Pages tagged “liam finn”

Liam Finn's an extraordinarily talented man, with skills honed in an unlikely place: New Zealand. Better known for its sheep and Lord of the Rings set tours, the Pacific island nation also produced his father (Neil Finn of Crowded House) while its larger neighbor to the south, Australia, is responsible for the younger Finn's bandmate, Eliza-Jane Barnes. And with one album, I'll Be Lightning, under his belt and some formidable critical praise to his name-- including a spot among Paste's Best of What's Next-- Finn's live performance more than lives up to the buzz.

Liam Finn has had a long year. Newly minted as among the Best of What’s Next in the September issue of Paste, he put out his solo debut, I’ll Be Lightning, in January, and proceeded with an intense tour of trans-continental dates that took him to the U.S., U.K. and back to his native New Zealand.

[Above: White Rabbits]

Mugison
Hometown: Ísafjörður, Iceland
Album: Mugiboogie
Why He's Worth Watching: Mugison likely embodies the person Led Zeppelin envisioned when writing “Immigrant Song.” One moment, this man from the land of the ice and snow is sounding the hammer of the gods, alternating between an infernal howl (much like Robert Plant’s) and a guttural heavy-metal groan, the next, he’s crooning to twanging guitar over eerie strings. He’s a shape-shifter and a funnyman, and Mugiboogie builds on his four previous genre-transcending works.  
For Fans Of: Tom Waits, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Led Zeppelin
Acceptance Speech: “When I was 14 years old, I was voted the best-looking guy in school, but after the ceremony I found out that some of the girls in the school were running a campaign behind my back. The campaign was called ‘Vote the Freak.’ I also found out they did this to piss off the guy who’d won it three years in a row—they had some unfinished business with him. Is this something similar?”
Mugison on MySpace

Click above to watch "Gather to the Chapel" from Liam Finn's new album I'll Be Lightning, out now on Yep Roc Records.

Related Links:
Liam Finn announces May tour dates with Laura Veirs
Liam Finn on Myspace
Rolling Stone: Artist to Watch: Liam Finn

We've already called Liam Finn insane and most unexpectedly awesome because of the remarkable energy he displays in his mostly one-man, multi-instrument live shows. But perhaps now we'll need to add "tireless" to the list of adjectives, because as much as we enjoy his live show, it seems he's not growing bored with it either.

After finishing up his tour with Eddie Vedder and heading to Europer for a couple weeks, Finn will bring his “I’ll Be Touring” (look, he's witty to boot!) tour back to the U.S. with dates through May. All of the shows will be with another Paste favorite, Laura Veirs.

And coming even sooner to a television near you, Finn will grace The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson with a performance on April 18.

The son of Crowded House’s Neil Finn, Liam’s debut album I'll Be Lightning has been much lauded. He recorded, produced and mixed the whole thing himself, thankyouverymuch.

The forecast calls for Lightning:

May
1 - Vancouver, BC @ St. James Hall
2 - Seattle, Wash. @ Triple Door
3 - Portland, Ore. @ Doug Fur Lounge
5 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Bottom of the Hill
6 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Echo
7 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Rhythm Room
9 - Denver, Colo. @ Walnut Room
11 - Omaha, Neb. @ Slowdown Jr.
13 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ Cedar Cultural Centre
14 - Milwaukee, Wisc. @ Turner Hall
15 - Chicago, Ill. @ Schubas
16 - Louisville, Ky. @ The 930 Listening Room
17 - Nashville, Tenn. @ The Basement
18 - Atlanta, Ga. @ The Earl
20 - Vienna, Va. @ Jammin Java
21 - Philadelphia, Penn. @ World Café Live
22 - New York, N.Y. @ The Bowery Ballroom
23 - Boston, Mass. @ Middle East Downstairs
24 - Toronto, ON @ El Mocombo

Related links:
Liam Finn on MySpace
New York Times: A Night Out with Liam Finn
Blogs: Festivus: SXSW – Butchers, Rabbits, Chicken and Korn

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

We called it both “dazzling” and “irresistible,” and pretty soon, you’ll be able to drop some appropriately adulatory adjectives (yeah, we just went there) on Liam Finn’s solo debut, I’ll Be Lightning. That’s because Mr. Finn debuts his album on Jan. 22, which is just one short Tuesday away.

But if you need a bit more time with Finn before you craft some sincere, supportive statements (snap! again!), check him out on tour. On Feb. 16, Finn hits the road in Los Angeles to travel throughout the United States. Go see a show, and let us know if you craft some verbose verbiage on his behalf.

Liam Finn on tour:

February
16 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Spaceland
27 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
29 - Chicago, Ill. @ Schubas

March
1 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ 400 Bar
4 - Seattle, Wash. @ The High Dive
5 - Portland, Ore. @ The Doug Fir
7 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Bottom of the Hill
8 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Spaceland
10 - Denver, Colo. @ The Hi Dive
19 - Washington D.C. @ DC-9
21 - New York, N.Y. @ Mercury Lounge
22 - Cambridge, Mass. @ Middle East
23 - Buffalo, N.Y. @ Soundlab

Related links:
LaimFinn.co.nz
Liam Finn on MySpace
YepRoc.com

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.