All posts by Concrete Opinions

[on the road] Donald Glover + Childish Gambino

Mr. Donald Glover is hitting the road this Spring for the IAMDONALD Tour.

The shows will be a combination of standup comedy and hip hop, courtesy of Glover’s hip hop alter ego, Childish Gambino (debut EP is out March 8th!). Also, be sure to check out the brand new video for Freaks and Geeks.

Childish Gambino – New Prince (Crown on the Ground)

16-Apr  Ames, IA – Iowa State Center
18-Apr  Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre
19-Apr  Salt Lake City, UT – Vertigo at the Complex
21-Apr  Seattle, WA – Neumos
22-Apr  Vancouver, BC – The Rio Theatre
23-Apr  Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater
26-Apr  Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up
27-Apr  Los Angeles, CA – The Music Box (Henry Fonda Theatre)
28-Apr  San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
30-Apr  Las Vegas, NV – Hard Rock Café
2-May   Dallas, TX – The Loft
3-May   Houston, TX  –  Warehouse Live Studio
4-May   Austin, TX – Emo’s Alternative Lounge – Outside
6-May   Atlanta, GA  – Variety Playhouse
8-May   Washington, DC –  Black Cat
9-May   Baltimore, MD  – Rams Head Live
10-May New York, NY – The Bowery Ballroom
11-May  Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts
13-May  Boston, MA  – Paradise Rock Club
14-May  Brooklyn, NY  – Music Hall of Williamsburg
16-May Toronto, ONT – The Opera House
17-May Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
18-May Chicago, IL – Park West
19-May  Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater

[on the rise] The Vaccines

The Vaccines are a London-based atl-rock band that just recently formed in 2010, but has quite a bit of buzz heading into 2011.

The band released their demo If You Wanna in the Summer of 2010, which received high praise from the BBC’s Zane Low (he named it as his “Hottest Record In The World” on 18 August 2010).  Their debut single, Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra), was released back in November and reached number 157 on the UK Singles Chart and was named “Track of the Day” by Q Magazine (pretty impressive, considering the track is a mere 1 minute and 24 seconds long).  And earlier this year, the band placed third in the BBC’s Sound of 2011 poll.

They’ve been compared to the likes of the Ramones, Jesus and Mary Chain, and The Strokes (I think it was Spin magazine that described them as the ‘British Strokes’).  The band describes their influences as “50s rock ‘n’ roll, ’60s garage and girl groups, ’70s punk, ’80s American hardcore, C86 and good pop music”.

Their debut album, What Did You Expect From the Vaccines?, is set for release March 21st (grab it here) and they’re heading out on tour later this month (dates and info here).

The Vaccines – If You Wanna
The Vaccines – Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)

Mid-Week Mixtape: 2/23/11

Here are the tunes making my work week that much more enjoyable.

Enjoy!

Fever Ray – Seven (The Twelves Remix)
More Fever Ray here.  More Twelves here.

Hoodie Allen – Dreams Up
More Hoodie Allen here.

Pepper Rabbit – Older Brother
More Pepper Rabbit here.

Radiohead – Codex
More Radiohead here.

Theophilus London – Pyromiltia
More Theophilus here.

[on the road] The Luyas

Canadian indie rock outfit, The Luyas, are hitting the road this month for a North American and European tour.  They’ll kick things off in Montreal on February 24 and finish things up in London on May 19.  Along the way, they’ll be joined by Ra Ra Riot, Liam Finn, the Dodos, and GIVERS (check dates below to see who plays when).

The Luyas are touring in support of their latest release, Too Beautiful to Work, available now courtesy of Dead Oceans.

The Luyas – Too Beautiful to Work
The Luyas – Motion City Soundtrack (Radiohead Cover)

02/24 Montreal, Quebec – La Sala Rossa
02/26 Quebec City, Quebec – Le Cercle
03/04 Charlottesville, VA – Jefferson Theatre (w/ Ra Ra Riot)
03/06 Jacksonville, FL – Jack Rabbits (w/ Ra Ra Riot)
03/07 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Culture Room (w/ Ra Ra Riot)
03/08 Orlando, FL – The Social (w/ Ra Ra Riot)
03/09 Tampa, FL – Crowbar (w/ Ra Ra Riot)
03/11 New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks (w/ Ra Ra Riot & the Givers)
03/12 Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon (w/ Ra Ra Riot)
03/14-20 Austin, TX – SXSW
03/23 Los Angeles, CA – The Autry National Center (w/ Liam Finn)
03/24 San Francisco, CA – The Independent (w/ Liam Finn)
03/28 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge (w/ Liam Finn)
03/29 Seattle, WA – Crocodile Cafe (w/ Liam Finn)
03/30 Vancouver, British Columbia- Venue (w/ Liam Finn)
04/01 Calgary, Alberta – Palomino
04/02 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – 302
04/04 Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Center
04/05 Chicago, IL – The Hideout (w/ Liam Finn)
04/06 Cleveland, OH – The Spot (w/ Liam Finn)
04/07 Toronto, Ontario – Lee’s Palace (w/ Liam Finn)
04/08 Montreal, Quebec – Il Motore (w/ Liam Finn)
04/09 Brooklyn, NY – The Bell House (w/ Liam Finn)
04/11 Cambridge, MA – T.T. The Bear’s (w/ Liam Finn)
04/13 Washington DC – Red Palace (w/ Liam Finn)
04/14 Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe (w/ Liam Finn)
04/23 Groningen, Netherlands – Vera
04/24 Utrecht, Netherlands – Ekko
04/26 Paris, France – Mains d’Oevre
04/27 Bordeaux, France – Heretic
04/28 Naples, France – Pannonica
04/30 Cherbourg, France – La Terra Trema
05/02 Grenoble, France – Le Ciel (w/ the Dodos)
05/06 Aarau, Switzerland – Kiff
05/07 Munchen, Germany – 59 to 1 (w/ the Dodos)
05/08 Offenbach, Germany – Hafen 2 (w/ the Dodos)
05/09 Berlin, Germany – Magnet (w/ the Dodos)
05/10 Hamburg, Germany – Prinzenbar (w/ the Dodos)
05/11 Cologne, Germany – Blue Shell (w/ the Dodos)
05/12 Nijmegen, Germany – Doornroosje (w/ the Dodos)
05/13 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg (w/ the Dodos)
05/14 Brussels, Belgium – Botanique (w/ the Dodos)
05/15 Middleburg, Netherlands – De Spot
05/16 Blois, France – Chato’do, Vendome (w/ the Dodos)
05/17 Strassbourg, France – La Laiterie (w/ the Dodos)
05/18 Paris, France – Point Ephemere (w/ the Dodos)
05/19 London, England – Scala (w/ the Dodos)