An apologetic aside

Between traveling for work and recreation these past few weeks, I've been slacking on the posts here. Obviously, so has Henry.

However, we are still updating the concert calendar regularly as we become aware of new shows. So know that not all is lost, and take a look at the right sidebar for help planning your summer. There are several great shows this week in particular (which I'll unfortunately miss due to traveling), and many more throughout July .

Downloads:
Camera Obscura - "Country Mile"
Heartless Bastards - "Out at Sea"

Get well RIP, MJ

Per TMZ (reliable if nothing else) Jacko's been taken to the hospital following a heart attack. Here's hoping he hangs on.



UPDATE: We spoke too soon. RIP, Michael.

Video: Wilco on Conan

The new album is out next week, though it's been streaming on the web for about a month or more. No stops in Pittsburgh on this tour. Here's "You Never Know" (and some sweet western suits) from last night:

Elvis Costello on Conan

Elvis Costello's newest record, Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, is an interesting foray into bluegrass instrumentation over non-standard arrangements and Costello's masterful wit and delivery. While I'm not going to say it keeps me enthralled the whole way through, I'll say that more than half the songs are great enough to merit its purchase. I'll also say it was a perfect soundtrack for a drive through the mountains of Virginia.

He performed my favorite track from the album, "Sulphur to Sugarcane," on Conan last night. Unfortunatley, he seems to have left out one of my favorite lyrics of this year so far: "I gave up married women 'cause I heard that it's a sin / but now I'm back in Pittsburgh, I might take it up again / because they gargle with the finest champagne / you can't get from the grape and grain." He skipped that one on Letterman, too, which means you'll have the buy the album to hear the full tune in all its drawn out glory.

*Henry's Travel Update: Elvis and the 'Canes will be playing the historic Chautauqua Amphitheater in the Chautauqua Institution Saturday, August 29, 8:15 p.m. Given that it's just a short 2.5hour drive up 279, it'd be an ideal overnight trip to a regional gem for any 'Burgh-bound Costello fan.

Download:
Elvis Costello - "Sulphur to Sugarcane" (live on Letterman, June 4, 2009)

Food for thought

I haven't been shy about my dislike of the Amphitheatre at Station Square as a place to hear live music, but PGH is a City offers some interesting points for non-musical consideration on the newly reopened ASS vs. the still-under-development North Shore complex. Be sure to read through the comments.

Iggy Pop on Letterman

Gregg and Friends

It gets worse.

As I was cruising through Homestead this weekend, breeze through the sunroof and the breezy vocals of Jason Lytle swirling around the car, I was confident I'd made the right decision about the goings-on of my July 31 (though not altogether over the bitterness of having to make a decision at all (shaking fist at Opus One)).

Then came this news: Girl Talk will be joined by Wiz Khalifa, Donora, Grand Buffet and more.

Well, damn you all. Me and Neko and her fiery locks will be chillin' by the riverside at Sandcastle, likely sipping tropical concoctions, kicked back on the comfort of the lawn while the rest of you will be confined like beasts in a cage by the chainlink and pavement that A.S.S. calls a live music venue.

Sure, it's got a view of the skyline now that they turned the stage around. But I'm still bitter.

Download:
Wiz Khalifa - "Shame"

Controlled Storms Saturday

It would be nice to control the storms overhead right now and clear out the skies as Booker T. prepares to take the stage at Point Park. But that's not where I intended to go with this.

If Toubab Krewe (who were absolutely awesome last night) didn’t give you your fill of jam for the week, Controlled Storms will roll into the Christmas-lighted darkness of Club Café on Saturday to finish the job. Hailing from across the Commonwealth, their tunes are more ambient-based than others in the jamband community, and they probably shouldn’t even be lumped into that category. Trippy sounds abound atop airy but solid grooves, recalling the Dirty Three as much as (or perhaps more than) any hippy band. Still, the jam is present, breathing fresh energy into the Storms' sound waves. So take cover this weekend down on the Southside.

Opening will be locals Yankee Heat and Round Black Ghosts, starting at 7 p.m. with admission for as many dollars.

Download:
Controlled Storms – “All The Abandoned Amusement Parks”

No SikiRiki, No No

dj Pete Spynda, the man behind the wheel(s) for Pittsburgh's premier world dance crew, Pandemic, will hit the TRAF Mainstage at 6pm to open up for Toubab Crewe tonight.

The man has more overseas tracks than EuroRail in his crates. He and the Pandemic posse are always doing something fresh and lively at local hotspots like Brillobox and the Shadow Lounge and you've got to figure Spynda will dust off some rough rarities and gooey grooves for tonight's city-wide outdoor show.

Download: "No Sikiriki" by edo maajke

It's a track from a Pandemic freebie called "Mix 2006" (2006). The liner notes call edo 'the bosnian father of the Eastern European rap scene.'

Weird Paul documentary at Harris Theatre

We may be in for a rainy few days of Arts Fest. Should that be the case, take a stroll up Liberty to the Harris Theatre. Tonight at 8:00 and Saturday at 4:00, Pittsburgh Filmmakers will be showing Stacey Goldschmidt's 2006 documentary on local lo-fi songsmith Weird Paul Petroskey.

Having amassed a catalogue of almost 600 songs, and despite releasing only one "major" full-length over two decades, Petroskey's gained fans the likes of Lou Barlow, and that's good company. Whether or not you count yourself among his admirers, local music fans will surely leave the theater having expanded their knowledge of our city's notable musical output.

A brief airing of grievances In re: Opus One/Girl Talk vs. Joker/Neko Case

Gregg Gillis (aka Girl Talk) on a hill high above ASS

Girl Talk's first local show in months has been announced for July 31 at the Amphitheatre at Station Square, i.e., the same night Neko Case and Jason Lytle will be at the Sandcastle Riverplex.

Their music may be different, but their fanbases likely overlap. For my part, I hereby poo-poo Opus One as second-in-line and, therefore, responsible for this blunderous conflict. If I hear he hands out free Taco Bell again, I'm gonna be pissed.

Download:

Girl Talk - "Pure Magic"

Quick TRAF Recap / Forecast

Busy Toosday edition of TRAF quick hits:
Please post your own thoughts/quick hits in the comments section.

Venue - No dispute that it's great to have the concert grounds back on the grass of Downtown PGH's best asset. I kind of miss the seclusion of the beyond-279 space, but the proximity to downtown proper is a lively compromise.

Friday - If there's another duo around today who can create a harder, dirtier blues groove than the Black Keys, I'd love to see 'em. Great to see a huge turnout for the best pick of this year's lineup. The Keys delivered. Crowdsurfers of both sexes were surprising.

Saturday - MedeskiMartinandWood. I get that these guys are wildly talented musicians and a tight-knit band, but they're a band I tend to remember more fondly than I actually feel about them. It feels like their allergic to maintaining a beat. But while the city's attention was on Pens and Chesney, the smallish crowd that turned out for MMW enjoyed a great night for a concert in the park.

Mind the Gap:
I've missed the past couple of days - so if others have seen or heard something of note, tell us about it in comments below. Wondering about Bonnaroo-bound Trombone Shorty in particular - anyone... anyone?

Immediate Forecast:
- Tonight - local-darlings Donora headline the mainstage after local-up-and-comers Meeting of Important People setup Toronto's Apostle of Hustle. They'll be collectively competing with the last-stand of Malkin, Crosby, and the bunch.

- Wednesday - don't overlook Toubab Krewe, a band that's not getting enough local buzz. They're an instrumental band that young and old alike can get down to. They blend West African sounds and instuments with American Southern jamrock producing layered, plucky grooves - hit their Website and turn up your speakers for a streaming taste..

From here the Krewe heads down to Bonnaroo, where my longings will be this weekend. But a week and a half of free, outdoor concerts that are a T, bus, bike, car or foot-ride away is not a bad alternative.

Thursday: Lizards at the Bird.

Do not be confused, do not be deceived, do not be misled: Arts Fest really starts on Thursday night when the Iguanas take the stage at Thunderbird.

Naysayers (and TRAF PR flacs) would have you believe that the first main stage show features headliners The Black Keys on Friday. But the Chicano rock group, Iguanas are an act worthy of "Dollar Bank"-main-stage-like-love.

They first came to my consciousness on WYEP's 3-disc compilation, Live and Direct Vol. 5 with the simmering single "first kiss is free". It's a simple, redundant song both musically and lyrically, but something about the live sax intonation and the shuffling brushes really does it for me. Beyond that, they've pretty much flown under my radar.

That is, until I just realized that their rendition of "Boom, Boom, Boom" was the soundtrack to one of my favorite scenes of my favorite show ever; Homicide: Life on the Street.



90's Cop dramas aside, this "veteran New Orleans band is known for its prime elements -- roots-rock, New Orleans R&B, and Latin and Caribbean rhythms." Their most recent album, "If You Should Ever Fall on Hard Times" won Offbeat Magazine's "Best Roots Rock Album" for 2008.

With more than 2 decades of banding under their belts, they are an ideal pick to tune up your ears at the "first of 11 nights of TRAF 2009".

Welcome POP City readers

First: A big thanks to the good folks at POP City for taking notice and for covering our little blog here.

Second: A warm welcome to new readers who may be finding us for the first time.

Onward, then.

Songs in the Key of Touché strives to bring you news, reviews and other tidbits on concerts and related goings-on in and around our fair ‘Burgh and beyond. Sometimes we drift off and cover other stuff, too. But mostly we’re here for the music.

At your right, we always keep a list of upcoming shows with our stamp of approval, along with other local and music-related links of interest.

Aside from that, we just try to update the content on a somewhat semi-regular basis with various ins, outs, and what-have-you’s that we think you’d want to hear and hear about. Perhaps a smattering of what we’ve done recently is in order…

Big City Nights – A two-wheeled adventure around town.

Three Rivers Arts Fest Preview – Pretty self-explanatory.

Rusted Rooting at WYEP – Best lunch break ever.

Love for the locals.

The occasional haiku.

And plenty of concert news and reviews.

So, thanks for stopping by. Feel free to drop us a note or comment below about what else you might like to see here, and we hope you’ll be back around.

Pearl Jam to debut new song on Conan's first Tonight Show

So, while searching around for some details about what song they're playing tonight (possibly a new one called "The Fixer") I came across this rather cryptic bit on the Daily Swarm. Are Pearl Jam actually playing in a Cameron-Crowe-directed Target commercial? Who knows. Just set your DVR for tonight and enjoy this track in the meantime:

Download:

Pearl Jam - "Santa Cruz"

UPDATE: Have a listen of the new song here.