Muzzle of Bees is proud to welcome Lucero + Titus Andronicus + Catfish Haven to The Metro in Chicago on Friday, April 10th. Any regular reader can understand how exciting this is for me as Lucero has been at the top of my favorites for many years. Anyone whose seen Titus Andronicus live (I’m talking about you, Madison) certainly knows what they are capable of. The fact that long-time MoB favorites, Catfish Haven, were folded into the mix was a huge bonus. It’s a dream bill and my first big partnership with the fine folks at the Metro, so do me proud and join us in Chicago next week.

We have five (5) pairs of tickets to give away to the Muzzle of Bees faithful. To enter, drop a comment with your favorite Lucero lyric and we’ll select our five favorites and get them on the list for the show. We’ll notify winners by e-mail next week.

Tickets: $16
Ages: 18+
Doors: 7:30pm / Show: 8:30pm

MoB: 5 Questions with Ben Nichols of Lucero II
MoB: 5 Questions with Ben Nichols of Lucero
MoB: Review: Lucero at Turner Hall, Milwaukee (11/11/07)
MoB: Lucero/Catfish Haven – Otto’s – DeKalb, IL
MoB: A Look Back @ Lucero/Red 40
MoB: Lucero – Alley Katz – Richmond
MoB: Lucero – Mad Planet Review

Myspace: Lucero
MP3: Lucero – “Johnny Davis” (Live from Terminal 5, New York, 2/6/09)
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Myspace: Titus Andronicus
MP3: Titus Andronicus – “Titus Andronicus”
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Myspace: Catfish Haven
MP3: Catfish Haven – “Set In Stone”
MP3: Catfish Haven – “Crazy For Leaving”
MP3: Catfish Haven – “Please Come Back”
MP3: Titus Andronicus – “Titus Andronicus”

Had a great first day at South By Southwest. Plenty of great friends, bbq, and of course live music. I spent the first day checking out a lot of old favorites, and Roadside Graves for the first time. I also caught sets by The Avett Brothers, Cursive, Handsome Furs, Lucero, Grizzly Bear.

Drop a comment if there’s a band you think we should be checking out over the weekend.

MoB welcomes friends and favorites Catfish Haven have been added to the already impressive line-up of Lucero + Titus Andronicus going down at the Metro in Chicago on Friday, April 10th.

Tickets are $16 and on sale now. Please join us in our first big show in Chicago with three of our favorite bands.

Photo: Jeremy Farmer
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Myspace: Catfish Haven
MP3: Catfish Haven – “Set In Stone”
MP3: Catfish Haven – “Crazy For Leaving”
MP3: Catfish Haven – “Please Come Back”

Muzzle of Bees is proud to welcome Lucero + Titus Andronicus to The Metro in Chicago on Friday, April 10th. Any regular reader can understand how exciting this is for us as Lucero has been at the top of our favorites for many years. They are, without a doubt, one of my favorite live bands. Anyone whose seen Titus Andronicus live certainly knows what they are capable of. Their show in Madison a few weeks ago still lingers in the memory bank.

Please join us in supporting two of our favorite artists by spending a night with us at the Metro. Baseball season will be newly underway, and the weather will be a lot nicer than it is today. We’ll raise a glass and make some memories.

Tickets: $16
Ages: 18+
Doors: 7:30pm / Show: 8:30pm

MoB: 5 Questions with Ben Nichols of Lucero II
MoB: 5 Questions with Ben Nichols of Lucero
MoB: Review: Lucero at Turner Hall, Milwaukee (11/11/07)
MoB: Lucero/Catfish Haven – Otto’s – DeKalb, IL
MoB: A Look Back @ Lucero/Red 40
MoB: Lucero – Alley Katz – Richmond
MoB: Lucero – Mad Planet Review

Myspace: Lucero
Myspace: Titus Andronicus
MP3: Titus Andronicus – “Titus Andronicus”

While I wait patiently for a Lucero date in Wisconsin, I do have a little treat for our readers in NYC. The Lucero boys have an upcoming 3-date stint in New York, including two dates at Terminal 5 opening for The Black Keys.

I’ve got two (2) tickets to see Lucero’s headlining gig at the Mercury Lounge on Sunday, February 8th + a copy of Ben Nichols new solo record, The Last Pale Light in the West. To enter, drop a comment with your favorite Lucero lyric(s). We’ll notify our winner by e-mail on Friday.

Update: We’ve picked our winner. Thanks and I hope you all make it out catch them regardless.

Previously: 5 Questions with Ben Nichols

Frequent visitors will not be surprised in my proclamation that Lucero is one of my favorite bands. Earlier this month, Lucero’s Ben Nichols released The Last Pale Light In The West, a delightful acoustic ode to Cormac McCarthy’s book Blood Meridian. We’re thrilled to once again have Ben stop by for our 5 Questions with Muzzle of Bees feature. Ben also recently joined NPR to perform and discuss the aforementioned record. Highly recommended.

Can you give me a time line of how the songs that appear on The Last Pale Light In The West came about? Did you set out to make an album’s worth of material or did a few songs come out and then the idea of an entire record based on Blood Meridian follow?

I had read Blood Meridian for a second time a couple years ago and remember thinking there was a lot of stuff in there that I could use in songs. There are plenty of great phrases and images and details throughout the book and those are exactly the kinds of elements you want in a good song. Chambers was the first song I wrote. He is a minor character who is only present for a few pages in the book but he has a heartbreaking story. I did a little research outside of Blood Meridian to figure out where this guy came from and where he’d been and who he’d fought with and I thought the song stood on its own fairly well. Then I figured I’d write a couple more and do a three or four song EP. That became seven songs as I decided to base each song on a different character. I wish I could’ve gotten to more of the characters.

A record like this shines a spotlight on authors that unfortunately doesn’t happen enough in my opinion. What other books rank high on your list of ones you’re able to recommend?

I was on a big Steinbeck kick last year and read six of his books. East of Eden and Cannery Row were possibly my favorites. Then after writing The Last Pale Light I went back to McCarthy and read his Border Trilogy. The Crossing is beautiful.

Do you know if Cormac McCarthy has heard the record or even knows about it?

No idea.

Will any of these songs ever appear in a Lucero set? I think “Toadvine” would fit nicely into an encore.

I’ve played The Last Pale Light a time or two at Lucero shows. Toadvine is also one of my favorites to play but I’ve only done that so far at solo shows.

Will there be a new Lucero record in 2009? Can you share any information on the status, name, or release date?

There better be. Right now it’s just demos but we’re trying to get the thing out quick as we can. Right now the solo record will have to tide folks over.

MoB: 5 Questions with Ben Nichols of Lucero
MoB: Review: Lucero at Turner Hall, Milwaukee (11/11/07)
MoB: Lucero/Catfish Haven – Otto’s – DeKalb, IL
MoB: A Look Back @ Lucero/Red 40
MoB: Lucero – Alley Katz – Richmond
MoB: Lucero – Mad Planet Review

Photo: Legal Minded Punk
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Buy: The Last Pale Light In The West

Listen to The Last Pale Light In The West in full below: