photos by Tim Griffin

Paul McCartney @ Frank Erwin Center, Austin, 5/23/2013

Paul McCartney's Out There tour just swept through Austin with a two-night stand at the Frank Erwin Center and we've got pictures (and setlists) of the pyrotechnic/av/hit-filled extravaganza over at BV Austin.

The former Beatle plays two nights at Barclays Center in a couple weeks and while  the June 8 show appears to be sold out, tickets are still available for June 10.

In other news, McCartney has joined the growing list of musicians supporting the release of incarcerated Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina who is currently on a hunger strike. He wrote a letter to Russian officials, saying:

My personal belief is that further incarceration for Maria will be harmful for her and the situation as a whole, which, of course, is being watched by people all over the world. In the great tradition of fair-mindedness which the Russian people (many of whom are my friends) are famous for, I believe that you granting this request would send a very positive message to all the people who have followed this case.

Meanwhile, the classic 1976 live album, Wings Over America, is getting the deluxe box set reissue treatment next week (5/28) with a bonus disc of audio, a DVD featuring a rarely-seen television special, Wings Over the World, a photo booklet and more. The original release was the first  triple album to go to #1 on Billboard's albums chart. You can watch a video "unboxing" the reissue below.

Continue reading "Paul McCartney asks Russian officials to free Pussy Riot, reissuing 'Wings Over America', played two nights in Austin (pics)"

by Fred Pessaro

Bolt Thrower at MDF 2013

Maryland Deathfest 2013 kicked off yesterday (5/23) with a rare appearance from the legendary death metal band Bolt Thrower (on tour), along with Cobalt (also on tour, recently interviewed on IO on EVR), Japan's Abigail (part of a string of dates), Pallbearer, and local thrash favorites Noisem. The single stage event expands to four today, keep up with it all on the InvisibleOranges Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Pictures from the first day of Maryland Deathfest are also at InvisibleOranges.

Photos by Greg Cristman

The Pere Ubu and Eddie Money-covering Coliseum toured throuch NYC this week and played a show at Kniting Factory in Brooklyn with Red Hare (mems. Swiz, Bluetip, Garden Variety) and Pampers on Tuesday night (5/21). Here are some pictures. They continue below...

Continue reading "Coliseum @ Knitting Factory with Red Hare & Pampers (pics)"

photos by Jonathon Bernstein

"GRIMES SHOWED UP AT MAJICAL CLOUDZ's RELEASE PARTY FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF" - Max Kerr

Montreal duo Majical Cloudz have been on a tour with Youth Lagoon, which hit the NYC-area twice earlier this month, and this week they took a couple days off from that tour to return to NYC for their own separate events. On Monday (5/20), the guys went to Manhattan record store Other Music for an in-store performance, and that night they met up with their pal Claire Boucher (aka Grimes, who featured Majical Cloudz on her song, "Nightmusic") to hit up a karaoke bar on the LES. While there, Majical Cloudz's Devon Welsh sang Limp Bizkit's "Nookie," though Claire was too shy to sing anything. Devon's bandmate (who doesn't sing in Majical Cloudz) Matt Otto did Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way," which apparently is becoming a thing for indie people these days.

Then, the next night (5/21) Majical Cloudz headed to Brooklyn to play a release party for their new album, Impersonator, which was released via Matador that same day. NYC producer Gobby opened that show with a full-band set, and the advertised "SPECIAL GUEST!" turned out to be none other than Grimes doing a DJ set. Pictures from the Glasslands show are in this post.

As mentioned, Majical Cloudz will be back in NYC yet again for the Northside Festival, where they will play a Pitchfork show at Saint Vitus on June 13 with Kim Gordon's Body/Head duo (who recently played RBMA), Foreplay, and a "Special Guest." Grimes again???? Tickets for that show are on sale now, and you can also try to get in with your Northside Badge.

More pictures and some videos from Glasslands below...

Continue reading "Majical Cloudz & Grimes did karaoke and played Glasslands (pics, videos)"

photos by Chris Graham

Mavis Staples @ Beale Street Music Fest

Earlier this month, soul legend Mavis Staples made her way over to Memphis for the Beale Street Music Festival, which she played day 2 (5/4) of. Pictures and a video of her set are in this post.

Mavis has other dates coming up this year, including a free Celebrate! Brooklyn show on June 14 at Prospect Park with Cody Chestnutt. Then the next day (6/15) she heads a bit north for the Clearwater Festival in Croton, NY, which she plays along with Antibalas, Judy Collins, Hot Tuna, Nicole Atkins, Sharon Jones, and more. Tickets for that festival are still available.

Mavis is also working on a new album, One True Vine, which is due out on June 25 via Anti-, and one again being produced by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. You can listen to the track "I Like The Things About Me" from that album below (via Complex).

Mavis isn't the only living legend Jeff Tweedy is hanging with this year. As mentioned, Wilco is touring as a support act for Bob Dylan, and that tour hits the NYC-area for a few shows in July (some with My Morning Jacket, one with Beck).

All upcoming Mavis Staples dates are listed, along with the song stream and more pictures and video from Beale St., below...

Continue reading "Mavis Staples played Beale St, playing Prospect Park before Clearwater, releasing new Jeff Tweedy-produced LP (pics, dates)"

by Fred Pessaro

The UV Race @ DbA, 5/21/2013

Annnnnnd all of a sudden it is disgusting outside. Australia's The UV Race played the soupy-hot Death By Audio last night (May 21) along with local support from Warthog (mem Nude Beach, ex-The Men), fellow Aussies Scott & Charlene's Wedding and local post-punks Household. The show saw the six-piece  punk team perform to a packed house radiating heat/humidity mostly due to dancing and bopping around to the band's insanely catchy tunes. Pictures of the former three (no Household, sorry) are in this post.

The show was part of UV Race's current US tour that has them in Brooklyn tonight screening their film Autonomy & Deliberation (but not performing) at Spectacle Theater. Meanwhile, Australia's Total Control (with whom they share members and are touring with outside NYC) play their first of two NYC shows at Mercury Lounge tonight (5/22) and tickets are still available.

More pictures from Death by Audio are below.

Continue reading "The UV Race played Death by Audio with Warthog, Scott & Charlene's Wedding, and Household (pics)"

photos by Sarah Gainer

The National at Mercury Lounge - 5/21/13

After The National played tiny shows at Sycamore and Public Assembly yesterday (5/21) to celebrate the release of their great new record, Trouble Will Find Me, they headed to Mercury Lounge for a third intimate show of the day. Hitting the stage around 10 PM, the band played almost the entirety of their new record plus a few older cuts too, but a shorter set than their tour kickoff show in Ithaca. Pictures and the setlist from the Mercury Lounge show are in this post.

The National will play NYC again at a show which is going to be much easier to get into when their tour hits Barclays Center on June 5 with Youth Lagoon. Tickets for that show are still available and we're also giving away a pair.

More pictures and the setlist from Mercury Lounge below...

Continue reading "The National played Mercury Lounge (pics & setlist)"

PA photos by Fred Pessaro, Sycamore photos courtesy of Ditmas Park Corner

"So great that I made it for The National's concert. Really small venue and great vibe. Highlight of the day. #NationalTrouble" - Alejandro Masferrer

"brah I'm just so fuckin hyped to watch the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY BEE!!!" - Nic

It was a flurry of activity for Brooklyn indie stalwarts The National today. Not only did they release their great and critically-acclaimed new album, Trouble Will Find Me, but they also announced, this morning, that they'd be celebrating it with three tiny NYC club shows in one day, today. Around noon they played a free show at super-tiny Sycamore in Ditmas park. They then packed up their gear and headed to Williamsburg to play the also-very-small back room at Public Assembly (which, like the front room, will soon be closed for renovations). Pictures from Sycamore and Public Assembly, which just finished, are in this post, PA setlist included. If you got in, what time did you get there and did you wait in line?

The band, who kicked off their tour the other day in Ithaca and were on Letterman last night, will play again at Mercury Lounge tonight at 10 PM. (How many of you were able to get tickets?) Clearly these guys don't have a problem with long days. As mentioned, for those who couldn't make it to any of their release celebration shows, you can still get tickets to their big Barclays Center show on June 5. More tour dates are HERE.

More photos and a "Vine' from Public Assembly are below...

Continue reading "The National played Sycamore & Public Assembly (pics); Mercury Lounge is later tonight"

photos by Robert Altman

Josh Ritter @ Terminal 5 - 5/18/13

In "Lights," the concluding track of Josh Ritter's new album The Beast In Its Tracks, Ritter sings "Every heart on Earth is dark half the time," an apt line that seems to sum up Ritter's unique brand of potent folk/rock and poetic lyric. Ritter, a realistic romantic, paints extraordinary love songs with settings that range from an Egyptian tomb to a government controlled missile silo, but balances these resplendent short stories with tales of lost love and regret. The heart is dark half the time.

But...it's ablaze the other half of the time, and this vivacious beating organ was on display at Terminal 5 this past weekend when Ritter and his dashing Royal City Band wholeheartedly rocked a packed crowd with a satiating 20-song set. [The Music Court]

Josh Ritter and The Felice Brothers just wrapped up a tour they were on together in NYC over the weekend at Terminal 5 (5/18). Pictures and videos of both bands, plus Josh Ritter's setlist from the show are in this post.

More below...

Continue reading "Josh Ritter & Felice Bros @ Terminal 5 (pics, videos, setlist)"

photos by PSquared Photography

Tom Jones @ Bowery Ballroom, 5/18/2013

Jones's voice is so gigantic that it can seem like a put-on, and he's always known it; part of his charm is the way he'll play it up, often with a hoarse cackle at the end of a line, or between songs. But this is a good time for adult-leaning vocal interpreters from the rock generation, especially with atmospheric backing - see Robert Plant and Alison Krauss's Raising Sand, for starters. Jones's new Spirit in the Room (Rounder), produced by Ethan Johns, isn't the first time Jones has put together something of this nature - Johns also produced 2010's gospel-leaning Praise & Blame - but it's clearly a departure from his Vegas-identified norm. - [Rolling Stone]

Tom Jones, who doesn't normally play small rooms like Bowery Ballroom, did just that this past weekend (5/18), one of a few club shows plugging his rootsy new album, Spirit in the Room. Those hoping for a glitzy, hit-packed set may have been disappointed -- only his 1966 #1 cover of "Green Green Grass of Home" was played (no "It's Not Unusual" or "Delilah") -- but they did get the Welsh legend's mighty pipes in an intimate setting without the sound of slot machines in the background.

Opening the night with a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Tower of Song," he also gave the audience earthy renditions of The First Edition's "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)," John Lee Hooker's "Burning Hell" and others, plus a tribute to the recently-departed George Jones with "He Stopped Loving Her Today." Setlist is below.

More pictures from Bowery, plus video of him performing "Green Green Grass," below...

Continue reading "Tom Jones played Bowery Ballroom (pics, setlist)"