All photos by David Greenwald

Oh, Morrissey, you most un-arena of rockers. With a tour that’s seen him collapse at one show, cancel another due to a blown voice and walk out on a third after a fan hit him with a thrown bottle, the girlfriend and I were just hoping he’d get through his Gibson Amphitheatre show in one piece. But if the former Smiths singer did betray a bit of his recent health woes with a seeming shortage of breath between songs and during a few missed verses, he made up for it in set list choices and sheer charisma. From the show’s opening moments, Moz sauntered about the stage like it was his living room, kicking things off with Smiths classic “This Charming Man” and cruising through a number of greatest hits from his old band: “How Soon Is Now,” “Ask” (the show’s highlight) and “Cemetry Gates,” among others. Full review + more photos after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Roman Candle, remastered by New Moon dude Larry Crane, and From a Basement on the Hill are due out next year from Elliott Smith’s old home, Kill Rock Stars, which previously released Elliott Smith, Either/Or and New Moon. The charm of Roman Candle is the lo-fi recording quality, of course, but it’ll be nice to have it on vinyl. Plus, the label just released an official version of Jackpot Sessions demo “Cecilia/Amanda” — grab it at Pitchfork. Update: Kill Rock Stars tells me via Twitter that Interscope still has the rights to the unreleased Basement-era material, so a New Moon sequel is out of their hands (and my guess is, if it comes out at all, it won’t be until the 10th anniversary of his death in 2013).

Boys and girls, welcome to the 2nd Annual Rawky Awards, indie rock’s most discerning user-voted poll party. Hundreds of you voted on the album of the year, the best new band, the worst hipster drivel we pretended to like and more — all the winners and losers after the jump. B.Y.O.B.! Read the rest of this entry »

An e-mail just went out from Largo:

Friday, December 18: The Jon Brion Show. This one may be the last of Jon’s legendary every-Friday-night residency at Largo. In 2010 the plan is that Jon will be doing at least one scheduled show per month, so he’s not going away for good, but this week’s show should be an especially memorable jam with plenty of holiday cheer! Doors open for drinks 8PM, Showtime 9:30PM, Tickets $25.

Not quite the end of an era, but I’m glad I saw him on Friday. On the other hand, maybe this means he’s going to finish his sophomore album already? Cross your fingers.

Photo by David Greenwald

There’s no better way to say it than this: Richard Hawley and “Early Morning Rain” were made for each other. In a respectful take on Gordon Lightfoot’s original, the British troubadour adds a stomping rhythm section that brings out hitherto unheard rockabilly accents and treats the vocals with the same patient baritone he brings to his own best material. A whimsical harmonica zips through the air, an army of guitars sparkle in the sun, and Gordon Lightfoot’s classic is reborn, bigger and brighter but as sad-eyed as ever.

Richard Hawley – “Early Morning Rain” (Gordon Lightfoot cover): mp3

(Buy on Starbucks’ Sweetheart compilation)

Jams: Pants Yell!’s excellent Received Pronunciation; Miranda Lambert’s Revolution; Darlings’ Yeah I Know, Real Estate’s self-titled debut and The Clientele’s Bonfires on the Heath.

Film & TV: Deeper Into Movies with Fantastic Mr. Fox, Up in the Air and Citizen Kane; taking the plunge with Jersey Shore; my favorite films of the year.

Critical Backlash: Noughties or nice with Simon Reynolds.

I should preface this review by saying Darlings frontman Peter Rynsky and I met as we waddled out of toddlerdom in the spring of 1990, me with an already unhealthy obsession with women and him, from Russia with love, with only a halting command of English. In 2003, we performed in dueling rock bands at our high school talent show, me playing rhythm guitar and covering the Beatles and him singing lead and playing an original. Now he’s being written up in SPIN and I, um, write a blog. How we’ve grown.

Yeah I Know is the product of a healthy fascination with the Beach Boys, the Velvet Underground and the Strokes (mostly the Strokes), an NYU education, a Brooklyn practice space and a low budget; pop songs punctuated by pummeling feedback. Rynsky writes songs about drinking too much and trying to get laid and sleeping on couches. The band sounds like Girls if they weren’t joking or Wavves if they cared. It smells like college and tastes like Pabst Blue Ribbon. It’s immensely satisfying; I’m very proud. But for the record, our Beatles cover totally killed.

Darlings – “TV”: mp3

(Yeah I Know is out now on Famous Class)

Go vote! Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective and Phoenix are in a dead heat for, well, everything.