The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #726

Damien Rice - Woman Like A Man (Live)

A great oddity from Bonnaroo 2004.

Visit Damien at his official site.

MP3: Damien Rice - Woman Like A Man (Live)

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #679

Damien Rice & Vyvienne Long - Yoshimi...

A gorgeous Flaming Lips cover.

Visit Damien at his official site.

Upcoming gigs with Leonard Cohen here.

MP3: Damien Rice & Vyvienne Long - Yoshimi...

Damien Rice To Open For Leonard Cohen

Catch both artists at:

June 13: Ireland (Dublin) - Royal Hosp Kilmainham
June 14: Ireland (Dublin) - Royal Hosp Kilmainham
June 15: Ireland (Dublin) - Royal Hosp Kilmainham

Visit Damien on MySpace.

MP3: Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #16

Damien Rice - When Doves Cry

Acoustic Prince cover = amazing.

However, don't expect to hear it live anytime soon as Damien isn't too keen on performing this one anymore.

In fact, his setlists have been almost completely void of any covers whatsoever, as of late.

Those counting at home - the tune has also been covered by Patrick Wolf & Charlotte Church, Patti Smith, The Be Good Tanyas, Razorlight and countless others. For now I'll leave you with Damien's version below. Enjoy!

MP3: Damien Rice - When Doves Cry

Damien Rice Splits With Long-Term Collaborator!

What a shame, the dichotomy of Lisa and Damien's voices was incredible...

The official statement reads: "After much thought and discussion Damien has decided that his professional relationship with Lisa Hannigan has run its creative course. As a result Lisa will not be appearing at any of the upcoming live shows. Lisa is embarking on her own artistic endeavours and there are no plans for them to work together in the foreseeable future. The current band on tour at the moment are Damien Rice, Joel Shearer, Shane Fitzsimons, Tom Osander and Vyvienne Long."

I will admit she did look rather bored at the Hiro Ballroom show a few months back, in spite of sounding flawless. Our review of that gig can be found here. This is sad news.

MP3: Damien Rice - Dogs

Damien Rice Announces North American Spring Tour!

He's back! Pre-sale starts tomorrow (click here for more info from Ticketbastard); no word on what the password happens to be, but our sources tell us that for the European tour, Damien opted for 'COCONUT'. UPDATE! PASSWORD FOR PRESALE IS 9CRIMES!!!

Seems like the premium seats will run you $50ish plus surcharge, yikes!

*Read our review of the Hiro Ballroom acoustic gig, here, or check out all the upcoming tour dates below!

24 Apr Canada Vancouver, BC - Center for the Arts
26 Apr USA Portland, OR - Roseland
28 Apr USA Oakland, CA - Paramount
1 May USA San Diego, CA - Spreckles
2 May USA Tucson, AZ - Music Hall
4 May USA Salt Lake City,UT - McKay Center
5 May USA Denver, CO - Paramount
7 May USA Dallas, TX - Majestic
8 May USA Houston, TX - Verizon
9 May USA Austin,TX - Bass Hall
11 May USA St.Louis, MO - Pageant
13 May USA Kansas City, MO - Uptown
14 May USA Chicago, IL - Opera House
15 May USA Minneapolis, MN - Northrop
17 May USA Detroit, MI - State Theatre
18 May Canada Toronto, ON - Massey Hall
20 May Canada Montreal, QUE - Olympia
21 May USA New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
22 May USA Boston, MA - Opera House
24 May USA Philadelphia, PA - The Mann Center
25 May USA Washington, DC - Constitution Hall
26 May USA Louisville, KY - Palace
29 May USA Indianapolis, IN - Murat
30 May USA Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
31 May USA Memphis, TN - Orpheum

MP3: Damien Rice - I Remember

Radiohead Gets Creepy At Starbucks!

Oh geez. KCRW & Starbucks are teaming up to release 'Sounds Eclectic: The Covers Project'. The album, which will be available on March 13th in most major cities, will include The Flaming Lips' take on Radiohead's 'Knives Out' and Damien Rice's version of the band's first massive single, 'Creep'. For Radiohead enthusiasts, these covers aren't exactly new but I have mixed feelings about hearing them at Starbucks, of all places.

Also, what's probably more upsetting is that album sales will NOT be going to a charity. No, not even partially. According to Bitchfork, 'proceeds from album sales will assist the station in digitizing its huge music library'.

Err, I love you KCRW, but I don't know about this one. Anyone else as ambivalent as me?

MP3: Damien Rice - Creep (Radiohead cover)

Don't Forget About The Shortlist!

Yes, it's back. Somehow it's already in its SIXTH YEAR (whoa!). Nominations and the celeb listmakers/voters should be announced very shortly (within the next 2 weeks). We will keep you updated, of course.

Also, last year's re-naming of the prize to 'New Pantheon' is gone. The award will once again be titled The Shortlist Prize.

Past years' winners:
2001: Sigur Ros
2002: N*E*R*D
2003: Damien Rice
2004: TV on the Radio
2005: Sufjan Stevens

I'm gonna go ahead and guess that the voters put The Decemberists, Joanna Newsom, TV On The Radio, The Knife and Thom Yorke in the top 5. Anybody wanna challenge me? And I think Joanna will take the top prize.

Damien Rice: Hated By Bitchfork, Loved In The States

We just can't get enough Damien here at The Music Slut.

We were thrilled to read this over at Billboard: Damien Rice's "9" cracks the big chart at No. 22 with 45,000, becoming his best charting and sales week; his 2003 album "O" only managed a No. 114 peak. 114, really? That's so crazy.

We were very saddened see this over at Bitchfork in their 'review' of 9: "He undercuts himself with go-nowhere melodies and formulaic arrangements...so unimaginative it could've been self-parody...It's as if Rice has conjured up every cliché from the genre's past, only to immolate them all in a tepid MOR bonfire."

In more Bitchfork news, keep an eye on Slate for a very in-depth interview with The Music Slut (coming soon) about our declaration as to why Pitchfork is dead to us.

MP3: 'Cold Water' (live on Conan)

Damien Rice (acoustic) @ Hiro Ballroom: What's The Story, Morning Glory?

What a night! Damien and his band turned Hiro Ballroom into a combination 'Storytellers'/'MTV Unplugged' and completely wowed all 250 in attendance (seated and packt like sardines in a crushd tin box, what was with that?).

Damien started the set with a group of familiar songs before breaking into some b-sides and even a song created on the spot with the aid of fans throwing out words to include in the tune. Considering that most of the lyrics revolved around the emotion someone shouted for (happiness), I'm going to go ahead and name the song 'Happy'. I hope Damien doesn't mind. People also shouted out 'red' and 'nose' which Damien incorporated quite beautifully into the tune. '9 Crimes' sounded flawless and was preluded by Damien's 'oldest song' (all night people were requesting songs from O but it wasn't until midway through the set that he complied with their wishes), 'Delicate'.


Towards the end of the main set, Damien had each of the band members request a song of his to play (they didn't follow any setlist whatsoever and apparently rarely do). While he was fearful that Lisa would pick a cover, she actually chose 'The Animals Were Gone' which was fucking stunning. One of my favorites of the night. To close the main set, the cellist (sorry, I don't know her name) requested a rare old b-side but since nobody in the band remembered the words nor the melody, she chose 'Cheers Darlin' much to the crowd's delight. Damien put a twist on the track but asking her to sing it, while drinking to accompany the sentiment behind the song. She was also forced into telling the story Damien usually shares when they play the song, it was quite hysterical since the cellist was attempting to speak with Damien's diction. She managed to pull off most of the story and the first half of the song before Damien eventually finished it off.


She came back out with Lisa for the totally silly but lovable 'Random Man On The Motorway' played exclusively with the cello. Lisa then did her own song, which was breathtaking, of course. Damien closed the show by busting out 2 of his biggest singles to cap the night off. 2 hours later, as we were leaving Hiro Ballroom everybody was gushing. Why wouldn't they be? This will surely go down as one of the best shows of the year.

Setlist: Grey Room/Cannonball/Me My Yoke And I/Woman Like A Man/Sand/'Happy'/Delicate/9 Crimes/Dogs/Rootless Tree/The Animals Were Gone/Cheers Darlin'//Random Man On The Motorway/(new unreleased song - Lisa singing)/Elephant/Volcano/The Blower's Daughter

Qbertplaya has some great shots (she was in the second row!) and even a video of 'Delicate', pop over there!

Damien Rice - 9 Review

All weekend I've been listening to Damien Rice's sophomore release, on repeat. As most of you are well aware, all 3 of us sluts are big fans of the Irish songbird, and were blown away with O. It took us by surprise and stopped us in our tracks; we fell sucker for his delicate songs instantaneously.

From the opening strums of '9 Crimes' and the first few lines of Lisa's glorious vocal, it's painfully obvious to hear that 9 is just as stunning as its predecessor. By the time Damien and the gang break into 'Rootless Tree', the tone of the album goes from fragile to passionate within a few short minutes. The album's centerpieces, 'Dogs' & 'Coconut Skins', are classic Damien tracks sure to go down as some of his best tunes. Closing track, 'Sleep Don't Weep', closes the album like a lullaby putting a baby to bed.

9's ten tracks run the gamut of delicate and fierce, simple and complex, pretty and haggard. It's why we loved Damien in the first place, and it's why we will continue to love him as 9 keeps our ears happy for the next few months, or, given Damien's track record for taking his precious time between releases, the next few years.

MP3: 'Rootless Tree'

Damien Welcomes 9 With 8 Tour Dates

These are with the full band (Lisa included) and all instruments, in other words, not counting the acoustic Hiro show next week.

12/6 - Oakland, CA - Paramount Theatre
12/8 - Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum Theatre
12/11 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
12/12 - NYC - Beacon Theater
12/15 - Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theatre
12/16 - Washington, DC - Lincoln Theatre
12/18 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
12/20 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre

On-sale dates at Ticketbastard. The Beacon show is on-sale Friday at 10.

Damien Rice Hiro Tix ON SALE AT 1PM!

Here's the link!

Happy clicking.

PS The show is acoustic!

I guess time will tell if TicketWeb will crash when these go on sale, my guess is YES.

Surprise! Damien Rice To Play Hiro Ballroom!

Over the last few days, we've gotten many many people coming across the site recently searching for Damien Rice + Hiro Ballroom. Sadly upon their search they land on my review of the recent Badly Drawn Boy show.

Well, we just got official word that the show is ON and it will be on 11/16.

No tickets up yet on TicketWeb but we gather they'll go quickly and will be friggin' expensive!

We'll keep ya posted!

Damien Rice Turns out 9

::sigh:: I love Damien Rice. I think O is one of the most beautiful albums I have ever heard. On November 14th, Rice is set to drop his second album, 9. I don't know what all these titles mean. Maybe one night during some pillow talk he will tell me. Hey, a girl can dream can't she?

You can stream the first single '9 Crimes' here:
Quicktime 128
Windows Media 128
Quicktime 56
Windows Media 56

Damien Rice Can't Count Past 8

But thankfully he WILL FINALLY release his follow-up to O on November 21st.

It will be released on Rice's own label Heffa.

First single will be '9 Crimes'. Album title is '9'.

There are 10 songs on the album.

You figure it out!

The tracklisting for '9' is:

'9 Crimes'
'The Animals Were Gone'
'Elephant'
'Rootless Tree'
'Dogs'
'Coconut Skins'
'Me, My Yoke And I'
'Grey Room'
'Accidental Babies'
'Sleep Don't Weep'

MP3: 'When Doves Cry' (Prince cover, of course)

I Figured It Out!

OK, so...I was listening to Damien Rice's lovely, brilliant and mesmerizing debut, O yesterday and when 'Cannonball' popped on. Immediately I thought of that f*ing James Blunt song.

How did I never realize before how much James Blunt rips off Damien Rice? Has anyone else noticed this?

We all know he will NEVER have the grace and vocal inflection that Damien possesses, and his attempt is quite embarrassing when you listen to the two tracks side by side, one after another.

I just can't believe I didn't see/hear it sooner!

In related news, Damien Rice (alongside tour partner, Fiona Apple) will be at Summerstage tonight. We wanna hear your thoughts on his new tracks if you make it out! I'm also keeping my fingers crossed for no thunderstorms. I only want the best for you.

I'd put the songs side by side for you, but there's no reason you should have to bear 'You're Beautiful' any more than you already have. So, here's some Damien for you.

'The Blower's Daughter'

Fiona and Damien Make Sweet Summer Lovin'

Seems like Fiona Apple and Damien Rice will be hitting the road together this summer for a full US tour!

The show will be hitting Central Park's Summerstage on July 26 as well as a date at Jones Beach and Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel (fancy!).

The above link has all the info, but only we have these lovely photos of Fiona and Damien.

I'd pay to hear them do 'I Got You Babe' as the final encore.

Save up, tickets are expected to be in the $50 range.

Tibet House Benefit Review

(picture BLATANTLY STOLEN FROM BROOKLYN VEGAN, while your Music Slut was sitting in the nosebleeds cuz he's cheap)

anyway, onto the show.

HMM, where to begin? carnegie hall is not all it's cracked up to be. i'm sorry but it's true. maybe having a seat in the balcony had something to do with it but the room feels cavernous (it actually has a smaller capacity than beacon but feels a lot less intimate). the seats cannot fit anybody with an actual tush and there is zero leg room whatsoever. i don't like being uncomfortable and feeling trapped, and well, i did.

the show was good but certainly not worth the pricetag.

don't get me wrong, there were some highlights:
-antony performing 'you are my sister'
-sufjan playing 'lord god bird' followed by 'casimir pulaski day'
-the group effort at the end (as seen in the photo): this included antony dancing like the big goof that he is, sufjan playing the triangle and damien rice on tambourine, it was pretty awesome. the only number all night that the crowd reacted enthusiastically to.

but then there were the bad parts:
-laurie anderson: you are a wonderful violinist but what the hell were you singing/talking about? it was not enjoyable for me. and thanks for overpowering antony's voice on your duet, grrrr.
-some random string quartet that were incredibly talented but got a half hour to play while my beloved sufjan damien and antony got 10 minutes or less
-the aforementioned seating and rowdy crowd (cell phones ringing left and right and a girl next to me shouting for sufjan all night.. even deeming his decision to play 'casimir' a GOOD CHOICE.. she repeated it 5 times, very loudly!!)


i must say this, sufjan was adorable and definitely the highlight of the night, no shock there. he brought out most of his band and even apologized for screwing up at the beginning of 'lord god bird', we love him.

damien rice: bad song choice, bad hair choice, bad clothing choice. he let it all grow out and now the once cute irishman looks like TOM HANKS IN CASTAWAY!! no no no. and the new song you did was highly medicore. 'cold water' was a poor choice if you were to pick one song from O (in my humble opinion... i woulda loved to hear 'blower's daughter' or even 'eskimo', oh well)

the monks were great as was allen toussaint. both pleasant surprises.

but i'll think twice next time about spending $40 on a benefit show such as this one.