On Monday night, The Swell Season performed to a sold out crowd at Uptown Theatre in Kansas City. Coming from their Academy Award win for Best Original Song, their performance was absolutely beautiful and emotional. It was by far, one of the most memorable shows I've gone to.

In between the storytelling and jokes, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová along with their band made up of Joe Doyle (bass), Colm Mac Con Iomaire (violin), Rob Bochnik (guitar), and Johnny Boyle (drums), performed songs from Once and songs on the The Swell Season and The Frames albums.

Standing in the crowd, it was obvious that their fan base is quickly growing. During "Falling Slowly," both Glen and Markéta's voices were drowned out by the 1,700 fans who were singing along. Glen praised the fans and announced that Kansas City has been one of his favorite stops on the tour.

Although the show was absolutely brilliant, meeting Glen and Markéta was the highlight of the night. They were sweet and seemed humbled by the entire experience. Holding a box of Partridge Farm cookies, Markéta happily signed autographs for fans while Glen did most of the talking.

If you ever get the chance, go see The Swell Season/The Frames live. The entire show was an incredible experience that left me in awe and completely speechless.






Say It To Me Now - Glen Hansard

The Swell Season - Falling Slowly mp3
The Swell Season - Once mp3

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According to NME.com, "After deciding to record an album of Tom Waits tracks (“I always loved Tom Waits and I thought my voice could lend a fresh take,” she said) she demoed them on her own, but by her own admission they were 'horrible'."

So obviously if this album is remotely good it's because of Dave Sitek, the producer of TV on the Radio.

Scarlett Johansson-Falling Down mp3

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Just admit it. At one time you were a fan of Coldplay. And it was probably their last album X&Y that turned you off.

From listening to the single off their new album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, they could potentially be let back into your heart.

Coldplay-Violet Hill mp3

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Lawrence alt-country group, The Roseline, is back in action with a new album, Lust for Luster. Their CD release show is tonight at the Jackpot. The cost is $5 so come by after you hit up Colin Meloy at Liberty Hall.

The Roseline-Lust for Luster mp3
The Roseline-Lions mp3


Previous post on the Roseline:
January 2007 interview
June 2006

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After 3 sold-out limited 7s and touring around the UK and Europe with bands such as The Long Blondes and The Research, The Lodger released their debut album “Grown-Ups”, produced by Alan Smyth and James Ford, in June 2007. The Lodger completed their first tour of the USA in October 2007 and then entered the studio to record their 2nd album Life is Sweet, which is due out in May.

The Lodger-The Good Old Days mp3

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Business Week Pitchfork article

That's a lot of dough...

These days, advertisers aplenty drool over Pitchfork's 18-to-34-year-old demographic. Although many Pitchfork users have a hipster's disdain for the mainstream and for big corporations, the company has no qualms about selling space to the likes of Toyota Motor (TM) and American Apparel (APP). Its only rule is that ads cannot distract readers with pop-ups, sound, or interactivity. Net ad consultants estimate the site pulls in at least $5 million a year. Kaskie says only that revenue has grown by an explosive 70% each of the past four years.

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On Sunday, Spoon ended their U.S. Spring 2008 tour in Lawrence. Performing in front of a sold out crowd at Liberty Hall, the band performed some 20 songs, including two encores. Highlights included a mind-blowing performance of "The Ghost of You Lingers" and flawless performances of "Finer Feelings" and "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb."

My friends and I had the chance to talk to the band after the show and they were all very down-to-earth. We spent the most time talking to Jim Eno about his upcoming projects and friends Via Audio.

Here are some pictures from the night:







Spoon - Finer Feelings MP3
Spoon - Don't You Evah MP3

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My Morning Jacket was nice enough to let us put up the title track to Evil Urges. The album comes out June 10th on ATO Records.

"The past several My Morning Jacket albums have each reflected the passion that the band shares for music of all categories while continuing to nurture their signature aesthetic. Stylistically, Evil Urges is the album that My Morning Jacket has been making for almost ten years. Their previous work has emboldened them with the confidence to continue to grow in ways few artists would be capable of achieving. Admirably, Jim James' songwriting manages to remain as organic and cohesive as ever, making their musical leaps forward fluid, logical, entertaining, and inspiring."

My Morning Jacket-Evil Urges mp3

Let us know what you think!

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