wilco

It's been a while since we posted anything about Chicago alt-country rockers Wilco, but thanks to French music vlog La Blogotheque, we now have some new content from Tweedy and the gang. Videographer Vincent Moon made his way to Montreal where Wilco were set to perform a gig later in the evening, and recorded the band going through a stripped-down version of their "Country Disappeared." I've been hoping Wilco would meet Vincent Moon Derrick Belcham, and it finally happened. I would've loved to see them do one of Moon's famous Take-Away shows, where bands take to the streets to perform unique two or three songs sets in different parts of the city they are in, but this will definitely suffice. Damn, I love this band!

Hopefully Wilco makes it to Houston again sometime soon, and when that happens, let's pray that Cereal won't get in a chick fight and have to poor a beer on some rude girls head.

Guesting with Wilco seems to be the in thing for indie rockers to do as of late. First, Austin group Okkervil River joined the storied alt-rock band at Red Rocks, and now a few more friends have stepped into the inner Wilco circle. For their performance at Keyspan Park in the famed Coney Island district of Brooklyn, Wilco brought along Yo La Tengo, Leslie Feist and Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste to help them out on several songs throughout the set. Yo La Tengo served as the evening's opener, but also joined Wilco for a fuzzed-out version of "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" to close the extended first encore. Leslie Feist, who recently reunited with her old band, Broken Social Scene, also joined the Chicago sextet for several songs, including "You & I," a track she recorded with Wilco for their latest album. Already known for his friendship with Feist, Ed Droste was probably there just to hang out, but couldn't resist joining her in singing along on both "California Stars" and "You Never Know," as well as banging away on percussion during "Hoodoo Voodoo" to help finish out the second encore.

Wilco feat. Yo La Tengo - "Spiders (Kidsmoke)"

Check out clips of "California Stars," "You & I," "You Never Know" and "Hoodoo Voodoo," all of which feature Feist and/or Ed Droste on vocals and/or percussion after the jump.

While I was running from stage to stage at ROTHBURY this past weekend, BOT-favorites Wilco and Okkervil River joined forces for a pre-Fourth of July get-together at Denver, CO's famed outdoor venue, Red Rocks Ampitheatre. While they both played their own sets, with Wilco taking headlining duties, the encore found both bands returning to stage for a take on Wilco's "California Stars." The Woody Guthrie-penned, Wilco-arranged tune has been on regular rotation in Wilco's live repertoire for many years, but this Okkervil-enhanced version at such a beautiful venue is just a bit better than the rest.

As a bonus, check out Wilco's nasty version of "Misunderstood" from Red Rocks after the jump

High on the heels of their stellar two-hour set at Bonnaroo, Chicago alt-rockers Wilco are now on a media blitz, promoting their eighth studio album – second with the current line-up. A follow-up to 2007's Sky Blue Sky, the aptly-titled Wilco (The Album) is set for release next Tuesday (June 30 via Nonesuch), and features a nice mix of songs that are influenced by many different periods in the Wilco timeline. For their first television appearance in conjunction with their latest album, Wilco brought the single "You Never Know" to the shiny new Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. Known for their suave fashion sense, they also brought along a new set of colorful suits, even supplying guest guitarist Jimmy Vivino with an extra.

So good. So under-appreciated.

Former Wilco multi-instrumentalist and all around genius Jay Bennett passed away today at the age of 45. Bennett was the yin to Jeff Tweedy's yang, but due to constant creative differences during the recording of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, he parted ways with Wilco. Jim DeRogatis of The Chicago Sun Times has posted a lengthy article chronicling Bennett's life and death much better than I ever could, so head on over there and take a read. R.I.P. Jay Bennett, the world's a less creative place without you.

Wilco's newest album, Wilco (The Album), isn't due out until the end of June, but you can listen to it in its entirety right now.

Snag the hump-adorned album June 30, out via Nonesuch.

In what can only be seen as an attempt to compete with the big boys, the 2009 edition of the 10,000 Lakes Festival has come out strong with some big names to get folks excited about their initial artist announcement. Widespread Panic is set to hold down two nights in the headlining spot, while the big ticket seller is Dave Matthews Band. Wilco is also slated to appear at the four-day festival, which will take place way up north in Detroit Lakes, MN from July 22nd to the 25th. A few Minnesota bands got the nod as well, including BOT favorites Trampled By Turtles, as well as the genre-bending rock group Wookiefoot whose Snowball event last weekend served as the platform for this announcement.

The festival's official website claims that they are still yet to release their "biggest announcement ever" on the 21st of this month, so maybe we'll see one of those two reunited mega-jambands on top of this bill. Hell, they're both rumored to play every other damn festival, why not this one?

Any thoughts people? Is anyone interested in coming with me?

What do you get when you mix a little Radiohead with some Wilco, toss it with some Smiths/Modest Mouse and a dash of Crowded House? No, I'm not talking about the wet dream I had last week, I'm talking about the newest super group to take the world (well, New Zealand, anyway) by storm. Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and John Stirratt, Radiohead's Phil Selway and Ed O'Brien, and famed Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr recently headed to the other side of the world to work with legendary-kiwi/Crowded House mastermind Neil Finn at his own Roundhead Studios in Auckland, New Zealand. The second coming of Finn's 7 Worlds Collide project (the first did not include members of Wilco, but did include Eddie Vedder) came about after successful sales of the recording from the first go-round in 2001. Thanks to modern day technology, though, we don't have to wait until they release the next set of recordings, because we get a nice little Radiohead-soaked preview from YouTube to satisfy our cravings.

7 Worlds Collide - "Fake Plastic Trees":
Check out 7 Worlds Collide's take on Radiohead's "Bodysnatchers" and more after the jump

The 40th anniversary line-up for the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was announced today, bringing out several favorites and familiar faces. The first weekend of the festival, set to take place April 24-26, will feature headliners Wynton Marsalis, Dave Matthews Band and James Taylor, with the daytime slots being filled by the likes of Wilco, Earth Wind & Fire, Spoon, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, The Avett Brothers, Kinky, Del McCoury Band and a host of others.

The second weekend of the festival, April 30-May 3, has Aretha Franklin, Ben Harper & the Relentless 7, and a slot for a TBA performer on top of the bill, with Kings of Leon, Tony Bennett, Bonnie Raitt, Common, Buddy Guy, Toots & the Maytals, Doc Watson and more holding down the daytime.

As always, the festival leans quite heavily on the music from its host city. New Orleans is well represented with The Neville Brothers, Irma Thomas, Galactic, The Meter Men: Zig, George and Leo, Dr. John and about four hundred more Crescent City artists on the bill.

Check out the full line-up after the jump

Wilcobama (photo from Brooklyn Vegan)

You might remember that I recently posted a video which featured two of my favorite bands, Wilco and Fleet Foxes, collaborating together on the Bob Dylan classic "I Shall Be Released." You might also remember that it was quite good. Wilco decided to take advantage of the mass amounts of blog hype over that video, and released a clean, crisp soundboard copy of the cover for the world to download. There is a catch though. To get the mp3, you have to hop on over to their site and pledge to vote in the upcoming Presidential election.

If you have been living in a cave for the past year, the election pits Democratic nominee Barack Obama against Republican candidate John McCain. If you pay attention to our blog, there is no question about who BOT's votes are going to, but our opinion doesn't matter in this case. What does matter is that you head on over to your local voter registration center or online resource to get yourself signed up. It will take only a few minutes, so download the free music and give it a listen while registering.