The New Vetiver Album Will Be On A (Major) Indie Label

Okay, don't get too freaked out - we're just trying to mess you around with that title. The reality is that SF locals Vetiver have signed with Sub Pop, one of the indie record industry's longest running and most successful labels. Having loved the band's last record of originals, To Find Me Gone, we've been looking forward to the delivery of some new original material in the wake of their covers record and EP that came out this year. Apparently the band's latest, Tight Knit, is finished and ready to go, and will see a street date of February 3rd. Keep an eye out for that. In the meantime, Vetiver is wrapping up the tail end of their winter tour, some dates with The Black Crowes. Unfortunately there are no SF dates, but holiday season is all about travel anyway, right?

Vetiver Winter Tour Dates 2008:
12/4 Louisville, KY @ 21C Museum Atrium Gallery
12/5 Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theater w/ The Black Crowes
12/6 Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit (State Theater) w/ The Black Crowes
12/7 Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom w/ The Black Crowes
12/8 Grinnell, IA @ Herrick Chapel at Grinnell College
12/9 Fargo, ND @ The Venue w/ The Black Crowes
12/10 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue w/ The Black Crowes
12/11 Des Moines, IA @ Val Air Ballroom w/ The Black Crowes
12/12 Omaha, NE @ Slowdown Jr.
12/13 Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium w/ The Black Crowes
12/14 Lawrence, KS @ Jack Pot Saloon
12/15 St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway Night Club
12/17 New York City, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge

The Heavenly States Played Bottom Of The Hill: A Foggy Holiday Release Party

On Friday night we had the pleasure of heading over to The Bottom Of The Hill for the release party of A Foggy Holiday 2008, the latest in Talking House Records' series of holiday comps for charity. The joint was packed, and most (or parts) of the bands on the record were in attendance. The night was predominantly shorter sets that included the holiday tracks that the bands had recorded for the benefit, but The Heavenly States were headlining the evening's festivities. We managed to catch the holiday goodness on film (Or, well, microchip. You know how it is).

To be frank, this is probably the most we've heard The States rock out in a live show - maybe it was the packed room, maybe it was the headliner status, or maybe it was just the right kind of night. Regardless, it worked - the whole band was blazing through the set, and despite our better judgement, we kept our earplugs out so we could absorb the full awesomeness of the set.

The band played a ton of the material from their latest, Delayer, and even managed to squeeze in their cover of "Little Drummer Boy" from the album of the evening. To be frank, we here at HAD tend to hate "Little Drummer Boy" (yes, even the Bowie version), and we weren't very optimistic about hearing it yet again. That being said, we were pleasantly surprised. The band managed to take the tune's typically bore-inducing repetition and inject it with a solid dose of droney rock sensibility. Add some percussion provided by members of The May Fire, and hey - we're liking what we heard.

At the end of the day, we here at HAD are suckers for charity and Christmas, and Foggy Holiday manages to have both. Not only that, but they managed to rope in some of the best bands SF has to offer at the moment. The event at Bottom Of The Hill echoed the vibe, with happy people, good music, and holiday cheer. Trust us kids, you don't have an excuse not to check this one out.

More pictures at the HAD Archive

Nothing To Do Tonight? Watch A Pavement Doc Over At Pitchfork!

As part of their "one week only" series, Pitchfork.tv is hosting the Pavement documentary Slow Century this week. While the documentary isn't exactly the most original thing in the world (more of a summary than new material), it is a great intro to the world of Pavement for the uninformed. It features a ton of good archival footage, and in general is just a good time. Highly recommended.

Video: Pavement - Slow Century

Jay Reatard: See-Saw Video, Coming To The Independent In January

Despite (or maybe due to) reports of an unbearably noisy, spit-laden, aggressive live show, we have to say we're psyched to hear that Jay Reatard will be coming to the Independent on January 25th. We've been digging his Singles 06-07 comp for a while now, and his recently released Matador Singles '08 is another solid dose of Reatard's trademark brand of 60's throwback fuzzed-out garage punk. Don't say we didn't warn you that it might get a bit hectic, but we think you'll go home happy.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at 10 AM.

mp3: Jay Reatard - See-Saw

Saturday Morning Ryan Adams Video: "Rosebud"

Fresh off the presses, here's a vid of Mr. Adams playing his tune "Rosebud", presumably at home in his apartment. It's a pretty spare arrangement, with a bit of reverb. Frankly, we like it better than the original. Keep 'em coming RA.

No Age Played The Rickshaw Stop: Pictures, Review, Setlist

Last night at The Rickshaw Stop No Age played an ass kicking show to a group of utterly psyched fans. The fans were psyched, understandably, because one of their favorite bands was playing a free show at a tiny venue, and with the maximum of enthusiasm. No Age delivered a just over one hour set that held one foot firmly in the traditions of the LA hardcore scene, and the other in waves of abstract noise experimentation. The beginning of the night was a bit odd, as the show's sponsors attempted to make a sort of public service slash marketing announcement all about their site and buying merch there. Suffice it to say, neither the band nor the fans took much notice, and the band even started playing while company drone was still talking. Oh well - no big loss there.

From there the band kicked into an unrelenting set ranging over both of their albums, and including a couple of new tracks. The new tracks were solid, but definitely didn't stray from the established No Age sound. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the set was Randy Randall's ability to recreate his guitar sounds from their records. We were skeptical that this would be possible, but through a bunch of pedals, three separate amps, and a good amount of layering, he managed to generate note-for-note the rich textures from the record. It was heartening to watch a musician be so technically adept in a real way, and not fall back heavily on computers and samples.

Throughout the show, Dean Spunt seemed frustrated with the crowds lack of enthusiasm - he asked whether they were tired, or if it was a work or school night. He implored them to "loosen up", and still nothing. Finally in the second half of the set, came from behind the drum kit and instructed the crowd to "all move forward", and they did as they were told. From there, things accelerated into a much more crowded, much more mosh-y show, and the band seemed pleased with the results.

After banging through the recorded setlist, the band broke into two songs for their encore (help, anyone?). For the first, the band invited fans or "anyone who knew it" on stage to sing, and managed to wrangle up a few takers from the crowd. For the second, guitarist Randy Randall jumped from the stage and crowd surfed - continuing to play guitar while he did so for easily 30-60 seconds. Impressive, to say the least.

At the end of the day, No Age deliver live exactly what you'd expect from their records: noisy, brash, experimental, balls-to-the-wall, progressive music. The piece of the pie that doesn't really come across in the records is just how much energy these guys have. Throughout the show, both Randall and Spunta are frenetic balls of energy, traversing the stage and putting their heart and soul into the performance. It would be easy for a band that delivers this well musically to simply rest on their laurels, but No Age does exactly the opposite. It was enough that when Randall told a bouncer who was trying to calm the crowd "Hey, the kids are alright!", that it served as a solid reminder that No Age is helping to preserve the things that make rock music great.

Setlist:
Ambien
Teen Creeps
Here Should Be My Home
Cappo
Every Artist Needs A Tragedy
My Life's Alright Without You
New Song
Neck Escape
Dead Plane
Sleeper
New Song
Eraser
Brain Burner
Miner
Boy Void
Ripped Knees
--
Encore Song 1 (cover)
Encore Song 2

Many more pictures at the HAD Archive

Because (Christmas = Awesome), Stupid.

Contest: Ryan Adams Cardinology Vinyl+CD Giveaway

Well kids, this is just cool. We'll be perfectly honest with you: this contest we're about to offer up? We paid our own cold hard cash for the same exact thing just about a month ago. Seriously: it's almost too good to be true. The kind folks at Filter Magazine (ardent Ryan Adams proponents if there ever were some) have offered us a combined vinyl and CD copy of the Cardinals' latest, Cardinology, to give away to one of our ridiculously lucky readers.

So, here's the deal: this is a sicktastic prize, so we're gonna make you work a little to get the goods. By midnight next Friday, send us your name and address and the answer to the following question:

Ryan Adams recorded an unreleased session at Q Division studios in Boston in September of 2000. At that session, another musician sang backup vocals. That musician is now in another band - name the band and the musician.

Replies go to contests@hippiesaredead.com - name, address, and answer. One entry per person, please.

Ready, set, go!

Oasis Played Oracle Arena - Setlist, Pics, Review

Following Ryan Adams' solid opening set, Oasis took the stage at Oracle Arena to deliver a set that fulfilled all the hype, pomp, and showmanship that one would expect from one of the world's most mega rock bands. The lights were big, the set was big, the video screens were big - all of it was designed to be larger than life and completely wow the crowd. What's more, the setlist was a fantastic blend of the band's material over the years, and even included a few treats for the diehards.

It was actually quite remarkable how easily the band jumped from old material, to new, and back again. Despite the fact that the band's records have taken on a decidedly darker production aesthetic in the past few years, they've clearly been putting in the time to make sure that they can deliver on all the classics as well - material from Definitely Maybe sounded just as solid as anything off the recent records.

In many ways, Oasis' US gigs are doomed to be greatest-hits affairs: most Americans aren't super familiar with the deep album cuts, and moreover they pay money to see those well known tunes. That being said, given the infrequency of Oasis' touring in the US, that's not necessarily a bad thing: it is really and truly great to see the band rock out to "Morning Glory" under a full bath of lights with 6' guitar cabinets roaring away.

Even in light of delivering the hits, the band did manage to slip something in for the die hard fans (of whom there were many). They performed both "The Masterplan" (best known as the title track of the band's B-Sides collection), and "Slide Away" - a seldom played track from Definitely Maybe. It's nice to see a band that is so thoroughly an "arena act" still have the awareness and promotion of their rarer material. Although with a library of b-sides and rarities as rich as Oasis', it's easy to see why they would do so.

The only disappointing moments in the set for us were a somewhat half-hearted "we have to do this" version of "Wonderwall", and the closing of the night with "I Am The Walrus". In both cases it felt more like a band doing what was expected, as opposed to what came naturally. And still, a slightly weak version of two songs out of the whole night is hardly a damning report. We walked away feeling more than satisfied by the set. Oasis delivers absolutely what you'd expect from them: loud, unadulterated, unabashed rock and roll. And we loved every minute of it.

Setlist:
Fucking In The Bushes (Intro)
Rock N' Roll Star
Layla
The Shock Of The Lightning
Cigarettes And Alcohol
The Meaning Of Soul
To Be Where There's Life
Waiting For The Rapture
The Masterplan
Songbird
Slide Away
What's The Story (Morning Glory)
Ain't Got Nothin'
Importance Of Being Idle
I'm Out Of Time
Wonderwall
Supersonic

Don't Look Back In Anger
Fallin' Down
Champagne Supernova
I Am The Walrus

Many more pictures at the HAD Archive

Ryan Adams Played Oracle Arena - Pics, Review, Setlist

Last night, bookended by two massive neon Cardinals roses, Ryan Adams and The Cardinals kicked off the first night opening for Oasis on their North American tour. Despite suffering some of the typical "opener" roadblocks (non-full audience, lesser stage setup, quieter mix), the band delivered a solid set, and by the end they had a solidly delivered on their latest material, as well as some Adams classics.

Throughout the show, the band was under a pretty low level of light. We have no idea whose decision it was (or maybe it was a stage fright thing), but it did make it a little harder to engage the band's on stage persona. Still, there's no question that the band delivered on their musical potential. Newer material like "Cobwebs", "Fix It", and "Magick" was thoroughly fleshed out, and made the album versions pale by comparison. Perhaps the only weakness was that "I Taught Myself How To Grow Old" lacked the epic guitar jam that's usually present at Adams' headlining shows.

Even more impressive than delivering on the new material, it seemed that Adams has accepted that he needs to "play the hits" in order to engage a less familiar audience. The band delivered solid versions of "When The Stars Go Blue" and "Two", not to mention and awesome, rocking version of "Come Pick Me Up" that was the highlight of the set.

Playing a large venue, to an unfamiliar audience, as an opener, is always a tough act to pull off. However, it speaks to the continuing growth and maturity of the Cardinals that they jumped into the situation and managed to avoid any pratfalls. If they continue in this direction (and frankly, bring a bit of their live rawness into the studio), we're thinking that 2009 could be a big year for the Cards.

Setlist:
Cobwebs
Crossed Out Name
Everybody Knows
When The Stars Go Blue
Fix It
Let It Ride
Go Easy
Sinking Ships
Come Pick Me Up
I Taught Myself How To Grow Old
Two
Magick

More photos at the HAD Archive