In case you haven’t seen it, at a recent show in Sweden, Bruce Springsteen and band honored the late, great Clarence Clemons by performing Springsteen’s stalwart song, Jungleland.  The Big Man’s nephew, Jake Clemons, filled in ably for his uncle in Sweden.  Springsteen had not previously performed the song on this tour.  If you’re not careful, this will leave a lump in your throat, particularly when Jake steps to the front to take his uncle’s famous solo.  It took us back and aback.

South London’s Jessie Ware is the latest in a long line of British torch-singers.  Sounding like a winning mix of Annie Lennox and Sade, Ware will soon release (on August 20th) what some are touting as the best sophisto-pop album of the year, Devotion.  The Line of Best Fit recently caught her in session performing a song off the album, Wildest Moments.  Check it out below, followed by the official video for the song Running that helped put her on the map.  After, check out the title track off the new album.  And finally, check out a Black Cab Session of Wildest Moments.

As a tribute to The Band’s late Levon Helm over the weekend at the Newport Folk Festival, My Morning Jacket covered the Band’s It Makes No Difference with the help (?) of Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes.  Though Rick Danko sang the original, Levon Helm sang the song at the Newport Jazz Festival in 2010.  Check out below (at 47:35) the winning version (despite some pitchy, off-key moments from Howard, particularly on the chorus–Brittany, they make these things called “in-ear monitors”–you might want to try a pair).  Highlights in the song are Jim James’ vaunted vocals, the usual gutty guitar work (at 52:28) of Carl Broemel and the sax work of Clint Maedgen (at 52:57).  Perhaps even more compelling is the intensity of Conor Oberst’s participation on Smokin From Shootin’ (also with Ben Sollee), which begins at 54:59.  MMJ never fail to captivate.

MMJ Setlist:

Welcome Home, Golden, The Way That He Sings, It Beats 4 U, Wonderful (The Way I Feel) w/ Ben Sollee and Laura Veirs, Bermuda Highway w/ Will Johnson (Centro-Matic / New Multitudes), Victory Dance, Dondante, It Makes No Difference w/ Brittany Howard (Alabama Shakes) and Clint Maedgen (Preservation Hall Jazz Band / New Orleans Bingo! Show), Smokin From Shootin’ w/ Ben Sollee and Conor Oberst, Movin’ Away, and I’m Amazed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ5QQZaMLaQ

We continue to find ourselves in a Polica state.  We previously touted Polica’s earlier performances on KEXP and WFUV’s Alternate Side.  The Alternate Side has just released additional performances by the band performing their songs Fist, Teeth, Money and Violent Games.  While we have not hid our disdain for the vocoder effect that’s been in favor these days, Polica are so compelling that they can even make the vocoder’s use tolerable for us.  We love the no-nonsense attack of the band and the concentrated intensity of lead singer Channy Leaneagh.  Check out in particular the dub elements in Fist, Teeth, Money and the driving drums in Violent Games.  All can be found on their great recent album, Give You The Ghost.  Now comes your opportunity to catch the band live.  Polica is currently on tour and will play the Echoplex in LA on August 21st.

Bloc Party are back.  After wowing since 2005 with a series of fine albums, the band took a well-deserved break after 2008’s Intimacy album.  Well, the Bloc is back in town.  They will soon release their new album, Four.  In the meantime check out the official video for the rocking Octopus off of the album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkeUFRK4i7w&feature=player_embedded

Comin’ or goin’.  In the last couple nights, two bands that are coming soon to the Central Coast appeared on the late night talk shows, while another that recently played here also appeared.

First up is Wilco on the Jimmy Fallon Show.  Wilco will appear at Avila Beach on September 29th. On Fallon, the band played Art of Almost off of their most recent album, The Whole Love, but also added Laminated Cat, a song by Tweedy side-band, Loose Fur.  Check ’em out below.  For all you equipment-freaks, do take note of Tweedy’s new signature Gibson SG.

Art of Almost:

Laminated Cat:

Next up are The Lumineers who will play The Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara on October 5th courtesy of Club Mercy.  Check out the band playing Ho Hey on the Leno Show:

Finally, locally well-received Milo Greene played 1957 on the Letterman Show:

Brooklyn singer-songwriter Kevin Devine plays tonight at Soho in Santa Barbara.  To get a feel for him, check out his recent winning cover of Pavement’s Summer Babe for the 405 Summer Series.  You can pick up tickets for the show at Club Mercy.

Devine had this explanation as to why he chose this song for 405:

“I saw Pavement with my first ever girlfriend at my second ever concert in the summer of 1995, outdoors, and they opened with this,” he said.

“There’s something about the looseness of this song, its slack nostalgia, that I associate with long, lazy summer days outside, with a girl, being charmed & charming.”

The lyrics are, in Pavement style, pretty much inscrutable wordfun collage, but their, his; magic trick was the way he breaks from the winking to invest, through inflection, such feeling, yearning even, in certain phrases (“I’ll be waiting forever, I’m waiting (x8)…” & “I’ve got a lot of things I want to sell, but not here, babe – torture!”).

“It’s a truly lovely & lived-in memory, no Instagram filter required.”

The captivating CocoRosie have released a new 7-inch recording featuring new song, We Are On Fire, on Touch and Go Records.  We’ve been intermittently enthralled by the music of these sisters (Bianca “Coco” and Sierra “Rosie” Casady) ever since we heard their harrowing cover of Damien Jurado’s song, Ohio, which they contributed to the 2005 Believer Magazine music issue (this year’s music issue should arrive any day now on newsstands–they still have those, right?).

In conjunction with the new 7-inch, CocoRosie recently released the official video for We Are On Fire, which you can check out below.  The video is one of the more entrancing music videos we’ve seen this year.  Directed/produced by Emma Freeman, Joerg Lassak, and Leanne Tonkes, we couldn’t take our eyes off the slow-motion cinematography.  Alternately beautiful and disturbing, the video/lyric speak in part to the 1690s and the video incorporates a stake-burning scene that may refer to the Spanish Inquisition burnings on Mallorca in 1691.  We love the trip-notic music and repeated chorus: “I used to have eyes, the colour of sky, now I can see, in the middle of the night.”

After the official video, check out an extraordinary live performance of the song recently in France.  These sisters can sing!

Last night two bands that generated a ton of buzz a couple years back, The xx and Beach House, appeared on the late night talk shows (Conan and Jimmy Fallon, respectively).  Watching these performances reminded us what we loved about The xx and their 2009 eponymous debut album (every song a perfect pop gem), and how underwhelmed we have been by Beach House live and on album.

To see and hear what we’re talking about, first check out Beach House’s “performance” on Fallon, and then compare to The xx’s performance of Angels on Conan.  While the critics continue to fawn over Beach House, we continue to yawn uncontrollably.  Singer Victoria Legrand still stands in place and stoically mumbles her lyrics as if a replicant, while Alex Scally has the gall to sit (sit!!) down while playing guitar (you don’t have jazz chops, boy; so stand the frack up!).  The performance is so lacking in any dynamism or interest that we swear that if you listen carefully, half way through their song you can hear Questlove fall asleep and tumble off his drum kit.  Despite the narcolepsy-inducing performance, ?uest seemed OK after.

In contrast The xx lower the house lights, spread the sound, shine a spotlight and display deft dynamism.    We love Romy Madley Croft’s spare, but precise and affecting, guitar-playing and heartfelt vocals (the lyrics seem paperweight, yet honest) on Angels.  Jamie Smith enthralls with waste-less, mallet-drummed accompaniment, and Oliver Sim chimes in with minimalist contrapuntal bass.  And in the process, you can’t take your eyes off the screen, having been captivated by their performance.  We can’t wait for their impending new album, Context, and tour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDjRRuHN8HI&feature=player_embedded

CBC has a cool little series entitled “5 for 20” in which CBC asks their favorite musicians to list their Top Five records of the last 20 years.  One of our favorite singer-songwriters, John K. Samson (leader of The Weakerthans and creator of one of our Top Albums of 2012 So Far, Provincial), recently participated.  At Number 5 Samson listed Christine Fellows’ 2005 album, Paper Anniversary.  We initially scratched our heads and wondered where we’d heard that name before.  And then we realized that Fellows is Samson’s wife.  Following this realization, all we could think was how wise and smart John K. Samson is (though to be safe, John, why not #1?).  Regardless, check out below Christine Fellows’ official video for her well-crafted song, Migrations.  Samson had this to say about Paper Anniversary: “All of CF’s four albums are truly great, but I pick this one because it became the template for the kind of record I want to create someday. Still makes me try harder.”

Good answer John; good answer.