Winterland was one of the most well known and legendary venues of the late 60’s and early 70’s. All of the major bands of the time played there, just like they did at the original Fillmore Auditorium, Fillmore West and Fillmore East. What did these venues have in common? The late great Bill Graham. From 1966 he rented Winterland as it could hold more people than the nearby Fillmore Auditorium, and he needed it for the larger concerts he was putting on. Originally the venue was called the New Dreamland Auditorium when it opened in 1928 and it was used for ice skating and concerts, as the venue could be easily changed between the two.
However it wasn’t until 1971 that the venue was just a music venue, after Bill Graham had it fully converted to one. But in 1968 the venue certainly rivalled the nearby Fillmore Auditorium as one of the premier venues in the United States. Other acts that graced the stage included The Allman Brothers Band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience,Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin and The Doors to name just a few. Basically, rock royalty.
When Cream took to the stage on the 10th March 1968, the band had already been in San Francisco for 11 days. On the 29th February and the 1st/2nd March they played their initial run at Winterland followed by two shows at the Fillmore Auditorium on the 3rd and 7th. On the 8th they were back at Winterland for three additional days of shows with two performances on each day. An unbelievably hectic schedule for any band. But this was Cream in their prime and the shows from the 10th March 1968 are legendary as far as Cream recordings go
This release is available soon through Amazon UK no info as yet so which show ? 7th or 10th March 1968, or maybe an alternative date from among these shows listed . Hoping they finally get around to releasing the awesome version of We’re Going Wrong they performed on run of shows at Winterland & The Fillmore.
Tracklist:
1. Tales Of Brave Ulysses 2. Spoonful 3. Crossroads 4. We’re Going Wrong 5. Sweet Wine 6. Sunshine Of Your Love 7. N.S.U. 8. Stepping Out 9. Traintime 10. Toad 11. I’m So Glad
The 24-year-old New Zealander already having fronted Christchurch outfit The Unfaithful Ways’ debut LP and co-helmed weird-country triptych Sad But True Vols I – III (with Delaney Davidson), Williams‘ solo debut was overdue. The former chorister delivered on every promise, summoning the vocal performance of the year with an antique penny thrown into a haunted mineshaft: see “When I Was a Young Girl”, Williams‘ desolate take on American folk standard “One Morning In May”. From Western TV-theme charge “Hello Miss Lonesome” to “Dark Child” – a flaying indie-rock elegy for a youth destroyed and birthright forfeited – to haunted house phantasy “Strange Things” (‘she left me alone in a seven-bedroom home built upon the bones of fallen soldiers’), Williams shrouds so much timeless country-folk brilliance in the same creeping, lingering sense of disquiet.
Chloe Foy is a singer-songwriter based out of Gloucester, England with a natural songwriting ability that calls to mind the beauty folk talents of Laura Marling. The reason why is pretty obvious on her staggering lovely “Flaws,” a track taken from her 2017 EP “Are We There Yet?”
She will make the trip to Austin this year for SXSW but as we all can relate, the trip is very expensive. So Foy has taken to PledgeMusic to try and raise some funds and offer some nice rewards in exchange. You can find the campaign here and if you can spare the money, help her get to SXSW.
You can grab a taste of “Flaws” below and find the whole EP available to stream or buy at Bandcamp.
Legendary pioneers of American grunge punk, L7 have released their electrifying onslaught of a new single “I Came Back To Bitch” on Don Giovanni Records today. The track is the result of Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner’s first writing collaboration in 18 years. A raucous, bombastic party rock anthem for the sinking Titanic, it is a sardonic yet joyous middle finger of a track that sits somewhere between “Anarchy in the U.K.” and “Springtime for Hitler”.
“We knew we wanted to make some new L7 music, but also didn’t want the pressure or expectation of that First Track weightiness so we went for pure fun and absurdity.” explains Sparks.
Its a good day for aging ‘90s alt-rock fans we’ve got a new tune from PJ Harvey as well. Called “An Acre Of Land,” the song sees Polly Jean teaming up with film composer Harry Escott (Hard Candy, Shame) for a composition that recalls a more pastoral take on the Gothic sound of her 2007 album White Chalk. As on that album, here Harvey sings about wildflowers and windswept moors over plucking notes of zither and lonely strumming guitar. But she does so in her natural vocal register, a difference that makes “An Acre Of Land” exponentially warmer than anything on White Chalk.
The song was written for Dark River,Clio Bernard’s socio-realist psychodrama about a pair of siblings trying to heal the wounds of the past as they come together to take over their late parents’ farm. (How very British.) the song is lovely, if also rather bleak.
“I Love You Always Forever” has been covered time and time again, usually to convincing effect. Betty Who’s 2016 take captured its ethereality, and Baths’ take, eases into the calm of it all. It ebbs and flows with a sense of purpose, like the one that comes with new love. Will Wiesenfeld (aka Baths)’s voice brims with desire, tender and true. “I’ve adored this song from the moment I heard it when I was very young,” he tells us. “In attempting a cover, it was difficult to strike a balance between retaining the spirit of the original and still putting my own spin on it, but I’m very happy with where it ended up. It’s a gesture of my appreciation for one of the most important songs in my life.”
“I Love You Always Forever” will appear on one of Amazon Music’s two Amazon Originals Valentine’s Day-themed playlists dropping February 9th. Since this song is happier, it’s falling under the Love Me playlist, while broken hearts will find comfort in the Love Me Not playlist.
Ezra Furman will be live in-store at Rough Trade East to perform tracks from new album ‘Transangelic Exodus’, released 9th February on Bella Union.
One of the breakout success stories of 2015 following the release of his hugely acclaimed album Perpetual Motion People, Ezra Furman releases his new album Transangelic Exodus in March. Transangelic Exodus is a new landmark for the American singer-songwriter: “Not a concept record, but almost a novel, or a cluster of stories on a theme, a combination of fiction and a half-true memoir,” according to its author. “A personal companion for a paranoid road trip. A queer outlaw saga.”
The music is as much of an intense, dramatic event, full of brilliant hooks, with an equally evolved approach to recorded sound to match Furman’s narrative vision. In honour of this shift, his backing band has been newly christened: The Boy-Friends are dead, long live The Visions. In other words, the man who embodies the title of his last album ‘Perpetual Motion People’ is still on the move… Or, in the vernacular of the new album, on the run.
Ezra Furman live at Rough Trade East – London Thursday 8th February 2018
Bella Union Records are celebrating the release of Ezra Furman’s beautiful, pioneering, thrilling, tremendous new album “Transangelic Exodus”, which is available now via Bella Union! Transangelic Exodusis a new landmark for the American singer-songwriter: “Not a concept record, but almost a novel, or a cluster of stories on a theme, a combination of fiction and a half-true memoir,” according to its author. “A personal companion for a paranoid road trip. A queer outlaw saga.”
After five years since the release of “Transangelic Exodus”. This record means so much to me & I can never fully explain it.
One thing I can say: so much hard work and soul went into it. Five people made this record and we gave our lives to it for months and months. My four bandmates were all operating at maximal creativity & dedication, willing to explore possibilities with me, to try new things, to rip it up & start again. None of it could have been done if I was a “solo artist,” as some call me. This was a collaborative work, and I am so grateful to my collaborators: Tim, Sam, Jorgen & Ben. It really became a musical rebirth for me, first as a songwriter & then as a musician in general.
It was also a crucial ingredient of an ongoing queer awakening, a spiritual awakening, a social/political awakening—America was in scary upheaval in 2017, & so was my own life and spirit. These tracks reflect that—fear, rage, joy, despair, adventure, a fierce inner peace in direct contradiction to the violence that churns all around it.
“Transangelic Exodus” is in the running for my favourite thing I have ever made. It is probably the hardest I have ever worked on any piece of art.
The reward for our efforts was the album’s reception: not by blogs or critics and certainly not by the pop charts, but by the individual people who opened their hearts to this record. I know it’s a weird record and I never expected most people to understand it. But those who got it, really really got it. Travelling around playing this music, I met these wonderful people who brought me so much happiness. You used the album as it was intended to be used: as shelter for the mind, as tinder for a parking lot fire of the heart. Some of you were runaways of one sort or another, some of you outlaws on paper or in spirit, & so many were young queers working your asses off to totally change your lives. As was I. We did it, & we’re still doing it. Thank you.
Blessings to all Ezra
Transangelic Exodus Ezra Furman’s second album for Bella Union, is a new landmark its “not a concept record, but almost a novel, or a cluster of stories on a theme, a combination of fiction and a half-true memoir,” according to its author. “A personal companion for a paranoid road trip. ” The music is as much of an intense, dramatic event, full of brilliant hooks, with an equally evolved approach to recorded sound to match Furman’s narrative vision. In honour of this shift, his backing band has been newly christened: The Boy-Friends are dead, long live The Visions. In other words, the man who embodies the title of his last album Perpetual Motion People is still on the move… Or in the vernacular of the new album, on the run. His musical DNA remains intact – a thrilling, literate form of garage-punk rooted in The Velvet Underground, Jonathan Richman and ‘50s rock’n’roll. Standout tracks include the album’s lead single Driving Down To LA, a sparse, but explosive, mix of doo-wop and digital crunch.
Another is the haunting Compulsive Liar. Transangelic Exodus addresses another kind of coming out, as Furman addresses his Jewish faith on record much more openly than before, from the shivery ballad God Lifts Up the Lowly (which includes a verse in Hebrew) to the exquisite Psalm 151 and the line “I believe in God but I don’t believe we’re getting out of this one” in Come Here Get Away From Me, a heady blend of rock’n’roll rumble and ghostly clarinet. Crossing between love, gender, sexuality and religion, and singing in solidarity with the innocent, persecuted, oppressed and threatened, Ezra Furman has soundtracked the current fear and loathing across America like no other, while pushing ahead with his own agenda, always on the move.
“2016 was a hard year,” Furman notes in a statement. “While the political and cultural conversation devolved in a very threatening way, we travelled and toured a lot. We saw ourselves coming to the end of what we were, and we wanted to become something new.”
This sea change included an album full of memoir-like material, in which Furman opens up more about his personal journey of coming out as queer and gender-fluid, as well as addresses his Jewish faith. “Not a concept record, but almost a novel, or a cluster of stories on a theme, a combination of fiction and a half-true memoir,” explains Furman. “A personal companion for a paranoid road trip. A queer outlaw saga.” Speaking about the concept behind the record, Furman continues,
“The narrative thread is I’m in love with an angel, and a government is after us, and we have to leave home because angels are illegal, as is harbouring angels. The term ‘transangelic’ refers to the fact people become angels because they grow wings. They have an operation, and they’re transformed. And it causes panic because some people think it’s contagious, or it should just be outlawed. The album still works without the back story, though. What’s essential is the mood — paranoid, authoritarian, the way certain people are stigmatized. It’s a theme in American life right now, and other so-called democracies.”
Furman cites Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, Vampire Weekend’s Modern Vampires of the City, Kanye West’s Yeezus, and Angel Olsen’s Burn Your Fire For No Witness as influences on Transangelic Exodus.
acclaim for “Transangelic Exodus”
“Thelma & Louise meets Angels In America… Pop has plenty of angels, and Transangelic Exodus joins them in the firmament.” Mail On Sunday – 5 Stars ***** (Album of the Week) “This is one of the most probing and pioneering avant–retro–pop albums of the age.” Classic Rock – 8/10
“By way of glam, garage rock, baroque’n’roll balladry and declamation, Furman fashions a bold and engrossing manifesto.” Sunday Times
“Both sonically and lyrically, it’s an album that is explicitly, thrillingly transgressive, and is already an early contender for one of the albums of the year.” Uncut – 8/10
“His seventh album vibrates with fear, rage and fierce defiance… Transangelic Exodus feels like an appropriately angry response to a repressive political moment.” MOJO – 4 Stars ****
“Furman’s music has been rethought, cut up, redrafted into something irresistibly modern. The songs are tremendous – melodic, unsettling and laugh–out–loud brilliant.” Q – 4 Stars ****
“Transangelic Exodus sets out for fresh horizons with a full tank of passion, purpose, political rage, raucous invention and rock’n’roll fire.” Record Collector – 5 Stars ****
“A sense of defiance and unrest runs throughout Transangelic Exodus… Timely and uncompromising, it feels like a record of real importance.” DIY – 4 Stars ****
“This is a fascinating, mature set from an artist who feels as vital as ever.” DORK – 4 Stars ****
Plain Dog is a band of many genres. We all met in Brooklyn, NY. We all play music,
Plain Dog are a Brooklyn band who play a scuzzy, psych-laced strain of rock music. Built on the founding duo of guitarist/vocalist Russell Efros and guitarist Willie Almack, the band has undergone a few line-up changes as they’ve gigged around New York since their 2015 formation, most recently adding Ian Devaney — frontman of recent Band To Watch Nation Of Language on bass. Over the course of these early years and one EP, they moved from grungy garage rock roots to a more layered, washed-out sound. Today, their music’s DNA is equal parts ’80s and ’90s American indie and the blearier corners of Britpop and its immediate predecessors, bringing to mind the mix a band like Yuck was messing around with at the beginning of the decade.
The group is now gearing up to release their sophomore EP tomorrow, entitled All My Friends. You may have stumbled across some of its songs already: “Cherry Cola” was featured in an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and “Girl Named Phil” was included on Glassnote Records’ recent Noteworthy 01 Compilation. On this EP, Efros wanted to inject a bit more shoegaze qualities into their sound, leading to songs that toe the line between rough-hewn and dreamy.
Meg Remy of U.S. Girls U.S. born, Toronto-based Remy releases her sixth album, the remarkably vibrant and lush In a Poem Unlimited, comes out via 4AD and Royal Mountain Records in a couple weeks. The first single is a funky disco tune called “Mad As Hell”… so she’s been asked about women, and anything about women currently, quite a bit. “It just so happens that right now a lot of the things I’ve been talking about for the past ten years of doing this project are all coming to a head in the mainstream consciousness,” she says.
Talking about #MeToo, is that it could quickly become a monetized and opportunistic hashtag, not at all what Tarana Burke intended. “The real interesting thing could be if #MeToo and feminism, and these kind of topics, could evolve another level where they start critiquing all the systems in place and how this relates to people of color, workers, [issues] across the board. While Remy is fine to ride for causes she’s been championing for years personally, it’s entirely another thing when her politics, especially in today’s discourse, are more prominently entangled with her art.
The second track to be heard from the album, ‘Woman’s Work’, debuts today, accompanied by another
hypnotic video directed and edited by Remy. Following up on the release of the mutant dub of ‘Damn That Valley’ earlier this year, ‘Woman’s Work’ builds further anticipation and intrigue; Remy has delivered a nagging, arpeggio-laced stormer, picking away at the themes of beauty and neurosis, with a video that examines our collective paralysis in the face of ageing.
Her last record, was the critically acclaimed Half Free, was so searing in its portrayal of the female experience—of the Everywoman, as it were—that an expectation is there now for her to contribute going forward.
In A Poem Unlimitedbuilds on and maintains a portrait of a more intimate self but it is a much fuller, ornate record. Remy sings about personally affecting, relatable experiences, like on “Pearly Gates,” a jazzy glam song that got its inspiration from an anecdote she’d heard about a man promising to pull out during sex. (“Peter bragged he was good at pulling out/ He always knew the right time to take a bow,” she sings.) On “L-Over,” reminiscent of a yesteryear pop break-up tune, with a swooping airy intro and horns, Remy sings, slyly, almost a smirk to cover the pain, “Can you imagine trying to get some satisfaction out of a stone?” Her music sounds plucked from 60s pop, a time so emboldened by innocence and nostalgia, While recording “Velvet For Sale,” Remy physically positioned herself in a contorted position for us to vocally hear what the character was going through; that breathy, quiet tone singing, “You’ve been sleeping with one eye open because he always could come back, ya know? And you’ve been walking these streets unguarded waiting for any man to explode.”
Remy’s goal on this record was to push herself out of her comfort zone. “It was more… about being in a studio and working with a band and challenging myself more that way—which was, you know, I’ve not much experienced the studio setting,” she says. “I’m not a technical kind of musician. I don’t really work in that way. Going into a studio with a lot of players who have the experience and know what they are doing was very intimidating.”
“I could never in a million years try to claim that I did all of this. I couldn’t,” she stresses. Remy worked with 20 people on this album. Her husband, Maximilian Turnball (also known as Slim Twig), contributed on the album. Steve Chahley, her engineer and mixer, has production credits on a number of the songs. Kieran Adams from DIANA plays drums. Basia Bulat does vocals. Simone Schmidt of Fiver, whose devastating song “Rage of Plastics” Remy covers on the album, came in to help with the arrangement. Louis Percival, of Onakabazien, has writing and production credits too. Remy emphasizes her responsibility of being the owner of her own stories as a woman but it took a community to make this record and one she was happy to lean on and give credit to.
‘In A Poem Unlimited’, the new album by U.S. Girls, will be released on February 16th 2018 on 4AD Records
