Oasis, Nine Inch Nails, Slipknot, Weezer and the Black Crowes are among the acts confirmed for Japan’s Summer Sonic festival, to be held Aug. 13-14 in Tokyo and Osaka. Kasabian, the Roots, the Arcade Fire, Teenage Fanclub, TV On The Radio, Ian Brown and Louis XIV will also perform, as will famed U.K. rock act the La’s, which will be making its Face the Truth,” due May 24. So far, dates are set in Philadelphia (June 5), New York (June 7), Detroit (June 10), Minneapolis (June 12) and Los Angeles (June 14).
The artist unveiled a host of new material last week at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. The 11-track “Face the Truth” is the most eclectic of Malkmus’ three post-Pavement discs to date, particularly on the disjointed, electronics-addled opener “Pencil Rot,” the garage/disco strut of “Kindling for the Master” and the unmelodic, noisy “I’ve Hardly Been.”
Elsewhere, Malkmus conjures stellar soft rock on “Freeze the Saints,” indulges in psychedelic guitar jams on the eight-minute “No More Shoes” and nods to Pavement on “Post-Paint Boy,” which sports a guitar melody in the vein of that group’s “Major Leagues.”
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— Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
Among the efforts to save landmark New York punk venue CBGB is a collection of limited-edition treats from Gotham candy store Chocolate Bar. The confectioner is introducing the $25 CBGBs Punk Rock Box, a 16-piece truffle collection that includes a postage-paid petition to save CBGB, a steel logo keychain and a collection of CBGB stickers.
For the budget-minded yet concerned punk, there are $3 CBGB Retro Bars wrapped in a limited-edition CBGB keepsake package that includes the postage-paid petition. Both items will be available in May, but can be pre-ordered through the store’s Web site or by calling 800-481-2462. All proceeds will benefit the club’s campaign to keep its doors open.
CBGB owner Hilly Kristal is embroiled in a dispute with the non-profit Bowery Residents’ Committee, which owns the club’s East Village building and operates a homeless shelter above it. In addition to back rent, Kristal’s negotiations with the BRC to extend his lease past its August expiration have stalled over the subject of a substantial rent increase.
— Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.