Local Music: The Blank Tapes

We here at H.A.D. have been digging The Blank Tapes ever since their 2005 release Landfair. The band is the brainchild of local musician Matt Adams (who also does the album art!) and a rotating cast of guest musicians. Their records offer up an awesome blend of 60's rock sounds, low-fi prowess, and pop charm. A new release last year, Daydreams, slipped under our radar, but we managed to discover it last week.

While we were enjoying the free mp3's the band has on their website, we were psyched to see that they're playing two dates in March. The first is next Monday, the 10th, at Cafe Du Nord. The second is on Sunday March 23rd at the Hotel Utah. We recommend you check them out - you won't regret it.

mp3: The Blank Tapes - Oh My Child

Vetiver @ GAMH In May

We've been digging Vetiver for quite a while now, and so we had been debating whether it was worth the ticket price to go check them out at the Fillmore in the opening slot on March 20th. Well, now we (thankfully) have another option: the band will be headlining the GAMH on May 6th, with other local act Kelley Stoltz (who we debated catching at Noise Pop last week) opening. Should be a great show - tickets go on-sale this Sunday at 10 AM.

Stephen Malkmus + Jicks @ Fillmore In April

If you happen to not be able to make tonight's show at Amoeba, have no fear - Malkmus and his Jicks will be returning to San Francisco in April to do a "real" show at the Fillmore on April 27th. We have to say we're psyched to see him in what is probably the city's most classic venue. Tickets go on-sale this Sunday at 10 AM.

New Features Album On The Way

We just saw over at You Ain't No Picasso that The Features have a new record on the way this year, which we see as being exceedingly good news. We've been fans of the band since we saw them open for Kings Of Leon a few years back at Slim's. Listening to their first record a couple of weeks ago, we had sorta wondered what happened to them.

A little further investigation this morning got us to stumble upon an EP called Contrast released in '06 that had completely escaped our notice. Glad to see there's even more news on the radar.

Head over to the You Ain't No Picasso post to check out a super-cool live cover of McCartney's "Jet".

Tomorrow Night: Malkmus @ Amoeba, Raveonettes @ The Independent

Tomorrow will be a full night for us over here at H.A.D.: first we'll be making our way up to Amoeba on Haight Street for the 7 PM performance by Stephen Malkmus + Jicks, then we'll be heading down the hill to The Independent to catch The Raveonettes.

We've heard good things about The Raveonettes' live show, and we've been digging on their new one Lust Lust Lust for the past couple of weeks. The album is a nice dose of slick euro-pop drenched in feedback and noise.

Get yourself out there tomorrow night, and in the meantime enjoy some tunage.

mp3: Stephen Malkmus + Jicks - Cold Son

mp3: The Raveonettes - Aly Walk With Me

SNL Continues Its Good Music Taste: Vampire Weekend Next Saturday

After this week's visit by Wilco (where, sadly, they played material exclusively from Sky Blue Sky), Saturday Night Live will next week be welcoming "it" indie band of the moment Vampire Weekend. We're ramping up for the shows at the end of March, and we have to say we're psyched to see them on national TV. Rawk. In the meantime, courtesy of Stereogum, enjoy this clip from Wilco's performance this past weekend...

Stephen Malkmus + Jicks Streaming On The Web @ 3PM Today

Stephen Malkmus + Jicks will be appearing on Seattle's KEXP this afternoon, presumably as part of the same promo jaunt that will have them in San Francisco. The music goodness starts @ 3PM PST, and you can stream the appearance live on the web at kexp.com. Should be a good warm-up for Wednesday at Amoeba...

Noise Pop's Final Night: She And Him @ GAMH

Let us start off by saying this: Noise Pop, why did you need to go all a/v fascist on us? No photos? Really? We barely got 3 photos off before we were told to put away the camera or it would be confiscated. Such a disappointment. Sorry, just had to get that off the proverbial chest. Now, onward. (Update: Pitchfork got a photo pass.)

This evening's inaugural She and Him gig was decidedly more "she" than "him". Perhaps it was to be expected, but we'd be lying if we didn't say that we wished Matt Ward had gotten front and center a bit more frequently. That being said, what we did get was a tight hour long set of music squarely focused on Zooey Deschanel's voice, and the new album coming out in two weeks.

That focus was completely appropriate, as the leading lady's voice was in top form. She gave solid delivery of all the material, and even hit some notes that shocked us with their directness and impact. It helped significantly that she was backed by Ward and his standard touring band: they held together an extremely tight combo for Deschanel to rely upon throughout the night.

This evening was also the first opportunity we've had to hear all of the material off of the new album, and assess Zooey's songwriting skillz. In general the material was solid, with a definite 60's throwback vibe. There was a certain similarity amongst many of the songs, which started to wear thin towards the end of the set, but in general it was a catchy and accessible set of new tunes. In addition to the new material, the band also covered Ward's "Magic Trick", as well as "You've Really Got A Hold On Me", "Bring It On Home To Me", and "I Put A Spell On You".

Perhaps the only really notable downside to the night's performance was that Deschanel was a bit noticeably (and understandably) awkward and reserved in her stage presence. It seemed like she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself at times, and a bit nervous about the whole thing. Still, for a band's first show, in a packed auditorium on the final night of a major music festival, you can't really blame her. We're pretty sure it'll smooth out over time.

She And Him's self titled album is out on Merge Records March 18th.

Nine Inch Nails Self Release New Album

Nine Inch Nails has finally made good on their record company distaste, and self released a new double album entitled Ghosts I-IV. The record is 36 instrumental tracks, and is available for download immediately. Ghosts I (the first 9 tracks) can be downloaded as high bit rate mp3s for free, and the entire collection is available in lossless format for $5. Welcome to the revolution.

Stephen Malkmus + Jicks At Amoeba This Wednesday

In support of their new record Real Emotional Trash, Stephen Malkmus + Jicks will be in town this Wednesday, March 5th, doing a free show at Amoeba Records' Haight Street Location. Get there at 7 PM to enjoy the jams. Sweet.