I love Lost. A lot. I've been one of those fans that drives their friends nuts with their theories of how it ties all together, and have been since the beginning. But, the thing about Lost, you see, is that the DVR is our friend. SO, when Sondre Lerche comes to town in support of his new record, Heartbeat Radio, then I set Lost aside (for a brief time), go see Sondre rock out by his solo self at the House of Blues, thoroughly enjoy it while occasionally wondering if the bomb that Juliet set of at the end of season five really did reset the timeline.

I've had the opportunity to see Sondre before, and you can hear recordings of this show from Houston supporting his brilliant first record, Faces Down, back in 2003, and this show supporting the two records he released in 2007, Phantom Punch and Dan In Real Life.

Well the new record doesn't disappoint, possibly his strongest contender since Faces Down, featuring his signature pop melodies and some nifty production (check out the video for If Only below.)



I wasn't sure if the tour was going to be full band Sondre, or solo Sondre. Solo is what we got, and it was interesting to hear the new tracks sans all other instrumentation. The good news is that Sondre keeps it interesting, with slightly different variants of the track to play up the solo nature.

Check him out if he's coming near you on this tour - great date option. Side note, his opening band JBM (Jesse Marchant) was also excellent. I'd never heard of him before - check out his site and be sure to show up early.

Tour Dates:
The Parish Austin, TX 02/03/10
The Meridian Houston, TX 02/05/10
The Parish at the House of Blues New Orleans, LA 02/06/10
Club Downunder Tallahassee, FL 02/08/10
The Social Orlando, FL 02/09/10
The Earl Atlanta, GA 02/11/10
Workplay Theatre Birmingham, AL 02/12/10
12th & Porter Nashville, TN 02/13/10
The Old Rock House St. Louis, MO 02/15/10
Record Bar Kansas City, MO 02/16/10
The Varsity Theatre Minneapolis, MN 02/17/10
Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL 02/19/10
The Frequency Madison, WI 02/20/10
Shank Hall Milwaukee, WI 02/21/10
Mac's Bar East Lansing, MI 02/22/10
Majestic Cafe Detroit, MI 02/23/10
Zanza Bar Louisville, KY 02/25/10
Club Cafe Pittsburgh, PA 02/26/10
Castaways Ithaca, NY 02/27/10
Carnegie Hall Manhattan, NY 03/02/10
Johnny Brenda's Philadelphia, PA 03/04/10
Rock & Roll Hotel Washington, DC 03/05/10
Maxwell's Hoboken, NJ 03/06/10
City Winery New York, NY 03/23/10

Labels: dallas, house of blues, sondre lerche, tour dates

If you've never heard of Bitter:Sweet you've been missing out. To crib their own self-description, "Portishead meets Zero 7 with a bit of Serge Gainsbourg and Everything But The Girl mixed in for good measure." That's a decent start, but doesn't even begin to describe how good they are.

What's surprising is how many people have actually heard Bitter:Sweet without even knowing that they've heard Bitter:Sweet. This studio duo has been featured on... everything including TV, movies, commercials, theme songs, and when you hear them you realize why. They are silky, sexy, smooth, jazz, trip-hop, rolled into the most sultry songs you have ever heard.

Shana Halligan provides vocals/lyrics, and Kiran Shahani, produces and writes the music. Kiran was previously in Supreme Beings of Leisure, another fun electronic band.

Check out their MySpace for a taste of their studio recordings, then immediately go out, or log on, and buy their debut album, The Mating Game, savor it for a while, then buy their follow-up, Drama. While at their MySpace be sure to check out the non-album Serj Tankian version of Drama... Good stuff.

The good news is, that they are just as good live. I had a chance to check them out in Dallas last year at the House of Blues Cambridge Room, and it was the perfect venue to watch Shana strut up and down the stage in a captivating evening gown, singing her heart out, and hypnotizing every man in the room. We were with a pretty big group, and everyone, guys and girls, left a happy camper.

Here's a couple of tracks from the show - looking forward to them coming back to Texas!

Live MP3 MP3s:
Moving Forward
The Bomb

Labels: dallas, house of blues, indie, live mp3s, soundboard mp3s

Well I thought I'd seen every potential variation of recording a band, but every once in a while you get to experience something entirely new, and extremely fun. Monday was one of those times.

I had wandered over to the House of Blues to tape Limbeck doing an exclusive acoustic set for Lullabyes, before their gig with The Format later that night. I had planned to record them through the soundboard, but the doors to the venue had opened earlier than expected and that wasn't going to be option.

Rising to the challenged, we decided we were going to get an acoustic set one way or another - so we ended up on a landing in the the stair well leading up to the dressing rooms, with yours truly holding up microphones while the lads in Limbeck played in a little semi-circle around me. There's a first time for everything!

We taped two songs in the stairwell and then two songs in the "small" secondary venue at the House of Blues called The Cambridge Room. Even though the session was captured in the most low-fi way imaginable the recordings came out beautifully.

The acoustic interpretations of Limbeck's normally electric songs highlighted gorgeous (and perfect) backing harmonies along with their strength as musicians and songwriters.

I'm excited to offer these fantastic and exclusive recordings of Limbeck. Enjoy!

Live MP3 MP3s:
Trouble
Names for Dogs

Limbeck's touring extensively over the next couple of months - be sure to check them.

Tour Dates:
7/22 St. Petersburg, FL
7/24 Ft. Lauderdale, FL
7/25 Atlanta, GA
7/26 New Orleans, LA
7/27 Memphis, TN
7/28 Tulsa, OK
7/29 Albuquerque, NM
7/31 San Diego, CA
8/1 Hollywod, CA
8/2 Anaheim, CA
8/3 San Francisco, CA
8/4 San Francisco, CA
8/5 Seattle, WA
8/7 Vancouver, BC
8/9 Calgary, Alberta
8/10 Edmonton, AB
8/11 Saskatoon, SK
8/12 Winnipeg, MB
8/15 Ottawa, ON
8/15 Rochester, NY
8/16 Toronto, ON
8/18 So. Burlington, VT
8/19 Boston, MA
8/21 New York, NY
8/22 Sayreville, NJ
8/23 Philadelphia, PA
8/24 Norfolk, VA
8/25 Washington, DC
8/26 Carrboro, NC
8/28 Cincinatti, OH
8/29 Cleveland, OH
8/29 Cleveland, OH
8/30 Grand Rapids, MI
8/31 Detroit, MI
9/1 Chicago, IL
9/2 St Paul, MN
9/4 Iowa City, IA
9/5 Sauget, IL
9/6 Lawrence, KS
9/7 Eaglewood, CO

Labels: concerts, dallas, house of blues, indie, live mp3s

I got to check out Marc Broussard last week at the newest (and quite possibly the finest) venue in Dallas, the House of Blues.

I guess I'm slightly behind the times here because until I got an email on Marc's new record, SOS (Save Our Soul), I'd never heard of him - and it was my loss.

First the record - SOS. Let me steal right off of Marc's website here -

Marc plumbed the vaults of historic labels like Motown and Stax to create 11 performances that are sweltering and incendiary - and true... Classics by Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding and others

When I got the original email I had a picture of Marc, and that quote. To be honest, my first thought was - THAT guy is going to cover THOSE guys and pull it off? After hearing one song, I knew he had. The boy can SING. Perfect inflection, perfect tone - Marc own's every classic he covers on SOS. Check out the MP3 for Love And Happiness below - the head over to his MySpace for a few more excellent tracks.

Second the show. One word can describe it - tight. Bringing a thoroughly smooth and funky guitar rock sensibility to both the cover tunes, and well as his original songs, Marc and his band owned the two thousand or so people who were at the House of Blues that night. In fact I haven't seen this many sorority girls singing their hearts out since John Mayer a few years ago.

Single men - attend the closest Marc show near you, then send me an email of thanks.

Guys in relationships - take your girl to the closest Marc show to you, then send me an email of thanks.

Oh and quite possibly the best bit of the experience? They record EVERY show and will sell you a copy after the concert ends for $15. Show your loved one a great time, then buy them a memento that they can keep forever.

Studio MP3:
Love And Happiness

Live MP3:
Rock Steady

Tour Dates:
Tue 07/10/07 Knoxville, TN Bijou Theatre
Thu 07/12/07 Nashville, TN Cannery Ballroom
Fri 07/13/07 Atlanta, GA Center Stage
Sat 07/14/07 Charlotte, NC Neighborhood Theatre
Sun 07/15/07 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Mon 07/16/07 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club / Lounge
Wed 07/18/07 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
Thu 07/19/07 New York, NY Fillmore New York At Irving Plaza
Sat 07/21/07 Amagansett, NY Stephen Talkhouse
Sun 07/22/07 Camden, NJ Wiggins Park
Tue 07/24/07 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live!
Wed 07/25/07 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues
Thu 07/26/07 Indianapolis, IN The Vogue
Fri 07/27/07 Chicago, IL House Of Blues
Sat 07/28/07 Minneapolis, MN Fine Line Music Cafe
Wed 08/01/07 Covington, KY Madison Theater
Thu 08/02/07 Saint Louis, MO Blueberry Hill's Duck Room
Fri 08/03/07 North Kansas City, MO Voodoo Lounge/Harrah's Kansas City
Sat 08/04/07 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre
Tue 08/07/07 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot
Wed 08/08/07 Boise, ID Big Easy Concert House
Thu 08/09/07 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater
Fri 08/10/07 Vancouver, BC Richard's On Richards
Tue 08/14/07 Crystal Bay, NV Crystal Bay Club Casino
Wed 08/15/07 Santa Cruz, CA Moe's Alley
Thu 08/16/07 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
Sat 08/18/07 Los Angeles, CA The Avalon
Sun 08/19/07 Anaheim, CA House Of Blues
Mon 08/20/07 San Diego, CA House Of Blues
Sat 08/25/07 Spanish Fort, AL Blue Gills
Mon 08/27/07 Baton Rouge, LA Varsity Theatre
Tue 08/28/07 Baton Rouge, LA Varsity Theatre

Labels: concerts, dallas, house of blues, indie, live mp3s, soundboard mp3s, studio mp3s, tour dates