After returning from overseas, the band starts wandering North America

By Blurt Staff

In case you haven't noticed, Gogol Bordello's website has been down, causing the world the wait in mystery as the Gypsy-punks concocted their latest plan for global domination traveling.

After traipsing around global festival circuit and with tour dates throughout South America, Europe and Asia this summer - including performances at Rock-am-Ring in Germany, Get Loaded in the Park in England, and a performance at Fuji Rock in Japan - Gogol Bordello returned to North America last week.  The Gogols kicked-off this leg of their tour in Atlanta then headed to Austin City Limits on September 26 and will be headlining the Detour Festival in Los Angeles on October 4.

This winter, Gogol Bordello will perform six shows under the title "The Wonderlust Kings and Queens Tour: La Familia in Full Swing." The tour will begin with three performances at New York's Webster Hall before travelling to Philadelphia for a New Year's Eve performance at The Electric Factory. 

 
In other news, Gogol Bordello front-man, Eugene Hutz will also be seen in October in the Madonna-directed film, 'Filth & Wisdom' in which he stars in the lead role.  According to a press release, "Madonna and Eugene's first collaboration was this past summer when they performed together at Live Earth in London. Eugene and Sergey performed a Romanesque version of "La Isla Bonita" that combined Gogol Bordello's gypsy-stomper "Lela Pala Tute" with Madonna singing in Romanes."  WTF?  

 
In addition, GogolBordello.com will re-launch this week, giving the world a much needed glimpse into their harlequin laced world.

Tour Dates:

9.29.08                         Rialto Theatre                                        Tuscon, AZ
10.1.08                         4th and B                                               San Diego, CA
10.2.08                         The Grove of Anaheim                            Anaheim, CA
10.3.08                         Fremont East                                         Las Vegas, NV
10.4.08                         Detour Festival / City Hall                        Los Angeles, CA
10.5.08                         Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival              San Francisco, CA
10.7.08                         McDonald Theatre                                  Eugene, OR
10.8.08                         Roseland Theater                                   Portland, OR
10.9.08                         Showbox SoDo                                      Seattle, WA
10.10.08                       The Commodore Ballroom                       Vancouver, BC
10.11.08                       The Commodore Ballroom                       Vancouver, BC
10.14.08                       MacEwan Hall                                        Calgary, AB
10.15.08                       Edmonton Events Centre                         Edmonton, AB
12.27.08                       Webster Hall                                         New York, NY
12.29.08                       Webster Hall                                         New York, NY
12.30.08                       Webster Hall                                         New York, NY
12.31.08                       The Electric Factory                               Philadelphia, PA
1.2.09                           9:30 Club                                             Washington DC
1.3.09                           9:30 Club                                             Washington DC

Open Letter to Congress Calls for $1 Billion Investment in Farm Communities to Solve America's Economic, Environmental, Energy and Health Problems.

By Blurt Staff

In response to the $700 billion Wall Street bailout enacted this weekend by Congress, the Farm Aid Board of Directors Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews sent an open letter to Congressional leaders urging them to redirect funds to farm communities and working men and women, where they can be better used to address our country's economic, environment, energy and health crises.

"The proposed $700 bailout asks taxpayers to foot the bill without giving them the opportunity to share in any gains that might result," Willie Nelson said. "On the other hand, a $1 billion investment in family farm agriculture would enrich all of us, because we are all shareholders of the family farm. The return on investment in the family farm includes thriving local economies, nutritious food for better health, a safer and more secure food supply, a cleaner environment and more renewable energy."

Nelson and fellow Farm Aid board members Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews marked Farm Aid's 23rd year last weekend with a New England-based benefit concert that showcased the tenacity of family farmers as an example of what it takes to solve America's most pressing challenges.

"Family farmers are the bedrock of this country. They are always looking for new answers to problems and finding creative solutions that work," said Nelson.

Farm Aid led by example at its annual benefit concert by becoming the only music festival to serve family farm food to concertgoers, artists, crews and VIPs, demonstrating what is possible in efforts to bring more family farm food to more people.

To read the open letter to Congressional leaders sent by Farm Aid Board of Directors Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews, go to www.farmaid.org/lettertocongress.

Compiled by Blurt Staff

206 digital, satellite and hi-def channels and nothin' on? Not likely. Here are BLURT's top music television picks of the day. The time is followed by the network/cable/satellite channel, then the name of the program and/or featured artist(s). All times are EST. For a comprehensive hour-by-hour listing, go to the VH1 Rock On TV site. Note that for certain channels, shows frequently repeat during the day on or subsequent days.

TIME (EST) / CHANNEL / PROGRAM / ARTIST(S)

SATURDAY, SEPT. 27:

9:00 AM Showtime Next: Herbie Hancock: Possibilities

10:00 AM Biography: Bob Dylan

12:00 PM PLD HD: MTV Live: R.E.M.

12:15 PM Showtime: All We Are Saying w/Chrissie Hynde , Peter Gabriel , Radiohead , David Crosby , Sheryl Crow , Elton John

4:00 PM Encore Mystery: The Cotton Club (1984)

4:00 PM VH1C: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony: Class of 2008

6:00 PM Sundance: Live from Abbey Road: Panic at the Disco, David Gray & Suzanne Vega

7:30 PM IFC: A Hard Day's Night (1964)

7:30 PM VH1C: Bob Dylan - No Direction Home

8:30 PM GREEN: Living with Ed: Jackson Browne is Green

9:00 PM PBS: Austin City Limits: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival: Emmylou Harris , Earl Scruggs , Doc Watson , Ricky Skaggs , Bruce Hornsby , Bela Fleck

11:00 PM PLD HD: Rothbury 2008: Dave Matthews Band , John Mayer , Widespread Panic

11:30 PM NBC: Saturday Night Live:  Anna Faris / Duffy

1:00 AM ETV: Saturday Night Live (E!): Janet Jackson

SUNDAY SEPT. 28:

8:30 AM Comedy Central: The Colbert Report: Jackson Browne

11:15 AM Encore Love: High Fidelity (2000)

11:30 AM HBOS: Once (2006)

1:00 PM PLD HD: BBC Electric Proms: Paul McCartney

4:00 PM Gospel Music Channel: Hometown Gospel: New Orleans

5:00 PM HBO: Flight of the Conchords: Bowie

6:00 PM FUSE: Green Day: Making of "Wake Me Up When September Ends"

6:30 PM FUSE: Loaded: Green Day

8:00 PM HDNet Concert Series: Best of Michael Bolton Live (!)

8:00 PM VH1: Behind The Music: New Kids on the Block: A Behind the Music Special Event

9:00 PM RAVE HD: From The Basement: Beck , Jamie Lidell , Jarvis Cocker

10:30 PM HDNet Concert Series: Aimee Mann Live in Brooklyn

11:30 PM IFC: Z Rock: Dave Navarro

12:20 AM Encore Western: Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger (1986)

BOH, McMurtry rocking Austin for a good cause.

By Blurt Staff

As you may have heard by now, BLURT is at Austin City Limits this weekend, with our roving band of reporters making the rounds and posing the hard-hitting questions of the day to musicians we trip over, er, encounter. Keep your eyes peeled for the official BLURT boogie van - just look for the lime-green day-glo paint job and the custom bong smokestack protruding from the rear portion of the roof. But don't forget the rules, kids: don't bother knockin' if the van be a-rockin,' if you catch our drift.

***

Meanwhile, of course, tonight in downtown Austin BLURT will be rockin' a whole ‘nother set of ‘tude. That's when THE BLURT LAUNCH PARTY, featuring Band of Horses, goes down at The Parish Room. Tickets sold out in under two hours after tickets went on sale last week.

"We thought we put together a pretty good lineup for the BLURT LAUNCH PARTY, but this far and away exceeded even our own high expectations," says BLURT Editor-in-Chief and Founder Scott Crawford. "I think everyone who was lucky enough to get a ticket will be in for a real special night."

Doors will open at 10:30 p.m. following the conclusion of the day's music at the 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival. Famed BLURT blogger James McMurtry and the Heartless Bastards are slated to open with music beginning at 11 p.m. A portion of the proceeds from the concert will benefit the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide access to affordable healthcare for Austin's low-income, uninsured working musicians. For more information, please visit: http://www.healthallianceforaustinmusicians.org.

"For those of you who weren't able to get a ticket today, there may be a small quantity of tickets made available the day of the show, so look for updates on BLURT-ONLINE.COM next week and check in at the Parish Room box office a few hours before the doors open," says BLURT Associate Editor Andy Tennille. "We're also going to be giving away some tickets at BLURT-ONLINE.COM and through some of the local radio stations in Austin, so keep your eyes peeled and your wits about you."

About HAAM

Health Alliance for Austin Musicians was founded in April 2005 when the Seton Family of Hospitals and St. David's Community Health Foundation Leadership joined forces with The SIMS Foundation to provide medical, dental, and mental health care to the city's hard-working, low-income musicians. More than 1,200 musicians, most 35 and younger, have been serviced. For more information, please visit: http://www.healthallianceforaustinmusicians.org.

About BLURT

Brought to you by the creative team behind the lauded HARP Magazine (called "America's best music magazine" by NPR's Bob Boilen and "the best music magazine in the country and the one that musicians always read" by Foo Fighter Dave Grohl), BLURT's digital magazine raises the bar for modern music and entertainment magazines by combining insightful features, irreverent interviews, relentless reviews, and first-class design standards while the site contains provocative blogs, exclusive videos and countless reviews and MP3s. Visit us at http://www.BLURT-ONLINE.COM.

Links

http://www.healthallianceforaustinmusicians.org/

www.blurt-online.com

http://www.myspace.com/bandofhorses

http://www.jamesmcmurtry.com/

www.theparishroom.com

www.excaliburmail.com

www.christopherwilsonphoto.com

For more information, contact:

Scott Crawford

Editor-in-Chief, BLURT

scrawford@blurt-online.com

Andy Tennille

Associate Editor, BLURT

atennille@blurt-online.com

Symposium, conference, festival and plenty of jams.

 By Blurt Staff

POP Montréal's Symposium - starting next week - is an artist-driven music conference that aims to empower, educate, and inspire by focusing on the relationship between art, culture, and creativity, with the aim of "encouraging the [Montréal] community to build movements, strategize, and create."

Confirmed artists for POP Montréal are: Burt Bacharach, Ratatat, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Hot Chip, Beach House, Baby Dee, Vivan Girls, Silver Apples, Dan Deacon, Brazilian Girls, Black Kids, Jason Collett, Sebastien Grainger, T. Raumshmiere, Vetiver, Akron/Family,  Dr. Dog, Congorock, Irma Thomas,  The Virgins, The Dodos, Aleks and the Drummer, The Dears, The Bug, Megasoid,  Socalled,  Watain, Julie Doiron, These Are Powers, Japanther, Dirty on Purpose, Deathset, AIDS Wolf,  Dark Meat & more! 

Non-performance events highlights will include conversations with soul-queen Irma Thomas, a master class with experimental filmmaker Jem Cohen, a performance by no-wave pioneer Lydia Lunch, beat-boxing with the Persusasions, exploring African rap culture with filmmaker Femi Agbayewa, and some good old-fashioned internet policing with the Future of Music Coaltion.

 Film POP, POP Montréal's film seminar will feature international shorts, documentaries and music films.  According to the press release, "This year's films have a stronger music focus than ever before. Whether it's Wizard rock inspired by Harry Potter or the under-appreciated genius of Arthur Russell-FILM POP has it covered. In addition, we will be screening a fascinating documentary about Robert Moog and Eileen Yaghoobian's 'Died Young Stayed Pretty'-a radical film about the politics and aesthetics of North American poster art." 

POP Montréal also features segments for kids, a DIY festival with a market for strictly hand-made goods, and a visual artists' showcase.

 POP Montréal will take place October 1 - 5, 2008, and more information can be found at www.popmontreal.com.

Compiled by Blurt Staff

206 digital, satellite and hi-def channels and nothin' on? Not likely. Here are BLURT's top music television picks of the day. The time is followed by the network/cable/satellite channel, then the name of the program and/or featured artist(s). All times are EST. For a comprehensive hour-by-hour listing, go to the VH1 Rock On TV site. Note that for certain channels, shows frequently repeat during the day on or subsequent days.

TIME (EST) / CHANNEL / PROGRAM / ARTIST(S)

11:30 AM NICK: Yo Gabba Gabba!: The Ting Tings , Biz Markie , Mark Mothersbaugh

12:00 PM NICK: Yo Gabba Gabba!: Hot Hot Heat , Mix Master Mike , Mark Mothersbaugh

2:00 PM Biography: Travis Tritt

3:00 PM Biography: Brooks & Dunn

4:00 PM FUEL: Check 1, 2:  MGMT

4:00 PM Rave HD Concerts: Oasis Live at Manchester City Stadium

4:50 PM FLIX: Made in Sheffield: Human League , Cabaret Voltaire , Heaven 17 , ABC , Pulp , Artery

5:30 PM FUEL: The Daily Habit:  Globe Team and One Block Radius

5:45 PM FLIX: Village People - Can't Stop the Music (1980)

6:30 PM PLD HD: Dispatch: Zimbabwe

8:00 PM BET: Ain't Nothing Like Me: An Intimate Session with Joe

8:00 PM FLIX: Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984)

9:00 PM Comedy Central: Chappelle's Show: Mos Def , Kanye West

9:00 PM PLD HD: Radio 1's Big Weekend 2008: Madonna , Raconteurs , Usher , Nelly , OneRepublic

9:00 PM VH1C: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

10:00 PM Sundance: Saving Jazz: Irvin Mayfield , Tony Bennett , Wynton Marsalis , Kermit Ruffins , Ellis

Marsalis , Irma Thomas

11:35 PM CBS: The Late Show With David Letterman: TV On The Radio

11:35 PM NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Jennifer Hudson

11:50 PM Encore Action: Dead Presidents (1995)

12:00 AM Encore Mystery: Videodrome (1983)

12:00 AM FUEL: The Daily Habit: Pop Levi

12:05 AM ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Justin Nozuka

12:35 AM NBC: Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Amos Lee

12:37 AM CBS: The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Lady Antebellum

1:35 AM NBC: Last Call with Carson Daly: Seether

2:00 AM SPIKE: Boyz 'N The Hood (1991)

‘tis the (campaign) season for cheesy headlines

By Brian Creech

Remembering the woes that their home state Ohio helped bring to America on election night, 2004, Ohio natives  the Breeders and the National have teamed up to present "Vote Early, Rock Late," a pre-election, pro-Obama really to encourage Buckeye state voters to well, vote early.   The free, late rocking is set to commence October 16^th at Cincinnatti's Fountain Square.  Buses will transport registered voters from the concert to Hamilton County's election headquarters, where they can cast an early ballot. 

Political-junkies will note that Hamilton County is the home to Cincinnatti, and was one of the most  hotly contested counties in 2004 that pushed Ohio over the edge and into the Bush column in 2004.  Indie-rock minded political junkies will note that during primary season, the Arcade Fire and Superchunk teamed up to pull a similar trick in getting North Carolina to swing for Obama.  And it worked.   In fact, indi- rockers like Barack Obama so much that he's caught flack for being so popular among those with hip music taste. 

Either way, the stakes are pretty high for this concert, so high in fact, that this is the only show that the Breeders have lined up for this year so far. 

The National will be Ba-Rocking a bit more often, with dates listed below. 

Oh, and remember this swell t-shirt?

National Dates:

10-10 New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom *
10-16 Cincinnati, OH - Fountain Square ("Vote Early Rock Late") ^
10-24 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Marina da Gloria (TIM Festival)
10-25 São Paolo, Brazil - Ibirapurea Park (TIM Festival)
10-27 Vitória, Brazil - UFES Theatre
11-08 Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest

Now that's what we call a serious fucking early bird....

By Fred Mills

With All Tomorrow's Parties New York not even fading from memory yet (it was only last weekend), the ATP organization has already announced ATP NY 2009 - it will be held in roughly same bat-time, same bat-place fashion: September 4-6 at Kutsher's Country Club in Monticello, NY.

Early bird tickets are already on sale now through November 1, and since this year's event sold out, if you can plan your calendar a full year ahead, it would be a good idea to make the plunge now. At present the price is $225 for a three-day pass. (This despite the fact that selling tickets a year in advance smacks vaguely of Celine Dion-in-Vegas syndrome; not that ATP will be banking (and earning interest) on millions of bucks like La Dion, of course.)

According to ATP, "The three-day festival will have performances starting in the mid-afternoon, with around 35+ acts set to play live across the weekend with DJ sets until late at night, comedy, movies and more! There is dining, bars and other amenities onsite."

Acts have not been announced, but as usual plan on a musician to be named as guest curator for one of the evenings, plus more installments of the "Don't Look Back" recreate-classic-indie-albums series.

Percy reportedly ruffled over the others bringing in a ringer? Eh.

By Fred Mills

The rock press shifted into hyperdrive this morning after Britain's The Sun reported that a full-on Led Zeppelin reunion is finally underway, with music websites and watchdog blogs such as Idolator taking a look at the prospects with a mixture of wishful thinking and skepticism. Naturally we can believe everything we read in the British press, eh?

The Sun report, titled "Led Yep," claimed that Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham's kid Jason had all but given up on Robert Plant signing on for a reunion - he's been busy all year with his Raising Sand project featuring Alison Krauss and had stated that the one-off reunion concert last December in London was enough whole lotta loving for now - so they'd been rehearsing with what the paper referred to as "stand-in singers... one American was so impressive they were confident they could hit the road next year without Plant."

The trio had been rehearsing in London and a "source" close to the band told the paper, "The band is really gelling. There's an American guy who has been standing in for Robert regularly and doing a great job. Obviously they want the original frontman to join them on the road but he still won't commit. They will be finalising plans for shows over the next couple of months and will tell Robert that if he doesn't want to be involved they will go ahead without him."

At that point, when he heard of the rehearsals, Plant reportedly got antsy and told them he'd come along after all.

That proverbial "source" for the story was quoted thusly:

"The rest of the band had all but given up on Robert joining them, but they were determined to go ahead so had started to seriously explore other avenues. When Robert realised the band were serious about doing it without him, it made him think long and hard. He realised he couldn't face the thought of not being involved. The band were over the moon when he told them the news. They are now forging ahead with the tour plans and they can't wait to get on the road."

***

Pardon us if BLURT weighs in on the side of "bemused." The likelihood of Page, Jones and Bonham hiring a ringer is extremely low if you look at how consistent their track record had been over the years in regards to both actions and actual statements to the press. (These are not the ersatz Doors, in other words - their frontman is still very much alive and kicking.) A far stronger possibility is that they were simply rehearsing and felt that using a stand-in until Plant actually could join them later in the year would make working out the arrangements, song cues, etc. a lot easier than if they did it all as an instrumental 3-piece.

Hey, as long as we're at it, how about a semi-viewable video of Led Zep last December doing the most-played rock song of all time? Does anyone remember laughter?

New digital EP to be released on October 28^th

By Blurt Staff

The Heavy drug themselves across Europe this summer, taking their powerful guitar hooks with them.  They rocked crowds at the Sonar Festival in Barcelona, the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, and the UK Latitude Festival in Norfolk.  They also howled across Germany, Poland, and Belgium, definitely scaring small children along the way. 

The band is now ready to bring the scary State-side, as an encore to their US run this past Spring. Come October/November, the band will stomp through a 5-city US Tour and according to the bands press release, will be "wielding a battle-axe, a road map, and the hardest-hitting live set you'll have the opportunity to see this year."  Yikes. 

The band is also releasing a digital EP entitled Set Me Free on October 28^th, just in time for Halloween.  The iTunes version of the EP will feature and exclusive cover of Johnny Cash's "Doing my Time."  Also, The Heavy collaborated with the Crystal Method to cover Louis Armstrong's "Zat You, Santa Claus?" which was released on Verve's Christmas album on September 23^rd.

BLURT interviews the Heavy HERE.

Heavy Dates:

October 30 || +1, People Food, Mr. Roboto Presents Halloween Party @ The Echo || Los Angeles (w/ The Gray Kid, Pop Levi) **EP release show for The Gray Kid's ‘Free Music!!!' ||

October 31 || Mr. Roboto Presents Halloween Party @ 103 Harriet || San Francisco ||

November 1 || Adrenaline Presents @ The Casbah || San Diego (w/ Kenan Bell) ||

November 3 || The World Café || Philadelphia

November 5 || Mercury Lounge || New York, NY

Set Me Free tracklist;

1) Set Me Free (album version)
2) Easier
3) You Don't Know
4) Colleen (acoustic version)
5) Set Me Free (alt version)
6) Doing My Time (Johnny Cash Cover)**
**-iTunes exclusive; available with complete EP purchase only

The Heavy does "That Kind Of Man":