Wilco hits the road

Aug. 15, 2007

Wilco hits the road

Wilco’s got a new album out (dubbed Sky Blue Sky), and you’ve probably already heard some of their newest songs in the latest Volkswagen ads. But, luckily for you, Wilco fans, you’ll also get the chance to hear the rest of those songs in their live versions, as Wilco has made plans to tour the U.S. this fall. The band will make stops in Seattle (8/21), San Diego, CA (8/27), Los Angeles (8/29), Chicago (9/12), and Dallas (9/14), and they’ll also serve as the much-anticipated headlining act at this year’s Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans, which takes place October 26 through the 28...

Semisonic singer-songwriter-frontman Dan Wilson, whose band hasn’t been active since early 2001, has nonetheless been keeping busy penning and producing uber-catchy pop songs for the likes of the Dixie Chicks (“Not Ready To Make Nice,” which won him a Song of the Year Grammy Award), Jason Mraz, Jewel, and Mike Doughty. And now, Wilson is turning his talents to his own works, as he makes a return to the pop charts (hopefully) with his solo debut disc, Free Life, which will drop on October 16. Executive-produced by none other than American Recordings head Rick Rubin, the disc will feature songs “Sugar” (complete with backing vox from Sheryl Crow), “Cry,” and additional tracks that will include contributions from N*E*R*D drummer Eric Fawcett and Nickel Creek guitarist Sean Watkins...

The 2007 edition of the annual Vegoose Festival is set to go, go, go in the desert just outside of Las Vegas on the 27 and 28 of October, complete with a Halloween-y theme and plenty of your fave modern rockin’ bands. It’s the 3rd year for the event, and the headliners are copy-catting that of this year’s Lollapalooza, as Daft Punk are the big deal of the show. Also appearing at Vegoose will be the likes of The Shins, U.N.K.L.E., Iggy Pop, Battles, and Muse – and this year, attendees will also get to check out Vegoose at Night, a series of separately-ticketed indoor shows at various Vegas venues (say that 5 times fast!) To get tix and more info, just check out www.vegoose.com...

The Sex Pistols are prepping to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their classic album, Never Mind the Bollocks... Here’s the Sex Pistols with a re-released special edition of the disc as well as a 7” of the song “Submission,” which was accidentally left off of the first release of the album when it was released a week earlier than planned. In addition, the Pistols will offer up re-releases of several of their singles, including “Anarchy in the U.K.” and “God Save the Queen,” with the original single artwork for those dedicated fans...

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK: Well, okay, technically it’s not a link, but
it’s still pretty cool - Canadian band The Great Lake Swimmers are getting ready to make a video for their song “Passenger Song,” and they’re looking for fans to send them 30-second clips of their “favorite travel footage.” No spring break shenanigans, though - they’re looking for something way hipper than that. Mail your NTSC-encoded submission (in a common digital video format such as MP4, MOV, or AVI) with
your contact info to info@weewerk.com before August 31, and - who knows! - perhaps you’ll end up in a Great Lake Swimmers video...

MINI BUZZ: In other retro-esque music news, new-wavers Devo have recorded their first new single in over 16 years - “Watch Us Work It” - and are also creating a music video to go with; the single will eventually be available on iTunes, but for now you can catch it playing during the newest Dell computers commercial...
Starbucks’ Hear Music record label is going after the big shots, and they’re getting ‘em - Joni Mitchell has just signed to the coffeeshop’s label and will release her latest record, Shine, on September 24; it will be Mitchell’s first album since 1998...
Sweden’s The Hives have finished working with Pharrell Williams and producer Jacknife Lee on their new set, which they’ve dubbed The Black and White Album - no release date yet, though...
The Black Crowes have completed recording of their newest as-yet-untitled album, their first since 2001 – the sixteen-song set is being mixed and is due for release in Spring 2008...
James Lavelle and U.N.K.L.E., slated to appear at Vegoose as mentioned above, are also embarking on an additional series of U.S. tour dates that will see them play the Palace in Toronto (10/19), the Metro in Chicago (10/20), and the Echoplex in L.A. (10/26)...
The Go! Team are touring, too, making stops in London (9/12), Chicago (10/13), L.A. (10/21), and Philly (10/26)...
And making a stop at a multimedia store near you are this week’s new releases... ON CD: Flight of the Conchords The Distant Future... The Starting Line’s Direction... Soulive’s No Place Like Soul... Dave Davies’ Fractured Mindz... The Raspberries’ Live on Sunset Strip... and Parade’s Answer Me...
ON DVD: David Bowie’s Glass Spider
Tour: Special Edition... Pet Shop Boys’ Cubism in Concert... The Clash: Music in Review... and Jesse Cook’s One Night at the Metropolis... 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