Here Comes The Flood - a weblog about music

Watch the new They Might Be Giants video for When Will You Die?. The clip was created by The Offices of Paul Sahre. Yes, they are building a monster hearse.

• 01/27 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Rio Theatre
• 01/28 Los Angeles, CA (Special Family Show) @ Royce Hall UCLA
• 01/28 Los Angeles, CA – 30th Anniversary Show @ Royce Hall UCLA
• 01/29 Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre
• 01/30 Tucson, AZ @ The Rialto Theatre
• 02/01 Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
• 02/02 Dallas, TX @ The Granada Theatre
• 02/03 Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
• 02/04 New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina’s
• 02/07 Tampa, FL @ The Ritz Ybor
• 02/08 Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
• 02/10 Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
• 02/11 Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
• 02/12 Chattanooga, TN @ Track 29
• 02/14 Charlotte, NC @ McGlohan Theater at Spirit Square
• 02/15 Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre
• 02/16 Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theatre
• 02/17 Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live
• 03/08 Northampton, MA @ Calvin Theater
• 03/09 Providence, RI @ Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel
• 03/10 New York, NY @ Terminal 5

» theymightbegiants.com

Belgian noise group Thot have released a new single. Fig.6: The rain buyer contains two tracks: the left-field instrumental Dissonant Drops and the haunting distorted I Buy the Rain. The single can downloaded (pay-what-you-want) through Bandcamp.com.

» thotweb.net

Alberteen is a well educated band. Lead singer Phil Shaw is a Professor of English Literature at University of Leicester and bass player Ade Berry is a playwright and director. With John Rose on guitar they perform dark post-rock songs with a cinematic feel. The core band doesn't feature a drummer as a full member, so for the recording sessions for their debut album Metal Book they enlisted Gareth Warden. Mike Bennett (The Fall, Ian Brown) acted as producer.

Only an English band could come up with a song titles like Tamogotchi Landfill and Waterloo Teeth, but are not above straight rock songs like A Girl and a Gun and the rollicking love song The Butcher's Daughter, a catchy track that could have been penned by Tom Verlaine. Alberteen goes for an updated New Wave sound, painting with broad strokes in one song and pinpointing the notes in the other.

Singer Shaw wrote a well-informed book for 33 1/3 series about Horses by the Patti Smith Group. That band's guitar player, Lenny Kaye, started out as a writer for Rolling Stone before crossing the street to become a rock star in his own right. And maybe, in his dreams Shaw is contemplating similar scenario.

The rhythm & noir sound of Metal Book will get the band well deserved attention among late night radio listeners and the music geeks inner circle, who will appreciate the guest appearance of guitarist Mark Refoy (Spiritualized, Spacemen 3) and keyboard player Tony Robinson (Super Furry Animals). It won't go platinum, but it is an album that will sale for many year to come to through word-of-mouth. Being a cult band might even be cooler in the long run than selling out arenas and stadiums.

Metal Book is released through Rough Trade. Release date: February 13.

Alberteen:
Ade Berry: bass, keyboards
John Rose: guitar, vocals
Phil Shaw: vocals

1. Metal Book
2. A Girl and a Gun
3. Tamogotchi Landfill
4. The Stranger
5. Our Dead Language
6. The Butcher's Daughter
7. Waterloo Teeth
8. All You Can Eat
9. Falling Down

• 03/27 Band on the Wall, Manchester

Video: Alberteen - A Girl and a Gun
Video: Alberteen - Tamogotchi Landfill

» alberteen.com

Belgian powertrio Triggerfinger in a mellow mood with vdieos recorded live in The Netherlands: It Hasn't Gone Away (Eurosonic Noorderslag, Groningen) and the Lykke Li cover I Follow Rivers (Giel Beelen's 3FM radio show).

» triggerfinger.net

The line-up announcement for the eighth edition of Wanee Music Festival has hit the newswires. The Festival is held on April 19-21 at Spirit of the Suwannee Park in Live Oak, FL.

• The Allman Brothers Band
• Big Sam's Funky Nation
• Bobby Lee Rodgers Trio
• Bonerama
• Bonnie Blue
• Bruce Hornsby
• Buddy Guy
• Charles Bradley
• Conspirator
• Devon Allman's Honeytribe
• EOTO
• Furthur
• Gov't Mule
• Hot Tuna
• Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk
• Jacob Jeffries Band
• Jaimoe's Jasssz Band
• Leftover Salmon
• Matt Schofield
• Mickey Hart Band
• North Mississippi Allstars
• Particle
• Ray Manzarek & Roy Rogers Band
• SOJA
• Tedeschi Trucks Band
• The Yeti Trio
• Trigger Hippy (Joan Osborne, Jackie Greene, Steve Gorman, Audley Freed, Nick Govrik)
• Zach Deputy

Tickets go on sale January 20 at 10:00 AM EST. VIP tickets are on sale already.

» waneefestival.com

photo: Stewart O'Shields

Guitarist Warren Haynes talked to Billboard about the current state of rock. So, is rock is dead?

Man, I've been hearing that for over 10 years, and I'm sure some elements of rock, particularly in the mainstream, appear to be deceased. But I think there are independent young bands that are going at it the right way and hopefully are bringing back a resurgence. There's no shortage of ticket sales for classic rock bands, but the marketplace is just so cram-packed with product that it's hard for a lot of things to find air. Unfortunately, as much as I hate to say it, in the case of rock music, the bar is very high. If you're going to be a rock'n'roll band you've got to compare yourself to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, the Who, the Stones, the Allmans, the Gratfeul Dead, and that's a high bar to contend with. I hear a lot of really cool young music that I hope will cause a new wave of excitement but I don't know that I hear a lot of stuff that competes with the greatest rock music ever made.

(Warren Haynes Band - Baby Love)

» warrenhaynes.net

Toronto trash garage band The Bats Pajamas have made videos for two of the tracks from their forthcoming second full-length. Two loud and dirty tracks with fuzzy guitar and over the top vocals that well go down well with fans of The Cramps and the Nuggets compilations.

Video: The Bats Pajamas - Sarai
Video: The Bats Pajamas - Red Scared

» thebatspajamas.com

Big Beat is releasing John Cale: Conflict & Catalysis: Productions & Arrangements 1966-2006 on February 27.

as a producer, you've got to be a catalyst, an ally, a co-conspirator. sometimes you need to introduce conflict.' - john cale in his autobiography. film directors have always been lionised by their industry and by fans who made household names of ford, hitchcock and spielberg. record producers, on the other hand, have by-and-large laboured in near-anonymity outside the music business and the most devoted of followers. to help remedy that situation ace have instigated their producers series, focusing on the studio output of jack nitzsche, jerry ragovoy, kim fowley, phil spector, brian wilson, martin hannett and other visionaries who lived to bring the sounds in their heads to the grooves of a record. another master of the art was john cale, whose work as a producer and arranger they spotlight on this 75-minute 20-tracker. far from anonymous as a cutting-edge performer, cale has enjoyed a lower profile in his parallel role as a producer throughout his lengthy career. spanning 40 years, our collection includes everything from the proto-punk of the stooges and modern lovers to left-field pop princesses lio and cristina. compilation and notes by mick patrick and neil dell.

Tracklisting:

1. Venus In Furs - The Velvet Underground
2. I Wanna Be Your Dog - The Stooges
3. In Excelsis Deo / Gloria - Patti Smith
4. Afraid - Nico
5. Pablo Picasso - The Modern Lovers
6. Who Is That Saving Me - Harry Toledo & The Rockets
7. Re-Bop - Marie Et Les Garçons
8. Disco Clone - Cristina
9. Italian Sea - Chunky, Novi & Ernie
10. No King - Ventilator
11. Sex Master - Squeeze
12. Take Your Place - Alejandro Escovedo
13. Kuff Dam - Happy Mondays
14. Runaway Child (Minors Beware) - The Necessaries
15. Omnes Gentes Plaudite (The Drinking Song) - Mediaeval Baebes
16. Needles For Teeth - The Jesus Lizard
17. Scorch - Goya Dress
18. Dallas - Lio
19. Tearing Apart - Siouxsie & The Banshees
20. Spinning Away - Brian Eno and John Cale

Available for pre-order through Rough Trade and JBC.de.

» John Cale - Producer

photo: Ole Lauritsen

John Cale has added as show in Lausanne to his European tour:

• 03/13 Les Docks, Lausanne, Switzerland

» John Cale tour dates

(Thanks: Ondra)

The Steepwater Band are back on the road tonight, playing a special benefit show in St. Louis for a couple who were in a serious car accident. The proceeds will help them meet the medical costs. The Chicago power trio will kick off their 2012 Winter tour on January 27 in Lomberd, IL.

• 01/14 Heartbreakers Rock n Roll Saloon ~ Love Never Ends Benefit for Steve and Shaunna, St Louis, MO
• 01/27 Brauer House w/ Ryan Mumby and the Hundred Year Rain, Lombard, IL
• 01/28 Johnny B's Benefit Bash, Griffith, IN
• 01/31 Harlem Avenue Lounge (Jeff Massey solo acoustic), Berwyn, IL
• 02/03 Live at 9 ~ In-Studio TV Performance On WREG (CBS-TV) , Memphis, TN
• 02/03 Rum Boogie, Memphis, TN
• 02/04 Blues Hall, Memphis, TN
• 02/10 North River Tavern, Sandy Springs (Atlanta), GA
• 02/11 Double Door Inn, Charlotte, NC
• 02/24 Martyrs w/ Magic Box & Chicago Farmer, Chicago, IL
• 02/25 Chicago Street Pub, Joliet, IL
• 03/02 JB's Speakeasy, La Crosse, WI
• 03/03 Malarkey's, Wausau, WI
• 03/10 Tailgaters w/ Y&T;, Bolingbrook, IL
• 03/18 Headhunters ~ SXSW Showcase, Austin, TX
• 03/23 Court Street Grill, Pomeroy, OH

Video: The Steepwater Band - Remember The Taker

» steepwater.com

HCTF review of CLAVA.

Clipart Covers is a blog dedicated to "Album Covers in Clipart and Comic Sans".

» clipartcovers.tumblr.com

(Thru week4paug.net)

photo: Julia Mordaunt

Mike Gordon will be playing at The Borderline in London March 18 after finishing his three-night stand in Amsterdam at the Jam In The Dam Festival:

Mike and his band are performing at the sixth edition of Jam In The Dam held at the legendary Melkweg in Amsterdam, The Netherlands March 14, 15, 16, 2012.  Before heading back to the states, the band will perform Sunday, March 18 at The Borderline in London. Tickets for this newly added show are on sale now by clicking here.

• 03/14 Melkweg, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• 03/15 Melkweg, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• 03/16 Melkweg, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• 03/18 The Borderline, London, UK

» mike-gordon.com