Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Pavement to headline Matador Records fest in Las Vegas

The label will celebrate its 21st anniversary in October with a three-day bash

Coachella 2010

Michael Mishak

Pavement at Coachella 2010

Pavement to play Las Vegas? Strange as it sounds, it's happening — and that's not all. Iconic indie label Matador Records will celebrate its 21st anniversary with a three-day, band-filled bash in our very town, October 1-3, as teased with this image from Matador's official site.

Click to enlarge photo

No Vegoose? No problem. Matador Records will bring members of its stable for a festival at the Palms October 1-3.

Though further details haven't been officially revealed — apart from the event's name, The Lost Weekend, and its promoters, Goldenvoice (the folks behind Coachella) and LA's FYF Fest — we've dug up two big pieces of the puzzle.

First, the host venue appears to be the Pearl at the Palms, according to a source with inside knowledge. And, yes, Pavement is set to headline, a figure close to the band has confirmed; the just-reunited '90s alt-luminaries play LA's Hollywood Bowl on Thursday, September 30, and will perform in Vegas that weekend. Take it from someone who caught Pavement's first U.S. show in 11 years last Thursday in Pomona, California, when the quintet slammed out 30 (!) songs in two hours, you want to see these guys before they vanish again.

Pavement's 'Shady Lane'

Oh, also on that Hollywood Bowl bill? The legendary Sonic Youth, whose latest album, 2009's The Eternal, was released by, ahem, Matador Records. Hmm...

If a 21st anniversary sounds less than colossal, consider that Matador last celebrated for its 10th, way back in 1999 (we're guessing the label skipped No. 20 to wait for Pavement at 21). Speaking of that 10th anniversary fest, held at New York's Irving Plaza over three days, the 17 acts on the bill were: Pavement, Yo La Tengo, Cat Power, Mogwai, Cornelius, Chavez, Mary Timony, Bardo Pond, Guitar Wolf, Lynnfield Pioneers, Come, Solex, Red Snapper, Arsonists, Non Phixion, Jega and Khan, with David Cross emceeing. Here's hoping we might hear Chan Marshall's delicate vocals or Mogwai's rib-rocking sonic assault inside the pristine-sounding Pearl.

While we're wish-listing, how about a Guided By Voices classic-lineup reunion, Liz Phair doing all of Exile in Guyville or some Mission of Burma destruction? Maybe a Boards of Canada pop-in? Hey, no one can stop us from dreaming, right?

A check on Matador's current — and former — stable ...

Active:

A.C. Newman

Belle and Sebastian

Brightback Morning Light

The Cave Singers

Condo Fucks

Dead Meadow

Fucked Up

Girls

God Help the Girl

Harlem

Jay Reatard (well, still listed as "active" on the site, though he died in January)

Jennifer O'Connor

Julian Plenti

Kurt Vile

Matmos

Mission of Burma

Mogwai

The New Pornographers

Pavement

The Ponys

Shearwater

Sonic Youth

Spiral Stairs

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

Times New Viking

Yo La Tengo live

Yo La Tengo

Alumni:

2 Foot Flame

Aerogramme

Arab Strap

Arsonists

Bailter Space

Bardo Pond

MC Paul Barman

Bassholes

Bettie Serveert

The Bionaut

Boards of Canada

Bunnybrains

Joerg Burger

Burger/ink

Neko Case

Chain Gang

Chavez

Circle X

Come

Console

Cornelius

Couch

Dälek

Demolition Doll Rods

Dizzee Rascal

The Double

Grame Downes

D-Stroy

Earles & Jensen Present

Early Man

Mark Eitzel

The Fall

The For Carnation

The Frogs

Fuck

The Fucking Champs

Guided By Voices

Guitar Wolf

Helium

Richard Hell

Interpol

Jaguar Love

Jega

Tommy Keene

Khan

Lavender Diamond

Lesser

Large Professor

Laura Cantrell

Liquor Giants

Live Human

Lou Reed

Love of Diagrams

Lynnfield Pioneers

Mecca Normal

Mr. Len

The Modernist

Mount Florida

Nightmares on Wax

Non Phixion

Liz Phair

Pizzicato Five

Plone

Pole

Preston School of Industry

Pretty Girls Make Graves

Prosaics

Quickspace

Railroad Jerk

Red Snapper

Sad Rockets

The Schramms

Seachange

Sensational

Silkworm

The Soft Boys

Solex

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Spoon

Sportsguitar

Tobin Sprout

Superchunk

Techno Animal

Jimi Tenor

Thinking Fellers Union Local 282

Mary Timony

Toiling Midgets

Two Lone Swordsmen

Unsane

M. Ward

White Hassle

The Wisdom of Harry

Thalia Zedek

Something tells us this is gonna be fun. Details to follow as soon as we get 'em.

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