Move over, MVEMJSUNP - my new favorite acronym is PEHDTSCKJMBA! Tom Waits announced the details of his summer Glitter and Doom tour today via a must-see “press conference.” Check out the clip below and then head over here to check out a list of dates for the tour (kicking off June 17th in Phoenix).

MP3:
Tom Waits - “Step Right Up”

VIDEO:

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Music festival season is upon us and MuchMusic has put together a spot-on list of the 10 worst concert behaviors of so-called “fans.” I think all concert goers should have to sign off on some kind of waiver agreeing not to engage any of these listed activities (I’m thinking of you in particular, extremely-wasted 6′8″ dude standing/dancing in front of me while your girlfriend intermittently uses her cell phone for chatting and snapping terrible photos…) What are your least favorite modern concert behaviors?

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Turnaround Bright Eyes! Following yesterday’s ACL lineup announcement, many were surprised to learn that the mercurial Conor Oberst has added yet another band to his résumé - Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. Despite playing a couple of shows and booking several music fest gigs under his new handle, not much is known about Oberst’s latest and mysterious musical project. Hypeful, however, was able to uncover the following info about Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band:

In addition to Conor Oberst, the Mystic Valley Band members include Nik Freitas and Jason Boesel.

The band’s first live appearance was at a pair of late December 2007 shows at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

While performing live, Oberst’s group has played 10 new songs and “covered” three from the Bright Eyes canon.

The band’s third gig was at Pasagüero in Mexico, where the band is rumored to have recorded their upcoming album.

Another rumor is that the band’s name is a reference to a place the group stayed at while recording their album.

Rumors and speculation aside, perhaps the best way to get to know this new band is by actually listening to them! Below is an excellent recording of the entire set that Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band performed at the 400 Bar back in December. Give it a listen and Hypeful will try to get more details for you as they emerge!

MP3s:
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band (Live @ The 400 Bar)
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “Gone, Gone From New York City”
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “There’s Nothing That The Road Cannot Heal”
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “Where Pilgrims Disappear”
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “Cape Canaveral”
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “Beach Bum Song”
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “That’s My Fault”
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “Danny Callahan”
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “Smoke Signals”
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “Let Them In”
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “El Cielo”
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “Breezy”
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “I Don’t Want To Die In The Hospital”
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “Milk Thistle”
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “Lua”
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “Man Named Truth”
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “True Blue”

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The seventh annual Austin City Limits Music Festival has announced the 125+ acts that will be featured from Sept. 26-28. Foo Fighters, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Beck, Manu Chao, John Fogerty, David Byrne, the Raconteurs and the Mars Volta are among the top acts booked for this year’s ACL Fest. Also noticeable on the bill are Gnarls Barkley, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, N.E.R.D., MGMT, Tegan & Sara, Iron & Wine, G. Love & Special Sauce, Neko Case, Band Of Horses, the Swell Season, Silversun Pickups, Gogol Bordello, Gillian Welch, the Black Keys, Against Me!, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Hot Chip, Spiritualized, Drive-By Truckers, Vampire Weekend and many others. For the full lineup, check out the ACL Fest site.

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The Kooks‘ new single, “Always Where I Need To Be,” has been described as “a real grower track” - you know, a song that requires a few spins to really get its hooks into you. For those who need further convincing of why they should dig this song, here’s a live version of The Kooks performing “Always Where I Need to Be” at a recent gig at London’s Astoria.

MP3:
The Kooks - “Always Where I Need to Be” (Live)

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Colin Meloy is on a mission, and this time it has nothing to do with The Colbert Report. He’s on a mission to bring the sweet sounds of Sam Cooke, Morrissey, and an occasional Smiths tune to those who love The Decemberists. Of course most of the solo tour is Decemberists music, but for 3 years, Colin Meloy has made a habit of playing solo shows and cutting solo EP’s that are melodic, stylized versions of artists he strongly admires. This year is a bit different. With the Kill Rock Stars release of Colin Meloy Sings Live! In the words of the man himself, “what better way to promote this album then to sing . . . live.”

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Want to discover 29 of the 130 artists on the 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival lineup before they’re officially announced on April 15? ACL promoters are making anxious fans work for the list with a game that uses their ears. A mashup from Car Stereo (Wars) has been released that features 29 of the 130 acts. If you want some help, after the jump you can find a list of artists that fans have identified so far.

STREAM:
Car Stereo (Wars) - “ACL Lineup Mashup”

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The complete and final lineup for this year’s Lollapalooza was finally announced today. As expected, the predicted headliners are going to be there, along with plenty of other ace artists. You can check out the full lineup on Lollapalooza’s site and see an announcement video below!

VIDEO:

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Lollapalooza is not officially announcing this year’s big acts until Monday, but the Chicago Sun-Times has confirmed all of the major artists performing at the weekend-long music festival in Grant Park! As previously speculated, online album enthusiasts Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails are set to play the main stages, along with Rage Against the Machine, The Raconteurs, Wilco and Kanye West. With 100+ acts on this year’s bill, here are the artists being confirmed by CST thus far:

Radiohead
Nine Inch Nails
Rage Against the Machine
The Raconteurs
Wilco
Kanye West
Gnarls Barkley
The Black Keys
Broken Social Scene
G. Love & Special Sauce
Blues Traveler
Mates of State
Bloc Party
Cat Power
Stephen Malkmus
Girl Talk
Kid Sister
Office
The Cool Kids
Battles
The Go! Team
Jamie Lidell
Grizzly Bear

Nice! Advance three-day passes are still available for $190 (after which the price increases to $205).

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Songkick is an interesting new website that finds upcoming concerts in your area based on your musical tastes. (It’s like Pandora for live gigs!) It’s simple to use - either type in bands you dig or download a plugin that compares music in your iTunes library with Songkick’s tour tracker. If you want a comprehensive list of tour dates (like I did), just click the “listings” tab. Songkick then makes educated guesses about what music you’ll like that you may not have heard before and suggests local live shows for you to attend. Even better, the site puts the concert listings and links to ticket sellers in one place so you can compare prices! (Thanks to Pop Candy for the heads up!)

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