Bloc Party Pre-Sale Tomorrow Morning

The Bloc Party show at The Fillmore that we mentioned earlier in the week is going on sale tomorrow (Thursday) morning via a Live Nation pre-sale. You can get to the pre-sale, which starts at 10 AM, by clicking here. The password is "party".

Spoon To Play Three Night Residency At The Fillmore

Looks like September is shaping up to be a good month for concerts. Thankfully, someone over at Spoon HQ has heard our cries, and booked the band for some "regular" shows in the Bay Area. The band will be playing a three night residency at The Fillmore from September 22-24. This will be the first time since 2005 that the band has played a show that wasn't part of a festival, as an opener, or a "secret" show. Presale tickets go on sale this Friday via musictoday, and to the general public on May 11th. Rejoice!

New Paul Weller, Stereogum Has First Single For Free

Paul Weller (he of The Jam and Style Council) has a new disc dropping in June. 22 Dreams consists of (fittingly) 22 songs across two discs. It's a veritable who's who of Brit-rock royalty. From Stereogum: "Guests on the album include Graham Coxon, Ocean Colour Scene's Steve Cradock, Little Barrie, ex-Stone Roses guitarist Aziz Ibrahim, and Oasis' Gem Archer and Noel Gallagher". The Oasis connection should come as no surprise, since Weller has been a friend of the band since way back in the What's The Story (Morning Glory)? days.

The first single off the album is in fact co-written with Gallagher, and has a lot of the same chugging rock feel of recent Oasis. The vocals could leave a tad to be desired, but overall it's a good summertime rocker. Stereogum has managed to snag a legitimate free release of the single, so click on below. We're looking forward to the release, but we'll have to see if the content can really hold up two discs worth of listening.

mp3: Paul Weller - Echoes Round The Sun

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds Coming To The Warfield

On the heels of their extremely well received record Dig, Lazarus, Dig!, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds will be in San Francisco this Fall. The album appears to be a nice return to form for Cave, after last year's foray into edgier territories with Grinderman.

The band will be playing the Warfield on September 20th, and judging by their live reputation we're guessing it'll be a "don't miss". Frankly, we here at H.A.D. are hoping for a lengthy live rendition of "Babe, I'm On Fire". While there's no official on-sale posted on Ticketbastard as of yet, the other West Coast dates look like they go on sale this weekend, so keep your eyes peeled.

mp3: Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Hold On To Youself

Bloc Party To Play Fillmore

Bloc Party will be in town at the end of July to play the Fillmore on the 31st. Frankly, we were underwhelmed when we saw them with Broken Social Scene at the Greek, so we probably won't be there, but we know some folks are devotees. Tickets go on sale this Sunday at 10 AM.

Outside Lands Festival Daily Lineups Announced

Over at the Outside Lands website, they've announced the daily lineups. No real surprises, except that we continue to be flummoxed by the idea that Jack Johnson is bigger than Wilco. Clearly there's some loop that we're out of.

There seems to be a nice mix of music over the three days, and no one day seems to be the "must see" that trumps the others. That being said, Friday and Sunday seem to have a bit more of a "new music" feel, whereas Saturday seems to be the "make everyone happy" lineup...

The National To Release Film, EP

Well, The National certainly are busy. In addition to touring for the last year for Boxer, and making the summer rounds with R.E.M. and Modest Mouse, they are also releasing a film about the making of their most recent disc. Not only that, but the DVD will also be accompanied by a CD of outtakes and live versions. The film is called A Skin, A Night and the accompanying EP is called The Virginia EP. The complete package arrives on May 20th.

Stream: The National - A Skin, A Night Trailer

New Coldplay Single Available For Free

While we were more than a little disappointed in the last Coldplay record, X&Y, we have to admit that we were more than a little curious when it was revealed that Brian Eno would be producing the new record, Viva La Vida. As if that weren't enough to pique our curiosity, it's now been revealed that starting Tuesday morning, the band will be giving away the first single off the record, "Violet Hill". If that's not enough to get you to give it a try, we're not sure what is.

mp3: Coldplay - Violet Hill (click through)

Jakob Dylan To Play Cafe Du Nord

Jakob Dylan, frontman of the Wallflowers, and son of some other musician you may have heard of, will be playing Cafe Du Nord on Sunday May 18th. This appearance is presumably a tour for his new record Seeing Things, which drops June 10th. From the sound of things, it's more of a quiet, acoustic affair than the Wallflowers jams. Tickets are available here. Get 'em while they're hot, kids.

Coachella Webcast Available

If you're like us, and you weren't really up for 3 days in the desert with $8 bottles of water, well, you can still enjoy the music. AT&T is webcasting Coachella starting tomorrow, just head over here.

Okay, we kinda wanted to go, but we had another commitment. Life's a compromise...

H.A.D. Radio Added

Over on the right, powered by last.fm. We love our scrobblin'. Seems to do a decent job at approximating our tastes. You like? Bad news? Comment.

Last Night @ The Independent: Fuck Buttons and Caribou

Last night at the Independent, Fuck Buttons and Caribou played a noisy set of analog goodness that will not soon be forgotten here at H.A.D. Both bands held up their end of the deal, and delivered to a sold out crowd.

Fuck Buttons started out the night with a genuinely enjoyable set of their own brand of analog electronica. It was really nice to see an electronic band actively generating all their sounds live on stage, whether it be via vintage keyboards, live drums, or a Fish Price tape recorder.

The set started off with more droney noise tracks, and gradually made its way into a realm of more danceable straight ahead beats. Both sounds were enjoyable, but perhaps the droney parts sounded a tad more original to our ears.

Soon after, Caribou hit the stage and blew the crowd away. You may recall that last time we were somewhat disappointed with the band's performance, and felt it didn't really live up to the record. Well, this time around that's all changed, and the big reason seems to be because of one Ahmed Gallab.

Gallab was recently brought on board after Brad Weber broke his wrist. What's unfortunate for Mr. Weber is that Gallab completely transforms the band into a live powerhouse. His drumming is spectacular, and drove the entire show from start to finish.

Even better about Gallab's performance was that it seemed to bring the other band members up a level in terms of showmanship and technique. The entire set glowed with excitement and enthusiasm for the performances being put forth. Given that Gallab is the "fill in" drummer, we're not sure what will come of all this. But, with apologies to Mr. Weber, we hope Gallab is here to stay. And if he's not, well, see Caribou now.

Many more pictures over at the H.A.D. flickr feed.

The Strokes Fourth Album In The Works

If you head over to the Strokes website, click band, then click Nicolai, you'll see an update from the band's bassist. Among other things, he mentions that he is "looking very forward to the fourth album release". He goes on to note that the past two years have been "a long break but much needed for us to remain together as a productive band". So, there you have it. We have to admit, with Albert Hammond Jr.'s second solo album on the way, we were questioning the stability of the Strokes camp, but it looks like all is well. Psyched.

New Nine Inch Nails, "Discipline", Available For Free

In his continued one-man-fight against the record industry, Trent Reznor has just released the latest Nine Inch Nails single, "Discipline", for free on the web. Go here, enter your email, and get a free mp3!

To our ears it's pretty classic, straight-ahead rock Nine Inch Nails. Which is to say, awesome. The really neat thing is that it has a lot of the classic analog synths of early NIN, while at the same time incorporating some of the keyboard work of more recent stuff. It's a really nice contrast to the ethereal ambient vibe of Ghosts. Highly recommended.

Vintage San Francisco Elton John

We here at H.A.D. continue to be impressed by the sizeable concert archives being streamed over at Wolfgang's Vault. This one in particular caught our eye: It's a taping of an Elton John show from his first American tour. This was before the coke, before the costumes, and before the Lion King. Elton was touring with two other players: bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olson. The trio's performances are most notably immortalized in the live record "11-17-70", which was recorded at the A&R Studios in New York. This set, which dates from 5 days earlier, was recorded at the Fillmore West. It's completely unabashed killer rock n' roll. The band is a well rehearsed unit, and the musical integrity is unflappable. If you've ever looked at Elton John and wondered why a fat old queen who writes soundtracks gets so much respect, well, this is why.

Stream: Elton John - Live At The Fillmore West 11-12-1970

Spoon's Don't You Evah EP

Sure, remix-centric EP's can get a little tired, and seem a bit like a way to make an easy buck. In most cases, we'd tend to agree. However, with Spoon's latest, the effort has been made to get some high-quality talent in there remixing: Diplo, Ted Leo, and Matthew Dear all make appearances. Moreover, you get the original version of the song (You knew it was a cover, right?), and a brand new Spoon song entitled "All I Got Is Me". The remixes appear to use original source material, which means that you get to hear studio tracks not on the original disc. We've given the tunes a listen, and we're pretty sure the cover art alone is worth the price of admission. (For a hilariously oversensitive debate on the cover's objectification of women, check out the Spoon yahoo group.)

If you're super cheap, you can probably find all the songs online. But, given that it's $3.99 on iTunes, free with a new eMusic membership, and $6.28 for a hard copy at Amazon, we're pretty sure you can pony up the cash. Trust us, it's worth it.

Elvis Costello Has Evaded The Internets

Sure, there was a slight whimper when the release was announced, but it seems that Elvis Costello's new record has largely been released under the radar of the internet world as a whole. The record came out yesterday, and it seems that Costello has made an aggressive decision to initially only release the record on vinyl. That means no preview tracks, no pre-release reviews, just two platters of black plastic available by mail order. As far as we can tell, the disc is only available here, and (writing as "Your Unreliable Corresponedent) Costello himself has commented extensively on the release here. Most notably: "For those who like to know these things, we recorded exclusively to tape, completing and mixing each song before moving on to the next. The entire record took a week to record and mix."

What can we say? We're pretty damn excited that Costello is wholeheartedly leading the analog revolution, and we can't wait to get our copy in the mail.

New My Morning Jacket

Kentucky natives My Morning Jacket have released the title track from their forthcoming album Evil Urges. We here at H.A.D. have always been partial to the more upbeat MMJ endeavors, and this is exactly that. Moreover, there's some nice piano lines in there, and an overall feel that has Jim James channelling Prince like never before. The middle metal-jam echoes the purple one's multiple musical personalities as well. We likey.

mp3: My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges

It's Coachella Ramp Up Week In San Francisco

Given our regional proximity to the hype-tastic Coachella Festival, San Francisco is lucky enough to reap the benefits of the festival's attendees' travel plans. What that means is a slough of Coachella-bound bands doing small club dates in San Francisco as a warm up for the big-time in the desert. Coachella is this weekend, and that means this week is warm-up time. Suffice it to say, that even if you're not headed to Indio, there's plenty to see right here in the city. Even more bands are headed in next week, but we'll try not to overwhelm you. In no particular order (and with some non-Coachella bands in there to boot):

Wednesday:
Caribou with F**k Buttons @ The Independent
The Raconteurs @ Bimbos
Death Cab For Cutie @ The Fillmore
The Verve @ The Warfield
Man Man with Yeasayer @ GAMH
Midnight Juggernauts @ Mezzanine

Thursday:
Hot Chip @ The Fillmore
MGMT @ Slim's
Yelle @ The Independent

Friday:
Booka Shade, M.A.N.D.Y., and Heidi @ Mezzanine
Sasha and Digweed @ The Warfield
Kimya Dawson @ Herbst Theater

Saturday:
Simian Mobile Disco with Black Kids @ Mezzanine
Goldfrapp @ The Warfield
Mum @ The Independent
Mark Kozelek @ POTFA

Sunday:
Les Savy Fav @ GAMH
Stephen Malkmus + Jicks @ The Fillmore
Muse @ POTFA

The Free Spoon Deluge Continues

As we've reported previously, Spoon is giving away demos on their website in the "Bonus" section. This week sees the release of another new demo, this time it's for Gimme Fiction's "I Turn My Camera On". Entitled "I Turn My Camera On (First Version)", this track was previously available on a 7", but this is the first time in digital form, and it's free. Happy Monday.

mp3: Spoon - I Turn My Camera On (First Version)

Free Midnight Juggernauts Show Next Week At Mezannine

Australian outfit Midnight Juggernauts are making their way across the Pacific for a US tour (including Coachella, which, if you missed the memo, is next weekend) The band stops in San Francisco pre-festival next Wednesday, April 23rd at Mezzanine. And....guess what? The show is free! Apparently if you get there early enough, there's going to be free vodka too.

To our ears, the Juggernauts have a largely synth-powered sound that has a bit of a dark vibe, and seems to share a sonic palette with our recent faves MGMT. For some reason it also reminds us quite a bit of Supergrass. Not sure what that's about....maybe we're way off base. Anyway, free show, free vodka, can you really go wrong? We thought not.

Stream: Midnight Juggernauts - Dystopia

This Weekend: Lots Of Options

Well, if you've reached the weekend, and are feeling like there's not much going on, we're here to tell you you're wrong. Read on:

- If you feel like driving a bit and checking out two nights of awesome California bands, head North and check out Awesome Fest 2.
- If you're in the city, and feeling your hippie side, check out the 4/20 free tunes at the Green Apple Music Festival in Golden Gate Park.
- Finally, if you'd rather be a bit of a hipster/indie snob, Record Store Day is tomorrow, and there are free events at Amoeba and Rasputin.

So, there you go: take your pick!

New Weezer: A Return To Form

So, Weezer have just posted the lead single from their forthcoming self titled "red album", and it sounds pretty damn good. Being that we (along with, oh, everyone else) were highly disappointed in Make Believe, we really are hoping that this go around is a bit better. If the single is any indication, we may be in for some "Pork and Beans" still has the big, crunchtastic riffs that have come to dominate the band's sound of late, but there are also sweet sounding pianos, all the backing vocals you could want, and some nice acoustic guitars. Sure, it sounds like Weezer, what do you expect? But, it's got soul: something that the band had been lately lacking.

Stream: Weezer - Pork and Beans mp3: Weezer - Pork and Beans (lower quality)

This Weekend In Mendocino: Awesome Fest 2

So, we got this email here at H.A.D. HQ a few days back, and it appears to be a locally planned-and-promoted music festival, featuring some of California's most "up and coming" acts. Oddly, there isn't an official website, but there are tickets available, and there is a poster, so we're guessing it's pretty damn legit. It is (modestly) named "Awesome Fest 2". Wow. Swoon. <3

If this beautiful weather continues the way it has been, you shouldn't need much convincing to get yourself in a vehicle and make your way up to Point Arena to check out some of the Bay Area's most buzzworthy bands. Check it out:

AWESOME FEST 2
April 18th
Thee Oh Sees
Port O'Brien
The Morning Benders
Girls

April 19th
The Growlers (from LA)
Golden Animals (from LA)
Chief (from NYC)
Adam Stephens (from Two Gallants)

The Arena Theater
210 Main Street Point
Arena California

Tickets are available here. Ridemypwny has done a podcast featuring the lineup.

Tomorrow Night @ Mezzanine: Ghostland Observatory

While not everyone appears to love them, the word on the street is that the Ghostland Observatory show that we (unfortunately) missed last year at the Treasure Island Festival was killer. Sure, you need to be in the mood for a late night at what is primarily a dance space with a great sound system. However, if you're going to see a band that draws frequent comparisons (both good and bad) to Daft Punk, then doesn't that seem about right? The show is 9 PM tomorrow night at Mezzanine, tickets are still on-sale.

mp3: Ghostland Observatory - Heavy Heart

Mudcrutch Comes To The Fillmore Tonight

If you can manage to find yourself a ticket, tonight and tomorrow heralds Mudcrutch's arrival at the Fillmore. The band is Tom Petty's (and fellow Heartbreakers Mike Cambell and Benmont Tench) project from before he was a Heartbreaker, and by all accounts it's sounding pretty damn good. You can check out Rolling Stone's review of the new record here, and catch a video of one of the new songs live below....

Dirty Projectors @ The Independent

Last Friday night, Dirty Projectors stopped in at The Independent, and H.A.D. was there to catch the show. The band played a relatively short set, that was mainly focused on last year's Rise Above. They did, however, play some other material, and even ventured to put one new song out for consumption.

While the setlist-wise the show shared many characteristics with last fall's outing, the overall feel was quite different. Where last Fall's set felt like a tightly rehearsed band bringing their craft on the road, this show felt much more like a band actually playing together.

The band seemed just as tightly rehearsed (if not moreso), but the songs' instrumental breakdowns had greater depth, and the band members seemed to simply be having a better time. There was more laughter, and less stoic focus on getting parts of the performance to be just so. While the show wasn't sold out, it played extremely well to a devout crowd, and when Dave Longstreth returned (after quite a bit of cheering) for an encore he called out "Yeah? Alright!!!". It was quite clear that he was just as excited for the awesomeness of the evening as the audience was.

More photos at the H.A.D. flickr feed.

Ryan Adams Has A Blog

Rainy-Face from Ryan Adams on Vimeo.
News has slowly been drifting out about Ryan Adams' new blog, and it does appear to exist, as D. R. Adams Films, Inc. The site is a mishmash of content: pictures, poems, art, and video. While some are claiming it's "Adams going crazy on the internet", we're more prone to think that it's a (welcome) on-line insight to Adams' creative urges. Plus, hey: exclusive interview with Bob Mould! The video above features a new song "Rainy Face", and Adams has mentioned that he actually has an entire album in the can. Good to hear. In the meantime, go and checkout the blog while it's still around! (Make sure you check out the archive section, there's lots to see!)

Feist To Play Greek Theater In July

While we haven't seen Leslie Feist live since she opened for Broken Social Scene back in 2005 at The Regency Grand Ballroom, we have to say it might just be time. We had been avoiding shows because of the all-encompassing Feist-hype that has enveloped our culture over the past 2 years. Between iTunes commercials, Starbucks, and everywhere in-between, we figured we'd kinda duck the cultural wave. Still, Ms. Feist's charms are undeniable, and a concert outside in July might be too good to pass up. Pre-sale starts on Thursday, we're working on getting you a password. Cheers...

UPDATE: Pre-sale here, login "feist", password "tickets".

2nd REM, Modest Mouse, The National Show Added, On-Sale Now

Due to the previous show's sell-out, it looks like there will be another REM/Modest Mouse/The National show at The Greek. Tickets are on sale now. Good luck!

The Dodos To Play GAMH, Amoeba, Independent

Local duo The Dodos have been receiving quite a bit of national hype at the moment, so if you haven't heard the band, this may be a good chance to get your fill. The band will be playing three shows in the city over the next three months in support of their new Record, Visiter. The first will be an opening slot for Les Savy Fav on April 27th at the GAMH, the second is a free show at Amoeba (Haight Street) on May 14th, and the third is a headlining show at The Independent on June 19th.

We here at H.A.D. have been listening to the new record since we got it off of eMusic last week, and we're enjoying it quite a bit. It's a nice dose of fuzzed out folk, and Meric Long's vocals are definitely top notch. We are a bit curious as to how the definitely multi-layered approach to the band's material comes across live, but I guess that's why we'll have to go and see, eh?

Stream: The Dodos - MySpace

Spoon Release New Version Of "You've Got Your Cherry Bomb" on Website

Ever the purveyors of b-sides, alternate takes, and demos, Spoon have generously uploaded a free mp3 "country" demo of "You've Got Yr Cherry Bomb". Click below and enjoy the twangy goodness! The band appears to be lining up to release a new bonus track every month....dig!

mp3: Spoon - You've Got Yr Cherry Bomb (Country Demo)

Counting Crows Free In-Store At Apple This Sunday

The Counting Crows will be playing a free in-store this Sunday at the Apple Store on Market Street. While our interest in the Crows has waxed and waned over the years, we have to admit we're curious to hear the new record Saturday Nights And Sunday Mornings. After reading this recent Rolling Stone interview, it seems like perhaps Duritz and Co. may still have a few tricks up their collective sleeve. On top of that, the new single (see video below) seems to rock more than it whines, which has always been our preferred side of the band. The show starts at 4 PM, and is first come first serve, open to the public.

Added bonus: apparently the band decided to release a free, mp3 based, "Digital 45" of two new songs - both low on the whine-factor. Plus, DRM-free awesomeness. Link below.

Video: Counting Crows - You Can't Count On Me
mp3: Counting Crows - 1492 / When I Dream Of Michaelangelo "Digital 45"

Alternate REM/Modest Mouse/The National Pre-Sale

If yesterday's presale info doesn't work out for you, have no fear: Another Planet Entertainment is also running a pre-sale for the REM/Modest Mouse/The National show at the Greek Theater in Berkeley. It also starts tomorrow, and can be accessed here. The password is "murmur".

This Saturday: West Indian Girl @ The Rickshaw

So we have to admit, when we saw West Indian Girl on this week's Rickshaw schedule, we kinda skipped them over and didn't investigate. It was only after perusing today's McSweeney's Recommends post that we went over and gave the band a look. We're really glad we did. Apparently they've been around for a few years now, but this is the first we've heard of them. The band offers up a completely accessible blend of poppiness, synth goodness, and sing-a-longable lyrics. For some, it might be a tad to saccharine sweet or borderline 70's kitsch, but we found it to be just right.

The band will be playing this Saturday night at the Rickshaw Stop. Tickets are on-sale now: $6 advance, $12 at the door.

mp3: West Indian Girl - To Die In L.A.

REM/Modest Mouse/The National @ The Greek Theater: Pre-Sale Info

In what is set to be the angstiest revue of the summer, REM will be joined by Modest Mouse and The National on a nationwide tour. In the Bay Area, this going to mean a stop a Berkeley's Greek Theater on May 31st, in the prime of the outdoor concert season.

Given how much we enjoyed The National last fall, and the back to basics feel of the new REM disc, we're pretty psyched for this show. Tickets go on sale Sunday, but there's a pre-sale tomorrow at 10 AM. All you need to do is sign up for the REM fan community here, and you'll be given a password and login.

Free Show And Booze Tomorrow Night At Harlot

Owl Mag is hosting The Rumble for a free show by San Francisco locals The Hundred Days tomorrow night at Harlot. As an added bonus, if you RSVP here, there's free vodka and red bull from 8-9:30. Offhand, we're guessing it's not gonna be Grey Goose, but free booze is free booze.

The set sounds like it should be a good one. The Hundred Days seem to be rocking something of a Joy Division/Interpol/Killers vibe, which is to say anthemic vocals combined with tom-tom drums and a touch of synths. Plus, they'll be playing GAMH on May 17th, so what better way to get a taste and see if you want to pay up for the real thing. Just remember to RSVP!

Stream: The Hundred Days - Fire