Internet sensation, Lana Del Rey, came out in full and performed Video Games live Tuesday night on Live on Jools Holland.  Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOP2Yd_jpYQ

Mates of State showed up on The Letterman Show Monday night to perform their single, Palomino, off their new album “Mountaintops.” We wrote before about the innovative and laborious official video for the same song, but their performance on Letterman was a horse of another color altogether.  This exemplary mom & dad team simply kill it.  Check the emphatic vocals, the pulsating plants, the drum kit allegiance, and the kiss at the end.  As the band ends the song, Dave announces:  “No more calls.  We have a winner!” And then Paul gives this emphatic imprimatur when prompted by Dave:  “Unbelievable band!!” Check it out courtesy of the Audio Perv.

We wrote previously about the great Jesse Winchester and his bout with esophogeal cancer.  Comes now great news from Jesse and his wife Cindy that Jesse had a successful “esophagectomy,” has been declared cancer-free and is now home from the hospital.  Check out the great news below posted this past Monday.  You can receive more updates and help out with donations at Caring Bridge HERE.

“all is well

Jesse has been home from the hospital for ten days already, and is continuing with his amazing progress.  We were prepared for something so much worse than this, so we are very grateful for and awed by each comfortable day.  Certainly words to live by, as the events over the last several months have altered our life views.  We are calm.  We are happy.

Ryan Adams was on Conan last night, performing his song Lucky Now off of his impending new album “Ashes & Fire.” The new album is receiving universal rave reviews.  When he’s on, it’s as good as it gets.  Check it out courtesy of the Audio Perv.

Once again Dawes delivered the musical goods live at Soho on Saturday, though this time to an adoring, sold-out crowd.  All were awed by Dawes.  Since seeing them late last year at the same venue, they have evolved further and secured their status as one of the best live acts in the game.  Highlights of their set included If I Wanted Someone, Fire Away, When My Time Comes, Million Dollar Bill, Time Spent in Los Angeles, My Way Back Home, and A Little Bit of Everything.

Do yourselves a huge favor and pick up their most recent album, the phenomenal “Nothing is Wrong,” which will undoubtedly finish in our (and many others’) Top Albums of 2011 list.  Taylor Goldsmith and the boys are honing their songwriting skills (particularly the lyrics), and Taylor stands to become one of our best songwriters if the current trajectory continues.

Check out a few videos of Dawes live performances below.

Here’s a sweet acoustic version of My Way Back Home:

And here’s another acoustic version (of great new song, If I Wanted Someone), followed by an electrifying electrified version of the same song:

And finally, check out Dawes, with Jackson Browne and Jonathan Wilson, performing our “Favorite Ballad” of 2011, Million Dollar Bill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6oPnRFLuRo

Blitzen Trapper is the titular “co-headliner” with Dawes on the bands’ current tour together, but BT opened Saturday second-billed, and they couldn’t come close to matching the dead-on Dawes.  Blitzen Trapper’s set began countrified and then segued into a (very derivative) blues-rock/heavy theme that left us completely cold.  We’ve seen and heard this mix too many times before (and frankly if we wanted this melange, we’d just stay home and listen to our old Savoy Brown/James Gang/Humble Pie records or go to a roadhouse bar somewhere–and that’s not happening given the ever-expanding universe of more interesting music available).  And unlike Dawes, whose songs begin but then take-off from the ’70s sounds of Laurel Canyon, Blitzen Trapper doesn’t seem to elevate beyond their influences.  The audience didn’t seem to mind the Retromania, however, and their well-played instrumentals were well-received by the crowd.

Update:  We now know that luck was with us in Santa Barbara.  It appears that the two “co-headliners” are alternating at the headlining position, and last night in Phoenix Dawes was second-billed and played a scant 10 songs with no encore, while Blitzen Trapper headlined and played 18 songs.  Lucky us.  Unfortunate for Phoenix, and a true crime for Dawes’ fans (and the entire audience) there.

Opening up were the far more interesting Smoke Fairies from London.  To these ears, they were an interesting mix of PJ Harvey and Joanna Newsom, with nice fingerpicked and slide guitar touches.  Keep an eye on this duo.  They seem to be onto something.  We can’t wait to catch them backed by a full band.  Check out some videos below.

We’ve raved (slightly asterisked) before about her videos.  Check out a brand new live video of Lana Del Rey performing Blue Jeans accompanied only by solo electric guitar.  Asterisk hereby removed.

She will play the Troubadour in LA on December 7th (her only scheduled West Coast show this year).

Check it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zneaWRLUS8o&feature=player_embedded#!

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks are out on tour in support of their new album, “Mirror Ball.” Check them out below performing one of our all-time favorite Malkmus songs, Church on White, written by Malkmus (who attended nearby Cate School in Carpinteria) about a friend’s death over a decade ago.

Speaking of which, Man of Steele–R.I.P. Five years later and we still miss you, brother.

“Bleed the pot
When you’re hot you’re hot
And when enough is enough
Do the fakers drop out?
Promise me
You will always be
Too awake to be famous
Too wired to be safe
But all you really wanted
Was everything
Plus everything
And the truth
I only poured you
Half a life

Carry on
It’s a marathon
Take me off the list
I don’t want to be missed
Carrion
Its what we all become
From small minds and tall trees
Away from the action
But all you ever wanted
Was everything
And everything
Plus the truth
I only poured you
Half a life
Half a life

I only poured you half a lie”

While we remain immensely ensconced in our Elbow infatuation, we were reminded of the band’s 2008 official video for its uber-uplifting and standard set-ending song, One Day Like This. Check it out below, and make the best use of your day.  Below that is the same song done live with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Choir Chantage.

As mentioned previously Gomez gummed up our minds with their sticky set at Hardly Strictly last weekend.  Check ’em out performing Whatever’s On Your Mind at HSBF.

And after is the official video for this sweet song from their great new identically-titled album.  And then check the band performing their vivacious song, Options, on The David Letterman Show.

Whatever’s On Your Mind from Gomez on Vimeo.

“Options” on Letterman from Gomez on Vimeo.

In addition to Elbow, one of our most highly anticipated acts at HSBF was the ridiculously gifted singer-songwriter, Cass McCombs.  McComb’s “Wits End” album was a dark, chamber-ish endeavor that has shown up on a lot of Top 10 lists this year.  He’s set to release yet another album, on November 7th entitled “The Humor Risk” on Domino Records. According to Domino’s press release, the new album is “an attempt at laughter instead of confusion, chaos instead of morality, or, as fellow Northern Californian Jack London said, “I would rather be ashes than dust!” Musically, it is more rhythm-based, tempos swifter to nearly rocking, than the sparse Wit’s End.”

McCombs and band delivered en exemplary set of music at HSBF, appreciated for its subtlety and restraint that perfectly accented the magnificent melodies and plush playing.  Check out some videos below from HSBF, including his great Not the Way, and the uber-catchy song, County Line (though, apologies, we missed the beginning again).