The Firery Furnaces heat up summer

June 20, 2007

Brooklyn modern rockers The Fiery Furnaces have wrapped work on their first album for their Touch & Go label home, and they’ve dubbed it Widow City. Set to hit stores this upcoming October, the disc will get plenty of early fans via FF’s longggg summer tour, which they’ve decided to call “The Fourth of July Tour” despite the fact that they’re not playing on the 4th of July. Longtime Fiery Furnace Fans will appreciate this continuation of the band’s usual irony, and will likely be out in droves to see the band live in Chicago (6/22), Ann Arbor, MI (6/23), Toronto (6/25), Boston (6/29), Washington D.C. (7/5), and Atlanta, GA (7/7)...

Disney is making an attempt at (ahem) hipness by planning out a live concert event that will pair up nearly a dozen of today’s alt-pop musicians with classic Disney songs. Set to take place on June 17 at the Southbank Center in London, the show, called “Forest of No Return: Hal Wilmer Presents the Vintage Disney Songbook,” performers will include Shane MacGowan of The Pogues, Bryan Ferry, Beth Orton, Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker, and Babyshambles’ Pete Doherty...

Surfin’ singer-songwriter Jack Johnson is currently in Los Angeles, recording his next (and fifth) full-length CD at Brushfire Records’ brand new eco-friendly recording studios. Working with his usual bandmates, plus new band pal Zach Gill on piano and accordian, Johnson has also brought in producer JP Plunier, who did the snazzy production duties on Johnson’s 2001 debut disc. Johnson’s still doing some of the writing for the new album on the fly, but he expects all of his new meles (that’s songs, for you non-Hawaiian folk) to be ready for release early in 2008...

And if you want to catch some big-name concerts without having to drive all the way to Detroit or Chi-town, you’ll find that Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids is unexpectedly and quickly becoming the next Midwestern site for some pretty terrific live summer music. After you take some time to stroll the immaculate grounds - which are full of not only amazing flower and plant exhibits but also sculptures and other quirky decorations, you can catch cool concerts by the likes of Bela Fleck and Chick Corea (June 18), Cowboy Junkies (June 28), Lyle Lovett (July 1), Nickel Creek with special guest Toad the Wet Sprocket frontman Glen Phillips (July 15), and Los Lobos (August 23)...

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:
Send an S.O.S. to the world! The Police are slated to be on the next issue’s cover of Rolling Stone Magazine, which hits stands this week; and it’s also, notably, set to be the first issue of RS to be printed on carbon-neutral paper. Inside the mag, you’ll find an in-depth interview of the legendary (and kinda-sorta reunited) trio, and online, you’ll find a companion set of tons of Police extras, including a behind-the-scenes video from the cover shoot, an excerpt of the interview, and a Police photo gallery. Check it all out at www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily this week...

MINI BUZZ:
The new Transformers movie is arriving soon, complete with an accompanying soundtrack that’s been titled the oh-so-original Transformers - The Album - the set will include tracks from Smashing Pumpkins, Mute Math, Muse, and the album’s first radio single, the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Before It’s Too Late”...
Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys has announced that he will be touring this September in support of his solo disc Candylion, and he’ll be playing live shows in NYC (9/21), Toronto (9/25), and Chicago (9/27), among other stops...
Indie rockers Cold War Kids are raising their indie-rockin’ profile by hopping on board as support act for both the White Stripes and Muse this summer, and will also be making an appearance at this year’s Lollapalooza fest in Chicago...
Speaking of Muse, they’re going to be conveniently
taking advantage of their own upcoming Lollapalooza date to schedule a series of additional U.S. shows before n’ after Lolla, including sets in Missisauga, Ontario (8/1), Detroit (8/2), NYC (8/6), and Boston (8/11)...
Andre 3000, best known as half of hip-hopsters OutKast, has been tapped to play Sammy Davis Jr. in an upcoming biopic titled Sammy and Kim, which will be directed by Earle Sebastian...
Fifteen years since their last album was released, The B-52s, best known for such quirky summer hits as “Rock Lobster” and “Love Shack,” are back at it, working hard in Athens, Georgia on what will be their big comeback album in 2008...
And here are this week’s new albums and film releases... ON CD: The Polyphonic Spree’s The Fragile Army... Paula Cole’s Courage... Lifehouse’s Who We Are... Dimitri from Paris’ Disco Cocktail... Xavier Rudd’s White Moth... and the White Stripes’ much-anticipated Icky Thump... ON DVD: Tom Jones’ This is Tom Jones... Santana: Hymns for Peace - Live at Montreux 2004... Duncan Sheik: On Stage at World Cafe Live... and Bryan Ferry’s Dylanesque Live - The London Sessions... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.

Questions, comments, rants, raves, suggestions on this column or your fave musicians? Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com.