John Vanderslice: New Record, Tour With The Mountain Goats, Rickshaw Stop In May

If you happened to miss (like we, sadly, did) John Vanderslice's recent show at the Great American, you may still be able to get yourself a taste of the man's music in this calendar year. In short, it looks like it's going to be a busy spring for Mr.Vanderslice. The San Francisco native has a new record, Romanian Names, and a spring tour with the Mountain Goats. After the tour wraps up, Vanderslice will be returning home to San Francisco for a record release party for the new album at the Rickshaw Stop. The show will also apparently feature a "special guest" - any ideas? Tickets are on sale now

In the meantime, you can check out the video above for a new tune that was played at Great American, "Too Much Time", live with the Magick*Magick Orchestra. Once you're done with that, click below to see Romanian Names' title track played live at KEXP (we love the chorus on this one!).

Video: John Vanderslice - Romanian Names (Live On KEXP)

John Vanderslice Spring 2009 Dates:
Mar 18, 2009 - Ashville, NC The Grey Eagle *
Mar 19, 2009 - Durham, NC Duke Coffee House *
Mar 20, 2009 - Norfolk, VA Attucks Theater *
Mar 21, 2009 - Washington, DC Sixth and I Synagogue *
Mar 24, 2009 - Northampton, MA Pearl Street *
Mar 25, 2009 - Somerville, MA Somerville Theater *
Mar 26, 2009 - Hamilton, NY Donovan's Pub - Colgate University *
Mar 27, 2009 - New York, NY Society For Ethical Culture *
Mar 29, 2009 - Gambier, OH Kenyon College *
Mar 30, 2009 - Oberlin, OH Oberlin College *
Apr 1, 2009 - Chicago, IL Epiphany *
Apr 2, 2009 - Champaign, ILCourtyard Cafe - University of IL *
Apr 3, 2009 - Iowa City, LA The Mill *
Apr 4, 2009 - Richmond, IN Earlham College *
Apr 6, 2009 - Bloomington, IN Buskirk-Chumley Theater *
May 19, 2009 - San Francisco, CA Rickshaw Stop
May 21, 2009 - Portland, OR Mississippi Studios
May 22, 2009 - Seattle, WA Easy Street Records
May 24, 2009 - Quincy, WA Sasquatch Festival
May 27, 2009 - Provo, UT Velour
May 28, 2009 - Salt Lake City , UT Kilby Court
May 30, 2009 - Omaha, NE Slow Down

* with Mountain Goats

Noise Pop 2009: Noise Pop Starts Tonight!

Well, here it is: tonight San Francisco's own Noise Pop festival gets rolling, and with it some of the most anticipated shows of the year. You can check out HAD's guide to the fest right here, but in case you're just scoping out tonight's activities, here's what's in store:

Antony and The Johnsons @ Nob Hill Masonic Center
John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats) @ Herbst Theater
Deerhunter @ Mezzanine (Free!)

Remember kids: stay safe, and have fun. See you out there!

Fall & Winter "Talking Music" Features Sheff, Darnielle, Anderson

Well, we admit, we dropped the ball on this one: Stephen Merritt of The Magnetic Fields kicked off this year's "Talking Music" series on September 11th, and it kind of blew right by us. That being said, the series runs through late April, and there are quite a few more interesting folks in the lineup. Okkervil River frontman (and English major) Will Sheff will be in attendance on December 17th. Mountain Goats frontman (and sometimes blogger) John Darnielle will be interviewed by Tobias Wolff on February 24th, and performance artist (and Lou Reed spouse) Laurie Anderson wraps it up on April 27th. It's also worth noting that both Sheff and Darnielle are appearing in "conversation and song" so there should be some tunage there as well. These all take place in the Herbst theater, which in addition to being a great building, has fantastic acoustics. Should be a fun night out.