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July 1, 2006
TV on the Radio @ Prospect Park Bandshell (Celebrate Brooklyn), NYC | pics
DOWNLOAD: Staring at the Sun (MP3)
!!! (the exclamation points, not the band) - TV on the Radio brought it to another level during their free performance at the Prospect Park Banshell in Brooklyn Friday night (June 30, 2006). To my friends who left after Voxtrot: you're idiots, but on the other hand you made room for the the many others needed a spot to sit or stand. In fact, even though a lot of people left when it started to rain during Matt Pond's set, the outdoor venue was still PACKED for headliners TV on the Radio.
"'We're not super-intellectuals,' he protests, deep in analysis of his band's anti-methodology. "It's not like TV on the Radio is doing something that's so avant-garde or new or cutting-edge or anything. It's just that so many people are not doing that.'" [Village Voice]
The surprise of the evening: Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra as TV on the Radio band members. There must have been at least twenty people on stage, five TVOTR band members and three backup singers included. Make that twenty-one if you're counting the guest appearance by Kyp Malone's baby girl. Big crowd, big band, and big sound aside, the real star of the show had to be, the James Brown of Brooklyn, TV on the Radio frontman Tunde Adebimpe. HE KILLED IT. I've seen this band a few times, and never do I remember the talent I saw belting out of him at this show. Amen.
-----
"Information has finally begun to surface regarding the upcoming album from Brooklyn quintet TV On The Radio. Return To Cookie Mountain, the group's sophomore LP, will be released in the U.K. on July 3 via 4AD.
An unauthorized version of the album has been circulating on the internet since February, but it remains to be seen if this early leak will be anything like the finished product.
Rumours are also floating around the web that Cookie Mountain will hit North American stores on August 1. But Interscope, the band's new stateside label, has thus far been mum about a release date. One thing that has been confirmed, however, is that David Bowie makes a guest appearance on the album's third track, 'Province.'" [Chart Attack]
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Voxtrot opened the show
Previously
Kyp Malone @ SXSW | Tv on the Radio played some shows
Tunde of TV on the Radio played Tonic
Posted in MP3 | music | pictures at 6:50 PM | Comments (42) | TrackBack
Pearl Jam + The Strokes + Queens of the Stone Age = Marvin Gaye's Mercy Mercy Mercy Me | The MP3
"Well this is an interesting mash up - The Strokes with Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) helping out on drums and Eddie Vedder helping on vocals. What song do they play together you ask? According to Scotsman.com it's going to be "Mercy, Mercy Me" - which should be pretty badass. The track will be released mid-July but I have a feeling those damn dirty bloggers will get their hands on it before then. So keep an eye out and an ear open." [Brooklyn Ski Club]
'I Am Fuel, I am Friends' also has Eddie Vedder playing Jukebox with the Strokes at the Rolling Stone shindig.
Posted in MP3 | music at 6:05 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Regina Spektor live on the BBC | The MP3s
Regina Spektor: BBC Radio 3 Mixing It Session, 29 June 2006
Previously
"Chelsea Hotel" covers & Regina Spektor on the Strokes | MP3s
Posted in MP3 | music at 5:14 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Voxtrot @ Prospect Park Bandshell (Celebrate Brooklyn), NYC | pics
DOWNLOAD: "Raised By Wolves" / "You Can Hide Your Love Forever" (Comet Gain cover) (live on Woxy) (MP3)
Voxtrot opened the big-free-annual-indie-rock show in Brooklyn's Prospect Park Friday night (June 30, 2006). Matt Pond Pa and TV on the Radio were also on the bill. Last year's concert equivalent featured The Sadies, Stars & The New Pornographers. This year The New Pornographers' Carl Newman returned, but only to watch the show.
Voxtrot frontman Ramesh's mom was also at the show; he told us. She flew in all the way from Austin for the event, and the crowd cheered for her. It was Voxtrot's largest NYC show yet (by a lot). Though not nearly as packed as it was for TV on the Radio later in the night, the band was most likely playing to thousands.
Highlights of the 35-minute, 7-song set included watching Ramesh's mom sing along to The Start of Something, and hearing a new song called Steven - it was awesome. Add Steven to the two new songs I heard Ramesh play the night before at Syrup Room, and throw in one super-secret-exciting record producer, and I'm pretty sure we have a great Playlouder debut album to look forward to some time in the near future.
Catch Voxtrot on a NYC roof right before the fireworks on July 4th.
Previously
Finger on the Pulse, DJ Ramesh & The Ice Cream Man @ Syrup Room, Brooklyn, NY | pics
DJs Aziz Ansari, Ramesh & friends | Voxtrot Afterparty pics
Posted in music | pictures at 4:15 PM | Comments (20) | TrackBack
Sufjan has nothing on 'trees lounge' | 50 States MP3s
Robert at trees lounge says he's "23/50ths of my way through the 50-states project." He was hoping to have MP3s representing all fifty states ready for download by July 4th, but he fell a little behind. I think we can forgive him because he still managed to finish 23 states in time, and that gives us, oh, somewhere around....700+ mp3s.
Posted in MP3 | music at 1:20 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
The Futureheads are playing Motherf*cker - July 3
The secret band at the July 3rd Motherf*ucker party is....The Futureheads. Now you have another chance to see them if you missed them play Webster Hall last night.
Previously
French Kicks & Futureheads | 2006 Tour Dates
The Futureheads @ SPIN offices, NYC | Pics
Posted in To Do | music at 12:02 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
June 30, 2006
The NY Times does McCarren Pool, outdoor concerts
Mr. Kinken of Live Nation said that he was expecting similar kinds of serendipity with the McCarren pool. Because of its large size and uncomplicated layout, he said, staging concerts there should be relatively easy. There are convenient spots to put the stage — on the side of the pool, raised just a foot above the ground — as well as a backstage area, concessions and portable toilets. The speaker cabinets will be angled down toward the crowd, to minimize echo off the walls.
The bands, he said, would do the rest. "It will be their manifest destiny to fill up the space," he said. "They'll make that room feel like it's intimate. They'll make it their own, fill it up with sound." [NY Times] (thx all)
Posted in NYC | music at 5:37 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Citysol show this Sunday | Aa, Parts & Labor, Japanther..
The Billyburg Film Festival wasn't the only rained out event last weekend. The big CitySol concert featuring Aa (Big A Little a) + Dame Darcy + Japanther + Parts & Labor + The Wowz + special guests will happen this Sunday, July 2, 2006 (noon-sundown). Good music AND a good cause (AND FREE BEER) @ Stuyvesant Cove Park (East 23rd Street & the East River)
interactive exhibits showcasing solar + wind power technologies, hybrid taxis, congestion pricing, etc. + a green lifestyle marketplace offering apparel, electronics, household goods PLUS a green power drive--if you bring a recent electricity bill, you can sign up for green power with ConEdison Solutions and drink FREE Brooklyn Brewery Beer all day!!!
Posted in To Do | music at 4:57 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Sleater Kinney's last show is in Portland
As reported on Pitchfork yesterday, Sleater Kinney's last show is now August 11, 2006 in their hometown of Portland, Oregon.
Posted in music at 4:18 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
David Johansen played with Dr. John
David Johansen – without either Poindexter persona or Doll drag – got a pair of tunes that would have fit perfectly in either: “Personality” (“When Salome danced/and had the boys entranced/no doubt it must have been easy to see/that she knew how to use her/personality”) and a rather over-funked “Must’ve Been a Beautiful Baby” (the second line became “You musta been a hip little kid”). [Heartonastick]
Previously
Get Belle & Sebastian tix by applying for an Amex
pic of Dr. John as Night Tripper @ Bonnaroo 2006 | free NYC show too
New New York Dolls | MP3s, WMA
Posted in music at 4:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tokyo Police Club are doing well in Canada
CANADIAN COLLEGE RADIO TOP 50 CHART [source]
1. TOKYO POLICE CLUB A Lesson In Crime (Paper Bag/Universal)
2. VANCOUGER Losin' It! (Scratch)
3. PONY UP Make Love To The Judges With Your Eyes (Dim Mak)
4. LOVELY FEATHERS Hind Hind Legs (Equator/EMI)
5. SONIC YOUTH Rather Ripped (Geffen/Universal)
6. ISLANDS Return To The Sea (Equator/EMI)
7. BE YOUR OWN PET Be Your Own Pet (Ecstatic Peace)
8. MISSION OF BURMA The Obliterati (Matador/Beggars)
9. LADYHAWK Ladyhawk (Jagjaguwar)
10. CAMERA OBSCURA Let's Get Out Of This Country (Merge)
Look for them in the crowd at TV on the Radio tonight.
Previously
The Ballet, Ramesh from Voxtrot, Tokyo Police Club & Land of Talk @ Syrup Room, Brooklyn, NY | pics
Posted in music | music history at 4:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Billyburg Film Festival rescheduled for tonight
The Billyburg Film Festival at McCarren Pool was rained out last week. It's been rescheduled for tonight.
Posted in To Do | movies | music at 3:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Lightning Bolt & Bunnybrains playing Todd P show Saturday
-----> TOMORROW 7/1 @ THE LOON: LIGHTNING BOLT AND BUNNYBRAINS LOFT PARTY!!!!!!!!!
-----> AND @ 91 MESEROLE: TELEPATHE/GROWING/EFFI BRIEST
On an off night on their tour with the freakin' Boredoms, the Bolt is back in town for the first time since last summer. Come dance and get sweaty. This show is basically the afterparty for the daytime Growing/Telepathe show, so you can get your brain fondled by those bands and then be completely violated by The Bolt and the Bunnybrains dudes [TODD P]
Posted in To Do | music at 2:38 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Finger on the Pulse, DJ Ramesh & The Ice Cream Man @ Syrup Room, Brooklyn, NY | pics
DOWNLOAD: DJ Never Forget's Team Summer - Ration Mix (MP3)
DJ NEVER FORGET OF FINGER ON THE PULSE
DJ TERRY DIABOLIK OF FINGER ON THE PULSE
THE ICE CREAM MAN
Quick Brown Fox says "whichever DJ it was that played 'Strychnine' totally made my night".
And then there were the bands. More Finger on the Pulse DJ events listed below...
Jul 1 2006 9:00P A Backyard BBQ Atlanta, GA
Jul 5 2006 8:00P Galapagos Art Show Brooklyn, NY
Jul 9 2006 8:00P w/ Les Savy Fav, Beans, Holy Fuck Brooklyn , NY
Jul 14 2006 11:00P Royal Oak ~ Free Sparks 10:30 - 11:30 Brooklyn , NY
Jul 19 2006 10:00P Cansei De Ser Sexy After Part @ Calling All kids, NYC
Jul 28 2006 11:00P The Lucky Cat ~ Free Sparks 1 am Brooklyn , NY
Aug 11 2006 11:00P Royal Oak ~ 1 year anniversary party w/ Super Meego! Brooklyn , NY
Previously
The Ballet, Ramesh from Voxtrot, Tokyo Police Club & Land of Talk @ Syrup Room, Brooklyn, NY | pics
Posted in MP3 | music | pictures at 2:30 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Rad looking rollerskaters needed for Rapture video
SOMEONE FORWARDED ME THIS EMAIL
This is really random but my friends are shooting a music video for The Rapture next week. They need rad looking people (like really cool people only) who can roller skate and are available next Thursday.If you or anyone you know want to be in the shoot email Lindsey below. You might want to include a picture too. Awesome.
rapturecasting@gmail.com
RELATED:
* The Rapture Reveal New Album
* The Rapture played Crash Mansion two weeks ago
Previously
The Rapture & Favourite Sons playing Crash Mansion
Posted in music at 1:52 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
Gnarls Barkley | 2006 Tour Dates, Summerstage
Gnarls Barkley are playing Central Park Summerstage on August 17, 2006. They announced a lot of other dates too. Some are on presale. All dates below....
Tue-Jul-18-06 San Francisco, CA Fillmore
Wed-Jul-19-06 San Francisco, CA Fillmore
Thu-Jul-20-06 Costa Mesa, CA Pacific Amphitheater
Sun-Jul-23-06 Los Angeles, CA Avalon
Mon-Jul-24-06 Los Angeles, CA Avalon
Fri-Jul-28-06 Naeba, JAP Fuji Rock Festival
Wed-Aug-02-06 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
Thu-Aug-03-06 Chicago, IL House of Blues (private show only way to get tickets is to listen to q101)
Sat-Aug-05-06 Chicago, IL Grant Park -- Lollapalooza
Mon-Aug-07-06 Detroit, MI State Theater
Fri-Aug-11-06 Boston, MA Avalon
Sat-Aug-12-06 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
Thu-Aug-17-06 New York, NY Central Park Summerstage
Fri-Sep-15-06 Austin, TX Zilker Park -- Austin City Limits
Sun-Sep-17-06 San Francisco, CA Golden Gate Park Amphitheater
Previously
Twilight Singers cover "Crazy" | MP3
Gnarls Barkley | West Coast Tour Dates
Gnarls Barkley "Crazy" covers by Nelly Furtado & Ray Lamontagne, more Cee-Lo & Dangerdoom | MP3s
Gnarls Barkley played Webster Hall
Posted in music | tour dates at 1:18 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
The Ballet, Ramesh from Voxtrot, Tokyo Police Club & Land of Talk @ Syrup Room, Brooklyn, NY | pics
THE BALLET
RAMESH FROM VOXTROT
TOKYO POLICE CLUB
LAND OF TALK
Thanks to everyone who attended, played, DJd, did sound, provided the venue, worked the bar, guarded the door, etc... It was a great night. Thanks to Bao Nguyen for being the official show photographer. The rest of his pics are up on Flickr.
One of the biggest highlights of the evening for me was watching Tokyo Police Club deliver their strongest performance I've seen yet (3rd time I've seen them). They seemed to be more in their element, and the crowd was really into it.....except Ryspace who was pissed he missed part of Ramesh's set. He has a recap and audio from the evening.
Sweatermusic said TPC were just what they were "looking for to forget the sweaty garage and rock".
" it was just really good, really solid, serious (and seriously good at grit and minors) sort of rock, solid the way its hard-but-fun to pick a single off a really excellent album, solid the way it platonically Should Be, you know, right." [if.so]
WesX3 said, "The Ballet was good. There were no stage lights in this venue so that was a bit odd but fitting to their hushed but zippy music." Bed for the scraping agrees that "it was really dark in there".
"The music was great with Land of Talk being my favorite of the night." [Wes wrote another nice recap]
Like Bushwick is Beautiful, I'm still recovering.
Posted in music | pictures at 12:47 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
June 29, 2006
Bloc Party playing the Stone Pony in Asbury Park
Instead of Irving Plaza, Bloc Party are playing a 2nd NYC-area show on July 27, 2006 @ The Stone Pony in Asbury Park. Instead of being fan club-only, the presale is just for the fan club and it's happening now.
Posted in music at 5:19 PM | Comments (39) | TrackBack
"Chelsea Hotel" covers & Regina Spektor on the Strokes | MP3s
DOWNLOAD (MP3s)
Keren Ann - "Chelsea Hotel" [more here]
Regina Spektor - "Chelsea Hotel"
The Strokes & Regina Spektor - "Post Modern Girls"
("Chelsea Hotel is a Leonard Cohen song)
"On her new release (one of my favorite albums of the year), Begin to Hope, singer, songwriter and pianist Regina Spektor sings in her native Russian for the first time." [NPR]
"The Strokes, pals who famously gave Spektor her first big break by bringing her on tour as an opener, were among her inspirations. 'The thing that blew my mind first hearing the Strokes was that they were the closest I had heard rock come to classical,' she says. 'Their music is extraordinarily orderly and composed. It's almost like Mozart.' When 'Better,' Hope's first single, needed some oomph, Strokes guitarist Nick Valensi stepped in and lent the song its precise, driving kick." [Village Voice]
"A new film about Leonard Cohen does a remarkable thing: it gets him to talk. And what a pleasure it is. Here's Cohen, for example, on his long-standing reputation as a ladies' man - it was, he says, 'a joke. It caused me to laugh bitterly the 10,000 nights I spent alone.'" [Telegraph]
Posted in MP3 | music at 1:47 PM | Comments (17) | TrackBack
Voxtrot taking Beirut's place on the roof
The new headliner is Voxtrot.
Posted in music at 1:34 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
Thursday night in NYC | Syrup Room, etc...
THURSDAY JUNE 29, 2006 (TONIGHT)
BrooklynVegan & Todd P present:
Land of Talk, Tokyo Police Club and The Ballet with DJ's Ramesh from Voxtrot & Finger on the Pulse (+ SURPRISES)
@ The Syrup Room in Brooklyn, NY (ALL AGES, $8 at the door)
Bushwick is Beautiful says: "The venue is pretty easy to find. Get off on the Morgan Stop on the L train (morgan street exit) and walk two blocks up Ingraham. It's about half way down the street on the right side."
SET TIMES: 8-DJs, 9-Ballet, 10-Tokyo Police Club, 11-Land of Talk, 12-DJs till ??
NOTE: Land of Talk added a keyboard to their show & 1 of the DJs requested a guitar
ALTERNATIVELY: Ear Farm presents other Thursday night options
Posted in To Do | music at 3:50 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
An Interview with Zach Condon & Jason of Beirut
DOWNLOAD: Postcards From Italy (MP3)
Help me welcome interviewer Mike to BrooklynVegan. Mike set up this interview with Beirut's Zach Condon and Jason (guitar & keyboards) with the help of Ben from BadaBing Records (who we'd like to give special thanks).
BEIRUT @ NORTHSIX (more)
Mike "caught up with them (Beirut) the day after they played two shows at the Lily Pad in Cambridge (June 24, 2006). The venue was small and the line snaked around the block. They ended up playing two shows: one at 11:30 and another at 12:45." Mike, Zach and Jason "tried to grab some beers but lack of proper I.D.'s prevented that" so they "ended up grabbing a six pack and did the interview on a friends porch"...
BrooklynVegan Mike: How did you hook up with BaDaBing?
Zach: Jeremy lives in Albuquerque, which a lot of people don't know. The funny thing about us is that we both lived in Albuquerque and are from Albuquerque, and that's what our bios say about us…but neither of us played in Albuquerque, ever. The one show we did do, a friend of Jeremy's convinced him "Come on Jeremy, play a show in your hometown," so he did. They were looking around for people with similar musical aspirations and that's how they found me. Somebody heard that I was doing gypsy-related stuff as well and that's how we hooked up. I was doing karaoke to Gulag Orkestar stuff, basically. He heard it and liked it and eventually gave the CD to Ben [Goldberg, BaDaBing Records] and he agreed to do drums on it.
BrooklynVegan Mike: So how long has the album material been done, like the songs and whatnot?
Zach: About this time last year. About a month from a year, yeah.
BrooklynVegan Mike: How do you feel about people making Neutral Milk Hotel comparisons? Does that bother you?
Zach: It doesn't bother me. They're a great band. I don't really see what the big complaint is about comparisons. Unless, of course, you get compared to a band you hate [laughs].
BrooklynVegan Mike: Do you think that perhaps people are looking too much into the music, to draw those parallels?
Zach: To an extent, yeah. But the thing is we share so much aesthetically with them, you know? I'm not embarrassed to say that, especially with the guilt by association with Jeremy and all. I'm not afraid to admit that there is some aesthetic of theirs that I really love. Sure, it can be tiring. I don't want to be pigeonholed.
BrooklynVegan Mike: Do you have any thoughts/feelings/opinions on the whole blog/pitchfork culture that has created this excitement?
Zach: My general answer to that is I never took the internet seriously until about a month ago when I realized what it could do for me [laughs]. What do you think Jason?
Jason: That sounds right. I still don't really understand it.
Zach: I don't think any of us in the band…like Ben would call us up and be like "Yeah, another blog wrote about your album and I'm like…..
BrooklynVegan Mike: And….? [laughs]
Zach: Right [laughs]. I thought it was like Myspace blogs or something.
BrooklynVegan Mike: I first read about you on Gorilla Vs. Bear. I know a lot of people did. When I talked to Ben, he told me that he bent over backwards to get mainstream press to pay any attention to the album and no one would.
Zach: No one would. This is how it works now. The Internet introduces new things and discovers them and everyone else follows suit. The major publications kind of give the last word on it, instead of vice versa.
BrooklynVegan Mike: At the end of the day it still seems like Pitchfork is the tastemaker. Sometimes blogs will push a band but if for some reason Pitchfork doesn't like it, it all dies.
Zach: Totally. But they didn't hurt it, and they didn't fuel it, which is fine by me. I don't want to be playing sold out Bowery shows within a month of the release. We have to do a few of the shows like last night to get our feet on the ground.
BrooklynVegan Mike:So you don't have a problem building a name for yourself slowly?
Jason: It has not been that slow [laughs].
Zach: It hasn't been a slow building tour across the U.S. Our first show was at the Knitting Factory and that was a disaster. A total disaster. Worse then this one. Our second show was the Mercury Lounge and that one was flawless. It sounded amazing.
Jason: We have cut out three really good shows so far.
Zach: Yeah. The Northsix show was amazing. You could hear a pin drop. It was like an orchestra was on stage. It was totally sold out. If they could all be like that. It is weird with all of the lineup changes.
BrooklynVegan Mike: Has the lineup been finalized?
Zach: To some extent. The core has been.
BrooklynVegan Mike: You made a joke last night about the wind section being m.i.a.. Were there really people missing last night?
Zach: Yeah The guy that plays baritone sax, clarinet, glockenspiel, mandolin, and ukulele. These are the kind of people I need in my band because those are the instruments I play and I'm not an octopus. I can't do it all.
BrooklynVegan Mike: What was funny was at the second show last night you guys were kind of off the set list so whenever you picked a song there would be a flurry of movement behind you and people shouting "is there mandolin in this song? Is there glockenspiel?" [laughs].
Zach: This guy [pointing to Jason] signed on…and he's a friend of my brothers and he's like "I play guitar," and I'm like "I don't think that will work, but come on, join the band. We'll see what works."
Jason: He lets me play guitar on two songs now, I think [laughs]. And now I play grand piano.
Zach: He never touched a piano until yesterday.
BrooklynVegan Mike: Really?
Jason: I've played keyboards, but until last night I had never played on an actual piano.
Zach: He was bothered by the weighed keys. "I…can't…do it." [laughs]. We were gonna set the keyboard on top of the grand piano and just make it look like he was playing a piano.
Jason: But we couldn't balance it on the keys.
BrooklynVegan Mike: About the band, the enormity of it, did it really just come together, like a ramshackle approach?
Zach: Yeah. That was kind of the idea. I kind of wanted a ramshackle orchestra. This is gonna sound like a romantic story, but when I was in Paris I saw this band of kids that all bought pawn shop instruments like busted up tubas and trumpets and stuff, and they would all wander around Paris, playing. They weren't great musicians or anything, but it sounded awesome and was a lot of fun. I kind of wanted to mimic that idea. That's why I'm working with…basically we are all amateurs. No way in hell could I ever revert back to a guitar-bass-drum kind of band. I can't write for that. I don't really even like the sound that much.
BrooklynVegan Mike: You debuted one new song last night. Do you have another album already planned?
Zach: I'm taking a month off of shows right now and record an e.p. for possibly for a British single and possibly a single here in the U.S. I write a lot of stuff and when I do an album I usually cut out about 90% of it.
BrooklynVegan Mike: Will any future album sound or have the same aesthetic as Gulag Orkestar?
Zach: I don't think so. I mean, it will still be multi-instrumental, but I don't think it will be in the style of Gulag. That was the phase of my life I was in at the time. I'm really not there right now. I write a lot so it is whatever it is at that time.
BrooklynVegan Mike: Now I have read about these other albums, like a doo-wop album and an electronica album. Will we ever be able to hear those?
Zach: It's funny because those are the same two albums that people bring up. I did those when I was like, 14. Just me in my bedroom kind of stuff.
BrooklynVegan Mike: We kind of came in conflict with it today, but with your age do you have trouble with clubs, grabbing a beer or people taking you seriously?
Zach: Not in Brooklyn.
Jason: Also, his age never changes. He's still 19.
Zach: I'm 20 now but everyone thinks I'm still 19. We've decided we're gonna start celebrating my birthday's backwards from now. Next year I will be 19, the year after, 18. In New York, I don't get any crap at all. Here I feel like a 20 year old.
BrooklynVegan Mike: From a marketing standpoint, you can understand why they want to keep pushing 19. That's still a teenager.
Zach: Why not? That seems crazy, but not to me.
BrooklynVegan Mike: You mentioned how you kind of came up with the idea for the sound, travelling around in Europe and such. I have also read that all of that is B.S. and that you are a guy who never left his bedroom in Albuquerque, New Mexico until just recently.
Zach: I didn't realize I had so much mystique, on a P.R. level.
BrooklynVegan Mike: One of the more fascinating things about Internet hype is because there is no "true source," it is very easy to create and mix up stories.
Zach: Yeah, have you seen my name go through the transformation from Zach Condron to Zach Condlin…?
Jason: To Zach Condom….
Zach: Even the Village Voice totally jumbled it up.
Are you looking for the honest story? Yeah, I travelled. What I think it is they mix up is that they want this big, fantastical story of this big voyage through Europe, of soul searching and finding this music, and having a purpose in life. But it wasn't like that. It was me being a 17, 18 year old kid, and just being a hooligan in Europe, drinking and hanging out with kids on the riverside and not doing anything responsible or that interesting for that matter. I did discover the sound when I was over there, so it's a half truth but I don't feel like pushing the romantic aspect of it.
BrooklynVegan Mike: Have you had any vocal training? How did the voice come about?
Zach: Almost by accident. I think I was trying to sing along to a lot Magnetic Fields when I was 15. I had this keyboard and I wrote this song and I wanted my friend to sing on it but he was kind of an emo singer, and I realized it was a dumb idea. Literally, I tried and it worked. It has developed since then. It just came naturally. I haven't had a day of vocal training in my life, although I am thinking about it before I go on tour. It gets exhausted drinking and smoking.
One of the earliest memories with music is I had a Fischer Price Karaoke machine. I was like four or five. And I had this Beach Boys tape that I played to death, from front to back. Eventually, my brother Ryan smashed it because he was sick of hearing it [laughs].
editor's note: Mike and I discussed the questions a bit before the interview. I told him about how, at the Knitting Factory show, Zach said that his Internet celebrity status still wasn't good enough to convince his mom he's doing something right. I think that's where the next question came from.
BrooklynVegan Mike: At the Northsix show, you made a comment about how your mother hasn't accepted/approved of your career choice. Has she come around at all?
Zach: Oh…I don't know. Yeah. Did I even mention that? Of course, my parents never took it seriously, you know? That's the funny thing now because my dad follows me closer than I do. He's calling me up saying, "I heard that you closed your eyes too much. I read it on the internet." I'm like "what the fuck, dad. Four months ago you would have never even, you know, mention the fact that your son makes music in his bedroom." So, that's ironic.
The funnier story is my mom. About a month after the release, when the Pitchfork review came out and some other stuff, and it was starting to look like we were going to be a big deal, and this UK bidding war thing started…and my mom goes "that's so great. I heard about your album." And then she said, "do you sing on it?" I was like, "Wow, you really didn't know?"
-----
thx Mike, Zach, Jason, and Ben!
RELATED: Zach guest blogged Said the Gramophone
Previously
Beirut not playing roof, but is playing Moscow
Beirut playing Mercury Lounge | tix on sale
Beirut @ Northsix, Brooklyn, NYC | pics
Beirut @ Sound Fix Records, Brooklyn, NYC | pics by Kelly
Posted in interviews | music at 3:23 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
Phoenix | Summer 2006 Tour Dates
Phoenix are coming back to the United States this summer, and not only are they NOT "upgrading" from Bowery Ballroom to Webster Hall, they're also playing Maxwell's (good Phoenix). All dates below...
PHOENIX 2006 TOUR DATES
Mon. Jul 24: Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Cafe
Wed. Jul 26: Detroit, MI @ The Magic Stick
Thu. Jul 27: Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Club
Fri. Jul 28: Chicago, IL @ Double Door*
Sat. Jul 29: Grand Rapids, MI @ Intersection
Mon. Jul 31: Cincinnati, OH @ Southgate House
Tue. Aug 1: Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
Wed. Aug 2: Pittsburgh, PA @ Rex Theatre*
Thu. Aug 3: Columbus, OH @ Little Brothers
Sat. Aug 5: Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero*
Sun. Aug 6: Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell's
Mon. Aug 7: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Wed. Aug 8: Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club*
* denotes 21+
All other shows are 18+
West Coast tour dates for September will be announced soon.
Opening act is French Kicks from Brooklyn.
Previously
Arts & Crafts releasing Phoenix in Canada
Sofia Coppola & post-ironic Phoenix | Velvet Underground
Posted in music | tour dates at 3:22 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
Thom Yorke talks to the LA Times
Asked whether Radiohead would consider distributing its next album independently, Yorke unhesitatingly said yes. "We have two or three options, and that's one," he said. "Once we finish whatever we think is good enough to put out, then we'll start thinking about it. We haven't discussed it a great deal. I would love for us to drop a chemical weapon within the music industry. But I don't see it as our responsibility, either." [LA TIMES]
Posted in music at 3:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sirius Playlist - Week 5
My Tuesday night Sirius radio shows have been all over the place so far. I maybe played one song twice in five weeks, and there have only been a handful of artists who I've played more than once. I think that'll be less-and-less true as weeks go on - partly for my sanity because picking 30-something songs each week, not to mention getting them to Sirius so they can make sure they have them in their system, is a lot of work. What I mean is - they'll probably be more repeats as the weeks go on. That said, here's my June 27, 2006 playlist.
----
I wanted to open with The Ballet because they're what I've been listening to most lately (the four songs I have anyway), and I'm excited to have them playing my show Thursday night @ Syrup Room.
1) The Ballet - I hate the War
Their anti-war song inspired me to play three more.
2) Neil Young - Living With War
3) The Clash - The Call Up
4) Billy Bragg - The Marching Song of the Covert Battalions
I already played Neil Young, so then I played a Neil Young cover by one of my favorite Brooklyn bands of all time, Type O Negative....
5) Type O Negative - Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young cover)
6) Black Sabbath - Paranoid
7) Wolfmother - Tales from the Forest of Gnomes
Rockin'
8) Tapes 'n Tapes - Omaha
9) Deadboy & The Elephantmen - Stop, I'm Already Dead
10) Two Gallants - Steady Rollin'
11) Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues
12) The Weakerthans - One Great City
13) Ryan Adams - Sweet Black Magic
14) Elliot Smith - Waltz #2
15) Mazzy Star - Bells Ring
Mazzy Star's So Tonight that I Might See is one of my favorite albums of all time, so I played a track off that and then played four more of my favorite artists from the same time period...
16) Portishead - Wandering Star
17) Massive Attack - Live With Me (alternate version)
18) Bjork - Venus as a Boy
19) Tricky - Pumpkin
I snuck a second track by the Ballet into the next set of songs...
20) Prince Darling Nikki
21) Stars - Sleep Tonight
22) The Ballet - In My Head
23) Voxtrot - Soft and Warm
Then played more of my 'old' favorites....
24) Digable Planets - Nickel Bag
25) De La Soul - This is a Recording
26) Tribe Called Quest - Show Business
27) The Pharcyde - Soul Flower (remix)
28) Deee-Lite - What is Love
29) Tokyo Police Club - Be Good
30) Land of Talk - Seafoam
31) Cat Power - Werewolf
I played Tokyo Police Club and Land of Talk back-to-back just like they're playing this Thursday at Syrup Room, and then Cat Power who has a similar voice to Lizzy from Land of Talk came right after Land of Talk, and then I ended with Regina Spektor...
32) Regina Spektor - Remember That Time
No new show on July 4th. They'll be a repeat.
Previously
Sirius Playlist - Week 4 (Gay Pride edition)
Posted in MP3 | music | radio at 3:06 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Silversun Pickups not playing the Pool, but others are
Stay tuned for Silversun Pickups to possibly add a new Brooklyn date somewhere else. Keep an eye on ThePoolParties.com for the latest in free McCarren Park Pool concert information.
Previously
Metric playing McCarren Park Pool | Updated Schedule
Silversun Pickups | Summer 2006 Tour Dates
Posted in music | tour dates at 12:57 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Beirut not playing roof, but is playing Moscow
I don't know why yet, but Beirut is no longer playing the 4th of July rooftop party. An equally buzzy headliner will be announced any second. I don't have refund info yet either. On July 29, Beirut are playing Moscow - yes - THE Moscow.
Posted in music | tour dates at 12:52 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Get Belle & Sebastian tix by applying for an Amex
Heartonastick snapped this picture at the free Dr. John show Wednesday night in NYC. Looks like Starbucks didn't get all the tickets.
Posted in music at 12:28 AM | Comments (17) | TrackBack
June 28, 2006
Sunn 0))) | NY Times, Pitchfork, David Byrne, Avalon, & Carnegie Hall
"Newsworthy? Not really...but it has to be mentioned that the past year's seen metal's cache rise in the mainstream press. There're plenty of examples of the crossover (ahem), though perhaps none as startling and weirdly cool as a recent New York Times Magazine feature on Sunn 0))), Boris, and Southern Lord, the label operated by Sunn 0)))'s Greg Anderson." [Pitchfork]
photo copyright - www.declanoneill.com
"Saw Sunn0))), the minimal metal band, last night. Last Sunday there was a huge article about them in the NY Times which I suspect might dash my hopes for them joining the lineup for one of the nights at Carnegie Hall I’m curating next Feb. But who knows? I expected a sell out last night as a result of that article, but I guess the Times demographic and the audience for extremely loud minimal metal has a small overlap. I can see the Venn diagram in my mind." [David Byrne]
Posted in music at 9:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Jeff Mangum posting a hoax
"Updating a story first posted here (Billboard) yesterday (June 27), Neutral Milk Hotel principal Jeff Mangum has disavowed a Web posting attributed to him, which falsely referenced the progress on the reclusive artist's first new album since 1998's iconic 'In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.'
Longtime collaborator Robert Schneider, who fronts the Apples In Stereo, reached out to Mangum in an attempt to verify the posting, which was made on a Web site devoted to the Elephant 6 musical collective. Schneider then posted Mangum's reply on the site, which reads, 'I am sorry to inform you that this is not my post. Could you please inform the good people ... that this is not my writing?'" [Billboard]
In Pitchfork's defense, they seemed to get confirmation from a reliable source before posting. Most of all this is just funny, but sad. Next probable hoaxes: Radiohead says they're breaking up (thx Phil) & Pavement says they're getting back together.
Previously
Pitchfork found out that it is Jeff Mangum
Neutral Milk Hotel played NYC 7 or 8 times
Posted in music at 6:58 PM | Comments (14) | TrackBack
Boredoms @ 2006 Intonation Festival, Chicago | pics
"Festival rosters are always full of safe bets – so here's to the organizers for booking Boredoms, probably the most challenging act on the roster. My guess is that not many in the audience knew what to expect from the band on one of only a handful of live American dates in the last few years.
The group wasted no time, sending a six-drumstick attack from the group's drummers to produce round after round of locked groove. Occasionally, the pounding would open up to make way for one Boredom or another to chase some weird mini-rhythm down the rabbit hole, but always returning to the previous driving rhythm. After the pause that marked the end of the first half of the set, circuit guru Yamataka Eye led the group on a more eerie path.
Every off-pattern fill from the drum corps ushered in a meltdown from Eye, and usually another palpable BPM bump. Pretty fitting then how the band's sometimes krauty moments of beat driving would change so fluidly into more giddy and freewheeling abstractions. As drummer Yoshimi Yokota (she of the Flaming Lips' namesake, yes) took to the keys to close the set, the audience had witnessed Boredoms' three-drum pile up morph into something more conventionally beautiful. A criminally short set time notwithstanding, this was a real treat from a band that continues to surprise old fans while stunning new ones."
BrooklynVegan Intonation coverage continues.
CREDITS FOR THIS POST
* words by Dan McSwain
* photos by Dan McSwain & Brian McSwain & Brad Knutson
Previously
Coverage of the 2006 VICE Intonation Festival begins
Lightning Bolt opening for Boredoms @ Webster Hall
Boredoms playing Webster Hall - July 2
Posted in Intonation | music | pictures at 5:01 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Pitchfork found out that it is Jeff Mangum
"Well, according to Kelly Ruberto from Cloud Recordings, it is not a joke. Jeff Mangum really did write that." [Pitchfork]
Previously
Neutral Milk Hotel played NYC 7 or 8 times
Posted in music at 3:45 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
NYC Musician Seth Pitman jumps to his death
TRASH BAR SCHEDULE, MAY 30, 2006
8:00 - Seth Pitman, 8:30 - Dan Maxwell, 9:00 - The Puge (of Juneteenth), 9:30 - Rob Haney, 10:00 - Owen McCarthy (of The Everyothers), 10:30 - Scotty B. (of The F-Units), 11:00 - Ian McBride, 11:30 - Peter Sam
ARLENE'S GROCERY SCHEDULE, JUNE 17, 2006
7 SETH PITMAN, 8 BONES ROYAL EP RELEASE, 9 THE RUSTLANDERS, 10 GREG SMITH , 11 SHOTGUN ETI...
"Just before hurtling out the eighth-floor window, Seth Pitman, 23, told friends he 'wanted to enter the afterlife' and knew he could 'fly,' police sources and pals said.....Pitman, a chemical engineer who moved to Brooklyn to pursue a career in music, banged on walls, screamed and tried to kiss a man and a woman during the party at 205 W. 54th St. before his death, pals said." [NY Daily News] (via Gothamist)
Posted in NYC | music at 3:26 PM | Comments (73) | TrackBack
2006 free Wingate Field Concert Series schedule
24th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series
Wingate Field, Every Monday night @ 7:30 PM (Brooklyn)
July 10 - Anthony Hamilton & Angie Stone
July 17 - Stephanie Mills & The Whispers
July 24 - "Annual Gospel Night"
July 31 - Roberta Flack & James Ingram
Aug 07 - LL COOL J
Aug 14 - The Mighty Sparrow (king of calypso)
Aug 21 - The Temptations Review
These are right across from Kings County Hospital. More details at BrooklynConcerts.com
Posted in NYC | To Do | music at 3:14 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
2006 free Coney Island Concert Series schedule
28th Annual Seaside Summer Concert Series
Asser Levy Park, Every Thursday night @ 7:30 PM (Brooklyn)
July 13 - Al Green
July 20 - Franki Valli & The Four Seasons
July 27 - Julio Iglesias
Aug 03 - "Hippiefest"
Aug 10 - The B52's
Aug 17 - Liza Minnelli
Aug 24 - "Salsa by the Sea"
These are right across from the aquarium in Coney Island. More details at BrooklynConcerts.com
Posted in NYC | To Do | music at 3:03 PM | Comments (19) | TrackBack
Neutral Milk Hotel played NYC 7 or 8 times
NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL PLAYING ATHENS, GA [CRED]
I was just talking to somebody about the possiblity of Jeff Mangum returning, and if he did where he would play, and for how many nights in a row, etc... That got me looking at the well-organized Neutral Milk Hotel gigography. I didn't realize NMH played so few small shows (especially considering what a large impact they had). They played their last NYC show at Bowery Ballroom in 1998 (did they headline?), and their 3rd to last NYC show was as an OPENER for Olivia Tremor Control at Brownies (what was the capacity of Brownies? 150?). The NY Times reviewed it.
1996
17 July - Knitting Factory w/ Stephin Merritt & Butterglory
01 August - Knitting Factory w/ The Supreme Dicks & the Air Traffic Controllers
06 September - Westbeth Theatre w/ Guv'ner, Spent, Portatastic, & Lambchop
20 October- Brownies w/ The Olivia Tremor Control & Clem Snide **
** the October 20th show is actually "Jeff Mangum with the Pulsars"
1997
25 April - Knitting Factory w/ The Olivia Tremor Control & Alva
28 April - Brownies w/ The Olivia Tremor Control
1998
07 March - Knitting Factory w/ Elf Power & the Music Tapes
25 July - Bowery Ballroom w/ Elf Power, Of Montreal, & Marshmallow Coast
Who was at one of these shows, or any NMH show for that matter?
Posted in music | music history at 1:44 PM | Comments (27) | TrackBack
Wu-Tang Clan | Tribute to ODB Tour | 2 nights @ Webster
Wu-Tang Clan @ Webster Hall ($50 a pop)
August 17 - TICKETS
August 18 - TICKETS
(thx loosey)
Previously
Ghostface Killah @ Fader tent, Austin, TX (SXSW) | pics
Wu-Tang Clan @ Hammerstein Ballroom | Reviews
Wu-Tang in CT | Prince & Tamar in NYC
Posted in music | tour dates at 12:54 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Found on Flickr: "At Glenn Danzig's House on 6/6/6"
The rest of the photos at Flickr.
Posted in music at 12:33 PM | Comments (22) | TrackBack
Tickets on sale for Mew @ Hiro Ballroom
DOWNLOAD: Snow Brigade (MP3)
Ticketweb just says "Mew", though the tour dates say it's a "solo show". Either way, tickets are on sale.
Posted in MP3 | music at 12:08 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
Sleater Kinney gone, Throwing Muses back | Dates
DOWNLOAD: Speed and Sleep (MP3)
NOT THE CURRENT LINEUP
Throwing Muses are "happy to announce 2 U.S. Throwing Muses shows to follow on their performance in Iceland! 50FOOTWAVE will be the first of 2 openers on the U.S. dates."
THROWING MUSES & 50 FOOT WAVE
August 11 - Boston, MA, The Middle East
August 12 - NYC, Bowery Ballroom [TIX]
"Also? Kristin will be dropping in to play solo-acoustic with her pal Grant Lee Phillips for his upcoming Seattle and Portland shows!"
KRISTIN SOLO
25 July - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile
26 July - Portland, OR - Berbati's Pan
"With cover stories about them published in most major British music publications of the 1980s, they became one of the first successful alternative rock acts to be led by two female singer/guitarists, helping set the stage for later arrivals like Sleater-Kinney." [Wikipedia]
Previously
Sleater-Kinney breaks up
Posted in music | tour dates at 11:53 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Blondie & "New Cars" tour cancelled due to injury
The Blondie & "New Cars" tour that started in Robinsville, MS in May stopped abruptly after the June 10th NJ show due to an injury by one of the Cars. As you can see from Blondie's schedule, the last half of the tour is off.
The bands have postponed their summer Road Rage Tour after New Cars guitarist Elliot Easton suffered a broken left clavicle. Easton had surgery Monday after he was injured falling out of his bunk on the band's tour bus. The driver had swerved suddenly to avoid another vehicle. "It was amazing that after the accident Elliot played four more shows in a brace and in constant pain," said Blondie's Debbie Harry said in a statement. "He really tried his best to keep on playing so he should be given a great deal of credit for that. We all wish him a speedy recovery."
Posted in music | tour dates at 11:43 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
The Grates @ Mercury Lounge, NYC | pics
The Grates @ Mercury Lounge in NYC - Tuesday June 27, 2006.
Previously
The Grates | 2006 Tour Dates: NYC, CA & Canada | Tokyo Police Club too
Streaming Grates song, funny picture & podcast interview
Posted in music | pictures at 2:45 AM | Comments (19) | TrackBack
Sonic Youth @ Bonnaroo 2006 | pics & Pavement rumor
"i just got out of the sonic youth show at bonnaroo (im in the press/media tent) so we have internet capabilities. Stephen Malkmus just did Expressway to yr skull with sy as the encore. also backstage, not to start rumors, but i heard malkmus talking to mark ibold and saying 'man we should get back together, we shud get back together and do some shows'" [Sonic Youth Message Board]
Video of 'Incinerate' @ YouTube.
photo by Jon Bahr (ASCAP/The Slip)
Previously
Bright Eyes @ Bonnaroo 2006 | pics & MP3s
I didn't see Sonic Youth @ CBGB | NPR will stream DC
Posted in bonnaroo | music | pictures at 2:14 AM | Comments (16) | TrackBack
Bright Eyes @ Bonnaroo 2006 | pics & MP3s
YANP is hosting Bright Eyes' whole Bonnaroo set as MP3/M4a download. Central Village has a few more photos.
photo by Jon Bahr (ASCAP/The Slip)
Previously
The Streets @ Bonnaroo 2006 | pics & remix
Matisyahu was jammin to Bright Eyes @ Bonnaroo
M(att) Ward & Conor Oberst @ Angel Orensanz, NYC | pics
Posted in MP3 | bonnaroo | music | pictures at 1:38 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
The Streets @ Bonnaroo 2006 | pics & remix
DOWNLOAD: When You Wasn't Famous (Professor Green Remix) (MP3)
I really wanted to finally see The Streets at Webster Hall last night, but I didn't have a ticket and it didn't seem worth trying to get one with so many other shows going on anyway. Here's a picture from this year's Bonnaroo.
"... I cleanse my palette with some good ol' white boy rap, first from The Streets, who boast a back-up band in matching orange uniforms printed with palm trees, and the biggest bottle of brandy I've ever seen. The brandy is generously proffered by Mike Skinner, who proclaims, "I like to drink with all my friends," and then promptly launches into "Too Much Brandy." Our lad gets big points for effort in trying to revitalize a tent full of hung-over hippies" [Chart Attack]
photo by Jon Bahr (ASCAP/The Slip)
Previously
The Streets | 2006 Tour Dates | Webster Hall
Tom Petty @ Bonnaroo 2006 | pics & video
Posted in bonnaroo | music | pictures at 1:22 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Tom Petty @ Bonnaroo 2006 | pics & video
"Can I jam for you?' Tom Petty asked the 2006 Bonnaroo crowd during his performance Friday night. The crowd answered yes with a roar as Petty and his band played for nearly 3 hours and even welcomed Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac) out on the stage to sing a few songs." [Western Herald Online]
I loved watching the video of Tom's performance. WDTB tells you where to download it.
photo by Jon Bahr (ASCAP/The Slip)
Previously
Alec Ounsworth @ Bonnaroo 2006 | pics & MP3s
Posted in bonnaroo | music | pictures at 1:13 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 27, 2006
Coverage of the 2006 VICE Intonation Festival begins
The VICE Intonation Music Festival happened this past weekend (June 24-25, 2006) over in Chicago, Illinois, USA. A team of Chicago-based BrooklynVegan correspondents were on hand to let us know how it was, and these four photos are where their coverage begins. If you were there, talk about it in the comments of course.
Previously
Pitchfork vs Intonation vs Lollapalooza
Bloc Party & The Streets headlining VICE Intonation Festival
Posted in Intonation | music | pictures at 5:50 PM | Comments (14) | TrackBack
Queen Latifah & Erykah Badu playing Prospect Park
SHOWS U HAVE TO PAY FOR @ PROSPECT PARK IN BROOKLYN
Wed, 07/12/06 07:00 PM - Guster & Ray Lamontagne [TIX]
Mon, 08/07/06 07:00 PM - Manu Chao [TIX]
Sat, 08/12/0607:00 PM - Sugar Water Festival w/ Queen Latifah,Jill Scott & Erykah Badu [TIX]
Posted in music at 4:44 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
The Village Voice talks to & about Todd P
"....Late last year, Patrick tried to open a proper, permanent venue—the Llano Estacado, a loft space in Williamsburg—but the police shut it down after just a few shows. Financial difficulties and disputes with his partners have temporarily derailed his plans to try again, though he's eyeing a medium-sized space in Long Island City. In the meantime, he supports himself by renting practice spaces to bands in the Llano Estacado building while promoting his shows elsewhere. No day job. 'I probably make less money than 90 percent of the people who come to my shows,' he says.
But even if that eventually changes, Patrick's overriding philosophy won't. 'If I book a Yeah Yeah Yeahs, show, it's not going to be at Irving Plaza or wherever it is they play at,' he says. 'It's going to be at, say, one of the Hasidic rental halls on Bedford and Flushing, like the Rose Castle or something. I'd book it at a place that's off the beaten path: appropriate and big, but different, someplace that lets people realize that there's no reason that these things have to happen at these places where you think they're supposed to happen'....." [read it all @ The Village Voice]
(Silly Todd, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs totally play at Roseland ....or Bowery Ballroom (and they like it)...or Maxwell's...and McCarren Park Pool even. just not Irving Plaza, well it's been a while anyway.)
----
THIS THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2006: Todd P & I join forces to bring you Land of Talk, Tokyo Police Club, The Ballet and more....at a very-Todd P-approved venue in East Williamsburg (good luck finding it...just kidding...you'll find it....I swear.)
Posted in NYC | To Do | music at 4:29 PM | Comments (22) | TrackBack
Bjorkestra | 2006 Tour Dates
"Blending Bjork’s visionary techno pop with the harmonic and improvisational elements of modern jazz, Travis Sullivan’s Bjorkestra has performed to packed venues across the Northeast and received extraordinary praise from both fans and the press alike."
Bjorkestra is visiting the West Coast for the first time before coming home to NYC to play Tonic on August 18th. All dates below...
Thursday August 3rd -Harlow's - Sacramento, CA
Friday August 4th - Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA
Saturday August 5th - The Attic - Santa Cruz, CA
Wednesday August 9th - Belly Up Tavern - Solana Beach, CA
Friday August 11th - The Knitting Factory - Los Angeles, CA
Friday August 18th - Tonic - New York, NY
Previously
Bjorkestra | MP3s & Joe's Pub Show
Bjorkestra Friday @ Bowery
Bjorkestra @ Fez Friday
Posted in music | tour dates at 3:37 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Sleater-Kinney breaks up
After eleven years as a band, Sleater-Kinney have decided to go on indefinite hiatus.
The upcoming summer shows will be our last. As of now, there are no plans for future tours or recordings. We feel lucky to have had the support of many wonderful people over the years. We want to thank everyone who has worked with us, written kind words about us, performed with us, and inspired us.
But mostly we want to extend our gratitude to our amazing fans. You have been a part of our story from the beginning. We could not have made our music without your enthusiasm, passion, and loyalty. It is you who have made the entire journey worthwhile.
With love and thanks,
Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney’s final dates
Jul 29 Mellwood Arts Center, Louisville,KY
Jul 31 Starlight Ballroom, Philadelphia,PA
Aug 01 930 Club, Washington,DC
Aug 02 Webster Hall, New York City,NY
Aug 04 Lollapalooza (Grant Park), Chicago,IL
Sorry to see them go. Tickets still on sale for their 2nd to last show ever.
(thx Portland Mercury)
Previously
Sleater Kinney - Philly also on sale
Posted in music | tour dates at 3:07 PM | Comments (20) | TrackBack
the Belle & Sebastian / Starbucks ticket fiasco
I'm not sure exactly what happened, but here are a few reactions...
IN MY EMAIL "River to River screwed a whole lot of Belle & Sebastian fans today. You know how they told everybody they were giving out tickets at the Starbucks starting at noon today? Well, at least at the Barclay & Broadway location, people found out at 11:50am that all the tickets had already been given away. They cited an unspecified 'safety concern' as the reason."
IN THE COMMENTS: "went to the one at woolworth bldg (b'way & barclay st) this morning... got there at 9am and was about 100 ppl back in line. no one knew how many tix they were giving out. at 10:35 or so the line started moving & they were giving out the tix bc the line was like about 500 ppl long (at least) and they had 500 pairs of tix. feel bad for the people who came at noon."
IN THE COMMENTS: "All tickets at the Woolworth Building Starbucks were given away starting a few hours before noon. Lame lame lame."
Posted in NYC | music at 2:15 PM | Comments (71) | TrackBack
Flashy Python & the Body Snatchers (Alec Ounsworth) @ Joe's Pub, NYC | pics
And while I'm talking about Alec Ounsworth, I thought I'd post the pics from the performance he gave (with band) as Flashy Python and the Body Snatchers the other night @ Joe's Pub (June 22, 2006). I was at the late show (he played an early one too).
Alec is a great song writer and performer, and it was nice to his other side - the side that's not Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. The CYHSY side is nice too though, so I was happy to hear him play Details of the War and that Cigarettes song. Overall the show was great, mesmerizing at times, and much better than what I remember from his performance as The Pelican Picnic at Mercury Lounge (I'm sure the setting had something to do with it). Some songs really stood out this time, but I don't know what they're called. He closed with a Loudon Wainwright cover.
Others who went to one of the two shows that night: The Modern Age, hearsay, The Underrated, & The Music Slut.
Previously
Alec Ounsworth playing Philly too | 3 shows on sale
Posted in music | pictures at 1:48 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Jeff Mangum releasing new material? posting in msg board?
"for the past few months ive been putting together the pieces of everything ive written in the past three years and its been a revelation. whenever i had the time ive been writing melodies and keeping them in my head for later, and songs just accumulate, im not waiting as some have said. i still dont know how we’re going to put it all together, the songs will have more noises and collages in them. because of that we dont know whether this will be korena pang or neutral milk hotel or michael bolton but that doesnt really matter. names are just a box we put things in to separate them, and we’re figuring out what box these songs go in...." [Jeff Mangum or a hoax?] (via YANP)
Previously
Video of Jeff Mangum w/ Olivia Tremor Control
Jeff Mangum Surfaces at Elf Power show
Posted in music at 1:28 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
the crazy week begins | Tonight in NYC
Which ones are you going to tonight?
* The Streets and Lady Sovereign @ Webster Hall?
* Lady Sovereign @ Plummm?
* Oh No! Oh My! & Aberdeen City @ Knitting Factory?
* Brazilian Girls for free on a pier?
* The Gothamist comedy show @ Pianos?
* Calexico & Jason Collett @ Warsaw?
* Persephone's Bees, Tokyo Police Club, The Grates, & Lovely Feathers @ ML?
* Doveman & David Thomas Broughton @ Tonic?
* other?
AND DON'T FORGET: Tokyo Police Club, Land of Talk, The Ballet, DJs Finger on the Pulse & DJ Ramesh from Voxtrot - this Thursday in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
UPDATE: Jerry knows what I'm talkin about
Posted in To Do | music at 12:59 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Alec Ounsworth @ Bonnaroo 2006 | pics & MP3s
And while I'm catching up on Bonnaroo coverage, I thought now would be a good time to post this photo from the press-only performance CYHSY's Alec Ounsworth gave at this year's festival.
After Bonnaroo, Alec gave an interview and played three songs for WXPN in Philadelphia. Download the MP3 at their website.
photo by Jon Bahr (ASCAP/The Slip)
Previously
Andrew Bird @ Bonnaroo 2006 | pics, news
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC | pics
Posted in MP3 | bonnaroo | music | pictures at 12:31 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Andrew Bird @ Bonnaroo 2006 | pics, news
With all this talk of Final Fantasy vs. Andrew Bird, I thought now would be a good time to post this picture of Andrew at this year's Bonnaroo festival.
"ANDREW BIRD might just have been the most talented man in Manchester. Using his violin and backed by only a drummer, Bird’s pre-recorded and on-the-spot loops, guitar, glockenspiel and masterful whistling skills made the most exquisite sound we heard all weekend." [Nashville Scene]
"The hip violinist is currently working on his next full-length album, expected sometime next year. Building upon the success of 2005's Mysterious Production Of Eggs, Bird has recruited a number of Midwest musicians, including Haley Bonar and Chris Morrissey, both veterans of the lengthy Mysterious Production Of Eggs tour." [CMJ]
photo by Jon Bahr (ASCAP/The Slip)
Previously
Devendra Banhart | from Bonnaroo to Moscow, Israel, Japan, Brazil, UK...
Lots of Live Andrew Bird for Download & album stream
Posted in bonnaroo | music | pictures at 12:13 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Final Fantasy @ Tonic, NYC | pics
"An interesting direction of the evolution of the tape loop is the looping pedal - a digital sampler built into an easy-to-use footswitch-operated pedal of the kind most often used by guitarists to create looping layers of melody or texture during a live performance. A noteworthy example of this melodic layering effect is Ian Williams' dense, complex layers of guitar on Don Caballero's American Don (free MP3s available here and here). Some popular digital looping pedals (which can be used on any instrument, but are primarily used by guitarists) are the Line 6 DL4 (used by, among others, Jazz guitarists Bill Frisell and John Scofield), the Boomerang Phrase Sampler (used by Phish's Trey Anastasio), and the Boss Loop Station." [Wikipedia]
Final Fantasy, and all his looping pedals, played a short, but very sweet set at Tonic in NYC Saturday night that left me (and the whole crowd) wanting more, more, more. (Did he play for just 45 minutes?). Gentleman Reg opening was a bonus. Alex Luchevosky played between them - he's got that M.Ward-Nina Simone thing going on, which sounded good at times, but mostly I just couldn't wait for Final Fantasy to come on.
"Much as I like Final Fantasy, I must confess that I never actually suspected that a lone Canadian on the stage with a violin could be one of the best shows I've seen all year. But my god, man. Owen Pallett is just simply enthralling, from the moment one, to moment one-hundred. He had me so transfixed that, for the duration of his set, I momentarily forgot that I was standing in the wet, subtropical ground-floor basement known as Tonic." [Catbirdseat]
"Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) does everything live on stage. He records each layer of song right there, loops it, plays over it, and everything on the violin, he beats on it, slaps the strings with the back of the bow, plucks it, screams bits into the distortion mike attached to it, etc, etc." [That's Plenty]
"Last night at the Final Fantasy show at Tonic, Dylan and I were attacked by a chubby frizzy-haired drama major and her boyfriend as they blatently ignored the unspoken but obvious set of rules that exist at small New York shows." [That's Plenty]
"good stuff at tonic last night. His show is just like Gryff from SFA with the loops and stuff. Gentlemen Reg was nice and twee-like. Only complains are the sets were short and he didn't play "he poo clouds" or "the artic circle." oh well." [cheeri-o]
Part of the reason Final Fantasy had to get off the stage so quickly was the Other Passengers show coming up next.
Previously
Final Fantasy | more Tour Dates & tix on sale
Posted in music | pictures at 10:11 AM | Comments (28) | TrackBack
Axl Rose arrested for biting guard
"Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose was arrested in Stockholm early Tuesday after allegedly biting a security guard in the leg outside his hotel, police said." [CNN]
Posted in music at 10:02 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Boy George doesn't want to rake leaves
"Singer Boy George last night criticised the community service punishment meted out to him in New York, saying a charity concert would have been a more worthwhile use of his time." [Guardian]
Posted in NYC | music at 10:01 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
June 26, 2006
An interview with Mark E. Smith of The Fall
DOWNLOAD: Reformation
(a new MP3 - a bootleg recording from the Fall's recent Brooklyn show)
Help me welcome interviewer Patrick Southern to BrooklynVegan. Patrick, a musician himself, responded when I put out a call for music interviewers two weeks ago. He mentioned in his email that his dream interview would probably be with Mark E. Smith from the Fall, so I helped arrange it. Mark and Patrick had a long distance chat on the phone this past Friday (June 23, 2006). They discussed the banana peel incident, his band leaving the States as he slept, Franz Ferdinand, the new record, and more...
MARK E SMITH - THEN & NOW
PATRICK: Do you think the American audiences that The Fall draws are any different, fundamentally, than the British audiences?
MARK: Well it depends where you go, really. In Britain, in the north, it’s very fanatical. There isn’t that great difference though, no. Not a great deal of people leave. (Laughter)
PATRICK: I actually saw you at the last stop of your most recent American tour.
MARK: In Brooklyn, you mean?
PATRICK: Yes, and it was my first time seeing The Fall.
MARK: Yeah, well it was a good show actually. It was really coming together. It’s like a lot of tours, you’re just getting it together and then it’s over. But the group came over and we played Manchester about a week later and it was great. That was good for me because I was a bit worried about the new group getting it right in Britain.
PATRICK: Do you plan on keeping the new group around for subsequent tours?
MARK: Yeah, well, strangely enough, after they joined, we only did two gigs and then we were in the studio for ten days. So we’ve got quite a lot of stuff done actually. We’re about half way there with the next record.
PATRICK: That’s great to hear.
MARK: It is, I’m amazed really.
PATRICK: So, what happened with the singer from The Talk? Reports seem to vary.
MARK: Right! Ha-ha! Well is on the ‘Net over there or something isn’t it? I don’t know. Well all I know is, I was in the middle of – I was just singing you know? And this guy… he didn’t throw a Banana at me, he came on my left side and hit me very hard with Banana. I was really mad actually, because I didn’t know what the fuck was going on. Especially, you know, when you get hit on the side when you’re not ready for it… I was in middle of singing, you know what I mean?
PATRICK: So this was a full banana, and not a banana-peel or something like that?
MARK: (Laughter) Well that’s the funny bit about it. [Mumbles something about a Banana] All I’ll say is this: if it has been a half and inch lower, I could have been dead. I know that. You don’t… erm… Oh, you know, he must have been upset. You see, I only knew the next day why he was upset. [The rest of The Fall] sort of left that night, you see. In the night, not telling me. That’s why he did it, obviously, because he was upset because he thought the tour was over. I was the last one to know, as fucking usual. I just thought he flipped his lid.
PATRICK: Do you typically choose your opening acts?
MARK: Usually, I do, yeah. It’s funny, because with this one, they sort of wanted to come on the tour. So we made a deal. They didn’t pay us anything, but the deal was that they keep to themselves. The thing I’m annoyed about is that the British musicians [again, the rest of The Fall] obviously told him before they told me. That’s the only thing I’m mad about really.
PATRICK: That sucks.
MARK: Yeah, it does, but it’s all for the best.
PATRICK: Well, the openers you had in Brooklyn were great. I especially enjoyed Safi Sniper.
MARK: Yeah, he lives in Berlin. He’s Israeli and he lives in Berlin. Ha! He’s actually a vegan. A fanatical one, as only Germans can be.
PATRICK: Now, about the new Fall band. Did you personally choose them yourself?
MARK: They haven’t really played together. Two of them have a group called Darkness My Love, the bass player and the guitarist. But the drummer just knows them. He’s never played with them, never mind me. But it just fell together very well.
PATRICK: What do you think of some of these bands that are around now, such as Franz Ferdinand, who are citing The Fall as an influence? It seems to me like a weird thing for a band like that to say.
MARK: Well it does to me too, to be quite honest. If I could afford a lawyer, I just might pull an injunction on them mentioning our name. Haha! I mean, if you’re new to The Fall… a lot of these groups… I don’t know what it is. I think a lot of these group use it to sound a bit hip. When I was a teenager, people used to say “oh well this group sounds a lot like this group”, and then when you go and see them they sound like a pack of shit. They sound like the Talking Heads to me, and I’m not knocking them, it’s just misleading.
PATRICK: Are there any bands out now that you think are particularly interesting?
MARK: Well, there’s a couple of good groups in Liverpool. They’ve got a bit of an edge to them. They don’t sort of walk the line like a lot of British group tend to do nowadays. It’s a bit like The Talk, really. They sound like it’s a business, in a strange way. I don’t relate to that a lot. It’s always, “thank you to my manager” and “thank you this,”
and it’s not really the way I started the group. I’ve got some builders in my building, these guys who work in construction companies, and they’re much more interesting than these people. There much more fun. That’s why The Fall keep going, in a strange way. A lot of people see that.
PATRICK: You’ve been doing this for almost 30 years. Do you have any plans of stopping, or are you just going keep going indefinitely with The Fall?
MARK: Well, for now I am. I mean, the main thing was to get America done and to get started on the next LP, and I’m pretty much there. So, with this new group, they’ve got their projects, but I think I can work with them for a good bit. What’s good about them is, you can say to these L.A. guys, “Can”, you know the old German group, and they say “Yeah, we like that.” They’ve got a very open mind about things. Like a lot of British groups, they want to be a certain thing. Some of them want to be U2, some of them want to be the fucking Smiths. But these ones seem to be quite open. You can put ideas to them and they’ll say, “well, we’ve never thought of that but we’ll try it.”
PATRICK: You were in 24-Hour Party People, is that correct?
MARK: That’s right.
PATRICK: Are you going to see you on the screen in the future?
MARK: I don’t know. I’m not a big fan of it. I watch TV and films, but it’s not for me, really. I’d like to make a film, but doesn’t everybody? I think it’s more important to keep Hollywood actors out of music groups. (Laughter)
PATRICK: Well, those are all of my questions, Mark. Thanks for taking the time to answer them for me.
MARK: Good man! Take care.
-----
Check out The Fall @ their official website, and thanks Patrick!
Previously
Fall not playing Lyceum, but Cairo Gang add more shows
Posted in MP3 | interviews | music at 4:06 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
Broken Mascis Scene played Toronto
BROKEN MASCIS SCENE @ THE MOD CLUB, TORONTO
"...While there were surely some in attendance strictly on the basis of the BSS component of the lineup, the night was unmistakably J's. Call them whatever you want - as far as I'm concerned, that was Dinosaur Jr up there. Kevin Drew often doubled J's vocals but only occasionally took lead and if he never strapped the guitar on at all, you wouldn't have noticed. Also onstage were Brendan Canning on bass and Bill Priddle on guitar and two drummers - BSS's Justin Peroff and Mascis' Fog bandmate George Berz. Rather than take the dueling percussionist route, Peroff and Berz played pretty much the same thing beat for beat - probably unnecessary but they were so tight that it became that much more impactful. And in very un-Broken Social fasion, guests were kept to a minimum. Charles Spearin and Ohad Benchetrit added trumpet and flute to 'Thumb' (probably added to the set just to get trumpet and flute in there) and Feist came out for chorus vocals on set-closer 'Get Me'...." [that & more @ Chromewaves]
All photos in this post by Ronni P, who said, "Such a good show, the crowd was super cool, also very spiritual as many in attendance were from Amma, promoting the July 23rd Toronto appearance of Meta Amritanandamayi. Tokyo Police club apparently opened, but I was next door at friends house drinking."
* Video @ YouTube.
Previously
"Broken Mascis Scene" playing Toronto for Charity
Posted in music | pictures at 2:54 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Kevin Aviance @ the 2006 NYC Gay Pride Parade
"Singer Kevin Aviance waves during the annual Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Parade on Fifth Avenue in New York City June 25, 2006. The parade marked Aviance's public return after he was viciously beaten weeks ago by four men which resulted in a broken jaw. The attackers where arrested and charged for assault and hate-crime. REUTERS/Peter Foley (UNITED STATES) "
Full parade coverage @ Gothamist.
Posted in NYC | music at 2:41 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
2006 South Street Seaport concerts | Updated Schedule
NOTE: Juana Molina is playing on July 7th. It's a few days after she finishes her tour with Jose Gonzalez and Psapp.
ALL SHOWS FREE @ SOUTH STREET SEAPORT, NYC - 7PM
06/30/2006 - Amy Rigby & Robbie Fulks
07/07/2006 - Juana Molina, Mike Wexler & White Magic
07/14/2006 - Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men w/ Chatham County
07/19/2006 - Conjunto Classico
07/26/2006 - Ray Sepulveda
07/28/2006 - Richard Hawley & Nicolai Dunger w/ Benjy Ferree
08/02/2006 - Bio Ritmo
08/04/2006 - Hot Chip with Oppenheimer
08/09/2006 - Son Boricua featuring Jose Mangual & Jimmy Sabater
08/11/2006 - Josh Ritter with Nethers
08/16/2006 - Conjunto Imagen
08/18/2006 - The Box Tops featuring Alex Chilton w/ Tralala
08/25/2006 - Ted Leo + Pharmacists with guests DC Snipers
09/01/2006 - Spinto Band / The Black Hollies + 1 TBA
Who else is playing 9/1? I think they know. They just can't say.
Previously
Super Furry Animals played the Seaport, sort of
Posted in movies | tour dates at 2:36 PM | Comments (18) | TrackBack
Gentleman Reg @ Tonic, NYC | pics
DOWNLOAD: It's Not Safe (MP3)
Gentleman Reg opened the Final Fantasy show at Tonic in NYC Saturday night (June 24, 2006). Was defintely an unexpected last-minute treat.
Posted in MP3 | music | pictures at 1:18 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
Keane Played Bowery Ballroom
Keane played Bowery Ballroom Friday night (before the Ryan Adams show). The Thighmaster was not only there, he linked to other's coverage and combined it with some Aaron Spelling-related nudity (NSFW).
Posted in music at 1:08 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Pet shop Boys playing Radio City | 2006 Tour Dates
The Pet Shop Boys are touring the United States in the Fall. They'll stop at Radio City Music Hall in NYC on October 14th. All dates below...
Wed 06/28/06 London, UK Tower Of London Festival
Thu 06/29/06 London, UK Tower Of London Festival
Sun 07/02/06 Liverpool, UK Liverpool Summer Pops
Sat 07/08/06 Sopran, HUN Volt
Sun 07/09/06 Novi Sad, SER Exit Festival
Fri 07/14/06 Graefenhainichen, GER Ferropolis
Mon 07/17/06 Bonn, GER Museumplatz
Thu 07/20/06 Dresden, GER Battleship Potemkin
Fri 07/21/06 Suffolk, UK Thetford Forest
Sun 07/23/06 Valencia, SPA TBA
Tue 08/01/06 Vigo, SPA Parque De Castrelos
Fri 08/11/06 Tabor, CZE Love Planet Festival
Sat 08/12/06 Almeria, SPA Andalucia
Mon 08/14/06 Leuven, BEL Marktrock
Sat 09/02/06 Ludwigslust, GER Schlossgarten
Sun 09/03/06 Stradbally, IRE Electric Picnic
Tue 09/05/06 Barcelona, SPA TBA
Sat 09/09/06 Isle Of Wight, UK Bestival
Sun 09/10/06 Warsaw, POL Summer Of Music Festival
Tue 10/10/06 Montreal, QC Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier
Wed 10/11/06 Toronto, ON Hummingbird Centre
Fri 10/13/06 Boston, MA Opera House
Sat 10/14/06 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall
Sun 10/15/06 Washington, DC DAR Constitution Hall
Tue 10/17/06 Miami Beach, FL Jackie Gleason Theater
Wed 10/18/06 Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live
Thu 10/19/06 Atlanta, GA Tabernacle
Sat 10/21/06 Austin, TX The Backyard
Sun 10/22/06 Grand Prairie, TX Nokia Theatre
Tue 10/24/06 Saint Louis, MO The Pageant
Thu 10/26/06 Detroit, MI State Theatre
Fri 10/27/06 Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre
Sat 10/28/06 Minneapolis, MN Orpheum Theatre
Mon 10/30/06 Denver, CO Paramount Theatre
Wed 11/01/06 Phoenix, AZ Arizona State Fair
Fri 11/03/06 West Valley City, UT E Center
Sun 11/05/06 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre
Tue 11/07/06 San Francisco, CA Bill Graham Civic Aud.
Wed 11/08/06 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern LG
Thu 11/09/06 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern LG
Sun 11/12/06 Guadalajara, MEX Teatro Diana
Tue 11/14/06 Mexico City, MEX Auditorio Nacional
RELATED: Long-awaited new Pet Shop Boys album is rooted in the band’s past
Posted in movies | tour dates at 12:52 PM | Comments (27) | TrackBack
NYC is the 10th most expensive city
The 50 most expensive cities in the world, according to the cost of items including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment:
1. Moscow
2. Seoul
3. Tokyo
4. Hong Kong
10. Oslo
10. New York
29. Los Angeles
34. San Francisco
38. Chicago
39. Miami
(via here)
Move to Philly then?
Posted in NYC at 12:25 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
Figurines @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC | pics
DOWNLOAD: Bright (MP3)
Pitchfork: You did a tour of North America this past spring-- how did your experience in America measure against your expectations?
Figurines: I was really surprised in a good way about the people. You hear stories about how dangerous it is to walk along the streets, and then one night we were walking around and couldn't find our hotel, and this lady stops-- she could tell that what we were totally lost-- and she asked us what we were looking for. That would never happen in Denmark! And also, we heard all these horror stories from Danish bands touring in the U.S. that they had to play pizza joints and no sound engineer showed up and everything was fucked...but it wasn't like that for us. But there were a lot of burgers! A lot of good burgers. A lot of different burgers. I think we're very spoiled up here in Denmark when it comes to venues, and the treatment and the catering. But we felt good eating those burgers.
I was psyched to check out Figurines between Cold War Kids and Tapes 'n Tapes @ Bowery Ballroom - partly because I had just started digging their music, and partly becaues they were the only band on the bill who I hadn't seen before. Unfortunately I didn't find their live show as dynamic as the recorded music.
I'll probably give Figurines another chance when they play Mercury Lounge with Land of Talk this week (which may mean I'll see Land of Talk twice this week)
Previously
Tapes 'n Tapes @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC | pics
Posted in music | pictures at 12:09 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Scalpers selling fake Bowery Ballroom (Ticketweb) tickets?
Josh wrote in with this story from the Ryan Adams show @ Bowery Ballroom Friday night:
I got them from a scalper outside around midnight. The random guy (who looked oddly like Sammy L. Jackson) and I walked around the corner on to bowery where he sold me a pair of tix. Normally, at smaller venues, i'd ask the guys at the door if they were real or not, but i figured the bowery wouldn't really be in to that, so stupidly i bought them. the tix looked great, had the hologram and everything.
the guy probably could've bought a pair of tix for the price it took him to make the forgery... anyways, after waiting in the rain we get inside, the woman downstairs rips the tix in half and tells me they're fake. apparently they have some kind of image or color inside the paper, and when you rip it in half you can see some kind of identifier.
well mine didn't have that. so cheers to the guy for making a pretty awesome forgery.
the bowery folks agreed to let me pay face value. which was pretty nice.
Has this ever happened to anyone else at Bowery Ballroom, or at another venue serviced by Ticketweb?
Posted in NYC | industry | music at 11:30 AM | Comments (16) | TrackBack
Ryan Adams & the Cardinals @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC | pics
RYAN ADAMS @ BOWERY BALLROOM | FRIDAY NIGHT - JUNE 2, 2006
Previously
Ryan Adams playing Bowery Ballroom | Tix on sale
Ryan Adams played Rockwood Music Hall & BB Kings w/ America, James Iha & Adam Schlesinger
Posted in music | pictures at 3:14 AM | Comments (14) | TrackBack
Cibelle adds Mercury Lounge show | Updated Tour Dates
In addition to the Joe's Pub shows on 9/22/06, Cibelle is playing Mercury Lounge in NYC on 9/23 and a bunch of other shows too. All dates below...
CIBELLE TOUR DATES
Fri 09/15/06 Cedar Rapids, IA CSPS / Legion Arts
Sat 09/16/06 Chicago, IL World Music Fest
Sun 09/17/06 Chicago, IL World Music Fest
Mon 09/18/06 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
Tue 09/19/06 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom & Tavern
Thu 09/21/06 Boston, MA Institute Of Contemporary Art
Fri 09/22/06 New York, NY Joe's Pub
Sat 09/23/06 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
Tue 09/26/06 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live
Thu 09/28/06 Santa Monica, CA Temple Bar
RELATED: Pitchfork gave Cibelle a 7.5
Previously
Cibelle & Devendra Banhart | 'London London' video
Cibelle | updated Tour Dates
Cibelle playing NYC | MP3, Devendra Banhart, Seu Jorge, Spleen & CocoRosie
Posted in music | tour dates at 3:04 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Beirut, Occasion & others playing 4th of July rooftop show
July 4, 2006 - on a Rooftop in Brooklyn
Live performances by::: Beirut, The Occasion, Rusty Santos, Damon McMahon, TK Webb, and Zachary Cale
Office Ops Rooftop
57 Thames St., Brooklyn - $15, 3pm till fireworks
Tickets can be purchased at ticketweb.com and at Other Music
Free Beujolais from 3-5pm
Posted in To Do | music at 2:56 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Jay-Z played Radio City Music Hall (w/ Beyonce)
JAY-Z & BEYONCE @ RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL | JUNE 25, 2006
RELATED: DMX Quits Def Jam, Blames Jay-Z
Previously
Jay Z played Nokia Theatre - plays Radio City tonight
Posted in music at 2:52 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
The Ponys have signed to Matador Records
I heard The Ponys have been signed to a worldwide, multi-album pact with Matador Records.
Previously
The Ponys & 2005 Atlantic Antic, Brooklyn, NY | pics
Posted in industry | music at 1:10 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
June 25, 2006
(pictures from) the 2006 Coney Island Mermaid Parade
The rain totally scared me away, but Heartonastick got some great shots of this year's Coney Island Mermaid Parade. More at Gothamist.
Posted in NYC at 10:42 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Jay Z played Nokia Theatre - plays Radio City tonight
JAY-Z @ NOKIA THEATRE, NYC | JUNE 24, 2006 [CRED]
"I had the chance to see the 10th anniversary of Jay Z's debut album, Reasonable Doubt, in its entirety at the Nokia last night, June 24th. Although I do not have a picture (due to a bad zoom on the cell phone) I can assure you all Jay Z looked super toted def. He came on stage with a white jacket and just after two songs he took off his jacket for us all to see his wicked black t shirt with diamonds in the shape of wings on both the front and back of the shirt. WOW...my eyes! Talk about ]blinging.'" [Totes Def]
"Jay started out in a white blazer but soon removed it to show off he sequenced t-shirt. I'm thinking Beyonce wasn't in town for surely she would've vetoed that wardrobe choice. You can't quite see the level of gaudiness in these pictures but trust me...." [Sit Down Stand Up]
Posted in music at 1:23 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Brooklyn Record | A new blog about Brooklyn
Brooklyn Record is like Gothamist, but just about Brooklyn.
Posted in NYC at 4:14 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack