Horsefeathers perform live at Portia and Slim Moon’s BBQ from Dave Allen on Vimeo.

I spent Sunday afternoon out in Washington state, near Battle Ground actually. Portia from Kill Rock Stars and her husband Slim held a BBQ at their house and invited many people who had at least a tenuous connection to the indie music scene. Mecca Normal performed and for me that was a first as I had never seen them and I know they have had a heavy influence on many musicians in the Northwest indie rock/riot grrrl movements. Amongst the crowd were Hutch and Kathy of The Thermals, Carrie from Sleater-Kinney and Rachel Blumberg who was telling me about touring with Bright Eyes and working with M Ward and how she really enjoyed his She and Him project with the actress Zooey Deschanel. And as you can tell by the video, Horsefeathers performed a set too. I also edited some footage from the day to a Horsefeathers song Hardwood Pews - watch it here.

Cut Copy were amazing last night at the Doug Fir. Best show I’ve seen in years…..

Related Post: A video interview with Cut Copy at SXSW 08

I became a fan of Australia’s Cut Copy through their online mix tapes which have been made available here and there. Their album Bright Like Neon Love came out in 2004 and this March you can now get Lights and Music which is a remix ep by the look of it. Visit the Cut Copy blog to get a free download of a track from their upcoming new release ‘In Ghost Colours.’ I overheard someone at the party say “why’s it taken so long for a band to come along and pick up where New Order left off?”..true, true a fine compliment.
The boys are extremely personable and very clear about their situation but they still foolishly allowed themselves to be interviewed by me. Because of the background noise and their thick Australian accents they may have got off lightly during the Moose interrogation….two takeaway quotes from the interview for me when I asked them about the internet and the ability to get music into peoples hands were “The powers gone back into the hands of the bands” and “It’s time for the labels to try and catch up.” That must put a chill into the hearts of the folks at their label, Interscope.
Watch the YouTube version here or right-click/control click to download your own iTunes/iPhone version here. And you can get their rather fabulous mix tape here.

Cut Copy - Lights and Music

Via Local Cut.

I’m looking forward to hearing/seeing this one. Here’s the blurb from Sony -

Recorded live in concert on July 9, 2007, “Gossip - Live In Liverpool” brilliantly captures and focuses the stunning ferocity, energy and intensity at the heart of Gossip’s groundbreaking meld of sound + politics. This incendiary concert showcase breaks out definitive performances of Gossip signature tunes including the band’s UK #1 Indie chart-topping smash, “Standing In The Way Of Control”; the UK Top 40 hit, “Listen Up”; and the #3 UK Indie track, “Jealous Girls” in addition to delightfully provocative covers of Wham!’s “Careless Whisper” and Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody?”

“Gossip - Live In Liverpool” includes a DVD of the concert, lensed by documentary filmmaker and music video director Lance Bangs (Sonic Youth, Green Day, R.E.M., Death Cab For Cutie, Kanye West, Pavement, Mike Watt and more).

Gossip - Standing In the Way of Control (Soulwax Remix)