Merge Records » Live

Spoon to take part in Tucson benefit album & appear at Austin music festival

Merge — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:31:24 +0000

Spoon will be contributing a song to the forthcoming benefit compilation Luz de Vida: A Compilation to Benefit the Victims of the Tucson Tragedy, which will be released on Fort Lowell Records on October 18. The other musicians on the album either hail from Tucson or have ties to the city and include Calexico, John Vanderslice, Robyn Hitchcock, and Neko Case, among many others.

All proceeds from the sale of Luz de Vida will go to the Tucson Together Fund, the only officially sanctioned fund established to assist victims, families, and witnesses of the January 8 shooting tragedy that occurred there. Read more about this worthwhile effort at musicagainstviolence.org.

In other Spoon-related news, the band has announced that it will be performing at Fun Fun Fun Fest on Saturday, November 5, at Auditorium Shores in Austin, TX. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to catch Spoon live in concert. Full-festival and single-day tickets are available here.

Pick up Spoon’s most recent full-length, Transference, or any of their previous releases in the Merge store today.

Orange County Social Club celebrates 10 years

Merge — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 14:00:44 +0000

This month marks the 10-year anniversary of Orange County Social Club, a neighborhood bar in Carrboro, North Carolina, founded by our dear friend and former Merge-intern-turned-employee Tricia Mesigian.

OCSC marks its first decade with a week-long celebration that begins this Sunday, October 9, at 4 p.m. in the bar’s parking lot. There will be free music by several local bands and food for purchase from Neal’s Deli, the proceeds from which will benefit MusiCares.

Then Monday through Thursday from 6–8 p.m., OCSC will host indoor semi-acoustic shows, with an additional solo set at 9 p.m. on Tuesday by Mac McCaughan. On Thursday evening, Shark Quest, who put out three lovely albums on Merge, will play an instrumental set. While all of these evening shows are free, donations will be collected and put towards a scholarship fund that Tricia has established with the Town of Carrboro to help send local aspiring entrepreneurs to a small-business training course.

And as if all that weren’t enough, there will be two shows at the Cat’s Cradle, both starting at 8 p.m., to cap off the week’s festivities. The show on Friday, October 14, includes an appearance by The Ghost of Rock, which features members of Pipe. On Saturday the 15th, Crooked Fingers will play some songs off of their soon-to-be-released album, Breaks in the Armor. Saturday also sees the return of Seven Brides for the Meatwagon, a covers supergroup that includes Jim Wilbur and Jon Wurster (on guitar!) of Superchunk. Jon reveals, “We will deliver unto you the best and worst of the ’90s, the 2000s, and the OCSC jukebox. We haven’t played in ten years, so cut us some slack.”

Tickets for Friday and Saturday are on sale now at Cat’s Cradle, OCSC, CD Alley, and Schoolkids Records. Proceeds from the Cradle shows will also go to MusiCares. Visit and “like” OCSC on Facebook for full details and updates on next week’s events.

Congratulations, Trish, on your much-deserved success!

Mac McCaughan scores films by Maya Deren for the Westobou Festival in Augusta, GA

Merge — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:46:56 +0000

Mac McCaughan of Superchunk and Portastatic has composed original scores for four films by noted experimental filmmaker Maya Deren, and he will perform them live on Thursday, September 29, at the world premiere of Transfigured Time: Music for the Films of Maya Deren, which opens the Westobou Festival in Augusta, Georgia.

Maya Deren (1917–1961) is often referred to as “the mother of the American underground cinema.” Her films are known for their startling and surrealistic imagery in which time and space are altered to create a world somewhere between dreams and reality. In 1946, Ms. Deren became the first filmmaker to receive a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and later that year she was the recipient of the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix Internationale. From photographer Cindy Sherman to artist Matthew Barney to filmmaker David Lynch, Maya Deren’s profound influence as a filmmaker and theorist resonates to this very day.

McCaughan’s compositional accomplishments include original scores for Who Loves the Sun and Looking for Leonard. His live scores for silent films include the Seattle International Film Festival’s presentation of Tod Browning’s The Unknown and Teinosuke Kinugasa’s A Page of Madness with Superchunk at the San Francisco Film Festival.

The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with a social hour in the lovely gardens of Sacred Heart Cultural Center. DJs will set the evening’s tone, and unique food and beverages will be available from The Bee’s Knees. The premiere of Transfigured Time: Music for the Films of Maya Deren will begin at sunset in the architectural splendor of Sacred Heart Cultural Center with McCaughan leading a small ensemble.

A co-production of Semi-Precious Productions and Sacred Heart Cultural Center, Transfigured Time will build upon the success of their presentation of 13 Most Beautiful: Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests at the 2010 Westobou Festival.

For tickets and more information, visit www.westoboufestival.com.

Missy Thangs of The Love Language to exhibit artwork

Merge — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:33:29 +0000

Minus Sound Research, an artist collective comprised of local North Carolina musicians/artists, will hold an art exhibition at Motorco Music Hall in Durham, NC, from October 7 through December 3. Among the featured artists is Missy Thangs of The Love Language. Past contributors to Minus Sound Research include Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan, whose work can be seen in the MSR5 book.

The opening reception is free to the public and will take place at Motorco on Friday, October 7, from 6–9pm. Following the reception will be a show with local bands Organos, Free Electric State, and Merge favorites Pipe. Admission is $6.

See the poster below for full details or visit the Minus Sound Research website.

Eleanor Friedberger on WNYC, playing at Barnes & Noble

Merge — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:12:31 +0000

Eleanor Friedberger has a few New York events this week in advance of her tour with Wild Flag in October!

On September 21, she stopped by WNYC’s Soundcheck for a live in-studio performance and interview. You can now listen to the archived session online.

And on Thursday, September 22, Eleanor will join author Christopher Bollen at the Union Square Barnes & Noble for a special performance at 7pm.

Eleanor will also be on Sirius XMU this weekend for a session from the NYC studios. Replays of the session air Thursday 9/22 at 4pm Eastern, Friday 9/23 at 9pm Eastern, and Sunday 9/25 at Noon Eastern.

Last Summer is in stores now!

Arcade Fire to play in charity basketball game at POP Montreal

Merge — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:57:58 +0000

On Saturday, September 24, several members of Arcade Fire will participate in POP Montreal’s first annual POP vs JOCK Charity Basketball Game. Brothers Win and Will Butler will show off their prowess on the basketball court, and Régine Chassagne will provide musical accompaniment on organ during the game. Richard Reed Parry will also premiere his bicycle symphony titled “DRONES/Revelations” during the halftime show. All proceeds from this event will benefit DJ Sports Club, a non-profit in Montreal that offers programs in sports and education to youth between 7 and 17 years of age. Tickets and more information can be found here.

Although their POP Montreal appearance at Metropolis is sold out, the band will be playing a free hometown show on September 22 at Place des Festivals in Quartier des Spectacles.

The deluxe edition of Arcade Fire‘s Grammy-winning album The Suburbs is available now on CD+DVD and digital download from the Merge store and your favorite retail outlets.

A guide to Merge happenings at Raleigh’s Hopscotch Festival

Merge — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:36:30 +0000

The 2nd annual Hopscotch Music Festival will take place September 8-10, 2011, in Raleigh, NC. Mark your calendars so you don’t miss out on these performances (updated with an appearance by Merge’s newest band, Hospitality!) :

Thursday, Sep. 8 @ 11 pm:
The Love Language – The Lincoln Theatre

Friday, Sep. 9 @ 12:30 am (Saturday morning):
Hospitality – The Union

Saturday, Sep. 10 @ 6:45 pm:
Superchunk – City Plaza w/ The Flaming Lips and Dreamers of the Ghetto [tickets]

Saturday, Sep. 10 @ 12:30 am (Sunday morning):
Times New Viking – The Union

Saturday, Sep. 10 @ 12:30 am (Sunday morning):
KORT (Kurt Wagner of Lambchop and Cortney Tidwell) – Kings Barcade

In addition, there will be a few FREE Merge-related daytime activities:

Friday, Sep. 9, 2-4 pm: Foundation will host a Wild Flag listening party. Come by for great music, drink specials, and door prizes.

Friday, Sep. 9, 3-5 pm: Stuart McLamb of The Love Language will participate in an artist-and-author discussion panel called “Simple Words: The Power of Narrative Songs” at the Raleigh City Museum. Seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis.

Saturday, Sep. 10, 11 am-5:30 pm: Hopscotch presents The Rosebuds & Friends, a block party outside the Lincoln Theatre. The seven-band lineup concludes with a performance by The Rosebuds at 4 pm. Food will be provided by Ashley Christensen and AC Restaurants, the proceeds from which will benefit the Frankie Lemmon Foundation.

And finally, SHOPscotch, a temporary pop-up store, will be open in Raleigh’s historic City Market every day during Hopscotch and on Sunday the 11th. This is the place to get Merge releases as well as records, t-shirts, and other merchandise from some of the festival’s participating bands. Business hours and more details can be found here.

Kurt Wagner debuts new art collection in Nashville

Merge — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:45:20 +0000

Kurt Wagner of Lambchop will debut a collection of his work at Zeitgeist Gallery in Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday, September 1. Kurt will perform at the opening reception of “Beautillion Millitaire 2000, LBJ, Portraits and Commissions” from 6-8pm that evening, and the exhibit will run through October 22. Zeitgeist Gallery is located at 1819 21st Avenue South (in Hillsboro Village), Nashville, TN. You can read more about Kurt’s new collection, and that of Wayne White, at Zeitgeist-art.com.

Kurt Wagner holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in fine art from the Memphis Academy of Arts and Montana State University, respectively.

Visit the Merge Store for all your Lambchop needs.

Arcade Fire’s Hyde Park performance streaming live today!

Merge — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:49:12 +0000

Arcade Fire take the stage at London’s Hyde Park at 8:45PM BST tonight (that’s 3:45PM Eastern Daylight Time), Thursday June 30. You can stream their entire set live at this link!

The Suburbs Deluxe will be in stores on August 2 and will include two new Arcade Fire songs. Visit iTunes to purchase both new Arcade Fire songs via digital download, or pre-order The Suburbs Deluxe Edition on CD + DVD in the Merge store to receive a download code for both songs.

The expanded CD version of The Suburbs sees the original album augmented by a longer version of the track “Wasted Hours (A Life That We Can Live),” as well as the previously unreleased “Culture War” and “Speaking in Tongues,” the latter of which features David Byrne on additional vocals. Highlights of the DVD portion include the complete half-hour short film Scenes From The Suburbs, directed by Spike Jonze; the companion documentary Behind The Scenes From The Suburbs; and the music video for the track “The Suburbs.” The package is rounded out by an exclusive booklet featuring lyrics and 80 pages of photos taken during the Scenes From The Suburbs film shoot.

Superchunk’s KEXP session archived!

Merge — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 20:25:58 +0000

Superchunk played a live set on KEXP while in Seattle for the Teenage Fanclub / Telekinesis mega-show at the Showbox on Thursday! Listen to the archive at KEXP.org.

North Carolina’s Superchunk was high on the list when it came to great indie-rock of the ‘90s (a time when that term actually made sense) and they haven’t lost a step with their 2010 LP of catchy, buzzing, riff-heavy pop “Majesty Shredding.” They play tracks from the new record and some classic singles live at KEXP. – W. Myers

Set List:
Cool
Digging for Something
Rosemarie
Cast Iron

Tour Dates:
10-15 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom
10-17 San Francisco, CA Treasure Island
10-19 Los Angeles, CA The Music Box at Fonda
12-09 Toronto, ON Sound Academy

And check out their in-store performances in Portland, San Francisco, and LA!

The Clean announce US tour dates!

Merge — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:17:58 +0000

The Clean will return to the US in September to play some shows! David, Hamish & Robert will kick off their tour at Maxwell’s in Hoboken and then head west giving lucky fans an all-too-rare chance to see them play live!

The Clean’s latest release Mister Pop is available along with other great selections from their catalog in the Merge store.

The Clean on tour:
Sep 29 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell’s
Sep 30 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge
Oct 04 San Francisco, CA The Independent
Oct 05 Portland, OR Holocene

Arcade Fire live stream the MSG show

Merge — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:58:12 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Lambchop on Daytrotter

Merge — Thu, 06 May 2010 21:24:51 +0000

illustration by Johnnie Cluney

Daytrotter took a trip to Nashville a while back and invited Lambchop to play a session at Signal Path studios for them. The results are lovely! Visit Daytrotter.com to stream and download songs from the session.

Video and audio of Lambchop’s transcendent performance at XX Merge is available for digital download in the Merge store.

Lambchop Live at XX Merge screening at New York’s 92Y

Merge — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:29:13 +0000

To help celebrate Merge’s 20th Anniversary, Lambchop showed up in one of their largest lineups in recent memory — 11-strong, including multiple guitars, keyboards, piano, and a horn section. Lambchop performing live is always a powerful proposition, but on this night they started quietly with “I Will Drive Slowly” from their first album (I Hope You’re Sitting Down) and accelerated from there, each song seemingly faster and more intensely played than the last, building to a furious finale of “Up With People” and an epic “Give It.” By the end of their set, everyone in the packed Cat’s Cradle – band and audience both – was levitating a few inches off the ground.

Join the 92Y Tribeca (200 Hudson St.) in New York City on Wednesday, March 31 for a special screening of the concert film, with a Q&A moderated by Anna Thorngate, an assistant editor at the Criterion Collection. The concert film will be preceded by Buttons, a 7 minute short film featuring Kurt Wagner playing a song at Friendly Barber Shop in Carrboro, NC.

Spoon – “Transference” out now! Perform on The Tonight Show!

Merge — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:04:03 +0000

Spoon’s eagerly anticipated new album, Transference, is available in stores and at your favorite digital music outlet today!

You can order your copy of Transference on CD, 180-gram vinyl LP (with digital download coupon) and digital download in the Merge store now! And don’t forget to order the limited edition “Written in Reverse” 7-inch on pink vinyl featuring non-album B-side “Mean Red Spider,” too!

There are a multitude of release-week activities planned in Los Angeles, New York, and Austin. Visit spoontheband.com or follow Spoon on Twitter for updates and opportunities to celebrate the release of Transference with the band!

Also, Spoon has announced their spring North American tour. The dates kick off with a March 17th headlining appearance at Stubb’s in Austin as part of the annual South by Southwest conference, and include the band’s first-ever headline engagement at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

Tonight!
Spoon on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien on NBC at 11:35 p.m. EST

Wednesday, Jan. 20
Spoon on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic—streaming live beginning at 11:15 a.m. PST / 2:15 p.m. EST

Thursday, Jan 21
Spoon play live at the Mercury Lounge in NYC. Password: Transference

Saturday, Jan. 23
Britt Daniel solo at Sound Fix in Brooklyn at 7 p.m. EST

Monday, Jan. 25
Spoon on KGSR 93.3 FM in Austin at 12 p.m. CST
Spoon performance at Waterloo Records in Austin at 4 p.m. CST

American Music Club on KEXP – Saturday, 9/19!

Merge — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:23:01 +0000

American Music Club at XX Merge. Photo by Brian Vetter

Mark Eitzel & pianist Marc Capelle will visit KEXP tomorrow while they’re in Seattle for a live session on air! You can listen at 1pm pacific time at KEXP.org or on the airwaves if you’re lucky enough to live in Seattle.

Mark Eitzel performs American Music Club:
09.19.2009 Seattle, WA Triple Door
09.20.2009 Portland, OR Mississippi Studios
09.24.2009 San Francisco, CA Red Devil Lounge

Telekinesis on WKNC TODAY!

Merge — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:48:05 +0000

The Telekinesis rock invasion of Raleigh continues today as Michael Benjamin Lerner & friends play live on WKNC! Tune in around 6:15pm (Eastern Time) to catch the set & interview, then come by Tir Na Nog in Raleigh for a FREE show tonight around 10pm!

M. Ward concert on NPR!

Merge — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:09:55 +0000

You can now listen to the entire M. Ward concert recorded at the 9:30 Club July 30th by NPR!

Visit NPR Music to listen to the show!

Destroyer performs as part of Wordless Music series

Merge — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:03:58 +0000

Destroyer joined by Loscil will perform a rare collaborative set of original music from each artist’s catalog as part of the Wordless Music series at the Miller Theatre at Columbia University in New York on September 12th.

Wordless Music is a series of performances devoted to the idea that the sound worlds of classical and contemporary instrumental music — in genres such as indie rock and electronica — share more in common than conventional thinking might suggest. Their goal is to bring audiences together, and to introduce listeners from both worlds to composers that they might otherwise not encounter, for a completely new concert experience.

Wordless Music
September 12, 2009
Miller Theatre at Columbia University
2960 Broadway (at 116th Street)

DESTROYER
LOSCIL
JACK QUARTET

Doors open at 7:30pm, show at 8pm. Tickets on sale via the Miller Theatre box office and Web site.

Spoon releases “Live at Stubb’s!”

Merge — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:12:24 +0000

Earlier this month, Spoon returned to their hometown, Austin, TX to commandeer Stubbs Amphitheater for SPOONX3. The band played three consecutive sold-out nights, and debuted material from their forthcoming new album.

Long-time Spoon sound engineer Hot Pockets mixed multi-track HD recordings of each of the three shows, and they are now available as MP3 or FLAC downloads in the Spoon store.

Get Spoon’s new single, “Got Nuffin’” on CD and digital download now in the Merge store. Preorder your limited edition copy of the “Got Nuffin” 12″ vinyl, too!

SPOONX3 starts tonight!

Merge — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:00:53 +0000

Decider Austin has a fun interview with Britt Daniel in advance of SPOONX3 that begins tonight in Austin. The Austin American-Statesman did a little overview of the “steady ascent” of Spoon, too.

Spoon will return to its birthplace to commandeer Austin’s Stubbs Amphitheater July 9, 10 and 11 for SPOONX3, which will feature the live debut of new material from the band’s forthcoming album as well as different special guests nightly, all handpicked by the band. Spoon will also perform as part of our 20th anniversary celebration, XX Merge July 22-26th.

The lineup for the shows at Stubbs is as follows:

July 9 – SPOON, Quasi, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
July 10 – SPOON, Low, Dale Watson
July 11 – SPOON, Atlas Sound, the Strange Boys

For further information, check www.spoontheband.com.

Wye Oak at Rufustival in Baltimore

Merge — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:46:58 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Wye Oak’s album release show is July 21 at Ottobar in Baltimore, and then they play Memorial Hall as part of XX Merge on July 26! Tickets still available!

M. Ward at KEXP – SXSW!

Merge — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:32:50 +0000

M. Ward visited KEXP while he was in Austin for SXSW this year! The session is now available as an MP3 download and part of the KEXP Live Performances Podcast!

M. Ward at KEXP

M. Ward on tour:
04.27.2009 Toronto, ON The Phoenix
04.28.2009 Montreal, QC Le National
05.15.2009 Visalia, CA Fox Theater
05.16.2009 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
05.22.2009 Eugene, OR McDonald Theatre
05.23.2009 George, WA Sasquatch Music Festival
07.23.2009 Salt Lake City, UT Twilight Concert Series FREE!
07.27.2009 Athens, GA 40 Watt Club
07.28.2009 Nashville, TN Cannery Ballroom
07.30.2009 Washington, 9:30 Club
08.01.2009 New York, NY Central Park Summerstage FREE!

A Trickle from the Vault

Merge — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:52:00 +0000

A couple songs for you, in what we hope to be a regular Merge Blog series of rare/live mp3s:

Destroyer & The Treacherous Fops – The Music Lovers (mp3): Live @ Cats Cradle, Carrboro, NC, July 31, 2004 at the Merge 15th Anniversary Festival.

This cut is culled from the one and only performance to date by The Treacherous Fops–comprised of Mac McCaughan on guitar, Spott on trumpet, Paul Finn on keys, Paul Cardillo on bass, and the incomparable Lee Waters manning the skins. Destroyer is Mr. Dan Bejar.

The Broken West – Brass Ring (mp3): Live at the Great Scott, Allston, MA, March 3, 2007. Special thanks to Bradley’s Almanac, one of the best blogs in Blogland, for the Broken West show!

For non-digital, real life shows near you, check out the Merge Tour Dates.

Anyone with rare/live recordings (especially lossless) of any Merge bands and a disposition towards sharing, please send a message to:

wilson
wilson (at) mergerecords (dot) com

SHOUT OUT LOUDS joined by Pogues in LA

Merge — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 20:14:00 +0000

Shout Out Louds played the last show of their North American tour last night in front of a packed and raucous house at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. It was indeed the perfect ending to an amazing tour. But the night was made extra special when Spider Stacy and James Fearnley of The Pogues joined the band onstage for a rollicking version of “Streams Of Whiskey” during the encore.

There’s some video below, but be warned the sound leaves a lot to be desired. You still get a sense of the fun though.

NME has a story on the events of the evening HERE.

We wish our friends from Sweden safe passage home and look forward to their return to these shores in early 2008 (stay tuned for details on that).