Strokes get stoked

Jan. 11, 2006

The Strokes, just starting to do promotional work for their new album, First Impressions of Earth, which is newly out this week, have announced that they’ll be playing a short run of small-venue U.S. shows, but fans will have to pay close attention in order to snag tickets.  The New York band is planning to play live shows in Chicago, Seattle, L.A., and Atlanta, but the venues for these shows won’t be revealed until a few days prior to each show - and many of the tickets will have to be won through Modern Rock radio stations.  Keep your eyes out, though - some of the tickets will be sold, with the ticket on-sale info to be revealed by those same radio stations - Q101 in Chicago, KNDD The End in Seattle, 99X in Atlanta, and KROQ in Los Angeles.  But don’t despair if you miss these shows - a full North American tour is in the works for The Strokes, and is set to run from late February through spring...
Liverpool’s ‘80s keyboard-rock band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark surprised fans when they announced that they will be reuniting next year for both a series of live performances and a brand new OMD album.  The band - which will now consist of founding members Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, along with fellow bandmates Martin Cooper and Malcolm Holmes (both of whom left the band in the late ‘80s), will add musician Stuart Kershaw for the live shows, which they plan to begin as warm-up gigs in September 2006.  A more extensive tour is schedule for Spring, 2007, with the album hoped to hit stores around that same time...
If you don’t want to wait for The Strokes or OMD to see a great live show, you can always catch Sigur Ros while you wait, straight from Iceland and coming to a venue near you.  Supporting their latest album, their 2005 release Takk..., the group will begin their U.S. tour in early February in Portland, Main, and will continue with live show stops in Boston (2/7), NYC (2/9), Columbus, OH (2/13), Grand Rapids, MI (2/18 at Calvin College), Indianapolis (2/20), and Houston, TX (2/25).  Listen for the album’s first single, “Glosoli,” slowly winding its way to radio as you read this...
Former Frou Frou singer Imogen Heap is packing her bags for a tour run, too, set to open on January 10 in New York City, with the singer scheduled to appear on David Letterman’s Late Show on January 9.  Promoting her second solo album, Speak for Yourself, Heap’s pretty, layered music blends sharp electronic beats with harps and strings, and she’ll even bring Rasputina cellist Zoe Keating on the road with her.  Heap’s tour schedule will include stops in Philadelphia (1/14), Chicago (1/17), Ferndale, MI (1/18 at The Magic Bag), and Los Angeles (1/24 at the El Rey Theater)...

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:  Michigan’s favorite musical daughter, Madonna, is joining the ranks of celebrity wines - not really a surprise, if you think about it, as her father owns a vineyard Up North in her home state.  Madonna’s wine - in first-edition collectible bottles - will feature two labels, one featuring the cover of her latest album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, and another featuring a reflection of Maddie in a disco ball.  The wines will be available in 3 varieties plus 1 UnWine (non-alcoholic) - to get yours, check out www.celebritycellars.com .

MINI BUZZ:
The Vines have confirmed that they’re nearly finished working on their latest album, and the new collection of songs - the band’s third - will be released between March and May of this year...
The 16th Annual Tibet House Benefit Concert is now set for March 1 at NYC’s Carnegie Hall, and is again being organized by Philip Glass, who will also perform along with Damien Rice, Laurie Anderson, and Sufjan Stevens, among others...
Singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper will make her Broadway debut in late March as Jenny in the satirical musical “The Threepenny Opera” - the show will also star Saturday Night Live’s Ana Gasteyer, actor Alan Cumming, and fellow singer-songwriter Nellie McKay...
The Who’s Pete Townshend has confirmed via the band’s website that the band - confirming rampant rumors - will indeed hit the road for a tour this upcoming summer in support of new Who songs...
Singer-guitarist Garrett Dutton - otherwise known as G. Love - will be hopping on the tour bus, too, with his band Special Sauce for a tour set to take place the beginning of this year...
And Maroon 5 are still working on their second album, with no specific release date yet in sight...
New this week, however, are these fresh new releases...
ON CD:  The Strokes aforementioned First Impressions of Earth... Nellie McKay’s Pretty Little Head... The Goo Goo Dolls’ import single of “Better Days”... U2’s All Because of You import EP...  Eric Burdon’s Soul of a Man... and The Beastie Boys’ Solid Gold Hits... ON DVD: Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music - The Director’s Cut... Squeeze singer Glenn Tilbrook’s One for the Road... A Great Day in Harlem... and Chick Corea’s Duet... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock
 
Questions, comments, rants, raves on this column or your fave musicians?  Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com!

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