Unfortunately unforeseen circumstances (mainly involving the blizzard along the East Coast) have led to the cancellation of the following Cold Cave shows — There are plans to reschedule dates in each of these cities.

• 2/9 Orlando, FL – Backbooth (w/ Nite Jewel)
• 2/10 Tampa, FL – Crowbar (w/ Nite Jewel)
• 2/11 Atlanta, GA – Criminal Records
• 2/11 Atlanta, GA – 529 (w/ Nite Jewel)
• 2/13 Greensboro, NC – Legitimate Business (w/ Nite Jewel)

All remaining dates remain on schedule.

Diana Kennedy’s Essential Cuisines of Mexico is considered the authoritative Mexican cookbook in English. If you plan on making her tamales, however, take outside advice. Kennedy is a purist and assumes that you understand some basics of Mexican cooking. This recipe calls for tamale dough, or masa, which can be made from scratch using dried corn and lime solution, or more easily by buying masa de harina which has already been alkanalized and ground. I chose the latter route, but it was not clear that I had to reconstitute the masa harina before weighing combining it with lard for the tamale dough. I ended up with a large bowlful of powdery sawdust.

Fortunately I know Nils Bernstein, who in addition to serving on the board of governors of the Danish National Bank is Matador’s head of publicity, and an accomplished Mexican cook. He guided me through the correct method through a series of text messages:

“Diana’s recipes can be weird. The masa harina needs enough liquid to be as soft as possible without sticking — i.e. when you poke it, none remains on your finger. And when you add the hot liquid to reconstitute, let it sit 30 minutes or so, then add enough cool water fo right consistency. Then measure 3:1 masa:lard by weight.”

Phew! This method produced wonderful tamale dough.

I boiled a 3 1/2 pound chicken with its giblets for 30 minutes, then shredded the meat. Meanwhile, I soaked 15 corn husks in warm water for an hour. I reconstituted 4 cups of masa harina with 2 1/2 cups chicken broth as per above, and then aerated 1 1/3 cups lard (important to use Mexican lard, which still has its porky flavoring) with an electric mixer for 10 minutes. I then added the lard to the reconstituted masa harina to produce the tamale dough.

To make the sauce, puree in a blender: 3/4 pounds of tomatoes, 1 large garlic clove roughly chopped, 1/8 teaspoon crushed cumin seeds crushed, 2 crushed whole cloves, 3 crushed peppercorns. Thinly slice 1/2 white onion, and saute it in a couple tablespoons of olive oil until transparent, then add the sauce and reduce over fairly high heat for 5 minutes or so. Season, then add the shredded chicken, mix well, season again if necessary, and set aside.

De-seed 3 fresh jalapenos and slice into 15 strips.

Remove the corn husks from the water and shake vigorously. Divide the tamale dough into 15 equal-sized balls, and spread each one onto a husk, toward the wide top, in a flat disk. Heap a portion of sauced chicken on top of each disc along with 1 jalapeno, and fold the corn husk from the left and the right so that the dough wraps the chicken into a cylinder. Fold up the bottom of the corn husk, and tie with extra strips of husk if you like.

Place vertically into a tall pot on a steamer, with the open end pointing upward. The pot should be full of water just below the steamer. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and steam for 60 minutes. Do not let the tamales steam dry. Serve with lime and hot sauce.

(Kennedy’s recipe also called for a pitted green olive per tamale, which I chose to omit.)

1 more stop on the road to instore immortality for Girls… (apologies for the hyperbole but, you know… it’s Super Bowl weekend!)
Next Friday February 12 at 7pm Girls will be at Slowtrain for a free instore performance before their show later on at Urban Lounge.

Slowtrain
221 E. Broadway
Salt Lake City
801 364 2611

And to those of you in Atlanta reading this saying “Dang, I wish Girls would play a free instore in my town” you should go to Criminal Records tonight around… oh I don’t know… 7ish??

(Yo La Tengo at the Granada, Dallas, last Saturday night.  Pic taken from SilentKid70’s Flickr stream)

Through a series of failed relationships, family disputes and horrible recriminations with dear friends, I’ve come to learn there is no greater gift you can give your loved ones than simply being there.  This works rather well if you’re cheap or have nothing else to to ; not nearly so well if you’re me and you’ve got tickets to sit in the studio audience of a very serious chat show.

Fortunately for the good people of San Francisco, Yo La Tengo aren’t like that at all. Sure, Ira, Georgia and James could issue a press release about how “we’re looking forward to seeing you at Coachella”, or they could fob you off with some YouTube footage from their most recent US tour. But they care far too much about their fans in one of America’s most beautiful cities (to spend 3 or 4 days in), and for that we should all be grateful.

Thu, 4/22 – San Francisco CA – The Fillmore with Camera Obscura (tickets)
Fri, 4/23 – San Francisco CA – The Fillmore with Thee Oh Sees  (tickets)
Sat, 4/24 – San Francisco CA – The Fillmore with Sic Alps (tickets)

If you’d rather not give Live Nation your personal details, tickets for the above shows are also available from the following ;

Aquarius Records
1055 Valencia St, SF 94110
415 647 3448 /
* tickets will have a $1 surcharge

Mod Lang
6328 Fairmount Ave. (Rear Unit), El Cerrito, CA 94530
510 486 1880
*No surcharge on cash purchase / 2% surcharge on credit card purchases

(‘Popular Songs’, still available on LP/CD or digital album from The Matador Store)

After far too much local hype (for my comfort, anyway), our 17-band, 3 night spectacular at Austin’s Beerland kicks off this evening (doors at 9pm, music at 1opm) with the first show from The Persimmons in many months.  Running orders for all 3 evenings are below (headliners on top) but please be advised of the following ;

a) we’re giving away a ltd. edition screenprint of the above poster to the first 30 paid attendees tonight
b) End Of An Ear will be selling LP’s and CD’s on Friday and Saturday
c) Alan Benavides and Fred from The Stuffies will be spinning records Friday and Saturday
d) Friday and Saturday night’s shows start at 9pm sharp.
e) it’s $5 to get in.  If you don’t think it’s worth paying .83 cents (U.S.) per band, please keep it to yourself rather than requesting guest list space for a blog we’ve never seen before.  Thanks, dignity (yours especially) is a precious thing.

Thursday, February 4

Follow That Bird!
Dikes Of Holland
Kingdom Of Suicide Lovers

The Distant Seconds
The Persimmons

Friday, February 5

Woven Bones
The Young

Wild America
Flesh Lights
Elvis
The No No No Hopes

Saturday, February 6

Harlem

The Golden Boys
Bad Sports
Love Collector
The Stuffies
Lost Controls

(Order ‘Casual Victim Pile’ on LP, CD or digital album from The Matador Store)

Cold Cave will stop in Criminal Records in Atlanta next Thursday, February 11 at 7pm for a free instore performance.
Seriously… don’t miss it.

But if you do, catch them later that night at The 529.

We announced the grand prize winner of the Pavement guess the track listing contest last week. That guy, from Brazil, won an all-expenses-paid trip to New York to see Pavement in Central Park next September, for coming closest to guessing the actual track listing to Quarantine The Past: The Best Of Pavement, in stores on March 9.

The no-less-coveted second prize, for most imaginative track listing, goes to Gwendael Gouriou of Plougastel-Daoulas in France. The sequence, as chosen by the band from over 1200 entries, is as follows:

1. Zurich Is Stained (SLANTED AND ENCHANTED)
2. Trigger Cut/Wounded-Kite At :17 (SLANTED AND ENCHANTED)
3. Grave Architecture (WOWEE ZOWEE)
4. Unfair (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
5. …And Carrot Rope (TERROR TWILIGHT)
6. Shady Lane / J Vs. S (BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS)
7. Two States (SLANTED AND ENCHANTED)
8. Fame Throwa (SLANTED AND ENCHANTED)
9. Cut Your Hair (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
10. Here (SLANTED AND ENCHANTED)
11. Extradition (WOWEE ZOWEE)
12. Stereo (BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS)
13. The Hexx (TERROR TWILIGHT)
14. Shoot The Singer (1 Sick Verse) (WATERY, DOMESTIC EP)
15. Kennel District (WOWEE ZOWEE)
16. Price Yeah! (SLAY TRACKS 1933-1969 EP)
17. No Life Singed Her (SLANTED AND ENCHANTED)
18. Stop Breathin’ (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
19. Type Slowly (Live) (TIBET FREEDOM CONCERT COMP)
20. Fin (BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS)
21. Forklift (DEMOLITION PLOT J-7 EP)
22. Fight This Generation (WOWEE ZOWEE)
23. Box Elder (SLAY TRACKS 1933-1969 EP)

Gwen’s sequence will be pressed up as a limited-edition double vinyl LP only available on Record Store Day, April 17, at participating shops. The silkscreen cover art may have some resemblance to the image above – the band are customizing it later this week as they get together for their initial reunion tour rehearsals.

In addition to 5 copies of his sequence of the album, Gwen will be getting a complete Pavement 12″ vinyl catalog on Matador. Four runners-up will be receiving these as well – we’ll be announcing those shortly, so keep your eye on this space if you entered the contest.

Pavement’s tour dates in 2010 as announced so far are as follows:

Mar 01 Auckland, NZ Auckland Town Hall
Mar 04 Sydney, AU Enmore Theatre
Mar 05 Sydney, AU Enmore Theatre
Mar 06 Meredith, AU Golden Plains Festival
Mar 07 Adelaide, AU Thebarton Theatre
Mar 08 Northbridge, AU Metro City
Mar 10 Brisbane, AU The Tivoli
Mar 12 Melbourne, AU Palace Theatre
Mar 14 Melbourne, AU Palace Theatre
Apr 07 Tokyo, JP Studio Coast
Apr 08 Tokyo, JP Studio Coast
Apr 10 Osaka, JP Zepp
Apr 12 Nagoya, JP Zepp
Apr 18 Indio, CA Coachella Festival
May 04 Dublin, IE Tripod
May 05 Glasgow, UK Barrowland
May 07 Paris, FR Le Zenith
May 08 Amsterdam, NL Paradiso
May 10 London, UK Brixton Academy
May 11 London, UK Brixton Academy
May 12 London, UK Brixton Academy
May 13 London, UK Brixton Academy
May 15 Minehead, UK All Tomorrow’s Parties
May 18 Brussels, BE Ancienne Belgique
May 19 Berlin, DE Astra
May 20 Prague, CZ Palac Akropolis
May 21 Vienna, AT Arena
May 22 Munich, DE Muffathalle
May 24 Rome, IT Atlantico
May 25 Bologna, IT Estragon
May 28 Barcelona, ES Primavera Festival – Main Stage
Jun 19 Toronto, ON Olympic Island
Jun 25 Berkeley, CA Greek Theatre
Jul 04 Roskilde, DK Roskilde Festival
Aug 12 Oslo, NO Oya Festival
Aug 14 Gothenberg, SE Way Out West Festival
Sep 21 New York, NY Rumsey Playfield/Central Park
Sep 22 New York, NY Rumsey Playfield/Central Park
Sep 23 New York, NY Rumsey Playfield/Central Park
Sep 24 New York, NY Rumsey Playfield/Central Park

crookedrain.com
Preorder Quarantine The Past: The Best Of Pavement

Despite currently soldiering across the country Girls are announcing yet another batch of tour dates.  This time, they’re going back to some of our favorite cities, all over the US and Canada, with a stop through Coachella. All American dates are with the excellent Dum Dum Girls. Make all the girl-bandname jokes you want we are just here with the FACTS.

Tue 3/30 Recher Theatre Towson, MD*
Thu 4/1 Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA*
Fri 4/2 Voyeur (Making Time), Philadelphia, PA*
Sat 4/3 Webster Hall, New York, NY*
Mon 4/5 Mr. Small’s Theater, Millvale, PA*
Tue 4/6 Wexner Center, Columbus, OH*
Wed 4/7 Dionysus Club (Oberlin College), Oberlin, OH*
Fri 4/9 Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, Canada*
Sat 4/10 Magic Stick, Detroit, MI*
Sun 4/11 Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, WI*
Tue 4/13 Waiting Room, Omaha, NE*
Sat 4/17 Coachella, Indio, CA
Wed 5/26 881 Granville, Vancouver Canada
Thu 5/27 881 Granville, Vancouver, Canada

*w/Dum Dum Girls

Current Tour Dates
Tue 2/2 One Eyed Jacks. New Orleans, LA *@
Thu 2/4 Bottletree. Birmingham, AL *@
Fri 2/5 The Earl. Atlanta, GA *@
Sat 2/6 Exit/In. Nashville, TN *@
Sun 2/7 The Gargoyle. St. Louis, MO *@
Mon 2/8 The Blue Note. Columbia, MO *@
Wed 2/10 Bluebird Theater. Denver, CO *@
Fri 2/12 Urban Lounge. Salt Lake City, UT *@
Sun 2/14 Great American Music Hall. San Francisco, CA *@$

Buy the new single “Laura” HERE
Buy “Album” HERE