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May 31, 2007

Nouvelle Vague, Nada Surf, Alejandro & Erickson, Calvin Johnson & Cheeseburger

French new wave cover stars Nouvelle Vague are @ The Guggenheim

Nouvelle Vague take to the stage at this month's First Fridays. Band producer and DJ Marc Collin spins tunes while you spin your way around our stunning Shapes of Space exhibition and take in masterpieces by the Italian Divisionists. Enjoy a short live set too as the French band perform their post punk classics, remastering the likes of Joy Division, Depeche Mode, and the Cure, in a sophisticated combination of bossa nova, jazz and sixties pop. [Guggenheim[

Above photo of Nouvelle Vague @ Castle Fun Park via HERE. And here's some from Joe's Pub.

Also this weekend, NYC...
* The Boggs, High Places & Cheeseburger for free in Brooklyn
* Nada Surf, Vic Thrill & Cheeseburger for free in Brooklyn
* Roky Erickson & Alejandro Escovedo for free in Mahnattan
* Calvin Johnston @ Don Pedro's
* Animal Collective at the Seaport

Posted in To Do | music at 4:27 PM | Comments (3)

VIDEO: VOXTROT - 'Steven' + new album! + WIN TIX

Voxtrot (featuring Tosca String Quartet), Au Revoir Simone & Favourite Sons play Webster Hall in NYC on June 15th. Tickets are still on sale, and I've got two pairs to give away to two lucky winners who e-mail BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: Voxtrot) by June 5, 2007 @ noon, and tell me the name of at least one Voxtrot member's side project. Include your first and last name. Winners will be picked and notified via email.

Ramesh @ Prospect Park - performing "Steven" for the first time (MORE)

Thank God for Largehearted Boy because otherwise I would have went the entire Voxtot release week (the OTHER release last week) without pointing out that Voxtrot's brand new self-titled Playlouder (Beggars) debut came out. But I'm glad I waited because now not only am I mentioning it, but I get to premiere this here brand new nifty video for the song "Steven".....

The footage for the 'Steven' video was shot during the band's fall 2006 tour, with the live shots from a show at the Bowery Ballroom in early November. The footage was shot by the band and Elizabeth Skadden (who filmed the Reaching For The Lasers documentary). The video was edited by John Carlucci.

This is the first video from the band's debut on PlayLouderecordings. They just finished shooting their second video in Austin with Martin Wallace (Pulp, Tindersticks, Nick Cave) for the second single called, "Firecracker".

I also like this video because - for whatever reason - I remember perfectly Ramesh & Co. playing the new song ('Steven') for the very first time - live right here in Brooklyn at Prospect Park. It was the first time I saw the change in direction the band was taking - another side of Ramesh?. The song has been vividly in my memory ever since. What does this all mean? I don't know.

Voxtrot is on tour as we speak.

May
Thu 31 - Davis, CA @ UC Davis Campus Quad [12pm FREE] AA

JUNE
Fri 1- Portland, OR @ Doug Fir #$ 21+
Sat 2 - Seattle, WA @ Sonic Boom [4pm Ballard store FREE] AA
Sat 2 - Seattle, WA @ Crocodile #$ 21+
Tue 5 - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock #$ AA [5pm early show]
Wed 6 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Intersection #£ AA
Thu 7 - Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick #£ AA
Fri 8 - Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dees #£ AA EARLY SHOW ADDED
Fri 8 - Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dees #£ 19+ SOLD OUT
Sat 9 - Montreal, QC @ Main Hall #£
Sun 10 - Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place #£ AA
Mon 11 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom #£ AA
Tue 12 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar #£ AA
Wed 13 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat #£ AA
Thu 14 - Boston, MA @ Middle East #£ 18+
Fri 15 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall #£* 18+
Sat 16 - Philadelphia, PA @ Pure [Making Time] 21+
Mon 18 - Newport, KY @ Southgate House 18+
Thu 21 - Gainesville, FL @ Common Grounds 18+
Fri 22 - Miami, FL @ Studio A 18+
Sat 23 - Tampa, FL @ Crowbar 18+
Sun 24 - Orlando, FL @ Backbooth AA
Tue 26 - Tallahassee, FL @ Beta Bar AA
Wed 27 - Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn AA
Thu 28 - Birmingham, AL @ Bottle Tree Cafe 18+
Fri 29 - Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon 18+
Sat 30 - Houston, TX @ Proletariat AA

JULY
Sat 14 - Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Festival

AA - All Ages
* - featuring Tosca String Quartet
$ - w/ Sound Team
£ - w/ Favourite Sons
# - w/ Au Revoir Simone

--

the latest episode of Reaching For the Lasers....

Previously
* Voxtrot stuff

Posted in Contests | music | tour dates | video at 3:37 PM | Comments (4)

Chicago's COLTRANE MOTION arrives in NYC - Tour Dates

DOWNLOAD: Coltrane Motion - How to Be (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Coltrane Motion - Twenty-Seven (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Coltrane Motion - Pi is Exactly Three (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Coltrane Motion - The End of Every Movie (MP3)

I haven't given Coltrane Motion too much of a listen yet, but I know at least - from what I've heard - that they are far from offensive. It was then that I thought I better get this post about the very blogged-about Chicago duo up before it was too late....

Coltrane Motion in NYC, 2007
Thu 05/31 @ Piano's - New York, NY (TONIGHT)
Fri 06/01 @ Galapagos Art Space - Brooklyn, NY

Stream their album HERE. All tour dates below...

Coltrane Motion - 2007 Tour Dates
Thu 05/31 @ Piano's - New York, NY
Fri 06/01 @ Galapagos Art Space - Brooklyn, NY
Sat 06/02 @ Bela Dubby - Cleveland, OH
Tue 06/05 @ Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
Sat 06/09 @ Nomad Pub - Minneapolis, MN

Posted in MP3 | music | tour dates at 2:39 PM | Comments (7)

Memphis, Land of Talk, Land of Talk's drummer & Citysol

DOWNLOAD: Land of Talk - Speak To Me Bones (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Memphis - I'll Do Whatever You Want (MP3)

Memphis @ Joe's Pub - May 30, 2007 (CRED)

While Bright Eyes and The National were doing their thing, Torquil from Stars' other band Memphis played Joe's Pub in NYC last night (May 30, 2007). Uberdrivel reports...

We managed to snag front-row seats, a first in what was my fourth trip to Joe's. After an ear-popping soundcheck and a brief introduction from someone from Upper North Side, seven member strong Memphis - the duo of Torquil Campbell and Chris DuMont, along with five supporting musicians - took the stage. Things began airily with "I Dreamed We Fell Apart," which highlighted Torq's smooth delivery and soaring vocalization. Things picked up with the great single "I'll Do Whatever You Want," or as Torq called it, "a big old pop song." The full band erupted, as the drummer, who was later revealed to be Bucky Wheaton, formerly of Land of Talk, switched from brushes to sticks. The only complaint I have is that the dense instrumentation buried Torq's vocals, but the energy compensated. [Uberdrivel]

Let's focus on the Land of Talk part there for a second - I don't even think the other two members of Land of Talk knew that Bucky - who recently quit Land of Talk because he didn't want to "be a rock drummer for the rest of his life", and "didn't like the touring" - would tour down from Montreal to rock out with Memphis in NYC. Oh well - maybe the pay was good, and I guess it wasn't actually much of a "tour".

ANNOUNCEMENT: Land of Talk (with their new drummer Eric) will be back in NYC this July - not just to open for Grizzly Bear and The Decemberists on July 16th, but also to play the free Citysol show I'm helping throw two days earlier at 23rd St & The East River (July 14). If you've been following along, then you know that Land of Talk's Montreal friends and European touring partners, The Besnard Lakes, are also on that bill. More exciting announcements to come - SAVE THE DATE.

BrooklynVegan and Solar One present Citysol 2007 (all free)
July 12 - opening night w/ one band TBA
July 13 - Citysol @ South Street Seaport w/ Menomena & band TBA
July 14 - Citysol @ 23rd & East River w/ The Besnard Lakes, Land of Talk & MORE TBA + a green marketplace
July 15 - Panels, games & workshops (environment stuff)

AND IF YOU MISSED MEMPHIS
They have one more show in NYC TONIGHT (May 31) @ Union Hall in Brooklyn.

Land of Talk are currently on tour with the also-awesome Rosebuds. Exact dates below...

Land of Talk - 2007 Tour Dates
May 31 - Little Brothers Columbus, Ohio *
Jun 1 - Subterranean Chicago, Illinois *
Jun 2 - The Stones Throw Eau Claire, Wisconsin *
Jun 3 - 7th Street Entry Minneapolis, Minnesota *
Jun 4 - Jackpot Saloon Lawrence, Kansas *
Jun 5 - Larimer Lounge Denver, Colorado *
Jun 8 - Neumos Seattle, Washington *
Jun 9 - Media Club Vancouver, British Columbia *
Jun 10 - Doug Fir Lounge Portland, Oregon *
Jun 12 - Great American Music Hall San Francisco, California *
Jun 13 - Cellar Door Visalia, California *
Jun 15 - Glass House Pomona, California *
Jun 16 - Spaceland Los Angeles, California *
Jun 17 - Plush Tuscon, Arizona *
Jun 19 - The Cavern Dallas, Texas *
Jun 20 - The Parish Austin *
Jun 21 - Spanish Moon Baton Rouge, Louisiana *
Jun 22 - The Bottle Tree Birmingham, Alabama *
Jun 23 - The Earl Atlanta, Georgia *
Jun 28 - The Metro London
Jun 29 - Trafalgar Square London
Jul 14 - Citysol, NYC w/ The Besnard Lakes & TBA
Jul 16 - Central Park Summerstage w/Decemberists/Grizzly Bear NYC, New York

* w/ The Rosebuds

Posted in music | tour dates at 1:33 PM | Comments (11)

VIDEO: The Long Blondes - 'Once And Never Again'

Luckily their Bowery show is 18+....

This is the first single and video for the US release of 'Someone To Drive You Home', in stores on June 5, 2007, which has a special bonus disc with the UK b-sides Fulwood Babylon, Five Ways To End It, Never To Be Repeated and All Bar One Girls, as well the video for "Once And Never Again"

Luna Lounge is 21+. Nobody will know what they're talking about.

The Long Blondes - 2007 Tour Dates
Jun 2 - Primavera Sound, Barcelona Barcelona
Jun 3 - Rock im Park, Nuremberg, Germany Nuremberg
Jun 6 - Luna Lounge Brooklyn, NY
Jun 7 - Rock 'n' roll Hotel Washington DC
Jun 8 - Great Scott Boston, MA
Jun 9 - Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
Jun 11 - Lee's Palace Toronto, ONT
Jun 12 - Magic Stick Detroit, MI
Jun 13 - Subterranean Chicago, IL
Jun 15 - The Echo Los Angeles, CA
Jun 16 - 330 Ritch/Popscene San Francisco, CA
Jun 23 - Glastonbury, Other Stage Glastonbury
Jun 29 - Hove festival Norway
Jun 30 - Accelerator Festival Stockholm
Jul 2 - Radar Live Festival, Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul
Jul 7 - T in the Park, Scotland (King Tuts Tent) Scotland
Jul 8 - Oxegen, Ireland (Green Room) Ireland
Jul 9 - Gagarin Open Air Festival, Athens, Greece Athens
Aug 3 - The Zoo, Brisbane Brisbane
Aug 4 - Metro, Sydney Sydney
Aug 5 - The Hi Fi, Melbourne Melbourne
Aug 7 - Capitol, Perth Perth
Aug 8 - Fowlers, Adelaide Adelaide
Aug 11 - Summer Sonic Tokyo
Aug 12 - Summer Sonic Osaka
Aug 24 - Carling Weekend, Reading (Main stage) Reading
Aug 25 - Carling Weekend, Leeds (Main stage) Leeds

Previously
* The Long Blondes posts

Posted in music | tour dates | video at 11:52 AM | Comments (0)

Squeeze, the Police, O.A.R, Duran Duran - WIN TIX

Squeeze is touring, and tickets are now on sale for a 2nd NYC date at Nokia Theatre. (thx Thighs)

The Police kicked off their reunion tour in Canada, and they've added another NYC show.

I know nothing about this band, but file this in the "band that plays MSG may be playing a small venue" category. Somebody told me that "Exposed Youth" at Knitting Factory on June 4th is O.A.R. under a fake name. Google reveals that "Exposed Youth" was O.A.R.'s old name or something.

As you know, Duran Duran is playing a fan club show at Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC on June 17th. I have two pairs of tickets to give away. Do you want to win them? You don't even need to be in the fan club. E-mail BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: Duran), and include a link to a YouTube video from the 80's that you think is awesome. Two winners will be picked and notified via e-mail. Contest ends June 7, 2007 @ noon EST.

And since this post started with an old Rolling Stone cover, here's a picture of that new Amy Winehouse one:

Posted in Contests | music | tour dates at 11:14 AM | Comments (14)

no special guests, just special openers - THE NATIONAL's Bowery Ballroom residency continues

DOWNLOAD: My Brightest Diamond - Golden Star (Alias remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Broken West - Down in the Valley (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Doveman - Honey (MP3)

My Brightest Diamond opened the show at Bowery Ballroom last night (May 30, 2007). Just four days earlier she was performing in South America....

My Brightest Diamond @ Resfest, Brazil - May 26, 2007 (CRED)

Tuesday night was Doveman....

Doveman @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC - May 29, 2007 (CRED)

And before that The Broken West....

Broken West @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC - May 28, 2007 (CRED)

Tonight = Elysian Fields, and, and Friday = Philistines Jr.

Previously
* The National kicked off 5 nights @ Bowery Ballroom
* BRIGHT EYES' Town Hall residency continues

Posted in music at 10:01 AM | Comments (24)

Kings of Leon & DJ's playing the NYC Apple Stores

Kings of Leon are playing a free show at the Apple store in SOHO on June 8, 2007. Mark Ronson is DJing tomorrow night June 1st @ midnight at the Apple store on Fifth Ave. Upcoming Fifth Ave store DJ's include Francois K, Diplo, Tim Sweeney and Tim Goldsworthy, and Spank Rock.

Posted in dance | metal | music | tour dates at 9:24 AM | Comments (2)

BRIGHT EYES' Town Hall residency continues w/ the Little Willies (Norah Jones), Nick Zinner & Ben Gibbard

Last night (May 30) Ben Gibbard came out and performed his own three song set at the Bright Eyes show that Maria Taylor and Nick Zinner were also guests at. People got a mini-set by Norah Jones' side-project The Little Willies the night before.

Bright Eyes & Norah Jones @ Town Hall, NYC - May 29, 2007 (CRED)

Before that there was Jenny Lewis, Ben Kweller, and Lou Reed. Am I missing anyone? Norah Jones-night set list below....

1. Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)
2. Hot Knives
3. False Advertising
4. Middleman
5. Soul Singer in a Session Band
6. No One Would Riot For Less
7. Cleanse Song
8. Cartoon Blues (w/ David Rawlings on guitar)
9. If the Brakeman Turns My Way (w/ Rawlings and Jason Bosel on Tambourines and background vocals)
10. Love Me (Little Willies feat. Norah Jones)
11. I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive (Little Willies feat. Norah Jones)
12. We Are Nowhere And It's Now (w. Little Willies feat Norah Jones)
13. I Believe in Symmetry
14. Lime Tree
e.
15. The Calendar Hung Itself
16. Four Winds
17. Look at Miss Ohio (w. David Rawlings, Gillian Welch, and Norah Jones)
18. Helpless (Neil Young Cover w/ David Rawlings, Gillian Welch, Norah Jones)

Posted in music at 9:08 AM | Comments (63)

TV ON THE RADIO playing McCarren Pool - 2007 Tour Dates

DOWNLOAD: TV On the Radio - Staring at the Sun (MP3)

TVOTR @ Vassar College - April 21, 2007 (CRED)

July 29 = TV on the Radio. All tour dates below...

TV on the Radio - 2007 Tour Dates
Jun 28 - Hove Festival Hove
Jun 29 - Accelerator Festival Stockholm
Jul 1 - Eurockeenes Festival Belfort
Jul 3 - Apolo Barcelona
Jul 4 - Joy Eslava Madrid
Jul 5 - Super Bock Super Rock Lisbon
Jul 29 - McCarren Pool Brooklyn, New York
Jul 31 - State Center Detroit, Michigan
Aug 3 - Mr. Smalls Theatre Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Aug 4 - Virgin Festival Baltimore, Maryland
Aug 5 - Lollapalooza @ Grant Park Chicago, Illinois

Last summer it was Prospect Park.

Earlier this month it was acoustic-high line-style.

Previously
* more TV on the Radio posts

Posted in MP3 | music | tour dates at 2:43 AM | Comments (50)

May 30, 2007

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM - free Philly show & 'All My Friends' VIDEO

For all my friends in Philly.....

Lcd soundsystem release "All My Friends", the second single from the album Sound of Silver, on Monday March 28 2007. The single will be released as two 7", 12" and CD single, as well as digital downloads.

Have a listen to all of the tracks HERE.

Philly represent:

FREE SHOW
LCD Soundsystem
Philadelphia, June 6th
Get on The List, its easy as...

1. Add LCD Soundsystem and The List to YOUR Top Friends.
2. Send a MESSAGE to The List with your name/e-mail answering this question:
   What does DFA (James Murphy's Record label) stand for?
3. Once you're on The List we'll send an e-mail with venue info and instructions on how to pick up your tickets for you and one guest.

2007 = LCD Soundsystem. Best album, best live shows, best videos.

Posted in dance | music | video at 9:43 PM | Comments (8)

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE - new album, show review, tour dates & a FREE SHOW reminder

DOWNLOAD: Chow Nasty - Ungawa (xxxchange Remix Feat. Ronnie Darko) (MP3)

Don't forget that the free Animal Collective show at South Street Seaport in NYC is this Friday June 1st. Danielson is opening, and XXXchange (Alex Epton of Spank Rock) will be playing records from 6-7 pm.

BV's Mississippi correspondent Deepak Mantena was on hand at Animal Collective's recent show at the Bottletree in Birmingham. This is what he brought back....

Avey Tare & Panda Bear in Alabama - May 28, 2007

On May 28th I drove three hours to a (very) sold-out Animal Collective show in Alabama, with Sir Richard Bishop opening. I only caught the tail end of Sir Richard Bishop on stage, but it was clear to everyone he's a humble and very deft guitarist. The focal point of the evening was obviously Animal Collective's set. I had often heard their live show characterized as tribal and raw, but those were pretty meaningless adjectives to me as I'd never seen them play. What I witnessed was an absolutely frenetic but still very tight show. The whole group (Avey Tare, Panda Bear, and Geologist) was able play their songs in a way that seemed to encourage improvisation while never missing a change. The majority of their set consisted of new nameless songs (which have no studio versions yet), but they closed with a few old songs, notably "Loch Raven", "We Tigers", and "Leaf House." Was it worth the long drive and being jammed between people in every direction for 2 hours? Absolutely. If you haven't seen them play live, go now while they are still hitting their stride.

Details on Animal Collective's upcoming album "Strawberry Jam" below.....

Initial work for Strawberry Jam started in September 2005 as Animal Collective prepared to tour Europe for the release of the band's 2005 album, Feels. The process immediately became a very intense and emotional one and they all agreed on a desire to preserve the rawness of the songs that was happening during the initial writing sessions. Animal Collective was very attached to these songs in a live setting and to preserve the live stage energy was a mission.

Though the melodies and lyrics for Strawberry Jam were written by Panda Bear and Avey Tare in various places such as Paris, New York, Lisbon and Baltimore, there was also three intense full-band writing sessions with Geologist and Deacon. These production sessions occurred in both Lisbon and in NYC. So, while the songs might seem to come from all over the map emotionally, it was important to match that geographical variation sonically.

Strawberry Jam was recorded in January of this year at The Wavelab in Tucson, Arizona with The Wizard Scott Colburn. The band drove 30 minutes each way, everyday, to and from their rented house. There was much Tecate drinking, barbecues, Javelina sightings and other desert oddities that might have influenced this record... like the day the desert was covered in glistening ice. The album was completed and mixed with the gracious help of Nicholas Vernhes at The Rare Book Room in Brooklyn, NY.

For the uninitiated, Animal Collective is a group of four best friends who grew up playing and recording music together in Baltimore County, Maryland. Why Animal? Cause it's the only word they could think of that made any remote connection to what they thought their sound was -- and of course, they love their fellow animals very much. Why Collective? The band has always wanted to be the ones who define who and what AC is. Two people? Four people? Why not? Don't be surprised if you come to see the band and its not what you thought it would be (and try not to get too upset).

Over the last few years Animal Collective has seen its fan base swell due to the amazing live shows and hard touring. They get bigger and stronger with each passing album, exploring new musical visions with creative force. The band eschews genres and labels and prefers to be inspired environmentally - an "anything can happen" sort of vibe, which they capture with amazing consistency.

AC continues onward after seven years and seven albums (six studio, one live) that combine a love of sonic freeform electronic-horror-gospel-hip-hop soul-pop-madness and brings it all together into something that is hopefully totally pleasing and at other moments completely scary and confusing. Most importantly they hope it's refreshing in this crazy, crazy world.

STRAWBERRY JAM will be released on Domino Recording Co. in September 2007 worldwide.

Tracklisting
1 Peacebone
2. Unsolved Mysteries
3. Chores
4. For Reverend Green
5. Fireworks
6. #1
7. Winter Wonder Land
8. Cuckoo Cuckoo
9. Derek

The artwork you see above is by Sir W Woods.

Animal Collective - 2007 Tour Dates
May 30 - Satellite Ballroom Charlottesville, Virginia
Jun 1 - Seaport Music Festival New York, New York
Jul 11 - The Coronet London
Jul 13 - Reyclart Brussels
Jul 15 - vera Gronigen
Jul 16 - Nijmegen Vakhof
Jul 17 - La Maroquinerie Paris
Jul 18 - La Maroquinerie Paris
Jul 19 - Mon Inouie Symphonen fest Dunkerque
Jul 21 - Grand Nef party Angouleme
Jul 22 - Benicassim Castellon
Jul 25 - Marcon Fest Venice
Jul 26 - Magnolia Fest Milan
Jul 27 - Midi Festival Marseille
Jul 28 - Les Trois Elephants Laval
Jul 29 - Arena Vienna

Gorilla vs. Bear has a report from the Dallas show. Panda Bear is also playing a bunch of shows. Here's two more pics from Alabama....

Alabama pictures & review by Deepak Mantena.

Previously
* more Animal Collective posts

Posted in MP3 | music | tour dates at 4:35 PM | Comments (21)

VIDEO: El-P Dinner w/ The Band - 'the Overly Dramatic Truth'

Not long after making bagels, El-P busted out this jam....

Here's a cooking show that breaks the mold - the perfect mash-up of indie music and edgy food for total entertainment. Chef Sam Mason has been raising the stakes in the culinary world for the last ten years. Now join him as he invites his favorite touring bands to dinner for an intimate evening of cooking, conversation and live performance. Part rocker, part chef, Mason creates "intellectual food" that stimulates the palate as well as the dialogue. Rock on.

I'm working on getting them to do the vegan episode.

El-P plays The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza on June 9th. More tour dates at his MySpace.

PReviously
* more El-P posts

Posted in hiphop | music | veggie | video at 3:48 PM | Comments (0)

MOS DEF @ Highline Ballroom & w/ AMY WINEHOUSE on MTV

DOWNLOAD: Mos Def - Tru3 Magig (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good (feat. Ghostface) (MP3)

Help me welcome Angry Citizen: Since Wes is too busyyyyyy to see live Hip Hop, and we're constantly jacking pictures from Angry Citizen anyway, we figured why not make it official.....

Mos Def @ Highline Ballroom, NYC - May 26, 2007

If you expected to hear Mos Def rip through 'Black on Both Sides', you left the Highline Ballroom disappointed, but if you did leave disappointed Saturday night, well, then you‘re officially excommunicated from the Mos Def community.

His performance was that kind of performance - provided you went in with an open mind, and permitted Mos and his band Black Radio the room to breathe, groove, and explore the different areas of funk and jazz that Mos has gravitated towards recently. Once their groove took hold, Mos Def rolled through inspired versions of 'Umi Says', 'Boogie Man Song' and 'Napoleon’s Dynamite'. He even threw in a batch of eclectic covers including a Stevie Wonder and Cyndi Lauper song, Bel Biv Devoe's 'Poison', and a portion of The Pharcyde’s 'Passing Me By'. The real fun and show stopper came when Mos brought out special guest, Q-Tip. Tip led the crowd through the chorus of 'Lyrics To Go' as well as 'Bonita Applebum' before jumping into 'Check the Rhime', with Mos picking up Phife’s lines. You on point Mos? All the time Tip!

Thx AC. And in related news, I guess Amy Winehouse is also already in town the country preparing for her appearance this Sunday June 3rd on the MTV Movie Awards because someone sent me this picture of her and Mos Def taping another show for MTV that will air on June 8th...

“45th At Night” transforms MTV’s famed TRL studio into a nighttime club where cameras take a back seat to the performance and live music thrives. The inaugural episode features Amy Winehouse backed by The Dap-Kings and includes a sizzling collaboration with Mos Def and premieres Friday, June 8th at 11:30pm on MTV. Songs performed include: 'Rehab', 'Back to Black', 'Me & Mr. Jones', & 'You Know I’m No Good'

I guess Mos Def called.

Posted in hiphop | music at 2:59 PM | Comments (10)

VIDEO: Dntel - The Distance (Arthur & Yu)

Director Adam Bizanski is known for using paper mache puppets...

"The Distance" from Dntel (Jimmy Tamborello of the Postal Service) is directed by Adam Bizanski and features the guest vocals of Arthur & Yu. The song comes from Dntel's new album Dumb Luck on Sub Pop Records.

BONUS: Dntel's Jimmy Tamborello gives a tour of his studio.....

Posted in music | video at 2:24 PM | Comments (0)

Les Breastfeeders @ Magnetic Field, Brooklyn, NY - pics

Sunday night before Mudderfugger I was able to catch the Les Breastfeeders show at Magnetic Field in Brooklyn (May 27, 2007). Like Malajube, Les Breastfeeders are from Montreal and only sing in French. And like Malajube, they mostly only SPEAK in French too. That always makes for some funny - unintentionally or not - between song banter. This time was no exception.

As MOKB points out, "It's guitar heavy garage rock full of shout-heavy choruses. It's high energy, catchy (even if sung in French) and loads of fun." That is true of their live show too.

Actually, partly thanks to the guy with no shirt and the tambourine, the live show is even more fun....

They closed the night with this great one....

Music Snobbery went to the Maxwell's show.

Previously
* Eleven bands from Montreal (that happen to be playing SXSW)
* more Breastfeeders
* more Malajube

Posted in music | pictures at 2:01 PM | Comments (4)

VIDEO: The Veils - Calliope

At first I hated it, but the hat is actually starting to grow on me....

taken from the album "Nux Vomica" on Rough Trade Records

Tickets are still on sale for a bunch of Veils shows.

Posted in music | video at 1:35 PM | Comments (1)

Beth Ditto nude on the cover of NME

How would Lily Allen describe this cover?

"I spent so much of childhood trying to change, and I just got sick of it." [Beth Ditto]

Less professional semi-naked Beth Ditto shots here.

Inside the issue Beth talks about Paris Hilton & Kate Moss

Yet one of the things Beth Ditto does gives a f*ck about, is body image. So much so, that Beth recently refused for The Gossip to play instores at Topshop, citing her dissatisfaction that there isn’t a clothes range available in her size. She even went as far as to offer to design clothes for them. She’s never claimed to promote her body size (“I’m just saying people should be empowered about who they are,” she tells us), yet it’s worth asking, does she feel a responsibility to pick a side in the size zero debate?

“Not at all,” says Beth, immediately. “Things are more complicated than that – there’s too many factors to pick a side. The older I get and the more models and designers I meet... sometimes models are naturally just thin. Like, that’s their size.”

When you talk about meeting models, do you mean Kate Moss?
“Kate is amazing,” purrs Beth. “I spent one night talking to her and she just said the most amazing things about bodies. At first I didn’t think I was going to like her, but she just turned up to one of our shows and said, ‘Do you know what I hate, Beth? When people tell my big girlfriends, ‘You have a beautiful face...’’ I mean, that’s a really radical concept.”

Do you not think Kate Moss actually has a responsibility to answer to the size debate, though?
“You can’t hate a person for dieting, and you can’t blame a person for feeling shit about themselves. You have to blame the machine that feeds it, the thing that makes people feel like that. There are lots of things that are part of that machine, and it’s too easy to lay the blame at the feet of women – men don’t know what it feels like to be a woman and be expected to look a particular way all the time. The Beckhams are part of the machine; Paris Hilton is part of the machine. There’s that thing Paris Hilton said about Lindsay Lohan – ‘You’re poor, ugly and fat’. It’s always women who are victims of that machine and the messages the machine gives out.”

But surely Kate Moss is that machine?
“I had those conversations with Kate,” says Beth, “and Kate agreed with me. She’s a smart person.”

Do you think she’s happy doing what she’s doing?
“I don’t know.”

But if she agreed with you...
“I have this thing where I don’t ever want to bad-mouth a woman. Except for Paris Hilton.” She laughs again. “Please tell me you saw that thing where she was crying in the newspapers, about her going to prison. It was so funny. I was laughing until I was crying.”

Tell me more about not wanting to bad-mouth women...
Beth speaks quietly again. “I pick and choose my battles. I think Condoleezza Rice is more of a goddamn shame than Kate Moss, and I think those are the things people should concentrate on. What I’m saying is that, if there’s anyone to blame for size zero, it’s not women. Blame the media. Blame gay men who work in the fashion industry who want these women as dolls.”

Previously
* Beth Ditto interviews Yo Majesty on video
* lots more on Beth Ditto

Posted in music at 12:30 PM | Comments (68)

Interpol @ Bowery Ballroom on sale

Interpol @ Sasquatch! - May 27, 2007

Interpol have added a NYC date, and it's at Bowery Ballroom! Tickets are on sale for the June 5th show. Password = gaius

more dates here. More on Interpol @ Sasquatch! here.

Posted in music at 12:02 PM | Comments (138)

Brooklyn's Galapagos Art Space moving to Dumbo

new Galapagos

In December we asked, is Galapagos closing? To that the owner said NO WE ARE NOT. Today the times reports....

In a move that has greater symbolic significance than mere real estate hopscotch, Galapagos Art Space, the pioneering bar and performing arts space that helped put Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on the cultural map, is moving a few neighborhoods down the East River, to Dumbo.

Galapagos, which has played host to a broad array of New York’s musicians, dancers, theater artists, performance artists, fine artists and burlesque dancers during its 12-year existence, is scheduled to move into the space, a 102-year-old, 10,000-square-foot former horse stable at 16 Main Street, in the spring or summer of 2008.....

.....“We’re doubling our size and halving our rent,” said Robert Elmes, who started Galapagos in 1995, when it opened in fits and starts on North Sixth Street, which at the time was notable mainly for the rancid smell of nearby meat-processing plants.....

....In Williamsburg, Galapagos Art Space will continue its full schedule until the weekend of June 17, with plans to operate intermittently throughout the summer..... [NY Times]

Posted in music | venues at 11:55 AM | Comments (19)

Pipettes, Sea & The Cake, In-stores, Tour Dates

DOWNLOAD: The Sea & Cake - Afternoon Speaker (MP3)

Look at the great fee shows coming up in stores....

free NYC in-stores performances
Jun 5 - The Pipettes & Monster Bobby @ Other Music (7pm)
Jun 5 - Ladybug Transistor memorial show @ Sound Fix (8pm)
Jun 6 - Loney, Dear & Sea and the Cake @ Sound Fix (7pm)
Jun 20 - LSD March @ Other Music (8pm)

Loney, Dear, Sea & Cake are also playing Webster Hall on June 7th (and touring). The Pipettes are also playing Highline Ballroom on June 5th - still not sold out (unlike last time), and SMOOSH - who also played Sasquatch - is opening for them.

The Pipettes are actually also going on an in-store tour, and a regular tour with Smoosh and Monster Bobby. All Sea & Cake & Loney Dear & Pipettes & Monster Bobby dates & details below....

The Pipettes will be playing an acoustic in-store and signing copies of their new 'Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me' EP at the following record stores...

Sunday, June 3rd @ 2:30 PM
Mars RED Music
57A Kings Hwy E
Haddonfield, NJ 08033
856.428.8255

Tuesday, June 5th @ 7 PM
Other Music
15 E. 4th Street
New York, NY 10003
212-477-8150

Tuesday, June 12th @ 7pm
Amoeba Music
1855 Haight St
San Francisco, CA
415-831-1200

Thursday, June 14th @ 7pm
Sonic Boom Records (Ballard Location)
2209 NW Market St,
Seattle, WA 98107
206.297.2666

Pipettes - 2007 Tour Dates
Jun 1 - Lee's Palace Toronto, Ontario
Jun 2 - Black Cat Washington, Washington DC
Jun 3 - First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jun 3 - Mars RED Music (instore acoustic + signing) Haddonfield, New Jersey
Jun 4 - Great Scott Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 5 - Highline Ballroom New York, New York
Jun 5 - Other Music (instore acoustic + signing) NEW YORK, New York
Jun 7 - Empty Bottle Chicago, Illinois
Jun 8 - 7th Street Entry Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jun 10 - Casbah San Diego, California
Jun 11 - Troubadour Los Angeles, California
Jun 12 - Popscene @ Rickshaw Stop San Francisco, California
Jun 14 - Chop Suey Seattle, Washington
Jun 15 - Plaza Club Vancouver, British Columbia
Jun 19 - Shrewsbury Music Hall (benefit for Cancer Research) Shrewsbury
Jun 23 - Glastonbury Festival (Main Stage) Shepton Mallet
Jul 6 - Ruisrock Festival Turku
Jul 8 - T In The Park Kinross, Scotland
Jul 10 - Lake Festival Nr Klagenfurt
Jul 11 - Poolbar Festival Nr Feldkirch
Jul 20 - Gurten Festival Berne
Jul 21 - Pohoda Festival Bratislava
Jul 22 - Benicassim Valencia
Jul 28 - Storsjoyran Festival Ostersund
Aug 4 - Electric Garden Festival Kent
Aug 9 - Liquid Rooms Tokyo
Aug 11 - Summersonic - Marine Stadium Tokyo
Aug 12 - Summersonic Osaka
Aug 24 - Reading & Leeds Reading
Aug 25 - Reading & Leeds Leeds

The Sea & The Cake - 2007 Tour Dates
Thu May 31 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle (Late Show) w/ The Zincs
Thu May 31 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle (Early Show) w/ Euphone
Sat Jun 2 Toronto, ON - Mod Club w/ The Zincs
Sun Jun 3 Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa w/ The Zincs
Tue Jun 5 Boston, MA - The Paradise w/ The Zincs, Loney Dear
Thu Jun 7 New York, NY - Webster Hall w/ The Zincs, Loney Dear
Fri Jun 8 Philadelphia, PA - Filmore Philadelphia w/ The Zincs, Loney Dear
Sat Jun 9 Washington, DC - Black Cat w/ The Zincs, Loney Dear
Sat Jun 16 Hasselt, Belgium - KC Belgie
Sun Jun 17 Brighton, UK - The Pressure Point
Mon Jun 18 Bristol, UK - Thekla
Tue Jun 19 Nottingham, UK - Rescue Rooms
Wed Jun 20 London, UK - Cargo
Thu Jun 21 Koln, Germany - Gebaude 9
Fri Jun 22 Brussels, Belgium - Fete de la Musique
Sat Jun 23 Paris, France - Point Ephemere
Sun Jun 24 Basil, Switzerland - Das Schiff
Mon Jun 25 Schorndorf, Germany - Manufaktur
Tue Jun 26 Frankfurt, Germany - Brotfabrik
Wed Jun 27 Hamburg, Germany - Ubel & Gefahrlich
Thu Jun 28 Berlin, Germany - Lido
Sat Jun 30 Stockholm, Sweden - Accelerator Festival
Sun Jul 15 Chicago, IL - Union Park (Pitchfork Festival)

The Sea and Cake are back with Everybody, the band's first full length in just over four years. The record finds the band continuing to perfect their singular brand of dreamlike, hot-buttered pop music that sounds delicately handcrafted, yet effortless all the same. Sheets of glowing guitar tones skip along propulsive percussion underscored by gently funky, instrospecitve bass lines, all adorned by breathlessly delivered lines of lyrical poetry. As always, the band is made up of Sam Prekop (guitar and vocals), Archer Prewitt (guitar), John McEntire (drums) and Erik Claridge (bass).

Monster Bobby - 2007 Tour Dates *
Jun 1 2007 Lee's Palace Toronto, Ontario
Jun 2 2007 Black Cat Washington , DC
Jun 3 2007 First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jun 4 2007 Great Scott Boston
Jun 7 2007 Empty Bottle Chicago
Jun 8 2007 7th Street Entry Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jun 10 2007 Casbah San Diego, California
Jun 11 2007 Troubadour Los Angeles, California
Jun 12 2007 Popscene @ Rickshaw Stop San Francisco, California
Jun 14 2007 Chop Suey Seattle, Washington
Jun 15 2007 Plaza Club Vancouver, British Columbia

* w/ Smoosh & The Pipettes

Monster Bobby has opened for the Pipettes countless times on a fairly casual basis in England and throughout Europe but for the very first time, he is actually receiving proper billing at venues throughout North America in advance of the mid-July release of his album Gaps, on the Hypnote label.

Previously
* Pipettes playing Highline Ballroom
* more Pipettes posts
* more sea & cake posts
* more Loney, Dear posts

Posted in MP3 | music | tour dates at 11:30 AM | Comments (5)

Sasquatch! 2007 | Sunday review in words & pics

The following review of Day 2 (May 27, 2007) of the 2007 Sasquatch! Festival in George, Washington is brought to you by Jerry Yeti exclusively for BrooklynVegan.com. If you're just joining us, you may want to start with Day 1.

Things kicked off at the Gorge on Sunday with a few more blankets, a nice spot on the terraced grass, and a sweet DJ set by Mix Master Mike. This was followed up by the hip hop duo Blackalicious. Both of these acts got the early attendees jumping. Blackalicious brought out their "Alphabet Aerobics" with its increasingly sped up delivery, but it was "Rhythm Sticks" that got people truly moving. If the ground wasn't on bedrock, the floor would have given way under all that impact.

All warmed up, Bad Brains was the only set on Sunday we were sure not going to miss. While we waited near the epicenter of anticipated mayhem, one of their most enthusiastic fans attempted to get others around him equally as stoked. He singled out a small guy that -as he informed him- was going to be propelled into the air. And sure enough, when the band appeared, he launched the poor kid into the unsuspecting crowd behind him. No, the bedrock below him did not give way. As the mosh pit grew in size, so did the size of the guys thrashing around in it. One giant of a man wore a Professional Slam Wresting shirt and bulldozed his way around. H.R. is a startling front man, appearing quite tranquil despite the tumult below - like a prophet amidst a storm. Dashingly dressed, if you had a video on mute, you would be baffled by the calm on stage, and the reaction below.

Unfortunately that was the last full set on the main stage before Polyphonic Spree had to cease for the blustery wind. It got cold within minutes, and sundown was still four hours away. While the crew re-prepped the stage to handle the winds, and let the worst of them pass, people migrated over to Tokyo Police Club at the Wookie. The Toronto band sensed they were playing for a much larger crowd, and they delivered. Their invigoration and charm very likely won over a few new fans.....

In order to prevent last year's ending past 2:00 AM, Michael Franti & Spearhead were relegated to play last at the Wookie Stage, and the rest were told to keep it snappy. Aziz held down the main stage - giving constant updates to the crowd, and then finally after three hours and some odd minutes - Spoon at last went on around 8:00. "I Turn My Camera" and "The Way We Get By" were the obvious crowd favorites, and they kept it short and sweet. We were just glad to have things up and running again. Interpol followed suit with their own truncated set -an entire half hour shorter than scheduled and actually were better that way. Three new songs translated well within their existing work. Not entirely compelling or nearly as capable as they ought to be, but still, they kept us warm. The more it became crowded, the warmer and happier we were.

DOWNLOAD: Interpol - Specialist (early version) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Spoon - Paper Tiger (live) (MP3)

DOWNLOAD: The Beastie Boys - Rock Hard (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Michael Franti & Spearhead - War (live) (MP3)

The Beastie Boys finally came out promising to "heat things up", and they certainly did - at least for a while. Playing many of their hits early, they then slipped into a [trilogy? trinity? triage?] of instrumental tunes mid way which nearly killed the party. Reportedly the instrumental looseness worked like a charm the night before (they played both days), but here felt a little too noodly. By the encore they re-energized the crowd - hitting it dead on with "Intergalactic." The Boys even dedicated one song to the influential Bad Brains. They weren't the only ones. Michael Franti did likewise from over at the Wookie stage a few minutes later and even mentioned he was down in the pit earlier in the day.

Beastie Boys

Michael Franti

Nearly battling heatstroke and hypothermia all in one day, the festival had come to a close. Supposedly the Polyphonic Spree were still going to play a set for Verizon late into the night, but we're not sure if anyone would be thawed enough to stick around. If they did finally play, maybe they won't have to return next year... for the tornadoes.

-yeti

---

photos of Spoon & Aziz by Nilina of Not On the Guestlist. She also took the cool ones of Patrick Wolf & Grizzly Bear.

And here's a few more random shots from the festival....

Smoosh

Interpol

Total Experience Gospel Choir

Patrick Wolf

Michael Franti

Manu Chao

Arcade Fire's Win Butler

Beastie Boys' Mike D

The Hold Steady

Did you read part one yet?

Posted in Sasquatch | music | pictures at 10:07 AM | Comments (13)

May 29, 2007

injured RYAN ADAMS - Tour Dates, album, live MP3s & MOE.DOWN

DOWNLOAD: Ryan Adams - New York, New York (live in Germany) (MP3)

As you can see in the below picture of Ryan taken May 15, 2007, he hurt his hand.....

Without going into all the gory details, let’s just say it’s got to do with a skateboard, a 12-foot bowl, and a now-torn ligament. This is NOT anywhere near as bad as the Liverpool accident from a few years back, though...Ryan expects to be playing guitar again soon.

For now, enjoy Neal Casal playing an excellent (if right-handed) Iommi to Ryan’s lighter-weight-and-fringeless Ozzy.

Thanks.

On September 1, 2007, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals are playing Moe's annual music festival...

The Eighth Annual moe.down will be held August 31, September 1 and 2 at the Snow Ridge Ski area in Turin, NY. moe.down is an annual party for moe. and its fans. The band will perform a total of six sets throughout the weekend. Early Bird Tickets are on sale NOW through moe.ticketing. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster and online through Snow Ridge, at the Snow Ridge Box Office, or by phone at 315-348-8456. Buffalo fans can pick up tickets at Terrapin Station,1172 Hertel Ave, Buffalo NY.

There are a limited number of Early Bird Tickets. They will be on sale until they run out or June 1st, whichever comes first. A limited number of tickets will then be $95 until they are sold out or until August 12th. Tickets after that be $110.

In addition to moe., this year's performers include Ryan Adams and The Cardinals, Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood, Amos Lee, Strangefolk, Meat Puppets, Al & the Transamericans, Ha Ha The Moose, State Radio, Ryan Montbleau , The Brakes and Acoustic Forum. More bands will be announced in the coming weeks.

The moe.down promises three days of music, camping and fun at the Snow Ridge Ski Area in Turin, NY. The site is about an hour northeast of Syracuse, at the edge of the beautiful Adirondack Mountains. Ski lifts will be open, so bring your mountain bike!

The Brakes playing this show are not Brakes Brakes Brakes that are playing Mercury Lounge with Pela.

Ryan Adams is also playing a bunch of shows, and I found a great quality Ryan Adams show from 2006 (on the Archive) that you can download. MP3s & dates below.....

Ryan Adams - 2007 Tour DAtes
Sun 06/03 - Paris, FRA La Maroquinerie
Thu 06/07 - London, UK Koko
Fri 06/08 - Manchester, UK Manchester Academy
Mon 06/18 - Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center
Tue 06/19 - Chicago, IL - The Black Orchid
Wed 06/20 - Detroit, MI - Gem Theater
Fri 06/22 - Toronto, ON - Enwave Theater
Sun 06/24 - South Burlington, VT Higher Ground
Thu 06/28 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore
Fri 06/29 - Boston, MA - Somerville Theater
Tue 07/31 - Salt Lake City, UT Red Butte Garden Ampitheatre
Fri 08/03 - Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Sat 09/01 - Turin, NY Snow Ridge Ski Area (moe.down)

Ryan Adams Live at Das Haus on 2006-10-17 (October 17, 2006) (MP3s)
DOWNLOAD the whole show as a ZIP, or track by track.....

1 Intro
2 Magnolia Mountain
3 Hallelujah
4 Blue Hotel
5 To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High)
6 New York, New York
7 She Wants to Play Hearts
8 Chin Up, Cheer Up
9 Freeway to the Canyon
10 Harder Now That It's Over
11 [Fade Out]
12 [Fade In]
13 Damn Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains)
14 Easy Plateau
15 Peaceful Valley
16 Trouble On Wheels
17 Firecracker
18 Why Do They Leave?
19 A Kiss Before I Go
20 Dear John
21 Cold Roses
22 Bird Song [Jerry Garcia]
23 Wild Flowers
24 Let It Ride

More info on this live show @ the Archive.

----

Ryan's new album Easy Tiger is out June 26th. Some songs are streaming at MySpace, and here are Ryan's Top 5 Hair Metal songs. One of them is Dokken's "Dream Warriors" off the Mightmare on Elm Street 3 Soundtrack which makes me like Ryan more, but supposedly Sheryl Crow appears on his new album which makes me like him less. Cover art:

Previously
* more Ryan Adams posts

Posted in MP3 | music | tour dates at 8:08 PM | Comments (14)

DEAN & BRITTA - 2007 Tour Dates, VIDEOs & a CONTEST - win tix or a CD

DOWNLOAD: Dean & Britta - Word You Used to Say (MP3)

Dean & Britta (Luna peeps) have one U.S. show scheduled this week before they leave for a short tour of Europe. The show I'm talking about is Saturday June 2, 2007 at Luna Lounge (Luna at Luna) in Brooklyn, NYC w/ My Robot Friend.

Tickets are still on sale - AND, the kind peeps at Dean & Britta headquarters were kind enough to hook us up with - not two - not four - not five even, BUT SIX pairs of free tickets to give away to this show, BUT THAT'S NOT ALL - I also have six D&B CD's (pictured) to give out to six lucky unlucky people who can't make it to the show, but still want to win something.

TO WIN, e-mail BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: Luna), and answer this: Dean and Britta wrote a song about a section of Brooklyn for a film that starred someone who was also in Dumb and Dumber. What section of Brooklyn is the song about? TWELVE WINNERS will be picked at random and contacted. Include your first and last name for guestlist if you want the tickets. Say if you just want the CD. Your email will not be shared or abused.

Dean & Britta videos & tour dates, below.....

"Words You Used To Say" by Dean & Britta

From the new Dean & Britta album, "Back Numbers"
Video by Richard Agerbeek

Dean & Britta in the subway - 'knives from bavaria'

Dean and Britta ware ready to sing, when we heard a voice saying "no video". We hide the camera, shot Britta's legs, and here it is...

Dean & Britta - 2007 Tour Dates
Jun 2 - Luna Lounge w/ My Robot Friend Brooklyn (Williamsburg), New York
Jun 5 - Teatre Lloseta www.teatrelloseta.com Palma de Mallorca
Jun 6 - Zac Club Barcelona
Jun 7 - Gazteszena Donostia/San Sebastian
Jun 8 - Kafe Antzokia Bibao
Jun 9 - Neu! Club Madrid
Jun 10 - Loco Club Valencia
Jun 12 - Le Baron Paris
Jun 16 - Princess Charlotte Leicester
Jun 17 - The Social Nottingham
Jun 18 - Sussex Arts Club Brighton
Jun 19 - Metro Club London
Jun 20 - Sonic Cathedral @ The Legion London
Jul 12 - Rams Head Tavern, Annapolis, MD
Jul 14 - Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, MA

Previously
* more Dean & Britta posts

Posted in Contests | MP3 | music | tour dates at 5:37 PM | Comments (4)

VIDEO: Senior Citizens react to The Knife's "Like a Pen"

Like a pen...in my aching neck....

Senior citizens offer their thoughts on the music video "like a pen" by the knife.
From NYC TV's New York Noise
Produced by Shirley Braha

This is the video they watched:

Previously
* more posts on the The Knife

Posted in music | video at 3:23 PM | Comments (9)

Paste highlights 40 music venues

The new issue of Paste Magazine selects "America’s 40 Best Music Venues".

To compile this list, Paste magazine readers nominated over 500 different venues at www.pastemagazine.com. In the end, Paste weighed these nominations according to history, setting, sound, character, comfort, atmosphere, vibrancy, uniqueness and their roles in helping launch careers.

They didn't rank them - they just chose 40 and grouped them into regions. For the Northeast they picked:

• 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C.
• Allen Room at Lincoln Center, New York, NY
• Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, MA
• Club Passim, Cambridge, MA
• Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
• Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ
• World Live Café, Philadelphia, PA
• The Living Room, New York, NY
• Space, Portland, ME

Café Du Nord, Stubb's, Schuba's, The Troubador, Largo, and First Avenue alse made the list.

Posted in music | venues at 3:08 PM | Comments (42)

YO MAJESTY - 2007 Tour Dates & FREE SHOW? (+Beth Ditto)

DOWNLOAD: Yo Majesty - Club Action (MP3)

The booby flashin' babes of Yo Majesty have three NYC shows coming up. They are supposedly the "special guest" at Sutra Wednesday (LATE) night (May 30), and they open for CSS at Irving Plaza on Friday. On June 22nd they're back to play Studio B in Brooklyn. All tour dates, and a video interview where Beth Ditto of the Gossip interviews Yo Majesty, below...

Yo Majesty - 2007 Tour Dates
Fri 06/01 - Irving Plaza New York NY *
Sat 06/02 - Middle East Downstairs Cambridge MA *
Mon 06/04 - Ottobar Baltimore MD
Wed 06/06 - Dagobert Quebec City QC
Thu 06/07 - Main Hall Montreal QC
Fri 06/08 - Babylon Ottawa ON
Sat 06/09 - The Drake Toronto ON w/ Lesbians on Ecstasy
Sun 06/10 - Henry Fonda Theater Los Angeles CA
Mon 06/11 - Casbah San Diego CA w/ Diplo & Bonde do Role
Tue 06/12 - Cinespace Hollywood CA
Thu 06/14 - Beauty Bar Austin TX
Fri 06/22 - Studio B Brooklyn NY w/ Machine Drum, Dirtyfinger
Thu 07/05 - The Club at Firestone Orlando FL w/ DJ Funk
Sun 07/15 - Empty Bottle Chicago IL

* w/ CSS

Previously
* Beth Ditto in a Yo Majesty T-Shirt with Kate Moss
* Yo Majesty played Brooklyn & SXSW -- get topless (NSFW) + Tour Dates
* Yo Majesty - 2007 Tour Dates (NYC, SXSW, etc) & MP3s

Posted in MP3 | music | tour dates | video at 2:05 PM | Comments (9)

Sasquatch! 2007 | Saturday review in words & pics

The following review of Day 1 (May 26, 2007) of the 2007 Sasquatch! Festival in George, Washington is brought to you by Jerry Yeti exclusively for BrooklynVegan.com

For the second consecutive year, strange natural phenomena have marred Sasquatch Festival. This year's mysterious force - Wind - cut short the Polyphonic Spree on Sunday, and silenced the music at the main stage for nearly three and a half hours. As the other stages continued onward, the remaining bands condensed their sets - Interpol so much so that they finished 10 minutes before scheduled. We didn't see all the bands we wanted to - probably the most saddened by the early start times of the Hold Steady and the Blow, but we took in a wider variety than expected.

Saturday was looking like it would be a Day of Duos kicking off with the Blow, but the Two Gallants immediately shattered that dream by becoming the Two-and-a-Half Gallants. That is, with the addition of a partial? third member. We had better luck with Portland's own Viva Voce, who stayed true to the coupling idea and brought some serious rock to the Yeti stage. Percussive, tight, and [as my scribbled handwriting noted] "They Rocked." Anita Robinson has some serious skills on the frets, as her husband does with the sticks. I had forgotten how catchy their album "Get Yr Blood Sucked Out" is. They stuck to most of its material as they finally finished the tour. Over at the main stage, Neko Case, lingerie model extraordinaire, was similarly focusing on songs off the her latest not-so-recent album and included her cover of Bob Dylan's "Buckets of Rain." Sporting some shades in a gesture that spited the clouds that would not, could not hail nor storm, her voice resonated strong enough to the sunstroke folks below.

We weren't the only ones fashionably late to the first day of the festival. Comedian and MC Aziz Ansari missed his flight the night before, but arrived at the Wookie stage right in time for Ghostland Observatory. Battling house music, Aziz got a few jokes off successfully before the crowd began to turn restless. Seattle crowds are pretty rough I guess. Sarah Silverman had even less luck at the main stage. Yikes.

As it turns out, Ghostland Observatory are a big deal in Seattle. Thanks to KEXP, the duo -a true one at that- became a mandatory experience and the attendance at the Wookie Stage showed. Always fashionable Aaron Behrens led us through an energy injected performance highlighted with "Sad Sad City," eventually blowing the power out on the entire stage. Of course they did. With that, things were starting to really get going. After all, Aziz had arrived....

Meanwhile...Aziz's crush had not. Back at the main stage, John Roderick had some small feet for some big shoes, filling in for both visa-troubled M.I.A. who was A.W.O.L P.O.W.... not in attendance... and a bombing Silverman. At least Roderick will be funny as usual, right? Unfortunately he didn't banter enough to be both musician and comedian. The Long Winters, aka the band, simply didn't hit the right tones either and while "Stupid" played stunningly, the rest seemed too small. We'll give them a pass this round, because we really do like them.

Neglecting the Beastie Boys instrumental set -which turned out to be not so entirely instrumental at all, dang it- we hung around for festivities supplied by Manu Chao. Bringing some blazing Spanish guitar, people seemed to really enjoy Manu Chao and we caught on to the over all vibe. He fed off this reaction and played well over his time slot. No one seemed to mind. At least we were keeping warm. When the sun goes down at the Gorge, the mercury drops like lead. Leaded mercury. It's very unsafe.

Then came Arcade Fire. Once the highlight of Sasquatch 2005, they quickly became the highlight of 2007. With a well-balanced set of equal parts Neon Bible & Funeral, they sounded larger than ever and filled the vastness behind them while leaving us breathless and insatiable. At the top of our lungs, we belted along to "Wake Up" into the black emptiness above, ... "a gorgefull" of people as Win Butler said. It may give us chills every time, but the first few dozen bars of "Rebellion (Lies)" is still immensely powerful coming out of "Power Out." And not being able to resist a political jab or two, Win dedicated "Antichrist Television Blues" to Jerry Falwell. But it ended all too soon. For them alone I would return again.

And yet it wasn't over for Bjork fans. We cut the night short a few songs into her set, and even though this Yeti isn't a fan, I was impressed. I even found myself wishing I was a fan so I could justify freezing and being miserable.

If only it wasn't so cold. We'd be better prepared for Sunday, or so we thought. That to come in a minute...

-Yeti

----

Blow photo via HERE.

Posted in Sasquatch | music at 1:10 PM | Comments (41)

Help Wanted - Boredoms, Dan Deacon, Internet show, & Pool party volunteers

Dan Deacon @ Bike Film Festival Party @ Studio B, NYC - May 16, 2007 (CRED)

Play drums with the Boredoms, sing with Dan Deacon, be an Internet movie star, and/or attend free concerts for free. Details below....

1. The Boredoms are doing their 77 Drum thing in NYC on 7/7. Be one of those drummers (if it's not too late).
2. Internet show casting musicians/actors.

   Internet show with solid funding and distribution looking to cast the following:

   Male, mid 20s, lead singer, guitarist, naive optimist
   Male, mid 20s, bassist, brooding
   Male mid 20s, keyboardist, uptight
   Female, mid 20s, drummer, shy
   Female, early 20s, singer/tambourine, infectious energy.
   Asian Male, mid 20s, non-musical role. Needs good comic
   timing.
   Female, mid 20s, uptight, corporate office worker

   Comfortable with improv a plus.
   Must be available for shooting for the next 3-4 months.
   Send resume/headshot/myspacepage to
   castinginternetshow@gmail.com

3. Dan Deacon wants YOU to sing in his choir!

   A vision came to Dan one night of being joined by an angelic choir at the end of his set each night for a rousing, spiritual version of his anthem "Wham City" from his recently released Spiderman of the Rings - a musical tribute to his place of dwelling and to the Baltimore music community he is a part of. This is where YOU come in - Dan Deacon is inviting you to come and be his choir. Dan envisioned a co-ed choir, so all you have to do is be one of the first four males or first four females in your city to e-mail dandeaconchoir@gmail.com and YOU will become a member of the Dan Deacon Wham City choir! (please put the name of your city and your gender in the subject line of the e-mail to make things easier for Dan). Dan collaborated with Baltimore artist Stefani Levin to make eight beautiful blue and yellow Wham City choir robes which you'll get to wear, and Dan will provide you with lyric sheets. If you want to practice and prepare, the song "Wham City" is posted on Dan Deacon's MySpace page at www.myspace.com/dandeacon so you can start singing along.

   In other news, Dan Deacon will release "The Crystal Cat" as a 7" single on Carpark on July 17 with a new, previously unreleased B-side.

4. Free shows for free....

   It's that time of the year again when JellyNYC brings you music, slip n slide and dodge ball at McCarren Park Pool. We are looking for volunteers for a 9 week summer event starting June 24 to August 19th, every Sunday come rain or shine. Get ready AGAIN for a summer of great music and great fun and Sundays you'll never forget.
   For more info check out: www.thepoolparties.com
   To volunteer and for more information please email : jane@jellynyc.com

Dan Deacon plays the Pool Party on July 8th which means you could potentially be in his choir and a volunteer at his show at the same time.

Posted in music at 11:18 AM | Comments (7)

summer is here -- new New Pornographers MP3

DOWNLOAD: New Pornographers - My Rights Versus Yours (MP3)

Memorial Day is behind us, summer is here, and July 4th - which means a free show by The New Pornographers (and Midlake) - is right around the corner. What a perfect time then, for this brand new upbeat song by the Canadian indie pop-rock supergroup - "My Rights Versus Yours" will be found on New Porn's new album called 'Challengers' - to be released on Matador on August 21st, 2007.

Posted in MP3 | music at 10:35 AM | Comments (6)

The National kicked off 5 nights @ Bowery Ballroom

DOWNLOAD: The National - Lit Up (remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The National - Secret Meeting (remix) (MP3)

The National @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC - May 28, 2007 (CRED)

Tonight was the first night of The National's sold out 5-night stand at Bowery Ballroom here in New York, and it was spectacular. There were no surprise guests, and the setlist stuck primarily to Boxer and Alligator, with the exception of "Murder Me Rachael" (and one more?), but the band was in incredible form and sounded great. And, in what is becoming a really impressive tradition, the crowd was respectful during the quiet parts and an overall pleasure to be a part of, much like last year's show at Webster Hall. Why can't every crowd be like this?? [Baby, You Got a Stew Goin']

Previously
* THE NATIONAL - five nights at Bowery sold out, south street seaport
* The National add 5th NYC show -- Beirut to add 4th?
* Will it be Doveman, The Broken West, My Brightest Diamond or Elysian Fields?
* The National - 3 nights in Europe, 4 shows @ Bowery
* pics of The National hangin' w/ Bruce Springsteen
* a ton of NATIONAL MP3s

Posted in MP3 | music at 8:52 AM | Comments (34)

Feist, Mocky, Jenny Lewis, Bright Eyes, Kanye West, etc

DOWNLOAD: Feist - Inside & Out (Mocky Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Mocky - In The Meantime (featuring Jamie Lidell) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jenny Lewis w/ the Watson Twins - Melt Your Heart (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jenny Lewis w/ the Watson Twins - Born Secular (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jenny Lewis w/ the Watson Twins - Happy (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jenny Lewis w/ the Watson Twins - Happy (reprise) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jenny Lewis w/ the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jenny Lewis w/ the Watson Twins - Run Devil Run (MP3)

Bright Eyes is bringing out a special guest at each of his seven shows at Town Hall in NYC this week. Many were dismayed by the appearance of Lou Reed at night one. Ben Kweller came out during night two, and I'm losing track, but Jenny Lewis was the guest at either night three or four, or both or something like that. I don't have a picture, but there is the recent video of Jenny on stage with Ben Gibbard & John Vanderslice, and here are some photos from October of Jenny on stage with Feist (actually the other way around).....

Other stuff
* Cannes Film Fest Award Winners
* Concerts get 'Second Life' on Internet
* Kanye West samples Peter Bjorn & John & Daft Punk
* Sufjan Stevens & friends 'Take Away show" video @ Blogoteque
* Jenny Lewis contributed vocals to Jayhawk Gary Louris' new album
* Mocky, Feist, Gonzo, Lidell | Zero 7 & Jose Gonzalez | MP3s
* Mocky, Gonzales & Lidell helped make 'The Reminder' happen
* CBC Radio 3 Exclusive: Fans Ruin Feist Show (for me)
* LIVE: Feist Audience A Little Too Respectful

Mocky feat. Feist - Fightin' Away The Tears

More pics of Jenny, Feist & The Watson Twins below......

Pictures via HERE

Lou Reed & Bright Eyes HERE.

Posted in MP3 | music at 8:28 AM | Comments (13)

May 28, 2007

new Smashing Pumpkins revealed -- 2007 Pinkpop Festival

undisputed wes reports....

After first revealing themselves in Paris the other day, the reunited new Smashing Pumpkins played their third new-lineup-first-gigs-since-2000 show today (May 28, 2007) at the legendary Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands. It's the oldest annual festival in the world, and has been running for 38 years straight in a town not far from where I grew up.

Billy w/ the new James Iha* @ Pinkpop 2007 (CRED)

* Jeff Schroeder formerly of The Lassie Foundation

Billy Corgan @ Pinkpop 2007 (CRED)

The new bass player* @ Pinkpop 2007 (CRED)

* Ginger Reyes formerly of the Halo Friendlies

Other artists at this year's Pinkpop included Iggy & The Stooges ('Electric Chair' live video), Arctic Monkeys, Muse (awesome pic, live fan video of 'Invincible'), Scissor Sisters, Five O'Clock Heroes (interview, pic), Snow Patrol pic, live fan video of 'Shut Your Eyes'), Maximo Park ('Apply Some Pressure' live video), Linkin Park, Macy Gray (here hilariously labeled as Amy Winehouse), The Fratellis ('Chelsea Dagger' live video), Evanescence (painful live video), Korn ('Freak on a Leash' and 'Blind' live video), Dave Matthews Band 'Don't Drink The Water' live video), The Kooks ('Sabbator' live video), The Magic Numbers ('I See You, You See Me' live video), Maria Mena (live acoustic sessions video, Paolo Nutini (55 to 1 live video, Wolfmother (Woman live video), Gogol Bordello (2nd band in this live fan video with annoying intro), Razorlight ('In the City' live video), Marilyn Manson (pic), 30 Seconds To Mars (video), and more here, and here.

Oxfam took even more pictures. Amy Winehouse was scheduled to play but she called in sick. What else is new?

Most bands allowed their performance to be streamed live on Dutch radio except for 30 Seconds To Mars (potentially REALLY embarrassing?), and The Smashing Pumpkins (nervous because it was their third show?).

Posted in music at 10:18 PM | Comments (15)

Bjork @ Sasquatch 2007 (photos, reviews & setlist)

Our last concert in the first leg of the tour took place on Saturday night in the Gorge Amphitheatre, which is about two and a half hours’ drive from Seattle. It was great fun, I was unusually relaxed and Björk was marvellous. And the venue was so beautilful!

We didn’t go on stage until around midnight and as it takes about two and a half hours to drive to Seattle I wasn’t back in my hotel until 4am. And then I had to wake up at 6am to catch a plane to Boston.

From Boston I flew to Iceland, travelling with the brass girls and Mark Bell. I don’t know about them, but I have a horrible jet lag!

It is wonderful to be back. Unfortunately I won’t be here for long as Björk will be appearing on the Jools Holland show on June 5. But until then I rest my (suit)case! I will probably not be blogging until then. So all you wonderful people who have been reading the blog, see you in a week! [Jónas Sen - Volta Tour Blog]

DEREK REPORTS: Back from Sasquatch. I only attended the first day, and my main motivation in being there was to see Bjork. Quick summary:

• The Gorge is stunning. I'd never even imagined listening to such great music with a backdrop so fantastic. To my poor New Englander brain, it felt unreal.
• Sarah Silverman was completely useless. IMHO, she shouldn't even get paid for her presence there Saturday.
  
• Michael Showalter was entertaining and seemed much more comfortable with the MC role
  
• Electrelane have potential... the live show left me wanting, but I could definitely see a good producer helping form their sound into a damn good pop album.
• Viva Voce were intimate and beautiful on the side stage. Damn impressive to see the male half out there drumming while also playing bass to such lovely female vocals.
  
• Citizen Cope and The Long Winters completely failed to impress. It wasn't that they were bad. I just like live shows that have edge and energy. They had neither.
• MIA was well ... not there... apparently my friendly government found her form of music to be some sort of security risk.
  
• Manu Chao rocked the house. This is what I want in a live show. Energy! Dance white boy, dance!
  
• The Arcade Fire kept up the energy from Manu Chao, with their insane drummer, amazing vocals, and crazy musicians who seem to randomly swap instruments every other song.
  
• Bjork was amazing. She performed some reworks of older songs that really blew me away. The laser show was simple and clean, in the best of ways.

-Derek

And from Ryan, "Now onto the not-so-good: this will probably get me labeled as having "low-brow" musical tastes, but I just do not understand Bjork. Sure, there was a huge, lavish stage and equally visual costumes that featured a brass-section dressed like teletubbies, but the music just does not draw me in. Her songs were slow and boring. Speaking of which, Citizen Cope was clearly popular with the crowd but inspired me to try and take a nap. Finally, Grizzly Bear is nothing like its name implies - there are a lot of trippy sounds and strange lyrics that do not translate well to a festival setting (unless, of course, your festival includes a lot of funny smelling 'cigarettes')." [Keeping Up With The Nonericks]

Set list below.....

2007-05-26 USA George, WA Sasquatch Festival
01. Earth Intruders
02. Hunter
03. Pagan Poetry
04. Dull Flame Of Desire
05. All Is Full Of Love
06. I See Who You Are
07. The Pleasure Is All Mine
08. Jóga
09. I Miss You
10. Five Years
11. Army Of Me
12. Innocence
13. Mother Heroic
14. Wanderlust
15. Hyperballad
16. Pluto

encore
17. Oceania
18. Declare Independence

DOWNLOAD Bjork - Mouth's Cradle (cortejo Affro Llé Ayé Mix) (MP3)

Previously
* Bjork & Antony @ Apollo Theater, NYC - pics
* An interview with Björk
* Bjork @ United Palace Theater, NYC - pics & stream
* pictures of Bjork @ Coachella
* more Bjork....

Posted in MP3 | Sasquatch | music at 1:59 PM | Comments (21)

Bad Brains @ Sasquatch 2007 (photo & review)

DOWNLOAD: Bad Brains - Big Take Over (MP3)

Bad Brains played an inspired set on the main stage, sailing from sultry dub reggae into raging hardcore as if the two were meant for each other. They’re the only band who could make that leap, and it’s great having them back. It was awesome hearing classic tracks like “Supertouch” and “Banned in DC” coming from the legendary quartet, played with a passion and ease that suggested they are very real and very glad to be here. HR stood unmoving at the mic, raising an occasional fist but mostly crooning and crowing as the band thrashed in the background. It was the only reggae-fied vibe at Sasquatch! this year and the sound fully suited the setting. [the stranger]

AND.....

Bad Brains added some dub, raggae and punk to the day. The influential band was high energy and high impact. I was told Members of System of A Down were video taping the performance. [seattlepi]

Previously
* BAD BRAINS NYC show on sale + 2nd Oregon show added
* BAD BRAINS on a boat, new album - BEASTIE BOYS too
* Beastie Boys pre-Sasquatch

Posted in MP3 | Sasquatch | music at 1:35 PM | Comments (4)

May 27, 2007

Sasquatch continues - Patrick Wolf & Grizzly Bear

DOWNLOAD: Grizzly Bear - Lullabye (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Patrick Wolf - Wind in the Wires (MP3)

Photos of Patrick Wolf & Grizzly Bear being silly backstage at Sasquatch 2007 courtesy of Nilina of Not On the Guest List.

Previously
* NEKO CASE made it through a set @ Sasquatch 2007 + BEASTIE BOYS
* VIDEO: Grizzly Bear on the beach @ ATP
* Patrick Wolf to still perform, or something

Posted in MP3 | Sasquatch | music at 5:28 PM | Comments (26)

Lou Reed played with Bright Eyes @ Town Hall

Weird?

Lou Reed & Bright Eyes @ Town Hall, NYC - May 25, 2007 (CRED)

"Boy am I glad I mustered up my last bits of strength to attend the Bright Eyes show last night. Look who guested for two songs!" [Loose Record]

According to the setlist at Cafe Eclectic, they played 'Waiting For The Man' and 'Dirty Blvd.'. Ben Kweller was the guest Saturday night. Each of the seven nights will have a different guest.

Previously
* a review of Bright Eyes in Boston - "Conor Outburst"
* Bright Eyes kicking off 7 NYC nights

Posted in music at 1:50 AM | Comments (109)

May 26, 2007

NEKO CASE made it through a set @ Sasquatch 2007 + BEASTIE BOYS

DOWNLOAD: The Beastie Boys - Now Get Busy (MP3)

Reports from the 2007 Sasquatch Festival in Gorge, Washington are starting to filter in. One such report involves alt-country's corset queen Neko Case

"I'm going to see if I can make it through an entire set this year," Neko Case said when she began at 3:40 p.m. Last year, Case's Sasquatch! set was plagued by hail; this year, she got lots of sunlight, which didn't prevent her from playing Bob Dylan's "Buckets of Rain." Case's largely acoustic performance was a good mid-day balm. [Seattle Times]

The picture above has been described like this:

Beastie Boy Ad Rock looks cool while playing the guitar during an intimate show at the Crocodile Cafe Friday night. The concert was a warm up show for the group's two sets at the Sasquatch! Music Festival in George during Memorial Day Weekend. Photo by Travis Hay

According to the setlist, the Beasties didn't play all instrumental. More photos of the Boys HERE.

It should also be noted that both comedians Aziz Ansari & Sarah Silverman arrived (VERY) late to the festival. That in turn left two of the three stages un-hosted for most, or all, of the first day. Michael Showalter was spotted doing his job though.

Stay tuned right here for more reports from Sasquatch 2007 - including those from the yeti himself.

Posted in MP3 | Sasquatch | music at 10:55 PM | Comments (6)

Sirius Blog Radio updates & some radio MP3's

DOWNLOAD: Regina Spektor - On the Radio (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: TV on the Radio - Dreams (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Radio 4 - Calling All Enthusiasts (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Primitive Radio Gods - Ghost Of A Chance (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Melvins interviewed on Sirius Radio (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Feist live on Chicago Public Radio (MP3)

Those with Sirius satellite radio can tune into the Blog Radio Memorial Day weekend marathon going on right now on Sirius channel 26 - Left of Center. Nothing but Gorilla vs Bear, Productshop, My Old Kentucky Blog, It's a Trap, and Brooklyn Vegan Blog Radio shows all weekend long. We'd (Sirius, me, whoever) would also like to welcome Aquarium Drunkard to the roster of bloggers with radio shows on Sirius. He starts soon. My show is moving from Tuesdays to Wednesdays. This week my guest is DJ David Bruno (yes, that one). Last week I had on DJ Never Forget (we played a Maccabees remix). Two weeks before that I had on Ryan Freshbread who introduced me to the Amy Winehouse cover that The Arctic Monkeys did. I then meant to post it with his playlist, but I didn't, so you might as well get it at Stereogum who has the track up now. That's it. Thanks!

Posted in MP3 | music | radio at 10:46 PM | Comments (2)

May 25, 2007

VIDEO: "Control" (Joy Division movie) trailer

"Ian Kevin Curtis (July 15, 1956 – May 18, 1980) was the vocalist, lyricist and occasional guitarist of the band Joy Division, which he helped form in 1977 in Manchester, England."....

(quote via Wiki.)

Posted in movies | music | video at 9:11 PM | Comments (18)

The week in KURT COBAIN & NEKO CASE's corset

DOWNLOAD: Neko Case - If You Knew (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Nirvana - Jesus Doesn't Want me for a Sunbeam (MP3)

As you may have read on Idolator and then Stereogum and then Gawker and then Idolator again (oops), Doc Martens managed to lose all credibility with their ridiculous new ad campaign.....

"Dr. Martens boots are ‘made to last,’"

Courtney (friend of Billy), and rightly so, got mad. The ad agency even got fired.

Kurt was also spotted this week on the cover of Sassy, wearing a BMX Bandits T-shirt, and expressing his love for Daniel Johnston.

There's also a new Nirvana biography out. PopMatters read it.

Kurt's boxers may or may not show up on E-bay anytime soon, but there is still time to bid on Neko Case's underwear 'vintage 50's bustier girdle corset' on E-bay.

See Neko this summer. She's one of many artists playing free shows at Central Park Summerstage.

Nirvana & Neko Case both start with N. Have a happy Nemorial Day.

Posted in music at 4:28 PM | Comments (15)

NYC "Pop Fest" happening now & this weekend ---- BMX BANDITS TODAY

BMX Bandits is happening like any minute at Cake Shop (they're always running late though). This weekend is the NYC Pop Fest - basically a bunch of shows at different venues.....

"Highlights include Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Bunnygrunt, Pipas, caUSE co-MOTION!, Human Television, Pelle Carlberg, Dear Nora, Ballboy, a performance by Michael Grace's post-My Favorite project the Secret History, and a rare appearance by longstanding Scot-poppers BMX Bandits." [Pfork]

More info at NYC Pop Fest's website.

Posted in To Do | music at 3:09 PM | Comments (7)

is TED LEO the sexiest vegetarian? + THERMALS add shows

you'd never know this MP3 was the Thermals...

DOWNLOAD: The Thermals cover Elliott Smith (MP3) (info)

This picture is not of The Thermals, Ted Leo, or a vegetarian, bit it is a sexy picture of Les Savy Fav's Tim Harrington dressed as something a vegetarian wouldn't eat at the ATP festival in the UK last weekend that The Thermals (and Grizzly Bear and Daniel Johnston) also played....

The Thermals have a few more shows popping up. Tickets are on sale for a July 27th show in Chicago, and one on August 10th at Maxwell's in NJ. That last one is two days before they play a much larger free show at McCarren Pool in Brooklyn with Ted Leo who may or may not be this year's sexiest vegetarian. Ted Leo was also recently seen looking sexy on MTV (and getting sexed up by the crowd at Webster Hall).

The Thermals recently played NYU with the Hold Steady who are also playing a big free show this summer in Brooklyn.

Posted in music | tour dates | veggie | world music at 1:21 PM | Comments (2)

a review of Bright Eyes in Boston - "Conor Outburst"

Bright Eyes @ the Want Center in Boston - May 24, 2007 (CRED)

Speaking of Bright Eyes kicking off 7 NYC nights tonight, here's a review of Bright Eyes' show last night in Boston by first-time BV-contributor "Filthy McMuffin".......

CONOR OUTBURST

Bright Eyes
May 24, 2007
Wang Center, Boston, MA

Bright Eyes had every luxury available to them heading into Thursday's show at the Wang Center in Boston, MA: a sold-out crowd, perfect acoustics, and a full band that included a string quartet, two horn players, two drummers, a vibraphonist, and a keyboardist (in addition to founding members Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, and Nate Walcott). Unfortunately, they seemed unprepared and unable to reach the sonic expectations that accompany such a venue and group of players. For the most part, the arrangements sounded disjointed and ill-conceived. There were a few exceptions ("Make A Plan To Love Me," "Four Winds") where the instrumentation complemented the songs well and it really worked (mostly due to the songs' structural simplicity). But for most of the night it felt like the crowd was on hand for a trial-and-error practice, like watching a minor league team in a major league setting. Perhaps the band should have focused more on the music and less on their outfits (everyone was decked out in white suits and white dresses, which Oberst glibly attributed to their being born again as "second virgins.") To close the night, an apparently inebriated Oberst started smashing all his instruments and the whole stage ended up being trashed to the tune of deafeningly loud guitar feedback. While it may have been fun for the 27-year-old Oberst, his actions came across as immature histrionics, which is the Achilles heel that he has faced throughout his career. Considering the sonic quality and powerful songwriting contained on Bright Eyes' latest record Cassadaga, it was a shame to see all the musical, visual, and acoustic luxuries go to waste.

-Filthy

elsewhere: TMNT butt, Conor Oberst, & Molly Ringwald + an article in the NY Times.

Previously
* Bright Eyes kicking off 7 nights in NYC tonight

Posted in music at 12:51 PM | Comments (35)

What are you doing this weekend? Bright Eyes?

DOWNLOAD: Bright Eyes - Take it Easy (love nothing) (MP3)

Bright Eyes & Gillian Welch kick off seven nights at Town Hall in NYC tonight. Lightning Bolt, Aa, and DMBQ are playing a Todd P show on Saturday. Sage Francis has two shows at Bowery. Handsome Furs are not playing Maxwell's. Les Breastfeeders are here. The Faint are playing Sunday night, and you might not have to work this Monday when Best New Music's The National kick off five nights at Bowery.

There will also be Memorial Day parades, services, Fleet Week, and a NY Philharmonic concert. What are you doing this weekend?

Posted in To Do | music at 12:04 PM | Comments (25)

Blondie & Lily Allen on the Today show

Blondie performed three songs on the Today show this morning - the second of which was "Heart of Glass" with special guest Lily Allen (who is known for covering that song). Tim was there and got pictures...

Posted in TV | music at 11:19 AM | Comments (26)

The Rosebuds @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC - pics

DOWNLOAD: The Rosebuds - Get Up Get Out (MP3)

some of the crowd got in on the action at the end

Last night's show at Bowery Ballroom just kept getting better and better (May 24, 2007). Bowerbirds were pretty good. The Ladybug Transistor was mostly great (I would have left happy if they headlined), but then The Rosebuds were absolutely incredible. It was actually the first time I ever saw them live, and now I might be a little obsessed. It was exactly what I needed - something to counteract all the David Bruno-approved music that's been dominating my life lately.

Bowery was PACKED too. I have to admit I wasn't expecting that - partly because it still wasn't sold out yesterday - and wasn't their last NYC show at (the much smaller) Union Hall? - I can't even imagine how awesome that must have been.

They're on tour. Check them out.

Previously
* MP3s & A CONTEST for free ROSEBUDS Bowery tix
* VIDEO (premiere): THE ROSEBUDS - 'Silence By The Lakeside' ++ bonus video starring comedian TODD BARRY
* Land of Talk touring with the Rosebuds

Posted in MP3 | music | pictures at 9:52 AM | Comments (19)

more White Stripes Tour Dates & the Icky Thump video

There was already all those summer White Stripes dates, and now...

Icky Thump

The White Stripes have announced a string of fall U.S. tour dates that will take the duo to eight areas it's never played in, as the band continues its mission to visit the 16 states it's never toured before. The trek will begin with a two-night stand in the more traditional market of Chicago on September 4th and 5th, before venturing to states like North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. Jack and Meg White are hitting the road in support of their sixth album, Icky Thump, which arrives on June 19th.

Previous to this, the Stripes will undertake a tour of all 10 Canadian provinces in June and July, including a July 14th stop in Nova Scotia to mark the band's 10th anniversary.

The group is also set to appear at Tennessee's Bonnaroo festival in June and will play some major U.S. markets in late July.

Newly confirmed White Stripes 2007 tour dates:
September 4 - Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
September 5 - Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
September 6 - Lincoln, NE - Pershing Center Auditorium
September 7 - Fargo, ND - Fargo Civic Auditorium
September 8 - Rapid City, SD - Rushmore Plaza Civic Center
September 10 - Jackson Hole, WY - Snowking Center
September 11 - Boise, ID - Idaho Center Theatre
September 12 - Salt Lake City, UT - The "E" Center
September 13 - Albuquerque, NM - Kiva Auditorium
September 15 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits
September 16 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits
September 19 - Inglewood, CA - The Forum
September 21 - Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
September 24 - Anchorage, AK - William A. Egan Civic Center
September 26 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Ballroom
September 27 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Ballroom

High-res Icky at Spinner.

Posted in music | tour dates | video at 9:26 AM | Comments (1)

the week in Dance w/ David Bruno (05/25/07)

DOWNLOAD: Busy P - Rainbow Man (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Hot Chip - No Fit State (audion Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Digitilism - promox mix 2 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Digitilism - Pogo (radio edit) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Daft Punk - Technologic (Vitalic remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Justice - Waters of Nazareth (Erol Alkan remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (Guns and Bombs remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: M.A.N.D.Y. vs Booka Shade - Body Language (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jesse Rose - A Sided (MP3)

first annual NYC Dance Parade - May 19, 2007 (CRED)

Holiday weekends in New York are usually stacked with fantastic dance talent. This weekend is no exception.

Top of the list is a rare NYC DJ set from gutter/wobble house mover and shaker Jesse Rose. If you like Switch, you'll be down with Jesse. Jesse runs his own label (Front Room Recordings) and records for Berlin's Get Physical (home of Booka Shade & M.A.N.D.Y) and Switch's Dubsided label. While his productions for those fine imprints tend to the 4 to the floor with the wobble bassline, he also runs a jazzy house label 'loungin recordings'. Expect to hear a DIVERSE set from JR this Saturday at Fixed at Studio B. Go to Front Room's Jesse Rose Bio for more details...

The FIXED boys have been kind enough to give us 3 pairs of tickets to see Jesse Rose on Saturday night. Email BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM with an invented house music genre. For example, Fixed resident Dave P probably invented "cocainesexjams". Winners will be notified by Saturday afternoon at the latest.

Its no secret I love house music outside, this is a great clip from Jesse doin' it outside in Miami during WMC....

Hightlights for the rest of the weekend:

APT has a killer weekend planned. Thursday (May 24th) night sees the Dirtybird himself Claude Von Stroke touchdown for the first in a monthly series of parties featuring the San Franscisco based Dirtybird Records crew. Friday night gets a super new disco infusion from Max Pask, Andy Butler of DFA's Hercules and Love Affair, and My Cousin Roy. Check out my site for a little bit more on Hercules and Love Affair.

As mentioned, Studio B rips it out with Crystal Castles (hopefully they'll show) on Friday, Fixed on Saturday, and a Beautiful/Decay party on Sunday featuring Taylor McFerrin, Mattie from the Rapture, and Scottie B.

Cielo has Ben Watt for a second time this week on Thursday night. Steve Bug, champion of the mimimal sound, plays the club for Made Event on Friday.

Rebel throws down again on Friday night, the wonderful DJ Harvey freaks out at Love on Saturday, King Britt plays Sullivan Room on Friday, Acid Girls play the Ruff Club on Friday, Drop the Lime Video release party on Saturday at Savalas, and Flavorpill hops across town to the Natural History Museum for their new monthly Friday night bash.

And last but not least of course, the baby daddy of all today's parties: The Faint rock MOTHERFU@KER on Sunday at Webster Hall.

NEWS

• I've recently discovered Fact Magazine UK. The Contemporary Fix is an excellent monthly rundown of electronic music by TAPE's Kiran Sande. I agree completely:

  In brief: Bjorn Torske’s album is worth your hard-earned for that breezy whistle-fest ‘Hatten Passer‘ alone; the awesome Pilooski edit of Frankie Valli has been re-licensed to 679 and is going to be this year’s ‘Crazy’, so pick up the white and enjoy it while you can; and Hot Chip’s ‘My Piano’, the new track recorded for their DJ Kicks compilation, is camp, euphoric, anthemic pop genius – and the 12” packs a tasty dub. Enjoy.

• If you are anywhere near Detroit this weekend, you should be at the DEMF festival
• Earplug does Klaxons
• Resident Advisor rewrites a press release on Justice's forthcoming album. I still only like "Stress".
• Just in time for summer, Modular releases Cut Copy's ridiculously fantastic "HEARTS ON FIRE"
• DJ Mag interviews Stretch Armstrong about his new electro blog house tendencies

MUSICISM

• Ben Watt's mix Buzzin' Fly Vol. 4 is streaming over at AOL's Spinner
• Distortion Disco has the pretty cool new Bonde Do Role track
• Fujiya & Miyagi's new video for "Ankle Injuries"
• Italo Rave Disco from Scuoloa Furano over at Electric Zoo
• Chromeo's new video for "Fancy Footwork" (MOV)
• Digitalism's new video for "POGO"
• XLR8R TV gets spooky with Joakim
• Pick up tracks from A Touch of Class, Motor, and New Young Pony Club over at XLR8R Downloads

-David

Posted in MP3 | To Do | dance | music at 9:07 AM | Comments (4)

May 24, 2007

LADY SOVEREIGN issues apology, press release

Lady Sovereign cut short a PA set in Brooklyn last Friday night at Studio B following her performance supporting Gwen Stefani at PNC Bank Arts Centre, New Jersey. Lady Sovereign cut her performance to just 2 tracks (she was booked to perform 4 tracks). She was only able to get on stage at 3:30am, two hours later than planned due to her tour bus breaking down on the way to Studio B (a fanbelt needed replacing). Following a long day driving from Bristow, VA and having already performed at the PNC Bank Arts Centre that night, tiredness set in and an emotional and short performance followed. Lady Sov says "I know how stupid i must have looked on Friday, I was tired and not in the mood, having a bad day. But that's no excuse for letting fans down, I'm sorry to those that were at Studio B to see me".

Lady Sovereign will return for a highly anticipated New York performance on July 7, at the exclusive opening night celebration of Spiegeltent. We will have the tour bus replaced prior to the event, and a great show is guaranteed.

Posted in music at 5:03 PM | Comments (25)

Wes' Weekly Hip Hop News Roundup (May 24, 2007)

DOWNLOAD: Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass (MP3)

Aesop Rock speaks on John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats making a guest appearance on None Shall Pass. The Rap Up shares with us the tracklist and cover for the album (MP3 above).

Ms. Lauryn Hill shows newbies like Amy Winehouse how it's really done with her new single Lose Myself

Rakim @ Southpaw, Brooklyn, NY - May 19, 2007 (CRED)

Billed only as The 18th Letter and The Leader, Southpaw in Brooklyn subtly advertised the show with a ‘know the deal or don’t show’ attitude. After an hour and half wait, Rakim graced the stage at 2:00AM to a packed house. The material was what you expected, tracks from his extensive catalogue ranging from ageless Eric B. classics like “Paid in Full” and “Don’t Sweat the Technique” and solo singles “When I B On the Mic” and “It’s Been a Long Time.” More impressive than Rakim’s setlist however was his incredible stage presence, unmatched by anyone else and a fine example of how you earn the title The Master. [26 Going on 27]

Check out the lineup of free NYC hip hop park shows this summer - Kurtis Blow, Arrested Development, Biz Markie, Slick Rick, Whodini, Black Sheep,.....

How was Devin the Dude at Knitting Factory? Reviews at The NY Times and the Village Voice. Interview at Prefix. How was the Beanie Sigel show? Oh wait, it didn't happen.

Read this hilarious interview with Mike Heron, Joell Ortiz' manager - then read about Joell working with Smokey Robinson for his new album. On May 20th Krs-One, Fat Joe, Marly Marl, Joell Ortiz, and a whole pack of legends took the stage at Irving Plaza in NYC. Videos are popping up all over YouTube....

...those videos, NEWS, SHOWS, MP3s, and more, BELOW...........

KRS-One & Marley Marl Live May 20th '07 @ Irving Pl.

Peace. Love. Unity. And Having Fun. More videos from the show HERE and HERE.

NEWS

• Whoa, Remember Drag-on? Never liked him much but this interview is pretty cool
• In the biggest surprise of the year Method Man was found with marijuana on his person.
• Never thought I'd ever say this but Master P shares some insightful thoughts
• Last, and definitely least former Source owner and eternally unsuccessful 'rapper' Benzino makes me chuckle with surprising turn of events. Now he wants to be friends with Eminem again.

MUSIC

• Stones Throw is set to release a deluxe double-CD reissue of Jaylib's underappreciated 2003 classic, Champion Sound, on June 12. Madlib hooked up a bunch of unreleased Jaylib remixes for disc two of the reissue, including this one: Jaylib The Mission (Stringed Out remix) download at GVB.
• One of the best female MCs around: Rah Digga's 2003 album Everything is a Story was shelved but download 4 songs here
• Download the new Jadakiss mixtape here.
• Sick of mash ups yet? No? Check out The Hood Internet.

VIDEO

• This was one of my least favorite songs on the Timbaland's album but Throw It On Me ft. The Hives has a video that gave me a whole new appreciation for the song. Cool comic book/Sin City type treatment.
• Uncle Murda's video for Bullet, Bullet is pretty rough, but the song is awesome.
• The Beastie Boys are back with a new video.
• Video Ghetto Penthouse interviews The Clipse's Malice and indie heavyweight Sean Price.
• KRS-One & Marley Marl - Hip-Hop Lives: the video
• Most anticipated Hip Hop album of 2007? Pharoah Monche channels Elvis in the new video for Body Baby. Also check out Pharoahe's new behind the scenes video.
• Check the video for El-P Ft Trent Reznor's Flyentology here.

SHOWS

5/25 Lifesavas @ Southpaw, 9pm

5/25 Lyricist Lounge Presents: Pete Rock & Stimilus @ Southpaw, 11pm

5/25 & 5/26 Sage Francis with Band plus Buck 65 / Alias / Buddy Wakefield @ Bowery Ballroom, tix

5/26 Mos Def @ Highline Ballroomm tix

5/29 Lyricist Lounge Presents: Slum Village, Illa Jay (J Dilla's Brother) @ Southpaw, 9PM

5/31 T-Pain @ SOBs, 8pm, $25, tix

6/05 Method Man with special guest GZA / Mike Relm @ Webster Hall, only $15! tix

6/3 Hot 97 Summer Jam @ Giant Stadium, Tickets will be going on sale April 27th at 9AM. Presale April 23rd, 9AM with password ACCESS

6/8 Common @ Central Park Summer Stage w/ Joss Stone & Ryan Shaw

6/9 DJ Drama plus Willie The Kid / The Rub DJs @ The Highline Ballroom, tix

6/15 DMX @ B.B. King's Blues Club & Grill, 11.30pm, tix

06/15 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Tribute To Grandmaster Flash & Furious Five @ Paradise Theater, Bronx (tix)

6/23 3rd Annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival ft Ghostface, Consequence, Skillz and more. (info).

07/28 & 29 - Rock the Bells w/ Wu Tang and many others @ Randall's Island

07/29 - "Wild Style 25th Anniversary Reunion" Central Park SummerStage ft Busy Bee, Cold Crush Brothers, DJ Grand Wizzard Theodore & Grand Master Caz

07/19 Arrested Development @ Von King Park (Brooklyn)

07/25 Kurtis Blow/DJ GrandWizzard Theodore/Ralph McDaniel @ Crotona Park (Bronx)

07/31 Whodini @ Queensbridge Park (Manhattan)

08/03 Lyricist Lounge With KRS-One, Ladybug Mecca, and more @ Prospect Park Bandshell. (info)

08/08 Biz Markie/DJ Lovebug starski @ Jackie Robinson Park (Manhattan)

08/09 Slick Rick/DJ Red Alert @ Marcus Garvy Park (Manhattan)

08/15 Black Sheep @ Mahoney Playground (Staten Island)

------

this post brought to you by Undisputed Wes

Posted in MP3 | hiphop | music | tour dates at 4:21 PM | Comments (2)

Mystery Jets cancel tour due to VISA problems too

This is now the third post in a row related to VISA issues: Handsome Furs & M.I.A., The Maccabees, and now the Mystery Jets are also cancelling their tour - that includes their Joe's Pub gig, and the June 2nd show at Bowery Ballroom.

The Bowery show will still happen with openers White Rabbit and Vampire Weekend (a stereogum and L Magazine band to watch and hear), but Dansettes and Aeroplane Pageant were also added to the bill, AND the price was slightly reduced. If you already bought a ticket you'll get a drink ticket at the door to make up for the difference. I suppose refunds will also be issued to those wanting to go that route.

Posted in music | tour dates at 3:02 PM | Comments (12)

Noisettes / MACCABEES tix back on sale + Album Stream

Tickets are back on sale for the June 6th Noisettes/Maccabees show at Knitting Factory in NYC. If you were listening to my Sirius radio show with guest DJ Never Forget on Tuesday, you heard us/him play the "South Central remix" of The Maccabees' song X-Ray.

Stream the UK band's whole new album at AOL. All tour dates below...

UPDATE: According to Indietastic, The Maccabees are ALSO having VISA problems which means they're not getting to the U.S. until June 3rd.

The Maccabbees - 2007 Tour Dates
May 27 - Pompano Beach Amphitheatre * West Palm Beach, Florida
May 28 - Jannus Landing * St. Petersburg, Florida
May 29 - Firestone * Orlando, Florida
May 31 - The Tabernacle * Atlanta, Georgia
Jun 1 - House of Blues * North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Jun 2 - Millenium Center * Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Jun 3 - DAR Constitution Hall * Washington, Washington DC
Jun 5 - Tower Theatre * Upper Darby, Pennsylvania
Jun 6 - The Knitting Factory New York, New York
Jun 7 - Asbury Park Convention Hall * Asbury Park, New Jersey
Jun 9 - Schubas Tavern Chicago, Illinois
Jun 11 - Uptown Theatre * Kansas City, Missouri
Jun 12 - Ogden Theatre * Denver, Colorado
Jun 13 - The Pearl Room Theatre at Palms Casino * Las Vegas, Nevada
Jun 14 - Pop Scene Show @ 330 Ritch San Francisco, California
Jun 15 - Troubador Los Angeles, California
Jun 16 - Viejas Concerts in the Park * Alpine, California
Jun 22 - Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury
Jun 29 - Accelerator Festival Stockholm
Jul 7 - T in The Park Scotland
Jul 8 - Oxegen Festival Dublin
Jul 13 - Summercase Festival Barcelona
Jul 14 - Summercase Festival Madrid
Aug 5 - Electric Gardens Festival Kent
Aug 24 - Leeds Festival Leeds
Aug 26 - Reading Festival Reading
Sep 7 - Bestival Isle of Wight

* w/ Bloc Party

"Precious Time"

Posted in music | streams | tour dates at 2:28 PM | Comments (6)

MIA, Sasquatch Festival, YETI & Merc tonight

Handsome Furs are not playing Mercury Lounge tonight (May 24) due to VISA problems (which sucks), but Love As Laughter and TK Webb & The Visions will still go on (10pm).

M.I.A. is also having VISA problems again which in turn will not allow her to make her scheduled appearance at the Sasquatch Festival this weekend, BUT Jerry Yeti (not to be confused with the Sasquatch Yeti Stage) will once again be on hand to give us the non-MIA blow by blow. Perhaps he will check out The Long Winters who will be there to entertain us in her place.

Those with epilepsy should stay away from M.I.A.'s homepage. Those going to Lollapalooza should still expect to see M.I.A. there at this point.

Posted in Sasquatch | music at 2:08 PM | Comments (0)

BOWERBIRDS - album stream, MP3, tour dates & TONIGHT

DOWNLOAD: Bowerbirds - In Our Talons (MP3)

Tonight's Rosebuds/Ladybug Transistor show (May 24) just got more interesting - actually it was already that interesting, but I just realized it was more interesting. The reason = the opener = BOWERBIRDS. After a tip from HOAS, I meant to check them out at Sidewalk Cafe back in October, but then forgot. Right before that The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle called them, "The Best Band You Haven't Heard Yet".

And YES, like pretty much any band putting out an album on any sort of label, they have a publicist now, and yes - blog love is quickly picking up steam. And yes they sound a little bit like Devendra Banhart. And yes I forgot what I'm even talking about. Their album is streaming on their MySpace.

They go on first at Bowery tonight (May 24). Get there early. All tour dates below....

Bowerbirds - 2007 Tour Dates
May 24 - the Bowery Ballroom with Rosebuds and Ladybug Transistor NYC
Jun 22 - Local 506 with Charles Latham (going away forever party) Chapel Hill, NC
Jun 23 - Rock and Shop Market! Raleigh, NC
Jun 30 - The Blend (was Wetlands) with Schooner, Wes Phillips,Chapel Hill, NC
Jul 17 - Nightlight Carrboro, NC

Previously
Ladybug Transistor & Rosebuds playing Bowery & stuff

Posted in MP3 | music | tour dates at 1:28 PM | Comments (2)

Daniel Johnston's private show & the Man Man vegan dinner

There was no way I was going to pass up a big vegan dinner cooked by Isa Chisandra that included an open bar and a Man Man show (true - I'm not the biggest man man fan, but still). That was until I found out I could instead catch a short set by Daniel Johnston - and still have time to see Man Man on top of it. The Daniel Johnston show was in this loft-office-production-company space in SOHO that fit about 125 people. Luckily there was free food there too, but sadly it mainly consisted of cocktail weiners and macaroni & cheese - aka nothing I could eat. On the way there I passed Fred Schneider of the B-52's going into the Antony-Nico Muhly-Final Fantasy $600 Kitchen performance that Lou Reed was also at to honor his wife/girlfriend Laurie Anderson. Kitchen co-sponsor and Daniel Johnston fan David Bowie was at neither performance.

Daniel played for about 30 minutes - an acoustic set with Brett Hartenbach (who also played with him acoustic at Warsaw). The whole thing was being taped - part of some new series for something (not totally sure what). I was also supposed to interview Daniel after the show - hopefully to clear up the air, but that ended up not working out. Maybe there's nothing to clear up (Interview still might happen though). Happy, and moved, yet conflicted and disappointed, I left and walked over to Man Man. It was just a few blocks away in Chinatown.

It was around 9:15, and Man Man was going on at 9:30....WRONG - a big sign on the door said that Man Man doors weren't opening until 10:00. After killing some time in the area while simultaneously getting tireder and tireder, I came back a little after 10:00 to find that doors were still not open, and there was a huge line going in two different directions. I gave up and went home.

Previously
* vegan MAN MAN tonight (tix) -- Bad Art Auction in June
* private DANIEL JOHNSTON show tonight - WIN TIX (or DVD)

Posted in music | pictures at 12:11 PM | Comments (19)

VIDEO: Grizzly Bear on the beach @ ATP

Many have accused Jimmy Kimmel of biting La Blogoteque's 'take away show' style with his video of Feist on a bus. La Blogoteque is known for capturing Arcade Fire in an elevator, The National at a dinner table, The Shins on the street, ETC. They've also done Grizzly Bear - both take away style, and just in regular style, but in French.

That all said, some may immediately think the following video is yet another bite on La Blog. Actually it is, but it isn't, but it is. Grizzly Bear went to the beach to film a clip for an official video about ATP (not La Blog), BUT the guy filming it IS one of the La Blogoteque bloggers (sell out!), BUT the guy that actually filmed the below clip was merely an audience member (thief!).....

Grizzly Bear - 2007 Tour Dates
May 26 - Sasquatch Music Festival George, Washington
Jun 2 - Primavera Festival Barcelona, undefined
Jun 8 - Calvin Theater * Northampton, Massachusetts
Jun 9 - Berklee Performance Center * Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 13 - 9:30 Club * Washington DC, Washington DC
Jun 14 - Carolina Theater * Greensboro, North Carolina
Jun 15 - Variety Playhouse * atlanta, Georgia
Jun 19 - The Vic Theater * Chicago, Illinois
Jun 20 - Pantages Theater * Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jun 22 - Boulder Theater * Boulder, Colorado
Jun 24 - Moore Theater * Seattle, Washington
Jun 26 - TBA * Portland, Oregon
Jun 26 - The Fillmore * San Francisco, California
Jun 29 - The Wiltern * Los Angeles, California
Jul 14 - Pitchfork Music Festival Chicago, Illinois
Jul 16 - Summerstage (with the Decemberists & Land of Talk) New York, New York

* w/ Feist

previously
* more Grizzly Bear posts

Posted in music | video at 10:14 AM | Comments (18)

May 23, 2007

private DANIEL JOHNSTON show tonight - WIN TIX (or DVD)

DOWNLOAD: Daniel Johnston - Impossible Love (MP3)

Sorry for the last minute notice on this one. Daniel Johnston is playing a private acoustic performance tonight in SOHO in NYC (May 23). The event, which will also have some of Daniel's artwork on display, runs from 7-9 pm. It's invite-only, but I have two pairs of tickets to give away to two people who email BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM right now (subject: Daniel) and tell me what famous rocker wore a Daniel Johnston t-shirt during his performance at the 1992 Video Music Awards? Include your first and last name for the guestlist. Two winners will be picked at random at 4:15 pm (today - May 23) and emailed the location.

If you can't make the show, I also have one copy of "the Devil and Daniel Johnston" DVD to give out. Just mention in the email that you want the DVD instead of the tickets.

This will also actually be Daniel's second private NYC performance on this tour. I heard he played a conference room on the afternoon before the Warsaw show.

Oh, and in case you were wondering - Daniel has not been in NYC since last week. In fact, he just arrived back to NYC from Europe today. While there he played 3 shows in the UK (including ATP), and one in Belgium. For a guy who just recently couldn't travel at all, he's really turned around.

Posted in Contests | music at 1:56 PM | Comments (31)

vegan MAN MAN tonight (tix) -- Bad Art Auction in June

$35 tickets to the vegan dinner with Man Man sold out pretty quickly, BUT there is still room in the open-bar room that Man Man is playing in (Grand Harmony Palace @ 98 Mott St.), and you can go for just $10. You have to RSVP, but keep in mind that RSVP does not guarantee entry - It will still be first-come, first-serveed. Man Man's set time is 9:30.

Initial details on NY Magazine's next (June) event below....

JUNE 2007 - BAD ART AUCTION

Destroy art for a good cause. Rising art-world stars help us curate the worst art from this city of too much bad art already. And then our unqualified, but amusing, auctioneer will help explain just how ridiculous these works are and will sell them to the highest bidders, who can then add the pieces to their collections or have them destroyed live onstage. All auction proceeds will be going to a worthy art-related charity (which will not be a trust fund for photographers to take pictures of their hot friends puking topless).

Previously
* MAN MAN vegan dinner w/ ISA CHANDRA & NY Magazine
* NY Magazine's Indie Rock Karaoke

Posted in To Do | music | veggie at 1:16 PM | Comments (13)

Good Morning America 2007 Concert Series

The following short-free-televised shows take place at 7am in Bryant Park in NYC....

Good Morning America - 2007 Schedule
May 25 ......... Fergie .........................
June 1.......... Daughtry ........ ........
June 8 .......... Robin Thicke .......
June 15.......... Brad Paisley ...... ...
June 22....... Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana
June 29 .......... Patti LaBelle .
July 6 .......... Norah Jones .
July 13 ..........Fantasia .............
July 20 .......... John Mayer + Special Guest
July 27 .......... SugarLand ........ ...
August 3 .........John Legend
August 10 ......... Mika.........
August 17......... TBA ...............
August 24 ......... TBA ............

Speaking of John Mayer, College Humor has a video of him doing standup comedy.

Robin Thicke is also playing Radio City with Jill Scott.

Norah Jones is touring with M. Ward.

Mika looks like shit.

Previously
* other Good Morning America posts

Posted in NYC | music | tour dates at 11:56 AM | Comments (29)

I'M FROM BARCELONA add Brooklyn show + some BLONDE REDHEAD videos from "23"

Tickets are on sale for an August 6th I'm From Barcelona show at Southpaw in Brooklyn. It's one day after they open for Blonde Redhead at McCarren Pool. New Blonde Redhead videos below...

"Top Ranking"

This is the official video for the song "Top Ranking" off of Blonde Redhead's seventh album, "23". Directed by Mike Mills and featuring Miranda July.

"23"

This is the first video for the title track (and soaring opener) of Blonde Redhead's new album, '23'. The video was directed by Melodie McDaniel.

I'm From Barcelona's only other announced U.S. date is Lollapalooza at the moment. Same with Blonde Redhead actually.

Previously
* more I'm From Barcelona posts
* more Blonde Redhead posts

Posted in music | tour dates | video at 11:13 AM | Comments (6)

LADYBUG TRANSISTOR memorial, new album, MP3 & A CONTEST for free ROSEBUDS Bowery tix

DOWNLOAD: The Rosebuds - Blue Bird (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Rosebuds - You Better Get Ready (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Ladybug Transistor - Song for the Ending Day (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Ladybug Transistor - Three Days from Now (MP3)

What we already know
* The Rosebuds have a new video
* The Rosebuds are going on tour with Land of Talk
* San Fadyl of the Ladybug Transistor has passed away
* The Rosebuds & Ladybug Transistor are playing Bowery Ballroom Thursday night

What we now know
* Ladybug Transistor & others are playing a San Fadyl memorial show @ Soundfix
* Ladybug Transistor have an album ("Can't Wait Another Day") out June 5th on Merge

The album features spirited contributions from members of Aislers Set, Architecture in Helsinki, The Clientele, Jens Lekman, Kevin Barker (Currituck Co., Vetiver), Heather McIntosh (Circulatory System, Instruments), Roy Nathanson (Lounge Lizards/Jazz Passengers) and others. The first fruits of these sessions were heard on 2006's Here Comes The Rain EP.

Do you want to see the Ladybug Transistor & The Rosebuds at Bowery Ballroom Thursday night (May 24)? I have two pairs of tickets to give away. To win, e-mail BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: Rosebuds). Tell me your favorite band on Merge Records. Two winners will be picked at random, and contacted around 5pm today (May 23). Include your first and last name for the guestlist.

Posted in Contests | MP3 | music | tour dates at 4:14 AM | Comments (14)

Portishead, Mazzy Star, Patti Smith, The Decemberists

DOWNLOAD: Portishead - Roads (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Mazzy Star - Wasted (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jesus & Mary Chain & Hope Sandoval - Sometimes Always (MP3) (via)

* Portishead playing All Tomorrow's Parties
* Patti Smith covers the Decemberists
* Tix still on sale for Decemberists, Grizzly Bear, Land of Talk
* Hope Sandoval continues to live in relative obscurity
* Jesus & Mary Chain complete two nights at Webster Hall

Posted in MP3 | music at 3:50 AM | Comments (10)

Jesus & Mary Chain @ Webster Hall (night 2), NYC - pics

This fourth and last of their U.S. reunion shows (May 22, 2007) was the only one I attended. Price aside, I liked it. Not everyone was happy though.

Just Like Honey @ Webster Hall part I

Just Like Honey @ Webster HAll part II

That's Nicole from the Comas singing backup again. More dates....

Jesus & Mary Chain - Summer 2007 Tour Dates
22/06 - UK London @ Meltdown Festival
04/07 - Portugal Lisbon @ Super Bock Super Rock Festival
13/07 - Spain Madrid @ Summercase Festival
14/07 - Spain Barcelona @ Summercase Festival
12/08 - Germany bHildesheim @ M'era Luna Festival
31/08 - UK Argyll, Scotland @ Connect Festival
01/09 - Ireland, Stradbally, Laois @ Electric Picnic

DOWNLOAD: The Jesus & Mary Chain - About You (MP3)

Previously
* the Jesus & Mary Chain played Webster Hall, David Letterman ++ Comas - 2007 Tour Dates

Posted in MP3 | music | pictures | tour dates at 2:28 AM | Comments (52)

VIDEOS: Gruff Rhys - 'Candylion' & the John Rambo trailer

The guy from Super Furry Animals knocks a lemon right off a table. John Rambo knocks someone's head right off their body...

Candylion

John Rambo

Gruff Rhys - 2007 Tour DatesZ
Jun 3 - Brazil,Sao Paulo, Studio SP Sao Paulo
Jun 9 - Lynton and Lynmouth Festival, Devon South
Jun 30 - Acceletaror - Stockholm Sweden
Jul 27 - TrocaBrahamaUK, Liverpool - Picket Liverpool
Jul 28 - TrocaBrahamaUK, Glasgow-Fruit Market Glasgow
Jul 29 - TrocaBrahamaUK, London -Koko London, South
Aug 11 - Field Day Festival, London London
Aug 12 - Summer Sundae Festival, Leicester Leicester, Midlands
Aug 12 - Summer Sundae, Leicester
Aug 19- Green Man Festival, Brecon Wales

Info on the Rambo IV footage here.

Posted in movies | music | video at 1:22 AM | Comments (3)

May 22, 2007

Summerstage 2007 Schedule now official

The 2007 Central Park Summerstage line-up is now official, and posted on their website. (thx all)

Posted in comedy | music | tour dates at 5:19 PM | Comments (20)

Handsome Furs cancel tour, though album is out (MP3)

I was definitely excited for one or both of the Handsome Furs shows at Mercury Lounge this week, but unfortunately - they are not happening anymore - possibly due to border/VISA issues, though it is still unclear.

Oh well - it still should be noted though that their album Plague Park is out this week, and is definitely very interesting.

DOWNLOAD: Handsome Furs - What We Had (MP3)

Posted in MP3 | music | tour dates at 5:16 PM | Comments (10)

A letter from Cartel's "Bubble Boy" (to Bob Lefsetz)

I actually never even heard of Cartel until all this caffeinated-carbonated-beverage-band-in-a-bubble hoopla. I also sort of tried to ignore it until just now - that's when I posted the fact that this event is happening right here in NYC next month, and for free. then the first commenter asked, "Why is Cartel plaing inside a stupid bubble?". That in turn reminded me of a letter that the singer of Cartel wrote to Bob Lefsetz......

Bob,

I'm the singer and main songwriter for the band Cartel that you so vehemently wrote off as another desperate band in a desperate time. I've got to admit that your recent letter got under my skin but I totally understand where you're coming from and agree with most everything you said. I don't really care about a response from you. I just want you to hear what the artist is thinking and not what a label/manager/ad agency or anyone else has to say about this.

First off, lets get all the things we agree on out of the way. Of course this is a marketing ploy and a huge one at that. There's not one person who reads about this fan or not that isn't going to see this as a stunt. Second, if I were not the subject of the matter I would whole-heartedly agree that whatever band was doing was being suckered in and hoodwinked and hijacked or whatever phrase we can think of. Lastly, the industry nowadays should be about the music and nothing else. The artist should feel that his or her talent and expression of which should be the only thing that matters and nothing more. With all that I agree.

Now, to address what assumptions you are making about us as an artist. Well, you admitted right off that you've never heard of us and we've been touring for 4 years and started on an indie label....yada yada. All that has a lot to do with why we did this. I'm 23 so most of the lifespan of the modern music industry has passed my mature mind by. 10 years ago I couldn't tell you who sang most of the songs that I had stuck in my head nor did I care. now, things are different. For one, the industry and music for that matter is not one iota comparable to an era such as the 70's....ever since all those bands became popular and started making labels the juggernauts that they are today it's been a downward spiral to this point in time....with labels and agencies and managers at the helm. Artists who are selling records and in the spotlight for the most part have little to nothing to do with anything other than the songs and even then I'd make a guess the 90% of the big artists are having someone else write their songs or sample it from a greater era of songwriting.

Cartel is a band tha believes in what we do. We write the kind of songs that could be on the radio....we also write the kind of songs radio programmers would scoff at. When is the last you heard of a band that has a top 40 single on the radio that also had a 12 minute finale that went through about 4 different movements and turned 5 different choruses from the previous songs into a medley reprise at the end. If there is such an artist I haven't heard of them and most people who have heard the first single on our last record didn't know we were that kind of band either. That is precisely the point. People don't know what kind of artist we are. All they see is what radio and mtv want them to see which is the songs that sell records nowadays. 12 minute epics have no place on radio or mtv....hell, the only show that plays videos on mtv anymore only shows about 2 minutes of each video.....AND THOSE ARE THE MOST POPULAR ONES!!!!

See, we only have one record. We're about to record our 2nd. People don't really know us from any other band on the radio or mtv. All that is about to change. This bubble shit is stirring up all kinds of dust around the music world. Its something people find ridiculous. People think we're crazy, sellouts, whores and everything else negative they can think of. Some people see it as cool. (I would venture to say that most of these people don't have their head up their asses about music in the sense that they don't think they are the definitive source on music knowledge or "what's wrong with the industry"). The big point is that people who have never heard of us are hearing about us now. I know that great bands get out there some way.....but how long does that take. Even the upstarts from left field don't have a career long enough to even call them road tested.....shit, some of them have played less than 100 shows ever by the time they "make it".

The industry is crumbling. People are losing their jobs. Less established bands are being dropped from major labels everyday.....even ones that sold pretty decently but didn't get the break everyone was looking for. We are looking at this as our make or break opportunity. If this bubble thing never happened we would release our next record to our 200,000 or so fans with a single to radio that would be negligibly pushed and we would just sit back and see what happens with our career as our tour schedule continued. It might have broke and we could be sitting on cloud nine by the end of the year and everyone is happy with no cred lost and no harm done. That's best case scenario. What if it flopped in the labels eyes and only sold 300k or so...that's not good enough for these people. We'd be shitting ourselves still calling it awesome and enjoying the modest loot we make on the road. Now here's where you say "shouldn't it only matter what you think.....that you did your best and did it without this whole mess". Well, it does only matter what we think. It really doesn't matter what you or any other blogger in the world thinks. We think we fucking rock. We think we're one of the best bands making popular or any other kind of music right now. Our producers don't do shit to our songs and we don't listen to our A&R...he just got fired anyway. We'd dropkick most of the top 40 artists right in the face if we were put up to the tests of live performance or songwriting ability. With that being said, there are artists who are up there who are fantastic and bust their ass and earned it the old fashioned way. We, however, feel we deserve to be up there too and just because pete wentz doesn't tell everybody they should like our band doesn't mean we don't belong.

This marketing scheme shows the world that we are a real band with real inspiration and real songs. Not some american idol winner or a label lottery contestant. People get to see us do what we do under intense pressure and scrutiny and still hit a fucking grand slam while in the meantime people in your position are hating like there's no tomorrow on a band that they know little to nothing about.

Popular music is still the standard. Every legendary artist is the most popular at what they do and have accrued many platinum records......why? Because millions of people like their music....not the 500k or so indie kids who are too busy sucking their thumbs to realize that a really good band is being passed by because they "soldout". We're even losing some of our fans by trying to play more technical and less "bouncy" rock. They think we've started to become boring to watch because we don't encite mosh pits. That's not what we're about. We aspire to such bands as pearl jam and oasis and radiohead and the beatles and the beach boys and led zepplin....shit Yes is our lead guitar players favorite band. Steve howe is fucking god. Now how many top 40 artist could even name yes or steve howe for that matter.

All you guys think we're just another dickless band with mediocre songs without even giving us a chance. That's no way to find out about a band you might actually like. We will gladly accept all the fans that will have us even if they are of the generation that only listens to radio.....why? Because they just listen to music.....they don't analyze business decisions or marketing ploys. They only care what's coming in their ears and that's what we're about. Not some scene that's too stuck in the past to do anything worthwhile anymore.

So we put our necks on the chopping block. We throw ourselves at everyone's mercy with the belief that we wrote badass songs and that's all that should matter. Which, as you say, that's all that should matter. Not a bubble, not a gimmick, not a marketing stunt, not even mtv.....but the tunes. If we fail at that then that's our mistake and ours alone. But if we knock it out of the park then we bypass all the lame fucks who are too full of themselves to take on opportunities such as this. Its not for everybody but its for us. Fuck selling records if that's what you think this is all about. We want people to know that we will write rock songs and ballads and shit you probably haven't heard before right in front of everyone's eyes with no strings and no puppeteers doing the work for us. Listen to the record and decide then what to do with us.

Call this my manifesto but for one I'm sick of all the ninnies running around acting like they know anything about what it takes to create music. To all of them and you I ask......where's your albums?

Thanks for your time if you actually read this. If you did I appreciate your attention and hopefully this shed some light on the darkness surrounding the bubble.

Take care.
--Will Pugh

-www.cartelrocks.com-

bonus points if you read the whole letter.

Posted in music at 5:08 PM | Comments (37)

2007 Riverrocks free NYC concert schedule

free shows @ Pier 54 @ 14th St, NYC, 2007
Jun 12 - Cartel in a bubble
Jun 28 - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Jul 19 - The Blind Boys of Alabama, Trombone Shorty, Sam & Ruby
Aug 09 - Yerba Buena, Los Amigos Invisibles, Jose Conde Y Ola Fresca

more info here.

Posted in music | tour dates at 4:45 PM | Comments (21)

LADY SOVEREIGN freaks out @ Studio B (video) ++ a new PROFESSOR MURDER mixtape (MP3)

DOWNLOAD: Caps & Jones + Professor Murder - Mixed Tape (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Professor Murder - Free Stress Test (streetlab remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Lady Sovereign - Love me or Hate Me (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Lady Sovereign - Hoodie (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Lady Sovereign - Hoodie (Spank Rock remix) (MP3)

Professor Murder & Lady Sovereign played a show at Studio B in Brooklyn this weekend, and shortly afterwards the e-mails started pouring in - I mean the Lady Sov part of the show WAS advertised as a mini-set, but this is ridiculous....

Went to go see Lady Sovereign perform at Studio B in Greenpoint. I am not sure what happened, the show started off quite well. She performed two songs and then she got on the Mic and started complaining about how poor she was, and how she had no money and then BAM! she walked off stage, much to the dismay of Studio B.????? and the entire crowd who showed up to see her.

Yo that was pathetic. I can't believe you'd diss youself so hard in Williamsburg. Don't you know that you had a crowd of about 500 tastemakers there just for you? I thought you were someone who mattered. How wrong I was. Go fuck yourself.

Lady, your days are numbered. You just flipped the bird to Williamsburg, the center of the universe. You're over sweety. [Rock Star Diary]

...and by "ridiculous", I of course mean the part about Williamsburg being "the center of the universe". :-) Igor describes the situation like this:

Last night at Studio B in Brooklyn rapper Lady Sovereign completely broke down on stage. As she was waiting to go on stage she started setting this flier on the wall on fire. She got up on stage and the first thing she said was that this was the smallest crowd she had played to in "a long time". This probably had something to do with the fact that people waited two hours for her to go on. She then played Love Me or Hate Me but she didn't sing the choruses. Then she proceeded to say she was just here for the money. She said she was broke and didn't want to go on. She was like "I don't know what I am doing, what song is next?" Then she did another song and just sort of broke down. She said that she had been playing the same songs for two years and that she was sick of it. She told the audience that we couldn't possibly understand. She then was like "fuck this, I don't care if I don't get paid" and walked off the stage after a quick talk with her DJ. It was totally surreal.

Igor also supplsed the pictures on the top of this post, and the following video:

Is she for real, or is it all one big continuing psycho act. Did anyone see her show earlier in the night with Gwen Stefani?

Professor Murder also played the Studio B show. I hope their set was longer. Check out the top of this post for a brand new Professor Morder mixtape that they described to me like this:

we went to the Brothers Studio in Greenpoint and recorded lots and lots of live instrumental jams which we cut up into dozens of loops, which we sent to Caps & Jones, who used them along with other tracks and vocals and everything else to make this mix. The mix also have a preview of our single "Dutch Hex", which will be coming out sometime soon on the new Brothers Label, run out of the Brothers Studio.

Previously
* more Professor Murder posts
* more Lady Sovereign posts

Posted in MP3 | music at 2:01 PM | Comments (70)

Battles also playing Studio B in Brooklyn

Battles are not only touring all over and playing South Street Seaport in August - they're playing a show at Studio B in Brooklyn on July 20th. Tickets are on sale (thx jobcain).

Posted in music | tour dates at 1:41 PM | Comments (1)

Nada Surf, Cheeseburger & others playing Domino's Sugar Factory FREE benefit show

BENEFIT FRIENDRAISER CONCERT DON'T DEMO DOMINO - JUNE 3, 2007

2 pm to 8 pm
Grand Ferry Park, Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Brooklyn: Community leaders and local rock bands will gather on the Williamsburg waterfront on June 3, 2007, to participate in a benefit "friendraiser" concert to save the historic Domino's Sugar Factory from demolition. Concert organizers Act Local have partnered with the Waterfront Preservation Alliance to produce the event. The lineup includes nationally known acts like Nada Surf, The Wau Wau Sisters, and The Hungry March Band, as well as emerging acts Cheeseburger, Vic Thrill and the Saturn Missile, and The Black Tie Party.

The Domino Sugar Refinery is one of the last major industrial sites on Williamsburg's waterfront and it is soon to be rezoned for residential development. "The Waterfront Preservation Alliance supports the redevelopment of the site, provided that architecturally and historically significant buildings such as the refinery, Adant House and Power House are preserved as part of the redevelopment," says WPA spokesperson Alice Rich. "We believe that a comprehensive preservation program, combined with high-quality new design and affordable housing will best serve the Williamsburg community. Landmarking the site means that the rich history of Williamsburg's past has a place in its future. These buildings are significant and should be retained no matter what the future use of the site may be."

The concert is absolutely free. The cost of admission is a signature on a petition asking Mayor Bloomberg to designate the site a New York City Landmark and thus save it from potentially being torn down to make way for luxury condos. (Concertgoers who have already signed the petition can sign a letter requesting the same of the mayor.)

"We are excited to be putting on our first FREE benefit show," said Mikki Halpin of Act Local, the concert organizer. "We've done benefits in the past but they always had a door charge. This is exciting because it is all about people power."

The musical selection is diverse, with the raucous neo-punk of the Black Tie Party, the marching-band-gone-insane-vibe of The Hungry March Band, Cheeseburger's trademark guitar mayhem, costumes-and-country camp divas the Wau Wau Sisters, "backwoods extraterrestrials" Vic Thrill and the Saturn Missile, and an acoustic set from critically acclaimed headliners Nada Surf all combining to deliver a day of music that is 100% locally grown Brooklyn rock.

Local community groups will be using the picnic area to distribute literature and let community members know of other ways to get involved in issues of development, waterfront preservation, and open space.

Both Act Local and the Waterfront Preservation Alliance encourage the community to come out to the park, have a picnic, and enjoy music while saving this important piece of New York history.

LINEUP AND APPROXIMATE SET TIMES:

2:00 The Black Tie Party
2:45 The Hungry March Band
3:30 Vic Thrill and the Saturn Missile
4:15 Cheeseburger
5:00 The Wau Wau Sisters
5:45 Nada Surf (acoustic)

Posted in music | music at 1:20 PM | Comments (15)

BATTLES - 2007 Tour Dates, album stream & MP3's ++ STARS & indie REMIX ALBUMS?

DOWNLOAD: Battles - Dance (old MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Four Tet - A Joy (Battles remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Battles - Atlas (DJ Koze Remix) (new, but remixed MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Stars - The First Five Times (Russian Futurists remix) (MP3)

Battles' great new album Mirrored was released today on Warp Records.

You can stream the whole thing at AOL (and at MySpace), and see them play for free at South Street Seaport in NYC on August 31st.

Drowned in Sound recently spoke with Battles member Tyondai Braxton

What about the possibility of remixes? Mirrored sounds like an LP crying out for a series of awesome remixes, if you get what I mean…

We’re totally open to that – ‘Atlas’ had a remix on it. Actually, it would be cool to get a whole remix album of Mirrored, that’s a good idea.

Pitchfork recently reviewed the new Stars remix album.

In recent years, everyone from Death From Above 1979 to Architecture in Helsinki to Bloc Party have succumbed to the temptation to create indie remix albums. Now we're faced with Stars' Do You Trust Your Friends?, which we may someday see as the tipping point from indie rock remix albums being idle, indulgent fan-club novelties to becoming inescapable annoyances.

So, to remix or not to remix? All Battles tour dates below.....

"Atlas" - live in Chicago

Battles @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC (MORE)

Battles - 2007 Tour Dates
May 22 - Academy 2 Manchester
May 23 - ABC 2 Glasgrow
May 24 - The Barfly Birmingham
May 25 - Birmingham Dublin
May 26 - Maroquinerie Paris
May 27 - Le Grand Mix Roubaix, Lille
May 30 - MJC Oullins Oullins
Jun 1 - Dissonanze Festival Rome
Jun 2 - Primavera Festival Barcelona
Jun 4 - FZW Dortmund
Jun 5 - Conne Island Leipzig
Jun 13 - CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA SATELLITE BALLROOM
Jun 14 - CHARLOTTE, NC THE MILESTONE
Jun 15 - ATLANTA, GA DRUNKEN UNICORN
Jun 16 - GAINESVILLE, FL COMMON GROUNDS
Jun 17 - ORLANDO, FL THE SOCIAL
Jun 18 - MIAMI, FL STUDIO A
Jun 19 - TAMPA, FL CROWBAR
Jun 20 - TALLAHASSEE, FL THE BETA BAR
Jun 22 - BATON ROUGE, LA SPANISH MOON
Jun 23 - HOUSTON, TX NUMBERS
Jun 24 - AUSTIN, TX EMOS JR
Jun 25 - DENTON, TX HALLEYS
Jun 27 - ALBUQUEQUE, NM LAUNCHPAD
Jun 28 - PHOENIX, AZ RHYTHM ROOM
Jun 29 - SAN DIEGO, CA BEAUTY BAR
Jun 30 - LOS ANGELES, CA TROUBADOUR
Jul 2 - SAN FRANCISCO, CA SLIMS
Jul 3 - PORTLAND, OR DOUG FIR LOUNGE
Jul 4 - VANCOUVER, BC RICHARDS ON RICHARDS
Jul 5 - SEATTLE, WA CROCODILE CAFE
Jul 6 - BOISE, ID NEUROLUX
Jul 7 - SALT LAKE CITY, UT URBAN LOUNGE
Jul 8 - DENVER, CO LARIMER LOUNGE
Jul 10 - KANSAS CITY, MO THE RECORD BAR
Jul 11 - MINNEAPOLIS, MN TRIPLE ROCK
Jul 12 - IOWA CITY, IA THE PICADOR
Jul 13 - MILWAUKEE, WI STONEFLY BREWERY
Jul 14 - CHICAGO, IL PITCHFORK MUSIC FEST
Jul 16 - TORONTO, ON LEES PALACE
Jul 18 - BOSTON, MA PARADISE
Aug 31 - NEW YORK, NY SEAPORT MUSIC FESTIVAL

Battles - TRAS (LIVE 03/27/07 Birmingham, AL)

(thx hsb)

Previously
* more Battles posts

Posted in MP3 | music | tour dates | video at 12:27 PM | Comments (3)

the Jesus & Mary Chain played Webster Hall, David Letterman ++ Comas - 2007 Tour Dates

DOWNLOAD: The Comas - You Got The Bumblebee, I Got The Stinger (MP3)

The Jesus & Mary Chain played their new song "All Things Must Pass" on Letterman. It was their second appearance on the show. Last time they they played "far gone and out", and Letterman introduced them as an English band. This time William wore a shirt that said "Scotland" to make sure the same mistake didn't happen twice. Nice touch, but kind of a boring performance. The old one was much better. How was Webster Hall? Letterman video below....

J&MC on Letterman the first time

Does anyone have a video of last night's performance? Set list for from Webster Hall?

Nicole Gehweiler from the Comas sang backup on "Just Like Honey". The Comas are also opening for J&MC at Webster Hall on Tuesday night, and playing the following shows....

The Comas - 2007 Tour Dates
5.25 - Johnny Brendas Philadelphia, PA
5.26 - Mercury Lounge New York, NY
5.30 - middle east Cambridge, MA
5.31 - Maxwell’s Hoboken, NJ
6.1 - Black Cat Washington, D.C.
6.2 - Cat’s Cradle Carrboro, N.C.
6.3 - The Earl Atlanta, GA
6.4 - Zydeco Birmingham, AL
6.5 - Exit Inn Nashville, TN
6.6 - Little Brothers Columbus, OH
6.7 - Beat Kitchen Chicago, IL
6.9 - Great Scott * Boston
6.11 - DC9 * Washington, D.C.
6.12 - The Khyber * Philadelphia
6.14 - El Mocambo Club * Toronto
6.16 - Shelter At St. Andrew’s * Detriot
6.17 - Empty Bottle * Chicago
6.18 - 7th Street Entry * Minneapolis
6.19 - Grand Emporium * Kansas City
6.21 - Larimer Lounge * Denver
6.24 - The Plaza Club * Vancouver
6.25 - Crocodile Cafe * Seattle
6.26 - Doug Fir Lounge * Portland
6.28 - Cafe Du Nord * San Fransisco
6.29 - Spaceland * Los Angeles

* w/ The Veils

Scarlett Johansson sang the part at Coachella. Annie from Giant Drag sang it the night before.

Previously
* tix on sale for Jesus & Mary Chain
* more Jesus & Mary Chain posts
* more Comas posts

Posted in MP3 | music | tour dates | video at 12:05 AM | Comments (83)

May 21, 2007

Flight of the Conchords, Human Giant, Kristen Schaal, YOUR FAVORITE COMEDIANS, Michael Showalter, Brian Posehn & MASTODON

We hosted a Flight of the Conchords (FOTC) contest. Some winners won passes to a screening of the first episode of the new HBO series. Now EVERYONE - even those who don't have HBO (like me) - can watch the first episode thanks to the kind folks at HBO.com. Look for appearances by UCB, Rififi and Union Hall regulars Arj Barker, Eugene Mirman, and Kristen Schaal.

Speaking of Kristen Schaal who was also a guest on the 24 Hour Human Giant Marathon on MTV, we asked all those entering the FOTC contest to tell us who their favorite stand up comedian was. We got something like 50 comedian names total, but these were - by a small margin - the top seven:

your favorite comedians
1) Demetri Martin
2) David Cross
3) Mitch Hedberg
4) George Carlin
5) Aziz Ansari (tie)
5) Brian Posehn (tie)
5) Kristen Schaal (tie)

That's right - you like Kristen Schaal as much as you like Aziz Ansari who you like just as much as Brian Posehn WHO LOVES METAL.........

Brian also appears in Human Giant, the Sarah Silverman Program, Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Reno 911, Flight of the Conchords, is one of Patton Oswalt's Comedians of Comedy, and used to write for the David Cross' Mr. Show (and stuff). It's one big alterna-comedy web.

And speaking of Brian Posehn in a Mastodon shirt, Mastodon also played the Human Giant marathon (yeah, so did the National -blah, blah - JUST KIDDING)......

Mastodon on MTV at noon

How were Mastodon and Cursive at Roseland Ballroom?

And speaking of speaking of Human Giant and their 24 Hour Marathon that Mastodon played - in case you weren't watching during the last hour when they officially announced it - Human Giant (Aziz, Paul Scheer & Rob Huebel) WILL be back for a second season on MTV. Congrats to them.

Michael Showalter, one of their many other guests, also confirmed the upcoming release of all four seasons of MTV's the State on DVD - with extras and all that. I'm very excited. Michael Showalter's appearance was also one of the tensest moments in television. I loved it. If you don't know what I mean, read this related interview at Radar.

and now the obligatory Human Giant Ted Leo performance....

So you read this far, but did you watch the first episode of Flight of the Conchords yet? What did you think? I'm not about to order HBO, but I like it. A little bit like Tenacious D which... I don't know. I just needed to work that in.

See Flight of the Conchords live on tour.

Posted in comedy | music | video at 10:26 PM | Comments (13)

Largehearted Boy's Interesting CD Releases This Week

DOWNLOAD: Voxtrot - Kid's Gloves (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The National - Fake Empire (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Parts & Labor - Fractured Skies (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Shapes & Sizes - Head Movin' (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Shapes & Sizes - Alone/Alive (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: White Rabbits - The Plot (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: White Rabbits - Kid on My Shoulders (MP3)

Two of the year's most anticipated indie rock albums are released tomorrow, the National's Boxer and Voxtrot's self-titled debut full-length. Of this week's releases, I can also especially recommend Battles' Mirrored, Hot Chip's edition of DJ Kicks, Meg Baird's Dear Companion, Parts & Labor's Mapmaker, Shapes And Sizes' Split Lips, Winnings Hips, A Shiner, Stars' Do You Trust Your Friends?, and Wheat's Everyday I Said A Prayer For Kathy And Made A One Inch Square.

For people (like me) who like their rock with a literary bent, check out the Bloodshot Records compilation Just One More: A Musical Tribute To Larry Brown, A Great American Author. What new releases can you recommend this week?

This week's interesting CD releases:

Astrid Swan: Poverina [cd]
Battles: Mirrored [cd]
Beach Boys: The Warmth of the Sun [cd]
Ben + Vesper: All This Could Kill You [cd]
Benni Hemm Hemm: Kajak [cd]
Black Moth Super Rainbow: Dandelion Gum [cd]
The Bravery: The Sun And The Moon [cd]
Charles Mingus: Charles Mingus in Paris Complete America Session [cd]
Chick Corea and Bela Fleck: The Enchantment [cd]
Dashboard Confessional: Dusk and Summer [cd]
Erasure: Light At The End Of The World [cd]
Handsome Furs: Plague Park [cd]
Hayseed Dixie: Weapons of Grass Destruction [cd]
HIM: Uneasy Listening: Vol. 2 [cd]
Hot Chip: DJ Kicks [cd]
Jeff Buckley: So Real: Songs from Jeff Buckley [cd]
Joan Osborne: Breakfast in Bed [cd]
Killing Joke: Bootleg Vinyl Archive, Vol. 1 (remastered) [cd]
Killing Joke: Bootleg Vinyl Archive, Vol. 2 (remastered) [cd]
Lateef & Z-Trip: Ahead Of The Curve [cd]
Loudon Wainwright III: Strange Weirdos: Music from and Inspired by the Film Knocked Up [cd]
Maccabees: Colour It In [cd]
Meg Baird: Dear Companion [cd]
Miracle Fortress: Five Roses [cd]
Motor Unhuman [cd]
My Teenage Stride: Ears Like Golden Bats [cd]
The National: Boxer [cd]
Ozzy Osbourne: Black Rain [cd]
Parts & Labor: Mapmaker [cd]
The Queers: Don't Back Down [cd]
Richmond Fontaine: Thirteen Cities [cd]
Shapes And Sizes: Split Lips, Winnings Hips, A Shiner [cd]
Stars: Do You Trust Your Friends? [cd]
Tim Armstrong: A Poet's Life [cd]
Ulrich Schnauss: Quicksand Memory EP [cd]
The Used: Lies For The Liars [cd]
Various Artists: Crucial Acoustic Blues [cd]
Various Artists: Crucial Rockin' Blues [cd]
Various Artists: Just One More: A Musical Tribute To Larry Brown, A Great American Author [cd]
Various Artists: Kyle Xy (soundtrack) [cd]
Various Artists: More Crucial Guitar Blues [cd]
Various Artists: Motown Remixed, Vol. 2 [cd]
Various Artists: Once (soundtrack) [cd]
Various Artists: Zealous Records Presents Soul Sides, Vol. 2: The Covers [cd]
Voxtrot: Voxtrot [cd]
Wheat: Everyday I Said A Prayer For Kathy And Made A One Inch Square [cd]
White Rabbits: Fort Nightly [cd]

---

this post brought to you by Largehearted Boy

Posted in MP3 | music | new releases at 4:54 PM | Comments (11)

Ladytron DJ's, Kudu, & Brazilian Girls playing free shows

Both this week. Both Free. Both at Hiro Ballroom in NYC.
May 23 - Brazilian Girls (RSVP)
May 24 - Ladytron (DJ) and Kudu (band) (RSVP)

Posted in To Do | music at 4:04 PM | Comments (5)

Beth Ditto, Joy Division, Amy Winehouse toilets, etc.

DOWNLOAD: Joy Division - Warsaw (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: FADER issue 46 - the Grateful Dead audio (MP3)

* EMI Accepts Private Equity Bid
* When Perez Hilton talks music, people listen.
* Perez Hilton's Beth Ditto coverage
* Beth Ditto's advice column in the Guardian
* Mika & Amy Winehouse porta potties in Central Park
* Indie bands moving into mainstream
* Judge reduces domestic violence charge against Scott Stapp
* Cat Power + Norah Jones = Blueberry Nights
* Iggy Pop OK with Elijah Wood playing him
* Joy Division Biopic Control Debuts at Cannes
* Former Grateful Dead muso sues YouTube
* Issue 46 of FADER now available for free download

Posted in music at 3:38 PM | Comments (7)

THE BESNARD LAKES - 2007 Tour Dates (Citysol, Mercury Lounge) ++ new SUNSET RUBDOWN album

DOWNLOAD: The Besnard Lakes - And You Lied to Me (MP3)

I'm not sure why, but I've mostly been silent up until now about The Besnard Lakes' great new CD Are The Dark Horse. Not only has the CD been in regular rotation, many of the songs regularly make their way on to my mixtapes, and on to my Sirius radio show. Like Grizzly Bear and Panda Bear, the BEsnARd lakes have the word "bear" in their name, and are heavily influenced by the Beach Boys. And like those bears, the BEsnARd lakes come highly recommended by Pitchfork and other critics alike.

Jace from the Besnard Lakes (also a studio guy) doesn't have much to recommend himself, but can say that the new Sunset Rubdown album that he "made" is "amazing" and "really, really good". It was also just announced that the Sunset Rubdown record he's talking about will in fact be coming out on the very same label he released his Besnard Lakes' album on:

Jagjaguwar to Release SUNSET RUBDOWN's "Random Spirit Lover" in October

"Random Spirit Lover" is the new full-length record following their critically acclaimed 2006 album, "Shut Up I Am Dreaming", that was released on Absolutely Kosher. Plans are in the works for a 3 to 4 week North American tour in October, in support of "Random Spirit Lover". The album will be physically released in both the CD and vinyl formats.

Back to Besnard Lakes...

I am happy to, not only announce some Bensard Lakes tour dates, but also to announce that the Montreal band will be playing a free NYC show that I sort of set up.

Besnard Lakes, NYC, 2007
07/13 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge (tix on sale Wed)
07/14 - New York, NY - Citysol (free, day - stay tuned for more details SAVE THE DATE)

See them once, see them twice, or don't see them at all (like stupid me at SXSW this year). All tour dates below....

The Besnard Lakes - 2007 Tour Dates
05/21 - Glasgow, United Kingdom - King Tuts
05/22 - Liverpool, United Kingdom - Barfly
05/23 - Manchester, United Kingdom - Night and Day
05/24 - Bristol, United Kingdom - Thekla
05/25 - London, United Kingdom - Waterats
05/27 - Brussells, Belgium - AB Club
05/28 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
05/30 - Berlin, Germany - Lido
07/05 - MontrealQC - Metropolis
07/12 - Cambridge, MA - T.T. the Bear's Place
07/13 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge w/ TBA
07/14 - New York, NY - Citysol w/ TBA
07/15 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's (tix)
07/16 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
07/18 - Chapel Hill, NC - Blend
07/20 - Columbus, OH - Wexner Center for the Arts
07/21 - Bloomington, IN - Uncle Fester's
07/23 - Chicago, IL - Schubas Tavern
07/24 - Chicago, IL - Schubas Tavern
07/27 - Guelph, ON -Hillside Festival

more dates TBA.

Posted in MP3 | music | tour dates at 2:43 PM | Comments (11)

BEANIE SIGEL: Kanye West & Pharrell are not cool (video)

As Wes has pointed out (more than once), Beanie Sigel is playing Knitting Factory in NYC tomorrow (5/22).

In the video below - one definitely making the rounds on the Internet, Beanie has some not-nice things to say about fellow Roc-A-Fella member Kanye and Pharrell....

Posted in hiphop | music | video at 1:43 PM | Comments (18)

free CD from Adult Swim & TV on the Radio video

a few of the tracks....

DOWNLOAD: TV on the Radio - Me-I (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Les Savy Fav - The Equestrian (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Broken Social Scene - Canada VS America (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Liars - Sunset Radio (MP3)

and ALL of the tracks and a video for the TV on the Radio track.

Posted in MP3 | music at 1:12 PM | Comments (8)

VIDEO: Ben Gibbard, John Vanderslice, Jenny Lewis & David Bazan - 'Such Great Heights' @ the Fillmore

It's like if the cast of The OC, Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars & Grey's Anatomy all got together for one big Christmas special hosted by Zach Braff...

"The encore ended with two Postal Service songs. Gibbard started “Nothing Better” and in time for where her vocals were on the album, Jenny Lewis strolled onto the stage. The crowd went nuts, of course. She delivered her lines with some major style. They both seemed genuinely enthused to be on stage at that moment. (And, let’s be honest, a lot more polished than the last time I saw them together on stage in April 2003 when the Postal Service toured through Boston). The show, of course, closed with “Such Great Heights” with Gibbard on lead and Jenny Lewis, John Vanderslice and Bazan singing backups. (This, I imagine and I gathered from the number of camera phones and cameras out, lead to many of what my friend would call “hipstorgasms”). It was a nice version of an overplayed tune, I have to admit." [ipickmynose]

From Wikipedia:

The song "Such Great Heights" was written by Ben Gibbard with friend Aaron Kaplan in 2003, according to an interview with Gibbard in Spin magazine.
The song has been used for...
the ROBOT FOOD snowboard film "Lame"
the UPN drama Veronica Mars.
the Grey's Anatomy original soundtrack.
the trailer of the show Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County Season 1.
a TV advertisement for FUSE's show The Dive.
a TV advertisement for Kaiser Permanente that aired in California and Hawaii.
a Dutch TV advertisement for a company called StartPeople.
a featured part of UPS's "Whiteboard" ad campaign, which launched January 6, 2007.[6]
a flashback sequence in Episode 4-12 of the CBS drama Cold Case.
a PROGRESSIVE TV ad campaign which features several different parts of the song
Such Great Heights has also been...
on the top 10 of the music site, Last.fm, ever since the site started logging its charts until the week of 11 March 2007 where 8 of the 10 slots were taken by tracks from The Arcade Fire's album Neon Bible.
Ben Folds performed a cover version of "Such Great Heights" on Australian television, on jtv's "Like a Version" segment.
Iron & Wine's version of the song "Such Great Heights" was part of of the movie Garden State. It was also used for a TV advertisement for M&M's candy, and a British TV advertisement for Ask.com. The original also served as a trailer for Garden State.

Zach Braff actually did host the season finale of SNL this weekend.

Previously
* Barsuk's David Bazan plays with Ben Gibbard at Town Hall
* John Vanderslice blogs on Brooklyn Vegan from the road
* VIDEO: M Ward, Neko Case, Kelly Hogan & Jim James (My Morning Jacket) on Conan O'Brien

Posted in TV | music | video at 12:19 PM | Comments (14)

They Might be Giants - 2007 Tour Dates (4 nights @ Bowery)

They Might be Giants @ Terrace F Club, NJ (CRED)

I realize it's much easier for the band logistically - they don't need to set up and take down their equipment multiple times, and it probably sounds cooler ("FOUR OR FIVE SOLD OUT NIGHTS IN A ROW") - but sometimes, especially for local bands - I wish they would space out their multiple-nights-at-the-same-venue shows. LIKE THIS:

They Might Be Giants in NYC, 2007
5/31 @ 3-Legged Dog Art and Technology Center
6/01 @ 3-Legged Dog Art and Technology Center
6/02 @ 3-Legged Dog Art and Technology Center
7/18 @ Bowery Ballroom
7/25 @ Bowery Ballroom
8/01 @ Bowery Ballroom
8/08 @ Bowery Ballroom

Tickets are on sale for the Bowery shows. Go HERE for more info and tickets for The 3-Legged Dog robot shows.

Did anyone go see TMBG at Joe's Pub on Wednesday? (the Village Voice did actually) All tour dates and stuff below....

HUZZAH! THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS' NEW ALBUM IS CURRENTLY THE #1 ALTERNATIVE ALBUM on iTunes and #9 of overall albums! Folks can now purchase The Else in digital pre-release form from iTunes. 13 brand-new songs produced by Patrick Dillett, The Dust Brothers and They Might Be Giants. The CD will be out in physical form on July 10th (Idlewild/Zoë/Universal) and includes artwork by Canadian super-genius Marcel Dzama.

They Might Be Giants - 2007 Tour Dates 5/18: Las Vegas, NV @ Orleans Theatre (KVGS) 5/19: San Diego, CA @ Belly Up Tavern 7/18: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom 7/19: Dewey Beach, DE @ Bottle & Cork 7/21: Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom 7/22: Detroit, MI @ Max Fischer Music Center (Concert of Colors) – FREE 7/25: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom 7/26: Seaside Park, NJ @ The Green Room 7/27: Wellfleet, MA @ Beachcomber 7/28: Uncasville, CT @ Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun Casino – FREE 8/01: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom 8/04: Oyster Bay, NY @ Planting Fields Arboretum FOTA Pavilion – FAMILY SHOW 8/04: Oyster Bay, NY @ Planting Fields Arboretum FOTA Pavilion 8/08: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom

ROBOT SHOWS in NEW YORK CITY
They Might Be Giants will also perform a short set of songs as part of this larger event...

LEMUR: “League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots” - Live Music by Robots and Humans
5/31 @ 3-Legged Dog Art and Technology Center, 80 Greenwich Street, NYC (8:00pm)
6/1 @ 3-Legged Dog Art and Technology Center, 80 Greenwich Street, NYC (8:00pm)
6/2 @ 3-Legged Dog Art and Technology Center, 80 Greenwich Street, NYC (8:00pm)

video from Joe's Pub....

Previously
* more posts on They Might Be Giants

Posted in music | tour dates at 11:46 AM | Comments (12)

tix on sale for Jesus & Mary Chain

The Jesus & Mary Chain's NYC reunion shows are tonight and tomorrow, and tickets seem to be back on sale. I wonder who will sing backup on 'Just Like Honey' - I doubt it will be Scarlett Johansson.

Posted in To Do | music at 10:41 AM | Comments (20)

VIDEO: M Ward, Neko Case, Kelly Hogan & Jim James (My Morning Jacket) on Conan O'Brien

It was a late night indie-americana mind explosion...

The show: Conan O'Brien
The air date: May 17, 2007
The song: Chinese Translation
The band: M. Ward, Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, Jim James, Mike Coykendall, Than Luu, & Adam Selzer

M Ward - 2007 Tour Dates
Fri 06.01.07 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre *
Mon 06.04.07 Kansas City, MO Music Hall *
Fri 06.08.07 Memphis, TN Mud Island Amphitheatre *
Sat 06.09.07 Tulsa, OK Tulsa Performing Art Center *
Mon 06.11.07 Grand Prairie, TX Nokia Theatre *
Tue 06.12.07 Houston, TX Jones Hall *
Fri 06.15.07 Austin, TX Backyard *
Sat 06.16.07 San Antonio, TX Majestic Theatre *
Mon 06.18.07 Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theatre *
Tue 06.19.07 San Diego, CA Bayside Concerts Embarcadero *
Thu 06.21.07 Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre *
Fri 06.22.07 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl *
Sat 06.23.07 Berkeley, CA Greek Theatre *
Tue 06.26.07 Boston, MA Symphony Hall with Boston Pops w/ Friends
Wed 06.27.07 Boston, MA Symphony Hall with Boston Pops w/ Friends
Fri 06.29.07 Seattle, WA McCaw Hall *
Sat 06.30.07 Portland, OR Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall *

* w/ Norah Jones

DOWNLOAD: M. Ward - Vincent O'brien (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Neko Case - Hold On, Hold On (MP3)

Previously
* more M Ward posts

Posted in MP3 | music | tour dates | video at 12:45 AM | Comments (11)

The Budos Band & other pics from Park Slope on Sunday

DOWNLOAD: The Budos Band - Chicago Falcon (MP3)

Unlike during the dance parade in Manhattan on Saturday, the sun was shining at the 5th Avenue Street Fair in Park Slope on Sunday (May 20, 2007). The annual Brooklyn festival runs down 5th Ave from Southpaw, past Union Hall, and ends right around the Lucky 13 Saloon. The bands playing in front of Southpaw this year were Miss Fairchild, The Real Live Show, and, the only one I saw - The Budos Band....

Somethin' Else Records, the shop owned by a member of the band Radio 4, was still open, but possibly not for long?

The Budos Band (MP3 above) have a record out on Daptone Records, and have members who play with (Sharon Jones &) The Dap Kings, and with Amy Winehouse.

More photos from the street fair - including ones of the Budos Band and their burlesque dancer, at my Flickr.

Posted in MP3 | NYC | music | pictures at 12:43 AM | Comments (11)

May 20, 2007

VIDEO: Spoon - The Ghost of You Lingers + MP3's

From the new album you probably already downloaded....

Actually, is that video official? I don't know, but I like that song.

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga becomes official on 7/10....

not leaked
DOWNLOAD: Spoon - Idiot Driver (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Spoon - Mountain of Sound (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Spoon - I Turn My Camera On (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Spoon - Mountain To Sound (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Spoon - The Way We Got By (live) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: They Never Got You (live) (MP3)

(thx ms for the video tip)

Previously
* SPOON - Bowery Ballroom, Battery Park, SXSW (Ga Ga Ga...)
* more Spoon posts

Posted in MP3 | music | video at 1:49 PM | Comments (14)

David Bowie did play with Ricky Gervais

I didn't go, but someone told me that (unlike at the Arcade Fire show) David Bowie introduced comedian Ricky Gervais at his High Line show Saturday night at the whamu theater by singing a song. I don't have a picture, so instead - here are some pictures taken by caural of David and TV on the Radio (and Ricky?) backstage at Deerhoof's High Line show at the Fillmore-Irving Plaza Thursday night (May 17, 2007)....

Posted in comedy | music at 1:45 AM | Comments (26)

May 18, 2007

Amy Winehouse, White Stripes, etc..

* White Stripes playing MSG, touring
* White Stripes not conncerned about Indie Cred
* Coke, iTunes Team For 2 Billion Song Promo
* Pictures of Amy Winehouse & boyfriend
* SPIN: Exclusive: Amy Winehouse Weds
* Rolling Stone: Amy Winehouse not married
* "Spin" and "Rolling Stone" Get Into Catfight Over Amy Winehouse

Posted in music at 4:33 PM | Comments (2)

Franz Ferdinand planning a small show

Franz Ferdinand posted the following message on MySpace:

Hi, just a quick message to let you know that we’re planning a couple of small shows in Glasgow and one in New York in the next few weeks. We’ll be trying out some new songs and inviting some other bands that we like to play with us. We’ll let you know the details in the next few days, hopefully see you there. Bob

(text via MS, puppets via Flickr)

Posted in music at 4:11 PM | Comments (27)

MP3: new Smashing Pumpkins - 'Tarantula'

Billy got mad.

Posted in MP3 | music at 3:05 PM | Comments (25)

VIDEO: The Cribs - "Men's Needs" (banned by MTV)

ha. Speaking of MTV, is anyone watching 24 Hours of Human Giant right now....

The Cribs will be back around our parts this summer to play Conan O'Brien on July 17th (or is it 16th), and Lollapalooza on August 5th. More tour dates at their MySpace.

Previously
* more Cribs posts

Posted in music | video at 2:49 PM | Comments (13)

TAKKA TAKKA sign to Ernest Jenning (home of ODEATH)

DOWNLOAD: Takka Takka - Draw a Map (MP3)

Some have wondered if Brooklyn's Takka Takka would go the label-less route of their friends in Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

The answer is "no", but I don't think that's a bad thing...

Ernest Jenning Record Co. will re-release their debut LP, We Feel Safer At Night, as a deluxe edition which will include the three tracks from their 2007 EP, Talk Faster.

In addition to re-releasing Safer, the band will be hitting the studio in summer/early fall to record their sophomore album, also to be released by Ernest Jenning in early 2008.

This means Takka Takka and O'Death are now label-mates.

Takka Takka's next show is opening for The National at South Street Seaport.

Previously
* Takka Takka Takka Takka

Posted in industry | music at 1:43 PM | Comments (5)

what color were ANDREW BIRD's SOCKS at Webster Hall?

DOWNLOAD: Andrew Bird - Heretics (MP3)

Andrew Bird's sock monkey in Bellingham, WA - May 6, 2007 (CRED)

Something very important came out in Gothamist's interview with Andrew Bird this week...

Whenever I'm going to do an interview I always scan the fan sites to see what people are obsessing over. In your case, there seems to be a lot of message-board curiosity about where you get your socks. There are entire threads about this, titled things like "Dude, where does Bird get his socks?!", "I will ask him at the San Francisco show, if I can, directly after I ask him to marry me!" And "I don't want him to think that I only love him for his socks." So are they custom made or would you rather that remain a mystery?

Andrew: Sometimes people give them to me, which is nice. Who doesn’t need a new pair of socks? We’re actually working on making our own socks instead of T-shirts. But honestly the best socks I’ve ever found in the most colorful and interesting patterns are Paul Smith. They’re pricey but they’re pretty beautiful socks. But I mix it up, you know I wear Sock Monkey socks sometimes. Have you ever seen those Sock Monkey kits? They’re good socks! But onstage I have admit I do pay a little more attention to my sock wear.

Andrew Bird's socks - SXSW 2004 (CRED)

The interview by John Del Signore also reveals Andrew's thoughts on one small Brooklyn venue he visited recently...

We just played Union Hall and I thought that was a pretty great place. I just like how much work they put into those glass cases.

Below you'll find a picture of Andrew's socks from that very show....

Andrew Bird's socks @ Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY - Apr 9, 2007 (CRED)

Bonus sock rock shots...

Listen to Andrew's show in Washington DC this Sunday on NPR.

Get an Andrew Bird ringtone.

more Tour Dates at his site.

Previously
* more Andrew Bird posts

Posted in music at 5:23 AM | Comments (14)

PSYCHIC TV record release show at Bowery Ballroom tonight - Gibby Haynes, Kembra Pfahler, Julie Atlas Muz

Psychic TV (PTV3) has a new album out on June 12th, and they'll be selling advance copies at their sure-to-be-crazy record-release (some may say "freak") show at Bowery Ballroom in NYC tonight (May 18)....

Here's a video from one of their recent shows at Galapagos....

and one not from those shows....

Godstar

Posted in music at 4:48 AM | Comments (3)

VIDEOS: Flaming Lips - trailer & 'She Don't Use Jelly' from UFOs at the Zoo DVD

I assume the quality of the actual DVD will be better...

'She Don't Use Jelly'

The DVD UFOs At The Zoo - The Legendary Concert in Oklahoma City is out July 10, 2007. And here's the trailer...

If you haven't actually see The Flaming Lips live, don't let the DVD be your subsitution. Stay tuned for future tour announcements.

---

The Flaming Lips also contribute to the Spiderman 3 soundstrack which you can stream HERE.

(thx YANP for the video tip)

Posted in music | video at 4:03 AM | Comments (1)

WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden

First filmwhore, then fender blender, and now: wahhhhmoo, or is it whamewwwww....

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN AND WaMu ANNOUNCE MULTI-YEAR NAMING RIGHTS DEAL FOR THE THEATER AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

"WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden" is the First Naming Rights Deal for the Property

New York, May 17, 2007 – Madison Square Garden and WaMu have reached a multi-year naming rights agreement for The Theater at Madison Square Garden, now the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Hank J. Ratner, vice chairman of Madison Square Garden and Cablevision Systems Corporation, and Steve Rotella, president and chief operating officer of WaMu, jointly announced the partnership today. The name of The Theater will be changed immediately; the financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

This is the first time that Madison Square Garden has entered into a naming rights agreement with a company for any of its properties.
Under the agreement, WaMu will receive:
* Branded signage throughout The Theater, and externally on The Garden, featuring the new WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden logo;
* The WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden name will be included in all marketing and promotional materials for events held at the venue during the length of the agreement;
* WaMu will place 11 branded ATMs throughout The Garden and Theater

"We are pleased about this new partnership with WaMu and that such a well respected company will be a key part of Madison Square Garden for years to come," said Mr. Ratner. "MSG is uniquely able to create innovative partnerships with companies that connect their customers with our brands like no other place in the country. WaMu is a perfect partner as a company that wants to connect their brand with our experiences, and we're excited to build this unique relationship with them."

Madison Square Garden is one of the most recognized entertainment venues in the world and the partnership – to use a musical pun – is very well 'in tune' with our brand and focus on everyday people," said Mr. Rotella.

He further noted, "New York is an important market to WaMu. The visibility on the venue's ads, billboards and signage gives us a tremendous opportunity to extend our brand, which focuses on making banking simpler and delivering industry leading service, to millions of customers and potential customers who attend music and other events and use WaMu's onsite ATMs."

With more than 325 retail banking centers and nearly 5,000 employees in the New York area, WaMu's history of supporting entertainment in New York City has included an unprecedented "buy out" of all theater tickets on Broadway for a day and donating those tickets to teachers, serving as presenting sponsor of the musical sensation "Movin' Out,"
and creating entertaining, giant interactive Times Square billboards.
In addition to the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, WaMu has naming rights to the WaMu Theater in Seattle, which opened last year.

"This partnership with Washington Mutual marks the first time that Madison Square Garden has ever had a naming rights deal for any of its properties, continuing to secure these type of strategic partnerships are a major part of our growth strategy, " stated Michael Bair, president of MSG Media. "As The Garden builds its business at this time of unprecedented growth, we will continue to offer distinctive marketing solutions to clients that present extraordinary value and brand exposure for both companies involved."

The WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden is a versatile 5,600-seat venue that has served as host to major entertainment and sporting events in its over 30-year history. Some of the biggest names in the music world have played The Theater including Neil Young, Melissa Etheridge, Kanye West, Van Morrison, Elton John and Simon & Garfunkel.

The Theater has also hosted some of the hottest award shows including
VH1 Divas Live, The Daytime Emmys and the Essence Awards, and continues to have success with legendary family shows including a 10-year run of A Christmas Carol, as well as a 27-year run with Sesame Street Live. In addition, the venue has hosted a variety of sports events including the NBA and NFL draft and numerous world championship boxing bouts. The most recent addition to the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden is the new Cirque Du Soleil production Wintuk, which will premiere with a ten-week run this November.

About Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, L.P. is owned by Cablevision Systems Corporation, and includes the New York Knicks (NBA); the New York Rangers (NHL); the New York Liberty (WNBA); the Hartford Wolf Pack (American Hockey League); MSG Entertainment, which includes concerts and events at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, The WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, and the Beacon Theatre; MSG Media, which is comprised of MSG and FSN New York; fuse, the music television network; and the Madison Square Garden arena complex, located in the heart of the New York metropolitan area.

About WaMu
WaMu, through its subsidiaries, is one of the nation's leading consumer and small business banks. At March 31, 2007, the company had assets of $319.99 billion. The company has a history dating back to
1889 and its subsidiary banks currently operate nearly 2,700 consumer and small business banking stores throughout the nation. WaMu's press releases are available at http://newsroom.wamu.com.

Posted in music | venues at 3:33 AM | Comments (11)

VICE Records to become indie? Atlantic splits

DOWNLOAD: The Streets - Let's Push Things Forward (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Streets - Get Out My House (mc's Mix) (MP3)

Word on The Streets is that Atlantic Records and VICE are splitting up. What this means for each artist involved is being decided as we speak. Some history below...

2002

For seven years, ''VICE'' magazine has farmed the fertile soil where punkish attitudes, gutter culture, and irreverent humor blend with edgy music and art. Now, the bratty visionaries behind the free monthly -- which has featured oddball acts like Comet Gain, published cocaine reviews, and run articles written by retarded people -- has launched VICE Records, an imprint of Atlantic, with the Streets' ''Original Pirate Material.'' [Entertainment Weekly]

Mike Caren

"Known for consistently discovering innovative artists and pioneering strategic partnerships for Atlantic, Caren engineered (or played a lead role?) the launch of Vice Records, a joint venture between Atlantic and Vice Magazine. The successful enterprise brought acclaimed UK artists Bloc Party, The Stills and The Streets to the US." [Mike Caren's Wikipedia]

Suroosh Alvi

"VICE Records was born three and a half five years ago when Suroosh Alvi discovered Grime sensation Mike Skinner, aka the Streets. There is debate about which of these lovelies actually discovered which but we will have to save that for a more in-depth probe. Let's just say that some spiffy microphone work beneath the sheets proved key to the fruits of their labor.

This wicked Skinner/Alvi amalgam allowed VICE to enter into a joint venture with Atlantic Records and the rest, as they say, is history. Soon the little record label that could evolved into a leviathan marching to the west Indian drumbeat of the shrewd Dr. Alvi. With his six loyal minions, he has created a power house of independent music including The Streets, The Stills, Bloc Party, Chromeo, Death From Above 1979, Panthers, The Boredoms, Justice, The Favourite Sons, and the Run the Road compilations." [VICE Rumor Mule]

Warnet Music Group

Other record labels distributed by Warner Music Group
Chiyun Records
Vice Records
Lightyear Entertainment
Sub Pop
New Line Records
Green label records
SaraBellum Records
VMG Recordings
Teleprompt Records
[WMG Wikipedia]

Anyway, Mike Skinner is working on a new Streets album....

DOWNLOAD: 120 Days - Come Out, Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone (MP3)

Posted in MP3 | industry | music at 2:52 AM | Comments (3)

the week in Dance w/ David Bruno (05/18/07)

DOWNLOAD: LCD Soundsystem - Tribulations (tiga mix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: !!! - Heart of Hearts (radio edit) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Brazilian Girls - Jique (MSTRKRFT remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Justice - Waters Of Nazareth (erol remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Justice - Put that Justice on Me (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Surkin - INS Minimix (MP3)

Curses! & Das Glow @ Element, NYC - May 11, 2007 (CRED)

People Don't Dance No More (my party at Element) had a supremely glowtastic night last Friday (May 11). Das Glow destroyed, playing the newest French bangers along with bangers from Paris circa 1998. Curses! chopped and re-edited almost every track he played and hi-jacked some Chicago house into 2007. Supremely awesome. Beware the acid.

PS1's Warm Up 2007 party series begins on June 30th, and runs until September 1st.

Each Saturday, music and performances will revolve around a theme or guest host. A sampling of themes include Punk revival, Psychedelic trends, Girl groups, and global fusion. Objektivity, Tummy Touch, Rong, DFA and other music labels have been invited to assemble six-hour programs featuring their most exhilarating artists.

This party is one of the best reasons to be in New York in the summertime. Line ups are coming soon.

Dance Parade & Remix Hotel Invades NYC This Weekend

The first annual NYC Dance Parade is this Saturday (May 19) from 1 pm down Broadway & 5th Ave to Washington Square Park. The parade seems to be a mix of Carnival's massive troupes of dancers and the Love Parade's freaky types. From their site:

We are celebrating everything from Break dance to Ballet with Burning Man Spirit and Love Parade Energy. We are an all volunteer run Non-Profit Organization who seek to show that dance is an expressive form of art--Our aim is to educate the public on the wonderful health and cultural benefits of dance. In doing so, we aim to support and strengthen the role of dance in our culture.

Go and support dance, dancing, and dance music. There's a festival in Washington Square park after the parade from 4-8pm with appearances by Danny Tengalia & Kool Herc, and an afterparty at Element.

Remix Hotel is a travelling public event that was started by Remix Magazine to bring hands-on access to new music production technology via presentations and demonstrations from some of electronic & urban music's brightest minds.

NYC's edition takes place at the SAE Institute of Technology Friday May 18th - Sunday May 20th, and IT's FREE. The full schedule of events can be found here. I'm most interested in the Producers Panel on Saturday at 5 pm with Just Blaze, Kode 9, Buckshot, Rob Swift, and Eric Kupper. Remix hotel-related parties listed at the end of this post.

NEWS

• Buzzin' Fly (ex-EBTG) head honcho Ben Watt makes 2 stops at Cielo next Tuesday and Thursday (Tix)
• Kitsune releases their buzzy Maison 4 comp on June 11th, Discobelle has a promo mix and the tracklisting
• Justice for you: Gaspard & Xavier's Top 10 (What do you think of the album, hmm?)
XLR8R TV is at it again, this time with Digitalism
• Simian Mobile Disco go live, hit the road (Studio B July 7th)
• Playhouse to release 'Famous When Dead V' feat. Isolee, My My, & Roman Flugel on May 29th
• DJ Hell's International DJ Gigolos turns 10 and issues double CD on June 29
>

MUSIC

• If you don't already have the MSTRKRFT remix of D.A.N.C.E., what are you waiting for? My personal favorite is Stress...
• Distortion Disco has a Van She remix of the electro-poppers Dragonette
• Frankie Knuckles Live at Boom Boom Boom Chicago March 2007 (ZIP)
• Popstatic (Chicago) rips out a sweet two part mix Fast Cars/Pretty Girls. More info on Popstatic here. Listen up for these guys. [Part 1 (MP3) / Part 2 (MP3)]
• Also from Chicago, The Wonderful World of Bald Eagle and Friends sent us a mix that has basically every indie dance track from the past 3 years that you could possibly want in one sitting (zShare)
• DJ Hell Live at Le Boum Deluxe Feb 2007 (MegaUpload)

You need more parties...

Friday - 5/18
* RONG at APT
* Modular Monthly at 200 Orchard (RSVP)
* Curses! at Ruff Club at the Annex
* FUN at Studio B w/ Lady Sovereign, The Glass & Professor Murder (tix)

Saturday - 5/19
* Everyone in New York DJs at PHONO at Rebel (Seriously this is huge & retarded: A Guy Called Gerald, Metro Area, Tim Sweeney...)
* Trouble & Bass invades Don Pablos

Parties related to the Remix Hotel:

Saturday Night - 5/18
* DUBWAR at Love feat. Kode 9 and Shackleton from the UK's burgonening dubstep scene. Shackleton's US debut should be HEAVY.
* Evolve at Pacha with Victor Calderone & Josh Wink. Victor is "taking Evolve on a new, techier path" and Wink is there to keep him honest.
* Derrick Carter brings his trademark bump and shuffle house to Sullivan Room

Sunday Night - 5/19
* Frankie Knuckles at Cielo. Dude is Legendary.
* Louie Vega at Sullivan Room. Also serving as the launch party for the Meatpacking district's DJ teachers Dub Spot (nothing to do with dubstep)
* Miguel Migs at Tribeca Cinemas. Miguel's Salted label hosts a deep house get down.

Tickets are still on sale for !!! at Studio B? They killed at Bowery last night.

-David

Posted in MP3 | To Do | dance | music at 12:44 AM | Comments (8)

May 17, 2007

VIDEO: Transformers live-action movie trailer

DOWNLOAD: Lion - 1986 Transformers movie theme song (MP3)

2007.
Real humans, real cars, real airplanes, real Strokes t-shirts....

"Dueling alien races, the Autobots and the Decepticons, bring their battle to Earth, leaving the future of humankind hanging in the balance." Transformers is out in theaters on July 4, 2007.

A quick look on IMDB reveals that the voice of Optimus Prime will be played by Peter Cullen, who was not only the original voice, but has an impressive cartoon (& live action) resume that includes the voice of Mogwai in Gremlins, Bankjob Beagle in Duck Tales, Sour Puss on Pac Man, Captain Crabnasty on My Little Pony, Airborne on GI Joe, and "Additional Voices" on Snorks. That's some serious cartoon cred.

DOWNLOAD: cartoon outro (MP3)

Posted in MP3 | movies | music | video at 10:17 PM | Comments (7)

VIDEO: BEASTIE BOYS - 'Off the Grid' ++ instrumental new album cover & track list

For their new album, Beastie Boys are bringin' it instrumentally.....

BEASTIE BOYS GO INSTRUMENTAL, AGAIN
The Mix-Up
All-Instrumental Album Out June 26

Mike "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch and Adam "Adrock" Horovitz have confirmed a June 26 release date for their seventh studio album, The Mix-Up, on Capitol Records.

The Mix-Up is Beastie Boys' first-ever full album of all-new instrumental material. The follow-up to 2004's To The 5 Boroughs, The Mix-Up features Diamond, Horovitz and Yauch back on drums, guitar and bass, with able assistance from Keyboard Money Mark and percussionist Alfredo Ortiz, on 12 brand new wordless, sample-less, scratchless originals. Sure to please fans of the instrumental cuts from Check Your Head and Ill Communication and the cult hit compilation album made up largely of those tracks, The In Sound From Way Out!, The Mix-Up finds NYC's favorite sons drawing on one of their arsenal's primary strengths and pushing it into bold new directions.

Beastie Boys will kick off a summer's worth of worldwide touring May 26 & 27 with two sets at the Sasquatch! Festival at the Gorge in Washington State. The band will be playing at several European festivals throughout June and July, including Live Earth at Wembley Stadium on July 7.

The complete track listing for The Mix-Up is:

1. B For My Name
2. 14th St. Break
3. Suco De Tangerina
4. The Gala Event
5. Electric Worm
6. Freaky Hijiki
7. Off The Grid
8. The Rat Cage
9. The Melee
10. Dramastically Different *
11. The Cousin Of Death
12. The Kangaroo Rat

* Yes "Dramastically" is intentional.

Thx AD for the video tip.

DOWNLOAD: Beastie Boys - Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun (quarterbar Remix) (MP3)

Previously
* BAD BRAINS on a boat, new album - BEASTIE BOYS too & 2007 Tour Dates

Posted in music | video at 9:49 PM | Comments (5)

an Interview with Tokyo Police Club

DOWNLOAD: Tokyo Police Club - Be Good (live on Daytrotter) (MP3)

Montreal's BrooklynVegan Mike sat down with Toronto's Tokyo Police Club at a show they were playing in Montreal in early April. They talked about such topics as how the band got their start, Pop Montreal, Daytrotter, Pitchfork, Cold War Kids, NME, and they may have even started a feud with UK buzz band the Horrors. Full transcript below.....

(BrooklynVegan Mike in BOLD...)

I read the bio of the band on the website, and I had a couple questions about it. If you read enough one sheets, you get a romanticized view of how a band comes together. On yours, it mentions how when you first formed, no one was really into your stuff at all, and then this Pop Montreal invitation came about. Is that accurate?

Graham: Yeah. I wrote the bio. I was trying to copy one-sheets as much as I could. I was trying to be pro. That's entirely true.
Josh: It wasn't that no one was into it, just that we weren't playing at all.
Graham: Right. And then playing Pop Montreal was the only thing that made us be a band. In all seriousness, if it wasn't for that Pop Montreal festival, we wouldn't have done anything. Ever. I cannot overstate the importance of Pop Montreal.
Josh: Before Pop Montreal we played a few low key shows in Toronto, for other bands, you know? Pop Montreal was the first time we played to a crowd, at all, that was there to see us.

So how did you get the invite? Did you know someone?

Dave: We just sent our application and twenty bucks in the mail.
Graham: We had always talked about applying for things like CMW and North By Northeast and other stuff around Toronto but we never got around to it. We are lazy guys. For whatever reason, the Pop Montreal thing actually got done. I don't know why. We actually had to do work for it. I guess it was just the hand of fate.
Josh: It was the best twenty bucks we ever spent.

So this show is kind of a homecoming, of sorts.

Graham: We have a weird connection to Montreal. Dave used to go to school here. Just because of how important that show was and just hanging out. Every time we come here...we've played here four or fives times, but this time feels real special.

Not to do the cliché journalistic question...

Graham: Go for it.

...From that show in October 2005 to now, does it seem like things are moving fast?

Graham: From the outside, it must look like things are moving fast. For us, we've been there for every step. To most people it seems like one month we were point X and two months later we were point Y. But between that, there were a hundred phone calls and all of this work. We've seen all the work we've done for every step of the ladder. To us, it doesn't seem that fast. I know it is happening to us faster than it is for a lot of other bands, and we are fortunate, but it doesn't feel that fast.

I saw you guys at Osheaga (in August), and maybe it's just because that's the first time you guys appeared on my radar, but from there to here it just seems very fast.

Dave: It has been accelerated. I totally see the progression and the hard work we have put into it. Sometimes, though, weird things will come up and you're like "we're playing Letterman? Really?"

Graham: It's amazing to think we have gotten where we are on an e.p. We call it a mini album, but it seems such a strange thing. People keep mentioning it to us, but we have treated it like an album. We've done the promotion, toured behind it.

Not to jinx it, but are you anticipating the wave the NME are going to give you? What they have written about you so far is has been super positive and you get the feeling you are being groomed by them.

Graham: The NME loves to ink bands and put them on a pedestal. But as much as they love putting them on that pedestal, they love knocking them off it, too. I'd rather things progress naturally. I'd like the NME to like us. I'd like everyone to like us, be they media or not. I don't want to be popular because the NME tells us to like us.
Dave: If you just build up your popularity through touring and good records, nobody can knock you off that.
Josh: The NME can hype it as much as they want and people might come to a show based on that, but if they really like it, we've gone past that.
Graham: If the NME tells you to like The Horrors and you go to a show and don't like them, the NME is not gonna convince you unless you are one of those people. If you go to the Horrors show and you think they are the greatest thing since sliced bread, for some reason, then...

The Horrors are not that good.

Graham: No they're not. I mentioned them because they were the last band I saw on the cover. But if the NME tells you to hate the Horrors, but you love them, you're not gonna be like "fuck The Horrors."

Not to continue down this line of questioning, but to counter that, the U.S. Equivalent is Pitchfork. Now they dug your e.p., but if they decide they don't like someone, they can really affect that band, like Travis Morrison from the Dismemberment Plan, a Pitchfork-approved band. His solo album got a 0.0 and college radio effectively dumped him.

Dave: [Tour mates] The Cold War Kids are a band Pitchfork has given the cold shoulder too. It's cool to see that they are on this tour and crowds are big and people like the music. Pitchfork is good at what they do. It's good writing. But it's good to see that people are thinking independently.

Now you guys mentioned the length of the e.p. At any point in time, be it a specific song or when the album was done did you think "maybe we should add a second verse here" or "repeat the chorus?"

Graham: Actually, "Nature of the Experiment" ...you know the part at the end where it goes (sings guitar line after last chorus)? It goes six times at the end and then the tremolo guitar comes in. Those last two times weren't in the original song. Our label, the Paper Bag guys, are real cool. They sat in the studio but they never tried to change anything. We finished the song and we're mixing the song and they're like "the song is a minute and fifty seconds. This is kind of a single, guys, but it has to be over two minutes if its gonna be played on radio." They didn't strong arm us or anything but I remember us talking about it for a long time. There was other stuff we were gonna add that we decided not to. We did add those two repetitions. In retrospect, I think it makes the song way better. That was really the only thing we added.

So, the song "If It Works" is supposed to have that start/stop, long pause?

Graham: Yeah.
Dave: I was sitting in the studio. That was the second song they laid down. Greg and Dave in the room recording. I was sitting behind John, the producer, and when they cut out he was like "what the fuck is this?" I kept telling him "it's gonna make sense later."
Dave: When we were working on the song, we were thinking what should we do here? Let's-
Dave + Graham just stop. [laughs]

Talking to fans, and being a fan myself, it seems "Citizens of Tomorrow" is your most popular song. Is there any reason why "Nature of the Experiment" was picked over that?

Graham: "Citizen" is one of the fan favorites. We find when we play it, that gets the biggest reaction. We are picking "Cheer It On" as the second single, actually. Obviously, most of the people who are coming tonight have heard the record. But there is a whole class of people, like the radio listening public. And when you're releasing singles, the point is to get it played on tv and radio so people will buy your record. In terms of a song that will grab someone when they hear it for the first time, its gonna be the big drums and the opening "Operator, get me the president of the world." That's what they are going to remember, not the eerie song with atonal chord progression and the hand clapping.

I've heard the Radio 3 session and the Daytrotter session, and some of the newer material is slowly trickling out.

Graham: Daytrotter was so much fun.

Not to get sidetracked but let me ask you, I've been a fan of that site for awhile. How does it work? Do you go in and are given fifteen minutes and they record on an eight track?

Graham: I didn't look at their recording set up, but as I understand it, it was pretty rudimentary.
Josh: They told us "this is tape guys, just so you know that." [laughs].
Graham: Take the CBC session. It was very professionally done. They had the amps facing the wall to prevent bleed and there were big isolation walls and Greg is playing in another room. We're looking at him through glass. At Daytrotter, they set us up in a room, Mic this, mic that. We're like "do you want us to turn our amps around?" and they're like "just play. We'll mix it later." It was like jamming or rehearsing in a basement but more fun. And I think it comes through.
Josh: We even tried new shit. We didn't go in there planning on recording the songs but we just kind of felt it and we said "why don't we record this song?"
Graham: If it makes sense, I want to go to Daytrotter and do a track for track live recording of the album as a world premiere or something. I haven't talked to anyone about it. I don't know if its feasible, but I would like to do that.

What's interesting about it is the concept isn't new but their approach and how it's presented feels very fresh and original And they've already got some great acts, like Will Oldham and Sunset Rubdown.

Graham: It's very artist friendly. It's small time right now, but I think as word gets out it will grow. As more bands hear about it, I think more bands will want to do it.

My original question was going to be on the new album? Is it done? Are you working on it?

Dave: We are in the very, very preliminary stages of working on it. We have a few songs done.

From the sessions, I've heard "New Song," "Graves," and "Your English."

Josh: We are planning on writing as many songs as possible in the next few months and see where it goes from there.

In the last few years, many bands have embraced the e.p. Cold War Kids and Voxtrot jump to mind, of bands who released a series of eps before any full length. Do you think that is a model that will gain more traction?

Graham: From a strictly business standpoint, ep's are a dumb thing to do. Record stores can't sell them for much money, meaning they don't make as much money, so they don't want to stock them. Theoretically, we could have thrown three more songs on there and called it a full length and we probably would have sold more records. But ultimately, we felt we wanted to put our best foot forward. An e.p. is just a good way to start.
I like albums and bands that make big statements on albums, but for us and other bands, musically speaking, e.p's make more sense. We think of the e.p as an album. The songs are short so the album should be short. People listen to our e.p and get really into it and then it's over, and they want to put it on again. Adding more songs runs the risk of people looking at track numbers and wondering how many more songs are left.

I won't get too much into the lyrics because I know people have been picking them apart.

Dave: Yeah.

I've noticed a lot of the songs have references to family, if not directly then to other people's family. Was that a self conscious decision or was that something that just came about when the songs were done?

Dave: It's just another hyper relationship people don't explore as much. There are a lot of songs about guys and girls, relationships. I think there's some really good stuff there to be explored. It's a really good part of my life. Sometimes it's conscious and sometimes there's reference to it without knowing. I think every song we have put out has at least one reference to family or a family member.

Does it bother you that people only want to talk about the robot aspect of the songs?

Dave: Yeah. It's weird. It's only one song. The robot and the futuristic part was only a vehicle to talk about something else. Graham suggested "you should write a song about robots."
Josh: It just so happened that the guy who did the artwork only heard that song so he was like "yeah, I get it. I'll put a robot in there." Then people looked at it and they are like "oh, a concept record."
Dave: Robots, emergencies, a song about an experiment, rebuilding our city, factories. Their mind was made up.

It seems whenever I read anything about the band, people assign you guys like 'sci-fi pop-punk band' or some weird label.

Graham: Yeah, but I must admit if I read about a band that was labeled science fiction punk rock, I'd have to check those guys out [laughs].

----

More interviews by BrooklynVegan Mike in the archives. See TPC live in a town near you.....

Tokyo Police Club - 2007 Tour Dates
5/27 - Sasquatch Music Festival The Gorge, Washington
6/21 - Hoxton Bar and Grill London, UK
6/22 - Glastonbury Music Festival Glastonbury, UK
6/23 - Hurricane Festival Scheessel, Germany
6/24 - Southside Festival Neuhausen, Germany
6/25 - Cookys Frankfurt, Germany
6/28 - Hove Festival Hove, Norway
6/29 - Accelerator Festival Stockholm, Sweden
7/3 - Barfly London, UK
7/4 - Barfly Birmingham, UK
7/5 - Barfly Liverpool, UK
7/17 - The Intersection, Front Room Grand Rapids, MI
7/18 - Birdy's Bar & Grill Indianapolis, IN
7/21 - Larimer Lounge Denver, CO
7/23 - The Independent San Francisco, CA
7/25 - Troubadour West Hollywood, CA
7/26 - Beauty Bar San Diego, CA
7/27 - Anderson's Fifth Estate Scottsdale, AZ
7/29 - Emo's Austin, TX
7/30 - Meridian Red Room Houston, TX
7/31 - Cambridge Room @ HOB Dallas, TX
8/1 - The Republic New Orleans, LA
8/2 - Vinyl Atlanta, Georgia
8/4 - Lollapalooza Chicago, IL
8/7 - Rock & Roll Hotel Washington, DC
8/8 - Sonar Baltimore, MD
8/9 - Johnny Brenda's Philadelphia, PA
8/10 - Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
8/11 - Maxwell's Hoboken, NJ
8/12 - Middle East Downstairs Cambridge, MA

Previously
* more posts about Tokyo Police Club

Posted in interviews | music at 4:42 PM | Comments (7)

Nickel Creek & Fiona Apple - 2007 collaborative & farewell Tour Dates (Summerstage)

Check out this video of Fiona Apple, Jon Brion, and Chris Thile of Nickel Creek performing 'Fast as You Can' together....

Check out this news.....

Fiona Apple (again) & Nickel Creek are playing Central Park Summerstage in NYC on August 14th, but it gets better (or worse) than that:

The members of Nickel Creek and Apple met several years ago in Los Angeles, and began occasionally working together at the club Largo - an intimate and magnetic music club that has become legendary for stellar lineups and surprise appearances. A loose and friendly musical exchange began with Apple sitting in on Sean and Sara Waktins' ‘anything goes' "Watkins Family Hour," and with either Thile or the Watkins returning the favor whenever possible.

For the August dates, fans will be treated to an expansion of those collaborations developed at Largo. Naturally, material will be pulled from both artists' solo catalogues, but fans can also expect to hear anything from pop standards to country classics to modern rock covers. Apple's presentation will be unique in that she will rely on Nickel Creek for back up during her set.

As you may know, club Largo in LA is also where Jon Brion does his weekly shows - sometimes with Fiona, and some times with Chris. I assume that's where the above video was taken. Jon was just on tour with Nickel Creek. Fiona starts touring with them on August 2nd. Before that Nickel Creek have Glen Phillips opening, and it's important to note that this will be Nickel Creek's farewell-for-now tour. All tour dates below....

Nickel Creek - Farewell (for now) - 2007 Tour Dates
7.13 - Paducah, KY Carson 4 Rivers Center *
7.14 - Ashland, KY Paramount Arts Center*
7.15 - Grand Rapids, MI Meijer Gardens *
7.16 - Interlochen, MIInterlochen Center/Kresge *
7.18 - Cleveland Heights, OHCain Park *
7.20 - Ancramdale, NY Grey Fox Festival
7.21 - Lowell, MA Boarding House Park *
7.29 - Lyons, CO Rockygrass
8.02 - Baltimore, MD Pier Six Concert Pavilion**
8.03 - Glen Allen, VA Innsbrook Pavilion **
8.04 - Charlottesville , VA Charlottesville Pavilion **
8.05 - Charlotte, NC Ovens Auditorium **
8.07 - Columbus, OH The LC Pavillion **
8.10 - Highland Park, IL Ravinia Pavilion **
8.11 - Rochester Hills, MI MeadowBrook Music Festival **
8.12 - Peoria, IL CEFCU Center Stage at the Landing **
8.14 - New York, NY Rumsey Playfield **
8.16 - Rochester, NY High Falls Festival Site **
8.17 - Boston, MA Band of America Pavilion **
8.18 - Philadelphia, PA Mann Center for the Performing Arts **
8.19 - Westbury, NY North Fork Theater at **
9.01 - Pagosa Springs, CO Four Corners Folk Festival

* w/ Glen Phillips
** w/ Fiona Apple

Posted in music | tour dates at 3:08 PM | Comments (20)

Free concert tickets at Other Music on Sunday

This Sunday May 20, 2007, Absolut is giving away 100 pairs of concert tickets at Other Music in NYC

We cannot announce the bands in advance, but venues include McCarren Pool, Central Park SummerStage, Keyspan Park, Highline Ballrooom, Madison Square Garden, Roseland Ballroom & The Town Hall. It's a great selection of Other Music's favorite artists and top sellers.

Some of these events are already sold out. Tickets will be distributed first come, first served, but you must be 21+ with government issued ID to participate. Giveaway begins at 12PM. Each person will be limited to one pair of tickets.

I read somewhere else that the ticket giveaway starts at 11:00, so get there early.
(thx Eduardo)

Posted in music at 2:15 PM | Comments (37)

GEORGIE JAMES (Q and not U) signs to Saddle Creek + 2007 Tour Dates

DOWNLOAD: Georgie James - WOXY lounge act (MP3) (info)
DOWNLOAD: Georgie James - Need Your Needs (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Georgie James - Grizzly Jive (MP3)

"Georgie James are a two-piece indie pop/rock group from Washington D.C. featuring John Davis (formerly of Q and Not U) and Laura Burhenn." [Wiki]

Georgie James says:

We're happy to say that we've signed with Saddle Creek and that they'll be issuing our debut record, Places, sometime in September or October. We'll have a release date pretty soon. We're also going to be touring the U.S. and Europe for most of the fall, so we'll have dates posted for that later in the summer. In the meantime, we're playing some regional shows over the next few months and we still have some copies of the "Need Your Needs" single left. You can get that from dischord.com in the "Stuff We Sell" section, if you're interested.

They play Mercury Lounge in NYC with (the) Mary Timony (band) on June 14th. All tour dates below....

Georgie James - 2007 Tour Dates
May 26 - St. Stephen's Church WASHINGTON
Jun 14 - Mercury Lounge NYC w/ Mary Timony band
Jun 15 - Mojo 13 Wilmington, Delaware
Jun 16 - Johnny Brenda's Philadelphia, PA w/ Mary Timony band
Aug 11 - Recher Theatre Towson, Maryland w/ Ted Leo

Previously
* more Georgie James posts

Posted in industry | music | tour dates at 1:42 PM | Comments (4)

initial 2007 jellyNYC Pool Parties FREE CONCERT schedule

free concerts at McCarren Pool in McCarren Park in Brooklyn, NY this summer....

DOWNLOAD: The Octopus Project - Tuxedo Hat (MP3)

June 24
SUPERCHUNK
Oakley Hall
Special guest

JULY 1
MAN MAN
Dengue Fever
Illinois

JULY 8
OCTOPUS PROJECT
ERASE ERRATA
Dan Deacon

JULY 15
Details coming soon!

JULY 22
Details coming soon!

JULY 29
Details coming soon!

AUGUST 5
BLONDE REDHEAD
I’m From Barcelona
Special guest

AUGUST 12
TED LEO + THE PHARMACISTS
The Thermals
Birds of Avalon

AUGUST 19
GHOSTLAND OBSERVATORY
Plus special guests

Previously
* Blonde Redhead, Ted Leo, Thermals & Man Man playing McCarren Pool

Posted in music | tour dates at 1:05 PM | Comments (43)

"Don't Give Up" - NOISETTES playing SIREN + 2007 Tour Dates

As someone pointed out in the comments, Noisettes from the UK were added to the 2007 Siren Festival lineup (which for those who don't know, is a free outdoor concert in Coney Island, Brooklyn, NYC on July 21, 2007).

I didn't love the Noisettes when I saw them at Mercury Lounge in March 2006, but I'm willing to give them another chance. As Sasha Frere-Jones points out, their song "Don't Give Up" is pretty rockin'....

Actually, Sasha really recommends the whole 'What's The Time, Mr. Wolf?' album - even more than Feist, but not as much as Arcade Fire & LCD Soundsystem. It came out on April 17th. You can get it for only $9.99 at Insound.

The Noisettes' June 6th show at Knitting Factory in NYC is sold out, but their Bowery Presents June 7th show in Asbury Park with Bloc Party is not. All tour dates below...

Noisettes - 2007 Tour Dates
May 18 - Topman DJ set London
May 19 - Great Escape Festival @ The Beach Brighton
May 21 - Temple Bar, Bud Rising Show, supporting Maximo Park Dublin
May 24 - Koko, War Child Event London
May 26 - Pinkpop Festival, 3FM stage near Amsterdam
May 27 - Pompano Beach Amphitheatre West Palm Beach, Florida *
May 28 - USF Sun Dome Tampa, Florida *
May 29 - UCF Arena Orlando, Florida *
May 31 - Tabernacle Atlanta, Georgia *
Jun 1 - House Of Blues North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina *
Jun 2 - Millenium Center Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Jun 5 - Electric Factory Philadelphia, Pennsylvania *
Jun 6 - Knitting Factory New York
Jun 7 - Asbury Park Convention Hall Asbury Park, New Jersey *
Jun 9 - Schubas Chicago *
Jun 11 - Uptown Theatre Kansas City, Kansas *
Jun 12 - Ogden Centre Denver, Colorado *
Jun 13 - The Pearl Las Vegas, Nevada *
Jun 14 - Pop Scene @ 330 Ritch San Francisco
Jun 15 - Troubadour Los Angeles
Jun 16 - Viejas Concerts In The Park Alpine, California *
Jun 20 - Pembroke May Ball, Pembroke College Cambridge
Jun 22 - Glastonbury Casino @ Lost Vagueness near Glastonbury town
Jun 23 - Glastonbury, Leftfield stage – Love Music Hate Racism near Glastonbury town
Jun 24 - Glastonbury, John Peel Stage. near Glastonbury town
Jun 27 - Hove Festival, Marquee stage Tromoy, Ardenal
Jun 30 - Bournemouth Music Festival, headline slot Bournemouth
Jul 1 - Metropolis Festival Rotterdam
Jul 4 - Manchester Academy 3, International Festival, headliners Manchester
Jul 13 - Lounge On The Farm Canterbury
Jul 21 - Village Voice Siren Music Festival New York, New York
Jul 27 - Secret Garden Party, main stage near Cambridge
Jul 28 - Standon Calling Festival, headline slot Standon, Ware, Hertfordshire
Aug 2 - Sudoeste Festival Zambujeira do Mar
Aug 4 - 1st Festival Wick, Wales
Aug 17 - Pukkelpop Festival Kiewit, Hasselt
Aug 24 - Rock En Seine Festival Paris
Aug 25 - Reading Festival, NME Radio One Stage Reading
Aug 26 - Reading Festival, NME Radio One Stage Leeds
Sep 7 - Isle Of Wight Bestival, Main Stage Isle Of Wight

* w/ Bloc Party

Previously
* more Noisettes posts

Posted in music | tour dates at 11:54 AM | Comments (12)

reviews of DANIEL JOHNSTON at Warsaw & the Highline Ballroom + more pics

DOWNLOAD: Daniel Johnston - Funeral Girl (MP3)

Daniel Johnston played his second of two NYC shows last night (May 16, 2007) at the Highline Ballroom (part of the High Line Festival). I wasn't there, but I did go to the first show at Warsaw the night before (May 15). Apparently I picked the right show.

We were treated to a beautiful performance by Daniel at Warsaw - two sets (one acoustic, one with a band, neither the Nightmares), two one-song encores, and a happy, cheerful, and loving Daniel Johnston. I'm serious about the loving part too - especially in light of the Nazi stuff that I'm sure everyone is wondering about. Daniel seems to have two jokes that he tells at every show. He told the one about a man being sentenced to death for trying to commit suicide, and then at one point - almost sadly, but still smiling - he told us how he didn't have anything to say at that moment because one of his jokes has been censored. He said the press wrote about it, and his dad and brother yelled at him - so he couldn't say it anymore. I was both happy (not to have to hear the 'joke') and sad at the same time. Here was this amazing man talking about being censored, and he was even so cute when saying he can't say it anymore because he was yelled at by his dad. Other times during his set he wished us all to live forever and true love. During the censored joke he told us to think about the funniest thing we could think about instead (or something like that) - this way we would laugh even without his 'joke'. Again - I don't think anything about Jews going to a concentration camp is funny, but I won't hold it against him.

That all said, I've asked sometimes BV-contributor Nick Brassbonanza to write a review of the Warsaw show, and I received a really disappointing letter from someone who went to the High Line show. Both of those, and more pictures from Warsaw, below.....

From Alex who went to the Highline....

i'm sure you'll get plenty of comments about this, but i might as well send this anyway. right in the middle of daniel johnston's short set, the highline ballroom busboys push to the front of the stage (i was standing up against it). they're carrying big tupperware bins to pick up all the bottles and glasses on stage (maybe about 20 on the whole thing). they're making a shit ton of noise, banging glasses together and ordering people to move. a girl near me tried to explain how rude they were being, but of course they ignored her. i hate to try to guess what someone is thinking, least of all daniel johnston of all people, but i can't help but think this may have had something to do with him playing half as long as the night before....

True? Did anyone go to both shows?

And from Nick Brassbonanza on Warsaw....

Going into this show I was told not to expect any old Daniel Johnston songs, except for maybe “Devil Town” and “Speeding Motorcycle.” Well, not only did he play them both, but the entire show was heavy on familiar material and lasted for almost 2 hours. Starting with the acoustic set, Danny was joined by one of his college buddies and collaborators, Brett Hartenbach, who played guitar while Danny sang from his notebook.

The appreciative crowd was treated to favorites such as “Living Life,” “Silly Love,” and “Mask,” which he recently played on the Henry Rollins show. The set was beautiful and Danny seemed to be in great spirits. His jokes now seem to be part of his repertoire and he told the one where he had a dream that he was sentenced to death for trying to commit suicide. He then mentioned his controversial/anti-Semitic joke from SXSW, saying how his Father and brother were mad at him and something along the lines of, “My joke got bad press and has been censored.” He then told the crowd to imagine the funniest thing they can think of and have a laugh. He ended the set with “Grievances” which he said was his favorite song and hadn't played it in years.

Backed by the Joe McGinty band, the second set was more up-tempo and opened with “Rock This Town.” Although the set was electric, it was loaded with classics. He played “Funeral Girl,” and “Funeral Home” back to back, “Do You Really Love Me,” “Fish,” “Casper The Friendly Ghost,” “Hey Joe” and “Rock n Roll/ EGA.” One of the many surprises was when he broke out arguably his most popular song, “Walking The Cow.” The crowd went nuts the entire show and it seemed to have a positive effect on him. A great moment was when he said that with the help of today's technology we should be able to live past 100 years old. "This generation should be about living, " he said. "I'm supposed to be 45, but I feel like a 3 year old....seriously." The highlight of the night came in the first encore. Danny wished everyone “Good luck,” and played “True Love Will Find You In The End.” He cut it off a bit early, but that didn't’t matter, it was beautiful. He came back out for a second encore and ended with a solo rendition of “Devil Town.”

The show exceeded my expectations in every way. Both sets were amazing, the crowd was respectful and Danny seemed to be having a great time as well. Wow!

Previously
* Daniel Johnston @ Warsaw, Brooklyn, NY - pics
* more Daniel Johnston posts

Posted in music | pictures at 10:53 AM | Comments (29)

Tony-nominated Kiki & Herb DVD filming @ Knitting Factory, Lost References show & other Tour Dates

See a good show, and be on a DVD - Kiki & Herb do it at Knitting Factory in NYC tonight (May 17, 2007). Lat time you saw them they weren't Tony-nominated. They're also playing Joe's Pub (as usual) on May 20 and May 27, and Justin Bond (Kiki) is playing a one-off show with the Lost References at the Zipper Theater on May 30 (I have no idea what they sound like). More K&H tour dates below....

Kiki & Herb - 2007 Tour Dates
May 17 - Knitting Factory - DVD RECORDING! New York, New York
May 20 - Joe's Pub New York, New York
May 27 - Joe's Pub New York, New York
Jun 13 - Wimberly Theatre Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 15 - Wimberly Theatre Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 19 - Wimberly Theatre Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 20 - Wimberly Theatre Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 21 - Wimberly Theatre Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 22 - Wimberly Theatre Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 23 - Wimberly Theatre Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 23 - Wimberly Theatre Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 26 - Wimberly Theatre Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 27 - Wimberly Theatre Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 28 - Wimberly Theatre Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 29 - Wimberly Theatre Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 30 - Wimberly Theatre Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 30 - Wimberly Theatre Boston, Massachusetts
Jul 13 - American Conservatory Theatre San Francisco, California
Jul 14 - American Conservatory Theatre San Francisco, California
Jul 14 - American Conservatory Theatre San Francisco, California
Jul 15 - American Conservatory Theatre San Francisco, California
Jul 17 - American Conservatory Theatre San Francisco, California
Jul 18 - American Conservatory Theatre San Francisco, California
Jul 19 - American Conservatory Theatre San Francisco, California
Jul 20 - American Conservatory Theatre San Francisco, California
Jul 21 - American Conservatory Theatre San Francisco, California
Jul 22 - American Conservatory Theatre San Francisco, California
Jul 24 - American Conservatory Theatre San Francisco, California
Jul 25 - American Conservatory Theatre San Francisco, California
Jul 26 - American Conservatory Theatre San Francisco, California
Jul 27 - American Conservatory Theatre San Francisco, California
Jul 28 - American Conservatory Theatre San Francisco, California
Jul 29 - American Conservatory Theatre San Francisco, California

Previously
* more Kiki & Herb posts

Posted in music | tour dates at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)

!!! (Chk Chk Chk) played Bowery Ballroom + Hot Chip remix

DOWNLOAD: !!! - Must be the Moon (Hot Chip Remix) (via)

LCD Soundsystem and !!! in the same week is a good thing. Last night (May 16, 2007) at Bowery Ballroom was great, but when the crowd loosened up and exploded for the last three-or-so songs it was even better. When whats-her-name? from the Durty Nanas? jumped into the crowd I thought for sure she and the guy she landed on were not getting up - but they both seemed to survive it OK...

Photo via here. 'Must be the Moon' video here. The latest tour dates at their MySpace (they are unstoppable). More !!! here.

Posted in MP3 | dance | music at 9:41 AM | Comments (34)

The Veils add 3rd NYC show w/ Phoenix Foundation

DOWNLOAD: The Veils - Advice For Young Mothers to Be (MP3)

The Veils have added a third NYC date at Mercury Lounge, so their NYC tour schedule now looks like this:

Jun 7 @ Mercury Lounge w/ Bon Savants (early) (TICKETS)
Jun 7 @ Mercury Lounge w/ The Phoenix Foundation (late) (TICKETS)
Jun 8 @ Union Hall w/ Elizabeth Harper (TICKETS)

The new show is the late one at Mercury Lounge, and the new opener is also from New Zealand. More tour dates HERE.

Posted in music | tour dates at 8:58 AM | Comments (0)

VIDEO: Feist - 'I Feel it All' & 'The Park' on a bus

Let's give a big bus welcome to Feist...

This video aired on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show on May 15, 2007.

----

Martha Plimpton hearts Feist.

Feist is on tour. She's playing two NYC shows.

Previously
* more Feist posts

Posted in music | video at 8:45 AM | Comments (2)

May 16, 2007

Interpol in Atlantic City & other 2007 Tour Dates

Interpol announced a July 20th show at the Music Box in Atlantic City. All tour dates below....

Interpol - 2007 Tour Dates
05-19 Irvine, CA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (KROQ Weenie Roast)
05-27 George, WA - The Gorge (Sasquatch!)
05-31 Dallas, TX - The Palladium
06-02 Atlanta, GA - HiFi Buys Amphitheatre (99X Big Day Out)
06-03 Chicago, IL - Metro
06-07 Toronto, Ontario - The Guverment
06-09 San Francisco, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre (Live 105 BFD 07)
06-10 San Diego, CA - Devore Stadium (94/9 Independence Jam)
06-21 Dusseldorf, Germany - ISS Dome *
06-23 Scheesel, Germany - Hurricane Festival
06-24 Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany - Southside Festival
06-25 Dresden, Germany - Dresden Alter Schlachthof
06-27 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega
06-28 Arendal, Norway - Hove Festival
06-29 Stockholm, Sweden - Accelerator
07-01 Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter
07-05 Lisbon, Portugal - Super Bock Super Rock
07-07 Naas, Ireland - Punchestown Racecourse (Oxegen)
07-08 Balado, Scotland - T in the Park
07-19 Rochester, NY - Harro East Ballroom
07-20 Atlantic City, NJ - Music Box @ Borgata
07-21 Norfolk, VA - Norva
07-23 Cleveland, OH - House of Blues
07-24 Pittsburgh, PA - Byham
07-25 Columbus, OH - The LC Amphitheatre
07-27 Grand Rapids, Michigan - Orbit Room
07-28 Detroit, MI - MI State
07-30 Milwaukee, WI - Rave
07-31 Indianapolis, IN - Egyptain
08-01 St. Louis, MO - Pageant
08-03 Covington, KY - Madison Theatre
08-04 Chicago, IL - Grant Park (Lollapalooza)
08-05 Baltimore, MD - Pimlico Race Course (V Festival)
08-11 Tokyo, Japan - Summersonic Festival
08-12 Osaka, Japan - Summersonic Festival
08-24 Reading, England - Reading Festival
08-25 Leeds, England - Leeds England
09-08-09 Montreal, Quebec – Osheaga Music and Arts Festival

* with Pearl Jam

"Like the auditory equivalent of an icy Nestea on a scorching August afternoon, too-cool-for-the-room NYC mope-rockers Interpol-- still set to issue Our Love to Admire July 10 on Capitol— are set to send temperatures plunging through the summer months." [Pitchfork]

Previously
* Interpol @ Coachella, new album details & tour dates

Posted in music | tour dates at 4:54 PM | Comments (25)

VIDEO: breakdancing (w/ baby) in Times Square

Wikipedia says, "Breakdance, breaking, b-boying or b-girling is a street dance style that evolved as part of the hip hop movement among African American and Latin American youths in the South Bronx of New York City during the early 1970s. It is normally danced to funk or hip hop music, often remixed to prolong the breaks, and is arguably the best known of all hip hop dance styles".....

Hopefully this is not just a promo in disguise for Jamie Kennedy's new movie Kickin' It - then again, hopefully it is.

A breakdancing documentary (Planet B-Boy) also just premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Posted in music | video at 2:56 PM | Comments (18)

VIDEO (premiere): THE ROSEBUDS - 'Silence By The Lakeside' ++ bonus video starring comedian TODD BARRY

It's another blog television network debut....

....by The Rosebuds....

BONUS VIDEO STARRING ACTUAL HUMANS..........

The Rosebuds are playing some shows with Ladybug Transistor, and with Land of Talk. And here are all the Rosebuds' tour dates....

The Rosebuds - 2007 Tour DAtes
May 18 - GREY EAGLE Asheville, North Carolina
May 19 - CAT'S CRADLE Carrboro, North Carolina
May 22 - ROCK AND ROLL HOTEL District of Columbia, Washington DC
May 23 - JOHNNY BRENDA'S Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
May 24 - BOWERY BALLROOM New York City, New York
May 25 - IRON HORSE MUSIC HALL North Hampton, Massachusetts
May 26 - GREAT SCOTT Allston, Massachusetts
May 28 - HORSESHOE TAVERN Toronto, Ontario
May 29 - BLIND PIG Ann Arbor, Michigan
May 30 - GROG SHOP Cleveland Heights, Ohio
May 31 - LITTLE BROTHERS Columbus, Ohio
Jun 1 - SUBTERRANEAN Chicago, Illinois
Jun 2 - HOUSE OF ROCK! EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin
Jun 3 - 7th STREET ENTRY Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jun 4 - JACKPOT SALOON Lawrence, Kansas
Jun 5 - LARIMER LOUNGE Denver, Colorado
Jun 8 - KEXP.org (live on air performance) Seattle/ World Wide Web, Washington
Jun 8 - NEUMO'S Seattle, Washington
Jun 9 - MEDIA CLUB Vancouver, British Columbia
Jun 10 - DOUG FIR LOUNGE Portland, Oregon
Jun 12 - GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC HALL!! San Francisco, California
Jun 13 - CELLAR DOOR Visalia, California
Jun 15 - GLASS HOUSE Pomona, California
Jun 16 - SPACELAND Los Angeles, California
Jun 17 - PLUSH Tucson, Arizona
Jun 19 - THE CAVERN Dallas, Texas
Jun 20 - THE PARISH Austin, Texas
Jun 21 - Chelsea Cafe' Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Jun 22 - THE BOTTLE TREE Birmingham, Alabama
Jun 23 - THE EARL Atlanta, Georgia

Posted in comedy | music | tour dates | video at 2:34 PM | Comments (9)

Street Teams + Flickr = bad --- ARCTIC MONKEYS played Hammerstein Ballroom --- DAVID BAZAN signs to Barsuk

The only thing worse than regular people who mislabel Flickr photos (for instance the people who tagged every single photo from their NYC vacation with "CBGB"), are street team people who mislabel pictures on Flickr - actually - street teams just need to stop using Flickr at all. For instance, here's a few pictures that came up when I just did a search for "Arctic Monkeys"....

Yep, that's David Bazan in the last photo (sometimes mistaken for an Arctic Monkey - especially when holding a small flag, but actually just a Pedro the Lion), and it was just announed that David signed to Barsuk - ex-home of his tour-mate Ben Gibbard's band Death Cab For Cutie.

How were Arctic Monkeys at Hammerstein, and while we're at it - how were Ben Gibbard and David Bazan at Town Hall?

Posted in music at 2:06 PM | Comments (46)

Warner Music sues Imeem for copyright infringement

"The lawsuit in question, which was filed by Warner Music through the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, points accusatory fingers at Imeem Inc. for amassing an active user base of 16 million people on the back of “illegal use of ‘free music,’” including Warner Music artists such as Green Day, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Madonna." [Monsters & Critics]

Posted in industry | music at 1:08 PM | Comments (1)

a letter from Trent Reznor on CD prices

I linked to a story about this earlier, but then realized the actual letter by Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor deserved its own post....

As the climate grows more and more desperate for record labels, their answer to their mostly self-inflicted wounds seems to be to screw the consumer over even more. A couple of examples that quickly come to mind:

* The ABSURD retail pricing of Year Zero in Australia. Shame on you, UMG. Year Zero is selling for $34.99 Australian dollars ($29.10 US). No wonder people steal music. Avril Lavigne's record in the same store was $21.99 ($18.21 US).
By the way, when I asked a label rep about this his response was: "It's because we know you have a real core audience that will pay whatever it costs when you put something out - you know, true fans. It's the pop stuff we have to discount to get people to buy."
So... I guess as a reward for being a "true fan" you get ripped off.

* The dreaded EURO Maxi-single. Nothing but a consumer rip-off that I've been talked into my whole career. No more.

The point is, I am trying my best to make sure the music and items NIN puts in the marketplace have value, substance and are worth you considering purchasing. I am not allowing Capital G to be repackaged into several configurations that result in you getting ripped off.

We are planning a full-length remix collection of substance that will be announced soon.

Nice one.

Posted in industry | music at 12:52 PM | Comments (16)

Wes' Weekly Hip Hop News Roundup (May 16, 2007) -- Ghostface/RZA played High Line Ballroom

How was the Ghostface (& RZA) & Spank Rock show at the High Line Ballroom last night? Angry Citizen took some pictures....

Ghostface @ RZA @ Highline Ballroom - May 15, 2007 (CRED)

NY Magazine went to the 24-hour "Rapathon" in Harlem.

Tickets are on sale for Method Man and GZA at Webster Hall on June 5th. Tickets still on sale for Rakim at Southpaw.

Our favorite Joell Ortiz was added to the KRS-One show at Irving/Fillmore on May 20th. KRS-One is also playing Prospect Park in Brooklyn this summer.

We have a pair of tickets to give away to the Devin the Dude show at Knitting Factory this Friday night. Want them? E-mail BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: Devin), and let us know who the best hip hop act you ever saw live was. One winner will be picked at random. Include your first and last name for guestlist purposes.

Dres of Black Sheep, Emily King, Ralph McDaniels and El Michels Affair were added to the 3rd Annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival.

KEEP READING for news, music, videos, tour dates, and more............

NEWS

• MOP speak on sideprojects and if their G0Unit debut will ever come out.
• AboutRap reviews the new KRS-One & Marley Marl album Hip Hop Lives.
• Kanye West, who by the way is not the new DJ Premier, will be releasing his third album Graduation this september.
• Who? Mike Jones! His album was just pushed back.
• Eve speaks on the state of female rappers.
• Eminem's protege Cashis is interviewed on AllHipHop.
• Beastie Boy MCA is set to produce the new Bad Brains album.
• Twista & Bone Thugs set to do an album together

MUSIC

• Not 1, not 2, but 3 new Lupe Fiasco tracks for download.
• Common returns with The Game produced by DJ Premier.
• Kool G Rap shooting for a comeback with They Paid With Bullets.
• Wu affiliate Trife da God brings along Termanology on Milk Crate (download.) (Via NahRight)
• I can't wait for the new album, Desire, Pharoahe Monch gives us a taste with What It Is.
• Listen to "We All Want The Same Thing" by Kevin Michael feat. Lupe Fiasco here and the acoustic version here.

VIDEO

• Watch the video for East Flatbush Projectbs classic 1996 bTried by 12b3 here and read about their new upcoming album.
• A great throwback from RealTalk NY: Keith Murray - The Most Beautifullest Thing
• Rakim speaks on his new album and hip hop.
• N.O.R.E. is back! Watch a video for Cocaine Cowboys here and download Throw Em Under The Bus ft Jadakiss & Kurupt
• Redman did a video for Get'em and I agree with Eskay who says: This happens to be the one song I canbt really fuck with from the album.
• Nahright also has the new Prodigy video.

SHOWS

5/18 Talib Kweli @ Highline Ballroom, 11pm, tix

5/19 Rakim @ Southpaw, 9pm, $18 tix

5/20 KRS-One & Marley Marl w/ Joell Ortiz and Skillz @ The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza, 8pm, tix

5/22 Beanie Sigel w/ live band @ Knitting Factory @ 8:30, (tix)

5/25 Lifesavas @ Southpaw

5/25 & 5/26 Sage Francis with Band plus Buck 65 / Alias / Buddy Wakefield @ Bowery Ballroom, tix

5/26 Mos Def @ Highline Ballroomm tix

5/31 T-Pain @ SOBs, 8pm, $25, tix

6/05 Method Man with special guest GZA / Mike Relm @ Webster Hall, only $15! tix

6/3 Hot 97 Summer Jam @ Giant Stadium, Tickets will be going on sale April 27th at 9AM. Presale April 23rd, 9AM with password ACCESS

6/8 Common @ Central Park Summer Stage w/ Joss Stone & Ryan Shaw

6/9 DJ Drama plus Willie The Kid / The Rub DJs @ The Highline Ballroom, tix

6/15 DMX @ B.B. King's Blues Club & Grill, 11.30pm, tix

06/15 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Tribute To Grandmaster Flash & Furious Five @ Paradise Theater, Bronx (tix)

6/23 3rd Annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival ft Ghostface, Consequence, Skillz and more. (info).

07/28 & 29 - Rock the Bells w/ Wu Tang and many others @ Randall's Island

07/29 - "Wild Style 25th Anniversary Reunion" Central Park SummerStage ft Busy Bee, Cold Crush Brothers, DJ Grand Wizzard Theodore & Grand Master Caz

08/03 Lyricist Lounge With KRS-One, Ladybug Mecca, and more @ Prospect Park Bandshell. (info)

------

this post brought to you by Undisputed Wes

Posted in hiphop | music at 10:55 AM | Comments (11)

Bike Fest show moved to Studio B -- Dan Deacon, Parts & Labor, Gang Gang Dance - FREE TONIGHT

DOWNLOAD: Queen - Bicycle Race (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Sufjan Stevens - Happy Birthday (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Marilyn Monroe - Happy Birthday (MP3) (via)
DOWNLOAD: Missy Elliot - I can't stand the rain (Aphrodite remix) (MP3)

Rather than risk equipment getting wet, tonight's entire bike fest show has moved to Studio B in Brooklyn (May 16). All four bands are playing there: Gang Gang Dance, Dan Deacon, Parts & Labor, and Team Robespierre. This of course is unfortunate to those who were hoping to catch Parts & Labor and Dan Deacon before !!! at Bowery Ballroom, but much more convenient to those who would like to see Gang Gang Dance too - but didn't want to cross a river to do so after Dan Deacon (who loves "The Happy Birthday song" and doesn't have a cell phone) left the stage. This of course doesn't matter at all to Mates of State who still aren't playing.

This event is part of the Bicycle Film Festival, and there will be bicycle valet parking at Studio B. More details below....

THE BICYCLE FILM FESTIVAL'S SHOW WITH DAN DEACON HAS BEEN MOVED TO STUDIO B (169 Banker Street Greenpoint Brooklyn)

DOORS ARE AT 8 PM, STILL FREE AND ALL AGES!!!

Although it is fairly sunny right now at 8 am, the weather is currently predicting 80% chance of thunderstorms between 7-9 pm tonight. The odds are very much against us, and we can't risk the equipment and safety of the performers and of you!

However, the show is still on! It's happening at Studio B in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (easy walk from the Bedford L stop or the Nassau G stop). Doors are at 8 pm, and the show is still free and all ages, with valet bike parking! It's going late too, so stop by when you can! Here is a map: http://www.clubstudiob.com/

Thanks for understanding, please visit www.bicyclefilmfestival.com for more info and for the weekend's program. Also, don't forget to check out the Citysol Festival at Solar One throughout the summer!

Previously
DAN DEACON replaces MATES OF STATE @ Bicycle Film Fest

Posted in To Do | music at 10:00 AM | Comments (6)

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT - Barnes & Noble tonight, Summerstage, new album, video & other tour dates

DOWNLOAD: Rufus Wainwright - The Origin of Love (Hedwig cover) (MP3)

Rufus Wainwright is performing (and signing) tonight (May 16) for free at 7 pm at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square. Rufus' four upcoming Gramercy Theatre shows are sold out. Rufus' headlining show at Central Park Summerstage on August 19th goes on sale this Sunday @ Noon. A Fine Frenzy and The Magic Numbers (who recently played Hiro Ballroom and were spotted at Bjork's Apollo Theatre show) are opening that show. For the latest Rufus tour dates, check his site.

Rufus' new album 'Release the Stars' came out this week. My favorite song on the album (and the one he performed at UCB) is "Going to a Town". Check out the video below....

"Maybe it's due to the influence of executive producer Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys), or more likely to Wainwright's maturation from drug-addled party-boy to focused sobriety — with composing as his new addiction of choice. Either way, Release The Stars is a stunning new path etched into Wainwright's musical journey, and a welcome return after the intriguing but uneven Want albums." [Chart Attack]

"His next move will be bigger still: he is working on a Metropolitan Opera commission with the suggestive title “Prima Donna.” He seems ready for this task; he’s already inclined to view human failing as potentially epic." [NY Times]

Previously
* Rufus Wainwright - new album, 4 NYC shows, Tour Dates
* more Rufus posts

Posted in MP3 | music | tour dates at 9:09 AM | Comments (6)

What's going on?

DOWNLOAD: Kinski - Semaphore (MP3)

* Pete Doherty to exhibit "Bloodworks"
* Bono objects to penthouse smoke
* New Spoon track at Prefix
* Elliot Smith photo book, live album
* Trent Reznor blasts label for high priced CD's
* Kinski touring with Tool
* Franz Ferdinand launch t-shirt line
* Franz Ferdinand to collaborate with the Mitchell Brothers
* Radio City concert to raise money for King Memorial
* Rick Rubin to aid Columbia Records with new music business model
* Spinal Tap want to collaborate with Ricky Gervais

Posted in music at 8:09 AM | Comments (3)

initial 2007 Siren Festival lineup

Despite the July 21st date being set in stone for some time, it seemed a lot of people had their doubts that the annual, free Village Voice Siren Music Festival in Coney Island would even happen this year. Perhaps with the destruction of Astroland and what not, 2007 will indeed be the last year. Enjoy it while you can. The Village Voice just announced the following intiial list of bands:

New York Dolls
We Are Scientists
Matt And Kim
The Black Lips
Dr. Dog
Lavender Diamond
The Detroit Cobras
Elvis Perkins
The Twilight Sad
The Noisettes

Something tells me this isn't going to be a friendly comment thread. Thoughts?

Posted in music at 7:26 AM | Comments (102)

Daniel Johnston @ Warsaw, Brooklyn, NY - pics

DOWNLOAD: Daniel Johnston - Walking the Cow (MP3)

To be continued....

Posted in MP3 | music | pictures at 12:52 AM | Comments (27)

May 15, 2007

Secret Machines add 2nd semi-secret NYC show

Do The Secret Machines even still live in Brooklyn? I have no idea, but if they don't, then the reason they're in town is to play a show at the Highline Ballroom for the David Bowie-curated High line Festival this Saturday night (May 19). Tickets to that are (or were - you should check) sold out, but tickets are now definitely on sale for a second show at the Annex two nights earlier.

Posted in music | tour dates at 5:02 PM | Comments (16)

What are you doing tonight? + Electrelane tour dates

DOWNLOAD: Electrelane - On Parade (MP3)

Tonight (May 15) is another one of those nights when a live music junkie like myself feels their head about to explode. Are you going to:

• Daniel Johnston @ Warsaw?
• Sam Champion @ Bowery Ballroom?
• Arctic Monkeys @ Hammerstein Ballroom?
• Spank Rock & Ghostface @ Highline Ballroom?
• Electrelane & The Blow @ Irving Plaza?
• Silversun Pickups @ Webster Hall?
• Bo Bice @ Canal Room???????????

Electrelane tour dates below....

Electrelane - 2007 Tour Dates
May 15 - Irving Plaza New York, New York
May 16 - Paradise Boston, Massachusetts
May 18 - Lee's Place Toronto
May 19 - Chicago Theatre Chicago, Illinois *
May 20 - Chicago Theatre Chicago, Illinois *
May 22 - Empty Bottle Chicago, Illinois
May 23 - Triple Rock Minneapolis, Minnesota
May 26 - Sasquatch Festival George, Washington
May 27 - Schnitzer Hall Portland, Oregon *
May 29 - LA Greek Theatre LA, California *
May 30 - LA Greek Theatre LA, California *
May 31 - Troubadour LA, California *
Jun 1 - Berkeley Greek Theatre Berkeley, California *
Jun 2 - Berkeley Greek Theatre Berkeley, California *
Jun 5 - The Parish Austin, Texas
Jun 7 - Creepy Crawl St Louis, Missouri
Jun 8 - Andy Warhol Museum Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Jun 9 - Johnny Brenda's Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jun 10 - Black Cat Washington, Washington DC

supporting Arcade Fire.

Posted in music | tour dates at 2:49 PM | Comments (36)

Crowded House & Pete Yorn - 2007 Tour Dates

Crowded House, fresh off their Coachella and Glass House reunion appearances, have announced their summer tour dates that include two nights at NYC's Beacon Theatre in August with Pete Yorn. All dates below....

Crowded House - 2007 Tour Dates
August
4 - Northampton, MA - Calvin Theater
5 - Boston, MA - Bank of American Pavillion *
6 - Philadelphia, PA - Mann Center for Performing Arts *
8, 9 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre *
11 - Montreal, QUE - St. Denis *
13 - Toronto, ONT - Massey Hall *
14 - Ann Arbor, MI - Michigan Theatre +
17 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre +
18 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues +
20 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theatre +
22 - Denver, CO - Fillmore +
24 - San Diego, CA - Humphrey’s +
25 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl *
26 - Oakland, CA - Paramount Theatre of the Arts *
28 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theater *
29, 30 - Saratoga, CA - The Mountain Winery *

September
1 - Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot
2 - Portland, OR - Arlene Schnitzer *
3 - Vancouver, BC - Orpheum Theatre *
5 - Calgary, AB - Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium *
6 - Edmonton, AB - Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium *
8 - Winnipeg, MB - Winnipeg Concert Hall *
9 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre *
11 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium *
12 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle *

* w/Pete Yorn
+ w/16 Frames

"The first shows go on sale Saturday, 19 May"

Crowded House have confirmed their first US tour since 1996. Starting on 4 August in Northampton, MA, the tour will take the band across country and back, ending on 12 September in Atlanta, GA. The tour is in support of the band's new record, 'Time on Earth', which will be released in the US on 10 July on ATO Records.

Crowded House's first new studio album in 14 years, 'Time on Earth' was debuted at the Coachella Festival last month, their first appearance in the US since 1996.

Previously
* more Crowded House posts

Posted in music | tour dates at 2:28 PM | Comments (6)

Violent Femmes - 2007 Tour Dates (Warsaw)

Violent Femmes are back at Warsaw in Brooklyn this summer. They're supposedly playing two nights in a row, but one (June 23rd) is either not on sale yet, or has been cancelled. All tour dates below....

Violent Femmes - 2007 Tour Dates (in reverse)
October 13,'07 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Casino
October 12,'07 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Casino
August 11, '07 Belville, South Africa
August 10, '07 RSA (South Africa) Eoppikoppi Festival
August 6, '07 Johannesburg, South Africa
August 3, '07 Del Mar, CA Race Track
August 1, '07 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
July 28, '07 Los Angeles, CA Bet Tzedek Justice Ball (www.thejusticeball.org)
July 27, '07 Las Vegas, NV Hard Rock Hotel
July 13, '07 Louisville, KY 4th Street Live
July 11, '07 Columbus, OH Promowest Pavilion
July 6, '07 North Kansas City, USA Voodoo Lounge
July 4, '07 Denver, CO Red Rocks
June 28, '07 Milwaukee, WI Summerfest
June 23, '07 Brooklyn, NY Warsaw
June 22, '07 Brooklyn, NY Warsaw
June 21, '07 Buffalo, NY Lafayette Square
June 16, '07 Chicago, IL Q101 Block Party
May 26, '07 Seville, Spain Territorios Festival
May 24, '07 Milan, Italy Rolling Stone
May 23, '07 Rimini, Italy Velvet
May 22, '07 Rome, Italy Alpheus
May 20, '07 Malaga, Spain Teatro Cervantes
May 18, '07 Lyon, France Nuits Sonores Festival

Previously
* Violent Femmes | 2006 Tour Dates

Posted in music | tour dates at 2:07 PM | Comments (17)

spend 24 hours (or less) w/ HUMAN GIANT on MTV + Ted Leo

WAIT... Did you see Cloud Cult on MTV?

NEXT: Clell Tickle to reunite with Tapes 'n Tapes and Ted Leo on MTV. You can watch it, or you can be in the studio audience. Details below....

HUMAN GIANT: 24 HOURS LIVE ON MTV!

Last week, MTV told us we could get 24 hours on MTV and MTV2 to do whatever we want. So on Friday, May 18th at noon - we'll take over both channels for a full day and will host live from MTV's Times Square studio. They're literally letting us do whatever we want - we can program whatever shows we want, have guests, bands, music videos, anything! We just have to stay up for 24 hours and get a million hits on our website.

Here are a few of the guests we have coming down, (more bands and guests will be announced later in the week):

Will Arnett
Andy Blitz
Michael Cera
Zach Galifianakis
Jon Glaser
Eugene Mirman
Morningwood
Rob Riggle
Slovin and Allen
Tapes 'n Tapes
Ted Leo
Tegan and Sara

If you want FREE tickets to be in the audience, just send an e-mail to battleofthebands@mtvstaff.com and please include the following:

-Name
-Age
-Phone number

Of course, you are not obligated to stay in the audience for the full
24 hours and can stay as long as you want from what I understand. It should be really fun.

Previously
* Aziz and others on Flight of the Conchords

Posted in comedy | music at 6:57 AM | Comments (25)

DAN DEACON replaces MATES OF STATE @ Bicycle Film Fest

DOWNLOAD: Dan Deacon - Snake Mistakes (MP3)

I promise my goal is not to inundate you with news on Dan Deacon's every move, but news is news, and sometimes it gets to me in bits and pieces. I'd much rather not have to report that Mates of State pulled out of the Wednesday night Bicycle Film Festival parties due to a "family emergency" - it absolutely sucks. Luckily though, indie-superhero Dan Deacon (able to ride tall bikes around and around) has come to the last-minute rescue, and will take their place on the two-venue lineup that also includes Gang Gang Dance, Parts & Labor and Team Robespierre.

More info on the Bicycle Film Festival HERE.

Posted in To Do | music at 6:18 AM | Comments (10)

the Polyphonic Spree played NYC (High Line) + new 2007 Tour Dates (Warsaw, etc)

DOWNLOAD: The Polyphonic Spree - 'Fragile Army' album preview (MP3) (info)

The Arcade Fire (new interview at Pitchfork) kicked off the David Bowie-curated High Line Festival at Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday May 9th. Then Air & TV on the Radio chilled things out at MSG the next night. And on Friday, the "festival" continued with a show by the Polyphonic Spree at Manhattan Center's Grand Ballroom......

More pictures where they came from at spreetaper's Flickr.

More Polyphonic Spree on July 1st at Warsaw in Brooklyn, and on/at all of the following dates......

Polyphonic Spree - 2007 Tour Dates
05-27 George, WA - The Gorge Amphitheatre (Sasquatch! Festival)
06-23 Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre
06-24 Austin, TX - Stubbs BBQ
06-25 Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
06-26 New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
06-27 Atlanta, GA - Roxy Theatre
06-29 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
06-30 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
07-01 Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw
07-02 Boston, MA - Avalon
07-03 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis
07-05 Toronto Ontario - Phoenix Concert Theatre
07-06 Detroit, MI - The Majestic
07-07 Cleveland, OH - House Of Blues
07-08 Indianapolis, IN - The Vogue
07-09 Milwaukee, WI - The Rave II
07-10 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Cafe
07-13 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
07-14 Portland, OR - Aladdin Theatre
07-15 Seattle, WA - The Showbox
07-17 San Francisco CA - Great American Music Hall
07-18 Los Angeles CA - El Rey Theatre
07-20 San Diego CA - Canes Bar & Grill
07-22 Denver CO - Gothic Theatre
07-23 Aspen CO - The Belly Up
08-04 Chicago, IL - Grant Park (Lollapalooza)
08-11 Osaka, Japan - Summersonic Festival
08-12 Tokyo, Japan - Summersonic Festival
09-01 Stradbally, Ireland - Stradbally Estate (Electric Picnic Festival)
09-02 Argyll, Scotland - Inveraray Castle (Connect Festival)

dates via pfork

Previously
* more Polyphonic Spree tour dates

Posted in MP3 | music | tour dates at 5:42 AM | Comments (16)

SUPERCHUNK playing McCarren Pool & Chicago cancer benefit ++ "Guilt by Association" covers comp

DOWNLOAD: Superchunk - Kicked In (acoustic) (MP3)

Superchunk & Magnetic Fields @ Princeton University - 1996 (CRED)

As previously reported, Superchunk are playing a cancer benefit with the Mountain Goats in Chicago in June. And as previously reported, Dan Deacon and many other popular indie rockers are playing free shows in McCarren Pool in Brooklyn this summer. What has not yet been reported though - not until this sentence anyway - is that Superchunk will also be playing a free show on a TBA date this summer at McCarren pool. Stay tuned for more details.

Want to hear Superchunk sing "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child? Well, then you'll have to buy the new "Guilt By Association" comp. when it comes out (Aug 28, 2007). You CAN hear Devendra Banhart sing Oasis, Petra Haden sing Journey, and Will Oldham sing Mariah Carey though - right now streaming on the sinful compilation's own MySpace page. Be its friend*.

* full disclosure: BV contributor Undisputed Wes works for the company who put out this awesome comp

But what about Portastatic??
* Schedule Two posted some live videos recorded in February
* They're playing North Carolina and Spain
* They miss San Fadyl

Posted in MP3 | music | tour dates at 5:02 AM | Comments (28)

belated obituary: RIP San Fadyl of the Ladybug Transistor

"I am certain that next year will be a year to remember, unlike the past 47 years, which I'd rather forget." [Sam Fadyl, December 29, 2006]

"San Fadyl, drummer for the beloved Brooklyn indie-pop act the Ladybug Transistor, passed away today, April 26, in his Zurich, Switzerland home due to complications stemming from a lengthy bout with severe asthma." [Pitchfork]

"we miss you, San!" [Mac Merge Superchunk Portastatic]

The Ladybug Transistor is still playing though. In fact, they play Bowery Ballroom on May 24th with the Rosebuds.

Posted in music at 4:47 AM | Comments (2)

Yacht @ Studio B, Brooklyn, NYC - pics

DOWNLOAD: Yacht - See A Penny (Pick It Up) (MP3)

I give Jona (Yacht) a lot of credit for getting up and doing his instrument-less thing in front of a packed, tough, NYC Studio B crowd that was anxiously awaiting the arrival of LCD Soundystem (May 12, 2007).

Check out his new video. More pics below....

Previously
* VIDEOS: Yacht - See a Penny (regular & "the making of")
* Yacht (Jona from the Blow) - MP3s, 2007 Tour Dates & pics from SXSW

Posted in music | pictures at 4:08 AM | Comments (4)

ROKY ERICKSON + ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO = double awesome +++++ the updated RIVER TO RIVER festival schedule & DANIEL JOHNSTON is here

I knew Roky Erickson was playing a free show this summer, and I had heard Alejandro Escovedo was too, but it wasn't until I saw it in writing yesterday that I realized the two legendary Austinites are playing the same free show! June 2nd @ Castle Clinton. Many, many, many more free NYC events now UP AT THE RIVER TO RIVER FESTIVAL SITE.

On a related note, fellow wacky Austinite Daniel Johnston plays Warsaw in Brooklyn TONIGHT (May 15) (not sold out), and the Highline Ballroom for the High Line festival tomorrow (is sold out).

Posted in music | tour dates at 3:53 AM | Comments (0)

SAM CHAMPION members displaced by Park Slope FIRE + playing Bowery Ballroom - WIN TIX

DOWNLOAD: Sam Champion - Like a Secret (MP3)

You may have heard about the fire at Pizza Plus on 7th Avenue in Park Slope (Brooklyn, NY) the other day. Those living above the pizza place have been displaced, and two of those currently-homeless people just so happen to be members of the NYC band Sam Champion (who may or may not have started the fire to gain publicity for their new album - JUST KIDDING!). I contacted their singer (and man about town) Noah Chernin, and this is what he had to say:

I live there with two other roommates, ryan, who plays drums in our band and luke schurman, an actor/musician. our bathroom and back of the apartment including luke's room are completely destroyed. ryan's room and my room were pretty much untouched, except my windows were smashed out and some smoke damage.

it's still a crime scene, i think. we are slowly going back and getting our things. no instruments or gear really got damage. luke lost a bunch of writing and journals that obviously have a lot of sentimental value and can't be replaced.

we are couch surfing and living with girlfriends right now and don't think we'll be back there (if we go back) for another few months.

at this point we don't really know what our next move is...
except to ROCK HOUSE on tuesday at bowery.

Want to see them rock house (with TigerCity, Stylofone, the Affair, and DJ Justin Carter)? Noah is giving away TW0 PAIRS OF TICKETS to BV readers. Want them? E-mail BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (Subject: SAM). Include your first and last name as you would like it to appear on the guestlist. Contest ends at 1pm on Tuesday (TODAY) May 15, 2007. Two winners will be picked at random and contacted.

Posted in MP3 | music | tour dates at 2:57 AM | Comments (3)

SMASHING PUMPKINS playing 17 residency shows, LOW opening for WILCO

This week in shows-that-have-already,-or-will-sell-out-very-quickly news....

* Low touring with Wilco
* Pumpkins Plan Residencies In Asheville, San Fran

Smashing Pumpkins' only scheduled NYC-area show is still Live Earth.

Earlier this year Billy Corgan was seen hanging out with his friend Courtney Love who was definitely looking very plastic-surgeryey....

Previously
* more Smashing Pumpkins posts
* WILCO - Brooklyn sale is over + a DVD screening

Posted in music | tour dates at 1:09 AM | Comments (10)

May 14, 2007

LCD Soundsystem played Studio B & Webster Hall

DOWNLOAD: James Murphy - DFA Radio Mix 2005 Cd1 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: James Murphy - DFA Radio Mix 2005 Cd2 (MP3)

I just woke up from a much-needed nap that was the result of non-stop moving that went something like: LCD @ Studio B --> not-much-sleep --> family --> Monday blogging. Now I feel better, so it's time to say that, once again, LCD brought the house down (@ Studio B Saturday night)....

How was Webster Hall?

I never saw Studio B that packed - especially when LCD started (an hour after they were supposed to start which made it impossible for me to get to Manhattan to also see Dan Deacon) - it was PACKED. I started in the back, but eventually made my way up front where the dance floor resembled a mosh pit. My clothes quickly turned from dry to (sw)wet.

James made two things very clear:
1) He was drunk
2) The three songs at the end were not an encore. They were merely LCD Soundsystem going upstairs for a short break to ensure that they/he do/does not puke on stage.

Posted in MP3 | dance | music | pictures at 11:55 PM | Comments (33)

Coachella is not all Arcade Fire & Bjork

not for these people at least...

DOWNLOAD: Party Ben - Coachella Dance Mix 2006 (MP3) (more)

Posted in music at 4:51 PM | Comments (12)

Largehearted Boy's Interesting CD Releases This Week

Wilco's latest album, Sky Blue Sky, is out today (along with its 5.2 review at Pitchfork).

Rhino releases Genesis: Genesis 1976-1982, a box set, this week, including the remastered Abacab, And Then There Were Three, Duke,