Alter Bridge's Myles Kennedy
Photo: Terry Woodside

OK, so it's not exactly Biggie vs. Tupac or even Lindsay vs. Hilary, but the beef between Alter Bridge and the Living Things isn't going away.

After initially issuing a polite disagreement to Living Things singer Lillian Berlin's claim that his band was accosted onstage in Switzerland by a member of Alter Bridge and the band's crew Wednesday (see "Living Things Say They Were Attacked Onstage By Alter Bridge, Band's Crew"), Alter Bridge took a few days to mull Berlin's story and came out swinging with a lengthy message posted on their Web site.

"Anyone who knows or has worked with the Alter Bridge bandmembers or crew members knows that these allegations are preposterous," the letter stated. "Alter Bridge regrets that we have to give this matter any attention at all since we view this as an obvious attempt to gain publicity by a band trying to manipulate headlines for their own gain. Therefore, we will not mention the name of said band but will instead call them 'The Opening Band.' "

Lillian Berlin told MTV News on Thursday that his brother, drummer Bosh Berlin, and band guitarist Cory Becker were attacked onstage Wednesday night during a show at the Rohstofflager club in Zurich, Switzerland, by Alter Bridge's crew and at least one member of the band because of comments Lillian made from the stage.

"We were in the middle of our second song, and I had some stuff to say about the current administration and the way they're handling the Iraq war," said Lillian, who claimed his comments resulted in someone in Alter Bridge's camp rushing the stage with an American flag, setting off a struggle that injured two Living Things members and forced the band to cut its set short.

The letter posted online by Alter Bridge — the band formed by former Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti, drummer Scott Phillips, bassist Brian Marshall and ex-Mayfield Four singer Myles Kennedy — vehemently denies the Living Things' account.

"Alter Bridge fully supports every American's right to free speech. ... If any band chooses the stage to address their political views and to take shots at the current U.S. government, that is their right.

"However, it is not their right to slander our country and its people in the process. With freedom also comes responsibility — to the truth and to freedom itself. ... We believe the Opening Band spoke from ignorance that night, and has subsequently lied and embellished the events in support of that ignorance while doing interviews about this incident."

The letter claims that during Berlin's "political statement" — which the singer characterized as a monologue about receiving an invitation to a Republican fundraiser at the White House — the opening act shouted obscenities and "repeatedly yelled 'F--- America! ... I hate America!' "

"Regardless of anyone's political views this is simply ignorant, offensive and unacceptable," the letter states. "Alter Bridge stood up for America that night, and we will stick up for ourselves now in explaining this situation."

According to Alter Bridge, a fight did occur onstage, but it did not involve any of the band's members, who were in the dressing room at the time. Alter Bridge claim that during the Living Things' "anti-American diatribe," a technician pointed with pride at Mark Tremonti's guitar rig, which was draped with an American flag cover. "Upon seeing this, members of the Opening Band immediately charged him," the band said.

"Our crew member was attacked for pointing at a symbol of the very freedom that allows free speech!" the statement read. "It is ironic and sad that a band who claims to be making statements against war while hiding behind freedom of speech is so quick to commit violence against someone else simply exercising that same right."

Alter Bridge claim that several members of their crew took to the stage to protect Tremonti's equipment and when the dust cleared, a member of the Living Things screamed, "I guess now we'll have to sue you," backstage.

In addition to comments on the Alter Bridge Web forums in which fans of that band dispute Berlin's account, a letter to MTV News' "You Tell Us" from Gibson of Geneva, Switzerland, states, "I was in the crowd during the Living Things concert, and from what I witnessed, [Berlin] is not telling the truth. In any case, the Living Things were onstage to make music, not talk politics."

While Berlin did not confirm or deny Alter Bridge's account of the scuffle, he did offer a response to their response. "Those thick concrete walls that Alter Bridge said they were behind while we performed seemed to have distorted their perception," he wrote in an e-mail to MTV News. "I am an American citizen who is disappointed, like many others, with the current White House and their mishandlings of our nation. We deserve a better government in our fine country. I believe in my heart that if Alter Bridge had heard what I'd REALLY said they'd be standing beside me in solidarity."

• Alter Bridge
• Living Things

Living Things (file)
Photo: Karl Walter/Getty Images

Living Things singer Lillian Berlin is used to people taking issue with his Bush-bashing stage patter. Hell, three years ago at the Gypsy Tea Room in Dallas, he got pistol-whipped and nearly shot by three men outside the club because of his comments.

But the provocative band's singer thought he might be safe from attack onstage, especially in the bastion of neutrality that is Switzerland. 'Fraid not, Lillian.

The 26-year-old singer/guitarist said his brother, drummer Bosh Berlin, 21, and the band's touring guitarist, Corey Becker, were attacked and beat up onstage Wednesday night during a show at the Rohstofflager club in Zurich, Switzerland, by the crew of the band Alter Bridge and at least one member of that band. The Alter Bridge camp is refuting those claims.

"We were in the middle of our second song, and I had some stuff to say about the current administration and the way they're handling the Iraq war," Lillian said. "The Swiss were all behind us, and the crowd was cheering me on. I was talking about this letter I got inviting me to a Democrat-bashing dinner at the White House. And we went into our fourth song, and some goon from that Creed band [Alter Bridge features three former members of Creed] came out swinging an American flag and then threw it at our drummer, Bosh."

Lillian said he thought the interloper was an excited member of the audience so he ignored him, but then on the other side of the stage, Becker was being "trampled" by two Alter Bridge crew workers and a member of the band, whose name Lillian said he didn't know.

"I was still unaware at this point that these weren't crowd people, so I started screaming for security to get them offstage," Lillian said. "The only reason I knew it was a guy from that band was because I met him backstage, and he had some sports team's ski cap on."

Alter Bridge are the band that was formed by three former members of Creed — guitarist Mark Tremonti, drummer Scott Phillips and bassist Brian Marshall — and ex-Mayfield Four singer Myles Kennedy after Creed's dissolution in 2004 (see "Life After Creed: Alter Bridge Look To A Stapp-Free Future").

A spokesperson for headliner Alter Bridge — who recently parted ways with their label, Wind-Up Records — denied the Things' version of the incident. In a statement issued Thursday night (June 15), the band stated, "Alter Bridge was not happy that this band chose to deliver anti-American statements to their audience.

"However, no Alter Bridge bandmembers were onstage, and their crew was in their designated working areas during this supposed incident. Alter Bridge thinks this is just a weak attempt by the opening band to drum up press for themselves. Alter Bridge will have no further comment on this as they are finishing up their extremely successful European tour and returning shortly to the U.S. to start work on their second album."

A source close to Alter Bridge even said it was the Living Things who started the fight backstage.

Lillian said the Living Things were forced to abandon the gig less than halfway through. As his band walked backstage, Lillian said, Alter Bridge and their crew yelled, "We love America," at the bandmembers, and a woman in their entourage said, "I love where I'm from, and you are shameful." According to Lillian, Bosh has a black eye and an injured left hand that made it difficult for him to play during the band's gig in Austria on Thursday, and Becker has black-and-blue marks on his neck from being choked, a black eye and a swollen nose.

Lillian has made a habit of speaking his mind during the band's shows, burning pictures of President Bush onstage using a pistol-shaped lighter and pretending to flog women in dominatrix gear while wearing a Bush mask (see "Living Things Make Political Point With Guitars, Blow-Up Dolls"). The group's 2005 Ahead of the Lions album is also full of incendiary songs like "Bombs Below" and "Bom Bom Bom," but Lillian said he never imagined another band would attack him onstage for "exercising our freedom of speech."

The two groups shared a bill again on Thursday at the Nova Rock Festival in Nickelsdorf, Austria, but Lillian said he did not see any members of Alter Bridge all day.

• Living Things
• Alter Bridge

Living Things' Lillian Berlin at South by Southwest March 16
Photo: MTV News

AUSTIN, Texas — While most of the music industry was partying hard at South by Southwest, the Living Things were paying mind to something that was happening in the Mid by Mideast.

The St. Louis band wasn't above having a good time in Austin like everyone else, but since it had six shows to play (including one with Perry Farrell as his backing band), the group figured some of that stage time could be spent talking about Iraq, especially since the shows were taking place just as news was breaking of the largest air assault in Iraq since the beginning of the March 2003 invasion.

"It's not even a thing being addressed here this week," bassist Eve Berlin pointed out.

"You would have thought it would be, but where's the forum or panel for this?" frontman Lillian Berlin said. "It's absent from [SXSW] because they've made entertainment escapist. What's happening with the bombings in Iraq is a wake-up call for a lot of people, but this has been going on for months, and it needs to not take such a large, extreme event for people to start talking about it. There's a lot of young people dying and getting critically wounded, getting handicapped, and it's upsetting."

Don't get the Living Things wrong — they rock just as hard as the next band. But like Rage Against the Machine or System of a Down before them, the Living Things mix rock and rage so their sound and fury signifies something (see "Iconoclastic Living Things Take A Page Or Two From George Bush"). Still, it's not always easy to get people to be receptive to the sociopolitical messages in songs like "Bom Bom Bom," "Bombs Below," "I Owe" and "March in Daylight," which run the gamut of attacking the Bush administration to criticizing parents and teachers for pushing drugs like Ritalin and Prozac on schoolchildren (they call it crack cocaine for kids).

"People don't want to face the facts," Lillian said. "It's upsetting, but I'm not going to change for it. I'm going to keep beating down the wall until it sinks into people's heads. But keep it fun, or you become what you're preaching against."

Part of the fun, then, is how the band gets the message across when it's not in the lyrics. Such as burning a picture of George W. Bush onstage and dousing it with the bandmembers' own bodily fluids. Or throwing meat at a Bush blow-up doll. Or flogging dominatrix types wearing Bush and Rumsfeld masks.

"At every show, it's a different atmosphere, and different stuff happens," Lillian said. "The best form of entertainment is the kind of escapism where you walk away learning something, thinking something, when you say, 'There's more to the picture than I'm being told.' So you can relax, kick back, see great music, and at the same time, fight the war in our country. That's why I respect George Clooney. He makes films you can go eat popcorn to and go away and go, 'Man, I did not realize that.' "

Of course, not everyone has the same reaction to seeing a Living Things show. A couple of years ago, Lillian was attacked in Dallas and shot at after an anti-Bush gig that didn't quite please the locals. "My whole take is that it's important for Americans to have weapons, and down in Texas, people carry all the time, and they're usually pretty responsible," Lillian said. "But when someone fired a gun off at me, that's abusing that right."

Still, he'll fight for your right to carry a weapon, not to mention your right to party — especially since this country was founded on the basis that people should have, among other freedoms, the right to bear arms and the right to assemble, so that if they need to overthrow an oppressive government, they can. Of course, he'd rather you'd try voting first.

"That's the basis of the Constitution," Lillian said. "The government is for the people, by the people. And once they stop working for us, you can reinstate a new government. New Orleans, 9/11, the Iraq war — that's three strikes as far as I'm concerned. And I think the patriotic thing to do is speak out about these things and start voting for people who will clean up the mess. It's too late if we wake up at 65 and realize there's no Social Security."

Living Things tour dates, according to their publicist:

• 3/24 - New Orleans, LA @ The Parrish
• 3/25 - Tallahassee, FL @ Floyd's Music Store
• 3/27 - Orlando, FL @ The Social
• 3/28 - St. Petersburg, FL @ State Theatre
• 3/29 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
• 4/09 - Tempe, AZ @ Hayden Square
• 4/11 - Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
• 4/12 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
• 4/14 - Portland, OR @ Dante's
• 4/15 - Vancouver, BC @ The Plaza
• 4/16 - Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Cafe
• 4/19 - Concord, CA @ Bourbon Street Bar & Grill
• 4/20 - Orangeville, CA @ The Boardwalk
• 4/21 - San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord
• 4/23 - Santa Ana, CA @ Galaxy Concert Theatre
• 4/24 - West Hollywood, CA @ The Troubadour
• 4/25 - Las Vegas, NV @ Beauty Bar Vegas
• 4/28 - San Marcos, CA @ The Boulevard
• 4/29 - Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
• 5/7 - East Rutherford, NJ @ Meadowlands Sports Complex

• Living Things

Mariah Carey at the 20th annual Soul Train Music Awards
Photo: Vince Bucci/Getty Images

Mariah Carey and John Legend were the big winners at the 20th annual Soul Train Music Awards Saturday, each taking two prizes. Carey scored a best album award for The Emancipation of Mimi and best single honors for "We Belong Together," while Legend took the best male album prize for Get Lifted and best male single trophy for "Ordinary People." Kanye West won best R&B, soul or rap music video for "Gold Digger" featuring Quincy Jones Lifetime Achievement Award winner Jamie Foxx. R. Kelly, who led the field with three nominations, fell to West and Legend for those prizes but didn't leave empty-handed — he was honored with the newly minted Stevie Wonder Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by presented by Stevie Wonder himself. ...

"American Idol" fans who subscribe to the Fox Reality Network can look forward to even more of the talent contest starting March 16. "American Idol Extra," which promises to "reveal the backstage drama of what really happens on 'American Idol' after the weekly vote-off show," kicks off after the first of the final 12 is cut and will continue through the show's finale in May. The show will follow that week's ousted finalist from tryouts through elimination and provide other "peeks behind the curtain," including updates on finalists from past seasons. "American Idol Extra" will air Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and again at 10:30 p.m. ... System of a Down will host and headline the fourth annual Souls benefit concert, which is set for the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on April 23 — the day before the Armenian genocide is commemorated. Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Armenian National Committee of America — which is lobbying the U.S. Congress to officially recognize the Armenian genocide — as well as other organizations that work to eradicate genocide across the globe. Tickets go on sale Saturday, and supporting acts will be announced soon. ...

Coldplay are taking a page out the Beastie Boys' playbook for their new live DVD. Much like the B-Boys' "Awesome: I F---in' Shot That!" concert film (which hits select theaters March 31), Coldplay plan to put cameras in the hands of five lucky concertgoers at their two sold-out Toronto shows at Air Canada Centre on March 22 and 23. Enthusiasts can enter the Coldplay fan-cam contest by watching "Entertainment Tonight Canada," catching the Coldplay song of the night and then logging on to GlobalTV.com to complete the contest. ... A number of bands have been added to the bill for this year's Bamboozle festival, set for May 6 and May 7 at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Living Things, Poison the Well, Me Without You, Silverstein, 30 Seconds to Mars, Saves the Day, Chiodos, Halifax, Endeavor, October Fall, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Amber Pacific, Cute Is What We Aim For, Gym Class Heroes, MC Lars, Men Women & Children, Moneen and the Receiving End of Sirens will all take the Bamboozle stage. Previously announced bands Fall Out Boy, Taking Back Sunday and Hawthorne Heights are anchoring the bill. ...

The debut disc from Black Light Burns, Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland's new side project, has been through the mixing process and should be ready for release later this spring. A definitive date has not been pinned down for the LP. ... Head Automatica have announced a slew of new dates that will keep the band busy through early April. Camu Tao will open for the Daryl Palumbo-fronted outfit between March 21 in Athens, Georgia, and April 5 in Farmingdale, New York. The band's forthcoming album, Popaganda, is expected in late May/ early June. ... Underoath are now shooting for a June 20 release for their forthcoming, yet-untitled album, produced by Adam Dutkiewicz, the Killswitch Engage guitarist who has also helmed discs for Unearth and Cannae. To keep them occupied between now and this summer's Warped Tour, Underoath have booked a 17-date tour with Poison the Well, As Cities Burn, Since by Man and Spitfire. That trek kicks off May 3 in Columbia, South Carolina, and wraps up May 30 in Memphis, Tennessee. ...

Riots broke out Saturday night outside of a punk-rock concert in San Bernardino, California, headlined by several British acts, including G.B.H., the Adicts, Vice Squad, Final Conflict, Broken Bones and the Varukers. A number of American bands, such as Total Chaos and Naked Aggression, were also on the British Invasion 2K6 bill. According to The Associated Press, the concert — held at the National Orange Show Events Center — attracted more than 1,500 punk fans. The police, who were responding to a report that someone had been stabbed at the event, attempted to prevent fights that broke out after a group of skinheads began shouting "white power" and were pelted with rocks and bottles by concertgoers. By the time the authorities were able to control the situation, two audience members were hospitalized with serious injuries while dozens of others sustained minor wounds. Two officers were also injured. The AP reports that two patrol cars were destroyed, local businesses were vandalized and fires were set around the arena. At least six people were arrested. ... Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore is amplifying his long-running Ecstatic Peace imprint with a recent Universal Records distribution deal. The label — which has been around since 1981, putting out short runs of records by Jackie-O Mother----er, Yoshimi and No Neck Blues Band — is hoping to break out of obscurity by developing artists in a joint venture with Universal. In the works is the first effort by Pagoda, featuring actor Michael Pitt ("Dreamers," "The Village"), and a "sick" extreme-noise recording between Moore and experimental multi-instrumentalist Prurient.

03.03.2006

Federal Transportation Safety Administration officials are investigating a breach of security at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport on Thursday involving Paula Abdul and a companion, according to The Associated Press. Southwest Airlines was alerted to the breach while the "American Idol" judge's 12:20 p.m. flight was in the air and then screened all passengers and baggage once the plane landed in Burbank, California. A McCarran spokesperson told the AP that someone not employed by Southwest Airlines, the TSA or the Department of Aviation, led Abdul past the mandatory checkpoint. ...

Four "American Idol" hopefuls were sent packing Thursday night, narrowing the field for the show's fifth season to 16. Brenna Gethers, Heather Cox, David Radford and Jose "Sway" Penala scored the fewest votes in the second round of "Idol" eliminations determined by the viewers. Host Ryan Seacrest revealed that more than 42 million votes were cast this week. ...Tool have titled their upcoming album 10,000 Days, according to the band's spokesperson. The record is due around their Coachella performance on April 30. ...

Matisyahu will descend upon Tower Records in Northridge, California, for a live performance two days after the release of his new album. Youth hits stores March 7, and customers who purchase the Hasidic rapper's disc at Tower in Northridge will receive a wristband for the gig and signing two days later. The show will be staged in the Tower Records parking lot, and the first few hundred people who buy Youth beforehand will be able to stand in front of the stage. ... Thursday night, fresh off their European tour, Detroit's Slum Village gave an intimate performance at Club Twenty Twenty in Santa Monica, California. During the show the group — which dropped its self-titled album last year — paid tribute to recently deceased friend and hip-hop producer Jay Dee. ...

Former Jackson 5 drummer Johnny Jackson was found dead at his home in Gary, Indiana, on Wednesday night, according to The Associated Press. The 54-year-old was found stabbed in the chest not long after a neighbor complained of a disturbance between Jackson and a woman on the first floor of his complex. The unidentified woman has yet to come forward, and no murder weapon was found at the scene. Police are currently treating the case as a homicide and an investigation is still taking place, according to the AP. Johnny Jackson, who grew up near the Jackson family home, joined the superstar pop group — which included a young Michael Jackson — in 1967, replacing original drummer Milford Hite. Reports have varied over the years as to whether or not Johnny was directly related to the Jackson clan. ...

When is a band sticker on a bicycle more than it seems? When police think it's an act of terrorism. Officials at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, shut down four buildings and called out the bomb squad on Thursday when they spotted a bike with sticker that said "this bike is a pipe bomb." According to the AP, it turns out the sticker was a promo for a punk band of the same name, but police didn't find that out until they blocked off streets for blocks around the Oasis restaurant near campus and called in the bomb squad from 65 miles away. The bomb experts hit the bike with a high-pressure hose and tore it apart with a Jaws of Life device before finding out that it was the name of a Pensacola, Florida, band on Plan-It-X Records. The bike's owner was interviewed by cops and released without charge. ... The U.S. Justice Department said Thursday that it had opened an investigation into alleged price-fixing in the sale of digital downloads, according to the AP. The inquiry is almost identical to the one launched in December by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, according to two music industry executives. The Justice Department would not name the companies it has targeted. ...

Ted Nugent, Anthrax's Scott Ian, Sebastian Bach, Biohazard's Evan Seinfeld and Jason Bonham, the son of late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, will be the stars of VH1's forthcoming series "SuperGroup." Set to start airing May 18, the program will team these five rockers up, presenting them with a chance to form the "heaviest 'SuperGroup.' " The audience will watch as either history — or just mistakes — are made. The series follows the rockers over a two-week period in Las Vegas; rock manager Doc McGhee will guide the guys through the process. The entire experiment will culminate with a massive concert in Sin City. ... Lamb of God will hit a Richmond, Virginia, recording studio on March 13 to begin pre-production on the as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2004's Ashes of the Wake. The metallers have once again called on producer Machine (White Zombie, Bloodsimple) to helm the LP. A late August release date has been tentatively set. ... Ben Folds will launch a 22-date tour in Seattle on Saturday — one that will keep him busy through late April. The trek will hit several college campuses along the way, and wind down in Knoxville, Tennessee, on April 28.

• Mariah Carey
• John Legend
• System of a Down
• Living Things
• Coldplay

Living Things' Lillian Berlin
Photo: livingthingsmusic.com

They weren't there to turn the One Model Management's New York holiday party into a free-for-all of flinging fists. Left-wing rock band Living Things were actually hired to play the event.

The trendy Hiro Ballroom was filled with runway hotties and other beautiful people, including Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen and Bryan Adams, and Living Things were rocking the rafters when a drunk member of Brooklyn band — and former Living Things tour partners — Vietnam grabbed the mic. The New York Post reported that the guy shouted, "I really liked you guys in the Special Olympics," but according to Living Things lead singer Lillian Berlin, the heckler said even more offensive things.

"After yelling this sh--, the guy scratched me in face and we all piled onto him," Berlin clarified a couple of days after the rumble. "If it wasn't us, it was going to be a crowd of 500 pounding his face in."

It wasn't the first time the St. Louis quartet's views have caused a ruckus. The band's anti-administration, anti-capitalist and antiwar rants and stage antics — which have included burning photos of George Bush and hiring a dominatrix to appear in a Donald Rumsfeld mask — have earned them a reputation as troublemakers. They even scared their former label enough to drop them before the release of their U.S. debut record. A year later, the disc was picked up by Jive.

"When any person or artist has a particular strong opinion about something, it always attracts problems," Berlin shrugged. "My mother was a political activist for many years and I noticed from her how people get rubbed the wrong way when you've got a very firm stance on something. But it definitely gets their attention too. I just want to help make it so America gets back to its roots of being a traditionally somewhat good country. These days everything is so driven by big business and money that the American dream has been completely shoved under a blanket."

Living Things — Berlin, bassist Eve Berlin, drummer Bosh Berlin (all brothers) and guitarist Cory Becker — couch their strong liberal views in fiery torrents of punk, hard rock and alt-rock that are equal parts MC5, Rolling Stones, Nirvana and Jesus and Mary Chain. The band's current disc, Ahead of the Lions, is filled with equal doses of melody and fury.

"Socially aware issues are what inspire me to write songs and what move me to get up onstage and scream my head off," Berlin explained. "And I've learned that the best way to captivate legions of people is by making rock music that they can easily grasp. I started out writing songs that were like the essays I write — collegiate and complex. I found it doesn't work in a song because half the country is very blue collar, and you have to present things to them in a very simple way.

"That's why George Bush works so well in America as far as the way he communicates," he continued. "Bush speaks exactly their lingo. So I feel like if you're going to do something in entertainment, it's got to be graspable. We're not trying to be a band that 10 people will listen to. We want as many as possible to listen to what we're doing because we're trying to move people to get out there and make a change."

However, his means of communicating has led to criticism from even those with similar views. They describe his approach as unproductive and uncouth, and argue that instead of underscoring his points, he's discrediting himself by supporting the opposition's position that he's childish and disrespectful. "Well I don't think you should be disrespectful to anybody, but our elders who are running America are being extremely disrespectful to kids who are 18 to 23 who are fighting in Iraq," Berlin countered. "They're over there fighting a war that is basically a lie and they've got their lives on the line. It's heartbreaking."

For their February tour with the Vacation, Living Things plan to be more creative and less confrontational. Instead of burning pictures of politicians, Berlin wants to distribute his fanzine The Blackout Generation and hold an open-discussion forum before the shows. He eventually wants to make the shows more like communal political events. "I want it to be this kind of gathering where there are musicians, artists, poets and filmmakers traveling together as an entourage," he explained. "And I want to have them all express their different views from the stage. Also, I want to do some performances on a train with people going from one city to the next and do some shows for people outside of governors' mansions."

In addition to touring unconventionally, in the coming months Living Things plan to finish their second album, which they started working on when they were between record deals. The plan is to have the disc out in October. While the songs will be as visceral and incendiary tracks like "Bom Bom Bom," "I Owe" and "Bombs Below" from Ahead of the Lions, they'll have a different, more sophisticated groove. "We're gonna have horns and piano and stuff," Berlin said. "We got to work in Nashville with people who used to work on old Rolling Stones records and we were listening to a lot of the old Sun recordings when we were writing those songs. So it's going to have more of an old-time rock and roll boogie to it. But it's still gonna sound like Living Things. I don't think anyone who likes Ahead of the Lions will be disappointed."

• Living Things