by Fred Pessaro // BBG

"Your showcase is..... interesting"

Forget about Nick Cave, Depeche Mode, Death, Today is The Day, METZ, all of them. I've got one goal and one goal only: to see Grumpy Cat live and in person at SXSW 2013. As noted a couple of days ago on @BVSXSW, The frowned-one will appear live and in purr-son (sorry!) for the interactive portion (sorry Music attendees) of the fest and will shoot Friskies commercials in the days following. Check out the original Grumpy Cat video below.

Continue reading "Grumpy Cat announces SXSW 2013 appearance"

by Bill Pearis

Mac Demarco, who will be here next week with Ty Segall, has announced a March tour surrounding his appearance at SXSW in Austin. Most of the tour is with Captured Tracks labelmate Naomi Punk and fellow Canadian Calvin Love. The tour hits NYC before SXSW at Music Hall of Williamsburg on March 1 with Eola also on the bill. Tickets, reasonably priced at $10, go on AmEx presale on Wednesday (1/23) at noon with the regular on-sale happening on Friday (1/25).

If you're unfamiliar with opener Calvin Love, he released his debut album, New Radar, via Autumn Tone back in November and is sort of electropop lonely highway music. You can stream the whole album below.

A list of all Mac DeMarco tour dates and the Calvin Love stream are below...

Continue reading "Mac DeMarco touring with Naomi Punk and Calvin Love, including NYC and SXSW (updated dates)"

Austin's fuzzed-out Black Angels are set to release their fourth album, Indigo Meadow, on April 2. That's the album art above and you can stream the album's zeitgeist-y single "Don't Play with Guns" below.

The Black Angels will be heading out on a two-month tour right after the album's release, including a stop in NYC on April 8 at Webster Hall. Elephant Stone and Allah-Las will open and tickets go on AmEx presale on Wednesday (1/23) at noon with the regular on-sale happening on Friday (1/25) at noon.

Openers Elephant Stone is fronted by Rishi Dir who has spent time in The Black Angels touring unit and you can probably expect him to play sitar on a few Angels songs while they're out together. Elephant Stone's new self-titled album is out February 5 on the Reverberation Appreciation Society, the label run by Austin Psych Fest (which is run by THe Black Angels). Elephant Stone will be at SXSW in Austin before the Black Angels tour and additional tour dates are listed below.

Speaking of Austin Psych Fest, The Black Angels are headlining this year's event which happens April 26 -28 at Carson Creek Ranch.

Continue reading "Black Angels announce new LP and 2013 tour (dates, stream)"

The Specials @ T5 April 2010 (more by Chris La Putt)

The Specials will be returning to North America for a tour this spring which kicks off in Chicago and will include two appearances at SXSW in Austin. No specific dates just yet -- and the first leg sounds like it's going West and not East -- but we do know that vocalist/toaster Neville Staples, who has been ill, will not be joining them.

The Specials were last in NYC in April 2010.

OFF at House of Vans (more by BBG)

OFF! have been keeping busy in the studio working on a new album which is already recorded and possibly even mixed by now. Stay tuned for more info.

Meanwhile, as you know, Off! will head down to Texas to play Bro Fest and shows during the SXSW festival (including the BV/Power of The Riff show).

The crew also recently announced participation in the Burgerama Festial in Santa Ana, CA on March 24th. The fest (brought to you by Burger Records) will feature Wavves, Strange Boys, Ty Segall, and many others. Tickets are on sale. Flyer below.

Off! have also just announced a NYC show on May 29th at Bowery Ballroom (right before they fly to Spain for Primavera Sound). Tickets go on AMEX presale at noon on 2/29 and regular sale on Friday.

All tour dates, that Burgerama flyer and some video including some of No Flag (No Age + Black Flag), below...

Continue reading "OFF! mixing new LP, add NYC show & Burgerama to schedule"

by Bill Pearis

Bonfire Nights

The annual post-SXSW Aussie BBQ is happening March 25 at the Bell House in Brooklyn, with a whopping 14 performers throughout the all-day event: Big Scary, Bonfire Nights, Busby Marou, Jonti, Jordie Lane, Oh Mercy, The Jefferson, Teeth & Tongue, Voltaire Twins, Wazu, Luluc, Pets with Pets, Traveller & Fortune, and Saskia Sansom.

Oh Mercy

With the only determining factor being country of origin, it's a disparate lineup, ranging from gentle folk (Jordie Lane, Luluc, Traveller & Fortune and Saskia Sansom), wide appeal pop (Big Scary, The Jefferson), psych rock (Bonfire Nights, Pets with Pets), synth/glitch/electro (Voltaire Twins, Jonti, Wazu), indiepop (Oh Mercy) and Teeth & Tongue, who is a little like Anna Calvi. Literally something for everyone. Unless all you like is jazz or metal or some other genre not listed above.

At the bottom of this post there's videos and music streams for every artist on the bill. Tickets are $12 -- that's less than a dollar per band. Pretty good deal and a fun way to spend a Sunday.

In addition to playing SXSW and the Aussie BBQ, Big Scary and Teeth & Tongue are going on more extensive North American dates (though not together) and those dates can be found at the bottom of this post. For Big Scary they included gigs at Mercury Lounge and Glasslands.

You can also grab a Big Scary tracks as part of a free mixtape they're giving away on Bandcamp, and as part of a free Family Records SXSW 2012 mixtape. The mixtape also contains songs by Savoir Adore, We Are Augustines and 10 others.

Twerps

While not part of the BBQ, Australia's Twerps (who made one of my favorite albums of 2012) will be over for SXSW too. After Austin, they're coming to New York for two shows:  March 29 at 285 Kent with Ducktails and March 30 at Mercury Lounge with The Mad Scene. After playing here, Twerps hit the road with Real Estate for an extensive North American tour and those dates are at the bottom of this post, along with a new video for album track "Through the Day."

Speaking of Hamish Kilgour (who is in the The Mad Scene), The Clean also just announced dates that bring them to Le Poisson Rouge this year.

Click through for videos and streams by all the Aussie BBQ bands, plus tour dates for Big Scary, Teeth & Tongue, and Twerps.

Continue reading "Big Scary, Oh Mercy & more playing Aussie BBQ, other dates; Twerps playing SXSW, NYC, touring with Real Estate"

by Bill Pearis

While the rest of the world was asking who the #$%@ Bonny Bear and Paul McCartney were, I was asking that same question of Of Monsters and Men who are playing here in April. They've already sold out their 4/5 show at Music Hall of Williamsburg and 4/6 show at Bowery Ballroom, though the Bowery show was moved to Webster Hall (tickets are still on sale, but maybe not for long). Actually, half their US tour is already sold out (all dates at the bottom of this post).

Then I remembered I had actually seen Of Monsters and Men -- who are from Iceland --  at last year's M for Montreal at teeny tiny club Casa Del Popo. Their name is a bit on the generic side which is why I think I couldn't place it. (You also see a lot of bands at festivals. It's a blur.) Anyway, here's what I wrote then:

The other Icelandic group, Of Monsters and Men, made more of an impression with their stirring folk rock that was augmented by horns and an especially fancy accordion. (It had LED switches on it.) While also similar to a lot of other sweeping ensembles (fill in your favorite here), the songs were memorable and I did wish their set had been a couple songs longer. So it goes with festivals.

They're already huge in Iceland (which is like being huge in Rhode Island, but still), where their debut album, My Head is an Animal, was released last year. Of Monsters and Men signed to Universal who rushed out the Into the Woods EP in America late December, which contains the KEXP hit "Little Talks". The band will be at SXSW too and are surely one of the "Bands to Watch" this year for some folks.

Click through for all Of Monsters and Men tour dates, plus some videos as well.

Continue reading "are Of Monsters and Men Iceland's Mumford & Sons? (MHOW sold out; Bowery moved to Webster Hall) --- 2012 Tour Dates"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Daughter - Love (MP3)

Would you say you were folk? Or as the Guardian so nicely put it, 'Fucked up folk'?

I know right? That's quite funny. It's difficult, because I don't know what we are. We don't really think about it at all. We're more like 'this sounds alright - let's do that.' It did start off with my solo thing for years, which was very folky and acoustic. It definitely started out that way, but with me and Igor working together and developing things, it has all gone a bit more atmospheric and, I dunno, we're just trying to experiment with what we're doing.

People have mentioned that your lyrics are dark and depressing, but do you see them as a release of emotions - which is a positive thing. The Guardian, again, said '"Youth" plumbs Ian Curtis' depths of bleakness'. I wasn't expecting you to be so friendly!

I think it's a relief that I'm actually friendly as I probably would be the most depressed person in the world. I enjoy really dark music. I love Joy Division and don't think I can really write anything happy. I don't know if that's a conscious thing or I literally can't. If I didn't write songs, I think I'd be really weird [laughs]. I'd have a lot of shit that I just couldn't get out. I'd have about 10 cats and just mutter away to myself and play the saw. It's a release of emotion and I can just be rid of bad experiences. It is a bit like therapy where bad shit has happened but if you can put it down on paper and write about it and then sing it to people, then you'll be alright. I dunno where I'm going with that! ['Sup]

Originally a solo project for UK singer-songwriter Elena Tonra, Daughter is now a proper band with electric guitarist (and Tonra's boyfriend) Igor Haefeli and drummer Remi Aguilella.

Daughter is coming to SXSW this year and has scheduled a few other shows outside of Austin as well, including a few in NYC: March 9 at Mercury Lounge, March 10 at Glasslands. There's also March 8 show with venue TBD. All tour dates -- including DC and Philly shows with Tennis and White Rabbits -- are at the bottom of this post.

Continue reading "Daughter sign to Glassnote, playing NYC, SXSW, other dates"

by Bill Pearis

The Wedding Present @ South Street Seaport 2011 (more by Chris LaPutt)

Three pieces of exciting news from Wedding Present HQ. 1) The band will put their eighth album, Valentina, out in March 2012; 2) they will tour North America around the same time, starting in Austin for SXSW, and then NYC for stops at The Bell House on March 21 (onsale Fri 12/9) and Le Poisson Rouge on March 22 (no on-sale date yet); and most excitingly for longtime fans, the tour will also celebrate the 21st anniversary of their 1991 album Seamonsters which will be played in full.

Consensus among Weddoes devotees is that Seamonsters is the band's best album. I'd agree with that and go on to say Seamonsters is one of the best albums of the '90s and is maybe the greatest loud/quiet/loud record ever. Said the AV Club the LP's entry in their retired Permanent Records series:

One of those collections that demands to be listened to in its entirety, Seamonsters explores Gedge's one true passion: the opposite sex. As potentially hazardous as that sounds, his songs explore relationships from every angle, though most of the album's glorious moments crawl on the underbelly: "Dalliance" vacillates between angsty guitars and lyrics about longing; "Dare" chugs along, desperate for an illicit affair with a friend who's fighting with her lover; and "Suck" is about as sexy as Gedge dares get, using the titular double-entendre to maximum effect.

And that's just the first three songs. Seamonsters offers 10 perfect miniaturizations of love gone right, wrong, and so-wrong-it's-right, all couched in dense guitars that say as much as the words. It's the first (and only) time Gedge refused to give himself and his fans a breather, and that's probably why it's widely considered his masterpiece. (Be warned, though: The disc has been reissued countless times, with excellent bonus tracks that don't quite fit the mood.)

All Wedding Present 2011 tour dates are below.

Continue reading "The Wedding Present playing 'Seamonsters' on tour in 2012, plus a new album"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Bell - Echinacea (live on Fair Game) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bowerbirds - In Our Talons (MP3)

Bell @ Pianos (more by Ryan Muir)

Bell is in Austin for SXSW and plays official BV show tonight (3/18), and the I Guess I'm Floating & twosyllable Records day party on Thursday.

She's also playing a series of April dates with Bowerbirds, two in NYC: April 27th at Mercury Lounge (tickets on sale now) with La Strada and Lost In The Trees, and April 28th at Williamsburg's Monkey Town.

Dead Oceans, who released Bowerbirds' 2008 Hymns For A Dark Horse, is also home to Phosphorescent (playing the entirety of To Willie at the BV official showcase, again, tonight) and The Donkeys (playing BV Thursday day party).

All Bell & Bowerbirds tour dates, and stop-motion video for Bowerbirds' "In Our Talons" below...

Continue reading "Bell & Bowerbirds - 2009 Tour Dates (SXSW, NYC, etc)"