popwreckoning

The fall concert schedules nationwide are shaping up nicely. Here are some of the recent announcements:

Influential Scottish rockers, Teenage Fanclub,will begin a North America Tour in Toronto on September 22.

Tour Dates:
Sept. 22, 23 – Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern
Sept. 24 – Montreal, QC Le National
Sept. 25 – Boston, MA Royale
Sept. 30 – Brooklyn, NY Williamsburg Waterfront *
Oct. 1 – Philadelphia, PA Trocadero
Oct. 2 – Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Oct. 3 – Millvale, PA Mr. Small’s Theater
Oct. 5,6 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
Oct. 7 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
Oct. 11 – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theater
Oct. 12 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
Oct. 14 – Seattle, WA – Showbox
Oct. 15 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
Oct. 16 – Vancouver, BC – Biltmore Cabaret
* Playing with Belle & Sebastian

Also crossing the great pond in the fall will be young indie stars, The xx. Their tour dates follow  a Lollapalooza performance.

The XX by Joshua Hammond

Tour Dates:
August 6 – Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza
Sept. 22 – Los Angeles CA – Hollywood Palladium *
Sept. 23 – Oakland CA – Fox Theater *
Sept. 25 – Seattle WA – Paramount Theatre *
Sept. 28 – Chicago IL – Chicago Theatre *
Sept. 29 – Toronto ON – Massey Hall *
Oct. 1 – Montreal QB – Place Des Arts Maissoneuve *
Oct. 2 – New York NY – United Palace *
Oct. 4 – Philadelphia PA – Merriam Theater
Oct. 5 – Washington DC – 9:30 Club *
Oct. 6 – Atlanta GA – Tabernacle *
Oct. 8 – Austin TX – Austin City Limits, Zilker Park
Oct. 9 – Dallas TX – Granada Theater *
* Warpaint supports

Mystery Jets are slipping over for three dates.

Tour Dates:
Sept. 14 – New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
Sept. 15 – New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
Sept. 17 – Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour

Then, be sure to check out the new wave melodies of Norway’s Serena-Maneesh with Woven Hands.

Tour Dates:
Sept. 24 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
Sept. 25 – Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot Saloon
Sept. 26 – Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room
Sept. 28 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
Sept. 29 – Cleveland, OH @ Case Western Reserve
Sept. 30 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Calvin College
Oct. 1 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
Oct. 2 – Montreal, QC @ Il Motore / Pop Montreal
Oct. 3 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Upstairs
Oct. 4 – Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory
Oct. 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
Oct. 7 – Washington, DC @ DC9
Oct. 8 – Durham, NC @ Duke Coffee House
Oct. 9 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
Oct. 10 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle
Oct. 12 – Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone Cafe
Oct. 13 – Dallas, TX @ The Loft
Oct. 14 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
Oct. 15 – Lubbock, TX @ Bash’s In The Depot
Oct. 16 – Santa Fe, NM @ Corazon

Titus Andronicus just added a bunch of dates as well.

Tour Dates:
July 10 New Haven, CT Lily’s Pad/Toad’s Upstairs
July 11 Northampton, MA Pearl Street
July 12 Albany, NY Valentines
July 13 Buffalo, NY Ninth Ward
July 14 Toronto, ONT Horseshoe Tavern
July 15 Grand Rapids, MI Intersection Lounge
July 16 Chicago, IL Subterranean – Pitchfork Music Festival Afterparty
July 17 Chicago, IL Pitchfork Music Festival

NEW ADDITIONS
Aug. 21 Boston, MA Royale
Aug. 22 Montreal, QC Il Motore
Aug. 23 Ottawa, ON Mavericks
Aug. 25 Ithaca, NY Castaways
Aug. 26 Columbus, OH Summit
Aug. 27 Toledo, OH Mickey Finn’s
Aug. 28 St Louis, MO LouFest
Aug. 29 Memphis, TN Hi Tone
Aug. 30 Little Rock, AR Rev Room
Aug. 31 Dallas, TX Sons of Hermann Hall
Sept. 1 Austin, TX Emo’s
Sept. 2 El Paso, TX Percolator
Sept. 3 Phoenix, AZ Trunk Space
Sept. 8 San Francisco, CA The Independent
Sept. 10 Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret
Sept. 11 Portland, OR Backspace / Music Fest NW
Sept. 12 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern
Sept. 13 Boise, ID Neurolux
Sept. 14 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court
Sept. 15 Denver, CO Bluebird
Sept. 16 Omaha, NE Waiting Room
Sept. 17 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club
Sept. 19 Newport, KY Southgate House
Sept. 20 Atlanta, GA The Earl
Sept. 21 Durham, NC Duke Coffeehouse
Sept. 22 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theatre
Sept. 23 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church
Sept. 24 Washington, DC Rock and Roll Hotel
7/10-7/16 w/Hallelujah The Hills
8/21-8/25 + 9/10 + 9/13 + 9/16 + 9/19-9/24 with Free Energy

Also adding dates were everyone’s favorite collegiate rockers, Vampire Weekend.

Tour Dates:
Aug. 27 Vancouver, BC Malkin Bowl *
Aug. 28 Vancouver, BC Malkin Bowl *
Aug. 29 Redmond, WA Marymoor Amphitheater *
Aug. 31 Troutdale, OR Edgefield Amphitheater *
NEW – Sept. 1 Eugene, OR McDonald Theatre #
NEW – Sept. 2 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue #
Sept. 3 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheater *
Sept. 5 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom *
NEW – Sept. 6 Bloomington, IN IU Auditorium *
Sept. 7 Toronto, ONT Molson Canadian Amphitheater *
Sept. 8 Montreal, QUE Metropolis Theater &
NEW – Sept. 10 Rochester, NY Main Street Armory *
Sept. 11 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion *
Sept. 12 Boston, MA Bank Of America Pavilion *
NEW – Sept. 13 Holyoke, MA Mountain Park *
Sept. 15 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall *
Sept. 16 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall *
Sept. 17 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall *
NEW – Sept. 25 Berkeley, CA Greek Theatre Berkeley $
Sept. 26 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl $
NEW – Sept. 28 San Diego, CA Soma $
NEW – Sept. 29 Las Vegas, NV The Pearl At The Palms $
NEW – Oct. 3 St.Louis, MO Chaifetz Arena $
NEW – Oct. 4 Tulsa, OK The Brady Theater $
NEW – Oct. 6 Dallas, TX Palladium Ballroom $
NEW – Oct. 7 Houston, TX Verizon Wireless Theatre $
Oct. 8 Austin, TX Austin City Limits Festival
NEW – Oct. 11 Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live $
NEW – Oct. 13 Miami Beach, FL The Fillmore Miami Beach Jackie $
* = with Beach House + Dum Dum Girls
$ = with Beach House + The Very Best
& = with Dum Dum Girls
# = with Beach House

The Brighton, England band, known as Brakes to me and most everywhere except America, is known under the moniker Brakesbrakesbrakes stateside. Despite the “difficult to say five times fast” name they have when they come visit us, I found singer/guitarist Eamon Hamilton and bassist Marc Beatty to be extremely nice guys, as you shall read in the following exchange between us. In the first half of my interview with them prior to them sound-checking at D.C.’s Black Cat on October 5, they tell me about recording their latest album Touchdown in Scotland, and we have a brief segue into fairy tale land. Have a read!

Mary Chang, PopWreckoning: I am here in Washington with Marc and Eamon, two members of Brakes, or Brakesbrakesbrakes as they are known in America, a name I don’t really like…
Marc Beatty (bassist for Brakesbrakesbrakes): Neither do we.
Eamon Hamilton (singer/guitarist for Brakesbrakesbrakes): Yeah, You’ll have to speak with the Philadelphian funk rock band’s [Brakes] lawyer about that. (all laugh) There you go. But we didn’t want to be “Brakes UK,” because that would have been “brakes uck”.
MC: You mean like the Charlatans.
EH: Yeah, we could have done that, I suppose.
MB: I think anyone who likes us over here [in America] knows us as Brakes anyway.
MC: Yes, right.
EH: In Britain, when you’re doing your driving test, there’s an emergency stop you have to do, when you have to put on the brake at the end. And the [instructor] guy goes, “brakes brakes brakes!” So you see, that has some…well, that’s the only story we can salvage from the depths of our hatred… (laughs)
MB: I dunno. My driving instructor never said that.
EH: Did he not?
MB: No, mine slapped the windscreen instead.
EH: Oh haha, not “brakes brakes brakes”?
MB: No, he said “brakes, now!”
EH: “Brakes, now” eh? (all laugh)

MC: Welcome to Washington. We’re very happy to have you guys here. Have you played in Washington before?
MB: No, first time.
EH: I have with British Sea Power [his previous band].
MC: Do you remember which venue?
EH: Here, actually. We played with the Libertines, it was just after Pete [Doherty] had left. And err, who was the other band? I can’t remember.
MC: So this must have been seven odd years ago then.
EH: Oh wait, I think it was the Living Things.
MC: Oh yeah? I saw them here in June.
EH: I didn’t like them much.

MC: Your latest studio album, Touchdown, was released in April. I read that you recorded it in Scotland. Quite a hike from Nashville, where your last album [The Beautific Visions] was recorded. How did you like recording there, versus Nashville?
EH: Well, we’ve always recorded in musically rich places. Well, London…(scoffs)…well yeah, London’s musically rich? (looks over at Marc)
MB: London, Brighton.
EH: London, Brighton, you know, places with great musical heritage. And then we recorded in Glasgow, home of Teenage Fanclub, one of our favorite bands. And the Delgados. You know, everything. So it was just brilliant!
MB: I lived there at the time, so it was convenient.
MC: Is that how you guys decided to record in Scotland?
MB: Yeah, sort of. And also because Fat Cat [Records, their label] has ties with Paul Savage who produced the album. He has a studio up there [Chem19] so we liked the idea of recording there, it seemed like a good thing to do.
EH: And we also used Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub, he made a compressor that we used for the album. Then he said what we were doing with it sounded good…
MC: Oh yeah?
EH: …and then he took it away again. (looks semi-crestfallen)
MB: Took it away!
MC: That has historical value now!

MC: So what was it like working with Paul Savage [of the Scottish band the Delgados and also a famed music producer]?
EH: He’s a legend. He let us do everything.
MB: He was really easy to work with. We had about three weeks, and it was a little bit rushed, but we got on really well. Really outgoing.
EH: He cooked us some amazing meals.
MB: Yeah, that was probably the best part of it!

MC: So how would you say that the making of this album different than for The Beautific Visions?
MB: We took our time.
EH: It was rushed, but less rushed! (laughs)
MB: The first album was done in 1 week, the second album took us 2 weeks, and this third one took us three weeks…sort of natural progression really.
MC: I take it you guys work well under pressure?
MB: Yeah, yeah, definitely.

MC: It’s been three years since the second album.
MB: Has it been that long? (sounds surprised)
MC: Did you feel different pressures / inspirations in the process of making Touchdown?
MB: There were a lot of factors. We changed labels [from Rough Trade Records to Fat Cat] and because it had been quite a bit of time since the last one. We had a bit more time to write the second one, which was really pressured. We sort of…we pulled it off but it was tough. We had a bit more freedom with this one, so we could think about it a bit more.
EH: It was really great to be offered another album, really.
MB: Yeah yeah. We had a bit of a dark year. It had been over a year before that when we’d done some demo-ing.
EH: In the dark tower!
MB: Yeah, we wrote songs in a cold barn in Oxfordshire. In a tiny room…write that down that I’m pointing to this…(laughs while gesturing to small U-Haul truck in the Black Cat parking lot)
EH: Yeah, like 10 foot by 12 foot space.
MB: One strip light. Really tiny place.
EH: And it was freezing cold.
MB: And we got really pissed off at each other. And then after that we took some time off. I forget how long…
EH: We were still gigging in between. Yeah, how long was it…
MB: Hmmm…
MC: Easy to lose track of time when you’re gigging all over the place?
EH: Yeah. It wasn’t long enough though. When we got back together, we still fucking hated each other. There should have been a punchline here, shouldn’t there? (all laugh) I shouldn’t have said that, should I?
MB: The important thing is we get on now! We’ve come through the dark times.
EH: Yeah, we came away from the dark tower. Luckily, Rumpelstiltskin let down his golden hair, and we climbed down and now we’re in the fields.
MB: Wait a minute, I think you’re mixing up your fairy tales.
MC: Rapunzel?
EH: Rapunzel! That’s it! (all laugh)

We then narrowly miss getting hit by a car leaving the parking lot that almost did not slow down when it came right up by us. But there’s more to this interview, much more. Stay tuned for part 2 of this interview with Marc and Eamon coming soon!

Photo: Mary Chang

Brakesbrakesbrakes: website | myspace | BrakesBrakesBrakes Announces October North American Tour, Plans for Single and Live Album | Fat Cat Records Tour Featuring the Twilight Sad, Brakesbrakesbrakes, and We Were Promised Jetpacks @ Black Cat, Washington DC