Electronic music producer, musician and DJ Jason Forrest plays a free show at Public Assembly tonight (6/3) with Star Eyes, Dev/Null, and Lil Internet. Saturday (6/4) is the first-ever NYC screening of content from Jason's new online TV network Network Awesome at 92Y Tribeca. According to Jason, who launched the website in January:

"There's a fantastic amount of incredible TV shows, movies, interviews and videos that are just not getting the exposure they deserve. I started to wonder what would happen if someone put all these bits of culture together, and this is the main concept behind Network Awesome. We are passionate about sharing what we think is interesting, entertaining and culturally relevant. It's like with your friends, you say 'Cool, look at this!'"

In April, Network Awesome posted a "Live Music Show" curated by Das Racist. Their more-recent Live Music Show was curated by Jason himself. In May they posted "A Time Capsule of Early 1980s NYC's Lower East Side or, "New York's Alright (If You Like Basquiat)": Downtown 81." Browse the site for more.

Jason released an album called The Everything on April 15 in Germany via Staatsakt. You can download the album on iTunes and check out the artwork, tracklist, and the track "New Religion" below.

Continue reading "Jason Forrest is in NYC (show Friday, screening Saturday), launched an online TV network, released 'The Everything'"

photos by David Andrako

John F O'Donnell and Claudia Cogan hosted their 5th Annual 50 First Jokes night at the 92YTribeca on January 5th, 2011. The show, which might have been more appropriately titled 57 First Jokes, featured 57 New York based comedians telling the very first joke that they'd written in 2011.

Each comic was given approximately 2 minutes to perform and try out his or her new material. The sold-out show, also produced by O'Donnell and Cogan, was split into 3 acts that each featured approximately 20 comics. A set of pictures from the whole night continues below...

Continue reading "pics of 57 comics telling 57 first jokes"

photos by kolored

"The room was filled to a suffocating level with smoke, tinted with hints of strawberry flavor, and bright white light- making it hard for just about anyone to orient themselves in the first few minutes of entering the room.

As the new songs played on the speakers below the murmur of voices, special $9 Blonde Redhead cocktails were served- raspberry vodka with prosecco and a touch of grenadine. And although the room too smokey, and the drinks too expensive and sweet, once the band took the stage to play a short set of Penny Sparkle songs, the air in the room shifted." [Free Williamsburg]

More pictures and a video from the 92YTribeca show, below...

Continue reading "Blonde Redhead played new songs @ 92yTribeca (pics, video) "

DOWNLOAD: Blonde Redhead - Here Sometimes (MP3)

In advance of their upcoming North American tour this fall, Blonde Redhead will be hosting a live preview for their forthcoming album, Penny Sparkle, on Tuesday August 10th at 92YTribeca. The band will spin the record before playing a live set. Entry is invite/contest only, but we have two pairs of tickets to give away. Details are below.

Penny Sparkle comes out September 14th on 4AD - check out one of its songs above.

The NYC show on their tour with Pantha Du Prince happens November 3rd at Webster Hall. Tickets are still on sale.

Contest info and a flyer are below...

Continue reading "Blonde Redhead previewing new LP @ pre-tour show (win tix) "

photos by Amanda Hatfield

"He's a tender, bruised singer, like a less affected Antony. Though he rarely works with much beyond piano, he writes sturdy melodies and arrangements, solid enough to carry his bleak lyrics, doled out frugally.

"Look Out, Look Out," which opened the show, began with spooky, elongated notes played by Alan Wyffels (who played keyboards, the only backing musician) before Mr. Hadreas's piano darkened the mood. The galloping piano line on "You Won't B Here" recalled Coldplay. On "Learning" repeated, bright two-note bursts cut through morbid lower-register chords as Mr. Hadreas sang menacing lines in a hopeful way: "You will learn to mind me/And you will learn to survive/Me.""[NY Times]

If you still haven't listened to the record, it's still streaming. If you're not totally convinced that you should go check him out at Glasslands on Friday night (where I hope to be since I missed the show to see Rufus Wainwright on Tuesday), check out the Seattle studio session videos, with more pictures from 92Y, below...

Continue reading "Perfume Genius played 92yTribeca (pics), in a studio (videos)"

by Gabi Porter

Patrick Watson has a rare gift of making serious music that isn't really serious at all. He manages to be playful and ramshackle, drinking what he claimed was a pint glass full of whiskey, and looking like he was mischievously playing his mother's piano when he knew he wasn't supposed to, and with posture that would have terrorized piano teachers the world round. He mesmerized a room full of chattering adults at 92YTribeca Friday night, into respectful silence. According to friends at the Bell House for the show the previous night, at one point you could actually hear crickets.

Doveman, who next plays a show at LPR on Thursday night, opened the evening with Thomas Bartlett's sweet and understated falsetto. More pictures below...

Continue reading "Patrick Watson & Doveman played 92YTribeca (pics)"

My Brightest Diamond @ Bowery Ballroom in January (more by Chris La Putt)

Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) will be curating a two-night event with music, film and more at 92YTribeca in NYC on March 5th and 6th.

Over two nights, Shara hosts a tremendous cast of artists to showcase the different ways people create. From the sewing installations of Dena Verdesca, to the yarn circle lead by Amy Fritch, to the provocative photography and Tableau Vivant performances of Sarah Small, to the paper art installation and spontaneous poetry of Tim Fite, to the live projections by video artist Deborah Johnson and the flower graffiti of Nikki Borodi - you will hardly recognize the 92YTribeca gallery and mainstage as the spaces are transformed by these wildly creative artists. To add to the magic, Shara has brought together live performances by puppeteer Lake Simons, Brooklyn acappella group Black Sea Hotel, songwriters Dayna Kurtz & Mamie Minch, a screening by filmmaker Cathryn Davis Zommer, plus a special performance by Shara Worden with the dynamic chamber ensemble yMusic and other surprise guests artists to be announced.

Shara played Bowery Ballroom in January. She's also on the new Clogs' album; she and the band will be at Big Ears Festival in Knoxville at the end of March, where yMusic (playing with Shara at 92YTribeca) will perform a piece by St. Vincent.

yMusic will be playing with Gabriel Kahane on Wednesday, March 3rd as part of the American Songbook Series at Lincoln Center's Allen Room (where Dirty Projectors will play Getty Address with Alarm Will Sound this Friday). On March 5th and 6th (the same nights as these 92YTribeca shows), yMusic will be at Symphony Space with Gina Gibney Dance Company.

All tour dates and the lineup for Shara's two 92YTribeca events are below...

Continue reading "Shara Worden curates 2 nights @ 92YTribeca -lineup includes yMusic who play w/ Gabriel Kahane, St Vincent & more"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Inlets - Bright Orange Air (MP3)

Inlets @ Music Hall of Williamsburg last February (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Inlets, the musical project of Sebastian Krueger, will finally release its long-awaited debut album, Inter Arbiter, on April 20th through twosyllable. Krueger is best known for playing with Shara Worden/My Brightest Diamond, Osso String Quartet, DM Stith and others. Inlets was established with its 2006 EP, Vestibule, and the debut album isn't short on guests either, with contributions from Zach Condon, Angel Deradoorian, and Osso's Marla Hansen. The track above, "Bright Orange Air," is a devilish piece of minor key pop.

Inlets will play a Friday, March 12th show at 92YTribeca with Bell and Glass Ghost (whose tour dates are below). Tickets are on sale.

Inlets are also playing an invite-only early show at Pianos this Friday (2/12). You can't buy tickets, but we have two pairs of tickets to give away - information on those is below.

Contest details, more album info, and all tour dates (including Inlets at SXSW) are below...

Continue reading "Inlets - debut record (MP3) & tour dates - 92YTribeca, SXSW & an invite-only show at Pianos (win tix) "

Damon & Naomi (the other Galaxie 500-related couple-duo) will be at 92Y Tribeca on Saturday, January 30th for the first-ever movie theater screening of their 2009 career-spanning DVD Damon & Naomi: 1001 Nights. After the film, the pair will do a Q&A with Harvard Film Archive director Haden Guest. Following that is a concert, with Damon & Naomi accompanied by guitarist Michio Kurihara (from Ghost). Sharon Van Etten opens the music portion. Tickets to the film and music are on sale, as are music-only tickets. We also have a pair of movie+music tickets to give away. Details are below.

A similar movie & music event will be at Boston/Cambridge's Brattle Theatre the next night (1/31).

A live performance from the DVD and contest details are below...

Continue reading "Damon & Naomi film & shows w/ Michio Kurihara & Sharon Van Etten - dates (win tix)"

words & photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Given that most of their gear was already on the stage, one would have thought the interim between opener James Dean Wells (of the Gay Blades) and headliner The Heavy on Saturday (1/16) would have been rather brief. The whirring of noise that begins "If I Were Going" from the Afghan Whigs classic "Gentlemen" came on the 92Y Tribeca loudspeakers and, despite a solid set, Wells had done little to capture the attention of those who arrived early. As track one bled into the title track and then "Be Sweet" the prospect of maybe one or two more tracks from "Gentlemen" was a welcome. Given the Whigs' soul, R&B and Stax records leanings, it seemed a more appropriate opener. Forty minutes - or eight and a half tracks - later, The Heavy finally sauntered onto the stage to the Spaghetti Western opening of "Short Change Hero". Frontman, Kelvin Swaby bounced from one end of the stage to the other, pointed at the ladies, and early on had the crowd shouting "What you say?" during the call and answer chorus of "Big Bad Wolf." The set was split evenly among older songs and new material from last year's The House That Dirt Built. "Colleen", "Girl" and "That Kind of Man" all off 2007's Great Vengeance and Furious Fire were among the highlights of a pulsating, hour-long set. Despite moving almost non-stop, Swaby and the rest of the band somehow had attitude and swagger to spare, cashing most of it in on set closer "How You Like Me Know" ,the single from the new record.

The Heavy, who also opened for The Hot Rats at Bowery and Music Hall last week, perform tonight (1/18) on Late Night with David Letterman backed by the Dap Kings Horns (Neal Sugarman, Dave Guy and Ian Hendrickson-Smith) before heading back to Europe to play a string of shows through the end of February.

More pictures and the headliner's setlist below...

Continue reading "The Heavy & James Dean Wells @ 92YTribeca - pics & setlist"

DOWNLOAD: DJ Ayres & DJ Eleven - Glamourous Life 3 (mix) (MP3)

There's no single New Year's Eve option that is like OMG this year, but the amount of options does keep increasing. We've learned about a bunch more events since our first roundup, and many of them were then covered in subsequent posts. Here are even more....

One potentially really good one is happening at the Old American Can Factory with The Rub. Built by MeanRed hosts . Tickets are on sale. Grab a new free mix from the The Rub's DJ Ayres and Eleven above. Flyer for the event below.

The Rub sometimes play Southpaw on New Years Eve, but that Brooklyn venue hosts two separate shows this year instead (Felice Brothers is sold out, but tickets still available for Dean & Britta).

If you have a lot of money to burn, Standard Hotel's Boom Boom Room is selling $250 to $750 tickets for a night that features a performance by Courtney Love (of Facebook fail fame). Get your spot here. A flyer, just to show it's not too good to be true (that is if she shows up), below.

Public Assembly is hosting a party with DJs from The Ohio Party. Tickets (with open bar and not) are on sale.

Team Robespierre headlines Bruar Falls. Full lineup below.

92YTribeca has a party too with "music, comedy, visual and conceptual art." A lengthy list of those involved is below. Tickets are on sale.

Chuck Inglish of the Cool Kids and Scott Durday of the Soundmen are playing a party in NoHo. Flyer below.

Union Hall hosts Project Jenny Project Jan and DJs. Tickets are on sale. Its sister venue The Bell House has Obits and Eli Reed.

Glasslands promises an "extravaganza" with locals Golden Triangle and Electric Tickle Machine.

And remember, Gogol Bordello play pre-NYE shows December 27th-29th at Webster Hall (they're in Charlottesville, VA, for NYE itself). Tickets are still on sale.

Tickets are also on sale for the previously-mentioned Europa Trouble & Bass bash, with DJs "AC Slater/B. Rich/Udachi/The Captain(T&B)/Stareyes(T&B)/Jubilee/VDRK/Bradley D." Flyer below

One stay-at-home option includes watching the Times Square "action" via the live feed while browsing the Brooklyn Vegan archives. The embedded Times Square feed, event flyers and two Will Smith-related videos are below...

Continue reading "more New Year's Eve parties & shows (The Rub, Courtney Love, Golden Triangle, a Times Square stream & more)"

Husker Du's Grant Hart just released his first solo album since 1999's Good News for Modern Man. The record, Hot Wax, came out October 6th on Con D'or Records, and along for the ride were members of Godspeed You Black Emperor and Silver Mt. Zion (who recently backed Vic Chesnutt).

Hart is currently on tour behind the new disc, and he plays NYC's 92YTribeca on Saturday, December 19th. Shilpa Ray and her Happy Hookers are also on the bill. Tickets are on sale. One day later Grant appears at Record Collector in Bordentown, NJ.

About the new songs, Hart said, "the song 'Narcissus,Narcissus' is my first attempt at combining ancient Greek mythology and American rock-a-billy. By merging those influences with an ice cream truck atmosphere I think I have found a style that defines this period of my career. 'You're the Reflection of the Moon on the Water' is one of the most organic rock and roll songs that I have ever written. It's style owes a lot to my devotion for patti smith. It was inspired by a comment made by a monk during the selection process to find the next Panchen Lhama, who said of one candidate, 'he is the reflection of the moon on the water but he is not the moon.'"

Bob Mould also has shows coming up including 2 nights in a row in NYC.

Grant Hart album art, tracklist and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Grant Hart - new album, tour dates, NYC show w/ Shilpa Ray"

photos by Chris La Putt

Laura Cantrell will be performing on Monday (11/16) at BLVD for the Appalachian Community Fund's 5th Annual Benefit. Tickets are pricey and still on sale. On Saturday night (11/14), Laura played a cheaper NYC show at 92YTribeca. Amy Allison, singer and frequent Laura Cantrell collaborator, opened the show.

Laura's digital-only new album, Trains and Boats and Planes, is out now. More pictures and a video from 92Y below...

Continue reading "Laura Cantrell played 92YTribeca -pics, playing benefit today"

photos by Chris La Putt

Girls in stripes at the Nicole Atkins show - m4w - 28 (TriBeCa)

You were standing with a group of friends in front of me for most of the show tonight. You had on a striped shirt, jeans, and rain boots. We first made eye contact at the bar before the show started and I thought you were really cute. Anyway, I couldn't tell if you were checking me out during the show but in case you were, know that it was mutual and I'd like to take you out for a drink and find out what other music you're into. Put "Neptune City" in the subject so that I know it isn't spam. [Craigslist]

Continue reading "Nicole Atkins & The Sea w/ KaiserCartel @ 92YTribeca - pics "

photos by Vincent Cornelli

"Hey, I'm your host: DJ Sufjan. Thanks for coming," he says, trying to stir the audience.

It will be a night of art -- but exactly how, or what kind of art, no one is certain.

Stevens speaks for a brief moment and introduces the first act, singer/songwriter DM [Stith]. Unlike most folk singers, [Stith] is backed by six other musicians: a percussionist, a bassist, a cellist, two violinists and a viola player. The classical backing only serves to assist his enchanting howl, which channels Eastern rhythms. His short set is defined by simple, delicate arrangements, like an appetizer before the main course.

A few moments pass, and Stevens climbs the stage once more. This time, he explains that his second album, "Enjoy Your Rabbit," was an electronic experiment that no one seemed to understand. As a result, he had the songs rewritten for the string quartet Osso, a group of classically trained women who perform interpretations of Stevens' songs. Stevens' experimental computer distortion transforms into high notes. The audience, formerly busy in conversation, is respectably silent. Dreamy sequences approach and linger as each song reaches a close. It is, most definitely, a non-traditional take on a classical medium. [NYU News]

Continue reading "a BQE evening w/ Sufjan Stevens, DM Stith & the Osso Quartet @ 92YTribeca in NYC - pics "

Influential UK folk singer Vashti Bunyan plays at 92YTribeca for one night only with Matteah Baim. She also appears, to talk, before a screening of Vashti Bunyan: From Here To Before, a doc about her, Friday (10/16) and Saturday.

Ticket Options:
# $15 live music performance on Fri, Oct 16.
# $12 screening only on Fri, Oct 16 or Sat, Oct 17.
# $22 for the Friday film screening and Friday live music performance.
# $22 for the Saturday film screening and Friday live music performance.

photos by Vincent Cornelli, words by Andrew Frisicano

Sufjan Stevens played his second night at the Bowery Ballroom on Monday (10/5). Today (10/6) and Wednesday (10/7) at Music Hall of Williamsburg will be the final two shows of his current tour.

After wading through the lines of confused people outside and the waterlogged Bowery basement floor, I managed to settle in for the quiet opening song, "The Mistress Witch from McClure," executed with Sufjan on banjo and french horn accompaniment. Someone nearby got shushed a minute in, but things loosened up as the show progressed. Sufjan's on stage demeanor did a lot to liven things up; he cracked self-deprecating jokes throughout (a few times with post-song IDs of "That was [name of song] by Sufjan Stevens").

Like others, I spent the better part of 2005 and 2006 listening to Illinois - and those were the songs that got the most reaction. Unfortunately, "Come on! Feel the Illinoise!" (an "old one" according to Sufjan) was also the most unpolished. It was nice to hear, but the execution suffered due to a poor mix (too many vocals, not enough of the four horns, which never really lived up to their potential). Afterwards he admitted that they hadn't played it in a while, and apologized with a clean, majestic version of "Casimir Pulaski Day."

One thing I didn't expect was just how in your face the new material is. It brushes up against the rest of the stage show in a stark but not totally unwelcome way. The new tunes are broad psych-rockish opuses that expand elements of Sufjan's usual light-rock shuffle with proggy guitar solos, jazz fusion-y improv passages, drum and bass style beats and glitch-pop blips. They seem made for a live setting (opposed to his complex woodwind-oriented arrangements) and loaded with plenty of testosterone (or at least some, which is a big jump). After the first encore, "Chicago," Sufjan quipped that the tune was "a little boring" and closed with new track "There's Too Much Love," a synth-driven indie-pop gem at first that descends into psychedelic anarchy over its seven plus minutes.

Sufjan's band expanded and contracted throughout the night, maxing out at eleven members with added horns. Bryce Dessner played guitar on some songs, while backing vocals were provided by opener Cryptacize's Nedelle Torrisi and Rosie Thomas, who came out between the set and encore as Sheila Saputo, her dorky, stand-up comedian alter-ego, to read a fangirl ode to the dreaminess of Sufjan.

Speaking of Rosie, she appears at John Wesley Harding's Cabinet of Wonders show on October 7th at (Le) Poisson Rouge (after the Sufjan MHOW show I guess?). She'll also be at 92YTribeca on Saturday, October 10th to do an acoustic performance and Q&A after a screening of All the Way from Michigan Not Mars, a documentary that features her as well as "intimate live performances with fellow songwriters Sufjan Stevens and Denison Witmer...the film is a lyrical examination of Thomas' quest for an expression of truth and her unique brand of performance." Tickets are on sale. 92YTribeca also hosts three of the four upcoming NYC Osso Quartet/BQE screenings later in October.

All photos, the set list and all Rosie Thomas tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Sufjan Stevens played Bowery Ballroom again (pics, setlist), Rosie Thomas was there (and will be at LPR & 92Y)"

DOWNLOAD: My Robot Friend - Misfits Fight Song (MP3)

My Robot Friend...

Double Feature Records presents Soft-Core, the first US release by My Robot Friend. My Robot Friend is a musical and performance art project born from the ashes of the late '90s NYC band Princess, which almost signed on to the legendary label Too Pure (P.J. Harvey, Stereolab) but broke up just in time. My Robot Friend performs in an elaborate light-up suit while interacting with illuminated objects, wireless video cameras and pyrotechnics. Think lovechild of a three way between Devo, Laurie Anderson....and a robot.

My Robot Friend (who has been known to cover Luna's "23 Minutes In Brussels") is appearing Friday, October 2nd show at 92YTribeca. Also on the bill are Cheval Sombre (with special guests), and DJing by Dean Wareham, who started the new Double Feature label with partner Britta Phillips. It makes one curious about the "special guests" that'll be appearing (yes, Dean & Britta will be there). Tickets are on sale.

Cheval Sombre, also on their label, opened for the Dean & Britta at LPR in June. At that show, the pair announced that it'd be their last non-Warhol show in the US for the year, but they played a regular set in Rochester last weekend (and will do one in San Francisco in October). Plus their New Years Eve show at Southpaw is still technically in 2009...

A My Robot Friend video below...

Continue reading "Dean & Britta's label Double Feature Records releasing My Robot Friend - catch them all at 92yTribeca -- MP3"

photos by Chris La Putt

The Swell Season's new album, Strict Joy, is out October 27th on Anti-. On Monday night, September 14th, the Irish & Czech duo (who are no longer a couple) performed at 92YTribeca in Manhattan. 92YTribeca is an intimate, and kind of swanky, downtown NYC venue that is much smaller than the places the Academy Award-winning band played last time they were here (Radio City and Summerstage). It's also probably much smaller than the ones they'll play next (nothing announced yet) (Beacon Theatre?). Bands often visit NYC for press purposes before an album, and I think that's related to why this show happened. Limited tickets were sold for $35 a pop. It was a packed house with tables taking up most of the room. People stood on the sides and in the back.

The setup on stage was spare. Glen Hansard had an old acoustic guitar which sometimes had "a mind of its own". Markéta Irglová sat at the piano when she wasn't standing up singing, either with Glen or by herself. They alternated playing solo and together. They flew in the night before, and hadn't performed in a while. Glen related that last fact to his forgetting to pack a few things, like his guitar tuner. To remedy the situation, he told us he downloaded iTune, an iPhone app that helps you tune your instrument. He even gave a demonstration of it after showing us how the Brian Eno iPhone app works (not sure if it was the old one or the brand new one). The iPhone segment was one of Glenn's many trademark (and entertaining) stories of the evening. His funny anecdotes offset the feelings of woe that dominate Swell Season songs.

Glen was as modest and down to earth as ever. He became frustrated when his guitar didn't do what he wanted. He thanked everyone for coming (especially Paddy, or is it Patty, in the front row who he thinks has been at every NYC show he's ever played), and for paying money to do so. He acknowledged that he expected the great success of last year to not always be there in the future. I imagine he is fine with the possibility that it won't always be Radio City and the Academy Awards, but I have no doubt The Swell Season can do it again (even if their demographic becomes less my friends, and more my mom's). Everything else aside, Glen (who is also in the band The Frames), can sing and play. And so can Marketa. It was especially noticeable since I'd just returned at 5am that morning from ATP NY, a festival in upstate NY where I saw a variety of bands, of varying musical abilities, perform.

The Swell Season setlist ranged from new songs to old songs to covers to something Glen wrote the night before. I don't know exactly what Glen's relationship is to Nico Muhly (Nico may have worked on the new album), but I know that Nico and Glen have a friend and collaborator Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman) in common. I didn't see Thomas there, but Nico (who performed with Thomas at the Miller Theatre just a few days earlier) was, and he played a solo piano song in the middle of Swell Season's set. It was kind of weird - maybe out of place. Glen introduced his friend Nico before leaving the stage (Marketa was already off). Nico then came up and played his song, and then Nico left and then the Swell Season came back. Regardless, special guests are always fun and I like Nico.

"Falling Slowly" (the big hit) was played early in the set, and my initial excitement turned into "I guess I'm sick of this song", but the Once songs they played at the end, "When Your Mind's Made Up" and "Lies", felt much better. Other highlights included an upbeat cover of Tim Buckley's :"Buzzin' Fly" mixed with a bit of Jeff Buckley's "Grace", anything Marketa did solo, and the closing number which was a cover of Daniel Johnston's "Devil Town". During that, Glen had the NYC crowd singing along to the chorus which he repeated a few times, partially A Capella and sometimes with accompanying funny faces, accents, and vampire gestures. He sang part of it with a German accent, and he ended with a pose he called a "Kanye moment". The crowd followed with a laugh and a standing ovation.

More pictures and tour dates (which were recently announced, but no NYC yet), and the NY show's setlist, below...

Continue reading "The Swell Season (and Nico Muhly & Brian Eno's iPhone app) played 92YTribeca - pics, review, setlist & 2009 Tour Dates "

DOWNLOAD: Swell Season - In These Arms (MP3)

August 10, 2009 - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova record and tour together using the name The Swell Season, which is a shorter but far less descriptive moniker than "Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, Who Won Oscars for the Song 'Falling Slowly,' From the Hit Indie Musical Once." So when we informed our coworkers that last Wednesday's Tiny Desk Concert would feature the pair, the response generally ran somewhere along the lines of, "Um, okay. ... Wait, who? THEM? REALLY?"

Hansard and Irglova stopped by our Washington, D.C., offices as a way of passing time between trips to New York and Denver, with the understanding that 1) we'd set up a keyboard for Irglova to play; and 2) they'd be expected to perform the standard three- or four-song Tiny Desk set. Both plans fell by the wayside quickly. The gigantic keyboard we'd provided would have been far more suitable had Irglova been a member of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, so they opted to scrap it and huddle up around Hansard's battered acoustic guitar. And three songs? Well, that wouldn't do. Hansard kept asking to play longer; not surprisingly, he met little resistance." [NPR]

According to a news posting today, The Swell Season will be announcing a full North American tour next week with a presale for most tickets going on sale September 9th. They also list a few previously announced shows including November 18th at The Wiltern in LA. What isn't there is the show they're playing at 92YTribeca in NYC on September 14th which is ON SALE NOW. All dates below...

Continue reading "The Swell Season - new album, stream, MP3, small NYC show (ON SALE NOW) & other tour dates (and more coming)"

DOWNLOAD: Califone - Funeral Singers (MP3)

On the set of All My Friends Are Funeral Singers

Califone, whose latest album All My Friends Are Funeral Singers is due out October 6 on Dead Oceans, has confirmed nationwide tour dates this fall including stops in Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia, among others. The album marks the highly anticipated follow-up to 2006's Roots & Crowns, which The New York Times calls "enthralling." All My Friends Are Funeral Singers is the companion piece to a feature-length film of the same name written and directed by Califone frontman Tim Rutili. In select cities on the upcoming tour the band will incorporate a full-length presentation of the film into the shows, performing a live, interactive soundtrack to the movie.

The Chicago-based band consists of multi-instrumentalists Tim Rutili, Jim Becker, Joe Adamik, and Ben Masseralla. On All My Friends Are Funeral Singers, the band employs a wide range of instrumentation and electronic effects to create a dense collage of sounds. Instruments range from the traditional (guitar, violin, banjo, percussion) to the unusual (optigan, stylophone, baritone ukulele, mbira, thumb piano). Longtime collaborator and producer Brian Deck (Iron & Wine, Gomez, Modest Mouse) says, "Califone have found a sound unlike anyone else, and are able to draw otherworldly sounds from very common instruments."

Continue reading "Califone - new album/soundtrack on Dead Oceans, MP3, 2009 Tour Dates (where sometimes they'll play with the film) "

Speaking of the BQE, 92YTribeca added a 3rd show/screening (on sale now)

Legendary UK folkie Vasthi Bunyan will be appearing at 92YTribeca in NYC for a live performance on Friday, October 16th, and with director Kieran Evans for two screenings of the documantary Vashti Bunyan: From Here To Before on October 16th and 17th. Tickets for the concert, film and both are on sale now.

From Here To Before is a feature length documentary that chronicles the story behind the writing of a classic 'lost' album and the re-emergence of its critically acclaimed singer/songwriter, Vashti Bunyan. Filmed and directed by Kieran Evans, this beautifully shot and wonderfully evocative film is a lyrical, modern day road movie that retraces Vashti's extraordinary journey from London to the island of Berneray in the Outer Hebrides of northern Scotland and sets it against the backdrop of her first high profile London concert.

Vashti videos (there doesn't seem to be a trailer...) and more info on the film, below...

Continue reading "Vashti Bunyan playing with her documentary in NYC "

Tickets are on sale for the BQE screenings (early & late) (thx arakias).

"Sufjan Stevens premiered The BQE, a film and musical suite exploring New York City's infamous Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival in November 2007. The critically applauded performance featured 36 performers including a band, a wind and brass ensemble, string players, a horn section, projected film footage of the expressway and five hula hoopers. On October 20, Asthmatic Kitty Records will release The BQE (also available via Rough Trade in the UK, P-Vine in Japan, Spunk in Australia).

The comprehensive package features the CD soundtrack, the DVD of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway film footage, a 40-page booklet with extensive liner notes & photographs and an accompanying stereoscopic 3-D Viewmaster® reel. Furthermore, Asthmatic Kitty will release a limited edition double gatefold vinyl edition of The BQE on 180-gram vinyl with a large-scale 32-page booklet including liner notes, photographs and a black and white version of a 40-page BQE-themed Hooper Heroes comic book. View a video trailer of The BQE below.

On October 24, 92YTribeca will host the premiere screening of The BQE DVD with an introduction by Stevens. At the screening, the Osso Quartet will perform selections from Run Rabbit Run. Tickets for this event go on sale July 23."

Continue reading "Sufjan Stevens releasing The BQE, appearing at NY screening"