COMING (BACK) SOON

I just moved to a new apartment and we're still working on getting the Internet up and running. I've been in the midst of moving stress for about a week now, so that's why you haven't heard word one from me since my Eux Autres show.

I'll be back in a big way in the next few days. Expect the second in my JEFF TWEEDY 100 series to follow shortly. . .

Thanks for sticking with me.

Hitting the reuxd with EUX AUTRES

If there were some sort of standard for journalistic ethics in the world of blogging, I guess I'd have to offer this up as some sort of disclosure about tonight's post: I have met Nicholas Larimer, 1/2 of the Portland (via Omaha) duo EUX AUTRES, and gotten along quite well with him. My brother went to high school with the other half of the band, Nick's sister Heather. I'm good friends with the guy who will be selling their merch on the band's tour. He is the reason I ever got to hear their debut album Hell is Eux Autres, which was just re-released with new artwork and lyrics last week.

There, it's out in the open. Now I can pimp them without an ounce of guilt.

I want you to believe me when I say that I wouldn't be pimping Eux Autres if I didn't love their music. I know a lot of people in bands, and you never see me writing about them here. There's a reason for that, and it's the fact that I won't use this site to be a shill for something in which I don't believe.

It took just one listen to the debut album to hook me. I was working at a record store with my friend Mike, the aforementioned merchwhore, when he said the dreaded words that no music fan really wants to hear: "I want to play you a CD of my friend's band." If you've ever been put in a similarly uncomfortable position, you know what normally follows: the CD usually sucks in a myriad of agonizing ways, and you're left to stand there, trying to look interested without trying to look patronizing.

Luckily, Hell is Eux Autres immediately jumped out at me, full of great harmonies, simple songs, and my favorite: lots of hand claps. It's hard to describe without sounding a little silly, but it's basically French pop that has seen one too many Portland rainshowers. It clocks in at a half hour, the perfect length for a debut, and the perfect size for a listener to digest in one sitting and still remember the hooks and choruses that made it so enjoyable. It doesn't overstay its welcome; it leaves you wanting more.

Here are two tracks:

"Ecoutez Bien"
"Salut Les Copins"

The album should be available at fine record stores across the country, and available for download on iTunes.

My main motivation for writing this, though, is to get my readers out there to support the band on their most current tour, which should be rolling near your town soon. For my friends in Chicago, Omaha and Philadelphia (where the band will be playing my favorite bar in the city, The Standard Tap) I implore you to see these cats. They put on a great, fun show and have been known to throw in the occasional awesome cover (drummer/vocalist Heather is also in a Portland-based all female Bee Gees cover band called the Shee Bee Gees). Plus, just look at them. They're adoreable. Buy them a drink or some dinner (reading their tour blog makes my stomach hurt at the thought of so much fast food) and tell them (or at least their merch guy) that I sent you.

EUX AUTRES TOUR DATES:
- Mon 12 : Omaha, NE - The Goofy Foot
- Tues 13 : St. Paul, MN - Big V's
- Wed 14 : Chicago, IL - Schubas
- Thurs 15 : Hamilton, ON - Casbah Lounge
- Fri 16 : Toronto, ON - Rancho Relaxo
- Sat 17 : Montreal, QC - L'Escogriffe
- Mon 19 : Buffalo, NY - Soundlab
- Wed 21 : Philadelphia - The Standard Tap
- Thurs 22 : New York, NY - Pianos

FOR MORE ON EUX AUTRES
- Here's an interview from an Omaha weekly paper.
- Keep up on the band's tour through their humorous tour blog
- A fan-made rudimentary animated video for "Ecoutez Bien"