Elliott Smith Tribute Shows Coming This Month

I have been lax in my Elliott Smith news duties lately, but there’s a lot going on: in honor of what would’ve been his 44th birthday, four tribute shows will be held this month, with proceeds going to four different charities. They’ll include Smith friends and tour mates such as Mary Lou Lord, Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle and producer Jon Brion. 44 is a big number, but the unspoken one is 10: the number of years since Smith died, an anniversary we’ll reach in October.

Here are the show details, via Brooklyn Vegan.

Portland, August 4th:
No Name #1, Portland: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Elliott Smith
Time: 8PM
Venue: Doug Fir Lounge
Host: Gus Van Sant
Featuring: members of Grandaddy, plus very special guests.
Charity: Outside In

Los Angeles, August 6th (Elliott’s 44th birthday):
No Name #1, Los Angeles: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Elliott Smith
Time: 8PM
Venue: Largo
Host: Jon Brion, with special friends
Charity: Free Arts for Abused Children

Austin, August 9th:
No Name #1, Austin: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Elliott Smith
Time: 8PM
Venue: Scottish Rite Theater
Host: Jody Denberg
Featuring: Members of Grandaddy, Lil’ Cap’n Travis, David Garza, plus many other very special guests.
Charity: The SIMS Foundation

New York, August 10th:
No Name #1, NYC: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Elliott Smith
Time: 9PM
Venue: Bowery Ballroom
Host: Rhett Miller
Featuring: Chris Thile, Mary Lou Lord, plus many other very special guests.
Charity: New Alternatives for LBGT Homeless Youth

Meanwhile, Smith’s former label, Kill Rock Stars, has done an admirable job in maintaining and surfacing material from his pre-XO, major label days as well as From a Basement on the Hill, his posthumous album. (Interscope, which now controls the DreamWorks catalog, has the rights to XO, Figure 8 and any unreleased material from that period.) KRS’ latest set is a four-track collection of Either/Or outtakes, which you can hear below. Pay special attention to “Punch & Judy,” which is very much a different song.

Elliott Smith photo via Kill Rock Stars