Driven Far Off

The latest on the indie, alternative, and rock music scene including news, music, contest, interviews, and more. Best described as your favorite place to find new bands.

Archives for 2007

Decemberists Nationwide Tour

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The Decemberists will be heading out on tour mid-March through May. If they are coming to your town, be sure to check them out!

3/21, Jersey City, NJ (Loews Theater)
3/22, Jersey City, NJ (Loews Theater)
3/23, Boston, MA (Avalon)
3/24, Boston, MA (Avalon)
326, North Bethesda, MD (Strathmore Music Center)
3/27, Upper Darby, PA (Tower Theater)
3/29, Wellesley, MA (Wellesley College)
3/30, Buffalo, NY (Center for the Arts)
3/31, Grantham, PA (Messiah College)
4/1, Norfolk, VA (The Norva)
4/2, Raleigh, NC (Meymendi Concert Hall)
4/4, Knoxville, TN (Tennessee Theater)
4/5, Nashville, TN (City Hall)
4/6, Atlanta, GA (Tabernacle)
4/8, Orlando, FL (Hard Rock Live)
4/9, Tallahassee, FL (The Moon)
4/10, Birmingham, AL (Alabama Theater)
4/11, Memphis, TN (New Daisy Theater)
4/13, Louisville, KY (Brown Theater)
4/14, St. Louis, MO (The Pageant)
4/15, Champaign, IL (Foellinger Auditorium — University of Illinois)
4/16, Milwaukee, WI (Pabst Theater)
4/18, Chicago, IL (Riviera Theater)
4/19, Chicago, IL (Riviera Theater)
4/20, Madison, WI (Orpheum Theater)
4/21, Kansas City, MO (Uptown Theater)
4/22, Denver, CO (Fillmore Auditorium)
4/25, San Francisco, CA (Warfield Theater)
4/26, San Francisco, CA (Warfield Theater)
5/3, Eugene, OR (McDonald Theater)
5/4, Seattle, WA (Paramount Theater)
5/5, Bellingham, WA (Western Washington University)

Tonight On DJ Rossstar

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Tune in tonight, Thursday, January 18th 2007 from 7-8pm PST to hear a live phone interview with Lovedrug and an in studio interview with Street Drum Corps. You can tune in at www.idobiradio.com (or open iTunes, chose radio, then alt/rock, then Idobi Radio) Send questions to the screen name: Staridobi to be answered on air.Ԛ  Add myspace.com/djrossstar for more info.

Alternative Press “The Bands You Need To Know” Tour

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The official dates for the Alternative Press “The bands You Need To Know” tour have been announced. Circa Survive and Cute Is What We Aim For are set to co-headline the tour. As Tall As Lions and Envy On The Coast will provide support on all dates. The unique blend of musical genres presented on the tour caters directly to AP’s readersâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ wide range of tastes and interests, providing them with a true â┚¬Ã…”Must Knowâ┚¬? experience.

The tour will play in 1,000- to 1,500-capacity venues that allow for a casual, one-of-a-kind environment, integrating music and a behind-the-scenes atmosphere for the ultimate fan experience before, during and after the show.

Dates for the 2007 AP â┚¬Ã…”Bands You Need To Knowâ┚¬? Tour:

3/16 Houston, TX- Meridian
3/17 Austin, TX- Emo’ (free SXSW Party, all-ages) *more bands to be announced
3/18 Ft. Worth, TX- Ridglea Theater
3/20 Tempe, AZ- Marquee Theater
3/21 Pomona, CA- Glass House
3/22 San Diego, CA- House of Blues
3/23 Las Vegas, NV- House of Blues
3/24 Los Angeles, CA- Avalon
3/25 San Francisco, CA- Slim’s
3/27 Portland, OR- Hawthorne Theater
3/28 Seattle, WA- El Corazon
3/30 Boise, ID- The Big Easy
3/31 Salt Lake City, UT- In The Venue
4/2 Englewood, CO- Gothic Theater
4/3 Omaha, NE- The Rock
4/4 MInneapolis, MN- Trocadero’s
4/5 Chicago, IL- Metro
4/6 Cincinnati, OH- Bogart’s
4/7 Detroit, MI- St Andrews Hall
4/8 Cleveland, OH- House of Blues
4/10 Atlanta, GA- The Masquerade
4/11 Orlando, FL- House of Blues
4/12 Ft. Lauderdale, FL- Revolution
4/13 Jacksonville, FL- Free Bird Cafe
4/14 Charlotte, NC- Tremont Music Hall
4/15 Norfolk, VA- Norva
4/16 Baltimore, MD- Ram’s Head Live
4/18 Philadelphia, PA- Theatre of Living Arts
4/19 New York, NY- Irving Plaza
4/20 Asbury Park, NJ- Stone Pony
4/21 Hartford, CT- Webster Theatre
4/22 Boston, MA- Avalon

The Higher – On Fire

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The Higher On Fire

Artist: The Higher
Album: On Fire
Label: Epitaph
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: March 6th, 2007

Overall: 7.5
Music: 7.5
Lyrics: 7.0
Production: 10.0

On the verge of breaking up to then go on to put out what will probably be one of the most well produced, polished, radio friendly records of 2007. The Higher fit into an interesting place in the music spectrum. If I had to categorize â┚¬Ã…”On Fireâ┚¬?, it would get thrown into a pop punk section, and maybe thatâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s correct, yet the album raises the typical pop punk bar a couple of notches.

First thing is first, there are 2 songs they rerecorded, but the songs are so much better and flow so naturally that you might not even realize that they are older songs. There is actually a 3rd song â┚¬Ã…”Pace Yourselfâ┚¬? that is from their last record. Itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s been remixed by Patrick Stump (think FOB) and I still canâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t figure out why they included it on the disc because itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s flat out terrible. The song gets repetitive real fast and offers nothing to the record.

The thing â┚¬Ã…”On Fireâ┚¬? does well is try to give each song a unique feel. â┚¬Ã…”Insuranceâ┚¬? has a sort of salsa mixed with rock feel which is weird at first but strangely compelling. â┚¬Ã…”Can anyone really love youngâ┚¬? is a John Mayer reminiscent love song. And what album would be complete without a string/synth ballad like â┚¬Ã…”Our movie rulesâ┚¬? to close out the full album. This album rarely, if ever, repeats itself in terms of style and feel which is good because too often records are coming with the same song repeated 12 times.
The record reminds me of the catchiness of â┚¬Ã…”Cute is what we aim forâ┚¬? but without the embarrassment of saying you listen to â┚¬Ã…”Cute is what we aim forâ┚¬?. After everything is said and done â┚¬Ã…”On Fireâ┚¬? is definitely worth checking out and most people will probably agree itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s worth the ten bucks.

Tracklisting
01. Insurance?
02. Guts
03. Rock My Body
04. Weapons Wired
05. Histrionics
06. Movement
07. Can Anyone Really Love Young
08. Darkpop
09. DARE
10. 31 Floors
11. Our Movie Rules
12. Pace Yourself (Patrick Stump Remix)