The Afghan Whigs haven’t been on TV or around for a minute. Last night saw a rejuvenated act that hadn’t been seen in over thirteen years. Let’s not take so long next time, eh, Greg?

I love the tongue and cheek rock that the Hives bring to the table. It’s all frills and you know when you watch those guys on stage, they’re giving it their 120%. All the time. They know one speed. GO!

the Hives-Go Right Ahead [mp3]
the Afghan Whigs-See and Don’t See [mp3]

The Hives – 1000 Answers [Later Live... with Jools Holland]

The Hives – Go Right Ahead [Later Live... with Jools Holland]

the Afghan Whigs “See and Don’t See” live on Fallon

the Afghan Whigs “I’m Her Slave” live on Fallon

I really HATE saying anybody “killed it” anywhere, but Hot Chip “killed it” on UK’s Jools Holland yesterday. Their forthcoming album, “In Our Heads,” will see the light of day on June 11. Check out their tour dates below and I’m hoping they have fill in some slots between their Canada and Mexico journey, namely like playing here in Denver. Check out Daphni’s (Dan Snaith from Caribou) remix of “Night and Day” below that plays like a definite burner.

Hot Chip – Night And Day (Later with Jools Holland)

Hot Chip North American Tour Dates

FRI 13 JULY – MINNEAPOLIS, MN, FIRST AVENUE, USA (new date)
SAT 14 JULY – CHICAGO, IL – PITCHFORK MUSIC FESITVAL
SUN 15 JULY – TORONTO, ON, SOUND ACADEMY, CANADA (new date)
TUE 17 JULY – BOSTON, MA, HOUSE OF BLUES, USA (new date)
WED 18 JULY – BROOKLYN, NY, PROSPECT PARK BANDSHELL (new date)
SAT 21 JULY – PHILADELPHIA – ELECTRIC FACTORY (new date)
SUN 9 SEP – LOS ANGELES, CA – HOLLYWOOD BOWL
TUE 11 SEP – OAKLAND, CA, FOX THEATER, USA (new date)
THU 13 SEP – PORTLAND, OR, CRYSTAL BALLROOM (new date)
FRI 14 SEP – SEATTLE, WA, PARAMOUNT THEATRE, USA (new date)
SAT 15 SEP – VANCOUVER, BC, COMMODORE BALLROOM (new date)
THU 20 SEP – PUEBLA, MEXICO, PIRAMIDE De CHOLULA (new date)
FRI 21 SEP – GUADALAJARA, MEXICO, FORO ALTERNO (new date)
SAT 22 SEP – MEXICO CITY, PEPSI CENTER, MEXICO (new date)

Not that you needed any reinforcement to see Spiritualized perform live, but that’s exactly what happened last night on Letterman as they played “Hey Jane.” My favorite part is how many different ways the UK act can strike; rock, slow jams, melodic riffs or just plain ol’ sad bastard music. Check them out on their US tour (dates below) and pick up their latest album, “Sweet Heart Sweet Light” over here.

Spiritualized – Hey Jane – David Letterman 5-7-12

Tour Dates

05-09 Boston, MA – Paradise
05-10 Washington, DC – The 9:30 Club
05-11 Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts
05-12 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
05-13 Atlanta, GA – The Variety Playhouse
05-15 Dallas, TX – The Granada Theatre
05-16 Austin, TX – Emo’s East
05-18 Tucson AZ – The Rialto Theatre
05-19 Phoenix AZ – The Crescent Ballroom
05-20 San Diego CA – Belly Up Tavern
05-22 Los Angeles CA – The Wiltern
05-23 San Francisco CA – The Fillmore
05-25 Portland, OR – The Wonder Ballroom
05-26 Vancouver, British Columbia – The Rickshaw Theatre

Lots of Jack White news this AM. According to Variety, Jack White will be scoring the Johnny Depp remake of “the Lone Ranger” that is currently/was shot here in Colorado and New Mexico. Look for the film to hit theaters May 2013. Don’t be surprised to see White’s mug on the big screen like he did in “Cold Mountain.”

Jack White is on the trail supporting his solo album, “Blunderbuss,” that was released this week and performed on UK’s Jools Holland and will be coming to Denver this August.

Jack White – Sixteen Saltines [mp3]

Jack White – Sixteen Saltines (Later with Jools Holland)

Jack White – Freedom At 21 (Later with Jools Holland)

Tour Dates

Date City Venue Country
04/27/12 New York, NY Webster Hall United States
SOLD OUT
04/30/12 Los Angeles, CA Mayan Theater United States
SOLD OUT
05/15/12 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium United States
Address: 116 5th Ave North. Support: Alabama Shakes. SOLD OUT
05/16/12 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium United States
Address: 116 5th Ave North. Support: Alabama Shakes. SOLD OUT
05/18/12 – 05/20/12 Gulf Shores, AL Hangout Music Fest United States
05/19/12 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel United States
Address: 101 Biltmore Avenue. Support: Alabama Shakes. SOLD OUT
05/21/12 New York, NY Roseland Ballroom United States
Address: 239 West 52nd Street. Support: Alabama Shakes. SOLD OUT
05/22/12 New York, NY Roseland Ballroom United States
Address: 239 West 52nd Street. Support: Alabama Shakes. SOLD OUT
05/24/12 Detroit, MI Scottish Rite Theater United States
Support: Alabama Shakes. SOLD OUT
05/24/12 Detroit, MI Scottish Rite Theater United States
Admission: $48.00. There is a 2 ticket limit and they are $48 each and go on sale at noon tomorrow, April 24, and can only be purchased at UHF and Street Corner Music. All sales are cash only and an ID is required to purchase tickets. Tickets are non-transferable and photo ID of the original ticket purchase will also be required upon entering the show and tickets are non-transferable
05/26/12 Quincy, WA Sasquatch! at the Gorge Amphitheatre United States
05/27/12 Vancouver, BC Queen Elizabeth Theatre Canada
Address: W Georgia St & Hamilton St. SOLD OUT.
05/28/12 Eugene, OR Hult Center for the Performing Arts (Silva Concert Hall) United States
SOLD OUT
05/30/12 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern United States
Support: Pokey LaFarge. SOLD OUT
05/31/12 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern United States
Support: Pokey LaFarge. SOLD OUT
06/21/12 London O2 Academy Brixton United Kingdom
SOLD OUT
06/22/12 London Hammersmith Apollo United Kingdom
Support: First Aid Kit. SOLD OUT
06/23/12 London Radio 1′s Hackney Weekend United Kingdom
06/25/12 Amsterdam Heineken Music Hall Netherlands
Support: First Aid Kit
06/26/12 Berlin Tempodrom Germany
Support: First Aid Kit
06/27/12 Cologne E-Werk Germany
Support: First Aid Kit
06/29/12 Werchter Rock Werchter Belgium
07/01/12 Belfort Les Eurockeennes France
07/02/12 Paris L’Olympia France
Support: First Aid Kit. SOLD OUT
07/03/12 Paris L’Olympia France
Support: First Aid Kit
07/05/12 Hamburg Docks Germany
Support: First Aid Kt
07/05/12 – 07/08/12 Roskilde Roskilde Festival Denmark
Tickets on sale now.
07/20/12 – 07/22/12 Dover, Delaware Firefly Music Festival United States
at Woodlands of Dover International Speedway
07/25/12 Melbourne Festival Hall Australia
Tickets go on sale to the general public on May 1 at 9 AM local time.
07/26/12 Sydney Hordern Pavilion Australia
Tickets go on sale to the general public on May 1 at 9 AM local time.
07/27/12 Byron Bay Splendour In the Grass Australia
tickets on sale: April 27 at 9 am AEST.
07/28/12 – 07/29/12 Niigata Fuji Rock Festival Japan
08/03/12 – 08/05/12 Chicago, IL Lollapalooza United States
08/08/12 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheater United States
A limited number of pre-sale tickets will be available to Vault members on Wednesday, April 25 at 10 am MDT. Tickets go on sale to the public at 10 am MDT on Friday, April 27.
Buy tickets
08/10/12 – 08/12/12 San Francisco, CA Outside Lands Festival United States

Campaign season is well underway and President Obama is hitting college campuses across the US of A. The POTUS visited Boulder last night and spoke to Coloradans and Americans across the nation about keeping the student loan interest rate locked instead of doubling in July. At some point, the POTUS made his way to the Hill landmark, the Sink (great burgers btw). Check out his “Slow Jam” with the Roots and Jimmy Fallon that would’ve made Isaac Hayes proud.

Dave Matthews was also in on the action recorded from Tarheel Country with Fallon and the POTUS. Matthews sat in with Fallon to serenade the student body with a very apropos number, “Walk of Shame.”

Florence + the Machine’s performances on live television are getting bigger and better, turning the UK artist into the Cirque de Soleil of music with the crazy outfit changes and wispy dancers.

Beirut’s take on “Santa Fe” last night on the Leno was toned down a notch from the album version, but done very gracefully. Maybe it was Zach Condon’s scarf.

Beirut – Santa Fe [mp3]
Florence + the Machine – You’ve Got The Love (Back from The Future Remix)

Slow Jam The News with Barack Obama + the Roots: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Jimmy Sings ‘Walk of Shame’ with Dave Matthews: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Florence + The Machine Shed “No Light No Light” live on the Voice

Beirut live on Leno

The beginning of a new season brings new hope, but what happens when the same problems that plagued your favorite baseball team last year are still lingering around like those stupid red light camera tickets that you haven’t paid? Not much you can do, especially when the number two pitcher on the roster is as old as the average age on the team multiplied by two. Sigh. Jorge De La Rosa is scheduled to return to the organization as a full starting pitcher three months into the season, which means lefty might function as the team’s life preserver at that point. The lineup has visible holes at third base with Chris Nelson and outfielder, Dexter Fowler. Both have an intense defensive work ethic, however, their bats are as exciting as watching paint dry.

Everybody gets all jazzed up with the hometown walk-up songs and after attending several Rockies games in my lifetime, I’ve narrowed down the five most common walk-up songs fans are likely to hear.

• Country  (in most cases, it’s mostly for Todd Helton, aka the Todd Father)
• Tween/teeny bopper  (I’m going to give this one to Tulo, but he alternates depending on how well his bat reacts to the track. My money has him going with “Girlfriend” by the Beebs)
• Hip Hop /Rap (reserved for that young buck on the team with a possible chip on his shoulder **looks at Chris Nelson**)
• 80′s Big Hair rock (the Rockies are one of the greyest teams in the majors with some players on the wrong side of thirty)
• Spanish (tons of sub-genres, but the Rockies have the second highest amount of players from Latina America behind the Yanks)

Here’s to hoping we’re still talking about the boys of summer in October and Moyer makes it to the All-Star break.

I’ve often wondered if it was socially acceptable to wear spandex while not at the gym. Our SXSWi correspondent, Whitney Van Cleave, encountered a flash mob wearing spandex and mullets completely pairing the two things I love most in life. Whitney has rubbed it in my face that she has enjoyed the tacos at Torchy’s. Tall boys of Lone Star were presumably had to wash down said meal.

“Last night’s @Night showcase presented by Samsung and Mozilla Firefox at The Jones Center was the place to be for beats, beer and bright lights. Opening act Stky Stky (@stkystky) kicked off the party at the sparse gallery space with an eclectic dance music set accompanied by some the coolest visuals I have seen at a small show. While the duo navigated their way through song after song, throwing samples into a mix of almost irritatingly simple beats, the crowd struggled to get into their set as tends to happen with performers still fleshing out their own signature sound. There were some definite high points however, including some perfectly executed reggae samples and a few really dirty moments when you might have thought Skrillex himself was there judging by the crowd’s frenzied reaction. After an hour of ups and downs we decided to head down Sixth Street sans umbrella  (for the first time in days!) to see what was shaking. There we ran into a flash mob parade of all sorts of people donning everything from day-glo Spandex leotards to denim and mullets. You can check out the night’s photos below.”

Word and photos by Whitney Van Cleave.  Ms. Van Cleave is co-founder of health-centric social startup, Feel Good Now in Denver.

When most people think of SX, they think of the music portion of the festival. What people fail to remember is that the festival consists of the interactive and film portions as well. Our lovely friend and talented entrepreneur, Ms. Whitney Van Cleave, is down in Austin taking in the interactive portion of the festival and enjoying some music along the way. Here’s a report from her first night of music the cultural ambassadors of Austin, Ghostland Observatory.

“Nothing says SXSW Interactive like a room full of nerds not drunk enough to dance yet to dance to good music. Such was the case last night for the opening act Larry g(EE) at the Celebration of American Startups party at ACL’s Moody Theater. Although the set was the perfect blend of funk and soul with a backing big band sound, the crowd never quite loosened up enough to really get grooving. Had their set taken place an hour later, I’m sure we would have had a super funky dance party on our hands. The utter pandemonium of a thousand people sprinting up the the stairs to catch Ghostland Observatory’s set was equally entertaining. As the crowd of 200 swelled to an entirely packed house, Ghostland took the stage in their native city and a room full of geeks proudly raised their drunken freak flags and danced like crazy people. With Thomas Ross Turner’s hypnotic drum and synth beats pounding away and Aaron Behrens’ signature dancing and shrieking, there was panty-dropping aplenty and more iPhone documentation than you can shake a stick at. Here’s some of mine:”

This year’s Snowball Music Festival brought a massive cold front that sent chills to all festival goers to experience what nature had to offer in the gorgeous landscape known as Vail Valley.C=T festival contributor, El Licenciado, to take in the views, the cold and maybe some snowboarding.

 
“It was cold. There was bass. And it was one hell of a weekend. Snowball 2012 came correct.

Pictureplane takes the award for tightest skinny jeans. Oh, and props to Rusko for playing Friction’s new track, “Led Astray.”"

El Licenciado is a bon vivant that hails from the luscious sands of El Paso and is responsible for three two of my near death experiences.

Snowball Festival 2012 Gallery

The Denver music scene lost a big voice when Colorado School of Mines’ graduate and Someone Like Sound founder, Tim Weilert, decided to pack his bags and head south for the bright lights of Austin. “Do SXSW Like an Austinite Part 1: Getting There” is the first part in a three part series that will continue over at The Ruckus and Swagger.

Do SXSW Like an Austinite Part 1: Getting There

When I road tripped to Austin last year for South By Southwest I had no clue what I was getting in to. When I moved to Austin a few months later I realized that behind all the blogs, bands, and buzz there was a city; the capitol of a unique land called Texas. Coming from my native Colorado the transition to Austin was, perhaps, a bit more dramatic than I initially anticipated it would be. However, after a few months of enduring record-breaking heat, dining at local establishments, shopping at homegrown stores, exploring the nightlife, and getting an overall feeling for Austin, life has begun to feel normal again. It is from this comfortable normalcy that I offer you, the reader, my insights into the 512 as people from around the world prepare to overrun the city for SXSW.

It’s 1000 Miles to Austin

There are two ways to get to Austin: driving through endless miles of nothingness or flying over endless miles of nothingness. As a broke college student I spent 19 hours in a car getting to South-By last year. While the drive was decent, it was not quite the “Great American College Party Road Trip ™” that the movies would lead you to expect. The following is a shortlist of important travel considerations learned from experience:

Avoid the need to spend the night anywhere along the way, also avoid driving sleepy. Suggestion: Don’t drive alone and have your friends help drive the mind-numbing miles of flatness and nothing.
From Denver go south through New Mexico; the Raton Pass is quite beautiful in early springtime. Also, it beats driving out to Kansas and heading south.BYOW (bring your own water). The taste of the water in Lubbock will make you want to give up drinking water forever.
If you fart, admit it then roll down the window.
There’s a place in Amarillo called “The Big Texan.” They have a 72 oz. steak. I’m pretty sure the episode of the Simpsons where Homer becomes a trucker is based on that place.

Okay, We’re Here. Now What?

Getting there is only half the battle. Even if you fly in to Austin you’re going to need to drive around. Consider this your warning.

The opening gridlock scene from Office Space was filmed here and traffic really is that bad. Austin consistently ranks in the top 10 cities nationwide for traffic congestion (Proof). Even worse: when an additional 10,000 out-of-towners descend upon Travis County the situation doesn’t get much better. However, it is possible to avoid spending your entire SXSW trapped on I-35.

Go downtown at non-peak hours. Just because SXSW is happening doesn’t mean that everyone in Austin gets the week off (it would rad if we did though). Rush hour still happens.
There are toll roads in and near Austin (see them here). Most of them are on the north end of town.
Don’t drive on I-35. Just don’t do it. If your GPS tells you to drive on I-35, throw it out the window.
Beware of Texas State Troopers. They are exactly what the movies would lead you to expect.
Be ready to U-turn. The way highway traffic flows in many cities in Texas is quite different than anything I’ve seen anywhere else. All major highways are flanked by frontage roads that attempt to insert as many U-turns as possible.
Highways have 2 names each. The 1 Loop is MoPac, 183 is Research, and I-35 is the “Inescapable Traffic Monster of Doom.”

Historically, the two worst places for finding a decent/free parking space are college campuses and metropolitan centers. Austin has both right next to each other downtown. Here are my parking tips for winners!

Expect to pay or walk, not necessarily both. I’m not divulging the location of my secret “free and decently close to downtown” parking area, but I can say that finding a spot west of I-35 is nearly impossible. Other bad spots include “The Drag” (Guadalupe north of MLK), Campus, and anything within 5 blocks of Congress. Don’t drive downtown. For SXSW (and a few other festivals) they barricade off large portions of the downtown grid making driving a stupid idea. Take the bus! Ride a bike! Park and ride! The city’s Red Line rail service is probably going to have extended hours of operation during the SXSW weekend, so take full advantage of it.

Above everything else, use common sense. Free booze is easier to find than free water during SXSW but that is no excuse to drive drunk. Get a designated driver, take a cab, or ride the bus.

This article is the first in a three-part series written by Tim Weilert, a former resident of Golden, CO and blogger at Something Like Sound. Tim moved to Austin in August last year and attended SXSW in 2011 without a badge or wristband. The next article will appear tomorrow on The Ruckus and the final part will post the next day on Swaager.