By Pete Donahue

For those who haven’t been able to check out Elvis Costello’s music series, Spectacle, on the Sundance Channel, there is a recent episode that may turn you on to the show (or make you want to see it even more than you already have).

Recently, Costello had an episode featuring She & Him, Jenny Lewis and Jakob Dylan. Yes – all three acts on one episode.

To kick off the episode, Elvis leads the Imposters (with “Farmer” Dave Scher filling in on keyboards and drummer Pete Thomas’ daughter, Tennessee, joining as a second drummer) through a cover of Steely Dan’s “Show Biz Kids.” After bringing out M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel for an interview, She & Him perform a nice version of “Change is Hard.”

But then comes Jenny Lewis, my personal highlight of the episode. She delivers a great version of “Pretty Bird” featuring M. Ward and Elvis on electric guitars. Then the cast relives an Acid Tongue moment as Zooey joins Jenny and Elvis on a blast through “Carpetbaggers.”

If that isn’t enough, Jakob Dylan sits down with Elvis and talks about his younger days trying to leave his father’s shadow, the Clash, and acoustic guitars. As he plays a quick solo version of “One Headlight” and “On Up the Mountain,” it amazes me is how much his voice sounds like the elder of the Dylans (or would it be Zimmermans?) Jakob and Elvis then launch into a version of the Clash’s “Straight to Hell,” before the entire cast goes through the Nick Lowe-penned “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding.” As if it’s not a great song already, it’s interesting to see all those great performers (plus Jonathan Rice) on stage.

So there you have it, Spectacle with Elvis Costello. Be sure to check out the episode featuring The Police on the eve of their final show at Madison Square Garden. It’s actually pretty interesting to see Elvis and Sting play lutes together (seriously).

It’s hard to argue with a festival that boast a line up including Ben Harper, Death Cab For Cutie, M. Ward, Ben Folds and more! We’ve got a pair of tickets to this weekend’s Okobos Music Festival to giveaway. The festival takes place at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Saturday, October 11th.

To enter, just drop a comment with your willingness to make the trip up north for a day of music and who you’d be most interested in seeing.

Update: Thanks everyone! We’ve notified our winner!

Last night’s She & Him performance was a little different than our other recent encounters with M. Ward. Of course, this show was all about showcasing the gorgeous pop melodies/vocals of Zooey Deschanel. MoB photographer Ed Oliver captured some shots below. What did you think of the show? What covers did they play?

Myspace: She & Him
MP3: She & Him – “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?”

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

The Pitchfork Music Festival once again receives the MoB stamp of approval. Though I only spent one day at the festival this year, being able to catch High Places, The Dirty Projectors, The Apples In Stereo, King Khan and the Shrines, The Dodos, M. Ward, Spiritualized, Bon Iver, Dinosaur Jr., and Spoon all in one day makes for a excellent Sunday.

King Khan bounced around the festival, then took the stage sans shirt + cape and proceeded to rock out raunchy soul style. M. Ward was probably my favorite set of the day, I’ll never tire of his tunes. Biggest surprise act of the day came during Spiritualized who absolutely blew me away. His set was loud, I was thankful the “B” Stage was running behind because it let me catch a lot of their set before heading over to catch Bon Iver. Bon Iver added another member to his touring line up and busted out a cover, his songs in a live setting are being expanded and tinkered with. The crowd held up their end on the sing-a-long requests and by the middle of his set the sun was down and for the first time during the day I felt somewhat comfortable. Buy hey, no rain!

Spoon provided a very brief (55 min) closeout to my festival experience. Many were weathered from the extreme heat, but that didn’t stop Spoon from bringing out the horns and getting down to business. The Gimmie Fiction material really shined last night, especially on “The Beast and Dragon, Adored” and “I Turn My Camera On.” Then it was back in the car and straight back to Madison. The sleep timer got its workout this morning, and as reluctant as I am to start another week, we’re fortunate to keep the good times coming with The Hold Steady tonight at the Majestic.

Below are some photos from Sunday, but I can’t close without thanking the Ice Cream Man, Boost Mobile, Goose Island, Pitchfork, Stereogum, and You Ain’t No Picasso. I’d especially like to thank Jodi for her very much appreciated festival coverage on Friday and Saturday. We’ll see you next year, and Chicago we’ll see you again in a few weeks!

In an hour I’ll be seeing M. Ward at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. It’s hot. I know a show in outside in the simmering heat couldn’t possibly compare to last night’s beauty at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee. I have a hand full of text messages and an inbox that says last night was one very special evening.

We’ll handle the visual recap, but you guys go ahead and leave your thoughts/reviews in the comments. Thanks, as usual, to MoB friend and contributor Daniel Brielmaier for the stellar shots below.

Related: 5 Questions with M. Ward

Myspace: M. Ward

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

M. Ward stands firmly as one of this generations best songwriters. He’s set to perform the Pabst Theater with MoB favorites The Watson Twins on Saturday, July 19th. If that’s not enough, stick around afterwards for a free performance from Tim Fite. Chicago fans can catch up with M. Ward at this weekend’s Pitchfork Music Festival on Sunday at 6pm. Finally, Madison fans won’t want to miss M. Ward with Zooey Deschanel, performing their She & Him material at the Barrymore Theatre on Friday, August 8th. For now, enjoy my chat with M. Ward for our continuing 5 Questions with Muzzle of Bees feature.

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?

Music has survived hundreds of thousands of years – i have a gut feeling that it will change but ultimately survive the digital age.

Jim James recently mentioned an album he’s working on with you and Conor Oberst. How is that coming along and will all of you guys be sharing songwriting duties?

Too early to say – the project is in a nascent stage and probably wont be ready until 2010 or so…

I thought your production work on the She & Him album was brilliant. It really made the music sound timeless in a sense, like it could have been made decades ago, yet still just as embraceable today. You’re touring through the summer together; can we assume that you’re already in the beginning stages of crafting Volume 2?

Yes – we are talking about it and listening demos.

I’ve always loved your covers both on record and times I’ve seen you in concert. If you were to cover and entire night’s worth of someone else’s material whose would you choose?

It’s a good question that I don’t know – I’ve thought about covers records before but i feel like maybe its been done too many times – for my own records and shows, I’m more interested in mixing new and old and mixing popular ideas and themes with newer ones.

You’re returning to the Pabst Theater, a place you last played at the end of 2006 in support of Post-War. To us it’s one of the best venues around, what (if any) memories do you have of the venue or times you’ve been in Wisconsin?

I love the sound in the architecture of the Pabst Theater – its always a pleasure to play inside living works of art.

++++

How great is Merge Records? You can currently download the vinyl bonus tracks (there’s three of them!) from M.Ward’s Transfiguration of Vincent right here.

Myspace: M. Ward

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