brooklynvegan

Bill reports from M for Montreal, Night One (Duchess Says)

Duchess Says

M for Montreal is one of the Canadian city's many, many festivals (music or otherwise) - this one showcasing local bands they have dubbed "export-ready." (A few Toronto bands were invited too.) Festival bookers, music supervisors for TV, film and advertising, journalists and tastemakers were invited to town to check out the talent. While clearly more industry-oriented than most festivals, it's really well done: each night of the festival is on two stages within one club, so no overlap, no downtime. You see all the bands.

The first (11/20) night's highlight was definitely Duchess Says who are clearly loved in Montreal. Their electro-punk sound is fun, but they're absolutely electrified by frenzied singer singer Annie-Claude who more than once jumped into the sizable pit before pulling the pit onstage for a dance-party. She's a pistol!

The other notable act for me was The National Parcs, an environment-friendly hip hop/electronic/soul group who get their beats from homemade field recordings: we're talking the sound of banging rocks, babbling brooks, digging in the dirt...etc. And while I wasn't blown away by the songs, their stage show, which also shows off their considerable filmmaking skills, is a knockout multi-media experience.

Also played Night One: the hockey-loving, French-Canadian lumberjack punk of Les Dales Hawerchuk; Toronto's Sweet Thing, who were somewhere between The Killers and Muse; Pas Pas Chic injected a healthy dose of Kraut into their icy, Francophilic sound (of the first night, the group I'll likely listen to the most); and the sultry Lioness who brought a gothy romance to the night's proceedings.

Appologies to Kyle, Ryan, and the rest of the BV photographers for my point-and-shoot pics. More of them below...

Continue reading "Bill reports from M for Montreal, Night One (Duchess Says)" at BrooklynVegan.com

What's going on Saturday?

Bishop Allen @ Fun Fun Fun Fest 2008 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

today in NYC
* DANCE
* Stella @ Union Hall !
* NY Dolls @ Stone Pony
* Ani Difranco @ Town Hall
* Rasputina @ the Bell House
* Al Green @ Wellmont Theater
* The Hackensaw Boys @ 92YTribeca
* Robyn Hitchcock @ Symphony Space
* Slutty Puppets @ Galapagos Art Space
* The Dig & Frankpollis @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Baroness, Coliseum & Minsk @ Bowery Ballroom
* Electric Six, Local H, Fall On Your Sword @ Webster Hall
* Bishop Allen, Drink Up Buttercup & Electric Owls @ MHOW
* Peter & The Wolf, Ava Luna & Draw Into Disorder @ Silent Barn
* We Are Scientists, Mobius Band & Grandma's Boy @ Irving Plaza
* Grails, Silver Apples, Dinowalrus & Nudge @ Knitting Factory
* Hopewell, Bear in Heaven, Artranker Convoy & Tulips @ Cake Shop
* Cheap Time w/ The Black Clouds, The Konks, and Golden Error @ Asterisk Art Space

in Boston: The Brainwaves Festival

! I have no idea when they added the Stella show at Union Hall, but Union Hall's site reads "SOLD OUT: no tickets are available". It's a warmup for the upcoming tour and shows at Nokia Theatre. It's not clear whether Michael Showalter will also be performing with Eugene Mirman at Union Hall this Sunday. How was the Showalter/Black show at Caroline's?

Local H goes on at 7:45 tonight at Webster Hall (or someone just told me maybe 9:00).

Bishop Allen also plays MHOW on Sunday.

Tonight was supposed to be the first of two Flower Travellin Band shows at Knitting Factory.

NY Dolls added tonight's NJ show since I last posted their tour dates that include Irving Plaza in December.

Ludacris is playing Highline Ballroom Tuesday night.

Bjork turned 43 yesterday.

Karen O was born today in 1978.

Steven Van Zandt was born today in 1950.

John F. Kennedy died today in 1963.

Grails played Union Pool last night. Video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Saturday?" at BrooklynVegan.com

Silver Apples tour dates (Halleluwah, The Kitchen, ATP)

Silver Apples @ Knitting Factory in June (more by Zach Dilgard)

Flower Travellin' Band won't be here, but the The Third Annual Halleluwah Festival goes on, this weekend at the Knitting Factory in NYC. According to the venue, the current lineup is:

Nov 22 - Grails, Silver Apples, White Rainbow, Nudge, Pigeons, Hard Bop, Dinowalrus, DJs Marty McSorely & Thanksgiving Brown

Nov 23 - Gods & Monsters, Martin Bisi, Apse, White Rainbow, Nancy Garcia, The Low Suns, Max Ochs

The venue's website actually still also lists Silver Summit for Sunday, but I'm pretty sure they won't be there and the festival's MySpace does seem to have removed them.

For Silver Apples, Saturday night's show will be the second in two days. The first was Friday night at Brainwaves in MA. On December 2nd, Simeon (Mr. Silver Apples) will also supposedly be doing this:

At The Kitchen, Silver Apples will perform a re-creation on the Mune Toon concert in 1969. This event was part of the official New York City celebration of the landing on the moon that took place in Central Park in July of 1969. At the moment that Niel Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the moon Simeon and Danny burst into this free-form-rock electronic instrumental that was scheduled for only 16.8 minutes, but actually went well into the morning. It is said many babies were conceived in the bushes that night!

The event is listed on The Kitchen's website as An Evening with Farimani. Tickets are at Ticketweb.

Silver Apples' only other upcoming shows are in January in Australia. The occasion is the ATP fest happening there that was curated by Nick Cave. All dates below...

Continue reading "Silver Apples tour dates (Halleluwah, The Kitchen, ATP)" at BrooklynVegan.com

Brian Wilson @ Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC - pics

photos by Tim Griffin

"Brian was really into the music and in command- He did about 50 minutes of Beach Boys stuff (including a great Marcella), than after intermission did the whole That Lucky Old Sun album-it was really good. Midnight's Just Another Day was better than the album. Encores of Johnny B Goode, Fun, Fun, Fun, Help Me Rhonda, Surfing USA and Love and Mercy- Truly a great show-Hammerstein Ballroom has great sound too- far better then the Beacon.
In all honesty-the show far exceeded my expectations." [ian rusten]

As advertised, Brian played hits in addtion to his entire new album last night (11/21) at Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. His tour continues for three more shows (PA, NJ & Westbury). Thursday night he performed two songs on Conan O'Brien. You can watch the whole episode at Conan's site. More pictures from Hammerstein below...

Continue reading "Brian Wilson @ Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC - pics" at BrooklynVegan.com

Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak streaming now, out Monday which is one day after Axl Rose releases his

Kanye West's new album 808s & HEARTBREAK is out in stores on Monday 11/24, but will be streaming at MySpace in its entirety as of midnight (pacific time) Friday night/Saturday morning. Monday is a weird release day.

In a move no doubt designed to get a jump on holiday sales (and facilitate maximum one-stop shopping), Island Def Jam announced that it has moved the release date for three of the label's biggest albums -- West's 808s & Heartbreak, Luda's Theater of the Mind and the Killers' Day & Age -- from a traditional Tuesday launch up to Monday, November 24. All three albums will be available both digitally and physically on that date.

According to a spokesperson for the label, it's a "one time only" strategy, which will jump the industry-wide release schedule "in anticipation of big Thanksgiving-weekend holiday gift shopping."

It bears mentioning that Tuesday release dates have become more and more arbitrary in recent months: Metallica's Death Magnetic was released on Friday, September 12, AC/DC's Black Ice hit Wal-Mart shelves on Sunday, October 20, and Guns N' Roses' much-anticipated Chinese Democracy is slated for a Sunday, November 23, release at Best Buy. [MTV]

Chinese Democracy is also now streaming at MySpace.

Meanwhile, people are already making end of year 'Best Of' lists.

Continue reading "Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak streaming now, out Monday which is one day after Axl Rose releases his" at BrooklynVegan.com

Jenny Lewis barking at the moon in Bolt, Motorhead too

I just saw the animated Disney movie Bolt. Like the critics said, it was really great, and not just because it's completely in 3-D.

I won't post any spoilers, but the film is about a dog named Bolt (John Travolta) and his human Penny (Miley Cyrus). In additon to the score, there are basically two full songs in the movie. One is actually sung by John and Miley. That comes at the end. The other, by Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis, is during a (what I think was a) major scene of the movie. It completely surprised me. I wasn't 100% sure it was her, but the credits confirmed it, and then the credits confirmed that the child actress is also the movie's assistant director (whatever that means). IMDB lists her as the voice of the assistant director, but I'm assuming that's a database mistake related to her doing both things in the same movie (she was listed separately in the actual movie credits).

The Jenny and Miley songs are both on the soundtrack which is otherwise all John Powell's score. Not on the soundtrack: Motorhead's "Dog Face Boy" which has a quick cameo in the movie (no spoilers). The Jenny Lewis (new) and Motorhead (old) songs, and another video that ties them together nicely, below...

Continue reading "Jenny Lewis barking at the moon in Bolt, Motorhead too" at BrooklynVegan.com

the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (Green Velvet, much more)

Boy 8-Bit @ 88 Palace, November 14, 2008 (The Culture of Me)

Last Saturday despite only considering two options, I had a tough decision to make. I hadn't seen Justin Martin deejay since January, but I had come so close to seeing Boy 8-Bit (without it actually happening) last month that I needed to go to Korrupt 88 Palace (a venue that wasn't very easy to find).

If you haven't been (this was my first time), 88 Palace is a dim sum restaurant on the second floor of a mini-mall that is under the Manhattan Bridge. As you walk in there is police tape up so you are pretty much corralled up the stairs, straight to the restaurant. I was a bit skeptical/curious about how this was going to work as a dance venue...but it worked pretty f-ing well. The place is shaped a bit like a stretched out horseshoe with a bar running down one side, tables scattered everywhere and a dancefloor at the end. I don't remember what time it was (probably sometime between 1 and 2) when we arrived, but the party was already packed and grooving. You could pay for shots that they would pour straight from the bottle into your mouth at the bar, apparently there had been jello shots earlier...I don't think anyone who was drinking was feeling bashful about hitting the floor.

We worked our way up to the floor shortly after we arrived, just as Boy 8-Bit began his set. Much like when I saw him in March, he dropped a more UK-influenced set, (that featured other stuff too)...but was just a pleasant far cry from so much of the French music (old and new) I've been (happily) listening to over the past year. It was one of those sets that was so good I was too busy dancing/had absolutely no desire to attempt a setlist, but a few good tracks I remember are below. I did'nt know lot of the really good stuff Boy 8-Bit played though - perhaps some new music of his?

that setlist and lots of upcoming events, below...

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (Green Velvet, much more) " at BrooklynVegan.com

Menahan Street Band show & podcast, Budos Band Friday

DOWNLOAD: Menahan Street Band on The Interface (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Menahan Street Band - Make The Road By Walking (MP3)

Although the last Daptone update was filled with Menahan Street Band pictures, there were no Menahan dates. That has since changed and tickets are on sale for a December 20th show at Southpaw in Brooklyn.

And although the last Daptone update did have three Budos Band NYC dates, none of them were the one they are playing for free at Cargo Cafe in Staten Island tonight, Friday November 21st @ 10pm.

Also new: The Menahan AOL in-studio performance that you can download at the top of this post and watch at AOL's.

Continue reading "Menahan Street Band show & podcast, Budos Band Friday" at BrooklynVegan.com

What's going on Friday?

Stars of the Lid last time they were here (more by Chris Owyoung)

today in NYC
* DANCE
* Ani Difranco @ Town Hall
* Bob Dylan @ United Palace
* Tom Morello @ Irving Plaza
* Brian Wilson @ Hammerstein Ballroom
* We Are Scientists @ The Wonder Bar
* Rasputina & An Horse @ Maxwell's
* The Loom, Rafter & Air Waves @ Cake Shop
* Pharoahe Monch @ Highline Ballroom
* Ambulance Ltd., Tally Hall & Palomar @ The Bell House
* Grails, Psychic Ills & Destructo Swarmbots @ Union Pool
* Crystal Stilts, Cheap Time & German Measles @ Less Artists More Condos
* Stars of the Lid, Hammock, Jocelyn Bonadio @ (le) poisson rouge
* Wierd Records party w/ Blacklist, etc @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Horse Feathers, The Rosewood Thieves, Small Sur @ Union Hall
* Apse, City Center, Talibam!& others @ Death By Audio
* Amanda Palmer (Dresden Dolls) & friends @ Webster Hall

In Boston: The Brainwaves Festival

Apse is also playing the Knitting Factory this weekend on a bill that does not include the Flower Travellin Band. Grails too.

A bunch of Brooklyn bands hanging out in a park, in one of the videos below...

Another video of a cat rolling down the stairs below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?" at BrooklynVegan.com

Deerhunter playing Stereogum Gummy Awards (please vote) @ MHOW, TIX ON SALE ++ pics from Bowery

photos by Lori Baily

Deerhunter, Bell and Violens are playing a show at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on Monday, December 8th. That's pretty soon, and tickets are on sale.

The occasion is the 2008 Stereogum Gummy Awards which has gone from being a simple online contest to a simple online contest with its own show. Voting for "Best Album", "Best Live Act", and other categories like "Best Music Blog" (hint) is going on now. The polls close December 2nd which is six days before this show.

Deerhunter last played the same Brooklyn venue on November 7th. While they were in town (with Times New Viking), they also played a show at Bowery Ballroom one day later - November 8th (exactly one month earlier than the Gummy date). Lori took pictures at that show, but we never posted them (until now). More pictures and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "Deerhunter playing Stereogum Gummy Awards (please vote) @ MHOW, TIX ON SALE ++ pics from Bowery" at BrooklynVegan.com

Mr Brownstone - Welcome to the Jungle @ Letterman (video)

Speaking of cover bands, here's the video of Mr. Brownstone playing Letterman on Wednesday...

Continue reading "Mr Brownstone - Welcome to the Jungle @ Letterman (video) " at BrooklynVegan.com

80s Hardcore - a cover band w/ Gavin McInnes, free tonight

80s Hardcore bill themselves as "The World's First and Only 80s Hardcore Cover Band", and although their MySpace doesn't list any of the members, we do know that the masked man is Vice co-founder Gavin McInnes, who if you didn't know last week, you may have learned about in that recent "hipster" "news" video.

80s Hardcore is playing a free show at Cake Shop tonight/Friday (which means there are at least two reasons to go to Cake Shop today). What songs do I think they will play? Funny you should ask because their entire planned setlist, along with the flyer and a video, is below...

Continue reading "80s Hardcore - a cover band w/ Gavin McInnes, free tonight" at BrooklynVegan.com

Dirty Projectors playing New Years Eve @ KF too/ again?

DP's Angel Deradoorian @ Knitting Factory (more by Ryan Muir)

Tickets are still on sale for the show Dirty Projectors and Dan Deacon are playing at Brooklyn Masonic Temple on December 11th. Last year Dirty Projectors played Knitting Factory on New Years Eve, and this year they might do it again, joining the bill that we already know includes Deer Tick, Deerhoof and Akron/Family, and maybe Crystal Stilts too?

Speaking of Crystal Stilts, they play their record release show at Less Artists More Condos tonight/Friday.

More New Years Eve shows are listed HERE, and a bunch of them just went on sale.

A beautiful video of Dirty Projectors playing in a big purple van in Paris, below...

Continue reading "Dirty Projectors playing New Years Eve @ KF too/ again?" at BrooklynVegan.com

Boss Hog - NYC show confirmed, on sale w/ more details

As previously reported, Boss Hog are back in action and have shows scheduled in the UK, @ Maxwell's and at Bowery Ballroom in December...

Explaining their eight-year hiatus, Cristina says, "It's been two torturous terms of Republican disease and culture death. Now that we're free, it's the perfect time for us to bring back our own brand of sick in celebration."

Adds her live-in guitarist, Jon Spencer, "This whole 'change' thing isn't new... Boss Hog represented change with every album we made!"

Joining Boss Hog at the Bowery Ballroom is a full compliment of rhythm and grind, featuring the country punk moxie of Tennessee's Those Darlins, the titillating parade of burlesque goddesses Harvest Moon and Dirty Martini, and special guest DJ Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Sponsered by the fabulous BUST magazine

Tickets for the December 17th show are now on sale. More info and dates HERE.

Continue reading "Boss Hog - NYC show confirmed, on sale w/ more details " at BrooklynVegan.com

Thievery Corporation - 2009 Tour Dates (2xTerminal 5?)

"Thievery Corporation is very excited to announce the first dates on the North American portion of their 2009 Radio Retaliation Tour! Each show will be a full, live-band set featuring a mix of new songs from their latest album Radio Retaliation and older fan favorites."

Thievery Corporation are playing Terminal 5 in NYC on February 25th and February 26th (according to their tour dates), but tickets are only on sale for the one on February 25th. Radio Retalliation was released on September. All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Thievery Corporation - 2009 Tour Dates (2xTerminal 5?)" at BrooklynVegan.com