Well, now you can as Chicago punk-y garage rockers Rabble Rabble have set up a Facebook Vlog, or video blog for you readers on a commodore 64, to keep their hometown fans up to snuff about life on the road.

They’ve already posted two updates from the road including this one from “Buttfuck, Kentucky” (we’re fact checking the accuracy on this locale at this very moment) in which their van ran out of gas. It’s like Spinal Tap, only sadder more indie rock. Check it out after the jump.

No doubt more updates will be posted soon. So if you get down with Rabble Rabble, be sure to keep your eyes peeled here.

Additionally, the band’s tour is leading up to a big homecoming show at the Empty Bottle on Friday, August 13, which is also the record release show for their brand new 12″ LP titled Bangover.

Finally, if you’re reading this from somewhere other than Chicago and want to catch Rabble Rabble, their complete tour dates are below.

Rabble Rabble Summer Tour 2010

Jul 28 – Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA
Jul 29 – Pet Cemetery – Baltimore, MD
Jul 30 – Dad’s House – Philadelphia, PA
Jul 31 – Brooklyn Fireproof – Brooklyn, NY
Aug 1 – Mid East (upstairs) – Cambridge, MA
Aug 2 – The Red Door (Hush Hush Music Series) - Portsmouth, NH
Aug 3 – Danger Danger Gallery – Philadelphia, PA
Aug 4 – The Space - Hamden, CT
Aug 5 – Gay Gardens – Boston/Allston, MA
Aug 7 – CoCo 66 – Brooklyn, NY
Aug 8 – Silent Barn – Ridgewood, NY
Aug 10 – Old Glory Studios – Canton, OH
Aug 11 – Menstral Mansion – Cleveland, OH
Aug 13 – EMPTY BOTTLE “BANGOVER” 12″ RECORD RELEASE – Chicago, IL
Aug 22 – Saki Records – Chicago, IL

What does that mean? It means after thirteen years, “Mr. Casiotione” Owen Ashworth is leaving that moniker behind and going forth like a brand new man. Owen will still be writing and recording and touring and all of those things that musicians do. What he won’t be doing is playing any of his old CFTPA tunes.

Well, that is not after a pretty huge tour – The 1st Annual Final North American Tour – he is embarking on starting here in September. So go and hear these songs for the last time live and thank Owen – the nicest guy you’ll ever meet – for all the years of painfully intimate and painfully good tunes.

The complete tour dates are below:

CASIOTONE FOR THE PAINFULLY ALONE
1ST ANNUAL FINAL NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
(Just kidding. It’s really actually the last one.)

9/8 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean *
9/9 Iowa City @ PS1 *
9/10 Omaha, NE @ The Bourbon Theatre *
9/11 Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive *
9/12 Salt Lake City, UT @ Subterranean/Slowtrain Records *
9/13 Boise, ID @ Visual Arts Collective *
9/14 Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern *
9/15 Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret *
9/16 Victoria, BC @ The Legendary Castle Troyler *
9/17 Victoria, BC @ Logan’s *
9/18 Portland, OR @ Artistery *
9/19 Portland, OR @ The Wail *
9/21 Oakland, CA @ 21 Grand *
9/22 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place
9/23 San Luis Obispo, CA @ SLO Art Center *
9/24 Los Angeles, CA @ The Smell *
9/25 Phoenix, AZ @ Trunk Space *
9/27 Austin, TX @ Emo’s *
9/28 Houston, TX @ Khon’s Rooftop *
9/29 Denton, TX @ Dan’s Silverleaf *
9/30 Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone *
10/1 Nashville, TN @ The End (Next Big Nashville Festival) *
10/2 Louisville, KY@ Zanzabar *
10/7 Kalamazoo, MI @ WIDR Barking Tuna Festival *
10/8 Toronto, ON @ The Piston *
10/9 Ottawa, ON @ Raw Sugar *
10/10 Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo *
10/12 Biddeford, ME @ The Oak & The Ax (formerly Hog Farm Studios Annex) *
10/13 Cambridge, MA @ TT The Bear’s *
10/14 Manhattan, NY @ Mercury Lounge *
10/15 Brooklyn, NY @ Monster Island Basement *
10/16 Rochester, NY @ Bug Jar
10/17 Pittsburgh, PA @ Garfield Arts

* w/ Otouto

White Mystery (Photo by Rob Karlic)

No, not that Chicago. With the city overrun with summer festivals several Chicagoland rock groups are getting out of dodge, spreading their mighty wings like baby birds ready to leave the nest.

First out the gate is Local H frontman Scott Lucas and his side project The Married Men. Lucas will embark on a short, seven-date stroll through the South before heading back up to the Midwest in support of his debut solo album George Lassos the Moon.

Fresh off their appearance at Obbityfest 2010, psychedelic garage rockers Rabble Rabble will begin their East coast attack on July 22 in Memphis, Tennessee. The Chicago quartet’s 11-date tour will include stops in such surprising destinations as Connecticut and Maine.

Retro-rock redheads White Mystery will invade the West coast beginning July 31 in Seattle. The brother/sister duo will embark on a 13-date tour that will take them through California before entering Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

Plan your road trip by getting all the tour dates after the jump.

Scott Lucas and the Married Men

Jul 10 – Columbia, MO @ Mojo
Jul 11 – Oklahoma, OK @ Conservatory
Jul 12 – Austin, TX @ The Mohawk
Jul 13 – Denton, TX @ Dan’s Silver Leaf
Jul 14 – Hot Springs, AZ @ Maxine’s Pub
Jul 15 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Rock Lobster
Jul 16 – Milwaukee, WI @ Linneman’s

Rabble Rabble

Jul 22 – Chicago, IL @ Box Social
Jul 24 – Memphis, TN @ The Buccaneer
Jul 25 – Nashville, TN @ Kathy’s House (secret show)
Jul 26 – COLUMBUS, OH @ (TBA)
Jul 27 – Cleveland, OH @ Now That’s Class
Jul 28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
Jul 29 – Baltimore, MD @ Pet Cemetery
Jul 31 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Fireproof
Aug 1 – Cambridge, MA @ Mid East (Upstairs)
Aug 2 – Portland, ME @ (TBA)
Aug 4 – Hamden, CT @ The Space
Aug 5 – Allston, MA @ Gay Gardens
Aug 22 – Chicago, IL @ Saki Records (in-store)

White Mystery

Jul 22 – Chicago, IL @ Crown Liquors
Jul 25 – Chicago, IL @ Milwaukee Ave. Arts Fest
Jul 31 – Seattle, WA @ KEXP 90.3 FM
Jul 31 – Seattle, WA @ The Funhouse
Aug 1 – Portland, OR @ Slabtown
Aug 2 – Portland, OR @ East End
Aug 5 – San Francisco, CA @ The Hemlock
Aug 6 – Oakland, CA @ Ghost Town
Aug 7 – San Francisco, CA @ El Rio
Aug 8 – Los Angeles, CA @ Redwoods
Aug 9 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
Aug 10 – El Centro, CA @ Cheap Tricks Skate Shop
Aug 12 – Austin, TX @ Beerland
Aug 13 – New Orleans, LA @ TBA
Aug 14 – Nashville, TN @ Glenn Danzig’s House

Photo by Audrey Leon

The band is planning to release an all-covers EP called Local H’s Awesome Mix Tape #1 this fall.

The album will include several of the songs Local H is known to play live such as TV on the Radio’s “Wolf Like Me,” Concrete Blonde’s “Joey,” and Pink Floyd’s “Time.”

This collection won’t be the first time Local H has recorded its own renditions of other artists’ songs. The band’s 2003 No Fun EP included a cover of the Ramones’ classic “I Just Want Something To Do” and the Primal Scream-inspired “Fuck Yeah, That Wide.“

Lastly, Local H returned to the road Tuesday, June 8, for the final leg of the Six Angry Records tour, where one lucky fan picks a Local H album out of a hat to be played in its entirety. The band is hitting the West coast before it returns for a hometown performance at Wicker Park Fest on August 1.

Six Angry Records tour dates

Jun 14 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Jun 15 San Jose, CA @ The Voodoo Lounge
Jun 16 Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
Jun 17 San Diego, CA @ Casbah
Jun 18 Redondo Beach, CA @ The Brixton
Jun 19 Reno, NV @ Tonic Lounge
Jun 21 Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
Jun 22 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
Jun 23 Kearney, NE @ The Garage
Jun 24 Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar
Jun 25 Waterloo, IA @ Spicoli’s Grill
Jun 26 Hobart, IN @ Strack & Van Til Plaza

Photo by Audrey Leon

Chicago rock staple Local H wrapped up its “Six Angry Records” tour with an electrifying home town show at the Metro on Sunday, May 23.

Before the festivities began, singer Scott Lucas emerged on stage, dressed in a faded black t-shirt with multiple holes and brown corduroy pants, holding a black cowboy hat containing slips with the names of all six full-length Local H albums.

As he dipped into the crowd, he asked a few audience members what they came to see. When one couldn’t answer, Lucas responded with good humor, “You don’t even know who the hell I am, do you? I’ll give you a hint I’m not Nick Jonas.”

The crowd erupted in cheers when one lucky audience member pulled out a slip with the much underrated Pack Up The Cats written on it.

Photo by Audrey Leon

Local H effortlessly whipped through the now 12-year-old album, sounding remarkable tight throughout. Lucas didn’t waste time with stage banter, although he later quipped that the band was selling “pieces of British Petroleum’s ass” at the merch table.

From time to time several members of the opening act, Kinch, accompanied Local H onstage throughout the night, serving as an extra guitar, drummer, or bassist. The extra hands gave Local H a much appreciated fuller sound on songs such as “Lucky Time” and “Manifest Destiny Pt. 2.”

Clearly happy to be back in Chicago, Lucas happily urged the crowd to sing-along with its more well-known tracks such as, “All the Kids Were Right,” “Bound for the Floor,” and “California Songs,” which received the loudest response from fans as they shouted, deafeningly, the line “Fuck New York, too!”

During “Bound for the Floor” the band switched things up by incorporating a portion of Dio’s “Rainbow in the Dark” as an unspoken tribute to the legendary heavy metal vocalist.

As the band transitioned from Pack Up The Cats to a more inclusive set, Lucas climbed behind a keyboard to play “Grrrlfriend” from 1995’s Ham Fisted, a real rarity. Local H closed out the night with a cover of TV on the Radio’s “Wolf Like Me.”

Local H performs ‘Grrrlfriend’ at the Metro on May 23, 2010. (Video by Audrey Leon.)

For a man who has been abusing his throat for 20 years now, Lucas can still scream with fierce, guttural intensity.

Drummer Brian St. Clair was even more impressive as he mercilessly assaulted his kit with each blow from his drum sticks. St. Clair sported a t-shirt tribute to the band’s close friend and message board moderator Michael Rosenquist who died earlier this year.

It’s not every day that a band such as Local H plays one of its classic album in its entirety; though, most bands are not as consistent as Local H to have a few good albums let alone an entire catalog of excellent tunes.

For Local H, Sunday’s show at the Metro was a well-deserved victory lap, jam-packed full of die-hard fans who were more than whipped into a frenzy during the 24-song set.

Now if only more bands were willing to celebrate their catalogs with a copy cat tour, the world might be a better place.

Check out more of Audrey Leon’s Local H pictures on Flickr.

Set List:

“Pack up the Cats”
All-Right (Oh, Yeah)
Cha! Said the Kitty
Lucky
Hit the Skids or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Rock
500,000 Scovilles
What Can I Tell You
Fine and Good
Lead Pipe Cinch
Cool Magnet
She Hates My Job
Stoney
Laminate Man
All the Kids Are Right
Deep Cut
Lucky Time

Grrrlfriend
Bound for the Floor (with “Rainbow in the Dark”)
White Belt Boys
Hands on the Bible
California Songs
24 Hour Break Up Session
High Fiving MF
Manifest Destiny Pt. 2
Wolf Like Me

If you were one of the unlucky ones who did not pick up the album in 2004 before the CD became so hard to find, get it while you can. No word yet on whether the band plans re-release Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles on CD and vinyl.

In other Scott Lucas news, the Local H frontman is back in the studio with his solo outfit The Married Men. The group is recording a few tracks for its Absolute Beginners EP, including a cover of the David Bowie song of the same name.

Local H resumes its “Six Angry Records” tour, where one lucky fan will choose which album the band will play in full, on May 14 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and wraps up at The Metro on May 23.

Six Angry Records Tour Dates

May 14 - Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig
May 15 – Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club
May 16 – Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel
May 17 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Khyber
May 18 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theater
May 19 – Allston, MA @ Harpers Ferry
May 20 – Providence, RI @ Jerky’s
May 21 – Syracuse, NY @ Westcott Theater
May 22 – Toledo, OH @ Frankies

May 23 – Chicago, IL @ The Metro
Tickets are $12; Doors at 6 p.m.

Photo by Audrey Leon

The eight-date tour concludes Saturday, Feb. 20, with two home-town shows; Scott Lucas and the Married Men will appear first at an in-store at Reckless Records, 1532 N. Milwaukee, at 5 p.m. and later that night at Schubas.

If that wasn’t enough, Lucas embarks on a 20-date US tour with Local H beginning March 6 in Elgin, Ill., dubbed the “Six Angry Records” tour. Taking inspiration from its 2008 residency at Chicago’s Beat Kitchen, Local H will perform one of its six albums in its entirety, chosen at random by an audience member. Local H brings the tour through Chicago on Sunday, May 23, at the Metro.

You can catch Scott Lucas on tour with either the Married Men or Local H at the dates below:

Scott Lucas and the Married Men Tour

Feb 12 Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
Feb 13 Washington, DC – The Red and the Black
Feb 14 Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie
Feb 15 New York, NY – Cake Shop
Feb 16 Cambridge, MA – TT The Bears
Feb 18 Pontiac, MI – The Pike Room
Feb 19 Columbus, OH – The Summit
Feb 20 Chicago, IL – Reckless Records (In-store), 1532 N. Milwaukee, 5 p.m.
Feb 20 Chicago, IL – Schubas

Local H “Six Angry Records” Tour

Mar 06 Elgin, IL – Road House
Apr 09 Glendale, IL – Shark City
Apr 11 Louisville, KY – Zanzabar
Apr 13 Tampa, FL – The Orpheum
Apr 14 Orlando, FL – The Social
Apr 15 Jacksonville, FL – Jack Rabbit’s
Apr 16 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
Apr 18 Houston, TX – Scout Bar
Apr 21 Fort Worth, TX – Lola’s Sixth
Apr 24 Dekalb, IL – Otto’s
May 14 Ann Arbor, MI – Blind Pig
May 15 Lancaster, PA – Chameleon Club
May 16 Washington, DC – Rock And Roll Hotel
May 17 Philadelphia, PA – The Khyber
May 18 New York, NY – Gramercy Theater
May 19 Allston, MA – Harpers Ferry
May 20 Providence, RI – Jerky’s
May 21 Syracuse, NY – Westcott Theatre
May 22 Toledo, OH – Frankie’s
May 23 Chicago, IL – Metro

1. Headliner Hypno5e came all the way from France to play their crazy quiet/loud, ambient/screamy brand of metal. For real. They encompass all things good about where metal can and has been going over the last few years. I know you. You think you know what metal sounds like. My friend, you have no idea.

2. But wait, there’s more. Boston’s Revocation might not have traveled as far but that probably just means they’ll have plenty of strength to bring maximum force to their blast beat heavy, stop and turn on a dime speed metal antics. Not convinced? Well, Spin magazine pegged them as one of the 10 artists to watch in 2010. Take it from a corporate magazine or from me. Either way you’d be foolish to ignore this band. Plus, their album is titled Existence is Futile. Everyone loves a play on words.

3. Still hemming and hawing? May I present New Jersey’s Binary Code. There’s a Voivod progressiveness going on here with all kinds of conflicting vocals, from Cookie Monster to a touch of actual singing. And when you think you’ve got it all figure out, say, it’s a lite jazz breakdown. Look, I’m not in love with calling this tour Metal as Art because it sounds like they are trying to justify something that needs no justification. Metal is art. Is now and always has been. Still, put on your most illegible black t-shirt and go check out some bands that should convince the non-believers.

9:30 PM. Monday, January 11. Empty Bottle. 21+. FREE!!!!

The band will kick off their tour with a stop at the Troubadour in Los Angeles before performing as part of Pitchfork Festival’s “Write the Night” series on Friday July 17. Tortoise will head overseas at the end of July and August until another round of Midwest dates concludes the tour in late September and early October.

Tortoise Tour Dates:
Sat. July 11 — Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
Mon. July 13 — San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Wed. July 15 — Austin, TX @ The Mohawk
Fri. July 17 — Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival
Sun. July 19 — Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Mon. July 20 — Philadelphia, PA @ Sanctuary at First Unitarian Church
Tue. July 21 — New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
Fri. July 24 — Tokyo, Japan @ Fuji Rock Festival
Fri. Aug. 14 — St. Malo, France @ La Route Du Rock
Sat. Aug. 22 — Hasselt, Belgium @ Pukkelpop
Tue. Sep. 29 — St. Louis, MO @ Firebird
Wed. Sep. 30 — Kansas City, MO @ Beaumont Club
Thu. Oct. 1 — Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room
Fri. Oct. 2 — Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
Sat. Oct. 3 — Dubuque, IA @ Voices Warehouse Gallery
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Catch Tortoise July 17 at Chicago’s Union Park as part of Pitchfork Music Festival’s “Write the Night: Set Lists by Request” series (fans who purchased tickets could vote on what the band plays in their set…but voting is not closed)! For tickets, click here.
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Listen to select tracks from Beacons of Ancestorship:

“Prepare Your Coffin”

“High Class Slim Came Floatin’ In”