Last night I posted that Joanna Newsom would be playing the Pabst Theater on Sunday, October 21st.

Well, it has just been brought to my attention that the show will include Joanna backed by a 28 PIECE ORCHESTRA for the performance. This one should bring all types out to the show. Hipsters bring your folks, and have them bring their parents as well, because this one should appeal to the masses!

The only remaining question (for me at least) is will Bill Callahan be performing as well?

I came to know Justin Vernon aka Bon Iver while slightly drunk and in the front row of The Rosebuds blistering Hot Freaks set at SXSW. It was during said performance that Rosebuds front man Ivan Howard introduced Justin (then holding down guitar duties for the band) as a native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. When you’re a long way from home, had your share of Lonestar beer, and with good friends, that will earn you some easy respect and admiration from my entourage and I.

Since that time I’ve kept in touch with Justin, and was pretty close to getting him and The Rosebuds to play a show in Madison when it looked like their stop in Eau Claire wasn’t going to work out. Through the course of our conversations he mentioned his project, Bon Iver, and how much he thought I’d like it.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago beautifully packaged compact disc arrived in the mail. Through countless listens it was apparent that the music, not our mutual home state, was the important part of this story. This album is a little bit folk and, at times, hard to pin down to a specific genre or type – but that’s what I love about it. Expect this to be the release that takes everyone by surprise this year.

Admiration has already started to pour in from blog heavyweights Brooklyn Vegan and My Old Kentucky Blog, and I’m sure that’s is just the tip of the iceberg as the record finds its way through the circles of the internet, currently as a full album stream here.

More Bon Iver goodness to come including a 5 Questions w/MoB feature as well as a future Madison date.

Myspace: Bon Iver
MP3: Bon Iver – Skinny Love
MP3: Bon Iver – For Emma
MP3: Bon Iver – Blindsided

The Pabst Theater continues to bring quality live performances to Milwaukee with the recent addition of Joanna Newsom to their calendar on Sunday, October 21st.

Remember when Joanna played UW’s Great Hall? Good Times!

Also:

10/20 – The Raveonettes – Mad Planet, Milwaukee

MoB favorites The National tore it up on Letterman this week, bringing the horns along for good measure. Dave even lets Matt touch the Super Bowl Trophy at the end.

“It’s hard to keep track of you falling from the sky…”

Myspace: The National
MP3: The National – Fake Empire
Video: The National – Mistaken For Strangers

If you missed The One AM Radio the last time we helped bring them to Cafe Montmartre, then you don’t want to miss their return to Madison on Sunday, August 26th this time at the Annex in support of Terra Diablo.

Myspace: The One AM Rado
MP3: The One AM Radio – Lest I Forget
MP3: The One AM Radio – In the Time We’ve Got
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MoB: MoB Review – The One AM Radio @ Cafe Montmartre
MoB: MoB Review – The One AM Radio – This Too Will Pass
MoB: 5 Questions w/The One AM Radio

When I saw that Death Ships would be playing the High Noon Saloon on Monday, August 13th, I scratched my head and tried to remember where I had heard of them before.

It took me a few minutes, then I scanned my ipod and found their Daytrotter session from April of this year and everything came to a crescendo of clarity.

The band’s signature sound can be attributed to chief singer and songwriter Dan Maloney, whose tunes recall other songster’s like Elliott Smith or Townes Van Zant – there are stories within each of their songs. When songs are well-crafted, encompassed in great lyrics, I often find myself rewinding tracks on my ipod to reconfirm some particularly interesting lyrical moments – those that speak to me, or just make me pause, reflect, smile – anything that I can kind of shrug my shoulders and say “I’ve been there” or “I know that feeling.”

There are plenty of times sprinkled throughout Seeds Of Devastation that I’ve found those moments of greatness. The first of these occasions came during the third track “Little Mystery, “summer took the life out of me/must have been stress/haven’t said a word since we met,” all this before the song breaks into a brief piano part before rising with a guitar driven outro. Not particularly moving in print, but take a listen and I think you’ll find that and many other favorite moments throughout.

Seeds Of Devastation is a good album and I can’t wait to watch the band perform these tracks at the High Noon Saloon. Tickets are $5, so price should hold you back from this one kids…

Myspace: Death Ships
Download: 4 Exclusive FREE MP3′s at Daytrotter