John Wesley Harding Brings Cabinet Of Wonders To NYC

John Wesley Harding at the Independent in 2009, from the HAD Archive.

You may recall how much we enjoyed John Wesley Harding's "Cabinet Of Wonders" when we caught it in San Francisco a couple of years back. Half concert, half variety show, the event brings together a ramshackle bunch of creative folk and allows them to entertain in a way that is at once touching, delightful, and a complete riot. So, given that, we were pretty damn excited for some very good news that came our way recently: Harding has reassembled his "Cabinet", and they'll be a set of 3 shows this fall at the City Winery in New York.

By its very nature, the Cabinet of Wonders is not a static beast, so it's not at all surprising that these three shows will see different lineups from the past, as well as from each other. What's truly impressive is that Harding has roped in some serious talent from the music side of things, and it's got us seriously excited.

To start with, noted Bowie and T-Rex producer Tony Visconti will appear at the first date. As if that weren't enough, he will be joined by Eleanor Friedberger (fresh on the heels of her solo release) and one half of the MGMT boys. The second date will feature Hamilton Leithauser of the Walkmen, while the final show will feature alt-country guru Howie Gelb. In short, not too shabby.

On top of all that, the first two shows promise to feature special guests, while the third will see the return of Eugene Mirman to the lineup. If you've seen the Cabinet before, it goes without saying that these are fun, entertaining nights of a truly diverse bent. If it's your first time, take our word for it: these shows will be well worth your time and money. Check the full lineups below!

September 23 at City Winery, New York, NY
- John Wesley Harding & the English U.K.
- Todd Barry
- Eleanor Friedberger
- Andrew VanWyngarden (MGMT)
- Tony Visconti
- Dan Zanes
- Jami Attenberg
- plus a special surprise guest!

October 28 at City Winery, New York, NY
- John Wesley Harding & the English U.K.
- Hamilton Leithauser (The Walkmen)
- Eugene Mirman
- John Hodgman
- Emma Straub
- Paul Harding
- plus special surprise guests!

November 18 at City Winery, New York, NY
- John Wesley Harding & the King Charles Trio
- Howe Gelb
- Eugene Mirman
- Audrey Niffenegger
- Myla Goldberg

The Walkmen Drop "Orange Sunday" Complete With Video

The Walkmen at Terminal 5, from the HAD Archive

It took us a minute to give "Orange Sunday" a look and listen, but we're glad we finally did. The track is a b-side from The Walkmen's fabulous record Lisbon. Upon listening it rapidly becomes clear that in this case "b-side" and "throwaway" are by no means the same thing. A beautifully stark track, the song highlights Hamilton Leithauser's voice over the interplay of two guitars, acoustic and electric.

Clearly, the band felt the track had merit, as they not only gave it to the world, but also made a video to accompany it. Eerily awash in water, the clip feels slightly darker to us than the song, but still seems to suit it. Check them both below.

mp3: The Walkmen - Orange Sunday

The Walkmen Played Letterman - Video

Last night The Walkmen stopped in at David Letterman and delivered a killer version of Lisbon's lead track, "Juveniles". Not only did the band nail it, but (much like in December at T5) Hamilton Leithauser's voice was seriously in top notch form. No doubt, Lisbon, is a record that takes a while to own you, but if the band keeps putting it on stage like this, it's got a long way to go before it gets worn out. If you haven't heard it, get on it. Now.

mp3: The Walkmen - Juveniles

The Walkmen Played Terminal 5 - Pictures, Review, Setlist

When The Walkmen have an on night they make magic, and last night at Terminal 5 was most certainly an on night. Maybe it was the fact that they were returning home after a month in Europe, maybe it was the strength of their new record Lisbon, or maybe it was the grandiose size of Terminal 5. Regardless, it was one of the best shows we've seen from The Walkmen, and if anything, we wish it could have been longer.

To start with, the band was in top form: Hamilton Leithauser's voice was amazing, and he killed every song that he sang on. The energy and performance were off the charts. Unquestionably, vocals are key to the band's character, and last night was one of the best performances we've ever heard from the band's frontman.

Still, with The Walkmen vocals are just one (albeit strong) part of the puzzle. The rest of the band was just as raring to go, and every tune was overflowing with exuberance and enthusiasm. The amazing thing about this band is that they manage to take that exuberance and wrap it up in a musical subtlety that allows each song to carefully define its character's charms. Without question, they are one of the most instrumentally dynamic units on the road today.

The performance was additionally supported by an incredibly solid light show, and a brass section that had been (apparently) absent while the band was in Europe. Combined with the band's simply classic suits, the result was a stage show that felt dropped in from another era, with the charm of a rat pack era showcase.

At the end of the day, The Walkmen's show last night left nothing to be desired: in top form, the 5-piece deliver one of the best live shows around. Hearing the songs from their latest record in a live environment was an unparalleled treat, cemented by the fact that the band was clearly thrilled to be returning to a hometown crowd. On top of that, they closed the show with two of their most classic "hits", "The Rat", and "We've Been Had". It was a great way to start the the December concert season, and if we could do it again tonight, we would.

Setlist

--

While I Shovel The Snow

In The New Year

Angela Surf City

Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone

Blue Is Your Blood

The Stranded

On The Water

Victory

Canadian Girl

All Hands And The Cook

Woe Is Me

Lisbon

Thinking Of A Dream I Had

Juveniles

--

The Rat

We've Been Had

More pictures at the HAD Archive

Walkmen Deliver Cover Art For Lisbon

We were already pretty damn excited about the upcoming Walkmen tour and subsequent record, Lisbon. So, it's not exactly a shocker that the receipt of this ultra pretty cover art has us champing at the bit even further. Now the big question on our mind is if the music will be as dreamy and light as that ultra purty cover. Can't wait!

New Walkmen Record Lisbon On Tap For September, Summer Tour

The Walkmen at the Guggenheim last fall, from the HAD Archive

Well, this is certainly exciting. While details are still sparse at the moment, we'll tell you what we do know: The Walkmen have a new record on tap for September 14th, and that new record is called Lisbon. Culled from 44 songs wrtitten over two years, the 11 track album was recorded in both New York and Dallas. And, well, that's it.

Yes, we know it's not much, but we're still pretty damn thrilled. On top of the album news, the band have also lined up a series of summer dates. We're assuming this means a good solid taste of the new material, so you can bet we're going to get out there. Win.

The Walkmen Summer 2010 Dates
7/2: Taste of MN, St. Paul, MN
7/4: 80/35 Festival, Des Moines, IA
7/17: XPN Music Festival, Philadelphia, PA
7/31: Osheaga Festival, Montreal
8/6: Lollapalooza Festival, Chicago, Illinois
8/12: Governors Island, New York, NY (with Grizzly Bear)
8/25: Islington Academy, London, UK
8/27: Leeds Festival, Leeds, England
8/28: Reading Festival, Reading, England
9/9: Malkin Bowl, Vancouver, BC (with The National)
9/10: Malkin Bowl, Vancouver, BC (with The National)
9/12: Music Fest NW, Portland, OR
10/28: 02 Academy, Glasgow, UK (with The Black Keys)
10/30: 02 Academy, Newcastle, UK (with The Black Keys)
10/31: 02 Academy, Leeds, UK (with The Black Keys)
11/2: 02 Academy, Brixton, London, UK (with The Black Keys)
11/4: Rock City, Nottingham, UK (with The Black Keys)
11/6: 02 Academy, Liverpool, UK (with The Black Keys)
11/7: 02 Academy, Bournemouth, UK (with The Black Keys)

Treasure Island Festival, Day 2 - Photos, Review

After the awesomeness of day one, we were more than a little excited to get back out to Treasure Island and enjoy the festival's "rock" flavored day. The fact that the TI is somewhat broken up by genre does mean that the crowds differ bit. Not enough that you could point to one factor, but definitely enough that there was a notable change in the air between the two. Sunday's crowd was definitely ready for some solid rock, and the festival definitely did not disappoint.



We started out our day checking in with local faves Vetiver. Given that we love their latest record, and highly enjoyed their show at GAMH earlier this year, we weren't exactly surprised to see the band put on a fantastic performance. That being said, it was pretty clear that the band had transcended some folks' expectations: the crowd was totally rapt, and so were we. If this band didn't already have a solid "keep an eye on them" label, they certainly do now.



From there we stopped in on probably the most hyped band this side of the globe, and caught a set from Grizzly Bear. All hype aside, these guys definitely do deliver live, so it's hard to be snarky about it. The set's dynamic was interesting, as it seemed to start incredibly high energy, and gradually mellow out. An unusual direction for a rock show to go in, but for Grizzly Bear, it seemed to work.



The Walkmen were up next, and what can we say? These guys are clearly in their prime right now. We were wowed by their shows in New York this summer, and the energy is still there. The band delivered a blazing set that was definitely riding the wave of last year's much lauded You & Me. It's really nice to see the band back on the ball after what seemed like a year or two of semi-aimlessness between records. We can't wait for the next one.



As darkness fell on Treasure Island, we made our way to Yo La Tengo's set. Suffice it to say: the band was definitely in mellow mode. For a trio who have the potential to be the loudest thing you've ever heard, it's always interesting when they pull it way back and dedicate the set to songcraft and technique. This set was exactly that, with the band clearly invested in what they were doing, and offering a fantastic night of tunage.



Then it was time for the big show. The Flaming Lips took to the stage, and proceeded to deliver their (now well known) brand of showmanship. The plastic ball was there. The lights were there. The confetti was there. And, so was the girl having the seizure in the front row. Yes, it's sad, but strobe effects were not made for everyone. Even so, the band powered through and delivered an awesome set that spanned many old favorites, and touched heavily on their latest, Embryonic. Our assessment of the Lips continues to be what is has, and always will, be: go see the show. Just go. There's really no other way to get it.

And with that, we wrapped our 2009 weekend at the Treasure Island Festival. It was as awesome as we had hoped, and continues to build on its own momentum. It's also nice to see that both Treasure Island and Outside Lands have carved out their own niche and are happily coexisting. Let San Francisco's festival-laden goodness continue!

Photos by Brian Fong
Many more photos at the HAD Archive

The Walkmen, "Four Provinces": Video

Well, here you have it: more video news from The Walkmen. We were so psyched to catch the video for "On The Water" last week, that we were shocked to discover that a video for "Four Provinces" had been floating out there on the internets for quite some time. It's a neat little stop-motion photography dealie, and continues to maintain the band's shockingly good taste at creating interesting, arty videos. We like.

mp3: The Walkmen - Four Provinces

The Walkmen: New Video For "On The Water"

It's no secret that we're huge fans of The Walkmen here at HAD, so we were pretty psyched to learn that a new video had dropped for on the water. Then we watched it, and well, it's sorta sad. The video's a 3D animation that basically centers around a farmer killing some rabbits with a rainbow gun.

Okay, they might be rainbows, but damned if it didn't bum us out just a bit. That being said, it's a testament to the animators that we give a shit at all, so that's something. Check it out above.

mp3: The Walkmen - On The Water

Dinosaur Jr, The Walkmen and Saviours Played Summerstage - Pictures, Review

On Sunday afternoon we, along with a slew of other fans, braved the 90+ degree heat, and made our way to Summerstage for the final show of the summer. A free gig featuring Dinosaur Jr., The Walkmen, and Saviours, it was a completely solid dose of rock and roll, and just right for the killer heat wave the city's been experiencing for the past week.

Bay Area natives Saviours opened the show with an extremely solid dose of in-your-face metal. We have to admit, when it kicked off we were skeptical as to how the crowd might take to the bold genre leap, but there was definitely unbridled enthusiasm. Given J. Mascis' massive guitar sounds and killer riffs, it follows that his fans would be open to some metaltastic goodness.

Soon after, The Walkmen took the stage, and delivered a massive set that was far more rock oriented than their show Friday night at the Guggenheim. While they still played a fair dose of their more heady material, they also dug into their rock roots, and unrepentantly delivered fan favorite "The Rat".

It's also worth mentioning that the band, despite how awesome they sounded Friday, sounded even better on Sunday. It was as though Friday had been a dry run, and Sunday was the true delivery. The band seemed more conscious of their sound, and all the playing seemed more immediate and in your face. What's more, Leithauser's voice sounded even better than on Friday, which was truly remarkable.

All in all, the band managed to offer up a killer set that completely catered to the more rock-oriented vibe of the bill, and left us with an extremely lucid demonstration of just how versatile The Walkmen can be as a live unit.

The show wrapped up with a show from Dinosaur Jr., and it was everything one might expect: the band is ridiculously tight, loud, and ready to deliver. In the blistering Sunday heat, they dove into a lengthy set of classic material and never let up.

What's more, the band did pull in a fair amount of new material, and it was remarkable just how easily it blended into the set. The trio has really managed to seamlessly return to form, and it's almost as though they were never on hiatus, and just kept making great rock and roll.

And, at the end of the day, that's exactly what Sunday's show was all about: blistering, sweaty, awesome rock and roll in the hot August heat. Between all three bands, the gamut of rock was traversed, and it balanced perfectly to round out this year's Summerstage in fine form. Well played.

Many more pictures at the HAD Archive

It Came From Brooklyn: High Places And The Walkmen Played The Guggenheim - Pictures, Review

On Friday night, HAD stopped in at the Guggenheim for the first installment in their "It Came From Brooklyn" series. The series, which is part of the celebration of the museum's fiftieth anniversary, attempts to bring Manhattanites and solid dose of Brooklyn's always-expanding cultural scene. While we headed to the gig for the music, it was a unique event that managed to mix rock music with a poetry reading, a marching band, and stand up comedy. Needless to say, it was an interesting evening.

The Brooklyn Steppers Marching Band started off the evening, and gave a solid performance in classic marching-band style. It was fun to see the band juxtaposed against the Guggenheim's ramps, and the band were clearly having fun themselves. The music was upbeat and provided the perfect stimulus to get the evening going.

When High Places followed the Steppers, it was with music of a vastly different character. The Places' subtle brand of almost-ambient tunage is definitely one that we dig, and so we were curious to see how they would pull it off in a live environment - especially one as unique as The Guggenheum. Unfortunately, it wasn't as well suited as we would have liked.

The duo's set was unquestionably interesting, challenging, and diverse. But a combination of factors, ranging from the size of the space to muddy acoustics, left us feeling like we hadn't seen the band at their best. Make no mistake: the set definitely peaked our interest and had us giving their record a spin when we got home, it just seemed like the space wasn't ideal for what their show has to offer.

By stark contrast, The Walkmen fit the Guggenheim's rotunda like a glove. The band's already boomy, reverb laden sound was made more expansive by the large hall, and the crowd was rapt with attention for what was actually a pretty mellow set from the band.

Maybe it was the venue, maybe it was the type of event, or maybe it was just the feel of the evening. Whatever the reason, it was one of the more chilled out and atmospheric sets we've heard from The Walkmen in a long time. Much of the setlist was culled from the band's quieter material, and if one could classify any of the band's songs as "hits", they were all in absentia.

In many ways, that atmosphere made the set all that much more interesting, and really offered up a lot of what makes The Walkmen a relevant artistic force. Not only that, but the band was in top form and sounded fantastic. In particular, Hamilton Leithauser's voice was in top notch form, and sounded fantastic in the large room.

At the end of the night, we have to say we walked away pretty satisfied. While "It Came From Brooklyn" isn't exactly a cheap ticket, it also offers a whole lot more in terms of giving you a full evening, with multiple notable acts. What's more, it's in one of the finest spaces in the city, which, we must say, is also a really fun place to see a rock show.

It Came From Brooklyn Continues on September 25th with Julian Plenti headlining.

Many more pictures at the HAD Archive

The Walkmen: Live EP, Fall Tour

The Walkmen at The Fillmore, from the HAD Archive

Hot on the heels of last year's fantastic You & Me, The Walkmen have put together a host of fall goodies. Specifically, the band managed to record a new live EP, as well as line up a slew of live dates to tide over fans until their next release.

The EP, which is entitled simply Live Session, is in fact exactly that. Despite moving their own Marcata Studios out of Manhattan, the band apparently couldn't resist the temptaton of urban recording. As such, they headed to Electric Ladyland studios and recorded six tunes spanning their catalog. While there's no new material on the EP, The Walkmen's live show certainly is something to behold, so despite it's iTunes exclusivity (ugh) we will indeed be snagging a copy.

That being said, probably the only thing better than a live EP is a live show, and the band has that in store as well: they've lined up a bunch of fall dates, which will take them from East to West, to Europe and back again. In SF that means a final stop at the Treasure Island Festival, while in New York it means two (!) dates this weekend - one at Summerstage, and one at the Guggenheim. Be there.

Walkmen Fall 2009 Dates
Aug 14 Guggenheim Museum New York, New York
Aug 16 Central Park Summerstage New York, New York
Sep 1 Göta Källare Stockholm
Sep 2 John Dee Oslo
Sep 3 Hulen Bergen
Sep 5 Electric Picnic Music and Arts Festival Dublin
Sep 12 Monolith Festival Morrison, Colorado
Sep 18 Middle East Cambridge, Massachusetts
Sep 19 Middle East Cambridge, Massachusetts
Sep 20 Pearl Street Downstairs Northhampton, Massachusetts
Sep 22 9:30 Club Washington DC, Washington DC
Sep 23 Theatre Of The Living Arts Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Sep 25 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, Georgia
Sep 26 Grey Eagle Tavern Asheville, North Carolina
Sep 27 Mercy Lounge Nashville, Tennessee
Sep 29 The Bottletree Birmingham, Alabama
Sep 30 One Eyed Jacks New Orleans, Louisiana
Oct 2 Austin City Limits Austin, Texas
Oct 18 Treasure Island Music Festival San Francisco, California

mp3: The Walkmen - I Lost You (Live)

Kings Of Leon and The Walkmen Played Bill Graham - Video

We were incredibly bummed to miss last week's Kings Of Leon/Walkmen double bill at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. We're huge fans of both bands, and we were more than a little frustrated to have a scheduling conflict for the gig. By all accounts the sold out show was a total blast, and delivered on both bands' enormous potential.

Since then, we've been snooping around the internets trying to find bits and pieces that sum it all up, and we've dug up some decent media for you to snack on. First, Music Induced Euphoria has a nice review of the gig, with pictures to go along with it. Second, youtube user "cafarm" apparently filmed just about every song of the night and posted them on their profile page. You can check out the video for "Milk" above, or click through for more vids.

Just goes to show you, even if you miss a show, the internet will be there to show you the love.

XOXO

Kings Of Leon Arena Awesomeness Now Includes The Walkmen

The Kings Of Leon tour we mentioned earlier in the week has incentivized your attendance even further: the band has added The Walkmen to the bill for the US length of the tour. Now, for us this news comes as total and complete awesomeness: two of our favorite live bands, playing together, in one spot. That being said, the crowds at their shows tend to be a little...disparate?

We're curious to see how the Kings' slightly more mainstream fan base will react to The Walkmen, and similarly whether The Walkmen's fans will stick around for the main event. If we can make a recommendation, people: these bands are two of the best live acts out there right now. If you can manage to check your preconceptions at the door, we're pretty sure this could wind up being one of the best rock shows of 2009.

In other Walkmen related news, they've just completed the video for "Four Provinces" - you can check it out above. Stop motion 4evah!

Thanks to Music Induced Euphoria for the tip!