Bloc Party's Kele Okereke feeling itIn a stifling 100+ degree heat at night, close quarters with hundreds of tipsy, impatient concert goers at an outdoor show may not sound like the best idea. But when there are three pools next to the stage and an incredibly rare natural event cooling your down (not to mention alcoholic ice cream bars), it sure beats yet-another huddled indie venue show.

UK rockers Bloc Party and singer Santigold were on the bill for last Saturday's Samsung-supported concert series at the endlessly chic Cosmopolitan Hotel's BLVD Pool in Las Vegas. But the show was pushed over two hours later than it's scheduled start time because the usually flesh-searing desert heat decided to take a break (kinda) for a unusual turn of weather—rain!

After a four-year hiatus and almost as many years of breakup rumors, Bloc Party at long last debuted new tunes from their forthcoming plainly titled fourth album, Four, for a U.S. audience this week. On August 1 at uber-producer Bob Clearmountain's Berkeley Street studio, at a private showcase hosted by Los Angeles tastemaker radio KCRW, the band performed 11 songs (nine from the new album, out August 21)...and during a mid-show interview with KCRW DJ Jason Bentley, the band gently attempted to put those aforementioned rumors to rest.

"The time apart made us realize just how much we love each other. That's the diplomatic answer," dryly quipped frontman Kele Okereke--although he did his best avoid Bentley's further interrogations regarding band relations. ("We're not at liberty to talk about that, because don't have all our lawyers here," he cheekily explained.) Instead, Kele made jokes about such unrelated topics as the Olympics (apparently if he were competing at the Games in his

The career path of Canadian singer-songwriter is one of the most intriguing in pop music: Her music is all over the place.

Beginning with her debut album Whoa, Nelly!, released in 2000 and filled with hit singles like "I'm Like A Bird" and "Turn Off The Light," Furtado's been directly in the public eye, garnering Grammy nominations and praise for what at the time sounded like clever and sophisticated music with a pure pop base. But with her follow-up album Folklore—and the eye-opening collaborations she recorded with the likes of Jurassic 5, Paul Oakenfeld, and Colombia's Juanes—it became evident that the singer had musical roots much more adventurous than the norm.  With her massively successful set Loose, a 2006 set owing much to her work with producer Timbaland, the singer topped charts all over the world with such tracks as "Promiscuous" and "Maneater" and seemed squarely headed for the top ranks of pop diva-dom.

Death Cab For Cutie were the headliners for Yahoo!'s All-Star concert Sunday at Crossroads in Kansas City, Missouri. Before taking the stage, bassist Nick Harmer and drummer Jason McGerr sat down to talk to Yahoo! Music about life on the road.

[Related: Death Cab For Cutie Crossroad Photo Gallery]

Harmer and McGerr joked about learning to play in the sweltering heat and being on the road for more than 15 months. Such a demanding schedule does not afford them much time to check out shows of their favorite bands. McGerr looks forward to sharing concert bills with his friends in other groups, and Harmer anticipates returning to Japan's Summer Sonic Festival and seeing comedian Louis C.K. in December.

When their tour wraps in August, McGerr plans to take some downtime before working on their next project.

Harmer is expecting a great 2013. It will mark the 10^th anniversary of their fourth album, Transatlanticism, and could possible see a release of some of their shows with the Magik*Magik