Tonight, Volcano Choir play their second US show ever at Turner Hall Ballroom in Milwaukee. I’m told tickets are running thin, so make sure to get yours now. The band features members of Bon Iver, Collections of Colonies of Bees, and All Tiny Creatures. If you caught the video footage from their Japan tour, you know this is one show that can’t be missed.

MP3: Volcano Choir – “Island, IS”
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Buy: Volcano Choir – Unmap

Girl Talk released his new album, All Day as a free download today.

Elsewhere:

AV Club Milwaukee announces that the Decemberists are coming to Milwaukee on Saturday, February 5th. Mountain Man supports. We’re admittedly excited for the groups forthcoming record, The King Is Dead, which features Gillian Welch on seven tracks! The Decemberists will also be in Chicago on Friday, February 4th at the Riviera Theatre.

Sharon Van Etten performs a Tiny Desk Concert at NPR.

Captains Dead shares a Ryan Adams live show from the Nashville circa 1999. Speaking of Ryan Adams, keep your browsers pointed to the Paxam site to pre-order the upcoming III/IV release.

Arcade Fire were on Saturday Night Live. Gorilla vs. Bear has the videos.

OnMilwaukee.com interviews Testa Rosa in support of their new record.

Aquarium Drunkard shares an mp3 of Horse Feathers covering Nirvana’s “Drain You.”

All Tiny Creatues film a video session with AV Club Madison.

Radio Summer Camp officially kicked off on Thursday, but (for us) the real excitement began last night, with amazing bands scattered throughout Milwaukee’s venues. The 91.7 WMSE curated festival expanded on the foundation it built last year, returning for the second year with a more diverse line-up, including even more venues, resulting in an amazing amount to take in over a four day period. The result, thus far, has been extremely exciting. The shows I attended last night were packed to the max, and I hope I’m not the only one who enjoyed attending smoke-free shows at the Rave and Cactus Club for the first time.

After a lot of back and forth I decided to make Band of Horses my first show of the night after getting a text message from my friend Logan saying he was drumming for the opener Bryan Cates. If memory serves me correctly, this was my fifth time seeing Band of Horses, the first being the inaugural Pitchfork Music Festival in 2006. The band continues to be a powerhouse live, alternating between their ballad leaning songs and their almost arena level rockers. If anything, attending the show strengthened my appreciation for the group’s new album, Infinite Arms, which seems to be getting unnecessarily beat up in the reviews I’ve read. Most of the songs ended up being massive sing-a-longs. I exited the venue right before the encore en route to the Cactus Club.

I was thrilled to arrive at the venue and find myself in time for the majority of the All Tiny Creatures set. I saw the band earlier this month and was impressed with the direction they’ve taken their material, and am looking forward to hearing their debut LP out later this year on Home-Tapes.

Seeing Collections of Colonies of Bees is always a big deal. It had been a good number of months since I’d seen the group live, but last night’s show wasn’t to be missed as it would be their last performance with drummer Jon Mueller (pictured above), who leaves the band to pursue other interests. Knowing that it was almost impossible to not soak up the emotions that hung in the balance of the room last night. I’d be lying if I didn’t note here that I spent a good time just watching how much Mueller puts into his drumming. It’s something to witness. The rest of the band followed suit delivering one of the hardest hitting, and highest energy shows I’ve seen them do. It was a privileged to be in the crowd and see last night’s show, and it was nice to see so many Milwaukee fans come out in support. There were a lot of hugs given out at the end of the night. While there won’t likely be another Milwaukee show before the end of year, fans of the band can look forward to the CoCo Bees next album, GIVING, which arrives also on Hometapes in October.

We’re looking forward to heading back out tonight with hopes of catching The Loom, Strand of Oaks, John Doe, and Goodnight Loving.

Discuss: Did you make it out to any shows last night? We wish we could have been everywhere, but missed out on a lot of great stuff. Drop a comment letting us know who you saw and what you thought.

[photo: Erik]

I am thirty years old today. While I’m not sure what my friends have in store for me tonight, I do plan on leaving The Hold Steady’s set at Summerfest and going directly to the Cactus Club, where, in my opinion, one of the best line-up’s of the summer awaits.

We’ve already shared our love of Milwaukee’s own Group of the Altos, (they also play Summerfest tomorrow) who played our SXSW showcase in Austin in March.

They’re anchoring tonight’s triple threat at Cactus along with The Caribbean (pictured above) and All Tiny Creatures, two of our favorites on the Home Tapes label. Both groups have upcoming albums due later this year, which we’re eager to hear. Until then, we’re excited for an advance listen in a live setting. See you there.

MP3: The Caribbean – “William of Orange”
MP3: The Caribbean – “Siamese Sons”
MP3: The Caribbean – “First & Last”
MP3: Group of the Altos – “Begin, And Begin Again!”

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Muzzle of Bees showcase last night at the High Noon Saloon. What a wonderful kick off to the Forward Music Festival. I was thrilled to see Cedarwell and All Tiny Creatures live for the first time, and, as many of you can attest, they were brilliant. Milwaukee’s Juniper Tar continues to grown into one of the tightest sounding live bands with harmonies so sweet it’s becoming unbearable waiting for their forthcoming EP.

What can I say about the mighty Megafaun that hasn’t been said everywhere else already? Hearing all the beautiful new material from Gather, Form & Fly cements its positioning as one of our favorites albums of the year.

See Also: FMF09 Review: Muzzle of Bees Presents Megafaun at the High Noon

Discuss: What did you think of the showcase? Did you make it out to any other festival shows last night? What were the highlights of night one for you? Drop a comment with your thoughts/reviews and include who else you’re looking forward to seeing at FMF09.

Photos: Ed Oliver

Buy: Megafaun – Gather, Form And Fly
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MP3: Megafaun – “The Fade”
MP3: Megafaun – “Kaufmans Ballad”
MP3: Juniper Tar – “Birds In Trees” (Rough Mix)

Music hungry fans in Madison wait no longer, the Forward Music Festival kicks off tonight with a great bill of talent at the High Noon Saloon. Tonight’s line up features Megafaun, All Tiny Creatures, Cedarwell & Juniper Tar. Pretty sweet, right?

The show is open to all pass holders of the Forward Music Festival or available for purchase at the door. Speaking of purchase, check out the amazing show poster above created by Animal Canon. These bad boys will also be available for purchase at the show. In preparation, please take the time to read the amazing interview Paste recently published with Megafaun. First band starts around 7pm tonight, so get there early and we’ll see you there!

Previously: 5 Questions with Megafaun
Previously: Photos: The Rosebuds + Megafaun – Club Garibaldi
Previously: From The Crowd: The Rosebuds + Megafaun

Buy: Megafaun – Gather, Form And Fly

Myspace: Megafaun
MP3: Megafaun – “The Fade”
MP3: Megafaun – “Kaufmans Ballad”