Orchestral folk group The Ridges return to Cincinnati on Thursday for a free show at MOTR Pub as part of their brief Midwest tour. The band, whom I first caught at MPMF.11, opens for MPMF comrades Paper Thick Walls. The MOTR show is the Ridges’ first Cincinnati show since the release of their Daytrotter session, where you can find some songs from the EP, as well as a few previously unreleased tracks.

I’ve written about the Athens-based band before but now that I’ve seen them a handful of times, I can confidently say The Ridges stands as one of my favorite music discoveries of 2011. The band consists of a rotating ensemble of musicians anchored by Victor Rasgaitis (guitar, vocals), Johnny Barton (percussion, glockenspiel, vocals) and Talor Smith (cello, vocals). Still, the fluidity of the band is one of its many shining facets; every show is different since at any show you may also catch any combination of cello, viola, violin, trumpet, piano, ukelele, mandolin, and double bass. Meanwhile, their debut self-titled EP captures the full range of their sound, from undeniably catchy pop songs like “War Bonds” and “Invented Love” to brooding, baroque-tinged cuts like “The Insomniac’s Song” and “Overboard.” If 2011 is any indication of The Ridges’ potential, expect great things from this band in 2012.

Stream: The Ridges – War Bonds

Catch the promo video for The Ridges’ Winter Tour here.

The Ridges Winter Tour 2012

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2 – Cincinnati, OH – MOTR Pub
Opening for Paper Thick Walls
9PM / Free

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern
Opening for Hollis Brown
8PM / $8 Tickets
Buy tickets here

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4 – Chicago, IL – Uncommon Ground
With The Island of Misfit Toys
10PM / $5 Cover
Make a listening room reservation: 773-929-3680
*Seating is limited – reservations are highly recommended

-post by Caitlin Behle @cutelin

The Heartless Bastards had a great New Years announcement for us all yesterday. Letting the masses know they will be coming to their city with a newfound energy and a new case full of songs. The band are releasing their latest album, Arrow on February 14th. And now we can confirm that they will be hitting their hometown of Cincinnati for a show at the Madison Theatre as well on February 17th. If you are like me, you’ve already spent some time with the first song from the album, “Parted Ways” and now you can watch that song performed live.

The track was captured by the good folks at Do512 in Austin during a live session and gets me even more excited for the new record. Check it below.

And if that wasn’t enough to get you ready, the vinyl fans need to take note of the awesome looking double LP the band are making available for pre-order this week as well. Here is a picture of the Deluxe Pack….

The pictures package will set you back 65$ but if you can live without the lithograph and CD you can get the package for 38$. Snag one or both here.

Plenty to be amped about for our friends Heartless Bastards in 2012!

The name Sebadoh is synonymous with many modern rock classics of the 1990′s. There may not have been a band that caught the attention of the ‘indie kids’ (even though nobody called them that) like these guys did. You know the story, Lou Barlow wanted to create and write more outside of the walls of Dinosaur Jr. and enlisted the help of Eric Gaffney to help him do so. They released a cassette under the Sebadoh name in 1987 and it ended in Barlow’s ouster from Dinosaur Jr.

Jason Loewenstein later joined the duo and Sebadoh began to create one of the best modern rock catalogs of the 1990′s.

Fast forward to 2007, when the original lineup got back together for a tour alot of people didn’t think would happen. It coincided with the re-issue of several Sebadoh albums starting with Sebadoh III, then The Freed Man, and Bubble and Scrape. This year, Bakesale and Harmacy got the re-issue treatment, and now the tour is getting a reboot as well.

Of course, most exciting in all of this is the fact that Sebadoh will be playing a date here in the Cincinnati area, at Southgate House on October 27th. So get excited 90′s Modern Rock fans, because Sebadoh are back. Tickets go on sale THIS FRIDAY!

Sebadoh 2011-2012 Tour Dates:

08/23 – Manchester, UK @ Academy 3
08/24 – Edinburgh, UK @ Cabaret Voltaire
09/08 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom (Musicfest NW)
09/16 – Perth, AU @ Rosemount Hotel
09/18 – Melbourne, AU @ Corner Hotel
09/19 – Melbourne, AU @ Corner Hotel
09/21 – Sydney, AU @ Metro Theatre
09/22 – Brisbane, AU @ The Hi Fi
09/27 – Shibuya, JP @ O-Nest
09/29 – Nagoya, JP @ Apollo Theater
09/30 – Osaka, JP @ Fandango
10/01 – Fukuoka, JP @ Musk
10/02 – Sibuya, JP @ O-West
10/25 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Brillobox
10/26 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
10/27 – Cincinnati, OH @ Southgate House
10/28 – Indianapolis, IN@ Radio Radio
10/29 – Columbia, MO @ Mojo’s
10/30 – Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s
10/31 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
11/01 – Iowa City, IA @ The Mill
10/02 – Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar
11/04 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners
11/05 – Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone
11/06 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
11/07 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt
11/08 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle
11/10 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
11/11 – Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s
11/12 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
12/02-04 – Minehead, UK @ ATP UK curated by Jeff Mangum
01/19-23 – Weezer Cruise

Back in 2009, one of our favorite debut album of the year, and one of our favorite albums overall, came from Scotland courtesy of We Were Promised Jetpacks. Since then, the band have toured the states extensively and now are ready for the follow up act in the form of album number 2. After teasing the new material last week on You Tube, the band are ready today to provide all the details you’ve been waiting for when it comes to the new album, so here is the rundown.

The new album gets a US release on October 4th, once again from Fat Cat Records. In addition, the band are touring again, and while they are not coming to Cincinnati this time, we hope they add some dates and include us. Still, if you want to get up to Cleveland, you can catch them live on November 1st at Grog Shop. And finally, there is a brand new song to download today, in exchange for your email addy titled “Act On Impulse” and it’s really worth it. So give up the email below and get to listening to the latest from We Were Promised Jetpacks.

10.26 – Harrisburg, PA @ The Abbey Bar
10.27 – Washington DC @ Black Cat
10.28 – Boston, MA @ Paradise
10.29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
10.30 – New York City, NY @ Webster Hall
11.01 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
11.02 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
11.03 – St. Louis, MO @ The Old Rock House
11.04 – Norman, OK @ Oklahoma Memorial Union
11.05 – Dallas, TX @ Trees
11.08 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
11.09 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
11.10 – Los Angeles CA @ The Music Box
11.11 – San Francisco CA @ Bimbo’s
11.12 – Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall
11.13 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
11.15 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos

Good concert news today that just came across our radar, indie pop band Beirut are hitting the road for a bunch of tour dates this fall, and included in those dates will be a stop here in Cincinnati. Beirut is preparing a new record The Rip Tide, which hits indie store shelves August 30th. According to Pitchfork, the tour starts tomorrow night and spans the globe consistently until the band lands in Cincinnati on November 11th for a show at Bogarts.

Tickets will be $25 in advance, $28 at the door.

06-30 London, England – Hyde Park &
07-03 St. Gallen, Switzerland – St. Gallen Fest
07-05 Ferrara, Italy – Costello Piazza #
07-07 Novi Sad, Serbia – EXIT Festival
07-09 Trencin, Slovakia – Pohoda Festival
07-12 Arles, France – Arles Fest
07-14 Meco, Portugal – Super Bock Super Rock
07-16 Valencia, Spain – Benicassim
07-18 Lyon, France – Les Nuits De Fourviere
07-20 Nyon, Switzerland – Paleo Festival
07-29 Portland, ME – State Theater
07-31 Montreal, Quebec – Osheaga Festival
08-02 Toronto, Ontario – The Phoenix
08-04 Toronto, Ontario – The Phoenix @
08-05 Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza
08-10 Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore Ballroom
08-12 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
08-14 San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands Festival
09-02 Dorset, England – End of the Road Festival
09-04 Stradbally, Ireland – Electric Picnic Festival
09-06 Manchester, England – Manchester Academy
09-08 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
09-12 Paris, France – Olympia
09-14 Brussels, Belgium – AB
09-16 London, England – Brixton Academy
09-21-22 New York, NY – Terminal 5
09-28 Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
10-04 Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre
10-09 St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
10-11 Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Hall
10-25 Richmond, VA – The National
10-27 Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
10-29 Austin, TX – Stubb’s
11-11 Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts
11-13 Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory

& with Arcade Fire
# with the National
@ with Owen Pallett

Beirut – East Harlem by Revolver USA

Even though the weather hasn’t really shown it, it’s almost summer here in Cincinnati. And of course, with summer comes the announcement of the concert series over at Riverbend. Now, I typically don’t bat an eye when I look at the lineup of has been retreads that the venue brings in like OAR, Goo Goo Dolls and of course the drunken mess that is Jimmy Buffett shows.

But I am happy to see the likes of My Morning Jacket among the shows coming later this summer, and even more stoked to see Neko Case is supporting.

MMJ have a big hometown show in Louisville on the 31st as well, but if you missed out on tickets, or just want to see them again, you can catch them at PNC Pavilion on August 17th. Tickets for the show go on sale tomorrow morning at 10am, so if you wanna get the best seats, don’t forget to get online and reserve them.

In addition, MMJ are releasing a documentary soon, and a trailer for the doc just showed up online, check it.

A new video from our friends Vandaveer hit the web this week, and we can’t just keep it to ourselves. It’s yet another great visual interpretation of a Vandaveer song, this one from “Dig Down Deep” and it features not only Mark and Rose, but also friends from These United States and other musical friends of Vandaveer.

Check it out below and be sure to catch Vandaveer here in Cincinnati at the Southgate House for a show May 13th.

May 05 Triumph Brewing Co. New Hope, PA
May 06 The Rock Shop Brooklyn, NY
May 07 Brillobox Pittsburgh, PA
May 10 Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, OH
May 11 The Empty Bottle Chicago, IL
May 12 The Bishop Bar Bloomington, IN
May 13 The Southgate House Newport, KY
May 14 Natasha’s Lexington, KY
May 15 Uncle Slayton’s Louisville, KY
May 16 The Basement Nashville, TN
May 17 Krankies Winston-Salem, NC
May 18 Kirk Avenue Music Hall Roanoke, VA
May 20 Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar Charlottesville, VA
May 21 IOTA Club & Cafe Arlington, VA
May 22 The Metro Gallery Baltimore, MD

After a wildly successful debut album in 2009, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart could have easily released a disappointing sophomore album this year. I say that because when you do so well right out of the gate, it’s a difficult trajectory to improve upon. But I’d venture to say that POBPAH have done just that with their second album, Belong, have taken things up a notch with their fuzzed out, guitar heavy post-shoegaze sound.

Yep, Belong is as good, if not better than the debut album, and you now get a chance to see the band live in concert right here in Cincinnati later this summer. Pains are on the road already, but won’t be stopping here until August 4th when their tour rolls into the Southgate House with Craft Spells supporting. Don’t miss this one friends.

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart – Belong by Slumberland Records

05/06 New York, NY Webster Hall *%
07/31 Montreal, QC Osheaga Music and Arts Festival
08/02 Toronto, ONT The Opera House #
08/03 Pontiac, MI The Crofoot Ballroom #
08/04 Newport, KY Southgate House #
08/05 St. Louis, MO Off Broadway #
08/07 Chicago, IL Lollapalooza
08/09 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Small’s

* = w/ Twin Shadow
% = w/ Big Troubles
# = w/ Craft Spells

Great concert announcement to share today, as Iron & Wine are coming to the Cincinnati area this summer on June 11th at the Madison Theatre in Covington. I’m not aware of Iron & Wine playing the Cincinnati area ever, so this is kind of a big deal. What makes it even more exciting is that The Head & The Heart, a great new band signed to Sup Pop Records, are supporting for this show, making it a great double bill.

Get a taste of both bands below, off of their new releases, and buy your tickets now, because they are already on sale!

Well, sorta. MMJ announced some tour dates this week and one of those is a show about an hour south of us in Lexington, Kentucky. It’s a “University” show, so some things will be different when it comes to tickets. The official word comes from University of Kentucky here and Matt from YANP points out the following.

Student tickets go on sale Monday March 7 and are $25 for floor and $20 for upper arena. General public tickets are $50/45.

But don’t let that stop you, My Morning Jacket always puts on a great show and this one will be no exception.

UPDATE: New album announced today, Circuital. In celebration of the forthcoming full-length, the band will give away six weekly downloads beginning March 3rd. The first five downloads will be live songs taken from each night of their historic week at New York’s Terminal 5 in October of 2010. On the sixth week, the band will offer up a brand new song from the new album.