Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ BAM in 2009 (more by Natasha Ryan)

"We have a new album coming out! It's called Hysterical, and it will be available on September 20th in the US, and September 12th in the UK, Europe, Japan, and Australia. ALSO, we are re-issuing our 1st album on vinyl. It has been remastered. We always thought the vinyl could sound better. That will be available on June 14th." - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

A Clap Your Hands Say Yeah album teaser video and some initial tour dates, Outside Lands Festival included (they were not part of the festival's lineup announcement), below...

Continue reading "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah return, new LP & dates announced"

photos by Vincent Cornelli

The Walkmen @ MoMA

"Some jackass made his way out of Johnny Brenda's after our show in Philadelphia with a handmade, custom built baritone guitar. Luckily for us we do have the show on tape and the face of our sticky fingered friend has been recorded. Any info out there to help us i.d. this person would be gratefully appreciated. Please let us know if you know anything. Thanks!" [Alec Ounsworth]

Continue reading "despite stolen guitar, Matt Sutton will play w/ Alec Ounsworth in Brooklyn w/ the Walkmen (who played MoMA - pics)"

Priestess @ Webster Hall, 2009 (more by Toby Tenenbaum)

casiokids @ South Street Seaport, 2009 (more by Tear-N Tan)

tonight in NYC
* Louis CK @ Caroline's
* Soulive @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Puscifer @ Apollo Theater
* Henry Rollins @ Irving Plaza
* Kronos Quartet @ Zankel Hall
* Vetiver, Scout Niblett, Arp @ 92YTribeca
* Alkaline Trio & Cursive @ Starland Ballroom
* Jarrod Gorbel, Arms @ (le) Poisson Rouge
* Tracy Bonham, The Old Ceremony @ Joe's Pub
* Allman Brothers Band @ United Palace Theatre
* Treasure Fingers, VDRK, Free Magic @ Santos Party House
* Balkan Beat Box, Bajah & The Dry Eye Crew @ Webster Hall
* Q-Tip (DJ), DJ Jazzy Jeff, Peanut Butter Wolf @ Nokie Theatre
* Priestess, The Giraffes, Bison, Naam @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Cheeseburger, Hard Nips, Valley Lodge, Jon Glaser @ The Bell House
* Sissy Spacek, Gerritt Witmer and Paul Knowles @ Issue Project Room
* PC Worship, Wild Nothing, The House Floor, Second Life @ Shea Stadium
* Casiokids, Spleen United, Banjo Or Freakout, A Classic Education @ Pianos
* Oberhofer, Twin Shadow, Pocketknife, Hundred In The Hands @ Cameo Gallery
* Radio Happy Hour w/ Cursive, Arthur Phillips, John & Molly Knefel @ (le) Poisson Rouge
* Darlings, Whatever Brains, The Invisible Hand, Total Slacker, My Teenage Stride, The Sundelles, I'm Turning Into, Big Troubles @ Cake Shop

Priestess headlines Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight. Catch them there and/or at one of of our BV day parties in Austin.

Cheeseburger also plays a Brooklyn show tonight, and then a BV show at SXSW.

Follow @bvSXSW on Twitter for more about SXSW than we post here or on @brooklynvegan, and check out our new SXSW party Facebook event page.

Casiokids & Banjo or Freakout play Pianos tonight, and they're both on the bill of our pre-SXSW show in NYC on Monday at Knitting Factory where we now have confirmed free PBR from 7-9 (there's a Facebook event page for that too).

A video of Alec Ounsworth playing an NPR 'Tiny Desk Concert' below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Saturday?"

photos by Bao Nguyen

Cold War Kids offering a free bootleg of the Terminal 5 show

CYHSY frontman Alec Ounsworth just finished opening a string of dates or Cold War Kids including two shows in NYC - January 28th show at Music Hall of Williamburg, and the 29th at Terminal 5. The pictures in this post are of CWK at Terminal 5. Bao missed Alec due to a slight ticket mix up at the door.

Cold War Kids, whose have just one upcoming date advertised at the moment (in Alaska), but Alec, who recently released two solo albums (one of which came out on ANTI-), is now on his first headlining tour...

Ounsworth's band is Matt Sutton, Peter Modavis, Brian Ashby and Jonas Oesterle. They will be playing songs from Mo Beauty, Skin and Bones as well as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's catalog.

Cold War Kids, who didn't end up playing the Bell House Haiti relief benefit on Wednesday, January 27th, recently put out an EP called Behave Yourself. The video for the song "Audience" off that is below. The song is also downloadable at RCRDLBL. That video, more pictures and dates are below..

Continue reading "Alec Ounsworth (CYHSY) played MHOW & Terminal 5 w/ Cold War Kids (pics, bootleg), now on headlining tour (dates) "

The show Cold War Kids are playing at Terminal 5 on 1/29 is sold out, so they added a 1/28 show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah opens both dates. Tickets for the new one are on sale (@ noon).

Delorean are going on a tour with Miike Snow that brings them to many North American venues including Music Hall of Williamsburg (3/26), Webster Hall (3/27), and Paradise in Boston (3/31). Now add Mercury Lounge to the list. Delorean will play a Snow-less show at the smaller venue on Monday, 3/29 with Lemonade (who they shared at least 1 CMJ bill with). Tickets for the new show are on sale at noon.

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Arms - Tiger Tamer (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Arms - Kids Aflame (MP3)

Arms (photo by Elizabeth Weinberg)

Normally, this is where a little bio of the band would go, but Todd pretty much does that himself in answering the first question of our end-of-year survey. We should note that his band ARMS open for Passion Pit at Terminal 5 on January 8 (sold out). So without further ado:

Continue reading "an end of 2009 interview w/ Todd Goldstein of ARMS & Harlem Shakes (RIP)"

tonight in NYC
* Slavic Soul Party @ Barbes
* Further @ Hammestein Ballroom
* Nate Wooley @ Issue Project Room
* Pure Horsehair, Sam Amidon @ Zebulon
* J.A.M.B.I.E. w/ Jon Irabagon @ The Stone
* Parts and Labor, The Tony Castles, Screens @ Brooklyn Bowl
* The Prigs, The Stationary Set, Red Wire Black Wire @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn
* WFUV benefit w/ Rosanne Cash, The Low Anthem, Mike Doughty @ Concert Hall
* The Music of John Lennon featuring performances by members of: Acrylics, Amazing Baby, Gillian Rivers and the SET Quartet, Here We Go Magic, Lauren Bahr, Nicole Atkins, Psychic, The Royal Chains, & Suckers @ Glasslands

Parts and Labor, The Tony Castles and Screens play a free show at Brooklyn Bowl. Former Parts & Labor member Sarah Lipstate plays as Noveller on Friday with Yellow Fever and Air Waves at Bruar Falls.

Video of Alec Ounsworth live on KEXP below...

Video of Surf City live on KEXP below...

Video of The Moondoggies live on KEXP below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday?"

sorry it took me so long to get a post up on this...

DOWNSTAIRS
12:00 Moonbabies
12:45 A Classic Education
01:30 TBA Sky Larkin
02:15 Surfer Blood
03:00 Lovvers
03:45 Duchess Says
04:30 JEFF the Brotherhood

UPSTAIRS
01:00 Freelance Whales
01:45 Rebecca Schiffman
02:30 Peggy Sue
03:15 Chris Denny
04:00 Holly Miranda
04:45 Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
05:30 Alec Ounsworth (CYHSY)

And in between those two, see you at Fontana's on Friday.

Moonbabies, on at noon, are making a rare appearance from their home in Sweden. This day party is in addition to their other two previously-announced CMJ shows.

You can also catch Duchess Says today (10/21) at the M For Montreal showcase at Arlene's Grocery.

More later. If I type any more this post will be even more late. Duchess Says and Rebecca Shiffman video below...

Continue reading "free BrooklynVegan day show - Thursday @ Pianos -------------------- 14 bands, free drinks, good times"

photos by Chris La Putt, words by Bill Pearis

Au Revoir Simone have spent the better part of 2009 working on, promoting and touring in support of their second album, Still Light, Still Night, wrapping things up -- for now, at least -- with a Brooklyn show at the Bell House on October 24 (tickets), which is part of the CMJ Music Marathon. The Bell House is also where their new video, "Shadows," was filmed. You can watch it over at the David Lynch Foundation Television website. Lynch has been a fan ever since he and ARS were paired together for that Barnes & Noble Upstairs at the Square event two years ago. He even wrote a nice little blurb for the girls:

"I LOVE AU REVOIR SIMONE ..... THESE GIRLS HAVE WHAT IT TAKES ..... MUSIC JUST FLOWS OUT OF THEM SO NATURALLY - AND IT'S GREAT MUSIC ...... THIS VIDEO FOR "SHADOWS" - FROM THEIR NEW ALBUM "STILL NIGHT, STILL LIGHT" IS MIGHTY - THE COLOR AND THE LIGHT ARE STELLAR - THE MOVES AND LOOKS - MINIMAL - CLEAN - MODERN AND SOLID ..... IT ALL COMES ALONG SO WELL SUPPORTING THE GIRLS AND THEIR MUSIC ..... ANNIE, ERIKA AND HEATHER HAVE GOT THEIR ACT TOGETHER - THEY'RE BIG - BUT THEY'RE GONNA BE BIGGER - THEY'RE GONNA BE REAL BIG"

In November, Au Revoir Simone travel to China for shows in Beijing and Shanghai. Tour dates are at the bottom of this post, as are more pictures from Au Revoir Simone's Bowery show from back in June. Findlay Brown, who is also playing CMJ at the same venue (Bowery), opened that June show.

In between now and ARS's trip to China, ARS member Annie Hart will spend some time with her other band, Uninhabitable Mansions, which also features Robbie and Tyler from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Uninhabitable Mansions' debut album, Nature is a Taker, is out now digitally, with the CD version due at the end of October and vinyl in January. Uninhabitable Mansions, which now includes Annie Hart's husband (and former Dirty on Purpose member) Doug Marvin on drums, has two NYC shows coming up: a free show next Wednesday (10/14) at Cake Shop which is part of the MIXER Reading Series, then they'll play the Bell House on October 22 (part of CMJ) with Robbers on High Street, Freelance Whales (who are also on the Bowery Ballroom show Findlay is playing), Pomegrates and others. After that, they're going on a short East Coast tour, ending with a October 30 show at Union Pool. Then the band's on hold until the new year when they expect to launch a more extensive U.S. tour.

And while we're here, Robbie and Chris of Uninhabitable Mansions have another band,Radical Dads, whose new self-titled EP is downloadable for free.

CYHSY front-man Alec Ounsworth meanwhile has been doing his own thing and is appearing at Mercury Lounge during CMJ, as well as at a free BrooklynVegan day party at Pianos that same day (10/22). More details TBA.

Tour dates for Au Revoir Simone and Uninhabitable Mansions, plus more pictures from Au Revoir Simone's June 28 Bowery Ballroom show are below...

Continue reading "Au Revoir Simone, David Lynch, Uninhabitable Mansions, Radical Dads & CMJ - tour dates, pictures, free music & more"

Thursday, 10/22 - CMJ showcase @ Mercury Lounge in NYC

Sean Bones 1:00
Local Natives 12:00
Hockey 11:00
Ambulance LTD 10:00
Alec Ounsworth (of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) 9:00
Patrick Watson 8:00
JBM 7:00

Continue reading "Alec Ounsworth playing shows (dates), CMJ w/ Ambulance LTD, Patrick Watson, JBM, Sean Bones & more"

Alec Ounsworth to Pitchfork: That's precisely the confusion with this [ANTI solo] record. I actually have another project right now called Flashy Python that's more about me trying to erect some grand statement [laughs]. Not to say the Alec Ounsworth record or Clap Your Hands aren't personal statements. But the Alec Ounsworth record was me going down to New Orleans for a short period of time and trying to piece something together based on a collection of mostly old songs. I figured this would be a good opportunity to purge myself of those songs in a very precise and particular setting.

The Flashy Python record includes contributions from members of the Walkmen (Matt Barrick the drummer), Dr. Dog (Toby Leaman and Scott McMicken), and Man Man (Billy Dufala). Alec's wife also plays some trumpet. He plays just about everything. Grab one track below...

Continue reading "an Alec Ounsworth solo record is out NOW (not the ANTI one)"

DOWNLOAD: Julian Plenti - Fun That We Have (MP3)

Since we just mentioned one new solo project from a band on hiatus (Julian from The Strokes), it'd be good to mention two other similar albums in the works.

In May, it was announced that Paul Banks of Interpol will be releasing a solo record called Julian Plenti is Skyscraper (Plenti being his own moniker) through Interpol's ex-label Matador on August 4th. Listen to "Fun That We Have," from the record, above.

This'll be the recording debut from "Julian Plenti," but the project itself is nothing new.

From 1998 to 2003, Julian Plenti performed in and around Manhattan as an acoustic solo artist. Venues that played host included Tobacco Road, Pete's Candy Store, The Knitting Factory, The Living Room, and "Lach's Antihoot" at Sidewalk Cafe.

In 2006 Plenti began to demo a selection of his music using Logic Pro, including some older acoustic songs ("Girl on the Sporting News," "On the Esplanade," "Fly as you Might," "Fun that We Have") with added beats and string arrangements.

In the Fall of 2008 Mr. Plenti took the demoed album to the Seaside Lounge in Brooklyn to be re-recorded with live instrumentation.

He hired session performers to play the string and horn arrangements, and also enlisted some friends. Mike Stroud of Ratatat and Charles Burst of The Occasion guest on "Skyscraper;" Sam Fogarino of Interpol plays drums on "Games For Days;" and Striker Manley of Stiff Jesus appears on "No Chance Survival" and "Fun That We Have."

And it was announced this week that another frontman-cum-solo-performer, Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (who we reported in January will be taking a break... possibly a very long one), will be releasing his debut, Mo Beauty, on October 20th on Anti- Records. That album was recorded at New Orleans' Piety St. recording studio...

For Mo Beauty, Ounsworth was backed by George Porter, Jr. on bass, Stanton Moore on drums, Robert Walter on keys, and Matt Sutton on baritone and pedal-steel guitars, with additional help from some members of the diversely talented New Orleans community such as Mark Mullins, Craig Klein, Greg Hicks, Washboard Chaz, Shannon Powell, John Boute, Al "Carnival Time" Johnson, and Meschiya Lake. The album was produced by veteran musician/producer and fellow Philadelphian Steve Berlin (Los Lobos, Blasters, John Lee Hooker, The Replacements).

Other CYHSY side-projects include Uninhabitable Mansions and Radical Dads. Interpol Sam drums in Magnetic Morning. None of these bands have any upcoming dates.

Tracklists for Mo Beauty and Skyscraper, with a YouTube video that purports to be the first 30 seconds or so of each Julian Plenti track, below...

Continue reading "Interpol's Paul Banks (Julian Plenti) & CYHSY's Alec Ounsworth are releasing solo albums too"

by Andrew Frisicano

June is going to be an exciting month for Old 97's fans. "An Evening With Old 97's" will be on tour in June through the eastern States. Both Rhett Miller and Murry Hammond will perform solo acoustic sets before taking the stage with Old 97's. Old97s.com has tickets for many of these shows.

And before those dates, Old 97's frontman Rhett Miller will play (Le) Poisson Rouge on Thursday, April 16th with Starling Crush. Tickets are on sale.

Miller's other Greater NY-area shows might be of interest as well. His May 30th show in Hunter, NY is part of the three-day Mountain Jam Festival. (Tickets are on sale - full lineup below.) And his May 1st show at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ is part of the Writers in the Raw series. Miller appears there with David Johansen (of the New York Dolls), Alec Ounsworth (of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah), and Ashton Shepherd. (Tickets are on sale.)

Miller's newest, self-titled solo album will be out June 9th on Shout! Factory Records.

All tour dates, with Rhett Miller track list and Mountain Jam lineup below...

Continue reading "Old 97's (4 Hoboken shows) & Rhett Miller (LPR) - 2009 tour dates & Mountain Jam Festival lineup"

Alec Ounsworth, the Cold War Kids, and Elvis Perkins jammed for the press at Bonnaroo....

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah just announced a whole bunch of tour dates and a presale for them. That includes September 11th @ the Gramercy Theatre in NYC. Regular on-sale Friday. All tour dates below....

Continue reading "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - 2007 Tour Dates & presale"

DOWNLOAD CYHSY - Love Song N0. 7 (MP3)

DOWNLOAD: CYHSY - Underwater (You and Me) (MP3)

1. Pre-Order the Some Loud Thunder CD anytime between now and January 29th.
2. Beginning January 16th, all customers who have pre-ordered will receive an email with a special secret link
3. Follow the link to download the Some Loud Thunder MP3s for FREE (link valid only until January 29th)
4. Your Some Loud Thunder CD will be shipped to you on January 30th.

I got myself a copy, and so far I think it's a pretty damn good second CYHSY album. In fact, it's getting better with each listen.

Don't forget you can pre-order the new Arcade Fire at Insound too.

P.S. Sorry ladies - The Guardian is reporting that Alec Ounsworth got married this weekend. (they're also reporting "He's got a children's album on the go, idle thoughts of scoring a film..")

Previously
CYHSY playing benefit at Bowery Ballroom
Alec Ounsworth & David Byrne BFF
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder -- MP3s

And while I'm talking about Alec Ounsworth, I thought I'd post the pics from the performance he gave (with band) as Flashy Python and the Body Snatchers the other night @ Joe's Pub (June 22, 2006). I was at the late show (he played an early one too).

Alec is a great song writer and performer, and it was nice to his other side - the side that's not Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. The CYHSY side is nice too though, so I was happy to hear him play Details of the War and that Cigarettes song. Overall the show was great, mesmerizing at times, and much better than what I remember from his performance as The Pelican Picnic at Mercury Lounge (I'm sure the setting had something to do with it). Some songs really stood out this time, but I don't know what they're called. He closed with a Loudon Wainwright cover.

Continue reading "Flashy Python & the Body Snatchers (Alec Ounsworth) @ Joe's Pub, NYC | pics"

And while I'm catching up on Bonnaroo coverage, I thought now would be a good time to post this photo from the press-only performance CYHSY's Alec Ounsworth gave at this year's festival.

After Bonnaroo, Alec gave an interview and played three songs for WXPN in Philadelphia. Download the MP3 at their website.

photo by Jon Bahr (ASCAP/The Slip)

Previously
Andrew Bird @ Bonnaroo 2006 | pics, news
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC | pics

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah frontman Alec Ounsworth is playing in Philly tomorrow night (June 20, 2006) in addition to the two shows he's playing as Flashy Python at Joe's Pub this Wednesday (June 21, 2006).

Flashy Python and the Body Snatchers (aka Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) are playing Joe's Pub in NYC on June 21, 2006 - early & late.

Previously
Alec Ounsworth playing Housing Works Benefit, NYC
Alec Ounsworth playing Arthur Lee Benefit
Alec Ounsworth @ Tonic, NYC | Review & Pics

May 19, 2006 7:30pm: Alec Ounsworth (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah), Richard Julian, Fernando Saunders. $25 benefit tickets available at Housing Works's website. (via ps)

Previously
Alec Ounsworth playing Arthur Lee Benefit

While I was at the Winter Garden watching people like Martha Wainwright cover Bruce Springsteen songs, Nick (BrassBonanza) was over at Tonic checking out Clap Your Hand Say Yeah's Alec Ounsworth cover Loudon Wainwright with the band previously known as Pelican Picnic. Here's his review and pics...

'Alec Ounsworth played to a sold out crowd at Tonic last night. He performed his solo/non CYHSY material, which I loved. It showcased his lyrics more and the songs were arranged more like folk/country/rock tunes, as compared to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah tunes. He didn't preform any CYHSY material, kind of. When they were 'Live on WOXY Radio,' they played a new song called, "Cigarettes." I've been listening to that song a lot lately, so to hear it at the show was a treat.

The packed crowd drew him out for a solo performance of Loudon Wainwright's, "Motel Blues," to end the night. He said the album would be out in a few months, but I don't know how serious he was. It was a great performance by a great song writer.'

Continue reading "Alec Ounsworth @ Tonic, NYC | Review & Pics"

Love him or hate him, Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is listed at Tonic in NYC on Saturday January 14th, 2006.

Previously
Happy New Year Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Alec Ounsworth & The Pelican Picnic @ Mercury Lounge, NYC | pics
Alec Ounsworth & The Pelican Picnic & Stuff
More CYHSY & Alec Ounsworth MP3s
Alec Ounsworth of CYHSY Solo | MP3s

Last night's (Aug 30, 2005) Alec Ounsworth & The Pelican Picnic show at Mercury Lounge turned out NOT to be a secret Clap Your Hands Say Yeah gig. It wasn't his solo singer-songwriter act either. It was what appeared to be a brand new band, though it's unclear if Alec wrote all the songs himself. It's also unclear whether the band, that featured members of NYC's IDA, are keeping the "Pelican Picnic" name. Alec said something like "I'm Alec Ounsworth, and tonight this is the Pelican Picnic," as he pointed to the band who he never introduced otherwise.

I anticipated a mob scene at Mercury Lounge, afterall the rumor that it might be a secret CYHSY show even reached the daily amNewYork newspaper. The chalkboard outside the club made it pretty clear that Pelican Picnic was not Clap Your Hands. Perhaps people turned away when they saw that. The venue was about half-full (100 people?) for their set. Half-full is still pretty impressive considering Pelican Picnic only exists on the Mercury Lounge calendar. Obviously people were there because of Alec's Clap Your Hands fame (or to see Clap Your Hands), and the band's lack of communication about the show anywhere (including Alec's personal site) gave me the impression they were fine with that.

Imagine a country-western Clap Your Hands. Imagine a female voice accompanying Alec's (the drummer also sang). Imagine more Bob Dylan than Talking Heads. That was Pelican Picnic. It was good.

Continue reading "Alec Ounsworth & The Pelican Picnic @ Mercury Lounge, NYC | pics"

On September 1st Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (CYHSY) kick off their Fall tour which includes dates with the National in NYC and elsewhere, a 9/16 CMJ show with Ambulance at Mercury Lounge, and a trip into Canada.

Alec Ounsworth is the singer of CYHSY.

Two days before the tour (August 30th, 2005), "Alec Ounsworth and the Pelican Picnic" are playing Mercury Lounge. According to Alec's website, the only other band name he goes by is Flashy Python and the Body Snatchers. The Pelican Picnic is a new one, so I guess this one has secret CYHSY show written all over it, but I have no idea.

The full lineup for the August 30th show includes Doveman, The Silent League, and the King of France. No advanced tickets (yet at least)

* You know who Doveman is, but in case you missed it, Doveman are playing my show at Tonic and I took pics of their Joe's Pub show.
* The Silent League are also at Scenic for CMJ
* The King of France are playing with Magnolia Electric Co. and touring with Robbers on High Street
* Clap Your Hands Say Yeah just played South Street Seaport
* Alec Ounsworth recently played Pianos

LISTEN
Goliath by the Silent League (MP3)
Stream 2 songs at King of France's website

The lineup downstairs at Pianos in NYC Tuesday night went:
Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Head Set, The Harlem Shakes, Cool Calm Pete, and Prince Paul of De La Soul. (upstairs was Cross Pollination)

Yeti Don't Dance talks about Alec --> Harlem Shakes
Prefix discusses Cool Calm Pete --> Prince Paul

And...
Sixeyes highlights the Harlem Shakes
Buck 65 cites Prince Paul as an influence