Video From Radiohead’s Santa Barbara Webcast

Although the overlap between Barack Obama’s DNC address and Radiohead’s webcast of their final North American show this tour wasn’t total and complete, from your Santa Barbara liveblogging, it seems more than a few of you devoted your night to Obama’s Denver address. I think you guys chose wisely, both for the sake of Observing Significant Moments In American History, and for the sake of knowing that the Internet captures every move Radiohead makes in perpetuity anyway. What I saw of the concert was a nice reminder of my nights with them this summer, and a necessary chaser to hearing Chris Matthews yell at me about how essential Barack’s speech was. We’ve rounded up what we could of the high-quality YouTubes out there from the Santa Barbara set, along with a setlist, for your pleasure.

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Hot Water Music Boils Over in S.F.

They may not be the youngest punk rockers around these days, but Hot Water Music still serve up a killer dose of youthful adrenaline… which you might expect from a band that has died and been resurrected more times than Bob Saget’s career.

More on SPIN.com:
>> Video Vault: Hot Water Music



At one hour and ten minutes, which included a three-song encore, last night’s show at San Francisco’s Regency Grand Ballroom was nothing short of the punk band’s late-’90s heyday. Aside from one botched intro, the group was tight. Keeping immaculate tempo, drummer George Rebello, who seemed to own each song’s intro, transitions, and finish, hardly paused between numbers.
Bassist Jason Black, at center stage, acted as the 11 on Hot Water Music’s amp — not that guitarists Chris Wollard and Chuck Ragan weren’t also pushing the limits. But Black’s chandelier-shaking cluster bombs complemented the raging guitars like thunder to lightning.
With AFI’s [...]

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Four Reasons Why Superchunk Still Matters

AND THE FOUR REASONS ARE:

Every band you like owes them a debt.
Now entering their 20th (!) year, this Chapel Hill quartet virtually invented everything about indie rock worth emulating: economic self-sufficiency, creativity unchecked by careerism, perfect pop hooks, and songwriting chops that have matured at the same rate the band and their audience themselves.

Laura Ballance pogo-ing.
How she’s managed to hop up and down that much while wielding a heavy bass, mere feet away from a whirling Mac McCaughan all these years without grievous injury may be the most remarkable aspect of their modest but illustrious career.

The climactic breakdown/crescendo in “New Low.”
That’s how you end a fuckin’ song, kids.

Their live shows are as rare as Bigfoot sightings.
The notable ‘90s band that has never officially broken up nor cashed in for a lucrative reunion, Superchunk isn’t totally inactive, yet they only play on special occasions. (See: South By Southwest in 2007, [...]

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Radiohead Santa Barbara Webcast

Log on to radiohead.tv to watch the final show of Radiohead’s North American tour, live from Santa Barbara. Right now they’re playing “Optimistic” … feel free to comment on the setlist in real time, otherwise we’ll have it for you in a few hours.

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Hype Monitor: Gaslight Anthem, Human Highway and Koushik

Every week, Hype Monitor wades through the most buzzed-about bands all across the Internet.

The Band: Gaslight Anthem
The Buzz: Earnest Jerseyites pair roaring chords with heart-on-sleeve sentiments.
Listen If: You were ever a member of a punk rock Springsteen cover band, or if you think Jesse Malin is the most underrated artist of our generation.
Key Track: “The ‘59 Sound,” which employs a gang of guitars and a grand, hollered chorus in its consideration of mortality.

The Band: Human Highway
The Buzz: Pair of Canucks go all California ’70s, writing airy AM anthems that balance atop a stack of pillowy harmonies.
Listen If: You not only identified the source of the band’s name — a bizarre 1982 movie starring Neil Young — but you also own a contraband DVD copy.
Key Track: “The Sound,” whose shuffling beat and tight guitar strums are the perfect accompaniment to the waning days of summer.

The Band: Koushik
The Buzz: DJ/Producer [...]

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Twin Cities Bands Rock for Obama

The combination of politics and music in ‘08 certainly has a notable pulling power; it seems nearly every young, Democratic-leaning person in the Twin Cities came out to the Turf Club last night to support Barack Obama on the eve of the Republican National Convention, which happens here next week.
Josh Grier and Jeremy Hanson of Tapes ‘n Tapes opened the show (as "Tape n’ Tape," Grier cracked), playing pared down but powerful material from The Loon (2005) and the band’s latest set, Walk it Off (2008). The two Tapes were on top of their game, notably with Hanson’s staccato drumming. And in the politically charged atmosphere, Grier’s howled chorus of, "Do you still fight for lover’s rights?" on "Insistor," took on an added dimension of defiance.

More on SPIN.com:
>> Tapes ‘n Tapes: SXSW ‘08 Interview
>> Tapes ‘n Tapes Get the Ball Rolling
>> Review: Tapes ‘n Tapes, ‘Walk It Off’ (XL)

The [...]

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The Girls

What? Fusing ’80s-style synths and high-pitched yelps with punk aggression, this quintet is like a loosely collected hybrid of the Cars, the Voidoids, and Devo — and would no doubt be pleased by the inherent Ramones comparisons spurred by their giddy pop sensibility. The Girls will be appearing at Seattle’s Bumbershoot Festival this Saturday, Aug. 30, showcasing their sophomore release Yes No Yes No Yes No, which drops September 16 via Dirtnap Records, the home of numerous other Northwest punk acts, including the late Exploding Hearts.
Who? Seattle quintet the Girls, ironically, are an entirely male group that has, at one time or another, featured members of four, count ‘em, four different Emerald City punk bands, including the Briefs, the Spits, and the Catheters. With downtown brash and new wave flash, the Girls have endured several line-up mutations over the years; Currently the band is comprised of Shannon Brown (Vox), Vas [...]

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ATP NY Full Schedule Revealed

When I posted that MBV live clip earlier today, I closed by mentioning the upcoming ATP NY weekend, i.e. September 19-21. We already knew mostly who to expect at the Kutshers Country Club in Monticello, NY, but now we’ve had a look at the full schedule and complete timetable. Yes, the exact coordinates for Om’s transition into Low, Tortoise abutting Thurston Moore abutting Built To Spill, and when My Bloody Valentine blow minds:

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Breaking: The Enemy

Who: Coventry, England indie punk trio the Enemy, who, in the span of a year, quickly went from forming the band to opening for the Rolling Stones to topping the British music charts.
Sounds Like: Already branded by the U.K. press as the newest reincarnation of Oasis, the Enemy combine that band’s knack for Lennon/McCartney hooks with the youthful angst of the Buzzcocks and the social awareness of Joe Strummer, as evidenced by their debut album We’ll Live and Die in These Towns.
Vital Stats:

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Oasis’ World Tour Opens with a Bang in Seattle

Bathed in violet light, the stage of Seattle’s WAMU Theater was set last night for an evening of prodigious musicianship from fabled Britpop stalwarts Oasis, who began the North American leg of their world tour to a sold-out audience.
Solo artist Matt Costa, with his raspy yet beautifully crisp vocals and understated acoustics, opened the show, followed by Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, who took the stage for an all-out detour from Adams’ alt-country style into fully-fledged rock territory, replete with drilling drums, dueling guitars, and tremendous, gospel-eque harmonies. Adams’ wistful vocals and melodic guitar playing threatened to steal the entire night’s show — but as proved later, no one can take the limelight from the Gallagher brothers.

More on SPIN.com:
>> Exclusive: Oasis Sign to Warner Bros. in U.S.
>> New Oasis Album Out Oct. 7
>> Jay-Z vs. Oasis at Glastonbury

With a frenetic blast of beautiful noise, Oasis began their lightshow-infused set with [...]

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