Following up on Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Phoenix just kicked off their U.S. promotional tour for the new album last night with a nearly album-perfect rendition of "1901" on Late Show with David Letterman. Phoenix packs up and heads back to Europe at the end of June, so catch them while you can!

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

This year's "Summer Album", a distinction firmly levied two years ago upon Panda Bear's peerless Person Pitch, seems firmly in the grasp of newly released Phoenix LP Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. From the bouncy pop of "Lisztomania" and sheer exaltation of album highlight "1901" to the almost mathy vibe of "Armistice", Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is a record of undeniably catchy licks and lilting vocals wholly suited to the sunny skies and warm breezes of a long summer holiday.

The album's considerable strength is most apparent in its first two singles, Lisztomania and 1901. In particular, the latter's chorus is among the most thrilling in recent memory with its rising synth undercut by an unbelievably heavy, rounded snare. The dreamy, downtempo Fences prefaces the two-part Love Like a Sunset, a mostly instrumental sequence that draws fair comparisons to much of Seidenmatt's earlier work. It would be incredibly difficult to name a favorite from side two, though, interestingly, any of the five remaining tunes would appear just as at home in the libraries of Northwest indie stalwarts The Postal Service, Minus the Bear, or (in the case of Girlfriend especially) later day Sunny Day Real Estate as they would in the output of this band from the outskirts of Paris.

Highly recommended, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix easily ranks among the top two or three indie releases this year.

• Official Band Page
• Pitchfork Band Page
• Pitchfork Review
• Drowned in Sound Review

It was the summer of 1994 and I had just discovered Soundgarden's SuperUnknown. Growing up on classics like The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Pink Floyd, I had greatly ignored modern bands, but now found myself staring at a snowy-peaked mountain of music with only a month to climb before the start of high school in the fall. Pre-Internet, I did what any resourceful fourteen year-old would do when placed in this situation: I joined Columbia House. My very first CD was The Downward Spiral. I've wanted to see Nine Inch Nails live ever since that day fifteen (FIFTEEN!) years ago, and it must have been fate that I wouldn't catch Trent Reznor in concert until his very last tour under the Nine Inch Nails name. NIN has been traveling with Jane's Addiction for most of the Wave Goodbye tour, but with Lollapalooza coming to Chicago this Summer, Perry Ferrell and company sat out this show, leaving Tom Morello and his Street Sweeper Social Club to open for Trent at the Charter One Pavilion Friday. Then, with darkness falling over Lake Michigan and the stage smoke machines set to full, Reznor appeared out of the mist. Nine Inch Nails played a ridiculous set covering all twenty years of their history, starting with old favorites like "Terrible Lie" before moving into the meat of The Downward Spiral. An early highlight came when Trent introduced "I'm Afraid of Americans" as "a little something I did with David Bowie." This transitioned into a more downbeat series featuring tracks like "Give Up" and "The Fragile" before erupting into an explosive triple of "Wish", "Survivalism", and "Mr. Self Destruct" (easily the climax of the show). The obligatory rendition of "Hurt" (I always cry when I hear that song) was followed by "The Hand That Feeds", which got the crowd boiling for "Head Like a Hole" and a perfect finish to a perfect concert. Thumbs and set list are below. See my Flickr for more photos.

Nine Inch Nails // Chicago, IL // May 29, 2009

1. Somewhat Damaged
2. Terrible Lie
3. Heresy
4. March of the Pigs
5. Piggy
6. Metal
7. The Becoming
8. I'm Afraid of Americans
9. Burn
10. Gave Up
11. The Frail
12. La Mer
13. The Fragile
14. Gone, Still
15. The Way Out is Through
16. Wish
17. Survivalism
18. Mr. Self Destruct
19. Suck
20. The Day the World Went Away
21. Hurt
22. The Hand That Feeds
23. Head Like a Hole

There are dozens of perfectly cromulent reasons for starting a blog. Some folks just have something to say; others don't, but say something anyway. Some are chroniclers or diarists, recorders, accountants. Artists construct sketchblogs and musicians compile previews of pieces in progress (poets have their purpose, too). Me? you ask. Why am I here, blathering and squawking with nothing to say? What is the purpose of THIS blog? Why does it even exist? It's simple: I deleted the last one! Excuse the delay. What, you didn't hear? We're recording right now.