Lia Ices.

From Brooklyn, New York... making this crazy avant garde pop music... almost a combination of Chan Marshall (Cat Power) and Joanna Newsom with handclaps... yeah HANDCLAPS! She has one album to her credit entitled Necima... and recently signed to Jagjaguwar and her new album Grown Unknown will be released on January 25, 2011... you can download two of her tracks over at Brooklyn Vegan... her song Daphne features Justin Vernon of Bon Iver... and combining their voices is strangely beautiful and immediately requires repeat listening... be sure to catch Lia Ices opening for the Cave Singers are their up coming North American tour.

Grown Unknown Track list:

01. Love is Won

02. Daphne

03. Little Marriage

04. Bag of Wind

05. Grown Unknown

06. After is Always Before

07. Ice Wine

08. Lilac

09. New Myth

Opening for the Cave Singers:

02/01/11 New York, NY - Joe's Pub

03/10/11 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall

03/11/11 Brookdale, CA - Historic Brookdale Lodge

03/12/11 Visalia, CA - The Cellar Door

03/13/11 Los Angeles, CA - The Autry National Center

03/14/11 San Diego, CA - Casbah

03/23/11 Atlanta, GA - The Earl

04/01/11 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's

04/03/11 Allston, MA - Brighton Music Hall

04/04/11 Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place

04/05/11 Toronto, ON - The Drake Hotel

04/08/11 Bloomington, IN - Russian Recording

04/09/11 Louisville, KY - Zanzabar

04/16/11 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court

04/21/11 Vancouver, BC - The Biltmore Cabaret

04/22/11 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge

04/23/11 Seattle, WA - The Showbox

Arcade Fire.

Sometimes you get lucky when you buy records at live shows... not only are you supporting the band but on occasion you come across some of the most sought after 7" records of your generation... this generally happens in small venues... well before the band makes it big... back on June 23, 2004 a band was making waves as the next big thing... and a bidding war took place between indie labels Paper Bag, Alien-8 and Merge... Merge eventually being the victor... I jumped at the chance to see what everyone was talking about... at first a friend and I stood outside Lee's Palace in Toronto waiting in line to get our hands stamped before heading out to pre-drink at a house party before the show... it turned out the wait was too long for her and she left me standing there alone... five minutes later the line started moving and I got my stamp in exchange for a $8 cover... that night I witnessed the Arcade Fire play their yet to be released album Funeral from start to finish along with only a few hundred other people... right after the show like always I went straight for the merch table and bought a split 7" and their self titled EP... that Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) and the other track a b-side by Butler’s grandfather... the late pedal steel legend Alvino Rey... and limited to 1500 copies... I paid $5 for the record... and with Arcade Fire being up for several Grammy nominations in 2010... that 45 alone goes for over $300 on ebay... this is why you always support the artist.