Okkervil River: "Your Past Life As A Blast" [Video] + 2011 Fall Tour Dates

The latest video from Okkervil River's most recent release (which surely will be on our yearly best of list) I Am Very Far, features footage shot from lead singer Will Sheff's dad. Fits perfectly.

Okkervil River 2011 Fall Tour Dates:
October 12th: Perth, AU @ Capitol
October 14th: Melbourne, AU @ The Forum Theatre
October 15th: Meeniyan, AU @ Meeniyan Town Hall
October 16th: Melbourne (Will Sheff Solo), AU @ The Toff
October 18th: Sydney, AU @ Metro Theatre
October 19th: Brisbane, AU @ The Hi Fi
November 4th: Austin, TX, US @ Fun Fun Fun Fest [Purchase Tickets]
November 10th: Barcelona, ES @ Teatro Coliseum
November 11th: El Puerto de Santa Maria, ES @ Milwaukee
November 12th: Valencia, ES @ Mirror
November 14th: Munich, DE @ Backstage
November 15th: Cologne, DE @ Luxor
November 16th: Paris, FR @ Café de la Danse
November 18th: Dublin, IE @ The Button Factory
November 19th: Glasgow, UK @ Oran Mor
November 20th: Manchester, UK @ Sound Control
November 21st: Bristol, UK @ Trinity
November 22nd: London, UK @ Koko
November 24th: Haarlem, NL @ Patronaat
November 25th: Brussels, BE @ Botanique Orangerie (Autumn Falls Festival)
November 26th: Utrecht, NL @ Tivoli

Okkervil River | [Official Site] [Facebook] [Twitter]

Okkervil River ACL Taping Ticket Giveaway

Austin City Limits will tape a performance with Okkervil River on Thursday, June 18, starting at 8pm. KLRU's ACL Blog will be giving away 75 pair (150 total) of Space Available tickets. Enter between now and noon Monday, June 15 for a chance to win. Winners will receive 2 tickets each and be chosen through a random drawing. Please be in Austin or the surrounding community. These tickets do NOT guarantee admission. Space Available ticket recipients will receive an email notification with details about the taping. Good luck and remember to arrive early to have the best possible chance to make it inside.

[ENTER HERE]

In addition to playing Bonnaroo this weekend, Okkervil River has also been tapped to open for Wilco on a few dates. Our friend Julio from Cause=Time has the details on those cities.

Austin City Limits Announces Their TV Taping Lineup For Upcoming Season

Austin City Limits is celebrating it's 35th year on the air. The PBS series boasts an incredible lineup this year, featuring numerous diverse performers. The full list of confirmed performers for Austin City Limits tapings include Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, Kenney Chesney, Elvis Costello, Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel, Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Ben Harper and Relentless7, M. Ward, Andrew Bird, Madeleine Peyroux, St. Vincent, Heartless Bastards, Okkervil River,and Band of Heathens.

"We had high hopes for our 35th anniversary, but never expected to pull together a season like this" said ACL producer Terry Lickona. "We've scored major coups with some of the biggest names in rock and some of the best touring bands in the world. And we're excited to continue to showcase the best new and emerging sounds wherever they come from, including some of the hottest bands making waves in Austin and beyond. After three and a half decades it seems like everybody still wants to stand on that stage and be a part of ACL history."

Exact broadcast dates, additional confirmed performers and news of other exciting events planned for this special 35th anniversary season will be unveiled in the coming weeks. ACL features a blog if you'd like to stay informed and also a newsletter you can sign up for to receive email updates.

Austincitylimits.org features performance clips, extended interviews and photo galleries from spotlighted artists and archival footage of historical performances from the great stage of Austin City Limits. The show is broadcast in dynamic high definition and 5.1 surround sound on PBS HD channels where available and airs nationally on 97% of the country's PBS stations. KLRU is Austin's PBS affilatiate by the way.

Last year, we were lucky enough to attend the My Morning Jacket and Duffy tapings and we were blown away by the fantastic sound and intimate setting. Hopefully we'll be at some of the great tapings they have this year!

Okkervil River Playing a Free Concert Tonight at St. Edwards (7pm)

Okkervil River will be playing at FREE concert tonight at St. Edwards here in Austin on the Main Building Lawn. Opening up the show at 7pm will be Hospital Ships (Jordan Geiger). The website at St. Eds say it's a private event, but I definitely think it's worth a shot to at least go down and see if you can get in. I'm not sure how they work, has anyone ever been to one of these free shows before?

Thanks to jingles and jangles for the heads up.

[Okkervil River Myspace]

[Okkervil River Official Site]

[Hospital Ships Myspace]

[St. Edwards University]

(Photo cred: Leon Steber)

Okkervil River: "Lost Coastlines" Video

[Okkervil River Myspace]
[Okkervil River Official Site]

ACL Spotlight: Okkervil River

Many people may not realize, but Okkervil River have been around since 1998. The band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya. Their members may have changed over the years, but there remains one constant, singer and Will Sheff. His amazing songwriting fits perfectly with the band's intricate music.

They formed here in Austin and they have numerous EPs and also five albums in their catalog: Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See (2002), Down the River of Golden Dreams (2003), Black Sheep Boy (2005), The Stage Names (2007), and The Stand Ins which was released earlier this month.

In addition to releasing a new record, Okkervil River also have their own page on Youtube which shows other musicians such as Bon Iver and David Vandervelde performing covers of songs off The Stand Ins.

Here's what some had to say about The Stand Ins:

"[Okkervil River] are a ban poised for greatness, and The Stand Ins may very well be the record to take them there. 9/10"
-Popmatters

"Frentically catchy...Okkervil River builds each flimsy illusion as if, for the moment, it's all that matters."
-The New York Times

Notable performances include opening for Lou Reed at the grand opening of New York's Highline Ballroom, performing on Conan O' Brien, and as the backup band for Roky Erickson at the Austin Music Awards at this year's SXSW. They've also played with The New Pornographers and The Decemberists.

Okkervil River - Lost Coastlines (mp3)
Okkervil River - Our Life is Not A Movie or Maybe (mp3)
Okkervil River - The President's Dead (mp3)
Okkervil River - No Key No Plan (mp3)
Okkervil River - Black (mp3)
Okkervil River - For Real (mp3)
Okkervil River - It Ends With a Fall (mp3)

Here's Okkervil River performing "Big Black Car" on Black Cab Sessions.

Okkervil River at ACL
September 28 (Sunday) 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
On the AT&T Blue Room Stage

Official ACL Aftershow
Saturday, September 27
Okkervil River, Man Man, Crooked Fingers @ Emo's (outside)
Doors open at 10pm, show starts at 10:30pm
[Buy Tickets] $16

[Okkervil River Official Site]
[Okkervil River Myspace]
[Tour Dates]

[Photo by FXR]

Schubas' SXSW Party

Schubas' 12th Annual SXSW Round-Up Presented By Spin, Featuring:
Thursday, March 13th (Yard Dog Gallery, 1510 S. Congress Ave., noon-7pm, all ages, FREE)

Lineup/Times: (Doors open at 11:30am)**Updated**
Aleks & the Drummer (6:05-6:30pm)
Black Joe Lewis (5:25-5:50pm)
Blitzen Trapper (4:40-5:05pm)
Okkervil River (3:50-4:20pm)
The Cool Kids (3:00-3:30pm)
Peter Moren (2:20-2:50pm)
The Spinto Band (1:40-2:05pm)
Ben Jelin (12:55-1:20pm)
The Builder & The Butchers (12:10-12:35pm)
Ohmega Watts and The Hood Internet will DJ brief sets in between acts

The New Pornographers/Okkervil River Co-Headline April Tour

The New Pornographers and Okkervil River have plans for a short co-headlining tour in April, with both acts continuing to support recent albums.

The twin billing will kick off April 9 in Toronto, with 13 shows packed into just under two weeks. Before hitting the road with The New Pornographers, Okkervil River will undertake an overseas run that incorporates dates in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Released in August, "Challengers" is The New Pornographers' fourth studio album, and follows the band's 2005 breakthrough set, "Twin Cinema." A deluxe edition of the album--"Challengers: The Executive Edition"--adds three bonus discs. The first contains B-sides, demos and alternate takes, the second bonus disc adds unreleased live material, and the third contains "Challengers" music videos and photos. Okkervil River from good ol' Austin is touring behind its fourth studio album, last August's "The Stage Names." The disc was recorded in Austin, TX, with production by Brian Beattie and mixing by Spoon's Jim Eno. Sadly no Austin dates...

***Update***Okkervil River playing with Roky Erickson on 3/12 @ Austin Music Hall

Tourdates:

Okkervil River

April 5 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater

April 6 - Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone Cafe

April 7 - Bloomington, IN - Buskirk-Chumley Theater

The New Pornographers and Okkervil River

April 9 - Toronto, Ontario - Phoenix Concert Theatre

April 10 - Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Ballroom

April 11 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall

April 12 - Munhall, PA - Carnegie Music Hall

April 13 - Ithaca, NY - The State Theatre of Ithaca

April 14 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

April 16 - Richmond, VA - Toad's Place

April 17 - Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre

April 18 - Nashville, TN - The Cannery

April 19 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant

April 20 - Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre

April 21 - Madison, WI - Orpheum Theatre

April 22 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom

[Myspace] Okkervil River

[Myspace] The New Pornographers