Only a few seconds into “Art of “Almost” from Wilco’s new album, The Whole Love, you know that you’re in for an exciting listen. It’s my favorite album the band’s done in years and couldn’t be more excited about their current tour, which includes Nick Lowe opening things up each night. It doesn’t get much better than that.

While I wait for the band to swing through Austin in December, Ed Oliver took in last night’s show at Overture Hall in Madison and brought back the beautiful photos you see.

Discuss: Did you make the show? Leave a comment with your thoughts/reviews of last night’s concert.

Buy: Wilco – The Whole Love

When Girls released their new album Father, Son, Holy Ghost earlier this month I was on the fence. I was somewhat of a fan of the band’s previous output, but wouldn’t consider myself a full-fledged true believer. That changed whenever the album hit the internet. The first two tracks, “Honey Bunny” and “Alex” set the stage for one of the year’s most interesting releases. It converted me.

While I wasn’t able to catch the band personally, Ed Oliver brought photos from last night’s show at the Majestic Theatre in Madison, including bonus shots of NOBUNNY.

MP3: Girls – “Vomit”
Video: Girls – “Honey Bunny”
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Buy: Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Megafaun’s self-titled release is one of the year’s finest and also showcases the band better than ever before. That’s saying a lot considering how much we’ve appreciated their back catalog. The band returned to the High Noon Saloon in Madison last night. Ed Oliver was on hand to capture the night.

MP3: Megafaun – “State/Meant”
MP3: Megafaun – “These Words”
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Buy: Megafaun

This weekend, Kentucky singer-songwriter Daniel Martin Moore will be performing twice in Wisconsin. On Friday night, July 29, Moore will be part of WMSE Radio Summer Camp at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn in Milwaukee, hitting the stage around 11pm. Tickets for Summer Camp (including Sunday’s Backyard BBQ) are availble here. The next night, Saturday, July 30, Moore will hit the stage at the North Mendota Supper Club in Madison for an intimate house show. Doors open at 8pm, with opening act Count This Penny starting around 830pm. Tickets are $10 each and 100% goes to the artists. To RSVP, please send an email to nmsc1402@gmail.com. In advance of these two shows, MoB sat down with Moore to discuss his new Sub Pop record, In the Cool of the Day, his relationship with My Morning Jacket, and one of his favorite causes, ending mountaintop removal coal mining.

1. talk a bit about your new record, in the cool of the day, and how it came to be. what has it been like promoting/releasing a record with spiritual undertones to a predominantly pop/indie audience? what has the response been as you play these new songs in a live setting?

Thankfully, the response has been welcoming.  I’ve never imagined this album as a religious record, and I don’t think many people have heard it that way.  It’s a collection of songs that I hope is presented in a way that transcends any specific interpretation.

2. on your records and in a live setting, your sound is at once sparse and including full sounding. how did you come to develop the unique dmm sound?

That spareness of production is something I gravitate toward, not sure how it developed, it’s just sorta always been there.  I love a big production, too, though, to be sure (George Harrison’s, “All Things Must Pass” is one of my very favorite albums, and it’s hard to imagine more going on in a recording!).  So it’s really up to each individual song, and up to each collection of musicians, to determine how it will all come together.  Some songs lend themselves to an epic treatment, and some are best left more spare.

3. we can’t very far into an interview without asking you about your relationship with jim james and my morning jacket. how did you get hooked up with jim, how do you both – as great songwriters – talk shop and make music, and what was it like to open for mmj earlier this year?

Ben Sollee introduced me & Jim when we were all thinking about the Dear Companion album.  What a wonderful musician he is – all the guys in MMJ are beyond words.  Sharing the stage with them is pure joy.

4. i became aware of you and your music through the dear companion record and the strong stand you take against mountaintop removal coal mining. what has the response to the record and your efforts been like in your home state? is there growing support for ending MTR or is it still an uphill battle?

The response has been tremendous, even thought he album is just a small part in a much larger movement.  Support for ending MTR has grown & grown over the last 4 decades.  Dear Companion is one more voice in a rising chorus against the thoughtless destruction & corruption.  Kentucky’s citizens are mobilizing & getting educated around the issue more and more all the time.  It’s an inspiring thing, and we’re happy to be a part of a shift toward sanity (because what comes next, after everything is destroyed?) & for basic human rights (shouldn’t folks have water that isn’t poison?).  I think that as we all learn the truth about what MTR is & what it does to our communities & health, we will come together to put a stop to it.  That day is growing closer all the time.

5. right now – july 19, 2011 – what are the five records you have been digging lately?

1.  Gramma’s Boyfriend, S/T
2.  Guitar Party, Birthday
3.  Maiden Radio, Lullabies
4.  Nic Jones, Penguin Eggs
5.  Neil Young, On the Beach

Buy: Daniel Martin Moore – In the Cool of the Day

By Tyler Fassnacht

Zola Jesus, the brainchild of Nika Roza Danilova, has become an increasingly familiar name. In the last two years Danilova has gone from being a UW Madison student releasing lo-fi goth gems on the side to making headlines at nationally recognized publications like Pitchfork and NME with her haunting, yet melodic anthems. Riding on her burgeoning popularity, Danilova basically played a hometown show (She was raised up north in Merrill, WI) here in Madison at the High Noon Saloon as part of her current national tour. Even though the venue didn’t really fill up until Zola Jesus hit the stage, it was still endearing, like a parent at a child’s really awesome indie piano recital, seeing the band come back as a professional touring group. Just like how Garbage isn’t really considered a Madison band anymore, Zola Jesus has definitely shed any tag reminiscent of “local.”

Coming to the show a bit late, I was only able to catch the last two songs from second opener, Wet Hair. Just from the small sample I witnessed, I was actually fairly disappointed I missed them. With thick organs, a really tight drummer and a vocalist who sang in a deep groan and howl similar to Brad Hargett of Crystal Stilts, they played modern Doors-esque music, that definitely perked my interest.

Up next was Naked on the Vague, which thankfully sounded better than their name. With emphasis on locking into dark, droning, psychedelic grooves the band set a mood that was pretty different from the other music on the bill. The female singer sang in a low pitch that buzzed around notes rather than hitting them exactly. I think Naked on the Vague would do well playing with bands like the Black Angels, but with a group like Zola Jesus, where it is so based off of melodies, hooks and the charisma and persona of one person (i.e. Nika Roza Danilova), it seemed a bit distant and at times uninteresting in comparison. But then again, it is extremely hard to stand out when put up against the power house that is Danilova.

Taking the stage draped in a blood red cloak, Danilova (who can’t be taller than five feet), had the presence of a giant. Without saying much, her and the rest of Zola Jesus, dressed all in black, jumped right into “Trust Me” off of last year’s excellent Stridulum EP and then, giving the crowd barely enough time to applaud, played the powerful, yet catchy, “I Can’t Stand.” This set the theme for the rest of the performance. After she was onstage, the soft-spoken, seemingly shy Danilova turned into a commanding force that is there to do one thing: perform.

Playing mostly cuts off of her Stridulum and Valusia EPs, Danilova paced back and forth on stage, prowling about like an animal stalking prey. Besides the beautiful and chilling songs, half of the enjoyment is simply watching her wail and thrash about, giving all her tracks stronger emotion than I think is possible to record on an album. Besides during one point when she jumped into the crowd and ran to the back of the venue, up the stairs and onto the balcony, Danilova rarely acknowledged or even addressed (besides the occasional “thank you”) the people in the audience, which put all the weight on her songs, but everything they played was strong enough to do so with three keyboards creating dense and lush sounds, a monster behind a live drum kit and most importantly Danilova’s incredible, classically trained voice. By the end of the night the only disappointing thing was that Zola Jesus only played for about 40 minutes. Even though the venue wasn’t too packed, it still was a step up from last year’s crowded EP release show at the Project Lodge. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her name on bigger and bigger marquees in the years to come if she continues down her current path; I just hope she doesn’t forget us here in Madison.

Watch: Zola Jesus Soundcheck Session in Madison

Buy: Zola Jesus – Stridulum

Here are the Wisconsin, Illinois and Austin shows we recommend you take in this week. Check out the upcoming concerts below and let us know which ones you’ll be attending or ones you think should really make our list.

Upcoming Shows:

4/25 – Arcade Fire + The National – UIC (CHICAGO)
4/25 – Maserati + Twin Tigers – Empty Bottle (CHICAGO)
4/25 – Okkervil River + Dana Falconberry – Scoot Inn (AUSTIN)
4/25 – Foals + Freelance Whales + The Naked And Famous – Turner Hall Ballroom (MILWAUKEE)
4/26 – Foals + Freelance Whales + The Naked And Famous – Metro (CHICAGO)
4/26 – The National + Pains of Being Pure at Heart + Twin Shadow – Riverside (MILWAUKEE)
4/26 – Mumford & Sons + Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Railroad Revival (AUSTIN)
4/27 – Joe Pug + Strand of Oaks – Canopy Club (CHAMPAIGN)
4/27 – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart + Twin Shadow – Lincoln Hall (CHICAGO)
4/28 – G Love & Special Sauce – The Majestic (MADISON)
4/28 – The Black Lips + Vivian Girls – Emo’s (AUSTIN)
4/28 – The New Pornographers + The Walkmen – Canopy Club (CHAMPAIGN)
4/28 – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart + Twin Shadow – Lincoln Hall (CHICAGO)
4/28 – Peelander-Z – The Parish (AUSTIN)
4/28 – William Fitzsimmons – Shank Hall (MILWAUKEE)
4/29 – Daytrotter Barnstormer – Monticello Barn
4/29 – Mogwai – Metro (CHICAGO)
4/29 – The Whigs – Park West (CHICAGO)
4/29 – Zola Jesus + Naked on the Vague – High Noon Saloon (MADISON)
4/29 – Austin PsychFest – Seaholm Power Plant (AUSTIN)
4/30 – Austin PsychFest – Seaholm Power Plant (AUSTIN)
4/30 – Battles – Lincoln Hall (CHICAGO)
4/30 – Joan As Police Woman – The Parish (AUSTIN)
4/30 – The Decemberists + Other Lives – Stubb’s (AUSTIN)
5/1 – Austin PsychFest – Seaholm Power Plant (AUSTIN)
5/1 – Willie Nelson – The Backyard (AUSTIN)
5/1 – Joe Pug + Strand of Oaks – High Noon Saloon (MADISON)