Recent Posts in pictures
February 9, 2010
Kayo Dot performed 2 albums @ The Stone (pics)
words by BBG, photos by Paul Birman
Toby Driver kicked off the first Saturday (2/6) of his month as curator at The Stone by inviting his own band, Kayo Dot, to play a pair of sets, both full album shows. The 8PM sett featured Choirs Of The Eye while the later show was their new baby, Coyote. Greg Massi (Baliset) was part of the band and reports:
I am choosing to talk about this because it had a profound effect on me. It was inpsiring to say the least. I got to hear the new KD album in full performed live and during the performance I had visions of creativity and sparks flying into my brain to help me write for the next Baliset album.The month at The Stone continues with Gnaw, Steeve Hurdle (Gorguts) this weekend, with appearances by Kevin Hufnagel (Dysrhythmia), Yoshiko Ohara (Bloody Panda), and Thrones into the week.And it also was weird because i felt alot like Captain Jack Harkness at the end of Doctor Who season 3. You are teased into believing that he might rejoin the Doctor for adventures but in the end he tells the Doctor that he has his own team now and they need him and that summed up my feelings on Baliset. They are my team now and I feel more comfortable musically with them than anyone else I have ever played with and while it was fun living the fantasy life of being in Kayo Dot complete with a sold out crowd and exhuberant fans shaking your hand and making you feel larger than life, I missed my team.
I am happy with the success we have built for ourselves and if i took one thing away from this whole experience, it is that it gave me a focus point in my head for the next album.
But Toby and the rest of KD know they can call on me for help at any time and as a friend I will help them with whatever they need but as I return to my life of anonymity once again, I do get excited for working on where Baliset my new team is going.
The Thrones date at The Stone happens one day after a newly announced show with Thrones and Carla Bozulich at Ash's Place (on 2/18 at N4th and Wythe).
More pics from the The Stone are below...
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Posted by brooklynvegan at 4:21 PM | Comments (8)
Moritz Von Oswald Trio, Carl Craig & François K played LPR (pics) & the Unsound Festival continues
words by BBG, photos by Greg Cristman
No one minded that the Moritz Von Oswald Trio had five members when it made its American debut on Saturday night at Le Poisson Rouge, part of the Unsound Festival New York and the Wordless Music series at the club. The trio is an alliance of techno and ambient disc jockeys and programmers doing what they don't do in D.J. booths or remix studios: playing instruments together in real time.Moritz Von Oswald Trio were joined by DJ Eric Demby (aka Treeboy) and the LPR Orchestra, who played reimagined versions of Ravel's "Bolero" and Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" at LPR on 2/6.Mr. Von Oswald was surrounded by keyboards and synthesizers. Sasu Ripatti, also known as Vladislav Delay, was at a percussion kit with conga drums, bells and cymbals. Max Loderbauer, a k a N.S.I., was at his own analog synthesizer. And with them were another two renowned D.J.s: Carl Craig, a pioneer of Detroit techno, on synthesizers, and François K, a patriarch of house music, providing mixing, effects and additional sounds.
Their shared improvisation only hinted at the dance floor. It was sci-fi ambient music, with a background wash of pink noise like interstellar dust and puffy tones, pitched and unpitched, arising out of the static. The group's D.J. instincts governed the perpetually evolving structure: riffs appeared, drew responses, repeated, became foundations and eventually dissolved as new ones arrived. -[New York Times]
Unsound rolls on today (2/9) with the experimental electronic beats of Zavoloka, NYC artist Bora Yoon, and the ambient noise of Poland's Zenial at Issue Project Room. Tickets are still available.
More pictures from the Moritz Von Oswald Trio show are below...
Posted by brooklynvegan at 3:02 PM | Comments (3)
an interview w/ Matt of The Soft Pack who played a midnight show @ Cake Shop (pics)
interview & Cake Shop photos by Gabi Porter
The Soft Pack @ Cake Shop
The Soft Pack celebrated the release of their self-titled debut LP on Kemado records at the Cake Shop on the Lower East Side of New York on Friday (2/5) with a free and packed midnight show. We had the chance to chat with lead singer Matt Lamkin after the show and before the boys from San Diego hit the road on a tour of the US and Europe that will finally wrap up at Coachella in April.
That interview and more pictures from Cake Shop below...
Posted by brooklynvegan at 2:24 PM | Comments (10)
The Soft Pack's ten LA shows in one day (in pics)
photos by Rachel Carr
As previously mentioned, The Soft Pack (previously the Muslims) "did ten shows in one day in L.A. on January 30th with the help of FYFest's veggie oil powered bus." Photographer Rachel Carr spent the whole day with them. Check out the rest of her pictures (and a reposted video) below...
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Posted by brooklynvegan at 2:12 PM | Comments (13)
February 8, 2010
Nicole Atkins & David Byrne played Bowery Ballroom (pics) w/ Michael Arthur of Balthrop Alabama (who play Joe's soon)
photos by Bao Nguyen
'Stories in High Fidelity' held an event at Bowery Ballroom on February 3rd featuring stories from David Byrne Alan Light, Dan Kennedy and Jason Gordon, and music from Nicole Atkins. The big question of the night was whether Byrne, who features Nicole Atkins on a track on his new album, would get up and sing with her during the musical part of the evening. The answer is 'yes'. David sang harmonies on Nicole's song "Neptune City". Less than a week earlier (he gets around!), David joined St. Vincent on stage at another NYC show. St Vincent also appears on David's new album. Nicole reports on Bowery Ballroom:
It was an absolute blast. Lots of really funny storytellers including NY Times writer Alan Light (whos touching story about his 6 year olds Beatlemania actually made me excited about my hopeful futuristic children), novelist Dan Kennedy (who did a hilarious interpretation of what a group prayer by Bon Jovi might sounds like before they go onstage!), Jason Gordon (who read a book report he did in 5th grade about the Doors "No One Here Gets Out Alive") and David Bryne who did an amazing lecture about how musicians make music for specific venues, ie, rap is made for car speakers, midtempo U2 music is for stadiums, etc. Actually made me have more of an understanding for East coast vs West Coast hip hop. If you ever get a chance to listen to David Byrne lecture, do it! Its eye and ear opening and extremely funny in his way. After the speakers, I played a small acoustic set solo and was accompanied by cartoonist Michael Arthur who drew cartoons of my songs while i sang them. He has a great band called Balthrop Alabama that ya'll should check out. Actually they are playing one of the nights I host at Bowery Electric on March 5th. Come see them!David Byrne is talking again at TED on February 11th ("Register for the TED2010 Associates feed to watch TED2010 at home").For my last song I played "Neptune City," and was joined by David Byrne on vocals and guitar. It was like a dream as he's always been one of my favorite artists and now here he was up onstage singing and playing my song with me. yip! I loved the way his guitar playing made a somber song such as that sound, i dunno, tropical! Byrne brought the warmth.
Balthrop Alabama can be seen even sooner than March. They play Joe's Pub on Valentine's Day. They'll be joined that time by The Bandana Splits (with Dawn Landes). Video promo made by Michael Arthur below.
More pictures from the seated Bowery Ballroom event, below...
Posted by brooklynvegan at 4:52 PM | Comments (16)
Josh Rouse played Le Poisson Rouge w/ Christina Courtin (pics), but had to cancel Philly because of snow
photos by Tim Griffin
Josh Rouse played two nights at (Le) Poisson Rouge Thursday, February 4th and Friday the 5th with Christina Courtin. The pictures here are from that second show. He, like Those Darlins who were at Bowery Ballroom on Friday, was forced to cancel his Philadelphia appearance the next night because of the 'snowpocalyse' that hit places south of NYC (those three stops were part of his super-short stateside trip). Josh will be making up the Philly show when he comes back in the spring (dates TBA) in support of his new album, El Turista, out March 9th on Yep Roc. Rouse discussed the album with WNYC before his Friday show. That's streaming on their site.
More pictures from LPR are below...
Posted by brooklynvegan at 3:01 PM | Comments (3)
Neon Indian played NYU, Market Hotel w/ Beach Fossils (pics) & Laundromatinee - MP3s, video, remixes & dates
DOWNLOAD: Neon Indian - Deadbeat Summer (Afghan Raiders Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Neon Indian - Should Have Taken Acid with You (Future Rock remix)
DOWNLOAD: Beach Fossils - Time (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Neon Indian - Mind, Drips (LaundroMatinee.com session) (MP3)
by Andrew Frisicano
Neon Indian played two shows in NYC last week. Thursday night (2/4) they performed at NYU with Atlas Sound and Sisters (which was one day after Atlas Sound played Bell House with Memory Tapes).
The synths, a defining strong point of Neon Indian, shimmered across the top of the rest of the band's instrumentation, pausing occasionally to let stellar guitar work from Ronald Gierhart take the reins. The songs, drawn from the band's debut Psychic Chasms, had a sharper edge to them, dropping fuzz in favor of crisp keyboard riffs and singing guitars. Between songs, Palomo composed glitch interludes, playing with effect knobs across both stereo channels to force lingering melodies to descend into a fog before the drums and guitars launched into a new cut. It was an interesting choice, and one that gave the set a roller coaster feel: a danceable song followed by a sonically interesting but rhythmically lacking break; lather, rinse, repeat. [Melophobe @ NYU]At the Friday night show at Market Hotel, Neon Indian came on late and to a full house. Palomo and band have succeeded in transferring the sounds of his bedroom recording to a live setting (even if the PA doesn't always cooperate, like at Market Hotel), but their stage presence lags behind the musicianship. The crunchy, distorted songs are spot on, but the band's four members can sometimes come off as reserved or inhibited. The space didn't help in that respect: Ronald Gierhart, the band's shredder, was stuck behind a keyboard on the tiny stage and Alan kept himself busy with his mixer and table of toys. They played without any lights, same as the preceding Teengirl Fantasy, who started slow and sludgy and eventually warmed into bouncy, unpredictable sampler-fed house. I imagine Teengirl fit best with experimental show opener Blissed Out (who I missed, and who play Silent Barn February 10th. more shows listed below).
The minimal, poppy rock of Beach Fossils was the only music to provoke the crowd into a rage (which was good from an energy standpoint, but not so re:comfort in the packed room). A few people in the audience talked fondly about the St. James Church show, which also featured Beach Fossils and was organized by the same promoters. There was more than enough time to chat and make friends - the lull between sets dragged on and on, and Adventure, a one-man outfit who smoked cigarettes and talked to friends while his synth and sampler for the most part played themselves, didn't inspire much engagement.
Neon Indian recently stopped by Laundromatinee, and you can see their performance of "Mind, Drips" for the first time below (and download the audio of the same song above). A remix of "Deadbeat Summer" by Afghan Raiders is posted above, and you can also get a remix of their "Should Have Taken Acid with You" done up by Future Rock. (Future Rock play a Saturday, February 27th show at Bowery Ballroom supported by DJ sets from Junior Boys and Figo. Tickets are on sale.)
Neon Indian will be DJing a late-night Valentine's Day at Glasslands with French Horn Rebellion and Cubic Zirconia. Tickets/RSVP here. Cubic Zirconia plays Mercury Lounge on March 3rd (tickets).
Beach Fossils kick off their tour with the Beets and Christmas Island with a show at Cake Shop on February 9th. That's not the trip's only NYC stop; all tour dates are below. Beach Fossils will also be at SXSW and MtyMx (as will Neon Indian) and play a Kidrockers show, all in March, which is when the band's debut on Woodsist/Captured Tracks should be arriving. "Time," above, is from that record.
More pictures and lots of tour dates are below...
Posted by brooklynvegan at 2:08 PM | Comments (25)
Heart of Winter Fest 2010 (Woe & snow) in words & pics
words by Kim Kelly with intro by BBG, photos by Diana Lee Zadlo
Woe ruling
Those of you who travel in the underground metal circles, and live to tell about it, have probably encountered Kim Kelly. The current Philadelphian, whose credits include Terrorizer, Hails & Horns, Metal Injection, Noisecreep, her own PR company (CatharsisPR) and many other ventures, is probably the girl you see on the verge of whiplash in the front row of Eyehategod, or the smiley one with the invisible orange.
In her latest travels, Kelly took a trip to Richmond to take in the Heart of Winter Fest at Alley Katz in Richmond, VA (Friday, Jan 29- Saturday, Jan 30, 2010). The two-day festival featured appearances from Woe, Bastard Sapling, Battlemaster, Evoken, and many others. The "Winter" fest was also, appropriately enough, hit with a major storm that buried the mid-Atlantic in snow. Rather than get buried south of the Mason-Dixon line amidst 24 inches, she and Diana Lee Zadlo opted to leave before it was over, or as the kids call it, GTFO. Her full story is below...
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Posted by brooklynvegan at 12:48 PM | Comments (9)
Hot Chip played Highline Ballroom, MHOW & Jimmy Fallon - pics & video
photos by Vincent Cornelli
Hot Chip @ Highline Ballroom
Hot Chip could make things easy on itself. The band knows how to get a crowd of New York indie-rock fans, like the ones at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday night, dancing and waving their arms. It simply deploys a four-on-the-floor dance-club thump under bouncing, pinging synthesizer parts and pop choruses.Hot Chip played two shows last weekend (and one post-gig DJ set). The first show was a free MySpace Secret Show at Highline Ballroom on Friday, February 5th. The second was a Saturday night show (2/6) at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Free Energy (who will be touring with Foreign Born soon) opened the first, while French Horn Rebellion (who DJ at Glasslands on V-Day) opened the second. Following the Saturday show, Hot Chip DJed its afterparty at Brooklyn Bowl....Dance music depends on the joy of repetition, and Hot Chip clings to that. Every so often it would start a song with a hand-played introduction on guitar or piano, only to draw cheers from the audience when the drum machine kicked in soon afterward. "Happiness is what we all want," Mr. Taylor sang in the band's opening song ("Thieves in the Night," which also starts the new album), and for Hot Chip and many of its fans, the most direct route to happiness is via the visceral pleasure of beat and hook. When the band turned to a ballad among its encores -- the knowingly titled "Slush" -- quite a few people headed for the exit. [NY Times]
The band also played on the Jimmy Fallon show while they were here. Joined by the Roots, "One Life Stand" is what they played on TV. "Take It In" was taped just for the website. You can watch video of the latter below (the video of what actually appeared on TV has been removed from YouTube and doesn't seem to be on NBC's site).
After a European tour, Hot Chip will be back in April to play shows that include Coachella and two nights at Terminal 5 (one supported by the xx and the other by Gang Gang Dance). Their new record, "One Life Stand," is out Tuesday (2/9) on Astralwerks.
More pictures from Highline and all upcoming tour dates are below...
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Posted by brooklynvegan at 10:46 AM | Comments (18)
tUnE-yArDs, Takka Takka & A Rose Parade @ The Bell House in Brooklyn - pics
words & photos by Jessica Amaya
A Rose Parade opened with only a 4 song set, and although I hadn't heard of this band, I was definitely a fan after just the four songs. Shannon Funchess [of !!! fame] has an amazing voice and sounded great. The music was just a simple drum loop with either an acoustic guitar or keys. Takka Takka was the second opener and was pretty warmly welcomed by the crowd. They were accompanied by 2 horn players [and The National's Bryan Devendorf], and played a few new songs.
tUnE-yArDs came out and Merrill who could not stop smiling admitted she was quite nervous and as she put it, "it was the first time [so many] people were coming to a show knowing they were gonna see me". During the song "Gangsta", the crowd started to sing along with her, and after the song ended, she asked the crowd "How do you know the words to that song"? She admitted "I don't even know the words to that one". She also stopped at the beginning of another song due to what she was stage fright and needed a moment for it to pass. Great energy throughout the entire show as usual.
tUnE-yArDs kicks off a tour with Xiu Xiu in March. More pictures from Friday night's show at the Bell House, below...
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Posted by brooklynvegan at 10:07 AM | Comments (45)