by BBG

Big Freedia at Brooklyn Bowl (more by Erik Erikson)

Austin, Texas fest Chaos in Tejas (5/31-6/3) have announced another round of bands including Absu, Big Freedia (who recently played Brooklyn Bowl), Ceremony (who recently played LPR), the Creamers, Dangerous Boys Club, GG King, Kindest Lines, King Dude, Main Attrakionz, Pop. 1280, Shoppers, Teenage Cool Kids, Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments (reunion), and Thousand Foot Whale Claw. Multi-day passes are on sale now and single-day passes are on the way, and the schedule (which is updated as more bands sign on) is now available.

Speaking of Ceremony and Austin, Ceremony are one of many bands playing our SXSW day show at Scoot Inn in Austin even sooner.

Hip Hop duo Main Attrakionz have a bunch of shows coming up even sooner including two in NYC and 35 Denton and SXSW. They're all listed below.

Current lineup of Chaos in Tejas and some videos below too...

Continue reading "Chaos in Tejas expands again - adds Big Freedia, Main Attrakionz, Ceremony & more"

by Bill Pearis

We've been waiting to see Scottish quartet Django Django ever since hearing their debut single two years ago, so Brooklyn Vegan is pleased as punch to be presenting with Popgun Booking the group's first-ever U.S. show at Glasslands on Saturday, March 10. It's a late show (doors 11:30), happening after the Daughter performance early that night, and will also feature the Stateside debut of Warp artist Kwes.. Consider this our pre-SXSW kickoff party. Tickets are $10 and on sale now.

Led by drummer/singer/producer David Maclean, Django Django released their debut single "Storm/Love's Dart" in late 2009. Back when bands still used MySpace, in the "influences" section, Django Django posted thumbnails of 168 albums, ranging from The Beach Boys' Smiley Smile, the first Fun Boy 3 LP, the Blade Runner soundtrack and the Beta Band's Hot Shots II and there's a definite kitchen sink mentality to their music. It's all basically danceable guitar pop, but anything goes.

Relocating to London, the band took their time releasing their debut album, which was released a few weeks ago on Because Music (home of Metronomy, Busy P and more) and is one of the more fun, inventive pop LPs to come down the pike in a while. Influences in a Cuisinart, yes, but cohesive. Django Django get compared to the Beta Band a lot, and there's a similar vocal style and groove, but DD are a little more focused and hyperactive. It's a great album.

You can stream Django Django's debut via Spotify buy it digitally from Bleep, Emusic or the retailer of your choice. (No physical versions in the U.S. yet.) There are also videos for recent singles "Default" and "Waveforms" you can watch at the bottom of this post. After visiting New York, Django Django head to SXSW so if you're gonna be in Austin in a month, do check them out.

Opening is London's Kwes, who has made a name for himself as a go-to producer, working with The XX, DELS, Damon Albarn, Micachu, The Invisible and others. After a couple singles on Young Turks/XL, Kwes signed to Warp who will release the Meantime EP in April. While you wait for that to come out, you can download non-EP track "Get Up" via a widget at the bottom of this post. Also down there is the installment of Vice's "Producers" video series featuring Kwes, which is well worth watching.

Continue reading "Django Django & Kwes playing a BV pre-SXSW show in NYC"

Forget about Arcade Fire and Bonny Bear, who the heck is this old dude playing the Grammys???

Continue reading "Who is Paul McCartney?"

Philip Glass @ Tibet House Benefit 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

today in NYC
* Whiplash @ UCB
* Llama @ Barbes
* DJ Sultan @ Barbes
* Brain Cloud @ Barbes
* Hot Tub @ Littlefield
* Melissa Ferrick @ City Winery
* Doe Paoro, Tezeo, N/A, Wyndham Baird @ Glasslands
* Father Figures, Relatives, Pegasus Warning @ Zebulon
* The Woes, The Dough Rollers, Ghost Pal @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Reverend Vince Anderson & His Love Choir @ Union Pool
* Thieving Irons, Kelli Scarr, First Nature @ The Rock Shop
* Andrea Parkins, Hans Tammen, Didier Petit, Edward Perraud @ Roulette
* McKenzie Eddy, Ski Beatz, Sean O'Connell, DD172, Da$h @ Mercury Lounge
* Bruce Levingston, Lisa Bielawa, Brooklyn Rider (music of Lisa Bielawa, Christopher Tignor, John Corigliano, Augusta Gross, and William Bolcom) @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Tibet House Benefit Concert w/ Philip Glass, James Blake, Dechen Shak-Dagsay, Laurie Anderson, Das Racist, Tim Fain, Lou Reed, Rahzel, Antony Hegarty, Stephin Merritt @ Carnegie Hall
* Tony Scherr Trio with Anton Fier and Rob Jost, Jim Campilongo & special guest @ Living Room

Be our friend on Facebook.

Check out the newest edition of Evillive.

Who is Bonny Bear?

Philip Glass recently turned 75 and hosts an all-star lineup at Carnegie Hall to benefit the Tibet House tonight.

John Cage would be 100 this year.

Early Bird Orion Music Fest tickets are still on sale.

Ali Lawn left Ra Ra Riot.

Follow @BrooklynVegan on Twitter.

Also follow @bvAustin for just Austin stuff like a new set of live Ume pictures.

Also follow @bvSXSW for just SXSW stuff.

Also follow @bvChicago for just Chicago stuff like a new set of live pictures from The Darkness show that happened there on Saturday.

Madonna Yankee Stadium tickets on sale at 10am.

Adele won 6 Grammys and was the subject of a Target commercial that features a girl from PS22 in Staten Island. Watch Adele's Grammy performance, her first since throat surgery, below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday?"

by BBG

Pittsburgh's Slices returns with another wrecking ball of noise-infested nihilism on Still Cruising, the band's latest offering via Iron Lung Records, follow-up to last year's Kemado-released Modern Bride / Chump Change 7", and sequel to their 2010 debut LP Cruising on Iron Lung. For the unfamiliar, Slices utilize a mix of razor-sharp hardcore and noise-punk that recalls favorites like Brainbombs or Pissed Jeans. Clocking in at a taut 20-minutes, Slices' compelling new offering never outwears its welcome and cements the band's vitriolic virtuosity.

Look for the record soon via Iron Lung Records, and stream five tracks from the LP and a song from their Kemado 7", below...

Continue reading "Slices are "Still Cruising" (listen to five new songs)"

Continue reading "Who is Bonny Bear?"

Congrats Justin! (for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Album)

As seen over 1,000,000 times on YouTube, and now in Target commercial that aired during the Grammys (!), Denise from Staten Island's great PS 22 Chorus can belt out some Adele. Check out the ad, and the original cover video that helped make her famous, below...

Continue reading "Denise from PS22 Chorus in Adele/Target commercial that aired during the Grammys (video)"

Justin Vernon & My Morning Jacket before the Grammys (by dariusjagjag)

Someone from Jagjaguwar tweeted the above picture not long before Justin Vernon shouted out "Jagjaguwar" to end his acceptance speech at the Grammys pre-show this evening (2/12).

Bon Iver won "Best Alternative Music Album", beating out Radiohead, My Morning Jacket, Foster the People & Death Cab Cab For Cutie. Other pre-telecast winners include Adele, Foo Fighters (who beat Mastodon, The Decemberists and TV on the Radio), Skrillex (who won three already and beat Cut Copy, Robyn, Deadmau5 and others), Kanye West (who also won three already), The Civil Wars (who won two already and beat Fleet Foxes), Levon Helm, Alison Krauss, Tinariwen, Louis CK, Cee-Lo, and Booker T Jones who won "Best Pop Instrumental Album" for the 2nd time, and nervously thanked Biz Markie, Questlove, Gabriel Roth (of Daptone Records), Matt Berninger (of the National), and Lou Reed.

Arcade Fire also won another Grammy already (for Best Recording Package).

A Numero Group Syl Johnson release was up for two Grammys but lost in both categories.

And that was just all the stuff they don't show on TV. The regular show with all the big awards (and possibly more for Bon Iver) starts at 8pm EST, Whitney Houston tribute included.

UPDATES:
* Jack Black makes "indie cred" joke that includes "Bon Iver" while introducing Foo Fighters
* Denise from PS22 in Adele commercial

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Boy Friend - Egyptian Wrinkle (MP3)

Christa Palazzolo and Sarah Brown left Austin band "Sleep 8 Over" in late 2010, but continued working together as Boy Friend. They released a single, "Lovedropper," last year and their debut album, Egyptian Wrinkle, will be out March 5 on Italian indie label Hell Yes! (That's their exclamation point, not mine.)

Like what they did in "Sleep 8 Over", the sounds Palazzolo and Brown make as Boy Friend are warm and hazy with their ethereal vocals floating above, but with more melodic hooks to latch onto. It's like a nice bath, but no pruny hands. There are a lot of comparisons to the Cocteau Twins going around but I don't think that's exactly apt. The vocal stylings are similar but nowhere near as otherworldly as Liz Frasier, and from what I can tell, there are no guitars on the album. There is, however, a definite '80s 4AD vibe nonetheless. I like the album a lot. You can download the album's title track at the top of this post or stream it below. Spotify users can listen to the whole album right now.

Boy Friend are soon hitting the road with San Francisco shoegazers Young Prisms, a tour we wrote about a couple weeks ago that hits Glasslands on March 5.  For those readers in Austin, Boy Friend band are throwing an early record release party this tonight (Sunday, 2/12) 29th St. Ballroom at the Spider House, a show that also features Hell Yes! labelmates Love Inks, plus darkwavers Missions.

Click through for all Young Prisms/Boy Friend tour dates, as well as a streaming version of "Egyptian Wrinkle."

Continue reading "Boy Friend touring with Young Prisms (MP3, tour dates)"