June 14    Manchester, TN    Bonnaroo- The Other Tent
June 25    Los  Angeles, CA    Wiltern Theatre w/ Wilco
June 26    Saratoga, CA    The Mountain Winery w/ Wilco
June 27    Berkeley, CA        Greek Theatre w/ Wilco
June 28    Stateline, NV        Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena w/Wilco
June 30    Jacksonville, OR    Britt Pavilion w/ Wilco
July 03    Morrison, CO    Red Rocks Amphitheatre w/ Wilco
July 10    Ottawa, ON        Ottawa Bluesfest
July 11    Winnipeg, MB    Winnipeg Folk Festival

Okkervil River – Pop Lie

Okkervil River – Lost Coastlines

Video: Okkervil River – Lost Coastlines

21. The Morning Benders – Talking Through Tin Cans (our review)

The Bay Area quartet have hints of The Beatles, a dash of Pet Sounds sound, and a little Zombies tossed in for good measure. Thankfully they don’t come off as cheap imitators and instead put forth an excellent effort. A good shot of melodic California pop.

The Morning Benders – Damnit Anna (Hear Ya Live Session version)

The Morning Benders – Waiting on a War (Hear Ya Live Session version)

Hear more from our live session with The Morning Benders.

22. Left Lane Cruiser – Bring Yo’ Ass To The Table (our review)

Its filthy, but underneath the bluesy grime are two extraordinarily talented musicians.

Left Lane Cruiser – Wash It

23. Okkervil River – The Stand Ins

A step down from The Stage Names, but that was to be expected. You’ll find a few gems – just not the transcendent album that its predecessor was. Okkervil’s b-sides are still good enough to land in the top 25.

Okkervil River – Lost Coastlines

24. Hacienda – Loud Is The Night (our review)

Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys produced this album and is preparing his solo tour with Hacienda as his backing band. Dr. Dog performs backing vocals on the album. It’s safe to say that they have the seal of approval from some of music’s finest.

Hacienda – She’s Got A Hold On Me

25. The Rural Alberta Advantage – Hometowns (our review)

Imagine Neutral Milk Hotel with the drummer from The National. Yes, its that good.

The Rural Alberta Advantage – Don’t Haunt This Place

The Rural Alberta Advantage – Frank AB

26. Silver Jews – Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea

David Berman continues to put wry, smart, and often humorous lyrics into his most musically ambitious and tightest effort to date.

Silver Jews – Strange Victory, Strange Defeat

27. Black Crowes – War Paint

The Robinson boys deliver their best album since Amorica. Maxim can fuck themselves.

Video: The Black Crowes – “Wounded Bird” on Letterman

28. Sam Champion – Heavenly Bender (our review)

Rolling Stone described Sam Champion’s sound like Ryan Adams covering Pavement’s Wowee Zowee. Need I say more?

Sam Champion – Be Mine Everyone

Hear more tracks at our live session with Sam Champion.

29. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – Self Titled (our review)

MBAR was homeless and strung out on drugs before cleaning up and focusing on music. The result is folk album with his signature lazy, organic vocal delivery.

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – Buriedfed

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – The Debtor

30. Black Mountain – In The Future (our review)

Best appreciated in a live setting, Black Mountain perform amazingly good psychedelic rock songs that either punch you in the face or get you in a slow groove.

Black Mountain – Tyrants

First up were the Silver Jews. Lead singer, David Berman, emerged in a snappy suit and fat belt buckle enscribed with “JOOS.” This show was a replacement for MMJ and in a way I was happier to see Berman and company for the first time.

Berman carries an awkwardness on stage that makes his stage presence genuine and real. He’s constantly checking his set list, which is written on a paper plate and dedicates songs to anyone and everyone. He also battles the mic and the accompanying stand as if it were his first time on stage.  Berman announced that it was in fact their 100th time on stage this night. Bob Nastanovich (formerly of Pavement) showed up to play drums on “New Orleans.” He told stories of the origins of the band, when they would call Thurston Moore’s answering machine and leave demos.

The show was an absolute blast and, in many ways, a very communal experience. People sang along and when he played “Random Rules” everyone in the crowd had a shit-eating grin on their face.

Next up the docket were Fleet Foxes. This was the third time seeing them this year and their eponymous LP is easily my favorite debut of the year, if not my favorite album. This was my first time seeing them headline in a proper club and they didn’t disappoint.

At the Pitchfork Festival, the crowd was eerily quiet when Fleet Foxes played and once the boys from Washington hit the stage at The Metro, the “shhhhhs” came out in full force. When one jackass started mocking the situation with his girlfriend, another guy politely said, “Please, we really want to hear them.” The guy relented as he realized that people came to listen the music and not bullshit about nonsense.

The Foxes tore through a set that covered almost every tune from their EP and full length. “Drops In The River” which led into “English House” was an amazing 10 minutes of music. There was plenty of easy going banter the band and the crowd. It’s good to see they are easing into their new found celebrity.

The highlight of the night was “Mykonos.” The four-piece harmonies were absolutely breathless. That was the last song before the encore, and really they could have walked away at that point and I would have been thrilled. I’m glad I caught them at The Metro this time because I don’t think I’ll ever have that opportunity again.

Last on my concert stops was Okkervil River. This was my 6th time seeing them this year and I’m one random run-in at the grocery store from getting a restraining order slapped on my desk. Sheff and co. launched into “Plus Ones” and were off. What else is there possibly left for me to say about them? Let’s see… New guitarist Lauren Gurgiolo seems to be settling in nicely. In August, she seemed unsure of herself, as if she didn’t want to flub a note. Now she smiles more and seems to really be enjoying herself. Bass Guitarist, Patrick Pestorious, should sing more often. He sounds great on “Lost Coastlines.” And on a sad note, Sheff announced that they don’t play “Kansas City” any more. That made me sad. That’s a fucking doozy of a tune.

Anyway it was a great show that we’ve all come to expect. Sheff busted out a solo “Red” and the band fired a version of “A Stone” that was transcendent. They are hands down my favorite band right now.

Silver Jews – Strange Victory, Strange Defeat

Fleet Foxes – He Doesn’t Know Why

Fleet Foxes – White Winter Hymnal

Okkervil River – Lost Coastlines

As many of you know, I headed out to The Treasure Island Music Festival on Sunday afternoon with my trusty point and shoot camera in my holster. As you also may know, my pictures are always horrendous but I like to share them anyway.

Port O’Brien and Dr. Dog tied for my favorite performance of the day. Van Pierszalowski played with his usual intensity and while most people talk Port O’Brien’s anthem, “I Woke Up Today,” I found a new favorite. “The Rooftop Song” may be a song that you overlook on their album, but seeing them perform it live is quite an experience.

This is Tokyo Police Club.

This was my first time seeing The Morning Benders and I was really impressed. They played a tight set that included a new track that I can’t recall the name of. I think Chris Chu and the gang will continue to put out great pop music.

It’s hard to take a worse picture than this, until you see my picture of Dr. Dog.  That one is really shitty. I now know what Woody was slurring to me at South By Southwest when he said “the Fleet Foxes sound like angels singing.” Their vocals are stunning.

Okkervil River took the stage and had some technical difficulties starting off. Will Sheff got a little testy and asked for “a real guitar chord” and took a cheap shot at the festival. A few of the people around me that weren’t familiar with Okkervil River were real turned off. Seemed out of character for Sheff, but my man crush remains in tact. There’s a lesson to learn from this, however. If you are a band playing at a festival, don’t assume that everyone in the crowd is there to see you. It’s your opportunity to win new fans, so smile and don’t take yourself too seriously.

Yeah, see what I mean? Those shadow puppets are really Dr. Dog, playing at sunset. You can see San Francisco in the background across the bay and this band was the perfect choice to close the day and start the night. “The Ark” was a crowd favorite.

I don’t know what the hell this is, but it walked by me twice and really freaked me out. It’s mouth is right at wang level, so it made every guy around a wee bit nervous.

I had to leave after Dr. Dog’s set, so I missed The Kills and The Raconteurs, but I walked away from the festival one happy camper.  Other than a great lineup, here are five more reasons why you shouldn’t miss this festival next year…

1. Before boarding the shuttles from San Francisco to Treasure Island, some hippie chicks were selling pot brownies like it was a lemonade stand. I did not partake, but I’m pretty sure San Francisco is one of the only cities that has no issues with this.
2. No beer lines. Do I need to continue with the list?
3. No bathroom lines. The human to port-o-potty ratio was 5 to 1. I was expecting to use Drinking Buddy’s “Peeing at a Rock Show” handbook, volume 1 and volume 2, but it was unnecessary.
4. Super comfy shuttles.  It was expecting school buses, but they put us up in tour buses.
5. The setting is about as good as it gets, isolated on a small island across the bay from San Francisco.

I can almost hear the complaints. “Enough with the stale news about RIAA and Muxtape. Bring on the music.”

I must have my head up clear up my backside. I consider myself a huge Okkervil River fan, but somehow I overlooked that they released a new track called “Lost Coastlines” for their upcoming release, The Stand Ins. I love Okkervil River because it still feels like yesterday that The Stage Names was released. Their albums have a way of staying fresh and revealing themselves over months and months of listening. You can get lost in the nooks and crannies.

I’m a sometimes contributor to I Pick My Nose’s Friday Song Obsessions series. Thanks to Natalie for contributing this track.

The Stand Ins will be released on September 9th via Jagjaguwar.

Okkervil River – Lost Coastlines

Okkervil River also has some ongoing music videos on their YouTube channel, featuring other artists covering their songs. Check out David Vandervelde covering “Singer Songwriter” here.

Watch A.C. Newman of The New Pornographers covering “Lost Coastlines” as a duet with Okkervil lead singer, Will Sheff.

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