Arcade Fire Announces "Reflektor" Tour (Two Brooklyn Dates); Metric Adds Small-Venue Show

Ever since Arcade Fire announced its new album "Reflektor," fans have been wondering when they would tour to support the new work. We got the answer today, when the band announced its "Reflektor" tour on Twitter.

Arcade Fire is hitting the road to support is new album, "Reflektor."

The band kicks things off with a show in Louisville, Kentucky on March 6th, and the tour comes to Brooklyn in the summer for two nights at the Barclays Center, August 22nd and 23rd. Tickets for all dates go on sale next Friday, Nov. 22nd.

Another Canadian band, Metric, is currently on tour, and is playing a rare small-venue gig next Tuesday (the 19th) at Bowery Ballroom. The gig is listed on their tour schedule, but clicking on the Buy Tickets link takes you to an information page, not a Ticketmaster link.

We'd guess the link to buy will go live tomorrow (the tickets are supposed to go on sale at noon Friday the 15th, according to Brooklyn Vegan). Also, the page for this show notes, "All tickets are for WILL CALL ONLY and will be available exclusively for pick up at the venue on the evening of the show with valid ID. Tickets are non-transferable."

UPDATE: I couldn't find the Metric ticket link searching on Ticketmaster, but Brooklyn Vegan found it: Metric Bowery Ballroom tickets.

Until tickets go on sale tomorrow, you can watch Metric perform on the Letterman show tonight.

Metric at Radio City Music Hall - Recap & Set List

Although a seated show at Radio City Music Hall isn't the ideal venue for seeing Metric, the band put on a great show nonetheless. (See the set list at bottom of article.) Of course, the viewpoints of fan and performer are different; and singer Emily Haines spoke of being able to play in the gorgeous, world-famous hall and how far it was from her small-town origins in Ontario, Canada.

Emily Haines and Metric Sunday at Radio City

The photos don't come close to doing justice to the show (yes, of lesser quality than usual), but they at least give an idea of what the show looked like. As always, Haines was like the Energizer Bunny: prancing from one end of the stage to the other, smacking her tambourine, shaking her head from side to side, and in general rarely standing still.

An already impressive show was made even more special when Haines called Lou Reed to the stage. He sang along on "The Wanderlust" (as he does on Metric's latest album, "Synthetica;" video from last night below), and added vocals on Metric's rendition of the Velvet Underground classic, "Pale Blue Eyes." Before bringing him on, Haines talked about how her older brother helped broaden her musical horizons by introducing her to acts such as Patti Smith and the Velvet Underground.

Haines at the keyboard.

Lou Reed joined Metric for two songs.

Metric at Radio City: Set list
(from Setlist.fm)

Artificial Nocturne 

Youth Without Youth
Speed the Collapse
Dreams So Real
Empty
Help I'm Alive
Synthetica
Clone
Breathing Underwater
Sick Muse
Dead Disco
Stadium Love 


Encore:
Black Sheep
Monster Hospital
The Wanderlust (with Lou Reed)
Pale Blue Eyes (The Velvet Underground cover, with Lou Reed)
Gold Guns Girls
Gimme Sympathy (acoustic; Emily and Jimmy only)

Now Streaming: New CDs from Metric, The Hives, Alejandro Escovedo, & More

Some great albums are up for online streaming this week, including new releases from some of my favorites: Metric, Alejandro Escovedo, The Hives, Shawn Colvin, and Rhett Miller. And that's just for starters; you'll also be able to listen to the new albums by Pujol, The Temper Trap, The Tallest Man on Earth, The Melvins, Langhorne Slim, and soul legend Bobby Womack.


Above: One of the "Reflections" videos Metric produced for its new album, "Synthetica."

Speaking of legends, Womack isn't the only veteran artists with a new album on preview. This week you'll find the first new album by The Beach Boys in what seems like forever (see a New York Times review), a new release by Joe Walsh, and a special box set (and other commemorative editions) marking the the 25th anniversary Paul Simon's "Graceland."

I've been a fan of Shawn Colvin since I first saw her play with a rock band she had back in the early 1980s, so I'm definitely looking forward to hearing "All Fall Down," her first studio album in almost six years. It comes out tomorrow, the same day that Colvin's autobiography, "Diamond in the Rough," is released. (Colvin will do an appearance and book signing in New York Tuesday, June 6th at 6 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble in Tribeca.)

There's a second chance to listen to the new album from The Walkmen, Crocodiles, and Jherek Bischoff. And for all the fans of '80s rock and big hair, AOL Music is streaming the soundtrack of the "Rock of Ages" movie this week.

SoundCloud:
"Synthetica" by Metric

NPR First Listen:
"There's No Leaving Now" by Tallest Man on Earth
"'The Bravest Man In The Universe" by Bobby Womack
"In Our Heads" by Hot Chip

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Lex Hives" by The Hives
"Big Station" by Alejandro Escovedo
"Endless Flowers" by Crocodiles
"Heaven" by The Walkmen
"The Temper Trap" by The Temper Trap
"That's Why God Made the Radio" by The Beach Boys
"Graceland (25th Anniversary Box Set)" by Paul Simon
"The Dreamer" by Rhett Miller
"United States of Being" by Pujol
"Freak Puke" by The Melvins
"The Way We Move" by Langhorne Slim
"Composed" by Jherek Bischoff
"Analog" Man by Joe Walsh

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"Rock of Ages: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" by various artists
"All Fall Down" by Shawn Colvin

Concert Notes: Many Festivals this Weekend; Metric & More On Sale Friday

It's not even officially summer yet, but this weekend is shaping up to be one of the busiest of the year in the NYC area. There are no less than seven festivals going on (in addition to events at the usual concert venues), and tickets for a number of popular shows are going on sale soon. And there's news about a very popular concert on the West Coast...

NYC Popfest is on now with low ticket prices and hooks galore.

This Weekend's Festivals:
Maura Johnston of the Village Voice gives a brief synopsis of all seven festivals, but here the ones of interest to readers of this blog:

NYC Pop Fest (today through the 20th, Manhattan and Brooklyn) — An affordable pop explosion with advance tickets for many events only $10 (and one free show). Among the acts are 'Allo Darlin, Seapony, and Habibi.

The Bamboozle (May 18th to 20th, Asbury Park and environs) — Top acts include Skrillex, Incubus, and Mac Miller (18th), Foo Fighters and My Chemical Romance (19th), and Bon Jovi, The Gaslight Anthem, and Brand New (20th).

The Great Googa Mooga (May 19th and 20th, Prospect Park, Brooklyn) — This new festival celebrates food and live music (oddly, the food vendors were announced before the bands). Also odd: free tickets were given away but didn't last long, and the only other way to attend is to buy a VIP pass for $249.

Great Googa Mooga music acts include The Roots, Holy Ghost!, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and Bear Hands (19th) and Daryl Hall & John Oates, Fitz & the Tantrums, Lez Zeppelin, and Peelander-Z (20th).

Tickets for Metric (featuring Emily Haines, above) go on sale May 18th.

Concerts On Sale:

• Metric at Radio City Music Hall, Sept. 23rd, on sale: Friday, May 18th, 9 a.m.
• Leonard Cohen at Madison Square Garden, Dec. 18th, on sale: Friday, 12 Noon.
• Jackson Browne at the Beacon Theatre (with special guest Sara Watkins) Aug. 3rd, on sale: Friday, 11 a.m. [UPDATE: 2nd show added, Aug. 4th. Tickets for both here.]
• Neon Trees at Webster Hall,  July 10th, on sale: Friday, 12 Noon. 
• Brandi Carlile at Wellmont Theater (Montclair, NJ) with the Barr Brothers, July 31st, on sale: Friday, 12 Noon.
• Conor Oberst at Carnegie Hall, Nov. 21st, on sale: Monday, May 21st, 11 a.m.

Saturday Night Live Finale:
Yes, "SNL" always has a musical guest (and sometimes a musician host), but this week's season finale is packed to the gills with music and should be something worth tuning in to. (Besides being the season's last show, this is the May sweeps period for networks.)

Mick Jagger hosts, and the show has announced that the Foo Fighters, Jeff Beck, and Arcade Fire will also appear. I have no idea how they'll fit all this in to one-and-a-half hours without doing one of those annoying everyone-on-stage all-star jams, but I'll be checking it out.

Coachella 2013 Advance Sale:
No, it's not your imagination: tickets for the 2013 edition of the California festival are on sale now. Once again, Coachella will take place on two weekends (April 12th to 14th and 19th to 21st). From the Coachella home page:

"We are excited to announce Coachella 2013 will again be held over two consecutive weekends.

Advance passes go on sale beginning this Thursday, May 17th, 2012 10:00 am PDT through the following Thursday, May 24th, 2012 10:00 pm PDT. This advance sale will be the only opportunity to take advantage of the Coachella Purchase Plan. New for 2013, the price you see is what you pay — prices reflect all fees included. The general on sale will happen early next year."

Listen to Silversun Pickups' New Album & Metric's New Single

Silversun Pickups are streaming their forthcoming album "Neck of the Woods"(out May 8th) in full on MTV (see below), while Metric is releasing tidbits of its June 12th release, "Synthetica," out in drips and drabs. You can stream their new song "Youth without Youth" (with lyrics) below.

Silversun Pickups have some tour dates scheduled, but so far all the U.S. dates are on the west coast.

Get More: Silversun Pickups, MTV Shows

(If the stream doesn't work, listen at MTV's website here.)

As for Metric, Emily Haines and the guys fortunately have scheduled some summer dates across the U.S. and, happily for me, that includes New York (though the venue, Radio City Music Hall, is a puzzling choice for a rock band that will probably have fans standing up the entire show).

What's more, Metric's website has a bonus: "Instant Gratification! Every Concert Ticket Purchased for Metric's US Fall Tour Comes With Music: You'll get the digital download of first single 'Youth Without Youth' immediately, followed by the full SYNTHETICA album download on June 12."

See the Metric tour dates here, and visit Metric's website for details on the various special collections and other options for buying "Synthetica." Metric's tour begins at the Sasquatch festival in Washington state on May 26th, and comes to New York on Sunday, Sept. 23rd. Presale is now open to many shows to members of the Metric fan community (free registration).
 
Metric "Youth without Youth" official video with lyrics:

Free at Summerstage Tonight: "Shelebration!" - Shel Silverstein Celebrated in Words & Music

"Shelebration!" at SummerStage will celebrate the many books, songs, and poems by the late Shel Silverstein.

The late Shel Silverstein had such a diverse creative output—children's books, pop songs, plays, and much more—that it's taking a whole cavalcade of artists to celebrate his legacy tonight in a free SummerStage show in Central Park.

"Shelebration! A Tribute to the Works of Shel Silverstein" is a tribute to the author's work by an amazingly varied list of performers, from Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson to Suzanne Vega, Melvin Van Peebles, Martha Wainwright, and more. There are actors such as Annabella Sciorra and Chloe Webb; comedians including Richard Belzer and Darrell Hammond (formerly of "Saturday Night Live"); and rock singers such as Sally Timms (of The Mekons) and Emily Haines (of Metric). (See the SummerStage website for the full "Shelebration!" lineup.)

And the SummerStage description says the show will feature "the debut of works from Silverstein’s forthcoming poetry collection, 'Every Thing On It.'"

Shel Silverstein wrote "The Cover of the Rolling Stone" and other hits.

Although Silverstein (who died in 1999) is best known to many millions as the author of the children's books "The Giving Tree" and "A Light in the Attic," he also wrote plays, poetry, and songs, as well as being an illustrator and recording artist.

It wasn't until many years after the fact that I realized Silverstein was the writer of some of the most well-known, chart-topping hit songs of their day, including “The Unicorn” (the Irish Rovers), “A Boy Named Sue” (Johnny Cash), and two hit singles for Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show: "The Cover of the Rolling Stone" and "Sylvia's Mother."

If you're a fan of any form of Shel Silverstein's work, or just want to see some very talented individuals from different fields celebrating his work, you might want to head over to the SummerStage Mainstage in Central Park tonight. (For updates on gate opening time and possible weather-related changes, follow the SummerStage Twitter account.)

"Shelebration! A Tribute to the Works of Shel Silverstein" 
Saturday, Aug. 6th, 7 p.m.
SummerStage Mainstage, Rumsey Playfield, Central Park (map and directions)
Info: www.summerstage.org or (212) 360-2777

Weekend Recap: Corin Tucker Steps Out at Maxwell's; Muse Puts on a Rock Show at The Rock

This weekend I saw concerts by two very different acts in two settings that couldn't be further apart. But both shows were very enjoyable: The Corin Tucker Band at Maxwell's in Hoboken and Muse at Newark's Prudential Center (a.k.a. The Rock).


Tucker, part of the much-loved past (and probably future) trio Sleater-Kinney, is on her first tour with her own band and a new album, emerging after taking several years off to raise her children. She headlined an early CMJ showcase at Maxwell's, playing tunes from TCTB's new album "1,000 Years." It was a high-energy set, often capturing the power of S-K.

Corin Tucker and Sara Lund of The Corin Tucker Band at Maxwell's on Saturday. 

If you're a fan of Sleater-Kinney or Tucker, you'll want to catch The Corin Tucker Band at Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday, Oct. 26th. Opening are Darren Hanlon and Hungry Ghost, which features Sara Lund, the drummer in TCTB.

The British trio Muse played Newark Sunday night and put on an old-fashioned rock show spectacle, complete with lasers, individual stages that moved up and down, and giant confetti-filled "eyeball" balloons bouncing through the crowd.

From its opening song, Muse made it clear that Prudential Center fans were in for a rock spectacle.

Although Muse is a huge international success I hadn't heard many songs by them; I went to the show partly to check them out and partly to see the opener, Metric, one of my favorite bands of recent years. (Metric played only half an hour, but it was well worth showing up early to see them.)

Matthew Bellamy takes a turn at the piano.

Muse during its finale at the Prudential Center Sunday.

Special effects aside, Muse put on a very enjoyable show. They play catchy rockers that are often reminiscent of Radiohead, mixing elements of alt rock with prog rock and other genres. I've heard that Jimi Hendrix was an influence on guitarist and singer Matthew Bellamy, and at one point he even played  "The Star-Spangled Banner" solo on his guitar. Muse played songs from its latest album "The Resistance" as well as previous works.

Although most live music I see these days is in clubs or small- to medium-sized venues, it's fun to see an old-style extravagant arena-rock show, and Muse certainly delivered.

Sunday: WFMU Record Fair, Muse & Metric, Angus & Julia Stone, More

The CMJ Music Marathon is over for another year, but there are still plenty of musical events in NYC and environs. The WFMU Record Fair runs through 7 p.m. Sunday, with tons of vinyl, CDs, videos, books, posters, traders, performances, and more. There are still some live events to come for Sunday... see the WFMU Record Fair live broadcasts page for details.

Some highlights from concerts going on tonight:
* British rockers Muse play the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, with Canadian band Metric, one of my favorites, opening.

* Angus & Julia Stone play at Maxwell's in Hoboken; Gareth Dunlop opens.

* legendary singer-songwriter/producer Nick Lowe plays at the Bell House in Brooklyn. Lowe's longtime keyboardist Geraint Watkins opens with his own set.

Scott Pilgrim's Secret Weapon: Killer Music from Beck & Others

When I saw a screening of "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" the week before last at a preview screening, I had no idea what to expect. Having never heard of the graphic novel on which the movie is based, all I knew about the film was a brief glance at the poster showing Michael Cera playing an electric guitar.

It turns out that I really enjoyed "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," on several levels. It was funny and original, and had many sweet moments involving Cera (Scott Pilgrim) and his love interests. The story involves Pilgrim, the bass player in the garage-rock band Sex Bob-Omb, and his obsessive pursuit of a woman he sees in passing. The woman, Ramona, has a tangled past history of lovers that gives Scott Pilgrim a lot more than he bargained for.

One of the unexpected pleasures of "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" was the role that music played throughout. Since Pilgrim is in a band you'd expect music to be a major element, and I noted that for a struggling rock band, Pilgrim's outfit made some pretty catchy tunes.

There's a good reason why: I noticed in the closing credits that the movie featured songs by Frank Black (of the Pixies), and many songs were written by Beck. But some other indie rock heavy-hitters were brought in to write or perform music, particularly the Canadian bands Metric and Broken Social Scene (one of whose songs runs just three seconds).

It's a fun movie, and the songs really are an integral part of it. I may listen to the soundtrack album and see if the tunes hold up on their own, apart from their use in the movie.

Metric Headlines Free Brooklyn Concert Thursday

Metric played a sold-out show at Manhattan's Terminal 5 a few months back, but on Thursday, August 5th they'll be crossing the East River to headline a free concert in Brooklyn.

The outdoor show, the latest in the annual Celebrate Brooklyn series, has Emily Haines and band leading a trio of female (or female-fronted) acts. Also appearing on the bill are Holly Miranda and Joan as Police Woman.

Gates open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7. Find out more details about the free Metric concert at Celebrate Brooklyn at show's the event page. (Although the show is free, a $3 donation is requested.)

Unfortunately I won't be able to make it to the free Metric concert, but the good news is that it's because I have tickets to see Arcade Fire at Madison Square Garden Thursday. That show, which also features Spoon on the bill, now has Canadian singer, composer, and violinist Owen Pallett as the the opening act, so it will be quite an evening for Canadian musicians in New York.

"Twilight: Eclipse" Soundtrack Tunes Coming Out, Drip by Drip

Guess it's fitting that the list of songs to be on the "Twilight: Eclipse" soundtrack are being slowly leaked out, one drop at a time, like blood from a vampire's fangs. "The official reveal of the Eclipse soundtrack"is a MySpace blog page where the songs and artists are being announced one at a time.

It's a pretty cool collection of indie artists. Here are the titles known so far (5 p.m. Eastern time, May 12th); check the Eclipse soundtrack reveal page (again and again, it seems) for the latest additions until that baby is filled up. One song is to be revealed per hour, it seems. UPDDATE: All complete now:

1. Metric – “Eclipse (All Yours)”
2. Sia – “My Love”
3. The Bravery – “Ours”
4. Florence + The Machine – “Heavy In Your Arms”
5. Muse – “Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)”
6. Fanfarlo – “Atlas”
7. The Black Keys – “Chop And Change”
8. The Dead Weather – “Rolling In On A Burning Tire”
9. Beck and Bat For Lashes – “Let’s Get Lost”
10. Vampire Weekend – “Jonathan Low”
11. UNKLE – “With You In My Head (featuring The Black Angels)”
12. Eastern Conference Champions – “A Million Miles An Hour”
13. Band Of Horses – “Life On Earth”
14. Cee-Lo Green – “What Part Of Forever”
15. Howard Shore – “Jacob’s Theme”

Celebrate Brooklyn Announces 2010 Free Concert Schedule

The two biggest free-concert series in New York, SummerStage and Celebrate Brooklyn, have both released their summer 2010 schedules. I listed some SummerStage highlights yesterday, and now here is the full Celebrate Brooklyn schedule of free concerts.

All shows are free, though attendees are encouraged to kick in a suggested donation of $3.00. Concerts are held at the Prospect Park bandshell. Weeknight shows begin at times from 7 - 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday shows usually begin at 3 or 4 p.m., though shows with many acts may start as early as 2 p.m. As always, see the complete 2010 Celebrate Brooklyn schedule for times, schedule changes, directions, and more.

Celebrate Brooklyn 2010 free concert schedule:
* Wed., June 9 -  Opening Night Gala - Norah Jones
* Sat., June 12 - Allen Toussaint, Davell Crawford
* Thurs., June 17 - Eugene Mirman & Pretty Good Friends
* Fri., June 18 - JG Thirlwell's Steroid Maximus, Dr. Lonnie Smith
* Sat., June 19 - Bitches Brew Revisited with Graham Haynes, James Blood Ulmer, DJ Logic and more
* Thurs., June 24 - Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club® featuring Omara Portuondo / Nelida Tirado
* Fri., June 25 - Kid Koala: Short Attention Span Theater vs. The Slew / Hess Is More
* Sat., June 26 - Texas Tornados, Red Clay Ramblers
* Thurs., July 1 - Zoom: Zvidance, Son Lux with Lottdance
* Fri., July 2 - Fab 5, Uzalo
* Thurs., July 8 - Itutu: Armitage Gone! Dance featuring Burkina Electric
* Fri., July 9 - Ozomatli, Fidel Nadal / Toy Selectah
* Sun., July 11 - OkayAfrica with The Roots, Talib Kweli and more
* Sat., July 17 - African Festival with Konono No. 1, Omar Pene, Super Diamono and more
Thurs., July 22 - The Chaplin Mutuals: Carl Davis / The Two Man Gentlemen Band (Music & Movies, with Brooklyn Philharmonic)
* Fri., July 23 Bomba Estereo, La Secta Allstar / Rita Indiana
* Sat., July 24 - Field of Dreams (Un Mundo Nuevo): Andres Levin & The Bruce High Quality Foundation
* Thurs., July 29 - MI21: Mother India 21st Century Remix with DJ Tigerstyle / Falu (Music & Movies)
* Fri., July 30 - The Swell Season, The Low Anthem
* Sat., July 31 - Sonic Youth, Grass Widow / Talk Normal
* Thurs., August 5 - Metric, Joan as Police Woman / Holly Miranda
* Fri., August 6 - House of Usher: Marco Benevento, White Magic (Music & Movies)
* Sat., August 7 - Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Budos Band and more
* Sun., August 8 - Brady Rymer, Elizabeth Mitchell (family concert)

Celebrate Brooklyn is also holding four benefit shows to raise funds for the program: Passion Pit, June 29 (sold out); Rufus Wainwright, July 20; The National, July 27 (sold out); and The Dead Weather, July 27.

New York Concerts on Sale: Muse & Metric; 311 & The Offspring; Goo Goo Dolls; Crosby, Stills, & Nash; Adam Lambert; More

Above: Muse (shown here playing at the 2006 Leeds Festival) is performing two gigs in the NYC area in October.

It's getting harder to keep up with all the new concert on-sale info coming out each week, but here goes. As always, there are many more on sale than I can list here. And of course, these listing reflect shows that I think are going to be in high demand (and thus sell out quickly), as well as shows I'm interested in seeing.

Most of the concerts go on sale Saturday, May 1st, but there were a few popular shows that had tickets available Friday, April 30th (links provided):

* She & Him - Terminal 5 - Tues., July 6
* Goo Goo Dolls - PNC Bank Arts Center - Tues., July 27
* Goo Goo Dolls - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater - Fri., July 30
* Muse with Metric - Nassau Coliseum - Sat., Oct. 23
* Muse with Metric - Prudential Center, Newark - Sun., Oct. 24

On Sale Saturday, May 1st:
* Band of Horses with Grizzly Bear and Karen Elson - Williamsburg Waterfront - Sun., June 20 (on sale: May 1, 11 a.m.)
* 311 and The Offspring with Pepper - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater - Fri., July 9 (on sale: May 1, 10 a.m.)
* 311 and The Offspring with Pepper - PNC Bank Arts Center - Sat., July 10 (on sale: May 1, 10 a.m.)
* Crosby, Stills, & Nash - PNC Bank Arts Center - Thurs., Aug. 19 (on sale: May 1, 10 a.m.)
* Crosby, Stills, & Nash - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater - Fri., Aug. 20 (on sale: May 1, 10 a.m.)
* Tim McGraw with special guests Lady Antebellum and Love and Theft - PNC Bank Arts Center - Thurs., July 15 (on sale: May 1, 10 a.m.)
* Adam Lambert with Orianthi and Allison Iraheta - Nokia Theatre Times Square - Nokia Theatre Times Square - Tues., June 22 (on sale: May 1, 10 a.m.)

New York Concerts on Sale: Black Keys, Broken Bells, Buzzcocks, Phish, Metric, and More

Above: Metric (featuring Emily Haines, pictured) plays at Terminal 5 on May 16th. Photo: Magnus Manske

The summer concert schedule is heating up and tickets are going on sale now. Lots of concert tickets are going on sale tomorrow (and a few on Saturday); here's a list of some of the shows that will be in big demand:

On sale Fri., April 2nd:
* Phish - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater - Tues., August 17th & Wed., 18th
* The Black Keys - Central Park Summerstage - Wed., July 28th
* Metric - Terminal 5 - Sun., May 16th
* Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Sat., May 22nd
* Camera Obscura - Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom - Mon., June 7th
* Jay Farrar - Bowery Ballroom - Sat., June 5th
* Delta Spirit - Bowery Ballroom - Wed., June 30th
* Delta Spirit - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Thurs., July 1st
* Tears For Fears - Wellmont Theatre (Montclair, NJ) - Sat., Aug., 21st

On sale Sat., April 3rd:
* Broken Bells - The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza - Sat., June 5th
* The Buzzcocks - The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza - Thurs., May 13th

Canadian Rockers Metric Perform Live on Radio (Free Download)

Canadian rock band Metric has been touring the U.S. recently to support its new album "Fantasies" and whether you've caught the band in concert or not you can now listen to a couple of these live sets.

Two weeks ago Metric performed an in-studio set for "Morning Becomes Eclectic," the acclaimed show on KCRW radio in Santa Monica, California. The set includes a couple of conversation breaks during which the band discusses "Fantasies" with host Nic Harcourt. Metric's set is archived on the KCRW Web site for you to watch or listen to.

On the opposite coast, Metric played at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club last week and National Public Radio not only Webcast the show live, but has made the audio of the hour-and-20-minute set available for free online streaming or download. The set focuses on the new album, but also includes some old Metric favorites such as "Monster Hospital." Since I unfortunately missed Metric's sold-out show at New York's Terminal 5, I was glad to be able to download and listen to the D.C. concert.

Metric's tour continues over the summer with shows in England, Canada (including Ottawa and Halifax), and Australia.

More Metric:
* Metric MySpace page
* Metric Web site (www.ilovemetric.com)
* Metric on YouTube

May's 50 MP3 Albums for $5 at Amazon.com Ends Tomorrow

Amazon.com has been offering a great selection of 50 albums for $5 each throughout May, and a glance at the calendar will tell you that that ends tomorrow!

The selection ranges from current pop/rock/hip-hop favorites like Neko Case's "Middle Cyclone," Kanye West's "808s & Heartbreak," Asher Roth's "Asleep in the Bread Aisle," "Dear Science" from TV on the Radio to older rock albums from Aerosmith and the Grateful Dead, and even jazz (Ornette Coleman and Etta James) and opera (Maria Callas).

I picked up "Fantasies," the great new album from Canadian band Metric, and you can't beat five bucks for a new album from a hot band.

Amazon says there will be a new selection of $5 albums up in June, and I'll definitely be checking into their selection on a regular basis.