DOWNLOAD: Deer Tick - "The Great Smoke Off" (MP3)

The Raveonettes @ Emo's earlier this month (more by Tim Griffin)

today in NYC
* Kino @ Zebulon
* Ikue Mori @ The Stone
* Kyle Clyde @ The Stone
* PJ Harvey @ Terminal 5
* The Bad Plus @ Blue Note
* Vinnie Sperrazza @ Barbes
* Bill Frisell @ Village Vanguard
* Elton John @ Tribeca Film Festival
* Bambi Kino @ Bowery Electric
* Knyfe Hyts @ Secret Project Robot
* The Breithaupt Brothers @ Joe's Pub
* Dez Cadena, The Slants, Lunic @ Union Hall
* Kid Cudi, Chip Tha Rippa @ Roseland Ballroom
* Toshi Reagon (presents Good Folk) @ Joe's Pub
* Rubix Kube ('80s tribute band) @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Mobb Deep's Prodigy" @ Powerhouse Arena Bookstore
* Local H, The Dig, The Yes Way @ Knitting Factory
* Joe Ely, Terry Allen, Ryan Bingham @ City Winery
* Mandingo Ambassadors, Mamady Kouyate @ Barbes
* The Raveonettes, Tamaryn @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Rubblebucket, MillionYoung, Com Truise @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Endless Boogie, The Ne're Do Wells, Mike Bones @ The Delancey
* Dom, MINKS, Fergus & Geronimo, Total Slacker @ Bowery Ballroom
* Easy Star All-Stars, John Brown's Body, Cas Haley @ Highline Ballroom
* The Wellington Papers, The Paper Planets @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Woodsman, Tjutjuna, Ancient Sky, Wet Dream, DJ Non Format @ Glasslands
* Grasshopper, J Mannion, Creeplings, High School Confidential @ Silent Barn
* The Pioneers of Seduction, Cinema Cinema, Karaoke Killed The Cat @ Fontana's
* Fletcher C. Johnson, Rev. Brandon Hayes, The Goddamn Rattlesnake @ The Acheron
* Jowe Head & The Extremities, German Measles, McDonalds @ The Rock Shop
* Davila 666, Hunx and His Punx, Shannon and the Clams, The Foxx @ Cake Shop
* The Pipettes, Les Sans Culottes, Freshkills, The Barnyard Boys @ Mercury Lounge
* Steve Ignorant (presents Crass songs 1977-1984), Goldblade, A.P.P.L.E., Thulsa Doom, Dog That Bites Everyone @ Europa
* Krallice, Obits, Mira Billotte (of White Magic), Dope Body (Tribute to Brendan Majewski of Orphan) @ Union Pool
* The Marijuana-Logues w/ Tony Camin, Rob Cantrell, Bruce Cherry @ Grammercy Theater

Despite having visa issues earlier in the week, The Pipettes are in fact in town now and playing Mercury Lounge tonight.

However, Steve Ignorant's tourmate Goldblade are having visa issues that caused them to NOT make it to the U.S. in time for the start of their tour tonight at Europa. Steve will be there though, despite having visa issues that caused the delay of the entire tour, and Goldblade will hopefully work things out in time to get here for other dates.

Mogwai are also having visa issues and cancelled the shows they were scheduled to play on Thursday and Friday.

Happy 4/20! To celebrate, download and listen to the Deer Tick cover of a Shel Silverstein song above, and go see The Marijuana-Logues featuring Tony Camin, Rob Cantrell, and Bruce Cherry at Gramercy (but not Doug Benson), or check out Easy Star All Stars at Higline Ballroom ("ADVANCE TICKETS ARE SOLD OUT. LIMITED TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR AT SHOWTIME."). You might know them from such classic albums as Dub Side of the Moon (2003), Radiodread (2006), Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band (2009), and Dubber Side of the Moon (2010).

Though they're not technically on tour together, I guess they're sort of on tour together (which makes sense since they share a booking agent). I'm talking about Raveonettes/Tamaryn (at MHOW tonight) and Hunx/Shannon (at Cake Shop tonight). All four bands also played the same night, but in two different rooms (two separate shows) at Emo's earlier this month.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday? (4/20)"

Tickets go on sale at 4:20 for an October 23rd Cheech & Chong show at the Beacon Theater. All dates below...

Continue reading "Cheech & Chong - 2010 Tour Dates (tix on sale @ 4:20)"

The Specials @ Coachella 2010 (more by Rachell Carr)

The Thermals @ the Bell House in 2009 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

tonight in NYC
* Neil Innes @ BB King's
* The Specials @ Terminal 5
* Snoop Dogg @ Irving Plaza
* VV Brown @ Apple Store Soho
* Gary War, Balaclavas @ Glasslands
* The Whitest Boy Alive, Jessica 6 @ Bowery Ballroom
* Ninjasonik, The Death Set, Cerebral Ballzy @ Pianos
* MATA Festival w/ Calder Quartet @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* The Tallest Man On Earth, Nurses @ Highline Ballroom
* The Thermals, Past Lives, The Coathangers @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Asa Ransom, MiniBoone, Governor, Strange Agent @ The Cameo
* Ava Luna, Air Waves, Total Slacker, Your Nature @ Union Pool
* Zaza, Light Asylum, Electrical Umbilical Cord @ Knitting Factory
* Sweet Apple, Hollerado, Buffalo Killers, The Weight @ Mercury Lounge
* Jason Ajemian, White Blue Yellow and Clouds, Afghanistan @ Cake Shop
* CSC Funk Band, Greg Ginn & the Taylor Texas Corrugators, Cinema Cinema @ Zebulon
* Knyfe Hytes, Dubknowdub, Telecult Powers, Fuck Ton, X-Ray Eyeballs, Alien Whale, Invisible Circle, Cntrl Top, K-Holes @ Death By Audio

UK singer VV Brown plays a free show at Apple Store Soho tonight - she headlines at Bowery Ballroom on April 28th (MNDR opens). Tickets are still on sale.

The Thermals kick off a 2-night run at Brooklyn Bowl.

The Specials never made it to Toronto, but they kick off a two night run in NYC tonight.

Snoop Dogg played Brooklyn Bowl last night and he honors 4/20 right with a show at Irving Plaza tonight. His latest interview (which I would say is 4/20 related but that just goes without saying) with Nardwuar reposted below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday? (4/20)"

On [Country Music], produced by T Bone Burnett and due April 20 on Rounder, [Willie] Nelson delivers his distinctive, understated take on such classics as "Dark as a Dungeon," "Nobody's Fault but Mine," "My Baby's Gone" and "House of Gold."

"This is a group of songs that when they first came out, it didn't take them very long to become standards," Nelson says. "Just like 'Stardust,' 'Moonlight in Vermont,' 'All of Me' and 'Georgia' are considered standards, so are 'Dark as a Dungeon,' 'Freight Train Boogie,' 'Pistol Packin' Mama' and 'Satisfied Mind.' These are all standard songs from another field of music, but they are still the same category. They are just as good in their own way." [Reuters]

Willie Nelson will be celebrating the 4/20 release of the record with a special show on May 6th at Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom (a venue that's sort of small for him, as he has a show at Radio City scheduled for this July). The show will be "an all acoustic set of country and gospel songs". Tickets go on AmEx and Fanclub presale Wednesday at 10am. General sale starts Friday at 10am.

The album's cover is above. Lots more tour dates HERE. Tracklist is below...

Continue reading "Willie Nelson to release 'Country Music', playing acoustic show at Grand Ballroom in NYC to celebrate "

It's hard to find time to discover new music at Fun Fun Fun Fest because so many bands I already like play (and many of them at the same time), but exploring can still be done, sometimes accidentally and especially in the early hours. That's when I came across Austin's The Black and White Years (who I have since found out were just in NYC for CMJ) (they played Bowery Ballroom on 10/20). The impressive voice of their mustached frontman Scott Butler channels David Byrne and other greats. They have the new wave sound of Devo, and the legendary Ohio band's good looks too.

Before their set was finished I headed to the appropriately named Black stage (aka where Danzig would play later) to see some of Philly hardcore band Reign Supreme who were thrilled to be playing on such a big stage at such a big festival. They sounded good despite the early hour and having just lost their drummer (he quit) (their manager or someone was filling in), especially to the five-or-so floor punchers who must have gotten a good night's sleep the night before.

From there I walked around the grounds a little. The festival, in addition to having four stages of music, has plenty of things to look at and spend money on (food, posters, glass pipes, etc) scattered throughout the park (not the least of which was the mechanical bull which I featured prominently in the pictures of Day One). Then I caught some of Texas post-rock band (think Explosions in the Sky) This Will Destroy You, but not for long because that's about the time it started to rain. The rain didn't stop me from getting soaked for almost the entire rest of the day, but at this early point I decided to take shelter at least until Fuck Buttons came on.

I hoped/thought the rain would stop actually, if not for Fuck Buttons, then definitely for Mika Miko who were up after them. Everyone was optimistic that it was going to pass quickly, but it never really did until right before the end of the day (before Danzig went). I watched Fuck Buttons from various angles, trying to stay dry and get used to getting wet. Read all about their recent NYC show with Growing (who also played Sunday at the fest, but before I got there) HERE. More pictures from Sunday below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest - Day 2 pics (rain & Fuck Buttons) "

Cheech and Chong are touring and performing at Radio City Music Hall on January 31st, 2009. Tickets go on sale today at 4:20 (seriously). The tour is their first in 25 years, is called "Light Up America", and starts in Canada on September 5th. All dates below...

Continue reading "Cheech & Chong - 2008 Tour Dates, tickets on sale @ 4:20 "

Apr 19 - Record Store Day, Passover night 1, Tapes n Tapes @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, Mission of Burma @ Solar 1, Bicycle Day, Suge Knight's birthday

Apr 20 - Earth Day, Passover night 2, Tokyo Police Club @ Bowery Ballroom, They Might Be Giants @ Town Hall, smoke pot

Please list more Earth Day & Record Store Day events in the comments.