Pitchfork

Filmmaker Michael Tully spent a good chunk of his 2006 following perennially brilliant country rockers Silver Jews around the world as the notoriously performance-indifferent troupe embarked on its first ever tour. The result is Silver Jew, the documentary that premiered at SXSW 2007 and has been making the festival rounds ever since.

The film will make its long-awaited arrival on DVD September 23 thanks to Drag City. Bonus features include a trailer for the film, an annotated slideshow, and videos for Tanglewood Numbers' "I'm Getting Back Into Getting Back Into You" and "Let's Not and Say We Did" from 2001's Bright Flight.

As for the family Berman? Well, that whole not-touring gambit is a thing of the past, and they and the rest of the band will hit the road in support of this year's fine Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea through the late summer and early fall.

Hey, speaking of Lookout Mountain: By now, those of you who nabbed a copy of the album have probably discovered the booklet tucked away inside sporting guitar tablature for all of Lookout Mountain's songs. Should you be feeling particularly Bermany before your next run through the "Candy Jail", you might wanna set up a camera first. Drag City is currently seeking submissions on high quality QuickTime video of folks playing their way through their favorite Lookout track (or, at the very least, whichever one's the easiest to sing and play at once). Oh yes, it's a cover song contest!

From now through October 31, you can either email your cover to this address or send it to the mailing address at the bottom of this story. The winner will get a copy of the Silver Jew DVD, and have his/her handiwork shown on Pitchfork.tv!

Note that, while Mr. Berman will in fact be taking in the videos, the final decision falls to the folks at Drag City. The winner will be announced November 7. Start skewing that worldview now, ya'll; you've got some mighty big shoes to fill.

Silver Jews:

08-28 Columbus, OH - Milo
08-29 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
08-30 Pittsburgh, PA - William Pitt Union Assembly
08-31 Pontiac, MI - Crofoot
09-02 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace
09-03 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
09-04 Northampton, MA - Iron Horse Music Hall
09-05 Cambridge, MA - Middle East
09-06 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg *
09-07 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
09-09 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
09-10 Washington, DC - Black Cat *
09-11 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle *
09-12 Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle *
09-13 Atlanta, GA - Variety *
09-14 Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbits *
09-15 Orlando, FL - The Social *
09-16 Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder *
09-17 New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks *
09-18 Houston, TX - Walter's on Washington
09-19 Austin, TX - Emo's
09-20 Denton, TX - Hailey's
09-22 Tucson, AZ - Plush
09-23 San Diego, CA - Casbah
09-26 Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
09-27 Big Sur, CA - Fernwood Resort
09-29 Eugene, OR - W.O.W. Hall *
09-30 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom *
10-02 Seattle, WA - Neumos
10-03 Boise, ID - Neurolux
10-04 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
10-05 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater *
10-07 Omaha, NE - Waiting Room Lounge *
10-08 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club
10-09 Iowa City, IA - Picador
10-10 Chicago, IL - Metro
10-11 Indianapolis, IN - Birdy's
10-12 Nashville, TN - Exit/In *

* with Monotonix

Berman snail mail contest address:

ATTN: Nicole
PO Box 476867
Chicago, IL 60647