by Andrew Sacher

Owen (aka Mike Kinsella of American Football, Cap'n Jazz, etc) has been working on new material, which will result in his new album, L'Ami due Peuple, due out on July 2 via Polyvinyl. Usually known for his bare acoustic songs with the occasional extra instrumentation worked in, for his new album he's taking a more full-band approach. You can hear the new sound on the singles "Blues to Black," which you can listen to at Rolling Stone, and "Bad Blood," which you can stream below. The album artwork and tracklist are below too.

As briefly mentioned, Owen will be coming to NYC on Friday (5/24) at Bowery Ballroom for a show with Laura Stevenson and Field Mouse. It's the last date on Laura and Field Mouse's tour together. Tickets for that show are still available and we're also giving away a pair. Details on how to enter to win tickets are below.

Owen has some other upcoming dates after the Bowery Ballroom show. All of them are listed, along with the song stream, album art and tracklist, below...

Continue reading "Owen releasing new LP, playing w/ Laura Stevenson & Field Mouse and other shows (dates, streams, & a chance to win tix)"

The So So Glos, whose album Blowout came out not too long ago, are playing a free show at Studio @ Webster Hall tonight (5/22) which will be streamed live on MTV Hive. You can get free tickets through Ticketweb but walk-ups will be let in until capacity is reached. Doors are at 7 PM. Flyer for the show is below.

The band's next NYC show is a previously discussed show happening this Sunday (5/26) at Knitting Factory as part of a show put on by Hunter College radio station WHCS. Since we last spoke, Crystal Stilts have been added to that bill, which also includes Dinowalrus, Heavens Gate and Trabajo. Tickets are $12 ($8 if you use promo code "hookmeupwhcs") and still available but if you'd like to go for free, we've got a pair to give away. Details on how to enter are below.

Continue reading "Crystal Stilts playing with So So Glos who also play free "MTV Artist to Watch" show tonight"

The Crystal Ark @ Brooklyn Night Bazaar 2011 (more by Dana [distortion] Yavin)

As mentioned, the DFA Records 12th Anniversary Party is this Saturday (5/25) at Brooklyn's wonderous Grand Prospect Hall featuring a cavalcade of the label's talent, including live performances from YACHT, Shit Robot, Black Dice, Planningtorock, Prinzhorn Dance School, Factory Floor and more; and DJ sets from James Murphy, Nancy Whang, Juan Maclean, Tim Sweeny and more. Plus, "special guests." The show's been sold out for some time but more tickets are being released today at 2 PM so here's your chance if you missed out before.

In other news, the Crystal Ark have a few new remixes fo their track "Rain" (from last year's eponymous debut) and we've got the premiere of the Barker & Baumecker remix in this post. Stream that below.

Also as mentioned, YACHT, Prinzhorn Dance School and Larry Gus will play Shea Stadium on Friday (5/24). Tickets are still available, but if you'd like to go for free, we've got a pair to give away. Details on how to enter are below.

Prinzhorn Dance School also play Cameo next Monday (5/27) with DJ sets from DFA labelmates Planningtorock and CREEP, plus a live performance from Dan Bodan who is also playing his first U.S. shows as part of the DFA weekend. Tickets for that show are still available.

That Crystal Ark remix, DFA party flyer and contest details below...

Continue reading "tix to DFA 12th Anniversary Party back on sale; stream a new Crystal Ark remix; win tix to see YACHT at Shea Stadium"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Eddie Front - Arthur's Theme (The Best You Can Do) (MP3)

Eddi Front, who released an EP late last year, has been in a mellow mind of late. A couple weeks ago she covered Carly Simon's "Nobody Does it Better" (the theme from Bond flick, The Spy Who Loved Me) and now she's taken on another soft rock movie soundtrack favorite: "Arthur's Theme (Best You Can Do)" which was written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager and originally performed by the man who put the yacht in Yacht Rock, Cristopher Cross. With spare detuned piano backing it's a little more sad than the original, but very pretty. You can stream it below, along with the other cover.

Eddie Front plays Rockwood Music Hall tonight (5/13). Doors are at 6:30 PM and the show starts at 7 PM. Tickets are still available but if you'd like to go for free we're giving away a pair of tickets. Details on how to enter, as well as those song streams, are below.

Continue reading "Eddi Front covered Cristopher Cross' "Arthur's Theme" (stream), playing Rockwood Music Hall tonight (win tix!)"

Foxygen @ Bowery Ballroom in February (more by Jonathon Bernstein)

As we mentioned in a different context, Foxygen made a new video for their song "No Destruction." Pretty Much Amazing writes:

Foxygen's "No Destruction" is one of our favorite songs of the year, so we're glad it's now got the awesome video it deserves. Brilliantly, the band's close friend Bryan Felber decided to get nostalgic, putting together a kind of supercut of some of the homemade films he worked on in high school and college with the band members before they got together to form Foxygen, and stitching it together with some new footage too. The end product is as smart as it is surreal, just like the song itself.

Foxygen arrive in NYC on Monday (5/13) for a three-night run starting with a $3.00, BrooklynVegan-curated Red Bull Sound Select show with Amen Dunes (who just opened for Boris), LODRO (who also have a new video), and Price Rupert's Drops also on the bill. All ages, no advanced tickets. Want to go for free (and have your ticket waiting for you at the door)? We're giving away two pairs of tickets, and DoNYC has a pair you can win too. Details on how to enter our contest are below along with the video and more tour dates (Pygmalion and ACL included).

Continue reading "Foxygen release new video & announce more dates; Win tickets to Monday's Brooklyn show"

The National at Beacon Theatre in 2011 (more by David Andrako)

As mentioned, The National are releasing a new album, Trouble Will Find Me, and going on an extensive tour in support of it this year which includes their big hometown show on June 5 at the Barclays Center with Youth Lagoon. Tickets for that show are still available and we're also giving away a pair. Details on how to enter to win are below.

Before that tour begins, The National will do some other hometown events, including performing their song "Sorrow" repeatedly for six hours straight at MoMA PS1 on Sunday (5/5), and a live from the Artists Den taping on Tuesday (5/7). That same day, National member Bryce Dessner will have works he commissioned performed by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus at Roulette in Brooklyn. Members of the National will also be performing at Ecstatic Summer 2013 which takes place at Brookfield Place Plaza on June 29-30.

Meanwhile, Youth Lagoon will also be on his own tour with Majical Cloudz which hits the NYC-area for sold out shows on Monday (5/6) at Maxwell's and Thursday (5/9) at The Bell House (BV presents). After those shows, Majical Cloudz play their own show at Glasslands (5/21) with Gobby (tickets).

Updated National dates are listed, along with contest details and streams of two songs from their new LP, below...

Continue reading "win tix to The National's Barclays Center show w/ Youth Lagoon +++ updated dates"

James Blake at Coachella 2013 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

As mentioned, James Blake is currently on our side of the Atlantic for a North American tour which hits Terminal 5 for headlining shows on Tuesday (5/7) and Thursday (5/9), and a DJ set at the Museum of Natural History (5/10) afterwards. All three shows are with FaltyDL. The May 9 show is sold out but tickets for the May 7 show are still available and we're also giving away a pair to that one. Details on how to enter to win are below.

Those Terminal 5 shows happen right after Flying Lotus, Thundercat, and Ultraista play the same venue (5/5 & 5/6), and we're giving away tickets to those shows too. Today (5/3) is the last chance to enter for the FlyLo contest.

James Blake's excellent new album, Overgrown is out now, and he recently recorded a KCRW session for its single, "Retrograde, which came out earlier this week. You can watch that video, along with contest details and his updated tour schedule, below...

Continue reading "James Blake on tour, filmed a KCRW session (win tix to T5!)"

by Bill Pearis

No Joy's new album, Wait to Pleasure, came out last week via Mexican Summer. Produced by Violens' Jorge Elbrecht, the album goes beyond the group's pummeling shoegaze start, showing off previously unheard textures, melody and beauty. They can still attain tinitus-level volume, but they've got other cards too. You can stream it via Spotify, and check out their new video for the LP's almost Cocteau Twins-y "Hare Tarot Lies" below.

As mentioned, No Joy's tour will hit NYC in a couple weeks, playing an early show at Mercury Lounge on May 15 (tickets) and then Glasslands on May 16 with the sonically likeminded Weekend (who were great at Shea Stadium last week) and Grand Resort (who also play with BNLX the next day). You can still get tickets to Glasslands but if you'd like to go for free, we've got a pair to give away, along with a copy of No Joy's album.

Contest details, video, album stream and No Joy's current tour schedule are below.

Continue reading "No Joy released 'Wait to Pleasure' and new video; win copy of new LP and tickets to their Glasslands show"

Lower Dens at Central Park in 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As mentioned, Liars are coming to NYC this month for shows at The Met on May 18 (sold out) and Brooklyn Masonic Temple on May 19. Since we last posted, Baltimore dream pop crew Lower Dens has been added to the Brooklyn Masonic Temple show. Tickets for that one are still available and we've also got two pairs to give away.

UPDATE: As quick as they joined this show, Lower Dens have dropped off of it.

Details on how to enter to win tickets and videos from both bands below...

Continue reading "Lower Dens NOT opening for Liars (win tix)"

Cold Specks in Chicago earlier this month (more by James Richards IV)

today in NYC
* Whiplash @ UCB
* Brain Cloud @ Barbes
* Chicha Libre @ Barbes
* Leslie Kritzer @ Joe's Pub
* Lizz Winstead @ The Bell House
* Jim James, Cold Specks @ Webster Hall
* Liam Finn, Rohypnotize @ Knitting Factory
* Opeth, Katatonia @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* How to destroy angels_, DIIV @ Apollo Theater
* Frank Londons Shekhina Big Band @ The Stone
* The Neighbourhood, Wardell @ Bowery Ballroom
* Wyatt Cenac, Dan St. Germain, Ian Kamel @ Littlefield
* Cold Specks, Prince of Innocence, Hey Anna @ Pianos
* Reverend Vince Anderson and His Love Choir @ Union Pool
* Animal Tropical, Harvey Eyeballs, Oscar Adams @ Cake Shop
* Cru The Dynamic, Hints, We Can't Enjoy Ourselves @ Glasslands
* Ex Caves (Yonatan of Monotonix), Laura Ortman @ Mercury Lounge
* Goatwhore, 3 Inches of Blood, Revocation, Ramming Speed @ Saint Vitus
* Filmmatic- An Evening of Rare Hip Hop Documentaries @ Landmark Sunshine Cinema
* DJ Bobbito Garcia, Amir Abdullah, Chairman Mao, DISTAL, Monotropics @ Bowery Electric

UPDATE: Cass McCombs, Scott Metzger, Joe Russo and friends are playing at Bar 4 tonight.

The Red Bull Music Academy NYC residency continues tonight and runs through May 31 with tons of cool events. More details HERE and HERE.

Jim James and Cold Specks tour into NYC tonight for a sold out show at Webster Hall. Check out pictures from the Chicago show on BV Chicago.

Cold Specks also plays her own show, which is not sold out, at Pianos later tonight. Want a free pair of tickets? Tweet "Give me tickets to see Cold Specks at Pianos tonight @BrooklynVegan" for a chance to win.

Jim James also plays Prospect Park this summer.

Follow @BrooklynVegan on Twitter.
Follow @bvChicago for just Chicago stuff.
Also follow @bvAustin for just Austin stuff.

Be our friend on Facebook too, and BV Austin's friend on Facebook and BV Chicago's friend on Facebook.

Follow BrooklynVegan on instagram.

Chance the Rapper is releasing his new mixtape, Acid Rap, this week (4/30), and he just put out the video for the track "Smoke Again," which features Black Hippy member Ab-Soul. Check it out below.

Speaking of awesome rap collaborations, Clams Casino and (MF) DOOM just put out a song together called "Bookfiend." Stream that below too.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday?"