Sippy Cups
The Time Machine (Snacker Disc)
release: June 16, 2009
style: kindergarten kiddie pop-rock
similar: The Hipwaders, Recess Monkey
[rating: ***] Be sure not to confuse the Sippy Cups' "kid-rock" with Kid Rock. You know what i'm saying. This group's second outing--inspired partially by their own offspring--is loosely a concept album regarding a Time Machine, though the Cups want you to know that it's not about a Time Machine per se. It's about ourselves and the growth and journey through life. The Time Machine is kid-friendly, parent-approved. Oh wowzer that was so clever of me to type! At live shows they have a guy who juggles and potrays different characters, represented here in songs such as "Seven is the New 14," which is a math lesson that i didn't exactly follow ("6 1/2 is still 6 1/2"). So follow THIS: "Super Guy Saves the Dad" is a quick, lighthearted lesson in anger management to be taken seriously. -Kenyon

www.myspace.com/thesippycups

The Charlatans UK Announce U.S Fall 2009 Tour
Tenth album You Cross My Path out now and in September

What a better band than the Charlatans to post about after two weeks of dead blogging. Remember, blogs are like sharks. Stop blogging and we're dead. So i guess Advance Copy was injured. The irony here is that the Charlatans were around long before blogging, well before digital cameras, and haven't been on any hiatus.


We read about them in British magazines NME and Select and saw their first videos on 120 minutes. I was lucky enough to see them at the Limelight in 1992, when it was a given to crowd-surf at nearly every rock show. Unlike several bands that were spawned from the same heyday of Madchester (Lush, Happy Mondays, Ride, Stone Roses), the Charlatans--although the line-up changed a little bit since 1991--are still around, surviving many storms in the shifty music industry environment and consistently released record after record. They now have ten, which is rather remarkable, considering all factors. I admit i stopped listening to them closely when the third album, the less-inspiring Up to Our Hips, came out in 1994. Since then i've all but ignored them. Now that it's been almost 20 years (!) since their inception, i can honestly say--along with Primal Scream--i've found new respect and love for the Charlatans, even in the wake of vocalist Tim Burgess' sobering up.

Mixed by the one and only Alan Moulder, You Cross My Path was first released last year for FREE in MP3 format. The new album already got physical release via Cooking Vinyl and will get more physical release for us Americans. The video for single "Oh! Vanity" is so 1992, while the band itself stays slick and true to its signature sound. -Kenyon

US FALL 2009 TOUR
Sept 17 - The Casbah - San Diego, CA
Sept 18 - Henry Fonda Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
Sept 20 - Double Door - Chicago, IL
Sept 21 - Magic Stick - Detroit, MI
Sept 22 - London Music Hall - London, ON
Sept 23 - The Mod Club Theatre - Toronto, ON
Sept 24 - Les Saints - Montreal, QUE
Sept 25 - Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA
Sept 26 - Music Hall Of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
Sept 27 - Theatre Of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA
Sept 29 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY
Sept 30 - Maxwell's - Hoboken, NJ
Oct 2 - Ottobar - Baltimore, MD
Oct 3 - Black Cat - Washington, DC
Oct 4 - The Orange Peel - Asheville, NC
Oct 5 - The Loft - Atlanta, GA
Oct 6 - One Eyed Jacks - New Orleans, LA
Oct 7 - The Parish - Austin. TX
Oct 8 - Granada Theater - Dallas, TX
Oct 12 - The Detroit Bar - Costa Mesa, CA
Oct 13 - Glasshouse - Pomona, CA
Oct 14 - Bimbo's 365 Club - San Francisco, CA

www.myspace.com/thecharlatans

That's entertainment.
Fischerspooner
Music Hall of Williamsburg May 7, 2009.
With Drop the Lime and a person with a boob exposed singing horribly.

setlist: amuse bouche*, happy, get confused, kick in the teeth, money can't dance*, supply and demand*, danse en france*, emerge, cloud, fucker, sweetness, best revenge* <> encore <> never win, we are electric* . *denotes song on new album, Entertainment.

clicky on photos to make bigger.

quotables from casey:

"madonna is here!"
"electroclash is dead. you should boo us!"
"press space bar"
"you sure you want to hear [emerge]? it's old and tired. that's what the newspapers say. what's a newspaper? the internet made me a star."

Coney Island + Schmiren Fest + Current Status Via Photos
-------------------------------------
2009 Siren Schmest in Coney Island was announced last week.
The initial line-up for July 18 is:

BUILT TO SPILL
THE RAVEONETTES
FRIGHTENED RABBIT
GRAND DUCHY
MONOTONIX
MICACHU & THE SHAPES
more TBA

Built to Spill is a logical choice for headliner, though the Raveonettes are too cool to be subjected to psuedo schmipsters at a free show to see Built to Spill or Frightened Rabbit. Coney Island is not even a place were the elite music snobs hang out on any other day. Not to mention the Village Voice print version has shrunk. It was in the pool. There was significant schrinkage. The exclusive beer sponsor is Budweiser. BUDWEISER. This is very important if you want to get trashed there and irritate people.



It just so happens that i was in Coney Island April 26. There is some confusion about the status of Coney Island's operation. Some of it has closed, though much is still opened. Here is the proof, which includes lights on the rides, stuffed animals in place for artistic photos, and a mannequin vomitting into a toilet. -Kenyon