Well, after having our original domain held hostage by a domain squatter, we finally have www.themarbleshrine.com back in our grubby little paws again.   This site started out with the .com extension and most of the existing links on the internet still point to the .com, so now we can resolve all of those broken links out there.

ORLG live in Japan (Soundboard) is currently streaming on Red Bull Music Academy and I highly suggest you give it a listen.  I happened to see this same lineup in Chicago (minus a song) and it was one of the best shows I have ever attended.  Check it out.

These videos are so fucking good.

Despite recent cancellations to the European ORLG shows, the ORLG Russian shows and the TMV South American shows are still a go according to Sargent House.  So buy your tickets, bring your cameras, cellphones, and recording devices because there is bound to be some new material showcased these South American shows.

In other news, I am working on streaming bootlegs.  Yep, that’s what I said.

This is probably one of the best interviews with Omar I can remember in the past few years.   None of the typical canned question/response, just a couple of people hanging out and discussing shit.  Very good.

http://ipaintmymind.org/music/omar-rodriguez-lopez-ipaintmymind-exclusive-interview/

Evan has also interviewed Jeff Jordan, the artist who has done the paintings for the last 3 TMV albums.  Check it out here:

http://ipaintmymind.org/art/jeff-jordan-ipmm-exclusive-interview/

http://omardigital.rodriguezlopezproductions.com/album/tychozorente

SNEAK ATTACK!  You can stream the entire album, or buy it if ya like.  Buy it.

Track listing:

Everyone’s favorite guitarist/composer/song-writer/writer-producer-director (what’s the proper title here?) has already started touring with the Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group, debuting at the Solar stage in the Metamorphose Festival in Izu, Shizuoka, Japan. On hand are Ximena Sariñana (Vocals), Deantoni Parks (Drums), Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez (Keyboards/Sound Manipulation), Lars Stalfors (Sound Manipulation), and Juan Alderete De La Pena (Bass) .

Armed with a Spanish-Japanese translator, Omar came out in high spirits, said “Sorry, there are a lot of songs I have not named yet. Basically, they are jumbling now”, thanked the crowd for coming, and jumped right into the set. The set list was comprised mostly of new material, with a few favorites off of Xenophanes and Solar Gambling making an appearance halfway through the show and towards the end.

The boot originally popped up on the Comatorium as one single mp3, but a dedicated fan went ahead and played with the levels, split the tracks up, gave them unique names, and reposted it here. The (pseudo) mastered copy definitely has a better sound than the original, so snag it while you can.

We aren’t going to bother with a review because, after all, this site is dedicated to everything TMV and Omar, so obviously we are going to be gushing about this new sound, the new songs, the new drummer, and everything in between. It really is extremely good and if you haven’t checked out any other ORLG bootlegs this is definitely one you should take the time to sit down and enjoy.

The ORLG played a show last night in San Francisco @ The Great American Music Hall and a few videos have already surfaced:

They play again tonight in Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour. Then it is off the NYC for a show on the 17th, and then to Chicago for a show the very next night on the 18th.

Go see this show live while you have the chance. Bootlegs will never, ever due the real show justice even though we love them very much.

September
-13 Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA (+ The Butcherettes)
-14 Troubador, Los Angeles, CA (+ The Butchterettes)
-17 Highline Ballroom, Ney York, NY (+ The Butchterettes)
-18 Congress Theatre, Chicago, IL (+ The Butchterettes)

November
- 18 GlavClub, St. Petersburg, Russia (+ The Butchterettes)
- 19 Tele Club, Ekaterinburg, Russia (+ The Butchterettes)
- 21 Tochka, Moscow, Russia (+ The Butchterettes)
- 24 A38, Budapest, Hungary (+ The Butchterettes)
- 25 Arena, Wiena, Austria (+ The Butchterettes)
- 26 Gagarin205, Athens, Greece (+ The Butcherettes)

December
- 3 Vera, Groningen, Holland (+ The Butchterettes)
- 5 Lido, Berlin, Germany (+ The Butchterettes)

BIG SIR (Juan + Lisa Papineau)
September
-26 Troubador, Los Angeles, CA (opening for RX Bandits)

Well we have officially made it over a year here at TMS and we seriously can’t thank you guys enough.  Through your efforts, donations, word of mouth, and general support we have managed to hit some major milestones with the site.   I figured I’d share a few tidbits with everyone just to show how a group of fans can come together and make something really monumental happen.  Since 6/24/2009 we have had:

• 28,843 Visits
• 231,823 Pages served
• 8.04 Pages per visit per user
• 15:03 Avg. Time on Site
• 41.28% New Visits

We have been viewed in 55 countries all over the world, the most active being:

1. United States
2. Canada
3. Australia
4. United Kingdom
5. Mexico
6. Netherlands
7. Argentina
8. Germany
9. Portugal
10. Brazil

Thanks for keeping us going strong in 2009 and 2010!

The Congress Theater is running an internet special for the Chicago Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group show.  $30.00 USD for a two-ticket package (plus 3 dollar handling fee for the whole package).

• Ages: All Ages
• Event date: September 18, 2010
• Doors open at: 8 p.m.
• Location: Congress Theater
• Description: Composer, Guitarist and Producer for the Progresive Rock Group THE MARS VOLTA, and the former bassist and guitarist for the Dub-Regaee band DE FACTO and the post-hardcore outfit AT THE DRIVE IN respectively. He has also embarked upon a prolific and genre-defying solo career, frequently described as experimental, avant-garde and/or progressive and has collaborated with numerous artists spanning from John Frusciante to El P.

Click here for special internet ticket rates >>

Having trouble getting to the Pwna lately?   It appears the free message board host – IPBFree.com – is gone for good.  They have deleted their twitter, their facebook, and according to some of these Yahoo answer posts, they kind of up and vanished like a fart in the wind.   According to an anonymous source, they were shut down because they had too many DMCA Violations.  Apparently, they refused to remove illegal content on some of the forums that they hosted and, eventually, were shut down.  What does this mean for the Pwna?   What exactly is the Pwna?

The Pwna started for one simple reason – a place to post download links for the leak of The Bedlam in Goliath.  The album release had been delayed, there was a new drummer, and the hype was building.   The weird thing is, after the leak, most everyone stuck around.  It ended up becoming a full fledged TMV forum after the first demise of the Coma (which spawned yet another offshoot, The Umbi).  The Pwna wasn’t as active as the Coma, but it had it’s own tight knit community of regular posters for 3 years.

Well, it’s toast now.  So you better go fire up your Coma account because she ain’t comin’ back, kids.

EDIT: I spoke too soon – http://www.thepwnatorium.com – go sign up.

Yet more music from The Sentimental Engine Slayer has been identified.  Mataxia noticed (and I confirmed) that the music playing during the title card sequence of TSES is the same intro music that The Mars Volta used to open their electric set on New Years Eve of 2007 in San Francisco – showing once again that Omar apparently has a secret arsenal of clips  that he keeps on file for special occasions.

It just so happens that we have that live show available for download here (you must be logged in to download audio).  This show is extremely notable as the first appearance of Since We’ve Been Wrong, the first live acoustic set (the other being the Yahoo series), the longest show, and the largest setlist ever performed by the band.

Unfortunately for any fans who haven’t seen TSES yet, you’ll have to wait for the DVD to see the title card sequence – which is the work of Sonny Kay.   As of now, there is no release date for the DVD because it is still playing in the film festival circuit.