by Nic Bragg | From Kitsilano’s Zulu Records, we once again present our weekly Scout feature, the Zulu Report. Within, we provide The Track – the song that is on heavy rotation in the shop this week; The Playlist – which is pretty self-explanatory; The Gig – the ‘must see’ show of the week; and The Glance – which details the best live acts that are on the immediate horizon. From our ears to yours, enjoy…

THE TRACK

CALEXICO Para

If you ever plan a road trip through Arizona you should definitely hit Tuscon and plan for a day of exploring. At the center of town, the Hotel Congress is pretty infamous as the place where most traveling bands play and stay. As a giant, historic railroad hotel, the Congress is like a trip back in time to a far more romantic era. In the lobby you will see fresh-faced pictures of long time local heroes Joey Burns and John Convertino (aka Calexico) who got their start downstairs as the rhythm section supporting Giant Sand. Today, after nearly 20 years of writing classic Tex-Mex songs, the duo have matured into a Tuscon institution much like the Congress itself, and have taken their burned out mariachi twang all over the globe. Yes, throughout Europe they epitomize Americana alt-desert rock and delight audiences at jazz fests and rock fests alike. This dusty video is the first peek into their new release Algiers, which should be in the shop come early September. On the good news front, Burns and Convertino will be on the road with their big band and a date at our own Rickshaw is scheduled!

The Playlist

ANTONY AND THE JOHNSONS Cut The World

Antony returns with this disturbing yet beautiful new video starring Willem Dafoe and Marina Abramovi?. The tension in this clip is intense. The blood gets pretty intense too, so it is not for the squeamish.

SONNY AND THE SUNSETS Pretend You Love Me

I guess it is time for Sonny to turn the page. One of our favourite San Francisco guys gives us their extremely heartfelt break up song and with it a real blast of forlorn West Coast folk-jamming. Any song with pedal steel sounds good when you have an achy breaky heart!

MONO Legend: A Journey Through Iceland

Epic instrumentalists Mono lay it all down for us on this 12 minute journey into the Icelandic wilderness. I have to admit the combination of slow building melodies with hypnotic time-lapse video is perfect. Iceland is about to get over run with hipsters!

BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW Windshild Smasher

This video is the first from their forth coming ‘Cobra Juicy’ release! We loved them before and we love them now. If this video – which features tons of twists and taunts – is any indication of what is to come, then BMSR will be a force to be reckoned with this Fall.

REDD KROSS Stay Away

Redd Kross have always been about Southern California fantasy rock. Now, after 15 years of hibernation, they have returned to shake pop music up and make it fun again. Kiss face paint is a good starting point, as is performing in front of your daughter’s green screen.

TOM WAITS Hell Broke Luce

Trust everyone’s favourite weirdo Tom Waits to come up with a video where he drags a house across a desert! Age has definitely not slowed down Waits – in fact one could argue that it has made him even hungrier, as he has a ton of new material and been pretty active on the road!

THE GIG

THE REFUSED Vogue Theatre | Monday/Tuesday Aug 27/28th

It seems like every day an old band reforms and announces a reunion tour. Hardcore fans usually get super pumped and come out to hear the old tunes, to reminisce, and see how their heroes have fared over the years. One band that has certainly ignited a flame under their fans is Sweden’s hardcore pioneers The Refused! Part of the reason why there is so much fervour around these reunion shows is that the Refused broke up immediately after releasing their landmark The Shape of Punk To Come release and never really toured North America to support it. Therefore, these two sold out shows represent the only chance anyone from our Province has to hear these ferocious songs live. Their first reunion show was earlier this year at Coachella and from all reports the band is tighter than ever and louder than ever. They say the classics never go out of style…

The Glance

Thu Aug 16 BOMBINO – RIO THEATRE
Thu Aug 16 POLICA – BILTMORE
Fri Aug 17 TEENGIRL FANTASY – WALDORF
Fri Aug 17 LUCY DATE & DANK – CELEBRITIES
Fri Aug 17 GUTTERMOUTH – RICKSHAW
Fri Aug 17 WYMOND MILES of Fresh and Onlys – BILTMORE
Sat Aug 18 DAVID DONDERO – ELECTRIC OWL
Sat Aug 18 JOHNNY FIASCO – ELECTRIC OWL
Sat Aug 18 SWINGIN UTTERS – BILTMORE
Sat Aug 18 CARPENTER – COBALT
Sat Aug 18 JOHNNY FIASCO – ELECTRIC OWL
Sun Aug 19 JEL & DJ ABILITIES- WALDORF
Tue Aug 21 BROWN BIRD- ELECTRIC OWL
Thu Aug 23 NARI & MILANI – FORTUNE
Fri Aug 24 YES NICE, FACTS, RUFFLED FEATHERS – FIVE SIXTY
Fri Aug 24 ADVENTURE CLUB – CELEBRITIES
Fri Aug 24 LUMERIANS (S.F.) – WALDORF
Sat Aug 25 ONE LIFE ANIMAL – MEDIA CLUB
Sat Aug 25 BLACK MOUNTAIN – MEDIA CLUB
Aug 24 – 26 LIVE AT SQUAMISH – SQUAMISH
Sat Aug 25 DUB FX – COMMODORE
Sat Aug 25 ONE LIFE ANIMAL – MEDIA CLUB
Sat Aug 25 BLACK MOUNTAIN – WALDORF
Mon Aug 27 SANDRO PERRI – RICKSHAW
Mon Aug 27 REFUSED – VOGUE
Wed Aug 29 YEASAYER – MALKIN BOWL
Wed Aug 29 THE PROTOMEN – BILTMORE
Thu Aug 30 M. WARD – COMMODORE
Thu Aug 30 ALELA DIANE CASE STUDIES – BILTMORE
Fri Aug 31 DAVID WARD – SHARK CLUB
Fri Aug 31 JOEL RL PHELPS & CHRIS BROKAW – INTERURBAN GALLERY

SEPTEMBER

Sat Sep 01 NIGHT BEATS – BILTMORE
Sat Sep 01 LEE FIELDS & THE EXPRESSION – FORTUNE
Sat Sep 01 NIKI & THE DOVE – ELECTRIC OWL
Sun Sep 02 MISSY HIGGINS – COMMODORE
Sun Sep 02 NETSKY – CELEBRITIES
Tue Sep 04 TECH N9NE – COMMODORE
Tue Sep 04 SILVERSUN PICKUPS – MALKIN BOWL
Tue Sep 04 THESE UNITED STATES – ELECTRIC OWL
Tue Sep 04 JASON ISBELL – MEDIA CLUB
Wed Sep 05 THE MEN (NYC) – WALDORF
Thu Sep 06 MAC DEMARCO – BILTMORE
Thu Sep 06 THE HIVES – COMMODORE
Thu Sep 06 SWANS – VENUE