Caveman shares what they’re reading with Fader.

Watch Feist’s new video for “How Come You Never Go There” at Pitchfork. The track is easily one of my favorite songs of the year.

All Things Considered interviews AA Bondy.

Real Estate perform a Take Away Show on Paris train tracks.

I caught AA Bondy last night at the Parish in Austin. Bondy and his band played their new album, Believers in full and followed that with a handful of selections from American Hearts and When The Devil’s Loose. Openers Gold Leaves were a nice surprise and would be a welcomed listen to fans of Fleet Foxes and My Morning Jacket.

Stereogum premieres Yellow Ostrich’s new video for “Mary.”

Yours Truly collaborates with MTV for this amazing Zola Jesus video.

Spin interviews Bradford Cox.

Check out the Wild Beasts Take Away Show filmed by La Blogotheque during Pitchfork Music Festival Paris.

Videos from the tUnE-yArds show at Turner Hall Ballroom last week are online.

I purchased a ticket today for Roger Waters The Wall Live. There’s a bunch of new tour dates announced and based on several reliable sources who saw the last run, I parted with the hefty ducat fee and look forward to seeing the spectacle in person on May 3rd in Austin.

AA Bondy is on the road supporting his fantastic new release, Believers. It’s one of the year’s best for sure. Bondy and his band tore through the High Noon Saloon last night in Madison and Dan brought back some great looking and sounding video. Above is “Surfer King,” my favorite track from the aforementioned new record.

Check out all the videos from last night including opening band and new discovery, Gold Leaves.

Buy: AA Bondy – Believers

By Nick Quirke

On a Saturday night, which felt more like a reverent Sunday morning, A.A. Bondy and Elvis Perkins in Dearland played to an engaged and patchouli-soaked crowd at Chicago’s newest rock venue, Lincoln Hall. Alternating between holy, hushed words and towering trombones over marching band-worthy percussion, the two artists seemed polar opposites, yet it was clear from the emotion and intensity in each of their performances that they share a passion for performance and storytelling.

Bondy stood quietly over the audience, basked in a dark red light and began quietly and deliberately finger picking his Gretsch guitar, a preview of what we were to enjoy from the technically proficient and creative guitarist.

He leapt quickly into new material from his 2009 release, When the Devil’s Loose, with the sprawling, tentative “Slow Parade,” and intentionally kept the volume to little more than a whisper through the first verse. Only during the second chorus did this dirge fully reveal itself as the expansive and anthemic work it is. The audience, fresh off antibiotics from Chicago’s brutal flu season, hushed coughs and stood silent until Bondy’s guitar came crashing down, signaling the parade’s arrival.

Moving deliberately through more new material with his band, listeners were treated to pristine sound, arranged by tour manager Jake McLaughlin, which seems to be the hallmark of this new, indie-friendly venue.

In a performance that seemed appropriate for Club Silencio, seen in David Lynch’s largely misunderstood film Mulholland Drive, Bondy’s band steps off stage and takes in his cover of My Pretty Valentine. No hay banda. If this surreal moment was the sonic nadir of the show, the peak was to follow shortly, as Bondy tuned his guitar to an open E chord and began plucking and picking the resonant first notes of “Black Rain, Black Rain.”

Bondy, who could draw favorable musical comparisons to Jeff Buckley or Lou Reed, noticed and appreciated the congregation’s silence and attentiveness as he made his way through fan favorites “Killed Myself When I Was Young,” “Oh The Vampyre” and “To The Morning.”

Bondy closed the night with “I Can See The Pines Are Dancing,” which was fitting, but the real emotion from the set came from his earnest and sanguine slower numbers.

Displaying the showmanship that endears fans to small venues and independent music alike, Elvis Perkins’ band began their set in the balcony and processed to join the singer on the stage as if they were the brass band following a Louisiana funeral.

Perkins begins by worshiping at the microphone, solemnly emoting a song that continued the night’s soft, stoic feel. But all that changed when Brigham Brough broke out his stand up bass and began to construct the bouncing rhythm section of the New Orleans sound that has been the trademark of Perkins’ projects.

Perkins, who at times sounded like a young Roy Orbison, exhibited impressive vocal harmonies with his band mates, while tearing through “Slow Doomsday,” off the group’s new Doomsday EP and “Shampoo,” the breakout hit from early 2009’s eponymous release. But the artist lost the room after asking for a sing-along, which was rebuffed by a crowd content to peer into the dark and deep past that Perkins seems to carry. Afterward, Perkins laments the audience’s participation, calling it, “the best we’ve heard on tour.” After a weak applause, Perkins continues, “that’s not true.”

This moment was forgotten shortly after, though, as Nick Kinsey led the band with a booming beat played upon a marching band-style drum wrapped around his torso. The bouncy number morphs from a revival hymn into a Paul Simon Graceland-era harmony, finally engaging and elating a crowd that seemed to need more from the headliner.

The night ended with a traditional hoe down; Bondy and accompanying band members joined Perkins to close the set with the fast version of “Doomsday.” The stage, replete with instruments, becomes a smaller version of the dance party a few feet below, and everyone leaves satisfied.

It should be noted however, that A.A. Bondy delivered a raw, feral performance that stole the show, and though Perkins did not connect fully with the audience, his music continues to impress.

Buy: Elvis Perkins in Dearland | A.A. Bondy
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MP3: Elvis Perkins in Dearland – “Shampoo”
MP3: Elvis Perkins in Dearland – “Slow Doomsday”
MP3: A.A. Bondy – “I Can See The Pines Are Dancing”
MP3: A.A. Bondy :: “When The Devil’s Loose”

Welcome to the 29th podcast/download I’m co-hosting with Ryan Schleicher at 91.7 WMSE. This week we are supremely excited to be joined by A.A. Bondy via phone in advance of his Milwaukee show at Club Garibaldi on Tuesday, November 24th. Tickets for that show can be picked up here. Special thanks to Jason Fry for helping with the song selection this week. Thanks for listening.

Muzzle of Bees + 91.7 WMSE Podcast :: Volume 29

Micah Schnabel – “Cut Me, Mick” / Alberta Cross – “Old Man Chicago” / The Antlers – “Sylvia (Live at the Orchard NYC) / Beach House – “Norway” / Pearl Harbor – “Sunburn” / A.A. Bondy Interview / A.A. Bondy – “Mightiest of Guns” / A.A. Bondy – “World Without End” / JBM – “Cleo’s Song” / Cass McCombs – “Prima Donna”

Download: Muzzle of Bees + 91.7 WMSE Podcast :: Volume 29
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Subscribe: Muzzle of Bees + 91.7 WMSE Podcast

We’re pretty excited to present the above video of A.A. Bondy and Marquis Toliver on “Killed Myself When I was Young” captured backstage at Club Garibaldi when he came through Milwaukee in June with Holly Miranda.

A.A. Bondy returns to Club Garibaldi on Tuesday, November 24th. Tickets are $10 and available here. The show is selling briskly and we expect it to sell out. Get your tickets soon!

Video + editing by Erik Ljung. Future installments in the weeks and months to come. Thanks for watching.

Buy: A.A. Bondy – When the Devil’s Loose
MP3: A.A. Bondy – “I Can See The Pines Are Dancing”
MP3: AA Bondy :: “When The Devil’s Loose”