I’ve heading to Las Vegas to send my friends off to marriage. I’ll also be attending the Milwaukee Brewers home opener next Monday, so things are going to be kind of quiet around here for a few days. Check back next week for my reviews of the Neko Case show at the Pabst Theatre last night in Milwaukee as well as my thoughts on Damien Jurado and J Tillman at the High Noon Saloon. Until then, feast your eyes on the lovely Neko Case from up above the Pabst Theatre.

Due to an illness, Beth Orton has had to cancel her shows in Minneapolis and Madison. The Madison date, scheduled for April 2nd at the Barrymore will most likely be rescheduled. I’ll let you know when I get more information on a new date.

Getting ready for the sold out Death Cab For Cutie concert taking place at the Orpheum Theatre on April 21st, I thought I would share an interview and acoustic session that Ben Gibbard performed on KEXP in 2003. The music includes Postal Service and Death Cab For Cutie Tracks as well as some covers. The interview tracks are really great and give great insight into how The Postal Service came to be.

Ben Gibbard - KEXP - June 6, 2003

It looked like things were done here at Muzzle of Bees. My hosting company couldn’t find my database, and I was sure that all was lost. Luckily, my best friend and traveling companion Jake was able to rescue my site and save our archives. Please visit his site, be his friend on myspace and leave a comment thanking him for saving my site! Here’s a photo of Jake for all you ladies out there:

Tonight I am heading to the Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee to see Neko Case. Check back tomorrow for a review, and then get ready for Muzzle of Bees in Las Vegas for the weekend.

I’ve been asking people in my office what their favorite Beastie Boys album is.  So far, Paul’s Boutique is leading the way, but I was hoping to get my readers opinion.  The reason is that I’ve never really listened to their music.  I’ve heard the songs on the radio or MTV (back when there were music videos on MTV), but I never got any of their albums and gave them a fair chance or listen and now I am trying to make up for lost time.

I’m hoping to get some solid advice for a good starting point because I really want to be excited about the new fan-shot movie, Awesome: I Fucking Shot That, but being unfamiliar with their music really prevents that.  So hook me up with your comments if you’re so inclined, and no need to mention what a loser I am for not knowing the first thing about the Beastie Boys.  I am well aware!

I’m still tired from the Damien Jurado show last night. As much as I enjoyed Damien’s set, I have to say that I was most impressed with J. Tillman. I’ve got a lot of work to do, so check out the places below until I get myself together for the day.

• Head over to Gorilla Vs. Bear and enter the Destroyer contest.
• An Aquarium Drunkard has some great Ted Leo acoustic MP3’s.
• Matt is having a Pants Yell! contest that you should enter.
• So Much Silence is heading to California to see the National.
• Tapes ‘N Tapes gets a C from Stylus Magazine.
• Cleaver Titles has a great Rainer Maria review.
• I just got my Hemsted disc from Ryan at The Catbirdseat….FANTASTIC!
• Great Elliott Smith video at Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands.
• People of Paper has some photos of the National show in Chicago last Friday.

I will be heading to the High Noon Saloon tonight for a great group of musicians.

Damien Jurado

Rocky Votolato

J. Tillman

Matt Hopper

The shows start at 8, and the price is only $10. If you don’t have anything going on tonight, the High Noon Saloon is definitely the place to be for the amount of talent that is going to be there at a great price.

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I had my random drawing for the Ben Harper, Both Sides of the Gun deluxe edition contest last night. I am happy to announce that it was none other than Muzzle of Bees favorite blogger, Dodge. Thank you to everyone for your recommendations, and check back soon for more great contests.

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I purchased my tickets last week for the Pitchfork Music Festival. The festival takes place in Chicago one week before Lollapalooza comes to town. Looks like I’ll be spending two weekends in Chicago this summer. I’m looking forward to the Pitchfork Music Festival mostly because of all the bloggers that are going to be in attendance.

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Wisconsin State Journal writer Stephen Thompson writes about his solo road trip to SXSW this year.

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Here’s a few things from last week here at Muzzle of Bees that you may have missed:

The Wood Brothers - Great blues/folk music

My review of Madisonfest and some Charlemagne MP3’s

Sufjan Stevens star-spangled banner MP3

I saw the National on Friday night in Chicago.

I Want the Gold - The MP3 that is sweeping the nation.

My current obsession: the lovely feathers.

David Bowie Videos

I’ve been listening to the Wood Brothers, Ways Not To Lose all day. Those familiar with Medeski Martin and Wood, will no doubt recognize Chris Wood’s bass playing on this record, but this music is in a complete different direction than what you would expect to hear from MMW. It’s a great folk album, plain and simple. Oliver Wood’s southern influenced lyrics are perfect for any time of day. I was excited to see that they are going to be playing Summerfest this year on July 5th. Check out the MP3’s below.

The Wood Brothers - One More Day [mp3]
The Wood Brothers - Stealin’ [mp3]
The Wood Brothers - Chocolate On My Tongue [mp3]

From the Wood Brothers site:

Oliver and Chris Wood grew up in Boulder, Colorado. Sons of a Poet and a Microbiologist, they both took up music. Oliver moved to Atlanta and became a southerner. Chris moved to New York City and became a Yankee. Now, after years of musical and geographical separation they have reunited.
While in Atlanta, Oliver soaked up the roots of blues, the soul of the south, and found he had a talent for writing and singing songs. His band, King Johnson (named after Freddy King and Robert Johnson) toured mostly in the southern states. Meanwhile, Chris was living in Manhattan playing everything from free jazz to rock and roll. This is where he met his band mates to form Medeski Martin & Wood.

Now The Wood Brothers have begun a collaboration that combines their shared childhood influences with everything they’ve learned since leaving home. Their music has a rootsy feel that blends blues, folk, and rock music in a guitar/bass duo.

The brothers’ debut album, “Ways Not To Lose” produced by John Medeski, was released on Blue Note Records, March 7, 2006.

Last night I headed over Club 770 on the University of Wisconsin campus to take part in the Madisonfest roundtable discussion about music journalism. I was happy to be joined by writers from Tiny Mix Tapes the Isthmus. Make sure you head over to Dane101 for some nice information about the creation of Madisonfest and the future ideas to move it forward. The roundtable was a nice discussion amongst a great group of people; I was definitely impressed by my colleagues on the panel. I’d like to thank Jamie for setting up Madisonfest, and for introducing me to some bands that I’d never come across before, but had a blast checking out.

The first band that I just have to mention is The Show is the Rainbow. These guys were given a 16 minute set, which they stretched to maybe 20, but I couldn’t bring myself to stop watching. Some great beats, huge stage presence, and a lot of fun. They hail from Lincoln, Nebraska and are about to head on a pretty big overseas tour. Make sure to give this MP3 of their song “Ning Ning” a play.

The second act I caught was Screamin’ Cyn-Cyn & The Pons. Sometimes I was thinking “What the Fuck” and other times “Fuck Yeah,” which I think might be exactly what this band is trying to do in their live performance. You can head over to their website’s sound page for a lot of MP3’s if you’re interested in checking out their tunes. I recommend the track 20% Gay.

I stuck around to see my favorite Madison band, Charlemagne. Carl Johns is finally garnering some well deserved attention from places like Pitchfork, who just gave the new album Detour Allure, a 7.0. I was checking out the Charlemagne website this morning and wanted to share a quote from Paste that I found, that I hope will get you guys outside of Madison to give these guys a few minutes with your ears.

A disc of minor but immensely appealing pop confections, Detour Allure arrives awash in fizzy swirls of oohs and ahhs, handclaps and boy/girl vocals. The result couldn’t be more likable…the album sounds as enduring as it is ingratiating.

Here is my favorite track off of Detour Allure:

Charlemagne - Greyhoud [mp3]

Madison readers, buy it locally from B-Side Records. If you’re a Milwaukee reader, may I suggest Atomic Records. Please support either store if you live in Madison or Milwaukee.

Here’s a Saturday song for you.  I saw Sufjan do this song when he was in Madison a few years ago.  It’s a really great take on the song.

Sufjan Stevens - Star-Spangled Banner - Live at Lee’s in Toronto 11/16/04 [mp3]