photos by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

Jim James @ Stubb's - 5/6/2013

My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James brought his tour in support of his new solo LP, Regions of Light and Sound of God, to Austin for a show at Stubb's on May 6. For his pre-encore set, he relied entirely on that new album, and then during the encore, he played material from his other projects, including MMJ, Monsters of Folk, and New Multitudes. Support at the show came from his tourmate, Canadian singer/songwriter Cold Specks.

More pictures of both artists and Jim's setlist below...

Continue reading "Jim James and Cold Specks played Stubb's (pics, setlist)"

by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear @ Stubb's - 4/8/2012

Grizzly Bear are on tour and in Texas this week and played a sold-out Stubb's with Owen Pallett on Monday night (4/8). Owen, who was shoe-less and sporting a Grizzly Bear shirt, got things going with his violin and sounded great backed by Matt Smith on guitar and Rob Gordon on drums.

Grizzly Bear took the stage to cheers from the audience, and rolled through 19 songs (including a three song encore) ending with a great acoustic version of "All We Ask" with the band gathered around a single mic. Check out the full setlist below.

GB played Houston last night and are back in Austin tonight (4/10) to tape an episode of Austin City Limits. They then hit El Paso on April 11 before moving on to California for shows including Coachella, and then the world (London, Barcelona, Paris, Milan, München) before heading back to New York where they play Governors Ball.

Check out more pictures from Stubb's, along with the setlist and upcoming tour dates (and maybe I'll see you at the taping tonight), below...

Continue reading "Grizzly Bear roared at a sold-out Stubb's w/ Owen Pallett (pics, setlist), tapes for ACLTV tonight"

photos by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

A victorious Al Barr and Ken Casey of Dropkick Murphys @ Stubb's - 2/20/2013

A little early for St. Patrick's Day, Dropkick Murphys came and packed out Stubb's bearing gifts from their latest release, Signed and Sealed in Blood. They opened with the aptly named lead track from the album, "The Boys Are Back," to welcoming shouts from the crowd, and kept the ground rumbling all night.

They went on to Houston next, and are continuing on their tour through the end of May. After that they go hang with Metallica at the Orion Music + More festival in Michigan.

Pictures from the 2/27 show at Stubb's are below...

Continue reading "Dropkick Murphys brought Boston to Austin at a packed Stubb's (pics, dates)"

photos by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

Grace Potter and The Nocturnals @ Stubb's - 11/08/2012

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals played Stubb's on November 8th, snagging support from Austin's own Heartless Bastards for the show. Pictures from the downtown venue are in this post, as is the setlist.

Grace Potter and band are now on tour on the east coast, and just announced a bunch more dates for 2013 as well. That new leg kicks off in St. Louis and zig-zags the Midwest (including Chicago) before hitting more East Coast cities missed in their 2012 go-around. All tour dates and more pictures below.

Continue reading "Grace Potter and The Nocturnals played Stubb's w/ Heartless Bastards, announce more shows (pics, setlist, dates)"

photos by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

Matt (Johnson) and Kim (Schifino) @ Stubb's - 10/20/2012

On Saturday (10/20) Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino, known better as Matt and Kim came to Austin while on tour and turned Stubb's into a hot mess of a dance party. Fellow Brooklynites Oberhofer (who were recently at The ACL Festival) opened and will continue with Matt and Kim through November 17.

Pictures from the Stubb's show, along with the setlist and remaining dates, are below.

Continue reading "Matt and Kim had a dance party at Stubb's with Oberhofer (pics, setlist)"

by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

The Bright Light Social Hour - 9/29/2012

The rain poured down in Austin for most of Saturday 9/29, but stopped in time for The Bright Light Social Hour's homecoming show at Stubb's with the afrobeat dectet, Hard Proof.

TBLSH put on a great show, and after a short break will be heading back out to continue their 2012 tour. Austin won't see them perform again until 2013.

More pictures of both bands below.

Continue reading "Bright Light Social Hour came home to Stubb's w/ Hard Proof (pics, more dates)"

photos by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

Sondre Lerche @ Stubb's - 9/29/2012

After The Bright Light Social Hour wrapped their performance on the outside stage at Stubb's, Sondre Lerche played the inside stage. He took requests both online prior to the show and from the audience, and kept the fully-packed room entertained. Also mentioned were his reissues on vinyl, which he had with him for sale. The official release is set for October 2 (tomorrow).

Sondre has two more US shows in Tennessee and Connecticut before heading over to Norway through November. The full list of dates and more pictures from Stubb's, below...

Continue reading "Sondre Lerche on tour, played inside @ Stubb's (pics, dates)"

photos by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

Billy Corgan @ Stubb's - 9/27/2012

Tea shop owner Billy Corgan and Smashing Pumpkins played a sold-out and completely full Stubb's last night to kick off the American leg of their 'Oceania Tour'. Locals UME opened, and at the end of their set Lauren Larson thanked Billy and SP for making "a dream come true."

SP started off with "Quasar", the first track off of 'Oceania', and played through the entire album (full setlist below). Before jumping into what Billy referred to as "dusty" and classic Pumpkins, they cranked out a solid cover of Bowie's "Space Oddity".

The full performance lasted a little over two-and-a-half hours, including a special multi-song guest appearance by longtime friend and tourmate Jimmy Flemion of The Frogs. They covered T. Rex's "Jeepster" and Jimmy stayed on for "Thirty-Three" as well. Both were dedicated it to Jimmy's brother (and fellow Frog) Dennis who passed away in July.

Check out more pictures of UME and Smashing Pumpkins, along with SP's setlist and upcoming tour dates below..

Continue reading "Smashing Pumpkins kicked off their US 'Oceania' tour @ Stubb's w/ UME and a Frog (pics, setlist)"

photos by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

Quiet Company, The TonTons, and Bobby Jealousy @ Stubb's - 8/30/2012

On Thursday (8/30) Austin's own Quiet Company kicked off their fall tour at the Stubb's inside stage. They packed the house and pretty much went insane on stage (which was matched by the home-town audience's fervor) for their entire set with a quieter moment thrown in here and there, one being their cover of The Smiths' "Ask."

The TonTons (whose song 'Golden' was recently declared "Buzzworthy" by MTV) and Bobby Jealousy helped with the send-off. Bobby Jealousy are really killing it with their live shows; definitely worth checking out when they play Lambert's on 9/27.

Quiet Company will be on the road until their return for the ACL Festival. Pictures of all three, and QC's tour link below.

Continue reading "Quiet Company kicked off fall tour at Stubbs with The TonTons and Bobby Jealousy (pics) "

Yeasayer merch at Music Hall of Williamsburg, 8/15/12 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

This week marks the end of Stubb's hot-weather hiatus on the outside stage with Matisyahu on Tuesday (9/4) and Yeasayer on Thursday (9/6). While tickets are still available for purchase to Yeasayer with Daedalus, we are giving a way a pair as well. Details on how to enter and win below.

Immediately following the outside performance, The Sour Notes will be playing a free show on the inside stage.

Yeasayer tour dates are listed below, along with contest details.

Continue reading "Win tickets to see Yeasayer and Daedalus at Stubb's"

photos by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. (Snoop Dogg) @ Stubb's - 6/7/2012

Snoop Dogg brought the party (and a double rainbow!, see pics below) to a sold-out Stubb's on 6/7. Austin's own Phranchyze opened.

Snoop rolled through many of the hits in his catalog ("Gin and Juice," "What's My Name," "Drop It Like It's Hot" were highlights) as well as adding a few cover tracks (DJ Khaled's "All I Do Is Win," House of Pain's "Jump Around"). He also hit "Gangsta Party" with the ghost voice of Tupac joining in the duet (sadly, no hologram). Lady of Rage joined Snoop for a few tracks. More pictures from the show are below.

Continue reading "Snoop Dogg played Stubb's with Phranchyze (pics)"

photos by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin, words by Andrew Marinaccio

M83 @ Stubb's - 5/18/2012

M83 wrapped up their tour with I Break Horses in Texas this past weekend, where they played Stubb's on Friday (5/18). That tour also stopped in NYC about a week earlier. Pictures from the Austin show are in this post, along with a review of the NYC show.

M83's 2011 LP, Hurry Up We're Dreaming, saw their sonic trajectory hit a fever pitch; an album that dominated and defined 2011 by its impossible grandeur and expansiveness as a work more so than any of its smaller details (though perhaps it did help that it featured the best song of the year). Their current tour solidifies that they've harnessed their titanic sound and its incalculable amount of whirling, synth filigree. When focused, M83 can make any stage, be it at a sprawling outdoor festival set or boxy urban theater, explode.

The band's sold-out Terminal 5 gig in NYC (5/10) was an impeccably tight exercise in M83's soaring synth-pop theatrics. After the alien from Hurry Up, We're Dreaming's album cover came out to creepily glare at the audience for a minute or so, the shimmering rise of "Intro" began, as group mastermind Anthony Gonzalez stood centered and still on stage, hands cupped over his face. Call it reflection, pre-show acclimation, or prayer, but it set the intense, almost cosmically sacred gravity of their entire set. Conviction was Gonzalez's face-- the entire band's faces. This was pop with a mission to ignite whatever it touched.

And the music matched M83's countenance with as much color and power as they could generate. Their set primarily balanced between Hurry Up We're Dreaming and Saturday=Youth with tracks from Before the Dawn Heals Us thrown in for good measure. "Intro" gave way to unrelenting turns on "Teen Angst" and "Graveyard Girl," all clarified and piercing renditions with minimal deviation from their album versions. But there was little need for change--though the breakdown wedged into "Reunion" was welcome--for the band's latter-day work was already loud and lush, only demanding a setting spatially generous enough to accommodate their booming sonic textures. And their live presence cultivated just that: Keyboardist Morgan Kibby's usually wispy hush ascended to towering trills and belts, vocally steering "We Own the Sky" and encore "Skin of the Night," the latter's chorus further lifted by a by a volley of electric arpeggios courtesy of Gonzalez' hulking panel of knobs and wires.

Basses were beaten on "Bright Flash," distressed guitars furiously scraped away at during the coda of "Wait," and synthesizers chronically prostrated before throughout the whole affair, each song a furious race to reach a radioactive crescendo probably responsible for many a neon-drenched contusion by the end of the show. Not that the crowd minded much, entranced by the perpetual energy generator running molten red (and nuclear eggplant, and atomic green, thanks to tonally appropriate lighting) on stage. And it was hard not to embrace it, especially once the looping, digitized vocal chirp of "Midnight City," rang. The ubiquitous, dance-compelling pop anthem sounds miraculously inexhaustible in spite of itself almost a year into its initial release. At least, that appeared to be the consensus: the crowd upped its sway into a stomping, flouncing dance mob as it bleated the lyrics along with the band. "City is my church!" remains a favored idiom to roar aloud amid the tune's automatic, fluorescent urgency. Triumphant sax-solo relish remained intact and reappeared on the final song of the encore, "Couleurs," here ratcheted to a club-ready inferno that peaked in Gonzalez howling a distortion- wracked "New York!", eventually culminating in the entire band taking a knee (or gasping for air on their backs) beneath a storm of metallic noise.

A brief set by Swedish electro-shoegazers I Break Horses--their first in New York--began the night. Their thunderous, yet measured synth cycles swaddled Maria Linden's airy, reverb-distanced vocals, presenting a curious historic parallel to the main attraction. It wasn't too long ago that Gonzalez was writing similarly smaller, but lofty-in-spirit pop constructions.

And the latest: M83 scheduled to appear at ACL 2012.

More pics from the Stubb's show below...

Continue reading "M83 played Stubb's w/ I Break Horses, playing ACL (pics)"