A few months ago, we not-so-casually mentioned the addition of Ted Leo & The Pharmacists to the Matador roster of Talented & Good-Looking Artistic Persons. Admittedly, it was the bog standard Matador signing announcement. Obligatory mention of Ted’s impressive back catalog. Citation of Ted as one of our all-time favorite live artists and songwriters. Oh-so-predictable references to Chipotle and Trump Realty.
Of course, that was before we heard the new album. And make no mistake, ‘The Brutalist Bricks’ — available on LP, CD and via all popular digital storefronts March 9, 2010 — is one of those career-defining, “can you believe what you’re hearing?” kinda records that makes most other activity the day you first play it nearly impossible (in other words, we’re suggesting you shower before you open the package). Recorded through 2009 at Brooklyn’s Seaside Lounge, ‘Bricks’ could be the most confident, kinetic and varied work in Ted’s canon, and considering his body of work until now, that’s no easy claim to make. If you’ve seen Ted/Rx at any point in the past year, you’ve probably heard a few of the songs before, but the final studio versions pack a considerable punch. And here’s a punch to tide you over (we’d prefer you pay for the full beating) :
Wed, Dec 2nd – Philadelphia PA – First Unitarian Church
Thu, Dec 3rd – Washington DC – The Black Cat
Sat, Dec 5th – Cambridge MA – Middle East
Sun, Dec 6th – New York NY – Bowery Ballroom (sold out)
Thurs, December 10 – Spain – Madrid – Primavera Club ’09
Friday, December 11 – Spain – Barcelona – Primavera Club ’09
Saturday, December 12 – Spain – Barcelona – Primavera Club ’09
Ted Leo (solo):
Mon., December 14 – UK – Brighton – Engine Room (with Dillinger Four + Hard Skin)
Tues., December 15 – UK – Canterbury – Bramleys
Weds, December 16 – UK – London – Brixton Windmill
Thurs., December 17 – UK – Kingston – New Slang
Fri., December 18 – UK – London – Grosvenor (with Wat Tyler)
As much as Jay enjoys hanging out in record stores, he apparently loves playing OUTSIDE of them even more.
Stop by Vinyl Richie’s Wiggly World at 2:30pm this Saturday for a very special out-store by Jay and his new band as they take over Richie’s parking lot for a free, all ages rock show.
Ok, maybe the second row. YooToob is chock full of footage from the first ever Julian Plenti U.S. tour, but with all due respect to the aspiring videographers out there, the above clip —- “Only If You Run”, from the November 18 show at SF’s Great American Music Hall —is one of the better looking/sounding from the pile.
Back to India. Another Delhi recipe from Madhur Jaffrey’s first book. Like many of the dishes in ‘An Invitation,’ you start by stirring and frying onions in butter until they reduce and crisp into little brown rings (what Julie Sahnee calls “brown-frying”). In Jaffrey’s universe this takes 5 minutes or so, but in the real world, it takes about 30 minutes, so leave time. Also like many of the dishes in the book, you remove the crispy, browned onion rings from the shortening (I used ghee), and then cook the rest of the dish in the onion-flavored oil – first by searing the chicken, and then sauteeing the classic onion-garlic-ginger paste followed by spices, yogurt and tomato.
This is a totally delicious dish, and the combination of lemon slices, chicken, sugar and the long, thick, slow-simmered sauce is deeply satisfying. Indian cooks assume that you will be cooking bone-in chicken for its depth of flavor. I used a combination of bone-in and boneless thighs. I removed the bones from the thigh meat, but browned them and put them in the sauce along with everything else.
Served with basmati rice, tomato chutney, lime pickle, yogurt and the dish below.
I improvised a side dish of mixed zucchini and butternut squash. Going by memory of a Bengali okra dish, I heated oil in the khadai, added nigella seed, cinnamon stick and a red chili, followed by the chopped squashes. Once they had cooked to al dente, I added salt, stirred a few more times, and drained the vegetables, reserving the oil. I put the oil back in the pan, added a chopped green chili, black mustard seed, turmeric and cayenne powder, fried for about 30 seconds, added some water, reduced, and poured this dressing over the vegetables. It was delicious – I recommend.
Another Iranian recipe adapted from Batmanglij’s New Food Of Life, this is sort of the Persian borscht. Beets as well as pomegranate contribute to the rich purple color.
We used lamb meatballs, made the usual way with grated onions, salt and pepper. You start the soup by browning onions and garlic in ghee, and then add pomegranate juice, chives, mint, parsley and chopped beet to simmer for 20 minutes. Next, tilda basmati rice and the meatballs go in and the mixture cooks for 30 minutes longer, half covered. Finally, you add angelica powder (if you have it – we didn’t) and simmer for another 35 minutes.
We omitted the split peas, coriander and angelica – otherwise this was roughly by the book. The result is sweet, sour and meaty and very satisfying on a chilly day.
[Some corrections made to the above description since this was first posted.]
A couple of weeks ago, Mission Of Burma entertained several thousand rain-drenched Austin folk as part of the annual Fun Fun Fun Festival in Waterloo Park. The afternoon prior, the band visited WOXY‘s new South Austin studios (located just a stone’s throw from my house — please, that’s just an expression. DON’T BE THROWING ANYTHING) and the resulting session is available for download here, save for Burma’s cover of the Yardbirds’ “”Happenings Ten Years Time Ago”.
Just a reminder that following a recent run on the West Coast, a few tickets still remain for the following dates :
originally released as the B-side to the “Triumph Of Life” 7″ (Vice/Jade Tree, 2006)
Here is what the band has to say about the song in the extensive liner notes:
“Neat Parts contains an acoustic guitar. The only thing you can do with a guitar that’s more embarrassing than sitting in a studio with headphones on playing an acoustic guitar, is riding the subway with one strapped to your back so everyone knows you are going to band practice. Otherwise this is a snappy little bside. The title doesn’t mean anything, it just sounds cool. I think we might have seen it written on the wall at our practice space. The drum beat from this song and ‘Teenage Problems’ is taken from the Undertones song ‘My Perfect Cousin.’”
To confuse matters slightly, Fucked Up will be releasing a 7″ entitled “Couple Tracks” / “Holden” on the same day as the comp. These are two brand-new songs. Although the cover image will be identical to the album, the packaging is going to be a little bit unusual – we’ll get into that closer to release day.
There will be special ways to get the 7″ both from us (including if you’ve preordered already) and from select indie retailers, to be announced shortly. We’ll also have something to announce about getting your hands on some rare original 7″es collected on the comp. For now, your best bet is to preorder the album, currently with a 15% discount – more details coming soon: UPDATE – YOU CAN NOW PREORDER THE SINGLE AS A PREORDER BUNDLE WITH THE ALBUM, CLICK THE LINK BELOW:
Preorder the album (with full details on track listing).
Tons of shows coming up in Europe starting this week, and North America in February:
Wed 25 Nov 2009 – London, UK – Barfly
Thu 26 Nov 2009 – London, UK – Barfly
Fri 27 Nov 2009 – Brussels, Belgium – Le Botanique
Sat 28 Nov 2009 – Urecht, Holland – Ekko ‘Le Guess Who Festival’
Sun 29 Nov 2009 – Leipzig, Germany – Conne Island
Mon 30 Nov 2009 – Krakow, Poland – Drukarnia
Tue 01 Dec 2009 – Vienna, Austria – Arena
Wed 02 Dec 2009 – Graz, Austria – PPC
Thu 03 Dec 2009 – Dusseldorf, Germany – Rotkompot
Sat 05 Dec 2009 – Minehead, UK – All Tomorrows Parties
Tue 23 Feb 2010 – St. Catherines, ON – L3 Nightclub w/ Leatherface
(ADDENDUM : the following February dates with Kurt Vile have just been confirmed)
Fri-Feb-12 Oberlin, OH The ‘Sco (Dionysus Disco) / Oberlin College
Sat-Feb-13 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
Sun-Feb-14 Bloomington, IN Video Saloon
Mon-Feb-15 Newport, KY Southgate House
Tue-Feb-16 Baltimore, MD Ottobar
Wed-Feb-17 Philadelphia, PA Barbary
Thu-Feb-18 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell’s
Fri-Feb-19 Brooklyn, NY Europa
Sat-Feb-20 Boston, MA Middle East Downstairs)
Anyway, next Thursday December 3rd Jay Reatard and his brand-spankin-new band will stop in Criminal Records in Atlanta for a very awesome, very free, very all-ages instore… come kick it.
Thursday December 3 @ 4:30pm
Criminal Records
1154-A Euclid Ave.
Atlanta
404 215 9511
For those of you in the middle and southeastern quadrants of these United States, wondering when Cold Cave was going to be in your town – today is your lucky day. In February, Cold Cave will hit the following cities.
**NEW DATES IN BOLD**
11/23 Boston, MA – Wilbur Theater (w/ Sonic Youth)
11/30 Seattle, WA – The Vera Project
12/01 Portland, OR – Rotture (w/ Former Ghosts)
12/03 San Francisco, CA – Bottom Of The Hill (w/ Former Ghosts)
12/04 Los Angeles, CA – Center For The Arts, Eagle Rock (w/ Former Ghosts)
12/05 San Diego, CA – Casbah (w/ Nite Jewel, Ale Mania)
12/06 Los Angeles, CA – Part Time Punks Night/The Echo (w/ Nite Jewel)
12/11 Philadelphia, PA – Voyeur
2/5 Charlottesville, VA – Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
