On my recent foray to Austin, I was surplussed many great records that I needed to spend some uninterrupted time with. Two of those records were recently released by Blue Mountain, Midnight in Mississippi and Omnibus - both essential listening, one featuring brand new material, the other polishing up some previous favorites. They were welcomed traveling companions and will be on heavy rotation for some time. I caught up with Laurie Stirratt on tour for our continuing 5 Questions with Muzzle of Bees feature.

Could you lend some information on the recording process of Midnight In Mississippi? Where and how was it recorded, and were there any lessons learned that you’ll apply towards future recording sessions?

We recorded the record in Dallas, TX at Elmwood Studio with producer Stuart Sikes. Stuart has worked with Loretta Lynn and Jack White, The White Stripes and Cat Power. We recorded it mostly live, tried to keep overdubs to a minimum and overdubbed most vocals.

We’re always looking to uncover new favorite artists, are there any band(s)/record(s) that you could recommend to our readers?

I don’t know that I can recommend anything your readers haven’t heard but I can tell you the CD’s I’ve been listening to lately. The new Portishead/Third, Built To Spill Live, David Bowie Live in Santa Monica ‘73 bootleg, which is absolutely amazing. Mick Ronson is my favorite rock guitarist and his playing is unbelievable on these live tracks.

What was the last concert you went to see as a fan?

Tyler Keith

The internet has dramatically altered the way artists can reach an audience. With things like blogs/myspace/etc, what are your thoughts on the power of the internet in terms of helping (or hurting) your music?

I’m not really sure. I’d like to think it’s helping but the internet is flooded with music. It’s hard to rise to the top with so much competition. We have found the best way to promote our music is touring. It’s one of the few ways to promote our own music that hasn’t changed for us. It seems putting on great live shows is still the way to go. We also still sell tons of CD’s on the road.

It’s great to see that you guys are going back on the road for a nice run of dates to coincide with your album’s release. Going into some of those “reunion” shows, were you consciously thinking about heading out together again like this?

Not initially. We just thought it would be a short term thing. After we got out on the road, the enthusiasm for the band convinced us that we should think about recording a new record and try the touring thing for a year or so. If it weren’t for the fans turning out after so many years, we may have just made it short term.

Photo: Micheal Wilson
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Myspace: Blue Mountain
MP3: Blue Mountain - “Blue Canoe”

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By Daniel Brielmaier

Ron Sexsmith is the most under-appreciated artist in recent memory. His lack of commercial success is baffling.

Critics love him, he creates beautiful, eloquent, and intelligent music, and each of his 10-plus albums is jammed with memorable songs that dare to understand and appreciate the ebb and flow of life, loss, and love. He definitely puts himself out there emotionally, and balances such weighty subjects with an impeccable pop sensibility.

Sexsmith has gathered many admirers over the years; Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Steve Earle, and Chris Martin, to name a few. His most famous song, “Secret Heart” has been covered by Feist, Nick Lowe, and even Rod Stewart.

Sexsmith played Shank Hall in Milwaukee Sunday night, along with opener Meaghan Smith. When this show was quietly announced a few months back, I was initially shocked that he wasn’t playing a larger venue like say, The Pabst Theater. It just didn’t seem right. He does have a very loyal and appreciative fan base in Canada, and Europe, but in the USA, the numbers are noticeably fewer. Ron admitted the frustrations of this dynamic Sunday night, saying it might be a while until Milwaukee sees him here again, something about grey hair and a walker. It could be a while.

Ron played a wonderful set of music, featuring a number of songs off his excellent new album, “Exit Strategy of the Soul”, as well as many classics including; “Secret Heart”, “Strawberry Blonde”, “Hard Bargain”, “Pretty Little Cemetery”, “Imaginary Friends”, and “Gold in Them Hills”.

Fellow Canadian Meaghan Smith opened the show. This is her first-ever tour, and she’s recently been signed to Warner Bros.

Myspace: Ron Sexsmith

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Oasis will soon release long-player number seven, Dig Out Your Soul on October 7th. To coincide with the release, the band will embark on an American tour that also includes opening support from Ryan Adams & The Cardinals. I’ve never seen Oasis, and I’m not sure now is the time, or if I missed their prime. Regardless, I’m interested in this tour, though mostly because of Adams.

Madison fans don’t forget that Ryan Adams & The Cardinals will perform Sunday, October 5th at Overture Hall. There are still some tickets left. Also, remember that Cardinology drops October 28th on Lost Highway.

Oasis & Ryan Adams - 2008 Tour Dates

Dec. 3 - Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
Dec. 4 - Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
Dec. 6 - Las Vegas, NV The Pearl
Dec. 8 - Denver, CO Broomfield Events Ctr.
Dec. 10 - Minneapolis, MN Target Center
Dec. 12 - Chicago, IL Allstate Arena
Dec. 13 - Detroit, MI Palace of Auburn Hills
Dec. 15 - London, ON John LaBattCentre (rescheduled 9/9 date)
Dec. 17 - New York, NY Madison Sq. Garden
Dec. 19 - Camden, NJ Susquehanna Center
Dec. 20 - Washington, DC GMU Patriot Center

Find more MP3’s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic

+Bookmark our Wisconsin and Chicago shows pages for all your concert announcements+

Austin City Limits 2008 is in the bag. It gave us some good times, a sunburn, and some new favorites to take back home. The final day of the festival brought a lot of favorites that have alluded me for some time. The highlight of the day was Band of Horses who completely owned their audience for an hour. Too bad the Foo Fighters didn’t wait for them to finish their set before launching into their opening number.

One of the best new discoveries of the entire festival was Austin native Scott Biram. Biram played a gritty, foot-stomping, alcohol fueled set, spiked with a bit of gospel for a Sunday afternoon. I stuck around after his set for Priscilla Ahn, who wasn’t on the schedule, but whose Blue Note debut, A Good Day, has gotten some play and whose Take Away Shows were pretty nice as well.

Gillian Welch brought along the legendary David Rawlings for her entire set and later brought out Alison Krauss for a lovely harmonious take on “Don’t Leave Nobody But The Baby.” Neko Case kept the vibe going, mixing new material with deep cuts from her catalog. Together both Neko and Gillian’s sets were some of the most beautiful over the three days in Austin.

Finally, let’s not forget AA Bondy who started out the day and watched his crowd swell in size as the latecomers worked off their hangovers during his set. Filled with the same mysterious/funny banter we got when he opened for Bon Iver, Bondy has proven himself, both on record and in person, that he’s an artist we’ll be following for some time.

Thanks Austin, we had a good time. Maybe we’ll see you again. Until then, here is our last round of photos:

AA Bondy

Scott Biram

Priscilla Ahn

David Rawlings

David Rawlings & Gillian Welch

David Rawlings, Gillian Welch, Alison Krauss

Against Me!

Neko Case

White Denim

Band of Horses

Foo Fighters

Related: Don’t miss Gorilla vs. Bear’s ACL wrap up, complete with Polaroids.

Discuss: Did you attend Austin City Limits this year? What were your favorite acts? Who were some of your new discoveries?

Here are the Wisconsin and Chicago shows we recommend you take in this week. Check them out below and let us know which ones you’ll be attending or ones you think should really make our list.

Upcoming Wisconsin Shows:

9/29 - Robert Randolph & The Family Band - Majestic Theatre, Madison
9/30 - Rodney Crowell - Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee
9/30 - The Wedding Present/Dirty On Purpose - The Annex, Madison
10/1 - Dr. Dog - High Noon Saloon, Madison
10/2 - Born Ruffians/Plants and Animals - Club 770, Madison
10/2 - Pale Young Gentlemen - Mad Planet, Milwaukee
10/2 - Dead Confederate/Catfish Haven/Freshwater Collins - The Annex, Madison
10/2 - State Radio - High Noon Saloon, Madison
10/3 - Pale Young Gentlemen - Cafe Montmartre, Madison
10/3 - Sunset Rubdown - The Annex, Madison
10/3 - Ray LaMontagne - Union Theater, Madison
10/3 - My Morning Jacket - The Riverside Theatre, Milwaukee
10/3 - Dead Confederate/Catfish Haven (My Morning Jacket Afterparty) - Moe’s, Milwaukee
10/4 - Lindsey Buckingham - Pabst Theater, Milwaukee
10/5 - Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Overture Hall, Madison
10/5 - Ani DiFranco - Wisconsin Union Theater, Madison

Upcoming Chicago Shows:

10/1 - Ray LaMontagne - Chicago Theatre
10/1 - Rachael Yamagata - Lakeshore Theater
10/1 - Heartless Bastards/Langhorne Slim - Abbey Pub
10/1 - The Wedding Present - Empty Bottle
10/2 - Liam Finn - Lakeshore Theater
10/2 - Beck/MGMT - Aragon Ballroom
10/3 - Beck/MGMT - Aragon Ballroom
10/3 - Brazilian Girls - House of Blues Chicago
10/4 - Sunset Rubdown - Empty Bottle

+Bookmark our Wisconsin and Chicago shows pages for all your concert announcements+

During our SXSW interview with Ben Nichols of Lucero, he revealed having a solo record in the works. Well, wait no longer as The Last Pale Light in the West is now available digitally. A 7-song offering inspired by Cormac McCarthy’s (The Road, No Country for Old Men) Blood Meridian can be pre-ordered today with an instant digital download available with payment. Spend a little more dough to get a limited edition t-shirt.

Things seem pretty good in camp Lucero these days, now on a major label and new song “Johnny Davis” rounding out the recent news. You can catch Ben and presumably the new material on the Revival Tour coming to a city near you.

Myspace: Lucero

We kicked off our Saturday by seeing the Fleet Foxes for the third time this year. They were absolutely incredible, one of my favorites sets of the day as the band continues to top themselves each time I see them. On top of that, their onstage banter/comedy was unexpected, but very funny.

The Drive-By Truckers put on a tight demonstration of Southern Rock the way it should be. The highlight was the extended story intro of “18 Wheels of Love,” which if you haven’t seen live, hope you do the next time you catch DBT. I caught Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears on the recommendation of many and was glad I did. They guy makes no secret his desire to be the next James Brown, and if this young Texan keeps at it, he’s got the pipes and musical talent to make him famous. Britt Daniel was in the crowd for this set, which is fitting enough, consider Britt worked on Black Joe’s record.

Erykah Badu started her set in typical diva fashion - late. Despite her tardiness, I was absolutely enamored with her set. It was my first time seeing her and it was great watching her huge band and huge beats, all powered by her huge hair! Going from one extreme to the other, I next checked out John Fogerty, whose set was a nod to the greatness he created with Credence Clearwater Revival. Honestly, people all around lost their heads as Fogerty rolled out one CCR tune after another. It was just about as close as I’ll ever get to seeing and hearing a band that was on heavy rotation during my youth.

Going into this festival, the headliners did very little for me. I wasn’t really interested or excited about seeing any of them. On Friday, I stuck around and was rewarded with a great closing set from Manu Chao. Last night offered the dilemma of choosing between Robert Plant & Allison Kraus or seeing Beck. All day I was set on seeing the former as I’d never seen them before and have seen Beck plenty of times. That changed around 6pm when the excitement around the festival convinced me that seeing Beck was the right thing to do. I’m glad I did. Starting his set out with “Loser” was an absolute shock (didn’t think he played that anymore) and a catapult into a set that was filled with generous samples from his catalog including Modern Guilt material for the first time, which sounded great. It ended up being my favorite set of the day. Make sure you check him out on this tour.

Fleet Foxes

José González

Drive-By Truckers

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Erykah Badu

John Fogerty

Iron & Wine

Beck

Austin always treats us well. It’s always nice to have a nice cold Lone Star in your hand watching some of today’s best bands tear it up under the Texas sun. Yesterday was the first day of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, and marked our second time at the festival after taking last year off. The ultimate highlight of the day was seeing David Byrne. David and his band exceed all my expectations, blending their hour-long set with Talking Heads favorites as well as new material from his recent Eno collaboration, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today.

Coming in second was Jamie Lidell. Always a great live act, Jamie had the crowd in his hand by the time he launched into a funk-heavy extended version of his song “Multiply.” The biggest surprise of the day was probably day one closer Manu Chao, who’s mix of reggae, punk, and world sound, was both high energy and easy to convert a bunch of first-timers. Other highlights include a horn-infused set from Bobby Bare Jr, catching the lovely Jenny Lewis in a packed tent, and watching Alejandro Escovedo and his band play the festival for the first time in his home state. Rodney Crowell, who started out our day was also a welcomed first listen, and the biggest regret was missing both Hot Chip and Lost Highway’s Ryan Bingham, who all my crew caught and said was fantastic. Also, Chuck Woolery is around. WTF?

Yeasayer

Jakob Dylan & The Gold Mountain Rebels

Jamie Lidell

Bobby Bare Jr

Jenny Lewis

David Byrne

Manu Chao

Discuss: Have you been to ACL before? Who should I not miss over the rest of the festival? What are your favorite Austin hotspots?

Early morning in Austin, spinning James Hunter’s The Hard Way. Timeless. His video for “She’s Got A Way” was just released and worth your ear.

He’s scheduled two Wisconsin dates in Madison and Milwaukee, see him if you can.

11/22 - James Hunter/Susan Tedeschi - Barrymore Theatre, Madison
11/26 - James Hunter/Susan Tedeschi - Northern Lights Theater, Milwaukee

Myspace: James Hunter
MP3: James Hunter - “Jacqueline”

Last night was my first live encounter with Iceland’s Sigur Rós. Pretty powerful stuff. Pretty easy to drift off into dreamland too. It was my first time in the Chicago Theatre, beautiful place. I caught the 5am train from the city back to Milwaukee on little sleep. We’ll be reporting from Austin City Limits over the next four days. Sigur Rós photos and proper review coming tonight. Until then, watch some of the gorgeous videos below. Stunning stuff.

Sigur Rós - “Hoppipolla”

Sigur Rós - “Glósóli”

Sigur Rós - “Saeglopur”

Discuss: Have you seen Sigur Rós live? What did you think of their show? What is their best record?

Myspace: Sigur Rós
MP3: Sigur Rós - “Gobbledigook”
MP3: Sigur Rós - “Popplagio / The Pop Song”
MP3: Sigur Rós - “Staralfur”

Find more MP3’s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic