The Allmans Brothers Band is once again slated for its annual “Peakin a the Beacon” thang, but this time the band will do a 13-night run of shows at the famous NYC venue (which is apparently getting restored after being bought by the folks who own MSG). And even better, it looks like Derek Trucks will be playing lead (slide) guitar alongside Warren Haynes.

the Slip continue to get some well-deserved hype…this time as the featured artist on AOL Music’s Interface

The guys that put on Bonnaroo said “screw it” and just went ahead and bought the farm — looks like they’re planning on keeping the festival in Manchester, TN for a while

The New Democratic Congress: A bunch of hippies at heart? — the incoming Dems celebrated with “Your House Band” made up of Mickey Hart, Bob Weir, Bruce Hornsby, Bill Kreutzmann, Warren Haynes, and Mike Gordon (setlist and deets here)

So after his arrest last month, Trey appeared in court and it sounds like he may have had heroin on top of all of those “powerful pills.” Ouch. Trey, go clean up buddy!

The 2007 South by Southwest festival is shaping up nicely. The initial artist line-up has been announced and includes the Stooges, Interpol, Lily Allen and Bloc Party. Also, the keynote speaker is Pete Townshend of the Who, and other speakers/interviewees include: David Byrne, Emmylou Harris, Gilberto Gil, Terry McBride, Rickie Lee Jones, Booker T, and Joe Boyd

Keller Williams has lined himself up with quite a spring tour

New Jimi Hendrix track found?!?!

Now we’ve got a few more:

The Shins have a new album, Wincing the Night Away (out on SubPop on 1/23) and have announced a U.S. tour — including a stop at the Congress in Chicago on my b-day…hmm
(via Pitchfork)

Yo La Tengo now have tourdates in the U.S., Japan, and Australia. Yo la’s last album I am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass continues to be one of my favorite eMusic downloads of ’05
(via LiveMusicBlog and Live Daily)

RJD2′s ste up a tour in support of his new album The Third Hand–now streaming on MySpace–which is out March 6th. Tour starts March 9th.
(also via Pitchfork)

And in case you may have missed it, here’s an earlier post about a bunch of great indie releases coming out early in 2007.

Once again confirming that the band is in the midst of recording another album and has exciting plans for fully re-uniting in 2007, Billy Corgan recently posted the following message to the pumpkins official myspace page:

“Dear Beautiful Souls,

Happy New Year to you! May 2007 prove to be a blessed year in every respect and every way…I send you every ounce of love I have in my heart…May the grace of Mother be with you…This year for us will see a new album of songs and a world tour of tears, and we truly look forward to playing again for fans young, old, and missed…So yes, tunes are being dusted off, while others are being asked to kindly submit to an upstart millennia and all it’s asking…In our daily prayers, we send out the signal that all who should hear us come forward and be seen, and by extension, heard…when we opened the lid on this music box, we were pleasantly suprised at the music that played: familiar yet unknown, welcoming but not sentimental…and that is all we can ask…God has absolutely blessed us in every respect…for many years there were private laments about opportunities missed and hearts so broken, but no more…we have turned the page and moved on, from places and faces, names and games…this age calls for resolve and certitude, and the fire within to burn ever bright…if that fire should be connected to absolutely deafening guitars, thundering drums, and the melodies of snakes, then so be it! We love you! If you are meant to be with us, find us!! We have need, and our arms are ever-open…although I can say definitively we don’t need jugglers…but we do need ???? (what?) what do we need!
With a smile and a wink,
billy corgan”

As a Chicago native and a music fan who came of age (and quite guitar-enthused) during the early 90s, the Pumpkins have a distinct spot in my musical past. It’s cool to see them keeping the dream alive.

Now bring on the 3-night stand in Chicago!

~~~

In other “reunion news,” there are a ton of rumors about the potential of a re-united Police. Billboard had the scoop, and now it has also bubbled up to Yahoo News/Reuters. Not going to hold my breath about this one.

Arcade Fire adds some NY C shows
(they’re doing 5 nights in a Greenwich Village Church!)

Cold War Kids are doing some shows on both U.S. coasts
(and according to ghostmedia, they’re here in Chicago at the Sub-T on March 9th)

Some others you may have missed:

Andrew Bird

Grizzly Bear

M Ward

update: Cold War Kids played a free show at the World Cafe in Philly, which is now available for streaming on NPR.org.

I’m finally taking a moment to catch up on some much-needed pitchforking and indie MP3 blogs, and it looks like I’ve missed quite a bit. There’s just lots of cool “indie” rock music happs going on these days.

Here’s a quick run-down, with some wordier thoughts below:

• Arcade Fire: announced some tourdates (only London so far, but only multiple-night runs in London and Montreal; hopefully some U.S. dates are in the works)
• New Pornographers: live album and tour (also only INTL dates, so far)
• The Rapture: winter tour and their own record label
• Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: new album and some promo tunes

• LCD Soundsystem (new songs leaking, and album on the way)

Daft Punk is, unfortunately, not playing at my house. Just as soon as the new track(s) from LCD Soundsystem’s forthcoming album were leaked, they were yanked. DFA (owned by EMI) didn’t like all those damn MP3 bloggers posting their hard-earned IP…And apparently, neither was James Murphy. But, fortunately, folks posted them long enough for plenty of us to get a taste of what’s to come from the James Murphy’s disco punk conglomerate. I’ve mentioned LCD Soundsystem before, including a post about Murphy’s efforts to get indie fans to work-out more. This band is just so much fun, so LMM can’t wait till the new disc comes out….Apparently, “Sounds of Silver” is available for pre-order here.

Update: Pitchfork followed up with a short interview with James Murphy.

Speaking of album releases, according to MusicSlut, 2007 is looking good for new albums from indie stalwarts. Here are my picks from their slightly longer list:

1/23: Animal Collective – People EP
1/23: Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer
1/23: The Shins – Wincing The Night Away
1/30: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Some Loud Thunder
1/30: Lily Allen – Alright Still
2/6: Bloc Party – A Weekend In The City
3/6: !!! – Myth Takes
3/6: Air – Pocket Symphony
3/20: Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha
3/20: LCD Soundsystem – Sound Of Silver
3/20: Low – Drums & Guns

But wait, there’s more!!!

+/- gets more hype:

The poppy math-rock of +/- (aka Plus/Minus) is getting some well-deserved hype. Plenty of press from your “go-to” indie sites: Stereogum, Pitchfork, and a bunch of Hype Machine MP3s. Mocking “indie” comments aside, I really do like the poppy “heart-on-the-sleeve” stuff these guys are pushing. It’s a bit of a departure for my tastes, but these guys have hit on some sort of whiny “I really miss you, girl!” nerve of mine. They also have a great sound, with interesting dynamics and textures. I know nothing of this “pitchfork double-review scandal” and could care less (well, okay, I was curious and and found the two reviews on pitchfork here: review 1, review 2).

I say they just keep bringing the goods and play more shows in the U.S. Definitely come back to the Chi! (I missed my chance in November…yet another band that played a show over the Thanksgiving holiday while I was away; they’re heading to Japan now, but will be back stateside in the spring).

And last but not least, the list of all indie rock lists: “The Top 40 Bands in America as Voted on by a Bunch of Effing Music Bloggers That Only Listen to Cooler Than You Guitar Based Indie Rock and Not Much Else.”

Solid list, but I think “Clell Tickle, Indie marketing Guru” might have something to say about the placement of Tapes’n'Tapes:

It’s just wierd, fun music, and even more fun in the live setting. LMM hasn’t seen these guys since Lollapalooza, but it looks like they’ve got a hell of a U.S. tour lined up for the winter/spring season in support of the new disc. If this suits your fancy check out the one of the links below or scroll down to the Amazon link for their last album, which is quite good.

Of Montreal ~ Of Monteal on the Hype Machine

Looks like they’ve got a new album due in March and are heading out on a 17-date tour in Europe. Here’s hoping they add some dates across the pond in the U.S., because these guys rock out in the live setting.

And…I just can’t resist adding in a little “friday youtubing.” This one’s a two-fer because LCD Soundsystem makes me dance (and smile):

Tribulations:

and

Movement:

Have a great weekend!

Aaaarrrrrrgh…don’t be a douche! I just couldn’t resist posting this one. (thanks to stereogum for the tip)

Speaking of Jack Black, his comedic cock-rock power duo, Tenacious D, is back with a new album, a movie, and a concert tour. The film, “Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny” is in theatres 11/17, the album “Pick of Destiny” is available 11/14, and the tour starts 11/11 at the House of Blues in Vegas. U.S. tourdates are as follows:

November 11 – Las Vegas – House Of Blues
November 17 – Los Angeles – Gibson Amphitheater
November 18 – Los Angeles – Gibson Amphitheater
November 20 – San Francisco – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
November 22 – Denver – The Fillmore
November 24 – Chicago – UIC Pavilion
November 25 – Detroit – Masonic Temple
November 27 – Toronto – Ricoh Coliseum
November 29 – Camden, NJ – Tweeter Center
December 1 – New York City – Madison Square Garden
December 3 – Washington, DC – Patriot Center
December 5 – Atlanta – Gwinnett Center Arena

More info is available at the D’s website. These guys not only crack me up, but they just plain old rawk!!!

NPR’s Live Concert Series makes another great pick. Next Thursday, October 19th, they’ve got Wilco live at the 9:30 Club in D.C.

Well done NPR, well done.

LMM last caught Wilco at Lollapalooza this August for a solid set of some of their classics and a few new tunes. But since then, I’ve been jonesin’ for more than a short festival slot. They’ll be ending their current tour with two hometown shows at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, so LMM is hoping to grab some of those pre-sale tix when they are released Wednesday, 10/18 at 10AM CT.

Wilco’s next album doesn’t come out until the spring, but frontman Jeff Tweedy’s got a solo DVD release, called “Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest,” that comes out on 10/24. There’s also a nice YouTube clip making the rounds, with Tweedy performing a “great sing-along” song called “The Thanks I Get”…great song, check it:

I’m currently curing a bad “case of the Mondays” by streaming Beck‘s new album, the Information, via AOL Music. Also available for full streaming are new releases from the Killers, the Cold War Kids, Pet Shop Boys, Jet, and more.

Man, this album is pretty funky…I might just have to check out that Chicago show on his fall tour.

(photo by Scott Beale/Laughing Squid)