Photos: Ed Oliver

Last night The Rural Alberta Advantage returned to the High Noon Saloon in Madison with James Vincent McMorrow and In Tall Buildings supporting the show. Ed Oliver was on hand to take photos.

Discuss: What did you think of the show? Leave a comment with your thoughts/reviews/favorites from last night’s show.

Buy: The Rural Alberta Advantage | James Vincent McMorrow | In Tall Buildings
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MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “North Star”
MP3: James Vincent McMorrow – “If I Had A Boat”
MP3: In Tall Buildings – “The Way To A Monster’s Lair”

Last night’s show at Mad Planet was great. Old favorites like Dinosaur Feathers and The Rural Alberta Advantage were great as expected. I really loved James Vincent McMorrow who I completely missed at SXSW, but was happy to have finally gotten a chance to see live. If you’re in Madison go see them tonight at the High Noon Saloon.

MP3: James Vincent McMorrow – “If I Had A Boat”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “North Star”

Speaking of SXSW, I should mention that I went and had a great time. The festival rapidly swells in popularity and this was the first year that I attended the interactive portion of the festival. I found the entire time to be supremely educational and of course saw some great music. The acts that stood out the most for me this year were: James Blake, Little Scream, Suuns, Low, Wye Oak, and Josh T. Pearson.

Small Sur hails from Baltimore and came up on several occasions while in Austin. Go here to download two tracks for free.

There’s a new Bon Iver album coming in June.

Tiny Mix Tapes shares a new song from Bill Callahan.

TV On The Radio have a new video for “Will Do.” Watch it at Stereogum.

Get Smith Westerns album Dye It Blonde for only $2.99 at Amazon.

We’re excited to present the Rural Alberta Advantage tonight at Mad Planet in Milwaukee and tomorrow at the High Noon Saloon in Madison in support of their beautiful new record Departing.

Giveaway: We’ve got a pair of tickets for both the Milwaukee and Madison shows. To enter, leave a comment with the best concert you’ve seen this year and make sure to specify which show you want (Milwaukee or Madison). We’ll select winners this afternoon and notify them by e-mail.

MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “North Star”
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Buy: The Rural Alberta Advantage – Departing

Each week we highlight the new releases that we recommend. Below, find our picks for this week. Drop a comment and let us know what records you’re picking up this week.

Devotchka – 100 Lovers [Buy]
Video: Devotchka – “All The Sand In The Sea”
Video: Devotchka – “100 Other Lovers”

The Rural Alberta Advantage – Departing [Buy]
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “North Star”
Video: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Stamp”

Middle Brother – Middle Brother [Buy]
MP3: Middle Brother – “Me Me Me”
MP3: Middle Brother – “Middle Brother”

Lucinda Williams – Blessed [Buy]
Video: Lucinda Williams – “Blessed”

The Rural Alberta Advantage played a fantastic live session on World Cafe. We’re presenting the band’s Madison and Milwaukee shows later this month.

Jessica Lea Mayfield performs “Our Hearts Are Wrong” on Letterman.

The Felice Brothers will release their fourth full-length album Celebration, Florida on May 10th, 2011 via Fat Possum.

Daytrotter has sessions with Menomena and Kasey Anderson.

Damien Jurado performs a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR.

New York Times reports that “Investors Are Drawn Anew to Digital Music.”

Pitchfork has a video of La Sera’s “Devil’s Hearts Grow Gold.”

A lot of highly anticipated new releases are available for a “First Listen” at NPR. We highly recommend you have a listen to the new offerings from Wye Oak, The Mountain Goats and Kurt Vile. In addition, they’re holding a “Listening Party” today at 1 p.m. CST of R.E.M.’s entire new album, Collapse Into Now.

We’re excited to present the Rural Alberta Advantage at Mad Planet in Milwaukee on Wednesday, March 23rd and at the High Noon Saloon in Madison on Thursday, March 24th in support of their beautiful forthcoming release, Departing (March 1, Saddle Creek). You can listen to the entire new record right now at Exclaim. Spin chats with Amy Cole and offers up an MP3 of “North Star.”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “North Star”

Deerhunter performed “Memory Boy” on David Letterman from Halcyon Digest, one of our favorite records from 2010.

Listen to “Will Do” from TV on the Radio’s new album Nine Kinds of Light, which arrives April 12th. TV On The Radio are touring this spring.

Yellow Ostrich had some cassettes for sale when we were in New York last week. You can now stream/download the Fade Cave EP for the price of your choosing.

All Songs Considered “examines the music of the ’90s at its best, worst and weirdest” and Steve Hyden concludes his wonderful Whatever Happened To Alternative Nation? with “Part 10: 1999: By the time we got to Woodstock 99 …“