Concert Notes: Tickets for The Breeders, The Postal Service, Johnny Marr, & More on Sale Friday

The reunion tours of The Breeders and The Postal Service highlight the concert tickets that are going on sale tomorrow (and Saturday, in one case). The Breeders are playing Webster Hall to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough "Last Splash" album (which is being re-released), and touring with the band's lineup from that album. Their March 29th show at the Bell House sold out in a nanosecond, but you'll have a better chance of getting tickets to their May 6th show.


It's a new year, and The Breeders are celebrating with a reunion tour.

Meanwhile, Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello are headlining the Barclays Center to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Postal Service's lone album, "Give Up."(The album will be given the deluxe-reissue treatment in April, with two new songs and 15 unreleased tunes.) The Postal Service's show also includes Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis and Laura Burhenn (of Mynabirds).

And there's another reunion, this time with a brand-new album: Redd Kross plays an early show at Santos' House Party to promote its comeback album, last year's well-reviewed "Researching the Blues." Tickets for this show are on sale now.

The Hives are also returning to New York to headline Irving Plaza, as are the Presidents of the United States of America and Johnny Marr (of The Smiths).

It's a great lineup of shows on sale this week; pull out your credit card and get ready to buy some tickets!

* Redd Kross at Santos House Party, Sat., April 6th. On sale now

* The Hives at Irving Plaza, Sun., March 24th. On sale Friday at 10 a.m.

* Local H at Gramercy Theatre, Wed., March 27th. On sale Friday at 10 a.m.

* Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau at Bowery Ballroom, Tues., April 9th. On sale Friday at 12 Noon (Thile, a former member of Nickel Creek and current member of the Punch Brothers, is one of the most recent winners of a MacArthur Foundation grant)

* The Presidents of the United States of America at Irving Plaza, Mon., April 15th. On sale Sat., Feb. 9th at 10 a.m.

* Johnny Marr at Irving Plaza, Thurs., May 2nd. On sale at 10 a.m.

* Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite: An Evening of the Blues at the Beacon Theatre, Fri., May 3rd. On sale Friday at 10 a.m.

* The Breeders at Webster Hall, Mon., May 6th. On sale Friday at 12 Noon

* The Postal Service at the Barclays Center, Fri., June 14th; with Jenny Lewis and Laura Burhenn. On sale Friday at 10 a.m. (See other tour dates and more on the Postal Service reunion tour at Consequence of Sound.)

* Happy Together Tour with The Turtles, Gary Puckett, and more - State Theatre (New Brunswick, NJ), Thurs., June 20th; Paramount Theatre (Asbury Park, NJ), Sat., July 27th; Bergen Performing Arts Center Englewood, NJ), Tues., July 30th. On sale now

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

Sahara Hotnights Heats Up Knitting Factory NYC

Anybody whose knowledge of Swedish rock and pop is limited to Abba is missing a lot of great music... such as the all-female band Sahara Hotnights.

At New York's Knitting Factory last Thursday the four women played an enthusiastic (if short) set of their older rockers and more mellow ballads from their newest album, “What If Leaving is a Loving Thing.”

Mind you, this show came less than two weeks after I saw another of Sweden's rock and roll exports, The Hives, at New York's Terminal 5 with The Donnas. The state of Swedish rock and pop is indeed strong, especially when you include the pop trio Peter, Bjorn, and John; the rock group The Soundtrack of Our Lives, and other groups.

Sahara Hotnights reminded me of The Donnas, in fact, besides the obvious fact that they are both all-women rock foursomes. Both started out at about the same time, in the early 1990s, and both began playing a rough-edged style of rock that has grown more polished in recent years.

Some fans have complained that “What If Leaving is a Loving Thing” is too mellow compared to the band's earlier material, and it definitely is more melodic and more ballad-oriented, with some dance rhythms thrown in. The same has been said of The Donnas, which started out sounding much like the Ramones, with loud, hard, fast two-minute songs.

But it's inevitable that a band's sound is going to change over the years, if only because the members have become better musicians. And in the case of both The Donnas and Sahara Hotnights, being being together as a band for more than 15 years is definitely going to naturally result in growth and change.

Having said that, if I were to recommend one Sahara Hotnights album to someone it would be their second disc, 2001's “Jennie Bomb.” It features their harder, more aggressive power-pop sound and plenty of catchy tunes, including “Alright Alright (Here's My Fist, Where's the Fight?).”

The only complaint I had about the Sahara Hotnights show was its short length. At 43 minutes, it was even shorter than a Donnas show (the ones I've been too have clocked in at anywhere between 50 minutes and an hour).

The Hives and The Donnas Rock NYC

The Hives and The Donnas are two of the most high-energy garage-rock bands around, so it's only appropriate that they recently played a venue in New York that resembles, well, a big garage.

The cavernous new venue Terminal 5, said to be the first large concert venue to open in Manhattan in years, hosted The Hives (from Sweden) and The Donnas (from Southern California) on March 7th, and it was probably one of the best values in concert-going I've had in years (except for free concerts). For $22.50 I got to see The Donnas, favorites of mine who I catch every time they come to NYC, and The Hives, who I just became familiar with when I knew I'd be seeing them.

If The Donnas are high energy in concert, The Hives are absolutely manic. Singer Pelle Almqvist roamed all over the stage, jumping and scissor-kicking his way through the show and even wandering into the audience. Guitarist Nicholaus Arson was similarly frenetic, urging the crowd on and periodically putting guitar picks onto his extended tongue and spitting them out into the audience.

The two bands' joint tour has ended now, but it was a very entertaining twin bill. The bands will continue touring separately (in Europe and Australia, respectively) supporting their new albums: "The Black and White Album" (The Hives) and "Bitchin'" (The Donnas).

Kathleen Edwards, The Hives Perform at Hockey All-Star Game

Somebody at the National Hockey League has good taste in comtemporary music. It's All-Star Game on Sunday night featured the Canadian national anthem performed by Canadian alt-country/rock singer Kathleen Edwards, who I've liked ever since I heard her first single Six O'Clock News" in 2003.

Kathleen Edwards first became known with her 2003 debut album, "Failer," which featured the hit song "Six O'Clock News." It also contained the songs "Another Song the Radio Won't Like" and "Hockey Skates" ... being a Canadian I guess she likes hockey, so she's a good choice to sing the national anthem before the All-Star Game.

The second Kathleen Edwards album, "Back to Me," came out in 2005, and she's got a new one on the way in 2008 called "Asking for Flowers."

Unfortunately, I couldn't see the performance because I don't have the cable channel that televises the NHL. So not only did I miss Edwards, but I also didn't see the Swedish rock group The Hives, another band I like, doing their song "Tick Tick Boom" before the the start of the game. The good news is that I have tickets to see The Hives in concert in a few weeks, doing their Swedish garage-rock revival. If the show is as fun as their records, that gig should be a blast.

Kudos to the NHL for having such good taste in music. Now if they can only sign a TV contract with a major sports channel...