Upcoming Shows at Maxwell's: Thurston Moore, Bombay Bicycle Club, Cate Le Bon, Craig Finn, & More

Maxwell's in Hoboken has a great lineup of concerts planned in the coming weeks, and below are some of the highlights. I'm mentioning shows going a little far out, through the end of March, since the club has a small capacity and some of the more popular performers will sell out weeks in advance. (The March 2nd Cults show sold out at least a couple of weeks ago.)


Thurston Moore performing "Circulation" from his most recent solo album, "Demolished Thoughts."

As you'll notice, opening acts and set times are not available for some of the shows. Check the Maxwell's website for more details (you should probably check it anyway, to make sure the schedule hasn't changed). You can buy Maxwell's tickets online at Ticketfly, or at Tunes CDs in Hoboken or Other Music in NYC.

As usual for Maxwell's, the upcoming gigs reflect an eclectic mix of types and genres of rock. And generations as well. There are acclaimed new artists such as Welsh singer Cate Le Bon and British band Bombay Bicycle Club, and veteran acts including Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore (performing solo) and singer-songwriters Marshall Crenshaw and Garland Jeffreys. The Hold Steady's Craig Finn is also stepping out on his own, supporting his new solo album.

And there's the return of some blasts from the past: the Feelies side project Yung Wu, the Scud Mountain Boys, The Lemonheads (performing their album "It's A Shame About Ray"), and the Psychedelic Furs.

• Thurs. 1/26: Teddy Geiger/Jack Skuller, 8:30 p.m., $15 
• Fri. 1/27: The Gories/Boom Chick, 9:30 p.m., $20
• Thurs. 2/2: Jenny Owen Youngs/special guest, 8 p.m., $10 adv./$12 d.o.s.
• Fri. 2/3: Thurston Moore/Rhyton, 9 p.m., $20 SOLD OUT
• Sat. 2/4: Marshall Crenshaw/Garland Jeffreys, 9 p.m., $20
• Thurs. 2/9: Jeff the Brotherhood/t.b.a., 9 p.m., $10
• Fri. 2/10: Cate Le Bon/special guest, 7:30 p.m., $10 adv./$12 d.o.s.
• Fri. 2/10: "Pretty Good Friends" featuring Eugene Mirman, Kurt Braunohler, and more, 9:30 p.m., $13 adv./$15 d.o.s.
• Sat. 2/11: Dum Dum Girls/Widowspeak, 9:30 p.m., $15
• Fri. 2/17: Scud Mountain Boys/John Cunningham, 9 p.m., $15
• Sat. 2/18: Young Wu/East of Venus/Thousand Pittes, 7 p.m., $10
• Sat. 2/18: Mates of State/special guests, 10 p.m., $15
• Thurs. 3/1: Craig Finn, $15 SOLD OUT
• Sat. 3/3: Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby (7 p.m.), $10 adv./$12 d.o.s.
• Thurs. 3/8: Bombay Bicycle Club, $20
• Mon. 3/12: The Lemonheads performing "It's A Shame About Ray," $20 adv./$22 d.o.s.
• Tues. 3/13: The Lemonheads performing "It's A Shame About Ray," $20 adv./$22 d.o.s.
• Wed. 3/14: John K. Samson (of The Weakerthans) and The Provincial Band, $13 adv./$15 d.o.s.
• Sat. 3/24: The Psychedelic Furs, $40
• Sun. 3/25: The Psychedelic Furs, $40
• Wed. 3/28 Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg, $20

Free Album Streaming: New CDs from Nada Surf, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Craig Finn, & More

This week there's finally a meaty selection of new albums for you to preview online. The releases include Craig Finn of the Hold Steady stepping out for a solo album, Nada Surf with the latest effort in its 20-year-long career, the second album from the duo Chairlift, and a lot more.

There are new albums from First Aid Kit, Ani DiFranco, and singer-songwriter Jessie Baylin, and a change of pace for the flamenco guitar-meets-hard rock duo of Rodrigo y Gabriela. On "Area 52"the  pair revisit nine of their previously recorded songs, but with an orchestra from Cuba filling out the sound. (See the album trailer below.)

To add another twist to the album, "Area 52"is produced by Peter Asher—yes, the one who produced many of Linda Ronstadt's 1970s albums and before that was half of the 1960s recording duo Peter and Gordon.


One of the album trailers for Rodrigo y Gabriela's "Area 52."

Some albums I mentioned in last week's post are now streaming at other sites (shown below), including the releases by Cate Le Bon and Kathleen Edwards.

As usual, most of the albums are streaming for a week unless otherwise indicated (KCRW seems to be the only streaming site these days that actually gives dates).

KCRW Album Preview:  (all streaming until Jan. 24)
"The Lion’s Roar" by First Aid Kit (also streaming at NPR Music below)
"Area 52" by Rodrigo y Gabriela (also streaming at NPR Music)
"The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy" by Nada Surf (also streaming at NPR Music)
"Something" by Chairlift

NPR First Listen:
"Clear Heart Full Eyes" by Craig Finn
"Emotional Traffic" by Tim McGraw

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Which Side Are You On?" by Ani DiFranco
"Beautiful Things" by Anthony Green
"We Don't Know Any Better" by Black Taxi
"Little Spark" by Jessie Baylin
"CYRK" by Cate Le Bon
"Voyageur" by Kathleen Edwards

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"All Our Heroes Drank Here" by Hannah vs. the Many
"Buena Vodka Social Club" by Leningrad Cowboys
"Strange Ways of Going Home" by Sep7ember

Free Album Streaming: New Music from Kathleen Edwards, Cate Le Bon, Howler, Laura Gibson, & More

New CDs from singer-songwriters Kathleen Edwards, Cate Le Bon, and Laura Gibson are most notable of the relatively small crop of albums available for streaming this week. Edwards burst on the scene a few years back with her song "Six O'Clock News," and the Canadian has gotten some solid critical and commercial success with her debut album "Failer" and subsequent efforts. You can hear her latest album "Voyageur" (produced by Edwards and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon) at NPR Music below.


"Change the Sheets" by Kathleen Edwards from "Voyageur," streaming free at NPR Music. 


Welsh singer Cate Le Bon has a new album, "CYRK," coming out on next week, which coincides nicely with her first headlining tour beginning early in February (she plays at the Mercury Lounge on Feb. 9th and at Maxwell’s in Hoboken the next night.) You can hear"CYRK" at the at the Paste Magazine preview below.

The Minneapolis band Howler has been racking up critical acclaim despite its youth (in the age of its members, and in its existence as a group). On the heels of EP earlier this year, it's out with a full-length, "America Give Up," that's full of short, catchy power pop tunes.

Singer-songwriter Laura Gibson hails from the Portland, Oregon area and has appeared with other well-regarded performers from that area, including Colin Meloy of The Decemberists and Laura Veirs. Her latest album, "La Grande," is also streaming at NPR Music, and the title song is today's free song download from Minnesota Public Radio's The Current (download the song "La Grande" here).

There's a modest number of other albums for free preview, most from artists I haven't heard of, but I'll check out some of them. Based on a quick first listen I enjoyed the self-titled album from Grand & Noble and "Normal" by Run Dan Run.

NPR First Listen:
"Voyageur" by Kathleen Edwards
"La Grande" by Laura Gibson
"America Give Up" by Howler

Paste Magazine Album Stream:
"CYRK" by Cate Le Bon

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Dark Matters" by Expensive Looks
"Normal" by Run Dan Run
"Grand & Noble" by Grand & Noble
"Passenger" by Kalyn Rock

AOL Music Listening Party:
"From the Vanishing Point" by Red Wanting Blue
"Peace of Mind" by Rebelution
"Garden Window" by O'Brother