Video: The Ladybug Transistor play "Clutching Stems" during XX Merge

Let us flash back to the summer of 2009 and the fantastic XX Merge Festival in Carrboro and Chapel Hill. New York band The Ladybug Transistor was part of the festivities and played a great set at the Cat's Cradle on July 25, 2009 (see photos and a review HERE).

The band were clearly eyeing the future as they played the festival almost two years ago, because while in town, the band filmed a performance of the song "Clutching Stems" in a hotel room at the Holiday Inn. The song is the title track of the band's forthcoming album due out on June 7, 2011. Watch the performance below where you can also download the song.

Lambchop: Live at XX Merge coming next week, show tonight at Duke

Pretty much everyone who was at the third night of XX Merge agrees: Lambchop stole the show. The band will play Duke's Reynolds Theatre in Durham tonight with Alejandro Escovedo (4 tickets still available!), but that's not the only news today.

This Tuesday, Nov. 17, Merge will digitally release Live at XX Merge, with a physical release coming Nov. 24. All versions will include a video download of the group's performance at XX Merge.

Watch a preview of the accompanying video after the jump.

New XX Merge video: Wye Oak - "Take It In"

The latest XX Merge take-away video has hit the web and it features the excellent Wye Oak performing "Take It In." It was filmed in a parking lot in Chapel Hill on Franklin Street. Jenn Wasner is playing her guitar through a little Pignose amp slung over her shoulder and Andy Stack is playing a floor tom and a tambourine. Check out the video here.

Wye Oak is currently on tour with Blitzen Trapper and will be playing the Cat's Cradle this Friday, October 8. Tickets are still available via etix.com for $10. Check out all of the dates here.

Wye Oak - "Take It In" (mp3)

New XX Merge video: Lou Barlow - "Goodnight Unknown"

This week we have the fourth installment of Converse's XX Merge "Take Away" video series. This one features Lou Barlow performing the song "Goodnight Unknown" from his forthcoming Merge release of the same name due out next Tuesday, October 6. The video features Barlow playing sitting next to a brick wall in Carrboro and at one point during the video, you can hear a train whistle. It's a fantastic performance which you can watch here.

You can stream Goodnight Unknown for a limited time via NPR. Check out Lou Barlow's upcoming tour dates after the break.

Performances from XX Merge festivities hit the web

While the XX Merge Converse "take away" series still has three more videos to roll out, the big kahuna has hit the web. It turns out we didn't have to wait long to see the results of all those cameras positioned around the Cat's Cradle and Memorial Hall of those nights in July.

A boatload of videos are now available to view over at Bablegum.com including performances by Superchunk, She & Him, Spoon, American Music Club, Telekinesis, Polvo, Pipe, Richard Buckner, Wye Oak, The Clientele, The Ladybug Transistor, Destroyer, Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band, Oakley Hall and Imperial Teen.

So if you were there, go relive at great five nights of music and if you were not there, go check out what you missed. I'm still hoping these performances and many more make their way to a DVD in the not-to-distant future.

New XX Merge video: Telekinesis - "Tokyo"

The third installment of Converse's XX Merge take-away video series is now available online. This one features Telekinesis (Matthew Lerner) playing "Tokyo" with Matthew Caws of Nada Surf in an alley in Carrboro on July 26. It's quite the groovy performance. You can check our post on their XX Merge set at the Cat's Cradle here.

NPR also recently posted a Tiny Desk session featuring Telekinesis. You can watch the stripped down performances of "Plankton," "Coast of Carolina," "I Saw Lightning" and "Rust" after the break.

Telekinesis are currently in Europe where they'll hook up with The Rosebuds for a tour that will keep them busy through October. The Rosebuds have been documenting their current Chinese adventure on their Tumblr blog and will likely continue the posts during the European tour. Be sure to check it out.

New XX Merge video: The Clientele - "Bonfires on the Heath"

It feels like we've been taken back to July, because new Merge Anniversary content just keeps coming. Now, Converse and Merge Records have posted the second video of their Take Away Shows-esque video series. This one features The Clientele performing the title-track from their new album Bonfires on the Heath, due out on October 6.

The video starts with drummer Mark Keen gathering twigs to fashion himself some makeshift brushes to play his snare. It's a nice little nod to the guerrilla nature of video series.

Watch the video here.

New XX Merge photos and video online now

Is it just us, or is XX Merge the festival that never ends?

Merge launched some new content on the XX Merge site today, including more photos from the five day celebration.

Also today on Converse.com, an XX Merge sponsor, you can check out the first of six takeaway performances. One will be posted every week, with the first being Superchuck performing a stripped-down version of "Crossed Wires."

We'll look forward to seeing footage from The Rosebuds' impromptu show at Jackpot among others in the coming weeks.

XX Merge night 5 at Memorial Hall: She & Him

Here we are. We've reached the end of our XX Merge coverage. The final band of the three-band bill Sunday night at Memorial Hall was the classic pop styling of She & Him. Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward took the stage with a four-member backing band including Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond on backing vocals (we recently covered her on The Decemberists' tour).

The set featured songs from the group's debut album released last year titled Volume One (voted the best album of 2008 by Paste). The set started slow, with some of the slower songs from the album including "Black Hole" and "Change is Hard."

XX Merge night 5 at Memorial Hall: Wye Oak and American Music Club

So here we are. The final night of XX Merge at Memorial Hall. The line-up was solid and the show was great. Let's get started.

Young Baltimore duo Wye Oak took the stage first. They played a set mostly of songs from their brand new album The Knot, released on July 21. "That I Do," "Take It In" and "For Prayer" were all stellar tunes. They also played a fantastic new rocking song, which you can see a video of here.

Jenn Wasner's vocals shined throughout the set and Andy Stack gets huge props for playing the drums so well while also playing bass lines on the keyboard. This was my first time seeing Wye Oak live, like many of the bands at XX Merge, and they were truly excellent.

XX Merge night 4 at Cat's Cradle: Destroyer and Imperial Teen

The unfortunate task of following M. Ward's excellent performance on the fourth night of XX Merge at the Cat's Cradle fell to Dan Bejar, aka Destroyer. He delivered an nice solo set accented by his unique singing style. The set included music from his various Destroyer albums. The song "Streets of Fire" stood out in the set. He recorded it for the 1996 Destroyer album We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge and he recorded it again with The New Pornographers in 2005.

Bejar said that he offered a cab driver $100 if he could get him to the Cat's Cradle on Friday in time for ten minutes of Polvo's set, but he didn't make it. His charming banter with the crowd and excellent performance kept the crowd happy throughout the set. Check out the set list below and a video of the performance of "Painter in Your Pocket" here.

XX Merge night 4 at Cat's Cradle: M. Ward

The headliner of the night four of XX Merge was M. Ward, but he didn't close the night. He was the fourth of six bands. It was a bit odd and you'll also notice a lack of quality photos with this post because his tour manager put the kibosh on photos for his set. I did manage to snap a few crappy ones from the side during the encore though.

Moving on to the music though, Matt and his band played a killer set of tunes spanning his albums and tossed in a few choice covers as well. He tackled Louis Armstrong's "I Get Ideas" and "Roll Over Beethoven" during the set in top fashion. He also played his fantastic version of Buddy Holly's "Rave On" which is featured on his latest album Hold Time. "Rave On" was on the set list, but got skipped in the set.

Ward's unique and superb guitar style shined during the set as did his somber, raspy vocals. His band is quite fantastic as well.

During the encore, he was joined on stage by his She & Him partner Zooey Deschanel who recreated her backing vocals on "Never Had Nobody Like You." She stuck around for the final song, which was a rousing cover of The Beatles' song "Birthday" in honor of Merge's birthday. It was a fitting close to a great set. Check out the complete set list below.

M. Ward set list:
Poor Boy, Minor Key
Poison Cup
Riverside
Fool Says
To Save Me
I Get Ideas
Vincent O'Brien
Big Boat
Fahey/Fisher of Men
To Go Home
Requiem
Chinese Translation
Roll Over Beethoven
Rave On (on the set list but not played)
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Never Had Nobody Like You (w/ Zooey Deschanel)
Birthday (Beatles cover w/ Zooey Deschanel)

XX Merge night 4 at Cat's Cradle: The Ladybug Transistor

Third on the schedule on night four of XX Merge at the Cat's Cradle was The Ladybug Transistor. The set saw the return of bassist Julia Rydholm who played on Friday with The Essex Green. The band played great set of melodic pop songs which included the song "Always on the Telephone."

Frontman Gary Olson played some trumpet and well as guitar and singing lead vocals. Olson popped up on trumpet during Spent's set on Friday and Annie Hayden of Spent returned the favor by joining Ladybug Transistor on backing vocals for two songs. The group pleased the Cradle crowd, setting them up for the should-be headliner M. Ward who followed. More on that later.

Check out photos of The Ladybug Transistor below. More coverage of night four and coverage of night five is coming soon.

XX Merge night 4 at Cat's Cradle: Telekinesis and Erectus Monotone

After a hot outdoor set at Orange County Social Club, XX Merge-goers gathered two hours later for the fourth night of the festival at the Cat's Cradle. The night started with a surprise introduction of the first band by Death Cab For Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard. He popped out for about five second to introduce Telekinesis.

As the band took the stage, there was another great surprise. Telekinesis brainchild Michael Benjamin Lerner were joined on stage by Matthew Caws of Nada Surf on guitar and Ivan Howard of The Rosebuds on bass. Lerner plays drums and sings live, but played most of the instruments on his debut album. The all-star band had rehearsed once, just hours before the show, but sounded great. They launched into the catchy tune "Tokyo" and quickly made their way through a nine-song set.

XX Merge day 4 at Orange County Social Club: Radar Bros. and 3Ds

The fifth band to play at Orange County Social Club on Saturday was Los Angeles group Radar Bros. The group played a mellow set for the crowd, opening with the song "Papillon" from the album The Fallen Leaf Pages. They played two new songs, dubbed works in progress, before a wonderful cover of Rufus Wainwright's "Oh What a World."

Towards the end of the set, the band took a crowd request and played "Shoveling Sons" before closing with "On the Line." It was a nice somber set for a humid day under a tent.

The last band to play the outdoor stage was also the only band to play two XX Merge sets. That was the New Zealand band 3Ds. They tore through another great set that included a cover of The Clean that didn't make it into the Cat's Cradle set (if anyone knows the title, let us know).

XX Merge day 4 at Orange County Social Club: Matt Suggs and Tenement Halls

The third band to take the stage at the free XX Merge show at Orange Social Club was Matt Suggs (formerly of Butterglory). He played a great set comprised of solo tunes and old Butterglory songs. Suggs was joined by Zach Holland on guitar for a few songs and Mac McCaughan played drums during most of the set.

The old Butterglory songs really shined, specifically "She's Go the Akshun!" and "Better Gardens, Better Homes." You can check out video of the entire set on YouTube thanks to user chiglartayindustries. It's well worth checking out. The complete set list is below.

XX Merge day 4 at Orange County Social Club: The Music Tapes and Portastatic

It was a warm humid day outside Orange County Social Club on Saturday, but six XX Merge artists marched through the heat to play great sets.

First up for the afternoon show was New York performer Julian Koster, aka The Music Tapes. He came with his giant metronome and some other odd contraptions that accompanied him as he played some songs on the banjo, the "singing saw" and other instruments. The short set included the song "Big Beautiful Shops" and as well as a new song. As a whole, it was a fantastically quirky performance.

Next up was Merge co-founder Mac McCaughan and violinist Margaret White as Portastatic. The six-song set opened with a Caetano Veloso cover of "Baby" from the 2000 EP De Mel, De Melão. Also included was a great version of "San Andreas" which Mac noted was the first time they had played it with a violin. Check out the complete set list below and check out a video of the performance of "Noisy Night" here.

XX Merge night 3 at Cat's Cradle: Spoon

The headliners on night three of XX Merge were none other than one of the label's biggest bands, Spoon. The band played a set, heavy on their early albums including "Chicago at Night," "Lines in the Suit" and the show closer "The Fitted Shirt," all from their 2001 Merge debut Girls can Tell. They also played the new song "Got Nuffin" from their new EP of the same name as well as another new song called "Is Love Forever?"

It was a good set, but not the strongest they've done (check out our review of their Carolina Theatre show last year). One of the highlights was their regular cover of Paul Simon's "Peace Like a River." Another was Mac McCaughan joining the band on lead vocals on a cover of Wire's "Mannequin" during the encore.

XX Merge night 3 at Cat's Cradle: Polvo and Pipe

Fourth on the bill for the third night of XX Merge at the Cat's Cradle was local quartet Polvo. They played an ear shredding set for a packed room. Folks seemed to eat it up, but the band personally were not able to win me over. They played a tight set though and were the perfect follow-up for the unbeatable Lambchop performance because you just couldn't compare the two bands.

Mac McCaughan came out on stage before the fifth band instead of the night's emcee and announced that there was a lone protester outside. He invited him up on stage and it was Jon Wurster decked out in Phillies gear as Philly Boy Roy. He was holding a sign that said "Boycot MERGE." He complained that Merge didn't have any Philly bands on their roster and Mac said that they have bands from Jersey, which is close to Philly. You never compare Jersey to Philly in front of Philly Boy Roy. It was hilarious.

XX Merge night 3 at Cat's Cradle: Lambchop!

The third band on the third night of XX Merge completely stole the show and no one was ever able to top it. That band was Lambchop. The band played a groovy set that featured ten members including a horn section. The entire crowd were enthralled with the set and band leader Kurt Wagner seemed taken aback numerous times by the thunderous applause in between songs.

The set included the song "Talk Like a Pirate Day" and many other great songs. I'll try to update this with more of the set list a little later. I've added the complete set list below thanks to Craig from San Francisco.