-pummeling juggernaut of a world tour finally begins to wind down, the band is excited to announce the final addition to the itinerary: a special Halloween concert-party in Los Angeles. Josh Homme and company will headline L.A.’s celebrated Forum on October 31 with a stacked supporting troupe including The Kills, JD McPherson and Nick Oliveri’s Uncontrollable — plus a creepy assortment of carny types and sideshow surprises.
Also part of an evening guaranteed to amaze and delight, fans will witness appearances by SuicideGirls and a host of sideshow freaks. Attendees are encouraged to venture out to the Forum’s parking lot and brave the Blackout Haunted House. You’ve heard the horror stories and now it’s your turn to experience the most controversial and infamous haunted house in the world. We dare you not to use the safe word. For more information on Blackout go here: http://www.blackouthh.com/
Fans are also encouraged to vie for the title of King and Queen of Halloween during a costume competition. Don’t be shy.
Don’t miss out on an evening filled with tricks and treats of all sorts—and the last L.A. QOTSA throw down before they power down into studio mode for who knows how long… Presale begins Wednesday, July 9 with public sale opening Friday, July 11 at 10am PDT. For more information:http://www.qotsa.com/live/.
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE 2014 WORLD TOUR
07/05/14 – Oshawa, ON – General Motors Centre
07/06/14 – London, ON – Budweiser Gardens
07/08/14 – Ottawa, ON – Ottawa Bluesfest
07/09/14 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
07/12/14 – Bangor, ME – Cross Insurance Center
07/13/14 – Albany, NY – The Palace Theatre
07/14/14 – Providence, RI – Providence Performing Arts Center
07/16/14 – Port Chester, NY – Capitol Theatre
07/17/14 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
07/18/14 – Rochester, NY – Main Street Armory
07/20/14 – Philadelphia, PA – Skyline Stage at The Mann Center
08/06/14 – Oslo, Norway – Ukespass Oyafestivalen
08/07-09/14 – Goteberg, Sweden – Way Out West Festival
08/09/14 – Zofingen, Switzerland – Heitere Open Air Zofingen 2014
08/11/14 – Prague, Czech Republic – Forum Karlin
08/12/14 – Budapest, Hungary – Sziget Festival
08/14-16/14 – St. Polten, Austria – Frequency Festival
08/15-17/14 – Grosspoesna, Germany – Highfield Festival
08/16/14 – Hasselt, Belgium – Pukkelpop
08/17/14 – Biddinghuizen, Netherlands – Lowlands Festival
08/20/14 – Belfast, Northern Ireland – Belsonic
08/22/14 – Reading, UK – Reading Festival
08/23/14 – Leeds, UK – Leeds Festival
08/24/14 – Saint-Cloud, France – Rock En Seine
09/25/14 – Sao Paulo, Brazil – Espaco Das Americas
09/27/14 – Porto Alegre, Brazil – Pepsi On Stage
09/30/14 – Montevideo, Uruguay – La Trastienda Club
10/02/14 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Luna Park
10/05/14 – Santiago, Chile – Movistar Arena
10/07/14 – Bogota, Colombia – Royal Center
10/31/14 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum
Last night at midnight in central London, Jack White played a secret show in the basement of a disused office block, to fans clad entirely in powder blue medical gowns.
The event was a collaboration between Jack and theatre mavericks Punchdrunk, who had temporarily transformed the space into the Vescovo & Co Clinic for contagious diseases, staffed with doctors, nurses and orderlies at the time of a disease outbreak.
Drawing on the themes of Jack White’s current album, ‘Lazaretto’, a term used to describe a quarantine island, the experience began with an elaborate online treasure hunt. A spoof medical infomercial from 1948 appeared in the archives of online medical resource the Wellcome Trust, which contained various obtuse clues leading Jack’s superfans to a website belonging to the fake medical organisation, Vescovo & Company. Thousands of fans submitted their details to this website as part of an online screening for a contagious disease. A lucky few progressed through the screening process and received a telephone call, inviting them to an out-of-hours appointment at the Vescovo Clinic. Punchdrunk created the clinic across multiple floors of a disused building owned by The Vinyl Factory.
On arrival, fans were asked to change into blue medical gowns before being subjected to a variety of treatments and tests in a maze of medical rooms. Chaos descended as an outbreak alarm was raised and terrified fans were herded into a smoke filled quarantine chamber. Finally a screen was dropped to reveal Jack and band in full medical uniform who proceeded to belt out a thirty minute set before Jack himself succumbed to the mysterious disease. The rock star fell to the ground in a fit of convulsions before being strapped to a stretcher and wheeled off to a waiting ambulance.
As reported by billboard.com, Spoon has leveled the digital vs brick and mortar retail playing field by introducing the newly minted Vinyl Gratification program.
The program turns the common practice of incentivizing digital pre-orders with “instant gratification” tracks by offering an indie-retail-only three-song vinyl 10-inch as an instant, well, Vinyl Gratification.
Beginning July 15, participating independent record stores will be listed at vinylgratification.com. Fans who pre-order Spoon’s They Want My Soul (out August 5 on Loma Vista) will immediately receive the aforementioned limited edition 45 RPM vinyl 10-inch. But that’s not all, folks: On or after They Want My Soul’s August 5 release, those who bring their receipts back to the store where they pre-ordered will receive a stunning 180g white vinyl copy of the LP housed in a heavy 20-pt paper sleeve. Included on the 10″ is the first single from the album “Do You” which can also be heard here.
Britt Daniel says of the initiative:
A few weeks ago as we were figuring out how to roll out the new Spoon album I kept coming back to this: why do we incentivize people to buy our music from big outlets but we don’t extend the same courtesy to actual record stores? Case in point: why do we encourage listeners to buy early by offering “instant gratification” tracks for pre-orders of the digital album, yet there’s no special motivation for buying music from Waterloo or Reckless Records? And there’s no incentive to buy the format that so many of those listeners prefer—an actual physical item they can hold and read and play on a turntable.
So I came up with an idea, and today I’m pretty ecstatic to be able introduce the Vinyl Gratificationprogram. It’s the first program of its kind; it encourages pre-ordering a vinyl copy of our new album They Want My Soul at independent record stores all over the US (and soon, internationally) by providing its own sort of instant gratification: a limited edition 10″ vinyl featuring three pre-release songs from the album that you can take home with you and put on your record player immediately. The great people at Record Store Day have generously offered to spread the word about the program and we’re launching with over 150 stores on board, well beyond our wildest dreams.
To rush this program into existence, we’re releasing the 10″ in a plain white sleeve, but rest assured we’re cutting no corners with regard to the audio. Have you ever noticed the difference in sound quality between 45 RPM and 33 RPM??? Yes, 33 RPM is amazing and warm, but 45 RPM on a larger format disc, with more physical representation of the music via record grooves, delivers even more stunning audio. We think the 10″s sound unbelievable, and we’re pretty sure you will too.
If like me, you’ve ever rushed home with a brand new record that you couldn’t wait to play—and couldn’t actually play until you slapped it onto your turntable—I hope the Vinyl Gratification program will bring back some magic for you. And I hope you’ll join us in supporting the independent record shops that have supported us for so long.
Britt Daniel Austin, TX
For those hankering for an even more instant bit of gratification ahead of They Want My Soul’s arrival, Spoon will be offering new track “Do You” as a downloadable instant grat. on iTunes, Amazon and Spoon Store with all pre-orders of They Want My Soul. And for those who want even more, there’s always the road:
07/12-13/14 – Telluride, CO – The Ride Festival
07/18/14 – Louisville, KY – Forecastle Festival
07/25/14 – Seattle, WA – Capitol Hill Block Party
08/01/14 – Chicago, IL- Metro
08/02/14 – Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza
08/05/14 – San Diego, CA – Sleep Train Amphitheatre at Chula Vista*
08/08/14 – Los Angeles, CA – The Fairbanks Lawn of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery
08/10/14 – San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands
08/17/14 – Portland, OR – Musicfest NW
08/30/14 – Montreal, QC – Parc Jean Drapeau *
08/30-31/14 – Philadelphia, PA – Made in America Festival
09/02/14 – Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre +
09/05/14 – Raleigh, NC – Hopscotch Music Festival
09/06/14 – Norfolk, VA – Norva +
09/07/14 – Boston, MA – Boston Calling Music Festival
09/10/14 – New York, NY – Central Park
09/11/14 – Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead +
09/12/14 – Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room +
09/13/14 – Hamilton, ON – Supercrawl Festival
09/14/14 – Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Theatre +
09/16/14 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre ^
09/17/14 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theatre ^
09/18/14 – Madison, WI – Orpheum Theatre ^
09/19/14 – Minneapolis, MN – State Theatre ^
09/20/14 – St. Louis, MO – Pageant ^
09/21/14 – Lawrence, KS – Liberty Hall ^
09/23/14 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom ^
10/03-05/14 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Music Festival
10/10-12/14 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Music Festival
11/01/14 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso
11/02/14 – Hamburg, DE – Uebel & Gefarlich
11/03/14 – Basel, CH – Kaserne Reithalle
11/04/14 – Cologne, DE – Luxor
11/05/14 – Gent, BE – Vooruit
11/06/14 – Paris, FR – Trabendo
11/07/14 – London, UK – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
* supporting Arcade Fire
+ with Hamilton Leithauser
^ with EMA
