New Wolf Parade Tunes!

I've posted my love for Wolf Parade's "You are a Runner, but I am my Father's Son" and "Call it a Ritual," so I was pretty excited to see some new tracks from their upcoming album Expo 86 posted today. Definitely a fan on first listen, and I have the intention of playing through them a few more times yet today. Have a listen yourself below.

Montreal, Canada

Wolf Parade - Ghost Pressurebypitchfork
Wolf Parade - What Did My Lover Say (It Always Had To Go This Way)bypitchfork

props to We All Want Someone To Shout For via Pitchfork

Semi Precious Weapons, Verona Red, Nico Vega and The Flavor Savors ROCKED Chicago this Weekend

I had an amazing weekend.

Friday night I went to see my beloved Semi Precious Weapons at Subterranean. This was my fourth time seeing them in Chicago, and fifth overall. LOVE them. I don't think blogger allows a large and bold enough font to accurately express my positive feelings towards them. Their live show sucker punches everyone else's live show in the face and makes all the other live shows cry. It's full of the most beautiful rock and roll you'll ever see. They're currently on tour with Lady Gaga, which is great for them and ironic since Gaga used to open for them back in the day, so they're leaving the country again for a few months. BUT, next time they're in Chicago and playing a smaller venue (so NOT Chicago Theater w/Gaga), do yourself a favor and check out their show. You'll want to be up front and center for this one, so get there early and wear something fabulous. Below are some clips from their show.
Opening for SPW was LA's Nico Vega. Every once in a while I see a band I'm not familiar with and they blow me away. Ha Ha Tonka did it. Passion Pit did it. Nico Vega did it. They have a live show worthy of opening for SPW, which is a feat in itself that most can't conquer, and I can certainly call myself a fan. After rocking my socks off a few songs in a row, I decided to snap a clip for your viewing pleasure. Check it out below.

Saturday night was Chicago's Verona Red's turn to rock my socks off. They did, and they did it well. I am constantly impressed with their ability to play really great rock and roll with such vigor that people dance, instruments break, and good times are inevitable. Of all the Chicago bands I've seen, they have the best live rock show hands down. They're playing again in Chicago at Subterranean on May 14 with Hurricane Bells from NY and King Sparrow from Chicago, so if you have the desire to be rocked, check them out then. Below is a video of them starting the show with "In the Coat Check."
Model Stranger and The Flavor Savors also played Saturday. Mad props to Model Stranger for such an amazing album release show. "Dreams and Bones" sounded great live, and I'm looking forward to the next show. Also, The Flavor Savors were a blast. I captured a bit of their show below.

MGMT Rocks SNL with "Brian Eno"

While I was rocking out to Verona Red on Saturday night at Cubby Bear, MGMT was busy rocking out at SNL. Thanks to the interweb, I'm able to enjoy and share their performance today. Within my first few listens through MGMT's newest album, Congratulations, "Brian Eno" was one of the songs that caught my attention. I was happy to see it was one of the songs they performed. Check it out on SNL below or with the rest of the album HERE.

New LCD Soundsystem Album Streaming

LCD Soundsystem has a new, and likely final, album called This is my Happening being released on May 17 (EU) and May 18 (US). Apparently, LCD threw a secret show in NY a few days ago where he gave out this new album and asked the crowd not to leak it before the official release. I think there were a few hours before it was found online, so LCD Soundsystem decided to pull an MGMT and stream it themselves (only MGMT's player allows you to select the song you want to hear, where LCD's player starts on song one and plays through, with only play and pause controls available).

As soon as I saw it available yesterday on twitter I did two things: I retweeted it, and I listened. I actually listened for several consecutive hours, and determined myself to be a fan of the new album. It seemed to me that the more I listened to it, the more I liked it. I definitely feel like the whole album as a single piece of artwork has an identifiable sound. Listen for yourself HERE, and then check out all of LCD Soundsystem's upcoming shows, including at Chicago's Metro and Pitchfork.

NY's The Beat Hounds Make Good Rock 'n' Roll

I grew up engulfed in classic rock, and I think The Beat Hounds wrote some really great music that could easily slip into a classic rock station's playlist and no one would complain. The music was written by front-man Matt Lenny during a four-month recovery from a car crash suffered while on tour with Chicago's Oh My God. Props to you, Matt, for making some delicious rock and roll out of a shitty situation.

The Beat Hounds are playing Chicago on May 1 at Quenchers, and I highly suggest you visit their MySpace HERE and check them out.