photos by Tim Griffin

"The marquee event [at this year's Roots Picnic - June 6, 2009 in Philly] was Public Enemy's performance of their epochal 1988 album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, performed for only the third - and, they have said, the last - time on American soil, and the first time with a band.

Public Enemy's Chuck D famously called rap music African Americans' CNN, an analogy that bodes ill for the exhumation of a 20-year-old album. But fueled by an expanded Roots lineup that included a horn section from the Brooklyn-based Afrobeat orchestra Antibalas, Nation sounded like anything but old news. Chuck D's stentorian voice has lost none of its power to command, and Flavor Flav washed away years of reality-TV embarrassment, seeming more like a sharp-witted jester than a fool.

Rather than approximating Nation's sonic thicket, the Roots added melody and depth. The prison-riot saga "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" gained a funk guitar riff and blaring horns, with ?uestlove's snare hits ringing out like rifle shots.
[Philadelpha Inquirer]

The also performed the album at the 2008 Pitchfork Festival. More pictures from Saturday's show, below...

Continue reading "Public Enemy performed 'It Takes a Million' w/ Antibalas & The Roots @ the Roots Picnic in Philly - pics"

"After 10 years, Williamsburg Live-Music Haven and Mediterranean Eatery Shuts Doors"

Black Betty (spreetaper)

"Bud Schmeling and Sandy Glover, owners of Black Betty, announced the long-time Williamsburg boite and eatery will close its doors, effectively Monday, June 15th 2009."

The sad news came a month after the owners posted a message to MySpace stating that they needed money, but that "Black Betty is not closed, nor closing. We have signed a new 10 year lease..." According to the new statement (which you can read in full below), the lease "was renewed for 10 years at the end of April 2009, however the lease was also offered to other perspective candidates under more lucrative terms..." Long story short, it is closing.

Lots of changes on that block. Black Betty is right across the street from the in-development Knitting Factory Brooklyn (ex-Luna Lounge) (which we still don't have an official update on, though all signs and rumors point to the place re-opening some time this summer, possibly as a seated venue).

Say goodbye to Black Betty by having a drink and/or seeing a show there one more time (or for your first time). Options include The Phenomenal Handclap Band, who played Southpaw last night, and who are playing there tonight (May 13). Full schedule, including Antibalas, and full goodbye note, below...

Continue reading "Brooklyn bar/club Black Betty closing (June 15) - final schedule includes Phenomenal Handclap Band (TONIGHT)"

by Andrew Frisicano

The Roots announced the line-up for their 2nd annual "Roots Picnic" in Philly...

The Roots (2 sets), TV on the Radio, The Black Keys, Public Enemy (who will perform It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, backed by Antibalas and The Roots), Antibalas, Santigold, Busdriver, and Dirty Magazine featuring Zoe Kravitz.

On the second stage: Asher Roth, Writtenhouse, Back to Basics - King Britt & Dozia, Dave P. (of Making Time, etc), Kid Cudi and more.

Saturday, June 6th, 2pm
@ The Festival Pier, Penns Landing
Philadelphia, PA

Questlove-founded site Okayplayer is running a pre-sale with $5 off tickets (using password 'EARLYBIRD') until Thursday (3/19) at 10pm. Then the general sale starts Friday (3/20) at 10 am.

Last year's event featured Gnarls Barkley, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Santogold, Deerhoof, J*Davey, Diplo, Esperanza and The Cool Kids.

In addition to being the new band for "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," The Roots play at Highline Ballroom tonight (3/19) as part of the band's ongoing series of gigs at the venue. Beginning next week Questlove will host his own Thursday night residency at LPR through May 28th. More information on those and other shows in our previous Roots rundown.

Down at SXSW, half of The Black Keys (a.k.a. Dan Auerbach) played last night (3/18) - you can still catch him at Bill's Place on Friday, March 20th and at The Mean Eyed Cat for a Saturday (3/21) afternoon show.

Full press release and poster, plus Public Enemy with The Roots and Antibalas playing "Bring The Noise" on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" below...

Continue reading "Philly's Roots Picnic - 2009 lineup, presale ++ Fallon video"

photos by Ryan Muir

Holly Miranda @ Zebulon

Holly Miranda, known most for her part in the Jealous Girlfriends, has at least four NYC shows coming up. Tonight (2/13) you can catch her at Southpaw, part of the Sounds Like Brooklyn Festival, with Motel Motel, The Canon Logic, and Ro Agents.

Wednesday (2/18) she opens for White Rabbits at the the first of their two shows at Mercury Lounge. Tickets are on sale. Ravens & Chimes are also on that bill. Bell and Polite Sleeper are the White Rabbits openers on Thursday.

Fast forward a month: Thursday March 12th you can catch Holly at Zebulon in Brooklyn (that's the venue I last saw her in, and where the pictures in this post came from). Tall Firs and Sharon Van Etten are also on that solid bill.

A month after that: Holly Miranda is opening for Nada Surf at the Bell House on April 15th. Tickets are not yet on sale.

Holly has a solo album coming out some time soon (probably when she finds a label to release it) . It was produced by TV On the Radio's Dave Sitek and Celebration's Katrina Ford. Holly said,

..its been a truly magical journey and a family affair, for sure. between katrina and dave producing, sean (of celebration) playing everything with ivory (including a pipe organ in baltimore we sent him to with a midi recorder), stewart and eric (from antibalas) killing it with the sax, trumpet and clarinet, and i think by the time we are done every member of tv on the radio will appear on the album..how sweet is that. plus katrina and i sing two songs together. OH and brendan (from ludlow lions) sings and plays on 'forest green oh forest green' ( a song we wrote together years ago)... there may still be a few guest appearances still to come.

More pictures and all dates below...

Continue reading "Nada Surf playing Bell House & other HOLLY MIRANDA shows"

photos by Tim Griffin

"It's been 10 years since Tibet was the hot issue in the rock community, but some stars still carry the torch. One of the biggest forums for this activism is the annual Tibet House benefit in New York, where an eclectic group of artists bands together to salute Tibetan culture.

This year's concert, held [Tueusday] at Carnegie Hall, started off on an energetic note, with Antibalas raising the sedate crowd to its feet. After playing a song, they were joined by Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo, who wowed with an energetic cover of the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter," before performing one of her own songs, "Emma." Antibalas then exited stage right, while bluesman Keb' Mo' joined Kidjo for one more tune.

Curator Philip Glass then took the stage to introduce his son Zack, who was performing with the Patti Smith Band. The younger Glass played two pleasant, mainstream folk-rock tunes, the furthest thing possible from his father's experimental compositions. He was followed by Vampire Weekend, who played with a string quartet and debuted a new song that sounded even more influenced by Paul Simon's "Graceland" than its previous work, as well as "M79" from its self-titled debut.

At this point, the tone of the show changed, with the elder Glass perforing an original piano composition with the string quartet. The piece was lovely, but felt out-of-place after so much upbeat rock. To add to the discombobulation, the National, who played two excellent new songs, followed Glass.

...Patti Smith, a fixture at many Tibet House benefits, took the stage with her daughter Jesse accompanying her on piano.... [full review @ BILLBOARD]

More pictures below...

Continue reading "The National, Vampire Weekend, Patti Smith & more @ the Tibet House Benefit @ Carnegie Hall (2009) - pics"

Steve Earle @ City Winery (more by Fresh Bread)

Tibet's Communist Party-controlled legislature has voted to create a holiday to mark China's defeat of a pro-independence uprising 50 years ago in the Himalayan region, calling it a day of liberation from feudalism, state media reported Monday.

The 382 legislators attending the session unanimously voted to designate March 28 as "Serf Liberation Day," the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing Legqog, director of the Standing Committee of the Tibetan Autonomous Regional People's Congress. Like many Tibetans, Legqog uses a single name.

The politically sensitive date marks the flight of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, into exile in India as Chinese troops attacked in March 1959. On March 28 of that year, Beijing announced the dissolution of the Tibetan government and the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region under Communist rule.

China says Tibet has always been part of its territory, while many Tibetans say their land was virtually independent for centuries. [AP]

The lineup for the 19th annual Tibet House benefit concert at Carnegie Hall is now: Antibalas, Steve Earle, Angelique Kidjo, Keb' Mo', Philip Glass & Zack Glass, The National, Patti Smith & Jesse Smith, and Vampire Weekend. Tibet House is also claiming that they "are expecting other artists to join the line-up soon". Get your tickets to the February 3rd show at Carnegie Hall's site.

Antibalas is also playing a couple of full shows at Southpaw in Brooklyn a few days earlier.

His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama is appearing at the Beacon Theatre in NYC on May 4th. Paul Simon is playing there in February.

That 2nd Thievery Corporation show at Terminal 5 (Feb 26) is now on presale (password=thieveryretaliation).

Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra are playing two shows at Southpaw in Brooklyn this month. Tickets are on sale for January 30th and 31st.

Busta Rhymes is playing BB King's on March 10th. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are still on sale for the Ida Maria show happening at Mercury Lounge. Union Hall is sold out.

Tickets are on sale for the Thermals show at The Bell House. The access code is "SALTY", but I'm not sure it's necessary or does anything.

Telepathe are opening for M83 at Irving Plaza. Tickets are still on sale.

Tickets are still on sale for both Cat Power shows happening at the Apollo.

Tickets are on sale for the Frightened Rabbit show happening at Le Poisson Rouge.

Tickets are on sale for the Lady Sovereign show happening at Pianos.

Comedian Marc Maron is performing at Union Hall in Brooklyn on January 15th. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are still on sale for the John Doe & Exene of X show happening at MHOW on Saturday. One day later they also play Joe's Pub.

Tickets are still on sale for the Great Lake Swimmers and A Hawk & A Hacksaw show happening at Mercury Lounge on Saturday.

Brooklyn Qawwali Party was added to GlobalFEST. Femi Kuti was taken away. It's this Sunday at Webster Hall and tickets are still on sale.

Note that ALL the NYC-area Morrissey shows are going on sale at 11AM on Friday (not noon).

Have you listened to Jaydiohead yet?

Radiohead think Max Silvestri is funny... his Internet Thing anyway. Video below...

Continue reading "the Thermals, Antibalas, Busta Rhymes, Thievery Corporation, Marc Maron, other tickets & stuff"

DOWNLOAD: The Phenomenal Handclap Band - Testimony (MP3)

In the midst of popular electronic-based production teams such as Justice and DFA, Embassy Sound Productions (ESP) emerges with a fresh approach to dance-oriented rock and roll, using live instrumentation to evoke the intricate arrangements of Norman Whitfield, Quincy Jones, and Phil Spector as well as the pared down beats of contemporaries like The Neptunes and Danger Mouse.

ESP is Daniel Collás and Sean Marquand, two New York underground club DJs who became restless with the concept of playing other people's music. Having been involved with and disenchanted by the local rock and roll scene, they began to focus on producing.

Their initial projects resuscitated the respective careers of two veteran soul acts (New York's Joe Bataan and Brazil's União Black) and garnered critical acclaim, leading Daniel & Sean to set their sights on The Phenomenal Handclap Band, a supergroup comprised of a "who's who" of the indie rock and underground soul scenes. Members of such diverse bands as TV on the Radio, L'Trimm, Calla, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Mooney Suzuki, and Sí Se all contribute their individual talents to the album.

The Phenomenal Handclap Band sound is an anthemic, dancefloor-oriented blend of progressive rock, disco, electro, and '60s soul with sprinklings of hip hop-styled orchestral breakbeats and moody, synth-heavy hooks.
[that's the description written on their MySpace]

I was going to list a whole bunch of keywords that come to mine when listening to the The Phenomenal Handclap Band, but I think they have it covered. Maybe throw in 'B movie soundtrack' (I mean that in a good way). Their unsigned, unreleased album also features contributions by (in addition to who they already mentioned) members of Antibalas, Oakley Hall, the Dap Kings, Amy Winehouse's band, Diamond Nights, Persephone's Bees and Apollo Heights. The people in the picture (can you name any?) are the core group of the band. So far the collective has only played one show. Tonight (Thursday September 25th) is their second. I think there will be 12 people on stage. Details below...

Continue reading "The Phenomenal Handclap Band - MP3, Disco D'or tonight"

Michelle N'degeocello, The Nosiettes, The Dirtbombs, Tamar Kali, Bermuda featuring Antibalas Horn Section, Little Jackie, Sophia Ramos, and much more.....

Continue reading "4th Annual Afro-punk Festival --- July 5-13 in Brooklyn, NY"

Antibalas @ Langerado Festival, Florida, March 2008 (CRED)

Antibalas are one of the many artists playing a benefit show for the Scotty Hard Trust at Highline Ballroom in NYC tonight (March 19).

At 3am on Friday, February 15, 2008, music producer Scott Harding was the victim of a car crash, returning home from a late night mixing session. The cab he was riding in was broadsided by a stolen car; the impact crushed Harding's T5 vertebrae, leaving him partially paralyzed. Scott's condition is serious and like many dedicated musicians he is without health insurance and is facing very large medical and legal fees. [Scotty Hard Trust]

Antibalas also just announced three more NYC shows at S.O.B.'s and Southpaw. All dates below......

Continue reading "Antibalas playing benefit tonight + 3 more NYC shows"

Celebration @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC - Nov 28, 2007 (CRED)

One down, two more Celebration shows to go. Celebration & Holy Fuck remixed each other. Listen and download, below....

Continue reading "Celebration played Bowery Ballroom, 2 shows to go"

* SOB's is having an Antibalas Halloween party
* Then next week Antibalas helps take over BAM

The Brooklyn Academy of Music is letting the commoners in. More details below...

Continue reading "Be Your Own Pet, Heartless Bastards, Dirty on Purpose, The Exit & Antibalas............ TAKEOVER BAM"

"Every Saturday this August, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council presents free New World Music concerts, featuring a diverse roster of international artists on historic Governors Island. Hop on the free ferry with a picnic and enjoy the sun." This Saturday the series kicks off with a free Antibalas concert. More details HERE, and below....

Continue reading "Antibalas & other upcoming Governors Island shows"