Todd Rundgren squeezes 'Arena' into the Iron Horse. Tix on sale this Friday 2/27

Visionary rocker Todd Rundgren will continue to support his latest album, "Arena," with another round of US dates including a night at the decidedly non-arena sized Iron Horse on Monday, April 20th.

With "Arena," Rundgren makes a return to old-school, guitar-heavy arena rock--a move that came about as a consequence of serious misfortune. The multifaceted singer/songwriter was playing with The New Cars between solo albums, "and right when we were supposed to begin our big worldwide tour, we had an accident on the bus and Elliot Easton broke his collarbone.” The accident brought The New Cars outing to an abrupt halt.
"It was at that point that I got back into doing the guitar-oriented, guitar-quartet thing. It was a quick and easy way to tour when I found myself suddenly without a tour from injury. The response that I got was sort of remarkable. I think it was taking fans back to a time when they first became fans."
"Arena" follows Rundgren's 2004 effort, "Liars," which marked his first set of new material in more than a decade.

In addition to working on his own music, the cutting-edge artist recently finished producing the New York Dolls' forthcoming album.

Tickets for the Northampton show go on sale this Friday 2/27.

Phosphorescent plays Willie Nelson on new album, Iron Horse this Thursday 2/26 at 10PM

Willie Nelson is anointed as a forefather of freak-folk on “To Willie” (Dead Oceans) an album of his songs remade by Phosphorescent, the nom-de-band of Matthew Houck. These aren’t the songs that show up regularly in Mr. Nelson’s upbeat stage sets. They’re his bleak, plainspoken studies of addiction (“Reasons to Quit”), infidelity (“It’s Not Supposed to Be That Way”), excess (“I Gotta Get Drunk”) and remorse (“Heartaches of a Fool”) — the aftermaths of self-destruction and betrayal. The Phosphorescent band plays them as if floating in a hangover haze: the songs are still recognizably Mr. Nelson’s, but slow and woozy, with meandering guitars and scratchy, diffident vocals. “To Willie” is more than a curatorial feat; Phosphorescent reaches down to the pain.- NY Times

Blues woman supreme Shemekia Copeland performs on Letterman tonight, new album out this Tuesday, plays Iron Horse on Friday, May 15th

This Tuesday, February 24th, Shemekia Copeland will release her new album Never Going Back on Telarc Records. This new chapter in her story represents a crossroads on her ongoing artistic journey – a place where numerous new avenues are open to her. While she will always remain loyal to her blues roots, Never Going Back takes a more forward view of the blues, and in so doing points her music and her career in a new direction.

Tune in tonight to Late Night with DAVID LETTERMAN to see Shemekia Copeland perform Never Going Back To Memphis off the new record.




Get your tickets (here) now to see Shemekia tear it up at the Horse on Friday May 15th!

Above, Shemekia with Paul Shafer. Below, with dad Johnny Clyde Copeland.

Fab Faux coming in May! Info soon.

Click the cartoon. Visit the Fab Faux.

Sarah Vowell talks about being Violet Incredible and other thing. Sarah will be at the Calvin on Friday, 2/27 by the way.

Eugene Mirman's new book. John Wesley Harding's new album. Add author Rick Moody and you've got Wes & Eugene's Cabinet of Wonders 3/25 at the Horse

Eugene Mirman (Former Hampshire College student): "The Will To Whatevs: A Guide to Modern Life," my harebrained send-up of self-help, came out from Harper Perennial on February 1oth. This "charmingly hysterical guidebook" (that's something I wrote for the back cover) is the perfect gift for anyone, especially yourself. You now get it in a book store. Soon the book will be available on my website with autographed book plates (stickers). I am told by people that this is a normal thing to do and that authors often sign stickers that are put in their book.

Here are some more wonderful quotes about my book:

"I liked the sh*t out of this book!"
- Greg Behrendt, author of He's Just Not That Into You

"Reading this book is like having a tiny Eugene riding on your shoulder and whispering his advice in your ear. I agree with Eugene on all aspects of this book except taking acid at an office party. I am never doing that again. Buy this book." - Zach Galifianakis

"I laughed out loud reading this. I was reading it in public. Three cute girls at a nearby table laughed at me. I swear one of them mouthed the words, 'fat loser' to her friends. I now hate Eugene Mirman." - Patton Oswalt

"A work of penetrating insight and rigorous scholarship. By turning our attention away from the 'will to power' and toward the more deeply significant will to whatevs, Mirman reshapes the debate in a way that will doubtless influence philosophers for generations to come."

- Joshua Knobe, professor of philosophy and cognitive science at Yale University

"This book is good, and not just because it was free. Knowing what I know now about the quality, I would have paid at least nine thousand dollars."

- David Willis, co-creator Aqua Teen Hunger Force

"This book is a knee-slapper, a gut-buster, and a side-splitter. Don't read it unless you have health insurance!"

- Kristen Schaal

"Eugene Mirman is the Andy Warhol of comedy. People look to him for what's next in comedy, and he emails these people back promptly. The Will to Whatevs put me in a great mood because I was laughing out loud. Alone. That's hard to do."
- Mike Birbiglia

"When to serve duck confit? What's the haps with sexual harassment? In a world full of questions, the entertaining Eugene Mirman has all the answers."

- Sarah Vowell, author of Assassination Vacation (Live at the Calvin Theatre 2/27!)

"Do you need tips on how to live? I mean besides the breathing and eating part? Then this book is for you! Including self-help tips for Jewish robots from the future (I'm guessing)!!!!!"

- David Cross

"Let's face it. You can only get so far in life by dressing just like Eugene Mirman, imitating his voice, and wearing a very realistic rubber mask modeled on his face. If you really want to be happy, you have to inhabit HIS VERY MIND. And now, at last, this book allows it! At last, now, you can be truly happy, the MIRMAN WAY. Just be sure to adjust your rubber mask eye holes to "READ MODE," or else this book will not help you."
- John Hodgman, author of The Areas of My Expertise

John Wesley Harding (né Wesley Stace) has assembled a few friends — including novelist Rick Moody, and comedian Eugene Mirman, to help celebrate the release of his latest neo-folk masterpiece, Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead. Harding, who has also released novels under his birth name, has handpicked each of his guests in hopes of bringing together his two loves — words and music — under one roof for tonight's Cabinet of Wonders. Part variety show and part concert, Stace says "I wanted to bring together my novel writing friends (who mostly envy my musician friends) and my musician friends (who mostly envy my novel writing friends) under one flag," says Harding. "The fact is: I like everyone who's performing."

Rick Moody is one of the most gifted American novelists of his generation.Like the work of other well-known East-Coast American writers (John Irving, John Updike), Moody's fiction is firmly rooted in, as well as written in response to, the urban, rural, and suburban landscapes of the area roughly bounded by New York City to the south and Boston to the north. His three novels, Garden State, The Ice Storm, and Purple America, and his short story collection, The Ring of Brightest Angels around Heaven, all published at a prolific pace within five years, create not only a distinct literary geography but also a fascinating temporal picture.


Wes and Eugene's Cabinet of Wonders at the Iron Horse on Wednesday, March 25th at 7PM. Tickets Here.

"Telepathic" Celtic duo Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill play Sunday 2/22 at the Iron Horse

Irish fiddle virtuoso Martin Hayes and American guitarist Dennis Cahill possess a rare musical kinship. Together they have garnered international renown for taking traditional music to the very edge of the genre, and holding listeners spellbound with their slow-building, fiery performances. The New York Times calls them “a Celtic complement to Steve Reich’s quartets or Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain.”

Martin Hayes has been an All-Ireland fiddle champion six times over; he was awarded the prestigious 2008 Musician of the Year award from Ireland’s TG4 (Irish language television), and recently led a group of fellow musicians to sold out performances at the Sydney Opera House in his role as artistic director of The Masters of Tradition.

Dennis Cahill is a master guitarist, whose innovative accompaniment is acknowledged as being a major breakthrough for guitar in the Irish tradition.

The musical rapport between Hayes and Cahill is so strong that it is often said they appear to be playing one instrument, “working on a seemingly telepathic level,” as CMJ describes it. While Martin pursues a melody, Dennis explores the harmony and rhythms within the tunes. He seems to know intuitively Hayes’ next move, consistently matching it with astonishing skill and grace. Their live performances weave tunes that stretch up to thirty minutes long, in what Hayes describes as “a three-way conversation between the two of us and the music.” Reflecting both the intimacy of their live performance and the exponential power of the duo’s imagination, Hayes and Cahill work off each other like two jazz masters, exploring the tunes, spinning medleys that expand and contract with intensity. “Our allegiance is to the spirit of the moment,” says Hayes, “Our primary wish is that the musical experience be one that lifts our spirits and those of the audience.”

“If your live music rations were limited to a single concert in the entire year, then you'd be either crazy or foolish if you didn’t pass that precious time in the company of Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill.” — Irish Times

Buy tickets here.


Watch Martin and Dennis rip it up above.

High Places + Soft Circle + Eric Hnatow THIS Friday, February 6th - 9:00PM Pearl Street Clubroom

High Places + Soft Circle + Eric Hnatow

THIS Friday, February 6th - 9:00PM
Pearl Street Clubroom

High Places began as an experiment in collaboration: two people with diverse artistic backgrounds coming together to merge their skills, aesthetic tastes, and music-making approaches. Robert Barber grew up listening to punk and hardcore, and Mary Pearson studied bassoon performance, but both gravitated toward a DIY compositional style and a love of layers. It is the affinity for layering that has thus far defined the duo, both in ideas and instrumentation. High Places' songs contain a fascinating range of aural layers: bells and bird calls over a wash of ocean waves; mallets hitting mixing bowls over treated guitar and glockenspiel; Mary's reflective vocals over Rob's homemade beats. The result is an imaginative and spacious amalgamation of sounds with a unique, almost Caribbean undertone that is as immediate as it is refreshing. (Thrill Jockey)

Download for free thanks to Stereogum

Shared Islands (right click save link as)
Cosmonaut (right click save link as)
Head Spins (right click save link as)

Visit Their Website to learn more
High Places Myspace

Soft Circle is Hisham Bharoocha from Brooklyn. Much of his music comes across steeped in mysticism: percussion continuously approaches, guitar lines meander like mist, sequencers trickle, ethereal chants echo like calls from a mountain, rhythms lull. His musical mantra is simple: "Try to show the beauty of what you enjoy in life". Despite the heavy use of familiar instrumentation, this music is never derivative, but gently exploring in its own seductive rhythms. The beat is prominent, but this is not dance hall. Turn the lights down low and you are transported to a place that is both comfortable and adventurous.

Download "Ascend"(right click save as) thanks to Dusted Magazine

Visit his Myspace to Learn more

Eric Hnatow - Local Favorite! Machines being controlled by hands to create an electronic freak-out revival via a single man. Sometimes loud, sometimes quiet. Always teetering on the edge of a disaster. There is something primitive and unrefined about this music that keeps you hanging onto each blip or squiggle of the lush synth lines. Something about it sounds a little off while managing to sound dead on.
Visit Eric's Myspace

To Buy Tickets in advance, call the Northampton Box Office 413.586.8686 Monday-Saturday 9am-6pm Sundays 12pm-5pm or click here.