Michael Nesmith in St.Paul 4/5/13

4/6/13 9:30PM
Edit: Here's a bunch of live videos from the show.

Thanks to Shayla (on Facebook) aka "MichaelNesmith4Ever" on Youtube, for filming these and sharing them.


4/6/13 12:34PM
Here's the setlist, which seems to be the standard for this tour. He tells the stories before most of the songs, which honestly is very cool and adds much to the perspective of each song. Although having heard a bootleg from last Fall, obviously the stories were told more or less the same way.

Papa Gene's Blues
(The Monkees song)
Propinquity (I've Just Begun To Care)
Tomorrow and Me
Different Drum
Joanne
Silver Moon
Some of Shelly's Blues
Rio
Casablanca Moonlight
Grand Ennui
Cruisin'
Rays
Life the Unsuspecting Captive/Marie's Theme/Lamppost (Closing Theme from The Prison)
Laugh Kills Lonesome

Encore:
Thanx for the Ride

Okay, well to rehash/reiterate, Michael Nesmith is my girlfriend's all-time favorite musician, and she, much like many other long time fans, has been waiting for decades to see the man live. Last Fall it happened finally with The Monkees outside of Southern California, sans for the 1 reunion tour that for Mike ended in Europe in 1997.

But last Fall was THE MONKEES, and this was MIKE himself, which for the most part, his music is a fair amount different.

I did like how involved his backing band was. His guitarist, Chris Scruggs really worked well especially, playing some of the pedal steel and slide guitar that many of Mike's tunes feature. I suppose highlight-wise for me, seeing Rio of course and the suite from The Prison probably stood out the most. But I didn't find any tune he played boring. I suppose had Mike taken my suggestion of "Wax Minute" it might have been even more special, but I also didn't expect him to play that.


And of course my girlfriend, had many tunes, probably from the First National Band LPs, she might have gone even more crazy for, but she was so strung up about seeing and Meeting Mike, that wasn't on her mind much.

I must say, hearing "Crusin'" I believe it was, Kevin Gilbert very easily could have been listening to that tune when he wrote the 1st phrase of "Imagemaker." The cadence and phrasing, and tempo are very similar. And of course Kevin was a big Monkees fan, and Mike's son Christian is a Kevin Gilbert and progressive rock fan (cites Dug Pinnick of King's X as a friend as well). So, it would hardly be surprising if Kevin knew, liked and was influenced by Mike's solo music as well.


A couple of points to bring up, that should not be forgotten:

1) The "Conversations" that Mike announced via Facebook a few weeks ago. Only 25 TOTAL were available for each concert, and they went on sale, unannounced, at 3AM. I unfortunately woke up at 2AM, got an email about them but they were not for sale yet. I went back to sleep, and woke up to my alarms around 5:30AM, and tried to purchase 2 "Conversations" passes via his Videoranch.com Unfortunately, it said they were SOLD OUT (and I should try again), My girlfriend then tried to purchase 1 "Conversation"
and she got 1! So I then tried to get 1 and I kept getting the "Sold Out" over and over again, to the point it eventually just said "Sold Out. No more passes are available for your concert."

It sucked, as I wanted to be there WITH HER  when she got to meet the guy she's dreamed of meeting and revered for over 26 years. But when Mike talked about these "Conversations" he wanted them to more like chats, casual, etc, NOT "VIP Meet and Greets" that a lot artists do sometimes before (preferably, to be honest), or after shows.

This was to my guess, to be like the special After show chats for the VIP and the BLACK CARD holders for the Ours shows I should have the ability to see for the next 4 years or so.The 1 time I have used my Black Card, we got in a line and went upstairs into a room and sat in chairs and hung with the band, for mostly an unlimited amount of time.

Well The Fitzgerald Theater did nothing of this sort. The email my girlfriend got said TO WAIT BY OUR SEAT after the show, after more or less all the crowd cleared. Well, instead, she ended up to having to wait in the Fitz's rather small and limited space hallway with the other 24 people. Mike HIMSELF was wondering how or why there wasn't some kind of table for him to sit on.

And of course many of the staff would not let myself and some friends wait in the corridor for my girlfriend. No, they more or less kicked us out. And while it wasn't Siberian-cold weather out last night, it also wasn't all that warm. Maybe 30 degrees (although it had been lightly sleeting earlier in the evening, thankfully it had stopped at the point we were outside).

2) Lack of Promotion: Not surprisingly, but still pathetically, CITYPAGES had absolutely NOTHING about it in their weekly printed edition. They found Shirley Mansion and Garbage were more interesting to write about I guess. Which I don't mind Shirley, maybe more for her work on the TERMINATOR show, than her band, but whatevah. It's not like people have waited DECADES to see her.

All in All, this was about as eventful as any concert this year (or ever for my girlfriend especially). And now, our little battle finally shifts into MY CORNER for BUCKET LIST acts to see live, as she has now seen both Michael Nesmith with The Monkees and SOLO. Her all-time favorite musician. And she MET HIM as well. So, I can finally say, I've waited the longest, as I have never seen LED ZEPPELIN which I have waited nearly 23 years..although she doesn't like to count that since "yeah, but one of the member's be DEAD."

But, I have others as well. Maybe more on that later.

She now has 3 of the 4 Monkees (including Davy) signed to her 7" inch single of "Daydream Believer" only needing Micky now!

Also, a note, since Mike could be back with The Monkees this Summer and/or another Solo leg, if this current tour goes well. I may have more Michael Nesmith concerts to talk about in here soon.

Yes - Summer 2013 Tour includes a date at Mystic Lake!

They're playing 3 complete albums on their Summer tour as they have been doing this Spring tour.

The Yes Album
Close to the Edge
Going For the One
.
It's been quite awhile since Yes actually played in Minnesota, in the Twin Cities Metro Area. I think the last show was the 2004 Target Center show with Dream Theater.

Mystic Lake's website link
Now in order to get any special "presale" opportunities, you have to signup for the "Mystic Email Club" newsletter, which I did, begrudgingly. Although I am wondering/hoping my mom, who frequents Mystic, and at times gets deals/discounts on concerts there, will be able to allow me to save on tickets for this show. We'll see, but it will be nice to finally see them again, on Friday August 9th.





07/06 Paso Robles, CA Vina Robles Amphitheatre
07/07 Saratoga, CA Mountain Winery
07/09 Phoenix, AZ Celebrity Theatre
07/10 Anaheim, CA City National Grove of Anaheim
07/12 Las Vegas, NV Pearl Concert Theater @ the Palms
07/13 Jackson, CA Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort
07/14 San Diego, CA Humphreys Concerts by the Bay
07/18 Jackson, MS Thalia Mara Hall
07/19 Birmingham, AL BJCC Concert Hall
07/20 Huntsville, AL Von Braun Concert Hall
07/21 Atlanta, GA Symphony Hall
07/23 Charlottesville, VA nTelos Wireless Pavilion
07/24 Washington, DC Warner Theatre
07/25 Morristown, NJ Mayo Performing Arts Center
07/27 Holyoke, MA Mountain Park
07/28 Port Chester, NY Capitol Theatre
07/30 Montreal, QC Place des Arts
07/31 Westbury, NY Theatre at Westbury
08/04 Munhall, PA Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead
08/07 Cleveland Heights, OH Cain Park
08/08 West Allis, WI Wisconsin State Fair - Main Stage
08/09 Prior Lake, MN Mystic Lake Casino
08/10 Mt Pleasant, MI Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort
08/12 Indianapolis, IN Murat Theatre @ Old National Centre

Bigelf joins forces with Mike Portnoy

Not that I'm a huge fan of Bigelf or anything, but they were okay I guess on Progressive Nation 2009.

And Mike Portnoy posted on Twitter nearly 1 year ago

Off to LA (again!) to spend the week recording drums/guesting on one of my favorite new band's new album...should be fun! More info soon...


And the thing was, when I read that, I was not really thinking of Bigelf when he posted that (maybe The Dear Hunter, although TDH didn't/don't need a drummer), because Bigelf, while newer, are still not really all that NEW given they began over 20 years ago. But they are, for some odd reason, *new* TO MIKE.

They were written up and talked about in the Progression magazine and the Prog festivals in the Mid 90's, even playing ProgFest 97 I recall as I have a live cd with them on that festival. 

But at any case, Bigelf are THAT "new" band based in California Mike was referring to it appears. And with his involvement, to hear their sort of brand of Deep Purple/Uriah Heap-inspired classic hard/prog rock could be interesting.

Ironic too I suppose given some of that style, Mike's new project, The Winery Dogs have supposedly. Maybe the 2 bands could tour together? (and Portnoy playing with both?)

http://www.progrockmag.com/news/damon-fox-i-didnt-fire-bigelf-bandmates/

Damon Fox has insisted he didn’t fire the rest of Bigelf – and he’s confirmed a new record deal for an album featuring Mike Portnoy.
The mainman says drummer Portnoy’s voice was instrumental in keeping the band going after the previous lineup caved in.
Announcing the deal with InsideOut, Fox says: “‘Finally! Bigelf lands on a planet whose atmosphere is synonymous with progressive rock. One of my all-time favourite quotes is, ‘Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.’ I’m ecstatic that InsideOut and Mike Portnoy have joined forces with Bigelf.”
 
“Since 2010, there have been numerous rumours on the Internet that I fired everyone. This is completely untrue.
 
“After the juggernaut of Cheat The Gallows came to a halt, the business and personal infrastructure imploded. A myriad of personal, financial and domestic matters had enveloped myself as well as certain members of the group.
 
“There also comes a time when, deep down inside, it just doesn’t feel right any more. This was a mutual feeling, and I believe it was obvious amongst the band. Subsequently, Ace Mark decided to move on in  2011, and a request by the remaining members for a dissolution of business followed. To put it simply, we went our separate ways without malice.”
 
In the aftermath Fox considered laying the band to rest for good – but Portnoy talked him out of it.
 
“I had been keeping in close touch with Mike after his very public and difficult departure from Dream Theater,” he explains. “My musical future seemed quite bleak and I was very vocal to Mike about not being able to sustain the band any longer on my own.
 
“He implored me to carry on. His encouragement and enthusiasm meant the world to me. Recognising that I needed some new allies, I asked him if he would help fight the good fight – and he readily agreed.
 
“Also, sharing a passion for all things rock’n'roll, my good friend Duffy Snowhill climbed aboard  for another round of thundering bass guitar; and for that, too, I am grateful.”
 
But Fox emphasises he couldn’t have come back without the support of his “amazing and dedicated” fans. “They send emails all the time saying how they feel about Bigelf. These emails inspire me greatly and they’re the reason that I continue to play this kind of music. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
 
Touching on the new album, he says: “I can’t wait for everyone to hear the new wondrous landscapes we’ve been sculpting. There are lots of surprises around the corner – stay tuned.”

Face-Twitter-Book Post of the day...The Dear Hunter > Deerhunter

I Would love to hear music from @therealTDH on @TheCurrent and @RadioK today because they sort of have a new album out today. But I imagine Pigs will fly first.

edit:

of all dates, tonight, on the release date of Migrant, Deerhunter appears on Jimmy Fallon. Ironies, lol.

http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/episode-guide/

There's even a Facebook group/campaign to get The Dear Hunter on the show, lol.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TDHforLateNight

I just want to add also that Deerhunter sucks ass. Their music is fucking boring, and  it has and probably always will be a disgusting add-on thing to mention every time I say the name The Dear Hunter to someone unfamiliar with The Dear Hunter, to have to distinguish between the two bands.

It would be wonderful if Bradford Cox would retire the name Deerhunter once and for all, and stick to his other projects like Atlas Sound and the music under his own name.

But the fact there's today and yesterday the many mentions on twitter and the blogosphere about Deerhunter, the very day/week that Migrant comes out, almost makes me wonder if it was intentional. I mean certainly, Cox and Deerhunter I'm sure would never admit to any idea of a planned thing such as that, but they appear on Fallon the very day of Migrant smells of some pathetic conspiracy. And even if not, it adds fuel to my Deerhunter (and Deerhunter vs The Dear Hunter) hating fire. And how TDH continue to be ignored and not receive the deserved exposure/credit that they/Casey in a lot of ways deserves (although of course there's the counter argument that the longer they stay underground, the better I suppose..that doesn't stop me from being annoyed that there's all this name dropping of the vastly inferior band with a similar name).

Janelle Monáe: Covering Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" on Fallon

 Wow, I had no idea she was appearing, let alone covering a Hendrix tune. Damn, looking forward to checking this out later today. Now if we could only get some news regarding The Electric Lady.

Worm Machine - Big Trapper [EP] (2012)

4/2/13 12:25AM

So Matt from Zookeeper's Palace and ex-100Ft Snowman mentioned to me the other ex-members of 100FtSnowman have been doing some other new music since their band ended. And I guess this is 1-of if the only projects featuring all the other members now.

And I must say, in just streaming this what appears to be an EP that was released March of 2012, I really do like a lot of it. While it is different than the Snowman stuff in some ways with some of the low-fi elements and minor-key parts, some of these songs lead to those beautiful sections I recall totally going for about the Snowman stuff, or just the music and progressive stuff in general.

In fact, I may get into this more than Zookeeper's Palace. Or maybe equally as much. I do know I want to listen to this more, of course when I do find the time, as I am rather intrigued by hearing this band already. I suppose it's too bad it's a year after it dropped, but it's never too late.

It appears this  EP a free download by the way.

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1. While You're Here 05:12
2. So Much More 02:57
3. Heavy On My Chest 03:03
4. Hate Time 04:03
5. Gliddian 03:47
6. Nowhere to the Unkown 05:14

Zookeeper's Palace - Red Sky Ruminations (2012)

4/2/13 12:15AM

I was informed by a former member, Matt Luker of the band 100Ft Snowman about this project. 100ft Snowman sadly broke up I recall towards the end of 2009. But as I wrote back to Matt, I still often think about them and what could have been. They are definitely among the best groups who never got their shot. The 2 EPs they released showed a ton of potential.

But that is more or less water-under-the-bridge now, and this is a new project of Matt's along with some other musicians. Stylistically, I can only guess from hearing just a couple of tracks thus far per bandcamp below. Their sound sort of mixes progressive rock with space rock and tribal percussion along with emphasizing things like vocal harmonies.

I'm digging what I hear thus far, but of course need a lot more time. And in a nutshell, I wish I had or even made that time, but sadly have struggled to find it even more of late.

Hopefully some of it can be made up for that lost time in the coming weeks/months. Although the work I've been doing without headphones of late, may become my new job soon, so, who knows. And I feel guilty about that, but I also know, I am doing what is best for me. That of course does pay my bills. AllMediaReviews does not. If it did, I probably would go into becoming the music writing machine I at times strive to be.

Blech, so anyway, this sounds like a sweet new band, whose name may or may not be related to the Mew song "Zookeeper's Boy." But with some luck, more will be heard by me and then contributed in this entry about them. I love(d) 100Ft Snowman, the same could be true here (see Kiss Kiss/Vuvuzela as 1 example).

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1. A Red Sky in Mourning 01:39
2. Grounded by the Air 04:31
3. Burn Together, Burn Forever 03:08
4. K(No)w Corrosion 04:41
5. Stop Signs 05:01
6. Perfect Picture 05:32
7. Nothing Left to Gain 05:40
8. Moments Like These 03:55
9. Final Heart Attack 04:42
10. Leaving You Lying Here 05:47
11. A Red Sky at Night 02:40
12. Bound to Dust 06:05

Mayer Hawthorne - Designer Drug (New Single/No Joke)

Facebook Announcement

Soundcloud Link with Free Download available




The girlfriend will possibly go apeshit to get to hear a new tune from her guy, Mayer. Perhaps this will be more of things to come for Mayer and we'll see his next LP drop later in 2013.

Rollingstone.com 100 Greatest Debut Albums: King Crimson?

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-100-greatest-debut-albums-of-all-time-20130322

So, it's actually impressive and surprising to see the likes of Toy Matinee and Apes and Androids in there (or Ours, The Receiving End of Sirens, The Dear Hunter, Kevin Gilbert among so many others), along with King Crimson of course...LOL.

But it is Rolling Stone, more or less the proto-Pitchfork. Even the blurbs seem to resemble the tripe-like approach that comes from P-Fork and MTV began vomiting out by the early 90's.

Maybe I'll try and compile my own list somehow, but maybe not with too many blurbs as that adds to the amount of time it takes to finish of course.

Renaissance - Grandine il Vento (2012)

3/26/13 4:53PM

From the Kickstarter Update. Hopefully I'll check this out tomorrow and maybe re-read Annie's below descriptions. I'm really stoked to finally get to hear this tho!




1 Symphony of Light 12:09
2 Waterfall 4:45
3 Grandine il Vento 6:30
4 Porcelain 6:42
5 Cry to the World 5:45
6 Air of Drama 5:21
7 Blood Silver Like Moonlight 5:16
8 The Mystic and The Muse 7:48

Annie Haslam describes the tracks:

Symphony of Light
A tribute to the genius Leonardo Da Vinci.

Waterfall
About the rainforests in Brazil… I have been there many times and love it!

Grandine il Vento
A love song that transcends life itself.

Porcelain
About an African village and the people who live there.

Cry to the World
Our ‘World Song’ in honour of Mother Earth and all who are part of her.

Air of DramaA love song about two people who come together again later in their lives in Paris, where they had first met.

Blood Silver Like MoonlightThis is a duet with John Wetton. He has been a friend for many years and I always felt our voices were similar in their timbre and range. I was told once by a ‘spiritual’ energy friend that John and I sang in the Angels choir together. That is what this song is about. Remembering the choir!

The Mystic and The MuseI was inspired to write this by two of my paintings The Mystic and The Muse. Although it is a fantasy in a way, I see Michael as The Muse and me as The Mystic.

The digital download links will be emailed to backers today - Tuesday March 26. The physical CDs will ship in early April.

9/28/12 1:38AM
UPDATE

I wish I could see them on this tour, but these samples sound rather promising, even if the record doesn't come out until 2013.

New Album Samples and More

Thank you for your continuing support and positive energy. This has been a summer of intense focus on the composing and recording of our new album, Grandine il Vento. We've barely had time to come up for air, let alone enjoy the summer. That said, the journey has been magnificent and we're now in the final stages of production; weaving in a couple of fantastic guest appearances before starting the process of mixing. To say we're multi-tasking is an understatement!

With this said, completion of Grandine il Vento is taking longer than we had originally anticipated. In order to keep you and your ears in the loop, here is a sampler of several songs from the album. The songs in the sampler are:

Symphony of Light
Waterfall
Grandine il Vento
Cry to the World
For those of you that missed the deadline for our Kickstarter pre-purchase album campaign earlier this year, you can visit our website and review some of the few packages that we are making available.

We are looking forward to seeing you on tour. If you haven't purchased tickets please do so and be sure to let your friends know. For those fans in the Philadelphia and New Jersey area, the Scottish Rite Auditorium is sold-out, but there are good seats still left for the Keswick Theater.

Once again, many thanks for your loyalty.

Love,

Annie, Michael, Rave, David, Jason, and Frank



3/30/12 11:56AM



Facebook



kickstarter link (the EMBED isn't showing up for me here on Internet Explorer for some reason)

About this project
We cherish our fans, the music we have created, and the place we have earned in the history of progressive rock music. It is painful and disappointing that the very record labels who still happily profit from selling our extensive catalog of albums (from which we receive little if any royalties) have turned their backs and closed their doors to us in favor of working with quick-selling pre-packaged pop.

We have been composing a what we think will be the best album of our career. Thanks to KickStarter, social media, lovers of music and our own loyal fans, we are able to reach out directly to you in order to help us finance the recording and promotion of this first studio album in nearly twelve years: Grandine il Vento.

For your pledges you will receive an album we're sure you'll love, as well as enable us to record and distribute our music with pride and independence from the world of corporatized record companies.

We appreciate the role you will play in helping to make this endeavor a reality.

Thank you...

Renaissance

I'm pretty excited to hear this, although $40,000 via Kickstarter, while likely not impossible, is a little ambitious. By May 29th, and they're already at nearly $8600. I hope it goes through, and I shall be contributing of course. Hopefully others who may find this, will as well.

Sir Video: News SINGLES per BANDCAMP (2013)

3/26/13 4:40PM

Up to 250 Likes (and more!) on Facebook, they shared another great new track "Never Knew" also as a FREE Download.







3/25/13 11:50AM-2:05PM



And another tune "Do What You Wanna" (the song from the trailer video below I believe).

http://www.facebook.com/sirvideo/posts/426982610724324 

And with 225 "Page Likes" comes another brand new song. This one featuring some vocals from the one and only Frankie Pedano, formerly of Fat City Reprise. Download the mp3 for free at http://sirvideo.bandcamp.com/! One more song coming your way when we hit 250 Likes! 





I haven't heard it yet of course, but this is very cool to finally get to hear (and download free!) something from Sir Video. Thanks for those that *Liked* them on Facebook to allow this to be shared. And as the post below says, the more "Likes" the more music will be uploaded.


http://www.facebook.com/sirvideo/posts/224781590979956 

Without further ado, "On And On" by Sir Video (feat. Brian Mahoney of The Mahoney Brothers on saxophone). The next new song is coming in just 17 "Page Likes"! 




3/23/13 6:52PM
They have 185 Likes already. Sohhhhhh close. If you dig Timmy Sean's work as a solo artist, Sir Video may very well be up your alley as well!

http://www.facebook.com/sirvideo/posts/510653112304288

Share http://www.facebook.com/sirvideo with your friends and when it hits 200, 225, and 250 "likes" we'll post some brand-spankin' new songs!



Introducing SIR VIDEO from Sir Video on Vimeo.

The Dear Hunter - Migrant (2013) + Tour/TCS DVD

3/26/13 4:20PM
Whole Album Stream

Thanks BILLBOARD for providing an EMBED CODE, lol.

Sounding awesome so far.

3/23/13 7:25PM
Another new song "Girl" is available.
link
Digging it, especially hearing Casey's sister sing.



3/21/13 11:48AM
Stream the new song "Shame" HERE
outstanding new song.

3/19/13 7:30PM
Amazon Link WITH SAMPLES

3/5/13 11:50AM

New single "An Escape"



and I believe this is it live.



2/20/13 9:13PM




nothing especially new, but the full song "Whisper" can be streamed via Youtube now.

1/24/13 2:19PM
http://www.thedearhunter.com/
Song there "Whisper" to stream. I'll try and track down an embed later. No time to go into detail yet of course. But my head feels like it's going to explode with all the tours and albums coming this Spring.


Rel 4/2/13


1. Bring You Down
2. Whisper
3. Shame
4. An Escape
5. Shouting at the Rain
6. The Kiss of Life
7. Girl
8. Cycles
9. Sweet Naiveté
10. Let Go
11. This Vicious Place
12. Don't Look Back

Tour including April 14th at The Entry. Lifetime Membership? I hope so as they are headlining.






The Color Spectrum Live rel 3/12/13

The Dixie Dregs on the Tonight Show 1993 = FAIL

I just stumbled upon this earlier, and had no idea the Dregs appeared on a Late Night Talk Show, especially as recently as 1993.

But my reaction was while their performance is good, why on EARTH did they have to play a bloody MEDLEY? And for that matter, throwing in COVER TUNES within that.

I wonder if when they were asked on to the show, they told the producers the song they wanted to play was 6 or 7 minutes, and the producers said to them they couldn't do it, due to length, so they had to do something shorter.

It kind of brings up the idea of why for the most part, prog, at least when progressive rock (or jazz-fusion in this case?) when doing what they do best, doesn't seem likely to fit the confines of commercial radio or in this case, Major Network Talk Shows time restrictions.

I remember back around 2002/2003 when Dream Theater's Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence was out, they were asked to go on The Today Show I think it was, and the producers only wanted them to play stripped down, shortened acoustic songs. And the band declined. 

Which kind of makes me wonder if other prog groups in the past either turned down offers due to what the show asked of them, or when they did appear, had to pick a song to play that fit the requirements of the show/producers.

Sigur Rós - Kveikur (2013)

1 Brennisteinn
2 Hrafntinna
3 Ísjaki
4 Yfirborð
5 Stormur
6 Kveikur
7 Rafstraumur
8 Bláþráður
9 Var

Drop date is June 17th.

The song in the video below, which is the opening track, the last 3 minutes are pretty sweet. But the 1st 4:40+, some of the comments about this *new* direction for them, which I interpret as them more or less combining shoegaze and industrial sounds, being a good *new* direction, I can't say I agree with.

But then again, Valtari and I'd estimate most of what they've done since () has been somewhat predictable and underwhelming. Sans for the Heima film, although that was more of the film itself, rather than the music alone.

However, with another new record, these guys are getting rather prolific, along with Jonsi solo record a few years ago, I wonder if they are suffering a bit from the The Flower Kings/Omar Rodriguez-Lopez disease in that just because you've written and recorded music, doesn't necessarily mean it's the best work you can make right now. I.e., maybe they could use a (new/outside) producer?

Someone like Rick Rubin or Brian Eno perhaps?

Anyway, I'll hopefully get to check this out, although I said the same about Valtari last year, and I maybe listened to it twice. And I actually spent even more time listening to music last year, as opposed to this year thus far, I have not spent even 2/3 the amount of time with new music sadly, yet.

Fates Warning: Mid-Late Fall 2013 Tour Dates/News

I have posted some stuff about the upcoming Fates Warning album when an update was given a few months ago. But a lot of the comments over on mp.com about this announcement talked about Ray's voice, and so I chimed about the upcoming album and tour.

the big thing for Ray to me is, if he has Terry Brown writing vocal lines for him, the quality of his voice doesn't matter so much. FWX was good, but I felt his vocals/the vocal melodies were better on both APSOG and Disconnected. 
  
As far as the tour, I think the fact it's so far away, I may have a chance to plan to travel to see one of those dates. Although I would honestly prefer to see an Arch/Matheos show given I've never seen John Arch live; but John Arch's ability both physically and schedule-wise (and desire?) to play live is probably not what the other members of FW and Arch/Matheos are. But who knows. More likely, Arch/Matheos could make a FESTIVAL appearance, which inevitably would cost more money than a tour date, but beggars can't be choosers of course.

But good to see tracking begins in April.


http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=90255


The wait is over, and one of the premier bands of the American progressive metal movement is back! Fates Warning is proud to announce that the band will enter the studio in April to begin tracking on a new studio album - the group's first album of new material in nine years, and first studio release for InsideOut Music.

The Fates Warning U.S. run will launch November 15th in Joliet, IL and wrap December 14th in Seattle, WA. The band's 11th studio album is set for a fall release, and will feature founding guitarist Jim Matheos, classic lineup members Ray Alder (vocals) and Frank Aresti (guitars), longtime bassist Joey Vera, and drummer Bobby Jarzombek.

Tickets for the band's long-awaited winter tour will be available for purchase starting March 27th - please see below for all Fates Warning U.S. tour dates (European and South American dates will be announced soon). Fates Warning was also recently covered in our Sunday Old School column here.


Nov. 15--Joliet, IL--Mojoe's
Nov. 16--Detroit, MI--Harpos
Nov. 17--Louisville, KY--Diamond Pub & Billiards
Nov. 18--Cleveland, OH--Peabody's
Nov. 20--Toronto, ONT--Mod Club
Nov. 21--Poughkeepsie, NY--The Chance
Nov. 22--Hartford, CT--Webster Theater
Nov. 23--New York, NY--The Studio @ Webster Hall
Nov. 24--Clifton, NJ--Dingbatz
Nov. 26--Amityville, NY--Revolution
Nov. 27--Lancaster, PA--Chameleon Club
Nov. 29--Springfield, VA--Empire
Nov. 30--Spartanburg, SC--Ground Zero
Dec. 1--Atlanta, GA--Masquerade
Dec. 3--Houston, TX--Scout Bar
Dec. 4--San Antonio, TX--Backstage Live
Dec. 5--Dallas, TX--Trees
Dec. 7--Phoenix, AZ--Rocky Point Cantina
Dec. 8--San Diego, CA--Brick By Brick
Dec. 10--Los Angeles, CA--The Whisky
Dec. 11--San Francisco, CA--DNA Lounge
Dec. 13--Portland, OR--Hawthorne Theater
Dec. 14--Seatlle, WA--Studio Seven