Xiu Xiu summer tour + Jamie Stewart book talk - 05.21.2008
That grand Xiu Xiu will have extended their Women As Lovers tour through this summer. And as usual, they'll be closing the tour in their hometown:

05/21 Glasgow, Scotland - Nice N Sleazy
05/22 Dublin, Ireland - Whelan's
05/23 Barcelona, Spain - Apolo
05/24 Madrid, Spain - Neu!
08/14 Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
08/15 San Diego, CA - Casbah
08/16 Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture
08/19 Lubbock, TX - Tequila Jungle
08/20 Austin, TX - Mohawk
08/21 Houston, TX - Orange Show Center for Visionary Art
08/22 Birmingham, AL - Bottle Tree Cafe
08/23 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn
08/24 Charlotte, NC - Milestone
08/25 Baltimore, MD - Sonar
08/26 Providence, RI - Living Room
08/27 Boston, MA - Paradise - Boston
08/28 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
08/29 Pittsburgh, PA - Garfield Artworks
08/30 Columbus, OH - Milo
09/01 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
09/02 Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Ballroom
09/03 Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
09/04 Dekalb, IL - House Cafe
09/05 Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
09/06 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club
09/07 Fargo, ND - Aquarium
09/10 Seattle, WA - Neumos
09/11 Portland, OR - Backspace
09/13 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill

And in another example of Xiu Xiu's devotion to the Bay Area, Jamie Stewart made a recent appearance on XLR8R's video series, at Moe's Books in Berkeley:

"To anyone familiar with the soul-ripping poetics of experimental indie rock band Xiu Xiu, it should come as no surprise that Jamie Stewart is just as bookish as he is intense. Here, we take him to Moe's Books in Berkeley, California, where he discusses the novel that influenced Xiu Xiu's most recent album, Women as Lovers. He also rounds up a collection of books that represent his range of interests–from darkly political to just plain cute."

Intriguing, yes? Click to watch:

Video: Laura Marling - 05.21.2008
The British folk scene must be proud of rising talent Laura Marling. Not only is she very talented, but she boasts this talent at the ripe age of 18. When I was 18, I definitely wasn't writing noteworthy folk tunes in the UK. Alas I Cannot Swim comes to stateside on August 18th - in the meantime, you can experience Marling's single, "Cross Your Fingers/Crawled Out Of The Sea," with both your eyes and ears by checking out this here video:

"Icons of Music" charity auction - 05.21.2008



Bono isn't the only U2 member with a heart for charity work. The Edge also has that humanitarian streak, as evidenced by his role in Music Rising - "a campaign that was launched to rescue the musical culture of the Central Gulf region of the United States from the destruction caused by the catastrophic hurricanes of the summer of 2005 by replacing the musical instruments lost or destroyed in the deluge."

To actually make this happen, the org is putting on the Icons of Music charity auction. The items up for bidding (full info here) include stuff from Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine, Spoon, Wilco, M.I.A., and Common, who are amongst a whole bunch of the older/classic musicians of the past century (Elvis Presley, the Beatles, you know, etc.).

The live version of the auction will take place at the Times Square Hard Rock Cafe in NYC on May 31, and online bidding will take place here. Annnnnd, go!

SF's Treasure Island Festival lineup revealed - 05.21.2008



The much-anticipated return of the Treasure Island Music Festival in 2008 (following the very successful 2007 inauguration) includes a lineup that doesn't disappoint. The festival, taking place September 20th-21st on San Francisco's Treasure Island, as of today, will feature the following musical lineup:

Saturday, September 20th:

JUSTICE
TV ON THE RADIO
GOLDFRAPP
HOT CHIP
CSS
ANTIBALAS
AESOP ROCK
AMON TOBIN
FOALS
MIKE RELM
NORTEC: BOSTICH + FUSSIBLE

Sunday, September 21st:

THE RACONTEURS
TEGAN & SARA
VAMPIRE WEEKEND
SPIRITUALIZED
OKKERVIL RIVER
TOKYO POLICE CLUB
THE KILLS
DR. DOG
JOHN VANDERSLICE
THE DODOS
FLEET FOXES

With more TBA.

This year's festival will follow last year's example in regards to environmental stability - "the carbon neutral Treasure Island Music Festival had the second highest waste diversion rate (72%) of all outdoor events in San Francisco in 2007 and aims to increase this rate at the 2008 festival," according to a press release. The festival will also have its now-infamous Ferris Wheel, "treasure hunt," live art installations, and more. Tickets go on sale May 30th at 10:00 a.m. - more info here.