The King Khan & BBQ Show @ Bowery in November (more by Tim Griffin)

It's hard to take any King Khan news 100% serious. And like many dysfunctional couples, just because King Khan and BBQ are "broken up" doesn't mean they might not get back together. That said, here's the story...

Laurie Anderson's concert for dogs in Sydney Australia was part of the Vivid Sydney Festival, which she and Lou Reed curated. Acts they brought included Holly Miranda, Emily Haines, Boris, Doveman, Marc Ribot and Dave Hidalgo, My Brightest Diamond, Melt Banana and, a favorite of Laurie's, the King Khan & BBQ Show, whose two shows at the fest did not go smoothly. What happened at their gigs isn't exactly clear, but it's been all down hill since an argument after the second one. The blog Rockaliser Baby has details on the group's canceled June 19th show in Seoul, where more drama went down. That was to be the last of three shows in South Korea (they "successfully" performed two nights before in Daegu). Between those posts, King Khan's account of their Australian shows and Mark (BBQ) Sultan's version of the story on the band's Facebook, you could spend an afternoon catching up on everything that happened.

Mark Sultan is currently recovering from the disastrous trip in Cambodia, and though no official statement has been made (except maybe by Mark Sultan in a comment hidden far down on his Facebook wall), all signs point to the group being broken up.

The duo are currently still on the schedule for Sled Island in Calgary June 30-July 1, where King Khan is one of the curators, but the band doesn't have any upcoming dates listed and they did officially cancel other dates (like September 28 at Neumos).

It's not the first time the band has had trouble on the road - most recently, in 2009, their tour manager was arrested mid-tour, forcing them to cancel some shows.

And King Khan made news (TMZ included) earlier this year when he showed his ass to Lindsay Lohan after an Almighty Defenders (a group BBQ is also in) show at Cannes.

No video from these shows in Australia or Korea (yet), but clips from their set at Primavera Sound at the end of May is posted below...

Continue reading "King Khan & BBQ broken up for good? "

Wow...Public Image Ltd, The Specials, Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, Echo and the Bunnymen, Grace Jones, Fever Ray, Devo, Hot Chip, Phoenix, Orbital, Spoon, Sly and the Family Stone, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Sunny Day Real Estate, Yo La Tengo, Mew, Camera Obscura, Gil Scott-Heron, The xx, John Waters, Dillinger Escape Plan, Deer Tick, Gary Numan... Full Coachella 2010 lineup below....

Continue reading "2010 Coachella line up announced (Faith No More, Pavement, Muse, Gorillaz, Thom Yorke, Jay-Z, LCD Soundystem, ???)"

The Almighty Defenders @ Root Studio last night (by Andrew Frisicano)

Jeff the Brotherhood @ Above the Auto Parts Store last night (by Andrew Frisicano)

tonight in NYC
* Girl Talk at a pier
* Math the Band @ Silent Barn
* Xeno & Oaklander, Led Er Est @ Fontana's
* Satyricon, Bleeding Through @ Irving Plaza
* The Almighty Defenders, US Royalty @ Maxwell's
* Van Morrison @ Theater at Madison Square Garden
* Thursday, Far, Midnight Masses @ Bowery Ballroom
* Air Waves, Gray Goods, Tijuana Panthers @ Union Pool
* The Blind Boys of Alabama & John Hammond @ City Winery
* Youth Group, Findlay Brown, Jacob Augustine @ Littlefield
* An Albatross, Dark Meat, Jeff: The Brotherhood, Ill Ease @ Cake Shop
* Wild Yaks, Blood Warrior, This Frontier Needs Heroes, Beat Circus @ Glasslands

JEFF the Brotherhood, who played a totally packed lineup of CMJ shows over the past week, tacks on one more, with a show at at Cake Shop tonight. An Albatross, Dark Meat and Ill Ease play too. JEFF's last gig on Saturday was a 2am set at Above the Auto Parts Store. A picture from that is above.

BK's Air Waves also did a number of CMJ shows - tonight they play Union Pool with Gray Goods and Tijuana Panthers.

The Almighty Defenders played a short, tight headlining set at the Root Studio party last night (picture above). Tonight they're at Maxwell's with US Royalty. The King Khan & BBQ Show have Friday and Saturday NYC shows later this week with Dum Dum Girls who played Saturday night at Mercury Lounge.

NYC gets its first look at the reunited Far when they play tonight with Thursday and Midnight Masses at Bowery Ballroom.

Van Morrison plays the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

If you test drove a Kia, you can see Girl Talk tonight.... (like we saw many people doing as they drove by Pianos on Thursday and Saturday)

What else?

DOWNLOAD: Neon Indian - Terminally Chill (MP3)

Neon Indian (aka Alan Palomo)'s tour dates have been updated since August. Alan (pictured above) can currently be found down South enjoying the warm weather in Florida and will then make his way up to NYC in time for at least two shows over CMJ weekend. The first is a free-with-RSVP (topman@jellynyc.com), Topman-sponsored, JellyNYC-produced show at Root Studios in Brooklyn on Saturday night, October 24th with The Almighty Defenders, Cale Parks and a bunch of DJs: X-Wife, Finger on the Pulse, NROTB, and Designer Drugs. Flyer below.

The second Neon Indian show is the next afternoon with Real Estate at The Living Room (kids only!). Real Estate are also playing the Mexican Summer showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg unlike Washed Out who is only playing a pre-CMJ NYC show at Santos... which Finger on the Pulse are also DJing.

As you know, The Almighty Defenders is new VICE-signed group that combines King Khan, BBQ, and The Black Lips into one big band. This NYC show is one day before they play Maxwell's in Hoboken. Tickets are still on sale for that.

Neon Indian's debut album Psychic Chasms is out today (10/13) (vinyl available October 27th). Pitchfork gave it Best New Music. "Terminally Chill" from that CD is available for free download above.

All Neon Indian dates and a Topman show promo video and flyer, below...

Continue reading "Neon Indian on tour, playing free Topman show w/ The Almighty Defenders & Cale Parks during CMJ (2009 dates) "

DOWNLOAD: Almighty Defenders - Cone Of Light (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Almighty Defenders - Bow Down And Die (MP3)

"The Almighty Defenders self-titled debut will be widely available on September 22nd at your favorite independent record store and digital service provider. But for all you awesome people/Black Lips/King Khan & BBQ fans you can pre-order it now off the Vice Records store. As reward for your undying loyalty to Vice we are throwing in a bonus track, "Ghost With The Most" (recorded live at the Practice Space) when you pre-order the album off us.

Like winning? New Practice Space, new album, and bonus track? Whose Tuesday just stopped sucking? Oh, we will send you "Ghost With The Most" as soon as your order goes through!" [VICE]

Tickets are now on sale for a live Almighty Defenders show at Maxwell's on October 25th. The NJ date is right before King Khan and BBQ head out on a short tour with the Dum Dum Girls which brings them into NYC on October 30th and 31st. The Black Lips will be in NYC, opening for Yo La Tengo at Roseland, this Friday night (September 25th).

The above-referenced episode of VBS.TV Practice Space, can be watched below...

Continue reading "Almighty Defenders out Tuesday - MAXWELL'S SHOW on sale"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: The Almighty Defenders - Bow Down and Die (MP3)

It's supergroup day on BrooklynVegan. Some of it is catch up news. We have a new MP3 and tour dates from the new Black Keys-related Drummer band, and then there's the signing of Dum Dum Girls whose first live show over the weekend brought together member of four other bands. Jack White's new supergroup The Dead Weather is streaming their new album today, and we finally did a post on the Monsters of Folk album (Bright Eyes+My Morning Jacket+M Ward). Supergroups are not to be confused with side projects which were sort of a theme today too - first with Wolf Parade-related Handsome Furs, and then the Mazzy Star/My Bloody Valentine-related Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions (which I guess could be considered a supergroup too). Next up....

The Almighty Defenders (Black Lips + King Khan + BBQ)

The Almighty Defenders, a meeting of might between Atlanta garage goblins The Black Lips, Berlin-based soul punker King Khan, and Mr. BBQ himself, Mark Sultan. Conceived during the Lips' Berlin exile (after their VBS-documented ejection from India), the band's self-titled debut is a madcap, liquor-drenched revival, a blissfully fucked up realization of one of garage rock's most fitting collaborations. "Bow Down And Die," the "booming, chivalrous third song," is an off kilter, beer-swilling chant-along that borrows just as much from choral church music as it does from skuzzball rock n roll.

No tour dates for the Almighty Defenders yet, but The Black Lips will be at the July 26th Williamsburg Waterfront Pool Party, playing with Health, Grupo Fantasma and Trail of Dead. The Black Lips are actually one of the only artists to play a 'Pool Party' two years in a row. Ironically(?), when they played last year, it was on the same bill as King Khan. Maybe they'll bring him along again, or maybe they should just make an Almighty Defenders show which would be cool.

The Black Lips are also playing a few other festivals this summer, including Pitchfork Fest and Seattle's Capitol Hill Block Party. The band was recently featured on the soundtrack of the Gael Garcia Bernal & Diego Luna film Rudo Y Cursi, which came out in May. That disc includes contributions by Devendra Banhart, Juana Molina (who's playing tonight, July 8th, in Central Park) and even Bernal himself. Album art and tracklist for that below.

Bernal is hardly the only actor getting into music these days. Dead Man's Bones, the combo of actors Zach Shields and Ryan Gosling, is set to release a self-titled album, produced by Tim Anderson of I'm A Robot, October 6th on Anti-. Silverlake Conservatory Children's Choir, who you can see below, also pitched in vocals. Two videos of the band are below.

You can catch a different kind of supergroup in NYC at the Bowery Ballroom on August 1st. Dangerous, an "All Metal Tribute To Michael Jackson," features members of Tragedy (the "Heavy Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees" who are playing the Beach at Governors Island this summer) and the 2 Skinnee Js. Tickets to that are on sale now.

And if that's not enough...

Members of Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age are working together on a new project...The as-yet-unnamed supergroup unites Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, and lead Foo Fighter (né Nirvana drummer) Dave Grohl. The trio are presently in Los Angeles, recording their debut album.[Guardian UK]

Check out Almighty Defenders videos, album art and tracklist, with Rudo Y Cursi album info and Dead Man's Bones videos, below...

Continue reading "Supergroup day continues: Zeppelin/Grohl/QOTSA, Almighty Defenders (Black Lips+King Khan), Dead Man's Bones, more"