US tourdates for The Raveonettes:
02/29 - The Casbah, San Diego, CA
03/01 - Glasshouse, Pomona, CA
03/02 - Detroit Bar, Costa Mesa, CA
03/04 - El Rey Theatre, LA, CA
03/05 - The Independent, San Francisco, CA
03/07 - Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR
03/08 - The Plaza Niteclub, Vancouver, BC, CAN
03/09 - Neumos, Seattle, WA
03/17 - 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis, MN
03/18 - Double Door, Chicago, IL
03/19 - Magic Stick, Detroit, MI
03/21 - Opera House, Toroto, ON, CAN
03/22 - Les Saint, Montreal, QC, CAN
03/23 - Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ
03/24 - Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
03/27 - Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA
03/28 - The Ottobar, Baltimore, MD
03/29 - Black Cat, Washington, DC
Expect lots of SXSW dates in Austin, TX to be announced for mid-March.
Swedish punks Rövsvett will celebrate their 25th anniversary with the release of the new album "Sorgedödaren" on January 8 and a record release show on February 1 at Pub Babar in Tranås. Hear samples of older material: http://www.myspace.com/rvsvett
Danish indie Morningside Records has posted a massive news update on all of their various bands, including details about new Under Byen and Jomi Massage releases and more: http://morningsiderecords.dk/?p=128
Check out Gob Squad's new video for "Unconscious souls": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mrWb8ftyfU
Eastground Records has signed Stockholm-based artist Andy Vei and his debut single "Cassandra" is out now. Preview at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/andyvei
Check out Ida Maria's new video for "Drive my heart away": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hokjw86Dk8
Details are starting to come out concerning Thomas Dybdahl's next record: http://www.thomasdybdahl.net/news.php
PSL does the live music thing with Iceland's Sprengjuhöllin: http://svt-psl.colo.netstar.se/default.aspx?entryID=363
Swedish rockers Diamond Dogs will enter the studio on January 14 to begin recording their next album.
Updated Ida Maria tourdates:
01/10 - Eurosonic Groeningen (NL)
01/15 - Dublin Castle, London (UK)
01/16 - 229, London (UK)
01/19 - Student House, Sør-Trøndelag (NOR)
01/22 - Live Session John Kennedy XFM, London (UK)
02/22 - By:Larm Festival, Oslo (NOR)
05/03 - Hemsedal Skibakken, Hemsedal (NOR)
06/05 - Lunde Sluseamfi, Lunde (NOR)
06/06 - Rjukan Rock Festival, Rjukan (NOR)
08/06 - Øyafestivalen/Oya Festival, Oslo (NOR)
08/16 - Steinkjerfestivalen, Steinkjer, Sør-Trøndelag (NOR)
Pär Hagström & Cirkus Transmopol will release their new album "December rose" in late February and you can now preview two tracks at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/cirkustransmopol
Closing out the week and following up on my last two posts, here's a track from the man himself, Cornelis Vreeswijk. I can't speak for his entire vast discography, but from what I've heard, there's definitely a barrier for entry for non-Swedish speaking listeners such as myself. He can be quite verbose too, though it's tempered with a very well-developed melodic sense, not to mention a fine selection of well-respected collaborators such as Jan Johannson (as discussed yesterday), Georg Riedel and Björn J:son Lindh. Fortunately, there are English language tracks such as "Ballad in the dust" for dummies like myself, along with a body of work in his native Dutch should you be curious for more. It's hard to hear this without thinking of John Prine since the delivery and dark, wry humor is so similar, but I think Vreeswijk has a better voice. The words are definitely the focal point though, and on that point he delivers exceedingly well - no small feat for an artist who primarily composed in an adopted tongue (Swedish) before extending himself even further.
As for other Cornelis Vreeswijk stuff to check out, anyone have any suggestions? I'm still a novice, so all advice is appreciated. So far I've only had the opportunity to peruse some "greatest hits" type collections, not individual albums.
Cornelis Vreeswijk - Ballad in the dust
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This is the first release from David & the Citizens since all the members bar David Fridlund left rather suddenly, early last year. What made me like David & the Citizens in the first place was the nerve and the raw intensity of their songs. This release is somewhat lacking in those qualities and feels a bit like a watered down version of the real thing. Only one of the songs connect with me, and that's the last one (of the four) "Anything" which is an effortless song with great lyrics accompanied a simple piano. I'm very keen to see what David Fridlund will come up with next, but hopefully it'll be something much better than this.
You can download the EP for free here.
- Simon Tagestam
Danish act Late Night Venture recently recorded a bunch of new tracks with Magnus Lindberg (Cult of Luna) and now have a few samples posted online: http://www.myspace.com/latenightventure
David & The Citizens