Plants And Animals At The Rickshaw Wednesday Night

We here at H.A.D. tend to keep an eye on the Rickshaw's calendar. For one, it's a tiny venue, and we love the space. For another, they tend to have great acts that have yet to truly "break through", but are right on the verge. Well, after perusing this week's update from the venue, we noticed Plants and Animals will be at the Stop on Wednesday night. From where we're sitting, this show has some massive potential - hopefully we'll see you there...

mp3: Plants And Animals - Feedback In The Field

Islands Played Bimbo's

Last Monday, Canadian band Islands made their way to Bimbo's 365 Club to make up a date that had been cancelled back in April. The band is currently promoting their latest, Arm's Way, and as such, the set was heavily weighted towards the newer material.

The crowd, while not a sellout, was highly enthusiastic, and packed the front of the room. To say that they were "fans" would be a significant udnerstatement. It seemed that everything the band did (including a good natured butchering one of the encore songs), the crowd went apeshit for, be it good or bad. We're certainly in favor of high levels of enthusiasm, but when it seems to be completely unrelated to what's going on in the room, it can be a bit odd.

We here at H.A.D. dig the new album (and the old, for that matter), and enjoyed the show quite a bit. That being said, the band could learn a thing or two about maybe planning the setlist so that it had a bit more of a clear direction: the song selections seemed to go up and down quite a bit, and at times the back and forth seemed to get repetitive.

That being said, the band is highly technically skilled, and is a killer live combo. It was particularly inspirational to see just how many members are multi-instrumentalists. If you get the chance, Islands is a show not to miss.

More pictures available at the H.A.D. Archive.

Vampire Weekend Apes Wes Anderson

Vampire Weekend have just released their latest video - for "Oxford Comma" - and we can't help but feel that it's just trying a little hard to be "eclectic" in the style of a certain well known that director. That being said, we still love the band, and every time we hear them, all our skepticism tends to go out the window...all is forgiven.

Conor Oberst At Bottom Of The Hill 8/1, 8/2

Yes, you read that correctly: Conor Oberst, he of Bright Eyes fame, will be playing one of San Francisco's smallest rooms for two nights in August. Oberst is on the road promoting his self-titled solo "debut" Conor Oberst. The record is out on Merge August 5th. Shockingly, there are still tickets available to both nights. What can we say? It's a great opportunity to see an awesome songwriter in a tiny venue. Moreover, the advance tracks sound like some really killer tracks. Get em while they're hot.

mp3: Conor Oberst - Souled Out!!!
mp3: Conor Oberst - Danny Callahan

Sigur Ros Presale Begins At 10

Sigur Ros will be playing in Berkeley at the tail end of the Greek's summer season, and tickets go on sale via a presale starting this morning at 10. The band's records range from fantastically epic ambient works, to intense studies in rhythm. By all accounts, the live show leaves the records in the dust, which is saying a lot. We'll be sure to check it out, and we suggest you do as well. Tickets can be had here, the password is "naked". The stream below is the band's lastest album.

Stream: Sigur Ros - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

Spoon Featured In The Latest Daytrotter Sessions

Over at possibly the most consistent site on the web for original artist sessions, Daytrotter has delivered a four song set from Spoon. The set includes the band's fantastic cover of Paul Simon's "Peace Like A River", as well as three of the band's own tunes. We suppose it should come as no surprise that a band whose drummer maintains his own studio would sound so awesome in this setting. Still, it's nice to see Spoon consistently firing on all cylinders, and delivering an awesome set. Our only real question is why "Back To The Life" is listed as previously unreleased. Hrm. Anyway, we know we keep going on about it, but each Spoon tidbit that comes down the wire just gets us that much more psyched for their residency at the Fillmore in September. Awesome indeed.

mp3: Spoon - Daytrotter Sessions (Click Through)

New Port O'Brien Video

Port O'Brien have released the official video for "I Woke Up Today", and it's quite a trip. While we can't imbed it here (pout) we can send you over to Stereogum to take a look. It's worth the click. Take our word for it.

Video: Port O'Brien - I Woke Up Today

Dandy Warhols To Play Warfield In October

While there's no official news of it, either on the Dandy's site or on ticketmaster, there's rumor of a Dandy Warhols show at the Warfield on October 4th. This should come as no huge surprise, since the band has a new record out, and has already graced the Northwest with some warmup gigs. The Dandy's live drone fest is a good one, and highly recommended. We'll let you know as details develop.

Stream: The Dandy Warhols - ...Earth To The Dandy Warhols...

Nine Inch Nails / Deerhunter On-Sale Sunday

While we're not really ones to frequent arena shows, this may be an exception. First, you have the persistent notoriety of NIN's live shows, even in large venues. Second, you have one of the most exciting and also notoriously great live bands out there today, Deerhunter. It seems like a lineup that can't be beat, even if it is Oracle Arena. Well, make your own call, but regardless: tickets are on-sale Sunday at 10 AM.

Black Kids To Play Fillmore In October

Over at Brooklyn Vegan there's a pretty big post as to the "launch" festivities surrounding the Black Kids major label debut. Included in said festivities is a tour that culminates in San Francisco at The Fillmore on October 13th. No word about ticket on-sale's yet, so keep your eyes open.

In other news the "official" video (along with newly recorded version of the song) for "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Girlfriend How To Dance With You" has been utubed (see below). To our ears the audio mix is slower and cleaner than the original EP version (similar to the Killers when they transitioned from self-released EP->major label), while the video is some sort of "color fight" between some 18th century aristocrats. Hmm. We'll have to listen to the whole album when it drops in two weeks.