An Evening with Half-Handed Cloud

Alright, you guys are in luck because I'm back from obscurity to tell you more about how wonderful last night was. Now as I said in my previous post, I went to see Half-Handed Cloud last weekend here in Columbus. It was a great show, but it was my misfortune that I had to leave before having the opportunity to say hello to the fellow. Yesterday I felt spontaneous, and so did my friend Derrick, so we embarked on a miniature road trip to Dayton, Ohio, to the dump also known as Elbo's for an evening with John Ringhofer and his pal Justin Vollmar.

And it was a wonderful evening. The two are so incredibly talented and so friendly! They took us in practically as their old friends. I feel so indebted to them for their kindness to such silly little fans as we are. During Justin's set, my friends, John, and I pulled up chairs and sat right in front of him, providing for a more intimate feel. Justin (a.k.a. Vollmar, for those who are interested in looking up his sweet, sweet music) is wonderfully talented. He sings rather shy and timid, but listen closely, because his words are phenomenal. He also happens to be a lefty, which I realized last night, and my friend Elizabeth tells me he can even play right-hand guitars upside down. Pictoral evidence of this may be found at his myspace profile.

My friends and I kept our front-row (or only-row...) seats for the Half-Handed Cloud set, which was identical to the one played at the High Five last weekend, but still just as fun as I remembered. It was like they were playing just for the four of us. I wish there had been more people to experience this; you don't get to go to shows so intimate very often. John and Justin goofed off a lot, as the music permits, with both entertaining and enjoyable results. Of course the music was fantastic; the two of them haven't disappointed me yet.

I was sad to part ways with these lovely gentlemen, but they are amidst a five-week tour that will take them all over the states, from Virginia to Colorado and many places in between. If you have the chance, I most certainly recommend attending. So amazing. I cannot stress that enough. So yeah, look and see if they're playing nearby and go and buy merchandise and tell them that omnichords are the hottest instruments ever created, because they are.

Tue.Apr.11th: Gettysburg, PA @Emmaus
Wed.Apr.12th: Brooklyn, NY @Fireproof Gallery
Thu.Apr.13th: Bennington, VT @Bennington Cg.
Fri.Apr.14th: ???, MA @ TBA
Sat.Apr.15th: Philly ,PA@Circle of Hope, East
Sun.Apr.16th: Arlington, VA @Galaxy Hut
Mon.Apr.17th:Charlottesville,VA@U of VA Chapel
Tue.Apr.18th: Raleigh, NC @Bickett Gallery
Wed.Apr.19th: Norfolk, VA @Relative Theory
Thu:Apr.20th: Atlanta, GA @Trinity Vineyard
Fri.Apr.21st: Chattanooga, TN @Barking Legs
Sat.Apr.22nd: Nashville, TN @Lovejoy House
Sun.Apr.23rd: Jonesboro, AR @Guit-down
Mon.Apr.24th: Ft.Worth, TX @Metrognome
Tue.Apr.25th: Dallas, TX @Good Records
Wed.Apr.26th: Albuquerque, NM @Harlows
Thu.Apr. 27th: Phoenix, AZ @Trunkspace
Fri.Apr.28th: San Diego, CA @The Habitat
Sat.Apr.29th: Pasadena, CA @Fuller Seminary
Mon.May 1st: Davis, CA @Delta of Venus
Tue.May 2nd: San Francisco, CA @Hemlock Tavern
Wed.May 3rd: Eugene, OR @TBA
Thu.May 4th: Olympia, WA @Yes-yes
Fri.May 5th: Seattle, WA @TBA
Sat.May 6th: Portland, OR @TBA
Sun.May 7th: Boise, ID @TBA
Mon.May 8th: Salt Lake City, UT @TBA
Tue.May 9th:Grand Junction,CO@Coffee Muggers
Wed.May 10th: Denver, CO @ Magick! House
Thu.May 11th: Kansas? @TBA
Fri.May 12th: St.Louis, MO @TBA
Sat.May 13th: Bloomington, IN @TBA

Well, while I'm on the subject, I might as well just talk about Sufjan. I mean, seriously, when do I not talk about him? He's pretty awesome. So while I've been somewhere galavanting off the face of the blogosphere, Mr. Stevens won the first ever New Pantheon award. How about that? That's pretty fantastic. Some of the nominators included Benjamin Gibbard, Margaret Cho, and Beck. An ecclectic grouping, but Sufjan still comes out on top. It's no surprise to me, really, but I'm biased.

A few new Sufjan mp3s have popped up:
"Adlai Stevenson" courtesy of I Guess I'm Floating
"The Avalanche" courtesy of Stereogum

Over at Asthmatic Kitty, Sufjan's label, a new band has been signed, and they're called Shapes and Sizes. I've not heard them yet, but I anticipate good things. Their debut full-length will be released on July 25, the same day as The Avalanche. Sounds like that day is shaping up to be a great day in the land of music releases.

File this one under WTF, Rebecca! I've been way too out of it lately to find out that my friend Boy Makes Music was featured on Radio Free Polygon. Check it out; there are mp3s involved. This boy is super super talented, well worth your time and effort to listen to. So stop reading and go listen and then come back and finish reading. I'll be here when you get back.

Ah, you're back! Wasn't that fantastic? I know. So speaking of new music, it sounds like Bright Eyes will have another album out this year. Will it include the same self-loathing and bitterness? Will Conor ever get over himself? Will he ever write a song that is semi-positive about life and love? Mmm, I doubt it, but enjoy the record anyway.

Just when you thought the corporations weren't big enough, Warner Music had to go and buy Rykodisc. Nothing witty to say about that, really, since we're all used to this these days.

Another thing we all saw coming: Smoosh signed to Barsuk. It figures they're such good friends with Chris Walla that they'd eventually get their way there.

Okay, so Tuesday is tomorrow and that means new music. Not that I can afford to purchase any of it, nor do I own any advance copies downloaded illegally from the internet. Really, I don't. I'm being honest. But I'm sure these are all pretty decent so if you're in the mood to spend a few bucks this week, these are my suggestions:
Ladytron - Extended Play
Innocence Mission - Birds of my Neighborhood (reissue)

Extensive list, I know. So if that didn't satisfy you, might I suggest indulging in the All Things Go Sleep Mixtape, which I am going to put on here in a few minutes. Lovely selections including Sigur Ros, Explosions in the Sky, Ben Gibbard, and our old pal Sufjan.

Alright, that's all for tonight. I'm getting high on paint fumes right now thanks to my roommate's new art project (hurray for drying spray paint and no venilation!), so I'm gonna go pass out. Hopefully I'll have enough brain cells left to grace the blogosphere with another post sometime in the near future. Until we meet again...