Lately.

Last Saturday 9/8 I was fortunate enough to record WHY?, Doseone and Serengeti at The Cedar Cultural Center. Thanks to Snake and to The Cedar. WHY?'s fifth album, Mumps, etc. will be released on October 9th 2012.

Tonight is Caspian and Cursive at The Varsity Theater. Caspian's third album, Waking Season will be released on September 25th in the US. 

WHY? Return To Minneapolis In October.

This Fall WHY? will be going on tour for a series of "sit-down" shows playing largely "unplugged" style sets. They will be previewing songs from the forthcoming album and giving the audience a chance to ask questions. On Friday October 14th they will be stopping through Minneapolis to play The Cedar Cultural Center with Chicago based anticon label mate Serengeti. This info was taken from Pitchfork thanks to WHY?'s facespace.

09-14 Cincinnati, OH – Memorial Hall *
09-15 Carnegie, PA – Carnegie Music Hall of Carnegie *
09-16 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church *
09-17 Boston, MA – The Paramount *
09-18 Hartford, CT – Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art *
09-21 New York, NY – Florence Gould Hall (early and late shows) *
09-22 Falls Church, VA – State Theatre *
09-23 Charlottesville, VA – UVA Chapel *
09-24 Carrboro, NC – Art's Center *
09-25 Knoxville, TN – Relix Variety Theatre *
09-26 Atlanta, GA – Eddie's Attic *
09-27 Nashville, TN – 3rd And Lindsley *
09-29 Oklahoma City, OK – ACM@UCO *
09-30 Dallas, TX – Sons of Hermann Hall *
10-01 Austin, TX – Central Presbyterian Church *
10-04 Los Angeles, CA – Largo at The Coronet *
10-05 San Francisco, CA – The Great American Music Hall *
10-07 Portland, OR – Alberta Rose Theatre *
10-08 Seattle, WA – The Vera Project (early and late shows) *
10-10 Billings, MT – Visualite Theatre *
10-12 Englewood, CO – The Gothic *
10-14 Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Center *
10-15 Chicago, IL – Museum of Contemporary Art *

* with Serengeti

Yoni Wolf - "The Vowels, Pt. 2" Live in San Francisco

Photo: Lena Bedoyan

Yoni & Josiah Wolf
Swedish American Hall
San Francisco
Saturday April 23rd 2011

"The Vowels, Pt. 2"

Once I realized the final night of Yoni's recent 6 city tour ended on a Saturday evening in San Francisco I had to try to make things happen. Yoni greenlighted the mission on one condition; due to the fact that new WHY? songs were being performed that haven't even been recorded yet I was not to release the recording online or off without his permission. I gave my word and booked a flight.

Up until that weekend I had zero contacts in San Francisco so I broke the No Hotels rule and found a place in The Castro a few doors down from the venue for $65 a night. Friday night consisted of a stellar meal at El Castillito on Church Street and the closing down of Zeitgeist. On Saturday morning I began The Great Mission Street Taquería Crawl of 2011 with the stand out of course being El Farolito.

Bay Area archivists had warned me about the room's sound but with Eli being the only FOH on this tour Yoni had previously worked with he was able to dial it in quite nicely. A huge thanks to The Swedish American Hall staff for allowing me to get the 4 tracks. Pleasant interactions the entire night. Much respect to Zach Boes for his efforts in post.

To be honest I didn't see much of the city because I spent most of my short stay walking around The Mission. There will be a next time.

"I'm not a ladies man, I'm a landmine."

Yoni Wolf (WHY?) April Tour Dates

04/08/11 Gambier, OH The Horn Gallery @ Kenyon College
Time: 8:00pm. Admission: FREE!. Age restrictions: All Ages.

04/09/11 Cincinnati, OH The Monastary
Time: 7:00pm. Admission: $10.

04/15/11 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge
Time: 7:00pm. Admission: $15. Age restrictions: All Ages.
Buy tickets

04/16/11 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church
Time: 6:00pm. Admission: $12.
Buy tickets

04/16/11 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church
Time: 9:00pm. Admission: $12.
Buy tickets

04/21/11 Los Angeles Bootleg Theatre
Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $15. Age restrictions: All Ages.
Address: 2200 Beverly Blvd.
Buy tickets

04/23/11 San Francisco, CA Swedish American Theatre
Time: 7:00pm. Admission: $15. Age restrictions: All Ages.
Address: 2170 Market St.
Buy tickets

04/28/11 Chicago, IL Mayne Stage
Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $11/$13.
Address: 1328 West Morse Ave
Buy tickets

Yoni from WHY? will be playing some solo shows this month. Round trip from MSP to SFO has been booked. Sounds like I'll be staying in the Castro District. El Farolito and I have a date.

Why? @ First Avenue

Download a .RAR file containing this recording here.

Why?
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
Saturday June 26th 2010

Taper: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Mix: Zach Boes
Source: AUD + SBD Matrix
Other: see .txt file

This Recording is for Promotional & Archival Purposes ONLY.

01. The Fall of Mr. Fifths
02. January Twenty Something
03. Against Me
04. Rubber Traits
05. These Hands
06. The Vowels, Pt. 2
07. Good Friday
08. Song of the Sad Assassin
09. Fatalist Palmistry
10. Brook & Waxing
11. Yo Yo Bye Bye
12. A Sky for Shoeing Horses Under
13. Twenty Eight
14. Into the Shadows of My Embrace
15. By Torpedo or Crohn's
16. ...encore
17. Simeon's Dilemma
18. 21st Century Pop Song *

* Hymie's Basement

Yoni Wolf
Josiah Wolf
Doug Mcdiarmid
Andrew Broder
Mark Erickson

Site | Myspace | Facebook | Anticon | Fog

Thank you to Why?, Snake and First Avenue for allowing me to document this show. Thanks to Zach for putting his time into the mix. A year and a half ago I was in a pretty dark place but "Alopecia" scooped me up out of the gutter and dusted me off. I made it back to the green room to thank Yoni for the heart medicine. He thanked me for all of the recording and that meant a lot. Broder and Erickson do Minneapolis proud. Dosh and Jeremy Ylvisaker contributed gear for the show. Hopefully you didn't miss Deerhoof or Southeast Engine.

- empty 07/04/10


Photo by Adam Bubolz

Dosh w/ members of Why? in the Clown Lounge

Saw Linz mention this on F-Book yesterday afternoon but I never posted about it. More Cowbell is already on it.

Info dropped by Linz:

1st set : Dosh with members of the WHY? band. Anticon Records represents hard in the Clown Lounge. If you’ve never seen WHY and members nows your chance. Highly Recommended!

2nd set : Metzger, Linz, Bates. Banjo trio from Antarctica. Werner Herzog got’s nothing on this trio as they play some old timey rags and swingers! Modestly Recommended

The Clown Lounge
21 + and all the booze you want to drink. Dave might even make you a Pink Squirrel?????
10:30 like you mean it!
$5 gets you access to heaven.
See you there.

WHY? :: 2010 European Tour

WHY? has booked 40 European dates through the months of March and April. The most up-to-date information on cities & venues can be found on their myspace page.

Friends overseas, I would consider it a huge favor if anyone were able to record on this tour! Even if you want to check them out in a non-taping capacity this band is not to be missed. Both the band and their Tour Manager/FOH are cool with audio and video documentation. I know things are a bit stricter in Europe when it comes to recording in clubs. Sometimes house rules trump whatever the band says but if you'd like me to contact their TM for you to try and get something worked out shoot me an email at emptystapes AT gmail DOT com

WHY? - "21st Century Pop Song" Live in Minneapolis

We're laying the obsession to rest for now but here's a special bonus for the folks at home...

WHY? - "21st Century Pop Song" Live in Minneapolis

WHY? - Select Tracks From the Desert Tapes

WHY?
Modified Arts
Phoenix, AZ
Friday October 23rd 2009

WHY? - "The Vowels Pt. Two" Live in Phoenix
WHY? - "Good Friday" Live in Phoenix

WHY?
Club Congress
Tucson, AZ
Saturday October 24th 2009

WHY? - "This Blackest Purse" Live in Tucson
WHY? - "A Sky For Shoeing Horses Under" Live in Tucson

Thanks to WHY?, Snake and the venues for allowing these recordings to go down. Thanks to blood for being blood. I'm grateful for the opportunity to return to The Modified before the stage is taken out. Shared memories never die, they just fade. Phoenix isn't what it was 15 years ago but what really is? It was my first time at Hotel Congress and if you're in Tucson it's the place to crash. Serengeti (Chicago) and AU (Portland) supported both shows.

WHY? - "The Hallows" @ The Triple Rock

I'm calling this the show of the year. When all is said and done I'll probably have seen at least 80. Hey some people knit and others go to shows. Yeah it's true, I've been waiting since July but I'm trying to leave bias behind. I do have two confessions to make. 1) This was my first time seeing WHY? live. 2) I was afraid the hype was going to leave me disappointed. I was wrong. I spent over $30 at the merch table, mostly on stuff I already owned. My only request? Please play "The Fall of Mr. Fifths" when you get to the Desert.

I don't have permission to post the full set so we'll have to start with something everyone knows...

WHY? - "The Hallows" Live in Minneapolis

If you dig that all kinds of records are available here.

Dark Dark Dark (Minneapolis) supports 09/30-10/10. AU (Portland) supports through 11/11.

WHY? returning to Minneapolis...

Back in early '08 I heard whispers from a buddy in California about catching Why? at the Entry with Heiruspecs & Gospel Gossip. Looking back it was smashed in between Converge @ the Triple Rock and City on the Make @ the Bedlam. Despite having two of my favorite local bands on the bill I skipped the show and it's been something that has deeply pained me lately. Lucky for all of us Schedule Two was there to document the set.

Props to solace for the Triple Rock heads up last night. I starting digging around for dates and located them on The Tape. Check out their site for the press release and more information on the new album "Eskimo Snow" due out September 22nd on Anticon.

09/24 Cincinnati, OH Northside Tavern *
09/26 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge / Wordless Music Series +
10/01 Cambridge, MA Middle East #%
10/02 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church #%
10/03 Pittsburgh, PA Assembly Room, William Pitt Union (www.wptsradio.org) FREE SHOW #%
10/04 Ann Arbor, MI The Blind Pig #%
10/05 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge #%
10/06 Madison, WI UW Madison Terrace #%
10/07 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock #%
10/09 Denver, CO Bluebird #%
10/10 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue #%
10/13 Annacortes, WA Department of Safety &$
10/14 Seattle, WA The Vera Project &$
10/15 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom &$
10/17 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall *%$
10/20 Los Angeles, CA Echoplex *%
10/23 Phoenix, AZ Modified Arts *%
10/24 Tucson, AZ Club Congress *%
10/26 Denton, TX Hailey’s *%
10/28 Birmingham, AL Bottletree *%
10/29 Asheville, NC Grey Eagle *%
10/30 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle *%
10/31 Atlanta, GA Lenny’s %^@
11/02 Orlando, FL The Social %!
11/03 Gainesville, FL Common Grounds %!
11/04 Tallahassee, FL Club Downunder %!
11/06 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon %~
11/07 Houston, TX Walter’s On Washington %~
11/08 Austin, TX Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/10 Lawrence, KS Jackpot Music Hall %~
11/11 St. Louis, MO Firebird %~
11/13 Bloomington, IN Rhino’s Youth Center ~

* = w/ Serengeti and Polyphonic
# = w/ Dark Dark Dark
% = w/ AU
& = w/ No Kids
$ = w/ Mount Eerie
^ = w/ Jemina Pearl
@ = w/ Islands
! = w/ James Husband
~ = w/ The Moore Brothers
+ = w/ Owen Weaver with Flexible Music