Pitchfork just announced that Sufjan Stevens will embark on a new tour that includes a stop at Madison’s Majestic Theatre on Monday, September 28th. The last time I saw Sufjan in Madison he played a church above the old catacombs coffee house. Anybody else make that show?

Tickets: $15
On Sale: Saturday, August 15th at 9am
Details: Tickets are WILL CALL ONLY and there is a 2 ticket limit. The box office will open the day of show one hour before doors to get people their tickets, and they must go into the building upon getting their tickets. There is NO print at home ticketing and there will be no mailed tickets.

Full Tour Dates:

09-12 Monticello, NY – ATP New York
09-21 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s *
09-22 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s *
09-23 Ithaca, NY – Castaways *
09-24 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom *
09-25 Pontiac, MI – Crofoot *
09-26 Champaign, IL – The High Dive *
09-27 Minneapolis, MN – 400 Bar *
09-28 Madison, WI – The Majestic *
09-29 Bloomington, IN – Buskirk Chumley *
10-01 Toronto, Ontario – Lee’s Place *
10-02 Montreal, Quebec – Cabaret *
10-03 Portland, ME – Port City Music Hall *
10-04 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom *
10-05 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom *
10-06 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg *
10-07 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg *

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:

8/11 – Pete Yorn + Zee Avi – Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee
8/12 – Daniel Johnston – The Annex, Madison
8/12 – The Wallflowers – Wisconsin State Fair, Milwaukee
8/12 – The Breeders – Majestic, Madison
8/14 – Cracker – Wisconsin State Fair, Milwaukee
8/14 – Daniel Johnston – Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee
8/14 – Tracy Chapman – The Pabst Theater, Milwaukee
8/14 – Headlights + Scotland Yard Gospel Choir Terrace, Madison
8/14 – Slobberbone + Blueheels – Port Washington Maritime Festival

Upcoming Chicago Shows:

8/10 – Shearwater – Millennium Park
8/11 – Xavier Rudd – Vic Theatre
8/12 – Tracy Chapman – Park West
8/13 – The Breeders/Whispertown 2000 – Metro
8/13 – Slobberbone + Glossary – Abbey Pub
8/14 – The Duke & The King – Schubas
8/14 – Art Brut – Subterranean
8/15 – Lucero/These United States – Subterranean
8/16 – Lucero – Eckhart Park (Green Fest)
8/16 – Priscilla Ahn – Schubas

Just Announced:

9/5 – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Club Garibaldi, Milwaukee
9/27 – Michael Franti & Spearhead – Memorial Union, Madison
9/28 – Sufjan Stevens – Majestic Theatre, Madison
10/6 – Yo La Tengo – Vic Theatre
10/11 – Bon Iver + The Daredevil Christopher Wright – Riverside Theater, Milwaukee
10/18 – Mastodon – Eagles Auditorium, Milwaukee
11/1 – Los Lobos – Symphony Center
11/20 – Haley Bonar – High Noon Saloon, Madison

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

When No Age, Dan Deacon & Deerhunter combine to form Nodeachunter you know you’re in for a few surprises and a massive crowd. Last night’s show at the University of Wisconsin’s Terrace was jam-packed with people right up close to the stage. All accounts coming in say it was a memorable, though sometimes tense evening. Below, and per usual, find the fantastic photos from Ed Oliver.

Discuss: What did you think of the show? Is that you being body passed? What were the highlights of the night? Anybody buy the t-shirt?

Muzzle of Bees + 91.7 WMSE are proud to present Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros at Club Garibaldi on Saturday, September 5th.

You may recall the creepy/bizarre video we posted earlier this year. Since SXSW, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros have been on a trailblazing tour, selling out venues, and, most recently, packing our favorite Chicago joint, Schubas. The sheer size of this band is worth coming to check out alone, though after the initial awe wears off you’ll have stayed to see one of the best artists to emerge this year.

Tickets are $10 and on sale now. I encourage you to buy early as this space is small and will fill up fast, especially with 10 band members!

Rolling Stone: Artist to Watch 2009: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
NPR: Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros: Kindness And Clamor

Buy: Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros – Up from Below
++
Myspace: Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros
MP3: Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros – “40 Day Dream”

Chills. Every. Time.

By Tyler Fassnacht

I almost didn’t go to last nights Decemberists show. I had seen them twice before and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to cough up the cash, especially because I wasn’t overwhelmed by their latest album, The Hazards of Love. Well I sucked it up and went, and boy am I glad.

The show was originally located at the Orpheum, but was moved to the Overture Center, which is both a curse and a blessing in my opinion. The Overture Center has very strict ushers and is a little too proper for a rock show (it is always a little awkward standing up there). However, it does have beautiful acoustics and all around good sound, which really benefited a lot of the Decemberists’ material.

I got there early for a good seat (it was general admission) and I was still a little skeptical of the show before it started. It started very promptly with the openers, Heartless Bastards (the only time I’ve ever seen a band come on EARLY, five minutes to be exact) and they blew me away. The first thing that jumps out about this alt-country/rock band are the vocals by front woman Erika Wennerstrom. She has one of the most unique voices in rock right now and she uses the hell out of it, yelping and bellowing her way through the HB catalog. I was a casual listener before hand, but now I am a full fledged fan. They were incredibly deserving of the standing ovation they received and I am definitely excited to catch their set at Lollapalooza.

This show was also the most punctual rock show I have ever been to. I read on some television screen near the bathrooms that there was a thirty minute break in between bands, and come thirty minutes the Decemberists walked on stage.

The band came on and as promised they played the Hazards of Love in its entirety, without a single pause. It was really more of a musical theatre performance than a rock show, with approximately an hour straight of music and no recognition of the audience. The band played as they were actors, staying in character throughout each song, pretending as though they were in some far off land, with no breaks to even say hello to attendees. Now as I mentioned I wasn’t a huge fan of the new album, it just didn’t seem very Decemberists-y to me, but when performed live it was much more engaging. However I would be lying if I said I wasn’t even more excited for their second set of old Decemberists goodies.

During their second set they were a completely different band, with witty banter between every song (including reminiscing of past shows in Madison and stories of awful songs Colin Meloy wrote, Dracula’s Daughter anyone?). For their second set they mostly took from the Crane Wife, with one from Picaresque, “We Both Go Down Together”, and one from Castaways and Cutouts, “July, July”. The encore ended with an audience sing a long to “Sons and Daughters”, which was a nice, warm way to end a surprisingly fun and entertaining night.

Buy: The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love